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wandamaximoffsbadgirl · 1 month

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Mommy Can We Play?

Sugar Mommy!Agatha Harkness x Wanda Maximoff x Sugar baby!fem!reader

Summary: Wanda's come over for a business meeting with Mommy, but when it comes time for goodbyes you can't let go.

Warnings: 18+, MDNI, Mommy kink, R calls A Mommy, A calls R Princess, strap use, praise kink, oral (R give A a blowjob, straps are referred to as cocks, Polyamory, Wanda uses various Russian pet names

Word count: 1.7K

A/N: This just festered in my brain for no particular reason and then when I started writing didn't want to come out, but I did it so here you go everyone enjoy more of these two plus Wanda

The warm early summer breeze blew through the windows of Agatha's home. She requested if you weren't going to go outside at least keep the windows open so you could get some fresh air. So you did as asked and opened all of the living room windows and the back sliding glass door was opened all the way for a nice cross breeze to come through.

The calming sounds of animal crossing played through your switch lite as you lay tummy down on the expense and rather wide sectional Agatha had chosen for the living room. A pillow helped prop you up and various snacks adorned the square wooden coffee table along with three different half drunken drinks. Agatha always wanted you to have water especially as the summer months rolled around, but you insisted on also having some sort of juice for taste and an energy drink for caffeine. Agatha wasn't a fan of it, but you had promised to limit the intake to one and drink it slowly through the day with the others.

Agatha had been working from home a business meeting with Wanda which meant you were to be quiet and not bother her hence the switch, snacks, and drinks all in reach. Your mind completely focused on your game as you terraformed your island; your tongue poking out ever so slightly. You're so focused on your game you don't hear the two older women come down from the office or that Wanda is right in front of you until she's bending down. Her finger hooking under your chin,

“Milaya, is your game that enthralling you can't even get up to say goodbye?” Wanda's husky voice hits your ears and suddenly it feels ice cold in here. The rings on her fingers helped none with the cold feeling washing over you. Your voice sputters to form a sentence.

“Your baby really is so cute, Aggie. I love making her like this. You should reconsider letting me play with her.” Wanda cooed. Your body finally caught up, your switch flying from your hand, crashing back to the couch as you flung your body backwards to the corner of the sectional. Your body shook and breathing felt hard.

“Princess you're okay. Sorry Wands when she's engrossed in something if you get too close it scares her.” Wanda didn't acknowledge Agatha other than slowly approaching you,

“I'm sorry Detka. I didn't mean to scare you.” Wanda sat down near you, giving you enough space, holding out her hand as if you were a scared pup.

When your breathing evened you leaned over, setting your chin in her palm just as you would for Agatha. You eyes looking up at Wanda's sea green eyes, the more you looked the more it reminded you more of sea glass reflecting back at you. If Agatha's eyes were the ocean forever drowning you in love, Wanda's eyes were those small moments of joy you'd get when you'd find a really nice piece of sea glass.

You liked when Wanda would come by, Agatha had her over for work meetings, thought sessions, and dinners. You had heard stories that back when Wanda had first joined the company the two actually hated each other. You couldn't see that now with how close the two women were. Wanda was over here at least once a week if not more depending on that week's deadlines.

Being with Agatha for close to a year Wanda's presence had become just as comforting as Agatha's. You'd be lying to yourself if you said you hadn't thought about those ringed fingers deep inside your mouth or your sopping wet cunt. That accented voice giving commands from above as those green eyes looked more like black holes ready to swallow you whole.

Your help tilted slightly in Wanda's touch as the heat of your cheek warmed both her digits and rings up. One of your hands coming up to play with her rings. Wanda knew of your love of rings just as much as she loved them. She had given you a ring after coming back from a business trip. She had also gotten something for Agatha, but a ring felt intimate. You couldn't explain why and after she gave it to you it back one you wore almost daily. That was something Wanda had taken notice of and since then had made more and more advances towards you, but today it seemed all three of you were feeling bold.

You opened your mouth and let your lips wrap around her thumb, slowly taking it into your mouth as you watched the lust take over her features. Her other hand found its way to your thigh, rubbing and squeezing gently. You hadn't noticed Agatha until she was sitting just behind Wanda.

“I think she's ready, dear.” You heard Agatha's voice call out and your eyes moved to hers. A look you'd seen many times before.

“Peash Mama.” You managed to speak around Wanda's thumb who slowly let it slip back out.

“Please what princess? What is it you're asking?” Agatha did a little head tilt, feigning innocence as she did when she wanted you to use your words though they tend to slip away when you want something like this.

“Please Mommy want to be taken by both of you.” Your eyes pleaded with Agatha who you knew couldn’t resist that look; she never could.

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Drool ran down your chin to your neck and down the valley of your breasts before dripping off your nipple. A shiver was sent down your spine that was currently arched. Your mouth held open by Agatha’s strap, your favorite one hitting the back of your throat. Every thrust that Wanda was giving with her own strap made Agatha’s move back and forth. Gags and choked moans coming out of you which only produced more drool. Your mind was a hazy mess and you felt like you were swimming even more than usual which made sense with the added factor of Wanda.

“Oh Detka taking my cock so well, can’t wait to see you cum all over it.” Wanda’s breathy voice made it’s way to your ears. All you wanted to do was look back at the Sokovian, but with Agatha trapping you it wouldn’t be a thing anytime soon.

When Agatha finally did slip out of your mouth you took the opportunity to push yourself up into Wanda as your head hit the mattress. Your face turning so your could look at her with hair slicked back from sweat, hips hitting into you at a brutal pace. Her nails dug into your hips and the grip she had was sure to leave bruises, but none of it mattered to you.

Right now her being buried so deep inside felt amazing. The strap Wanda packed with felt just as good as the one you called your favorite. It filled you up in all the right spots. The loud moans and screams being freed from your mouth, her name spilling past your lips only pushed her further to the edge as you looked back up to Agatha who was watching the two of you. She was watching your pleasure, your pain and enjoyed every moment of it.

“Go on Princess. I know that look. Cum for Wanda.” Your head looked back to Wanda, normally Agatha’s permission was all you needed, but you had to ask,

“Can I Wanda? Can I please cum on your cock?” You asked. Her head snapping up, eyes meeting and you could see she was about to fall with you. The quick rise and fall of her chest, her eager thrusts, the grip tightening on your hips.

“Cum with me Milaya.” That was it the push over the edge that you needed. The coil finally snapping as you were sent over the edge with her deep thrusts. How did she manage to get deeper? You could feel yourself tighten around her. Effectively making her rut against you as she fell moments after you, moaning out in Sokovian, strings of expletive's you assumed as your head drowned in pleasure.

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“You did so good for me.” Wanda’s voice was softer than you’d ever heard before. You were cocooned against her, unwilling to let go. Agatha had gone of to get your aftercare items. Wanda’s fingers now without all her rings ran through your hair softly. Continued whispered praises until Agatha came back, breaking the bond of the two of you.

“Here princess drink.” Your tumblr you’d filled this morning with ice water was handed to you which you cradled against you. A few big sips and you were trying to hand it back off, but Wanda gently tapped your cheek.

“Few more Milaya.” She insisted, so you did until another gentle tap came. You looked up to see the red head with a smile on her face. “All done.” Her tone almost sounded as if she were talking to a child. Agatha took the bottle from you, setting it on the side table. You settled back in against Wanda as the two older women talked. The Sokovian’s fingers softly scratching at your scalp while Agatha’s fingers were drawing patterns in your back.

“It seems she likes you.” Agatha had a smile on her face, your eyes were closed, but you knew how her voice sounded when she was smiling. “You should join us more often.” The suggestion came and your ears perked up. You eyes fluttered open, looking up at Wanda who was looking down at you.

“Would you like that malyshka?” She asked you, your teeth finding their way to biting your bottom lip with a smile threatening to break your face as you nodded. Wanda smiled, pulling your bottom lip from the hold your teeth had on it. “Words krasivaya devushka.” Her thumb brushed your lips, they were calling your name once more taking it into your mouth, through your lashes you looked up at Wanda.

“Yesh peash.” You mumbled around her thumb. It was enough for the two older women who simply nodded at each other. It didn’t elude you when the two women shifted ever so slightly so their hands were touching. A smile on your face as your eyes closed and sleep soon took over with thoughts of a next time playing through your mind.

#ley speaks #ley writes #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #wanda x you #agatha harkness x reader #agatha harkness x fem!reader #agatha x reader #agatha harkness #sugar baby!reader #sugar mommy!agatha

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cinnbar-bun · 2 months

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first off— I LOVE UR WORK!! i think i just went thru and read everything you have for one piece LOL. second!!! i saw hc / drabble request open !! i have a silly idea that i feel like you can make come into reality.

recently i’ve been watching isekai’s so…imagine. reader getting isekai-d into the one piece world!!! (more specifically, interactions with the cross guild!!!)

A/n: Thank you very much nonnie!! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my stuff. Please enjoy this <3

Getting Isekai'd Into Cross Guild!

Rating: SFW

Relationship: Cross Guild x Reader

Notes: GN!Reader, a bit crack, short and sweet. No relationship is defined so you can assume it to be platonic or romantic <3.

The wonderful Truck-kun granted your wish of getting isekai’d by sending you straight to the One Piece world! How wonderful!

Except, you quite literally fell on top of Buggy just as he was trying to argue his case to Crocodile and Mihawk.

Now, they have no clue what the hell just happened but Mihawk already agrees with whatever that just was.

Buggy is about to scream over the fact you just fell on top of him and Crocodile is wondering how you managed to get here.

Crocodile assumes a Devil Fruit, Mihawk assumes you snuck in, and Buggy assumes you’re the devil.

It takes a moment for things to settle down as they demand you tell them what you’re doing here. You explain that well… uh… you’re not really from here.

Crocodile almost plans to kill you right away because he doesn’t have time for stupidity like that, but you show whatever you have on hand to prove otherwise.

They’re all immediately entranced by your phone, but they have something they’re also interested in too.

Crocodile: Your credit cards and money. When you explain how a credit/debit card functions he’s amazed. Tempted to start a bank and overhaul the current financial system. Also loves the excel spreadsheets. The fact this “machine” will calculate all of this for you and put it in a neat list… well… mark him down as interested.

Buggy: The shiny games on your phone that are colorful and fun. The fact he can “Google” anything and look up new material.

Mihawk: EReaders and, this will sound hilarious, but text messaging. He doesn’t care to talk, but he thinks that sending texts would be so much more effective and efficient than having to haul himself around the sea or, god forbid, answer a phone call.

Okay so you did manage to prove you’re not from this world (or that perhaps you were an alien freak but that’s okay) and Crocodile and Mihawk are pretty much entertained. That’s it. You can go. Bother someone else.

Buggy however, holds you close and pouts. “Can we keep them? Can we keep them pleeeeeeeease???” He begs as if you’re a little puppy.

Crocodile is against this but Mihawk shrugs and agrees. Whatever. This could be interesting.

Buggy still doesn’t understand you’re not some circus animal and rambles about what he should have you wear and perform for his show while Crocodile cuts him off.

Frankly, if you’re telling the truth and have nowhere else to go, you gotta earn your keep. Crocodile just makes a new position for you that shouldn’t be too hard after you said you have 0 combat skills or training.

You’re basically just their assistant and do menial work that no one else really wants to do. For now at least.

Buggy is actually… kinda happy you’re so nice to him? He’s used to either worship from his crewmates or abuse from Mihawk and Crocodile, so you quickly become his new favorite person. He’s pretty shocked you’re as nice as you are considering how crappy this situation is, but he’s grateful. Softens up to you right away and loves having your attention.

Buggy likes to do silly tricks to make you laugh whenever he can, mostly as a way to be the “flashiest” guy in your eyes. He really doesn’t like when others try to take you or away or interrupt his time with you, since he’s a brat and finds you entertaining.

Crocodile and Mihawk are tougher nuts to crack. Neither of them trust people, but they find you interesting, even though you are incredibly weak compared to others.

Crocodile always tries to see what you may/may not know about him since you made a few offhand comments that were a bit too… knowledgeable… so he often tries to get you to slip up more or confess to something. He hopes to see if you know something useful that can be used (but also deep down is afraid you know too much).

Mihawk on the other hand finds you amusing. Plenty of things are similar to your world, but it’s quite clear you’re not used to many aspects of this one. He forms a habit of just watching you or actively messing with you to see your reaction. It’s a bit funny to him, admittedly.

Of the two, Mihawk is the first to somewhat let his guard down and be a bit protective of you. He figures even if you were hypothetically “dangerous”, he could easily kill you so what does he care? You do your job, you’re entertaining, and you don’t give him a headache.

Crocodile only lets up when you “prove” time and time again that you are reliable and not trying to go after them or sabotage them. He does think it’s a bit weird you’re eager to help them, considering what they do and what you know, but hey, who is he to complain?

To sum it up: Crocodile cares the most about you being isekai’d, Buggy cares the least (except when it comes to his perception. He wonders if he’s also got a following there).

Buggy likes showing off his new tricks or discussing silly hypotheticals with you.

Crocodile likes when your eyes grow wide whenever he drops an expensive item on your desk as a token of his appreciation to you.

Mihawk likes when you talk him to normally and share deep discussions with him.

It is a bit strange that there’s some “normal” person with these three villains, but you’ve become important to them. You’re unique and special, practically one of a kind in this zany world. They show their feelings towards you in different ways, but the way they’ve grown attached to you and try to protect you show that you’re valued in their life.

#one piece #one piece x reader #x reader #reader insert #sir crocodile #one piece hcs #sir crocodile x reader #crocodile x reader #crocodile one piece #dracule mihawk #dracule mihawk x reader #mihawk x reader #mihawk #buggy x reader #buggy the clown #cross guild #cross guild x reader

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turtletaubwrites · 2 months

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A Good Catch ~ Part 1

✨600 Followers Fic Celebration!✨

I am so grateful for all of you! This has been such a wonderful time, and having all of you around to nerd out with, and to share my writing with is the best! Shanks won the poll for the next x Reader fic, and I hope you enjoy it!

Pairings: Shanks x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4367

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (End)

Ao3 Link

Summary: You are an unlucky fisherwoman having a bad day, until a red haired pirate captain offers to help you out. You're pretty sure he only makes it worse.

Rating/Warnings: 18+ ONLY, MDNI, AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Angst, Teasing, Flirting, I feel like there's some romance tropes I could tag, but I usually just write smut, so please let me know what silly tropes I have in here 😅

A/N: I am having so much fun with this one! I'm doing my best to keep it to 3 parts, so wish me luck 😅 Please enjoy this fluffy first chapter!

“Now I’m gonna get murdered by pirates,” you grumbled to yourself as the ship crept ever closer. “Just fucking perfect.”

The windless sea was no challenge for the massive pirate ship. All you could do was sit with your pile of fish, jealous of the huge oars guiding the threat to you.

Dread loomed as that jolly roger closed the distance, like an animal baring its fangs before it strikes. Crossed blades, and a sinister skull with red stripes over its left eye socket.

You didn’t pay enough attention to the gossip and wanted posters to remember who was headed your way.

Not that it matters. They’re pirates.

It was too much to hope that they’d pass you by.

A few voices carried over from the deck, until a tall man leaned over the side. His bright, red hair hung still against this stupidly windless sky.

“Hey, friend,” he called, the sun at your back giving you a glimpse of his wide smile, even from so high above you.

“We’re not friends,” you countered, crossing your arms to keep him from noticing your shaky hands.

“I suppose not. You seem like you’re in a spot of trouble though, and we’re happy to help.”

His deep voice sounded so friendly. Genuine. Charming.

He’s just trying to lure me into his trap. Who knows what they’d do to me on that ship…

“The sun’s getting pretty low for a small boat to be all the way out here,” he judged, trying to block the glare as he looked down at you. “I don’t think we’ll be getting much more wind today.”

“Thank you, I’ll be fine.”

His pause made your skin itch, wishing he would stop looking at you.

“We can bring your boat with us. I’m assuming you’re from that village a ways to the west?”

It must have been a trick of your eyes, it couldn’t happen so quickly. But you swore the day inched closer to night faster with every second. You watched the light grow golden as it lit up the red haired man, and his pirate ship.

Fuck.

“I refuse to be rescued,” you choked out, nails digging into your arms.

“Okay,” he said in an annoyingly teasing tone, “if you insi–”

“I’ll pay you for the service! I had a great haul before…”

“Sounds good to me,” he laughed, deep and hearty. As if he were truly happy.

You had thought pirates would seem scarier. Maybe this is worse.

You barely heard his shouts as men started to lower ropes down, prepping to save you.

“You should know I’m armed,” you yelled up at the back of his head, continuing when he faced you again. “Anyone touches me, and they’ll lose a hand.”

“I’ll be on my guard then. I’ve been running out of those.”

You didn’t understand, or appreciate his teasing while you waited.

“Welcome aboard!”

Pirates echoed the red haired man’s welcome, and you assumed he was the captain as the rest busied themselves about. He sat on deck, calm as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Now that you were so close, you couldn’t help but notice the rippled muscles of his chest and stomach between his mostly open shirt.

Besides the cloak over his shoulders, he didn’t seem to wear anything that could mark him as captain. Unless his red hair, and three scars over his left eye…

“Oh.”

“Oh,” he asked, moving to stand beside you.

“The jolly roger,” you pointed to the menacing skull. “You must be the captain.”

“Good eye,” he leaned in with a smile.

His smile should have a completely different word. The sight from your boat was nothing compared to seeing the way this man's lips curled slowly, the left side starting first as it grew, as if he was enjoying the act of smiling itself. And his eyes…

His eyes were way too close to you.

“Are you alright?”

Concern broke that smile, and he called for someone to bring water.

Your face flushed, hot to the tips of your ears. You realized that you hadn’t heard what the pirate had said because you were too busy swooning over his pretty eyes.

The water was welcome, and you gulped half of it down, suddenly embarrassed about how fucking fishy you must smell with your day’s catch beside you.

“Is there anything else you need, miss…”

Trying to catch your eyes, the pirate leaned toward you. He reached for your shoulder, and you jumped back, spilling water down your chest.

“I’m so sorry, love. I forgot about your warning.”

His soothing voice felt real as he went to a knee in front of you.

“I do hope you will spare me my fate, I swear that no one on this boat will forget it again.”

He’s really too charming. He’s either the sweetest person in the world, or some sort of demon with powers of seduction.

You nodded. It wasn’t like you could truly defend yourself anyway. The fear of being at their mercy kept you hyper aware of all the moving bodies around you.

“How long until we’re at the village?”

The sun was almost gone from the sky now, and you just wanted to be home. To scrub this stupid day away, and pass out.

“It should be about three days from now.”

“Three,” you choked out, dropping the now empty mug of water, which he caught without taking his eyes off of yours.

“We’ve got some business on the other side of the island. We'll be stopping by the village to restock supplies before we head out.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” you snapped, voice louder than you meant it.

He just smirked, tilting his head.

“Sorry, love. Would you like us to toss you overboard? I don’t think you had many rescuers lined up.”

For some reason, you couldn’t get your mouth to remember that these men could kill you as you growled back at him.

“You didn’t rescue me. I paid you for a trip back to the village.”

His lips quirked as if he was fighting not to smile again. He looked down at your haul, fish still flapping in the net.

“That is a really nice haul, miss. Afraid it’s not enough for a direct trip, though.”

Pirates came to take your fish away, and it broke the spell his irritating eyes had on you.

“Please, save this one! You can have it, just… Make sure you cook it well.”

The two men with the net followed your gesture to that fish, assuring you they would obey before taking it away.

“Why’s that one special?”

The weight of this long ass day hit you, a heavy sigh leaving your lips before you looked back at that pretty captain.

“It was a good catch.”

He huffed a laugh, the clear amusement he got from your words making you simultaneously annoyed, and pleased. You were mentally smacking yourself for that.

Don’t be attracted to pirates, dumbass.

“I’m Shanks. I don’t know if you heard me before, but…”

Your skin flushed again, and he seemed to notice, a warm, evil smile slowly forming on his lips.

“What’s your name?”

“You don’t need to know it.”

He gave a real laugh then, loud, and infectious. You had to remind yourself that he was laughing at you.

“What would you like us to call you then, huh? “Fish Girl?” Maybe “Fail Boat?” Or how about “Damsel in Distress?” I think I like that–”

You ripped your hand back as soon as you’d realized what you’d done.

But it was too late.

Your idiotic, suicidal hand had shot out and smacked him, hard, right in the center of that gorgeous chest of his.

The deck roared with laughter while you shook with horror. Shanks had looked down at his chest, and when he lifted his face to yours he looked stunned. If you hadn’t just signed your own death warrant, you might have thought his face comical, brows raised high, with his mouth and eyes wide.

“Go easy on the girl, captain,” teased a tall man with gray hair, shaking his head at Shanks.

“Yeah, come on, captain! What kinda hospitality are you giving, insulting our guest like that?”

A whole group of pirates crowded around him, reprimanding him, and giving him a few gentle punches and shoves.

Your mouth hung open. The sight of these pirates being so playfully disrespectful toward their captain didn’t fit in your brain. None of this made sense with what pirates were supposed to be like.

“Fine. Fine! I’m sorry, miss…”

He’d broken away from his men, leaning toward you with that question.

“Y/N.”

He hit you with a new grin to outshine all the others, making your breath hitch.

“What a beautiful name for a damsel in distress.”

You didn’t need to hit him this time, as pirates did the job for you, even throwing things at him from across the deck.

Maybe it was the overwhelm, the fatigue. Maybe you’d gone insane.

But laughter built in your stomach, growing through your body, until you were shaking with it. You had your hands on your knees as it took you over, and the pirates around you joined in.

How can pirates be laughing and smiling like this with me? How can it be genuine?

Amidst the continued roars of his men, Shanks shook his head, gesturing for you to follow him.

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll show you.”

Frowning at the back of his head, you followed through the wooden halls until he opened a large door, gesturing for you to go inside.

He rolled his eyes when you hesitated, before going in first.

The large room was tiled, with lockers and showers, and there he stood in the center, grinning like a creep.

“I’ll pass,” you deadpanned, backing out the door.

“Come on, fish girl,” he taunted, “you stink, and I think you’ll be easier to clean than the blankets you’ll sleep in tonight.”

Blood rushing to your face again, your mouth opened and closed as anger and embarrassment fought to take over.

Shanks laughed again, but tried to stifle it.

“Sorry, you’re just,” he motioned to his lips, mimicking your movements. “You’re a fish girl.”

“Shut up,” you seethed, leaning toward him. “I’m not taking a shower on a pirate ship when anyone can–”

“I’ll guard the door for you, okay,” he assured, finally seeming to take something seriously. “I’ll make sure no one comes in.”

Now his stupid smile was soft, small, and sweet. You hated it.

“Oh right,” you scoffed, “like I'd trust a pirate captain. Who’s gonna stop you from coming in?”

“What makes you think this pirate captain would even want to come in here, huh?”

“Fuck you,” you breathed, turning to leave.

He was so fast. You jumped back as he blocked the door. He saw your wide eyes, and moved out of the doorway so he wouldn’t block your exit, but he still leaned close.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. Really, okay? I promise I will sit right outside this door, and not let a single person come inside until you’re done. There’s fresh clothes for you over there too. Whatever you need.”

A very fine trembling worked its way around your body as you studied him. It seemed like such a bad idea to trust him.

But you were exhausted.

��You’ll sit in front of the door?”

He straightened up, a look of relief brightening that serious face.

“I will.”

“Will you wear a blindfold?”

“If that’s what it takes,” he agreed with a smirk.

“And let me tie your hands behind your back?”

Shanks sucked his teeth as he leaned back. You had a second of fear as he started taking his clothes off.

But all he removed was his heavy cloak, revealing that he was missing his left arm.

Guilt hit you, apologies about to pour out, but he held his palm out.

“Afraid I can’t do that, but I promise I’ll do the rest. Is that alright, Y/N?”

This is really nice soap.

Still on edge, your body started to relax a bit with the delicious smelling soap on your skin.

But every time you felt a moment of relaxation, you’d remember the pirate on the other side of the door.

“You’ve gotta make it tighter, sweetie. Otherwise it won’t work.”

That fucking sentence kept tearing through your brain. The way he’d run his fingers across yours while you adjusted the cloth to blindfold him. The way his hair and skin had felt and smelled as you moved it into place. The way he’d rasped those words while he grabbed your wrist to guide you, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting his fingers trail down your skin.

The way you had let him touch you without arguing. His fingers had taken advantage of the moment, but it had felt almost electric to let him.

“Fuck,” you muttered to yourself.

“Y/N, is everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah. Thank you.”

How did he hear that over the shower?

“What the hell is this?”

“Sorry, love, I'm afraid I can't see what you– ow, hold on!”

You definitely had a few red hairs between your fingers after ripping his blindfold off.

The pirate captain got to his feet to meet your eyes, and fucking snorted.

“What is wrong with you,” you fumed, tossing the blindfold at his face.

The fact that he caught it before it hit him only pissed you off more.

“There has to be something else I can wear,” you demanded, pulling at the frilly lavender dress he stuck you with. You looked like some creepy porcelain doll.

His face was going as red as his hair as he tried not to laugh.

“I’m sorry, no one’s– we don’t have anyone your size,” he choked out, clearing his throat before continuing. “We have a few more dresses like this, though. They were supposed to be a gift for a princess, so you should feel honored!”

“Fuck you.”

His lips were fucking quivering as he fought his laughter. His eyes flicked down to your clenched fists, and he relented.

“Right, sorry, okay! You can have some of my clothes, you’ll just have to roll them up, alright?”

Very judgmentally looking him up and down, you raised your brows at him.

“Do you have any shirts that actually button up all the way? Or do you expect me to let my tits hang out like yours.”

Shanks cackled then, catching himself on the wall, his eyes even tearing up a little.

You kicked yourself for saying something so sexual in front of a fucking pirate.

“You’re a funny one, fish girl,” he teased between hiccupped laughs, “but you definitely look like a damsel in that dress.”

You kicked the pirate for being such a dick.

“Fuck, sorry,” he huffed, wincing as he rubbed his shin where you’d kicked it.

“Follow me. I definitely wanna get you outta that dress– I mean into different clothes,” he almost yelled, warding off a slap with his arm. “So you stop hurting me!”

Practically boiling with a mix of anger, embarrassment, and fear, you let yourself be guided along. The lantern lit halls were roomier than you would have expected, and you could hear the distant voices of the crew.

“Here we go,” he said gently, opening another large door. He went in first again, and you entered what had to be his quarters.

Of course. We’re getting his clothes.

It was full of rich, dark woods, red blankets, a desk that seemed to have more bottles of alcohol than anything work related on it, and a delightful, almost spicy scent filling the air.

The room was a bit messy, and you felt out of place standing there in that frilly dress while he dug through his wardrobe, tossing clothes to the ground as he searched.

“Here, love, how about these?”

“Do you have a belt?”

Managing to roll, buckle, and tuck at his clothes, you were mostly satisfied as you checked the mirror.

Even with all the buttons done up, you still had to tie his shirt to keep your chest from popping out like his does.

“You almost finished? The party’s star…”

Those pretty eyes brightened when you opened the door. His little smirk made you frown, and he held his hand up.

“You were right, Y/N. This definitely suits you better.”

He offered that hand to you, and even in the warm glow of the lanterns, you could see scars, callouses, and thick veins that made your breath hitch for a moment.

Your hand had almost reached his when he pulled away.

“Almost forgot,” he teased, his voice somehow lower than normal as he stepped out of the doorway for you. “I’ll lose my only hand if I touch you, right?”

“I…”

“Well, I definitely won’t risk that.”

He stepped further back, letting you follow him into the hallway.

Your brain seemed to stutter, unable to join the moment as it flew through conflicting emotions.

Like why it upset you that he wouldn’t risk it.

Shanks moved in close, his spicy scent filling your lungs as you looked up at him.

“Just let me know if that ever changes.”

He turned away after a subtle wink that made your brain short circuit.

“You comin’? I’m hungry.”

Still barefoot without your fishy shoes, you chased that red hair down the hallway.

He really is some sort of seduction demon.

“Hey, girly. Is this jackass treating you alright?”

“This is how you talk about your captain?”

The older man with long, gray hair ignored Shanks’ protests as he looked you over.

“You should be more worried about him,” you grumbled, narrowing your eyes at the captain.

“Ha, I’m sure you’re right.”

He grinned down at you, before motioning toward the fire.

“Come on, the food’s almost done.”

The crew had found a remote beach, and set up camp. Their camp supplies seemed to be mostly alcohol.

Shanks had said they had business here, and that they’d go to the village in about three days.

What kind of business are pirates getting up to on my island?

The thought was pushed aside as Shanks called for you. Most of the pirates were holding their plates, or using boulders or crates while they ate. Captain Shanks had a dingy little table by the fire, and was waving you over.

“Come on, love. Let’s eat, and find out why that fish of yours is so special.”

The day's events hit you again, but you joined him in a mismatched chair, and grabbed a fork.

It smelled good.

“Here,” Shanks demanded, shoving a mug of some kind of alcohol into your hand, before standing and lifting his own to address the crew. “Here’s to our luck! We found an unlucky fisherwoman, and now we’ve got good eats. To Y/N!”

The sheer volume of their enthusiasm made your eyes go wide as you faked a sip.

“So tell me, fish girl,” he leaned toward you, the small table not leaving much space between you. “Why is this fish so special?”

Ignoring him, you focused on your plate. The way it looked and smelled was perfect, but you had to know.

He watched your movements, following along as you pierced into the flesh, bringing the first bite to your lips.

It was perfect. Whoever had cooked it had treated it right. The tender meat and the subtle flavor were given just the amount of spice to balance it out.

It would have sold well. After all it took to get it, you were grateful that it didn’t go to waste, and tasting it yourself was wonderful.

Even if you were sharing it with a pirate.

“This is incredible, Y/N. You really are a fish girl.”

Letting out a sigh, you dug in, trying to enjoy the meal that had put you in this situation. The night was filled with the sounds of music, laughter, and endless calls for cheers, the clanging of metal mugs like the shifting heartbeat of this joyful crew.

“So, I had someone take a look at your boat, in case we could help fix it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my boat,” you spat out, wishing you could have enjoyed your meal in peace. Without this too fucking handsome and annoying pirate captain.

Shanks tapped his fingers on the table, a smirk playing at his lips.

“That was the report,” he said softly, the teasing tone building slowly in his voice. “They did say that one of the oars is missing.”

“Thanks for the report,” you grumbled, watching the fire now.

“Come on, just tell me what happened. How’d you get stranded out there?”

“It’s none of your business.”

Your face felt hot, the fire not close enough for the burning in your skin.

“Consider it payment then. For my clothes, and for my company,” he taunted, his voice dipping low.

“I could do without the latter.”

“You wound me, sweet damsel.”

He put his hand to his heart, chuckling at your frown before chugging whatever was in his mug.

“It was a really good catch,” you mumbled, giving in. He scooted even closer to you, excitement in those lovely eyes, mixing with the light of the fire.

Shanks kept that beautiful mouth shut, just tilting his head toward yours as he waited.

“My grandma used to talk about her best catch. That was it,” you said flatly, gesturing to your empty plate. “She made me promise that if I ever caught a fish like that, I had to eat it myself, eat it with friends.”

“Don’t waste a fish like that on berry, sugar. It’s a gift.”

He raised his mug as you mimicked your grandma’s voice, and you brought yours up with a sigh, still just pretending to drink.

“I’m honored, then. Your grandma was right, that fish was amazing.”

Memories of her seemed to join you at the table, bittersweet, and heavier than you’d like.

“Sorry, Y/N. You, uh… You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” you coughed, a hint of anger back in your voice as you fought against the prickling in your eyes.

“Well,” he drawled out, extending the word for way too long, “you still didn’t tell me how you got stranded out there with nothing but the perfect fish.”

Groaning, you put your forehead on the dingy table and blurted it out, as if you could make it not true if you said it fast enough.

“I caught the fish. I saw what it was. It started to slip through my hands. I knew it’d sell well, so I didn’t want to lose it. I ended up tripping over one of the oars. I should have let it go, I could have grabbed the oar if I’d seen it slipping. But I was greedy. I wanted to sell that stupid fish instead of eating it, and now grandma’s probably cussing at me from the afterlife.”

Shanks at least had the decency to shove his knuckles between his teeth before he started laughing.

“Oh, fuck you,” you huffed, standing to leave the captain’s dingy table.

“Wait, please,” he called, catching your fingers in his, and pulling you back toward him. Only to drop your hand as if he’d been burned when you met his eyes.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean–”

Whatever you might have said was lost in a wave of too many things at once. Humiliation over the whole thing, fear that these pirates could still hurt you, especially if you fell asleep, and the burning in your stupid cheeks because this gorgeous asshole held your hand.

What the fuck is wrong with me today?

The moon was mostly full, so there was plenty of light on the sand as you walked away from the camp. They were so fucking noisy, but the ocean beckoned for you to sit, gentle waves like your grandmother’s sweet voice.

When she wasn’t giving me shit, you thought with a laugh, digging your toes in the sand.

“The ocean makes me feel better too.”

His deep voice annoyed you more than it startled you.

Shanks sat beside you, but not too close.

Ignoring him did not make him go away.

“What do you want?”

“I wanna make your shitty day better. How can I do that?”

“Take me home.”

“Three days on that one, love. Anything more immediate?”

Your plan to stay up all night was already failing, exhaustion dragging you down.

His eyes were so soft under the moon, the hint of a smile brightening his face.

“I don’t want to sleep out in the open with everyone. Is there somewhere… safe where I can sleep?”

Shanks nodded, looking down as he cleared his throat.

“Of course, let me take you now.”

The ship itself seemed to be sleeping, so quiet with only a handful of crew watching it as the rest camped on the island.

Red hair under lantern light guided you through those wood paneled halls again, until he led you to the guest quarters.

“Here’s the key, and you’re welcome to shove this chair under the door knob as well. Breakfast will be at the beach in the morning,” he laughed, running his fingers through his hair. “It’ll probably be the afternoon depending on the hangovers, but you– Are you alright?”

He knelt at your feet, looking you over as you slumped onto the bed.

“How long were you out there today? Have you been drinking water? Are you…”

This charming pirate stopped himself from touching your forehead, and some insane, fatigued part of you reached out, grabbing his hand with both of yours.

“I lied,” you confessed, voice quiet and close, his pretty eyes on your lips. “I can’t cut your hand off. I’m not armed.”

The slow smile he gave you now was your favorite, somehow making the light in his eyes shine brighter. Your hands reluctantly let go of him as he shifted, but instead of moving away, Shanks touched his calloused fingers to your cheek.

“Your secret’s safe with me, sweetheart.”

Likes and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you so much!

a/n: I am obsessed with these two now. What the heck. I need Shanks to make fun of me like that 😅

Tag List: @shewrites02

Part 2

#shanks x reader #red haired shanks #x reader #reader insert #fem!reader #one piece x reader #one piece fics #turtletaub fics #follower celebration #fic requests #mine #fluff #one piece fluff #shanks fluff #shanks fics

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trungles · 4 months

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Cross-posting an essay I wrote for my Patreon since the post is free and open to the public.

Hello everyone! I hope you're relaxing as best you can this holiday season. I recently went to see Miyazaki's latest Ghibli movie, The Boy and the Heron, and I had some thoughts about it. If you're into art historical allusions and gently cranky opinions, please enjoy. I've attached a downloadable PDF in the Patreon post if you'd prefer to read it that way. Apologies for the formatting of the endnotes! Patreon's text posting does not allow for superscripts, which means all my notations are in awkward parentheses. Please note that this writing contains some mild spoilers for The Boy and the Heron.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 feature animated film The Boy and the Heron reads as an extended meditation on grief and legacy. The Master of a grand tower seeks a descendant to carry on his maddening duty, balancing toy blocks of magical stone upon which the entire fabric of his little pocket of reality rests. The world’s foundations are frail and fleeting, and can pass away into the cold void of space should he neglect to maintain this task. The Master’s desire to pass the torch undergirds much of the film’s narrative.

(Isle of the Dead. Arnold Böcklin. 1880. Oil on Canvas. Kunstmuseum. Basel, Switzerland.)

Arnold Böcklin, a Swiss Symbolist(1) painter, was born on October 16 in 1827, the same year the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church bought a plot of land in Florence from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold II, that had long been used for the burials of Protestants around Florence. It is colloquially known as The English Cemetery, so called because it was the resting place of many Anglophones and Protestants around Tuscany, and Böcklin frequented this cemetery—his workshop was adjacent and his infant daughter Maria was buried there. In 1880, he drew inspiration from the cemetery, a lone plot of Protestant land among a sea of Catholic graveyards, and began to paint what would be the first of six images entitled Isle of the Dead. An oil on canvas piece, it depicts a moody little island mausoleum crowned with a gently swaying grove of cypresses, a type of tree common in European cemeteries and some of which are referred to as arborvitae. A figure on a boat, presumably Charon, ferries a soul toward the island and away from the viewer.

(Photo of The English Cemetery in Florence. Samuli Lintula. 2006.)

The Isle of the Dead paintings varied slightly from version to version, with figures and names added and removed to suit the needs of the time or the commissioner. The painting was glowingly referenced and remained fairly popular throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The painting used to be inescapable in much of European popular culture. Professor Okulicz-Kozaryn, a philologist (someone with a deep interest in the ways language and cultural canons evolve)(2) observed that the painting, like many other works in its time, was itself iterative and became widely reiterated and referenced among its contemporaries. It became something like Romantic kitsch in the eyes of modern art critics, overwrought and excessively Byronic. I imagine Miyazaki might also resent a work of that level of manufactured ubiquity, as Miyazaki famously held Disney animated films in contempt (3). Miyazaki’s films are popularly aspirational to young animators and cartoonists, but gestures at imitation typically fall well short, often reducing Miyazaki’s weighty films to kitschy images of saccharine vibes and a lazy indulgence in a sort of empty magical domestic coziness. Being trapped in a realm of rote sentiment by an uncritical, unthoughtful viewership is its own Isle of Death.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

The Boy and the Heron follows a familiar narrative arc to many of Miyazaki’s other films: a child must journey through a magical and quietly menacing world in order to rescue their loved ones. This arc is an echo of Satsuki’s journey to find Mei in My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Chihiro’s journey to rescue her parents Spirited Away (2001). To better understand Miyazaki’s fixation with this particular character journey, it can be instructive to watch Lev Atamanov’s 1957 animated film, The Snow Queen (4)(5), a beautifully realized take on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 children’s story (6)(7). Mahito’s journey continues in this tradition, as the boy travels into a painted world to rescue his new stepmother from a mysterious tower.

Throughout the film, Miyazaki visually references Isle of the Dead. Transported to a surreal world, Mahito initially awakens on a little green island with a gated mausoleum crowned with cypress trees. He is accosted by hungry pelicans before being rescued by a fisherwoman named Kiriko. After a day of catching and gutting fish, Mahito wakes up under the fisherwoman’s dining table, surrounded by kokeshi—little wooden dolls—in the shapes of the old women who run Mahito’s family’s rural household. Mahito is told they must not be touched, as the kokeshi are wards set up for his protection. There is a popular urban legend associated with the kokeshi wherein they act as stand-ins for victims of infanticide, though there seems to be very little available writing to support this legend. Still, it’s a neat little trick that Miyazaki pulls, placing a stray reference to a local legend of unverifiable provenance that persists in the popular imagination, like the effect of fairy stories passed on through oral retellings, continually remolded each new iteration.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

Kiriko’s job in this strange landscape is to catch fish to nourish unborn spirits, the adorable floating warawara, before they can attempt to ascend on a journey into the world of the living. Their journey is thwarted by flocks of supernatural pelicans, who swarm the warawara and devour them. This seems to nod to the association of pelicans with death in mythologies around the world, especially in relationship to children (8). Miyazaki’s pelicans contemplate the passing of their generations as each successive generation seems to regress, their capacity to fulfill their roles steadily diminishing.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

As Mahito’s adventure continues, we find the landscapes changing away from Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead into more familiar Ghibli territories as we start to see spaces inspired by one of Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic mainstays, Naohisa Inoue and his explorations of the fantasy realms of Iblard. He might be most familiar to Ghibli enthusiasts as the background artists for the more fantastical elements of Whisper of the Heart (1995).

(Naohisa Inoue, for Iblard Jikan, 2007. Studio Ghibli.)

By the time we arrive at the climax of The Boy and the Heron, the fantasy island environment starts to resemble English takes on Italian gardens, the likes of which captivated illustrators and commercial artists of the early 20th century such as Maxfield Parrish. This appears to be a return to one of Böcklin’s later paintings, The Island of Life (1888), a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reaction to the overwhelming presence of Isle of the Dead in his life and career. The Island of Life depicts a little spot of land amid an ocean very like the one on which Isle of the Dead’s somber mausoleum is depicted, except this time the figures are lively and engaged with each other, the vegetation lush and colorful, replete with pink flowers and palm fronds.

(Island of Life. Arnold Böcklin. Oil on canvas. 1888. Kunstmuseum. Basel, Switzerland.)

In 2022, Russia’s State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg acquired the sixth and final Isle of the Dead painting. In the last year of his life, Arnold Böcklin would paint this image in collaboration with his son Carlo Böcklin, himself an artist and an architect. Arnold Böcklin spent three years painting the same image three times over at the site of his infant daughter’s grave, trapped on the Isle of the Dead. By the time of his death in 1901 at age 74, Böcklin would be survived by only five of his fourteen children. That the final Isle of the Dead painting would be a collaboration between father and son seemed a little ironic considering Hayao Miyazaki’s reticence in passing on his own legacy. Like the old Master in The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki finds himself with no true successors.

The Master of the Tower's beautiful islands of painted glass fade into nothing as Mahito, his only worthy descendant, departs to live his own life, fulfilling the thesis of Genzaburo Yoshino’s 1937 book How Do You Live?, published three years after Carlo Böcklin’s death. In evoking Yoshino and Böcklin’s works, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron suggests that, like his character the Master, Miyazaki himself must make peace with the notion that he has no heirs to his legacy, and that those whom he wished to follow in his footsteps might be best served by finding their own paths.

(Isle of the Dead. Arnold and Carlo Böcklin. Oil on canvas. 1901. The State Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg, Russia.)

INFORMAL ENDNOTES

1 - Symbolists are sort of tough to nail down. They were started as a literary movement to 1 distinguish themselves from the Decadents, but their manifesto was so vague that critics and academics fight about it to this day. The long and the short of it is that the Symbolists made generous use of a lot of metaphorical imagery in their work. They borrow a lot of icons from antiquity, echo the moody aesthetics from the Romantics, maintained an emphasis on figurative imagery more so than the Surrealists, and were only slightly more technically married to the trappings of traditionalist academic painters than Modernists and Impressionists. They're extremely vibes-forward.

2 - Okulicz-Kozaryn, Radosław. Predilection of Modernism for Variations. Ciulionis' Serenity among Different Developments of the Theme of Toteninsel. ACTA Academiae Artium Vilnensis 59. 2010. The article is incredibly cranky and very funny to read in parts. Contains a lot of observations I found to be helpful in placing Isle of the Dead within its context.

3 - "From my perspective, even if they are lightweight in nature, the more popular and common films still must be filled with a purity of emotion. There are few barriers to entry into these films-they will invite anyone in but the barriers to exit must be high and purifying. Films must also not be produced out of idle nervousness or boredom, or be used to recognise, emphasise, or amplify vulgarity. And in that context, I must say that I hate Disney's works. The barrier to both the entry and exit of Disney films is too low and too wide. To me, they show nothing but contempt for the audience." from Miyazaki's own writing in his collection of essays, Starting Point, published in 2014 from VIZ Media.

4 - You can watch the movie here in its original Russian with English closed captions here.

5 If you want to learn more about the making of Atamanoy's The Snow Queen, Animation Obsessive wrote a neat little article about it. It's a good overview, though I have to gently disagree with some of its conclusions about the irony of Miyazaki hating Disney and loving Snow Queen, which draws inspiration from Bambi. Feature film animation as we know it hadonly been around a few decades by 1957, and I find it specious, particularly as a comic artistand author, to see someone conflating an entire form with the character of its content, especially in the relative infancy of the form. But that's just one hot take. The rest of the essay is lovely.

6 - Miyazaki loves this movie. He blurbed it in a Japanese re-release of it in 2007.

7 - Julia Alekseyeva interprets Princess Mononoke as an iteration of Atamanov's The Snow Queen, arguing that San, the wolf princess, is Miyazaki's homage to Atamanoy's little robber girl character.

8 - Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods And Goddesses. Routledge Dictionaries. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. 2005.

#hayao miyazaki #the boy and the heron #how do you live #arnold böcklin #carlo böcklin #symbolists #symbolism #animation #the snow queen #lev atamanov #naohisa inoue #the endnotes are very very informal aksjlsksakjd #sorry to actual essayists

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justalittlerandomartist · 3 months

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Daddy’s Little Monster

•Alastor x teen! daughter! reader

•Platonic, you sickos

•What if… Alastor had a daughter who wanted to be a serial killer too?

You woke up to a red sky. There was a great pain in your head, and your vision was blurry. Once you were fully oriented, you stood up. What was this place? It was like prison, and god, it smelled awful. When you looked up at the pentagram over the sky, it dawned on you. You had died. You were in hell.

It was no surprise why you were in hell. You weren’t the best human. You indulged in a bit of cannibalism, and wanted to be an assassin when you were older. Older. That was something you’ll never be. You were just 13, thirteen and dead. However, how you died was a mystery. You had no memory of how you died.

Could it be you were murdered? No, you hadn’t made many enemies. Maybe fell from somewhere high? No, you were too scared of heights to be anywhere high. Hit by a car? You were always careless crossing the street. Yes, that had to be it.

You looked down at your new form. You had bright blue skin, and dark blue hair(She kinda looks like Ruby Gillman). The hair in your pigtails was now in thick, tentacle, like strands. Your ears were similar to fins, and your limbs were long and stretchy. You were some sort of kraken.

It made sense you were a sea creature though. You had always found yourself fascinated with the sea and the animals that inhabit that. You wished that one day you would be able to dive in there, and never have to return to the surface. You had longed to be down there with the fish and the animals. It felt like home more than the surface ever did.

You felt…at peace in hell, like you wanted to stay here. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but it felt like home. But your friends…everyone you left behind. Wouldn’t they miss you? For a moment in time, you wanted to go back. Go back to tell your best friend you loved her one last time. You felt her pain and her tears, and it broke your heart. But you can’t change the past. All you can do is love her and remember.

You decide to walk around your new environment. The buildings look old and run down, and people are fighting. You pass a porn studio, and laugh to yourself. Hell seemed like the kind of place where a giant porn studio would be a normal occurrence. Something catches your eye. A vending machine for drugs. You think about it for a second, but decide not to get anything.

You walk near a place called Cannibal Town, and saw some demons eating a guy. You wanted to join in, the taste of human flesh lingering in your brain, fueling your desires. In front of you was a singing demon, with a resemblance to a porcelain doll. She seemed to improv her whole song, and it amazed you. You loved to sing, and was impressed by her skills. You wanted to tell her, but you would feel bad for interrupting her song.

After exploring hell, you found a street corner to cozy up in. As your first day in hell concluded, you thought to yourself ‘is eternal damnation as bad as I thought?’

______________________________________

•Hi! My names Vicky, I’m a sucker for platonic au’s. My head cannons take a while, but if my requests are open, I might make your idea for a fanfic, so be sure to ask.

•This was fun to write and it is not done. I’m just tired.

•Part 2 •Part 3 •Part 4 •Part 5

#hazbin #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel #alastor #alastor the radio demon #radio demon #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x reader platonic #alastor x reader #alastor x reader platonic #Alastor x teen! reader #fanfiction #platonic #platonic x reader

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florencemtrash · 7 days

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The Shadowsinger & The Inkbird: Chapter Twenty

Summary: Y/n's clairvoyance is a gift from the Mother, but it feels more like a curse. With the power to gain knowledge through touch alone, Y/n holes herself up in The Alcove and hopes her powers and parentage will remain a secret. But things will change after the Summer Solstice ball and a chance encounter with a certain Shadowsinger.

Warnings: Canon typical graphic depictions

The Shadowsinger & The Inkbird: Masterlist

Masterlist of Masterlists

You were running on coffee and willpower, and both were in short supply. You cradled what you promised would be your last cup in your hands, feeling your fried nerves inch closer to bursting into flames with every bitter sip.

Azriel had one arm looped protectively around your waist, propping you up against his side like an overworked bookend. You both sat huddled over the map you’d spent the last day and night laboring over until you could picture every stark line pressed behind shuttered eyelids like an afterimage. Until your cramped hands shook while clutching the mug like a vice.

Feyre, Rhys, Mor, Nesta, Lucien, and Cassian similarly hovered over the innocuous sheet of paper. Pale parchment glow flickering over expressions of intense thought.

You traced the outline of the lake, its form vaguely star shaped and pointing abstractly towards the north, south, east, and west.

“Here.” You tapped the northeast edge where a greyed out huddle of shapes formed the forest and a collection of scribbles marked the Death god’s home close to the waters. The lines swirled in your mind like a thousand snakes locked in battle, swallowing each other whole and getting eaten alive in an endless, vicious cycle.

Koschei’s portion of the continent lay flat and unassuming, seemingly vulnerable with the flatlands peering at his back with limitless entry points for enemies from the Continent. But the seductive ease of access through that region was a guise. Koschei was a death god, and a powerful one at that. Magic grew in and out of the soil there and what walked those woods had a strange habit of toeing the line between life and death.

The western corners swam in seas of grasslands, flat and open and unprotected save for the expanse of water a mile wide.

And the lake. The lake was the most curious thing of all. A black shape on paper, still and foreboding.

You knew from Andrian’s memories that enchanted swans flocked there — women layered with curses that kept them bound to the region in animal form — but nothing else. No creatures floundered in the salty dark. No animals came to drink from it as if they could sense the power that tainted it with decay.

“The boundaries of the Koschei’s power lie somewhere along here.” You pointed to the lazy line sketched down. “But I wouldn’t trust it. When Andrian was first sent off from the lake he crossed the plains towards one of the harbor towns on the coast and he felt that Koschei’s influence scaled with the distance away from the source of his power.”

“Any weak points? Places we could slip in unnoticed?” Feyre’s eyes scanned the page, reimagining your weak swirls of ink into something more layered. Something with more meaning that could only come about from the mind of an artist and a warrior.

You pointed to one of the star points and then to another toward the south. “Here and here. Don’t ask me how and don’t ask me why but these are the only two blind spots. Andrian used to sneak away from Koschei’s house to these two places.”

“To do what?” Cassian asked. He lumbered towards the back of the war room, easily peering over everyone’s shoulders to the flattened parchment and eyeing the wooden pieces strewn across the map, his own piece being tipped with a glistening red stone.

“To plan his escape.”

A hush fell over the room, thick and suffocating.

The boy had never succeeded.

Feyre’s lips flattened to a pale line, the air around her reverberating with heat as the temperature in the room rose — a drop of Autumn’s power magnified. She nodded to the second map, this one gathered from Azriel’s contacts on the Continent. Whereas your map had laid out Koschei’s land in detail, Azriel’s was suspiciously empty where the lake was concerned. The two fit together like puzzle pieces. “What’s the nearest harbor town?”

“Tournnes.” Azriel replied without needing to look down. You’d memorized one map, he’d memorized the other. “It’s a small fishing village located twenty-three miles to the southwest. Most of the inhabitants are men that come and go with the season and travel west from Slairn and Friesieg. It will be empty this time of year.” The fish would have gone south in search of warmer waters. Even here the Sidra had turned frigid, crusts of ice lapping up against grey sand shores.

Cassian shook his head, examining the map with a scowl. “There’s poor coverage getting from Tournnes to Koschei. And an abandoned town’s too obvious a place to hide any soldiers. It’d be better to come in from the east, through the woods.”

“Then we’d need to take the long way around Koschei’s territory.” Lucien argued back, “Our soldiers would need to trek through foreign lands for weeks and we’d lose any advantage Tarquin could give us by staying close to the coast.”

“You can’t trust those woods,” you gasped, your eyes flashing with fear that didn’t wholly belong to you.

Never enter those woods. Henna had once warned her Andrian. Never. Do you understand me?

Azriel tightened his hold on you, pressing his lips into your hair to brush against your ear. “Breathe, my love. Breathe.”

You hadn’t realized you’d stopped.

It was a heavy burden carrying the memories of others. Like a weight tied around your belly that hadn’t been properly woven into flesh. Something both part and apart from you. And you’d been feeling too many of Andrian’s memories in the past week since his death.

Silence flung itself over growing irritation and anxiety as everyone circled back to the same conclusion.

They wouldn’t be able to bring their armies abroad. And with limited numbers, brute strength would only go so far when forced to bring a fight to a foreign land against a foreign god. This would be decided by few. It would be as intimate as lovers. As ruthless as enemies.

“There’s still the other plan.” Nesta reminded them, glancing first at Feyre and you with the faintest of nods.

“I hate that plan, Nes.” Cassian gripped the back of her wing-backed chair and she reached up to take his hand in her own. She looked like a queen in her own right — harsh, pragmatic, unwavering. And he her mirror — a roguish knight, rough and wild and raw.

“I know. Unfortunately for you, it’s the best one we’ve got.”

“It’s the only one we’ve got.” Mor said with a sigh, rubbing her temples to alleviate the ache there. “We’re asking for a blood bath one way or the other.”

“Ione is still with us.” Rhys squeezed his cousin’s knee. “Without her, he can be killed.”

“But for how long, Rhys? How long until he finds someone else? Some other way?”

The question hung in the air like an ax ready to fall. An invisible clock ticking its way towards doom. Koschei had read the book’s contents. He had to know the secret to freeing himself was sheltered in Ione’s veins. So long as she was alive and breathing she was a threat as much as she was a tantalizing prize for him to tear his teeth into.

Feyre’s fingernails clicked on the glossy tabletop, eyes narrowed in on that splash of black on paper. Through the golden string tied to her lower ribs, she felt the tug of her mate’s silent agreement. Her eyes flickered upward for a brief moment, as if she could see through the layers of the House to the skies above. “For as long as we have Ione, we have the upper hand. But we can’t rely on it forever.” She looked at you, “ We go with the first plan. It will have to be enough.”

You shivered.

Four years ago, when the Day Court had first opened its borders to foreigners from other Courts, you’d encountered a male in the market. He’d been young and reckless and glamoured himself to live amongst the humans for six months. In that time, he’d learned their version of magic — the sleight of hand tricks and elaborate games of misdirection humans played on one another. Caped entertainers bedazzling crowds with obvious moves, while the real work happened just out of frame.

You thought of him now. You pictured him in the marketplace as he made a hand-painted playing card disappear from his hand into the fold of his suit jacket, only to reappear under an overturned teacup.

Yes.

It would have to be enough.

The crisp blade flashed in the dull light as you moved your feet back and forth in a practiced dance.

Left, left, right, duck, keep your wrist straight and slice up. Just like Azriel had instructed you. He stood off the narrow mat, hazel eyes tracing every slow movement of yours with a critical gaze.

“Practice makes permanence.” He’d reminded you earlier. “Get it right first, then we’ll worry about speed.”

Magic hovered over the House of Wind’s training gym, warping the air like a soap bubble as it shielded you from the frigid rain. Even so, the scent of petrichor and the cleanliness of frosted wind hung close to warn of the storm churning its way down from the north, carrying with it the promise of rainfall or the first true flakes of snow.

How poetic that winter should come with death chasing its heels while you were learning a dozen ways to kill a man.

“Here.” Azriel took your wrist in a loose grip, arching your arm and sticking the point of the knife into the training dummy’s jugular. Hay crinkled and burst out from the burlap covering instead of blood and you stepped away, locating the points in the liver, the lungs, the heart, the throat, under the arms, and more. Gruesome things made digestible by the motionless, fake body propped up on wooden poles.

You didn’t need to imagine what it would feel like for your blade to meet flesh.

Your arms ached. Hot, unfamiliar stretches of muscle trembling while slick with sweat. You could taste salt on your tongue as Azriel repeated himself.

“Be precise. Be quick if you can. Then run like hell.”

Incapacitation and speed. Those were the only two things you could rely on if things went south on the Continent.

Precise. Quick. Run.

“Emphasis on run,” You muttered beneath your breath. You adjusted your feet to match Azriel’s stance, feeling the strength of his muscles close to your body and imagining some of that power seeping into the ground for you to drink up.

The corner of his mouth twitched, then rose in a smile. “Exactly.” He stepped in, hands twisting your hips to be straight and then drifting up to your wrist. “Too much.” He corrected your bones with a feather-light touch. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

It should have been romantic. Him touching you like this with his front pressed against your back and his breath sliding over your skin as he taught you to wield a knife. Instead his insides churned relentlessly. Visions of you, blood-splattered and motionless on the ground, flashed through his mind. He’d be damned if he let that happen again.

You practiced on him next. Blunt, stone knife gripped in your hands as he moved in slow-motion. Azriel must have had everything custom made for you. The balance felt right in your hands, the movement as fluid as your awkward limbs could manage.

You clasped a hand around the back of his neck, dragging him forward as you swung up.

Where the head goes, the body will follow.

He didn’t so much as grunt as the stone wedged itself into his ribs.

You locked eyes with him and saw his pupils blown wide as a doe’s. “Good.” He murmured. “Again.”

On and on you went for hours, Azriel’s panic fueling the training he put you through, as if he could fit a hundred years of combat into a handful of hours.

You grunted when Azriel easily flipped you over onto your back, a scarred hand catching the nape of your neck so your head wouldn’t slam into the floor. The knife slipped out from your sweaty fingers, skittering away and disappearing beneath one of the weapons racks along the wall. You breathed heavily beneath him, feeling the grit of the ground and the sweat sliding into your hair and the leather brushing your chest with every breath he took.

In a real fight, Azriel would have killed you a thousand times over and he knew it. There was not a single moment where you could have saved yourself.

You saw the tell tale flicker in his eyes, the tensing of his jaw before he gritted his teeth and swore beneath his breath.

You felt shame seep into your stomach again. “Az—”

“I want you to take my memories,” he said. “Everything I’ve learned over 500 years.”

Metal whispered against leather as a tendril of shadow retrieved the knife and slid it into the thigh sheath Azriel had tied around your legs only hours ago. It felt strange to have such an unfamiliar weight against your thighs. To know that only leather kept the wicked blade from slicing you to the bone.

“We’ve been over this before, Azriel. I can take however many memories I want from you until I can picture every way to take down an enemy in my mind’s eye. But that doesn’t mean my body will obey or follow through correctly. Knowing things mentally isn’t the same thing as knowing things physically.”

Azriel huffed in frustration, dropping one hand to your waist like he often did and gripping the flesh there to ground him.

“If we had more time—”

“When this is over we’ll have more time.”

If I make it.

Because if there was anyone who would survive what was to come. It was Azriel. And you could find a great deal of comfort in that.

Azriel must have read your doubt because his eyes hardened and his hands came up to cup your jaw. “We will have more time. We’ll have time for everything, do you understand me?”

“Like what?”

“Whatever you want. We’ll travel the Courts. I’ll take you dancing and—”

“You’ll teach me a dozen new ways to kill someone?”

“Exactly.”

“Should I start keeping a tally?”

“If that would help, then yes.” He dipped his head down, kissing you firmly on the lips, the taste salty and warm to the touch. Kissing you came easy now. Touches were a comforting drug he craved daily.

“If things go wrong—” He whispered, flicking a strand of hair out of your eyes. “Promise me you’ll find me.”

You blinked up at him, tracing fragments of gold in his eyes.

“Find you,” you echoed, your voice tinged with sadness. “You’re not going to convince me to run?”

He laughed bitterly. “I know you too well, my love. You wouldn’t listen even if I did. If anything, it would make you want to stay and fight even more, just to prove me wrong.“ “Then is this some reverse psychology? You tell me the opposite of what you want, so I end up doing what you intended all along?”

“You’re thinking too deeply about this.” He slid his arms around the small of your back, dropping his weight until you were flush against him. Until you could feel his heart beating beneath his skin in time to yours. “Find me, so I can protect you. And so if anything happens, we won’t be alone. I want you to promise me.”

You caressed his cheek, the coarse bandages he’d wound around your wrists and knuckles scratching the skin of his jaw and the faint stubble that had grown there over sleepless nights. “I promise I’ll find you, Azriel. We’re better together anyways.”

He could never disagree with you. He lifted you back onto your feet, kissing your forehead. “Three more drills, then we’ll be done for the day.”

He made you run five. The bastard.

You’d dreamed of what might come. Nightmares filled with glassy-eyed children and skeletal forests where the dead roamed free. A black lake with stones of bleached bone to fill your lungs and choke the life out of you.

You wanted to make Azriel proud. You wanted to be the kind of warrior who could match him physically, not just mentally. The kind of female he’d never have to worry about protecting in that way. But violence had never been beaten into your bones and you could only hope that the skills you did possess would see you through to the end.

You and Azriel would make it. You’d all make it.

Some way.

Somehow.

Then there would be time for everything you had ever wanted and everything you’d never had the courage to ask for.

You woke up to a world shivering beneath a dusting of snow. Frost creeped up the windowsill, trying to slither inside before the House’s magic burned it away. A grey, ashen sky hung low over the mountains, mist blowing over and gathering in valleys until they were transformed into pools of smoke.

So this is it. You thought wearily, tasting the change in the air. Winter’s finally here to choke the world into submission.

You burrowed further under Azriel’s wings, chasing the heat that rolled off his skin. When you looked up at his eyes they were already trained on the weather, some similar tangle of thoughts running through his mind that had his grip around your waist tightening.

“The other death gods. Have you met any of them, Az?” You whispered your question into the hollow of his neck, feeling the blood rushing beneath your lips until he answered.

“I’ve met a fair few. The Bone Carver, Stryga, and Bryaxis joined our side in the final battle against Hybern and Nesta was equivalent in power when she first emerged from the Cauldron.”

“Nesta?” You asked questionably.

She was a collection of sharp edges wrapped in silk and cunning, but a death god?

Azriel smiled ever so slightly. “You didn’t know her then, but she was a terror to behold. You could feel her presence in a room like a knife in your back or a flame licking at your heels so hold it starts to freeze. Only Cassian was foolish and lovestruck enough to approach her at the time.”

You tried to imagine it — Cassian’s wild, borderline arrogant mannerisms going toe-to-toe against Nesta’s magnified sharp grace. “That sounds about right.”

“Feyre knows the most about the death gods. Has come face to face with the most. Rhys sent her into the Weaver’s cabin to retrieve her engagement ring — don’t give me that look, my love, I don’t understand it either — and she’s the one who convinced The Bone Carver and Bryaxis to fight for us.”

“Feyre has a penchant for endearing herself to monsters.”

Azriel smirked, pearly teeth flashing. “You have no idea.” Then he said something that stuck with you. “The Bone Carver was especially close to her.”

Anytime the Bone Carver — Thanatos — was mentioned, you could only think of Bethsevah. The one person who had ever looked upon his true face and never flinched.

“How so?”

Shadows swarmed around his ears, as much a sign of his thinking as it was a sign that whispers beyond your own understanding were reaching him.

“When Feyre met with the Bone Carver, he made a bargain that he’d only fight for her if she could descend into the Court of Nightmares and bring back an enchanted mirror without going mad. Feyre said she saw her true form when she looked into her reflection, and that it was only by accepting this form that she was able to keep the madness at bay. The Bone Carver was impressed with her and pledged his loyalty to her from then on.” Azriel shook his head, wings flaring out in another sign of his thinking. “It never made sense to me why a being like him would even make that bargain to begin with.”

“Even death gods can be surprised. We should consider ourselves lucky.”

“It wasn’t just that though. I was watching when he died. He… he turned his face up to the field at Feyre and he smiled at her. It felt like a bittersweet ending to a story I didn’t know. Like he was saying goodbye to more than just this world.”

You draped your arm over his chest, tracing the black ink swirling across his chest and over his shoulders like ocean waves. The Bone Carver was more myth than legend to the few fae that had known of his existence and you knew with each passing century his story would be steadily wiped from the earth like wind shaving down stone. His name would become a whisper. His story, and Beth’s, a tragedy for no one but the stars to weep to.

But you were still here, and your time with Bethsevah’s book had left you with no small amount of fondness for him. For now you would still be able to whisper his true name.

“Thanatos.” You said. “He loved this world and the people in it. He sacrificed his life for it. I think he had many things he wanted to say goodbye to.”

“To Thanatos then.” Azriel raised an invisible cup towards the ceiling of his bedroom, silk sheets sliding down his arms.

“To Thanatos,” you echoed.

You eventually went through the morning motions together —Azriel helped lace up the back of your dress, and you buttoned up his shirts, careful to avoid the fragile membrane of his wings as you stood at his back.

He tugged you away from the bedroom door at the last moment, your questioning eyes softening when he cradled your face in his hands and stole one last kiss in the privacy of your room, murmuring "Beautiful," against the crown of your freshly brushed hair.

"Do the others know you're such a hopeless romantic?" You asked, finally opening the door and breaking the spell of privacy.

Before Azriel could answer, Cassian blew past the room, shockingly quiet for his mountainous size. "Yes, we all know," he shouted before disappearing down the hall.

Ione stood proud and tall in front of the windows, grey eyes narrowed at the Sidra as it wound through the valley like a snake. Cassian slid into the space beside her and handed her her cane. She knew instinctively where the warrior stood and where his hand reached out towards her. She took the cane without the second glance. A golden lion’s head roared from atop its wooden post, Ione’s fingers resting squarely between its glistening teeth as she leaned experimentally on the new device. Cassian had ordered it custom for her and she knew that hidden within the sleeve of glistening redwood was an iron rod forged in enchanted flames that rendered it near unbreakable.

“Careful.” She reminded Cassian when she caught him staring for too long. “This body may be different, but I can still bring you to your knees.”

Cassian chuckled, “I don’t doubt that.”

She slammed the cane against the ground once. Twice. Testing its strength and finding it worthy. “Do you think it will happen soon?”

This waiting — it was beginning to grate on her nerves. This foreboding calm that threatened to fall away into chaos and bloodshed. She almost wished she were living three years into the future, when she was finally done healing from her wounds and the future had faded into the background of her life once more.

“If I could see into the future, I would not be here right now waiting.”

“And yet here we are.” Ione sighed, shoulders rising and falling elegantly beneath a wrinkled but slender neck.

Cassian would have said more had Feyre and Rhys not entered the room together, bruises layered beneath their eyes as they plastered on bright smiles for their family, tension visible through the cracks in their porcelain teeth.

The Inner Circle had assembled in their entirety at the request of their High Lord and High Lady. There was no holiday to be celebrated. No birthdays or anniversaries or special occasions. The fare that had been laid out on the table was simple and everyone filled their plates before spilling out across the sofas and the armchairs or carving out a space on one of Rhysand’s expensive hand-woven rugs. There would be no special meal around the new table devoid of scratches and watermarks and the passage of time and love. This was their family, and for their family it was the company that put finery to shame.

Elain was a flutter of movement in and out of the kitchen, shepherding pots of tea and fruit tarts before Lucien finally caught her around the waist and made her rest. The House was equally restless. The lights strung above the fireplace mantle flickered like lantern flies.

Mor sat with Emerie’s wings draped around her shoulders like a cape and Gwyn sat on the floor, hugging her knees close to her chest as she rested her head against the Illyrian female’s knee. To no one’s surprise, you and Azriel clung to the corner of the room, content to watch everyone’s laughter with your arm subtly looped around his.

He still hasn’t told her, I see. Emerie noted, watching your smile stretch into place when Azriel leaned close to whisper in your ear.

Does it matter? Mor teased, kissing Emerie’s nose reverently. The Illyrian’s cheeks turned warm. Emerie had not been granted the freedom to explore romance to the same degree as Mor, something she’d worried about when they first started their courtship. But if anyone asked the blonde, she’d tell them it drove her wild to see how such simple gestures could reduce the fearsome warrior to a puddle, even now. Mor tucked herself into Emerie’s side, throwing her long legs over the armrest. It’s probably a good thing. If they could speak to each other like this, we’d never hear from them again.

Emerie laughed into Mor’s golden hair.

Conversations rose and fell. Plates emptied and clicked as they were laid out on the coffee table.

It was a simple peace they welcomed with open arms.

They didn’t hear the faintest thud coming from above their heads.

You smiled when one of Azriel’s shadows wove themselves into your hair, tickling the sensitive skin behind your ear and along your neck.

“Sorry,” Azriel whispered, trying and failing to draw them back to him for the nth time that day. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them.” They’d been especially touchy as of late, nipping at your heels like a litter of puppies vying for attention or hiding in your pockets. It was a mixture of Azriel’s own feelings that spurred them on and their own desire to protect what they’d claimed as theirs.

“It’s alright, Azriel. I like having them around.”

They hummed amongst themselves, happy to see you so pleased. Sometimes, Azriel wondered if you’d be able to learn to listen to them as well. To tease apart that secret language he couldn’t begin to describe.

Maybe you were listening to them now without even realizing it.

Maybe that’s why you and Azriel were the only ones whose eyes snapped towards the hallway before the first creak of wood sounded throughout the House.

The shuffling of a new, unfamiliar set of feet down the stairs had the hair on the back of your neck rising and crackling with energy.

It wasn’t Jurian. It wasn’t loud enough to be Jurian. He so rarely descended from the attic that he made a habit of making his presence known, tired feet shuffling along the rugged staircase with measured drags.

You walked over to your brother and tugged on the back of his shirt. “Jurian—”

“That’s not Jurian.” Lucien said with bated breath. He was the third person in the room to hear the sound.

He’d checked on his friends less than a handful of hours ago. Jurian had been as he always was — weary but hopeful as one hand had clenched the bundle of morphine and the other had leaned against the food cart Lucien had carried up to the top floor.

And Vassa… Vassa had been uncharacteristically quiet, slouching against the wall of her gilded cage, raw skin and thin feathers trembling with her haggard breath as she slept.

“You should come down.” Lucien had said. “You deserve a break.”

But Jurian had only shook his head and flashed a tight smile. “As much as I would love to bless you with my presence, I won’t leave her like this. But one day, my friend, we’ll both walk down those steps together and have a proper celebration. I promise you.”

Vassa came down the steps.

Alone.

Naked.

Shivering.

You eyed the window where the mid-afternoon sun beat down on a frosted city.

It was the middle of the day… and Vassa was human.

You clutched Lucien’s arm, fingernails digging through his cotton shirt before he could take another step forward. Silence suffocated the room. There was something deeply wrong with the cursed queen. She trembled like a newborn fawn unceremoniously dumped into the world, her skin puckered and pock-marked from where she’d picked at old scabs and opened new wounds. The whole array hung from bones so thin they may as well have belonged to a bird.

“Vassa…” Lucien’s voice broke on her name.

A path of bloody feathers trailed behind her.

She grasped at strands of her fiery red hair and tugged. Hard. You focused all your energy on keeping the food in your stomach when strands fell through her bloody fingers and saliva rose in your mouth.

“I’m so sorry, Lucien. I can’t… It won’t stop.” Her voice, which had once been beautiful, grated your ears. “My skin. It feels like I’m crawling out of it.”

“Vassa.” Lucien held out his hands, showing her they were empty. “Where’s Jurian?” He would come down. He would help her in ways only he was capable of.

“I don’t… I don’t know…”

“Where’s Jurian?”

At the second mention of her lover’s name, Vassa broke down crying. Fat, ugly tears streaking down tan cheeks that had turned sallow and grey. She wiped them away, fingers dripping. There was a deep, unyielding hunger evident in every stutter of her body as her eyes raked across the room. You flinched when those milky, teal eyes passed over you… and landed on Ione.

Elderly, painfully human, Ione.

Vassa’s left eye twitched and Azriel had only enough time to tackle you to the ground and cover your body with his own before the mortal queen burst into flames.

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter ->

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Author's Note:

^^ Visual depiction of how I've felt the last week like what in the world? I'm getting enough sleep I swear but every morning I feel like I'm dragging a two ton boulder behind me until I get a sip of that bitter goodness. Ugh. Hope y'all are resting better than I am.

Anyways, I know it's been a while since I posted, but the chapter is here! Whoop! And I hope you enjoyed :) As always, feedback is appreciated and welcome if you have burning things you need to get off your chest (doesn't even have to be SSIB-related honestly my inbox is there).

#the shadowsinger and the inkbird #azriel x reader #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x y/n #azriel x you #acotar fanfiction #azriel x reader slowburn #azriel x reader angst

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latanyalove · 21 days

Text

Stay With Me

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

Pairing: Chopper x Motherly Y/N (Zoro x Y/N)

Taglist: @being-worthy, @marsilis, @star-yawnznn

A/n: Part One is Here! WC: 4,451. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing this! <3

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

Upon waking up, you heard the sound of the sea and felt the warmth of the fur on your body.

You opened your eyes to meet the sea stretching out before you, its waves gently crashing against the shore. The warmth of the fur on your body reminded you of the cozy comfort of when Chopper used to turn his fur into a protective ball of fluff.

When you heard grunting, you fully woke up and realized something was wrong. You quickly realized that the fur on your body was bloodied.

You slowly pushed yourself off so you could see what animal you were on, and to your horror, you found yourself sitting on top of a wounded reindeer, its body covered in bloodstains.

You then recognized the hat that the reindeer was wearing.

It was a vibrant red top hat with a black trim, adorned with a white cross hanging from the tip.

"Chopper?" You muttered, your voice barely a whisper.

It was as if the reindeer had stopped in his tracks as he turned his head around to look at you.

As Chopper stared back at you with his gentle brown eyes, a mix of confusion and pain evident in his expression, you realized that he must have been injured while trying to rescue you.

"Y/N?" A voice whispered from a cell you quickly past by.

You recognized that voice straight away, turning back to look inside the cell. It was Tony Tony Chopper, his small frame huddled in a corner, his eyes filled with fear and hope as he saw you.

"Chopper!" you exclaimed, rushing to the cell and reaching through the bars to hold his trembling hand. "I found you. We're getting out of here."

You were shocked when you saw how beaten up Chopper was. His fur was matted with blood, and his limbs trembled with pain as he weakly clung to your hand.

You then remembered how you had risked everything to rescue Chopper from that place. The memories flooded back as you held his fur tight, unable to bear losing him again.

"Y/N! You're finally awake! Don't worry, we're almost home," Chopper reassured with a weak smile.

You looked ahead to see the Thousand Sunny docked by the sea, its vibrant red and yellow sails billowing in the breeze. Relief washed over you as you realized that your daring rescue mission had been successful and that you and Chopper were finally safe.

"How long did I pass out for?" You asked hoarsely.

"Hmm, for about an hour now, I was able to stabilise both of our injuries with the first aid box that you brought," Chopper stated, starting to walk again.

"One hour," you replied surprised but didn't have any energy to express it. "You carried me for one hour? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because you looked really tired and I wanted to do the saving this time," Chopper said.

"Chopper, you know I would risk my life at any time for you?"

"Yeah I know because you're my mom right?"

You smiled at his words, "Yes, it's because you're my son."

"We've both done enough saving for today," you laughed. "Why don't we wake up your dad to carry us the rest of the way home?"

"My dad? You mean Zoro?"

"Of course and now that you've let me rest, my energy might be enough to throw him a message."

You felt the energy in your body and you formed a spear out of water in your hand. With a flick of your wrist, you launched the spear towards the Thousand Sunny, creating a loud splash as it pierced through the air and landed where Zoro would always sleep at this time.

"I think he got the message, you can drop me now," you said, gently patting Chopper's side. Chopper obediently lowered you to the ground, his eyes filled with gratitude and love as he turned back to his human point and nuzzled against your stomach.

As you weakly placed your hand on top of Chopper's head, tears of relief filled your eyes.

"We're going to be okay," you muttered to Chopper, your voice filled with a mixture of exhaustion and gratitude.

Chopper looked up at you with his big, teary eyes and replied, "Yes, we are. And it's all thanks to you, Mom. You're the strongest person I know."

You quickly wiped your tears while hugging Chopper, grateful for his words. "And you're the bravest little reindeer I know," you whispered.

Suddenly you heard snoring and you smiled, looking at your chest to see Chopper sleeping peacefully.

Just like his father, you thought.

It wasn't long before you fell asleep as well, as the gentle rocking of the waves lulled you into a peaceful state of slumber. . . .

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

Zoro was abruptly awakened by the loud splash and the spear landing near him. Confused and slightly annoyed, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

When Zoro got a closer look, he realized it was your spear that had woken him up. However, as he looked around, he couldn't see you anywhere in sight. He quickly stood up, scanning the area with a sense of concern and wondering where you could have gone.

Zoro's heart skipped a beat as he saw the once solid water spear dissolve into liquid and form the words "come get us you idiot" with an arrow pointing in one direction. It was a clear message, and Zoro wasted no time, sprinting in the indicated direction, determined to find you and Chopper.

How am I the idiot when you sneaked out to help Chopper by yourself? He thought as he jumped off the ship and followed the arrow.

After a few minutes, Zoro found two figures in the distance, lying on the floor, with the arrow pointing directly at them.

As Zoro approached the figures, his heart sank. It was you and Chopper, lying on the ground, motionless. Panic surged through him as he dropped to his knees and frantically checked for signs of life, praying that he hadn't arrived too late.

Your eyes then slowly opened, and you smirked, "Took you long enough when you just had to follow an arrow, idiot," you teased, relieved to see Zoro by your side.

Zoro looked terrified as he looked at both you and Chopper, his eyes filled with a mix of relief and anger. "You scared the hell out of me," he muttered, his voice trembling. "Don't you ever do something like that again."

"Sorry, but at least we're alive, right?" you teased, trying to lighten the mood. Zoro's stern expression softened slightly, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I guess that's something," he replied, his voice still filled with worry.

He quickly took Chopper, who was still asleep, into his arms, cradling the little reindeer protectively. Zoro's eyes shifted between you and Chopper, his worry evident in his gaze as he whispered, "Thank goodness you're both safe."

"I'm okay to walk," you started, trying to get up.

"But you're not going to," Zoro said firmly, adjusting Chopper to be on one side.

He gently placed his arm behind your back and positioned you against his chest, holding you in place, creating a warm and comforting embrace that drew you close to his chest, making you feel safe and cherished.

You closed your eyes, feeling a sense of relief wash over you as you rested your head against Zoro's neck. The steady rise and fall of his chest, coupled with the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat, provided a comforting lullaby that eased your worries and allowed you to fully relax in his embrace.

"Are you sure I'm not heavy?" you questioned as your eyes started to close, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling in.

Zoro chuckled softly, his voice filled with tenderness, "You and Chopper are as light as two feathers to me. Just rest, I've got you."

You nodded in agreement, feeling Zoro slowly rise from the sandy ground beneath you. His strong arms held you securely as he effortlessly lifted you up, careful not to disturb Chopper's peaceful slumber.

As he stood tall, you couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of gratitude for his unwavering presence and protectiveness.

As Zoro began to walk, his steady footstep on the sand lulled you into a peaceful slumber. The gentle sway of his movements and the comforting warmth of his embrace created a soothing rhythm that eased your tired mind and allowed sleep to claim you completely. . . .

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

Zoro found his way back to the ship with an uncanny sense of direction, effortlessly navigating through the winding paths of the island. It was as if an invisible compass guided him, leading him back to safety without any hesitation or detours for once.

Usopp, who had been keeping watch on the ship, let out a gasp as he spotted Zoro emerging from the horizon.

As Zoro reached the ship, Usopp's eyes widened in astonishment as he witnessed the sight of Zoro carrying you and Chopper in his arms, both of you peacefully asleep. Usopp's voice trembled with disbelief as he exclaimed, "Zoro, is that really you?"

"Where did you find them?" Usopp asked in awe as Zoro stepped onto the ship, cradling you and Chopper in his arms.

Zoro's gaze softened as he replied, "I found them on the beach, exhausted and in need of rest. Don't worry, they're safe now."

With a grateful smile, Usopp nodded and stepped aside, allowing Zoro to make his way to the doctor's office, which was also Chopper's room.

As Zoro gently laid you and Chopper on the comfortable couch, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief knowing that you were finally in a safe and peaceful place.

He looked over at the both of you, his eyes filled with a mixture of affection and concern, silently vowing to protect you both no matter what.

"So she's finally back?" a voice that Zoro recognized as Luffy said at the door, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of you and Chopper peacefully asleep on the couch.

Zoro nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, as he replied, "Yeah, they're safe now. Just need some rest."

Zoro quickly left the room with Luffy, his hand covering Luffy's mouth to prevent any loud questions that could potentially wake you and Chopper up.

As they stepped outside, Zoro closed the door softly behind them, ensuring that you both could continue to enjoy your peaceful slumber undisturbed.

However, as soon as Zoro and Luffy joined the rest of the crew, he was bombarded with questions about where he had found you and Chopper, and how you had ended up in such a exhausted state. The crew was eager to know every detail, but Zoro remained tight-lipped, deciding to keep the events of the night to himself for now.

"But Zoro, we're dying of curiosity! We can't wait for them to wake up," Nami exclaimed, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"Yeah, spill the beans, swordsman! We want to know what happened," Sanji chimed in, his voice filled with excitement.

"If you want to know, then you should ask them when they wake up," Zoro simply said, his tone of voice indicating that he had made up his mind not to disclose any further information about the events of the night.

Curiosity piqued, the crew members exchanged glances before Nami chimed in, "Yeah, Zoro's right. Let's give them some time to rest and recover. We can ask them all about it when they wake up."

Sanji, unable to contain his curiosity, added, "But seriously, how did they end up like that? Did they get caught in a storm or something?"

Zoro shrugged, his eyes never leaving the closed door, and simply replied, "You'll find out soon enough."

The crew members couldn't help but exchange puzzled glances, their curiosity growing with each passing moment. They were eager to unravel the mystery of how you and Chopper had ended up in such an exhausted state, but respected Zoro's decision to keep the events of the night to himself.

They knew that the answers would come in due time, and patiently waited for you and Chopper to wake up and share your story. . . .

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

As you slowly woke up, you felt the warmness of what was a blanket and Chopper cuddling beside you. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, you realized that you and Chopper had been in the doctor's room in the Thousand Sunny, which meant Zoro had carried you both back to the ship without your help.

"Looks like Zoro carried the whole family on his shoulders," a voice joked silently in your mind.

You looked to your side to see Robin sitting in a chair, a small smile playing on her lips. "Good to see you awake," she said softly, her eyes filled with concern. "We were worried about you and Chopper."

"I'm sorry for leaving without telling you guys," you apologized, your voice filled with genuine remorse.

Robin's smile widened as she nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, we're just glad you're both safe. Zoro made sure to bring you back to the ship. Now, rest up and recover. We'll be here waiting when you're ready to share what happened."

You nodded in agreement, grateful for her understanding. As you settled back into the warmth of the blanket, you gently held onto Chopper, feeling a sense of comfort and security as you drifted off to sleep once again. . . .

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ -ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ -ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ -ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

As you woke up from your nap, you were greeted by the sound of happy yells and laughter coming from the deck of the Thousand Sunny.

It seemed like the crew was having a lively and joyful time, and you couldn't help but smile as you realized that you were surrounded by a family who truly cared for you.

When you tried to slowly stand up, you felt a gentle tug on your arm, pulling you back to the couch, as if someone didn't want you to leave just yet.

You then saw that a hand was wrapped around your waist and it belonged to Zoro, who was still asleep. His peaceful expression made you hesitate, realizing that he must have subconsciously pulled you back to keep you close.

You were surprised that he would do something like this since he would only be this brave when he was drunk. It made you realize that his feelings for you ran deeper than you had imagined, and you couldn't help but wonder what this meant for your relationship with him.

The warmth of his touch made you decide to stay a little longer, cherishing this moment of tranquility before joining the lively crew on the deck.

You laid back on the couch, but instead of going back to sleep, you decided to admire Zoro. The way his features softened in slumber, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the warmth of his presence beside you filled you with a sense of peace and contentment.

You couldn't help but notice the rugged yet handsome features on Zoro's face, even in his sleep. His strong jawline, slightly tousled hair, and closed eyelids hiding intense determination all added to his allure.

His furrowed brows were smoothed out, revealing a vulnerability that few had the privilege of witnessing. The faintest hint of a smile graced his lips, adding an unexpected softness to his rugged features.

"Is there something on my face?" you heard someone say, and you slightly jumped at the lowness of the voice.

You turned your gaze towards Zoro, meeting his intense gaze as his eyes slowly fluttered open. A mixture of surprise and amusement danced in his eyes, and a small smirk tugged at his lips. "Caught you staring," he whispered, his voice husky with sleep.

You turned to face Zoro, meeting his gaze as his eyes fluttered open. The intensity in his stare sent a shiver down your spine, and you quickly averted your gaze, feeling a blush creep up your cheeks.

"N-no, it's nothing," you stammered, trying to hide your embarrassment.

Zoro chuckled softly, his warm breath brushing against your cheek. "Don't worry, I don't mind," he replied, his voice filled with warmth and affection. "I've caught myself staring at you plenty of times too."

"No, really, it's not what you think," you insisted, desperately trying to deny the truth that hung in the air. But deep down, you knew that denying it would be futile, especially when Zoro's knowing smile told you that he saw right through your feeble attempt to hide your admiration.

You couldn't help but feel a pang of vulnerability as he wrapped his arm tight around you. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Don't you used to be the confident one between the two of us?"

Looking back at him, you couldn't even hold eye contact for 3 seconds, your gaze continually shifting away. The truth was, you were afraid that if you looked into his eyes for too long, he would see the depth of your feelings and the vulnerability that came with them.

"It's different now," you muttered, your voice barely audible.

Zoro's grip on you tightened as he leaned in, his voice filled with tenderness. "Different or not, I'm here for you. You don't have to hide anything from me."

Summoning your courage, you looked at him again, locking eyes with Zoro.

"Since when have you been this confident?" you said, unable to hide the slight admiration in your voice. Zoro's smirk widened, and he brushed a strand of hair behind your ear.

"I guess being around you brings out the best in me," he replied, his eyes sparkling with affection.

Unable to resist the magnetic pull between you, you saw Zoro's eyes flicker to your lips, a subtle hint of desire in his gaze. Your heart skipped a beat as you wondered if he felt the same longing that you did.

"I don't mind being stared at, especially if it's by you."

In that moment, the world around you faded away as both of you leaned in, the intensity of your connection drawing you closer.

Then suddenly, a loud bang was heard on the wall and you jumped, moving away from Zoro and sitting up, breaking the intimate moment between you. Startled, you looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, your heart racing with a mix of fear and disappointment.

Zoro chuckled, amused by your reaction, and you felt your face flush with embarrassment. You looked away, trying to ignore the expression on his face, and your heart slowly returned to its normal rhythm.

As you gathered your thoughts and tried to calm your racing heart, you noticed that Zoro had also sat up and was now facing you. His eyes held a mix of concern and amusement, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort in his presence.

"It was Luffy, isn't it?" you muttered, feeling embarrassed by your lapse in focus. Zoro's smile softened, and he reached out to gently cup your cheek.

"It probably was but let's not focus on that now," he said.

You took a deep breath, feeling a surge of bravery, and leaned in once again, meeting Zoro halfway.

As you leaned in, you wrapped your arms around Zoro's neck, pulling him closer to you. The warmth of his embrace enveloped you, and you both lost yourselves in the moment, forgetting about the interruption and allowing your connection to deepen even further.

Zoro's hands gently rested on your hips, his touch sending shivers down your spine. The warmth of his embrace enveloped you, and you both lost yourselves in the moment.

You could feel the anticipation building, the way your breathing changed ever so slightly, as if your body knew what was about to happen.

The world seemed to stand still as your lips finally met, and in that instant, all your worries and fears melted away, leaving only the undeniable connection between you and Zoro.

"Zoro! Wake up! You can't miss Chopper's story!" Luffy screamed as he burst through the door, completely unaware of what was happening in front of him.

This was just like before, you thought of last night when Luffy interrupted them before.

You tried to gently push yourself away from Zoro's embrace, but he held you firmly, unwilling to let go. His arms remained securely wrapped around your waist, as if he never wanted to release you from his grasp.

"Luffy, I'll be there in a minute," Zoro said, not breaking eye contact with you, his gaze filled with a determination that made your heart skip a beat.

His words were filled with determination, as he made it clear that he wasn't going to let anything or anyone come between the two of you.

"Okay," Luffy sulked, closing the door, finally giving you and Zoro the privacy you both needed to continue where you left off.

"I thought...." you whispered, your voice filled with uncertainty.

"You thought I was going to leave?" Zoro's grip tightened as he looked deeply into your eyes, his voice filled with conviction.

"No way, I'm not leaving again for you to go on another adventure by yourself," he said, his words echoing in your ears, reassuring you that he was here to stay.

You smiled, feeling a wave of relief wash over you.

"Let's finish what we started," Zoro whispered, his lips grazing against yours, reigniting the passion that had momentarily been interrupted.

Your heart raced as you replied with a breathless, "Yes, let's."

As Zoro's lips pressed against yours, a surge of butterflies erupted in your stomach, the intensity of your connection sending waves of electricity through your veins. Your chest tightened with anticipation, each touch and caress from Zoro igniting a fire within you.

Your knees grew weak, unable to support the weight of the passion that consumed you both, as you surrendered yourself completely to the moment.

As the intensity of your connection grew, you found yourselves exploring each other's bodies with a hunger that couldn't be quelled. The room filled with heated whispers and moans, as you both surrendered to the raw desire that consumed you.

Every touch, every kiss, sent shivers down your spine, igniting a fire that burned hotter with each passing moment. Your bodies moved in perfect sync, a dance of passion and longing, as you lost yourselves in the depths of desire.

Zoro's hand slowly made its way up under your shirt, his touch sending a surge of electricity through your body, intensifying the already fiery passion between you. Every caress from his fingertips left a trail of goosebumps in its wake, heightening the anticipation and deepening the connection you shared.

Getting injured was worth it. . . .

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

"And then Y/N came in running in and defeating everyone with her ability. It was so cool!" Chopper described to the rest of the crew.

As Chopper excitedly recounted the events that took place a few hours ago, he bounced up and down on your lap, his little hooves emphasizing each thrilling moment.

You smiled and continued to give Chopper a soothing back massage as he animatedly shared his tale. The gentle kneading of your fingers seemed to fuel his excitement, making him even more animated as he vividly described your incredible display of power.

Zoro had been sitting beside you, listening to Chopper while massaging your back with one hand. His touch added a comforting warmth to your soothing back massage, creating a sense of calm that contrasted the exhilaration of Chopper's storytelling.

"I didn't know you were that badass," Zoro chuckled, his voice low and teasing. "I guess there's more to you than meets the eye."

Admiration was evident in his voice as he continued to work his magic on your tense muscles.

You couldn't help but blush at Zoro's comment, the warmth spreading from your cheeks to the rest of your body. It was a rare moment of vulnerability from the usually stoic swordsman, and it made you appreciate his support even more.

"I...uh...I guess I just got lucky," you stammered, your face turning an even deeper shade of red.

"I don't believe in luck," Zoro replied, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "You've got skills, Y/N, and I saw it firsthand today. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thank you, Zoro," you responded, a mixture of gratitude and shyness in your voice.

"Dad! Tell them how you rescued us from the beach," Chopper asked excitedly, turning to Zoro.

Zoro chuckled and ruffled Chopper's fur affectionately before responding, "Well, it was nothing compared to Y/N's heroic feat. But yeah, I did manage to pull you guys out of that rough current. Just doing my part as a member of this crew."

"And your part as a parent," you added, a soft smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

"Yeah, it was quite an adventure," Zoro said happily, his hand resting on your waist. The warmth of his touch matched the warmth in his smile, and you couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for him.

This moment, surrounded by your newfound family, was a reminder of the bonds that held you all together on this incredible journey. . . .

₊˚ ︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ ˚₊

"Oh, you see that fire over there?" Zoro asked, pointing in the distance to a wild fire on a burnt down building.

"Yeah,"

"That's where their base is, or that is where their base used to be," Zoro admitted with pride.

Your eyes widened at Zoro's words, a mix of shock and realization washing over you. So that was the reason behind the fire and destruction - Zoro had single-handedly taken down their base.

"They got a little visit from a certain swordsman-"

You leaned in and pressed your lips against Zoro's, effectively silencing his words. His face turned slightly red, his surprise evident in his eyes.

"My hero," you said, pulling away from the kiss with a playful smile. "I can't believe you took down their entire base. You never cease to amaze me, Zoro."

Zoro's surprise slowly turned into a smirk, and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer. "Just doing my part," he whispered, his voice filled with affection and pride. . . .

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peachesofteal · 2 months

Text

John Price/female reader The Ocean Anthology

You're not overly familiar with wolves.

On the zoology side, you preferred marine animals. As a child, you preferred the aquarium to the zoo, the beach to the park, water instead of land. Something about the sea, floating weightless beneath a tide, modeling your own movements after tail fins and flippers, salt water drying on your skin at the surface.

The wild of the open ocean, unending depths, reaching where light could not touch, soothed something in your heart. It always had.

Which is why, when you looked out your kitchen window into the duplex's shared backyard and saw Aly, seated with criss crossed legs, ten meters from the largest wolf you've ever seen in your life, you screamed.

It was the surprise, twisting your vocal chords into a strangled cry, the shock and fear echoing past the frame of the house and into the gnarled slope, that had Aly turning back to peer at you, had the wolf lowering it's head in what you could only assume was a predatory lean.

"Aly." Your voice trembled when you made it onto the back deck, a hand outstretched, beckoning her back to safety. The wolf inches away, shying from your panic, the scent of your fear souring the breeze. It's stale, and sharp, and your heart thunders in your ears, rapid beat wild in your veins.

She did not even spare you a glance.

"It's okay." She calls over her shoulder. "She'd never hurt me." She? You look around. Where is John?

"Aly. Come inside." Your force yourself steady, pushing authority, what little of it you possess, into the syllables.

And then, a softer plea, from someone who doesn't understand. "Please." The wolf, massive and grey with tinges of orange and brown, watches you, golden, glinting eyes, upper lip curled, revealing devastatingly sharp teeth. It steps away, up into the cover of the trees, drifting into the darkness of the forest, glow of it's face in the morning rays just barely visible.

The little girl sighs, unfolding herself and brushing dirty palms against her coat.

"You scared her." Fogged breath rolls from her mouth, and all you can do is stare, incredulous, as she rolls her eyes and traipses over to her back door, giving you a skeptical look before stepping inside.

What the fuck was that?

You find yourself on a twisted forest path later that night. Unable to sleep, you walk towards the harbor, cutting through a side trail you've seen John on in the mornings, and others, occasionally.

It's just a side trail. Close to the road. You'll be fine.

The woman's warning from your first night at the bar vibrates in your bones.

Skip the shortcuts through the forest at night.

Warnings, pleas, instructions from John, all laid to waste in your trek, bundled up in your warmest jacket, gloves and hat. Your jeans stick to your thighs, cold prickling between the friction, headlamp illuminating the way, red light casting shadow into the forest, a thick fog settled in around the way.

You're not walking long, when you hear the first snap. You whirl, light pointed in the direction of the noise, to find nothing but silent woods, branches hanging low with the weight of icy winter.

Something cracks at your back. Something sharp, splintering through the fog's silence.

Your shoulder's raise. Your lungs go still.

Fear wraps around your throat, and chokes.

Don't look. Don't look.

John's voice echoes in your memory, severe blue gaze and downturned lips, opposite you at the table.

"Run."

You turn on your heel, digging into the dirt, and sprint. Around you, brush crashes. Branches and twigs break. There's a glimpse of paws, long strides eating the distance between yourself and your pursuer, panic bubbling up in your chest as you push yourself to the brink.

Faster.

To your left, a streak of white. Large, and graceful, taking downed logs and large branches with ease, cutting closer and closer, your movements growing clumsy each second.

The road, the house, are eons away. They might as well be on the other side of the earth, sanctuary vanishing before your very eyes.

From your left, from your right, breathing grows louder. Growls and yips and a howl bounce off the density of the darkness, heading you off.

Hunting you.

You can feel them. Wild, untamed lupine prowess stalks closer. Playing with their prey before they close you off from the end of the path completely. You're a child again, running into bed after flicking off the lights, terrified of what lurks beneath your bed. Sprinting up the basement stairs, hoping you'll be safe as soon as you touch the door handle and burst into the light.

Your tears come, sob ripping through your chest, a bleat of terror sounding off like a gunshot. You stay focused on the dark frame that's just in view, trying to outrun the snarling brutality chasing you.

When you find the road, you don't stop. You push yourself harder, faster, until the house is in sight, exhaustion turning your feet into concrete blocks, sending you pitching forward-

into a thick, warm, chest.

"What are you-" hands grip your upper arms, holding you steady, holding you close. An embrace of cedar and cigar, wilderness and ocean wrapping you up.

John.

"I- There- I saw-" You can't get it out. Tongue as clumsy as your limbs, you go limp and tremble.

The forest behind you is dead silent. Still.

"Shhh now." He murmurs, hand cupping the back of your head. It's large, nearly the size of your skull, and you press your nose to his jacket, gasping. "It's alright. You're alright."

"W-wolves." You bite, and his muscles go tense, neck rigid. You can feel torsion, the survey of the land behind you.

You brace for the scolding you know you've earned. The admonishment you deserve. "I'm sorry, I c-couldn't sleep, and thought I'd just... I'd walk. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, love. They're gone. You're safe." Love. The word suggests familiarity, affection, and you blink. He's gentle, still holding you close, grip firm and tense. You should pull away, salvage your dignity, your sanity.

You're a scientist. Not a child. What kind of display is this?

It all falls away, his thumb stroking a slow circle behind your ear. "Let's get you inside, hm?" You nod, still unsteady, and he wraps his arm around your shoulder, tucking you close. Adrenaline keeps you in unsteady limbo, hands shaking so badly you're forced to press them against your heart.

He keeps you in his side the entire walk back, murmuring softly, accent lilting on the night's breeze. He helps you with your key when your fingers can't quite get a good grip, pushing your door wide and flicking on the lamp, pale yellow glow comforting in the inky black.

When he sits you down on the couch, you don't protest. He handles you carefully, long touch on your knee, turning with a distant expression, gaze fixed out the window. "Need you to be good and listen to me from now on. Don't want anything happening to ya."

"I know." You croak. You do, now. Before... before, you didn't take any stock in it. Averse to being told what to do, naturally resistant.

Now. Now you see.

"They were so close." you try to explain, avoiding his eyes. "Like they... like they were-"

"Hunting." You look up, big breath trying to fill your lungs, and he gives you a grim smile, palm still cupped over your knee. Something else starts to unfurl in the pit of your stomach, butterflies shaking the terror and spreading their wings, fluttering anxiously against your ribcage. His proximity suffocates you, too warm, too close, and it clouds the space between your bodies, confusion roaring in your mind. He clears his throat.

"Get some sleep." At the door, he turns back one last time, and gives you a nod, expectantly. Like he knows you'll take yourself right upstairs and curl into bed, bury yourself beneath a mountain of blankets. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, John."

#john price #john price x reader #captain john price #the ocean anthology #peaches writes #still trying to shake the rust but it’s not working lmao

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gamebunny-advance · 1 year

Text

Animal Crossing: Open Seas (Working Title)

Animal Crossing: Open Seas (Draft)

This is my latest draft for my "Animal Crossing: Open Seas" ideas.

My headspace is still a little weird, so I can't be bothered to cut this up, but I tried to make it easy to navigate by at least formatting some breaks and titles. Utilize your keyboard shortcuts to jump to specific sections.

This post covers:

Basic Story

Getting Started

Building up the Island

The Town Hall/Convention Center

The Mainland (Shop/Facility Info)

Happy Home Apartments The Faraway Museum 1-Pup Arcade Labelle's Boutique Flick and CJ's Studio Phineas's Travelling Toy Store Re-Tail (AKA the Gyroid Auction House/Trade Center) Police Station The Roost/The Nest Club LOL

Harv's Island

Campground Camp Essentials Leif's Garden Wagon Katrina the Fortune Teller Shampoodle

Villager Overhaul

Personalities

Please note that since this is an early draft, information here may conflict with later posts and/or be incomplete.

Not covered, but upcoming:

Boats (Kapp'n's Boat Shop, Magical Maps, Castaway Cove, Mermaid Rock, The Trading Post, Caves)

Nookphone Updates (Contact List + Other New Apps)

-----------

Basic Story

You, as an employee of Nook Inc. are tasked with scouting out an island as a potential location to start a new town. When you arrive, you find out that there used to be a town here, but disaster recently struck, leaving its residents displaced and without proper guidance. The current residents live far apart and mostly fend for themselves while the rest of the island was reclaimed by nature, including the abandoned town hall. When you contact Tom Nook with updates on your situation, he decides that this is a place in need of great rejuvenation, but before they can start building, they need to bring the town back together.

And so you are tasked with making the island a pleasant place to live again, all while making friends (and maybe some enemies) along the way.

-----------

Getting Started

After establishing contact with Tom Nook, you are tasked with introducing yourself to all the current villagers. After doing so, you will be granted permission to set up your tent anywhere that's possible.

The starting area is similar to the limited starting area of the New Horizons' islands, but with more evidence that there used to be a town here, like the remnants of paths, and the abandoned town hall building.

After establishing your tent, Tom Nook will recommend that you first build trust with the other villagers and start the obligatory errands tutorial.

During said tutorial, you'll learn a little about what happened and how while the villagers are worried about one another and are all generally good people, the poor leadership of their previous mayor didn't give them the confidence to stick together, but they would like to rebuild the town if it's possible.

This tutorial, as well establishing the basic item collecting, crafting, and fetch quest systems, also establishes a new important system: relationships. As this used to be a proper town, the villagers already have some relationships with each other, and you'll learn that certain villagers like each other while others don't. It's up to you whether you want to improve everyone's relations or pick sides.

On the next proper day, Tom, Timmy, and Tommy will arrive at the island to help provide support and guide you towards finishing the "main story" quest.

At the start, like New Horizons, there are no proper shops and most tools and furniture items must be obtained through crafting.

You also start with your company Nookphone. It starts off with the same apps as in New Horizons and more are unlocked as features become available. One of the new features of note is the new "Contacts" app, which keeps track of your contacts and relationships with said contacts.

While you settle into your new island life, the Nooks are arranging for some outside help in the form of visitors from the mainland.

First, Timmy and Tommy will set up a shop where you can sell the resources you've gathered and purchase some tools and items that they've imported from the mainland.

At a certain level of progress, Tom Nook will manage to establish Dodo Airlines on the island, allowing travel to and from the island to other locations. Of prominence is "the Mainland," but eventually other locations will become available.

-----------

Building Up The Island

Like New Horizons, your primary goal of the "main quest" is to improve the quality of life on the island to inspire economic growth. This is achieved by cleaning up the island, building PWPs & other facilities, and otherwise making it a habitable place to live.

Part of this goal is achieved by re-establishing the Town Hall to be a central hub of the island to bring the community back together.

After gaining the approval of the current residents (similar to the approval system in New Leaf), you are elected as the island's representative/mayor and are able to enact community goals and projects.

You can request that villagers help by donating resources/bells towards community projects such as rebuilding the hall, funding bridges across the river(s), house rebuilding projects, etc.

On the Nook's end, once enough progress is made, they'll start inviting other business owners and friends to visit the island to hopefully establish more facilities on the island. At first, they can only get in touch with:

The Able Sisters Clothing Shop (They can set up shop here)

Blathers' of the Faraway Museum (He can set up a branch of the museum here)

The Happy Home Academy (Can start providing more home features and indirectly gets you in contact with Isabelle who can help manage the Town Hall/Community Center)

The Pelicans of the Post Office (Can start sending packages to and from the island)

Harv of Harv's Campground and its affiliates (Can set up the campsite)

These are the only required buildings/services

If you establish contacts with the business owners on the mainland, the Nooks can start contacting them too for potential business deals. These include:

Brewster of The Roost & his apprentice (Can set up "The Nest" run by the apprentice on the island)

Shiba of 1-Pup Arcade (Can start holding pop-up shops during events)

Dr. Shrunk of Club LOL and its talents (Can start sending talent like K.K. Slider to perform at the Community Center)

Label and Kicks of Labelle's Boutique (Can start sending items to be featured in the Abel's shop)

Flick & CJ (Can start visiting to buy fish & bugs from the player and host tourneys)

Phineas of his toy store (Can start visiting occasionally)

The Gyroid Flea Market (Introduces the Auction App)

*After raising the island's quality of life enough by: -Building all required buildings/Establishing services -Rebuilding every starting villager's home -Raising the villager population by at least 1 -Increasing the island's rating to at least 3 stars

You'll eventually be given the ability to terraform the island (similar to New Horizons)

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The Town Hall/Convention Center

It's your primary goal to restore the town hall to become the new hub of the island.

Once it's properly rebuilt, this will be where Tom Nook establishes his housing business/services, and Isabelle will be hired to help manage town news, ordinances, and other systems, similar to New Horizons/New Leaf.

A new feature is the ability to attend/start town meetings. Here the current villagers can voice their opinions on the current standings of the town, such as suggesting new facilities/public works projects.

Major decisions like these will be held to a vote. It is possible that the player's first choice won't be chosen as the next PWP for consideration, but if they have good standing with the other villagers, it is possible to convince them to vote for the player's preference.

You can invite some of the NPCs you meet to host classes and/or demonstrations to either learn new skills or to boost public opinion of certain facilities.

You could also use the convention space to host a local auction house/trading center, which you can open to online visitors.

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The Mainland

The Mainland acts similarly to the City from City Folk and Main Street from New Leaf: a place where a bunch of big buildings are kept. It can't be terraformed, but there are some things that can be changed and it takes time and certain conditions for certain buildings to unlock.

The idea is to make it possible to set up almost every city facility on your island without making it mandatory for certain features, so players that want to keep a more "natural" island can still get the city features without making them a part of their island.

Happy Home Apartments (NEW)

A new business venture by the Happy Home Academy. Managed by Digby, this facility houses up to 10 different animals who you can also form relationships with.

In functionality, apartment villagers are identical to island villagers except you don't have any authority over them.

Unlike the island, you don't have much choice in who moves into the apartments, but you can have some influence on who stays.

If your friendship is high enough, they'll tell you that they're planning on moving, and you can try to either convince them to stay in the city or move to your island.

If your friendship is too low to convince them to stay in the city or move to your island, they'll tell you their planned move out date. If you can raise their friendship high enough before that date, you can ask them again to either not move out or to move to your island.

If your friendship is super low, the animal may move out without ever telling you.

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The Faraway Museum (NEW)

Curated by a new owl character, this is a large museum that is always on the lookout for new rare specimens.

Blathers starts off working here, but is invited by Tom Nook to start a branch of the museum on your island.

Like previous iterations of the museum, the Faraway Museum also has exhibits for art, aquatic life, fossils, and insects and a conservatory. However, while your museum hosts locally found items and imported art, the Faraway Museum only houses exotic items which can only be found on "expeditions." As this museum is already filled, you can learn when you can find these rare specimens to plan ahead for them.

If you build up a relationship with Blathers, he can give you an "expedition pass" to allow you to go on expeditions hosted by the Faraway Museum. This way you can obtain these rare items for either your own museum or yourself.

You only have a limited time for each expedition, and increasing your time requires that you upgrade your pass through either making contributions to your museum or participating on more expeditions.

There's a gift shop where exclusive museum themed items can be purchased.

Occasionally in the conservatory, you can meet Celeste.

If you make constellations here with her, they'll sometimes appear over your island. After making your first constellation with her, and Blathers has set up a museum on your island, you can invite her to study the stars on your island where the light pollution is very low. She'll eventually open her own conservatory in your island's museum, where you can make constellations at any time and predict meteor showers. On rare occasions, you might hear about an "alien sighting" that you can choose to investigate.

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1-Pup Arcade (NEW)

A game store run by an eager Shiba Inu.

Here you can play mini games by yourself or with friends. Playing games earns you points which you can exchange for exclusive items.

Ultimate prizes include home versions of the games, and Nintendo cross-over items.

Regular items also include other aracde/entertainment style furniture.

You can also invite animal friends here to play multiplayer games with a CPU.

If you show the shopowner a non-Animal Crossing amiibo, they'll give you special items relating to that amiibo and maybe a little bit of history about the character.

If you establish a good relationship with the shop owner, they may consider opening a pop-up shop on your island.

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Labelle's Boutique (NEW)

A high-end fashion store run by the Able Sister Label and assisted by new apprentice, Kicks that sells expensive clothing and accessories.

Also stocks furniture from the Gracie Grace collection + more.

You can work here part-time to help villagers find perfect outfits for either the occasion or their tastes.

If you do well enough, Label will learn that her sisters live on your island and will start sending merch to their store to sell.

Clothing rotates every week, furniture rotates every season.

The connections of focus here are on Label and her sisters as well as Label and Kicks as Label navigates being in a new mentorship role to another fledgling fashion designer, much how Gracie did to her. They often clash in debates over form (Label) vs. function (Kicks), but if you follow their story, they'll eventually reach a compromise.

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Flick and CJ's Studio (NEW)

Flick made enough from commissions to open his own studio on the Mainland. Here you can request models of fish, insects, deep-sea creatures, and fossils if you bring him 3 of each (or every piece in the case of "big" fossils).

For extra bells, you can "super size" any piece to get a "grand" version of any model.

He will also dabble in original works and sell fish/insect inspired furniture and sell different pieces every week.

If you increase friendship with Flick, you can convince him to visit your island to catch bugs. While he's here, you can sell bugs to him for an increased price.

C.J. is usually out doing streams & influencing somewhere out on the mainland, but if you catch him in the Studio, you can convince him to visit your island to increase its reputation and increase the chances of a rare visitor. While visiting, you can sell your fish to him for a higher price.

If you've rebuilt the Town Hall/Community Center, then they'll host their respective tourneys too.

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Phineas's Travelling Toy Store (kinda-NEW) Occasionally Phineas the prize man will appear on the mainland selling a random assortment of toys. You can only pick on per visit and the designs are random. While you can theoretically collect them all yourself, it's encouraged that you trade in the flea-market for your preferred colors.

Interactive Balls: play kick ball with your friends/animals. Be careful not to lose them in rivers.

Pinwheels/Balloons/Bubbles: fun to mess with. Be careful not to trip and break them

RC Cars/Helicopters: See your island from a different point of view. Be careful not to lose them in rivers, or high places.

Jigsaw Puzzles: Every week Phineas will have new puzzles to complete in his shop. If you complete it, you can take it to Cyrus to frame and turn it into furniture.

Baseball Set: Play catch with your friends/animals.

Marbles/Spinning Tops: Collectible. Trade with your friends to collect them all.

If you purchase enough toys, he may occasionally visit your island too.

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Re-Tail

A half-flea market, half-customization shop run by the alpaca couple.

Reese handles the flea market side of the shop, which is really an online marketplace where you can buy/trade items with players all over the world.

You get a personal gyroid that you can decorate to look after your booth and you can interact with other user's gyroids.

Gyroids cycle out everyday, but you can search for gyroids holding particular items.

You can manually set prices/wanted trade items and will take care of trades when you're not online.

You can also participate in auctions.

You can set-up private trades so that only the player you want to trade with you can (similar to Nookazon)

If you have the app, you can check on how your market is doing remotely. You can also start listing items from the app and sending them over via the post office.

There are some limitations:

*Fish/Bugs cannot be traded through the Flea Market

*Gyroids have a limited amount of hold space (this can be upgraded with Bells)

Cyrus handles the customizations of items.

He can change the color of any item for a fee. He also offers exclusive customizations that are impossible to find in shops including material based customizations, such as ore, star fragments, fruit, etc.

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Police Station

The police dogs Booker & Copper return as the City's police force.

They have a lost and found where you can claim items or if you know the owner you can return them to increase friendship with that villager.

Claiming items that aren't yours won't get you in trouble with the police, but it may reduce friendship with an animal if they catch you with their item, and you don't return it.

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The Roost

A cafe run by Brewster. Occasionally you can catch his apprentice working here too.

You can invite friends and villagers to The Roost. Inviting villagers will help raise your friendship with them and give unique dialogue to learn more about them.

You can work part-time at the cafe to build relationships with the Mainland animals.

If you invite a lot of villagers from your island to The Roost, Brewster will consider opening a branch on your island. His apprentice will come to run the branch cafe (The Nest) and you can work part-time here too.

The Nest serves a similar function to The Roost but also offers more "experimental" recipes by the apprentice that can have different effects such as increased running speed, or increased friendship with villagers.

Brewster has an interest in gyroids. If you help him complete his collection, he'll offer exclusive cafe items in return.

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Club LOL

A comedy club and music venue run by Dr. Shrunk.

Another place you can take villagers to raise friendship.

Here you can learn different emotions and dances from Dr. Shrunk in exchange for any food item.

Along with K.K., there's a cover band that also preforms. If you catch them before their set and give them a specfic food of their choice, they can teach you how to play different instruments. You can use instruments to perform songs (but you'll need to have either heard the song before or purchase the sheet music for it).

Different instruments:

*Guitar *Bass *Sax *Drums *Vocals *Keyboard *Violin *Etc.

All villagers also have a preferred instrument that they can play if invited for a "jam session."

After mastering an instrument, you can perform at the Club during "Open Mic Nights". You can invite friends or animals to perform with you.

If you establish a contact with Dr. Shrunk & the other performers, they may start appearing on your island to perform at the Community Center.

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Harv's Island

Another place you can visit via Dodo Airlines. Functions similarly to how it does in New Horizons + some features from New Leaf/Pocket Camp.

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The Campground

Regular villagers will occasionally camp here. If you help them set up their camp, you can exchange contact info with them to get them to move to your island and/or invite them somewhere on the Mainland.

After setting up a campsite on your own island, Harvey will trust you enough to accept pointers on how he should set up his own campgrounds. Here, you can choose to fund certain travelling sales people to set up permanent shop here.

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Camp Essentials (NEW)

Already established on the island.

A new shop run by one of Harv's nieces (Cammy) which provides camping basics.

Focuses on selling campsite items for the campsite on your own island.

*Different tent/lodge styles

*Other campsite essentials such as fire pits, clothes lines, tools, etc.

The higher quality your campsite is, the more likely it is that the camper staying there will be willing to move onto the island (as opposed to leaving it completely up to RNG as in New Horizons).

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Leif's Garden Wagon

Already established on the island and is the hired groundskeeper.

Sells garden type items similar to New Horizons.

Can start visiting your island after you meet him.

Also offers a weeding service: will charge a fee for every acre you want him to clean. Inversely, you could also sell him the weeds you've plucked.

If he notices that your island has a particularly high nature rating, he may offer exclusive rewards such as special tools which can help with gardening. Ex:

*Unbreakable gardening tools

*Plant food which can increase the likelihood of hybrids and rare fruit growth.

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Katrina the Fortune Teller

Similar function to New Horizons: she can view your current luck and or status with any villager currently living on your island or the apartments.

Also sells "lucky" items for an inflated price.

Can remove curses from "cursed items"

Can also cast curses/charms on you/villagers for a fee. For a small fee, the effects are random, but you can pay more for a specific curse and/or charm.

Casting too many curses may increase your "wickedness" and cause you to have more bad luck more often (which can also be cured for a nominal fee).

Funding her will allow you to use her services daily

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Redd's Black Market

Occasionally sets up shop here since it's "off the grid".

Sells art pieces (both real and fake) and furniture items.

Also offers a raffle game where random small prizes can be won.

Sometimes the furniture will be rare, other times it will be "common" furniture at a marked up price.

Can start visiting your island if you purchase enough items from him.

Funding him will allow him to set up shop where he will rotate his stock weekly.

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Shampoodle

She does most of the management of the shop part of the island while Harvey takes care of the camp side.

While she still doesn't have a proper building of her own anymore (since players can update their looks at anytime by using a mirror), she will sometimes set up a styling tent if she feels "inspired" and offer exclusive hairstyles and accessories.

For example:

*Special Contacts: Eye shapes like hearts, stars, glitter effects, heterochromia, etc.

*Body Paint: Unnatural skin colors (Ex: hot pink, lavender, green, etc.)

*Two-Toned/Multicolored Hair

*Special Wigs

If you fund her, she will set up a permanent shop where she can style you whenever you want.

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Villager Overhaul

As the relationships and autonomy of the animals is a focus in this game, each animal has an expanded number of traits from other games. An animal's preferences has a stronger effect on how well they get along with both other animals and the player. Animals who dislike certain attributes will get along less with animals which have those attributes, and likewise if they like certain attributes. All animals have opinions and preferences for:

Favorite/Least Favorite Color

Favorite/Least Favorite Style

Favorite/Least Favorite Hobby

Favorite/Least Favorite Personality

Favorite/Least Favorite Fruit/Food

Favorite/Least Favorite Music

Favorite/Least Favorite Reputations

The more they have in common with another villager, the more likely they are to befriend them. Similarly, if the player has preferences that don't match the animal's, they'll have a harder time befriending them. However, it isn't *impossible* to befriend an animal even if they dislike everything about you. Friendship can still be raised through favors or otherwise gifting them the things they do like. (However, they will make note if they know you don't like the same things that they do, but will acknowledge that you're making an effort and will try to meet you half-way).

Their relationships with each other can also affect their relationships with you: If you befriend the enemy of a villager, their opinion of you may lower, and vice versa if you befriend one their friends (though they may start to become jealous if you start spending less time with them). If you're the island rep, villagers that like you are more likely to agree with your opinion in the case of a public vote. If they don't like you or are neutral, they're more likely to vote towards their actual preference. *Besides relationships, a villager's preferences will also affect the kinds of PWPs they recommend/vote for and the kinds of gifts they give and will ask for during errands. Their hobbies will affect the kinds of activities they do and the kinds of things they'll be more helpful for. For example, a villager whose hobby is gardening will be able to help pluck more weeds than a non-gardening villager.

Reputations can also affect how a villager reacts to you and the kinds of gossip they'll spread. Villagers also have default reputations, but they can influence by the things you ask them to do for/with you. For example, even if a villager hates gardening, if you frequently ask them to help with garden tasks, they may develop a reputation for having a "green thumb" which will increase their popularity with villagers that do like gardening (at the expense of lowering your friendship with that villager since they actually still hate gardening).

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Personalities

Personalities are now gender-neutral: any gender can have any personality. Every personality has 2 variants. Their base dialogue will be similar between variants of the same personality, but have differing "situational" dialogue.

Normal: Polite/Free Spirit *In General: Sweet natured and always kind to the player and other villagers. *Polite: Will always try to say the "right" thing rather than their true feelings. It can be exhausting always being the "nice" one. *Free Spirit: Spiritual types that leaves everything to fate. Believes in luck/fortune telling and will talk a lot about Feng Shui and mention a travelling fortune teller that can sometimes visit.

Peppy: Idol/Spoiled *In General: Energetic and optimistic, but can be a little careless. *Idol: Wants to become famous for something. Can be callous at first, but can become more tender with time. Will idolize K.K. Slider, Gracie Grace, and other famous people. *Spoiled: They're a little bratty and are used to getting whatever they want. Living on this small island has been teaching them that they can't always get their way. Still, they'd like it if you'd still dote on them from time to time.

Snooty: Celeb/Gossip *In General: Snobbish and rude, but tells it like it is. *Celeb: Retired actors/actresses/musicians/etc. that got a little washed out after they left their industries. They have an eye for luxuries and are still warming up to island life. Has a lot of wisdom to share about their experiences with fame. *Gossip: Interested in all things gossip. Loves to hear them and loves to spread them. Despite that, they have a strict moral code and never tell lies (if they know they're lies).

Big Sib: Rebel/Party Animal *In General: Loud, brash and rude, but they have hearts of gold. *Rebel: Has a dangerous past that they'd like to leave behind. They're having a hard time staying on the straight and narrow, but they're trying. *Party Animal: Wants to be wherever the "action" is. Very interested in DJ KK and will mention clubs they like to go to. Energetic and has no patience for anything "boring". Only tried out island life as some personal rehab. It's kind of working.

Jock: Beefcake/Personal Trainer *In General: Hot blooded and active. Can be a little too into themselves. *Beefcake: What you see is what you get. They're all about those gains and they wanna look good getting them. Every now and again they'll have a deeper thought, but it isn't often. *Personal Trainer: Very enthusiastic and focused on personal betterment. Can be rude at first, but if you show an interest, they'll offer good advice in return.

Lazy: Easy-Going/Space Cadet In General: A little absent minded, but is overall good natured. *Easy-Going: Takes life in stride and doesn't worry about much. More focused on snacks or the comic book they just bought. Is friendly enough, but takes a while to actually get personal. *Space Cadet: Seems to live in their own world where aliens are real and paintings can be totally haunted. But there's nothing to these rambles, is there?

Cranky: Hardheaded/Wizened In General: Thick skinned and sharp tongued. They say what's on their mind for better and worse. *Hardheaded: A classic grouch. Sometimes seems to be angry just for the sake of it. They're tough and no nonsense, but they respect anyone who can stand up to their bullying. *Wizened: Implied to be older than other villagers. A little grouchy about the changing the world, but otherwise has good advice and wisdom. Might complain a lot about their aching bodies and doesn't know how to use their cellphone, but given enough encouragement, they'll compromise.

Smug: Career Oriented/Fashionista *In General: Self-centered and full of themselves. Couldn't careless what you think of them. *Career Oriented: Doesn't make much time for the player and always talking about money making opportunities. If they'd slow down for a moment, they'd see how nice just enjoying life could be. *Fashionistas: Always chasing trends and trying to set them. Might talk about being an "influencer" or modeling for magazines, trying to get their name out there.

(new) Studious: Mad Scientist/Honor Student *In General: Awkward brainiacs that are a little too interested in their subjects to pay you any mind. *Mad Scientist: Possibly plotting to take over the world with their robot army. Until then, they're on the down-low, so they may appear unfriendly. If you raise friendship enough, they might start considering you their favorite "minion". *Honor Student: Acts like they're the smartest animal in town, and they probably are, but being that arrogant means they don't get along easily with others. With high friendship they may talk more about their specific interests.

(new) Gloomy: Poetic/Shy *In General: Soft spoken, and melancholic. They're not overly friendly, but they're not mean either. They'd just rather keep to themselves if possible. *Poetic: Artsy types that Will often wax lyrical about the meaning of life if you let them. Usually sees the glass as half empty and doesn't like overly friendly personalities. Likes rainy days, Jack, and anything kinda spooky and/or dark. *Shy: They're used to being ignored, due to being so quiet, so it's hard for them to open up. But they're passionate about the things they like, and they will talk your ear off if you let them.

#gbunny writes #animal crossing #animal crossing: open seas #long post

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greenwitchcrafts · 2 months

Text

March 2024 witch guide

Full moon: March 25th

New moon: March 10th

Sabbats: Ostara-March 19th

March Worm Moon

Known as: Crow Moon, Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Hrethmonath, Lenting moon, Lentzinmanoth, Moon of Snowblind, Moon of Winds, Plow Moon, Sap Moon, Seed Moon, Sore Eyes Moon, Storm Moon, Sugar Moon & Wind Strong Moon

Element: Water

Zodiac: Pisces & Aries

Nature spirits: Air & water spirits & Mer-people

Deities: Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Cybele, Isis, Luna & Minerva

Animals: Boar, cougar & hedgehog

Birds: Sea crow & sea eagle

Trees: Alder, dogwood & honeysuckle

Herbs: Apple blossom, broom, high John root, Irish moss, pennyroyal, wood betony & yellow dock

Flowers: Daffodil, jonquil & violet

Scents: Apple blossom & honeysuckle

Stones: Aquamarine, bloodstone, jasper, opal &topaz

Colors: Pale-green, red, violet, yellow & white

Energy: Balance, beginnings, dream work, energy breaking into the open, exploring, fertility, inner development, karma, prosperity, spirituality, success & truth seeking

For many years, it was thought that the name "Worm Moon" referred to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. This invites robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring.

However, more research revealed another explanation. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.

March’s full Moon often plays a role in religion, specifically in Christianity, this Moon is known as the Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season (i.e., if it occurs before the spring equinox) or as the Paschal Full Moon if it is the first full Moon of spring (i.e., if it occurs after the spring equinox).

Ostara

Known as: Alban Eiler, Lady Day & Spring/Vernal equinox

Season: Spring

Symbols: 8-spoked wheel, butterflies, chicks, decorated baskets, eggs, feathers, jellybeans, lambs, rabbits, seeds, shamrocks, spring flowers & sunwheels

Colors: Green, indigo, light blue, pastels, pink, red & yellow

Oils/Incense: African violet, florals, ginger, jasmine, lotus, magnolia, rose, sage & strawberry

Animals: Cormorant, hare, hawk, rabbit, sheep, sparrow & swallow

Mythical: Dragon & Unicorn

Stones: Amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone, moonstone, red jasper & rose quartz

Food: Dairy foods, eggs(hard boiled), fruits, honey, honey cakes, leafy greens, vegetables, pine nuts, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, sprouts & waffles

Herbs/Plants: Acorn, cinquefoil, dogwood, ginger, Irish moss, olive, strawberry & woodruff

Flowers: Celandine, crocus, daffodil, dandelion, Easter lily, jasmine gorse, honeysuckle, hyssop, iris, jonquil, linden, narcissus, peony, snowdrop, tansy & violet

Goddesses: Aphrodite, Ariadne, Artemis, Athena, Coatlicue, Cybele,Demeter, Diana, Eos, Eostre, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Idunn, Iris, Ishtar, Juno, Minerva, Persephone, Venus & Vesta

Gods: Adonis, Attis, Celi, Cernunnos, Coel, Dagda, Dalon ap Landu, Dumuzi, Green Man, Lord of the Greenwood, Mithras, Odin, Osiris, Ovis & Pan

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, balance, beauty, fertility, growth, life, love & rebirth/renewal

Spellwork: Air magick, fertility, new beginnings & water magick

Activities:

• Go on a hike/walk & look for signs of spring

• Add Ostara symbols to decorate your altar space

• Plant vegetable &/or flower seedlings

• Decorate eggs with bright colors

• Set your intentions for the weeks/months ahead

• Start a new class or hobby

• Create eggshell candles

• Make plans & new routines for the future

• Participate in rituals & ceremonies that connect you with energy & the life force of nature

• Have a feast with your friends &/family with sprouts & leafy greens

• Bake hot cross buns or lavender/lemon flavored treats

• Clean & de-clutter your home

• Try a re-birthing/ renewing ritual

• Bring fresh flowers or plants into into the home

• Host a spring & floral themed tea party

• Make egg based food dishes & desserts

This holiday marks the Spring Equinox, which happens before March 19-22. It is the second of three spring celebrations (the midpoint between Imbolc and Beltane) during which light & darkness are again in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings & of life emerging further from the grips of winter.

There is much debate regarding the origins of Ostara due to the lack of primary sources about this sabbat. One theory is the name of Ostara came from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Another theory is that Eostre is more of a localized goddess in Kent County, England. Despite the questions of her origins, Eostre is associated with modern-day Pagan traditions of Ostara.

There is no evidence that the ancient Greeks or Romans celebrated Ostara, although they did celebrate their own spring festivals, such as the Roman festival of Floralia & the Greek festival of Anthesteria. It was a time to honor the returning sun, fertility & rebirth.

Related festivals:

• Nowruz- March 19th

Nowruz marks the first day of spring & renewal of nature. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox. It is also celebrated as the beginning of the new year by people all around the world for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East & other regions.

It promotes values of peace & solidarity between generations & within families as well as reconciliation & neighbourliness. Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect & the ideals of peace and good neighbourliness.

Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire & water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects & more; these customs differ between the diverse peoples & countries that celebrate the festival.

• Holi- March 25th

Holi is a popular & significant Hindu festival celebrated as the The festival of colors, Love &Spring. It commemorates eternal and divine love of the deities Radha & Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it celebratess the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Holi originated & is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, but has also spread to other regions of Asia & parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.

Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring in India, the end of winter & the blossoming of love. It is also an invocation for a good spring harvest season. It lasts for a night & a day, starting on the evening of the Purnima (full moon day) falling on the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, which falls around the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar.

• Easter- March 31st

also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival & cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, & penance.

Easter traditions vary across the Christian world & include sunrise services or late-night vigils, exclamations & exchanges of Paschal greetings, flowering the cross & the decoration and the communal breaking of Easter eggs (a symbol of the empty tomb) among many others. The Easter lily is a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day & for the rest of Eastertide. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter & are observed by both Christians & some non-Christians include Easter parades, communal dancing, the Easter Bunny & egg hunting.

Other Celebrations:

• Festival of Luna- March 31st

Is a feast day honoring the Goddess Luna who is seen as the divine embodiment of the Moon.

The Temple of Luna was a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome, dedicated to Luna, the moon goddess. Its dedication was celebrated on March 31st, thus the celebration.

According to Tacitus, it was built by king Servius Tullius. However, the first confirmed reference to a temple to Luna dates to 182 BC & refers to one of its doors being knocked off its posts by a miraculous blast of air & shot into the back of the Temple of Ceres. That account probably places the temple at the north end of the hill, just above porta Trigemina. The temple was struck by lightning around the time of the death of Cinna, as was the temple of Ceres. After the destruction of Corinth, Lucius Mummius Achaicus dedicated some of his spoils from the city to this temple. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD & not rebuilt.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

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heartsforseo · 1 month

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Strawhats with a Lolita member

Summary: The straw hats just boarded into a new island. But, not like any others. This island was all white and black. Until they met you. The reader also has Daki's demon art technique. This was the request REQUEST are open (IM BEGGING) word count: 1.6k

The straw hats first met you on a gloomy island. Due to the lack of vibrant colors, everyone's in formal and dark clothing. Everyone except you. Your background was a blur. You grew up on the other side of the island and only come to the town when you need something.

Today was always the same. You wore your tall heels and grabbed your ribbon bag. You looked at your mirror one last time to check your makeup and fix your black and pink hair.

You leave your pastel house and start walking to the town. Your frilly dress bounces on every step you make, along with all the little decorations and the big ribbon on your back. Your creamy stockings hug your smooth and perfect thighs. Your parasol, walking beside you, waiting to be opened and used.

The walk to the town was short. All kinds of animals surrounded you. Hostile or not. You were an eye candy on the gloomy island, the only one with colors and a devil fruit.

You looked at the harbor. A ship has arrived. The Jolly Roger is a skull with two crossed bones underneath and a straw hat on top. You looked back at the market, trying to find people standing out.

You opened your parasol and took out your creamy fan, holding it below your eyes. There, you saw a young man with a straw hat, the captain, you presume. Next to him was a girl with tangerine hair and a man with curly eyebrows. Your island doesn't often get visitors. The last time someone came, they never went back to the sea.

There is a saying if you offend the island and do something wrong. At night, sashes will wrap around your body and slowly absorb you.

"Hey! I've been trying to call you for the last 5 minutes." The voice whined. You snapped out of your thoughts--making a little sound, and you looked at the man. He looks like a plank separated by its group.

"What's your name, and why are you the only one glowing?" the tall, lanky man asked.

"Y/n…" you quietly muttered. The fan was a great asset today. Covering your pink blush and trembling mouth.

"Hm…do you know anything about t-" "Luffy! Stop running a- A LADY~"

"Oh, uhm…" You were starting to get uncomfortable. Today was just supposed to be like yesterday and the day before. While the two were busy fighting among themselves, you had run off and went to one of the instrument stores.

There, you saw a tall man's back. He had an afro and, by the neck--an orange scarf. He also had a gold top hat and a cane on his side. The tall man turned around and, to your horror, a skeleton. Before it could open its mouth, your devil fruit accidentally activated, and your sashes were wrapped around the skeleton, ending it with a ribbon.

You gasped and mumbled a quick sorry, then left the store. Today has been unpleasant. You left the town while holding your mirror, making your hair and makeup look good. When you were away from the townsfolk, you used your fruit and made your ribbons carry you.

Various thoughts entered your mind. But the forest was calming you down. You looked around you-- and a woman with sunglasses and a bag stepped out of the shadow.

"That was an interesting ability, miss." The lady said.

You looked at the mysterious woman. Her clothes and accessories fit her. "Oh, uh, thank you!" You answered cheerfully.

"I saw a house on the other side of the island. It was hard to ignore it, especially the color the owner chose. With all the evidence I gathered, you were the legend the people were discussing. Ribbons and sash?"

You tilted your head to the side and asked, "How do you know?"

The woman chuckled and answered, "I saw what you did to my friend Brook. I asked the locals about the ribbons. They said that pirates only left their clothing behind, no bones or skin," she continued, "I must say what you're doing here is heroic. But don't you get ever tired from the lack of color?"

I left my ribbon vehicle and finally spoke, "This place wasn't white and black. It used to be full of color and life. One day, I was exploring the forest all by myself. I never made any friends. They said my style was too childish. My friends were animals, and I was hanging out with them. One of the red pandas gave me a strawberry. Instead of its usual dots, it got replaced with tiny carved ribbons. I ate it since my friend gave it to me. It tasted weird, and I passed out. When I woke up, the island had no color except for me. I want to help my people first."

The woman said, "Have you never thought you were the problem?"

I gasped. Me? What did I ever do?

"I'm not saying that you are. But what if? Me and my crew are going to depart tomorrow. I could show you around the ship. All your belongings are in the Thousand Sunny."

"I- can I at least check the ship first?"

Now, here you are in front of the Thousands Sunny. You entered the big ship, holding your fan just below your eyes. There was no one, and the only light source was on the second floor towards the back of the ship.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Nico Robin. You can call me Robin."

After the tour, you find out the men sleep on the first floor while the girls sleep on the second floor. Speaking of sleep, the crew arranged your corner neatly. You had your vanity and a lot of picture frames. Your bed also had a lot of frilly and curtains, and the wardrobe filled with Lolita and Victorian dresses.

"Let's go to the last room. The dining room." Robin said.

There, you two entered the room. All of the straw hat members except Robin were eating happily.

"I'll introduce you to all of them. The man with the straw hat is our captain, Luffy. The girl with the orange hair is our navigator, Nami. The guy with the long nose is our sniper, Ussop. The guy wearing a suit is the ship's cook, Sanji. The reindeer is the ship's doctor, Chopper. The tall man is a cyborg and is the crew's shipwright, Franky. The skeleton, the guy you packaged neatly, is the musician, and his name is Brook. Lastly, the Fishman is the helmsman, and his name is Jinbei. Let's eat with them."

You walked behind Robin, your fan still in front of your face.

"Oh, it's you!" Nami yelled. "LADY~" Sanji shouted.

You winced from the roaring noise and instinctively opened your umbrella to avoid them. Robin noticed you shifting and held your hand, then closed your umbrella. Sanji served you food, and you sat on the counter.

That night was lovely and fun. The crew, even though it looked chaotic at first, was pleasant. Everybody's different personalities make you fit in like the last puzzle piece. The ship made you feel needed. It made you feel wanted.

You left the dining area and stared outside. In front, you could see the vast ocean. But if you look back, you can see your colorful island. Colorful island?

Was I the problem all along?

"So, do you accept my offer now?" You look beside you to see Robin also staring at the island. You closed your umbrella and shifted your body, staring at her.

"I do."

The next day, you woke up in your bed. Last night was a bit of a blur. Luffy was cheering that someone new joined, and all the crew were doing whatever. You went to the girl's room and immediately passed out.

You stood up and looked at the mirror, observing the heart-shaped beauty mark below your right eye. You took out some new clothes, a white dress stopping at your thighs. You also took a pair of socks that reached your knees and arm warmers, stopping at your shoulders.

You look at the room Nami and Robin, sleeping peacefully.

After showering, you went to the girl's room and put your hair into pigtails, using two large ribbons as hair ties.

You finally left the room and went down to the first floor. There, mostly all of the straw hats were chilling.

"Are we leaving now?" You asked

"Yeah, the log post finally worked, and we're now going to the next island," Franky replied

You stared back at your island, slowly drifting away.

"I hope the animals will be--"

"I saw some marines just east from here," Zoro yelled from the top nest.

The next thing you knew, cannonballs were being launched at you.

Half of the crewmembers were still asleep. The only ones awake were Sanji, Zoro, and Jinbei.

"Don't worry. There are only two ships. I can handle it." You said.

The three looked at each other and nodded. Then, all went back to work.

You used your ribbons and stretched them to make them larger and larger. You wrapped the two ships like a present and ended it with a large bow.

You turn your gaze toward the direction of your island, feeling a sense of loss as it disappears from your view. However, the presence of your friends by your side gives you a glimmer of hope and comfort. It's hard to adjust, but having friends nearby makes it peaceful.

A/n: OMGG I FINISHED IT IN A DAY!! I STARTED ON 11 AM AND FINISHED AT 3 PM I AM SO SO HAPPY!! I LOVE THIS REQUEST SO MUCH SINCE I WANTED TO DRESS LIKE LOLITA BUT NEVER GOT THE CONFIDENCE. ANYWAYS TY ANON!! I LIKE BEING A WORKAHOLIC

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moonydustx · 7 months

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The Night of Confessions.

masterlist | requests

Summary: After finding the ship's crew member who was invading the kitchen at night, Sanji and the reader become friends. What can please a cook to thank for the good friendship?

Warnings: lots of flashbacks (all in italic), takes place a few weeks after part 1. reader with some insecure thoughts. a hint of a sad reader, fluff in general. sorry for possible errors, story not proofread.

WC: 3.3k

Pairing: Sanji x F!Reader (more thought of as OPLA!Sanji, but I've been loving the anime, so feel free with your choice).

A/N: A total of zero people asked and I still did it! In fact, I had thought of 3 parts for the story (the last one would be a smut that I'm still really thinking about, since I have an idea for the same theme for Zoro). That's it, I hope you like it and who knows, maybe I'll come back with more of this soon.

Read part 1 here

Before you even opened your eyes, your hands involuntarily searched for something on the other side of the bed, unfortunately finding only the unoccupied sheet.

"Good morning, Miss." Sanji's voice reached your ears before you could even open your eyes. "

Good morning. Wait, is it daytime?"

"Yes. I believe someone managed to sleep well tonight, no nightmares." he turned towards you. Even though you were drowsy, you leaned on one of your elbows, getting closer to him.

"Yeah, I believe so." You didn't know where your eyes would go, to the disheveled blonde locks, to the almost shy smile or the clear eyes that stared at you.

You could see his eyes looking at you too, but neither of you took the right action. At least the attitude you expected. Sanji could feel your breath on his face, your eyes shone when you looked into his, enough for him to come to his senses and move away.

"I-I..." he stood up, adjusting his shirt. "My dear, I will prepare breakfast and as soon as it is ready, I will call you." he headed towards the door.

"Sanji?"

"Yes mon amour."

"Thanks."

You were unused to sleeping alone, at least compared to before. Not that you would accept any company in your room.

It was just a few nights that he spent in your company. With each one, you discovered a new thing in common.

It was difficult to understand what you felt, it was strange. It was as if all the breezes coming from the sea surrounded your stomach, or even as if it didn't matter that they were still far from the Grand Line. It was okay to take longer to achieve your goals, as long as you stayed with your crew, everything was okay. What you didn't expect was the distance.

Damn, damn distance. Little by little you noticed him moving away from you. He wouldn't leave you alone, ever, but something was slowly cooling down and that was much more intriguing than anything else the other seas could bring to you.

Even though you weren't ready to face the day, you stood up and walked to the kitchen, finding the person responsible for so many doubts in your mind. How could a damned cook leave you lost like that? Had you asked too much of his help? Or had he simply gotten tired of being your friend? What was that strange feeling again? Damn, this wasn't the time to think about that.

"Good morning Ji." Your voice caught his attention, and he smiled in your direction.

"Good morning darling. I hope you slept well." you sat in front of him, watching him cut some fruit. An idea, perhaps not the smartest, crossed your mind.

"Too much. And you?"

"Good." He remained silent for a few seconds, focused on something that looked like just a simple apple.

"Finally fell out of bed." Zoro walked past you, sitting next to you and grabbing some breakfast.

"Look who's talking, you're a walking mummy. You're constantly bandaged up and sleep everywhere." you retorted, laughing at his face.

"Let's see if you say that later." Zoro's words immediately reached Sanji, who no longer insisted on pretending not to be listening to the conversation.

"Let's see who lasts longer, cucumber head. Don't forget my order." you lightly elbowed the swordsman, who just grunted. "You promised!"

"Why don't you take it yourself? I was thinking about spending some time on other things."

"I don't think I'm going to disembark today. I'm not feeling very well." As soon as the words left your lips, Sanji's attention became all yours.

"Is there anything I can help with, ma'am?"

"No, no Sanji. Women's problems."

"One more reason for me to win today!" Zoro returned the elbow, this time making you groan. Before Sanji could curse him for the measly push, he had already left you alone.

"Maybe I can make some tea, get something ready. All you have to do is tell me, darling."

"Don't worry about it. I'll rest a little longer." You left, leaving him alone, watching you and questioning why you refused help.

You just couldn't say it was part of your plan. As they were already used to, whenever they anchored in a town or city, they would spend a day exploring the nearest areas and return to the boat at dusk - if they weren't lost in a bar - to decide whether to stay longer in the place.

You waited until you were sure everyone had left the boat to put your plan into action. Would it be a good idea to cook to please a chef? Maybe not, but it would be worth a try. At least, you already understood a little of the recipe you needed to make.

"You won't eat cold lunch food again." once again, you were scared by Sanji's presence in the kitchen. He soon stood next to you, taking the plate. "What do you want?"

"To cook!"

"Now I'm surprised. The night's sneaking out for a snack really inspired you. What are we going to do then?"

"How about some pasta?" you suggested, already eager for the answer. "I know this isn't the best time to eat this, but..."

"If it's pasta my girl wants, we'll make pasta. What will we need?" He left it up to you to respond, laughing loudly when he noticed your confusion. "You really don't do well in the kitchen, do you? I'm glad I'm here."

Flour, eggs, salt. Okay, the first ingredients were easy. Maybe it was too early to start the recipe, but you didn't want to run the risk of him arriving early and catching you in the kitchen.

It took hours for you to get the right doneness, but the pasta strands looked perfect, now all that was left to do was cook it and add it to the sauce, which you had a vague idea of what to do.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" you indicated to the pan full of water.

"Until it boils." Sanji warned, adding generous spoonfuls of salt to the water.

"Wouldn't it be too salty?"

"No, honey. When we make this kind of pasta, the water needs to be hot as hell and salty as the sea." he took a spoon and poured in some of the liquid, blowing gently as the smoke dissipated. "Try it."

His laughter upon seeing your disapproving face filled the entire ship and certainly must have disturbed the other crew members who were sleeping there.

"Hot as hell, salty as the sea. Got it."

"I knew someone sweet like you would hate this, but in the end, the recipe will be delicious. Someday, I'll make the seafood version, you'll love it, it's my favorite."

Tomatoes, shrimps and tuna. It was enough to make the sauce. You didn't want to invent much more than you knew how to do and even so, you were already feeling afraid of what might come out of it.

The day was already ending when you finished making the dish. Pasta with seafood sauce. Probably a much simpler version of what the crew cook would make. You arranged some cutlery on the table, prepared a juice with tangerines and tried to get as many things ready as possible.

"What are you doing?" the scream that came out of your throat was almost involuntary when you heard Nami.

"What, are you guys back already?"

"Just me for now." she explained, coming around the table. "Who did all this?"

"Not the official cook."

"Weren't you feeling bad?" She laughed when she saw you disconcerted. "I knew it was a lie. You asked me for help with that two weeks ago, remember?"

"Okay, maybe I was just trying to get the boys off my back."

"What I don't understand is that we already have a cook..." she put her hand on her chin, analyzing you "Do you want to take his place..."

"Never! I love Sanji's cooking!" you responded almost immediately, leaving her euphoric with the conclusion.

"I knew it! You want to impress him. You like him! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, more money for me."

"What do you mean Nami?"

"You didn't deny it, so I'm right." trying to leave the topic of money aside, she turned you around, pushing you towards your room. "And for that, you'd better take off your soaked clothes. Get ready, I'll cover you if any of them show up."

Before you could question anything, Nami was already leading you into the room. And she was almost right, in every proposition. Firstly, you didn't just want to impress Sanji, you wanted to thank him for the time he spent being a great friend and maybe make it up to him for you upsetting him so much the last few weeks. And second, you didn't just need to change, you would need a shower to remove all the shrimp smell from your body.

With a speed you didn't yet know, you managed to do everything. Take a shower, fix your hair and choose your favorite outfit. You were ready, which made you even more nervous.

As soon as you left your room, you could see Nami breathe a sigh of relief, at the same time as the other crew members rushed into the kitchen.

"Finally. I thought I was going to need to yank you away from the door." Zoro was the first to enter, soon followed by Luffy and Usopp.

"What's that smell? Sanji, did you leave a feast ready for us?" Luffy already went straight to the table, earning a slap from Nami. "I'm hungry."

"With that smell, it's impossible not to be." Usopp added, getting slapped as well.

"Everyone eat together." she warned.

"What does it smell like..." Sanji was the last to enter, finding the table set. "What is that?"

"Well, um." you took the lead, feeling your legs tremble. Your eyes were lost in Sanji's "You've been... I mean, you've all been great friends. I wanted to prepare some delicious food for us."

"But Sanji already does that." Luffy spoke and you knew it was in the best interests, which made you laugh when you saw Nami's face at him.

"I know, I just wanted to maybe surprise you with something different."

"Then let's fill our bellies, because later I intend to fill myself with drink." Zoro settled down, picking up one of the plates. "And if it turns out good, your drink is on me today."

"Oh, of course." you replied and despite smiling, you were focused on something else.

Sanji was still standing at the door, observing the table and almost without meaning to, his gaze crossed yours. You could see them glow from afar and at the same time, you could feel your stomach churn with anticipation to know if he had liked the little surprise.

Everyone sat down to dinner and from what you heard, you were satisfied with the food and eager to tell you everything you had seen in the village. Except Sanji. He seemed intent on eating from his plate, savoring every bite.

"It was incredible!" Luffy said, finishing turning the plate into his mouth "It's good to know that we have someone who knows how to cook besides Sanji."

"Best food I've ever tasted." Zoro said and it didn't take much for you to know that he was just saying that to provoke the other cook.

"You never said that about my dishes!" Sanji's grumble made everyone at the table laugh, including you, partly because of the comment, but mainly because he had finally said something.

"You've never done anything good like this. I think now you can go back to being a waiter."

"Both foods are amazing, maybe you'll work well together." the malicious tone didn't go unnoticed in Usopp's words, making your face burn with embarrassment.

Before you could find words to respond, Nami noticed your little desperation and stood up.

"Belly full, time for Zoro to buy our drinks."

"It wasn't you I promised. Let me go, woman!" he grunted as Nami pulled him to his feet.

"We go ahead and they find us later." she suggested, hoping everyone would understand who should remain on the boat.

"But I'm still hungry." Luffy complained and one look from Nami was enough for him to stand up. "Okay, I'll go with you, but I better have some snacks."

"I'll stay here, help our cook organize things and we'll meet you there." Sanji spoke, causing Usopp to also get up and follow the three others.

As they left, you took the opportunity to start taking the dishes off the table and as soon as they were alone, you saw Sanji leave the kitchen. The anxiety that maybe you had been too clingy gnawed at you.

"Have you seen Sanji?" you asked Nami, who seemed distracted doodling something.

"Nah, he's probably stuck in the kitchen, inventing something."

You hurried along, playing cards dancing between your fingers until you found Luffy attacking the fridge. "

Ah, hi! I was just checking to make sure everything was ok here." He spoke with a mouth full of meat, making you laugh.

"Have you seen Sanji?" "It must be in his room. If you can, please don't tell him what you just saw." he smiled, amidst the pile of food.

"Leave it captain."

You went to his room, gaining the courage to knock on the door three times and hear a "Come in" from inside.

"Excuse me." you hung your body inside the room. "Everything is fine?"

"Of course, miss. Is there anything you need?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to play cards with me. I almost didn't see you today." you proposed excitedly, a feeling that didn't last long.

"I'm sorry, I think I'd rather be alone for a bit."

After that, the late-night cooking trips stopped, and he seemed to flirt less with you, which gave you less space to respond. Maybe you were a very clingy friend, and maybe Sanji didn't like that.

The water ran while you stood still, immersed in your thoughts. What you didn't expect was to feel two arms around your body, turning off the tap and pulling your arms away from the sink.

"Leave it, mon cher." He turned to you and with some gentleness, took off the apron you had just put on. "You already made dinner, I'll take care of it later."

"Did you like it?" The words left your lips involuntarily, leaving you disconcerted under his gaze.

"Pasta with seafood sauce?" he waved with a smile, as he picked up two glasses.

You leaned against the counter opposite Sanji's and only then did you notice the bottle of wine next to you. Now his little disappearance made sense.

"The best dinner I've had in a long time." he placed the glasses next to you.

The two of them were alone there, just the two of them in the entire huge ship. Why was he so close to your body? Only a few centimeters separated them as he filled both glasses.

"Serious?" Sanji could melt right there when he saw the light in your eyes when he heard the praise. And he didn't make a point of hiding his smile because of it. "I mean, I just followed your recipe from that day."

"You said..." his smile faded, taking on a more serious tone as he took a sip of his drink. You, a nervous chaos, had almost completely turned the glass over. "You said you did all this, that it was because we were good friends..."

"Let me explain." you interrupted him, touching your hand to his chest involuntarily. Again, your brain seemed not to follow your feelings. "I know I didn't explain it well at the time, but you've been a great friend. Helping me with my sleepless nights, teaching me new things. I mean, I know I'm a little clingy and I understand you wanting some space . But today I just wanted to do this to thank you for everything you've done for me these days. You've been an incredible friend."

Before answering, he immediately put his glass aside. The hand that held the drink soon found your chin, gently lifting it so he could look you in the eyes. His hands gently cupped your face, in an affable gesture.

"I don't want to be just that. I don't want space either." he laughed, as if it were a joke that only he understood.

Your eyes were lost on Sanji's face. It was as if something pulled you and left you immersed in it, almost hypnotized.

"I don't want to see you awake at night scared, I don't want to have to leave you here alone on the ship when you're not well. I-I don't want to see you making appointments with that idiot swordsman. I-I..." all the his euphoria seemed to fade, the end coming out as just a whisper. "I don't just want to be your friend."

No warning, no permissions or no questions. Almost immediately his lips found yours softly. A long peck, testing the waters ahead. Your hands, previously hanging, found the face of your favorite cook, giving him the little courage he still lacked.

You could feel his kiss invading your mouth and heavens, that was what you expected. His hands dropped from your face and ran down the side of your body, until they reached your waist. The small cry of fright was muffled by Sanji's lips as he grabbed you by the waist and placed you on the counter, fitting himself between your legs.

You could sink there, you could let the air escape from your body and you would still die happy, but soon you felt it invade your lungs in a quick sigh, as Sanji's lips descended towards your neck, proving a path of goosebumps.

"Sanji." the damn heaven was there, hearing your voice calling him like that. Not even All Blue itself would be better than that. "Ji, wait."

His lips moved away from yours, but he didn't make a point of taking you off the bench, or taking his hands away from your body or at least disguising the fact that he couldn't stop looking at your lips, or your eyes, or any part your.

"So, you're not tired of me?"

"I just needed to get my head straight." he replied, his fingers exchanging some misunderstood pattern on your hips. "All I could think about was you and I was afraid that maybe it would go too far. That's why I took distance."

Instead of responding with words, you just sealed your lips with his, who seemed unable to contain a smile with such action.

"Even though I like it here, I think we should go. They're probably waiting for us." you warned, but Sanji just pressed your body tighter against his.

"We have drinks here and from what I remember missus, the herbal tea worked that day, so you owe me a drink."

"You have no proof." you teased him, already anticipating the comment he would make.

"If you don't remember, I slept next to you that night." he replied, as you predicted. "If you prefer me to remind you, I can sleep today, and tomorrow, and then..." with each word, he stole another kiss from your lips.

"But, I believe we should stay here, from what I remember, you weren't feeling very well today."

"Haven't you realized yet that it was a lie to stay alone on the ship? It seems easy, but that dough gave me a hard time, it took me all day to make it and..." you saw him threaten to open his lips for a laugh or some comment sarcastic about his culinary skills. "One word about this and I will now accept the drink Zoro was going to buy me."

"Lucky for you, your boyfriend is a great cook and you'll never have to worry about that."

"Boyfriend, hm?"

"For now. I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon." your lips were captured again and you finally understood that damn feeling. The sea breeze inside your stomach, the tremor in your hands and the heat in your body.

"Better not let go, cook."

#opla!sanji x reader #sanji x you #sanji imagine #one piece sanji #one piece #reader insert #fiction #sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji

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itsthatmff · 1 year

Text

Taking you out on a date ||| Genos, Garou, Metal bat

Appreciation post for the teen trio of opm 🤭

She/her pronouns used!

Requests are open anytime <3

Genos

“I apologize, I must have disappointed you.”

Poor boy literally spent DAYS analyzing your likes and dislikes in order to take you out to the perfect date, as you both made plans to go out on the weekend.

He spent so much time trying to sort out potential places to go that he ended up with nothing on the day you both wanted to go out.

He stood there, in front of your door about to pick you up, with the guiltiest expression on his face. (Well as guilty as a cyborg can look, ykwim)

says sorry for about 100 times before he shuts his mouth. You literally have to stop him mid sentence for his explanations to end.

“IT’S OKAY- you could have just asked me where i want to go instead of making it so hard for you. I like Aquariums, why don’t we go there?”

“Oh.”

Feels like the most stupid (person) in the world at that moment. Had he known it was this easy, he probably wouldn’t have gone through such lengths. (He would have. Cuz boy doesn’t realize that he’s in love with you.)

Usually Genos is pretty blunt and forward, i guess that’s why trying to come up with something was so hard for him. For the first time, trying to ask you directly didnt cross his mind, as he wanted to make you happy all by himself.

You both spent the rest of the day at the aquarium, with you admiring the sea animals, and him admiring you. He realized after a while that his gaze was stuck on you, and definitely made a mental note to ask dr. Kuseno if there was something wrong in his system.

EVERY TIME YOU MENTIONED THAT AN ANIMAL LOOKED CUTE, HE PAMPERED YOU WITH INFORMATION ON THAT SPECIFIC ANIMAL.

Like the tension would be all romantic, you’d be looking at glowing jellyfish, and he’d be staring at you, smiling a tinsy bit. Then you’d say something like “look Genos! That jellyfish looks so cute!” And the next second, Genos would turn into a search engine.

“That’s an Aequorea victoria, also sometimes called the crystal jelly. It’s a bioluminescent hydrozoan jellyfish, or hydromedusa. It can be found off the west coast of North America. The species is best known as the source of aequorin, and green fluorescent protein-“

“Okay- thats enough genos.”

All in all, it would be a pretty fun date! Genos would end the day by saying “I really enjoyed going out with you, Y/N-san. Next time I will take you out to someplace even better. No mistakes allowed.”

Garou

“What are you looking at? Don’t you like it?”

Guy heard “let’s go on a date!” And rolled with it.

Though his idea of a “date” might look a bit different.

100 percent took advantage of it when you said “let’s go somewhere you like”

So of course y’all ended up in an all you can eat buffet.

And he won’t be paying for it 💀 (the fee might look a “bit” expensive, make sure you take a good amount of money with you)

Chugs down a plate after the other, so at least the money isn’t wasted.

Once he sees your kind of upset face, he stops taking bites of that real good steak and looks at you confused.

You were happy to spend time with him, you really were, But this just wasn’t what you thought it out to be. Of course you expected it to be at least a LITTLE romantic, even though he wasn’t your boyfriend yet, nor did he know that you liked him.

But sorry to disappoint you, romance is a foreign word for this oblivious man.

If you tell him how you feel about the date though, he’ll give you the widest smirk “you’re happy to spend time with me?” Completely ignoring everything else you said

Once y’all are done eating, he’ll make sure to walk you home, if you’re cold he’ll even hold you. So that’s at least something ?

You have to be REALLY forward and blunt with him, or else all he’ll do is tease you.

If you really wanna make him blush just straight up hold his hand, he won’t do nun. Yelling at you or hurting you is an absolute no for him.

Metal bat

“My sister suggested this place, ya like it?”

Metal bat pretty much has all the knowledge he needs when it comes to girls, as he has to take out and hang out with his little sister a lot.

Most of the time it’s shopping malls where his sister drags him from shop to shop for hours.

So like once they were both shopping for a cute little bag because Zenko had won a piano competition and big brother was proud asf 🤭 and ofc she had realized that he’d be mentioning this one girl from time to time.

“Big bro, why don’t you just take her out on a date?”

But like, we’re talking about a little kid here, so her advice may not be as fitting 😭 she literally only gave him tips on where SHE would like to go.

“If I were her I’d love to be taken to an amusement park, and then he should win me a big unicorn plushy !”

But Metal bat loves his sister more than anything, AND he has 2 brain cells so ofc he’d listen to her, thinking it’d be the best date idea.

A couple days later (he especially took a day off from work for you and told the HQ that they shouldnt call him even if there’s an emergency) he takes you out saying it’s a “surprise”, but once you both stand in front of the amusement park, your reaction isn’t quite what he expected.

It was an kids amusement park. ALL of the rides were fit in for children.

You were happy of course, but metal bat expected you to be fawning over him by now. (That’s what zenko at least told him. Quoting “she’ll be head over heels once you both arrive big brother!”)

“Why are we at an kids amusement park ?”

“My sister recommended it”

“…”

“Makes sense.”

Well you both already got tickets so all you could do was make the best out of it.

At least the food was good! Metal bat bought you candied apples, chocolate strawberries, cotton candy, everything you laid your eyes on.

And he got you lots of plushies, like, LOTS of plushies.

The kids there did recognize Him tho, so it took a while to get away from the crowd of children wanting autographs and photos.

Metal bat ends up feeling like he ruined your date, so you can see him being kinda upset, after cheering him up though, you both promise to go to a place that both of you could enjoy next time.

He literally has to hold himself back not to spit out the words “i love you” cuz you looked so adorable on that day. (Especially eating the cotton candy)

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