#fluffy babey

[mossy-chaos]

4 days till pride!

Feeling eepy today

Resting with Luna on my day off of school

[dapper-lil-arts]

Fanart of @punkitt-is-here's fursona! Thank you for putting big fluffy stuff on main 🙏

Also Idk what's wrong with me but when I saw this cute art Punkitt made the barbarian painting was the FIRST thing I thought of. lmao

[satans-knitwear]

Behold! Fluffy baby sploot

[killuaisaprincess]

Souvenir

Killua holds the bunny plush closer and buries his nose in Gon’s chest; Gon swallows, and his gaze hardens.

How could they?

“Yo! Gon, we got the…”

Leorio trails off as he sees Killua clinging to Gon and rushes over.

Kurapika’s eyes flash red, and he runs over to them.

“What happened?!”

Gon shakes his head and holds Killua closer to his chest.

“Nothing! Nothing! Killua just needed a little love.”

Kurapika sighs, and Leorio slumps over in relief.

read on ao3!

[sylviareviar]

For once, he is awake.

And now...

He must screm

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--

[liliesandthemoon]

And they were childhood friends! (Oh my God they were childhood friends...)

(Art commissioned to the lovely @/its-blue-bell, please check them out!! 😊)

[fluffydice]

heyyy

Leo loved Donnie to pieces. It was a mere fact. He loved every bit of his baby twin, from the top of his head down to the flicking tip of his tail.

It was why he was trying very hard to figure out what to say in response to Donnie's pet-project he was so proudly presenting. Especially because it was amazing to see Donnie be proud these days. As shy as he was, fidgeting with his hands and allowing only for a tiny smile, Donnie's chest was puffed. For once, he wasn't curled on himself to try and be small and unnoticeable.

Leo couldn't stand the thought of scaring that bravado away. So he hesitated a long moment before venturing finally, "So, who's this, Donbon?"

"This" being the hulking mass (maybe around, oh... six feet) of greenery currently curling and wafting through the air—which wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a plant, except for the fact that there was no wind making its way through their home.

The stems were also uncomfortably snake-like in their movements so there was that, too.

Donnie's smile grew a bit as he looked on at his... very special plant, taking an outright affectionate edge. "This is Loretta. She's my little Cape sundew."

Leo heard Mikey swallow thickly next to him. "L-little?"

"Yes. That's why she only has a few leaves. But she's been growing more rather quickly—she's very proud of them." From a pocket on his belt, Donnie pulled out a long pair of gloves. He tugged them on, pulling them almost up to his shoulders, before reaching a hand out to one of the waving... tentacle-leaf-things. As he did, he cooed lowly, "Yes, yes, my little dewdrop, such a big girl! Are you gonna have the prettiest flowers ever soon? Yes you are!"

Leo and Mikey watched in shock and mild horror as they all began to drift over to Donnie. The closest one curled slowly around the offered arm. The little hairs(?) flexed and relaxed repetetively as Donnie reached another hand over to pet the long stem in the middle.

"She's very sweet," Donnie explained. "But she's... skittish. She freaked out when she first met the cat. I want to socialize her a bit more, just so she doesn't react as strongly when new things come along."

"Right, right," Leo said stiffly.

"Makes sense," Mikey squeaked out.

"If you look right here, you can see that she has a bit of old growth." Donnie looked back at them with those wide, innocent eyes of his. Leo's stare flickered between them and the browning growth his twin was motioning at. "It's easy to remove—you don't have to do anything special. I usually just snip it off for her when she needs it. Whoever removes the most old stems from her will win the Lair Games, okay?"

Leo and Mikey looked at each other slowly. Looked back at Donnie.

That was... easy. It sounded easy.

Something was terribly wrong.

"That. It? Just remove the dying stuff, baby?" Leo asked as he eyed the mutated, apparently sentient plant. He had so many questions, and not nearly enough will to ask them.

Donnie smiled softly. "Yeah. That's it."

Someone cleared their throat. Both Leo and Mikey jumped at the sound, wound-up and nervous. Everyone looked over to see Raph shuffling on the periphery of their gathered group, holding something in his hands. "I, uh. Got the stuff you asked for, bud," he said meekly, making himself small as he approached Donnie.

Donnie made a small, appreciative noise. He took the object gingerly, from a relatively limp grasp. Raph was too busy appropriately gawking at the massive, twisting plant to pay any mind to the handoff, which made Leo feel a tiny bit better about this whole situation.

"Thank you so much, Raph," Donnie said, shy and earnest. Leo looked over at the sound of his voice and watched as Donnie gently untangled his arm from his plant to pull the plastic wrap off of the... ground beef he had, why did he ask for—

"Here you go, dewdrop," Donnie crooned, and grabbed a chunk of meat with his gloved hands and placed it delicately on the end of one of the hairy leaves.

In contrast to the gentle, wagging movements the plant had been making, the moment Donnie removed his hand, Loretta's leaf basically snapped over itself and squeezed around the beef. The rest of them gaped in horror as the a quiet fizzing—like acid eating away at metal—rang through the air and the food began to. To fucking. Melt? Dissolve??

Donnie smiled at them as it happened. "Sundews are carnivorous," he explained, soft and sweet.

"O-oh, how—" Leo's mouth flapped for a moment as he thought about his twin's gentle pride, and tried to reconcile it with his apparently acid-secreting, carnivorous mutated plant kinda-daughter. "Interesting!"

Donnie's smile grew sharp. Leo's hands jerked back, like he'd pricked himself on a thorn. "Well. Whenever you two are ready."

cc!Donnie referee for Lair Games? Leo and Mikey tie and Splinter lets Don choose the final challenge instead?

they stare at him expectantly because they know he has no malice in his heart these days and he just starts. giggling. not laughing. not even doing that maniacal cackling he does when he's trying to play up a bad idea. he gets an idea and starts giggling like a schoolgirl and their relieved smiles slowly melt into cold full-blown terror

[millermouth]

your fluffy joel series is so cute 😭😭😭 love me some fluff. Could i request some fluff with pre outbreak joel? like him coming back from work all tired but you have dinner cooking and greet him at the door with a bunch of kisses like usual and being like “how was work today? I missed you so much baby” 🥺 and snuggling with him afterwards. My lil babey i love him

Joel Miller x Reader drabble

fluffy pre-outbreak Joel, domestic, short n sweet thank you for the sweet request anon! Hope this get your day started right :) love you x

The steady chopping of your knife against the wooden cutting board melds into the low hum of the record player spinning in the corner, the warm crackle of oldies country tune filling the kitchen. The air is thick with the scent of butter and garlic, the pan on the stove sizzling softly as you work, dicing fresh vegetables to toss in next.

Dinner was always a casual thing with Joel—he was a meat and potatoes kind of guy through and through. If it were up to him, he’d eat the same three meals for the rest of his life. But little by little, you were changing his ways, sneaking in things like roasted vegetables, herbs he couldn’t name, flavors he’d never think to put together. And despite the grumbling, the eyeing of certain dishes like they might betray him, he always cleaned his plate.

You hear it before you see him, the front door creaking open, the heavy thud of work boots on the hardwood floor. It makes your heart jump the way it always does, that split second of he’s home sending warmth through your chest.

You barely take the time to wipe your hands against your apron before you’re moving, stepping away from the counter and heading for the door.

Joel barely has a chance to shut it before you’re on him, arms wrapping around his neck, fingers threading into the short curls at the nape of his neck. His broad, solid frame is warm against you, smelling like heat and sawdust, and he lets out a low chuckle as your lips press against his, sighing into the kiss.

“I missed you,” you murmur against him, mouth brushing his with each word.

Joel exhales like he’s been holding it in all day, arms winding tight around your waist, pulling you in. “Yeah?” he rasps, voice thick with exhaustion, but there’s a smile in it, too.

“Mhm,” you hum, pressing another soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “House was too quiet without you.”

Joel huffs a laugh, shifting his weight back against the door like he needs something to lean on. His fingers flex against your back, big hands smoothing over the fabric of your shirt, mapping out the familiar shape of you.

“Long day?” you ask, brushing your nose against his.

He grunts, nodding slightly before tilting his head, letting his lips graze your jaw. “Mmm. Better now, though.”

You smile, your fingers drifting down to the buttons of his shirt, absentmindedly playing with one as you ask, “You hungry?”

“Starvin’,” Joel sighs, dipping his head to press a slow, warm kiss just beneath your ear. His voice lowers, like he’s barely thinking before he says it—“Not just for dinner, either.”

A shiver runs down your spine, but you smirk, slipping your hands down to his chest to nudge him gently. “C’mon, cowboy. Let me feed you first.”

Joel groans playfully, rolling his eyes as he finally peels himself away, following close behind as you tug him toward the kitchen. “What’s on the menu?”

You toss him a knowing look over your shoulder. “Something besides steak and potatoes.”

He exhales dramatically, like the suggestion alone is going to be the death of him. “Christ, woman. What’d I ever do to deserve this torture?”

You snort, shaking your head as you reach for your knife again, resuming your chopping. Joel doesn’t go far, he settles in behind you, arms slipping around your waist as he tucks himself against your back.

His chin hooks over your shoulder, his breath warm against your skin. “Y’know,” he murmurs, watching your hands move, “I could get used to this.”

You pause for just a second, then relax into him, letting his warmth settle over you. “Yeah?”

Joel hums, pressing a lingering kiss to the side of your neck, then another, slower this time. His voice is quiet when he speaks again like all the exhaustion melting away in your arms.

“Yeah. Just like this.”

[loganhowlettshousewife]

animal

chapter 2.5

friendly reminder that i am not a writer, i'm just a girl who loves logan howlett and wanted to write something exploring his animalistic side since i so rarely see it done. my first language is also not english, so please do not be rude when giving me any feedback.

warnings: mentions of killing, logan’s pov, this isn’t a full chapter it’s more like an interlude

series masterlist │my masterlist

logan doesn’t like the room you put him in. the scent of you lingers but only faintly, and he grows restless without it to calm him. he misses you, the pretty girl who washed him and fed him. you were nice to him and you smelled safe, like home.

he hasn’t had a home in a long time. he knows that, the way he knows so little else, the way he knows how to breathe and how to walk, the way he knows his name is logan. you had spoken his name and he’d felt it, like a physical thing, a pounding emptiness in his head paired with a relief that punched him so hard he thought he might fall over.

he whimpers, shifting his position as though he’ll be able to better pick up your scent somehow, but no matter how much he squirms, the comfort of your scent still doesn’t appear.

he growls and leaps out of bed, onto his bare feet. this is ridiculous and he won’t deal with it any longer. he’s going to find you.

he sniffs his way towards your bedroom, where your scent is the strongest, though it lingers around the whole house, soothing and perfect in a way that makes him want to stay here forever. he opens the door, copying how he’d seen you do it earlier, and he’s pleased with himself for making note of it, since it’s coming in handy now.

you’re asleep, eyes shut and mouth parted just slightly. your body is covered with layers of fluffy fabric that he wishes weren’t there so he could see all of you better, but he knows you’re not like him, can smell it on you, and that means you run colder. but right now you’re warm under the covers and peaceful as you dream. good.

logan settles down on the floor, somewhere he can watch both you and the door, make sure no one comes in to hurt you. you took care of him, so now he’s going to protect you. it’s what he’s made for, strong and ruthless. 

he’s killed before, though he can’t remember doing it, can’t remember the faces of those he killed or the way they stared at him in fear or anger as they died. it’s instinctual, a violent craving for blood, and he’s ready to do it again, to do it now, for you.

she would be a good mate, logan thinks.

you can do all the things he can’t. you’re soft and sweet and manage to calm his restless mind through only your presence. you’re clearly a homemaker, would be a good mom to raise his pups. 

but this means he needs to prove himself to you too, means he needs to show you that he can be a good mate. so he vows to protect you. it’s something he can offer you that you don’t already have.

he doesn’t need to sleep, not as much as you do. it’s in your scent, all the parts of him that don’t apply to you, things that you need that he doesn’t. and he can make sure you get everything you need, he can make sure you’re always healthy and happy and don’t need to worry about a thing. 

you will sleep, rest so your body is refreshed for tomorrow, and he will stay up and keep watch.

taglist: @mystiquesvendetta @raeinyourdreams @babey-fruit-bat @meetmypointlessaddiction @kneelforloki @deaky-with-a-c @hypermarvellove @littlepeanut03 @the-ruler-of-death @aliengutzstuff @misscrissfemmefatale @mynamesstevenwithav @teaganthemorningstar @blackkatzz @leryg0 @fries11 @forksloree @i5uckersblog

if your name is in white it means i couldn’t tag you for some reason. i’m very sorry :(

[mushyblushyredhead]

if u got a tickle facehugger, how bout a straight up tickle xenomorph? :>

Waaay ahead of ya 😉 but YESYESYESYES

Behold! BIG FLUFFY BABEY 🖤 (this is an old ask, last self-indulgent thing before I get back to the important stuff lol) …info dump below X3

STAGE 4: XENOMORPH aka “Lee-nomorph”

Object class: Safe

Height: 7ft

• The final stage of Xenomorph development.

• After chestburster period, the developing babies will promptly shed its remaining skin and fur as it fully matures.

• Growth rate is astonishingly fast; baby chestbursters can grow to full Xenomorph size in under 10 minutes.

• Once it reaches peak maturity, the now adult Xenomorphs will isolate themselves in a cozy spot to sleep for about 2 hours (best described as a “food coma”)

• Once they awaken, however, they are racked with hunger and will seek out the nearest food source (prone to tickle wrecking their human host first, but will not object to tickling others nearby as well)

• Feeds off of human laughter, but can also consume some sweet foods and beverages as well (Previous encounters claim Xenomorphs love sour gummy candy and M&Ms, and one report says a Xenomorph ate an entire carton of chocolate milk from the cafeteria——the carton included)

NOTICEABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS

Xenomorphs are distinguishable by their elongated furry heads and infamous inner extendable mouth. They have fur covering their entire bodies that is very soft to the touch. Long, feathery dorsal spikes protruding its back are still unknown for what purpose they serve. And long feather-ended tails serve to either securely restrain a victim’s limbs or use the feather end as a tickle tool.

The most noticeable trait a Xenomorph possesses is its extendable inner mouth, which it uses to give raspberries to its ticklish victims. This seems to be its favorite tactic when it comes to tickling humans as Xenomorphs love giving raspberries.

Despite not having visible eyes, Xenomorphs are very agile tickle monsters. They have an excellent sense of hearing, and can pick up the sounds of muffled giggles very easily, even from afar. Xenomorphs are very stealthy and can easily sneak up on unsuspecting victims.

PERSONALITY

Even though Xenomorphs are noticeably bigger and stronger than humans, they are very gentle creatures. Xenomorphs love physical affection (e.g. pets, cuddles, scratches under the chin, & belly rubs) and will continuously nudge you when they want to be pet.

Xenomorphs are very playful aliens that love to tickle attack humans. They like a good chase, and prefer to “play with their food” by chasing a human to cause flustered anticipation.

These aliens get their infamous nicknames “Lee-nomorph” by injecting a harmless, non-stinging venom through their fangs that puts humans in a lee mood. The only downside is your ticklishness will be dialed up as a result, even those who aren’t ticklish.

Once they’ve had their fill, Xenomorphs will pull you in for aftercare snuggles. It’s best to lay there and enjoy a nice nap alongside the alien instead of trying to break from the snuggle trap otherwise the Xenomorph may mistake your excess fidgeting for wanting more tickles.

Just like facehuggers, Xenomorphs will also spew corrosive acid if they see their favorite humans in danger. Xenomorphs will turn hostile, and will not hesitate to use to use their powerful jaws to bite through metal, crush through bones, or even use their inner extendable mouth to mutilate someone’s skull. Xenomorphs are loyal and will go to great lengths to protect the humans they love. 💚

[soothedcerberus]

hello its been three days and i cannot get these designs out of my head 👀🥺💖💖💖

I really do love @soothedcerberus's OCs is the thing- and I'm not immune to the draw of swapping character's traits around laksdjf so here's a weird Green Furry Horse Dirk and Long Scale-y Rem. sorry that I did this to your boys TToTT <3

[killuaisaprincess]

Short and Sweet

Gon pulls back, and Killua’s eyes flutter open, his pretty features painted pink.

“Y-You’re gonna get me sick…”

Killua says that, but he doesn’t seem mad, and he curls up against Gon’s chest.

Gon laughs.

“Then I’ll have to go over and take care of you.”

read on ao3!

[peepthatbish]

With a smile, my dear Bea <33

I hope you know that I'm stealing SV (stardew valley) Twi's pupper the MOMENT I'm able to <3

YOU JUST GON RUN AWAY WITH HIM JUST LIKE THAT???? /j

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

today I've been reminded of detective comics annual 8, which is my favorite of ed's comic appearances, so I thought I'd ask you what's your favorite riddle guy comic and why?

god DC annual #8 makes me INSANE that's like. pure distilled Riddler sauce right there. absolute platonic ideal of the Riddler. he is perfect to me. somebody surgically wire that into Tom King's brain before they ever let him write the Riddler again I swear to god.

I'm still working on my New Earth read through so I'm finding new faves all the time, but as of this exact minute some faves:

I fucking hate to hand it to Chuck Dixon but Detective Comics #705-707 (Dixon, Graham Nolan, and David Roach, 1997) is so so good. like he's literally just trying to do a stupid baseball heist and blow up Cluemaster while he's at it. THAT is a Riddler story, babey. Echo and Query are even there!!!

Impulse #48 (Bill Messner-Loebs and Craig Rousseau, 1999) is just a spectacular one off Riddler appearance, namely because you get the strong impression that if left alone with Bart for like. two hours. Eddie would probably willingly kill himself. very fun watching his schtick absolutely crumble in the face of a speedster.

Batman Adventures Vol. 2 (worked on by like half a dozen different writers, 2003). honestly the BTAS version of the Riddler was never anything spectacular to me - he's fun, not a standout - but goddd he rules so hard in the sequel comics. he's (once again) retired and made legitimate money, so now he's so desperately bored he's harassing Batman with stupid non-crimes until Batman snaps and just starts using him as a private detective so he'll have something to do. mwah.

Batman Confidential #26-28 (Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Kevin Nowlan, and José Luis García-López, 2009), which is collected as Batman: King Tut's Tomb. another banger story, it has everything I like. namely, the Riddler being so annoying that Batman lets him work a case with him and bitchy buddy comedy shenanigans ensue. and King Tut is there!

Dinner for Two (Ram V and Phil Hester) in Strange Love Adventures (2022) #1 is so... like they just went for it. they said fuck it the Riddler bisexual and spending his Valentine's Day making Batman hang out with him to complain about how he's lonely. make of that whatever you want.

Catwoman: Lonely City (Cliff Chiang, 2022). an older, widowed Riddleguy who's kicked his riddle habit (in addition to, apparently, a pretty brutal coke problem) and is settled in to running slightly more normal grifts with his adorable daughter Edelia. look at them. I have to show you this because I just like Chiang's art so so much, look at themmm

also obligatory shoutout to the Riddler appearance of all time, whichever issue of Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive is the one where he's crashing at Stephanie Brown's house being a fucking menace and Black Canary kicks him out on his ass in five seconds flat while he's wearing a fluffy yellow bathrobe. and also kicks Cluemaster out of his own house for good measure.

[the-monkeies-girl]

anaya crumbs were super yummy, really flavorful 10/10, i licked the plate 🙏🙏 (i love youre writing, like i can physically feel the passion leaking through ur words its crazy) lov ur work 🙏🙏🙏🙏

I want to lick the plate actually i want to lick his entire body but that's beside the point here we got babey

Title: An Apple A Day. Fandom: ( Kingdom of the ) Planet of the Apes. Pairing: ( Very mild, I'm testing out the waters here ok ) Implied! Anaya x Human! Reader. Rating: T. ( Mentions of mating but otherwise IT IS FLUFFY BABY ) Words: 2.3K+ Summary: Anaya takes you to see his favorite Apple Tree.

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・●・○・

“Anaya! Noa and Soona are going to wonder where we went off to.”  You laughed quietly, feeling twigs crack under your weight as you were placing your feet in the exact spots of where the Ape in front of you did, knowing that he was walking on spots that were safe and not tripping hazards. It was a considerate thing for him to do, gaining knowledge once or twice from experiences with you that your eyesight was nothing compared to his and the dim lighting caused from the tree leaves causing shadows on the floor of the foliage left you squirting to see at times. 

And your balance? Well… You were clumsy, and Anaya knew it. In fact, he thought it rather endearing to see you stumble when you tried to keep up with his pace, and in a bid to get you flustered, he’d move faster just to enjoy the chase you’d give him. Why did you chase after him? The male Chimp hadn’t the slightest idea, but it was alluring all the same especially when you got too close… close, close enough for him to feel the heat radiating off your body onto his, evident even through the lining of the fur along his body. 

“Anaya close.” He uttered to you, letting his hazel green and golden eyes settle into your own for a second, your heart jumping into your throat as you realized that he was nearer to you than you had thought, really able to take in the detailing of his face. 

The sweeping wrinkles under his eyes, the softer ride of his brows that were always so indicative of his moods, the dabbling smile that you wished was exclusive to your eyes only and the coloring around his nose and lips, lighter than the rest of his face and all you wanted to do was trail the tips of your fingers along the delicate splattering there to see if your suspicion was right or wrong about their skin being rougher. Your eyes fell downwards to his slightly agape mouth. Sharp canines that could tear out every vital organ of your body just for fun. Swiping your teeth with your tongue, you wanted nothing more than to feel Anaya’s under your touch just to cure your morbid curiosities. 

Swallowing lightly, you nodded as if in agreement and let him lead you forward. Shoving aside the rapid heartbeat in your chest and the ever growing redness on your cheeks from having him look at you so intently, you began trailing closer behind him. As compared to Noa, Anaya was gentler in his step, almost floating in nature. But, that could have been from the fact that he appeared excited to show you something and he was unable to keep it in.

From the gait of his broadened shoulders, all your previous thoughts went out the window as you were catapulted into a hypnotic state at how the cross body satchel he had rubbed so deliciously against the fur of his shoulder, the friction inexplicable to you as you felt your fingers twitch at your sides. The sleekness of his fur glittered under the sun as it seeped in spottingly through the leaves of the trees above, and occasionally, it played against the taut muscles underneath. 

He was beckoning you forward with the wave of his arm before deciding that you were going too slow. Reaching forward, Anaya tucked his hand into your own, and without a moment's hesitation, he lifted you over a tree root that was jutting out of the ground that you had not seen before.

Gasping quietly at the sheet strength of him, something not explicitly noticed when he was around Noa due to Anaya being smaller, more tapering on the chest and waist, there was no doubt in your mind that he had the capability of tearing you apart limb by limb. That idea lingered deliciously in your mind as he smiled slightly at you when you were drawn to him, your hand placing itself softly onto his chest so you could leverage yourself before still holding your hand and leading forward once more. “I don’t want to get lost in the woods with you, I’d rather get lost with Noa.” 

“Is close, not too far… From Soona, Noa.” His tone was reassuring to you as he tugged on your arm. Forward, he said, keeping going. Drawing your bottom lip in, you pushed a few tree leaves away from your face before coming to a flattened landing, almost like it was carved, in the middle of the trees. Glancing around, you noticed that… Anaya wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Panic washed over you in small waves. You could just yell for Noa and Soona, right? It wasn’t like the Ape took you into the woods on your own and left you here, right?

Clenching your jaw tightly, a few leaves above fell onto your head, one onto your face and as you blew it away, a few apples began raining from the Heavens on your left side. Gasping at that, you were fast to jump away from them out of fear of being hit before Anaya hit the ground on all fours with a rather graceful ‘thud’. “See?” Smiling up at you, Anaya crouched down and grasped an apple. You placed a hand against your chest and told yourself to reel it in as you crouched beside him. “Favorite apple tree. Anaya knew we were close, and wanted to show Echo. Best apples here, they… grow very big.” 

The way he looked at the fruit was a wonder in and of itself. The way that his thick fingers caressed it made you wonder if he’d be that gentle with your skin if he knew you were just as fragile as th--- Your innocent train of thought completely derailed at the visual of Anaya’s canines, in all their speared glory hitting your gawk. He brought the apple to his mouth and with one swoop, he consumed half of it, juice dripping from his mouth and down to his chin and ultimately getting lost in the fur of his beard. Your mouth fell open at that, suddenly too dry to say anything of substance. Playing your fingers against each other, you turned your eyes away, afraid that he would notice you staring. 

“Do Echo’s…” He tilted his head, rolling a red apple towards your feet, “Not like them?” Sputtering softly, you reached down and grasped the apple that he had so graciously presented to you, “They’re… good. How---” You wanted to hear him talk more without Soona or Noa, knowing that they often left Anaya to his own devices at times, “How did you find this place? There’s gotta be like…A hundred Apple trees.” An exaggeration, but it garnered you a hooted and huffed laughter from Anaya. Glancing up, you looked at the trees above and were able now to see the spotted nature of the apples hanging happily on their branches. 

Anaya watched the movement with interest, how you craned your head back, how his eyes were able to see your heartbeat against your neck, hard and heavy as the blood pumped through your veins. Bringing the apple to his lips again, he bit into it and finished it off, tossing the core behind him to decompose back into the Earth.

Dragging his eyes upwards, he followed your gaze and looked at the apples above as his hand idly reached for another. Slowly, you traced the skin of the apple with your finger tips before dropping your stare to look at the Ape next to you, a motion that Anaya accepted and drew his eyes into your own as he took another bite out of a fresh apple, this one a bit smaller and proportionate so he didn't need to chew too much before answering. “Used to come here a lot. Would stop when Noa, Soona and Anaya went to Echo ruins. Long time ago.”  He explained softly, now urging with one hand for you to take a bite of the fruit you were dallying with between your fingers. 

Quickly, you were fast to raise it to your mouth and sink your teeth in, suddenly coming to grips that communal eating, even when it was shared amongst only two, was considered normal and a mild acceptance of whatever relationship was going to bud from the shared meal. 

Your bite in comparison to Anaya’s was tender and small, your teeth sinking in further than he had initially thought, but your rounded teeth did not help the case at all when it came to actually ripping the piece off and it came off in two pieces, one in your mouth and one hanging by a thread on the apple itself. At least, the blunted nature was what he noticed when you drew your lips back and he was able to see them in a clearer view and not have to captivate himself in an awkward stare when you talked or smiled. 

How weird, he thought to himself, placing the apple into his mouth and coming around you so he was face to face with you rather than sitting at your side. Watching with curiosity, Anaya narrowed his eyes and looked at your face. “Echo teeth,” He started and you drew your mouth closed so he was unable to see them anymore. “Ugly.” The way that your mouth flew open in contrast to you so shyly shutting your lips only seconds ago at Anaya’s words caused a rocketed huff of laughter to come from him, as he moved his head to the left side with an amused head tilt. You grappled that for a second - not taking it as offensive at all, you couldn’t blame him when he hadn’t seen or known any Echo outside of Mae personally, in fact, the blunt nature of Anaya’s words and opinions were often something you sought after, knowing you’d get the most brutal admission from him whereas Noa or Soona would try to be kind with their observations. 

“I know,” Bubbling out laughter, you covered your mouth with your hand, to which Anaya was quick to respond and grasped your wrist so you were unable to complete the action. Twisting your wrist in his grasp, it became abundantly clear that your ulna and radius were merely a jerk away from being broken by Anaya, but still, there was no fear in that as his touch was soft and aimable as he pulled your hand back downwards so he could see your teeth again. “They--- they’re nothing like yours, you can do a lot with your teeth.”

“Would… hurt if you bit someone?” Almost choking on a piece of the apple as you had taken another bite, you coughed a bit, staring at him with a widened gaze, “What?” “Would it… hurt if you bite?” You swallowed harder than intended, admittedly needing to chew the apple piece you had in your mouth a bit more but you staggered through it and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, “I--- Wouldn’t imagine it would do anything to an Ape, if that’s what you mean. Humans don’t have the jaw strength that… that you have.” Anaya hummed at that, gazing once more at your teeth in mild amusement. Other than use for eating, they served no purpose then. How strange. “Bite Anaya?”

You blinked, swearing to yourself that Anaya had moved forward a touch. Maybe a few inches as he peered straight into your mouth, either waiting for an answer or waiting for you to open your mouth again so he could see what was interesting to him in the moment. He looked between your mouth, your eyes and then back to your mouth as it dawned on you what he had just asked.

“I’m not going to b-bite you!” “Why… not?”

“Inappropriate.” You uttered, looking down at your half-munched apple. “Humans really only do that when…”

Gesturing broadly with your hands, you looked into his eyes and hoped that your human ideology was recognizable. Unfortunately, from the tilt of his head and the perplexity of the drawn in brow ridge, Anaya had no idea what you were implying as a heat of embarrassment rolled through your chest. “Humans only do that when they’re mating.”

Anaya got deathly quiet in front of you and now as compared to your gawking earlier, you wished he would look away from you, to focus on something else but he kept you drawn in as he looked between your eyes with his own, looking down at his apple before ripping off another large bite. From between said bites, he muttered to you, “Echo,” Chew, “Mating,” Another chew, “Sounds like Ape. Lot of biting. Noisy.”

“I can’t believe we’re talking about this.” You groaned quietly to yourself and sat onto your butt, cross legged in mild defeat at the choice of conversation.

“Hard to sleep when others are mating. Keep the village up, Anaya gets mad.”  If your cheeks weren’t reddened before, you were positive you were the same color as the apples that scattered on the floor after being shaken off their homes as you drifted into the conversation.

Anaya refusing to relent control as he continued the topic, almost mindlessly as he took bites out of his apples around his introspection, not quite beating yourself up at the fact that the conversation turned out this way, but surely trying to keep yourself tame enough to not give him all the details that he was seeking, his mouth coming to prop one more question at you between his bites.

“Have heard Echo,” Chew, “Mating…” He chewed pensively this time, the words coming to him in deep thought, though admittedly, his question left you falling backwards to lay on your back as a refusal to actually answer, “Takes much energy. Is true?”

“Anaya.” You grumbled. “I’m not answering that.”

“Have you not… experienced?”

Groaning loudly, you shut your eyes and covered them with your arm as you fell to rest on your back, splattering yourself across the floor of the woods. Maybe, if you were lucky, something poisonous would bite you and you wouldn't have to respond.

“I’m not answering that.”

“Noa right,” Anaya grumbled in dissatisfaction, turning his body to grab another apple with a rather smug retort, “Echo keep Echo secrets.”

[cryingpariah]

For as happy as their life with the Roger Pirates was, Buggy and Shanks had to grow up pretty fast. Even Teach remarked that the two of them carried themselves with the air of full-grown men. It's something of an inevitability when you sail on a pirate ship all your life. You're sort of forced to learn about and understand more adult idea right off the bat if you want to be taken seriously or even live through the day. Hell, if asked the two of them would say that there were only ever two kids on the Oro Jackson: Momo and Hiyori.

That's why Buggy, subconsciously or otherwise, is doing things different with the boys. They still sail around, but they have an actual home on land with Karai Bari. They have deck chores but it's never something they're expected to be doing 24/7. Most of their day is spent playing and getting the space to be themselves, which was sorely needed considering where they came from.

Buggy and Shanks were left to their own devices a lot, hence why Shanks learned Divine Departure from observing Roger instead of asking for direct training. Meanwhile between three fathers, aunts and uncles in the Cross Guild, guard wanis, and an entire legion of devoted Buggy fanatics there's always somebody close by to make sure the boys are doing alright and if anything, the boys are always eager to spend time with them in return. Especially Gabriel, baby gator loves being the center of attention!

Buggy knows this world chews kids up and spits them out as cynical sad sacks, himself included. He just wants his little angels to live a happy and carefree life with less cannonballs flying at their heads than he had to put up with.

A younger Buggy tried to convince himself it was better that way, that this just should how grownup and mature he was! That even as a kid he could be relied on like an adult.

Adult Buggy knew significantly better. He still found it hard to outright blame his old family (because that just means nothing in his life was good ever) but the twist in his heart as he imagined doing even close to the same was undeniable. Childhood should be about scraping knees and climbing trees, making pillow forts and having snowball fights, singing loud and offkey and incorrect because you misheard ‘there are clouds in my coffee’ as ‘there are clowns in my coffee’ in You're So Vain.

Crocodile and Mihawk love to point out that Buggy does all those things and more of his own accord to which Buggy replies with a resounding why the hell not!

Why shouldn’t he slide across the floor in fluffy socks instead of walking?

Why shouldn’t he eat copious amounts of sugary cereal so he can get the grand prize?

Why shouldn’t he get to be a little goofy and silly?! He spent up all his seriousness as a kid and was determined to cash out on his long forgotten childhood here and now babey!

(He always asks them to join in on the reclaiming of youth but the two other heads of the guild decline. Though Buggy can always see a flicker of something in their steely gazes when they seem him have his overdo fun.)