#Top 5 Reasons to Learn Flutter

[ladykailitha]

You're a Dream to Me Part 5

Hey, guys! Welcome back! I just finished this story yesterday and I'm a super excited for you all to see where it goes!

In this we have the reveal and how each of them deal with the news. Also Dustin's reaction is a bit backward, but in all fairness he wasn't full awake yet.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

~

Steve was somewhere he hadn’t been in these dreams before. He was standing in the wings of a major stadium watching his soulmate play.

His long curly hair flew about his hair as he headbanged to the song the band was playing. His fingers that held those rings danced along the frets. He was long and lean, his legs clad in tight leather pants, bullet belt on the slutty waist, feet shoved into combat boots. He wore crop top, sleeves cut out, showing the tattoos that dotted his skin.

Then he looked over at Steve and smiled. And Steve’s heart stopped. He recognized those deep brown eyes and dimples. He had seen them staring up at him from magazines and album covers for years.

Eddie Munson.

Holy shit. He giggled excitedly. He couldn’t believe it. His soulmate was Eddie Munson. Dustin had been right, the little butthead.

Then Eddie swept off stage and picked Steve up by the waist, swinging him around, kissing deeply. It was all Steve could do not laugh out loud at the sheer joy of it.

“Hey-ya, sweetheart,” Eddie murmured. “I missed you.” He kissed Steve again fiercely and Steve let him take over every inch of him. His hands slid down Steve’s body and his eyelids fluttered shut, biting back the moan that tried to claw out of his throat.

“I’ve been waiting for you, rockstar,” he murmured back. “For so long.”

~

Steve woke up with a gasp. He scrambled for his phone and the clock read 6:57am, three minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off. He flopped back on the pillows with a huff of annoyance. He wanted to go back to sleep to get back to his dream, but there was no chance of that.

But he had to go to work like a schmuck instead of being a literal fucking rockstar. Holy shit. He couldn’t believe it. Eddie Munson really was his soulmate. Wasn’t that a kick in the head? Like of the billions of people on the planet he would get the lead singer and guitarist of the biggest metal band in the world.

But also someone from his high school.

Suddenly the reason for his soulmate not being ready made sense. If he had been concentrating on his music until now, he probably hadn’t felt like he needed a soulmate. Not when he was on top of the world.

Steve still wondered what changed, but decided to take Robin’s advice and leave it alone. It would do no good to pick at that. Not unless Eddie wanted to tell him.

His alarm went off and he got up. He did his morning routine on autopilot as he looked up other tour dates. Yes, he was seeing the band at the Hideout, but he wanted to see if there were other, sooner days he could meet Eddie.

He called Robin when it was safe to do so, having learned his lesson from his first clear soulmate dream.

“Holy shit!” she cried when he told her. “That’s freaking epic. No ordinary soulmate for Steve Harrington. A mega rockstar worth millions. Only the best for my bestest friend and platonic soulmate.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, Bobbie. I appreciate that. So I was wondering if you wanted to see them in concert before they came to Hawkins?”

“As in a vain attempt to get him to notice you and make eye contact?” she said with a note of amusement in her voice.

He chewed on his thumbnail and then blurted out. “Well it’s not like I can call up his management or agent and say ‘hey I’m his soulmate, and not just some rando creep’. Anyone with a half a brain is going to laugh me off the phone.”

“Oof,” Robin said with a grimace. “Yeah. I bet they get hundreds of calls a day of people claiming that shit. I’m sorry, Steve. Yes, I will absolutely help you stalk your soulmate in Indy.”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

“I know,” she murmured back. “I’ll see you later and then we can plan a dramatic storming of the stage, okay?”

Steve agreed and then said goodbye, hanging up the phone. His next person he needed to tell was just down the hall.

Claudia had been upset that Dustin had decided to stay and see the concert. Even with Steve telling her it was the chance of a lifetime and that missing school for one week wouldn’t destroy his chances at a good career, it was decided it would be better for all if Dustin stayed with Steve during that week. Dustin still went home for dinner, but it was clear Claudia had thought the decision foolish.

Steve knocked on the door to the second bedroom. Back when Steve first got the place it was Robin’s room, but after she moved out with her soulmate it got turned in a guest room.

Dustin made some grunting noises that Steve took as permission to come in. He hopped on the bed, making Dustin bounce.

“Dude,” Dustin said rubbing his eyes. “What do you call this time?” He sat up to see Steve grinning at him.

“I know who my soulmate is,” Steve said sing-song, bouncing the bed again. “And you’re never going to believe who it is.”

“I refuse to be woken up for anyone less then Eddie Munson,” Dustin said, turning over to roll back to sleep.

Steve bounced on the bed again, his grin stretched out over his features taking up his entire face. “Wakey, wakey, Dusty!”

Dustin lay on his pillow for a moment until his still sleeping brain caught up to what Steve was insinuating. He shot up and Steve threw himself back to avoid getting smacked in the face. But he smirked when Dustin finally looked at him.

“There is no way!” he cried. “The odds would be astronomical that you would get a famous person. I know because I fucking checked!”

“Wow,” Steve said in genuine surprise. “Dustin Henderson talking about the odds instead of crowing that he was right. This is a momentous occasion indeed.”

Dustin folded his arms and pouted. “I hate that Robin got you that word a day calendar. You’ve gotten super verbose.”

Steve cackled. “I think it’s fantastic. But now I can ask him where he gets his rings so you can get replicas made...”

Dustin lit up. “Oh my God! All the things that I could ask him about his music and how he writes and if he still does D&D! This is totally wicked!”

Steve just grinned at him. “I’m so excited that he’s finally ready to meet me. Robin and I are going to try and get tickets to the Indy show, too. See if I can’t like try and make eye contact via the signing line.”

“Yeah,” Dustin said with a nod. “I am totally on board with that. Like I don’t have the money to go see them with you, but like imagine being backstage at The Hideout because you’re soulmates with the frontman of the band.”

Steve looked at his watch. “I’ve to open the shop in an hour, so I’ve got to get going.” He ruffled Dustin’s hair. “But I just wanted to tell you before I went to work.”

“You called Robin first, didn’t you?” Dustin asked dryly. “Like I’m currently staying at your place and she was still the first to know.”

“She is my best friend, Dustin,” he said gently, getting to his feet. “And when anything happens she’s my first call. I had just woken up and called her as soon as I could. You don’t usually stay here while you’re in town. This is a very special circumstances.”

Dustin rolled his eyes and huffed, “Yeah, yeah. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Sure, bud.”

Steve got his breakfast on the go and practically skipped down the stairs to his car. He paused at the bottom step and looked up at his old apartment. Maybe it was time to move out and get a place that was all his own.

He had been living in the past for so long, he had almost forgotten how to live. Now that he knew who his soulmate was, it was like the universe had given him permission to move on and he felt lighter than he had in years.

He skipped to his car and whistled happily to the music in the car all the way to work. He put on the latest Corroded Coffin album for the speakers at work and got down to opening the store.

He even got to have a nice chuckle at some Karen opening the door to the bookstore and immediately closing it again when she heard the music. She never did come back, much Steve’s unbridled glee.

By the time Robin got into work, Steve was halfway through putting up a display of Corroded Coffin merchandise on the main table.

“Sap!” Robin said, skidding to a stop. “You are going to be absolutely disgusting with your soulmate, I can already tell. Like Gomez and Mortica levels of unhinged devotion.”

Steve looked up at her, his whole countenance positively beaming. “Do you really think so? Gosh. If we were even a tenth that level, I think I would be pretty happy.”

The teasing grin fell off Robin’s face and was replaced by a fond smile. She knew that Steve had been waiting a long time for his soulmate and had about given up hope that they would meet while they still had time to build a relationship. But now?

He was like a puppy who had been adopted to a loving home for the first time and still couldn’t believe its luck.

“I’m happy for you, dingus.”

~

Eddie woke up feeling annoyed. He had been dreaming about Harrington for years but recently the dreams had gone from steamy and sexy to lovey-dovey and pure unadulterated sap. What the honest fuck was up with that? He was supposed to be getting soulmate dreams not whatever the hell this was with Harrington.

He swung his legs off the bed and sat up. He scrubbed his face and stood up. He got halfway to the bathroom when he came to a sudden stop.

He looked back at the bed for a moment.

One of the most common aspects of soulmate dreams was the clarity in which you could remember them. Like with other dreams, you might remember them or maybe bits and pieces, but often once you woke up they vanished like fog before the morning sun.

But lately he had could recall each dream with startling accuracy. Like he could remember the way Steve nuzzled into his neck, the constellations they looked at, and most importantly, the song he was playing in his last dream.

But there was no way right?

Steve Harrington must be on his way to the six kids and the white picket fence by now, right? There is no way that ladies’ man, sex on legs wouldn’t have gotten his soulmate by now. That the universe would be that fucking cruel not to give the guy the best soulmate the world had to offer as soon as possible, instead of some asshole who was prejudiced against anyone who didn’t match his own aesthetics.

Yeah, yeah. He was over that now. But how long had Steve had to wait for him if he was right? Was it weeks or months? Because if it was years...

He stomach seemed to hollow out and he felt a swooshing feeling from his head to his toes.

Steve Harrington was his soulmate?

There could be no other answer.

He dropped to a crouch and put his head between his legs as he fought regain equilibrium. Once he felt like he could stand, he got up and grabbed his phone.

“Hey, Chris,” he muttered, biting his thumb nail. “You’re never gonna believe this.”

~

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Tag List: ONE SLOT REMAINING

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @themoonagainstmers @eyehartart @tartarusknight @chaotic-waffle @dotdot-wierdlife

10- @stedestielfrattficlover @steddieislife @riotrose8 @bunnybens-blog

[lumiileth]

was i(t) worth it? (of course you are!) pt. i

pairing: Luffy x Former Slave!Reader, Slight!Ace x Reader, Platonic!The Straw Hat Pirates x Reader

tags: Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Former Celestial Dragon Slave!Reader,

word count: 29.8k

warning: Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Nongraphic Descriptions of Sexual Abuse, Gear 5 Spoilers

summary: Luffy turned seventeen and set sail, just like their childhood promise—and that was when her pirate journey began, when he suddenly pulled her along with those ridiculous rubber arms, never knowing that the past she had buried deep would one day rise again to catch up with her. . . and with his crew.

or: a former celestial dragon slave learns to value life through a rubber man she had coincidentally met in her childhood.

note: slight canon divergence for Saint Charloss' age, apparently in the middle of writing, I found out he's only 22. . . so to not make me lose my mind, he is aged up for reasons you will know after reading. Hope you like it!

[POST ALABASTA]

Luffy sat at the very tip of the Going Merry’s bowsprit, right on top of her head, staring out at the endless horizon. His eyes still glistened with the remnants of tears as they sailed away from Alabasta, leaving Vivi behind. She climbed up to join him, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she plopped down next to him. Without even thinking, Luffy’s fingers tangled with hers, his grip surprisingly gentle despite his usual carefree nature.

“Hey, crybaby,” she teased, giving him a playful nudge with her shoulder. It was an old nickname from their wild days as kids, one that Ace had loved to taunt him with, and one she’d picked up on.

Luffy’s pout was instant, his lower lip jutting out as he glared at her, clearly not over being called that. “Oi! Don’t call me that!” he grumbled, though he didn’t pull his hand away from hers.

She couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. “We’ll see Vivi again,” she reassured him softly, squeezing his hand.

Luffy just grunted in response, still sulking from the nickname. She tilted her head to get a better look at him, making sure he wasn’t hurt. “Hey, I never got to ask,” she said, her tone softening, “You’re okay, right? The fight with Crocodile must’ve been insane.”

Luffy huffed, almost indignant. “Nah! I’m fine!” His hand instinctively went to his hat, tugging it down as a grin broke across his face. “It was my fight! You had your own, and besides, in the end—” He flashed her that big, bright, infectious smile. “I won!”

Her heart fluttered despite herself. She leaned against him, and without missing a beat, Luffy leaned even further into her, practically draping himself over her shoulder. She stifled a laugh, used to his clinginess, but it still made her feel warm inside.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, nudging his knee with hers. “You’ve gotten really strong. I’m proud of you.”

Luffy’s face lit up, and he scooted even closer, practically pressing his head to her shoulder. “Really? You think so?” he asked, his voice brimming with excitement.

She smiled, brushing her thumb over his knuckles. “Mhmm!”

A beat passed, and then she broke the comfortable silence. 

“So. . . How did it feel seeing Ace again after so long?”

Luffy immediately perked up, the sparkle in his eyes reminding her of the little boy who used to idolize his older brother. “He’s strong!” he declared proudly. “But I’m stronger now! I could totally beat him!”

She snorted, trying not to laugh too loud. “Oi, beat me first, then we’ll talk,” she challenged, shooting him a playful grin, remembering the times where she beat him only because she always had a stash of meat somewhere. 

Luffy cocked his head to the side, looking at her like she just said something ridiculous. “Nah! I can already beat you!” he declared with that signature confidence, her fingers glowed and proceeded to touch him, making him sleepy. 

“That’s. . . unfair. . .”

She couldn’t hold back her laughter this time, shaking her head at his stubbornness. “Whatever you say, captain,” she teased, ruffling his messy hair. He just hummed contentedly, clearly pleased with the praise and the attention, and didn’t make a single move to pull away from her.

“How about you?” Luffy asked, his dark eyes bright with curiosity. “How did it feel to meet Ace after a while?”

She hesitated, a soft, fond smile tugging at her lips. “I missed him,” she admitted, her voice gentle as memories washed over her. “He looks happy. . . a bit different from back then.” Her gaze softened as she thought about how much he’d grown, not just in strength but in spirit.

Luffy gave a loud huff, squeezing her hand tighter. “You’re my crew, got it? Not Ace’s!” He pouted, leaning in closer, almost like he was afraid she’d slip away.

A laugh bubbled out of her at his possessiveness, and she ruffled his hair with her free hand. “Yeah, yeah. I know, Captain,” she teased, flashing him a bright smile. “You’re stuck with me.”

Luffy grinned, his earlier pout completely forgotten, and scooted even closer—if that was even possible, letting his head fall against her shoulder. “Good!” he chirped, his voice muffled by her shirt.

His clinginess was endearing, and despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat. If Luffy noticed, he didn’t say anything, too content just being by her side, claiming her as his own without a second thought.

Despite everything—despite the past that clawed at her mind like an old, festering wound, despite the scars that marked her soul from years of being treated as nothing but property—being claimed by Luffy felt different. It wasn’t suffocating or demeaning. It wasn’t possessive or twisted. It was just. . . endearing.

He wasn’t trying to own her. He was just saying it like he always did—as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to be his, not as something to take, but as something to cherish. It made her heart swell with warmth, chasing away the bitter memories and replacing them with something gentler, something sweeter.

Luffy’s grip on her hand tightened slightly, and she couldn’t help but smile. To him, she was just. . . herself. And that was enough.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew, who had been watching from the deck, couldn’t help but take notice of how ridiculously clingy Luffy was being with her.

Usopp was the first to break the silence, his voice filled with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. “Wait a minute. . . Are they always like that?”

Nami raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk forming on her lips. “Now that I think about it. . . Yeah, they’re practically glued to each other.”

Sanji, still clutching a basket of freshly picked tangerines, looked absolutely livid. “What the hell is that idiot doing? Clinging to a lady like that—so shameless!”

Zoro just scoffed, though a faint smirk tugged at his lips. “He’s always been like that with her. It’s nothing new.”

Usopp nodded knowingly, despite not really knowing anything. “Yeah, you remember what that guy ‘Ace’ said? Childhood friends, huh? That’s gotta be it. They’re just. . . y’know, close.”

Nami crossed her arms and gave the pair a long, thoughtful look. “Close doesn’t even cover it. I’ve never seen Luffy so clingy with anyone else. It’s like he’s drawn to her.”

As if on cue, Luffy leaned even more into her side, practically half-asleep against her shoulder. She just smiled softly, adjusting her position to make him more comfortable. The crew couldn’t help but exchange knowing glances, each silently making a mental note to tease Luffy about it later.

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

she was always surprising the rest of the crew

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“So. . . you grew up with Luffy?” Usopp asked, leaning forward with obvious curiosity. The crew had just left for Alabasta, fresh off their encounter with Ace. Meeting Luffy’s older brother had already been shocking enough, but what had thrown them for a loop was the way Ace had so casually greeted her. As if they had known each other for years.

She barely spared Usopp a glance as she reclined against the railing, arms crossed, staring out at the sea. The ocean breeze tousled her hair as she exhaled slowly.

“Yeah,” she drawled. “Didn’t think it was that important, to be fair.” 

“You grew up with our monster captain!” Nami screeched, though there was affection in her voice. “I can’t not be curious! Growing up with Luffy of all people. . . what was he like?”

A slow, almost melancholic smile curled at her lips as distant memories surfaced in her mind—chasing after Luffy, pulling him out of trouble, his endless, unshakable determination.

“I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!”

She huffed a small laugh. “I can tell you he hasn't changed at all since he was a kid.” Her voice softened with warmth. “Always hungry, always reckless, always saying dumb things with a straight face.”

“And you also grew up with someone who happened to be the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates,” Sanji said, shaking his head as he exhaled a puff of smoke. 

“Portgas D. Ace,” His name left a stir in her heart, “Who would’ve thought you grew up with a couple of beasts, mademoiselle?” 

“To be fair,” she drawled out, forcing a smirk, “I didn’t know he was a commander. Last I knew, he was just the captain of his own ship, the Spade Pirates.

A memory stirred in the back of her mind, pulling her into the murky past she tried so desperately to forget. Cards. She hated cards. Ace. Joker. King. Queen. They were nothing but symbols of ownership to her. 

The Celestial Dragons liked to play games with them, their sick little way of turning lives into entertainment. Pick a card, pick your fate. The way they would laugh when she pulled the Joker—the fool . Or how they would force her to serve the one who drew the Ace—because the Ace was the best , the chosen . The one who held power over others.

She never wanted to hear those words again. Didn’t want to feel the bile rise in her throat when someone uttered “Ace” with admiration. But she couldn’t forget the day he found out about it—the day she let it slip, just barely, in a moment of weakness.

She remembered how Ace’s face softened when she’d offhandedly mentioned how she was familiar with card games, her voice unsteady, eyes distant. He had sensed it immediately—how her guard dropped, how her shoulders tensed as if bracing for some unspoken threat. She’d expected him to mock her, to brush it off, but instead, he looked at her with that boyish grin, determination flickering in his eyes.

“ Guess I can’t change my name ,” he had said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, “ but I can change what it means to you .”

She had blinked at him, confused and unsure.

He leaned forward, a spark of fire dancing in his gaze, and pointed to his chest proudly. “ One day, when you hear the word ‘Ace,’ I want you to think of me. Not those bastards. Not the way they twisted it. Just me. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll give you something to look forward to. Something worth smiling about. ”

She had scoffed, tried to brush it off as one of his usual reckless promises, but the words stuck with her. Slowly, bit by bit, he made good on it. He made sure to shout his name loud and proud whenever he did something impressive, or even when he just wanted to make her laugh. 

Every time he defeated a strong opponent, whether it was a stray beast or a pirate, he’d grin at her and declare, “ That’s your Ace! ” Whenever he cooked something edible, a rare miracle, he’d set it down with a flourish and say, “See? The best, just like the name!”

And overtime, against her own will, she started to believe it. The word Ace no longer twisted her stomach in knots. It didn’t make her feel like a possession. It became something she wanted to hear, something warm and hopeful.

He turned a word that once symbolized her nightmares into something that made her heart race for entirely different reasons. He had made her want to smile when she heard his name.

When they met again in Alabasta, albeit just a short amount of time, she couldn't help but smile widely when he introduced himself as ‘Her Ace’, but he wasn’t here now, he had his own adventure. And her? She was voyaging through the seas with Luffy and his crew, a crew she would soon call her family.

“You seemed really close to him,” Nami said, suspicion laced in her tone as her eyes narrowed. “You guys together or something?”

Her face flushed crimson almost immediately, and she sputtered in response, desperately trying to play it cool. “No, no, no! Nothing like that! We just grew up together, that’s all. That’s why we’re close!”

“Woah,” Nami muttered, “This is the first time I see her so improper. . .” She said in awe, looking at Ms. Childhood Friend who was always prim and proper. Ussop nodded in agreement. 

“You’re right,” He answered with the same amount of awe, “I think this is the first time we ever hear her stutter.”

Despite her best efforts to sound convincing, her voice wavered, and her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her coat. She forced a laugh, trying to wave off the uncomfortable knot forming in her stomach. Nami didn’t look entirely convinced, and neither did the others.

But what could she say? That once upon a time, in the wild and reckless days of their childhood, she might have thought of it—just once, maybe twice—but shoved it down because it was safer to never let herself think that way? 

She felt the feeling from both of the boys she grew up with (one she regrettably couldn’t), she couldn’t decipher the difference of love, she was just happy to even receive it! After years of believing she wasn’t worth being loved for, being wanted.

She grimaced at her own thoughts, guilt coiling in her chest. As much as she admired Ace, she couldn’t forget the bitter truth. Unlike Luffy, Ace knew, at least a little, about her past. It was a slight slip-up on her part, but he hadn’t pried. He just listened, watched her with those dark eyes that always burned with understanding.

And that was why it would never work. She didn’t want him to carry her burdens. She didn’t want him to feel responsible for the way her heart ached whenever he smiled at her like she was something special. Someone worth saving.

Nami raised an eyebrow, still unconvinced. “I don’t see Luffy calling himself ‘Your Luffy’ or anything,” she shot back, earning a startled screech from Usopp.

The entire crew seemed to eye her up and down, curiosity practically radiating from them. Even Sanji had paused mid-spin with the basket of tangerines, eyes gleaming with intrigue. Zoro, on the other hand, merely grunted, clearly uninterested in whatever romantic nonsense they were conjuring up.

She hesitated, chewing on her lower lip. They wouldn’t understand , she thought. That name—“Her Ace”—it wasn’t what it sounded like. It wasn’t romantic (At least, she thought it wasn’t) It wasn’t something he said to be possessive or flirtatious. It was something that was meant to be comforting. Healing.

“It’s not. . . It’s not like that,” she mumbled, trying to convince the other crewmates. “It’s just teasing. An inside joke from when we were little.”

The excuse was flimsy at best, but it was all she could manage. Besides, how could she explain to them that it wasn’t about love or romance? It was about survival. About giving her something to look forward to. 

Nami wasn’t buying it, and neither were the others, but she forced herself to meet their eyes, trying to shift the topic. “Uh, but. . . Luffy is. . .” She trailed off, racking her brain for anything that would distract them. “Luffy is more. . . touchy with me?”

It came out as more of a question than a statement, but the whole crew—aside from Zoro—nodded in unison.

“You’re right,” The crew answered in unison. 

“You were getting chummy on Merry’s head, y’know?” Nami mentioned, recalling the scene before her eyes.

“He does cling to you a lot!” Chopper nodded.

Sanji, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, shot her a half-serious glare. “Oi, Luffy better not be getting fresh with a lady,” he grumbled.

She quickly waved her hands. “No! It’s not like that! It’s just. . . subtle things. We just grew up really close with each other, that’s all. We kinda did grow up in a jungle, haha. . .”

She forced a laugh, hoping it would mask the truth. They couldn’t know how it wasn’t just childhood closeness. How it was Luffy constantly pulling her out of her own nightmares without even realizing it. How it was him dragging her into wild adventures just to remind her that she wasn’t stuck anymore.

Zoro glanced at her with a half-lidded gaze, sensing the tension behind her lighthearted words, but he didn’t push. He never did. Maybe he understood—maybe he didn’t—but he let it drop all the same, returning to his nap against the Merry.

She let out a quiet breath, grateful that the conversation was shifting. But even as they moved on to lighter topics, she couldn’t help but think about Ace. About how he made the word “Ace” mean something different—something that didn’t suffocate her.

Luffy however—

“Hey, Zoro! Did you know she grew up with Luffy?” Usopp screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at the crewmate who has only been yawning the whole time, not even trying to participate in the interrogation. 

Zoro, lounging with his arms crossed, barely opened one eye before yawning. “Yeah, of course I do. I was the first mate.”

“Um, aren’t you technically second?” Nami asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nah, she joined right after me,” Zoro shrugged lazily. “I said yes before she did.”

“But didn’t you sail out with Luffy first?” Usopp pressed, his brow furrowing in confusion.

She didn’t make eye contact, stretching out her arms with an exaggerated groan. “Yeeaah,” she drawled out, “It’s a long story. . .”

The crew exchanged glances but decided not to push further. If it was something worth knowing, she’d tell them eventually. Or maybe, like Luffy, she just didn’t think it was all that important.

“Still,” Chopper beamed, his little hooves tapping against the deck, “That’s so cool! Being pirates with someone you grew up with!”

A soft smile settled on her face as she glanced down at him, knowing Chopper's own struggles with finding a place to belong and his father figure. Gently, she reached out and patted his head, ruffling his fur.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Luffy, oblivious to the conversation, suddenly perked up. “Oi! What are we talking about?” he asked through a mouthful of meat.

Nami sighed, shaking her head. “We’re talking about your childhood, dummy.”

“Oh!” Luffy grinned widely. “It was awesome! She’s the best! I don’t even know how many times she’s saved me from getting killed by wild beasts and Ace!”

She rolled her eyes. “If I weren’t there, you wouldn’t be our captain, captain..”

“Yeah, but I turned out fine!” Luffy declared proudly.

The entire crew, almost in unison, shouted, “Debatable!”

Luffy just laughed, and she shook her head, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips. It was chaotic, ridiculous, and messy, but this—being here, with him and his crew—felt warm, was this what home felt like?— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

"You made me live, when I wanted to die."

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

"Hey, guys, we should stop at the nearest island for resources,” Nami called out to the crew, glancing at her log pose.

“Robin-san, was it?” She smiled, taking a good look at the older woman. She had just been interrogated by Usopp, who had failed miserably, everyone else had already been captured by Robin’s charm, aside from herself and Zoro.

“Nico Robin,” Robin replied, nodding with a faint smile.

“Would you like to walk together?” She offered, her tone casual but curious.

“Sure.”

As the Going Merry settled ashore, the crew dispersed to gather supplies. She kept her stride alongside Robin, wanting to get to know their newest and most unexpected crewmate—the woman who had already wrapped the whole crew around her finger. Despite her reservations, She trusted Luffy, if he said Robin wasn’t a bad person, she wasn’t. Still, curiosity nagged at her.

“What are we searching for, Childhood friend-san?” Robin teased, amusement glinting in her eyes. Her cheeks flushed at the nickname, and she offered Robin her name and a sheepish smile.

“Feel free to call me that and not. . . whatever that was,” she mumbled.

Robin chuckled, not missing the embarrassed look. “Nothing important,” She said, shrugging it off. “I don’t really have a role on this crew.” The words came out sounding almost self-deprecating, and Robin gave her a curious glance. “But I thought I’d buy some inventory and look for some scents for Merry. Our crew’s... kinda stinky.”

Robin laughed softly, clearly not disagreeing.

“So, you were childhood friends with Luffy?” Robin asked, her tone conversational. “I heard the commotion earlier, but I didn’t catch the whole story.”

She hummed, glancing at the ground as they walked. “Yeah, I stumbled onto his island when I was a kid.”

“Stumbled?” Robin echoed, raising an eyebrow. As someone who had spent her life fleeing from island to island, Robin could easily tell that the word didn’t quite fit.

She just gave a soft smile, deliberately steering away from that topic. “I just wanted to tell you that Luffy is. . . well, Luffy. Now that you’re his nakama, he’s not gonna let you go.”

Robin observed her carefully, There was something both protective and wistful in her expression. “So don’t go doing anything crazy, alright, Robin-san?”

Robin hummed thoughtfully, giving her a knowing look. “You seem to know something that I’m unaware of. Personal experience?”

She giggled, the sound unexpectedly light. “Luffy. . . He’s the type of person who leaves a piece of himself to everyone he meets. And that piece stays with you, even if you don’t want it to.”

There was a quiet strength in her words, a deep-rooted faith that Robin couldn’t quite fathom yet. Her gaze softened, and despite her usual guarded demeanor, her eyes were warm and welcoming.

“So don’t bother fighting it,” she said, giving Robin a reassuring smile. “Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates!”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“Y’know—”

“Heeeey! Big Sis!” Nami’s voice cut through as she marched toward them, still half-distracted by the glittering jewels Robin had gifted her earlier. “Oh!” she called out her name, waving excitedly. “You guys wanna shop for clothes? This island’s perfect for cute summer fits!”

“Oii—!” Luffy called out, her name leaving his mouth just before his arms stretched unnaturally forward and yoinked her toward him. He wasn’t even paying attention, just a spontaneous Luffy impulse, and the two of them crashed to the ground with a loud thud .

She grunted, rolled over, and smacked him on the head.

“Ow!” he cried, holding his head as if she’d hit him with a cannonball.

Nami blinked, eyebrows shooting up at the sight. “I’ll never get used to how casual you are about Luffy just. . . manhandling you like that,” she said, half-laughing. “Even Zoro would’ve stayed down and twitched for a while.”

She shrugged with a crooked grin, brushing dust off her pants. “What can I say? You get used to it if you grow up with him.”

Luffy was already standing, spinning in a lazy circle, gaze locked onto the blooming floras and massive fruit trees around them, eyes sparkling with curiosity. She grabbed his arm before he could wander again.

“Oi, Luffy, what are you doing?”

He looked at her like he’d only just remembered she existed, lips parting into a grin. “Let’s get something to eat.”

“Hey! We wanted to look at clothes first,” Nami protested immediately, puffing up as she placed a possessive hand on the bag of jewels Robin gifted her from Crocodile’s stash. “You can’t eat every second!”

And just like that, they were bickering, Luffy shouting “Meat is more important than sandals!” while Nami threatened to dock his allowance for the next month.

Robin, trailing behind with a gentle smile, chuckled. “Is the crew always this lively?” she asked, her eyes glinting as she glanced at the two chaos gremlins arguing in front of her.

The girl watched the scene for a moment before smiling herself, softly, genuinely.

“Yeah,” she said, voice quiet but warm. “It’s definitely never quiet here.”

Luffy was now rubbing a rapidly growing bump on his head, courtesy of Nami’s fist. She stepped closer, reaching up to gently pat him on the same spot.

“Nami, it’s okay. Let’s eat first,” she said, her voice calm but firm, patting Luffy’s bump-ful head. “He is our captain, after all.”

Nami looked between them, sighed dramatically, then rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. But after that, we’re going shopping—and you’re carrying my bags, Luffy!”

“ Ehhh?! ” Luffy groaned, already slouching like she’d told him to lift the Going Merry. 

“Nami,” she called out, catching up as they strolled past a row of vibrant market stalls. The orange-haired girl turned, already mid-giggle from something Robin had whispered.

“Who’s with Merry?”

“A-Okay!” Nami gave her a thumbs-up, fingers forming a ring. “I asked Sanji to stay back and watch her, he practically volunteered.” She tilted her head toward the ship's direction.

From across the planes, they could just make out Sanji on the dock, dramatically swooning.

“Have fun, mademoiselles!!! ” he bellowed, hearts spilling out of his eyes like a cartoon waterfall. “Oi, Luffy! You better guard those ladies with your life!! ”

“Okay. Let’s get something to eat,” Luffy responded flatly, already walking toward the nearest restaurant, like that was the only message he’d heard.

They sat under the shade of a big leaf umbrella, tropical drinks in hand, plates of grilled skewers and fried fruits already starting to disappear thanks to Luffy’s bottomless stomach, but Nami hadn’t been paying attention, hers were on his childhood friend. 

“Y’know,” Nami said between sips, elbow on the table, her cheek lazily resting against her knuckles. “You usually talk so proper. . . Where did you say you grew up again?”

She didn’t pause. “I grew up with Luffy.” Then added, a little quieter, “My parents were farmers, if that’s what you’re really asking.”

Nami blinked. “Heeeeh?” she drawled, leaning back for a better look at her. “Wouldn’t have guessed you were a farm girl. You’ve got this. . . noble, serious vibe. Like someone who used to smack rich brats with a ruler or something.”

She snorted. “Thanks, I guess.” Not even commenting just how close, yet so far her assumption was.

“But y’know—” Nami twirled her straw thoughtfully, eyes narrowing like she was piecing together a puzzle. “Even with how proper you act sometimes. . . you’re wild. Like, Luffy -level wild.”

That made her sit up straighter, eyebrows raised. “Huh?”

“Not your stupidity! ” Nami rushed to clarify, hands waving. “You’re definitely smarter than him, no offense—”

“None taken,” Luffy said mid-chew, not even looking up.

“—but the recklessness ?” Nami jabbed a finger toward her. “The way you just throw yourself into danger without blinking? That’s Luffy wild. And the fact you don’t even realize you’re doing it kinda makes you scarier.”

She blinked, deadpan.

Robin giggled into her drink. “I quite enjoy watching the chaos unfold.”

Her lips twitched upward, but she looked away with a small hum, pretending to study the flower arrangements in the nearby vendor’s stall.

“Y’know what,” she murmured after a moment, voice softer, changing the uncomfortable subject on her part. “I kind of miss farming.”

Nami blinked. That, she hadn’t expected.

“The smell of earth, working with your hands, watching something grow. . .” she trailed off, tapping her fingers against her glass. “I might buy some seeds. Start a garden on Merry. It’d be nice to have something that’s just mine, y’know?”

Luffy popped his head up from his plate. “We can grow meat?”

“No, Luffy.”

“Why not?”

“That’s not how meat works.”

“It could be,” he mumbled, suspiciously defensive. 

Nami blinked once.

Then twice.

Then rubbed her eyes like she wasn’t sure if the mountain she was looking at was real.

“Wait. . . wait, wait, wait—” she straightened, her voice slowly rising in pitch, “—how many plates did you just finish?!”

The table groaned beneath the weight of Luffy’s leftovers. Plate after plate was stacked to the heavens, leaning precariously to the side like a teetering tower ready to topple over at the slightest breeze. Chicken bones, fish tails, skewers, half-chewed garnish, and crumpled napkins were crammed into every crevice of the leaning pile. Some plates even had teeth marks on them. Literal teeth marks.

Nami’s eye twitched.

“LUFFY!”

The shriek echoed across the open plaza of the seaside restaurant, startling a flock of seagulls into the sky. Several patrons turned their heads, forks frozen mid-bite, as the Straw Hat navigator officially lost her mind.

“Stop eating! We don’t even know how much this place charges—what if it’s tourist pricing?! What if they scam us per plate ?!”

Luffy looked up, blinking. His cheeks were puffed like a squirrel's, stuffed full of some kind of grilled meat bun, grease shining on his lips. Despite the glare she was giving him, his hands hadn’t stopped, they were still moving like clockwork, picking up another skewer, dunking it in sauce, then shoving it toward his mouth.

“Heeeeh?” he mumbled with a full mouth, then swallowed with a loud gulp. “But it’s so gooood, Nami!”

Nami looked seconds away from a heart attack.

“We can’t pay for this!”

At that moment, she placed her hand over Nami’s arm, calm as the sea after a storm. “It’s alright, Nami. Let him eat. I think I have enough to cover it.”

Nami turned her head slowly, eyes wide. “. . .What?”

“I’ve got money,” she repeated with a small shrug, as if it were no big deal.

Nami’s voice dropped to a whisper. “What do you mean you have money? How much money?”

She scratched her cheek, a sheepish look settling onto her face. “Robin isn’t the only one who stole from Crocodile’s stash.”

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

“I was saving it. For emergencies.”

“THIS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY!” Nami gestured wildly at the avalanche of dishes like it was the end of the world. “Luffy’s eating habits is never an emergency.” Nami emphasized, hoping it would get through her thick skull, knowing how she has a bad habit of going soft for Luffy.

“Come ooon,” she giggled, bumping her shoulder gently against Nami’s. “Loosen up a little. I’ve got enough to feed Luffy and still go on a shopping spree with you. Let me pay.”

Nami froze again, lips twitching.

Then, without warning, her face crumpled into exaggerated tears. She lunged toward her and wrapped her in a dramatic hug, cheek pressed against her shoulder.

“You’re an angel,” Nami sniffled, clutching her like salvation. “A radiant goddess of fortune. My beautiful, rich savior.”

Before she could reply, a shadow loomed over them.

“Oiii!” Luffy’s voice rang out, bright and oblivious. He called her name, eyes sparkling, before lobbing a hot skewer directly into her face.

“Eat it, eat it! It’s delicious!”

The skewer slapped her cheek with a sizzling sound. She yelped in pain but instinctively bit into it anyway , teeth sinking into the smoky, juicy meat.

“Luffy!” she growled, walking towards the disaster that was their captain. “You could’ve taken my eye out!”

“But you ate it! ” he grinned, bouncing in place like he was proud of himself.

“Because it hit me in the mouth! ” she shouted between chews, “It’s hot! ”

Still, she kept eating it. Huffing every few seconds from the heat, lips puffed and reddened, but chewing through it like a trooper. Her eyes narrowed at him like she was planning to kick him under the table later.

Nami watched them with an odd look on her face, one eyebrow arched in disbelief. Her gaze drifted between the two, Luffy practically beaming, and her, flustered and furious, but not pulling away.

“Y’know. . .” Nami started, her voice quieter now, thoughtful, “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen Luffy share his food with anyone.”

Robin, sitting beside them with her hands delicately folded over her lap, tilted her head toward the scene. Her eyes were calm, but glittered with curiosity.

“Oh?” she asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Nami nodded slowly. “He guards his food like a dragon . Even Zoro got punched once for trying to steal a dumpling. But with her. . .” her eyes softened. “He just gives it away.”

Robin chuckled behind her hand, the sound low and amused. 

“Isn’t that interesting?”

Across the table, Luffy had now stuck a second skewer between her lips, grinning wider with every bite she took. She swatted at him, annoyed, but her expression was gentle, fond even, like this chaos was something she’d memorized long ago.

And for a second, just a second, the two girls watched as the captain and his childhood best friend bickered and shared food like the rest of the world didn’t matter.

But it mattered to Nami.

Because money, was still Money.

No matter how sentimental the moment looked, no matter how heartwarming it was to see their captain being a semi-decent human for once.

Money was sacred.

And this “emergency stash” was about to be swallowed bite by bite by the bottomless pit that was Monkey D. Luffy.

Nami then slammed her hands on the table, rattling the plates and utensils, and screeched:

“STOP. EATING!!!”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

The truth seeped through in the littlest ways

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

[JAYA]

Nami picked up the worn-out book, flipping it around in her hands as she examined its faded cover. The title, though smudged, was still legible in its large, bold print.

“A picture book?” she mused aloud, bringing it closer to her face to inspect the details. The edges were slightly frayed, and the pages had yellowed over time. “A pretty old one at that.”

“Liar Noland?”

“Oh!” Usopp let out an excited huff, leaning forward with interest. “I like the sound of that, sounds cool!”

“Liar Noland?” Her and Sanji echoed at the same time, their voices overlapping in surprise. They both turned to face each other with raised eyebrows before sharing a look of mutual bewilderment.

“Huh?” Nami furrowed her brows. “You guys know it? It says here it was published in the North Blue, though.”

“Didn’t I tell you guys?” Sanji took a casual drag from his cigarette, exhaling before flashing them a smirk. “I was born in the North Blue.”

“You too?!” The words slipped out before she could stop herself. It was too fast, too unguarded. Her shoulders stiffened the moment she realized her mistake, her expression freezing for just a fraction of a second. If someone were paying close enough attention, they might have noticed the way she winced, just slightly, before she quickly turned her attention back to the book.

Sanji, mid-exhale, pulled the cigarette away from his lips and looked at her with curiosity. “You were from the North, too?”

“Uh, yeah.” She shifted her gaze away, she didn’t want to be asked more questions, but curiously piled up in her stomach, something terrible must have happened to Sanji if he could allocate himself from the North to the East.

“That’s a shock!” Usopp jumped in, effectively breaking the growing tension. “I thought you guys were East people, like us!”

Sanji shrugged, resting his hands in his pockets. “I was born in the North,” he explained, a nostalgic smile tugging at his lips, “but I grew up in the East.”

“You told me your parents were farmers,” Nami spoke up, “But I thought they were farmers in Luffy’s island. . .” She pondered for a moment.

Usopp whistled. “That’s crazy! So wait, does that mean you guys might have known each other as kids? What if you were childhood besties and don’t even remember?”

“I bet my whole life that could never happen.”

“Wouldn’t forget a face as pretty as hers,” Sanji added smoothly, flashing his usual flirty grin.

She rolled her eyes, but there was something else behind her expression, a flicker of something unspoken, something careful.

Sanji and her locked eyes, and for a moment, the chatter around them faded into the background. There was something unspoken lingering between them, an understanding that neither of them had ever put into words. It wasn’t just the casual flirtation he often threw her way or the way she would roll her eyes at his over-the-top chivalry. No, it was something quieter, deeper.

He wasn’t just looking at her like he usually did, like a lady to be wooed or a pretty face to admire. There was something solemn in his gaze, something that weighed heavy on his shoulders despite his usual carefree demeanor. She met his eyes, searching for the root of it, and it clicked.

A person born in the North but raised in the East. They had both crossed the Red Line at some point, whether through the Grand Line itself or some other means of transportation.

And crossing the Red Line as a child wasn’t something most people did willingly. It wasn’t a voyage of adventure or curiosity. It was more likely survival, desperation, being dragged away from everything familiar to somewhere foreign and unforgiving.

There was a flicker of something like sympathy in Sanji’s gaze, and she didn’t know whether to feel comforted or exposed. It was the kind of look that said, I get it. The kind of look that didn’t need words to convey how messy and twisted the past could be.

She wondered how much he had been through, how many sleepless nights or bitter memories haunted him when no one was looking. For all his flirtatious charm and gentlemanly theatrics, there was a sadness in his eyes that never quite left.

He knew. Maybe not the details, but he knew the feeling. Of being uprooted, forced to adapt, to survive against odds stacked so heavily against you that you weren’t sure how you made it out alive.

The smallest of smiles tugged at her lips, and she nodded at him, almost imperceptibly. Sanji just gave a half-smile back, something softer than his usual flamboyant grins. It wasn’t flirtation. It wasn’t some exaggerated declaration of love. It was a simple acknowledgment, an unspoken pact between survivors.

Maybe, just maybe, they understood each other a little better now.

Robin, who had been quietly flipping through a book nearby, finally spoke up. “It’s interesting, isn’t it?” she mused, her voice calm and thoughtful. “The world is vast, and yet, sometimes paths cross in unexpected ways.”

“Yeah, yeah, poetic and all that,” Usopp waved a hand dismissively. “But the real question is, why is this Noland guy called a liar? I mean, that’s kinda harsh, don’t you think?”

She found herself flipping through the pages again, lingering on the old illustrations of a man pointing toward the horizon, speaking of a place no one else believed in. A liar or a dreamer?

Maybe there wasn’t much of a difference between the two.

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

"I want to live!"

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

[POST ENIES LOBBY]

She had been right.

Robin cared so little for her own life that she was willing to sacrifice herself for the crew. The events of Enies Lobby had hit them like a truck, they got Robin back, they lost Merry, and now they were opposing the World Government.

She knew Luffy would go to great lengths for his crewmates, but to oppose the World Government? A small voice at the back of her mind whispered that Luffy would defend her just as fiercely—that he would even attack a Celestial Dragon if he could. She shook her head, forcing the thought away.

No. Nonsense. Luffy isn’t that self-righteous, she told herself. She was in denial, opposing the World Government was one thing, but openly opposing a Celestial Dragon was another. She would rather die than let Luffy be that idiotic, but at the same time, she couldn’t believe he would go that far. And that was okay. She didn’t want him to.

The person in question was currently sleeping.

While eating.

“Geh,” Sanji grimaced, setting plates of food on the table. “That’s. . . different.”

“What’s different?” Kokoro asked, raising a curious brow.

“Luffy hates missing meals after a fight,” the girl who grew up with him remarked, a soft fondness coloring her voice. “So I guess. . . he adapted?”

“He’s sleeping like that?!”

“Pirate bro is amazing. . .”

“Nya?!”

Everyone stared in awe as Luffy continued eating despite being completely fast asleep, his cheeks comically puffed out with food, snores mixing with the sound of slurping and chewing as if nothing in the world could interrupt his dream, or his appetite.

Then suddenly—

CRASH!

Wood splintered, dust flew, and the walls of the house practically exploded inward. A tall man in a Marine uniform stomped through the rubble, wearing a dog mask and radiating authority like a storm.

Everyone jumped into action, but she didn't move because the moment he stepped through that hole, she knew . Even if it had been years, even if he looked a little older, a little grayer.

A smile crept across her face before she even realized it

“You’re the Straw Hat Pirates, aren’t ya?” the man boomed, arms crossed. “I brought someone who’d like to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy.”

No one had time to react before the man charged forward and—

BAM!

—punched Luffy right in the head mid-bite.

“LUFFY!” he shouted. “WAKE UP!”

“GAAAHHHH!!!” Luffy bolted upright in a panic, rice and meat flying. “OUCH?!” he screamed in pain, clutching his head.

Sanji blinked in confusion, nearly dropping his cigarette. “ Ouch?! You’re made of rubber, that’s not supposed to hu—"

“I heard you’ve been doing a lot of reckless stuff,” the stranger growled, reaching up and removing his mask with a grin. “Luffy!”

Luffy’s jaw dropped.

“G-G-G-GRANDPA?!”

The entire room echoed the word, wide-eyed and stunned.

“ GRANDPA?! ”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“Garp-san,” She greeted the man in front of them, “I see you’re as lively as ever.”

“I told you to call me Gramps,” Garp furrowed his eyebrows, his hand flying everywhere, “Gr-a-mps!” He emphasized each syllable, as if talking to a toddler. 

“Garp-san.”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“Can’t believe Luffy forced you to become a pirate!” Garp scowled, his voice booming loud enough to rattle the deck. The other Straw Hats stayed silent, exchanging uneasy glances as they watched the interaction. “I thought I was shaping you into a great Marine!”

She gave him an eerie smile, the kind that made even Garp pause for a second. “Garp-san. . . I hate Marines.”

“Huh?! But you like me, right?!” Garp barked, letting go of Luffy to grab her by the shoulders, his massive hands practically engulfing her.

“Yes, yes, you’re an exception.” She patted him on the arm, doing her best to comfort the giant man who looked uncharacteristically deflated.

“Hehe!” A blush crept over his cheeks as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, looking oddly bashful for a man of his stature.

The whole crew shared a collective thought, eyes darting between Garp and Luffy.

'He’s just like Luffy!'

Sanji leaned towards Nami, whispering, “Is it just me, or does Luffy actually take after his grandpa?”

Nami glanced at the two with wide eyes. “They’re practically the same person! No wonder he’s so reckless!”

As Garp went back to hammering down on the house, Luffy tilted his head and plopped down on the floor, completely unfazed. She let out a long sigh, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. Maybe she could finally relax now—

“By the way, Luffy,” Garp stopped hammering and turned back around, his pinky digging into his nose. “I heard you met your dad.”

Luffy’s head snapped up, eyes wide and clueless. “Huh?”

She couldn’t help but stare, just as bewildered as the rest of the crew. Luffy’s dad? She’d never heard anything about him, and considering Luffy never brought him up, she had always assumed he was out of the picture—maybe dead, like Ace’s.

“I have a dad?” Luffy asked bluntly.

Garp snorted. “Oh, he didn’t introduce himself? I heard he saw you off at Loguetown.” A smug grin curled his lips as he watched the reactions unfold.

Sanji’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise. “Luffy’s dad was in Loguetown?” 

Nami whipped around to face the childhood friend that’s supposed to know everything about Luffy. “I’m curious to know what kind of person could raise someone like Luffy.” Nami gripped onto her, “Did you know?!” 

She furrowed her brow, trying to recall everyone they had encountered in Loguetown. Tashigi? No. Smoker? No way. Buggy? As if!

“Oi,” Luffy called out to his grandpa, “What’s my dad like?” 

Garp grinned wider, clearly reveling in their confusion. “Your father’s name is Monkey D. Dragon—the Revolutionary.”

The words hit like a thunderclap, and the air seemed to freeze.

The chaos and panic that ensued after Garp’s sudden drop of information fell onto deaf ears, the world around her had gone completely silent. 

Dragon. . . Dragon. . ?

“I’m giving this to you,” he whispered, keeping his voice low so that no one else would hear. “The vivre card here belongs to Dragon,” He repeated the name slower so that the little girl would understand.

“When the time is right, find the owner of this paper. He’ll treat you well. Tell him that Machi sent you, okay?”

Bile rose in her throat as memories she thought she’d buried clawed their way to the surface. Her knees nearly buckled, and she pressed a palm to her forehead, trying to force the nausea back down.

“Hey, why are you guys panicking?” Luffy asked, scratching his head, looking utterly confused as usual.

“Idiot!” Sanji snapped, “Do you not know who Dragon is?!”

“Your dad is a dangerous man, Luffy!” Nami shouted, her face a mix of disbelief and exasperation. Then Nami spun around to face her, noticing how pale she looked. “Hey, why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost? You seriously didn’t know either?!”

The sudden attention jolted her from her trance, and she whipped her head towards Nami, stammering, “How would I know?! Luffy didn’t even know himself!”

Her frantic response only seemed to confuse the crew more, and Nami gave her a scrutinizing look. “Garp-san!” she exclaimed, turning to the old Marine with wide eyes. “Is it true? Dragon-san is Luffy’s father, and he’s from the?” She tilted her head, still trying to wrap her mind around it. “The Revolutionary Army?”

“Huh!” Nami gasped, her jaw dropping. “Waaaait a minute!” Nami grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her like a rag doll, her eyes blazing. “You also don’t know about the Revolutionaries?! Have you guys been living under a rock?!”

Nami was in full demon mode, and if it weren’t for the shock of hearing Dragon’s name, she might have laughed at how unhinged Nami looked.

She was still trying to piece everything together, her mind swimming with thoughts of Machi and the vivre card. Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the fabric of her shirt. “No, I didn’t. I mean, I’ve heard people fighting the world government before, but I really don’t anything about revolutionaries and Drago—”

“Lass.” Garp’s gruff voice cut through the chaos, and she stiffened when he gave her a serious look. “Y’know Dragon?”

“Uhh. . .” She swallowed thickly and gripped her shirt harder, forcing herself to meet Garp’s gaze. “No, it’s. . . just that someone I knew. . . knew him as well.”

Garp hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as his bushy brows furrowed. “Hm. Do I know this person? My networking ain’t bad for an old man, y’know!” He let out a hearty laugh, seemingly oblivious to her internal turmoil.

She waved her hands sheepishly, trying to push away the scrutiny. “Uh, no way, Garp-san! I don’t think you’d know this person!”

“Hey, Robin?” Luffy turned to the most knowledgeable person on the ship, his curious eyes fixed on her.

Robin placed her index finger and thumb on her chin, contemplating how to explain. “How should I put this. . .” she murmured before finally speaking. “Pirates don’t usually engage in direct attacks on the World Government. However, there are organizations out there actively working to overthrow that government. The Revolutionary Army is one such group, and at its zenith stands Dragon.”

Her calm, straightforward explanation seemed to click in everyone’s minds. Even Luffy’s face lit up with vague understanding.

But her heart tugged painfully as her mind lingered on the revelation.

‘ Machi-san. . . was a Revolutionary?’

The thought twisted inside her like a thorny vine. After all these years, she hadn’t allowed herself to think too deeply about Machi’s last words. Now it made sense—why Machi had spoken so cryptically, why she seemed so certain that the Revolutionaries would be a safe haven.

She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, meeting Luffy was no coincidence. It felt as if fate itself had guided her to the Dawn Island that day when she had been nothing but a wandering child with nowhere to go. It was as if destiny placed her on the same path as Luffy, even if, in some other reality, she had met Dragon instead.

Either way, she knew that both men would have shown her freedom—just in different forms.

“Ack!” Garp suddenly shouted, as if snapping out of a trance. “I shouldn’t have said anything!” His face twisted into a grimace, which only made everyone else feel even more uneasy.

Then, just as abruptly, he burst out laughing, pounding his fist on the deck. ���Bwahahaha! Forget I said anything!”

“WHAAAT?!” the whole crew shouted in unison, utterly baffled.

“Lass,” Garp’s gruff voice cut through the air, making her flinch. “Come here for a second.”

His face was serious—far too serious—and it made her stomach twist with unease.

“I’ve never questioned where you came from, have I?” His tone wasn’t questioning at all, more like a statement carved in stone. “And I had no reason to, not when I raised ya.”

She wanted to joke, to tell him that Dadan was the one who really raised her, but something about his tone kept her silent, her fingers unconsciously curling into fists.

“Your name’s been thrown around with the higher-ups,” he said, almost like he didn’t want to admit it himself. She didn’t need to ask who the higher-ups were, and some nagging feeling told her Garp knew more about her past than he let on. “Not even someone of my rank can protect you.”

The way his face twisted—half scowl, half something like regret—made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to scream that it wasn’t true, that she could handle it, but the words lodged themselves in her throat.

“Thrown around?” She managed not to stutter.

Garp placed his large hand on her shoulder, and even under his touch, she couldn’t stop shaking. “Be careful out there. Not even Sengoku can hold them back, and he’s the Fleet Admiral.”

A shiver ran down her spine, ice settling in her stomach. “I had a run-in back when I was a kid. . .” She gripped her shirt over the brand on her stomach, hidden beneath the fabric, where no one could see. “But I—”

“I was hopin’ that wasn’t the case,” Garp muttered, his expression torn. The way he shut his eyes made it painfully clear he was fighting his own thoughts, grappling with the grim reality of what she might have gone through.

“Garp-san.” Her voice was stern, and his eyes opened, meeting her gaze full of resolve. “I have no intention of telling Luffy about my past with the Celestial Dragons.”

His expression darkened, ready to protest, but she didn’t let him. “Ever.” Silence grew between them. 

“It’s not good to hold things in, Lass.” Garp adviced, a concerned look adorned his face, “Luffy’s gonna find out sooner or later.”

“I’ll protect Luffy with my life .” She emphasized. 

Garp’s jaw clenched. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m talking about your life.”

Her gaze softened as she looked at Luffy, who was trying to decipher her and Garp’s conversation, and the air of curiosity was so obvious on his face.. “Luffy is. . . different. He’s someone.”

Garp followed her gaze, his eyes shadowed with worry.

“He’s—”

“Oi, oi, oi!” Luffy’s voice rang out, cutting through the heavy atmosphere. He bounded over with his trademark grin, curiosity lighting up his face. “Are you guys talking about something fun? I want in!”

“Luffy...” Garp raised his fist, trembling with suppressed emotion. “Don’t be rude and cut people off!”

“AAAAKH!”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“Hello, Mon Ange, ” Sanji immediately greeted upon her arrival, eyes flicking over her as if to check for any lingering traces of distress. “You not joining them?”

“Nah,” she replied, her tone soft but steady. “It brings back memories, but Luffy was the one who saved Coby.” Her gaze drifted toward the window, where Luffy and Coby were having a civil conversation, sharing stories like old friends.

Robin let out a soft, knowing laugh, and it caught her off guard. “What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Robin smiled, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “You answered the same way Zoro did.”

She blinked, genuinely surprised, and glanced at the swordsman who sat slightly apart from the group, his arms crossed and expression as unreadable as ever. “Huh,” she mumbled, half amused and half confused. “Didn’t think I’d be compared to Mosshead today.”

Sanji shot her a look of betrayal, immediately launching into a tirade. “Don’t lump yourself with that muscle-brained mosshead! You’re way too refined and elegant to sound like him!”

She only gave him a bemused smile in response, brushing it off like usual. “Where’s Nami?” she asked, realizing she hadn’t seen the navigator since they arrived.

“Oh, Nami isn’t here either,” Chopper replied, his ears twitching. “I thought she wanted to hear the Marine’s story! I wonder if she changed her mind.”

Robin sipped her drink calmly. “She went to the swimming pool with Kokoro-san and the others. There’s an employee pool right behind this place.”

“EEEEH?” Hearts immediately surrounded Sanji, and his expression brightened like the sun. “Is Nami-swan in her swimsuit?! I’ll bring her drinks right away!”

He faltered, looking back at her with his heart-shaped eyes still pulsating. “ Mon Ange ! Robin-chwan! Would you both like to join Nami in the pool?” His excitement practically dripped from his every word, and it was clear he had ulterior motives.

She shook her head, unfazed. “Nah. I’m not really good with water,” she replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but her fingers unconsciously brushed her forearm..

Robin’s perceptive gaze didn’t miss the small movement, but she kept her tone light and casual. “ Ange -san,” she said, using Sanji’s nickname for her with a hint of playfulness. “I wanted to ask you something.”

She turned her head toward Robin, genuinely curious. “What’s up?”

Robin smiled thoughtfully. “Are you a Devil Fruit user by chance?”

Her expression shifted to mild surprise, and she tilted her head. “Huh? It’s not something I hide. . . did you guys really not know?”

“HUUH?” Sanji and Chopper shouted in unison, eyes wide and jaws practically on the floor.

“E-Eh?! Y-You’re a Devil Fruit user too?!” Chopper’s eyes lit up with curiosity as he tugged on her pants, looking up at her with an almost childlike excitement. “What is it? What’s your power?”

She furrowed her brows, genuinely confused. “Did you guys really not know?”

Sanji was quick to gather himself, looking visibly offended. “Oi, Mosshead!” he called out, his voice dripping with irritation as he glared at Zoro, who was still leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. “Did you know about this too?”

Zoro cracked one eye open, looking more annoyed than surprised. “Yeah. I was the one who hauled her ass with Smoker when we were drowning,” he replied nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Sanji’s face immediately morphed into pure rage, and he lunged at the swordsman, kicking out in frustration. “Oi, how dare you touch Ange back in Alabasta! You bastard!”

Zoro blocked the kick easily, pushing back with his sword still in its sheath. “You have some messed-up priorities, Curly Brows!”

“How dare you know something about Ange before me!” Sanji roared, still attacking relentlessly.

“Your priorities are still messed up!”

Their bickering continued, escalating into the usual chaotic exchange of insults and kicks. Chopper sweatdropped, glancing back at her. “You didn’t think to tell us?”

She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Didn’t think it was a big deal. I don’t really use it much.”

Robin chuckled. “It seems to be quite the revelation for some,” she teased lightly.

She gave a small smile, almost sheepish. “I guess I just didn’t think it mattered.”

“It does!” Chopper insisted, puffing up his chest. “We’re your crew! We should know these things!”

A soft, grateful warmth filled her chest at his words. “Sorry,” she said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to keep it a secret.”

“Hey, hey!” Chopper called out, bouncing on his hooves with wide, curious eyes. “But what is it? What is it?” His excitement was almost infectious, and she couldn’t help but smile at how endearing he looked—like a child waiting for a story.

She grinned, a hint of mischief glinting in her eyes. “How about I just show you?”

Robin raised an intrigued eyebrow, her usual calm demeanor now tinged with genuine curiosity. “I’d love to see it,” she said, giving a gentle nod of encouragement.

With a confident stride, she approached the duo still locked in their heated brawl. Sanji and Zoro were too caught up in their squabbling to notice her approach, throwing insults and kicks with the usual ferocity. A small puff of dust swirled around them from the force of their movements.

Without warning, she placed a hand on each of their shoulders, her touch feather-light yet purposeful. A faint, soft glow emanated from her fingertips, almost like a soothing pulse.

Immediately, their movements slowed, like gears suddenly coated in thick syrup. Zoro’s punch barely made it halfway before his arm dropped, his posture slackening. Sanji’s kick wavered mid-air, and he nearly toppled over from the unexpected lethargy. Their eyes grew heavy, lids drooping as if sleep had suddenly ambushed them.

“Oi. . . What. . . Did you do?” Zoro muttered, his voice uncharacteristically drowsy.

Sanji, despite looking like he was on the verge of passing out, still managed to swoon. “ Mon Ange . . . is touching me!” he crooned, hearts still pulsing even through his exhaustion.

“You’re messed up.” Zoro commented.

Chopper’s eyes sparkled with awe, practically bouncing on the spot as he let out a squeal of excitement. “Wow! That’s amazing!”

Robin chuckled softly at the sight of the usually combative pair now reduced to lethargic groaning. “It seems quite useful,” she remarked. “Especially when dealing with stubborn men.”

She gave a nonchalant shrug, still grinning, yawning a bit. “I ate the Tender-Tender Fruit,” she explained, “Not sure about the actual name, if I’m being honest.” Looking down at Chopper, whose admiration hadn’t waned. 

“It lets me make people feel whatever I want them to feel, as long as I can feel it too.”

Robin gave her an inquisitive look. “You can feel it too? Does that mean you have to be tired yourself, or do you just think about feeling tired?”

“It’s supposed to be the former,” she replied, scratching her cheek thoughtfully. “But I got good at manipulating my own emotions. I can trick my body into feeling something, and that lets me use the fruit’s power more efficiently. So even if I’m not really tired, I can convince myself I am—then pass that feeling on to others.”

Chopper’s ears drooped, and his eyes shimmered with concern. “T-That sounds sad. . . Like you’re forcing yourself to feel things just to use your powers. . .”

Her grin softened, and she crouched down to Chopper’s level, ruffling his fur affectionately. “It’s only sad if you make it sad, Chopper,” she replied with a gentle smile. To prove her point, she lightly tapped him on the head with her glowing fingers.

Chopper’s ears perked up, and suddenly laughter bubbled out of him, bright and uncontrollable. “Wahahaha! Hey! That tickles!”

She let go, and his laughter gradually died down, leaving him giggling with residual glee. “See?” she said warmly. “I can make people happy, too.”

Chopper’s eyes shone with a mix of relief and amazement. “That’s so cool! You’re amazing!”

Zoro, now half-asleep and leaning against the wall, grumbled under his breath, clearly displeased with how sluggish he felt. “Next time, give us a warning before using that damn power. . .”

Sanji, on the other hand, had managed to prop himself up with one hand, still half in dreamland. “ Mon Ange . . . your touch is. . . so soft. . .”

She snorted in amusement, ignoring Sanji’s lovesick muttering. Robin gave her a sly smile, clearly entertained by the display.

“You really are full of surprises,” Robin commented.

She gave a nonchalant shrug and flashed a grin. “Gotta keep you guys on your toes somehow.”

As the chaos gradually settled, she couldn’t help but feel a little lighter, the tension from earlier melting away with every laugh and every ridiculous comment. Despite everything, being surrounded by these unpredictable, chaotic idiots made her feel like she was home.

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

[POST THRILLER BARK]

She had realized that the Straw Hats were filled with self sacrificing idiots as she watched the scene in front of her unfold. 

The battlefield was littered with debris, a grim reminder of the brutal clash that had just taken place. Panting and bloodied, Zoro stood tall before the towering figure of Bartholomew Kuma, his resolve unshaken despite the pain wracking his body.

“I beg of you. . !” Zoro rasped, forcing himself to stay upright. His voice was strained, but his conviction was unyielding. “Let my life exchange for his!”

Kuma remained motionless, his towering presence almost suffocating. Zoro took a shaky breath and continued, “Let mine substitute his. . !”

Kuma stared down at him, his expression unreadable. “If you have such great ambition. . .” he said slowly, as if testing Zoro’s resolve.

Zoro didn’t hesitate. “I’d say exchanging my life for his is an equally good deal!” He clenched his fists, blood dripping from his wounds. “But eventually. . . I will become the world’s number one swordsman. I know my head is not worth much at the moment. . . but if I can’t protect my captain’s dream, then whatever ambition I have is nothing but just talk!”

Kuma was silent, considering the swordsman’s words. “There is already no other way to save the crew.” Zoro muttered, determination burning in his eyes. 

“How will you ever be satisfied?” Kuma questioned, his tone as emotionless as ever.

Zoro lowered his head. “Then by dying for him. . .”

Before Kuma could respond, Sanji’s voice cut through the air. “Hold on a minute, you jerk!” Sanji staggered forward, his own body battered from the battle. “Just ignore this mosshead swordsman. . . If you must kill somebody, then just take my life!”

Kuma stood like an unmovable statue, his gaze shifting between the ragtag group sprawled across the battlefield. Sanji took a shaky drag from his cigarette, glaring through the blood dripping down his face. The cook didn’t waver, even as his knees threatened to buckle.

“Black Leg Sanji,” Kuma acknowledged, his voice deep and unfeeling, but noting the fierce resolve in the cook’s eyes. Sanji didn’t flinch.

“I know the Marines don’t give a damn about me. . . but soon enough, the man who will be most feared by the Marines will be me.”

Sanji’s gaze hardened, his determination unwavering despite his body’s protests. He spared Zoro a sharp look, biting back the surge of fear that threatened to crack his composure.

“What are you going to do if you die, idiot!?” he spat, angry at how easily Zoro seemed willing to throw himself away. “What happened to your dream!?”

But Zoro just gritted his teeth, unmoved. He knew that Luffy’s dream came first. It always did. And for that dream, he would gladly lay down his life.

“Tell everyone I’m sorry,” Sanji whispered, eyes sweeping over his unconscious crewmates. He hesitated when his gaze landed on her—her eyes awake, wide-eyed and struggling to stand.

“ Ange ?” Sanji’s voice softened, as if suddenly realizing just how fragile she looked.

Zoro’s instincts kicked in the moment he sensed Sanji’s hesitation, and with a quick movement, he hit the cook with the hilt of his sword, sending him into unconsciousness. Sanji crumpled to the ground without another word.

Kuma didn’t move, still sizing up the situation as Zoro turned to face him. But before he could take another step forward, she staggered to her feet, swaying slightly as if every breath scraped through her lungs.

“Zoro. . .” Her voice was a rasp, but determined. Trembling hands reached out, fingers sparking with the faint glow of her Devil Fruit power. Zoro didn’t hesitate, he slapped her hand away, scowling.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” he snapped, glaring at her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She looked down at her hand, rubbing the bruise forming from his rough shove, and let out a shuddering breath. “I’m not. . . trying to stop you,” she whispered. “I just—” She took a deep breath.

“You and Sanji. . .” Her eyes flitted between the unconscious cook and the swordsman. “You’re the right and left hands of the next King of the Pirates,” she said, forcing strength into her voice. “Luffy would rather stop being a pirate than have you two die.”

Zoro froze, and for a moment, his usual stoic mask cracked. Kuma watched their exchange with a glint of curiosity—perhaps even endearment—but remained silent.

“And let me be the one to tell him his childhood friend died on my watch?” Zoro scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought if you think you matter less in this crew. As if he’d be more okay with you dying.”

Her lips trembled, but she didn’t look away. “Better me than you guys,” she muttered. “I’m just the kid he couldn’t leave behind. The one who should’ve stayed in that damn mountain instead of following him into this mess. I’m not like you, I’m not indispensable.”

“That’s bullshit,” Zoro shot back. “You think Luffy would just accept losing you? You’re his childhood friend—the one person he’d never let go of. Don’t think for a second that just because you’re not holding a sword or steering the ship that you don’t belong here.”

She swallowed hard, fighting the rising panic clawing at her throat. “I’m the one who’s supposed to keep him safe,” she whispered, almost to herself. “What am I on this crew if not for that?”

Zoro’s expression softened, just a fraction. “And you think dying here makes up for that? You’re not gonna fix anything by throwing yourself away.”

She laughed bitterly, her hands clenched into fists. “If I can’t be strong enough to protect him, then what’s the point of me being here at all? Maybe it’s better if it’s me—at least then, no one’s losing their dream because of me.”

Zoro’s eyes narrowed, irritation flickering across his face. “I thought about it a few times, but you’re kind of weird in the head, aren’t ya?” he muttered, almost incredulous. “You act like you’re just some burden that Luffy’s dragging along. But we all know you’re here because he wants you here. He’s not keeping you around out of pity. He’s keeping you because you’re his nakama.”

She furrowed her brows, but Zoro didn’t let up. “You don’t get to decide your life’s worth on your own. Not when you’re part of this crew. If you’re gonna die, at least make it for something that’s worth a damn—not just because you think you’re disposable.”

“It’s not okay for me to die, but it is for you?” She raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the first mate.

“You’re his childhood friend,” Zoro reminded her firmly, completely trying to avoid her previous statement. “You’re not just some sidekick. You’re his nakama too. And if you think he’s gonna be okay with you dying, you really don’t know him at all.”

Zoro’s words cut through her like a sword, sharp and merciless, but not without purpose.

Kuma finally spoke up, his monotone voice breaking the tension. “Is your resolve still unwavering?”

Zoro didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. If it’s my life in exchange for his, it’s a good deal.”

“Zor—” Before she could finish her sentence, Zoro knocked her unconscious.

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

“Nothing Happened.”

— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — — —— — — — — —

The air was thick with dust and echoes of laughter, remnants of a joy long lost to time. The grand hall of the ruined castle stretched high, its cracked walls and shattered windows filtering the dying light. 

Among the scattered debris, a lone figure sat upright, his skeletal fingers gently cradling a conch shell, as if afraid it might shatter under his touch.

Brook let out a soft, wistful chuckle, his bony jaw creaking as his shoulders shook. "Yo-ho ho ho." he laughed quietly, the sound lonely and fragile amidst the ruins. His empty eye sockets fixed on the shell, where faint traces of voices seemed to resonate—familiar, precious voices, frozen in time.

"That song filled with memories. ., . and a party!" the echoes of long-gone friends seemed to cheer. Brook could almost see them—the Rumbar Pirates, gathered around, singing as though their very lives depended on it. Their voices mingled with his in a final, desperate melody, refusing to fade even in the face of death.

Brook squeezed the shell just a little tighter, as if holding on to what remained of his past. "Every single day was painful. . ." he whispered, his voice cracking with unspoken grief. It had been decades of isolation, of searching for a reason to keep moving forward, despite knowing that everyone he once loved was long gone.

“But you know, Luffy-san,” Brook started out. There was hope now, a flicker of light through the man in the straw hat in front of him. News that Laboon was still alive, waiting for him. A reason to survive beyond just enduring the pain. 

Brook's skeletal frame trembled with raw emotion as he lifted his head to the sky.

"I am. . . so glad to be alive!!!"

Luffy’s grin stretched wide.  “Of course you are!” he shouted, like it was the most obvious truth in the world.

Brook, though his skeletal face remained unmoving, seemed to exude warmth and relief. For fifty years, he had wandered through the dark, alone and without purpose. Now, there was something to hold on to—a dream, a promise, and new friends to share it with.

Brook’s voice softened. “Would you mind if I become your nakama?”

Luffy barely hesitated, rolling onto his back on the piano as if he’d been waiting to hear those words. “Sounds great!” he replied without missing a beat.

Just like that, Brook had joined the crew.

Some of the Straw Hats erupted in protest, but Luffy didn’t seem to notice. He just laughed and spun around the grand piano, his energy infectious and unstoppable. His wild spirit could be felt pulsing through the room like a heartbeat.

“Oiii!” Luffy called out suddenly, waving towards the dual-haired woman, leaning against the cracked pillar. A soft, tired smile lingered on her lips, and she seemed content to watch from the sidelines.

Without warning, Luffy grabbed her arms, tugging her towards him as the music resumed, louder and livelier. “Come on, come on, it’s your favorite song!” he insisted, twirling her awkwardly despite her protests.

She couldn’t help the light laughter that bubbled up, his enthusiasm relentless and unwavering. “Luffy,” she called out between twirls, finally pulling back enough to look at him.

He paused mid-spin, still grinning. “Hey, hey, hey! We finally got a musician!”

She glanced toward Brook, who gave a courteous bow and a cheerful, “Yo-ho ho ho!” before returning to his piano melody.

“I’m happy for you, but y’know Luffy. . .” She started out, a bit exasperated. “Your crew is full of idiots. . .” she muttered under her breath, thinking about Robin and how she tried to sacrifice her life, thinking about Sanji and Zoro who tried to do the same, but Luffy only cocked his head in confusion.

“Huh?”

Luffy didn’t understand her quiet concern, but he didn’t need to. All that mattered was that they were together, alive, laughing, and welcoming new friends. The music played on, loud and unapologetic.

Link to Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/lumiileth/780075602652839936/was-it-worth-it-of-course-you-are-pt-ii?source=share

[dovveri]

hickeys and swimsuits

bachelorette masterlist - part 1 ▸ part 2 ▸ part 4 ▸ part 5 ▸ part 6 ▸ part 7

synposis: day 3 on the set of the bachelorette and y/n has to deal with sleeping with her best friend, a messy group date, and a tender evening.

warnings: teensy bit of smut (a quickie in the bathroom), allude to sexual harassment

w/c: 7.7k

a/n: can you tell i dislike suju? you’ll probably be able to after this LOL

‎₊˚⊹ 𐦍༘⋆₊ ⊹

the decision to leave or stay if you’re the first one awake after a one night stand will always be unnecessarily difficult. luckily, or maybe not depending on how you look at it, sana’s grip on you would not allow for you to escape anytime soon so you let yourself be held, your head resting on top of hers, arms thrown lazily over her side.

you’re not really sure what came over you last night. after she had kissed you, you felt a need to finish what she started. you didn’t regret it though, but you were still yet to unentangle your feelings for her and what this meant for the both of you. if it even meant anything at all, it would be easy to brush it off as a spur of the moment decision built on pent up anger and lust from being untouched for so long. at least for you anyway, you weren’t sure when the last time sana slept with someone was, but you wouldn’t be surprised if it was with jihyo, she wasn’t really one for sleeping with people without knowing them first. but maybe you were wrong, you were learning so much more about her in these last two days than you have in years of knowing her.

you’re a little unnerved thinking about the amount of people sana has slept with. taking slight satisfaction in the purple marks that littered her neck, and the rest of her body knowing that you were the reason for them.

sana’s eyes slowly flutter open as you’re tracing one of these marks and she yawns, stretching with an adorable mewl and collapsing back into you.

“mmorning.” she mumbles into your chest, voice deep and laden with sleep and you can’t help but find it unbelievably attractive.

you brush your fingers through her hair, sorting through her knots. “morning…”

you lie there for a few moments, daring each other to speak first.

she’s the one who breaks the silence, always the one with more initiative, proven last night by kissing you first, “so……… should we talk about this?”

you hum, “if you’re ready for it.”

she whines against you, lightly hitting your chest, “stop that. i wanna know what you think without deflecting to me.”

you chuckle, “sorry, but yeah it’d probably be good to talk about it. i guess we can start with, um… well did you… regret it?” you can’t help the way your heart rate picks up, maybe you weren’t really ready to brush this off as a one time thing after all.

she places a hand over your chest, right where your heart would be, looking up at you with those eyes that you could drown in, “no. i don’t regret it. do you?”

you smile at her, thankful for the reassurance she offers, “no, i don’t either.”

she smiles back at you, her fingers drumming lightly over your heart, “is this… like… what does this mean for us? because i don’t want anything to change between us, i care about you too much to lose you as my best friend.”

you frown, “i care about you too… i mean… i don’t really know, like you’re still the bachelorette of the country right now like… how do you feel about that?”

“i’m enjoying getting to know these people. some of them really do have potential i think. this timing just kinda sucks huh?”

your heart drops a little at her honesty. you start thinking maybe its time to be a little honest to yourself.

“it does but that doesn’t mean i wanna just ignore this happened sana. i don’t think…” you sigh, thoughts all muddled and on the tip of your tongue.

her hand is trailing patterns up and down your bare back, looking at you with wide eyes. you would do anything to keep that face happy.

“you’re right. the timing does kinda suck. i guess we can just… keep this casual? assuming you want this to happen again?”

she nods, but an expression washes over her face that you can’t really decipher. “alright. casual. we can do that. just like, when we need a little stress relief or whatever.”

you nod, “and it’s just temporary until like you find your person here. wouldn’t want you to be sexually frustrated or pent up or anything and make decisions based on who you wanna fuck most right?”

“right! so you’re doing me an even bigger favour right now!”

“yep!”

you’re both laying there awkward now, talking in circles convincing yourself this was a good idea.

a loud knock comes at the door, and you’re both jumping, splitting to opposite sides of the bed. you look at each other a little awkwardly, you let out a small chuckle before getting up and pulling some clothes on haphazardly and answering the door.

it's one of the costume designers, "oh! y/n! sorry i didn't know you were in there, is sana around? it's time to get changed and start the filming for today."

you hum and let the woman in with her entourage of makeup and hair stylists.

but then one of the makeup artists quickly gasps as sana reveals her neck.

you turn around and blush, sana's still naked as the day she was born, there was no reason to put on clothes when she was going to get changed into new ones anyway, her blanket falling to her waist exposing the carnage that was the evidence of last night's activities.

the people in the room look awkwardly between the two of you, and you clear your throat and walk out, giving them some privacy, your head bowed and beet red as you make your way to the kitchen.

you dimly heard some scolding from the makeup artists, but thankfully no one came after you to tell you off or anything. hopefully the design team could keep this little secret under wraps, although you could hear the gossip and rumours going around already. you'd have to be more careful going forward.

sana's got an individual date first on the schedule today. so you decide to head over to the contestants' living area after you finish your breakfast and get dressed.

the drive over is short and you enjoy the light breeze from the slightly open window. you remember the slip of paper miyeon slipped you last night, pulling it out of your pocket and typing the digits into your phone.

you're not sure what the first message you should send her is. you're hit with the sudden realisation that outside of this show she was a literal model, she probably had thousands of followers and a life of her own with friends far above your social standing.

but she wouldn't give you her number only for you to discard it right? whatever, this wasn't anything to overthink, and you wanted to check in on how miyeon was doing anyway, you quickly type out a message and hit send.

y/n: hi this is y/n - how are you? settling back in at home okay? lmk if u ever want a chat or anything i'm here <3

you're surprised at her quick reply.

miyeon: hi y/n! it's good to hear from you. yeah honestly had the best night's sleep in so long, living in the mansion with all the others is fine and all but sharing rooms with sanghee was so not. that girl did not know how to clean up after herself and had the worst sleep schedule

you laugh a little at her antics.

y/n: right forgot you were kinda prissy. dunno if i feel bad for sanghee or you

miyeon: hey!!! i am NOT prissy! idc what ppl say abt beauty sleep and whatnot but you DO need it! proper quality sleep has been proven to improve skin, regulate emotions, and keep your brain sharp! it's a really important part of the day!

y/n: yeah yeah yeah i'm rolling my eyes btw since you can't see. but im glad ur feeling better rested miyeon, its gonna be real weird without you here now

miyeon: hey u got this. and im only a text or call away if u want a break from everything going on inside, ik how crazy it gets in there so having some outside perspective can be good for you

y/n: and im really grateful for that. thankyou miyeon <3 r u gonna watch the screening of last night's ep later?

miyeon: u mean do i wanna watch myself get eliminated? i think ill pass on that thx 😂 but the contestants always watch it tgt if u wanna join them - good to have some ppl to watch along with especially since its pretty jarring seeing everyone on the big screen and how things r all edited tgt. and seeing sana may come as a shock to u too u never know

y/n: yeah ur right im actually headed there rn since sana's going on a solo date and i have nothing better to do soo... also oopsies spoiler alert but ur not gonna leak anything to the media right ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

miyeon: who knows... call me prissy one more time and ur name's gonna be on the national headlines tmr fr ;P

y/n: u wouldnt!

miyeon: i would. jks ofc i wouldn't but since ur going to the mansion anyway make sure to talk to shindong and siwon and their whole boys club. now that im out i can give u all the inside goss and if sana ends up with one of those dicks well...

y/n: oo tyty ill be sure to keep that in mind

miyeon: ofc y/n rmbr anything u need we're friends yeah? don't be a stranger :)

y/n: thanks miyeon i rly do appreciate it! talk later :))

you turn off your phone, happy that miyeon was just as receptive and positive in the real world as she was when you were together. you had nothing to worry about after all.

‎₊˚⊹ 𐦍༘⋆₊ ⊹

the house is in complete mayhem as you step inside. apparently someone had accidentally set off the fire alarms so everyone was already up and about and still mopping up wet patches here and there.

you spot jacky and eunji in the kitchen and make a beeline for them.

“-if you had just kept your pants on!-“

“no don’t blame this on me you know very well that i need to air dry or i’m gonna get sick and i won’t be able to perform-“

you clear your throat interrupting their… certainly intriguing conversation.

“y/n! please tell eunji it is perfectly normal to air dry after a shower.”

“not when you’re living with 15 other people!”

“i’ve lived with more than that back home and they didn’t have a problem with it!”

“because you australians are always half naked for some reason or another anyway. but you can't pull that shit here!”

jacky rolls his eyes and goes back to flipping the eggs he’s got in a pan, no doubt making lunch for the them and the rest of the contestants.

“have you eaten yet y/n? there was a bit of an accident this morning so the kitchen’s been off limits until now.”

“oh yeah i ate before i came here, thanks though. how are you guys today?”

they share a glance, “i think you’re the one who should be answering that question. heard sana made you go home after the stunt you pulled last night.”

with everything that happened you’d almost forgotten how the night actually ended for most of the other contestants.

“oh right!" you laugh a little awkwardly, "we made up so everything’s all good now. i’ll probably be laying off the alcohol for the rest of these rose ceremonies though…”

“awwwh but you’re the only one who can keep up with me! all the other guys here tap out soo early and none of the girls want to drink.”

you laugh, grabbing some plates to help jacky and eunji plate up the food they’ve prepared.

jacky’s yelling at everyone to come get their food and you follow along, greeting everyone and moving towards the couch where they were setting up to watch last night’s episode of the bachelorette along with the rest of the country. it was being aired earlier in the day today because it was the weekend and the highest stream counts for the weekends would be at this time.

you slot yourself in next to jiwon who offers a kind smile, the complete opposite of the stink eye you feel heechul giving the back of your head after you’d essentially tried to get him eliminated last night.

jun is setting up the tv and when everything’s ready he rushes back over and plops himself down on the other side of you, throwing an arm over your shoulder in a friendly greeting and looking back to heechul and the boys club as miyeon called them, flipping them off with a tongue sticking out in defense of you. you laugh with him as heechul sputters and the episode starts playing.

most of it you had already seen, although you got to hear a bit more of sana and jiwon’s conversation during the childcare group date after you’d left, as well as her conversations with the other contestants on that date. she seemed to get along with everyone there, and the kids were a good conversation sparker, sana had picked a good bunch for the first group date. the camera spent most of its time following her around as you’d expect, but it included a couple comedic clips of the others being terrible with kids. you’re all laughing and teasing each other when you see dae fall into a pit of mud after a purposeful ploy from the kids, and aww and coo when jiwon finally lies them all to rest during their afternoon nap.

the episode also includes a few cuts to the contestants in the mansion, the ones who weren't picked for the group date, so you get to see a little of how they function as a house as well.

then comes the solo date.

everyone's a little curious at what wonsik did to woo sana to get him that first impression rose from the first night. he's still just as shy and awkward as you remember from your first few interactions with him on the first night, not that that isn't what sana likes, she just usually goes for the louder, boisterous types, especially on a first impression since those are the ones that draw people's attention around them.

the date was just as extravagant as the producers said it would be. they definitely spared no expense, and from the stats you overheard them talking about, this season of the bachelorette was definitely hyping up to be the most successful season so far, it had even gained international attention for its unique approach.

after sana and wonsik's helicopter ride overlooking the valley, they were situated in a beautiful dip in the valley, overlooking lush green fields with a soft breeze and the sunset in the background.

admittedly it was cute watching them play board games and feed each other small fruits, and apparently wonsik was a much better conversationalist when he was in one-on-one situations, even cracking a few jokes that had you and the rest of the watchers laughing.

you couldn't help the pit of jealousy growing in your stomach though. you could finally realise what it was and call it jealousy but it was probably just because you were more involved with sana than ever now and you weren't good with the whole non-exclusive thing. it would take some time getting used to for sure.

but your jaw clenches when suddenly, screen-wonsik is kissing sana.

everyone in the room starts whooping and clapping wonsik on the back. you can hear the mc voice-over talking about how this was the first kiss of the season and that wonsik was a lucky guy to be getting in so early but you drown everything out as you watch the camera zoom in romantically, hyperfixated on the way sana's lips reacted against his.

he's got a hand at her waist, shuffling in closer and she has a hand carding into his hair, your eye twitches when you think you see a hint of a pink tongue dipping in.

he's laying her down and crawling on top of her on the picnic mat and it feels way too intimate for national television and you couldn't hear the sounds she could be making but you sure as hell can imagine the soft whimpers and gasps because she was making those sounds for you just hours after what was happening on the screen right now.

finally the camera pans away to a long shot of the two of them against the backdrop of the sunset and the valley and cuts to another scene of the mansion contestants but the liplock seemed to never end, even after the camera stopped shooting.

wonsik looks terribly embarassed when you turn to where all the commotion is behind you, people congratulating him on how his date went, asking for any more details that the editing could have left out, some looking on in jealousy, and some looking a little sad.

everyone's attention is shifted however when momo walks in through the door, back from her solo date with sana this morning.

all of a sudden, people are rushing towards her, asking how her date went, what they did, whether or not they kissed, poor momo looks very overwhelmed but she's not entirely focused, looking behind her and smiling.

and then again, the attention shifts, sana walking in with a bright smile, in casual clothes and jeans, waving a bright greeting at everyone.

you're still sat exactly where you are, emotions festering up inside of you.

"wow it's crazy to be here during the day! hey guys! just dropping off momo and checking in on how everyone's doing."

the excitement of the morning culminates, and it’s almost like a rose ceremony again, with everyone vying for sana's attention, wanting to show her around, leading her out towards the gardens, talking and chattering eagerly.

eventually, you're left inside with momo, who offers a polite wave, sitting down across from you, wonsik, who was too shy to join everyone on the tour of the house, and heechul, siwon, shindong, and seungri, the 'boys club'.

seungri's laughing boisterously, congratulating wonsik on his date with sana.

"congrats man. wouldn't have known you had it in you. did you guys get up to anything else?" he's wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. you're disgusted.

"n-no. she pushed me off pretty much as soon as the camera cut away."

"aww really? cockblock much?" shindong's snickering along.

heechul's shuffling a little closer to momo, "how about you momo? how was your date? you didn't miss that much by the way, wonsik and sana kissed yesterday on the date, that's when you walked in." he tries to offer her a kind smile, but you notice the way she's cringing, moving a little closer towards you.

"it was good. we went to a dog shelter which was really sweet of her since she knows i love them and i've been missing my two dogs back home. even had my allergy meds ready because i didn't know what we'd be doing today, shows she really listens."

you smile at momo's response, glad to hear their date went well and your heart warming learning about sana's actions.

the boys had stopped listening halfway through, going back to teasing wonsik so it was really just you and momo talking.

"yeah we also got to talking a lot since we're both from japan and all. it was really nice to be with someone who understood what it felt like to move here and be homesick, it was also the first time in a long time that i had spoken to someone in japanese that wasn't my family so it was pretty funny, well at least for her, to watch me make an absolute fool of myself stumbling over basic words and phrases."

you're laughing, knowing how much sana cares about her heritage, you were glad momo was here to be able to share that with her, you were firsthand witness to some of sana's homesickness bouts and you knew having a sense of a home away from home was extremely valuable.

"oh?" heechul butts into the conversation again, "nico nico nii~! momo-chan wa onii-chan de yonde mo ii-yo~" (t: momo you can call me big brother)

you and momo both stare at heechul for a few seconds in silence, trying to decipher what the fuck you just saw with your bare eyes, before bursting into laughter.

he looks confused, breaking his cutesy character pose and pouting and whining, "what! did i say it wrong?"

you're wiping tears off the side of your eyes, "what the fuck kinda hentai have you been watching to learn that shit heechul-"

momo's still laughing, her nose scrunching cutely, "no like! i get the nico thing like that was huge in japan like in 2015- still weird as fuck to see a grown man doing it ten years later though-"

you're both laughing between words, drawing the attention of the other occupants of the house who are rounding out back towards the living room after finishing the house tour.

sana looks curious as she's led over, "momoring, what's so funny?"

momo's turning and grinning at the sight of sana, pulling on her arm and leading her in front of heechul, "heechul do it again! for sana pleaseeeee-" she turns on the extra charm, hitting him with a final, "onegai~?" and you can see the imaginary nosebleed he gets from the action, the type that's edited into animes.

so he puts his hands up, fingers placed in the signature nico position, "nico nico nii~! sana-chan wa onii-chan de yonde mo ii-yo~"

the repeat of his absolutely embarrassing gesture sends both you and momo into another fit of laughter, clutching onto each other in weakness.

sana's face goes red and she looks to be supressing her own laughter, but she gives in eventually, letting out a loud bark and slapping momo on the back with her hand, the other hand over her mouth.

some others laugh as well, whether at the cutesy action heechul pulled, or from understanding what onii-chan meant and putting two and two together.

heechul just stands there looking awfully proud of himself for being the 'funny' guy for once.

eventually, a producer walks in, tapping sana and sliding an envelope into her hand, and gestures for all the participants to sit down.

sana clears her throat, still giggling a little as she moves towards the front of the room, "well thankyou everyone for the tour of your lovely place. i hope you all enjoy the rest of your stay here. i've got this envelope in my hand now, with the names of the next group date we'll be going on." she waves the envelope around a little, and everyone plays their part, ooh-ing and waiting in anticipation, "8 people here will be helping me out with the iconic photoshoot date!"

all the participants look around excitedly, the photoshoot date was always a fan-favourite, and it always made an appearance on every bachelor episode, usually with a few group photo shoots and always with a one-on-one photoshoot that's super romantic and revered after.

sana lets the anticipation and excitement settle in, before dramatically pulling out the piece of paper within the envelope, unfolding it, and beginning to read out names, "sunwoo."

sunwoo stands up with a smile, moving over towards sana at the usher of the producers' hands, sana returns the smile.

"eunha." a short girl with a bubbly personality skips over.

"onii-chan~" sana teasingly drags out the word and you stifle a few laughs with momo as heechul beams and stalks forward.

"siwon, shindong, seungri, nayeon."

they all stand up and walk over, you notice sana has picked people that haven't been on a date yet.

"and... wonsik!"'

there's a bit of a stunned silence across the room as wonsik gets up and approaches sana, kissing her on the cheek and taking his place next to her.

wonsik was the only person in that lineup that had already had extended one-on-one time with sana, when some others like jihyo, (although you didn't really mind much that jihyo hasn't been picked for anything yet), hadn't had the opportunity for any time outside of this mansion. so it did seem a little unfair.

you feel your earlier emotions returning to you, the incredulity of heechul's actions completely forgotten as you think back to the full-blown make out session you, along with the rest of the nation had witnessed only an hour ago.

sana's giving a few general closing remarks, telling the chosen group date members what they need to prepare, and saying she'll be waiting for them out front once they're done gathering their things.

you can tell the mood's been a bit sullied as the chosen contestants rush up towards their rooms to change and get ready, the leftover participants left sitting on their hands with nothing to do for the rest of the day.

you say your quick goodbyes, heading off after sana since you would be tagging along on this date as usual.

once you see her though, something comes over you, the heavy, yucky emotions boiling up, and you pull on her arm, a little roughly, and drag her to the nearest bathroom.

"y/n?! what-"

you shut her up, pinning her against the door, locking it and connecting your lips frantically.

she gasps into you, but melts almost immediately, kissing you back with the same amount of intensity.

your tongue peeks out, swiping lightly across her bottom lip, she gasps, and you take the opportunity to gently prod your tongue into her mouth. her tongue comes up to meet yours and she moans when they touch, her hands coming up to grip onto your shoulders.

you're reminded of the fact that someone else was fortunate enough to hear these sounds yesterday.

and you despise it. snarling slightly, you break away, leaning down to kiss along her jawline, "you moan like that for him too hmm?"

she's breathless and confused, her mind muddled with the sudden attack, "w-what? who? huh?" she cuts herself off with another moan as you find the sensitive spot behind her ear that you discovered last night.

"you know- shy little wonsik." you take an earlobe between your teeth, spitting out the name, hands starting to move, grasping her waist, thumbing the bottom of her shirt.

"w-what? n-no- ah! no i-"

"no? you sure you're not lying? looked like you had a good time with him yesterday." you're moving back towards her neck, a hand dipping underneath her shirt and feeling the warm skin of her stomach and inching upwards.

"no what? y/n- fuck-" you're sucking at the sensitive skin on her neck now, "w-wait no y/n- d-don't- no marks-"

you're snarling again, "what? can't have wonsik or the others know you're already being taken care of?" you respect her wishes though, backing off but dropping onto your knees, pushing up her top and kissing her stomach. "fine. i'm marking you up here though. and you're not gonna tell me off this time because no-one-" you suck, "gets to see this much of you right?" biting lightly, "just me hmm?" licking along your newly formed hickey.

she's got her hands in your hair now, lightly pulling in the perfect way, bottom lip trapped between her teeth as she tries to keep quiet, eyes heavy-lidded and glossed over, looking down at you with an expression you just want to devour.

so you move back up, capturing her lips once again as she moans, subtly grinding her hips against you, gasping when your hand makes its way to her left breast, kneading softly over her bra.

a tweak of the nipple and she's a whimpering mess around you, pleading, "fuck fuck y/n please-"

you tut, "you think we have enough time baby?" you're other hand that's not teasing her chest undoes the button on her jeans. "the others could be outside waiting for you right now on the other side of this door."

"please! y-yes yes we have enough time just touch me i'm- fuck- soaked already it won't take much- please-"

you undo her jeans with ease, slipping your hand into her underwear, the other one still kneading and groping her chest.

"mm you are soaked baby." you trace down her center, "were you like this yesterday when he was kissing you?" you find her clit and rub, a little harsher than the way she likes but she leaks onto you at the action.

"n-no stop- ugh- stop talking about him y/n what the fuck-"

you continue your assault on her clit, your other hand sliding under her bra and pinching a nipple as she jolts into you, "get used to it. you're the nation's sweetheart right now. you and him are all they're going to be talking about after that show you put on yesterday."

her head lolls back, hitting the door softly as she groans, "h-he doesn't get me like this though. only y-you do- fuck- please y/n please just fuck me."

you don't have much time to keep teasing her so you quickly push into her, cursing at the way she clenches around you immediately, all tight and hot and wet. you don't waste any time, thrusting in and out of her as her head comes back down, biting on your shoulder to keep her voice in.

"mm- mm- faster- baby please-"

you take in her request, plunging into her and adding another finger, in and out, in and out. the wet sounds of her pussy filling the bathroom, you don't have too much arm space to move with her jeans still in the way, but you make do, conscious that the both of you needed to look presentable very soon.

you're pretty much the only thing holding her up now, her legs having gave way a while ago, your hand moving out from under her shirt, holding her hips up and against the door as you thrust into her, thankful that the lack of space meant the door wasn't making too much noise.

you feel her getting tighter around you, bringing a thumb up to press against her clit, "this gets you off doesn't it-" you're slightly out of breath, "knowing just a few meters away the guy you kissed just hours before being fucked senseless by me is waiting for you for even the slightest chance he'll get to feel you tight and hot around him like you are around me right now."

she's mewling, her face still buried in your neck, becoming impossibly tighter again at your words.

"they can't do it like this. everytime you kiss one of them, you'll know you're coming back home to be fucked by me."

you punctuate the end of your sentence with a curl of your fingers inside her, hooking on as she cums with a muffled whine.

and just in time too, when a loud knock on the bathroom door jolts the both of you, you pull out quickly and help zip up her jeans again while she recovers.

"sana? everyone's ready and waiting for you now."

"c-coming!"

her voice is scratchy and shaky, still leaning onto you as you readjust her shirt and comb your fingers through her hair, trying to make her presentable again.

you smirk a little at her word choice, stifling a laugh as you fix her, but she catches you, sending a weak slap onto your shoulder.

you step back and look at her, she's still breathing slightly heavily but otherwise no real damage can be seen.

"okay you're good."

she sidesteps you to check herself in the mirror quickly, adjusting a little. "jeez y/n didn't think you'd become so much of a sex fiend when we said we'd keep it casual."

you roll your eyes, "hurry up your lovers are waiting for you." you wait for her to go out first though, following behind closely as you greet everyone again, a little thrilled at having to act as if nothing happened in the last 10 minutes between the living room and the car you're getting into right now.

sana's her usual smiley self around everyone, and you take glee in knowing that just minutes prior you were literally inside her and pulling noises out of her no one else here would be able to hear.

‎₊˚⊹ 𐦍༘⋆₊ ⊹

the group date was certainly shaping up to be one of the most interesting dates of the season.

right now, nayeon, sana, and eunha were learning a short dance number together. their whole set was dressing up as idols so instead of doing a photoshoot, they were going to shoot a small tiktok so it could be used as promotion for the show as well.

before them, sunwoo and sana had done a black-tie sort of concept where they were dressed in a long suit and flowing dress with masquerade masks on. it was all very mysterious and romantic. siwon was also in the set but he was acting as a butler, it was tradition to have photoshoot themes where one contestant was always trying to get in between the set couple, both for some drama and some comedic relief.

the next set involved all the boys stripping down for a beach theme. you had a hunch it was also just to increase the sex appeal of the show. sex sells after all.

and so, sana was put in a tiny bikini, and you had to run from her glare as the makeup artist gaped at the newly formed mark on her upper stomach. so much for no visible marks.

you rolled your eyes as the boys whooped and cheered as they watched sana enter the set. you scoff as almost all of their eyes went straight to either her chest or her ass.

nayeon and eunha come to stand next to you after they're finished changing out of their outfits to observe.

the photographer is telling them the directions for the first scene, sana was going to be lifted up onto seungri and sunwoo's shoulders, you can hear siwon whining and complaining about how sunwoo already had his almost solo photoshoot with her and it should be him.

no one pays him much mind though as seungri immediately goes for sana, lifting her up easily as she squeals in surprise, and settling her on one of his shoulders as sunwoo quickly steps in so sana's rested on his shoulder as well. you squint at the way seungri is looking up at sana.

"ugh that was so unnecessary." nayeon is glaring at them as well.

"right, the way he went at the first chance to grab her ass," eunha scoffs next to her as well, "trust seungri to be as gross as ever."

you raise an eyebrow at the two of them, "is this a common occurrence in the house?"

nayeon shrugs, "seungri's an ass. they all are. except for sunwoo maybe." you nod, noting the way sunwoo refuses to look up at sana, staring straight ahead at the camera, a hand placed carefully over her knee just to make sure she doesn't fall off.

"most of the girls just tend to leave them to their own devices inside the house. we don't really interact with them unless we have to. the first night, jacky almost beat up siwon for shit talking eunji."

they're moving into the second position, this time sana's on her knees with a sandcastle in front of her, and wonsik and shindong are helping her build it, with the other boys goofing off in the background.

"what'd he say?" you ask eunha, eyes still locked onto the scene in front of you.

"some shit about how she ought to look more like a girl. take out the piercings, grow out her hair, cover up her tattoos, all that bull. and that's not even the worst part, he just kept going on and on and then he called her a dyke and that's when jacky lost it."

"what the fuck?"

"yeah. he knows not to say shit around the other guys that aren't in his group now. but he still takes every chance he gets to try and 'convert' us." eunha says in quotation marks.

nayeon chimes in, "doesn't see us as competition because we're girls. just more possibilities for him in case sana doesn't pick him in the end."

shindong has built a slight protrusion out of the sand castle, you can't really tell what he's doing but the photographer is muttering and calling over a few producers who look a little frazzled.

they move on quickly, directing everyone into the ocean for the last shot.

"miyeon told me to keep an eye out for them. guess she was right."

they both look at you in surprise, "you've been talking to miyeon?"

you shrug, watching as sana shrieks when sunwoo playfully splashes water her way, urging her to come in deeper. "she gave me her number after she was eliminated, i texted her this morning."

"how's she doing? it felt terrible watching her go instead of heechul yesterday. honestly had to question sana's judgement a little."

you cringe a little remembering last night, "she's doing okay i think. and-"

you're interrupted by a commotion in the water, and you're running in without thinking, nayeon and eunha not far behind.

by the time you get there, sana's already out of the water, an arm over her chest, covering herself as the costume people quickly go in and shield her, scrambling and yelling for clothes.

you turn on your heel, stalking over to the cameras you knew were filming and shouting for them all to be cut.

once you’re sure that no one is taking advantage of sana anymore and filming without her consent, you’re spinning back to watch as producers are trying to pull apart sunwoo and seungri, seungri sporting a nasty looking black eye and a bleeding nose.  

you’re quick to rush over to sana first though, she’s in an oversized shirt now with a towel wrapped around her.

“what happened? are you okay?”

she sniffles a little, her nose slightly red, “yeah yeah i’m fine. the waves were just really big and i didn’t see them coming. my top came undone and i thought seungri was coming towards me to help tie it back up but he.. um, well…” she blushes and looks away.

you're livid.

the producers look thankful as you march up towards them, hoping you were there to help the situation, but you walk straight up to seungri, bringing a knee up into his crotch, hard, and when he keels over in pain, you swing an uppercut right into his face.

you would've kicked him as well if there aren't suddenly arms around you, yanking you backwards, and you let them, but then you get a glimpse of a stupid grin and you knew it was seungri's buddies pulling you away you start writhing. your fist connects with a couple hard spots and you smirk when you hear a few groans of pain. eventually, it's sunwoo who pulls the guys off you harshly, throwing them down into the sand and standing next to you, still glaring at seungri.

"you think you're real slick huh? think you could get away with sexually harassing someone on national television?" you're seething, spitting words out as seungri is still doubled over.

"couldn't keep it in your pants for more than 2 minutes you'd risk your entire career and face-"

"y/n." sana's stepping up to you now, a hand on your shoulder trying to pacify you.

"pack your things and leave seungri. i never want to see you again. you can talk with your lawyers about editing that scene out but i have a feeling it'll be left in because drama pays more than whatever you can offer."

seungri is finally up, still bleeding and probably sporting a broken nose now, "but-"

"you heard her. get the fuck outta here before we press charges." you step forward now, and he shrinks, afraid you'll go for his balls again.

security has finally arrived on scene and they escort seungri off the premises.

things are still pretty much in disarray after that, but despite everything, sana still powers through, rejecting the offer to stop filming for today, instead, picking sunwoo as the star of the group date, the rest of you are sent back to either get changed or head back to the mansion to get ready for the night's rose ceremony.

you desperately want a moment alone with sana to check in with her. but she seems headstrong on bulldozing through the rest of the day, and you're whisked away soon enough.

‎₊˚⊹ 𐦍༘⋆₊ ⊹

the gossip spreads quickly.

after you've gotten changed into your outfit for the night, a sleek white suit with your hair carefully done up, courtesy of the costume and hair and makeup teams back at the bachelorette pad, you're sipping on a flute of champagne, talking with everyone about how the group date went.

"-and she sent him home after." eunha's finished telling the story to a few gasps and looks of shock.

"i knew i shoulda clocked that guy as soon as he made that comment about jiwon's dress." jacky's muttering, fists clenched in anger.

"poor sana i hope she's okay."

"yeah she was really incredible tonight to be fair. the producers had asked if she wanted a break and to continue filming tomorrow but she said she wanted to keep going."

"and sunwoo too, i'm glad he went in there and defended her. as jealous as i am that he won i'm glad she has him right now if she wants to talk." nayeon speaks up.

jihyo's loud voice is suddenly shouting from across the courtyard, "guys! look it's sana and sunwoo!"

everyone's rushing over towards the beach where it seems they had a long walk down from the photoshoot location all the way back to the mansion. your heart's pounding, wanting so badly to be with sana right now, to listen to her, to be angry for her, to be the one pulling her into an embrace right now as the contestants aww at the two of them hugging with the picturesque twilight in the background, sea breeze blowing softly.

they break away eventually, looking up towards all of you who wave and holler at them.

then they've interlocked hands, slowly making their way up to the mansion.

everyone is greeting each other again, but the producers quickly cut it short, saying the both of them have to go and get dressed so that the rose ceremony can begin.

the group disperses with a grumble, and you find yourself following sana, the costume designers not paying you any mind as you enter the designated dressing room inside the mansion.

"hey..."

sana jumps slightly but relaxes when she sees you, "hey yourself. what are you doing here?"

"just wanted to check in on you."

she tuts, "you're sweet y/n but there's no need for that. he was an ass and i sent him home. we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"yeah but.. like it's okay to still feel affected you know?"

she turns around, "zip me up?"

you nod, stepping forward and carefully reaching for the zipper on her back, sliding it up slowly, making sure it doesn't get caught on any outstanding threads.

she sighs, holding her hair over one shoulder so you can slide the zipper all the way up, "i'm just trying to get through today. after today's done... well if i still want to talk about it then i'll tell you. okay?"

you sigh softly against her, pressing your lips lightly against the back of her neck, "alright. just don't try to do everything yourself okay? i'm here."

a hand comes up and rests over yours, "i know baby. thankyou. c'mon, let's get this ceremony outta the way so we can go home and cuddle."

you hum, taking her hand and letting her lead you out of the dressing room and towards the courtyard.

‎₊˚⊹ 𐦍༘⋆₊ ⊹

you're getting a serious case of deja vu when the last 4 people are standing.

4 people were meant to be eliminated tonight, but since seungri was asked to leave early, sana only had to pick 3 more to leave.

the choices were between shindong, siwon, heechul, and jiwon.

surely this time sana wouldn't make a decision that was too surprising.

"jiwon." you can feel most of the room letting out a collective sigh of relief, and the stunned faces of the three leftover guys you wished you could frame and put up. there were bound to be screenshots and memes made off them anyway.

unlike the previous nights, no one really moves in to say goodbye to any of the guys, just waving a polite greeting as they exit.

the mc comes in next and wishes everyone a good night. sana goes forward to mingle a little more, wishing everyone well before she comes back to you, taking your hand and pulling you towards the front of the house, eager to go home.

the ride back is quiet but peaceful. your hands have never left each others and you enjoy the short ride back to your shared home. once the driver has dropped you off you both head inside, take off those godforsaken heels, and drop down onto the couch.

sana's head in your lap, as you turn on the tv, pressing play on a random cartoon, carding your fingers through her hair.

you can tell the day has exhausted her, so you let her eyes drift shut, and her breathing even out, reaching for the blanket kept next to the couch and draping it over her.

you could take off her makeup and change her clothes later before taking her to bed, but for now, you were content to watch silly cartoons with sana safe in your hands.

[yrqrnc]

stages of falling.

jaemin x gn!reader

wc: 1.2k

genre: angst, fluff, uhh slice of life?

before the age of 1, jaemin falls a countless number of times.

while learning how to get up on his own and walk; with the gentle support of his mother’s hands and the push of his father’s strength— he wobbles, and stumbles, and trips a hundred and thousand times before he finally learns to stand on his own two feet.

between the age of 1 to 3, too, jaemin falls down multiple times.

tripping over his own foot, losing balance of his still wobbly, weak legs, for he hadn’t quite mastered the art of walking yet, and running was still a bit far ahead.

he falls a few many times, after getting too excited seeing his momma then attempting to rush to her with his tiny legs and the biggest grin on his face, only to fall flat on it when he’d tried to speed, before he got picked up with careful hands into a warm embrace as his chubby cheeks stained with wet tears from the hit.

at the age of 5, he realizes there are mean friends too.

he falls hard.

turns out preschool kids could be quite rough; he was play-fighting with his new classmates in his new school one moment, and the next, he was on the muddy floor of the playground, next to the slide, with a bruised knee and couple of nasty scratches on his arms.

that day, he went home with tears in his eyes and dried blood on his clothes, and the weight of a feeling he couldn’t understand or name, but it was heavy, and ugly, and undesirable, and jaemin didn’t like it.

later, he grew to know people called it “embarrassment” and “humiliation”.

at the age of 11, he gets into a fight for the first time.

with spiked up hormones that had newly arrived to him, just as to any growing teenager, and irritation that ignited within the blink of an eye, he throws a punch at a guy from the other class for reasons he can no longer remember, and gets one right back, and before he knows it, it keeps going back and forth until his homeroom teacher rushes in and pulls both of them apart before dragging them both to the principal.

he returns back to his house with scoldings written on the front pages of his school diary by his teacher, and anger lowly burning in the pit of his stomach and the back of his mind.

at the age of 16, jaemin thinks he falls again, but this time, there’s no pain, or bruise, or blood — there’s only this weird fluttering feeling in his stomach and a fuzzy blur in his mind that makes him stutter and lose words whenever he sees her.

jaemin falls for a girl, he thinks.

she has shiny black hair and pearl eyes, puffy cheeks, and pimples on her forehead too, but he finds them rather cute.

he likes the way she talks to the teachers and the way she laughs with her friends. her handwriting is messy, but she’s smart and scores well. she doodles at the top corner of her notebooks.

and as jaemin admires her from afar, he falls.

but 16-year-old jaemin falls alone.

the pretty girl stays still and indifferent; she looks over at his direction a few times, but her gaze focuses somewhere far behind where he stands, at someone who’s not him. and she smiles, but it’s not for him.

it’s never for him.

he decides he will never fall again.

but, at the age of 18, jaemin falls again — the hardest he’s ever fallen.

he falls on his entire body, trembling and aching, and his leg is stuck under the bike, whose tires still roll on even as the vehicle lays sideways, flat on the road after the crash.

he tugs and tugs until he’s able to get his legs out of the gap, and he crawls over to the body that lays still and unmoving on the harsh ground.

he feels his two hands hanging helplessly against his sides, and he doesn’t know what to do with them.

should he hold them together tightly against his chest and pray, pray, pray for a miracle and for all of it to get better? or should he stretch them out into the open and do– something, anything?

but no one had ever taught him what to do with empty hands.

he reaches out and puts his two hands together, pressing against the deep wound, hoping for something to make it all better – but the bleeding doesn’t stop; it only stains his pale hands a bright vermillion.

and that emptiness that had become a part of him stays embedded within his skin, but it turns red today.

it’s the brightest color he’s ever seen, and he feels dizzy.

who would’ve known that the brightest things could also be such thieves, such horrible, horrible nightmares?

jaemin falls onto his hands and knees, and watches helplessly as his best friend lays on the bed of the earth, eyes blankly staring up at the ceiling of the world, as he gives life back every breath and ounce of love that he had ever been given.

every bit of it.

jaemin feels something drip down his face, and it’s wet, and it makes him want to crawl out of his skin. 

he isn’t sure if it’s his own tears or someone else’s life that taints his skin.

it is only when he is 18, that jaemin believes he’s not alone for the first time in life.

he falls like he always has, again, but this time, someone falls with him.

they fall together, down and hard. but he gets up alone.

jaemin wishes he’d fallen on his own.

he wishes he always falls on his own, now. never with someone else.

( ★ )

at 23, jaemin falls again.

it’s been long since the last time, and he’s scared, but one thing he’s realized over the years is that - you can never control when, how and why you fall. 

so he falls.

he falls for starry eyes and a sunshine smile, the scent of sandalwood and citrus; for gentle hands and a warm embrace; for cherry-flavored chapsticks and stargazing, and with every bit of the universe—because it held you.

he keeps falling.

but you’re right there with him, and you’re falling too, and this time, he never hits rock-bottom.

he still gets scratches every now and then, and pain and grief grazes past him ever so often, but one look at you, and he realizes that falling was never supposed to be harmless and rainbows, after all.

it would hurt, but it would also give him back a thousand more moments of happiness and bliss.

perhaps, he thinks, he’d never recognize the face of joy if he didn’t drown in something of the complete opposite.

jaemin falls, falls, and falls.

he falls for the dreamy look in your eyes and the way you cackle at his jokes no matter how unfunny they are; he falls for the dates that you prepare for you two in the back of your car, with fairy lights and all things bright, and he falls for the warmth of your body and your words and your presence.

he falls for you and everything that comes with you, and he keeps falling. he believes when told that – all the falls he’d taken till this very moment was all to mount up to you.

and he thinks, one day, he’ll forgive himself and the universe, because you’re here now.

so, at the age of 23, jaemin falls. 

and he never stops falling.

[noona-clock]

The Love Playlist - Part 2

Genre: AU, Fluff, Slice of Life

Pairing: Jaebeom x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,815

No matter how hard you thought about it, you couldn't think of a legitimate reason why you couldn't (and shouldn't) go back to the cafe for another latte.

You could certainly think of reasons why you should, though.

It was Monday. Mondays were awful in just about every way.

You were tired. You needed a pick-me-up.

Your regular shop was locally-owned. Another latte meant supporting your community!

The cafe was so close to your office that no one would even know you were gone.

Before you could think of a fifth reason, you were already heading toward the elevator. It didn't matter that it was 3pm -- in fact, it was actually the perfect time for a caffeine boost. Monday at 3pm. Can you think of a worse time during the whole week?

Exactly.

You needed a break, and you needed a treat!

Just a few minutes later, you stepped into the familiar cozy comfort and joined the line at the register (it did make you feel better that you weren't the only one indulging yourself this afternoon).

In fact, the person you got behind in line had a pretty magnificent head of dark, wavy hair and enticingly broad shoulders.

...It had been way too long since you'd had a crush on someone.

Someone real, that is.

I mean, not that DefSoul wasn't real. He was real!

Presumably.

You'd just never met him in person.

Wait, hold on, had you just admitted to having a crush on DefSoul?

I guess you shouldn't have been surprised since the two of you had been exchanging emails for a few months now, and everything you'd learned about him had been so fascinating. The banter had been top-tier. And hearing his deep, smooth voice every night? How could you not fall for him?

The only thing missing was being able to ogle his miraculous head of hair and broad shoulders.

If he had them, that is.

But the person standing in front of you did, so he would have to do!

Suddenly, a new song began playing in the cafe, and you immediately recognized it as one of the songs from the playlist DefSoul had created for you.

"Oh, I love this song," you said quietly to yourself, the corners of your lips pulling into a grin.

The beautiful hair in front of you turned to glance over his alluring shoulders and said, "It's a great song."

"Right!" you replied, ignoring the fluttering in your heart and stomach at the sound of his voice.

And also? You could see just a sliver of his face, but it was enough to know this dude was handsome.

He then turned around almost fully to look at you, and his eyes were so piercing that you nearly took a step back.

"This is one of my favorite artists," he said. "But hardly anyone I know has ever heard of them."

"Really?" you asked, brow furrowing and eyes widening in distress. "That's such a shame, they're amazing!"

A smirk tugged at his lips, and he murmured, "You must have good taste in music."

"I like to think so," you chuckled.

The guy opened his mouth to reply to you, but unfortunately, the person in front of him finished ordering and stepped away from the register.

"It's your turn," you said, nodding at the counter.

As much as you wanted to continue admiring the music with this attractive stranger (and, to be honest, continue admiring him), a handful of people had gotten in line behind you, and you wanted nothing less than to delay others from getting their caffeine.

Attractive Stranger raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning back around and stepping up to place his order.

Just a minute or two later, when you finished placing your own order and stepped aside to wait for your drink, Attractive Stranger (who, thankfully, was also still waiting for his), cleared his throat gently before asking, "Do you have a favorite song by them?"

You were just barely able to keep a delighted smile from curving on your lips -- you'd been hoping he would talk to you again.

"Actually, that's the only one of theirs I know," you admitted with a somewhat guilty expression. "That song is on a playlist I've been listening to non-stop for a while, so I just haven't had time to listen to anything else. But if you have any recommendations, I'm all ears!"

And now that you were more face-to-face with him, you realized just how good-looking he was. His face was absolutely as handsome as the back of his head -- though, let's be honest, more than.

That dark hair you'd studied from the back fell in perfect waves just so over his forehead, ever so gently touching his eyelashes. His features were angular but also somehow soft. And your gaze was drawn to a very adorable and charming freckle on his eyelid.

"I recommend songs like it's my job," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm happy to. Do you usually come here around this time?"

Typically, a line like that would immediately give you the ick, and you would reply with a polite but stern, "No" before hastily retreating.

But something about the way this guy had asked you -- and something about the way his face and hair and shoulders and aura was so damn attractive to you -- had you responding quite differently than normal.

"Not usually," you admitted with a somewhat guilty chuckle. "I come here every morning before work -- my office is right down the street -- but I hardly ever come here in the afternoon."

"Got it," he replied.

You tried not to tell yourself that you definitely heard disappointment in his voice.

But you absolutely did.

"I can show you some songs now," he continued. "I just... I like to take my time with music recommendations. But it's --"

"Don't you think Tuesday is the worst day of the week?" you interrupted.

His brow furrowed slightly, but you continued before he could express his confusion.

"I mean, Monday always sucks just because it's the first day of the work week, but if you think optimistically, you could take Monday as being a fresh start. Plus, if you had a particularly good weekend, you can still cherish all the fun you had because it's still fresh in your mind. Wednesday is the middle of the week, Thursday is Friday Jr., and Friday is basically the weekend! But Tuesday? What's special about Tuesday? Nothing. So, I think I may have to treat myself to another latte right around this time tomorrow just to get through the rest of the day."

Understanding dawned on his incredibly handsome face, and a smirk tugged at his lips. "I would have to agree," he chuckled.

A barista set down an iced Americano and a latte on the counter, and the two of you reached for your drinks.

He gestured toward the door, ushering you that way and opening it for you when you arrived.

"So... same time tomorrow?" he asked.

"Same time tomorrow," you confirmed with a nod. And then you remembered you didn't actually know his name and hadn't given him yours. So, you held out your hand to him and said, "I'm Y/N, by the way."

He took yours, and you had to pretend like your breath hadn't gotten stuck in your throat as soon as his fingers touched your palm.

"I'm Jaebeom," he told you.

"Nice to meet you," you grinned. Because it certainly had been.

"Likewise."

As you settled down to listen to Soul Tracks later that evening, you found you couldn't stop thinking about Jaebeom. It was the first time you'd ever struck up a conversation with someone while in line for coffee (at least, a conversation past a few inane words about the weather or what have you), and it was certainly the first time you'd ever struck up a conversation with someone so intriguingly good-looking while in line for coffee.

Plus, you'd made plans to meet up again at the cafe tomorrow, something you'd never done with a stranger you'd just met five minutes prior!

Today had been a momentous day for you! How could you not think about it?

And as the show went on, you were unable to stop yourself from feeling guilty. There was actually no reason at all to feel guilty; you didn't even know DefSoul in person -- or even his real name! -- so it wasn't like you could classify him as a friend. Right? And you'd known and spoken with Jaebeom for all of, what, five minutes? It's not like you were going on a date with him. It was a very casual meet-up so he could recommend you some songs. That's it!

...Honestly, there was a lot to process about this whole thing.

First of all, it felt so wrong to even think that DefSoul wasn't your friend. You'd been messaging him for months now, and you couldn't talk to someone that often without developing a friendship. I mean, you'd told him things you'd been too scared to tell anyone! Of course he was your friend!

Second of all, wasn't it a bit odd that your friendship with DefSoul had started because of his music recommendations for you, and now you were possibly starting another friendship with someone who was recommending music for you?

You didn't think it meant anything, obviously. It was just... odd. Nothing more, nothing less.

But even knowing all of that, why should you feel guilty? Having more than one friend is an extremely normal thing, and it seems pretty far-fetched to think that one can only have a singular friend with a specific hobby. In fact, it would be strange if you did have just one friend who liked music. You, yourself, liked music, and isn't the whole concept of friends kind of based on the idea of having common interests? Not always, of course, but most of the time, absolutely!

All of this to say, if DefSoul somehow found out that you had another friend who liked recommending songs to you, he surely wouldn't be hurt by it. He would just think it's normal!

Because it was!

"So, stop feeling guilty about this, Y/N," you muttered to yourself as you turned the volume up on your computer, hoping that louder Soul Tracks music would drown out your annoying thoughts.

In another attempt to stop thinking about this weird guilt, you started thinking about your reply to the very person whose livestream you were listening to. He had sent you a message the other day, so it was now your turn.

But it didn't take long for you to wonder if you should mention your run-in with a potential new friend at the coffee shop.

Was it something you would tell any of your other friends? Yes, of course. Standing behind someone in line and ending up with plans to meet again the next day was a classic meet-cute! If it had happened to any of your friends, you would certainly want to hear about it!

But DefSoul... was just different. And not even different in the fact that you didn't actually know him in real life.

You had some very close friends. Friends you'd known for decades and knew everything about you. Friends you felt comfortable telling any and everything to.

Your friendship with DefSoul somehow surpassed that. It was probably because it was a lot easier to divulge your darkest, deepest thoughts through words on a screen instead of face-to-face, but he was also just the most incredible listener. Even though you couldn't see him as he read your messages, you could just tell. His replies were always so thoughtful that it was plainly obvious he'd not only read your words but paid attention to them.

So, on paper, you should have wanted to tell him about your coffee shop encounter. He would most likely reply with some insightful advice on what to do next!

But each time you started typing out your reply, it just didn't feel right.

Not telling him didn't feel right either, though.

You briefly floated the idea of not replying to him just yet but tossed that in the trash just about as soon as it appeared. That wasn't an option.

In the end, you settled on mentioning the tiniest hint of the situation and moving on.

Happy(?) Monday!!!!

How did the weekend fly by so quickly 😭 Did you get all of your to-do list checked off? It always seems like you do, but you asked me to hold you accountable, so continue to ask I shall!

I will answer your question later in this message, I promise, but before I do, I have a random one for you: what is your favorite and least favorite day of the week? I was talking to a friend at work about this, and now I'm curious what other people think. Does anyone else in the world have a favorite day other than Saturday? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night!

Speaking of friends at work -- I may have made a new one? We just met today, but it seems like we have pretty similar music taste, so things seem promising. (But lowkey, new friends are scary. Right? It's not just me? Maybe it is. Whatever.)

Now onto your question, and my answer might be surprising: I do think I would quit my job if I won the lottery.

I know. you're thinking 'But Y/UN! I thought your lifelong dream was to work in an office!'

And, yes, that is correct. That's all I wanted to do when I was growing up. And to be fair, I really don't mind the work itself.

It's just the time! Why is the workday SO LONG? Why do I have a scant handful of hours at home before I have to go to bed and get up the next morning to do it all over again? And the weekend being just two measly days? Out of SEVEN? It's borderline criminal.

So, the main reason I would quit my job if I won the lottery is so I could get back this thing known as 'Free Time'! I want more hobbies! I want to volunteer! I want to travel and spend more time with friends and not be too exhausted to deep clean my apartment every Sunday! A part-time job at a cafe or a used bookstore wouldn't be half-bad, either, if I really started to get bored.

And now my random question for you is this: if there were 25 hours in a day instead of 24, what would you do with that extra hour? And you can't say sleep. Let's say the extra hour is between 6 and 7 pm -- after average work hours but before your livestream starts. What are you doing?

Me? I'd probably try to fit in one of those hobbies I was just complaining about not being able to have because of lack of time. Maybe I would read more. Or watch more popular TV shows that everyone talks about. Or maybe I would cook more elaborate meals for myself!

Your turn!

Not too long ago, you had inadvertently started a new tradition of asking a random question each time the two of you messaged each other. You'd just mentioned a question that had been posed to you at work one day, and before you knew it, you and DefSoul were exchanging answers and asking new ones. It was now one of your favorite things about talking to him because you got to learn more about him in a fun, somewhat unusual way. He always seemed to have such thoughtful answers, and you really liked that about him.

But that shouldn't have surprised you -- he spent much of his free time creating bespoke playlists for people based on their life situations. That in and of itself was incredibly thoughtful and required more than a modicum of consideration.

Without thinking, you clicked 'Send' -- and then promptly gasped. His livestream was still going on!

So you scrambled to bring up his latest message again, clicked 'Reply,' and typed out I swear I am listening!!! I didn't mean to reply DURING your show, I just had too many thoughts and had to get them all out before they left!! SORRY!!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, DefSoul was playing a song at the moment; if he'd been in the middle of talking or reading someone's letter, you were certain he would've stumbled on his words or worse, called you out on air. He took his show seriously, and there was nothing you wanted less than for him to think you didn't listen and appreciate it.

Not even a minute later, you received a reply:

Stop talking to me and listen to the show.

But then a few seconds after that:

Kidding ;)

Part 3

[readychilledwine]

Bound by Fate pt 5

Summary - When Kaylee Archeron meets Azriel, her world turns upside down. Between balancing her trauma, new powers, a mating bond, and war looming over her new home, Kaylee learns everything is not as little as it once seemed.

Warnings - implied cheating, implied sex pollen use, intense make-out session, miscommunication, love triangle trope getting messy

A/N - forgive me, but it serves a purpose.

Series Masterlist Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Azriel couldn't take it anymore.

Kaylee and Lucien giggling softly as they ran through the woods, through the halls, through the gardens.

Rhys had banned the red headed male from all the Archeron sisters, minus his Kaylee. Lucien for some fucking reason was given access to Kaylee at all times.

And it was infuriating. Azriel hid behind the mask he had well as he held Elain's hand, listening to her cry and whisper her sorrows of lost love, lost opportunity, of how she'd always be alone.

“You will never be alone, Elain,” he countered softly. “You have your sisters, us, you will make friends.” Azriel didn't mention her mate. He knew it was too sore of a topic, and one she and Nesta demanded to avoid like a plague.

“And will I always have you?” The question seemed innocent to Azriel. The male too blinded by his love for the blonde's younger sister to realize what she was asking, what she was inferring.

“Of course, Elain,” the answer was a placement of a nail. One he'd soon have to stop for going into a coffin. “We will always be friends.”

-

Nights were Azriel's favorite. Kaylee was currently straddling his lap, their chests pressed together, his fingers laced in her silky hair as he allowed her to led their movements.

Her small hands ran up his arms, over his shoulders, then down to his hare chest, resting there as she kissed him deeply. His own hands began to roam. Fingertips dancing down the back of her neck, down her exposed upper back, bunching his shirt before pulling back from her and raising a brow.

Kaylee nodded at the silent question, allowing him to pull the top off and leave her upper half bare to him. “So beautiful, baby,” he trailed the back of his hand between her breasts, admiring her soft skin, her perky tits, the way goosebumps erupted across her. “I am the luckiest male.”

“More kisses,” her voice was breathless. “Now.” He started kissing her again, pulling her as close to him as possible to feel her skin to skin. He sent every ounce of love and longing down their bound, and Kaylee responded in kind, letting him feel how deeply she missed him. How it was like a dull ache in a lingering sore muscle.

While there was nothing innocent about the way she had crawled to him on hands and knees to straddle him, this kiss was clearly about needing connection, about needing to feel him, and they both poured every slipped away and lost moment of passion into it before parting to breathe.

Azriel rested his forehead on hers, large hands resting on the curves of her hips.

“I'm proud of you,” he stated evenly watching as her eyes fluttered shut and shoulders sank. “You are truly doing everything you can to make the best of this situation and I could not be more proud to call you my mate.”

Kaylee kissed him quickly again, then placed her head between his neck and shoulder. “Sing to me?”

“Forever,” he whispered back.

Everyone almost froze as Nesta and Elain came down for breakfast. Elain seemed frozen in her spot at the doorway as well. Azriel had Rhysand to his right as they discussed a small mission Azriel would be going on, and Kaylee was to his left. The scent of their bond lingering heavily in the air. Lucien was across from Kaylee, feyre to his right and Cassian to his left. The two of them took the spots by Mor and Amren. Not speaking as they did and began to eat.

Kaylee was too blind in her happiness to notice the way Elain seemed to stab and cut things while staring aggressively in her direction, nor did she notice the disapproval in Nesta's face as Azriel leaned down to kiss Kaylee's nose.

“What's that smell,” Nesta finally asked. Her piercing silver eyes hitting Kaylee and Azriel.

“That,” Rhysand spoke for them, his beast urging him to protect Kaylee from a viper, “is the scent mates give off when they're content and happy emotionally. They smell like nighttime and toasted sugar. Feyre and I smell like sea salt and lilac. You will get used to it.” Rhysand allowed his beast to comfort a now embarrassed and uncomfortable Kaylee. Watching as the youngest sister recoiled into herself.

Feyre gave her a look of sympathy, as did Lucien, who stood and walked around the table, looking at Azriel before offering Kaylee his hand. “Let's go find you another animal to bond to, my dear.” Her and Lucien left, after Azriel kissed her palm, a silent promise to find her before he departed for a few days.

Amren shot Rhys a look the second Elain moved to take Kaylee's seat, now clinging to Azriel and Nesta gave her own plate a smug look. He then shared one with Cassian, the both of them watching as Elain attempted to flirt with Azriel. I think I may have made a mistake. Rhysand admitted to Feyre through their link. We may need to start weening her off of time with Azriel.

Feyre sent a wave of confirmation. Preferably before something stupid happens.

-

Lucien and Kaylee returned late that night. The Autumn male was carrying the youngest sister, releasing her instantly to Rhysand when asked. “She did great. She made a new friend. I need to figure out what the fuck it was, though.”

Cassian's brows instantly reached his hairline. “What do you mean?”

Lucien shrugged leaning against the wall as Feyre brought him wine. “I think it was a Thunderbird. White and gold, feathered, large, sun seemed to bend and break as it flew. It rained on Kaylee, just Kaylee as it hovered above her.” Him and Rhys held eye contact. “This would be her third beast of legend, would it not?”

Rhys nodded. “She has not linked with the fire drake yet. But she did link to the unicorn. Hence why she's able to use more magic lately. It will be interesting to see what ability a Thunderbird would share.”

“She sensed a rock slide,” Lucien answered. “It shared with her the ability to sense danger. The Stag gave her command of the forest, the hawk gave her eyesight, the only one I'm confused about is the otter.”

Feyre giggled beside them. “You mean the one that scales the House and climbs into her and Azriel's bed every night?”

All three heads turned towards the High Lady. “There's a what in my house every night?”

“So, what did it offer her?”

Lucien answered the question softly. “Comfort. It offered her comfort. She's been… upset and lonely lately,” he turned to Cassian. “I think you and can empathize slightly.”

The general nodded, tucking a piece of Kaylee's long sandy blonde hair behind her ear. “Will she be ready for the High Lord's meeting? Rhysand's beast called for her first, they haven't fully linked yet, but Rhysand's beast is constantly calling for her. She needs to be able to block out all of them. For her safety.”

Lucien shrugged. “I don't know. I do know everything she links to is coming with a price,” he turned to Feyre. “Can you feel her in you?”

The High Lady's brow knit, silent confusion all over her face. “No?”

Lucien just nodded and chuckled lightly, twisting a dagger in his hands. “Well, she can feel you. How is Elain?”

Rhys shrugged. “Refuses to come out for anyone but Azriel. Refuses to eat for anyone but Azriel. Slowly becoming obsessed with Azriel,” the confession hung in the air. “And Nesta is encouring it because “fuck the mating bond and fuck Kaylee,” lovely little snake ypu find yourself attached to, brother.”

Cassian kicked off the wall. “We need separate them before he does something he will regret for the rest of his life, or before that one,” he inclined his head to Lucien, “says fuck it. And in turn, that one,” his head went to Kaylee this time, “decides to say fuck it too.”

Lucien didn't tell them Kaylee was already there. That he was getting there.

A week later -

Azriel's hands shook as he left Elain's room. Deep unstable breaths trying to stabilize evenly as he stared at his hands.

A throat cleared down the hall and Lucien leaned against a doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, legs crossed at the calves. No words had to be said between the two. No words could be said between the two. The scent of it lingered in the air, on him, and Lucien had felt every damned second through the bond.

“It's not what it looks like, Lucien, I swear.”

The Red head clicked his tongue. “You're leaving my mate's room at 3am and I can smell sex on you. Don't fucking play me like a fool, Azriel.”

Lucien left him there alone. Not allowing Azriel to explain what had happened. How it had happened. He stalked to his room, opening the door quietly to see a sleeping Kaylee.

He reached out to touch her, but stopped, instantly going to the bathroom and stripping himself of his leathers for the first time in several days. He scrubbed his skin raw, feeling the last bit of whatever the fuck Elain had managed to get a hold of leaving his system. It hadn't gone further than her offering him a late night drink to celebrate his return home. It hadn't gone further than Elain kissing him before that thing living deep inside of him roared out for Kaylee and Kaylee only, trying with desperate claws and warnings to get him away.

He hadn't even touched Elain. Not when she stripped herself bare for him. Not when she began to touch herself. Not when she came loudly, possibly alerting every awake ear to the sound of his name leaving her throat in pleasure.

He got out of the tub, drying himself off instantly and pulling on sweatpants before getting into bed behind Kaylee and pulling her close to him. He scented himself on her neck, mixing his cedar and chilled night air with Kaylee's soft scent of toasted sugar and snowfall.

She whispered his name in her sleep, one of her small hands finding his and lacing their fingers together.

This was the calm before the storm, Azriel knew this. Lucien had heard. Kaylee would possibly scent it in the morning. Elain would tell Nesta. And Mother help him if Nesta knew before Kaylee.

Rhys and Azriel were absent from breakfast. Then Cassian. The shadowsinger was currently sitting next to Rhysand in his office telling and showing him everything while Cassian searched Elain's room and then Nesta's, finally finding a vial clearly supplied by the House of Wind.

Cassian tossed it to Rhys before comforting Azriel, knowing damn well where this was going. How it would end. “You have to tell Kaylee and explain what actually happened before Nesta, Elain, or Lucien does.” Cassian spoke softly, forcing Azriel to look at him. “I will handle my mate. You need to protect yours.”

Azriel nodded. “Where did she get that, though?”

Rhys looked up at the ceiling. Twin shadowy figures appeared, looking down in guilt. “We gave it Nesta,” Nuala refused to look at Azriel, her eyes locked on the ground. “She told us she was going to use it to experiment with herself. She had read about it in one of her… novels,” the males all snorted at the amusing choice of words. “Had we known she would try to use it on Azriel and Elain, we would have never supplied it.”

Cerridwen had not spoken, her lower lip trembling. Azriel moved to her instantly. “It's not your fault. You two can repay me by befriending Elain, get her some hobbies. I need space from her and Nesta, and you two are wonderful company.” The twins nodded, both throwing themselves into Azriel's arms. “I am not angry with you two. I'm mad at myself for allowing it to get as far as it did.”

The three males walked down the stairs to a silent breakfast. Nesta was standing, smirking down at Kaylee who just sat still as a ghost. Feyre's eyes were wide. Mor was shaking her head as if something didn't make sense. Amren was glaring to Elain. And Lucien, Lucien was silent rage. He stood slamming his hands down and left the room, shoving the other three males before going to his own space.

“Kaylee,” Feyre said softly. “Do you want Rhys to take you to the Riverhouse?”

Then the three of them knew. They knew Nesta had told Kaylee, and the silence and stillness in the youngest sister was shock.

“No,” Kaylee whispered. “I'm leaving with Lucien. I'll go help him find the lost queen.” Kaylee stood on shaking legs, looking down as she walked away. Azriel followed her up the stairs, grabbing her in the hallway.

“Please let me explain what happened.”

Kaylee shook her head.

Lucien appeared in the hall, a bag packed and slung over his shoulder. “What the fuck is there to explain, Azriel. Pretty sure Nesta painted a pretty visual picture for all of us.”

Azriel held eye contact with Kaylee only. “Let me explain, please. Come to our room and talk to me.” Kaylee tried to pull her arm away, noticing now the second bag Lucien held in his hands. Her bag.

Azriel's grip in her tightened, and Lucien scoffed, “I watched you leave her room at 3am before heading into Kaylee's. Nesta and I heard everything.”

“Let me explain.”

Kaylee finally let go, letting the anger, frustration, and annoyance finally peak. Her voice hardly seemed her own. “You don't need to fucking explain. I was a pretty stepping stool to get to my beautiful sister. You used me.” She ripped her arm from Azriel going to Lucien's side. “Take me with you.” He handed Kaylee the bag, his amber and gold eyes locking Azriel in place. “Do not follow us,” she commanded his beast, not him. “I'll come back when I'm ready.”

The second the door to the entry way shut and Lucien's spell cleaving was felt long enough for the two to winnow, Azriel lost it.

He destroyed his room. He destroyed the bathroom. He destroyed the mirrors.

Azriel sat on his bed seething as Feyre and Rhys entered. “Elain told us everything. Nesta is sticking to the story she made.” Rhys watched as the house repaired his brother's room. “Elain has been informed time with you is going to be limited, and that she needs to be the one to tell Kaylee and Lucien the truth.”

Feyre moved to the smashed bottles of Kaylee's perfumes and oils. “You'll have to forgive her for whatever she does next, Azriel,” Feyre sniffed her fingers, memorizing her little sister's scent incase she and Lucien didn't make it back home. “She's impulsive when she's angry, and she's hurt-”

Azriel finished the thought, knowing it was true and showing Rhys the memory of Kaylee's skin changing hues. “and wounded animals are the most dangerous.”

Taglist - @impossibelle @luvmoo @wallacewillow0773638 @nightless

@cat-or-kitten @knmendiola @holb32

@mis-lil-red @minakay @whatsupb18 @deeshag @justdreamstars @pyrostatic @acourtofmarvels @no1massassin @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @acourtofbatboydreams

[writingquestionsanswered]

Not sure if this was asked before but... how do you get your *passion* back for writing - or any old hobbies at all? Maybe bc of ADHD, but I used to hyperfixate on writing, reading and other things. They were my world. Now, when I actually have time to write... my interest is meh. Mild. Barely exists. But I'm still interested. Just not passionate. My heart doesn't flutter at new OC ideas anymore - or ships. Or family dynamics. I'm bored... what gives?

ADHD: Interested in Writing, But Not Passionate

I really struggled with this. Mainly, because I have a hard time wrapping my head around, "My interest barely exists but I'm still interested." I can't make sense of that.

I've written three different versions of an answer, none of which I liked in the end, because I think the long and the short of it is this: you can be interested in writing generally, but stuck on a WIP or unable to get started generally. And there are all sorts of reasons why you can be stuck on a WIP or unable to get started generally (including executive dysfunction... thanks, ADHD!) However, at the end of the day, if writing was a hyperfixation for you, that may be all it ever was. Even if some part of you is still "interested."

Which brings me to a story from answer attempt #2, which I think is still worth sharing. Years ago, I hyperfixated for weeks on a particular historical topic. I couldn't get enough. I read about it, watched documentaries about it, subscribed to magazines about it, fell down topic-related rabbit holes for hours at a time. My brain needed to understand every single thing there was to know about the topic, which was troublesome because everything about this topic isn't known... even by those who study it.

One day, my attention shifted to something else, but I never really lost the "interest" in this topic. My ears still perk when I hear something about it. I still skim articles about it when they come up on social media. I would probably pause in my channel surfing if I happened on a documentary about it. But my interest isn't the same. It's not enough for me to dive in to the extent that I did when it was a hyperfixation. And this was tested by the fact that not long ago, I visited a museum with a whole wing dedicated to this topic. And I knew it was a big deal that I was there, and that hyperfixated me would have blown a gasket out of sheer joy, but I just wasn't able to engage with the exhibits the way I wanted to or felt I should. I was looking at the artifacts and absorbing the words on the exhibition labels, but I wasn't feeling anything about it. It all fell flat. Which was kind of depressing, to be honest.

So, I'm telling that story because I think there's a very real possibility that may be what's happening for you with writing. It may just be a hyperfixation that still interests you in some way, but which can never really inspire that same level of interest you once had--unless you become hyperfixated on it again, but there's no way to force that. And there's no way to know for sure if that's what's going on except to try some of the things suggested in the links below to see if you can troubleshoot a cause or kick start your motivation. If not, it may just be something you did once and may come back to again eventually. ♥

Guide: Filling Your Creative Well Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Excited About Your Story Again Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Feeling Unmotivated with WIP

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

LEARN MORE about WQA

SEE MY ask policies

VISIT MY Master List of Top Posts

COFFEE & COMMISSIONS ko-fi.com/wqa

[nagdabbit]

we collide with shoulder and steel chapter 5/25

rating: gen

words: 3.2k

also on ao3

Through the cracked glass, Bryan watched the boy wander about the courtyard. He carried a tattered notebook, fingertips darkened by charcoal as he scribbled away notes and plans. 

"Why is he still here?" he asked aloud, voice jarring and harsh in the otherwise silent room. Though—the silence had become rarer the longer the boy stayed.

He'd been too startled by the boy's friendly demeanor to truly frighten Yuta away, but he'd expected him to be gone within days. Yuta was young, after all. He should've gotten bored and gone looking for a more exciting adventure than combing through Mox's books. He should've been brash and impulsive, he should've been changeable as the wind—there one moment and gone the next. 

Bute hadn't gotten under foot, hadn't asked dangerous questions, hadn't tried to take Bryan's head off. He'd done nothing, and he was still fucking there. 

"Why hasn't he left?"

On the sill beside him, pages fluttered, spilling plumes of dust up into the shafts of morning sunlight. The library windows were tall, pouring eastern light into the usually dark space. Even after all the years spent without incident, Mox still refused to allow the library fireplace to be lit, and Claudio was content to leave him be. It made for a quiet house, spending his days with Mox and his books and his evening stretched out before the kitchen hearth as Claudio crackled away. 

The pages fluttered again as Mox sighed. He'd probably read the book at least a hundred times through the years. "Why d'you think?"

"Thinks he's going to kiss some poor, cursed beast, win a throne and live happily ever after?" Bryan suggested, though he knew it wasn't true. If anything, he seemed more enamored with Mox and Claudio than himself—though he often wondered if that was part of Yuta's plan. But what that plan was, he couldn't say for certain, but there had to be one. There had to be a reason. "Same as everyone else?"

"What is it about him that makes you think he's the same as anyone else?" Mox snorted, kicking up another plume of dust. He liked the boy a great deal. He had only been on the mountain a scant few weeks, and it was suddenly rare to hear silence from the library when the boy was inside. It always echoed with laughter, with the scrape of unshelved books and the flutter of turned pages. "He's not here for your hand."

"What else is he doing here?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Mox muttered. The pages fluttered as he read, dust settling onto the ghost of his shoulders. He was fading, with each broken spine and faded page another piece of him became harder to see. "He's here because he wants to be."

Bryan felt a growl of annoyance rumble in his chest. "I don't know what to do with that."

"Don't do anything. You always fuck it up when you try to do things. Just let him do what he came to do, and let him go home once he's finished," Mox muttered, voice like cracked parchment. "He's been here, what? A month now? And the most questionable thing he's done is let one of Claudio's fires go out—which, I might add, he relit the moment he learned what that meant. Stop looking for menace where there is none."

"He could be playing you, too."

"Bryan, if you don't leave, I will topple my own bookcase down on top of you," Mox growled, and the book snapped closed with a loud crack as he disappeared in a whisp of dust. 

He hadn't been half as dramatic before, but he'd learned to enjoy the simple finality of slamming a book closed in Bryan's face. Same could be said for Claudio and his penchant for putting out whatever candle Bryan was using, leaving him with darkness and a whisp of smoke. There were only so many joys left for the three of them, he had learned not to mind it too much.

Further into the cavernous room, he listened to the rasp as Jon unshelved a new book, and the soft rustle of pages. 

Outside, Yuta was leaving smudges on his cheek as he studied his notes. He wore a deep frown, lost in thought. About what, Bryan had no idea. He made another mark, then snapped his book shut, and darted out of sight.

He reminded Bryan of Mox, at times, from when they were younger, practically kids themselves. Curious and brimming with energy, hands busy and eyes alert. Always learning and studying, always flitting about. He had an intensity to him, too. The kind of single-minded focus he could lose hours and days to. 

Bryan pushed away from the window and left Mox to his books.

He could admit that Mox was right, to an extent. The kid hadn't intentionally caused trouble, hadn't snuck a knife between Bryan's ribs, hadn't come with torches or swords. He'd carried a pack leaden down with dried meats and pickled vegetables almost as old as he was. He brought dusty flour with him, and yeast—enough to make his own bread for months. Dried fruits and nuts and mushrooms, old enough Bryan thought they might crumble to dust if he looked at them long enough.

He came with plans, a book of notes and lists, a sack full of seeds. He carried a deeper hope than anyone Bryan had ever met. It was infuriating.

He found Yuta with a trowel in hand and sweat on his brow, as he worked the dull blade into the dry earth. He could see scrapes in the dirt, blocked out beds that he thought he'd be skilled enough to bring back to life. He'd climbed the mountain with too little fear, too little self-preservation, and far too much misplaced hope.

Bryan had to hand it to him, he'd never had his peace invaded by a homesteader. Someone with the overconfidence to build himself a home in a place he wasn't welcome. Someone foolhardy enough to plan for a future Bryan wanted no part of. 

"You won't become a prince."

Yuta blinked up at him, visibly startled. His expression was confused, like the words hadn't even penetrated his focus. "What?"

"I'm not going to fall in love with you," Bryan said, looming over him. "We're not going to live happily ever after, there won't be a prosperous kingdom for you to rule over. There won't be maids or cooks or a garden for you to pick from. There's nothing here for you."

Yuta stared at Bryan for a long moment, then heaved a great, unimpressed sigh. He turned back to the dirt, continuing to break up the stiff soil with the rusted, broken trowel. His shoulders had gone tense at Bryan's interruption. "Not everything is about you, Bryan."

"Then why are you here? What else could you possibly want from me, if it's not my hide or my hand?"

"I told you, I'm here to try and fix the damage this curse has done," he snapped, flicking clods of dirt at Bryan's feet. "The rest is yours."

He rolled his eyes, "It's one and the same, child."

He whipped his head toward Bryan, glowering darkly. He pointed the trowel up at his face, "No, it isn't. A body decaying upstream will poison the water below."

"What does that have to do wi—"

"You are the problem, you idiot." He dropped the trowel in favor of hefting a clump of dirt and throwing it the short distance into Bryan's chest. "You are the decay, poisoning everyone down river. You could've tended this land, you could've cared. Instead you simply sat back and let everything around you die, simply because you no longer needed it. I'm not a gravedigger, Bryan, I'm a gardener."

He brushed the dirt from his fur and rolled his eyes. "That's a pretty metaphor." He'd encountered his fair share of pretty words, and all they ever did was distract. 

He frowned, catching Bryan's dismissive tone. "You don't believe me "

"Of course I don't believe you."

"You really think I'm vain enough to delude myself? That I really think we'll fall in love and I'll kiss you everything will suddenly be better? For all of us?" he asked, snarling back as he scrambled up to his feet. He was usually so calm, so kind and polite. Even when he was visibly angry at Bryan, he remained calm. To see such a dark expression on his face was almost startling. "Fucks sake, enough people survived the climb back to the village that I know the stories they had to tell, every single one. I know well enough that I'm not the one to break whatever curse you got yourself saddled with. I'm not here to break anything."

"Then what—"

"Curses bleed, Bryan. They grow and spread and they poison and stain everything they touch," he growled, throwing down the trowel. Bryan had never seen anyone quite so angry, not in what felt like centuries. "The village down there? The one I was raised in? It's not just dying, Bryan, it's dead. There's a handful of people left, and they don’t even know they’re just ghosts haunting empty streets."

He took a step back, out of Yuta's space, the vitriol in his tone enough to shake even Bryan's anger loose. He finally saw the thin thread holding together Yuta's composure, the delicate strand of fraying desperation keeping him reigned in. He was cracked and broken and pasted back together so many times that he had barely the strength to hold himself upright any longer. He carried with him the weight of those who had come before, and all those that would come after, should nothing ever change. Beneath the world's weight on his shoulders, he cracked even further, held together by nothing but hope and fraying twine.

"I said I wasn't here to break the curse, and I meant it. If this curse ever breaks, I'm not convinced it'll heal anyone but you. This is your goddamn mess, I'm not here to solve it for you, I'm here to fix the wound your inaction has torn in the land. In my home." His expression was afraid, but not of Bryan. Not of monsters and magic. "My friends left for the city, running away from the rot that's been flowing down from this place, and I chose to stay.

"If no one tries to fix any of this, the rot won't stop at one village. It'll take the next one down the road, and the one beyond that. It'll take the cities, too, and it won't stop." His voice broke, wavered with the weight of all that fear, but he didn't back down. He'd watched his home fall to ruin, just as Bryan had, but he had the distance to see the scale of it. He saw a future that frightened him far more than Bryan's visage ever could. "If no one tries to heal this hurt, then there won't be anything left by the time you figure your shit out."

This boy stood before him, hands black with dirt and soot, and he didn't want anything more than to help. A well of kindness in him that would put Claudio's warmth to shame, and a snarling rage that burned just as bright Mox's. It had been too long since he'd met anyone worth the trouble to know. Everyone who'd come before had wanted something from him. Gold, a crown, his head, his home. This one, though, just wanted to help.

He saw Yuta, finally. If either of them posed a threat, it was Bryan's indifference—and he'd already done his fair share of damage. All Yuta had asked for was a chance. To do something, just a chance to try. 

Bryan took a measured breath, trying to calm the last flickers of anger licking at his ribcage. "Alright."

Yuta narrowed his eyes. "Alright?"

"I'll stop being an asshole."

Hands on his hips, he scoffed and rolled his eyes, but took Bryan at his word. "I doubt you're capable of that," he murmured, but it sounded far closer to his usual self than he had a moment ago. He was far too quick to forgive. "Come on, then. The least you could do is help me."

"The least I could do is nothing," he grumbled, but knelt at Yuta's side all the same. 

"You've already done nothing, and just look where it's gotten us." The boy threw another cold of dirt, but it was less desperate, and more playful. "Try doing something for a change."

The earth was rough and hard beneath his knees. It had been so long since he'd spent time in the garden, William's cold, unseeing gaze too heavy to carry on his own. 

Then again, Yuta's burden was far heavier and the boy had carried it alone for what must have been the length of his own lifetime, living beneath the long shadow of Bryan's shame. What a coward he would be, to think his shame would outweigh the damage he'd done. All he'd done was haunt the halls as they grew quieter and quieter, never paying any mind to those that remained.

He cast another glance toward the statue of his William, lonely and still, and took up a tool on his own. 

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I seen people call Bristlefrost's death fridging, or even "the worst case of fridging in warriors", and I'm at the point where I'm like, ok taking that word away and putting it on the top shelf with all the other words you need to learn how to use correctly.

Fridging doesn't mean 'female character dies an that makes an alive male character sad.' It means specifically a female character whos only purpose is to die tragically to drive a male character's story forward.

It can't count when it was 1) just as much her story 2) happens at the end of the story 3) is literally to defeat the villain and SOLVE the problem 4) she plays an active role and it is her own decision 5) did not drive Rootspring's story in any way except to force him the pov for the final chapters which is reasonable and fine, and 6) her character is fully fleshed out (we can argue whether they made her character bad in the back half but the fact is shes a full, dynamic character with traits and thoughts unrelated to being a man's partner)

You can call foul on it being the female character of the three main characters who died, or on her character itself being made very romance focused, or any number of other things that do help paint a picture of misogyny, but this specific instance is absolutely not a case of fridging.

Real fans know the worst case of fridging in warriors is Flutter from Riverstar’s home /j

All good points, I feel like the build up of her being just interested in romance for two whole books and the fact she doesn’t think of family while she’s dying has probably contributed to the fridging claims, even if like you say it doesn’t qualify as fridging

[violentrefugementor]

Why Luminar Technolab is the Best Software Institute in Kochi for Future Tech Experts

With the rapidly evolving nature of the digital era in the present, choosing the right software training institute can be a game-changer for your future. With technology leaving its footprint in every sector, talented individuals with expertise in fields such as software development, data science, artificial intelligence, and web development have never been more in demand. And when it comes to bridging the gap between theoretical education and real-time applications, Luminar Technolab is a clear winner. In fact, it's not only considered the top software training institute in Kochi, but for good reason.

This blog takes a look at why Luminar Technolab has become so famous and how it can transform your career journey in the IT sector.

1. A Consistent Track Record of Excellence

Luminar Technolab is not just another name in the sea of software training institutes. It has been well-reputed in recent years for consistently offering industry-relevant training. There are hundreds of students who were once lost to understand their career paths and are today placed in top tech companies in India and abroad, thanks to Luminar's well-structured courses and practical teaching approach.

Unlike traditional training institutes, Luminar focuses on:

In-depth curriculum

Industry-standard tools and techniques

Real-time projects

Soft skills and placement training

This comprehensive focus on development makes it one of the most career-centric and best software training institutes in Kochi.

2. Industry-Aligned Courses That Matter

Whether you’re a beginner stepping into the tech world or a graduate looking to upskill, Luminar Technolab offers a variety of industry-focused courses tailored to meet current and future demands.

 Popular Courses Include:

Full Stack Python Development

Data Science & Machine Learning

Java Full Stack Development

Flutter Mobile App Development

Software Testing (Manual & Automation)

MEAN / MERN Stack Development

AWS, DevOps, and Cloud Computing

Business Intelligence Tools (Power BI, Tableau)

These courses are not certifications, they are career accelerators.

3. Experienced Mentors & Trainers

One of Luminar Technolab's best supporting pillars is its extremely skilled trainers. They aren't instructors, they're project professionals with extensive work experience in actual projects. Mentors are aware of what employers need and design training modules that neatly plug into practical necessities.

Each trainer has an individual approach, mentoring students not only on technical matters but also on career development in technology.

Their mentorship is one of the main reasons why Luminar is consistently voted the best software institute in Kochi by its alumni.

4. Hands-On Learning with Real-Time Projects

In today's job market, being smart is no longer enough. Employers want candidates who can "hit the ground running."

That's why Luminar Technolab emphasizes a lot on project-based learning. From building websites to working with data sets and deploying applications on the cloud, students get an opportunity to work on real-life, industry-relevant projects.

These projects not only reinforce learning but also build confidence. Even some students make use of project work as a portfolio to impress the recruiters during interviews.

5. Amazing Placement Support

What truly makes Luminar stand out as a favorite among students is its outstanding placement support. The institute boasts great connections with over 100+ hiring partners in the technology industry, including MNCs, startups, and mid-sized companies.

Placement support consists of:

Resume building

Interview preparation

Mock interviews

Job scheduling and notifications

Company-specific training

By this extensive guidance, students are always rematched with high-growth companies with lucrative salary packages. This frequent performance is the reason for Luminar being ranked as the best software academy in Kochi.

6. Career-Focused Approach

Not every institute is focused solely on technical training, though. Luminar has a career-first focus. From week one of instruction, focus is not only on writing code but on learning job-readiness as well.

Students are trained to:

Communicate well

Work effectively in teams

Implement Agile/Scrum methodology

Manage projects

Problem-solving and critical thinking

All these factors for career-readiness are integral to long-term success and are included in the syllabus of every course.

7. Awarded as a Reliable Training Brand

Luminar Technolab is ISO-certified and has a partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Skill India. It's a govt.-approved organization that always remains at the forefront of Kochi's tech training landscape.

These certifications not only enhance the institute's reputation but also ensure the quality of training in line with international standards.

8. Hybrid Learning Options

Another enormous advantage of choosing Luminar Technolab is flexibility. Students can enroll in:

Physical classes on the Kochi campus

Online live classes from any location in India

This combination of learning prevents geographical limitations from coming in the way of students reaching quality education. The online platforms are not static, and students receive the same level of individualized attention and guidance as offline classes.

9. Student Success Stories

No testimonial beats the success of alumni. Hundreds of Luminar alumni today work as:

Software Engineers in leading IT companies

Data Scientists in analytics companies

App Developers in startups

QA Engineers and Automation Testers in product companies

Most of them had very little programming experience but were able to build robust careers following the training at Luminar.

Their feedback is the proof that anyone can be successful if properly guided, and Luminar does it in abundance.

10. Location Advantage – In the Very Heart of Kochi

Situated in one of Kerala's technology parks, Luminar Technolab is easily accessible from any desirable location. Kochi boasts of Infopark and several tech parks, making it a smart choice for upcoming developers and data professionals.

Students get the advantage of being closely located to an emerging IT environment, getting them exposed more and with greater career opportunities.

Final Thoughts: Why Luminar Technolab is Your Best Choice

Choosing the right training institute is one of the major decisions in a techie aspirant's life. If you are looking for an institution which:

Offers job-oriented training

Offers one-to-one mentorship

Provides live projects

Has a high placement record

And is known as the best software training institute in Kochi Therefore, Luminar Technolab is your clear choice.With proper training, direction, and approach, your desired IT career is well within your reach and Luminar is here to guide you through it.

Ready to Start Your Tech Career?

Stop by www.luminartechnolab.com or pay a visit to the Kochi center to meet with a counselor and sign up for a course of your choice.

[sruthypm]

Searching for Flutter Coaching Classes Near Me? Learn App Development the Smart Way with Techmindz

In a world driven by mobile apps, one framework is changing the game: Flutter. Built by Google, Flutter has rapidly become the go-to tool for developing fast, beautiful, and cross-platform mobile apps with a single codebase. If you’ve been searching for “Flutter coaching classes near me”, your journey to becoming a professional app developer starts right here—at Techmindz.

Located in Kochi and offering both offline and online coaching options, Techmindz is one of Kerala’s most trusted IT training institutes for hands-on, job-ready Flutter development training.

Why Flutter? Why Now?

Whether it's startups or global tech giants, businesses want their apps to run smoothly on both Android and iOS without doubling the development cost—and Flutter delivers exactly that.

Top Reasons to Learn Flutter:

🧩 One Codebase, Two Platforms – Write once, deploy on Android and iOS.

⚡ Faster Development Cycles – Hot reload allows developers to see changes instantly.

🎨 Beautiful UI – Build stunning, customized user interfaces with ease.

💼 High Demand in the Job Market – Flutter developers are among the most sought-after in mobile development.

🌍 Strong Community and Support – Backed by Google and a global network of contributors.

Techmindz – Your Nearby Destination for Flutter Coaching

If you’re located in Kochi, Ernakulam, or anywhere in Kerala and looking for Flutter coaching classes near you, Techmindz offers a practical and structured course that’s perfect for students, professionals, and career changers.

💡 What You’ll Learn in Our Flutter Coaching Program:

Our expert-curated curriculum ensures you gain both theoretical knowledge and practical coding experience, covering topics like:

Introduction to Flutter & Dart

Dart Programming Language Basics

Widgets & UI Components

Navigation & Routing

State Management (Provider, Bloc, Riverpod)

API Integration & JSON Handling

Firebase Integration

App Deployment to Play Store & App Store

Building Real Projects from Scratch

We believe in learning by doing, and our program is filled with live coding sessions, hands-on projects, and peer collaboration.

Why Choose Techmindz for Flutter Training?

✅ 1. Expert Trainers from the Industry

Learn from developers who’ve built and deployed real Flutter apps. They bring industry insights, coding best practices, and live problem-solving into the classroom.

✅ 2. Project-Based Learning

You'll build fully functional mobile applications during the course—such as task managers, shopping apps, or chat apps—that can be showcased in your portfolio.

✅ 3. Placement Support

We don’t just train—you get career-ready. Our placement support includes:

Resume building

Mock interviews

Technical assessments

Placement drives with top IT firms

✅ 4. Flexible Class Timings

We offer weekday and weekend batches, online coaching, and offline classes at our Kochi center—ideal for students, working professionals, and freelancers.

✅ 5. Certification and Skill Validation

Upon successful completion, you receive a Techmindz course certification recognized by leading tech companies.

Who Can Join?

Our Flutter coaching classes are open to:

B.Tech, BCA, MCA students

IT professionals upskilling in mobile development

Web developers looking to branch into mobile apps

Entrepreneurs wanting to build their own apps

Anyone with basic programming knowledge and a passion for app development

You don’t need a background in mobile development—we teach from the ground up.

Career Opportunities After the Course

Once you complete our Flutter training, you’ll be eligible for roles like:

Flutter Developer

Mobile App Developer

UI/UX Mobile Developer

Freelance App Developer

Cross-Platform Developer

With Flutter gaining massive traction, your skills will be in high demand—locally and globally.

Final Thoughts

If you’re searching for Flutter coaching classes near me, look no further than Techmindz. Our goal is to transform passionate learners into confident mobile app developers through expert guidance, hands-on practice, and real-world project experience.

🚀 Start building beautiful, powerful mobile apps with Flutter. Join Techmindz today and turn your code into a career.

https://www.techmindz.com/flutter-training/

[likitakans]

Top Tech Stacks for Fintech App Development in 2025

Fintech is evolving fast, and so is the technology behind it. As we head into 2025, financial applications demand more than just sleek interfaces — they need to be secure, scalable, and lightning-fast. Whether you're building a neobank, a personal finance tracker, a crypto exchange, or a payment gateway, choosing the right tech stack can make or break your app.

In this post, we’ll break down the top tech stacks powering fintech apps in 2025 and what makes them stand out.

1. Frontend Tech Stacks

🔹 React.js + TypeScript

React has long been a favorite for fintech frontends, and paired with TypeScript, it offers improved code safety and scalability. TypeScript helps catch errors early, which is critical in the finance world where accuracy is everything.

🔹 Next.js (React Framework)

For fintech apps with a strong web presence, Next.js brings server-side rendering and API routes, making it easier to manage SEO, performance, and backend logic in one place.

🔹 Flutter (for Web and Mobile)

Flutter is gaining massive traction for building cross-platform fintech apps with a single codebase. It's fast, visually appealing, and great for MVPs and startups trying to reduce time to market.

2. Backend Tech Stacks

🔹 Node.js + NestJS

Node.js offers speed and scalability, while NestJS adds a structured, enterprise-grade framework. Great for microservices-based fintech apps that need modular and testable code.

🔹 Python + Django

Python is widely used in fintech for its simplicity and readability. Combine it with Django — a secure and robust web framework — and you have a great stack for building APIs and handling complex data processing.

🔹 Golang

Go is emerging as a go-to language for performance-intensive fintech apps, especially for handling real-time transactions and services at scale. Its concurrency support is a huge bonus.

3. Databases

🔹 PostgreSQL

Hands down the most loved database for fintech in 2025. It's reliable, supports complex queries, and handles financial data like a pro. With extensions like PostGIS and TimescaleDB, it's even more powerful.

🔹 MongoDB (with caution)

While not ideal for transactional data, MongoDB can be used for storing logs, sessions, or less-critical analytics. Just be sure to avoid it for money-related tables unless you have a strong reason.

🔹 Redis

Perfect for caching, rate-limiting, and real-time data updates. Great when paired with WebSockets for live transaction updates or stock price tickers.

4. Security & Compliance

In fintech, security isn’t optional — it’s everything.

OAuth 2.1 and OpenID Connect for secure user authentication

TLS 1.3 for encrypted communication

Zero Trust Architecture for internal systems

Biometric Auth for mobile apps

End-to-end encryption for sensitive data

Compliance Ready: GDPR, PCI-DSS, and SOC2 tools built-in

5. DevOps & Cloud

🔹 Docker + Kubernetes

Containerization ensures your app runs the same way everywhere, while Kubernetes helps scale securely and automatically.

🔹 AWS / Google Cloud / Azure

These cloud platforms offer fintech-ready services like managed databases, real-time analytics, fraud detection APIs, and identity verification tools.

🔹 CI/CD Pipelines

Using tools like GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD helps push secure code fast, with automated testing to catch issues early.

6. Bonus: AI & ML Tools

AI is becoming integral in fintech — from fraud detection to credit scoring.

TensorFlow / PyTorch for machine learning

Hugging Face Transformers for NLP in customer support bots

LangChain (for LLM-driven insights and automation)

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right tech stack depends on your business model, app complexity, team skills, and budget. There’s no one-size-fits-all, but the stacks mentioned above offer a solid foundation to build secure, scalable, and future-ready fintech apps.

In 2025, the competition in fintech is fierce — the right technology stack can help you stay ahead.

What stack are you using for your fintech app? Drop a comment and let’s chat tech!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/%C3%A0ksh%C3%ADt%C3%A2-j-17aa08352/

[intelliontechnologies]

Why Flutter Training is Essential for Modern App Developers

In today’s fast-paced digital world, mobile app development is more important than ever. As the demand for high-performance apps grows, developers must stay ahead of the curve with the latest tools and technologies. One such tool that has gained massive popularity in recent years is Flutter. Flutter is a cross-platform framework that allows developers to build beautiful, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit (SDK) created by Google. It allows developers to build high-performance, cross-platform mobile applications with ease. By using Dart, the programming language used in Flutter, developers can create apps for both Android and iOS simultaneously, which is a major time-saver.

But why is Flutter training becoming essential for modern app developers? Let’s dive deeper into the reasons.

1. Cross-Platform Development with a Single Codebase

One of the biggest challenges in mobile app development is maintaining separate codebases for Android and iOS. Flutter solves this problem by allowing developers to write one codebase that works seamlessly on both platforms. This reduces the development time, cost, and effort, making it an attractive option for businesses and developers alike.

With proper Flutter training, developers can master the framework and start building apps that run on multiple platforms without worrying about platform-specific details.

2. Faster Development Process

Flutter’s Hot Reload feature is one of the standout features that makes it an excellent choice for developers. Hot Reload allows you to instantly see the changes you make in the code reflected in the app, making development faster and more efficient. This capability speeds up the debugging process, allowing developers to iterate faster and improve app performance.

3. Beautiful and Customized UI Designs

Flutter is known for its stunning, customizable UIs. The framework offers a rich set of pre-built widgets, which allow developers to design visually appealing applications. Additionally, developers can create their own custom widgets to meet the specific design requirements of their projects. Flutter’s flexible UI toolkit empowers developers to craft highly engaging, interactive user interfaces.

4. Strong Performance with Native-Like Experience

Unlike other cross-platform frameworks that use web views, Flutter compiles to native ARM code, ensuring that apps built with Flutter perform as smoothly as their native counterparts. With Flutter training, developers can gain an in-depth understanding of how to optimize app performance and ensure a seamless experience for users.

5. Growing Demand for Flutter Developers

Flutter has gained tremendous popularity within the developer community and is used by top companies such as Google, Alibaba, and eBay. As businesses move towards creating cross-platform apps to reach a wider audience, the demand for Flutter developers continues to rise. By investing in Flutter training, developers can enhance their skillset and open up new career opportunities in the competitive mobile app development market.

6. Support and Resources

Flutter has an active community of developers and contributors who are constantly updating the framework and providing resources for developers. Whether you're just starting with Flutter or looking to sharpen your skills, the wealth of online tutorials, documentation, and community support makes it easy to learn and grow with Flutter.

Why You Should Invest in Flutter Training

Flutter is the future of mobile app development, and for modern developers, it is essential to keep pace with this technology. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, Flutter training will give you the skills needed to build high-performance, visually stunning apps for multiple platforms in record time.

At IntelliMindz, we offer comprehensive Flutter training courses designed to equip you with the skills you need to excel in mobile app development. Our training covers everything from the basics to advanced concepts in Flutter, ensuring you're well-prepared to take on real-world projects.

Contact Us for Flutter Training

Ready to take your mobile app development career to the next level? Get in touch with us today to enroll in our Flutter training courses.

Mobile: +91 9655877577 Website: Flutter Training in Coimbatore

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn from industry experts and become proficient in one of the most sought-after skills in app development!

[avigmasoftware]

Top Mobile App Development Company in Austin: End-to-End Solutions

Introduction

Top mobile app development company in Austin, In the dynamic world of mobile application development, businesses require innovative solutions to stay ahead of the competition. Austin, Texas, a burgeoning tech hub, is home to several top-tier app development companies. Among them, Avigma Tech LLC stands out as a premier service provider, offering end-to-end solutions that transform ideas into cutting-edge mobile applications.

Why Choose Avigma Tech LLC?

Avigma Tech LLC has earned a reputation as one of the top mobile app development companies in Austin due to its expertise, commitment to innovation, and customer-centric approach. Here are a few reasons why businesses trust Avigma Tech LLC:

1. Comprehensive End-to-End Solutions

Avigma Tech LLC provides complete mobile app development services, including:

Consultation & Strategy: Understanding client needs and defining goals, Mobile app development company in Austin.

UI/UX Design: Creating user-friendly and visually appealing interfaces.

Native & Cross-Platform Development: Utilizing React Native, Swift, Kotlin, and Flutter.

Backend Development: Implementing robust backends using Node.js, Firebase, and AWS.

Quality Assurance & Testing: Ensuring bug-free, high-performing applications.

Deployment & Maintenance: Offering ongoing support and updates post-launch.

2. Expertise Across Industries

Avigma Tech LLC has worked with a diverse range of industries, including:

Healthcare (HIPAA-compliant solutions)

Fintech (Secure payment and banking apps)

E-commerce (Feature-rich shopping experiences)

Education (Interactive learning platforms)

On-Demand Services (Taxi booking, food delivery apps)

3. Cutting-Edge Technologies

The company leverages the latest technologies to build high-performance applications:

AI & Machine Learning for intelligent automation

Blockchain for secure transactions

IoT for connected devices

Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) for immersive experiences

4. Agile Development Approach

Avigma Tech LLC follows an agile development methodology, ensuring flexibility, faster time-to-market, and continuous iteration based on client feedback, Best mobile application development company in Austin.

5. Client-Centric Approach

With a strong focus on client satisfaction, Avigma Tech LLC prioritizes:

Transparent communication

Custom-tailored solutions

On-time delivery

Scalability for future growth

Success Stories & Case Studies

Avigma Tech LLC has successfully delivered numerous projects,Mobile application development company in Austin, helping startups and enterprises achieve their business goals. Some notable examples include:

A fitness tracking app with AI-driven personalized recommendations

A fintech application for seamless digital transactions

A food delivery platform with real-time tracking

Conclusion

If you're looking for the best mobile app development company in Austin, Avigma Tech LLC is your go-to partner for high-quality, end-to-end app solutions. With a team of skilled developers, cutting-edge technology expertise, and a commitment to excellence, Avigma Tech LLC can turn your app vision into reality, Top mobile application development company in Austin.

Get in Touch

Looking to develop your next mobile app? Contact Avigma Tech LLC today to discuss your project and bring your innovative ideas to life! Website development company in Austin

📞 Contact Avigma Tech LLC Today! 📍 Location: Austin, TX 🌐 Website: https://avigma.com 📧 Email: avigma.project@gmail.com 📱 Phone: +1 (913) 298-0110

[signimus]

Best Software Company in Indore – Your Trusted IT Partner at Signimus

Best Software Company in Indore, Signimus, is the leading provider of high-quality software solutions for businesses of all sizes. Indore has become a growing hub for technology and innovation, with several software companies offering top-notch services. Among these, Signimus stands out, delivering exceptional web development, mobile app development, and custom software solutions with advanced technology and expert professionals.

Why Signimus is the Best Software Company in Indore?

When it comes to choosing a reliable software company, businesses look for quality, efficiency, and innovation. Signimus, the best software company in Indore, excels in all these aspects. The company has a team of experienced developers, designers, and project managers who ensure that every project is delivered with excellence. Here are some key reasons why Signimus is the top choice:

1. Expert Team of Developers

The success of any software company depends on its team. Signimus has highly skilled professionals who specialize in different technologies, including:

Web development (PHP, Laravel, Node.js, Python, etc.)

Mobile app development (Android, iOS, Flutter, React Native)

Custom software solutions

AI and Machine Learning

2. High-Quality Software Solutions

As the best software company in Indore, Signimus focuses on delivering high-quality solutions. The company follows industry best practices, including thorough testing, quality assurance, and regular updates to ensure the software runs smoothly.

3. Custom Software Development

Every business has unique needs. Signimus provides customized software solutions tailored to meet specific business requirements. The company understands client expectations and creates software that enhances productivity and efficiency.

4. Affordable Pricing

One of the biggest concerns for businesses is the cost of software development. Signimus, the best software company in Indore, offers affordable and cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality. The company provides flexible pricing models, making it easy for businesses to get the best software solutions within their budget.

5. Excellent Customer Support

Services Offered by Signimus

Being the best software company in Indore, Signimus offers a wide range of services to cater to different business needs. Here are some of the key services:

1. Web Development

A strong online presence is crucial for any business. Signimus provides top-notch web development services using the latest technologies, ensuring fast and secure websites.

2. Mobile App Development

With the increasing use of smartphones, mobile applications have become essential for businesses. Signimus develops high-quality mobile applications for both Android and iOS platforms.

3. E-Commerce Development

For businesses looking to expand their online sales, Signimus offers complete e-commerce solutions, including website development, payment gateway integration, and custom features.

4. AI and Machine Learning Solutions

Automation and artificial intelligence are transforming industries. Signimus, the best software company in Indore, provides AI-driven solutions that help businesses improve efficiency and decision-making.

5. UI/UX Design

A user-friendly interface is essential for any software or website. Signimus offers expert UI/UX design services to enhance user experience and engagement.

6. Cloud Solutions

Cloud computing is the future of technology. Signimus provides reliable cloud-based solutions, including cloud storage, cloud computing, and cloud security services.

Why Choose Signimus for Software Development?

There are many software companies in Indore, but Signimus remains the best due to its customer-centric approach and high-quality services. Here are some reasons why businesses choose Signimus:

1. Strong Industry Experience

With years of experience in software development, Signimus has worked with various industries, including healthcare, finance, e-commerce, and education. The company understands industry-specific requirements and delivers customized solutions.

2. Latest Technology Implementation

Technology is constantly evolving, and Signimus ensures that its clients get the latest and most advanced solutions. The company uses cutting-edge technologies like AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and IoT to develop innovative software.

3. Timely Project Delivery

One of the biggest challenges in software development is project delays. Signimus, the best software company in Indore, follows a structured development process that ensures on-time project completion.

4. Scalable Solutions

As businesses grow, they need software that can scale with their needs. Signimus develops scalable software solutions that can handle increased workloads without performance issues.

5. Strong Security Measures

Data security is a top priority for businesses. Signimus implements robust security measures, including encryption, secure authentication, and regular security audits, to protect client data.

Success Stories of Signimus

Over the years, Signimus has helped numerous businesses achieve their digital transformation goals. Here are some success stories:

Case Study 1: E-Commerce Platform Development

A local retail business approached Signimus to develop an e-commerce platform. The company designed a user-friendly and secure website with features like online payments, inventory management, and customer support. The result? A 300% increase in online sales within six months.

Case Study 2: Mobile App for Healthcare Services

A healthcare startup needed a mobile app for online consultations and patient management. Signimus created a feature-rich mobile application that streamlined appointment booking, video consultations, and health records management.

Case Study 3: AI-Powered Chatbot for Customer Support

A financial services company needed an AI-powered chatbot to handle customer inquiries. Signimus developed an intelligent chatbot that reduced customer support response time by 60% and improved customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

If you are looking for the best software company in Indore, Signimus is the perfect choice. With its expert team, advanced technology, and customer-focused approach, the company delivers high-quality software solutions for businesses of all sizes. Whether you need web development, mobile app development, AI solutions, or e-commerce development, Signimus has the expertise to meet your requirements.    Visit here for more details: https://signimus.com/best-software-company-in-indore/

[krunal-vyas]

Why Hire Dedicated Developers in India?

Businesses today rely on technology to stay ahead of the competition. One of the best ways to achieve this is to hire dedicated developers in India. India has emerged as a global hub for skilled, cost-effective development talent, offering top-notch solutions across various industries.

By choosing to hire dedicated developers in India, businesses can access a massive talent pool, cut development costs, and enhance the overall quality of their digital products.

Why Should You Hire Developers from India? (Top 10 Reasons)

1. Cost-Effective Development Solutions:

One of the biggest advantages of hiring developers from India is the cost savings. Development costs in India are significantly lower compared to the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Businesses can reduce expenses by 60–70% without compromising on quality.

Indian developers charge between $15-$40 per hour, whereas in the USA and UK, rates range from $100-$150 per hour.

Lower operational costs mean companies can invest more in innovation, marketing, and scaling their business.

2. Access to a Vast Talent Pool:

India is home to over 5 million IT professionals, with 1.5 million engineering graduates joining the workforce every year. This ensures businesses can find developers with expertise in various programming languages and frameworks, including:

Front-end: React.js, Angular, Vue.js

Back-end: Node.js, PHP, Python, Java, .NET

Mobile App Development: Flutter, React Native, Swift, Kotlin

Full-Stack Development: MEAN, MERN, LAMP stacks

Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes

3. High-Quality Development Standards:

Indian developers are known for maintaining global coding standards and following industry best practices. Many IT firms in India implement:

Agile & Scrum methodologies for faster project iterations

DevOps practices for continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD)

ISO-certified processes for quality assurance

Rigorous testing & QA to ensure bug-free software delivery

4. Flexibility & Scalability:

Hiring developers from India provides flexibility in scaling teams and managing projects. Businesses can choose from different engagement models such as:

Full-time developers for long-term projects

Part-time developers for short-term needs

Hourly-based hiring for on-demand support

Dedicated teams for end-to-end development

This flexibility ensures businesses can scale teams up or down based on project requirements, optimizing costs and resources.

5. Expertise in Emerging Technologies:

Indian developers stay ahead of the curve by adopting the latest technologies, making them an excellent choice for businesses looking to innovate. Some of the key areas of expertise include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) for predictive analytics and automation

Blockchain Development for secure transactions and decentralized applications

Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) for scalable infrastructure

Internet of Things (IoT) for smart solutions

Big Data & Analytics for data-driven decision-making

Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) for immersive user experiences

6. 24/7 Development Cycle with Time Zone Advantage:

The time zone difference between India and Western countries allows businesses to run a 24/7 development cycle. While in-house teams rest, Indian developers continue working, ensuring:

Faster project completion

Round-the-clock support and maintenance

Increased efficiency with overlapping work hours

7. Strong Communication & Collaboration Skills:

Indian developers are proficient in English, which eliminates communication barriers. They also use modern project management and collaboration tools such as:

Communication Tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom

Project Management: Jira, Trello, Asana

Version Control: GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab

This expertise ensures smooth workflow management and seamless collaboration with international teams.

8. Secure & Compliant Development Practices:

Top IT companies in India follow strict security and compliance measures to protect data and ensure confidentiality. These include:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance for healthcare solutions

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance for fintech applications

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to protect intellectual property

9. Long-Term Business Relationships & Post-Development Support:

Indian IT companies focus on building long-term relationships rather than just delivering one-time projects. With dedicated post-development support, businesses benefit from:

Regular updates and maintenance

Bug fixes and performance optimization

Feature enhancements and scalability solutions

10. Industry-Wide Expertise:

Indian developers have extensive experience across various industries, allowing them to provide domain-specific solutions. Some key industries include:

Healthcare: HIPAA-compliant apps, telemedicine solutions

Fintech: Blockchain, payment gateways, robo-advisors

E-commerce: Custom shopping platforms, AI-driven personalization

Education: LMS platforms, e-learning apps

Logistics: Fleet management, supply chain analytics

This industry knowledge ensures businesses get solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Conclusion:

Hiring dedicated developers from India is a cost-effective and strategic choice for businesses seeking high-quality digital solutions. With skilled professionals, flexible hiring models, and expertise in emerging technologies, Indian developers help companies innovate, scale, and stay competitive.

If you’re looking for top-notch development solutions, iQlance is here to help. Contact Us today to hire dedicated developers in India and take your business to the next level!