#and the hammock making him float in-between them...

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

A Fun, Little Detail I Noticed About Both of Launchpad and Della's Living Spaces:

⛹️‍♂️🧺🏀🎶They're playin' bas-ket-baaaaaall~🎶🏀🧺⛹️‍♀️

[salemrph]

Comfort chain

Image source on X

Summary: Let the still night wash over you, sink into the depth of the water and your feeling.

Character: Sylus & MC/You

Genre: romantic, fluff, intimacy

Word count: 1.1k | Reading Time: 4 min |

Is late, is always late with Sylus. His lunch breaks are your midnight snacks. His cool-downs your warm-ups. Sometimes you work out together, pushing each other until sweat glistens and laughter spills between sets. Other times you simply watch.

Earlier, while Sylus boxed with the twins, you’d slipped off to the pool. The soft ripple of water, Mephisto’s wings rustling lazily from his hammock nearby, the simple sounds came together in a way that was oddly calming. You could’ve turned on music through the underwater speakers, but tonight, silence felt better. Just the rhythm of your breath, the splash of your arms breaking the surface, and the subtle echo of movement beneath. You swam your laps, long, even strokes, letting the day slide off your shoulders.

Sink and dive from side to side, while your lungs burn from holding your breath. You never know when it'll come in handy to train your lung capacity underwater. You could consider yourself a bit of a workaholic, and surely more than one of your colleagues would nod and pull out the table of missions you've done this month in excess. So the captain sends you home more than once for several days to relax. You sigh. Despite wanting to get back into action, you are at peace. You loved this sensation, this strange, grounding knowing that everything was how it should be.

Then you floated. Just that. Silently, weightless in the water. You felt satisfied. Floating, staring up at the clear night sky, your thoughts began to loosen. Pain, worries, friends, work, life… it all blurred at the edges and faded for a moment. There was only water. And peace. Your body swaying with the soft rhythm of the water, the stars above flickering faintly in the night sky.

The feeling of freedom that came with not wearing a swimsuit was strangely comforting. As the air bubbles seep through all your natural folds. There was something sacred in letting the water have you like that, enveloping you without barriers. So you closed your eyes and exhaled long enough to relax your muscle.

After a while, when your toes had already begun to wrinkle in the water—you heard the soft sound of the pool door opening.

Sylus stepped, already barefoot, in with a slow smile, still in his workout gear, his hair slightly damp with sweat.

Even in the dim light, you caught the way his gaze swept over you. You weren’t sure how he noticed so quickly—how he always noticed—but the moment he did, his smile widened.

“Can I join you, my love?”

You shifted in the water, folding your arms loosely over your chest, not for modesty, not really, you just wanted to play coy. You met his gaze and returned his smile. “Be my guest.”

With unhurried movements, Sylus peeled off his black tank top and tossed it onto the bench nearby. His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of his shorts, sliding them down in one smooth motion. He stepped toward the rinse-off station, running a hand through his hair as the cool water washed away the sweat from his training. Naked he walked toward the edge of the pool, eyes never leaving yours. 

Then he slipped in, causing light waves as he approached you. He reached, and without a word, he pressed his body gently against yours beneath the water. One of his hands slid along your arm, fingers finding yours and gently lacing them together beneath the surface. His other hand came up to cup the side of your face, thumb tracing the corner of your mouth as he leaned in. He placed a so tender loving kiss, making you feel the most loved person in the world.

Your lips parted for him instinctively, your free hand resting on his chest, right over his heartbeat. 

“You look peaceful” he murmured. 

“I am,” you whispered “It’s easy to be… here.”

“Here?” he echoed, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“With you.”

“I like when you say things like that,” he said softly. 

You shifted slightly, wrapping your arms around his neck, letting your bare skin press to his in the most unassuming, natural way. Sylus adjusted to you, his hands resting lightly at your lower back, thumbs moving in quiet circles. The movement was unspoken, like dancing but so lazy and slow. Meant for no one but each other.

“You’re being very soft tonight,” you murmured, nose brushing his.

“Mm. That's a complaint?”

“Maybe.”

“Liar,” he said with a smile, tilting his head to nip at your jaw, then soften it with a kiss. “You melt every time I get like this.”

You sighed dramatically. “Only a little.”

He laughed softly. The kind of sound you wanted to bottle and keep on a shelf. Above you, stars shimmered in the open skylight, the whole city far below. Up here, in this quiet apartment on top of the world, it was just the two of you. Naked in the water.

“The Moon is beautiful isn't it?” he says. You followed his gaze to the massive windows above, as he looks back at you.

You tilted your head slightly, smirking.

“You know, I’ve heard you say that multiple times, Sy.” You poked him lightly in the cheek. “To be clear, I’m not complaining…” He huffed, amused but trying to keep the act. “…But are you really going to keep saying it that way?”

His lips twitched. “What do you think I’m saying, kitten?”

You arched a brow. “Playing dumb now, mister?”

He leaned in, brushing your nose with his. “No…”

His voice dropped, softer now, deeper.

“…I’m just waiting to see if you’ll say it back.”

Your hand slid up to cup his face, fingertips brushing the sharp line of his jaw.

“Do you know why I like the pool at night?” you asked softly, eyes not leaving his.

Sylus raised a brow, slightly thrown by the change in direction, but he didn’t pull away. “Tell me.” You smiled.

“Because it feels like the world finally shuts up. Like everything outside this room… stops mattering. When I’m here like this, wrapped around you, stars above me, water holding me up. I feel like I can breathe again. Like I’m safe.” 

With your left hand, you reached for his fingers, lacing together beneath the surface. The golden evol linkage shimmered faintly underwater, glowing like a hidden thread. You're connected in all aspects to him. In such a way, that moves beyond of just begin chained to him. And somehow it felt like home.

Your voice caught, but you didn’t shy away from it.

“I guess what I’m saying is…” You leaned in, your lips brushing his closely “...the moon’s really beautiful tonight.” He exhaled, a breathless laugh slipping past his lips. 

“You’re…” he whispered, and whatever words he meant to follow with vanished into the kiss that came next.

----

Go to MASTERLIST

[amiliea74721]

𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 ⊹₊𖤐

ɢᴀʟʟʏ x ꜰᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙧𝙖𝙬 𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙫 (𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙥 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙥 𝙞𝙩) 𝙨𝙚𝙭 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜

Masterlist

It had been a pretty quiet night up until then, but as the hours slipped by, you found yourself needing a break from the bonfire. Craving a moment of peace, you decided to wander off and go skinny dipping in the lake hidden deeper in the forest.

Grabbing your towel from under your hammock, you casually tell Newt and Thomas you’re just going for a walk.

After a short walk you reach that lagoon-like spot nestled deeper in the woods, the one that always feels a little too perfect to be real. With no one around, you start peeling off your clothes, piece by piece, the night air cool against your skin.

Already a little buzzed from Gally’s so-called “alcohol” you drank earlier, everything feels a bit hazy, a little off.

Almost dreamlike.

You step forward, dipping your feet and legs into the water, a small shiver running through you.

Slowly, you wade in deeper, the cold water wrapping around your body until it reaches just above your waist.

You go in a bit deeper, and the water reaches your tits, covering you in coldness. The chill sends a wave of goosebumps across your skin, but you welcome it, it makes you feel awake, alive.

Pushing yourself off the stones at the edge, you glide further into the dark water, swimming out until your feet no longer touch the bottom. You float for a moment, letting yourself drift, surrounded by quiet and moonlight.

Then, you take a deep breath and dunk your head underwater. It feels like slipping into another world- quiet, heavy, peaceful. You stay beneath the surface for a few seconds, letting the water soak into your hair and wash away the noise in your mind.

When you finally rise again to breathe, you blink the water from your eyes and notice someone standing at the edge of the water. They’re just standing there, barely moving, watching you.

You don’t feel scared or even startled. Something about them feels strangely familiar. Your body relaxes instinctively, even as your heart skips a beat.

It’s Gally. The guy who always seems to find a way to get under your skin. The one who pushes your buttons and makes the already hard life in the Glade feel even heavier. But right now, in this exact moment, he doesn’t seem like that guy.

Right now, he looks like he belongs here. Like maybe you were waiting for him without even realizing it.

Gally just looks at you for a moment, taking in your perfect skin, how your wet hair is clinging to your shoulders while you keep yourself from sinking.

You blink slowly as you watch him start to take off his clothes. First his shirt, then his pants and finally his underwear.

Making his way into the water a few small waves appear around him, making their way to you.

He’s standing just a few feet away from you now having no issues staying still, his feet perfectly planted on the bottom of the lagoon.

Unlike you, he hadn’t hesitated to wade all the way in. The water reaches just below his chest, his broad frame cutting through the reflection of the moonlight like a statue cast in silver and shadow.

Droplets slide down his skin, clinging to his jaw, his collarbones, disappearing beneath the dark surface. His hair is wet, pushed back messily, as if he’d just dunked his head under like you had.

He looks calm- too calm, in a way that makes your heartbeat feel louder in your own chest.

He’s not speaking. Not moving. Just watching you, his eyes locked on yours with that same unreadable expression. It’s not hostile. Not cold. Just… there. Steady. Like he’s been waiting.

The air feels different now. Thicker. The water, once refreshing and sharp, suddenly feels warmer around you, almost like it’s absorbing the tension that hangs in the space between your bodies. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s heavy.

You glance around, but the forest is silent. No sign of the others, no rustling in the trees, no voices from the bonfire far behind.

Just you and Gally, chest-deep in the water, surrounded by nothing but the pulse of the night.

Your breathing slows. Not because you’re calm, but because you don’t know what comes next.

And neither does he.

But somehow, in this strange in-between moment- where time feels frozen and the world is holding its breath- it feels like enough that he’s simply here. Not yelling. Not judging. Just existing beside you, for once without walls or noise.

Just water. And silence. And him.

You blink a few more times before swimming starts to feel too exhausting, the water pulling at your limbs like it’s trying to lull you into stillness. You drift toward him without overthinking it, your body moving on instinct.

When you reach him, you loop your arms around his neck, letting yourself cling to the strength in his shoulders, the solid warmth of his chest beneath the water.

It’s partly to keep yourself afloat- but more than anything, it’s because you want to be close to him. You need to be.

There’s barely even a pause.

His lips crash onto yours a second later, sudden but not rough- like he’s been holding himself back too long.

His mouth is warm despite the chill in the air, and you taste the same lingering trace of alcohol on his tongue that still lingers on yours. It’s familiar. Electric. Like matching keys finally finding the same lock.

He kisses you like he doesn’t care who sees, like the world could split apart right now and he wouldn’t stop.

His hands grip your waist beneath the water, not tight, but firm- like he’s grounding himself in the feel of your body, like he’s scared you’ll vanish if he lets go.

Your fingers find their way into his damp hair, tugging gently as your lips move against his, slow and hungry. It’s messy in that way that happens when there’s too much tension, too much feeling behind it.

A kiss that says all the things neither of you have had the guts to admit.

The water shifts around you both, rippling out from the press of your bodies. His chest rises and falls against yours, breaths uneven, and every now and then, he pulls back just enough to look at you- eyes half-lidded, lips red and wet, gaze dark with something deeper than just want.

Then he kisses you again. Slower this time. Like he’s tasting the moment.

Neither of you even dared to say a word until now that you separate your lips from his.

„So you don’t hate me that much?“

You wanted to grin, to tease him, to throw some smartass remark his way just to get a rise out of him- because that’s what you always did.

That was your thing. But something inside you stopped. Froze. Like your body knew something your brain hadn’t caught up to yet. And for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out why.

Maybe it was the way his eyes were on you. Not sharp. Not annoyed. Just dark and focused and entirely too intense.

Like he wasn’t seeing just your face- but everything underneath. Everything you usually kept guarded.

And for the first time, you didn’t want to push him away with a joke.

You just wanted him to keep looking at you like that. Wanted him closer.

„Shut up-“

He says in a quick breath while bringing your wet hair behind your ear with his fingers.

And so you do.

His hands move to your ass, firm but gentle, pulling you closer until there’s no space left between you. The heat of his touch spreads through your body like wildfire.

His gaze never wavers, still dark, still intense, as if he’s trying to memorize every inch of you in that moment.

Your heart thuds loud enough to drown out the world, but you don’t care. You want to feel this, to let yourself be vulnerable without the usual shield of sarcasm or distance.

You swallow hard, eyes fluttering closed for a second before opening again, meeting his without fear. Maybe it’s the way the wet strands cling to your skin or the quiet crackle of electricity between you, but something inside shifts.

You don’t want to ruin this moment.

Instead, you lean into him, and the space between your lips disappears again.

He then guides you onto his cock, not immediately pushing in completely but keeping you on his tip. He keeps you there for a second before slow and carefully pressing you onto him.

You let out a little gasp at his size and lean you forehead against his shoulder closing your eyes and just letting him take control.

For a few moments the two of you just stay like this, close, interlinked and so unbelievably vulnerable.

After some getting used to him he starts moving, slow and careful as if he was scared to break you into a million pieces.

His thrusts became a little harder after a few minutes, so much that you began digging your nails into his shoulder. But he doesn’t mind.

It’s like the two of you are in your own world, away from everything and everyone. Shielded from the maze, the grievers and everything else.

The knot in your stomach starts to feel tighter, threatening to snap at any moment now.

He feels you clenching around him, your whole body tenses, the pressure inside coiling tighter and tighter like a drawn bow, until it finally snaps.

A wave of heat crashing through you all at once. It’s overwhelming, like your mind goes silent for a beat, completely lost in the feeling. Every nerve feels alive, hypersensitive, clinging to the moment, to him.

And as you come undone on his cock a rush of heat floods through him, powerful, almost paralyzing.

His breath catches, jaw clenched as he buries his face in your shoulder, gripping onto you like you’re the only real thing left in the world. Every nerve is lit up, every sense tuned to you.

He pulls out of you but still keeps you close to him, preventing you from just sinking under water due to the exhaustion.

Gally drags both of you onto the side of the river and lets you down on the wet and kinda cold grass before laying down beside you…

𝘼/𝙣: 𝙜𝙪𝙮𝙨 𝙪𝙢𝙢 𝙄’𝙢 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙧𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝘽𝘼𝘿 𝙩𝙢𝙧 𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 24 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙤 𝙄’𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗���𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙢𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙠 𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 16-18 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬 18 𝙭

[undiscovered-horizon]

4 A.M. - Sanji x Reader

SUMMARY: Sanji's doing prep for the next day and you can't sleep which leads to a heartfelt and intimate encounter.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.5k

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It's around 4 A.M. when you get up from your hammock-turned-cot and decide to find something to do. Sleep clearly isn't coming. The past two hours of staring at the ceiling and swaying with the boat filled you with annoyance at your sudden case of insomnia.

Walking down the narrow corridor of the lower deck, you can hear the tiniest of creaks as the caravel floats along the waves. The night is so quiet, you can almost hear Luffy's snoring from his room. Usopp is mumbling in his sleep. Something about a pirate crew, carrots and onions. Nami and Zoro seem to be peaceful sleepers although with time you've learned that it's only a game of appearances - the thief and the hunter sleep with one eye open.

With each step, you can hear the repetitive sound more clearly. It's quick, separated by scraping.

The low light of the kitchen makes Sanji look almost inhuman, like the spirit of a chief cook who can't let go of the ship he had spent his entire life on. He's still in the same clothes, although the double-breasted jacket is nowhere in sight. The sleeves of his striped shirt are rolled halfway up his forearms. Where he's standing, the lonely lightbulb illuminates only half of his silhouette. The blond man toes the line of visibility as though he might disappear when you blink.

He looks almost divine.

"Can't sleep?" Sanji asks without looking away from the cutting board.

Only then, when he lets you know he's aware of your presence, do you realize you've been leaning against the doorframe and watching him for a good few minutes. Knowing Sanji, he won't think you odd but you're still a little flustered.

"Yeah. You?" you answer. In a few slow steps you're standing next to him, leaning your lower back against the kitchen counter.

For a moment, Sanji looks away from the cutting board and chopped carrots. His eyes stare into yours for a moment. It's nearly an inborn reflex that a wide smile curves his lips when he sees you.

"Not a fan of sleeping alone," he says and winks at you before going back to cutting vegetables.

The blush on your cheeks darkens a few shades (maybe he won't notice in the kitchen's twilight?). Truthfully, you have entertained that thought more than once and wondered whether similar fantasies kept him awake at night too. But you always dismissed them, thinking it wrong to have such intimate dreams regarding someone who might not even reciprocate your fondness. Sanji is, after all, a ladies' man - flowery words leave his mouth whenever a woman is around, no matter if she's taken or not interested.

Still, you believe there is something more between you and Sanji. Sometimes you think you've deluded yourself into believing this but it's moments like these, like the fond silence you're sharing now, that convince you it's not just your imagination:

Most of the time, the conversation between you and Sanji flows like a swift stream. But now, when the two of you are too tired to sleep, the silence is just as good. Even if you're not exchanging words and ambiguous comments, you feel understood. Like he knows you well enough to be able to guess what's on your mind. And you know what he might say in return, all the advice and wax poetic he revels in telling you. It's perfectly strange to converse with someone without saying a single word.

"Wanna see a trick?" you ask, breaking the silence.

Sanji is putting his chopped vegetables into large bowls. The movement of his hands is both careless and calculated as though he's letting his muscle memory take over the very last step of prepping ingredients for the next day's cooking. He's done this so many times, it's useless to think about the action too much.

"You trying to impress me, princess?" he asks in a low voice with a half-grin plastered on his face. The mischievous glint in his eye never quite seems to go away, especially when you're around.

"Nah," you answer, shaking your head, "just practising to show off in front of Zoro."

Sanji tries to pout but a genuine smile is tugging at the corners of his lips. "Cold."

Still, his eyes are glued to you. Though part of you is convinced it's not because you're about to show him a cheap fair trick. You take one of the teaspoons lying around and lift it in front of your face.

"You better not blink," you warn him.

He gives you a strange look.

"And lose precious few seconds of admiring you? Never."

Like most times, you're not sure how much of his sweet words you can believe.

With a quick move of wrists and fingers, you make the teaspoon disappear. After practising for a few days, the sleight of hand is almost flawless.

Sanji nods with appreciation.

“So you’re a magician, eh?” A low chuckle rumbles in his throat. “This explains how come you’ve bewitched me entirely.”

He leans on his arm against the edge of the counter. His head is slightly tilted as he's looking down at you. The lack of space between your bodies wouldn't raise an eyebrow in any other circumstances but now, when the night is dark and silent, the close proximity makes it hard to breathe. Your chests nervously rise and fall as you're breathing in each other's air.

“Truth be told," you begin in a slightly shaky voice, "I don’t know how to reverse the spell I put on you.”

But it seems as though Sanji has seen through your facade of humour and banter. The playful glint in his eyes mellows, becoming something more heartfelt. Your breath gets stuck in your throat and you must remind yourself to breathe.

“I’m quite content doting on you for the rest of my life."

You clench your jaw and look away for a moment. Flirty banter with Sanji is meant to remain just that - half-hearted comments with no strings attached. The problem is that, against your better judgement, you've been letting his wax poetic weigh down heavy on you, savouring each compliment and ambiguous remark like a soft river wearing down an unmovable boulder over time.

“Sanji," you whisper, "you need to stop saying all those nice things.”

“Why?” His voice is just as breathy and quiet.

“Because I’m starting to believe you.”

Something about his expression changes. You can't quite put a finger on it but Sanji's face looks softer, almost somber. His shoulders become tense as he wipes his hands on the dishrag hanging over his shoulder and tosses it on the countertop.

"Would that be so terrible, love?" Sanji drones his words. Part of you is convinced that he already knows the answer. "To believe that my every thought belongs to you?" His eyelids flutter as his gaze falls to your lips. "That I would tear out my own heart and bring it to you in my teeth if you asked for it?"

The short silence feels unbearable. You can hear your own heart thundering in your chest, beating at your ribcage to finally be freed. To let it make the decision this time.

“Alright, you’ve done it," you whisper more to yourself than to him.

You can hear Sanji sharply inhaling when you grab the collar of his elegant shirt and pull him into a feverish kiss. He tastes like cigarettes and spearmint chewing gum. His shirt is imbued with the smell of cooking oil. All of those strong aromas you've learned to associate with comfort and security.

His lips move against yours with passion and desperation known only to those who made friends with longing. Sanji places his hands around your waist, pulling you even closer to his body. If he could pull you just a little more, merge the two of you into one union, he wouldn't have to go a second without you.

Then, Sanji pulls just an inch away. His hot, heavy breath brushes against your cheeks. Swollen, red lips look even more enticing than they did before.

"Are you really going to woo Zoro with a magic trick?" he asks, somewhat tense.

Your laughter brightens up the dead of night. Sanji feels like his chest is about to burst open with flowers blooming inside his ribcage where his heart should be. And it would have been if he hadn't given it to you the moment you met.

"Just shut up."

Shaking your head, you kiss him again. Still holding you close, Sanji pushes you against the kitchen counter. One of his hands leaves your waist only to rest against the side of your head to deepen the kiss.

It's around 4 A.M. when you wonder whether being in love is like having a song stuck in your head. Or like an echo that forever repeats a single name.

[theshipsong]

the stars have all gone | iv

crocodile x f!reader, suggestive, mostly sfw. part four of a series. mentions of past basil hawkins x reader. selfshippy; reader is an astrologer, hawkins' former navigator, and a different race from both of them. post-timeskip canon au, 2.5k words.

There weren't many men or women willing or stupid enough to contend with Crocodile's size, so when your eyes darkened with interest as they followed the gulp of wine down his throat, he only wanted to see how far you'd go. Maybe you'd recoil the closer he got, his scarred face more grotesque in the candlelight. Maybe the two of you would even touch before you realized just how easily he could break you, and you'd look for an out, however graceless. You might even make it all the way to his bed, and for that bravery he was almost content to entertain himself with what could have been.

What he didn't expect was ease. You took your seat in his lap like you belonged there, still trying to hold a conversation with smoke from his cigar floating over your head as he coaxed you to ride his thigh. "Not enough," you grumbled into his chest, and despite not feeling like much of a monster that night, he gave in to your pleas with a stack of pillows shoved under your hips at the edge of the tall bed and his gruff warning that it would hurt, the cursory stretch of his fingers too impatient for someone as small and tight as you. He'd heard it all before, from bluffers and masochists alike, but you smiled as you cried and thanked him, and he thought it was utterly dangerous to him and his business interests how he relished turning you from the sharp-minded woman who crashed his dinner to this. He watched you sleep beside a known killer like some trusting fool, a naiveté that didn't suit someone who'd sailed half the Grand Line.

Crocodile didn't pay any of that generation much mind beside Straw Hat, so he was singularly unimpressed at how this blond hack—your words, three glasses in—squandered such a valuable crew member, and if he read between the lines, a delicious little bedmate. He'd sailed long and stared at the horizon often enough to know what you described made sense, and even picked up the sextant you'd ripped off your neck in frustration to try and see what you see. Hell, you navigated them all the way from the North Blue. What sort of idiot would let you go?

Not him.

⁂

Crocodile removed his hook in front of you for the first time at sea.

Your departure was a whirlwind and really a sandstorm, how you cajoled him to take a trunk of your navigational equipment and books to his ship while you tied loose ends on land. If killing you didn't cross his mind before, it did then, but he gave you a withering look and flew out the boardinghouse window in a cloud of sand.

The ship was on loan from one of Crocodile's mostly-legitimate businesses, a xebec designed to carry more cargo than crew where he and Daz switched watch shifts to supplement the merchants' defenses. When you hobbled below deck with your luggage, the swordsman jerked his chin at a hammock bunched up on a hook in the corner of a lounge to the side of the galley, a fair distance from the dormitory full of men. It looked cramped for Daz, so you couldn't imagine Crocodile enjoyed it down there, either. You passed that first day observing how the mercantile crew worked and tried to be friendly with the navigator, who seemed curious about your methods but leery of your association with the two pirates. It didn't help that Crocodile really watched you take your sights and calculations from his odd perch on one of the many cannons on the lower deck.

You'd already turned in for the night when you heard Crocodile enter the lounge and sit heavily on the sofa, and a unique click that could only be his golden hook releasing from the plug at the end of his arm. You didn't know if it was ruder to stare or to pretend to be asleep, so you settled for openly admiring the muscles and veins under skin you hadn't seen before. He'd held you to him with his shirtsleeves still buttoned, and now you were part of a slim minority to see him this vulnerable.

"Careful, witch," he said without looking up.

You swallowed. "Doing what?"

"Looking at me like that. Or do you want all these sailors to hear you?"

You felt your neck heat, and still you burrowed under the wool blanket you packed, peeking at his broad, undershirt-clad back. It wasn't until he arranged himself on the couch that you noticed the smell of his cigars permeating the lounge, the ash tray on a side table, the valise in the opposite corner. "This is your room?" you croaked. "Did I take your bed?" The hammock was certainly longer than the sofa, and a second one was stowed away above you, but you didn't see a ladder for you to make it up there.

"Of course it is."

Right. Why would a man as paranoid and proud as him ever share? That meant he deprived the merchants of their common area. But equally, why would he let you in?

"There's nowhere else for you, unless you want to freeze to death on deck."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" you blurted.

"You're painfully expressive."

Privately, you disagreed. Sure, you weren't stony-faced as Hawkins, which you thought made your readings more honest, but frankly you didn't know the last time someone observed you this closely.

"You're too tall to sleep there." You managed to land on your feet as you tumbled out of the hammock, throwing your pillow and blanket on the couch.

He grumbled, but stood anyway, and you tried not to thrill at commanding a former warlord of the sea.

You soon smelled why he was so amenable.

"Ugh!" You dry heaved, sticking your face in your pillow that still smelled like your flat, for now. What did you expect from a fabric sofa on a commercial vessel where personal hygiene seemed optional? Your frown deepened into a petulant pout as you rolled onto your front to look at him with your chin on the armrest.

You didn't want to ask, and you didn't have to as Crocodile blinked one eye open. "I'm relieving Daz in two hours."

"I don't mind waking up. I need to sleep like a seaman again."

"All you do is impose," he groused, but opened his right arm in invitation.

You bit your lip to keep from grinning as you dragged your blanket over. Climbing in was a bit of a maneuver, but you settled into his side, pulling your blanket over just yourself until he grunted, "Share."

You knit it to be over seven feet long thinking to accommodate a tall partner, albeit not this tall. Your feet landed somewhere near his knees, and he insinuated one between yours as he used his stump to draw the blanket up to his shoulder, covering your head. You wriggled up his body for air, slightly grinding into his thigh as you went, and you sighed at the feeling.

"Stop moving."

"Sorry, sir."

You knew he didn't trust you, but he at least found you harmless enough to sleep beside, even if it was clear he was waiting for you to doze off first. You were practically nude in your thin slip, with nowhere to hide a weapon, and if you moved to get one the hammock would sway incessantly. You shouldn't trust him, either, but you threw in your lot with this man, and for what? Your ego? You were caught in his orbit, but you found it hard to mind. Maybe you were more bored with your life ashore than you thought. But enough to risk your life? At the side of a man whose bounty was six times that of Hawkins?

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I'm... thinking."

"I can tell."

You hesitated. "You said something about teaching me."

"Mm. Tomorrow. Daz first."

"Daz?"

"Did you want to spar with me right away?" You rubbed your thighs around his knee. "Nevermind."

"Does Daz's power ever... slice all his clothes off?"

"Ask him."

"I don't think he likes me."

"You just met."

"I just met you. More or less."

"You're crewmates. Try and get along, hmm?"

"Yes, sir." To your surprise, he patted your head with his right hand, and your lids drooped.

If the former Mr. 1 distrusted you, he hid it well, or his deference to Crocodile trumped all. He was about Hawkins' height, if completely different in build, but that meant you weren't totally cowed by him. When two sessions passed without him so much as scratching you with his powers, Daz simply said, "The boss said not to." Of course, you weren't any less sore from his obviously pulled strikes you failed to evade. When you told him you had a dagger you were familiar with, Daz all but snorted before dismissing you for his watch.

Crocodile didn't ask about your lessons and you didn't complain, but at night his large hand rested lightly over your darkest bruises. You didn't do much in these quiet hours beyond grind in his lap, sometimes waking up still warming his cock when duty summoned either of you above deck. The way he followed you even if he had nowhere to be, you thought he must like seeing you jump out of your skin and hurriedly wipe evidence of your activities on your pajamas on your way to catch twilight. He threw your blanket or his coat over your shoulders then, which you would take as a tender gesture from anyone else, but his eyes narrowed when you thanked him.

"This is a sailing ship."

"I know that."

He scanned the deck as he lit his cigar, and you tightened your blanket around you as the flame drew your eye to the crescent of your teeth marking the fleshy heel of his palm from when he muffled your cries only hours ago. Was he embarrassed by you, or by sex in general? He was awfully concerned with manners. Or was it courtesy to the crew? He didn't show any sort of caution when your lease was on the line.

"And did you flounce around your Magician's ship in negligee, too?"

Negligee? "This is cotton."

Crocodile exhaled through his nose. If you were any taller, the smoke would get in your eyes. "Don't act obtuse. It doesn't suit you."

You figured out just what he meant back in your room with your nightgown bunched up around your waist, his hand landing mean slaps to your ass and thighs. As if the stains marring your others weren't enough, he used his hook to push the skirt out of the way, piercing and ripping the fabric as he went. "I'll buy you more," he muttered before fingering you open, and you pillowed your head in your arms to avoid the couch cushions he draped you over. It was the roughest and sweetest he'd been with you so far, how you fell asleep sprawled over him as he soothed your heated skin, even with the cool alloy capping his left wrist. That's also how you discovered a slightly disturbing consideration possible only with his Devil Fruit: you woke to your legs and hips pressing directly into the hammock netting as his body dissolved into sand under you, his chest rumbling a "Sleep, bird," before disappearing, too.

If he wasn't on watch or otherwise stretching his absurdly long legs above deck, Crocodile spent his time doing business via Den Den Mushi in your room. You preferred fresh air yourself, but he didn't shoo you away or have a problem with your direct questions about what you heard. On the contrary, he seemed to welcome your presence, whether you just popped in to grab something or you needed a break from the other men. You sometimes sat on the floor by the couch, resting your head against his knee as you read or added to your navigational log. Other times he pulled you into his lap, and you lit his cigar for him, fully knowing the smell would embed itself in your clothes and your knitwear. It unsettled you how easy you found it all.

⁂

He didn't know why he indulged such behavior, but Crocodile went to such lengths to find you and could just as easily get rid of you if you posed more risk than reward. You were too smart not to realize this journey to Karai Bari was your trial run, and you had yet to disappoint. You naturally woke before sunrise despite being months out of practice. You were disciplined about your morning and evening sights; you could be greedy and insatiable any other hour of the day, but come twilight you weren't afraid to leave him hard and aching in the name of geolocation. He'd taken log compasses for granted, that he'd always island hop with little awareness of his surroundings, but your precision had him looking at the globe you packed with interest. It was quite a boring route otherwise with an Eternal Pose, but you showed him the Grand Line anew.

Then there was how... sweet you were, something alien to the life he led. Of course you often wanted something in return, usually sex, but those times you were so frank he almost felt bad suspecting you like he did everyone, which made you a true threat. You liked his fingers on or inside you and kissed them in thanks, you greeted him good morning in the pitch black below deck, you sat by his feet like a pet and eyed his lap hungrily. You claimed you were avoiding that foul sofa, but you sighed happily with just his fingertips rubbing at your scalp and could fall asleep with your cheek on his calf—that trust you didn't show in your waking life.

What should bother him more was how you read his mood. You had a smart mouth he enjoyed taming and you teased him more than any person he'd left alive, but you kept to yourself if you weren't flirting with him or discussing astronomy. Crocodile could fall into a foul temper depending on news he received or the mere thought of the clown who had his money or even if his back hurt from that damn hammock, yet he never found it in himself to take it out on you, even if you had something to do with the last point. You were an ideal companion to match his reticence, which only made those pretty sounds of yours more addicting.

According to Daz, you had good survival instincts and were unafraid to play dirty, so Crocodile was gratified to know you wouldn't be too much of a burden. The way you said you were weak while you fisted your skirt over that paltry blade told him you'd been scarred somehow, if not as literally as him. Titillating though your little thigh holster was, he wanted you to have something quicker, and Daz wasn't the one to train you to wield a weapon. Weeks ago, when Crocodile made up his mind to come back for you, he saw an elegant folding knife with pearlescent handles at a market and bought it without a second thought, only later realizing it was from your home country. Would you know? Would it make him look thoughtful? It made him sick.

Maybe Crocodile was softening in his old age, or defeat affected him more than he cared to admit, but if he didn't hold his tongue he'd promise you even more than he already had. Your previous captain's head, for one. It struck him as a damn shame a woman like you wasn't covered in jewels, though as he looked at his ringed hand on your skin he thought silver suited you more. White gold, like the moon you could find at high noon.

[fairyyarchive]

Hey homegirl can u write ab fwb zoro and the reader wants to take a nap w him (preferably when he’s shirtless)… it doesnt even have to be straight smut i wanna feel the TENSIONNNN

ok first of all. absolutely omg. fwb w zoro is one of my fav things and I just love seeing him get a lil nervous around you because it's so cute <3 this ended up being a lot softer than I initially thought, so I hope you enjoy! <3 faye contains: fwb's reader + zoro, nicknames (darlin' from zoro drives me crazyyy ugh), mentions of sex but no explicit smut, cuddling, fluff, naps, shirtless zoro, fwb but they have feelings

sleep in the sun

Sometimes, life at sea could get a little boring. Sure, there were always new obstacles to overcome with the Straw Hats, people to help and fights to win (and one triple-armed swordsman to patch up) almost every day; but the in-betweens left you to entertain yourself. On a ship in the middle of the sea, all you could do to pass the time was reading, pacing the deck, bothering Sanji, or … underneath the aforementioned swordsman. 

Look, it’s not that either of you intended for this to happen, but with days at sea and only five other people to talk to and the tightness in your chest when he stood too closely behind you, it seemed almost inevitable that few drinks one night led to a kiss, a soft “C’mere,” muttered as his strong hands pulled you on top of his lap. 

Since then, a silent agreement between the two of you kept you returning to each other during sleepless nights and empty afternoons. It wasn’t exactly official, nor was it exactly public, but it was a closeness you both craved – a calm safety you’d never found in your travels alone. Zoro was strong and kind beneath the hardened exterior he’d built to protect himself, and you’d be lying to yourself if you said the sight of him shirtless and sweaty after a fight didn’t do a little something to you.

Today in particular found the two of you bored out of your minds; the others exploring and no doubt causing a ruckus the town at which you were docked. Feeling the effects of last night’s rendezvous and resulting lack of sleep left you and Zoro opting out of the outing, with the ship to yourselves and the warm afternoon sun and misty sea breeze creating the perfect weather to laze about in. 

As you wandered up to the deck of the Merry, you smiled softly when you found your green-haired swordsman lounging in a hammock, cotton pants tied low around his waist, and bare chest soaking up the sun’s warmth. His arms were folded behind his head, eyes closed. He looked so peaceful like this, the slight scowl he usually wore melted, taught muscles relaxed. You tried to ignore the tug in your heart when you saw him like this, a fondness that had made its home in your chest sometime lately.

“You asleep?” You approached him quietly, trying your best not to disturb him if he was.

“Nah,” Zoro opened his eyes, turning to face you. A lazy smile reached his lips when he saw you, hair a bit tousled and eyes gleaming in the light. His own heart panged at how beautifully the sun painted you, and he silently thanked the universe for blessing him with your company on the ship. 

“Can I … lay with you for a bit?” You bit your lip, suddenly shy. The man had seen you naked several times now, in various positions and much more embarrassing situations. So why did the concept of simply napping in the same hammock, mostly clothed at that, make your heart race?

Zoro cleared his throat, brows raised a little in surprise. Was he blushing too? “Ah - sure, yeah you can. C’mere darlin’,” he extended his arms to wrap them around your waist, allowing for you to climb into the hammock on top of him. 

You settled into his embrace, your head resting on his just above his heartbeat and his sun kissed skin warming you. Zoro shifted beneath you, getting comfortable with the added person to the hammock. His arms wrapped firmly around your waist and held you close, as if he thought you may float away from him if he didn’t. You breathed him in, all clean musk and sweat and bright citrus, with a bite of sea air. Warm, comorting, Zoro.

“Mmm. You smell so good,” you sighed against him. 

“Yeah?” His chest rose and fell in a soft chuckle, eyes already closed again as you relaxed against him. You nodded, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck and peppering soft kisses on the bare skin of his neck and shoulder. A soft grin broke across his face, the joy in his heart unavoidable with you on him like this. 

Your eyes drifted closed as the breeze ruffled your hair, your breathing beginning to slow as your mind drifted off to sleep. Zoro drifted off soon after, his breathing steady and heartbeat calm as he held you tight, a warmth in his heart that he knew always belonged to you.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

let me know how you like this! I'd love to do more fwb with zoro <3 ty for all the love! <3 faye

☆.。. Masterlist

☆.。. Requests open!

[aylish91]

SOH Master Grand Master

Blue's POV "First" Meeting~ 😉

~~~

Why was my soul so loud?!

The nagging, fluttering, ache in my chest was going to drive me mad. It caused sweat to bead on my skull with each step closer I got to my destination. Definitely not the best when dealing with Axe. If I wasn’t careful, I would get caught before I could figure out what my scary friend was up to. I had seen him carrying someone, or at least, something, back from the slaver. It may have been just a glimpse, but I was certain.

And I needed to know.

The itch pricking my mind paired with my soul’s quivering ache, cracked my already wavering patience. It tore through my self-discipline like a knife, burning me from the inside. The closer I got to Axe’s makeshift room, the hotter it seemed to get. It was stifling!

Pulling at my wetting collar, I did my best to step lightly and focus through it, latching onto a quiet unfamiliar voice.

“And if I refuse?”

“There’s no backin’ out of it now Dove. It’s already done.”

Usually, I prided myself on keeping my temper. But a part of me, deep within myself, stirred. I did not like what I’d just heard. I physically had to bite my glove to prevent a growl. The heat was making it particularly difficult for me to keep from barging into Axe’s space.

I had just arrived for stars’ sake. I needed to keep myself from forming conclusions.

“So, I am your wife now?”

“Heh...”

Axe got oddly quiet and I nearly choked. It was almost nauseating how my already aching soul rolled.

“If only it were that simple.”

…

With how much my mind was spiraling, it was a miracle I was able to overhear Axe’s response. Even then, I don’t think it was meant to be heard. Whoever was inside with him certainly seemed to miss it.

I NEEDED to see what was going on. I COULDN’T TAKE not knowing what I was possibly missing. I HAD to know if I needed to get the others involved or not.

I could feel the bone of my face tightening, contorting into... something. It was probably unpleasant. I was glad no one was around to see it. It wouldn’t do to soil my mostly easygoing reputation unless I knew for sure it was called for.

It was time to move.

Keeping one metaphorical ear open, I did my best to maneuver up and around the crates and barrels. I was the one to help make room for Axe’s space, so I knew there was a certain spot that would be easy enough to access. Whether or not the pocket between the coarse fabric and supplies was purposeful… Well! Who’s to say~

Quietly moving just the right boxes got me where I needed to be, a convenient slit in the “wall” providing me the view I so desperately needed.

…

A… A MAIDEN.

…

 A SKELETON MAIDEN~ Weak and in the most desperate of conditions. Axe ha-had them in his hammock. Their face was turned, hiding most of their finer details, but the pale, delicate bones of their hands and wrists were in perfect view. I could also see the beautiful pearly white, (albeit a bit scuffed with dirt), of their shoulders a-and clavicle.

My soul was already a hammering drum, but then Axe began feeding—

I forced a slow breath, swallowing thickly and closing my sockets. My magic was getting close to bursting! Glowing far too brightly for this late at night. I needed to f-focus on something else to quiet all the… excitement!

But it was so very, verydifficult!

It was as if my body was lighter than air, floating like the stars and the moon in the night sky. My soul was pulsing warmer than ever! It was downright ridiculous! It was a miracle Axe’s soul hearing hadn’t figured me out!

I knew my soul tended to be more reactive than most, but never had it reacted this strongly before! By the time they had finished and Axe rose to leave, I had been reduced to a sweating mess, helplessly gripping the fabric over my chest.

I thought it would be easier with the calm. But simply watching wasn’t cutting it. I so desperately wanted to go. To rip through the canvas to be the one to rescue them. But it was too risky. Too dangerous with Axe awake and lurking somewhere close by. No doubt he would be just as wound up as me. All I could do was grimace and shift in place, my bones and magic crawling with pent-up energy. With how Axe was…

No. It would be an outright terrible idea to interrupt unless things got serious.

However, I was not mentally or physically prepared for the events that came after Axe returned.

Heavily saturated magic pooled in my mouth, sparking through the rest of my already wound-up lines. I-I couldn’t stay in good conscience! It was too tempting to ogle and watch each excruciating swipe of the cloth! It was a vulnerable p-private moment, and I had no right to-to see any more than I had.

Restraint! By the Angel I needed it!

…

Jealousy is a far crueler mistress than I had ever anticipated.

[kylo-wrecked]

it's a long open starter, but it checks out://

muse: modern!ben, after a breakup, before the car crash setting: thailand/somewhere in the tropics plot: not white lotus idk

After myriad clouds the sun ripens the sky like a blueberry. In daylight, the space and time surrounding Ben swells with potential. He doesn’t mind that his hair gives away the early hour. The sea is a shining pearl down there at the hill’s bottom. Listen closely, hear the coucals. He should smile.

But the trees. 

The stands of trees are the end of a movie. All green, red, brown, and goodbye. It feels wrong. Tropical, autumnal, and wrong. Like realizing your girlfriend’s eyes are really green, that you’re leaving tomorrow. Things don’t last. Ben has said such goodbyes before. 

While about 2/3rds of resort guests doze in cliffside chalets, Ben shuffles along a lantern-lined road so steep he may as well roll down, smothered in sunscreen, bed-head neatly tucked under a meshy sports cap, a foldable Guggenheim bag packed fat and swinging from what is a convincing tree trunk. Untended mosquito bites boiling under a tanned bicep. Coconut trees and tropical evergreens through Ray Ban filters. 

Yeah, he’s said his goodbyes: bye's in the trees, across the sea, nine thousand miles away. It’s in the Calabasas flat he still hasn’t sold. 

A fluffy-headed bulbul mews from this copse lining his descent. If he blurs his eyes, he can conjure her camouflaged under the trinity of palms strategically planted to create the Instagram-worthy shot of a pristine beach through a keyhole; camouflaged if not for her wide-brimmed sun hat, kaleidoscopic paisley, her long golden legs shining with oil.  

He’d said good-bye to all that already. 

It’s eight o’clock. Only the sea awaits. 

Fifty or so unclaimed navy lounging chairs and canvas parasols. Considering the singular chair at the cantina’s edge, Ben becomes a Bernini, fascinating, albeit not handsome, from all angles, peculiarly stiff, appraisable: single. Miserable (?) Likely never-nude. Going to be drunk and shirtless by no later than ten thirty this morning. An LBH from the POV of seasoned, well-to-do nomads and aunties. From the POV of girls trip troupes: looking for a lay, not to be trusted.

This is why Ben arrives before people. When he moves again, striding past rows of empty hammocks, anyone who might be looking would instantly understand that he actually wanted to be alone… and drunk by ten thirty. At least pleasantly buzzed and sleepy. Conked out while the sun changed position, and his honed quads became lobsters, like, you know. An idiot. 

Ben throws his Guggenheim on the sand, revealing his enormous canteen, extra towels, sunscreen, more sunscreen, lumbers into forced lounging, gently lowering himself onto his broad white hemp back, and into that goodnight. A paperback he isn’t going to read rests, almost comically, between his pectorals. The first drink arrives at nine-thirty, and he floats. Gets caught up in a speed boat shattering the Andaman Sea. Caught up in watching the boat shrink like a disappearing arrow. Too caught up to notice the person a few diagonal spaces away from him from placing the king in check. Too caught up to see them start to make their way down the shore. 

He most certainly doesn’t spot their nearing shadow; he doesn’t give an iota of attention to the sound and heat of another body. 

It’s cliche. Elbow meets shadow, drink spills (a drink that resembles a cold orange espresso and is most certainly not that). One unsalvaged soul squints through Ray Bans at the victim, who steps back, liquored rubies rolling down their thigh, muddying the sand between their toes, glaring or trying to avoid eye contact. 

They make eye contact. It’s cliche. 

“Sorry.” Cliche. Cliche. Stupid. Stupid “espresso”-colored voice, most of whose contents survive. Stupid knit brow that shows he might care.  “Sorry. Is that dry-clean only?” 

Pool and deck wear. You’d be surprised. 

“Please don’t take my lunch money,” says Ben, a man whose book has melted in the space of tit #1 and tit #2, between an inside joke that can’t be drunk away. 

He sits forward, damp shirt rectangle clinging to sternum, cap falling into red trunks. Lifeguard material under the fabric. 

“Compromise?” Ben suggests when the stranger snorts or continues looking daggers. He’s kind of still watching the boat; he can just make it out. “Since I spilled my first sip on you, you can help yourself to the rest, and I get to sit with my regrets.”

It’s true, his lips never touched the brim of drink #3. Those are currently pressed into a line that cannot contain their pouty-ness.  

Stupid. 

Yes, have this “orange" negroni as penance from this possible bro on a tight itinerary or a likely sun-shy weirdo who might just be trying to figure out what kind of person this is, if he knows them like he knows the trees.

[dracarialove]

Secret Desires

Rouge enlists Shadow to go on a treasure hunting journey, where a mishap in an underground cave coaxes her to reveal the romantic feelings she's been harboring for him.

(Reversal of Buried Desires)

Ship: Shadow/Rouge

*Originally published April 20th, 2024

A/N: This story exists thanks to @yokaishinari who gave me a more fleshed out idea for this reversal plot 💜

[Chapter 1: Come With Me]

Comforting darkness wrapped Rouge the Bat in a cool blanket of night air under a swath of stars twinkling in the vast indigo sky. She stared up at the thousands of tiny white specks glittering faintly behind crawling wisps of gray clouds.

A soft smile rested on her lips, and one heart-toed boot dangled off the side of her makeshift hammock; made from giant leaves and vines off the nearby trees, the hand-crafted bed kept her aloft between two solid oak trunks.

How tranquil it was, to be out in nature for once, never minding the noise of a city and letting the sights and sounds of wildlife fill her eyes and ears.

Crickets sang unabashedly, boasting creaky chirps from unseen places in the grass below. Fireflies floated about, doing nothing but adding a bit of golden light to the greenery.

And when a breeze blew by, leaves from the bushes and trees rustled together in a soft symphony of natural serenity, whispering secrets to each other that the bat would never understand.

It was rare for her to be out where she was now – by the plains; near the forest; just a half-day's trip from one of the biggest and least-explored mountains on the planet.

It was a tower of earth, that mountain, looking so obtainable from where she lay because it filled so much of the sky. It appeared to be just over the horizon, if one allowed themselves to be fooled by the illusion.

In reality, the gargantuan mound of dirt and stone was daunting when it was nearby, dangerous and looming, the sheer size of it enough to ward off many climbers and treasure hunters.

But to think of the jewel-lovers who'd been intimidated by the mountain's near-impervious outer edge, Rouge had to consider the ones who wouldn't be turned away.

How many had succeeded in exploring such an impressive mass of earth? A mass that was likely to be a tomb for many animals – and perhaps even explorers – who tried and failed to survive it.

If she tried, would she be a success or a failure? Would she make it out alive, with a bag of undiscovered gemstones and rare minerals to add to her very own gleaming collection?

The thought brought a sharp grin to the sly spy's mouth. If the mountain held treasures for her, she had to find them… after a quick nap in this peaceful place.

***

Now, if she was going to go on a jewel hunt in risky territory, it would be best to bring someone else along to keep her chances of survival high. Awakening from her nap between the trees, that was the first thing on Rouge's mind as she stretched inside her hammock.

She sat up and flattened out her wings on either side of her figure, flexing them to prepare for the trip, and raised a finger to her ear to activate her communication device.

"Shadow – come in, Shadow."

It was a gamble on if he would be awake or asleep at this hour. Sometimes the hedgehog stayed alert for much of the night, wandering or thinking; he could also be lounging at Club Rouge, helping himself to some of her stock; or, he could be slumbering in her spare bed, practically dead to the world.

But he was the best person to accompany her on this personal mission. What other options did she have, really? Omega was wholly uninterested in gems. Sonic and his friends weren't the jewel-plundering type.

And the only other treasure hunter who could match her skill, well… he already wasn't fond of her company. She wouldn't really want to share her findings even if he was up for the challenge, anyway.

Shadow, though – he could be persuaded to assist her, and he wouldn't ask for a percentage of whatever she found. Plus, his speed alone would make the 12-hour trip into a trivial one. For a moment, the line was quiet, and she thought he might not answer. Then, the Ultimate Lifeform's voice came through.

"Yes, Rouge? You don't sound like you're in trouble."

"Well, not yet," she answered back, lying against the big leaves and throwing one leg over the other. "And I won't be if you do me a big, gleaming, courteous favor."

"I don't like the sound of that…"

He gave pause for her to make her request, which she voiced in the sweetest tone she could manage. "Would you accompany me on a… well, I was going to say a 'little' treasure hunt, but… it's not really so little."

"Do I even have to ask why?"

"Not if you don't want to hear the same thing you did last time."

Another pause as Rouge's lifted foot bounced up and down in the air. A smile played on her lips, the one she always held when she knew she was about to get what she wanted.

Shadow inquired, "How dangerous is it this time?"

"Hmm, well…" She looked over at the distant dark mountain, just a silhouette in the midnight sky. "The location is one of the biggest mountains in the world. So, dangerous enough that I shouldn't go alone. Of course, I will if I have to, but I might not make it out alive without an exceptional lifeform looking out for me."

"Wait, one of the biggest mountains… where are you right now?"

"About half a day's trip from that cluster of tall peaks past the Forest Expanse. What is it called again?"

"The Macabre Cliffs… and you can guess how it got that name." There was a dark seriousness to his tone, but the bat was used to him sounding grave, so she paid it little mind. "Rouge, you should not go there. Why are you that far from the city, anyway?"

She answered casually, "I decided to be out in nature for once. Made myself a nice little spot between the plains and the forest, and I'm looking up at the stars right now! Pretty beautiful out here; all the more reason for you to join me!"

He sounded a little more annoyed when he asked, "You said you would go on your own if you didn't have backup?"

"Sure! You know how determined I am. Just thinking about all the potential treasure is enough to motivate me. So, how about it, Shadow? Will ya meet me?"

He huffed in irritation so she could hear his lack of enthusiasm. "Fine. Only so you don't die doing something stupid."

"Hurray, I knew I could count on you," she casually praised. "Let me owe you for it."

"That's a given. It seems you ask for a favor every week."

She clicked her tongue. "No, I don't. We help each other, that's how it's always been. Now get over here quick so we can start traveling ASAP!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied sarcastically, and she could picture his eyes rolling as he said it.

***

The faint sound of shuffling grass grabbed Rouge's attention. She turned left in her hammock to scan the plains and spotted her partner on the other side, near the opposite border of another forest.

She watched him for a second, amused at the hedgehog looking around on the wrong side for wherever she was lounging. Then, the charming lady cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out to him, "Are ya lost, handsome? Your date's over here!"

She saw his head turn, and squinted to recognize a bit of surprise on his face before it changed back into indifference. In a streak of orange light, he rushed to the grass beneath her, wind from his brief travel rustling the foliage in front of him and causing even her hammock to sway a bit.

"Woo, careful, Shad!" the bat teased. "Wouldn't want to knock me out of the nice little seat I made!"

"Can you just come down here so we can get going?" He was frowning up at her, eyes fiery red and impatient.

Rouge sighed and hopped off the giant leaves, floating down to his level and crossing her arms. "Jeez, have a little fun, will you? We're about to take on an exciting treasure hunt."

"Exciting for you," he grumbled, slipping one arm behind her back and the other under her legs to sweep the spy off her feet.

She enwrapped his neck and clasped her hands atop his shoulder, beaming at the hedgehog in a way he found to be smug; but it was also charming, the way her eyes sparkled at him while the curl of her pink lips shimmered, and he couldn't defy that look when she struck him with it.

Rouge knew that, and she used it every time she asked him to go out of his way for her. To keep the Ultimate Lifeform around was to achieve two things: complete whatever task she'd set for herself twice – and sometimes thrice – as fast; and spend more time with her favorite person, using her aspirations as an excuse to hang out with him.

She hadn't told him yet how he really affected her. That his presence made her feel warmer than anyone else's, even as he seemed cold to most people.

She thought there would be a right time to reveal it, some special moment where it would make sense to open up that deeply to the most reserved guy on the planet.

Rouge wasn't sure he felt the same, and she kept telling herself that she'd get it done eventually; that if she just said it, she'd be able to move on from the lingering longing that persisted to annoy her with its nagging, tugging insistence to confess, confess, confess!

But she hesitated, and tried to ignore the fact that she was nervous about being snubbed. It was easier to lock up her heart than to bare it to the one man who might be able to break it.

She didn't know that her caution was unnecessary. He was struggling with feelings for her, as well. And as if the ball of tangled emotions that formed in his stomach when he held her wasn't enough, that look of sly charm she gave him made Shadow shiver inside.

He had to focus on the destination ahead, on the tall shadowy peaks waiting in the distance, to keep from thinking too much about the plumpness of her thighs against his palm, or the intimate wrap of her arms around him.

But unlike the bat's slow progress towards being honest with him, he was stagnant. Emotionally repressed, he found it difficult to express feelings that could get him hurt.

He would find confessing any romantic affection to be easier if rejection was a purely physical pain – if it came in the form of a punch to the face rather than a strike through the heart.

The emotional pain he'd felt in his life was far more agonous than any hit he'd ever taken. He wouldn't be able to stand that kind of hurt if it came from her.

They arrived at the base of the mountain in record time, and Shadow realized when he looked up at the towering peaks that dark stormy clouds were creeping towards them. Keeping that in mind, he asked, "So, where is this fabled treasure you were talking about?"

"Deep underground," she answered, leaving his arms, then added, "supposedly."

"For your sake, something worth our time had better be there." He followed his partner along the jagged walls of the mountain, studying the stone and dirt building on each other.

"I've found jewels in some of the most unlikely places before!" Rouge chirped confidently. "Just look for an opening, a dip; anything that could lead us inside."

They walked around the mountain's edge for a bit, hearing the rumble of distant thunder slowly getting closer. If this trip ended up getting rained out, they would have to consider it a wash and leave – something the gem-hungry woman really didn't want to do.

Scanning the cliff sides with tunnel focus, she eventually spotted a section of the earth that looked uneven. Not naturally so, as if it built that way over time, but dented inwards with lots of rubble on the ground nearby.

She trotted over to it and discovered a pile of sizable rocks crammed into the crevice, arching on the edges as if they were stuffing a cave entrance.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed, her wings fluttering excitedly.

Shadow watched her brace herself against the rocks, turning her head and pointing one ear at the pile. It was interesting to see how she worked when she was hunting for treasure, utilizing her senses more than usual.

After a few seconds, she pulled away and took some steps backwards. There was an adventurous glint in her eyes when she looked at the hedgehog.

"Stand back, handsome. We're breaking in!"

He hopped away from the stones and watched as Rouge launched herself in the air, spinning into a Screw Kick before hurtling towards the mountain.

Her rapid, powerful kicks blasted the rocks away from the crevice, pushing most of them farther inside the cave they'd been concealing. She jumped back from the entrance in case it triggered a collapse of some kind.

When it didn't, her attention was drawn by steady clapping beside her, and she looked over to see Shadow giving her an impressed smile.

"Not bad," he said, bringing a touch of blush to her cheeks with his unexpected compliment.

She chuckled, "I'm so glad you recognize my skills!" and approached the mouth of the cavern.

Looking inside, it didn't seem too dark with the natural light spilling in. Though, that would change the deeper they went. Rouge didn't have a light source with her for this impromptu search, which made her wonder if her friend had something on him that could help when she was no longer able to make out shapes in the darkness.

That led her to mindfully question how much light one of his Chaos Spears casted before tucking the thought away to be brought up later.

Walking in first, her large ears twitched in multiple directions, picking up the sounds of wind bouncing off the walls and water dripping somewhere farther in. Her heels clacked and shifted dryly on the stone and dirt beneath her, and her colleague's footfalls followed.

"Normal-looking cave," she noted, spotting the narrower path off to the right that would lead them elsewhere.

Shadow appreciated status reports, especially as their tag-team treasure hunts weren't a regular occurrence. He knew he could trust Rouge to say what was typical or atypical during their time in a dark cave.

After all, it was sort of the least she could do to make his time assisting her easier. If there was danger, he'd be the first confronting it. He stayed near her as she entered the thin path, minding how close he could get without bumping into her if she stopped suddenly.

"Looks like it gets even narrower up ahead," she informed him as their light source became more distant.

"Be careful," chimed Shadow, keeping one hand in front of him in case she reached back to grab it.

He wouldn't want her to fall down an unexpected opening, or accidentally advance too far ahead of him when the darkness overpowered his vision.

Once they got to the progressively thinner part of the path, he just barely made out Rouge's posture turning sideways to slip between the rock walls.

He followed her lead, but before long, a knot formed in his stomach at the inevitability of not being able to see. The places they'd hunted in before were much more spacious than this.

He squinted at his partner's barely visible figure and said, "It's getting too dark."

"Oh, uh… okay, there's a bigger space up ahead. When we get there, I want to try something. But until then, here – take my hand."

He noticed a brief swish of gray as she waved her hand in the small gap, then it disappeared when he reached for it. He couldn't see anymore, but after a second of searching, his fingers found hers and they locked together.

They shuffled through the cramped, uneven hall of stone for a daunting stretch of a minute. Rouge could see why people would get discouraged having to go through here to explore the mountain, and she could guess it was similarly unnerving any other way in.

The bat was having more trouble seeing, but she could hear water dripping up ahead, and she knew they'd make it out of the tight squeeze before she needed more light.

Shadow was completely blind, seeing nothing but blackness no matter where he looked; the only thing that grounded him was their shared grip. And it helped to calm Rouge, too, knowing she was going through this cavern with the man she could trust more than anyone.

"Almost there," she commented, slinking out of the last foot of narrow path.

She kept a tight hold on his hand while he worked his way out, then looked at him when he stepped next to her. "Okay, now I want to know – how much light would one of your Chaos Spears cast?"

He gazed in the direction of her face, but couldn't make proper eye contact. "I'm not sure. I suppose we could try it."

"Please do."

She let go of his hand and took one step away from him, careful not to go too far in case there was a drop-off she couldn't see. Then Shadow quickly flicked his wrist towards the ground, wrapping his gloved fingers around the golden Spear that flickered into existence.

Yellow sparks of Chaos energy danced around the arrow-shaped bolt, giving off a bright glow that illuminated a few feet of the cave around him. Seeing that it wasn't much, he conjured a Spear in his other hand to make the area brighter.

"I can work with that," said Rouge, studying the space they were in and seeing there was indeed a drop-off not far from where they stood.

She cautiously approached it, as did Shadow, and he repositioned the Spears at different angles to try and see how deep it went, or anything beyond it. Unfortunately, it was too deep, and the stretch ahead was too wide, so nothing was shown to them.

His partner eyed the energy bolts and asked, "Would it do too much damage if you tossed one to see what we're working with?"

"There's only one way to find out. If it does, we can always escape back the way we came."

She gave him a smile and crossed her fingers, then he gently tossed one of the Spears down the cliff. Free-falling sideways instead of hurtling straight down seemed to work in not destroying anything; it revealed the steep drop of a stone wall, falling a long way before hitting the curved bottom and disintegrating into electric shards.

Shadow then made a new one and tossed it straight ahead. The arrow tip landed on a bronze-colored structure and caused a small explosion, which made Rouge gasp. A light rumble echoed through the cavern, but there weren't any signs of collapse or falling debris.

"Damn," Shadow said, then looked at the treasure hunter. "Sorry."

"I think we're okay." She waited a few seconds, listening for tumbling rocks or shakes in the earth, but heard nothing besides water dripping. "Just, no more throwing. But it looks like this drop-off leads to a cavernous dip in the earth. There must be tons of stone above us keeping this mountain sturdy."

"Should we search the area?"

"Yeah. I'll fly us." She turned and held out her hand for him to take. "I want to see what that thing was."

He held her hand again, keeping his other grip on the Chaos Spear, and allowed her to lift him off the ground. They slowly made their way across what seemed like a chasm, while Shadow gently dropped his Spears to illuminate the area without damaging anything.

They saw more glimpses of bronze, and it didn't take long for Rouge to recognize that the structures she was seeing were deliberately shaped.

They weren't just natural formations of the earth, and when she landed them in the middle of the chasm, her mouth dropped open at their discovery.

"Ruins…" she revealed softly, staring up at the arches and columns all around.

Holding up two Chaos Spears, Shadow lit up the space for her, watching Rouge graze her palm against a solid obelisk. Her voice was a near whisper when she spoke, "Incredible… these are undiscovered ruins of… something. A lost tribe? An ancient civilization?"

"Gods?" he suggested, receiving a surprised glance from his companion.

"There's no markings… no way to know…"

Exploring the area, they didn't find anything that would suggest who or what had erected the structures. What they did eventually run across was a dip in the center of a stone platform that covered the ground.

The dip led to an opening, where the earth seemed dug through like a tunnel. The brave pair looked down at the new entrance that led to something further unknown, then Rouge gave Shadow a coaxing smile.

"We haven't come across any real danger yet. Wanna roll some more dice?"

He shared her stare, feeling an adventurous sense of tension between them at the admittedly thrilling prospect of discovering more mysterious things with her. "We've gone this far. There might be treasure down there, right?"

Her smile widened into a grin – a pleasantly mischievous expression he'd really come to like – and she caught a flutter in her heart at her best friend being so committed to hunting jewels with her. She positioned herself behind him, hooking both arms under his shoulders so his back was against her front.

"That's my Shadow," she purred, and he could've sworn she was being sultry on purpose, because the smooth cadence of her voice made a shiver run down his spine.

She lifted the hedgehog off the ground with the powerful flap of her wings, holding onto him as they descended carefully down the earthy tunnel. It smelled much more acidic, the dirt looking more red than brown, but there was nothing else to be seen or smelled until they reached the bottom.

Once they landed on solid stone, they found the space being lit up was another cave; this one smelling of unclean water and plant life. And what they saw made Shadow absorb his Spears into nothingness, both of them staring silently in awe at the natural light source they'd discovered.

Rouge had never seen cave walls glow and glitter so beautifully before.

[buddiedaydreamer911]

• ana bashing/ chris swimming at bbq 👀

due to popular requests… ask and you shall receive!!

the sneak peak;

Ana sat at the kitchen island for a decent amount of time, just sipping on wine and listening to the other ladies here talk. Eventually, Ana decided to slip away quietly and joined the boys outside. She immediately found Eddie sitting with his back towards the pool while he was in light conversation with his boss and co-worker. She looked over to the pool and gasped.

Christopher was lying on a water hammock, water surrounding his hips where his body made the mesh material dip into the water. His feet were tucked into the opening at the end while he mindlessly kicked his feet.

Why is Christopher in the pool? He can’t swim! How is Eddie allowing this?

It then dawned Ana that Eddie’s back was turned. Eddie must not even know his son was pushing a limitation with no adult to watch him.

Ignoring the fact that Buck is still in the pool, never staying more than a foot away from the flooring boy as he played with the other two boys; Ana walked right up to Eddie. Bobby and Chimney both watched her get closer and grew quiet. Eddie looked over his shoulder, confused as to why his friends stopped listening, to find Ana blocking the sunlight from hitting his back.

“Christopher is in the pool.” Ana informed, accusingly.

“Yeah, yeah he is.” Eddie agreed, confused.

“And you’re allowing that? He’s alone and he can’t swim!” Ana exclaimed, not lowering her voice.

“Yeah I can.” Christopher called out from behind her in a ‘duh’ voice. Chimney reacted by letting out a snicker laugh before clasping his hand to his mouth to keep quiet.

Eddie turned his body enough to check in on his boy while never actually moving from where he was sitting. Christopher smiled over to him, Buck looked between Ana and Eddie with a questioning look on his face. Turning his attention back to Ana, he spoke calmly.

“Chris is fine. He can swim with his life jacket and right now, he’s just floating. Buck is right there in case anything happens.”

Ana took a breath and acknowledged the fact that Bobby and Chimney were both still watching as Hen and Karen stepped outside with their own glasses of wine. Ana just nodded her head and sat with them, taking it upon herself to keep an eye out on her soon-to-be step-son.

Eddie made one last look over his shoulder at Buck, who nodded his head once in reassurance before giving Christopher a light push and playing with the other two again. Eddie turned back to his friends and restarted their conversation.

-

this will be continued to be worked on soon, and there may be more to the plot than just chris swimming. i hope this sneak peak met any interests you had with my WIP list!

(i will be posting more tomorrow that are in my asks, and i’m thinking about doing this with my huge idea list for buddie plots!)

also if you’d like to be tagged to see my contributions to these challenges, let me know and i’ll make a list of who to tag!!

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 8: Banished Fae

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

The town really isn't all that big. The group leads Bro and Alt back in the direction of Chase's cottage--which, from the outside, has white walls and a yellow roof that's missing some shingles. They go in between the cottages out here on the edge, through their gardens, and into the wilderness. The north forest is pretty close to the edge of town. There's just a short stretch of empty grass and flowers, maybe about half a basketball court in length. This is where Jackie gets out of the pocket and starts zipping around.

Alt and Bro brighten once they see Jackie start flying around. Bro stretches and then falls back- letting himself hover in the air kind he’s laying in a hammock. “Ahhh! That’s better!”

Schneep whistles. "You were not kidding about that flight. I only see sylphs floating in the air like that." 

You never see sylphs doing anything, they're invisible, Jameson says jokingly. 

"Nearly invisible!" 

Jackie flies over next to Bro, hovering by his head. "Wow. No wings or anything!" He laughs. "That must be pretty helpful." 

Bro grins, “Yeah! It’s amazing!” He rights himself then flies around in circles over the clearing and zipping through trees before he joins the others again. 

They start going into the forest. This isn't a thick woods. Sunlight easily pierces the canopy, sending ripples across the floor. 

Marvin climbs into a tree, hopping up to the nearest branch, and walks along next to the others, effortlessly balancing on branches that look like they should break under his weight. 

Alt watches Marvin climb into the tree. He thinks then in a flurry of glitches he’s on a branch by Marvin- in the shape of black calico cat. He hops and glitches along the branches.

"Oooo!" Chase's eyes light up. "Double cat!" 

Marvin meows, sounding delighted. Alt meows loudly and sticks his chest out proudly.

Jackie laughs. "Schneep, you do something, make it an animal party!" 

Schneep frowns. "I cannot become a cat, though. Mammals are hard for me." 

"No no no, do something!" Chase encourages. 

"Hmm... I can do one mammal," Schneep says slowly. He walks around the trunk of a tree--and a small, furry animal trots out, low to the ground, brown on its back and cream on its belly. It's about three feet long.

Alt blinks and glitches down by Schneep and sniffs at him. Then he grins and in a quick zip becomes the same animal as him, running around him in circles and making chittering noises. 

Bro laughs, touching down to walk with the others. “…he doesn’t show this one off as much- I can tell he’s having fun.” He says quietly with a fond smile. 

Jameson chuckles. What is that animal? I've never seen it before. 

"I think it's an otter of some kind?" Chase says. "I remember seeing some in the aquarium back in Cali. But this one is darker, I think, and its head is somehow different." 

Schneep raises up onto his hind legs and bobs his head. 

"An otter? Huh." 

Must be a different type than the ones you saw in the New World, Jameson says. 

"Oh that makes sense!" Jackie says. "It's another river animal." 

Alt chatters and tries raising onto his hind legs too but wobbles a bit. He makes a laughing type noise then in another quick glitch he’s now a brown wolf that sits down and barks slightly at them.

"Ohhh wolf!" Jackie says excitedly. "Fell yeah! They're so cool. Elves and goblins sometimes ride them into battle, you know." 

And piskies sometimes ride squirrels, Jameson says jokingly. 

"No, they're too small. A house cat, though? That could work." Jackie flies up to Marvin in the trees, landing on his back. "Even Marvin could work!" 

Marvin mrows and shakes himself, throwing Jackie off. Jackie, luckily, manages to catch himself and start flying again before he hit the ground. 

Alt makes a laughing like sound then whistles and glitches himself back into his cat form and walks up to Jackie, shaking himself off and showing off his back.

Jackie's eyes light up. He lands on Alt's back, right behind his head. "Onward!"

Alt meows and then charges ahead, even adding some speed with his magic- making bits of green sparks curl off his fur. 

Bro covers his mouth with his hand to hide his laugh. “Oh my god- that’s amazing!”

Schneep in his otter form bounds after the two of them. Marvin does not, but his tail does flick excitedly. 

Chase laughs. He takes his phone out of his pocket and films a video of all this. Bro follows Chase’s lead to get a video too. Why has he never thought of that? …Maybe cuz Alt might kill him. 

After a while, something happens. At first, it's bits of litter on the forest floor. Sad, but not too worrying. Until they notice that it's not exactly normal litter. It's broken phones and wires, and the occasional microchip. Marvin hops out of the trees as cables start to appear, draped across the branches. The mood seems to fall a little. 

We're getting close, Jameson says, frowning.

Alt starts to slow down as he notices the litter. His hackles raise slightly as he anxiously looks around the path and at the trees. 

Bro shudders, “… never thought seeing these kinda things in a forest would feel so… creepy.” He mutters.

Jackie takes to the air again. "Imagine if it was something that hurt you by touching it," he mutters. 

Schneep becomes human again--though he looks slightly different, his skin and hair tinted a bit green, his teeth a bit sharper. "This is where we start being careful," he says. 

Alt glitches back into his human form too, a serious expression on his face. His pupils look a bit slitted- but he’s able to blink that away pretty fast. 

"I'm guessing we shouldn't touch anything?" Chase says. 

Probably for the best, Jameson agrees, looking vaguely troubled. 

More and more junk shows up. Most of it is related to computers: laptops with keys missing from their boards, old boxy monitors with cracked screens, CPUs that have casing missing. But just about any technology is represented. TVs both flatscreen and boxy, kitchen appliances, projectors and speakers and car radios. 

Marvin starts doing that careful cat walk as he steps in spaces where wires don't cover the ground. Jameson starts veering to the side.

Alt glitches around to the objects and frowns. “…listen I used to collect stuff like this- but this is excessive…” 

“I’ll say… this feels like a fire hazard just waiting to happen… somehow-“ Bro comments. 

Alt pulls out his tracker to try to see his close they are… and if the piece is actually in the hands on the iron-mad Prince or just nearby. If they can avoid his other self… he thinks that’d be best.

The piece is deeper into the domain, in the center, sat in a little nest of steel wool. Alt relaxes a bit, at least it’s not literally in his hands. 

"Jameson, you good?" Chase asks. 

Jameson doesn't answer. He's making a beeline for a tree... a tree with autumnal leaves, out of place in the green forest.

Alt’s about to tell the others when he looks up and sees Jameson heading towards the autumn tree. Alt glitches up next to him and tries to get his attention. “Hey! Jay! You okay?”

Jameson blinks in surprise. Then he nods. I just wanted to check on it. He's standing in front of the autumn tree. Its branches are draped in cables like all the others, but those branches seem abnormally weighed down. 

Chase hurries over. "Check on what? Is everything fine?" 

In the next moment, Marvin is in his human form again. "Um... I can explain if you want, Jems?" 

Jameson nods, reaching out to touch the bark of the tree. 

"Okay," Marvin says softly. "Um... have you all heard of dryads? They're from Greece. They're guardian spirits of nature, tied to a tree. Jameson is... sort of like that. This is his tree."

“Oh!” Alt says with wide eyes, “A dyrad! That makes so much sense-“ he glitches around and frowns in concern at the cables. “…is he hurting your tree…?”

Jameson sighs. Not on purpose, he says. But... yes. His domain has been slowly getting bigger over the decades, and one day it reached here. 

Chase frowns. "Being, uh... 'tied to a tree'... that's not... normal, is it?" 

Jameson shook his head. 

"Do you... want to talk about it?" Chase asks softly. 

If you all want to hear.

Bro comes up and looks at Jameson, “Yeah I… if you’re willing, dude.” Alt looks concerned and tilts his head.

Jameson still hesitates. But then he slowly starts to sign. My family is gentry, one of the rulers of fairies. They did not like humans much... not as equals, at least. But I thought humans were very clever. I started messing with some of their ideas. 

"Clockwork, right?" Marvin says. 

Yes. But not made of iron, of course. When my family found out, they sent me here, and tied my life to the tree so I couldn't return to Faehome if I wanted. 

"Pricks," Marvin mutters, ears dropping back. 

"They were part of the Green Court, like me," Jackie says. "The king overrode Jameson's banishment, since you know... it wasn't fair. But even he couldn't undo this. Only the ones who cast the spell can do that, and uh..." 

"Fucking pricks," Marvin says again, making a growling sound in his throat.

Alt and Bro look horrified and heartbroken. “That’s… that’s awful,” Bro whispers. 

Electricity zips around Alt angrily as he bares his teeth, “All because you were a little curious?! That’s… what the fuck?!” 

"The Fair Folk aren't actually that fair," Marvin says. 

Jameson sighs. I've had a lot of time to adjust to that. This happened back in... one of the 1920s. I like this small town and all the people in it. I'm happy here. He rubs his eyes. But the iron in the area IS bringing the mood down.

Alt snorts, still feeling anger for how unfair this is all is. “…I’m glad you found a way to be happy… despite all that.” 

"I'm so sorry, Jameson," Chase says quietly.

Jameson looks back at him and smiles. It's fine, really. Henrik has it worse. 

"We do not compare suffering here," Schneep says firmly. "It does not mean yours doesn't count."

“…what happened with Henrik?” Bro asks quietly, looking back towards him.

Schneep sighs. "As Chase briefly said, I got 'super kicked out' of my home. But I do not mind. Because I got kicked out for, oh you know, not wanting to kill people." 

"It's still pretty shitty, dude," Chase says. "You like... can't go anywhere in Europe. I mean, Ireland is Europe, but you know what I mean. Like, the mainland area. That's a lot of place you can't go."

“You’re banished from all of Europe???” Bro exclaims, his jaw dropping. “For not wanting to kill people?!” 

Alt looks equally as disturbed by this. “…how does that even work?? …wait I don’t even know what kind of fae you are-“

Schneep laughs. "I am not technically a fairy, because fairies are from these two islands. But I am something else. A nix. We are... water spirits, of sorts. And many of us tend to be... not kind. You are probably more familiar with sirens? Imagine that, but in a river." 

"It was more that you were healing people, right?" Jackie asks. 

"Yes." Schneep nods. "They said it was ruining their fun." He sighs. "I am glad to be far from the rest of them, to be honest."

Alt bares his teeth, “…that’s messed up.” 

Bro nods, “…guess it’s probably good to be away- even if you’re … stuck in Ireland. And I say that as someone who grew up here-“

"Heh." Schneep smiles. "Yes, that place was... not good. I like this town much better." 

Bro smiles and claps Schneep on the shoulder. Schneep smiles back.

Jameson takes a deep breath, and removes his hand from the tree. Alright. I'm ready to move on now. Where are we going specifically?

Alt looks back out into the forest, “The tracker said it’s in the center… in a nest of steel wool.” 

“Eck- steel wool? Don’t like that stuff-“ Bro stays, sticking out his tongue. “Bad sensory shit-“

Chase frowns. "And steel is made of iron. So... it's like he's protecting it even more against any other fairies who come this way." 

Alt makes a face, “huh… I wonder if… he knows what it is then…” why else would he be protecting it from other fae? 

"We won't let that deter us though!" Jackie says, determined. 

Marvin is in cat form again. He meows at the others, indicating they should follow him. 

Onward, Jameson says, following him. The others trail after.

Bro hurries after the others. Alt trails behind, cautiously watching the trees.

More and more old technology shows up as they go further into the forest. Grass and bushes are replaced by dirt and piles of metal. Cables wrap around the tree trunks, snaking between them, sometimes forming something like a spiderweb between trees. They almost seem to be coming from one direction. The ground crunches beneath their feet as stepping on small bits of tech becomes basically unavoidable. 

Marvin returns to his human form--boots are better than walking on all this iron with his bare paws. 

Once it seems like it’s hard to avoid the debris, Bro starts to hover a bit but tries his best to stay out of the way.

They have not reached the center when, suddenly, an old iPad with a cracked screen turns on, showing pixelly squares of color. Other screens follow: computer monitors, televisions, even regular displays, like on microwaves and digital clocks. 

Alt startles slightly as the electronics start to turn on. He builds up magic in his hands, trying not to shiver as he hears the voice. He bares his teeth and growls, eyes flitting around to look for any sign of trouble.

"I can seeeee you," says a voice on the wind.

The others all whirl around. Jackie conjures up his small sword again. 

"Wh--where are you?" Chase calls out hesitantly. 

"All over, everywhere!" the voice says, seemingly echoing from all around them. "What do we have here? Three humans, a sidhe, a pisky, a cait sith, and something I don't know that smells like river water. Strange! Strange strange strange." 

“Show yourself, fucking coward!” Alt snaps out, lightning snapping around his hands. “You have something that belongs to us!” 

“Alttt I’m not sure it’s a good idea to antagonize this guy-“ Bro mutters, but he gets into a fighting stance regardless.

"I'm already there, though!" the voice says. "Look up!" And a blackbird dives down from a higher branch, flying at Alt.

It smacks against his face, talons making small scratches.Alt yells out in surprise and pain, trying to throw the bird off and glitch backwards. “S-Son of a bitch?!”

The bird spins backwards, tumbling through the air. As it hit the grounds it suddenly bursts into feathers that fly into the air, and a man is standing where it just was. The resemblance to Alt is clear, though this man has one blue eye and one green eye. Both of them are bloodshot. The man is pale and thin, hair wild and entangled with wires and leaves, pointed ears sticking out to either side. His clothes are fine, somewhat medieval in style, black with hints of green and silver. Cables are tied around his arms like makeshift bracelets. Random microchips and other computer parts are tied to his belt with silver wire. "Welcome!" the man spreads his arms wide and grins. "Welcome, welcome!" 

"So, you're this prince guy, then," Chase says. "The Iron-Mad Prince."

Alt staggers back, momentarily thrown off guard by the prince’s appearance. But then he glares, magic sparking in his eyes as he bares his teeth. 

Bro looks unnerved- “…yeah I get where the uh ‘mad’ comes from-“ he mutters.

“Mad? But I’m not mad! In fact I’m so very glad to see you all!” The Prince smiles wider. “It’s been so long since I’ve had visitors, especially humans. Do you want to stay?” 

“Leave them alone!” Jackie flies out in front of everyone, brandishing his sword. 

The Prince blinks in surprise. “One of my brother’s knights? But where is your crest?” 

“We’re not here to visit,” Marvin says. “We’re here for something.”

Bro shudders at this then gets into a fighting stance, “We’re not humans you wanna mess with, dude!” 

“You have something that belongs to us,” Alt growls.

“If it’s here, it doesn’t belong to you at all.” The Prince folds his arms. “I’m no thief. I take only what’s been left behind.” 

“Then there must have been a mistake,”Schneep says. 

Do you know every part of your domain? Jameson asks. If we said that what we’re looking for is in a nest of steel wool, would you know what we mean? 

“Oh! The one that fell from the sky!” The Prince’s eyes light up. “But—that one is so special. I haven’t seen anything like it, so intricate and unknown.” His fingers twitch. “That is so, so special. I couldn’t part with it for nothing.”

Alt glitches a bit in anger. Bro looks at him warily then steps up, “This thing is part of a larger thing that’s ours! It fell into different worlds and we need to collect all the parts or your world could be in danger. …what would you want in exchange?” Bro says slowly. 

Alt looks at Bro with wide eyes, “Chase! We can’t negotiate with him!”

“Oh! It would have to be special as well,” the Prince says, ignoring Alt’s outburst. “Hmm… I don’t even know who you are. Can I have your names?” 

“Well I’m—” Chase starts to say, but Marvin’s hand shoots out and covers his mouth.

"You can't have our names," Bro says firmly, remembering what his aunts taught him. "But you can call me Chase- or Bro... I guess. Weird for you to call me that..." He gestures to Alt, who is bristling like a cat, "And you can call him Alt. ...how special are we talking here? cuz uh- we're from like... super out of town? We could have something that interests you."

"Chase and Alt," the Prince repeats, fascinated. "And the rest of you?" 

We've met before, Jameson says. "We have? Ohhhh, you're the one worried about the trees." The Prince pauses. "Jems?" Jameson sighs and nods. 

"Call me Jackie," Jackie says. "And these all are called Henrik, Marvin, and Chase." 

"Two Chases! Interesting." The Prince grins, then looks back at Bro. "Well, I won't know if it interests me until I see it, will I?"

Bro makes a face and pats down his pockets and utility belt. “Uhhhhhh-“ he scrambles to think of something. He can’t give him his phone- or Alt’s phone. It looks like Alt will bite this guy’s head off for trying to take any of this things.

Chase looks at Bro, eyes wide. He doesn't want these two to lose any of their stuff." Um--look, all your stuff is broken, right? Maybe you want a fully functional one?" He pulls his phone out of his pocket, showing it to the Prince. "Here, see, i-it lights up, and I can give you the code to open it--" 

"What's that?" Suddenly the Prince is right in front of Chase, and Chase takes a step back. "It's a phone?" 

"No, on the screen," the Prince says. "That woman and child. They look familiar." 

Chase goes white as a sheet. "...what?" he whispers, the word barely a breath.

Bro tries to protest, “Hey no dude- what the hell??” Then he cuts himself off and stares wide eyed between the two. “…shit- is that…?” 

Alt glitches closer, eyes wide. “…do you have a family, Chase…?” 

“Y-You said you didn’t have one…” Bro whispers.

"I-I don't... not anymore," Chase says quietly. "They... disappeared. E-everyone back home thought I... But I would never!" He looks at the screen. The woman has curly pale brown hair, smiling at the camera wide with a bit of paint on her cheek. The boy is young, with darker hair, hands covered in paint as well. 

The Prince blinks. "Yes... they were in... the Wilds." 

"The Wilds?!" Marvin repeats, alarmed. 

"So you're probably not going to see them again," the Prince continues.

"What?!" Bro gasps, "T-That can't be true... there has to be a way past these wilds- right?" He looks to the others with wide eyes.

"It's um... not that easy," Jackie says slowly. "The Wilds are a Fairy World. And a really big one, too." 

"Like... a pocket dimension?" Chase whispers. 

"Yes, exactly like that." 

Bro looks very worried at this, looking back at Chase with concern. "M-Maybe we could-" 

The Prince's eyes light up. He leans closer to Chase, and Schneep reaches out and pushes him back. The Prince doesn't even seem to notice. "Is she an artist?" 

Chase blinks. "My... my wife? Y-yeah, she did--does paintings." 

"Do you have pictures of them? Can I have them?"

"Why would you want a painting?" Alt asks, narrowing his eyes at the Prince. "You're called the 'Iron-Mad Prince'- paintings don't really go with that..."

All fairies appreciate art, Jameson says. Because art... is unique. 

"No no no, not a painting, a picture of it," the Prince corrects. "Made of pixels. A-and electricity." He laughs a little. "I have screens you can transfer them to." 

"You mean... I wouldn't have pictures of her art anymore?" Chase asks quietly. 

"I think that's a fair trade." 

"Surely you have the originals, Chase," Schneep says, glancing at him. 

Chase shakes his head slowly. "She... she sold a lot of them..."

Alt blinks at this then hurries to grab out his iPad. “Don’t do that Chase- I have like, a million pictures of my art. Especially digital art, I can part with something.” 

“Yeah!! Alt’s art coming in clutch!!” Bro cheers.

"Oh, you're an artist?" Chase says, looking at Alt, barely managing to hide his relief. "That's cool." 

Alt smiles, “Yeah I dabble. Graffiti, some cartoon stuff. Things like that~” 

The Prince grins. "Yes, that would work! Here, come come come, I'll take you to my screen and your piece." 

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Jackie asks, narrowing his eyes. 

The Prince takes a step back and bows. "I promise you, that as long as you do not try to harm me, and you provide the art as promised, you will leave here unharmed and with the iron piece you're looking for."

Bro blinks then hums with a nod. “Seems fair enough to me!” 

Alt looks a bit skeptical and holds his iPad close to his chest but he approaches the Prince. “Alright… how’re we doing this?”

"That's your device?" The Prince leans to the side, looking at Alt's iPad. "Cable, cable, cable." He sticks an arm out to the side, untying one of the makeshift bracelets. "This should fit. We'll plug it into a screen." He laughs excitedly. "This way!" There's another flurry of feathers and the blackbird is back, flying through the air deeper into the forest, tilting back and forth to the side. 

Marvin narrows his eyes. "That is not how birds are supposed to fly--but in any case, do we trust this?" 

Schneep shrugs. "Clearly he is not going to bring their piece here, so we must go farther anyway." 

I can find the way out, Jameson says. I'm familiar with the area.

Alt makes a face, “…I’m not sure I do. But- I dunno. My stuff is backed up back home so if he fries something it won’t be… the worst thing I guess.” He quickly glitches after the bird. 

Bro sighs and ruffles his hair, “Alright- time to follow the crazy bird Prince then.” He says, following after Alt.

They don't have much farther to go. The pieces of technology turn into piles. Leaves litter the ground, knocked down from the trees by the heavy cables. Bits of non-tech metal sprinkle the ground. Pots and pans, metal figurines, picture frames. 

"You can smell the iron," Jackie comments, sitting down on Chase's shoulder and riding the rest of the way. They eventually reach a clearing, a spot of blue sky clear of branches or cables. Metal bookcases line the area, forming rough walls, their shelves overflowing with old computer parts. There's a table set up with a new-looking flatscreen TV and a laptop that looks pretty functional except for some missing screws. And there's a bed with a metal bedframe and a comforter meant to look like a desktop screen. Some more computer parts litter the folds of the blanket. The bird dives down onto the bed, bursting into feathers again and reforming into the Prince.

Alt looks around the space with a tilted head, “…uh- nice place you got here…” 

“Kinda looks like your room, Alt,” Bro laughs.

 Alt flushes and hits Bro, “Hey! It does not?!” 

“When you’re working on a project it does!” Bro laughs more, covering himself from Alt’s rage.

Marvin shudders slightly. "Gods. This place reeks." 

Schneep frowns. "I-I am not as susceptible as the rest of you, but... yes, yes it does." 

"Are you all okay?" Chase asks, concerned. Jackie is leaning against his neck, looking exhausted. 

Bro looks at the others with concern. 

Let's just get out of here as soon as possible, Jameson says. 

The Prince stands up again and walks over to the laptop. It turns on before he even gets there. "Plug plug plug plug plug," he mutters, putting the cable into the USB port. It takes him a couple tries, as his hands are shaking, but then he gets it and he grins, looking back over at Alt. "Well?"

Alt jumps a bit but then goes to kneels down by the laptop, plugging in the cable. On his iPad is a combined photo of a couple pieces of graffiti he did. “There’s multiple here- should be more than enough.” He mutters.

The Prince leans uncomfortably close to Alt. "I've never seen art like that!" Multiple PNG icons show up on the laptop's desktop as Alt's drawings are copied to its hard drive. "Oh, that's fascinating!"

Alt flushes, “Uh yeah it’s… modern. It’s stuff humans do on like… buildings and stuff.” 

Bro marvels at how well kept the laptop and flat screen are. “…bro how are you even powering all this?” He asks the Prince.

The Prince looks back at him. "Most gentry have the power to do things like make their plants look better. I decided to put that power into the cables instead. Lightning in rubber, isn't that clever?" He giggles. 

Bro blinks, “Well… that is how electricity works-“

Chase glances at Jameson. "Is that true? About the plants thing?" 

Yes, actually, Jameson says. Though mine has been reduced since the iron surrounded my tree.

Alt unplugs the iPad quickly and glitches back, hugging it to his chest. “Okay that’s… that’s it then right? We can get our piece?”

The Prince gets distracted for a moment, opening up Alt's downloaded art and looking at it. Then Jameson coughs for attention and he snaps back to the others. "Piece, right? Yes yes yes." He nods and walks over to one of the metal bookcases... where, right in the middle of the shelf, displayed prominently, is a pile of steel wool. He brushes it aside and picks up a small item. A microchip the size of an American quarter, black and intricate. Some ribbon wires trail from the top and bottom. "This, right?"

Alt brightens up and glitches closer, “Yes! That’s it!”

"Here it is, then." The Prince holds it out, dropping it into Alt's hand. 

"That was... easy," Chase says slowly. 

"Yeah," Marvin mutters. "But he did promise we'd be unharmed... and that's not something fairies do lightly."

Alt stares at it, expecting some trick. Then he quickly puts it in the black bag and glitches back. “Uh… t-thank you.” 

Bro looks worriedly at the others. “We should… go then. Since this place is… a lot for the other guys.”

"You get used to it," the Prince says, picking up an old motherboard from a shelf and turning it over. His head twitches erratically as he seems immediately drawn into staring at it. 

"...riiiight," Chase says, backing away and pushing Schneep, Marvin, and Jameson behind him. "Let's head on out." 

Alt's phone crackles. "You know, you two could technically leave right now. But I know you won't yet, right?"

Alt jumps a bit at Anti’s voice then takes his phone out to shake his head. “I want to make sure the others are okay first-“ He says. He glitches over to the others. “if you guys want I- I can get us back to the pub.. or one of your houses?”

"I think I'm the only one with an actual house," Chase says. "Unless you count Schneep's clinic. But yeah, if you can do that..." His eyes dart down to his shoulder, where Jackie is sitting. "That would probably be good." 

The Prince's head suddenly snaps up. He looks up into the sky. "There's lightning in the air," he whispers.

Alt looks back to The Prince with wide eyes. “W-What?” 

“The fuck does that mean? A storm?” Bro asks, squinting up at the sky.

"Something's coming," the Prince says. His eyes widen. 

"Wait a second--!" Anti shouts. "There's--" 

Then the sky explodes into a wave of red light. The Prince shrieks, and throws up a hand, and a shield of yellow lightning appears above the clearing, rebuking the shockwave that follows. 

As the sky explodes, Bro grabs Alt and as many of the others as he can and covers them up with his body. He blinks in confusion as the shield gets made. 

A figure forms in the center of the clearing, hovering a bit over the ground. A figure made of red light. "Did you miss me?"

Bro and Alt gasp and stare up with wide eyes. “No…! No- why are you here?!” Alt shouts, bristling as magic sparks in his eyes.

"Wh-who the fuck is this guy?!" Chase gasps. 

"Did you think you could escape me?" Red Anti laughs. "Even if that eyeball thing was able to toss me out of the last world, I know everywhere you go. And I'll continue to know." He reaches out. "Let's see if I can use this." And a bit of purple energy pulls out the black bag with all the TRVLR parts in it.

“NO!” Alt shouts and tries to grab the bag and hold it back.

But it's too fast. The bag zooms up into the air, and red Anti's image mimes grabbing hold of it. "Courtesy of your friend Mag's magic!" he says, grinning. "Hope you like this world! You should get used to it." 

A bit of the air rips open, a rift unfolding. And red Anti tosses the black bag towards it.

Alt screams in anger and doesn’t even think about it- he glitches to try to go after the bag- diving into the rift. “ALT!” Bro screams, and bursts into the air to try to follow him.

"Oh no you don't!" Red Anti growls. Lightning charges in the air, a bolt shooting for the two of them-- --but a bolt of bright white lightning intercepts before it can reach them. 

"What the fell?!" Marvin gasps, and all the others turn to look at the Prince. "I promised they'd be unharmed, didn't I?" he says in response to their looks. 

"Fine!" Red Anti snaps. "Go after it! You won't like that world at all!" He laughs, and his image disappears. 

"Be careful!" Chase shouts after Bro and Alt.

Bro grabs Alt before he gets too far and holds onto him and they both manage to look back towards the Prince defending them. 

Bro smiles and shouts, “You too!! Thank you for your help!!” Alt nods back to the others with a slight smile before he focuses on glitching after the bag, falling into the rift.

Chase and the other fairies watch the two of them disappear into the rift, grim hope in all their eyes.

[naushtheaspiringauthor]

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- none 😽

A/N- Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n

Ch-24 ~Unexpected manoeuvre~

Later that night, Anaya was jerked awake by Tamar calling her name

“Time to go,” she said.

“Now?” Alina asked blearily. “What time is it?”

“Coming on three bells.”

“In the morning?” she yawned and got out of her hammock

“Where are we?” Anaya asked hoarsely

“Fifteen miles off the coast of West Ravka. Come on, Sturmhond is waiting.” She was dressed and had her canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

As Anaya was putting her kefta on, Tamar handed out a tawny coat in front of her, "I'm sure those people won't exactly be happy to a see a grisha from the little palace"

She put on the coat and left her kefta on her hammock, stuffing her notebook in the inside pocket. 

On deck, Mal stood by the ship’s starboard rail with a small group of crewmen. It took Anaya a moment to realize that Privyet had been wearing Sturmhond’s garish teal coat. The boy would've been hard to recognize if he hadn't been the one giving orders. He was swaddled in a voluminous greatcoat, the collar turned up, a wool hat pulled low over his ears.

A cold wind was blowing. The stars were bright in the sky, and a sickle moon sat low on the horizon. 

“What’s happening?” Alina asked.

“We’re going ashore.” Mal responded

“In the middle of the night?”

“The Volkvolny will raise my colors near the Fjerdan coast,” the captain spoke. “The Darkling doesn’t need to know that you’re back on Ravkan soil just yet.”

Sturmhond bent his head to conversate with Privyet

Anaya looked up at the starry sky. Whatever sort of trouble was coming their way, she was ready to face it. And whatever the mad captain intended to throw their way wouldn't be much of a surprise to her, she'd already seen worse.

She looked over at Rabeah, who'd been talking to the fabrikator from a few nights ago. 

She noticed Alina and Mal speaking in low voices.  Mal bent to kiss her, a sight that made Anaya grimace. Sturmhond’s voice cut through the dark. “Can we get to the cuddling later? I want us ashore before dawn.

Mal took Alina's hand and they returned to the group.

Sturmhond gave Privyet an envelope sealed with pale blue wax, then clapped him on the back. They boy appeared as he was about to cry. Tolya and Tamar slipped over the railing, holding tight to the weighted ladder secured to the schooner.

Anaya looked over the side. She was surprised to see a smaller structure, similar to the sketches she'd seen in Sturmhond's cabin, floating alongside the Volkvolny. IIt was quite an extraordinary ship. Its two hulls looked like a pair of hollowed-out shoes, and they were held together by a deck with a giant hole in its center.

Mal and Alina followed, stepping onto one of the craft’s curved hulls. They picked their way across it and descended to the central deck, where a sunken cockpit was nestled between two masts. Sturmhond gestured Anaya to follow and then leapt down after them, then swung up onto a raised platform behind the cockpit and took his place at the ship’s wheel.

Anaya looked around but was quickly relieved to find Rabeah standing near the cockpit, glancing in her direction with curiosity

“What is this thing?” Alina asked the question building up in Anaya's mind

“I call her the Hummingbird,” he said, consulting some sort of chart. "Though I’m thinking of renaming her the Firebird "

The girl's expression quickly changed but the bloke only grinned

"Cut anchor and release!” he ordered

Tamar and Tolya unhitched the knots of the grapples that held them to the Volkvolny. Anaua saw the anchor line slither like a live snake over the Hummingbird’s stern, the end slipping silently into the sea. 

“Make sail,”  Sturmhond called

The sails unfurled. Though the Hummingbird’s masts were considerably shorter than those aboard the schooner, its double sails were huge and rectangular, and they required two crewmen each to maneuver them into position.

They pulled farther from the Volkvolny.

The captain shook himself, then called out, “Squallers!”

A Grisha was positioned in each hull. They raised their arms, and wind billowed around them, filling the sails. Sturmhond adjusted the course and called for more speed. The Squallers obliged, and the vessel leapt forward. 

“Take these,” the privateer spoke He dropped a pair of goggles into Alina's lap and tossed another pair to Mal. He then handed similar pairs to Anaya and Rabeah.

They looked similar to those worn by the Fabrikators in the workshops of the Little Palace. All of the crew seemed to be wearing them, along with Sturmhond. 

Anaya pulled them on along with the others. 

The boy soom called for more speed, he seemed to be in a hurry. 

The Hummingbird sped over the water, its shallow double hulls skated from wave to wave, barely seeming to touch the surface of the sea. 

“All right, Squallers,” commanded Sturmhond, “Take us up. Sailors to wings, on my count.”

Anaya looked around in confusion, unable to comprehend what was going on

“Five!” the captain shouted.

The crewmen started to move counterclockwise, pulling on the lines.

“Four!”

The Squallers spread their hands wider.

“Three!”

A boom lifted between the two masts, the sails gliding along its length.

“Two!”

“Heave!” cried the sailors. The Squallers lifted their arms in a massive swoop.

“One!” Sturmhond yelled. 

The sails billowed up and out, snapping into place high above the deck like two gigantic wings

Sturmhond was laughing like a lunatic. The Squallers were calling out to each other in a volley, making sure they kept the updraft steady.

That was when Anaya finally realized, They were flying.

[meli-r]

I thought of writing this today, as a supposed memory Makishima has after Choe dies. Sorry it's short, I'm not good at writing when I do it on the same day.

PS: it's Shakespeare's sonnet 66.

*****

Tir'd with all these, for restful death I cry,

As, to behold desert a beggar born,

And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,

And purest faith unhappily forsworn,

And gilded honour shamefully misplac'd,

And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,

And right perfection wrongfully disgrac'd,

And strength by limping sway disabled,

And art made tongue-tied by authority,

And folly, doctor-like, controlling skill,

And simple truth miscall'd simplicity,

And captive good attending captain ill.

Tir'd with all these, from these would I be gone,

Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.

With one leg crossed over the other, Makishima Shougo closed the book on his slim thigh, covered by a pristine beige suit. He sighed and momentarily raised his eyebrows as he looked out toward the horizon. The wind played with his long white hair, which fell in soft waves over his shoulders, and the last rays of sunlight merged with the gold of his narrowed eyes.

The waves crashed against the stones and walls of the pier as he watched the gentle movement of boats and ships between the floating walkways. The sunlight reflected off the water, creating golden glimmers that danced on the surface. A faint smile crossed his face at the thought of sailing out to sea, but it faded as he remembered his inability to handle boats. He frowned and lifted his head a few centimeters, lamenting not having learned earlier.

In particular, he remembered one morning when he had sailed south without a set destination. The feeling of reaching land never surpassed the desire to venture further into the unknown. The sky was then completely blue, not cloudy as it was now. Standing with his forearms resting on the railing of a small yacht, his slim and pale torso exposed to the sun, Makishima gazed at the line dividing the sky from the sea. His gaze descended to the figure lying on his back in a floating hammock, his slightly tanned skin and short, wet brown hair falling backward.

For hours, he lay in the sun, speaking little. Makishima had long forgotten the words they had exchanged; their shared serenity was their means of communication in the tranquil silence of the sea.

That day, they had both gone for a swim, and Makishima had been the first to emerge, wearing only a pair of shorts, his slender body dripping with water. For a moment, the idea of starting the engine to depart gave him a sense of pleasure and power, making him smile and squint. However, that sensation faded as he realized that nothing and no one could compel him to exert that power. He acknowledged his impotence in the presence of a man whose presence seemed to surpass even the machine that drove the boat.

“You’re killing yourself, Choe,” he said, as the man lifted his round sunglasses to look at him and placed them on his forehead. “For days you’ve been glued to a screen without leaving the room, and here you are, lounging like an undeserving millionaire. How does it feel to do the hardest thing for you, to rest?”

“I’m not fleeing from my work, if that’s what surprises you. I know when to quit, but I don’t do it until I’m finished. I acknowledge I’ve been wasting time lately and doing my job poorly.”

“Have you ever done your job poorly?” Makishima raised an eyebrow for a moment.

“Probably more often than others. The only difference is that my failures end up in the trash.”

“This is what I wanted. To drag you with me and give you everything imaginable, except a computer. No codes, algorithms, or systems. I want to teach you how to eat, sleep, and live like a man who only knows how to laze around.”

“I’d like to try. But you didn’t drag me into anything, nor could you ever, even if you like to think otherwise,” Choe replied, pausing. “It’s not too late for you to learn about boats.”

“That won’t be necessary. I have you.”

Makishima closed his eyes, allowing the sounds of the pier and the sea to envelop him. The sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, painting the sky a deep red. Choe’s presence felt tangible in his mind, as if his shadow were beside him. For a moment, he could almost imagine Choe approaching from a walkway, calling his name and guiding him toward a boat.

He considered the possibility of setting sail once more. A simple snap of his fingers would make someone start the engine for him. But that idea soon faded; he no longer felt the same urge. He reflected on the essence of companionship and solitude. It wasn’t about seeking to be guided or finding a captain in others. He had always rejected that need and would eradicate any attempts at imposition. True friendship does not seek to control or guide.

The boats and the sea, which once offered him solace, now only accentuated his boredom. He understood that the solitude and peace he sought did not reside in the places he traveled to but in something deeper and personal he had left behind. He knew he would give his life to experience that feeling again, though he understood he could never return to it. It was like the world seen only once in childhood, when everything is new and wonderful, and the rest is just an echo of memories. The scent of cherry blossoms is yearned for, but it no longer satisfies like it did the previous summer.

[ssobsinternallyy]

good morning, mikey!

May 7th, 2024. Approximately two years after K-Day.

It was foggy in Mikey's head that day.

He woke up and felt stuffed with cotton. Like some sort of dumb stuffed toy. He stared idly at his ceiling for a good three minutes, before throwing himself off his hammock. He landed on his plastron, and tried to use the nubs of his arms to push himself upright. When that didn't work, he tried his legs. 

Nope. Too sore. Mikey yawned, a soft orange glow emitting from his nubs as he used his mystic powers to hoist himself up. 

His "nubs" were the term he used to describe the arms that are not there anymore. It didn't really make Mikey that sad anymore, thinking about them. Just gave him more of an excuse to play with his mystic powers. Even if that's why he lost his arms in the first place

Hey, at least Mikey had an excuse. Raph and Donnie would be just as willing to lose a few limbs if it meant nobody dies. 

He summoned a hand and itched his snout. Maybe he should use his prosthetics today.. just in case.

Augh.. but that's SO MUCH WORK.... Mikey complained to himself. Not to mention you'd have to wake up Donnie to help you. Dr. Delicate Touch supplied not-so helpfully. DT wasn't really useful when it came to decision making.

So Mikey opted to just float around, a neat trick he picked up from Draxum. His prosthetics weren't even that heavy, but just thinking about them made Mikey want to fall over. Not to mention his legs were sore from patrol yesterday. Mikey forgot how important arms were when it came to balance. 

He was a little surprised to find CJ in the kitchen at.. wait what time was it? Mikey glanced at the clock. 9:45 AM. Huh.

"Mornin', CJ." Mikey greeted. CJ glanced backward, and gave an awkward little grin. "Good morning, Master!." 

Mikey chuckled. "I thought I said you could just call me Mikey?" CJ gave an awkward little laugh. "Sorry, Mikey." Mikey dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand. 

"Did you want help with breakfast? I- I woke up earlier than I usually do." CJ explained. Mikey groggily mumbled something into his hoodie, before stretching and nodding. He summoned two pairs of hands, and seated himself on a countertop to do his work.

"Can you grab the pancake batter?" Mikey instructed as he got started on Raph's eggs. Raph liked his eggs sunny side up. Just a little bit of salt, and add a bowl of fruit on the side. Cutting fruit with his mystic hands was always a hassle, maybe he'll have CJ do it.

CJ had the pancake batter in hand, and waited patiently for Mikey. Mikey snorted. "You know how to make pancakes, Case, I taught you this." CJ's face flushed a little, and he laughed. "Yeah, uhm, I'll get started on that."

It was always fun having CJ around. He had been teetering between staying in the Lair, staying at April's apartment, and bunking with Cassandra and her girlfriend. The Hamato Clan just sort of decidedthat they shared custody over the guy. Mikey found it funny to think about. What's one more older brother figure in Mikey's life, anyway?

CJ turned around and got started on the pancakes. Mikey had taught him to make them the way Mikey had made them. His pancakes were always undoubtedly delicious, but Casey's replica of them were a very close runner-up. 

Mikey finished Raph's eggs, sliding them onto a plate. He opened a cupboard on the highest shelf and fished around for Raph's favorite mug.

One small bonus about mystic hands is that you don't have to worry about being too short or too weak. Pickle jars and high cabinets have never been easier to open!

He snagged it and pulled it back down. "Hey, Case. I watch pancakes and you cut fruit? Remember, Raph likes his banana chips cut pretty thick. And add strawberries in there too, I think April just bought us some."

CJ nodded, and they switched positions. Cooking with CJ was always relaxing. He knew what to do, and asked questions if he didn't. 

Unlike Leo, who, if he didn't know, just assumed. He's costed Mikey hours of kitchen cleanup. Raph had to honest-to-god BAN Leo from the kitchen, cause Mikey was seconds away from a meltdown. 

The sliding of mechanical doors knocked Mikey out of his head. He turned from where he was moving pancakes onto a plate and smiled. "Mornin', Dee!" 

Donnie murmured an unintelligible greeting, and plopped into a seat. Crap, Mikey forgot about his coffee!

"Agh- Your coffee isn't ready yet, sorry Don!" Mikey chirped, floating to the coffee machine. 

Most people assume that with Donnie's autism, he would like his coffee smooth and creamy. But Donnie actually liked the bitterness of black coffee. 

Mikey started the coffee machine and made a quick pit stop to check on CJ, who flashed him a thumbs up. Mikey smiled, using his mystic hands to flash CJ his own little thumbs up. He glanced at the clock, and looked around. Leo wasn't awake, and he needed to take his meds.

Crap, DONNIE has to take his meds. 

"Don, I know you don't like them, but..." Mikey "grabbed" a prescription bottle that they had gotten from a Hidden City doctor, and slid it across the counter towards Donnie. Donnie grumbled, pushing it away. Mikey put two assertive hands on his hips. "I'll get Raph." He warned, pushing Donnie's coffee into his hands. Donnie rolled his eyes, sipping his coffee.

"You wouldn't." Donnie challenged, but Mikey already had his phone out. Donnie groaned, quickly pushing the pills into his mouth and taking a long swig of his coffee. Mikey smiled. "See? Not so hard."

Donnie grumbled. Satisfied, Mikey went off to hunt for his next victim. 

"Rise and shine, Leo!" Mikey used his foot to kick open the curtained entrance to his blue clad brother's room. Leo let out a sleep chirr, lifting his head up. 

"Hnnnngghhh.. Mikey...." Leo pouted, chucking a throw pillow at him. Mikey dodged it, swiftly using his foot to grab it. He balanced, and using all of his weight, spun around and threw the pillow back. 

Mikey was successful in aiming at Leo, but he lost his balance and toppled over. He collided with the floor with an unsatisfying bonk. 

"Aughh...." Mikey groaned. Leo watched from his bed with a smug grin. "Karma." He sneered. Mikey hissed at him. "Help me up, you blue goofball." 

Leo took his sweet time putting on his knee braces. Striding over to Mikey, Leo nudged him lightly with his toe. Mikey tried to bite him, but missed.

"Woah, fiesty, are we?" Leo laughed, bending over and plucking his little brother off the ground. He grinned, throwing him over his shoulder. Mikey exploded into a fit of laughter. 

"Put me daHAHAWN!" Mikey squealed. Leo liked listening to Mikey laugh. It was probably the best noise in the world. Leo let out a dramatic yawn. "Nah."  He decided, carefully limping into the kitchen. 

"Good morning, Donald, Casey Junior." Leo sing-songed, plopping Mikey onto the counter. Mikey snorted, using his foot to lightly kick the back of Leo's head. The slider turned dramatically, gasping. "My own brother! Betrayal!"

"Deserved." Donnie snorted. Leo let out an exaggerated sob, draping himself dramatically onto CJ. "Double betrayal! Are you seeing this, Casey?!"

CJ laughed, crumbling slightly under Leo's weight. "Sensei!"

A low rumble escaped Raph's room, and Mikey lit up. "Raph's awake!" He cheered. The thump of Mikey's feet were two times as fast as Raph's slow stomping, and Mikey was circling Raph like a happy dog in under a few seconds. Donnie pulled out his phone. "Huh. It took three whole seconds for Mikey, upon discovery that he was awake, dart over to Raph."

"That's a new record, baby bro!" laughed Leo, leaning over Donnie's shoulder to look at the phone.  Raph glanced up, confused. "You guys have been keeping track?"

"Data collection is my craft, Raphael." Donnie stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Raph rolled his eyes playfully, grabbing Mikey by the rim of his shell and plopping him onto his shoulder. Mikey leaned his weight onto Raph's head and used his legs to support himself. 

Using Raph as a jungle gym is hard now that Mikey's arms were MIA, but Mikey managed. He always managed. 

That's what Leo always admired about Mikey. His ability to adapt. Mikey hadn't exactly welcomed disability with open arms (pun intended), but he took it in stride. 

And seeing his little brother bursting with joy, eating breakfast with his family, Leo was reminded about just how lucky he was. That Mikey saved his life, that his brothers were alive and here. 

Even if Dad wasn't with them. 

Leo missed his father a lot. Their father had a troubling time raising them, and sure, they fought sometimes, but he loved his sons. More than anything else. 

And as their family grew closer, Splinter's health started declining. 

It was subtle at first, but it grew worse over time. And then one day, Splinter's chest spasmed in the kitchen, and he died on the floor, right in front of Mikey and Leo.

Leo didn't like thinking about what he had lost. It didn't make him feel too hot.

"Leo!" Mikey's voice rang in his ears. Leo hummed, turning around. His three brothers and CJ looked at him worriedly.

"Sensei, are you okay?" CJ asked. Leo smiled. "Yeah, I am. Just spaced out." Mikey nodded. Raph reached over and rubbed Leo's head. He laughed. 

Mikey took a final bite of his pancake, and smiled. 

It didn't get much better than this.

[ask-hannah-blog]

Back in Dream Land

I’m in a small room with a crusty bare mattress. A few candles are flickering and I’m in a nightie and a pair of stockings, all black very sexy except for the large untied sneakers on my feet, they have smiley faces on them.

I’m waiting for someone and I don’t realize who until he parts the curtain.

It’s Phil!

The man of my dreams.

Look what they’d done to him, he couldn’t have been an inch taller than 5 feet now. Though I wager he weighed as much if not more than when he was six foot. Now he was a fat, squat little thing with a big belly and man boobs. He was wearing nothing but a little pink silk banana hammock that was kept in place by a pair of suspenders that was also hold his wobbling belly in check. His balding was complete and he was left with nothing more than a ring of thin yellow tuffs around his skull. I followed his thick, stubby hairy legs down to his feet. Big sexy man stampers in golf cleats.

My breath caught in my throat, and I immediately started squirming like a school girl. He looked so sexy!

What a hunk!

What a clown, what an absolute goofball.

His squat body, the way the hair on his legs crept up to his belly and into his deep tempting bellybutton. His skin was still pink, but I could tell he was admiring my own complexion.

“You like what you see?” I dropped a strap on my mighty so he could admire the cluster of little heart markings on my shoulder.

“You look like a clown!” He grinned. His little pink speedo shifted noticeably, I don’t think that part has shrunk!

“You’re one to talk!” I grinned back.

He shifted self consciously. “I look awful. I just look like some fat loser.”

I giggled. “I know the idea that someone that looks like you, would have a girlfriend like me is sooooo funny!”

He chuckled at this too, his cheeks growing red and that serpent in his speedo slither with Randy satisfaction.

The thought of his downgraded appearance making him the hurt of a joke, was humiliating and of course exciting at the same time.

“Hahaha it’s pretty hard to believe a goofy gal like you would want a fat bozo like me!”

“Hehe hyuck!” I spread my legs for him so he could see my scarlet slit glisten between my white lips. “I want to ride my Philly!”

He grinned and waddled on over towards my stinking mattress his feet making the sexiest slapping sounds you could imagine.

I seductively rubbed my sneakers together, and pressed the dirty soles to his dick. “Come on,” I whined. “I need it!”

I grinned and unclasped his suspenders, and let the little silk hankie float to the ground between his legs.

I was mistaken his dick wasn’t unaffected by the shrinking, it had grown! It had to be twelve inches of pale pulsing meat, much lighter color than the rest of his body. My jaw dropped, and then a honk of laughter trumpeted from my mouth. “It’s gorgeous hahaha!”

He laughed too. “I don’t look like I deserve it, huh?”

His big silly song was cracking me up, to think such godly tool belonged to a fat slob like him! To think a smoke show like me belonged to to him! What was wrong with the world!

“Come on I need it, give it to me you big goof guy!”

That’s all the encouragement he needed he clambered up into the mattress ackwardly, he was so bulky, but I moaned with pleasure as I felt his flabby weight press down on me. More impressively his hairy stomach pressed his andacona against my body and I was visibly vibrating with excitement.

“Where’s your nose Clown?” He asked shifting his weight one way and another as he tried to line up with me.

“Ooooh.” I groaned miserably, and pinched my boring human nose. “Hooonk.” I whined.

He tsssked. “I’ve been watch a lot of clown porn lately, I like their noses.”

I felt so ugly and miserable. “Ooooh baby, I’ll grow a big clown nose for you, ooooh one big enough for you to fuck with that wacky stick, just please fuck me okay.”

His head pressed against my sex, I moaned. “You’re so hot honkers, I want this so much…”

“Me too I…”

As I spoke the curtains in the room were suddenly thrown back, and I realized we were on a little mobile stage, and on the other side of the curtain were a bunch of clowns and clowns to be eagerly waiting for our act to begin…

[gloryy-vs]

Omg, I just read your Ao’nung, I was wondering if you could do another one where the reader is the one to do his hair before he goes out to like do his daily task. It’s been floating around and my brain and I think you’d be the perfect person to write it. I love your writing, and it’s totally fine if you don’t feel like writing it. 💗

||

yes ofc >:) couldn’t think of a title so pls give recs 🤲🏻 a lil short but it’s still cute

characters: ao’nung x reader

ratings: fluff , sfw ,

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You pulled his shoulder down, having him sit on the floor while you sat on the hammock behind him. “If you want me to do you hair then you can’t sit next to me.” You said, running your fingers through his fluffy curls. He whined, “That’s bullshit.” You smacked the back side of his head playfully, “You want you beside to look lopsided?” He stayed silent, and you retorted, “That’s what I thought.” You began to massage his scalp, taking your time to ease the tension.

He put his head back, taking great joy in the way your fingers worked his scalp. Having his braids in for a long time made his scalp tense and almost sore, so it was a relief when you took a cold oil that was used when braiding and started from his scalp, all the way down to his ends, making his hair more manageable.

“Ma Eywa, this feels amazing.” He said, a goofy smile rising on his face. You shook your head, slicking his hair back and pulling it back for a second before releasing it. “I know you love it when I do your hair.” You said, grabbing a sturdy twine to secrion off where his braids would start. “You want the same as usual, my love?” You questioned, while your face remained concentrated on parting his hair. Ao’nung nodded curly as to not disturb your work. “You always do my hair the best, when you braid em’ it doesn’t hurt as bad when they’re fresh.” He responded.

You smiled, slicking the sections you made with oil to keep them in place while you worked on the other ones. You grabbed a section of his hair, finally starting to braid his hair against his head while applying the cold oil every so often. You wanted to make them braids tight enough to stay, but not so tight that Ao’nungs’ scalp would hurt.

He sat there comfortably, his eyes closing and then fluttering open while you took your time with his hair. You stopped all the braids you got to so far towards the middle of his head, leaving the rest undone so you could make his signature bun. you took a thicker oil, pressing the ends of each braid down in place so that when you tied up his hair they would come loose. Taking more of the thinner oil you slicked the remained hit of his hair, seeing how the oil made his fluffy curls more defined made you smile in content. You loved the texture of his hair, and you especially loved playing with it. You twisted his hair into a half bun, using a thin vine to tie it up and keep it in place, leaving the good bit of hair left to hang down from it. You rubbed the remaining oil on your hands together, running your fingers through the loose ends of his hair to define his curls again, and made it your finishing point before tapping him on the shoulder.

“All done.” You said. Ao’nung put his head in between your legs, pushing his head back to look up at you. He placed his hands on your thighs before saying, “Thank you.” Putting your hands on either side of his face, you kissed his forehead. “Anytime, skxawng.”