#it's so nice to rediscover the joy this guy still brings me thanks to your creations! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

franeridart · 6 years

Note

dude your recent demon & angel kiribaku art reminds me a little bit of aziraphale and crowley from good omens!! like aziraphale would be angrier as baku obvs but still i thought of it and it made me happy lol

A lot of people have mentioned that in the tags/under the post and that makes me!!! super happy!!!! Good Omens is one of my fav books and Crowley one of my fav characters, so the comment feels nice! I wasn’t specifically thinking about them when drawing it, but possibly a bit I was influenced anyway!! I wonder if what made everyone think about them was Kiri’s sunglasses? It’s not noticeable but I did give him glowing eyes too after all haha

Anon said:Have you ever thought about how op a TodoBakuDeku fusion would be? (if they could stay together that is lol!)

Never thought of it tbh, but at this point I’m pretty sure with a lot of work on Baku’s part they’d be able to stick together long enough! He wouldn’t find it comfortable but they’d def be one of the strongest three-people-fusions in the class - not the strongest, tho, since they all have the same sort of straightforward offensive power when it comes to their quirks, I think I could find three people who’d make a stronger fusion... Baku Kiri and Momo, for example, would be even more impressive imho! Since all their quirks cover a different field, and their minds/personalities mesh well enough to have the right amount of planning and instinctive reaction/self-preservation and safety of others/pride and self-doubt/lawfulness and chaotic acting and so on. Even just as a team, without counting them as a fusion, I think they’d make one of the most balanced ones! Compared to that putting Todo Deku and Baku in the same place is just a recipe for disaster more often than not haha

Anon said:no, i move slow, I wanna stop time, I'll sit here til I find the,, inspiration to draw,,,,,,

LMAO it’s a song about art block after all, I feel every word in it a whole damn lot hahaha

Anon said:Art block or no art block, I love everything you come up with 💜

AW HECK ANON you’re so sweet!!! Thank you so much!!!!! ;O;

Anon said:Mixing thei hero names? So uuuh King Riot?

We still don’t know Baku’s hero name, so anything might be, really! It’s why I didn’t outright have Kiri mention any idea, I got no clue myself where he was going with it haha it’d be cool if his hero name were Ground Zero, because it’d mix well with Red Riot imho (Red Zero or Ground Riot or Red Ground, they all sound nice!) but what if Baku’s hero name ends up just being Katsuki, after all? How do you mix that with Red Riot? (the answer is Red Victory, or Akatsu!! from akai (red) + katsu !! ngl I’ve thought about this a lot lmao) anyway so many possibilities so little known facts!

Anon said:I love the details on Kiri and Baku's skin. Great job!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Anon said:!!!!!!!!!! fran oh my god your zine piece is so beautiful!!!!!!!

Sob thank youuu!!!! I’m glad you liked it!!!! ;O;

Anon said:i just got my zine and the art and writing was so lovely, i loved your comic at the end. an amazing way to end the zine♡

THANK YOU!!!! I’m jelly, I still haven’t gotten mine ;O; I hope the comic was easy to read even in printed form, I’ve been worried about that for months hahaha rip at least there’s the pdf

Anon said: i’m in love with your kiri bday art!!!! with the colorless art like that, are we allowed to color it? of course no posting it, but just for fun.

If you promise not to post it, I’m cool with it! Thank you for liking it enough to want to do that!!! Seriously tho don’t post it if you do

Anon said:Can you draw more kamisero? g u d q u a l i t y s h i p ma' dude.

Maybe? Currently it really isn’t between my top priorities but who knows

Anon said:FRANNNNN!!!! Your comic for the Take My Hand zine!!!! I'm gonna cry! It's so beautiful and the boys are so perfect! Your art is so amazing, I was so thrilled to see your piece. Not to mention the detail you put in. Their hands killed me! With Bakugou's palms and Kiri's arms! Ugh, I just can't, I love it so much.

I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED THE HANDS it’s weird bc that one panel is probably my fav in the comic and I was so sure no one was gonna really notice it but!! So many people did!!!!! It makes me so happy oh man ;O;

Anon said:Hey coulda maybe make a traitor Kaminari comic?

Nope! No traitor arts here, sorry! SInce I don’t believe any of the theories to the point of finding them outright laughable, any art I could ever make about it would just come out looking either fake or ridiculous and no one wants to see that lmao

Anon said:your take my hand comic!!! it's so good!! thank you for doing the boys so well ;;;

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOUUUU!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I don't know if you remember, but a couple months ago I asked if it'd be okay for me to write something based on a few of your art pieces. Would that still be alright? Your art is gorgeous and makes my brain think and brings joy to me all the time ^^ would absolutely link to the art and credit you. that's not even a question :)

That still depends on which art you’re specifically talking about! And thank you so much for the compliment!!

Anon said:I don’t know if you read fan fiction, but I have one to suggest to you! It’s called, “It’s Obvious When You Lie”. Only three chapters are out so far, but it’s really good!

I’ll add it to my marked for later list then!! Thank you so much for the rec, I don’t easily try out ongoing fics so this was very nice of u!!!

Anon said:In the body switch AU Todoroki sees how fucked up Midoriya feels around Bakugou('s body?) and realizes wow fuck this guy has traumatized my bf. I wonder what I can do to fuck w/ him so the day before they switch back (So Bakugou can't do much in retaliation) he takes Bakugou's body and does the stupidest bullshit ever as revenge

HECK anon sorry but nothing like this would happen ever as long as I’m the one writing the AU! For three main reasons! One, I don’t think Deku is traumatized at all! His relationship with Baku at the moment is actually pretty damn neat and on equal footing, you go you two, growing so much!! Two, Baku and Todo are friends!!! And Todo would never be a dick to Baku instead of just talking to him, if he had a problem with him!! Three, even if one and two weren’t true, Deku has no need for knights in shining armor fighting his battles for him!! He’s a strong independent boy and if he hasn’t fought Baku over this it’s probs cause he doesn’t want anyone to fight him over it!!! Also in this specific AU Todo and Deku aren’t dating, so the scenario doesn’t work for me! Sorry!

Anon said:Have you ever thought about krbk wedding?

I have! And I’ve talked about it on here a few times too! Lately I’ve been thinking about it again tho, from a designs point of view, because!! There’s that very neat post going around tumblr about that wedding photos in which one of the two grooms has a white tux with a cape, and I’ve been thinking about a variation of it for Kirishima’s wedding suit :0 something red instead of white, but generally similar! It’s a lot of effort to draw it so I still haven’t, but yeh!!

Anon said:Hello! I read this fic about your cat comics and the author said to send you some love in their end notes so here is some well-deserved love: your art is beautiful! It's why I became interested in BakuShima and I would not have loved these characters as much if it weren't for you. You also seem to be a very nice person, your mind is beautiful and I am glad you exist

G O DS this is such a nice ask!!!! thank you so so much!!!! ;O;

Anon said:Non chiedo una risposta a questo messaggio, anzi. Volevo solo dirti che trovo la tua arte FANTASTICA, e non sai quanto i tuoi comic e tutto il tuo lavoro mi ha strappato più di un sorriso in brutti momenti. Sapere che sei italiana mi ha fatto totalmente impazzire. Continua così, hai del talento vero. E grazie!

NUHHHH GRAZIE A TE PER ESSERE COSI’ GENTILE OMFG !!!!!!!!!! ;A;

Anon said:Okay okay okay! I adore your art! Could you maybe... draw some KiriBaku fantasy? If it’s not too much to ask! It can be as simple as can be! Your art is just really cute!

Yes I can and yes I will!!! Definitely and in the near future, did you know one of the app games JUST revealed a fantasy wolf Baku as a special halloween chara?? It’s just fantasy Baku with wolf ears and tail, but he’s adorable and I’ve been wanting to draw him since I saw him this morning ;O; so cute!

Anon said:Pssst. Singer Baku, Guitarist Kami, and Drummer Kiri. A good hc if I do say so myself.

It IS a great thought!! Drummer Kiri and Singer Baku have always been a weakness of mine too, so heck!! What a good image! If we put Jirou on bass and vocals too and sero on keyboard and mina on guitar, you make my fav band right then and there hahaha

Anon said:I'm not in the BNHA fandom at the moment but your art still continues to give me the warm fuzzies

GODS ISN’T THIS A NICE ASK!! I’m happy I can make you enjoy even characters you’re not specifically into! Thank you so much for sticking around!!!! ;O;

Anon said:i just got into bnha and fell in love with your art, started going through your sketch tag, and then realize that youre the person who made a bunch of haikyuu comics i loved a while ago so im! very glad to rediscover your stuff!!

HOLY GODS THAT’S NEAT!!! Welcome back!!!! ;O;

Anon said:I love it when you draw kiri with his hair down 💕💕💕 so good, so pure 💕💕💕💕

Oh boy thank you!! ;O; he’s so much easier to draw with his hair spiked for me, knowing people like the way I draw his hair when down means a whole damn lot!!

Anon said:Hello! First I love your account and artwork! Second will you ever be drawing Mako and Taiyou again? They are so adorable! Also Bakugou and Kirishima seems like amazing dad's!

Thank you!!! And yes I will! I have another ask around here asking about them, so maybe soon! Just gotta find the right idea to draw, I got a bunch but they’re all way too long for my curret attenton span level sadly hahaha rip

Anon said:lmaaaaooo my boi kaminari be having an emotional awakening

Kaminari is like, he’s always somewhere subconsciously known that Baku’s objectively pretty, but since he knows him so well and he’s always around him and most of the times they’re bickering and making fun of each other he’s never actually realized, so now he’s like oh, NOW I see it hahaha

Anon said:hi u probably get this enough but I wanted to give u all my appreciation for ur art thank u for sharing it with us I love everything u post ♡♡♡

THANK YOU!!!! It might be greedy of me but this sorta asks are never enough for me, so seriously thank you for taking your time to drop by and be so nice!!!

Anon said:Could you please draw more of the body swap au? Or what if a different pair of students were to switch?

I’m not gonna draw any other switch with other students, because before settling on Baku and Todo I went through a lot of possibilities and came to the conclusion that nothing would be as funny as Baku and Todo switched are (or at least nothing Horikoshi hasn’t already done himself lmao) so there’s that. I might draw more of them switched, but to be honest with you the only idea with that concept I have right now is Bakugou forgetting he’s suddenly taller and continuously walking into things around the dorms, so there’s that as well hahaha

#fran answers #a lot of !!!! in this one #today i'm feeling !!!#it's a nice feeling #hahaha #anonymous

225 notes · View notes

hpreadathon2017-blog · 7 years

Text

To dear the Readathon Family...

I wanted to write this sooner, but a). I haven't had time - as soon as the readathon ended, I had to jump straight into the uni work that I'd been neglecting; and b). I couldn't bring myself to do it - writing this means finality to something that has been constant in my life for the past three+ months. But, I'm facing it, I'm writing this, and this is for all of you.

Firstly, I want to thank you for joining me, and the team, for this year's #HPReadathon2017. Thank you for your support, your enthusiasm, and for always giving every activity we threw at you everything you’ve got. Whether you were here a week, or you stuck around for the whole ride, thank you. If you read the books with us, thank you. If you participated in challenges and activities and interacted with the readathon community, thank you. If you were in it only for the points, no thank you.

It was quite unfortunate that, at times, we found people to be very 'points-hungry', that is, they seemed to care about house points more than anything else. Some people were doing challenges and activities FOR the points, and weren't actually reading with us at all. That was a little bit sad. It is called a READathon after all.

And, then, there were those who were so impatient that we had to let everyone know in our VERY FIRST Tumblr update post that we're only human and that running the readathon was not a full time job (though we wish it was!). There were only five of us, and, even then, most of us were incredibly busy with Muggle life. We juggled that with actually doing the readathon and running the behind the scenes as well, and I want to say that I thought the team handled it very well. We couldn't be on the account twenty-four hours of every day, that would be incredibly impractical. We couldn't give out house points as soon as things were posted. We couldn't monitor every single tweet that came through. But we tried our best, nevertheless.

And, then, there was the concern about time zones. While we tried our best to make sure everyone around the world could participate in a majority of events (opening the quizzes for 24 hours is an example of this), we could never please everyone. That was a given. Some of our events were timed so that they matched the books (Quidditch - Saturday, 11am UK time - though ours were mostly on Sunday because of Muggle life). Most events were timed to cater for the majority of the readathoners - this year, we had a lot of Europeans, so we did a lot of things on their time. This was at great inconvenience to us - I'm from Australia, I stayed up half the night every single night to make sure things ran smoothly. If we ran things on American time, I'd be awake, yes, but no one would join, as the majority of the readathoners would be asleep. It was a strategic move, and it paid off, despite the complaints.

But that was only some people. Most of you were incredibly lovely. I've had the time of my life getting to know all of you as we journeyed through the books together. Those whose usernames stood out for me most were the ones who constantly showed up, no matter what - not only for the events, but they embraced the social side of the readathon, and tweeted their favourite quotes, their thoughts, comments and questions. From this, and the Common Room group chats, it was amazing to see the Readathon Community truly forming.

There was a lot of planning for this readathon, I’m not going to lie. I’ve been planning it since October 2016, and the team has been with me since the beginning of the year. We prepared all the schedules, question threads and quizzes months before the readathon even began. But, as it is with these sorts of things, we couldn’t plan for everything. The Common Room group chats - we had had that idea early on, but scrapped it due to the amount of work it would take. But, everyone was so keen to have one, so we accommodated for it. The Pride Week challenges, where we got each House to pitch in challenges, that was on a whim too! I love that we did that though - it truly made the readathon YOURS. The free-weekend activities were decided in the week leading up to them too - very last minute, but so, so, so worth it.

I actually cannot believe how much we've achieved during this readathon. We got out of our comfort zones several times to take photos in public for the photo challenges. We've created our own magical beasts, we've faced our fears, we've gotten messy in the kitchen, we've created our own magical schools, we've turned our art into moving images, we've participated in (wild, animal-filled) Quidditch matches, we've sent in an awkward video of ourselves talking about how much we love HP, we’ve learnt a runic alphabet and wrote cute little notes to each other, we've treated ourselves to something nice, we've created wands and charms, and plotted our own magical stories. We made an appearance IN a fanfiction, written solely for the readathon, and we've created long lasting memories that no one could ever take from us.

My most favourite memory is Chloe's (@chloeinhogwarts) "Albums" moment. That, to me, was a huge highlight, because I remember just sitting there, giggling like a mad person, even though I knew if I didn't get a move on with the quiz, we'd never finish the club. We ended up going for three hours that day, and it was truly memorable.

Another moment I remember quite well is how Farzana (@cimorriana) and I began talking - we had a pun-off, and it was really quite epic!

Also epic was the time when all the readathoners came together to fight Twitter Umbitch because HPR had been shadowbanned! That made me feel so proud and happy to be a part of such an amazing and supportive community.

It was also during this readathon that I became an Honorary Hufflepuff. Long story short, the Puffs always caught HPR (me) in the Hufflepuff Common Room, and they'd call me out on it, and I would chill with them for a bit - they nearly always told me to go to sleep though. Then, one day in July, they decided to add my personal account to the Common Room, and it was a blast getting to know them better (even though I sort of knew quite a bit because of all the stalking). I want to point out that my friendship with the Hufflepuffs did not affect their standing in the House Cup. Their #Hufflepocalypse really sealed the deal for them.

I've really had a blast this readathon. There really aren't enough words to describe the feelings of revisiting Harry's world and rediscovering the forgotten moments. Nor can I describe the joy I felt when writing the fanfic, or seeing conversations between readathoners blossom into friendships, or the fact that I was so tired every day, but still got up to do readathony things. It really gave my life a purpose, a reason to wake up every day, and you guys were definitely a huge part of that. So, once again, thank you.

There’s so much I want to keep talking about - like, the fact that the OWL and NEWT creative answers were absolutely hilarious that they had me rolling on the floor laughing, or the fact that we spent three months together and weren’t sick of each other, or the fact that I was up til odd hours in the days leading up to the end of the month to collect tweets (there were SO many) for the magazine. Or, you know, boycotting CC and the Pottermore shorts together to read our own fanfiction. This is an experience that you walk away with memories that’ll last a lifetime - store them in your Pensieve! I’m rambling, but seriously, I’m so happy with how the readathon went this year. I said it was going to be incredibly interactive, and it truly was. Bit stressful, at times, but I think that was worth it.

I have to quickly add in a twenty-foot-giant thank you to my team - Andrew, Jem, Lovisa and Meg - for their tireless efforts during this readathon. While Meg ran Quidditch, and Jem tackled the COMC club, they, and the others, worked really hard behind the scenes, talking through ideas and planning events, and I really could not have run HPR without them. Guys, I'm truly thankful that you gave up your time and holiday to help me, and to deal with everything the readathon threw at us.

I'm incredibly sad it's over, but never fear, readathoners, this is not goodbye - we will countdown to next year together, and it'll be totally awesome.

Until next year, stay magical, be safe, I love you all.

Tan. x (@slythertan)

#HPReadathon2017 #hpr

23 notes · View notes

forcedapotheosis-blog · 7 years

Text

Solstice Ch. I

Alright fellas, the next chapter of Gloomy Days will be taking a little longer because reasons (I wrote them down here, if you care [x]), but that doesn’t mean that I stopped writing. What you see here is the first chapter of me trying to go back or rediscover my roots my roots as an amateur author. It’s not that evident in the first chapter, admittedly, but it’ll be getting better. I hope. And you’ll be seeing what I mean. So, what else? It has SaNami in it, because I can’t fucking help myself, is set in an alternate universe that is close to ours (Artistic License: History will be put to work a lot) and .. Sanji (the only planned PoV) will be a little out of character, but it’d spoil a lot if I tell you now in which way. Well, anything else .. let me see.

Oh yeah, reading my other fanfics I kinda came to the conclusion that, even if they are basically only about SaNami, I never really let them interact with each other (I mean, they will in the last few chapters of Gloomy Days, but looking at the other two I posted, it’s .. really not that much), that changes in this one. Hope that you’ll like it (since I’m an antisocial asshole and kinda clueless about this), but even regarding my roots it’s .. well, a little uncharted territory for me. Have fun reading it and have fun in general. The world, at least for a libtard like me, is looking really bleak right now (though I have the feeling that it’s getting a bit better in Germany) and I desperately hope that someone is enjoying his time.

Disclaimer: One Piece and its characters don’t belong to me.

PS: Thanks for all the people reading, liking and reblogging stuff. And, that deserves mentioning, special thanks to the people who sacrifice a little time to comment/review them, no matter if done here, on ff.net or archives. Always makes my day.

Chapter I: On The Road

Dearest brother,

We all remember the miserable circumstances that forced our family apart, but many years have passed since these awful times and no one of us can deny that he dearly missed the sight of you at father's funeral. I thought you might have wanted to know that, even after all the trouble and strife mother and he went through, he found his final place of rest right next to her, three years ago. Seeing him pass away made it clear to your brothers and me that we have a duty towards all members of our family to fulfill, to strengthen bonds and not sever.

You've been gone for so long, Sanji, and I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't my sincerest wish to see the rest of the family united again, even if just for a few days. And before you ask how I found out your address, what a time to be alive, isn't it?

The internet, cellphones, planes and even good old trains are all human inventions made with the thought in mind to bring humanity closer together. And in these wonderful times, it's no big deal to find out about a handsome and gifted young cook on the internet.

I'm so happy for you that you were finally able to settle down and work yourself all the way to the top. I even thought about visiting you at the Baratie, but I didn't know how you'd react. And what would've happened if I just called? I'm very sure that you would have just hung up on me, my dear brother. Thus I started writing this letter, wishing only that you think about my proposal before burning it, I beg of you.

Father's passing has shown to us all that life is ephemeral and everybody could go at any time. It would fill my heart with joy to see you again, Sanji, even if it is for the last time. You always were the best of us and I wish to see how you turned out.

The family will gather at our old demesne in the North, three weeks from now, arriving on the 20th of December to celebrate Yuletide together. Niji and Yonji will bring their girlfriends with them, and even though Ichiji is still a bachelor, his beautiful secretary, a splendid and resourceful young woman, will accompany him.

If there is someone special in your life right now, don't worry: There will be enough space to accommodate everyone.

Longing to see this family together again,

Reiju

PS: I enclosed two train tickets for you and your possible company. The train will arrive at around 23:35 if everything goes right and one of us will pick you up.

He read the letter for what felt like the hundredth time. Reiju did sound sincere about her wishing to see the family reunited. That and the fact that, besides his mother, she was the only member of his family he had any fond memories of, heavily influenced him when he made the decision to accept the invitation. Nonetheless, he kept asking himself if it was the right way to go. Over a decade ago, he broke ties with his family for good, a decision forced upon him by his father. But he's dead now, and every soul deserves peace. Maybe this could actually work out, now that he's gone? And even if not, at least trying it would have made mother happy, he told himself. Reading the letter over and over again and justifying his actions with the thought of his mother on his mind occupied most of his travelling time and he was happy about it, in retrospective. The train ride was long and mostly boring since the countryside wasn't something to write home about and he always thought about the North as being cold, rainy and bleak anyway, with dismissive residents to round up the package. Well, if the shitty weather's anything to go with, this reunion will go down the drain in no time., he contemplated while leaving the train at the empty station that was his final destination. It was astounding that a train would actually regularly visit this place. It seemed abandoned, and while a few defunct lights at rail stations were not a rare sight at all, finding a functioning one here felt like a lottery win. He never liked visiting the old manor, even when he was still a child and his mother still around to provide counterweight to his father. The place, he could recall, did seem to drain her energy more than usual and sleep never came easy in the old halls. For you, mother, I'm giving this a chance., he steeled himself and left the station to step out into the heavy rain that was pouring from the heavens. Even though winter and snow should be upon the country in full force, especially so far up north, there was no such thing as a white Christmas this year. Or a white Yuletide or whatever his family was referring to. It didn't make a huge difference, just .. what, three days? He put up his black umbrella when he left the, at least mostly, dry railway building and immediately felt all alone out here. The people on the train were taciturn, but at least they were there. And when he stepped off of it, he could at least spot a lonesome conductor. But out here? There was just a whole lot of nothing inhabited by no one in a perimeter of around ten kilometres. At least somebody's going to pick me up. Well, somebody should be coming to pick me up. But maybe this is all just a cruel joke, made up by my .. by those guys. I assume that was the last train until tomorrow morning and they'd be laughing quite a lot, knowing that I'm stranded here, in the middle of shitty freaking nowhere., the likelyhood of this situation being construed just to mock him sent a fit of rage and heat through his body, but besides clenching his fist in suppressed anger, there wasn't a whole lot that he could do about it. A cab might have been a possibility, but taking him to the nearest hotel would cost a small fortune. Besides that, it was doubtful that there even was a cab or some other kind of public transporation that he could use to solve that problem. Walking then, maybe?, he continued to contemplate after cooling down a bit, coming to the conclusion that walking the way to the nearest hotel would've been an even worse idea than coming here in the first place. If it was at all possible, the rain grew even stronger and the streets around these parts were not reinforced. Within a few meters, he'd be covered in mud from his feet up to his hip. And he didn't really feel like sacrificing his expensive leather shoes for the sake of his pride.

Cooling down had another effect on him though, his senses came back and the surroundings felt even eerier to him than before. The lonely guard was nowhere to be found and the feeling of being isolated in a hostile and uncaring world grew stronger by the minute. The cover of darkness was literally impenetrable and not even the slightest ray of moonlight made its way through the thick, black clouds that had conquered the heavens. Still, there was nothing left to do other than cursing this damned family. He breathed in sharply when familiar sounds reached his ears and broke through the staccato caused by the heavy rain. A car!, he thought, somewhat relieved. Maybe the driver was on his way towards town and would give him a ride for a few bucks. He held out his free hand to hail the driver, as the other one was occupied with his umbrella, and balanced his black suitcase on a raised knee, all the while it seemed that every single drop of rain from all over the world decided to come here for vacations. Sure, he might've looked a little silly, standing there in the rain on just one leg, but he wouldn't risk his suitcase getting soaked. Even the roaring engine of the machine fought a losing battle against all the noise. Nonetheless, the driver did seem to see him as he pulled the car right in front of Sanji. Holy .. that's one nice car., and exactly that it was. The owner seemed to value precision German engineering and craftsmanship and when it came to cars for the higher echelons, one could say that Mercedes was unmatched. Yeah, well, not the whole truth, but there's some truth to it., he silently commented, approaching the window on the driver's side.

His heart made a loud thump when the interior lighting of the car was ignited and revealed a single ray of hope, an angel that promised to lead him through this darkest night, no, a fiery goddess to burn the shadows away, he thought. Her gentle, round and maroon-coloured eyes were fixated on him and she finally lowered the window. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea at all to travel to this place?

"Mademoiselle truly is a sight to behold, thou art so fair, where hast thou been ..", but then she cut him off.

"I take it that you're Sanji?", other than the fact that she interrupted him, there was nothing rude nor unfriendly about the way she talked, and her voice would've made him an obedient slave under literally any other circumstances. Still, his heart grew heavier by the seconds. She's associated with my family. Great. Yeah, absolutely great. I should've just walked out of here., he finally lowered his hand and took hold of the suitcase again.

"I fear that's exactly who I am.", he admitted, feeling as alone as ever. And there it was, just a beacon of light in a night that seemed unending. She smiled at him. Just a normal, casual smile that even total strangers might exchange on their way to work. But seeing it on her face, on her full lips, and extending to her eyes, it could've melted stone or split the mighty mountains in two.

"What are you waiting for, then? Put your case in the trunk and hop in, I'll give you a ride!", and he did as he was told, taking his place on the seat next to her. And she's even more beautiful when I'm not in the middle of a cloudburst., he thought, taking a look at the side of her face. Flawless, beautifully carved. A literal goddess without contest. She even smelled the part, the odour of her parfume told a promising tale of a celestial garden full of tangerines. He gulped when he realised that she caught him staring at her, looking at him with what could have been anticipation. And then it hit him, he was so enchanted by her looks, her smell and her smile - that one somehow stood out - that he forgot to introduce himself. Sure, she knew who he was, but that was common courtesy!

"I beg your forgiveness, mademoiselle, as the sight of you made me forget my manners. Please, allow me to introduce myself.", he slighty bowed his head forward and held out his right hand, palm pointing upwards. And oh, how delighted he was when she softly placed her hand on his! It was not much of a touch, more like a butterfly gently landing on his hands. I need .. to stop this .. soon?, he tried to reason with himself, but there was no denying that the touch, even the slightest, of a goddess was as intoxicating as .. but he couldn't think of something that came even close to her. This woman was truly without equal. Her auburn hair, her flawless and soft skin, these eyes a man could drown in and die happy .. and he hadn't even seen her standing yet. But it was probably better that way, as he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering down a bit and, well, let's just say it poured fuel into the fire. It's been years since he had his last nosebleed, but now that his blood was rushing .. well, everywhere, he could already feel it knocking on the door. But wasn't there something he had to do? Realising that he was still holding her hand, he somewhat came back to his senses, softly brushing his thumb over her knuckles before lowering his head deep enough to breath a kiss – his lips were not touching her skin – on her knuckles.

"Sanji ... Vinsmoke, it is my greatest pleasure to make your acquaintance, mademoiselle.", to his utter delight, she let out a soft chuckle. And no matter how heavily the rain was hammering on the car, no matter how much noise it made, her reaction enchanted him more than everything he could imagine .. well, more than anything he could imagine safely, without risking a nosebleed.

"The pleasure is all mine, Sanji ..", good God, the way she pronounced his name sent shivers done his spine. "I'm Nami ..", a goddess called Nami? Very fitting. "And I'm your brother Niji's .. ", oh no no no no no, please, don't say 'girlfriend', please, please, don't say 'girlfriend' .. she paused for a moment which led him to finally let go of her hand, raising his face to restore eye contact. "You look a little distressed, did you see a ghost? I was just about to tell you that I'm your brother Niji's girlfriend.", that very moment, he thought that she must have been able to hear his heart breaking. Girlfriend. His brother's. Taken. Shouldn't have come here .., he sluggishly thought. "That's .. great to hear, Nami. May I ask how .. long you've been together?", his voice threatened to give up on him, but he had to at least try to get on good terms with her. Just for the hell of it.

"Of course you may! Tomorrow it's going to be three years for the both of us, and if I'm being honest, I think that he's going to propose not long after.", well, everything got from bad, but alright, to wonderful to bad to worse to utterly freaking terrible in no time. Mere seconds ago, when she told him that she was Niji's girlfriend, he felt as if he had been suckerpunched by the world's strongest man. And there goes all the hope I had gathered since meeting the Goddess, never to be seen again, but now that she told him that she anticipated a proposal, he couldn't fall much deeper, could he? Once you hit rock bottom, the only way left to go was up. Trying to keep a straight face, even forcing a smile upon himself, he carefully chose his next words, even though his voice tried to betray him all the way.

"That's .. amazing news, Nami, really. I'm very happy for the two of you .. shall we get going, then?", yeah, good news for his despicable bastard of a brother. Maybe he changed for the better? A woman like Nami would never be in a relationship with that sodding bastard he used to be, maybe she even managed to change him?, the chances were slim, but he at least had to try to stay positive. One door closes, another one opens or whatever people in dire situations used to say.

"So, Sanji, are you sure that you're actually related to Niji and Yonji?", now, what kind of a question was that? Didn't she see his eyebrow? Also, he needed a cigarette right now. Without even thinking about the necessary movements, he snatched one of these little nails to his personal coffin out of a silvery case he carried in the inside pocket of his jacket before, again, forcing himself to look at her. "Come again? And .. would you mind if I smoke?", he really, really needed it. Even if she wouldn't allow it in the car, getting outside in the cold and rain didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Maybe it'd even help him to shake off the strange mixture of feelings rushing through his mind and body.

"I'm sure you understood.", there it was again, that beautiful smile that could melt solid rock. Genuine, beautiful and demanding an answer.

"Yeah .. they wouldn't have invited me otherwise, would they?", he still had the cigarette between his lips, waiting for an answer regarding that question. Instead of answering, she moved a little in her seat, taking the cigar jack out of its mounting and leaned over towards his side. And if that wasn't surprising enough for him, her next move definitely was. No clear thought went with it when he felt her fingers gently touch his chin to keep it, and by extension the cigarette, in place, her other hand, holding the cigar jack, moved upwards aswell and she gently touched the end of the cigarette with it, waiting for him to start inhaling. This gentle touch alone was as galvanizing as a date with an electric chair. Niji, his brother, any other man, being a gentleman. All of that seemed just so meaningless when one was confronted with the tender touch of a literal goddess. Her voice was little more than a whisper when she finally answered him again. And even though the rain was still as heavy as ever, his senses were so focused on her that he could've even understood her of she just thought.

"Will you forgive me?", she asked when the smoke finally hit his lungs and brought at least some relief with it, at least from the stress regarding the relevation a few minutes ago. But not even if one would take all the cigarettes existing in the entire world into account, not even if he smoked all of them at once, could they have even hoped to dampen the sensation he felt when she touched him.

"..?", right now, he'd forgive her shooting him in the stomach with a double-barrelled sawed-off shotgun. The cigarette was fully ignited by now and she lowered the hand holding the lighter, the fingers of her other hand were still touching his chin though. And he didn't mind it one bit.

"When I told your brothers, Niji and Yonji, the same story, they reacted with a mixture of fury and jealousy and some pretty creative swearing. You, on the other hand, and that's why I hope that you forgive me, seemed shaken but tried to remain your composure, stayed friendly and put whatever your own feelings regarding that matter were behind, even when I told you that he was likely to propose. I .. have to admit that I liked that. So, would you forgive me the small play, please?", she pouted at him. His mind though, yeah, that was still a blank place.

"So .. you .. Niji .. you're not his ..?", he stuttered slowly and she softly shook her fiery head for an answer.

"Nope, not in this life, not in the next one. I'm Ichiji's secretary. And, before you think any further, I'm only that. Nothing, not even a tiny little bit more than a secretary.", she added, obviously being familiar with how men regarded incredibly attractive secretaries. Finally, she let go of his chin, still pouting at him, waiting for an answer. Kinda sure she already knows it., after a few more seconds in which he kept the smoke in his lungs, he finally exhaled, breathing it out through his nostrils.

"There's nothing to forgive. That, and I admire your exceptional gift when it comes to acting, Nami. It was quite the sight to behold.", slowly, the creeping cold from from his damp clothing returned as the warming touch of her hand was gone. But when she smiled, it was all forgotten again. For a while now, they were just sitting there, next to each other, watching the other person silently and somehow just enjoying the company.

A while later, Nami finally put the car in motion and soon, they would finally reach the manor and Sanji would be forced to meet his family again.

Little did they know that, for whatever they might have felt in that moment, regardless of the role they had to play, they weren't even considered as worthy as a pawn.

And at the dead of the night, a solitary crow cawed defiantly against the raging storm.

#Sannami #Sanami #Sanji #Nami #SanjixNami #Sanji x Nami #NamixSanji #Nami x Sanji #One Piece #One Piece Fanfiction #OP Fanfic #One Piece Fanfic #Fanfiction #OTP #alternate universe #SaNa

15 notes · View notes