#super server summer exchange

[husbandograveyard]

This is my contribution to a Discord Server exchange. My recipient is @lale-txt - an honour, truly.

Henlo Lale, I am your [no longer secret] secret summer...santa? Fairy? Either way, I set out to write you a little thing and then it became a slightly bigger than little thing. I think it may actually be my longest Tumblr fic to date. I hope you enjoy it, I had quite a lot of fun writing it -it took me out of a writing slump even. You gave me SO MANY delicious prompts to work with, but I eventually settled for my very first instinct, fake dating / married with Tengen. Sending you loads of love!

Tengen Uzui x Fem!Reader - SFW - 5.0k words cw/notes: fake dating / fake marriage | mention of injuries | In series | a hint of angst but all comfort after | Readers body does not get described, but female pronouns are used, reader is referred to as wife, girlfriend, woman, etc. | Tengen has his wives, they are mentioned, but they are not actively in the story | Tengen is still an active Hashira |

“So let me get this straight…” 

You were rubbing the bridge of your nose, trying to massage away the headache that was brewing. There was no way you’d be successful with the way this situation was going. 

“You have not one, not two…but three wives. Yet you are asking me to pretend to be another one of your wives because…?” 

“Because they are all out on their own missions and for this super-secret undercover one I have to have a partner otherwise they will not let me in.” 

Tengen was smiling, eyes full of hope and sparkles, and you had to resist the urge to punch his beautiful face just to wipe the smirk off of it. He was so casual about it too, as if it was only logical, and you were the one confused about the situation. 

You bit your lip, physically trying to bite back snarky remarks. An actual filter for your words, if you will, while your brain was too preoccupied trying to make sense of the situation. You sighed, taking another deep breath before clapping your hands together in front of your face, resting them against your lips and then pointing them at him, the only way to express your mixed annoyance and frustration. 

“Tengen, first of all, the mission is not super-secret, we literally all just heard the details. Secondly, there are a multitude of ways for you to carry out the mission or infiltrate that do not entail you going undercover as a couple at the retreat!” 

He held his hands up in defense, shaking his head at your arguments.

“That wouldn’t really be a flashy way of handling the situation. You know I need to do my work in my own way.” 

You shook your head in response, but still indulged him a little by asking what was in it for you. A smile appeared on his lips, and you realized that you had just shown him your cards. You had shown a little interest in the plan, and that was all he needed to give you the final push towards agreeing with him. 

“Well, you would be able to go on a deluxe retreat with me of all people”, he started his reasoning. You just rolled your eyes in response. 

“It’s fully paid, and I will take care of you all weekend. Since you will be posing as one of my wives -or a girlfriend if you feel more comfortable just doing that, you will be treated the way I always treat my wives, which is a treat in and of itself.” 

You raised an eyebrow, keeping up your skeptic facade, but you had to admit that it didn’t sound all that bad. Tengen may be a little peculiar, and definitely could stand to keep his mouth shut on more occasions, but you did know he was a wonderful partner, and going on a date -or this retreat- with him wouldn’t be a bad experience per se. Except for the obvious part: the demons who were the reason that this mission existed in the first place. It was as if he had read your mind though, speaking up to address your one concern: 

“It’s still my mission, no worries about fighting and stuff. I will protect you!” 

You rolled your eyes again, you weren’t a meek damsel in distress, you fought demons just the same. You probably wouldn’t even have minded helping out with the actual mission part. But you also knew just how stubborn Tengen could get, and if it was a mission that he’d easily do by himself, he wouldn’t let you unnecessarily endanger yourself just to help. 

You were quiet for a little bit, pretending to mull it over. Your decision was already made, but you didn’t want to seem too eager. It became increasingly hard to say no to the sparkles in his eyes and his wide toothy grin. 

“Sure. I’ll be your wife for the weekend. But you better spoil me.” 

“Of course. I have never disappointed a woman!”

He laughed loudly, and you couldn’t help but feel a little jolt of electricity coursing through your body. Were you really that excited? 

Tengen hadn’t lied about the resort being luxurious. Sure, it was in the middle of nowhere, and sure, there were barely any people around, and sure, you knew that the forests surrounding you were crawling with demons the second the sun went under… but it was beautiful, and it was clear the clientele was a of a way higher standing than the people you usually mingled with. You felt a little out of place even, and you were surprised to see just how relaxed Tengen was, how well he blended in. It made more and more sense that he had been selected for this mission. 

You had been briefed on the details of the mission, but Tengens expectations of you were clear: just enjoy the weekend and be his loyal and loving wife for two days. You weren’t expected to fight or do any recon, but he would keep you updated on all the information he found, and you would just keep an eye out, the way you always do, even off-duty. 

Other than that, some boundaries were established: you were to fake being husband and wife, but there was no reason for unnecessary PDA. Everything was cleared with his wives as well, and you had to admit you really appreciated his consideration and consent. The way he went over all kinds of scenarios beforehand to gauge just what you would be okay with had made you feel some type of way. It had also made you realize that you were okay with a lot of things, way more than you would expect yourself to agree to. A small voice in the back of your head kept saying: ‘If it is him, I suppose it would be okay’, which made you wonder just why you were so willing to receive affection from him, faked or otherwise. 

Checking in with him having wrapped an arm around your waist made you feel more safe than you thought it would. You were strong and could fend for yourself, but that always had made past partners feel like they had to treat you like someone who was fiercely independent, someone who didn’t need as much pampering as you sometimes craved. It was nice to not even have to ask for that, feel safe and protected without feeling like he was looking down on you. He acknowledged your strength, it was just not your time right now to be strong. It was time to relax, and let him take care of you, and most of that was conveyed through simple gestures as you finished check-in and got settled in your room. 

He carried your bags, held your hand or had an arm wrapped around your shoulder and opened doors for you. The way he so effortlessly fell into the role of your husband made it easier for you to take on your role as wife as well. You leaned into his touches, and you didn’t even have to fake the smile that was on your lips most of the day. You had to remind yourself to sometimes still roll his eyes and deliver a playful slap to his bicep, especially when it was just the two of you and there was no reason to keep up the act. 

“It’s easier to just stay in the role”, you explained your behavior to him when he shot you a curious look after closing the door behind the two of you, “That way if someone walks in on us unexpectedly, there is no scrambling to get back into it.” 

He nodded in agreement, but you didn’t fail to notice the glimmer in his eyes as he did so, slightly smiling. Did he notice something was off? Probably. But even if he did, he didn’t mention or ask anything, and you were glad he didn’t: you weren’t sure if you could tell exactly what was going on either. 

Tengen was gone for a big part of the afternoon, doing recon and mission prep. 

“Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about,” he had said with a grin, and he had left with a promise to come join you at the pool whenever he was done. You were allowed to spend the afternoon as you wanted, so you had grabbed a book, and found a nice spot by the pool. You settled in with a drink and a fruit platter, enjoying the sun on your face and an occasional swim to cool down before letting yourself get carried away into the fantasy world of your book again. 

“Yo~ Looks like you’re having a good time even without me here?” 

You were startled by Tengen’s sudden appearance, standing next to your chair. You remembered your role swiftly though, looking up at him with a smile. 

“Oh you’re back, dea-” 

You interrupted yourself, blinking a couple of times, finding yourself flustered and a little shocked by the sight in front of you. Tengen had changed into swimwear too, which made sense considering the environment, but for some reason you hadn’t expected to come face to face with his abs when you looked up from your book. His usual tight clothes left not that much to the imagination, but his tight swimwear took away what little fantasy you still had left. You couldn’t stop your eyes from wandering just a little, from his chest to his abs to his muscled thighs, a part usually hidden by his baggy pants, back up to whatever tiny scrap of fabric was hiding the essentials. You felt your face heat up, and opened your mouth a few times to finish your sentence, but you couldn’t, momentarily stunned into silence. It felt like hours before he moved, a few beautiful, wonderful hours, but in reality it must’ve been only a few seconds if it was even that long at all. 

He just chuckled, crouching down by your side to hand you another drink, kissing your cheek, seamlessly picking up the conversation. 

“I’m sorry for taking so long, I know I promised I’d only take a small nap”

You swallowed, taking the drink, the cold glass helping you return to your senses, playfully smacking his arm. 

“And then you fell asleep and I had to escape your loud snoring, as always.” 

There you go, you were right back into your role. He laughed in response, taking the chair next to you. You sipped some of your drink, regaining your focus and calming your senses. You were taken off guard by your own reaction to Tengen. This was all just a little play you were putting on for the sake of the mission, right? And as his wife, you definitely shouldn’t be having such an extreme reaction to seeing him like that. And yet. 

You had expected Tengen to leave you the minute the sun went under, but he had surprised you by saying he’d have dinner together with you -better to keep up his cover. You’d go early enough so he wouldn’t miss out on too much of the evening, but long enough to actually lure out the demons and carry out the mission swiftly. 

You were pleasantly surprised by the idea. After spending all afternoon at the pool you had expected that was as far as the act would go for today. After all, you had swum together, sat together in the pool, a strong arm around you as you found yourself trying not to focus of the feeling of his body pleasantly pressed into yours, and talked a little about your book. You found yourself really enjoying his company -way more than you expected when you had agreed to this mission-, and getting to extend this quality time, whatever the nature of it, was an enjoyable add-on.

You went back to get changed, and had to do another double take when Tengen appeared in a hibiscus violet kimono, perfectly complimenting his eyes. His hair was loose, waves still damp from your earlier activities, and framed his face perfectly. He smiled at you in your kimono, complimenting you on your looks. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, my wife.” 

He added extra emphasis on those last two words, in a way that was barely noticeable for anyone listening along -even though you were alone in your room. Besides that little inside joke, his words sounded genuine. You chuckled in response, waving his compliment away with your hand and shaking your head. You weren’t sure how you were feeling about your body reacting to his words, but you hoped the butterflies that had come to settle in your stomach would quiet down, so you could enjoy the food. 

During dinner Tengen was a perfect gentleman again: holding your hand all the way till the restaurant part of the resort, only letting go to open doors for you and taking out your chair. The food was exquisite, dishes you had never had the opportunity to taste before, every single one tasting heavenly. 

You were mostly surprised by how easily you were making conversation. Initially, you feared it’d be a bit of a hassle, considering you had to pretend to be married, and there was no way you could talk about work to not break your cover. You had started just talking about how you liked the resort, the food and then the conversation had switched to old memories, and through them you got to know each other a little better. The conversation felt intimate, sharing memories you normally wouldn’t share with just a coworker, just a casual friend. But the stories proved to be the best possible way for you to pass the time without being off topic or suspicious, and since all the stories were true, you didn’t even have to lie to make them believable. 

Tengen listened to you intently as you talked, laughing loudly whenever you added a funny remark, and whenever he did so, you felt the butterflies fluttering in your chest. By now you were painfully aware of your predicament, but there was very little you could say about it in the moment without blowing your cover. Besides, you had to keep in mind that this was just for the mission. After this weekend you would go back to being coworkers, friends maybe, but nothing much more than that. It would be improper. 

You weren’t sure if Tengen was this good an actor, or if he was genuinely having the conversation you were having. You only knew that he seemed a little startled when he noticed just how dark it had gotten already, and seemed a little out of it when he announced that it may be for the best for you to retreat to your room. The way he winked at you when he said that made your heart skip a beat, even though you rationally knew it was merely an excuse again for anyone who could possibly overhear. Yet, you couldn’t help but feel like he was a little disappointed to cut your date short as well. 

You woke up in the middle of the night, confused and disoriented for a few seconds before you remembered where you were. You weren’t sure how late it was, but there was still no trace of the sun coming up in the distance, so you couldn’t have slept for that long yet. Tengen had gone off to do the mission work right after dropping you off at the room, sneakily escaping through the window, and you had decided to go to sleep not that long after. You asked him multiple times if he needed or wanted any help, and he had assured you just as many times that he would be perfectly fine. 

Staying behind like that, while you had agreed upon it initially, worked against all your instincts: you knew you could be useful out there. It was hard not to worry. Tengen had shared some details on the mission, but had kept you in the dark for most of it, mentioning that with too many details you might come after him or try to help even though your only job today was to relax. During the day, that was not a very hard task to accomplish, but by night, especially when you were all alone here in your room, it became so much harder to ignore your very nature as a demon slayer. Especially knowing Tengen was out there risking his life. No matter how strong anyone was, there would always be a risk when you go out. 

There was very little you could do right now though. You had no idea of Tengen’s game plan, nor did you know his exact location. If you went out now, you would only endanger yourself and possibly risk the entire plan failing. You knew when to stay put, so you did, but that didn’t mean it was an easy move. 

It didn’t help that you were wide awake now, too overwhelmed by a mixed bag of emotions, too many of them to sort out. You were feeling antsy, muscles itching to do something, anything. You couldn’t help but feel a little worried too, listening to the quiet outside for any noises that might give away what was going on outside. But the only noises greeting you back were those of nocturnal woodland critters. 

And then there were the…other feelings, by lack of a better term. You had been feeling some type of way towards Tengen today, and while you could probably define them more precisely, you weren’t sure if you actually wanted to. After all, no matter how open minded he was, it felt a little wrong to develop a crush on your coworker. Especially since he was happily married. Thrice. 

Yet you couldn’t deny the spots where he had touched and held you today under the guise of your fake relationship were feeling a little warmer, a pleasant warmness that made you feel a little safer, even now he wasn’t around. 

You could deny any less that the image of him in his swimwear by the pool was burned into your retinas, the mere idea making your face heat up just a little. 

Your main concern now was for him to get back safely. After that you would figure out what to do with all the feelings stirring inside you. Maybe you would address them, talk to him about it. But just as well, you’d suppress them, waiting for them to eb away as you spent less time together. Most missions were solo anyway. 

You looked out the window, the sky in the distance faintly changing colors from an inky black to a deep blueish purple. It wouldn't be long before those transitioned to purples, pinks and reds as the sun came up. It was later than you expected it to be, and you had hoped that Tengen would wrap up before sunrise. Either way, the mission would be paused or -hopefully- be finished when the morning started. You very consciously left out the third option: the mission had failed, and you were waiting for someone who wouldn’t return. 

You felt safe, you felt warm. 

There was a certain serenity that came with your current state: unbothered, ready to conquer the world. You woke up to the warmness of the sun on your face, and you had to blink a couple of times before your eyes got adjusted to the brightness of the light. Why was it light? 

You jolted up, suddenly realizing you must’ve fallen asleep again. The sudden movement caused Tengen to groan in pain. Tengen. He was back. 

It took you a few seconds to puzzle everything together. It was definitely day now, almost noon, judging by the position of the sun, and the brightness with which it shone. You hadn’t noticed Tengen coming back, at least not consciously so, but he was back. He was back and he was alive. A wave of relief washed over you, only to be quickly replaced with embarrassment, as you realized just how you were laying. Your futon a few yards away, your body resting half on top of Tengen’s instead; his groan had been a reaction to your elbow punching his ribcage as you got up a little too fast. He still had an arm loosely wrapped around your waist, and you had finally gained enough clarity to notice some dried up blood on his skin. 

You sat up completely, more carefully now, looking over at Tengen. His eyes were still closed, but he seemed awake enough. His face was contorted into a slightly pained expression, and you noticed now that he was covered in bruises and small cuts. No injury bad enough to worry you, but still, enough of them for you to feel guilty. You really should have insisted on coming with him. 

You got up to gather your medical supplies, noticing they were out and about already. Grabbing some gauze, water, a clean towel and disinfectant, you sat down next to him and started cleaning off the dried blood, disinfecting cuts and scrapes where necessary. This did wake Tengen up fully, and he sat up just a little with another groan. He didn’t stop you from your work, instead silently removed his shirt so you had better access and a better overview. 

This time your reaction to his naked torso was different: you gasped when you noticed some nasty wounds, things an experienced Hashira like him shouldn’t have if the mission was as routine as he had made it out to be. Any and all admiration for his physique was immediately replaced by worry, and you immediately got to taking care of the wounds as much as you could. 

It was silent for a bit as you worked, Tengen not reacting at all, except for muscles sometimes twitching as you touched him. You were the first to speak up, as you were almost done taking care of him, smoothing over a bandage with gentle motions. 

“What happened last night?” 

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. You didn’t say a word, kept your face neutral. You gave him the time and space he needed to come up with an explanation. How the demon wasn’t entirely like his recon had made him think it was. How his traps had been avoided, and how the battle was a hard fought one. He did finish the job -of course- but it hadn’t been as flashily as he had hoped, and moreso, he had taken a while to get back to the resort, the demon nearly getting away as he ran further and further away from the resort when it became clear that the battle was lost. 

“When I came back here, the sun was almost up again, and I found you resting with your head on the windowsill, as if you had fallen asleep looking out, waiting for me. I will admit that made me feel guilty, maybe I should have asked you to come along after all.”

You nodded, agreeing with his words, but you knew why he had made the decisions he did. He was safe, and that was all that matters, you weren’t sure if you could handle the loss of another friend. The fact that he made you worried paled in comparison to the more joyful one that he was safe, not as hurt as he could have been and made his way back to you eventually. 

“I think I woke you up a little by climbing  back into the room, but you weren’t fully awake.” He chuckled now, his tone way more lighthearted than when he was telling you the details of his fight. 

“You mumbled my name, and when I went to move you to your futon, you clinged onto me so hard that I didn’t get to put you down without moving you. Hence our position when you woke up earlier.” 

You smiled sheepishly, apologizing for your sleeping self, feeling a little flustered at the way you must’ve acted. Tengen didn’t seem too bothered by it though, if anything he seemed amused. 

“It’s okay. Very flattering to have you clinging to me like a little koala bear.” 

“If you weren’t injured, I’d smack you right now.” 

He just laughed in response, and the sound reawakened the butterflies. You felt the heat creep up your neck, towards your ears, and you decided to hide your state by cleaning up your supplies and already repacking your bag. You’d be going home today, after all, and maybe for the best. You weren’t sure just how much longer you could last in his presence. 

The decision to go home early came pretty easy. It would be a hassle to explain how your ‘husband’ got hurt during the night, and it would be even harder to avoid stares or questions as you spent more time in the resort, especially if you would spend more time at the pool. 

You insisted that Tengen get his injuries checked out properly as well, even though he was adamant that he’d be fine. You were just a little worried, and you were by no means a healer, you didn’t want him to scar unnecessarily. 

The trip back was quiet for the most part, a comfortable silence, mostly broken by Tengen asking questions or talking away. Hard for a sound hashira to stay completely silent the whole way, it didn’t match his personality either. You were too caught up in your own head to truly participate in the conversations, though, and you were sure Tengen at least noticed as much. 

When the time came to part ways, you lingered just a little too long, pretending to just double check your possessions. Tengen lingered too, waiting nearby, when you finally realized what he was probably waiting for. 

“Here you go”, you held out your hand, returning the jewelry he had given you to match his for the mission, a little extra detail to make you more officially like husband and wife. You had played with one of the rings on the way back, twisting it around your finger a couple of times, trying to stop your mind from imagining what it would be like wearing the jewelry in earnest. 

He looked confused for a second -was it not what he was waiting for? and then shook his head. 

“Oh no, you can keep those. Think of them as a token of my appreciation, and a fun memory of our relationship, which lasted the full two days”, he said with a wink, making your brain a jumbled mess again with just two sentences. 

“If you insist”, you managed to squeak out, and you carefully tucked the jewelry away again, slipping one of the rings around your middle finger, pleased with the way it looked. It also helped you steer your focus away from Tengen, who was still standing very close to you, and you were hoping he’d step back before you’d have to make eye contact again. He didn’t though. Instead, you felt his hand carefully cup your jaw, tilting your face just as carefully, so you could no longer stare at your fingers. His thumb caressed your cheek, and you were sure he must feel the heat radiating from your face, enough to burn that hand. Even if he noticed, he didn’t show, instead just smiling at you. 

“Thank you for being my wife for two days. It really was an honor to have you by my side for a little while, and you did actually help a lot, this mission.” 

You shrugged in response, painfully aware that you’d be unable to form long intricate sentences as long as he was touching you like that, looking at you like that, standing close to you like that. 

“It was just a little m-mission. I barely did anything.” 

He chuckled.

“No, I think you did plenty.” 

He leaned down, kissing your cheek to kiss you goodbye, missing your lips by an inch, and you felt your legs almost give way as your knees buckled. 

“whaoh; didn’t think such a small and unflashy gesture would have such an effect on you?” He smirked, his tone teasing. Oh, he was fully aware of what had been happening, and you just walked right into his trap. 

“I- you-” You took a deep breath, not wanting to stutter your way through an explanation. You weren’t even sure what you were trying to explain. How would you even tell him that-

“Don’t you worry, I know what’s been going on. This mission may or may not have been a little push, and my wives may or may not have been in the know. I am not saying that Hina came up with the idea, but I am saying she may have been involved even more than the two others.”

He smiled while you were trying to process his words, a task too big for your brain to manage, as his lips had left you unable to properly think. 

“How about I invite you over sometime soon, hm? A proper date, no pretenses. See how it goes?” 

You couldn’t do anything but just nod, still processing what was going on. He smirked; that very handsome smirk again and leaned down once more to leave the shortest and softest kiss on your lips. 

“I’ll contact you soon then.” 

[thebrownstone]

Anniversary Fic Exchange

June 13th marked one year of our server, so in celebration we hosted a fanfic event! Each participant submitted a prompt and was randomly assigned a prompt in return. You can read all the fics by going to the event’s ao3 collection or on this tumblr post. Thank you to all our participants! And, again, happy birthday to our little server. We love you dearly. 

key: title by author (tumblr)  [rating*, word count, chapter count]

prompt

*G - general audience, T - teen and up audience, M - mature, E - explicit; 18+

Tiempo de Vals by 14carrotgold (@14carrotghoul) [T, 5.5k, 1/1]

Alex was having a perfectly wonderful time when the very last person he wanted to see came waltzing into view - Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor.

Baby, it's Cold Inside by Celaestis (@celaestis1) [E, 9.8k, 1/1]

Acting like they’re cold to have an excuse to cuddle or share clothes or blankets.

It's Getting Hot in Here (So Hot!) by Celaestis (@celaestis1) [E, 10.8k, 1/1]

Acting like they’re cold to have an excuse to cuddle or share clothes or blankets.

All The Ways I Love You by Treluna [G, 1.5k, 1/1]

People think they're doing it on purpose but they're really not - they're truly THAT nauseatingly in love with each other.

Trick Rider by OrchidScript (@orchidscript) [E, 2.5k, 1/1]

Chaotic night with the super six ft. Henry saying yee-haw and any character saying the dialogue "Can I offer you a nice Shirley Temple in this trying time?"

jump in with your heart first by stutteringpeach (@stutteringpeach) [E, 7.5k, 1/1] 

he moved in the day we met and never left.

the beagle, the ghost and the wardrobe by stutteringpeach (@stutteringpeach) [M, 10.9k, 1/1]

he moved in the day we met and never left.

questions and answers by elegantdumpling [M, 1.6k, 1/1]

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." - Zora Neale Hurston

“You jump, I jump, Jack.” by Muddbloodpotter05 (@mudbloodpotter05) [M, 8.8k, 1/1]

"I just saved your life, so you're welcome."

Hoping You'll See What Your Love Means to Me by politics_and_prose (@historicallysam) [T, 2.4k, 1/1]

Nora and Alex get drunk or high and one of them starts waxing poetically about their partner and the other gets it on video to make fun of them

Always Where I Need To Be by chamel (@cha-melodius) [T, 5.4k, 1/1]

Alex can’t find his glasses again - but he has a suspect in mind for the theft.

The Wrong Classroom by viciouslyqueer [T, 2.6k, 1/1]

Alex and Henry are college professors and are accidentally assigned to teach one of each others’ classes, which is so utterly specific that they know absolutely nothing about it.

SNL | Season 45 Episode 2 | HRH Prince Henry & FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz by TheLastKnownSurvivor (@xthelastknownsurvivorx) [M, 9.7k, 4/4]

"Listen, I’m trying to cut down on the innuendo. But it’s hard... so hard."

i was right there beside him all summer long by hearitinthesilence (@heartitinthesilence) [T, 3k, 1/1]

“You really thought you could get away with this?”

pull the truth right from my lips by athousandrooms (@athousandrooms) [M, 2.4k, 1/1]

"I think someone's a little needy."

There's Smoke in my Eyes (and love in this kitchen) by vonPeeps (@vonpeepsisback) [T, 1.8k, 1/1]

"I didn't know it was possible to burn scrambled eggs to a crisp without actively trying to, sweetheart, but it's still the nicest thing a date's ever done for me."

don't you let it go by smc_27 (@smc-27) [M, 6.9k, 1/1]

Henry blinks into the mirror once, twice, and then frowns, wondering who the brown skinned, curly haired man is that’s staring back at him.

No Sense or Sensibility by InexplicablyMine (@inexplicablymine) [T, 5.5k, 1/1]

“Don’t look at me I thought we were getting Ice Cream.”

Uncut not Uncultured by InexplicablyMine (@inexplicablymine) [E, 6.4k, 3/3]

“Don’t look at me I thought we were getting Ice Cream.”

Promises, Promises by EmmaLostInWonderland (@emmalostinwonderland) [E, 1k, 1/1]

Henry and Alex explore Henry using 'every inch of authority in his blood.

of fathers and sons by adreama (@adreamareads) [T, 7.6k, 1/1]

"Not a win, no, but certainly not a disgraceful performance."

peace by raysletters (@raysletters) [M, 14.2k, 1/1]

Sky High AU

Burnin' Through The Sky by cricket (@cricketnationrise) [E, 5k, 1/1]

museum curator x lawyer au

dibs - (informal) The right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else, often expressed as an interjection by Poutini (@Cheesecurdsgravyandfries) [E, 1k, 1/1]

"I walked into this party and someone yelled 'dibs!'"

Dibs, the extended cut by Poutini (@Cheesecurdsgravyandfries) [E, 2.4k, 1/1]

"I walked into this party and someone yelled 'dibs!'"

There's No Chocolate by logan_love [T, 2k, 1/1]

And then it was found that all the chocolate was gone.

(you just) call out my name by outofthesun [T, 3.4k, 1/1]

"Sorry, my hands are shaking."

Lost and Found by sherryvalli (@sherryvalli) [T, 3.9k, 1/1]

“Single dad Henry (non-royal) moves to the United States and meets the hurricane of Alex.”

‘Kiss,’ ‘Egg’ and ‘Meeting You’ by everwitch (@everwitch-magiks) [T, 4.9k, 1/1]

An Outside POV from the painter/painters Henry/Alex hire for getting the Brownstone ready to move in.

Dinners and Diatribes by alightlefton (@a-light-left-on) [T, 7.6k, 1/1]

“5+1 anniversaries, any kind, any pairing”

Maybe Dreams Do Come True by Softheart777 [G, 1.3k, 1/1]

"You must be dreaming"

Just Business by bleedingballroomfloor [T, 11.3k, 1/1]

wedding ringer au (but make it gay)

three grubs in a trench coat + gay brit wizard by clottedcreamfudge (@clottedcreamfudge) [E, 8.1k, 1/1]

"Can y'all stop flirting in the google doc :/"

Biggest Fan by Sirius4Life [E, 905, 1/1]

Alex and Henry meet at a Con while separately cosplaying characters who are a couple in that franchise.

Diners & Double Dates by ACDs_Coffee [T, 2.4k, 1/1]

“It’s not a date - we’re just third and fourth wheeling!”

So Quiz Me by indomitablelove (@indomitable-love) [E, 10.6k, 1/1]

“Baby, sweetheart, I love you, but what in the everloving fuck did you just say?”

Not Even At All by ifigo (@juxtaposed-variety) [M, 4.3k, 1/1]

“10 things I hate about you” style AU: “But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you, Not even close, Not even a little bit, Not even at all”

[runicmagitek]

Many thanks to @moogleterra for tagging me in this year in review thing! Time to go over my favorite fics I shared in 2023! (not tagging anyone, but if you read this and want to play along, consider yourself tagged!)

Like a Broken Record

I wrote this at the beginning of 2022 and was super nervous about sharing it, mostly RE: shipping Takatoshi with someone who wasn't Okino, but I was both really proud of how the fic turned out and the lovely support from everyone who read it!

To Cultivate Anew

I just had a lot of thoughts about the physical marks Throné and Castti acquired that link to their trauma and how utterly beautiful it would be if they got tattoos together to cover up those marks.

High Score

I loved all the keinatsubj fics I wrote for polyship week, but this one was my favorite!! Not only was it fun to envision the summer festival they attend, but all the delicious pre-poly feelings with Natsuno being engaged to Keitaro while also seeing BJ in his human form for the first time were a BLAST to unpack. Plus garmmy's art for it is SO CUTE.

In Good Company

I wrote this for a server exchange and loved exploring the complicated sentiments around working for a shitty corporation, but you've got bills to pay. And nudging Reeves and his personal assistant closer and closer was utterly delicious too!

What Leads You Here

I'll never shut up about this fic. I'm really proud of this one 😭 it's the super angsty post-canon story I wanted, but couldn't find anywhere after I beat the game. But now it exists and it warms my heart to know others enjoyed it too.

On Your Honor

Star's medieval AU gave me severe brainrot and I couldn't help but write a follow-up where these two take their noble/knight secret relationship to the next level.

Anchor Point

Again, I loved all the Ignatz week fics I wrote, but this one is my favorite. Just exploring his relationship with his family and what home means to him, all while he learns archery.

Light the Way Home

Some missing scene feels from Terence's POV when all the Twinside bullshit goes down 😭 really happy with how it turned out!

Your North Star

I wrote this for the Tifa Zine! Just some bittersweet feels with the group as they set up their camp, share stories about the stars, and support one another.

Coming Out of My Cage (And I've Been Doing Just Fine)

Another server exchange fic! This could've easily been a 50k novel and I did my best to shove it into a 3k ish oneshot. I love a good AU and reimagining Legend of Zelda in a cyberpunk vs solarpunk setting was so much fun.

Random Access Memories

And another server exchange fic, but I've had this idea in my head since 2021. So glad I could finally bring it to life, bc there's literally nothing out there exploring Natsuno's grief mid-canon over losing someone very special to her.

[yupuffin]

In summer 2016, I got one of the Japanese bookstore's last copies of the KAITO 10th anniversary album Glorious Blue. The whole album is full of BOPS, but I got particularly hooked on Doctor=Funk Beat by nyanyannya. I was super excited to see it slated to be performed at Magical Mirai later that year. I learned the choreography as fast as I could and became, to my knowledge, the first person to publicly upload a dance cover of Doctor=Funk Beat using the Magical Mirai choreography.

Sometime in the next few months, I got hooked on the rest of nyanyannya's discography and decided to subscribe to his Patreon. We got monthly updates and the early release versions of some songs, which was cool! I believe it was in the announcement post for the song Justin⇒Jive⇒Justify in which he included the song lyrics, footnoted with "It'd be cool if I had an English translation!"

So, like the bilingual student I was, I went 🤔🤔🤔, assembled my best attempt at a translation, and stuck it in the comments with "Hey, I wasn't sure if you were serious about wanting an English translation for this, but in case you were and wanted to use one, I gave it a shot!"

I thought this would be a singular instance, but I was wrong! Unexpectedly, this led to us collaborating on quite a bit of translation work for him over the years, including captions for his music videos back when community captions on YouTube were a thing. It was a really cool experience. I remember consulting one of my housemates, an exchange student from Japan, to help me proofread my responses to the messages we exchanged. Once nyanyannya started to get into Vtubing, I learned how to make subtitle files from scratch to match the skit videos he'd send me so he could upload them with the final product. Most of those videos have sadly been unlisted now, but I have fond memories of his avatar's antics, and many of the one-liners still live in my head rent-free despite the defunct source material.

The cozy fandom for his body of musical work "the Namari Hime series" was led by a dedicated user who'd host regular drawing chats -- the kind where everyone doodles on the same canvas while voice chatting. Every few weeks or months I'd get to wake up ridiculously early to discuss new song releases and favorite characters with a bunch fellow fans from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and nyanyannya even joined in himself on a couple of occasions. He laughed at the cleverness of me posting a photo in cosplay of one of his characters "Cash" gesturing dramatically at an ATM. He rightly proclaimed our little corner of the Internet a "super cool fandom."

For a while, we had an unofficial Discord server for the worldwide English-speaking sector of the fandom as well. It's probably still out there, actually! It was really cool to see how the fandom grew over the years from just a couple of people to at least several dozen, if not more.

Shortly after protests broke out across the United States in 2020, I woke up to a message from nyanyannya saying he'd seen the news about what was happening on my side of the pond and wanted to ask if I was okay. It was really touching.

I followed his work less closely after he officially started Vtubing, just because, as a college student, I didn't have the spare time to watch a large quantity of ~3-hour-long videos. And a couple of years ago, I stopped financially supporting him after he started experimenting with generative AI to make YouTube thumbnail images and singing samples.

But we still follow each other on Twitter--even though he posts mostly about Vtubing now, and I mostly post about Hoyoverse games and not Namari Hime. I still see the selfies he posts on Instagram from time to time. And I'm still mutuals with a lot of the previous fandom members, too, even though a lot of them are less active and we don't speak directly basically at all anymore.

nyanyannya's song Fräulein=Biblioteka is featured in the ongoing MIKU EXPO North America tour. nyanyannya is not a mainstream musician. In fact, he deliberately quit mainstream music production before he wrote Namari Hime because of the toll it was taking on his mental and physical health, and turned instead to Vocaloid as tool to help him express his individuality, instead of whatever would be the most commercially successful.

Well, that's just one example. There's plenty more.

KIRA, the producer who wrote the featured song "Highlight," is younger than I am by several years. He wrote the lyrics to another one of his hit songs, "MONSTER," when he was sixteen, and almost scrapped it because he thought nobody would like it. Now a song he wrote played at COACHELLA and he's over the moon.

Utsu-P, behind "Hyper Reality Show," is experiencing similar feelings, as he never would have dreamed of one of his songs featuring at Coachella back when his parents bought him Hatsune Miku with graduation money.

yukkedoluce is another of my favorite Vocaloid producers. He grew up wanting to be an astronaut, but didn't qualify because his eyesight was too poor -- so now he lives his dream in a different form by writing Miku songs about space.

At one of the side events at MIKU EXPO 2018, my siblings and I happened to sit next to a Vocaloid producer named Lystrialle who specializes in making contemporary folk music featuring MEIKO and KAITO. I looked up her music after the expo; her album "You, in the Endless Starlight" almost literally defined my sexuality (or lack thereof), and my Genshin Impact AU is named after some of her lyrics. She runs a Mastodon instance for Vocaloid fans.

What I'm trying to say is... there are Vocaloid producers who might be more comparable to mainstream producers, and there are musicians who started with Vocaloid work and eventually transitioned to more mainstream work. But there's also an endless list of Vocaloid producers who make little to no money off their work and hence are far from major corporate entities.

Individuality and collaboration is at the heart of Vocaloids like Hatsune Miku. Miku is primarily a tool to give musicians the power to create the music they want, not to make a highly successful commercial product. I've given an entire hour-long panel on this that convention attendees still remember ten years later, but that's a lot to put into a post that's already long enough, so I'll spare you the details for now.

Vocaloid was one of my first fandoms back in 2011. I got into cosplay and dance because of Vocaloid. Now I'm heavily involved in my local cosplay performance scene, both in terms of participating in events and helping organize them.

How does that phrase go? Do not recite the magic to me; I was there when it was written.

Don't spread misinformation that Vocaloid producers don't care about people's feelings because all they care about is making a commercial Product(tm).

Instead, please fuck all the way off.

[bakersstreetirregulars]

Summer Soda Rock Festa - Part 1 - Patch Notes

🌰 We are live from the Summer Soda Rock Festa here on the Pineapple Island!

🔎 Yeah! It’s really loud here! I hope this doesn’t get the attention of Ananas Dragon Cookie!

🌰 This is said to be another breakthrough for Shining Glitter Cookie, but wasn’t she a pop star?

🔎 Yeah, she was!

🌰 Why rock? She showed up in the headlines a lot when she was a pop star!

🔎Maybe she wanted to try something new? Business decisions? We just gotta find out!

Patch notes are copy/pasted from the official Cookie Run Discord server beyond this line, also including any pictures they posted. Annotations from me will be indented using this formatting.

WHAT’S NEW

■ NEW SPECIAL EPISODE: SUMMER SODA ROCK FESTA

- The new special episode where you get to meet the many performers of the Summer Soda Rock Festa has been added.

- The Summer Soda Rock Festa is split into Story and Dark mode, and you explore each Cookie’s story through the dialogue options.

- You can play in Dark mode once you’ve reached the ending concert of one of the Cookies’ stories.

- The Cookie epilogues that are available in Dark mode can only be viewed after you’ve seen the specific Cookie’s show.

- Rock Festa Quills are required to participate in the Summer Soda Rock Festa. Rock Festa Quills are recharged at midnight. Additional Quills can be acquired through events, packages, or direct purchase.

- The Summer Soda Rock Festival is unlocked after 10 explorations of the Tropical Soda Islands, but can also be unlocked using Crystals.

If you choose to use Crystals to unlock this new special episode, you will receive an unlocking discount.

Unlock price should be the same as last update, but this is unknown to me as they did not specify a price and I have already met unlock conditions on my end.

- Along with the addition of the Summer Soda Rock Festa, a time-limited event benefit is also provided to help you obtain Glittering Pins through battle, which are used for Shining Glitter Cookie’s Superstar Gacha.

- Rock Festa Catnip Coins can be obtained at the completion of Summer Soda Rock Festa Stages or Quests, and can be used to buy an assortment of items at the Summer Soda Shop.

- The Summer Soda Shop can be accessed from the Artist Zone through Catnip Cookie.

It is assumed that Catnip Cookie’s shop will operate in a similar manner as the Legend of the Red Dragon.

■ RHYTHM GAME

- Once you’ve reached the ending of a Cookie’s story on Story difficulty, the rhythm game will be available.

- The rhythm stage is divided into two difficulty levels: Normal and Hard.

The hard difficulty will be available once you’ve cleared the game on normal.

This mode was last seen during the CRK x BTS collab last fall. The rules and magichanics of this mode should remain the same. Also shoutout to Sparkling Cookie and Herb Cookie in the audience in the left picture.

■ BOSS HUNT

- In this update, we’re introducing a new time-limited event: the Boss Hunt!

- The Boss Hunt will require you to organize teams with a given number of Battle Points and defeat Bosses that appear consecutively.

- Battle Points are used when placing Cookies in a team, and when applying Battle Tactics for the team to provide a useful buff. Various teams can be formed according to the Battle Point limit at each given stage.

- Form different teams to battle throughout the season, defeating Bosses to obtain special resources.

- The obtained resources can be exchanged for various items at the Boss Hunt Shop.

- Check out the extra rewards based on the total number of plays on the Event page.

■ [SUPER EPIC] SHINING GLITTER COOKIE

- Shining Glitter Cookie is a Magic Cookie who uses the skill ‘All Eyes on the Stage!’

This is a rarity increase to Super Epic from her previous appearance in OvenBreak, where she was an Epic Cookie in the same update as Popping Candy Cookie in December 2020, released in part 2.

- Skill Description: Shining Glitter Cookie begins singing the Glittering Song, applying the Glittering Rock Spirit buff to her allies, and dealing damage to the enemies. Whenever the song lands a critical hit, it will partially ignore the target's DMG Resist and Zap them. If Shining Glitter Cookie manages to deal a certain number of critical hits with the Glittering Song, she will provide a CRIT DMG Resist buff for the entire team. While Shining Glitter Cookie is using her skill, she will briefly become resistant to interrupting effects.

- Collect or purchase Glittering Pins and use them to pull Shining Glitter Cookie in the Superstar Gacha.

· In the Superstar Gacha, you will receive Melody Shards instead of Mileage Points.

· You will receive the same number of Melody Shards for pulling Cookies and Soulstones regardless of the Cookies’ Ascension status.

· Once you have collected a certain number of Melody Shards, you will be able to meet a guaranteed Shining Glitter Cookie.

· If you already have fully ascended Shining Glitter Cookie by the time you have your Melody Shards meter filled, you will receive a different reward instead.

· After the end of the event, all remaining Melody Shards will be converted to Mileage Points and delivered to your mailbox.

■ [EPIC] ROCKSTAR COOKIE

- Rockstar Cookie is a Healing Cookie who uses the skill ‘Legend of Rock.’

This is a rarity increase from OvenBreak, where he was a Rare Cookie.

- Skill Description: Rockstar Cookie performs a rock anthem, periodically Healing the team's HP, and applies the Legendary Rock Spirit buff, Curse Protection buff, and a CRIT% buff for the whole team, excluding himself based on his CRIT% boost from equipped Toppings. Under Legendary Rock Spirit, the target will have their HP restored whenever they deal a critical hit. If Rockstar Cookie is defeated, he will have all active debuffs on himself removed and begin his Encore. During Encore, Rockstar Cookie will provide extra Healing and increase the Healing the team receives. While Rockstar Cookie is using his skill, he will briefly become resistant to interrupting effects.

■ CHANCE UP GACHA

- In this season of the Chance Up Gacha, you will meet Stardust Cookie, Rockstar Cookie, and Parfait Cookie, as well as 2 slots for Epic Cookies of your choice to increase your chances of obtaining them.

- Received a guaranteed Stardust Cookie after performing a certain number of pulls.

- Use Lucky Cookie Tickets: Glittering Stage in this season of the Chance Up Gacha.

■ NEW TROPICAL ROCK TOPPINGS

- The new Resonant Tropical Rock Toppings that can only be equipped by specific Cookies have been added.

· Tropical Rock Raspberry

· Tropical Rock Chocolate Chip

· Tropical Rock Almond

· Tropical Rock Caramel

· Tropical Rock Apple Jelly

- Find more information on which Cookies that can equip the Toppings in Topping Details.

- The set effect of Toppings will activate regardless of whether they’re regular or Resonant Toppings, as long as all of the Toppings equipped are of the same set.

- Resonant Toppings have a higher minimum bonus stat value than regular Toppings.

- Additional bonus stats of Resonant Toppings may differ from that of regular Toppings.

■ HALL OF ENCOUNTER: ARTIST ZONE

The Hall of Encounter has been updated.

- Obtain Monument Fragments, Unity Essence, Legendary Soul Essence, Tropical Rock Toppings, Special Cookie Cutters, Rainbow Cubes, and more in the Hall of Encounter Random Reward Chests.

■ MILEAGE SHOP

- Added Kouign-Amann Cookie’s Soulstones to the Mileage Shop.

■ NEW DECORS

- 8 new decors are now available in the ‘Summer Music Festival’ decor theme.

Sweet Sparkling Drink Booth

Super Groovy Merch Stand

ATTENTION! Lily Loudspeakers

Tin Can Toilet

Refreshingly Tropical Palm Tree

Durian Staff

Audience Coconut

Special Sour Citrus Stage

[notwhelmedyet]

2022 Craft Project Roundup

it’s almost the end of 2022 and I had the thought - why not compile all my projects for the year in one post? It’d be fun (for me). So here we go!!

January - March: Ficbinding of my Taking Care Trilogy

A project I had been dreaming of even while I was writing these fics - I finally made fancy hand-bound copies of my longest fic series ever.

March: Straw Marquetry Panels

Big shoutout to Pipsqueak on the Renegade server who let me know that this shit exists, because it is the perfect intersection of things I like: natural materials, shiny things, geometric shapes, straw!. I discovered that straw marquetry is incredibly fiddly and time consuming and my initial thought of full ceilings or large murals was way overly ambitious. But I still love it, despite all it’s fiddliness

April - June: Various failed experiments with straw dyeing

There is a way to dye straw. It must exist. People sell dyed straw. But despite at least 10 attempts with fiber reactive and RIT dyes with various prep methods, I did not once succeed in getting dye to take to the outer shiny side of the straw. (I intended to make pink straw for the wedding guestbook later in this list)

May: Pieced cubical bulletin board covers

I decided to spice up my cubical a bit with some nice fabric covers over my bulletin boards, after a friend told me it was super easy to remove them & cover them with fabric via tacks. The green fabric I got turned out to be too short 🤦 so I got a jelly roll of rainbow batiks and pieced these funky covers together.

May - June : Pair of dyed historical-inspired tunics

Another project I’ve had in my head for years - using a medieval reenactment tunic tutorial to make my own shirts out of linen. Linen turns out to be fabulous to dye, unlike straw, which is evil. It does wrinkle the moment you look at it, but you just have to be chill with that.

June: First longstitch bookbinding

Inspired by the amazing works of queercore-curriculum I had decided to use a criss-cross longstitch for the wedding guestbook I planned to make for my friend A. This was my initial testbook, which I did on graph paper thinking I could use it as a journal. The graph paper turns out to be very thin and bad for journal writing but the book itself I am quite proud of :)

July: DIY alcohol stove (& knots!)

So in July I went to a natural building/strawbale construction workshop and I was going to need to cook for myself on the first day of camping - hence a brief research binge on alcohol stoves & how to DIY them. This is the simplest possible alcohol stove made out of a cat food can & while youtube will tell you to optimize by making it much more complicated it works fine for boiling water/making fancy curry mashed potatoes.

Also around this time I learned how to do several knots for having up my camping hammock, which isn’t exactly a craft but it’s not knot a craft ;)

July: Part of a house

oh fuck it, the house goes on the list. As part of the aforementioned workshop I (along with about 40 other people) assembled the strawbale walls for a family home. It was by far the most amazing experience I had in 2022. Like adult summer camp with more powertools & while learning skills I hope to someday turn upon a home of my own.

September: Pajama pant spectacular

In September I made two new pajama pants (one of rockin’ flannel and one of a nice purple shot cotton) and also repaired several old pairs (new elastic, added pockets, patched some holes etc). Yes I do patch pockets on pajamas, they’re not fashionable but they’re much more convenient for phone access while cooking.

October: Wedding Guestbook

A guestbook for my friend’s wedding, done in the style of that other longstitch book, but with more fancy things :3

November: Small notebook

Made a small notebook with the offcuts from the wedding guestbook for a friend gift exchange. I was very proud of this one; simple and sweet and finished in a single weekend (it helped that the pages were already deckled to size).

December: Paperboard desk organizer

I keep my downstairs stuff (pens, wallet, keys, etc) in a little basket downstairs so I don’t have to wander the house looking for them and I decided to finally make organizers for it so it wouldn’t be a melange of mess. Used scraps from my bookbinding supplies & they turned out pretty good considering I have 0 box making experience.

December: Tablet weaving/work lanyard

Another craft I’ve wanted to try for years: tablet weaving! I finally thought of an excuse one day at work while contemplating how much I hated my lanyard - it flipped around constantly and the keys made unending clanking noises when I walked. I might make a post on tablet weaving bc I am in love. I need to think of more excuses. It’s so good, so satisfying. It’s like the opposite of straw marquetry in terms of how much I enjoy it in the moment :p

[summer-of-fandom]

Fandom is about community- it is for fans by fans.

Each box is worth 1x pt

For a Try-It: Earn at least 3 points

For a Badge: Earn at least 10 points

Show Your Love

Write a thank you post/tweet/etc to someone involved in making the show/book/movie. Whether it be the writer, director, an actor, or something even more behind the scenes, like the sound designers.

If your source material is in a language you can't read/speak- thank a translator for the hard work they put into making sure that you can enjoy content. Whether it's the team who translated the show, or another fan on twitter- translators do so much for bringing media to different communities that would have otherwise been kept away from it.

Grab a comment bingo board and write comments for the fan-creators in your community, whether they're making FMVs, fanfiction, art, or something else. 

If you're a fan-creator, take some time to thank people who have commented on your work.

F is for friends who do stuff together

Host/join in on a watch party! Whether it's old school 'okay everyone, on the count of 3-2-1' style, with a friend physically by your side, or hosted in a server/elsewhere- watching things with other people is a fantastic way to engage in fandom.

Hang out in a community space- whether it's a community on tumblr/discord/twitter/etc- being in a community space and participating in conversation is an act of fandom

Participate in a fandom-specific fest/exchange. 

Participate in a non-fandom specific trend- like kinktober, mer-may, femslash february 

Write a relay-style fic, where authors work together writing either a few lines or few paragraphs at a time

Create a fandom game to play with your friends. Maybe a round of 'people submit a line of emojis  and then everyone makes a guess to see if they can figure out what shows they represent.' 

Fan-gifts as a love language

Make a gift for a fandom friend and send it to them- whether that's a friendship bracelet, writing a gift-fic that you know is Just Up Their Alley, or something else entirely. 

Make a mood board for a fanfic/fanart and gift it to the writer/artist.

Make a playlist for a fanfic/fanart and gift it to the writer/artist.

Write a fic for a piece of fanart and gift it to the artist

Draw a piece of fanart for a fanfic and gift it to the writer

Create a podfic of someone else's fic

Create an e-book/fan layout of someone's fic. 

Make an icon! Make 20! Share them with friends

Make an emoji or sticker to be used in your fandom-based communities like discord

Interaction is the cure to Isolation

Send an ask to a fandom-blog on tumblr/twitter asking about a show you know they've watched/are watching. Like this one. 

Create an Interactive Fandom Blog. Like this one about Dungeon Meshi monster biology. 

Create a Poll (on tumblr/twitter/discord/send it to your friends via carrier pigeon) about a moment in the show where all the answers are wrong/funny. Like this one about Super Natural. 

Participate in someone else's poll about something fandom related

Create a Poll (on tumblr/twitter- you get the point) about the fandom experience. Whether it's about the first book someone read in a 'group'- i.e. this one about discworld books, 

Attend a fan event. Whether it's an official concert, a convention, or an off-book server party- any place that is about gathering with friends who enjoy 

Participate in a fandom-ask game. Like this one for fanfiction writers. 

Participate in a fandom-post game- like this one about making polls. 

Sharing is Caring/extending your talents

Translate a tweet/interview bit/x from one language into another 

Translate a fic (with permission from the author) from one language into another

Add image descriptions to fandom posts you see floating around- helping make posts more accessible

Archive important moments. Whether it's creating an archive of events that actors have done, the outfits worn in a show, resources that you think more fans should know about or whatever it is that makes your heart sing.

Are you from the place a show takes place? Know something that you think others are missing? Share your knowledge, like this person who has created a primer on Thai culture. 

[rosiinantes]

Dearest @sugxrslushy I was your secret partner for the summer trade!! 🥹🌸💘💖

When I saw your prompt for a summer festival date with Perona I couldn’t resist and I went kind of… insane with it. ; w ; the prompt took my hand and this happened.

I love you, I hope you like this my darling boy.

[smoleeveewrites]

Sabo x GN!Reader: Forest Adventure

A/N: Wow guess who has written in like 39593 years lol it's me! Sorry about that y'all! I know a lot of you followed me for One Piece and as some of y'all see, I've been heavy into Devil May Cry rofl. But! This is for my dear @secretsnailor <3 we did a server trade and I got her <3 here you go bb I hope you enjoy!

You always enjoyed going to a summer island when the missions called for it. Not only were the visuals pleasant, but the weather felt absolutely divine. The mission was simple, nothing too intense for you or any others. You already had the intel you needed, next was executing the mission which was tomorrow. The rest of the day was given to you guys to prepare and rest for the operation coming up. 

The warm, but still lightly cool breeze caressed your face as you sat on a hill overlooking the rest of the city. You sighed happily, laying back on the grass. You rarely get a moment of relaxation so whenever you have the chance to do so, you seize that chance with no hesitation. The Revolutionary Army doesn’t rest, but you will today and no one is going to ruin that for you. As much as you enjoyed summer island during the day, you especially got full enjoyment of the islands during the night time. Their weather usually mellowed out to weather that was just right, neither too hot or too cold. 

The moon was out in full, shining down on you as you laid there. You basked in the moonlight, enjoying its bright but not blinding light cascading and surrounding you.As you continued laying back, you closed your eyes. You took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the flowers as well. Everything was truly peaceful, which was a rarity in itself. Off to your right, you heard the tell tale sound of someone sitting next to you. You paid no mind to it, determined in continuing your relaxation. A warm hand then rests on your forehead and you scrunched up your eyebrows. You opened your eyes and saw the mischievous grin of Sabo. He also happened to be your partner for this mission and your significant other as well. 

“You look awfully relaxed, don’t you?” Sabo teased as he watched your eyes squint at him. 

You huffed, shutting your eyes again. “Well, it’s rare for us to relax. I want to take this chance to just enjoy the weather.”

He gently ruffled your hair, leather clad fingers threading through your individual strands. “Well, why don’t we do something fun then.” Both of your eyes opened now as you raised an eyebrow at him. “Does it require me getting up from my spot?” 

He chuckled. “Yes it does. I’ll make it worthwhile.” 

You hummed, seemingly pondering his offer. You knew if you didn’t accept, he would be a little shit for the rest of the time, so you decided to indulge him. “Fine. I’ll take your word for it. Where are we going?”

He gave a mischievous grin and then pointed to the forest that was further down the hill. Ah, so that was his goal.

You simply raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous grin back. “Race you down?”

He wordlessly got up, holding his gloved hand out for you to grab. You did so, and immediately started bounding down the hill. Sabo followed closely behind you, catching up to you and immediately surpassing you. As you both reached the outside of the forest, you were both panting and trying to catch your breath. 

You then looked over to the entrance to the forest, observing the leaves moving in the wind. There was a nice path carved into the middle of the forest, most likely so residents of the island wouldn’t get lost. You noticed slight flashes of yellow tinged lights flashing, surrounding the trees. You quickly grabbed hold of Sabo's hand, starting to lead him to the forest. 

You both made it to roughly the middle of the forest, where there were benches strewn about. Luckily, the forest seemed to be decently well lit. Not that it mattered since your boyfriend was the literal equivalent of the human torch, but still appreciated nonetheless. You stopped when you got to that area, looking again at Sabo. “So…you wanted to come here right?” 

He huffed, a playful frown crossing his lips. “I did, before you dragged me here. But, it’s fine.” He then pointed behind you, a grin appearing on his face yet again. “Besides, I think you spotted what I wanted to show you.” Your gaze followed his outstretched finger, seeing the familiar flashes of yellow floating in between the leaves. You smiled, knowing immediately what they were. “The fireflies, huh? Do you want to catch them?” Sabo nodded. “I thought it would be fun. My brothers and I used to do it all the time when we were kids.” Sabo was very soft when it came to his brothers or any stories about his brothers, so you knew this probably meant a lot to him that you came to catch fireflies with him. 

You grab hold of his hand, your smile getting wider. “I’d love to. Come on, let's go.” The both of you started making your way to the fireflies and stopped when they surrounded you both, yellow lights pulsating almost at their own rhythm. You stood around in awe, letting the lights cast on your face. You cupped your hands together, determined to let at least one firefly wander into the space you made.

Sabo watched you, enamored with how you looked with the lights framing your face. He let out a chuckle, grateful that the fireflies couldn’t fully illuminate his face. After all, it hid his blush successfully from you. `He also cupped his leather clad hands together, hoping to catch at least one firefly. 

You let a soft laugh when a firefly wandered between your hands, you couldn’t help but show Sabo. “Look!” You closed your hands together and he watched a yellow light pulsate from within every second. 

He chuckled, showing his own hands that also held a firefly. “Me too.” Both of you laughed together, letting the fireflies that were trapped in your hands go. 

As the time went on, you both continued catching and laughing fireflies, enjoying the company of each other during this warm, summer night. 

[pebbsie]

for you @lawscorazon ♡

I got you for the summer trade!, I was really excited to get a start since this is the first time I was able to use my art tablet in forever!, and went and got some rain brushes just for you!.

I hope you had fun dancing in the rain with Law, though the sky may be grey from the falling rain the same can’t be said about the love you both share. The both of you will need a warm shower after so you don’t catch a cold, but even if you do, you’ve got a good doctor to take care of you and he knows you’ll take care of him ´͈ ᵕ `͈ ♡°◌̊

[shrimp-sanji]

☀️ SUMMER EXCHANGE ☀️

I cant tell you how excited I was when your name popped up in my screen, @childofblackmaria 💛 I had a lot of fun drawing these two together!!! Hope you like it my love 💛💛💛

[lawscorazon]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐟𝐭. 𝐝. 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 & 𝐭. 𝐥𝐚𝐰

“Marisol. You wanna do something fun…?”

cast: rosinante, law & o/c’s sunny & marisol

content warning: none! just pure, wholesome mischief

word count: 1.7k

ᥫ᭡. written for @rosiinante as summer trade! Sunny, my dear, I hope you enjoy it. You’re absolutely lovely and I was excited (an equally nervous) to capture your family for you and I hope I did it justice.

the cool winds wafted the rainbow scent of florals through the air. the sun welcomed you, wrapping its warm arms around your skin and kissed your cheeks pink. the newfound families of birds and bunnies trotted around together enjoying the opportunity to begin again.

it was summertime. the schools were out and laughter filled the air. the children were playing outside with their friends enjoying the euphoria of a lazy sun that refused to set on their jubilee. teens rushed to the bazaar, pockets jingling with their allowance and families were gathering to venture off to the sandy paradise that honed the pure essence of summer. the cool water, the sand, the festivities. i mean, who didn’t love the beach?

law.

law didn’t love the beach.

he hated it actually. it was hot and muggy; there was sand everywhere; there were people everywhere, loud people, blasting their music and laughing and screaming; warm food and drinks that were supposed to be cold. it was law‘s personal overstimulation hell. and plus he couldn’t even swim, not that he wanted to anyway, but if he couldn’t then what was the point?

and so the moody teen sat under the shadiest tree in protest of the whole situation, hood thrown over his head and pulled tight, goddamn the weather.

“law, baby, are you sure you don’t want to swim? we've got floaties!” sunny chimed sporting their heart spotted pin-up style bikini, excitedly holding the extra arm floaties and pool floats in a desperate attempt to coax their brooding son.

rosinante pulled his best vanna white, modeling his beach outfit. bright pink floaties fitted on his arms and legs to match his white swim trunks dotted with red hearts similar to his wife. the opaque white sunscreen on his nose was tinted blue from the goggles that covered the upper half of his face. he boasted the best smile that he could given the snorkel in his mouth, no eyes, lots of teeth, and a peace sign.

“no,” law snipped, “it looks stupid. i’m not going.”

‘a floatie? a floatie??’ he griped to himself. he didn’t need a floatie. he wasn’t five. sunny had embarrassed the poor boy when they lathered sunscreen on his body to protect his scars from burning and now they wanted him to wear floaties???

sensing that there was no winning this battle, sunny admitted defeat with a heavy sigh.

“well, if you change your mind you know where to find us. there’s food in the cooler if you get hungry. try to have some fun, okay? and keep an eye on your sister.” they cooed, ruffling what would’ve been law’s hair if he wasn’t so bundled up. they then retreated to the water, dragging along their husband and his briefly deflated morale.

“do i really look stupid?” he whispered, now just out of earshot.

“don’t listen to him, sweetheart, you look great,” they consoled, rubbing his back.

law continued to brood under the summer heat, busying himself by rereading his favorite volumes of the sora comics finding comfort in the familiarity.

he was gnawing on his hoodie string, eagerly (but not too eagerly as to not properly appreciate the art) flipping through the pages watching the warrior of the sea fight his sworn enemy, stealth black, when he was interrupted by a tiny finger tapping on his shoulder.

already aware of the identity of the intruder, he let out a deep sigh without looking up from his book.

“what do you want?”

“law, can you come build a sandcastle with me?” marisol asked, gently gripping onto his hoodie.

“no,” he responded, trying his best to ignore the little angel.

“please?” she whined, shaking her brother in an attempt to gain his attention.

law set down his book with an irritated huff, prepared to flash her an icy scowl only to be met with a pout and the glassiest of puppy dog eyes peeking through fluffy pink locs.

they engaged in a brief stare down, neither of them willing to concede. as marisol's eyes twinkled, law’s eyes darkened, but the younger girl's warm and honied gaze was quickly melting away law’s cold stare. as soon as her bottom lip began to wobble he cracked, rolling his eyes and slamming his book shut. how could he say no to that? it was rare that he ever did.

taking his sister's hand, he ushered her further along the beach to find a nice foundation for their sandcastle as she laughed cheerfully, enjoying getting her way once again.

once settled in the perfect spot they began gathering their materials making sure not to stray too far from home base. law used his devil fruit to “room” some wet sand from the shore while marisol collected the seashells, sticks, and other miscellaneous materials for decoration and structure.

before long they had a decent size pile of materials and began working on their sand castle.

initially, law hadn’t planned on helping much but he found himself becoming very involved in building the castle with his sister even going as far as giving input on the design.

together they mixed the wet and dry sand to ensure the sand sticks to itself without falling apart, before packing it down to form the base layer. law supervised marisol as she scooped the mixture into her pale, reminding her to pack it down as she filled it.

confident that the first tower will turn out well, marisol flipped the bucket onto the base and lifted it to reveal…

a mess.

she didn’t understand. was the sand too dry? did she not press hard enough? she was sure that she did.

“law, it’s not working,” she whined, crossing her arms over her chest.

“maybe you should try again,” he advised absentmindedly, as he was too focused on his own task at hand.

while his sister was building her castle, he had been searching for sand crabs, ”room”-ing away chunks of sand to reveal the panicked crustaceans. he was sort of amused by the way they scurried away from him, burying themselves deeper into the sand. he smiled briefly to himself before placing the sand back where he found it.

it was then that he got an idea. he turned to his sister with his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“marisol, you wanna do something fun?”

meanwhile, sunny and rosinante were enjoying their time in the ocean. sunny was waist high in the salty water holding their husband’s legs while he laid over his float to peer under the water with his snorkel. they had spent the afternoon looking for seashells and other marine life together.

so far they had found a small pile of iridescent shells and sea glass to clean up and take home. they were absolutely gorgeous and would be perfect to do some crafting with. they even saw a few crustaceans and small fish.

as they laughed and celebrated with rosi over their new finds, sunny’s eyes swept the shore to check on their kids but as they darted across the sand law and marisol were nowhere in sight.

they began to panic, heartbeat pounding and breath quicken to a dizzying pace. did they get lost? could they have fallen in the water??? what if they’d been kidnapped???

“rosi…” they called, tapping on his leg. “rosi, sweetheart.”

he popped up from the water and removed his snorkel.

“yes, what’s the matter, dear?”

“where are the kids?” they asked, already beginning to hyperventilate.

“the kids? well, they should be right…” he started, glancing towards their spot only to find it empty.

“WHERE ARE THE KIDS???”

together they rushed out of the water as fast as they can, water sloshing around with every step. sunny tried their best to drag along the raft without tipping over rosinante as he paddled doggy style with his hands.

they made it to the shore, now full blown sprinting around calling for their kids.

“LAW!” rosinante called.

“MARISOL!” sunny shrieked.

“WHERE ARE YOU?” they yelled in unison.

the world seemed to be spinning around them as they desperately called for their kids, nearing closer to the empty towels laid out as their home base.

“marisol, now!” law called.

law and marisol, hiding behind two nearby bushes, pulled a string fishing line taught, tripping the two clumsy parents who fell into towels that camouflaged two shallow holes that were dug in the sand. law quickly jumped from his post raising a hand to conjure a “room” transporting two piles of sand coming from the beach and onto sunny and rosinante.

the sand clouds wafted through the air sending sunny in rosi in a coughing fit, closing their eyes and shaking their heads in an attempt to escape it.

law and marisol took their place and top of their sand thrones triumphantly beaming with the adrenaline of their success.

“w-w-wha?” rosi and sunny stammered trying to find words through the mix of emotions they just experienced, unsure of whether to reprimand their mischievous children or be glad the two were working together.

“we got you, daddy!” marisol giggled, smiling down at her father with cheeks so high her eyes were barely visible.

“alright, don’t forget to pat it down just like i showed you,” law advised, arms crossed and a small smirk bending the corner of his lip as he took his place on top of sunny.

he took a moment to gaze across the beach as the sun began to dip further in the sky, casting golden hues along the view. the wind tousled his hair now that he’d finally removed his hood. he felt content.

“you know, sunny, i think the beach is finally growing on me.”

[cyborg-franky]

Super Server Summer Exchange

My dearest most beloved @duck-ee it was a joy to get you in the server exchange because you are a dear to me. I really hope you like this <3

Sanji x OC platonic Law TW: Children SFW Word Count: 1,445

“Everything packed?” Law asked as he leaned against the car, hands in his pockets as he watched his brother slam the back of the car, grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

“That was the last of it yes!” Duckie replied and blinked when he felt grabbing and tugging at his trousers.

Big curious eyes stared up at him as Sora tugged more, Duckie sighed and ruffled the blond hair before he picked her up, seeing those beautiful blue eyes of his daughter he brushed the hair from her face.

“I’m just going on a small trip with uncle Law, you gotta stay here and look after Daddy okay? Make sure he behaves himself and doesn’t get in any trouble. You can do that for me can’t you sweetheart?” Sora nodded shyly a smile reaching her lips as she was tasked with something big.

“Come on then princess.” Sanji hummed and took the child from his husband’s arms, kissing the side of her face before leaning over and kissing his husband goodbye.

“Have a good weekend love, call me if you need anything alright?”

“I’ll be fine, Law’s a doctor, remember.” Duckie nudged Sanji, a smile on his face as Sanji rolled his eyes.

Duckie got into the passenger’s side of the car as Law got into the driver’s seat, he grimaced a little when his brother adjusted the seat, his long legs feeling too boxed in the way Duckie had it set before. He didn’t always trust Law behind the wheel, knowing he tended to get a little annoyed at other drivers and thought he had more rights than he did.

But he didn’t like to backseat, he would just gently remind Law it was his car.

They pulled out the driveway, Duckie waving to his family while Law gave a simple nod in farewell. The open road was all theirs, pulling away from suburbia for a weekend of reconnecting and just being brothers.

Duckie turned the radio on, just high enough to hear, breaking up the silence as they travelled but not enough that they couldn’t hear one another talking. Law turned the corner, leaving a busy town road in favour of a long winding county road.

“I’m glad you managed to get the weekend off, it feels like forever since we got to hang out,” Duckie said as he pressed a button on the side, the window opening enough to let in a nice summer breeze, ruffling his hair and filling his soul with the freedom only a road trip could provide.

“They’ve owed my time off for months I just put my foot down.” He hummed and glanced to his side to watch his brother close his eyes and let the calming effect of the wind wash over him.

“I know you love your family but I bet it’ll be nice to have some time to hear yourself think huh?”

“Yeah, it’s nice to have a moment to live at a slower pace, I know Sanji had it handled, if not we have family and friends who are always ready to drop everything and lend a hand right?” Law nodded with a smile, he thought about their parents, and how they loved their grandchild.

--

The drive was smooth, relaxing, talking about small things such as their jobs, their lives, and what they’d missed in the weeks they’d last spoken. Law is always busy and Duckie with his hands full with work and family. Trying to find a balance was difficult sometimes, it’s why this road trip was so precious to both men.

“I bet you’re worried, aren’t you?” Law asked, catching Duckie looking down at his cell phone for the tenth time in a minute.

“I can’t help it, you know me, I worry, worry, worry.” He said and leaned back in his seat.

“Sanji will call you when he needs you, don’t worry.”

As the two brothers drove the world whizzed past them and changed colours as the day started to change from summer blues and yellows to afternoons oranges and purples. Soon the inky blanket of nightfall draped across the world. The car’s lights lit up each side of the road, the bushes looking like ghostly figures creeping around the car.

Law looked out the window, the large, towering trees and hedges had decorated as the field came into view. He could see the stars brighter than ever, a sight he had missed, the towns and cities never yielding to the beauty of nature’s natural lighting.

He saw a gate coming up to the side and he slowed down, Duckie quirking a brow at him as he got off the road, parking in front of the tatty old gate, the car stopping, the lights dimming before going out. Law slapped his hands on his legs and turned to face his brother.

“Remember when we used to look at the stars when we were kids? How Mother and Father would point them out to us? We’d be cuddled under that awful heart print blanket they took everywhere.”

“They still have that you know,” Duckie said with a laugh at Law’s grimace.

“It’s older than us.”

“You know they are both sentimental people Law.. so why have we stopped? Just feeling nostalgic?” he asked as Law opened the car door, gesturing for Duckie to join him.

Duckie stepped out, shutting his door and watching as Law leaned on the hood of the car, his arms folded over his chest as he stared at the night sky, the constellations all shone their brightest for the two brothers, waving in the form of far-off twinkles.

Law could see Duckie from the corner of his eye get comfy next to him, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt as the night air was a little chilly for him. He stared ahead, trying to catch the same view as Law. He could remember the nights that their parents would tell stories about the arrangement of stars, going into details about their less scientific tales of them.

He closed his eyes as he thought back to the two boys being in their mother’s arms, telling them about how sailors would chart the waters using the gems in the night sky. He smiled and opened them again, watching a star fall from the sky, tumbling and falling.

The wish he made was that his child would experience these joys. Sanji and him bringing her out this far one night, telling her stories that they’d been told. Pass down the tales so she could one day do the same. The thought started to make him emotional, and his brother could see.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just... thinking about when we were kids, what things meant to me, to us and how I can’t wait to share that with Sora and Sanji…”

Law nodded, he didn’t say anything which prompted Duckie to lean against him “You still don’t like Sanji?” he asked and tugged at the sleeve of his hoody.

“I like him fine, I’m just not a people person and I don’t do the romance or having a family thing.” He explained and ruffled Duckie’s hair.

“I didn’t use to like him, no, the person he used to be I honestly wanted to punch him in the face. I was worried every time I got a text from you or every time you and Sanji disagreed that he’d said something. We both know the man he used to be.” Law sighed and itched the hair on his chin, watching the sky.

“But you made him a better person Duckie, he needed you to help him see the person he was, and I can see how happy he makes you, for once I’m glad I was wrong about something, about someone.” Law felt arms around his waist hugging him tightly.

Even in the dark, he could tell Duckie was getting emotional, how tears welled up in his eyes at the sentimental things Law had let out. It was times like this Law was honest and open and they could talk.

“I’m glad you were wrong too.. and yes, he makes me very happy.” Duckie nodded and felt his brother ruffle his hair once more.

“Good, because I know people…” Law’s smile turned into a smirk until Duckie elbowed him in the side.

“Law…”

“Come on it was a joke.”

Duckie chuckled and once again turned his attention to the sky, watching the stars as he thought about his family. His wonderful relationship with his husband, his beautiful daughter, and his loving family. He was lucky, he didn’t need any falling stars to grant his wishes, they’d all already come true.

[sugxrslushy]

🌊 a/n: here's my side of a trade for the lovely server I'm part of!! I got @ztarvokwrites for my draw and decided to give writing Galdino a try :) once again writing for ocs when I can't ask questions is hard so I hope it's not too ooc ;0; I hope you like this dear <3

🌊 details: SFW//Galdino x OC//w.c: 1k

The waves were calm, crashing softly onto the pale sandy beach and leaving seafoam in its wake. The birds cawed above, their voices swept up in the gentle breeze that ruffled Roseanne’s hair, the brown strands tickling her face. She pushes it away from her eyes, hand moving to shade her eyes from the bright sun above that lights up the baby blue sea.

The summer island was quiet, the loudest noise seemed to solely be the sound of the shaking leaves when the breeze snaked through them. For such a beautiful day, the beach was empty which left plenty of room for the couple to sit and enjoy the lovely day. Roseanne’s hand took Gladino’s, squeezing lightly and fixing the umbrella tucked under her arm.

Galdino’s feet dragged lightly on the sandy walkway down to the shore, his last interest on the sea in front of him. Like cats and dogs, devil fruit users and the sea were sworn enemies. Despite his pirate lifestyle, he’d never seemed to grow any sort of fondness towards the sea. Not to the waves, to the seashells or the sand.

Well, with the memories of a former boss, Rose couldn’t blame him for his distaste towards sand.

“It’s so beautiful outside, isn’t it?” She holds lightly onto the brim of her hat as another breeze ruffles her hair, facing Gladino beside her. Her sun kissed skin glows under the light, red eyes glimmering like rubies and he can feel his heart skip a beat.

Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. 

“It is,” he hums as sand is swept up and brushes against his skin in the breeze. “But I would personally say you are much more beautiful.” A knowing smile paints his face even when Roseanne’s hand shoots her face to cover up the dark blush creeping across her face. Not even the sun beaming down on the couple could compare to how hot her face seemed.

The blue waves looked much nicer, a possible way to wash the red hot blush from her cheeks but Galdino holds her hand in his was  a gentle grip, continuing their stroll down the walkway towards the shore. It was a date and a date is well spent enjoying your time. So they take their time, sharing sweet words almost swept away in the breeze and plenty of kisses till the sand crumbles below their feet.

“We don’t need to be close to the water to enjoy our time, there’s plenty of things to do on the beach!” Roseanne smiles widely as Galdino and sets down a blanket, tossing her shoes off to the side and patting the spot next to her. He grimaces at the sea water drawing close to their spot but finds his spot next to Roseanne.

She flops down on the blanket, already warming under the sun and pulls Galdino down by his Hawaiian shirt she’d gifted him. She could barely hide her excitement at seeing him in it for the first time, it fit him perfectly by hugging his body close and making him seem all much brighter with the birds and flowers printed on the fabric.

Falling down against the blanket with her, his hand seeks out Roseanne’s once again. As warm as the sand below them, he threads his fingers through hers. Taking in his surroundings with a deep breath, he breathes out. “It’s really… nice here.”

“It’s nice to be on a beach without being worried about being hunted down.” She giggles and buries her feet in the sand, happy to just soak up the sunny atmosphere.

“Oh don’t remind me.” Galdino rolls his eyes, not too fond of entertaining ideas of marines at the moment. “Isn’t this a vacation in which we should be having fun?”

She laughs again, voice sweet and airy. Sweeter than the coconuts hanging on trees above his head or the little fruity cocktails you’d drink on beaches like this. “Well we need to make it fun, don’t we?” Although a day of rest was appealing, the excitement of a day off sent energy flowing through her veins.

In the bag she had left Galdino to carry, she digs deep below layers of towels and hats to fish out a plastic bucket shaped like a castle. Marianne had left in the bottom of the bag long ago, her little paintings and drawings decorating the bright red bucket and leaving Roseanne without the heart to remove it from the bag. It was a cherished trinket and piqued Galdino’s attention at the familiar doodles.

“Have you ever made a sandcastle?” A simple question that she doubted her would say yes to. He raises an eyebrow, an answer in itself but he lays a hand flat. White candle wax drips from the open palm, swirling around and slowly building up a castle in his hand. It was barely bigger than his hand but had the tiniest details etched into the white surface. Roseanne couldn’t help it but gasp in amazement.

“Not quite a sandcastle but a castle.” He smiles proudly at his little creation, taking her hand in his and placing the little castle gently in her hand. The surface is already cool, the wax hardened and set in place. “But if you wish to make a sand castle I would be willing to try.”

Setting it off to the side, she shoots him a smile and motions him to the edge of the blanket. “It’s best to use wet sand, just digging down we can find some. It’ll make a solid base for us to use.” She gives her instructions, digging her hands into the hot sand and digging down. It feels like teaching Marianne all over again, a sing-song voice falling from her tongue while excitedly demonstrating.

Gladino finds a spot behind her, his chest pushed against her back, the Hawaiin shirt slightly parted and skin warm against hers. His hands cup over hers, digging into the sand with her and humming softly as they scooped the sand into the bucket. It fills up slowly, being topped off with a final scoop then patted down. 

“You have some sand on your face.” She giggles.

“Huh?”

“There’s sand on your face.” A much more sandy finger pokes at his cheek and his eyes go wide. She laughs again at the blot of sand left behind, his face turning red and making it all the more noticeable. She squats by him and takes the edge of her dress in her hand, wiping away at the little specks of sand.

“Your dress-” He breathes out, slightly panicked at possibly ruining her sundress.

“We’re on a beach, it would have happened no matter what I did!”

He holds the fabric in his hands, wiping away all of the specks of sand to clean up her dress. He was never one to like pretty things getting dirty, especially his beloved. “It's too pretty for me to just let you dirty it like that. We’ll clean it up later sweetheart.”

Rose stutters over her words, patting down her dress and fighting her rising blush. “We should finish up the castle!” She blurts out and picks up the bucket of sand. Galdino scurries back over and holds the bottom, fingers grazing against hers and help her flip it over. It hits the sandy ground with a whump and both thrumming with excitement, they shimmy the top off.

No cracks are left in the sandy walls of the castle, not a single blemish or missing piece of the castle. A beautiful structure created gently with love. Roseanne beams at the sight of the castle and Galdino mirrors her proud facade. It was perfect, more perfect than anything they’d ever made (and possibly greater than any sand castle Crocodile could possibly make).

But then Galdino’s face drops, a thought crossing the man’s mind. 

“What?”

Shuffling forward, he holds his hand above the castle and the white wax drips down onto one of the balconies made from sand. As slow as the dripping wax, two little figures begin to build up with the tiniest details sketched into them. Her breath catches in her throat when she recognizes the actual figures.

Two little figures of them stand happily atop their castle, little hearts stemming off of them. 

“There, finished.” He grins contently and presses a kiss to Roseanne’s face. “Thank you for showing me something so fun.”

[ztarvokwrites]

★notes: yes i know the image of killer in the banner is absolutely dreadful, i couldn't find any good manga caps of him so i just made my own (it took longer than i thought) anyway- surprise @kaizokuwritings ! i was your trade buddy thing eheh hope u enjoy my lovely! 💗 also sorry if this is short! writing when you're suffering from a seasonal cold is terrible for your mind to concentrate :/

★word count: 415

★warnings: none, just fluff

★synopsis: killer has something on his mind, and now seems like the perfect time to tell you.

The sun had just begun to set, a bright warm hue of pink painting the cloudy sky as you two walked along the beach, the breeze flowing through your hair and the sand between your toes. Killer and you chatted contently; talking about your crew and captain, talking about cooking - talking about anything, really. No matter what you two talked about, it never failed to entertain you.

Then suddenly, Killer stopped talking, instead opting to listen to you ramble on about the loot that you had picked up from the island previously. He watched through his mask as your face lit up completely, explaining in great detail how you found the loot and just how shiny and pretty it was.

Killer thought you were shiny and pretty. He always thought that.

"Killer? Are you okay?" You asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. At first, Killer nodded before shaking his head and stopping in his tracks and turning to you.

"Actually, Y/N," He began, making you cock your head to the side as a response. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it?" You questioned, your curiosity piquing. Killer seemed to pause for a moment before speaking.

"Y/N, I lov-"

"Oi, Killer, Y/N! Hurry up will ya? We're about to leave!" Kid yelled from a few feet away from them. Killer softly groaned before yelling back that you two would be there soon and turning back to you. He took your hands in his, making you blush.

"As I was saying... Y/N, I love you." His confession was fast and to the point. And he would've said more if Kid wasn't pushing you two to hurry up. Your blush grew more prominent as your hands gently squeezed his own, visually taking him by surprise. Without saying a word, you kissed his mask where his cheek was as a sign that you loved him too. You watched as he tensed a little before relaxing.

"Oi!! Are you two done flirting or what?! The marines are here, we have to go!" Kid spoke, suddenly in a rush. Killer nodded, holding one of your hands in his and swiftly leading you back to the ship.

"Will you be mine?" He suddenly asked, panting through his words as you both began to sprint towards the ship. You giggled, a sound that would be engraved in Killer's mind for years to come.

"Of course," You beamed, squeezing his hand tight. "I thought you'd never ask!"

[itsonlydana]

"finding a friend in your enemy" ➷ BdoubleO100

➛ pairing: c!bdubs x gn!reader (no pronouns mentioned)

➛ idea: when Pearl asks you to cat-sit her cat Nugget, Bdubs is convinced he would never like any cat and especially not one that shows no interest in him whatsoever. It's fascinating how fast the tables turn.

➛ word count: 1,1k

➛ tags/warnings: none, pure fluff, mention of small injuries

➛ an: while writing this I rewatched Bdubs Among Us stream from tonight and I had to write this short story after he and Pearl chatted about her cat. I know Bdubs is not on my official list on who I write for yet, but if you have any ideas, send them in :D

➛ requests: open!

important links: rules + masterlist

🌿 reposts and comments are appreciated, they motivate me a lot and keep me writing <3

"I think she hates me" 

"What?" Astonished, you looked over the top of your notebook, glancing from the long list of materials for your mega base to Bdubs, who almost disappeared into the tall grass in his moss sweater. 

"She hates me and probably every person on this server," your boyfriend repeated, resting his head in the crook of his arm so you couldn't see anything of him except for a tuft of brown hair. He'd been lying there in the meadow in front of your starter home for hours, as still as you'd never have thought him to be, hidden under his soft sweater that was far too warm for a warm summer day. 

"Well, she seems to like me," you clarified, and turned back to your list. You had already started to elaborate the plans for your big project a week ago and after you decided to settle down near the shopping district by the sea you could finally go into more details - or rather you could try to, because Bdub's deprecating click of his tongue made you lower the notebook in your hands again. 

"You don't really think someone so sweet hates humanity, do you?"

"She's the devil himself! Look at her with her red sparkling eyes and razor sharp claws! Just now she was sharpening them and I swear she was staring at me the whole time!"

"Bdubs, it's a cat!" you interrupted his agitated babbling and stood up from your double chest serving as a seat, aware that you couldn't continue working until the "cat" problem was solved. And if, in exchange, you would put your project on hold for another night, only to finally be able to work in peace afterwards, so be it. 

With a sigh, you trudged across the meadow to the shady oak tree, against whose trunk you leaned again, directly under the "B+y/n" cut into the bark, which had been created as soon as you had put down your first chest of the now out-of-control chest monster. 

Stretching out your legs, you leaned against the trunk and looked down at Bdubs and his fluffy opponent. 

Pearl's cat, Nugget, lay curled up in itself with her head, chin turned upwards in the grass, sleeping perfectly peacefully, completely unaware of Bdub's stare. Now that you were facing him you could see his face again, his skepticism of the fur baby more than evident in his curled lips. The hood pulled over his head cast a shadow over him, and laughing, you stretched to pull it off of him. 

"Stop looking so grim, you super villain," you grinned after you ran a hand through his brown short strands and he blew them out of his eyes.

"I'm not the bad guy here," he grumbled, his whole attitude towards the cat telling a whole different story. Ever since Pearl had asked you to watch her cat Nugget for a few days, she had a long trip planned to gather materials and didn't want her running around her base alone, Bdubs had been out to plant nasty thoughts and worries in your head. What if you couldn't handle cats? Did you know what Nugget ate and needed for grooming? What if Nugget didn't want a babysitter at all and just wanted to chill for a week?

The latter had got you thinking about whether it might not have been Bdubs who didn't want to be a babysitter. 

For you, the issue of Bdub's apparent dislike of cats had been resolved when Pearl had dropped Nugget off the day before yesterday in a box and with a shulker box full of food, snacks, and grooming products, and the cat had responded to Bdub's attempt to pet her-he'd been clumsier than he used to be at Redstone-and he'd gotten a small scratch on the spot. 

You thought that if they didn't like each other, they should get along in peace and just ignore each other, but you didn't count on the sudden jealousy that arose in Bdubs every time the cat tried to get close to you, thus scaring him away. 

Of course, he claimed that Bdubs, the king of the moon, didn't need to be jealous of a creature like a cat, a kitten at that, because he was so much better, and yet he was staring at Nuggets as if he wanted to send her to the moon in a rocket. 

Just as you took your hand out of Bdub's hair and were about to lean back again, Nugget stirred. First she stretched her small slender hind paws back, rolled away and presented the underside of her belly to you, meowing. 

"Oh look who's awake" Slowly, so she could see your hand coming you began to pet through the warm fur, massaging it lightly "Did you fall asleep after your dinner? That was quite a feast wasn't it? You're just like Boo," you whispered loud enough for Bdubs, who was watching the interaction skeptically and with his eyebrows drawn together, to hear "He likes to sleep in the sun after a good meal, too" 

"Hey!" he exclaimed, startling Nugget, as she immediately stopped purring and hissed in his direction. Immediately Bdubs hissed back, seeming less threatening and more childlike. 

You looked at him admonishingly, the subject of volume around the kitten had come up more and more in the last two days and while you didn't mind your boyfriend's full voice, cats heard everything a little louder after all. At his low grumble, Nugget calmed down too, her little body rolling relaxedly in your direction until her head bumped against your knee and she tossed up a throaty meow at you, a complaint as to why you had stopped petting her. 

As any sane person would do, you continued the petting and were immediately rewarded with the deep purr that made every bit of stress fall away from you. It was truly magical how good a purring cat was for your mental health. 

"Boo?"

"Yes angel face?" 

You looked up with a smile from a perfectly content Nugget to a grumpy looking Bdubs. He really needed to work on his jealousy. "Don't you want to try Nugget again? She's all fluffy."

At your question, Bdubs laughed out loud until he realized you were serious. "No, never! Never ever in my life will I pet that devil and give myself to her, become one of her servants, serving her food and being bossed around! Can't you see the rage in her eyes? The hatred for the human- ahh" Without much hesitation you had taken his hand and were slowly running it over Nugget's belly with yours. She flinched briefly at the strange touch, but when she realized she was being petted again, she blinked once at Bdubs and leaned toward his hand.

It was a fascinating moment when Bdubs, completely in stupor, let you guide him and when he found his own rhythm and after a while his feet began to kick in the air, you knew you were one step closer to having a cat of your own.