#alvita's writing

[oneirataxia-girl]

aim for the sun ⇝ the metal strings of death

ft. Eustass "Captain" Kid, Trafalgar Law "the Surgeon of Death", and "Marionette" Mari

"'i love you' is a death sentence in my mouth."

the life of a pirate means a life void of stability. nothing lasts when your ship docks at a new island every other morning, not even attachments.

or

alliances come and go. people move on. Mari, Law, and Kid attempt do the same.

warnings: spoilers for sabaody and beyond, angst, mild violence, non-explicit mentions of child abuse, sexual harassment, and death

00 - tba

01 - tba

02 - tba

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06 - tba

the enabler's call: @arrthurpendragon, @bibaybe, @daughter-of-melpomene, @auxiliarydetective, @starcrossedjedis, @fakedatings, @supermarine-silvally -- want to be added? shoot me an ask!

#eh?? law is called the surgeon of death #kid's df allows him to manipulate metal #and mari refers to herself as a “puppet on strings” (as does a certain fanfav villian #very big brained if I do say so myself #the non-explicit is extremely non-explicit #but it does veer into those categories so i thought i should put it there #a valentines non-gift to me #bc this has been cooking for way too long #and its STILL not ready yet #*sigh* #ship: midlaw #otp: the metal strings of death #fic: aim for the sun #fyeahonepieceocs #alvita's writing

[supermarine-silvally]

❤️ + Portada pls!! -🍂

Part 2 of this!

❤️ first kiss / realization

Something was terribly, horribly wrong. 

Ace had first noticed it at breakfast. He had stuffed his plate with as much bacon as Thatch would let him get away with and sauntered over to his usual spot, wedging himself between Yara and Marco. The First Division Commander had greeted him as per usual, but Yara didn’t even bother to glance up from the saddest bowl of oatmeal Ace had ever seen; the only garnishing on it two solitary raisins. 

(He knew for a fact that she didn’t even like raisins. They reminded her too much of the crappy communion wine at the convent she grew up at, she’d told him once, scrunching her nose up in that adorable way she did whenever she found something particularly unsatisfactory.)

Throughout the rest of the day, things seemed to only get worse. She kept her gaze down and her answers monosyllabic whenever he tried to interact with her-- and that was when she didn’t outright leave the room as soon as he entered. 

“Trouble in paradise, yoi?” Marco had asked him when he caught Ace moping around on the Moby Dick’s upper deck.

Ace let out a massive, depressed sigh in response, draping his arms over the gunwale. Part of him almost wished a strong gust of wind would come along and knock him into the water. “I think I did something wrong, Marco. I haven’t seen her this upset with me since before I officially joined the crew.”

The doctor placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You need to talk to her about it. I’m sure whatever it is can easily be fixed. Yara may be stubborn, but she’s not unreasonable.”

“That’s… true,” Ace conceded. He stood up straight, his determination renewed. “I’ll go find her. The sooner I can sort this out, the better.”

“Good luck, yoi,” Marco said, giving him a firm pat on the back. 

And that was what led him here, hanging out near the entrance to the mess hall, biding his time. There was no way that Yara could avoid him forever… could she?

“Ace.”

He instantly perked up, a relieved grin spreading across his face as he caught sight of her heading towards him, a file stuffed with papers tucked under her arm. She, however, did not return his joy, but instead stared emotionlessly back at him as she handed him the file. “Pops said to give this to you.”

He nodded, receiving it from her. “Oh, thanks! …Right, these are the maps I wanted to see.”

Yara gave him a curt nod in return before pivoting back towards the entranceway.

“Wait, where are you going?”

She stopped, turning to face him again, her eyes narrowed. “I came. I gave you the file. And now I’m leaving.”

“Yara!” Ace called out after her, dropping the file onto a nearby table. He reached for her hand, but his fingers passed straight through her. His brow furrowed, confused. Now she was using her Devil Fruit powers with him? She never did that.  

“I’m not in the mood, Ace,” was all she replied, her tone icy.

His entire body wilted, heart thudding pitifully in his chest as she left the mess hall without so much as a second glance. Oh, he had definitely fucked something up. 

☠-----⚔-----☠-----⚔-----☠

“Yaraaaaa…” Ace knocked on her bedroom door. “Can we talk? Please?”

He held his breath, waiting. Finally, after a moment, the latch clicked. Yara opened the door a crack. She was wearing her nightdress, her loose hair cascading down her shoulders. Ace couldn’t help but notice the dark circles lingering under her eyes as she stared at him. 

Swallowing, he took a step back. “Hi.”

“It’s late, Ace.”

“I know. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Then I suppose you’ve come to let me down easy,” she said with a sigh.

His brow furrowed. “Let you down what?”

“Never mind. I shouldn’t delay the inevitable. Shall we go somewhere more private than the living quarters?”

Nodding, he allowed her to step out of her room before following her down the hallway. She led him down the stairs and outside to the second level balcony. The stars glinted overhead as the Moby Dick gently careened along its path, cutting through the ocean’s calm surface. Yara leaned against the railing, the faint breeze catching the edge of her nightdress. Just the sight of her underneath the moon’s light was enough to make Ace’s stomach twist into knots. 

He sucked in a breath. There was no way he could let this go on any longer. “It’s the stupid dare thing, isn’t it? That’s why you’re upset with me.”

“I’m not upset with you,” Yara replied evenly. “I’m upset with myself.”

“What? Why?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. It matters a lot. Especially if I… if I did something to hurt you. Please, Yara. You’re…” He swallowed. “You’re one of my best friends. Whatever it is, I’ll make it right.”

Yara glanced away from him, a conflicted look flickering through her eyes. “I… made a foolish miscalculation,” she said after a moment. “I thought that… perhaps you might…” She hesitated. For a moment, he could’ve sworn he saw a faint blush spread across her cheeks. “That, well… That kissing me wouldn’t have been as intolerable for you as it evidently was.”

“Intolerable?” His brow furrowed. “Kissing you wouldn’t be intolerable.”

“Oh, please.” Her glare narrowed as it returned to rest on him. “You dragged your feet and then turned away at the last second. How the hell else could I possibly interpret that, Ace? From my standpoint, it was a fairly obvious rejection.” 

Ace’s heart was practically beating out of his chest as the realization slowly dawned on him. “Hold on a minute. You… wanted me to kiss you?”

Yara’s nose scrunched up, her mouth drawing into a tight line like it did whenever she was frustrated by something. Finally, she turned away with a sigh. “…You’re an idiot of the most hopeless variety. Let’s just forget this ever happened.”

“Yara, wait.” He reached towards her, catching her hand. This time, her flesh stayed solid, and he curled his fingers around hers as he pulled her in. 

She let out a surprised gasp as one of his hands moved to her waist, the other tenderly cupping her face. Her skin felt so soft as he lightly stroked her cheek, the butterflies that had been nesting in his stomach bursting to life. 

“Last night, I really, really wanted to kiss you,” he breathed. 

“Then why didn’t you?” she whispered, eyes widening as his fingers traced along the small of her back. 

“Because I didn’t want our first kiss to be something either of us would regret,” he confessed. “You’re too special to me for that.”

“Ace…”

“I never thought I’d meet someone like you, Yara. Someone who just… accepted me so easily. Who didn’t care at all about my good-for-nothing father. The last thing I ever would’ve wanted is for you to think I only kissed you because Haruta dared me to, and not because I’m madly, stupidly in love with you, and I have been ever since Pops brought me onto this ship.”

Her eyes went unnaturally wide. “What?”

“Oh.” Ace blinked, his hand leaving her waist to awkwardly scratch the back of his neck. “Shoot, did I just say that out loud?”

He took her stunned silence as an affirmative. “So, uh… would it be okay if I kissed you now?”

“Please,” Yara breathed, leaning in. Their foreheads pressed lightly together, noses brushing as they revelled in each other’s warmth. His arms wrapped around her waist, the cotton fabric of her nightdress bunching between his fingers as he pulled her tight to his chest. She clung to his bare shoulders, the tips of her fingers smoothing along his collarbone, each feather-light touch setting off fireworks in his stomach.

“You’re so beautiful, Hellcat,” he murmured against her lips, feeling her breath hitch. 

“Kiss me already, Fire Fist,” she whispered, the neediness in her voice sending a jolt of pleasure throughout his entire body, small flames flickering involuntarily off his skin.

He wasted no more time in closing the gap between them, lips slotting into place as if they were always meant to do so. The whole world ceased to exist around him as their mouths moved in sync, the taste of her flooding his senses, all the pent-up love he’d kept locked in his heart for so long finally flowing freely through him.

One hand slowly drifted upwards, tangling in her long violet hair as he cupped the back of her neck, pressing himself forwards to dip her down, stealing a tiny gasp of air before continuing the kiss. He could feel Yara’s lips twitch upwards, the sensation making him grin into the kiss as well. 

They broke away, foreheads coming to rest against each other’s as Ace cradled Yara’s cheek in his palm. “I love you,” he admitted. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, and for being such an idiot last night.”

Yara laughed softly. “After that kiss, you’re definitely forgiven. And I…” Her face flushed, looking away for a moment before returning her heterochromatic gaze to meet his dark eyes. “I love you too, Portgas D. Ace. You dummy.”

“You love me too,” he repeated, unable to keep himself from grinning wildly. His heart felt as if it were on fire, burning with an intense, aching passion. I never thought I’d ever hear anyone say those words to me. I’m hardly deserving of them, yet… Yet it still feels so nice.

He slipped an arm around her waist, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as they both gazed out at the moon and stars beyond. “So… where do we go from here?”

She shrugged. “Wherever we want, I suppose. We’ll figure it out together.”

Smiling, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “That sounds perfect.”

tagging: @auxiliarydetective @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene (and @box-of-bats too if you want the narrative resolution to the last prompt hehe)

#oc: bravada yara #ship: portada #otp: i'd burn the world for you #portgas d ace x oc #asked and answered #my ocs #my writing #chats with alvita #tysm for the prompt!! i'm having WAY too much fun with these #and i legit think i'm getting better at writing kisses too #as i said before things will play out differently in 'and i'll surrender (myself to you)' but regardless #i do love a good confession scene #i am in FULL portada mode rn lol

[arrthurpendragon]

⌨ + from the edge of the deep green sea + tag, you’re it!! -🍂

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Those were the only words my brain could manage while Percy pulled me from the cottage.  It felt like we were in a freaking action movie. It probably looked like it too.  Except my brother’s best friend wasn’t wearing any pants!  I know, I know that probably shouldn’t have been my main takeaway, but in my defense when you have ADHD your brain tends to hyperfocus on something.  And my brain decided to focus on Grover’s pants.  Or rather, lack thereof. 

I’m not quite sure how I managed to get into the car.  But next thing I knew, I was sitting in the backseat of Smelly Gabe’s Camaro, practically clinging to Percy, who was squished in the middle seat with Grover on the other side of him.  And while my body was paralyzed with terror, my brain (and eyes) were focused on Grover’s hooves.  I mean, it did make a lot of things make sense.  But if there was ever something that would literally explode your brain, finding out someone you knew was half goat was pretty high up there.

“So, you and my mom . . . know each other?” was all Percy could manage to ask.

“That’s the first thing you choose to ask him?” I scoffed derisively at my brother. “Of all the things you could ask, like, oh, I don’t know - that,” I gestured to Grover’s bottom half. “And you went with that?”

Grover looked at me.  He looked somewhat nervous, but he didn’t say anything.  Instead, it was Percy who spoke next. “Shut up, Lia,” he groaned, shoving me toward the car door with his shoulder.

“Someone needed to say something,” I muttered to myself before folding my arms across my chest.  

I glanced outside, expecting to see nothing in the dark.  But the lightning flashed so frequently that at moments it almost looked like day out there. The thunder continued to boom loudly.  So loud, it would shake the car.  That is if it wasn’t already being battered by the harsh wind.  Like I said, we were in a freaking action movie.  Only we didn’t have any cool weapons stowed away in the trunk. And there was a goat boy.

Send me ⌨ + title to one of my fics and I’ll write a sentence for that fic! (if you want one back - add "tag you're it" to your ask)

#oc: ophelia jackson #fic: from the edge of the deep green sea #fd: percy jackson #while i think lia's story would remain much the same i should find her a faceclaim for the new series - so she can have both #send me a fic and i'll write a sentence #alvita🍂

[1-800-local-slut]

My Crazy Wife and Kids

Rio x Black! Fem! Reader

Warnings: bad parenting (not outrageous, they just don't know what their really doing), reader had a hard childhood, light child endangerment, arguing between reader and basically everyone, angst with a fluffy ending, the reader is Caribbean because I really understand the struggle of trying to understand Caribbean parents, mentions and allusions of smut, mentions of cancer, reader works as a pimp under Rio

Guess what's harder, raising three girls vs running a drug empire? Rio and his wife are the proud parents to three girls and struggle to raise them and change the way they were both raised

Please let me know if you enjoy, likes and reblogs are appreciated! Also I'm taking request for Rio and every character I write for, I wanna write more stuff for my baby daddy! <3

This is a long one lol

Important info: The oldest daughter is nine, the twins are seven

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The car was silent. The twins sat beside their oldest sister, Valentina. Amancia and Alvita squirmed in their seats while Valentina stole glances at the front of the car. Her father, Rio, kept his hands gripped on the steering wheel and his eyes glued forward as he drove them home from church.

Their mother had their iPads sitting in her purse. She'd taken them as punishment the moment they got back in the car. It felt like riding to your doom, sitting in the car with two angry parents like hers.

The sun beaming outside did nothing to ease her nerves, and the thought of winding down the window and risking sending her mother into a lecture was not one she was willing to act on.

Don't get it twisted; the girls were by no means treated awfully by their parents. But when you have an old-world Caribbean mother who still 100% believed in spankings, there's no telling what you're in for after a day of acting up.

The more familiar the streets got, the more anxious she got. Sure, she was supposed to just go to the bathroom and take the twins with her. But how could she resist taking a little walk outside? And how could she resist going to the corner store?

When they got back with bunches of (stolen) candy and got caught by a deaconess, Amancia decided that was the best time to bust out that swear word she heard their mom call some lady on the phone.

Amancia called her a cunt, and Valentina could feel her ass start to throb from the spanking they were about to get. Alvita bit the deaconess the moment she tried to grab the three of them.

It was over then.

They were sitting in the driveway now, and Valentina realized that Alvita had snot running down her nose and her hair that their mom perfectly styled that morning, and Amancia was staring off into space as if she accepted her fate.

Her mother cleared her throat as daddy turned off the car. He let out a weary sigh and ran a ringed hand over his face. Her mom cleared her throat and turned back to look at them.

"Go take a shower. Valentina, you first."

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"Why on God's green Earth did she call that woman a cunt? I don't know," his wife sighed as she wrapped the scarf around her hair.

"Because she heard you call that lady a cunt on the phone last month. I knew something was up; I saw her little ass twitching to use the word," Rio chuckled, opening the sheets for her to come into his arms.

"You think this is funny? I had to be the bad guy again," she asked as she crawled into his arms. The silk of their red sheets covered her, and the TV played Empire in the background. Rio reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. The large room was dark now and was only illuminated by the glow of Cookie Lyon beating her son with a broom.

"It's funny because that woman is a cunt. You know it, I know it, and Vita just said what we were thinking," he yelped, the pinch getting him hard.

"Yes, Sister Jefferson is a cunt. Our kids will respect authoritative figures." She was getting upset now. She shifted away from him slightly, and Rio didn't miss it. Rio wasn't sure what to say next, so he figured it was best to just agree.

"You're right."

"So why don't you act like it?" Silence.

"What do you want from me?" He asked after a moment.

"I want you to stop leaving me to punish our kids all alone. I know I pushed them from my pussy myself, but I didn't put them there alone. You just stood there like a fucking idiot while I dealt with them, and I'm sick of being the bad guy." During their confrontation with their three daughters and forcing them to call Sister Jefferson to apologize, Rio more or less stood there. In the past, she did ask him to not just be the fun parent, but sometimes it still slipped his mind.

"So you're mad I didn't yell at them? You're mad at me because I didn't chase them down with a stick or make them write out sentences 100 times? Don't piss me off." It wasn't that serious, was it? An annoyed huff was his answer.

"Yeah. The girls adore you, and I'm just the bitch who takes their shit and sends them to bed. Then you have the fucking audacity to say it was my fault she called that woman a cunt. What about you? You remember teaching our kids Spanish, yeah? So when you're going on and on swearing in a way that would kill your mother, you think they don't understand you. Come off it, you prick." She rolled even further from him now. He had a feeling she was pissed off earlier at dinner after she called the girls down and even after she tucked them all in.

"You wanna call me a prick louder, ma? Maybe Amancia will hear you and use that one next Sunday." It was a mistake, and he wanted to suck the words back into his throat. It was an intrusive thought that he didn't have time to stop from slipping out.

He could hear the craziness turning in her brain. He didn't just marry her for no reason; he married her because she could hold him down. And to hold Rio down, you have to be a bit crazy in your own right.

He was on the ground with a thud, and the TV was off.

"Did you just fucking push me?!"

She was silent now, the way he had been during the confrontation earlier.

"Hello? I know you hear me? Did you really just throw me onto the floor?" A pillow slammed into his chest, and he knew it meant he was not welcome back in this bed.

"So now we're just throwing each other off things, right?" More silence, as she pulled a pair of headphones onto her head, and he could hear the sound of the ocean bleeding through. Pulling an eye mask over her face, he just huffed and headed to the door.

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The sun shone through the kitchen as she chopped up sausages to make breakfast. It was 5:30 now, and the girls would be up soon. Where her fucking idiot of a husband was, she didn't really care. How dare he! Leave her alone with the kids?

It had been a while (nine years) since her first pregnancy. He wasn't as useless back then. And she knows she was not alone in that bed making that baby. She didn't want to do things the way she did.

Yes, she struggled at times to show affection, but that wasn't her fault. She didn't have a mom to show her how to hug or any older sisters to teach her how to be a girl. She had to learn about femininity from watching the older girls around her shitty neighborhood. Hell, until she met Rio she wasn't even sure about having kids.

When they asked where grandma was, the last thing she wanted was to explain was that her mom killed four people in a gang fight and that she herself was born in jail before she was released to her grandma who was hardly around. That she spent one day every weekend driving to a prison to see her mom. That even as a grown adult, she still gets collect calls from her mother and her husband sends money for her books and does whatever her can for her in jail.

It wasn't entirely her choice to keep the girls from their grandma. Grandma expressed no desire for them to know that she sold her whole life to kill four people.

Growing up the way she did, why did everyone just expect her to be a model mother over night? Good at all the emotional shit that came with kids? She wasn't and it was fucked that her dickhead of a husband may as well be a totem pole the way he just stands there sometimes. Behind her the fridge opened. Speak of the devil she supposed. Still she ignored him.

Since she was a fuck up, since everything he said was bad for the girls then it was better she didn't speak to his dumbass at all.

"Good morning baby." After 13 years of marriage his voice still made her wet. Still she relented.

"How did you sleep? It wasn't the best for me, my back hurt and I had to sleep on the couch. You wanna rub it out for me baby?" He was testing her, testing the waters to see if she was still steamed. He was very close to getting slapped with a pan.

Nothing from her as she poured three cups of lemonade for the girls who she heard moving around upstairs. Returning to the stove, she started scraping the food into three plates. She felt his hands creep up her sides.

"Look. Look baby, I'm sorry. I know you're not the best with being affectionate with the girls and I know you struggle to figure out how to go about things with them. But I want you to know we're a team. I'm gonna start acting like it baby." His apology was smooth and deep in her ear. Still she could hear the honesty in his voice and tears bubbled up in her eyes.

The girls had a lot to do today. From Valentina's dance classes after school, the Amancia has a piano class and Alvita has science classes at her advanced tutoring company after school. And knowing she wouldn't have to be pissed off at her husband all day was a lot better.

"It's hard. I want to be closer to them so bad but I can't. I don't know how to be a good mom, or how to comfort them or teach them anything that isn't violence. All the books and youtube videos in the world can't teach you how to be a parent. I want to think I'm doing good so bad. I would fucking die for my girls. I would kill for them and end up in jail right next to my momma for them and I just can't seem to prove that to them. And it would be a lot easier to have someone for them to be angry at instead of me when they do something wrong." She sniffled, whipping tears from her eyes and turning into his chest.

He smelt so good. Like leather and the Dark Temptation body wash she picked up for him last time she went to Target and she made a mental note to buy it again. His strong arms wrapped around hers and he pressed a kiss to her scarfed head. One hand rubbed her back while she cried.

"Mama, the girls love you. You are a great mother. Just by being here you do more than so many people who up and run. They look up to you like you're the Sun. You're the only mom they have and I can see that they wanna be just like you. I'm sorry that I was being the fun parent. You know my entire life, I said I would be there for my kids for the good and the bad. And I've just been sitting back for the bad like my grandpa did. He left my grandma to struggle with me and Nick.

For a long ass time I thought my grandma was just hard on me for no reason. Now I know it's the stress of having to be with someone who's only there half the time and I'm sorry I put you through that."

When he mentioned his grandma his voice cracked. She pressed a soft kiss to his shirtless chest and she nodded against him, wrapping her arms around his smooth frame. She ran her fingers over a small scar on his back that he got when he was putting the cribs up for the twins.

"I'm sorry I pushed you off the bed." One of the girls was using the toilet, while the shower turned on again and it sounded like one of them (probably Amancia) was still in bed and she knew she'd have to get her up soon. A deep chuckle resonated through him and sent tingles through her entire body.

"It's alright, I'm sorry I was being a prick."

He stole a piece of sausage from the scrambled eggs and popped it into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before giggling.

"Shhhh, Amancia might hear you." She teased, and he smirked down at her in response.

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"Aw don't be pouty baby. You'll look so good in that tutu." Rio snickered, sipping from his wine glass and placing it back on their marble counter top. It was a mother daughter dance recital and she was less than thrilled to get this invitation. No actually. She was thrilled. She was thrilled to do something with her daughter, not with a fuck ton of people watching but she would never be ashamed to show off with her princess in front of the whole world.

Valentina was fidgeting around, doing little dance moves and dancing around with her little sisters. How could she say no to that? The woman would be prancing around on stage, matching pink tutu. She was married to a drug lord and helped run his empire with an iron fist. She wasn't used to being in the spot light and as ironic as it was.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want too."

The girls stopped playing. Valentina was standing in front of her mother who was sitting on a chair in front of their kitchen island. She looked like she felt bad for even asking and it put a knife in her heart. She realized then that she didn't hide her emotions as well as she hoped.

"No, no I want too! I was just thinking about how awful those other moms and daughters are gonna look dancing next to us. We're gonna eat them up, trust." Scooping up Valentina with a hug, she nibbled on her cheeks and kissed her silly. Her little princess squealed in delight and she twirled her around.

She needed a drink and a smoke. Rio chuckled as she pulled a cigarette out her pack and lit it. She stole a sip from his wine while she looked at the paper.

"Fuck, I can't make this rehearsal next week." She exhaled the smoke and Rio pushed the sliding door that led to the patio open next to her.

He slid into the seat next to her and heard the girls start up a round of Mario Kart. She rested a head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pushing an ashtray towards her.

"That's the first one. What do you have?"

"I have a mammogram, and I pushed this one back twice already." Rio always got nervous when she had to go to the doctor for any reason. Especially when it was a titty doctor as he liked to call them.

"Yeah thats important. I'm sure Val will understand."

"I feel awful. You know my grandma had breast cancer, and I'm sure I'm okay but I need to be sure. I want to be here for the girls as long as I can without my tits trying to kill me." Rio rubbed her shoulders. He stood up, now standing behind her and rubbing her shoulder blades.

"Don't worry about it ma. I'll go for you." He joked, nuzzling his face into her neck. Her phone rang on the counter and she saw it was one of her girls. Was it ironic that she handled sex work for her husband when she'd just die if one of their daughters was a hooker? Yes. It was also ironic that she was concerned about her tits killing her when she was in the middle of a cigarette.

"Mhm, sexy." She chuckled, running her hand over his crotch before turning around to face forward and. Her bit his bottom lip, brown eyes basically fucking her.

"Hello?" His hands slipped down her sides and up to her chest. Her breath hitched and her legs twitched.

"Go do something with the girls and stop groping me Christopher."

"Ouch." He laughed before kissing her neck once more and slipping out of the room.

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"Why?" Rio glanced at his wife and back at Valentina.

"I don't want to go today." Valentina muttered while picking at the mac and cheese. Pulling her jacket on, she was preparing for the chill of approaching winter.

"What are we paying 400 dollars a month for then? I can't force you to enjoy it but you will go. Did something happen, is someone bothering you at those classes?" Rio questioned. His wife gave him a small glance as if to say 'thank you for stepping in'.

"Nothing happened at ballet. It was school." Valentina lightly kicked the bag with an engraved 'V' on it that they had custom made for her.

"People have bad days baby." Deep down he was worried. Oh God what if she got touched and didn't want to tell them and was running from ballet? What if she's being threatened with violence? What if she's been expelled and didn't want to say? That's just like Valentina not to tell them that. She mumbled something.

"Is someone bothering you? Is it a teacher? A student?" Rio asked putting down the rag he was using to wipe down the counter. Valentina looked down at the table. Now Rio was going to have to fight someones dad. Great, just what he needed.

"You can tell me whose bothering you or I can go down to that school and figure it out." Her mother, was now sitting next to Valentina and looking into her similarly brown eyes. They always looked so similar. Sometimes, when Rio looked at Valentina he felt like he was looking at baby pictures of his wife.

Then Rio noticed it. The small bruise on her arm. It was so small and the color of the bruise wasn't so bad that it was noticeable. Their kid got her ass kicked. He knew Valentina was always the more timid one of his kids, not like the fiery Alvita and calculating Amancia who never hesitated to strike (speaking off, he hoped they weren't fighting someone at after school right now) but he always thought she would never be in a fight. He didn't realize her timid nature would inspire someone's anger.

"V, did you get in a fight?" Tears filled her eyes and before he knew it his wife grabbed her car keys.

"It was Terra! It was Terra and I don't want to see her at ballet!" Terra. Of course it was that little cunt and her whore mom probably encouraged this. His wife has had beef with with Mrs. Lipston since last month at the last pool party they all got invited too by Mr. and Mrs. Kerian. Martha Lipston made her dislike of his wife's new swimsuit very well known to all the other moms.

She also made her approval of Rio's ability to open beers with his teeth very well known. Rio personally thinks Martha Lipston looks like a horror game monster with all her plastic surgery. She was just hating because his wife was fine as hell.

"Put your coat on and lets go." Her mom demanded. Rio glanced over, he knew where this was going. Because his mind was going there too, was actually thinking about planting drugs on Mr. Lipston and calling DCFS on them for child endangerment.

It was a whole family of assholes trust him, dude borrowed his fucking lawnmower and kept it for seven months. Who needs a lawnmower for seven months? He knew his shitty lawn wasn’t growing that fast. Rio refused to buy a new one and just let him keep it like his wife suggested.

Rio was really bugging out over his lawnmower too. He spent nights up, wondering what the hell he was doing with his lawnmower for so long. She’d wake up next to him, asking him if he was still worried about the damn thing? That lawnmower had emotional significance to him and he didn’t like it being gone for so long.

He insisted it was the principal and one morning Rio couldn’t see through the lawn and tripped on a rock. That was it for him, he had to beat down their front door as nicely as he could. Would you believe his lawnmower was broken? How do you break someone’s lawnmower? Why not just tell him that you broke his lawnmower? Rio had half a mind to take him to court over his lawnmower and almost did. That was the last time Rio tried to be neighborly to any of these people, it pushed him to give up on humanity itself.

"I don't want to go." Valentina sniffled and pushed her mac and cheese away.

"Some little white bitch isn't gonna beat the crap out of you, and you're not gonna do anything about it. No, you're going to smack the shit out of her and if her mom tries anything I'm slapping the implants out her chest." He could see the nerves from her. Deep down, his wife was doing this out of a place of fear.

Fear that her kids was gonna get hurt and next time hurt real bad. He remembers how they met too. It was high school, when she got into a fist fight with some girls who had been going back and forth with her and her friends for months.

When she got caught alone, she got knocked upside her head with a padlock and ended up with a mild concussion. He was in the nurses office because he was skipping class in there with a fake headache. When he heard about how she got hit but still held her own, he knew he needed some of that.

Even better was how a week later she hunted down each attacker and beat the snot out of them one by one. To her, the only way to be safe, was the be more dangerous then whatever was about to attack you.

"I'll get thrown out of ballet school mom, please just drop it." "

You'll go." She growled sternly and pulled her earrings from her ears She was ready for a fight but Rio could clearly see that his daughter was not. She must've been hit something fierce.

"I don't want to get kicked out!" Her tiny voice cracked and her mother stopped for a moment of hesitation.

"Enough. Just enough both of you. Valentina, your mother is doing this because she loves you. She wants that little girl to know she doesn't just walk all over you and get away with it. I'm not sorry to say in this house you don't get your ass beat that way and deliver no punishment.

You don't have to get her in class, but you will have to face her again. In school, ballet class or in the parking lot of your school. How you do it is up to you. Fight her, we can go to the school or whatever but don't take something like this laying down." Valentina looked down with a huff. He ran a hand over her small one and she glanced softly at it. Then he focused on his wife. She glanced down and was chewing on one of her nails.

"You know what I'm about to say. Our kid isn't a fighter like us and that's fine. We didn't fight because we wanted too, we fought because we had too every day. We had our share of people trying to whop our asses. You already know that we gave our girls a life where they don't have to fight every day. That's okay. That's what we wanted. You don't gotta force our girls into a life they don't want the way that happened to you. Okay?" She nodded, and looked guilty. Like she felt guilty about her fear of something happening to her little girl.

Rio glanced at the clock, and at this point they were late to ballet. The clock ticked away. Nails scratched away at the counter and Rio waited for one of them to say something. Valentina broke the silence.

"I want to get back at her. But I can't stop thinking about the consequences. What if she tells on me? Or I get kicked out of ballet?"

"So what if she does? If someone hits you, you hit them back. I promise we will not be mad at you no matter what you do baby." Valentina silently nodded.

"I'll get her tomorrow morning in math." Valentina's mother ran her hands through her daughters braids and pulled her into a hug. Rio couldn't fight the smile that spread across his lips. He would count this as a win in the dad book.

"Okay. Do whatever you have to do for you. And keep your head up no matter what."

An understanding from the mother who always felt she knew best for her kids. Some fight put into their daughter. An ass whopping tomorrow morning. Maybe they weren't the best parents yet, but at least they were getting somewhere.

Tag List:

@eddiemunsonreader

@lanninyc

If you'd like to be added to my Rio taglist please lmk in the comments <3

#black reader #x reader #x black reader #fem reader #rio good girls fanfiction #rio good girls #rio x reader #rio x black!reader #rio x you #parenting #multifandom account #i'm black #pls send requests

[daughter-of-melpomene]

and ofc ⌨ + star bc we gotta enable our opla crazes -🍂

Ohhhh, thank you so much for this ask, Alvita!! Have some angst for your troubles. (And I shall also tag @auxiliarydetective and @supermarine-silvally once again, along with @starcrossedjedis this time. <3)

— ❥ —

She squeezed her eyes shut, but everything kept flashing in through her mind almost faster than she could register the images blending together in a terrible blur behind her eyelids.

Zoro’s fingers stretching towards her just before his eyes closed. The hand of the Water Dragons’ first mate reaching out of the water as the current pulled him out, screaming for help he wasn’t going to get. The blood from Mihawk’s sword slashes soaking Zoro’s shirt, mixing with the pink tinting the water from the various wounds the Water Dragons had acquired in the fight before Star had dissolved their ship. Luffy’s voice pleading with Zoro to wake up, the drowning pirates’ screams, Mihawk’s nonchalance as he spoke to Luffy over Zoro’s dying body, Star’s father holding her back as she screamed at his crew to help the Water Dragons as they died in front of everyone-

A strangled sob burst its way out of Star’s throat, and she curled even further into herself, praying that if she just managed to make herself small enough, then she could just disappear and the world would be rid of another monster. It all hurt too much; being faced with the memory of what she’d done, the people she’d killed just to please a father who was already half-insane and saw her as little more than a weapon. The room felt like it was constricting around her along with her chest, there were tears starting to slip from her eyes and down her cheeks, and she couldn’t breathe - the air itself felt like a stab to the inside of her throat whenever she managed to force a breath.

Maybe she’d pass out from the lack of air, right here, curled up tight in a corner of her cabin. Maybe she’d wind up laying here for hours, completely unconscious, and no one would come looking for her or even notice she was gone. It would only be fair, she reasoned; Zoro needed everyone’s attention and focus, and anyway, a monster didn’t deserve to have anyone come check on her.

send me ⌨ + an oc and I’ll write a snippet for that oc!!

#asks about my ocs #oc snippets #oc: adachi star #fic: uncharted waters

[vampyreblogger]

having now read @jonnywaistcoat 's thirteen storeys (which is amazing and i would recommend to everyone. i am a fan of horror in general and it's good for fans of tma and also fans of stephen king but also very fresh and intriguing. reading family business next; i am very excited), i have to now assign all of the people tma entities (of course, because who doesn't love a crossover):

SPOILER WARNING FOR THIRTEEN STOREYS

- violet: the lonely (whispering crowds, isolation etc.)

- jésus: the spiral (i mean come on. that painting. also abstract art is just spirally at the best of times)

- carter: the extinction (ai taking over, humans destroying themselves)

- anna: the flesh (starvation ghost is very flesh coded)

- gillian: the web (red string obsessive studying, but could also be the eye)

- alvita: the spiral (sleep deprivation, very mag 74. jonny writes great insomnia stuff)

- caroline: the eye (obsessive search for knowledge)

- laura: the end (end of human life, guilt over death, inevitability of death)

- leon: the corruption (this is so obvious. pollution and also big mouldy splodge)

- jason: the hunt (max is very hunter esque, but the violence of it could also be slaughter)

- janek: the corruption (the building is sick, rot imagery etc. also got buried vibes and flesh vibes)

- damian: the eye ("you stare so long this place drags you in", search for knowledge)

- tobias: the web ("the venomous spider at the centre of his web", orchestrater of the whole thing)

overall the whole book is very corruption coded which makes sense as it deals with the corruption of wealth, and is extremely interesting to see unfold

#thirteen storeys #tma #the magnus archives #jonathon sims #jonny sims #genuinely though this book is a work of art #cannot wait to read family business #ozzy rambles

[claudia-nomusaabara]

Tina Yvonne Leverett

Age: 21 -24 (Metalocalypse Season three)

AKA: Nina (From past fiancee Rudy), Skogkatt (from Toki), Evie 

Birthday: Dec, 18,1989 2:05 PM

Zodiac

Sun: Sagittarius

Moon: Virgo

Meaning of the Name: Follower of Christ

Gender: Cis-woman

Voice Canon: Nicole Beharie 

Tina's Singing Canon: A mix of Beyoncé and Tina's face claim, Tina Bell, vocals. 

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Romantic Orientation: Bi-romantic

Favorite Meal: Jamaican ox-tails with Rice and Peas

Favorite Drink: Ginger beer (Extra spicy)

Favorite Snack: Jamaican dumplings with peanut butter and honey. 

Verses: Metalocalypse and Potential Original Story

Languages Spoken: Jamaican Patois, English, Spanish, Norwegian (Learned from Toki)

Occupation: College student (seasons 1 through early season three), Drummer and singer for Red Dog (season 2 and early season 3), Saleswoman at an instrument store (Early season 3), Solo artist and Songwriter at a minor label (Early Season 3), Solo Singer and Songwriter at Murdertooth records (Season 4)

Appearance

Height: 5’0

Eyes: Golden brown hazel eyes, more brown than gold. 

Lips: Plump

Hair: long 3C curly hair, often dyed blonde and in braids. She reverts to her natural hair color with added blonde hair in Season 4.

Body type: Pear-shaped body with a big butt on a short frame and average-sized breasts. Playing the drums for four years toned her legs and arms.

Tattoos: Doctor's bird on her stomach

Extra details: Dimples, like her sister they’re prominent when she smiles

Hobbies: Playing with Odin and Ogre, Gymnastics, Listening and playing music, audiobooks, checking out food/music festivals, song writing

Turn on Spots: Thighs, shoulders, and fingers. 

Family: 

Vernon Leverett: Father, (46-47)

Pearl Leverett-Bonaventure-Hicks: Mother (45-46)

Vanessa Leverett: Older sister (31-34)

Beau Bonaventure-Hicks: Maternal Uncle (51)

Magnolia Broussard-Hicks: Maternal Grandmother, deceased (passed from a second stroke when Tina was two months old)

Clifford Hicks: Maternal Step-Grandfather, (75)

Adio Leverett: Paternal Grandfather (75)

Tashelle Leverett: Paternal Grandmother (74)

Alvita Leverett-Barrel: Paternal Aunt (50)

Arley Leverett: Paternal Uncle (43)

Odin, Staffordshire pitbull: Vanessa’s dog, (3)

Ogre, Calico Cat: (2)

Relationships: 

Rudyard, Rudy, Graham (Former Fiance, Creator of the band Red Dog)

#tina leverett #original characters #mtl oc

[annabelle--cane]

probably going to write up proper thirteen storeys thoughts in a bit, but one incredibly minor detail that stook out to me was how alivita like. actually liked her son. in a lot of stories about Loving but Struggling parents, the way their love is portrayed is through their hard work and brute dedication to provide without much indication that they actually like the person their child is or are very warm towards them, but alvita actively wants to spend the three hours she has free in her day with tommy and is pleased when she confusedly sees him on her fucked up nightmare tv. these types of characters usually irk me a bit because more often than not their loving dedication turns to resentment so this was just. nice.

#thirteen storeys #marina marvels at life

[catohphm]

hiii it’s me, the cardverse anon! i want to know his aesthetic so that i can make the moodboard you asked for <33

Hi Alvita! I actually prefer it you're writing to me off anon so that you'll be able to see when I answer your ask. Apologies for the delay! Anyway, considering what @ariparri told me about his kingdom, Cato's aesthetic would be a mix of forest, elven fantasy, and that as Ace of Clubs he is the head of the kingdom's army. He's a calm, collected and thoughtful leader who strives to protect the peaceful nature of his country, with a speck of adventure and curiosity in addition.

Thank you so much! @oneirataxia-girl I look forward to the final moodboard for Cato^^

#cato reese #cardverse #cardverse au #hphm cardverse #hphm cardverse au

[hiya-itsamber]

*pops from the ground like a groundhog* may I get a playlist too?? I’m in desperate need of some recs hehe -🍂

OH MY GOD ALVITA IM SO SORRY, I MADE YOUR PLAYLIST THEN COMPLETELY FORGOT TO ACTUALLY GIVE IT TO YOU!!!

↳ a quick playlist analysis for you!

i've noticed we have like, really similar music tastes, so i tried to add some songs i think you wouldn't know! just to give you new recs haha.

i added a lot of soft/indie/pop because i think that fits your vibe (well, when you're not being a little chaos gremlin lmao) so there's a bit of daniel caesar and david kushner (personal fav!)

i also added some ocean alley! they're a little different but their music is so funky summer fun and i thought you'd appreciate it and it was fitting!

also of course i had to add a little of the backseat lovers! i thought you'd really like both maple syrup and pool house off their album 'when we were friends'.

also because we're both swifties, i added a little lizzy mcalpine and phoebe briders as they're pretty similar in their song writing. i also added some madison beer! some of her songs are very taylorswift core so i thought you'd appreciate that <3

playlist essentials i think (hopee!!!) you'll enjoy are pool house by the backseat lovers, come on mess me up by cub sport, westcoast collective by dominic fike, and ooowooo by david kushner! (that last one for sureee)

#alvita <3 #amber answers

[elven-child]

33, 44, 55!

33. a book with a white cover

Ohh, let's go with Thirteen Storeys by Jonny Sims! I really enjoyed checking out his writing in a yet another medium, and while I liked all chapters, some of them absolutely SLAPPED (Alvita Jackson my beloved)

(i realised while looking at my bookshelf that i have. surprisingly few books with white covers)

44. your favourite fantasy novel

Okay yeah this one is LOTR, without a moment's hesitation. The love of my life, half of my personality, my absolute beloved LOTR

55. a book with a satisfying ending

So I thought about a few, but I'm gonna go with something more nostalgic and say Noelka by Małgorzata Musierowicz. I've always loved the structure of the book - with everything happening over the course of one day, with just one paragraph of tiny, short glimpse into the future at the very end. It was such a sweet, humorous cherry on top (also I love the main character with my entire heart, Elka Stryba my beloved)

#thank you for asking anon!! #ask #anon

[oneirataxia-girl]

okay people I need everyone to drop everything now and LOOK AT MY DARLING MARI OMG, Hadley @supermarine-silvally was kind enough to make me art of Mari and I Have Not Stopped fangirling over it since they sent it to me. this is my new roman empire now (as if I need another reason to go feral over Mari)

check under the cut for a surprise 🤭 minor spoilers for Wano, but it’s just one line tbh

"Bepo, don't touch that! It's not done yet!"

The polar bear hung his head as he drew his paw back from the half-finished cannon, "Sorry."

"Don't apologize!" Penguin chastised, the penguin charm on his cap shaking in tandem with his head.

"Yeah!" Added Shachi, tossing a dirty look at Kenji, who raised his arms in surrender, "We're all on the same level here, so don't order us around like you're higher than us, Strawhat!"

"Aren’t you bossing us around right now?"

As the Strawhats -- mostly Franky and Chopper -- and the Hearts started to argue, a huff of laughter diverted the two crewmates’ attention to the last crew’s second-in-command. Killer had his arms crossed in front of his chest, mask covering his face as always; Kenji didn't make a complaint as the blond-haired man shoved through the throng of people and wrapped a muscular arm around his shoulder.

"Pretty sure Kenji knows his stuff better than you, Heart. So listen to him on this."

"Stop ordering us around!"

Chaos descended back on the Sunny as the crews, now three rather than two, shot insults and jabs at each other. Under the deck, the captains exchanged glances at the ruckus.

"Your crew’s done something again, Strawhat."

"Why me? It’s probably Jaggy's fault!"

The redhead threw a spoon at Luffy while spewing a stream of insults. Sighing, Law raised a hand to tug on his hat, only to remember that the top of his head was empty. Kid’s head was similarly void of his usual headgear, something Luffy didn’t hesitate to point out as soon as he stepped into the room.

"Jaggy! Your hair looks good without your goggles!"

Kid snapped his head in Luffy's direction. The blue hairband holding his hair back was distinctly not a part of the captain's wardrobe. Indeed, the accessory stood out among the reds and blacks that Kid favored like how Law's lack of his cap also drew Luffy's attention as soon as he saw the doctor.

"Did I miss something? Why are you not wearing your hat, Tra-guy?"

Behind him, Kid made a sound that was a mixture of a scoff and a snicker, "Yeah Doctor, where's your hat?"

With a glance at the hair accessory perched on the redhead, Law’s mouth twitched slightly, "You know perfectly well where it is."

Up on the deck, the Heart, Strawhat, and Kid pirates had each taken up a corner of the ship. Arguing about everything from whose captain was the strongest, to which crew had the greatest feats; Zoro looked ready to draw his swords and dice up the next human (or mink) who said Law was the best out of the three captains, and Kenji just seemed flattered that he managed to start such a debate.

That was, until Mari slid down from the crow's nest.

"Brook," she started, striding across the wooden floor with soundless steps, "It's your turn to keep watch, my shift's done."

The skeleton opened his mouth, but only the clack of his jawbone falling to the floor came out. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi had identical looks of shock on their faces; even Killer seemed surprised behind his mask.

Mari's forehead furrowed as she took in their expressions, "What?"

"Mari," Kenji said from his place next to the Kid Pirates’ second-in-command, "What's that on your head?"

Reaching up, Mari repeated her crewmate's question with a confused look, her eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she registered exactly what sat on her head, then her face returned to her usual expression of boredom.

"A cap."

"Just a cap?" asked Kenji, smile too wide for it to be normal. Mari’s eyes narrowed at him, but he didn't seem to be fazed by her as she answered simply:

"And some goggles."

Kenji nodded sagely, turning around to tap Killer on the shoulder, "Kill, don't you think my crewmate's new goggles look familiar?"

The blond man nodded back just as gravely, the gravity of his stance offset by a few gasps of laughter escaping him as he observed, "I've certainly seen it somewhere."

"Captain's cap?!"

"Are those Kid’s googles?!"

"Has anyone seen my jaw?!"

Numerous pairs of eyes turned around to look at Brook.

"Ah, here it is! Thank you, Robin."

Robin’s arm replied with a thumbs up.

"Ah-ah," said Kenji, bringing the attention back to the woman about to leave the deck, "where do you think you’re going, young lady?"

"I’m two years older than you."

"Barely two years older than me."

"Still counts."

"On paper maybe, but --"

"Why do you have Captain’s hat?!" Demanded Bepo, flanked by Penguin and Shachi, who were both glaring at Mari under the shades of their own hats, "You stole it, didn’t you!"

Removing her hand from the doorknob, Mari sighed softly and tugged at the spotted brim of the hat, "Your captain gave it to me."

"Did Kid also give you his goggles?" Came the question from Wire.

"He shoved them in my face and stomped off."

"Sounds like him," Heat muttered, getting a chorus of agreements from his crew.

The Heart Pirates, on the contrary, weren’t so easily convinced, "Why would our captain give anything to a Strawhat?"

Mari shrugged in response, tucking a hand behind her back as the other one started to open the door leading down into the interior of the Sunny, "He doesn’t explain things to me. And if that’s all, I’m going to finish my chores."

"I’ll come with," Sanji piped up, pushing his way through the throng to follow his crewmate, "it’s time to get started on dinner anyways."

The door swung shut behind the two.

Kenji held his hand out to Killer, who sighed and rummaged in his pockets for a wad of Berry, which he placed in the other man’s waiting palm. Brook, now with his jawbone, coughed awkwardly and moved to the crow’s nest to keep watch. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi were still muttering and casting furtive glances at where Mari had left the deck. And for a moment, there was only the sound of waves lapping against the sides on the ship.

In the kitchen, Mari was silent as she chopped up the vegetables into small cubes; Sanji was the same while he grinded herbs and spices into a paste -- until he put down his pestle and asked:

"Is Kid wearing your hairband?"

Her knife suspended in midair, Mari glanced over at the blond, a small smirk growing on her face as she nodded.

the enabler's call: @arrthurpendragon @starcrossedjedis @auxiliarydetective @daughter-of-melpomene @bibaybe @supermarine-silvally @fakedatings -- want to be added? shoot me an ask!!

#ugh my writing has gotten so bad I am sorry to everyone that reads it #tho tbf this is the first full something I've written in a while #this takes place in an alt universe bc there is no feasible way this could work in the current version of aim for the sun #an au where Mari doesn’t have abandonment issues and is more assertive right off the bat #I see Franky and Chopper ready to throw hands (and hooves) when cool bro Kenji gets snapped at #even tho it still feels a bit ooc to me #Kenji and Killer know what's up with Midlaw and Midlaw hates them for it #that is the same for the main story #(they definitely coined the ship name Midlaw in-universe #bc the three of them are mid af #anyhow thank you sm again to Hadley for making both arts!! #i love them if you can’t tell yet aksjaksj #oc: marionette mari #oc: himura kenji #ship: midlaw #otp: the metal strings of death #with a hint of #ship: keller #no otp title for them yet #alvita's writing #fyeahonepieceocs

[supermarine-silvally]

❛ nope, puppy dog eyes aren’t going to work this time! ❜ from the soft prompts pls? -🍂

More Portada? More Portada.

“Yaraaaaaa…” Ace’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “C’mon, I know you’re in there. Let me in, please?”

Yara crossed her arms, glaring daggers at the door’s wooden surface as he continued to knock. “No.”

“Pleeeease?”

“Not a chance, fireboy.”

“I’m sorry, okay?”

“You might be, but I’m still not opening the door.”

“Alright, I’ll just… wait out here, then. Maybe forever, if I have to. Second Division will just have to find a new commander, I guess.”

Yara let out a sigh, shaking her head in dismay. She had no doubt he really would neglect his duties until she cut him some slack-- and as the Whitebeard Pirates’ Second Division’s vice-commander, that wasn’t something she could allow. “Fine, have it your way,” she muttered under her breath, striding forwards to open the bedroom door. 

Ace’s expression lit up as it swung open, but the hopeful glint in his eyes quickly dimmed once he saw the annoyance written all over her face. “Uh… Hey, baby.”

“Don’t ‘hey, baby’ me,” Yara said flatly, resting one hand on her hip while the other rose to poke him in the chest with an outstretched finger. “I told you, ‘those are extremely flammable, don’t touch them.’ And what did you do?”

“I, uhh… I touched them?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. “And now three weeks’ worth of dried Calendula officinalis is gone.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. Now can I come in?” Ace’s dark eyes widened as he met her gaze, giving her the saddest look he could muster up, like a kitten that had been left out in a rainstorm. “Please?”

She clenched her teeth, her mouth drawing into a tight line. The bastard was actually pouting. There was no way she was going to let him cute his way out of this. “Nope, puppy dog eyes aren’t going to work this time.”

“Maybe not,” Ace said with a sigh. “But…” A grin slowly crept onto his face as he unfolded his arms from behind his back. His hands were clad in blacksmiths’ gloves, and held tightly in them was a bushel of flowers. “This might.”

Yara’s brow furrowed as she took them from him, examining them closely. “Wait, this is…”

“Calendula officinalis,” Ace finished for her. “It’s marigold, right?”

“Yes, but… how did you know?”

He laughed, looking a little sheepish. “I do listen when you talk. …Most of the time.” 

“Ace…”

His expression turned sombre. “I’m really sorry, Yara. You deserve better than this. You deserve to have someone who doesn’t burn your plants.”

“Ace, don’t say that.” She placed the flowers down on her dresser and stepped towards him, cupping a hand over his freckled cheek. “I’m the one who should be sorry for getting angry over something so stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. You spent weeks drying those flowers and I was being careless. You only got mad at me because I was the one who screwed up in the first pla-- mmph!!”

Yara didn’t even let him finish as she leaned forwards, gently pressing her lips against his. Her hands moved to his chest, palms feeling the warm surface of his skin, the side effects of his Devil Fruit emitting a comfortable heat. 

Ace reacted quickly, one arm sliding around her waist as he feverishly kissed her back, his other hand reaching up to stroke her cheek. Yara closed her eyes, revelling in the ecstasy of their connection, mouths melded together, moving in sync as they had done hundreds of times before.

“So,” he breathed as they broke apart. “I take it you’re not mad at me anymore?”

“I wasn’t mad, just… disappointed at your poor listening skills and utter lack of impulse control.”

He pouted. “Yara, that’s way worse.”

She let out a soft laugh, reaching up to card her fingers through his hair. “It’ll still take me a few weeks to dry them out, but… thank you, Ace.”

“It’s the least I could do.” 

“But that you even thought to replace them… I…” She hesitated for a moment before meeting his eyes, unable to keep the tenderness from her gaze. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

Ace smiled, leaning in to press his forehead against hers. “Luckily, sweetheart, you’ll never have to find out.”

tagging @auxiliarydetective @daughter-of-melpomene

#oc: bravada yara #my ocs #my writing #ship: portada #otp: i'd burn the world for you #asked and answered #chats with alvita #i cannot get enough of these two sdfkshjdf #not sure if you saw the last oneshot but this one should be less angsty lol #i also love jumping around at different points in their relationship #they're very fun to write as an established couple too #i'm not great at writing kissing scenes but i've been torturing ace enough lately that i thought he deserved something to make up for it

[oneirataxia-girl]

❝ i don't like most people, but you're an exception. ❞ for Mari pls!! (could even make it Midlaw, if you're feeling it, but anyone will do!)

ngl when I saw this I had the vision of the most devastating Mari moment during the timeskip - ‘twas a struggle to not write it out bc it’s a Character Development for her and therefore spoilers (and also bc I haven’t fleshed it out completely oop-). but here’s another place (not Midlaw tho 😔) I think this prompt would work

set sometime after Arlong Park, live-action friendly so psst opla girlies @auxiliarydetective, @starcrossedjedis, @xoteajays, @daughter-of-melpomene, I humbly present this offering to you (can you tell I'm sleep deprived asdjasldakj

A groan escaped Kenji as he sat down. Even after months of training, he was still nowhere near beating Zoro. The guy could at least pretend to struggle when Kenji tried to hit him, but no, he just had to yawn lazily and slam his knee into Kenji’s stomach. Now, he wasn’t one for holding grudges, but Sanji was right to have one against the swordsman, Kenji should help him hide all the booze on the ship. And some of the meat, since Luffy just kept laughing while his poor body got pummeled by Zoro, some captain he was.

“You alright?”

“Gah!” His hand felt for the handle of his revolver, drawing it out to face – “Mari?”

She answered with a thump of something landing in his lap. Something lumpy and smelling vaguely of the herbs the Marines used to ease their muscles after training.

Kenji waited for his crewmate to elaborate on the package. Mari was silent. But it’s possible she just left after tossing the stuff at him, she’s quieter than Nami and even less chatty than their navigator when she’s trying to read a new map. Plus, Luffy didn’t even have the decency to get someone else to keep watch in place of him, so Mari probably just came to grab something or another and brought that along for him.

Come to think of it, she does do stuff for him a lot – not that she doesn’t do stuff for the other members of the crew, but Mari definitely looks out for him more. If it were Usopp wincing from injuries, Mari wouldn’t bring a weird-smelling pack of whatever’s-in-this to help him; plus, she helps him get out of chores all the time. This could only mean one thing.

“Do you want help?”

Oh, She’s still here.

“With this?” Kenji asked. Then remembered that she couldn’t see what he was referring to and added, “The stuff you gave me.”

“Yes.”

Yeah, Mari would never offer to help Usopp apply medicine. Nor would she for anyone else, probably. Maybe Nami if she asked for help, but they seemed to be awkward around each other, so perhaps not.

So, who was he to turn down an offer possibly only he could get?

His crewmate was efficient in her day-to-day work; several weeks of being on the same boat taught Kenji that, but Mari was also pretty good at dealing with wounds. Apparently, Zoro’s injuries from Mihawk didn’t tear up halfway to Arlong Park because of her interventions, and after the fight there, she dealt with all the scrapes the crew acquired from kicking fishman butt and the ones the people of Coco Village, too. Kenji didn’t get to witness her abilities after that fight – thankfully – but feeling her hands applying a salve to his bruised knuckles, he had to admit, Mari was pretty good at avoiding more hurt when she pressed down to rub the ointment into his skin.

Which was good enough for him, he didn’t want to know if she could be gentle when she was cleaning cuts or snapping joints back in their places. He’d prefer it if bruises and burns and sprains were the only reason he had to ask Mari for medical assistance, thank you very much.

His non-bruised hand closed around a small bottle of something, “Apply a thin layer to anywhere you’ve been bruised, wraps are for the nasty ones.” Mari’s voice elaborated at his sound of confusion.

“What’s a nasty one?” Kenji chose to focus on that part instead of Mari leaving him to fend for himself, he could lament that later.

“Depends on you.”

That was not an answer, and Kenji told her so. Mari didn’t reply, so he counted that as a win for him.

“The ones swollen,” she said just as Kenji thought she left, “don’t wrap it too tight.”

“So the one on my stomach.”

Mari was silent, then said, “Sure.”

No help, absolutely none. Kenji was starting to doubt her proficiency in medicine.

“Is that everything?” He asked after a minute of silence.

Mari’s voice was a tad further away this time, “Any other injuries?”

“Yeah,” He began, wondering for a moment if it was smart to – “Can I ask you something, though?”

A beat.

“Sure.” That word was clearer, her face lit by a lantern as she stood with her arms crossed.

He didn’t get a lamp, or a candle, or anything when he settled down to keep watch.

“Where did you get that?” He couldn’t help himself as he pointed to the light in her hand.

She gestured at a wooden beam behind her. Kenji wasn’t sure if that meant the thing was there and she simply grabbed and lit it or something else. Come to think of it, when did she get it?

“Is that it?”

“Is what it?” Kenji repeated without thinking, then shook his head, “Nah, I’ve got another one.”

Mari’s head dipped slightly.

Bidding a goodbye to his preferential treatment, Kenji continued, “Why are you nicer to me?”

Mari’s head tilted to the side.

“Not that I don’t like it or anything, it’s just –” How could he say this without sounding like he was full of himself? “You’re definitely nicer to me than to Usopp or Nami or Luffy, is it because you like me or something?”

A line formed between her eyebrows, and Kenji was no master at reading faces, but was that… disgust on her face?

“No,” She shook her head, “Absolutely not.”

“I meant like in a friendly way…?” Kenji added, but it just sounded like a bad attempt at covering up, even to his ears.

At that, Mari’s face stopped looking like she was about to vomit at the thought of her liking him – seriously? He wasn’t that bad of a catch – and grew back into her normal expression. Which meant he had no idea what was going on in her mind, as usual.

“Maybe,” Came Mari’s answer after a while, during which Kenji contemplated whether he could hurl himself into the sea from his seat to avoid interacting with her ever again, “I don’t like most people, though.”

“But I’m the exception?” Kenji prodded further, then regretted it when she fixed him with the stare, the one that felt like she was looking through his mind.

Mari didn’t give him an answer for the next few minutes, just stared into his soul. Probably because she enjoys making people regret their decisions, who needs that long to decide if they liked somebody or not?

“Yeah,” She agreed, “But you’re the exception.”

Huh.

Well, that proved it, Kenji was Mari’s favorite. He couldn’t wait to lord that over Sanji the next time the cook started to wax poetic over the two girls in their crew.

His new favorite crewmember strode forward, “I’ll do the rest of your watch,” Mari told him, lifting him to his feet with a flick of her wrist, “Go get some rest.”

And since he was only human, he obeyed easily and started to go towards his warm bed.

“Himura?”

Kenji turned around at the mention of his surname.

“Don’t tell Blondie.”

So he still could brag about that to Usopp, got it.

“Or Usopp, or Nami.”

Ugh, at least he could tell Luffy –

“And especially not Luffy.”

“But I can tell Zoro?” Kenji couldn’t help but ask.

Mari finished lighting another lantern, “Peabrain only cares about being the captain’s favorite.”

Kenji shrugged. It did sound like Zoro, after all.

give me a prompt + oc and I'll write a drabble!

#fic: aim for the sun #oc: marionette mari #oc: himura kenji #alvita's writing #alvita's answers #hadley my beloved #i was stuck on this for the longest time #then i opened it again today and the words just went zoom #its also two am and i have school tomorrow so yeah #don't be like me folks #also not edited so i'll reblog this later with revisions

[oneirataxia-girl]

INTRODUCING: APHRODITE, LOVE OF THE OLYMPIANS

a loved figure in the pantheon, Aphrodite is as ethereal as the way a goddess of beauty can possibly be -- with clever brains to match even her cousin Athena, her virtues may prove to be her success, but might also be her downfall some dark day in the unforeseeable ticks of the unstopping clock

coloring

The Enabler's Call - @arrthurpendragon @misshiraeth98 @nightmaresart - want to be added? shoot me an ask!

#oc: aphrodite #the sandman oc #fd: the sandman #aphrodite is so easy to make stuff for I'm so sorry my other kids #i will come around to make one for each of them I swear #pls ask to be tagged #pls i am begging #alvita's edits #alvita's writing

[oneirataxia-girl]

⇝ STORY/ART EXCHANGE -- First "I Love You"

my part of the story/art exchange with the talented and gorgeous @ariparri!! she requested the first "i love you" between her oc Veruca McQuaid and a character from the video game hogwarts mystery Diego Caplan and she gave the green light for me to share this with y'all!! thank you again for doing this trade with me ari!! if you ever need another fic for dieruca just hmu, i'll do it free of charge <33

It was another one of their usual dates -- not that anything with Diego Caplan could be considered usual, but sometimes, Veruca McQuaid appreciated the familiarity of a red carnation and the stunning smile of her charming handsome man more than any surprise said handsome man could cook up in his clever head.

By sometimes, she meant all the time. Just like how her head rested on Diego’s shoulder, tilted up to watch the stars in their never-ending dance, and how in her hair tucked a carnation the color of her cheeks when a certain someone’s charm got too much to handle.

There was a quietness to the couple, a quietness that didn’t need to be interrupted with awkward chuckles and attempts at conversation. Even without sneaking a peek, some part of Veruca knew that Diego was more interested in the light in her eyes than that of the skies, but she kept her gaze on the night sky still, green eyes trained on the cold white glow above, waiting for him to open his mouth.

“Veruca?” Softly uttered, a barely-there ask of her name.

Green eyes left the skies and onto the brown-haired boy beside her.  

Coughing, Diego’s fingers tucked a lock of raven-black hair behind Veruca’s ear. An odd expression was etched on his face, a mix of adoration (that was something she saw in her own face when Diego was around), happiness (that too, was often mirrored by her), worry (wait, what?), and something else she wasn’t sure of.

His hand hadn’t left her face yet, Veruca felt her head lean into his warm palm like a reflex, something she knew to do without having to even think about it; and met brown eyes with her green.

That mix of emotions was still there on his face, unguarded and wide-eyed and smiling softly. Diego’s palm squeezed her cheek for a second more, then left her face at the same time as the odd look faded from his face.

She finally found her voice, “Did you want something?” 

Her question must’ve been a knife, slicing through the quietness blanketing them, because Diego huffed out a small “heh” of amusement and shook his head quickly.

--------------------

The second time that the look struck was when Veruca sat across from him in a tight-packed cafe, sipping coffee in painted floral china and watching another couple a few tables away from them showing off their abilities of not needing to breathe.

“How long do you think they’ll last?” she smiled at that, placing her cup on its glod-framed plate.

Tapping her cheek in thought, Veruca’s eyes flitted away from the kissing couple,  “Five minutes,” her smile widened at the boy whose face held a cheshire cat grin that echoed her own, “what’s your guess?”

Light bounced off Diego’s brown hair as he shook it, “Why would I think about that when you’re here with me?”

Warmth bloomed over her cheeks, heat creeping up her forehead and down her neck. Veruca sipped her tea in reply, hoping that the teacup could hide the lower part of her face -- judging by the smirk that spread over Diego’s face though, it didn’t work.

They were back in Hogsmeade for a date of sorts -- more accurately, Veruca was just back to drop off something for Dumbledore, and her boyfriend, ever the charming suiter, pulled out his puppy eyes and asked for a pre-duel date. 

He then linked their arms together and Apparated the both of them to the little town outside Hogwarts before Veruca could even ask what was on his agenda for this little date.

With a smiling sigh, Veruca finished her tea and pressed the heel of her other hand to her cheek, hoping that her hand would chase away the warmth from her face. The crampedness of the little shop didn’t do her any favors; being a weekend, the day brought couples from the school down to Madame Puddifoot’s for a heated cup of tea (and a heated makeout session, but that was neither here nor there). She wasn’t particularly enamored by the frilly pink-washed shop, but since this was a “stroll down the memory lane”, as Diego called the way he held her hand while they tracked down old haunts and memories, she’d agreed to stop in the cafe; after all, they did come here for one of their first -- Veruca wasn’t sure what to call that time when Diego successfully discovered her favorite flower then took her for a walk in the woods and a cup of tea in Madame Puddifoot’s. 

A clink of china tugged her back to the lacy tablecloth in front of her. Green eyes glanced up just in time to see that same odd look from their picnic date night reappear in Diego’s chocolate-colored eyes: the mix of happiness, adoration, and worry (she still had no idea why that would show up; was Diego planning a surprise for her and didn’t want her to find out?), and the something she couldn’t read.

Veruca brought her teacup down silently; reaching for Diego’s hand, she wrapped her fingers around his with no problem. The action seemed to tug the boy from his thoughts back to the bustling reality, and he swapped his smirk for a softer, gentler smile.

“Did you know you look really pretty in that outfit?” Came the question before Veruca could ask one of her own.

She glanced down at her clothes: it was her usual attire of a purple top and a floral dress, with the addition of the coat and gloves she would don while doing her job; hardly anything unusual about it, not to mention “really pretty”.

Looking back up, Diego held a red carnation in his hand. Sqeezing hers in the hand that was still interlaced with her fingers, he leaned over to tuck it behind her ear.

“But now you look fantastic.”

--------------------

Veruca circled Diego, noting how his body pulled taut in anticipation for her to make a move; she knew her posture mirrored his, her heartbeat crescendoing as she went over the spells she aimed to use in her head once more.

He struck first -- she dodged the bolt of red light, casting her own charm in retaliation.

Multicolored flashes lit the room as she blocked, dodged, and fired spells. A strand of her hair came loose from her messy bun and blocked her vision; she moved to bat it away.

That second of carelessness was all it took.

“Flipendo!”

A grunt escaped her lips as Veruca was knocked off her feet.

A wand barely scraped the skin of her throat.

Silence.

“And that, my dear, is why you should tie your hair tighter.”

Diego stood above her, ready to help her up.

She grabbed his hand readily, pushing the rogue strands of her dark hair back, “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

That got a chuckle out of her boyfriend, and he tugged her to the bench outside of the dueling ring.

Sitting down and popping open the cap to her bottle, Veruca gave Diego a quick once-over: it wasn’t obvious, but he was just a little bit nervous. The dueling season had arrived once more, and another match for him was coming soon; she had no doubts about Diego’s capabilities as a duelist -- in fact, Veruca felt sorry for the poor person who was about to get their pride demolished and their ego bruised -- but she knew that apprehension went hand-in-hand with anticipation, and she also knew that the best thing to do when Diego was nervous was to --

“Hey!” His voice held no real malice as Veruca nudged the crook of his neck with the top of her head, “What’s this for?”

Mouth twitching upwards at the smile in his voice, she replied, “It’s bad to think so hard, Caplan; you might die of overheating.”

“Ah,” he laughed, “but that’d require me to not overheat at the sight of you.”

Veruca hid her rapidly heating face by poking Diego’s middle with a soft finger.

At this rate, she would be the one to die of overheating.

He only laughed louder and moved Veruca away from his neck; eyes twinkling, he pressed a chaste kiss on her burning forehead and leaned back on the drab green of the bench. Veruca’s forehead creased lightly as she watched his eyes fixate themselves on something that wasn’t there, the furrows deepening when he showed no sign of pulling himself from the bubble of his presumably-uneasy thoughts.

It wasn’t out of the blue for Diego to be nervous, but it never got easier for Veruca to watch him go into these anxiety-induced bubbles; it was like they were separated by an invisible barrier, one that not even reducto could bring down. 

The only thing she could do to help when he got stuck like this was to be here, at his side with his hand in hers, pushing his shoulder-length hair back when it dropped in front of his eyes, to just be a presence that he could lean into, for him to know that he wasn’t alone and that someone just knew that he was going to do well no matter the opponent he was to face.

So, she stayed like that, a quiet pillar of support that Diego could lean on. Veruca was never good with words, but she didn’t need them to let him know that she was there, that she was the shoulder he could lay his head on without eyes to judge him.

After a while, a weight lifted himself from her shoulder.

Veruca turned to meet the eyes of Diego Caplan, eyes the color of coffee and chocolate and the soil that they planted the carnation seeds they’d gotten in, eyes that swirled with a quiet adoration that she was sure he could see in hers as well.

There were some other emotions in those brown eyes too; Veruca wasn’t in the mood to decipher them though.

Veruca was never one for lovey-dovey “It was like the sun came out of the clouds when he smiled”s or “his smile was like an angel actually came down from the heavens”s, but watching Diego’s face slowly grow more animated was actually as if the rain stopped and the gray clouds were chased off by marshmallow-white clouds, and she emotions could only brighten as he did.

And she only beamed brighter when Diego offered her a carnation transfigured from a stray pleat from the rug in the dueling circle, his own grin cheerier than before.

Standing up, Veruca offered her hand to him, “Think you’re ready for another match?”

His hand wrapped itself around hers.

“I’d like nothing more, my dear.”

--------------------

Pushing yet another stray lock of her behind her ear, Veruca wondered if she should take up Diego’s advice and ditch the messy bun look -- it was getting irritating to have to brush her hair away every time she made a sudden movement or two.

She probably won’t be changing her hairstyle anytime soon, but it never hurt to browse through some possible options. 

But, that was something for another time; right now, Veruca needed to complete the scene she’d set out to create before Diego found her. So she placed the plate of grapes and cherries down on the checkered tablecloth and moved the pair of wine glasses to make sure that they wouldn’t fall and potentially smash into myriads of tiny little pieces.

Pulling out the wine from the basket she brought, Veruca smiled at the label wrapped around the bottle: a bottle from Limmiani wine products, just like the rose wine they drank when they had -- 

Was it foolish to blush when one was thinking of their first kiss? Veruca was pretty sure it was at least some degree of lame while she fanned herself with her free hand to cool herself down, setting the bottle of wine down and moving on to the loaves of bread and cheeses she stowed in the wicker basket.

The occasion? A celebration, one to celebrate Diego’s win against his opponent in the dueling match. She’d already started preparing this morning when Diego pressed a quick kiss to her cheek for luck and hurried off to do some last-minute preparation, but when Tonks gave her the go-ahead to set out the picnic, she let out a breath of relief that her boyfriend had won yet again and hurried to Westside Park to set up everything.

With a sigh, Veruca sat back on her heels, darting eyes making sure that not a single thing was out of place. It would never do to have spilled wine or food or anything just as disastrous, and she aimed to do everything in her power to prevent it. 

A wave of her wand and yellow flickers danced on the walls and floors of the pavilion as orbs of light floated up obediently and settled in various places, illuminating a little circle around the picnic.

“Just like stars,” A voice remarked, one that Veruca turned around immediately at, “Is this the reason you were busy, my dear?”

Diego must’ve changed before he came here, exchanging his dueling outfit for a sleeker, more elegant look that brought out all his best features more than his usual clothes. Veruca threw a hasty glance up at the glowing spheres, sighed a soundless sigh of relief when none of the shining globes seemed to be one second from implosion, then nodded at her boyfriend.

“Do you like it?”

Laughs escaped Diego as he tried to touch one of the orbs with the bouquet of carnations he had in hand, only for it to float even higher, spinning in place as if jeering at his inability to fly like it could, “Like it?” He asked, crossing the gazebo to scoop Veruca in his arms, much to her surprised laughs, “I love it! Just as much as I love you --”

Green eyes widened.

Brown eyes did too, after a second that was crawled for more like a year.

Slowly, Veruca was set down on her feet, Diego’s face now showing that mix of emotions once more, Veruca wasn’t sure if the world suddenly got its noise turned off or if was it just her ears blocking everything but Diego’s words.

And the worry in that look made sense -- Diego didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or feel pressured to say it back.

“-- And you don’t have to say it back, just so you know; take as much time as you need to --”

“Yeah,” Veruca found herself interrupting, nodding her head (her face was probably the same color as the red cherries on the picnic blanket), “Should we continue?”

“Yeah,” 

Green eyes met brown, “Yeah.”

They sat on the checkered blanket and Veruca opened the bottle of wine, pouring out a generous portion for both of them. Meanwhile, Diego popped a few cherries into his mouth.

He took his glass with a quiet “thank you” and a small flash of his white teeth. She responded with her own little smile, reaching for a grape herself.

There was a quietness to them, not a completely comfortable one, but it wasn’t completely uncomfortable either. It felt less like a serene bubble and more like a hamster ball, like the stillness between them was a snowball on the top of a mountain, ready to start rolling at the smallest movement.

“Look!” 

Veruca peered in the direction Diego pointed.

It was a butterfly, blue wings the color of a sunny sky, weaving through the spheres of light Veruca made, up and up towards the star-speckled sky.

Stars.

Millions of them were scattered throughout the blackness, twinkling like tiny jewels on a ballgown; Veruca didn’t think she remembered another time when the skies were like this.

It was beautiful. 

“--, right?”

Green eyes turned to meet brown once more, but the brown of Diego’s eyes was fixed on the tango of the stars; the corners of Veruca’s mouth turned up a little bit.

“Yeah,” She leaned her head on his shoulder, “it is beautiful.”

The snowball melted, leaving only a sphere of peace around her and Diego. 

Her head shifted as Diego moved, “I meant it, you know.”

Veruca’s head moved to look up at him with questioning eyes.

He smiled at her inquiring gaze, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders, “About you taking your time. You don’t have to say it right now, or tomorrow, or even ever; just say it when you’re ready, Veruca.”

She couldn’t help it -- surging up to press a kiss on Diego’s lips, then pressing her forehead to his.

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

--------------------

Morning rays seeped through the woven threads of the kitchen curtains, soft rays creeping across the room as Veruca took a sip of her coffee, hair still down and mussed from sleep.

The smell of pancakes filled the room, Diego must’ve finished making a batch of them.

“Berries on your pancakes?” He asked, already adding them to a plate.

“Yes please,” Murmured Veruca, frowning at the empty mug in her hand.

Standing up, she moved towards the coffee pot, grabbing another mug from the little mug tree on the counter. Hands gently moving Diego so that she could get to the machine, Veruca found herself smiling at seven am when her boyfriend pressed a quick peck on her forehead.

And she would’ve gotten assaulted by a flurry of even more kisses too, had she not nudged his head away from her and back to the two plates of pancakes on the kitchen counter, “Just trying to get some coffee here.”

“Actually, it’s over there,” Diego chuckled as that quip earn him a soft punch to the arm, “But thanks for getting some for me, my dear.”

“Who says anything about you getting some coffee?”

“I’m pretty sure that Gambat doesn’t need coffee to be cheeky, unlike someone else I know.”

Veruca huffed in mock anger, then finally found her way to the savior of mornings, the coffee machine.

Pouring the drink and adding the creamers and sugars were second nature to her at this point, she didn’t need to think as she stirred the coffee and made her way back to the kitchen table -- so no, she didn’t need to think about the coffees, but rather, Veruca was thinking about something else.

Some part of her thought that the blue butterfly from the night when Diego actually said those three words out loud -- it was an improvement that she could think of that without her face betraying her beating heart -- should’ve been one that she recognized, that she should’ve known what that butterfly meant.

She had no idea what that butterfly meant.

Veruca’s hands placed her mug in front of herself, the other in front of Diego, who said a quick word of thanks as he put down the pancakes on the dining table. 

But she did have an idea about something else.

Those three little words -- so much meaning in so simple a sentence -- even the very marrow of Veruca’s magic knew that she felt the same way; her new leopard patronus, the silvery animal that gave her so much surprise when it appeared, could definitely attest to that. But to say that out loud --

“Are you okay, my dear?”

A vase of carnations decorated the kitchen, a vase of flowers that she didn’t even know were her favorite until Diego showed it to her; flowers that he always took the time to get for her because he knew it would make her happy.

“Yeah,” She heard herself say, “I’m just hungry.”

She was here with Diego, he was Veruca’s pillar, and she was his, all because he didn’t stop pursuing her even when she was a complete douche to him.

Three little words.

“Hey, Diego?” 

“Hm?”

One huge meaning.

“I love you.”

Silence.

Another beat.

Was it just the blood rushing through her ears or was everything holding its breath, too?

“You love me?”

She thinks she feels the table exhale like she did.

Veruca glanced up into Diego’s eyes, brown meeting green, and nodded.

Outside the window, the sun completely rid itself of its sleepiness as Diego grinned a smile so wide that it stretched ear-to-ear like he was a kid on Christmas day, “Say it again?”

And Veruca knew she was the same, “I love you.”

“Again?”

She laughed, a merry sound that gave even the berries on her pancakes more color than ever, “I love you!”

Somehow somewhere sometime between the giggles and “I love you”s, Veruca found herself trapped in Diego’s arms again.

Brown and green eyes met each other halfway through, and she touched her forehead on his.

“I love you,” It was a whisper this time, a breath that blew the bubble of serenity around them.

Diego’s eyes held no worry as he combed a flyaway strand of raven-black hair from Veruca’s face, “I love you too.”

#writing for dieruca will probably be the only hp crumbs from me adakas #and maybe cardverse hphm but thats it #alvita's writing #ari my beloved