#i like tiger sharks a lot | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

k9catastrophe · 12 days

Text

A BIG list of entirely free games therians and alterhumans can get !!! This isn't like an ad for them or anything, but when i was younger i never really had games that fit my theriotypes :( so why not start now!! this is in no real order.

These are all games where you play AS the animal, most of them being semirealistic? They're all free, so they aren't super realistic sorry!!! These are all also games i find on my tablet, so im not sure if they're available on pc!!

Wildcraft: As of today, Wildcraft updates every once and awhile, usually for the Wildpass thing they do almost weekly[? i took a large break from this game, forgive me if im misremembering.] Wildcraft was made by Turbo Rocket Games in early 2018. The multiplayer servers arent as active as they used to be, but it's still fun to play with friends sometimes!! I usually play in singleplayer though!! (Also, there is a settings option to make it first person, and one to hide the buttons!)

Playable Animals: Right now there are 12 land animals: Wolf [Default], Fox [Common], Lynx, Bear, Lion [Rares], Cheetah, Horse, Eagle, Crocodile, Tiger, Gorilla, and Kangaroo! [Ledgendaries], all of which are obtainable through the chests!! There are also 9 transformations [which are more difficult to get !!]: Raccoon, Deer, Hippo, Giraffe, Gazelle, Hyena, Rhino, Parrot, and Snake! There are also 5 Sea creatures: Dolphin [default], Stingray [Rare], Shark, Seal, and Sea turtle! You can have up to eight family members for every animal, who are also customizable! [not including transformations]

Customizability: There are TONS of skins and accessories for every animal, and you can adjust the size of their body parts, making your character entirely customizable! There are also LOTS of pets!

I give it a solid 10/10!! I've loved this game since it came out!! Me and my brother @whisperrdrrop [hii] played it like the year it came out!! I highly recommend playing this one ! >w< The community also has tons of fun creepypastas, and though the only real one is 'Niddhogg,' it's super fun to just learn about them!

Wolf Tales (Home & Heart (IT MIGHT BE 'WILD ANIMAL SIM' NOW IDK)): (The icon may have changed, my ipad doesn't update icons very much!!!) As of Today, Wolf Tales has basically stopped updating from what i can see. However this doesn't take away from the fun of it!! The game was created around 2020 by Foxie Ventures. Servers are multiplayer by default, but there is a singleplayer option!

Playable Animals: There are currently only 5 animals: Wolf, Fox, Bear, Wild/Big cat, and Dragon! All are unlocked by playing through the quests, though you can use moonstones (ingame 'rare' currency) to auto-buy most of them! Your families/packs are grown through opening chests and breeding!

Customizability: There are quite a few skins for every animal, ranging in rarity. you can obtain skins through buying the 'summoning' of the animal you'd like with moonstones and getting a random skin, or buying one directly. Skins are also not changeable! Let's say you're a grey wolf, and you get the sand wolf skin. You would have to enter your den and find that skin, and switch into that one, meaning it could have a different level! There are also LOTS of pets, though i do not remember how to get them. The only way to change your character is through changing limb sizes, there are no accessories!!

I give it a nice little 9/10, as much as i love this game i don't play it too often, but it really is fun! I think i got this game when it came out, and it was really fun watching the game and the community grow and change!! When i joined, not every player had a jump button, and there was this cool feature called 'Clans' (replaced by the player clans, sadly :() where there were 5 packs that you had to either defeat the alpha of or become besties with, and you'd get a packmate of any rarity from them daily!! My bestie pack was called 'the moonrise pack' and the #1 public enemy was 'The tooth pack' or something. I definitely recommend it :3!!

Ultimate Wolf/Fox/Forest/Savanna/Dinosaur/Cat/Shark/Bird/Jungle Simulator: they made a LOT of these games. These are only the ones that are free on my tablet, but im also seeing 'ocean,' 'dog,' 'arctic,' and 'lion' simulators for a dollar, you'd have to check and see if those are free. I'm mostly focusing on the WOLF simulator here, because i do NOT want to download all of those games. There is no multiplayer option for any of them. All made by gluten free games, no idea the release dates.

Playable Animals: The animals depend on which game you get. I know forest has bears, Savanna has cheetahs, Dinosaur has T-rex, triceratops, and ankylosaurus, bird has parrots and eagles, and jungle has tigers, but these are definitely not every animal !!

Customizability: you unlock a skin for every few levels, and you can tint them, but that's about it. For every game. There's like... 8-15 for most?

I give it a 7/10. As much as i do really, really love this game and all the memories playing it, it's really not the most entertaining game out there. If you're really bored and have nothing to do, sure, go wild with it!!

Dog Sim: I just got this game and it's so silly !! Made by Turbo Rocket Games in 2016, the multiplayer servers are surprisingly still decently active! Obviously it doesn't update anymore.

Playable Animals: The only animals in these are: (you guessed it) dogs. There's a single skin that... might? be a wolf, and there's two robo dog skins. There's a total of 38 skins!

Customizability: The only thing you can customize is your breed, sorry!

Other than that, theres a LOT to play with! With 5 bosses, 25 enemy/prey creatures, 1 map, 1 den, a max level of 200, a maximum family size of 4, 20 achievements, and 30 quests, there's plenty to do!

I give it a nice 8/10, the only points taken being because the game itself isnt the highest quality, and the models arent all 10/10, but it's still a really silly game! I do recommend it :)

Cat simulator - animal life: created in 2019 by Pocket Games entertainment, i think this one is pretty cute! With active multiplayer servers!!

Playable Animals: Just kitties! silly little kitties on big adventures!!

Customizability: Lots of cute skins and accessories!!!

There are tons of quests, camp upgrades, and more included in this!!

I didn't play this one for too long, but there are some pvp servers aswell. Overall really cute game, not too buggy/laggy! 10/10 :3

Wild Cougar Sim (3D): Another game made by Turbo Rocket games before their big success that was Wildcraft, Cougar Sim was created in 2015 (I think? I'm only finding the youtube trailer, dont be afraid to correct me.) I'm not seeing an option for multiplayer unfortunately :(!

Playable Animals: Yeah, It's just Cougars! What did you expect?

Customizability: With eight skins (Must be purchased with ingame currency), 9 coat marking options (Almost like tattoos!) including a Shark, Wolf, Lizard, Scorpion, Butterfly and Bird (Phoenix?), and options to change body/limb sizes, there's actually really good customization here!

With 3 unlockable family members, 30 quests, 20 achievements, 18 enemy/prey creatures, 4 biomes, and 8 dens, there is plenty to keep yourself busy with here! That accompanied by the fact that this isn't even a bad looking game, i honestly give it a nice 10/10! Very cute game, not much lag, pretty good in terms of realism, it's pretty cool!! :)

Dragon Sim Online: Yet another game made by Turbo Rocket in 2016, i quite like this one! With semi-active multiplayer servers!!

Playable Animals: Quite a few different types of Dragons, varying in element, colour, and breeds!

Customizability: With 4 elements, 46 (VERY pretty) skins, and limb/body adjustment sliders, you can customize your dragon pretty well!

Similar to both Cougar Sim and Dog Sim, Dragon Sim has plenty to offer: 30 quests, 20 achievements, 27 enemy/prey creatures, 3 bosses, 6 islands and 4[?] dens, there's plenty there to keep you busy! another 10/10 from me :)

this list is incomplete !! I'm still working on this, im just having trouble finding games !! If you find any free games like these, send me an ask with some info on it!!

360 notes · View notes

woso-dreamzzz · 5 months

Text

Sharks

Meadema x Child!Reader

Summary: Viv comes to your house and you tell her about sharks

Viv's been at your house more often now.

It's a little strange.

Viv never used to come to the house by herself.

Always with your aunties and the other Arsenal girls.

Never alone.

But now, she's always at the house by herself. She comes home with Mummy from training and they sometimes have sleepovers in Mummy's Big Bed. Sometimes, she cooks you breakfast in the morning or helps pick you up from nursery.

It's weird.

The only person that's been around this much is Daan but she's gone now. It's not that Viv's taking her place but it's just a little weird to have someone around all the time again.

"Mummy!" You call," Need help, please!"

You're trying to get your favourite crayon set out but it's trapped by all the clutter in your toy box. You tug again but can't quite seem to get it.

"Mummy!"

"Hey, liefje." It's Viv instead of Mummy and you stop to look at her.

"Where's Mummy?"

"Beth's on a phone call. Can I help?"

You think for a moment before nodding. "My crayons," You say," Can't-Can't get them."

Viv peers into your toy box, seeing the way that your crayon pack is at the very bottom. Beth warned her about this, about the fact that you had a habit of drawing on everything you could (even the walls) so your crayons had been placed at the very bottom, buried under everything so you couldn't get at them as easily.

"Here, liefje," She says, pulling them out. She hands them to you.

"Thank you, Viv," You reply. You dump them onto the coffee table with your colouring books.

You've got more than one so you look back at Viv, who doesn't quite seem to know what to do with herself now that she's left completely alone with you with no Beth to act as a buffer.

You scamper back to her side, sliding your hand against hers. "Colour with me?" You don't wait for an answer, pulling her with you to sit cross-legged at the coffee table.

You shove a colouring book at her before flicking through your other one to decide which one you want to do. It takes a little while to choose, looking between the shark and the jellyfish.

You end up choosing the shark.

"D'you know that sharks have a lot of teeth?" You ask Viv as you colour," They lose 'em a lot so they need to have a lot more to make up for it."

"Wow," Viv says as she colours too, although she's mostly just watching you," You're very smart. Do you know any more shark facts?"

"Uh-huh. Baby sharks are born with all their teeth," You change your grey crayon to silver," Mummy says it's good I wasn't born with teeth because I used to try to bite things."

"Really?" Viv sounds amused.

"Yeah but I don't anymore."

You grab green to colour in some kelp. "Baby sharks are called pups," You continue," And baby sharks don't stay with their mothers. That's sad. I want to stay with Mummy forever."

"You're very smart," Viv says again.

"Sharks are my favourite animals!" You reply before shooting to your feet. You rummage through your toy chest before returning with arms full of stuffed sharks.

You lay them all out on the table, pushing off all your crayons. You sit extremely close to Viv, closer to her than ever before.

"This is a hammerhead," You say, holding one of your toys," 'Cause their head looks like a hammer. And this is tiger shark 'cause it's got tiger stripes. And this is a whale shark. It's like a whale but it's really a shark."

"Wow."

Viv's pretty happy to sit with you and listen to your explanation of sharks. In all honesty, it's pretty impressive how much you know and you're clearly so happy to tell her so she's content to just listen.

Which is how Beth finds you both later, when she's finished her phone call.

You're practically in Viv's lap, excitedly explaining the new shark added to your collection.

"Hey, y/n," Beth says and you immediately stop talking.

"Mummy!"

You hurry to her side and hug her tight.

"Hey," She says again, a hand running over your head," Did you tell Viv all about your toys?"

"My sharks!" You nod and let Mummy pick you up, balancing you on her hip.

"Your sharks," She laughs, bouncing you slightly," Come on, Viv. Didn't you say that you knew some nice restaurant near here? Let's order dinner."

●～●～●～●～

Slowly but surely, Viv's things begin to appear in the house.

It starts small, some of her clothes and a phone charger. Next it's some of her books and then her trophies and medals. It happens so gradually that you don't even realise it happens until suddenly Viv's taking care of you on her own and never going back to her own house.

"Mummy," You say one evening as you lay on Mummy's chest while Viv does the dishes," Does Viv have a house?"

You bounce a bit from the force of Mummy's laughs. "What kind of question is that?"

You look at her. "Viv's always at our house. Does that mean she's not got a house?"

"Where have you gotten that idea?"

"You said that Daan didn't have a house anymore when she came to live with us."

Mummy sits up and you know this is going to be one of her serious talks.

"Well...Do you remember when I told you about dating?"

"When two people want to be romantic so they hang out and do stuff together."

"Yeah, that's right. Well, after people date for a bit, they move in together."

You think about that for a moment, trying to translate that into something you understand. Sharks don't do that.

"Er...Why?"

"So they can spend more time together."

Sharks don't move in with each other. Sharks don't date. It must be a human thing.

Mummy takes your silence as an invitation to continue. "And Mummy and Viv are dating so she's moving in with us."

You think about that too, finally putting together that Mummy and Daan must have dated as well but don't anymore because Mummy and Viv date now.

"Viv...lives with us?"

"She does," Mummy says," Is that okay?"

"Viv gave me a new shark," You say to Mummy instead," It's a basking shark. It's cool. Viv's cool. She can stay."

Mummy releases a long breath and affectionately rubs your cheek. "I'm glad. I like Viv a lot."

"I'm glad too," Viv says as she approaches," Otherwise I'd have to give this to some other little girl."

You don't know where she's gotten this new shark but you're very happy.

Mummy shrieks though. "Viv! That's disgusting!"

"Goblin shark!" You look between Mummy and Viv. "They're my favourite!"

It's horrifically ugly and you love it so much.

"Thank you, Viv!" You say, giving her a hug as you take it, hurrying over to what Mummy calls your 'shark shrine' to introduce your new friend to all of your old ones.

"It's so ugly, Viv," Beth complains as they both watch you play," It's going to give me nightmares."

Viv chuckles. "Just wait until you google what the real thing looks like."

#woso x reader #meadema x reader #beth mead x reader #beth mead #vivianne miedema x reader #vivianne miedema #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso

764 notes · View notes

llamagoddessofficial · 6 months

Note

Hey, how would the siren guys react to a whale shark mc? Heheee, :0 (whale shark face) fella

HEEEE

Sans: Since whale sharks are filter feeders, she's technically a mermaid!

I imagine that a whale shark Mc is incredibly chill and relaxed. She's very big, very beautiful, and very friendly... adult whale sharks don't really have anything to fear, so she's easygoing and sweet-natured with pretty much everyone.

She thinks he's handsome, and very smart. Orca would only pose a realistic threat to her if they approached in a big group, but he's alone- she's not even slightly worried. She asks him about life as a predator, his adventures around the world, she dreams of seeing the poles but she's not built for staying in cold water. He entertains her with stories of the arctic.

... Sans isn't used to encountering mermaids who aren't terrified of him. He isn't used to encountering sirens who aren't terrified of him. She talks to him like he's a normal person, engages with him... it actually makes him less insane and murderous, as it's the first time he's been treated like a person since his pod died. He naturally becomes deeply attached to her... she's delighted he wants to keep her company and she welcomes his presence. They're 'best friends' that travel around together. It's good that she's a filter feeder, because though he'd absolutely kill for her, he has no need to.

Red: Red loves a big beautiful lady. This is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. The bigger the better- and she's literally the biggest shark out there. What's not to love? He's head over heels. His only regret is that they can't seriously play fight, because she could probably snap him in half. That's hot- but it would be inappropriate in public.

She loves his attention. Sure, Sans is handsome, but... well, Red is literally the ideal by shark standards. Being a filter feeder doesn't make her resistant to his scars, his teeth, his charms. She giggles when he calls her majestic, she flushes when he says he'd like to sightsee coral reefs with her. But she doesn't really take his flirting seriously. She thinks he'd want a girlfriend who's more aggressive, an apex like him- someone with more 'bite'. She's seen how feisty female tiger sharks are. She's not like that.

Sans is absolutely seething that this asshole is trying to steal his girlfriend. They're regularly at each other's throats when her back is turned. It's very easy for her to break up their fights, though, since she physically overpowers them both.

Skull: Pretty similar to Sans, in respect to Mc being sweet and friendly has the dual effect of calming him down but also driving him kinda wild for her. Whale sharks do occasionally make dives to deeper water, so it makes sense their paths would cross.

He's enraptured. She's like a big, friendly angel, her pattern is literally rays of sun. He wants to be near to someone who isn't afraid of him. He's a little heartbroken he can't bring her food gifts, since they don't eat the same way, but pebbles still work. And he's deeply impressed by how much plankton/krill she can eat in one go.

Though the difference between them isn't as intense as it is with leaf sheep Mc, she's still a very pelagic creature, and he's a very NOT pelagic creature. She's fascinated by his completely alien, deep-sea biology. Lots of her being delighted by his light shows.

#llamagines #siren sanses #mc breaks up a fight between red and sans by grabbing their arms and literally pulling them apart #red makes everything worse by saying “harder”#days since sans has tried to tear out red's liver: 0

662 notes · View notes

cha5otic · 1 month

Text

GO GO HORDIKA RANGERS

A less traumatic approach to the Toa Hordika redesign

Oh boy, where to start? Since I had alot going behind the scenes redesigning these. Well lets start with me having an idea to basically having the Rahi be like Power Rangers' helmet motive. So did a research on their Rahi, personality, profession, etc.

So ended up being: Tiger (Vakama), Shark (Nokama), Snake (Matau), Owl (Nuju), Bull (Onewa), and Boar (Whenua) (Was thinking of mole at first but somehow the final design makes it look more like a tapir-ish boar than a mole). Then had an idea to incorporate their Metru masks as their helmets' lower half, which then made me realize that pretty much their Hordika masks are just "Elongated Face, with Horizontal Markings". So had to get a bit creative with that.

Then had to design their silhouettes/bodytypes since, might as well. So scoured their set heights from photos and building instructions. Ended up with having their Turaga forms as the main height reference and then mixed up with their Metru Height.

Also designed custom Hordika chest pieces, which then prompts me to scour every toa team ever (+Bohrok and the Kals, cause why not).

So yes, its a lot of work. I have no idea why I do this to myself.

#my art #digital art #bionicle #toa hordika #toa metru #power rangers #vakama #nokama #matau #nuju #onewa #whenua

285 notes · View notes

kazutora-kurokawa · 2 months

Text

Random TokRev Headcanons (SFW)

note: just some random thoughts I had, this cold is kicking my ass lol

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

🩷 Mitsuya might seem like the mom of the group, but he loves doing stupid shit just as much as his friends

🩷 Kisaki's first job was being a tutor

🩷 Shinichiro taught Emma how to braid and they'd use Takeomi as a test subject

🩷 Hanma pissed Kisaki off so bad once that Kisaki pushed him down the steps later that day

🩷 Baji is bad at writing, but surprisingly good at math

🩷 Chifuyu can juggle, it's just something he thought would be fun to learn

🩷 Kazutora chose to get a tattoo of a tiger not just because of his name, but because he sees them as strong, brave, and protective (everything he wants to be)

🩷 Draken hits his head on a lot of doorways because he forgets to duck down

🩷 Rindou tried to teach Ran how to do a backflip and Ran almost broke his neck

🩷 Izana plays the guitar (canon) and learns Kakucho's favorite song so he can play it for him on his birthday

🩷 Ran accidentally smacked Rindou in the face with his baton and broke his glasses

🩷 Pah-Chin once flipped a table over because he was losing a game of uno

🩷 Mikey sleeps so much that he misses meals, so Draken and the other captains have to remind him to eat

🩷 Takemichi is super charismatic, he's just awkward around people

🩷 Taiju owns a bunch of shark themed stuff, plushies, pillows, jewelry, even plates

🩷 Hakkai grew his hair out after Mitsuya suggested he'd look good with long hair

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Taglist

@arlerts-angel @i-literally-cant-with-this @trevengersprincess @giugiette @katshimizuu @happy-trenchcoated-impala @rinsprttyg @drunkcheesecake @darkstarlight82 @reiners-milkbiddies

#tokyo revengers headcanons #tokyo revengers fluff

166 notes · View notes

firelillys · 6 months

Text

Merfolk hashira head cannons

This is a repost

Sanemi

Immediately a tiger shark no arguments

They are the most aggressive and know to have more attacks on humans then any other shark

He definitely collects small rocks and sharp objects to court you with

If courting you the merfolk way doesn't work he always has intimidation and doesn't mind sinking your boat to trap you with him

This man definitely wants lots of merpups with you so expect alot of pampering as a way to get you to breed easier

He definitely brings you fish and crabs that ar usual way over your price range and hard to find at your local market

He loves your touch as you trace his fins and scars and gently touch his ragged sharp teeth

Kyojuro

keeping him the same from my old head canons he is a LION FISH.

he loves to hold you and doesn't wanna let go. He will literally float on his back on the surface of the sea holding you above water a you cuddle him and whines when you try to leave again.

He courts you with food. He courts you with fish crabs lobsters octopuses and even squid.

He love to nip you neck leaving marks making it clear to othe merfolk your his and only his.

Absolutely makes you meet senjuro but only for a little while. And of you two get along great trust you won't be sailing back to your cozy bed. Nope you'll be dragged to his.

Mitsuri

Nurse shark absolutely a nurse shark

Shes just so sweet to bite you so she nudges your leg to get your attention.

When she realises your not a harmful human she holds onto you like your her savior and won't let go.

She also is one to court you with food but also flowers and coral.

She is also a cuddler and is always holding your hand or following your boat around scarring off fish your trying to catch so she'll find the biggest fish she can and hook it to your line.

Obanai

A sea serpent

He's very cold and aggressive as you found him in your casting net but when you cut him free an throw him your biggest fish costing you more money then it was worth he starts to grow fond of you.

He courts you with shiney things. Like gold metals and his pretty scales.

One time you had fallen into the water and instead of watching you drown he slithered onto your boat and hugged you tight.

Giyuu

Beta fish. He's jst a lil loser

But he's absolutely territorial over you like beta fish arenove their territory.

You never see a single soul in your fishing spot thanks to him.

He courts you with rocks he thinks are pretty. Again as I said he's a bit of a loser.

Shinobu

Blue ringed octopus and funnily enough is bigger then any of the merfolk even the uppermoons.

She was about to sink you ship till you offered her fish instead of spears.

She loves how curious about her tentacles you are and lets you hold and playing with them.

She courts you with jewels of her ships she's sank and loves how you jump for joy when you see them.

It really doesn't take her long to take you from your ship. And no one goes looking since you went missing where ships do all the time.

#kny smut #kyojuro x reader #sanemi smut #sanemi x reader #kyojuro smut #mitsuri smut #mitsuri x reader #obanai x reader #obanai smut #giyuu smut #giyuu x reader #shinobu smut #shinobu x reader

268 notes · View notes

yuki2sksksk · 4 months

Note

can we see gyutaro in the mermaid AU

I would be amazing

(And daki ofc)

I haven't figured out everyone's lore yet (lol) but here are the mermen of this AU and sea creatures they are based off, either from look or other traits.

(why Giyuu is an eel? Cause my first thought when I saw that eel was 'whats up with this dude' which is the same phrase when I first saw Giyuu)

Do you know that Tiger Shark eats almost anything? Kinda like Genya with demons, they're both gluttonous :)

I thought of having Gyomei with Basking Shark but I am still not sure.

There are a lot of things I am unsure about, like Douma cause my first choice was Crocodile Icefish and why is Yoriichi a small fish? Cause I said so (honestly Idk what to put him as)

I thought of Akaza as mantis shrimp cause they pack powerful punches tho hrmm I am not sure.

I promise I am not doing Tanjirou dirty (iam)

Him and the fish have too many similarities. Like their forehead.

If you guys have any suggestions of sea creatures they can be based off, please do comment (⁠✯⁠ᴗ⁠✯⁠)

[Masterlist]

395 notes · View notes

thesharktanksdriver · 6 months

Text

Determination! (Platonic)

Warning for this chapter: fisher tigers part is much more serious. It’s talks of slavery and while it isnt too graphic it does included a lot of mature themes. If that makes you uncomfortable please skip over it

You find that your dreams are very disjointed

Granted, you normally don’t dream at all

It’s typically just empty blackness as you fall into unconsciousness and then back into the waking world

But when you do have a dream every once in a blue moon

It’s…odd

Even for Dream standards you think their somewhat odd

The voices of those long past that you’d met cheering you on

Flashes of multicoloured sparks

The endless expanse of space as you stare at a star

It’s an old one, a dying one

Your not sure how you know that information yet you do

And you watch it die with sparkling eyes

It implodes on itself

Creating a massive explosion of light and energy that dispersed throughout the galaxy

Bright white light shattering into every colour imaginable into the void of space

The energy going in every corner of the universe

A supernova

Your not sure how you know that word but it comes into your mind

Perhaps it hasn’t even been invented yet because you know for a fact that knowledge on stars was vastly limited

Yet that doesn’t stop you from knowing knowledge you never knew before

You reach out towards the remnants of the dead star in a trance

The cheers of the dead yelling “stay determined!”

You open your mouth to eat the star shards

And then you wake up

How curious

Sun Pirates

In your time adrift at the endless sea you had come across many people of many races

Humans, odd winged people, mermaids, devil fruit users, marines and pirates

So it doesn’t come as a surprise when you come across a group of fishmen sailing the sea

They all look over deck at you with a mixture of expressions

Some worry, others pity and some with conflict

But as they all watch a Fishman with rose red skin, a tattoo of a sun on his chest and black hair tied back with a bandanna

He ushers them aside to look Down at you from what you assume to be his ship

“Hi! Do any of you know what part of the sea I’m in?. I think it’s the north blue? But I’m not sure. You’d think with the amount of time I’ve been afloat I’d be able to tell but-“

“Kid are you alone?!”

“Do you see anyone else on this ship?”

You don’t have much of a choice before your brought upon their ship

To their surprise though your not scared?

In fact you seem rather amused at the predicament your in

One that would usually leave normal people scared shitless

But it’s easy for the entire crew to tell your not a normal kid

Especially as you seem to find interest in what type of marine animals each member is

Even more so when you ask about how the capabilities/features of said marine animal

It’s…odd how knowledgeable you are despite your young age

And when they ask about it you just say “I know from experiences on the sea”

Like the fuck is that supposed to mean when your talking about the dangerous venom of the stonefish

They are worried

Like real worried

Some are still off put by the fact your a human but with how your talking the mixture of shock and concern overpower it

God they never thought they’d be fretting over a human but when you talk in visceral odd detail about how sharks occasionally eat people when desperate or confusing them for other prey

It’s a bit freaky

Doesn’t help that it’s oddly specific which makes it seem much more personal

And how you explain all these facts with a completely wide smile not noticing how their all horrified

Their captain Fisher tiger is especially worried when he questions you about how you ended up alone at sea in the first place

He keeps pressing you on the matter but always gets the same response of “I set out to sea and haven’t looked back” and “I’m not sure if my island exists anymore. It’s not like anyone would remember me, I’ve been gone for such a long time”

That implies so much and at the same time is very vague

This poor man is a few migraines away from bashing his head against a wall

But other than that and the worry he finds you to be an interesting kid

While watching you interact with his crew he notices that you treat them all as regular people

You don’t make snide comments nor do you go off of stereotypes to categorize them

Instead you see them as their own individual people

People who were owed respect no matter their race or appearance

And even when a few aren’t exactly the most friendly towards you your respect

Giving them space as you see their uncomfortable

For a kid your emotionally aware in a way that even most adults can’t compare

You can tell if someone has deep rooted trauma and don’t push the subject

Going out of your way not to bring up bad memories associated with humans if your presence did so

There were seemingly no bad feelings about it either

Just pure understanding in your eyes from possible personal experience

Even when he harbours hate for you it’s brushed off as seemingly nothing personal

When your not conversing your quietly helping around

Somehow knowing how to raise the sails and properly clean the deck

Never telling anyone of your deeds and just doing them to help out

It’s clear by how organic it is for you that your used to doing it

Yet your own …”ship” is something more akin to a poorly put together raft

Everything about you is odd

And for a long while he isn’t sure if that’s good or bad

Fisher is a man haunted by the actions inflicted upon him

A shared trauma among all his people from humans

He does not discriminate when rescuing slaves but he still has his own afflictions towards humans

The actions of them still on his skin and baring his soul

Yet he allows you on his ship despite it

Because he knows your a child

Someone who had not harmed him nor his people

Someone who’s innocent to the horrors of the world

To the harm done by your race

He grapples with his own hated for you because of something you cannot pick

He feels guilty and horrible for it

Yet the look in your eyes says that you understand him somehow

And that makes him feel worse

A child should not understand hatred from others

Let alone understand why he feels hatred towards them

And then also accept it with such empathy

it hurts

he's reminded of the guards who used to sneer at him for being who he was

you feel no sadness due to his gaze

only kindness as you do your best to avoid him

in some sense you understand why he gazes at you that way

you can't blame him, not when you yourself had been victim of the abuse of your own kind

looked down upon as dirt

seen as lesser

what hurts worse though is that you can't solely blame one group like he and some of his men can do

your human and your hurt by other humans

maybe it's worse in some aspects

it's why you give an understanding look in your eyes despite his occasional glare

Jinbe is perhaps the one you spend the most time with on the ship other than Hatchan

There is apprehension at first but what follows after a short period of time is kindness

Your just a kid

One not guilty for the crimes of others

He can’t blame someone’s actions on you

Especially when your nothing but respectful to them all despite their hesitation due to your race

He reminds you of a gentle giant which is fitting with what marine animal he’s acquainted to

Most times spent with him are ones where he listens to your words

Finding interest and intrigue in your stories and facts of the sea

It seems far fetched a child experienced all this but the look in your eyes says it’s true

The small mementos that hang on your form like hand woven bracelets, necklaces of shells and shark teeth, a coat befit for a captain hanging on your shoulders and bandana tied around your forehead to keep your hair tangled with pearls back

Their all signs that somehow your tales are true

As amazing and horrifying as they seem their true

And it leaves him feeling anxious

Your a good kid

Maybe one of the best he’s met so far and seeing the wear and tear on you hits him hard

You put up a smile and bare through whatever someone throws your way

Never once speaking back unless your standing up for someone besides yourself

It’s admirable but he sees how it has worn you down

Once upon a time he can imagine you smiling out of actual joy

And now it’s a mechanism for you to write off your pain

Your selfless to a fault

And on the sea people take advantage of that

But perhaps you already experienced that

And it leaves Jinbe’s stomach swirling with unease

He frets over you like a mother hen when you throw all regard for safety away and when you get something simple like a paper cut cause he knows either way you won’t care to tend to your own wounds

He honestly at the point wonders if this is what being a mother feels like

But he can’t contemplate that long cause Arlong is being a dick once again

Tension with him was high before but now Jinbe has half the mind to knock him square in the jaw if he kicks you again

And now he has half the mind to shake some sense into you when you walk it off

God he needs some sort of therapist cause he does not know how to help you beyond being protective and patching you up

It’s obvious that your hurt beyond repair on the inside

The times he’s found you just simply staring off towards the sea with a dead look in your eyes is a testament to that

A call of longing in long gone innocent eyes that still retain kindness despite it all

In those moments he just sits by your side and holds you

You grasp him like a lifeline

Something anchoring you down to reality as your mind makes you remember

He tells stories of fishmen island to distract you

He noticed though that when he tells of the promise to fishmen island from joyboy something in your eyes light up

Sparkles of light within them that dance but then fizzle away after a moment along with a shiver gliding down his back for some reason

He writes it off though

Just going back to his tales

It’s under yet another moon lit night you end up staring out at sea again

Memories of the past swirling in your mind like a hurricane

You can’t help it

Not after being reminded of one life you particularly didn’t like

You didn’t mean to overhear Fisher and Jinbe but it just happened

The captain of the crew talking about his time as a slave

The horror inflicted upon him at the hands of humans

You just keep staring out at the water

Burying yourself deeper into your subconscious trying to escape

But you can’t

Too distracted by the memories that you don’t even notice the two coming out the captains quarters to find you

Vacantly staring out at sea

Your staring out at the water

A deep empty stare

Darkness swirling in your irises

Occasionally you twitch, a jolt of imaginary pain burning your back once more

You sometimes still feel the pain of the brand that luckily now doesn’t haunt your skin

You hadn’t felt it in a long while until you realized after hearing him talk the tattoo of the sun on him was his brand covered up

It served as some sort of trigger

The memories came flooding back

The pain

The torture

The screams

The death

The rot

The overwhelming plea for death in a hell that became a limbo realm

Your hands trace the symbol on the wood lightly

Every couple of months (or maybe years? Your not sure) these thoughts and memories came up

It’s a normal cycle for you

Yet now they hit harder after seeing his tattoo

Cause it makes you think of them

Of the 3 sisters, the names of you never got as your mind makes the effort to forget what you experienced

Up until now you always had the worry of forgetting

You had been alive for a long time

so much so that your memories are inconsistent and blur together

Yet your time as a slave is something clear in your head that you wish erase

To wipe clean from your mind and bury

Yet you can’t will yourself to forget them

Because of those 3 girls you’d befriended over scraps of dry bread

Of the shared pain that was all understood from the four of you

Crying silently together while huddled in the dark

Cleaning one another’s bruises

The eldest girl of the bunch holding you one night when noticing your shivering form, the other two following in the action of huddling around you

A budding friendship formed from barely any words but silent understanding and conversations though looks

You can’t abandon their memory even if it’s attached to other ones you wished to bleach from your mind

It’s there staring into the darkened water you mutter 2 words that had been erased from your mind out of fear

“Celestial dragons”

The words are spat out like a curse yet your tone is full of emptiness

It’s something only someone affected by them could say in such a tone

Perhaps that’s why Fisher now looks at you with realization

“You…you were one too?”

“Yeah, it…I think it was a couple years back, I’m not sure though. The passage of time is hard for me to notice anymore, it all blurs together. Hell I can barely remember my life before the sea, I know I had parents and then they died but…I can’t remember their faces. Anyways, I was captured and sold, ended up in some dungeon.” For a moment you pause going over your memories as you pinch your chin in thought, the way you speak about it is nonchalant yet holds a lot of untold weight “it’s a blur of pain, I remember it specifically on my back. I try to limit how clear it is cause I don��t specifically like remembering it. There were these 3 girls though, sisters who all ended up in the same cell as me. We found kinship in our situation, I gave them the scraps of food I got since they needed it more than me.”

“Do you know what happened to them?” At hearing this you turn to Jinbe, a solemn expression crossing your face as an answer

“Not sure. I…like to hope that their ok, that they found their way back home” your tone is anything but hopeful, cracking with gloom that’s evident in your eyes “but hoping is all I can do. I wished for death when I was there, hoping they’d just finish me off so I could move on. At some point though I began to hope, those 3 girls needed someone there for them and I hoped I could remain just for them”

“Why’d you escape then?”

“I didn’t have choice.”

“What do you mean? That doesn’t really make sense”

They watch as an odd look forms in your eyes

They sparkle with unknown mystery

Something old and sentimental

Something ancient despite the young face you have

“Can you keep a secret?”

They look at one another for a moment

A silent conversation between the two

Jinbe is the one who nods first, your gaze then shifting to Fisher who takes a moment to look at you

He never noticed it till now but your eyes have something about them that…seems inhuman

For a second he swears he even sees stars sparkle in them

Great big shining stars that light the night sky’s and allow sailors to navigate the treacherous seas they love and call home

Stars that when he looks at reminds him of his freedom

Of not staring at the ceiling of a cage

Stars he wished to grasp at back in the days he wore shackles

Stars that for some reason now seemed to shine brighter, as if mirroring your resolve

He nods, watching a moment of vulnerability shine through eyes that look blank for a child

Eyes that have seen horrors

Eyes that had lost their twinkle of innocence yet still retain childlike charm in viewing the world

Eyes that sparkle of something ancient and old, residing in the depths of your irises like a great deity in the void of the night sky

“Have you heard about a star that never dies?” And so you begin your tale

By the time your done your tale they both sit there in silence

A deafening and choking silence that grips at you like the old collar of rusting steel or ball and chain that used to be attached to your leg

A sign of having your freedom weighed down

Locked away

You had once tried to break that leg but the girls stopped you

The eldest of them crying for you to stop

So you did

You watch them both stay in silence

And then see the tears line their eyes

And then they crumble like a cracked heart

Jinbe falling first as he grips you

Strong and battle-worn hands now soft and gentle

Afraid that you’d fade away

Afraid what would happen if he let go

It’s what you expected from him

But then You look to Fisher and find him in a similar state much to your surprise, if not he might be even worse than how Jinbe is handling what you told

Pure grief in his eyes

Regret

Pain

Solidarity

Familiarity

And most of all empathy

It pours out from him like his tears

Like a waterfall with never ending raging water crashing down onto the rocks

it’s loud and passionate

Covers up the internal screams of the past latching back onto him, into the lingering scars

Stinging Pain sinking back into those same spots like the angry gnashing claws of a beast

He’s hurting

But so are you

Your hurting together through shared experiences and ones he could never wish to experience

Jinbe holds you for a long while

Time melts away as do the phantom pains of those long past days

You hold him back

The soft material of his yukata pulling you in even further

Warmth

Comfort

Understanding

And your unspoken words of ‘thank you’ to his of ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry’

You let time melt away a little more as they find themselves once more

“Why did you tell us this?” Fisher asks this with tears still falling down his face. Jinbe holds you close, webbed hand behind your head as he pulls you closer. You hear the waves lapping at the boat and the beats of his heart, it thumps like a drum. Rhythmically helping your equally torn apart emotions.

“I heard you talking about your experience. I thought it’s fair that I do the same” it’s said in such a simple manner that it makes the two fishmen reel back in shock for the third time in a night. It’s said in such sincerity and innocence, as if that was something normal “an equal exchange,If you will”

The crew watch on in confusion the next morning at the expression of thinking Fisher has on his face

Along with the clear signs of crying that Jinbe and him hold

People push but neither say a word

They say it isn’t their story to tell as their eyes trail back to you sitting with Hatchan

Playing a game innocently

Obliviously

Like a regular kid

Most don’t push after their captains grim expression

The look in his eyes

Some keep their curiosity to a low lit flame yet don’t get anywhere on the account they can’t get you to spill anything and Jinbe doesn’t exactly like them being nosey

So it eventually fizzles out

Things back back to normal

You tell your tales

Show them games they’d never played

You in turn learn more about fishman and mermaid society

But then you leave just as abruptly as you appeared

It’s weird to say but at a diner with them all as shanties are sung you just randomly say that soon you’ll be leaving

And despite how most of them hate to admit it

They didn’t want you to go

Hatchan is comically crying as a few others stubbornly argue against it

That it’s dangerous and you could get yourself killed

They look to Fisher and Jinbe who had been more observant of you as of late (if that’s even more humanly possible for Jinbe)

But their met with a reaction none had thought would happen

They object

They say it’s your choice and they can’t shackle you here

The sea was your home

And so the decision for your leave was cemented

In the days leading up to it you spend time with most the crew

But they all notice that at night you and their captain look out to the sky at night

Silence conversations happening through mere looks

pure understanding

Just pure solemn understanding

None make comments on it if they see it

Don’t mention it and forget it ever happened out of respect for both parties

And when the time comes to leave they all watch (some crying even) while waving goodbye

You promise them you’d meet again

“You’ll all be at sea right? Then that means you’ll definitely see me again someday! Wait and see! Grasp your freedom strong and tight, never take it forgranted”

Fisher watches and waves as you drift off into the distance, he holds a gentle smile

He hopes he’d meet you again

Hopes that perhaps you’d somehow end up on fishman island and talk to his people

As much as he thought Otohime’s talks of humans and fishmen working together in harmony were a naive and impossible dream

Perhaps if there were more humans like you it could work

And maybe

Just maybe

It would help both sides see that in the end neither were that different from one another

In your words on the silent night before you left “we both bleed, we feel and in the end we both have the same fates don’t we?. At heart no matter if your fishman, mermaid, human or anything else we experience the same gifts of life. We are all equal in the fact we are born on this earth and die here, and with that comes the desire for freedom and the pursuit of happiness”

He and his crew still have a lot to grapple with on the road to change

But you helped them start the first steps in overcoming the hate for your kind

A young immortal human child who had seen horrors upon horrors

Inflicted by their own kind that they will never stop loving with all their heart

Because you believe that inherently almost every sentient creature is born with kindness in them. It’s the world that corrupts it

When they are asked to take a former slave girl back to her hometown he does not have any hesitation to do so

He hopes that this is the next step in overcoming his hatred

Mihawk

Mihawk thought he was going to have a nice and relaxing day

His morning had been going great, a nice glass of red wine before he trained, a good breakfast

And then when he went outside of his castle there he finds is a young child looking around confused

….god damn it

So yeah, you died and just randomly appeared on the island that houses the greatest swordsman currently in the world

Not exactly your first choice but it wasn’t the worse

Well wasn’t bad instil the swordsman himself shows up looking as confused as you were

Yeah seems like you have some explaining to do

And dying or running away wouldn’t exactly help with the endeavour either since he seems intent on an answer

So here you are

In a gothic mansion lead by Mihawk into a room as he calmly sits down and asks you to explain

Now

And so you do

Well…you do the best you can to explain your entire situation as he sits there with a blank expression

By the end he just sighs

To be honest he’s not sure if he believes it or not but he takes it as an answer for now

And after that you two form an odd friendship and routine as you spend your time on his island

To his pleasure your polite and not loud

Silently watching him train or go about his day

Along with that conversations with you are actually quite pleasant

Mihawk is a man of very few words

Only shanks is able to get him talking with the help of finely aged booze

Yet talking with you comes naturally as breathing the air around him

It’s intriguing

Especially as it seems your story isn’t a bluff for how personally and detailed your recounts of events are

Colour him impressed

you talk of Roger in a way that only Shanks could do

Describe the gods valley event with details only found in classified marine files

Not only that but your also a good storyteller

Telling such events in glorious ways that he can’t help but listen to the liquid gold that is your voice

The treasure trove of stories that flow out your mind

He must admit that he can’t help but sit on the edge of his seat

Wanting to hear more

In this time he comes to care for you

Your a child eternally

One in a cruel world that preys on the weak

While you may be strong mentally (god knows if you hadn’t then you would’ve gone insane) but physical your not

What doesn’t help is your total and utter lack of self awareness

God knows the amount of times he’d saved your ass from being killed by Humandrills

After awhile they seem to get the memo of leaving you alone but that still doesn’t stop you from almost dying in other ways

Almost walking off a cliff

Almost falling into a river

Almost getting hit by a piece of falling stone

He is now paranoid and trails you like a shadows or has you stick around him incase of yet another near death incident

God is this what being a dad feels like? Cause that’s how Mihawk feels at this point

He has half the mind to buy a child leash or something similar

Cause if you wander off one more time and almost die he’s gonna-

You make his stress levels go through the roof

Doesn’t help you completely brush of dying as no big deal

As if being eaten that one time isn’t traumatic as hell

He wonders if his position of warlord has some sort of health benefits cause he might look into therapy

Not that you think you need it though, you think your completely fine yet he begs to differ

You find it funny how stoic he is yet you can read him like a book

He shows his growing care through actions

Like making breakfast or decorating a spare room of his castle to something more suited to your taste

The unspoken offer of “if you need a place to stay your always welcome here” through these actions

A silent way of also prepping for you leaving

He knows that moment is coming

Especially as your small “boat” drifts ashore

He’s hardly call that a boat but nether the less it floats on water and you call it a boat

In your time preparing to leave he insists on at least teaching you the basics of using a sword

The proper positioning of your grip and stance

How to give a powerful slash

You pick up quickly, years of watching experienced swordsmen coming into play

He’s proud yet worry sows itself into his brow

Your a kind soul

One that has been put through untold hell and back

Even the strongest sword can bend and break if pressure is put on the perfect point

He doesn’t know what your breaking point will be but he’s worried

Cause inevitably it’s bound to happen

He at least has some peace of mind knowing he taught you how to fight

And when he sends you off he promises that when you next meet he’d have Sword fit for you

The castle feels more lonely without your small pitter patter of footsteps

The air is still when it should be filled with your stories of old

The garden takes more effort than he remembers when your not there to pull out the weeds

The Humandrills seem to miss your presence

It’s odd but you’d left such an impact in such a small amount of time

Mihawk wouldn’t have it any other way though

Hiriluk

Recently on the spring island you found yourself on there had been rumours of a thief going by

Normally this wouldn’t had caught your attention

But one day as you walk past an odd eccentric man with Snow White hair in a ridiculous manner with clearly stolen objects you can’t help but be intrigued

Especially as he shifts into an alleyway, leaning against the grimy wall with a hand over his heart

Coughs racking his entire form

Almost crumbling down as the subsequent spoils of his stealing fall as well

It’s then and there you become invested in this odd man

His story

So you decide to help him

For someone’s who’s a thief you’d thinks he’d be less enthusiastic about giving out his name

But your sorrily mistaken (in a good way) as the man introduces himself as Hiriluk

A master thief of the grand line

A plunderer of countless treasures and various tales

You nod along

Listening intently to his words as you help walk him to his hideout

The poor man is still shaken after his illness acting up again

Apparently as of late it’s been worse, so much so that he fears his days are now limited

But despite that he keeps a quite chipper attitude

Somehow finding enjoyment despite his circumstances

He’s…much like yourself in that sense

Finding joy even in the bleak conditions of your reality

It…is nice in some sense

To find someone a lot like yourself in mindset

Makes conversation much more interesting as you both talk of similar viewpoints

Much like you he is plagued with a curse that follows him everywhere he goes

From island to island

No matter the pace he canning escape his disease

A factor of his life that he must now deal with as he enjoys the time he has left

He’d given up on a cure by now

But…despite that you can’t help but research a bit to at least try

He appreciates the effort but solemnly admits that he’s tried everything

Hell, his island is known for their doctors and they couldn’t help him

He’s a lost cause like anyone with white lead disease

It’s a fact he accepts

And sadly you do so as well

Your stand only works for you

It’s entire purpose is for its user and not for anyone else

Not versatile or has any multiple uses

At least not that you knew of anyways

So on that factor you can’t do anything

So as you accept that fact you instead focus on spending time with the man

Listening to him get drunk and talk of someone named Kureha

An “old witch” with a stubborn edge and sharp tongue

But also has a kind heart

Someone who became a doctor for a reason, to help others as best she could even if she caused some chaos in the process

An odd one just like him (and you he adds with a smile) someone who didn’t fit in with the crowd

But maybe that was ok

Being different could very much be a curse for several reasons

Especially in a judgmental society that is maintained by the world government

But that otherness was also a blessing

Weirdness serving as a catalyst for so many wonderful things

For new ideas

For stubborn creativity that wouldn’t be snuffed out but instead burn bright

For brining together the people society looked down upon and giving them a chance to rise up

Your stay on the island is coming to a close but despite that Hiriluk doesn’t panic or seem depressed at the thought

Instead he finds happiness in the time still left

The conversations that have been spoken

The time he has left in this world being used for something truly nice

Not just stealing

Instead now truly engaging with life

The spring island your both on is now at its fullest bloom

The place was somewhat famous for how beautiful it was but neither of you had yet to see it

So the day before you go you asked if he’d like to go see it with you before you left

A last hurrah

One that would be spent watching the cherry blossoms in full bloom and have lunch

He agreed

The next morning is spent with him getting snacks of all kinds

Him packing them in a small basket as you lead him with the directions you got from locals

The two of you go up the hill overlooking the light pink trees in full bloom

His hand gripping yours as he goes still in shook

The sight is breath taking

Even the air from your lungs is seemingly sucked out at the sight of the trees in full bloom

The petals gently cascading down like snow around you

Getting stuck in your hair and pooling in his cupped hands

His eyes tear up and stare down at the pink petals

It’s breathtaking

And for the first time in a long while he feels ok

There was no blockage in his chest

Nor the looming grip of death on his shoulders

He felt cured

Like an average man that he always wanted to

The dream of his that died long ago in a doctors office when they said it was incurable

But now as he stares he feels hope

Something igniting in him in place of his Illness

These small fluttering petals had an impact on him just as you had

It cured him somehow

You showing him this magical sight cured him

And now he wanted to do that for others

He wanted to show the people of his bleak winter island this magnificent sight

To see pink instead of the white fluttering snow

To see trees not covered in snow that dampened their beauty

To feel the air escape their lungs

The lunch goes by quickly as does your leaving but both of you do so with a smile

He sets off with a new goal and you wish him luck

Telling him that you believe he’d somehow come up with a solution cause people like the two if you always did somehow

He smiles

When he returns back to his home island he sets out to be a doctor

To help cure others just as you had done with him

Some of The petals he collected that day kept in a small glass jar he kept as a souvenir and for testing

When Kureha calls him crazy he takes the words in pride

Recalling back on your time spent together

That odd little kid who had a spirit beyond their days

One who would humour his ramblings

Took him to that fateful place of blooming Sakura that would go on to change his life course forever

A parting gift in both an experience and in changing his life for the good

So he works on bringing that miracle to the winter island he lives on

Despite how impossible it seems he tries

And he tries and tries

And he keeps going despite how many times he is pushed down by yet another failure

You motivate him

The gift you gave him that he wants to share with others motivated him

His new student that in a lot of ways reminds him of you motivated him

Chopper sometimes still wonders why Hiriluk had taken him in

It lingers on the small reindeer’s mind

And it’s glaringly obvious what he’s thinking making the old “doctor” laugh

“Us weirdo’s have to stick together. I learned that from a friend of mine” as he says this the small blue nosed reindeer watches as the man pulls a framed photo off the wall. In it is him and a child with a large smile. “Hopefully one day you’ll meet them.”

“You…do you think they would accept me?”

Hiriluk let’s our a large laugh at that, clutching his sides as small tears line his eyes “if they hung around a old crazy coot like me then I’m sure they’d love you”

His young apprentice feels hope at his words

Sometimes silently staring at the picture with faint hope that one day he’d meet the doctor-….no his dad’s old friend

Perhaps in the future

But for now he had to help him find a cure

His sickness is getting worse and chopper doesn’t now if he could live with himself if he didn’t find a cure

His only lead as of now is some mushroom that can apparently cure anything

It’s a long shot but he has to try

He gazes as the photo once more

Hiriluk’s smiling face staring back along with your own

He’ll make sure Hiriluk will get to see you again

He promises it

With that the young reindeer sets off in the snow

Whenever you see the cascading petals of cherry blossoms you wonder how that odd doctor was doing

Brook

It was at reverse mountain that you had found yourself being picked up by a particular crew

The rumbar pirates had originated in the west blue

A musical band of jolly singing pirates with instruments of all kinds

All of which varied from different islands and cultures

Brough together in musical harmony

It’s amazing to you how music seems to come to them wordlessly

They play and magic is produced from their songs

So much so a baby whale follows them in their journey and is now waiting for them to return

A promise they intend to keep as the travel the sea like any good crew

Whilst the captain and crew are welcoming and friendly there’s one person in particular your drawn to

Brook is a fun and free soul

Constantly with a smile or chuckling out his odd but charming laugh

The musician teaches you piano as best he can

His hands guiding yours as the crew eagerly watch with bright smiles

Eventually as they sing and dance he has you play side by side with him

Placing his top hat in your head as they all call you “mini brook”

It’s fun

Especially as the giant of a man picks up his violin and lets you play alone

The two of you stringing together a melody that the others join in on

Dancing and singing with slurred speech and jumbled steps

Those nights feel like a haze in your mind

One with a rosy tinted filter overtop those memories

Of the songs sung

The dancing as the crew took turns showing you their groove

Taking your hands into their own and your feet atop theirs as they showed you to dance

But then the music began to die

Despite your many deaths you’d experienced and saw of pirates

This was one that was common yet still chilling

Illness

Honestly with how many ships you’d been on your surprised you’d never experienced a death like this

And it’s certainly one you’d never thought they’d have to suffer through

It starts off as one person

And then it spreads

Brook and the others keep you away from the sight

Telling you that they were just hungover

You don’t tell them you know hangovers don’t last several days

As others being to fall Brook keeps to at least trying to keep the facade of things are fine in front of you

Even as he has to take the place of their captain

He has a good facade

But you hear his sobs at night

For his fallen Crew and the fact it’s still spreading

And for you

By god is he worried for you

They’d all talked of the possibility of having you take your small shipped tied to their own and leave

But they all agree it’s too big of a risk

Their at the middle of the sea, it would be a death sentence if they let you go on your own

They can’t have that happen

Even if there’s still a chance here that you’ll die

There’s still the possibility that at least someone will spot their ship

That help can come and at least rescue you

So for now they have you stay

The symptoms come slowly

You feel more tired

Burning up

Laboured breath

Their all mortified as you one day pass out on deck

When you wake up your tucked into bed

Nearby someone sobs

You recognize his voice and blurred figure despite your senses being dulled

Small shaky hands reach for his

And he reciprocated the action repeating that he’s sorry

That he’s so sorry

That it’s his fault

That he was supposed to keep you safe

You say it isn’t his fault but it falls on deaf ears

He keeps crying even as he coughs

You keep saying it’s alright even as it feels harder to breath

Eventually even though everyone is dead or on the brink of dying they decide to do one last number

One last piece

Binks booze

You sit beside Brook having to lean against him for support as both his and your hands drift along the ivory keys

The songs plays full force

The few left playing the tune

Some cheerfully sing with smiles and dance withe one another

But they fall first

Dying with smiles despite it all

You sing in their place along with those who are left

The singing goes down by one as yet another falls down

Violin clattering to the floor

You sing louder in his place despite how your lungs burn and throat feels as if needles scrape against it

Another violinist goes down after this

Brook shakes beside you

He keeps up a smile

You do so as well but tears escape your eyes

A quartet

The cello goes down

A trio

His smile wavers and tears trail down his face now

He’s breaking

The final goes down now

It’s just you and Brook left, but you feel yourself getting weaker

The edges of your eyes have black dotes and every time you close them it’s harder to open them once more

A duet

You keep playing for his sake

He looks down at you sobbing silently as he continues to play

Their flag waves silently in the wind

“I’m not sure how longer I can play…do you think you can do a solo?”

Tearfully he nods

Playing as you sing

Continuing even after the lyrics stop flowing from your mouth and you slump down into his side

A solo

He cries

Eventually the piano comes to a close

Despite there being no skeleton of you to put with the rest of the memorial Brook doesn’t question it

The sight of Your body disappearing into golden light was just a trick of the mind all those years ago to help with the grief of him failing you

He knows he went insane a long time ago

He’s spent years alone at sea mulling over their deaths, of yours and the promise to Laboon

His mind is long gone as he wanders the old tattered ship that used to be filled with song

Despite it all he tries to put up a mask of being happy

But he never sings

Never plays music

He can’t deal with another solo

Can’t deal with that last performance

Sometimes he thinks of the songs they made

The one the crew made about you that surprisingly got popular

Based off the odd tales of stars you talked about

An undying one

He wonders if it still plays

You remember they made a song about you

It’s long forgotten to the many new sailors of the sea

But on occasion you hear it from old souls. Those who had traveled the seas for many years and had retained the songs and myths now forgotten to the new

The sound of it always makes you smile, but it is tinged with sadness as you do so

Whenever it is sung or Binks Booze you promised yourself you’d always join in

A promise to them, that kind musical crew all those years ago that suffered a horrible death from a bad stroke of luck

You carry their memory along with Laboon

Whenever you end up at reverse mountain you always sing the songs they once did to ease the whales heart ache

It can only do so much but Laboon at least stops jutting against the mountain momentarily

Wanting to one day reunite with those jolly sailors

You wish you could one day do the same

But for now you carry their memories

Their songs that house the remnants of their souls

Sometimes you swear you see their rotting ship

But you always wave it off as missing them

Of delusions of your mind as you stare out into the darkness of the sea

#platonic #one piece x reader #brook x reader #hiriluk x reader #mihawk x reader #dracule Mihawk x reader #Jinbe x reader #fisher tiger x reader

313 notes · View notes

whatifwekissedatneocity · 5 months

Text

be with you

multiple bsd characters x reader. reader is gn (gender neutral).

about: dates with bsd characters. established relationship

featuring: dazai, chuuya, atsushi, akutagawa, ranpo

notes: atsushi is referred to as “jinko” (white tiger) in aku’s part

kiel notes: idk if you can tell whose part is more self indulgent LMAOOO managed this during writer’s block i think im a god. kidding

DAZAI — cosy colouring book date at home

dazai recently bought colouring books from the bookstore. he said along the lines of “exploring creativity,” but really, he’s just lazy and broke for outdoor dates. you didn’t mind, though; quality time is still time spent with your lover.

worn out faber castell colour pencils are splayed out on his futon, and you both are lying on your stomachs. he kicks his legs and fills the empty pages with different colours. a peaceful and quiet retreat from the world with dazai gently humming a song you can’t quite make out, only to be disturbed by the gentle sounds and laughter of lovers.

“why’s the penguin yellow?” you giggle, and he pouts.

“have you seen club penguin? all the penguins have different cute colours!” he shades another penguin green and you rolled your eyes. “that game is dead, though..” you remarked, and he scoffed playfully. “not dead in my heart."

being childish and immature with the right person truly heals your inner child.

CHUUYA — aquarium (his mayoi card!!)

chuuya’s gloved hand held your hand as you both strolled through the tanks. your fingers traced the outlines of the fish as they swam close. he points at an ugly fish and laughs, “it looks like you." your jaw drops because that fish was actually ugly. it was your turn to exact revenge, and you point towards a small fry fish, saying, “and that’s you." you stick your tongue out at him and his mouth twitches in amusement. talk shit get hit.

your fish and his fish swam to each other and circled in a dance. he chuckles, “maybe that’s actually us,” he watches the fish swim away, and you beamed, “we could rule the fish kingdom together!” his eyes soften when he sees your bright smile illuminated under the blue aquarium light, before he smirks again.

“yeah yeah, you don’t even know how to swim,” ouch. there’s some truth in his words, and you can only sigh. fishes are naturally good at swimming, so it wouldn’t be a problem if you guys were one.

he sends you both back home by piggybacking you and zipping through the city. you hold your shoes in one hand after a long day of walking, and you grip the shark plushie he won at the aquarium in another.

ATSUSHI — cuddling in a pillow fort

you throw a blanket over the pillow fort you and atsushi have built in the last ten minutes. he struggles to let the fairy lights stay put as he pulls them around the fort.

“get in already!” you pat the spot beside you impatiently, and he crawls in. your laptop rests on his right thigh and your left thigh, sharing a movie screen. it’s a movie marathon on a rainy day. the horror movie plays, and atsushi hides his face in your neck when a jump scare appears.

lightning flashes outside and thunder roars, sending the poor boy flinching a little. you felt bad, so you decided to call off the marathon (not even one movie in) “okay no more, we can just cuddle." you close the laptop screen, and he lays on your lap. your fingers twirl his soft hair, and he purrs softly. atsushi’s soft purring and the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops outside lull you to sleep. you lay your back against the fort gently, eyes closed and relaxed with your lover.

AKUTAGAWA — cat cafe

it took a lot of convincing for akutagawa to go on this date. he didn’t like going to a cafe with the same species and animal family as atsushi. he agreed anyway because he didn’t want to see you upset (good).

you sat on the floor and wiggled a feather toy around while akutagawa fed lickable treats. many cats surrounded him and rubbed their bodies against his thighs. a white cat that oddly resembles a tiger approaches him, and he moves the treat away.

“ryu, you’re so mean.” you clicked your tongue and fed the white cat some of your treats. “it looks like jinko.” he grumbled and stared at the cat with his void eyes. at this point atsushi is your boyfriend’s boyfriend.

akutagawa uses his ability to create a mini cat tower for the cats surrounding him. you can’t help but giggle at his helplessness when the cats jump on him. they seem like to him a lot, well, except for that one cat he denied of treats.

on your way back home, you told him he looked like a tuxedo cat. he only cocks an eyebrow at you, not questioning your weird comparison.

RANPO — dessert tasting

a flyer comes into the agency’s mail, and ranpo is already dragging you down the busy afternoon streets. “come y/n, we have to go. it’s an important mission.” his grabs your wrist tightly and enters the cafe. mission? at a cafe?

what came into the mail was a notice for a dessert tasting at a cafe before their grand opening. ranpo could already discern the flyer’s content when atsushi walked in with a bunch of letters. who in the right mind would turn down free sweet treats? obviously not ranpo.

the waitress brings out pastries after pastries, and ranpo pushes his glasses up, acting like a food critic.

“hm, these scones are not sweet enough. the texture is too chewy.” he moves on and shoves a spoonful of gelato into his mouth. “i like the gelato. it’s sweet for my liking.” he nods approvingly, and you laugh, wiping the cream off the edge of his mouth. “slow down, the greatest food critic. we’re here to enjoy the desserts too.”

“if they don’t want to lose a customer like me, then i’d better say something about their recipe before their grand opening.” he’s got a point. you doubt he’d actually frequent this cafe, though, because he only came today for free desserts. you both get ramune to cleanse your palate afterwards (not that it helps).

main menu ☆

203 notes · View notes

thewulf · 1 year

Text

Who are You? Part 2 || Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Summary: After breaking up with you lovely cheating fiancée you find a place to stay at your Aunt Penny's house in San Diego. You might just get more than you bargained for when you meet the Jake Seresin.

A/N: Hi friends! Sorry, this took longer than I wanted to, I wasn’t originally planning on doing a Part 2, so it took a bit to come up with a decent storyline. Please, as always, let me know what you think! Thanks for all the love. This is all fluff. Pure fluff! Also, you like sharks.

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Y/N

Word Count: 5,800+

Part 1

“Shark Week! Shark Week! Shark Week!” You chanted excitedly hopping on the couch next to Amelia.

“Are you seriously wearing a shark shirt Y/N?” Amelia asked peaking curiously at your Jaws shirt. You loved sharks. You always have always thought they were fascinating. You could thank your mother for that. Emily Benjamin, now Emily Y/L/N. The admiral’s other daughter was also obsessed with sharks. From an early age Admiral James Benjamin took Emily and Penny to go see the sharks at the aquarium. Your mom was quickly obsessed. The two of you always watched shark week together, very animatedly.

You wide eyed her, disappointed in Penny’s not as enthusiastic nature, “And you’re not?”

She laughed tossing the remote in your direction, “No, I didn’t know it was shark week.”

You gasped, rather dramatically, making her turn around in shock, “Amelia Benjamin! That is unacceptable.” You found the Discovery channel right before 8 o’clock hit, grinning in anticipation of learning some more about sharks.

She shrugged, “Now I know. I guess I’ll watch with you?”

“You guess? You’re sitting here until 11 with me. It’s Great White night.” You laughed softly knowing you were straight up nerding out on her.

“There’s nights for specific sharks?”

You nodded, “Only the really popular ones. My favorite, the Tiger Shark, doesn’t get as much love as they deserve. They unfortunately don’t get a night.”

“You have a favorite shark?” She smirked turning her body to you fully. Amelia knew a lot about you, she didn’t know this though. This was interesting to her.

“You don’t?”

“No.” She answered honestly, never really thinking about. See, Penny wasn’t nearly as obsessed as your mom, Emily is. She didn’t have shark week marathons rolling like your mom did.

“Wow.” You feigned hurt placing a hand over your heart, “Well it’s a great week to pick a favorite one!”

She shook her head laughing at you, “You’re precious Y/N.”

“Now,” You clicked your tongue, “A 15 year old should not be telling an almost 30 year old that they are precious.”

“Well,” She challenged you, eyeing you like she was the bigger person, “You are. I’ve never seen anyone geek out on shark week like this.”

Just as you were about to counter, Penny came through the front door. Pete in tow. Your face lit up, “You guys are home just in time for shark week!” You spoke clapping your hands with glee.

Penny smiled while Mav looked straight up confused, “Emily is that you?”

“Should I facetime her in?” The idea popped into your head.

Penny giggled, “No Y/N. Your mom will be too invested to even hold a conversation with us, no point in calling her while it’s on.” You nodded in agreement. The two of you had a system down, no talking while the show was on. But the two of you debriefed during commercials. A mother and daughter shark week combo.

“What’s going on?” Pete chimed in looking bewildered.

“It’s shark week!” You grinned up to him, not daring to move from your comfortable spot on the couch.

“Duh, Mav.” Amelia winked at him knowing how lost he was.

His eyebrows were stitched together in utter confusion, “Okay. And?”

You grumbled, “I’m not doing this again.” You frowned turning your attention back to the TV.

Amelia let out a roaring laugh, “Y/N loves sharks. Just like mom’s sister, Emily, does. Y/N here, is getting a little agitated that we all aren’t sharing the love when it comes to sharks.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to love sharks. Just means you’re opinion is wrong. I won’t hold it against any of you.” You smiled sweetly at the trio.

“Just like Emily.” Penny laughed ruffling your hair.

You spent the next three hours entranced by the Discovery channel. To your surprise all three of them stayed to watch with you. You saw the way Pete and Amelia watched, more interested than they would admit. You answered all their questions hoping they’d appreciate sharks just a little bit more.

The next morning as you got up you noticed the Discovery channel was turned on, Amelia watching eating a bowl of cereal. No sign of Penny or Pete just yet, “I knew I’d make you a shark lover!” You clapped not being able to contain your excitement.

She shook her head at you, “Actually pretty interesting.”

“Told you!” You poured your own bowl of cereal joining her on the couch again.

She shrugged, “So, it’s Saturday.” She cocked her eye waiting for you to continue.

“Yes it is, I’m glad you can read the date.” Chirping back to her you suddenly were super interested in the bowl of cereal.

She pushed you lightly, “Shut up, I’m talking about your date tonight with Jake.”

“What about it little cousin?”

“What are you guys doing?” She questioned curiously. Amelia knew of Jake. She had seen him around a a few times just knowing how he operated. Amelia knew that Jake was likely not the man you were going to spend the rest of your life with, but she hated seeing you sad over a loser who cheated on you. She was desperate to get you thinking of something else. Her solution was to push you towards the cute Naval aviator who was too smooth for his own good.

You looked down at your phone seeing his recommendations for wear he had sent you the previous night, refusing to give you details of the date. He said he had some plans and that you should dress comfortable, you’d be doing some walking. You were simply praying you weren’t going on a hike. You liked the outdoors when it came to the beach and the water. But hiking outdoors was not your best friend.

“He won’t tell me.”

She giggled, “He’s surprising you.”

“Mhmm.” You sighed, “I’m a little concerned. But he seems like a nice enough guy.”

You heard Pete make his way down from Penny’s bedroom. You ignored what you knew was going down up there, “Who? Hangman? Nice?” Pete chucked starting the coffee maker up.

You narrowed your eyes in on Pete, “He is nice, nice to me at least.”

Pete’s chuckled turned into full on laugh now. He joined you and Amelia in the living room once the coffee maker was humming, “Hangman might be the biggest asshole I’ve met. That’s saying a lot considering who I work with.”

You frowned, Amelia immediately noticing, “That’s rich coming from you Mav.” Amelia countered seeing your mood deflate at the comment.

“Ouch, Amelia. That stings.” He smiled, not realizing he had sent you reeling in your mind. Was he an asshole? He sure didn’t seem like it. Maybe that’s just the way he comes off in training. Should you go out with him? It’s only been about a month since you and Aaron called it all off. You didn’t hear the back and forth going on between Amelia and Pete, stuck in your thoughts. You were always stuck in your own mind.

“Isn’t that right Y/N?” Amelia’s question snapped you back into the present.

“What?” You turned looking to her.

She gave you a half smile seeing the confusion on your face and how such a simple comment could send you spiraling, “You’re going to have a great date with Jake tonight.” She answered you.

Your mouth ran dry. Were you? Was he just trying to sleep with you? Get into your pants? “Yeah… yeah I think so.” You faltered.

Pete could pick up on the sudden shift in the room, trying to backtrack, “All pilots are assholes though, Y/N.”

Ugh. You felt terribly uneasy all of the sudden. You didn’t think should be going on this date anymore, “Mav!” Amelia shouted at him, again breaking you from your thoughts.

“What?” He asked her looking genuinely confused.

“You’re freaking Y/N out.” She glared at him, arms crossed and all.

You hummed, “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not! You’re about to cancel on him.”

You hadn’t realized you reached for your phone subconsciously, “No.” You shook your head not being able to form coherent sentences. Penny had a reason to watch Jake closely, why were you ignoring that?

Amelia was shooting daggers at Mav now, “You can’t cancel on him, Y/N.”

You sighed putting your phone down, “Maybe it’s not the best idea.” You concluded looking at your hands in your lap.

She snatched your phone from the coffee table, “You are going on this date Y/N.”

You blinked a few times trying to get yourself to think straight, “Why are you so adamant?”

Amelia groaned, “You’ve got to get out there. You can’t let a douche bag break your heart and then hole up. Go on the date.” She smiled as kindly as she could muster putting your phone in her pocket.

“I’m going to need that Meals.” You held you hand out expecting the teenager to give it back.

“Not until you promise me you won’t cancel.”

“Fine, I won’t cancel.”

Pete watched in amusement as the two of you went back in forth, “For what it’s worth, I do think you should go Y/N.” He spoke throwing his two cents in.

“You just called him an asshole!” You countered.

He shrugged taking his eyes off the shark program, “And Penny’s going out with me.”

Amelia laughed at his quick comeback, “He’s got a point.”

You groaned getting up from your seat, “I’m going. Can you give me my phone back?”

She gave you a mischievous look shaking her head, “You’ll have to catch me first!” She sprinted right out the front door.

You gave Pete a bewildered look, “What the hell?”

He laughed seeing Amelia run around the backyard, “She’s just excited you’re around.”

“She’s crazy if she thinks I’m running to get her.”

Pete smiled, “She’ll tire herself out eventually anyway.”

“A real life Golden Retriever”

You took your time getting ready. Opting for a cute sundress and a pair of comfortable sandals. After Amelia finally gave you your phone back you confirmed you were not in fact hiking, thank goodness. Amelia helped you as well, picking out the Jake confirmed he was picking you up at 1 o’clock sharp.

You felt your heart rate pick up the pace when you glanced at your phone showing 12:55. Now or never. Penny and Pete were out back doing something with Amelia doing homework in the kitchen, always doing homework.

“Oh wow, you look really pretty Y/N. Like really pretty.” She excitedly clapped her hands together, “Mom! Come look at Y/N!”

“You look beautiful.” Penny placed her hands on both of your arms, “You look just like your mom.” She squeezed you into a hug. Pete stood there in the doorway awkwardly smiling, unsure of what to say.

All of your attention was suddenly on the door when three loud knocks rang through, “Act normal! Go away!” You shooed everybody back to their previous spots.

“Have fun Y/N.” Penny gave you another squeeze before heading back outside. Pete nodded to you and Amelia was not so discretely staring right at the door doing her ‘homework’.

You composed yourself. It’s just a boy. That’s all it really was at the end of the day. You opened the door being greeted by the most handsome man, “Right on time.” You gave him a closed mouth smile feeling awfully self-conscious all the sudden.

You couldn’t take your eyes off him, not even for a split second. You could really see why women swooned over Lieutenant Jake Seresin. He carried himself so confidently, always so seemingly sure of himself. His demeanor also sucked you right in. He didn’t even have to say a word and you were nearly breathless.

“You look,” He took a step back quickly admiring you, “downright breathtaking darling.”

You turned your head away ever so slightly having to mentally remind yourself not to fall for everything he says. He sure had the charm.

“Thank you.” Act normal. You prayed you were wearing enough makeup to cover the blush spreading across your cheeks, “You look great too.”

“Always do.” He winked holding his hand out to you. Was that a red flag? Should you even be doing this right now? You tried to shut your brain up enough to just enjoy yourself with the handsome man. What’s the worst that could happen?

You stifled a chuckle careful not to feed into his ego, “Right. So, where are we going Mr. Seresin?”

“It’s a surprise sweetheart.” He walked slightly ahead of you, beating you to the car. You bit your lip stopping the smile that inevitably spread across your face when he opened the car door for you.

“A surprise hmm?”

He nodded grinning from ear to ear, “Penny told me just how much you love them.” He emphasized.

Crinkling your nose you tuned to him, “You talked to Penny?”

He motioned for you to buckle in, not daring to move until you were secured. You obliged before he continued, “Thank you. And yes, I talked to Penny.”

You rubbed the back of your hand, “Why?”

Eyes sparkling at your confusion he couldn’t help but to chuckle at it, “I couldn’t go into a date with a pretty girl without knowing something about her.”

“Oh.” You answered quickly. Throwing your head back against the head rest lightly. How were you supposed to continue the conversation?

Smirking he squeezed your hand, dropping it all too quickly. He fired up the truck and started driving before continuing, “So, heard you’re an engineer.”

You hummed in conformation feeling suddenly so self-conscious in front of him. He was beautiful, really beautiful. His green eyes kept growing on you, constantly swimming in emotion. Every time he smiled there were those cute dimples that you always wanted to see. So far so good, he opened the car door for you and all, your fiancé never did that for you.

“What kind?” He wanted more, he needed to know more about you. You were a closed book, hardly giving any information other than the big details.

“I used to work at a plant, in manufacturing. Made vehicles. The days went by quickly and I enjoyed it. I got a new job in quality though that’s completely online. It let me come out here.”

“You’re smart.” He clicked his tongue trying to subtly complement you. He noticed you’re aversion to attention, the way you shied away from it. You didn’t like the overt attention he loved to give. He’d tone it down for you, make you comfortable.

“Sure... uh thanks.” A flush crept down your neck, why couldn’t you just act normal around him? You really never had this problem with Aaron. This was all brand new territory for you.

“Anytime beautiful.” He flashed you that beautiful smile you already craved from him. He paused the conversation focusing on getting to where he had planned.

“I think you’d have to be pretty damn brave to be a pilot.” You continued, wanting to hear his voice. Slowly falling for that southern accent.

His lips twitched forming that signature Jake smile, “Or stupid.”

“Or stupid.” You cracked up next to him, “Fearless.” You breathed out looking towards him. His eyes softened looking at you, not having much time to take you in before turning back towards to road. He grabbed your hand instead.

You were more than thrilled he was holding your hand so gingerly. He drew circles on the back of your hand with his thumb. The chills that were sent up your arm were inevitable, “Foolish.” He countered.

Shaking your head you admired his side profile, handsome, so handsome, “I thought you were supposed to be the cocky one.” You countered, almost begging to see the side of him.

He briefly looking over to you, seeing the amusement in your eyes, “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” He grinned to himself. You really were beautiful. He felt lucky to be taking you out on this date. He didn’t know what you triggered in him, but it was something.

You paused admiring the view outside. The two of you were riding along the Californian coast, it sure was beautiful out here.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He questioned seeing you seemingly deep in thought sat across the vehicle.

You turned back to him gleaming, nature recharged you, “It’s just so beautiful. I feel lucky to be here is all.” You admitted, did he know you were talking more than just about the coastline?

He nodded in understanding, “It sure is.”

The rest of the ride the two of you sat in relative silence, picking up conversation every now and then. You pulled into the San Diego Aquarium. Your eyes lit up realizing just how much your aunt divulged to him. You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face, “Aunt Penny set you up for success.” You squeezed his arm, feeling a surge of confidence.

He looked down you sweetly, loving the reaction this was getting from you, “Since I’m making you miss your favorite shows, I thought we’d come see the real thing.”

You nodded in approval, “This is cool. Thank you Jake!” You gave him a quick hug. You didn’t see the small frown when you pulled apart from him. The frown was quickly replaced by a grin as you grabbed his hand high-tailing it for the entrance.

“I didn’t realize you liked sharks so much Y/N.”

You grinned sheepishly, feeling your ears burn warmly. Hopefully the blush would just stay there and not spread to your face, “Did you know, the whale shark is the largest shark in the world? That we know of. 46 feet!” You gushed.

“I did not.” He laughed seeing the pure bliss in your expression, pulling him along into the building. You wasted no time

“My favorite is the tiger shark.” You mumbled dropping his hand when you got to the counter. That self-consciousness was creeping back up on you.

“Oh yeah?” He entertained you. Clearly, he could see how much you adored sharks, so you wanted to know more, “Why’s that?”

You perked right back up, he was seemingly interested, “They look like swimming tigers!” You grinned, “They have the coolest stripes. I don’t this aquarium will have them, they’re not from around here but they really are the coolest.” You rambled on.

This time he took your hand after you were admitted to the aquarium. You let him, of course, “Want to go see some sharks?” He asked peaking his eyebrows up curiously.

“Yes please!” It took everything in you to walk normally to the exhibit, all you wanted to do was skip your way over there. You really did feel like a little kid in a big candy shop.

Your eyes couldn’t help but to light up when you got to the exhibit, “Look! A hammerhead.” You pulled him close to the glass pointing the gentle giant out, “Did you know they’re immune to stingray barbs?”

He grinned looking down at you just from seeing the sheer joy on your face, “You have a fun fact for every shark?”

“I might.” You turned away from him hiding the blush that was setting in.

He chuckled leaning into you ever so slightly. Your eyes fluttered feeling his body heat next to you. What was it with him? Why did he put you under such a spell? The scent of his cologne was almost enough to make you want to jump on top of him, right then and there, “It’s cute.”

“Sure.” You mumbled feeling the embarrassment consuming you whole. You turned your face completely back to the exhibit, as far away from him as you could.

Jake could see you close off again. That small glimpse of you, your unadulterated joy, was exactly what he was searching for. He had a feeling you were likely teased because you loved sharks as much as you did with the way you tried to shut him out so quickly. He wouldn’t have that, couldn’t have that. Feeling like he needed to do something to show you that he was genuinely interested he shifted himself to stand right behind you. Slowly, he wrapped his hands around your torso. He leaned down to speak to you, “Is this alright?” He asked first before continuing.

You nodded not being able to find the words to answer him. He quite literally rendered you speechless. Having him this close to you was sending you mind into a panic. He was nearly on top of you, pressing himself lightly into you as he held you from behind in his arms. He smelled so damn good too. You couldn’t get enough of whatever warm and spicy cologne with a hint of vanilla that he had on, “I’m not joking Y/N. It’s adorable how much you know about sharks.” He whispered into your ear sending a violent chill down your body. He knew what he was doing, there was no way he didn’t know what he was doing to you.

Nodding your head again you bought yourself another few seconds to respond, “They’re fascinating fish.”

“They’re fish?” He sounded genuinely surprised, still so close to you. The pair of you probably looked much closer than you actually were. Jake was bold wrapping you in his arms like so. You adored it though. You weren’t the biggest physical touch person previously but there was something that was so comfortable about him. You didn’t mind holding his hand, you wanted it. You certainly didn’t mind having him hold you so closely, being sucked in by him.

“They are! They’re special though.” You turned your body around breaking the hold he had you in. He didn’t step away from you. Instead, he placed his hands around you on the handrail, your back brushing up against it. Holy shit, you hadn’t thought this one through. You were chest to chest with Jake, heart beating rather erratically.

“Why are they special?” He looked right at you, forcing you to focus back onto the conversation.

“Right, uhm.” You took a pause collecting yourself, “They don’t have bones. Just cartilage.”

“Is that so?”

You hummed feeling terribly overwhelmed. You were sure your brain was going to short circuit if he didn’t step away from you soon, “Pretty cool right?” You managed to squeak out, voice getting a bit higher as you spoke.

He could see your interest in the situation changing to being curious to overwhelmed by his proximity so he backed off as subtly as he could. Pointing to another shark to distract you he continued, dropping his hand from the railing so you could breathe, “What’s that one?”

You thanked your lucky stars that he picked up on your complete inability to form a coherent sentence when he stood that damn close to you. What was wrong with you? Was this what being interested in somebody was supposed to feel like? To feel so incredibly flustered that a conversation can’t even be held? You certainly hoped not. It would be nice to hold a conversation with the handsome man at some point.

You looked to where he was pointing, “Oh! That’s a baby Lemon Shark.” Gushing, you turned to see him watching you instead of the shark. Jake was enamored with you. How could you do this to him so quickly? He knew how quickly he was in trouble seeing you so expressive about something everybody thought of as so common. He watched you point to the different sharks spouting off all kinds of different facts about them, finding it so endearing you cared to learn so much.

“Can I ask you something?” He stopped as you started talking about how much Great White Sharks can weigh.

You stopped your rambling giving him the go ahead, “Sure.”

“Why didn’t you do something with sharks as a career? You clearly have a lot of love for them. I’m sure you care about other sea life as well.” He asked genuinely curiosity, wanting to know you.

You sighed not loving how you missed your chance from an early age to do something in the field instead of the engineering work you were doing now, “My dad is all about practicality. He always talked about how being an engineer gave him a good stable life and being a marine biologist make life tough. It was like that my whole life. I guess after hearing it for eighteen years you make the choice to become an engineer instead.” You admitted to him, probably the most information you have divulged to him yet. No, definitely the most.

He nodded reaching for your hand again. Placing your hand in his he spoke up, “You don’t sound too thrilled about it.”

“I wish I would’ve followed my own path, not my dad’s.” You paused wondering if you should continue. With the intensity he was looking at you with you decided to just let it all out, “I don’t hate being an engineer. I just… I don’t love it. It’s hard to go and do something every day that I could really care less about.”

The corners of his lips turned up slightly, “That’s why I’m a pilot.”

“I admire that.” You spoke quickly, the word vomit flying out of your mouth. You decided to clarify before he could make a silly comment, “I admire that you did what you wanted to do from an early age. You didn’t let your family convince you not to do something because of money.”

Squeezing your hand, he led you deeper into the exhibit. Finally, he was getting somewhere with you, “Well thank you darling. But I must admit, nobody was going to stop me. My parents gave up trying to tell me what to do once I got into high school.”

You giggled. This didn’t surprise you. Jake was so sure of himself, he oozed confidence. Not cockiness, just confidence. A trait that you wished you could fix in yourself.

“That’s part of the admiration. You wore them down instead of letting them wear you down.”

He looked at you with adoration in his eyes, something you hadn’t seen from your loving fiancé, “Thank you Y/N, really.”

“Anytime.” You let him lead you throughout the exhibit. You felt more comfortable the longer you were around him, opening up even more as he asked you questions. You felt all the worries of earlier start to slip away from the forefront of your mind. He certainly wasn’t the asshole Pete was describing earlier. He was the guy you spent three hours chatting with on the beach. He was so attentive and kind to you, you couldn’t possibly imagine him as Hangman. It was almost like they were two different people.

“It takes a lot to admit that.” He continued the conversation seeing as you were lost in your own head, he had to bring you back to reality.

Your shoulders deflated slightly, “I realized it my first year in a manufacturing plant. Not exactly my passion.”

“There’s plenty of time to change what you want to do.”

You looked at him incredulously, “Sure there is.”

“There is!” He stopped walking pulling you close to him again, “Don’t let time stop you.”

Biting the inside of your cheek you turned away from him. Sure, you were still young but what you wanted to do was something so dramatically different than what you were currently doing, it seemed impossible, “I’ll think about it.” You hummed knowing he wasn’t going to drop the conversation. So, you needed to end it.

“Good.” He grinned continuing the walk, “Everyone deserves to be happy. Especially the beautiful woman standing next to me.”

“Shush.” Your face flushed almost immediately after that comment.

“Never. In fact, I’m going to compliment you so much you won’t know what to do with yourself.” He stood proudly. Jake noticed quickly you weren’t good at receiving compliments. You either turned away or told him to shut up. His gut was telling him you weren’t used to receiving them all too often, having a defense mechanism ready to go. It hurt him knowing you were engaged to somebody who didn’t compliment you, such a simple thing. Jake had a hard time understanding men who would get into relationships just to bring down the woman with them. He wanted to be in a relationship with somebody he couldn’t get enough of. He wanted to shower somebody special in compliments all the time, he craved it. He just hadn’t found the right woman yet to share that with.

“That’s unnecessary.” You countered. Jake was right of course. You were tragic at receiving compliments.

“I disagree. Compliments are very necessary.”

“Are they?” You spun around from the spot you stopped to watch eyeing him.

“They are Y/N.” He returned the stare you were giving him, giving you a goofy look.

You smiled seeing how he eases any conversation, “Alright Jake. I’ll let you have this one.”

“Like I said, smart.” He winked lightning the mood a tad.

Shaking your head, you attempted to hide the stupid grin that was threatening to take over your face. There was something so special about him, you really couldn’t get enough of it, “Ha Ha. You’re funny.”

“Thank you Y/N.” He took a rather dramatic bow forcing a giggle to escape from your mouth, “And that is how you take a compliment my dear.”

“Noted Jake.” You let the stupid grin spread. He made you happy and you wanted to show him that. You couldn’t remember the last time you smiled this much. You were quickly realizing just how wrong Aaron was for you when Jake made you feel all of these things. These weird, wonderful feelings.

“Okay, my turn.” He grabbed both your hands smiling at you brightly, “You’re beautiful Y/N. Really beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful.”

Your heart immediately sped up at the compliment. Your lips parted slightly thinking of your next move. You’d normally brush it off, but he was trying. He was being so sincere you weren’t sure if you could handle the sweetness oozing off him, “Really?” Was all you could come up with. It was better than running away from it though.

“Really.” He squeezed your hands giving you the reassurance you needed.

“Thank you.” Speaking quietly your eyes looked down, not being able to look him in the eyes.

“That’s a start.” He looked at you with such fondness in his eyes. He was a soft one you concluded. Very confident but soft. He wasn’t afraid to show you his emotions. He was so unafraid he would rather make a fool out of himself to make you more comfortable.

The two of you spent the next few hours talking about anything and everything, the conversation often led back to sharks. You didn’t realize just how long you’ve been with him, the intercom let the guests know that the aquarium would be closing shortly, five PM already?

“Shall we?” He asked pointing towards the exit.

“We shall.” You nodded eyeing the sharks a few more times. You learned that it was a catch and release program that the aquarium was involved in. The aquarium would rehabilitate any hurt sharks before sending them back out into the wild. Giving you even more resolve to come and spend time here in the future.

He walked you up to Penny’s door hearing the TV going off from behind it. You stifled a giggle hearing a shark show was playing, you were going to make them big fans before long, “I had a great day, Jake”

The softness came back out, seeing his eyes down turning just a bit, “I did too, a really great day.”

All your fear seemed to vanish, he wanted it too. He didn’t seem like somebody who was simply playing with your emotions. He seemed genuine, “Want to do it again sometime? Maybe somewhere else?”

“Absolutely.” He took a step closer to you, “Can I ask you one more question before I go?”

“Shoot.” You whispered bridging the gap between the pair of you, leaving hardly any space.

“What’s your opinion on kissing on the first date?” He whispered just so you could hear it, not wanting your family on the other side of the door to hear what was going on.

Your damn heart picked up the pace again. You weren’t sure how the date was going to end but Jake’s bold moves gave you a little confidence, “I think great dates should.”

“Yeah? Was it a great date?” His eyes softened a little more completely eliminating any sense of space between the pair.

You nodded biting your lip, now or never, “It was a very great date.”

That was all the confirmation he needed. Gently, Jake placed his hands on either side of your face. He pressed his lips to yours actually short circuiting your brain this time. You kissed him back eagerly sending a smile right to his face. The kiss you shared was moving towards a full on make-out if one of you didn’t break away. You didn’t want to break away. It all felt so comfortable with him.

He decided throwing you against the outside of the house was not in his best interest albeit he wanted to. He wanted to do a lot more with you but knew he’d have to take it slow. For both of you. So, he pulled away before it got all too steamy. Cracking a smile when he saw disappointed look on your face.

Still with his hands cupping your face he continued, “Have a good night Y/N. Go learn more about sharks so you can educate me next time.” He quickly pecked your lips before dropping his hands.

“Yes sir.” You winked back to him feeling a random surge of confidence. What you didn’t know where the unholy thoughts he was thinking when you spoke to him like that. He really needed to leave before he tried something else.

You waved as he walked back to his car, admiring the view as he left. You walked into the house with three pairs of eyes trained right on you, “How’d it go?!” Amelia asked jumping up from her spot on the couch.

“Really good. Like really good.” You admitted feeling a bit frazzled from the kiss.

“Hangman’s in trouble.” Pete chimed in with a cheery voice. Penny pinched him. Pete really loved to speak out of turn.

“What he meant to say is, we’re happy for you.” Penny smiled from her spot on the couch.

“Did you kiss?” Amelia clapped running up to you, wanting to know every detail.

“Maybe.” You admitted. She squealed continuing to clap her hands. Sending you into a fit of laughter you joined in on your cousin’s happiness. The two of you began to happy dance around the bottom floor of the house.

What you didn’t know was that Jake waited for a moment to make sure you were in the house. He also heard the happy cries and saw you and Amelia jumping around the bottom floor. Shaking his head, he smiled ear to ear. Yup, he was a goner.

Part 2

Tag list: @pono-pura-vida

886 notes · View notes