#greetings from gecko | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

seoafin · 1 year

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pairing: vash the stampede x fem!reader warnings/tags: jealous insecure vash, you get hit on twice, vash's pov gets kinda depressing, takes place before and after and I know it’s hard enough to love me, stampede coded vash word count: ~4.3k

Vash the Stampede is a complete enigma to you.

In the span of the four hours you’ve been following after the blonde, you’ve witnessed him get bullied and dragged around by a group of children who had unanimously decided to tie him up for fun, help a distressed woman find her poisonous pet gecko, and frantically try to explain his startling similarities to the humanoid typhoon to a threatening group of individuals who had cornered him on the street, loaded guns in their possession.

You watched him nervously laugh off their claims until they had left, one by one. Then he breathed a large sigh of relief, before meeting your eyes with a grin and two thumbs up.

He just can’t say no.

You’re still thinking about this troubling tendency of his when you slide off the rooftop, and twist through the alleys to the bar you had seen when you and Vash had first entered the town yesterday.

This time, he’s following you. He must have run out of people to help. All the way to the bar. And when you enter through the swinging entrance, you don’t need to turn around to hear the doors swing open again, not even seconds later.

Shouts ring throughout the bar, as several patrons happily greet him with a raised mug of beer and smiles. Already, he’s grown on people.

You slide onto a barstool. “I’ll have a drink,” you say, giving the idling bartender your order. The aged man proceeds to pull several bottles from the rack hanging behind him. You look over your shoulder to see Vash sitting down at a round table behind you. When he catches your gaze, he smiles, hand already lifting in an eager half wave as his fingers curl into air.

You don’t understand how he can look so happy to see you, as if you're an old friend he’s seeing for the first time in years, every time you meet his eyes. As if you haven’t been traveling together for the last few months. You've never stayed with an individual for longer than a week or two, other than your mother, but you know for sure Vash is strange. An outlier. You don’t understand how he constantly stays happy, upbeat and optimistic. No man is that happy, upbeat and optimistic. It’s suspicious.

The acrid scent of smoke and alcohol enters your nose before anything else, and then a hulking man with a bulbous nose is sidling up close to your side, despite the empty seats next to you. You ignore him as he gives you a long look up and down. The man in front of you mixing your drink gives him a distasteful glance.

A wide, crass grin stretches his face as he licks his lips.

“Yer a pretty thing, ain’t ya?”

You stare ahead. He’s not even worth brandishing your gun for.

He frowns when you don’t respond, trying again. “Whatcha doin’ in here, in this part of town? A lil’ lady like you is going to get eaten by the wolves.” He leans in close, and his breath fans against your cheek. You don’t bother to hide your distaste when he indiscreetly adjusts his pants. “I’ve got a place downtown…”

You’re going to shoot him, you decide.

Your hand goes to your side, but before you can remove your revolver, a blur of red rushes into the sliver of space between the two of you, forcibly separating the man from you. With his back to you, Vash lifts his hands in an act of surrender. The man tries to no avail to move towards you in either direction, but Vash swiftly meets him every time before he can step towards you.

“We—”

“What’s yer deal!?” The man asks angrily, drawing Vash close, hands fisted into his shirt, teeth gritted. Vash is taller than the man, so to see him tuck his knees inwards to be level with the man would be almost comical if you weren’t so annoyed.

A high pitched laugh escapes through his teeth. “Ahaha! About that—”

“She yours or somethin’!?”

Your already short patience stretches thin.

Panic floods his face as he glances at you from the corner of his eye. “Of course n—”

“Then it’s none of yer business anyhow,” he grouses, leaning in close. “Why dontcha butt out, and that way nobody gets hurt.”

“No,” Vash says firmly, unusually solemn, all pretenses of distress fading in a blink. He grabs the man’s arm with a steady hand of his own. “I can’t.”

You step to the side, and point your gun right at the man’s temple, already cocked. The bar quiets, eyes on your standoff. In your peripheral you can see multiple hands on belts, ready for a shootout. Vash’s eyes go wide, mouth agape as he looks at you. Then your gun. Then at you.

“Put him down,” you say plainly. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“Yeah, put him down Eli!” A voice exclaims.

Others voice their agreement.

The man blinks. Then he throws his head back and uproariously laughs, fist loosening on Vash’s shirt, letting him down with a slump. “Playing with guns, little girl? Why don’t you come on over, I’ll teach you the right way—”

You aim down, and pull the trigger.

A single shot rings through the bar. The man shrieks in agony as the bullet goes through his foot, clean. You watch him jump around on one foot, holding his other foot in his hands, crying out for help as blood gets everywhere. What a mess. The bartender only shakes his head as people begin to surround the hollering man. You think he might as well kill himself now. Not a single survival instinct. The last thing he should be doing after a bullet wound is moving around like a headless lizard.

You throw a sack of coins on the bar. The drink you hadn’t even gotten and damages to the floor. You grab Vash by the hood of his red coat and drag him out the bar as he gawks at you. You drop him outside and start towards the town’s caravan stop. In a few seconds, Vash has caught up with you, side by side.

He looks troubled. Lost in thought.

“I didn’t kill him,” you say. Although you probably would have not even three months ago. That would have ensured you wouldn’t be bothered in the town again by a handsy drunk.

You don’t know why you feel the need to explain yourself. You figure you can’t keep silent when he’s looking at you like that , waiting for some kind of explanation that you would usually never entertain.

“Should I have let him all over me?” You ask tonelessly.

The snaps him back to attention. “No! It’s just…” he sounds unsure, almost uneasy. “You were just…protecting yourself.”

You wonder what kind of life he’s led. To be able to be the way he is. A pacifist, in this world. Someone who refuses to pull the trigger on his .45 long colt unless absolutely necessary.

“Not everybody gets to choose to not kill,” you reply, not as curt as you could be. “Some people don’t have a choice.” Not everybody has the strength to protect themselves without violence. Sometimes, it’s just survival. The choice between you or them. Sometimes, it wasn’t anything more than that. No hard feelings. The second your hands had touched your revolver, you had gained your footing in the world. The gun, the great equalizer. And in your hands, death.

You never had a choice. And then you did.

Vash’s face falls. “I…I see.”

You find yourself searching for words, anything at all to wipe the miserable expression on his face away. “I didn’t kill him,” you say slowly. “But I could have.”

He lifts his head, blinking. “You… could have,” he repeats.

You don’t say that had the man come any closer, if he had touched you, you would’ve put a bullet in his head, right through his brain. And then you would’ve let the animals have him.

Vash slowly regains his smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. “But you didn’t.”

Although the smile on his lips often seems more trained than instinctual, a defense tactic, you can’t deny that in the end, a smile suits his face much more.

“I can take care of myself,” you say, fixing your gaze straight ahead.

He hums. “I know.”

You sigh.

“Over here!” Tony exclaims, wildly waving at Vash for a pass.

Vash kicks the ball over, watching as the other children surround the freckled short boy, eager to steal the ball back to their side. They had divided the teams seven to three, the children citing that the team with Vash on their side had the upper hand, therefore it was only fair for the teams to be unevenly divided. Vash had no qualms with it, neither did Tony or Sonya, who had grabbed Vash by the arm (shorter frame pulling him down to her level) and declared that the next victory would be theirs.

He can’t help himself. He looks towards where you’ve been sitting by the benches in front of the town square’s fountain, watching him kick around a ball for the better half of the hour with the town kids, unmoving, except for the small curve of your lips. Vash can tell when your gaze is on him. Some eighth sense that also has him gravitating towards your orbit, unconsciously and consciously. His feet take him to you, wherever you are. Lucky for him, nowadays, he doesn’t need to walk more than a couple steps to reach you.

Usually you’d be gone, taking care of your own business while he explored the town or city, and its inhabitants, before the inevitable bounty hunter or criminal looked a bit too closely to his face, his red jacket, and made the connection. Maybe you’d stop by the sheriff’s office, flashing your identification badge, and then flip through recent wanted posters. Maybe you’d get a bite to eat. Then you’d just follow the bullets and the trail of destruction to easily meet up with him.

He never knew definitively. You had never really answered his curiosity with more than a noncommittal comment or two. It doesn’t matter now though, because now you stay with him.

The sun looks good on you. He doesn’t realize he’s staring at you until a ball hits him smack in the face and drops to the ground, leaving him with a sore, red face and a bruised nose. The kids startle to a stop, gawking at him with wide mouths. There’s silence, and then raucous laughter.

“Vash!”

“Is he okay?”

“C’mon Vash, you lost the ball!”

“It hit him in the face, did you see that?”

“That’s a foul! You did that on purpose Lock!”

“Nu-uh!”

He sees you shake your head, amused, and knows that the warmth he feels isn’t entirely from the sun.

Tony runs towards him, ball held against his chest, breathless. The blue cap he wears is askew. Vash fixes it for straight. “You alright, Vash?”

Vash runs a hand through his hair and laughs. “No harm done,” he says cheerfully. “Guess I wasn’t paying attention, sorry about that!”

Sonya looks concerned. “Don’t worry about that! It’s all Lock’s fault anyway!” She turns around, sticks a finger under her eye, pulling it down, and blows a raspberry. “You’re horrible Lock!”

The older boy returns it with a raspberry of his own, and then crosses his arms. “He should’ve been looking in the first place, instead of at his girlllllfriend!”

Sonya’s eyes are wide as he feels his face go red. He nervously tugs at the collar of his shirt. The kids gathered around him erupt into laughter again. A quick glance in your direction, and he sees the raise of your eyebrow, lips tight in suppressed laughter he wishes he was there to hear.

“Is it true?” She asks him, brown doe eyes wide. “Is she your—” her voice drops conspiratorially “— girlfriend?”

He sticks a hand in the girl’s hair and gives her a good natured ruffle as she giggles. “Something like that,” he says, despite the elation that fills his stomach, to avoid fully answering the question, as if speaking whatever fragile thing the two of you have into existence might permanently alter it.

Girlfriend.

What a mundane word for something as all consuming as the love he feels for you. He feels as if his chest might just burst with it all. But he can say that now, call you his in some way that makes him both terrified of overstepping his bounds and even more terrified of you leaving.

“Hey Vash,” Tony says, insistently tugging on the sleeve of his coat. “There’s a guy chattin’ up your girl!”

You aren’t happy. That he can see clearly. Your expression has shuttered as a man closes into you with a wide smirk, overtaking his view of you. The last thing Vash can see is your thoroughly unamused expression.

He’s not aware of his feet taking him towards you. He doesn’t think. All he sees is how the man rests a hand on the holster of the gun attached to his hip, as if flourishing it, and he’s moving.

“A good ole’ romp in the bed is what you need,” he hears the man remark vulgarly. “Promise, it’ll fix you right up.”

“No,” you reply bluntly.

His cocksure grin fades with a scowl. “Now, don’t be like that. Nobody likes stubborn broads. I’ll be sure to show you a good time.”

An arm reaches out to roughly grab you, but Vash reaches him first, the metal of his left hand wrapping around the man’s wrist, tightening. The man yelps.

Vash blinks at the noise. You stare, looking at him with your head slightly tilted to the side.

He tears his arm back so quickly it gives him whiplash. His hands are automatically raised in a show of harmlessness as he nervously laughs.

He hadn’t meant to grip him that tightly .

Unless… he had.

The man’s face is bright red in anger, looking at his left arm as if it’s the devil. “Who do you think you are!?”

Vash shifts ever so slightly to keep his arm out of view. It’s been a while since he’s been so self conscious. People asked questions, and sometimes they looked at him funny. It used to hurt his feelings, the way he was looked at as an outsider, even though he was. The rest of No Man’s Land wasn’t like the inhabitants of ship No. 3, who knew his origins. His identity as a plant.

Now it’s a constant reminder of it. Of Nai. Of their first of many confrontations a hundred years ago.

He’s not human, not like the man in front of him. Not like you.

You stand, asserting yourself into the space between him and the man. You give him a dismissive look, before grabbing him by the left hand, and turning on your heels, pulling him along. Your fingers squeeze his metallic fingers in a way that shoots sparks up his arm, right to his heart. As you drag him along the kids holler their goodbyes, and all he can do is smile, wave back, and follow. He’d follow you anywhere, he thinks, easily keeping up with your pace. To the ends of No Man’s Lands to space and back.

He wonders if you’re angry. If you’re annoyed at his intervention. He hadn’t meant to be so…forward. His body had moved before he could think.

But…you’re…you’re his now, aren’t you? You kissed him, held his face between your hands, and smiled. You don’t smile a lot, but you smile for him. He thinks that if anything, that means the most. When he told you he wasn’t human you readily accepted it, as if you had been expecting it. Then you asked him if it hurt when Nai had cut off his arm, and when he told you he hadn’t felt much of anything, really, from the shock, because he was a plant, you had frowned and told him to stop lying.

Now, the two of you sleep together. You let Vash hold you in his arms, and he tucks you into the crook of his neck, and you don’t even complain when he locks you in his embrace, even though you could. Even if you could leave. And on nights he can’t fall asleep, terrified that in the morning you’ll have been nothing but a fantasy, he counts your soft slow breaths in his neck until the sun rises, the seconds until you wake up and give him that sleepy smile he likes to think is reserved just for him.

So now Vash stands closer to you than he had ever previously dared. In larger cities with crowds, he’s right at your side in the bustle taking the brunt of the jostling as you lead the way. And when there are no locals to make conversation with, no children to entertain, he trails after you, wherever your whims take you. You like heights. Rooftops. High vantage points from where you can look down. He thinks it makes you feel safer. You’ve always been aware of his presence, even though you never used to acknowledge him. Now you do. Now you let him hold your hand, and he doesn’t feel like Vash the Stampede, whose sins stare back at him every time he catches his face in a reflection, but a man hopelessly in love.

You push him up against a wall in an abandoned alley, and he relishes in the close proximity, smiling dumbly when you lean into him. He’s not expecting you to kiss him, but it sure would be nice—

Until he remembers that you might be mad. That he had accidentally hurt that man. The yelp that had been twisted out of him. The smile promptly falls from his face.

“I—uh—”

“Are you okay?” You ask.

“Of course I am,” he says cheerily, but all he can think about is that man reaching for you, the gleam of desire in his eyes (directed towards you ), and his two whole arms (one more arm to hold you with), and there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach, a wretched miserable thing that hovers a bit too close to the surface of his face. “Just fine!”

Your eyes narrow, just imperceptibly, while you scrutinize him in silence. His gaze momentarily darts away, fleeing, and then back, to see that you’re still staring at him, eyebrows furrowed as if you’re trying your best to think of something to say. Words don’t really come easy to you. Vash thinks it’s cute, that thinking silence of yours, where he can almost see the gears in your head turning as you struggle for an empathetic response after years of curt silences and dry one worded responses.

You purse your lips, bottom lip jutting out ever slightly.

Cute.

“Liar.” You glance down at his left arm, and Vash resists the urge to hide the prosthesis behind him.

A shadow falls on your face as you look down. “Is it me?”

“No!” He blurts out. Guilt churns in his gut, and he’s not sure if it’s because he hurt that man or because he isn’t sorry. He wants to say that he didn’t mean to, but that would be another lie. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him badly. Just… enough that he’d leave you alone. That he’d stop looking at you like that as if he wasn’t there. There was already someone by your side.

“I shouldn’t have hurt him,” he says finally. He can’t help himself when he adds, a touch defensively, “But he shouldn’t have been…” Vash feels a rush of heat reach his ears from your discerning gaze. “He…” almost touched you. He would’ve yanked you up, been rough with you, and just because you’re used to it doesn’t mean that it’s okay. Sometimes, he thinks you’re too used to it. Every night he counts the scars on your body with the same tenderness you’ve afforded him, that he doesn’t deserve, and he feels his heart weigh heavier.

Vash would never forgive himself if you got harmed on his watch.

You look up at him. “He…?”

He isn’t…getting ahead of himself is he?

He loves you, and not a night goes by where he doesn’t think it. He’s loved you since the night you pulled him close and kissed him. He’s loved you since the moment he realized that the silence wasn’t so bad, so lonely, when he had someone to share it with.

He had assumed he meant as much to you as you do to him—

Your lips twitch into a small smile, and the sight stops his thoughts. You step closer and bury your face into his neck. His arms automatically wrap around you as he relaxes into your body, smiling at the ground.

“I love you,” you murmur, so soft that even his ears strain to hear it. He doesn’t even have the time to feel giddy before you pull back, reach for his neck, and bring his lips to yours.

He’s eager to reciprocate. The worry that maybe he’s holding you tightly around the waist doesn’t even strike him until a second later, but by then you’re happily exhaling into his mouth, and raking your fingernails down the back of his neck until he’s shuddering into you.

You back him against the wall without a missed beat and he happily follows. One of your hands snakes down to his prosthetic, entwining your fingers together. He gives your hand a squeeze back and when you smile against his lips, he knows that it’s the most lovely sight he’s ever seen. The first time he had ever seen you smile, it had invoked the same amazement and wonder in him as seeing Rem’s red geraniums for the first time.

But you aren’t a flower to be gazed at and plucked by curious onlookers. This smile is just for him. And Vash thinks, once again, for the fifth time in a day that hasn’t ended, that as much as he loves you, he also doesn’t deserve you.

He’ll tell you again tonight. This time, while you’re awake. Not…everything. Not enough that it could scare you away. Just enough, like how he likes gazing at you when the sun hits your bare frame in the scarce mornings the two of you have a bed, or the way your eyes light when they meet his, after a few hours apart. How it makes him feel…

Like a child again. Happy. The world at his fingertips. In the bed he and Nai would share, watching clips of some old earth movie underneath the covers. In Rem’s hugs, his arms wrapped around her neck, clinging to her tightly, as if she might disappear if he opened his eyes. The sound of her laughter in his ears. Lovely and fleeting.

Pressed against him, all the warmth of your body and lips, a breathy moan builds up in his throat as you have your way with him. As selfish as it seems, he wants more. As much as you’re willing to give. As much as he dares to take. He likes the way you say his name, especially when you’re in the throes of pleasure, when you’re looking down at him with so much love that he’s choking on his words, and his chest aches with it.

Someone giggles.

You separate, your lips enticingly spit slicked and swollen, your thumb tracing the underneath of his right eye. You like his beauty mark, have remarked on it more than once, the color of his eyes, and every other part of him that makes him flush from head to toe. He knows he’s not much to look at, but every part of him, except his burdens, belong to you. And if you can find something worthwhile to look at when you look at him other than disgust and horror, then that’s more than enough.

He lets his arms fall from your waist as you step away, and he already misses your closeness.

“Children shouldn’t be eavesdropping,” you say coolly, but not coldly. There’s a glint in your eyes as heads pop up from the crates towards the back of the alley.

“We were just making sure everything was okay!” Tony exclaims, running up to you. He grins knowingly at Vash and attempts a wink.

You raise an eyebrow.

Sonya approaches, dragging Lock with her. “ And Lock wanted apologize for hittin’ Vash in the face!”

“Wha—!?” Lock sputters, looking at the girl in betrayal. “Sonya!” He squints at the ground. “...Sorry.”

Vash kneels down. “Apology accepted,” he says softly, a smile on his lips. He’s a good kid. So are all the kids in this town. Sonya with her ever present glowing smile. Tony and his mischievous wit. The blue cap he doesn’t go without. Lock and his grudges which hide a large, genuine heart. Billy and Mary and Kirk and everyone else.

Vash is almost tempted to stay a couple more nights, but he knows he can’t. Not with Nai having been spotted to the South. Another plant stolen, more fatal casualties. He has to leave before there are more. If he were a better person, he’d leave you behind. He stares at the ground.

He briefly feels the weight of your gaze. You gather the kids’ attention.

“You kids hungry?”

Tony and Sonya and Lock perk up.

“I am!” Tony says.

“You’re always hungry!” Sonya scowls.

“Are you the one with the money?” Lock asks. “Cuz’ Vash is broke.”

That draws a huff of laughter from you as Vash smiles sheepishly, pushing the worries plaguing his mind away for now. Until night falls upon No Man’s Land, and you’re peacefully sleeping in his arms. That’s when he’ll worry about whether or not he deserves to be happy with you.

Sonya reaches up to grab your hand with a big smile. You glance at him.

“Any good pizza places around here?”

#vash the stampede x reader #vash x reader #trigun stampede x reader #trigun x reader #m.trigun #safe house

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thebigolbee · 1 year

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“Goodneighbor’s of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone’s welcome.”

It was such an honor to be a part of the Fallout Ghoul Zine Vol. 2: Greetings From Gecko! This sticker sheet will be available in the souvenir package along with other awesome pieces!

Pre-orders for the incredible zines and merch are open now until April 25th! Head on over https://falloutghoulzine.carrd.co to secure your order!

You can also keep track of updates by following @falloutghoulzine as well as their other social media outlets.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fallout 4 #fallout 3 #fallout ghouls #fallout ghoul #fallout companions #hancock fallout 4 #hancock fallout #john hancock #Fallout Ghoul Zine #fan zine #my art #thank you again for the opportunity!

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clockwayswrites · 11 months

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Little Living Bones Part 2

Part 1 WC: 816 CW: necromancy

As soon as he could stand, Danny scrambled back to the teleportation sigil he had scratched into the dirt when he first arrived in Madagascar. He was always sure to have an out, and he really needed one right then. The tiny skeleton was clutched against his chest. Danny could feel the thin rib bones moving as if the little creature was breathing.

Somehow he made it back through the winding streets to the hotel he was staying at. He locked the door, set the skeleton on the tiny desk that was shoved under the window, and backed up as far as he could in the shoebox of a room.

“Okay,” Danny whispered, his voice mostly lost in the hum of the window unit. His eyes were locked with the hallow skull of the little gecko. “So you’re alive now. Again. You’re alive again.”

The gecko tilted it’s head. Their head? They were alive now, they weren’t a thing anymore.

“You’re alive and I did that. Okay, right.” His hands were shaking. When did he start shaking so badly? “That’s… alright. Guess you’re my responsibility now? Good thing you don’t need to eat, I have enough trouble feeding myself.”

His laugh was stilted in heavy humidity of the air. Danny could feel the nerves bubbling up under the sound, threating to turn it hysterical if only he could get any air in his lungs. When had he stopped being able to breath?

Danny sat down hard on the ground, tucked between the edge of the bed and the wall. When Danny had managed to get his breathing back under control and uncurled, he found himself face to skull with the little gecko. Impossibly, the little one looked worried.

Exhausted, Danny rested his head on his knees. “I guess I’m not being fair to you. Here I brought you back to life and I’ve just been ignoring you. I’m sorry little one.”

The little lizard moved in such a way that their bones gave a little rattle. It was kind of a pleasant sound. Danny smiled, just a little, and reached out to run a finger over the skull.

“I don’t know if you’ll, um, last—” though the idea of lizard falling apart to death again made Danny’s breath hitch again “—but even if you’re only around for a little, I guess you should have a name.”

Carefully, he picked up the skeleton and set them on his shoulder. Danny stumbled as he pulled himself up off the ground. “And I guess I should have some water.”

He pulled his dinged metal waterbottle out the side pocket of his rucksack before rooting around in the front one for his notebook. Settling on the rickety chair at the tiny desk, Danny found a blank page to write on. He tapped his pencil against the paper a few times before he he started to just list any name that came to mind.

By the time he had managed to fill most of the page with names and was just scribbling idle lines in the bottom corner, Danny was feeling frustrated. None of the names felt right. He had tried names from all over his travels, but nothing was clicking.

“Well, what name do you like?” Danny asked the gecko, who had crawled down to sit on the desk during the process.

The little thing tilted their head.

“Names, which do you like?” Danny asked again, tapping the paper.

The gecko watched the finger for a moment before waddling over and flopping down on the overlapping curves Danny had doodled in the corner.

Danny gave a tired sigh. “Sure, why not.”

A few months later, Danny stepped out of an alley and onto the streets of Paris. He had to consult his half legible note a few times to get to the set meeting place. The hunched, trench coat shrouded form of Constantine was easy to pick out where he was slightly tucked back in a different alleyway.

“Hey, Constantine,” Danny called out as soon as he was close enough not to draw too much other attention. The crowd was sparse, but there were still people milling about even at the late hour.

Constantine turned to greet Danny and froze— going still in a way that for the man was downright creepy. It made Danny’s hackles go up.

“What?” What was that look for? He was clean and fed and had even splurged and gotten his coat dry cleaned before meeting up with Constantine. So what if he’d been alone for several months now.

He’s fine.

He has a pet now.

“Kid,” John said slowly.

Oh, John wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were fixed on the lapels of Danny’s coat and who must be peaking out of it.

“What the hell is that, kid?”

“This is Squiggles, they/them. Constantine, Squiggles. Squiggles, Constantine. No biting, either of you.”

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AN: And things completes this little fic: the origins of Squiggles the Undead Gecko! And proof that Danny is a necromancer? Maybe, maybe not. This will probably by the second fic in the story, the first being done by Moku and and explaining how Danny met Constantine! You can find her first part of that in the masterpost.

Stay delightful, darlings!

Please remember that I'm no longer tagging people due to the shadow ban! If you go to the master post, you can subscribe there for update notifications!

#salt in the bones #little living bones #squiggles the undead gecko #dp x dc

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theyhavetakenovermylife · 4 months

Note

To my Favorite person,

Would it be okay to make some more muntant mayhem ones? I love the one you made! Amazing content like always! <3

Family In The Sewer (Fluff)

MM!Donatello x reader

A/N: I’m your favorite person? You’re so cute and thank you😭💚 Hope you’re ready for some Donnie time💜

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You’re finally meeting your boyfriend’s big family, who just happens to live in the sewer.

Warnings: Family cuteness💜 and maybe some spelling. I was a little tired heh

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New York City was buzzing with activity on a usual Wednesday, as Donatello led you through the crowded streets, his hand intertwined with yours. The two of you had just left your favorite pizza place, and were now making your way to the sewer Donatello called home.

You couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Today was finally the day you were going to meet Donnie's family. You had met his brothers during school, and even been out bowling with them, but you had never met the rest of the big family.

It was no secret that Donnie had been nervous about it. His family was nothing like yours. Your family was small compared to his, and only made up of humans. All though it had been a bit strange bringing a mutant turtle home for your parents to meet, it had been a somewhat normal get together, with dinner and your family asking Donnie all sorts of questions. But Donnie’s family was quite a bit different. Only consisting of mutants, being him and his brothers were the only turtles. He had told you about them. His rat father and his cockroach stepmother, and her many siblings that now lived with them.

You followed Donnie down into the sewer, finding the whole experience fascinating. You had never been at his place, mainly being that it was located in the sewers, and he had told you it was cramped with his family there. Therefore it wasn’t uncommon for Donnie to spend the night at your place. There he could do his homework and get some peace, without having to listen to Ray Fillet’s singing, Mikey and Mondo Gecko’s skateboards, Bebop and Rocksteady’s booming voices, or whatever Splinter and Scumbug told each other in their secret language.

With a deep breath, you followed him down into the sewers and through the winding tunnels until you reached the home of the mutant family. The moment you stepped into the entrance, you were greeted by the familiar face of Leonardo.

“Oh! Hey Donnie! Hey (Y/N)!”, he greeted, jumping on one leg as he was getting his shoes on.

“Hey Leo”, you greeted.

“Where are you going?”, Donnie asked, watching his oldest brother as he finally got the shoe one.

“Nowhere”, Leo answered, standing like a deer caught in the headlights.

“April asked you to help her with her new story, didn’t she?”, Donnie said with a sly smile.

“Maaaaaaybe”, Leo said, moving further and further to the exit. “Anyway, see you later. Bye!”

“He’s still not over that prom thing, is he?”, you asked your boyfriend, watching Leo leave the lair in a hurry.

“Nope”, Donnie answered, before guiding you further into his home.

To say that the lair was cramped was an understatement. There was not a surface where a mutant wasn't doing some sort of activity. Who you guessed was Mondo Gecko was skating in the hallway-like tunnel with Mikey, while Genghis Frog was filming them. They greeted you with a small hello, letting you and Donnie pass before continuing what they were doing.

The moment you stepped into the main area, you were almost tumbled by Leatherhead and Wingnut, as they were hurrying to the computer desk. They shouted apologies at you and Donnie, before fighting over who got to play on the computer first.

Ray Fillet sat in the corner, singing and writing down whatever song lyrics he could think of. Splinter and Scumbug was in the kitchen area, cooking together what you guessed was dinner, while Raph, Bebop and Rocksteady sat at the table playing card games.

Bebop and Rocksteady looked up from their game of cards, to see you and Donnie walk in together, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, well, well! Look who's brought a date to the party!" Bebop exclaimed, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, forgetting about his cards long enough for Raph to get a quick look at them.

Rocksteady nudged him with his elbow, "A date, huh? Donnie, you sly turtle! When were you planning on telling us about this?"

Donatello rolled his eyes. "Guys, I’ve already told you about this. This is (Y/N), my girlfriend, you know, the girlfriend I told you I would bring over for dinner today".

Bebop and Rocksteady exchanged amused glances, and Bebop waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Donnie's got a girlfriend! Who would've thought? Our little tech genius is all grown up."

Rocksteady chuckled, "Yeah, and he even knows how to use those smooth lines. You've been holding out on us, Donnie."

You couldn't help but laugh at their good-natured teasing, turning to look at your boyfriend. Donnie shot them both a mock glare, his cheeks tinged with a hint of embarrassment.

"Come on, guys. Give it a rest," Donnie said, tightening an arm around you.

“Did I hear someone say girlfriend?”, a friendly voice sounded from the kitchen area. You turned to see the mutant rat you’ve heard so much about, walk to you and Donnie, wiping his hands in a kitchen cloth.

“Hey, dad”, Donnie smiled at the old rat, before letting himself be pulled in for a heartfelt hug.

Splinter gave his son a smile, before turning towards you, grabbing your hands to shake them. "Welcome, (Y/N). It is a pleasure to finally meet you!", he said, shaking your hand with so much enthusiasm you feared your arm would fall off.

"Likewise, Splinter," you replied, feeling a bit more at ease, even if your shoulder was about to pop. “I’ve heard so much about you”.

“And so have I about you”, the rat smiled, finally letting go of your hand. But just as you thought you finally could keep your hand for yourself, Scumbug came and shook it, letting out a string of sounds you did not understand. “She said you have pretty eyes”, Splinter translated. “But that you’re too thin. Donnie! Don’t you feed your girlfriend?”

“Dad!”, Donnie exclaimed, feeling his face get hot.

“Haha, don’t worry my son. We’re just kidding”, Splinter said. “But call your brother, and ask him if he eats at April’s or comes home from dinner”.

—

Dinner was a lively affair, with everyone sharing stories and laughter. Mondo Gecko and Mikey shared their latest skateboarding escapades, and Leatherhead and Wingnut entertained everyone with their tales of adventures on their computer. Raph revealed that he had already won against Bebop and Rocksteady three times before you came to the lair.

And then came all the questions. Ray Fillet wanted to know how long you and Donnie had been together, while Genghis Frog wanted to know who asked who first. All of it prompted Scumbug to say something, that Splinter translated to a remark about how the boys were getting older, causing Donnie to remind her that she had only known for a few months.

As the night progressed, you found yourself getting to know each member of the mutant family a little better. Donnie was right - it was a tight fit amongst them all, but you couldn’t deny the coziness of it all. Sure, it was a strange group of mutants, all finding their home together in the sewer, but it was nice. Strange but nice. Way more noise, but comfortable. You understood why Donnie sought out you and your place for peace and quiet, but you also understood why he didn’t like to stay away from home for too long. His family was a lovely quirky bounce, each with their own lovely personality that you couldn’t help but admire.

—

As you prepared to leave with Donnie there to walk you home, Splinter approached you with a kind smile, before bringing you in for a quick goodbye.

"It was great to finally meet you, (Y/N)", he said. “It is great to know there are good humans out there to take care of my sons, and I’m happy you are one of them”.

You nodded and thanked him, grateful for the wise rat's words. And with a final round of goodbyes, you and Donnie made your way back to the surface, hand in hand.

As you emerged into the night air, Donnie looked at you with a grin. "So, what do you think?", he asked, tucking the hood of his hoodie closer around his face to shield him from the cold night air.

You chuckled. "They're amazing, Donnie. Strange but amazing".

“That’s good”, Donnie said with a smile as he swung your entwined hands back and furth, as you continued down the street. “Because my dad has already asked about when he and Scumbug can meet your parents”.

“Your dad is ready for all the big things, huh?”, you laughed, finding the thought of the mutant rat and cockroach at your parents dinner table slightly amusing.

“I like to think that he’s happy that we’re making progress in the human world”, Donnie said, referring to him and his brothers. “Besides, he might as well get ready for the things he knows will happen”. He let go of your hand to pull you closer against him, causing you to giggle.

“Is that your way of saying that I’m invited back for dinner again another day?”, you asked, feeling your cheeks getting hot.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying”, Donnie smiled, before placing a sweet kiss on your blushing cheek.

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sarsaparilla-star · 11 months

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AYYY heres my piece for @falloutghoulzine !! it was a lot of fun to do the cover for greetings from gecko, and i had a blast working alongside some really talented people!!

extras are on sale from the 12th to the 26th june for anybody interested, and be sure to check out everyones hard work <3

#fallout #fallout art #sarsaparilla art #fallout zine #OUUGHGHGH YEAAA #hugs kisses and well wishes #god i love ghouls #hancock #charon #raul tejada

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lovekz · 6 months

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turn up friday

syn -> it’s rindou’s birthday, and you make sure he smiles at least twice today

warnings : slight angst to fluff, rindou is a birthday princess, ran is a travel model, a bit of dark humor, rindou and ran have a leopard gecko named freya, a bit suggestive

note : happy birthday to rindou! ts is so late and short tho i swear

the clock hit twelve, signaling the beginning of a new day.

a very special day.

it was now rindou’s birthday, and he was sitting at his kitchen counter.

in silence.

for the first time in years, rindou has gone into his birthday in an empty home.

no friends to come see him, no brother to smash five different cakes in his face.

nothing.

but him and his lizard.

freya, her name was.

it was a gift from him to ran for his birthday, but he gave it back when he would go overseas.

so freya was with him 90% of the time.

rindou sighed quietly in frustration, lifting himself to his feet and making his way to his room.

humming the tune to ‘happy birthday’ with freya’s fast little legs chasing behind.

before he could make it his doorbell rang about 5 times at once.

rindou pauses in his steps, before resting his hand on the floor.

freya climbs up his arm and rests on his shoulder.

he walks to the front door and opens it, eyes widening immediately.

“happy birthday!” you practically scream, holding dozens of bags.

and that was so you.

screaming when everyone was well into their beds asleep.

it only happened when you were really excited to see your boyfriend though.

rindou couldn’t even stop his smile.

“what are you doing out so late by yourself? come in.” rindou says, tugging you in.

not hard enough for freya to fly off his shoulder.

you place the bags down onto the counter, refusing to let rindou touch any of them.

it was his birthday, you didn’t mind doing the work for once.

“I can’t let you be by yourself in your birthday, honey. it’s bad enough you went into it by yourself.” you sighed, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

rindou’s heart swoons immediately at your words.

he knew you probably rushed over here to come greet him on his birthday.

“now let’s go to bed. we can open these tomorrow.” you insisted, taking freya from him and guiding him to his room.

he couldn’t wait to see what you had in store

and it was exactly how he wanted to spend it.

you make him breakfast first thing in the morning, pancakes and hashbrowns.

he wasn't a big breakfast person, but that was more than enough to give him a big smile for the day.

then the two of you sat on the couch, opening all of his gifts.

you got him new cologne, one of his favorite albums on a vinyl, a snack basket, and a new video game.

he also received other gifts from his friends and his brother in the form of text messages (and cashapp).

raaan sent $200 : srry i cant make it :( happy birthday you shit

shionneedsmoney sent $1.72 : treat urself 2 smth nice bday princess

izanakok sent $50 : ty for not kys, check ur emails (he pre-ordered the new spider-man 2 for him)

kakuchopp sent $2 : you can get the rest when i get paid, happy birthday rindou.

kakuchopp sent $98.23 : nvm js take my bank account i feel bad

rindou was happy from all the gifts he received from his friends, also receiving gifts in the mail and people dropping things off.

now the sun was getting ready to go down, and the two of you pushed the cushions together to create a big bed.

rindou was scrolling through netflix, trying to figure out what he wanted to watch while you ordered food.

you apologized for not being able to get him a cake, but he really didn't care.

you were right next to him in his arms, nothing else mattered.

unless you were offering yourself as the cake, in which he would never refuse that.

now the two of you were about ten minutes into peppermint, holding hands under the fluffy pink blanket you left here.

rindou goes to open his mouth to say something, but gets interrupted by a door being thrown open.

the front door.

"honey i'm home!" ran yelled, holding a pastel blue two tiered cake.

rindou shoots up out of his seat, eyes wide as he stares his brother down in shock.

freya gets scared from this, and ducks under your blanket and in between your hands.

rindou launches himself over the couch and ran immediately places the cake onto the table.

the brothers share a tight hug, rindou crying in his arms.

his big brother was here in the flesh, right in front of him, for his birthday.

kakucho and shion walk in, holding bags of food in their hands.

everyone frees their hands and gets up to hug him, even shion who was recording.

he truly felt blessed.

- bonus -

ran laid out the cakes that he bought with him, a cheeky grin on his face.

you giggled, standing next to him.

rindou was in the bathroom, getting ready for the photo shoot ran promised him.

“everybody grab one.” ran ordered quietly, grabbing the blue cake.

you grab the yellow one, kakucho grabs the green one, and shion grabs the red one.

rindou walks out of the bathroom, fixing the white shirt he had on with white suit pants.

rindou looks to his left, and ran is already smashing the blue cake into his face.

not hard enough to make it hurt though.

everyone follows behind, smashing cake into his face with big grins and cheeky giggles.

when you all finished, you screamed happy birthday at the top of your lungs.

rindou rolls his eyes, licking the icing off the corner of his lip. he should've anticipated this.

"okay lets do your photo shoot, and then clean up. drinks on me!" ran yells, holding a bottle of wrap & nephew and hennesy.

now that was rindou's type of party.

he can beat ran up later, right now it was his birthday and he was with his favorite people.

people who would do anything for him.

rindou's pics came out something like these -> link link link

#tokyo revengers #tokyo rev x you #ran haitani #rindou haitani #rindou x reader #tokyo revengers ran #tokyo revengers rindou #long hair ran #tokyo rev x reader #kakucho #madarame shion

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plasma-packin-mama · 11 months

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Eek! I just got my copy of @falloutghoulzine !! Everything looks so phenomenal it's so exciting to see everybody's hard work in person 😭😭

Extras will be on sale from the 12-26th, if you want to grab a copy that's gonna be your chance!!! There's limited quantities so hop on it if you're interested :D

#irl pic jumpscare sorry besties #greetings from gecko #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout new vegas #fnv #fallout 3 #fo3 #im sorry im tag spamming bc the zine is so gorgeous and everyone worked so hard!!!!#fallout

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kedreeva · 4 months

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And a kindness? I have a coworker who is very stern. I was afraid of her at first, but she's got no time for people who won't stick around. I wasn't sure if she was just reserved or grumpy, until I saw her grandkids come in and she softens so much. Very reserved. However, for all her taciturn ways... she spent over half an hour reading the interior messages of greeting cards to a customer who couldn't read but wanted to find one for his sister. I happened to walk past and she seemed pretty embarrassed - but it turns out? She struggles to read too. (She told me later, when explaining what they were doing to another coworker who was curious.) But she stood there with him, reading card after card. It was absolutely not her job, however probably the most gentle thing I've seen someone do in a long time.

That's so sweet!!

Your good news from 2023:

Nearly 1000 new species of animals were discovered, including a new bent-toed gecko, fourteen new metallic wasps named after Dr. Who characters, twenty new sea slugs, and a new and notably SILENT, spiny-throated reed frog!

#frogs #news #good news #asks #nye game

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illuminatemyskies · 11 months

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Fallout 4 Zine Contribution Release

It's that time!! I hope everyone got in their preorders for the Fallout Ghoul Zine Vol. 2!!

Here is the link to The Wind That Shakes the Bough; a Daisy "biopic", so to speak, about what might happen if she decided to find some answers about her husband, a man MIA during the Great War.

We do still have our Extras Sale to look forward to on June 12th at Noon CT/1pm EST!!

More information on the extras and how to buy them HERE!!

#fallout #fallout 4 #fallout ghoul zine #greetings from gecko #fanfic #my writing

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honeybeezgobzzzzz · 5 months

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🗡️ Something Dread, Something Red: Chapter Three

Something Dread, Something Red: Stuck in a proposal to a Marine Commodore, you escape minutes before your wedding in one last ditch effort to avoid getting married to a tyrant. Barely making it to the port of your town, you stumble across a ship just starting to leave and beg for passage off the island. You fail to notice that the people you beg for help, are pirates.

Warnings: Domestic Violence.

To Note: “Red Haired” Shanks x FemReader

Word Count: ~2.8k

Previous | Masterlist | Next

5 years prior

The lilac dress you wore flowed around your carefully crafted body in effortless waves. It was made from a chiffon fabric you had begged your mother for nearly six months to have. Your usual attire consisted of heavy satin and lace and for your eighteenth birthday, you just wanted to be happy and light for once. It had taken much convincing, but eventually your mother had caved. She needed you to be happy and was willing to give you this one. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t gone all out on you chiffon lavender dress.

The color matched your hair perfectly, the stitching was made from the best silver thread Berry could buy, and the ribbon wrapping your waist came from a silk farm known to be the best in all the Blues. You thought it was too much for just a simple birthday, but your mother did what she wanted. Events like this gave you time to yourself because she was far too busy to monitor your every move.

So you were currently sneaking off to the library to get some reading time in. Your mother always berated you on your habit of keeping your nose in a book, telling you that ladies don’t read, they play music and host tea parties and other social events. While you had been trained in such things, you didn’t find the same pleasure in them as you did with reading. There was something about hosting tea parties and socials with the older noble population whom you were not friends with. You didn’t have any friends became your mother didn’t allow you any.

“So controlling,” You muttered to yourself, pushing the door to the great Bonn family library. There was every kind of book you could want in this library, your father was a collector of sorts. With his connections in the merchant guild he often made trade deals involving rare books and encyclopedias. Venturing to the nearest aisle, you ran your fingers over leather-bound book spines. “What should I read this time? It is my birthday so maybe something special…”

You further wandered, heading in the direction of the books that your mother disapproved of you reading. It was mostly books on sea navigation, sailing, and ship building. All information your mother deemed irrelevant in your education. Reaching a section that held a multitude of maps your father was fond of reviewing to find more ports to add to the Bonn empire, you picked up a few scrolls and curiously looked at them.

One of the maps was of the Gecko Islands, Syrup Village was circled and the familiar scrawls of your father’s handwriting dotted the area around it. From the brief glances you had gotten of documents and the conversations you’d overheard, Syrup Village was where all the ships in the Bonn Chestnut Trade Company came from. The ships were well built and lasted through the weather of every Blue they crossed. Abandoning the maps, you picked up a random book and opened it. You were greeted with words and depictions of the construction of a lace factory. You closed that book while making a face and returned it to its place on the shelf.

“Rather not,” You commented, moving on in hopes of a more interesting book to read. A few more minutes of wandering and you found a book that certainly piqued your interest. It was a book on the politics of the marines, and more specifically, pirates. Your eyebrows rose in interest and you plucked it from the shelf.

You’d never really been informed about pirates, your mother called them scum and your father claimed that they were bad for business and nothing but conniving scoundrels. So you grew up knowing next to nothing about pirates. Walking towards the sitting area within the library, you opened the book to a random page which held a long list of pirates the marines were keeping track of at the time of the print. The main name that stood out, and that was at the top of the list, was Gol D. Rodger. But the little symbol next to his name was clearly a mark of death.

“He certainly appears to be important,” You murmured to yourself, looking further down the list of names. You didn’t recognize any of them, not that you were well informed, but still, your mother got the paper every morning and tutted over the news. You occasionally picked up the same names repeated over and over throughout the years. Pausing in step, you turned the page and just caught the words ‘Warlords’ and Emperor’s’, when footsteps had you on high alert. You snapped the book shut and held it behind you as your father appeared, a parchment in hand. He paused in step upon seeing you.

“Linaria, your mother is looking for you,” He spoke before eyeing the hands you held behind your back. The book now seemed like it was made of lead. “Can I presume that the book you were hiding is not one your mother would approve of?”

“It’s just a book,” You argued, arms dropping to your sides. “How exactly is that dangerous to me?”

“Your mother’s decision is your mother’s decision, Linaria,” Your father said, not question his wife’s authority when it came to your upbringing. “Hand it over, your mother is expecting you in the tea room.” With a grudging sigh, you did as he asked and headed for the exit. Your mother was waiting for you in the tea room? Last you knew, there weren’t any events on this day that involved the tea room. Perhaps she had added an extra item to the agenda. At least you could have your favorite tea since it was your birthday.

Walking swiftly towards the tea parlor, you breezed by several maids and butlers that curtsied and bowed to you as you passed. Before entering the tea parlor, you paused to collect yourself. Then, taking a deep breath and straitening your posture, you entered the room. Your mother was sitting on one of the couches, tea cup in hand.

“Father said you were looking for me, mother?” You softly spoke, for ladies never raised their voices. She didn’t turn her head to look at you.

“We have a guest, Linaria,” A guest? Your eyes followed your mother’s gaze to see a marine sitting on the couch opposite to your mother. What was a marine doing at the manor? And one so high ranking! “Greet our guest,” Your mother hissed to you. You cleared your throat and turned to the marine.

“Forgive me for not doing so earlier, I am Linaria, welcome to the manor,” you greeted like the perfect daughter your mother wanted you to be.

“Thomas Collins, my fair lady, Commodore of the Marines on Kuri Island.” The man, Thomas, answered. “May I offer you a happy birthday? Your mother has sang praises of you and is very excited of this cornerstone in your life.” Your mother was telling praises of you? A shocking thought as she had been nothing but critical of you as of late, but this wasn’t a time you could question her motives. Thomas rose from his seat and strode over to you, his figure towering over your small frame.

“Oh, thank you, I am very excited to see where my life takes me,” You told him, your fingers coming together in front of you and winding together in a nervous habit.

“It would be rude of me to drop by without a gift for such a lovely young woman, and took it upon myself to prepare something I thought would be fitting for a woman as beautiful as you.” Thomas continued, reaching into his coat and pulling out a slim box.

“Oh, sir, you didn’t need to prepare such a thing,” You said, almost stuttering over your words in surprise. You could feel your mother’s eyes glaring daggers into you for even thinking of refusing such a thing. Nonetheless you took the slim box from gloved fingers.

“You are to be the next Lady of the Bonn Chestnut Trade Company, I think you are deserving of your first piece of jewelry.” You opened the box to reveal a delicate bracelet with flowers and gems that sparkled. It really was a lovely piece, if the flowers hadn’t been roses. You forced your face into one of happiness and thanked him.

“It is absolutely beautiful, thank you for picking such a wondrous piece,” You replied in faux happiness, fluttering your eyelashes and plastering a smile you’d perfected over the years. He looked pleased, very pleased by your reaction and gestured towards the bracelet.

“May I?” He pressed, you of course relented, allowing the strange Commodore to carefully wrap the beautiful bracelet around your wrist. Not much was said after that, as the Thomas indicated that he had to return to duty and bid his farewell. You didn’t dare speak until you were sure that he was long gone.

“Mother, who was that and why was he here?” You questioned, turning to your mother still sipping tea. She sighed and lowered the tea to the table in front of her before rising from her seat. Striding over to you, her cold eyes scanned you.

“That was Commodore Thomas Collins, he is in charge of the marine base on Kuri Island and the surrounding archipelago.” She informed you, mouth pressed in a tight line. “And you are to be his bride.”

“Bride,” You repeated incredulously, thinking for a moment that you had misheard her. “Mother what are you speaking of, I do not remember him proposing to me!”

“Of course not you silly girl, it is an arranged marriage to ensure the success and power of our family and business.” Your jaw nearly dropped open.

“You can’t just make decisions about my life like that,” You exclaimed, your voice raised and eyes flashing in anger. “I’m not going to marry a man I don’t know and certainly not because you tell me to!”

Your head was whipping to the side and you were taking a stumbling step backwards before you even knew what happened. Rising a hand to your stinging cheek, you let out gasp at the sharp pain radiating across your face. You looked at your mother, eyes filled with hurt and anger. She pointed her finger at you.

“You are to do exactly as I tell you Linaria.” Your mother growled to you, seizing your chin and forcing you to look in her cold eyes. “And that means you will marry.”

Present Day

Sitting on one of the stacked crates, you stared at the little bracelet hanging from your wrist while feeling sick from just looking at it. Your other hand reached for the delicate chain and you harshly pulled on what felt like a shackle until it snapped. Then you threw it as hard as you could over the side of the ship you had escaped Kuri Island on. Your wrist hurt from the metal digging into your skin, but at the same time you felt like a huge weight had been lifted from your shoulders.

The ship gently rocked as it sailed, but you found the sway almost comforting while you held yourself and looked out across the water. This was the farthest you’d ever been from your home and the salt air was an entirely new experience. Turning your head away from the pristine waters, you found several of the men staring at you. Right, you begged your way onto this ship, might as well compensate them for the trouble. So you reached back and undid the clasp to your neck, and held it out.

“Compensation,” You spoke, offering the glimmering jewelry piece to them. “It’s worth a lot, that I know.”

“We don’t want your jewelry, madam,” The red haired captain, the one who’d effortlessly tossed over his shoulder and carried you away, spoke. You were pretty sure the others had been calling him Shanks. “But we would like to know what had you fleeing from your own wedding.”

“It was arranged,” You answered, chewing on your lip and twisting your hands together. “I didn’t get a say in it, mother organized the whole thing to ensure the family business would remain successful and in power.”

“You must be a Bonn then,” Shanks commented, thinking over who had the most power on Kuri Island. The Bonn’s. “Who’d she want you to marry?”

“The Commodore,” Several of the pirates let out whistles and shook their heads.

“Don’t blame ya’ for runnin’,” One even commented. “That is one crooked marine.” You rubbed your tired eyes and sighed.

“I do not wish for you to get wrapped up in my personal business, you can drop me off at the next island. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

“You are hardly a burden,” Shanks corrected you, eyes scanning your figure more thoroughly now that you weren’t trembling violently from fear. It was clear that you’d been running for a while when you approach him, but now he could see little nicks and cuts on your skin and smell the metallic tang of blood clinging to your body. “I think you’ve had a long day, you could do for some rest.”

“It’s not even half past ten,” His eyebrow rose at you and he nodded his chin.

“And you might look the picture of perfection, but even I can tell that you are exhausted. We shall talk more of this tonight, in the mean time you should get some rest and get out of that dress, it’s very…” Shanks struggled to come up with a word to describe someone as beautiful as you, ye so out of place.

“Ostentatious?” You offered lightly. “You should have seen me with the train. My mother tried to drown me in lace.” Your light jab at your own outfit brought out a couple chuckles and the men were glad to see the brief smile upon your face. It was much preferred to your distress.

Shanks had directed you to his own room, for it was the best furnished for a lady such as yourself and you could have privacy there. After changing out of your dress you could get some much needed sleep and then finally the full picture of the woman he’d helped could be rendered. So as you clutched your arms to your chest and looked around the cabin in curiosity, Shanks dug through a chest of spare clothing to find something your size.

You knew he was the captain, but he didn’t stand up to the stereotype you had pictured in your head about what a captain was supposed to be like. The space was sparsely furnished but was homely. Maps, artworks, and a few weapons you had never seen before dotted the walls, and the quilt thrown over the hanging bed in the corner looked handmade and well used. For some reason, the sight of a threadbare and well used homemade quilt comforted you.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much but spare tunics and pants,” Shanks spoke, taking the clothes from his trunk and turning around. He paused in place, staring at the dirt riddled and crusty wound on your shoulder. He’d been so shocked by your appearance and beauty he’d overlooked something so critical. “We need to take care of that,”

“Take care of what?” You questioned, half turning in place with a quizzical look on your face. Shanks set the clothes on a nearby table and nodded to your shoulder.

“You have quite the nasty wound on your shoulder, madam,” Shanks spoke while inspecting torn skin littered with dirt, rocks, and grass. “You must have been running on adrenaline to not be feeling this.”

“I was in a hurry,” You meekly spoke, trying not to shiver as soft and gentle fingers prodded broken skin.

“I can imagine,” He replied, brows scrunching together. “I don’t think you need stitches, it’s not to deep. But you are going to need it cleaned before it get’s infected.”

“Very well,” You sighed. “Thank you for informing me I will take care of that.” Shanks couldn’t help but snort at your words.

“And how do you plan on tending to it yourself?” The scathing look you shot over your shoulder made Shanks smile widen for he doubted you even realized you were giving him such a look.

“I am already intruding as it were,” You snipped out, crossing your arms.

“And you are my guest,” Shanks enunciated. “As long as you are on my ship you shall be treated as such. Now please, take a seat this won’t take long.”

You really didn’t want to, for you already felt like you were intruding enough just by asking for passage off Kuri Island… but gentle brown eyes were insistent. But not in a bad way. So your protest died down on your tongue and did as he so gently asked.

Date Published: 11/19/23

Last Edit: 11/19/23

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