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sunflawyer · 4 months

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JanAUary 1: Flower Shop AU.

Thanks for @eternally-smitten and @bioexorcizm for the prompt!! I couldn't resist 😭🌻

I did both the illustration and the fic! I'm so invested with this AU that I had to do both (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠) It's my first time writing long fic so hopefully it's good!

Summary: Jimmy was told by his boss to grab some flowers for the law firm's office party. He was initially reluctant to do it, but once he entered the shop, his life changed.

Word count: 1,261 | Pairing: Jimmy McGill/Abby Cliffwood.

Enjoy! 🧡

Ringing phones, muffled conversations, and occasional pen-clicking noises were no stranger in the bustling law firm called Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Professionals in suits passed by here and there, adorning the building with their legal discussions. Some of them were lounging in their shared cubicles, bantering with other colleagues about the activities after work. Amidst them, in a rather cluttered wooden desk, was Jimmy McGill, seemingly busying himself with stacks of paper in front of his eyes, pen tapped against his chin, lost in his own thoughts.

"Hey, Jimmy,"

The voice that called him suddenly broke through his daydream and caught him off guard. He hastily turned around and looked up.

"Hey, Howard," he half-heartedly waved his hand, uninterested. Howard stood in front of him and leaned a bit closer.

"Are you busy?"

"Nah, nah. Just thinking about things." he shrugged, "What's up?"

The blonde smiled, "Well, we're gonna celebrate Christmas in HHM, and I thought decorating the place would be a great idea." he clapped his hands together, "I already ordered some flowers from nearby florist. Why don't you grab it?"

Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows, "What? Why don't you ask Ernesto to do that?"

Howard chuckled, "He's out to grab Chuck's errands, remember? And well, we're currently short-staffed." he patted the brunette's shoulder, "So, please?"

Stepping out from the building with a sigh, he moved his legs towards the direction Howard had given him on the small paper he hastily made as a map. His blue eyes darted around the street, eyeing on each cars that passed by him while silently cursing on Howard for making his day even harder. The little pebbles on the road seemed to mock him as he continued to navigate the street, and he couldn't help but curse some more under his breath. "Stupid party."

It wasn't long before he spotted the flower shop near the corner. It looked pretty old-fashioned, some sort of a shop you'd see in old magical cartoons. He shrugged, brushing it off by muttering, 'Probably just a coincidence' before approaching the fiction-like store.

Once he stood in front of the door, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Okay, just a guy buying a flower. Nothing silly." he said to himself. Straightening his suit and letting out a firm sigh, he turned the knob and entered.

"Oh, welcome!"

A sweet voice greeted him from the cashier counter, the melody ringing through his ears. It was so sweet that Jimmy immediately thought he must've entered the wrong shop. Looking up, he was met with a sight that will change his life forever.

He didn't enter the wrong shop.

Well, he didn't expect anything at all, really.

But the girl who just greeted him, Goodness, she was something else.

Her curly hair, her freckles, her golden eyes... They were unbelievable.

He widened his eyes, realizing something bloomed in his chest.

He was captivated.

"Mister?" that soft voice called him again, "Are you okay?"

Blinking in confusion, Jimmy immediately snapped back to reality and cleared his throat, awkwardly straightened his suit and tie, "U—Uh, yeah, I'm okay." he blushed, furiously cursing himself under his breath for getting caught by her, "I—I was just, uh, looking around."

The woman giggled at his nervous smile and extended her hand, "My name is Abby. Abby Cliffwood." she gracefully introduced herself, "If you have anything to ask, please feel free to come to me." and gave him a warm smile before turning around to tend the other flowers.

"Cliffwood." Jimmy whispered her last name. The name itself brought warmth to his heart.

Taking a deep breath, he straightened his suit and cleared his throat, "Hey, Miss Abby."

Abby immediately turned her head, her face looked a bit surprised, but still with her warm smile, "Yes, Mister?"

Jimmy gulped nervously, trying his best to stay calm. "Uh, my name is James McGill. You can call me James if you want. Or, Jimmy." his mind started to scramble, causing him to look like a fool, "Anyway, uh, can you tell me more about this flower?" he nervously pointed at the sunflowers.

Abby's eyes sparkled in delight, "Oh, sunflowers!" she clapped her hands in excitement, "They're my favorite! Sunflowers are bright, cheerful, and warm. They represent love, kindness, and happiness, too! The bright petals are just like sunshine..." she continued to explain, but it soon faded to the background as Jimmy focused his attention to her face. The way her golden eyes sparkled, the way her cheeks flushed... He was lost in them.

Jimmy nodded at her explanation, though his thoughts were elsewhere, "Oh, I see." he hummed absentmindedly.

She turned to him and smiled, "Do you have someone special to give, Mr. McGill— I mean, Mr. Jimmy?"

Hearing her said his name sent shivers down his spine. He shook his head, "Nah. Just bought it for the office party." he lied.

"Really?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, "Are you sure?"

He was taken aback, "Yeah, why?"

Abby smiled, "Nothing. Just asking." she waved her hand, "I mean, I think you have someone to give."

Jimmy frowned, "Why did you say that?"

"Well, if you're really not looking for a gift for a special person, you would've walked away, or just randomly pick one." she replied, pointing out the truth, "But, instead, you asked me about it."

Jimmy felt like an idiot. Of course, she's right.

"I... I guess you're right." he gave her a defeated smile.

She giggled and turned around to arrange the sunflowers, "Don't worry, Mister."

"It's Jimmy."

"Okay, Mister Jimmy."

"No, no. It's just Jimmy." he chuckled, finding her confusion amusingly adorable.

"Jimmy." she corrected herself.

He smiled, satisfied, "Yeah."

She giggled to herself, "Okay then, Jimmy." She then grabbed a bouquet of assorted flowers and handed it to him, which he accepted, "Just flowers for the office party, yes? Or do you want to buy this sunflower too?" she asked, reaching to touch the petals of the sunflower in front of them.

He didn't even hesitate, "I'll take it."

"Oh?" she sounded a bit surprised, but the smile was still on her lips, "So, you have someone to give?"

"Yeah, I have." he smiled, his eyes intently locked with hers.

"Who is it?"

"You."

The moment he said that, she was taken aback. A blush started to appear on her freckled cheeks. She tried her best to cover it by darting her eyes around and hiding her face with her hands, but the red tint on her cheeks was endearingly obvious.

"Mister—" she clumsily stammered.

"Please, call me Jimmy."

She nodded, "Okay, Jimmy." she looked up and shyly smiled at him, "I don't know if I can accept it. I mean, we... we just met."

"And yet, here I am." he leaned in a bit closer to her, "Here to make you smile."

Abby shyly giggled and covered her mouth. Her golden eyes were shining brightly as they were locked on his blue ones.

"Then, I shall be smiling for the rest of the day."

Jimmy couldn't hold back the big smile on his face.

"Yeah, please do."

It was the first time he had fallen in love.

The moment he saw her, he knew she was the one.

After that day, he returned to the flower shop again and again, always bringing something new with him each time.

And each time, she always greeted him with the most beautiful smile.

Her smiles always reminded him of the sunflowers.

They're bright, cheerful, and warm.

Just like her.

His own personal sunflower.

#self ship #sunflawyer #self insert #sunflower puppy!#oc x canon #jimmy mcgill #f/o community #better call saul #self insert community #abby cliffwood #janauary2024 #selfship fic #self ship fic #self ship art #🧡 mayo's art

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mrs-bluemarine · 1 month

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MERMAID AU MERMAID AU!!! This is the first chap of a story so be on the lookout for the next update in fourteen years!! No warnings really except Wes is sick asff and Jay's half of the chapter talks in "creature". You'll get what I'm talking about soon

Lady with the Pearl Eye || Ch. 1

~ Angler!Wes x Mermaid!Jay Kay ~

Word count: 2.7K

What started as a simple late night cast for supper had slowly snowballed into something much, much more.

This is crazy.

Wes was dripping wet with icy cold sea water. His winter coat was shouldered off. People would call him a madman for dunking it in the ocean, the once pristine wool soaking in the salt, damaging it for sure. But he has a plan.

This is crazy.

His frozen hands shake as he pulls the sopping jacket over the bare shoulders of a blonde woman– a blonde thing. Whatever it was in front of him wasn't human. He wasn't sure if the winter air was playing tricks on his eyes. Ice threatened to pluck them from their sockets as the storm howled around him.

She looked human. She had human arms, they pulled the wet clothing closer to her body. Her skin was soft and kissed by the sun, glowing underneath the moonlight. Her bare chest was like that of a woman's. Wes' eyes trail down to her stomach. And that was where the similarities stop.

No legs, just a thriving extremity, sickly yellow with violent blue and pulsating rings, much like the ones in her hair. Despite her appearance, she was calm. She was silent and her clawed hands gripped at Wes' wet shirt once he collected the creature in his hands. Something inside him was drawn to this... Thing. She saved him from a watery grave. He realized after saving him from the ocean, she would have to return to the sea. To the icy cold water. Just the idea made him shiver. They didn't deserve that. He was only using some of his mind when he decided to bring the thing home, wrapping her in a water soaked jacket to keep her from drying out. He promised the silent creature warm waters. The extra body (and the extra water) weighed on his aching body heavily, but Wes persisted. He felt that his limbs had frozen after his refreshing dunk, they creaked and popped underneath him, but he ignored it until he reached home.It wasn't too far now. Since he moved to the beach-side town, he decided a place nearby would be best for fishing. guess he got what he wanted. Theft wasn't common around these parts, so Wes had no reason to lock his front door, which came in handy, because he was sure he'd accidentally drop something important if he needed to find his keys.

He barreled through his tiny living room, stumbling through his hallway and bedroom and into his attached bathroom. With all of his strength, he lowered the creature into the tub, putting in the plug and setting the water to an appropriate temp for them, not too hot, not too cold.

Finally, Wes was allowed to collapse to the floor, his back pressed against the sink while he caught his breath. His icy blue eyes watched the thing in his tub. She was interested in the running water, crawling over it's own tail to get it's face closer, until she was practically face-to-face against a waterfall.

A delighted shiver ran up her body once the warm water touched the base of her human spine. She suddenly made the first noise Wes had heard from her, startling him a bit once she trilled with joy.

This... is crazy, He agreed for the third and final time. But he already had the creature in his house, so, might as well get used to it.

Wes' body was suddenly wracked with a violent shudder of his own. He wrapped his arms around his body, pulling his knees close to his chest so he could rest his chin. His shirt was still wet, and very cold, and it stuck to his body uncomfortably. If he were alone, he would've stripped. He didn't want to make his guest uncomfortable. And his body aches too terribly to move anywhere. So he stayed on the floor, sick and cold.

Everything ached. There was a pulsing pain in his muscles, and a throbbing so violently behind his eyes he was afraid it would pop them out of his skull. Wes watched lazily from the crook of his arm, the lady-thing in his bathtub enjoying the water.

Mermaid, His brain shrieked. But that was impossible, He retorted back. And yet, here she was.

The blonde felt his staring, and stared back. Wes' head tilted to the side, and her's did the same. The wet hair in her face moved along with it, and allowed Wes to see the rest of her face. One eye, bright as the sea she rescued him from, the other eye was closed, staying that way even when she grew bored of their staring contest, and went back to tinkering with the shampoo bottle on the side of the tub.

"What are you?" Wes murmured. She didn't hear him, or ignored him. He unraveled from his little ball of pain, crawling on his hands and knees over to the tub lip. This caught her attention. She watched closely, allowing Wes' hand to touch the warm water, and dive lower near her tail. "You're not human. You're not a fish, either."

He wasn't sure why he was acting so impulsively. His sickness was poisoning his brain. He wanted desperately to touch her tail. If she was a mermaid, her tail wasn't anything like in the shows or books. It wasn't scaly, moreso fleshy.

His fingertips grazed near where her thighs would be. The touch to her sensitive tail made the creature twitch, and Wes quickly took back his hand, not wanting to upset them, and also being odded out by its texture.

"Not like any fish I've seen."

It was... Not fish-like at all. The texture was something more akin to flesh, but far more slick and squishy. "Kind of like some octopus species I've read about... You're not venomous, are you?"

The creature sniffed at Wes' hand. The act was uncanny to the man, seeing such a human face act so... Animalistic.

Her hand came out of the water, gently tracing his palm with her claws, before they came between his digits, clasping his hand with hers. Wes didn't say a thing, instead silently staring down at the woman.

She chitters some more, then her hand is replaced with her forehead. Despite the rest of his body still running cold from his deep swim in the ocean, his palm was warm. She cooed and rubbed her head against his open hand, reminding Wes a lot like a street cat he occasionally fed. It was... Cute. Not even the purring was missed, a small sound vibrated from her throat, just like the smaller animals were so known for.

He talks to the air, the creature in his hand obviously not interested in what he had to say, more than his open palm. "This is all... So much." Wes sighed, taking back his hand. The woman-thing slipped against the lip of the tub, trying to follow without success. The hand that once caressed her face pressed against his forehead, trying to calm the ache in his head that was suddenly twice as loud as before. He groaned in pain and pulled away. "I'm too tired for this."

He pulls his hand against the rest of his face until it settled over his mouth. She watched him curiously with a wide, innocent eye.

He was beginning to get the sinking realization of what's really happened tonight. He fell out of his boat, almost drowning in the sea. He was rescued by some woman of the ocean, but he was most definitely missing his bait and tackle, and his prized boat. He loved that boat...

And now he had this fish lady in his bathtub, and he was showing symptoms of a cold. Dear God.

"I can't stay like this," Wes groaned standing up with twin pops in his knees. "I need to get to bed. Uh..." He pointed a reluctant finger at his tub. "Just... Stay here, please?" The creature looked at him with a wide eye as Wes backed away from the bathtub. His shoulder hits against the doorframe, following with a stumble outside of the bathroom. He's able to shut the door itself before collapsing into bed.

He's still cold. His legs are shaking, wet, sticky clothes melting into his body like a second skin. It takes too much effort to peel it all off until he's down to his true bare body. It's all thrown to the floor in a sopping mess on the carpet. He'll carr about that tomorrow.

Wes doesn't like sleeping naked, but it's better than the alternative. Right now, he felt like he'd rather die than stand up and put on new clothes. His arms can barely bring him up against his pillows, his soft blanket encapsulating his aching body. The sheets and blanket aren't warm, but it feels like fire on his flesh, but he still continues to shake. His eyelids are too heavy to stay open, so lays in bed with his eyes closed, listening to the howling wind, inhuman chirps, and his own labored breathing for far too long before they help him drift off to sleep. His dreams are filled with fish swimming in golden skies and white clouds, spiraling blues swallowing him whole. And that night it's like his dreams and his sleep goes on for far too long.

The creature is left alone. The silence was deafening, only broken by the single, lonely drip that occasionally came from the empty waterfall. Though the warm bucket was nice, she missed the screaming song of the sea. She missed the deep blue blanket that wrapped around her entirely. It was replaced by a painful bright white, blistering sun so much more evil than the true yellow from outside. And it was so painfully silent.

Nights like this, with the howling sky, the creature liked to hide itself in a cave on land, not far from her pod in the ocean, just in crawling distance. The song of the sky sounded so beautiful climbing it's way through the holes in the cave ceiling. She could stay there for hours listening to it's song, even once her tail shriveled up , it took so much to leave the wonderful noise.

For the first time in her life, she'd never seen water so still. If she held her breath, she could watch the ripples in the water around her disappear, and leave her to her lonesome. She allowed herself to breathe to meet them again.

There wasn't much to do in this tiny sea. She felt extremely bored, a feeling she didn't expect to meet with again. She was sure once that land thing took her into it's arms, she would've been a goner, just like the others from her pod that were never seen again. But the moment It gave her their skin, soaked in the blood of her home, she wasn't sure what to think then. And It put her in this tiny ocean, and her body was kissed with the warmth she missed from so long ago. They held her hand. It wasn't much different from her own. But it was so naked. No claws to protect, no webbing to swim with. So similar, but so different.

Surely, a predator wouldn't be so kind.

The pair of things in front of her, mirroring on each side of the waterfall. She'd seen them before. The land folk used them to move their giant wooden whales. That's what It used before to make the waterfall start, then stop. How did they do it? The water was going cold. She missed it's warmth, she wanted it back so desperately, but as much as she pulled and wiggled the little contraptions, the tiny drops of water didn't stop, as her actions were all in vain.

The water was cold now.

During one of her silent fits, her ears picked up a new noise. Far away, like the call of a creature from the sky. But this came from her side, not above, from behind that wooden wall. It wasn't familiar at all, but she would acquaint it with the conversation between two whales. But it was speaking alone, no one to call back. So it continued to sing alone, almost deep enough for the creature to feel it in her bones.

Ah! Another body! Surely, it had to be the land folk from before.

Her body fought near desperately against the slippery walls of her man-made sea. Her claws were no help against the smooth silvery feeling of the bucket she was in. Triumphantly, the creature had made it halfway out, before a slip caused her to tumble outside of the bucket, onto the much colder beach floor below.

She'd been outside of the ocean before. She didn't enjoy how heavy her body felt without the gentle hand of the ocean to help carry her. Luckily, her arms were strong. She was able to carry herself across the room, and to the wooden wall. Something shiny caught her eye. She wanted it. It was stuck to the wall, and jiggled when she grabbed at it. A lucky twist allowed her to open the "wall", and she slipped against the floor again.

It opened to a brand new world. She was in here earlier before, for the blink of an eye. It was dark now, and that whale song from before was much louder, and much more painful on the ear. She slipped through the frame, despising the feeling of the fur underneath her, against her tail. She knew what she had to do, and her tail slipped off easily, laying in the door frame as she crawled away.

She hated "this" even more than the land's weight, her "land tails". They were so awkward, and so hard to use. They were supposed to let her move like the land folk, but it was so terribly tricky to do. It was hard enough to balance on three limbs, but two? Forget it. Although there was a way of moving with her now "four" limbs, it was quick, it was easy, and she liked to do it, and it didn't hurt as much as it did to crawl with her tail on.

She followed the noise, crawling onto something soft but firm. It didn't give away underneath her, and felt much more pleasant than the floor. As she expected from following the whale sounds, she found that land folk from before, asleep, making such terrible noises while it slept on it's back.

It's face was red, making even worse noises between the loud droning, as if choking on the same air it breathed. They were covered with the same softness she was standing on. Digging it up, she found the rest of it's body underneath, bare of the skin it was wearing before... That wasn't strange, though. She'd seen their kind strip of their flesh time and time again, much like how she could strip from her tail. They're supposed to do it before coming underwater, she's understood. But how come this one didn't? Maybe they die if they don't, which was what brought her to saving his life that night.

She dug up more of the softness... Oh, she'd seen that before. The males of her species had things similar to it. They must've been a male, too.

She also found warmth, warmth the thing didn't have before when they first met. It felt... Wonderful. She wanted it. So the creature fixed herself underneath the softness like he was, mirroring it's body. She buried herself underneath it, making sure it was fixed just like it was before she disrupted it. And she came closer to the land folk. He was much warmer now, but there was a soft tremble to his body. She clung to his body with hers. The warmth between them mixed, and subconsciously, the land folk melted against her, shuddering and sighing in his sleep. Her clawed hands were careful not to scare his delicate skin as she held him closer, enjoying his warmth and allowing him to do the same to her. Her body became heavy, not due to the weight of the dry world, but due to another reason, and the creature allowed herself to fall asleep next to him. As she drifted to another new, and exciting world, she found that the man next to her had stopped his dreadful whale call, thankfully.

#fics #💙 / feels like i'm in love again #// london calling #mermaid au #safe shipping #safeship community #f/o x s/i #self ship fic #weather report #wes bluemarine #jojo oc #jjba oc #proshippers dni

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cherry-bomb-ships · 3 months

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Earthly Encounter

Pairing: Q x Counselor Ruby (s/i)

Word Count: 2,797

Warnings: Very light spoilers for Star Trek: TNG S4 E20, none otherwise

AO3 Link

Author's Notes: Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? It feels very nice to be posting a fic again, to be honest. This is just a cute fluffy story that I started like 3 years ago and abandoned because I didn't like the way it came out. I came back to it recently and kinda wondered what the heck I was thinking. Maybe my self esteem is just better! Either way, this was very fun and very cute to write and to perfect, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Tag list below the cut. Click here or DM me to be added or removed. Reblogs are all seen and very appreciated!! ❤️

@ava-ships, @bee-ships, @beetleboyfriend, @canongf, @clawfull, @cloudyvoid, @discountwives, @dissonantyote, @edencantstopfallininlove, @final-catboy, @gible-love-nibles, @halsdaisy, @hoppinkiss, @hotrodharts, @hyperionshipping, @iyamifucker, @lex-n-weegie, @little-miss-selfships, @little-shiny-sharpies, @loogi-selfships, @lovebugexe, @mintpecks, @mrs-kelly, @nameless-self-ships, @nerdstreak, @paper-carnation, @patches-and-her-selfships, @reds-self-ships, @rexscanonwife, @ship-trek, @spacestationstorybook, @squips-ship, @tiny-cloud-of-flowers, @toogayforthistoday, @p-i-t-s, @winterworlds, @scroldie

Speckles of dust danced in the beams of light shining through the window of the bookstore that Counselor Ruby Ramirez had found herself in on that peaceful afternoon. She fondly ran her fingers across the spines of the books atop the store’s shelf, remembering all of the journeys she’d been on with those stories as a child. It was no wonder this section was labeled as “classics;” even though the shelf stretched to the ceiling and was filled to the brim with books, she hadn’t seen a single title that she didn’t recognize. She spotted a favorite novel of hers, and she was quick to pull it off the shelf and flip to the first chapter. She remembered it all so fondly: the prison and the rose bush, the first piece of literary symbolism that had truly taught her to analyze…

“Oh, what have you got there? Something actually worthwhile, I hope.” The sudden voice in her ear made Ruby snap out of focus with a startled jolt, but even as she whipped her head around to look behind her, she already knew exactly whose smug face she was going to see staring down at her.

“Q! I’ve told you a hundred times not to sneak up on me like that,” Ruby exclaimed as she playfully tapped his chest with the book.

“Hmph, you've hardly said that more than fifty times, actually," Q said with an exasperated eye-roll. "Besides, you can't really call it 'sneaking up' if I’ve been standing right beside you this entire time, my dear.”

Ruby let out a sigh and turned her back to her partner, putting her attention on the book she'd picked out as she leaned her weight back against him. “Well, then, that’s a problem, isn't it? The point of coming here was so you could explore some of the culture that humanity has to offer,” she explained, gesturing to the shelves of books surrounding them. “That meant exploring the selection here by yourself, sweetheart, not just staying glued to me the whole time.”

Q knew this already, of course; this was the second of a four-day vacation that the couple had agreed on taking together, albeit one more reluctantly than the other. He still remembered when Ruby excitedly came up with the idea months ago, the way she had been beaming about how much she could show Q about what it's like to be human. Although he had protested to the trip's merit, the reality was that Q would have taken any excuse to be with his beloved in a way that wasn't disturbing her duties, so he hadn't needed too much persuading.

When Ruby had brought the request for shore leave to Captain Picard, she had described it as "less of a vacation, and more of an experiment.” She had explained, “We've seen already that Q has a sliver of humanity, a seed of compassion nestled deep within him. Perhaps all that it needs to blossom is the right kind of earth?"

While the captain didn't quite agree with the scientific basis of the proposal - or appreciate the wordplay - the Enterprise would already be making a rare orbit of Earth for a routine crew exchange. Many aboard the Enterprise would be taking a few days to visit their families, so there was no reason to deny the counselor the same privilege.

Back in the bookstore, Q was still doing his best to convince Ruby that their time would be better spent, well, anywhere. He placed both his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady against him as he dramatically nuzzled his face into her hair. “But darling, you’re the only thing worth any of my attention on this entire dreadful planet,” he whined.

He suddenly dipped her backwards, making Ruby balance on her heels as he leaned down a great deal to place his face right next to her own and speak in a provocative whisper, “What do you say we just forget about all this and head back home now instead? I'll even indulge you with that ‘cuddling’ nonsense that you enjoy so very much.”

Ruby could already feel her cheeks getting warmer as she failed to fight back a flustered grin; even after all the time she’d been with Q, she had to admit that she was far from being immune to his charms. It wasn’t only what he was saying, but also the eloquent cadences of his voice and the way he was able to stare her down with that alluring gaze that made her fall so hard for him in the first place. Luckily, by now she was at least able to save his suggestion for later rather than give in right away, and she leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before replying with a simple, “Very tempting, but no.”

She chose to ignore the way Q rolled his eyes in annoyance for a second time as he pushed her forward again to stand up straight, and instead she showed him the cover of the book in her hands in an attempt to catch his interest. He glanced over the title: The Scarlet Letter. "Look at this, hunny," Ruby said with fondness in her tone, "this was one of the first books I read as a child that sparked my analytical side. I remember the way it made me think about why the author chose to include certain details that might seem pointless, and why the characters would make the choices that they do." She turned her head back up to him and nudged her shoulder against his chest. "It was also the first book that really invested me in romance," she purred with a wink.

Q was not impressed. "It really does sound like a joy, starlight," he huffed sarcastically, "but you have no idea how difficult it is for an omnipotent being like myself to force his imagination to be confined to words on a page."

Ruby had already turned her attention back to the novel at hand. She knew that Q was fond of the sound of his own voice, so allowing him to rant on about the pettiest of inconveniences was the only way he ever felt better about the situation he was in.

Unaware - or just uncaring - that Ruby had turned her attention away, he continued, "Truly, think about it from my perspective. Why would I bother to 'visualize' the events of a novel in my mind, like you lesser beings have to do, when I could simply rewrite reality to bring these events to life? Or better yet, I could probably imagine my own story with a more gripping narrative and satisfying conclusion. In fact, if I may speak honestly, it seems to me that-"

Q's holier-than-thou speech was cut short as he felt a gentle tug on the leg of his trousers, just below the knee. He looked down to see a small child, a boy likely no older than five, staring back up at him with wide hazel eyes. Q grimaced and immediately recoiled his leg, the sudden shift in weight catching Ruby's attention as well. For a moment, there was an intense staredown between the disgusted immortal and the innocent toddler, until at last Q broke the silence and sneered, "Can I help you?"

The child pointed to the top shelf high above his own head. "Can yew get the Robin Hood book for me, mister?" he said politely, a slight lisp to his words as he spoke.

"If I do, will you leave?" Q asked bitterly. The boy's only reply was a thoughtful stare to the side, followed by a smile and enthusiastic nod of his head.

Q hastily located the book on the shelf of the bookcase in front of him, and he didn't hesitate to yank it from the shelving, pinching the very corner of the book between two fingers as he dangled it over the child's head with an outstretched arm, trying to distance himself from the boy as much as possible. "There you are, now please, begone with you."

The boy reached up and took the book into his small hands with a quiet "thank you" as he marveled at the green hardcover and golden cursive lettering. He then looked back up at Q, who had already turned his attention away, hoping for the interaction to be over.

Despite those hopes, the boy suddenly spoke up again. "I like Robin Hood," he lisped.

Q glanced back down with an eyebrow quirked, not even bothering to turn his head as he dryly replied, "Yes, I'm sure you do. Now don't you have somewhere to be?"

The boy shook his head with the same earnest smile on his face, clearly not taking the hint. Before the conversation could continue, though, Ruby - who had been watching this interaction unfold and barely stifling a laugh - stepped forward in front of Q and kneeled down to meet the child's eye level. "You're a fan of Robin Hood, you said?" She asked him with a gentle smile.

The boy gave her another enthusiastic nod and said, “Yeah, my dad tells me the story a lot for bedtime, but he has to go away on a starship, so my mommy said I should read the or… the orange-inal book while he's gone.”

Ruby smiled at his story and adorable mispronunciation. “That's a very good choice. You know, young man,” she said as she reached up behind her to hold onto Q's hand, “my partner Q here is a big fan of Robin Hood too. One time not too long ago, he even made all his friends dress up to act out the story!"

The boy's eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked back up at Q. "Wow, really? Did yew get to be Robin Hood, mister?"

Ruby smiled widely, both because of the boy's reaction and because behind her, she could hear Q faintly saying, "Starlight, what do you think you're doing?" as he recoiled his hand from hers.

But his Starlight wasn't listening; her mischievous side had quickly taken over, and she placed both hands back on her knees as she said with her bottom lip pushed out in an exaggerated pout, "Actually, Q decided to be the big bad Sheriff of Nottingham that taxes all the poor people and makes everyone sad.

"But… that's the guy who Robin Hood fights with," the boy said, staring up at Q curiously. "Why did you wanna be the bad guy, mister Q?"

Ruby turned her head around to meet her partner's eyes. "Yes, why did you want to be the bad guy, Mr. Q?" she parroted the question to him with a cheeky smile.

If all-powerful beings could blush, Q would have been bright red. "Very amusing, Counselor," he huffed, crossing his arms, "but I'm above engaging with this little mindgame of yours. Especially not with this," he gave the small boy a stern glare, "… creature involved."

The boy let out a giggle, making Q arch his eyebrows in shock. It has the audacity to laugh at me?, the immortal brooded in his expansive mind. What could it possibly find so amusing?

"Yew talk funny, mister Q," the child laughed. "I think yew'd be a really funny bad guy."

Ruby chuckled along with him. "Oh, you have no idea, young man."

From around the corner, a soft voice was heard calling out. "Lance? Did you find the book you wanted?" A woman not much older than Ruby stepped forward from behind another aisle of books, and the boy ran to her with his selection brandished above his head.

"Yes, momma! I picked out this Robin Hood book! Mister Q here got it off the shelf for me."

The mother reached down to pick up her child. "Not even gone five minutes and you're already making new friends?"

Q sneered under his breath, "Not quite the word I would use, but-" "That's right!" Ruby addressed the mother, thankful that she hadn't overheard Q's snide remarks. "He's a very sweet boy, he told us all about how he's a big fan of Robin Hood."

"Yep!" The boy beamed proudly. "And, and she said that her partner mister Q played Robin Hood with his friends and, uh, he got to be the Sheriff of Naughty-ham."

"That's Notting-ham," Q enunciated spitefully as he gleaned down at the child. Even if he desperately wanted the interaction to be over, he still would never miss an opportunity to be right about something.

Ruby paid him no mind, in the hopes that the woman would do the same, as she gave both the mother and child a kind grin. "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Lance. I hope you enjoy your book." She took on a tone akin to an ancient English knight as she thumped her a closed hand to her chest theatrically. "Never stop protecting those who can't protect themselves, and fight for justice and truth, just like your Robin Hood."

And unlike Q, she had wanted to say, but she decided that Q had had enough teasing for one day.

Little Lance beamed proudly and copied her motion as he put his own small fist over his chest, clearly taking the words to heart. His mom wore a similar warm grin as she and her son bade the couple farewell and headed toward the checkout counter.

Ruby turned back around to face Q, grinning cheekily up at him as he firmly kept his arms crossed and refused to meet her eye. "That was absolute torture," he groaned, "you know that, right? I'm not sure why I ever agreed to this trip." His partner let out a small laugh at how easy his disposition was to sour, and upon hearing that delightful little giggle of hers that he so dearly adored, he couldn't stop a smile from tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked back down at her.

She chirped, "I'm sorry, my darling, but you know I can't resist teasing you.” A smirk overtook her face. “Besides, I believe I remember someone very intelligent once saying that one creature's torment is another's delight."

Q's eyebrows shot up in surprise before lowering in satisfaction, a grin snaking its way across his face as he pulled Ruby in close by her hips. If he had to make a list of all of his favorite things about her, the way that she was able to match his wit so effortlessly would easily clear the top three. Q was more than used to looking down on mortals, feeling superior to them, and he was somewhat justified in feeling so; even when encountering creatures cognitive enough to communicate, it was hardly ever that he came across one that didn't immediately bore him. Even with humans, as fascinating as the species itself was, the individuals were hardly worth stopping for. But there were always exceptions, and no exception has seized his attention, gained his respect, and retained his adoration more wholly than his Ruby.

Indifferent to who around may be watching, Q leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ruby's, allowing her to reach up and hold his face as he kissed her slowly and deliberately.

He just barely pulled away to groan against her lips, "I hope you appreciate my generous patience with you in situations like this." Ruby felt a shudder go through her body; as much as she saw and treated Q as an equal, she couldn't deny that, on occasion, she was exhilarated by the power he always had the capability of holding over her. She brushed any growing stimulation aside as she slyly retorted, "Only if you can appreciate me holding back in situations like this."

That comment earned her another kiss, this one much more brief but still holding just as much admiration, before Q stood up fully again. “Well then,” he sighed, “are we done here?”

Ruby chuckled. “Okay, you’ve been very good today. I’ll check out this book, and we can head back home.”

Q watched his partner as she headed toward the counter, an odd - but not unfamiliar - feeling washing over him as he replayed her words in his mind. He’d been very good today. It was still strange to him that such words of affirmation had any effect on him, even if. He’d never needed anyone else’s approval, or encouragement, or affection before meeting Ruby. He still didn’t need it, he supposed; he already knew that he was the most intelligent and powerful being in the universe. But something about hearing those things from her, the confirmation that there was one person who genuinely thought good of him, cared for him, loved him…

It was quite a wonderful feeling.

#ruby's writing #💜: let me bring you down to earth #self shipping #oc x canon #self ship fic #self ship community #i hope you guys enjoy this this has been in my docs for almost 3 years 💀💀💀#im very tired but very happy to be posting it so here you go. goo bye

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mothlover69 · 1 month

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What's Your Name?

We've got the Buggy x Jinx origin fic woohoo! How it all began - hint, it's Shanks' fault.

(This is an edited version of the fic. The full explicit version is on AO3)

CW for alcohol and implied NSFW content (but no actual sex)

"You stickin' around?" Shanks asked, his face red with intoxication. His hair was a mess of crimson waves as he grinned and leaned towards his friend.

Jinx shrugged and took another swig of their drink. "S'not like I've got anywhere better to be right now. I'm kinda between jobs or whatever."

Shanks laughed loudly. "Oh, you need a job? What if I said I had somethin' for you?"

"Depends what it is," they replied.

A drop of sweat rolled down Shanks' temple as he grabbed a scrap of paper and started scribbling. Jinx raised an eyebrow at him, because what the fuck was he even doing? He folded the scrap in half before pushing it into their hand.

"How about a delivery? Bring that to an old friend of mine and I'll pay you well," he promised.

This was not the sort of job that Jinx normally took, and he knew it. But... maybe something simple would be a nice change.

"Fine. Who's your friend?"

Shanks smiled, his eyes hazed with alcohol. "Buggy the Clown."

It had taken a stupid amount of time to track this guy down. Turns out he was floating around the East Blue and a circus themed pirate ship wasn't hard to find if you were in the right place. It's just that a drunk Shanks was really bad with directions.

Still, Jinx finally managed to find their way. The ship was docked on some tiny ass island in the middle of nowhere... not exactly the place one would expect the circus to stop.

Their target was a pirate, and Jinx was more than familiar with that sort. They made a beeline for the nearest pub and sure enough a crowd of colorful pirates had completely overrun the place. Their loud, obnoxious voices filled the air along with the stink of B.O... ugh. Jinx glanced around the place, eyes searching each face for one that matched the wanted poster Shanks had shown them... ah. There.

Standing on top of a table in the middle of the pub singing a rude shanty at the top of his lungs was a man. With his long blue hair split into pig tails that spilled over his pirate hat like tassles and the big, red nose, he was unmistakable.

"Buggy!" Jinx's call of his name carried over the crowd, and he turned to them, eyes wide with surprise... and alcohol. Not surprising; Jinx had never met a pirate that didn't love their booze.

The pirate clown hopped down from the table, his boots thumping to the ground. He sauntered over, long coat billowing behind him, and his eyes dragged their way up and down Jinx as though in appraisal.

"Now, who might you be?" he asked. His voice was expressive, raspy, but not unpleasant. He stopped a few inches away and leaned into their space, his blue-green eyes locked on theirs.

"No one of consequence. I've got a delivery." Jinx fished the scrap of paper out of their pocket and waved it in front of his face.

Buggy hummed. "Aw, you're not gonna tell me your name?"

Jinx ignored him and thrust the paper more insistently at him. He plucked it from them, his eyes still glued to their face. They took a step back. Buggy straightened up.

He unfolded the paper and...

"What the hell?!" He yelled, his face immediately morphing to one of rage.

"Whats wrong, boss?" one of the other pirates called as Buggy ground his teeth together. He crumpled the paper and tossed it to the ground before stomping on it like a child throwing a tantrum.

Buggy whirled on the messenger, getting back up in their space. "So, red hair put you up to this, did he?"

Jinx raised their hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, all I did was deliver it, cuz he paid me to."

The clown snarled. "Of course, he did. Of course."

"What'd it say anyway?"

"Nothing," Buggy spat. And then he sucked in a deep breath. And his face turned thoughtful. "I suppose you had nothing to do with- with his disrespect."

"Yeah, uh, I just wanted his gold. Didn't have anything to do with anything else." Though, honestly, they thought it would be hard to respect someone like him.

Buggy hummed and stepped closer. They stepped back. "You did travel all this way... why don't you stay a while. Drinks on me."

The offer was tempting, but... that meant spending more time with an irritating clown who couldn't keep his eyes to himself. On the other hand, he was offering them free booze. Pirates weren't the only ones with a thing for alcohol.

"Fine. I'll let you buy me a drink or two."

Buggy's face broke into a large grin. "Talk about flashy!" His gloved hand wrapped around Jinx's wrist, and he tugged them up to the bar.

"Don't touch me," they snatched their hand away from him. He only laughed with that stupid clown laugh of his. Jinx sat on a stool and crossed their arms.

"What's your poison?" Buggy tapped his chin as he stared at Jinx. They glared back. Damn, he was annoying. "You seem like a sake guy. Am i right?"

"Yeah," they said, and Buggy laughed again.

"A round of sake for our sweet messenger!" He called to the bartender who only nodded with dull eyes as she poured the drink. How long had Buggy and his crew been here taking over the bar? How long until they finally left?

Jinx took the offered cup and took a gulp. Buggy was still staring. What was with this guy? Did he ever blink?

"So, are you just a hired hand for old red hair? Or something more?"

"How do you know Shanks, anyway? He called you an old friend."

He scoffed at that. "I wouldn't use the word friend, doll."

"Aw, Buggy, why not? I thought we were best friends?" an all too familiar voice said. A voice that should not have been here.

Buggy immediately leapt a foot in the air, his head popping off his neck. "Red hair?! What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Hey, Shanks," Jinx nodded at the newcomer. "Didn't see you come in. Don't tell me you were following me?"

Shanks only shrugged, not answering, before turning to Buggy. "Didn't you get my note? It said I was coming by for a visit."

"You know damn well it said nothing of the sort," Buggy snarled. "The fuck is with you, what's the point of hiring a messenger if you're just gonna show up yourself. And by the way, I was not in the mood to see your ugly mug, so why don't you just fuck off!"

"I missed you, too, buddy," Shanks laughed.

The clown sputtered wordlessly, his face red with rage.

Jinx took another swig of their drink, growing tired of the theatrics. "Does this mean I get my payment sooner?"

"Focused on the coin, eh?" Shanks dug into his pocket before pulling out a sizeable purse. "This do?"

Taking it and weighing it in their hand momentarily, Jinx then nodded and stuck it in their own pocket. "I think that's a bit more than we agreed on."

"Consider it a tip for dealing with my friend."

"I'm NOT your friend!" Buggy yelled.

Jinx leaned across the counter, ignoring the commotion, motioning to the bartender. "This place got rooms or should I try somewhere else?"

The bartender was an older woman, her grey hair piled on top of her head like a wasp's nest. Her eyes were dull, exhausted. Jinx felt for her; her job must get so much harder when pirates came to town.

"Yeah, there's a bed upstairs. 15 berries a night."

They dug out some coin and slid it across the counter. "One night, please. Keep the change... since you have a bar full of assholes tonight."

The woman snorted before sliding a key across the bar, which they pocketed. "Eh, at least they're paying. Wish they'd've showered before coming in, though."

Suddenly, someone grabbed their wrist. Jinx tore away from their conversation, leveling a glare at the clown that dared lay a hand on them.

He didn't notice. He was busy screaming at Shanks. Still.

"And I suppose you sent your pretty little boyfriend here just so you can rub it in my face, huh?!"

"What are you talking about, I don't have a-"

"I know your game, you bastard," Buggy jabbed a finger in Shanks' face, his grip on Jinx's wrist tightening. "Why are you even getting them all wrapped up in your bullshit, huh?"

"Let me go, asshole!" Jinx tried to tug their wrist out of his grasp, but he was too strong. Stronger than he looked. "Fucking clown!"

Buggy paused in his ranting, looking at Jinx yet again. There was an intensity in his gaze that had them shrinking away from him. "Sorry," he grunted before releasing them.

"And for the record, I am not Shanks' boyfriend. Don't know where the fuck you got that idea."

"It just makes sense! Since you two were all- all chummy and shit."

"Chummy? You mean when he paid me for doing the job he hired me for?"

Buggy huffed and crossed his arms. Instead of saying anything else, he grabbed his mug of beer and drank deeply from it. Jinx did the same with their sake. They absolutely were going to need another one. Hopefully theyd be able to convince Buggy to keep paying.

"Another round," the clown hiccuped to the bartender. "Including my friend, here." He shot a glare at Shanks. "Not you."

Ok, guess he wouldnt need convincing after all. Jinx beamed when another cup was set in front of them.

"Well," Shanks clapped his hands together. "It's always great seeing you, old pal. But I've got places to be."

Jinx glanced at him, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? All that effort and you're leaving already?"

He shrugged. "What, you gonna miss me or something?"

They only rolled their eyes and went back to what was important: their drink.

"Get the fuck outta here, no one's gonna miss you!" Buggy yelled before turning his back on his 'old friend'.

Shanks left with one final obnoxious laugh. The two drank in silence, though the place was far from silent. Buggy's crew was rowdy, that was for sure.

"Honestly thought you woulda gone with him," Buggy remarked after a while. His voice was much calmer than before; Jinx had to strain to hear him over the loud pirates surrounding them.

"I already bought a room here; there'd be no point in following him."

"No?" Buggy glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. "No interest in his bed?"

"Ugh, for the last time, I'm not with Shanks. He's so not my type," they grimaced. They could feel their head starting to swim, no doubt from the sake.

"I'm shocked. Most people seem to be all over him," he stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"Yeah? What about you? He your type or something?"

Buggy's jaw dropped - literally. It fell from his face and dropped to the floor before popping back into place. "Absolutely fucking not! That's disgusting!" He gagged.

"Right, right. So he's your ex."

"No! Ugh, don't say such gross shit," he shuddered, as though truly disgusted. Jinx snickered.

"Oh, thanks for the drinks," they said, deciding to have mercy and switch subjects.

"I'll buy ya another, doll," he gestured to bartender, who sighed and started pouring another round.

Head already fuzzy, Jinx wondered if they should decline. But then the cup was slid in front of them and they drank happily. It was like the stuff got tastier the more they had. Booze was magic like that.

"You this generous to everyone you meet?"

"Nah, just the cute ones," he winked.

Jinx groaned. They should've figured the clown would hit on them sooner or later, and they seriously didn't need this. Indulging his bullshit was off the table. "And that's my cue to leave." They slid from their stool, but Buggy caught them by their wrist... again.

"Aw, c'mon, doll. Night's just getting started." He pleaded, his clownish makeup exaggerating his already exaggerated pleading expression.

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"You never told me your name."

Jinx blinked. Their mind worked sluggishly, but maybe getting a few more free drinks off the clown wasn't such a bad idea. Slowly, they sat back down, and a grin slid into place on Buggy's face.

"Another round?"

"I probably shouldn't."

"But do you want to?"

"Yes."

Time passed. Drinks were chugged. And somehow, Jinx ended up leaning against Buggy as one of his crew members danced on a table while juggling knives. Something they would've disapproved of when they first walked in now had them cheering, especially when the pirate accidentally knicked himself in his drunken state.

Jinx yawned, and half a thought occured to them. They had a bed waiting for them, didn't they?

"Ah, fuck, what time is it? I gotta..." they trailed off, looking around for a clock. They stepped away from the pirate clown, intending on retiring to their room, but they didn't manage more than two steps before they tripped over their own feet. Gloved hands caught them and pulled them upright.

"Careful, sweetness. Wouldn't want something to happen to you," Buggy said, his speech only slightly slurred.

"I just- I should go to bed," they said even as they allowed him to pull them into his side.

"Let me walk you to your room."

"No way, am perfectly fine."

"Yeah? S'that why you fell?"

Jinx sighed in defeat. "Okay, whatever. It's uh..." they fished the roomkey from their pocket. "Says room 2."

Buggy wrapped one arm around their waist, keeping a secure hold as he guided them away from the crowd. A couple pirates whistled, though whether that had anything to do with what their captain was up to was unclear. Jinx's head swam. His hand was so warm on their side, and altogether he was surprisingly strong. It was nice not having to focus on keeping themself on their feet.

Eventually, they made it to the room. Jinx fumbled with the key, missing the lock a couple of times before finally managing to insert it. And then was the matter of turning it, which proved to be its own ordeal, but finally, finally, they managed to get the door open.

"Thanks, Bug," they slurred. "Wanna come in?"

"Oh, is that an invitation? Don't mind if I do," Buggy laughed. He helped them into the room, not letting go until they were safely sitting on the bed.

Immediately, Jinx stood, swaying on their feet.

"Doll, you're a bit drunk. You should probably sit."

"Shhhhhh," they pressed a finger to his lips, smearing the red paint slightly. "I need to tell ya somethin."

Buggy blinked. "What?"

They giggled drunkenly before leaning into his space. "I never told you my name, did I?"

"You finally gonna tell me?"

They grabbed the collar of his jacket, partly to pull him closer, but mostly to help keep themself standing. "But I know your name. You're Buggy."

"Most people call me Captain Buggy," he corrected with a slightly bewildered smile.

"You're Buggy," they repeated. "I found you, cuz I was paid to. But you," they giggled again. "You're prettier than I thought you'd be."

His face flushed bright red and his voice shot up an octave. "I'm what?!"

Jinx leaned in even closer, their faces mere inches apart. His breath fanned across their face, thick with the stench of booze.

"Pretty," they whispered before pressing their lips to his.

Caught off guard, Buggy faltered, frozen, unsure how to respond. No one had ever just kissed him out of the blue like that before. No one had ever called him pretty.

Jinx pulled back, trying to blink through their hazy brain. Oh, did he not like that? "Mmm, sorry-"

Before they could finish their sentence, Buggy grabbed them and crashed into another kiss. Jinx let out a surprised noise before their eyes slipped closed, and they fell into the rhythm of the kiss.

It was clumsy, seeing as they were both far from sober, but the way his lips slid over theirs was intoxicating. His hands slid down their body, fingers finding purchase in their soft flesh before resting on their hips. Jinx sighed into his mouth as he pulled them flush against him.

They swayed dangerously on their feet, and Buggy gently lifted them with his hands on their waist. He really was stronger than he looked. He laid them on the mattress with care, and they grabbed the front of his shirt with clumsy hands and pulled him down with them, connecting their mouths once again. They nipped at his bottom lip in a playful gesture, and Buggy growled softly.

"Fuck," Jinx swore quietly and shoved at Buggy's coat. "Take it off."

He laughed breathlessly and let the coat fall from his shoulders, presumably landing in a heap on the floor. Jinx's hands flew to his green belt and started tugging at it. He helped untie it, and then suddenly they were untucking his striped shirt and shoving their hands under the fabric, running them over his skin. Their fingers explored every inch they could reach, sighing in delight as they carded through his soft body hair, or felt a puckered scar.

Oh, they were going to make this clown see stars.

***

Buggy rolled off of Jinx, both of them panting and sweaty. He gathered them into his arms, cradling their head tenderly against his chest.

"You good, sweetness?" He whispered.

They cracked one eye open. "Name's Jinx."

"Nice to meet ya, Jinx."

They groaned at his bad joke, and he chuckled.

"Here, let me..." he sent one of his hands searching around the room, returning with a wetted cloth, which he used to clean the both of them up. Jinx sighed, relaxing in his arms. He brought his hand back and used it to play with their short hair, pressing a kiss to their forehead.

It was not long until Jinx was drifting off to sleep, snuggled up to Buggy, who was all too happy to keep them close to his heart.

***

Jinx blinked open their eyes, squinting against the sunlight that shown through the window. Shit, their head hurt. They definitely had gotten a bit carried away with that sake...

Slowly, they began to become more aware of their surroundings. And the fact that they were pressed up against something really warm with something heavy across their chest.

Their eyes adjusted to the morning light, and they were finally able to see the sleeping face of..

Oh, there was no way.

The events from last night flooded their brain, albeit most of it was still rather fuzzy. They'd- they'd slept with Buggy the Clown?? And then spent the night cuddling him???

Their head spun, mostly from the hangover.

Okay, first thing was first. Carefully, slowly, they slid out from beneath his arm that still cradled them. They kept an eye on Buggy, freezing in place if he so much as stirred slightly. They absolutely were not in the mood for talking to him, especially not if he was gonna try and be romantic. Ugh.

Finally, they managed to slip away from him and out of the bed. Thank god he seemed to be a heavy sleeper.

Next step. Jinx was still naked. They glanced around the room, at the fabric strewn all over the floor. Luckily, their pants were an easy find. They pulled them on and scanned the room for their sh-

Buggy made a noise, and they panicked. Oh god, he was gonna wake up any moment. Shit. They scrambled about, pulling on the first shirt shaped piece of fabric they found. They glanced back at the bed and saw that he was indeed beginning to stir. Their heart jumped, and without thinking, they slid open the window and clambered through it, dropping to the ground below.

They took off running, thankful to feel the weight of Shanks's coin still in their pocket. If there was one thing they knew, they had to get far, far away from here. Away from their mistake. Away from Buggy the damn Clown.

It wasn't til they managed to hitch a ride on the first boat out of there that they realized the shirt they'd grabbed was not, in fact, their plain grey one, but rather red with white stripes.

Did ya make it this far? Hi and thanks for reading! As a treat you get to see what Shanks wrote on that little note of his

#ship: chop chop slide #self ship #self ship fic #self insert fic #buggy the clown #woah self ship content be upon ye #my writing #divider credit to animatedglittergraphics-n-more #i hope I spelled that right lololol

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violetsareblue-selfships · 2 months

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Happy Lantern Rite

Ship: Xiao x April | Word Count: 1571 | Warnings/Tags: food mention, sappy proposal time :3

A/N: happy valentine's day everyone~ here's the proposal fic i promised :D (and yes, that means it's official - though i could have posted the fic around Saturday or so - wanted to keep it for today :3) anyways! i hope you enjoy it!!

Liyue Harbor always feels so cozy this time of year, the warm glow of the lanterns creating an atmosphere she's never found anywhere else. Out of all the festivals and celebrations she's been apart of, April has to say that the Lantern Rite is one of her favorites if not her number one.

This Lantern Rite finds her walking through the streets as usual, admiring all the different stalls set up for the occasion, but there's a key difference. This year she has her partner by her side. Usually, Xiao prefers to keep a distance during the festivities or he'll continue his usual duties to Liyue, keeping its people safe from monsters.

She doesn't know what convinced him to say yes when she asked him to accompany her this year, but she's certainly not complaining. It's likely a testament to how long they've been together. After all, he's started going on walks through the city with her on occasion.

As cheesy as it sounds, she's enjoying the atmosphere even more with him by her side. Occasionally, she'll catch him looking at her with the softest look in his eyes - the same one that always appears when she's particularly happy or excited. At this point, he doesn't even try to hide it or shy away like he would have before. Both of them know how much he admires her, and it makes her heart flutter every time she catches it.

The time passes slowly as they visit the various food and activity stalls, every moment counting down to the usual firework display and the releasing of the lanterns. Xiao starts getting a little antsy as the time draws nearer, wanting to have plenty of time to carry out what he has planned.

He gently pulls April closer and leans in to whisper in her ear, "It's almost time to find somewhere to watch the fireworks. So, if you want any snacks or anything, get that now."

April tilts her head a little, but she doesn't question it based on the serious look in his eyes. It's a little early yet, but she also understands that the crowds might be getting to be too much for him. "Okay!" She pecks his cheek softly before going to a nearby stand to order something they can both snack on.

His eyes stay on her through the whole process, tense and ready to step in should he need to. His tension eases once she heads back over to him, and he wraps an arm around her once she's close.

Usually, he wouldn't be quite so affectionate in public, but it's a little easier to teleport both of them if he has a good hold on her. "You ready?" He asks, and he teleports away once she nods.

They appear on one of the lower areas on Mount Tianheng, one of the flatter areas with a good view of the city below them. As impressive as the view already is, April gets a little rush of excitement about how it's going to look when the fireworks go off.

Xiao clears his throat lightly, bringing her attention back to him. That serious look is still in his eyes, tinged with a little nervousness that wouldn't be obvious to anyone else. He doesn't speak yet, he doesn't have to, as April easily understands to sit down when he nods toward the ground.

Once both of them are seated, Xiao huffs softly, trying to dispel some of his nerves. He thought some about how he'd do this before, but he's never been one for a big speech, which makes this a little difficult.

"April, I have something important to ask you," He says, taking one of her hands in his and staring down at their intertwined fingers. It's not that he doesn't want to look at her, but it's a little easier to say this when he doesn't see every minute change of her expression. "Of course, you're allowed to say no, but I couldn't let another Lantern Rite go by without asking you."

April sits there quietly, a soft expression on her face that exudes fondness. Her heartrate picks up with anticipation, having the slightest idea of what he's about to ask, given that this feels exactly like how he would ask that question. No other eyes around, but still surrounded by Liyue's beauty…

"I love you more than I ever expected to love anyone. Just knowing you has made my days brighter, and I don't want to lose that - I want to have that forever if you'll let me…" As he speaks, Xiao reaches down into a pouch at his hip, one that he'd been using to store the little souvenirs April's collected due to the festival games and merchant stalls. He pulls out a small bag and deftly opens it while his eyes return to hers, his eyes once again holding that incredibly soft look.

"April… will you marry me?" He asks, pulling a ring out of the bag. April's eyes widen at the pretty silver and blue ring, made out of an exquisite piece of noctilucous jade cut into a shape resembling a glaze lily.

"Yes," She says simply, her eyes sparkling at him sweetly. It's enough to make him smile, especially as he sees her eyes watering, the prettiest grin spreading across her face.

Xiao chuckles softly and takes her hand, gently sliding the ring into place where it's meant to belong. "It's so pretty…" April murmurs, holding her hand close to her face to look at the way the gems sparkle in the faint lights given by the city below.

"Keep it on whenever you go out," Xiao murmurs, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her nearly into his lap. When she looks at him with a cute curious expression, he flusters and looks away. "It's been blessed by the adepti, so it'll keep you safe," He explains, a little shyly.

April wonders silently if he was the one to bless the amulet or if it was one of the other adepti, but she giggles regardless. "Thank you, Xiao. Actually, I have something for you too," She says, her grin widening as she digs around in one of her pouches.

"You-- what? You didn't have to…" Xiao mutters, blinking a little as she pulls out something on a necklace chain. He holds his hand out and watches as she sets it in his palm, the metal feeling slightly warm from being in her bag all this time.

A soft gasp leaves his throat as he realizes that it's a ring strung on the necklace, and her eyes sparkle with mischief this time when his hurriedly meet hers. "Seems you're not the only one who had plans of proposing," She says playfully, before letting out a faux sigh. "Though… I wrote you a song and everything… but you beat me to it."

She giggles at the almost-pout that settles on his face. "Oh, don't worry, I'll play it for you when we return to the inn tonight. But what do you think? This way you can wear it around your neck and not have to worry about fitting your gloves over it. Also, the chain's fairly strong so it won't just break even if you wear it during combat."

Xiao peers at the ring, also made of silver but cor lapis instead for the jewel - a shade that perfectly matches his eye color. The gem is styled to resemble the sun, and it's enough to bring tears to his eyes despite him not usually being one to cry.

"It's perfect…" He mutters softly, huffing when she throws her arms around him. "Sunlight, when will you get that you don't have to get me things to remind me of you? You're always on my mind…" His words are muffled against her shoulder, but they make her giggle nonetheless.

"I know! But it seemed perfect! Especially when I found that gem on one of my adventures! I knew exactly what it should be used for."

"Put it on me?" He asks quietly, letting the necklace drop back into her hand. April opens the clasp and Xiao leans forward to let her put it around his neck, staying still until it's been clasped into place.

The ring falls perfectly over his heart, a fact that makes both of them smile. One of her hands find his and she squeezes softly, the faint sounds of the city growing louder as the fireworks show draws nearer.

"Oh! I love you too," April says after a moment of silence. Xiao makes an inquisitive 'hm' sound and she giggles softly. "You know, you said it in your proposal and I never said it back."

Xiao chuckles and draws her nearer. "Silly girl, focus on the city. The fireworks are about to start soon." He can hear the clamor of voices even more clearly than she can down to the way the people's excitement is growing.

"Happy Lantern Rite, Xiao," She says and he hums, setting his chin on her shoulder, his eyes on her instead of on the lanterns which are beginning to float up into the sky.

"Happy Lantern Rite, qingxin…" He murmurs.

The two of them stay curled up together, watching the lanterns float higher into the sky, and when the fireworks start, they enjoy that show too, happy to be with the one they love.

#self ship #self shipping #self insert fic #self insert fanfiction #self ship fic #self insert #si x canon #canon x si #canon x self insert #self insert x canon #our love transcends 💖🌥️#my writing

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celestialship · 25 days

Text

Refuge

After a battle with the Mongols takes a turn, Meg must flee and meet up with Jin Sakai.

word count: 1,246

content warning: mention of blood, injuries

The winds tore through the countryside, stirring up the grass in semblance of an emerald sea. Thunder rolled overhead to accompany the darkening, cloudy skies. With the smell of rain in the air, an oncoming storm looming overhead, and Mongols looming behind, there was only one option left in order to make it through the night: hide.

The house in the woods with two ripped doors. That is where Jin Sakai told Meg to meet, in the event that the infiltration were to go wrong. Meg took off across the field with haste, fearful of how vulnerable her position was, not knowing how close the Mongols may be with their pursuit. The roaring of the wind in her ears compromised Meg’s ability to listen out for her pursuers.

As the field began to turn into a decline beneath her, Meg could finally see the location a couple hundred feet away, tucked into the treeline: the abandoned house with ripped doors. It was unclear if Jin had arrived before her, but Meg didn’t have time to think about that. All they could do was run, their boots coming down upon the ground with a fury at each bound.

Only once Meg came within twenty feet of the house did she whip around, hand on her sword’s hilt to confront any attackers. But Meg found herself alone. Either she really did outrun the Mongols, or the soldiers gave up on their chase. Regardless, Meg felt they had earned a sigh of relief, and with a threatening crack of thunder overhead, Meg turned back around and ducked through the ripped entrance of the house.

Empty. What greeted Meg in the house was nothing but an old fireplace that clearly hadn’t been used in months, and dirty floors with old papers, tools, supplies, miscellaneous items that whoever fled the place felt wasn’t important enough to bring with them. Nothing Meg could use at the present though.

Crouching down to the ground off to the right side of the torn doors, Meg kept a hand on her sword hilt and waited. Prayed to whatever deity that was listening that the Mongols would not poke around here. As they crouched, a wave of exhaustion hit Meg, and suddenly they began to feel their body: their bones weighing down on them, their eyes straining with a demand to be shut, and stinging wounds across their body.

How many times had she been struck? In the adrenaline of the fight, the final futile push that ended in Jin shouting to disband and flee, Meg had barely felt a thing. Now Meg realized they felt slashes and cuts on the left side of their waist, their right shoulder, their chin…the Mongols really were good at not quite hitting vitals.

As Meg mentally checked over their wounds, she caught something moving in the corner of her eye, towards the back of the house. Springing to her feet in an instant, drawing her sword to hold in front of her body, Meg faced the intruder only to find Jin Sakai on the other end of the blade.

“Jin,” she said in recognition, lowering the blade along with her caution.

“You made it.” Jin sighed in relief. “I feared the worst.”

“It was rather chaotic,” Meg agreed with a small nod as they sheathed their sword. “There were so many of them…more than we accounted for.”

The samurai had flecks of blood across his face, and a cut on his left cheek. Meg could not tell if all the blood was his, or if some was the blood of the Mongols he had mowed down. Watching Jin fight was akin to watching a vengeful demon. How a man so calm and driven could become so ruthless in an instant, Meg couldn’t figure out. The man she saw on the battlefield was nothing like the man in front of her now. Despite the intimidating samurai armor that made his body look much bigger, the helmet that framed his face, the deadly Sakai clan blade he wielded, Jin’s face contradicted what would otherwise be an intimidating appearance. His face was wracked with concern.

“Are you alright?” Jin asked, looking Meg up and down. His eyes flashed in recognition as he saw what Meg guessed to be the wounds she felt. “You’re injured.”

“It’s not too bad,” said Meg dismissively, although as she glanced over her body she could see the blood staining through her ronin attire. She hated to admit it, but she was pretty sure a lot of it was her own. Meg was more used to fighting from a distance with her bow, not up-close with a blade, and apparently she had not studied enough.

“We’re going to get you fixed up.” Jin spoke in a hushed, gentle tone. “And I’m going to take the first watch.”

“I don’t think it’s safe enough for us to sleep just yet–”

“That is why you are going to get some rest, after we dress your wounds. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

“No…you don’t–”

“Meg.” While still having a gentle tone, Jin spoke firmly, and Meg sighed and nodded. She couldn’t deny how exhausted she felt. Once she nodded in response, Jin’s face softened, relieved at her agreement. “I saw some medical supplies tucked away in here. We will make use of them.”

***

With Meg’s injuries dressed, she managed to convince Jin to have his taken care of as well. Pointing out to him that he could not fight as efficiently if he had open wounds seemed to win the samurai over. Only bits of the medical supplies remained once the two had gone through them, and as the rain began to pour, Jin found an empty bucket to collect the water and wash the blood off their bodies. Meg was sure that more of the blood had stained through her clothes, but she could tend to that another time. The only thing weighing on her now was her exhaustion.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest first?” Despite Meg’s weighing body, she asked Jin this anyway. It felt wrong to have her, a nobody with somewhat decent archery skills and less decent swordsmanship, rest up while the infamous Ghost of Tsushima had to stay awake and protect the nobody. Shouldn’t Tshusima’s “last hope against the Mongols” be treated as such?

“I am positive.” If Jin was exhausted, his voice nor his demeanor gave anything away. Meg had to wonder if he was putting on a front to encourage her to rest instead, or if he truly was superhuman. “It will put my mind at ease to know you’re resting up.”

“If you say so.” Meg rubbed her eyes and grabbed one of the abandoned supply bags to use as a makeshift headrest as she settled into the dirty floor. Not the most comfortable resting place, but it was out of the way of the storm, as well as the eyes of the Mongols, and that counted for something.

Her weapons set aside, propped up against the wall, Meg lay down and took a deep breath, holding it for a couple seconds before releasing - attempting to lower her heart rate, trying to convince her body that she was safe now. And as Meg’s eyes began to close, the last thing she saw being Jin Sakai standing ten feet from her at the door, hand on his sword’s hilt and eyes fixed on the horizon, she knew that she was.

#just a lil drabble. actually started this a while ago then forgot #my writing #f/o x s/i #f/o x self insert #f/o #self ship #self shipping #self insert #self ship fic #🦊#meg.txt

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candyheartedchy · 1 year

Text

A Muse (Part 1)

Summary: When a artist down on her luck shows up in Gravity Falls, she soon finds herself awaking what she believes to be a muse.

Word Count: 2,686

Leaves rustled in the autumn air as a RV rode down a dirt path, snapping branches and sticks underneath it’s tires as it pulled off into a little clear opening. The vehicle soon came to a stop before the door opened and a auburn haired woman stepped out, carrying a large, crinkled road map. The cold breeze nipped at the woman’s skin, causing her to shiver in her sweater as she stood before a wooden shack, looking lost.

Inside the Mystery Shack, a wavy, sandy brown haired woman hummed to herself as she stocked the clothing rack with shirts. A large, heavyweight man wearing a suit soon walked over.

“Oh, color coordinated! Nice!”

“I thought it would catch the customer’s attention more.”

The man smiled, “It makes me want to get one of every color, and I already do!” he then paused, “You know, speaking catching customers’ attention, we haven’t had a single person come in today.”

“It’s probably just a slow day. We get those sometimes.”

“I know. I’m just hope people aren’t growing tired of this place, you know? Like what if I’m not cut out for this and I can’t bring in people anymore. And lose the shack because I can’t pay the rent? What if I let Stan down!?” the man began to panic until his face was grabbed, being forced to stop and look down at the woman.

“Soos, you been doing a wonderful job running this place. You would never let Stan down. Why do you think he put you in charged? He believed in you, just as much as I do. You just have to believe in yourself.” she smiled, squishing Soos’ face a bit.

Soos sighs before smiling back, “You’re right Melody. Stan trusted me with the shack for a reason. I’m just being a glummy-gus.“

Melody then pulled Soos down and kissed him on the forehead before returning back to her work. Soos smiled at her, brows lowered as he stared off, still uncertain.

Just then, the shack’s door open. Stepping inside was the RV driver.

“Hey, um, do you know the way into town, I’m kinda lost?” the woman asked, alerting the two.

“To get into town? Absolutely! Here, let me get you a map.”

Following the man over to the front desk, the woman kept getting distracted by the shop’s decorations. Her eyes keep meeting strange and unfamiliar creatures and items. From regular gift shop merchandise to messily put together taxidermy creatures and statues. All feeling like they were watching her.

Grabbing a map of the town, Soos handed it over, “So, what brings you to Gravity Falls? Taking a detour?”

The woman looked off in the distance, almost dramatically, “Artistic inspiration.”

“Oh, your an artist? That’s cool. What kind of stuff do you make?”

“Anything really. Though I dealing artist block right now... Been traveling all over to find something to kickstart my creative juices, but nothing worked so far.” the woman frowned, “And I feel like I’m running out of places.”

“Luckily for you, Gravity Falls is filled with a lot of inspiring people and landmarks! I recommend stopping by Greasy’s Diner first if you’re hungry. Best pancakes around!“

“Well, I do have to get some supplies in town anyway, so maybe I’ll stop by.”

“Great! Oh, and once you see the water tower, you’ll know you made it.”

“Thank you. You both have a lovely day.” The woman waved before exiting the shack.

“No problem, dude!” Soos waved back.

Diving into town, the woman glanced around, looking for a diner of some sort until she spotted a log shaped building. She peeked at the town map, seeing it as one of the town’s popular landmarks. She looked back out the window.

“This must be it.”

Stepping inside the diner, the woman glanced around, noticing how crowded the place was as talking and chattering filled the air.

“Maybe I’ll come back later…�� she told herself, turning before a manicured hand grabbed her shoulder.

“If you’re worried about seating, there’s a booth in the back if you want it.” a older woman with a lazy eye smiled warmly at her.

“Oh, that’s okay, uh,” the woman glanced at the name tag, “Susan, I was just curious.” she stated before her stomach growled.

“Sounds like you could use something to eat, come, sit and relax! I’ll get you a menu!” Susan walked the woman over to the back, motioning her to sit, “Here you go, sweetie, what would you like to drink while you look over the specials?”

“Do you have coffee?

“Sure we do! Dark or regular.”

“Dark is fine.”

“So, what brings you here?”

“I was told by… Soos, that this place have the best pancakes around.”

“He did!? I’m guessing you want pancakes then?”

“Yes, if that’s okay?”

Susan laughs, “So polite! Of course it’s okay! Let me get you that coffee while you wait for those pancakes.”

“Thank you.”

After getting her coffee, adding a few packets of sugar into it, her pancakes finally arrived. As the woman began to eat, she couldn’t help but watched the other customers in the diner. They were all a butch of unusual looking folks, but they seem happy. She then stared out the window, taking a sip of her coffee, deep in thought.

“So, how are you liking everything so far?” Susan asked, “Need more coffee?”

“I’m good thank you. I do however have a question though.”

“Ask away!”

“Do you know any places around her that, well, inspires a person?”

“Inspire, like how?”

“To make someone want to paint or something?“

“I’m not much of a painter, but I do find the woods to be peaceful this time of the year. With all those fall colors and all.” Susan smiles, “I do however scrapbook about my cats, they’re are my inspirations. You just need to find something that’s yours.”

“Trust me Susan, I been trying.” the artist said before feeling the older woman pat her shoulder.

“I’m sure it’ll come to you when you least expect it.”

The woman sighs, “I hope so.”

Inside the RV, back in the woods, a few bags sat on a dinette table as the woman began unpacking them from her trip into town. Stacking a few cans into her small pantry, the artist dropped one of the cans as it rolled across the floor. Following after the can to pick it up, the woman mindlessly looks out her window, spotting a small face pressed against the glass. Frighten by this, the woman screamed. Grabbing a skillet, the woman rushed outside, scanning the area.

“What do you want?!” she screamed, stepping around, not realizing a group of gnomes were sneaking into her RV, walking out with random items.

Before they could finish their theft, one of the gnomes got hit with the pan, getting knocked out as they all began to scatter, dropping the woman’s stuff to the dirt.

“That’s right, y’all better run, you little thieves!”

The gnomes ran off, screaming as they left the woman alone. Picking up her stuff, the woman stiffen as she heard a groan. The gnome, who she hit before started to sit up, rubbing his head in pain from the impact of the skillet until yelping at the sight of the woman towering over him with the pan in her hand.

“You’re not gonna hit me with that again, are you!”

“Maybe.” the woman glared.

“Look, I can explain! Winter is coming soon. We saw you show up and figured you had food. We were desperate!”

“By also stealing my toaster and radio?”

“Hey, we have to jam out while heating up the food!”

Mixed with emotions, the woman sighed before speaking, “Look, if y’all need some food, I guess I could spare some. But only the food!”

The gnome’s eyes widen hearing this, causing a few more little men to walk out, “Really? You’ll do that for us? Even though we try to steal from you?”

“I know about being short on food... I live in a RV… Just tell me what y’all need.”

Making up a few bags full of food, the woman watched as the gnomes walked off into the forest, happily.

“Thank you kindly, friend.” the younger, brown haired gnome tipped his pointy hat.

“No problem. Sorry about the pan in the face.”

“It’s okay. I think I only lost one tooth.” he stated, smiling as he revealed a gap.

The artist laughs, watching the gnome then walk way with his group, waving goodbye.

“Thanks again.”

The woman waved back before throwing her hands on her hips, “No one is gonna to believe this… but this could make a great painting!”

Setting up her easel and paint, the woman stared at the canvass, determined.

“Okay, there’s no way I can’t paint anything now after all of that.” she smiled.

A hour past as the setting sun soon made its way across the land. The woman tapped her paintbrush along the side of the easel, frustrated before she angrily threw her brush.

“I CAN’T STAND THIS! I literally just meet mystical creatures and I still can’t get inspired!” the artist screamed before kicking her easel over and walked off into the woods.

Walking down a path, the woman stared at the ground, heartbroken, “It’s been months. What if I never create again? Can I even call myself a artist anymore?” she asked before a raindrop hit her nose.

Out of nowhere, it began to downpour, causing the woman to panic, looking for shelter. She started to run, glancing around for a familiar path, trying to get back to her RV. But it got darker. And she was lost.

“Where’s the RV?!”

Lightning started to flash across the sky, causing the woman to jump as thunder followed. She kept running, barely seeing where she was going until she slipped, tumbling down a cliffside, getting covered in mud. Hitting the bottom, hard, the woman laid there in pain, dizzy and confused before pushing herself up. Drenched, the woman looked up before spotting a cave nearby. The artist quickly got to her feet, almost struggling to stand as she ran toward it. Once inside, safe from the storm, the woman started shivering from the cold, dripping wet as she watched lightning light up the sky a few times. Walking further into the cave, the woman pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight before realizing how much deeper the cave was. She stared off into the darkness before her, feeling almost pulled in by it. Without thinking, the woman began to towards it, making her way deeper into the cave.

The further she walked, the further the sound of the storm faded behind her as the new sound of water dripping filled her ears as it echoed. Glancing around, the woman was hoping to find something, anything, until she soon found herself surrounded by cave drawings. Amazed by this, the woman began to take pictures of them on her phone, light flashings a few times after each click.

“Theses are incredible! So much symbolism!” the woman smiled, panning the camera phone around before freezing.

Spread out on the cave wall was a mural of some sort, paintings of what appeared to look like people worshiping a triangle.

“Wow!” she snapped a picture.

Water dripped from the trees above as the sky cleared and stars were now shown above. It finally stopped raining. Sloshing through the wet ground, the woman finally made it to her RV, cold and dirty. After washing herself and getting in her pajamas for the night, the woman laid in her bed, scrolling through the images off the cave drawings from before.

“I can’t believe these were just hidden down there?” she said, scrolling some more before her heart skipped a beat at the image of the triangle again.

Something about it intrigued her. She never seen anything like it. The woman then squinted at her phone, zooming in the image a bit as she realized there was also some words taken along with it as well. A inscription of some sort. Unknowingly, the woman read them out loud.

Nothing.

The woman then yawned, placing her phone down before nuzzling up under the covers, laying on her side.

“Maybe those cave drawings will inspire me.” she mumbled, closing her eyes, feeling herself drift off to sleep.

The sounds of leaves rustled as the woman ran, being chased by the darkness engulfing her surroundings. Ducking between a few trees, the woman shed silent tears, terrified as millions of hands reached out, grabbing at her. Dodging a few of the hands, the woman tripped, hitting the dirt before looking over her shoulder and screamed until a bright light blinded her. Shielding her eyes, the woman peeked over to see the darkness fading away, almost in pain. Relieved, the woman clenched at her chest, catching her breath before turning back to the light. It was yellow and shaped as a triangle.

Eyes slowly adjusting to the glowing being before her, the woman lightly gasped. It was a triangle all right, but with one eye. She also noticed the top hat and bow tie it was wearing.

“That was close, huh?” it’s voice rang, almost alluring her.

The woman was stunned silent, staring up at the stranger in awe.

“You’re from the painting.”

“And you’re an artist down on her luck! The name’s Bill.”

Confused by the being, the woman raised an heavy brow, “What are you?”

“I’m a muse!”

The artist looked up and down at the floating triangle, almost questioning this, “A muse?“

“Yep and I’m here to help!” Bill threw out his arms.

“Help?”

“Of course! Don’t want that creative mind of yours going to waste, now do we?“

The artist brushed back her loose hair, almost overwhelmed, “You’re really going to help me?” she laughs a little in pain, “You don’t know how long it’s been since I created something. I don’t even know if I’m a artist anymore.”

“Of course your an artist, Chy, you just need to find that spark again.”

The woman froze at the name, “You called me Chy?”

“That is your nickname, right?”

“Yeah, but… I haven’t told anyone about it… at least not here.”

“That’s because I know everything about you. Your the youngest out of six. You’re scared to death of wasting your true potential. And your first crush was a cartoon character.”

The woman waved at the triangle in panic, shushing him, “Shhhh!”

“What, you don’t think other artist haven’t as well?”

“Look, Bill, you said you could help me? How?”

Bill paused for a second, his eye almost scanning the woman, “I could make your artist block disappear forever, just like that,” he snapped his fingers, “Give you endless creativity and inspiration to your heart’s desires. And you give me something in return.”

“Like what?”

“I’m looking for someone to expand my vision. A person who is can see the big picture and eager to learn. And I think that’s person is you.”

“Me, why?”

“You seem like a pretty interesting person. Traveling all over just to get inspiration? Seems you know what you want and determined to get it no matter what.“

The artist rubbed at her arm, “I guess so.”

Bill wrapped his arm around the woman, sly almost, “I wouldn’t have reveal myself to you if you weren’t, would I? So, lets make a deal?”

The triangle held out and hand as it was suddenly engulfed if blue fire.

Seeing this, the woman stiffen, almost entranced by the flame.

“Will it hurt?” the woman winced a little.

“Only if you want it too.”

Looking up to met Bill’s eye, the woman gulps, hesitate.

“I don’t know… We just met and…”

“Look, toots, I’m not asking for your soul or anything,” Bill chuckled saying this, “I just need a helping hand. I help you, you help me. Seems like a solid deal if you ask me.”

Chy inhaled, nervously reaching out and grabbed Bill’s hand as the fire engulfed her hand as well.

“It’s a deal.”

#this is kinda long… and not the best… but i had fun writing and that’s all that matters!#❤️ chypher ❤️#self ship #self insert #self ship fic

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copiasblair · 6 months

Text

call out in the middle of the night (for when else would i hear you?)

summary: blair has a nightmare and wakes to copia still working early in the morning, and seeks him out for comfort.

relationships: blair (self-insert) x copia

warnings: none, this is complete self-indulgent tooth-rotting fluff that's probably a liiiiittle ooc but hey. i haven't finished a writing project in so long let me have this

A/N: blair is half-ghoul so that's why they have horns/a tail/etc. also they're feminine but use they/it and they're not a girl, do not misgender them. cross-posted on ao3.

[okay to reblog!! don't interact if you ship romantically with papa emeritus iv]

Blair woke with a start, their heart racing as their eyes darted around, their tail furiously whipping behind them, ruffling up the sheets even more. They couldn't remember the details of the nightmare they had been having, all they were aware of was a deep seated anxiety making them feel as if the room was caving in.

They don't even remember dozing off, the DVD player logo bouncing around the TV screen at the end of the bed signalling that they must have fallen asleep after putting on the movie they had picked out. Thinking back to the stress of their nightmare, they put two and two together. 'Perhaps putting on a horror movie right when I was starting to get sleepy wasn't the best idea,' they thought to themselves.

Although admittedly, they had not planned on spending the evening alone. They had put on the film in the first place to pass the time, waiting for their husband Copia to come back to their shared quarters, as preparations for the upcoming tour had left him working long hours. They knew the work was important, but they still found themself wishing he wouldn't push himself as much as he did, even if for the selfish reason of getting to see more of him.

Still reeling from the nightmare, although struggling to recall any details, Blair was further saddened by glancing over to their husband's side of the bed to find it still empty. They glanced at the clock against the far wall. 1:38. He was still working? Their heart aches at the thought of their husband still slumped over his desk, worrying that he might have dozed off still in his paint, likely going to wake to an earful from Sister Imperator, rather than gentle kisses from his spouse.

And, as clingy as it made them sound, they just missed him. These days he almost always wasn't home until after they went to bed, and was awake and gone before they woke up. It had been like this for weeks now, and while they knew it was temporary, they still craved his embrace, his words, his presence.

Almost without them noticing, they stumbled out of bed. They adjusted their nightgown and négligée, stepping into the black slippers at the bedroom door, nearly tripping over Copia's tricycle by the door in their sleepy state. Before they knew it they drifted across the abbey like a forlorn spirit, possibly being mistaken for one by the few others who might be awake at this hour. Guided by the twinkling moonlight through the stained glass windows and the dim flickering candles ensconced in the wrought stone walls, they found themself at the door to his office. He had left it cracked, probably unintentionally while rushing from place to place, but nonetheless Blair simply pushed open the door which was swung open with a grating creak.

Stepping into his office, they are bathed in the light provided by the crackling fireplace, bookshelves and files carefully organized along the walls. The entire room was outfitted in his signature blue and amber tones, and smelled of firewood, leather, and his cologne.

At the opposite end of the room, they heard the quiet scritching of pen against paper stop as Copia looked up at them. He looked exhausted, the skull paint at his temples smudged from rubbing against it in frustration, concentration, or both. Some stray pieces of his graying hair hung over his forehead, and as his head snapped up from his hunched over position at the sound of the door, bobbed in front of his face, the shadows cast by the fire light dancing across his handsome visage, only enhanced by the stark lines of his skull paint. His neck kerchief was tugged loose around his neck, and his buttery soft leather gloves tugged off and forgotten. The weariness on his features seemed to fade just a little when he recognized that it was his spouse at the door, a welcome sight after all day away on business.

"Blair? What are you doing up this late? I thought you would have been asleep by now," He seemed surprised to see them up at this hour, his voice a little gravelly from overexertion over the past few weeks in rehearsals.

"I was asleep, but I had a nightmare, and I couldn't seem to fall back asleep. I just...." Blair swallowed a little, just seeing their beloved husband clearly overworked was making tears prick at the corners of their wide doe eyes, "I just missed you. I couldn't fall back asleep knowing you were still up working at this hour."

"You don't need to worry about me, my love. I will come rest when I am finished here. You see, I need to get this all filled out before tomorrow morning-"

"It IS tomorrow morning, Copia," Blair cut him off. He glanced at the clock on his desk, an almost imperceptible look of shock flashing across his features. Admittedly, he had not realized quite how late he had been working. “Are you sure you’re doing alright? I don’t want to interrupt you, I know it’s important, you're on a tight schedule and everything…” Blair trailed off, a little unsure of why they even bothered to get up and interrupt him.

"You're never interrupting me, you know that love," He sighed a little as he leaned back in his high-backed chair, gesturing for Blair to come to him. They carefully closed the ajar door behind them, wincing at the grating noise as the worn hinges shut, before finding themself standing on Copia's side of the desk. He tugs them into his lap, pulling them in for a deep kiss. He wraps his arms around them tightly as if trying to pull them impossibly closer. Blair's fingers find their way into his soft hair, no doubt tousling it further.

Copia pulls away from the kiss, paint around his lips slightly smeared, staring at Blair, their soft pale features illuminated by the amber fire light, dark wavy hair cascading down their shoulders. They look at him with nothing but pure love, a soft smile on their lips as they trace his jawline with feather light touches, as if anything more would overwhelm them. He feels their long thin tail curl around his leg, squeezing just a little. He finds himself hit all at once with how much he has missed this these past few weeks.

Blair looks at Copia, the utmost adoration in his eyes as he studies their features, as if he's memorizing them in case they might disappear right before his eyes. He buries his face in their neck, drinking in their sweet scent.

"I miss you," He murmurs against their skin, peppering kisses down their neck. Blair lets out a soft whine, almost crying from how touch-starved they had been.

"Please, come to bed, won't you darling?" They ask again, feeling the neediness in his kisses as they trailed lower, down to the pale expanse of their chest left exposed by their nightgown. Copia pulls away at their question, seemingly snapping out of his trance, the realization that he might be getting carried away brought into focus as his eyes darted to the stack of paperwork on his desk.

"You know I would love to more than anything, my doll," His hand drifts across their cheek, they subconsciously lean their face further into his touch, pressing a soft kiss to his thumb as it ghosts over their lips, slightly smudged with his paint. "But, there is still work to be done. I do wish I could wait until later this morning, but it's not easy being Papa. It's important work, even if it is pretty demanding of my time and energy lately," He sighed and looked away from Blair's pleading eyes, knowing that if he spent much more time looking at them he would be bewitched, body and soul. They seemed to have that effect on him without even trying.

"It's okay, I understand," Blair sniffled a little, and slid off of Copia's lap as he turned his chair back to his desk. "I'll wait here for you."

"You don't need to do that, doll. Just go back to our bed, ok? I'm sure I'll be finished soon."

"No, no, I want to. I just...want to be near you," Blair sank to the floor next to his chair, wrapping their arms around his leg and laying their head on his thigh. It took everything in Copia to bring his attention back to his work, feeling intently the sensation of Blair languidly nuzzling on his thigh.

Blair knew that they probably looked incredibly pathetic like this, but they didn't care. Just being near to their beloved was intoxicating. They felt all of their stress dissipating, their tense shoulders relaxing and letting out a soft sigh as they curled further around his leg, letting the soft sounds of the crackling fire and their husband working drift them off to sleep once again.

They were awoken with their head being coaxed softly with familiar hands out of the position they had been lying in. No bad dreams this time, no dreams at all really, just a feeling of all of the sensations around them being a soft humming background noise, occasionally aware of Copia absentmindedly petting their hair, his hands faintly ghosting over their horns, making them settle further into the cozy sensation. Their eyes flutter open, instinctively looking up at the face of the man now softly caressing their hair once again.

"Hi."

"Hello."

They both laugh a little at the awkward greetings.

"I'm all finished. Let's head to bed now, my dove," Copia brushed a stray piece of Blair's bangs out of their eyes.

Blair winces a little as they start to pull themself out of the position they were in, feeling the stiffness of their muscles from being contorted in that position for what must've been at least another hour. Copia groans as he eases out of the chair had been sitting in for too long, then offers a hand to Blair, helping them off the floor.

It had started to rain in the early morning, not a torrential downpour, but enough to deter the couple from taking the shortcut through the courtyard. Getting back to their quarters, Blair would've normally just slipped back into bed to wait while Copia undressed, but their sleepy state seemed to amplify their clinginess, so they sat on the edge of the bathtub while he cleaned off his paint in the bathroom mirror. Copia paused as he finished cleaning off his left cheek.

"Do you need to watch me?"

Blair jumped a little, as if they had not been aware of what they had been doing.

"Um, well, I guess not. I'm sorry, was I like, weirding you out?" They moved to get up.

"No, no, of course not. I just thought you were pretty tired is all. You don't need to sit here with me if you don't want to, why don't you go get comfortable in bed, hm?"

Blair got up, but instead of leaving, instead came to wrap their arms around Copia's waist, leaning their head on his shoulder.

"Well, yeah, I am pretty tired, but I'm okay being sleepy if I'm with you," They reached around to his chest, undoing his neckerchief and getting at the buttons of his flowy black shirt while he returned again to wiping off his skull paint.

When his paint was finally all wiped away, Blair turned Copia away from the mirror, their soft hands cupping his cheeks before leaning up to give him a sleepy kiss on his nose.

"There he is," Blair beamed at Copia, making him blush. There was something so special, so intimate about seeing him without his skull paint, not even the black around his eyes and upper lip he wore on more casual days. In this moment, he was no longer Papa Emeritus The Fourth, just Copia.

After what felt like weeks on end spending every waking moment worrying about prepping for the tour, working through mountains of paperwork, rehearsing until his voice was hoarse and his muscles ached, getting to be just Copia, even just for a moment, away from everyone else in the Ministry just in the eyes of his lover, it was something he didn't know he was craving until now.

He couldn't help leaning down and kissing them back, but going for their lips instead. Blair felt him smile into the kiss, and their hands reached up to push his now unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders, and he finally pulled away to finish getting undressed the rest of the way.

The two shared a multitude of "I love you"s and "I missed you"s in between kisses as they made their way to the bedroom, Copia now only in his boxers and fresh socks, unhooked from his sock garters.

Once they fell into bed, Blair grabbing at a throw blanket to pull over the two of them, it didn't take long for sleep to overtake the couple, Blair was cozily tucked against Copia's chest, their arms wrapped around each other as if they were scared the other might disappear. Copia murmured out a "Sweet dreams, my dear" as sleep overtook the two of them finally.

Blair awoke the next morning slowly, surprised to hear no chime of an alarm, and even more surprised to still be curled up in their husband's arms. Cool light filtered through the curtains, bathing the two lovers in soft light. The rain from earlier that morning had not let up, the sound of it pattering against the windows a comforting one.

As Blair began to stir, Copia did as well, his arms wrapped around their soft frame pulling them impossibly closer into his bare chest. He let out a pleased sigh, his eyes just barely fluttering open.

"Good morning, doll," Copia's voice was still a little hoarse, both from all the rehearsals and the sleep. He reached a hand up to sleepily card his fingers through their hair, his hands drifting up to their horns to run his hands over them. Blair sighed at the pleasurable sensation.

"Morning honey..." As Blair's thoughts caught up with them, they looked up at Copia quizzically. "Shouldn't you be working by now?"

"Before we left my office last night, I cleared my schedule for this weekend." This admission clears the sleepy fog out of Blair's mind, now startled and a little confused.

"But don't you have to-"

"I'm Papa now, I make the rules. And I say, I have much more important matters to attend to than some rehearsals and meetings. I have spent nowhere near enough time with my little sunshine these days," Blair blushed at the nickname, as it reminded them of the song he had written for them. They snuggled back into his chest.

"You know you're never gonna hear the end of this from Imperator..." Blair traced patterns absentmindedly on Copia's back, squishing their cheek against his chest hair, careful to angle their head as to not scratch him with their horns.

"I can endure another lecture from her if it means I get to see more of you, my love. She is the least of my worries," He reassured Blair, and he meant it. He would risk a thousand long-winded lectures about image and responsibility if it meant that he got to make just a little more time for his spouse.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Copia puts his hand under Blair's chin, tilting their head to look right at him, their slit pupils dilating. "My work is important to me, but nothing in my life is more important to me than you. I know right now it feels like a lot, but it won't be like this forever. Know that I'm not pushing you away. I would never push you away. I love you, Blair."

"I love you too Copia," Blair closed the gap between them, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "What do you say we sleep in a little bit more, hm? Gotta get caught up on the hours missed last night, right?" Copia slotted his leg in between Blair's as they tangled in the throw blanket.

"I like the sound of that," Copia answered, and it wasn't long before the couple dozed off once again. For Copia, finally getting the rest he so desperately needed to catch up on, sleeping heavier, truly letting go of all of his worries. And Blair, they had no nightmares to speak of.

#i haven't finished a writing thing in so long. please be nice to me #i know this is so nothing but let me have this #returning after like 3 weeks with some self-indulgent silliness #and probably fucking back off right after 🖤#what do you have to say doll?#my honey bun 🖤#can you feel me longing for you forever?#self ship #self shipping #self ship fic #papa emeritus iv #cardinal copia

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eternally-smitten · 6 months

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What a Mess

summary: After a long day at work, Natalie finds out she has more to do when Sun comes to her covered in a mess.

word count: 962

author's note: ...the movie got to me. It healed my inner child. I couldn't resist at least having Sun be a platonic f/o! 13 year old me is screaming her little head off right now because I wrote this lol

banner credit: mmadeinheavenn

It was closing time for the Pizzaplex.

Finally.

Natalie shooed the last straggler out of the daycare before shutting the doors behind her. She flicked her staff hat off and ruffled her hair, feeling hungry and worn out. Her day wasn’t entirely done, though, because there was still a mess the kids left behind waiting for her. Balls taken from that dreaded ball pit were thrown everywhere, some shoes were left behind, building blocks littered all over the mats, and drawings scattered everywhere.

She sighed and put her hat back on, “Guess I’m goin’ home late again.”

Just as she started to collect the brightly colored balls, Natalie heard rustling around up in the jungle gym area. Then, there was distressed animatronic mumbling.

“Sun?” She asked, throwing the ball in her hand back in the pit, “Where are you?”

Whatever shuffling she heard earlier stopped as soon as she spoke. Natalie fixed her glasses and walked around, trying to find him.

“Sunny? Come on, I don’t have time to play hide and seek tonight. Can you help me clean up?”

“Clean up?” A voice asked above her.

Natalie saw part of his face poking out behind a slide and waved him down, “Yeah! There’s some drawings here for you, too.”

“Drawings?”

Before she could utter another word, Sun hopped down and hesitantly stepped in the light. When she could see him better, Natalie audibly groaned.

“You let the kids draw all over you again, didn’t you?” She pursed her lips.

Sun turned his face away a little, seemingly embarrassed, “They said they ran out of paper! They wanted to make me pretty!”

She fumbled with her key ring to find the keys to her office, “At least it’s not stickers again. Those were a nightmare to clean off.”

“You won’t let me have stickers without you around!” He reminded her, “I miss them…”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Sunny,” Natalie found her key and beckoned him to follow her, “It’s that I don’t trust the kids. They always make a mess that I have to clean up.”

He titled his head, “But it’s so much fun! Lots and lots of fun!”

“Sure, for the one that doesn’t have to spend hours cleaning up sticky goo off of metal.” Natalie unlocked her office and searched her desk for the wipes she bought special for situations like this. Sun watched her curiously in the doorway and looked at how her office was decorated.

It was very dreary. The walls were a depressing gray, her desk chair was extremely worn out, and she had little to no decorations. Except for one thing hung up on the wall.

He pointed ahead, grabbing Natalie’s attention, “You kept it?”

She looked to where he was pointing and smiled, “Of course I did! You made it for me!”

The only thing that decorated her entire office was a drawing Sun did for her when she first started working at the Pizzaplex. It had a little Sun and a little Natalie smiling and holding hands under a rainbow that read “To my new bestest friend! Welcome aboard!!”

Sun clicked his cold fingers together, “You really liked it?”

“Yes!” Natalie giggled, grabbing her wipes before locking the office, “It’s from my best friend! Of course I love it!”

She took a seat on the playmats and patted the spot in front of her. Sun carefully sat down in front of her and leaned down so she could reach him better. His face was covered in crayon and marker. Little suns, flowers, cats and dogs, and kids’ names were all over in an assortment of colors. Natalie took a wipe and started to scrub the drawings away. Her movements made little squeaking noises against Sun’s metal face.

“You gotta stop letting the kids do this.” She muttered, struggling to clean up one particular marker doodle.

Sun did his best to stay still while she cleaned him up, “But they have so much fun!”

“They can have fun playing in other ways, Sunny.” Natalie finally got the one stain out and moved on to the next, “That’s what this place is here for, you know. You live in a playground.”

“I like it, though!” He whirred, “I make lots of friends when they doodle! We also ran out of paper and they weren’t interested in games!”

Natalie stopped to grab a new wipe, “All you gotta do is call me to grab you guys more paper. That’s what I’m here for, you know.”

“You’re so busy!” Sun shook his head, “Busy, busy!”

“Well, yeah!” She pulled his face towards her again, “I am busy here because it’s my job!”

She finished up wiping away the last of the crayon marks and let go of him. The mats squeaked as she stood up and stretched. Sun got up after her and touched his freshly cleaned face.

“Thank you.” He said quietly.

“Sure!” Natalie smiled at him, “Now, can you help me clean up before I go?”

“Keep the light on when you do!” Sun said anxiously, “...Please?”

She handed him one of the drawings she found, “Of course I will.”

Just like she expected, cleaning up took up most of her night. It was shocking how kids could jam toys into places Natalie never thought they could reach. Once they were finally done, she stuck around for another hour or so to drink Fizzy Pop with Sun and to keep him company. When it was time for her to get back home, Sun was left alone in the daycare once again. Instead of feeling lonely, though, he made sure to draw something new for Natalie. He wanted to make sure his best friend could decorate her office with lots of wonderful things.

Tag list: @rainy-day-ships @bobmckenzie @wanderers-wife @lieutenantselnia @gideongrovel @ghilliedup @felixrichtershubby @fates-theysband @mashyaoi @cherrypieships lmk if you want to be added/removed! ♡

#my stuff ♡#Sun ♤#self ship fic #self ship fanfiction #platonic f/o #ok to rb!

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astral-express-family · 26 days

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A Potion and a Sparkling Ring

Aslia x Hina | romantic fluff

a proposal fic? whaaaat???? okay but seriously i've started calling Hina my wife and then the potions event happened so uh. here we are i guess

"Oho, so you're the ones behind the potion shop I've heard so much about! When it comes to fulfilling requests, I heard the customer's wish is practically your command."

At the sound of her girlfriend's voice, Aslia looks up from the book she's reading. Sure enough, Hina is standing there, her eyes twinkling and tail wagging. The rabbit lady blushes, and buries her face in her book to the sound of Lisa's teasing giggle. As Paimon and Lumine greet the general and her companion, Aslia's mind drifts. A bag hangs off the back of rose chair, and this is the perfect situation for ro to make use of it.

A brief tug on rose arm makes rose look up. Lisa is tugging gently on her arm, a silent encouragement to go greet the guests. Kirara, who Aslia is only vaguely acquainted with, is rocking back and forth idly. Lisa greets the guests in her usual playful tone, while Aslia stares at Hina with a wistful smile as ro shoulders rose bag. Then ro basically sprints the short distance between the potions stand and the cauldron where the others stand, exclaiming, "Puppy!"

Hina barely has enough time to turn around before she receives an armful of her girlfriend, but her tail is wagging more than before. Aslia presses kisses all over Hina's face as the general giggles and manages to say, "Hey, Bunny!"

"Oh, this cutie seems to like you," Lisa teases. Aslia pulls away from Hina, rolling rose eyes playfully. Crossing her arms and turning to Lisa she grumbles, "Lisa!"

Lisa puts her hands up in surrender with a little giggle. She keeps talking, but Aslia stops paying attention. Ro is more concerned with rummaging around in rose bag, pausing when ro finally finds the item ro's looking for.

A small box.

She'd had this for months, waiting for the perfect opportunity to give it to its intended recipient.

And now here's the recipient, standing right in front of her, unaware of what Aslia holds in her hands.

"Hey, Shining Star, are you gonna help out?" Lumine asks, causing Aslia to jump and nearly drop the box. She approaches the cauldron, asking, "So, Lulu, what're we making?"

Lumine explains the potion the three of them will be making for Hina and Kirara. One to keep them, and the soldiers of Watatsumi, in peak condition. Aslia nods in understanding as she prepares herself for her role in making the potion. She leans over Lumine's shoulder, pointing out places to put ingredients to make the most efficient potion.

When it's done, Lumine pours it into a heart-shaped bottle, picked out by a blushing Aslia. Then Paimon attaches a decoration to the bottle, whilst Lumine sidles over to Aslia.

"So... Hina," Lumine giggles, "and that little box I saw?" Aslia lets out a squeak of embarrassment, rose face burning. Ro knows that Lumine has figured out what's in the box, so ro just nods a little. Lumine grins wide and chirps, "About time!"

"About time for what?" Paimon asks, poking their head over Lumine's shoulder as they pass the finished potion to it. Lumine takes the potion and whispers, "Aslia's hoping to get engaged."

"Again?" Paimon asks, louder than strictly necessary, prompting Hina and Kirara to glance over for just a moment before resuming their conversation. Aslia pulls out the box again, looking at it with a faraway stare. Paimon looks at rose, then over to where Hina and Kirara are speaking. Then back to Aslia, then Hina, then Aslia one more time. Recognition dawns on their face, and then a smile.

"Good luck!" Paimon chirps, patting Aslia on the back. Meanwhile, Lumine holds out her hand with a knowing smirk. Aslia tilts her head in confusion, before Lumine gestures to the ring.

"Put the ring around the potion neck. Hina sees the ring. You propose," she starts, before Paimon finishes, "Bam! There you go!"

The plan makes Aslia blush, but ro nods in agreement. Lumine holds out the bottle, and Aslia carefully works the ring over the neck. It's big enough - or the bottle neck is small enough, Aslia's not sure - that the ring slides down easily.

Then Lumine approaches Hina and Kirara, distracting them from their conversation. Paimon encourages them to try the potion, with Hina praising it with her usual genuine smile. Kirara tests it as well, also having nothing but compliments.

"Hey, what's this?" Kirara examines the bottle carefully upon spotting the ring. Then her eyebrows raise in realization, and she giggles with a playful, "General, I believe this is for you!"

"H-huh...?" Hina stammers, taking the bottle and staring at the ring. Aslia clears rose throat. Ro's down on one knee, rose hands out as if gesturing to the ring on the bottle. Ro just hopes ro looks more confident than ro feels.

"Hina... will you marry me?"

Hina blushes, her entire face burning red. Aslia can see her tail wagging as she stares at Aslia for a long moment before announcing her answer of, "Of course!"

Lumine, Paimon, and Kirara burst into cheers as Aslia leaps up, and then Hina pulls her into a kiss.

This, of course, is the exact moment that Lisa approaches. She compliments them, her usually playful tone entirely genuine. Aslia thanks her as ro removes the ring from the bottle and places it on Hina's finger. It's a black band, with an amber-colored gemstone in the middle. She'd had to pay Wagner a fair bit of Mora to get him to make it, but it was worth every single one.

"Well, I guess our afternoon tea is more of an engagement party now, huh cuties?" Lisa asks playfully. Aslia and Hina both blush, though Aslia is also rolling her eyes playfully.

"Now I'm really glad we decided to make that delay," Hina giggles to her new fiancée.

"So am I," Aslia replies with a fond smile, "So am I."

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violetsareblue-selfships · 4 months

Text

Falling Snow

Ship: Astarion x April | Word Count: 643 | Warnings/Tags: sappy times :3

A/N: I love that the first thing I'm posting about him is something so sappy & soft. He deserves it~ Anyway, here's a cute little snow day thing. I hope you enjoy it! <3

"It's snowing!" The gleeful shout snags Astarion's attention, and he turns to look at her with a fond, mostly amused expression.

"It is winter, darling," He answers dryly, though he finds it cute how easily excitable she is over these things. He hasn't been too fond of the cooler months for the past who knows how many decades. It's hardly the most enjoyable weather to be out in especially when trying to lure people back for Cazador…

"I know," April says, a cute little grin on her face and an almost mischievous look in her eye. "But it's exciting, isn't it?"

"I suppose…" He answers, raising an eyebrow at her. "What are you planning, my dear?"

"Nothing!" Her voice is too playful for him to believe her, and when has she been good at deception anyway?

"Right," He says flatly, still looking at her in that fond and amused way. "I know you, sweetheart. You want to go out in it, hmm?"

Her sheepish expression makes him want to kiss her even more, and he chuckles when the only response he gets is a quiet 'maybe…'. He sighs in this dramatic, put-out way that makes her giggle softly. "Fine. If that's what my beloved wants… go get dressed for it, you silly thing."

April giggles more and hastily pecks his cheek on the way by as she goes to the bedroom to get ready for their outing. Astarion just chuckles and shakes his head a little, sticking a bookmark in his book so he can go join her.

-----------

Twenty minutes later finds them in a small field not too far from their house. The ground is covered in a thin layer of snow, undisturbed of any footprints aside from their own. Seeing it like this, with the snow lightly sparkling under the moonlight, he can see why she'd find beauty in it.

April pauses and tilts her head up, the snow settling in her hair and eyelashes, looking so peaceful that his heart aches a little. "Alright, my little snow angel…" He murmurs, admiring how her pale skin looks in the snow's artificial light. "What's your plan now?"

Her eyes open to meet his, and whatever response she had dies on the tip of her tongue. His hair camouflages the snow much better than hers, but that doesn't stop her from noticing how lovely he looks under the moonlight - a fact she's always held true since she's known him. "Um…"

Astarion chuckles softly. "Surely, there's something in that pretty head of yours?" As he speaks, he tugs her closer, one of his hands coming up so he can trail his fingertips down the side of her face.

She shivers at the touch, and only one thought comes to mind. How could she think anything else when he's looking at her so softly? "…Kiss me, please…"

His eyes soften and he gently cups her cheek to lift her face toward his. Then he leans down and presses his lips against hers, a soft little kiss that has warmth spreading through both (though it's more like he's stealing her warmth).

"Now… you wanted a dance, didn't you?" He asks quietly, chuckling when she looks at him with surprise. "I know you, you little romantic. A dance under the falling snow sounds exactly like your thing, darling."

"I… yes, please," She says softly, and he lets out a soft hum.

"On one condition, my sweet."

"Yes?"

"Once we're done here, we light a fire in the fireplace, and I get to hold you in my arms for as long as I want."

April laughs softly, reaching up to lightly flick one of his ears. "You are just like a cat, you know. But still… I think that can be arranged."

"Perfect," Astarion purrs softly, tugging her even closer to his body. "Then let's dance."

#self ship #self shipping #self insert #self insert fic #self insert fanfiction #self ship fic #si x canon #canon x si #self insert x canon #canon x self insert #my writing #something real 💖🩸

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