#(causing problems on purpose. that's the Heart Pirate way!)

[ittsybittsybunny]

ATLA Live Action Series Review:

The Good

Aesthetically this show felt right. Sure sometimes the outfits didn't quite feel lived in, but I always felt like I was watching a fantasy world with decent effects and interesting design. Also, I really enjoyed the sets!

Bending: Yes some of the fights feel very quick, but the bending looks cool. It is certainly better than 10 benders lifting one big rock. I can honestly say the opening bending fight scene gave me so much hope for this show.

Kyoshi Warriors: I loved seeing them in live action, and I thought Suki's performance was great!

Omashu: I think the mashup of the mechanist made sense since that is an important character overall and I would hate to see him cut. However, both Jet & the secret tunnels felt sloppily thrown in.

Northern Water Tribe: I really loved the way it looked, and appreciated the two episodes we spent here. I think Yue gained more agency in this interpretation, and why shouldn't the moon spirit be a waterbender. Also, episode seven felt the most in tune with the original show's spirit.

Zuko: I think he was one of the most fleshed-out and best parts of the show! Dallas Liu really captured Zuko's spirit, and the scene between him and Aang in episode 6 was wonderful!

Soundtrack: Hearing the original soundtrack bits is always great, and when I first heard the ending music I was so excited.

Is the show perfect, no - but I wouldn't mind a season 2.

The Bad

Pacing: Turning 20 episodes into 8 was bound to lead to some cuts...but oftentimes times things felt too quick or disjointed. I think there were editing problems contributing to this for sure, but sometimes things skipped around too much without a clear purpose as to why. Also, why bring in plots from later seasons when you barely have enough time already?

Writing: This show definitely suffered from exposition dumping, though it did get better as time went on. I think the biggest example of this is actually opening in the past rather than the present. We do not get to learn along with Aang that the world has changed, instead, we get to learn that 100 years have passed....which doesn't hold the same tension or worldbuilding.

Clunky Dialogue: Along with exposition, clunky dialogue is another example of bad writing. I think sometimes I felt like the acting was kind of meh in the beginning, but then over time I began to realize it had far more to do with the lines characters were trying to deliver. The actors themselves are not bad, just cursed with awkward writing and lines that feel out of touch with the setting they're in.

Main Trio: I don't entirely know that I believe Katara, Sokka, and Aang are friends as opposed to 3 people stuck together to save the world. Aang feels a little too somber for a young kid running away from his responsibilities, Sokka is protective, but not exactly the heart of the team, and Katara is sort of just there until the last two episodes. Where is her struggle, her desire to learn so strong she steals from pirates? Also, while Gordon Cormier did a great job, Aang does zero waterbending on his own, is overly serious, and tells Katara not to fight. Where is his desperation to protect his friends? It feels like they all lost emotional depth.

Tension: Bringing Ozai, Azula, and Zhao out in the beginning immediately causes us to lose the realization there is an even bigger bad. Part of why Ozai is so terrifying is he is a primarily silent villain until the third season when we finally see the face of the "big bad evil guy" behind it all. Yes, they add to Zuko's backstory, but again, they are revealing the villains too early. Azula is the antagonist of season 2 and one of my favorite characters, so I hope they do more with her in the future. Finally, Zhao is supposed to be an example of the uncontrollable nature of fire unrestrained, instead, he comes off as vaguely threatening with the supposed true power being Azula.

Characterization: While all characters are bound to lose something in a shorter show, it still felt like certain characters were more mutilated than others. I am sure there are 100 different opinions on who, but I think the biggest victim was Katara.

Katara: Katara manages to go from a complete novice to a bending master in what feels like a matter of days. The journey feels short, and that makes the results feel largely unearned. Katara is one of the strongest personalities in the show, determined, kind, and fiery. In many ways, she is the unpredictability of water - equally dangerous as it is necessary to live. She is the child of a war who lost her mother, forced to grow up too soon, and even raised her older brother. Yes, Katara often gets stereotyped as the mom friend, but overall she feels underutilized in this show. We really don't see enough of her journey until the very end.

Iroh: Iroh was always comedic but most importantly wise. Even when Zuko is trying to give himself advice, he mimics Iroh. Instead, he seems to be used more as comedic relief without the underlying experience. He just doesn't feel right. Also, he kills Zhao instead of Zhao getting himself killed - which is less about Iroh and more about the writing than anything.

Ozai is weirdly a little too nice. Yes, he burned Zuko and pits his kids against each other, but he feels toned down in a show claiming to be more mature than the original cartoon.

Azula is perhaps more realistically worried about losing her status as the golden child, but she is also missing the cruelty she and her father share. I understand worrying about making your character cartoonishly evil, but the Fire Nation is currently a deeply nationalistic empire trying to control the world. Where is the deep-seated belief that they are better than other people, not just trying to bring balance to the world? There is a line between creating complexity and toning down the very real evil inherent in this plan.

Roku: I can only say what the fuck was that. He was barely there, and not the serious master to Aang's youthful exuberance.

The Ugly

Show, Don't Tell: The show's single biggest issue seems to be speeding through story parts by simply stating things. Instead of allowing the audience to discover, trusting that we are smart enough to understand, let's just blatantly say things like Zuko is the only reason the 41st division is alive to their faces. Even though in the context of the story Ozai literally already said that.... it's the division, the division for Zuko, Zuko's division.

Thematic Misunderstandings: I think this show makes several minor changes with major implications, such as airbenders actively fighting the firebenders, when airbenders are known for their pacifist nature and the lie of an Airbender fighting force is actively propaganda. Similarly, Aang very quickly accepts his role as the avatar and doesn't even run away in the beginning. Without this conflict between his desire to be a carefree child and the fact that the world needs him - the show loses a key aspect of Aang's character. Also, the obsession with downplaying the avatar state as something dangerous feels like a disservice to the tradition, connection, and strength of the avatar, which can be permanently destroyed as the trade-off for that kind of power. It's dangerous for the balance of the entire world, not just because it's powerful!

The Agni Kai: Zuko's fight against his father is one of the defining moments of Ozai's cruelty, not just because he is willing to fight his child, but because Zuko tried to do everything right. Zuko shows deference to his father, apologizes, and most importantly refuses to fight! The determination not to upset his father and still be grievously injured and banished is a hugely important theme for the fire nation and Zuko's life as a whole. He tries to do everything he is supposed to and only regains his father's acceptance after he "kills" Aang. Zuko's struggle between moral vs. social right and wrong in contrast to his family is hugely important to his character.

-----

TLDR: ATLA was a fantastical animated television show that was never afraid to show character development and flaws. When you turn 20 episodes into 8, you are bound to lose something. You hollowed out the middle, leaving the shell of important moments and events without ever wondering if all the times in between formed the true spirit of the show.

Rating: 6.5/10 It's perfectly fine and worth a watch. Not a disaster, but certainly falls flat of the original.

[kaivenom]

Always loved yanderes HCs but none never ask more interesting question

I wanted to know how any yandere of the kid pirates react with a reader that can easily win in a fight with them reader being similar to Mihawk? Maybe?

If you want answer my ask it’s up to you

have a lovely day <3

Yandere!Kid Pirates with a reader stronger than them HCS

Characters: Eustass Kid, Killer, Heat, Wire

A/N: since physical intimidation doesn't work if you are stronger than them, the kid pirates use psychological torture on you.

Masterlist

Eustass Kid

You know you can beat him on a fight but his big body is the perfect factor to make you scared, you know you can beat him but seeing the sudden shadow and hearing the heavy footsteps behind you, it makes you really scared.

He uses this as an advantage to make you do things he wants, his mere pressence on the room is enough to make you shiver and expect the worse, when he is angry.

When he is happy, everything is good, he is sweet, lovely, still a little rough but better that when he gets mad.

When he gets angry, even if it isn't with you, he tends to break things and yell, and you just wait there or in a room nearby, hearing the big noises of things crashing.

Killer

You know you can beat him on a fight but the way he can be silent and look at you for hours can make you reallly uncomfortable.

You really don't like him wearing his mask cause when there is a problem, he doesn't say anything nor even moving. He just stands there, is helmet looking directly at you.

Without seeing his expressions, you don't know what he is up to or what his next move would be, which is the most terrifying thing that can happen to you.

The counterparty of this is that it's difficult to see if he is quiet from being angry or from being turned on, cause he could just easily go nearby you and suddently break your clothes.

You really love being with him, but mostly when you both are alone and he doesn't have his helmet on, otherwhise you are on the verge of a heart attack when he gets silent.

Heat

You know you can beat him on a fight but he is weird and persistant in a way that you find cute, most of the time.

He is nice but also intoxicating or maybe harrasing. He pinches, burns, cuts, stiches you a lot. He says that he doesn't do it on purpose cause he is made of stitches and he doesn't feel physical touch as the way others do. He leaves your body full of hickeys and bruises but he is really good at apologizing.

In some occasions, especially in battle, he does special moves to either hurt you, with the excuse of not having seeing you, or save you from danger and be the saviour you need.

The other big point, he doesn't know how to be alone, so he is with you 24/7, but you can say no to him, he would get really sad and he would get really self-conscious about it.

Wire

You know you can beat him on a fight but he is massive and he seems so nice to you.

He is the doctor of the crew so he is the one to take care of you and make you feel nice. Which you dont know is that he leaves dangerous weapons, traps or anything else on the ship just for you to get hurt and get to him.

He even experimented some time to give you a little dose of poison with your medicine just to make you feel worse and seek for his help with more need.

He is an expert on making you dependant on him, and he is so good at it that you don't realize it cause he is always really nice lovely and treats you as a queen.

[ikkaku-of-heart]

@medicus-mortem

For all that Ikkaku hated the idea of Law selling his soul to the World Government by becoming a Warlord, she refused to let him walk into the lion's den alone. The fact that she got to dress up in a fancy gown only slightly softened the indignity of the whole thing. This party was just a publicity stunt. Hell, she doubted whatever charity this shindig was claiming to be supporting would see a dime after paying off the expenses of the food, decor, and bottle service. It absolutely made her sick.

Thankfully, she'd gotten better at not letting her disdain show on her face, but she was grateful for the black and gold mask helping her hide. It only covered half her face, but the long, skeletal fingers that wrapped around it gave it a morbid touch that kept too many people from staring at her too long, despite the opulent gold and black gown she wore. Plus, it complimented Law's plague doctor attire quite nicely, in her opinion. A princess who wasn't immune to death's grasp.

A message she was sure would be too subtle for this crowd, but she knew being too overt in flipping off the World Government wouldn't end well.

Finally, she got back to Law, grateful she hadn't spilled any of the precious booze needed to get through the night, despite having to elbow her way through the crowd. "With all the money they're throwing around, you'd think they'd offer up some stronger alcohol," Ikkaku griped, handing her captain his glass. Sneakily lifting up one of the top layers of her skirt, she flashed him a peek at a flask hidden underneath. "Thankfully, your brilliant engineer came prepared. Figured my charitable contribution to this stupid party is a generous helping of Gramps' moonshine to the punchbowl. Might make things more interesting around here, at the very least."

Taking a sip of her own glass, she smirked. There was a slight burn at the back of her throat, but nothing too noticeable. But the more unsuspecting people drank, the harder it would hit them. Maybe that would provide some entertainment later on.

Unfortunately, she was bored now, and she suspected so was Law. If the World Government didn't want their new pet Warlord to start performing open-heart surgery on the buffet table, he was going to need enrichment. And while Ikkaku thought that would serve them right, she knew her captain's plans hinged on putting on the illusion of cooperation until the time was right.

But that didn't mean they couldn't subtlely misbehave. Especially since a party like this, full of masks and devious fellow Warlords, made it easy to misdirect any blame.

"You know what's great about a big, fancy ballgown?" she asked Law, careful to keep her voice low. "Lots of hiding places for little gizmos and gadgets. Which are totally necessary for livening up a dull party. Unless you're perfectly content to just play nice and wait for your dance card to be filled?"

@ikkaku-of-heart provided a plot [+] for a starter.

Law can not believe he let the Marines talk him into attending this shit. A charity masquerade ball where the Warlords are the guests of honour? It's a fucking joke. Yet, here he is. Dressed up and mingling with the pompous dipshits that came to gawk at the tamed pirates. The Hearts Captain doubts Sakazuki and Naval high command came up with this idea. It reeks too much of propaganda and forced positive publicity to be that walking volcano's brain child. This has the stench of the World Government all over it.

The doctor peers out from his plague doctor mask, watching the crowd and thankful for the anonymity his full face mask gives him. Morgans flutters from one influential pair to another, looking to get photos and quotes for his news paper. An extravagant figure in amongst so many others. How Law hopes the bird man doesn't notice him. The last thing he needs is to be herded into a photo with either Doflamingo or Boa Hancock. That would tip him towards foregoing that little promise to behave.

He huffs inside his mask. Black leather with yellow highlights. Made to match his perfectly tailored black and yellow suit. Trafalgar Law most certainly looks sharp and menacing. As he deserves. He just wishes it was a different situation.

As gloved hands rise to adjust his tie a figure elbows her way through a couple people who look quickly affronted. Ikkaku emerges, holding a couple glasses of wine that are sorely needed right now. Law straightens then, taking a step closer to his engineer to accept the drink. Ikkaku, of course, is his plus one to this event. Yes, they butt heads a bit about his choices regarding the Marines but Law can absolutely appreciate her snarky skepticism right now.

[blacknovelist]

(one piece wano arc spoilers)

So like @guardianlioness and I were talking about one piece and thematic stuff and generally losing our minds and we were talking especially about like

How Zoro and Sanji and Luffy are a Trio but also how Zoro and Sanji are explicitly also painted to be a duo to Luffy, right, like. They're the "Wings of the Pirate King". Together, they protect and look after the crew, but also their captain. They are, effectively, equals in what they do, "official" roles IN the crew itself aside. Zoro, with his high physical power as their physical defense and Sanji, with his high empathy and compassion as an emotional bulwark

And

Like

Okay. Here's the thing. Here's the proverbial problem. Cause right now, as it stands, Oda's introduced an unbalance to the duo. We were specifically talking about how frustrating it kind of is that the imbalance exists.

Because Oda gave Zoro conqueror's haki. He and Luffy share this— but it leaves Sanji as an odd one out. Thematically, it makes no sense to end with this like... off kilter seesaw. Why would you build these two up to BE on even standing only to take that away from them? Don't get me wrong, Zoro having conqueror's haki is a delicious character choice that I think adds fascinating complexity to Zoro and his position in the crew. He's a powerhouse, he's exerting his will over reality, and he follows his Captain the future Pirate King without question. Haki. Love it. Brilliant. But it makes no sense in the overarching thematic line between him and Sanji in regards to Luffy.

Giving Sanji conqueror's naturally wouldn't fix the issue, because frankly that defeats the entire purpose OF the char building that's been established in whole cake island. Sanji rejected the line of noble, of royalty, of power. It makes no SENSE for sanji to have it, he's not someone looking TO conquer or overcome the way Zoro is, it doesn't FIT him. And saying the stuff with his raid suit and the Germa augmentation rearing its head is the balance point is nonsensical for the same reason. Sanji already rejected all of that power and what it means and reclaimed it in a new way. Explicitly, directly, he denounced these things, directly ASSOCIATES them with a loss of humanity and his very self, wants nothing more to DO with it. Not only does it not make sense, but going back on it would be a slap in the face to all the development Sanji's gone through up until now, even laying aside the fact that it doesn't parallel Luffy at all so the unbalance isn't really addressed in that case.

But you know. Conqueror's Haki isn't the only thing Luffy has to proverbially offer. Conqueror's Haki is the overt, the direct, the loud and forceful. There's a lot we don't understand, between the stuff we do. It bears down and exerts over reality, makes demands of it. It tells you to listen.

What do we know about The Voice Of All Things? Not a lot. We know it seems to enable one to hear not the words, but the intention, the truth of other living things and even in objects, especially those with will like the Poneglyphs. We know Roger had it, Zunesha has it, the Kozuki line seemed generally to have it. The Three Eyed tribe may be capable of awakening it in themselves. We don't know if it's purely something you're born with or not. We don't know what it means, if anything, except for this: to hear the voice is to listen to the world around you and understand its heart.

When Luffy enters Gear 5, the only one who can tell at first is Zunesha. Zunesha can hear his heartbeat, and conveys this through the Voice to Momonosuke.

The anime conveys it more clearly, but it's in the manga text, too. Immediately after Zunesha realizes this... Onigashima is shaking. No one quite knows yet what's going on, other than Kaido is here and the world around them is trembling. Those on the battlefield, they've got front row seats to witnessing the transformation, what comes next.

Zoro and Sanji have finished their fights. They're conked the fuck out post battle, like usual... or they should be. But here's the thing. Right after Zunesha calls for Joyboy, from a room distant to the fighting, offset from the war waging outside...

Sanji's part in the major battles is over by this point. If they wanted to emphasize a "the crew knows their captain" moment, why not showcase the other strawhats too? The ones not on ground zero? But it doesn't show anyone else. It focuses. on. him.

Sanji, who's a deeply compassionate and kind man. Sanji, who stopped and paid attention even to the biological relatives he couldn't stand when he could've walked free without a care. Sanji, with his skills in Observation, in already listening to and feeling out others' intentions...

Zoro having conqueror's haki doesn't make sense on its own. It unbalances the duality of the Wings of the Pirate King. But give Sanji the power to hear the Voice Of All Things or something damn well close... that's a pretty good parallel to each other and their roles to Luffy, don't you think?

[liftingdown]

(tw, binge eating)

thing I lfted that have surprisingly helped me stop binge eating (and why)

artificially sweetened water flavored ( I found when I want to eat my feelings, what Is dopamine boast that comes eating, and so artificial sweeters are way better at that, because they are like 200 times more sweet, take less time to make, and have endless novel flavors. this category has everything from powders, to those little bottles, to sugar free syrups, to even things like diet sodas and tea. basically every time I go to the store I find something new, and they are usually very small and easy to steal)

human chew toys (I have the puppy instinct where chewing on stuff makes me happy, there a lot of cool little silicon things for that purpose that work great)

nice tea, like genuinely fancy tea and tea supplies, (I get to have a nice little tea ritual that feels like a treat to myself when I feel I deserve a treat. I have an nice little tray, and mug, and tea myself to it. pairs well with rewatching tv shows and fuzzy blankets)

fuzzy blanket (happy and content time that makes it feel very dumb to go to the kitchen when here is so soft. also see weighted blankets, and heating pads)

the power of habits book (technically I pirated the eBook, but dear god this is an eye opening book, also the authors website straight up give you a work book that legit changed my life. like none of this would have worked without reading the book first)

fitbit ( ok, so the reason this worked is not the reason you would think. basically I notice that every time I had the urge to binge, I would check, and my heart rate would be like 15-20 beats above normal, and realizing that made it a lot easier to tell I was stressing myself out and in my own head. it also made it a lot easier to go do a breathing exercise go for a walk or something before binge eating my feeling away. I'm still not perfect, but it brought be a lot of awareness)

bath/shower stuff ( if I'm really struggling, I usually try to take a shower or bath first because you can't binge eat in the shower. and having bath bombs, face masks, shower oil, nice soap, and other various goop makes it more fun and enjoyable. also, I have on occasional taken more then one hot shower a day, which dried the fuck out of my skin, so moisturizer is very important.

cleaning supplies (I don't understand it, but having a fully clean, vacuumed, wiped down, and polished house makes me feel like I have my shit together and can do anything )

vitamins (specifically vitamin d, your boy has got seasonal depression)

overall, I think the thing that help the most was having nice things I enjoyed doing that scratched the urges of binging without being nearly as unhealthy, and buying time for my brain to catch up to my habits and remember that eating all the food in my kitchen will not fix my problem and causes several new ones.

[bunnysdaydreams]

Apex Legends find out Reader’s been cheated on

This one shot is gender neutral so everyone can enjoy

Mirage (Elliott Witt)

When Mirage sees you down in the dumps sitting in a booth all by yourself he goes over to you

He’s going to be worried because he knows you are always happy go lucky…even when you aren’t

When you tell him that you’ve been cheated on he doesn’t know what to do right away

He’s upset because your sad, but also angry because who hurt you

One part of him wants to find this guys’ house and egg it

And the other part wants him to stay and comfort you

So he does what he thinks is best

He makes you one mean drink and sits with you so you can vent to him

When you are decently drunk he asks you about where this douche bag lives…for later purposes

You tell him and then beg him not to do anything

Everyone knows that Mirage may be a funny and nice guy, but he wasn’t a legend for nothing

“Don’t worry kiddo, Mirage is here to save the day. Also I don’t want you to get sick so you’re only having that drink, ok?”

Crypto (Taejoon Park)

Crypto and you have this little habit, you go somewhere and he miraculously finds you

Well when he finds you today, he is a little shocked on why your eyes a blood shot red

When you tell him about your cheating lover that’s when his mood changes

Just because he’s under an alias doesn’t mean he isn’t an older brother

He immediately finds this person and threatens them, they won’t know who he is

Once he’s done he checks on you to make sure you’re not crying your heart out on someone like that

Once you’re calm he suggests watching some movies…that he totally pirated

Most are Studio Gibli movies, he definitely puts on Ponyo

For you

Totally not him

“I wouldn’t worry about that person any more. Off the grid is the only secure way to go”

Octane (Octavio Silva)

He doesn’t even need to know, to know what happened

Unlike Mirage, Octane lives for dares and stunts

He doesn’t need to be told twice to go and egg this annoyances house

Even better he live streams it to show everyone that this person could not be trusted

He also vandalizes their car and slashed the tires

Anyone who hurts you will have a problem with him

He might also take some selfies here and there to cheer you up

And even though you shouldn’t be happy, you couldn’t help but laugh

Afterwards he’ll run back to your place and have some drinks and snacks for the both of you

And maybe he snagged some good edibles cause he knows you

“Cheer up Amigó! I got the need for speed!”

[localsharkcryptid]

@thenaiads Okay so this is a bit long and I didn't plan for that (hence why I'm just adding on here cause APPARENTLY comment replys have a limit) but I think I've gathered my thoughts - it was rather late when I made this post lol

Admittedly it's not a like, one to one or perfect comparison by any means (definitely not if we stick just to canon stuff)- more like 'damn you could make an au outta this' type deal and like the vibes which makes it difficult to explain but anyways:

I think the main thing with how I see it as coded for awesamdream is that, for lack of any better wording, the dynamic is notably messy - riddled with betrayals of trust, corruption of one of the parties involved due to assumptions, attempts at controlling the other and guilt, but at the same time both parties do hold some kind of love for each other - they've both been hurt (some more than others) by eachother but even DESPITE that they both love the other in some way, even if there's heavy denial on one end.

Sam and Davy Jones do hold some similarities - despite the difference in their settings and situations: Sam was given the role of Warden, a seemingly noble purpose and we all know that went wrong to say the least. Sam becomes corrupted by the prison and letting his own ideals come before any rational thought, he makes assumptions on people and their decisions like crazy - and the kind of catalyst of everything is that Davy Jones assumes that Calypso had forsaken him, Sam would make an assumption like that if someone didn't show up for their first meeting in 10 years. Most notably though, Sam was the one to lock Dream away - it wasn't his idea, but he did it and Jones was the one to show the pirate lords of the time how to bind Calypso in human form. And this goes more into personal interpretation and my own take on Sam's internal dialogue, but while Sam definitely has these thoughts and feelings repressed half way to hell, I think he did have a thing for/loved Dream pre-prison in some way and there's definitely a feeling of betrayal on his end with the staged finale (he thought Dream was a good person and wanted the prison for the server so they could deal with any problems/for a good reason - then as it turns out Dream is "the bad guy" which just metaphorically stabs Sam in the heart.) - and it's a very prevalent thing in the third pirates with Jones denying his love for Calypso and going 'she betrayed me' and 'left me no choice' but still he later says to Calypso herself that his heart will always belong to her. And while Jones isn't on some moral superiority complex like Sam, I feel like they are similar and I also eternally stand by the fact that Sam was at the least a decent if not a good man before the prison, I do not care for the idea that "he was always like that and the prison just let him be his true self" or something like that whatsoever and it's noted that Jones WAS a decent guy before everything and that's part of why Calypso gave him the duty she did.

As for Dream and Calypso: Dream is inherently attached to the idea of the supernatural, his connection to the revival book namely and depending on what you consider canon the whole Dreamon situation - and also he was the one to in-state Sam as Warden. Also his ties to XD who looks like him, and I personally have the hc of him being a direct creation of XD. Dream also is notably unpredictable, challenging, fickle even - not unlike how the sea can be - frankly Dream can be a lot of things and so can the ocean, whether that be a lethal force that can tear down cities or the literal life blood of the planet. Also the whole "he ran afowl with that which vexes all men" line, referring to Calypso feels Dream, like he IS the smps most eligible bachelor.

Anyways I think most importantly I feel like Sam would be the type of guy to rip out his own heart so he doesn't feel guilt anymore if he could (cause he HAS to have some level of guilt buried in there, I mean, *I gesture to the interaction with Ponk post prison break where he literally tells Ponk to just kill him with his own sword amongst other things* - and Dream being attributed to the sea in all of its ever changing and challenging nature I think has some fun potential!

And to be fair this is like, far off from how I USUALLY approach awesamdream since I prefer to give them a happy ending/have things work out in one way or another but idk I feel like there's some vibes with this dynamic- anyways I hope this makes sense?? Again putting what I call "the vibes" into words is really difficult, but hey I tried.

Would anyone shoot me if I said the dynamic between Calypso and Davy Jones from POTC was Awesamdream coded--

[hoes4hoseok]

enhypen as folklore

i enjoyed writing this so so so much and i had forgotten how much i liked writing these! the last few i churned out from a sense of obligation but i had a lot of fun with this one :) i hope you like it!

ni-ki as my tears ricochet

"cursing my name, wishing i stayed, look at how my tears ricochet"

i'm so sorry for this...we sure are starting with a bang because the lyric "i can go anywhere i want, just not home" physically makes me ache when i'm thinking about ni-ki 😭

1. he's literally far from home irl & 2. if you were with ni-ki...he'd feel like home & any end to the relationship would make you feel lost

overall, i just associate that type of hurt with ni-ki (yikes🤧💔)

jay as mirrorball

"i'm still on that tightrope, i'm still tryin' everything to get you laughing at me"

oh my goodness jay is such a mirrorball.

i'm not saying that he's desperate for attention or that he doesn't get any, (that's not what the song describes, anyways) but rather that he's trying. his best.

i get it if you don't understand the vision at first glance but after i gave it some thought i can see it so clearly

jungwon as seven

"we can be pirates, then you won't have to cry, or hide in the closet"

this song is so sweet & innocent in how it describes a childhood perspective of things & how simple we thought problems were then

i think that jungwon maintains a little bit of that innocent optimism even though he's older now :)

what really seals the deal for me is that he's the leader & literally solves problems for the group all the time (presumably)

i don't mean that he solves them like a child would, but the nostalgic comfort that the song brings is similar to the comfort i feel you'd get talking to jungwon 🤧

jake as august

"august slipped away into a moment in time 'cause it was never mine"

jake is wouldn't hurt you on purpose, & i think that goes without saying because he seems like such a sweetheart

but man, if you catch him at a vulnerable moment when his heart resides with someone else...he will break. your. heart.

the whole idea of not being able to call the end of a relationship what it is in your heart because you were never really together & he never really cared the way you did...CHILLS. terrifying. (my heart goes out to those who have experienced that irl, i'm so sorry).

jake fits the idea because i think he's trustworthy. like,, he could smile & you'd probably be sold (no offense)

again, at the end of the day, he didn't mean to hurt you. maybe that's what hurts most 👊

heeseung as illicit affairs

"you know damn well, for you, i would ruin myself a million little times"

i've always heard this song in two ways: a very literal sense of having a physical affair in secret && a more emotional version of it

personally, i can picture myself getting my heart broken by heeseung in both senses! might just be me though 😀

the thing is, he seems so charming & falling fast for him would be so easy that if you did, it's very possible that he wouldn't fall in the same way you did (i'm crying the song has been playing on loop for ten minutes now)

i was originally gonna give this one to jay & mirrorball to heeseung!! lmk what you think

sunoo as betty

"the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you"

sunoo would 100% be willing to serenade his apology...that being said, i do not think he's a cheater!

i feel like if he hurt you he'd want to make it up to you & apologize at the same time instead of hoping you just take the apology alone...like this man will make you feel WORTH IT

AGAIN he'd never cheat though ✋ (i think) but if he made you feel bad he's gonna fix it,, he isn't leaving you feeling like an old cardigan under someone's bed

for the record, i'm a 'betty takes james back' truther though.

sunghoon as the lakes

"i'm setting off, but not without my muse, no, not without you"

i am so passionate about preaching how this song & sunghoon are perfect for each other EEK

i love assigning songs about heartbreak to sunghoon because i just see him as a heartbreaker (whoops) but whoever he DOES end up with (if anyone) is one lucky mf

the idea of "all you need is each other" makes me melt because it's so so so romantic

it's not realistic for all couples & that's okay but i can see sunghoon wanting that kind of relationship someday :)

but beyond that he's also private & not very social (by his own description) so he just generally seems like he'd resonate with it 🥰

txt version ☆ evermore version ☆ masterlist

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

This isn’t actually a real problem it’s just a pet peeve of mine but every time I see someone write or draw Izzy and Ed as bright eyed bushy tailed kids(read late teens early 20s) on Hornigolds ship making dumb fuck promises to each other that they’re going to break/won’t be able to keep back before the world chewed them up and spit them out I die inside a little bit because there is a grizzled villain with a cold heart that plays that roll much better than Izzy ever could and it’s Calico fucking Jack. You are taking that roll away from my bestest boy.

Because like it or not there is canon evidence that Jack played that roll in Ed’s life and there’s no canon evidence that Izzy ever did, and in fact there’s evidence against it. I’ll start with the evidence against Izzy. It’s scant but it’s there. “I was honored to work for the legendary Blackbeard” is not something a man who has known Ed since before he was Blackbeard would say, but it is something someone who was hired on after the legend was already established would. everything about the way that Izzy acts about Ed being vulnerable all of a sudden screams that he didn’t know Ed before the Blackbeard mask.

Calico Jack on the other hand has textually known Ed since they first became outlaws. When they interact with each other they’re playing like they’re boys again, or at least much younger men. They drink like there’s no tomorrow, they put their bodies through hell in the name of fun, they line up empty bottles to shoot whip them of the fence boat railing, and they have a fun little name for everything. And while we the audience never see a softer side to Jack because he’s there with a specific nefarious goal and he is built to cause problems on purpose, we’re told it’s there by Ed. Ed, the one person on the ship who actually knows who the fuck Jack is tells us that “Jack’s always been a bit emotional, the two of you(Jack and Stede) actually have more in common than you think. I know he comes on a bit strong at first but he’s insecure.”

Like to me that establishes very clearly that they were friends when they were young and dumb, maybe not very close friends, but compatriots who bonded through the struggles they went through as young men who the world and their boss was beating down on, and that Jack at least opened up to Ed enough for Ed to know that he’s insecure. We also know that these two were fucking ambitious. They fucking grew up to be two of the most notorious pirates on the seven seas. If anyone was going to make stupid fucking promises to each other and then drift apart it would be them I can imagine Jack telling Ed that they’re always gonna be together and that the whole sea is gonna fear their names, and then at some point they out grow that. A ship only has one captain. The world chewed them up and spit them back out and made Ed bored, lonely, guilt ridden, and suicidal and it turned Jack into an alcoholic and a manipulative monster who believes that pirates don’t have friends and who chases his own pleasure at the expense of everyone else even himself. Like I can clearly see the through line to a relationship like I described with Ed and Jack but I have to really stretch my imagination to see Ed and Izzy that way. It just kind of annoys me when Izzy gets to have that spot in Ed’s life in the fandom’s mind when Jack is right there and that’s a good half of what makes Jack fun and interesting.

[theroadtohells]

Διόνυσος

╰          cis  man  ,  he/him/his ☆ 𝐎 𝐍 𝐂 𝐄 𝐔 𝐏 𝐎 𝐍 𝐀 𝐓 𝐈 𝐌 𝐄   …      we’re  introduced  to  EMIR  KHALIFA,  the  TWENTY-SIX  years  old  BARTENDER  at  THE  RABBIT  HOLE  from  enchanted  falls  who  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  MENA  MASSOUD.  the  whispers  in  the  wind  tells  us  of their  PHILANTHROPIC  and  CHAOTIC  reputation,  that’s  why  the  townsfolk  often  are  reminded  of  a  finger  curling  on  the  monkey’s  paw,  neon  lights  illuminating  the  night,  sickly  sweet  smells  of  e-cigarettes,  and  a  road  to  hell  paved  with  good  intentions.    they  are  often  haunted  by  dreams  of  a  life  lived  as  DIONYSUS  (  the  golden  touch  of  king  midas  )  

tw: alcoholism, drinking, vomiting

tl;dr he drinks; he parties; he's a mess; he's a nice guy; he causes problems by accident and on purpose

i . statistics

full name : emir khalifa

age : 26

gender : cis man

pronouns : he/him/his

occupation : bartender @ the rabbit hole

alignment: chaotic neutral

ii . in the present

emir is drunk, and if he's not drunk, he plans on drinking, and if he doesn't plan on drinking, then he's drunk. ( starting to catch on ? ) he's at work at the bar. actually, he's not at work. he slept through his shift. ( how has he not gotten fired ? ) because he fell asleep under the bar. because his boss is just as insane as him. because everyone in this town is just as insane as him. no, don't listen to him, he's rambling. he's had too much to drink.

and he's in a good mood. he's always in a good mood until he's not in a good mood. and you're going to have the best night of your life with him. and you're going to have the worst morning of your life the next day, face down in a toilet. face down in a gutter, he overslept, he's a drunkard.

he's had too much. he needs a ride home. somehow, not quite known as the town disaster just yet. there are worst disasters to come by. besides, he's still a nice guy. he's still there in a pinch if you need him. he's still showing up to brunch, looking nice with sunglasses and a cute outfit. was he really that mess you saw last night ? sometimes, he felt like two totally different people. no, it's just you who thinks that. everyone else thinks he's fine. fine and normal. maybe not normal. but fine.

it's all in your head; maybe you shouldn't drink so much.

iii . in dreams

his dreams are always weird even if they are always different. he's had one where he's awoken on the beach only to be kidnapped by pirates. he's had one where he's bullied by a bunch of frogs. he's even dreamt that he was turned to ash and then reborn again.

but one dream kept repeating to him. in it, he was drinking. ( he usually was - dream or not. ) and he lost a friend. except not a friend. a weird mix of the feeling between losing your dog and your parent at the grocery store.

and in it, he waits in agony. he searches and searches, but he knows in his heart, he will not find him. like most dreams go, where you're aware you've lived this before but you still cannot get out. ( bound by fate. )

and finally, someone brings back whom he so dearly missed. his rage and fear and guilt all drift away. he looks at the person standing in front of him -- a face he can never remember when he awakes but seems so clear while he is asleep -- and thanks him, offers him anything in the world.

and when he hears what he wants, he feels a weird twinge of schadenfreude. the way you feel when someone asks to eat a spoonful of vanilla extract. lick a lemon. "do you think i can balance on this chair?" you know the outcome, but you watch the chaos unfold before you.

who would grant misfortune onto someone who gives them a gift ? what does that say about him ? the gift-giver or receiver ? what does that say about emir ?

maybe he shouldn't drink so much before bed.

[myonepiece]

on the picture of sticky little fem! S / O what a frightened cat, could you write to Katakuri and Shanks, separately please.

Katakuri, Shanks with a clingy scaredy cat fem!s/o 

*Shanks after the cut

-he’s kind of divided on his opinion of your clinginess; 2/3 of him loves it. the only reason he might not like it is because he has an image and reputation to uphold and he can’t have his girlfriend clinging tohim like she’s a koala and he’s a tree

-when he’s not in a situation that calls for his utmost intimidation and scary persona, he’s totally fine if you cling onto him. it’ssofucking adorable he just melts- especially when you just cling onto his arm like wrap yourself around it and even when he lifts it you won’t let go, heart eyes

-in private when it’s just the two of you he’s actually quite clingy too but a silent clingy

-he find your cowardness somewhatannoying occasionally just because he can’t and doesn’t want to always be watching you- he’s a busy man.

-if you’re not a devil fruit user though then he’s more accepting because he knows the danger you’re putting yourself in and he gets worried about you constantly either way so having you stickto him is often reassuring

-when you’re scared and run to him and cling onto him he couldn’t care less because at least now you’re safe, he’s more focused on obliterating whatever is terrorizing you

+ oneshot

it was the early evening and you were walking the deck of Big Mom’s ship, watching the dolphins and fish swim in the water- Katakuri was in a meeting.  the retreating light was already casting shadows in the crevices of the ship and you made sure to steer clear of the unsettling dark spaces. 

as you kept walking you heard a noise behind you, turning and seeing nothing you kept walking- your normal cowardice appeared and you were already paranoid.

the more you walked the farther the sun sank on the horizon and the shadows crept closer. the noises kept coming but you didn’t see anything.

eventually you decided to stop at the bow of the ship and watch the waves part before it. taking a deep. breath you let the salty ocean air fill your nose, when a hand suddenly grabbed your shoulder.

you jolted and whipped your head around to look behind you, meeting a terrifying face of a goblin-devil mix. utterly gruesome and scary, you screamed and yanked yourself away from the thing’s grip before dashing off and sprinting down the deck towards the location of your boyfriend.

you burst through the door and Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven, and Smoothie all stared at you. you ran across the room and jumped onto your boyfriend who had instinctively (and seeing it with his Haki) opened his arms and tried to hold you- but you kept climbing until you were clinging to his bicep like a scared kitten.

normally he would find this somewhat endearing and amusing but he could tell from your body language as well as your action and position that something had scared you. you were watching the door and Katakuri followed your line of sight, the devilish figure walked through as if it was nothing. Katakuri and his siblings frowned disapprovingly.

“Cracker what are you doing?”

you furrowed your brows in confusion right as the figure took off the mask and Cracker erupted into a fit of laughter. Katakuri’s eyes were piercing and enraged, angry at his brother for doing such a childish and disrespectful thing. 

“apologize to _____.”

Cracker stopped laughing and glared at his older brother as if challenging the commander. unfortunately for Cracker and fortunately for you, Katakuri’s anger could be bested by no one and could make anyone crumble. 

the younger brother huffed and muttered an apology before leaving with Oven trailing behind him making fun of his failed prank, the two soon followed by Daifuku and Smoothie.

Katakuri brought his arm up and pried you off his arm, holding you in his arms instead. 

“are you okay?”

you nodded and thanked the man, moving his scarf down slightly and gently pressing a kiss to his scarred mouth, eliciting a blush and small smile.

-he’s super clingy himself so he had absolutely no problem with your constant affection and need of it. always meeting you with tenfold affections

-he always has a slight worry that you clinging to him in battle or in a dangerous situation will get you hurt but it’s almost always defeated by the known fact that you’re the most safe in his arms 

-he finds your cowardice endearing and amusing, sometimes scaring you on purpose or laughing when one of his crew scares you- of course you always end up in Shanks’ arms so that’s a plus

-when it’s not you or one of his crew/friends that scared you then it’s a different scenario. he’s majorly protective of his friends but where as he has patience until he makes a move against the person(s) antagonizing his friends, he has none when someone is doing the same to you

-his constant buried fear of you getting hurt increases and reaches the front of his mind whenever he sees you scared by something other than him, his crew, or his friends. he’ll waist no time having at least 3 of his men ready to attack and his eyes are immediately trained on wherever you came running from or whatever/whoever is the cause of your terror

+ oneshot

the red haired crew sat outside at a small restaurant in the town, relaxing and eating dinner. you had gone off to look at some shops, kissing Shanks on the cheek before your departure and leaving him with a lovesick grin.

you weren’t able to find anything you liked until you spotted a little shop that had a bunch of toys. in the window there was a red lion plush displayed and you knew you had to buy it. you happily dashed into the store and purchased the plush, thanking the owner of thee store before skipping out and heading back down the street to find the resturaunt.

as you were walking back, the people littering the street began to part a far way ahead and a large amount ran past you. intrigued by the peoples’ action you turned around and walked slowly backwards while you tried to catch a glimpse of where they were heading.

you saw that their destination was most likely the docks as the sea was that way and you could see the sails of some ships against the setting sun- right when you came to that conclusion you bumped into something behind you and you dropped the red lion.

you squeaked in surprise and quickly scooped the lion up, dusting him off giving the top of his head a quick apology smooch. you turned around still looking down at the lion and a hand roughly grabbed your shoulder. you froze and your heartbeat spiked, fear overtaking your body as you realized you hadn’t bumped into a wall, but you had in fact bumped into a navy commander.

“oi, isn’t she on a wanted poster?”

the commander looked back at his men and one of them took a paper from his coat, your wanted poster. the commander holding you laughed, joyed by the high bounty you had on your head. 

before anyone could comprehend what was happening, you stomped on the commander’s foot and ran away down the street.

you rounded the corner holding desperately to the lion plush and breathing rapidly, spotting Shanks and the crew at the resturaunt a mile away. you called out his name a few times until he heard you, his head snapping towards you smiling. his happiness dwindled and disappeared when he noticed the terrified look on your face. 

he got up from his seat as did Benn along with a few other crewmates who had seen you sprinting towards them. Shanks met you a third of the way and you crashed into his body clutching the fabric of his shirt while he wrapped his arms protectively around you.

his eyes moved to the direction you had come from and one of the crewmembers raised his gun at the corner. Shanks’eyes narrowed and he glared at the crowd blocking his view of what might have scared you, his every sense alert and his haki already weakly radiating off him. you looked over your shoulder right as the group of marines appeared through the crowd and walked towards the pirate crew. 

the enemy group stopped in their tracks when they realized just who they had been planning to arrest. it only takes a simple look exchanged between the two men to send the commander into a stream of apologies, ushering his crew back and scolding them for not telling him who exactly you are.

Shanks rubbed your back soothingly and kissed your forehead, leading the both of you back to a table while the atmosphere quickly lightened. Shanks sat you on his lap and watched you with love filled eyes as you showed him the red lion plush and explained how it represents him and the red haired crew. 

[blossom-hwa]

pirate!ateez |2|

The continuation of the pirate ateez au inspired by pretty much every wonderland stage and the kingdom wonderland performance!! Once again credits to mai @wingkkun for the ideas that sparked san, mingi, and yeosang’s stories!

(Reading part 1 isn’t required to understand what happens here; however, there are spoilers for previous members’ stories!!)

Pairing: Ateez x gender neutral!reader

Word count: 11.9k (total)

Genre: some fluff, mostly angst, pirate!au

Triggers: cursing, blood and death (sometimes semi-graphic) - specific triggers for each section are listed below the header!

Part 1 (Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang) | Part 2 (San, Mingi, Wooyoung, Jongho)

Ateez Masterlist

san (ABS - specialty in swordsmanship)

warnings: cursing

so. san.

poor dude i put him through a lot in hongjoong’s part :/ he didn’t deserve that i’m sorry san

but let’s start from the beginning

unlike some of the others, san has only ever known the streets. he has no memory of real parents, just various random caretakers who ended up causing him more harm than good

there are two singular exceptions to this during san’s childhood: you and an older pirate named jongin

you’ve been there ever since san can remember. even now he’s not entirely sure how or when you two met, he must’ve been very young, but he just knows you’ve been with him for what feels like forever

the two of you wandered the streets together, begging and stealing food whenever you could

it only makes sense that you two would fall in love once you were old enough to understand it (which comes a little later than either of you would’ve liked - you’re probably sixteen or seventeen when you get the guts to press san against a wall and kiss him like person starved as san kisses back with just as much fervor)

when you were still together, it sometimes felt like you were the only reason san could stay alive

you mean the world to each other. the literal world

so that’s you - someone san knows will never abandon him willingly, will always stay by his side as long as they can

now uh moving on to jongin

you two were young when you tried to pickpocket him that one time

immediately it was clear you’d messed with the wrong guy - he noticed you two immediately and you were caught

but surprisingly, all he did was smile and offer to buy you something to eat

and being the hungry children you were (san thinks you were around twelve at the time) you said yes without a second thought

luckily jongin didn’t have any ulterior motives - in fact, he taught you and san to become better pickpockets, how to take advantage of people’s blind spots and your natural talents

so naturally, he became both of your role model

and because jongin was a pirate, you two resolved to become pirates just like him when you grew older, even asking him to take you on his ship whenever he returned to the city to visit.

but every time, jongin refuses. when you’re younger you kind of accept it, but as you and san grow older you start to insist more and more

there’s nothing left for you two here except a life still on the streets, and isn’t being a pirate pretty much the same? stealing and pillaging, just on the ocean instead of on dry land

neither you nor san flinches at blood, and you can both deal with injuries

but jongin still refuses, finally telling you just how far from heroes pirates really are. they kill and steal, often more than they need, not taking just enough money and food to survive or pass out to those less fortunate the way you and san both do

this kills the dream a little for you and san, though you both come to the conclusion that not all pirates have to be horrible - look at jongin

so you still resolve to become pirates, maybe on a crew that isn’t as terrible as the ones jongin has told you two about

this sort of dream goes on for another year or so. you and san figure out your shit and finally kiss, jongin mock claps when he finds out before disappearing again, you and san wander the streets again still with little aim but your interlocked hands are purpose enough

until you get kidnapped. 

san literally almost goes insane when he can’t find you after two days. tears around the city like a man possessed, looking everywhere you might be and then everywhere you definitely aren’t on the off chance he’ll find you

but even when jongin arrives back in the city a few weeks later and joins san’s frantic search, you’re never found

it’s all too much. way too much for san - he’s literally lost the one person who keeps him sane - and honestly the last straw is when jongin asks if he wants to join his crew now

deep inside san knows he means it out of the goodness of his heart. jongin isn’t evil and he’s hurting too with your disappearance, he’s just trying to give san a semblance of a new home

but san explodes. none of this would’ve happened if jongin had taken them in earlier, had let them join the crew together, if he’d even taught them more - it’s his fault, it’s his fucking fault

jongin tries to grab san but he just twists away - jongin’s touch feels like fire burning against his skin - and runs

for how long he runs, san genuinely doesn’t know. he just knows that he can’t stay here, can’t stay in this city anymore 

so he becomes somewhat of a highway robber? holding travelers at sword point and demanding what they have

the sword he uses was gifted to him by jongin and it makes him feel sick every time he pulls it out, but even though san is sometimes irrational, he’s not stupid - he needs a weapon, and if this is the only one he has, so be it

doesn’t matter if memories of you and an older pirate come flooding back every time he grips the handle.

san makes a name for himself - people whisper about him, tell travelers to avoid the paths he frequents, but the thing is he doesn’t really frequent anywhere. he’s a wanderer too, which makes him so dangerous because he’s so unpredictable

until hongjoong appears and san makes the mistake of challenging him to a fight. 

i say mistake but really, it was probably one of the singularly most life-changing events for san except for 1. meeting you, 2. your disappearance, and 3. leaving jongin 

because when hongjoong has his sword positioned over san’s neck and san thinks he’s about to die, hongjoong gives him a choice - join his crew or get his throat cut

san just scoffs at first and is like why would you want a highway robber on your crew? don’t you know who i am?

hongjoong does know, of course - he actually tracked san down because he needed a good swordsman to join his crew and thought san would be perfect

san is on the edge of saying no, but hongjoong is one of three people who’ve ever beaten san in a fight (jongin, you, and now joong) so he’s got a little grudging respect for the guy

but even more than that, he remembers you and remembers your pact to find a semi-decent ship and join the crew 

it seems like a childish pact now, but for some reason, once he remembers it, he can’t put it out of his mind

(maybe it’s because if you’re dead, which you probably are, san wants to at least fulfill his part of any promises you made so long ago)

so he says yes

for the first few weeks, san really considers jumping ship

seasickness is a bitch, first of all, even if the ship’s doctor is nice enough to give him tips on how to handle it

but the main issue isn’t just him being sick - it’s the people

not all of them. most are fine. but san has a particular problem with wooyoung and his partner, not because they’re assholes or anything, but because they remind him way too much of him and you. childhood friends who grew up together and wouldn’t part for the world, except they’re still joined at the hip while you’re lost

and san just thinks it’s horribly unfair that you had to be torn away from him while others are allowed to stay together

but really, the ship is better than living on the edge on land. besides woo + his partner, the others are nice, and san has found himself a match in sword fighting with hongjoong and yunho

so as time passes, san acclimates to the ship. he gets closer to everyone there and comes out of his shell, even becoming friends with yeosang whom he previously deemed too close to woo + his partner to deal with

and because yeosang is a package deal with the other two, san eventually becomes friends with them too

for the first time in a long time, san thinks he’s happy, even though he still sorely misses you and wishes you were here. but you’re dead or at least long gone, and he’s not going to find you again

so when you turn up on an enemy pirate ship several years later, san nearly has a heart attack when he sees your face (wooyoung actually has to catch him when he stumbles)

from the widening of your eyes, it’s pretty much the same reaction for you

there’s no fight, at least not then. the town your ships have docked in is safe ground for pirates, meaning the villagers will deal with them but won’t tolerate fights

so your crews resupply, all the while studiously ignoring the pirates from the other ship

but san is itching to talk to you - even just see your face one more time

you look so different yet somehow exactly the same and san wants to know what happened to you - how did you get that scar down the side of your face?

you feel the exact same way. 

when you were kidnapped, you were taken on a pirate ship that was far less respectable than hongjoong’s. meaning you went through a fucking lot

you tried to escape at least five times but each time you just got caught, so you eventually gave up. so here you are, ignoring the literal love of your life because your ship is shit and happens to have beef with hongjoong’s

meaning you couldn’t escape if you tried. 

so you’ve resigned yourself to mere stolen glimpses of san’s face but then your captain gives all of you a mission

he wants a hostage. and he wants you to lure one of them in. 

you don’t want this mission. you fucking hate it and you hate your crew and you don’t want anything more than to just run away so you just ignore it and resolve to subtly sabotage your crewmates’ efforts in any way you can

and for the most part it works

but then you’re on deck, helping one of your crewmates put some supplies away

when a crowd comes on board, bruised and bloodied, and drops choi san onto the wooden floor.

the captain is ecstatic - they’ve managed to catch hongjoong’s best swordsman, no doubt they’ll get a hefty ransom for him

but you’re not listening. all you can do is avoid san’s sharp gaze

and think of a way to help him escape.

the ship sets sail within hours, trying to get away from hongjoong as quickly as possible. san lives his days in one of the tiny cells belowdecks, barely fed between questioning sessions during which he says nothing

but he can feel hope slipping away, day by day - even he can’t break through chains, and even if he could, his sword is gone. five or six pirates he could maybe take alone without a weapon, but there are far more on this ship

still, when the ship finally docks, san has resolved to at least attempt an escape. he knows the captain is in negotiations with hongjoong over getting him back so hongjoong has to be in the same port, or at least nearby

so when someone opens the cell again, san literally launches himself at them in an aborted attempt to run

you subdue him quickly - you’re not dehydrated and underfed, after all

san just gapes into your face that’s barely lit by a torch on the wall outside his cell. he has so much he wants to say, the first being how could you do this to him, did none of your time together mean anything - 

but then you unlock the chains around his wrists, toss him a bundle of fresh clothes, and tell him to get changed

dressed in the new clothes, he looks like a member of the crew, and you tell him to keep his head down as you bring him up out of the ship and into the village

san’s still kind of dumbfounded so when you tell him to run, he doesn’t understand at first. run where?

hongjoong’s ship is in the next port, you say. on foot, it’ll take a few days to get there, so he needs as much of a head start before people realize he’s missing

therefore - you push back his forehead with a finger - fucking run, choi san. i don’t recall you being stupid before.

when he understands, he tries to tell you to come with him - hongjoong’s a decent captain, he’ll probably understand

but you shake your head. you yourself need to leave. once your captain realizes san has disappeared, it’s only a matter of time before you get found out, considering the number of unconscious and dead bodies you left in your wake, and you need to be long gone and away from san before that happens. you’re not going to bring more harm on him again. the least you could do is maybe divert their attention for a while

san’s heart sinks when he realizes you have no intention of coming with him, no matter how much he tries to convince you

and he almost starts crying again - just when he’s finally gotten you back, fate is forcing you to slip through his fingers yet again

you just hug him and apologize for everything, for getting kidnapped, for not helping him escape until now even though none of that is your fault

san says that and more, apologizes for even thinking you’ve changed - he should’ve known you were still the same person he’d fallen in love with so long ago

but there’s no more time and now you’re pushing him away and telling him he needs to go before it’s too late. in the process, you press a blade into his hand. 

for protection. 

it’s faintly familiar. and when san looks a little more closely, he realizes it’s the blade that jongin gave you so long ago, a copy of the same one he gave san. only the initials etched into the handle are different.

it makes him feel sick. san had switched his blade out for another sword the second he could, too many memories of you and jongin attached to it. but you never stopped using yours. 

that knowledge makes his insides burn with shame and he tries to give it back to you but you force him to take it. i have more weapons than just this. you have nothing. and now you need to go.

he kisses you one last time. you kiss him back with just as much fervor and when you break away, there’s a small smile on your lips 

you tell him you’re glad he’s found a kind crew, a crew he’ll be happy to remain with. you’re glad he’s luckier than you

san tries to tell you again to come with him, but you shake your head. hongjoong won’t be happy to take in a member of an enemy crew, and even if he was, that’d only turn your ship’s sights on san’s for a long time. you won’t have that. 

so you disappear with a last reminder not to be stupid, a wavering smile on your face 

it takes everything san has to return to hongjoong’s ship without chasing after you, and he’s welcomed back with open arms and warm words

but despite being back with his family, san’s heart sinks the farther they get from the harbor, knowing that he’ll probably never find out what happened to you, his original family, after this

wooyoung tries to comfort him, saying not to lose hope - after all, you met once after your separation, you might meet again

however, fate isn’t kind. san knows that very well. twice you’ve met, and twice you were separated

san hopes wooyoung is right, hopes he’ll see you once more

but as the ship cuts through the water into the open ocean and land fades from sight...

deep inside, something tells san he won’t.

mingi (ABS)

warnings: cursing

you look me in the eyes and ask how it is possible for me to write angst for someone like mingi. i tell you i will try my best

that is a threat and a promise

anyway! let’s get on with it

mingi is a pure-hearted orphan who has somehow survived the demoralizing and horrible orphanage system in his hometown

he never knew his parents, all he’s ever known was that shitty little orphanage, it’s a miracle that didn’t break apart his pure personality

it helps that from a young age, mingi was taller and bigger than his peers - people didn’t want to mess with him

also when he’s not smiling, he can look pretty scary

but that left mingi lonelier than he wanted to be, so he resolved to smile whenever he could so that people wouldn’t feel intimidated by his stare

it didn’t win him many friends??? like the kids his age were more just weirded out by him smiling when they lived in a fucking orphanage. but he did get more free handouts from adults when he’d pretend to act like a cute kid, so he just kept doing that

eventually when he grew older, maybe mid-teens, he got a job working at his town’s port

mingi’s pretty smart and more importantly here, he’s very strong - just the type of worker his supervisors were looking for

the job is okay - not horrible, but it’s kind of boring and mingi’s supervisors aren’t always the nicest

but mingi’s always been the type of person to just content himself with the fact that hey, things could be worse

he might not have survived the orphanage

he might not have been born with strength

he might not have gotten a job that comes with a semi-stable roof over his head

so for a couple of years, this goes on, mingi helping ships unload and reload, stuff like that

until hongjoong’s ship pulls into port

it normally wouldn’t mean anything if hongjoong hadn’t been half dead on his feet with his partner and seonghwa pretty much carrying him down the gangplank

most people were just shoving them around, totally ignoring the fact that hongjoong clearly needed help

but even though his supervisor told him to go help one of the bigger ships, mingi saw hongjoong and went off to go help them

recommended a cheap place to get rest and offered to help them with some of the ship repairs so they wouldn’t have to pay so much (because their boat was... a little beaten up to say the least)

after a few days, hongjoong recovers from his sickness (brought on by exhaustion, not eating well, and god knows what else - his partner chewed him the fuck out), and they all thank mingi profusely

they’re about to leave then - the ship has been repaired thanks to mingi’s help and they’re ready to set sail again

but a glint appears in seonghwa’s eye and he suddenly turns around and asks mingi if he’d like to come with them

mingi: wha - you mean me?

seonghwa: is there another guy named mingi around?

mingi: i mean technically yeah, there’s a lee mingi working on the other end of the shipyard -

at first mingi’s like... no i don't think so because he has a stable job here, right? nothing really happens and it’s kind of boring, but being a pirate sounds kind of scary

but another part of him has been aching for something more interesting than the monotony of working at the port day in and day out

besides, hongjoong seems like a much nicer person than his supervisors

so in the end, mingi throws caution to the wind and joins the crew

he kind of questions it at first because he really doesn’t seem to have a knack for swordplay, also he kind of tends to panic/get squeamish when there are fights

but seonghwa keeps faith in him no matter what - he was the one to ask mingi if he wanted to stay, after all

so as time goes on and more people join the crew, mingi adjusts to life as a pirate. he finds his role on the ship in making repairs when they’re in port or even when they’re on board, which makes him happy - mingi likes being useful

he also likes jongho, who joins him as one of the ship’s repairmen when he ends up with the crew

he even becomes a fair swordsman - definitely not the best on the ship, not by a long shot, but after being trained by first hongjoong and then yunho (with san occasionally interjecting when he joins the crew), he definitely has the skills to defend himself and others

emphasis on others. because while mingi might panic during a fight where he’s only defending himself, when those he cares for come into play, mingi is a demon. an absolute demon. 

an enemy pirate once got within a hair’s breadth of killing seonghwa once and mingi just unleashed absolute fury. first time he ever killed someone

it haunts him sometimes, but the knowledge that he was protecting seonghwa keeps him from dwelling on it too much. that’s how much mingi cares about his crew

and that comes into play when you enter his story

you’re the child of a couple corrupt aristocrats who have never, not once in their lives, given you the attention you deserved

no matter what you did, they didn’t care

you studied your ass off. you worked so hard on swordplay. you’re literally the golden child in the aristocratic circles of your region and other nobles wish you were their child, but all your parents ever do is give you a passing glance and a fake smile

sure they’ll praise you at parties and things when they talk to other nobles, but it’s all empty - they only barely remember all of your accomplishments. they just don’t care

then one day, hongjoong’s crew pisses off your family - ruins trade at some port or whatever

so your father puts a bounty on his crew’s heads

it’s not exactly a common thing to put bounties on the heads of pirates, but it can happen if a crew fucks around a little too much

and when the bounty goes out for the crew of the aurora (hongjoong’s ship), you seize on it as your last chance to gain your parents’ approval, the approval you’ve been seeking for quite literally your entire life

you’re not dumb - you know it’ll be hard, and you know your family is only going to be completely satisfied if you bring back proof that the captain is dead. not some other random crew member, though that’s a step in the right direction

you decide to go for one of those crew members first, preying on the fact that if one goes missing, the captain will likely be easier to capture

you’ve heard stories about hongjoong, he isn’t heartless. he actually does care about his crew, each of whom plays an integral role on the ship

which means if you can get one of them, you can lure him out - you might not even have to kill off the rest of the crew if you can just take him out

therefore you set your eyes on one song mingi. from the rumors he’s the worst at fighting, but he’s also essential when it comes to ship repairs 

the perfect target for your plan

so you set out on your journey. your idea is to try and see if you can befriend mingi somehow, get him to trust you, then take him hostage

and somehow, you get lucky at the first port you visit - hongjoong’s ship is right there, aurora emblazoned on its side

it’s not hard to spot mingi - he’s one of the tallest, and he’s busy tinkering around the side of the ship

it’s even easier to get his attention

because your master plan is simple and dumb as fuck

fall into the water and pretend to drown. 

mingi, being the pure-hearted lovely soul he is, jumps in to save you despite you being very able to swim

he’s worrying over you when he pulls you out of the ocean, spitting and choking water

and all you can think is 1. mingi is very handsome but more importantly 2. all of this is genuine. like too genuine

it unnerves you - how can a pirate be so pure of heart?

but you push that thought away. there has to be some hidden side of mingi that he hasn’t shown yet, he’s a pirate after all. you can’t feel guilt for using him - you need to gain your parents’ approval. you need to

so you do your damn best to keep him in port. every night you go out and subtly undo some of the repairs he’s made and create a few new problems as well

the ship ends up staying in port for a few more weeks than expected

and during that time, you find that mingi... is really not hiding anything

at all

you keep trying to prod at him when you invite him to bars for a drink, when you “coincidentally” catch him on the streets, etc. 

but there’s nothing to mingi except his very kind personality that sometimes, against your better judgement, sweeps you off your feet

like when that horse-drawn carriage almost hit you and mingi pulled you away just in time

or when you bumped into the wrong person and they pulled a knife on you that mingi was fast enough to deflect

by the time those several weeks are over, you haven’t made any headway in your plan to kidnap mingi

you tell yourself that it’s fine, this mission was always going to take a long time - you could be here for over a year before the right opportunity presents itself after all, and mingi probably doesn’t trust you enough just yet for that to work anyway

mingi ends up sailing off again, and he promises to come back

also makes you promise to stay and wait for him. 

you tell yourself another lie, that you’re happy he’s asking you to wait just because it’ll make your plan so much easier - plus, it means he likes you, which is a step towards trust

it’s definitely not because mingi’s smile is as bright as the sun itself. 

the next time you see the aurora come into port, you swear to yourself you’ll do it this time. you’ll kidnap mingi, force hongjoong to come out so you can put his head on a silver platter

but it doesn’t happen. and the next time it doesn’t happen, either. 

and in the end, you have to accept that the reason you keep sabotaging the ship, trying to keep mingi in port as long as you can, is that you like his smile. way more than you actually should. 

some stupidly hopeful part of you tries to convince you that it’ll be fine, you can continue living like this

but another part of you knows lies never last

and a last part of you screams that you’re a disappointment to your family, falling in love with one of the pirates your parents have put a bounty on when that pirate probably doesn’t even love you back

he does, though. he really does

mingi loves the curve of your lips when you smile genuinely, when the clouds in your eyes disappear for a moment of pure, blessed happiness

he’s fallen in love with your mind, with your quick wit and light banter when you speak

for the past two trips on the ocean, mingi has dreamed of little more than holding you close and kissing you and he’d resolved to that, finally, when he came back this time

which is why his heart completely shatters when he finds you by the ship one dark night, carefully undoing some of the repairs he made just this morning

he never suspected it, but as he stands, watching you work, the pieces begin to click together

mingi isn’t stupid, after all - he knows you’re smart, knows you’re good with your hands, and you’ve also been extremely secretive about your past

even more secretive than he is about being a pirate.

you sense his presence when he gets closer before he even says anything and your hands freeze

for a moment, neither of you says anything

then mingi just lets out a cracked why?

you could lie. you consider it for a few frantic moments, mind working to conjure something credible 

but it’s mingi. it’s fucking song mingi, the pirate you’ve fallen in love with against every single one of your wishes

so the truth behind all of your lies spills out in one go

in the moonlight, you can see mingi’s eyes turn from confused and betrayed to even more betrayed

but what really drives it home is when you mention hongjoong, and how you were trying to use mingi to lure him out

mingi’s eyes turn angry for the first time since you’ve met him

because like i said, mingi doesn’t take kindly to anyone who tries to hurt those whom he cares about

like yeah, he cares about you, but hongjoong is his captain, the captain who’s saved mingi’s life multiple times, often at risk of his own

that’s when mingi’s eyes narrow and his expression turns cold

a chill runs down your back, a chill you’ve never felt before in his presence

and mingi tells you then and there that he better not see you ever again

because if he does, it won’t end well

you’re in the next town before you allow yourself to process anything that just happened, mainly because you know that if you try you’ll start crying

and that’s exactly what happens in a dark little tavern at the edge of the city

you cry over yourself, over losing mingi, over failing your stupid mission for stupid parents who were never going to accept you anyway

you cry because you hurt someone so pure of heart just for two cold aristocrats who didn’t give a shit

you cry because now you have no purpose in life - you’ve catered your entire existence to your parents, and they don’t even care

what’s the point of anything now?

back on the ship, mingi doesn’t cry. he just stares at the fading town as the aurora draws farther and farther from land

your story plays in his mind over and over again

he sympathizes for you, he really does - mingi isn’t cruel or heartless, he heard the desperation in your voice when you talked about your parents and he’s seen the clouds in your eyes firsthand

but it doesn’t change the fact that you’d sought him out with the intention of hurting his crew beyond repair

he tries to tell himself this as comfort, to reaffirm that he did the right thing by chasing you off

deep inside, though, even if he’s sure he did right

the pain of a broken heart and what could have been, he knows, will never fully go away.

wooyoung (ABS)

warnings: cursing, death, blood

before i start i’d like to preemptively apologize

probably should’ve done that before every other part too idk why i'm only doing it now

maybe it’s because this one is 3.4k long and the second longest is a mere 2.8k (fuck you san)

doesn’t matter i've done it please don’t come for me

wooyoung is a ball of pure sunshine aboard the ship. almost literally

sometimes shines a little too bright (ie he gets annoying), but without him, the crew would fall into darkness

but a light needs a source, doesn’t it? it doesn’t just spontaneously emit out of nowhere - fires need kindling, candles need wax, even the sun burns on fuel

and wooyoung’s fuel is you.

like i mentioned in san’s part, you and wooyoung are childhood friends. probably not quite as long as san and his partner - you met when you were a bit older, maybe just after you turned twelve or something, but that doesn’t mean your bond is any less strong

wooyoung remembers your first meeting very clearly - in fact, it’s one of his favorite memories

some older kids were pushing him around, and wooyoung was just trying to run away

he’d just broken free and was running off when a hand grabbed his wrist, dragging him behind an empty market stall, and another hand slapped over his mouth to muffle his cry of surprise

the older kids ran past, then stopped, looking confused, but when they couldn’t see wooyoung anywhere they just left

you finally let go of wooyoung and he turns around to look at you

and from then on, he swears you’re his savior

seriously, wooyoung thinks you’re literally the greatest fucking thing on this planet. might not act like it all the time because he’s a little shit, but you mean more to him than anything in the world

you don’t plan to get attached to him, not at first - you’re a little more standoffish, you told wooyoung you only helped him because you really hate the group of kids that was messing with him

but wooyoung attaches himself to you like a fucking limpet and as the months pass, you find you don’t mind. not at all. 

you’re both street orphans, pickpockets and all that - neither of you are in the orphanage (wooyoung just never ended up there, while you ran away early on) and you’ve both been alone for a long while, so it’s nice to have someone with whom you can trust your back

and as time goes on, you start thinking of wooyoung less as an ally and more as a friend, then less as a friend and more as someone you love

wooyoung, on the other hand, has been head over heels since day one - getting into your space, pressing stupid little kisses onto your dirty face even as you try to bat him away

but he obviously doesn’t make a move at first because he’s like fucking twelve and doesn’t understand what he feels, and when he grows older and figures it out, he refrains from doing too much (like kissing your lips) because you don’t seem to feel the same way

except you are an impatient fuck

so once you figure it out and more importantly, you figure wooyoung out, it takes less than a day for you to have him pressed up against a wall, kissing him with all the strength you can muster

when you pull away, lips swollen and eyes suddenly shy, wooyoung tries to crack a joke like wow, didn’t know i was that irresistible

you just smirk and say you’re the one who’s been staring at my lips day in, day out for the past several years, woo

oh yeah that’s when wooyoung knows you’re the one

(he does ask why the fuck you waited so long if you noticed everything over the past few years)

(the truth is you only really figured it out a few days ago, but you tell him you just wanted him to suffer)

(it cues a lot of angry whining and cute pouts even though he knows it’s a joke so what can you do but kiss him until he shuts up?)

anyway you and wooyoung more or less rule your small section of the streets

master pickpockets and all that, plus you know how to use a knife very well and wooyoung is adept at fighting with whatever the fuck happens to be nearby

you’ve got a good head on your shoulders and though you never truly lie, your reasonable-sounding words always have several layers of meaning, which is very useful in negotiations

meanwhile wooyoung is just really, really good at sliding out of sticky situations - you turn your head the other way for one second and he’s disappeared

people don’t really dare mess with either of you because they know that if one of you get hurt, the other will literally go out for blood

the same goes for yeosang - you met the quiet orphanage boy on one of the rare times he went outside, and everyone knows not to mess with him since he’s under your protection

this reputation precedes you, which is why you and wooyoung are very surprised when a tall, gangly looking dude comes into your little pocket of territory looking very lost

both of you immediately think this is someone good to pickpocket, or at least harangue for news - he’s clearly not from here

too bad mingi has a hongjoong on his side who is very worriedly looking for his tall lost repairman

and in the middle of you two getting up in mingi’s space, hongjoong appears, wielding a very scary-looking sword

both you and wooyoung know this is someone not to be messed with, but curiosity gets the better of you - who is this guy, why is he here, and why doesn’t he know to stay away?

instead of asking, though, you both run away fast enough that hongjoong doesn’t have to deal with you

the next day, though, when you see a familiar face with a familiar sword hanging around the market, you decide to tail him for a bit

turns out he’s a pirate, which is intriguing in and of itself - it also explains the unfamiliarity with the territory

but what’s even more intriguing is how he manages to defend himself against your knives all the while answering your peppered questions in the most evasive manner possible

in the end, hongjoong has you pinned against an alley wall, sword inches from your throat

he clearly expects you to start begging for your life

but you just laugh breathlessly and say - hey, i’ve got two friends who’ve got nothing left here, just like me. do you have an opening for three on your crew?

hongjoong thinks you’re joking but you’re dead serious. there’s nothing in this town, you’re sick and tired of pickpocketing people and protecting your little territory to no end - there’s no point to it all

you know wooyoung feels the same way. he’s so energetic, always looking for something new, and even though he doesn’t say anything, you know he’s itching to get out of here

yeosang might take a little convincing, but if you can prey correctly on his desire to visit the lands he’s only ever marked on maps, he’ll come too

hongjoong asks what you have to offer to his crew. you say a sharp tongue, resourceful fighters, a navigator

and most importantly, a source of light. 

(hongjoong doesn’t ask and you don’t elaborate on the last one, even though you can see a hint of confusion in his eyes)

he gives you two days to convince wooyoung and yeosang, if you don’t show up by then he’s setting sail

wooyoung is convinced almost immediately - his only qualm is seasickness, and you tell him he’ll get used to it

yeosang takes a little more effort, but with your persuasion skills, he agrees

and so the three of you join hongjoong’s crew

being a pirate isn’t as glorious as you originally thought it’d be - the first few weeks are just being seasick all the time, and there are fewer fights and less exploring than you’d like, more just running around and maintaining the ship

but the crew makes up for it more than tenfold

you and wooyoung have never really had family - just each other and then yeosang

but now that you’re with the crew, that sense of home you’ve only ever felt with woosang just multiplies

you love it on the ship. so does wooyoung

(he says it’s because there are so many hidden places where you can hide to kiss, but you think it’s because he has seonghwa to annoy now and not just you + yeosang)

both of you are on cloud nine, even with the nonstop work day in and day out

it’s all worth it when you can see the new cities, pilfer a little something in the marketplaces every now and then

life goes on like this - some crew members are lost and others join

you mourn for those gone, especially hongjoong’s partner, and you try to welcome the new members as best you can

(san is a tough nut to crack, but in the end, you and wooyoung are both happy that you kept at it long enough to see the results)

it’s a constant give or take - you know the ocean isn’t kind, know that the life of a pirate isn’t kind, and you’ve learned to live with it even though a piece of your heart breaks away with every crew member who falls

but then yeosang falls. literally. 

and wooyoung begins to fade away.

wooyoung feels his emotions deeply, he’s always known that - it’s what binds him so strongly to you and what bound him so strongly to yeosang

so when he fell during that battle, stabbed several times, and could only watch yeosang fall into the ocean from the crow’s nest - essentially yeosang’s home on the ship - 

wooyoung cries for hours after the battle, locked in your arms

and for once, even the knowledge that you’re by his side doesn’t seem to be enough to fill the void left by yeosang’s loss

the entire crew is experienced with their own types of loss, loss of partners and friends

but this is the first time wooyoung has felt it so deeply, like a knife carving out a hole in his chest

eventually, though, he recovers

it takes months, but he still has you. he still has san. he still has yeosang’s grieving friend, who might have become his partner had he lived, and he still has all of the crew

and you let him latch onto you whenever the void comes creeping on him again, because though wooyoung might be the light, you’re the source of fuel that keeps his sputtering flame burning

(guilt eats at you, too - you’re the one who convinced yeosang to join the crew, after all. but wooyoung calls it bullshit - you’re not at fault, not at all, yeosang understood what he was risking - and when he latches onto you, you take your own comfort in the warmth of his arms)

life goes on after the battle and yeosang’s death. wooyoung takes a long time to recover from his injuries and you’re by his side the entire way

but then san gets kidnapped and wooyoung almost goes off the deep end again - he can’t lose another friend

thankfully, san returns, so wooyoung doesn’t lose himself completely

but he begins to fear the disappearance or death of one of those whom he loves even more than he used to

as time goes on, he realizes he might not be able to handle the life of a pirate - he cares too deeply, too much, losing the people he cares for is breaking him slowly, bit by bit

you ask him what’s wrong one day and he spills all of this to you, sobbing

the next day you ask hongjoong to leave you and wooyoung at the next port - you can’t be on the crew anymore

hongjoong asks why, but when you explain he doesn’t even hesitate to nod and thanks you for your service

he does say that he’ll miss the source of light on his ship, the light and its kindling, but if this is what you and wooyoung really want, then it’s what he’ll give you

wooyoung feels a guilty sense of relief when you bring him back the news - he’s relieved that you two are going to leave, but there’s also the guilt of taking you away from a life that you enjoy

but you remind him that he’s your life. wooyoung is everything to you, and if he isn’t happy, you’re not going to be happy, no matter what

so it’s settled that you two will split off from the crew at the next port, which you’ll reach after a few weeks of sailing, maybe

you reach the port and are ready to part ways, saying goodbye to the rest of the crew

the aurora is staying in port for a couple of days for repairs, and you and wooyoung decide to stick around for at least the night before you go off

you go on a walk that night with him, darkened streets lit up by evenly spaced torches and lanterns

which is why you see the other ship pull into port with a navy seal on its side. and your blood freezes. 

with one look, you and wooyoung are racing off to where you know the crew of the aurora is staying because you have to warn them

hongjoong looks grim. there’s a fight, it’s going to be inevitable, and you can feel wooyoung tensing up next to you

your former captain says you don’t have to fight if you don’t want to, you’re technically not part of the crew anymore

but one look between you and wooyoung settles it. one last battle to help the family that took you in

the battle is in the dark, bloody and brutal and made even worse by the fact that you can’t see the rivers of blood flowing down the streets - it’s all a mess of sticky black that your feet leave tracks in on the roads

you and wooyoung are back to back with san, the three of you fighting to the last

until there’s finally an opening and you manage to escape into a little alley

except the alley ends in a wall. a wall tall enough to climb over, maybe, but wooyoung has a wound in his stomach and san’s bleeding out of his side and you’ve got injuries of your own so you’re wholly, completely fucked

as several naval soldiers appear at the end of the alley, all you can think is how you and wooyoung were supposed to have gone off today, were supposed to have left to find a more stable life together

but at the same time, you know that if you hadn’t stayed for the night, your crew, your family, might not have gotten enough warning to save at least a few of their lives

wooyoung is starting to wheeze behind you. san doesn’t look much better, and you feel like you’re going to collapse

there are four soldiers standing in front of you, and there’s no shred of uncertainty in your mind when you think we’re not going to survive this

except - maybe if you can buy yourselves some time - 

your eyes light on one of the torches on the side of the alley and a really dumb plan springs into your mind

you spring forward, ignoring wooyoung’s cry, and snatch up the still-burning torch

with a prayer that the ground is flammable, you hurl the torch in front of you 

and thankfully, a flame begins to burn

you turn around and start helping wooyoung boost san over the wall

wooyoung is about to go next, grasping san’s hands - you go to help push him up

but then metal flashes in corner of your eye and you have to whirl away, dropping wooyoung to dodge the sword that came a hair’s breadth within slicing the skin off your cheek

how the soldier got past the fire, you have no idea - it’s still burning

maybe they got over it when it was still low

but then there are two shadows, not just one, both with blades flashing

and you know with a stark certainty that both you and wooyoung are going to die if you don’t get up that wall immediately

the problem is, there isn’t enough time to get both of you up - one is going to be slashed to pieces by the time it’s their turn

but one of you...

you block one of the blades and send the soldier crashing to the ground. the other is farther away and for one split second, you lock eyes with them

there’s enough light to see your smirk

give me a moment here, will you? you say

then you turn around and kiss wooyoung on the mouth. 

it’s a brief kiss, barely longer than a second, but it’s all you have time for before you bodily lift wooyoung as much as you can so that san can reach him, arms pulling him up

san acts on reflex - he doesn’t realize what you’re planning just yet and neither does wooyoung

but they sure as hell figure it out when you duck under the second soldier’s swipe and begin fighting, despite the blood streaming from your face and body

in the background, you can hear wooyoung screaming and no doubt he’s thrashing around in san’s grip

but it’s all you can do to focus on the fight at hand - two against one with the one injured isn’t fair, but since when has the navy played fair?

you notice the sword flashing down at your side. you notice it, but you’re not fast enough

white hot pain bursts below your rib cage and you fall to your knees, blades clattering from your hands

another explosion of pain enters your back and you let out a scream of agony, collapsing to the ground

wooyoung watches you fall in the moonlight, red and black blood pooling beneath you

and only then does he stop thrashing in san’s hold

because he’s crying too hard, too hard to see or do anything but let a silently crying san carry him away

san takes him back to the ship where hongjoong manages to set sail in record time, leaving the navy behind

wooyoung doesn’t even move from where san has laid him on the floorboards - the only sign he’s still alive are his eyes, deadened eyes that track the land they’ve left behind, growing smaller and smaller in the distance

the land that holds your body

the body he’ll never see again.

several hours pass. someone’s moved him into the medbay, wooyoung doesn’t know who because all he can see is you collapsing to the ground over and over again, dark blood flowing endlessly from your wounds

tears build up behind his eyes again and he wants to scream, scream how nothing is fair, nothing is fucking fair, he was the one who wanted a new life that wasn’t that of a pirate and you were just going along with it but now he’s still alive and on the same fucking pirate ship he wanted to leave in the first place 

and he’s lost both of his childhood friends, first yeosang to the waves and now you to the navy

with this loss, wooyoung is grasping his will to live by a mere thread

and he isn’t even sure he wants to hang on any longer.

there is no sun aboard the aurora anymore, at least not in the form of jung wooyoung

because once a fire’s fuel is gone, it can no longer burn

and wooyoung’s fuel is out.

jongho (ABS)

warnings: cursing, death, blood

ah yes jongho stronk boy

when i listed the best fighters i bet you were expecting me to put him in there too

but what i meant by best fighters is best sword fighters

see, jongho is extremely good at fighting and has the arms to prove it

however, his skills don’t solely lie in swords - hongjoong/yunho/san are better than him there - but he will fight with whatever the fuck else happens to also be around him

mingi sometimes likes to bring up that one time there was an enemy pirate fighting next to him and jongho just picked him up, swung him, and knocked out a second enemy pirate right then and there

so yeah. that’s jongho. well-rounder extraordinaire

no one knows how the fuck he’s so good at everything and at this point most of the crew is afraid to ask

but anyway let’s talk about the back story a little shall we

unlike most of the others, jongho has parents that he remembers and as far as he knows are still alive

however that does not mean he likes them

they weren’t abusive, exactly - they just were never around and when they were, jongho mostly got ignored or ordered around to do stuff like cook dinner or fucking whatever

so that’s what he suffers through for most of his childhood

during that time, he learns how to be pretty self-sufficient - he’s the one who takes care of himself, after all

he learns to cook, clean, etc.

but most importantly he learns to repair things, like the house

he gets really good at it too, to the point that people start hiring him to help them with fixing their shit

which is how hongjoong finds him

well, more accurately, yunho finds him

the aurora has docked in jongho’s town after a long storm and the ship has a lot of damage that’s going to take mingi a lot of time to fix

so yunho sets out to find someone who they can hire to help mingi out

he asks around and everyone recommends jongho, so yunho goes to find him. after losing his partner in that storm, hongjoong is in no shape to leave the ship, san is still recovering from injuries and guilt, and seonghwa’s busy tending to the crew members and making sure they don’t fall apart

when jongho answers the knock on his door, yunho is like ???? at first because what the fuck this guy can’t even be older than him - is he really that good at fixing things??

tbh yunho was expecting some middle aged man with massive muscles or something

but jongho’s staring at him like wtf do you want and yunho remembers he actually has a purpose here plus jongho does have really big muscles even if he isn’t middle aged so he’s like hi i heard you’re jongho can you help us fix our ship we’ll pay you

and what’s jongho gonna do? say no? 

so he works with mingi for the best part of a couple of months, fixing up the aurora

and during that time, he meets the rest of the crew, who come and go

jongho gets to know them and he grows to like them - he used to be a pretty solitary person, but it’s really impossible to stay that way after meeting one jung wooyoung and his partner

even after he puts it together that they’re pirates, he still likes them

jongho isn’t stupid, it’s pretty obvious after working with mingi for a couple of weeks - they talk of treasure and travels when they think he doesn’t hear

but really, jongho doesn’t care too much - pay is pay, no matter who it comes from

and really, pirates can’t be much worse than the greedy nobles and aristocrats who run his city, right? their illegal acts are just blatant and out in the open, while the aristocracy try to keep their wrongdoings under wraps

he does ask mingi about it one day - why he decided to join the crew of the aurora

after the initial spluttering of we’re not pirates, cueing jongho’s deadpan expression that has mingi immediately quailing, mingi tells jongho more or less his story of joining the crew

maybe a few embellishments because yknow it’s mingi and we love him for it

and jongho listens carefully. his story is a little similar to mingi’s, actually, even if he knows his parents and was never at an orphanage

they were both alone, they both learned to do repair work...

that night, jongho lies awake in bed in his empty house, thinking about what mingi said

as they continue working, jongho prods mingi for more and more stories about the crew and their adventures, and though he visibly shies away from some topics (major fights and major storms, particularly the one that drove them into this port), mingi tells jongho enough for him to see that hongjoong’s crew isn’t immoral. far from it, really

there’s no explaining away the battles and murder and pillaging, but as far as jongho is concerned, at least they’re upfront about it

nobility does the same shit, they just prefer to call murder “the hanging of criminals” and pillaging “taxes”

and jongho is tired of both

after about a month or a month and a half, he decides to himself that he wants to join the aurora

so he asks mingi one day how hongjoong might feel if jongho wanted to join the crew

he doesn’t know hongjoong, he’s only caught maybe a glimpse or two of the captain because he’s been grieving this whole time, which is why he goes to mingi first

mingi tells him to come back the next day, he’ll see if seonghwa can better answer that question as the second in command since hongjoong is still out

seonghwa takes a liking to jongho almost immediately, and the feeling is mutual

even just minutes after meeting, seonghwa gives jongho the sense that he truly cares for him in a way that jongho really hasn’t felt before, not even from his own parents

so the deal is settled and after the repair job is finished, jongho returns to his small home to pack up his stuff. the next day, he’s sailing into the open ocean without looking back

like almost every other new crew member, jongho gets seasick for the first few weeks he isn’t on land

meaning he stays in the medbay more often than he’d like to

but it’s fine - because that’s where he meets you

you’re the ship’s doctor. relatively new since the last doctor was killed in battle maybe half a year ago, but wooyoung was lucky enough to befriend you, an apothecarist’s apprentice, in one of the towns the aurora docked in 

you come from a town that’s a safe zone of sorts for pirates - the locals are friendly if wary, and pirates don’t get into fights on your land

it’s a pretty decent existence if you ignore the fact that royalty/nobles would have all of your heads if they could find definitive proof that your town likes to harbor criminals, but people keep their mouths shut here so it doesn’t happen

however, as decent as this existence is, you got a bit of the short end of the stick

your parents died after you were apprenticed to the apothecarist, leaving you with no nearby relatives or places to stay other than the orphanage or the apothecary

and the orphanage in your town majorly sucks so you just opted to stay at the apothecary

except the apothecarist is not a good human being. major leech. creepy. you hated being around him any more than necessary

which means you learned everything as fast as you could just so you could stay away and look after customers on your own

and when the opportunity to use your skills elsewhere came up, you barely hesitated before telling wooyoung please get me the fuck out of here

only thing that made you balk was the possibility of death on the seas, but you’re young and naive and when you’re at that age, you feel like you’re invincible - therefore you brush it off

plus, everyone dies eventually, right?

you’re the new blood for several months until jongho joins the crew

and because he’s the new guy now, you take it upon yourself to familiarize him with how the ship and the crew work while he’s currently bedridden

it gives him something to focus on other than the rolling sea beneath him

and it’s nice to talk to someone who’s just mildly sick and not bleeding to fucking death

even after jongho gets better, he continues to spend a lot of his free time in the medbay because he likes being around you. your voice is soothing and somewhere in the back of his mind, he probably associates it with care and comfort, given how you treated him during those first few weeks

slowly but surely, you grow closer and closer

you’re the one jongho goes to when he feels a little stifled, too used to independence on land and unfamiliar with the teamwork that comes with being part of a crew

and you like to talk to him when you’re exhausted after treating wound after wound after wound after a harsh storm or bloody battle

it feels like you understand him, no matter what, and jongho does his best to lend you a listening ear as well - it’s the least he can do

you feel comforting, but in a different way from the rest of the crew

like yeah, seonghwa’s comforting in that mother sort of way, hongjoong has that tired dad vibe where jongho knows he can go to him with whatever, and the rest of ateez are like older brothers he knows he can trust

but there’s something different about you

he figures it out, of course, because jongho isn’t dumb or clueless - but he is a little afraid of being so attached to you

because what if he loses you? then what happens?

he tries to go to seonghwa to talk about it because he’s genuinely so scared

but seonghwa’s not in his room and instead, a tired-looking hongjoong catches jongho in the hallway knocking on seonghwa’s door and asks what he needs from hwa

jongho is slightly nervous because he hasn’t spoken that much to joong, or at least not as much as some of the other crew - after all, he joined the crew when hongjoong was still in grieving and has only really been talking to him for a few months

and by now he knows what happened to hongjoong’s partner in the storm - the same storm that wrought the damage on the aurora that jongho helped repair

so he isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to talk to joong about it

but hongjoong presses him a little, saying that hwa is dealing with some other stuff at the moment and that jongho can talk to joong if he wants

so in a fit of recklessness (he’s also been holding it in for kind of a while, he needs to talk), jongho spills it in hongjoong’s office

and hongjoong goes silent. 

jongho regrets his entire existence during the few minutes of silence and he’s opening his mouth to apologize and take his leave

but hongjoong talks first

and he says to go for it. 

you can’t live your life in fear of what might happen, especially when it comes to love

losing love hurts, but the memories you make are worth the pain

hongjoong’s eyes look haunted, but there’s a faint smile on his face that jongho somehow knows isn’t faked - his words are the truth

and he takes them as comfort when he goes to talk to you later about how he feels

turns out you’ve felt the same way for a while, but you didn’t think the feelings were reciprocated so you didn’t say anything, just kept caring for him in the ways you know best

you talk the entire night about what this means for the two of you, and it ends with you and jongho holding each other on one of the medbay beds, curled into the other’s warmth

it turns out to be a blessing that jongho talked to hongjoong about this and not someone else

mingi/yunho/san don’t have partners on the ship, while wooyoung and his partner have been together for literally forever - getting together was barely a decision for them, more like the only logical path to follow

seonghwa would’ve been good to talk to, probably - he lost his partner (at this point he still thinks they’re dead) and would’ve said something similar to hongjoong 

he still wears the ring, after all

but the talk with hongjoong breaks down that last wall between him and jongho, and they grow closer

which is something jongho really appreciates, because hongjoong is as dependable as seonghwa and another figure jongho can now trust

life goes on - it gets better for jongho, actually, what with you and finally growing close to every member of the crew

he loves sword fighting practice and delights in terrorizing his crew members during mock fights by using whatever happens to be nearby, not just his sword

he also loves sitting with you on deck and breaking an apple in half, wordlessly handing one part to you and keeping the other for himself, all the while staring at the clouds during the day or the stars at night

just being near you makes jongho instantly feel not safer, but more comforted

because jongho’s in as much danger as he always was, he knows that

but having you close by makes him feel more able to handle that danger.

at least, until yeosang dies. 

jongho watches him being flung off the crow’s nest and into the water, never to resurface

watches his partner race to the railing and scream until their throat goes raw and the screams die to begging wails

the scene replays itself in his head again and again after the battle is over

only instead of it being yeosang flung through the air, it’s you

which doesn’t make sense. you’re the doctor, you stay belowdecks during fights and have never ventured into the crow’s nest as far as he knows

but suddenly jongho is confronted with the very real fear that you could die any second

he knew that before, but like you, he was young and reckless and thought himself invincible

now, though, he knows what could happen

and it worries him. you’re not the worst at fighting on the ship, you can defend yourself pretty well, but you don’t have have as much experience as even mingi because 1. you’ve been on the ship for less time, and 2. you don’t go above decks during fights - you stay in the medbay with someone designated to protect you. a ship’s doctor is valuable, after all

your instincts are to heal, not to destroy, and that terrifies jongho

it gets even worse after wooyoung loses his partner and jongho sees the shell that he’s become

jongho didn’t see it happen, but san tells him and seonghwa several days later, eyes haunted as he tries to describe the sight of wooyoung’s partner jerking under the blades, wooyoung going limp as a rag doll as they fell, san being forced to bring basically a corpse back to the ship - the only reason he knew wooyoung himself wasn’t dead was because of the tears running down his face

the story cuts deep into jongho’s heart - wooyoung’s partner was a very good fighter, far better than you, and even they were lost

what if it was you, not them?

jongho decides it’s better to be paranoid than to do nothing and he trains you harder, asking san/yunho/hongjoong to help

you notice the change in his demeanor but don’t question it - after all, you’re wrestling with similar thoughts to his

you confide to him during long nights with you two curled up together on one of the infirmary beds and jongho talks, too

neither of you wants to end this, and you both agree that ending it won’t do much, anyway - you still live on the same ship together, and breaking apart will only hurt you two more

but jongho wishes there was something he could do about this constant fear that he’s going to lose you

wooyoung is still a shell of his former self - jongho doesn’t know if he’d become the same way if you died, and he doesn’t want to test it out

he tries to ignore the fear, to just enjoy every day with you like it’s his last

pressing his lips to yours always makes him feel a little better, anyway

the fear never goes away, though - it’s almost like something is warning him that he will soon suffer the same fate as wooyoung and his partner

jongho ignores it. prays to every higher being he knows that you’ll be safe and extends his prayers to those he doesn’t even know

but prayers don’t work when fate has already decided its path. 

the battle comes quickly, and jongho is thrown into the fray, incapacitating as many navy members as he can

he’s so focused on the fight to see the two navy soldiers going belowdecks

because nobody goes belowdecks. the fight stays on top of the ship, only when the ship is being pillaged after the fight do they go below to see what’s there

but since when have naval officers played fair?

jongho has just stabbed an enemy soldier when he hears the muffled yell through the floorboards

a yell of fear, familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time because he knows the voice, but he’s never heard it so frightened

no one has ever seen jongho move that fast. he crashes through the throng of individual battles, earning himself a scrape in the side and several cut ons his arms, but in the moment, he doesn’t feel any of the stinging pain

he crashes belowdecks and freezes for a second at the sight of a dead crew member on the floor, the crew member who was assigned to guard you during this battle

and in that frozen moment, he realizes that there’s no screaming anymore. 

jongho throws himself into the medbay

and the first thing he registers is the blood all over the floor.

grief pulls a desperate cry from his lips

the soldiers turn around

and jongho doesn’t know what happens next.

when his mind catches up to the present, jongho’s throat is raw and two naval officers are dead at his feet, their blood seeping into the floorboards, almost ripped apart

but he can’t even take sick satisfaction in that

because no matter how much navy blood he spills, you will still be gone

dead

your blood staining the medbay floors

jongho falls to his knees - blood soaks into his pants, your blood or the officers’ blood, he doesn't have any fucking clue

all he knows is that you’re dead, gone forever the way he always feared

and no amount of blood he spills will ever bring you back.

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for me these parts were so much longer than they should’ve been I think I’m going insane)

[themattress]

Unpopular Opinion Re:Zero Escape

999 (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors) should never have had any sequels.

And I don’t mean that there didn’t need to be any Zero Escape games afterward; I just mean that the other games needed to be self-contained (like 999 is) and have no connection to the characters and events of 999 whatsoever. Because as it stands, I cannot enjoy or engage with Virtue’s Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma because they just...don’t feel right to me.

Putting aside the downgrade to more generic imprisonment locations and the developers going way too far with the flowchart for my liking, the big problem with the sequels is that they aren’t remotely compatible with 999 as that story was actually written and presented. The involvement of a corrupt pharmaceutical corporation in the backstory put aside, 999 was ultimately a very personal story with personal stakes. It was all about the characters and their relationships; that’s what drove the plot and the intrigue forward and made the game so captivating. Let me put it this way: a game where characters suddenly stop the gameplay to go on and on about random educational trivia about history, math and science can get really annoying if you don’t actually like said characters and not mind hearing this stuff from them.

What was the ultimate objective? To escape and survive of course, but also to reunite with loved ones, find emotional closure and heal scars of the past, and of course to fulfill a time loop that will save one person’s life in doing so. The heart of the story was just the simple, pure friendship two children had in elementary school, a bond most wouldn’t think much of but proved strong enough to bypass time and space. And see, that’s just it - it was ultimately the “bond” part, and NOT the “bypassing time and space” part, that made 999 compelling.

And then the inter-connected sequels come along, and suddenly 999′s story is rendered just the opening act of some big, epic “SAVE THE WORLD!” plot, where the science-fiction aspects balloon to ridiculous heights and become the story’s primary driving force. And like....I’d be all for that if it was earned, but it really isn’t, it just comes the Hell out of nowhere. It reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, where it was decided being bigger with higher stakes and more convoluted mythology was better despite it not gelling with the original story. Imagine if Your Name was given a sequel where Taki and Mitsuha’s psychic, body-swapping bond that spanned different points in time was explained as something that’s there because they were destined to use it to save the world (maybe from the perpetual downpour Hodaka and Hina caused in Weathering With You, idk), and that the real reason the future had to be altered and Mitsuha had to be saved in Your Name was for this purpose? Wouldn’t that just be ridiculous? Wouldn’t that retroactively sour the appeal of Your Name? But that’s exactly what Zero Escape does! That’s exactly what 999′s sequels do to it!

And out of all 999′s endearing cast of characters, the only returning ones are Junpei, Akane and Clover...and none of them feel like themselves. Hell, Junpei and Akane return in both sequels, and they even feel like different characters in the second sequel than they were in the first sequel! Also, putting their OOC-ness aside, did anyone really into 999 want to see Clover separated from her brother for plot reasons? Or Akane from hers’? Or have Akane and Junpei’s relationship hit the rocks because Akane’s real goal is now said to be saving the world which causes her to become aloof and distant from Junpei? I know I certainly didn’t!

My bottom line is that this is my statement to the Zero Escape series past 999:

[ikkaku-of-heart]

@muselexum​ asked: 💋 //I present you the challenge of somehow kissing Mihawk

Everyone sending ‘💋’ in my inbox gets a kiss from my muse

A chance meeting between two Yonko should have been a tense, dangerous affair, but considering how it was Buggy and Shanks, it was hard to take it seriously, especially considering how Shanks kept laughing at Buggy’s attempts at insults and grandiose claims of superiority. Still, the Hearts wisely stayed out of it, preferring to sit off to the side and watch the petty fighting between two captains while ready to leave if it turned into an actual battle. Neither crew were their enemy at the moment, and Law would rather the Red Haired Pirates and Cross Guild take each other out than get involved directly if it wasn’t necessary.

However, Ikkaku had dared to sit at the bar next to Mihawk to get a front-row seat to the squabbling. Gramps had told her many times about the petty fights the duo had gotten into as cabin boys; over whether the north or south pole was cooler, exactly how old Barnabas the turtle was, whether or not Roger’s mustache was really his nose hair, etc. And of course the old smuggler had been an instigator in a few of those fights, to the point where certain crewmembers had dreaded seeing him cruise up beside the Oro Jackson.

Apparently, Ikkaku was starting to follow in his footsteps.

She’d lost track of what the original fight was about, as it seemed to divert into other grievances at the drop of a hat. But then Mihawk’s name came up, along with the question of who’s boyfriend he was. That had her eyebrows shooting up in intrigue, and she turned her head to find the World’s Greatest Swordsman pinching the bridge of his nose in clear irritation. She immediately had the feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d had to deal with this particular spat.

“Hey,” the engineer chuckled, jerking her head over to the two Yonkos. “I don’t know what this...thing is you three have, but seems like they should really be asking you whose boyfriend you are. But since they seem a little caught up in their stupid argument, I’m happy to help you get their attention.” There was pure mischief in her eyes and her smirk made it very clear her intentions were to cause problems on purpose.

It seemed though that Mihawk wasn’t entirely opposed, as he merely raised an eyebrow and nodded mutely. She wasn’t sure she could classify them as friends, per say, but they’d run into each other enough over the past few years and seemed on friendly enough terms that she felt confident that he’d be ok with what she had planned.

So, leaning across her seat, she cupped Mihawk’s jaw and pressed a kiss to his lips, smirking when he returned the gesture. It was all for show, of course, but it did give her a powerful sense of satisfaction. Even more so when she heard Law groan, “Really, Ikkaku?” and a moment later sounds of shock and outrage from both Buggy and Shanks at seeing the dark-haired pair making out.

Mission completed, she pulled away, fluttering her eyelashes in faux coyness at her partner-in-crime. She wasn’t worried about either emperor coming after her; she was under Shanks’ protection and she knew for a fact that Buggy was terrified of her grandfather hunting him down. So, grinning like the cat that ate the canary, she leaned back in her chair, more than satisfied with herself. “See? All eyes on you now,” she giggled, wiping away a tiny smudge of lipstick that lingered on Mihawk’s mouth before going back to her drink, ready to see if the swordsman would actually put an end to the argument or stir the pot further.

Either way, she had the best seat in the house for it.

[meistoshim]

pirate verse pirate verse pirate verse.

grew up inland but helped his mama run a inn & heard a bunch of stories about pirates from travelers, some of which were pirates or former crew members themselves, because satoshi spent most of the time “helping” just making conversation with customers   ( they ended up buying more food & drink the longer they spoke to him so hanako counted it as helping ) , even if most of the “conversation” was 90% satoshi listening.

in this verse satoshi doesn’t really have any “be the best like no one ever was” goals, he’s literally just in it for the adventure of it all & to cause problems on purpose, & if he happens to make a name for himself that’s cool too, though most of the coin he’s earned in his journeys he’s had sent to his mama by trusted former crewmates, specifically ones that owe him favors.     he knows if they’ve kept the money for themselves.

he does have a body count by age 12 & he captains his first crew at 14   ( though technically not his crew as he didn’t choose them, they chose him   ( good ol’ pirate democracy ) )   & the only reason he’s not dead 50 times over is because a goddess of the sea took one look at him stepping foot on his first ship aged 10, barely 11, & decided this one is never going to die at sea.     & so he hasn’t.     not that anyone knows that’s why, they just think he’s stupid lucky, which he is.

he’s also had a fistfight with nearly every creature that has tried attacking the ships he’s been on.     he hasn’t always won but he sure has punched a sea monster in whatever counts for its face.     it’s stunts like that that convinced his first few captains not to drop the 10 - 13yo off at the nearest port town  ;     kid worked hard & could do as much as any adult & there was never a pair of hands on deck that was considered excess but he was also, well, a child, but everyone figured that a kid that will dropkick a mermaid at the drop of a hat & survive is worth keeping around, so they did.

most of the crews he’s been a part of have dissolved after about a year & satoshi tended to part with them at final collective destinations far from where they first joined up, so the first time he got to see his mama since leaving home was about 9 years after the fact & by then he had his own crew which has since dissolved.

he’s been slowly building a new crew, though at the moment there’s only 9 of them discounting the captain himself, & the ship he permanently “borrowed” from the royal navy   ( which he renamed fushichou )   is rather large, so everyone does a whole lot of heavy lifting around the ship, satoshi included, & there’s rarely a moment’s rest.     part of his current attire was also permanently “borrowed” from a navy, though satoshi can’t for the life of him recall which, during a raid sighting a blood-red coat & immediately deciding he needed to have it, even if he mostly wears it simply draped over his shoulders.     he nabbed a matching hat, citing as reasoning a saying he’d once heard about a true captain needing a good hat.

he has a mouse on him at all times, a ryukyu mouse that snuck on board the first ship satoshi was on by hiding in his bag, & by the time that satoshi found out they were already in the middle of the sea & he didn’t have the heart to get rid of the little rodent so he kept it.     by all accounts it should be dead by now, if only purely because mice aren’t supposed to live longer than maybe two years.     but no, satoshi fucked around with magic & found out & that mouse is still alive & kicking, & it has done wonders in helping with prison breaks & stealing maps if someone was being difficult about either the information or the price, along with being great for checking if the coast is clear in sneaky business.

the last time he was in homeland satoshi found a pup on his way back to his ship which he only later found out to be a jackal.     it’s a cute little thing even if it gets real rowdy real often.     it’s the best reflector of satoshi’s mood because his expression cannot be trusted 80% of the time, & usually people get what it means when he’s smiling but his jackal looks ready to maul them any second.

[captainkurosolaire]

Prompt #11 ~ Reclaimed Living

♫Overpowered♫

Another cleansing of the soul came with reinvigorated steps loudly revisiting a place of his bearings. His latest and most formidable enemy awakened him from a ghostly remnant he served. He wasn't the same. The last Crew finding them behind his follow weren't the same that collapsed, or buried with his old ship. The rover returned to a rancid pub front-steps. In a dead and remote location, where used to be celebration, came to cease. Now it was just nesting drunken sailors who held no direction. Majority of the Crew that served a Captain were family members, other associates, all drowned and dead brought by his endeavors, curses, afflictions. It was never easy to confront a past, but proper healing cannot begin without it, that's where his wisdom had found of recent date. It was the most despicable and deplorable thing a feeling could present in a leader. The people under your helm perished but the Captain didn't go with his ship and men. Although all held belief he remained deceased, this would be soon uncovered in a twist. He unstrapped his holstered revolver. Swallowed nerves. Then proceeded. Inside were grievers those at the bottom of bottles, they felt too. Sapped of motivation. Chained, jailed, life had no meaning. The peers that died, killed them too. Outsiders didn't come to this enclosed location. So as creaking old planks of wood were heard they drew alert. Until a stoppage. A shadow between the doors. Even in their rancid and intoxicated states they drew arms. The two loose doors flung open as the perished ghost became alive. In a series of insurmountable clicks and aim's hundreds of trained gun's re-positioned. Dirks, brass knuckles, a plethora of last resistance shown. If they were to be raided, they'd go with bangs.

"Minfilia's oversized tits, blimey o' bastard... I don't believe it. Ye chose a poor choice t' ruse us n' appearance." They didn't follow a leader. Each of their voices left were who seized first in their mass. The interloper had them cautiously on standby. "Nay. It b' me." The Seeker discarded his only means of defense and slid a kick over. They had the right to take their shots. Tension was stacked in disbelieving soaring heights. Each still felt a beguile footman who stood at their gate. "Ye inconceivable fool. T'is a reason why, Dead men tell no tales..." Cocking mechanisms of flintlocks surged. Another chimed in when Captain went to peace. "Best ye tell a helluva' tale. Of what ye live..." This served a code, a message in a bottle, but parchment became waterlogged, useless. If there was ever a moment etched within his time, to become unspoken, now was it. He would be a preaching to a choir. Chewing and clacking his gums, he'd lower the tricorne to his heart. A ferocity lit in his hues, rebellious. "From conception we're met with opposition. There ain't a single-choice upon what we calls origins being dealt, whether by some invisible puppeteer, deemed an author, or some putrid sack ov' excuse-spinner." Revving up, "Educated, groomed, taught t' be the same way, that results t' a history never ending but repeats, wondering why we live under th' same shadows ov' all our dated descendants who fell. Constantly wishing or reflecting back, things were simpler, better, desiring do-overs. No-one looks forward t' a clock, only backwards when bloomed." The fulfillment of dreaming in youth, gets devoured, in due age, later when matured. What could've been, spawns. He took brash steps even while being trained on with blunderbusses. "Thrust into environments where eating metal, doing whatever it takes to survive! --- They call us problems." Speaking out to the rebellious that still swelled, "Sentence t' unexplained diseases, festering rot n' us. We start giving into instability, alongside insecurities, it racks us into a trail of bottomless failures, believing we've nothing of importance... Told by our closest endearing whispers, who mutter the same air of our doubting thoughts... It encourages demons, t' vices, to a point, a visit only ov' ferryman can accept us." He registered and conveyed a lot of personal emotion. "Bein' pirate everyone thinks our take ov' freedom means pure unadulterated chaos, anarchy, destruction. To be feared... Truth it means we're standing against what governs us all, growing bone's where they've gone missing." Showing teeth and taking a stand on top of a tavern table between, the disheartened. "Authority, Order! These things are presented as principal things that are required to function, n' keep peace... But it's artificially made-up. Think to yourselves! How many label's have been created to categorize yourself? To try separating you from being an individual, just so someone can stand-out against on a perch! you don't even know how t' stand anymore! ...Thinking by being on your two-legs that's all? You b' so far drowned, you cannot impose those who wear their crowns, cause you accept it as all-purpose... O' if a mass-herd flocks, it's natural to' fall in that line and try to be included at all costs, thinking it'll grant you an audience, notice, give you validation." His speech began boiling up, resonating something in a few, they became domesticated too. "Words, like 'martyr', 'rebel', thrown around. Placed to maintain control, they subjugate, they'll bend rules, whatever it takes! They'll use their fancy speeches t' rile you into a false-sense to stay kneeled over, stating it's a 'we' or 'us', ignoring really they're out their own business." He presented as their so called pirate king was faceless, removed, abandoned all the free-spirited left. That continued with the powers in place. "Same almighty forces that are throwing us into forgotten. Trying to remove us, are the some who were us, once..." The red-coats weren't someone to be all idolized. Innocent's rain rampant on

those, it was not-self sacrificial, they were govern. "Free. Isn't exclusive. It's within us all, a lifestyle, something that any are capable of taking with zero discrimination, no hierarchy, or diversities preventing you at some barrier for entry! Reach down! Battle against your illnesses, wounds, oppressors! Wobble on your soles and fight to stand against what you disagree with, crawl even, gnarl at that hilt! Die fer passion, what makes you feel who, who gives you it! That's what actual breathing looks like! This IS yer rightful treasure, yer CLAIM. Get it back into your hands and you'll know this is a world you own!" Climatically blew through in his renegade passion. The very air he exhaled into these words weren't laced, they came from personal, raw emotion! Casting away not only to his own liberation but his former folks. "This is living's meaning!" Reaching down grabbing a bottle and smashing it against his arm into a tearing cut, bloodied arms formed outwardly, like wings he threw his arms. Drops of resolve and armed weapons fell in unity. 'The Captain ov' the Five Seas' approached them, and said, I am alive, but so are all those who died, they're in me! I haven't lost this War, It's only getting started. Waves, winds, change, so I've adapted. Here, I am.'

The lawless bellowed out an uproar outcry and jolly, shooting their guns into the ceilings. Smashing and slugging each other with haymakers, drinking and thrusting into debauchery, they were free, once again! Label's no more! Defined, never again! Each saw their passion, the moment was seen! What went obscured. Captain leapt into the brawl, of celebration, he was home, alive! The storms were still remaining but he found many places to call shelter when they came.