WIP Wednesday + Last Line Paragraph
Tagged by @direwombat @g0dspeeed @inafieldofdaisies and @josephseedismyfather
Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @cassietrn @chazz-anova @adelaidedrubman @wrathfulrook @shallow-gravy @strangefable @voidika @poisonedtruth @derelictheretic @detectivelokis @josephslittledeputy @vampireninjabunnies-blog @snake-in-the-garden @strafethesesinners @a-rose-in-a-garden-of-weeds @henbased @ladyofedens-blog @little-wolf-seed and @deputy-morgan-malone + anyone else who wishes to join and share.
Here's a WIP of Silva's Hope. And we got some Mary May! This isn't my most polished work so the final result will be a bit different once it's published. WIP below:
Mary May raised a brow at Nadi, regarding the smaller blonde with puzzlement. She finished polishing the glassware, placing it onto the counter with a soft clink.
Setting both arms firmly on the bar, Nadi's brown eyes had to endure the intensity of the barkeep's light blue. She noticed the skepticism, how the Fairgrave woman was running her words through her head, tearing them apart.
However, Nadi didn't waver from her poker face, and maintained the clueless Fall's End overseas nouvelle venue act. Masking emotions was a quality she learnt from Jacob, and later John had given her a few tips on how to hide intentions to get information better.
A pause was heavy between the two, until Mary May finally responded, but with her own question, "Now why do you want to know about a dead girl?"
Nadi smoothed a hand over to her small braid, playing with it as she answered, "Well, like I said, I've been learning so much about Fall's End for a few weeks now... to get a clearer picture on everything that goes about here, you know? But I can't seem to get a straight answer on this Omar girl. She seemed to have a... mixed reputation, non?"
Much to Nadi's delight, Mary May snorted as she shook her head, reaching under her counter to grab a beer bottle.
"Understatement of the century," the barkeeper mumbled, eyes easing the intensity in her eyes. Cagnotte, Nadi proudly thought to herself as Mary May's lips parted to answer.
“Now, so you know, my word isn’t exactly a picture perfect replication of who Elsa Omar was," Mary May stated, opening the bottle and pouring it into a glass for a patron, "Neither does anyone else in Fall's End. We only ever saw one or two sides of her, and that was what she wanted us to see. The closest you’re going to get to an accurate description of her would be from her older sister, but even then, I'd assume her account on her little sister wouldn't be anything but with rose-tinted glasses. What sister wouldn't think their sibling was anything more than the person they grew up with?"
Mary May held a distant look that Nadi pretended to not notice as she thought on her words. The short-haired blond couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. As an older sibling herself, she knew exactly what it was like to view those younger and older than herself in a different light than everybody else. Even when she probably shouldn't have. I'll need Sister Nancy to tell me more about this older sister of Elsa's. Hopefully she's managed to achieve her assignment by now.
"Now with that said,” Mary May paused, tapping her fingers against the wooden counter, “Elsa Omar was a performer, a tricky one at that. I believed her about her fragile bones. Defended her even. Because who would lie about something like that? Probably helped her case that there were times we heard of her getting what should have been very minor scrapes for anyone else but serious injuries for her. Multiple trips to the clinic wasn't unusual for that girl. Felt bad for her, as did everyone else. We were also in awe by her spirit, in spite of the disadvantage she had. I know I was."
Seeing that she still had Nadi's attention, Mary May continued, "I never like to speak ill of the dead. It just... never feels rights when the person isn't around to hear it themselves. But I gotta say, Elsa was, and will always be, one of the most confusing people I have ever met."
Nadi tilted her head, shuffling her stool seat closer to the counter, "How so?"
Mary May huffed, shaking her head with pursed lips and furrowed brows as she spoke, "I just never got her deal. She had a successful business. A family member close by. And got lucky with men and women alike. I honestly thought she was plenty decent until she continued to run her mouth around me. She could be really nice to you. She could be really good to you. She could have even made you believe she was your best friend. Or she could be a self-absorbed, rude shit with an ego that puts John Seed and Guy Marvel to shame. Never hated her, but didn't exactly like her either. Most people though either had one opinion or the other about her, both good and bad. As I said, she was tricky. And quite the actor. I could never tell which facade was her true self. If either was the "real her" anyways. She didn't cause unnecessary problems, or try to get my business shut down, which made me a little lenient to tolerate her. Her sister always got a free pass from me because she didn't bother anyone. Or she was too shy to. Though I chalked it up as someone who didn't have a good handle on their English yet. Never liked making conversation, always keeping things short. Not Elsa though, she talked like it was her way of breathing."
Nadi clasped her hands together and rested her chin on top, supported by her elbows on the bar counter, as she continued to listen to the sinner speak her mind. While the business she owned enabled others to indulge in their vices, Nadi couldn't help but be enraptured by Mary May's words. She could see why John had a small infatuation with the barkeeper. She had an aura of a person who was capable of taking care of herself, a reliable ally who could pull her own weight and someone who was tough. Someone who wouldn't go down that easily. All were admirable traits, and useful too. Not to mention, she was pleasing on the eyes.
Nadi felt disappointed that the other blonde let her Pride vehemently dictate her decisions, rejecting the Father's truth. John's chances to give salvation. Would've loved to see her walking around in Chosen attire, came the intrusive thought.
The image of a beauté like Mary May dressed as a Chosen, just like Nadi's fellow brothers and sisters back at the Veteran's Centre, darkened Nadi's cheeks, and her want for someone's touch return.
Shaking her head, Nadi shooed those tempting thoughts away. Restrain your LUST, Sinclair, a voice, either her own or John's, chided, You already need to resist charming your boss, don't push yourself further into sin by leading others or yourself down that path... again.
"Hey, you alright?" Mary May's voice cut through Nadi's thoughts.
Nadi blinked, and put on a smile before gesturing towards Mary May, "Oui. Got lost in thoughts. Please, continue."
And here is the last lines for La Última En Pie. Nightmare sequences are difficult to write (also trigger warning for child abuse, nightmares of implied child murder and, uh, creepiness):
“No matter where you hide. No matter how far you run. No matter which sinners you choose to sully what little virtue you have with,” Father told her, his grip getting tighter, constricting her breath, “You. Will always. Be. Mine."
Sylvester clawed at his arm, his wrist, his hand. Choking on screams he kept silent. "This isn't supposed to be happening," she wanted to say, so desperately, "This wasn't how this went." Her wide grey eyes stared into the unbothered gaze of whom she shared the colour with. Father drew her face closer to his, as he whispered his promise, "And we will be together in my Garden. My paradise. No matter which form I mold you in."
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Represent!;
Summary: The story of how Hannah Artemis Hook, captain of the Stormbringer, became the Isle Representative and villain wrangler.
(It's Zee Snoops’ fault).
Written with @igetthedisneybox.
Series: Isle Representative Hannah Hook.
Trigger Warnings: Plans of manipulation, swearing, stranger danger, financial issues, mentions of death/child death, children acting in disturbed manners, children raising children, etc.
Lmk if I need to add to the list.
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Mentioned Character Info Sheet:
Zeep Snoops, daughter of Madame Medusa and Mr. Snoops.
Hannah Hook, adoptive daughter of Captain James Hook and Zarina the pirate fairy.
Darius Foundling, son of the Pirate Pharaoh and mummy.
Willow Hawthorne, daughter of a Tree Nymph named 'Cherry Hawthorne.’
Elara Foundling, daughter of an unknown elf.
Marcys Foundling, Centaur and son of Nessus.
Skia Aoratos of the Underworld, daughter of Hades and Persephone.
River Le Beak, son of Beatrice Le Beak and Lord Fathom.
Lysander Foundling, satyr and the son of one of Chernabog's minions.
Fiona Foundling, fairy child of an unknown individual.
Noah Aoratos, son of Persephone and Hades.
Tommy Wonderful, daughter of Misty the Wonderful Witch.
Luke Tremaine-Westergaard, Drizella Tremaine and Prince Hans Westergaard of the southern isles.
Tiger Khan, adoptive daughter of Shere Khan.
Peachy Gothel, daughter of Mother Gothel and Captain Flynn.
Olivia LeGume, daughter of the Enchantress and Gaston LeGume.
Treycor Fae-Aoratos, son of Maleficent and Hades.
Eduardo Frollo, son of Claude Frollo and a woman named 'Esperanza Ladrón’.
Darcy Aoratoes, daughter of Hades and Queen Narissa.
Alexander ‘Alex’ Aoratos-Sinclair ||, son of Helga Sinclair and Hades.
Isaac Cipher, son of Bill Cipher.
John Facilier, son of Ursula and Dr. Facilier.
Moxie Frankenstein-Van Helsing,son of Elsa van Helsing and Victor Frankenstein.
Rodrick Nathan 'Nate' von Stiltskin, son of Rumpelstiltskin.
D.E Anonymous, daughter of an unknown individual.
Hope Sid, daughter of Yen Sid and Banshee.
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“You look half dead.” Zee Snoops remarked as Hannah trudged over to her.
“Darius and Willow are sick, Elara won't stop crying, Marcys and Lysander aren't eating, and Fiona won't stop talking about the place with the trees that she came from.” The eight year old pirate captain groaned, slumping down in her chair in her room/office. “I FEEL half dead.”
It had been a long year since she had first taken Fiona (age four), Marcys and Elara (age 1),and Lysander (age 2) and since then she had taken in two newborns (Darius and Willow) from their dying single parents.
That wasn't even counting Noah, also four, who spent the majority of his time with them like his older siblings did when his mother, Persephone, was gone for the Spring. Or little Thomasina 'Tommy' Wonderful, age five, who spent most of her time with them when her mother was too sick to care for her. Which, due to the magical barrier and her mom being a witch, was often.
Or the various funerals they'd been having to handle for their dead friends.
Or the comforting they'd had to do for their friends with recently dead relatives.
To say they were all exhausted would be an understatement.
Zee picked at her cuticle. “I don’t know what you were expecting, trying to parent half the island’s children.”
The smaller brunette rolled her eyes. “It is not half the isle’s children! And if I don't take care of them, no one will. The last thing the isle needs is more deaths.”
“We could pawn some off to your sister,” Zee suggested.
“No we can't. Harriet already had to take care of your sister, the wee smees, the Younger twoClayton brothers, Wyatt Wiggins, Na’vi, and the Lefou-LeGume-Bimbette children, among others.” Hannah grumbled, frustrated. “And she's stressed enough as it is.”
“You’re stressed enough as it is.” She pointed out, deadpan. “And we have, like, no money left. At all.”
“We have enough money. We just need to make more and I'm sure we will figure something out.” She rested her head in her hand. “I just need to figure out what that is. Hopefully before Skia and Luke get off work and River gets out of school.”
Zee rolled her eyes. “Gee, if only you could get paid for being…you, Hannah. Like, negotiating with people, finding loopholes, and getting people to do the right thing. We’d be fucking loaded.”
An odd look overcame Hannah’s features. The same look that crossed that of Nya Kaminari’s in Auradon’s Ninja Warriors when a light bulb appeared above her head.
The only cartoon either of them had ever seen.
The same look that both the cartoon ninja and Hannah always got before they got one of their crazy ideas that rarely ended well.
“Ohhhhhhhh no. You got them crazy eyes again.” Zee leaned back from her friend, like she expected her to explode.
The smaller girl got up, suddenly full of the energy she'd been lacking lately. A slightly deranged smile slowly creeping on her face—one that made it easy to remember just who she was related to. “Zee?”
“....yeah?”
She clapped her hands together, before rubbing them against one another, almost bouncing on her feet now. “I think I just found the perfect solution to all of our problems.”
Zee blinked at Hannah, before it finally sunk in what she meant. “Wait, you’re actually gonna try to get paid by being yourself?!?”
Her captain smiled innocently at her. “Something like that.”
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It was official: Hannah Hook had finally lost her fucking mind.
And her first and second mates, Lucas ‘Luke’Tremaine-Westergaard and Skia Aoratos of the Underworld, as well as her other close confidante, Bernard ‘River’ Le Beak, had lost their minds with her.
“You’re all going to hell. Goodbye!” Zee had facepalmed so many times in the last few hours, she was sure to have a permanent mark on her forehead.
“Hey that's my line!” Eduardo Frollo, the main cooper of the crew, (who was one of the few other people present at the moment) protested.
The others, on the other hand, just ignored her.
“You son of a bitch, I'm in.” Luke said, snapping his fingers after Hannah finished explaining her idea.
River mumbled “It's crazy enough that it might just work.”
“We should call a meeting and tell the others—” Skia hummed, bouncing Elara on her knee.
“Pause. We shall not call a meeting to tell the others. Why do y'all motherfuckers think that this will work!?”
“Cause it will!” Hannah said, feeding a fussier than usual Darius with a bottle she had somehow managed to get her hands on in the twenty minutes that Zee had spent gathering all the crew members she could. “I don't know why you think all of a sudden that it won't. This whole operation was your idea.”
It was an awful bold statement coming from someone wearing pirate footie pajamas.
“I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!”
Hannah paused.
And Luke snorted. “Well, it's too late now. Hannah and Skia already started drawing up the plans and making risk… ass-ess-ments.”
“And if it doesn’t work, we can always bite them.” Tiger added from the rafters, startling all of them—except for Hannah, who somehow knew she was there. What bullshit.
“Tiger no, we can’t just bite paying customers—”
“But I can. I don’t have a problem with it—”
Luke nodded. “She makes a good point—”
Zee facepalmed…again. “Well, guess we’re gonna hafta see how this shitstorm plays out. Can’t wait to see it crash and burn.”
“I'll get my dad’s final rights speech ready.” Eduardo snickered, leaning on a mop.
Skia shot him an unamused look, blue hair falling in her face. “Isn't it last rites? And you're still in trouble! Get back to mopping!”
“Tomato, Tamoto.”
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All of the Stormbringer’s crew members were crammed on the ship’s deck, waiting for their captain to make her announcement.
Hannah walked out from behind the curtains she'd put up, tri fold board in hand and dressed in her finest clothes.
“Oh boy. Here we go.” Zee muttered sarcastically. Someone shushed her.
Hannah cleared her throat, setting up the board and grabbing her sword. “I'm sure you're all wondering why you're all here.”
“I mean, this is…our ship. So no, not reall—OW!”
The brunette sighed. “Thank you Treycor, but you really don't need to hit your brother to shut him up.”
“You're welcome, Captain.”
The pirate straightened up. “Does anyone else have any questions or remarks before we get started?”
Darcy raised her hand. “Uh, yeah. Why are you dressed like that, Cap?”
“Because this is a special occasion!”
“That’s never a good sign.” John muttered.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Zee stage whispered in response to him.
Hannah ignored them, readjusting her blood red doublet frock jacket along with her equally as red Bicorn hat. Trying to look somewhat serious and sophisticated. “I'll take that as a sign to start—”
“Go ahead, Hannah!” Peachy grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
The brunette smiled at her. “Thank you Peachy! Alright, so, Zee gave me a brilliant idea for how we can make a livin’—”
Isaac cringed. “That’s not a good sign–”
“Shhh. You've had your chance to talk—” Hannah waved the seven year old off. “—now, as I was saying, Zee gave me the idea to charge people for what I do. Meaning—” A spot line shined down on the trifold board, revealing the words ‘Villain Wrangler and Isle Representative Hannah Hook’ written in big, messy, uneven letters.
Words that were clearly written in crayon. With many, many, childish doodles strewn about the surface of the board, such as King Beast with his head cut off, Skia’s sister Mal with her hair shaved off, Gaston being eaten by a crocodile, and Frollo in a frilly princess dress.
Zee was on the defensive even before the crew turned to stare at her. “Okay, FIRST OF ALL–”
The brunette quickly continued. Cutting her off. “—that I am going to become the isle’s representative and villain wrangler with y’all’s help!”
Dead silence.
“...yay?” Peachy clapped a few times. “What does that mean, exactly?”
Hannah beamed at her. Clasping her hands together (almost stabbing herself in the process, as she was still holding her prized sword ‘The Nut Slicer’ in her hands). “I'm glad you asked! It means that—”
She gestured at the ink stained, dirty, ruffled board with the sword. “—we need to make flies to pra-mote our new business and set up a phone line,” She moved the sword down before continuing “as well as make contracts and business cards after we decide what our terms and… con-ditions?”
Hannah looked at Yen Sid’s daughter, Hope— one of the oldest living member of the crew at twelve years old—to see if she was saying it right.
She reserved a thumbs up and a reassuring smile in response.
“So…you plan to make money from…what? Being nice to people?” Darcy wrinkled her nose.
Hannah shook her head, bouncing on her feet. “No, no. From manipulating people into doing what I want them to do to make our lives better and–and…” She paused for a long few minutes. Before settling on “And making their lives better in the pro-cess or making them think their lives are better if they're a big meanie.”
John nodded, like she’d just said something wise. “I like that plan.”
Treycor, on the other hand, did not like the plan if the way he had his head in hands said anything. Which it did. “Y’all are out of your Zeusing minds.”
Olivia, who usually just tolerated Treycor, was mirroring his pose. Looking like she was regretting ever joining the crew.
Moxie apparently agreed. “Zee, why did you put her up to this?”
And Nate? He just cackled from the crowsnest where he and D.E (who's face they still hadn't seen because she still refused to take off her mask and hood, and Hannah kept telling them to drop it) were sitting.
Zee spluttered. “I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!”
Hannah didn't seem even remotely bothered by their reactions. “So… does anybody have any questions or suggestions?”
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When most of her crew left for the day (the ones that had somewhere else to go, that is), Hannah got out her colorful ink, favorite quill, and parchment paper and started drawing out plans.
Laying on her stomach on deck and kicking her feet up in the air, head in hand.
“Whatcha doin’?” CJ’s voice was suddenly very close to her hearing aid.
Hannah jumped. “What are you doing on my ship?”
“I’m bored.”
“That’s not my problem and what have I told you about knocking!”
“I did! You just didn’t hear me.” CJ’s all-to ‘innocent’ grin told Hannah that she did not, in fact, knock.
The younger girl scowled. “That's not funny and you know it! Only I'm allowed to make jokes about my hearing and eyesight! Daddy said so!”
“You can’t prove that I really didn’t knock! Because I did!”
Hannah tried to kick her. “Go away.”
“But I’m boooooooooored, Cradle Snatcher!” CJ promptly laid herself over Hannah, who swiped at her.
“And I'm working! Geeet off!”
“Working on what, a coloring book?” CJ snarked, decidedly not getting off.
“On a flier, assbeast! Now GET off or I'll kick you in the crotch!”
CJ snorted, but rolled off of her sister anyway. “That only works on boys, dingus!”
Hannah promptly kicked her in the crotch to prove just how wrong she was.
“OW! Why you little–” CJ grabbed Hannah’s hand and bit it.
Hannah yanked on her hair in retaliation and bit her cheek hard.
CJ yelped and tried to smack Hannah, but her eyes caught the flier she’d been working on, and was instantly distracted. “What’s a ‘isle representative?’”
The brunette shoved her off of her and sat up, breathless. “My… new… job.. title! That I made myself!”
CJ wrinkled her nose. “What do you do?”
“I'm gonna make and enforce contracts between vks and vks, villains and villains, and henchmen and henchmen and so on. Mediate and negotiate. Oh and provide some ser-vices! Like… like a boss!”
CJ just blinked at her. “That's boring. You're boring.”
“I'm not boring, you're just stupid.”
“You’re stupider.” CJ stuck out her tongue.
“... My name is betterer than yours!”
“It is not!”
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
“Is too—”
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