#I went a bit too far on the pirate one and shaded it

[thedrawingrat]

A bunch of Michael and shroud doodles because I love them very much

[avocadorablepirate]

What Do We Call This? - 09

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Pairing: Trafalgar Law x fem!reader

Summary: On a quest to find what you've been looking for, you acquire the help of the Straw Hat pirates, who've agreed to let you temporarily join them. There are however many challenges that come along with your temporary recruitment - an alliance with a certain Trafalgar Law being one of them.

Word Count: 4.06K

Warnings: fluff, angst, kinda slow burn, swearing, the occasional OP spoiler (this chapter kinda references events that happen after the Wano arc), mentions of torture and death

A/N: It's backstory time! This chapter doesn't have much of Law in it except towards the end. Also, I kinda added my own bits to Corazon and Sengoku's characters (just how I think they would be with kids in general). But anyway, I hope you like it!

—⁠☆✿☆—⁠

(Y/N), age 5

Your parents had brought you to the little secluded cove on the island - a favourite spot of yours. You could bask in the sun, dip your toes in the water, and hunt for rare shells and artifacts that would come to shore. Although you were surprised; they rarely brought you here - deeming it fit only for special occasions, and today was no special occasion. Your parents were also not their usual selves - sitting on the beach, wrapped in each other's arms as they watched over you with small smiles.

A few hours passed - you shared a meal with your parents and then went back to looking around for rare objects. As you waddled around in the clear ocean water, your gaze focused on the sand underneath you, a faint green light that the water reflected caught your eye. You looked above you, and noticed the sky shine with an almost similar shade of green.

"(Y/N) come here," your mother calling out to you, tore your attention away from the sky and you ran to where your parents stood by a little rowboat. They pulled you into a gently hug before your father held you by the shoulder. He gave you a stern look, although you failed to notice the sad smile behind it. All of this was rather strange.

"(Y/N), we know this is a lot to ask, but we need you to sail to the next island by yourself," your father spoke with a sense of urgency, and you looked at him the same way any five year old would look at their parent after hearing what they had said.

"Some thing is coming to our island, and it can't see you here."

"But what about you?" you asked, as they gently nudged you into the boat. Your parents hesitated at your words, exchanging pained looks before they looked back at you.

"We'll meet you there," your mother assured, although you were not convinced.

"You promise?"

"Promises falter when circumstances shift," your father repeated the phrase you had heard far too many times, and you frown at him, further unconvinced.

"We'll always be with you (Y/N)," he says in one final attempt to ease your concerns, "Now go."

They each press their lips against your forehead in a light kiss, and push the boat away before you can further protest.

"Quickly (Y/N)."

Your mother's words settle in you, giving you a faint boost to do as you're told. The memory of your father taking you fishing for the first time replays in your mind. You had sat on his lap, as he gently pushed the oars, your mother who sat opposite you watching with a blissful smile. Recalling his instructions on how to move the oars, you mimic his actions, giving all your attention to the task of rowing to the next island. You only look away from what you're doing when you notice a flashing red light from the corner of your eye.

The sky is dark now, a sound similar to the clapping of thunder the only thing you can here. The waves around you are violent, your boat ready to capsize at any moment. But all you see is the explosion in front of you - your home destroyed in the blink of an eye.

A month later, on a neighbouring island

With your back pressed against the stone wall of an alleyway, you eyed the scraps of food lying on a piece of paper that served as a makeshift plate - never to be touched.

Almost a month ago a couple of kids playing along the beach had found you lying on the shore. They immediately called the adults of the village, who carried you to one of their homes and tended to your wounds. When you awoke they explained to you where you were and you broke down in tears as you recalled the events that had transpired.

Being a village almost on the brink of poverty, no one could afford to take you in. But they took pity on the child who had mysteriously appeared on the shores of their town, and would offer you whatever scraps of food they had left. Although, most of the time you refused to eat anything, hence why these scraps of food were left to rot.

"Hey kid, mind if I have a bite?"

Startled, you look up from your hunched position against the alley wall. The dim light filtering through the alley, accentuated the hollows beneath your eyes and the dirt smeared on your cheek. You blinked, trying to get a clearer image of the tall figure that loomed over you.

He resonated a sense of authority, yet there was an air of gentleness when he looked at you with concern. He offered you a warm smile and you wordlessly pushed the paper towards him.

"What's a child doing all alone in a dark alley at this time?" he asked, as he seated himself beside you, and you glared in response. The expression startled him and he choked on the stale piece of bread, but then let out a loud laugh after managing to swallow. You stared in shock at the absurd antics of the grown man as he calmed himself down and eyed you expectantly, still waiting for a response.

"My parents...," you tried to say, but couldn't get any other words out as a lump formed in your throat. Seconds later you burst into tears. The man's expression softened, as if just those words were enough for him to understand. He gently stroked your head, and you found comfort in the gesture.

"What's your name?"

"(Y/N)," you squeaked out.

"Well (Y/N), I'm Corazon. I'm going to take you to Marine headquarters. We can look after you there," he said, and you shook your head vigorously in protest.

"No! My parents said they would come for me!" you yelled in response, despite knowing there was no truth to those words.

With your elbow you shoved him in the groin, and he groaned at the sudden impact. You stood up and attempted to run away from him, but your lack of strength weighed you down and you slipped into unconsciousness as your body hit the ground.

_______________________________________________

When you awoke, you found yourself tucked into a comfy bed. The feeling of clean sheets and a soft mattress made you let out a pleased sigh as you further curled up in bed. But someone let out a soft chuckle and you sat up startled by the noise.

On the opposite end of the room sat the man from earlier, Corazon, sipping at a piping hot cup of tea which led him to nearly spill all over himself. But he quickly set down his cup and offered you a warm smile.

"Easy there, little one," he said softly, his voice carrying a soothing tone. "You gave me quite the scare when you collapsed in the alley."

You blinked, trying to gather your thoughts as you took in your surroundings. The room was simple and comforting, with sunlight streaming in through a small circular window, casting a warm glow over everything.

"Where...Where am I?" you asked, your voice still shaky from your recent outburst and subsequent collapse.

"We're on a Marine ship that will soon set sail for Marineford." Corazon replied, his voice gentle.

"No! I don't want to go! My parents are coming for me!" You jumped out of bed immediately. But once again your frail body failed you, and you collapsed to the floor, tears once more brimming your eyes.

Corazon frowned as he got up to help you, unsure of what to say. He had asked around about you, and the villagers had explained your story to him. They had even told him what you had said about your parents and the island you came from. And although some parts of it seemed out of place, it wasn't hard for him to come to the conclusion that your parents were not coming for you.

He picked you up in his arms, and for a moment you let your guard down, allowing him to whisper soft words of comfort as you leant into his embrace. "Everything will be alright (Y/N). I'll take care of you, I promise." His words snapped you out of your moment of vulnerability and you fidgeted in his grasp. With another swift kick to his stomach, he dropped you and buckled over, but was quick to recover and step in front of the door, blocking your way.

"Let me go! My parents are coming for me!" you cried again through tears, snot trickling down your nose as you sucked in a breath.

"I know you're upset, but please understand that I'm only here to help."

"Let me go or.....or...or I'll eat your treasure!" you challenged, grabbing at the small treasure chest that laid on the table he was previously sat at.

"You can't eat treasure," he said with a chuckle, having seemed to have forgotten what was hidden inside this particular treasure chest.

"I can eat this treasure!" you stated without hesitation as you pulled out the contents of the box, and he visibly gulped at the sight of the red and green fruit.

"You wouldn't...it's just some disgusting fruit." He looked from the fruit to you, unsure of your next move. "it's not even worth that much." He tried to feign uninterest in the object.

You shoved the whole thing into your mouth, your cheeks bulging out because of the fruit that now sat within. If it hadn't been for the dread that settled in him, Corazon would have found the sight cute. Instead, his mouth fell ajar and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

As the disgusting taste of the unique fruit settled in your mouth, your gag reflexes kicked in, but you forced yourself to swallow. Despite the need to throw up, you stood proud, happy with the reaction you had got out of the man.

"Now you have to let me go!"

Corazon's eyes further widened in shock, realizing the gravity of the situation. He took a step back, his mind racing with the implications of what had just happened. "That fruit...it's a devil fruit."

Your triumphant expression faltered as his words sank in, and a sense of unease crept over you. "What do you mean? What's a devil fruit?"

"It's...complicated," Corazon began, struggling to find the right words to explain. "But now that you've eaten it, you won't be able to swim, and you'll gain a certain ability."

Your heart sank as you processed his explanation, the weight of your impulsive decision settling upon you. "I didn't...I didn't know."

Corazon sighed, his expression softening with empathy. "I know, but you don't have to worry about it. I'll do everything I can to help you. If you'll let me."

His heart ached as he watched the fear and desperation in your eyes. Despite your attempts to push him away, he couldn't ignore your vulnerable state, it reminded him too much of his younger self. As you stood there, trembling and on the verge of tears, he felt a deep sense of responsibility wash over him.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he stated firmly, his voice filled with determination. "I promise, I'll keep you safe."

Your gaze flickered with uncertainty. It was clear that you were scared and unsure, but beneath it all, there was a longing for someone to trust, someone to protect you. Corazon knelt down in front of you, his expression gentle yet resolute. "I may not be able to undo what's been done, but I can make sure you're taken care of. You're not alone anymore, (Y/N)."

Tears welled up in your eyes once more, but this time they were tears of relief. With a shaky breath, you nodded, silently accepting his offer of protection.

As he gathered you into his arms, you finally allowed yourself to let go of the fear and uncertainty that had gripped you since your world had been turned upside down. In Corazon's embrace, you found solace, knowing that you had found someone who would give you the love and protection that had been taken away from you.

(Y/N), age 8

"Cora-san~," you sang as you bounded down the staircase, Sengoku walking steadily behind you. On hearing his name, Corazon's smile widened, kneeling down with arms wide open as you ran into his embrace.

"Hey there, little one," Corazon chuckled, lifting you up in a tight hug before setting you down gently, Sengoku watching the exchange with a soft smile.

"How was your mission?" you asked excitedly, although your question was more of a way to get him to show the items that he usually brought back for you from his countless missions.

"(Y/N), he just got back. You should let him rest. Besides, it's also past your bedtime," Sengoku said in a stern but gently way, and you frowned blatantly.

"No, no, I'm fine. Let's go back upstairs and I'll tell you about it while you get ready for bed, okay? I have lots to tell you," Corazon said, giving you a toothy grin that immediately changed your mood. However, you missed the serious look he gave Sengoku.

For the past three years you had been staying in Marineford, in a small house that Corazon had got for the two of you. Though it was mainly a place to keep you away from the watchful eyes of the rest of the Marines and anyone else who would try to harm you, it also served as a place to help you learn how to use your powers. Except for Sengoku who had figured out that you had eaten the devil fruit Corazon found, everyone else was still under the impression that the fruit had been lost at sea, and you were just some little girl who Corazon had found. And just like how Sengoku had taken him in, he was doing the same for you.

Sengoku nodded silently, understanding the unspoken message from Corazon. As you skipped ahead towards the bedroom, Corazon followed, ruffling your hair affectionately as you got into bed and he settled into the seat reserved just for him.

From the door frame, Sengoku watched as Corazon sat by your bedside, recounting his mission. As he told you about his adventures, Sengoku couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth, seeing the bond between you and Corazon. Despite the dangers of the world, and the dangers he himself faced, Corazon had managed to create a safe haven for you.

"So there I was, minding my own business, and he attacked me!"

You and Sengoku looked at Corazon dumbfounded, mouths agape as you struggled to comprehend why he was laughing over the situation.

"That little troublemaker!" Corazon exclaimed, wiping a tear from his eye.

Sengoku shook his head in disbelief, while you were still shocked by the sheer audacity of the boy named Law.

"Cora-san why are you laughing? He attacked you! I don't like this Law one bit. In fact when I meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," you said with a pout. You missed the way Corazon's smile faltered for a second, before he gently patted your head as a way to comfort you.

"It's all in the past now. Besides, if I recall correctly, you hit me a couple of times as well when we first met," Corazon said, his eyes twinkling with amusement, and you blushed with embarrassment.

"But...but this is different."

"It is. But we can never fully understand why people do certain things unless we know their full story. He may have had his motives," he tried to reason, though you were still slightly unconvinced, and Corazon could tell, but he said nothing else regarding the matter.

"Anyway (Y/N), it's time you went to bed," he said as he tucked you in snuggly, and planted a kiss on your forehead. That was enough to make you sleepy, and your eyes slowly fell shut as you mumbled a 'goodnight'. There was a soft chatter between the two men as they left your room and stood outside, their voices a lot more serious now. You could faintly hear mentions of the boy Law and a few other people, but that was all. Shortly after, you drifted off into a deep slumber, and when you woke up, Corazon had already left for his next mission.

(Y/N), age 19

You rushed down the stairs as soon as you heard the front door open.

"Is it true?"

"(Y/N), I heard you snuck into the restricted library again," Sengoku said, his voice a mix of sternness and concern, as he entered the house. "How many times do I have to tell you that you could get kicked out of the Marines for something like that?"

Ignoring his scolding, you pressed on, your eyes not hiding the anger that simmered beneath the surface, "Forget about that. Is it true?"

Sengoku let out a heavy sigh, his eyes straying away from yours as he made his way further into the house, "Is what true?"

"You made Doflamingo a warlord?" you demanded, your words filled with disbelief and outrage.

Sengoku froze in his spot, gritting his teeth at the reminder of what had transpired during yesterday's meeting. He let out another sigh and looked at you with a calm expression, "It's true. The government made the decision yesterday."

You struggled to process the implications of his revelation, and were left with a mixture of anger and betrayal.

"And you didn't stop them?"

Sengoku's gaze instantly softened, understanding the turmoil that plagued you, he felt it too. "I can't go against the decisions of the World Government, (Y/N)," he explained. He sounded tired, and you knew the events of the past day had been bothering him as well. "As much as I may disagree with some of their choices, my duty as Fleet Admiral requires me to uphold their authority."

You clenched your fists, your frustration evident. "Even if it means empowering someone like Doflamingo?"

"The Government does what they believe will protect the world, and I'm not going to be the one to question them," he stated firmly, hoping you would finally drop the subject.

"If they believe giving a pirate who killed a Marine agent the freedom to do whatever he wants will protect the world, then I'd gladly be kicked out of the Navy."

With that final declaration, you turned on your heel and stormed off to your room, slamming the door shut. Sengoku had initially come knocking at your door, trying to get you to talk to him, but finally decided to give you your space.

Alone in your room, the feeling of betrayal settled over you once more. The revelation that Doflamingo, the man responsible for Corazon's death, had been given the power to do as he pleased, felt like a dagger to your heart. Memories of Corazon flooded your mind, his laughter echoing in your ears when he told you a stupid joke, his warm embrace as he comforted you. Tears threatened to fall as you recalled the days you had spent with him right to the day when you had lost him. It had taken you months to cope with the reality of his absence, but some how you had managed to pull through. Now, however, those same feelings were coming back, and you found yourself in a dark place. How could the world be so cruel to take away someone like him? Anger continued to boil within you, directed not only at Doflamingo but at the entire system that had taken away the one person you truly cared for.

In the darkness of your room, you made a decision. Unable to bear the grief any longer, you decided to leave it all behind. Marineford, with its rigid rules and compromised values, did not provide you with the comfort it once did.

A few days later, in the darkness of the night, you slipped away, your footsteps silently padding against the stone path as you made your way to the harbour. The moonlight guided you to the ship, and with one final glance at the place you once called home, you set sail on your new adventure.

_______________________________________________

"I made my way to Sabaody after that, but I couldn't stay for long because of the number of Marines there. So I ventured towards Fishman Island, and that's when it happened," you took a deep breath, as you took a break from recounting all those distant memories and remembered one that was still fresh in your mind, and Law listened intently, concern etched on his features, "I was attacked by the New Fish-Man Pirates. I tried to resist, but there were too many of them, and I couldn't use my powers on all of them at once. At some point I must have fainted because when I woke up, I was locked up in a room," your breath hitched in your throat as you recalled what had transpired after.

"It was a nightmare," you confessed, your voice heavy with the weight of the memories. "They discovered how my powers worked and forced me to torture the humans who wouldn't comply. It was either that or face death."

Law's eyes darkened at your words, his jaw clenching as anger swelled within him. But he tried to not show it for your sake, instead showing sympathy as he hesitantly took your hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"And you never tried to escape?" he asked, his voice soft as if he was unsure of whether to ask.

"I did," you admitted, bitterness evident in your tone. "But they caught me. They tortured me after that until I couldn't bear it any longer. I caved and promised to help them in hunting down more humans. I did some horrible things after that."

"You did what you had to to survive," Law stated, his voice laced with sympathy.

"But it was at the price of others suffering far worse," you replied remorsefully, still haunted by your past actions.

"They even sent me after Luffy and the rest of them when they arrived in Fishman Island," you confessed, your voice tinged with shame.

"What made you change your mind to help them instead?" Law pressed gently.

"Well, for starters, they were too strong," you admitted with a light chuckle at the memory of how the Straw Hats had noticed your presence almost immediately and had fought back. You had wondered at that moment whether you had purposefully made yourself known.

"They managed to knock me out, and when I woke up, I was beyond scared. Then Luffy asked me why I attacked them," you paused as you recalled being tied to the tree on the Thousand Sunny as your eyes welled up at the brink of a confession, "I explained everything to them. After that, he promised he would help me. They all did."

"That's why I'll always feel indebted to them," you concluded with a small smile as your heart swelled with gratitude for the Straw Hats. "When I was on the verge of regret, ready to give up, they helped me escape."

As you finished speaking, Law gave your hand another gentle squeeze. "I can't imagine what you've been through," he said softly, his voice a soothing presence in the dimly lit room. "But you're safe now. And...and if it's any consolation, I won't let something like that happen to you again."

Without another word, he shifted closer, and you leant into his touch, finding comfort in the warmth of his side. Much like Corazon, he offered a sense of solace amidst the memories of your past. "Thank you, Law," you whispered, grateful for his presence as you relished in the peacefulness of the moment.

You both stayed like that for a while, your backs pressed against the cold wall of the submarine. A comfortable silence fell between the two of you, the only sound your steady breaths and the soft hum of the ship's engines. Eventually, the exhaustion from the events of the night caught up with both of you, and your head fell to rest on Law's shoulder. Then, guided by the steady rhythm of his breathing, you let yourself be pulled further into unconsciousness, as unbeknownst to either of you, Law's arm instinctively wrapped around you, drawing you closer as you both drifted off to sleep.

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A/N: Feel free to leave feedback! And if you have any questions or things you want to see happen (cause I probably left out something or contradicted something I wrote earlier :⁠-⁠P) do let me know, I wouldn't mind writing a couple of drabbles.

taglist: @trafalgardaria @deathsmajestysworld @cottoncandyloverrrr @magnificenttaledreamland

[undiscovered-horizon]

Hello Sofia! My name is Aleksandra! Just wanted to send a request of Zoro x reader where reader has just joined the crew she is a witch and very strong, sweet, but could be intense (in a good way) as well as mysterious everyone in the crew absolutely loves her but it takes time for Zoro to completely trust her so he keeps his eye on her causing them both to have some tension some days they are arguing over tiny situations some days they are sitting alone together laughing and smiling at one another with feelings building up that they have yet to understand even though they are confused with their feelings their connection runs deeply to the point it drives them insane everyone else in the crew see's this (Besides our dear Luffy.) They try to get them to open up but it's hopeless at times. I was thinking Zoro gets a deep cut during a fight and Reader helps him with his wound this is where they are able to share their feelings and once they deeply kiss they understand how they feel from there.

I hope this is a good one to do! Thank you!✨🌻✨

I would love to be tagged at!💜 @shewalksinanotherworld

This took a little bit longer and I have nothing to say for myself except that my executive function does not, in fact, function. Enjoy! @shewalksinanotherworld Enjoying my work? You can leave me a tip on Ko-Fi | Have a request?

"The way to a man's heart" - Zoro x Reader

[graphic descriptions of open wounds]

Somebody once said that love and hate are two sides of the same coin - a token of devotion. Like tides of two seas that create storms and whirlpools upon meeting, it is often impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins. Perhaps, these waters have never differed as they are two ends of one river. Both lovers and enemies alike make up the first row of the funeral cortege.

And just like those seas, no matter whether they are the same or two different bodies, Zoro and you seem to be ebbing and flowing across love and hate. Flipping the coin of dedication each day to see where your tense relationship will take you. Sometimes more than once a day, when mere hours separate passionate fights from merry laughter.

But speaking of turning tides and seamlessly flowing waters, wouldn't the seas know each other far too well? What constitutes oceans of hate was once the pond of love. Conversely, the waters of affection had once flown as tides of enmity. If the answer is yes, it would explain quite a lot about the rather inexplicable connection you share with the swordsman. Sometimes not a word has to be spoken but a fleeting gaze exchange for either of you to know perfectly well what the other has on their mind.

To be fair, it's hard for you to put your finger on the why - Why are you and Zoro so strange with each other? The most plausible explanation would probably be his stubborn distrust. He's a very guarded person which, by itself, is not unfathomable considering his journey and livelihood. But it is absolutely tedious when he sticks to his guns against all available evidence. Weeks went by when Zoro was the only crewmember who perceived you in different shades of suspicion, even after witnessing you put your life on the line for your mutual friends. His stubbornness was frustrating, so you gave him as good as you got and well... Here we are, wading in the murky waters of passion, both pleasant and adverse.

However, you'll be wading much different waters, those flowing in the Styx River, if you don't escape now. The Indigo Cross pirates are a little too close behind you. You can almost feel their breaths on your neck as they scream about revenge, bloodshed and defending their captain's honour. Yes, about that... It wasn't exactly Luffy's fault that the man he told to apologize to the tavern waitress was the world's most narcissistic pirate. Alas, the damage is done and so is your chance at a peaceful shore leave.

The Merry Go is but a few meters away. You just have to get to the gangway and run up the stairs so fast your mother would go bald from stress. Just two things, right?

Your foot gets caught the between rotting planks of the pier. The unforeseen obstacle in your escape startles you, giving you barely any time to shield your face from the painful impact of the ground.

"Shit!" you groan to yourself, yanking your foot.

Zoro yells out your name. In long strides, he catches up with you. He manages to rip away one of the mould-covered planks. Despite your foot being set free, the man lifts you to stand on your own.

"You go, I'll hold them back," he orders you as he nudges you in the direction of the ship. Before you can defy him, Zoro is already running towards the oncoming wave of looking-for-a-scrap pirates.

Time seems to slow down as you watch a spear, its polished head shining in the sunlight, fly through the air and pierce Zoro's chest. He stumbles backwards and falls on one knee. With a roar of agony, the swordsman grabs the long shaft of the weapon. A loud snap fills the air as he breaks the wood off. Then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes,, Zoro stands up. Although his legs tremble slightly, he still lifts his swords and fights off the Indigo pirates. Some seem to drop their weapons in surrender, seeing that not even death can grasp this demon of a man.

You want to call for him but Sanji firmly grabs your arm and pulls you on board. "Come on, he can handle himself."

Having hidden on the lower deck, you're not sure what happened on the shore and onboard the ship until you saw none other but Roronoa Zoro, stumbling down the stairs and almost falling on the floor. Luffy, Usopp and even Sanji yell and nag at him to get his wound looked at while Nami keeps calling him different variations of "stupid" but Zoro only curses at them and tells a less savoury "Leave me alone".

Maybe thirty minutes pass by until the emotions die down or are at least well hidden. Your four friends sit around the kitchen, all strangely silent. They all give you a curious look when you let out a heavy sigh and march towards Zoro's room. He's going to die one day, obviously, but it's not going to be today. And definitely not because he put your safety before his own. What kind of rom-com death would that be?

Zoro is facing you with his back when you swing the door open without even knocking first. You seem to have interrupted his rather poor attempt at bandaging the hole in his chest. He looks over his shoulder, his face bearing an expression of annoyance.

"What do you want?"

You toss a handful of medical supplies on top of the chest with his belongings. The fresh dressings, a small bottle of alcohol, a needle and a thread tell quite the story, lying next to the bloodied head of a spear with splinters coming out of where the long shaft should be. It's still hardly believable what he did back there.

"When you get an infection, you green-haired idiot," you speak with your hands crossed on your chest. It's clear as day - you're pissed off, "it will be Sanji spoon-feeding you. I'm sure you'll be having the time of your life then."

Your sarcastic remark doesn't seem to phase him. The wrinkle between Zoro's eyebrows only gets deeper.

"I'm fine. I've been worse," he says with an exasperated sigh. "Just piss off," the man groans in a low voice.

Maybe if he wasn't already injured, you'd punch him straight in the jaw. "Stop being a stubborn ass," you raise your voice, "and let me help you."

Zoro rolls his eyes dramatically. Making a show of his discontentment, he sits on the edge of his hammock. If he was just a few yours younger maybe he'd stomp his feet too, as befits a toddler he seems to have chosen to act like.

Minutes go by in silence as you clean the deep would and do your best suturing it. Meanwhile, Zoro doesn't even wince. He's perfectly calm and collected, almost as though his soul has left his body and gone for a stroll.

By the looks of it, you haven't stitched wounds many times and Sanji would probably be better at this, with his experienced hands and all, but that would require Zoro to be either already dead or at least unconscious. There's no other way he'd willingly let those slimy fingers touch him.

“They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach," you say under your breath as you tighten the knot on the last suture. The last thing you want is the deep wound reopening. "I guess going through his ribs works too.”

"A lot more efficient." The swordsman chuckles but his laughter soon turns into winces and groans. Although he's not going to bleed to death anymore, the rather large hole in his chest is this painful and not something to trifle with.

"A spear nearly pierced right through you and you're having a laugh?" You nod with approval. He's impressed you, you have to give him that. "Roronoa Zoro, you command respect."

A silence falls between you again as you put back the collection of medical supplies you've managed to find aboard. Little do you know, Zoro's watchful gaze doesn't leave you. He seems to be intensely thinking about something.

"Thanks," he finally spits out. "I would rather die than let Sanji spoon-feed me."

It's not the wraith of death that scared him into letting you patch him up - it was the cook in a striped shirt. Really? Roronoa Zoro is a lot of things but "ordinary" or "predictable" is not one of them.

You burst into laughter. "Unfortunately," you manage to breathe out, "I would have loved to see that."

He shakes his head in disapproval but his lips are curved into a grin. "I hate you."

"No, you don't, big guy," you answer as you playfully poke his arm. It's still covered in dried blood and sweat.

His dark eyes stare into yours with a strange glint to them. It's almost like amusement but not entirely - it's deeper, much deeper. "Yeah, I don't," he whispers.

Everything happens so fast: Zoro grabs your neck and pulls you flush against himself, crashing his lips against yours. Involuntarily you yelp, which elicits a chuckle from the man. On one hand, you're surprised with his sudden declaration of passion but on the other hand, you're relieved. Of course, you have joked that Zoro must be in love with you to be so annoying most of the time but rarely did you consider it a real possibility. He just... didn't seem like a man who loves, only desires. But now, when he's kissing you so desperately and eagerly, you feel stupid for ever thinking such thoughts. As his hand roams your body, you begin to wonder whether all of this has always been this funny - every one of your friends already knew the feelings you had for each other, except the two of you. Something so obvious it's easily overlooked.

It makes you think that he was, actually, scared of losing but not his life. He was scared of losing someone.

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

what he deserves, chapter 4

Sanji x Reader, a bit of Law x Reader

Warnings: angst, one-night stand, not really a love triangle – law and reader are mature about the situation. Some implied smut. WANO SPOILERS.

a/n: this will be several parts. Leave comment for tags. ONE MORE PART TO GO!

Summary: Witnessing all the suffering Sanji went through on Whole Cake Island, all you want is for him to be truly happy…even if it means not with you. Set after the fight in Wano, you go through the motions of an endless fight and end up in bed with the Hearts Pirates’ Captain to distract yourself from the one thing you want the most – Sanji.

masterlist

The morning brought many bounds of regret as you woke up hungry with a headache. Resting deep into the soft cotton filled mattress, you stared up at the ceiling and wondered what the rest of the crew was doing. Had Luffy gone back to see Otama? Was Nami getting things ready for the voyage out? Was Zoro lost somewhere or perhaps he too found comfort in sleeping in the shading forests…

These thoughts beckoned and stole your attention, occupying your mind as to not think of Sanji and the awful conversation the two of you had. Maybe he didn’t know…maybe he didn’t realize he further fractured your already fragile heart. Or maybe you were taking this too far, felt too sensitive about what had happened on Whole Cake Island. Maybe things were fine just as they were, and you didn’t need to rock the boat any further.

Getting out of bed, you moved to the small vanity across the room and stared into the mirror – horror filled your eyes, hair sticking in all directions and in the morning light, it was shorter than you remembered. Collapsing onto the vanity chair, you picked up a brush that laid on the tabletop and began to tame it down. It took ten minutes to get it neat enough to leave the room; a new kimono laid on a lounge chair near the door. Folded neat with a small note resting on top of it; you picked up the note and saw that it was a gift from Nami. It was dark green with yellow flowers petals, the fabric a rich silk and you wondered how much Nami had to haggling to get it down to a reasonable price. Inhaling in the morning dew that came from the gaping window, you began to undress.

The inn was a bit quieter than the previous morning; Robin and Franky were having tea in the main seating area. Both greeting you with warm smiles and the latter mentioning that the rest of the crew had gone off to the Sunny. “We’re on our way over after this,” Franky grinned. “Gotta make sure she’s ready to set sail.”

Robin offered you a cup of tea and you sat down next to her, listening as Franky listed off check points for the Sunny. You asked if he needed help, but he told you not to fret – he had everything under control. Robin asked if you were ready to leave Wano and you sighed. “It feels like we were here for so long but now that things are settled, I wish we had more time to really see the country.”

“I agree but Luffy wants to keep going, so we shall.” The archaeologist’s smile was so sincere and warm, you settled against the chair and sipped the tea, listening to the duo exchange conversations, not pipping in but just glad to just be around them. Robin and Franky had always been a relaxing pair to be around, and you often wondered if it was their age – but Brook was older than everyone and he was pretty chaotic. The conversation quickly changed to lunch, and your stomach growled in response, that’s when Robin snapped her fingers gingerly. “I forgot to tell you; Sanji left you a plate of food in the oven. He said it should still be warm because he wrapped it up.”

The mere mention of his name guilted your bones, but you thanked her, excusing yourself to the kitchen. You held the tea saucer in hand and walked through the dining hall to the kitchen, placing the cup on the island. Moving to the oven, you opened it and saw a plate waiting for you – wrapped in beeswax paper. Bringing the plate down onto the counter, you unwrapped it and saw that it was rice balls. Delicious looking rice balls and your hands clapping together in excitement. Everyone knew Sanji’s rice balls were the tastiest in all the seas and it took seconds for you to devour four of the dozen set on the plate. A little groan escaped your lips, and a chuckle came from the doorway of the kitchen.

It was Law – standing in his familiar jeans and yellow long sleeve shirt with a blue coat with a fluffed collar. If Law was anything, it was well dressed. You chewed quickly, beckoning him over and offering up the plate. He declined a rice ball and you shrugged, swallowing with a loud sigh. “Sorry. These are exceptionally good.”

“You sound just like Luffy.”

“Did you just come here to grace me with compliments, because I take that as a compliment.”

“I’m sure you do.” Law leaned against the island and said he had come to see if you had made it back from being lost. You laughed explaining the whole silly ordeal, noting that his eyes lingered a little too long on your hair. Touching a few strands, you clarified that it had been a last-minute decision. “All you Straw Hats are the same…”

“Brilliant? Strong? Incredibly mesmerizing?”

“No, impulsive.”

“Another compliment, thank you.” He gave up and asked when Sunny was due to depart Wano and you asked why he cared so much. “Not trying to figure our next big move, are you? Because I have to say, you hit it right on the nose – we’re an impulsive group of people, so our plans are never definitive. You should know that by now.”

“Far enough,” he concluded, dropping the subject. Instead, he asked if you were going to the final banquet. “Bepo and the others haven’t shut up about it all day.”

Right, the final banquet; you remember Luffy mentioning it on the way to Otama’s village. Another party seemed a little much and you worried that there wouldn’t be enough resources left for the people of Wano, but Kin’emon and the others insisted. Wano was to be a free country again and they wanted to thank the people responsible for making that happen. Devouring another rice ball, you shrugged. “I guess I have too. I take it I’ll see you there?”

“Begrudgingly.”

That’s the spirit, you told him, and he half-heartedly laughed. Covering up the remaining rice balls with the beeswax paper, you mentioned you needed to go with Robin and Franky to the Sunny. Law said they had left. “I passed them on my way in.”

“Oh, well, care to walk me over? I actually have something for you…”

The man pushed away from the counter, curious to know what it was and when he asked, you refused to say. “It’s a surprise, but it’s worth the trip. Are you busy?”

Law gave out a low, exhausting sigh and you laughed. “If you’re too tired…”

“No, no, it’s fine. I can’t be gone for too long; I don’t need those guys giving me a hard time.”

Understanding what he was talking about, you mentioned how Chopper was in tears when he thought you were leaving to join the Heart Pirates. Law shook his head, a bit of warmth in his cheeks – he was embarrassed, and you found it hilarious that such a cool tempered could even fathom that emotion. Or easily display it on his face. Nonetheless, the two of you quietly left the inn and started toward the direction of the Sunny. The excursion was a good thirty minutes from the center of the town, but the conversation flowed easily and filled in the time spent walking. He talked, vaguely, about his plans for his crew but you didn’t blame him – after all, every crew had their own goals. You had never heard him outright say he wanted to be King of the Pirates, but he did openly talk about beating Kaido. His alliance with Luffy was surely coming to an end, but you had a hunch he wasn’t going back to enemy status any time soon.

“Isn’t she beautiful!”

Law glanced up toward the Sunny. “It’s obnoxious.”

Even though you ignored his comment he followed you up the ramp, watching as you practically raced up onto the ship. He stalked behind slowly and as you interacted with your fellow crewmates. It was obvious how happy you were to be back on the ship, and he again followed when you started toward the upper deck. “The library is this way.”

“There is a library on this ship?”

Sensing a bit of envy, you climbed the steps toward the observation room before turning to him with a prideful smile. “We do, everyone but Luffy has books in it though…”

“I’m shocked.”

The two of you made your way to the library; you opened the door for Law and followed when he walked in. His eyes moved around the room taking in the shelves lined across the walls, filled with books. The small desk in the middle and the seating that also lined the walls. Opened books were scattered around all surfaces and he picked up the nearest one. It was a book of old fables and you laughed, explaining that it was Chopper’s favorite. “He’s a doctor but he’s also very young.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I have something for you.”

He glanced around at the library once more, before following you to a shelf on the wall. He watched as you thumbed through the spines of several books before plucking one out of its place. You opened it up and pulled out a comic. His eyes widened and you laughed, holding up a Sora, Warrior of the Sea comic. “You should have this; Sanji doesn’t know I’ve had it all this time. I was surprised as much as you were, finding out about his family. I don’t want it on the ship where he could find it. Plus, I saw the way you practically drooled over Sanji in that suit.”

It had been shocking to hear the true origins of Sanji’s family line and to put faces to the people that hurt him so much. You were there when he used the raid suit and hated the way it made him look like the rest of those people. Then later, you saw how hard he was resisting being like them.  Law carefully took the comic, flipping through the pages and you could see a child in his eyes. He looked up from the pages. “I still can’t believe he’s a part of Germa66.”

“He isn’t,” you reminded the man, plucking the comic out his hand. Staring down at the cover, you frowned. “I used to love this story when I was a kid, one of the few luxuries my family allowed me to have. But when I saw the real monsters…saw how they treated Sanji, I wanted to kill them all.”

“You didn’t though.”

Letting out a deep breath, you handed back the comic and moved toward one of the bay windows. Staring out, you saw Robin and Nami on the grass – they were talking amongst themselves and when your eyes lingered to near the right of the ship, you saw Sanji. He was leaning against the ship’s railing, smoking a cigarette, and staring out at the ocean. “The restraint I had to pull from the deepest part of my soul. If had my way, I would have killed them slowly…painfully…”

“I couldn’t see you doing such a thing.”

This prompted you to look over to Law and laugh. “We’ve slept together, Law, but you hardly know me. I would have enjoyed killing them because their cruelty to a child matched that of my parents. It didn’t matter in the end, Sanji asked us all to help save his family.”

A small breath released from Law’s throat, and you expressed amusement at his shock, giving him an look that told him you understood his surprise. Eyes moving back to Sanji, you stared at the man – painted a portrait of him in your mind, for later consumption. “Do you know what kind of person asks for help in saving their cruel family? A family that has abused them their whole life. Discarded them like trash? A kind person, Law. Sanji is a kind person, and he deserves more than what life has given him.”

The library went deathly quiet, eyes now on Zoro – who had joined Sanji. Those two always acted as though they hated each other, starting arguments over nothing. Brothers. You watched as Luffy joined the duo, the three of them together only took seconds before bickering started among them. Then the others appeared and before you knew it, right before your eyes, your family was all together. Smiling down at them, you noticed from the corner of your eyes, Law staring too. Arms across his chest, he studied your eyes and the way they seemed to glisten as you watched the crew interacting.

“Life has given him this crew.” Law’s hand fell onto your shoulder, and he said he had to go. Moving your eyes from the window, he thanked you for the comic and said he had something for you too. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning, but I wanted to give this to you before we go our separate ways.”

He pulled out a small torn piece of paper from his pocket, holding it out between two fingers. You stared at it for a moment, trying to understand but then it registered, and you carefully took it from him. It was his vivre card. “Are you sure you want me to have this? Shouldn’t this go to Luffy?”

“I can’t trust him to keep it safe, besides, I want you to have it.”

You stared at it thoughtfully. “It’s not because we slept together, is it?”

“No.” he was a matter of fact. “It’s because we’re friends.”

…..

The main deck was busy, Nami instructing where to put the crates and barrels of supplies Zoro and the others were hauling up the ship’s ramp. Law, at your side, walked toward the ramp and turned to you. He again thanked you for the comic, he now had it tucked in his coat pocket, and said he’d see you at the banquet. “Save me a drink,” you smiled, and he nodded, the two of you reaching for one another’s hand. He gave you a tight squeeze and leaned in to whisper something in your ear; you were very aware that the two of you were direct line of sight of the whole crew.

��Talk to him, you’ll figure it out.”

Law pulled from you, hand still on yours and smirked – it was the first time ever seeing him look so devious and seconds later, you knew why. He planted a kiss onto your forehead, promptly released your and strolled down the ramp – narrowing missing Franky carrying two large crates. You knew he did that to make your life a little harder and he was a certified little shit for that but watching him leaving a good friend of yours and a piece of his vivre card in your pocket made you feel at ease. He disappeared back through the trail that led to where the Sunny was docked and you yelled down to Zoro, asking if they needed help bringing up more supplies.

“Nah, we got this.” He shouted back and you left the men to their busy work. Moving back to the grassy area, Nami gave you a smile and pointed her pen at your hair. “It’s shorter than it looked last night, but it’s still very cute! I bet Law loves it.”

“It’s not like that,” you retorted, snatching the clipboard from her hands. She frowned but you pretended to be invested in the list in front of you. “I’d appreciate it if everyone stopped talking about Law and I like that. It really isn’t what everyone thinks…”

“Sanji thinks you two make a nice couple.” You gripped the clipboard, and you asked when he said that. “This morning when we were all walking over. We were discussing the two of you – you’d be surprised how we all agree Law and you totally make sense!”

Your eyes moved to the ramp just as Sanji appeared, rolling a barrel onto the ship. He caught your attention real quick but you looked away and stared back at Nami. Shoving the clipboard into her hands, you told her there was never going to be anything between Law and you. “We’ve come to a mutual understanding of friendship. If I hear anyone discussing us again, I’ll really join the Heart Pirates, got it?”

Nami’s smile faded and she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry…it’s all in good fun, really.”

“Yeah, well…” Sanji started toward the kitchen and a sense of resolve washed over you. Starting toward the kitchen door, you gave Nami a smile. “…the good fun is getting real old.”

Leaving her to that, you flocked over to the kitchen – taking one real deep breath before barging in like a hurricane. Sanji looked up from unpacking fish into the freezer and it felt like the air was vacuumed out of the room; his eyes stared unknowingly at you and your heart was racing a thousand times in the same divine rhythm it always did when he was around. Standing in the doorway, a halo of light lit around your body as you shouted you needed to talk to him, and he felt something entirely new.

Was it a mix of terror and relief? Was that emotion even possible? A thousand things ran through his head, but they were all dismissed, cleared away when he saw the way you smiled at him – as if, after a long journey, you were finally home.

In that moment, Sanji was breathless.

..........................................................................

tags:

@stuckinthewrongworld @theyluvmesblog

@synchronised-beat @hi3431

@fandomsunited @ghostercy

@yuki190 @bowscale @utakamo

@fire-child-kira @cheshireshiya

@teenyforestfairy @sukilovesyou

@69cocktimusprime @littlemissfiore @kodzuchim

@angeiisa @bitchycoffeepainter69

@secretlife028 @idiot-sanwich02

@abandonedbrat @breens-nick

@bocchi-the-heart @sseleniaa

@depression-247 @sweetgurl1623-blog-blog

@punem69 @themossiestchick @sweetcoldmelancholy

@sanjipudinzinho @baelien-queen

@kodzuchim @kfcmuncha @bloodysweetcat

@angeiisa @gingersnap126126 @amoamista

@sweetchimpeaches @dohkyu @yagurlyve

@simpx4xanimexmen @micaelacantsleep

@meritxellao @armaria

want to be tagged in the last part? leave a comment!

if you want off, let me know!

[magnuficentwo]

My dad and I play Borderlands 2 together as a bonding activity and we recently beat the whole main campaign + all sidequests, so we started doing DLCs as a way to warm up before TVH mode. Here's our reviews of all the DLC we played so far (I'm doing all the write-y parts but my dad agrees dw)

Captain Scarlet and her Pirate's booty -

Pretty fun, though the slower pacing really did make it hard to get through a lot of it, especially with how ginormous the maps are. It takes a long time to get anywhere, and we got pretty disinterested in most of the side quests due to how far apart everything is. The set design is really gorgeous, but you can only appreciate it when you're walking by it slowly and taking note of all the fossilized coral– Otherwise when you're in the boat most of what you see is just A Lot o Sand.

Captain Scarlet herself is awesome, super witty lady with hilariously upfront intentions to betray you and leave you to die, I just wish she was allowed to have more dialogue that wasn't directly related to the quests like Jack was. The reveal was thoroughly expected and although the battle with her pet Rakk Nest was a bit boring, she was still very funny. Shade is so fucking funny and I felt bad for him, I kept joking we would just bring him back to Sanctuary after the dlc was over, but he was also slightly underbaked due to the lack of focus the dlc had with its characters. We liked the boat more than the usual cars even though it was a pain in the ass to shoot with. Also the racism was really fucking odd I don't know why they did that for.

Combat was just kinda fine. Maybe weirdly balanced sometimes ? We had a lot of sections we breezed through completely without the intended difficulty level because we accidentally overleveled, but enemies didn't really keep up with that. Could be our fault though so I'm not giving the game shit for that. What I AM giving the game shit for however is the fact it was VERY bad at rewarding us for when it actually did keep up with our level, because all the loot we got was all blues and greens. And I'm still pissy about not getting at Least one Leg in that final loot room.

My rating: 6/10 (Had fun overall + Scarlett and Shade are awesome - points deducted for Racism.)

My dad's rating: 6/10 (He had fun but thought it got boring very fast - Racism also bothered him a lot.)

Tina Tiny's Assault on Dragon Keep -

Such a blast all around. Enemies were challenging but once we got used to the difficulty spike (from PB to this one), it was really fun. The comedy of having a 13 year old girl dungeon Bunker Master guide her grown up friends around a brand new campaign, all while having to learn balancing and storytelling on the spot, is just Objectively really funny, but with how charming Tina and the gang are here it's even more so.

Tina is such a delightful weird little girl, and I love how you immediately gather that the whole game is her coping (A Bit Badly) with the recent deaths of her friends. Lilith, Mordecai and Brick are also really good too, from Lilith being a total dork and getting super immersed in the game (her getting defensive of Torgue not being a real geek is so funny to me because I acted like that when I was 13. But she's like a grown woman so its even funnier), to Brick embodying every murderhobo rpg player in the history of the world, to Mordecai slowly but surely warming up to the story, it's so damn fun.

The combat also gets spiced up with all the fun new enemies and status conditions, to the point where when we went back to base game temporarily we got confused some of them weren't present originally. Also the ending had us both sitting there in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time which is ALWAYS a plus in my book ! Overall, the dlc captures the whimsical nature of tabletop games and fantasy super well, while also being incredibly funny in the classic borderlands way and surprisingly emotional at times. Very fun time, both of us want to play Wonderlands now though.

My rating: 10/10 (No notes, just a very good time all around for me)

My dad's rating: 10/10 (He's hard to please but he really liked it + he said he wishes he could play the whole dlc again + We played the whole thing in one sitting, that's how good it is)

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt -

Whoever is responsible for this DLC needs to go to hell right now. Immediately.

(Lots of interesting concepts that go completely unappreciated simply due to the fact that this DLC has no respect for you as a player and even less for minorities. Genuinely a huge shame, because it's honestly really cool stuff that could've been a lot more interesting if they weren't tied to a pile of garbage. Sir Hammerlock sweetie let me get you out of here please you deserve so much better all the time, I wish the actual dlc was about a big game hunt with this guy instead of whatever it was. We didn't play a lot of it because it's just ridiculous. There's better things to do with your time, don't bother w this one)

My rating: -1/10 (I'm bound by no entities saying I need to give it a positive score, and personally I don't think it deserves one as it deserves nothing, so -1 will do.)

My dad's rating: 0/10 (Got so disappointed we just stopped playing the game all together and started playing Diablo IV on his computer instead.)

The rest of them we haven't touched on a lot yet. Raid on Digistruct Peak was kinda forgettable but a good enough concept for what it's worth, Fink's Slaughterhouse didn't seem appealing to us so we haven't played yet, and we want to play Commander Lilith last just for dramatic effect, but overall the Borderlands 2 consensus for DLC exists in 3 categories: A) Life changing DLC of all time B) Pretty okay, but it's just Borderlands 2 in a different place and C) This should've bever been created. I'll see if this keeps true for the rest of them but for now that's it. Thank you for reading, goodbye and don't die.

[shadowqueen402]

Since Mer-May is a thing, can you whip up a fanfic of Illusion Demon Jett rescuing a mermaid? Said mermaid will be Aria of course. I did see the commission image on your profile after all. Being a demon, Jett doesn’t need to breathe. He can survive in space without a space suit and breathe underwater without scuba gear.

Sure. Do forgive me for the wait.

Given the fact that he wasn't too particularly busy, Jett decided to venture around in the real world, looking for a way to keep him occupied. He obviously wasn't in the mood to wander around in the city. Especially on a hot day like this.

That was when an idea clicked to Jett. He could head over to the beach and relax. Jett couldn't remember the last time that he relaxed due to how busy he usually was. And as far as he knew, he almost never went to the beach.

With a hum, Jett made his way to the beach. He was expected the beach to crowded with lots of people. But to his surprise, the beach was rather vacant despite being open. Nevertheless, he breathed a sigh of relief and found a real shaded spot for him to relax in. A very slight smile appeared on his face for once.

Of course, the relaxation didn't last as long as Jett would hope. Because he immediately started to feel bored. He sat up, just in time to see…a large bubble emerge to the surface of the water. "Crikey!" Jett exclaimed. "Where did that bubble come?"

The bubble suddenly popped and a female's voice cried out. "Help me!"

Jett blinked, trying to process what he was seeing. He normally would have just shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him. But there was a feeling in his gut that told him he needed to check it out.

Jett stood up and approached the water. He took several steps into the water until he found himself going deeper. Then, he dunked himself fully underwater and started swimming down.

Being a demon had its perks. One of them just so happened to be the ability to breathe underwater. Jett looked around underwater, ignoring the sea creatures that passed by, while trying to find out where the voice was coming from. So far, he didn't see anyone or anything that could have given him a clue as to who cried for help.

Jett found himself swimming deeper underwater. By now, it was rather dim compared to when he was close to the surface. "Where did that voice come from?" He asked himself.

"HELP ME!" That same female voice cried again. Only this time, it was louder. This meant that Jett was getting really close to the sound. It was obvious that the source of the sound was near.

Jett swam a bit more deeper. Not only could he swim underwater, but he could also see in the dark. And in the distance, he could see what appeared to be a cage, nestled in the middle of some rocks.

Either Jett believed he was going crazy or he actually saw what he was seeing; a creature whose upper body resembled a young lady and whose lower body was a fish tail. "Is that…a mermaid!?" He exclaimed to himself.

The mermaid must have heard Jett's voice because she turned to where he was and grasped at the bar. "Please…save me!" She cried out. "Before the pirate ship comes back!"

A pirate ship? Jett now had more questions, but he knew that those can wait until he rescued her. With a blast of full speed, Jett swam over to the cage that the mermaid was in and grabbed onto the bars. "Get back a little," He commanded the mermaid.

Once she swam back, the mermaid watched in wonder as Jett managed to part the bars, creating a hole that was wide enough for her to swim through. "Try coming out now."

With a nod, the mermaid began to swam through the hole. And just in time as the shadow of a ship appeared up ahead. An anchor splashed down and hooked itself onto the top of the cage. The mermaid approached Jett as the cage started to get lifted up by the anchor.

"Thank you for saving me," The mermaid said to Jett before taking a good look at him. "You don't look like a sea creature."

"'Cause I'm not," Jett replied. "Rather, I'm a demon. I just so happen to breathe underwater. I'm Jett."

"Aria," Aria introduced herself. "I'm a mermaid. Those pirates were trying to abduct me and my people."

"Why is that?" Jett asked. "Are they the reason why you were trapped?"

Aria nodded. "The pirates are trying to get our tears. They firmly believe that mermaid tears are valuable as it was believed to heal the sick and injured."

"You'll be safe with me from now on," Jett said.

[cmdr-h-of-the-woods]

Exobiology and neutron stars, oh my!

The robotic voice that greeted me as I approached the settlement was certainly different, but not altogether unexpected. The whole place seemed shrouded in mystery. I would be lying if I said that I was confident and comfortable as I made my way out of the ship hangar. I had briefly heard about the Engineers, but all I knew was that they were odd and secretive people with a lot of very specific knowledge. But, I told myself, I’ve received an invitation from Ms Farseer, and Cmdr Curious Sparrow does call her "Granny Farseer", so maybe it’s going to be okay. And, indeed, while I was expecting to find myself disturbing an austere, busy mechanic, I was met with a passionate explorer with whom I got to talk for some time. And she was able to improve some of my ship’s modules, as promised. I took leave of Felicity, as she said I could call her, and left the outpost feeling better equipped to go and explore the galaxy.

My plan was to travel some distance towards the system where Cmdr Curious Sparrow had told me she was staying. Chukchitan made for a nice first stop as I went and took a closer look at some strange plants.

But, you see, I’m a space butterfly. My route took me through several empty systems in the Puppis Sector. Some of which had planets that had never been visited before... Surely I could take a moment to have a closer look at them. My first ever "First footfall" took place on planet 4 in Puppis Sector ZJ-R a4-2. A small, dark, icy body. Not a sound to be heard. Just my breath and my footsteps, leaving behind the first human footprints. I spent a moment gazing at this scenery no one had seen before. Sure, I had seen the Orion nebula before, it’s always somewhere in the sky, but no one had seen it from this planet.

One or two jumps later, I landed on another planet and decided to watch the sunrise. 892 light-seconds away, a brown dwarf was shining, and its rays were just starting to reach the place where I had landed. This whole system, Puppis Sector HR-N a6-2, is also uninhabited, as far as I can tell. It seems other explorers have already passed through this system, but I wonder if any of them have stopped to watch a sunrise. I do know that I was the first to land on planet 3.

Returning to human civilisation was almost strange after going through this field of brown dwarfs. I hadn’t even been gone for that long and was still in the middle of the Bubble, but it felt like time had stopped on those icy planets.

From the port where I had docked, Hedetet 1 looked like it had an interesting shape. I briefly landed there, wondering what it looked like from the surface. And, it is so close to its star, I was curious what that would be like. The answer is: very hot. Wayyyy too hot. Some 675 Kelvin on the surface, apparently. Good thing I landed in the shade of a crater!

My next trip was to HIP 3125. Some pirate got in my back as I was busy scanning the system and used that opportunity to interdict me. I jumped out, and when I came back, wouldn’t you know... another ship was waiting for me. Ugh! What do they even want with me? I don’t even have any cargo. I’m glad I persisted and stayed in HIP 3125 though. It’s a nice system with varied biological signals. One moon was green, and as I was approaching, I wasn’t sure if that was grass or just the colour of the rocks. Up in the sky, the gas giant this moon is orbiting was very visible through the CO2 atmosphere. I loved the view there. In the same system, but around another planet, which had rings, I landed on an icy moon. The sky was green-orange from that thin methane atmosphere and even the ice looked green. I found more biology there, and later was told by the Vista Genomics person that I was the first to discover bacteria there!

In other news, I heard that someone was asking for help to deliver gifts to children around the Bubble. I was happy to help bring a bit of cheer and joy in these troubled times. This one kid sent a message about all the "flowers" she was seeing on the news... The murder flowers... Then there was another lonely little girl, who lives in a "very remote" place, and who, for once, wanted something other than a mug for the holidays. So, yeah, I made my way to Alpha Centauri, pointed my ship towards Hutton Orbital, unfastened my seat belts, and made myself tea in the galley while listening to a podcast about exobiology. While I’m just collecting samples and not doing the actual analysis, it’s a fascinating topic. Once at Hutton Orbital, after fixing the Elmwing’s paint job and delivering the gifts for Ellie (and collecting my free Anaconda, which I think is just going to sleep in a hangar for the time being), I bought a mug and a bottle of gin for Felicity and made my way to Deciat. She seemed pleased.

Yesterday, Sparrow invited me to join her next to Jackson’s Lighthouse. An angry looking star for sure. White dwarf stars are terrifying, but in a different way. We spent some time basking in the pulsing light, waving at the tourist ships, before jumping to a nearby system with a population of... 85 people. Found some cool new planets too. One had rocks that seemed to be completely immune to gravity and floated some 400m above the ground.

I also landed on a moon with major geyser activity, with two big planets in the sky.

[fwoosheye]

Title: Holding on to Dreams - Chapter 1: The Ambush

Summary: A Linked Universe fic. The chain is travelling through an unknown forest in the middle of a draught when they're suddenly ambushed. Legend have a tool to help with that, but things don't quite go to plan

Also available on AO3 and on Fanfiction.net

This is half-submission to Whumptober 2022 - I was planning on posting it anyway, though I might've taken the opportunity to lean into the whumping a liiiiittle bit more than I had planned

CW: ambush, serious injury, impaled, blood loss, magical exhaustion, unconsciousness

Chapter 1: The Ambush

It was their second day in an unfamiliar forest, and five days since the chain had appeared in what they suspected was Wars' Hyrule. It was surprisingly hard to tell when there was no civilization near and in the middle of a drought on top of that. 

The chain walked on an unfamiliar path, dry leaves crunching under their feet and the branches above barely giving them shade from the unforgiving sun despite being so densely packed together. It had even gone so far that the various members of the chain had shed their armor and outer layers to avoid getting a heat stroke – well, most of them anyway. Wild had donned his Voe Armor and seemed unbothered by the heat, and Sky was borrowing his Sapphire Circlet, while Legend had donned what he called "the Cheer Outfit". Wars kept making fun of the veteran's get up, but nobody could deny that whatever magic the pink two-piece contained did increase the group's energy. For everyone but the wearer of said magical garment that was.

"Why did we have to end up in a drought", grumbled Legend and wiped the sweat off from his face. "We haven't seen a single monster and it's too goddess damned dry to risk lightening even a small fire and make some cooling elixir."

The captain snorted. "Don't jinx us, cutie ."

Legend's glared at the knight. "Call me ‘cutie' one more time, pretty boy , and you'll have to sleep with an eye open tonight."

"I'm curious though", interrupted Four, and Legend noticed his eyes almost looked violet. "Where did you get that outfit? How does it work?"

The veteran shrugged. "In Hytopia, during my sixth adventure. As for how it works it's a mix of hidden runes, good old fashioned enchantments and some special fabrics. So even if I didn't like the designs of all outfits they all had their uses."

"Even this one? I thought you only traveled by yourself before us, and I know you said this garment only gives the wearer's teammates extra energy."

"Eh, yeah, I wasn't exactly alone there. Hytopia is a very …odd place. Let's just leave it at that."

"Come on!" said Wind and bounced up to him. "Can't you tell us something more? Like, do you have any pirate themed stuff?"

"Yeah actually, I have a coat that le-"

The guttural screeching and snapping branches that interrupted him were their only warning as at least three dozens of bokoblin, lizalfos and moblins from various eras descended upon them. The heroes swore as they drew their blades and went to counter attack.

Perhaps Legend wouldn't be the first to admit it (he had a reputation of snark to uphold after all) but they were all highly competent warriors. Even so, armorless and exhausted from heat against black blooded monsters that outnumbered them more than three to one? And in an environment that was far better suited to the monsters than themselves on top of that? Those were bad odds, and he knew he wasn't the only one who had gotten some nasty cuts.

With a grimace Legend shield bashed the lizalfos in front of him and jumped back, grabbing the unnaturally cool medallion that hung from his neck.

By Nayru he hoped this would work.

Channeling all of his remaining energy into the medallion he raised his sword skyward.

"ETHER!" he roared, channeling his fear, anger and pain as well as his hopes, dreams and determination into the icy spell, urging it to freeze every foe around them.

He almost didn't feel the stabbing pain in his side.

△ △ △

Warriors was no stranger to battling several strong enemies at once, but he usually had more room to move about on. 

At least I can trust these guys to watch my back just like I watch theirs, unlike some squads back home , he thought grimly as he cut down his third overpowered bokoblin and blocked a swing from a moblin with his shield. But there was no denying they needed something to turn the tide or they would be truly overpowered by the infected beasts. He wanted to use his fire rod, but with how dry their surrounding was it would cause a forest fire which they could not afford – especially without knowing its nearest exit.

The veteran's cry of "ether" startled the captain so bad he almost failed to parry the moblin's overhead strike, but the biting cold that followed caught both of them off guard. As suddenly as it had appeared the chill left, leaving the moblin in front of him frozen solid. A quick look around confirmed all monsters were frozen solid, including the lizalfos in front of the veteran whose spear was-

"LEGEND!" he cried out and dashed to the pink haired boy, catching him under the arms just as the veteran's leg threatened to buckle and cause him to glide off the barbed weapon through his side. He adjusted his grip so he could apply pressure to the wound, eliciting a grunt from Legend. Hyrule looked rather green as he began to examine the damage, the rest of the chain watching in tense anticipation. Eventually Hyrule stepped back and released a shaky breath.

"It somehow managed to miss all the vital organs, but just barely", he said. "But I can't even begin to heal him as long as the spear is still there, and that barbed spearhead might rupture something beyond my abilities if we try to remove it the same way it came."

"But...but there's a frozen monster stuck to the other end of the spear", said Sky. "How will we be able to remove it?"

"The gold… gauntlets…" Legend grit out. "Twilight…"

Time pulled swiftly off the mentioned objects and handed them to the rancher. "What's your plan, Legend?"

The veteran looked up with a hazy gaze. "Giving him… magic strength… he should… be… able to… crush it… with… one hand…"

Twilight looked uncertain as he pulled on his successor's gauntlets. "Are you sure? It would still probably move and that would also cause damage."

Wild pulled out his slate. "What if someone holds the spear both in front of and behind Legend and let me use Stasis on them while you crush it? That should keep it from moving, right?" 

Sky stepped up and firmly grabbed the spear. "I'm ready whenever you guys are."

Warriors nodded and looked down on Legend's hanging head.

"Stay awake, Vet", urged the captain and pressed down harder on the wound, causing Legend to hiss. "Focus on my voice. I need you to tell me what your type is until they're done."

The younger hero grumbled. "Girls with red hair and freckles GAH and a singing voice like a siren."

"I meant your blood type, you dingus!" he snapped, vaguely registering the rest of them getting into position and Sky being in a yellow frozen state.

"What the -OW FUCK- is a… blood type?"

War tried to not feel disturbed at how the pale Legend was in contrast to the blood, both his own and the black of the beasts, that splattered his cheek. He pressed even harder on the wound and winced at the sharp yelp that action elicited. 

"You know, what kind of blood you have in case one of us matches and can donate a little?" The others were counting down now.

"Is there… any other than one? …What do you… want me… to say..? …Blue?"

A sharp crack as the spear was splintered kept him from making a crack about blue blood being for royalties, and the moment Wild released Sky from the stasis Warriors gently lowered Legend to the ground. Hyrule instantly shooed away the others except Wars and Twilight with orders to tend to their own wounds. He held a twisted up rag by the veteran's face.

"Legend", he said carefully. "I'm gonna need you to bite down on this when I remove the spear, can you do that for me?"

His only answer was a grunt and miniscule nod, and the traveler gently placed the rag between his teeth. Then he turned to the captain and the rancher.

"Wars, I want you to hold down his shoulders. Twi, you hold the legs and hips. And whatever you do, do not let him move ."

They got into position while Hyrule knelt behind Legend, placing one hand on his side and the other gripping the spearhead.

"I'm gonna try to pull it out in one go, alright? On three. One. Two. Three!"

The scream that tore out of the veteran's throat when Hyrule removed the spear quickly died out into whimpers and the young hero went completely limp. Warrior looked down on Legend as Hyrule quickly made sure there were no splinters left. Four handed their healer a water canteen and with a quiet thanks Hyrule washed  the gaping wound before he began to heal it. Warriors squeezed the hand of the unconscious veteran with a strained grimace.

"You better not kick the bucket on us, Leg, I know a girl who's just your type. She'd probably be able to soften up your closed off little heart too."

△ △ △

Wind had been hoping that shattering the frozen enemies into smithereens with his Skull Hammer would ease off some of his tension, but even after the last monster had been turned into pieces he felt no better. Four was monitoring not only Legend but also Hyrule who had passed out after giving his all to heal the veteran. Twilight and Sky was doing a quick patrol of the area, just to make sure there were no monsters left nearby to ambush them again, Warriors were looking over monster spears for some reason and Time were placing more frozen monster parts around the small fire Wild had lit to brew something he called "Hearty Elixirs". By the looks of it, he had just finished a third batch.

Everyone was blatantly ignoring that they all were covered in blood – mostly Legend’s blood – since they didn’t have any extra water to spare to clean it off with.Only wounds and hands had been cleaned.

Wind sighed and wiped off his hammer before heading over to Warriors.

"So what are you up to?" he asked.

The Captain looked up with a hum. "Oh, I'm looking for the two best spears to use for a makeshift stretcher. I have two spare tunics we can pull over the spears but I want to be sure they won't break in our grips."

"Oh… I didn't know one could make stretchers in that way. How did you learn that? And shouldn't we make one for Hyrule too?"

Warriors gave a weak chuckle and ruffled Wind's hair. "General Impa taught it to me. And we've been considering it, since it would probably be for the best for Hyrule, but…"

"But that would also mean we'd be down to three fighters", Time continued, giving Wind's shoulder a squeeze. "The risk of encountering monsters so soon is pretty low, but if it does happen one more blade might make all the difference."

"I… I see", Wind said and glanced over to their downed friends. He had seen Hyrule heal people enough times – though never to the point of him passing out – to know that the healed area had a higher risk of  rupturing again if put under too much stress, so Legend would need that stretcher and it would likely be Time and Warriors who'd carry him. And as scary as it was to see Hyrule having exhausted himself like that, it would be safe for someone – probably Twilight – to just carry him. That would leave him, Four, Sky and Wild as the only ones left for possible defense. And if they lost one more… It would be harder.

"I'm gonna check on them", he declared.

"Please send Four over while you're there", Warriors said. "I think Wild broke his sword again and he's the best to inspect the weapons for a suitable replacement."

Wind nodded and went over to the smithy who barely seemed to notice him.

"You got that look on your face again, Four", Wind said and plopped down beside them. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just thinking about when Dot drained herself of magic", Four answered and brushed away a sweaty lock of hair from Legend's face. "She was bedridden with a fever for a day and once she got out of bed she was still complaining about how everything felt distant and unreal. Took a couple of days before she felt like she was truly back in her body again. Figured both Legend and Hyrule are gonna go through that."

Wind hummed. "That makes sense. Pity none of us knows how to make magic replenishing potions. Anyway, Wars was wondering if you could go through the loot and check if any of the weapons might suit Wild. He thought Wild's sword broke and it's not like we have access to a forge right now, so…"

"Sure. Could you keep an eye on Legend and Hyrule for me? Just to make sure they stay stable?"

"Aye aye!"

Four moved away and Wind scooted over so he could sit closer to both the veteran and the traveler. Carefully he checked their pulses. Hyrule's was kinda weak, but steady, and he had a slight fever too. Legend's pulse meanwhile wasn't just weak, it was fluttering and his skin felt almost cold. Considering that Four had mentioned magical exhaustion causing fevers he had expected Legend to have a fever too but… was that because of the blood loss? 

Wind didn't really dare to remove his eyes from them, heck, he barely dared to remove his fingers from Legend's artery in case it stopped beating, and it felt like he sat there for hours but it was probably closer to mere minutes as the sun was still high. He let out a sigh.

"How are they doing?" asked Sky as he and Twilight came back to the camp from behind Wind. The sailor gave a helpless shrug.

"About the same as before. I wish they could wake up soon, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Yeah… that's what I feel everytime too but you guys still trust me to heal you", Hyrule weakly mumbled beside him. Wind shot to his feet like a canon.

"Hyrule! You're awake!"

"Am I?" asked the traveler and didn't seem to be aware of the others coming over. "It doesn't feel like anything's real."

"That's because you're suffering from magical exhaustion", Four told him. Hyrule furrowed his brows.

"Magical exhaustion? What did I- oh. Oh. Is Legend okay?"

Time patted his shoulder. "He is alive, thanks to you. He is not out of the woods yet, but now he's got a fighting chance at least."

Hyrule looked around with a confused frown. "We're all still in the woods though?"

The group's chuckles were somewhat strained, Time gently ruffled Hyrule's locks.

"So we are. Hm?"

A dark swirling portal appeared at the edge of the camp. 

"Well, not for long it seems", Warriors added. "I'll go fetch that stretcher."

Time nodded. "Good. Four, Sailor, and Sky, I want you three to load any gear you three and Wild can't carry on Epona. Wild, make sure your fire is put out properly and buried under frozen monster parts, we don't want to risk a forest fire to blaze up when we leave. Twilight, I want your help to keep Legend steady when we transfer him to the stretcher, then I need you to carry Hyrule. Any questions?"

The heroes all shook their heads and set out to do their tasks. As nobody had really packed up anything, it was all really done in a jiffy – though Wind and Four ended up having to wait for Legend and Hyrule to be moved from their bedrolls before they were completely done. Eventually they all stood before the portal, Time and Warriors holding the stretcher, Twilight giving Hyrule a piggyback ride, and Wild holding some monster sword in one hand and Epona's reigns in the other. Sky, Wind and Four also had their swords drawn.

Wind took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. 

"Well, no time like the present, I suppose", he said and walked up to the portal, feeling Sky falling into step beside him. He looked up at the older hero. "You ready?"

Sky nodded and gave him a smile. "I'm ready."

Together they stepped through the portal.

[noro-noro-noro]

dream summary 1. abandoned building into costco candy whip cream milkshake 2. shopping (i wanted to get another milkshake) 3. acting outdoors 4. going to an area & there was an anime con in the same building as the conference

1. dream started with .. I was exploring a maze like abandoned building. in if my friend was there .there were other people but I don't know if I was allird with them. we got stuck in one part that looked a bit like the pirate cave in the goonies with a hard to find exit .

then I went Costco & I was making a millshake with some kind of candy whipped cream, but I used too much & the employee forced me to buy a membership. but they did let me name the drink, so I named it adter I e of my friends fsr the one that explored the building with me? it was really good milkshake though.

i was in the area again with friends . we stopped at a Target to get some snacks, but everything was weird here. the self checkout was weird and sucked.

then: I was at a creek doing a favor for my sister & agreed to act in some play her & her friends were hosting. she was the main prinfess & I was the tutor. i have never acted before, but sure. anyway a rival group showed up and the acting fairy told us to hide in the creek since there was a hole in the middle, so I dived in. nobody else from the group was there shddebly (turns out bandits had shot one of the girls) & I couldn't hold my breath that long, so they eventually found me. they had a cute leader though.

then some kind of work trip to a conference, but seems like a shitty anime con was taking place at the same area. i ditched the people I came with the pick up som crappy weapns from an animated metal suit & then wanted to dollow my friends down to the night beach. the beach was down a long hallway past some somewht convoluted sevret doors. we couldn't blog back that way because people were having sex suddenly in the rooms down there very loudly.

I use the mace to unlock a secret passage. there was a bloodborne looking room back there in shades of dark blue and indigo, with thin pink flowers & a weird looking blacksmith guy who forgws the three flowers into an upgrade my tool for me. however they were cursed& the voice of the evil could enter me& try to possess me.

there was a portal at the back. we went through it. it was a large open air field of rubble floating in a cloudy thunderstorm like area, heavily trapped and with house of thorns every so often. the destination was a far off inverted tower with a maze of pasageways and the exit, also floating in pieces.

I could use my magic to knit everything back together but the mental strain was intense - I needed a nearby magical item to ground me. the hero party consisted of me, a new knight who kookted very anime nerd - the classic isekai guy haircut in blue, square frame glasses. he was sweet though. we had another ?mage? really similar in vibe or at least appearance to yae Miko, who tried to cross first. & her bodyguard, a woman real similar to Gideon tlt but with darker hair. she was the master of some kind of spin jump kick thing & she had hung behind to finish investigating the room with the flowers. when she came out and had heard that pink hair team member had tried to cross, she immediately left to catch up. she made it pretty far, but stopped by a healing stone & then was snared by thorns. she cut through them without hesitation but now one of her legs was injured.

the hero had wanted to stay with me but it seems like the other two were having difficulty, so he left his magic spike shield as the grounding factor for me & left & caught up with the others. they were almost at the exit, but the bodyguard was heavily injured, turned into her original form a small green alien fairy thing, & died. the pink mage was cornered by enemies& stuck in thorns, and the hero who'd almost escapoed turned back out of instinct. he should have made for the escape. all our items and party members wojld be teleported out when one person made it. we would have been able to revive pixie guard and heal pink mage & I. then I woke up

[lily-patent-pending]

Tag ppl you wanna know betteeer

Tagged by: @gracelikesfries (i copy pasted your post to use as a template and i'm terrified i'm gonna somehow post it before i'm finished typing ._.)

Last song: "Sweet Hibiscus Tea" by Penelope Scott. i tend to listen to albums or songs on repeat a lot when i first find them, and that's what i'm currently doing with The Junkyard 2

Favorite Color: pastel pink, but mint green is a close second! (the only hex code i know by heart is #00ff7f, which used to be my favourite colour. that's the shade picture below, although now i prefer a slightly more blue shade. maybe #00ffb3

Currently Watching: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; i don't really watch shows (since i don't have a TV and i don't have access to any streaming service... and i'm too afraid to pirate stuff >.>) so it's kind of a lie to say i'm "Currently Watching" anything except like, YouTube series. but i watched the first episode with some friends a while back and i really enjoyed it, and i'd like to watch more with them sometime. i also started watching Ben 10 with a different friend over Summer, but neither of us are great at following up on stuff so that fell through.

Last Movie: i watched an outdoor screening of Back to the Future recently. the movie was good, if a bit weird (i've seen it before as a kid but i forgot that Libyan terrorists were a major plot point??? or that his mother kept trying to seduce him???) but i didn't bring a coat and i was freezing by the end of it.

Currently Reading:

Non-fiction - i don't really read non-fiction, and to be honest i can't think of one that i'm reading currently off of the top of my head. but i'd like to read The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. i've read all of his other novels and listened to all the episodes of The Anthropocene Reviewed podcast, just haven't gotten a chance to read the book yet.

Fiction - i got a copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for Christmas that i've only recently started reading (i tend to not read for months at a time and then plough through a whole book in a weekend, like i did with Will Grayson, Will Grayson). i'm not far enough in to give a solid review. i'm also reading Dying to Know You with a friend, which is nice :)

Sweet/spicy/savory: Savoury, although i also like sweet stuff (and i have a pretty high tolerance for what i'd consider sickly). i can handle spice fairly well, but i don't necessarily enjoy the sensation by itself.

Relationship status: single and unsure if i'm even interested in a relationship. i don't really have a solid idea in my head of what would differentiate a romantic relationship from a platonic one, either.

Current Obsessions: i have a few long-standing ones (namely Pokémon, Undertale, and FNaF) that come back with a vengeance every so often. last week i went into a frenzy and wrote a 50+ slide presentation about shiny Pokémon, and i've been watching a lot of FNaF and Deltarune theories - i'm really interested in seeing what different conclusions people come to.

Last googled: i specifically didn't Google to find a picture of my favourite colours until after writing this section... and then proceeded to search "my little pony friendship is magic" to make sure i had the name of the show right (with the punctuation and whatnot). uhh the last things i looked up on my phone were "dialog" and "dialogue" (to see if they were different words or just a color/colour situation) and "i'm going to buy an absurd amount of orange juice".

Currently working on: uhhhh ummmm... i'm... making a slideshow on the story of FNaF ? and, y'know, starting university, i guess. idk, mostly just taking stuff as it comes at the moment.

i'm gonna tag @funnydogy because we're mutuals but haven't really interacted (and yet your posts about sans the skeleton eating cigarettes have affected my everyday life) and @scrampton because you also reblog posts about sans eating cigarettes. what's up with that?

[shiny-jr]

what a thriller (I)

Warning: Yandere. Gender-neutral reader. Bit of gore. 

Characters: Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Cater Diamond, Trey Clover, Riddle Rosehearts.

Summary: “On All Hallows’ Eve, on the night of a full moon, a lone soul will summon creatures of the night. They shall be awoken from their slumber, and have the ability to bring terror to the people. But, they shall make a single vow to the lone soul that summoned them and leaves an offering, only that soul can reign them in. Yet once that vow is made, it shall seal the soul’s fate…” At least, that’s what the book you bought from overpriced Halloween store said. You have nothing else to do and it probably won’t work, so why not try it out? 

Note: Okay, I post, now I dip. Yes, I will work on the follower special request still in the inbox now. Yes, this is a halloween special. Yes, I plan for there to be more parts eventually, hopefully before Halloween. Yes, I know it’s only August, but Heartslabyul always takes the longest for me so give me a break. Oh, and this has not been completely checked over for mistakes, so there may be some errors.

spooky scary skeletons   |    he’s a pirate (will link when complete)

The giant extra large bags of candies stocked on the shelves, the fallen leaves were the colors of the carved pumpkins, the arrival of scary movies on the television, it could only mean one thing: Halloween was fast approaching. The season of sugary goods and fun costumes. Unfortunately, you had grown past the acceptable age of trick-or-treating. If you dressed up and rang some doorbells looking for candy, you’d probably get some dirty looks and the often repeated question “aren’t you too old for this?”

So with not much else to do and no company to have over, you decided to do your own thing on Halloween day, before you would set up and prepare for the influx of children searching for candy at night. Somewhere where you could read this mysterious book you found at one of those temporary Halloween stores. It could’ve been all jokes and fun, just made up tales, but the quality of the thick leather book and the low price was far too good to pass up. Slowly you walked along to where the roads took you, opening the book and beginning to read,

“On All Hallows’ Eve, on the night of a full moon, a lone soul will summon creatures of the night. They shall be awoken from their slumber, and have the ability to bring terror to the people. But, they shall make a single vow to the lone soul that summoned them and leaves an offering, only that soul can reign them in. Yet once that vow is made, it shall seal the soul’s fate…”

Well, you found out what you were going to do today. It might even be fun to try and fulfill this spooky silly prophecy. Sure, nothing would happen, but it gave you something scary to do on Halloween. Afterall, how true could this book be when it was from a holiday retail store that sold cheaply made costumes for high prices? Continuing on your walk, you quietly considered what you could offer. So the question was, where would you set this ritual?

SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS (Heartslabyul)

The town graveyard, of course. The place where the troublesome teenagers went at night to scare each other, but you’re certain they would be off somewhere else trying to steal candy from babies or do stupid stuff like seances in the forest. It wasn’t weird for you to come by, considering the graveyard was about a block away and the easiest way to the center of town was through the graveyard instead of going all the way around it. Plus, it was the most peaceful and quiet place for miles, as weird as that sounded.

During the day it wasn’t too bad, but at night it’s considerably worse. When the sun is out, the birds are twittering and there’s the distant sound of honking cars on a nearby road, a sign that you weren’t alone. When there is sunlight, the leaves on the ground are bright orange like the pumpkins, blanketing every inch of ground as the dead within their tombs lay in eternal rest under the shade of the remaining browning leaves that clung for dear life on the outstretched limbs of the trees. But at night? Oh, at night, you couldn’t bear to walk through the graveyard. It felt like a completely different world when the sun went down and the only sound was the crushing of leaves underfoot and mysterious rustling nearby.

However, today would be different, you decided. Today was a fitting day to go over and try this phony ritual in the rare silence, especially while most of the teenagers would be doing their own thing instead of vandalizing random graves or secretly smoking/drinking here without their parent’s permission.

When arriving at the graveyard, your eyes scanned over the vast property for the best place to do the ritual. Then, your eye caught sight of one of the older mausoleums on the grounds. It had been vandalized. Its stone walls colored with crude spray paint as indiscernible words were scribbled on the surface. Frowning at this discovery, you scanned the grounds for the graveyard keeper, but there was no sign of him. Feeling a bit bad and since you had the spare time, you picked up some cleaning supplies from the nearby shed where you knew the gravekeeper kept some things. 

Vandalism had happened in the cemetery before, but you hadn’t actually seen it with your own eyes until now. Slowly approaching, you readied the cleaning supplies as you muttered a small apology to the dead that rested inside. As you began scrubbing, the paint came off and it revealed the names engraved on the stone. Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade were written on the left wall, Cater Diamond and Trey Clover were written on the right wall, and on the surface of the wall directly opposite of the sealed stone mausoleum entrance was the name Riddle Rosehearts. It appears as if time had eroded away at the numbers that marked the time of their deaths, so it was impossible to discern just how old these graves were.

You were only content when the paint was fully washed off along with the grime and moss that came with the aged stone. It had taken almost all your free time to clean the tall stone walls, and the sun was setting already and the full moon had come out, but maybe it was worth it. Noticing there was a lack of flowers and candles, it was probably safe to say that no one had come to pay respects to the five dead here in a long time. There might be a chance that there wasn’t anyone left who even remembered them. It was a bit sad to see all the other graves decorated with flowers, little knick knacks, and photographs, while this mausoleum stood alone and empty. Maybe these useless items you brought for the ritual might actually be useful, they could be gifts for the five dead resting here. Thinking about it, you’d probably be sad if you weren’t remembered or gifted anything after so long.

So, you removed the candles from your bag and lit them around the mausoleum, one wick for each name. Rummaging through the mess of items you gathered at random from the dollar store, you picked one object to give to each name and place beside their candle. For Ace you left a deck of playing cards that you found on the shelf by checkout, under Deuce’s name you placed a mini blue toy motorcycle that had been in the toy aisle, beside Cater’s candle you set a spicy instant noodle cup that some broke college students had been eyeing in line, Trey’s offering was a single birthday cupcake that was much cheaper than buying a whole batch, and finally you had purchased a bouquet of roses which you placed under Riddle’s name. They were trash items, but hey, you’d be happy to receive any of them if you had been dead and got no offerings. 

Standing upright, you admired your handiwork before murmuring, “Here you go… For Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Cater Diamond, Trey Clover, and finally Riddle Rosehearts. Oh, uh…” Removing the book from your bag, you reviewed the steps of the ritual. Step one, set your location. Check. Step two, light candles. Check. Step three, place the offerings. Check. Step four, to complete the ritual, recite these lines.” Clearing your throat, you flipped back the first pages and began awkwardly reading, “On this All Hallows’ Eve night, while the moon is full, here I am. The lone soul. I use the energy present tonight to summon thee creatures, awake from your long slumber…! Ugh, this sounds so stupid when I say it out loud… Make your vow to me, the lone soul you waited so long for. In exchange for your loyalty, I bring gifts. Once the deed is done and our deal is set, it shall seal our fate……!” 

A breeze came by, carrying some leaves and blowing out all the candles. Well, you accomplished basically nothing and wasted a few dollars for the supplies, but the trip wasn’t completely wasted. At least these five dead finally had some company for once. Closing the book, it was now time to return home, and––

Creaaakkkkk…

You stopped in your tracks, slowly looking back at the mausoleum. The heavy rusted iron doors were open, which made a chill go up your spine. That… wasn’t normal, it wasn’t even opened earlier. Weren’t they always supposed to be locked? Keeping your distance, staying a good few feet away from the mausoleum but you moved so you could peek inside without getting any closer. With your flashlight camera illuminating the dark space from afar, you squinted to get a better view just because you were that far and refused to be stupid and get closer. However, when you could vaguely make out the shape of multiple coffins on shelves, their top lids discarded off to the side revealing empty insides, it felt as if your heart dropped to the bottom of your stomach. 

Suddenly, you felt a foreign sensation grasping onto your hand. Screaming, you instinctively swung blindly with the thick book, until you heard a groan and a crack! Behind you was a figure dressed in black, their hand was nothing but bone, and their head–– Oh, their head looked normal with messy redish hair and an odd heart-shaped scar on their cheek, but their skull literally came unattached and went rolling into the bushes due to the force behind your hit. Much to your horror, the body grasped at nothing and moved towards the detached head. From the bushes, you heard a voice, presumably from the head yelling, “Ow! What the hell was that for? I was trying to talk to you! Wait… what am I saying ow for? That didn’t even hurt!”

What… What was that? Why was there a person with a skeletal hand and without a head, talking and moving as if normal? As you turned around to make a dash for the exit at the graveyard gates, you immediately came face to face with another macabre-like figure. This one had a dark blue shade of hair and there was a spade-shaped scar on his left eye.

When he raised his hand towards you, you instinctively raised the book to defend yourself, and his eyes widened as he began, “Wait, I’m not gonna hurt you! Don’t––!”

CRACK! 

You swung again, nearly screaming as his head rolled off just like the first’s did. And just like the first, his head went rolling into the bushes with his walking headless body quickly following. Much to your horror, you could still hear their voices. The heads were bickering with each other, as their bodies rummaged through the bushes to find their missing piece.

With no obstacles in your way anymore, you ran for the gate while the two were busy. The gates were so close, just within reach––! Until a third figure appeared in front of the exit, blocking your path. This one looked similar to the others, but with orange hair brushing against his shoulders and a diamond-shaped scar below his eye. When you moved, so did he, both of you stuck in an awkward and scary tango as he blocked your path each time. “Hold on! Stop, just chill for a second!” How could you chill when you noticed one of his arms was completely devoid of flesh?!

“Look, we promise we aren’t going to hurt you. It’s okay. We would never hurt you.” Another one? The fourth one had short dark-green hair and a clover-shaped scar. He spoke softly and mustered an awkward smile, but what unnerved you was his eye. The eye just above his scar, suddenly popped out of his skull before he hurriedly squeezed it back in place and adjusted his glasses. Noticing your alarmed reaction, he instantly apologized, “Sorry––” 

Behind him, you noticed a shorter fifth figure with rose red hair. Oh god, there were five? Was this the new walking dead? Wait… five? Like the five names on the mausoleums…? The fifth… wasn’t all that scary. Yes, he looked like the others, like walking corpses, but he approached slowly and carefully while cradling the bouquet of roses. He stopped a good distance away, but he merely stared at you before smiling and bowing his head, “Thank you for the flowers, they’re lovely. I never expected my–– I mean, our, first offerings in quite some time, to be from the lone soul that would summon us.”

Well that happened. You somehow raised the dead (at least five of them) through the ritual and now they’re claiming that you’re the lone soul that they’re swearing eternal loyalty to? Who knew knick knacks from the dollar store would be enough to appease these hundred of years old walking corpses? They may look kinda scary with how some of their limbs are missing flesh and parts of their bodies have exposed bone but at least their faces and heads are fully attached… for the most part. And they’re actually fairly nice and have gotten attached to you quickly. There’s no getting rid of them, no ritual to put them back to their eternal rest. So what now?

Ace Trappola 

Despite being from hundreds of years ago, Ace could fit in surprisingly well in this day and age if it weren’t for little details about his appearance. It was a shame that he died so early on, but he doesn’t mind because he met you. Besides, death wasn’t so bad, it just felt like he took the fattest nap ever known to man. 

Right over his right eye, it looked like someone had used a knife to carve the shape of a heart. Additionally, he was missing flesh over the left side of his torso which revealed his bare rib cage that was completely hollow, and part of his ankles (almost always hidden by socks and shoes) were nothing but bone as well. 

Along with Cater, he’s quick to get used to the new environment. Also the first to realize that these aren’t little monsters running around, they’re just plain old kids in costumes! How old must they be to have no idea that kids dress up on Halloween? You have no idea, and when you ask Ace merely grins and avoids the question. These fog machines and scary ani-ma-tron-ics are pretty cool! 

The playing cards were one of the things he recognized despite the time that has gone by, which is why he appreciated the offering. That, and the ace card has a heart just like his scar. Anyways, sure, the cards may look different, but they’re still cards used for games and tricks. Oh, and speaking of tricks. 

Trick-or-treat? Trick, always. Ace is one of the more mischievous ones, he thinks it’s funny to scare the kids passing by. And it is scary, because they think his wounds and bones are so realistic. Oh, it’s real, but they don’t need to know that. Not just that, but he will steal candy from unsuspecting kids. Even better if they get so scared they run and drop their goodie bags. More for him! 

He won’t lie, you meeting him for the first time could’ve gone much better. He was just so excited. He woke up feeling energized, arising from his coffin as he heard you recite from the book. Of course he probably should’ve guessed you’d freak out at the sight of him. Part of his body probably rotted during his slumber. 

Ace knew this would’ve happened eventually, someone was going to wake him up, they had to. The curse placed on him and his friends prophesied that only a lone soul would bring them back among the living, where perhaps they might actually be able to live like normal to make up for their life that was taken. In exchange for another opportunity, they would be bonded to the lone soul. Well the ritual with the bond must’ve worked rapidly, what else could explain this intense desire to be in your company, making you laugh and simply doing some antics with you? And it was only night one. These desires may increase as each night passes. 

Later on in the night if some of those annoying guys try to scare you, he’s immediately snapping back in reply. Hey! Only he can scare you! Don’t worry, he won’t lash out physically into violence. That’s more of the others in the group’s thing. He did imagine burying those jerks alive, but he won’t be doing that… at least for now.

Deuce Spade 

Deuce has a harder time adjusting, at times he sticks out like a sore thumb but by emulating others he’s getting better. It’s honestly such a jarring experience. Everything he once knew is now gone, time went on, things changed, but he feels a bit better knowing you’ll be here throughout everything from here on out. 

On the corner of his left eye, there was a fairly large scar in the shape of a spade. Over his cheek, from one edge of his lips to his jaw, there was a hole in his flesh that revealed part of his teeth and jaw bone. Even one of his hands was completely devoid of any flesh, which was mostly covered by his black gloves. 

At first, Deuce is majorly freaked out by all the changes. Why are all the lights no longer candles but glowing glass? Why are there little monsters running everywhere carrying bags of candy? Is that a giant version of the offering you gave him?! That looks amazing! He wants a closer look! Do you realize how much better this is being with you experiencing all these new things, instead of sleeping? 

He honestly had no idea what his offering was supposed to be. It looked like a toy of some kind, but he was nonetheless grateful. So imagine his shock when he saw these box-shaped mechanisms and mo-tor-cyles that looked like his offering. He was entranced. When you ask what if he gets injured on a motorcycle, he confidently assured that he could easily put himself back together even if he was nothing but pieces! 

Trick-or-treat? Treat! He’s just copying what you, Riddle, and Trey are doing. Besides, now that he has a second chance at life, he wants to be better! Which is why he refuses to actively try and scare the children, but they’re still frightened. Even as he tried to reassure them and offer candy, the kids broke out crying at what the parents accompanying them complimented as amazing makeup. He just wanted to help out, not be scary…

That meeting was, uh… embarrassing. He can’t believe you saw his head roll off within the first five seconds of seeing each other! Maybe he should’ve learned from Ace’s mistakes and kept his distance so you wouldn’t panic, but he was eager to introduce himself! Ah, don’t worry, his bones and scars won’t get in the way this time! 

There’s moments he recalls his life before he died. He didn’t have much. Hell, it was probably his own incompetence and recklessness that led to his death, but then he rememberes who he left behind. His mother. Surely she grieved over her lost son, he ended up a disappointment and made her cry. But he wondered if… she’d be happy knowing he had another chance, that he found someone to dedicate himself to and he was diligently improving his behavior. Would that let her rest in peace and would he be able to move on with a new purpose? He wouldn’t throw away this second chance, he’ll make up for his past mistakes and protect you to the death! 

No matter how much he tries, he cannot hide his sometimes brash impulsive behavior. He may lash out, especially if someone’s being rude to you or trying to scare you. But, it’s easy to stop him with a simple scolding. However, there are times where you may fail to notice he’s secretly taken action. Where did he get a shovel from? And why does it have blood on it? Deuce says it’s a prop, but you’re not really convinced when you notice fresh mud on his boots.

Cater Diamond

Like Ace, Cater fits in surprisingly well. He catches on the fastest to slang, able to ease swiftly from the old speech to the more modern dialect. Isn’t this great? He fits right in! Well… almost. If it weren't for the state of his body, then he would fit in perfectly. But, there’s nothing like a little makeup and adjustment of his clothes that can’t fix that. 

Under his left eye, there’s a small diamond-shaped scar engraved in his flesh. If you pushed up the sleeve of his black outfit, you could see that on one of his arms, from his shoulder to the tip of his fingers, the limb was completely devoid of flesh. What happened to him to lose so much skin? He won’t say, he’ll always distract you with a story from his previous life if you try to bring it up. 

These new devices of the time are so interesting! This cute little magical electric box you always carry around is his favorite! And all these little kids running around dressed to the nines in silly costumes? Fun! He never expected old Hallow’s Eve to end up like this. He likes the holiday way better now. It used to just be a pagan time for festivals, now it’s such an exciting night! He can’t wait to learn more about the traditions from you. 

Your offering was too good! Really, he hated sweets and wasn’t extremely fond of bland food, but when you left this magical cup, he wasn’t really sure what to expect. After everything, you showed him how to prepare it. When he saw you’re just supposed to fill it with water and mix to get a spicy and delightful meal? He was floored! This was by far, the best offering he got! Eagerly he slurped up the spicy noodles, despite not needing food for his body to function. 

Trick-or-treat? Trick, obviously! He is not about the treat, honestly. Which is why if he won’t playfully scare a kid or get them to laugh, he’ll give them a treat… of spicy ramen noodles! Yeah, that’s right. He’s not giving out candy, he’s giving them a small plastic cup of noodles from the packet you had stored in the pantry. Guess he didn’t quite get the memo that usually treat meant candy, but he’s got the spirit. 

You whacked the head off Ace and Deuce, but Cater was smarter than to just get so close after he saw what happened to them. Even if he did want to get as close as possible to you. Just… don’t look too long at the broken parts of his body. He won’t say it aloud but he is a bit… self-conscious about it, more so than the others. But if you push past the black veil of his hat and sincerely compliment him, despite his current appearance, he’ll melt and be much clingier. 

To be honest, he was frightened at the time of his death. He was nearly certain that no one would come for him, no one would bring him back, why would they when there were others? How could he be sure there was even someone destined to bring him back? He’d be left to rot for eternity… So imagine his pure shock, his disbelief, when he awoke in a coffin. And what was that voice outside these stone walls…? He needed to get out of here, he needed to see if this was real. When he reached the outside, and saw your living breathing form, well… Part of him was worried this was some cruel dream. Can the dead even dream? 

Ah, don’t worry about him! His biggest crime is making a kid or two cry by scaring them. Most of the time he ends up being able to make them laugh and smile though. Just hope that no one tries to egg your house or do any other prank like that. Because he might just do more than merely make them cry from fear.

Trey Clover

Trey fits in well which is a bit unexpected? Not because he’s good with learning about the new environment, but because most people assume he’s a good and decent living guy by his behavior. Which is a good thing, because it means he can stay beside you with no issue, right? 

He happens to be the most “normal” looking. He isn’t missing flesh, but he does have a small clover shaped scar right under his right eye. However, his eye isn’t connected properly to his skull, causing it to pop out at times. There is no blood, it just pops out and goes right back in, often caught by his glasses. He gets embarrassed whenever you see it happen. 

At first the children in their costumes surprised him, before he quickly figured out they were kids. The huge selection of candies on the shelves and baked goods in display windows from this time period amazed him! For a moment he even mistook firefighters as witch hunters because of their black robes and axes that could be used to chop wood to burn witches and other unholy beings such as themselves! Just a short explanation from you was enough to get him to understand and calm his uneasiness. 

A baked treat, a fitting offering for the son of a baker. He’d never seen a cupcake so… colorful. It looked normal with white frosting, but it had rainbow sprinkles and glittering wrappings. It was delightfully sweet, not too sugary but not lacking either. He compliments your baking skill, but you don’t tell him it’s a cheap store-bought good. 

Trick-or-treat? Treat! Trey seems to enjoy handing out candy to the children, and he seems like the only one they aren’t scared of! He’s another one that doesn’t quite get that treats usually means just candy, since he wanted to give each trick-or-treater a cupcake he baked himself! How’d he even learn to use the oven that quickly? You have no idea. But it seems like his new favorite thing. 

Really, of all times for his eye to fall out, it had to be right as he met you? That was a bit humiliating… Well, he had plenty of time to paint a better picture of himself in your mind, since he could tell that their somewhat grotesque appearance frightened you. But first thing’s first, they had to get you to stop screaming. 

It all went black at his death. It felt like it had only been one night when he then awoke in the mausoleum. He could hear a voice past the stone walls, followed by a commotion and a scream. The scream sent a chill up his spine, forcing him to hurry his pace. There was the setting sun and moon, nearly blinding him as he stepped out for the first time in centuries, but you, you were like the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s when he recalled the prophecy. So it was you. It was no wonder he felt the urgent need to come to your rescue when he heard your scream, because you had already bound him to your soul. But there was nothing to rescue you from, as he can tell from Ace and Deuce who quite literally lost their heads. He’d help convince you that they mean no harm. 

Trey is the least likely to ever be violent, but he does tend to fret a lot over your health. You don’t want to become like him, do you? He always means well, so there’s never any need to worry about his intentions. Of course, he’ll never say it, but he doesn’t care nearly as much for anyone that isn’t you or those he died alongside. But he’ll stop the other four dead men so that they’re not creating trouble for you.

Riddle Rosehearts 

Oh, Riddle… At first he had a difficult time adjusting as well, many things appalled him or shocked him to his core. But, with a few words from you, he was quickly able to act the part of fitting in. The prophecy has been done, he lives once again alongside four other dead. Now, just as it was foretold, he was bonded to a lone soul, you, which he’ll gladly serve for eternity, and not even death can keep you apart from them! 

Like Trey, his injuries are not clearly visible. However, under his shirt right over his heart, is a crude scar shaped like a rose. The lines were so intricate to create the design, and his flesh had been stitched together. He won’t speak about it much, but the others say the scar is there because the killer cut the tortuous rose scar into his flesh, tore out that part of skin, and ripped his heart out. 

What was this black river outside the cemetery gates? What? It’s firm as stone! You say this is a road? What are all these little hobgoblins running around? Weren’t they supposed to be in the living world, not in hell? They’re just children in costumes? That’s ridiculous! The world has changed so much… Tell him, if he may ask you, what is the year? For how long have they slept in their coffins? 

There were so many things to learn, so many changes, but what didn’t change? Flowers. Flowers still existed. Oh, he recalled his former life, tending to the garden and smelling the flowers. It was bitter sweet, as he recalled the very rose scar over his heart. He’s certain that flowers decorated his coffin at his funeral as well. And these roses… they were from you, they brought back many memories, but he’ll treasure this gift nonetheless. 

Trick-or-treat? Why, treat, of course! Riddle follows your instructions perfectly, only giving candy to those children that ring the doorbell and say the words trick-or-treat. And to each child, he’s giving an equal amount of candy. Even the buckets storing the sweets have been organized meticulously by flavor and color. He takes this job seriously–– You three, Ace, Deuce, Cater! Quit terrorizing the children at once!! 

Riddle felt a sense of calm. Of course anyone should’ve been confused after waking up in a coffin, but Riddle immediately knew what was happening. Someone had fulfilled the prophecy, of course. It was why he was able to walk out of the mausoleum and notice the offering left under his name. 

The roses smelled so sweet, and their red color was such a contrast to the dreary dark and dullness of the graveyard around them. Cradling the bouquet gently, his eyes caught sight of the younger two just beginning to reattach their skulls to their bodies. Not too far away, he saw the other two blocking the exit at the gates. This was it. It was the moment he would properly meet the lone soul who he was now bonded to. He could practically feel the stitches above where his heart would be, magically tugging him forward closer and closer to your form. This time, he will make the most of this second chance, and he’ll have you at his side to carry out your commands. 

Rosehearts never causes mischief or trouble or unnecessary conflicts. He keeps the other four in line and helps them blend in more with the living crowd. You can trust in him, he will prevent the others from doing anything they shouldn’t be doing… Is what he says, but you can’t be sure. Well, as long as you’re around to calm him, everything will be alright. As long as you do not leave him, no one will have to face the wrath of the walking dead.

Afterwards... 

Say, why not go to the land of the dead with them? Because of the prophecy and curse, they never were allowed there but maybe now they would be permitted. Don’t worry about the small details, you may be living still but that shouldn’t be a problem! The land of the dead isn’t that bad from what they’ve heard. There was something deep in their bones, an emptiness as they slept, a longing that they’ve ever known. That unknown emptiness was only filled by you, their lone soul. 

Sure, it may be dark and there is no sunlight, but it’s quite lively considering it’s full of dead people. Besides, you’ll have them at their side! What harm can come to you when they are there? You won’t have to worry about the problems from your living life, not when you’re residing down in the land of the dead with them. 

It may be frightening at first to see all these grotesque skeletal figures walking about, but a simple bit of adjusting just as you taught them how to get used to the changes of the living world, will get you used to the land of the dead. 

Hm, what’s this? You don’t want to? Well, they aren’t entirely opposed to it, they don’t mind staying in the living world with you either. However, how will you be able to live with five walking corpses? Halloween doesn’t last forever you know, and they can’t constantly excuse their appearance with the holiday costumes. It would be long before they’re insisting you reconsider going with them to the land of the dead. Afterall, you did initiate the ritual, you gave them offerings, you lit candles, you bound them to your soul. The book said, once that vow is made, it shall seal the soul’s fate.

[oneprompt]

hello there! may i request one portgas d. ace x fem reader with prompt 4 (trying to concentrate on a task, but your lover is kissing your neck, making your head spin) ace being the pest he is. pls & ty <3

authors note : hello ! my apologies for the delay … oh my. but yes ! I can do that for you, yes , yes <333 please enjoy !

Ace x F! Reader , Lover Distracting You Via Neck Kisses

Slightly Suggestive Content Below ! Beware

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You had been up for how long no? You had no idea, truly. You stood upon the top of the hefty ship deck of Whitebeards boat, looking through the vast star dotted sky for any signs of land. Being a navigator wasn’t easy, you had to work day and night. It didn’t matter what condition the weather was in, you had to stand out there all night and you devoted yourself to it. Even if nobody told you to do such a thing, you had to. It was the principle, the least you could do as not only a navigator, but as a friend.

You were so invested in your focused search, you hadn’t even heard the creaking of wooden planks and foot steps from a certain someone. To not notice your own beloved Ace… you were really dedicated to finding land, weren’t you?

“What’re you still doing awake?” Ace asked, hands stuffed in the depth of his pant pockets. He was topless as always, the moon light making his toned muscles appear as lovely as ever, highlighting every inch of his bare skin.

You gave Ace the basic courtesy of a side glance before your eyes returned to the dark scenery before your eyes. “I could ask you the same,” you said softly, not wanting to wake anybody. That was a mixture of both a comeback and a genuine question.

Your eyebrows knitted together in worry as you finally turned to the young man, giving him a sudden sliver of attention. “You should rest, you had a rough day today.” Your voice was full of sincerity, not holding back on any affections. If you acted cute, he was sure to listen. Right…?

Ace chuckled, making his way closer to you. You stared at his arm as it swung around your waist, locking your body in place.

“Why should I when you’re all the way out here?” Ace cooed, delivering a delicate kiss to the nude nape of your neck, left exposed thanks to the v neck shirt you wore. You couldn’t hold back as your cheeks went a rosey colour, resembling the most pretty shade of pink.

“Ace… I’ll be out here until sundown.. just go to bed. I’m looking for land to dock at..” you mumbled, shivering as your lover didn’t remove his warm lips from your neck. Why must he be so stubborn? Ace was never one to give up. Sure, you admired that about him for the most part but when it was in situations like this, it grew a bit aggravating..

You tried to wriggle out of Ace’s clutches but failed, his ripped arm keeping you snug close to him, mouth still exploring the surface of your skin. Part of you wanted to send him off, shouting at him to let you do your job. But you couldn’t. The kisses Ace left on your neck made you feel floaty, leaving a throb in your heart and the slow tightening of a knot within your stomach, a feeling that made your knees weak.

“Cant you take a break?“ Ace asked, murmuring against your neck. You gasped as a sudden warm and wet appendage grazed your neck, warming the cold surface with his scorching drool. “I miss you.” He licked a stripe against your neck before kissing at the line he left behind, watching your face turn redder by the second. He loved seeing you try your hardest to deny him, it was cute.

You wanted to abandon your duties, letting your lover take the long night out of your possession. But you had to find an island to dock at… there were some repairs that had to be done to the ship and lord knew you couldn’t do that upon the harsh oceans. And who knew what Whitebeard would say if you didn’t have the ship docked and fixed in time? He was a yonko… and nobody could go against one, not even their own crew mates. You greatly respected him and the thought of disappointing Whitebeard was one that you didn’t want to have cross your mind.

“I can’t, Ace….I-I’m being serious,” you huffed, trying to shrug away the pleasures sighs that threatened to pour from your succulent lips. “I need to find somewhere to stop, the ship needs to be…-“

The sudden digging of something sharp washed over you, a pinch of pressure applied to your neck. Ace really wasn’t going easy on you, clouding your mind with endless thoughts of sexual pleasure, something that could easily be fulfilled by him. How bad did he want such a thing…?

“Stop playing dirty…!“ You hissed at the man, teeth clenched to stop any of your high pitched breaths to be released. “I’m being serious… step off..!”

Your words clearly held no weight, as Ace’s gestures only worsened. You could feel one of his large hands slither into the back pocket of your jeans, pushed against the ripeness of your butt. Where did he think he was touching!? “Cmon… can’t you let me take care of you?” Ace purred into your ear, his burning tongue dancing along the fold of your ear lobe. He had no mercy, did he? As expected of a pirate…

That offer was too tempting, so painfully tantalizing. You looked down at the darkness of your shoes, your boyfriend still all over you, leaving his manly musk upon you already. This was all so intoxicating. Just Ace’s presence alone was enough to make your head run in endless loops.

You knew how important this task was, how mandatory it was to assist not just yourself and Whitebeard, but the entire crew. You wanted to keep your brain fixated on the surroundings upon the dark and cold ocean but your boyfriend made it entirely impossible. From the way Ace’s hands roamed your form to the way his tongue and lips plagued your mind with lewd thoughts. It was all far too much.

“F-fine…. But not for long.. this is important.” The sound of you finally giving in and submitting was music to Ace’s ears. He knew he could persuade you, even with such minor touches and movements. It was adorable how high your sensitivity levels were. One would never assume so, a pirate is supposed to be tough against anything. But your weakness was your lover himself. Ace was the one thing you couldn’t overpower. ”Dont worry, you’re in my care. I’m certain you’ll enjoy yourself~.”

[abundanceofnots]

a little (just under 2k) playground scene with Lip and Ian as dads, as per @pink--and--white's request. i apologize to all actual parents in advance.

“How the fuck did we get here?” Lip asks through a huff of incredulous laughter.

Ian shades his eyes from the sun, turning to his older brother with a look of mock concern. “Your memory that bad already, old man? We drove here.”

It earns him a stinging smack on his thigh.

“Asshole,” Lip retorts back. “You know what I mean.”

Ian’s eyes flit back to the scene before them. “Yeah, I do,” he confirms a beat later, his voice more earnest this time.

This, by far, isn’t a new feeling. Lip’s had the exact same thought pass through his mind countless times in recent years, always in a momentary flash of warmth that filled up his whole chest. It happens all the more often now over the most mundane shit, though.

The first time was, probably, when Freddie was born. Then Ian got married, and Al came along, and Liam got to a good school—and after that followed every other quiet (not literally) evening when the whole family gathered up in the kitchen.

In those instants, Lip would stall himself for just a second, getting lost in the overwhelming sounds and visuals, and think, what the fuck.

He’s getting soft. That’s it, most likely. He’s getting soft and sentimental, going on with his extremely unexceptional life, wondering how in the hell did a piece of shit like himself get so lucky, and slowly becomes someone he’d gladly punch in the face not too long ago.

It hits him hard again, this strange sense of pride and wonder, as he sits next to his baby brother on a bench overlooking a kids’ playground.

This one’s the real deal. Everything here is child-proof and clean, with no syringe or dogshit in sight. Frank or some random homeless guy aren’t lying in a drunken coma by the swing sets. There’s not even one bullet hole in the slide. And maybe it’s not so hard to admit that this is actually pretty nice. That this is them now.

Still, the whole thing is, without a doubt, totally ridiculous. Here they are, Lip and Ian—the college dropout and the ex-con, the true sons of the South Side—sneakily munching on their kids’ packed afternoon snacks.

“Dumb luck, I guess,” Ian answers Lip’s question after some musing and takes a sip from Toe’s pink-colored juice box.

Lip hmms before he bites into a baby carrot. “For us, or them?”

“For us. Definitely.”

They’re just two regular dads who carry around lunchboxes and always have a wet wipe or a pack of tissues at hand, ready to blow noses and wipe off residue chocolate from chins and hands. There aren’t enough words in the English language that would describe how incredibly ridiculous this is, because once upon a time, not too long ago, still, Ian wore a jumpsuit with Dav on the nametag and believed this was it for him, and Lip thought the only way to get through life was by drinking himself through the ordeal.

How the fuck did they get here?

“Freddie! Hey, Freddie!” Lip calls out to his oldest, who hangs upside down from the monkey bars, effectively ignoring him. “Fred!” he tries again with an annoyed sigh, and the boy finally remembers how his ears work. “Can you help your cousin on the slide?”

“Okay!”

With a swift motion, Freddie pulls himself up again to grab hold of a bar, unhooking his knees in the process, and jumps down into the sand with practiced ease. He then immediately gets into a run, coming behind the red-headed girl in black overalls who’s been trying to climb the gentle ramp on her own.

“What was that about?” Ian inquires amusedly.

“Early puberty, I think. He doesn’t want us to call him Freddie anymore. It’s Fred. No Fredster, no Fredtastic, definitely no Fredosaurus. Just Fred. Apparently, I went to bed, and my son turned into a middle-aged man overnight.”

“Oof. That’s rough.”

“Yeah. The next thing I know, he’s gonna get a neck tattoo and his first STI. Al, buddy!” His younger son Alvin, at least, seems to have no trouble with hearing. “You need help? Want me to push you?”

“No, I’m good!” the blond kid shouts back from the swing, and to prove his point, he pushes himself harder off the ground to gain momentum.

Lip scratches his forehead. “They don’t need me anymore,” he comments darkly. “I am officially a bother.”

“You’ve always been a bother,” Ian notes before he stuffs his mouth full of grapes. “Come on, Lip. Freddie’s eight. He’s not exactly packing his bags to leave home. He’s still very much a daddy’s boy.”

“I don’t know, man. When I remember what I was already doing when I was his age….”

“Yeah, but that’s different. They’re not like us. They don’t need to be, and that’s a good thing.”

Ian’s right, but the concept of normal as something desirable, something he doesn’t necessarily need to rebel against, is something Lip may never fully come to grasps with. And neither does Ian, even if he says otherwise.

“We might be getting a dog,” Lip says after a while, pausing before he sinks his teeth into a cheese stick.

“No way!” Ian smirks at him. “Look at you, perfect American family and shit.”

Lip snorts at that. He and Tami are pretty damn far from perfect. “You not thinking about getting a pet? A friendly rottweiler for Mickey, perhaps?”

“No. First, I gotta talk him into having another kid.”

That takes Lip by surprise. He knows Ian absolutely adores his little girl, his mini ginger twin that everyone got to call Toe, short for Tomato, but he also knows the whole story behind how she came to be.

“Oh, yeah? You’d like another?”

“Yeah,” Ian admits, and as his eyes drop to his lap where his fingers fiddle with a paper straw, Lip realizes he sounds ashamed about it.

“Not as easy as poking holes in condoms with you guys, huh?” he jokes to release the sudden tension.

“Hah. No.”

“You told Mickey yet?”

Meeting his brother’s eyes again, Ian gives a noncommittal shrug. “I hinted.”

From experience, Lip knows that hinting in Ian’s case almost exclusively means Mickey is fully aware of his intentions and just chooses to ignore them before Ian confronts him head-on.

“Hopefully, you’ll have another girl,” he tells Ian after a quiet moment filled with children’s high-pitched screams and the steady screeching of a swing set. “It’s a lot more physical with boys. These two are already fighting like we used to.”

“Doesn’t really matter when you’re raising a Milkovich,” Ian remarks before yelling: “Hey, Toe? You wanna have a sip of your juice for me?”

The girl waves at them eagerly as she slides down the bendy chute. Getting to a run right as her feet touch the ground, she comes to a jolty halt in front of them, taking a good, hard look at the juice box as if only now realizing what’s expected of her.

“No, thank you,” Toe then peeps and skips off again.

“Polite,” Lip appraises.

Ian gives a low chuckle. “Fuckin’ weird, huh?”

“With Mickey as her dad? A little.”

They watch the kids play for a few minutes. Ian offers to exchange a cheese stick for three grapes, and Lip negotiates it up to five before agreeing.

“You think he’d be against it? Having another kid?” he asks Ian mid-chew.

“I mean, I wouldn’t blame him, after all the shit with Terry. Maybe with a second kid, he’d think there’d be twice the damage he could do. Dunno,” Ian surmises uncertainly. “I know how hard it was for him to even want a kid, and I get why he was scared. Don’t get me wrong, I’m shitting myself every day when I think of the ways I could fuck this up. But he’s a great dad. You saw him with Toe. She’s obsessed with him. The way she laughs at everything he says makes you think he invented comedy or something.”

Lip’s aware that their conversation turned sort of serious once again, but he can’t help not breaking into a smile. “Sounds like you’re kinda jealous of your husband there, Ian.”

“Oh, I hate his guts,” his brother confirms, only partially kidding. “I’m a fun dad, too, you know.” As if on cue, a figure coming their way catches his attention, and Ian nods to where his daughter’s playing, telling Lip: “Okay, watch this.”

Mickey gestures at Freddie with a finger to his lips, coming around the slide just in time to catch his daughter in his arms with a victorious roar.

“Daddy!” Toe announces the good news to everyone around with a loud squeal.

Ian gives his brother a pointed look.

“Fuck, man,” Lip huffs with mock seriousness. “You tellin’ me she loves her dad? What a nightmare.”

“Yo, lunch ladies.” Mickey suddenly approaches them with Toe at his hip. “How ’bout less chit-chatting and more kid-watching? Think I’d remember if I left my kid with a giant fuckin’ bruise on her forehead this morning.”

“Yeah. She’s had a bit of a scuffle with Alvin earlier,” Ian says, reaching out to soothingly rub Toe’s calf as if said scuffle and the tears it brought weren’t already long forgotten.

“The hell’s he doin’ fightin’ someone half his size?!”

“She started it!” Lip counters weakly.

“Okay.” Mickey’s mouth hangs open for a minute before he finds his figurative footing again. “I guess she had her reasons for that. And you should teach your kids to not fight dirty.”

“I go play now,” Toe informs him then, putting a stop to his rant and his bad mood in one go.

“Yeah! You do that!” Mickey replies as he puts her down, matching her level of enthusiasm. She heads for the extensive pirate-ship-like construction this time, watchful cousin Freddie already on her heels, and Mickey drops heavily next to his husband, letting out a prolonged groan into his hands.

“Tough day?” Ian asks needlessly.

“Igor’s a fuckin’ idiot.”

“Told you he was.”

“And I agree, so drop it, a’ight? Hey, by the way.”

“Hey,” Ian echoes before they exchange a quick kiss.

Mickey notices the juice in his hands then and perks up. “That raspberry?” he checks after he’s already snagged the box for himself, taking loud slurps from it to get every last drop. He finishes off with a belch. “Fuckin’ love raspberry.”

Lip finds that anything he’d say at that moment would only spoil the natural fucking beauty of it, so he just appreciates with a private snicker.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Toe yells from the top of one of the pirate ship’s smaller slides. “Come play!”

Mickey pats at Ian’s thigh. “That’s on you, man. I’m beat.”

Putting his fun-dad face on, Ian heaves himself up without a complaint. “Hey, jellybean! Do you think your dad can fit on the slide, too?”

Toe shakes her head vehemently, giggling as she watches Ian jog toward her. “No, daddy! No! No!”

“What, you don’t think I can?” Ian asks again, halfway through his climb up on the board. “Well, take off your socks now because they might get blown off! I’mma fit!”

“Daddy!” Toe howls with laughter as he bumps his head on one of the low railings.

Beside Lip, Mickey imitates the reaction, both his hand and the phone he’s holding with it to record a video visibly shaking. When he notices Lip staring, his grin falters a little.

“These two jokers,” Mickey complains after he ends the recording. “She always laughs at everything he does like he invented comedy or some shit.”

Lip answers with a knowing smile, his chest feeling full of warmth.

Seriously, how the fuck did they get here?

[lettheladylead]

running in circles

chapter fifteen: i never trusted my own eyes summary: Scrooge and Goldie go on a trip to the Bermuda Triangle. warnings: references to sex, nothing explicit wordcount: 4369 playlist (will be updated as chapters are posted): shorturl.at/bfBCQ ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33776632/chapters/88669603

here’s chapter fifteen!! text will also be included in this post for those of you that don’t use ao3:

1914; Bermuda Triangle:

“Goldie? Do you look...younger?”

“Oh, you know...I’ve got a great skin-care routine.”

---

Several years and dozens of adventures and meet-ups and whatever-they-call-thems later, Goldie and Scrooge found themselves in a boat sailing east from the coast of southern Florida. The ocean was surprisingly calm, but the ducks had a feeling there’d be danger lurking ahead.

“You’re sure there’s sunken treasure out here somewhere?”

Scrooge looked up from his book to see Goldie’s ponytail blowing in the wind as she continued to sail. He smiled, enjoying the familiar shade of blonde that reminded him so much of gold. “I’m sure. There’s detailed records of the pirate ship headin’ this way and never makin’ it to shore!”

“So we just look out for seamounts that might’ve ripped a hole in an unsuspecting pirate ship?”

“Exactly. The ship disappeared in 1793, so I’m sure the mount’ll be easier to spot now.”

Goldie leaned onto the steering wheel, staring at the waves with waning interest. “And your Austrian friend told you about this?”

Scrooge hummed in affirmation. “He’s an odd fellow, but honest to a fault. He wouldnae steer me wrong.”

She looked off to the side and gave a once-over to the giant metal contraption hung up next to her. “And you’re sure this diving suit he built is safe?”

“That’s a bit more debatable,” Scrooge said with a chuckle. “I willnae stay underwater for more than thirty minutes at a time. Just in case.”

Goldie sighed. She didn’t know Scrooge’s young friend, but he had a lot of confidence in the man’s competence as a confidante and inventor. Apparently they’d met during one of Scrooge’s adventures in Europe and had kept in contact ever since. Obviously Scrooge had other people he talked to about his life or went on treasure hunting adventures with or sought out for help, but Goldie couldn’t deny the twinge of jealousy. She didn’t have anyone else, not like that.

As she stood in silence, contemplating whether she should try making more adult friends instead of just casual business associates, Goldie’s eyes locked onto a small mass just ahead of them. “Scrooge!”

“Hm?”

“Look!” Goldie pointed out in front of the ship and Scrooge came up next to her for a better view. “Do you think that’s it?”

Scrooge smiled and closed his book, shoving it into one of his numerous pockets. “We’re about to find out! I’ll get the anchor ready.”

Though the trip had been boring so far, Goldie was starting to get excited. Pirate treasure! It was hard not to feel like they were about to be a part of something huge. And, unlike many of the treasures they went after, this was a lot less likely to be cursed. Unless the pirates had turned into ghosts and were haunting it...but that seemed unlikely. Probably not. It’d be fine.

A few minutes later, they were close enough to the landmass to stop. Scrooge tossed the anchor over the side of the ship and it locked onto something quickly. He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Seems like I willnae have to dive too far down.”

“Hopefully,” Goldie added.

Scrooge walked over to the clunky, terrifying-looking dive suit. He’d tested it for Ludwig a few times before agreeing to take it out, but he was still a little annoyed that the man hadn’t been able to come with. Who else would be able to handle repairs if something went wrong? Either way, there was no way he could find this treasure alone, so he was genuinely grateful to Goldie for coming along.

With Goldie’s help, Scrooge was fully inside the dive suit in ten minutes. She triple-checked all the ties to make sure nothing would come loose or leak, and then grabbed the window of Scrooge’s helmet. Once that was closed, he’d be ready to go.

“Wait, Goldie!” Scrooge said suddenly.

She raised an eyebrow, holding the window in her hand.

“I...I know I’ll be fine, but just in case somethin’ goes wrong…” he said nervously, avoiding eye contact.

Goldie’s eyes widened as her brain jumped ahead and made a dozen different guesses about what Scrooge might say.

“...please dinnae leave until I’m back on the boat,” Scrooge finished with a frown. “I may be the toughest duck around, but even I have my limits!”

She blinked at him and sighed. “Yeah, obviously. You don’t have to worry, Scrooge. I’m not going to let you die.”

She closed the window and tightened the screws around it, pretending not to notice that Scrooge had opened his mouth to say something else. With the dive suit completely sealed tight, she couldn’t hear him and as far as she could tell, he couldn’t hear her.

“Even I have my limits,” Goldie repeated in a mocking Scottish accent. “Whatever.”

As she turned the crank to rotate Scrooge and the dive suit above the water, she sneered thinking about how he felt the need to say that to her. As if she went about her time thinking of ways and reasons to leave him behind. Maybe if they were on land she could consider it, after all he was ‘tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties.’ But a four-hour boat ride away from the coast of Florida would be impossible. Even for him.

Scrooge gave her a wave and Goldie nodded before pressing the release, which loosened the chains holding up the suit and sent Scrooge straight into the water. She sure hoped his friend’s suit worked.

She’d keep an eye on everything up top, just in case.

---

He’d been underwater before. Scrooge had invested in the creation of submarines! Mostly they were being used by the military, but thanks to his investment he had access to many of the early prototypes. Being able to clearly see while in the ocean was an amazing experience. Even though he’d traveled to other worlds that looked completely different from his own, truly nothing was as fascinating as seeing the Earth from another view.

If they had time, maybe he’d suggest that Goldie try it as well. With all the help she was giving him, she deserved to see the beauty of the ocean that so few people got to enjoy.

Scrooge felt his suit hit land in just half a minute, proof of what he thought earlier that the seamount wasn’t too far below the surface. He took a minute to gather his bearings and remind himself how to move around, then started walking. As a careful explorer, Scrooge remembered to keep track of the time he was down there as well by counting the seconds in his head.

He couldn’t look down or up in the suit, only forward. So he made sure to turn his head often; the amount of money he’d spent on this excursion meant that he wouldn’t forgive himself if he came home empty-handed. Plus then he’d have to pay Goldie out of his own pocket for her help, and he sure as hell didn’t want to do that.

The light fixture at the top of his suit was a very handy feature at these depths. The tests he and Ludwig had done were in shallow water with lots of light nearby, so he hadn’t thought about it then. But Ludwig did, and that’s why Scrooge wasn’t an inventor.

He slowly trailed along the seamount, getting further and further underwater, until his light became necessary to see in front of him. It wasn’t completely dark, but it wasn’t comfortable, either.

Right when the counter in his head reached fourteen minutes, Scrooge saw an unnatural shape in the light. He quickly (relatively speaking) shuffled closer until he realized it was a treasure chest.

Excited, Scrooge tried to lean down and pick it up. He managed to get it unstuck from the seafloor underneath and checked the weight to see if he’d be able to bring it up to the surface with him. It was heavy, but with an added feature of the dive suit, Scrooge was confident that they’d succeed.

Before announcing his find to Goldie, Scrooge decided to scan the area in case there was anything more. He noticed two other chests and sighed. Alright, he would have to make multiple trips. That was fine - the more treasure, the better!

Once he’d made sure the first chest was secure, he pulled on his tether in the exact way he and Goldie had discussed.

He waited a moment, wondering if she’d fallen asleep or decided to leave him behind. He didn’t think she could be cruel enough to cut him loose and sail off, but she was unpredictable. Perhaps -

Scrooge was suddenly pulled back in the direction he came, shaking all the doubts from his head.

---

Goldie had spent a nervous eighteen minutes wondering how Scrooge was doing. They had no way to really communicate while he was underwater; all she could do was wait for his signal to bring him back up. And, of course, if he didn’t signal, then she’d bring him back up after thirty minutes.

When she finally saw what seemed to be their signal, Goldie’s heart did a flip and she rushed towards the crank to start bringing Scrooge back aboard. She was happy he was still alive, and signalling before the thirty minutes were up meant he’d found treasure! It was always nice when things went their way.

The pulley system was efficient but slow. Goldie’s arm was getting tired from cranking so hard, but this was what she’d agreed to and she was going to fulfill her duties.

When Scrooge’s suit rose above water, Goldie was ecstatic at the sight of a giant treasure chest in his arms. She pulled him around and set him down on the deck. Scrooge immediately dropped the chest, which fell with a loud clunk! that shook the entire boat.

Goldie unscrewed the window to the dive suit and smirked. “Looks like you did a good job down there, Scroogey.”

Scrooge squinted as he tried to adjust to the sunlight. “There’s two more chests! I need to go back down.”

“Oh,” Goldie responded, surprised. She didn’t enjoy sitting around and waiting for him, but at least this time she’d have treasure to dig through. “Right now?”

“The faster I grab them, the faster we can leave,” he said confidently.

Goldie shrugged and repeated the process from earlier, happy she didn’t have to get the giant suit on him again. It was so heavy.

As Scrooge went back underwater, she went to work unlocking the chest. It was a very old and rusted lock - technically she could’ve picked it, but experience told her it’d be easier to just smash it.

The lock fell apart easily and Goldie took a deep breath before opening up the chest. It smelled awful, but the shining, shimmering, splendid sparkles of jewels and gold kept her eyes facing forward. Her mouth was practically watering. It had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of treasure, and Scrooge said there were still two more chests. This was going to be one of the most profitable adventures they’d ever gone on.

---

They retrieved the second chest without a hitch. Goldie shared with Scrooge the news of what was in the first chest and he whooped in excitement as she sent him down for the third and last chest.

With Scrooge out of the way, Goldie started opening the new chest. She smashed the lock like she had the first one, but when she put her hand on top of the lid, she pulled it back in disgust.

“What the-?” Goldie said as she turned her hand around. It was covered in a dark, inky substance. She looked at the chest and realized there were splotches of ink all over it. She frowned, trying to remember if octopus or squid ink was safe to have on her feathers.

Just in case, she wiped what she could onto her pants and went back to opening the chest - paying closer attention to where her hands were.

---

Scrooge was happy to discover that each dive was easier than the last. He was getting a bit tired, but once he had the last chest he could take a nap on their boat while Goldie sailed them back to shore.

Or, well, maybe he’d take a nap after they’d gotten to shore. He didn’t want to risk Goldie swapping all of the good treasure into her chest while he slept.

As he made his way to the last chest - one that was weirdly darker colored than the others - Scrooge’s light showed him something in the distance. It was a sunken ship.

He frowned and looked down at the chests. If the ship was all the way over there, why were the treasure chests here? They were much too heavy for the water to have pushed them that sort of distance. Perhaps some other treasure hunters had made it to the ship and removed all the chests, but then something prevented them from bringing them up to their boat?

Scrooge locked his dive suit’s arms around the last chest and hummed thoughtfully. What could’ve stopped them from getting the treasure? Sharks? Faulty dive suit? Or…

He froze at a strange sight. It almost looked like a part of the sunken pirate ship had...moved. Scrooge blinked a few times, wishing he could rub at his eyes but not willing to risk compromising the suit’s mobility.

For a moment, Scrooge was struck with fear over something Ludwig had told him about water pressure and brain damage. But then the ship moved again. And then Scrooge noticed the color changing on the moving parts - turning a darker shade.

He tugged on the tether urgently, hoping to all hope that Goldie was paying attention and understood that he needed to go as quickly as possible.

The octopus finished removing itself from the sunken ship and started rushing towards Scrooge, its tentacles spread out and ready to wrap around its victim.

Just a few seconds before it made contact, Scrooge was roughly pulled back towards the boat. He squirmed in the suit as the octopus realized what happened and gave chase.

---

Goldie had just finished securing the two chests to the boat when Scrooge's tether started to shake. It started to shake a lot.

She quickly pulled Scrooge up, wondering if there was an emergency or if it'd just gotten caught on something. Maybe he was just really excited to get out of the water and be done with this.

As the dive suit rose up out of the water, Goldie noticed that it was shaking. Concerned, she rushed to use the crank to get Scrooge back on the boat.

He dropped the chest and Goldie could see through the window that he was screaming. She quickly unscrewed the window and just as she started to open it, something smashed into the bottom of their boat.

Goldie squawked and fell over. She'd gotten the window unlocked enough that Scrooge was able to push it open with his beak.

"WE NEED TO GO!"

She looked up at Scrooge who was trying to squirm out of the suit on his own, then out to the water. The waves were going crazy and water was splashing onto the boat from every side. Part of her, a younger and more scared part, wanted to sit there frozen in fear. But she shook her head and rushed towards the crank to pull up the anchor.

There was a slam on the side of the boat and Goldie looked up to see the end of what seemed to be a gigantic tentacle. Her eyes widened and she started cranking even faster.

As soon as the anchor was back up, Goldie ran to the steering wheel. She didn’t even take a moment to look back at Scrooge, hoping that he had a handle on himself and the treasure.

Scrooge somehow managed to squeeze his way out of the dive suit just as another tentacle wrapped itself around the suit and suddenly pulled it back into the water, ripping the tether as it went down.

“Bless me bagpipes!” Scrooge shouted, catching his breath. He looked over at Goldie who was at the helm of the ship and clearly putting her all into getting them to safety. The view of her steering the ship with her ponytail flapping in the wind - just like the view he’d seen earlier that day - was even more enchanting with the looming danger around them.

The giant octopus was smacking the waters and creating giant waves around them as it rammed its body into the bottom of the boat over and over again. Scrooge instinctively looked over at the treasure chest he’d most recently picked up and noticed it sliding towards the edge of the boat. He gasped as a tentacle appeared and aimed at the chest.

Scrooge shook out his limbs and jumped towards the chest, pulling it out of the way of the tentacle. Instead, the tentacle smashed into the wood of the boat and sent splinters flying every which way. One of them smacked into the rusty broken lock of the chest Scrooge was holding and broke it off.

Unfortunately for Scrooge, his grip was entirely on the chest’s lid and he suddenly fell back as it opened up.

“What was that?!” Goldie screamed, doing her best to avoid getting hit by tentacles smashing around the front of the boat.

“Nothin’!” Scrooge wasn’t sure if she was talking about the smashed wood, the broken lock, or the coins that had fallen out of the overflowing chest. He grabbed the coins and put them back in the chest, hoping there wouldn’t be another attack before he could get every piece.

For a moment there were no tentacles to be seen, and he took that opportunity to glance inside the chest for real. His eyes were immediately drawn to a scepter with a beautiful emerald on one end. It was the same color as Goldie’s eyes, and he looked up to tell her.

Then he saw another tentacle, poised and ready to attack, aimed right at Goldie.

In less than a second, Scrooge was between the octopus and Goldie, using the scepter to block the attack. Goldie hadn’t seen it coming until the last moment and breathed a sigh of relief when she opened her eyes to discover she wasn’t dead.

Scrooge swiped at the tentacle, happy the end of his new scepter was pointy. It left a nasty cut in the tentacle - not quite a slice, since he hadn’t grabbed a sword, but it was enough to get the thing to back off and dive into the water.

Feeling confident, Scrooge kept the scepter in-hand and scanned the boat. He was ready for another confrontation, ready to stab it and slice off a piece of it to take home! The thought of having a souvenir from fighting a gigantic, duck-eating octopus in his home made him chuckle.

Goldie glared at him suspiciously. “What’s so funny?” she asked, breathing hard.

“Nothin’, nothin’,” he answered quickly. “Just keepin’ a lookout here.”

She frowned and nodded, continuing to steer. They stayed silent for a few minutes, fearing that the octopus might react to any sort of unusual noise. But after twenty minutes without sight or sound of the monster, the two ducks felt confident that they were out of danger.

Goldie was still at the helm while Scrooge was securing the last treasure chest, happy to see that they hadn’t lost anything in all the commotion. Well, not lost any treasure. “Ludwig’s goin’ to be so upset I lost his suit.”

At first she didn’t respond. Then Goldie suddenly said, “Come here.”

Scrooge did as she said and walked over, stopping right next to his partner and taking in the view of the ocean. It’d be a few hours ‘til they reached Florida again, so he wouldn’t be surprised if she asked him to switch jobs.

Instead, Goldie grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his beak to hers, crashing them together in a fiery kiss. Scrooge took a few seconds to react and then wrapped his hands around her hips, squeezing her happily.

She pulled them apart and sighed deeply, going back to steering. “I’m glad you’re alive, Scrooge.”

“...yeah,” Scrooge mumbled, scratching the side of his head. Oh, where had his hat gone? “You, too.” He walked off to grab his hat which he found under a tarp at the other end of the boat. It was a good thing it hadn’t flown off or fallen into the water during everything that happened.

“Scrooge.”

He looked back at her curiously. “Hm?”

“Come back here.”

Scrooge looked down at the hat in his hands and then up at her before walking over again. “...Do ye want to kiss me again?”

Goldie had a frustrated scowl on her face. “I want to...celebrate our victory.”

“Oh?” Scrooge asked with a light blush on his cheeks. Thanks to years of experience, he knew exactly what that phrasing meant.

“But someone needs to watch where we’re going so I can’t.”

“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “I think we just need to be a wee bit more creative, Goldie girl.”

She smiled and looked over at him with a sultry gaze. “Then let’s get creative, sourdough,” she said as she pulled his beak to hers once again.

---

sex summary: https://sites.google.com/view/running-in-circles/summaries/nsfw15

---

Three hours later, the two ducks had switched between sailing normally and celebrating being alive a couple of times, but they were finally to the point where they could see the coastline in the distance.

Scrooge yawned and stretched his arms, looking back at the three treasure chests. “I guess we should talk about which one of these is for you.”

Goldie froze and glared at the water, pretending it was at him. “Which one?”

“Yes, one,” Scrooge repeated with an equally frosty glare. “I paid for this boat and the dive suit and I’m the one who knew about the treasure in the first place. That entitles me to more of the profits!”

“Except you wouldn’t have any profits if not for me!” Goldie said angrily, wishing she could turn around and shove him in the chest. “I helped you out and then I sailed us out of danger! I deserve half!”

“Please!” Scrooge grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I could’ve gotten someone else!”

“Oh really?!” Goldie shouted. This time she actually did turn around to glare at him properly. “Like who?”

Scrooge pouted and stared at her. He hadn’t expected her to ask that. “Well...Ludwig-”

“Ludwig, Ludwig, Ludwig,” Goldie mocked. “He’s just some kid you met at that English science club. He would’ve died out there!”

“...It’s the British Association for the Advancement of Science,” Scrooge corrected, but he knew she was right. Ludwig may have been a genius, but he wasn't even thirty yet and his only travel experience was going from Austria to Germany and England. He scoffed. Maybe he needed to make more friends that were interested in life-threatening adventures and treasure hunts. “Well...still! You still owe me money!”

“Oh, my God.”

“You’ve stolen thousands of dollars worth of treasure from me over the years,” Scrooge shouted and started counting on his fingers. “In Dawson, in Canyon City, and Skagway, and Juneau, and-”

“What do you want from me?” Goldie shouted back. “A formal apology? You’re not getting one! And you’re not taking my treasure from me!”

“Ach!” Scrooge balled his hands into fists and shook them angrily. “You’re allowed to steal from me, but I cannae steal back from you, is that it?”

She turned around and stuck her tongue out. “That’s it exactly, thank you.”

He huffed and rolled his eyes, then looked at the treasure chests again. The gold coins poking out of them, plus his previous mention of Dawson, reminded him of something he’d heard recently. And it was another adventure he didn’t think he could do alone. “Y’know what, Goldie. I think I know a way ye can repay me for all my stolen goods.”

There was a brief silence before Goldie spoke up. “I’m listening.”

“Do you remember how visitors in Dawson kept askin’ you about some golden lagoon?”

“...what about it?”

“It’s real. And I’ve seen the map that can take us to it,” Scrooge walked closer to her. “Help me find the golden lagoon and I promise not to bring up all your theft ever again.”

Goldie looked at him from the corner of her eyes. She always found it particularly annoying when he wouldn’t shut up about her thievery, as if he didn’t spend half of his free time stealing treasures from poor communities around the world. But a lagoon of liquid gold sounded amazing. There was no way she could say no.

“It’s in White Agony?”

“White Agony Plains, apparently,” Scrooge said. “Not too far from the creek.”

She nodded and tapped her foot. “So...you want to meet in Dawson?”

Scrooge smiled brightly. “Exactly one month from tomorrow. That should give us plenty of time to settle back home and then get ready for another adventure!”

Goldie rolled her eyes. She wondered if Scrooge realized that she owned half of the actively operating businesses in Dawson. Maybe he’d figure it out when he arrived and saw her name on every building. “One month from tomorrow. Sounds good.”

The two ducks looked at the water in front of them, excited to see they were very close to shore. Scrooge would have to do some schmoozing to get his deposit back on the rental, considering all the holes in the wood, but Goldie was happy. She was excited. It wasn’t often that she and Scrooge made plans in advance.

Though she couldn’t stop thinking about how interesting a golden lagoon sounded. Dangerous, hotter than hell, and fascinating. How would they even get it home? She supposed that was for their future selves to figure out.

She sighed and loosened her grip on the steering wheel. A nice, short treasure hunt in the Klondike was exactly what she needed.

---

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the following link leads to graphic/explicit sexual text, please do not read if under 18 but if you do anyway please dont tell me you did lol https://sites.google.com/view/running-in-circles/summaries/nsfw15

---

REAL HISTORY FACTS:

- Ok embarrassingly I cannot remember why I chose 1793 for the year that the pirate ship disappeared. I can't find anything that specifies that year in relation to the Bermuda Triangle. But it's fine it's fine - I did so much research on diving suits in the early 1900s. They are huge and terrifying. Here's a photo: http://cyberneticzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/1914-macduffee-deep-sea-diving-suit-5.jpg - The British Association for the Advancement of Science is a really thing and yeah Von Drake definitely would've been in it

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:

- From the DT17 book Solving Mysteries and Rewriting History!: "Escaping the Bermuda Triangle: In our quest for sunken treasure, she sailed us out of the reach of giant octopi and got us to solid ground with our trunks of treasure by day's end, without a single piece lost."

[prfctethereal]

just another horror movie. | james potter

pairing: james potter x reader

chapter: one 

warnings: NSFW, smut, oral (male receiving), exhibitionism, talk of dead bodies, actual dead body, blood, vomiting

word count: 3.7k

read the prologue here or on ao3 here

summary: you and james take a quick detour through the woods, to have a bit of morning fun, but find something gruesome.

Three weeks earlier…

The quiet town of Hogwarts had never been quieter. It was typical though; towns that resided in the countryside of Scotland were often described as “quiet”, unbeknownst to most that it was anything but. Except, Hogwarts lived up to the stereotype. Peaceful, tame, quiet.

Quiet.

God, you needed some quiet.

Exam season was narrowing in, which meant endless nights of caffeine and random studying music that you found on spotify, its main purpose to help you concentrate. It was unfortunate, with the school year coming to a close, but you were determined to leave the year proud and satisfied with your work. Everything was going perfectly so far. Nothing could screw it up.

This is what you told yourself as you began your walk to school this morning. Leaving your house at seven in the morning on the dot had become the regular for you. Now that Summer was finally coming in, the walks were warm, without chilling breezes. You could feel comfortable with the wind in your hair and a light shirt on your back.

Something felt tranquil about this morning in particular. You didn’t feel held up or anxious. You didn’t even feel stressed as you busily organised your school bag this morning. You didn’t even blink an eye when you dropped your chemistry textbook on your foot. You were in a good mood. You were glowing.

Maybe it was because you had been getting some amazing sex from your amazing boyfriend lately.

Maybe.

But today wasn’t for what ifs. Today, you had one thing on your mind. A conversation needed to be had between you and your guidance counsellor, as the prospects of colleges were starting to roll around. Applications were beginning to close and your aspirations for life after high school were beginning to get clearer and clearer. You no longer wanted to be tied down in a small town, where the most important job you could get was at the Mayor’s office, sitting at a desk, listening to the complaints of highly egotistical citizens.

Wasn’t for you.

Your mind drifted off to your could-be life, and before you knew it, your legs had walked to your boyfriend’s house without you even realising. It was something unconscious and natural, something you were completely used to. The sight of the grand, three-story mansion that your lover lived in brought unprecedented comfort.

The spiralling pillars covered in the greenest of vines was something from a fairytale. A pale cerulean was painted across the panelling, giving a dream-like feel. Right above the front door housed a giant window, one that opened up into James’ bedroom.

Right. James.

Walking up the path, you felt comforted by the familiar sound of gravel beneath your feet. It reminded you of all the nights you had snuck up this very path to climb into James’ bedroom via the window. Nostalgic really.

Now you were here in broad daylight, ready to walk hand in hand with your boyfriend to school. Knocking on the front door, you were excited to see a nearly immediate opening of the door, with a very joyous boy standing there. His signature dopey smile glistened even brighter, as his eyes lingered over your clothed body a little longer than expected. His tongue shot out very quickly over the pink cushions of his lips, something you could’ve missed in a blink of an eye, but you didn’t. Laughing, he pushed his glasses up the nose of his bridge, before running his fingers through his unruly hair.

“Should we go then?” It sounded as though it was the first time James had spoken this morning, a fact that you didn’t mind, as your brain thought unholy things when listening to his gravely morning voice.

“Soon.” You mumbled, your voice trailing off slightly, as you stepped towards James, swinging your arms around the back of his neck. Taking a breath of his scent, you leaned forward, placing a delicate kiss upon his lips. They were slightly chapped, but you didn’t care.

It may have been a Summer day, but that wasn’t the only reason you were feeling hot.

Stopping yourself before you went too far, you pulled backwards, not before suggestively running your hands down James’ chest, smirking against his lips. “Come on, let's go.” You remarked playfully, smacking your hand lightly against James’ firm butt, which elicited a short laugh from the bubbly man.

So, hand in hand, you and James darted down his footpath, back into the street. Even more birds had woken up by now, with a choir of chirping serenading your descent into the bustling streets of Hogwarts.

Everything now seemed a little more public than you initially thought. Neighbours were waking up and going to work now too, giving no shorter than five second glances at you and James’ hand intertwined. You know what they would say; old people gossiped too much for your liking. It made you especially nervous, knowing that your parents didn’t know about your illicit relationship. Maybe it should stay that way. Well, before any neighbours get a little too gossipy in the weekly book club meetings.

“Are you listening to me?” James asked, snapping you out of your thoughtful haze. Blinking twice, you returned your attention to James, who’s eyes were laced with concern as he looked you over once again, eyebrows furrowed. “You seem out of it.”

“Oh, sorry.” Your voice came out almost silently as you looked away, flushed and embarrassed. “What were you talking about?”

“How I was going to fuck you so hard later today that you are going to struggle to walk.” James followed his statement with a dash of laughter, something that you mimicked like a pirate’s parrot.

“Well, I hope that’s not a joke, my dear.” You flashed a sly smile, looking James up and down. You both stopped walking, with James now admiring the way you were biting your lip, as if you were a siren trying to entrap him. Surely, you guys wouldn’t quickly dash away into the bush and go for a quickie right now, right?

James thought about it too, eyeing up someone’s poor hydrangea bush. Unfortunately, there would be too many witnesses, and exhibitionism wasn’t something you had both openly discussed before, although it wasn’t completely off the table.

“Lunch period.” James finally said, stopping his momentary halt, and marching forward.

“Lunch period?”

James leaned over, pressing his lips so close to your ear. His hot breath sent shivers down your spine, ones that ended in your core. “Meet me in the hallway between the chemistry and physics lab. I think there’s a new cupboard we could Christen.”

Giggling in excitement, you rubbed your fingers up the length of James’ arm, tugging him down the footpath, continuing your conversation about whatever. You learnt that he had a History test today, all about women earning the right to vote. You sighed as you listened to him talk about what he was passionate about, his stressed vowel sounds turning you on more than you would’ve thought.

Then came a predicament. An actual, real life crossroad. Right in front of you was where the footpath curved to the left, following along the road onto the main road through town. It was the way you went every day, with the road taking you directly to school when you walked along it, arriving perfectly at seven twenty-five every day. It was ideal.

This morning, though, you were feeling cheeky. From this footpath curve was another opportunity. The footpath also opened into a dirt path, something that twisted into the woods, or, as the conspiracy theorists of the town called it, the Forbidden Forest. It was hardly forbidden though; they literally took Scouts classes there, and those have kids as young as seven in them.

Feeling devilish, you paused James for a moment, the cogs turning over in your brain. You might arrive at school a little later than you first thought, but at least you would have some distance between the prying eyes of the Hogwarts neighbourhood. And maybe, you could have a little bit of fun too.

“James,” you smirked, tugging at the edge of his shirt, capturing his attention, something that wasn’t actually that hard to do, “shall we go for a detour this morning?”

Your eyes flashed over the forest and onto the quiet stillness of it. You could feel James’ heart rate speed up, but it wasn’t because he was scared. He was just as excited as you. It was like a switch had flicked on in his brain, although he was still hesitant, his feet still planted firmly on the ground.

“Are you sure?” James questioned. “How late is this going to make us?”

“Not that late at all.” You justified, mocking offence. “Oh, we should get there at maybe, quarter to eight? And besides, it’s fresh air, it’ll be good for us, and our lungs. Think of it as reversing the side effects of being around Sirius and Remus when they smoke all the time. Your lungs will thank us.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works.” James laughed.

“How would you be so sure?”

“I’m the one that takes biology out of the two of us.”

You had to try another tactic, so, you jutted your bottom lip out of your mouth, putting on your best doe eyes, hoping you could flutter your eyelashes enough for him to give into temptation. “Please?”

A sigh escaped James lips as he seemed to give in. His reluctant look of worry was quickly replaced by an eager spark. Knitting his fingers in with yours, you two walked hand and hand together down the dirt path. The change of feeling beneath your feet was almost instantly recognisable, the normal, smooth, concrete path replaced by the rough dirt, and slight mud, even though it hadn't rained in days.

As you continued to wander down the path, you were suddenly covered in a canopy of shade, as the trees of the forest soon covered your heads. The route got a tad darker, the path no longer illuminated with the light of the sun, not that you minded though. You could still easily see where you were going.

You felt a little colder without the extra heat from the sun. You didn’t like the way goosebumps rose on your skin or the way you had to rub your hands along your arm to keep yourself warm. You felt out of control, a feeling of which you loathed. You didn’t want your perfect morning to be ruined by a little chill.

When you reached a tall, winding tree, you stopped James from his walk, pulling him off the path. Luckily, you had spotted a small dip in the earth, perfect to stay in, somewhere where regular bystanders wouldn’t find you. Happy with your discovery, you looked back at James, who had a puzzled look across his face.

“What’s going on?”

“Can I kiss you?” You asked breathlessly, your hands already getting fidgety. You wanted to be connected with James again, intertwined if you will. You needed to feel his skin, even if it was barely quarter past seven in the morning.

“Yes, love.” James breathed out, his voice quiet and shallow. WIth the consent, you leaned upwards, connecting your lips at last. It felt right to be pressed up against each other once again, even if it had been only yesterday when you had last felt such passion.

You deepened the kiss, feeling urgent to make the most of the short time you had together. Your mouths melded together almost perfectly, your lips pushing against each other like a playful pillow fight, one which you were determined to win.

Feeling mischievous, you reached to James’ hair, tugging lightly on his roots, an action you knew he liked. This action got the response you wanted from him, a needy moan, in which you took the opportunity to slip your tongue into his mouth, battling it out with his own, regaining confidence and dominance.

You pulled away, your cheeks flushed from the lack of oxygen. James looked disheveled but pleased, wanting to continue your little make out session, but unfortunately, you had limited time.

“Can I suck you off?” You whispered against his mouth innocently, looking up at his hazel eyes, brushing his hair off of his forehead. You could hear him gulp with nervousness, before nodding quickly, his hands making their way to his slacks.

You knew James was slipping into a mindset clouded by arousal, so you sank to your knees slowly in front of him, still looking up at him through your long lashes. On your journey downwards, you carefully unzipped the zipper on his pants, pulling them down to ankles, until he was clad in only his boxers.

Lifting yourself up slightly onto the balls of your feet, you kissed him lightly on the outside of his boxers, feathering gentle kisses. You knew you were being a tease, but you needed him nice and hard. As you felt his bulge setting like cement under your lips, you lifted your hands up, joining your lips so you could palm him, stroking the material.

When James started moaning, - “oh please, stop teasing, I beg you,” - you released him from the cage of his underwear, dragging the clothing down the apex of his things, watching the muscles twitch in excitement. There, James’ half hard cock laid against his thighs, the tip a gentle rouge colour.

Your fingers grazed over his prick, lightly tracing a prominent vein of the underside of the sex muscle. James groaned in pleasure, the teasing getting too much for him to handle. Feeling benevolent, you dribbled saliva over the tip of the cock, before wrapping your entire hand around it. You started stroking harder and faster, making sure James could feel all of you in a way you hand. He was starting to fall apart above you, but it wasn;t enough.

“So- so good.” James murmured, his eyes gently shutting as he became lost in the feeling. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop. I love your hands, so perfect, so precise. Perfect for me, precise for me.”

“It was like you were made for me.” You agreed with the raven haired boy, before bringing your lips down to the tip of his penis. This action shocked James, but the whimper out of his mouth made you know he was enjoying it. Living from the excitement of the exhibisionist route, you swiveled your tongue across the tip, reaching down the length of the cock, savouring his taste.

“Right there.” James moane, as you brung the rest of your mouth down over his now fully hard cock, reveling in the flavour of the salty precum that was leaking from his angry tip. With a smooth rhythm, you bobbed your head up and down on James’ cock, the sound of his moans itching you on.

You knew you were running out of time, and you still wanted him to cum, so you sped up your movements on James’ cock, stroking the base of his cock, which could not fit in your mouth. Adding to the pleasure, you let your hands move downwards a bit more, so they played gently with James’ hanging balls.

This applied pressure was becoming too much for James, as his breath became laboured and a tingling feeling was nearly bursting at his cock. “I’m gonna cum, please, I’m going to do it.”

You lifted your mouth off of James’ cock, just to murmur, “let go.” James, with your permission, spurted his cum across your hands. Eager to savour him, you opened your mouth, catching as much of the milking substance as possible, not wanting to waste any of it. Jacking James off through the entire thing, you watched as his orgasm crashed over him entirely, the way his face contorted in pleasure almost being the most beautiful portrait to you.

Licking the rest of his cum off of your fingers, you stood up, wiping your knees off, as the dirt sticking to you was becoming slightly uncomfortable. While you stood up, you reached from the top of James’ pants, pulling them upwards as you went.

“Thanks.” James almost laughed, except he still sounded out of breath, which was very reasonable though. You did just suck the life out of him. His fingers worked quickly, rearranging his pants, and cock, so that you both could continue on your way to school.

As you waited for James to finish cleaning himself up, your nose turned upwards. There was a strange smell coming from the area, one you didn’t notice before when you were on your knees in front of James. It was a smell that you were relatively unfamiliar with, but all you knew was that it stank like rotten meat.

“Can you smell that?” You asked James, looking off into the little ditch you were beside. Wherever you were, it seemed that it had been recently disturbed. Broken twigs snapped into pieces laid amongst crunched up leaves. If you squinted, you were sure you could even make out that faintest of footprints on the ground. It was odd, but nothing you haven't seen before in the woods. The smell on the other hand…

“Smells like thrown out vegetables.” James readjusted his glasses before holding out his hand, inviting you to close your fingers in with his. “I bet some old granny thought it would be a good idea to throw out their compost in the woods. If the council found out, they would have a fit. You know all about their weirdly tight rules on littering? It’s not even bad for the environment.”

You had stopped listening a while ago. Something didn’t feel right, but it was nothing you could sort out now. You weren’t satisfied but you turned back towards James anyway, knowing that you needed to head off to school or you would be running a little bit behind schedule. As you turned around, you noticed James’ face morph from a cheeky grin to a concerned frown.

“What is it?” You pondered, stepping towards James, matching his pear-shaped frown with one of your own.

“Did you cut yourself when you were on your knees?”

“Huh?”

“Look.” James bent down to look at your knees and you turned your head down too. What you thought had just been a bit of dirt must’ve been something else. Your knees were covered in a browny-red, maybe a maroon colour. It looked as though your entire knee had been cut open, as blood was still dripping from your skin, but that couldn’t be right. You felt no pain on your knee. You hadn’t cut yourself.

Swiping your fingers across your knee, you gathered some of the drying blood on your fingers. This was the first time you had looked at your hands since you wiped off your knees before and you saw that you had smudged blood stains all across your palm. You nearly barfed on the spot. You felt incredibly uneasy, like a stormy ocean filled your stomach.

You lifted your fingers up to your nose, a theory hypothesising into your head, and you were right. The smell of the blood matched the rotten meat smell you could smell before. As if you were a dog, the odor latched onto your nose and expanded, its putrid smell being the only thing in your senses.

“I'm going to be sick.” You doubled over a rock. Resting your hand against a boulder, you hovered downwards over a patch of leaves, letting your breakfast out. Your head was reeling as you could still smell the retching odor of the old blood. You couldn’t get it out of your mind, so you leaned over again, round two of the hurling intervention.

James rushed over to you, placing his warm hands on your back, rubbing soothing circles. He wished he could say that his main focus was to make you feel better, but it wasn’t. Over in the deepest part of the dish, he noticed something strange. It was almost like a small lump in the ground, something unnatural. It seemed to be covered very messily by old leaves and sticks, and an entire tree branch, as if it would make it any less inconspicuous. It even had that opposite of the desired effect, seemingly sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Darling,” James waited until you lifted your head back up, regaining your breath once again, “what do you think that is?”

James’ hand pointed into the direction of the ditch, in which you followed his eyesight and body movements. You could see it too; just a lump in the ground. Your mind was racing of what it could be. A dead animal? A pile of rotten food? Maybe a…

“Holy shit!” You had only just realised that James had already walked over there, except his body was covering your eye line, and you couldn’t actually see what James had found. Although, he told you immediately. “Quick, call the police. It’s a body.”

A dead body in Hogwarts? Making sure you didn’t lose any more of your stomach through puking, you rushed onto the path in the woods, grabbing your phone out of your pocket, hoping you could get service all the way out here in the woods. Fumbling to turn your phone on, you nearly groaned out in annoyance when you saw that you were getting no bars of service.

Running back to James, you couldn’t stop at the moment. You called out to him, your words a blurred mess, trying to convey to him that you were going to find someone to help. Unsure if he had even heard you, you ran back down the path, your feet carrying you to where you needed to go, unable to bring yourself to a cohesive thought.

When you exited the forest, you flicked your head around, trying to find someone, anyone, that could help in the moment. The first person you saw was your calculus teacher, Mr Slughorn, to which you promptly called out to.

“Mr Slughorn!” You cupped your hands around your mouth to project your words across louder. Mr Slughorn snapped his head around and gave a friendly wave. Annoyed, you shook your head. “Call the police!”

“What?” He called back, walking towards you now. You groaned, trying again.

“There's a dead body in the forest. Call the police!”

***

lmao. anyway this has become a series whoops.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Traitor.”

Going to be working on this one for a while. Hope you guys enjoy the update :)

He did his best to stay calm even as he was led into another room and introduced to their drake boss. He tried to keep his expression somewhere between an easy smile and a thoughtful nod, let them think he was really considering their offer, really considering  their offer to go out and murder himself.

It was all just so unbelievable.

He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that the chairwoman would want  him killed. He thought the two of them were long time allies. He thought she had been the one, along with Admiral Kelly, to support his rise to the rank of captain when all of this began. What had happened between now and then to necessitate her desire to kill him.

He had to admit that he was both hurt and concerned for himself.

His brother Thomas was out there posing as him while the universe's most powerful politician plotted to end his life. She had the strength of the entire GA Armada behind her. He doubted all the ships would attack the omen if she asked, but at least some of them would, and without him there to maneuver the ship…. He worried that they wouldn’t last through a fight.

His stomach churned as the two pirate  women spoke among each other trying to make him believe a lie. His stomach tied itself into another knot. He was surrounded by an entire galaxy of people who wanted to kill him, and for what?

Because the human race was growing too powerful politically? And somehow he had something to do with it.

Despite suddenly being thrown into politics at a young age, he knew that he didn’t understand them. He was a pilot and a soldier first and foremost, and he found that being a politician required lying to people and in ways that he just wasn’t capable of. He knew he was in a vulnerable position.

The two women finished their little speeches, satisfied that they had followed him, and he nodded to them as he was led back out into the hall. Cannon walked behind him the entire time spear held at the ready, ready to cut down anyone who tried anything. He had no doubt that they would be able to handle Beatrice and Geea. The Drev was no great shakes as a warrior and Beatrice behaved more like a  crack addict with a knife than she did a fighter. Between him and Cannon they could take the two of them out.

In fact, Adam could probably take both of them at once if he had to, though he didn’t relish the idea.

He had a feeling that the two of them were being used just as anyone else might be. They weren’t working for themselves but being manipulated by a system that didn’t want to get in trouble itself.

The two of them were just patsies.

They led him out of the room and back into the main thoroughfare of the pirate waystation. Where once he had been excited to view all of the cool and illegal technology, he now felt sick to his stomach. Neon lights flashed above him under colorful ad campaigns for new jetpacks and all he could think of was the betrayal.

He needed to talk to someone. Immediately.

“I must return to my ship to make preparations.”

“We will come with you.”

He shook his head, “No, I need you to make sure that the rest of my men are getting along in the equipment they find. If they don’t get what we need then the mission is a bust, so you better make sure things go smoothly.

He didn’t wait for them to respond, but turned on his heel and made his way back towards the ship, his boots clattering on the metal flooring.

Beatrice said something rude behind him, but he ignored her for the most part.

He didn’t care about her at this point, she was simply a pawn in a larger game.

And while they were pawns….. Well that would have to make him a King, which honestly wasn’t much better than a pawn.

He was a target for an assassination, and the entire board felt like it was moving around them, and the opposing queen had him in her sights.

He was going to have to change that.

He stepped into the tube leading him into his “fake” pirate ship.

It had been a lot of fun pretending to be a pirate over the past few months or so, allowing words of his deeds to spread in just the right circles, and crafting elaborate stories of daring encounters with UNSC cargo ships who were willing to help him with his plan. For the most part it had all gone off without a hitch, and he had been able to live out every child’s fantasy of becoming a pirate.

But now, now the jig was up and the fun was over. He was going to have to figure out something in the next few hours.

He stepped onto the ship and headed towards his rooms, shutting the door behind himself before setting up a secure transmission to the Omen. The line that he sent the transmission out on was disguised as some sort of manifest request to an orbiting ship above. No one would find anything interesting about it, though the signal would be intercepted by the Omen and opened on another secure channel, which generally tended to be used to monitor cosmic feedback.

He waited there for a moment as the device rang a few times, and then the screen sputtered to life.

The picture wasn’t the greatest quality, but they had made sure to do that over the past few days to hide any of the small quirks about Thomas that would have made him easy to identify as an imposter.

“Cargo?”

The word was a pre made code word asking if it was safe to speak out of character.

Thomas would respond with either, “Goods, or weapons.” The first meaning go and the second meaning stop.

“Goods.”

The image before him cleared up, and his brother's face peered back at him from the camera. He had to admit, they had done a good job in making him look Like Adam. He had tousled blond hair and eyepatch and likely makeup to adjust the structure of his face. All in all, it was pretty impressive, but being Adam and Thomas being his brother he could definitely tell. Thomas was shorter and a bit thinner than he was, though he had filled out since joining the marines, and his hair was a shade or two off from Adam’s.

“You good?” Thomas asked, flipping up the eye patch to show his real eye.

Adam sighed, and rested his elbows on the table before him, “There has been a….. A massive compilation, and I’m not sure what to do.”

Lord Avex still sat on his shoulder, and had been surprisingly quiet since the revelation about the chairwoman. 

“Are Sunny Krill and the others there, I need to talk to them.”

Thomas nodded and shuffled on the other side of the camera for a minute before returning.

“How about physically. Haven't had the shit kicked out of you, have you?”

Adam shook his head, “No, no I’m alright, Just mentally reeling at this point.”

He rubbed his temples trying to stave off the headache he could feel coming on.

There was a soft thud and hiss, and the door behind Thomas opened.

Sunny stepped into the room and hurried over to the monitor resting her hand on the back of the chair Thomas sat in, “Adam, are you alright!” The worry in her voice was palpable. She had wanted to come along on the mission with him, but he had reasoned that she was  too recognizable. Even if they had changed her colors it would have been far too easy to  identify her. She hadn’t like that, but had still agreed to stay behind.

“I’m alright, physically anyway, and so are the others.”

“You’ve figured out who their leader is.”

Adam went quiet, and by the looks he was receiving, he knew that they could sense the tension in his face, “Wait till the others get here.”

Just when he said it, the door hissed open again and Simon, Dr. Katie and Krill walked into hte room.

Dr Krill inflated his helium sack and floated into the air, looking him over with a critical eye for a long moment, “You don’t seem injured, so that is a good sign.”

Adam sighed and shook his head, “I wish that were the case.” 

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean I would rather be beaten up than dealing with the real problem at this point.” He rested his head against his hands and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Look, this is going to sound absolutely insane, so I will just go ahead and send you the recording.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the recording device he had taken with him dropping it into the little well on the communications array. There was a soft whirr and it slowly levitated upward and began to spin. The video was played back for the others to see, and they watched in silence ad growing horror as the Chairwoman of the GA plotted his death.

When the recording cut off, the group of them stared at him with wide eyes.

Sunny shook her head, “This makes no sense.”

“Why would she…..”

Adam shook his head, “I don’t know…. I thought we were on good terms, but it seems as if that is no longer the case. THe GA is against us, or at least the head of the GA is. I don’t know who is loyal to us, and I certainly don’t know who to trust.”

It was then that lord Avex piped up hopping down from Adam’s shoulder, “The Celzex will always be on your side, Admiral. That is why I came on this mission, that is why your ship is the only one equipped with our weaponry.” he stamped one of his feet, “We will wipe her and her puny planet off the map.”

Adam raised a hand, “Woah…. woah , I don’t know about that. We have to do this carefully. I doubt she is acting with the entire interest of her species in mind, but more likely a small group of people. If we are going to deal with her we will want to confront her quietly where no one else is going to get hurt.

Lord Avex didn’t seem particularly pleased about that turn of events, but he kept quiet and allowed Adam to continue.

“We need to expose her publicly is what we need.”

Sunny shook her head, “And how do you plan to do that. There is already the problem of you having to assassinate yourself, which really isn’t going to do us well at this moment in time.”

He shook his head, “IT will be easy to take care of the pirates, they aren't all that smart and taking them out won’t be difficult. Just let them board the ship and then we can deal with them from there. After that is what I am worried about. We need her to show her hand, and we need to gather plenty of evidence. What I have right now is good, but if we can find something better, then that will ease my mind.”

He stood and paced back and forth slightly across the room, “We need…. We need to open me up to them. We need to make it look like I am vulnerable, we need to give them a chance to carry everything out, make it look like I am an easy target. Let thor guard down, and then when they come for me, we close around them like a bear trap and they will be none the weiser.” He tapped his fingers against the table, “You can’t help but leave some kind of digital trail in a time like this, it is completely impossible, if we have one end of her plot in a public setting, than we can unravel it right before her eyes and there will be nothing she can do about it.” 

Krill, who had been mostly quiet for this time shook his head, “It seems strange that she would involve herself so closely. Using a proxy to do all the work for her would at least give her plausible deniability, why would she do it herself ?”

It was Thomas’s turn to pipe in, “Seems easy enough. She’s the only one she can trust. If what you say is true than I doubt she is going along with the interests of her own people. If she involves someone else than it is going to get messy for her especially if she doesn’t know where their loyalties really lie. She would have to make the decision to deal with it herself and ricks being caught, or risk being outed by the people that she trusted, and seeing that most of the Rundi are politicians at heart, it wouldn’t surprise me that she wouldn’t trust anyone ther than herself.” he waved a hand in the air, “They are grabbing for power just like she is, and they might see this as an opportunity to undermine her and set themselves up to become the new chancellor.”

He nodded slowly, that did make some measure of sense.

But how to pull hair out of hiding.

One thing at a time he supposed.

Outside he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the hall, and he turned to look at them making a quick hand signal, and the feed was cut off. He leaned back in his chair just as there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” He ordered, and the door opened up to reveal cannon trailed by Beatrice and Geea.

He growled internally

They continued to get in his way and were becoming  a real annoyance for his plan.

He was gong to have to deal with them soon.

“Ah, ladies, you’re back. Were we able to find all of our supplies.

Geea stepped forward, “I believe we have, now you better get to work quickly, my employer grows impatient with your stalling”

I bet she does, he thought standing and smiling to conceal the rage that was festering inside him. He walked over and patted the Drev on the arm, “Don’t worry, by this time tomorrow you will be all sorted out, and all of us can go happily on our merry way.”

He slipped past her and walked into the hall chin down eyes narrowed,  hands balled into fists slightly at his sides.

By this time tomorrow they could begin dealing with the traitors, whoever they may be.