#and for a break only one who’s more work work work than her is Ja’far which is why he’s there

[whalehouse1]

I know Magi is over and blah blah blah, but I will always stand by that I believe Yamuraiha does so god dang much work around Sindria that she needs to just be given, as Katya and Trixie call it, the dick of death. I mean so much so she is not capable of thought for at least an hour after it is done and over with. And also the fact we got screwed over that Dunya died because 1) I ship it hard and 2) even without the shipping aspect of it, think of how interesting that relationship would have been.

[consequor]

@hartblooms​ asked ; KOU JAFAR AU PLEASE!!! 

Au Ideas ; Accepting

With Parthevia’s imminent defeat in the war against Reim close at hand, the Emperor sought to strengthen his country through an alliance with the newly budding empire of Kou. The potential connection was proposed by Falan. As a show of appreciation for the alliance, Parthevia sent many gifts including a number of assassins from their prized underground unit, Sham Lash. Ja’far was among the ones traded over and offered to Emperor Hakutoku as a gift.

Ja’far’s primary function in Kou was still that of an assassin but in order to better serve in Kou, his attitude had to be reforged to become more subservient; he could still lead the assassins he came over with but he would have to learn to serve his new Emperor. Ja’far was reeducated by the same people who oversaw the slaves.

A decision was made to have Ja’far learn to read and write so that he would be more useful in the palace and as the leader of his own assassin group. I imagine Hakuyuu and Hakuren not being terribly keen on the idea of a child being traded to them as a killer and I like the idea of them insisting that Ja’far at least be educated. He was only taught the basics at first but proved to be very quick to learn and thus his education was furthered.

As an adult, his primary function in the palace is serving as an assassin or guard at the behest of the nobles but he did prove as a teenager that he could be useful in more clerical roles as well. When given a job assisting in the clerk’s office, he excelled and began working there when he wasn’t on assignment.

He was present for the fire that killed Hakutoku and his eldest sons and while he largely kept quiet, he had his suspicions about the fire being caused by a group of rebels. There was no real evidence and he hadn’t noticed anyone suspicious around the palace. But for him, it was only a suspicion. After Koutoku became Emperor, Ja’far’s allegiance automatically fell to him. Koutoku seemed more than eager to use the assassins for personal gain.

In the Alternate World idea where Ja’far is shown with Aladdin as Kou’s magi, Ja’far is eventually put in charge of Aladdin’s care as his body guard and care taker. He’s well educated at this point and serves as the boys tutor as well.

And just for you; Ja’far finds Hakuei to be a refreshing break from the cut throat, power hungry dynamic within Kou. She’s always been kind of Ja’far rather than ignoring him unless she needs him. And her compassionate approach to the Kou world unification goals is interesting.

[kyogre-blue]

Nanowrimo, day 15 (wc 1843)

Sinbad laughed, cheerful and light-hearted. “Madam, there are still two more courses! I haven’t even told you yet what we are offering!” 

The main course was the black elder moose meat, each of the small pieces full of flavor. A mouthwatering aroma rose from the plates as they were set onto the table. Surreptitiously, Alibaba finally released the small bit of magic keeping them warm. 

Amon was definitely going to un-choose him for this. 

“How is it?” Sinbad asked as Octavia carefully placed a piece into her mouth and chewed. It was a rhetorical question, and pressing for praise would have just appeared lacking in confidence. “Naturally, we would not consider something as simple as a few ingredients to be worth Madam’s time. To draw the interest of Madam’s esteemed customers and everyone in the city, more is needed.

“Ingredients, recipes and setting — we will provide all of it. Madam, let’s create a new sensation all through Napolia. How does that sound?” 

Finishing the last piece of the meat and taking a sip of her drink to wash it down, Madam Octavia smiled slightly. “You’ve certainly thought through it. Almost enough to make it seem like your original intent and not a fallback,” she said, aiming again at their weaknesses. “But such foreign ingredients, recipes and decorations — there is no guarantee they will be popular. My business is doing quite well. Why should I take a risk on this?” 

The main course was cleared away, and the desert was set in front of them. Abusing a djinn’s power again, it was a soft frozen treat with a flavor Alibaba still couldn’t understand but which made you want to take another bite to taste it again. 

Sinbad leaned forward. “Isn’t it better to gamble on taking the lead instead of just chasing after trends?” 

Alibaba, who had been moving back to his position in the background, winced. Not at the harsh sound of a desert dish being struck by a silver spoon, something that the well-cultured Madam Octavia had avoided the entire meal through, but at Sinbad’s misstep that prompted it. Even without looking, he could imagine how frigid the proprietess’s expression would be. 

Although he maintained his composure well, there was a faint twitch at the corner of Sinbad’s mouth, giving away his consternation as he realized the same thing. 

Originally, all of this had been just to drive up the value of their sale and improve their bargaining position. Whether or not they would be making it hadn’t really been in question. But if the madam flew into a rage, then… 

“Surely a businesswoman of Madam’s caliber is also aware of this,” Sinbad pressed on, recovering. “It is better to be an innovator than to simply ride the tide. It is because of Madam’s expertise and deep knowledge of the city and the people that it will be possible to seize the initiative, and everything we provide will naturally still rely on Madam’s alterations to create the best effect.” 

“Oh? Is that so…” she drew out. “So you’re counting on me?” But even so, her expression had thawed slightly. 

“Let’s say it will be a mutually beneficial partnership,” Sinbad said. 

The negotiations were back on track and, sharing a business smile, the two owners enjoyed their desert. And, as the meal came to a close, it was time for the real battle to begin. 

“Since you’re looking to enter the trading union, I’ll give you 1000 gold for the whole thing,” Madam Octavia said, naming the first price. 

There were many schools of thought about whether it was better to bid first or let the other party put out the first price. Was it better to seize the initiative and control the flow from the start, as Sinbad usually espoused? Or was it better to wait and observe, gaining as much information as possible based on what your opponent offers? 

In this case, Alibaba suspected that Madam Olivia had gone first just to avoid letting the young greenhorn in front of her put out a completely unacceptable figure. She wasn’t necessarily wrong. Sinbad and everyone in his group had a very skewed idea of how much anything was worth, if they had any idea at all. 

Using the trading union’s membership fee, the madam provided a working base they could understand. However, Alibaba knew that she was also completely scamming them. 

...But this was Sinbad’s matter, so it wasn’t his place to say. 

Sinbad laughed. “It’s very kind of Madam to consider our position, but the membership fee is no issue for us,” he said. “Since Madam will be taking on a risk and in hopes of future cooperation, we’ll be satisfied with about… ten times that amount.” 

“Young man, you are really quite brazen,” Madam Octavia commented. “Twice my offer, as a favor to a junior…” 

And thus, the battle had begun. 

~.~ 

In the end, Sinbad hadn’t wished to draw the negotiations out too long, so he had called it perhaps slightly prematurely. However, he seemed satisfied with the outcome. He had traded Rametoto from Valefor’s treasure, especially the magic tools Alibaba cautioned him against selling on the open market, and it had been done in bulk, so it was difficult to even tell whether they had made back the cost of the materials or how much they might have gained. 

To the untrained ear, the sheer number of coins involved sounded extremely impressive. They had been given bank notes, but if it had been actual coins, perhaps even Rurumu and Hinahoho would have found it difficult to carry. 

The atmosphere was unbreat as Sindria Trading Company’s representatives, plus one, headed back to their newly acquired headquarters. They had done well for themselves in their first business deal, and Madam Octavia had even written off the cost of their reservations as a gesture of good will. 

“So,” Sinbad said as the streets around them emptied, “how did I do?” 

He had been humming cheerily, and there was still a smile on his lips as he glanced at Alibaba. 

“Are you sure you want to hear it?” his friend wondered.

“I can handle it! How badly did she rip us off?” 

The others too turned to listen with interest. Alibaba could only sigh, tugging open the narrow collar of his borrowed shirt. “Well, first, you tried to strike at her weak spot because she’d been doing the same, right? But that kind of thing goes badly with people who have a strong pride. She was doing it to test you, a newcomer, and it was her right as a senior to be disdainful. But if you start shooting back, it’s just too disrespectful.” 

“Mm. I got that feeling,” Sinbad agreed, sighing and shrugging lightly. 

“Elders feel respect is their due, and some are not flexible about propriety,” Rurumu agreed. 

“Flirting with her would be even more disrespectful,” Alibaba added dryly. 

And that definitely something Sinbad had tried, before Alibaba forcefully made every lamp in the room flicker for a moment. He had been ready to kick him in the shin too, but that might have been too obvious and not fitting for the role of a servant he was playing. 

“You didn’t have to be like that. I was just going to compliment her!” Sinbad protested. “Who doesn’t love a compliment?” 

“And that’s why you were holding both her hands?” 

Sulkily, Sinbad waved away the troublesome topic. 

“Aside from that?” Alibaba went on. “It was pretty obvious you were just guessing on how much money to ask for. She just didn’t point it out because it was useful to her.” Unlike every other weakness, which she ruthlessly exposed to undercut them and their credibility. 

“What do you think would have been a good number?” Sinbad asked. 

Despite the criticisms, he didn’t show any sign of displeasure or wounded pride. His ability to always look forward and continue on his path was truly amazing. 

“I also don’t know,” Alibaba admitted. “I’ve never sold as a supplier for a restaurant, I don’t know the going price for rare ingredients, I don’t even know the usual prices at the Octavium. I doubt you could have found out all that in time for this meeting anyway. The bigger problem is that you set a one-off price for the entire set — ingredients, recipes, and decorations — without even discussing how much you’re providing. That she agreed without asking is a pretty clear idea that you’re underselling. She was willing to pay that much just for the idea.” 

Sinbad’s eyes slowly widened, and he slapped a hand to his forehead, grimacing. 

For him, the entirety of their perishable goods were a single matter to deal with quickly and with as few losses as possible. There was never a question of just selling part of it, so he didn’t think too much about how much there was. 

But for a restaurant, whether it was enough for twenty customers, one hundred, or thousands was a big matter. 

“Right. You didn’t mention how many fish you’re selling, or how large they are. Well, it would make more sense to discuss it in terms of how many dishes could be created,” Alibaba said. “You could have said, ‘We are providing enough for four thousand individual dishes. Let’s say five gold coins each, for a total of twenty thousand. Of course, since these are unique, limited quantity dishes, Madam will determine the final selling price to the public…’ Then add a separate bulk fee for the recipes and the decorations.” 

“Five gold coins for a dish?” Ja’far muttered. 

“If it really becomes a trend, the nobility will easily pay several times that,” Alibaba said. “It’s an unheard of, priceless experience. How much the final product sells for is entirely up to her skills as a businesswoman.” 

“How much do we have?” Sinbad wondered, his eyebrows furrowing in thought as he tried to think back to their cargo. “It can’t be that much?” 

“Did you see the size of the plates? A single fish would be several dozen dishes, at the very least. This is just an example though, I haven’t thought about the numbers,” Alibaba said. He smiled. “Even if you know the basic skills of trade, the details of a market are important too. That’s part of why breaking into a new market is so difficult even for powerful companies.” 

Groaning, Sinbad let his head loll bonelessly. “I underestimated the world of business too much,” he mumbled. 

“That’s right!” Alibaba laughed. “Don’t look down on merchants! ...Well, that aside, you did well controlling the negotiations. Keeping so calm and confident, especially when you don’t have all the cards, is amazing.” 

In fact, Sinbad had done exceptionally well for someone with no background in trade, or business, or restaurants for that matter. Within a few months, once he gained the experience necessary, he would doubtlessly become a terror on the market. 

“As expected of Sindria’s founder!” Alibaba praised. 

Sinbad grinned back. “Just watch,” he said, “this is just the beginning!” 

[dungeonofimaginesandheadcanons]

Could you make a scenario when Sinbad' s crush is converted in a little cat and he take care of her all day. But at evening, when Sinbad is going to bath her, she comes back to normally and stay naked in front of him for first time? 😀 Sorry if i made mistakes, english isn't is my native language.

No worries, darling, you got yourself across wonderfully! Keep practicing and you’ll be amazing at it in no time :D

Molten eyes of gold blinked once. Then again. And once more for good measure because Sinbad just couldn’t believe what he was seeing and what he’d just been told. 

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that again?”

Ja’far sighed. The calico cat in his arms tilted its head, its eyes almost seeming to roll at his answer. Sinbad narrowed his eyes at that, finding the gesture rather familiar but being unable to quite place it. 

“It’s y/n, Sin,” the vizier clarified. With how little patience he had left, he turned back at Yamraiha who wept and pleading for forgiveness. “She stumbled into Yamraiha’s room while she was experimenting with magic and got turned into, well...this.”

Still processing what Ja’far was saying, Sinbad’s mouth fell agape but no words came out as he closed it back up again. “So you’re saying...that’s...”

The calico jumped out of Ja’far arms and across to where Sinbad was. Taken aback by the sudden leaping feline, Sin could do nothing more than catch her in his arms. The feline didn’t mind his sudden confusion and instead licked its paw before bopping Sinbad on his nose. He blinked owlishly at the strange action coming from a cat. It took him a second to recall that his s/o did something similar; whenever he was too drunk or too tired and got too overly touchy, she would dismiss him by kissing her forefinger and pressing it against his nose. 

“Make do ‘cause that’s all you’re getting.”

Connecting the dots in his head, Sinbad turned down to look at the cat before saying, “Y/n?” The calico simply meowed loudly and stayed in his arms.

It took him a bit but after figuring out and acknowledging what had happened to his s/o, Sinbad’s first question was how to undo it. Yamraiha promised she’d find a way to undo it; vowed that she wouldn’t let his crush a cat no matter what. He sure hoped so. Though she was somewhat cute like this, he wasn’t too much of a fan of kissing cats. So he let Yamraiha work in peace to work on that. But now there was nothing else to do except look after her. 

And seeing the circumstances as they were Ja’far allowed him some leeway to care for her. 

Throughout the day, though his load of paperwork lessened because of it, Sinbad now had to watch over his little kitten. For the most part she had a good mind to not get in trouble, keeping mostly to his side. But it was when he headed out for a break to drink that she perked up. At first she tried getting him to not go, and when that didn’t work, she would simply knock over his cup anytime he left his drink alone. After an hour or so of that and fourteen cups of which he’d only taken sips of gone, he resigned himself to return to the palace. His crush sauntered off behind him with a skip to her step. Things were rather calm after that. With him concentrating on work instead, checking up on Yamraiha’s progress from time to time, she would paw at him to remind like she always did to get some food and rest. Sinbad couldn’t believe that even without saying anything, she could still come across as her caring self. 

By the time night rolled around, Yamraiha had asked them to meet her at her quarters to try a probable antidote she’d concocted. To both Sinbad’s and his crush’s disappointment, it hadn’t work. All it accomplished to do was leave her multicolored fur slimy and matted. Sinbad called it a night for them all and said they could try again in the next morning. Sadly though, before either of them could get some much needed rest from a long day, Sinbad knew he’d have to give her a bath. 

“Come on,” he muttered, trying to coax her into the tub of hot water he’d prepared. 

She, however, hissed at him, clawing when he got too close. Sinbad found it strange; perhaps her feline instinct kicked in. But knowing she had to bathe before even going to bed, Sin avoided her sharp claws to pick her up. His crush struggled in his grip, scratching at him all the way up to the bathtub and fought back gripping at the edges of the tub until Sinbad somehow managed to put her fully into the hot water. 

But the moment he did that, more steam than expected rose from the tub, clouding his vision. Louder splashes followed and it wasn’t until the steam cleared that he realized why. The little calico that had entered wasn’t in the tub anymore; in its place was y/n, eyes wide in shock, mouth agape...and completely naked. 

Sinbad couldn’t do much besides unapologetically gawk. Noticing this, she immediately got out of her stupor and screeched loudly breaking his out of his.

“Out!” she shrieked, grabbing at whatever she could find and throwing it at him. “Get out!” 

Dodging out of the way of one jug left him wide open for a basin right on the head. Before he could lose consciousness, Sinbad scurried out of the room and shut the door behind him. But as he slid against the now closed doors trying to comprehend what had just happened, a part of him couldn’t help but be over the moon about what he’d just inadvertently seen.

Yeah, even if the cat was cute, this was so much better.

[itsdanystormborn]

Sinbad no Bouken 155

A quick an Long rant by me ^^ I tried to be more careful but i’m still at work and doing this as a side task, so beware of the usual things ( missreads, typos, i tried to not miss any stuff this time) i will check it later and reblog it when i’m at home!  

Update: Revised! ^^

Night 155 “Fighting determination”

(Page 1) The chapter starts where we left last time. After hearing Myers’ words, Sinbad asks: You say that Barbarossa has officially made a declaration of war to the kingdom of Sindria?

Myers answers: Yes. Soon, The Parthevian army will make their arrival towards this place.

(Page 2) Ja’far, Drakon and Masrur look scared. Serendine speaks: They are faster than we assumed.  Saher adds: The enemy is also impatient. And Tamira adds: No. On the contrary, they might have an ulterior motive…. (TN: There might be more to it)

Then, Ja’far tries to speak to Sinbad: Sin! What do we do? At this rate, Sindria will become a battlefield. And Vittel adds: But now even if we send a messenger to Parthevia, it’s too late… what the heck do we do?  while Ja’far keeps calling him:  Sin, King Sinbad!!

(Page 3) Then Sin closes his hand into a fist, and says: I understand. We will also fight.

Vittel and Ja’far are like whaaat but Sinbad speaks before they can say anything and says: No matter what we do, in this circumstances war will happen. Right now, we have no other choice ( TN: Literal: we have no choice but to do what we can) That being the case, we will attack Barbarossa…!!

But, this is not for your benefit. (TN: He’s speaking to Serendine). I have decided to do so by my own will.

(Page 4) I will not allow/forgive your selfishness any more. (TN: I won’t allow you doing your own convenience)

Serendine answers: All right. But don’t forget about it. The fact that I still have my “Zepar” inside your head.

Sinbad answers: …… That’s just fine. I’m here/I have no intention of running or hiding.

(Page 5) Then, someone comes in and says: You have finally finished your conversation? Serendine.

Then we can see Judar waking while he adds: good grief! Your talk was too long and I grew tired of waiting. Finally, it’s our turn. He says while he reaches everyone’s side, with Falan right next to him.

Sinbad says: Judar, also Falan… why?

(Page 6) Judar says: “Why” you ask? It’s because I’m Serendine’s Magi that it was decided that I’ll be together with her in this place.  Manuscript says: are you an idiot? (TN: XD)

Then Ja’far starts fighting with Judar, Ja’far says: Saying “idiot” is uncalled-for.  And Judar says: a? is that so? Freckles!!

While they are at it, Falan speaks: We are nothing but collaborators who approve of this reform.

The Parthevia of this moment has already been transformed into a terrifying country by means of Barbarossa’s tyrannical rule. I’m a court Magician that serves for the royal family. That is not my original purpose/intention.

Please let me assist you as well, in order to take down Barbarossa.

In that moment Ja’far calls Sin: Sin…

(Page 7) We have decided to follow you. We, the eight generals, are the faithful subjects of the King.

We will act in accordance to the decision of the king.

Sin closes his hand into a fist, and says.

(Page 8) Sinbad says: Let’s fight. For the sake of this country.

Change of Setting. Parthevian Empire. (TN: The palace to be precise)

(Page 9)

Some servants that are dressed in a similar fashion that Falan’s disguise are following Barbs on a corridor: “Please wait, Barbarossa-sama, that injury is excessive.”

One of them grabs him by the arm and says: Come back to the hospital room right now, Barbarossa sama.

But Barbs grabs his metal-vessel

The servant is confused: eh?

And then Barbs cuts his face in half with his metal vessel (TN: Holy shit Barbs he was just worried about you omg, RIP this poor guy)

(Page 10) The other servant is left there horrified.

Barbs reaches where Memphis is and asks him: How are things progressing, Memphis?

Memphis: Yes Sir, the first army and the second battle formation have already sally forth.

The third formation will take a little more time to prepare…

Barbs interrumpt him and says: Too slow, press on it.

(Page 11) Memphis says: but, your highness, the kigdom of Sindria is simply a commercial nation.

They don’t even have military troops, it’s a small country. Why is it necessary to go this far to make military preparations?

Besides, there are many doubts about this matter…

The outcome of the examination/investigation, As before, contact between Sinbad and Serendine couldn’t be confirmed for one year from this point.

Besides, that condition…It’s very similar to Rotter’s situation on that time.

(Page 12) from now on it’s just speculation but, it might only be that Sinbad was used with some kind of power. If that’s the case….

Barbs: I have known that since long ago. Because we handled that man so he would not be able to betray us.

Barbs: if you think about the circumstances, naturally, you would reach that conclusion. That man was merely used.

Memphis: if you knew this to that extent, then why…?

Barbarossa: because.

(Page 13) “To manipulate Humans” if they have such power, that is a menace. That’s why we are anticipating, we have to snatch away the thoughts of our enemy.

Whether is magic of whatever it might be, if we waste too much time we are at disadvantage.  

That’s why such things are indifferent ( TN: If Sinbad was possessed or not)

Either way, if Sinbad was such a vessel they have taken advantage of like thaat to that degree then…

(Page 14) That’s a shame. After all that man was merely one of the “inferior species” too.

Then he adds: Get ready, I will also leave.

Memphis: as you wish.

Then barbs think to himself: I will exterminate the “inferior species”

I won’t leave a single one behind.

..

And that’s it! Sorry for the delay and sorry if the end seems a bit rushed. Things are a bit crazy today and I’m a bit sick again xD.  ill check it later as usual, but I tried to be careful even if I was in a rush. There’s a break next week, they left us hanging!! Nooo!! Haha anyway, the end is coming.

Thank you for reading!!

[fluffyfluffemz]

Courage Bloopers 3

Note: If you’ve been following the story on Wattpad or AO3 these will be spoilery

[Context: Thalia has been overworking herself practicing her swordsmanship. She has a bandaged hand because of blisters]

“Thalia.” Rurumu called her name, jerking her back to attention. “Name one reason why a person needs to counter their hard work with periods of rest.”

Thalia blinked, scrambling to recall any of the information from the lecture. “The… um.. human body isn’t designed to work nonstop?”

“And what are the consequences of pushing your body too hard for an extended period of time?” Rurumu asked sternly.

Thalia shrank in her chair, embarrassed she couldn’t recall the answer. She glanced up at Sinbad for help, and realized he was studying her with a pensive expression. Whatever was going on in his head, he didn’t seem to know the answer, so she shifted her silent pleas to Ja’far.

“Diminished attention span, exhaustion, health problems, injury, and decreased lifespan,” Ja’far mercifully interjected, looking at her pointedly. Thalia guiltily avoided his eyes, knowing he was trying to tell her she’d been working herself too hard.

Rurumu slowly turned away from Thalia to thank Ja’far for his contribution. “You may want to write that down, Thalia.”

Thalia picked up her pen to take notes, wincing as it rubbed against her bandages.

“I think we’ll end our lesson here for today,” Rurumu announced, looking to Thalia. “Will you stay behind for a moment? I’d like to talk to you.”

“You’re in trouble,” Sinbad teased, ruffling her hair as he passed by. “Rurumu chop!” He made a chopping motion in the air and Ja’far covered his forehead reflexively, despite clearly not being in the range of Sinbad’s attack.

Rurumu gave the boys stern looks as they left and closed the door behind them. When she turned to Thalia, her face was gentle.

“I think it’s great that you’re practicing so hard,” the matronly giantess hedged, eyes fixed on Thalia’s bandaged hand, “but maybe you should take a break.”

“It’s fine,” Thalia assured her. “I just need to toughen up.”

Rurumu sighed.

“You’re only sixteen, Thalia. It’s okay if you act your age sometimes. Sinbad too. You’re both so focused on your goals, sometimes I worry you’re missing out on the big picture.”

Thalia cradled her hand tenderly.

“What is the big picture?”

“Your happiness.” Rurumu placed a giant hand on her shoulder. “Don’t put your life on hold until it’s too late.”

Thalia clenched her fists, causing her injured palm to scream with pain.

Eyes on the floor, she said, “I can be happy once I’ve reclaimed Attica and killed the man responsible for its downfall.”

Rurumu’s lips pulled together as her hand slipped from Thalia’s shoulder.

[Context: Ja’far told Thalia to take a break from her paperwork because he caught several mistakes. After eating with Drakon and Masrur, she goes to Sinbad’s office]

Now that she had been banned from her paperwork, she wandered to Sinbad’s office, hovering over his shoulder obnoxiously, the way he often did to her. The longer he ignored her, the more she invaded his personal space.

He finally chuckled as she rested her chin on his slouching shoulder.

“Did you finish your work already?”

“Something like that,” she sighed. “So can I get off early?”

The grin that was spreading across his face triggered Thalia’s suspicions. He was about to assign her extra work. She could already sense it.

“I want you to rearrange part of the showroom,” he told her, holding out a piece of parchment. “These are the new plans. Can you handle it?”

Thalia accepted the new floor plans for the showroom, her reluctance increasing as she studied it.

“I’m going to have to move that big table,” she complained. “It’s heavy. Why can’t things stay the way they are?”

“Now, Thalia,” he tutted, twisting to face her. “This new set up will maximize our profits. If you’re too tired to do it, maybe I’ll put Sharrkan on it instead. You two have a lesson tonight, right? He’s still new. It will take him a while to figure out what he’s doing. It’d be a shame if that cut into your training time.”

Thalia narrowed her eyes, bringing the plans to her stomach protectively. This was either blackmail or coercion. She wasn’t sure which, but she was pretty sure it was unethical.

“Where would one go to report her unreasonable boss if he owns the company?” She inquired. “I’m asking for a friend.”

“I want that move done by dinner time,” he told her, shooing her out of the room.

“Tyrant,” she muttered, closing the door behind her.

[Context: After doing the task assigned to her with the help of Hinahoho, Thalia  goes to her sword practice as usual]

As he left the showroom, she began the process of placing the fixtures of jewelry on the table. By the time she finished, her stomach was growling. She headed to the dining hall, where she joined Dinarzade at a table, much to the lament of her other friends across the room.

Dinarzade looked up from her food and smiled.

“What brings you over to this neck of the woods?”

Thalia plopped into the seat next to her with a loud sigh.

“They’re driving me crazy,” she complained. “They keep telling me I need to slow down, take a break, and stop working so hard.”

Dinarzade shifted uncomfortably. 

“You have been working really hard.”

Thalia stabbed her fork into her meat violently.

“Are you going to tell me to take a break too?” 

Dinarzade quickly shook her head.

“I’ll admit I don’t like it,” she confessed, pushing her food around on her plate, “But I’m sure there’s nothing I could say that hasn’t already been said.”

Thalia smiled, happy that she wasn’t about to receive another lecture.

“Besides,” Dinarzade continued, “I heard a rumor someone’s been watching you practice every night.” Dinarade gave her a sly grin.

“What do you mean?” Thalia asked immediately before stuffing a piece of chicken into her mouth. Who would watch her practice? Thalia tried to think. Her friends were all so busy. She doubted it could be any of them. A thought occurred to her. “It’s not that creepy guy from accounting, is it?”

Dinarzade snorted. “Salman is harmless. It’s not him.”

“Then who?” Thalia demanded of her tittering friend.

Dinarzade smiled mysteriously. “I value my job too much to tattle. Besides, you should find out on your own soon enough.”

Thalia choked on her drink. When her coughing fit died down, she asked, “Wait, is it someone that high up? Someone who can fire you?”

Dinarzade stood up and left, keeping her lips firmly sealed, despite Thalia’s pleas. 

Thalia stewed in annoyance. Dinarzade never withheld juicy information. Just how far up the ranks was this person? Thalia crammed down the rest of her meal impatiently. She couldn’t believe some creep had been spying on her every night. 

She finished her own food and returned her plate before meeting Sharrkan outside for their lesson.

Sharrkan barraged her with his usual attacks, but she grew out of breath quickly today. He stopped, watching her hunch over and pant after just a few minutes of sparring.

“If you want to take a couple days off, we can do that you know,” Sharrkan hinted.

“I want to keep practicing.”

He shook his head.

“No. You’re not going to make any progress like this. Take tonight off.”

“But I can keep going!” she called after him. He ignored her, walking in the direction of the men's’ dormitory.

___

Thalia huffed. She didn’t need him. She could practice her swings without him. Willing herself into an upright position, she raised her sword. The anger flowing through her blood fueled her. One jab would go into the hearts of the men who’d tried to assault her. One slice would sever the head of the man who’d lead an army against her people. One swing would cut in half the woman who’d enslaved and tortured her. One hack and the man who’d raped her would never be able to lay another hand on a woman. She would never be powerless again.

Then, without warning, the rage induced fervor that had been powering her for weeks dissipated. She had reached her breaking point. No longer able to support her own weight, much less the sword, she collapsed in the middle of the empty courtyard, tears spilling down her cheeks.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to another presence. So the creep had showed up after all. She rushed to wipe her face dry before a pair of sturdy arms lifted her off the ground. She did not bother to look at his face. She recognized the scent of the ocean. It was Sinbad. He was the creep who’d been watching her practice. She should have been angry at him for invading her privacy, but there was no anger left in her body.

“You’ve really had everyone worried.” he told her. 

“Creep,” she responded dully, keeping her eyes fixated on the green button holding his shirt closed.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ve been watching me from the shadows like some creep.”

He laughed heartily, causing her shoulder to bounce against his chest. “Some girls would find it romantic.”

Thalia snorted derisively. “Tyrant. Why would I find anything about you romantic?”

For Thalia, romance was nothing more than a pipedream. She wrapped her arms around his neck, mulling over the memories that had recently resurfaced. Now that she was older, she understood her mother’s sorrow at losing the love of her life. Living without him had been painful even a decade after his death. Thalia’s own love for Serendine had been answered with pain and betrayal. She saw now how her childish fantasies about fighting alongside a person she loved had been nothing more than just that. She saw now the cautionary messages in those tales she’d been told as a child. Paris had started a war over Helen, dragging his country into what would be its downfall. Morpheus had been so enraptured with his wife, when he’d tried to save her from hell, he’d looked back, the one thing he had been told explicitly not to do, and caused her to be lost for all eternity. Love brought nothing but destruction. It was a form of madness.

But Thalia had always had a streak of madness in her.

He hummed knowingly in her ear. “You say that, but I think you’re warming up to me.”

She closed her eyes, leaning against his chest and listening to the calming thrum of his heartbeat. “You don’t have to worry about that. I know where we stand.”

“Do you?” he mused. “I’m not so sure. I don’t think you even know where you stand.”

“I do,” she protested sleepily, her eyes drooping. She would never fall for him. She just needed him for her country. That was the only reason she wanted to marry him. Everything she was doing was for Attica and its people.

Thalia promised herself she would never love again— not him, not anyone.

He sighed. “I was hoping having you move all that furniture would wear you out and you would skip your lesson tonight. It looks like it did half the job, but you’re so stubborn. I should have known a little fatigue wouldn’t stop you.”

She nodded to show she was listening.

“Take tomorrow off,” he commanded. “You don’t have to stay in bed all day, but I don’t want to see you working. I’m also taking your sword.”

She didn’t argue.

“I’ll give it back soon, I promise.”

“Okay.”

He was right about her needing a break. All her friends had been right, but she had refused to listen.

When they reached her room, she felt the curious stares of her roomates all around her. She imagined Dinarzade’s enthusiasm at this development was almost audible. Sinbad gave them a stern look, and they all looked away.

He gently placed her in her bed, but did not pull back immediately. Instead, he brushed a hair out of her face, seemingly deep in thought. He straightened back up and addressed the rest of the room. “Anyone that sees Thalia working tomorrow is to report directly to me, do you understand?”

The other girls nodded as Thalia stewed in humiliation.

“Goodnight, Ladies,” Sinbad told them with a charming wink.

Thalia grew irritated as the girls around her swooned at his playboy antics. She glanced at Dinarzade and scowled as her friend turned bright pink.

Sinbad turned his attention back to her, smirking. “What’s with that sour expression? You’re not jealous, are you?”

Thalia raised the covers over herself, narrowing her eyes at him. “Not really. It’s just fascinating to see the Lady Killer of the Seven Seas in his natural habitat— like a wolf among sheep.”

He chuckled. “I see you still have enough energy to talk back. Goodnight, Thalia.”

“Night, Sin,” she muttered, laying down and closing her eyes.

Jealousy… it’s not like she had never experienced it when it came to Sinbad, but maybe it was normal, even for friends. After all, he was very attractive. If some other girl came along and stole him away, he might have less time for her, and if that happened, what would she do? She wrapped her arms around her pillow, hugging it to her chest as her mind faded out of consciousness. 

[Context: I don’t really remember but it’s Dinarzade’s POV]

Dinarzade’s eyes swept over the dining hall, tuning out the cloud of tiny, bright birds that accumulated with so many people in one place. She had always been able to see these birds of light fluttering in the word around her. Her mother, Lamia, had once called them the rukh, and had been able to use them to do amazing things, but Dinarzade didn’t have that ability. Her mother had said it was for the best. According to Lamia, being a magician was a curse above all else.

Dinarzade’s mother, Lamia, hailed from a place called Musta’sim, but had fled persecution there for a better life in Reim, the country with a great sorceress. In Reim, she had sworn off magic, never sufficiently convinced that Reim was safe from the kind of exploitation she’d been subjected to in her former country. With no skills outside of magic, Lamia eeked out a living washing dishes. 

Lamia met Dinarzade’s father, Argento, when he’d rescued her from a gang of thugs. Dinarzade had heard the story hundreds of times growing up. It had been true love at first sight. Together, they’d had five children, even though they couldn’t afford it. After all, the herbs to prevent pregnancy were beyond the means of most impoverished couples. If Lamia had been willing to use her powers for her family, maybe they could have afforded to own a house and eat regularly, but rather than break the illusion of normalcy she’d created, Lamia had decided to sell Dinarzade after one of her siblings had fainted from hunger twice in a week.

“You’re the oldest, and your siblings are counting on you, Dina. Use your curse to keep out of trouble, but never let anyone know what you can see.”

“ Don’t let them know what you can see,” had been a constant refrain growing up, and Dinarzade had heeded her mother’s warnings. She hadn’t uttered a word to a soul, not even to Thalia. Dinarzade’s eyes landed on an agitated, dark grey mass of rukh in the crowd of white. 

Dinarzade didn’t know what the dark rukh meant, but ever since they’d been freed from slavery, the cloud surrounding Thalia had slowly dimmed as her bright rukh changed color one by one.

Thalia’s rukh’s agitated fluttering swelled into a frenzy, reaching in the direction of the door,, and Dinarzade knew Sinbad must be nearby. Dinarzade had noticed it from the moment she’d laid eyes on Sinbad carrying Thalia back from the amphitheater— at least, after the initial shock of seeing someone with rukh in such ridiculous concentrations as Sinbad had died down. Sinbad’s rukh had an affect on Thalia’s, drawing her in... (I never finished this scene)

[labyrinth-of-headcanons]

Could I get a scenario with Ja'far who's falling in love with his future S/O? It isn't just a simple crush he actually fell in love with her and the thought of her being with someone else breaks his heart. She was hired to do something that needed creativity (art related?) and she's very sweet and kind but it would be hard to get close to her since she's awkward with people, Ja'far would probably have small talks/lunch with her, slowly Sin and the generals would piece it together what's going on

It wasn’t like Ja’far to space out. Normally he’d talk all the time while they walked down the hallway to the next meeting. But since a few weeks, instead of reciting important points, Sinbad needed to know, he instead looked outside through the window, eyes fixed on one person especially.

Sinbad could guess at who his friend had taken an interest, as - in all honesty - there was only one person worth of interest between all the diligent artist they had hired to repaint the walls around the Sindrian palace. One very specific woman made an outstanding performance in her craft, the king adored her ideas for the new adornments which where set to be painted onto the new color but as a person she might just be to timid for his taste.

“You’d make a cute couple.”, Sinbad would tell Ja’far who dropped the walking speed to have more time for admiration.

“Wait, what?”Spinning around he’d face the king, the later only laughing, moving faster and reminding his right hand man of their meeting.

“Well, we can at least ask him, can we?”, Sharrkan asked his fellow generals, walking a tad behind him.

“Err, I don’t know. I think I missed out on some of the papers...”Rolling his eyes at Pisti, the Heliohapt would fasten the pace, as Hinahoho would snicker from behind the two.

The three would be on their way to ask Ja’far to have lunch with them, as it would have been hours, maybe even days since they last had a real talk with the white haired man and so they decided - even though Pisti already feared the lecture she was about to have - too approach him directly. He couldn’t possible NOT agree after the three would have come personally to ask him. To their surprise there was no answer when they finally knocked on his office door.

Hinahoho, being the one Ja’far wouldn’t mind to be disturbed by, would knock once more before carefully opening the door, the three peeking into the room before entering. They all agreed that Ja’far may be taking nap or something but against their expectations he was nowhere to be found. Approaching his desk, Pisti would stumble over a blank piece of paper, only the words: “At Lunch, will be back afterwards.” scribbled on it, showing it to her friends.

“Aw, bummer. And here I thought that he’d have forgotten about eating lunch.”, Hinahoho would mutter, actually sounding a little disappointed.

“Hey, guys. Look.”Sharrkan would point out of the window, as Pisti and Hinahoho would join him, looking down, only to see Ja’far sitting on a bench in the shadow of a tree and - to their surprise - also in the company of a very certain lady, laughing and smiling at each other.

“You know what? I think we don’t have to have lunch with him so urgently today, right?” All three generals smiling, they would give each other a nod before leaving Ja’far’s office, closing the door tightly behind them.

“See here is were I put that sample you asked about before, does it fit?” Looking at him with her big and loving eyes, Ja’far would be smitten by the sight, forgetting to answer her question until she cocked her head to the right, wondering what’s up.

“Wha- a yes, exactly. No, it’s fine, it looks good between the other patterns.”Giving her an encouraging smile, he’d relish in the sound of her happy laugh, before it would suddenly stop, her eyes dimming a little and looking downwards to the ground.

“It’s almost over, isn’t it...”, she’d mumble, more to herself than to Ja’far, but it would still hurt him to hear her say it.

Looking up at the sky, Ja’far would remember the time he spent with her the last few weeks. How she wasn’t talking at first at all and slowly came to open up to him, the lunches they had and that embarrassing one where he got attacked by a bird because of the fish in his food. That was the first time she touched him to make sure he’s alright and then gave him the most adorable smile ever. He wasn’t sure when but at some point he suddenly realized just how hard he fell in love with her and now... he had to let her go?

“I-”, swallowing, he’d build up eye contact with her for a second, before looking down too. “I guess...”There would be a moment of silence again, before Ja’far would realize that he’d have to take some action or there were a possibility that this would be his first and last experience in love.

“What are you planning to do now? I mean, uh, so from here on out what do you want to do?”Making her snicker a little because of his weird phrased question, a light blush would appear on his cheeks and realizing it he’d try to fix his mistake but would be cut off by her thinking out loud.

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll stay a little longer in Sindria, well, you know, vacation or something... But I’ll probably have to go home sooner or later, work again or buil- ah, well. Build a family or something...”

She would have gotten quietly to the end but Jafar would have still heard what she said very clearly and the light blush on his crush’s cheek would only let him get red again, while at the same time his heart would sting.

So she’ll be searching for a partner then..., he’d think to himself, the vision of her smiling next to a different person would pop into his head, making his stomach pull together and his heart sting even more. Taking a deep breath he’d once more open his mouth.

“If you’re staying a little longer then maybe, I mean only if you want, we... should have lunch?”

“Haven’t we had lunch before? Like the one time the bird flew down and-”

“YES, YES I KNOW.”, his words coming out a little too loud he’d see her flinch a little, looking taken aback, as he’d quickly raise his hands in an apologetic manner, apologizing along with it:

“Sorry, I am just still not over this experience. What I meant is lunch like in having a...”, biting his lip he’d hold his breath for a second.

“Like a...?”

“A date.”, Ja’far would wait again for her reaction, not breathing as he expected the worst to come and his face slowly turning red after indicating his intentions. To his surprise she’d only say: “Oh...”, before turning around and walking a few steps away from him, to get her mind straight again as the thoughts would swirl around in it.

Suddenly swinging around to face him again, he’d look into the bright smile of his sun, only half hearing her answer but still enough to make his heart jump and fasten it’s pace.

“Yes, I’d really like that!”

[sinbad-ai]

Sinbad no Bouken 139 RAW + a Summary!

Here are the raws for Sinbad no Bouken 139 and a summary! Falan tells Sinbad about the true nature of destiny according to her. But how will he react? :O 

Just a reminder, to anyone who follows me and enjoys these raws/summaries, parts of or even all of these summaries could be completely wrong, so be advised as you read them as I am by no means a professional translator!

*** Disclaimer : Sinbad no Bouken is not my work. Please be sure to vote for Sinbad no Bouken every day on the MangaOne app if you have it!

This chapter begins with Falan again telling Sinbad that he should “know the truth”. The truth being, the true meaning of the “destiny” that rules their world. She also says they will discuss his role in this world. We then see that Ja’far and the others have left the room. Mystras asks Ja’far if it’s okay to leave them alone and, after a moment, Ja’far replies that Sinbad said it was fine, so they should abide by his wishes.

The scene then switches back to Sinbad and Falan’s conversation, with Falan apologizing for Sinbad having to go to the trouble of clearing out the room. She then tells him that it actually helps her a lot that he did this, since what she’s about to say is hard for ordinary people to grasp, and therefore, she only wanted to speak with him about it. But Sinbad explains that, actually, he just thought it was not something they had to bother listening to, so he sent them on their way. He adds that it seems like she has something serious she needs to talk about and asks if he’s wrong about that. After a moment, Falan smirks and comments how she expected him to say that and that she’s glad she chose to talk with him. After a few moments of silence, Sinbad asks what she meant by that. But Falan replies that she meant exactly what she said and that she’s been interested in him ever since she met him in the Valfor dungeon. She says that at that time, she did the right thing by using her magic to test his ability. After a moment, she realizes that he must still be angry about that incident. But Sinbad replies that there’s no way he’d still be upset over such a thing now and then quickly changes the subject back to what she was talking about before. He asks her “what” exactly he was chosen to talk with her about.  

She answers that she would like him to become the key that releases their world from destiny. Upon hearing this, Sinbad tells Falan that he can’t understand what she’s saying and asks what exactly “destiny” is. She replies that “destiny” is the “flow of a great will”. She explains that there exists a pure flow of will in their world and that although many people “seem” to have their own feelings, thoughts and actions, in reality, they are all simply thriving within that great flow. She adds that it is the system of their world and that they cannot resist it. She then asks him, what if that flow was actually something that was “created” and is being “controlled” by someone? Sinbad seems stunned by this thought, and Falan continues to ask him whether he’d ever considered it. She then vigorously asks if he’s ever questioned people’s destiny, why people are born, why loved ones die and why people suffer and mourn?  She asks him, what if it was actually a fake path created within that fabricated system. Falan then grabs Sinbad’s shoulders, pulls him close and with a grave look on her face, she asks him, if that were to be the case, would he still be willing to believe in this “prison called destiny” that someone else created and dominates.  After a short pause, she states that she will not recognize that sort of fabricated life. She goes on to say that she will absolutely not allow to exist, this world where joy, suffering and even a person’s death is determined by “destiny”. She then clenches Sinbad’s shoulder once more and tells him that he is different. She explains that he is a “special existence” that was born with a huge amount of magical power and the ability to see “destiny”. She says that for someone to deviate from “destiny” within destiny’s flow, that’s what is means to be a “singularity”. She tells him that he’s an existence that has an untold ability to possibly liberate their world from “destiny”.

Upon hearing all this, Sinbad repeats the word, “singularity”, and Falan repeats once more that it means he was naturally born with an ability to oppose destiny. She then once again asks him, quite forcefully, if he plans to continue to live in accordance to this “destiny” and asks if he really doesn’t want to break away from destiny and achieve “true freedom”?  She tells him that this is possible for a “singularity” like him. After a few moments, Sinbad tells her to wait a moment. He tells her that he honestly cannot understand her story and, on top of that, she’s acting a bit crazy. However, he states that she doesn’t seems to be lying and that he’s strangely intrigued in her story. He adds that she doesn’t seem to be any ordinary magician and wonders why she knows all of that. He then asks her, who she really is.

 And that’s all for this chapter. I’ve been pretty busy this week, but I’m glad I had enough time to do this! Hmmm, so I guess this means that Falan had much more of an impact on Sinbad than we had imagined. We know that Sinbad had some kind of understanding of Alma Toran when he heard Aladdin’s story in Magi, so maybe this is where he initially learns about it? I’m curious to see just how much Falan tells him next chapter.

On another note, the extra content released with this chapter is a comic with the results of last week’s Valentine’s day chocolate count. In Japan, fans will send chocolate, addressed to specific characters, to the authors of their favorite manga. This picture is only a small part of the overall comic, but I don’t have time right now to translate the whole thing. ^^; I’ll do it a bit later, if it’s not already done by the time I get to it. In the meantime, here’s the results! I hope you enjoy! ^^b

February 14th, Valentine’s Day: Thank you very much!!

#1: Ja’far!  (I got the most!?)

#2: Sinbad  (Thank you, lovely ladies!)

#3: Mystras  ( UOOOOHH CHOCOLAAATE!!)  /  Serendine (I appreciate it!)

[caithyra]

Y’know...

...Everyone have been expecting for Serendine to RUIN EVERYTHING!!!!11! when it comes to Sindria 1.0 because of Zepar and all. But in the current chapter of M:tLoM, she is said to have sacrificed herself.

Maybe, because Ohtaka/Ohtera stubbornly refuses to let Serendine say anything about her feelings about her people/actually properly argumented concern about tying Sindria to Barbarossa (who discards his allies when they are no longer useful, see Serendine, who had to sell pieces of her body to survive, and not even his close family is safe, see Drakon, and his mutilated until death body), instead forcing her to repeat her blue blood argument time and time again (and how Parthevia is her family’s), perhaps it ends up being the other way around?

That Sinbad stubbornly building a kingdom while turning a blind eye to Barbarossa’s shenanigans is what breaks Sindria 1.0, and Serendine sacrifices herself and thus at least the ones who survived (Sinbad, Ja’far, Hinahoho, Sahel and so on), survived? I mean, what little we’ve seen of Sindria 1.0′s destruction is an inferno and lots of dead bodies, maybe it happened so that no one should have survived, but because of Serendine, there were survivors?

In which case Serendine’s one-dimensional act in the recent arcs of M:AoS, and inability to connect with Sinbad will be there for an emotional twist surprise for the readers, and not because characters would organically act that way (heck, the first couple of times an argument does not work, people generally switch arguments. And Sinbad and Serendine are the same age and both king vessels, AND lives and works in the same building, they should be interacting more, and not just about big world changing things, but about surprise birthday parties, or fight over where the couch should be, or best ways to conduct businesses, but the only time we see them interact now is to argue the same point over, and over, and over xInfinity again).

Of course, I could be wrong and Serendine RUINED EVERYTHING!!!111!1, doesn’t care about Parthevian people or Sindrian people and somehow Sinbad does not think of her as culpable as Judar (so... Adult woman has less agency than a little kid... Oh what am I saying? This is Magi, just look at adult Hakuei and kid Hakuryu in the previous chapter in which a kid is supposed to protect an adult...).

Oh, and apparently Sinbad who cast away doubts to selfishly become God in his battle against Ugo a few chapters back, now have doubts about whether or not he should be God?

So those panels of Sinbad being all “I’m doing this for myself! I need to be God!” were just wasted panels of fake-out to mislead the readers? Because it’s not like we’ve had any character development since then (oh, right, Magi, probably happened off-panel or in a joke omake that wont be released until many months after the relevance of this question).

[holdfloofyfluff]

Unintended, Chapter 2

Summary: The best relationships aren’t those you go looking for, but those you fall into accidentally.

Characters: Sinbad, Ja’far, and company

Pairing: Sinja

Rating: Explicit

Chapter: 1

Read on Ao3

Ja’far returns from her lunch meeting to find a tiny pink orchid on her desk.  Much more tasteful than anything she’d normally chalk up to Sinbad -- not to mention it doesn’t block her work -- but Sinbad has always categorically disliked giving or receiving cut flowers.  Something about growing something beautiful only to slowly watch it die.  Ja’far always thought it a bit morbid, considering flowers were just an industry like any other crop, but everyone was allowed their hang-ups.  

As she rounds her desk, Ja’far sees a little note stuck below it reading “Dinner?” with a winky face.  Of course a winky face, Ja’far thinks.  Silly me, thinking Sinbad could ever do something entirely classy.  She then has a moment of panic that a stray assistant might have seen the note and gossip is already circulating.  It’s unlikely that someone has been in her office during the hour she has been away, but if they were, Sinbad’s handwriting is recognizable to most palace workers.  

Just then, Ja’far’s panicking is interrupted by the office door swinging open, and she rapidly shoves the note in a desk drawer.  

“Ja’faaaar,” Sinbad sing-songs as she spins through the doorway, looking far too pleased with herself.  

“Sin.” Ja’far drops her startled posture and sighs, then grabs the note back out of her drawer.  “What did you think you were doing?”  She holds the offending missive up for Sinbad to see.

“Giving you flowers?  You didn’t like them?”  Sinbad’s face falls.

“No, the flowers are very nice.  I mean the note.”  She waves it around for emphasis.

“Asking you to dinner?”  

“Sin, anyone could have seen this!”  Ja’far screeches.  

“And then they would have known you have a date.  It’s not that big a deal,” Sinbad puts her hands up in protest.  

“Everyone in this palace recognizes your handwriting, Sinbad.  They would have known I had a date with you!”  

“Oh.”  Sinbad looks sadly at the floor.  “I guess that would be bad.”  

Ja’far crumples the note up and shoves it back in her desk to be disposed of later.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to yell.  You were just trying to be cute, and it’s not that I wouldn’t tell people, it’s just....”   

“I know,” Sinbad sighs.  “Lord knows I’ve faced enough opposition for my gender already.  It’d be bad if rumors like that started circulating.”  She frowns in annoyance, then perks up.  “Anyway, dinner?”

Ja’far can’t help but smile a bit at how excited Sinbad looks.  “And where are we going to go, where no one can see us?”

Sinbad had not thought of this, as accustomed as she is to all her trysts just being public knowledge.  “Uh, we can’t just go somewhere and pretend it’s a normal dinner?”

“Definitely not; not without talk, at least.  We always go out in groups when we go.”  

“Damn.”  Sinbad rubs at her chin thoughtfully.  “I’ll make you dinner!  We can go to the beach or something.”  

“No.”  

“No?”  Sinbad had thought it was quite a good idea, plus there might be Ja’far and bikinis.

“I am not eating your atrocious cooking.  I’ll bring the food.”  

“But I’m the one who asked you!”  Sinbad is pretty sure making your date cook for you is bad form.  

Ja’far is more than a little entertained that after breaking every rule of dating etiquette since age sixteen, now Sinbad wants to do things by the book.  “I like cooking, Sin.  It’ll be fun.  I haven’t had a chance in a while.  Just… bring wine or something.”

Sinbad pouts and looks a little wistful.  “This is never going to be normal, is it?”  

“No,” Ja’far laughs.  “Even without professional repercussions, I don’t think we’d be capable of a ‘normal’ relationship.”  

Sinbad turns a bit self-conscious.  “Yeah, I know I’m not the easiest personality to live with.”  

“Don’t lose your bravado like that for me, it looks unnatural on you.”  Ja’far chides her.  “I’m not exactly a domestic goddess, either.  If we’ve survived each other’s company this long, I imagine we’re in the clear.”  

Sinbad straightens.  “I’m sorry.  This is just one of the few things I’m not good at.  And you’re right, we’ll be fine.”  

Ja’far pats her cheek.  “You’re good at a great many things, but definitely not at feelings.  Don’t worry about it with me.”  

“Funny, how everyone thinks I’m above such things, when really I just don’t know how.”

Ja’far smiles.  “Life hasn’t exactly given us time for normal emotional development.”  

“It’s too late for me now, I’m already stunted.”  Sinbad puts a hand to her forehead and feigns distress.  “I’ll come meet you at seven?”  

“Sure.”

“And leave all your stupid hats and scarves!  It’ll be dark by the time we get there.”

Ja’far just grumbles about how Sinbad has never known the true pain of a second degree sunburn, and returns to her work.   

The cooks look at Ja’far a bit oddly as she grabs ingredients and then tucks herself into a corner out of the way to work, but enough of them remember her spending much more time in the kitchen in the earlier days of Sinbad’s rule, and let her be.  A few newer ones ask what she is doing, and Ja’far just makes the excuse that she’s missed a couple dishes from her childhood, and wanted to make them, which isn’t completely untrue.  

Once completed, Ja’far eyes her finished products with a bit of skepticism.  It’s not exactly the most cohesive meal, but she and Sinbad have never been anything resembling picky eaters, and she is quite pleased with each individual dish.  She packs it up into various bags and boxes, and totes it out of the kitchen and back to her quarters.  She’s not quite sure where Sinbad is taking her, but their island isn’t very big and it should all keep for long enough.  

It’s just past six in the evening when Ja’far returns to her room.  She putters mindlessly about for a few minutes, getting distracted by letters on her desk, and then remembers her original purpose.  Ja’far tugs a backpack out from beneath her bed, puts towels on the bottom, boxes of food above that, and a picnic blanket on top, so they will be accessible in the order she needs them.  The part of her brain forever stuck in her younger days of traveling and surviving also wants to tuck emergency rations and supplies into the space remaining, but she resists.  A few flasks of water are strapped onto the sides and she deems it complete.  

Ja’far tugs off her work clothes and goes to get into something more comfortable.  She decides to put a swimsuit on first; it’s really not much different than underwear, and will save her the sandy struggle of changing on the beach.  Ja’far wants to just tug on her most practical, single-piece garment, maybe a shirt over it to hide her skinny body, but knows that’s most likely not what Sinbad is after, and though this whole idea is new to Ja’far, she does find herself wanting to please Sinbad.  So instead, she pulls on the only two-pieced article she owns, and then puts a baggy t-shirt and billowy pants on after it.  Sindria is still warm this time of year, but she puts a jacket on top of her backpack, just in case.  Good enough.

Just as Ja’far is going back to scanning the letters on her desk, Sinbad knocks on her door.  Ja’far opens the door and Sinbad grins when she sees her, all but bouncing on her toes into her room.  She proudly holds out two bottles.  “Red wine for me, black spiced rum for you.”  

“Oh good.  I was worried you were going to make me choke down a romantic glass of wine with you.”  Ja’far takes both bottles and sticks them in her pack.  Sinbad isn’t a very good hiker and the extra weight will only make her worse.  

“You’ll drink hard liquor out of a bottle, but not good wine.  No class,” Sinbad teases.

“Definitely not,” Ja’far agrees.  

“And you agree just like that.  No fun to tease, either.”  

“That is a learned skill,” Ja’far mutters.  “If I made it ‘fun,’ you’d never stop doing it.”  She then hoists her pack up onto her shoulders.  “Are you ready to go?”  

“Yep, let’s go out the back and try not to get seen.”  Sinbad opens the door to Ja’far’s bedroom and waves her through it.  “I can carry some of that; it looks heavy.”  

“It’s fine.  You’re bad at carrying things, anyway.”  

“No, I’m not!  I’m stronger than you,” Sinbad protests.

“Maybe short term, but long term you really are bad at it.  You’ll run forever on a flat beach, but god forbid you encounter a hill,” Ja’far says.  

“Fine,”  Sinbad relents.  “We are going to have to hike a little bit, since where we’re going isn’t really publicly accessible.”  Sinbad leads Ja’far out of a maintenance corridor of the palace, and into the lightly wooded hills behind it.  

Ja’far eyes the sheer walls of the crater that surrounds Sindria with skepticism.  “This is going to be an awfully long hike if we have to zig-zag up that until we reach water.”  

“I’ve navigated half the world, Ja’far, give me some credit.  I certainly know how to avoid a mountain.”  

Tropical foliage thwacks against the pack on Ja’far’s back as they walk.  “If you say so, but as far as I know there’s really only one entrance and exit to this island.”  

“That’s because you’re always hiding in your office instead of exploring,” Sinbad says.  

“Maybe I’d spend less time in my office if someone else was doing her share of work instead of ‘exploring,’” Ja’far retaliates.

“I get it all done eventually!  I just can’t sit still for eight hours like you can.”  

“Yes, you have been getting it done on time lately, so I suppose I should laud the improvement,”  Ja’far says dryly.  “If only I’d known I just had to do something more than scold you.”  

Sinbad winks.  “Scold and punish me any time, babe.”  

Ja’far narrows her eyes in reply.  “‘Babe’ me in public and it’ll be a punishment you will not enjoy.”  

“But I can in private?”  

“We’ll see.”  

“Ja’babe,” Sinbad comments with a giggle.

“Definitely not,” Ja’far cuts that off before it can start.  “Or I’ll start calling you Sindaddy.”

Sinbad makes a fake gagging noise and they walk until they’re right next to the looming, natural walls surrounding Sindria.  Finally Sinbad stops, pushes aside some overgrown bushes, and reveals a small tunnel.  “See?  Told you there was a way though.  They’re old lava spouts, I think.”  

“It goes all the way to the other side?”  Ja’far asks.  It seems like a bit of a security risk from where she’s standing, but she supposes there isn’t a way to close up every hole, and it might be good to have a back door, anyway.  

“Yep.  Less than a quarter of a mile from the water.”  Sinbad grabs a stone out of her pocket and focuses on it hard until eventually it lights up.  “Aha!  I’ll have to tell Yamuraiha it works with magoi manipulation.”  

Ja’far grabs it out of Sinbad’s hand to examine it, and it immediately goes dark.  

“Ja’far!  You ruined it.”  Sinbad grabs the stone once more.  “Now I have to focus all over again.”  

“Sorry.  Yamu was showing me these the other day, and she was throwing them around without touching them.”  

“Well, we aren’t all special, magical snowflakes,” Sinbad grumps.  Her stone starts glowing again and she walks into the tunnel.  “Come on, it’s not actually that far through here.”  

Ja’far follows her into the darkness, their footsteps echoing loudly in the small space.  Sinbad decides to take advantage of the acoustics and makes an exaggerated farting noise with her mouth, shouting “excuse you, Ja’far!”

“Are you serious, Sin?”  Ja’far deadpans.

“Ja’fart.”  She just falls into a fit of giggles as a reply, and Ja’far sighs.  Sometimes she really thinks Sinbad should have been born a man; it would have made it much easier for everyone else to accept her personality.  

They emerge into quickly dimming light on the other side of the passage, and Sinbad pockets her stone again.  Even with the sun already behind the horizon, there are enough stars emerging to provide light to see by.  

Sinbad toddles over the rocky coastline for a few hundred yards, scrambling up and down rough stone, before finally dropping down to a small, sandy patch nestled between dark outcroppings of sea-worn stone.  She looks up at Ja’far still on the rocks above her and holds out her hands proudly.  “It’s hard to find sand outside the harbor, but here we are!”  

Ja’far hops down to join her, and sets her backpack down on the ground.  She drops bottles heavily into the sand, and digs out the blanket she brought.  Sinbad immediately flops down onto it, pushed up on her elbows and staring out at the water.  

“Not that I’d go back, but I do miss the days we could just lie on the deck of our ship and stare at nothing,” Sinbad says wistfully.

“Me too,” Ja’far agrees.  “It wasn’t any easier, really, but it was simpler.”  

“And I was so much skinnier as a teenager!”  Sinbad has a note of complaint in her voice.

“You’re still pretty fit, Sin.  No one stays that thin forever.  Stop worrying about your appearance so much when you know damn well everyone thinks you’re beautiful.”  

“You stayed skinny!”  She points accusingly at Ja’far.  “But as soon as I turned seventeen it was just like….”  She grabs her hips and her breasts, making a small exploding noise, gesturing outwards to demonstrate.  

Ja’far laughs at her explanation.  “I think that happens to a lot of women, Sin.”  

“Yeah, but most women don’t want to run around and swing swords like I do, so it doesn’t get in their way.”  

“That does seem inconvenient,” Ja’far sympathizes, considering herself in the same situation.  She sits herself down on Sinbad’s splayed thighs and grabs her hips, squeezing slightly.  “I mean, I like them, though.  Plus, wider hips give you better balance?”  she tries to offer.

“And breasts do nothing useful at all,” Sinbad huffs.  “Whatever, at least you’re happy.”    

Ja’far squeezes again.  “Very,” she confirms, and then lifts herself off of Sinbad to reach into her backpack.

The first thing she had decided to make was not something either of Sinbad or herself had encountered until an immigrant family had brought it to Sindria when they started a restaurant; Ja’far had begged the recipe off of them because Sinbad had loved it so much.  She still sent an attendant running to get it halfway across the city at least twice a week for her lunch.   

As soon as Sinbad sees the glass cup, she fist pumps.  “Yesss.  Gimme.”  

Ja’far passes her a cup and a spoon, along with some gingery flatbread.  

“You don’t even like ceviche, Ja’far,”  Sinbad says around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t speak while you eat,”  Ja’far admonishes.  “And I don’t like cilantro, it tastes like old soap.  The rest of it is good, so I made myself some without cilantro.”  She pulls out her own cup that is much less green than Sinbad’s, and starts eating in small bites.  

“It tastes nothing like soap.”

“It does!  It’s about the only thing Sharrkan and I regularly agree on.  It tastes like rancid soap.”  

“Whatever,”  Sinbad mutters, and continues eating quickly.  Somehow, Ja’far is already finished before Sinbad is even halfway done.  “You still eat so fast!  Maybe you really are tiny because you never chew your food; Vittel was right all along.”  

Ja’far throws a small piece of raw fish and it splats onto Sinbad’s face, slowly sliding down her cheek.  “It’s not my fault I’m small!”  

Sinbad laughs and puts her hands up in a placating gesture, waving her spoon around.  “I know, I know.  I was only teasing.”  

Ja’far huffs in reply and starts shuffling through her bag again.  She plops a bowl onto the blanket between herself and Sinbad, and pulls the covering off to serve herself some.  

“Polo!”  Sinbad shrieks, prompting Ja’far to nearly drop her spoon.  

“Yes, fava beans are good this time of the year.  There’s also dill, barberries, and lamb in it; and far too much saffron, of course.”  Ja’far spoons some into her empty cup, which is probably not the most tasteful flavor combination, but she doesn’t really care if it means another dish won’t have to be washed.

“You made this all for me,” Sinbad notes.  “You could have just made sandwiches or something.”  

“Well, you complain about missing basic Parthevian dishes, sometimes.  And they serve such complicated meals in the palace; I get tired of it too.”  She sticks a spoonful of rice in her mouth.  “And it’s not all for you; dessert is for me.”  

Sinbad starts eating the polo straight from the bowl, and moans happily.  “You did this perfectly, Ja’far.”  

“Saher’s recipe,”  Ja’far replies.  “Though Drakon was the one who suggested adding the berries.”  

“I need to have dinner with them more often,”  Sinbad muses.  “I swear I sometimes forget they’re from the same place as me, even if they had a bit more luxurious an upbringing.  Everyone here is all about spicy food, but no one else wants sour stuff!”  She purposefully picks out a sour berry and cracks it between her teeth.  

“That explains why you were so excited about the lime-y fish,”  Ja’far realizes.  

“Yeah!  Fish and sour and spicy all at once!  It’s the perfect food,”  Sinbad raptures.  

“I’ve definitely got to give that family a tax break or something, they keep trying to give you food for free when you send your errand boys for lunch.”  

“Really?  They shouldn’t do that, I’m just another customer, and I can certainly afford to pay.”  Sinbad sounds a bit upset.  

“Apparently you’re a great boost to their reputation and business, but I agree.  You should go tell them yourself.  Their little girl idolizes you, you know.  Runs around the shop with a toy sword and everything.”  Ja’far smiles briefly to herself.

“I’ll go get my own lunch then, next time.  Honestly any excuse to get out of my office is a good one.”   

“You’ve always been better with people than papers.”  

“And you better be glad of it, or I wouldn’t need to keep you around.”  Sinbad bumps playfully into Ja’far’s shoulder.  

“Between the two of us, we almost make an entire useful person,” Ja’far responds.  

“Not the feelings part, though.”

“No, definitely not.”  

They eat in comfortable silence for a while, the occasional clinking of silverware on glass the only thing interrupting the soft rumbling of waves.  

Ja’far finishes her own food quickly, and then waits for Sinbad to finish hers.  Only when they’re both done does she pull her last dish out of her pack, placing the box containing it into the empty polo bowl.  

As far as Sinbad can tell, it’s a box of folded leaves with a few pieces of fruit.  

Sinbad picks up a leaf-wrapped bundle.  “A leaf pyramid,” she declares.  “Do I eat it?”

“Not unless you are fond of eating banana leaves.  Unwrap it.”  

Sinbad does so, and still doesn’t know what she has in her hands.  It’s sticky, mostly clear, and has something orange in the middle of it.  “...An egg?”  

Ja’far laughs at her.  “No, not an egg, you loon.  Just eat it.”  

She bites into it and finds it tougher than expected, and strangely chewy.  It’s slightly sweet and the middle is spicier.  “Good,” she decides, “But weird.  What is it?”  Sinbad reaches to unwrap another one.  

“Tapioca dumplings.  Different stuff in the middle than what I remember, but it’s as close as I could get.”  

“Why’s this one black?”  Sinbad prods at it and bites a corner off.  

“Because we ran out of normal tapioca, so I used the black kind.  Eat it with a piece of watermelon, it’s good that way.”  Ja’far pokes a piece of fruit in the box towards her.  

Sinbad does so, and approves.  She watches Ja’far reach for a rolled up leaf and unwrap it.  Ja’far stretches the dumpling between her fingers and smiles.  “Where did you learn to make these?  I’ve never seen food like this.”  

“I didn’t really learn anywhere, but they were my favorite when I was a kid, not that you’d have caught me dead admitting it.”  She smiles a bit sadly.  “Mahad and Vittel used to make them when we were out and wouldn’t get caught.  I would have told them off, but I liked the dumplings, so I let them.  I learned by watching, and I don’t know where they learned.  Not sure they even remembered.”  

“Murderous child with a sweet tooth,”  Sinbad muses.

Ja’far runs a hand over her face.  “Don’t remind me, I was such a dramatic and horrid little thing.  I just wish I’d told them, back then.”  

“All children are dramatic and horrid occasionally,”  Sinbad laughs.  “Told who what?”

“Told them the dumplings were my favorite,”  Ja’far replies.

“I’m sure they knew, if your horrid little self let them be made,”  Sinbad reassures her.

“You’re probably right.”  Ja’far stops tugging at the thing in her hands and bites half of it off.  “Not quite the same, but close.”  

“Well I like them,”  Sinbad decides.  “And your little leaves.”  

“I can make boxes too; they’re pretty.”  

“Show me next time, then.”  Sinbad bounces to her feet.  “Now swimming!”  

Ja’far swears Sinbad must have been born with her feet already in the water, with the childish joy she still takes in swimming.  She’s quite good at it, too, though Ja’far imagines that is more a result of growing up on the ocean than any preference for it.  Ja’far herself hadn’t actually known how to swim when Sinbad found her, though she’d learned quickly, living on boats.  She wasn’t exactly an effective fighter when a push off the edge could kill her, after all.

Sinbad already has her shirt and pants off, and is scampering towards the water.  She’s in a pale blue suit that is surprisingly modest, considering some of the things Ja’far has seen her wear.  The slit sides on the bottoms are still flashing the skin of her hip, but actually looked fairly secure.  Her top was quite a contraption, two straps going over her shoulders to criss-cross in a myriad of ways before wrapping around and around under her bust and finally tying together, presumably to give some support.  She’s gone through the effort of making sure she can actually swim in her outfit, rather than just lie around and look nice as she occasionally does on public beaches, and for some reason that makes Ja’far smile.   

She’s up to her knees in the water before Sinbad realizes Ja’far isn’t with her.  She turns around to call Ja’far over and sees her in the middle of pulling a shirt over her head, her pants already neatly folded on the blanket.  

There are, of course, no frills with Ja’far.  She is in a fairly simple, black, sporty suit, straps woven together and crossed in an x across her back, but otherwise unadorned.  Her bottoms fit neatly to her hips in one smooth line, since she doesn’t have the flesh to dig into as Sinbad does.  Her arms stay wrapped in wire, and darts usually hidden in her sleeves are instead strapped to her thigh.  Sinbad barely notices any of that, however, too fascinated with how Ja’far’s paper-white skin fluoresces under the moonlight.  Lithe muscle is visible in blue shadows as Ja’far walks over to her, and Sinbad does her best to shake herself out of her momentary trance.  

Ja’far’s feet hit the water and she is pleasantly surprised.  “It’s warm.”  

“The air starts cooling at night, this time of year, but the currents won’t be colder for another two months, yet,”  Sinbad explains.  Then she points to Ja’far’s knives.  “Aren’t those going to be heavy to swim with?”  

“Not really.  And I’m not going off into the dark without them.”  

Sinbad puts her hands on her hips.  “We’re plenty safe out here, Ja’far.”

“Famous last words,” Ja’far mutters.  The only way someone is getting her knives off of her is by prying them from her cold, dead hands.  

“Fine.”  Sinbad sees the determined look on her face and drops her hands in defeat.  “Come on, let’s go.”  

Ja’far is less hesitant to get in the water, now that she knows it won’t chill her for hours afterwards, and is quick to join Sinbad a bit farther out.  The swells are calm in the leeward waters around Sindria, and they don’t crash any higher than her waist.  She decides to do her part in this arrangement and grabs Sinbad’s hand, pulling her farther out.  “Didn’t you want to swim?”  

“Yes!  Out to that thing, ok?”  Sinbad points to an outcropping of rocks maybe one hundred fifty yards away.  Ja’far nods, and Sinbad takes a series of ungraceful, wooshing steps into deeper water, and once it has reached the tops of her thighs she dives in.  

Sinbad looks back to make sure Ja’far is following her, and then strokes out from the beach.  Part of the way she stops, waiting for Ja’far to catch up, her pale head bobbing along the surface.  The bottom is only thirty feet down, and Sinbad can see fairly well under the nearly-full moon.  She dives down to the bottom, carefully decompressing her ears, and searches for what she saw from above.  She grabs it, and kicks quickly to the surface.  

Just as Sinbad surfaces, Ja’far catches up.  “Look, Ja’far.  It’s you in the morning.”  

She is presented with a fairly large crab, flailing in agitation and pinched between Sinbad’s fingers.  She can’t help but laugh; Sinbad looks very proud of her joke.  “If it were even grumpier and naked from molting, it’d look a lot more like you.  Put the poor thing back, it’s going to pinch you eventually.”  

Sinbad releases the crab, and it floats down through the water much like a leaf through the air.  They both watch it, and then continue the brief remaining distance to the pile of rocks, though it’s become clear there is a small amount of vegetation growing on it, with their proximity.  Sinbad crawls up onto a dark rock and motions for Ja’far to join her.

“I can get in from underwater, but you might not want to try that.  We can climb over the top.”  

“Thanks,” Ja’far says as she climbs up to join her.  She’s never had the penchant for holding her breath that Sinbad does.  

They crawl up over the side and it isn’t twenty seconds before they are presented with a large hole in the ground.  Much to Ja’far’s surprise, Sinbad simply keeps striding forward, and suddenly disappears down it.  She hears a splash, and Ja’far peers over the edge to see what is down there.  Not much is visible, but she hears Sinbad’s voice echoing and telling her to jump down.  Never one to be afraid of heights, Ja’far follows, and after a quick drop lands back into warm water.  She kicks to the surface and puffs excess salt water from her lips, searching for Sinbad in the comparative dark.  

She finds her, eventually, and swims over to join her in the strange sort of watery cavern she finds herself in.  Ja’far would worry about tides in an enclosed space, but it’s clear Sinbad isn’t doing so, and she’s far more in tune with that sort of thing than Ja’far is.  

“Tide’s going out,”  Sinbad confirms, as if hearing her thoughts.  

Ja’far finally reaches her and finds Sinbad sitting on a stone shelf barely three inches below the surface of the water.  She joins her on the natural bench, and quickly finds lips pressed against hers.  Ja’far can’t see much, but she can taste the salt on Sinbad’s lips, and hear her breathing echoing in the cavern amidst the lapping of water.  She pulls back long enough to maneuver herself onto Sinbad’s lap, and then kisses her in return.  

It’s messy in the dark, with clicking teeth and misplaced swipes of tongues, but it’s fun anyway, and filled with a sort of directionless desire just to be closer.  

“Alright, fess up,” Ja’far finally breaks it off with a laugh.  “How many times have you pulled this stunt before?”  

Sinbad is a bit offended.  “Taken people here?  None!”  

“This seems far too planned out for ‘none,’”  Ja’far observes.

“Fine,”  Sinbad grabs Ja’far about the waist.  “I’ve thought about this, us, for a long time.  And I started just seeing everything that way, where I could take you, what I could show you.  So I found this and naturally that’s where my mind went.  But I’ve never taken anyone else.”   

Ja’far puts her hands against Sinbad’s face and feels her flushing.  “You really have thought about this.”  

“Yeah,”  Sinbad admits quietly.  “I tried not to, since I knew it wouldn’t actually happen, but I couldn’t help it.”  

Ja’far strokes her thumbs along Sinbad’s jaw, and then down her neck to knead softly at her shoulders.  “And you were never going to do anything about it?”  She asks.  “That’s unlike you, to not try and obtain what you want.”   

Sinbad relaxes into Ja’far’s hands on her tight shoulders, and wraps her hands around Ja’far’s narrow waist to rub her thumbs on either side of her spine.  It’s easier to admit these things in the dark.  “I hoped I’d have the courage one day, but I’m me, and you’re you, and it was never easy to just start it.  And then there were so many bigger problems and uggghhhhh,”  Sinbad trails off in a groan.  “I did have it planned out, how I’d try to get you to notice without making it weird, and tell you, but then you had to go and blow all my plans right out of the water!”   

Ja’far laughs through her nose and wraps her hands around Sinbad’s back, propping her chin on one strong shoulder and pushing her face into long hair that is starting to dry a bit crackly with the seawater.

“Oh well, at least I have you now,”  Sinbad continues.  “And for as long as you’ll let me, if that’s ok.  I planned a lot of dates in my head, so hopefully this one goes well enough that you’ll let me take you on another one.”  

Sinbad tucks Ja’far’s shoulder under her chin and tugs her close against her, content to just to sit there, think about nothing, and listen to the water and soft breaths.  Her meditation is interrupted when she hears a soft sniffle by her ear.  

“Ja’far?”  

No response.  

“Ja’far, are you crying?”  

“No!  ….Yes, a little,” is the slightly wavering reply.  

Sinbad immediately lets go of Ja’far, trying to lean back and see her face, but Ja’far resists the pull, keeping her arms locked tight and her chin over Sinbad’s shoulder.  “What happened?  Are you alright?  Oh, I knew I was going to get this all wrong and now you’re--”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Sin.”  Ja’far gives a watery chuckle.  “Stop wiggling and just hold me.”  

Sinbad complies, curling her arms gently back around Ja’far.  “But you’re crying,” she protests.

Ja’far lets out a shuddering sigh and tries to control her voice.  “Sorry; you know I’ve always been a bit teary about things like this.”

“You do always cry at weddings,”  Sinbad mutters.  “It’s kind of weird for someone I’ve never seen go on two dates with the same person.”  

Ja’far flicks Sinbad’s ear in response.  “At least I went on dates at all.”  She settles her hand back onto Sinbad’s shoulder blade.  “I just never thought I could have something like this.  I was always distracted doing other things, and I guess some part of me thought I wasn’t allowed, after what I’ve done.  I never let myself consider a relationship, because I’d never be able to explain what I’ve had to do in my life to anyone.

“But I don’t have to explain anything to you.  I hadn’t really thought about what that meant, until now.”

Sinbad tucks her arms under Ja’far’s and reaches up to stroke over matted hair and rub at her back in mindless circles.  “There are a lot of things I never knew you wanted.”  

“To be fair, I didn’t know I wanted this sort of thing either.”  

“Well we both should have guessed it, then.  You’re not so hyperactive and flighty like me, it would make sense that you would eventually want something more settled.”  Then Sinbad chuckles.  “In which case you’ve made a poor choice; I’m not a terribly stable person.”  

Ja’far finally relinquishes her tight hold to lean back and try to look at Sinbad through the darkness.  “Not in some things, and we do move around a lot, but you’ve been there since I was ten years old.  You’re one of the only constants I’ve had in my life, actually.  You’re stable where it counts.”  

“I haven’t actually slept with someone else in months,” Sinbad confesses.  “So I think I could be stable in more ways, if you want.”  

“I already know that, Sin.  And sex is complicated in our professional situations already, so I’m not…”  Ja’far fumbles.  “I appreciate it, but relationships are very strange in your particular position, so don’t worry overmuch about that part of it.”  

“It’s not like I couldn’t have,”  Sinbad defends.  “Maybe I even should have slept with them, at least the important ones.  I just didn’t want to sleep with anyone else.”  

“Cute,” Ja’far states.

“It’s not ‘cute,’ it’s…”

“It’s cute.”  

“Fine, whatever.  Leave me and my sappy self to die in humiliation,” Sinbad bemoans.  “Oh, to return to my careless youth.”  

Ja’far starts laughing and finds she can’t stop.  “For a fairly practical person when the need arises, you’re so dramatic sometimes.”  

“Only when I know I’m allowed to be.”  Sinbad lifts her chin to press a quick kiss to Ja’far’s lips.  “Let’s get back before I get all pruney.  Tide’s probably low enough that you can see the exit.”  

Ja’far whines at having to give up her comfy seat and go back into the water, but ultimately Sinbad pushes her back in, and she has no choice but to swim again.  Sinbad guides them around a few twists and turns, and then a bare sliver of moonlight is visible above the surface of the water.  Ja’far still has to hold her breath and swim underwater to get through the tunnel, but it doesn’t cause the usual anxiety, as she knows how far it is.  

Once on the other side, Sinbad starts stroking back to shore, until Ja’far grabs her ankle.  Sinbad looks back at her, trying to kick her ankle free.  

“I’m tired; carry me,” Ja’far complains.  

Sinbad regards her with amusement, as Ja’far rarely admits weakness to anyone.  “It’s not that far, carry yourself.”  

“I’ll just fall behind, and then you’ll have to wait.”  

“If I can’t hike, then you can’t swim,” Sinbad points out, and Ja’far frowns at her.  “Come on, just keep your head above water and kick.  I’ll do it too, so I won’t go fast.”  

Ja’far grumbles, but acquiesces, and it isn’t long before she can touch her feet down on the sandy bottom and walk the rest of the way to shore.  Her body cools quickly once she is out of the water and in the open air, so Ja’far shuffles towards her backpack to dig for a towel.

“I wasn’t going to comment originally, but that’s a rather big backpack for one evening,”  Sinbad observes.  “At least it’s not twice the size of your body, I guess,” she adds after, remembering Ja’far’s travel habits in her childhood.  

“Some of us like to go traipsing off into the woods without even a water bottle, and some of us like to plan properly so we have water for ourselves, and then we have extra water when we find the fool who forgot theirs.”  Ja’far emerges with her towel and wraps it snuggly around herself.  She looks up to find Sinbad is sitting on the stone, looking slightly shamefaced.

“You forgot a towel,”  Ja’far states blandly.  

Sinbad just purses her lips in reply.  

Ja’far digs back into her backpack and pulls out a second towel that she shoves towards Sinbad, who immediately tucks it over her head and shoulders so only her face is peeking out, but most of her lower torso and legs are left bared.  “I won’t make fun of your bags anymore, Ja’far.”  

“You look like a sad nun on top and a dancer on the bottom,”  Ja’far notes.  

Sinbad wraps the towel more normally around her torso.  “Happy now?”  

“I never said I was unhappy about the sad nun in bikini bottoms.”  

“What a terrible thing to say; I’d die being a nun, even if I got to wear bikini bottoms.”  

Ja’far snorts.  “You wouldn’t even last a day as a nun.”

“Probably not even an hour,” Sinbad confirms.  

Toweling her head off, Ja’far sits back down on the blanket, reaching for the bottles she had previously thrown in the sand.  Sinbad crawls off her rock and hurries to sit down next to Ja’far, grabbing for her bottle of wine.  

“I like this arrangement, because you let me drink without complaint when you can supervise me.”  

“You need supervision because it’s a problem, Sin.”  

“Hey, I keep it to night-time hours!” Sinbad protests.  “You might be able to somehow manage your stress through organization and overwork, but not all of us can.”  

“Doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem, with how much you need it.  Not to mention how you occasionally lose yourself in public, all your drunken affairs…” Ja’far trails off, not wanting to continue.  

“...I know,” Sinbad admits after a beat.  “But I’ve been better recently, haven’t I?  I just can’t keep it all in like you do, and sometimes my head won’t shut up, so it helps.  Obviously it’s a bit indecent, but I’ve learned to just go with it.”  

Ja’far wraps her ankle around Sinbad’s.  “You’ve never even said you knew it was a problem, before.”  

“That’s because I know it is, but I don’t have a better strategy,” Sinbad replies.  “And at this point everyone sort of accepts it, or at least tolerates it.”  

“It’s alright, I guess we all have our issues, even if I have to constantly fret over your behavior.”  Ja’far pokes at her ribs, and Sinbad twitches.  “And you have been better recently.  I think this might be good for us; I actually took a night off work, ate properly, and might go to bed on time.”  

“If I have to admit I’m an alcoholic, you have to admit you’re a workaholic,” Sinbad says.  

Ja’far pinches her lips.  “Fine.  I constantly deprive myself of basic bodily needs because I consider it necessary to prove my worth through labor, first.”  

Sinbad does not so much kiss her cheek as press her face into it.  “And tonight, I’m not drunk and you’re not deprived of food or sleep.”  

Ja’far tips down until she is lying flat on the blanket, and Sinbad joins her.  “No, we aren’t.  And there are pretty stars and no one demanding anything from either of us.”  

The last of the water dries from their skin as they lie on the blanket in silence, shoulder to shoulder, occasionally sipping from separate bottles.  

All of a sudden, Sinbad jumps as Ja’far rubs a thumb gently over her eyelid.

“You’re not wearing any make up tonight.”  

“Well I figured it would all just smear in the water.”  Sinbad is a bit self-conscious that Ja’far even noticed.  

“You never go out without makeup on,” Ja’far notes.

“Is it bad?”  

“No, I like you without it.  Though I like you with it on, too.  It just makes me happy you didn’t try to put it on for me.”  

“Oh.  Well, I thought about it.  But you’ve certainly seen me in far sorrier states, it’s not like I was trying to impress anyone.  Plus now I can rub my eyes as much as I please.”  And Sinbad does so enthusiastically while Ja’far giggles.  

Ja’far rolls over and half on top of her, biting at her chin, then kissing her lips.  “You’re pretty and you know it, but are still so worried about your appearance anyway.  Don’t ever think about that with me, because I care about much more than that.”  

Sinbad kisses her back briefly.  “And you don’t give a damn what you look like.”  She snaps the strap of Ja’far’s swimsuit.  “But still wore this for me.  I don’t really care either, but thanks.”  Sinbad tickles her hands up Ja’far’s bare sides.  

Ja’far wriggles uncomfortably and grabs Sinbad’s hands, planting them on either side of her head.  She pushes her mouth against Sinbad’s and can’t remember ever being so delighted by a mixture of food condiments, ocean, and fermented fruit.  

Sinbad hums happily and wraps her hands around Ja’far’s back, salt sticking their skin together.  She lifts her head from the blanket to return the kiss for a while, and then eventually separates and lays it back down.  

“We should probably pack up and go,” Sinbad suggests.  

Ja’far starts to get up, then flops back down, her face between Sinbad’s breasts.  “But I’m so nice and warm here.”  

Sinbad sits up anyway and catches Ja’far before she tips off.  “Maybe now, but you won’t be for long.  You don’t get to drink without measuring, next time.  We might get in trouble if you start just wanting to lie around half-naked.  That’s my job.”  

“Yeah, yeah,” Ja’far grouches, but rises up to her feet.  

Sinbad quite obviously pans up and down her form, admiring the view.

“You didn’t want to ravish me on the beach?”  Ja’far teases.

Sinbad makes a mildly horrified face.  “No, definitely not.  Sand everywhere.  Zero out of ten stars; do not recommend.”  

Ja’far laughs as she starts to gather their things.  “That sounds like a story I need to hear sometime.”  

Sinbad giggles nervously.  “Ah, it’s ok.  Don’t think it’s good form to… I mean now that we’re….”  She waves her hand between them.  

“Sin, I’m under no illusions about your sex life.”  Ja’far smiles.  “And I’m not the jealous type, anyway.  I still want you to tell me everything because you’re my best friend and I want to support you, if nothing else.  Plus, you’ve had some pretty hilarious mishaps that I’d hate to miss being told about.”  

“There is most definitely such a thing as too adventurous,” Sinbad grimaces.  “And thanks, Ja’far.  I mean, I know that, but it’s good to hear, even if you do laugh too much at my misfortune.”  

Ja’far finishes packing her bag, and starts scrambling back over the rocks enclosing them.  Once on top, Sinbad grabs her hand.  They walk in silence for a while, hands swinging between them, humid air finally starting to cool, and the sounds of various frogs and insects ringing in the air.  

“I’m glad I’ve always had you, Ja’far.”  

“Likewise.  I’d most likely be dead in a ditch without you.”   

Sinbad takes a nervous misstep.  “I don’t mean just for what you can do.  You’re right, about what you said earlier.  I don’t worry with you, you know?  You know where I come from, every problem I’ve ever caused, every failure I’m culpable for, but you’re still here.  I think that’s why I want this, when I’ve never felt safe with anyone else.”  

Ja’far bumps her hip with Sinbad’s.  “Don’t sound so apologetic about it.  You’ve turned out a sight better than most kids who had to care for their parents years before puberty.  You founded a damn country before you’d even reached proper adulthood; and that’s somehow superseded by your failures?  You’re human, Sin.  It’s what makes you a good ruler, and it’s something I like about you.”  

Sinbad stops and tugs Ja’far to a stop with her.  “Can I kiss you?”  

“Knock yourself out,” Ja’far chuckles.  “And for future reference, you don’t have to ask, if we’re having a moment in private.”  

Sinbad grins and brings their lips together, and it is nothing like their previous kisses.  There is only affection and gratitude, barely a trace of the want that had spurred them before.  Ja’far’s lips are slightly chapped and stinging at the edges, where Sinbad’s are pliable and slightly tacky with the remnants of lipstick from earlier in the day.  Neither of them even open their teeth far enough for any sort of tongue contact, content simply to meet and then and separate, softly tugging each other’s lips between their own.  Eventually, they come apart, then come together again for a scarce dozen seconds, breathing slightly escalated.  Ja’far feels a strange sensation welling in her, and tears wanting to tug at her eyes again.  

“No one’s ever kissed me like that.”  Sinbad is also a bit overcome, some sort of visceral attraction that has nothing to do with sex consuming her, body and soul.  

“Me neither,” Ja’far tries not to sniffle.  She twists their hands until their wrists are nearly intertwined, wanting to wrap around Sinbad and never let go.  “Let’s get back, before we make it even easier to miss us.”  

Sinbad pushes one last, quick kiss to her lips, and then turns to start walking again.  

Ja’far squeezes her hand, sweating slightly and gripping a bit too tight, and doesn’t let go until they’re under the first public streetlight, and all the eyes to see them.

The ocean water necessitates bathing, but they stick to Sinbad’s rooms.  She has a large enough bath for the two of them, and they both want to continue their rather isolated moments out of the public eye, even if that only means the vague chance of palace staff in larger baths.  

Sinbad is quick to latch onto Ja’far, wrapping as many limbs around her as she can, and Ja’far lets her.  They don’t wash so much as soak, just breathing and clinging.  There is little lust in the equation, but it’s uniquely intimate anyway, so close together and so much quietude.  

Eventually the water starts cooling and they are forced to get out.  Ja’far dries herself and pulls on an oversized nightshirt, and Sinbad doesn’t put anything on at all.  Ja’far pushes a brush through her long, wet hair, and folds it into a damp plait, rolling it into a ball and tying it at the base of Sinbad’s neck.  

“Now you won’t strangle me, and it will be cute and curly in the morning.”  

Sinbad could melt into a pile of sleepy goo, right then, but instead shuffles herself under blankets, and tucks Ja’far in with her.  

“Do you want… um…” Ja’far is tired, but wriggles closer to Sinbad anyway, trying to get her meaning across.  She’d already resigned herself to Sinbad having a much higher sex drive than herself, and she’s willing to compromise.  

“Sex on the first date, Ja’far?  How scandalous.  And I actually kind of just want to sleep,” Sinbad replies, sounding surprised.  “Unless you want to?”

“No, sleep is definitely at the top of my list of priorities.”  Ja’far relaxes, now that the awkward and inevitable question has been resolved.  She rolls onto her back and lays her head against Sinbad’s chest and shoulder.  “Just try not to kill me overnight.”  

Sinbad wraps an arm around her.  “I’ll try, you blanket stealer.”  

“I do not!”  Ja’far protests.

“You do too.  It’s a good thing I run like a furnace and kick them off half the time, anyway.”  

Ja’far just grumbles and snuggles into Sinbad.  She certainly is warm.  At this rate, she may even stop wearing socks to bed.

[ohfortheloveofsinbad]

A Dark Past Comes Crawling Back 2

“In early again, I see,” came a deep voice from just outside Ja’far’s office door.

He looked up to see the familiar tall form of Drakon, who had his dark green hair cornrowed on the sides, and the top was slicked back professionally, which was his usual look for work. Ja’far had to admit that he was actually very handsome with that look plus his work attire, but on the other hand, he wasn’t sure he had seen him look anything less than professional since they were teens, outside of the times when the man found it to be too much work to slick his hair back and left it simply brushed out, which was arguably better looking than when it had product in it.

“I could say the same to you, you know,” Ja’far said with a small smirk toward the older male.

Drakon grinned and stepped in through the doorway, where he rested his back against the wood framing and crossed his arms. His foot raised to rest against the paneling. He looked very cool. “I need to set up an office for that newbie,” he explained, his grin suddenly seemed devilish as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow toward the younger man, “What’s your excuse?”

Ja’far hesitated a moment. Drakon was almost always the one who snitched on him for his wrongdoings, even when Sinbad already knew about them. He supposed it was halfway due to his impish nature, as he had never truly smoothed out his personality in his teenage years, but he knew that for the most part it was because the man cared for him in an almost brotherly way.

“I have a call scheduled with a merchant in Brazil at eight and figured I should get a bit of accounting done to make sure we have room to pay for the new stock we need, plus any new products she might have,” Ja’far said. It was all true, but it was still an excuse to avoid his real issue. Ja’far hoped Drakon would just take the explanation and go.

“You mean to tell me that you scheduled a phone call for the exact moment you were supposed to be in?” Drakon asked, his eyebrow quirked upward knowingly.

Ja’far sighed. “It was either that or wait another three days to fit in a call at a more reasonable time. Emeralds are big in demand right now, and we don’t have enough of them to keep up at the moment. We need more of Artemina’s stock as soon as we can get it.”

Drakon scrunched up his nose. “I feel sorry for you. She’s tough to work with,” he said. “I understand that she deals high quality jewels in large quantities, but she only wants to work with women for trade deals, and since Rurumu retired-“

Ja’far waved his hand in dismissal to cut him off. “She’s picky when it comes to clients, yes. She can’t even stand speaking with Sin for five minutes, but Rurumu managed to make some final negotiations with her before she retired. I got to meet Artemina in person and now she likes me enough to tolerate me during negotiations so long as I hold to her very high standards,” he explained.

“And those are?”

Ja’far snorted. “I thought you already knew,” he teased. “I need to have plenty of energy when I speak to her and I need to try to keep her in a good mood, or she’ll hang up on me and I’ll have to wait an entire month before her assistants will even consider taking calls from the company again. I’m not allowed to interrupt her under any circumstances, and I need to treat her as my equal, her words, not mine. I’d never dream of treating a valued merchant as anything less than my superior. Also, I’m not allowed to hit on her, which isn’t a problem in the least.”

“What, you don’t find her attractive?” Drakon teased.

Ja’far laughed. “I’ll admit that she is indeed very beautiful, but she isn’t my type,” he said. “Plus, I have my sights set on someone else.”

“Oh?” Drakon pushed himself away from the door frame and sat down on a comfortable chair in front of Ja’far’s desk. He crossed one leg over the other and rested his elbow on his knee, then leaned forward to rest his chin on his hand. His eyes were bright and interested, and he wore a sly grin. “I never would have guessed you were actually interested in a relationship. Do tell me more.”

Ja’far chuckled. “I wasn’t, until I met him,” he said. Upon realizing his mistake of mentioning his person of interest’s gender, his face turned cherry red and he began sputtering to correct himself. “No, no, wait, I meant-“

“You like a guy?!” Drakon exclaimed. His foot hit the ground and he held the arms of the chair as though he were about to get up.

Ja’far shushed him loudly. “By god, don’t scream it for everyone to hear!” he hissed. “Don’t tell anyone! I didn’t even mean for that to slip!”

Drakon smiled sheepishly and sat back in his chair in a more relaxed fashion, though his leg began to bounce excitedly. “Please excuse me,” he said. “I got a little excited there.”

Ja’far hid his face in his hands. “This is… beyond embarrassing,” he stated. “Please, please, don’t tell anyone.”

Drakon pressed his lips together for a moment before he said, “Alright, fine. My lips are sealed… so long as you tell me who it is.”

Ja’far scrunched up his nose and peaked at the man through his fingers. “If I tell you, there’s no way you’ll keep it quiet.”

A giant grin broke out on Drakon’s face. “No way. You practically just gave it away!” he said. “It’s Sin, isn’t it?”

Ja’far’s eyes went wide and both sides of his mouth hooked. “Don’t!” he begged.

Drakon began to laugh. “Why not? You two would make the perfect couple! Don’t you remember how you were always sleeping in his bed when we were kids? You two were inseparable. Still are! You need to take this next step!” he claimed.

Ja’far wildly shook his head. “No! No I don’t!” he exclaimed. “Sinbad is a womanizer by heart. I doubt he’s ever looked at a man sexually, let alone romantically! If I get rejected, my relationship with him will never be the same. I won’t be able to bear it if our friendship starts to fade because I couldn’t help feeling something for him.”

Drakon whined. “Fine, fine… I guess won’t tell him,” he said.

“You better promise.”

“I promise.”

Ja’far cast him a grateful look. “Thank you,” he said curtly.

Drakon snorted and shook his head. “You shouldn’t thank me,” he said. “Your secret is safe, but you’re still in trouble for coming in early.”

Ja’far scoffed. “Seriously?!”

Drakon pushed himself out of the chair with a bout of laughter. “Yep! Have fun telling him that bullshit excuse with the accounting. I know you’re keeping something secret. Maybe Sin will go easy on you if you tell him the truth.”

“You’re an asshole!” Ja’far barked at him. He received no answer but continued manic laughter as Drakon left the office.

The silver haired man slumped in his seat with a sigh once he was finally left alone. What a jerk. Drakon was the brotherly type in the worst way possible.

He was going to be tattled on as if they were immature children, and Ja’far would have to accept his punishment as he always did.

He hoped he could at least get a little work done before Sinbad gave him that damn speech again. It always felt like it lasted for hours on end, and it probably did, considering how much Sinbad liked to talk.

With a groan, Ja’far set to work on his computer. He began to add and subtract numbers from the budget in order to get his mind off of the dreadful talk he was bound to have later that day. The amount the company would have to pay for the jewels Artemina had procured would depend mainly on her mood that day, and, as any smart businessman would, Ja’far prayed it would be a good one. He wouldn’t be able to handle more than one bad mood that day.

-

The deal had gone smoothly, just as Ja’far had hoped. Artemina had hit the jackpot in one of her mines, and she was in an excellent mood. She had even given the company a deal with the gems, which was almost unheard of. Ja’far had bought in bulk, considering how much room he had made in the budget for her, and that left the company with more than enough emeralds to keep up with demand.

The gems would be shipped off to the main branch of the company, where professionals would inspect their quality and take their pick of which ones they would carve and cut to make jewelry and requested artistic pieces. All of those new products would either be put in warehouses for clients to buy online, or stocked in stores run by Sindria Company, which were set up all across North America and a few areas in Europe.

Ja’far hoped that the great deal would brighten Sinbad’s mood and hopefully distract him from giving any scoldings over a certain person’s unpaid overtime.

After Ja’far had gone through to Artimina’s assistant and managed to get shipping information and payment plans sent through the computer, Ja’far took a quick lunch break, then switched right to balancing out the budget again. He’d had a surplus of money left over from the trading deal and he needed to use that to improve the main branch.

Once he had everything balanced to his satisfaction, Ja’far checked the time on his laptop in the hopes that he had more time to work. He still had to check his schedule for the next trade deal over the phone, which was with another merchant named Kouen, who was in Thailand. He also needed to make several adjustments to Sinbad’s schedule so he could fit in a meeting with the Egyptian merchant, Armakan, who only did deals face-to-face.

To Ja’far’s dismay, it was eleven-thirty, and he was always supposed to go home before midnight or face punishment at the hands of Sinbad. He went pale at the very thought of what the man would do if Ja’far broke two of his rules in one day.

Actually, now that it was on his mind, Ja’far realized that Sinbad hadn’t yet confronted him over his early morning. Perhaps that meant he would get to go home without receiving Sinbad’s all-time favorite “you need to get a life” speech.

Ja’far hoped with all his heart that that would be reality, but that hope was crushed less than five minutes later, when he heard a light rapping on the outside of his office door.

“Ja’far,” sounded the very voice he didn’t want to hear.

The man looked up with his heart full of dread just to see that familiar tan face and that slightly messy head of tied-back purple hair. Ja’far couldn’t help but mentally curse. He had been so close to getting away scot-free.

Putting on his best innocent face, Ja’far blinked at him and said, “Yes, Sin?” he hoped the little act might make his boss go a bit easier on him.

“I think you know why I’m here,” Sinbad said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He sat down in a chair on the opposite side of Ja’far’s desk and crossed his legs. His arms rested on the top of the headrest instead of the armrests, which made him seem as though he were completely relaxed… or overly tired. “What’s your excuse this time?”

The corner of Ja’far’s mouth hooked as he closed his laptop. “I had a business call at eight with Artemina…” he said nervously.

“So you came in almost an hour and a half early?” Sinbad asked, an eyebrow quirked upward. “I know she’s hard to work with, but still, that’s too much.”

“It’s not like my extra hours cost you anything…” Ja’far said quietly. He hardly had any use for money outside of bills and necessities. Work was his hobby, so he was always happy to do it off the clock.

“We both know this isn’t about money, Ja’far,” Sinbad sighed. “I’ve been giving you the same schpeel almost every week. What part of “go home and relax” don’t you get?”

Ja’far looked away in shame. “Work is how I relax…” he mumbled.

“Listen, Ja’far,” Sinbad said. The younger man hesitantly looked back to him. “This is bad for your health. You need to stop working so much, or I’m going to move you back in with me so I can make sure you’re getting your rest.”

“I’m not a child, Sin...” Ja’far argued. “The company is my place of escape. I need to be productive somehow. What better way to do that than to do what I’m passionate about?”

Sinbad tilted his head ever so slightly. “What is it you’re trying to get away from?” he asked. “Is something bothering you?”

The tips of Ja’far’s ears began to grow red and he cast his gaze to the edge of his desk. Perhaps lack of sleep was really getting to him. He was letting all sorts of things slip today.

“Ja’far, you need to tell me when something’s bothering you…” Sinbad said as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Aren’t we friends? Can’t you trust me when you’re having troubles?”

Ja’far grimaced. He hated how Sinbad could get to him so quickly. “Of course we’re friends, and you know I trust you with my life,” he said softly. He refused to meet his friend’s gaze.

“Then why don’t you tell me what made you so uncomfortable that you decided to come into work early despite what I’ve been telling you?” Sinbad asked.

Ja’far was silent for what felt like a full minute before he finally spoke. “I… had a nightmare.”

A blush formed on Ja’far’s face the moment the words left his mouth. He felt like a child, having said such a thing. He timidly looked back up to Sinbad after a few moments spent calming himself down. To his surprise, Sinbad wasn’t angry, nor was he laughing at him. He seemed concerned, and slightly… hurt?

“What kind of nightmare?” Sinbad asked. “One of those same ones you used to have that sent you running to my room at night when we were younger?”

Ja’far covered his reddening face with his hand in an attempt to hide from the embarrassment. “Yeah,” he croaked out. He absolutely hated the way this conversation was going.

Sinbad let out a breath. “I guess it can’t be helped, then,” he said after a moment.

Ja’far looked to him, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Wait, you’re not even going force me to take time off again?” he asked.

“Why would I?” Sinbad retorted. “You needed to get away from a situation that scared you. I’m not going to punish you for that.”

“You seem angry,” Ja’far commented.

Sinbad looked away, a tint of red, barely noticeable thanks to his dark skin tone, stained his cheeks. “No… I’m not mad, just a little… I don’t know…” he sputtered.

“What?” Ja’far asked.

Sinbad sighed. “I guess I’m just a little upset that you decided to come to work instead of coming to me. It makes me feel like we’re… I don’t know… growing apart?”

Ja’far gulped. That was absolutely not how he intended to make Sinbad feel. “No, no, I didn’t come to you because I figured you were sleeping when it happened! A-and then we were both busy all day!” he said quickly. “Mostly, I just didn’t want to bother you with something so silly.”

Sinbad looked back to him. “Ja’far, it’s not silly. Those nightmares absolutely terrorized you up until you were an adult,” he said. “I need you to know that you can come to me when things like this happen. If I’m not there for you when you need me, what kind of friend am I?”

Ja’far’s face fell and he looked to his desk. That might have been easy for him to say, but it’d be exhausting for Sinbad to have to get up at five in the morning to calm him down, especially if the nightmares persisted just like they had when they were younger.

“Hey, how’s about you spend the night at my house tonight, just in case you have another nightmare?” Sinbad suggested with a friendly smile. “I want to prove that I’m always here for you.”

Ja’far pressed his lips together nervously at the thought. A sleepover? At their age? Wasn’t that immature? “Honestly, you don’t need to prove anything,” he swore.

“Maybe not, but you’re still sleeping over tonight,” Sinbad said, his tone indicating that that was final.

Ja’far sighed heavily. He could always argue, but he never managed to win when Sinbad had made up his mind. Putting up a fight over it would be pointless. He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “You’re so adamant. You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids.”

Sinbad laughed as he stood up. “I guess not. I hope that’s not a bad thing,” he said with a grin. His eyes sparkled in a way that made Ja’far’s knees weak. He was glad he was still seated. “I expect to see you at my house in twenty minutes.”

“Alright, alright,” Ja’far said with a wave of his free hand. He’d have to speed in order to make it in that time, and Sinbad had to have known that, unless he expected him to drive straight to his house, which Ja’far was not going to do. He needed a few things from his own house, such as pajamas.

“If you’re late, I’ll call you and give you that talking to you’ve been waiting for all day,” Sinbad said with a wink, then left before Ja’far could respond.

He scoffed softly as he stood up, but a small smile creeped onto his face. Sinbad really hadn’t changed, and honestly, Ja’far hoped he never would.

He walked out of his office, but Sinbad was nowhere to be seen. He must have run out of the building, as he tended to do every work night. That man was always so happy to leave.

Ja’far clocked himself out, the smile still on his face as he left the building.

He got into his car and pulled his keys out from the visor overhead. He slipped the first key on the ring into the ignition and turned it. The car immediately whirred to life.

The small smile that had previously been glued to his face disappeared immediately once he felt a cold, hard pressure on the back of his head, which was followed by a low voice a moment later.

“Don’t fucking move.”

[kyogre-blue]

Nanowrimo, day 14 (wc 2365)

Vittel was exceptionally efficient. Within a day, he had a list of the most prominent restaurants in Napolia, as well as information about their recent history, specialities, clientele, and owners. It was unclear whether he had slept at all, but his condition seemed fine when Sinbad squinted at him slightly, so he let it go. 

Before he could begin to deliver his report in detail, Sinbad held up a hand. “Let’s go visit them,” he said. “I’d like to take a look myself.” 

He had always had a special way of judging people and situations. He had a feeling that seeing the restaurants himself would reveal something that Vittel couldn’t have found out. 

The most high class establishment in Napolia was actually outside the city itself, at a private estate on the outskirts. It wasn’t possible to even get close without invitation, and it was necessary to book the location well ahead of time. Although only the most elite citizens and visitors could ever dine there, “Hesperides Garden” had an almost mythical status in Napolia. Going there once was something to brag about for a year. 

“Forget it,” Sinbad said immediately. “Their reputation is already too strong, we won’t have enough leverage.” And besides, he didn’t want Sindria to become a company for only the elite. 

Vittel nodded. “The most prominent ones after Hesperides Garden are these three: Bacchanalia, Octavium, and The East Dock Restaurant. Their rankings tend to vary depending on the source, but they are all mentioned most often…” 

Bacchanalia was especially famous for their wide selection of wines, including from the desert cities and even the far east. Octavium was the newest, built within the last two decades by its owner, Madam Octavia. The East Dock Restaurant was the opposite, built more than a century ago, before Napolia became a major port and when it only had two docks. 

Their owners were, respectively, a merchant family, a famous socialite, and an old master who bought it after retiring from service in the Reim Senate. 

Sinbad’s fingers tapped against his folded arm as he thought. 

“Let’s leave aside the wine place,” he decided, not even trying to pronounce the Reiman name. “The Imuchakk don’t drink wine, and we can’t say how to pair our dishes with their specialty. For the other two… Well, we’re at South Fifth Dock, so let’s go to the other place first.” 

Also, he was somewhat interested in this Madam Octavia. She had to be a rather impressive lady. 

Realizing he was grinning rather ridiculously and almost snickering to himself, Sinbad quickly smoothed out his expression. Fortunately, Vittel hadn’t noticed — or maybe just pretended not to notice, for the sake of being able to continue respecting his boss. 

The architecture in Reim favored triangular roofs and rows of straight columns, somewhat like Valefor’s dungeon on the outside, along with perfectly curved domes and arches. This style matched well with the floaty, elegantly draping robes the citizens most often wore, while also carrying a solid, unshakable strength suited to the oldest, greatest empire of the world. 

However, there were also many buildings with clearly foreign inspirations as well, especially in the commercial districts where the foreigners lived and worked. They did not always match the current owners, having changed hands many times, and sometimes were a combination of different styles altogether. 

This was also the case for the building Sinbad had picked for Sindria Company’s first office — several domes that were quite Reiman, blocky foundations inspired by Aktia, and thin towers from the desert cities. 

Sindria Trading Company was going to connect the world, after all. It was only natural for even their first office to look the part. 

Their future storefront, they would naturally decorate in the Imuchakk style. There were many establishments doing the same — showing off brilliant fabrics, richly woven rugs, large pots of every shape, unusual plants, and even animal skins — and Sinbad studied them with interest as he and Vittel made their way down the streets. 

The Octavium restaurant was situated well, facing a large plaza on the intersection of the commercial district and a fairly upscale residential quarter. Large throngs of people were constantly passing through, along with fancy carriages of the well-to-do. The reason it could afford such a prime location was likely its small ground floor — the restaurant was a tower of at least eight stories. Sinbad couldn’t count further, even craning his neck to look up at it, from down on the ground. 

“The higher floors are reserved for favored customers and special events,” Vittel explained as they found a corner of the plaza to observe from. “Supposedly, the view from the top floors is exceptional, particularly at night.” 

Sinbad nodded in acknowledgement. “What about the menu? And the customers?” 

“The base cuisine is Reiman. But a lot of the dishes change depending on recent trends in the city and in Remano. Octavium is known for always staying on top of what’s popular at the moment,” Vittel said. This was also a matter he had looked into. “The customers are varied. For the bottom floors, especially during the day, even ordinary people can go there on occasion. It’s most popular with independent merchants and younger nobility. It seems like the most well-off and the old aristocracy find it too… trendy.” 

“Thought so,” Sinbad agreed, smiling. 

But that was fine. They didn’t want the highest possible elites anyway. 

“Hm…” he drew out, stroking his chin and eyeing the building with interest. “How long are those wide bolts of navy cloth we brought? They’d look good as banners, right?” 

For some reason, Vittel gave him a slightly strange look. 

“Oh, are you thinking I shouldn’t act like we’ve already succeeded when we haven’t even gotten started?” Sinbad guessed, grinning. ...In fact, it was more that he sounded like he was already planning to buy out the entire place, but Sinbad was not actually a mindreader. “Don’t worry, I have a good feeling about this place! Let’s head back and send a letter to the owner. We’ll have the negotiation tomorrow.” 

“You don’t want to see the East Dock Restaurant first?” Vittel wondered. “Or at least get a look at the owner?” 

“No, this is good,” Sinbad said, completely certain. “We’ll succeed.” He paused. “I do want one more thing. What are the two restaurants closest to breaking through to this same level?” 

~.~ 

The letter Sinbad had delivered to Octavium’s owner, the Madam Octavia herself, was actually two missives together. 

One was a request to reserve the top floor of the restaurant the next night. The other was an invitation — for that same night. Naturally, Sindria Company would provide the food. After all, what better strategy than to let their product speak for itself? Both were written by Rurumu, since Sinbad’s skill with a pen was still quite shaky, along with a stylized drawing by Hinahoho on the letterhead to add an Imuchakk flavor. 

To keep from crowding, it was decided that only Sinbad, Ja’far, Rurumu and Hinahoho would attend, along with Alibaba to observe… and also keep the cooked dishes warm. 

“Amon must be so mad at me right now,” Alibaba muttered, as he carried the food boxes through the discreet rear entrance and the servant staircase up to the room they had booked. 

Ja’far, who had been tasked with helping him, rolled his eyes. “Doubt Valefor’s any happier,” he pointed out, since Sinbad had been similarly employing his second djinn’s great cosmic power for the purposes of keeping the perishable goods frozen. 

Alibaba laughed awkwardly. There was, he felt, a world of difference between how a djinn would look at a king like Sinbad and how Amon had looked at Alibaba. The fire djinn had been deeply unimpressed with him from the start, and that impression could not have possibly improved since then. 

Could a djinn change their mind and un-select a king vessel? Alibaba wondered it he’d be the first to find out. 

Whatever the Madam Octavia thought of Sinbad’s invitation, she had accepted their deposit and reserved the famous top level of her restaurant for them. Alibaba and Ja’far moved quickly to lay out Rurumu’s dishes — and also to change the decorations to Imuchakk’s deep blue cloth and polished white bone. 

They had practiced and discussed ahead of time. There may have been some infiltration involved to check the layout and furniture of the room they’d reserved. All so that they would be ready. 

And they were. When Ja’far signaled that someone was coming up the main stairs, he and Alibaba had just finished. Quickly, they moved into the background, like the proper servant types they were pretending to be. 

They didn’t have the time or materials to completely change the room, but the effect was already good. There was certainly no other dining experience like in all of Napolia. 

The door to the main stairwell opened, and Sinbad stepped inside first, followed by Hinahoho and Rurumu, who flanked him like royal guards. It made for an impressive sight, but even more impressive was that Sinbad didn’t lose his sense of presence despite being dwarfed by them on either side. 

“We are truly grateful to have your company tonight, Madam Octavia,” Sinbad said, turning back and sketching a bow as he gestured further inside. “Please, this way. Everything has been prepared.” 

The one who walked past him was an older woman with the pale gold hair characteristic of Reim’s citizens, styled into a complex crown of thin braids, pearls and silver jewelry. More pearls dangled from her ears, and silver decorated her pale robes. In the warm lamplight, she glowed pale and ethereal. It was the kind of effect achieved only by those very conscious of their appearance and style. 

Like most of the powerful elite, she didn’t even spare Ja’far a glance as he pulled out a chair for her at the table. Playing his part, Alibaba did the same for Sinbad. 

“I must admit, this is the first time I’ve been invited to my own restaurant,” Octavia said. She didn’t look at Sinbad either, even as she spoke to him. Instead, her gaze slid over the decorations, giving away nothing of her thoughts. Her tone was cool and disinterested. 

Sinbad smiled, folding his hands and keeping his eyes on her without wavering. Alibaba knew that the sense of pressure he could exude just with that was not small. As expected of the future conqueror-king. 

“Surely the restaurant created and headed by Madam herself is the most suited to Madam’s tastes,” Sinbad said. “And of course, the view is unmatched in Napolia.” He gestured to the open windows showing a grand view of the city and its lights, all the way to the harbor and the lighthouse at the port entrance. “Our headquarters are simply no match when it comes to entertaining an honored guest.” 

Finally, the madam’s pale blue eyes shifted to Sinbad, but she didn’t say anything. 

She didn’t need to. They, outsiders with no backing or standing in Napolia, were the ones who had something to sell to her. 

“Shall we?” Sinbad offered, unbothered. 

At his queue, Ja’far and Alibaba moved silently to serve the first course, artfully arranged on a special set of plates ahead of time. 

“Our Sindria Trading Company’s starting business is based on our exclusive trading agreement with Imuchakk in the extreme north,” Sinbad explained as the dishes were placed in front of them and the drinks were poured. “Imuchakk is a land of white and snow, isolated from outsiders. Their goods have never appeared on the market before, so we would like to offer you a small sample...” 

It was already the beginning of summer, and although the heat had not yet fully set in, it was already too warm for heavy meals. Rurumu had carefully considered this when putting together the menu. 

The first dish they served was a light soup with a warm color and slightly sweet flavor, boiled form bones. 

Taking a small sip, Madam Octavia finally allowed the smallest opening. “I have heard of Imuchakk,” she said. “But the stories were ghastly -- bloody minded raiders, ships looted and burned. Not the most appealing image.” 

Rather an opening, it was an attack. 

In other words, ‘how do you plan to sell something like that?’ 

“There was something like that, wasn’t there?” Sinbad asked, turning to Rurumu. 

“Indeed. In the past, our nation was still too underdeveloped,” Rurumu said, her expression gentle, her hands folded demurely. Despite her stature, her aura was unthreatening and open. “It was a terrible time. Fortunately, our ancestors were able to find a better, more civilized way of life. They established our federation and the council of chiefs who settle disputes within our tribes. Without internal and external strife, we were finally able to advance as a people.” 

“Thanks to this, the national chief Rametoto signed the trading agreement with us,” Sinbad added, “so that the Imuchakk can begin to connect with the outside world in a peaceful way.” 

Madam Octavia didn’t reply. When she set aside the bowl of soup, it was slightly less than half full. Quietly, Ja’far cleared it away and set out the next course -- a clear piece of ice fish, finely prepared to melt in your mouth. 

“We have been entrusted with a wide variety of goods,” Sinbad went on. “Fabrics, carvings, ceremonial works, corals... fish and game are among them. We would like to spread them across Napolia, Reim and the world.” 

Tapping lightly at her mouth with a napkin, Madam Octavia looked at him coolly. “And since you do not have a trading license, you can only do this through an intermediary,” she ruthlessly pointed out their predicament. “Or else your goods will be nothing but rot by the time you obtain it.” 

Unexpectedly, she smiled. It was small and tight, and looked like an expression befitting a lion, despite the lack of teeth. 

“But I know what it’s like to be a newcomer to the business. There is something to be said about an entirely new spread like this,” she said. “Very well. I’ll help you out, young man.” 

[fireballofinsanity]

Sinera?

Send me a Ship and I’ll Break Them DOWN

(Ahhh thank you nonnie

How did they they meet? Sera legit snuck into Sin’s room in the middle of the night. XD It’s a long story, but pretty much Sera got herself trapped on palace grounds late her first night in Sindria, and rather than get herself thrown in a dungeon for trespassing she stuck herself in a tree. Said tree had a branch right outside Sin’s window and let her overhear his stomach growling, because he skipped dinner that night to work, and after sneaking in (read: Breaking and entering) to both palace grounds and Sin’s bedroom when he was sleeping for four nights to leave him baked goods, he caught her like a thief. XD Somehow still ended up friends~

Who developed romantic feelings first? I believe it was Sera- At least, she realized them first. Sin had to pretty much have it shoved in his face and wonder why he missed her not being beside him whenever she was away before he realized “Hey, maybe it’s love- …Welp.”

Who is their biggest “shipper?” Sera’s attendant, Thana, several people in town she befriended, the captain who owns the ship that brought her to Sindria, and probably Sharrkan. XD

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances? Depends on the kiss? Sin’s been peppering her hands, sometimes her forehead or the tip of her nose with little pecks whenever he’s happy for as long as they’ve known each other, pretty much. They even had a couple of random “Why did I do that?” kisses, one of which happened when she first saw him in equip and neither had any idea why they went for it. But the first real, romantic kiss happened when she was upset with him and trying to stay away to keep her feelings bottled up, overworked herself to the point of exhaustion, and he realized he loved her and wanted to tell her. It ah… Predictably didn’t go as romantically as he’d probably hoped.

Who confessed their feelings first? Sin, surprisingly? Sera believed he could never love someone like her and still at the time saw herself as the ‘street trash’ he was taking care of, so she kept her mouth closed on it. Sin wasn’t about to hesitate anymore when he realized.

What was their first official date? Oh gosh- Probably a dinner date in the palace gardens? Being king, Sin couldn’t get away that much, at least not without the risk of injury from Ja’far, so more often than not they stuck to the palace. Unofficial was probably the night he took her out to buy her a whole new wardrobe.

How do they feel about double dates/group dates? Totally not a problem? Sera’s more quiet during them, though, because nine times out of ten, they’re Sin’s friends/allies and people she doesn’t know, and she’s not interested in messing things up for him. Sin usually tends to catch on and makes sure she’s comfortable while still enjoying their company/keeping company entertained, with little touches to her arm, a quick kiss to the hair or cheek, an arm around her waist-

What do they do in their down time? Depends on the day and the weather. Sailing is a favorite pastime, cuddling, going for a walk around Sindria, shopping, gardening, training- Pretty much anything that comes to mind.

What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like? Pretty epic because it never happened~!

What was their first fight over and how did they get past it? Uhhh- If I remember right it was Sera’s insecurities? She couldn’t understand what Sin saw in her (and still doesn’t sometimes, but it’s rare now) and fussed and worried a lot more, especially over her not being right for him compared to his track record, causing a few minor to moderate fights. They actually sat down and talked about it- It took a while but she’s moved past those insecurities with his help and grown from it.

Which one is more easily made jealous? Pretty even~

What is their favourite thing to get to eat? Can I just be lazy and say fish? XD Sindria, as an island country, has a lot of fish. Sin’s favorites are fish dishes, and Sera’s gonna eat anything put in front of her. Though ranking up there is also chocolate and candy-

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favourite cuddling position? Sera is a bit more cuddly than Sin at any given time, but he’s not far behind. As for a favorite position, they tend to just go for whatever comes to mind at the moment, but spooning is a favorite (and usually one of the ways they commonly fall asleep) and her sitting on his lap, too.

Are they hand holders? Definitely.

How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What’s the circumstances? Ohgosh- It’s been a while rp-wise, but novel-wise it was the day after their first real kiss and confessions, which were repeated that morning, so it took them a year on either front, give or take? But that’s for actual relations- For that year they’d known each other, they shared a bed pretty often as friends, whether it be “I just had a nightmare, can I sleep with you/can you come back to my room” or Sera hanging out with him all day and nodding off before she could leave. Regardless of how he ends up in the mornings, friendly ‘sleepovers’ were pretty normal.

Who tops? SIN- Sera loves it XD She does too, but nowhere near as much- That’s something Sin gets more often than not XD

What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotten into? Worst first? Battle, I’m going to say. Sin got caught up in battle and Sera, being the protective one she is, rushed into it headfirst and unarmed (and untrained, they’d not talked about her learning swordsmanship yet) with the intent to help. It forced Zepar-equiped Sin to briefly control her to get her off the battlefield and into safety, and also caused a fight when she realized what he’d done. Needless to say, she’s not a fan of Zepar OR tinkering with someone’s mind after that, and Sin’s never done it again… But probably won’t hesitate to if the situation arises again, if it means her safety.

Who does the shopping and the cooking? Staff. XD Actually, Sera, despite being adamant she needs nothing, enjoys shopping, and regularly spoils Sin, their friends, and their family, and Sin usually follows suit, but his gifts require less money a lot of the time and more “This shell made me think of you”, which always makes her heart skip a beat. As for cooking, I’ve said it a million times, Sera’s allowed to bake, but NEVER cook if you value your kitchen. XD She can make pancakes, that’s it. XD Sin will sometimes cook for them, but not often.

Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness? Both? Maybe Sera a little more- She likes to clean and straighten things up, so she’s always organizing things. Sin’s pretty good with it too, but when he’s overly tired, had a REALLY bad day, or just too interested in something else, he tends to drop his clothes and vessels wherever on his way to the bed. Sera never has a problem with this- They just get picked up later.

Who proposes? Sin~!

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bacheloette parties or separate? Both, methinks- Sin got taken out by the guys and Sera spent some time with the girls, but otherwise they had a joint party with all of Sindria.

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids? The entirety of the eight generals. XD

Big Ceremony or Small? Relatively small- They had their wedding spur of the moment (as in they decided they didn’t want to wait anymore and would do it the next day), and at dawn to boot, so it really only involved those they personally told because of the rush. The rest of the country got involved later in the day for a literally week-long reception that the couple wasn’t even really there for XD

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?  Yep! They took off to one of Sindria’s outlying islands for some time alone and to explore the villages there. …Nobody said they did much exploring, tho…

Do they have children? How many? They do~! As of now they have five children together- Shayan, Amestris,twins Badr and Esra, and Faron. Someone remind me to drabble the births of everyone but Shai plz x.x

[itsdanystormborn]

Sinbad no Bouken 147

A quick an Long rant by me ^^ I tried to be more careful but i’m still at work and doing this as a side task, so beware of the usual things ( missreads, typos, i tried to not miss any stuff this time) i will check it later and reblog it when i’m at home!

Night 147  “The secret maneuver”

Update: Revised ^^

or “The person who acts from the back/behind” 

The chapter starts with rotter and people from barbs party, they have crucified Rotter (I know, what the heck) and one of them telling him: “Then, say it! Why were you supporting the rebel faction? why where you on that place? Heavenly general Rotter!”

Then Barbs comes in and asks what the state of affairs is, Shaka acknowledges his presence and calls him “Barbarossa sama, it’s not good. He just keeps saying “ i don’t know anything”, “i don’t have any memories” information can’t be obtained at all. Even if we, sham lash, use torture, he won’t open his mouth.

Barbs says that he understands.

Zayzafon says something like, this is the same Rotter that is a heavenly general?

Then Barbs gets close to Rotter and says his name

Rotter answers: “General, please help me. I really don’t remember anything.  These days I’ve been losing consciousness, and when I notice, I’m in a unknown place and I don’t have any memories of what I was doing during that span of time”. He continues “please believe me, i swear it upon the general, this is not a lie!”

Barbs answers: “Rotter, do you have any last words?” (holy sh*t Barbs, okay you probably don’t know about Zepar). Rotter starts shaking and saying “umm” like he’s thinking but them he starts laughing and then he gets possessed (holy sh*t) and says “then, I will tell you”, “Barbarossa, this country will not be handed to you!” (Notice than he uses the word kisama which is a very rude way to say “you” and is often handled as an insult too) he continues, “don’t think it will be yours forever” or “for how long do you think it will be yours?” then he screams “LONG LIVE TO THE PARTHEVIAN EMPIRE” and then rats start coming out of his mouth (gross) and they start eating him alive, Memphis cover Barbs because, seconds later, ROTTER EXPLODES.

Rip rotter.

Zayzafon says: how stupid, he had rats inside his body.

The scene changes to the kingdom of Sindria, Barbs came to visit!

Cute Sinbad walks towards him with Ja’far following him and then he salutes Barbs: “Barbarossa dono! How are you? This island has also become pretty much like a country. If you want, after this I can give you a tour through downtown (omg Sinbad stay cute and adorable please).

Barbarossa replies: No, I’m okay. After settling the problem, I will return immediately.

Sin asks: Problem?

Barbs says: “I will speak frankly, The foundation ceremony is suspended”.  (you are breaking Sinbad’s heart!!!)

Sin says: what?!

Barbs replies: “There is a disturbing movement in Parthevia. In the meantime, it’s dangerous to go and encourage the ceremony. It is immediately suspended”.

Sinbad says: wait please! I can’t do that now.

Memphis says: how rude. WE (he clarifies this) are calling for a cancellation, don’t you understand what that means? (hey Anubis boy, don’t talk to Sinbad like that….)

Sinbad says: I understand, but… I will not cancel it. Everyone has made desperate efforts so far to make the founding ceremony a success. This ceremony is our culmination, no, To reach the world as a “country” rather than as a “company”, is the first step for the Kingdom of Sindria.

We will certainly hold the founding ceremony.

Barbs says: i understand, if you say so much, then it will be fine. But there’s one condition. About the guests that will come to the founding ceremony, suspend the invitations for the leaders of the seven seas alliance. In the end, carry it out with internal people only. If you don’t keep this condition, I can’t give you permission.

Sinbad: “I understand”. Then he calls again for him, “Barbasossa dono!, uh, did something happen? You are not acting like your normal self”

Barbs and Memphis look at him in a very disturbing way

Barbs says: …. not at all. (Holy sh*t he’s scary) it’s the opposite. Rather, in this case, I’ve seen my original objective in a new light.

Then he walks away and thinks : The people that this world needs, it’s us, the superior/dominant race.  

The scene changes to SERENDINE, sitting on a throne ( is this the anime version of game of thrones?) at her sides are the silhouettes of Saher Tamira, Falan and Judar.

Falan says: At last, we have made it this far.  That heavenly general was enough to test your strength. It was useful.

This is the starting signal of our counterattack.

And that’s it! Things are about to get real!!

Thanks for reading ^^