#call me the navy the way i have so many ships

[sga-owns-my-soul]

Pls don’t take this the wrong way i actually love multishipping but I’m genuinely wondering if there’s anyone you don’t ship?

rodney and jennifer 😂 although i think if jennifer's character was written to be an actual character instead of The Hot Trophy For Rodney i probably would've liked the ship way more, but as it is they don't even seem to like each other???? also unless it's in the context of ot4 i can't do john/teyla idk why i don't know what it is (especially since john is such a slut and so easy to ship with anyone????) but it just feels very Wrong to me idk

all that being said tho all it takes is the right headcanon or fic/idea to get me obsessed with a ship so who knows maybe one day i'll ship mckeller and john/teyla!

[neteyamyawne]

I hade an idea for Jake x fem reader x Neytiri. Reader is Lo’ak and Tuk’s mother (Lo’ak still calls her mama) and gets shot instead of Neteyam trying to save spider because she cares for him like a son(she doesn’t die but she gets close to it and is going in and out of consciousness)And you know how Neytiri and Jake reacted to Neteyam getting shot they react the same with Neytiri going on a whole rampage and after they get the gurls back they rush to the rock to get to the reader and get them help.(Lo’ak blames himself and feels guilty because he feels like his mama is the only one that understands him) The reader is in a coma for a little bit but Neytiri never leaves the readers side and Jake only leaves to take care of the kids, until the reader wakes up like kiri did from her seizure crying and Jake and Neytiri are right there to comfort her and Lo’ak and tuk are attached to the reader like a leech when she gets better.

🪷 — Toxn'ong

୭ ˚. Pairing : Jake x fem!Navi!reader x neytiri

୭ ˚. Summary : request

୭ ˚. Warning : war, gunshots, getting hit, mention of blood, blacking out, angst, coma, lo'ak being sad, crying, fluff ending, let me know if more.

୭ ˚. Word count : 2.2k , kinda proof read.

୭ ˚. Note : "word" - dialogue, **word** - flashback

୭ ˚. Extras : finally I'm done with this request, this is my first polygamy fic so please if there are any mistakes let me know, enjoy 😄

୭ ˚. Glossary : [tawtute] - human, [eywa] - Navi deity.

The battle raged around you, Dodging the bullets flying towards your ikran, trying hard to escape the firearms by swiveling around the ship, soldiers swarmed around the waters, losing the ones behind you but now even more were standing in front of your face, quickly dropping down and shooting most of them out, you hide yourself behind a metal wall, you peaked, seeing them come forward you pounce at them, hitting them right on their faces with your bow, turning around and knocking the others out as well, you walked over to the other side of the deck cautiously to see tsireya, lo'ak and tuk strapped to the railing,your heart racing, running forward you pulled out your knife but stopped as someone shot up from the side of the ship, blocking the way between the three kids to protect them from the oncoming danger but sighed in relief at the sight of neteyam walking towards you.

You cut open lo'ak's handcuffs while neteyam undid tsireya's, the waves were crashing into the ship and sprayed over the deck, drenching you all, tuk was crying when you pulled her to your chest , she should not have been here, she should be at shore at Awa'atlu , far away from all this, shushing her down and kissing her forehead to stop her from crying, when lo'ak said "mama, we have to save spider, we can't leave him here" you looked at neteyam who was a bit hesitant but agreed, spider was like your own, even if neytiri disliked him, he was like your own son, you knew who his father is, the man who's trying to kill your mates right now for eywa's sake but that didn't mean his son would be same.

You got up, ushering tuk to go with tsireya, treading your way towards the hallway of the sinking ship, halting now and then when a guard passed around in your surroundings, after a lot of crawling around you finally got to the lab or work space or whatever those demons called it, dropping down you all knocked out each and every soldier within a few minutes, grabbing spider you ran towards the moon pool but blocked lo'ak's way as few soldiers ran into you, killing them off one by one, you ran out of arrows, bending down to draw one out of the dead tawtute, but gunfire rang through the air and you immediately pulled back against door to block your view, your eyes widen when you saw lo'ak with a gun, quickly pulling it out of his hands, you settled the boys behind you, gunshots where still raining down, looking out from the corner you fired up your gun as well, taking down as many demons as you could.

You yelled at the three of them to jump down in to the pool quickly, when all three of them dived in, you looked out once again, the shoot out stopping for a moment so you took your opportunity and ran towards the pool, hitting the water surface you sank down, gasping for air but only water surrounded you, a white hot searing pain shot through your shoulder, breaking the surface the air felt like needles in your lungs as you grunted in pain, agonizingly you rasped out "I'm shot" but soon you sank down again, lo'ak's face fell when he saw your state and pulled you up neteyam helping him, it was getting hard to breathe, your vision fogging but your heard some specks of words lo'ak said "mama…..eyes open…..keep" the world moved slow and you fought to keep my eyes open, you were being moved , alot faster than you expected, you groaned before you blacked out.

Lo'ak was screaming for everyone to move as he, neteyam and Jake lowered you gently on the rock "watch her head!" Jake's heart was beating a mile per second, his thoughts were jumping to worst possible conclusions, he fell to his knees beside your body, as gently as possible he picked up your side to look at your back to see any possible exist hole, he physically sighed in relief as he found no wound but as soon as he laid you back down, you woke up from your blacked out state screaming at the burning sensation, he pushed you down as you looked up at him gasping to catch up on the depleted air level in your lungs, he cupped your cheek forcing you to take deep breaths even if it burned like hell, neteyam was putting pressure onto the wound but it was no were near sealed from bleeding.

you reached for Jake and sputtered out "ma' ja- Jake, i see you-" but he cut short "No! Everything is fine, we are going to get you out of here, just hold on honey, do not close your eyes please" and you fought your hardest but everything felt week, like you were being lulled to sleep but you held on, a screech bellows through the air as neytiri landed, her eyes widened as the sight and she immediately fell to her knees " No, NO, NO , NO NOOOO! Please great mother, nooooo" she screamed pulling your head against her chest, you coughed out, blood spilling from your mouth, she put your head down as Jake helped to wipe the blood, your head rolled back eyes falling close, it was getting harder to stay awake, so you finally looked at neytiri, squeezing her hand you gasped out "tiri, i see you, Jake i-" but exhaustion took its toll, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you went slump in their arms, neytiri's cries turned to sobs , wrecking her body as she pulled you close, lo'ak stayed near his mother tears streaming down his face, neteyam sobbed for his mom as well , Jake looked around, gears kicking in, he placed a hand on neytiri's shoulder pulling her back, as she just looked at him with sunken eyes, whimpers escaping in agonizing cries, but he grounded her "neytiri, strong heart! Strong heart!" patting her chest , she looked one last time at you and got up aiming for her ikran, Jake saw as she flew up, face stone cold as her heart right now. He prayed for the men she killed to go to hell. Lo'ak got up too behind Jake as he tried to convince him to let him fight as well but he was stopped "you've done enough" with that, Jake walked away to rescue his girls that were stuck with that monster……

»»————-　✼　————-««

(Time skip cuz i don't remember the whole sequene😭)

»»————-　✼　————-««

Neytiri sat with your head in her lap, wiping your face with a wet rag slowly, Ronal sat in a corner working on her pastes and salves while keeping an eye on you, tsireya had called for help and you were immediately taken back to the healers mauri, when you're family came back, Jake quickly called for norm, the humans checked your body and vitals were low but still there ,so all of them got to work straight away, Ronal had to shoo them away as she worked on you, the bullet was extracted and the wound was stitched and bandaged but there was still no sign of you waking up, even after hours of waiting, no inkling of a move from you.

When Ronal was done with her rituals, norm scanned and took some readings for Jake's peace of mind, but when he saw the results he feared the reaction he would get when the news unfolds. Jake and neytiri were stunned with the outcome, her face crumbling but she held back. Due to the shock and extensive exhaustion your body went into lockdown, easily said you were in coma, with no way of knowing when you'll wake up.

The whole family was lament over your state but the ones most hit were lo'ak , tuk and neytiri, the three of them never left your side, lo'ak blamed himself for even requesting to save spider, if he wouldn't have said that then this would not have happened, he silently cried by your side at nights, Begging for you to wake up. Tuk was confused at why her mama wouldn't wake up even when she cried for you, neytiri was holding back tears almost every time she saw them by you, Jake was in a whole another state, his mind a total chaos, he sat by your side every minute he got the chance too but his work came in between, then too he tried, he was never a religious person but he prayed to eywa every single minute for you to wake up, to get up and embrace him , pull him close and tell him that everything was alright and you were fine but that didn't happen…yet.

After three days and three nights ,of both the metkayina family and your family who were taking rigorous care of you, sagged in relief when you finally opened your eyes, neytiri who never left your side instantly held you closer, but moments of the war flooded your mind as you choked back on your tears, your mate immediately pulled you in as you cried in her neck, every horrible death, the lives you took in matter of seconds, all came back in a huge wave, you crumbled in her arms as your whole body violently shook with sobs, two more pair of arms of your children wrapped around you as you cried, Jake , kiri and neteyam followed suit hugging you. All of you sat there in the middle of your mauri, huddled together, no one spoke a word, just comforted in the fact that you had woken up, and everything was going to be fine, everything was going to be okay.

»»————-　✼　————-««

Neytiri, even after you woke up, didn't leave your side while lo'ak and tuk didn't even get up from you body, lo'ak was at your right side hugging you close to him, he had told you everything what he felt.

** "I'm sorry mama, i shouldn't have asked to go save him, I'm really sorry, i didn't mean-" but you cut him off by pulling him close to you, rubbing his back you whispered "it's okay baby, it was not your fault, spider is our family too, and it was our job to save him, you do not have to apologize for this, it was my decision, sweetheart, to come with you, and if it wasn't for me , you or neteyam would have gotten hurt, i wouldn't want my babies to be hurt, would i?" You said laughing but he just cried harder in your neck. Kissing his forehead you pulled both of your kids tightly against you, they were your world and even the thought of them getting hurt made cold shivers run down your spine, your family was safe and that's all you needed even if it meant you had to go through all this you would without hesitation.**

Neytiri made you warm broth, blowing on to the hot liquid she brought the spoon to your lips for you to drink. Why was she feeding you? Obviously lo'ak and tuk haven't left your side plus to add to it, now Jake, kiri and neteyam were attached to you as well, the only time neytiri wasn't beside you was when she got up to make something for you to eat.

Lo'ak made it his life mission to help you with each and every task, even when neteyam and Jake tried to have some time with you, lo'ak was always in between. He was not gonna let his mama get hurt again and this time he will keep his promise at all cost even when you made it clear you can eat your lunch with your own two hands. At night neytiri and Jake fought with their kids on who will sleep besides you, tuk always won while everyone got one chance every night. Jake got a lot more protective but his two sons surpassed him in that as well, neteyam and lo'ak were becoming your two personal bodyguards.

Life was becoming normal again, your family was granted access to stay with the metkayina, you sat near the shore with your mates as you watched tuk search for pretty shells, your other children were swimming with the Olo'eyktan's kids, you sighed placing your head on Jake's shoulder and intertwined you fingers with neytiri, she scooted closer to you and kissed your forehead, you smiled at her touch, turning your head to look at her, her smile melted your heart even now, after years of being together your love for her never faltered, Jake just pulled you both closer, him just happy his life was finally at peace, both his mates happy and contented, all three of them sat on the shore, full to the brim with love for eachother, overlooking their children as the sun casted beautiful shades of pinks, oranges and reds throughout the sky.

A/n : i love Jake and neytiri with my life 🥹 they are my babies, if you wanna be tagged in my fics comment on my pinned post on my blog💚✨

Yawne : @fanboyluvr, @callmeoncette, @lu-the-ghost-reader, @brisbriskett, @saltedcoffeescotch, @ducks118, @itscheybaby, @jackiehollanderr, @zoetrope1997, @yeosxxx, @persefolli, @im-in-a-pansexual-panik.

©Neteyamyawne2023 | All Rights Reserved. Do not repost on other platforms, copy, steal, or translate any of my works!

[blue-aconite]

homecoming || j.h.s

Summary: This time, he had someone waiting for him. This time, he was coming home to someone. 

Warnings: fluff, jake being emotional and soft (yes that is a warning), no use of y/n

Word Count: 1.6k

Pairings: Jake Seresin x f!reader

Authors Note: Thanks to @a-reader-and-a-writer & @demxters for looking this over for me. mwah 😘

Long deployments had never bothered Jake. He had nothing at home waiting for him, so it didn’t matter that he was away for months at a time. Or at least that was what he tried to tell himself. 

For years, he had tried his best to believe that, since it meant that it hurt less seeing all the families reuniting when they docked. It meant he felt less lonely when his colleagues went home and he went back to the housing unit offered by the Navy. It meant he could fool himself that he didn’t need anyone. 

He was wrong. Jake knew he was just as human as anyone else but it hurt to admit because he didn’t have anyone. 

While Javy and his family always extended an invitation to join them, Jake felt bad intruding on their private time, no matter how many times Javy assured him it was no problem. Yet he had always declined. 

But this time it was different. Jake felt almost giddy, bouncing on his feet as he waited for his turn to leave the ship. 

This time, he had someone waiting for him. This time, he was coming home to someone. 

“Excited to see your girl?” Javy clapped him on the shoulder as they waited in line. 

Excited was an understatement. For the first time in years, he had someone waiting for him. Someone who had missed him. Someone who loved him. 

Jake smiled, thinking about Skip. “Hell yeah. I can’t wait.” 

Javy smiled as well, infected by the good mood his friend was sporting. “I’m happy for you. Are we still on for Friday?” 

Charlotte, Javy’s longtime girlfriend had wanted them to get together before their leave started. They were set to have a four-week leave, so she and Javy were planning to visit his family in New Orleans. 

“Yeah. Skip said she took the rest of the week off so we can meet you guys whenever.” Jake wanted nothing more than to just stay at home with Skip but Charlotte insisted on dinner before she and Javy left. 

Somewhere ahead it was announced that they could finally get moving. Jake wasted no time in slinging his bag over his shoulder and making his way towards the exit, Javy on his heels. 

The heat hit him as he headed down the walkway, the California sun beating down on them. Javy made a beeline for Charlotte the moment he saw her, telling Jake to call him later. There were bodies all around him as Jake swept the crowd for his girlfriend. It wasn’t easy in the sea of people and for a moment he worried. 

What if she wasn’t here? What if, during his time away, she had found someone better? Maybe she had gotten tired of waiting for him to come home? 

As his mind spiralled, Jake barely heard his name being called. His hand tightened around the strap of the bag as he tried to navigate away from all the people. He felt trapped and he pushed his way past a couple embracing, trying the leave the crowd. 

“Jake!” 

He looked up when he heard his name, heart pounding in his chest. Skip was standing away from the mass of people, a bouquet in her hand. Jake dropped his bag as she barrelled towards him, catching her as she threw her arms around him. 

Jake felt all the tension leave his body the moment she was back in his arms. He breathed her in, arms tightening around her. 

“I missed you so much,” Skip mumbled against his skin as she sniffled into his neck. 

“I missed you more, baby. Are you crying?” The thought that she was crying because he missed him was surreal. Jake never thought someone would. 

“No, I'm not crying. This is just my body getting rid of all the excess water.” She leaned back, smiling. 

He couldn’t help but laugh as he picked her up and spun her around. He cupped her face after putting her down, kissing her gently. More tears wet his cheeks and he leaned back, worry etched across his face. 

“Is this happy excess water or sad?” He joked, wiping away her tears. 

Skip laughed. “They’re happy, I promise. Oh, before I forget, these are for you.” She held out the flowers for him to take. 

Jake felt touched by the simple gesture. Nobody had ever given him flowers before and that fact that Skip had brought tears to his eyes. He cleared his throat to get rid of the emotions threatening to wash over him. 

“Thank you, darlin’. I’ve never gotten flowers before.” Jake tried to sound indifferent, like it wasn’t a big deal but Skip saw right through him. 

“That’s stupid. You deserve all the flowers, baby.” It warmed his heart and he pulled her in for another kiss, unable to say what he was feeling. Skip smiled against his lips, wrapping her arms around his waist. She always understood him, even when Jake barely knew what he needed.  

“Do you want to go home or wanna get something to eat first?” She asked when they broke apart. 

Jake wanted nothing more than to just go home and cuddle Skip on the couch. “Home, please.”

Skip refused to let him drive, pushing him towards the passenger door. 

Stepping through the door into their shared home brought a fuzzy warm feeling to his chest, feeling like he was finally home. 

“Okay, so how about you take a shower and I’ll order some food? We can watch a movie and just cuddle on the couch.” Skip rummaged through the kitchen drawer, probably looking for a takeout menu. 

“You’re too good for me,” Jake mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her, lips finding the back of her head. 

Skip turned in his embrace, a somewhat sad expression on her face. “No. You deserve good things. All I’m doing is exactly everything you deserve,” she paused, hands finding his shoulders, “now, go shower. You smell like a boat and fuel.” 

Knowing she meant business, Jake kissed her once before trudging up the stairs. Her words replayed in his head, over and over. His heart felt full from all the affection. 

The sight that greeted him when he came back downstairs filled his heart even more. Skip had pulled all the blinds down, lighting a lot of candles that were scattered around the room. Chinese takeout was on the coffee table and Skip had pulled out what looked like every blanket and spare pillow they owned onto the couch. 

They ate straight out of the cartons, legs tangled together. Jake thrived on the physical affection as Skip rubbed a foot up and down his calf. Even something so simple told him how much he had missed it for a larger part of his life. 

They barely paid any attention to the movie, content to just be in each other's company again. 

As the end credits rolled down the screen, Skip was snoring quietly, her head pillowed on his chest. Jake took a moment to just take everything in, how it felt to finally be home again. As Skip shifted in his arms, burrowing closer, Jake decided there was nothing better. 

He didn’t want to wake his girl but he also knew what a night on the couch would do to his back. So he only felt a little guilty as he gently shook her. “Baby? We should go to bed.” He whispered, stroking her hair gently.

“No.” Skip mumbled, face hidden in his chest.

Jake chuckled. “But the bed is so much more comfortable than the couch.”

Skip shook her head, inching closer to him. “No.”

Deciding that he could face her wrath in the morning, Jake untangled himself from Skip, ignoring her squeak of protest, stretching his arms above his head before bending down and picking her up. “Let’s go to bed honey. You’ll sleep better there.”

Despite the short walk to the bedroom, Skip fell asleep again. Jake gently pulled the covers over her before going back to the living room to put out all the candles and turn the TV off. When he got back to the bedroom, Jake turned off the lights before crawling under the covers. He was about to reach for Skip when he got hit with the overwhelming feeling that he needed to be in her arms.

As if Skip could read his mind, she reached for him under the covers, pulling on his hand to tug him closer. “C’mere.”

Jake let himself be manhandled until he was resting his head on her chest, Skip’s hand in his hair, scratching his scalp gently. He pressed his nose to her pulse point, breathing her in. It felt very intimate and Jake felt himself relax fully as she continued her mistrations. 

“Thank you.” He whispered softly, eyes falling shut as he melted into her embrace, enjoying the way her skin felt against his. 

Jake took a shaky breath, trying to contain the emotions simmering underneath the surface. For the first time in 10 months, since he left Skip standing on the dock waving goodbye, Jake felt at peace. 

Skip pressed her lips to his forehead, humming softly. “I’m glad you’re home safe.”

Jake couldn’t find the right words, so he simply grabbed her free hand and intertwined their fingers, trying to convey his feelings through physical touch. As always, she understood exactly what he meant, chuckling softly. 

“I love you.” He whispered against her skin and felt his heart flutter when she echoed his sentiment. 

As they laid there, Jake thought about how he finally got the homecoming he always wished for.

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[bananabeebenson]

Romcom kind of idea: Helmeppo and Garp takes Koby drinking to relax since next day they have to start training some new recruits. At the bar Koby see a pretty lady and get pushed by the other two older marines for him to go talk to her. After talking, drinking and maybe even a little make out session with the lady, Koby goes home all relaxed and happy. Next day, still with a little hangover, Koby goes to talk with the new recruits just to spot who in the crowd? Cute lady!!!! And she looks just as surprised as him. What now?

Pairing: Koby x Reader

Warnings: None (SFW/Fluff and some awkward Koby)

Word Count: 1,940

Fic is under the cut

Requests are open

Koby should have known this was going to be a mistake.

Garp, the famous Hero of the Navy, had pulled only a handful of strings in pulling his two apprentices away from Marineford to an island only half an hour’s travel away, where a ‘perfect bar was calling them’. Koby had been trying to ignore their insistence that he join them. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have enjoyed the idea of a couple of drinks possibly in the house, or Garp’s own tab, it was that the next day they would find themselves training their first new wave of Recruits. Koby and Helmeppo had struggled to get as far as they had come, fighting through tribulations and their own self-inflicted doubts to get to the point they were. Not to mention the thin ice they sometimes found themselves on due to their light association with Luffy D. Monkey. Not that they would complain. Garp’s name would usually be enough to back off most who threw doubts their way, or their own accomplishments they’ve managed in most locations. This had put them in good enough graces to finally take on a small group of new recruits to be trained. It wouldn’t be permanent, like Garp with them, but more so a temporary thing to last only a few months before they would be split apart and shipped off to different areas. Some would remain in Marineford, but not many.

“Come on.” Helmeppo spoke, tilting his head to the side just as the boat rocked to the right a little too hard. It wasn’t a Navy ship like they were used to, more so a simple Ferry built to withstand the waves of the Grand Line. It wasn’t something built to go for several days or harbor hundreds, thus it rocked in uneven motions, tossing the people who weren’t prepared for it back and forth. Compared to others, they were holding on just fine, with Koby’s hands gripping the side of the boat. He still couldn’t believe they had managed to convince him to come along. Maybe he was more stressed than he had realized over the situation.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” It wasn’t bitter, but he was pouting in a strangely young way, something to remind Helmeppo just how young the two of them were compared to others out here. He huffed.

“Don’t look so guilty and miserable about it. You’re acting like we kidnapped you at gunpoint or something.”

“You both threatened to, and I quote, carry me out here anyways. I don’t think I had much of a choice.” His smile was weary, small on his face. His goggles fell suddenly from a sharp rock and he steadied them back to the top of his head.

“Well, you needed to get out.” Helmeppo said. He nodded, agreeing with himself and propped up against the railing. Koby knew when he was fighting a losing argument, so he resigned himself to simply enjoy the quiet he would have before arriving.

The bar was definitely crowded with young, new faces that Koby had never seen before. Some older Marines, people he had seen around Marineford, were also there and nursing harder drinks in their reclusive corners. Garp and Helmeppo wouldn’t leave Koby alone, much to his own simmering annoyance. It wasn’t that he wasn’t unthankful nor wished for a lonely presence, but he did wish for some quieter drinking company. His own drink was fruity and light, something he could enjoy at least while he watched everyone around him continue to grow louder and louder. 

Then, he spotted you.

It was a creeping feeling. A sudden realization that he had been staring at you as you laughed at something another person said, your own drink also being softly nursed with small sips. He didn’t even notice his staring or how he was acknowledging how you snorted into your hand when you laughed a little too hard until Helmeppo had noticed he was zoned out and no longer listening. Bending over his shoulder he looked over and grinned something broad and dangerous.

“Oh, spot you someone?” Koby jerked into a stiff seated position and quickly looked away from you, red burning across his cheeks. Garp’s attention was immediately dragged over when he tried to stutter an excuse, one that had Helmeppo smirking.

“What’s wrong? Got tongue-tied or something from a beautiful lady?” Garp slapped a hard hand onto Koby’s shoulder and his weaker drink was spilled, the shattering of the glass covered by the loud atmosphere of the crowd around. “I thought you learned how to talk to someone like that from me already. Or did you?” Garp shook his head and delivered another harsh slap, knocking him from the seat.

“Go talk to her.” Helmeppo said. “She doesn’t look like she’s here with anyone.”

Koby choked on a response to them and found himself urged away, shooed off with waves and hollering that followed his ever growing reddening ears. You were still where you were though, as they had said, you were alone. Whoever you had been talking to had moved on, perhaps to another face, and you were still nursing your own drink, twisting the straw that stuck out of it. You were dressed formally. No, not formally, but better than he was in his casual clothing that had been thrown to the back of his closet, almost forgotten about until this time. He felt underdressed compared to you and it made him hesitate even further. But the shame of what Garp and Helmeppo would do if he returned without at least attempting to speak to you far out-weighed any nerves of his attire, so he swallowed nerves down deep and approached you with the first thing he could say.

“I like the color of your shoes.”

He was doomed.

You blinked up at him in confusion, poised for a sip you would abandon in return for eyeing the man before you. Koby remained unmoving, hands sweating and flexing in his pockets as he tried to maintain some calm atmosphere about him. 

Then you laughed.

“Well, I’m glad I suppose. I like them too.” You looked him over once, twice, then shifted on the seating you had been perched on. A bench, definitely meant for outside, had been pulled in. “Did you come over here to speak only about my shoes or….”

He definitely did not.

“I-I came over to talk to a pretty lady like you.” Garp would have been proud of his word choice, but the ever flustered Koby was slowly curling in on himself, turning away to hide his embarrassment. You found it charming. Cute, in a way, and masked your giggle around the rim of your cup.

“Well, aren’t you a charmer?” You asked. The teasing tone did urge him to look at you and you were so nice when you spoke. Up close like this he got to smell the perfume you had on, something sweet to lure him in a bit closer, which helped to ease up his nerves. “You look a little uncomfortable though. You sure that’s why you’re over here?”

Busted.

“I-It isn’t that I don’t want to talk to you. My friends just, ah, they saw me looking at you and just, well.” He choked and you fought your grin until he found his words. “They…wanted me to try talking to you.”

“I’m glad.” He blinked, looked you over once, then blinked again. “No, really. I promise, my friends dragged me out here too for some celebration I’m not even a part of. Or, well, I don’t want to be a part of.” You spared a glance to a gathered group of young, fresh faces to the far side and he followed it. They were drinking heavily, a few encouraging the others as fresh shots of something strong and smelly passed around. You lightly cringed around your own fruity drink, something Koby would have liked. 

“You were dragged out too?” He relaxed a bit more then, finding you in a similar situation. “Well…guess we have no choice but to keep each other company then, right?”

Keeping each other company turned into a few drinks. A few drinks turned into a couple shots, bought by the beaming Garp who raised his own glass. And a few laughs and stories shared between the two of you turned into shoulders brushing. Then it turned into him helping you to a corner where there was less light to try and fix your shoe, which had broken when you stood to get a drink.

Then it turned into a drunken spur of the moment kiss that evolved into more than one.

Maybe he should have paid attention to the facts you spoke, but he hadn’t drank in a long time and it was definitely potent when it settled. These kisses you shared were sweet and warm. A breath of fresh air to the cold reprise of Marinfore, and he was sighing into them whenever you both broke apart. He was respectful of any boundaries you had and you were respectful that he was still intoxicated, so your touches were restrained. Held back to simply brushes of fingers on fingers, or fingertips touching at the shoulders or bottom of the kneecap. The kisses continued on, the sounds of the background falling apart, it all became too much and when you finally pulled back, head lightly spinning, a hand clasped onto Koby’s shoulder.

 Garp.

“It’s getting late.” He stated, a gruff voice rough from his drinks and a couple of smoke breaks he had taken with others in the Marines. Koby blinked up at him in confusion before you seemed to put the pieces together. Garp was charming with his smile, but he was also aware of how late it had actually gotten. Koby seemed to want to disagree, but your hand on his wrist distracted him briefly as you agreed.

“You should head back. I have a few things to take care of tomorrow too.” You looked down at your person and frowned. “I…don’t have a way to communicate, but I could meet you back here tomorrow night? If that’s okay?”

That was more than okay in his eyes.

Then, nothing. He was on the rocking boat, listening to Helmeppo tease him about the “loving eyes” he had been shooting you, all blitzed out of his mind from his drinks, but he didn’t care. Garp didn’t speak much on anything, enjoying the cooler evening air and soft sounds of the Ocean. Then he was in bed, curled into his pillow and still remembering your perfume, the taste of your sweet drink on your lips, and how soft your hand was on his.

He slept with a smile on his face.

That smile would be abruptly taken the next morning, when he was dressed in uniform and standing at the end of a long lineup of people, all dressed in similar uniforms. They all looked similar. Young, fresh, and new to the Marines. Similar to how he had been long ago when he had first joined, except there was an issue. Standing in exactly row five, three to the left stood a familiar, equally shocked face.

You. There stood you, with your eyes wide and mouth partially open at the realization of what had happened the previous night. Helmeppo, thankfully, hadn’t recognized you or he would have never heard the end of it. Garp wasn’t there, busy with something else that these two were to handle.

‘Well.’ He thought, looking away with his ears a vibrant pink once again. ‘At least I won’t have to meet you there tonight.’

[cursedvida]

SAD EYES, BROKEN SMILE V (Buggy x f!Reader)

PART IV // PART VI

WARNINGS: Smut, Minors DNI please go away. I mean masturbation, dirty talk, vaginal fingering and a lot of +18 things babies.

N/A: From now to the end the series are starting to be very hot, sorry not sorry. But yeah porn with feelings.

The confrontation with the marines was not complicated, it was just a ship without a very powerful captain, so it was quite easy to finish them off. As everyone witnessed -part- of your skills, you decided not to hold back in a battle anymore. You didn't show your full potential either, just enough to get rid of a few cadets while leaving Buggy free to show off in front of the whole crew.

At the end of the battle, Buggy decides to celebrate the victory using the barrels you stole from the navy ship. Another party of many on Buggy's pirate ship, it almost seems like a habit to end up all drunk on beer and rum. You must admit you've never drunk so often before.

While the musicians begin to play a song and you hear the laughter of some of your crewmates, you feel that someone is watching you. Buggy has his eyes on you, those eyes that you like so much and that you have imagined looking at you that way a thousand times. You feel the lust and desire in them, which excites and overwhelms you in equal parts. Buggy pretends to listen to his subordinates while still paying attention to you, he takes a sip from his beer mug without taking his eyes off you. You watch him from the corner of your eye, not taking your mind off what has happened this morning: the wet taste of his mouth, his hands roaming your body, his fingers in places no other man has touched. You swallow saliva, you want him as much as he wants you, you feel a tightness in your chest too great, you feel like something inside you is going to explode.

You need some air, so you decide to withdraw for a moment, get away from the people. You go down to the cellars so you can breathe for a moment. You think that you are being unconscious, that you are getting too carried away. Who is this person non capable of thinking clearly? Since when do you let yourself be carried away by absurd desires and give up a mission on a whim? That's not you, you don't recognize yourself. You've never had time for that kind of nonsense, why is it different now? Why with him?

"Do you like to meet in this place?"

You recognize that voice instantly. As you look up there is Buggy, your captain, standing in front of you with his eyes bright from the contrast they make with the dim light in the room. You keep wondering what his face must look like without so much makeup, what his lips must taste like without the aftertaste of face paint. You lose your senses again and all the questions and reproaches you asked yourself earlier disappear.

"I thought you wouldn't remember" you say in a whisper "you were really drunk that night."

Buggy approaches you slowly, never taking his eyes off you. When he's at your level he lifts your chin gently with his fingers.

"Not that much" he admits, cocking a smile.

Your heart starts pounding at the thought of him maybe kissing you at a moment's notice. At times like this you wish your life had been otherwise, more normal, less violent. Then you could have had an ordinary adolescence, met some boys, had some experiences. So, at least now you wouldn't feel so ridiculous for not knowing how to react when a man calls out to you.

You look away, somewhat self-consciously.

"You fought very well today…" You comment shyly, radically changing the subject.

"I admit I went too far" he forces your chin to look back at him "but it's just that those suckers interrupted me at a very important moment, and I really can't stand that."

A nervous giggle escapes you. God, what a fool you are. You feel ashamed of yourself.

"Buggy, I…" You move closer to him, melting into an embrace. His smell makes you feel good, in a safe place.

The captain doesn't know how to react, after your hot encounter this morning he thought you were going to go on the lust attack without too much thought, but that embrace so warm, so intimate, has caught him totally off guard. Today he watched you fight, he watched with pleasure as you knocked out those navy pigs without ruffling your hair, it made him even hornier than he already was. But when you hug him like that, like someone holding on to an iron beam so as not to lose his balance, he realizes that maybe you were right and he was really underestimating your feelings. That maybe not a purely sexual attraction.

"I don't know what's wrong with you" you confess, hiding your face in his chest so you don't have to look him in the face "But you make me feel so silly."

"Well, that happens to a lot of people when they discover my incredible wit" he boasts, trying to take the intensity out of the situation.

"It's not because of that" you reply softly "it's just… I really like you a lot. I'm not playing games."

And he realizes then how vulnerable you are being in his arms. Your honesty about emotions is something that always catches him off guard but at the same time touches him. How can you be so insanely honest? Fuck, it feels like you're playing at leaving him unarmed.

"I want you so badly," you tell him in a whisper, and it unleashes all his most primal instincts.

Buggy lets out a sort of wild animal-like growl. You then notice how he lifts you into the air, sitting on one of the barrels in the hold. You are now almost at the same height. He looks you in the eyes again, his nose brushing yours.

"You're a dangerous little girl" he strokes your hair with an open hand and a certain paternal air "very dangerous."

At that moment you give him a gentle kiss on his nose. It's something you've wanted to do for a long time because, contrary to what he thinks, you don't find it horrible, but appetizing in a way. You don't know how he's going to react to such an action, but when his gaze changes, turning wild, you know you've pressed a button from which there's no turning back.

The next thing you know, Buggy has taken hold of your neck, kissing it, biting it, leaving a trail of red paint on your smooth skin. You've triggered his wild side, his hands are no longer as soft and slow as they were this morning, now they don't hesitate to strip off your shirt, leaving you in your bra. His mouth runs down your collarbones, down your chest and finally you notice how his tongue begins to slurp the top of your breasts. On the other hand, his hands run along your waist, down to your buttocks to remove the shorts you are wearing. Before you know it you are almost naked in front of him, noticing how your cheeks suddenly turn red.

You grab his hair, pulling off his hat and then his bandana to realize that his hair is actually longer than you imagined. Strands of blue hair falling over his face. You notice your cheeks red again, for some reason you find him more handsome than ever.

"Buggy, I've never…" you're embarrassed to even say it, seeing him so thrown. He looks at you, his pupils dilated with excitement "I've never… been like this with anyone."

The idea of being the first one able to go that far with you doesn't seem to disgust him, quite the opposite. There is a smirk on his face, he feels so full of himself. He knows that you are giving him a privilege that you have not wanted to bestow on anyone else, only him, which swells his pride considerably.

"Then I'll have to make sure you have a great time," he replies to you, mischief in his gaze.

He spreads your legs then and bends down slightly, removing your panties to expose the most intimate part of you. You notice your cheeks light up just before you feel your whole face burning. Buggy is kneeling, staring at your crotch with an almost famished expression.

"Don't do that, I'm embarrassed."

He lets out a laugh just before he approaches your wetness. That's when you gasp at the contact of his tongue with your intimacy. Buggy starts to move his tongue expertly, trying to find your clit, while you do your best not to lose your balance. One of your hands goes to his hair, while the other tries to hold on to the barrel. You feel totally vulnerable, exposed to this man who has decided to make of you whatever he wants because you let him. His tongue running along your pussy, finding that sensitive area that makes you let out a huge moan of pleasure.

"Mmm, there it is" he relishes, looking at you for a moment.

You watch him, panting, spread-eagled in an absolutely obscene position that, at the same time, excites you enormously. You love being at his mercy, moaning every time his tongue caresses your clitoris, sucking expertly as you let out sighs and sounds you never thought could come out of your mouth.

"Fuck little girl, it's fucking wonderful when you growl like that" he comments just before he starts eating you again.

You notice how he has pulled his hands away from your body. As he continues to lick your pussy, he removes his gloves in midair. His hands go to your back, unclasping your bra. You are now totally naked before him. Your breasts glisten in the light of the room, your nipples are erect and Buggy's hands begin to caress them, pinching them as his tongue works faster and faster.

You let out a cry of pleasure, you can't repress it, there are too many sensations at once.

Buggy makes one of his hands reconnect with your arm, pulls his face away and starts stroking you with one of his fingers. As he jerks you off, he sits up slightly, moving closer to you. His makeup is smudged. He gets close to your ear as he inserts one of his fingers into your vagina.

"You have no fucking idea how you have me right now" he comments, as you hold your breath as you feel him insert himself into your cavity "Fuck, gorgeous, you're so tight. I think we're going to have to do some work on this."

You hold onto his neck so you don't lose your balance as you feel his finger advance inside you. Buggy grabs your wrist, pulling your hand to his crotch. You can feel the huge bulge, hard and throbbing, noticeable under his pants.

"See?" he asks, staring at you before kissing you. His mouth is salty, tasting of your own fluids, something that manages to turn you on even more "That's how you got me. That's how you get me my little minx."

"Buggy…" you moan. Slipping your hand under his pants to touch his erect member. You've never done anything like this before, but instinctively you begin to move your hand, guided by the expressions of pleasure he puts on "Like this?"

"Perfect. Mmmm... good girl" he growls, sinking his head into your neck.

He pulls his finger out from inside you and starts stroking your clit while you do the same with his member. You both start moaning at the same time, Buggy looks at you then, notices your half-open mouth, your burning cheeks, your watering eyes. He revels in that virgin face discovering sex while you try your best to give him back all the pleasure he's giving you.

"You're a insane craziness" he whispers to you without taking his eyes off you "you're going to fuck my life".

You are not able to answer him anything, you notice that you are close to orgasm, each time the waves of pleasure are bigger and bigger.

"Buggy, I think… I think…"

"Hold on a little, baby girl. I'm almost there."

You try to hold back, biting your lower lip trying to stifle your moans. You wiggle his cock quickly, noticing how he gasps slightly. He wiggles his finger more as well. You both start moaning at the same time.

"I'm going to fucking cum" he gasps.

"Me too" you moan, almost unable to hold it in.

"Fuck!"

At that moment you notice how pleasure invades your whole body, rising from your lower belly to all your extremities. Your legs even tremble, you can't modulate your moans, you start to scream disconsolately as your body fills with spasms. You feel your vision blur for a few moments and, when you want to realize it, you are half dead on one of his arms while the hand holding his cock is completely stained. He has also cum and his face is resting on your tits, breathing heavily. You feel your heart racing.

"Fuck me" he sighs, looking up.

For some reason you see him looking more handsome than ever, more attractive than any other time. At that moment, if he asked you for anything, you'd go to hell itself. He gently pulls you up. With the hand that was holding you so you wouldn't fall, he pushes your hair away from your face. He smiles then, looking quite pleased.

"You're definitely going to ruin me."

And then he lets out a tremendous laugh.

[19burstraat]

when existence or when hope is gone : soc jane austen / regency au

"And have you made this entire call without once vexing or offending poor Miss Ghafa?” Captain Rietveld looked coolly at him. Inej bent her head over her sewing to hide her smiling, since she was not sure she would not laugh outright. She had not thought that Wylan would deliberately provoke the Captain, but perhaps his deference to his father did not reach anyone else. “I am sure that is not for me to decide,” said the Captain, “But I own I have been perfectly well behaved.” “Does he lie, Miss Ghafa?” “No— he has been quite tolerable company,” said Inej. “If not quite a perfect gentleman.” “You wound me, Miss Ghafa.” “I suspect I do not, Captain.”

contextual and explanatory notes about regency literary and social conventions are below the cut if you have questions during/after reading! plus some trivia for fun :)

The redacting of certain place names (—shire, — Street) is accurate to lots of old novels, where you will see it from time to time. I think it was a deliberate omission to avoid libel accusations if they accidentally invoked somewhere or someone real, or to also avoid confusing people if it contradicted real life. I used it here both to mimic the style, and also because that way didn't have to pick streets or regions lol.

The 'cut direct' was a social nuke and Kaz has balls of steel for using it on an older man who is his social superior 💀 if you very deliberately stared at and then blanked a previous acquaintance who had greeted you, it severed a relationship or acquaintance forever and could also make people turn on the person being cut. Pekka could have challenged him to a duel for it, but sensibly I think he saw the lapse in logic in giving a pistol to a soldier who holds you responsible for his brother's death and letting him shoot at you

A reticule is one of those dumb tiny handbags that regency ladies had

Governesses were in a uniquely vulnerable position. Not genteel enough for the family while not technically a servant, they tended to be isolated. While they were ofc not comparable to what Inej canonically goes through, many were abused by the families they worked for, rivalled the mothers for their children's affection, and some were harassed and abused by husbands or male visitors. There's a reason Jane Fairfax does not want to be one in Emma.

The navy lists are a publication that, unsurprisingly, list all the men, their ranks, and their ships currently trundling around on campaign. Kaz checks them to see who is still alive and to backseat drive campaigns (what's new!) and Wylan waits on tenterhooks for him to find Jesper. Which he always does because he was already looking for him.

Married couples did not tend to call one another by their given names, at least not in company; Nina and Matthias do it because they have a fond disrespect for one another. Or Nina does anyway and it's rubbed off on Matthias.

Although Kaz and Inej are comparatively very young, twenty six is pushing it for the 'marriageability' of young women; Anne Elliot was twenty seven and was considered to have lost the 'bloom' of her youth, so she is being bourne down upon a bit.

The money concerns in Persuasion— landed gentry losing money and soldiers becoming 'new' money in the war via prize money, but still being looked down upon by the old nobility— are kinda reflected through Kaz and Jesper.

(to be so honest I do not quite understand how the regency economy worked but I figured that like, no one else reading this does either, unless ur a regency specialist. if you are, sorry. how's academia?)

I think we're actually not quite yet at the peak of the 'scandal sheet' Bridgerton-Lady-Whistledown craze, but I couldn't possibly deprive Kaz and Inej of their fishmarket wife gossip habit in any universe.

I also hate Lord Byron. Next!

Nina, Matthias, and Inej are not at the Wesper wedding because regency weddings were super tiny affairs that only had v close / local family and friends at them

I think the circumstances of Kaz and Jordie having been minor landed gentry having to join the navy out of necessity may be a bit of a stretch but... Well I had to think of something to replicate Kaz's backstory with. The easier solution would have been for them to marry rich but I can see Jordie thinking that trying to marry Kaz 'Cut Direct' Rietveld off to a Duchess might be a bit tough

A trousseau was the collection of clothes that women bought before they were married; it was an expected thing, to send brides off with new clothes. Nina and Mrs Ghafa (and Jesper) are a lot more interested in this than poor Inej is lol.

The made up house names are entirely inside jokes with myself. Geldings references horses but is actually a play on the Geldstraat, Crawley means 'clearing frequented by crows', Stavewell is a play on the Stave where Tante Heleen and the Menagerie are, and I think Trasselwood is fairly obvious lol.

[imagopirateversion]

It’s a Pirate Life for Me!

Why I am an adult who still believes in the pirate philosophy and is not willing to change.

An essay by: a person who really hopes future employers will never find this, but will still put their name at the end of it.

Painting credits: Pirate Boarding, Andrey Serebryakov

Can One Still Call Themselves A Pirate in the Twenty-First Century?

There are two answers to that question, and both of them are "yes".

Pirates do actually exist today: there were around 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023 and around 115 in 2022 (source x). So yes, one can define themselves a pirate in the twenty-first century in a very literal sense; which is not what I'm trying to do here, of course.

While the world has changed and piracy has (almost) ceased to exist, thanks to stories, legends and media, the idea of piracy has become completely detached from the practice. This has led to a concept of "piracy" that has very little to do with sailing, stealing, and killing, and a lot more to do with what most things become over time: philosophy.

What no longer exists in practice in our era (and sometimes what never existed at all) has become a way of living: think about cowboys, goths, hippies, punks and so on. All these things are much more than aesthetics: each one has its own vision, its own practices, its own style, its own way of living; in other words, its own philosophy.

This text is about pirate philosophy and its origins.

First Things First: Why Did People Become Pirates?

Piracy did not appear out of nowhere in 1600; it's ancient and we have proofs of it existing as a practice since ancient Egypt (read more here). We automatically think of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when we talk about piracy because that period is known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Precisely between 1650 and 1730, there were thousands of active pirates, some of them infamously notorious, as Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, Bartholomew Roberts and, of course, Blackbeard himself. But why did that happen? Well, the answer is complex but can be easily summed up in a single word: money. The world was changing, and as Lord Cutler Beckett explains so brilliantly in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: currency was becoming the currency of the country, especially in England. Ruthless landowners forced small farmers to leave their lands, while smaller tradesmen were challenged by larger businesses. Everyone wanted more, and those who couldn't adapt to the new world's rules became unemployed and were forced to move to urban areas to look for work or poor relief. The cities became overpopulated and soon there weren't funds left: distressed people had no hope of making a better life (source x). For this people, piracy was nothing more than a way out: it was either submit to the new society and starve to death, or rebel and survive. What would you have done?

What Kind of People Became Pirates?

Piracy soon became the best choice for many people. Not only for unemployed men who couldn't find a better way to survive, but also for those who, for various reasons, couldn't fit in. people who couldn't conform to societal norms weren't just discriminated against or isolated, they were often killed. That's why, even though piracy wasn't an easy life at all, many people preferred it. So, who were the pirates?

Sailors usually didn't make enough money to survive, and the discipline was extremely strict. Many of them ended up starving, getting sick, and dying. It's not surprising that many chose to become criminals and sail as pirates (source x).

Teenagers, often orphans with no money or future. Young men might have to endure seven-year apprenticeships before they could make an independent living, while piracy offered them a way to earn money quickly (source x).

Rebellious against the oppressive conditions imposed by their governments, specially from the Navy.

People discriminated because of their race. Black people in particular often had no social opportunities all, but could find acceptance within pirate crews, where camaraderie transcended racial or ethnic differences.

People with a religious belief that was considered heretical or nonconformist by the mainstream society could often find themselves persecuted. Pirate crews comprised members from diverse religious backgrounds and were generally more tolerant of religious differences.

People with a criminal background, who were offered an opportunity to start anew and be part of a community, two things that the civilized society couldn't give them.

Queer people, particularly homosexual men. Homosexuality was a crime at the time, often viewed as negatively as piracy, if not worse. Piracy was a male-dominated world; although for a long time media tried to portray pirates as "turning" gay due to the absence of women among them, the truth is that many gay men were pirates because they were gay. Homosexuality was so common among pirates that they had something very similar to same-sex marriage. It was called "matelotage": a legal civil union that bound two sailors together in an informal partnership, uniting one's fortune and future to the other's, and was respected by ship captains and pirate crews (source x).

Women. The majority of pirates were men, but not all of them. In a world that was not at all kind to young girls and women in general, it was not uncommon for them to disguise themselves as men or marry a pirate in order to become one. There have been notorious women pirates, some of them captains, such as Zheng Yi Sao or Huang Bamei (source x).

In short, outcasts. Individuals rejected by society, unable to find their place, and unwilling to conform to strict societal rules.

The Adventurers

There were a few people, a minority of course, who willingly chose piracy even though they had a normal, conforming, and even wealthy life. It's the case of Stede Bonnet, The Gentleman Pirate; he was born into a wealthy English family and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships. His story, apart from giving us one of the best pirate stories in the history of media, is significant because it provides evidence that piracy wasn't just about necessity; it was about identity. Piracy had become a way of life long before it was romanticized by the media.

The Pirate Life

What was it about pirate life that was so tempting for so many people? Life on a ship wasn't easy at all; the work was tough, the food was poor, and anyone could die at any moment, whether due to illness, sinking, or murder. Nevertheless, there was something that made it all worthwhile: freedom. People who have had no possibilities nor future in society found in piracy the opportunity to live by their own rules. Civilization's norms had no reason to exist in an uncivilized society; no master telling you what to do, no morality, no societal standards, no need to impress or perform. If you wanted something, you simply had to find a way to get it. That meant you could possibly starve to death, but it also meant that you had a chance of getting everything you had ever desired, and eating and drinking until you died, and in the civilized society you didn't have that chance. You could choose to sail and never touch land again; you could choose to marry or not to marry, to have a family or not to have one, to sleep with whomever you wanted to, to practice your religion. You could change your name and be who you wanted to be. Pirate life was the realization of that question most of us have asked ourselves at least once: 'What if I disappear tomorrow and start all over again somewhere else?'.

Piracy in the Modern World

In our eastern, civilized, technological, capitalist society, we don't need to be part of a crew and sail to be pirates. Piracy as a practice was defeated thanks to pirate hunting in the eighteenth century, but you can't kill an idea, can you? Ideas not only persist, they evolve and adapt to the changes they're forced to face. When we say "pirate" in today's world, we mean a lot of different things:

Sea Pirate: a person who attacks and robs ships at sea;

Software Pirate: a person who appropriates or reproduces the work of another for profit without permission, usually in contravention of patent or copyright;

In Italy, we have a way to describe people who ignore the Traffic Laws, 'pirata della strada', literally 'pirate of the street';

In sexual slang, the word 'pirate' is used to define someone who sleeps around, who constantly looks for casual sex.

The term 'ass pirate' has been used as a slur to describe homosexual men.

In short, the term in today's society is used to describe someone who breaks the rules, whether they are actual laws or societal standards.

If we consider everything piracy represents as a concept, as an idea, in modern society, and put it together, we can sum it up in three words:

Freedom, Anarchy, Resistance.

Freedom

'Freedom' is such an abstract concept it is almost impossible to define. It's widely discussed in philosophy, particularly the question: is it possible to be truly free? As soon as we built a society, in order to gain benefits, we had to partially sacrifice our freedom. We can't freely steal from our neighbors, but in doing so, we ensure our neighbors won't steal from us (at least, we hope). It's a simple concept. However, there's a line beyond which the benefits we gain aren't worth the sacrifices we make to obtain them. This has occurred repeatedly throughout history; it happened in the Golden Age of Piracy, and it was the reason why most of people chose to abandon civilization and sail as pirates, and it continues to happen every day. Whenever a social construct, or sometimes even a law, prevents you from simply existing as a person; whenever your future is dictated by your social status; whenever you're denied free time, enjoyment, rest, and happiness because you have to work ten hours a day just to be paid the minimum wage, if you're lucky enough to live in a country that has one. That isn't a freedom you willingly gave away to have a benefit. It's a freedom someone took from you before you were even born, before you could think and understand that just because everyone acts like it's the normal way of living, it doesn't mean it has to be that way.

Anarchy

It is true that, at least concerning crews, pirate society had a sort of hierarchy, in which the Captain of the ship was at the top. However, it is also true that this hierarchy could collapse at any given moment, considering the possibility of a mutiny, and that, in general, pirate society was anarchic. There has been research on the functioning of pirate society, particularly regarding its potential application in a hypothetical modern society where the value of human life and individual needs are more considered than they were during that era. Most of the work in that sense has been done by Peter Lamborn Wilson in his 1995 book 'Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'. He provides a definition of what he calls 'Pirate Utopias', that are described as "Early forms of autonomous proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond the reach of governments and embraced unrestricted freedom" (source x). I highly recommend reading his work and all the other research that followed it if you want to go into detail, because that's not what I'm going to do here (for now).

That being said, this is my personal take on the matter:

In our days, the discussion about Anarchy as a political belief is often ridiculed and reduced to a mere "if there were no rules, people would kill each other". That statement is true; people would. What is usually misunderstood and not taken into consideration is that people who profess to believe in Anarchy do not mean we should abolish every existing law overnight and see what happens. With 'Anarchy,' we mean a hypothetical society in which individuals are free to do as they please, and they willingly choose not to kill, steal, and hurt others because they have no interest in doing so. This hypothetical society is, of course, unachievable; it's what is called a utopia.

Most political beliefs are based on utopias (or dystopias, depending on your vision of them), because a society that strictly adheres to a pure political system is impossible to achieve. There cannot be a perfect socialist society, nor a perfect communist one, nor a perfect capitalist one, and of course, there cannot be a perfect anarchist society. What we can do, though, is aspire to one—or, to use a naval metaphor, we can set the course towards it. We can make decisions, take actions, and build societies around a specific vision.

The western society, for example, tends to a capitalistic system; in brief, money are what our society revolves around. The more money you possess, the more power you wield; your ultimate goal in life must be to gain money so that you can afford basic necessities: food, housing, healthcare and so on. Everything is privatized, leading to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, being exploited by people whose only purpose is to become even more rich. Consequently, you are forced to wake up every morning at 6 am to work ten-hour shifts for minimum wage. Don't like it? You're free not to live in the capitalist society. You'll probably starve to death, end up living on the street, be marginalized, isolated, persecuted, but still. You're "free" to do it. Of course, this is not a "perfect" capitalist society, it can't be; not until Democracy exists, not until Resistance exists. Still, our society tends towards it.

'Anarchy' doesn't mean we should live in a society with no rules; it simply means we should strive towards it and build a society that is as similar as possible to that utopia, prioritizing the freedom of the individual, but without causing collapse.

Resistance

Most pirates were hardly educated enough to even understand all of that as a concept, of course. They didn't fight for a political idea, most of them fought to survive. Even though it wasn't a utopian society, they still had a shared belief: dissent. Being an outcast means to be disillusioned in how 'mainstream' society works, and we know most of them were, considering their social background. Piracy was, in its own way, a movement of resistance.

Times have changed, and we don't have to engage in naval battles to resist. As society evolved, resistance as a practice evolved with it, and hence Western society has become less and less violent, as have the harmless but powerful acts of resistance.

Every time you protest, you are resisting. Every time you talk back, you expose a normalized injustice, you rebel towards an unfair authority, you say 'no', you go against what's expected from you, you are unapologetically yourself, you refuse to adapt, you decide to ignore or bypass a senseless law, you are resisting. Every time you prioritize your free time over money, you challenge beauty standards, you don't accept a 'that's how it was always done' as a justification. Even when you have fun harder than how you're supposed to, when you rejoice louder than how's considered appropriate, every time you dance like no one is watching you, you are, somehow, resisting.

Piracy in Media

Much of our perception of things we haven't directly experienced is filtered and conditioned by media. Even when we study historical periods like the Medieval Age or the Roman Empire, a part of our understanding will always be influenced by the media we've consumed about them. This is because media is often how we were introduced to these subjects: you can get very passionate about Indiana Jones, and so get interested in studying the pyramids and ancient Egypt, only to find out pyramids are nothing like it was portrayed in the movies. Nevertheless, you got interested in studying them in the first place because of Indiana Jones, so as much as you understand and accept that that isn't the truth behind ancient Egypt, you can also accept that Indiana Jones is part of your vision of it, and that cannot change. I know Pirates of the Caribbean isn't historically accurate, as much as Our Flag Means Death and Monkey Island aren't; still, I cannot deny that they have a role in creating a general vision of Pirate Philosophy in the modern world.

There are, in my opinion, three main aspects that come out from the combination of what we know about Piracy as a historical reality and as it's portrayed by media, and those are Hedonism, Nomadism and Camaraderie.

Hedonism

Hedonism is defined as 'the prioritization of pleasure in one's lifestyle, actions, or thoughts'. It's a recurring theme in the portrayal of pirate society; from songs, to movies where Tortuga is depicted as a place where people drink, eat, have sex and fight as they please, to legends that speak of treasures to be found so one can live a life of excess.

The reason for this is related to what we already know about the history of pirates, particularly the society they escaped from. The society of the seventeenth century was extremely strict, both morally and legislatively. Sex outside of marriage was out of the question, and many things that we consider normal today were seen as affronts to decency, often punishable. To be considered a respectable man or woman, one had to follow certain rules. Additionally, many pirates came from backgrounds of extreme poverty, making them prone to indulging in every kind of pleasure when they could.

Hedonism isn't just a perpetual search for pleasure; it's actually an ethical philosophy that is grounded in pleasure (defined as the avoidance of pain as much as possible) as the only intrinsic value and therefore the only reasonable expression of ethical good. This philosophy of life can be easily connected to the anarchist society that we described earlier; a society that doesn't have rules and in which you don't have a 'place' or need to 'contribute,' since your only purpose as an individual is to pursue pleasure.

I personally believe in Hedonism as an ethical philosophy, particularly Psychological Hedonism, as much as my research of pleasure doesn't prevail on someone else's.

Nomadism

One of the things that fascinated me the most about the Pirate Life as portrayed in media, was the idea of embarking on a journey that would never end. Our society is a stationary one, and I actually think there's nothing wrong with that. My perspective on this matter has nothing to do with morality, ideology, or politics. Being stationary is good; the human species would have never evolved if it didn't stop and build the world as we know it. This is simply a personal preference and stems from my absolute intolerance and repulsion at the idea of being born and dying in the same place. I've always yearned to explore, to see as much of the world as I could. The concept of 'borders' has always bothered me; I firmly believe in cultural exchanges and in learning about how other human beings live in different parts of the world. Of course, I acknowledge that without nations, traditions, and populations that are local and bound to their territories, there wouldn't even be cultures to discover or different societies to explore. So, this is about me, not a hypothetical, utopian society. I'm the one who always wanted to travel without ever stopping; I've never felt like I belonged in any one place or that there's a good enough reason to settle in a single nation and miss out on all that there is to see out there.

Camaraderie

Pirates encompassed men and women with all different kinds of backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, ideologies and identities. While we speak in absolutes, in a society with no moral or legislative boundaries, factors such as who you were, where you came from, who you slept with, or what you believed in simply didn't matter. You were a pirate, and that was enough.

The official definition of camaraderie is:

"A feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with".

In this case, we could even say "towards people that you share a lifestyle with". Being realistic, in a historically accurate pirate society, it's plausible that hate towards differences and minorities still existed, considering the strict and mentally bigoted society most pirates came from. However, we're talking about individuals who chose to leave that society, probably because of its strict and mentally bigoted nature. It's reasonable to assert that this particular kind of hate was at least less prevalent in the pirate society than outside of it.

Piracy in media undoubtedly plays a significant role in romanticizing the sense of brotherhood and companionship felt among pirates; we saw Pirate Codes, Brethren Courts, battles in the name of a common ideal, epic friendships and romances, songs that speak of a union strong enough to beat death itself and slogan such as "Long Live Piracy!".

What attracts me the most about it is that camaraderie as a concept exists in basically all societies or communities with a shared aim or belief. However, there are always rules that need to be followed, and the risk of being excluded and losing the privilege of deserving such camaraderie is always present. The idea of fidelity toward one's society, community, or even nation is essential for its survival, ensuring that those in power maintain control over their adherents, citizens, or believers. The pirate society is the only one I've stumbled across that doesn't need it. The feeling of brotherhood within these people doesn't need any kind of loyalty, proper rules or the fear of losing privileges to make sure that the community keeps existing. That's because the pirate society is made up of people who have already betrayed, renounced, and lost all of their privileges to be there. All they have is that sense of brotherhood and friendship. They exist in a reality in which none of them belongs anywhere and that, somehow, becomes a sense of belonging; one that doesn't need to be continuously shown or respected, simply because it's the only thing that keeps them there.

I believe that is the only reality in which camaraderie and freedom can coexist in a society, and I think it's one of the most beautiful and powerful concepts I've ever seen portrayed.

Conclusions

We finally arrived at the end of this... yeah, let's call it 'essay'. It was more than two weeks ago when I wrote the first word. It was meant to be brief and simply a way to put in words an intimate belief. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it, mostly because I rarely share such deep thoughts with people around me; though, I'm trying to change that. As all human beings I strive to find belonging and as a true pirate, I never found anywhere to do so. So, to find but one person who reads this until the end and finds themselves to agree with my view, it would make me immeasurably happy.

Thank you if you made it this far, even if you don't agree with a single word I've written, because you dedicated part of your time to me, and I appreciate it.

If you find syntactic errors, please consider that english isn't my first language and also that grammar is a made up concept anyway.

Don't forget to be free, to resist, to pursue pleasure as much as you can, to explore and to show camaraderie not because you have to, but for the sake of it.

Fair winds t' ye!

Imago

[cozage]

The Daughter's Return: Month 5

The Road to Love

Part One | Next Chapter | Table of Contents | Read on AO3

This idea was sent to me by Anonymous! CW: kinda long but it's from Ace's perspective! Characters: female reader x Portgas D. Ace Word Count: 5.2k

From the moment Ace heard your name, he was intrigued. 

“It’s a crazy story,” Thatch said as everyone sat down around him. “The Clandine Incident was one of the main reasons Y/N’s bounty skyrocketed. She’s got one of the highest bounties on the ship, especially for her age.”

Blamenco chortled. “She’s only got a big bounty cuz-”

“Though she’s always been a legend,” Marco said, cutting off Blamenco and ignoring his words. “The Navy has been trying to figure out who keeps ruining their plans for years. They just never expect it to be a teenage girl. It’d be higher if they knew everything she actually did.”

“Right,” Kingdew laughed. “They underestimate her because of her reckless appearance to them. They think she improvises everything she does.”

Ace raised his eyebrow. “How so?”

Izou hummed, knowing that the crew’s praise for you would have repercussions. This new crewmember seemed a little too interested in you. Still, Izou decided to indulge him. It’d be interesting to see where this all went. 

“The Clandine Incident is the best example,” Izou said. “The Navy had captured about forty of our men. It was looking bad. However, they had captured non-devil fruit users, so they were all in metal cages for transport.”

Marco interrupted and took over the story. “Because so many of Whitebeard’s men had been captured, almost all of the Navy’s forces had been called back to escort the prisoners to ships to be hauled off to Impel Down. Which left their defenses low, and we could launch an assault on our actual target and free a royal member of an island we watched over. They didn’t even have time to call reinforcements before the prince was released.”

“She and Marco led the operation to free the prisoners.” Thatch grinned ear to ear, staring at the first division commander. “I heard things got quite messy, but they got in and out without any fatalities.”

“Messy?” Ace inquired, nudging his friend to tell him more. “How so?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marco grumbled. “Just a few messes I had to clean up.”

Thatch cackled. “If I recall, it was Y/N who did the cleaning up, not the other way around!”

Marco rolled his eyes. “She’s always the one to make the sacrifice play, and she got mad when I wouldn’t let her do it. I swear she’s careful with everyone’s life but her own. ”

Ace could relate, which only made him even more interested in meeting you. “When’s she get back?” he asked, unable to hide the enthusiasm in his voice. 

The whole table erupted into laughter at his question. 

“She’s off limits, dude,” Vista said, giving Ace an empathetic pat on the shoulder. “If you try anything, Pops will kill you.”

“Pops wouldn’t get the chance,” Thatch said. “Marco would get you first.”

“Sorry man, they’re right. I know you’re my brother-” Marco smiled and shook his head. “But she’s outta your league anyway. Don’t even try it.”

“Look at him getting all protective!” Fossa bellowed, and the table erupted in laughter again. 

Ace gave a confused smile, looking around the table. It was clear he was missing something. Something obvious that everyone else seemed to be aware of.

“Go check the bounty poster room,” Curiel whispered, giving him a little nudge. “You’ll figure it out.”

Newgate. You were a Newgate. There was no chance in hell you’d ever even look his way. And if you knew who his father was…No, Whitebeard would never allow the son of his rival to date his only daughter. 

And yet, as he stared at your old bounty poster, he couldn’t help but think there was so much more to you than a name. 

--

Months later, Whitebeard stood towering over Ace. He had been called in for a meeting with his captain, and Ace was worried that he had screwed up big this time. 

“There’s something I should probably tell you, Ace.”

His voice didn’t sound upset, and Ace relaxed a bit. “What’s up Pops?”

“My daughter is returning home soon, which is quite a joyous occasion-”

Ace nodded. “I’m excited to meet her.”

Whitebeard watched the second division commander carefully. “There’s something I should warn you about.”

“Oh, Pops, don't even worry about that.” Ace’s cheeks were hot, embarrassed where this was going. Of course he knew about Ace’s flings and flirtations on the ship. Of course Whitebeard didn’t want him anywhere near you. “I’m not like that anymore. Besides, everyone has already told me.”

Whitebeard’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Told you what?”

“That Y/N is off limits. I shouldn’t interact with her or-”

Whitebeard laughed, his jolly expression returning at the absurdity of Ace’s comment. “Ace, son. I don’t care what you do in your free time. I don’t care what she does in her free time. My daughter is an adult. She can make her own decisions. I trust her with that ability. If I didn’t, she wouldn’t be my most valuable strategist.”

“Oh.” Ace suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. He had never read a situation more incorrectly than he had in this moment. “Then what did you want to talk about?”

“My daughter,” Whitebeard said, still chuckling. “She can be…intense. And unfortunately, I believe she may take out some of that intensity on you.”

It was Ace’s turn to be confused. “Why?”

“Well…” Whitebeard’s eyes flicked towards the door nervously. “I promised her the second division commander spot before she left. But clearly, that’s been filled since she’s been gone.”

“Oh!” Ace said. “I can step do-”

“No.” Whitebeard's voice was firm and final. “You are the second division commander. But I am placing her under your command.”

Ace’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t been expecting that. He had expected Whitebeard to keep you as far away from him as possible. “Are you sure?”

“I believe you are most equipped to handle her.”

Ace laughed nervously. “Surely Marco. Or Thatch. Or Izou-”

“Are you not comfortable with it? I’d prefer she stay in division two for a few days to try it out. Would you like me to move her now instead?”

“No!” Ace rushed to say. “I’m honored to take her in my division. She’ll be a major asset.”

Whitebeard chuckled. “And a major pain in the ass at first. Give her some time, as a favor to me.”

Ace gave a nervous smile, unsure what exactly he was signing up for. “Sure, Pops. Anything-”

Suddenly a young woman burst through the door, storming up to his captain. Ace tensed, unsure of who you were or what was about to go down. 

“Y/N,” Whitebeard smiled, and Ace could feel himself start to sweat. He hadn’t expected this to all happen so soon. “You’re-”

“You bastard!” You screamed, pulling out a kunai. “You promised!”

Ace could hear the hurt in your voice, and he felt sorry for you. And then he started to feel sorry for himself. You couldn’t be the girl Marco had raved about, the cute girl in pigtails, who would do anything for a piece of chocolate. You couldn’t be the girl who had the skill set of a thousand men. 

You were far too rude to be the girl he imagined. Nobody talked to his father like that, especially not some entitled girl who thought it was her birthright. 

He threw a knife at your kunai, knocking it out of your hand. When you shot him a glare, he returned one back. He wasn’t going to let you intimidate him so easily. 

“Stay out of this, newbie,” you snapped at him. If this was how mad you were about a kunai, he didn’t want to imagine how mad you’d be when you found out about the position. 

You reached into your pouch and he lunged at you, grappling your wrists. He wouldn’t let you hurt or even attempt to intimidate his father, the person who saved him and called him his own. You had no idea how selfish you were being or how good you had it, and it made Ace’s blood boil. 

“I don’t know who you are,” Ace said, trying his best to sound intimidating. “But you have no right attacking Pops the moment you get on our ship.”

“Stay out of my affairs,” you snarled back. 

His grip on you started to feel hot, and for a moment he was afraid he had let his anger get the best of him. And then it began to heat up so much that he had to pull away. You were simply too hot to hold onto. 

You gave him a wicked grin of satisfaction, as if you were boasting about your victory in the small battle you momentarily had. But Ace was confused. How had you burned him? Nobody had managed to do that in a long time. Marco and the other commanders had talked about your ability before, but he had assumed it was just another type of fire or heat ability. 

And then he remembered something Marco had said. How you had gone up against the lava vice admiral once, and you burned hotter than even him. A volcano fruit, Ace remembered. Your heat far surpassed him. 

Oh, the two of you would make an interesting dynamic indeed. He was beginning to see why Pops had placed you under his command now. Ace wanted to know everything about you, and wanted to use you and your ability to his full advantage. He couldn’t wait to see what you could do, and what he could learn from you. He just had to get you on his side. 

Which was easier said than done. You weren’t exactly thrilled to meet him.

And then the welcome party happened, and you all were stargazing when you had fallen asleep. He wanted to lay there forever, but Marco had eventually found you all. The first division commander picked you up and began to walk away before he turned back for just a moment.

“You’re going to fall in love with her, aren’t you?” Marco asked. 

Ace scoffed in return. “I don’t fall in love.”

“Good,” Marco said. “Because she’ll break your heart.”

“Who’s to say I wouldn’t break hers?”

Marco glared at him, clutching you tighter to his chest. “If you even think about it, I’ll carry you out to sea and drop you in the ocean.”

Ace gave a light laugh, but quickly realized Marco was very serious in his threat. “Noted.”

“I’m serious, Ace,” Marco whispered. “Leave her alone. It won’t end well.”

Of course, he hadn’t listened, he was too captivated by you. After the election of new subordinate captains were solidified, Marco began switching his tune from warnings to encouragement, and Ace grew hopeful that you were interested in him. Marco even encouraged Ace to invite you to a party. But Marco was still clear: just because you needed friends didn’t mean you needed Ace.  

And then Ace understood. You were about to lose most of your childhood friends, and you would need a new support system. Still, Ace got his hopes up that maybe you would feel something eventually. But for now, Ace would be okay with friends, as long as you stuck around. 

A few nights later, he had really fucked up. He had taken Marco's advice, invited you to the party, and even made a bet with you about going drink for drink. And now, you were curled up against his chest, your skin warm against his. Every time you shifted or stretched, he found himself alert. He couldn’t sleep with you so close to him, his mind racing at one hundred miles per hour. You had wanted to sleep with him. Even if you hadn’t actually wanted to sleep with him, you did feel comfortable enough to fall asleep with him next to you. He didn’t know what to do. 

He wanted you. He wanted to be with you. He wanted to only belong to you. He had never felt this way about another person before, but he knew it was good and true and that he was yours. He would find a way to tell you and hope you felt the same way. You had fallen asleep in his arms, after all. That had to count for something. 

But the next morning you woke up in an unfamiliar place, and you had made it clear that while you appreciated his gentlemanly actions, you wanted nothing more. And so he held his tongue and went to the meeting he was summoned for, sleeping through the entire thing, wishing he was still in bed. Wishing you were still in his arms. 

And then you had been offered a job by your father, one that would take you away from division two. Take you away from him. It took Ace every ounce of self-restraint not to question his captain. Why would he hurt him like this? Why would he let you and Ace get so close, just to take you away?

Instead, he went to you, begging for you to stay in the most vulnerable way he knew how. He would’ve done anything, answered any question if it meant you would stay with him just a little bit longer. The two of you had become friends. That’s how he felt, at least. He wasn’t sure how you felt, but he had to hope. And you stayed. You chose him, and his heart continued to burn only for you.

The subordinate captains’ goodbye party was a testament to your planning skills. It had mostly been for Whitey, but it wouldn’t have been obvious if he didn’t know you. And maybe he didn’t. After all, he didn’t pin you as the kind of girl to make out with just anyone after a game of shots. Not that he cared anyway. You had made it clear you didn’t want more than a professional relationship with him. 

And yet, he still felt rather irritated by it all. He found himself receding from the party, deciding to find a quiet place to lean against the railing and stare out to sea in thought. He tried not to think about you, but all he could see was that red-haired boy and your lips smashed together. It should’ve been him there doing 5 shots with you. It should’ve been him getting a victory kiss. Not that little red-haired punk. 

“Berry for your thoughts?” Whitey said, leaning on the railing next to Ace. 

Ace looked over at her, startled. Whitey hadn’t talked to him since their fallout. She hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. And yet here she was, talking to him. She had to be drunk. It was the only explanation. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Whitey griped, though she wasn’t looking at him. “I know I’ve been shitty. But I’m not here to talk about us. I’m here to talk about you.”

“I actually wanted to find you,” Ace admitted. “I’m sorry about everything I put you through. That wasn’t fair and-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Whitey let out a deep sigh and then continued. “You’re only apologizing because you know you might never see me again. And while I appreciate the sentiment, I don’t want it.”

“It’s not because you’re leaving,” Ace corrected. “It’s because-”

Ace hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be this vulnerable with Whitey for multiple reasons. He didn’t want to open old wounds. He didn’t want her passing it on to you. He didn’t want her to laugh.

“Go on,” Whitey said, finally turning at looking at Ace. She didn’t look upset or angry. In fact, she looked like she knew exactly what he was going to say. 

“It’s because I know how you feel now,” he confessed. “And it feels really shitty. And I’m sorry.”

“We both wanted different things in that moment,” Whitey said. “I’m sorry for the part I played too.”

Ace shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Yeah, I do.” Whitey laughed and took a long drink of her ale. “Hold on to that person that’s making you feel that way, though. She’s really special.”

Ace froze, worried she was going to tease him. But Whitey just gave him a friendly wink and left him alone.

Marco found him a few minutes later. “Commanders and Strategists. Let’s roll.”

Ace frowned. He wasn’t ready to see you again. He was still upset about your public flirtation with someone else. Maybe you were his karma, but he still hated it. 

“Come on, lover boy. It’ll be fine.” Marco chuckled, pulling Ace back to the party. He was going to have to face you sooner or later, he knew that. 

Luckily, the evening only went up from there. 

--

Less than 24 hours later, the two of you were off on an impromptu mission. It was just the two of you, really. Kala and Mihal were coming too, but you all wouldn’t be together for long. 

He would get you all to himself. Away from your father’s watchful gaze, Marco’s interference, and any boy who might have a crush on you. It would just be the two of you. 

It had been fun, until women began crowding him, asking for dances. His heart broke a little bit when you told him to dance with them, but he listened. He had come here to spend the night with you, not with these snobby women who were dressed in gowns that were worth more than all the money he ever had as a child. But every time he looked for you, you were there, looking as beautiful and radiant as he had ever seen you.

Then you disappeared, and his heart beat out of his chest as he broke off a dance to search for you. He found you being led away by some pompous asshole who had been staring at you all night, and his stomach churned at the thought of what that man would try to pull once you were alone with him. 

He hadn’t meant to make a scene. He was just so upset. He should’ve never left you sitting alone at that table. To hell with all of those women. To hell with everyone here. You were the only one who mattered to him. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, and the hairs on Ace’s neck stood up. 

And then you slapped him. Hard. Like you really, truly meant it. And as you began screaming at him, he slowly realized he would now have to be the decoy. 

Some Marines grabbed his arms and hauled him away, but he couldn’t take his eyes from you, burying your face in that horrible man’s coat as you sobbed fake tears. 

They set him in a chair and an official sat across from him. Ace had no idea who it was. If you were here, you would’ve been able to tell him his rank, name, weakness, and everything else he needed to know. But you were tucked away somewhere upstairs. Safe, hopefully. 

“Listen son,” the man said, and Ace gritted his teeth. The only person who could call him son was Whitebeard, but he kept his mouth shut. The man didn’t seem to notice Ace’s seething rage, thankfully, and he continued. “I’m sure there was just a miscommunication. Why don’t you give me your commanding officer and we’ll get it all sorted out.”

“Commanding officer?” Ace questioned. He didn’t know any names. How could he have forgotten to do this? He should’ve paid more attention as you were pointing people out. 

“And your name and rank.”

Ace hadn’t thought of any of those things. He hadn’t expected you all to get caught. Or at least, he had expected you to do all the lying for him. 

“Kaclin McGrought, Captain,” Ace said. It was the first thing that came to his mind. “My Commanding officer is…”

Shit. Why could he only think of Garp? That would give him away immediately. Plus, Garp was here. They could just go ask him, and his cover would immediately be blown.

“My commanding officer is Clemence,” Ace tried to sound confident, like he knew exactly what he was talking about. 

“Clemence?” 

“From the East Blue?” Ace asked, raising his eyebrow. “Sir Clemence the Second? Surely you know him?”

The man nodded at a pair of lieutenants by the door, and they swiftly exited the room. Ace didn’t have a good feeling about any of this. He could only hope they weren’t heading to find and capture you. He could only hope you had come up with a better cover story. 

A few minutes later, one of the lieutenants came back and bent down to whisper something in his interrogator's ear. 

“So McGrought…” The man stared at Ace long and hard, and he knew he had been caught. “You and your commander don’t seem to exist. Why don’t you tell us who you really are?”

Ace swallowed, trying to clear the lump in his throat. He wasn’t so nervous for himself, but he hated not knowing about your status. “Who I really am?”

One good thing would come out of this, at least. The Navy would know his name now. At least they would know his power, and his position. He wouldn’t be some “failed rookie” amongst their conversations. 

“Son-”

“Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.” Ace erupted into flames, and most of the people took a few steps back from the heat. “And don't call me son.”

With that, he threw off his shirt, turned, and jumped out the stained glass window. He wanted the last thing they saw to be his father’s symbol.

As he burst through the window, he only had one thought on his mind: he had to get to you. He had to make sure you were okay. 

That was the first and last time Ace underestimated your strategy ability. Even as you all spoke to his grandfather, even as you raced through the woods and spent the night in a borrowed house, he couldn’t help but admire just how brilliant you were. 

As the two of you walked through the town and snuck onto the beach, as you changed your plan on a dime and found a way to make it work, as you taunted a Vice Admiral, he couldn’t help but smile giddily, knowing you were his. And he was yours. 

He would have to tell Whitebeard, of course. He should’ve been more concerned about his fate, but he felt invincible, watching you as you slept on the boat ride back to the ship. You were together. Nothing could stop him now. 

Standing in front of Whitebeard was a much different feeling. But he needed to tell him. Not just because it was protocol, but because Whitebeard was one of the few men Ace respected in this world. He deserved to know.

“We’re dating.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at either of your faces when he spoke the words. He didn’t want to see his initial reaction, and he didn’t want to see your wrath. 

Whitebeard sent you out immediately, which was probably the best outcome. Ace could probably handle one angry Newgate. But there was no way he’d survive two of you angry at him. 

Ace could feel Whitebeard’s eyes on him, but he refused to look back. He was afraid of the disappointment he’d see if he looked. 

He stared at his feet instead. “I like her quite a lot, Pops. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Ace. Son. Look at me.” 

Ace looked up, and was shocked to find Whitebeard staring at him with a glimmer in his eye. He looked…proud? No, that couldn’t be. Ace was so certain that he would only be met with pushback and disgrace. 

“I told you when she first got here,” Whitebeard smiled. “My daughter makes her own decisions. She’s old enough to do that, and I’ll respect whatever decisions she makes.”

Ace couldn’t find the words he wanted to express. A part of him wanted to cry. A part of him wanted to ask a hundred questions. 

“I’ll never hurt her,” Ace swore. “I’ll always protect her, I swear.”

Whitebeard chuckled. “You can’t promise both of those things in the same breath, son. So be careful with your words. Because she will hold you to them. She never forgets a promise. So don’t go making promises you can’t keep.”

“Yes sir,” Ace said, silently cursing himself for promising such grandiose things. “I will keep that in mind.”

“There’s one thing I’d like you to avoid mentioning to her, though. Just for the time being.”

“Of course, Pops! Anything!”

Whitebeard hummed and scratched at his mustache. It was clear he didn’t like what he was about to request, but it had to be done. 

“Don’t tell her about the circumstances around your birth.”

Ace blinked. He was about to respond, but Whitebeard continued. “If it comes up naturally, you can tell her about it. But don’t tell her unless she asks.”

“Sure, Pops,” Ace said. A piece of him was relieved he had a reason to keep that information from you. He knew you didn’t like Roger much, and he didn’t want your opinion of him scarred by his father’s legacy. “Can I ask why?”

“It’s dangerous for anyone who knows of your heritage. And the more people who know, the more likely it is to get to the Navy. I trust my daughter of course, but I’d rather not put her at an unnecessary risk.”

“Of course,” Ace agreed. “That’s the last thing I want. I just want her safe. And I promise to do everything in my power to keep her from harm."

Whitebeard nodded. “Very well. Now, if we could go over the mission, I’d like a full report of last night.”

Ace’s brow knitted in confusion, and he glanced back at the door. “Is that really all? You don’t want to-”

“I told you, son. I trust my daughter. Whatever decisions she’s making, she’s thought of every possibility and every outcome. I’m not going to question my best strategist about her personal life.” Whitebeard let out a laugh. “But she does tend to fabricate awkward events, and she does it very well. Which is why she’s waiting on the deck and you’re in here. So, a full report of last night.”

Ace suddenly realized what a full report would mean. His cheeks began to burn, and Whitebeard let out a roaring laugh. “See, Ace? I knew you were the right man for the job. Let’s hear it.”

The only thing that got Ace through that report was the thought of you on the other side of the door, and the embrace he could finally give you once he got out. 

--

Months went by, and you and Ace got closer every second you were together. You moved in with him in less than a month, having your own dresser and your own decorations sprinkled throughout the room soon after. He helped you hang up the flowers he had handcrafted for you, which felt like a lifetime ago, and he cleared off his desk so you had a place to work. 

The two of you got a cat, and though Jinx didn’t take much of a liking to you, the three of you were your own little strange form of a family. The Whitebeard Pirates were still his family of course, but you and Jinx were the family he had chosen to be his. The family he cared for so deeply, the people he could never bear to lose. He hated being away from you, and he never got tired of you being around. Where others found you brash and intense, he found you endearing and confident. 

--

You were in the crow’s nest, staring at the night sky when he realized it. 

“I love you.”

You blinked, unsure if you had heard him correctly. You turned your head to face him, but he was still staring at the stars. 

“Me?”

Ace gave a soft chuckle and then turned his head to look at you. His dark eyes reflected the stars shining above you, and you swore you could see the universe in his eyes.

“Who else would I be talking to?”

“You love me?”

A smile danced across his lips. “I love you.”

You scowled at him. “No you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Ace-“

“I know it’s love because I think about you all the time. Every time I see you, I smile and I swear my heart feels like it’s going to burst. The moment you leave I already start to miss you. When you wake up before me and slip out of bed to get coffee, I wake up in a panic, thinking you were just a dream. Because I swear you’re too good to be real. I love you because you’re the one person who I know I can always go to, no matter what, and I know you’ll help me in the way I need. Even if I don’t know how to help myself, you know how to because you know me.”

“Oh.” He had given a pretty solid argument, but you had felt all those things too. You had never felt them with anyone else, though. Just Ace. 

Sometimes, you missed him so much your chest hurt. He was always the first person you searched for in a room. He was the person you looked to when you laughed, the person you wanted to always be near. 

“I love you too, I think.” 

Ace laughed. “You think?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in love before.” His confession had been so poetic. Yours felt embarrassingly weak as a follow-up. 

“Me neither,” Ace admitted. “That’s how I know.”

If that was the case, his words made you certain now. Your heart quickened at the thought of confessing. You had already done it once, but the words held more weight now that you knew. 

Your fingers found his, quickly interlacing with one another. You took a deep breath, still staring into his starry eyes. 

“Then yeah, I love you. Because nobody has ever made me feel quite so happy with life as you do, Portgas D. Ace. Nobody has ever made me smile so early in the morning, or made me excited to go to bed. Nobody has ever made my life so infinitely better that I think I would probably die without them. Nobody has ever made me feel this way. Nobody but you.”

You would die for him. And you knew he would do the same. It wasn’t fair, but it was the way you were now. Every decision you made was to keep him alive. And every decision he made was to do the same for you. 

But in a pirate world, death was always around the corner. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. And every time you thought about the possibility of him being caught or killed, it made you physically nauseous. 

Little did you know, that possibility would become a reality much sooner than either of you could have ever expected. 

--

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[no-phrogs-in-hats]

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Regina Mills x Fem!Reader

A/N: Hey bitchessss here's chapter 3!@#$%^ Don't expect a full come-back. I'm just high asf rn and wanted to write this small chapter for you pookies<33

Chapter 3: I’m a Troubled Teen (Going Up North to be a Lady-In-Waiting)

Many years ago

The Enchanted Forest

“Your highness, the King and Queen request your presence.”

Oh, God.

It was never good when your parents “requested your presence”. Most of the time it meant you had done something wrong. The last time this had happened, you had jumped off the side of a royal navy ship in your underclothes and satin slippers. 

You shut your book and set it down on the side table in the library, standing up and dragging your feet as you followed one of the advisors. When you approached the door to the “good parlor”, as your mother called it, he knocked three times. You thanked him and after he shut the door a tense air thickened around you.

Your brother, Eric, sat at a chess table with your father while your mother sat by herself in the loveseat practicing her embroidery. 

“What?” you said.

Your mother smiled. “We just wanted to know where you were.”

You looked around awkwardly. “I was in the library…Why did you ask for me?”

“We wanted to spend time with you,” your father said. “It feels like we haven’t seen you in ages!”

“What’s the real reason you asked me here?” you asked.

Still partaking in her embroidery, your mother smiled and looked up at you from the sofa. “We have some news…You remember King Leopold, right?” 

“Sort of.”

“Well,” your mother said, continuing, “his wife, Queen Regina, is looking for a new lady-in-waiting…and they’ve asked for you.”

Your stomach sank. “What?”

“It’ll give you a chance to observe how a kingdom runs,” your father said. “And, it forms an alliance between King Leopold and our kingdom.”

“But–But, Eric is next in line!” you protested. “Shouldn’t he be doing the observing? He’s going to be ruling this kingdom within the next few decades, but instead he’s out on a ship sailing a–”

“Enough!” your father shouted. “This decision is final! The ship sets sail in a fortnight. Queen Regina, King Leopold, and Princess Snow are already expecting your arrival. I won’t hear any more protests from you. It’s time you learn some responsibility and this is the best way to do it.”

__________

Present Day

Storybrooke

You knocked softly on the door to Regina’s home. Waiting a moment, you glanced over to see a sliver of her finger parting the fabric curtain in the front window, just in time to see it quickly close again.

The deadbolt in the door clicked and the door cracked open slowly.

“Hi,” you said quietly.

Regina seemed stand-offish. When the door opened further, you could see it in her eyes that she had been crying.

“Can I come in?” you asked.

She nodded and let you in. You had only been in her home a handful of times–mostly dropping off Henry after school–but it was still as beautiful as you remembered. Instead of admiring the dark hardwoods and the tall ceilings, you focused on her–and now you were admiring much more.

There were still tears in her eyes and wrinkles sat scattered over her navy pantsuit. Everything was becoming so clear in this short amount of time–every dream, every vision, the vague images of your parents in your head. A part of you wanted to yell at her. She took so much from you, but, god, it was hard to be mad at her.

“Um, Regina,” you murmured when she closed the door. “I just wanted to say–”

And there was that feeling–her lips. They encased yours so perfectly. You could feel her strong hands grasp your biceps as you leaned into the kiss. You took a few steps back, bracing yourself against the wall when Regina pulled away. “What?” she huffed. “You wanted to say what?”

You searched her eyes. “Nothing, it can wait for later,” you said, grasping at her shoulders as your lips met again for the first time in 28 years.

[m0chisenpai]

Nostalgia

Pre Avatar Way of Water

platonic!Kiri x Navi!Black!Reader

When Kiri was born a certain warmth filled your life in a way you had not expected. At first you couldn’t wrap your head around how the one who loved you and practically raised you birthed a daughter. And her daughter was like her in so many ways. When you first held Kiri tears cascaded down your cheeks at the gentle baby.

How ironic was it, that just as Grace protected you, you sat here protecting her daughter. She clung to you in a way none of your mates expected.

When Kiri was born you all agreed that she needed and deserved the same love Lo'ak and Netayem received. And you all planned for some time in the future to explain her mother. She learned early, and accepted easily. Perhaps it was the innocence of a chid Neytiri mused.

But you felt something different within Kiri. How she connected with Pandora. It was the same connection ad love her mother had once. How Grace's eyes would light up in the forests and with the children.

Kiri lied on your lap, her head on your leg as you softly sang to yourself, threading and mending the beads together to the necklace for your own little one. 

“Sa’nok” you hummed as her small hands caressed your swollen stomach, “what will the little one be like?”

“Hmmm well, I have the feeling the little one will look like me more than your father. But he thinks the little one will look strongly similar to him.”

“I wish I looked like you Sa’nok.”

“You like your mother my Kiri, she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit. You grow more and more into her each and every day.”

“You knew her Sa’nok?”

You smiled down at those wide eyes as you smoothed the hair from her eyes “oh yes I did. She was a fierce warrior. She fought for this tribe, for the entire forest. I remember when I first met her, do you know what she called me?”

You leaned in and whispered, “Dr.Ginger” and Kiri let out a fit of giggles as she repeated the word past girlish little giggles, “what is ginger Sa’nok?”

“Well when I first came here I was human. And I have this bright..orange hair! But humans call it ginger. So when your mother first saw me she scrunched her nose up and said “where are you heading ginger?””

You felt like a mouse under the gaze of the scientist. Out of habit you pushed your glasses up the bridge of your nose and pushed behind one of your bright coils. 

“No ma’am I was sent here to assist in the Avatar program.”

 Smoke billowed from the corner of her lip as she carelessly blew the smoke to the side.“And what are your qualifications, ginger?”

Your nose scrunched up as the fire in your ears pooled to your cheeks, but not out of embarrassment. Out of anger, and so you spat out, “for your information Dr.Augusutine you may refer to me as Dr.Ginger. I received a PHD in alien studies with my thesis on the na’vi peoples culture. In fact I wrote and assisted in the publication of multiple papers and mastered the language during my program. So excuse my language Dr.Augustine but I damn sure have just as many qualifications as you.”

The woman's face remained neutral the entire time and you just knew you’d be back to earth on the next ship to arrive. All those years, your sweet and tears. Your sister would be disappointed to hear it, you just know it. 

But the woman's lips quirked in a wry smile as she cocked her head, “how many hours have you logged Dr.Ginger?”

And you cleared your throat “around 400.”

Her hand smacked you on the shoulder which she used to push you further into the lab, “Welcome to the team.”

Unbeknownst to you as you recounted the story, the little girl fell asleep in your arms. Her head resting atop your stomach as you smiled, continuing to brush your fingers through her hair. A reminiscent smile on your face as you watched her features.

The true resemblance of her mother. And as you gazed down upon her, you allowed your own eyes to close. Unknown to you two stray woodsprites floated down to blanket the both of you carried by the gentle breeze of that warm morning.. One upon your swollen belly another on Kiri’s cheek.

[ohtobeleah]

Okay here me out…. DiNozzo and McGee going to your house to get you for a case and walk in to find you and Rooster after spending the night together.

I fuck with this concept I really do. As always here’s NCIS // Bradley Bradshaw if you missed the fix drop on Wednesday! And the new Masterlist

Honestly, I see this happening like a week before you and Bradley decide to make things official. Four weeks before he’s shipping out to TopGun. Four weeks before the very case DiNozzo and Mcgee are coming to get you for, ends up being the case that gets you shot for the very first time. Four weeks before Bradley Bradshaw is having an existential crisis over how fucking terrifying your job is.

“Why do you have a key to Junior Gibbs’s place and I don’t?” Tony questioned with a frown as he stepped out of the car he’d haphazardly parked in your driveway. “Seems a little off—“

“Seems like a question you’ll have to take up with her don’t you think?” McGee smirked as he casually jogged up your set of stairs, coffee in hand as he shoved the key to your townhouse into the lock on your front door. “Y/n? Hey it’s us! We got a—“ McGee didn’t even get to finish his sentence before he was staring down a sight in the living room of your home he wished he’d never had to bear witness to.

You were his boss's daughter, his partner. The sight of you sleeping on the couch in what he could only describe as one of those sheer babydoll dresses, wrapped in a mess of legs and muscular arms. Bradley Bradshaw who was still very much exposed. His junk still pressed against your ass as you slept. One wrong move and he’d be on full display for the entire world to see. Sleeping soundly with his face a mess in your hair. Still damp. Cheeks squished against the junction of your shoulder.

Since the moment Bradley decided enough was enough after having watched you aimlessly drift around the Carlton looking for your room, he knew he wanted you in his life in some way shape or form. After having spent the majority of the afternoon guiding you around the carrier—you exchanged numbers, emails, socials, everything. A friendship un like any other he’d ever known quickly bloomed out of thin air.

Bradley Bradshaw was happy to have you in his life as just that, a dear friend he’d walk across a burning hell to get to if you called. If you needed him. But let’s be honest here—Rooster didn’t have a lot of people in his life. His father Nick had died when he was three, his mother Carole had passed only a few short months before he was accepted into the Naval Academy, and the only father figure he’d ever really known had done the absolute unthinkable. Pulled his Naval Application. So when he started to realise you held a bigger place in his heart then he’d initially anticipated? Bradley knew he was down bad. He’d never had a best friend that was so effortlessly easy to love in so many ways.

And as for you? Bradley Bradshaw had managed to weasel his way into your heart from the moment he stopped you in your tracks on the Carlson. You weren’t a love at first sight kinda girl—but you quickly became the ‘My best friend is the love of my life but I’m too afraid to admit that to him or even myself bitch’.

So, as the years went by—mutual feelings developed fast, quickly and became increasingly fucking noticeable. The line between friendship and relationship blurred to something nonexistent and you and Bradley went about your lives perfectly happy with that. Until you both decided enough was enough—someone had to give, crack under the immense sexual energy that constantly radiated off the two of you.

It was Bradley. He was the one to crack first. He’d come to visit the week before he started his TopGun training. He’d always been very careful to keep his life with the navy, his aviation career and his colleagues and friends separate from the life he lived with you. Domestic, loving. Call him selfish but he wanted you all to himself. Bradley didn’t want to share or inadvertently collide his two lives. He had an irrational fear that maybe wasn’t all that irrational when you think about it, he was scared the moment he finally accepted the friendship and love you had always given him wasn’t a fever dream he’d lose you to some higher power. The same higher power that had taken everyone he ever loved away from him.  

“Hey woah, hold on a second—“ Bradley didn’t know what to make of the situation unfolding before him. What the actual fuck were you up to. “I was walking by but this caught my eye.” Pushing the bathroom door open more as he walked in. “What’s going on in here?”

“Stop—“ You beamed at Bradley through the mirror as he stood behind you. A cautious hand coming to rest gently on your hip. The silk fabric of that dangerous white babydoll you wore under his rough palm.

“What’s this?” He asked again with more interest, a shit stirring grin evident on his face as he beamed back at you. Trying to make out what the fuck you were trying to achieve.

“This is—“ You tried to explain before Bradley cut you off with a chuckle full of glee.

“Oh yes, yes please do tell—“ Bringing his other hand up to play with the hair that was twirled tight around the legging of the pair of pants currently on your head.

“I’m curling my hair!” You couldn’t help but to laugh as Bradley eyes you down with shock in his eyes. That was not what he was expecting you to say, sure he didn't really know what to expect but it definitely wasn't that. “I’m serious it’s a legit thing Bradshaw—“

“With pants!?” God Bradley couldn’t believe it. In all the years he’d known you, this was never something he'd imagined you do. “What the fuck, is this something new?”

“It’s better for your hair because there’s no heat—“ That was a legitimate fact. Heartless curls were in fact in. A trend that had a chokehold on you.

“Where did you see this?” Bradley’s tone was quick to change as he asked more pressing questions. Who had filled your head with stupid hacks like this. But more importantly how was he supposed to control himself when you were wearing something as scandalous as a goddamn babydoll with such ease around him. Were you trying to kill him? He understood he was in your home, your safe haven. But were you honestly just unaware of how much of an affect you had on him? Or were you doing it just to fuck with him?

“I saw it in TikTok.” Oh. Yep. There it was. That’s just blatant stupidity.

“Oh my—“ Bradley threw his hands up dramatically. You missed his touch instantly. “In the year of our lord and savour twenty twenty two, we’re using pants to curl our hair now?”

“Yes!” You beamed, still working to twirl your hair around the pant leg.

“What is this! What even is this?” Bradley once again taunted you as he played with the loopy pant leg that hung by your neck twisted in your hair. The side you’d already done. “What’s going on here huh?”

“Rooster stop, I'm trying to get it all done right.” You only ever very rarely used his call sign, but when you did it melted Bradley’s top worlds together just a little more. His eyes on yours, looking at you with lust and need and all the admiration in the world through the mirror of your main bathroom.

“I’m so invested—when do I get to see the curled hair?” Watching as you finished the side you were working on. His hands coming to rest on your hips again, a wave of electricity racing through your body at his touch. Your skin hot with need.

“Are you ready for the finale?” Turning in Bradley’s grip that never faulted, you leaned against your bathroom countertop as he trapped you between strong arms like just looked way too fucking unreal in that plain black T-shirt. Biceps about ready to burst the hems open. He’d gotten noticeably bigger over the past few months, so noticeable you were even able to pick up on it via zoom. He’s been training a lot, preparing for TopGun. You were not opposed.

“Oh please, please show me—“ Bradley begged. He couldn’t wait for whatever stupid thing you were about to show him.

“You have to tuck the ears.” Pulling the two separate pant legs that held your hair in curls behind your head before folding them up and into the waistband that covered your head. “And then plop—“ You looked as if you were wearing a bonnet from the mid eighteen hundreds. Bradley Bradshaw had never laughed harder at how ridiculous you looked. But in the most beautiful way possible. For a brief moment, he wondered if you’d marry him one day. Because a life with you seemed not only one he’d wake up and pinch himself about every morning, but it seemed like fun. A life with you seemed fun and exhilarating because you were fun and oh so exhilarating.

“Oh you are just adorable.” He cooed, hands needing at your flesh under the silk that adorned your hips. “You are my favourite person. This right here?” Letting go of you as he circrled his hand around your face. “Is my favourite version of you ever— hands down.” Before bringing his hand back to you, your arms wrapping around his neck casually as he glared his way.

“I invite you into my home and all I get in return is taunted and teased for my beauty routine.” You snickered softly as the gap became smaller and smaller. Bradley had even gone as far as to gently pick you up and sit you down on the countertop. Your exposed thighs on either side of him as his sweatpant clad legs. “You’re so rude to me—“ It was just so natural to be like this, act like this. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. To you anyway.

“Am not.” That was all Rooster could really muster as a coherent response because he was so lost in your eyes, so lost in the moment, so lost in the fact he was one hundred percent committed to the fact he was about to kiss you for the first time that there was no brain power left to formulate anything else but a two word answer. His mind flooded with the possibility of rejection, but how could he ever really know unless he went for it.

“You just wait, these curls are gonna be show stop—“ Before you could finish, Bradley had his hands cupping your cheeks. Keeping you close as he pulled you towards him. His lips crashing into yours with so much passion behind his cry for love that you forgot how to breathe. It felt like tears but it was only mere seconds before he was pulling away to read the room.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just really wanted to do that since like—“

“Carlton, since the Carlton.” You finished Bradley’s sentence seamlessly because it’s the exact way you felt. Crashing your lips back against his you both fell into a needy state of just wanting to be close to one another in a way that had yet to be explored. Fuck the consequences. To know what it felt like to touch one another, to love one another even just for a moment in such an intimate way was worth the risk of losing it all.

“Hey! McGee! What’s taking so long?” That's what led to this very moment. Anthony DiNozzo didn't want to disrespect a boundary you had obviously set. He didn't want to step through the threshold of your townhouse if you weren't expecting him to be there. There was an obvious reason you had given Mcgee a key but not him. He just didn't know it.

He had tried his best to wait by the car, but time was precious and you were already running late. Hence the house call. Running up your porch stairs DiNozzo clapped his hands together as he entered your home, rounding the same corner mcgee had a few moments ago.

“C’mon people—chop chop! What happened to rule number three?” To his shock he stood beside Tim who was still trying to process the sight before him. Anthony pealled his sunglasses from his eyes as he scoffed aloud. “Holy fourth of July weenie roast, what the hell am I looking at?” Stirring awake shortly after your eyes fluttered open as you tired to stretch out. Bradleys body stopping you from moving too much as his arm splayed over your waist, holding you flush against his chest. “Good Morning–” DiNozzo smirked as your eyes bugged out of your head at the sight of him and McGee standing in your living room.

“Jesus Christ!” An audible gasp left your mouth as you flailed in shock, rolling off the couch onto the ground with a thud. Leaving Bradley totally exposed.

“Oh my–” DiNozzo was quick to quip as Mcgee looked up at the roof. Raising a horrified brow as Tony  looked at you with concern. Gesturing to his own forearm in pure jealousy. “We may need to take a detour to the emergency department Mcgee.” Bradley Bradshaw was definitely blessed, but DiNozzo was over reaching just a tad. “Get the man something to cover up will you Y/n.” You were quick to throw a decorative pillow at Bradley’s junk trying to preserve whatever modesty he had left. The Thud it left against him jolted him awake with a quick snore.

“What the hell are you two doing here!?” You hissed as you gathered the nearest throw blanket, wrapping it around yourself as you threw another one Bradleys way as he stirred awake. “It's sunday!”

“Gibbs called, we got another case.” Mcgee answers as he stepped towards you, handing you the coffee he’d ordered you from the cafe downtown. “We’ll give you a moment to uh, change. meet us in the car?”

“Uh, like hell we will.” Tony scoffed again as he stepped forward, Bradley had woken up enough to realise what was going on although he stayed quiet. “One, this man who is very genetically gifted mind you has your federally issued handcuffs cuffed around his right wrist.” Fuck you’d forgotten about that. “Two, who are you and what are you doing with our Gibbs?” You could not have rolled your eyes any harder than you did as you worked to unlock the cuffs on Bradleys wrist with the key that was sitting on your coffee table.

“Uh, Yeah I’m Bradley.” You tried to say he didn't have to introduce himself like this as he rubbed his wrist, kissing you gently on the forehead. God you were so fucking embarrassed, and after such a good night too. But Tony beat you to it. His eyes wide and a cheshire cat grin evident on his face.

“You’re flyboy!” Tony bellowed through your townhouse. So enlightened with the situation that was unfolding. “Oh this is amazing, you finally made a move on flyboy!”

“Who?” Bradley turned his attention back to you as you huffed out a sigh of disbelief. Squinting your eyes shut in embarrassment as you felt the heat in your cheeks rising. Sitting beside him as he beamed your way. “Whose flyboy–?”  

“You are, well, unless there's another Bradley who she drowns on and on about.” Tony taunted as he looked around your living room. “We started calling you flyboy before Junior here slipped up and gave us a name, does not shut up about you man– we even put a jar on her desk that she has to put a dollar in everytime she mentions you or somethin about you.”

“I think that fund is single handedly paying for the staff christmas party this year, right Tony?” Mcgee just had to jump in on the fun even if just for one small jab.

“Flyboy huh?” Bradley chuckled as you hid your face in his shoulder. “That's kinda adorable.”  he’d never really known, but that was and always had been his name in your cell. Flyboy Bradshaw.

“Tony, we should go wait in the car.” Mcgee tried to be the voice of reason, but DiNozzo was having the time of his life. He never really had any dirt on you, but now? Oh this was his time to fucking shine baby. He liked you alot, as a colleague and friend. But god did he like to taunt you. It had to be fair game though, simply because your father would slap him upside to head if it wasn't.

“I'm telling Gibbs.” You stood with a look of horror as you held the throw blanket under your armpits. Coffee in one hand.

“I will shoot you in the fucking foot!” Pointing a finger DiNozzo's way you gritted your teeth. “I will tell my dad, myself.”

“I vote we don't, like at all.'' Bradley smiled nervously as he wrapped the blanket around his waist. Standing with a groan because much like you, he’d been curled up on the lounge all night after having gone another round after an impromptu snack. “Not until we at least talk?” Kissing the top of your head as he pulled you into his side, Bradley glared down the two NCIS agents that stood before him. “How about instead of flyboy you guys call me Rooster?”  sticking his hand out the shake Tony’s, Tony was quick to reciprocate the gesture by taking Bradleys frimley. “Or Lieutenant Bradhsaw.”

“There a story behind that callsign, Lieutenant?” Although you always spoke highly and alot about Bradley Bradshaw, you never really spoke all that much about Rooster. To you he was two different versions of the same man you loved. You respected him too much to go about your day telling anyone and everyone who would listen about all the nitty gritty details about his life. You would of course drown on about how much he made you laugh, his smile, activities you would get up to, if he was visiting. All that jazz. But never would you out his private life.

“Perhaps over a beer sometime?” Bradley smirked softly as he shook McGee's hand. “Although it's good to finally meet you both I feel like the circumstances could have been better and less exposing.”

“And less rushed, Gibbs we really have to go–Older, more frightening Gibbs is blowing up my cell.” Mcgee gave you a worried smile. “We’ll be in the car.” Watching as th two agents that had taken you under their wings left your home, you let out a sigh as you let your head fall into Bradleys chest. His arms came to wrap around your shoulder as you both dropped your blankets.

“I am so unbelievably sorry about that–about them.”

“Don't be.” Bradley chuckled to himself softly as he kissed your head over and over. “Just uh, promise we’ll talk after you get back?”

“Yeah, uh yeah of course, I don't know how long I'll be but my keys are in the bowl at the front door and there's gas in the tank so please feel free to do whatever.” You mentioned to Bradley as you pulled away, sipping the coffee that was just perfect. “I'm going to go get ready really really quickly and I'll be right back.” You weren't kidding, Rooster probably counted a whole three minutes before you were racing down the stairs again.

“Don't forget these.” Throwing you the handcuffs you’d used to cuff his hands behind his back last night. “I won't lie, that was a little embarrassing.” He’d managed to find his sweatpants in the time you were gone. Standing to meet you mere the front door as he handed you the key to the cuffs. “But I wouldn't mind doing that again.”

“You wanna maybe get dinner tonight? There's a really nice place a few streets down that serves really nice fusion.” Nodding, Bradley was careful as he placed the stray hairs that had fallen across your face behind your ear.

“I'd like that, yeah.” He was trying to downplay it, but his heart was doing fucking backflips right now. “It’s a date.” The horn of DiNozzo’s car interrupted before you could stay in the moment any longer.

“Alright I'm coming!” You shouted. “Don't get your knickers in a knot!” Turning back to Bradley you kissed his cheek. “See you later.”

“Bye honey, have a great day–” Bradley beamed with a tasing smirk as you ran down the stairs. You didn't know it, but the second Rooster shut your front door he was cheering. He had gotten the girl of his dreams.

“Hey, why does Mcgee have a key to your house and I don't?” Tony asked as he looked at you as you slithered across the backseat.

“I forgot he even had one honestly, he watered my plants the last time I went out of town.” You answered the all pressing question as you clipped in. “But you can sure as shit give it back after that fucking invasion of privacy.”

****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~

Tag: @auroraboreallisfine @tigerfan24 @atarmychick007 @rosee-sensuelle @unhingedhousehold @daisyhollyxox @luckyladycreator2 @86laura11 @justanothermagicalsara

[naranjapetrificada]

The first thing I should ever have said about Izzy and the last thing I intend to say until at least October 26th.

[Although I am not Her strongest soldier, so who knows if I will stick the landing.]

So to start with, I was a "late" arrival to the show. I knew it existed of course, but I only occasionally saw things that reminded me it existed. The first time I saw a mention of "grumpy/sunshine" it was with a picture of Ed and Stede, so I guess on some level I knew there was shipping going on, but that was literally all I knew. I didn't even know it involved Blackbeard lol.

Which is all to say that I first approached and watched season 1 removed from basically anything anyone had to say about it. I think what actually got me to watch it wasn't anything anyone had to say either, it was from youtube recommendations? Like I think I had watched a couple Taika interviews or something and ofmd stuff started showing up? So after catching a few clips and intentionally spoiling the kiss for myself (life is too short to be queerbaited) I watched it in April/May 2023, and was Changed by it the way so many other people were. It grabbed me so hard I started looking for fics, and when fic grabbed me even harder I became a regular tumblr user for the first time ever in June 2023.

What I didn't do, before the second half of 2023, was care particularly much about Izzy Hands.

I remember describing him as psychologically fascinating to the first IRL friend I talked to about the show, and joking that he just needed a good dom. As much as his decision to call in the navy was a threat to Stede's and Ed's lives, I saw his actions as part of a thing needed for the story, and while I knew he was one of the season's villains there wasn't really any heat behind that assessment.

For me he was there to set things in motion, and to serve the narrative in certain ways, to be a foil, more storytelling tool than man. That doesn't mean I didn't think Con did an excellent job adding layers to him, he absolutely made Izzy take up space and feel more present and textured than he otherwise might have. But when I began to zoom out and consider things on meta level, Izzy existed to do a certain thing or occupy a certain place in relation to the narrative and other characters more than anything else. And that was fine.

Then I started reading meta here, and found myself surrounded by passionate conversations about Izzy from many directions occurring with an intensity that I couldn't wrap my brain around. I saw people tying themselves into knots to justify and excuse the behavior of a textual antagonist, and I was baffled and because I still saw Izzy for what his role in the narrative was, it literally made no sense to see his behavior explained away. In the framework I brought to the fandom when I first arrived, trying to explain away Izzy's behavior would be like looking at a forest fire and trying to explain away processes like combustion and oxidation. Or if you'll allow me to borrow another extended, nature-based metaphor from a fic in an entirely different fandom:

Again, because from where my head was at, it didn't make sense to look at Izzy's morality as a zero sum game because in this metaphor, he was functionally just a brackish body of water. I'm not saying the morality is brackish, I'm saying the morality was literally not the point because like an estuary, an antagonist "must exist" because antagonists exist for specific reasons directly related to storytelling goals.

So there was no real heat behind my feelings about him or his actions, beyond the natural emotional reactions we have to characters and their behaviors before we zoom out. I was of course upset with his treatment of Lucius, which was targeted compared to other members of the crew. I was annoyed with the way he talked to and about Ed. I laughed when his plans had the equal and opposite results of what he intended, which you could argue happened with every single plan he made for the entirety of season 1. And yes, especially as a Black person living in the US, I felt the fear and betrayal that comes from seeing someone call the cops (which given the show and its writers, it does not feel like a stretch to describe calling the navy that). I wondered if there was any coming back from a choice like that, which is a big overriding question for the series as a whole.

I'm not here to debate any of the points in the previous paragraph. I know how I feel and you feel how you feel and there's already been so much said about the morality of it all by people who have explained themselves well, so let them convince you or not. Instead I've been trying to talk about the two sides of my experience before and after getting into the fandom with Izzy.

Before: Izzy Hands, Narratively Useful Antagonist Portrayed Compellingly And Effectively by Con O'Neill.

After: Izzy Hands, Unfortunate Avatar Of The Sadly Common Tendency For Certain Fans To Hyperfocus On A White Antagonist Or Secondary Character When There Already Exists A Protagonist They're A Foil Of (And Also It Looks Bad TO Do That When The Protagonist Is Someone With A Marginalized Identity).

I'm not here to argue the merits of those assessments either, because that's not the point. The point is the vast gulf between them and how the latter does such an incredible disservice to the Izzy we were given and that so many people claim to love. The latter comes from a place where morality is the focus, which I'm sorry y'all, feels like it originates with people who refuse to countenance Izzy's role in the story as well as his characterization.

Viewers who were willing to see Izzy as an antagonist, who don't view the word "antagonist" as a value judgement in and of itself, who don't think that finding an antagonist charismatic or compelling means anything about their own morality, those people can look at the show we were given and take it for what it was made to be. I'm not saying that it's only the Izzy stans (not enjoyers, not jar people) who start fights or that people who understand that Izzy is an antagonist don't also have deep morality related feelings about him and his actions in the first season. What I am saying is that sanding off Izzy's rough edges and trying to make him into something he isn't poisons even the possibility of having a discussion about him because people enter the conversation with two completely different understandings of reality. If you cannot accept the job that season 1 Izzy was given to do to move the story along, well you might as well have watched a completely different show for how much that fanon Izzy has anything to do with the canon one.

This show deserves better than that. The writers deserve better than that. Con O'Neill deserves better than that. Israel Basilica Hands deserves better than that. We all do.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

can you explain why you dont believe the titanic switch conspiracy theory? didnt they find a propeller with "olympic" written on it amongst the wreckage?

i feel like the phrase "you just activated my trap card" applies here but i have also never watched yu-gi-oh so dont fully know the correct use of that. anyway whats the text limit on a tumblr post because i think i might hit it with this response.

before we begin (if you wanna join me on this fucking journey), ill just drop some useful sources on the topic:

olympic & titanic - an analysis of the robin gardiner conspiracy theory dissertation by mark chirnside in july 2006

titanic or olympic: which ship sank? by steve hall and bruce beveridge

olympic & titanic: the truth behind the conspiracy by steve hall and bruce beveridge

with that shipkeeping housekeeping out of the way, lets jump into it after the cut

so hands up, how many people knew that this theory originated in a book from 1995?

yeah, its a pretty modern theory considering titanic sank in 1912. the theory originated in the riddle of the titanic by robin gardiner and dan van der dat.

and the theory argues that the ships were switched and titanic (actually olympic) was deliberately sank as part of an insurance scam. now they didnt do this at all for shits and giggles. instead, the theory posits that the navy enquiry that followed the 1911 collision between hms hawke and olympic was biased which meant white star line couldnt recover the costs of repair from lloyds (the insurance company), and therefore, they wrote olmpic off as too damaged to be repaired, lied about the amount of damage, switched the ships and sank olympic disguised as titanic to recover some costs.

far-fetched? oh definitely and it gets worse, but ill leave that til later in this gargantuan response because its really fucking funny.

(seriously, i recommend you read til the end or just skip to the part where i start talking about the sinking itself because fam, gardiners theory gets wild )

according to van der dat, who is a dutch journalist and naval history writer with an incredibly dutch name, gardiner had wrote the manuscript after researching the titanic for however many years and sent it to his literary agent. this agent had previously worked with van der dat and so sent it to him to double-check the information by going back to the original sources. he then rewrote the book with line-by-line consultation with gardiner.

and would you like to hear a quote from van der dat regarding the theory? i think you would:

"the publishers were disillusioned when the theory did not stand up"

he also, in correspondence with titanic author and researcher paul lee, called it "bilge" which is a fun ship joke alongside calling the theory bullshit.

anyway, the publishers went ahead with the book anyway because fuck integrity, i guess... thats kinda harsh considering this first book (oh yeah, theres more) was praised for stellar research and for being balanced, and the final chapter of the book literally acknowledges that the wreck has titanics shipyard number (401) on it, hence disproving the theory.

in 1997, it was published in the us under the name the titanic conspiracy - cover-ups and mysteries of the worlds most famous sea disaster, and it sold like sliced bread in 1928 because 1997 was titanic fever, baby!

unsurprisingly, gardiner's following books (titanic: the ship that never sank? in 1998; the history of the white star line in 2001; the great titanic conspiracy in 2010) were a lot less well-received and were not co-authored by van der dat.

-

"but wait, kai!" you might shout if youre up to date with issues of the times from 1914, "what about raymond asquith's comments? he was junior counsel for the board of trade at the sinking inquiry!"

and i would say, what about it? the letter asquith wrote to the times was a sarcastic letter in response to a prior stance taken by the paper.

yes, he said "the architect, the owner, and the captain to repair their desperate fortunes by sinking the ship and sharing the insurance money" but said letter also included the phrase "manipulating dummy icebergs".

if were taking sarcastic or satirical responses outside of their original contexts as serious quotes, then i guess i need to cancel my dropout subscription since the company holds the opinion that oj simpson is innocent.

and while were here, that single deathbed confession from james fenton is not evidence of anything. his name is not on any crew lists or survivor lists, and not a single payment was ever claimed by a crewman called james fenton. he was not on board the titanic and his claims hold no weight.

-

now, my go-to explanation as to why i dont believe the switch theory is that their insurance scam would have lost them money and they would know that it would have lost them money.

see, it cost white star (which was a subsidiary of the international mercantile marine) £1.5million/$7.5million to build titanic and they insured it by lloyds (you can check their records on their website) for £1million/$5million.

you dont have to be good at maths to see a problem here.

they didnt just not insure the rest; it was self-insured by imm's insurance fund, but that still means theyd have lost £500,000/$2.5million on the sunken ship.

this whole insurance thing was established by uh the united states senate inquiry report:

"the vessel fully equipped, cost £1,500,000 sterling, or about $7,500,000. at the time of the accident the vessel carried insurance of £1,000,000 sterling or about $5,000,000, the remaining risk being carried by the company's insurance fund."

oh and the £1,000,009 insurance was announced in the daily mirror on 16th april 1912

and the insurance scam seemingly thought up by someones whose first and only introduction to maths was golf isnt the only way white star would have lost money on this.

after the sinking, olympic was temporarily pulled from service to increase safety measures like adding more lifeboats. obviously, a logical move made by a company with a brand new, safer ship on their hands who were desperate for any money they can make.

white star also halted construction of britannic, titanics other sister ship, in order to alter the design and make it safer. this costs quite a bit of money and is, again, an odd choice for a company apparently desperate for money.

-

and hey, question for you guys: if you were alive in 1913 and needed to cross the atlantic, would you

a) choose the near identical sister ship of that ship that sank last year and was the deadliest sinking of a ship at that time

or

b) choose any other option such as the lusitania or the mauretania or the ss france or the ss imperator

personally id take my chances with option a, idk about you

yeah so the point im making here is that the sinking of the titanic was what the kids say

a marketing disaster

it was the loss of the newest flagship on its maiden fucking voyage and it had been touted as "practically unsinkable". maybe just maybe people wouldnt feel that comfortable getting on a white star line ship after that.

i dont have any figures for you because reading through a detailed account of white stars history just is not on my to-do list, but that doesnt even matter. what matters is that its clearly a massive risk and who the fuck is taking that risk?

as titanic author, senan molony states:

"one doesnt need to compare designs and count portholes - a moments serious consideration of the reputational risk involved - individually and collectively - is all that is required to end any entertainment of the notion"

-

anyway, you guys wanna compare designs and count portholes? yeah? okay, here we go!

may i present a non-exhaustive list of differences between the ships:

olympics wheelhouse was curved; titanics was flat

titanic was 4 inches longer

the porthole arrangements on shelter deck c were different

on b deck, olympic had a 1st class promenade; titanic had 2 private verandahs and suites (put a pin in this by the way, it comes back in the best of ways)

titanic had additional cabins on promenade deck a

olympics promenade was open all the way along; on titanic, the forward half of the 1st class promenade on a-deck was enclosed with retractable glass screens

on titanic, the forward bridge wings aft docking bridge on the stern extended over the ships side by a couple of feet; this would not be true for olympic until the 1912/13 refit

the officers deck house was pushed out more on titanic

the iron gates of the elevators were different between the ships and this is evident in the wreck itself

their propellers had different pitches and hence not interchangeable (pitch is a theoretical concept which is like the distance a propeller would move if it turned once through something solid, yeah i dont know either)

the wireless cabin had an outside window on olympic, but not titanic

further, it was placed on the port side of the officers deck house on olympic but amidship on titanic

they had different air vent arrangements around the funnels

white star line cut the ships names into the shell-plating at the bow and stern, four feet high and a ½ inch deep

now, please, close your eyes, take a deep breath and consider how much money it would cost to switch just the list above. now compare all of that to the -£500,000/$2.5million youre losing in the insurance scam.

truly, a spend less on candles situation.

and while we're here, shall we quickly talk about how much hush money white star would be paying to silence everyone about this since its apparently an illegal insurance scam.

not to make another non-exhaustive list but heres just who i can think of that youd have to silence:

the 15,000 workers employed directly by the shipyard

the 20,000+ workers in support services or sub contractors

any permanent or casual staff at the belfast dock and harbour comission

all of the officers and crew who came directly from olympic onto titanic such as the captain or stewardess violet jessop (puppet history fans rise up) who interestingly remarked on how improved titanic was compared to olympic

any staff at white star, imm and harland & wolff (where she was built) who would be in the know such as designers

passengers who had previously sailed on olympic who then sailed on titanic

just like anyone in belfast who walked past while the ships were docked together

olympics wreckers: thomas wards & sons who kept huge loose-leaf ledgers for each ships. the one for olympic was 72 pages long and funnily enough olympics yard number and builders I'd frequently appear in it, as seen below

bob ballard who was the one who found titanic. hes known as a very honest man and didnt even claim salvage rights on titanic because he assumed everyone else would also recognise it was a gravesite. he also said "i think it is the titanic at the bottom of the ocean"

every other explorer or researcher like james fucking cameron or us navy consultant and titanic wreck explorer, parks stephenson

its been estimated likely over 60,000 people were involved in just the building of titanic. this was ⅕ of belfasts population and ⅓ of the working population. heres a photo of them leaving olympic at the end of the day

now maybe im just a fool, but that looks like a lot of people you need to silence, and unless white star were blackmailing them or idk fucking killing them i guess, thats a lot of hush money just in the photo above.

i mean, theres also the claim, from noted liar james fenton, that the surviving crew were forced to sign the official secrets act of 1911, but that act was about espionage that benefits the enemy military so im not sure how this is relevant to the switch, and also, again, the guy was never on the ship.

are you perhaps starting to get the picture as to why i dont believe the conspiracy theory because im still going.

-

okay so as established, if the ships were switched, there would have clearly been a lot of work that would need to be done to switch the ships.

and i only mentioned some of the structural differences, i didnt get into the aesthetic differences like the floor tiles and carpeting being different colours, or how the lounge furniture in each ship having the ship name on them.

mind you, this is what titanic looked like (in the foreground) when olympic was first docked next to her:

this was taken around october 11. olympic docked next to titanic on october 7th for repairs after that whole catastrophic collision.

now how much time do you think it was before olympic sailed away? mind you, titanic has already been launched at this point and just needs to be fitted-out, and that normally takes around 4 to 6 months?

oh, what was that? 44 days? why, kid, youre going somewhere. it was 44 days exactly!

now, i dont think i need to get into the fact that the dock only had 1 crane (which you needed to install and uninstall funnels and machinery) that physically couldnt reach olympic unless she was moved or how olympic was painted white for her launch and then painted black and that the white paint would get exposed in rough weather so the same would have to be applied to titanic so it would look convincingly like olympic.

i mean, you have that information now, but im hoping just by the words "44 days", you might get how off the wall insane it is to suggest white star was able to switch the ships so well no one noticed for decades in 44 fucking days.

"wait kai, youre forgetting that they were docked together again!" you shout, "after olympic threw a propeller, they were docked together from march 1st to march 7th 1912"

and i dont know dude, im pretty sure white star cant warp space time so i really dont know what eight extra days is gonna do.

i hate to strawman but man, the late robin gardiner would have won a gold medal in scarecrow hide and seek.

-

lets also take a quick detour into the idea that olympics repairs were so expensive.

without getting into gardiners claims about the damage because theres no evidence of it and as mark chirnside states "there are no credible sources indicating that the damage to olympic was worse than reported at the time - and indeed ample sworn expert testimony to the contrary", lets just quickly go over some financial stuff.

during the case, it was unofficially estimated that the damage didnt exceed $125,000. imm, by including lost passenger receipts, wanted to claim for as high as $750,000, but they lost that case.

during the year 1911, imms surplus profit was $822,062. so weve got:

750,000 > 822,062

now as we might remember from key stage 1 maths, the bigger number eats the smaller number, aka, their surplus profit covered the costs of repair.

aka, no ill-advised insurance scam needed.

-

"thousands of people in belfast would have seen the switch operation - and yet there is not one word in the papers of reporters or photographers rushing out to find out what was happening."

-dr paul lee

so this is the section where i ask how did no one fucking notice?

no one on titanic, who had previously sailed on olympic, ever said anything about the switch other than one guy who was literally not on the ship at any point.

no one who has ever explored the wreck or done research on it has definitively stated it was olympic. rather, they have definitively stated otherwise.

for example, what remains of the base on the wheelhouse shows it to be straight and not curved, and as you might remember: titanics wheelhouse was heterosexual straight and olympics was curved.

(id be impressed if you did remember)

also, as parks stephenson has stated:

"weve got actual high def images of this wreck. ive seen with my own eyes. weve identified the name titanic on the port bow"

its difficult to make out but its there; the name is on the fucking ship.

also, as you might remember, titanics b-deck was different to olympics. the 2 suites there were nicknamed the "millionaire suites" and jim cameron has used rovs to go inside of them.

funnily enough, robin gardiner has gone on the record saying that these suites didnt exist so make of that what you will.

and further, no one noticed anything about olympic even though she sailed for 24 more years. theres no written record of anything, theres nothing in the board of trade reports, theres no photographic proof and theres not even fucking hearsay.

she served as a damn troopship in ww1, youd figure someone would figure it out as all of her fittings were ripped out.

but no, theres nothing.

as i mentioned above, olympic was scrapped in 1935, but some of her fittings were auctioned off and still exist today. and these have the number 400 on them because that was her shipyard number. titanics was 401 and the wreck reflects this also:

the wooden parts are from olympic; the other has been salvaged from titanics wreck.

theres even the famous myth that olympic or olympus as one person told me is written on the propeller at the bottom of the ocean. its not, but you can see the number 401 written on it:

-

and while were disproving myths about the name olympic being on the titanic, the story about olympic being engraved on titanics lifeboats is also false:

theres no written testimony, no sketches and no photographs of this.

white star didnt engrave names onto lifeboats, the names were on metal plates that were screwed on

do you really think they did all of this work but just didnt fucking swap the lifeboats? if theyre this stupid, how did it take until 1995 for someone to figure it out?

-

we can also discuss the stupid olympic room thing while were here. see theres a maritime superstition that changing the name on a ship is bad luck and obviously, if youre swapping the ships, youre changing the names.

so to... get around this? cheat luck? outsmart superstition? i dont fucking know, to take a detour to avoid this, white star named a room "the olympic room."

i cannot find any evidence at all that this room ever existed. its not in the design plans or the blueprints, and no passenger or crew has ever said it existed, so im pretty sure the room just didnt exist.

and even if it did exist, titanic was in the olympic class of ships. thats what olympic, titanic and britannic were. its not weird to have an olympic room on an olympic class ship. i mean it is weird in this case since the room didnt exist, but you get my point.

-

and heres some quickfire myths and falsehoods

the myth about the 14 vs 16 bow portholes is also a false. yes, titanic had 14 portholes on launch but an extra 2 were added before her maiden voyage so yes, the ship photographed departing southampton with 16 bow portholes is the titanic, and do you really think it would take 83 years to figure this out if it was this easy?

similarly, titanic did have evenly spaced b-deck windows on launch, but then the extra verandahs and suites were added so the window configuration was altered, so that photograph is off the titanic.

the idea that titanic had a 2 degree list to port like the olympic before her is evidence of the switch theory is, to borrow a word from dan van der dat, bilge. plenty of ships at the time and now have minor lists. the one on titanic was only recorded by 2 passengers and we know that the list was related to coal consumption. it means nothing.

jp morgan (owner of imm) did not cancel last minute. as mark baber points out on encyclopedia titanica, it was announced in the new york times that hed be in venice on april 23. at that time, transatlantic voyages took at least 5 days so it would at least be a 10 day round trip and likely not give him time to get to venice for the opening of a store of whatever it was.

also, j bruce ismays wife and kids also didnt cancel last minute. theyd already decided to go on holiday to wales rather than sail on titanic.

addendum to that point: if ismay knew it was going to be sank deliberately and so warned his wife, why would he get on board himself? further, why would harland and wolff designer thomas andrews (who did not survive by the way) get on board?

-

and we're finally at my favourite part of this entire mess: the sinking itself.

see, a deliberate sinking doesnt really make sense for titanic because the conditions under which she sank has led to the descriptor "freak sinking."

these are: a new moon meaning less light, unusually calm ocean that disallowed lookouts to watch for foam as waves hit any icebergs, ice having drifted further south than normal for that time of year, and a sideways glancing blow that breached more watertight compartments than the ship could handle and stay afloat.

and idk dude, is there not an easier way? like maybe some light arson. just call it an accidental fire that got out of control and led to the ship being a write-off, this isnt difficult.

but you see gardiner has an answer to this, and i am laughing as im typing this, he claims that:

titanic didnt hit an iceberg, it hit an imm rescue ship.

thats right, this guy fully says titanic didnt hit an iceberg. apparently it hit another ship and NO ONE FUCKING NOTICED

i mean we have testimony from survivors but fuck them i guess.

he claims that as titanic was apparently a "steel double-hulled vessel" so an iceberg simply couldnt inflict so much damage.

yeah titanic wasnt double-hulled. she had a double bottom, but it was only after titanic that shipbuilders were like ah maybe full double hulls arent an unnecessary expense after all.

theres also the issue of uh no evidence of this rescue ship ever existing? at all? i dont know where it came from, i dont know where it went, and who fucking knows, maybe it was called the rms cotton eyed joe.

yeah so weve got a theory riddled with problems and im just gonna introduce some more problems with this theory as gardiner has also alleged that:

the original plan was to open the seacocks and slowly flood the ship, but this was interrupted by titanic hitting another ship

1) titanic didnt have seacocks? and 2) was the rest of it a coincidence then? i think its meant to be a coincidence.

i believe his theory is alleging that the crew on titanic would open the seacocks that didnt exist to flood the ship slowly, and that the imm rescue ship that also didnt exist was in the area in advance to help evacuate passengers, alongside other ships such as the ss californian.

this is that ship that was like 10 miles away or something and didnt respond to titanics distress signals. according to gardiner, they were expecting a rendezvous with titanic according to the "original plan", but never received it.

instead, they saw the rockets of the fabled imm rescue ship and helped them instead.

this is fucking stupid.

i cant be charitable here, its a fucking stupid theory. i mean, that imm ship did not exist, and also californian is a ridiculous choice for a rescue ship. her capacity was 47 passengers and 55 crew; there were more than 2200 people on board titanic.

to counteract this argument, gardiner alleges carpathia was also in on the scheme as a rescue ship. she, at least, had capacity for the passengers, but theres also several problems with this too.

for one, it was fucking 50 miles away and famously arrived several hours after the sinking even though the captain had her running at top speed to get there.

for two, carpathia was owned by cunard, white stars rival. was their rival line in on the insurance scam??? how much money did they have to pay cunard for this????? why? just why?

do you understand why i dont believe it? please tell me you understand. i need you to understand. i need you to tell me that you understand that the guy who created this conspiracy claimed titanic didnt hit an iceberg.

[harlowsbby]

request: yn is Jack's personal assistant. She goes everywhere with him, fans ship them, and maybe they have a lil situationship going on.

Disclosure

Being Jack’s personal assistant had its ups and downs, the fans loved you and adored you they even shipped the two of you together but the one thing you hated was that Jack and You actually weren’t together.

Jack and you were what they would say a situation-ship, you’ve both slept with each other multiple times, but Jack was able to run around the streets freely and have any girl he wanted but not you.

You hated the way things were and maybe you should’ve never fell in love with Jack and kept things strictly business, but you feel in love with Jack, and you weren’t sure if there was any turning back.

“Y/N are you coming? SNL starts in a few minutes, and you aren’t even dressed.” You we’re currently in New York for Jack’s appearance and performance on SNL.

“I’m coming Neelam just let me get dressed really quick.” You tossed on a pair of leggings and a sweater you had got back at Old Navy and just paired it with some Ugg's. You never felt the need to be dressed up all of the time especially when you were always hidden in the back not really known just to a few of Jack’s Day one fans. 

You were in the middle of doing your makeup when a knock came from the door it must’ve been Neelam. “I’m coming Neelam give me a minute!” If it was one thing about Neelam, she was going to make sure everyone was on time she hated arriving anywhere late especially on a night like this. 

“It isn’t Neelam.” Hopping down from the bathroom counter you walked out of the bathroom and smiled when you realized it was Jack. 

“Well, well, well look what the cat brought in, are you excited about tonight? I thought you were supposed to have been there already.” 

“I was but I did good in rehearsal, so I didn’t have to be there early why do you care if I’m gone or not? I thought you missed me I guess not.” He sighed dramatically and flopped on your bed, rolling your eyes you finished applying your lip gloss before making your way over towards him. 

“I did miss you and you know I miss you, I just want to make sure you get there on time I am your assistant I can’t afford to have your image being ruined.” You took your job very serious I mean your reputation as well was on the line.

“I’ve told you many times you don’t have to take everything so serious sweet girl.” Your stomach did backflips when he called you sweet girl, it was your favorite nickname by him.

“Well you should know by now I take everything serious.” You looked up at him and saw he was already looking at you well more like your lips, you smirked.

“My eyes aren’t down there Jack.” He blushed when you noticed him starring. “Well I can’t help it I just love how plump and juicy your lips look sweet girl.” You smiled but quickly frowned when you remembered just how many other girls he had called and is calling sweet girl as well.

“Well I think it’s time we get going I don’t want Neelam coming up here.” You got up quickly trying to change the subject you were trying your best to take your mind off of Jack and lose the feelings you had for him but it was harder than what you thought.

“Before we go can I get a kiss my sweet girl.” He grabbed your hips and pulled you against him before pressing his lips against yours. You didn’t kiss back at first and that made him smirk, his hands traveled slowly to your ass before gripping it firmly making you yelp and kissing him back after awhile he pulled away for air.

“Next time don’t play with me baby girl you know I don’t like that shit.” He threatened and you nodded, your legs squeezing together tightly.

“Now let’s go baby.”

On the car ride there you stayed quiet and sat in the back away from everybody, your mind was running with so many thoughts you wanted to express your feeling to Jack and let him know how you truly felt about him but you didn’t want risk things getting awkward.

You closed your eyes and began to doze off but before you did you overheard the conversation between Jack and Urban.

“Did you see what Stassie posted earlier?” Urban asked Jack and went to pull up their good friend Stassie’s instagram page.

“No? What did she post.”

“Dude look at her in this green bikini she looks so damn good.”

“Shit she does look good but I’m trying to see what that bikini looks like off.” Jack joked but you knew deep down inside he wasn’t joking and that’s what hurt you. You so badly wanted to just jump out of the car and run away as fast as you could.

You eventually ended up falling asleep and were woken up by Neelam.

“We’re here everyone else is inside already inside.” You nodded and followed her out of the SUV before going backstage of SNL.

“You must be Jack’s assistant uh what’s your name again?” Rod asked you. “My name is Y/N, who are you?” You gave him a soft smile and he smiled right back.

“I’m Rod I’m the assistant of Kenan Thompson.”

“Kenan has an assistant? Literally since when I thought he did everything himself.” Rod laughed.

“I’ve been his assistant since after Good Burger came out, how long have you been Jack’s assistant I never knew he had one.”

“Just recently I think it’s been about five or six months.”

“How do you like it so far? Anything juicy details that you only know.” The only deep secret you had was that you were sleeping with Jack but obviously Rod couldn’t know that.

“Nope and besides if I did what makes you think I’ll give them up so easily you have to pay me for all my juicy secrets.” The two of you laughed and kept talking about anything and everything, Jack watched from a distance a sour look on his face.

Jack knew you weren’t his so there was really no reason as to why he should be jealous right now but he was, Jack had trust issues and he knew you’d never do him dirty but he wasn’t ready to make things official with you just yet but that didn’t mean he wanted you getting any other male attention.

“Jack are you ready?” You came from behind him with a smile so bright you could’ve made him blind.

“I’m ready baby just a bit nervous is all.” He whispered and began to fiddle with his fingers. You took his hands in yours and brought them up to your lips before placing a kiss on them.

“I promise you’ll do good and that you’ll do amazing out there don’t sweat the small stuff Jack.”

“Thank you baby I appreciate that but I feel like a good luck kiss will help sooth my nerves.” He pouted, giggling you stood up on your tippy toes before placing a quick peck to his lips.

“How was that for good luck?” Amusement dripping off your tongue as you spoke. He crooked his head to the side as if he was thinking. “I mean it was good but I think I need two more kisses you know just for good luck.”

“Hmmm good luck my ass but I’ll gladly give you some more kisses.” Little did Jack and You know that there was a certain someone peaking around the corner of the two of you making sure they got every angle and several pictures of you both.

“Thank you so much SNL for having me tonight! This was such an honor and such a dream to only perform but to be involved in all of the skits! Thank you again and get home safe!!” Jack yelled out to the audience you smiled from backstage.

You were laughing the entire time Jack truly deserved to be where he was at today and even though you were joining the team late you were so happy to be apart of it.

He walked backstage and gave everyone hugs and thanked everyone that was thanking him, before he finally made it to you, standing there with your arms crossed over your chest and a smug look on your face.

“Well I guess you killed it after all huh Mr. Stigma man.”

“I’m assuming that was your favorite skit?”

“Hmmm I think my favorite skit was when you were acting like a waitress seeing you thrusting your hips like that gave me flashbacks.” You whispered in his ear making him go stiff.

“Oh is that so baby? What if I brought all them memories back to life again.” He nippled on your ear making you moan slightly.

“Jack!” The two of you jumped apart, looking up looked down in embarrassment hoping they didn’t see you two.

“Good job tonight we’re all going out to eat to celebrate are you coming?” Kenan came from around the corner, Jack nodded and snapped out of his thoughts. All he wanted to do was take you right then and there but he completely forgot the two of you were backstage.

“Uh sure I’ll be there, can I bring everyone?”

“Actually we usually only invite out the artist.” Jack’s face fell he always wanted to include Urban and everyone in anything special. “Well then I’ll just go back to the hotel with the guys and celebrate there.”

“What?” You looked up at him with your eyebrows furrowed. “You’re going out and celebrating are you crazy we’ll be fine now go.” You shoved him towards Kenana.

“Are you sure bab- I mean Y/N?” Kenan looked up in Jack in curiosity, was he about to call you baby?

“I’m sure Jack go out and have fun we can all celebrate next week in Louisville since you’ll be busy the rest of this week.” He was a bit hesitant at first but he went anyways he gave you a quick side hug before leaving with Kenan.

“So what do we do now?” Urban came from behind you. “You wanna try out that hot dog stand down the street? I heard they have the best hot dogs in New York.” “When it comes to food you know I’m always down.”

That’s exactly what Urban and You after you both ordered your hot dogs and a drink you stood outside the shop and ate in peace, but your peace didn’t last long when you were spotted by a few fans.

“Omg Urban and Y/N! We’re like your biggest fans can we please get a picture and we won’t bother you again.” One of the girls who had red hair asked, you smiled and nodded and tossed the rest of your hot dog in the trash.

“Bother us? You guys could never bother us we love talking and meeting you all.”

“What Y/N said I love my fans, what are you guys doing up so late? Don’t you got college or something.” Urban asked making them all giggle.

“We don’t have college today well later on this morning, we just watched Jack’s SNL performance, we totally thought you’d be in it Urban.” You smiled and stepped back at bit letting Urban talk to the fans, pulling out your phone you opening Instagram seeing that Jack had posted something on his story.

You frowned the minute you clicked on it, there he was at some club with the rest of the cast of SNL you skipped over to the next story and saw that it was a story from Drama’s Instagram and Jack had reposted it on his page, there Jack sat with some random girl in his lap.

“What’s wrong Y/N.” You mentally cursed you completely forgot it wasn’t just Urban and You.

“Oh it’s nothing I just saw a really sad cat video or something.” You lied. “You don’t even like cats what are you talking about?” You elbowed Urban in the chest making him double over and groan.

“Is it about Jack?” The blond haired fan ask and her question honestly caught you off guard.

“Wha- what are you talking about?” Her and the red haired girl looked at each other before looking back at you.

“We kinda figured the two of you had something going on I mean we see the way he looks at you at events he’s at or the way he holds your hand whenever the two of you are in a crowded area.”

“Well anybody can hold someone’s hand in a crowded area and it doesn’t mean anything.” You tried to defend yourself but they weren’t born yesterday. “I mean they can but not the way Jack does he does it in a protective manner as if he’s your boyfriend.”

You didn’t want to keep lying to them so you just decided to come clean.

“Well me and Jack aren’t exactly dating it’s complicated.” You sighed and they both gave you side smiles. “Well whatever it is that’s holding him back I hope he gets his ass together because you’re the only girl we’d want him to be with.”

You instantly started tearing up. “Thank you so much girls but Urban and I have to get going tomorrow Jack will be on the breakfast club so don’t miss it.” “Oh we definitely won’t but hopefully we’ll see you around soon!”

You waved at them before turning your attention back on Urban who had now finally recovered.

“The next time you want to correct me for being wrong please don’t elbow me in the stomach I think my hot dog is coming back up.” He groaned.

“I’m sorry Urban how about we go back to the hotel and drink some hot chocolate or something, how does that sound?” His mood instantly picked up. “That sounds wonderful.”

On the way back to the hotel your mind couldn’t help up to wonder back to Jack, he gave you feelings so many feelings some of them just too hard to explain. You knew you deserved better you deserved to be in an actual relationship not someone’s booty call or temporary girlfriend when it was beneficial for them.

You just wanted him to be yours and for you to be his but that felt like the biggest joke of the year.

The next day

“Good morning everyone my name is Charlemagne the God.”

“And I’m Dj Envy”

“And I’m Angela Yee and you’re watching The Breakfast Club.”

You were exhausted everyone was you were honestly surprised you were able to get Jack up and at the radio show on time.

Last night when Jack came home it was around 3am in the morning he had stumbled into your shared hotel room drunk and all.

“Jack? Are you drunk.” You groaned and flipped to your side before turning on the lamp next to you.

“Baby, babe that’s my girl!!” He yelled his curls going in every and any direction he was reeking of alcohol.

“Jack I think you need a shower come on.” You got out of bed and tried your best to pull him into the bathroom but he was flapping his arms around and he was 6’3 man and bigger than you.

You huffed when you finally made it into the bathroom. He sat on the toilet and watched how you turned on the water and checked it making sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold, he might’ve been out of it but he always admired you.

“Y/N.” He slurred. “Yes Jack.”

“I love you.” You froze he’s said he loves you several other times but this time it felt different there was something different but he was drunk and there was no way he meant this.

“Jack.” You sighed. “You’re drink come on let’s get you in the shower you have The Breakfast Club in the morning.”

“I’m being serious baby I love you.” He grabbed your hips and pulled you in-front of him. You stood in between his legs. “Jack let’s just shower please.” You whispered he gave you sad eyes but took off his shirt and you stood back while he took everything else off.

You helped him wash up once he was in while you were cleaning his neck you noticed a purple and green mark on his neck.

“Jack what’s this on your neck?”

“What’s what? Baby I don’t have anything on my neck.” You knew exactly what was on his neck but you weren’t going to press the issue because well he wasn’t your man.

You felt yourself coming to tears when you remembered what happened last night and tried your best to shake it off, now wasn’t the time to be crying. You weren’t even sure why you were crying he wasn’t yours but he somehow always made it seem like you’d be his.

“So Jack what’s going on with you! How’s this year treated you.” Charlemagne asked Jack.

“This years been good I just wrapped up my world tour, filmed my first movie which is honestly crazy never thought I’d be in one.” He laughed.

“How was filming White men can’t jump? Did you receive any hate for redoing a classic?” Angela asked him.

“I mean of course you know everyone was staying we shouldn’t redo a classic but everyone will love it trust me it’s good, and filming was amazing I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

“You we’re on SNL last night too, how was that?”

“That was amazing it was a dream come true had my family and friends there from back home so that’s what made it even more special.” After awhile they kept on talking about anything and everything before Angela brought something up.

“So last night after SNL I don’t know if you know but paparazzi caught pictures of you and I believe to be your assistant kissing.” Angela brought out the pictures and showed Jack.

You felt as if you were having a heart attack your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest.

“Are you dating your assistant is what everyone wants to know? I mean if not let me date her she’s real fine.” Envy joked but Jack wasn’t feeling his joke but at the same time he had to keep it cool.

“No I’m not dating my assistant come on man, she was fixing my tie I had on.”

“Are you lying Jack? I mean if you’re dating your assistant that’s okay just clear up them rumors.”

“No I’m not dating my assistant she’s my assistant we’ve never done anything together it’s strictly business that’s it and that’s all, besides you know I’d never date someone on that type of status.” Everyone in the room ooo’d.

“Wait wait what do you mean by that?” Charlemagne asked Jack.

“Are you okay Y/N?” Urban asked you, he noticed how your foot started bouncing and you had tears threatening to fall.

“I mean you know she isn’t exactly on my type of level of women I’d date I want someone like Stassie or like Ari Fletcher. I want a women that’s going to actually put effort in how she looks not someone who’s going to throw on an old hoodie that hasn’t been washed for about three days.” Everyone laughed they were all laughing at you and agreeing to what Jack was saying.

“So basically your assistant doesn’t take care of herself?”

“I mean she does but it can be better.” They all laughed again, looking at Urban you began to cry you couldn’t hold it in anymore. He brought you into his chest.

“Come on Y/N let’s go let’s get out of here.” He helped stand you up and let you lean on him, as you were walking out Jack noticed the two of you leaving he was going to say something but when he noticed the tears rolling down your cheeks and the pained expression on your face he knew he just messed everything up. He was trying to protect you but he ended up hurting you.

tags

@nattinatalia @moody4world @heavyhitterheaux

@mortirolo @jackharloww @softtcurse

@awhore4moree @hoodharlow @babyharleezy

@jackmans-poison @lcandothisallday

@a-moment-captured @babiefries

[random-of-random]

The Pirate Queen

Chapter 6 - A Prisoner

Author’s Note: Thank you so much to every single person who reads this, who likes this, who comments on this story. You are wonderful! I hope it makes you smile!

It was as if something came over James Norrington. He grabbed one arm and then the other desperately looking for any brand she might have.

“What, exactly, are you hoping to find?” She asked and he didn’t looked up. His eyes just went over the same skin, trying to ignore how soft her arms felt. “The elusive ‘P’ that should be burned about here?” She pointed to her wrist. Finally he looked up at her. “No such luck, I’ve never been caught.”

“Well, you have now.” James said as he took a few steps back.

Alice clenched her jaw before speaking. “James we don’t have time for this, you need-“

“You will call me Commodore Norrington, ma’am.”

“James, Elizabeth has been taken.”

“What?” His jaw went slack as it seemed as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

“That’s why I ran down to the fort. I saw two of the men carry her away from her house.” James immediately started writing. “I didn’t see them take her in the ship but it’s the only explanation.”

“Wait here.” He said coldly as he walked out of his office. She distinctly heard the key click in the lock.

It was only about five minutes later when James walked back in. He closed the door behind him. The anger was coming off him in waves.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” He looked away from her and toward his desk, his voice calculated.

“Are you kidding me?” At that he turned quickly around. “James.. Commodore Norrington, I would never hurt Elizabeth.”

“I’m not in the habit of believing pirates.” He practically spit the word at her like venom.

“Well, I’m still the same woman who saved your life out there! The same one who told you about Elizabeth. The same woman you kissed.” It wasn’t the right thing to say, the hatred she saw in his eyes practically broke her heart on the spot. Well, what she thought was hatred. James didn’t have words for how he was feeling.

“I can not believe it’s a coincidence that you are here and another pirate ship shows up and attacks.”

“I was only here to find out what you know about me, my ships, and the people I care most about.”

It was if a spark ignited in his brain. “The red bow, the red dress…” it had look so familiar to him at the party, sticking out in such a particular way. The color was rarely, if ever, worn unless the party specifically called for it. “Sam Bellamy was known for wearing a red bandana and coat.”

Alice nodded. “He was my Captain.” She confirmed and James swore he felt his heart break further. “The first person I sailed under. That bow was made from that bandana. You can arrest me if you want, Commodore. String me up with the other bodies of pirates you have swinging.” As if thrown in the ocean, his fire cooled immediately. The thought of her hanging. His mind couldn’t even fathom it. “But if you want to catch up with the Pearl? You’ll need the entire Navy. Because it will take that many just to find them.”

A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind in an instant, but only one made sense. “Leave.”

“What?”

“Consider this me repaying you for saving me. Now go.” There was a million things she wanted to say, but nothing would come out. As she turned to go she heard him ask a question. “Was any of it real?”

“Most of it was real.” She answered truthfully. When she looked at him, he was staring down at his desk. “Every glance, every smile, every touch… Just the accent and the name were fake.” She didn’t wait for a response, she just left. She would never forget his look of betrayal or how cold he sounded when he spoke to her.

———————————-

Alice walked slowly back to the place she and her crew had been calling home. It was hours before dawn, but all of Port Royal was awake. They were checking on their neighbors and businesses, moving their dead, picking up the pieces of their homes. No one even seemed to glance twice at her as she walked though. Just as well, she thought.

She was almost to the door when it opened and Charlie walked out. He pulled Alice into his arms.

“We were worried about you, Captain.”

Alice pulled back. “I’m alright. How’s Edward?”

“He needs to rest, but the wound wasn’t deep. We should get him to the ship sooner rather than later, get him to the doc.” They walked into the house and Charlie let her to a sitting room where Edward was laid out on a couch. Giles was in a seat next to him.

“Good to see you, Captain.” He said with a tired grin.

“Rest, Edward.” She put her hand on his forehead and was relieved to see no fever had yet set in. “We will be leaving as early as we can.”

“What’s wrong?” Giles asked.

“Norrington knows who I am.” Edward tried to sit, but Alice kept her hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright. He let me leave. Payback for saving his life. Charlie, Giles tell the men to sleep and eat. We will leave shortly after dawn for the docks.”

“Aye, Captain.” Giles affirmed before he and Charlie headed back toward the study and the dining room.

“You get as much sleep as you can.” Alice said as she pulled a blanket halfway up Edward’s chest. “We’ll be back on the ship in no time.”

“Did you tell Norrington?” Edward asked.

“Tell him what?”

“That you’re in love with him.”

Alice let out a small laugh. “The second James Norrington found out I was a pirate was the same second he felt nothing but hatred for me.”

“I don’t believe that.” Edward refuted. “I saw the way he looked at you.”

“Maybe…” Alice sighed. “He used up the goodwill anything before tonight brought me by letting me go. He will try to chase is down soon enough.” She stood. “Now, get some sleep. We will wake you last thing before we go. You’ll need your strength for the journey.”

“Good night, Alice.”

“Good night, Edward.”

—————————

The docks were busy, to say the least, and the sun was high in the sky by the time they were ready to go. Though everything had gone without a hitch, getting all of their stuff down to the ship that would sail them to Tortuga. Everything was loaded, the men were on the ship. It was just Alice and Charlie still waiting to board. No one seemed to recognize Alice, not that she was expecting them to. In men’s clothes, that included Edward’s dark brown coat, and her hair down - no one would have guessed all of Port Royal was fawning over her as a noble less than two days before.

“Captain!” Edward called and he pointed up the docks. James Norrington along with his Lieutenant Groves and two soldiers Alice had not seen were walking toward them with a purpose.

“Stay on the ship, Edward.” Alice called immediately.

“Captain…” Charlie’s voice was low. “There aren’t any other soldiers around, we can fight our way out of this.”

“No.” Alice said quickly. “Keep yours hands visible and just stay calm.” As the men moved closer the two soldiers she didn’t know stayed behind as Norrington and Groves came within five feet of her.

“Lady Somers?” Groves asked after a moment.

“That’s not her name.” Norrington answered him before she could. His voice was almost emotionless. “She has been masquerading as a noble. She is actually… a pirate. An infamous one at that.” Groves looked from his Commodore back to Alice before his hand moved carefully to the hilt of his sword. “Alice the Enchantress is what they call her.”

“I always preferred Mad Alice.”

“My God, it can’t be true.” Groves said quietly, his eyes wide.

“Afraid it is.” Alice responded. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

“You’re coming with us.” Norrington commanded and there was a shift in the tension around them.

“Is that so?” She asked as she raised her eyebrows.

“To help find Elizabeth.” Norrington added. “It’s either you come with us, or we will take you all to jail.” Charlie took a half a step forward. Norrington and Groves pulled their swords a small way out of their sheaths, and Alice put her hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

“Commodore, I don’t know what help you think I can be to you.”

“You’re a pirate.”

“Not all pirates think the same.” She explained, and James rolled his eyes. “Not only have I never met Captain Barbosa, but last night was the first time I ever saw the Black Pearl. If you want a pirate who can help you ask Jack Sparrow.”

“Jack Sparrow escaped.” Groves said quickly. “With Turner.”

“Who is ‘Turner’?” Alice asked.

“William Turner. He is the blacksmith’s apprentice.” Groves answered. Something in her brain pinged on the name, but she didn’t have time to analyze it. At that very moment all she knew was the safety of her crew was at stake. With that there was only one conclusion.

“Fine, I’ll go with you - on one condition.”

“You’re not in a place to be making demands of us.” Norrington reminded her.

“Captain, don’t do this.” Edward pleaded. “You can’t trust them.”

“Then trust me.” Alice said loudly to her men before turning to Norrington. “Just let my crew go. They are going to sail out on this ship, they are never coming back. Please.” Norrington took a moment to think it over before giving her a nod and she quickly turned to Charlie. “Get Edward to a doctor, take care of the man.” She ignored the protests from her crew already on the ship, “And tell Callahan to be careful with my ships.” They shared a nod before he joined the crew. They all took their hats off, bowing to their Captain. Alice bowed back before taking her place in between Norrington and Groves as they walked her toward the Fort.

“It’s funny…” Norrington said as they walked. “Pirates, for a moment, almost seemed civil.”

“They are.” Alice replied, looking straight ahead. “Much more so than the Royal Navy.”

—————————-

When they got to the Fort she was surprised when they locked her, once again, in Norrington’s office.

This time she didn’t bother to remain standing, she didn’t bother to pace, she sat down in the extra chair and just waited. Her thoughts drifted to her men. If they had gotten out of Port Royal safely. If Callahan was already waiting for her in Tortuga. She hoped Edward made it to a doctor in short time.

She couldn’t have known that Norrington had spent the night pacing in his office. His worry for Elizabeth Swann only surpassed by his anger and hurt at what Frances - no, Alice - had done. In his mind, she had used him, used all of them, to get her hands on the Navy’s own documents.

Another part of him was angry at himself for just how much he wanted to go after her, and not to arrest her. She had told him it was real, but could he even trust a pirate. He paced until Governor Swann barged into his office demanding answers.

When the door opened, Alice felt a jump of anxiety as Norrington walked in followed by Governor Swann.

“Governor Swann.” She acknowledged, but he acted as if she hadn’t said anything. The Governor seemed to be refusing to even look at her.

“You will be locked in quarters on the ship as we sail.” Norrington said, catching her attention. He was looking down at his desk, also refusing to make eye contact. “The men know you will be aboard, but they do not know why. They have been ordered not to speak to you. In fact the only ones you will speak to are Lieutenant Groves and myself.”

“So, I am your prisoner.” She remarked.

“As it should be!” Governor Swann finally spoke. His face was red and his eyes angry. “You are a pirate! You should not be given any leeway. Were it completely up to me you would be locked below deck!”

After his outburst the room seemed almost painfully quiet. Alice recognized his frustration and fear for his daughter, but his hatred for her seemed to almost outweigh it.

“Well, Governor, then I believe when they drop me from the gallows you should be the one to do it.” Her voice was calm and controlled and, by contrast, the Governor looked absolutely scandalized. “Might I remind the both of you that I have been nothing but kind. I held parties for you, fed you. Both of you, more so you - Governor - were fawning all over me.”

His voice raised. “That was before we knew you were a criminal!”

“I am less a criminal than those who trade in human beings - and they’re being paid by the Crown.”

Swann scoffed and immediately left the room without another word, slamming the door as he went.

Once again the silence hung thick, only stopped by the occasional scratching of the quill Norrington was using. Alice was normally good with silence. Now? She felt as if she would absolutely go mad if one of them didn’t speak shortly.

“Maybe you should wear a dress. Keep - keep up appearances.”

Alice stood. “Commodore, I’m going to be sequestered a room the entire time. Well, until the Navy and the Governor see fit to hang me. I think you could do the courtesy of not torturing me more?”

James’ eyes focused on her for a moment and she almost wanted to smirk, but she pushed it as far down as he could.

“Do you know anything about where the Pearl most often makes land.”

“Only a legend.”

“A legend?” Norrington asked annoyed.

“Listen, I warned you I had never seen that ship before. Most haven’t. The few who have are usually survivors. The legend is about an island. Isla De Muerta. No one knows where it is, and supposedly you can only get there if you have already been there. I haven’t.”

Norrington let out a breath he had been holding. “Someone will be along shortly to escort you to the ship.” Without another word he left and she heard another click of the lock. Sitting back down she put her head in her hands. Alice had no idea how she would even begin to get herself out of this situation.

[hikarimiyanaga]

Forget Me (Part 4)

2nd update because I actually wrote a lot already.

Taglist : @letssayless

You were drinking sake at highest peak at Amazon Lily and you lament your position in Amazon Lily.

You could take on other jobs but there was still a slight chance that Hancock will see you. You don't want to be a member of Kuja Pirates at all (You'd rather die). Apparently, the universe is giving you one choice only.

"Nav-" Before you finish your thought, you spot a ship with large paddles and frown.

"Pirates? Invaders?" You drop the sake and quickly go to the port with your Geppo.

You observe the men and grit your teeth. Looks like your intuition was right.

"Invaders!" Your shout not only alerted the Kuja Members but the invaders as well. The men glance at you in surprise and before they could even react, you already unsheath your sword and begin cutting them one by one.

One of them manages to land a slash across your arm and you hum.

"Not bad." You say as you slash that man as well. You glance around and hum. So many of them stare as you activate your armament haki. "Come." You say coldly and some of them tremble at your bloodlust.

-

As the ship lands on the port, so many of the Kuja tribe have already drawn their bows and were aiming at it.

"Invaders!" Mari calls out. "Go out with your hands up or else we'll shoot!" They all anticipate men but it was a familiar voice that greeted them.

"No need." You say as you show up on the deck of the ship. You jump down and everyone could see your bloodied state, Sonia and Mari shake as you sigh. "It's not all mine. Explore the ship and see if they have any treasures. I'm going to get-" Before you could a step further, you were hit in the head.

"What are you talking about!? Medic! Get over here immediately!" You see Elder Nyon and you shake your head.

"It's not mine, Elder Nyon. I didn't get hurt much." You glare at the doctors who were getting closer and they stop.

"But-"

"Please. I know myself. More than anyone here does." You didn't mean to but that statement hurt everyone in the vicinity. Specially Gloriosa, Mari and Sonia considering they were your family. You hum as you leave and everyone just watches you.

What the hell?

-

You were bandaging yourself up as you lament your choice.

'Navy, huh?' You sigh. 'But what else is there? One that makes practically no contact with Han-' You grin as you realize.

"Herbalist!"

-

"What do you mean she took care of everything?" Hancock reads over the report of the port incident and she almost destroys the paper as she keeps reading on. "WHERE IS SHE RIGHT NOW!?"

"At home, probably-" Hancock storms out of the castle and quickly makes her way towards you while clutching the pendant.

-

You were planning out everything with your notebook when the door slams open. You pay it no mind as you sense Hancock's presence.

"This is what you call fine!?" Hancock asks as she looks over you. You were full of bandages on both arms and legs and there was even one on your cheek. Hancock gets even more pissed as you don't answer her at all. "Hey!" You sigh and close your notebook.

"Can I help you with anything, Your Majesty?" You ask coldly as you pocket your notebook. Why does she keep on barging in here?

"You-" Hancock shakes her head as she calms herself down. "The port incident." You hum boredly, confirming to her that you were listening. "Why did you leave without any medical assis-"

"Because I don't want anyone touching me." You say and you open the door. "Now please leave, Empress. You might be the ruler but please do not overstep your citizens' boundaries." You say with a smile but your tone was threatening.

"No." Hancock brings out the pendant and you roll your eyes. Of course, she doesn't remember. "What does this mean?"

"Nothing. Please leave."

"There's an engraving here with our names. What does it mean?" She asks again and you yawn at her.

"Nothing. If you're not leaving then I will." Before Hancock could even react, you were already out the door and sneaking into your room's window. You sigh in relief as you plop down on your bed. You close your eyes and sleep.

-

"Y/N!" The girl you've been crushing on calls out and you sigh as you sit beside her.

"It's dangerous out here, you know?" You say to a younger Boa Hancock and she grins.

"You're not scared at all either, though?" You chuckle at that.

"Fair." You look out over the sea and smile as you feel the air.

"You look cute like that." Hancock says and you blush.

"Stop it." You try to make your blush go away but you pause as you see a necklace in front of you. "Wha-"

"Happy Birthday!" You honestly tried to forget about it as it was a painful reminder that Gloriosa found you on the sea.

"Oh." You look at the engraving and blush at it. "Our names?" You ask and Hancock grins.

"Yeah! I want us to be together forever so I engraved it! It's not as sturdy as stone but it'll work! We'll make it work!"

"Forever, huh?" You smile as you wear the necklace.

-

You wake up with a startle and groan.

It's been a while since you saw that memory. You used to be so happy when you see it. But now, it just brings you unnecessary pain. You groan as you sit up. You notice that the sun hasn't even come up yet.

"Fuck. I need to be tired." So you run your energy outside.

You were running around the forest when Margaret tackles you.

"Wha- Margaret-"

"I found her! She's here!" She shouts and you were flabbergasted as many Kuja Members mob you and some were even crying in relief.

What is happening????

"The Empress said that you left again. She panicly organized a search party to see if she can figure out where you are." Kikyo explains and you grimace at that.

"Sorry for the trouble." You sigh as everyone releases you.

"No trouble."

"Please don't leave again, Y/N." Sweet Pea pleads and she even cries. You panic as you see most of them were on the verge of tears.

"I won't leave again! I promise!"

"You promise?" Aphrlandra asks and you smile at her. You rustle her head and grin.

"I promise. I won't leave the island again."

-

You go back to the house and see Elder Nyon sipping her tea.

"That was cruel." You say as you take a seat in front of her. "You could've just told them." You grab a piece of toast and you bite into it.

"And miss the panic look on her face? Never." You hum.

"Did she really?" Elder Nyon nods.

"She desperately looked for you herself everywhere. Nice hiding place, by the way."

"It's just my room."

"Exactly." You hum as you continue eating your breakfast.

Why would she panic?

-

"She's here!?" Sonia nods in confirmation and Hancock sighs in relief.

When she saw you disappear last night, her whole body felt cold and her heart kept hurting. She's already known how it felt without you for a year. She isn't and will never be ready to repeat that feeling again.

"Do you two know about this necklace?" Hancock shows it to them and the two look at each other.

"Isn't that Y/N's first and last birthday present from you?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I think I remember her saying that we all don't need to give her presents anymore and just focus on training and-"

"Becoming an Empress."

But why this engraving? Why did Hancock give this to you?