#crewmate: silk

[theinnerunderrain]

Turmoil at Sea [Yan!Merman x Fem!Reader]

Warnings/tags: Yandere themes, description of violence, I saw a video of orcas hunting and wanted to write something abt it, disturbing content.

+

"Marlin."

With a shaky voice, you called out to the merman lurking beneath the dark depths of the water. Your eyes danced wildly along the watery surface, desperately seeking a glimpse of him.

"Please come out. You're scaring me."

On hands and knees, you clung to the meager wooden surface that barely qualified as a makeshift raft, the sole lifeline between you and the vast expanse of the ocean. The survival itself was a stroke of fortune, remnants of a shipwreck etching haunting memories – cannon balls piercing through ship walls, the frantic cries of the crew in a desperate quest for safety.

"Marlin!"

You attempt once more, your voice rising in volume and gaining a sharper edge. Splashes of water collide with the raft, showering your bare ankles. The once elegant gown, worn for your birthday celebration, now serves as your sole source of warmth. Your left thigh is wrapped in makeshift bandages fashioned from scattered scarves found amidst the vast sea. Slowly edging toward the raft's edge, you strained to peer through the dense water veil, only to be met with an impenetrable darkness that revealed nothing but a faint reflection of yourself. With eyes reddened, pallid skin, and hair beginning to knot after enduring two weeks adrift at sea, your physical state mirrored the harshness of your oceanic ordeal. The scent that clung to you was a noxious blend of fish and seaweed, the very sustenance provided by the merman. Surprisingly, you marveled at your resilience, having somehow endured the consumption of raw, uncooked meat without succumbing to its potentially fatal consequences.

Abruptly, a hand emerged from beneath the water, prompting you to swiftly retreat to the safety of the raft's center. The owner of the hand revealed himself to be none other than the merman, Merlin, whose expression conveyed clear disdain. His hand extended, torso flat against the raft's surface, and intense ocean eyes locked onto you.

"..M..Marlin."

He remains unresponsive to the sound of your name, his long blue tails faintly visible as they linger within the water. After a moment of uninterrupted gaze, he finally speaks, his voice flowing like a smooth seam of silk, captivating in its beauty. The sunlight above did little to forsake his beauty; instead, it gracefully highlighted his features, casting an enchanting aura that rendered him majestic, akin to a water nymph.

"Do you truly despise me that much?"

"What..?"

A bitter laugh escapes him as he withdraws his hand, crossing his elbow to rest his chin against his forearm. His dark hair cascades down, lightly sticking to his chin, a subtle dampness lingering. One can't help but marvel at how a being like him manages to thrive in the frigid waters, contemplating the preservation of his skin and hair—unchanged and undamaged, a testament to their enduring beauty.

"You've proven yourself quite clever, manipulating me into scavenging for food. Quite the strategist, aren't you?"

"I do not understand.."

Your brows furrow slightly at his words, perplexed by the notion that you might be using him to scavenge for food. After all, it was he who volunteered to assist you, the one who rescued you from the wreckage and gently placed your body onto the raft. During the night of the celebration, you discerned his presence beneath the water, catching a fleeting glimpse of his exquisite tail. Despite your observation, your crewmates dismissed him as a mere swordfish or dolphin, oblivious to the captivating mystery that lingered beneath the waves.

"You're exploiting me for your survival, only to abandon me once other humans come to your rescue, aren't you?"

"Certainly not! Once I set foot on solid ground, I am determined to find every possible way to express my gratitude for your kindness."

He scoffed at your words, finding your naivety simultaneously endearing and tinged with folly. Your captivating gaze drew him in, becoming the sole reason Marlin chose to rescue you amidst the entire ordeal. Although not inherently fond of humans, he found solace in the radiant brightness and warmth emanating from your eyes—a quality seldom witnessed through the eyes of pirates or the sailors he had encountered along his journey.

"Do you genuinely think fellow humans would permit such a scenario? If anything, they'll likely exploit that pretext as justification to pursue and hunt me down."

You dismiss his words with a subtle shake of your head, lips forming a tight line as you attempt to speak over him, any method to reason with him.

""Don't worry. I'll reassure them that you pose no threat. I can even persuade my father to consider implementing legislation concerning the pursuit of seamen!"

"My dearest human, it's not as straightforward as it may seem. Even if your father possessed the authority to enforce such a rule, do you believe those who exploit my kind for gain would genuinely adhere to it?"

"B..but it truly is!"

"It is not."

""Marlin, if you assist me in finding my way home, I am prepared to fulfill any wish or desire you may have forsaken. I give you my word—I am willing to do anything."

Marlin fixed his gaze upon you, his laughter crackling as if your words were nothing more than a comedic jest. Your face flushed with embarrassment, the dignity befitting a lady tarnished and mocked amidst the vastness of the ocean. After a few moments, Marlin succeeded in stifling his laughter, pressing his head onto the wooden surface of the raft. He pushed himself up, grinning at you once more.

"Given your persistent stance and reluctance to reconsider, it appears you are determined to return to your modest homeland."

He inhales deeply, then eases himself off the raft, submerging more than half of his body in the sea. His head emerges as the sole visible part, and his long, dark hair ripples in the water, reminiscent of the seaweed depicted in the textbooks you frequently borrowed from the library.

"Well. You leave me with no other choice."

He gracefully plunges back into the water, his form seamlessly vanishing into the azure depths. Your fist tightens as you attempt to fathom his intent, but before clarity settles, he emerges near you. His tail propels a considerable amount of water, conjuring a substantial wave that gracefully cascades onto the raft, drenching everything. A surprised yelp escapes you as the water meets your palm, and you swiftly realize you're gradually sliding toward the edge.

You successfully maintain composure for most of the ordeal, believing his juvenile outburst had concluded. However, your apprehensions materialize as you witness him rapidly approaching, his tail propelling him through the water with increased speed. The waves generated this time are more substantial, causing the raft to sway significantly. As the waves hit and water infiltrates beneath the raft, your last semblance of remaining afloat teeters.

It's over.

A second scream escapes your throat as the waves crash around you. The raft, teetering slowly, slips from your grasp, and you plummet into the cold embrace of the ocean. The frigid water engulfs your senses as you struggle to stay afloat, the taste of salt seeping into your mouth and nose, inducing a stinging sensation. Despite the pain, your eyes stay open, but water bubbles cloud your vision, leaving you disoriented in the underwater turmoil.

"[First Name]."

Even as the water filled your ears, a cold hand firmly gripped your torso, preventing you from descending deeper into the ocean's depths. Through your hazed vision, a pair of bright blue eyes and a mop of dark hair came into view, confirming that it was Marlin who held you.

"..N...No..!"

Your attempts to speak result in nothing but muffled cries, your struggle to wriggle free and rise toward the air and sunlight impeded by his unrelenting grip. Your body yielded to an inexplicable force, surrendering to his control like an underwater puppet. In a fleeting instant, a sensation of cold and softness grazed your lips. Uncertain in your disoriented state, you couldn't be sure if it was Marlin's lips pressing against yours, but the moment lingered in a haze of confusion.

As time slipped away, the diminishing air began to weigh on you, involuntarily coaxing your mouth open and allowing water to seep into your lungs. Your ears, now entirely filled with water, rendered Marlin's words muffled and distant.

Observing your distress, Marlin placed an additional hand on your stomach. His fingers, accompanied by sharp nails, delicately traced along your bare skin, adding an unsettling dimension to your already harrowing struggle. As the sands of time trickled away, you strained to discern the letters, your grasp on survival slipping through the narrowing hourglass.

The first letter being, "I". You could feel Marlin pulling you deeper into the ocean.

The second letter being, "L". The salt in your lungs were too much to bear.

The third letter being, "O". You can't see a single thing, your vision being nothing but complete darkness.

The fourth letter being "V". Oh God, you're going to die.

Before comprehension could settle, your body succumbed, surrendering to the relentless force of the deep. As your consciousness slipped away, the haunting echo of those unfinished letters lingered in the underwater silence.

[yandere-kokeshi]

— Worshipper of our ruler

Pairing: Yandere bee’s x GN reader

Warnings: Yandere behavior, gore description, NSFW at the mid-start, manipulation and overbearing aliens, being spiked, and slight NSFW towards the end; aka, cliffhanger.

A/N: These bee characters belong to @yanderemommabean — I decided to write a fic based on the alien bees cause I love them!! I also wanna say I hate the ending, I was unsure how to end it, so sorry!! Enjoy though <33!

Happy Halloween by the way 🎃 🖤

Once you arrived at the planet with your crewmates, it was… interesting to see the bees work and arrive on a daily basis. They were hard workers, working 12 hours at a time to make sure their palace didn’t break. Though, you seemed to notice how there wasn’t a ‘queen bee’ or, at least someone in top control.

Other than the capital leader ruling, it was hard to keep up the palace rules and work-style. You could see that every poor bee was stressed, so you decided to offer some help, or at least be some help to them, even though you were a small human.

You thought they’d decline you, seeing that trespassers were killed on site, but the moment they saw you, they buzzed at you, staring at you with such adoration and animated-like heart eyes; falling head over heels for you.

Originally, the plan of coming here was to agree to the terms of peace with them and get out of there. But, when you came to meet the military and the capitol leader, they immediately saw something in you: a type of look in their eyes that would give anyone goosebumps. From then one, they and the other bees always wanted to be near you, praising and whispering of how wonderful you were. At first, you thought it was because they’ve never seen a human outside of their globe, so you couldn’t blame them or get upset.

They always grasped at your hands, comparing their huge paws to your… small ones. Seeing that you were way shorter than them, a few feet to be exact. The humanoid insects always insisted on taking care of you and keeping you inside, decorated you with the softest silk whilst using the excuse of ‘we’d never want you to get hurt!’.

They always carried you and always wanted to invade your privacy: begging to bathe you, rub their honey-scented lotion on your skin and hand-feed your favorite meals.

They loved you and always wanted to be near you. Their clingy behavior was exhausting, especially with their roaming hands that always clung to your body.

But, when it came for you to leave and escape from their palace, it was terrifying. The moment your captain patted your back, smiled and congratulated you for the hard work you did: gaining the trust of the bee colony. But to your surprise, you heard growling behind you, then swarming of the bees, rushing you to come with them; an ‘emergency’ taking place.

You left your captain behind, seeing that they desperately needed help. After they picked you up, flew you to your chambers while cooing at you, you realized what they were planning: ‘you’re such a wonderful ruler, please lie down on the bed for us!” and “We’ll please you, you’re so pretty!”.

You remember losing your voice in your throat, getting hit climax after climax whilst your body ached of pure pleasure. You wanted to move, scream, yell at them and tell them to stop. But, you couldn’t, they looked at you with such—

“Your majesty?”

You blinked in surprise, looked at the doorway as you rested on the giant bed; connecting eye contact to a female worker. Of course you had zoned out, I mean… how couldn’t you? You’re taken captive in a huge place that is surrounded with thousands of humanoid bees, who expected much from you.

“Y-yeah?” You answered anxiously, looking at your clothes whilst fiddling with your fingers.

Her buzzing was loud. She smiled happily, coming in to deliver in which… what looked like a good meal but you weren’t hungry per say. You were rethinking your life choices, the ‘what if’s’ spiraling in your head as the event replayed in your mind.

You remember that day so clearly, as if it was yesterday. At this point, you’ve lost count on how long you’ve been on this planet; everyday was and is a ‘new day’.

If you could, you'd escape, get up and frantically look around but each time you did, you were gently pushed back into the soft cloud-like bed. They always praised you, saying ‘you need to rest for the young!’.

Yeah right, you couldn’t! It was almost—

“So!” The female bee started, her antenna’s bouncing: “Today we are scheduled to have you do some bed-work. But of course, we’ll take it easy.” She chirped loudly, clasping her hands together as her wings fluttered.

You nodded hesitantly, smiling anxiously. Hearing multiple footsteps, you glanced at the hallway behind her, seeing more workers welcoming themselves into your chamber, shuffling around hugely.

Your heart raced, seeing that the female worker kept babbling on what you’ll do that day, but you couldn’t concentrate on her. Seeing that the male workers that came in, were huge… a whole lot taller than the woman in front of you talking about the damn schedule.

“Does that sound good, your Majesty?” She asked, leaning down to observe you innocently.

“Uh… what?” You asked, shaking your head at your thoughts. You readjusted yourself on the bed, leaning on your knees at her.

She frowned, making an apologetic face: “If that doesn’t sound good, I’ll make a change!” She stated loudly, grabbing the paperwork from the clipboard she was holding, looking through it: “I understand this whole new schedule may sound stressful, we only want what’s best for you!”

“No..! No, it’s fine,” You assured her, grabbing her hand gently, slightly squeezing it.

She still had a frown on, “Are you sure? I can change it!” She moved to grasp both of your hands together, looking at you with her big doe eyes. Her hands were extremely warm and cozy, it almost wanted to make you hug her, have a massage and possibly fall asleep in the cozy bed of yours.

You smiled to not make her upset, reassuring her again, “Yes—yes it’s fine.”

She smiled again, her wings twitching from the praise you gave to her. “Mhm! I’ll tell the captain while the others get ready for your bath. Please enjoy your meal, your Majesty!” She bowed at you, her antenna’s bouncing within her movements.

She left the room, shutting the door with a slight ‘click’. Then, some male guards come in, representing a ‘protective call’ from the military captain. Normally, they’d come in and ask if you wanted anything or they could do something, but they were terrifyingly quiet.

As you finished your meal, you exited your room to the bathroom, where you met some bee workers in the bathroom, almost waiting for you to arrive.

“Oh, your Majesty! we weren’t expecting you yet!” The male one said, who got up to bow at you; slightly smiling whilst buzzing with excitement. “Please,” He started again, his hand directing at the tub: “Enjoy the warm bath as I get the wash workers!”

You smiled towards him, nodding at his statement as you watched him slide past you. Even with their high intelligence and tall structure, they always were so kind and gentle with you. Watching your every move as if you would shatter like glass, it was comforting to know at some limit.

As you undressed yourself, leaving the dirty silks on the white-covered floors, you welcomed yourself to the right temperature of water. You sighed heavily, leaning back against the tub as you played with the water with such boredom.

“My Ruler?”

You jumped and screamed, slightly pressing yourself against the corner of the bathtub. You made direct eye contact with a few female workers, one of them being the other bee lady that was in your room earlier.

“Uh,” You started, “Hi…?” You said awkwardly, embarrassed with the loud yelp you expressed.

They all giggled, hand pressing against their lips as they welcomed themselves into the bathroom, making sure to place your clean clothes on the sink; including letting them join you in the warm water, which was quite comforting.

As the girls helped wash you, gently rubbing the loofah on your delicate and squishable body; taking extra precaution on and around the purple-hickeys and sore spots. They purred at your pretty skin, commenting that: ‘it always smells and looks so pretty!’. They kissed every inch of your skin, looking at you like a rare piece of ore.

Then, two of them gently lifted you up, making sure to wrap a towel around your body, getting your legs and arms well dried before leading to the well-known bedroom of yours. Of course, they dressed you in the best of silks that were made for their best ruler, they only cared about you and your opinion on things after all.

One of the female workers sits you on the bed, making a ‘nest’ in front and behind you before making sure to comb your luscious locks to take out any knots that had formed. This was probably your best part, slightly humming to the every know and again giggles that came out of them when you groaned in satisfaction.

All of the sudden, the sound of the main lady bees made you come out of your euphoria coma: “Dear Ruler…? May we do something?” She smiled in her tone.

You nodded from behind, expecting something other than the now-roaming hands all over your body: making you gasp yet moan in surprise from the extreme pleasure that had occurred all of the sudden.

You felt hot… extremely hot and wet.

“Oh, G–od,” You murmured under your breath, leaning over and trying to concentrate on your breathing other than the multiple warm… hands that worked around your hips, sliding down your thighs and back. It makes your skin have goosebumps, almost pleasuring you just by touching your skin.

“The medication seems to be working,” A female voice purred loudly, making you feel ashamed from the liquid running down your now-open thighs.

You sighed shakily, “T–the… what?”

They all giggled, their hands massaging your back and bum as they squished every part of your body. It made you whine loudly, pressing your back against what you could describe as a pillow of clouds.

You looked up, seeing the bee lady pleasuring you from behind. Realizing... you were laying on her chest: “Oh–Please… S–top. Let me—”

She ignored your protests by giggling, rubbing her nose against yours and continuing her and the other assaults on your poor body that made you so hot and bothered that it seemed to make you desperate for any contact.

They all gathered around you, pampering your delicate skin with kisses and petting your hair: “continue for us, your Majesty. We want more, nothing to be embarrassed of!” They chriped one after the another, buzzing and fluttering loud and clear.

“Oh… God,” You whined, grabbing the sheets under you as you reopened your eyes to see much more workers than you remember seeing.

You quivered from the goosebumps, slapping their hands away in overstimulation.

They all looked at you, making you speak up: “Please… no more. Wha.. ah… did–you do to me?”

“Your Majesty,” One of the male workers started, “Please don’t fret!” He frowned. “We’ll take good care of you, like how you took care of us when we relied on your aid.”

They all nodded, watching your reactions very closely before grasping at your body again: “Please! Allow us to pleasure you in any way… you deserve it.”

Before you could speak again, your body and mouth betrayed you: body violently shaking from the immense pleasure that jolted through you like lightning and babbling out curses.

“Your Majesty,” A female bee started, pushing you on your back as more surrounded you: “We’ll make this as pleasurable as you want! Please, allow us to touch you in ways!” She begged, joining the continuous assaults on you.

All you could do was moan, whine, and whimper as praises and love comments were thrown at you one after another. It was like a dream, a pure… pleasurable dream.

—

Reblogs, comments and likes are very much appreciated!! Thank you all for reading <33

My masterlist | Stay well!

[prophecyofwinter]

Se Rĩna Qilōni Iprattan Se Jēdar | II

Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Summary | Saera Targaryen daughter of Jaehaerys I ran away from Westeros to escape her fate. 45 years later her daughter Y/N Targaryen, with invitation from King Viserys, wishes to go back.

Tags | Slowburn, TargCest, Smut, Standard ASOIAF content, Aemond and Reader are First Cousins Once Removed, tags to be added.

Authors Note!: I am so sorry for not updating in a while! Finals season happened back in May and I haven’t been wanting to do much since. I am back now tho! I will be releasing chapter three tomorrow at 11am EST!

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 | Masterlist

Chapter II | Bastards and Brothers

You were set to arrive in the port of King’s Landing in just a few hours. To be back on solid ground would be a gift from the gods themselves. Sleep escaped you, only being able to catch up in small intervals. The bed was itchy and bumpy, the blankets while silk didn’t add much comfort and they slipped and slid all night long.

A bang knocked at your cabin door, startling you before you realized it was Vaegon making sure you were awake.

“Fuck off! I can barely sleep and you are not helping!” you screamed at him through the closed door.

“We will dock in a few hours, get ready! Do you need help getting ready sister?” Vaegon said very boldly, you could hear the smile on his face.

You cringed at the idea of Vaegon helping you with anything of that sort, you swear he has some kind of sick fancy for you. Perhaps he’s more Targaryen than you in some ways.

“You can jump off the ship and see how deep the water is…” you said under your normal tone, turning over in your bed to hopefully get a few moments longer.

“What was that?”

“Leave!!”

——————

An hour passed by and you had given up on sleeping and committed to getting up for the day. This was one of the biggest days of your life, that being said, you were taking it pretty slow.

Taking your time with your hair and makeup, making sure it was enough to look your best but not to make it look like too much. Your mother had taught you how ladies in King’s Landing did their make up. Having grown up around Prostitutes and other people of that sort, how you had done your makeup made you feel naked.

For your hair you managed to put together delicate braids and wrap them into a bun in the back of your hair, allowing the rest of your hair to be free and rest as it pleased.

Once you had gotten to your clothes you ran into a small problem. You couldn’t get into your dresses without assistance, your mother had been the one to tie your corsets and must have forgotten to tell you how to do it yourself.

You were stuck with lots of pretty dresses but no way to put them on. Your eyes dragged across the room and fell on the chest with your dresses from Essos. Ones that flowed freely with nice and airy fabric, the dresses that made you most comfortable.

You couldn’t call anyone in to assist you and most certainly not Vaegon. Ugh. All the people on the ship were men, you had no other woman to assist you.

Your first appearance couldn’t be in an undone untied dress…

Opening the dark wooden chest you dug in search for a certain dress. There it is!

You pulled out a deep red dress made of airy semi-sheer fabric. The top started with a choker that split into two pieces of cloth that covered your breasts but leaving an opening in the middle for cleavage. An intricately designed gold belt holds it together leaving the rest of the dress to flow freely as it pleases. Golden arm bands added on as accessories of course.

While you are sure this dress wouldn’t go over as well as the other dress you had. There was no way you could put on the westerosi dress by yourself!

Once you have gotten yourself fully ready, you hear shouts from above from the crewmates indicating you will arrive any moment now. You take a few moments to look yourself over, straighten the skirt of your dress out, and check for any imperfections in your makeup.

With a final huff you open your cabin door and attempt to exit but are interrupted by your brother standing directly in front of the door, making you shriek and jump back.

“What is wrong with you!” You spit angrily at Vaegon. You could deal with this behavior in Volantis where he was constantly busy with training and hardly ever around. Now he’s gonna be able to breathe over your shoulder at all times and sniff your hair or whatever the fuck he does.

“I have to escort you sister, you never know who may lurk about.” He says with no reaction to your piercing shout. He steps out of the way to allow you to move ahead of him as he trails behind you.

Silence hangs for a few moments as the two of you walk throughout the ship to get to the deck. Vaegon brakes the silence abruptly with his invasive question-statements.

“I thought Mother told you not to wear those clothes anymore.”

“It seems I am wearing them anyway.” You replied blankly and walked at a slightly faster pace.

“If you needed help with the corsets I am more than obliged to-“ before Vaegon could finish you stopped in your tracks and whipped your body around to face him with a sharp finger.

“There will be none of that! I am to be legitimized and wed! I will not allow you to ruin any of this for me, you keep that tongue to yourself or I will ship you back to Volantis without it.” You growled through gritted teeth.

Without giving him a second thought you turn right back around and all but run to get up to the deck without your brother.

—————

Aemond began his day as normal, waking far earlier than any sane man. Had an easy breakfast of bread with berry preserves, assorted cooked meats, and a cup of wine. However mentally, his mind couldn’t fit another thought less it breaks out of his skull.

“You’re having me what?!” Aemond said with his mouth agape with shock.

“I didn’t have a choice in the matter, Aemond! The letters were already sent and replied to by the time I found out!” Alicent attempted to calm Aemond but he shook himself out of her grasp.

“You would have me wed a bastard from Volantis? What, just because one Targaryen left to become a whore?” Aemond couldn’t believe that his father somehow managed to condemn him even further.

“I would have never orchestrated this. But, everything is set and there is nothing to be done. This is your duty now Aemond.”

Aemond barely had time to prepare himself for basically the first day of the rest of his life. He never knew how he would marry, or even if he would marry at all. His meekness as a boy never allowed him to interact with girls his age. His disfigurement made it so potential marriages wouldn’t even be considered because he scared the daughters.

Against his morals but, a blind marriage to this woman that hadn’t the faintest idea of him maybe was his only option.

Alicent knew a thing or two about Y/N from being around Targaryens for most of her life.. She did tell him of her beauty, as beautiful as her mother. That her mother denied any and all propositions made toward her daughter, certainly a virginal girl.

Her father is unknown, as it goes for most bastards. However, her father seems to be present in her life despite his lack of physically being there. Between the wealth of her mother and father, the girl doesn’t want for anything.

Still, it goes against all he’s been told his whole life… Her being a pure-blooded Valyrian may help him forget who she is socially but only in the moment. Legitimized or not.

At the same time he couldn’t help but worry what she’d think of him. He could imagine the look of disgust turning into fear into disappointment. When he beds her on their wedding night, would she even look at him?

—————

You have to wait for the boat to fully settle into the dock and it is the longest minutes of your whole life. You can see the clearing of guards with their silver armor shining from the sun above. A carriage behind them, no doubt holding Prince Aemond inside. If you had lost it mentally maybe you’d jump off the ship, but for now you must go the proper way off.

Unfortunately, Vaegon has found his way to the deck of the ship. Taking his place behind you, you knew it was him based on the clanking of armor and the feeling of eyes burning into your back.

“I’ve heard Prince Aemond is a rather good swordsman. Even better than you brother. Though… that’s not much of a competition.” You laugh to get under his skin.

Vaegon had constantly worked for years on his swordsmanship. Never seeing much of real battles himself but practice is practice.

As children he would pretend to be a mighty knight with a wooden sword. Occasionally the brothel worker your mom had to look over you two would pretend to be a princess that needed to be saved. Of course you were the only princess he wanted to save… you cringed and shivered at the thought.

“You are very funny sister. Maybe I shall duel him and blind his second eye hm?” Vaegon leaned closer to you to whisper into your ear.

You only clenched your fists and held your head higher, the ship being fully docked and ready for you to step down. But you couldn’t let him get the last word in.

“Cunt”

———

🏷️ : @toodlesxcuddles @blackgirlmagicforever

[marlynnofmany]

Monkey Chase

I stepped off the loading ramp and got a good view of the reason why we’d landed in the wrong part of the spaceport. A giant cargo hauler lay on its side, broken and bent — had a ship crashed into it, or had the engine exploded? I couldn’t tell from here — and large slabs of spaceship insulation gel sprawled everywhere. The hauler’s cargo, clearly. As I watched, three people with a hovercart tried to shove one aside to no effect, and another slab as big as a cross-section from my old apartment on Earth slowly peeled off from inside the remains of the hauler. It hit the ground with the squishiest thud I’d ever heard - the thing was the color of smoke, but dense enough to make the ground vibrate from here.

I whistled, then regretted it when the tentacle alien on the ramp beside me scrunched up at the sound. “Sorry,” I told Mur.

“Ow,” he said, uncurling his blue-black tentacles. “Was that a human swear? It’s sharp.”

“More of a ‘wow-look-at-that’ kind of noise,” I said. “But swearing would sure be appropriate. What a mess.”

“You said it. Glad it’s not our problem.”

Captain Sunlight came down the ramp to join us, regal as ever in the bright yellow scales that had given her the name. “Our client isn’t answering,” she said. “I’ve put in a request at the local medcenter to see if they’ve been injured in this crisis, but haven’t heard back yet. Anyone interested is welcome to join me in walking over to where their ship was meant to be parked.”

Three other crewmates followed her out of the ship: Blip and Blop in their flowiest silks that both matched their fin colors and also showed off their biceps, and Zhee with his purple exoskeleton as shiny as always. They all made quiet noises of dismay at the state of the spaceport.

(Well, Blip and Blop seemed dismayed. Zhee was looking down his nonexistent nose at whoever had been careless enough to cause such a mess.)

Mur waved a tentacle. “Lead the way,” he said to the captain. “Here’s hoping the ship isn’t buried under all that.”

“Yeah, it looks heavy,” I said as we moved out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a little ship could be crushed under that, especially if it also took damage from whatever kaboom happened in the first place.”

As we got closer, I made several observations in a range of importance. A medical shuttle was zipping off toward the city center while another appeared to be waiting around just in case; the medics were standing there chatting instead of tending to anyone. The gel slabs couldn’t be pushed, though they could be lifted with a big enough gravity platform. There was only one of those here. Cleanup was going to take a while. The slabs covered a large area of ground as well as a couple ship-sized lumps, turning the spaceport into a sea of smoky gray translucent rubber.

A small creature bounced around on it. People were shouting about that.

“What’s going on over there?” I asked.

Captain Sunlight sighed deeply and sped up. “I really hope that’s not our cargo.”

“Our cargo’s an animal?”

“Yes, among other things. I thought I told you, but I guess not; it was a last-minute addition to our load. Someone’s exotic pet.” She looked up at me with concern on her lizardy face. “How are your animal-catching skills?”

“Depends on the animal,” I said, squinting at the fast-moving thing. I was the critter expert on the ship, but I didn’t want to promise anything. “What species is it?”

“I’ll bring up the description in a moment,” Captain Sunlight said. “I think I see our client over there.”

She was right. The slender Frillian with a leash and an exasperated expression did turn out to be the person we’d come to meet, and the various spaceport officials on the scene had no any easy answers about how to catch his pet.

“Normally he comes running for food!” the client exclaimed. “But he’s got plenty to pick from here!” He pointed accusingly at the spill of fruit from a truck smashed open by a slab of gel.

“Oh, like that’s my fault?” said a Heatseeker who was busy gathering fruit. “Half my stock is ruined! Go catch your little menace and stop complaining.”

This led to a rant about how impossible the menace in question was to catch when he didn’t want to be — giving him a bath had to be done by trickery — and he was never going to come down from this playground full of food, and oh the man should have just paid for a transit that allowed him to bring pets.

Zhee muttered agreement at that last, but I don’t think the guy heard him. Spaceport officials offered calming words and a reminder that nets had been sent for.

Captain Sunlight asked one of them, “Is there an animal-handling service anywhere nearby?”

“Nowhere close,” was the answer.

She looked back up at me. “Any bright ideas? Here, I’ll show you the description.”

While she unfolded a screen and brought up the information from this particular courier gig, I watched the jumpy creature carefully. He was close enough for a good look now, since he’d come back to snatch another alien citrus off the ground, making the owner yell after him.

My first thought was “monkey,” followed by “frog.” The animal was long-limbed and green, though with velvety fur instead of an amphibian’s shine, and had a tail that could hold fruit just as well as his hands could. Pointy nose, round ears, and the biggest eyes of anyone here except for Zhee. He could probably see a person sneaking up from behind. He was fast. And he was clearly having a great time jumping from one bouncy surface to another, making chattering noises and spitting citrus peel everywhere.

“It’s called a treeleaper,” Captain Sunlight told me. “Warmblooded, diurnal, omnivorous, and ‘a bit of a troublemaker.’”

Mur snorted. “Sounds like your species,” he told me.

“Just with a tail,” Zhee added.

“I wanted a tail as a kid,” I said absently, thinking hard. I’d just caught sight of a shipful of humans disembarking nearby, on the other side of the biggest pile of gel. They looked like they were in pretty good shape. One was already walking on the gel and laughing about the bounce.

I had an idea. “Excuse me, Captain. I think I see reinforcements,” I said, then ran off toward my unsuspecting kinfolk. When I got close, I took great pleasure in yelling, “Hey humans! Who wants to help me chase a monkey across a trampoline??”

They were all smiles and questions, then when I led the way to where they could see the monkey-frog jumping around with stolen fruit, they volunteered immediately.

“I’ll get the small cargo net!”

“Do you think the big gravity wands will slow it down?”

“Bet you a cleaning shift that I can grab it in a towel.”

“You’re on!”

I told Captain Sunlight that I had successfully recruited some animal-catchers, and she didn’t bat an eye, just suggesting that our crew gather similar tools from our own ship. Zhee and the twins rushed off while Mur stayed to yell suggestions.

The other humans were already venturing into the bounce zone. I hurried to follow, grabbing a fist-sized lime thing from the ground as I did. We made a wide circle before closing in.

The treeleaper saw us coming, of course. Threw a half-eaten fruit at one person and made a rude noise at another, then sprang up to ricochet between surfaces like an unholy pinball.

Thus began a merry chase.

It brought back memories of bouncy houses and birthday parties at the trampoline gym. The gel was tough enough to take an impact without doing more than denting briefly and launching a person hooting into the air, to rebound off another surface and hopefully not smack into anyone else in midair. There were a couple close calls. But that just made everything funnier somehow.

I jumped off one gel wall with and hit another with my shoulder, making the monkey-frog turn a 180 back towards a pair of guys with gravity wands. He tried to spring away to the side, but I threw my lime to bounce off a surface nearby, spooking him enough to change direction yet again. Somebody slid down a gel slab like a rubbery playground slide, yelping as that turned into a wild tumble. The animal didn’t know what to make of all the flailing and laughter. His hesitation was enough for the gravity wands to lift him partway off the gel, then when he stuck a leg out far enough to jump free, he was immediately bagged by a grinning lady with a cargo net.

Everybody cheered.

The treeleaper growled and tried to scramble free, but no luck. Somebody else caught up and helped tie the net off with a scarf. Everyone settled down to minimal bouncing, and many hands worked together to carry the bundle of ropes and disgruntled animal back to solid ground.

“You got him! Is he okay? He didn’t sprain anything in that net, did he? I hope he didn’t eat too much fruit. He’ll do that if given the chance, you know.” The owner was grateful and worried and relieved and talkative.

Eggskin had arrived from our ship with a medical scanner, and thankfully they could put everyone’s mind at ease about the state of our animal cargo. The treeleaper was fine. It had a stomach full of fruit and a bloodstream full of adrenaline, but all it needed was a nice nap in its carrying cage.

I considered asking why it hadn’t been in the carrier before, when the rented shuttle got its windows smashed, but I didn’t.

A small hand patted my back, as far up as it could reach. “Earning your keep once again,” said Captain Sunlight.

I laughed. “That was my pleasure.”

Another human lingering nearby asked, “Is there anything else that needs catching? That was great.”

“Yeah, you should sell tickets to this!” agreed another.

A Frillian in a port uniform said, “No, but thank you.” She paused, then added, “Hm. I wonder if that’s worth suggesting to the owner of all this insulation. It’s useless for its intended purpose now that it’s breached the sanitation shielding.”

I smiled. “It still makes an excellent trampoline even with footprints all over it. Lay those out in an empty field and charge people entrance, and they could make back a decent amount of money. You get plenty humans through this port, right?”

The woman who’d caught the treeleaper said, “We’re here early for a family reunion before the big festival, then there are three or four sporting events in a row. Let us know if that does happen, because we can get you a lot of humans interested in jumping on this stuff.”

I had to leave with the animal cargo back to our courier ship, so I didn’t hear how the rest of the conversation went, but I saw the official bring the representative of the hauling group over to meet the humans. He looked very interested in what the spokesperson had to say.

I grinned at the scene as I walked away: the intense conversation in front of the vast playground of bouncy surfaces. I wondered if we’d get a chance to come back for a visit when they got it set up properly.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

[thewildsophia]

One Piece//Straw Hats x Winged!Reader

A/N: I haven't seen anything with the entire straw hat crew and a winged!reader so I made one myself. Can be read either as platonic or romantic.

CW: Strong language.

Word Count: 8216

"Read More Link” placed due to length.

Straw Hats w/Winged!Crewmate

Luffy

You met Luffy when you were flying before you were forcefully pulled down to the deck of the Thousand Sunny. Luffy had thought you were some large bird and was disappointed when he realized you weren’t edible.

You were dazed and disoriented when you looked up at Luffy and the other crewmembers who had flocked around the deck to gawk at you. After getting a good look at you, Luffy picked you up and without missing a beat asked you to join his crew. The rest of the crew all screamed at him which freaked you out and you tried to fly off. 

“Hey! Where you going?” You heard someone shout before being grabbed by your ankle and pulled back down to the deck. Your head was throbbing from that second pull and was being made worse by Nami screaming at Luffy to be nice to you.

Again, Luffy asked you to join his crew before Nami hit him on the head. Nami apologized to you and simply offered for you to stay on the ship while you orientate yourself.

During your “recovery” time though the crew manages to charm you enough to stay for a little while longer. After fighting by their side during one of their adventures on some random-ass island, you decide to officially join them.

The first few days you were on the ship, Luffy would come up behind you and just…grab them. After a few scoldings conversations about it, Luffy learned not just to grab them, but to at least make his presence known to you before doing so.

Sometimes if you’re on one side of the Sunny’s deck and he’s on the other, he’ll stretch his arm (or arms) out and tap your shoulder before stroking your wings. 

He really just can’t help himself tbh. They’re just so soft!

Once you become more comfortable with it, Luffy likes to just play with your wings. Stuff like opening and closing them or carding through the individual feathers with his fingers while you’re busy doing something else.

Luffy loves to just watch you move around sometimes since your wings have a life of their own. Like when you bend over to pick something up your wings stretch out just a little bit to help keep you balance. 

You eventually became comfortable enough to let Luffy pet your wings when the crew is enjoying some downtime. Ya’ll will be sitting somewhere near the Sunny’s railing and Luffy will be stroking your feathers with a surprising amount of delicacy. 

You quickly become one of Luffy’s favorite playmates without even trying. Whenever you're playing a game of tag your movements make you someone very hard to tag. 

Luffy likes to ask a lot of questions about your wings and what you are. His curiosity knows no bounds and that’s reflected in his well-intended but sometimes rude queries.

You are also one of the first people Luffy goes to when he wants to spar which is few and far in between. He finds that you are a very capable fighter and have a very unique style. When you move your body, your movements are smooth as silk and you are able to contort it in many different ways, similar to his in a way. He finds fighting against you to be a very unique challenge.

Whenever your wings are molting, you don’t let Luffy help you preen them, but you do give the nicer feathers from your wings to him, and my God does he love them. He tucked one of them in the ribbon of his straw hat and showed it off proudly to the rest of the crew and no you’re not crying-

BEGS you to take him flying with you. You say no every time for fear of dropping him in the ocean. You wouldn’t mind doing it if he just didn’t squIRM SO MUCH.

Luffy KNOWS that you can carry him in the air since you’ve grabbed him before in the middle of fights and placed him somewhere else so he pesters you every day about it. 

Knowing that you can carry him, he would purposely get into tight situations in battle so you would swoop down and fly him to safety.

Talking about combat as well, Luffy is mildly surprised at how fast you can move about the field, slipping and zooming between targets in an instant. He also took note of your strength and how much of a punch you pack despite your dainty stature. 

He once watched you kick a guy square in the face and he went flyyyyyying (no pun intended). The moment he saw that guy’s body sore through the air he thought to himself, “Yup, I picked out another great crewmember!”

Overall, he’s thrilled to have someone so unique on his crew and is obsessed with the way that you are just…you. Luffy has good taste in picking out his crew and you are no exception.

Zoro

Zoro had found you by complete accident. He had gotten lost on one of the many islands the straw hats visited in the Grand Line and accidentally ran into you.

At first, he thought you were someone who had fallen from Skypeia, but after noting just how large your wings are compared to those on Skypeia he thinks to ask, to which you explain you’re not from there.

He’s quick to ask for directions and you gladly help him all the while you two are chatting as you lead him back to his ship. The moment Luffy spots you with Zoro you immediately become an official crew member you don’t have a choice. 

Zoro never really asks where you’re from or what you are. He’s more interested in who you are and wants to know you personally. Considering he’s a part of a crew that has several devil fruit users, he starts to care less about others' abilities and looks and focuses more on their character.

Zoro is pretty indifferent about the whole wings thing tbh. He thinks they look nice and all, but it doesn’t really change his opinion of you either way. 

But don’t take it the wrong way like he’s disinterested; He’s that way with everyone.

He does enjoy laying against/on them when you two take naps together on the ship. They’re so soft and smell -- while not necessarily good -- nice; they smell like you, and he finds comfort in that. 

Zoro only ever asked you once to touch your wings. It was late at night and you had decided to join him in looking out since you couldn’t sleep. You’re sure he had been drinking. He was very quiet when he asked you, almost as if he didn’t want you to hear him.

The rough callouses on his hands ticked as they carded through your feathers and you stifled a small giggle at the sensation. He made only one comment about how soft they were. Slowly you found yourself drifting to sleep as his fingers methodically brushed your wings. 

The two of you ended up falling asleep together. Zoro’s head rested against your shoulder as you wrapped him in the warmth of your wing. When you woke up in the morning, Zoro was gone :(

Zoro doesn’t take care of his personal hygiene that well (this guy showers like, what, once every week? Stinky…) so he doesn’t really help you preen your wings when you’re molting. Or anytime really tbh. 

And if you’re being honest, he wouldn’t really be that good at it either. He would pull on the wrong ones and be rough when pushing feathers out of the way to pluck others. He wouldn’t mean to hurt you, he’s just not good at delicate work like that.

He doesn’t really collect your feathers like some of the others, but he does keep one of the really long-flight feathers that you gave him. He has it stashed in the Crow’s Nest (he thought it funny to keep your feather in the “Crows Nest” since a crow is a bird and birds have feathers…Just don’t bring it up to him bc he WILL get embarrassed).

Never asks you to take him flying with you, which you’re grateful for. He’s so dense with muscle that you don’t think you could actually fly with him. Plus, Luffy’s begging is enough lmao.

In battle, he expected you to be fast and light, but wasn’t expecting you to be such a hard hitter, you know? He thought you’d have a lighter punch given the whole “angelic” thing you have going on but no, his eyes widened when he watched you absolutely deck this buff-ass dude into the dirt.

Like this man’s whole head was stuck in the dirt and he struggled to pull it out. Zoro was honestly shocked you hadn’t busted his skull open from the impact of such a hit.

If you ever decide to take up swordsmanship, Zoro is glad -- and even a little excited -- to teach you. Just know that he doesn’t take it lightly and, while firm, is a reasonable instructor. He would also encourage you to try out different techniques that are unique to you and that may match your fighting style and mobility better. 

Maybe using your flight would help with sweeping attacks? Zoro doesn’t know, he leaves that up to you to figure out.

There was one time when he was knocked tf out in a long fight and you were the first thing he woke up to -- face pinched in worry and wings disheveled and dirty -- and he honestly thought he had died and gone to heaven, but you will NEVER hear him tell you about that.

Overall, Zoro is not that impressed by the fact you have wings but is instead impressed at how you use them to your and the crew’s benefit. He thinks of you as a very strong and reliable crew member and someone who is genuinely very kind to others.

Nami

The Straw Hats met you pretty early on in their journey at the Baratie. When Nami first saw you, a horrible thought ran through her head, that being she could possibly sell you as some kind of “exotic” item/person to pay off the debt to Arlong. However, she quickly pushed that thought out of her head and is somewhat disturbed at the fact that she ever had that thought. 

After Nami had stolen the Going Merry and returned to Cocoyasi Village, she was shocked to see you with the crew when they came to pick her up. She witnessed firsthand that day just how freakishly strong you are, having been able to beat the shit out of a Fishman by yourself. 

You were the first person to greet her after she got her tattoo reworked. You expressed how relieved you were that she was okay, that you understood why she did what she did, and that you wouldn’t (couldn’t) hold it against her. It was during that conversation that she decided she belonged with the Straw Hats.

You two quickly become friends once ya’ll officially join the crew. 

Whenever the crew docks on a new island, Nami LOVES to go shopping for items for you that would complement your wings. Clothes, jewelry, whatever, she loves to doll you up with or without your approval lol. 

Along with clothes and jewelry, Nami also looks for good soaps and other hygiene products that are gentle on your feathers and skin, but keep them looking and smelling nice.

Nami often asks you for fashion advice. You don’t change your outfits nearly as often as she does, but you slay every single one you wear and she aspires to look as good as you.

Tbh, you don’t know what to say to her since she too also slays and you just throw things together without any particular process.

Nami was the first person on the crew to buy you a pair of padded gloves to protect your hands while fighting as she noticed the copious amount of bruises and cuts to your knuckles.

Depending on how much you already know and understand, Nami shows you how to budget money if you’re ever unsure how to do so.

Something Nami does for you is offer to hold your wings. Considering how large of a bust she had, she understands the most out of the whole crew how sore your back and shoulders become when carrying something heavy like that all day. Nami has you lean into her chest and relax your wings while she holds them at the base where they connect to your back. You are always grateful whenever she does this because holy shit your back feels so light.

She’ll also help you stretch them out whenever you need to. For example, she’ll grab the tip of your wings and pull them out, stretching them to their full span. Keeping them folded all day can lead to some crazy cramps. 

Nami is always willing to help you preen your wings in the spots you can’t quite reach. Every time she helps you, she tells you how soft they are the whole time.

Nami collects the long, straight feathers that fall off and uses them to write with. It started when you gifted one of your long feathers to her and she kept it in the cup on her desk with all her other writing utensils. One day the quill she was using broke and, not wanting to buy another one, she improvised by using the one you gave her. She was shocked at how well it held up and how crisp the lines were and began asking you for more. 

Much like other members of the crew, Nami WILL fall asleep cuddled into your wings if given the chance. But just like the other members of the crew, you never mind when she does :)

Nami never really asks for you to carry her while flying, mainly because she has a slight fear of heights, but you have flown with her on occasion. Whether it be recreationally or to move her out of harm's way, you try to stay as low as safely possible whenever you carry Nami. 

Overall, Nami is not only mystified by your beauty and uniqueness but is also glad to have another strong fighter among the crew. She feels safe whenever you're near.

Usopp

So Usopp shot you out of the sky while the crew was sailing in the Grandline. He didn’t realize you were a person, he thought you were a large bird that Sanji could cook up for dinner! Imagine his surprise when you fell onto the deck and BOOM, a whole fucking person is lying there and, oh God are you dead?

Chopper was quick to tend to your wounds. Since Usopp had used a flame star on you, some of your feathers were singed on your left wing, which made it impossible for you to fly even if you wanted to until they grew back. Usopp stayed in the office while Chopper tended to you and waited for you to wake up. The moment you woke up in Chopper’s office you panicked; You screamed and threw anything you could get a hold of at the reindeer and Usopp before bolting for the door. You got out, but when you tried to take flight, you found that you were unable to. After falling to the deck a couple of times in a futile attempt to leave, you eventually accepted that you weren’t going anywhere.

Luffy offered you a spot as a part of the crew that day, but you were unsure. You eventually compromised on letting you stay on the ship until you dock on the next island, to which you could either leave or stay with the crew. Later on, you decided you would stay with them.

When given the chance, Usopp apologized PROFUSELY for shooting you. Like, he was on the ground crying, begging for forgiveness. Before anyone realized it, you had balled your hand up and punched Usopp in the stomach, sending him flying against the guardrail on the other side of their ship. Dazed, Usopp looked up at you as you approached him. Leaning down to face him, you said to him, “I forgive you,” and from then on out it was mostly smooth sailing between the two of you.

Usopp LOVES to draw up ideas on new items and weapons for you to use, either things that attach to your wings or that can be used by you while in flight. 

Speaking of drawing, Usopp also loves to draw, just…you. You’re such a unique subject, possessing a silhouette unmatched by any other (with maybe the exception of the Skypia citizens, but even then their wings were not as large as yours). Usopp just thinks you’re pretty and he likes to draw pretty things :)

Usopp also taught you how to shoot with a slingshot. He figured that while you’re in the air you’d have a pretty clear shot of the battlefield, so you could offer aerial support for the Straw Hats.

He also looked into different fabrics and materials he could make new clothes for you out of; Something that was light and wouldn’t affect your flying, but something that was flame and puncture-resistant. With the help of Franky and Nami, he was able to sew something that provided you with a little more protection in combat than what you typically wear.  

When you first asked Usopp to help preen your wings in the springtime, he refused immediately. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to help you, he just didn’t think he could do a good job at it. You assured him and told him you’d instruct him while he did it. 

It took a while for him to figure out which feathers were ready to come out and which ones were still healthy and alive (He pulled out quite a few good flight feathers…ouch), but by the end of it, all your wings were healthy and shiny. 

You told Usopp he could do whatever he wanted with the feathers and at first, he just kept them in a box in his workshop, not sure what to do with them but unable to just throw them out because, hello, they’re your feathers.

He tries to come up with inventions that could utilize them, but he has yet to design and sketch one up. 

Usopp found out the hard way just how hard your punches hit. He also got to bear witness to it when the crew was fighting off another random pirate crew that thought they could cash in their bounty. Usopp was  s h o o k  when he watched you grab this pretty beefy pirate and just drag him to the fucking floor before beating the absolute shit out of him with your bare hands. Rest assured, he never doubted your capability in a fight after that. 

Overall, Usopp is impressed, and somewhat scared, of your strength and just the general uniqueness that is you. He has just never met anyone like you before (until Skypia that is, but they’re not even as cool as you) and is always in awe of you.

Sanji

Oh, where to begin with this guy lmao…

You met Sanji allllll the way back at the Baratie. You had barely managed to escape the capture of a pirate crew that wanted to sell you and found yourself flying aimlessly over the sea, with no idea where you were or where you were going and starving. You stumbled across the Baratie by complete accident and once you realized that it was a restaurant, you practically ran through the doors.

You pleaded with the staff to give you anything to eat -- offering to clean dishes, dispose of trash, or be a bodyguard for the restaurant (that last one got a few laughs out of some of the staff) -- but without any money, you were quickly kicked out.

Before long, a pair of black dress shoes stood in front of where you lay on the ground and a plate of fried rice was placed in front of you. You gasped as you sat up and looked at the person who gave you the food. “No one deserves to starve. Especially someone as lovely as yourself,” He said to you. 

From that day on, Sanji kept a close eye on you. Sanji let you stay and work with him -- with the approval of Zeff ofc -- so when he left to join the Straw Hat crew, you joined alongside him; Thankfully, Luffy didn’t have a problem with it.

Sanji makes special meals for you considering that you have a different diet from the other Straw Hats. If you ever tell him he doesn’t have to do that for you, he insists on making your meals with certain ingredients since he does the same for Chopper (considering he, as a reindeer, has a vegan diet and all). 

You’re also the main person Sanji asks for help in the kitchen the very few times he ever asks for help. He has a lot of trust in your kitchen skill considering you worked with him for a short time. 

Regardless of your gender or sex, Sanji is ALWAYS fawning over you. Are you hot? Here’s a cold, refreshing drink for you. Are you hungry for a snack? Sanji has already cut up a nice gala apple for you! Seriously, this man is just obsessed with you (in a good way, that is).

Like Nami, Sanji loves to go out and buy outfits for you. Dresses and skirts or suits and ties, whatever you want, Sanji will buy it for you.

Sanji is very curious about your life before he met you and how exactly you came to be the way you are. He assumed you got your wings from a devil fruit and was shocked when you told him you were born with them. That was the moment he became more invested in your origin and what exactly you are. 

He never pressures you to tell him anything if you’re uncomfortable with it, but if you are, he’ll fix you both a cup of tea and sit with you in the kitchen, listening intently to whatever you have to say. 

Sanji is also the most likely one to spend time with you at odd hours of the night. He doesn’t have the soundest sleep schedule and is a fairly light sleeper -- at least the lightest out of all the men -- so there’s a good chance he’ll be awake whenever you can’t sleep. Again, he’ll fix you something light to eat or drink that will hopefully help you sleep. 

Sanji never expected you to ask him to help you care for your wings, but bro did not hesitate to say yes. He has you sit in the kitchen’s dining area while he helps preen your wings, handing you the feathers as he goes. When you offered him to keep them he didn’t waste a second more and stuffed them (gently) into his coat pockets with the longer ones poking out of his pocket lol.

He doesn’t keep them in the kitchen (for sanitary reasons), but he does keep them in a small keepsake box where he puts all his valuables in his sleeping area. Sometimes when he’s changing up his outfit, he’ll place one of your short feathers into the suit pocket alongside a handkerchief. It’s so adorable and you smiled so hard when you first saw it.

Sanji would never ask you to take him flying, but if you offered he first declined before quickly agreeing if you insist. He won’t admit it, but the moment he met you he wished you’d sweep him off his feet and bring him into the air with you.

Sanji didn’t think you could fight that well. To him, you looked like a delicate teenager/young adult needing protection. He did everything he could to protect you from the pirates that attacked the Baratie, but it wasn’t until he was pinned down and forced to watch you get jumped by a group of the other pirates that he actually saw just how strong you were. 

Granted, it took you a hot second and you got hit by them a few times, but you still managed to beat the absolute shit out of them (and these were decently built people as well). 

Sanji never doubted your ability to defend yourself from then on, but he still does try to protect you whenever he can. It’s just ingrained in him to protect other people. 

Overall, Sanij was immediately won over by your beauty, but as he got to know you and your personality became more understood by him, a deep respect for your character grew within him. While lovely, Sanji often looks past your wings and sees you for who you truly are.

Chopper

Chopper met you along with all the other Straw Hats on Drum Island. You assisted Luffy in bringing Nami to the only doctor on the island, acting as another bodyguard for him along with Sanji. Eventually, Sanji was knocked out and you carried him while Luffy had Nami. 

It took a while for you two to reach the top of the Rockies where the doctor was supposed to be and it was draining on the both of you. You saw a pair of feet approach you and passed out to the sound of Luffy shouting, “They’re my Nakama!” 

Doctorine allowed Chopper to treat you since, out of the four, your injuries were the least severe. At first, the two assumed you were a regular human and laid you on your back while they treated the others. It wasn’t until after Luffy was bandaged up that the two got to you. Removing your coat, Chopper was taken aback at the sight of feathers all inside your coat pressed up against your body. He quickly called Doctorine over and quickly decided to treat you instead and pushed Sanji over to Chopper for care.

Chopper made quick work of Sanji in order to watch Doctorine treat you. He watched intently as she was careful of your wings and placed you to rest on your side instead of your back. You were the last to wake up of the four and Chopper couldn’t hold back his questions about you. Doctorine swiftly dismissed him to allow you to recover as you had developed a small cold on top of your other injuries.

After recovering some and being faced with Drum Island’s “King” Wapol, Chopper was incredibly impressed by how well you fight along with the other Straw Hats. Not only were you wearing somewhat restricting clothing (those coats kept you warm but were hard to move in at times), but you were also still injured and yet you still managed to pack these guys up lmao. He was also very grateful when you covered him from an incoming attack, but also felt guilty that you had to sustain another injury.

After Chopper joined the crew, you were the first one he truly befriended. While he had no problem with the others in the crew, he felt most comfortable with you. He thinks it’s because of your gentle appearance and kind voice, but you think it’s because of your wings and somewhere in this subconscious he connects them to an animal and therefore connects you to an animal, which brings him comfort.

Chopper has many, and I mean many, questions about your anatomy and physiology. You explain everything you know about your body to him, including that you have hollow bones, there are air sacs in your lower abdomen, there are some foods that you just can’t eat, and that your hearing is very sensitive (sorry to my HoH and deaf baddies ilyyy). 

Chopper loves to sleep with you. Whether it’s taking naps together or actually falling asleep at night, he feels very safe within your arms and wrapped in your wings. 

As a doctor, Chopper knows how one’s back hurts when carrying a large weight on their shoulders for an extended period of time, so he’s quick to ask about any back pain you have. If you are ever having any discomfort, Chopper will massage your shoulders and back near where your wings connect to your skin to ease the soreness. He’ll also look into any medicine that helps with back pain like yours.

Chopper gets really nervous whenever you sustain any injury to your wings. While he has been taught how to treat many different injuries and illnesses on a person, your wings are a whole new thing to him and often time he needs your guidance to treat you. He’s very nervous about hurting you more than you already are :( 

Chopper was very excited the first time you asked him to preen your wings. He’d seen some of the birds on Drum Island do the same thing sometimes during the warmer months, but he never quite understood what they were doing at the time. He’s very gentle and always asks before fully pulling off a feather all the way like he does a little tug and asks if it’s ready to go. 

If you ever break one of your blood feathers, Chopper is quick to treat you with the least amount of pain possible.

Chopper uses some of your shorter, stiff feathers as pens to write with similar to Nami. He keeps them in a cup with all his other pens and pencils. The rest of your feathers he throws out since he doesn’t have a use for them and wants to keep his office clean and clear.

Chopper frequently asks you to take him flying and isn’t above begging you to do so.

He’s the only Straw Hat that you take flying somewhat regularly. His small stature and light weight make it possible for you to fly for long periods of time without straining yourself too much. The first few times you carried him with you, you flew close to the deck/ground so as not to frighten him. Once he felt confident you wouldn’t drop him, he began to beg you to fly higher, which you happily complied with. 

Whenever you guys are attacked, you are the first person Chopper runs to for cover (assuming you’re close enough). He’s seen just how strong you are and feels safe with you.

Overall, Chopper first views you as a very unique patient; Someone who he can learn something new from. He then started to see just how genuinely kind you are and began to look up to you as an inspiration for what he wants to be.

Robin

You were already a part of the Straw Hat crew when you met Robin while she was still working for Crocodile. Similar to Chopper, the large, baggy clothing you were wearing gave you the appearance of being a normal human. It’s not until she goes to use her devil fruit and restrain you that she feels something unusual on you; Something soft.

It’s not until you all depart from Alabasta and she makes her presence known on the ship that she actually sees them. With your protective clothes gone, your large, soft wings are on full display and Robin’s interest is immediately piqued. 

Using her devil fruit, she grows an arm out of your back and you freak out at the feeling of her touching your wing from so far away. She’s normally much more polite about such things, but she just couldn’t contain herself at that moment. She promptly apologized to you before joining the crew, much to everyone’s surprise.

Robin is very curious about you after you inform her your wings aren’t the product of some devil fruit. She thinks back on any race -- either modern or ancient -- that had wings like yours, but she could think of none. Not even the people from Skypia had wings as majestic as yours, so she quickly ruled that out.

Robin will often ask you to join her while she sits out on the deck reading. It doesn’t matter what you were doing before, if it’s something that can be done outside then she’ll beckon you over. 

She asks about your origins during one of these times in a non-probing way and very politely. If you tell her you don’t know much about your origin or that you haven’t eaten a devil fruit, she’ll start looking into it while doing her other research. 

The title/nickname she calls you by is “The Avian” or just “Avian.”

Whenever the crew docks at an island and goes shopping, Robin likes to buy little bird-related nicknacks -- stuff like ceramic parakeets and glass canaries. She gifts them to you saying that they reminded her of you. 

You have a shelf in your room that, along with your books, holds all the little birds (Robin smiled so hard when she saw it for the first time and, if I dare say, even blushed a little 0_0). They’re all secured with a little bit of adhesive on the bottom to prevent them from flying when the ship is forced to make crazy maneuvers. 

In the least creepy way possible, Robin likes to watch you sleep. She doesn’t actively try to watch you sleep but if you end up falling asleep next to her while lounging on the deck together, she’ll close the book she’s reading and just…watch you. Not long, just a few minutes max.

She’s very grateful to be alive and that gratitude spreads to her friends and crewmates. She’s happy that you are alive and seeing you breathe and your heart pump brings her comfort knowing that you are alive. 

Robin acts very much like a mother towards you, especially if you’re one of the younger members of the crew. She keeps an eye on you as you soar through the sky and perform cool tricks that impress the others and is always ready to catch you if something goes wrong.

Robin based her one devil fruit move where she grows “wings” of a sort after you.

Robin loves very much to help groom and preen your wings. She’s like Luffy in wanting to touch your wings frequently, but she’s much more discrete about it than he is. 

She’s very gentle when pulling your feathers and removing dead ones. She always asks for confirmation before actually pulling one off. Her fingers are gentle as they card through your feathers and she scratched them in all the right ways. 

She’ll also make sure to reorganize the feathers so that they lay correctly and comfortably when she’s done helping you groom them.

Robin never asks you to take her flying and she’ll turn down any offers you may give her. She may seem aloof and not interested but in reality, she very much wants you to carry her during flight. She’s a little embarrassed about it but mostly feels that you have better things to do than take her for a joy ride.

Whenever you grab her and fly her over to somewhere safe during a fight, she has a little fun while in the air with you.

Robin isn’t all that impressed at your inhuman strength. When you’re as well-traveled as she is you come across so many unique and bizarre people that you eventually become unfazed by it. 

She does admire that, while you’re strong, it does take you some time to deal with a group of enemies. Some of the other crewmates are able to take out a lot of people in a crazy short amount of time so seeing you take a minute to beat up a group reminds her that you’re -- and the rest of the group as well -- still human and very real. You’re not some machine created to kill.

It was still a little jarring for her to see your petite frame bust some large guy’s ass and throw him across the battlefield. It took her a couple of battles to get used to it tbh.

Overall, Robin is very interested in you, both in who you are as a person and what you are as a being. To her, you are the definition of “looks can be deceiving” as you manage to surprise her time and time again.

Franky

When Usopp had come back to the ship bloody and bruised and without the money, you went out with the rest of the group that went to pay his attackers a visit. 

When Franky first saw you approaching with the group he thought you were an angel (bc he’s corny like that). He laughed to himself a little bit thinking about how out of place you looked side by side with the rest of him. He stopped laughing, however, when you socked him in the jaw and sent him flying into a wall that was a few feet away. 

Chaos ensued and the last glimpse he got of you was of your wings swaying as you walked away from the rubble of the Franky House with the rest of your crew.

Time passes and the events of Water 7/CP9 take place and before you know it Franky is now a part of the crew (much to your surprise).

Tbh, it takes you a hot minute to really warm up to him as a crewmate considering what he did to Usopp, but in the end, you decide to follow Usopp’s lead, and if he was willing to forgive Franky then you were too.

Franky’s corny ass asks you if you’re an angel or something similar and you have to tell him no, much to his disappointment. Like he visually deflates when you tell him you aren’t some Godsend.

He does like to place you on his shoulder and say some stupid shit like, “Look! I’ve got an angel on my shoulder!” It’s a little embarrassing when he does that on a new island and locals look at you like you’re insane.

He only once asked about what you were and after you told him you didn’t know he never brought it up again. Bro really just doesn’t care lmao. 

Franky likes to just watch you move about sometimes. Your wings move in a way that is uniquely and completely you. When you lean forward your wings spread back to balance yourself. If you ever trip your wings flutter to right yourself. They’re just really fun to look at for him.

Franky will look at some of the schematics that Usopp made for items related to your wings and will actually make them (with modifications he sees fit). He also creates some of his own inventions for you to try out and if one particular item doesn’t do it for you Franky’s not offended at all and scrapes/revises it.

The first time Franky touched your wings was when he was making an item for you and needed your wings’ specific measurements. He noted just how soft they were and couldn’t help but press his face into them, causing you to laugh lightly.

You kept some of them, but most of his inventions for you were just too heavy/bulky for them to be practical in battle :/

He’ll ask you to try out some of his inventions from time to time similar to Usopp, specifically ones that are better executed from higher places. 

Franky is not the person to ask for help to preen your wings. It’s not that he’s rough like Zoro -- quite the opposite in fact -- but because his hands are just so big. He has difficulty trying to grab individual feathers and often pulls three or four out at a time. 

He is about just stroking your wings though. He uses very light pressure on them as his fingers ghost over your feathers and it almost feels like a gentle breeze instead of someone touching them. 

Franky loves it when you give him your feathers! He often asks you to just give all the dead ones to him and he’ll personally go through them and pick out the ones he wants to keep. 

He uses them for decorating his inventions and other things, as well as writing and just sitting pretty somewhere in his workshop. He even keeps one of them in his shirt pocket claiming that it’s “lucky.”

After the two of you became better acquainted, Franky asked you a few times to pick him up and fly with him. You tried, you really did, but you just couldn’t. You can pick him up relatively okay, but you just couldn’t take flight with him. He chalked it up to being mostly metal and didn’t bother you about trying again. 

Franky learned his lesson the hard way not to fuck with you. His jaw was sore for days after you punched him in the face. He never saw you fight during the CP9 battle, so the first time he actually saw you fight as an ally was after the crew docked at the next island and were harassed by some other pirates. 

Franky watched you throw a guy at least three times your size over your head and a solid twenty-five feet away from you. He then proceeded to witness you break someone’s nose with a headbutt and he was glad you hadn’t done that to him (although his nose is made of metal). 

He then considered getting or making you a pair of brass knuckles to see just how much damage you could do in a single punch.

Overall, Franky is always looking for new inventions to make and your body provides a very unique canvas he can design his inventions for. In his eyes, you’re not only a unique individual but also someone who is forgiving and kind-hearted.

Brook

You met Brook with the rest of the crew near Thriller Bark. Immediately charmed by your beauty, Brook politely asked to see your underwear (regardless of your gender bc bffr he don’t care). Nami is quick to hit him for it.

Since he wasn’t present for most of Thriller Bark he kind of slipped your mind, since you had been dealing with zombies, until you ran into him by accident and he told you how to actually defeat them. Grateful, you do as he says.

After the stressful events of Thriller Bark and +1 more crewmate, you’re all off onto Fishman Island (until you take a detour to Sabaody Archipelago that is).

Brook assumes that your wings come from a devil fruit and is shocked one night when you casually mention you don’t have devil fruit powers. He then asks about it and you tell him that you just don’t know, so he doesn’t ask any further.

Expect this absolute dipshit to ask to see your underwear at least once a week if not more. Brook has a preference for pretty women, but really he likes anyone that’s pretty so you check the box in that aspect at least.

Brook likes to talk about Laboon with you. He feels that out of everyone on the ship, you’d understand his attachment to Laboon the most, even if you hadn’t met him in the East Blue. 

Perhaps it’s because you resemble a bird? Brook isn’t even sure why he feels that way about you.

Brook would teach you how to whistle and mimic other bird calls/tweeting. He thought it fitting and thinks it amusing whenever he finds you somewhere on the deck delivering bird noises to yourself in the early morning. 

It’s especially amusing when an actual bird or two respond to your call and sit with you on the deck.

Brook loves to hug you even if he can’t feel you (small headcanon: Brook is unable to feel since he lacks the nerve endings necessary to do so). He’s not a creep in the sense that he wants to touch you, he just loves the idea that he’s hugging someone since, hello, that man was alone for fifty years so he’s a little fucked in the head from that. 

Tbh, he just likes to be around and in physical contact with you. Again, this stems from his time alone and he feels more safe when he’s with someone, especially you. Maybe, subconsciously, he views you as some kind of angel that’s there to guide him after his death so he feels the most at ease with you, but you’ll never hear him admit that.

Brook would be very good at preening your wings -- probably one of the best if you’re being honest. Since his fingers are nothing but bone they’re very precise in which feather they grab. Although, the lack of friction does mean that your feathers frequently slip through his bones, but two or three yanks later and the dead feather is gone!

Brook started collecting your feathers the first time you let him preen your wings. You know the boa he wears post-time skip? It’s made out of your feathers. 

While Brook can’t actually feel your feathers, he just believes the others when they say they’re soft and will fight anyone who argues otherwise.

Brook is the easiest to fly with out of all the Straw Hats hands down. He genuinely feels like nothing when you carry him and you’ve actually dropped him once due to this. 

Brook seems like the kind of guy to have a fear of heights, so he doesn’t ask you to carry him a lot when flying. He doesn’t mind though, however, when you bail him out of a tight spot in the middle of a fight. 

He’ll actually be screaming and crying and thanking you as you set him down somewhere safe before continuing your own fight with whomever.

Speaking of fighting, Brook is terrified when he first sees you throw a punch. He was expecting some regular, non-devil fruit-type punch that would maybe disorientate someone. What he wasn’t expecting was for you to send someone twice, thrice your size across the room and skit to a halt on the hard, concrete floor. 

He determined then that he would never make you mad and is very glad you’re on his side lmao. 

Overall, Brook adores you, for your beauty/handsomeness, your kindheart, and your immense strength. You are someone he feels comfortable with and that he can form a deep bond with in a way he can’t with the other crewmembers; You are unique to him in that way.

Straw Hats

Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper all cuddle you when taking a nap lmao. Sometimes others will join you four, but they’re the core group :)

Nami and Sanji are the main people who like to dress you up (you have a whole collection of clothes that the two of them have bought for you), but you’ll often find Robin, Franky, and Brook in attendance at the small “fashion shows” Nami and Sanji “host” for you after they have gone shopping. 

Franky will sometimes find little bird items that remind him of you, but instead of giving them to you himself, he hands them off to Robin to gift to you instead (embarrassed much, Franky?).

You, Robin, and Nami go to spas frequently whenever you get the chance. Nami always makes sure you get a deep tissue back massage there. 

Considering your unique physique, there are many people who gawk at you whenever you enter new islands and towns. It’s mostly limited to stares and whispers amongst others, but occasionally someone will speak up and talk to you. 

Zoro and Sanji are especially defensive of you when this happens. It’s not that they think you can’t handle yourself, it’s just that they want to make sure you have the appropriate backup necessary in case someone does get nasty with you.

There have been occasions when someone grabs your wings without your knowledge/consent, both random pedestrians and enemies.

If it’s a pedestrian then someone from the crew will probably leave them with a minor injury, such as a slap to the face or a punch to the gut.

If it’s an enemy then the crew is on that person in an instant. 

There is one time you can vividly remember an enemy grabbing your wings. You were trying to move Luffy away from someone when you were suddenly grabbed by the ankle and dragged back to the ground, causing you to drop Luffy some feet away. A foot was set on your lower back with a lot of pressure and that’s when your wings were grabbed close to the base and pulled.

The scream that ripped through your throat was haunting as you tried to contort your back away from your assailant in vain. You felt warm blood drip onto your shoulders when suddenly all the pressure on you was gone and you saw the guy lying still on the ground several meters away from you.

Chopper tended to you first that night and noted the mostly minor tearing around the top base of your wings. It took a week to heal completely, yet the scars from it still remain on your back, a lighter color than the rest of the tissue there. 

Overall, the crew loves you to bits and you love them too.

A/N: I was NOT intending this to be so long. I only wanted each character to be like 6-7 points each, but I got carried away as usual. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it!

[zeewritez]

The Sailor and The Samurai - I

Mizu x Femme Shipmate/Pirate Reader

Hi my lovelies! I haven't updated in so long and I'm sorry but college has been kicking my ass. (Why tf am I studying biochemistry - because I hate myself). Anyways, I hope to update my other stories soon (I've had chapters for months now, they just need to be edited lol). So for now, here's a little BES fic because I'm in love with this show :)

(Notes: Reader's father is Irish in the fic but she will not be described physically except for having super long curly hair because I like projecting my hair goals onto stories, also I will be using he/him pronouns for Mizu since they are currently being perceived as a man.)

Part 2 now out

Y/n woke up with a splitting headache from the rum she had the previous night. She made a note to self to not attempt to out drink her father, even if he was pushing 60. Rolling out of her cot, she slipped on a blouse and trousers she had acquired from a crew mate at some point. They barely fit, but it was far better than the dresses and corsets she wore whenever they docked back home.

She walked onto the deck just in time to watch over the vast ocean as they approached the isolated island of Japan. She'd been there many times in her career but had only ever been to the ports to assist with loading goods when the crew needed it. Today, there was no need. Instead, she watched with mild curiosity from the crow's nest as crates were loaded onto The Banshee.

The cargo seemed standard: silks, swords, exotic fish. The things nobles in England dreweld over. Yet the passengers were anything but standard. Y/n could barely believe her eyes when the infamous Abijah Fowler was brought on board with guards on each side of him. He was brought to the detention cell, which would have otherwise been used when her father was tired of a crewmate's drunken antics.

Y/n was so taken aback by Fowler's presence she nearly missed the passenger behind him: a young man, a few years older than y/n herself, clad in Japanese garb and yellow glasses. It seemed odd to her, as it was rather overcast outside but she didn't give it a second thought. What she was truly curious about was why Abijah Fowler was on their vessel.

As the ship took sail, she climbed down from the nest and made her way to the detention cell with a curious, if not mischievous, grin.

"I never thought you'd be joining us for London," she teased as she stood outside of his cel, as though dangling her freedom like a carrot. She did not like Fowler one bit, but she found him almost as amusing as she found him vile. Entertainment was hard to come by at sea, so who could really blame her?

"Well I for one am always happy to see you," he said, grabbing her hand through the bars and kissing her knuckles. She rolled her eyes as she pulled her hand back from him.

"What brings you back to the isle?" she asked. "My father doesn't even enjoy England, and he's still in good standing, legally speaking."

"Perhaps he's a better Irishman then me," Fowler said with a shrug. "What does it matter to you?"

The girl looked up in faux innocence. "Oh, I'm just curious."

"Well, why don't you hunt down the samurai that's on board and he can let you know why I'm going back to London," Fowler finally told her. "You've picked up quite a bit of Japanese, haven't ya?"

"Alright, I'll see you around then," she said as she turned to leave.

"You have your mother's rear!" He shouted out, as though y/n had forgotten why she had disliked the man so much. She said a silent prayer thanking the heavens he wasn't roaming freely as she roamed the ship looking for the mysterious man with glasses, which was simple enough.

He stood on the poop deck, staring out onto the ocean, as anyone who has ever treaded water has. The waters had a way of commanding one's attention.

"Hello good sir," the young woman greeted she climbed the stairs, stopping to curtsey out of habit. She'd managed to have some resemblance of good manners despite being raised at sea by a captain with a drinking habit.

The young man stared at her, which was a common response from many men upon seeing her for the first time, regardless of national origin. In fact, Englishmen seemed most taken aback by her appearance. Her hair was long and unkempt, falling down her back in ringlets instead of being pinned into an updo of a proper lady. Her shirt nearly fell from her shoulders and around her neck was a long, beaded necklace that seemed to trail down between her breasts. Y/n giggled at the man's reaction, having expected nothing less.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he spoke casting his eyes away from her eyes out of embarrassment, then down to her strange necklace, then back up to her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," she said, leaning against the Banshee's railing. "It is lovely to make your acquaintance, may I ask your name?"

"Mizu," he answered, finally less taken aback by the strange woman. "And you are?*

"Y/n," she said, reaching out her hand limply, again out of habit more than anything else. Mizu looked at her with pure confusion, almost fear. Y/n giggled again, this time to hide her embarrassment. "It is expected to kiss a lady's hand where we're going."

Mizu nodded and cautiously took the girl's hand, which was smaller then her own, and cool to the touch from the ocean winds. He kissed it with the gentleness most men she encountered lacked.

"You'll make a proper gentleman," y/n remarked as she retrieved her hand once again and placed it under her head. She scanned Mizu as had her. Admittedly he was rather dashing. So much so she'd forgotten what she was originally there to ask him. Fowler was the last thing on her mind. "What's with the spectacles?" she asked.

"My eyes are unnatural back home," he told her.

"Is that so?" Y/n asked rhetorically. Perhaps without thought for personal space, she leaned forward and took the yellow frames from the man's face. She was greeted with eyes that would put the sea herself to shame. "You needn't wear these anymore, your eyes are beautiful." The young sailor folded the glasses and handed them back to the blue eyed man.

A small smile graced Mizu's face at the first genuine compliment he'd heard in regard to his eyes. He looked over the beautiful yet foreign face of the woman in front of him. The journey to London was certainly something to look forward to now.

[alwaysonthemend]

Part V: Troubled Waters

Part IV

Authors Note: This chapter contains heavy, mature content. Please see warnings below before continuing.

Warnings: violence /  / prostitution / slight gore / creepy creatures / lust spells (detailed)* / revenge killing / 18+ ONLY. Minors DNI 

*Reader is taken under the influence of a siren – detailed description of forced feelings of lust and desire. The reader does not get taken advantage of and his saved from this situation before it can progress.

:¨·.·¨:☾☆༺ 𓆩⚔︎𓆪 ༻☆☽:¨·.·¨:

March, 1717

The galleon had arrived that brisk March morning under the cover of a soft fog. It swept through the low, sandy expense into the port of Nassau. The people there paid no real notice of Queen Anne’s Revenge as she came into port –  she was a familiar sight for the pirates that populated the island. Having made her journey to and fro so many times, hardly a single head turned towards her at all. Even as the captain, one Edward Thatch, descended upon the island with his crew falling in step behind him, not a single eye turned to them. 

The latter wore an unusual mixture of clothing; some in silks from India, others in Arabian headgear, and some even in fabrics that hailed from Africa. A lively bunch they all were – cursing and whooping as they entered the town of Nassau, no doubt excited for the promise of a night of revelry in the pubs nearby. They’d been at ship for some six months and they were more than ready to take some reprieve amongst the locals.  

Though it must be said that Thatch was of a different sort this day. In fact, he seemed so far removed from the rest of his crew that a passerby might not even guess him to be their captain. As the merry band of pirates dispersed themselves throughout the town, Thatch made his way slowly to one of the bars off on the edge of town – not as popular as some of the others and a good place to go and think. There is much he had to think about. He’s grown bored of his current predicament as of late and wants desperately to move on to bigger and better things… namely, he wants to secure a fortune for himself. Though his run as a pirate captain has thus far been more than successful – scarcely coming across a merchant ship that can outsail or outgun him, not a single one has been carrying the fortune that he wants. He’s got his eye set on a new prize but Queen Anne’s Revenge is ill-equipped for his plan. He needs a smaller, faster ship to call his own that is not so recognizable as this one. She’ll only draw attention to himself. With a smaller crew and smaller ship, his plan for fortune will surely be successful. 

But that leaves the question of what to do with Queen Anne’s Revenge. In a way, he supposes he’s gone sentimental in that he cannot bear to just let her rot. And giving her to Steve Bonnet – his old partner in crime, would surely end no better than the last time he gave a ship and crew to the Gentleman Pirate. Bonnet isn’t cut out for captainry and Thatch would rather give her to someone worthy of her name. He’s got enough men to spare this new captain a solid crew. He’s just got to choose one. 

And really…There's only one man who comes to mind. 

:¨·.·¨:☾☆༺ 𓆩⚔︎𓆪 ༻☆☽:¨·.·¨:

Jacob makes his way through the winding streets of Nassau with only one thought on his mind. He was relieved to be back ashore but was eager to find a new ship to call his home for the months-long journey back to Devon. He’d found wealth enough as a crewmate under Thatch that he was confident that Amanda’s parents would be more than willing to let him marry her. Before, he’d been nothing but a lowly sailor with hardly anything to his name. But now? He had more than enough to prove himself worthy of her. 

The bar he found himself wandering into was a run-down, sorry excuse for one – even amongst the rickety buildings of Nassau it was still a sorry sight. But it was blessedly empty of any of his fellow crewmates. Joshua, Samuel, and Daniel had been rather put out when he’d said that he would not be joining them in their merry-making tonight. But one look from Joshua and his twin had sensed that Jacob wanted to be alone. So they’d let him wander off to this sorry excuse of a bar in order to relax his ever aching mind and heart. 

As Jacob stepped through the threshold, intent on tucking himself away into a far corner, he was frustrated to find his captain sitting inside as well. Thatch looked up and caught his eye, immediately waving him over to have a seat. With no excuse to refuse, Jacob trudged his way across the floor and took a seat across from Thatch. 

“Captain.” Jacob mumbles, sliding a chair out and taking a seat. 

“Jacob. I was just about to send word to find you.” 

Thatch pins him with a piercing look that makes Jacob want to look away. But he doesn’t, instead only raising a brow for Thatch to continue. 

“I have a preposition for you…” Thatch began in that slow, taunting tone of his that makes Jacob’s blood boil. The man takes too much enjoyment in making drama where there needn’t be any. “I want to give you Queen Anne.”

That draws Jacob up short and shock overtakes his expression. 

“What?” 

Thatch nods with a smile. 

“I’ve got another job lined up, you see. But Queen Anne draws too much attention… But I refuse to just leave her somewhere to rot.” He begins, twisting the ends of his long, black beard in his fingertips. “And there’s no one else I think is worthy enough to have her. You’re the best quartermaster I’ve ever had. You’re young. You’ve got ambition.” He inclines his head. “She’s yours, if you want her.” 

Jacob remains silent, the words tumbling through his mind like fish sucked into a whirlpool. His own ship… Jacob had never wanted to stay in this life for long. Never planned on getting as far as he had to begin with. This had all been for her. To make enough money to convince her parents that he was worthy of her. And this… Having the Queen Anne could be his ticket back to Devon. 

“What’s the catch?”

Thatch smiles, displaying a row of yellowed teeth. 

“None. I’ll even lend you a few men to sail ‘er.” Thatch must sense Jacob’s doubt though for after a moment of thoughtful silence he continues. “I’m old enough to have seen all manner of types of people, boyo. Good ones ‘re hard to find.”

That’s the closest Jacob has ever heard Thatch get to complimenting anyone and a small, tiny ball of warmth thrums to life in Jacob’s chest. Pride. That’s what the feeling is. Praise from a man like Thatch - questionable as the man himself may be… somehow it feels good still to be noticed and praised for hard work in a world that usually doesn’t stop long enough to care. 

“I’ll take her.”

:¨·.·¨:☾☆༺ 𓆩⚔︎𓆪 ༻☆☽:¨·.·¨:

“So he handed it over just like that?” 

My voice sounds far too loud in the room after Joshua’s hushed story and I wince a little. 

“Just like that. And by the end of the week Thatch had officially handed Queen Anne’s Revenge over to Jacob along with the handful of men you see here now.” Joshua looks down at his lap, a muscle in his jaw flickering. “The plan was to head straight back to Devon… to Amanda.”

“His wife?”

“Not yet. She… her family was well off. And we were nothing but poor sailors from the moors. Jacob wanted to marry her – and she wanted to marry him. But her parents…”

“So Jacob started…” I wave my hand, vaguely gesturing to the room around us, “all this to get money so they would let him marry her?”

Joshua nods once. 

“And it was enough. When we returned, Jacob presented her father with what was basically the entirety of the wealth that Jacob had accumulated. And they were married that night.”

“I’m guessing that they don’t- they don’t live happily ever after?”

“No.” And the word carries so much grief with it that I feel as though I’ve trespassed into something that I never should have. But he continues on. “Not all of Thatch’s men were happy with his promotion. There- there was one man in particular who thought that he should have been the one chosen. And when Thatch made him stay behind, it was just adding salt into the wound.”

“Thomas Lowe.” 

“Yes.” A heavy sigh. “He was a sick, angry man. And he- he decided that he would take Queen Anne for himself. But Jacob wouldn’t let her go. He wouldn’t back down.”

Dread, oily and black, begins to spread through my veins. 

“What did he do?”

“He decided that the only way to convince Jacob to hand over the ship was to break him.”

“My God.”

“Jacob was the one who found her. And I-” He swallows, voice breaking, “And I was the one who found him. I’d never heard him scream like that. I doubt I ever will again. It was- it was barely even human.” 

Joshua’s eyes close and he winces, as if the memory is so awful that it still brings him physical pain to remember. 

“And so Jacob killed him?”

“He did. At least, we thought he did. Lowe had taken Queen Anne and some of the crew  in the chaos that followed. And Jacob… He was like a dog with a bone. Those of us that were left… We stole this ship – no small feat, and made chase. And when we finally caught up, we sank the Queen Anne. We didn’t think there were any survivors. Apparently we were wrong.”

“And this- this thing that can grant a wish… the Captain is trying to find it before someone else does?”

“It’s the last bit of hope he has.”

“To try and bring her back?”

Joshua nods once – slow and somber. “He thinks that-”  The door swings open, slamming into the wall and startling us both. The captain stands there, eyes blazing and nostrils flared. Joshua shrinks back, eyes casting downwards to the floor. “Jacob, I was just-” 

“Telling a stranger my life story?” He interrupts coldly, sniffing once and giving his twin a cold grin. “That’s quite enough of that, I think. We’re heading to port.”

“What? Why?” 

“It’s the last hospitable place to stop for supplies for a long while.”

“Shondell is hardly hospitable.” Joshua mumbles as he rises, brushing his palms across his trousers. The Captain’s facial expression doesn’t change, and Joshua shakes his head. “I’ll send Daniel and Sam to the shops, then."

“What about me?”

Both sets of chocolate eyes turn to me. The captain finally breaks his stony facade, grinning wickedly at me. “Welcome to Shondell, little lass.”

:¨·.·¨:☾☆༺ 𓆩⚔︎𓆪 ༻☆☽:¨·.·¨:

Shondell was the sort of place that I never imagined myself ever stepping foot in. The stench was the first thing that hit my senses – the smell of fish and mud made my eyes water and coated the back of my throat as we walked through the crowded streets and into a tavern tucked away at the end of a cobbled street. Hair stood up on my arms, a shiver running down my spine as we stepped through the threshold. 

Unfamiliar tunes strummed over lyres. Savory hints of pungent herbs and sauces covered the stench of sweat and unwashed clothing. Loud, raucous laughter rattled the wooden floorboards. The dim flicker of tallow candles was the only light to guide us as we walked through the crowded room, the captain in front of us, followed by Joshua and myself, and flanked by several of the crew that I didn’t know the names of. They eyed me warily – just as I did them, as if they thought I might try and make a break for it at any moment. 

“This way.” Joshua warned, nudging me towards a far corner after my wandering eyes had made me stray a bit from the group. Jacob had sat himself at a large table in the far corner, the other seamen following him and taking a seat. Joshua sits next to me, caging me into the seats with his body. 

“Out of the way. No one will pay you any attention over here.” One of the pirates says, cocking his brow at me as I warily take a seat, eyes still scanning the boisterous crowd. 

“And what if they do?” 

The crewman chuckled. “Hope they don’t. Cap’n will h’ve to spill blood. An’ he’s in his best coat.”

The other crew mates laugh while Jacob merely shrugs his shoulders, signaling for a barmaid. They were mocking me – apparently finding my unease amusing. Ignoring them, I turn my gaze back to the patrons. A woman – scantily clad and twirling a silky brown curl between her fingers, winks at Joshua as she passes us by. 

“Fuckin’ hell.” One of the pirates mutters, eyeing the girls backside as she saunters away. “What a prize.” 

“She wasn’t makin’ eyes at you.” Another pirate says – the one who’d been mocking me. “Eyein’ up our dear Joshua, h’re.”

“Well he’s on guard duty, in’ he?” The first pirate rises, stepping away from the group. “Permission t’ follow the prize, Cap’n?” 

Jacob rolls his eyes but nods. “Aye. Just don’t be lingering. Or siring any littles tonight, Larson.” 

Larson grins, bowing a little. “Don’ intend on lingerin’ or sirin; tonight, sir. Jus’ a little merry makin’ before hittin' the waters again.” With that, Larson scampers away in the direction of the woman. 

“Thief.” Joshua grumbles under his breath, narrowing his eyes at Larson’s retreating form.

“Seems playing my captor has ruined your plans for bedmates.” I tell him in mock sympathy. 

“Oh trust me, lass. If I want to take time to bed someone, I’ll do it – thoroughly…. And loudly.” 

The captain and the other men groan at the wicked smirk and wink Joshua delivers, each of them muttering their disgust and protest. 

As the ale is brought, conversation begins to flow but I tune them out, instead turning my attention towards the group of musicians playing in the corner. The one singing is a somber looking man, his tune warm and comforting. The pirates ignore me – Joshua and the captain, too, so I ignore them. Focused only on the delightful music, I allow myself to surrender fully to the sound. 

The singer lifts his eyes as if sensing my intense gaze and grins. Seemingly gaining a touch of energy from my attention, he starts to sway his shoulders to the tune. Now that my focus is on him fully, he seems softer compared to the other men in this tavern. Strong features, a pronounced cupid's bow, and eyes as blue as the sea in the morning light. 

“Stay here, yes?” Joshua asks, rising from his seat. I only nod, eyes never leaving the singer. 

In my peripheral, I can see Joshua and Jacob make their way through the crowd and up to the bar, their steps in complete unison. As if my legs have a mind of their own, I start to rise – none of the other pirates at our table seem to notice as I slip away from them and towards the singer. As I draw closer, his smile widens. 

“You are not from here, lady.” He says, stepping away from the other players and towards me. 

“No.” I couldn’t recall a time I’d ever heard a voice as sweet as his, a smile so inviting. Every note of the music seemed to flow through my body, lighting my blood. His presence sends a thrum through me, a chill running down my spine and… and pooling between my thighs. God, I have to clench my thighs together as he watches me. He starts to sing his song again, his fingers plucking at the lyre with ease as he keeps watching me, still grinning. 

Need throbs between my legs and I take a shaky breath, unable to tear my gaze away. I take a step closer to him, sighing softly to stop myself from moaning. 

“Shit!” Hands clamp down over my ears and the singer stops his song, exclaiming in protest. I claw at the hands on me, desperate for him to continue. 

“She hears my call.” The singer says, his words like a melody – a sensual, delicious melody that has my chest heaving, my skin boiling with desire. 

“Lass, stop fighting me!” Joshua’s voice is in my ear, his hands pressing into my ears. I shove him away, part of my mind becoming aware that the other patrons have stopped in their revelry to watch the scene unfold. No one makes to intervene, instead seeming to be enjoying the spectacle. 

The singer smiles and I nearly stumble when a rush of anguished want pulses through my core. 

“Let her go, you bastard!” The captain’s voice cuts through the pulse in my ears, his frame coming into view as he strides towards my singer. 

“It’s my right!” My singer says back, only adding to the harmony in my head. His eyes turn a darker shade, and for a moment, his face twists into something gaunt and sunken. “How about you mind your own business, pirate scum!”

“And how about I cut out your tongue!” Jacob yells, gripping my singer’s collar and pulling him in close, baring his teeth in a feral snarl. 

“No!” I cry out, trying to step between the two but Joshua grabs my arms, twisting them behind my back. “Don’t!”

The Captain spares me no glance and before I can even realize what’s happening, the glint of a blade catches my eye moments before it sinks into the belly of my singer. Sorrow, all encompassing, engulfs me as my singer cries out, his legs buckling. The captain holds him up, stopping him from falling completely as he slips the small dagger free. I hadn’t even seen him draw it out. And then the blade is plunging into my singer’s heart and his face – once beautiful and young now cracking into something else. Sharp cheekbones, cracked skin, rotted teeth. And then Jacob drops him, his body crumpling in a heap on the wooden floor. 

My gaze then goes from the horrid creature on the floor to the captain. Joshua’s grip tightens on my arms as the heat in my blood seems to suddenly boil over. The want that was once there for the singer now multiplied tenfold as I watched the captain. 

“Jacob.” His name rolls off my tongue like a prayer. His name is beautiful – more beautiful even than the song in my head. 

The captain and Joshua both swear. “To the ship.” Jacob orders and then I’m being dragged away, the eyes of the other patrons following us as we go. 

My vision waivers, feet blindly following where Joshua leads me. My eyes can’t seem to focus on anything at all, my mind only vaguely aware as the solid ground beneath my feet gives way to the swaying floorboards of the Starcatcher. A gruff “Let me take her” enters my ears and then a bed is beneath me, the lights dimming to a warm glow. 

“Jacob? What-?” I can’t finish, my tongue feeling heavy and clumsy in my mouth. 

“He was a siren.” The captain answers, lifting my feet and tugging off my boots. 

My skin is overheated – sweat gathering on my brow and my breaths coming out in short pants. I feel as if I might combust if the pressure across my body isn’t relieved soon. Before I can stop, my hand slides over my belly, reaching beneath the waist of my trousers for the ache between my thighs. 

A hand slaps over my wrist, guiding my hand away. 

“Please.” I whimper, gripping his wrists back and trying to tug him closer to me. “Captain, please.” 

“Y/n.” I moan at the sound of my name on his tongue but Jacob pulls his wrists away. “This is not you. The feeling will fade.”

“Don’t you want me?” I hardly recognize my voice but I can’t stop the words as they spill from my lips. My legs spread, hips rolling into the empty air and towards him.

“Sirens have a lure in their voice. Their songs bring lust to their victims – to take them away where they can have their way with them, either for pleasure or for food. You don’t-” 

I cut him off with my lips, tugging him downwards on top of me. For a brief, beautiful moment, the captain kisses me back and then he’s shoving himself away, gripping my wrists in his and pinning them on top of my chest. 

“Y/n, stop.” He demands, his harsh tone slicing me to my very core. As if sensing the hurt, he softens. “This feeling will pass, little love.” 

“You don’t want me.” I lament, eyes misting with tears. 

“I would have to be a fool to not want you.” He answers, rising from the bed. “You do not want me. This feeling will pass.”

His voice is distant, almost as if I am underwater. Another person looms in the doorway, but my eyes cannot make out their face. He speaks to the captain for a brief moment, glancing at me a few times before leaving the room again. In Jacob’s hand is a cup. He curls his hand around the back of my head. “Drink this.” 

I shake my head, pursing my lips. Jacob sighs, then softly, “For me? Drink this for me?”

I take the cup to my lips, forcing myself to swallow the thick liquid, the taste of charred meat covering my tongue. I choke and sputter but then my eyes begin to grow heavy and the throbbing need between my thighs eases. The song in my mind – once deafening, begins to softly fade. The captain lays me back down, pulling the mussed quilts over me. 

“Sleep, little love.” 

Then, I fall into syrupy black.

:¨·.·¨:☾☆༺ 𓆩⚔︎𓆪 ༻☆☽:¨·.·¨:

fin

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[yoonavii]

Love confession

Pairing: sanji x F! reader One shot

word count: 1k

Description: Y/n confesses her feelings to sanji

A/n: Requests are open!!

Late at night on the Thousand Sunny, you find yourself seeking solace in the company of your crewmate Robin. The two of you have always had a special bond, with Robin taking on the role of a caring and wise older sister figure in your life. Tonight, as you sit together in a cozy corner of the ship, you decide to open up to her about a pressing matter. 

 “Robin, can I talk to you about something?” you asked  “It's been on my mind for a while now.” Robin smiled “Y/n...You know you can always confide in me.” She says to you softly “What's troubling you?”

“Well, it's about Sanji. I'm well aware of how he flirts with and chases after women all the time. But the thing is... I can't help it. I've developed feelings for him. It's confusing, and I don't know what to do.” Robin lets out a lighthearted giggle as she then holds onto your arm  “Oh y/n, that's quite adorable. It seems Cupid has paid you a visit, hasn't he?”

The sudden feeling of warmth rushed to your cheeks as she spoke “Yeah, I suppose so. But I can't help feeling silly about it, considering how he behaves around other women.” She hums “although that may be true, there's nothing wrong with your feelings. Love and attraction can be complex and unpredictable. Sanji's flirtatious nature doesn't diminish the sincerity of your emotions.” her hand slides down yours and holds them “what i think you should do is to Talk to Sanji about how you feel, and see where it leads. You never know what might happen.”

Feeling reassured by Robin’s advice, you leave the conversation with newfound determination. The moonlight dances on the ship’s deck, as if mirroring the spark of hope within your heart. You’re ready to face your feelings and embark on a journey of honesty and vulnerability, trusting that the winds of fate will guide you toward the destination of love.

Moments later, you find Sanji in the kitchen, diligently preparing a delectable dessert for the entire crew. Your heart races with nervous anticipation, but you gather your courage and approach him with a request.  “Sanji, can we talk for a moment?” Sanji turns to

look at you with a smile as he then stopped his cooking progress. “Of course, my dear. Anything for you. Let's have a seat at the table.”  As you both then settle down, facing each other, you take a deep breath, ready to pour your heart out to him  “Sanji, there's something I've been wanting to tell you... It's not easy for me to say, but... I've developed feelings for you. Despite your flirtatious nature, I find myself drawn to your kindness, your cooking, and everything that makes you who you are. Sanji listens attentively, his eyes fixed on yours as you bare your heart to him. There's a gentle warmth in his gaze, and his hands reach out, encompassing both of yours.

 “Y/n…” he says softly, voice smooth like silk “I've noticed how your smile brightens even the darkest days, how your laughter fills the air with joy. From the moment we met, you've captured my heart in a way no one else has. Your kindness, your spirit... they've bewitched me. His words resonate deeply within you, making your heart practically skip a beat. 

“I've spent so much time searching for the perfect ingredients to create exquisite dishes, hoping to bring happiness to others. But now, with you by my side, I realize that the most important ingredient was always missing—love.” His silky voice carries a genuine sincerity that sends shivers down your spine. You feel a surge of warmth coursing through your veins as you realize the depth of his feelings. He likes you, and wants to be with you. With a radiant smile, Sanji gently pulls you into his embrace. It feels like the start of a beautiful chapter in your lives, one filled with shared dreams, unyielding passion, and a love that will endure even the fiercest storms. As you and Sanji continue to bask in the euphoria of your newfound love, a sudden interruption shatters the moment. Zoro, with his usual lack of spatial awareness, stumbles into the kitchen, catching sight of the intimate scene before him.

Zoro raises a brow “Uh...am I interrupting something?”

Sanji's expression darkens, a mix of annoyance and protectiveness washing over him. He quickly releases you from his embrace and steps forward, ready to engage in a heated argument with Zoro. “Damn it, swordsman!” He growled, clutching his fist “Can't you see we were having a private moment here? Learn to knock!”  He shrugs nonchalantly, not caring as usual. “I thought I smelled a cooking disaster. Didn't expect it to be a romantic one.

You couldn't help but laugh. Their exchanges were always entertaining to You.” Oh Zoro, I swear you have the worst timing!” Your laughter fills the air, diffusing the tension between the two feuding crewmates. “Hmph! Well, I'll leave you lovebirds to your mushy moments. Just remember, keep the sappiness away from my swords.”

Sanji frowns, crossing his arms “Tch! Mind your own business, mosshead!”

As Zoro exits the kitchen, the lingering traces of the argument dissipate, replaced by shared amusement and an even stronger bond between you and Sanji. You find solace in the fact that even in the most unexpected situations, laughter and love prevail. “Don’t worry about him. What we should worry about though, is the whip cream on the deserts. It’s starting to melt quite a bit” looking over at the deserts, Sanji adjusts his sleeves and quickly goes over to pick them up  “you’re right. Do you mind assisting me with it my love?” 

“Why of course.” 

With lovely smiles, you and Sanji leave the kitchen with the desserts, the echoes of the laughter you both share, mingling with the promises of a future filled with love, passion, and the indomitable spirit of the Straw Hat Pirates.

[gingerbreadmonsters]

sea change

or: no thanks, i'll use my oyster card.

gn!reader, warnings for violence, gore, and canonical character death, cute fluff that gets a bit confused along the way. it’s the return to the mer au! i tried to keep it at bay, but i guess i was just coasting. it’s never plain sailing when it comes to these two, so much love as always to the gang on discord and especially first mate @zozo-01, without whom i would be utterly adrift. warden digging a watery grave in 7100 words or less.

Everybody knows that your captain is looking for something.

It’s been his quest for as long as you’ve known him, and since long before that as well. Something he’s been chasing, something he’s been hunting. Day after day, night after night, he searches and searches – and yet he finds nothing, as if he had never looked at all.

Who knows what it could be? An elusive, unknowable something, anchored down deep in his soul and crying out to be found, yet never to be named. It might be treasure, but what sort of treasure does he not possess? What manner of riches, what silks or jewels or spices has he yet to find?

The question is a maddening one. Is it something else that he seeks? What port has he yet to visit, what person could elude him for so long? His name spans the seven seas, revered or reviled by every man in every port of every nation. Nothing hides from him, nothing escapes him. There is none, alive or dead, who has ever been a match for him.

And yet, nobody knows. He won’t say, and there’s no sane man who’d dare to ask.

He doesn’t ever say, but you see how it consumes him. It’s hellfire, roaring in his eyes with every contemptuous glance – it’s poison, ravaging his mind and choking his heart in its bitter, strangling grip. His great curse, clinging defiantly to his skin like thick tar. A jagged, gaping wound that bleeds and bleeds and never stops.

Call it a mission, a quest, a calling. Whatever it is, he is utterly tireless, ruthless in his unfailing search. A ceaseless, single-minded devotion to the neverending chase.

Aim level!

He’s something unexpected, he’s one of a kind. You can’t say you’ve ever met anyone else like him, and you probably never will again.

Ready…

Captain Vega is a singular sort of man, indeed.

Fire!

He’d told you about it only once before, awash in the crimson sunset of a port many months’ voyage from here, and even then he hadn’t told you everything. Only half-truths, warm and full of promise where they pressed to your skin, the rich brocade of his captain’s coat weighing down your shoulders as the chill of the night began to set in.

Whispers on the breeze, tales of a mythical treasure long thought lost. A prize with the power to commune with gods, to turn men into beasts and beasts into men, to command the sea itself as if it were nothing more than a child’s plaything. Something too good to be true, a legend that couldn’t possibly be real – and yet he swore, he swore he knew it was out there somewhere, waiting to be found…

You’d not been new to the crew of the Carpe Deus, but you weren’t exactly an old hand, perhaps a little less than a year since he’d captured you from the royal navy. At the time, his previous quartermaster had made no secret of his disdain for you – you had, after all, killed more than a few of his crew as they tried to raid your ship.

To tell the truth, you’d been quite proud of yourself. The scene lingers in your mind, even now. Blood, staining your uniform and dripping from your stolen cutlass, a trail of pirate corpses in your wake as you fought your way out from the carnage of the gun deck and the bodies of your slaughtered crewmates. You’d been heading up onto the main deck in search of your commanding officer, but to no avail – the night sky was dark and clouded, and the moonlit shadow of a man had finally stepped in and surprised you with a hard, cold pressure against the back of your head and the unmistakable click of a flintlock pistol being cocked.

You fought well, little sailor.

The HMS Delta had never made it back to port. As far as the navy were concerned, there had been no survivors.

But your fight, I’m afraid, is over.

Your many weeks below deck, rotting away in that dark, tiny cell, and yet he’d never got tired of you. There’s almost no such thing as a ransom on the Deus – a reputation for ruthlessness like the captain prefers has to be maintained somehow, after all – but he’d ordered you to be kept down in the brig anyway.

Perhaps he’d been intrigued by your viciousness during the assault, or perhaps he’d just wanted someone new to scare. You had nothing to lose, and nothing to offer but conversation, and as you talked and talked over the long voyage to McKinley, you’d slowly found yourself coming to like this towering, terrifying pirate captain that was holding you hostage.

He and his crew have always been legendary across the seas, the ghoulish villains of many a harbour’s horror story. But to actually speak to him? To hear the low cadence of his voice, to see those dark eyes glittering in the dim light, to know that this man – this cruel, violent man who’d killed more crews of more ships that you could even count – was deigning to spend his hours talking to you? An unimportant little nobody that the navy wouldn’t miss?

Well. Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t help but feel flattered.

When he’d told you, it had been something of a surprise. Not knowing the captain as well as you do now, you’d considered this story, this tale of the mystical treasure he sought, as a sort of repayment. A belated acknowledgement of his subordinate’s cruelty to you, and the misery of your situation. But he’d disavowed you of that idea rather quickly – your repayment had actually come a few days later, when he called you up to the quarterdeck to find the old quartermaster mysteriously disappeared, leaving no trace at all.

The captain had smiled as he looked down at you, that heady, heart-stopping smirk that men say is the stuff of nightmares, and held out a dark wooden case. Inside, nestled among the felt was a beautiful pair of duelling pistols, white pearl inlaid in the stock and polished to a soft and lovely shine.

Captain?

Shocked, you’d only been able to blink stupidly up at him as he closed the case and pressed it into your arms, before laying a suspiciously-familiar cutlass across the top of it.

I’d take care of those if I were you, little sailor, he’d murmured, the song of his low voice curling about your shoulders with the sea breeze. Something tells me you might be needing them.

Strangely, there had been no complaints when, out of the blue, you’d been chosen to take up the empty position. Isn’t it wonderful, how these things turn out?

That captivity is long behind you now, and once they got used to you, the crew entirely accepted you as one of their own. Those pistols have saved your life more times than you can count, and in your hands that cutlass has killed twice as many unlucky sailors who found themselves the targets of the captain’s wrath. At his command, you’ve always been happy to put your particular talents to good use.

In all the time since then, you’ve never forgotten the story he told you. You’d sworn yourself to his service and his mission, and you’ve always followed him wherever he asked you to go, all in pursuit of his ambitions. His desires are your desires too, and your faith in him is so ingrained as to be absolute.

That’s why, as soon as he’d heard of this new story, you’d already been making plans to chase it before he could even say a word.

It had been almost nothing, a rumour of a murmur of a dream, overheard in a forgotten tavern in a dark, crowded port. The tale of a strange silence, spreading across the sea – a place where the waves are flat and lifeless, the eye of a great and swirling storm where the very ocean holds its breath, afraid of what it might disturb. A place where the water is ever silent, no creature daring to swim too close or fly too near.

“Captain!”

And a mysterious ship at its centre, with no sails and no crew, floating quietly atop the glassy sea with a magical treasure locked away within its hold.

“Captain, it’s him!”

It’s been three weeks or so since you left Port Duke, in pursuit of this uncanny storm, and the entire crew has been on edge ever since you first caught sight of it. The cry had gone up that the storm had been spotted, the glint of a spyglass from up in the crow’s nest, and you’d all held your breath at the ethereal, unnatural mist rolling across the surface of the sea.

This storm… it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

It’s not really a storm in the traditional sense, for a start. Its clouds are thick and dark, heavy like it could pour with rain at any moment, but that seems to be it. There’s no thunder, no lightning, no howling gales or stinging hail. Instead, the air is terrifyingly still and silent, and when you look up there are no birds in the sky.

From a distance, nothing had seemed amiss – but the deeper into its heart you go, the thicker this grim, oppressive mist seems to get. An odd, cold breeze had whistled past early this morning, as if you’d crossed some sort of unseen boundary, and the difference is astonishing after only a half day’s sailing. Up in the rigging, it’s barely possible to make out the horizon, but down on the deck you can barely see a hand in front of your face.

Even the sea isn’t right, no waves to be seen save for the disturbance of the Deus as she cuts through the water. The water itself is smooth and clear like crystal, eerily unmoving, and you feel as though you could see straight down for miles if the day were only a little brighter.

Captain Vega has been restless all morning, patience even shorter than usual, snapping bitterly at the crew at the slightest provocation. He almost took Ivan’s head off with his dagger when he bumped into the bosun coming up the stairs from the orlop deck, and you’re fairly sure it took one of the gunners the better part of an hour to get it free from where the blade had embedded itself in the wooden wall.

Uneasy mutterings among the crew, the subtle chill of paranoia creeping down your spine. The storm has everybody on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The cruel sound of a blade being sharpened echoes through every corner of the ship, and you can’t help but sneak anxious glances over at Vega every few seconds as you sit at the table in his cabin and silently pour gunpowder down the barrel of his pistol. Something’s wrong, but you don’t know what you could say to help. Is there even anything you could say?

Despite the frightening atmosphere below decks, you’ve rallied the crew as best you can and sailed onwards, chasing the blurry smudge in the distance that the navigator assures you is really there. If there’s even the slightest chance that this might be the treasure you’re seeking, that you might finally be able to give the captain what he’s been searching for, you’re utterly resolved not to give in. You can’t let him down.

“Captain!”

Both of your heads snap towards the door as it bangs loudly against the wall. The blade of Vega’s dagger glints threateningly in the light, and your cutlass is already half-unsheathed before you even know what’s happening. The chair you were sitting in clatters to the floor, but you barely even notice.

“Up on the forecastle – he just appeared, out of – out of nowhere, sir, he—”

Vega glares at the trembling ship’s boy in the doorway of his cabin, before holding his hand out towards you. Hurriedly, you snap the frizzen back into place to finish reloading his gun, and quickly turn it around to give it back to him stock-first.

“You’re sure.” It’s not a question.

“I swear!” the boy stammers, backing away and nearly tripping over his own boots as Vega stalks towards him, narrowly jerking out of the way in time to avoid accidentally blocking his path. “You said to get you if something strange happened, sir, and he’s – Captain, he’s right there!”

You throw the poor boy a sympathetic look before hurrying out onto the main deck after Vega, a cautious hand on the hilt of your cutlass. You’re not sure what he might mean, but for Vega to be as on edge as this, it must be something serious.

It’s eerily silent on the deck. There’s none of the usual shouts or chatter that you’re used to, no crash of waves against the side of the ship, no cry of seagulls in the great sky above. The faint breeze that weakly fills the sails makes no sound, and even the sound of your boots on the boards seems muffled, somehow.

All around, the crew are frozen as they stare towards the forecastle. The air is thick and heavy with terror as the mist swirls around you, and the clouds seem oddly lower than before. Standing here in the middle of the main deck, it feels as though the storm itself has turned its eyes to watch you.

Captain Vega inclines his head slightly to the side.

And the creature that stands before him, peering curiously across the deck at the two of you, copies him exactly.

You’re here.

It’s a strange, slender figure that regards you both, perplexing in form. Its silhouette is like that of a man, and it speaks like one too, but its voice is something entirely alien – and it moves like water, like thick, viscous oil poured into a man’s shape.

It doesn’t even really speak, per se. No mouth seems to move, and yet its words seem to appear in your head as if you yourself are thinking them, a voice that your mind hears but your ears hear not. What sort of terrible creature is this?

But how? the creature asks, face melting and morphing in what might be confusion. This ship is not the Ecumene. This ship is not the Obscura.

“No, she is not.”

Vega’s voice is remarkably even, despite the way his hand comes to rest on the hilt of his sabre. “Speak not of matters which do not concern me.”

I recognise this ship, the creature intones, buzzing words filling your mind. I recognise you.

“Perhaps.”

You are Vega.

The captain doesn’t flinch. “I am.”

You overstep your bounds.

“There are no bounds that hold me.”

Are you sure?

The creature’s eyes are wide and frightening, something almost childlike dancing in its gaze as it slowly moves closer. Each step makes no sound, and each liquid tremor of its terrible body makes your teeth ache.

Sweet, fine features seem to ripple with the movement of the air, shiny and soft-looking, an unearthly beauty that can’t quite stay still. If you were to touch its face, you think it might be cold.

It seems almost like a kind of spirit, some sprite, a form of life you can’t recognise. For some odd reason, you’re reminded of the stories of the fey folk from your childhood, of fairies and shape-changers and powers so ancient that their names have been forgotten, leaving behind only the memories of the terror they wrought in the early days of the world.

Idly, you realise that the mist seems to part for the strange creature as it walks. Does it control this mist? Does it move at its command? Or does even the mist know not to touch it, for fear of what it might do?

“There is a ship at the centre of this storm.”

There was.

Vega’s glare is sharp and steely, so cold that the very air seems to freeze around him. “I am not such a fool. The ship remains.”

The soft mass of the creature seems to shrug, so casually that it makes you nervous. The ship remains, but what you seek does not. And that is the matter that truly concerns you.

Anyone else wouldn't be able to spot it, but you know your captain well enough to be able to feel the way he tenses slightly, to notice the way he leans forward almost imperceptibly. This… this thing that’s come aboard – it's putting him on edge in a way you've never seen before

“It concerns me, now?”

Moreso than it should.

Vega's eyes narrow. “So you would stand in my way.”

Your way is behind you, replies the creature, voice dripping and snapping with slick venom. It is not time. The prize you seek is not here.

“You misunderstand me.”

He smiles, but his tone is dark and ominous. “Whatever it is you believe I seek, it is of no consequence.”

Do not lie to me.

The creature’s tone hardens in an instant, words cracking like a whip inside your skull. If you want to live, you should leave this place.

“I will leave with what I came for.”

It is not time. It cannot be done.

“Then I will not leave.”

Then you will die.

It happens faster than you can blink. The ringing sound of a blade slicing through air, and in an instant, Vega’s sabre is drawn as he levels it at the creature’s neck. The rattle of guns being cocked sounds across the deck, that familiar flintlock click, and your eyes dart down to find that your cutlass is already drawn and ready in your hand.

The creature doesn't move, quizzically regarding the countless guns being pointed at it from all over the deck, before blinking once more at Vega.

You cannot be here. You will leave, or you will die.

“Words I have heard a thousand times,” Vega hisses, coiled like a spring. “And yet, I find that those who stand against me seem to change their minds rather quickly, when it matters.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see something moving – with horror, you realise that the once-still sea is starting to froth and churn around the ship, the deck beginning to rock back and forth. The clouds overhead seem to darken before your eyes, the mist that surrounds you seems to thicken, and the first drops of rain begin to fall.

The creature turns its head slowly, to examine the blade that rests but a fraction of an inch from its neck. Vega doesn’t move, fingers flexing on the hilt of his sabre.

I have given you warning.

“You will give me what I want,” snaps Vega, and your body floods cold with adrenaline. “The wreck of the Weaver lies at the heart of this wretched storm, and its secret is mine.”

The Weaver…

It sounds familiar, somehow, but you can’t quite place it. What does he mean? Is that the name of the ship that's supposed to be here? Is this what he’s been hunting all this time?

There's no time to think about it, though, as the clouds above turn black, letting only a little of the dim, weak sunlight through. The deck sways nauseatingly as sudden waves roll angrily beneath the ship, and a deafening howl splits the air as the wind picks up out of nowhere.

The creature’s body moves sickeningly, like molten wax. You know nothing of that which you seek.

“I know what I am owed.”

It is not time.

The storm clouds seem to breathe. “You dare deny me?”

Leave this place.

“You think your pitiful atte—”

Leave this place, or—

“Enough!”

Vega laughs sharply, a short, manic sound that echoes out across the roiling sea. “I have come for the Weaver, and no man nor beast in all creation shall keep it from me!”

He lifts his chin as the creature bares its teeth at him, and you steel yourself for a fight. Vega’s weight shifts ever so slightly to his front foot, the razor sharpness of his blade catching the light in the fraction of a second before the blow, and—

Then you shall die.

—and you’re reminded of your promise.

How long ago that day seems now.

It happens on every ship, for every crewmember to every captain. A pirate knows one home, and it is the sea. One family, and it is their crew. One oath, and it is their captain’s.

Some of the contract is purely practical, of course. It dictates how many shares of treasure you receive, lays out the chain of command, sets out the rules for the life you'll have at sea – all those ordinary sorts of things. It’s an agreement, plain and simple, to make sure the peace aboard the ship is kept.

It’s not all dry legalese, though. The oath is far, far more than that. And the oath that’s sworn aboard the Carpe Deus, the oath that’s sworn to Captain Vega, is very special indeed.

Swear yourself to me.

The night had been clear and balmy, bright stars in the summer sky above as you stood before him on the quarterdeck. The rest of the crew had stood around to watch as you pulled the dagger from your belt, and slashed a thin, crimson line across your palm, blood pouring down your wrist and painting the deck.

Silhouetted against the brilliant purple of the sky, Vega had done the same, deftly pushing up the sleeve of his captain's coat to grasp your wrist firmly in his cool grip.

You are of my command and my command only, from this day, until your last day.

You’d nodded, the words Ivan had taught you coming easily to hand. I am.

You shall heed my word as your law, at every time and in every matter.

I shall.

His voice had been calm yet stern, oddly soothing in its cadence as he held you fast. You shall hold no secrets from me, of any severity and persuasion.

I shall not.

Your will, your strength, your blood – all are as mine, from this day, until your last day.

It had felt like a prayer. All I am is as yours.

Know me, and be afeared, he’d said, and you’d shivered under the raw intensity of his gaze. To steal from me is death.

You'd shaken your head, defiant iron in your spine. I know no fear.

To disobey me is death.

I know no fear.

To betray me is death.

I know no fear.

Your shared blood, dripping from your clasped hands, soaking into the deck of the Deus and staining the dark wood. It was as if the entire ocean were silent, every eye of every creature turned to watch you devote yourself to Vega.

There can be no power over you, he’d said over the song of the waves, no guiding force or sovereign will that is greater than mine.

I am yours, and yours alone.

Then join me, he’d declared, and you’d felt as though your head was filled with incense, strong and sweet and sacred. From this day until the end of days, be it in armageddon or infinitude.

The crew had cheered at your swearing in, but you'd hardly heard it – all you’d known was the warmth of Vega’s hand in yours, and the dark brilliance of his smile against the stars. He hadn't let go of you, either, his free hand coming up to gently cradle your jaw as he tilted your face to look at him.

I hope you know what you’re doing, little sailor, he’d murmured only for the two of you to hear, something wicked in the gleam of his eye. You ought to know that when I say death, I mean death.

You’d simply smiled, and met his gaze with your own. Anything for you, Captain.

The warmth of the night air had been nothing compared to the white-hot thrill that shot through you when he laughed, devious and entirely too charming. As he dismissed the crew with a shout, sending everyone scurrying back to their normal jobs, you think he'd heard the words you didn't say.

No need of fear to keep me by you, your heart had sighed, as light and sweet as air. To be apart from you would be death enough.

What a dream this all has been – what an incredible feeling! To hear your own name added to the myth of the mysterious Deus and its wicked captain, to know that your unwavering loyalty to him is immortalised in every port across the seven seas. To see men shiver at the mere mention of your name, to have your very face strike terror into the hearts of sailors without a single word.

You won’t ever leave him, you couldn’t possibly. How could you, with all you’ve seen – with all you’ve done together? The ocean is rife with stories of your legendary misdeeds, and yet more still are secrets known only to your crew. Countless ships have met their end, countless treasures stolen and sold, countless bodies thrown overboard to watery graves – all at the fair hand of Captain Vega and his faithful quartermaster.

Tales abound of the most terrifying pirate crew to ever set sail, the most feared ship to ever put to sea, the thin veil of horror that masks a vicious, bloodsoaked fairy tale. The sinking of the HMS Warden, the burning ports of the Peony Massacre, the escape from the brig of the Solitaire. It’s dread and death and love, and something more than love, too.

Everything changed, on the day you made that oath. You’ve sworn yourself to Vega a thousand times over, and you would do it a thousand more.

When you think about it now, the memory feels a little odd. Remembering how it felt to look out over the rolling sea, gaze drifting across the horizon as your blood mixed with his, you can’t quite shake the feeling that someone else was watching you, too.

That same feeling crashes down on you now, déjà vu blossoming in the pit of your stomach as the very sky seems to turn its eyes upon the deck of the Carpe Deus. Sick, sicker than you’ve ever felt before, the cruellest poison seems to hold your body fast as Vega makes to slice the creature’s head from its awful body, and—

—crash!

An almighty wave rocks the ship, sending everyone out on the deck flying. Tossed carelessly against the mast, you barely manage to cling on as several of the crew are thrown clear into the ocean below. The waves swallow them entirely, white froth on the black water, and they’re entirely gone in no more than a second.

Above you, the storm clouds finally split, and the few drops of rain turn into a deluge, driving down all around you and rendering you almost entirely blind as the ship keeps swaying back and forth – it feels as though the deck is almost vertical at times, so strongly do the waves hurl the ship from side to side. It’s all you can do to keep yourself anchored to the mast as the wood gets more and more soaked, eyes screwed shut against the furious storm.

Shouts and screams go up across the deck, and you can hear the sounds of carnage below your feet as cargo and cannons alike come loose. The raging wind shrieks past you, trying to rip you away from the mast, but you cling on as hard as you can.

Vega, Vega, you have to hold on. He needs you. You can’t see him, blinded by the terrible storm, but you know he must be there. To your right, one of the topmen latches onto the bannister that leads up to the quarterdeck, holding on for dear life, and you can barely hear his terrified ramblings over the overwhelming crash of waves.

“No, no, no…!”

He’s staring at something behind you on the other side of the deck, but you can’t turn your head to look, pressed against the mast as you are. There’s a brilliant flash of light, then the deafening roar of thunder far too close for comfort, and you realise what he’s – oh, God, you see it, coming over the starboard side – it can’t be, it can’t be—

“Forgive me, forgive me!”

Your captain, your captain. Anything, for him. Anything at all.

“God save us all…”

Even this.

“It’s the Hush!”

The air splits with an otherworldly shriek as something lurches from the water, too fast to really see, and snatches a struggling figure up in its grasp. Salt spray stings your eyes as you stare in horror, and the terrible, towering tentacles of a gigantic sea beast emerge from the black water to descend upon the Deus.

Your mind is numb with panic as you throw yourself backwards across the creaking boards, narrowly twisting out of the way of a huge, dripping tentacle as it smacks against the mast, tearing through the mainsail and sweeping across the deck. Rows of enormous suckers drag along the soaked wood, soft and rubbery, and you’re perversely awestruck by the sheer size of the hideous beast they must belong to.

It can’t be the Hush, can it? It’s a myth, a story to frighten children – a cruel and twisted monster that lives deep beneath the sea, so enormously vast that it swallows ships whole in its horrible maw, so absolutely hellbent on destruction that no man has ever seen it and lived to tell the tale.

Some say it’s like a great kraken, while others claim it’s more like a whale, but for every sailor there’s one thing that’s certain. To lay eyes on the Hush is to know death, plain and swift and simple.

Everything is utter chaos on the deck – you’re deafened by the shouting, the furious waves beating against the side of the ship, the driving rain and the shrieking wind. You can just about make out the vague shapes of the crew, axes and blades and guns being hurriedly passed around, but they’re obscured almost entirely by the awful flailing of tentacles as they rear out of the freezing water to tear the ship asunder.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you realise that the strange creature, whatever it was, has vanished. Did it call the beast? Or are they one and the same?

Pistols are as good as worthless in this dreadful storm, powder thoroughly soaked by the torrential rain beating down on you, and your cutlass is next to useless against the thick, slimy skin that protects each tentacle. You’re nothing, you can do nothing against this unknown devil that’s turned its wrath upon you.

“Captain!”

It’s too much, it’s too much! Staggering across the rolling deck, throwing yourself out of the path of the huge, grasping tentacles that threaten to seize you, you’re dizzy with fear as you watch your entire world be strangled by the beast.

The sound of shattering wood, groaning and splintering as it’s crushed by an unyielding grip. Blood splattered all over the deck, the shrieks of your crewmates as limbs are mangled or ripped away entirely by the horrible suckers that line each hideous tentacle, the horrible splash of bodies hitting the water. Cracking, crunching, screeching. The deck lists nauseatingly to one side, and freezing rain turns your fingers numb.

“Vega… Vega, where…”

Lightning strikes the sea with a mighty roar, the world instantly turning white and forcing your eyes closed. Are you saying anything? You can’t tell. All you can hear is death, all around you the ravenous storm.

It’s impossible to walk, so you’re forced to crawl. Soaked to the skin, your sodden clothes weigh you down – half-hysterical, you can’t help but think that you must look like you’ve already drowned. Is it still drowning if it’s rain that chokes you? Never mind, never mind, you’ve got to keep moving.

“Captain…”

There! There, that’s him, isn’t it? Peering through the storm, you can just about see the figure standing by the foremast, almost the only one managing to stay upright against the wind. Surely it’s him – isn’t that the confident silhouette of his coat, and the wicked curve of his sabre? Isn’t that the way he moves, elegantly ducking around the stays as he evades the grasp of the wicked beast?

He’s something else entirely. Your captain – with every step, you can almost hear the heels of his boots on the deck through the endless drumming of the rain, as though even this ungodly storm can’t lay a hand upon him.

You can’t see his face, turned away from you as he is, but you’re not far now. As you scramble clumsily across the deck, all your focus is on reaching him, helping him, fighting with him. If you and what’s left of the crew going to get out of here alive – and you will, you will, you always do – then he’s the only one who can do it.

Whatever he says, you do. Time and time again you’ve killed for him, and you’d die for him too. He’s nothing short of a miracle, the only one you can follow, the only one you can trust. The most important man in the whole wide world, and you couldn’t ever imagine a life without him.

Wickedly intelligent, and brilliantly wicked – Captain Vega has always seemed like more than just a mortal man. Smirking at you over his ale as the late night turns to an early morning, the tavern packed with the Deus’ crew celebrating another successful ransoming. Caked with blood as he pulls his dagger from a poor midshipman’s eye and pivots on his heel to hurl it cleanly into the lieutenant’s heart behind him. Throwing his head back and laughing as the afternoon sun beats down on the quarterdeck and one of the topmen, distracted by a pretty girl on the dock, walks face-first into one of the stays and accidentally drops his lunch overboard.

Your devotion isn’t blind – far from it, in fact. Everywhere you look, he’s there, and you know that it’s only because he lets you see. He’s the dark heart of a dazzling star, and you’ve never blinked, not once.

The crash of a body tumbling past you shakes you from your daze, smashing into the stack of crates that’s tied down in front of you. Reflexively, you throw yourself backwards just in time, cursing through a mouthful of rain. Covered in blood and unmoving, it’s impossible to tell who it is, or even if they’re still alive – so you stumble onwards, and cross your fingers in the vain hope that the unnatural angle of the neck isn’t as bad as it looks.

You don’t get far, though, as the ship tilts sickeningly to your right and forces you off-balance. Something hits the side of your head, or maybe it stays still and it’s you that runs into it, and you’re almost knocked into a jagged hole in the lattice hatch, the top half of you suddenly hanging down over the ruined cargo deck.

Head suddenly full of bubbles, your eyes are too blurry to really see anything down there, but you force your heavy body to try and drag itself away from the ominous drop below. It’s hard, wet fingers slipping on soaked wood, and you wince at the sweet, sharp smell of spilt rum that leaks from the carnage in the hold.

God, what a waste. It’ll have destroyed the stolen shipment of cocoa you were planning on selling in Mont Blanc, along with all the tobacco. Not to mention there’s half a hold’s worth of cotton down there, four crates of silks and twice that of furs…

Your whole body aches, feeling as though every inch is bruised and sore. Perhaps that’s why it takes you a moment to realise, as you heave yourself out of the splintered lattice, that that’s not exactly what spilt rum should smell like.

You can smell the alcohol, to be sure, but there’s something else as well. It shouldn’t be so metallic, so sickly sweet and cloying, should it? There’s something familiar about it, something that reminds you of other voyages, of other storms and other near-misses out at sea. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say it almost smells like—

—oh, good God in heaven, its just like—

“Get down!”

Horrified, you shriek the words as loudly as you can as the realisation sinks in. You can’t tell if anyone heeds your call, or if the storm rips it away before anyone even hears it, your heart rattling in your chest as you throw yourself backwards. The foremast in front of you stands tall against the screeching sky as flickers of blue fire seem to appear around it, a hazy lilac glow that bathes the ship in its dim and gloomy light.

It feels like an age, terror holding you fast to the deck like thick, black pitch, staring uselessly at the unearthly flames that crackle around the masthead. For a single moment, you can see everything in all its wicked detail. The darkness of the storm gives way to the torn sails and slashed rigging that sway uselessly from the masts, to the mauled, gore-soaked bodies of your crewmates littering the deck as they lie dead or dying. The tentacles that ensnare the Deus beat ever more furiously at the groaning wood, stretching clear across the deck and beginning to crush the middle of the ship in earnest.

Your teeth ache as the air begins to sing, and through the pouring rain you see the shape of a single figure running towards the prow of the ship, sabre drawn and ready to strike. His hat tumbles from his head as he steps up to the forecastle, long hair falling from its usual ribbon – the creeping shadow of a man-that-is-no-man seems to laugh at that, standing impossibly still atop the bowsprit even as the ship sways and the sea spray crashes into him.

“Captain—!”

It’s not enough. You were never going to be enough. Blue firelight fizzes in the air and sparkles on your frozen tongue, and the dripping, awful tentacle of the beast lurches from the waves to wrap once, twice, three times around Captain Vega’s thrashing form, and rips him messily in half with a slick, wet crunch.

It looks as easy as breathing.

Blood pours down upon the deck, turning the sloshing seawater pink. Skin stretches and frays, muscle untwists and spirals away from itself as insides become outsides, falling wetly on dark wood. The pointed tip of the creature’s tentacle winds about his slack jaw and the back of his skull before wrenching nauseatingly to the side, and your captain’s head hits the floor several seconds before the rest of him follows suit.

A beautifully sharp, pearl-handled sabre clatters to the deck.

You must scream. You must, but you can’t hear it – you can’t hear anything, can’t see anything, as a jagged bolt of lightning slices through the sky and strikes the foremast right in front of you.

The world turns white, and you’re falling.

And falling, and falling…

Perhaps it’s the beast, finally cracking the ship in half, dropping you through the remains of the cargo hold and into the churning froth below. Perhaps it’s the raging gale that sweeps you up, knocking you overboard like nothing more than the soft white seed of a dandelion, floating along on the summer’s breeze. The rain might turn to hail and pelt against your skin with such force that it buries you deep within the core of the sinking ship, or the waves themselves might rise up to steal you away, tugging you down and down into the very stomach of the sea.

Or perhaps it’s none of those at all, this sickening weightlessness in your stomach and the howling torrent of agony in your head. Smashed and splintered wood, sinking down and down through the blue-green water, all that’s left of the beautiful life that you used to have. It falls apart in an instant – there’s just the pain, and the emptiness, and the smoking crater where you used to be.

A distant splash. Salt fills your skull and your mouth and your lungs, filling up all the soft space inside you. Down, down, down. Your ruined eyes burn, but are they open or closed?

He’s gone, he’s gone.

You’re utterly alone.

It’s getting harder to think, but you don’t really want to. Black water gushes into the yawning chasm that seems to split your chest in two, yet it can’t smother the searing pain that wails inside, white-hot and desperate. You don’t struggle or kick, but let yourself be pulled further and further away from the wreckage that surrounds you, tumbling slowly and inevitably to the seabed.

So this is how it ends, then. A fairytale unfinished, a tragedy unknown. An entire ocean’s worth of claret spilt in his name, and this is all you’ve got to show for it. The blasted carnage on the water gets smaller and smaller as your body starts to give in to the unrelenting pressure, and it’s so very, very cold.

You won’t be found. You won’t be missed. The wreck of the Carpe Deus will disappear, and nobody will ever know what happened.

Perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.

They’ll never know how you failed, they’ll never know how you couldn’t protect the one person who matters – mattered – the most. They won’t know about your broken oath, the shattered promise of a starry summer’s night. Your lovely cutlass will turn to rust, your cherished pistols will warp and fall apart, and you’ll be nothing more than foam on the surface of the sea.

Armageddon or infinitude. Your mind drifts away on the cold current, turning into stone, then into sand, then into nothing at all.

As you fall, you dream.

Soft lilac and bright white, stars peeking through the midday clouds.

Sweet syrup drips from a delicate flower, melting in your warm mouth.

And the call of a distant voice, from far across the waves, that feels like home.

Not so fast, little one.

I’m not finished with you just yet.

this is an original fanwork by @gingerbreadmonsters - please do not repost or misattribute

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[miraakulous-cloud-district]

WIP Wednesday

Hi, hello. I haven't been active in a while. Truth is that I'm in my exam session, and a lot is happening in real life and I'm overwhelmed. However, @bostoniangirl21 tagged me last week and sharing my love for writing with you guys always puts me in a better mood! So here is a little snippet of Chapter 3 of 'Hymn of the High Seas' that I managed to write while I was still on vacation! Also, @sheirukitriesfandom tagged me to make some ocs with this picrew, and I'm using this post as a combo😆. Thank you guys so much for the tags, they really make my day <3 <3

I'm tagging @sheirukitriesfandom and @bostoniangirl21 back and also @bougainvillea-and-saltwater @kiir-do-faal-rahhe @dirty-bosmer @thelavenderelf @illumiera for either the wip, the picrew, both or none, whichever you want, of course. 💖💖

~

“IT’S HER! THE ONE WHO ESCAPED FROM STROS M’QAI! SHE FITS THE DESCRIPTION!” someone shouts, catching Signe’s attention and sending her mind spiraling into madness with fear, desperation and guilt of dragging Rhaim with her into this doom. Several Thalmor surround them, far too many to fight, even as a team. Signe’s letting herself get distracted, feeling almost paralyzed with fear. ‘Not them. I’ve dragged my crew into peril before we even set sail.’ she thinks, but her thought bubble is violently popped by arms capturing her, making her drop her scimitar to the ground. 

“WE’VE CAUGHT THE DISGUSTING WORM!” A Thalmor shouts right by her ear, so hard that it’s now ringing. “You’re ours now, disgusting, filthy Nord! TAKE THE REST OF THEM ALONG! More practice dummies for our torture adepts-” is all he gets to day before his head gets cut off, falling to the ground with a haunting thud, rolling somewhere away. The others have little time to react because blades cleave through them like a reaper's scythe through a field of fragile blossoms, leaving behind a trail of blood and death. Thalmor bodies start falling around them, setting them free, and in the end, a cloaked figure stands with two katanas unseathed and arms open. The cloak is not like the rest of the thieves', signaling that whoever this is, is not with the Guild. Like fine silk, black robes fall on broad shoulders. The figure raises his head, showing a glimpse of fair skin and pale, pink lips.

“They’re looking for you. Why?” he asks, voice deep and an accent that Signe’s never heard before.

“We escaped Stros M’qai.” She says, panting, and the man finally lifts his gaze, piercing grey eyes looking at her from under a fringe of fine ebony hair.

“Wasn’t hearing things after all.” he huffs, the faintest hint of a smile gracing his lips. “Come with me. All of you.” he says swiftly, and starts moving through the crowd.

The crew exchange glances, silent agreements quickly passing by each and every one of them, and Signe starts catching up to their mysterious saviour.

~

Hmmmm, who could this mysterious saviour be? A new oc that I'm obsessed with, of course! He's Akaviri, and his name is Renjiro. Unfortunately, he's only going to be a secondary character in HOTHS, but he will appear more times throughout the fic!

And for the picrew, I chose to make him!! Look at my boy!

I have another oc that I made with this picrew, which is Edward!! He will be a crew member, and he's a sad blond blorbo (I have to have at least one sad blond blorbo in each project of mine apparently). Also, the hand that cups his face? It's a certain crewmate :D!

[doomsd8ydevice]

Well, alright, I'm 8ad! 8ut then you're no prize either!!!!!!!!

Welcome to Viskus Serket's coining 8log! I lied actually this is part personal part coining. This is for 8oth fictionkin things and my 8rand new TransID alternative, EthiX! (or EthiID but EthiX sounds cooler.)

A 8it of inform8ion a8out myself-- Hi, I'm Viskus! I'm technically a fictionkin of Vriska Serket from Homestuck, 8ut I prefer to call him Viskus and refer to him as male for personal reasons I won't 8e getting into on this 8log. No discourse a8out transmasc Vriska please. I use he/it pronouns and I am firmly anti-radqueer. I'm 14 so don't 8e a weirdo!!!!!!!! 8ipolar type schizoaffective disorder, autism and NPD haver.

Explan8ion of what EthiX is, what it's stances are, and what my own stances are down 8elow!

On EthiX...

Simply put, EthiX is a TransID alternative. Ethi- comes from ethical, 8ut the way I got there was through the Greek word epithymia, which transl8s to wish. EthiX can also be spelled EthyX so EthyID would look 8etter, either works.

Stances...

EthiX is not meant for la8els like transrace, transage, or transharmful. Transa8led terms are okay, as long as they're used 8ecause of a condition like 8IID. EthiX is pro-transition for more innocuous terms (such as Ethieyecolor, Ethihaircolor, Ethivoice, ECT.), aswell as for ethia8led or ethispecies terms if it's an adult who understands the consequences and gravity of their transition and done with the help of professionals.

Usage...

An EthiX term would 8e defined as someone who wishes they were/had X or feels as if they were meant to 8e/have X. For example, Ethihorns would 8e wishing you had horns or feeling as if you were meant to have horns.

Anyone is free to coin EthiX terms!

On personal use of this 8log...

This 8log is also a personal 8log. I most likely will primarily post a8out my experiences 8eing fictionkin and my dysphoria. I will also use it for other Random Unspecified Personal Things, and pro8a8ly as a general anti-radqueer 8log.

Please respect my identity as Viskus. Not doing so literally just gets you 8locked nothing else.

My stances...

Anti-radqueer pro-para. I 8elieve people with harmful paraphilias should 8e a8le to get help. Paraphilias can't 8e cured, 8ut urges can 8e cur8ed so the paraphile doesn't hurt anyone. I h8 h8 h8 h8 h8 h8 H8 radqueers. I am an ex-radqueer and I won't go into detail a8out what I've experienced here, 8ut what I've gone through has made me h8 the community with a 8URNING passion. I am pro-transition in the same way EthiX itself is.

DNI!

The DNI for this 8log is in the 8anner, 8ut if the font is hard to read here's it in text!

8asic DNI Criteria, Radqueers, Pro-C for Harmful Paraphilias, Pro-Harmful TransIDs (Transharmful, Transrace, Transage, ECT.), Terf, Truscum, and anyone who's gonna 8e rude!

I 8lock very freely.

Tags are...

8lah 8lah 8lah -- All of my posts. All of them.

sea shore echoes -- Re8logs.

crewmate's inquiries -- Asks.

treasure un8uried -- Coining posts.

spider's silk -- Terms I identify with.

Well, alright, I'm 8ad, 8ut then THAT'S NOTHING NEW!!!!!!!!

[archaictold]

❝ Do you ever get the feeling... that you're not sure where you're supposed to be? ❞ A seagull's call punctuates this unguarded question for him as it glides effortlessly above them on the docks. The waves slosh steadily beneath the boards—back and forth, a little like he's churned this feeling around before asking it, because he knows it'd earn him a strange look. Yihai, to his credit, doesn't look at him strangely so much as he appears confused. His crew is hard at work moving supplies onto their ship behind him. They depart at day break; Zhilan will be working, so he's come to bid his friend a safe voyage. ❝ You mean, ❞ Yihai purses his lips; the cogs in his mind are turning. ❝ Like leavin' the oven on? ❞ And somehow Zhilan still huffs in a mixture of surprise and amusement at how off the mark that is. ❝ No, not like that. I'm sure my apartment would be up in smoke had I done so. I left early this morning. ❞ Yihai grins, putting his attention back on the waves. His amusement lies with Zhilan's face-value approach to everything said to him. ❝ I'm just pullin' your leg. ❞ His expression smooths out, then. Controlled now that he's read the air, and unusually thoughtful for a guy whose default approach to life is to breeze through it without a care in the world. ❝ ... You thinking about home? ❞ Home. The golden fields of Qingce village are not the first image to spring to mind. It's something fuzzier. More distant, that Zhilan knows he misses and yet cannot recall both at once. As he wordlessly furrows his brow in response, Yihai gets the idea there's a bigger picture here that he's not privy to. ❝ That not it either? ❞ Zhilan shakes his head. Under his feet, a rogue wave laps harshly against a piling of the dock. A ripple that doesn't blend in with the rest of the waves; an alien thought that disrupts the ones he's so carefully examined. ❝ ... I'm not sure. Maybe it's that. ❞ His shoulders sink, not fully committed to shrugging. The frown he wears pulls a little deeper. ❝ I just don't know where I'm needed. ❞ He jumps slightly when an elbow ribs at him. Yihai's got this look on him like the answer is obvious. ❝ You're needed lots a' places. Everyone's tryin' to get a piece of that genius pie. ❞ Zhilan fights back a smile, forcing his lips into this wobbly, chagrinned line. Like a brushstroke he might make were he to hold his ink brush in the wrong hand. ❝ Yihai, really— ❞ ❝ What you should be askin' is: where do you want to be? ❞ The muscles in Zhilan's face let go, struck by the question like an arrow. The vision (not Qingce, yet someplace still within the definition of 'home') bends. It doesn't get clearer, but the longing for it surges so high it aches. Sensing his accuracy, Yihai nods once in a knowing gesture, only to turn and drop a reassuring hand on Zhilan's shoulder blade as he's called to help a crewmate with a particularly large crate. ❝ That's where you're needed most. You'll know it once you get there. ❞ . .. ... He gazes into an unkempt garden through wrought iron gates. There are glaze lilies and forget-me-nots, silk flowers and yellow roses, greeting him as he pushes silently past the fence and into the manor, as though they've stayed behind to welcome him despite spring's end. Memories are swimming back in rapid succession. A picnic on a blanket beneath that tree, a book pulled into a weeping lover's lap, and as he moves into the manor's saloon he remembers drying a sopping head of alabaster hair with a soft towel, terrycloth still warm from the wash. Though there is nothing in his arms, the sense that something, someone, should be held within them overwhelms him in this space, like the weight that should be there is so close he could reach for it. It is quiet despite all that happens inside him; he hears his own pulse over his steps, measures his breath as a name, well-loved and plenty said before, takes shape on his lips.

And standing at the end of the hall, waiting before the door to his office is a person, the culmination of those feelings he'd had in the harbor: where he's needed, where he wants to be. ❝ Xerxes..! ❞ Where he's home. His home. Zhilan rushes forth without looking back. @schleckermaul — homecoming.

[jojo-0-o-deactivated20231228]

The wooden floorboards creek and croak under the clickety clack of your newly acquired gilded leather boots as you make your way up to the deck, over vast hordes of fortune, past engorged piles of gold and spice, doubloons and silks, navigating mazes of stacked chests brimming with books and boundless scrolls. You tip- toe around your comatose crewmates, satiated by plunder and ransacked stores of rum, to the mast of your ship, and look out onto the horizon.

Heliotrope hues of dusk creep up behind the melting sunset, calming the raging gusts of the sea to caresses of the breeze. Wisps of ghostly silver swirl hazily amongst sporadic speckles of spangling starlight like a stewing soup in the sky, its delicate marbling mirrored on waves that twinkle under the moonlight. Skull and crossbones whip in the wind and the ship rocks lazily as if lulled to sleep by the cradle of the sloping sea. You sigh, contented, and pray to avoid a watery grave for many moons to come.

or, Books Master list:

A Series of Unfortunate events by Lemony Snicket, 1 through 13(Epubs)

Tales of Dunk and Egg by George R. R. Martin 01-03, 1, 2 & 4(Epubs)

A song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, 1 through 5, including 4.5, A World of Ice and Fire, and Fire and Blood(no.1 is a PDF, the rest Epubs)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, 1 through 4(Epubs)

All For The Game by Nora Sakavic, 1, 2, &3(Epubs)

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, 1 through 8(Epubs)

The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer, 1&2(Epubs)

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, 1 through 8(PDFs)

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, 1, 2, &3(no.3 is a PDF, the rest Epubs)

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness, 1,2 &3, including 2.5 and snowscape(snowscape is a PDF, the rest Epubs)

Chronicles of Alice by Christina Henry, 1&2(Epubs)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, 1,2 &3(no.1 is a PDF, the rest Epubs)

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, 1&2(Epubs)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu(Epub)

Heaven's Official Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu(PDF)

The Scum Villain's Self Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu(Epub)

Discworld by Terry Pratchett, 1 through 41(Epubs)

Divergent by Veronica Roth, 1,2 &3, including 0.5(Epubs)

Earthsea by Ursula k. Le guin, 1 through 6(Epubs)

The Farseer Trilogy by Robbin Hobb, 1,2 &3(PDFs)

Fence by Sarah Rees Brennan, 1&2(Epubs)

Folk of the air series by Holly Black, 1,2 &3(Epubs)

Harry Potter by J K. Rowling, 1 through 7(Epubs)

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 1, 2&3(Epubs)

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan(Epub)

Tears waiting to be Diamonds by Sarah Rees Brennan Parts 1&2(PDFs)

Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, 1 through 4(Epubs)

The History of the Middle Earth by J R. R. Tolkien, 1 through 12(Epubs)

The J R. R. Tolkien collection: Bilbo's Last Song, Tales from the Perilous Realm, The Children of Hurin, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit, the Hobbit(enhanced edition), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, The Letters of J R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (collection) Illustrated by J R. R. Tolkien; Alan Lee, The Lord of the Rings (collection), The Return of the King, The Silmarillion, The Silmarillion(illustrated) by J R. R. Tolkien; Ted Nasmith, The Two Towers, Unfinished Tales(Epubs)

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, 1 through 5, Including 3.1(4&5 are PDFs, the rest Epubs)

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan, 1, 2&3, including From the Nine Worlds and Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds(Epubs)

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Garber Stephanie, 1&2(Epubs)

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordon, 1 through 5, including 4.5, Camp Half Blood confidential, Demigods and Monsters, Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes(Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo is a PDF, the rest Epubs)

The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan, 1 through 5, including The Demigod Diaries(Epubs)

The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan, 1 through 5, including Camp Jupiter Classified(Epubs)

The Demigods of Olympus - An Interactive Adventure by Rick Riordan(Epub)

Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab, 1,2&3(PDFs)

The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare, 1,2 &3(Epubs)

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, 1,2&3(Epubs)

The Last Hours by Cassandra Clare, 1&2(Epubs)

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, 1 through 6(Epubs)

The Eldest Curses by Cassandra Clare 1(Epub)

Shadowhunter Chronicles extras by Cassandra Clare, including An Illustrated History of Noble Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, The Bane Chronicles, and the Shadowhunter Codex(Epubs)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, 1&2(Epubs)

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, 1,2&3, including 1.5 and the Darkling Prequel - Demon in the Woods(Epub)

Skullduggery Pleasant by Derrick Landy, 1 through 14, including 1.5, 2.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, &13.5(Epubs)

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan, 1,2&3, including The Kane Chronicles survival guide, and Demigods and Magicians(Epubs)

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir, 1,2 &3, including 0.5 and 2.5(Epubs)

The Magesterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, 1 through 5(Epubs)

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, 1 through 4, including 4.5(Epubs)

The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiedvater, 1&2(Epubs)

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski, 1 through 6, including 0.5 & 0.75(Epubs)

The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater, 1,2&3(Epubs)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, 1 though 7, including 0.5(Epubs)

The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins, 1 through 5(Epubs)

Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman, 1 through 4, including 1.5 and 4.5(Epubs)

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, 1 through 12(Epubs)

The Warrior cats series by Erin Hunter :The Prophecies Begin 1 through 6(PDFs), The New Prophecy 1 through 6(Epubs), Power of Three 1 through 6(PDFs), Omen of Stars 1 through 6(PDFs), Dawn of the Clans 1 through 6(PDFs), Vision of Shadows 1&2(PDFs)

A discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness(Epub)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz(Epub)

Blindsight by Peter Watts(Epub)

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson(Epub)

Dune by Frank Herbert(Epub)

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson(Epub)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell(Epub)

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton(Epub)

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu(PDF)

I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall(Epub)

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver(Epub)

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami(Epub)

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera(Epub)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn(Epub)

More Than This by Patrick Ness(PDF)

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness(Epub)

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston(Epub)

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepytis(Epub)

The Adventures of Charles, the Veretian Cloth Merchant, Captive Prince Short Stories Book 3 by C. S. Pacat(Epub)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak(Epub)

City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty(Epub)

The Martian by Andy Wier(Epub)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern(Epub)

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera(Epub)

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo(Epub)

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang(Epub)

The Song of Achilles by Madison Miller(Epub)

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern(Epub)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zerin(Epub)

Torture Mom by Ryan Green(Epub)

Where I End and You Begin by Preston Norton(Epub)

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman(Epub)

Message me, or make a request in the notes, and I’ll send you a copy(via email)

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Erica Princeton - an OC Intro

Name (full): Erica Daniella Princeton

Story Role/Character Type: Secondary Protagonist, Love Interest, Hopeless Romantic, Ride or Die, New Crewmate, Flirting with Danger, Second Chance at Love

Age: 18-19 years old

Appearance: Gorgeous dark brown skin, even darker brown curly waves. Old fancy clothing items that are now stained and torn- like her silk shirt and red scarf that she ties around her head. Big with lots of round curves like Cassandra. Warm dark brown eyes, a bright smile, and big strong arms that give the best hugs. A warm, perfect day at the beach with gentle waves and a light breeze under the palm trees vibes.

Strengths: Deeply cares, compassionate, encouraging and supportive

Weaknesses: loyal to a fault, wants to fix everyone and everything

Additional Notes: Polynesian, lesbian, amputee (pirate style peg leg), plus-sized, on the run from dangerous pirates with an even more dangerous item in her possession

Story: Fractured Stars Falling series, The Little Pirate

Quote: “Sometimes love needs a second chance.”

FSF Taglist: @rose-bookblood @chalcid @evethenovicewriter @writing-is-a-martial-art @mjjune @fiercely-raging-writer @wildswrites @corishadowfang @surroundedbypearls @serenanymph (send me a message to be +/- from the taglist <;3)

[marlynnofmany]

Squishy Cybernetics

“Hello!” I said. “Where would you like this?” I waved an arm at the large pallet of boxes, bags, and miscellaneous other packaging. It was on one of our biggest hoversleds, and accompanied by some of the biggest crewmates.

The Waterwill at the loading gate burbled thoughtfully, sounding like a water jug given sentience. She extended what passed for an arm of her own and pointed indoors. “You’d better bring it all the way in. Over here.” She glided inward, moving in that mysterious way I’d never figured out. Someone shaped like a column of jello had no business scooting forward that quickly, no matter how much their lower end rippled against the floor.

But I didn’t have time for galaxy-gazing; I had to help steer the hoversled. Regulations said we needed someone on all four sides for a load this big, just in case of antigrav mishaps. Didn’t want it slamming into something breakable at this client’s facility — or slamming into anything at all, really, but this place was some sort of high-tech manufacturing plant, and I didn’t want to think about what kind of damage a crash could do.

No mishaps today, though. The Frillian twins paced along on either side, all muscles and tight clothes (they’d left the flowy silks behind today; a solid choice). I couldn’t see Zhee in the back, but I heard the quiet click of his bug feet. My own feet were silent in proper Earth shoes as I tugged the steering handle and followed the Waterwill.

I thought we’d just take the thing to the far side of the big loading dock, unload it in an out-of-the-way spot to be unpacked later. But the Waterwill kept going. We passed hovercars and wheeled carts, storage cabinets and bins, along with a baffling arrangement of pipes along one wall. Windows showed glimpses of the busy manufacturing facility. I had no idea what they were making. Maybe I’d get a better look on the way back out.

Oh hey, a human, I thought in surprise as I passed a bigger window. With a Strongarm on his back? What in the world are they making together? I was already moving past, and could only speculate about intricate manufacturing projects that needed hands and tentacles at the same time.

I was still wondering why the Strongarm hadn’t just pulled up a chair next to the human when the Waterwill signalled me to stop. “Stopping,” I announced for Zhee’s benefit. We all came to a halt, and nobody crashed into anything. Hallelujah.

“Here, please,” the Waterwill said. She stretched her arm out into a long tendril to pick up a scrap of something blue that had fallen on the floor, and pointed at an empty space near several foam-topped tables. “I’m needed out front. Heeme, can you oversee?”

“Sure thing,” said a voice from nowhere, then a Strongarm climbed out from under one of the tables. “Found the last of the broken bits, by the way.” Two of his tentacles were curled around pieces of the same blue stuff the Waterwill had picked up. The blue stood out against the dark red of his skin, but not as much as the four mismatched tentacles on other side did. They were a transparent blue-green much like the Waterwill’s own tendrils. I tried not to stare, and failed.

“Thank you,” the Waterwill said. “I’ll be back in a bit.” She set her broken piece of whatever on the nearest table, then scooted through a door that was apparently soundproofed, because a cacophony of whirs and whooshes filled the air until it closed.

“Right,” I said. “Over here, then.” I steered the hoversled into position, then we all worked together to guide the detachable gravity platform onto the ground. That part always made me nervous, since it looked like the giant pallet that could crush me was floating through the air with just a touch of technological magic to make it go. I understand other models of industrial-sized hoversleds have more mechanical-looking gravity platforms, or regular forklift arms. Ours was the glowy magic kind, and it deposited the giant stack of objects with all the precision of the best fairytale enchantment.

“Perfect,” said the Strongarm. “We’ll unpack it from here. Thanks.”

“Our pleasure,” I said.

Zhee, finally able to see over the hoversled, got a good look at who I was talking to. “Oh, I’m sure you’re fast at unpacking,” he said, pointing with his pincher arm. “Does that model form into blades?”

“Sure does!” the Strongarm said, holding up a see-through tentacle that instantly flattened into a shape like a steak knife. “Good for packaging, stubborn latches, and all manner of other things.”

“And stabbing!” Blop put in, to be immediately shushed by his sister.

“No stabbing on the job,” she told him.

The Strongarm laughed. “Yeah, just respectable tool use. They don’t give these out to anyone who’s going to do violence with them.”

I asked, “Is that Waterwill tech? I haven’t seen one before.”

“Yup.” He turned the knife back into a tentacle, then into a variety of other shapes. “One of the perks of working here, for sure. They’re cagey about sharing tech. This is the best prosthesis I’ve ever encountered.”

I thought of the hard metal-and-plastic replacement limbs that were standard on Earth. They would be wildly out of place on this guy’s squishy octopus body. And no amount of interchangeable attachments would be able to beat this kind of easy shapeshifting. I said, “That looks really useful.”

“It is!”

The loud door opened to admit a wall of sound, along with the human-and-Strongarm pair. Which I realized with a start was actually just a human wearing more transparent tentacles on his back.

“Here’s the new set,” he said to the Strongarm, placing a clear box on the table that was full of a stack of more flat blue things. They appeared to be cut into very specific shapes. I might have been curious about what they were for if not for the much more interesting thing to be curious about.

“Hello,” I said. “Does everyone who works here get extra limbs?”

The tan human grinned. “If they want ‘em! And they pass the screening, of course. But you’ve got to leave them here each day if they’re the bonus kind, as opposed to replacements.”

The Strongarm wiggled his tentacles in a taunting manner. “I can open packages and slice food so easily at home.”

The human made a face and wiggled the tentacles on his back. “Yeah yeah, we’re all jealous. Someday I’ll convince the bosses that there’s an actual market for these, and I’ll be the first in line to buy my own.”

“They think there isn’t?” I asked in shock. “Those look so useful! I can’t list the number of times I’ve wished for more hands. Using teeth and feet only goes so far.”

Zhee made a disparaging hiss. “You have that many fingers, and still want more? Greedy.”

“I’m just saying that re-weaving a cargo net would go much faster if I could hold all of the fibers at once,” I told him, then turned to the Frillians. “Back me up. Two arms just isn’t enough sometimes, right?”

Blip and Blop looked at each other and shrugged. “I guess?” Blip said. “But that’s just when it’s time to get another person to help.”

Zhee clicked a pincher. “Exactly so. Or approach the problem differently.”

The human told me, “I’ve had this conversation more than once. Apparently not all species grow up imagining what it’s like to have bird wings or monkey tails or whatnot.”

“Surely other people want to fly,” I said. The expressions around me were dishearteningly blank. “Surely!”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” the human said. “See why I couldn’t convince the bosses?”

“But even on a practicality standpoint!” I exclaimed. “They have you using them here; why wouldn’t they think you’d want to use them at home?”

He shrugged, moving the tentacles in a graceful wave as he did. “Alien brains. I’ve given up trying to fully understand.”

The Strongarm spoke up. “If there are actually a large number of humans who would buy these, then it couldn’t hurt to put together a request from outside sources. The bosses don’t listen to random employees who are probably biased, but they might take an interest in actual buyers.”

I shook my head slowly. “Our courier ship isn’t going to be that kind of buyer, especially not at the scale they’d probably need.”

“What about big human ships?” Blip asked. “We could suggest it to the next one we meet.”

“Or human colonies,” Blop said. “Or large groups at space stations.”

Zhee said, “I heard Captain Sunlight talking about a delivery to Basal Station soon. There are plenty of humans there. You could suggest it to them, if you think this is really that widespread an interest.”

“It couldn’t hurt,” I said, thinking. There was indeed a significant human population on that space station, which might even include the crew I’d met from the droid jousting ship Hold My Beer. They were definitely the type to appreciate some extra arms. Both for working on finicky electronics and general slapfight shenanigans.

“Here, we should have something with the contact information,” said the Strongarm. “Jon, is there a notepad over there?”

“Yeah, got it.” The human leaned over a table and used his tentacles to lift a stack of books so he could pull out the small notepad at the bottom. That may have been showing off. “Here you go!” He handed it to me with his regular hand.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll see if I can find the right ears to whisper into.”

“Best of luck!” he said. “My partner has asked me no less than half a dozen times if I could sneak my set home to play around with, but I’m not gonna risk the job.”

I laughed, hoping I wasn’t blushing. “Oh man, I wasn’t even going to mention the bedroom applications.”

Of course Zhee had to ask, tilting his head with faceted eyes shining. “The what?”

“Remember how most humans find tentacles a little creepy?” I asked him, pocketing the notepad.

“I recall. It makes this insistence all the stranger.”

“Well, some humans aren’t creeped out at all. Kind of the opposite. They like them a lot. In a, uh, private fashion.”

Jon the human spelled it out for him. “Mating rituals.”

Zhee’s antennae did a complicated dance, then settled in something that looked like disgust. “I was about to ask why, but I’ve decided I don’t want to know.”

“Yeah, best not to,” I agreed. “Anyway! Very useful extra arms. Good for a wide variety of activities. Other humans will likely be interested.”

“Very likely,” Jon agreed.

I activated the hovercart with a nod, and we said our goodbyes. The employees wished me luck. They returned to work while we headed back toward our ship.

Zhee grumbled disparaging things about my species the whole way, but that was nothing new.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

PS: the story with the good ship Hold My Beer is here, if you're wondering about that. It's fun.

[ashuribbon]

Hi, sorry if I am sending this twice, but I didn't know if you got my latest ask or if it didn't send, so I'm typing what I remembered again from what you said about my salty shark question.

It was the former (a request) and that's valid that you didn't want to because there were too many other requests for you to draw.

I also have a general question for you: does Salty Shark go to really chaotic windstorms or huge updrafts of wind by himself, just so he can feel his cape billow powerfully or flare upwards?

All is good! I mostly say when I am full on requests, so I guess I forgot to say I am finishing those up!

As for Salty Shark Cookie, I imagine that when he's sailing anywhere, it depends on the environment of the ocean he's in. If it's a vicious storm, expect his cape to rise up and flare upward. His cloak is made of the finest wool and silk, one that is strong and doesn't get too damp in the storm (he had his crewmates make it for him). In general, he loves the ocean and especially when the winds and waves are strong!

The other Sea Beasts would be a tad bit annoyed that he's showing off and acting all charming for the others to see. Saint Whiskey Cookie would keep to himself and not bonk him with his staff!