theresmagicinthewords

[messylxve]

ignited spark | aaron hotchner x reader

part one

pt 2 pt3

content warning : angst, pining, first kiss, drunk aaron, haley, sad ending

You met Aaron when you were young. When the biggest worry in your world was the next pop quiz in your Criminal Law class. He was pretty, smart, charming, and had a killer smile to match. You were quiet, shy, but easily the smartest one in the class.

He had often found himself glancing at you from across the room during lectures, a soft smile gracing his features when he noticed the way you color coded your notes based on your highlighters. Yet, whenever you looked up at him, his gaze was oddly fully focused on the professor ahead of him.

“I might just be going crazy Macy,” you reassured your friend one day. Or maybe you were reassuring yourself. “It’s just a coincidence.”

“Orrr,” she grinned, walking alongside you. “This guy totally has the hots for you and you need to make a move.”

You snorted. “When pigs fl—,”

You never finished your sentence. Whatever you were going to say was clear out your mind by time your brain even process that you collided with someone, knocking your books and notes clean out your hand.

“I’m so sorry, that was completely my fault.”

You recognized his voice from the times he’d raise his hands in class and ask a question.

Words failed you as he kneeled down in front of you and pick up each of your things with upmost care. “I-.”

“Here. Again I’m so sorry.”

You sucked in a harsh breath as you grasped the books in your hands. “Thanks…”

“Always.” He flashed that smile at you and he was gone, walking away from you. Missing your moment. Missing the way he took one more glance back at you as he continued on his own path.

“Don’t tell me…” your friend started, amusement painting their voice. “Was that the mysterious man from your class?”

You cleared your throat, shoving away the embarrassment that creeped up your neck. “I’ll neither confirm nor deny that.”

You didn’t want to admit it but that interaction left you with a smile for the rest of the day.

The next time you interacted with Aaron, you were alone. Books surrounded you as you worked quietly in the library, head bopping softly to your music.

The last thing you expected was him, but alas he was there. You saw his shadow first, it draped itself over the book you copied notes from and blocked the light from shining over you.

“y/n right? You’re in my Criminal Law class.”

“How do you know my name?”

You didn’t mean to come off as so defensive, but you heart beat so fast in your chest, you couldn’t help but blurt out your words.

“Umm…your friend told me I could find you in here. I needed help with something for class.”

You had cleared a seat for him and gave him all the help you could give.

The friendship only ever bloomed from there.

An hour into the fourth study session, the two of you had completely forgotten the books, now broken into fits of giggles attempting to stay quiet in the library and failing. Horribly.

“God you make jokes like a dad would. Has anyone told you that?”

Aaron rolled his eyes, but his smile persisted. “I’ve heard it before. My girlfriend though compares it to an uncles humor ironically enough.”

You hoped it hadn’t been noticeable, but your smile eased up at the moment. Flickering away for a millisecond. “Girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” he smiled obliviously. “I didn’t tell you about her?”

You shook your head and pressed on a smile. “Not that I remember.”

You watched, disheartened as he flipped open his wallet and passed you a photo of him and a woman. She was wearing a gorgeous gown and he was dressed as a pirate for some reason.

She was painfully gorgeous.

“Her name’s Haley. We started dating in high school and it’s been great ever since.”

You studied the photo a little while longer, your mind reaching other places. In that moment, you could have been resentful or hateful. You could picked a fight and scoffed about him leading you on.

But you didn’t.

With a smile, you passed the picture back. “She’s cute. You guys are cute.”

Who are you to get angry over someone who isn’t yours?

The study sessions continued on as if nothing ever happened and soon enough, you convinced yourself that truly nothing ever happened. You two were now friends and that’s all you wanted.

It became a tradition then to meet every weekend at that table. Then one weekday turned into the weekend. Then the weekend turned into every other day. Soon enough, you guys were attached at the hip, finding time to eat lunch together, listening to lectures in class together, even sneaking into each others dorms after curfew for movie nights.

The two of you were easily best friends and per the rules of best friendship, you two shared nearly everything. Stories about the god awful roommate, awkward confrontations with professors, even stories of embarrassing slip ups made.

You two told each other almost everything. Which was why it was so weird to hear about his break up with Haley from his friend.

He had called you from Aaron’s phone, so you didn’t think twice about picking up the phone. But when you heard the loud music and starkly different voice, you knew something was wrong.

“y/n?”

“Mark? Where’s Aaron, is everything okay?”

“Aaron’s fine. Physically at least…look I need your help.”

You noted the slight slur over his words as he slowly began to panic.

“Anything.”

“Haley broke up with Aaron and he…well he didn’t take well to I suggested we go out for drinks since it’s spring break and so he could feel better, but when I turn around he downed like 7 shots and now he can barely stand and I didn’t think ahead and I’m drunk so I can’t take us home but he’s plastered so he can’t take him home either and I called my friend but they have the tiniest fucking clown car ever and he can’t fit so-,”

“Mark! Breathe. I can’t understand you.”

“Sorry…”

“Do you have a ride?”

“Yes.”

“Does Aaron need a ride?”

“No. I mean yes. Yes he needs a ride.”

“Where are you?”

There was silence for a moment. “Miller’s.”

“I’ll be there in 10.”

Aaron didn’t talk until he reached his empty dorm, putting more than half of his body weight on you.

“Haley broke things off.”

Your heart broke into a million pieces at the sight of his sad face. His eyes were wet, but not yet ready to release the tears the built and a pout fell upon his lips.

“I know.”

He had dragged you into bed with him, hugging you to his chest like a pillow as he sulked. You took the embrace hesitantly but welcomed it. Your arms wrapped around his waist and you kicked off your shoes, climbing into bed with him.

“I tried to tell her that I can be better. I can call her more, and visit her more, but…she didn’t want to hear it.”

You looked up at him sadly. “It’s not your fault…long distance just isn’t made for everyone.”

A silence spread over you two and you thought he’d fallen asleep.

“She said I’m in love with you…”he blurted out.

It was an awful feeling hearing those words. It felt as if a bomb had dropped into the abyss of your stomach, but it never went off. It simply sat there and weighed so heavily down on you. Tugging at the string of your heart and encapsulating your lungs in a chokehold.

“She said I’m in love with you and I don’t even know it.”

Saying it a second time only confirmed the dread inside of you was true.

“…what did you say?”

“Nothing. I didn’t know what to say.”

“Oh.”

You don’t know how long you sat there, frozen in place and frozen in mind. It felt like forever and nothing at all. It felt like you were dying.

“I need to leave,” you started abruptly. You untangled yourself from his arms and sheets and began to slip your shoes back on but a hold on your wrist stopped you.

“Kiss me.”

What?

You had to be dreaming.

Or maybe it was a nightmare.

“Aaron, I’m not going to—,”

“If you kiss me then I’ll know.” Determination shined in his eyes and he furrowed his brows down into a frown. “I’ll know if I’m in love you or if Haley is wrong.”

You didn’t know what to do. Your face felt numb and your heart. Oh your heart. It ached. Seeing such sadness painted on his face was the first blow, but his words…His words were like a hammer to porcelain.

So you laughed. If you could even call it that. It was more like you breathing out for the first time in minutes. “I’m not going to kiss you—.”

You didn’t think he’d get any closer but he did. He scoot down to the very edge of the bed and tugged you forward so that his legs laid on either side of you.

“Please.”

Your heart melted into nothing as he brushed his nose against yours. You could smell the alcohol on his breath as his lips whispered over yours but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

It was Aaron. How could you care about something like that?

It was a moment of desperation that surged your lips forward, pressing into his in a sloppy but arguably perfect kiss.

Your hands immediately rushed up to meet his hair, tugging and running your fingers through his gorgeous locks.

You dreamed of this moment since he approached you in the library asking for help, but none of your fantasies could live up to this.

His lips were unexpectedly soft and gentle as they moved down your jawline and to your neck. He left open mouthed kisses now, eliciting gasps from your mouth.

It was bliss for the first minute. 60 seconds of heaven as you basked in the glory of being loved by Aaron Hotchner.

But when those 60 seconds were up, you crashed down to Earth and realized what the hell you just did.

You pushed him away, fear shining in your eyes. Or was it tears.

“This was a mistake. I’m so sorry.”

He was drunk for christ sake. What was wrong with you?

You didn’t look back as you rushed out of him room, slamming the door behind you.

It took you two days to cook up the courage to talk to him again. He had left you so many missed calls and you felt terrible as you let it go to voicemail, but you couldn’t find it in you to talk to him yet.

The day you finally chose to talk to him, you were ready. You had a paper of what to say in case you lost your words. Macy said it read out more a confession and maybe it was, but you needed you speak your peace. You needed to know that everything was going to be okay.

You clutched the paper in you hand as you approached the elevator that would take you to his floor. Hesitantly, you reached to touch the button, but pulled back when the door opened on its own.

By some higher power, your dread grew even more when you saw the face on the other side of the door.

What are the odds you’d see Haley Brooks right as you were going to confess to her ex-boyfriend.

“Oh my god,” she gasped, immediately recognizing you. “You’re y/n! I can’t believe this!”

Haley immediately stepped out the elevator, a bright smile finding her lips.

“You’re…Haley.”

She was somehow even prettier in real life. It almost hurt.

“I just have to say…I’m so sorry for ever accusing you of anything. I was concerned and worried and paranoid cause to be honest, I haven’t spent this long away from Aaron.”

These words were supposed to be relieving. Why didn’t you feel relieved?

“What did he tell you?” It came out as a pathetic croak.

“He told me that he does love you, but not in the way I thought. That you’re his best friend in the highest regard and every time we were having a rough patch, you were there to make sure we were okay.”

Suddenly would remembered every time you gave him relationship advice. Every time you told him to cherish what he has, appreciate every moment he has with Haley because time was most important to a long distance relationship.

Were you really your own betrayer?

“You were there for him when I couldn’t be. And you made us both realize that we need to appreciate what we have, because it’s special and important.”

You did say that. Didn’t you?

You couldn’t remember the rest of Haley’s words. You didn’t want to remember the rest of her words. You don’t know how long it had been since she left, but when you finally came to your senses, you folded that note into your pocket and stepped away from the elevator.

You couldn’t bring yourself to see Aaron Hotchner ever again. So you didn’t.

part 2 out now!!

taglist: @mackannkees

[wr1t3w1tm3]

Look, I understand people are upset about the end of Will and Elizabeth's arcs in the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. I won't lie and say I didn't want to see some Will as the Dutchman's captain and some Pirate King Elizabeth BAMF on the high seas. I'm not even saying the writers are right... I'm just saying that the way they set up Will and Elizabeth's arc's, it makes sense.

They're tragic heroes: it's like John Proctor or Reverend Hale in the Crucible or Iron Man during the Infinity Saga or even Thackery Binx from Hocus Pocus. They're heroes working towards a noble goal, but they either can't obtain it or when they can, it doesn't go according to plan, and they have to make some sacrifices.

For Elizabeth it's a little more obvious. She's the girl who's trapped in her social status. In the first movie, her corset, a very real symbol of her status, literally suffocates her. It nearly kills her. Only once she sees the world of piracy and gets swept up in that world and allows herself to be changed by it does she see any smattering of freedom. Her whole goal is to get freedom, for her people (Port Royal) and her love (Will) in CotBP, even at the price of her own freedom (agreeing to marry Norrington if he saved Will). In DMC it's for herself (literally), Will again, and her father. That whole movie she is constantly fighting to keep herself and Will out of prison and danger. In AWE, she's fighting for her own freedom at times, but she soon finds herself the harbinger of freedom for a new golden age of piracy against Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Co, who in the Pirates universe are canonically slave runners. She is searching for freedom in a very wide scope.

For Will, it's a little less obvious. He is also striving for freedom, but often not his own. He fights to help free Elizabeth during CotBP, and in DMC he's literally fighting to keep his own freedom and win the freedom of Elizabeth. Even when that means turning in a (sort of) friend (Jack). When he meets his father in DMC, his mission of freedom for those he loves expands in two parallel directions, Bootstrap tells Elizabeth as much in the brig of the Dutchman in AWE. The director and writers of AWE made that very clear in Elizabeth and Will's direction. One of my biggest pet peeves with that movie is the lack of a relationship between Will and Elizabeth, but it does make sense. It demonstrates Will's dilemma. His search for freedom is much more tangible, and on a very narrow scope. It also demonstrates Elizabeth's dilemma, where she feels that the freedom Will craves for his father will separate them for good. So, she turns to piracy, because freedom is all she has left by act II of AWE.

Both are searching for freedom, but both are tied down by duty. Elizabeth becomes the Pirate King, Will the Captain of the Dutchman. Both bound by their own duty, although the only duty we see them both bound too tangibly is Will's. Isn't it ironic that in the end, the choice to kill Davy Jones isn't Will's? Sure, it was his intention, but Jack wrapped his hand around the knife and dropped the hand that felled the heart. Jack - the pirate - an embodiment of freedom for both characters in CotBP (he saves Elizabeth from her corset and is the inciting incident into Will beginning his quest for Elizabeth) is the one who chains them to Will's curse? Narratively, it makes sense. Elizabeth has just become the free-est we've seen her in any of the movies (and I will die on this hill) and Will's only just literally been freed from the clutches of the EICo. And even if you did argue that Elizabeth still had her freedom as Pirate King, it can be easily argued that she lost her freedom the day she decided to keep and raise Henry. Both of them end up chained by Will's curse - one to land, one to the sea. All on their search for freedom. And Jack, that symbol of freedom (or rather, a symbol of piracy that for both characters ends up being a symbol of freedom), is the one who chains them to land or sea.

Now I am all for Henry, I actually think he had some great potential pre-Deppo-osition trial, and I think it speaks to Elizabeth's character that she was willing to wait and stayed on land for her child (who she easily could've taken her anger out on, though that doesn't appear to be the case). It can even be argued she stayed on land for Will to, as he gave her his heart to guard, a very fragile heart that if stabbed, ended her husband (this is one of the final demonstrations of their mended relationship, but that's a different topic for another time). Will got a very short stick in this fight, but Elizabeth got an equally short, if not shorter stick. Chained to the sea, destined to see your wife a max of seven more days before her death, and the reverse true for Elizabeth, instead she is arguably forced by society to keep and raise the boy who reminds her of the husband she'll never be sure she'll see again.

That's why William and Elizabeth Turner - The Captain of the Flying Dutchman and the Pirate King - are tragic heroes. In striving for freedom, they became trapped by duties, obligations, and burdens that they didn't even get a say in. In the end, not every happy ending is a good ending. And while the original Pirates trilogy didn't have a happy ending, it had a good one, as far as the narrative was concerned (Do I like this ending? Yes. Personally, I think it works and it gives me that kind-of-icky-kind-of-satisfying pit in my stomach that Hocus Pocus did back when there wasn't a sequel. Maybe it's not the ending everyone wanted, but for the story being told, it's the right one).

Thanks for coming to my little rant! I used to love doing these literary analysis essays in English my junior and senior years of high school. Over analyzing media, especially film and tv, is something I quiet enjoy. Plus, I might do a foray into video essays one day, so I figured I could use some practice. This is something that's been bouncing around in my head since I first watched AWE. The original Pirates Trilogy is just so good at symbolism, I'll probably put more stuff out here eventually raving about it. For now though, this is it.

[ravarui]

what are some of your muses flaws that really stand out to you? do you share similar flaws?

Questions for the mun Accepting

//Oh that's a good one. I'll go with my four primary muses for this one.

Ladies first, so I'll start with Cersei. One flaw of her that really stands out to me is who she tends to take a lot of things very personal. Following this she also holds onto grudges like...forever. If someone crosses her, sooner or later she'll find a way to get revenge.

Next one would be Tony. One of his biggest flaw would be that he's a chronic liar. Not only to others, but mostly to himself, in regards to how he feels. "I am fine." "Everything is okay." Those two sentences are some he says the most and they are usually a lie. He is not fine. He's suffering, but he'll do everything to hide the fact as to not be perceived as weak. Because "Stark men are made out of iron. They show no weakness." At the same time he'll do his best to encourage others to not do the same, to talk about their feelings and not bottle them up inside.

Shanks' biggest flaw would probably his hardcore alcohol addiction. He plays it off as something not serious. He's a pirate, so of course he's gonna drink. That he does so to drown out his nightmares and specific memories of his past is never mentioned and only very, very few actually know the truth. Who does is verse dependent.

As for Johns flaw: He can't forget the past. Can't live in the here and now. Sooner or later it will catch up to him once more. He tries to be a better man after the fallout of the gang, but he falls back into old patterns. If things escalate he wont hold back. He has no problem with killing others if necessary, even if he knows it's wrong. But old habits die hard and he had been an outlaw since he was a young kid.

As for myself: Similar to Cersei I can hold grudges for a very, very long time. Something my current boss is currently learning, as well as me being petty. And while obviously not as extreme as Tony, I too tend to say that things are fine when they are actually not.

[sonicasura]

Is it bad that my mind wants me to pair these two? Monkey D. Luffy and Hyrule Warriors Link (Warriors/Wars in LU terms.) Call the ship HattedHearts.

Link in HW is about 17 and Pre-Time Skip is 17 too, which is when I'd have them meet. Plus it'll be ironic considering Luffy is a pirate while Wars is in the military. Due to shenanigans involving people messing with portals, our Hylian Hero gets dragged into the Strawhat pirate's world on the crew's way to Skypiea.

It's obviously gonna be a slow burn cause it's Luffy and Wars. The former is oblivious like any anime protagonist while the latter probably painfully fumble about before admitting a crush to anyone. (Also the whole Cia incident practically messed him up even when it comes to thinking about a relationship at all, especially with the opposite gender.)

But honestly I think Luffy's character is what's gonna snag Wars. The man is playful and caring especially towards his crew. He may piss everyone off once in awhile for his antics but they still respect and cherish their captain. Luffy cares about everyone's wellbeing. I mean he scaled a mountain during a blizzard WITH HIS BARE HANDS for his deathly ill navigator to even declaring war on the World Government for his nakama's sake.

He has faith in his crew and friends' capabilities but will step in if needed. A luxury I don't think Wars even gets except with Mask and Wind. So many people in his army turned traitor throughout the War of Eras that I bet he has severe trust issues.

Yet, this doesn't happen with Luffy nor his crew. Something proven more upon hearing about some of Luffy's fights. About how furious he was when the opponent captains attacked or used their own men like human shields.

It's how far Luffy will go for the people he cares about is the one thing that draws everyone in. He doesn't care whether your royalty, an enemy, or not even human. Luffy only sees them as a person but more importantly a potential friend or nakama to make.

It's that type of character which draws in someone like HW Link. Although Wars would probably confess first cause Luffy is oblivious to flirting and vague cues. Plus the pirate is blunt as all hell which would make a long winded confession hilarious when he replies with a simple 'Alright.'

(Luffy is like Goku when it comes to romance. He's simple, blunt and straight to the point. Doesn't have much problems with anything or is overtly romantic. Even when in a relationship, his partner is still his friend. The movie, Wish Dragon, explains it better.)

Plus the immense inner conflict Wars has to deal with cause he must decide whether to stay with the Straw Hats or return to his world. Luckily the man got until the end of One Piece to decide. Strawhat Crew will definitely make his current stay a very interesting one.

Also furthermore opposite attracts with Luffy and Wars here. Other than being a physical brawler, the Strawhat isn't that smart knowledge wise. He's better at battle instinct alongside emotional awareness and words of advice. Plus the amount of shenanigans he gets into is enough to drive our dear Link nuts. This being my favorite example.

Wars, pinching his nose while Proxi is laughing her ass off: I can't believe I'm courting this man.

Also the amount of teasing Wars is gonna be put through when the Chain eventually shows up. Friends are allowed to tease each other after all, Wind being the biggest example.

Wind: And I thought the Captain was married to his paperwork. Good to know I won't be seeing a stack of papers in a wedding gown anytime soon.

Luffy being oblivious: Wouldn't books fit better in a dress?

Wars: Wind and Luffy!

Also Luffy would honestly throw hands with Hylia and Ganon considering all the bullshit his boyfriend + incarnations go through. Fierce Dadity learning another of his kids is in a relationship though.

Considering Luffy has the 'Voice of All Things' ability, he could totally hear Fierce (Valion) inside the mask. Eagerly chattering with the imprisoned deity about his adventures plus the antics he gets into alongside his crew and Wars. Although the Captain might have a heart attack when his rubberman boyfriend somehow breaks Fierce free from his mask.

Even couples get annoyed by their partner's antics.

Spoilers involving the Wano Arc

Wouldn't that make Wars technically married to a god since Luffy ate the Human Human Fruit Model Nika and the Gum Gum Fruit doesn't exist? Nika is a Sun God in One Piece lore. Luffy would definitely look at Wars oddly if he tries to worship him.

Also god on god violence if the Strawhat is actually considered a deity and decides to throw hands with Hylia. (My money is on Luffy.) Wars would be the cheesy flirt much to Luffy's annoyance.

Plus rip anyone that dares lay a hand on this Link cause if Gear 5 Luffy and his crew will destroy the ones responsible until nothing remains.

[vintagedoctor]

ok heres my ocs part two cuz i reached the tumblr picture limit

heres a skin im currently wearing cuz

its june duh! happy pride! i love this skin and only wear it during june. my base skin is also a pride flag so im not doing the rainbow dollar thing anyways. i just switch it up for some color, thats all.

next up is a skin i spent so much time for next to no payoff.

this was for a lore event in s1 of the smp and.. i think.. was the last "canon" lore event. this is the skin where i first changed the mask color to match the vibe. i love it so much. i spent so much time building the venue, making the skin, sending out in character invites and getting everyone good on a time. it was the big finale we didnt expect but surely needed. this skin serves as a reminder of that. then i wished it ended a bit better but now i think its kinda ironic. that server "ended" with a chaotic explosion with much confusion and all planning going out the window much like how the server felt while playing.

anyways next up is a skin i like but really shouldnt be as good as it is

this is a pirate skin i had just laying around but used for my second village minecraft event with that one youtuber. they announced it was an ocean theme and omg i immediately knew i had to use that skin. no one recognized me cuz i didnt have the plague doctor mask but i couldnt pass up a chance to use this. its a good looking skin

this next skin was for s1.5 of the smp... (we were bored).

im not the biggest fan of this skin but i remember spending a while finding the right skin base. this was for a server on 1.19 bc the server owner then wanted to try a new server to keep the community alive. this server was short lived. this was meant to be another corrupt business man or actor? i forgot. but it looks good, ig.

i think the last skin i wanna talk about thats not so deep in the smps lore that id need paragraphs explaining it would be

my pokemon skins! my friends made a couple pixelmon servers years ago and i had to make skins for them. the 1st one is for the one that actually lasted but i think i prefer the 2nd more. i do wanna play around with changing the eye color. ive only done it a couple times for cringe things but i think its cool.

anyways thats all the skins i wanna talk abt rn. im not ashamed of these two long posts; i had to get it out somehow. anyways hope any of this made any sense and maybe inspires you to create variants of ur skins. its fun and ud be surprised how creative u can get.

i do wanna address something real quick. i wanna say that about 99 to 100% of these skins were bases i put my face on. im not a skilled pixel artist and i want to thank everyone who made these skins. if you recognize any of these as urs, thank you ever so much for making a beautiful skin that inspired my creations. i hope youre proud of your work cuz i was honestly blown away by the skill of the minecraft skin making community. you guys are so dedicated and cool i wanna shout out all of yall.

so yeah thanks for reading all this. look out for my server lore explanation and... i said something else but i forgot atm.

[bigonquestions]

my life, my love, my lady is the sea

[kyun-toast]

[ATEEZ] Mafia!Hongjoong - Fateful

word count: 2.2k warnings: explicit language, gun use, death, mentions of alcohol summary: a feisty baby for a feisty scorpio a/n: I started writing this so loyal to mafia!ateez but now that I’ve watched kingdom, I’ve changed my mind - I wanna be a pirate hoe.

“You forgot your toothbrush.” You said, sat by the desk, arms crossed. “Good thing I didn’t finish unpacking right, you can take your shit just the way it came in the boxes, hmm?” You didn’t get angry very often due to the pure fact that your expectations for your boyfriend were so low at this point. The way that your words, let alone your face, held no emotion terrified the boy. He shuffled around your apartment, gathering his things with eyes to the ground in guilt.

“Can you hurry up? I have places to be.” You said, fingers massaging your temple.

Stopping in his tracks, the boy turned to you with pleading eyes for the nth time today, “Baby, I’m so sorry, please, I didn’t mean to hurt you like tha-”

“I’m sorry, what? You disrespected me, not hurt me, there’s a difference-”

“Why are you doing this to me? You know I love you.” He pleaded.

“Is that a serious question right now? You cheated with my assistant in your first week as intern at my firm, then tried and miserably failed to gaslight and manipulate me into believing your lies which I find pretty bold considering that I’m literally a lawyer. I respect the attempt though.”

“Baby, it was an acci-”

“No, shut up, I’m not done speaking. And you did this while I bought out this apartment for you because I felt bad for your sorry ass having to live with your dumb friends. I had to spoon feed you through law school and now through life too? You should be grateful that I’m letting you leave with all your things considering I bought them all too.”

He stood there with his hands gathered, staring back at the floor again.

“What. You got nothing to say? I thought so. You gonna leave now or what?” You questioned. He took his boxes, feet dragging across the floor to the door. You rolled your eyes as you closed the door on him. Before needing to look for a new intern and a new assistant, you needed a drink more than anything.

-

It was a regular Friday evening at the bar for Hongjoong and the boys. In celebration of Ateez’s successful expansion of their ‘business ventures’, Hongjoong had decided to spend the rest of the day at their usual spot. Despite having been set up for the sole purpose of laundering their dirty money, Bar 1117 was doing ironically well. Due to the nightlife business booming, Hongjoong had gained another alibi to keep him under the radar and he couldn’t be more comfortable with where his life was at.

“No, I reckon it’s Yeosang” San said, bringing the glass of whisky to his lips.

“I back that, he’s not got the emotional capacity for it.” Woo agreed, laughing.

“Yeah, just because I don’t take any of your shit doesn’t mean I’ll do the same to my wife. I bet Mingi. He’s definitely getting married last.” Yeo rebutted.

“What wh-”

Before Mingi could finish, Seonghwa cut through, “Considering our line of work, no one’s gonna be getting married any time soon. Right Joong?”

Turning to the leader of the boys, Seonghwa saw that Hongjoong had his head turned away from the conversation, eyes scanning up and down a figure at the bar. Hongjoong was never a man to be distracted by anything or anyone, always focused on his business so it was a rare occurrence for him to be looking so intently at a person. The boys catching onto this, they followed his gaze to a man sat so close to the lucky person’s face, his facial expressions showing his desperation for a way to break down their walls.

“This might be interesting…” Wooyoung smirked.

-

“I genuinely couldn’t care less.” You said, head cocked to the side in your hand, staring dead straight into the man’s eyes. However, the man had no intention of ever stopping his speech as he sat next to you at the bar.

“Come on, you really don’t know my father? He was in today’s paper?” He carried on as you zoned out of the conversation and occasionally cringed at the man’s stale breath, wondering how many more men were going to be responsible for the deepening wrinkles between your brows. As you took a sip from your drink, you locked eyes with a blonde-haired man across the room. His features were delicate yet sharp like the thorn of a rose, or a shard of glass, eyes twinkling with mischief. He raised his glass at you and smirked, amused by the situation that you were in.

“Listen here, bitch-” The man grabbed your wrist, forcing your attention back to him, “You’re gonna take the drinks I buy you, listen when I speak and sit pretty like a woman is supposed to.” He spat.

“Grrrr, scary.” You crudely imitated the growl in the man’s voice, still uninterested, “What a man your mother raised. I bet she’s proud, hmm?”

Anger radiating from the man’s body, he grabbed the glass out of your hand and threw it at the wall behind you, missing your face by inches.

“Oh, so now you’re going to scare me into sleeping with you? You need to brush up on some people skills.” You laughed, throwing you head back. You only composed yourself to grab the man’s collar, causing him to stumble off his stool. “You want to throw another glass at me? Try it.”

You hadn’t noticed the blonde-haired man stroll up to your table seeing that you were so caught up in the situation.

“Hi, I’m Hongjoong. How’s your night going? Anything I can help you with?” He asked, rubbing his hands together, surprisingly composed despite the mess. You let go of the man as the name triggered something in your head, remembering it being mentioned a few times behind closed-door meetings with your father.

“Are all the whores around here like this? I came here for some fun and this is how I’m treated? Fuck this place and every one of you here.” The man started at Hongjoong. You sat there, curling your fists ready to punch the man this time but Hongjoong noticed and interjected.

He placed his hands on the ledge of the table, leaning forward to obstruct the space between you and the man. As he did, you noticed the glimpse of a gun hanging from inside his fitted jacket, the slick shine of the metal winking at you in the light.

“I’d rather die than come to this shithole again.” The man carried on and you noticed the mischievous glint that was once in Hongjoong’s eyes finally fade to black.

“Oh, sure thing, I don’t think I want to see you here again anyway.” Hongjoong muttered and what happened in the next few seconds flew by so fast it barely registered in your brain.

The blonde-haired man reached into his jacket to pull the handgun out and shoot the man clean between the brows. At the same time, you pointed the small pistol you always kept concealed on your body at Hongjoong in reflex, having been taught to react to the sound of gunmetal in this way since you were a child.

Once you realised that the bullet wasn’t intended for you, you sensed seven pairs of eyes trained on you. Out of the corner of your vision, you saw that the boys once sat at Hongjoong’s table were all stood up, half of their guns out pointed to the man, and the other half at you, the next possible threat to their leader.

It was then that you realised that this man was the leader of Ateez, Seoul’s biggest underground organization responsible for the running of the city. It may have been politicians and businessmen in the spotlight, but behind the curtains, it was Ateez pulling at their puppet strings.

“Easy with that, angel.” Hongjoong turned to you smiling and raised a hand at the boys to lower their weapons. He continued chuckling, “I felt like you might have an attitude, but I didn’t expect this from you.”

As if it were a regular occurrence, two barmen came round to dispose of the body and your eyes followed, gun still pointing at the blonde man. Using the tip of his fingers, he gently lowered your gun to point at the floor.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” he said, “I know some people that can sort that out.”

“Yeah those people are my paralegals paying off police in their missing persons hunts and forging their death certificates.”

Everything had fallen into place for you in that brief encounter. You knew that your father and his firm were involved in some dark business, but you never questioned it. Respecting your father’s wishes in telling you that keeping you in the dark was keeping you safe, you let it go.

However, it was only a few years ago that he had begun to tell you about his private dealings as consigliere to the organisation Ateez. That recently, his age-old friend had stepped down as mob boss and handed everything down to his son. Chuckling at how much he saw the image of his friend in the young blood, he mentioned that you would be in a similar position, that you too would be handed the law firm and become consigliere by tradition.

You had always expected to take up this mantle since you were young, as you figured that the men coming to your house for private meetings while you played in the garden did not treat you with unparalleled respect for no reason. You just didn’t realise that it would mean for you to be so heavily tied with the illicit world of the mafia then.

From then on, you trained close by your father’s side, learning the ins and outs of the world of jurisdiction, though you were never exposed directly to the ongoings with the mafia as your father had said, “the time will come when it needs to.”

“Then I guess today is the day.” You whispered to yourself smiling, you held your hand out to Hongjoong. “I’m Y/N L/N, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, my father has always spoken very highly of you.”

Confused at first, a spark was ignited in Hongjoong as the shine returned to his eyes, and the amused smirk to his lips, your name triggering something in him. Realising that you were the daughter to one of the men he most respected in his life, he took your hand and brought it to his face to kiss gently, “And it’s a pleasure to meet you too, I’ve heard a great deal about you as well, but who knew my future right-hand man would be so hot.” He said as he flashed a sly smile.

The more he observed, the flames within Hongjoong only grew as he could sense the fire in you too. The most beautiful person he had ever set eyes on was to be his consigliere? Couldn’t be any more perfect. He wondered what more you could achieve together and pictured only pure wildfire.

“You better watch your mouth Mr. Kim, unless you want to start a war between the family before I even take up my position.”

“Of course, I have nothing but respect for you and your father. I was told that I wouldn’t be meeting you until he was to step down from his position, but I guess my lucky stars have aligned perfectly tonight.”

“Also, I’m more than capable of dealing with these things myself, there was no need for you to play knight in shining armour.”

“Sure, holed up in your guarded palace of a law firm, you’ve never had experience in the real world. Things are different here and what happened at this bar is just the cusp of it, princess.” He rebutted voice dripping honey, flirting his way through the conversation.

“But who is it advising your every action and saving your asses in the courtrooms, hmm?”

You and Hongjoong continued to jab at each other while the boys sat back in disbelief at the situation. Common people would have run the other way as soon as a gun was shot in their vicinity. So for you to have pulled one out in retaliation and furthering that, started arguing with their Captain, it was a sight to see.

“Bets on who’s going to win this one?” Yunho broke the silence.

“I’m betting tonight’s drinks on the lady.” Mingi said, throwing his black card onto the table.

“Me too, Hongjoong hyung looks too smitten for pride games right now.” Jongho agreed.

“Looks like we’ve got our first to tie the knot then.” San chuckled, nudging at Wooyoung who replied, “Hmmm, she doesn’t look like the typical housewife type though.” Analysing the unmatched confidence exuding from your body language.

Soon after, Hongjoong led you to the table of boys, pulling a chair out for you.

“Guys, this is Y/N L/N, future consigliere to Ateez, and not to mention, my future wife.” He smirked, eyes glowing.

“Carry on and I’ll be future Captain by regicide, Hongjoong,” you shot him a glare as you took your seat, “considering our fateful encounter, it looks like I’ll be seeing you more often with my father now, I hope we can get along.”

You poured yourself a glass of whisky and smiled while Hongjoong could already sense the eventful days ahead with none other than you by his side. -

Mafia AU Masterlist

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

definitive VERY SERIOUS ranking of MCU characters, best to trash

Gamora and Nebula - tied for first place because prickly, traumatized assassin women? that’s my shit. prickly, traumatized assassin women working through their issues TOGETHER and growing closer as sisters? YEAH, babey! that’s the shit! I love them and they deserved arcs that loved them, too. biggest injustice in the MCU.

Thor - absolutely excellent. amazing work. distinguished slut vibes and a radiant beam on sunshine in this shithole world. again, never saw Endgame, but he deserved better.

Sam Wilson - going strong since 2014, babey. just an all-around great guy, good for him finally getting his own show. will I be watching it? absolutely not. not a force on god’s green earth could make me care enough to pirate a marvel television show in this the year of our lord and savior 2020, even if he is a very cool dude with wings. 

Bucky Barnes - all the fun of Steve but no moral quandaries because everything bad that he did happened when he was being controlled by nazis and he feels really bad about it uwu

Peter Parker - yes OBVIOUSLY the movies did Peter dirty, we’ve all seen a fucking essay about it, making him Iron Man Jr was wack and being poor doesn’t look like that, but he’s cute and fun and I like Tom Holland, who was the emotional anchor who forced me to keep giving a sliver of a shit during Infinity War. Far From Home was pretty not good but would I see another Spider-Man movie? fuck, maybe.

Steve Rogers - idk I just think he’s neat. really love how he’s shaped like a dorito and hates nazis.

James Rhodes - I don’t think Rhodey’s ever said or done anything that wasn’t iconic and for that he deserves to be exactly one spot above his idiot best friend.

Tony Stark - I hold possibly the most unpopular opinion on Tony Stark on this entire hellsite, which is that he’s just fine. he’s fun sometimes, he’s irritating sometimes, he made some points during Civil War. he should probably lose more points for being a former war profiteer but if I started digging into comic book logic too much I’d have to change my url because Batman cooperates with cops and endangers children, so idk.

T’Challa - I don’t remember a TON about T’Challa’s actual personality because it’s been like 4 years since Black Panther came out and he had like 2 lines in Infinity War, but he’s a powerful nerd/jock multiclasser who spends most of his time surrounded by women who are very smart and dangerous and much cooler than him and I really respect that.

Natasha Romanoff - Natasha is difficult to rank because for a long time her dominant defining characteristic was being The Girl One, which means she has a different personality in pretty much every movie, and it was never interesting. if Marvel had rubbed two brain cells together and given her a solo movie between 2012 and 2015 she might have fared better, but alas. press F in the chat for Nat’s potential.

Groot, Rocket, Drax, Mantis - I love these funky socially incompetent aliens. more of them, please.

Bruce Banner - only interesting in Ragnarok when he’s Thor’s anxious comedic foil and boyfriend; thank you for that small gift, Taika. I never saw Endgame because I love myself, so I don’t know anything about professor Hulk and I don’t want to.

Peter Quill - fun in theory but loses points for being such a painful walking embodiment of the extremely heterosexual “idiot manchild gets hot competent gf by virtue of being white cishet protagonist man.” shut the fuck up she’s way too good for him.

Wanda Maximoff - despite all of Joss Whedon’s best efforts I really liked her in Age of Ultron and then my love for her just decreased with each subsequent appearance. like Natasha she was increasingly a different character each time; by Infinity War she didn’t have her accent anymore as if Elizabeth Olsen realized nobody else on set would remember or care about Wanda’s previous portrayals. on god I liked her so much that I was even down to root for her and Vision but then the majority of it happened offscreen and lost me forever. 

Pietro Maximoff - mmm watcha saaaaaay

Hope Van Dyne - cooler than Ant-Man but not by much. should have been a lesbian and kissed Pepper Potts in the moonlight. 

Carol Danvers - fuck dude idk, I’ve never seen a movie she’s in lmao

Ant-Man - the recurring joke with this bitch seems to be “haha can you believe he exists? that’s dumb!” and it is. it is dumb. why did we need him? it could have all payed off with him crawling up Thanos’ asshole and exploding but we didn’t even get that. bullshit. 

Vision - man, fuck, I tried to put him higher on the list than Peter Quill and I couldn’t make myself do it. that’s how goddamn boring Vision was. and you know what? fuck it, we’re putting him lower than Pietro, too. and even Ant-Man! we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel here and he deserves it because I can’t think of one thing this dude did that I enjoyed other than being bad at cooking when he was trying to impress a girl.

Doctor Strange - I’m not going to make a Benedict Cumberbatch joke because that’s low hanging fruit but all I know is that this is the dude who’s mean to Tony in a horny way for five minutes of Infinity War. I never saw his movie, heard it was racist tho. and they didn’t even learn their lesson before they made Iron Fist! smh bombastic colonialism.

Clint Barton - last place because in the absence of a personality or interesting character arc I’m forced to judge him on the fact that Jeremy Renner radiates bad vibes and that in Endgame he gets a makeover that makes him look like he’d call me slurs for telling him to stop hitting on 16 year old girls at a gas station.

[archaneanscribe]

Somethin’ Special

You might recognize this from my ao3, but I want my writing to mainly be on this blog now. This fits into my personal canon for Archanea, so I thought it prudent to bring over. Ogma/Barst, post canon domestic fluff. Part of the Archanea Chronicles

It had been many months since the war had concluded, but each sunrise still felt like a new dawn to Ogma. Maybe it was because his life had never before been so idyllic as it was now, waking up whenever the mood struck him (even if that was usually first thing, out of habit), in the strong arms of a man he had thought he could only ever dream of being with. Crisp early fall mornings like these were especially his favorite, as the need for body heat gave him an excuse to cuddle up, but it wasn’t so cold that his zucchini’s were dying on him.

A twitch had him looking over at his sleeping partner. Barst was a heavy sleeper, likely from years of having slept on boats sailing the tumultuous seas. Not that Ogma was complaining, as it gave him time in the mornings to appreciate him. His husband’s blue hair splayed over the pillow, familiar swoop gone in favor of messy bedhead. His broad chest rising and falling slowly with each sleepy breath.

The small smile on his face when his dreams were pleasant, which was now a much more common occurrence than ever before.

Ogma only had a moment of this before Barst’s eye cracked open and he stretched out his arms, displacing the blanket that lay over them, “Goooood morning,” he said through a yawn, before rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes. The former mercenary’s laugh came out in a low rumble, and he pecked the other’s shoulder, “Good morning.”

“We got anythin’ to do today?”

“Besides the usual? No.”

A grin started to spread over Barst’s face, “Well then I’ve got a suggestion, if you wanna hear it.”

Eyebrow raised, Ogma nodded, “Go ahead.”

“What’s say you and me just lay about all day inside? No choppin’ wood, no hunting, no gardening, no nothing. Just a cozy day in by the fire.”

“If we do that it’ll be more work tomorrow.”

“I know that! Sometimes,” Barst flushed, and he scratched his cheek sheepishly, “Sometimes a guy just wants to do something special. Even if it means breakin’ his back tomorrow.”

This brought a warmth to Ogma’s body and a smile to his face, “I didn’t say anything was wrong with it. You go get some firewood and I’ll grab breakfast.”

Not needing to be told twice, Barst hopped out of bed, quickly pulling on the clean tunic he had laid over the dresser. Some of his clothes had trouble fitting his particular...physique, so you could see almost all his muscles outlined against the fabric, a fact that Ogma appreciated day in and day out. Once ready, he saluted then blew a kiss to his husband, in that order, like he did every morning, and it never failed to put a smile on Ogma’s face.

---

Their small larder was modestly stocked, but held more than enough to two men of their age and size. Hardy, long lasting loaves of brown bread, stiff blocks of fragrant cheese, salted meats, and a variety of dried fruits and vegetables were stored in different baskets and clay containers, ensuring that they wouldn’t go hungry even in the harshest of months. For the most part what they ate was freshly grown, caught, or killed, so they hadn’t much need for fancy things that nobles had like white flour and sugar.

However, there was one thing that stood out from the rest. It was a small red box, made of fine mahogany with true gold accents, that sat next to their barrels of beer. In it were a variety of fine teas, a wedding gift from Caeda. It may have seemed strange, for two simple men like them to have a gift from the Queen herself, but in truth she was a common visitor to their humble abode.

Ogma caught himself smiling, thinking about the girl he met as simply a rough and tumble princess, who through grit and the power of love, became Queen of the united land. He couldn’t have been more proud to be at her side through the whole thing. Shaking his head fondly, he picked out a tea to brew, as this was a special occasion. He also grabbed a small loaf, one of their sweeter cheeses, and some dried apple slices, as well as an iron pot for the tea and two earthen mugs. Content with his haul, he walked out of the larder towards their main room, just in time for Barst to walk in with a bundle of logs in his arms.

“Fancy meeting’ you here,” Barst said with a grin, which is husband matched.

“Come here often?” he asked, picking up a log to toss into the fire place.

The other laughed, putting one in himself, then laying the others down on the ground beside it, “Only when there are handsome guys like you around.”

“You sure like flattery,” was Ogma’s reply, as he struck the flint a few times to get a fire started, and when he was finally content, he grabbed the put and filled it up with the jug of water they kept inside, making a mental note that it needed to be refilled. Barst took this from him, and hung it over the fire, “Not flattery, I’m just an honest man, is all, and I say what I see.”

Unable to say anything in return, Ogma just made his way over to embrace his husband, reveling in the start it gave him. The depth of his appreciation for...all this, was boundless, and he wasn’t nearly good enough with words to verbalize it. He was always a man of action instead, never really given the choice not to be really. He squeezed Barst’s waist with one arm and buried the other hand in his hair.

Patting his back, Barst returned the gesture just as tightly, smiling into the crook of his neck. Ogma had a few inches on him, not more than enough than made him need to stretch up for kisses on the mouth, but it was nice to not always be the biggest guy in the room. After a very long, warm few moments, they pulled apart at the sound of boiling water, ready to be poured into a cup of tea.

---

Once they had eaten their filling meal and drank their hot beverage, they pulled their chairs over to sit in front of the steady fire, At first, they didn’t say much, as neither of them really needed it. They’d been through thick and thin, through battles and peacetimes, through times of ache and times of joy. They knew one another like the backs of their own hands.

It felt...nice, to be understood by someone like this.

Finally, Ogma did speak, heart full of such emotion that his mouth couldn’t withstand the flood any longer, “I said most of this at the wedding, but, before I meet Caeda I didn’t expect much out of life. Still didn’t even after I started work in Talys. Thought I’d spend most of my life fighting for other people, even if I happened to like those people more than before. But...”

He reached out his hand to grab his husband’s, enjoying the feeling of their rough, calloused palms rubbing against each other’s, “Then I found you. A half dead pirate looking for work. There was a look in your eye that told me I could trust you, so I did. Best decision I ever made. You’ve always had my back, even when I asked you to fight in a war you had no stake in. Whenever I looked around, there you were.”

“You know, you don’t talk as much as most other folk, but when it comes to important things, you always beat me to the punch,” squeezing the hand in his, Barst looked into the fire, watching the flames dance around, “I wasn’t really all that happy as a pirate. I never much liked stealing from people just tryin’ to live their lives, but there wasn’t much choice for a guy like me, poor and with more brawn than brain. You showed me that even if it’s hard, there’s always a choice. When you held your hand out that day, my whole life turned around. I ain’t got the words for how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

The warmth in the room rose, and it was not solely from the fireplace before them. They leaned in, eyes fluttering shut, to meet their mouths in a long and languid kiss. Ogma’s hand cupped Barst’s face, and the man groaned as his husband’s thumb rubbed small circles in his cheek. They stayed like this for a minute, enjoying the feeling of their lips moving slowly against each other’s. When they did pull away, they sported grins reserved exclusively for the consumption of the other.

“Ten years ago, when we met, I never expected this is where we would be,” Ogma confessed.

Barst nodded, “Can’t say the same for myself. Knew you’d be the guy I married the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“More flattery,” Ogma rolled his eyes as he leaned in to steal another kiss, and all the world’s troubles faded away in the face of the peace they brought each other in that small cottage in an unimportant forest in the countryside. No matter the lives they lived before, they knew that now they’d always moments like these, together.•

[themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy]

I wanna see tony and the avengers finding out about peter having a long term gf and making fun of him, then meeting her and she's super nervous but they absolutely adore her and they keep embarrassing peter and hes just so red sksuxuksvsb

We’re having a sleepover!! Send in some requests for blurbs, headcanons, ships, or just tell me about your day! <3

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I too would like to see this

I’m gonna make it more gender neutral just because :)

Let’s be real Peter Parker only has a few flaws but the biggest one is that he cannot keep any secret 

*Makes web fluid in chemistry while also expecting no one to know that he is the Spider-Man*

*Vaults over school gates while also expecting no one to know that he is the Spider-Man*

*Jumps out of the bus window in front of his whole school and puts on the Spider-Man mask while also expecting no one to know that he is the Spider-Man*

Anyways

So this relationship would have slipped out real fast

“And Y/N was like-”

“Who’s Y/N?”

Peter would get all blushy hehe

“Just my friend.” His voice cracks smh

loser

Every single person in that room knows that that is a LIE

“A close friend?”

“Uh, yeah, we’re pretty close, I guess.”

“How close?”

“I don’t really know how to judge how close we are-”

“Judging by the fact that your cheeks are as red as your suit, I say we’ve discovered something.” Tony just kinda smacks Peter a bit u know

Peter is on FIRE

A few weeks pass and you and Peter are standing outside on campus after school

Just talking

And a car pulls up, rolls down the window, and the person inside yells at u

You don’t quite hear what they’re saying but you heard your name and Peter’s and Peter pales at the voice

Come to find out that it’s Tony Stark

:))))))

You just kinda

:o

Peter is so red omg

He finally grabs your hand (his is all sweaty smh) and runs over to the car

Tony leans out the window all smooth smh

“I’m Tony Stark, but I bet you already knew that.”

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N.” You’re just kinda :o still

“Um... we were gonna walk.”

“Change of plans, we’re never gonna get to see you this embarrassed again, so I’m kidnapping you both and taking you back to the tower. Everyone else already knows, there’s no escape.”

You’re almost peeing your pants bc Iron Man is telling you that he’s kidnapping you and that there is no escape

Peter just sighs, softly apologizes to you, and tugs you into the back of the car

You and Peter are frantically texting in the back like ‘is this legal’ ‘I don’t think laws apply to him anymore’ ‘if I’m not home before dinner I’m gonna be dead and not even Iron Man can save me’

You get to the tower and Tony is like aH u gen z kids and ur phOnes come on inside :)))

Tony puts a hand on both of your shoulders and steers you inside the tower

The elevator ride is so bad omg it’s just Peter being so awkward

“Is Captain Rogers here?” (Y’ALL I WROTE MR ROGERS AT FIRST KABGANJDFD)

“Of course, he’s about to lost a bet with me that Y/N actually exists. He didn’t think you were capable of it, kid.”

Peter is about to cRy

“And Ms. Romanoff?”

“Yeah. And Bucky, and Bruce, and Thor. You’re not getting cut any slack tonight.”

The elevator doors open and you go to step out but then Tony turns around and smiles at you

It’s like half genuine

“Welcome, Y/N.”

You walk into literal chaos

There is someone upside down on the couch (upon further inspection it is Thor, the god of tHuNdEr)

Two people are what looks like wrestling on the ground and honestly it just looks really gay (smh Bucky Steve can u not)

Captain America is the first one to notice u and shoves the other guy off

Frowns for a second

Pulls out his wallet

Hands Tony a ten dollar bill

“Wait, you really had a bet going?” Peter is so betrayed.

“Parker, you can’t even order at a restaurant without stuttering and nearly giving up, was I really supposed to believe you were smooth enough to land yourself a relationship?”

Peter is :(

The other guy gets off of the floor and u see that his whole arm is metal

You’re seriously almost crying u are so scared

There is like

such a dad

Just reading in the corner

And he looks up and sees you

He stands and politely introduces himself to you

“Hello Y/N, my name is Bruce Banner, it’s nice to meet you.” 

He is the only normal one smh

A woman stands up from the couch and she’s not visibly armed or anything but you can feel your soul leave your body because she is just so so intimidating

She walks over and gives u a lil smile

“I’m Natasha Romanoff. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The man with the whole metal arm and Captain America stand up

They each introduce yourself and wow you just shook Captain America’s hand how does that feel

Steve likes you ngl he thinks you’re neat

Bucky doesn’t give you his metal arm to shake and you are thankful for that because you think you might pass out any second if he did

They invite you to sit down so you do and then Peter sits right next to you but then Steve sits on your other side and you’re so nervous

They’re watching some dumb action movie but like they’re the avengers that’s their whole lives

Bucky stays quiet but will laugh whenever Steve makes a crack about Peter being too awkward to have a relationship yet

Tony Steve and Natasha just destroy Peter

“Once time he was trying to swing upside down and-”

“Mr. Stark, please don’t-”

“And he not only fell, but he took the ceiling tile with him!”

“Mr Stark!”

“I had to replace that myself!” Tony just >:( at Peter and Peter is like o no

Natasha keeps ruffling his hair and each time she does Peter blushes redder and redder and you’re laughing more and more

They probably invite you for dinner ngl

I loved this idea so I made it super long oops

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[hils79]

Fic Tag Game

I saw this on @kholran’s tumblr, liked it to fill in later and then promptly forgot. Don’t check Tumblr as soon as you wake up, fam. You will forget what you did an hour later. Anyway, this looks fun and now that I’m actually writing regularly again I thought I’d give this a go. 

Name: Hils

I am an ancient internet crone who, when I set up a Livejournal back in 2001, decided to just use a version of my actual name. I’m some version of Hils most places.

Fandoms: Since this is specifically about fic, I’m going to limit it to fandoms I’ve written in. Because otherwise we’d be here all night. I’m also not going to include fandoms where I only wrote one fic on a whim. All of the below are fandoms where I’ve written two fics or more. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This was my first experience with online fandom and still the longest and most prolific time I’ve spent in any fandom I think. My ship of choice was Buffy/Spike. I’ll be honest, when it became canon on the show I kind of lost interest. Be careful what you wish for :D

Pirates of the Caribbean: Yeah, I have a think for enemies to lovers. Jack/Norrington was my ship of choice here. This was also my first m/m OTP. 

Lord of the Rings RPF: This was my first RPF fandom (I know it's not for everyone don't judge me) and my pairing of choice was Sean Bean/Viggo Mortensen. It was a pretty small pairing even in terms of LOTRRPF but I had a lot of fun. 

Smallville: I started shipping Clark and Lex from pretty much the first episode. Which was funny because I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a little kid and never expected to end up here. This was another big fandom for me where I wrote a lot. It’s second after Buffy for number of fics I’ve posted. 

Merlin: This was another one where I started shipping Merlin/Arthur from pretty much the beginning. It’s funny that, as a Brit, this is the only British fandom I’ve ever been in. 

Supernatural: Another big one. I’d watched the show from pretty much the beginning but it wasn’t until Castiel arrived in season 4 that I started writing fic. This is my third biggest fandom in terms of number of fics published and it’s also responsible for my two longest fics

Marvel: I’m using this as a broad umbrella to cover a bunch of different MCU movies, the comics, and the Agents of SHIELD TV show. Pairings I have written are: Tony/Pepper, Tony/Steve, Steve/Bucky, Phil/Clint

The Man From UNCLE: I grew up watching repeats of the old 60s show which I adored, and then the movie came out and was also fantastic, so my fics cover both the movie universe and the TV universe. Mostly Napoleon/Ilya with some Napoleon/Gaby/Ilya thrown in

Check Please: My introduction to hockey and I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t read the end of it despite owning a hard copy of it. Jack/Bitty are so sweet but, again, I kind of lost interest once they actually got together in canon

Hockey RPF: Sort of a natural progression from Check Please really. All my hockey fic is locked and comment moderation is on but it’s there if you feel the need to look. Pairings I wrote were Sid/Geno, Gabe/Tyson and Phil Kessel/Carl Hagelin which was a nice little rare pairing to play with.

The Untamed: My introduction to cdramas. I’ve only posted a couple of fics because I find the fandom quite intimidating in terms of volume and quality.  Weirdly this is one of the few fandoms where the pairing being canonically together just inspired me to write instead of putting me off. This fandom got me writing again after a couple of years of barely posting anything at all. 

Guardian: I fell into this one HARD. I posted my first fic about a month after I finished the show and I still have ideas for more. This was kind of a turning point for me in getting me to write regularly again. 

DMBJ/The Lost Tomb: This is where I pretty much live at the moment. I don’t know what it is about these silly shows that inspires me so much but I love them and the characters dearly. This is one of the few fandoms where I’m just as happy writing gen as I am writing shippy stuff. I just love the Iron Triangle friendship so much. 

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort is the big one for me. Pretty much all my fics involve this trope in some sense. Other than that I think it depends on the characters and the fandom. 

Fic I spent most time on: Definitely  Misha Collins Makes A Match (yes it’s an RPF fic). I had to plot out a whole road trip route set in a country where I don’t live. 

Favorite fic(s) you’ve written: Ooh, that’s a tough one. I generally don’t read my fics after I’ve published them and once they’re out there I consider them Done and move on to thinking about the next one. 

And There's That Pesky Thing Called Reality - I had a lot of fun playing with the meta aspects of fandom. It’s dated quite badly now but if you want a taste of what fandom was like in 2010 this is it.

He's My Brother - I enjoyed exploring different characters’ points of view for this one and how they see Wei Wuxian at different points in the show

Fic I spent least time on: I think I wrote and posted  Love On Ice in one evening. 

Longest fic: Discounting things I’ve written with other people it’s  Misha Collins Makes A Match again

Shortest fic: According to AO3  Three Little Words which is a 200 word Buffy/Spike fic

Most hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks:

Hits:  The Truth About Cats, Dogs and Penguins which is a Sid/Geno hockey RPF fic

Kudos and Bookmarks:  Unleashed which is a Steve/Bucky AU where they meet in their local dog park

Comments: He's My Brother. The Untamed fandom might be a bit scary but they are also very kind

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: I’m already planning at least one addition to the Zhu Yilong/Chen Minghao series I wrote for this year’s Sundial Exchange

Share a bit of a WIP: I generally only have one WIP on the go at a time and I just write outlines for any other ideas I have. So, this is a bit of what I’m working on at the moment. This is not, despite the below snippet, a Zhu Yilong/Chen Minghao fic. 

“Do you want his number?” Chen Minghao asks with a grin. “You can ask him yourself. I’ll need to check with him first but I think he’ll be fine with it.”

Something drops in Zhu Yilong’s stomach. He’s a mature adult who has met plenty of famous actors during his time in the industry. But there’s something different about being introduced to someone you admire. He’s not going to let his shyness get in the way of this opportunity though, not when it could help with his current role.

“That would be great. If you’re sure it’s no trouble.”

Chen Minghao waves a dismissive hand. “Of course it’s no trouble. All I need to do is send a text.”

I tag: ALL of my writer friends. I want to know all about your projects. TELL ME.

[starscheme]

Change My World

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Spectacular Stage Show Fiasco  Steven and Spinel had stood in the alleyway for several minutes now. Making sure to stay quiet, Steven held Spinel close as she steadied her breathing with her face still buried in his shirt.

“...you....haven’t said anything in a while...” Spinel mumbled into his chest.

Chuckling lightly, Steven had a bashful smile as he sighed, “I...was a little worried I’d say something stupid...”

Spinel took a deep breath, allowing herself to focus a bit more on the beat of Stevens heart before she decided to pull away. Both seemed quite nervous to face one another at the moment, but their nerves were rattle by something else when a delighted scream from the nearby crowd reached their ears.

“A MERMAID!” Shouted what sounded like an amazed little girl.

Steven and Spinel both jerked, waiting in anxious silence to make sure no one was looking or pointing at them. With a cautious sigh of relief, Steven stepped forward to peek out of the alley and back towards the festival.

“...looks like they’re setting up something on stage...” he whispered as Spinel tried to peek over his shoulder on her tip toes.

“Is it a real Mermaid? Or some weird show?”

Steven shook his head, “I’m not sure. ...usually the only way to actually see a mermaid would be at the Zoo in the Capital, but even then I heard it’s hard to get tickets. That’s why it was such a big event when you showed up on our shores.”

Spinel watched as the crowd bustled towards the large stage. It seemed as if the whole festival had stopped just to see the show. She decided that she couldn’t just sit back and wait. If there really was another Mermaid there, Spinel had to see for herself. She pushed her way past Steven and would have vanished in the crowd if Steven hadn’t caught her by the wrist.

“What are you doing?” Asked Steven in an urgent whisper.

“We have to go and see!” Insisted Spinel, matching his tone. “I can’t see the stage from here.”

“You can’t be serious, if there IS an actual Mermaid on stage, what if she spots you and recognizes you?!”

“Not all Mermaids know each other, Steven,” huffed Spinel as she attempted to wriggle her wrist free.

“Spinel, seriously, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Even if it’s a real Mermaid, we won’t be able to help without exposing you to danger. In a city like this, we will definitely be put on a wanted list.”

Though she knew Steven was right, she needed to know for sure. How could they just turn their backs to it and pretend nothing was going on. “You’re hurting me,” whined Spinel, prompting Steven to quickly release her wrist.

Spinel stuck out her tongue and dashed off into the crowd. “Seriously?!” Exclaimed Steven when he realized she’d tricked him. He tried his best to follow her pink/strawberry hair as she pushed her way through the crowd, but since he had a bigger build, Steven found it much harder to get through to her.

“—and I tell ya, folks,” continued the young man on stage as Spinel finally shoved her way within earshot. “You’ve all heard the Mermaid tales, but this one has by far exceeded anything I ever heard. I was told nearly ten ships went down in pursuit of the creature. Though the beast has been deprived of water for many days now, we ask that you keep small children out of arms reach of the stage. You never know if a Mermaid will still be able to attack on sheer force of will.”

Spinel felt her heart beat begin to speed up rapidly. This didn’t sound like some fake show for entertainment. They must have had an actual mermaid.

The crowd murmured in excitement, some children complained that they couldn’t stand closer while other kids cried, thinking the Mermaid was going to eat them. As the curtains began to draw back, the sound of the chattering crowd slowly started to die out when the opened curtains revealed a large, gray skinned Mermaid with rainbow colored strands of dreadlocks. Her tail resembled that of a shark and her body was covered in scars from old wounds, but they weren’t as alarming to see as the new wounds that had been afflicted on her. Her powerful arms were bound by the wrists with thick iron shackles that connected to a large steel ball to keep her from moving. Though the shackles were clear unnecessary as the Mermaid looked as if she would drop dead any moment.

Her breathing was heavy and ragged,  and several lashes from an apparent whipping were still bleeding along her torso and back.

Just looking at the scene made Spinel feel dizzy. She nearly swayed back as her knees grew weak, but she did her best to rally and regain her composure. This mermaid was indeed someone that Spinel knew. It would be difficult to forget someone like her.

“Bismuth...” whispered Spinel under her breath.

“A friend of yours?” Murmured a young woman from behind Spinel.

It was then that the disguised Mermaid felt something sharp press against her back. A knife? Even if it was, the weapons sudden appearance didn’t alarm her as much as the voice of her assailant.

“Elaine?!” She gasped, turning her head to peek back over her shoulder.

“Don’t turn around,” Elaine demanded, easing the knife forward, poking through Spinels dress and now penetrating her skin slightly, causing Spinel to jerk in response.

“H-how...? What are you doing here?!” Asked Spinel in a confused panic. Before her was an old friend we who was being cruelly put on Display and at her back was a knife, wielded by a former annoyance that she thought was left behind.

“After you tried to hurt me, a few people found me that actually believed me. Turns out, they’ve been looking for you. They confirmed everything I suspected.” Whispered Elaine. “Now, I’m going to take you to them. If you try anything funny, I’ll expose you in this crowd.”

Spinel wasn’t sure what to do. Glancing from side to side, Steven was no where to be seen and Bismuth was still barely conscious on stage. “...who is looking for me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Get moving...” hissed Elaine quietly.

Spinel tried desperately to think of anything that might get her out of this. She had to find Steven. Did Elaine already do something to him? Was he caught by whomever Elaine was working with?

As Spinel hesitated to move, trying to stall for time, an explosion seemed to go off somewhere in the distance and a voice rang out, “THE MERMAID IS USING IT’S MAGIC!”

Just like that, the crowd began to scatter in a panic. Mothers grabbed their children and ran, others stampeded was from the stage in fear, while some ‘brave’ tried to rush the stage in an attempt to stop the mermaid.

“Pl-please, ladies and gentlemen,” shouted the man on stage as he and some workers tried to stop the crowd from panicking and getting on stage. “Mermaids can’t use magic in this state! There’s no need to—“

Spinel didn’t waste any time. As soon as the panic started, she took advantage of the chaos and joined the crowd, jabbing back at Elaine with her elbow before running off with the flow of the frenzied citizens. Now, she had to find Steven. If only she hadn’t tricked him. Surely he never would have left her side if she didn’t insist on ditching him to see the stage.

People were shoving and slamming others down in an attempt to get as far from the stage as possible, it only got worse when another explosion went off. Everyone was scared and didn’t know which direction they should take, worried that they could get attacked from anywhere at this point.

“Steven! STEVEN!” Shouted Spinel as she did her best to maneuver her way through the crowd. If only she had more experience with these legs of hers. She wasn’t very good at dodging the others that bumped into her sides or the hands that were attempting to shove her out of the way. This made it even more difficult to find Steven amongst the madness.

Spinels desperate search for Steven was starting to seem hopeless amongst the entropy that ensued. Not to mention all the dust that had been riled up from the rushing crowd and nearby explosions. However, even through the mob of humans kicking up dirt, Spinel could see a distinct, bright pink color cutting through the crowd and prompting more screams from the humans as they darted out of its path.

Though shocked at first, Spinel was relieved to see Steven riding the pink Lion straight towards her with an extended hand. “I thought you said it wasn’t safe to bring him into the city,” shouted Spinel over the frantic cries around them as Steven grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her up into his lap, the Pink beast never breaking his stride.

“Kinda late for that now,” Steven replied, “he showed up when the explosions started! Was that the Mermaid?”

Spinel shook her head, “there’s no way! Bismuth can’t do anything like that!”

Steven wanted to point out that clearly Spinel did know the Mermaid on stage, but he’d wait until they got out of here. The biggest problem was the soldiers were now trying to quell the panic and of course a large Pink Lion with two passengers had caught their eye. Still, there was no turning back. They were already drawing attention. Why not take it a little further?

“Get to the stage!” Steven ordered, holding onto the Spinel to make sure she didn’t fall off as the Lion roared and made a quick turn to follow Stevens command.

Responding to the frenzy, soldiers were already up on stage, blocking several rioting humans from getting to the Mermaid while a few of them did their best to try and move the large creature. Steven’s eyes turned a bright pink as they approached the stage. He was going to try and push the soldiers back with this new power he had, but as it turned out, there was no need for it.

Just as Steven and Spinel reached the stage, Lars appeared behind one the soldiers handling the tired Mermaid and quickly dropped down to sweep under his feet, knocking the armored man off balance.

“It’s a pirate!” One of the soldiers called out before drawing his sword. A weapon that was quickly knocked out of his hand by a pink shockwave formed from the Lions roar, forcing the rest of the soldiers to fall backward.

“Thanks for the assist,” Lars greeted, quite pleased to see Steven and Spinel once again. Though a bit surprised by the Lion.

“Were you the one causing those explosions?!” Asked Steven while his Lion chomped through the iron chains that weighed Bismuth down and tied her to the stage.

“Bingo Bongo,” Lars replied with a snap of his fingers. “We had to create a distraction, didn’t we?”

“Steven!” Cried out a young woman as she shoved her way through some panicked humans.

Steven froze up when he saw her face. It was Elaine. So he hadn’t imagined it before. She really was here. But how? More importantly; why?

“You have to come with me,” Elaine pleaded, stepping over a guard that had been knocked out by Lions roar. “That Mermaid, she’s just using you! I heard it all from the others! You’ll die if you stay with her! I know there’s a powerful spell over you, but I can help you now!”

Lars wasn’t sure what this exchange had to do with the task at hand, but he couldn’t waste his time wondering. He took in a great deal of air to puff up his chest before shouting out, “let’s GO!” His booming voice formed a large, bright portal beside him, one which several of the Off Colors stepped out of and hurried to pull Bismuth inside.

While the Off Colors rescued Bismuth, Steven kept his focus on the brunette that pleaded with him. Was that really why she had followed them? Because she still thought he was under Spinels spell somehow? Steven tightened his grip on Spinel with one hand and with the other, he pat the Lions head, “don’t let her get any closer, boy.”

Elaine seemed shocked by Stevens reaction to her sincere bid for his safety. “St-Steven, there are people who want to help you!”

“You guys coming this time?” Lars asked suddenly, waiting to step into the portal, but pointing out the soldiers that were regaining consciousness.

Steven wasn’t sure where that portal was going to lead, but staying here was out of the question and at least he knew the Off Colors weren’t a threat to them. With a nod, Steven pat the Beasts head once more and it seemed to understand his request. The Lion leapt forward, rushing into the portal to escape the chaotic scene at the festival now.

“W-Wait!” Elaine screamed, trying to follow after them before Lars stepped through and the portal disappeared.

Once the portal faded into a wisp, a young man in golden yellow armor stepped out from backstage, accompanied by several soldiers in standard silver. Removing his helmet, the golden soldier was revealed to be Caden, the man Spinel had met just hours before.

“Sir, why did you let them go? They took the Mermaid...and they had a summoned Beast...” one of the soldiers pointed out in frustration. “This trap would have succeeded if you let us go after them...”

Caden smiled rubbing his chin as he stared in amusement at where the portal had been. He didn’t seem to be listening to his subordinate at all. “...Things are certainly getting more interesting than I thought they would...” he mumbled to himself.

[tackyink]

Still holding onto the hope of running out of steam soon so I can work on other fics. In any case, this has a title now. It’s Degrees of Separation.

I hate this chapter solely because in my mind it was supposed to be one, then it got long and turned into two awkward chapters, and by splitting them I was left with this thing in which nothing happens. Why would you want to read this? I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to read it, even though I did. Repeatedly. To edit out all the typos I’m sure I’ve left in. I’m going to put a Golden Sun stream on the background, play Animal Crossing and drown my frustration in Coca Cola. It’s been a long week.

One last detour before Sabaody. Alex is bored, the Heart Pirates reenter the scene, and Law has an “if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions” moment.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

— — — — — — — —

Chapter 3

There was a storm.

Alex didn’t know if it was related to the Aqua Laguna that the ship had set out to avoid or it was simply one of the Grand Line’s meteorological whims, but two days after departure, the noon sky went so dark it was like a moonless night had come down early, the winds picked up, and the waves started to beat against the ship’s hull in an uneven rhythm.

The crew was all over the place, trying to steer the ship and reef the sails as they ushered the passengers inside to keep them from falling overboard. Alex had been caught in bad weather travelling before, but never to this extent. She had a hard time thinking of anything scarier than being at the mercy of a windy sea. Nowhere to run, nothing to do except wait and pray that the waters would take pity on you and let you live another day. Alex wasn’t the praying sort, so while she waited below deck with a group of people as scared as she was, if not more, she couldn’t even do that.

The nervous chatter of the passengers and the parents’ attempts to console their children were muffled by the deafening sounds of the wind, the waves, the creaking wood, and the crew’s rushed footsteps on the deck.

Alex stood the entire time in front of a porthole in the dining hall where they had gathered. It helped with the seasickness from the violent rocking of ship, it was better than to look at the other people, and, ironically, storms were her favorite kind of weather. She wondered what would be worse if they sunk, getting caught on deck and risking being swallowed by the ocean, or waiting for the insides of the ship to become a water tomb. For a long time, or at least it seemed like it, that was the main thought that repeated in her mind, until the possibility of dying felt so remote that she wasn’t even registering. Like when you picked a word and turned it around in your mouth and mind so many times that it lost all meaning. Of course she couldn’t die there. She had never done so before, so why start now?

It was absurd, but it helped. And it turned out to be right, too.

After a while, the storm subsided, and an hour later, the crew let them out on deck again. The ship wasn’t intact, but they hadn’t lost anybody, and that was as much as one could ask for when dealing with an angry sea.

In the end, there was only one major inconvenience: due to the damage, the ship had to change its course in order to dock somewhere safe to undergo repairs.

❦

Her hair had gotten longer to the point of annoyance. The tips brushed her shoulders already; long enough to get in her face whenever it wanted, but too short to tie it in a decent ponytail. Sure, she could have done it anyway, but she was vain and would have rather dealt with the hassle than solve the problem in an aesthetically suboptimal way.

The sunspots on the left side of her face were getting more noticeable, as were the dark circles under her eyes and the shy wrinkles that were attempting to come out. For someone who could spend so much time picking her appearance apart in front of a mirror, she didn’t look particularly healthy or well put together. She supposed that was part of the appeal, in a masochistic way: to find as many faults as she could, and invent some if needed.

Applying concealer under her eyes and red lipstick just for the sake of having some color on her face, she thought she needed to find herself a headband and a healthier pastime posthaste. Porta Bella was a quaint town, but there wasn’t much in the way of entertainment, and she’d had only her thoughts for company for too long.

She had been stuck there for two weeks. After narrowly avoiding disaster, the ship had been moored in the harbor for several days, and by the time it was fit enough to sail, the captain decided to go back to Water 7 to have proper repairs done. The passengers had been given the choice to remain in Porta Bella and find another ship, or to return to Water 7 with the crew. Going back wasn’t an option for Alex when Sabaody was so close that it felt like she could have seen it if she climbed on a tall tree, she didn’t trust a half-baked repair job to keep her safe, and, most importantly, someone had tried to kill Iceburg and Enies Lobby had kind of blown up in the following days of her departure from Water 7.

She didn’t want to think that the tracksuit shipwright had something to do with it, but the conspiracy theorist in her told her that it was totally his fault. That nose? Could totally be used as a murder weapon and nobody would be none the wiser.

The few passengers aside from Alex who had decided to stay in Porta Bella were already gone, leaving the inn she was staying at delightfully empty, but also making her wonder if she had messed up by not taking the first random ship that would let her sail away from there.

The island was small, so much so that Porta Bella was the only town in it, and much of it was empty. For many years there had been a migratory tendency pushing young people from nearby islands to the Sabaody Archipelago, and this one seemed to have fallen victim to it, too. The moderately long recording time of the Log Pose didn’t play in its favor, either. Five days and a half was a long time to wait when the Red Line was only a couple of days away, so not many ships stopped there. An abandoned watchtower in the outskirts of town was the only other notable location.

She left her inn room that morning, picking up a tea to go, and hoping that a good slap of early morning breeze in the face would wake her up.

Every day since she arrived, she went to the port to look for any newly arrived ships and talk to the sailors. Every time, if there was a new one at all, she was told that there were reports of increased slaver activity in those waters, and that they were headed anywhere but the Sabaody Archipelago until Marine HQ got its shit together and stopped the kidnapping crews sailing rampant. Given that the Marines must have been scrambling to recover from the loss of Enies Lobby, nobody thought they were going to get on the case anytime soon.

These series of unfortunate coincidences didn’t surprise her. Her life was often comprised of really small strokes of bad luck that were nothing more than inconvenience on their own, but that added up to really grate on her nerves. This was business as usual, so she just had to keep trying. The temporary finish line was only a stone’s throw away.

Not that human trafficking stopped at any point of the year, but she hadn’t taken into account the seasonal opening of the archipelago’s biggest auction. Thinking that not even the schedule of the Human Auctioning House had changed during her time away gave her a twisted sense of familiarity. That son of a bitch kept finding novel ways to fuck her over without even being aware of her existence. It had to be a gift, for sure.

As she walked to the half empty docks, she hoped that that was the day she lucked out. She had already decided that, if she couldn’t find a direct ship to Sabaody in the following three days, she’d take the roundabout way and sail to a bigger island with, hopefully, a wider variety of ships. She would go completely broke in the process (and there she found the thing that was as terrifying as being caught in a storm at open sea), but one had to crack eggs to make an omelette.

Ten minutes and an empty cup of tea into her stroll, she stopped in front the single newly arrived ship and thought that maybe she hadn’t lucked out, but that sure as hell life was full of weird coincidences. Because there were few submarines sailing the Grand Line, even fewer painted yellow, and she guessed that only one with that particular Jolly Roger plastered on it. Her wish of seeing it up close had been granted when she least expected it, and it didn’t disappoint. It had a curious design, half ship and half submarine. A shipmarine.

Feeling revitalized by the pun, she craned her neck and got on her tiptoes to accomplish nothing at all. She couldn’t see any of the pirates on the deck, at least from where she was standing, and what else was she supposed to do, walk closer to find a friendly face and say hi like a functioning human being would? Yeah, no. She simply stood there and stared like a creep.

The paint job of the thing was hypnotic, and she didn’t mean it as a compliment. It looked like the idea of a man who thought the peak of design was making his vehicle look like a wasp with a decal of the word ‘DEATH’ instead of stripes to look extra edgy. And okay, they were pirates, pirates killed people, it was something that came with the job – but plastering it over the ship like that was a little heavy handed, and she didn’t have any doubts as to which guy with matching tattoos had come up with those brilliant design choices. Come to think of it, wasn’t there a song about a yellow submarine? The one from those singers her mom liked when she was young… Maybe the captain was a fan, too. Maybe they sung it on board. She laughed at the thought.

It didn’t leave her indifferent, that was for sure, and that could count as a compliment, since she had seen a ton of ships throughout her life. Props to Trafalgar Law for standing out among the crowd.

If the pirates weren’t around at the moment, it had to mean they were inside of the ship or already out in town. It was early still, but she was sure it was a matter of time until she ran into them – the town was pretty small, around a hundred, counting sailors, on a good day, news travelled fast, and these guys didn’t dress unassumingly.

With that in mind, she kept an eye out for familiar faces and resumed her unfruitful rounds around the port. Another day, another set of rejections. She tossed her paper cup in a trash can and made her way to the coffee shop where she always had the second tea of the day, sometimes even the third, if she was feeling particularly down about her current predicament.

She placed her order at the counter and waited for it. The owner, a balding middle aged man whose name she didn’t know but who had started to get chatty after she showed up a few days in a row, tried to strike up a conversation while he heated the water. “Did you hear? A pirate crew arrived in town last night.”

Alex wasn’t much for conversation in the mornings, and usually her replies to his attempts were rather apathetic, but the owner had struck gold with this particular topic. “I just saw the ship,” she repeated. “Have they done anything?”

“Not yet,” he replied with the clear implication that they soon would. “But it’s a Supernova’s crew, from what I’ve heard. Their captain’s a scary guy – how do they call him…?”

She had mixed feelings about that. She’d seen scary first hand, and in her experience it came in the shape of kidnapping crews, bubble helmets, or suits and fedoras. And ultimately, it was the fedoras’ fault she was in that coffee shop in the first place.

“Surgeon of Death,” she replied. There was no doubt that with that price on his head he was a walking danger, but after their first encounter, she had a feeling he was more the selective type than the let’s wreck everything in our path kind of guy. Not that his list of attributed crimes would lead anybody to think that. “Do you have trouble with pirates often? Being close to Sabaody and all.”

“Sometimes, but they usually go to more interesting places. It used to be as easy as calling the garrison to get rid of ‘em, but with Marineford so close it’s no wonder no one wants to be here any longer.”

“There used to be Marines here?”

“Yes, at the watchtower in the outskirts, but they left after some of the rooftop caved in. Building’s condemned now. A pity, ‘cause the watchtower’s been there forever, and they’ve let it fall apart.”

“That’s a shame,” she said. “How old’s the tower?”

The water started boiling then, and he turned around to remove it from the fire and make her drink. “Tale goes that it’s old as the stone entrance, but who knows,” he said with his back turned to her. “It’s not like we have any experts to come check.” He slid her the drink over the counter. “In case, try to avoid those guys. A woman traveling alone is an easy target for criminals.”

“Yes, I know,” she replied, putting a few belis in the counter and taking the cup by the handle. “Thanks.”

She chose to sit on the terrace, next to the railing that separated it from the sidewalk, to have a good view of the street. She was in a sort of commercial district, if a main street with a dozen of shops could be called that. Most people who stopped at the island had to pass by sooner or later, so it was the busiest place in town. Not so early, though. It wasn’t opening hours yet.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched like a hawk the man who was monopolizing the only issue of the World Economic Journal and snatched it as soon as he got up to leave, so fast that it turned the heads of the other two people on the terrace.

News of the assault of Enies Lobby had been filling pages for a week already, and that day wasn’t an exception. The Straw Hat Pirates had done the unthinkable, and while in other circumstances Alex might have been watching the situation with amusement from afar, she was also pretty annoyed at them, because their stunt no doubt played into the poor supervision in the waters near Sabaody. On the other hand, she hoped that this also meant that neither Marines nor Cipher Pol would be very invested in finding her in the near future if she ended up a suspect.

She was also a little worried about Iceburg’s condition, but the newspapers hadn’t reported his death, so she had to assume he had recovered from the attempt on his life.

She skimmed over the usual columns prattling about the lack of security at sea and how worrying it was that a whole new generation of rookies with astronomical bounties were about to set foot in the Sabaody Archipelago at the same time. She didn’t think having a handful extra menaces sailing around mattered anymore, considering the state of the world at large, but the pearl-clutching sold newspapers, and she wondered about her sense of self-preservation when she realized with disappointment that, at the rate she was moving, she was going to miss the Supernova meetup in Sabaody. Her curiosity was going to bite her in the ass one day, she thought, before remembering that it already had, and that was the exact reason she was in her current position.

She skim read a few pages looking for interesting headlines, getting to the less important news that didn’t warrant spreads, editorials and pictures that took up half the page, and paled when she read the contents of an unassuming text box.

An unfortunate accident in the island of Harlun had blown up the local library while it was undergoing renovations. Nobody had been hurt, said the write-up, but the building had been destroyed in the ensuing fire and an investigation was still ongoing to determine what had happened. At least she guessed that the last part of the article said so, because she choked on her tea as she read it and spit some of it on the paper, making the ink run.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Well, it technically could be, but no way she was buying that. The real question was if they’d be able to link the Poneglyph to her, and considering she that she was the person who spent the most time in the archive and she had conveniently left right before construction work took place, she had a pretty good chance to win that lottery. Oh, God, what if her coworkers mentioned that she used to go to the archive on Sundays, alone?

Her first impulse was to bang her head on the table and hide it between her arms, but the surface was sticky, so she ended up regretting it immediately. Instead, she put her elbows on the table, and covered her face with her hands. Her heart was beating loudly and her mind was running wild thinking of possible courses of action. She was on a timer. Getting to Sabaody as soon as possible was a necessity now. If there was a place she could hide, ironically, it was there.

“I see life’s treating you well.”

Alex’s heart tried to leap out of her mouth when she heard someone talk to her from so up close, but one of the perks of being born with a stick up her ass was that she only tensed up when she was startled, so she saved herself the embarrassment of yelping or jumping on her chair. She removed the hands from her face to look at the person, and the sight of a spotted furry hat and a yellow and black hoodie punched her in the eyes.

“Oh, hello,” she said, feeling more relaxed when she realized it was the Surgeon of Death leaning against the balustrade, not law enforcement. Her life had taken a turn for the surreal in a very short time, had it not?

His smirk faltered. “You aren’t surprised?”

“Saw your ship,” she said with some difficulty, and she drank some tea to swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat. Of all the times for him to appear... “Town’s small, we had to run into each other.”

“Hm.”

If she exerted a bit of imagination, she’d say he looked a bit disappointed. Why would he? No idea, but it was funny to think he was, and she was in dire need of funny.

He asked, “What are you doing here? This is far from your island.”

Farther than he knew, she almost said, but that was a can of worms and not relevant in the situation at hand. Feeling too overwhelmed to give long explanations, she handed him the newspaper open by the page she’d been reading. Talking could happen once she arranged her own thoughts, and only then.

“That’s…” He took it from her hands and read for a few seconds. An inscrutable expression gradually morphed into a look of pure indignation. “What’s the meaning of this?”

She was taken aback by the unexpected display of emotion. It was odd to see him react so strongly to something that didn’t concern him. “It isn’t that surprising, considering—”

“How is it not?” He retorted, annoyed. “Sora can’t lose against these weaklings!”

She stared at him in confusion. “What?” she blurted out, realizing afterwards that he was talking about the comic strip at the bottom of the page. And to be fair, she was going to tell him to look further up when the meaning of his words sunk in, but then she was the one leaning over the railing to look at the paper he was holding. “Wait, really? That’s impossible!”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

Upon reading the message under the strip, she complained, “On break until next month?” She sat back on the chair, mumbling, “I don’t even know if I’ll be alive next month,” before taking a sip of tea.

“Summer vacation cliffhanger,” he replied. “And you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”

“Read the news above.”

He looked at the paper again, and his eyes widened the smallest fraction as recognition dawned. That reaction was more appropriate. “Do you think it was…?”

“I’m sure of it. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

“Are you wanted now?”

“I don’t know. They have reason to suspect I knew it was there.” And she added with a bit of humor that she wasn’t really feeling, “If I get a bounty, I’ll say it was your fault.”

“I don’t think that’s going to do you any service.” A smirk returned to grace his features as he passed her the newspaper back. He was clearly amused by her misfortune, and that was the only good thing that had come out of it. “What do you plan to do?”

Alex let out a long exhale through her nose. She wanted to say that there was no plan, but there always was. Planning was something she did obsessively. “I need to get to Sabaody as soon as possible.” It was the only option. She could have elaborated, but again, she didn’t feel like it. Too early, too stunned to talk about serious stuff. Reality hadn’t fully sunk in. “You’re on Sora’s side? Really?”

He frowned at her. He did a lot of frowning, she thought. He was going to get wrinkles young. “Of course I am.”

“But he’s a Marine,” she said, a smile growing on her face despite herself. “Aren’t you one of the bad guys?”

“The Germa are vile,” he retorted, and perhaps realizing he was getting too much into the conversation, he went back to the other, much less fun topic. “Sabaody’s going to be full of Marines in no time, though.”

She was internally screaming, but it came out as a drawn out sigh. “Thanks to you, no doubt.”

“The merit isn’t all mine.”

“I know. You lot have been all over the news for weeks.” He looked awfully self-satisfied when she said that. “I guess you’ll be heading straight there after this place?”

“That’s the plan if there aren’t any stops in between. By the way, do you know how long until the Log Pose sets?”

“Five days, ten hours and twenty-six minutes,” she said blandly, repeating the number she had been told by several people when she first arrived to Porta Bella. It made her miserable, so of course she wasn’t going to forget it anytime soon.

“And the seconds?”

It took her way longer than necessary to realize he was messing with her. “Oh, fuck off.” She returned her attention to the newspaper so she didn’t have to look at his stupid face while he thought he was so funny. “Fishman Island’s right around the corner. Try not to drown.”

“We have a submarine.” He sounded amused still. Alex couldn’t tell if annoying her gave him that much joy or if he was having an exceptionally good day. He was pretty cranky for a while back in Duster Town, but now that she recalled, his mood seemed to improve every time he got one over her. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Regular submarines can’t reach Fishman Island.”

He frowned again. “Why not?”

“It’s too deep. They can’t endure the water pressure.”

She could sense the levity from moments ago was gone by the way his jaw set. “But we heard ships can traverse the Red Line through an underwater route.”

“That’s why you go to Sabaody first.” She was exerting a considerable effort to give these really boring explanations that no one was going to thank her for. “You find yourself a good coating engineer to put a resin bubble around your ship and that’ll protect it.”

He seemed to study this new information from several angles before he spoke. “That’s good to know.”

“You’re welcome.”

He gave her a pointed look, but didn’t say anything about the jab. “Is it easy to find one?”

“There’s an entire section of the archipelago dedicated to it. It’s going to cost you, though. And depending on who you choose, there’ll be a waiting list.”

“Really?”

“Good coating engineers are few and far in between, and nobody wants to find out someone did a half-assed job on their sheep five kilometers underwater.”

“That’s…” He made a meditative pause. “…Reasonable.”

“I thought you were going to say something completely different.”

“It sucks too.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. Her life would be so much easier if one didn’t have to jump through thirty hoops to cross that chunk of rock. “In a hurry to get to the New World?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to, either, because she was busy contemplating a new idea that had sprung in her mind. One that she’d rather avoid if she had other options left, and she wouldn’t know until a few days passed, but... this coincidence could prove to be useful yet.

“What?” He looked at her with suspicion.

“Nothing.” And just to get on his nerves a little, she added. “Yet.”

He fixed his gaze on her face, most likely gauging her intentions. Alex was incapable of looking at people in the eye, but she was good at faking it and not flinching under pressure, so she stared back.

“Do I want to ask?”

“I don’t know. Follow your instincts.”

To her surprise, he dropped it and took a step back from the railing. “I need to go back to the sub and see if the others are up already.”

Good. “For someone with a target so big on you, you wander a lot without them.”

“I like taking walks alone,” he said, like he didn’t think much of it. Like he could not fathom how he of all people could possibly be in danger from anybody else. “See you around?”

Was that a wish, a threat, or a pleasantry? “Without a doubt,” she replied, not bothering to hide the tedium in her voice. Damn empty town and damn slavers. “This town isn’t big enough for the two of us.”

She could have sworn he smiled a little at that, but Law shoved his hands in his pockets and made his leave too fast to see.

He was far enough that he wouldn’t hear her if she spoke in a normal volume when she remembered something important, so she resorted to raising her voice before the Heart crew did something they could regret. “Go to the Old Brewery if you don’t want to die! The Silver Fountain serves piss for drinks!”

He turned to look at her with the same curiosity back when she’d told him weapons weren’t allowed in the library, but this time he nodded in acknowledgement before making his exit.

The other customers on the terrace stared at her warily, but honestly, she couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for them even when the owner immediately came out to ask if she was okay and if the scary surgeon had said anything bad to her. At least something interesting was happening.

❦

Alex had a love-hate relationship with heights.

She inevitably got queasy when she was somewhere high up that didn’t have barriers or anything she could hold onto, but that didn’t stop her from going up there, anyway. It was like a very stupid magnetic pull that one day would end with her skull split open.

(It was the wind and the view. She knew that. It was also one of the few options she had to feel taller than most people.

But mostly the wind.)

The stone arch at the entrance of the town that gave Porta Bella its name was surrounded by the remains of a stone wall. First century, she guessed by the roughness of the stone blocks and the bit of mortar she scraped from between when she inspected it for the first time. It was easily over two meters, and only because the topmost part had fallen off. The blocks that hadn’t been taken away for use in newer constructions were still next to the wall, inviting anyone who’d dare to step on them to use them to climb.

She knew she wasn’t the only idiot who had felt the temptation, because the stone was worn from use. She’d also seen kids running at the top of the wall and no one had tried to stop them, and there were worse ways to channel all the nervous energy she had from reading that newspaper article.

She wasn’t a very proficient climber, but the blocks were positioned in such a way that getting to the top was easy as pie. No doubts someone had moved them for that exact purpose. When she was high enough, she threw a leg over the wall, then the other one, and sat facing the harbor.

The wind was nice up there.

She wouldn’t stand on the wall for all the money in the world and getting down was going to be an ordeal, but that was a problem for the Alex of the future.

That day had woken up to four ships in the harbor, counting the pirates’ submarine. Two would go away at the end of the week. The third was leaving that night. No vessels on the horizon.

She sighed. If the pirates were on an adventure, they sure had the shittiest of lucks docking only in the most boring islands the sea could offer.

With nothing better to do at the moment, and trying to delay as much as possible the moment she’d regret climbing that high, she moved towards the shadow of the arch without lifting her butt from the stone and rested her back against it.

She was at a loss. Sailing further away from the Sabaody Archipelago was counterproductive, but so was staying in the same island for too long, since she had no means of protecting herself if something happened. Then again, if she ended up broke before she got to Sabaody, she’d have to stay in whatever island she was to earn money to keep travelling.

All the options sucked. Maybe she needed to sleep on it to see what the lesser evil was. She had, after all, a few days to make a decision.

She looked at the sea, tinted dark green by her sunglasses, in what she assumed was Sabaody’s direction. So close, yet so far away. The skies were clear and the water calm, and though there weren’t any sailors to be found in the harbor, she could see the shadow of a couple of fishing boats in the distance. Wasn’t there a song that went like that? I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay, wastin' time…

She hummed, looking at nowhere in particular and letting her thoughts drift with the waves.

❦

She knew better than to cut through the lawless areas alone when it was getting late, so she had no one else to fault when she split from her group of classmates after spending their free day in Sabaody Park. It was only her and her stupid pride that didn’t allow her to admit that she didn’t think this was a great idea and that she didn’t want to go back to her room alone.

She broke into a sprint as soon as she heard the smallest rustle behind her, and that advantage proved to be essential, because someone started chasing after her. It sounded like more than one person, but she didn’t have time to look or tell how many sets of footsteps were behind her – she just ran like her life depended on it in the direction of the bridge that connected to the next grove, hoping that there would be other people there, and then—

—then she saw an open bar, a lone building in an even lonelier grove.

She rushed inside it, gasping for air so hard that she couldn’t speak, no matter how much she tried to explain to the bartender why she had barged in like that.

It wasn’t necessary.

“Don’t worry, dear, they’ve been hanging around these parts for a while,” she said, leading her to a chair with a gentle hair. “You’re safe here.” Her warm black eyes turned to someone else, and though Alex had trouble focusing on what was going on, she saw an old man with long white hair. “Why don’t you go take out the trash, Ray? They’ve driven off my clientele enough.”

“Sure,” the man replied, getting up from his stool and going outside.

Alex thought it was a horrible idea to send an old man to fight off a kidnapping crew, but that was because she didn’t know these people yet.

“Don’t worry about him. Here,” the woman gave her a glass of water. “Name’s Shakky. Rest all you need.”

❦

Footsteps approached. She shut up immediately.

“I like that song.”

Singing helped when she had too much anxious energy. It was probably related to breathing control. She had stopped anxiety attacks in the making like that sometimes.

It didn’t help at all when someone had been listening in and she hadn’t noticed.

“Oh. Thanks. Um, hi.”

“Hi,” Bepo said smiling. “I heard from Captain you were here.”

Even though she was sitting on top of the wall, Bepo’s head went past it. If he stood on his tiptoes, he could have rested his head on her legs. On one hand, it was a little aggravating that she had to climb so high up only to be marginally taller than him. On the other, Alex was filled with the urge to scratch his ears.

“Yeah, I’m stuck waiting for a ship,” she told him. “Ideally, you wouldn’t have found me here.”

“Oh? Where are you going?”

“Sabaody.”

“Isn’t that very close? How come you haven’t found a ship?”

“There’s kidnapping crews infesting the waters. You know what those are?”

“Uh… isn’t it in the name?”

Alex blinked. “Right. Don’t mind me.”

He fell into thought for a few seconds. “Why are they kidnapping people?”

“To sell. They get auctioned in the archipelago.”

Bepo frowned. “I see.”

“Hey, don’t worry,” she said, smiling for his sake. “Nothing’s going to happen to your crew. You’re strong.”

He beamed with pride. “Yeah, we are! We’ve been training for years to come here!”

Alex mirrored his expression without thinking. “Your Captain said you’ve been friends since you were kids. Did you—”

“Bepo!” Someone called out. “What are you doing?”

“Ah, sorry!” Bepo said, turning around to see the newcomer. “I was catching up…”

A woman with curly hair and a severe expression walked up to them, hands on her hips, and she looked a little confused when she laid eyes on Alex. She was struggling to place her. “Have we seen each other…?”

“On passing. I’m the Duster Town dumbass that opened the library for your Captain.”

“Oh, yeah, now that you mention it—” The confusion was back. “Isn’t this place a little too far from there?”

“I’m running away from justice.” She didn’t offer further explanation.

Bepo didn’t need it. “So are we!”

A barely contained laugh made it past the woman’s lips. “Oh well, if you’re a fellow criminal…” She extended a hand towards Alex. “Name’s Ikkaku. What did you do, keep too many books past the return date?”

“I wish.” She shook her hand. “Alex.”

“So that’s your name?” Bepo asked.

She turned her attention towards the bear. “I never told you?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Wow, I am rude,” she said to herself. “Anyway, hope you’re ready to take it easy, because you have five long days ahead of you.”

Ikkaku groaned. “I don’t mind, but some of the guys get so jittery after a couple days on land. I don’t suppose there’s a very active nightlife in this place?”

“Actually, there are two taverns in the entire town.”

“Oh, that sounds like something to keep ‘em busy.”

“I don’t think you want to go to one of them, though.” She wondered if the captain was going to pass the message or they would come to regret their choices. “There’s also an abandoned Marine outpost right outside of town, if they don’t want to be drunk 24/7.”

“Might be worth checking out, but I’m pretty sure they’ll take the ale.”

“Can’t blame them.” She was tempted to drown her sorrows in alcohol, and she barely ever drank.

She took a look around the desolate harbor, the small houses and the half-fallen wall with a disappointed look. “Well…” she began, “Bepo, we need you for the crates. He’s been waiting and he’s cranky enough already after—”

“Ah! Sorry!” He said, bowing at her and looking more upset than the comment would suggest. Maybe they didn’t treat him as well in the sub as she had assumed. When he turned to Alex, he also bowed repeatedly. “I’m really sorry, but I need to go!”

“Sure, no problem!” she said, making an effort to sound lively. She felt so fake when she did that. So customer servicey. “See you!”

As the pirates left, she tried to look at them in a different light. While it wasn’t too difficult to believe they would be mistreating the mink of the crew, even if they hadn’t been unkind while she was watching. He seemed shy. Maybe that was all there was to it? But the reaction seemed a little extreme. She would pay closer attention from then on.

❦

Her privileged observation point let Alex see a lot of things that day. She saw more of the crew coming and going, though they didn’t seem to recognize her, she watched one of the docked ships depart, and she met a cat that tried to get food from her, but after a good back scratch realized she didn’t have anything else to offer and walked away, leaving a lonesome Alex staring at the hand she’d used to pet it, wondering how many parasites it had come in contact with.

She immediately went back to the inn to wash her hands and get dinner.

The rest of the evening was spent looking at her Poneglyph folder and her mostly blank notebook. She had carried with her the transcript of the stone and copied some documentation from the library that could prove useful in deciphering it, but she wasn’t making any headway yet. Very little was known about the ancient language, even less was published, and she wasn’t a cryptographer. So far, she had identified what she thought were punctuation signs separating sentences and one of the names in the text.

In her years working in Harlun, she had seen centuries old coins from a currency before belis, and some of them had the legend around the rim written in different languages. Meaning, she knew how to write the name of the island in that ancient language. That was about it. She had a feeling the script wasn’t pure phonetic, either, and that wasn’t something she could attempt to tackle without cross-referencing.

Porta Bella was a nice place to spend a short vacation, sure, but it was impossible to find any books that might help. She had tried. The local bookstore only carried best sellers, and she would have bought that vampire novel that was getting so popular if money wasn’t so tight and she had space in her bag, but as things were, she had to fight frustration and boredom alone.

She had to face the fact that she wasn’t going to do anything useful that night, either. She took off her reading glasses, thinking that trying to sleep sounded like the best idea. Maybe next morning she’d finally have some good luck and find a ship that wouldn’t carry her too far from the Red Line.

❦

Too early for words, and wearing a flannel shirt as a jacket because it had gotten windy, she strode out of the inn with her paper cup and a new challenge. She had thought herself immune to monotony before this, but she had clearly overestimated her brain’s capability to get distracted by anything.

Instead of walking to the docks following the main road, like every morning, she made for the wall again. Stepping on the fallen rock, she reached up with her left hand to the top of the wall and placed the paper cup as far as she could from her, and then she climbed up like the previous day. Well, she tried to, because for some reason early in the morning she didn’t have a lot of hand strength, and she felt a stabbing pain in one of her knees when she stretched her leg to reach the wall.

It took two tries and the fear of having lost her first morning tea, but she got where she wanted.

Cross-legged, she sat on the wall and took sips of her drink while inspecting the docks. No new ships in sight. That time there was someone walking on one of the submarine’s decks, but she couldn’t make out their face, and she didn’t know most of the crew anyway.

The wind had driven all the clouds away, and the dark shadow on the horizon reminded her of how close she had been to getting to the New World before she had to reconsider the entire strategy.

She was about to sigh, but she sensed someone near her vicinity even before she heard the crunch of gravel, so she kept it to herself and looked over her shoulder.

That silly hat was becoming a familiar sight. Trafalgar Law looked up at her from a reasonable distance, having just noticed her. Please don’t get any closer, please—

He changed course and went towards Alex, who didn’t bother to hide how little she appreciated the company less than an hour after waking up.

“Morning walk?” she asked, or grunted, depending on who you asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, annoyingly awake. “What are you doing there?”

“Wasting time.”

Someone with a little more tact, or at least who cared about having it, would have taken a hint and left, but this was not the case. “I want to hear more about Sabaody.”

Oh, she wasn’t nearly awake enough for this, but she made an effort to not be outright rude. “Okay,” she relented. “But you ask me questions, I don’t want to think.”

That was good enough for him, it seemed. With irritating ease, and without having to step on the fallen stone, he boosted himself up against the wall and climbed it in a matter of seconds.

Something caught his attention when he looked up, and he stood up on the stone like the concepts of acrophobia and losing one’s balance were but a faraway ping in his radar. Alex’s mood was souring by the second, granted, a likely thing to happen at that hour. It wasn’t personal.

“Is that…?”

She turned to look in the same direction he was.

“Yeah. Red Line.”

“I didn’t think it was so close.”

“It’s a few days away still. It’s just that big.” She thought of the times she’d been at the base. It was impossible to see the top from its bottom. And, considering what lay up there, perhaps it was for the better. “You saw it from the other side, I guess?” North Blue was adjacent to the New World. In a sense, both of them were from the same side of the Line. How weird to think that they had anything in common.

“Yeah. We entered the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain.”

Expected, but incomprehensible to her unless he had a death wish. “Ships sink there every day. What do you want so bad that you’d risk that?”

“Wasn’t I the one asking the questions?” he shot back.

She gave him a deadpan look, then looked at the cup between her hands. It wasn’t doing much to drive away the numbness of her fingers. How many people had gone out to sea since the Great Age of Piracy began and failed because they bit more than they could chew? And they weren’t the only ones dying. For every decent man that got a ship and called himself a captain, there were ten whose only interest was pillaging villages and getting rich. Was that massive chain reaction what Gold Roger had intended with its final speech? Had it been a final fuck you to world order, or was there something else behind it?

She had contradicting thoughts about it. Roger’s last words had unarguably made the world worse, but…

Well.

The guy had been a badass. Even she wasn’t immune to seeing that. With every new pirate crew that sailed to Reverse Mountain to test its fortune, he kept proving how much bigger than life he had been. Twenty years down the line, he had become as much of a legend as the tales of gods from islands in the sky. The kind of legacy a regular person only dreams of having.

He said, I will never die.

He had been more right than he knew.

She looked at Trafalgar with renewed curiosity. “Are you trying to become Pirate King too?”

He didn’t give a clear answer, despite how easy of a question it was. “What if I am?”

It wasn’t a no. A straight yes would get many pirates laughed out of town even in a place like the Grand Line. There wasn’t a lot of room for romantic ideas of piracy when civilians lived in fear of black flags showing up one day at the port and taking away everything they had.

“Just curious.” She wasn’t feeling articulate enough to explain where she was going to herself, much less him. “Nothing wrong with dreaming big.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt like she had called herself out. Where was she going? After Sabaody, after crossing the Red Line, after getting to her hometown? Those were only checkpoints. But where was her purpose? Inside the bag she had in her room at the inn, or somewhere else?

An awkward silence stretched along with the horizon. For some reason, he decided not to press her for answers and sat down. A small mercy for Alex’s neck.

“After the Log Pose sets, it will point to Fishman Island. How do we get to Sabaody first?”

It was a relief to be able to give an answer she didn’t have to think about. “It should be visible when you’re close enough to the Red Line. It looks like a random cluster of trees popped up in the middle of the ocean.”

“That’s it? Is it safe to dock anywhere?”

“Mostly. The archipelago is made up of 80 groves. 60 to 69 house a Marine garrison, and that’s where the ferries to Marineford and Mary Geoise leave from, so you don’t want to be there. Other than that…” She had to strain to remember the range of numbers. “20 to 29 is the only lawless area open to sea, so you know Marines won’t go there, but since no one’s keeping watch, the competition might try to sabotage you. I don’t know, I never had to worry about that sort of thing.”

“I’m not afraid of other crews,” he said with that devil may care attitude that got pirates killed left and right. “We haven’t come this far without knowing how to defend our ship.”

She wasn’t going to argue his point. “I’m just saying what I know. You do you.” But she took note to keep her opinions to herself, lest he had the urge to express how full of himself he was again.

He looked at her like he was trying to figure out what sort of hidden meaning her noncommittal response held, but little did he know that behind the sleepy façade her prevailing thought was it’s too early for this shit.

“You said you spent some time in the archipelago.” It wasn’t worded like a question, but it was a way to probe for info. She supposed that she would have wanted to know the credentials of her sources, had she been in his position.

She hummed. “I lived there a few years.”

Taking a sip from the cup, she returned her attention towards the outline in the horizon. It had been a constant part of the scenery back then, always peeking out from behind the trees and buildings of the groves closest to the shore. A grim reminder, on one hand, of those who lived above the peasants, but at the same time, Sabaody had been… fun. There was always something happening. Moderately dangerous, but always entertaining. She had forgotten how that felt after the years of routine in Duster Town.

A question brought her out of her thoughts. “Are you from this area?”

“Oh, no,” she said, surprised that he had even entertained the idea. “No, I got a scholarship to study in one of the World Government’s academies. I’m from the other side of the Red Line.”

“From the New World?” He said with surprise, and mulled over this new piece of information until it fit satisfactorily in whatever picture of her he had constructed in his mind. “So that’s where the accent’s from.”

It was unexpected comment after unexpected comment. “Excuse me?” she replied in an incredulous tone. “You are the one with a heavy accent.”

Now it was him who got caught off guard. “That’s not true,” he retorted. He looked like he was trying to determine if she was pulling his leg.

“Yes it is,” she insisted. “Everybody has an accent. You and your crew have that typical northern one that sounds like you’re about to shank the person you’re saying hello to.”

For a moment, she thought he had offended him to the point of silence. Just for a moment, because he didn’t take long to counter with, “You sound like you’re trying to whisper through a megaphone.”

She snorted with laughter as soon as the words sunk in. It was true that she spoke in a low voice most of the time. “If that isn’t the best description of Dressrosan I’ve heard—”

She felt an immediate change in atmosphere, like an electric current shooting through the air, and shut up as a precaution.

Trafalgar has tensed up all of a sudden and was staring at her like she had grown a second head, like she was trying to set her on fire with a glare, or both. “What did you say?”

She found herself tensing up in return, even though she didn’t know what she had done. But when a dangerous guy scowled at you like that, survival instincts kicked in. Goodbye sleepiness, and welcome life danger. “Um… Dressrosan?” She eyed him warily. “My mother tongue?”

His eyes grew wider, but other than that, his expression didn’t change much. “You’re from Dressrosa?”

She suddenly understood. It wasn’t the first time she got odd reactions when she said where she was from, but it had been a while. “Oh, right.” She sighed. “You’ve heard of the whole Doflamingo thing.”

Or… maybe she was wrong. He seemed a little out of it, like he was looking past her at… who knew what was in his head.

After a few seconds without a reply, she deemed it safe to speak. “Did I say anything wrong?”

“…No. I was just surprised.” After that, he seemed to go back to normal, though his voice sounded a little strained. He was still tense. “It’s a long way there.”

Suspicious. Did he know someone from there? “It’s not so much the distance as having the Red Line in the way. Getting permission to cross it takes time.” And she figured that she had run out of it.

“How’s the country?” He asked in a way that tried to sound casual, and maybe, maybe would have worked if he hadn’t made clear already that he had a particular interest in it. “Being ruled by pirates and all.”

She made a disgruntled sound. She had signed up to answer questions about the Sabaody Archipelago, not Dressrosa. There was a reason why she hadn’t been home in ages. “It’s doing fine. Better than fine, in fact. Economy is booming. People are happy.” She delivered each sentence in a quick, clipped tone. “It pisses me off.”

“Why?”

Because she always had to be the odd one out, she thought. And this guy wasn’t getting the message that she didn’t want to talk about it. “Doflamingo doesn’t deserve that kind of credit. He and his crew should go back to the hole they crawled out of.”

He huffed. “North Blue’s had enough of him already.”

Animosity was dripping from his words, and that made her feel a little less displeased and a lot more interested in what he had to say. He could’ve seen firsthand the repercussions of Doflamingo’s actions there.

“That’s true.” She didn’t know much about the specifics, but there was a reason the North Blue was considered the most dangerous out of the four cardinal seas. “I guess he did a number there before he moved onto the Grand Line.”

“You don’t sound very fond of him either.”

Look at that, a flat out admission of having feelings about someone.

“He’s scum,” she said with more venom than she had meant to. “He dethroned the king only to take over himself, reinstated gladiator fights to death, and he has a trafficking empire. The Human Auctioning House in Sabaody displays his Jolly Roger openly. But he’s a Warlord. As long as money keeps flowing and the Celestial Dragons can buy new pets, nobody seems to care.”

“And you do? You say your country’s doing well.”

She didn’t know whether to reply honestly or not. He was trying to dig deeper than she was comfortable with answering, but she was on a roll already. “Dressrosa used to be a very poor country. I’m not blaming the people who have a better life now, but I don’t think you can build anything stable from corruption. Someone will topple Doflamingo one day, and the country will go down with him.” Her tone was increasingly becoming more determined. “And when the time comes, I hope they get rid of kings once and for all.”

“You lost me at that last part.”

“Monarchy is an obsolete form of government. How’s the world going to get rid of the Celestial Dragons if we can’t even get rid of the pests at home?”

He stared at her blankly, and that was when she realized she had talked too much and looked away from him. Ah, to be a life form capable of fusing with granite and dying in the spot…

She heard a short, muffled laugh, and glanced at him. Great, a pirate making fun of her was exactly what she needed to start her day.

“Can’t say I took you for an anarchist.” He was smirking.

“What part of ‘fuck the government’ was unclear?” she replied, still avoiding to look at him. “The more time you spend near Mary Geoise, the more you realize everything has to burn down. Then there are the Marines.” A lost cause. “It’s even their combined fault that I’m stuck here.”

“What do you mean?” He sounded relaxed again. It was like he hadn’t been acting like a weirdo through the entire conversation about Dressrosa. “Aren’t you just waiting for a ship?”

She took a long breath in preparation to give the same explanation she’d been getting every time she spoke to a newly arrived sailor. “Kidnapping crews are infesting the waters ahead. Normal ships don’t want to go near Sabaody because there’s going to be a human auction next week. Marines aren’t helping because the government benefits from the slave trade, and I assume the Enies Lobby debacle has hit them hard. I already told Bepo you don’t have to worry about it, though. They only attack pirates if they think they’re weaklings.” And trying to change the subject to something that didn’t force her to wallow in her misery, she asked, “How much was it already, Mr. Supernova?”

He looked awfully satisfied with his title. “It’s not Trafalgar anymore?”

“I’ve always liked stars.” And speaking of Bepo, she remembered something from their conversation the day before. “By the way, I don’t think I introduced myself. I’m—”

“Bepo told me. I like Librarian-ya better.”

She had an urge to fling what was left of her tea at him, but she held back at the expense of looking away and letting a strained smile show. Not worth the loss of beverage. It wasn’t going to stop him from being an early morning smartass.

The silence that ensued this time didn’t feel as uncomfortable as before, but that bar was so low, it might as well have been underground.

[aqua-terra-ventus]

congrats on loosing some teef! i hope everything heals up okay and that you feel better soon 💛💛💛 did they give you laughing gas and if so did you do anything silly? also wondering if you have any songs, shows or movies that are your favorite or that you'd recommend? :>

Hi Ollie!!!! :DD I’m feeling pretty good so far actually! (which is great dsfhgjg) I’ve just been taking my prescriptions and icing my jaw as much as I can. Luckily they put me to sleep for the procedure, I had to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled. I don’t remember doing anything super silly, but I do remember the first thing I did when I woke up was asking the nurse if I was allowed to swallow XD. Later in the car on the way home I cracked my mom up (she was driving me) when I was having trouble seeing straight from the anesthesia, so I covered one eye and said I could focus my eyes like that. My mom jokingly asked if I was gonna be a pirate with no teeth, and I seriously answered back that, “Mom most pirates already have no teeth because they get scurvy” and she thought it was hilarious LMAO

As for songs, shows, or movies!! (I talk a lot so I put this under a read more adsfgjgjh. I apologize in advance XD)

Songs!!!!

I’m not sure what your style is but! Recently I’ve been getting into this hard rock/indie rock/metal-esque band called Dance Gavin Dance! I’ve had two songs by them on repeat recently. First is Inspire the Liars and second is Chucky vs. the Giant Tortoise (still not sure why it’s called that, but it’s a banger)

Next I would recommend my current favorite song, Unknown Mother-Goose by Wowaka. I’m also not usually a fan of English covers but I think Will Stetson’s cover of this song is just as good as, if not better than, the original. He’s got an amazing voice and the lyrics resonate extremely well with me. This was also the last song Wowaka ever released before he tragically passed away in 2019, and I think that Will Stetson’s cover is a lovely tribute to him.

I’m also currently really obsessed with these two songs by Pinocchio-P! Loveit and Ultimate Senpai!

I also 100% recommend a band called Red Vox! Their new album Realign is so fantastic.

If you like Undertale and electronic music, PLEASE do yourself a favor and check out SharaX on youtube. She does remixes and original songs, and she is one of my all-time favorite music artists. She is insanely talented and underrated!!!!

Shows!!!

Right now I’m watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars and hoooo baby is it good. I love it so much and I only just started season 2. And I know it only gets better from here!!! I’m also rewatching Avatar: the Last Airbender and I plan to also rewatch Legend of Korra afterward. Both fantastic shows!!!

My all-time favorite tv show is a fun little show called Chuck. :D Zachary Levi plays the main character, it’s got a great acquaintances/to friends/to lovers slow-burn romance, the entire main cast is so lovable and funny, and it’s about spies!

My favorite cartoon is, no surprise here, Gravity Falls :D

Movies!!!

I love love love cartoons, my top 5 are probably...

How to Train Your Dragon (all three. they’re all so good. the third made me cry more than any movie ever has.)

Tangled!!!! My fav disney film and my ideal romance. I have the BIGGEST crush on Eugene, and by extension, Zachary Levi. XD

MEGAMIND!!!! God I cannot get enough of this film. My second ideal romance. Call me weird but I am very in love with that dumb blue alien man. Not to mention the score is so fuckin good!!!!

The Iron Giant. I’ve loved this movie since I was a wee little lad. I used to call it The Iron Giant Robot as a little kid. It’s such a beautiful, unique, and moving film. Every time I watch it, it makes me cry!

Number 5 switches around constantly, but for now I’m gonna say Treasure Planet!

[rachaelslibrary]

Let’s Talk Books - Iron Gold by Pierce Brown

Or the alternative title “The Kids are Grownup”.  This book follows ten years after the Red Rising Trilogy, and catches everyone up with what happened since Darrow and crew “won” their war and Mustang became Sovereign.  It also introduces several new characters and side plots and is an overall BRICK of a book.

I say that it’s a brick lovingly, but also for a reason.  Six hundred pages of political plots, tension, and backstory to explain what happened during the missing decade.  There isn’t as much action in this book as there is in the original trilogy, and this one definitely feels much more “adult” than the previous three.  This is a reread for me, and I remember the first time I read through it, it took me a while since it had been so long since I read the originals. This time, reading it directly after the first three, it definitely was easier to understand.  Little Easter eggs stood out more and I wasn’t as confused reading about past events that had happened and wondering “did I just forget about it?” The answer is NO, you didn’t forget about it, it just happened in between books.

Long story short, if you enjoyed Red Rising, you’ll still enjoy this book, but go into it knowing that it is not nearly as fast paced and feels a bit clunky at times.  HOWEVER, I definitely enjoyed it more the second time through, felt all the feels, laughed all the laughs, etc.  It’s a great addition to the series and I like that it kind of separates itself from the original trilogy because it definitely has a different overall vibe.  The next book in the series (Dark Age) has the same more adult vibe, but adds more of the original action that we all know and love.  Iron Gold is a great opening act to the trilogy of Darrow’s adult life.

Alright, so into the nitty gritty.  Iron Gold has four POV characters, a stark difference to the one of the original three.  Of course Darrow is one of them.  He’s a renowned war hero, legend and practically a god across the new Republic, but he’s also tired.  He’s barely been home to see his son or wife in the last ten years and he fears that he’s losing out on a relationship with them.  His storyline really takes off when he takes his control of the military way to far and decides to go off on his own against the Senate’s will.  Of course Sevro is there to help him along.

Then there’s Lyria, a red whose family was liberated from the mines and taken to a sort of “assimilation camp” until the Republic can figure out what to do with them.  The assimilation camp is it’s own kind of mine though, with disease rampant, food scarce, and people living on top of each other in one bedroom tents.  An attack on their camp leaves Lyria in charge of her young nephew, and she has to take matters into her own hands to create a better life for them.

Ephraim might be a name familiar to you if you have a good memory.  Remember way back at the beginning of Morning Star, Holiday’s brother Trigg who died getting Darrow out of the Jackal’s prison?  It’s his fiance.  After Trigg died Ephraim worked for the Rising, but now he works as a thief.  His storyline starts when he’s forced to take a job that has the payout of a lifetime, but also the biggest risks he’s ever taken.

And finally....Lysander au Lune.  We remember him as the ten year old grandson of the Sovereign who watched her be beheaded and was taken under Cassius’ wing.  Now he’s twenty-years-old, has been out in the asteroid belt with Cassius this whole time being a sort of vigilante and rescuing people from space pirates.  But when they answer a distress call and find a mysterious gold girl, they’re pulled back into the old political feuds of the Rim, and it doesn’t end well.

Pierce Brown does a great job of weaving everyone’s story lines together while keeping them on separate planets, all the while bringing up old story lines from the original trilogy that we all thought were wrapped up.  (Spoiler alert: They aren’t).  It’s really a great read and thoroughly enjoyable but be prepared to spend more time and focus in this book than the previous ones.  All in all, a great opener to the new trilogy.  4/5 stars.

Now without further ado, please view my spoilery rants :)

Damn I don’t know where to begin.  I guess I can start with my absolute faves, and that’s Darrow, Mustang, Sevro, and Victra.  I love how they’re raising their children together (Sevro and Victra now have three daughters with a fourth on the way), and how Sevro and Darrow are still best friends and so loyal to each other even though this much time has passed.  The end where Sevro gets so mad at Darrow because he won’t go back to Luna broke my heart, but I’m also 100% on Sevro’s side because I do believe that Darrow has started to buy into his own myth.

What made their argument even worse though was that at the time they were fighting about going back to rescue their children, we as readers thought the children were safe and on the way to Mustang so it was kind of a “Don’t fight, they’re okay just call your wives” moment.  Of course, at the end of it the ship that the kids were on crash landed so it’s kind of a good thing that Sevro is on his way back to help but still...

On the topic of my faves, I love how Sevro is almost just as much of a legend as Darrow.  Like they really are famous across the solar system, and feared.  When Lyria tells Liam to “be brave like the Goblin.” It’s like damn...even kids know who they are and they know that Sevro’s nickname is the goblin.  Look at my babies being so successful. 

Also Electra....she’s great.  That’s literally all I have to say about her.  When Ephraim was looking at her and thinking she was a kid but then also remembering who her parents are so she must be psychotic...I laughed.  Like this little girl is a force to be reckoned with and it’s all because of her parents.

There’s one quote in particular that stood out to me.  When Mustang was threatening Ephraim about running away she says “One night you will wake in the middle of the dark and find a shadow standing over you.  If you are lucky, it will be me.  If you are unlucky, it will be Sevro or my husband, and you will die shitting yourself in a foreign bed.” Like I just love so much how they’ve all made names for themselves, and it seems like the four of them are really a unit instead of just two couples raising their kids who occasionally get together.

By the end of the book, with everything just starting to kind of fall apart, I was emotionally exhausted.  But that’s a good thing!! Because it means I was just that invested in what was going on.

Few more little notes: Lysander, I started off liking you but then you made some dumb decisions.  Like I don’t really blame you for some of them but like...you opened the vault because you didn’t want this girl that kind of betrayed you to die.  Like come on man.  Also for Cassius but he wanted to die.  You should have just let him.

Also Apollonius....I want a novella or short story or something about when he broke into Darrow’s house to kill him.  There’s a line about Darrow waking up with a shadow standing over him that was Apollonius...I want to know exactly what happened there.  Did Darrow somehow win even though he was sleeping with no armor and weapons?  Did they know Apollonius was coming?  Did Mustang save the day?  These are things I need to knowwwwwww.

What we got of Victra was great, but I needed more of her.  Her and Sevro’s proposal/wedding/just relationship in general in Morningstar was my favorite and I need more of them being together as a married couple.

[lunanight2012]

A Tale as Old as Time? Pt 2

Part 2! Lots of warnings on this one! Hope ya’ll enjoy!

I had been flirting with Harry everytime he gave me that predator stare. All was well and good until one night I fell asleep only to feel myself leave my body. I began to panic as I watched my body stood up and began to walk to my bedroom door. I floated after my body, grateful that Uma happened to be wandering the halls.

"Luna? Where are you going?" Uma asked, concerned.

Uma and I had grown close this past week and a half. I'd say she's like a sister to me. When my body didn't respond Uma knew something was up. 

"You're under a spell. I better grab Hook." She stated as I started to ascend up the stairs.

I was scared, my body was heading up to the roof. I was absolutely terrified of heights but I was even more terrified of what was about to happen. And worst of all I couldn't speak.

I saw my body stand on the edge of the roof, tears streaming down my face. I didn't want to die. That's when Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me back onto the roof.

"Yer not goin anywhere love." Harry exclaimed before kissing me. I felt my soul rush back into my body, and passing out in Harry's arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dun understand ye. Who would do that to er?" I faintly heard Harry say through my haze.

"I'm not sure. But I have a sneaky feeling it's a villain. But I don't think it's my mother." I heard Uma say.

"Yer not sayin it's me old man are ye?" Harry accused.

"Your father sabotaged every single one of your relationships. Maybe he found a way to spell Luna." Uma explained.

"That rat bastard, he can hurt me but if it is that caused Luna to almost become a pancake on the school grounds then I will have to end him." Harry threatened.

"Hook, calm down." Uma asked.

That's when I took my moment to whine and slowly start to wake up. Harry was at my side immediately, causing my face to heat up. I try hiding under the covers only to realize I was currently in Gil and Harry's room, in Harry's bed. My face was the color of Evie's heart purse.

"Lassie! Yer awake!" Harry exclaimed, crouching down next to me.

"I-I'm in your bed aren't I?" I managed to get out.

"Well yea. Ye passed out in my arms and I didn't want ye to try that stunt again." Harry explained. 

That's when I realized, Harry was shirtless, but his chest was covered in scars. I tentatively reach out and trace the biggest one.

"W-who did those to you?" I whispered.

Harry stood back up and walked to his closet and threw on a shirt.

"Nothin ye need to worry ye pretty little head about. Anyways yer bro is on his way." Harry explained and right as the words left his mouth Chad busted through the door with Gil right behind him.

"Lu!" Chad exclaimed rushing to me.

"Are you ok? Did they hurt you??" Chad asked worried.

I giggled and patted his head. "I'm fine, just a bit out of it. I think I need to talk to Ben in the morning and hopefully we can figure out who spelled me and how." I explained, reluctantly getting up from Harry's bed, it smelled so much like him.

"Not so fast Lassie. Yer stayin put, me, Uma, and Gil are goin ta keep watch." Harry exclaimed.

"No. She's my sister, she's going to go back to her room and I'll stay the night there with her." Chad exclaimed, glaring at hook.

Harry growled, grabbing his hook off the desk and pointing it at Chad.

"Guys c-cut i….it out………" and I passed out again.

Again my soul left my body. I watched as Harry, Chad, Uma, and Gil all ran to my side. I floated down a bit, closer to Harry, who had tears in his eyes. 

"Gil go get Mal, Ben and Fairy Godmother, well get the VKs and Ben, bring him here. Tell Mal to grab her spellbook." Harry ordered, Gil nodded and bolted out of the room.

Harry placed his hand on mine. Muttering something that I couldn't quite understand.

That's when my soul was yanked away, I was in front of a figure, I couldn't quite figure out who it was until I saw a gleam.

"So you're the princess my son has been seeing. Hmph you're stubborn. Right Ursie." Captain Hook exclaimed, as an octopus tentacle appeared over the side of the Jolly Roger, and now I could see Ursula.

I began to shake.

"In the morning you shall write a note telling my useless son that you are coming to the isle. You shall only tell him that. You will come alone and you will meet me on this ship. Oh and don't bother packing, you won't be needing your stuff. Oh and if you don't come, I'll make sure you sprint off the roof." Hook grinned before you were sent flying back to Harry's room.

"Wake her up!" Harry ordered.

"Harry, calm down. Mal is doing her best." Ben stated, I noticed Mal hovering over me with Hades Ember. 

"It's not working. Harry have you tried kissing her?" Mal asked him.

Seeing his face heat up made my face heat up too. He looked at my face before gulping and leaning down and kissing me. My soul, once again, zoomed back into my body. I immediately started kissing back.

Saying I surprised him was an understatement. He moved off and I opened my eyes, still a bit shaky, but I sat up and looked around.

"I didn't try to jump off the roof again did I?" I asked concerned.

"No thankfully not but you were shaking and crying." Mal explained, rubbing my back gently.

"Oh? T-that's weird." I stuttered, hugging myself.

"Hey Harry, c-can I stay here tonight?" I asked, hopeful.

"Of course ye can, Lassie. And ye will be stayin in that bed." Hook smirked.

"We will talk about this in the morning, we need to figure out who spelled you and how." Mal explained, standing up. 

"For now you three should keep an eye on her. And Luna, we'll let Fairy Godmother know what's going on. You won't be going to classes for a while." Ben stated standing up as well.

"O-ok." I managed to get out as I pulled Harry's blanket over me, feeling my face heat up at the realization that Harry saw me in my glass slipper themed pjs. 

As the 4 VKs and Ben left the room, Uma sat down in one of the chairs. 

"I'll take the first watch, you boys get some sleep." Uma stated, and the boys knew not to argue with her.

I looked over at Harry who was about to sleep on the floor.

"Harry, you can share the bed with me." I offered, my face heating up.

Harry blushed a bit before standing back up and walking over to the bed. I scooted over and lifted the blanket for him to climb in. He got under the covers. I turned my body to face him and curled up under the covers. On instinct Harry wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his chest. I relaxed into his chest, taking in his scent.

Gil got into his own bed and soon enough was lightly snoring. Uma began to whistle "A Pirate's Life For Me" from her chair.

I could feel Harry falling asleep, and my mind wandered to the pain I'm going to go through when I have to leave him. I could feel my heart breaking at the knowledge. My eyes began to water as I breathed in Harry's scent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6am finally came around. Meaning the three pirates had to head to class. Before Harry left he knelt down and kissed my hand. I blushed and giggled, waving him off. Once I was alone in his room I sank to the floor and cried.

After a few minutes I wiped my eyes and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote my note to Harry:

Dear Harry,

I left for the Isle. I'm sorry.

Yours Truly,

Cindy Luna Charming

I placed the note on the table and headed out, sneaking to my room I changed into a T-shirt and some pants, as well as Tennis shoes. Sneaking out of the school wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Now to "borrow" a motorbike. Well I guess I'll just use mine. I climb onto my motorbike and snap my helmet on before I head to the isle. 

I made it to the bridge and took a deep breath and drove across the bridge, dodging a few citizens. I made it to a metal tunnel, parking my motorbike I suddenly became extremely nervous and scared. Meeting the guy you're crushing on,'s dad shouldn't be this terrifying. I turned off my motorbike and pocketed the keys. Setting my helmet on the seat of my bike I head through the tunnel towards where Captain Hook was waiting for me on the Jolly Roger.

"Ah there she is." Captain Hook exclaimed with a hint of anger.

I walked onto the ship. The moment my foot touched the boot Captain Hook grabbed me and held his hook to my face.

"Smart move coming here child. Now to show that you're my property." He exclaimed, grabbing a branding iron that had a hook shape on it.

I feel myself shaking in fear. He called two of his crew to hold me as they lifted the back of my shirt, he heated up the branding iron and began walking towards me. That's when I felt the burning feeling on my back, causing me to scream in pain.

"There. Now you belong to be princess." Captain Hook stated proudly.

His crew members released me and I crumbled to the floor, crying my eyes out. The mark burned at my shoulder blade.

~~~~~ Back at Auradon Prep ~~~~~~~~

3rd person POV

Harry had been taking sewing lessons from Evie, hoping to impress Luna with it. He had even managed to make a little plushie of himself, including his hook. He smirked as he walked down the halls, only to bump into Gil.

"Harry! Luna's gone to the Isle." Gil exclaimed, panic in his voice.

Harry about dropped his plush form, instead he grabbed Gil and dragged him to their room. Closing the door and setting the plush down, he held up his hook at Gil's face. 

"What ye mean she's gone to da Isle?" Harry all but growled.

Gil whimpered and held up the note. Harry stabbed the note with this hook. Reading the note his face paled.

He looked at Gil. "I have to go get her. Who knows what my bastard of a father is doing to her." He clenched his fist around his hook in anger.

"You aren't going alone." A familiar voice said from the doorway.

Harry and Gil turned around to see Uma standing in the doorway.

"Uma this is my fight not yers." Harry argued.

"Actually it is my fight. My shell has been acting up, and I figured it out. My mother is helping your father." Uma explained.

And cue Chad coming into the room, pushing past Uma. "Lu! Wait where's my sister? What did you do to her Hook!?!?" Chad questioned, getting all up in Harry's face.

Harry lifted his hook and Chad began to back away. 

"I did nuthin ye numskull! I gotta go rescue 'er from me father." Harry explained with a glare.

Chad froze. "What?" He asked.

"Good job Harry!" Uma exclaimed with frustration as she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"Me father spelled 'er and now he threatened 'er and she left. Ye ain't strong enough to come with us. Go get Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay the seven of us will get 'er back." Harry ordered.

Chad nodded and opened the door rushing to get the VKs.

Harry began pacing. "He's gunna hurt 'er. I just know it." Harry stated, wringing his hook a bit.

"Harry calm down. We don't know that yet, maybe he's gunna do what we did to Ben." Uma tried to explain.

"Ye don't understand. He's batshit crazy! He doesn't have this accent. He injected me with… DNA of another villain." Harry explained. 

"What?" Uma asked, surprised.

"Yea, he's nuts. He's going to that with her. Where's that blonde bastard!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

Chad burst through the door, with the VKs right behind. 

"I brought them!" Chad exclaimed.

"What is this about Luna going to the Isle??" Mal questioned, worry in her voice.

"Captain Hook and my mother spelled her, then somehow threatened her to come to the Isle." Uma explained, understanding that Harry was in no way capable of repeating himself.

"What??? Well let's go! We'll take the limo. I'll text Ben and tell him what's going on. Come on." Mal stated as the group began to leave.

Chad stopped Harry. "Dude, I know you don't particularly like me but, please bring my sister back. I just want her back." Chad said, tears in his eyes.

"Dont ye worry, I'll bring the lass back. But I get to take 'er on a date." Harry bribed.

"Well duh! She's had the biggest crush on you for like months now." Chad confessed. 

"Oh? Well then I better go save me love then." Harry raced out of the room, catching up to the group.

~~~~~~~The Jolly Roger~~~~~~~~

I hated this, I was just branded and now I'm tied to table and…. what is that?

"W-What's that?" I asked, seeing a need filled with blood.

"Oh that little princess is Hades' DNA. And it is going to be injected into you." Captain Hook explained with a wild grin.

I tried to get out of my restraints. "No, no, no…… please don't!" I began to cry.

"Don't worry princess this will only hurt for, hmm actually I'm unsure." Captain Hook stated as he grabbed my arm and injected the blood into my body.

I screamed in pain as the blood of a god ran through my veins. Captain Hook laughed maniacally before leaving me tied up in pain.

My thoughts went to Harry, and how I'll never get to tell him how I feel and how I'll never see Chad or my parents ever again. Tears streamed down my face as I screamed in pain. The DNa flowing through my veins, and causing my hands to catch fire, burning my restraints, I jolted up, burning the restraints around my legs as I continued to scream in pain at now the fire on my hands.

I saw a bucket of water and stuck my hands in it. Extinguishing the fire helped but it didn't relieve the burns I had on my hands. I sat in a corner of the room and cried. 

I heard shouting. Familiar shouting.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, my hair flaming up in a light blue color.

I stumbled over to the stairs and climbed up them only to be doused with water, grabbed and a hook at my throat. I looked over to the dock and saw Harry, Uma, Gil, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay swords in hand, ready to fight.

"She belongs to me boy! One more step and she's done for!" Captain Hook threatened.

I made eye contact with Harry. Feeling bolder, I winked at him before my hands flamed up, burning Captain Hook. I ran to Harry, only to be tripped and fell into the water.

Thankfully I knew how to swim. But I could see Harry rushing at his dad with a sword in one hand and his own hook in the other. Sword fighting broke out.

Before I could get to the ladder a tentacle wrapped around my ankle and pulled me under. Uma happened to see that.

I was having trouble holding my breath as I came face to face with Ursula. 

"Well darling, I believe it's time for you to let go!" Ursula stated, causing me to go into my state of spelled and my soul left my body.

I silently screamed as my body began to drown. That was until Uma used her tentacles to grab me and place me on the dock. Uma fought her mother, hook fought his father, everyone was fighting, except for Smee. He had a goodness in his heart. He came over to me and sat me up and patted my back hard enough for me to get sucked back into my body and started coughing up water.

"What happened?" I asked out loud.

"Ursula tried to drown you. You need to go. Now!" Smee explained helping you to your feet.

"But Harry! I-I need to help him!" I exclaimed, wincing as the burns on my hands hurt.

"You go wait on the other side of the tube I will get the boy." Smee promised.

I nodded and stumbled towards the tunnel. I turned around.

"Harry fucking Hook! You better win!" I called out.

A grin formed on Harry's face.

Harry shoved his father back. "Ye hear that old man? I've got 'er cheerin me on. That gives me strength to finally end this!" Harry exclaimed shoving his sword into his father's chest. 

He removed his sword and headed off the ship, the VKs, Uma and Gil close behind. Ursula and Hook were no longer an issue.

I gasped as I felt myself feel freed from the spell. Hearing footsteps coming from the tunnel, I turn and see Harry walking towards me. I run to him, hugging him. 

"Harry! I'm so glad you're ok!" I exclaimed, tears streaming down my face.

"Hey hey it's alright my love. Let's get ye home. We have lots to discuss." Harry smirked, hugging me close.

I got on my motorbike and followed alongside the limo. The moment we got back to school, Ben, Fairy Godmother, and Chad were waiting. 

I parked my bike and ran to my brother jumping into his arms. 

"Chad!" I exclaimed, crying a bit.

"Its ok Lu. I'm here. Sorry I couldn't come get you." Chad apologized.

"It's ok, I'm glad you weren't there. There was blood." I teased.

"Love, we gots to talk to these ones." Harry gestured to Fairy Godmother and Ben, with his hook, of course.

"C-can we talk in Harry's room. I want to sit down." I explained, rubbing my hands together, trying to hide the burns.

"Of course love." Harry smiled, wrapping his arm around my waist as the group heads to Harry and Gil's room.

Once inside, I sat down on Harry's bed, wincing at the pains.

"Love where did he hurt ye?" Harry asked, concerned, he placed a Harry plush in my lap.

I giggled picking up the doll. "Harry did you make this?" I asked.

"Ye, and ye didn't answer my question." Harry frowned.

"He…. Look at my back." I stated, lifting up the back of my shirt. Everyone gasped and Harry's blood boiled at the sight of a hook branded on my back.

"H-he also inject me with Hades blood." I whispered, setting the Harry plush down and holding up her hands. 

"Fire happens and it burns me." I whimpered.

Harry knelt in front of me and took my hands in his and kissed the back of each of my hands before kissing the palms.

My hair began to flame a bit in a light blue tint. Everybody gasped.

I blinked. "I-is it hot in here?" I asked.

"Love yer hair is on fire." Harry explained, smirking.

I blushed and patted at my hair, putting the fire out. I felt tears well up.

"I-I can't hold anything, or touch anyone….. i-i'm a freak." I begin to cry.

Mal frowns, walking over to me she gives me a hug.

"Hey, I'm the daughter of Hades. I think we can figure out how to fix it." Mal said with a smile.