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anmylica · 11 months

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Fly With The Black Swan

Tagging the Usual Crew: @kmomof4 @xarandomdreamx @tiganasummertree @snowbellewells @sotangledupinit @zaharadessert @whimsicallyenchantedrose @deckerstarblanche

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Summary: Captain Hook has finally returned to the Enchanted Forest after an all-too-long stint in the Enchanted Forest, ready to get his revenge, only he’s too late. His Crocodile has been killed by another, but the demon partially responsible for his Milah’s death remains. He sets out, determined to kill the demon once and for all, but a life or death situation puts him right in the demon’s clutches. Reluctantly, he joins the new Dark One, finding himself falling for her against his will and his motivations change. Now, he needs to save this woman from the same demon that killed his first love, and he plans out a way to save her.

But the Darkness has plans of its own.

CSSNS ‘23 Entry. Based on the Sonata Arctica song “Fly With The Black Swan”

Note: I have no idea if this is going to post or not. I am currently in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with crappy satellite internet and none of my other attempts have gone through. Seriously, I’ve tried it a million times by this point. Maybe this time is the charm? I guess we’ll see. If it does post, I will be editing this Saturday to clean it up when I get home.

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The Jolly Roger landed hard in the ocean waters with a great splash that sent droplets of water into the air and on the deck, drenching most of her crew in the process. Captain Hook stood at the helm, seemingly unaffected by the wake, scanning the seas for any danger, always on his guard. He took a deep breath, turning his face up to the sun high in the sky, practically tasting the ocean on his tongue and thought, ‘This is what freedom smells like.’ The sails glittered with the remnants of the last vial of pixie dust he would ever have to use to get his ship airborne for a sojourn back to the Enchanted Forest again.

He had just spent countless years sailing the never ending circle of Neverland’s waters in the reluctant employ of a demon in a child’s body, never seeing the sun except for when he was Pan’s errand boy on a supply run back to the Enchanted Forest. His years under the deal with Pan were finally complete, and he felt that he had enough information to achieve his true mission: skinning his Crocodile.

Captain Hook stared at the cloudless sky, pondering his next steps as his first mate, William Smee, blundered about giving orders to the others. His crew scurried about letting out sails, hauling in lines, securing their goods, and generally making preparations to sail to the destination their captain ordered. Throughout the hustle and bustle, their captain stood stoic at the helm. He did not steer; his helmsman, Antonio Buckham, had the pleasure of directing the ship, and he stood with his hands tight on the wheel and his eyes on his captain’s profile, awaiting orders.

Hook’s forget-me-not blue eyes finally left the horizon and focused upon the map in front of him. If he had landed his ship in the location he had wanted, then he was just due south of Glowerhaven. This was a pirate-friendly port, and it was going to be the best place at which they could restock their supplies. He looked over at Buckham, who stood anticipating his orders.

“Make way to Glowerhaven,” Hook ordered, and Buckham nodded once.

“Aye, Captain,” he responded, turning to the rest of the crew before bellowing, “Make way to Glowerhaven!”

The crew repeated the order, and Buckham turned the wheel slightly as the others adjusted the sails. Through it all, Hook said nothing else, just watched the sea and the sky pass them by as they sailed towards their port of call. It was a sunny day with nary a cloud in the sky. A good wind at their backs filled the sails and carried them over the water so smoothly it was as if the ship was flying over the waves. All around the deck, his crew carried out their orders, bringing them into the port where they could find a tavern and food and relish their newfound freedom. Hook surveyed the work with disinterest, for so long as they arrived at their destination without issue, it did not matter to him how his crew did their jobs.

His cold, hard, forget-me-not blue eyes watched ahead of the bow as the land of the Enchanted Forest appeared in view. His jaw clenched at the sight. It was there that he would finally fulfill his life’s purpose. As the land grew closer and the short skyline of Glowerhaven became more distinct, he was filled with a sense that, at last, he was on the path for his vengeance. He was about to find his happy ending, however bittersweet it may be. A determined, almost manic glint filled his eyes, and his crew gave him side glances and moved away from him, hoping to avoid his ire, though he paid them no mind.

An hour later, The Jolly Roger had been docked into her berth, the crew had all left, and those tasked with her watch were settled in for a few hours. Hook was the last to leave, wanting to make sure everything was just so. He sauntered down the alleyways between buildings into a tavern at which he had long since been a patron. He knew that the last pieces of his plan could be crafted with information the owner likely had.

He opened the door and stepped inside, scanning the room for any potentially unsavory situations. The room was dimly lit and dirty, much like all portside taverns throughout the realms of the Enchanted Forest. Rough hewn tables of various sizes filled the room and stools of varying heights were haphazardly placed by each table. There weren’t many people occupying the tavern at this time of day, and so most of the tables were empty. His crew occupied a few, already having drinks and food delivered by several barmaids. The bar was manned by a lone attendant, and it was to her that he made his way.

He slid onto a stool at the bar in front of her with a beguiling grin on his face. The old woman scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she moved closer, grabbing a bottle of rum and a glass on her way.

“What are you scallywags doing here,” she demanded, plunking down the bottle and glass roughly. She looked over her glasses at Hook and stared him down, causing him to grin even wider.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend,” he responded, moving to open the bottle and pour himself a finger’s width of rum. He had no plans on getting drunk, but he wasn’t about to turn down the libation.

“You’re hardly a friend,” she retorted, causing him to laugh.

“A patron then,” he amended. “A well-paying patron.”

The woman surveyed him hard and then nodded. “What do you want, Hook?”

He shook his head slightly as he raised the glass to his lips and knocked back the measure of rum. “Many things,” he said, placing the glass back on the bar. “Mostly, I’d like information at the moment.”

The woman crossed her arms. “I ain’t got information.”

Hook smirked. “Come, now, Granny, you and I both know you’re the best there is at collecting information. And we both know how valuable I find it.”

He took out his coin purse and very deliberately counted out five doubloons. Granny watched him as he did so, quirking an eyebrow at him before sighing.

“You want to know about the Dark One’s movements,” she said, grabbing a second glass and pouring herself a measure of rum.

“Aye.” Hook eyed her with curiosity, as this was definitely out of the norm for their usual pattern of conversation.

Granny took a sip of her drink and met his eyes. “You’re a bit behind the times.”

“How so?” Hook questioned, leaning closer to the old woman, a frown on his face at Granny’s implication.

“The Dark One you chase is no longer the host of the Darkness. The host has changed,” Granny said bluntly, a strange look crossing her face.

Hook blinked as Granny fell silent, sipping her rum to allow him time to process her words. He didn’t move as he tasted the information on his lips, a horrible sensation of dread and despair filling him. His immediate instinct was to deny that it was possible, but he knew deep down that the woman’s look of despair and grief couldn’t be anything but real.

“Who is it now?” he asked, studying her face carefully, hoping to pick up on some nuance in her communication. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, but he felt disappointment all the same when he realize how upset she was.

Granny poured herself a bit more rum into the half-full glass and knocked back the entire thing in one swallow. Hook watched her dispassionately. She grimaced out of grief, and Hook realized this topic was a festering wound though he didn’t know why.

“I don’t know,” Granny denied, and Hook got the sense that she did indeed know but didn’t want to admit it.

Hook clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. He felt a rage that he hadn’t felt since Rumplestiltskin had taken his hand and his love from him. All these years of seeking revenge, and for what? What was he left with now? He snarled at the thought of the Crocodile evading his hook another time.

Granny cleared her throat as she choked back tears, calling his attention back to her before he could fall any more into his anger. Her wet eyes shocked him out of his rage long enough to restore sense to his head. “You want any more than that, you’re out of luck. I know nothing else.”

Granny poured herself another shot and knocked it back. Once she had finished, she stood and moved down to another end of the bar without another word. Hook contemplated the bottle before deciding that today’s news had been bad enough. He poured himself a healthy measure and drained the glass. He glanced over to Smee and beckoned his head. Smee scrambled to his side, and when Smee was within earshot, he said, “Tomorrow we travel to the Dark One’s castle.”

Smee blinked before widening his eyes in fear. “To the Dark One’s castle?”

“Aye,” Hook responded. “There will be information there that we need.”

“But won’t he-“ Smee began but Hook cut him off.

“Apparently someone else got to the Crocodile before us. I want to know who and why.” Hook’s eyes hardened in resolve, and Smee gulped before nodding his head. “My best chance at getting answers is there.”

As Smee scrambled off back to the crew to pass the news around, Hook drank another healthy measure of rum, resigned to the situation at hand. This was merely a minor setback in his quest for revenge. He’d waited this long; he could bide his time a little longer.

The next morning dawned bright and cheerful, completely at odds with Hook’s mood. Hook had already left instructions to the next man in charge for getting supplies in his stead. He and Smee arranged for a couple of horses for the journey inland, and they made sure to have the necessary supplies for their journey.

The journey itself to the Dark One’s castle was mostly uneventful. Hook and Smee endeavored to find out all they could about the Dark One’s whereabouts, but no one wanted to talk. Either they didn’t know or they avoided the conversation once questions were asked and quickly hurried off on their way. Hook was quickly becoming vexed with the situation. He needed answers now.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Smee attempted to reassure him after their latest fruitless encounter in a village just south of the Southern Kingdom’s borders. “We’ll find out more at the next inn.”

Hook just sighed in response. It would do no good taking his ire out on Smee. Not when the man was trying to help. Hook just nudged his horse forward into a trot.

“We can find out all we need once we reach the Dark One’s castle. Come and let us stop wasting time,” Hook replied.

Smee said nothing in response. Hook supposed it was because Smee could see just how fine the leash was on his temper. The two rode on in silence, crossing into the Moors kingdom just before nightfall. They stopped at an inn for the night, keeping their ears fruitlessly peeled for any hint of gossip. None could be heard that bore any importance for their quest.

The next morning’s travels brought about similar results. They crossed the small leg of the East Mountains and into Capetia at around noon. They stopped briefly at a tavern for food before moving on. The ride was boring, and Hook’s mind wandered as the horse trudged onward.

Just who had managed to get the best of the Crocodile? How had that happened? Would there even be anything of value at Rumplestiltskin’s old castle? Was all of this just Hook grasping at straws, unwilling to let a past wrong go, even after the culprit was long gone?

Hook didn’t think so, but he had been wrong before. He decided that the only way he was going to get answers was by raiding Rumplestiltskin’s castle. He could decide on the next course to set once he saw the state of things there.

They reached the edge of the Dark Forest that evening. He and Smee lit a fire for safety and camped under the stars. Neither spoke very much, for Hook was too deep in thought and Smee knew better than to push his Captain when the man was pensive like this. The night passed by uneventfully, and the next morning dawned bright.

A hard ride resulted in their arriving at the perimeter of the Dark One’s lands just after noon. They pulled their horses up short as they surveyed the imposing structure in the distance.

“So that’s the Dark One’s castle,” Smee muttered. “Do you think maybe he was compensating for something?”

Hook sniggered. “Most assuredly. We need to be cautious. If the rumors are false, and he is still alive, he won’t take kindly to seeing either of us.”

Smee nodded vigorously and they dismounted their horses. They tied the mounts off, leaving them plenty of slack to graze, and they slunk off in the direction of danger. They crept along in the surrounding woods, keeping their eyes peeled and their ears alert.

The woods were silent. It was eerie how no animals rustled in the undergrowth, how no birds tweeted in the trees above them. The closer they got to the castle, the quieter it got. Hook felt dizzy with how much he kept looking around them, just waiting for an ambush.

Finally they got close enough that the front doors were just in front of them. The castle had a derelict, abandoned feel. No smoke rose from the myriad chimneys; no movement could be detected behind the windows. The facade was covered in overrun ivies and weeds littered the overgrown lawn.

“Well, Captain, there might just be some truth to the rumors after all.”

Hook glanced at Smee. “It seems safe enough so far, but keep on your guard.”

Hook and Smee each grasped a door handle of the giant wooden doors and pulled with all their might, not noticing the wave of blue light that swept the yard as they did so. Slowly, creaking in protest the entire time, the doors gave away. Hook was just about to step inside the foyer when a fireball came soaring at them. Hook and Smee dove for the ground, managing to just narrowly avoid it. They watched as it flew into a tree and caught it on fire. The flames whooshed as it engulfed the large tree and devoured it until nothing but ash remained. They stared at it before looking at each other.

“Let’s hope that’s the only thing waiting for us,” Hook said. Smee chuckled nervously and they both scrambled up into standing positions. They glanced at the opening, but nothing else seemed to be waiting.

“Shall we try this again, sir,” Smee asked uncertainly.

Hook nodded once. “Without the fireballs, preferably.”

They crept through the arched doorway, sticking to the sides, but nothing else happened. The foyer beyond was dark and cold. It gave off a chilling air of abandonment. Hook and Smee exchanged looks.

“Shall we split up sir? Cover more ground that way,” Smee offered as he shrugged.

Hook considered his first mate for a moment, eyebrow tilting up a bit. On the one hand, splitting up could be a trap, but on the other, they waste valuable time searching together.

Hook nodded once. “Yell if you find anything.”

“Aye, aye,” replied Smee before heading to the rooms on the left. Hook decided to go up the grand staircase that lay in waiting just in front of him.

He walked up the steps one at a time, slowly prowling forward, always expecting another type of security measure. Nothing happened.

The lack of reaction set him on edge even more than he had been before entering the abandoned building. He expected Rumplestiltskin’s slimy high pitched giggle to sound behind him at any moment. As the minutes dragged on, he became even more unnerved at the lack of the coward’s appearance.

He stepped onto the next floor and looked around him. The second floor had the same derelict feel as the downstairs. There was no sign of anyone’s inhabitance. He crept forward, resting his palm in the jolt of his sword, keeping his hook at the ready. The first room he came to was some sort of guest room, but for whom, Hook couldn’t begin to say. He didn’t believe the Crocodile had many guests. The imp hadn’t been known for his hospitality, after all. He searched the room, but nothing was there besides tacky furniture and dusty bedclothes. Hook left the room as quickly as he entered it.

The silence in this place was eerie. It set his teeth on edge, and he clenched his jaw out of tension. He crept down the hallway, forgoing searching other countless bedchambers. The stench of Dark magic hung in the air, cloying and sickening. The further down the hall he traveled, the more palpable the magic became.

He went up another staircase, choosing to follow the feeling of the magic instead of investigating every room. Hook figured the odds of finding something were better if he traced the magic. He hadn’t felt this kind of sensation, this tingling numbness, since the Crocodile had been on the deck of his ship, changing Hook’s life forever.

He followed the tingle of the magic until he arrived in front of what appeared to be a private study. He opened the double doors and walked into a large room. A giant table occupied the center of the room, and display cases that had once held whatever objects Rumplestiltskin deemed important surrounded the table. The room had been decorated in rich shades of red and gold, but now a thick layer of dust covered everything.

The room looked as if it had been ransacked by looters at some undetermined point. Hook breathed a heavy sigh. This beyond anything else convinced him that the Crocodile was gone. Looters wouldn’t have been able to mauraud this castle if Rumplestiltskin had still been alive. Hook felt a dull sensation curdle in his stomach that he belatedly recognized was disappointment.

Discouraged, he wandered into the room, no less on his guard than before, but no longer expecting his mortal enemy to appear before him sniggering with twisted glee. He rummaged through the detritus, looking for something but not knowing what it was. After shuffling a few plates around, he saw a brown piece of fabric, dirtied with age and a few dried blood stains. He frowned and picked it up, his heart sinking even lower in his chest.

He knew those stitches.

He stood and shook the fabric out, using his hook to help fan it out to make sure that it was what he thought it was. He smiled a grim smile at the confirmation. It was a shawl. He recognized the handiwork as Milah’s, and he suddenly felt like crying. It must have belonged to Bae.

He swallowed and cleared his throat, hoping to drown the burning sensation, and rapidly tried to blink tears away. He folded it as carefully as he could, caressing the fabric as he did so. He took a step towards the door, intending to leave this room and all its ghosts behind, when he stepped on something that slid as he put his weight down.

Catching himself from falling, he looked at his feet and saw a cane. He moved his shoe off the wood and bent down to pick it up, recognizing it to be that old cane the Crocodile had once used to walk when the coward boarded his ship for the first time. He held it against the shawl that was also in his hand for a moment, considering all the possibilities that could have happened and didn’t, all the ways fate could have worked out differently for him.

Frustrated, he threw the cane away from him and turned to walk out. As he threw it, a shimmering came from the far corner of the room, catching his attention. The shimmering revealed a cabinet that extended from floor to ceiling. He stared in disbelief at it before his heart started racing. This was what he had been looking for!

He hurried to it and wrenched the doors open, seeing all kinds of magical items and whatnots. Books were stacked high in all areas, potion ingredients were stored three lines deep in bottles, with some already being completed. Magical objects filled the empty areas, and wands were held in stands. The magical items weren’t necessarily what he needed, but the books… the books might just be the missing link.

Hook tore through the books stacked high inside the cabinet, desperately searching for something that would help him piece together what had happened. He quickly discarded the ones that looked as if they were magical instruction books, having no interest in their contents. No, he was looking for something more personal.

Seeing nothing in the stack that could help him, he turned to the table, searching for any hidden compartments. Finding two, he tore open the drawers, the contents rattling as he jerked the drawers out, quills and empty ink bottles and other rubbish littering their insides. There was nothing that could even hint at the circumstances that finally resulted in the demon's demise.

He searched in this manner until he had combed through the entire room. If there had ever been any records, they had long since been hidden or destroyed. The fruitlessness of the search just made Hook more determined.

There had to be another room he had overlooked in this overgrown hunk of an imitation castle. Moving decisively towards the door, his hook got caught in a hole in a shelf of the cabinet in his haste. Hook yanked his hook out of the hole it had gotten lodged in, and the shelf came crashing, the contents falling to the floor in a great crash. Hook just managed to jump out of the way in time.

Hook scanned the rubbish, finding it absolutely ridiculous that Rumplestiltskin had never bothered to secure the blasted thing when it had borne all that weight when something caught his eye.

He scanned the back of the cabinet again, his brow furrowing in concentration. There! A glimmer!! He tilted his head this way and that as he tried to determine from where the glimmer had come. He noticed a notch from in between the wooden panels that covered the back of the shelf.

He put his hook into the notch, which was just big enough for the tip of his hook to lodge into, and pulled. The back panel was stubborn and didn’t come off. He sighed and maneuvered his hook deeper into the hole to provide himself with a bit more leverage. He wrapped his hand around his brace and pulled again, this time with all his strength.

The back panel came loose with a loud screech. It had detached just enough so he could see a small book inside. The cabinet must have had a false backing that only the crocodile would know about.

“Clever,” Hook muttered to himself as he reached in and clasped the book in his hand. Once he had pulled it out, he wiggled his hook out of the hole and set out to peruse the book. It had to contain something of importance if the Crocodile had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden.

He opened the book as he sank into a nearby chair that hadn’t toppled over in his haste to further ransack the room. Hook was pleased to find that it was a handwritten journal. He flipped through the pages slowly, finding a lot of drivel about magical experiments that didn’t interest Hook. Most of it was useless, but almost at the end of the journal, the writing changed. It was spiky, with very slanted words (a far different type of handwriting from Rumplestiltskin's scrawled handwriting).

The script made the document hard to read, so Hook skimmed the pages looking for any clues as to what had happened to the Crocodile (and most importantly, whom had killed him). He flipped through page after page, almost falling into a trance as he skimmed over the entry. Just when he thought the journal had nothing of importance, his eyes caught upon a very familiar name.

Milah.

Hook’s heart skipped a beat. He read the sentence that contained her name but found it didn’t make sense in the context, so he backtracked until he fell upon a section that seemed to detail why her name was on the page.

As he read the entry, his blood began to boil.

It had been easy enough to convince Rumplestiltskin that the only way to satisfy his broken heart upon learning his once beloved wife had fallen in love with someone else was to rip out her heart and crush it. With this, I believe that Rumplestiltskin’s last dregs of humanity have been thoroughly eradicated. I have been successful in imprinting myself irrevocably within his soul. With his black heart now thoroughly darkened, he will have no hope of the use of Light Magic against me, that cursed abomination of a magical force.

I had thought seeing him abandon and break a deal with his son was the ultimate test of his loyalty to me, but his murder of Milah showed me the depths of depravity he is willing to sink to. It will be so much easier to twist and bend Rumplestiltskin’s actions to my will. It was amusing to see how little he resisted the urge once I placed the thought in his head to kill her. He almost seemed to welcome it.

I think the coward enjoyed the thrill of the power I wield over life. He will be much more pliant to fulfilling my desires, I think. After all, he will not want to give up the control over the magic I have given him easily. This just serves as further proof that humanity is corruptible and unworthy of the gifts they have been bestowed. They will all bow to me before it is over. I must make my own plans for that day. This vessel will not be able to support me for very long, and the time will eventually come to find another host.

Hook continued to read, but the rest of the passage detailed how it felt to crush a heart and the magic that had to go into the action. He felt sick the more he tried to read, and he closed the book in disgust. His heart lay in jagged pieces at his feet at the information he had sought and obtained.

Rumplestiltskin had merely been a pawn in Milah’s death. Oh, Hook didn’t doubt that Rumplestiltskin desired her death; by the end, the man had looked upon his estranged wife with hatred in his eyes. But to learn that Hook’s love had been killed because some demon had wanted it done to prove a point? That was like rubbing salt in an already festering and infected wound.

Hook grit his teeth. He snatched the journal up and tucked it into one of the hidden pockets in his leather duster. His revenge was still possible. All he had to do was find the demon that killed her and find a way to end its existence.

He threw open the door, hollering for Smee. His first mate came running.

“Tell me you’ve found something of value in this place,” Hook commanded.

Smee held up a dreamcatcher. “I found this. I think it could tell us who the next Dark One is!”

“What is it?” Hook asked, puzzled as to how such an object would be able to tell them anything.

“I don’t know what it’s called, but when I held it, I could see something. I think it might hold memories.” Smee held it out to his captain.

Hook took it in his hand, and once he touched it, images started to play out amongst the strings. It did look like memories. He watched as a pretty young girl, possibly mid to late twenties, approached the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin giggled, dismissing her, when she held out the dagger. He watched dispassionately as Rumple froze in disbelief. He watched the woman say something and then plunge the knife into Rumplestiltskin’s chest. He watched as oily tendrils of darkness began to ooze out of Rumpelstiltskin, making their way up the woman’s arms until it coated her in the substance. She disappeared, the knife disappearing along with her. Rumplestiltskin fell to the ground of his castle, obviously dead.

“Where did she disappear to?” Hook asked once the memories went black and the images reverted back to the strings once more.

“I don’t know, Captain. But I found this with it,” Smee said as he held up a giant black feather.

Hook took it, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Perhaps we can use this to find out.”

He turned and made his way back into the study where he had found the stash of potions. He went to the box and scanned its contents, pulling out a bottle once he had found what he was looking for. He uncorked it, Smee looking on, and poured its contents over the feather.

“Is that a locator spell?” Smee asked.

“I think so. It’s some kind of potion for it, at any rate.” He watched as the feather floated in the air before darting towards a ragged map of the Enchanted Forest that hung on the wall. It gouged itself into the map, and Hook and Smee hurried across the room to see where it was pointing.

“The North Mountains?” Smee read aloud.

“Aye,” Hook agreed. “That is our next destination. We must return to the ship at once.”

Smee nodded, and after a brief moment to figure out the exact location on the map the feather pointed to, the two men left the Dark One’s castle, never to step foot inside again.

After several days’ journey of riding hard and resting only when needed, Hook and Smee arrived back in the port town they had left the Jolly Roger moored at. After a quick replenishment of supplies, she set sail once more, this time to a village called Sapphire Springs in the Northern Kingdom.

Hartford was a quaint little village that had little to offer pirate crews, so Hook and his band rarely made port there. It was out of the way of the major shipping lanes, as it was the most remote village of the Northern Kingdom. Hook preferred doing most of his business at Glowerhaven and other larger ports where it was easier to blend in with the locals and visitors, but he had been to Sapphire Springs enough to know the lay of the land.

Hook and his crew sailed hard, avoiding most traffic in the shipping lanes. They stumbled upon a ship from Agrabah, and Hook gave the order to take it. He knew his crew would appreciate the opportunity to acquire jewels and riches when they hadn’t yet been able to take any ships since their permanent arrival back in the Enchanted Forest. The crew of the merchant ship were very amenable to surrender, and after a couple of hours, the Jolly Roger rode deeper in the water, her hull full of spices and jewels and Agrabahn wine. Hook allowed them to open a barrel, and the evening was spent toasting their success.

They made a quick stop at a port in Sherwood Forest to sell off the jewels and spices. Smee divided the spoils to the rest of the crew after selling off their wares. The crew didn’t dally long; Hook was in too much of a hurry to make it to the North Mountains to spend much time in port.

After selling off this particular haul, they set sail once more, making a beeline straight for Sappire Springs. Hook stood back, letting his crew do the sailing and navigating as they had been for centuries. He kept his eyes trained on the horizon as he came ever closer to fulfilling his destiny and achieving his happy ending (however miserable an end it may be). If he had any doubts about the dangers that lay before him, he didn’t express it.

Hook continued his vigilance until the sky turned to dusk and the night crew took over. He looked out over the water at the waves, felt the breeze on his face, and heaved a sigh. He turned and slid open the hatch to his cabin and descended the ladder, not noticing the giant black swan that swooped down from the clouds and glided over the ship for a brief moment before ascending once more into the clouds.

#CSSNS ‘23 #killian jones #captain swan #once upon a time #emma swan #ouat #captain hook #cs ff #anmylica writes #Darkness rewrite #Based on the Sonata Arctica song of the same name

27 notes · View notes

thephantomcasebook · 1 year

Note

Why, out of all the characters in F&B, does George RR Martin have Aemond and Helaena die nearly at the same time in similar ways (that are both symbolic)?

I'm convinced that all the hints of Aemond and Helaena are notes from GRRM.

As I've said to other people who have asked, "Fire & Blood" is a basic bitch History book, not a novel. And it is written and edited by an extremely bias source who is sugar coating and making excuse for the Blacks, because the Mad King commissioned the book to be written. Therefore you need to read it with the understanding that a lot of the book is written to placate to Aerys and his prospective of history.

This is important, because, none of the Greens but Daeron and Criston really have a nuanced character. Aemond is a mindless psychopath, Helaena is a jolly fat girl, Alicent is the beautiful but evil stepmother, and Aegon is a drunk whoremonger. However, GRRM left clues in the narrative so you get better insight of the very thin veil of the true history.

Such as Daeron being the hero of the Dance. Aegon actually being a better and more decisive king than Rhaenyra would be a Queen. And the strange events that are too precise to be coincidences.

Like the fact that Daeron supposedly dies at the Second Battle of Tumblestone, but no one ever saw it happen and no one - at the time - actually believed it. Then, out of the blue a mysterious Hedge Knight comes and liberates Alicent and Corlys and brutally kills The White Worm in revenge for Helaena and "Blood and Cheese". You're supposed to understand that the Hedge Knight was Daeron in disguise who faked his death and then disappears from history with Alicent's help (And her bidding) before Aegon and Sunfyre arrive with the Baratheon army.

The same can be said of Aemond and Helaena. The text does not focus on the inner personal relationships of the Green family. You know that Alicent and Criston were devoted to one another for decades and that Criston dies trying to rescue Alicent. You know that Daeron and Alicent were extremely close, and that Daeron's main motivation as the last man standing of the Greens wasn't for the Iron Throne, but to save his mommy. And you know that Aegon and Helaena hated each other's guts, but both loved and worshiped their children.

There is heavy - HEAVY - subtext in the book that GRRM puts in that Helaena and Aemond are connected somehow, though in the book they never exchange a word nor are seen together. Helaena and Aemond die nearly at the same moment, or Helaena was triggered by Aemond's death to commit suicide, and it's never explained why she did so. We know that Dreamfyre - Helaena's dragon - dies in the exact same way as Aemond. And that Vahgar dies in the exact same manner as Helaena.

Once more, just like Daeron fulfilling his vow to rescue and see safe Alicent and then going off as the man with no name when the war was won, so is the subtext of Aemond and Helaena's connection that GRRM planted with the idea that he'd make it something if it gets picked up as a show.

Like I said, this is why I hate "Fire & Blood" cause it's so fucking self-indulgent. For fuck's sake man, just tell us what happened! I don't need to read something three times just to pick up that Daeron lived and that Aemond and Helaena were secretly in love. I'm not studying for a Masters Degree!

JUST FUCKING SAY IT!

Ugh ...

#House of the Dragon #Aemond Targaryen #Helaena Targaryen #Helaemond #aemond x helaena

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basil-the-bulbasaur · 4 months

Note

White houses by vanessa Carlton for the ask game (its been rotting in the back of my head for days)

I'm using the lyrics with commentary and mild editing to explain why this has actually been about ranchers the whole time

I hope this is comprehensible

Crashed on the floor when I moved in (Tango getting explodificated) This little bungalow (like a ranch?!) alone with some strange new friends Stay up too late, and I'm too thin We promise each other it's til the end ("you will always be my soulmate, my rancher") Now we're spinning empty bottles It's the five of us (this may bring up thoughts of The Southlands but actually "the five of us" is Jimmy, Tango, chickens, cows, and goats/horses) With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust (because when you ally with Jimmy the canary curse gets you) I can't resist the day ((I don't really know what this means)) No, I can't resist the day (Its ranching. They can't resist going outside and ranching)

[The Warden] screams out and it's no pose (Jimmy is in the deep dark getting enchanted) Cause when she dances she goes and goes And beer through the nose on an inside joke And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken (because if he speaks the wardens gonna get him) And [Tango]'s so pretty, and she's so sure (consurened about Jimmy being in the deep dark) Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her ((this part actually doesn't match well because the ranchers are to silly and oblivious for either one to be more clever than the other) its about Jim surviving the deep dark and proving everyone's worries wrong) The summer's all in bloom The summer is ending soon (Its a death game. they don't have long :( )

It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone (soulmates) But I hold on to your secrets in white houses (the horse that they stole, who is now in the barn)

Maybe I'm a little bit over my head I come undone at the things he said (wow I love my soulmate. Hey what happened to our goats???) And he's so funny in his bright red shirt (like- like the shirt Tango wears?) We were all in love and we all got hurt (The Ranch! D:) I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat ((this part made more sense before I decided to focus on DL setting ranchers, if they're in a modern setting then sure yeah, car, but like this?) leather jacket, i guess) The smell of gasoline in the summer heat (not the ranch!!!!!!!!) Boy, we're going way too fast (they're both so impulsive) It's all too sweet to last (the ranch was too epic and cool so it got burnt down, also ranchers being doomed to die or something)

It's alright And I put myself in his hands (Jimmy stopping Tango from getting unplanned revenge) But I hold on to your secrets in white houses (they still have the horse) Love, or something (revenge!!!!!) ignites in my veins (ignites?! like fire?! like blazeborn!Tango?!) And I pray it never fades in white houses

My first time, hard to explain ("Jolly Ranchers" they get to enchant! yay!) Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain (Oh no! arrows!) On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think (Jim falling off the tower above the velvet keep) He's my first mistake (referencing the creeper death)

Maybe you were all faster than me (contemplation of canary curse) We gave each other up so easily These silly little wounds will never mend (getting attacked by an Enderman) I feel so far from where I've been (dying so far from the ranch :() So I go, and I will not be back here again (They can't return to the ranch because they're dead!) I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses I lie, put my injuries all in the dust (canary curse strikes again) In my heart is the five of us In white houses

And you, maybe you'll remember me What I gave is yours to keep (they're still ranchers) In white houses In white houses In white houses

#hybbat

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candycornbitch · 2 years

Text

I had a thought

So, we've already had mermaids referenced a few times in Our Flag Means Death (ie. Ed listing mermaids as one of the cool ways he thought he'd die, Jim saying they're not a mermaid, Frenchie bringing them up, etc.), BUT

What if (because we already know that reality isn"t an issue for this show) they DO exist, but they're all super chill lesbians who only want to swim with their gal pals and have their choir practices and dumbass men keep ruining that?

Plus, it'd be really fun if we had another female pirate introduced and one of the mermaids could fall in love with her, mostly just because I've been wanting to see that on screen since I heard a gay version of "My Jolly Sailor Bold", or maybe Spanish Jackie has a couple of wives, and one of them is a mermaid.

Also, they would need to be friends with Buttons, because I can't not imagine a scenario where Buttons wouldn't be buds with mermaids

Lesbian, dorky mermaids. I need it.

Also, if someone knows of a ofmd fic with lesbian mermaids, PLEASE send it to me, I will be beholden to you forever

(I keep having more ideas, I'll probably edit this post A LOT)

What if, completely by accident, Stede and marooned Revenge crew manage to unknowingly piss off some mermaids and the girls are like "ugh, more stupid pirates ruining everything" so a group of them go to kill them while they're in the rowboat, but just as things are starting to get ugly one of the girls is all like "omg, is that Nathaniel Buttons" and he's like "Moira, it's been forever, how's your kelp scarves for seagulls charity coming?" or some such thing and all the other mermaids are like "Oh, you fuck with Buttons, you're totally cool" and they all become allies

They could spy on the Revenge and bring back news about the separated members, they could help Jim and Frenchie escape, they could save Lucius from drowning, SO many possibilities

#ofmd s2 #our flag means death #ofmd meme #mermaid #lgbt pride #lgbtq #lgbtq representation #our flag means gay #our flag means party

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god-complex-12 · 1 year

Text

Prompts

Master list

* EDITING IN PROCESS.

Rules

- Emoji anons are welcomed

- I only write for male, gn, or ftm trans readers

- I prefer writing for amab readers

- no incest, ya nasty.

- no pedo shit.

- if I write a character who is a minor, it is strictly platonic.

- I write for platonic fics for characters over the age of 18 to.

- no SH, suicide, rape, SA, no shit like that, please.

- No “yandere” stuff.

- if I ignore your request, I either didn’t see it, didn’t know how to write it, or it just went against one of my rules.

- please, put if you want the reader to be male or gn.

NSFW rules

- non of the sub reader stuff, unless they are at the hands of a power bottom (preferably character)

- I prefer the reader to be penetrating, if there is any.

- preferably amab reader. Y’know, with a pee pee. Or a trans (ftm) reader with surgery.

- I will write for a female bodied reader (ftm) without surgery too, just saying I prefer a wee wee.

Fandoms I write for:

Oscar Isaac characters

Steven Grant (Moon Knight). Marc Spector (Moon Knight). Jake Lockley (Moon Knight). William Tell (The Card Counter). Santiago “Pope” Garcia (Triple Frontier). Nathan Bateman (Ex Machina). Jonathan Levy (Scenes Fromba Marriage). Abel Morales (The Most Violent Year). Will Dempsey (Life Itself). Rydal (The Two Faces of January). Nick Masicsko (Show Me a Hero). Jack (Mojave). Shiv (Pu-239). Miguel “Spider-Man 2099” O’Hara (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse). Duke Leto (Dune). Kane (Annihilation). Palo “Poe” Dameron (Star Wars). Llewyn Davis (Inside Llewyn Davis). Richard (The Letted Room). Paul Gauguin (At Eternity’s Gate). Cecil (Revenge on Jolly!). Lightening Face (Basil Stitt).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Characters:

Tasks force 141- Cpt. John Price. John “Soap” MacTavish. Simone “Ghost” Riley. Kyle “Gaz” Garrick.

Las Vaqueros- Colonel Alejandro Vargas. Rodolfo “Rudy” Parra.

Other- Kate Laswell. Commander Phillip Gaves. “König”.

Six

Characters:

Richard “Rip”. Joseph “Bear” Graves. Alex Claude. Ricky “Buddha”. Robert Chase III. Dominic Adams.

Rainbow Six Siege

Characters:

Viperstrike- Nayara “Brava” Cardoso. Grace “Dokkaebi” Nam. Ryad “Jackal” Al-Hassar. Yumiko “Hibana” Imagawa. Vicente “Capitão” Souza. Mike “Thatcher” Baker. Elias “Blitz” Kötz. Kana “Alamo” Fujiwara. Adriana “Maestro” Martello. Aria “Alibi” Luca. Masaru “Echo” Enatsu. Mark “Mute” Chandar. Julien “Rook” Nizan. Marius “Jäger” Streicher.

Nighthaven- Charlie Tho “Grim” Keng Boon. Anja “Osa” Janković (platonic). Håvard “Ace” Haugland. Jaimini “Kali” Shah. “Finka”. Monika “IQ” Weiss. Alpha “Aruni” Tawanroong. Ngugi “Wamai” Furaha. Elżbiedts “Ela” Bosak. Elena “Mira” Álvarez. James “Smoke” Porter. Jack “Pulse” Estrada.

Wolfguard- Néon “Sens” Ngoma. Sanaa “Nomad” Maktoub. Olivier “Lion” Flament. Siu “Ying” Lin. Gilles “Montagne” Touré. Emmanuel let “Twitch” Pichon. Mina “Thunderbird” Sky. Thandiwe “Melusi” Ndlovu. Morowa “Clash” Evans. Tina “Frost” Tsang. Miles “Castle” Campbell. Gustave “Doc” Kateb. Dominic “Bandit” Brunsmeier.

Ghosteyes- Santiago “Flores” Lucero. Samuel “Zero” Fisher. Nienke “Iana” Meijer. “Nøkk”. Erik “Maverick” Thorn. Zofia Bosak. “Glaz”. Ana “Solis” Díaz. Collinn “Warden” McKinley. Max “Mozzie” Goose. Chul “Vigil” Hwa. Liu “Lesion” Long. Taina “Cerveira” Pereira. Meghan “Valkyrie” Castellano.

Redhammer- Azucena “Amaru” Quispe. Tori “Gridlock” Fairous. Craig “Blackbeard” Jenson. Sebastien “Buck” Côté. Seamus “Sledge” Cowden. Eliza “Ash” Cohen. Jordan “Thermite” Trace. “Fuze”. Brianna “Thron” Skehan. Said “Oryx” Hadid. César “Goyo” Herbández. Jalal “Kaid” Fassi. “Tachanka”. “Kapkan”.

Lucifer (Netflix)

Characters:

Angels- Amenadiel. Lucifer Morningstar.

Demons- Mazikeen.

Detective/or works in that field- Ella Lopez. Dan. Marcus Pierce.

Other- Eve.

Characters:

Justice League- Clark “Superman” Kent. Bruce “Batman” Wayne. Diana “Wonder Woman” Princess. Barry “The Flash” Allen. Hal “Green Lantern” Jordon. Victor “Cyborg” Stone. Arthur “Aquaman” Curry. Oliver “Green Arrow” Queen.

Bat-fam- Bruce “Batman” Wayne. Dick “Nightwing” Grayson. Jason “Red Hood” Todd. Tim “Red Robin” Drake. Damian “Robin” Wayne. Stephanie “The Spoiler” Brown. Cassandra “Orphan” Cain. Duke “The Signal” Thomas. Kathy “Batwoman” Kane. Barbara “Batgirl” Gordon.

Hero- Kara “Supergirl” Zor-El. Queen “Wonder Woman” Nubia. Donna “Wonder Girl” Troy. Karen “Power Girl” Starr. Raymond “Atom” Palmer. Dinah “Black Carney” Lance. Wally “The Flash” Weat. Jon “Superboy” Kent. Koriand’r “Starfire”. Rachel “Raven” Roth. Garfield “Beast Boy” Logan. Zatanna Zatara. John “Hellblazer” Constantine.

Green lanterns- Hal “Green Lantern” Jordon. John “Green Lantern” Stewart. Kyle “Green Lantern” Rayner.

Villain- Jack “Joker” Naiper. Harlen “Harley Quinn” Quinzel. Edward “The Riddler” Nygma. Selina “Catwoman” Kyle. Pamela “Posion Ivy” Isley. Floyd “Deadshot” Lawton. Jonathan “Scare Crow” Crane. David “Black Manta” Hyde.

Other- Lucifer Morningstar.

Marvel

Characters:

Avengers- T’Challa “Black Panther”. Sam “Falcon” Wilson. Steve “Captain America” Rogers. Natalia “Black Widow” Alianovna. Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes. Clint “Hawkeye” Barton. Tony “Iron Man” Stark. Thor Odinson.

Hero’s- Roberta “Captain America” Mendez. Matt “Daredevil” Murrdock. Scott “Ant-Man” Lang. Peter “Star Lord” Quill,

Deadpool- Wanda “Lady Deadpool” Wilson. Wade “Deadpool” Wilson.

MoonKnight- Steven “Mr. Knight” Grant. Marc “MoonKnight” Spector. Khonshu. Jake “Mr. Knight” Lockley.

Spider-men- Cooper “Web-Weaver” Coen. May “Spider-Girl” Parker. Hobie “Spider-Punk” Brown. Ben “Scarlet Spider” Reilly. Kaine “Scarlet Spider” Parker. Miguel “Spider-Man 2099” O’rara. Anya “Spider-Girl” Corázon. Gwen “Spider-Gwen” Stacy. Miles “Spider-Man” Morales. Cindy “Silk” Moon. Mary “MJ” Jane. Peter “Spider-Man” Parker.

Other- Tony “Taskmaster” Masters. Brock “Crossbones” Rumblow. Joaquín “Falcon” Torres. Yelena “White Widow” Belova. Gwen “Gwenpool” Poole. Kraven “Kraven the Hunter”. Felicia “Black Cat” Hardy. Soel “Luna Snow” Hee. Elektra Natchios. Albert “Spawn” Simmons. Frank “Punisher” Castle. Loki Odinson. Stephen “Doctor Strange” Strange.

Triple Frontier

Characters:

Francisco Morales. Santiago “Pope” Garcia. Tom “Redfly” Davis.

The Card Counter

Characters:

William Tell. La Linda. Clirk Rogers.

A Most Violent Years

Characters:

Abel Morales. Lawrence. Peter Forente..

The Two Faces of January

Characters:

Chester’s McFarland. Rydal.

Ex Machina

Characters:

Nathan Bateman.

Scenes From a Marriage

Characters:

Jonathan Levy.

Life Itself

Characters:

Will Dempsey.

Show Me a Hero

Characters:

Nick Wasicsko. Micheal Sussman?

Mojave

Characters:

John “Jack” Jackson.

Pu-239

Characters:

Shiv.

Dune

Characters:

Duke Leto.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Characters:

Miguel “Spider-Man 2099” O’Hara. Peter “Spider-Man” B. Parker. Jessica “Spider-Woman” Drew. Peter “Spider-Man Noir” Parker.

Obey Me! Shall We Date?

Demons- Lucifer. Mammon. Leviathan. Satan. Asmodues. Beelzebub. Belphegor. Diavolo. Barbatos.

Angels- Simeon. Luke (platonically).

Humans- Solomon.

Anime’s:

*If the characters are like high schoolers, I will only right with them aged up. However, if the character I’d like 14 and below, I will note write with at all because 15 and above I can get a more accurate less childish personality with them being aged up.

Devil Man Crybaby

Characters:

Akira Fudo. Ryo Asuka. Miki Makimura. Miki Kurado. Psycho Jenny.

Haikyu!! (Ify about this one)

Kurasuno- Yu Nishinoya. Tobio Kageyama. Kei Tsukishima. Kiyoko Shimizu. Shoto Hinata. Ryūnosuke Tanaka. Koshi Sugawara. Hitoka Yachi. Tadashi Yamaguchi. Keishin Ukai. Daichi Suwamura.

Nekoma- Kenma Kozume. Tetsurō Kuroo. Lev Haiba.

Aoba Johsai- Toru Oikawa. Hajime Iwaizumi.

Fukurōdani- Kōtarō Bokuto. Keiji Akaashi.

Shiratorizawa- Wakatoshi Ushijima. Satori Tendo.

Attack on Titan

Characters:

Scout Regiment- Armin Arlert. Mikasa Ackerman. Levi Ackerman. Hange Zoë. Sasha Brown. Erwin Smith.

Military Regiment- Hitch Dreyse. Kenny Ackerman.

Warriors- Reiner Braun. Annie Leonhart.

Nobility- Historia Reiss.

Eldia- Ymir Fritz.

Paradise Island- Carla Jeager. Kuchel Ackerman.

Sword Art Online

Character:

Kirito. Asuna. Sinon.

Seven Deadly Sins

Characters:

Meliodas. Escanor. Gowther. Ban. Diane. King.

Hunter x Hunter

Characters:

Killua Zoldyck (platonic). Gon Freecss (platonic). Kurapika. Chrollo Lucifer. Feitan. Leorio.

Parasyte

Characters:

Satori Murano. Shinichi Izumi. Kana Kimishima.

Demon Slayer

Characters:

Ubuyashiki Family- Kagaya Ubuyashiki.

Hashira- Giyu Tomioka. Mitsuri Kanroji. Sanemi Shinazugawa. Gyomei Himejima. Shinobu Kocho.

Former Hashira- Kyojuro Rengoku. Tengen Uzui.

Demon Slayers- Tanjiro Kamado. Zenitsu Agatsuma. Inosuke Hashibira.

Demons- Muzan Kibutsuji. Enmu.

Death Note

Blue Exorcist

Ouran High School Host Club

Soul Eater

Black Butler

Angels of Death

High-rise Invasion

Noragami

Psycho-pass

Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun

The Way of the House Husband

Kotoro Lives Alone (platonic w/ Kotoro)

Cowboy Bebop

Jujutsu Kaisen

#rules and requests #god complex 12

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tizzyizzy · 2 years

Text

Our Flag Means Perfume

I’ve been coping with The Horrors through obsessing over perfumes, and look what I found:

It turns out Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has multiple pirate related perfumes, so I thought I might share them here in case they are of any interest. Maybe you want to spice up your cosplay with the scent of literal spices, or give a birthday gift to a fan, or just hoard like a dragon.

Calico Jack Perfume Oil

Sea air, driftwood, waterlogged kelp, and the memory of plundered spices sprayed over worn leathers, rough musk, and the salty wooden floorboards of the Revenge.

Anne Bonny Perfume Oil

Named in honor of the most notorious female pirate to ever set sail. Wicked, cruel, beautiful, intelligent, resourceful and dangerous: a true role model. A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense. A million thanks to Juliana Williamson-Page for inspiration!

Grog Perfume Oil

Arrr! Avast ye, matey! This be the scent of pirate rum!

Jolly Roger

Sea spray with an undercurrent of leather, Bay Rum, and salty, dry woods.

Mary Read Perfume Oil

Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder.

Plunder Perfume Oil

The scent of a pirate’s bumboat, overflowing with stolen wares: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg.

Port Royal Perfume Oil

The Sodom of the New World! — touted as the richest and wickedest city in all creation! Port Royal was the center of 17th century Caribbean commerce, a notorious safe harbor for pirates, and the site of our third flagship store, which was, sadly, destroyed in the earthquake of 1692. Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down.

Also, if you want to try something a bit more Stede Bonnety, these are apparently based on historical, high class perfumes around the relevant period.

Bess Perfume Oil

Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.

Vicomte de Valmont Perfume Oil

Rake, scoundrel, demon in a frock coat. Devilishly seductive, ultimately tragic; a villain undone and redeemed by love. Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary.

There are also a bunch of limited edition sea shanty inspired perfumes which I won’t bother linking to individually.

Fire Down Below

A collection of sea chanteys, hauling and pulling shanties, sailor’s songs, and sea chants.

Tips if you do end up buying something:

All but the Fire Down Below perfumes are “general catalogue” scents that you can buy at either full size or as a 1/32oz “Imp”. If you buy 6 or more Imp sized perfumes, you get $2.00 off.

This is a small indie perfume house that just relocated, so orders do take some time. That is to say, if you want something to arrive by Christmas, it’s too late.

You can look at more reviews in the forums. I suggest using the search bar; then look for a thread with the same title as the name of the perfume in the results.

#calico jack #mary read #anne bonny #ofmd #our flag means death #perfume #bpal #black phoenix alchemy lab

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wolfgabe · 10 months

Text

And my 30-day video game music challenge is now officially completed and done.

A full list of the songs I shared for each day

Day 1 Title Screen: Discovery - Sonic Mania

Day 2 Opening Level: Fossil Falls - Super Mario Odyssey

Day 3 8-Bit Music: Butter Building - Kirby's Adventure

Day 4 Console Exclusive Series: Seep and Destroy - Splatoon 3

Day 5 Hub World/Overworld: Gruntilda's Lair - Banjo Kazooie

Day 6 Relaxing Music: 2AM - Animal Crossing New Horizons

Day 7 Indie Game Music: Murine Corps - Cuphead

Day 8 First/Third Person Shooter Music: The Only Thing They Fear is You - DOOM Eternal

Day 9 Licensed Game: Homer's Day - The Simpsons Hit & Run

Day 10 RPG Battle music: Okie Dokie! - Mario & Luigi Bowsers Inside Story

Day 11 Puzzle Game: Yours Forever - Tetris Effect

Day 12 Sad Music: Face Shrine - The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (Switch version)

Day 13 Music from game you don't like: White Acropolis (The Base) Sonic the Hedgehog 2006

Day 14 Music with vocals: E.G.G.M.A.N - Sonic Adventure 2

Day 15 Boss Music: Pumpin Hot Stuff (Vs The Noise) - Pizza Tower

Day 16 16-Bit Music: Shooting Ristar - Ristar

Day 17 Music you never get tired of: Jolly Roger Bay/Dire Dire Docks - Super Mario 64

Day 18 Music from a game released the year you were born: Athletic Theme - Super Mario World 2 Yoshi's Island

Day 19 Cover from different artist: Meta Knight's Revenge - Kirby Super Star 8 Bit Big Band cover

Day 20 Racing Game music: Coconut Mall - Mario Kart Wii

Day 21 Music you associate with frustration: Angry Aztec Race - Donkey Kong 64

Day 22 Town/Village music: Tarrey Town - The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Day 23 Underrated Music: Let's Go Easy - Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

Day 24 Music you have constantly stuck in your head: Mind's Eye - Tempest 2000

Day 25 Music that gets you pumped: Pac Rainbow - Pac Man Championship Edition DX

Day 26 Music from a game you haven't played: Rude Buster - Delarune

Day 27 Handheld game music: Paris - Big Bang Mini (Nintendo DS)

Day 28 Music that makes you nostalgic: Menu 1 - Super Smash Bros Melee

Day 29 Final Boss Music: C-R-O-W-N-E-D - Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe

Day 30 Credits music: Staff Roll - Super Mario Galaxy

#spoutible #music #video game music #video game music challenge #gaming #gamers #video games #social media

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my-secret-shame · 6 months

Text

Cecil Dennis

#cecil #cecil dennis #revenge for jolly #revenge for jolly edit #cecil edit #oscar isaac #oscar isaac edit #q #has this been done before? i don't know if i have new thoughts anymore of it they are just recycled #my stupid edit #(affectionate)

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uomo-accattivante · 3 years

Text

Il materiale di origine: Revenge For Jolly! (2012) / Atlas Independent/A Saboteur #myedit

#oscar isaac #cecil #revenge for jolly #chadd harbold #my edit

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elizabeethan · 3 years

Text

Time and Time Again- Part 2

Follow up to Time and Time Again because I have no self control! Killian’s POV of when they get home from Neverland.

Thanks to @the-darkdragonfly for enabling me and then editing this.

Rated a very soft M... I guess.

Part 2/2 (now it’s complete)

~3400 words

Read on Ao3

Tagging: @courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @ouatpost @daxx04 @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook

If you want me to add or remove you from my tag list please tell me!!

She’s the strongest woman he’s ever known. Of course, Milah was a fierce lass with fire in her heart, but there’s something about Emma Swan that seems to blow Milah’s disposition out of the water.

Perhaps it’s the way she defeated one of the most cunning and menacing foes he’s ever known. That must be it. The way he’d tried to do it years ago, using sheer violence and residual anger, hadn’t even come close to working. Meanwhile, this bloody woman succeeds in a matter of weeks.

He loves her; he can deny it no longer.

She’s the smartest person he’s ever known. Her instinct is almost always correct and he hasn’t had a single moment in which he doesn’t trust her to the fullest extent.

So he isn’t sure why no one seems to be listening to her.

He’s surprised when she comes to him. It’s not with the intention of confiding in him, but it isn’t a difficult bridge to cross before she is. “There’s something wrong with Henry,” she tells him, voice soft and scared and desperate. She looks so small across the hall from him as she hugs herself. “I don’t know what, but…”

“Alright, Swan,” he tries, hoping to comfort her, reaching through the space between them to touch his hand to her shoulder but careful not to get too close. “We’ll sort this out.”

He can’t move past the look of surprise on her face when he promises this, as if she’s shocked that someone would offer to help her- believe her.

Rumplestiltskin defeats Peter Pan- his father, apparently- but the curse has already been cast and cannot be stopped. It’s determined that nothing can be done, save for Regina casting her own curse and bringing everyone back to the Enchanted Forest.

Everyone but Henry.

But not to worry, Emma escaped the first curse, so she can stay here with him.

And Killian wants to kick and scream and revert back to the man he once was, not too long ago. The crocodile died a somewhat noble death, effectively taking away his chance at revenge, but it would’ve been alright. Because he would’ve had a chance to love Emma Swan and he suspects that would’ve been endlessly better than revenge.

And now she’s leaving.

And she’s crying again.

And he knows he won’t survive this.

“That’s quite the vessel you captain, Swan,” he says in a pathetic attempt to distract from the pain he’s feeling.

She laughs in a way that tells him this hurts her too, and his assumptions are confirmed when she leans in close to him and draws him into a tight hug. “I don’t want to do this alone,” she whispers against him.

He squeezes her back then pulls away to wipe a tear off of her cheek. He feels weak, but she needs strength, so he digs deep. “You aren’t alone, love,” he whispers back. “You have Henry, and we’ll all be with you, here.” He points to her heart, feeling the violent pace it takes as it slams in her chest.

She chokes and sniffles but says nothing, so he supplies, “there’s not a day will go by I won’t think of you,” and he means it more than he’s ever meant anything.

Through tears and strangled breaths she says, “good,” and supplies him with a smile that will surely haunt his dreams.

He wants to kiss her. He’s not sure he can live with the memory of her lips on his and with the knowledge that it will never happen again. But her family is here and he thinks they know naught of their dalliances on the island, so he holds back.

Regina talks of giving Emma and Henry memories that aren’t real to numb the pain of the loss they’ll feel. He’s glad that they won’t remember losing their family- that Emma won’t remember losing her parents again- but he feels jealousy. Forgetting her would be so much easier.

But as he watches her cross the town line in her yellow contraption and the curse whisks them away, back to Misthaven, he knows he wouldn’t trade loving Emma Swan for anything in the world.

~~~~

Six months pass painfully. Killian Jones knows loss, he’s experienced plenty of it in his centuries of life, and this is no easier. The loss of a love not yet bloomed is almost worse than the pain he felt when he lost Milah. At the end of the day, he knew what they had and how they changed each other. He wishes he could have that luxury with Emma.

His crew tries desperately to help him move on. Of course, none of them know the pain he feels and why, but he’s certain that they can sense a change in their captain. He tries to move on as well, attempting to pirate distant lands and pillage royal carriages, but nothing seems to distract from what’s always on his mind.

At month eight, they buy him a night with a woman- a brown-haired lass who stirs nothing in him. He pays her off and ignores the look of confusion on her face as he walks through the streets. The mermaid finds him, threatens him with a blade to his throat if he doesn’t help her, and he can’t fight the thoughts of a love lost that sprout in his mind. He can’t walk away without helping her because, as he painfully realizes, he knows how she feels. She at least has a chance to get her love back.

But then he thinks having the Jolly back will cure him of his ailments of the heart, so he behaves foolishly and throws Blackbeard overboard. It serves him right, truthfully, for stealing a man’s ship. But then the mermaid asks him if true love is worth more than a few planks of wood and a sail, and he knows that it is. He also knows that his love is lost from him, so a few planks of wood and a sail is all that he has and all that he’ll ever have again.

The bird that lands on his helm is a surprise, and the note attached to her leg even more so. Another curse is coming, and Emma’s family needs her. It’s the first time he’s seen her name outside of his mind’s eye and his heart constricts in his chest, thumping painfully against his ribs. He thinks of her when he thinks of his ribs, of how she diagnosed them broken in the street and celebrated silently when she was proven correct, and wonders how morbid of a thought that is.

A curse swept through Misthaven, making travel between realms possible again. The only problem is that he’s essentially destroyed any sense of trust between himself and the fire-haired mermaid who could make him a portal, so he must find another way. The thought of giving his ship back to Blackbeard, who was apparently saved by the siren, causes an ache in his chest that rivals the one he’s been feeling for the last year. But the thought of missing out on the chance to help Emma, to see her again, blows that pain away and it’s the easiest decision he’s ever made. So he takes the bean and thinks of her when he tosses it to the ground. He’s never felt so hopeful.

~~~~

She knees him in the groin. It’s poetic, really, the way he tries True Love’s Kiss with her and she shoves him out the door without a hint of remembrance. But he knew it was a long shot. True Love’s Kiss doesn't work when one person doesn't remember the other. Perhaps it’s foolish for him to believe that she loves him.

He watches as she struggles to answer the scrawny, unkempt man’s proposal. He wonders if it’s because of what he said to her, but he tries not to get his hopes up. He’s missed the fire in her voice, the sarcasm dripping from every word, more than he could have possibly imagined.

She still doesn’t believe him despite having proof, and he shouldn’t be surprised when she chains him up again. He wonders fleetingly how many pairs of these handcuffs she owns as the officers haul him off and lock him in the brig. He’s been in worse, of course, but then they try and give him their strange meat and he knows he must escape.

He’s just started working on his plan, wondering about the strength of the metal bars holding him in place and wishing he had his hook, when an officer opens the cage and sets him free. “You made bail,” she tells him, and Killian wonders what the bloody hell that’s supposed to mean, but he doesn’t waste the opportunity. Once he’s outside, he sees her golden hair and knows everything will be alright.

And she believes him. She believes him! It’s almost too good to be true. She struggles with the decision, but he sees the moment that it’s made in her eyes. The moment she reaches for the vial in his fingers, her own grazing his and lighting a fire in him, and pulls it to her mouth. He sees her take a deep breath and prepare herself for all that is about to change for her.

What he doesn't see is the man rushing by them, bumping into her back and causing her to drop the vial at their feet and destroy its contents. “No,” she says softly, sadly, as she looks down at the broken glass. “I was going to…”

She looks up into his eyes and he sees the same pain that was on display a year ago, when they lost each other. She looks lost and confused and disappointed at the idea of losing the chance to know herself again. She knows there’s something wrong, and she was moments from finding out exactly what it is before her opportunity was crushed at her feet. He can’t stand to see this look on her face.

“Come, love,” he says, offering her his hand which she takes easily. He isn’t sure where they're going, but he can't sit idly by and not make an effort to sooth her worries. “Let’s get out of the street,” he suggests.

She nods, pulling on his hand and leading him down the busy pavement as they weave through other pedestrians until they arrive at her building. He’s let in by her this time, doesn’t have to sneak in through the nearly closing door behind someone, and, once they get out of the metal death trap, he watches her take out a set of keys and open up her apartment door. She lets him in without a second thought and sets her things down, dropping onto the couch with a huff.

“This is… it’s too much,” she finally says after moments of silence.

He steps closer to the couch she rests on, her knees pulled to her chin and her arms hugging herself tightly, but does dare sit down. “I’m sorry,” he says uselessly.

“It’s just that I… I feel like there's something wrong. Like something has always been off, but I've always just denied it. And just now, I was so ready to take that step and find out what my life is supposed to be. And then it just slipped through my fingers.”

“I wish I could fix this,” he says helplessly. “We needed to get back to your family, Emma. They need you and I… I need you.”

Her brows pinch together and she releases her legs, standing quickly and looking as though she wants to walk over to him. “I don't know what we—” she stops herself pensively. “If we have some kind of history, or whatever. But it’s like… it’s like I trust you somehow. And I was looking forward to swallowing that shit and finding out why I trust you so much. And you’re telling me I have to help my family, and even though I’ve never had one, I still believe you. And now knowing that I’ll never have the chance… it hurts so much, and I can’t put into words why.”

She’s crying again. He can’t stop himself from stepping closer to her and taking her hand in his, pulling her as close to him as he can without actually touching his body to hers. All he wants is to hold her until her pain is gone. “I’m so sorry, love,” he says softly, and at the sound of his voice, he can feel her melting closer to him. “I wish I could fix this for you. All I want is to take away your pain; I wish I could bear it for you.”

“I just want to know you,” she says, sinking closer until her forehead is pressed to his chest, and he wants to squeeze her like he did in Neverland. “I wish I knew who you were to me.”

“I’m yours,” he answers easily.

Her arms are around him and there’s no better feeling, until the pain of knowing that it isn’t her, not fully, sets in. He has to squeeze her to keep his tears at bay. “It doesn't make any sense,” she whispers again. “How I can feel this way about someone I don’t know— someone I don’t even remember ever knowing?”

“We did much together, you and I,” he says fondly. “We made quite the team.”

“What happened to us?”

“I lost you,” he whispers painfully, the words burning his throat on their way out. “For a year I suffered thinking I would never see you again. And then I found you, and, well…” He trails off, thinking of their first meeting and the damage she did to his pride and to his groin.

She lets out a small chuckle against his chest, rustling the hairs slightly as she does so, and says, “sorry about that. But you were just some stranger and you kissed me!”

“Aye, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why did you?”

He falters just slightly before deciding to take the chance, unsure if the consequences of his honesty truly bother him. “It was a long shot. I was hoping the kiss would work to break… Well, I suppose I just hoped you felt as I do.”

She pulls away from him just a bit so that she can look into his eyes from below him. She looks so small from this angle and he wants nothing more than to protect her; scoop her up in his arms and hold her close so that nothing can touch her. “How’s that?”

With a soft, sad smile, he says simply, “I love you.”

Emma cocks her head pensively, looking sad and dejected, but also hopeful. “I’m—” she starts, shaking her head. “I don’t know why, but I…”

She cannot answer him with words, it seems, and instead, she leans forward towards him and slips up onto her toes, holding her arms around him a bit harder to keep her balance. He wishes he could pause this moment while also letting it play out; perhaps if he could relive it again and again, he would be content. Her lips find his and it’s as if there’s an explosion between them, a vibrant burst of rainbow light brightening the room as she slips her fingers into his hair and pulls him closer.

“Killian,” she mumbles against his mouth, though he struggles to pull away from her after a year of knowing he would never see her again. He separates them minutely, his lips still grazing hers slightly as he whispers her own name back to her. “Did we just…?”

He can hardly think of the words that leave her mouth because it’s still so close to his. Rather than responding, he kisses her once more and revels in the feeling of her lips massaging his as she kisses him back. “Aye,” he says against her, keeping her as close as possible.

“I remember,” she whispers into his mouth, and she’s pulling away and looking gleefully confused. “That kiss…?”

“All curses can be broken, love,” he tries to reason.

Expecting to be met with panic and denial, he’s shocked to see some semblance of acceptance in her eyes as she says, “with True Love’s Kiss.”

He smiles at her and cups her cheek in his palm. “You don’t need to say anything, darling. Having you back with me is enough.”

She shocks him more still when she tugs him back to her, her lips crashing into his and her tongue seeking access to his mouth immediately. While their last kiss was soft and slow, this one is wanton and desperate, as if she can’t get him close enough to her.

They should be focused on getting her and Henry back to Storybrooke. Whether their kiss broke the memory curse that made her forget her family, or the Dark Curse that brought them back to the Land Without Magic, he isn’t sure. It’s something they should be trying to figure out. But it’s impossible to focus on that when Emma Swan pulls Killian Jones onto her couch without breaking her lips from his.

She doesn't ever stop kissing him. Not when she pushes his greatcoat off of his shoulders; not when she tugs his blouse over his head; not when she whispers “I love you,” into his mouth. Not when she wipes moisture off of his cheeks before it drips onto her own.

Eventually they break apart, but it’s only when his own lips start to travel down her chin, along her throat, to her exposed chest. She only allows that for so long, sealing them back together and letting him swallow her moan as his fingers find her center. His tongue traces his love for her against her clit until she’s writhing beneath him and begging him to make her his. Obliging, he slides into her easily, fitting perfectly between her thighs and inside her tight core. Their foreheads never part as they make love to each other slowly, with a gentle force that expresses just how one feels about the other.

They reach a precipice together, and he lets himself fall off the edge of the cliff he’s been hanging off of for the last year without her, plunging into the depths of what it is to love her and holding her the whole way down. He’ll never let go again.

There’s a knock on the door hours later, while they’re still bare and covered in only a small blanket. Their time spent sleeping and talking and holding each other and making love some more had to come to an end eventually, and Emma’s realization of who is at the door knocks them back into reality. “It’s Walsh, Henry invited him,” she explains as if he knows who that is, and she stirs from his hold on her.

He tries to pull her so that her back stays put against his chest, but she giggles and pinches his side until he lets go, slipping out from under the small blanket and reaching for her shirt before he can get another good look at her. “I can get rid of him,” he offers.

“No, my memories may not be real, but he is; I at least want to let him down easy.”

He puts the pieces together as he gets dressed himself, only after watching her walk out the door with a promise to return. Walsh must be the man who proposed to her the other night. A sense of worry sets over him as he considers the worst possible outcome. The fact that she could decide to stay with him and send Killian away. Though he doesn't get much of a chance to let this scenario play out in his mind, because he hears a crash from above and rushes upstairs to see Emma alone on the roof, panting and holding a pipe in her hand.

She hurries towards him once he opens the door, crashing into his hold and saying, “I was never safe.”

If there’s one thing he vows now, it’s that she will never feel this way again. He whispers into her ear as they walk down the stairs that they’ll take care of this. They’ll go back to Storybrooke and deal with the threats as they’ll do everything else for as long as she allows: together.

#csnlny #time and time again #captain swan #once upon a time #cs ff #captain swan fanfic #neverland arc #cs smut #but very mild

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zannilove · 2 years

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First Day of Christmas (12/13)

Title: Snow Day Theme: Snow/Cold Sleepy Cuddles Fandom/Character(s): Tokyo Revengers/ Naoto x fem!OC Warnings: Word Count: 616 Note: This is my first time writing for a fluffy Christmas challenge. I wrote this while awake due to insomnia so it's not well edited and really short. I hope that it's at least a bit enjoyable!

~~~

The holiday season was creeping up once again, like a rollercoaster, they were just rolling in. While Rei was a huge Christmas fanatic, she wasn’t too excited to see the powdery white snow as it fluttered down from the steel blue sky obstructing the sidewalks and roadways. Her car lurched forward, but wouldn’t continue to move, so she shifted into reverse.

The tires screeched kicking up slick powder from underneath their rubbery clutches. Jolly tune jingled in the background as she flailed about in defeat. Shutting off the engine, she yanked the keys from the ignition and exited the warmth of her vehicle. The wind whipped through her bright red hair, throwing her curls around, the raw breeze burning her ears as she started on her way.

Her thinly wrapped body trembled as she trudged up the pathway to her boyfriend’s house which stood unmoving in the brisk wind. Rei was slipping and sliding as she waddled, crunching up the snow-covered stairs. Luckily for her the front door was unlocked, so she let herself in loudly announcing her arrival.

“Naoto~” she chimed, her loud voice whistling through the quiet house. “I’m back from work.”

She paused listening for the smallest noise but was only met with silence. The air inside was just as bitterly cold as it was outside. Her steamy breath puffing out in her face as she sauntered through the merrily decorated living room. The Christmas tree was glistening brightly, its snow-white bristling highlighting the red, green and silver bulbs and tinsel that were strewn carefully around. She tucked her hands into her jacket packet, admiring the handy work of her untight lover. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lightly glossed lips.

“Rei” the voice was low, almost like a whisper, perhaps it was coming from the back of the house.

The chilled girl turned on her heels, her excited feet pitapatting across the icy wooden floor as she rushed towards the back. Slinging open the bedroom door, she was met with the precious sight of her boyfriend wrapped tightly in a blanket. His usually pale face was tinted pink, his nose rosy from the cold, a small smile plastered on his lips. Rei rushed over to the bed, pouncing onto the bed, clinging tightly to the burrito wrapped man.

“The heat went out.” Naoto sighed, wriggling his arm free from the covers to pat her head. “I called someone to fix it, but the earliest they can come is the morning.”

Naoto shifted closer to the wall making a small space beside him, Rei took no time to fill the spot. Naoto’s body was lean and warm, it was a welcoming feeling. His Christmas themed lounge clothes were fluffy, trapping in his slow heating warmth against his skin. His arm was snug around her waist.

Rei could always feel safe when wrapped in his arms, but today was different, her body craved this closeness in the purest way. She kicked off her socks, digging her icy toes underneath the dark-haired man. His piercing black eyes widened as he jolted away from the red-haired woman.

“Why are your feet so cold?” he chuckled, pulling her closer once again.

“I had to walk 3 blocks to get here.” She sighed burying her face in the crook of his neck with a soft yawn. “My car got stuck in a snow pile.”

“How?” confusion and worry dripped over his words, he looked down at his girlfriend.

Light breathing rose from the woman, her body rising and falling in sync with her breathing. He pulled the covers over her shoulder, planted a loving kiss on her forehead and cuddled closer to her.

#12daysofChristmas2021 #fanfiction #holiday fanfic #christmas fanfiction #christmas challenge #tokyo revengers #tokrev #naoto tachibana #naoto fluff

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cto10121 · 3 years

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4. The Nurse returns to Juliet, thirsts for Romeus, R&J get married and get it on for two months

“The best y-shaped is he, and hath the fairest face Of all this town, and there is none hath half so good a grace: So gentle of his speech, and of his counsel wise:” And still with many praises more she heaved him to the skies.

So Brooke!Nurse is much more complimentary toward Romeo than Shakespeare!Nurse, although Shakespeare does keep a little bit of that Nurse thirstiness in terms of him having a ~good shape. But I feel it is best to have the Nurse prefer Paris, as it sets the Nurse up to be a practical foil for Juliet in terms of values. Also it’s more realistic: Paris is the Prince’s cousin, and the Nurse obviously does privilege what she calls “the chinks” than just hotness. There is no Paris figure here, though—unless Mercutio is meant to be the Paris?

At sixteen years I first did choose my loving fere, And I was fully ripe before, I dare well say, a year. The pleasure that I lost, that year so overpast, A thousand times I have bewept, and shall while life doth last.

On the other hand, Brooke!Nurse is clearly going to act the authorial mouthpiece at random times, isn’t she? Ay, ay, ay.

She took her leave, and forth she went with visage grave and sad With her the nurse is sent, as bridle of her lust

No, seriously, Brooke, tell us, how do you really feel (Reprise, molto sforzando)

The crystal tears began to stand in Romeus’ eyes,

Tears standing!!!! Brooke is definitely no Shakespeare. This sounds like something Bottom would have said in his Pyramus and Thisbe play.

So Romeus and Juliet are finally together in Juliet’s room (it’s their wedding night), and Romeus goes into this long-ass speech about how happy he is they’re married and to forget all of their previous unhappiness caused by their not being together, blah, blah, and so Juliet begins to answer:

Fair Juliet began to answer what he said, But forth in haste the old nurse stepped, and so her answer stayed. “Who takes not time,” quoth she, “when time well offered is, Another time shall seek for time, and yet of time shall miss. […] Wherefore if each of you hath harmed the other so, And each of you hath been the cause of other’s wailèd woe, Lo here a field”—she showed a field-bed ready dight— “Where you may, if you list, in arms revenge yourself by fight.”

THE NURSE FUCKING COMES IN OUT OF NOWHERE AND IS LIKE “you two are still talking???? time to fuck, chop chop”

(Also that horrible revenge/fighting metaphor is horrible, glad Shakespeare chucked it out, poof, it’s gone).

Thus pass they forth the night, in sport, in jolly game; The hastiness of Phoebus’ steeds in great despite they blame. And now the virgin’s fort hath warlike Romeus got

Arthur Brooke: Marrying for lust will lead you to ignominious death!!!!

Also Arthur Brooke: oh yeah they had sex, it was fun!!!! 😜

Brooke’s Bardugo-ing aside, this does suck. The morning after lark scene in Shakespeare is so tender, sad, lovely, and naturalistic. The context is different, of course, coming after Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment, but that’s just what makes it meaningful. Here it’s just “they fucked and it was great lol.”

Also that war metaphor again! It is not romantic to use it to talk about Romeo popping Juliet’s cherry, Brooke. Talk about medieval. Gives me great agita.

The summer of their bliss doth last a month or twain

So here is the big change. In Brooke, R&J tryst for a month or two while Shakespeare!R&J altogether get a week. You would think this would make the love connection stronger, but it...just doesn't? The framing of it all just makes it read that they married 4 da sex. Shakespeare!R&J are overall more heartfelt and convincing than these tedious knuckleheads. The best I can say for these (so far—I can just sense they’re going to give me problems later on [Edit: Past me keeps on divining!!!]) is that they’re no dummies, but I always say and ever will say till I am blue in the face that Shakespeare!R&J are not either. Quality>quantity, is all I can say. It’s not the quantity of your romantic relationship that matters, but the quality (thanks, Woody Allen).

#romeo and juliet #cristina reads #romeus and juliet #shakespeare #arthur brooke

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enchanted-prose · 4 years

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#12 A Bloody Ballad

and with this fic, I have officially crossed into the 60,000 word count territory. I've also decided that I will finish this ficlet series by July 14th and submit it to Jennifer Nielsen’s fan content competition.

Word count: 5,715

Characters: Jaron, Mott, Jolly (Original character who deserves lute rights), Lord Thomas Row (a babey and original character), Merry (Original character), Commander Regar (Original character), Roden, Tobias, Renlyn (Original character), Princess Amarinda, Imogen (this one’s a reAL party)

Notes: This was creepy even for me to write, so that’s your warning. Edited and ready to be read!

Enjoy!

The sneezing never stopped.

Always sneezing.

And it was all that cat’s fault.

Jaron rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t the cat’s fault, it was his. He should’ve thought about his reaction to the cat when Renlyn managed to sell it to him. Cat hair was everywhere.

But by the Saints, nothing could best the smile Imogen had when she held that kitten on her lap.

He didn’t mind silent suffering if it meant Imogen’s happiness.

Her secret smiles filled his head. The way her hand sought his whenever they were near each other kept his feet planted on solid ground. Jaron knew that Imogen’s mere presence gave him the focus to solve every puzzle at his fingertips.

However, it went deeper than that.

Imogen insisted on looking him over each time he got into trouble. She had no qualm about staying up until the early hours of the morning when memories of Avenia plagued him. Her love came in gentle forms; she brought him deftly spun bracelets, a spoonful of sweet pastry dough, ruffled his hair with flour covered fingers.

He could sneeze for a millennia for her.

With each passing day, his stance seemed more and more likely.

Did the Saints sneeze?

Energy burst through him without a warning. Jaron stood up, nearly knocking his chair to the floor. He snatched the letter he’d been reading and began to pace. King Kippenger was sending a representative to discuss the situation Avenia was in.

There was nothing Jaron wouldn’t do to assist an ally, save abdicating the throne and a few other atrocious acts of course. He was prepared to give aid to Avenia in any shape.

He was prepared to send his best military leaders to action if needed.

His mind instantly began thinking about what news Kippenger’s representative would be bringing. The path he walked was familiar. It gave him space to think outside of his normal routine. To the corner, to the door, to the shelf, back to the desk.

Thomas Row, that was the representative’s name. A farmer raised to nobility after demonstrating his loyalty not only to Avenia, but to Kippenger during the first months of his reign.

Carthya’s harvests over the past four years had been wondrous, and a new push for education thanks to Amarinda and Tobias. Feall was working with Roden, and Jaron was confident that Feall would make a capable temporary replacement should Roden be sent to Avenia.

The pieces were in place. Jaron could play this figurative chess game and win.

He was juggling what would happen if Avenia wouldn’t accept his help and what he would have to do to protect his own people.

Would it really be worth it to keep a Carthyan influence in Avenia if it only forced Avenians even further away from good relations?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

To many outcomes, not enough stable variables.

Think, think, think.

What could he do if Avenian relations soured?

Bymar would come to help, Jaron was certain of it. Mendenwal would likely come as well, and maybe even Gelyn, though the latter would likely have ill intentions. He could always completely withdraw Carthyan aid as a last resort.

A very last resort.

Why, oh why couldn’t Thomas Row be there, knocking at the door?

Jaron rubbed his watering eyes, and returned to his desk. One letter down, countless others to go. He inched his chair backwards, inched his chair forwards, and wished he had a chair that spun in a circle.

Saints, it wasn't even noon and he was already bored.

He’d managed to read through ten letters when somebody finally came to check in on him.

“Mott!” Jaron stood up, this time successfully knocking over his chair. “Thank the Saints, I wanted to ask you if-”

“No, I will not let you use a shield as a sled and ride down the grand staircase,” Mott’s brows lowered into a solid line.

Jaron broke into a wicked grin, “Good idea, but that’s not what I was going to ask. You read Kippenger’s letter, no?”

“Haven’t had much to do but read since the attack.”

“Do you have any- oh.”

During the Avenian war, Mott had received a wound that would’ve killed him if not for Tobias’s skill as a doctor. The wound prevented Mott from fighting his way through a battle.

The wicked grin Jaron sported faded into a deep frown. He wanted to be a good king, a just man who sought out justice rather than revenge.

It was a well kept secret that Mott’s ghost wound flared up. A well kept secret that the fight with the Faola who attacked Feall was responsible for the ghost pains.

But Jaron knew, he knew about Mott’s pain.

And if it weren’t for Imogen and Tobias, he would’ve taught the Faola a lesson they’d never forget.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” muttered Jaron, tossing through the emotions pulsing through his veins.

Anger, grief. Anger, grief. Anger, grief, and frustration.

Did nobody care how hard he was trying? Was that why there was still crime plaguing the streets of Drylliad?

“Not exactly, but I do appreciate the sentiment,” Mott shifted on his feet. “I did read Kippenger’s letter, and I dispatched a series of spies to try to locate his representative.”

“Did you find anything out?”

“As a matter of fact, I did, although the information came from someone who’s not one of ours.”

Oh?

Jaron motioned for Mott to continue, “Is it reliable information?”

“From a friend’s perspective, yes. However, from a ruler’s perspective there’s a series of holes in the story,” explained Mott. “My informant, ah, has a history of lute playing, colorful clothing, and pursuing every vice he can.”

“Please don’t tell me-”

“Jolly is my informant.”

He didn’t mean to snicker. He didn’t mean for that snicker to turn into a fit of laughter. Jaron coughed into his fist, trying his best to mask his grinning, “Jolly is your informant? The man who sings about floral crowns and otherworldly romances?”

Mott was all too serious as he nodded. “Considering that he not only found Thomas Row in Avenia, he also managed to bring him here, I’d give him a bit more credit.”

“Lord Thomas Row is here!? When did he arrive!? Why wasn’t I informed!?”

“He requested to stay at an inn rather than in the castle, said he wanted to be with the army that accompanied him.”

“By the toes of every Saint, I have to meet with him,” Jaron bolted to the door, froze as his hand hovered above the handle, and turned back to face Mott. “Would you like to come with me?”

“Perhaps,” Mott said. “I have several things that require my attention, but I don’t suppose you’d be opposed to helping me with my duties.”

More chores?