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#if not for them being mates no one NO ONE would even consider shipping them
bluegiragi · 5 months
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I'm not sure how I found your account but I have loved all of your creations. They have fueled my hyper-fixation for Call of Duty.
When it comes to your Monster au, are there any characteristics from the team that you see them having that you haven't been able to draw out in a storyline?
that's such a good question omg...it'd probably be all the ways that the 141 grew up.
(warning - lots of reading under the cut)
Price is a dragon hybrid, which means that historically his kind has not had amazing relationships with humans or each other. Close-knit dragon communities are still really rare, since instinctively they're extremely territorial and require space to themselves and a way to assert their own strength and hoard. But, sort of by government mandate, dragons need to keep within designated areas in case they accidentally torch a human city y'know. So he did grow up in a colony, but all the families there tended to keep to themselves, exempting mating season and the occasional territory fight. He left to join the military when he was pretty young, all things considered, and I think he did it mainly out of boredom. They were happy to have him of course - dragons are massive powerhouses with long lifespans, and very rare in their ranks (they dislike being ordered around). Price would like to think he's destined for a quiet life, but his job really let him wreak havoc and he took pleasure in indulging that primal urge of his. He grew out of that destructive phase though - nowadays, his priorities consist of taking care of his team.
--
Soap is a werewolf, which is a monster that subscribes to the 'it-takes-a-village' kind of mentality for raising a child. The Mactavishes are an average werewolf pack, with Soap, his parents, his grandparents, and his two sisters (one older, and one younger). Wolves are social creatures, but the older generation likes to stay within their own kind, if only for safety reasons. Soap's always been a go-getter though, so joining the military for a chance to see more of the world just made sense to him. Full-blooded werewolves are pretty sought after in the ranks, but they're a relatively newblood kind of monster. Superiors will often do their best to tame wolves and bring them to heel, with differing levels of success. If you win their loyalty, they're yours for life, but do them wrong and the pack will turn on you. Because of that danger of mutiny, officials will tend to keep it to one werewolf a team, despite them being stronger together.
--
Harpies are typically solitary and aren't very present parents, since they'll raise their children until they're 16 then dump them somewhere and tell them to survive. It sounds ruthless to most, but it's just how their culture is and it's how Gaz grew up. He's a resourceful type, and joined the military as soon as he could. Harpies are actually one of the more common monsters used in the forces, since their eyesight and wings make for pretty amazing scouting forces/snipers. In saying that though, there's no automatic comradery to be found between two harpies on the same team - in fact, they'll usually be combative at worst and cold/distant at best. Historically, harpies have found pride in their own independence, so being forced to interact/work together can be seen as an insult. Gaz himself is pretty charismatic and cool-headed, but even he'd get irritated if he was forced to share space with another harpy. He was shipped around between teams a lot as a lead sniper before he got promoted and met Price.
--
Simon is a wraith, but before that he was a normal human, if a bit freakishly strong. His time in the military was an escape from his home life, and after he became a wraith, that distance between himself and the human world only grew. Not a lot is known about wraiths, because the only way you'd be able to study one is if they let you and wraiths are inherently extremely private creatures with a tendency for extreme bursts of violence. They're also almost impossible to catch/imprison, so Simon's an asset the military is determined to hold onto.
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simpleeindulge · 2 months
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The Beast and the Mouse
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Info: fem/reader x Kid, 1st meetings, cussing and rude language, Kid in denial, Kid gets a crush, implied sexual yearning, future mature content planned.
Context: Kid develops a crush on a girl he thinks is not his type.
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Part 1.
Eustass Kid was in a foul mood, and he didn't care who knew it. He stumped through the ship with his fist clutched, looking for Killer. It was rare for him to be pissed off at his best friend and first mate, but dammit, he screwed up!
Killer happened to be in the same room with his fucked-up choice of a new crew member, making Kid paused at the doorway to glared at the man's back. Killer sensed the hostility and glanced over his shoulder. The movement gave Kid a better view of the girl's eyes. Those damn beautiful, doleful eyes that made Kid go still nearly every time he saw them.
“Need something, Captain?”
Kid snapped out of his daze and glared at Killer.
“I need to speak with you in private,” Kid said through gritted teeth then walked away.
Killer tilted his head at Kid, then shrugged and followed him. It was odd that Kid wanted to talk somewhere else.
Normally, Kid would tell whoever was in the room to get out if he wanted to talk with him privately. When Killer walked into Kid’s messy quarters and closed the door, Kid rounded on him and bellowed, “What the hell, Killer! What were you thinking, letting her join the crew without asking me!”
Killer threw up his hands in defense, and he wore a surprised expression behind his mask.
“What are you talking about, Kid?! You asked her to join! Remember!”
“I did not! I-”
But then Kid remembered that he did offer her a chance to join his crew. It had been after a battle with some weaker crew. They celebrated the win at a bar on a nearby island, and she was one of the barmaids there serving drinks.
That is, she was supposed to be serving, but she saw the wounds on some of the men drinking and started treating with her meager medical kit.
Kid had some woman straddle across his lap and happened to see the girl recleaning a wound on Killer. At the time, it was amusing to see this small mouse of a girl patching up rowdy pirates as they drank. How she concentrated on the Killer’s wounds while being aware of her environment made her a paradox of perfection.
“Hey,” Kid called over to her as the woman on his lap kissed and nipped at his neck. “You got a name?”
The girl looked up at him, and Kid, for some reason, froze. There was something about how her eyes shone as she stared directly at him. Her lips were pressed together in a sweet pout, and her hair fell in soft-looking waves around her shoulders.
Kid didn't know if it was the booze, but he felt a desire to shove the busty woman off his lap and carry the girl off. Considering how small she looked, he could even tuck her into his furred cape for safekeeping and have her for later.
The woman stopped kissing Kid, looking peeved that he wasn't paying attention to her.
She then saw who he was looking at and whispered in his ear, “That’s Y/n, but we all call her ‘Mouse’ because of how quiet she is.”
Kid blinked and then laughed at the name, and the harlot laughed with him. “Mouse, huh? How would you like to join my crew?”
“Kid.” Killer said his name to bring some sense to him, but Kid plowed through.
“You’ll see the world beyond this dump ‘little mouse’! See things you never thought possible! Enjoy pleasures you never thought to desire! You would be one of us! The infamous Kid Pirates!”
His voice carried through the bar, and the rest of his crew got swept up in their drunken state and cheered their captain. The girl just sat and stared at Kid as the crew gulped their drinks.
“Think about and talk to Killer when you make up your mind, ‘little mouse.' We set sail tomorrow at noon.”
Kid forced his attention back to the woman on his lap and began biting at her shoulder, making the woman gasp and laugh with pleasure.
After that, well, he ended the night with a good fuck in one of the bedrooms upstairs and walked back to the ship with a massive hangover early the following day.
He didn't see the girl nicknamed Mouse till they were already out at sea. She was helping to scrub the floors in the mess hall when Kid tripped over her, spilling the bucket of soapy water. He was about to yell at whoever tripped him when Kid recognized her from the bar.
“YOU!”
"Oh! Captain, I'm so sorry; let me help." She said softly as she took out a clean cloth and dried his face. Her hand touched his leg as she leaned in to press the fabric to his skin.
Kid went from anger to pure lust. He wanted to grab her and roll her under him without caring who was watching. The sudden carnal desire he suddenly felt overwhelmed him, and he quickly shoved her off him and stood up over her.
She made a surprised sound and glanced up at him with a wounded look that made his knees weak.
“How long have you been here?” Kid growled at her.
“Three days.”
“Who let you on my ship?”
“Killer, but you-”
Kid had left to find his first mate as he cursed himself.
Dammit! How could she have already been here for three days without me noticing?
Which led to the present problem of what to do with her now she's on the ship.
"I tried talking to you the day we set sail, but you were still hungover.” Killer explained as Kid rage grew.
“So you just let her on the ship!”
“The girl insisted on joining the crew. I was there when you asked her, and she didn't care that you were drunk when you asked her." Killer continued to explain.
"So this is my fault?!"
Well, yeah, duh, Killer thought but knew better and instead said, "Look, she may be useful. Heat looked over her bandaging skills. She's not bad and has enough medical knowledge for him to show her more."
"For what!? A nurse!" Kid roared. “We don't need another nurse!”
"She'll be a field medic." Killer clarified.
Kid's mind just stopped as he stared dumbfounded at his first mate. Her? A field medic? Her? Why not just shoot her now? It would be kinder and faster. Or if they wanted to make it slow, tie her up and drop her overbroad.
"You got to be kidding," Kid laughed as he started to pace the room.
"You want that small girl to go onto a battlefield and treat our crewmates! I might as well kill her right now! It would be the one good deed tied to my name!"
Kid then ran a hand through his red hair as he stopped pacing and shook his head. "No! No way! I want her off the ship!"
"But Kid, you-"
"I don't care what I said to her! No way am I keeping some weak pissant around to hold back our crew back!"
Killer's shoulder heaved as he sighed and said, "Okay, I'll see that she's off the ship at the next port. In the meantime, I'll have her do some odd jobs so she can earn her keep."
"Why wait?! Just put her on a rowboat and-"
"Captain."
Kid froze and snapped his gaze toward the doorway. Mouse, that is, Y/N, stood there looking at him with a firm expression on her sweet face.
It was unsettling how quiet she was as she moved. The door to Kid's cabin always creaked, yet she opened the door without a sound. She took a breath and walked into the room. Kid watched her and, for some absurd reason, felt nervous.
"Captain," she said again, "I want to stay and prove you wrong. I won't hold the crew back."
Killer watched as Kid had to visibly shake himself out of whatever sinkhole his mind had just dived into. He readies himself as Kid squares his shoulders and glares down at the girl. The girl didn't appear intimidated and even clasped her hands in front of her as her chin tilted up.
"You want to prove me wrong. Are you saying that you aren't a weak little-"
"I have experience treating the wounded, and I'm not afraid to go into a battle to help." She said quickly as her eyes softened at him.
Her voice was not raised, and her tone didn't sound desperate. It was like she was offering Kid a favor. A kind, healthful favor that made Kid's insides go all mushy.
"Please, Captain." She added gently as her lashes blinked at him. "Let me stay."
Killer glanced at Kid and was surprised to see him deflating. And if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Kid was... blushing? Yes, yes, he was. Kid was actually blushing over this tiny, sincere girl who looked out of place on their ship.
Kid gritted his teeth and slapped his hand over his nose and cheeks to hide part of the redness spreading on his face.
“Captain?” She asked again, now looking worried.
Kid growled and turned his head away as he shouted, "Fine! You can stay! But if you screw up, I will personally end you! Now go find something useful to do before I toss you off the side!"
Y/N smiled widely and didn't appear offended by Kid's shouting or threats. "Yes, Captain! Right away! I'll start by cleaning your room!"
"Wait, what?!" Kid had barely enough time to respond when both he and Killer were shoved out of the room and had the door slam closed on their backs.
"What the-how?"
He turned and stared at the closed door and back at Kid. How was a tiny girl able to shove him and Killer out in the blink of an eye.
"She ate the scurry-scurry fruit," Killer explained with a shrug as Kid looked to him for an answer. "It's the other reason she was known as Mouse at the bar. She can move around quickly without making sound and lift five times her weight for a short time. It's also why I gave her the field medic job."
"She can't turn into a mouse, right?" Kid asked as he shivered at the thought of a human transfiguring into a rodent. "Cause that would be gross."
"And less cute," Killer commented with a slight grin behind his mask.
The way Kid snapped his head around at him was enough to prove his sudden discovery. His friend's face was even beginning to redden again. Killer held back a chuckle and cleared his throat.
"I'm going to get a drink; want to join?"
Kid grumbled and walked in the other direction away from Killer. There was no fucking way he thought that the girl was cute. Weak wasn't cute; it was annoying and a pain. She wouldn't last a week with his crew.
If she died on the job, it would be her fault, not his! What was she thinking taking his drunken offer?! Didn't she know she was too delicate for this kind of life?! Didn't she know how small, soft-looking she was? How cute-
"NO! NOT CUTE!" Kid roared as he raked his fingers into his hair and nearly ripped off his goggles.
Nearby onlookers wisely glanced away and didn't bother their Captain. Kid growled and turned to stomp back to his room to throw the girl out.
When he got there, she was already gone, leaving behind a tidy room. Kid glanced around, huffed, and muttered, "I guess she can stay."
He then flopped onto his clean bed face first and sighed. He'll worry about his 'Mouse' problem later. All this raging was making him tired.
As he closed his eyes, he could smell the scent she had left behind while making his bed. Thoughts of her being in his bed, being under him, squirming and wriggling as she whimpered and moaned, seeped into his mind. Kid groaned and growled as he punched his fist into the blankets.
She was going to be a pain, and not just in the ass; Kid mused as his groin throbbed.
A big pain for such a little creature.
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Part 2.
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ooffmlsorry · 5 months
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One Piece Men Dealing with a Dangerously Reckless S/O
context: by dangerously reckless I mean someone who never has a second thought about throwing themselves in harms way and doesn't care what it does to them
t/w: passive suicidality, self harm? (better safe than sorry) angst. Mentions of blood, injury, and death
LAW
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It'd probably lead to a big argument where he threatens to kick you off his crew because losing you would legitimately be the death of him. He can't lose anymore people he loves to violence. When Bepo tells Law you didn't even hesitate to plunge into a thicket of razor wire to help your crew mates escape, it doesn't read as admirable to him. It reminds him too much of himself on Spider Miles. After he gets your side of the story, which pretty much confirms it, he doesn't talk to you at all while he cleans the mud and blood from your skin and stitches the slashes that cover you from head to toe. Normally, even if you've fallen asleep, he talks you through your treatment, but not after your stunts. He's that...scared? Angry? Distraught might be the right word. Every time you do something like this, he's speechless because his thoughts are racing with the reality of losing you. He feels sick to his stomach. On nights like these, he doesn't know whether to sleep far away from you or hold you so close to him you can't breathe.
LUFFY
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At first, Luffy doesn't care. He has the utmost faith in his crew, and they put themselves in harms way all the time! Getting injured is just being a pirate sometimes! That's pre-timeskip. Post-timeskip Luffy still has a lot of faith in his crew and a lot of faith in his ability to protect his crew, but he's...different. He believes things are always going to work out no matter what and if they don't he'll make them, but sometimes he wakes up in the middle of night and stares at you, tracing all the scars you've gotten from one fight or another. And then the what-ifs begin to creep in and the nightmares start. After literally diving into a sea king to retrieve Nami's log pose and Chopper has patched you up yet again, you wake up to Luffy calling out for you in his sleep, sweat dampening his hair and his face twisted in fear. You soothe and shush him until his breathing evens out, but he holds you tighter still. It's not in his nature to "bench you" or doubt your strength just because he's in love with you. That would be controlling and doubting you, and he would never do that. But that doesn't mean Zoro and Sanji don't take notice, even if Luffy won't say anything they make it extremely hard for you to pull off any careless "heroics."
ZORO
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Much like Luffy, Zoro doesn't think much of it for a while for the same reason. This is the guy that was completely ready to cut his own legs off, after all. But that doesn't mean it doesn't concern him, especially because you don't seem to have a rhyme or reason for all the shit you pull. And he would say something to you about it. Maybe not directly after you jumped straight into Marine gunfire to cover a little girl, he just wants you to be alive at that point. But after days of taking care of you as your wounds slowly heal, after he's certain you're not going anywhere this time, he'd make sure the two of you are somewhere alone and quiet to talk. As far as Zoro's concerned not going down without a fight is completely fine, dying for your dream isn't considered giving it up, but acting like it isn't a possibility is stupid. And he'd tell you as much. For most of this he wouldn't be able to look at you, just because if he does fear is going to take hold of him, but for that last bit he would. Zoro would search your eyes hoping you understand what he's saying. He'll tie you to the ship if he has to, he'd do anything if it saves you from being so stupid as to forfeit your dreams.
SABO
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Dying for the cause is par for the course. It's a grim reality that Sabo begrudgingly accepts, although he does have a bit of youthful naivety that it won't ever happen to anyone. He won't ever believe the revolution isn't worth it, but you do make him question it for the first time. He loves you so much he has to compare you to the whole world for a moment, and that's one of the worst thoughts he's ever had. Because the whole world still wins. The guilt would eat him alive until he blows up (somewhat literally) at you for drinking the last of a rare poison to keep it out of the enemy's hands. Angry tears roll down Sabo's cheeks. When he yells at you, he's shaking with anger and fear. It's not up to him, but he doesn't object when you're completely benched while you recover and for a little longer after that. It takes a while for him to no longer angry and scared out of his mind, but once he is he's back to himself. If can visit you every day he will. He has hope for the world's future, and hope for yours too. He's not leaving either behind.
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i-drop-level-one-loot · 7 months
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idk if you take anon requests but I am in love with Yandere ruthless and bloodthirsty Pirate captain who's obsessed with a princess from a small kingdom and takes her as wife in exchange for not plundering the kingdom and bleeding out their resources. He had planned for their first evening together to be romantic but she looks too tempting when she's frightened
🌹
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CW: Extremely rough smut, sadistic behavior, bodily harm, knife play, blood, minor character death, dead dove
Edward listened to two of his crew members gossiping like handmaidens, feeling only mildly annoyed at their squawking. Usually by now he would have threatened to pull out their teeth to keep them quiet, but he secretly could understand their excitement. While pirates were blamed for anything that could go wrong on the open seas, they were actually often employed by nobility to do what their navies could not do legally. Still, it was a surprise to be extended a job offer from a large kingdom, considering Edward's notoriety.
Edward "The Living Death".
There wasn't a crew as fearsome as his. He had never worked for any of the self righteous kings or queens in the past who conscripted pirates for their aid, not because he thought too highly of himself, but because the stories of his wrath scared all the rich bastards away. And the stories were not exaggerations. Edward aimed to make himself the most terrible in the world, because while it was too late to ever be let into heaven, it wasn't too late to become powerful enough to kill Satan himself.
For an entire week the crew would be guests in the sea side kingdom, while The Living Death and two of his men would be welcomed into the castle for negotiations.
It was entertaining, being welcomed onto a king's land, and Edward was curious as to what King was so insane as to ask for his assistance, knowing that Edward was the type of man to torture sailors for sport.
The ship with black sails tied off on the dock of the grey and dull harbor. Although the carriage that awaited Edward was gaudy with its elaborate engravings, the buildings were drab and pitiful. Truly, a thriving kingdom. And the large castle that towered above the impoverished residents was just the icing on the cake. To enter the grounds a large gate had to be slowly opened, physically alienating the royals from their subjects.
The attendant waiting to take Edward and his mates to the study felt his jaw fall agape at the sight of the men. What parts of their bodies were visible were covered in deep scars, the men were large and intimidating, but the leader was almost inhumanly frightening, unnaturally blue eyes that almost looked blind pierced his soul through a mop of shaggy black hair.
Edward met with the king for introductions, however was politely dismissed to the rooms they would be staying in for a bath and meal, promising to begin negotiations the next day.
However, he couldn't expect pirates to do as he asked so blindly, so after his shower and a free change of clothes, Edward decided to wander the gardens, internally arguing with himself over what he is doing in a king's estate. Then he saw her.
A woman in a beautiful, yet simple, dress was being followed by a maid, chatting kindly with one another despite the class difference. From afar her voice touched something in Edward's spirit; a longing he hadn't been able to quench on the ocean.
Marilyn tensed up and fell back behind (Reader) where she was supposed to be, generally. (Reader) looked ahead to see what had frightened her handmaid, and witnessed a man she did not know approaching the both of them.
"Greetings, ladies." His voice was gravelled and exhausted, tugging on (Reader's) heartstrings. From under the stranger's freshly washed hair (Reader) could see a long scar between his eyes, matching the scars that littered the hand he offered to (Reader).
"Good sir." (Reader), without hesitation, responded with an extended hand. Marilyn audibly choked behind her, having to physically bite her tongue to prevent herself from shouting at the man to 'step off!'
Wind burnt lips kissed the back of (Reader's) hand, holding it for an inappropriate amount of time, yet (Reader's) expression of genuine kindness never changed. "You clearly do not know who I am." Although it was said with a smirk his tone was dangerous.
"Just as you clearly do not know of me." (Reader) held herself tall, praying that the man before her was not important enough to feel offended by her ignorance.
Edward's eyes sparkled beautifully as he straightened his back, as to tower over the lovely lady he had just met. The movement shifted his hair, better showcasing not only his eyes but the giant scar stretching from his hairline to the bridge of his nose. "I am here on business."
"What a coincidence." (Reader) smiled coyly. "As am I."
What is this feeling? Edward had many effects on women, fear, disgust, loathing, lust. But the smile on (Reader's) face was honest. Like a child who hasn't yet learned to fear the evils of men, her eyes were clear and unclouded, looking not at his scars, but his eyes; numb to the stench of blood he could never scrub himself clean of, the lamb had no clue she was speaking to a wolf, and he wasn't even in disguise.
"What kind of business does a lady have with a disgusting fool like this king?"
(Reader) gasped, taken back by his words, smiling nervously behind her fan. "Good sir, you just be careful with the way you speak about a king! I will not report you, but others shall not be so kind.." Concern laced her words as she searched the surroundings for eavesdroppers.
"The King knew who I was when he hired me, so he shouldn't be offended by my language."
"Still..." (Reader) sighed. "Well, if you are so curious, I'm here because of a marriage proposition."
"Marriage?" The idea irked Edward, and he had to hold back his hand from almost instinctively lashing out. What a strange reaction, feeling peeved over the possible engagement of a woman he's just met.
"Indeed, strange isn't it? I always knew marriage would one day come, but.. it is still quite the adventure." Her grin tightened, but it wasn't a happy smile, the expression felt more like a mother's attempt to console her frightened child.
There was an odd glow to (Reader's) eyes, and Edward was suddenly under the impression that the woman before him was secretly an angel, sent in disguise to test him, to see if Edward truly did long for the throne of hell. Again, his arm tried to move on it's own accord. What if, instead of allowing such an angel to return to heaven with her report on him, he caged her like a little song bird and ripped off her wings?
"I apologize, Miss, but I must cut our conversation short. Any longer and I might gouge out your eyes." Edward spoke with a smile, revealing his sharpened canines. But again, (Reader) surprised him, giggling back at him as though he had just made a light-hearted joke, while her maid behind her was grasping her breast like she was having a heart attack.
"Well, I shall keep a spoon in my pocket in case we need again!" (Reader's) laughter filled the garden.
She curtsied, back still straight and head dipped only as low to be polite. The maid, on the other hand, was practically folded in half and was bent down for so long she had to scurry after her lady.
As the mystery woman left, Edward had a lot of strange, foreign thoughts and feelings causing chaos in his mind and heart. He briefly fantasized about running after her, and taking her for himself behind a bush while her maid screamed for help. He had seen plenty of women's bodies before, but the fantasy of what could be hidden by his mystery lady's bodice was.. tantalizing.
Would she be impressed by his body? Or fearful? What kind of face would she make as he forced her to carry his children? Would she look at him with love and tenderness during the birth of their first born? Would she bite and scream and fight?
Edward discovered that he would have to return to his room prematurely, perplexed as to who that woman was, and why she had such an effect on him, causing an arousal despite not saying, or doing, anything sexually exciting.
Marilyn smacked her princess on the shoulder, red in the face and mouth frozen in horror. "My lady! I can't believe you!"
"What? Did my joke not make sense?" (Reader) asked in earnest. "I said I'd carry a spoon, so he had something to easily scoop my eyes out with."
"Not that, you-you- IMBECILE!" Marilyn cried out, grasping the lady she adored like a sister. "That man was The Living Death!"
"Oh. He didn't look dead to me." Another slap connected with the back of her neck.
"He was a pirate! A pirate!"
"A pirate? What was he doing here?" (Reader) nervously pondered, examining her maid's expression to see if she was pulling her leg.
"I don't know, but you should write a letter to your father immediately. No good man would want his daughter marrying into a family that deals with rotten apples."
After the sun rose into the dreary kingdom, Edward and his mates were finally invited into King Nikolai's study, meeting the rotund bastard who reeked of wine and pulled at his codpiece frequently.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today, gentlemen. You've saved me from an uncomfortable situation. That is, if you agree to my request."
"Well, let's not make this longer than necessary." Edward spat in disgust, feeling as though he would catch syphilis from just speaking with his potential employer.
"My son, my heir, has two marriage candidates. Two worthy marriage candidates. My friend, King Leopold has a, frankly stupid, daughter, Princess Cadence. Leopold and I decided long ago that his daughter should marry my son, and become queen when he surpasses me. Now the issue is King Dretious. His kingdom is.. small, but not unimpressive. It thrives wonderfully. He has only two daughters, pitiful him. The eldest is being trained to be his successor, which is wonderful for him since he was blessed with bright and charismatic daughters, but no man who marries her well become King, so there is no incentive there to send even my sons I dislike. The youngest, is a perfect marriage candidate. Princess (Reader). Intelligent, charming, attractive.." He took a ragged breath, his mind traveling to where it should not. "I desire her land. If she marry my son I'd have access as family to her resources, and in a generation or two my grandchildren could gain control of that little rock. But it isn't worth ruining my relationship with Leopold. That would be.. catastrophic."
Edward numbly wondered if the young woman he met was Princess Cadence, or Princess (Reader). In the short time he spent with her she certainly didn't seem stupid, so he was leaning towards the latter.
"But I want that land. Do you understand me?" King Nikolai's smile was sinister. "You can have whatever is in their castle, whatever can be looted, as long as I receive the deeds to their nation, signed and stamped, and King Dretious and his kin are exterminated."
"And what do we get? If I wanted to plunder a small country, I could do that without needing permission."
"Full, under the table, immunity, as well as enough money for you and your crew to retire in the Caribbean as lords." He was so smug as he pleaded his bargain that Edward considered killing him just to see him choke on his own blood.
Edward stood, walking around the king towards the window, debating whether or not it would be worth it to kill the fat asshole right then and there. But below the window, under a flowered tree, sat the woman he met the day before, watching birds as they flew overhead. "I met a young lady in the garden yesterday. She said she was here for a marriage proposition."
"Hmph, yes.. attractive, isn't she? That would have been Princess (Reader). She is unaware of her competition with Leopold's daughter, so it would have been unwise to have them both here at the same time."
(Reader) had her lips pursed, upset about something. 'How would those lips taste?' Edward thought excitedly.
"We'll do it." Edward spoke loudly, startling his men who were surprised by the boss's response.
His men questioned him on the way back to the ship. Surely he wasn't serious? Of course not... Captain Edward "The Living Death", the man who abandoned his family name, had a plan, one that he had come up with purely for selfish reasons, that did not include sucking up to a disease ridden rat. And he assured them, that after he got what he wanted, the crew would return, and burn King Nikolai's kingdom to the ground.
The wonderfully jolly, soft King Dretious, known for being unlike the cruel kings who ruled throughout the land, plump with age instead of greed, was petrified solid. The elderly father who was seen as a grandfather figure to his small island, blessed by the gods to always have the wisdom to do what was right, was stunned, incapable of coherent thought. Before him was a pirate captain who had demanded an audience, two months after his darling baby girl returned home from another country.
"What did you just say?" He stuttered out.
Edward stood beneath the kindly king sitting on his throne while wearing an ostentatiously decorated black frock coat, shining with it's abundance of gold decorations and precious jewels. His unnaturally bright eyes were fixated on the mortified princess standing behind her father.
"I have been hired to bring ruin to your kingdom. However, if you offer me a better prize than what I was promised by my employer, I'll reconsider my agreement with him." His gaze made (Reader's) skin crawl.
King Dretious swallowed the lump in his throat. "And what would that be? Whoever had the gall to request such a reason clearly had the resources to hire you, so I doubt anything of mine will compare."
"True. However, it isn't your money I'm after.." Edward stepped forward, still fixated on the younger princess will a hungry expression.
The eldest sister recognized the look of a predatory man before her father did, and stepped in front of (Reader) in a protective stance.
"I demand Princess (Reader's) hand in marriage."
"No!" The eldest princess spun around, grabbing onto (Reader) and hiding her within her embrace. "Father, you can't!"
"Please, Captain, isn't there anything else?" The King frantically begged, knowing that his army wasn't enough against The Living Death and his infamous crew of the damned.
Edward sighed, his patience wearing thin. With a snap of his fingers, his men brought forward four captives; the cook, two guards, and Marilyn. "Let's try that again." The demon spawn pulled out a gun and cocked it, aiming it at the older guard.
"Let's be civil-"
The King was cut off by a loud shot, killing the innocent man who had been a loyal employee of the castle for the past thirteen years. (Reader) hollered, frightened by the sudden bang.
Edward moved over to Marilyn, pulling down the hammer slowly. "No!" (Reader) burst free from her sister, running down the steps to fling herself onto her only friend's body, ready to be her shield.
"(Reader)!"
(Reader) cradled her maid, glaring through tears up at the man she foolishly thought was handsome only a couple of months ago. "I'LL DO IT! I'll do it! Just please.. no more."
Marilyn sobbed under (Reader's) weight. "Princess, no! Please - save yourself!"
"Sister, come back here now." The queen to be demanded, shaking and on the brink of tears herself.
Edward smiled wider than before, holstering his weapon. "Wise choice, angel." He turned his attention back to the King. "I hope you don't mind that there will be no wedding. For you see, God has no place in my life, even for happy occasions. I've already procured a marriage contract, so once it is signed that shall be that."
A calloused hand reached out to the princess.
"Shall we?"
The country was in mourning as the news of the princess's sacrifice spread faster than a plague, and nearly the entire country arrived to see her off as she boarded the pirate ship with black sails, stiffly shuffling next to her new husband, the certificate signed and verified only an hour prior. On what should be one's happiest day, the air was filled with sounds of heart breaking agony. (Reader) was numbly dragged onto the ship and into the captain's quarters, no longer a princess, but a wife to a monster.
Edward locked the door behind them, smiling wolfishly. "Welcome, to your new home, darling. Unfortunately, we will have to prolong our honeymoon, as I have a country to conquer."
"What?!" (Reader) collapsed before her new husband, clutching onto his shirt. "But you promised!"
"Ah, apologies, love, but I did not mean your old country." He pulled her onto her feet, kissing her knuckles. "I meant the country that asked me to kill you. Now that you are my wife, I can't stand for such insolence, now can I?"
(Reader) pulled away, eyes wide with disgust. "Was this your plan from the start? If you never truly cared, then why take me? Whatever loot you plunder from whoever it was that employed you will surely be worth more than my father's entire island, so if you had no qualms about taking on a presumably larger nation-state, then why?"
"You are a smart one." Edward chuckled, approaching (Reader) with a look she had never seen before, yet for some reason set her on edge. "I did it because I wanted you."
He lunged, tackling her onto a large bed covered in silk and furs. She struggled, fighting with all her might to push him off of her, but she just wasn't strong enough. (Reader) bit her lip in an effort to not cry again, a pitiful attempt to retain her pride.
"So strange.. I have had whores throw themselves at me many times in the past, but they were nothing but bodies. What is it about you that is so different?"
Nothing but bodies.. (Reader) had learned from Marilyn what happens on a woman's wedding night, but in the chaos of her marriage she had forgotten that that was what this was, her wedding night. Her face fell, tears whelmed up in her puffy red eyes, and her resolve to look brave cracked.
But this expression seemed to only excite the mad man further. His blue eyes grew hazy like he was drunk and his breathing became irregular. "So that's what you would look like.. I wondered."
A large knife was procured from behind his back, causing (Reader) to cry harder. With sadistically slow movements he cut through her dress. She made pathetic attempts to swipe at him, but Edward only responded by effortlessly flipping her onto her belly, slicing through the lace of her corset.
"So many layers to finally see the body I've been dreaming of. That will change, of course. If I want to see your beauty, I will. Even if you must live in the nude."
He ignored her screams as he tore off every article of clothing she wore, leaving (Reader) naked and shivering beneath him.
"Is it me that makes you shudder like this, or is it," he placed the blade against (Reader's) cheek, earning another gasp as her body practically convulsed, "either way, I'll pretend that your shaking is in excitement for me."
With (Reader) now on her back, Edward held the knife to her throat to prevent her from running while he removed his own clothing with one hand. Her sobs only grew louder as more of his scarred skin became visible.
"Please do-don't do this!"
"Don't what? Make love to my newlywed wife? Fine then. I'll fuck you instead."
His pants slipped down, revealing his fully erect manhood. (Reader) closed her eyes in shame, but Edward grabbed her face with enough force to bruise her chin, snapping them back open in shock of the pain.
"Look at what you've done to me. Without grabbing at my pants and begging me like a slut, you've already made my cock like this. Don't you feel special, knowing that you have that effect on your husband." Edward continued squeezing his bride's face painfully, forcing her to nod in agreement.
The tip of the knife drug down her skin without enough pressure to cut, but enough for (Reader) to feel the cold threat tingling and creating goosebumps, traveling teasingly from her breasts and over her quivering stomach, stopping at her exposed cunny. (Reader) felt the metal touch her where she was told never to touch herself, and was consumed by humiliation.
"Unfortunately for you, it seems that your modest body has not prepared itself for me. I would have taken the time to wetten your cunt, but as per your request, I am not to make love to you, but to fuck you."
"What does that-" a searing pain electrocuted her body as (Reader's) dry pussy was stretched over Edward's dick. Her throat was aching from all the screaming, but that didn't stop the sounds of agony from shrieking out.
He held himself inside of her, relishing in the feeling of her twitching hole tightening almost unbearably around him. For a brief moment, Edward's heart swelled with love, and he considered licking his fingers to provide his wife with lubrication, but the look on her face.. just from entering her (Reader) became so red she was almost purple, eyes flickering as though she were to pass out. It was too beautiful for words.
As he pulled out it caused an awful friction that (Reader) swore she could hear, an awful shuk shuk shuk as Edward removed himself, only to slam back in. It felt like she was being torn apart. He continued thrusting into her rapidly swelling sacred place. The tearing sensation morphed into a burning one, as her blood slickened her hole.
His movements only sped up, pounding into his bruised and bloody princess. (Reader) began to adjust to the pain, and started to push against Edward's chest, desperate enough to fight against him despite his knife still being held to her thigh.
Suddenly, (Reader's) legs were raised and folded back, pressing down into her arms to prevent her from moving. She pulled and struggled, disgusted by the wet noise as Edward's hips connected with hers, uncomfortably aware of his pelvis grinding against her sore clit. Edward grabbed her face again, popping her jaw open and sliding his knife into her mouth.
"Don't struggle, or you just might cut out your tongue." The man threatened, his malicious words clashing with the intense lust in his eyes.
(Reader's) nose scrunched up as she tried to glare at Edward, unable to spit out the knife because of his hold on her face.
"Ah, continue looking at me like that!" He sang with praise, his legs twitching with anticipation. "I'm about to cum!"
(Reader) didn't quite know what that meant, but she could feel him throbbing inside of her.
"I was going to wait until you've gotten used to being my wife, but I think I'm going to cum inside you! Fuck, I'm going to put my babies in you! I'm going to knock you up!"
Learning what was about to happen, (Reader) tried to scream without bumping the knife in her teeth.
Suddenly, the knife was thrown across the room, replaced by Edward's lips, shoving his tongue deep into her mouth as he climaxed deep in his wife's raw pussy. (Reader) didn't know if it was because she was aware that he was cumming inside of her, or if it was because of the paper thin cuts along her vaginal wall, but the fluid pumping into her was horrendously hot, burning her abused body.
He collapsed onto her, still kissing her passionately, tasting the lips he had craved since he first met her. When Edward pulled away, admiring the unbroken string of saliva connecting him to his lover, he knew why he had been so enamored with (Reader) since the beginning.
"I'm so excited to drag you down into hell with me, princess." 'There will be no escape from me. You are my gift from Satan, my little angel. You belong to me.'
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mycadences · 1 month
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Friendly reminder that Gwyn gave Azriel an out. He didn't take it.
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He could have said "Happy Solstice" back to her and bam, the chapter would have ended there. But no, he decided to stay and banter with her.
And another friendly reminder that Gwyn only said that because she knew Azriel well enough to assume that he wanted to be alone. She didn't mind (HER WORDS) sharing the space with him.
Contrast this to:
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Nobody gave Azriel an out. He chose to make one himself (by drawing sticks with Cassian). If Elain was really his mate (and I'm not buying this at all lol), wouldn't he be subconsciously drawn to her and want to spend more time with her? Like... how Azriel "found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind" when he originally intended to go to the Market Square, just to give Gwyn a necklace that made him "consciously eras[e] the slight smile it brought to his face" at the thought of how "Gwyn's teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace"?
Throw in the fact that during his bonus scene he had just recently met Gwyn again after two years and didn't consider her a friend yet (implied with "but"), and he still didn't mind being in her presence. That was also after Rhys tore into him for lusting after Elain, and he was in a piss-poor mood. But his encounter with Gwyn managed to calm him down. She put him in a better mood.
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I don't see how anyone can walk away from ACOSF and Azriel's bonus chapter without coming to the conclusion that Gwynriel is endgame. I genuinely don't. The ending of the chapter seemed to seal Elriel's fate in dust and cobwebs -- at least for me. He started the chapter thinking of Elain, and ended it thinking of Gwyn. Even without the bonus chapter, ACOSF had enough Gwynriel moments that I still shipped them before reading Azriel's bonus chapter.
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lullabestie14 · 4 days
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Found this comment on Reddit. Couldn’t explain it better than this.
“It’s clear from Mist and Fury that the original ships were: Feysand, Nessian, Elucien, and Mor/Azriel. Like it’s so obvious the way she wrote Mor and Azriel; Mor even seems vaguely interested/torn about Az. Looking at interviews, SJM even talks about Elucien as a couple (eg where would they like to travel together, etc).
Flash forward to ACOWAR. For whatever reason (lack of chemistry with Az, wanting more diversity) SJM has Mor say that she prefers women. This time the Az-pining-for-Mor is more desperate/feels like a zero chance of being requited. SJM also introduces Az as a potential love interest for Elain because she loves throwing a wrench. Just because Elucien are mates doesn’t mean they’ll have it easy; SJM’s whole thing is angst. She had to throw in a love triangle to make it uncertain. This is the first couple where mate status is confirmed upon meeting.
But there’s a problem now. If Az and Mor are no longer endgame, who will they end up with? is it not suspicious that the two new characters introduced in SF (Gwyn and Emerie) just HAPPEN to be potentially be good partners for Az and Mor? Like it’s not a coincidence that Emerie looks at Mor and blushes, remarking how pretty she is. It’s not a coincidence that Az and Gwyn have so many interactions in the text. It’s not a coincidence that a “random side character” shows up in a bonus chapter.
When SJM created Gwyn and Emerie, it wasn’t just to give Nesta friends. These characters clearly didn’t exist when she wrote MAF. SJM wanted new characters that would solve her retcon of ending Az/Mor. She wanted to solve the Mor/Az retcon so bad that she created a NEW RETCON of Az going to Sangravah. Like why bother to add that detail if it’s not important.
Also: poor Lucien. His endgame heroine was supposed to be Nesta until SJM realized they would be terrible together and that Nessian had better chemistry. So she gives Elucien the mating bond. Like is she really going to fuck Lucien over TWICE? She loves him as a character and has put him through the wringer. Yes, I agree that SJM can change her mind and maybe is open to mate rejection, but Lucien has already switched love interests from Nesta to Elain! Who else is he going to switch to, considering that Jurian and Vassa are “at each other’s throats?”
Finally, please think about the number of books left. Ignoring novellas (which are probably gonna be fluffy ones like ACOFAS where nothing happens), there are two main books left. Two couples.
Option A:
• ⁠Gwynriel (Valkyrie growth, Illyrian rebellion, exploring Ramiel, Gwyn’s autumn heritage and maybe lightsinger?? powers)
• ⁠Elucien (Helion secret baby, defeating Koschei, freeing Vassa, fixing spring court)
Option B
• ⁠Elriel (mate rejection storyline, potentially some stuff above)
• ⁠?????
Literally WHO is the second book in this equation? Lucien and Vassa?? We barely know Vassa and there’s barely any connection to Night Court. And Lucien’s book is going to be depressing as fuck dealing with mate rejection; does anyone want to read two heavy books of rejection? Jurian and Vassa: again, we barely know them! At least with Tower of Dawn, Chaol had been a main character for a long time with POV. SJM will not do a full-length Emerie/Mor book as much as I would love for one. She’s very cognizant of criticism re: Mor bi rep in the past; she doesn’t want to open a can of worms and be accused of writing bad sapphic rep. If anything, I can see a fluffy Emerie/Mor novella with little angst (or them getting together in the background of other books).
So from a meta structural level, I don’t understand who the second couple will be if Elriel is endgame. Lucien/Vassa is the most plausible answer, but 1) we barely know Vassa, 2) she’s human and Lucien is immortal. So are we going to toss her into the Cauldron to make her immortal? Serious question, and 3) I don’t want TWO books about mate rejection, it’s depressing as hell. I can see one but not two.
But with Gwynriel and Elucien, you have enormous fan and audience interest in ALL FOUR CHARACTERS. They’re directly tied to Night Court and SJM so far has no intention of staying away from the core group.”
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rose-riot-johnson · 3 months
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May I please request headcanons for Shanks, Sanji, and Ace reacting to their female S/O who's captain of her own crew being betrayed by one of her crewmates which greatly affects her since it causes most of her crew to die?
I will definitely see what can do with writing about them, since the request does sound interesting to write about😁👍 While I have written about Sanji before the other two I haven't, it sounds like good ideas for the request😃👍
🏴‍☠️His Reaction To His Female S/O Captain, (Female Reader) Being Betrayed By Someone Who Was One Of Her Crewmates🏴‍☠️(Every One Piece Character That is Requested For This Head Cannon fanfic x female reader)
Genres: Head Cannon(?) and Angst To Comfort (Warning⚠️: Trigger Warning (Mentions Of Murder))
⭐New Character For Me to Write About⭐
Shanks
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*When Shanks first found out you were betrayed by one of your crewmates who has murdered most of your crew, he was actually shocked about it, however he tries his best to keep his cool. So, he decided to focus on you, your crew, your wounds, and your well-being. After all he figured it's the least he can do for you, even tough he's willing to do more than that for you.
*Shanks made his decision to have his crew (and himself) to stay in the village he bumped into you in, after the attack the crew member who betrayed you and your whole crew. He knew you blamed yourself for not seeing the traitor who's attack you never saw coming, which is why he assigned the rest of his crew to take care of the crew members who are still alive that he assigned his crew members to, while he assigned himself to take care of your wounds and well-being. He didn't assign himself with you just because you're his s/o, however he is also a captain of his crew just, as well as you are of your crew, plus he felt it's his job to take care of your wounds and well-being, after all.
*As time went by with Shanks taking care of your wounds and well-being (by frequent reassurance that nothing was your fault and you couldn't have known that the crew member who betrayed you would be a traitor of your crew and other stuff he reassured you with), the progress of your physical healing and the healing of your well-being has been going much better than he could ever expect. He knew you would heal with your wounds and your well-being, however he's surprised things went better than he thought. You confessed to him that you believe that it was his words and how he took care of your wounds helped you heal quickly, then you would thank him for taking great care of you and giving you reassurance often, as both you and Shanks hugged eachother, as the rest of his crew and the remaining members of your crew who are still alive, cheered with glee while celebrating your recovery.
Sanji
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*When it comes to someone betraying your crew (and the crew member who turned out to be the traitor himself killing the most of your crew), Sanji is someone who be very upset. He will feel sad for you, considering you are is s/o. He also will be outraged that one of your crew members betraying the rest of your crew (you, included). Despite of Sanji not being a captain of his own crew, he does have negative mixed emotions (from sadness to anger) about your crew being betrayed by someone who was not only your crew mate, however this crew mate who is the traitor was also some you have trusted the most out of your crewmates of your own crew, which Sanji is aware of more than anyone else surprisingly.
*Sanji and Luffy both happily agreed on have you the the remaining members of your crew who are still alive stay on "The Sunny" (The Strawhat crew's ship), as long as you and the remaining crew members left alive need to and/or stuff like that. You (ofcourse) will be in the same room, as Sanji, because of the fact you are his s/o, so this will definitely help you with your well and he will be able to comfort you easier with more time together. There will be plenty of times where Sanji will prepare meals to surprise you and the remaining crew members (who are still alive), because your crew definitely enjoys his cooking, however you love his cooking the most. So, needless to say that he really wants to take care of your well-being and to feed you and the rest of your crew who are still alive.
*Sanji knew you and the remaining members of your crewmates who are still alive would be happy about his cooking and feel better from eating his food, however he is also surprised that everytime you and the other crew members who are still alive eat his cooking, you and the living members of your become more happier, as if the food has has some magic powers to heal your well-being (and the well-being of the rest of your crewmates who are alive). Tony Tony Chopper explained to Sanji, the rest of the Strawhats, you, and your crew members who are still alive about the ingredients that was in Sanji's cooking and how Sanji cooked the food has helped with your well-being for some reason. You and Sanji both were surprised the most about what his cooking did for your well-being, despite of the ingredients Sanji put in his cooking, what he put in the food, and you enjoying his cooking, while feeling more happier from eating his cooking, than you (and Sanji) expected.
⭐New Character For Me To Write About⭐
Portagas D. Ace
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*Out the three, Ace knows what it's like for his crew (His Captain Edward Newgate, aka White Beard in the very same crew, as Ace) to have a crewmate betrayed by a crewmate, while having that same crewmate who turned out to be a traitor kill any of the other crewmates in his crew. After all, he definitely remembers full well Marshall D. Teach, aka Black Beard betrayed the White Beard Pirate crew when Teach killed Thatch for Teach to get his devil fruit powers from eating the devil fruit called the "Dark-Dark Fruit". So, ofcourse Ace would be very angry at the crewmate who betrayed your crew to the point he really was about to avenge you (and the rest of your crew due to your crew being betrayed.
*Despite of Ace not being captian of the White Beard Pirates and you being the captain of your crew, he most definitely has empathy for you. Even tough he wants to get revenge on the crewmate who betrayed you and anyone else in your crew, your safe and your well-being would most certainly come first (and the remaining crew members left alive, also). So, if he does see you emotionally breakdown or trying to hold your emotions in or both or maybe anything similar to both, he will comfort you the best way he possibly can and he will hug you when you need it. He definitely knows when things are bothering you, especially on how much being betrayed by one of the crewmates you did have betray the rest of your crew (including, you).
*Ace will come snuggle with you often, as your snuggle time with him will comfort you by alot, however he is also someone who will also keep an eye on you alot (he will also check on the rest of your crew who are left alive), atleast until your well-being recovers to the point where he wouldn't have to worry about you, as much (even tough he still will, anyways) and where you are becoming yourself again. Not only the rest of the crew you have left and Ace will notice the difference with you in a good way, however you will also notice that you and your well-being has been healing more and more each day. Despite this Ace will also keep checking on you to makesure your well-being keeps getting better and staying better (and it's also out of his love for you and you being his s/o).
🏴‍☠️The End🏴‍☠️
Okay my Tumblr Peeps I hope you enjoyed this One Piece head cannon(?) fanfic🏴‍☠️😃👍And @sacredwarrior88 I also hope you enjoyed the fanfic, as well😁👍I really enjoyed writing this One Piece head cannon fanfic(?), honestly😃👍
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alexiethymia · 11 months
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he makes her feel selfless and she makes him feel selfish
attempt at a meta or rather more incoherent gushing about these two
I love the contrast of the above scene, how Vash is joyous, all-smiling. While Meryl is wrecked, in tears. Most often, it seems that’s how they also remember each other.
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Meryl likes to remember Vash happy and at peace. Vash remembers Meryl while she’s solemn and also a bit vulnerable. In a way, they inspire emotion in each other that’s hard for them to express. Vash has had a lot of sadness in his life, but while he will always wear a smile, I think he finds it harder to let himself be genuinely happy than to cry. Meanwhile, Meryl hates to cry. She hates to let down her guard and appear as if she can’t take care of herself, but with Vash, she really can’t help herself.
I ship WildeHopps (another goofy tall character hiding sadness with a smirk and a straight-laced, determined shorty. even their eyecolors are the same!) and I remember that there was a thing in the fandom about foxes that they can’t help but shout when they see their mate, and I don’t know how accurate the translations are, but even when they reunite again, Vash can’t help but shout out ‘Meryl!’ in happiness (seriously despite how surprised he was, he could’t help his smile. and he only called out meryl despite milly also being there, like rude, vash, if milly wasn’t such a sweetheart and loved you both to bits, but anyway, I digress…)
I really loved the fistbump (*cough indirect kiss cough*) scene so much because in asmuch as it was Vash comforting Meryl, it was also about him taking comfort in Meryl, which when we remember from his waterworks when Marlon called him out on it, he previously found really hard to do.
On Meryl’s side, we actually see that she has the same values as Vash. I love the Little Arcadia chapter/episode so much for this reason. Grandpa’s speech to Meryl about following your own path and your connection to your parents, resonated with her, but we as the readers also know that it’s something that would have also resonated with Vash. She wanted to resolve the conflict without anyone losing their life, and at first couldn’t understand why something like land would be more important than life. But push comes to shove, when she sees the resolve of someone to protect something, she puts her life on the line anyway. We even see traces of it in the anime with how she also shoots non-lethal shots, and that one time when she saved Vash, she shot the light to fall on the person instead of shooting the person. That sort of pacifism is present in her and Milly although they may not be as obvious about it as Vash, which is why despite himself, Vash finds himself growing closer to the girls and considering them as among his most important people despite the fact that he knew them only recently compared to the people from Home and Marlon. Even Milly’s principles regarding family bonds would also be something that would resonate with Vash, and it’s important that he was there in the shadows because I think that was the turning point in how he started to consider them his friends. So in a lot of ways, despite Meryl not wanting him to, I think Vash truly sees the vulnerability that she tries to hide. And I find it so believable and endearing that he would be drawn to her because of that similarity and connection between them.
they both inspire hope in each other
When I say that Vash inspires Meryl to be selfless, it’s in the way she will risk everything just so she can be there for Vash, to overcome fear and her own human limitations, just so she can hold him close. Vash (and through his connections with others like Luida) inspires in Meryl hope for a better world. At the same time, I always got the feeling that the type of love that Meryl felt was something she would be content to keep on giving to this person who always kept on giving to others, even when there was a chance that she would never get it back or have it returned. I imagine that she would have been fine with that as long as Vash felt that he was unconditionally loved.
When I say, Meryl makes Vash feel selfish, it is within the context that selfish for Vash is already a normal level or base desire of wanting to be happy in other people. I remember Legato’s observation of Vash, that he considered himself as having utterly no value in this world. Of course a person like that would be fine with dying!
But this person who considers himself worthless, eventually makes a promise like this.
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Vash must know that there’s a high likelihood he’ll die. Someone as self-sacrificial as him wouldn’t want anyone, much less a person he cares deeply for, to be hurt by him. And yet he makes this ‘selfish’ request of Meryl anyways. And it matters so, so much that he does. Because it shows that he can consider himself as someone who can make another person happy. It’s a promise to her, as well as to himself, that he won’t let himself simply die. He wouldn’t anyway because of how much he values Rem, but with this promise, it feels like his wanting to live is finally something he wants to do for himself, and not just as a continuation of Rem’s memory. Like with the fistbump scene, this promise was as much for him as for Meryl. I know he still would have fought to live and to protect humans, but at the same time, in the wake of Wolfwood’s death, I also felt that he would have been at peace should he have died trying. So this promise was to tether himself (to her). It’s something to keep him fighting to live now that he knows there’s someone out there waiting for him, by his own actions at that. More than that or simply put, it’s just a simple thing of allowing himself to want something or someone.
And this is how Meryl inspires hope in him. All this time he’s loved humans, but it always felt like he was living beside them and not with them. He doesn’t know what it is with Meryl, maybe her sheer stubbornness, but somehow she ends up representing that hope, that possibility of finally living together with humans (with her). In contrast to Meryl’s hope, it’s a very simple and humane one. To have someone care for him, to have someone wait for him, to have someone to come home to, to have someone who loves him. And it’s funny that it seems that Meryl expects nothing in return for her overwhelming love for Vash, because Vash actually meets her halfway. He’s the one to initiate the kiss. He’s the one to make the promise and have her promise. Finally, he’s taking the chance of his happiness into his own hands and doing something about it. I just, I really can’t with them. No wonder I ended up being vashmeryl trash.
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stargirlie25 · 1 month
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Me having a conversation with an e/riel. Feel free to fact check by looking at the books.
Me: Why do you ship Elain and Azriel?
E/riel: Well for starters, he was the only one to go save Elain when she was in hybern.
Me: First of all, Cassian offered first. Second of all Feyre was also there and saved her (what Elain said)
E/riel: Ok but still it was romantic
Me: But it was not. Because her sister ALSO saved her :) Feyre went to UTM and got tortured,SAed,killed people and died all for Tamlin anyhow...
E/riel: Well Madja said a mate knows whats wrong with their own mate and Az figured out that Elain was a seer.
Me: Elain being a Seer was not what was wrong with her. Also Rhysand figured out Nestas power.
E/riel: Az gave Elain truthteller when he had given it to no one ever.
Me: Only because Mor begged him with tears in her eyes to stay back. Cassian offered her first (again) and then Az offered her TT bc he would not have to use it. Not to mention, Elain only took it when Feyre assured her she would not have to use it. She gave it back without a glance
E/riel: Well Feyre imagined Elain and Az as ´´Death and his lovely fawn´´
Me: Okay. Well did you also catch when she said TT is the only connection between them? Not to mention something admirable about Elain is that she is always full of light. What literally takes away Light? Darkness=Azriel. Not to mention, Azriel is death and his home sucks the life from Elain. Not that Feyres aesthetic painting mind matters anything to me :)
E/riel: What about the fact that Lucien thought Elain was crazy?
Me: What about the fact when he travelled all around to find somebody on a quest so dangerous and the only confirmation he got was from Elain?
E/riel: Elain was wearing Cobalt blue the first time she met Az.
Me: Considering Elains devotion to Graysen, there is a high chance of her wearing that color for Graysen because his crest is cobalt blue. Even if its not true, Lucien wears a coat that´s fawn brown (exact same shade of Elains eyes)
E/riel: A smile and blush bloomed on Azriel in regards to Elain.
Me: Dont care. Thats just an action. Although since you say that, did you know that a smile bloomed on Elains face after her father died (who she loved dearly) in regards to Lucien?
E/riel: What about when a charged glance went through Elain and Azriel.
Me: Sexual attraction. Lots of characters have it like Feyre and tamlin,Aelin and Chaol,Azriel to Mor....
E/riel: Well, Azriel jacks off to Elain every night while looking at the gift he got for her.
Me: Dont be shy you dont have to say a gift. You can say he jacks off to headache powder. No problem. Almost like when Nesta slept with multiple men. Trust me, that does not affect me!
E/riel: Elriel is true mates because Az was the only one to smell Eluciens bond.
Me: Bryce smelled Nessians bound, Ruhn and Lidia smelled bryce and hunts bond, Tamlin smelled feysands.
E/riel: Gwyn is a lightsinger because Az chest sparked because of her.
Me: Well than ig Lidia and Bryce are lightsingers too. Get those evil bitches away from Hunt and Ruhn right?
E/riel: There is nothing romantic for Gwynriel
Me: Thats literally just your penny for thought. Why would i care when SJM provided common banter, mate language and history for Gwynriel, and scenes where they challenge each other when she said history,sparks,conflict,and challenge all makes a good couple.
E/riel: Elain gave two gifts to Az. Not lucien
Me: Headphones for Az bc Nesta and Cass fuck so loud? So romantic i cant! Im so glad my girl SJM is saving the good,meaningful gifts for Elucien.
E/riel: Az waited for Elain to come to the table and told everybody to not eat until Elain came back.
Me: he was thinking of his mother being a slave. Thats what the situation of eating when Elain was tending to everyone reminded him of. How his mother was treated. Its not romantic but it is a very sad thing to think about.
E/riel: Azriel loves Elain. He only has not thought about a future with her because he does not allow himself to!
Me: Honestly i don´t mind that you think that! Although that is not canon. Sleeping with Elain is the only thoughts he PLEASURED himself to. Not allowed himself as some say. Again, that´s just your penny for thought. He says ´´He hadn't gone that far with his planning´´ Meaning sexual thoughts is fine but anything further is like nope, nope,nope,nope,nope too far.
E/riel: Elain literally loses her newfound boldness around Lucien.
Me: There is so many more reasons that we could come up with than what meets the eye. Have you considered it was because she didnt know what to do. Or she saw the look on Lucien ´ s face and shrank because she did not intentionally cause it and felt bad? Or maybe she FELT Luciens pain and shared it because of the bond? So much possibilities to think of especially considering we have limited text and not the actual characters POV. Also i wonder how far she will shrink when she finds out about Az and Rhysands conversation in the bonus chapter. Or maybe she heard it already?
E/riel: Azriel actually gets Elain.
Me: The way he literally does not though! When Elain begs the IC not to kill graysen Az says its best for him to be killed in acosf. When Elain says nesta cant make choices for her and then Az says she should not be exposed to the innate darkness even though later we figure out Elain is willing? When Elain says she is not a child to be fought over and than Az says he will defeat Lucien in a blood duel with her?
E/riel: Scrying is dangerous! Of course Azriel did not want her too.
Me: Yet, he said ´´Nesta really should do scrying´´ but not Elain because he underestimates her. Which is the ONLY thing SJM provides to what Az could have been doing.
E/riel: Azriel listened to Elains laugh probably because he loves the sound!
Me: Maybe its because Elain never ever laughs like that around him or the ic He was literally monitoring them which means to keep tabs on someone which directly relates to his fricking job 😂. So many words to choose from and SJM chose monitoring.
E/riel: Az gave Elain a rose necklace.
Me: Ok and? Elain gave it back. She does not want that shit. He gave it to another person. It felt wrong to clasp it around Elains neck but it sparked something in his chest and made him smile for Gwyn.
E/riel: Lucien only sees Elain for his mate but Azriel sees her for her.
Me: Nope. His reason for wanting to kiss Elain was simply ´´What fi the cauldron was wrong´´ and refers to Elain as the 3rd. She is literally a theory or more so a possibility to him. One he has not thought through in the slightest. Also, Lucien was going crazy in hybern in regards to Elain before he knew of their bond AND Elain has not accepted the bond yet he still cares for her.
E/riel: Elain called Azriels scars beautiful.
Me: first of all, its a 50% chance she called his scars beautiful. Feyre said she was not sure which one she was complimenting, the scars, or the big glowing cobalt siphon atop his hand. Second of all, even if it was 100% fact that she said his scars specifically was beautiful, it seems he does not believe it at all. He tries to not to look at his hands. He does not want to taint her with his presence or touch her beautiful skin with his scars.
E/riel: His shadows vanish around Elain and lightens. They also do that around mor who he was in love with for 500 years. Also his shadows are like snakes ready to strike in regards to Elain.
Me: Shadows lighting and vanishing are the same thing. Light takes away darkness as darkness takes away light (another reason why they are horrible together) His shadows are losing its darkness around Elain and Mor. Mor was wrong for him. The amount of pain it caused him to be in Love with her? Want that to continue with Elain and Az? Azriel does not need his darkness to be hidden. He needs it to be embraced *insert Gwyn*
E/riel: SJM would never pass on a good angsty trope like forbidden love!
Me: firstly, the only thing forbidding e/riel is Elain herself. If she rejects the bond, she can be with Az all she wants and NO ONE has a say on that. Not Rhysand. Not feyre. Not cassian. Not Lucien himself. Although she hasnt after 2 years. There is an answer to why. Its not like Elain knows she has to wait until her own book to reject it. Second of all, Forbidden love is the absolute WORST trope to give BOTH of them. For Elain, she has always hid in the shadows of her sisters in the series and the fandom. You really think Elain Archeron always full of light wants to hide in the darkness and play out Azriel´s fantasies? As for Azriel, he has been secretly silently in PAIN loving Mor for 500 years. So you want him to go through it again with Elain? No. He wants the bond nessian and feysand have. The love they share. The joy of being with your equal. The connection of a mating bond. Being proud to showcase it to the world. Forbidden love would just tear them apart.
E/riel: SJM does not write about virgin romances! Plus Gwyn is a virgin!
Me: Yes she can. Gwyn already lost her virginity against her will so biologically she is not going through the bleeding and the actual losing her physical virginity. Although it is a fact she has never slept with someone. The scene where Cassian *ahem* first enters nesta is very descriptive and SJM describes the pain of Cassian entering her......So yes she can for sure write about Gwyn having sex. This is also goes against the statement that Gwyn cant have sex because of her trauma. False. She is interested in romance books and asks Nesta if the sex was good. I think Gwyn would enjoy sex with someone she trusts in and out.
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yanmaresu · 8 months
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Can I ask sirens or mermaids come in packs or groups what if siren!Yuu decides on welcoming her siren side and join a pack or group of siren and feels safe as her pack is ranked 1# most powerful siren group/pack the group has a strong reputation and strong power to protect each other especially weak and fragile pack/group mate so there is a chance they that siren!Yuu will be protected and they have a little cottage in the human world!! Where they can hang out and chill in the sea that is where they sing like I know this is too oof I just want fluff for siren! Yuu ok ;-; because that baby needs some friends that can protect her their theme song is definitely "Birth of Venus"!!! It's too much but make fluff for here for a bit please🙏🥹🥹
ok first of all thanks for the song it's very good, it's now part of my family's playlist.
Second! The mc is actually half siren jsjs I'm not sure if I posted it before but the tragedy of the mermaid mc was that they were left behind by their bank for being too weak compared to all their siblings who were full sirens, mc also got hurt in a hunt and that's when their bank decided they didn't want the little one dragging them down. Mc was abandoned and had to survive on their own for a long time. That's why they fell for Leona and let themselves get caught in a net, because they admired the way the pirate ship worked together and there was no distinction between the stronger humans and those who may have been considered weak because they lacked a leg or hand. Something that would definitively get you kicked out of your bank in the sea, was seen as normal on the ship. The leader even lacked an eye and still looked so sure and fierce while commanding everyone. The mc admired Leona and wanted to be part of something desperately, they thought maybe those humans were different, those humans may accept a boney and afraid thing and not abandon it. We know how that ended.
But for the fluff, I didn't write it nor draw it but sometimes I think about it in the middle of the day. The mc is supposed to have a very happy stay with the Pomefiore trio! Leona's ship gets arrested after a very bad storm that weakened them, and most of their stuff was confiscated or sold in the black market, including the mermaid mc. Here's where most of the timelines divide, but in the pomefiore one, Rook buys the mc at an auction and takes them back home to Vil, who's working hard to finally surpass Neige in the theatre/opera house. Rook suggests that a mermaid might be the perfect singing teacher for Vil, and Vil while not convinced feels pity for the traumatized person brought to her who is too afraid to go back to the sea, and decides that as long as mc helps her get better at singing, teaches them that charm able to captivate everyone, she will provide them with a roof over their heads and three warm meals every day.
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The mc eats their first warm meal when dining with the pomefiore trio, it was so tasty that it made the mermaid shed tears. They never thought it would become a normal thing for them with time, that they would learn to cook it, nor the effect it would have on their body. When they see the first belly roll form on their body while bending the sight makes them feel so weird but also so grateful. The mc discovers what a book is, and they hate reading but are fascinated with watching pictures of different animals and biomes on land, they are particularly fascinated with ants and bugs. They feel pride for the first time, not only for themselves but also for Vil whenever she perfects any singing lesson. The mermaid mc starts dreaming of being able to walk and bake every day to give people a warm treat, and sharing what they have with Vil, Rook, Epel, and those who don't have a family.
The problem is that the mc fears soon they will no longer have anything to teach Vil, and fear returning to the sea + Neige isn't happy about mc's involvement in Vil's life + Azul is looking for MC in land </3
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beanghostprincess · 2 months
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I often use cannibalism as a metaphor for longing and craving because just being next to the one you adore isn't enough. You need to consume them. But I do it in fundamentally different ways with different ships-- Like. Speaking of Zolu, I say Zoro will let himself be eaten out of devotion, wanting to live inside of Luffy, and knowing Luffy worships food as a symbol for life and freedom. Luffy will eat and consume Zoro out of greediness and the selfishness only a pirate can have but also worshipping every part of Zoro. At the same time, he does it because there's just no other way of having him that isn't inside of him forever. He's possessive like that and wants everything Zoro will give him, and Zoro wants to give him everything. While, if I write about Fyolai, I consider cannibalism as power differences and giving up freedom for love. Nikolai views love and sacrifice as some sort of chain that ties him to the world and doesn't let him be free or make decisions of his own, so letting himself be eaten by Fyodor and letting him take over his body is the most romantic and selfless thing he can do, giving up free will for love and the appreciation he has for Fyodor. While Fyodor feels some sort of power and control over Nikolai doing so, it's not only to call himself a god but because it would put Nikolai out of his misery and even if it's a selfish action it is also his way of showing respect and care as he would never let anybody else live in between his ribs. But then again, it could also be the other way around if you stop and think about it. Luffy only being vulnerable and weak around Zoro, realizing he feels safe inside of him and letting his first mate have everything he wants out of his captain. Because Zoro will not take unless Luffy lets him, so Luffy wants him to take and Zoro wants to swallow every bit of Luffy's vulnerability that only exists around him to give him the rest and comfort he needs and act as the anchor that grounds a ship. Fyodor, on the other hand, could let Nikolai consume him as a treat and sign of respect, giving up his superiority to show a bit of vulnerability around the clown but having still power over him. It would not be free will completely but Nikolai would enjoy the freedom inside of the cell he calls love and be free of eating Fyodor as a symbol of worship and almost religious devotion.
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asliceofzosan · 5 months
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in which Luffy watches as his first mate grows fonder and fonder of their new cook. (and vice versa)
part three of the rice ball series
People have a lot of assumptions on what a captain is and should be. The man who makes the tough calls, the one who puts his crew over himself, the guy who should know his ship like the back of his hand.
But Luffy isn't really any of that.
He doesn't really like making decisions. Heck, the only definitive thing he's ever laid out is his preference for meat. Also, he can admit to be selfish a lot of the time. Even if his crew don't want to scope out a new island for adventure, he's already diving headfirst into the maw of a sea beast just to see if it tastes good. (The conclusion is that as long as Sanji cooks it, anything can taste good.) And he loves the Going Merry, he does. It's just he will get confused on what to do with a rudder or which way is starboard.
But he's come to learn that his crew didn't join him because he was like all the other captains. He's impulsive, gets distracted easily, and runs his mouth when words don't need to be said. However, when he is in need of help, his crew is there by his side. He doesn't need to say anything at all because he knows his crew has his back.
And he's learned that it's because he knows them. Even if it seems like he gets bored or uninterested, Luffy stores the knowledge of what makes his crew tick in a makeshift treasure chest up in his brain. He understands them in ways no other captain could. Luffy likes to think he's gotten really good at reading them after that revelation.
Like Zoro, for example.
Zoro likes to pretend that he doesn't care about other people's feelings.
Luffy knows better, however. Luffy knows that out of everyone else on this crew, Zoro cares the most. He stands as a pillar of stability and strength because he now has something to fight for. Something he has to protect. To be the greatest swordsman is inexplicably linked with keeping his crew safe.
In keeping them safe, he considers their wants and fears. He calculates the best moves not just to keep them out of harm's way but to make sure they don't feel like a burden on his behalf. He takes out the big guns but leaves the bigger guns to his captain. He provides a path for Nami or Ussop to land hits and it never feels like hand outs or small fries to them. The triumph in defeating enemies together rather than just slicing them all up before anyone else gets a hand on them is something Zoro takes the most pride in.
So Zoro cares. He cares so deeply about the welfare of his crew that he'd rather die than lose them. However, the subtlety of it all is what passes over everyone's heads.
Except Luffy's.
It's really funny when one thinks about it too much. Zoro pretending he doesn't care, covering it all up with grunts and eye rolls, while always being the first one to someone's side when they're injured. Or being the guy who looms dangerously behind his crew when they're on an innocent stroll. Luffy can't help but watch him carefully, wondering if something could make Zoro knock down his translucent walls.
Luffy is the first to notice that it's not something. It's someone.
That someone happens to be Sanji, the cook Zoro dragged over to them at the Baratie. Even in the midst of stealing the rice balls Zoro brought, Luffy saw something different between them. Like a shift in direction out at sea. Zoro's sails commandeered by the winds of nicotine blown past the lips of a particularly handsome waiter. Who, Luffy might add, would stare at Zoro in an intense way that is both as subtle and as obvious to anyone who looked at the two of them long enough.
He doesn't know much about romance. It's not like he knew his parents. His grandpa certainly didn't keep a partner either. But what Luffy lacked in general knowledge or experience, he more than made up for in intuition.
The minute shift in the air is evident to him after weeks of observation. Sometimes it would go way over his head. Other times, it's clear as day. Sanji would say something to tease Zoro. Zoro would bite back with insults of his own.
Then Sanji would laugh, amused or delighted, and Zoro would stare at him like his whole world stopped.
It's both a thrilling spectacle and a slow motion trainwreck waiting to fly off the rails. It's entertaining to see Zoro's face get all red and his mouth to start sputtering random nonsense before he stalks off to train. It's doubly entertaining when the source of that reaction just leans against the railing, equally intrigued by the results of his mischief, blowing a cloud of smoke above his head with a fond chuckle.
When Zoro brought Sanji to him, he wasn't sure what to make of it. Nami had to spell it out to him that Sanji was the waiter who flirted with her. At the time, and to Luffy, he was a cool kicky guy who brought him meat and milk. He was an awesome fighter. Luffy thought that Zoro brought him so that he could have a sparring partner.
"Luffy, we need a cook right?" Zoro not so subtly dragged Sanji to be beside him, a firm grip on the man's wrist like it belonged there. "What about him?"
"I would have loved to be informed of what your intentions were when you said I should meet your captain," Sanji said with narrowed eyes. "Here I thought you just wanted us to be friends."
"We could be friends!" Luffy chimed in, lighting up at the prospect of adding a new crew mate who could cook. "And I saw you fight earlier – that was really cool! You went all wapow and baaamm!"
Luffy did a poor imitation of Sanji's kicking moves in the booth, almost accidentally hitting Ussop in the process. An amused grin spread on Sanji's face as quickly as it disappeared a split second later. He continued to glare at Zoro, who hasn't let go of him at all. Luffy glanced at it but said nothing.
"I told you, I'm staying here–"
"Didn't sound like you wanted to five minutes ago."
"We're not even crew mates yet and you're already this irritating!"
"Yet. You're considering it then?"
"H-Hey, you're putting words into my mouth!"
"Just tell him."
"Tell him what–"
It was like watching a sport seeing them go back and forth. In the span of their argument, Luffy already stole six handfuls of nuts from the nearby table. But the last sentence from Sanji faded into a murmur, one that made Zoro step closer to him, lean in and whisper in his ear.
The faint blush that colored Sanji's cheeks was interesting. Luffy wondered what Zoro said. But it was enough for Sanji to consider his words for a minute before he turned to look at Luffy with an unreadable expression.
Then he opened his mouth and said,
"Have you heard about the All Blue?"
Between then and now, it was clear to Luffy that Zoro saw in Sanji what Luffy saw in Zoro back in Shells Town. A dream still unrealized but not impossible to achieve. A fierce loyalty to both staying true to oneself and to the people who care for you. Zoro saw it fit that their little crew is where Sanji belonged. Where he would flourish.
Zoro recruiting Sanji to the Straw Hats was definitive proof that he cared so much more than he let on. And Luffy knows that.
Then of course, there was Sanji.
He openly shows his affection to everyone. Nami gets a princess treatment with him waiting on her hand and foot. Ussop gets a willing audience whenever he launches into another one of his stories. Luffy even gets kisses into his curls when they all get excited. Sanji was the type to wear his whole heart on his sleeve and showed it in different ways.
For Zoro, it's really no different. The execution just includes varying petty nicknames, sparring, and teasing that makes Zoro shake with intense repressed emotion. But of course, Sanji would show it through the way he knows best... by cooking.
Specifically in the form of Zoro's favorite food.
Sanji likes to create his weekly menu based on the crew's food preferences. The main course would be someone's favorite one way or the other. Luffy loves it the most when the main course is meat. But Sanji keeps it interesting and switches it up every now and then. Though there's always going to be a dish that has meat so that Luffy wouldn't complain to high heavens about it.
And there would always be at least one rice ball for Zoro.
Zoro never asks for it. He could eat anything. But when Sanji would slide a plate of rice balls wordlessly across the table to him, slapping Luffy's hand away without even looking, the quick glance Zoro gives Sanji contained words that were better left unsaid at the dinner table. Well. Better to Zoro. Luffy knows he'd wax poetic if he could find the words fast enough.
Instead, he just reaches over and savors every bite. His entire plate would be licked clean yet he'd still have room for a rice ball Sanji made special for him.
Then, Zoro would wordlessly help Sanji with the dishes, growling half-heartedly at the blonde cook's witty quips. The way Sanji would steal glances at the swordsman is an occurrence so frequent that it's really funny that Luffy is the one who notices over Zoro.
Then again... It's also not much of a surprise. Zoro purposefully refuses to notice things sometimes. Like how Sanji would let their fingers brush against each other every time he passes a plate to him. Or how Sanji would grip Zoro's bicep if something makes him laugh so hard he cries.
Whether he chooses to ignore it or not, Luffy sees Zoro visibly relax when Sanji is beside him in a fight. He sees how each time he picks a fight, it's to have an excuse to rile up Sanji until he's red in the face. He sees how he's taken up dishwashing duties because that's how he properly started to know Sanji and he relishes in the routine of it.
Romance is infinitely confusing to Luffy most of the time. But he knows what loving someone looks like regardless.
"Luffy, you got a minute?" Sanji asks one day, poking his head out of the galley door. "I need a taste tester."
"You trust me not to eat it all?" Luffy bounds up to the galley anyway all excited.
"No," is Sanji's immediate response. Luffy pouts. "I just can't ask mosshead to do it for me."
"Eh? Why not?"
Zoro had become Sanji's unspoken taste tester since he joined the crew. Luffy didn't really need much convincing – food is food, cooked or raw. Zoro's palate isn't refined either but Sanji would always gravitate towards the swordsman for a second opinion no matter what kind of dish it was.
So when Sanji seeks out his captain instead of Zoro, it's something to note. Luffy tilts his head at him as he ladles a bowl of some sort of soup and slides it in front of him. Luffy leans down to smell it and it's a beautiful assault of fresh herbs from the last island and the mouthwatering smell of a variety of meats and veggies. There was also a bed of hand pulled noodles holding up the different toppings, including a perfectly jammy soft-boiled egg.
"I'm trying out a new recipe," Sanji starts to explain, shoving his hands into his pockets. "From a fellow cook back at the Baratie who hailed from Shimotsuki Village."
Luffy hummed, having no idea where that is. But he pretends to know. He thinks he's good at that.
"You don't know where that is, do you?"
Damn... he thought he was good at this.
"Nope," He confesses, popping the p. "Should I know it?"
Sanji just stares at him for a few seconds before sighing. "It's where Zoro's from."
Oh. Oh. Now this makes sense. Immediately, Luffy remembers a conversation he overheard between Nami and Zoro the other day about how he misses the noodle soup he used to have at the dojo. So, with a bright smile, he just shakes his head and pushes it gently back to Sanji.
"He'll like it," Luffy says without even taking a sip of the soup. A first for him to refuse food. It's significant enough for Sanji to take notice and he's about to say something else before Luffy puts a hand up. "I know Zoro. He'll like it."
Sanji blinks several times, his eyebrows furrowed, and Luffy expects he's gonna argue again. So he lets out a big whine and slams his head on the counter.
"Sanjiiiii!" He groans with a pout. "I'm hungryyyyyy!"
"There is soup right–" Sanji starts to say but then stops himself when Luffy just continues to whine. He stays silent for a while, just staring at his captain, until a resigned sigh leaves his lips.
"Wait out on the deck, I'll bring you your snack."
The smile Luffy had on his face was no less mischievous than his usual, so he just thanks Sanji and catapults himself out of the galley.
After dinner, Luffy overhears Zoro ask Sanji where he learned how to make the soup. Sanji pretends he did it because he was curious. A bickering match ensues, but there is the ghost of a smile on Zoro's lips all throughout.
"It hit the spot, cook." Zoro says after the futile bickering dies down. Then he bumps their shoulders together as a wordless thank you. Sanji's face glows with pride as he watches Zoro walk away from him, the swordsman's satisfied smile lingering on his lips.
And the smile on Luffy's face is ever present.
A/N: Hello, everyone! This is the last Main installment of the dirty rice ball series. I might cross-post it to AO3 eventually. Thank you so much to those who gave a lot of love to the first two parts! I'm still learning as I go with zosan and I'm so happy with all the support 🥹 I might do some smaller ficlets within the series since it's become it's own alternate opla universe. The dynamics have shifted a bit with the knowledge that Sanji is already in love with Zoro due to Shells Town. So it would be so fun to explore it more! Let me know if you have suggestions or prompts for the rice ball verse ^_^
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i-sneezed · 4 months
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Some Elriel evidence that doesn't get much attention.
First of all, if you're just having fun with your ships, you do you, man. I'm not here to rain on your parade.
However, there are so many people out there that are CONVINCED of Elucien/Gwynriel that I can't take it anymore and I have to throw in my two cents, so here we go. I'm gonna break it down by ship.
Elucien
There's no way, bro. And we can set aside the fact that if that ship were to sail it would be the same sort of love story as Nessian (reluctant mates).
The most obvious thing to discuss here is that Elain is clearly not interested. And neither, to some extent, is Lucien.
Let's look back to ACOWAR when Lucien talks to Elain in the library. He thinks about Jesminda. "[She] had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been...thrown at him."
Like Azriel, Lucien wants to be chosen. He's had it before and he sees the value in it. Unfortunately, he's a fae male and he has a hard time ignoring his instincts where his mate is concerned, so he keeps trying. Even though he can hardly stand to be in the same room as her. Whereas Vassa...
Elain, on the other hand, has absolutely no interest in a mating bond. After Graysen breaks her heart in ACOWAR, Feyre says, "Some sliver of hope had been shattered today. That Graysen would still love her, marry her--and that love would trump even a mating bond."
Obviously, that quote is in direct reference to her ex-fiance, but we see Elain reconfirm that desire in ACOFAS when she tells Feyre explicitly that she doesn't want a mate. I don't think it's personal to Lucien, I think she rejects the idea of being told who she should be with. Of being robbed of choice.
We learn from Nesta in ACOSF that their mother always said Elain would marry for "love and beauty". I think for Elain, a mating bond is not the same as love. Also, small aside, but who is constantly regarded as the most beautiful of the bat boys?
We haven't seen them have a conversation about their mating bond yet because why would we? That will happen in Elain's book (which is most likely next).
Gwynriel
I feel like this one is more dangerous to get into so I'll tread lightly.
Firstly, the majority of evidence for this ship comes from a bonus chapter that the majority of the fandom doesn't even know exists. Anyone who listens to the audiobooks doesn't know about it unless they poke around ACOTAR stuff online.
It doesn't make sense for an author to essentially change the entire trajectory of a story in a bonus chapter that most people don't know about.
Also, I think a big problem with the BC is that people read it after they finish the book, so it can feel like the most recent thing to happen in the story, but it's not. It happens about 2/3 of the way through ACOSF and a lot happens after that.
But before we get into that, let's talk about the shadows. People lose their damn minds that Az's shadows dance for Gwyn and vanish for Elain. The truth of it is that we don't know what dancing shadows actually mean, though. It's the first time we've seen it happen. However, we have seen his shadows vanish for someone other than Elain.
In ACOMAF, when Feyre meets the IC for the first time, they vanish for Mor. "Mor patted Azriel on the shoulder as she dodged his outstretched wing...The lurking shadows vanished entirely as Azriel's head dipped a bit."
So we know that the shadows vanish in the presence of someone Azriel has romantic feelings for, but we don't know what makes them dance.
Then, at the end of the BC (after he said he didn't even consider Gwyn to be a friend) he feels a spark of joy in his chest. Good. My shadow man deserves happiness.
But we know that it doesn't last because at the very next training right after Solstice, Neta comments that Az is "More aloof than usual" which clearly shows us that he is far more hung up on what happened with Elain than whatever may or may not be going on with Gwyn.
For her part, Gwyn becomes more comfortable around Azriel after Solstice. We love to see it because the poor girl has been so traumatized and, like Az, she deserves to be happy.
However, at no point does Nesta or Cassian suspect there to be any romantic connection between them. Not like how Nesta did with Az and Elain. ("His secret to tell. Never hers.").
And then at the climax of the book, Gwyn is thrown into the Blood Rite. At no point is Az even half as frantic as Cassian (which a mate would be) and he is way more preoccupied with whatever's going on with Eris.
At the end, when Nesta is getting ready for her mating ceremony, Gwyn tells her that she's not ready to leave the House of Wind again. Poor thing has been re-traumatized because of what happens in the BR and can't stand to leave the House. And y'all think she's ready for any kind of romantic relationship??
Nah, let Gwyn heal without the influence of a male.
Elriel
So I'm got gonna talk about the rescue, him figuring out she's a seer, giving her Truth Teller, or any of the usual stuff because that's been said and said and I have nothing to add to it.
Instead, I want to talk about what I believe their trope will be and share my evidence with the class. Cool? Cool.
Okay, so, I think we all know that if Elriel is endgame then their trope will be forbidden lovers.
Personally, I am of the opinion that the purpose of Az's bonus chapter was to confirm that for us, not suddenly change the entire trajectory of the story.
But forbidden lovers makes so much sense for Elriel because of what we've seen in the books, not just the BC.
Looking at ACOMAF again, Mor tells Feyre, "'Azriel's got no shortage of lovers, though, don't worry. He's just better at keeping them secret than we are.'"
Then, in ACOSF, when Feyre's talking about how Elain figured out she was pregnant first, she says to Azriel, "'I think she's got you beat for secret-keeping'".
So it's already in-canon that Azriel can keep his lovers secret very well and that Elain is just good at secrets in general.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
A moment I never see anyone talk about is something that Cassian observes at a family dinner. "Elain had already departed with Feyre, claiming she had to be up with the dawn to tend to an elderly faerie's garden. Cassian didn't know why he suspected this wasn't true. There had been some tightness in Elain's face when she said it. Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around, but the male remained in the human lands with Jurian and Vassa."
Elain already has secrets the IC aren't privy to. So what's one more?
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mystery-star · 6 months
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What would it be like to be spock,s mate/ other half ?
This goes for a Non-Vulcan, gender-neutral reader 
Words: 841 
Warnings: none 
First off, Spock would cherish and love you very much – in his own way. 
So at fist it would take you some time to being able to read him and find out what his love language and way of showing his caring for you is. 
Maybe that first phase can be frustrating because it feels like he’s still rather distant. Tho he’d actually need some time to get used to the whole situation and know how to deal with it. 
But once you figured him out, so much he did earlier in the relationship would make sense. And of course anything else he does in the future. 
It would take him some time too to get to know and fully trust you before he will tell you about what he thinks (and feels if he does have a feeling for once) 
He will almost never say ‘I love you’ but use other words like ‘I cherish you’ or ‘You mean very much to me’ or ‘I must admit that I am feeling a sense of happiness I cannot and do not wish to suppress if I think about you having decided to be my mate’. 
Which, if you consider him being Vulcan, is something very sweet to say. 
He will always remember anything you told him and not forget any birthdays, anniversaries etc. and will also be able to gift you something that you maybe just mentioned in passing. 
He’s not the most touchy person – especially in the beginning – and will not often initiate physical contact with you. Or at least ask first like if you’d like a hug when you’re not feeling well. 
Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t like physical contact – it's just something he’s not used to and after a while he will even enjoy it when you just hug him. (But of course you respect his boundaries if he sets any and will also try to hold back some touches so you’re not constantly touching him) 
If you don’t work on the same ship as he does, your relationship often becomes long-distance, consisting mainly of regular calls. 
Which also means that moments he’s back with you are something to be cherished and enjoyed, making you try to spend as much time together as you can. 
He’d make it clear that he also has a responsibility to the crew and the ship. Meaning his work usually comes first. 
Then again, if he feels like your life is in danger he might even make a rash and not so logical decision sometimes.  
Your little quirks would amuse him to no end and he’d find them super cute but he’d never admit it. 
But if you mention them being silly, he will correct you, saying they’re a part of you and that he loves you as a person and you wouldn’t be you without your quirks, meaning he doesn’t want you without them. 
You totally could have long talks with him and sometimes the biggest challenge is that they don’t turn into a monologue of him where he’s talking and talking about a topic. (eg something scientific or one of their adventures they’ve been on) 
Of course you would introduce your families to each other and Amanda loves you from second one, treating you like a second child 
Sarek is of course more reserved about it all and he might seem scary at the beginning but with time you learn to read him too and that he means very well and is fond of you as well. 
Spock would teach you a lot about Vulcan and it’s culture while you try to show him things from your world and make him more open to them. And it’s much fun to see him try and struggle with some things (take Inline skating as a basic example) 
Jealousy would totally not be a thing. Because you know that if someone flirts with him it would be illogical if he paid attention to it (and might not even notice what they’re doing). And he trusts you too and knows that there is nothing he has to worry about if people try to flirt with you.  
However, there sometimes is the thought within him that he fears you could leave him for ‘someone better’, who is from your own race and would be able to show their love for you more openly. 
Meaning that then it’s up to you to comfort and reassure him that he’s the only person in the whole galaxy you want. 
It gets better once you get married because of the mating bond that would be done then.  
The wedding would be mixed, part Vulcan, part from your world. And it most likely would come to be when he’s experiencing Pon-Farr. 
But he has informed you about it and even proposed so he’d know that if it happens to him you will be willing to take him as your husband (or wouldn’t feel forced to just do it to save his life) and that it isn’t all totally surprising to you. 
Thank you so much for your ask and sorry this took a while.  (also I really hope I got it right and this was about what you wanted xD)
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goddessofroyalty · 28 days
Text
Fandom: One Piece
Going through my One Piece scribbles to do a final clean up before FF7 takes over my life from probably tonight and found this one that was me playing around with trying to match the more silly tone One Piece can get.
Law is used entirely as a convenient outsider POV.
Pairing: Zoro/Sanji
Tags: omegaverse, mpreg, accidental pregnancy
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“Are you kidding me!? Again!?”
Law makes a point of trying to ignore the Strawhats’ antics as he travels with them. Strawhat’s crew is as insane as their captain is and often loudly bicker amongst themselves seemingly just to give Law a headache.
The shrillness of Nami’s voice and way Blackleg practically prostrates himself at her side in pathetic submission has him tuning in.
“What happened?” The Strawhat’s sniper asks as the rest of the crew’s attention is drawn onto the situation as well.
“Sanji’s pregnant. Again,” Nami informs them as Blackleg lets out a pathetic whimper that would perhaps be more worrisome if it wasn’t the exact same candor as the one he gave when the strawberries he was using the previous night for desert weren’t large enough for him to carve into perfect flowers for the girl’s. Law doesn’t try and understand why a man who would happily kick anyone’s head in if they suggested he may be less for being an omega immediately breaks out the keens and whimpers associated with his designation at the first sign of any even slight offence to the women on his ship.
The navigator’s offence is deserved from Law’s perspective. While they had hidden them well the fact of him travelling on the ship with them had necessitated he be introduced to the two other children that had resulted from the unique relationship between swordsman and cook of the Strawhat crew.
“Woohoo! New crew member!” Strawhat himself crows, completely missing the gravity of travelling with a pregnant omega aboard.
Although considering they had already successfully done it at least once before Law supposes the confidence is somewhat justified.
Strawhat rattles off his list of demands following the exciting news. A feast the first, most detailed, and apparently most important, among them.
Not that much attention is being paid to him. Nami still standing with her hands on her hips looking at Blackleg expectantly.
“It’s not my fault my m- the only option I’m stuck with for my heats is a mossy brute!” Blackleg justifies. And Law is sure they all caught the slip in his words. And all know exactly what he was about to say.
Despite the two – soon to be three – children they share and the fact the world knows them as the Monster Mates of the Strawhat pirates, both Blackleg and Zoro’s necks stay bare of a mating bite.
“I didn’t do anything you didn’t ask for,” Zoro says from where he had been napping on the ship. He had had their youngest asleep with him but the boy had woken up with Strawhat’s excitement, running off to join the noise.
Blackleg glares at his not-mate and Zoro moves to quickly block the foot aimed at his gut for it.
“It’s your stupid knot that keeps breaking the condoms,” Sanji says, driving his heel into the sword Zoro has blocking him.
“It’s your fucked up fertility that keeps getting pregnant so easily,” Zoro snaps back, pushing against the food driving down onto him.
“Enough,” Nami says, before they can go into any details of how they managed to conceive three children together. Her hand coming up to massage her temple.
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heliads · 7 months
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can you make a nikolai lantsov x reader?? i've been thinking about one where reader was one of sturmhond's crew as a tidemaker and they were together for a long time, but when nikolai became king, the two separated because royalty had done too much harm to r family and she didn't want to become one of them (besides her being Grisha). maybe after RoW they finally talk and get back together??
yesss pirate!reader x nikolai my beloved
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If Nikolai Lantsov were to regret anything in his life, anything at all, it would be how he handled her. It’s not that he regrets her, he wants to make that clear. He couldn’t if he tried, and Nikolai has tried many times to get over her, to find some flaw out of an improbability of perfection so he might not feel as achingly heartbroken as he always does.
But when Nikolai lies awake at night, unable to sleep despite a gilded bedroom and dozens of lush pillows and luxurious blankets, the worries troubling his mind are not of a country to run, nor the endless cycles of politics constantly reinventing new problems to crush his world beneath his boot. No, he thinks of one woman. He thinks of you.
Before Nikolai was the latest Lantsov king, before he was a homeward bound prince, he was a boy, and a boy who wanted to run. A much younger Nikolai in body and spirit had signed onto a pirate ship the second his guards turned their backs. It was a terrible decision for a golden prince to make, but the best choice for the bastard who never wanted to see another silver spoon again unless he was stealing it.
When Nikolai was a young man, he determined that he would be the captain of a ship, and a captain always needs a crew he can depend on to carry him through thick and thin. Nikolai sailed to countless foreign shores, finding friends and enemies in oceans sapphire and stormy, cerulean and calm. He wore dashing waistcoats and ruined them with the blood of slashed throats. He blockaded and benefitted small towns with equal joy.
And, most importantly of all, Nikolai found his first mate. It is a difficult thing, of course, choosing someone who could be your successor. If he picked someone a little too captivating, he ran the risk that they could depose him in a mutiny. If he gave that spot to someone the crew hated, though, his leadership would be undermined all the same.
He was just starting to think it would be impossible to find the right sort of figure, and then this young woman he’d never met before had simply walked up and asked for it. Technically, it wasn’t such an easy meeting as that. She had actually stolen one of the rowboats off of his ship while it was tied to their ship in the harbor with her abilities as a Tidemaker, then used the water to ferry her over to him.
From anyone else, Sturmhond would consider that a punishable offense. However, the privateer in him was also a politician, and one used to fronts and facades at that. Nikolai looked at the woman in front of him and realized that she wasn’t looking to use him as an avenue for a coup to captainship. She’d done her research and figured out that he was the best captain to serve under, and was simply ensuring that she made a good impression.
There is nothing Nikolai can appreciate like a fine display of showmanship, so he’d accepted her acceptance of his non-offer and told her to move her belongings into the first mate’s cabin that night. The crew woke up to a new member, and they took to her as readily as Nikolai himself.
After that, it was easy. Nikolai skimmed over frothy waves and he had someone by his side, a proper companion. He has liked his crew heartily all this time, but Y/N– he likes Y/N even more. Saints, he loves her. It takes him a while to realize that, but he does. Once that knowledge is common to him, the fact that he could have felt anything else is nothing short of absurd.
He’d given her his name a long time ago. Part of it, at least. They’d been on night guard together one shadowy twilight and she’d begged him for some sort of name she could use. Sturmhond, although great for inspiring fear and leadership as he saw fit, wasn’t personal enough for a friend, and Captain was too formal. Nikolai had witnessed many years of his father forcing everyone to refer to him as the king and nothing more. Never will he force a title on anyone.
So he’d said Nik, she could call him Nik, and that was more than good enough. It feels like cheating, a little, to have her bypass his real name and go straight to the familiar nickname. If anyone could do it, though, it would be her. Captains aren’t supposed to have favorites among their crew, but this is Y/N, and he loves her, so she calls him Nik, and he– he lets it happen.
All this truth, this love, and he never told her who he was. Not by choice. How could he? Y/N hated the monarchy, and so did he. The elder Lantsovs did not treat Grisha kindly, only tolerating them in the confines of the Little Palace. There was nothing Nikolai could do to protect them, to protect her, half as well in Os Alta as he could as Sturmhond, so he kept it a secret.
You could call that selfishness. You would be correct in doing so. Nikolai did not tell Y/N he was a prince because he was terrified of how she would push him away. In the end, there was nothing he could do to avoid that. The Darkling called on his help in capturing Alina Starkov, and Nikolai revealed that last ace in his sleeve the night before he was to dock in Ravka and personally escort the Sun Saint and her friends back to Os Alta.
He will never forget how Y/N had looked at him when she finally learned what he was, not as long as he shall live. He had asked her to come to his office, to lock the door so no one could hear. Y/N has been host to a great many of his secrets, good and bad and terrible, so she thought she could handle just one more.
She was wrong. Nikolai stood before her, and said, “I am the son of the king.”
She’d laughed, actually, but that had dried up when she realized he wasn’t joking. “No. You can’t be serious. All this time we’ve been out here, and you haven’t told me? You would have told me.”
Her eyes were desperate, pleading. Y/N L/N is one of the finest pirates Nikolai ever had the pleasure of meeting. He’s seen her go into no-luck gunfights with a grin on her face, and now she looks like all of her luck has finally run out. How awful, that he would be the one to finally crush her spirit underfoot.
“I knew you wouldn’t like it,” he tries to explain.
Y/N shakes her head. “No. I don’t like it when Tolya borrows my knives to slice fruit. I don’t like it when we stay in small towns too long. Nik, it’s not that I don’t like it that you’re a royal. It’s that you’ve betrayed me. You know how the Lantsov kings have treated Grisha, how they’ve treated anyone who isn’t an elite.”
It occurs to Nikolai that this might be how he loses her, in truth. “Y/N, please. We can change everything. Why do you think I came out here in the first place? I want to help Ravka. I want to help my people. Just come with me. We can do it together.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “No. I don’t want to be one of them.”
Not like he is, at least. Nikolai is endlessly, ineffably them, but she doesn’t have to be. She’s safe from them. From him. “Y/N. I love you, and I want you with me. Please, come to Os Alta with me.”
She turns to him abruptly, eyes violent. “No. That’s final, Nik.”
Ah. So it ends. And so Nikolai had gone to bed alone, heart a bitter mess of hurt, and he had disembarked from his ship with Alina and Mal and the rest. He had taken them to Os Alta, he had reclaimed his position on the throne, and all the while, he knew that he would never want anything in the world half as strongly as he just wanted her. 
It’s funny, isn’t it? Nikolai is a king now, and despite all his reach and power, the one thing he desires most will never be in his grasp again. She will always be the sea’s, and, as of late, that means she will never be Nikolai’s. Nikolai is chained to the crown; he will never leave it, he can never leave it. Y/N will be out there on the storm-tossed waves forever, as wild as the night he met her, and that will cause him grief until the day that he dies.
Nikolai grows up and it gets no better. He watches friends lose themselves to war and misery. He wears the crown upon his head, and then, surrounded by the clamoring voices of those who wanted him gone, he relinquishes it. Nikolai had tried to do his best while he was in office, but, walking back from the meeting with a strangely light feeling upon his head and shoulders where a great burden no longer rests, he wonders if it had ever been enough.
No one can ever be enough for Ravka. This he has known since he was a child. He had tried, though. The trying should at least get him somewhere. Nikolai passes blind laps around the Great Palace, attempting to remember every garden and room before he leaves it. He’ll have to pack his bags at some point, move out and find somewhere else to call a home after so many years in this one place.
Zoya has already offered for him to stay here, albeit in a different room. He’s a valuable advisor thanks to all his years on the throne, and he’s still as good a diplomat as ever. Nikolai will probably take her up on it; he wants to help Ravka, and this seems like the best way to do it.
About a week later, Zoya knocks on the door of his new rooms before letting herself inside when he invites her in. She’s taking to her new royal title very well, even if this seems to include her stealing his tea far more times than is strictly proper. 
This time, though, she isn’t here to stop and talk. Instead, Zoya hovers hesitantly at his door, and says, “There’s someone here to see you.”
Nikolai arches a brow. “I didn’t realize relinquishing my crown meant I got to have the Dragon Queen herself here to announce my visitors. Will you do this every time?”
Zoya laughs sarcastically, but her voice is still stilted when she adds on, “Just this time. She says she knows you. She was on your crew. First mate.”
Nikolai swears his heart stops in his chest. This is– no, it couldn’t be. He told Zoya about Y/N a long time ago. She’d asked why he hadn’t been more invested in finding a suitor and he’d admitted that he was pushing it off for as long as possible, knowing he couldn’t love unless it was her.
He nods a little frantically. “Alright. Where is she?”
“Here,” says a voice behind Zoya, and then the queen of Ravka is disappearing back down the hall and Nikolai is alone in a room with someone else and– and it’s Y/N, Y/N after so long, and he doesn’t really know how to think straight, let alone say anything at all.
She pauses over the threshold before finally going inside and shutting the door behind you. “I suppose I should be glad you’re speechless. Shows you still care, at least.”
“Of course I do,” Nikolai chokes out. “But– you do too? You’re here.”
She inclines her head, taking a seat on the chair opposite him. “I came as soon as I heard that you would no longer be king. I thought it would be hard. To lose this one last thing from your family.”
Nikolai frowns. “You hate my family.”
“I don’t hate you,” she says simply, “and even if they treated you harshly, they were still your blood. That means more than any of us want to admit, I think.”
Nikolai sighs. “You’ve always been the wise one, Y/N.”
She smiles at that. “Isn’t that why you hired me, Nik?”
The nickname again. His heart contracts painfully in his chest. “I should have told you,” he blurts out. “I should have told you everything.”
“I knew a lot,” she replies, “Enough to love you. I’m glad for every moment. There would have been fewer if you had told me sooner.”
Nikolai grimaces at the truth in that. “So you’re alright with me being a Lantsov now?”
She furrows her brow. “I heard some whispers that you aren’t entirely a Lantsov at all.”
He can’t really argue with that. “Who am I, then?”
“You’re Nik,” she tells him, “My Nik. My captain. And yes, my king, even if you’ve given over the throne. I always kept track of what you were doing during your reign. I was always proud of you.”
A bright burst of pride flares in his chest. “What do you advise I do now, if my reign is over?”
She stands, extends a hand to him. “We could always go back to a good time. The sea only gets bigger.”
Nikolai looks up at her, and he thinks– this is what he’s missed. Nikolai makes a fine king, but he has always missed adventure. He’ll have that now. And, when they both get old and tired, they can come back here, and continue making policies now that they’ve lived the lives of both the rich and the outlaw. It sounds wonderful to Nikolai.
He takes her hand. “Shall we go, then?”
She smiles. Radiant. He loves her just as much as he did at the start. “I think we shall.”
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