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#it's time i started proving myself the captain of this ship
venus-lovelight · 5 months
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Take care of each other (Law x Reader)
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You were an independent person, it’s just the way it was. You never had anyone to take care of you were sick or injured so you learned to do it yourself. That hadn’t changed after joining the Heart Pirates, even though the ship’s captain also happened to be the ship’s doctor, and not to mention your lover. You never accepted help with tasks, no matter how major or minor, and unfortunately Law had noticed. You knew he noticed. He noticed everything. 
You also knew he noticed that you had some sort of injury after the battle today, but you quickly brushed him off and disappeared before he could inspect you properly. And that's how you ended up in the ship’s infirmary in the middle of the night. You knew your injuries needed treating, so you had snuck in while everyone was asleep and Law was busy in his office. Unzipping your boiler suit and tying it around your waist you began tending to your injuries with a grimace.
A gash on your forearm, a cut on your side, and your hands had ended up pretty scraped and bruised. Not great, but could’ve been much worse.
Treating a wound with your nondominant hand proved more difficult than originally thought, but you were managing.
“You need stitches on that gash on your arm Y/N -ya.”
Your head whipped around to see Law leaning in the doorway.
“I knew you were lying when you said you were fine, but I didn't think it was this bad.” He sighed, walking into the room and sitting across from you. He was clearly annoyed with you.
“It’s fine. I can do it myself.” You stated, focusing your attention back on your arm. You knew more than likely you couldn’t stitch your arm up, but you would certainly try. Something was better than nothing right?
“Why would you hide these in the first place? These are fairly serious wounds.” Law asked, finally getting a good look at your injuries. You could see annoyance in his face, but it was mixed with worry and concern. It made you feel sick. Your stomach was turning at the sight. You didn’t want him to look at you this way
“Because I can handle this on my own. I don’t need anyone’s help.” It came out a bit meaner than intended, but you couldn’t help it. 
Law stared for a moment before letting out another sigh, he knew exactly why you were acting the way you were.
“What’re you trying to prove?” you snapped your head up to meet his eyes
“Excuse me?”
“What are you trying so hard to prove that you’d let your own health suffer as a result? That’s the only reason I can think of for this idiotic behavior.” 
You grit your teeth and attempt to look away, only to be stopped by Law grabbing your chin and bringing your head back. He stared at you as if searching for something and you couldn’t handle it. You felt weak under his gaze, helpless even. Your frustration grew so heavy that you felt your eyes begin to water.
“Y/N - ya?”
“I’m strong.” it barely came out as a whisper
Law nodded “I know you are.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“You have,” he says “You still do. You always will. The rest of us have just joined in, too. We take care of each other.”
You feel yourself relax as he gently grabs your arm in his and begins patching it up. “No one thinks you’re weak just because you get a few injuries.”
“I’ve never had anyone take care of me before. It’s weird. I don't like it very much.” You finally get out.
“Get used to it then. Next time you have any sort of injury I want you in my office, is that clear?” He paused to stare at you.
You didn’t speak at first. Your emotions felt all over the place right now. You felt ashamed of both having someone take care of your wounds but also due to the fact that you had hidden them in the first place. Law’s words made you feel secure almost, yet you knew it wasn’t that simple.
“I can’t guarantee I’ll do it every time,” you start “I can only say that I’ll try”
“That’s all I can ask for now.” He seemed satisfied with your answer for now at least.
Neither of you spoke much after that, a comfortable silence falling over the both of you as Law moved on from your arm, to your hands, and then onto your side. It felt strange at first, having someone else’s hands tracing over your injuries but as he went on you began to get used to it. 
You let out a yawn as he finished wrapping your side.
“You should get some sleep Y/N -ya.” 
“I could say the same to you, Law.” You looked up at him with a sleepy smile “afterall I might need someone with me to make sure I don't worsen my injuries in my sleep.”
He glared at you for a moment before a smile small broke onto his face
“I suppose you’re right. I need to make sure you stay on bedrest for the next couple of days.”
“Bedrest?! Law you can’t!” You cried out
“Too bad, this is what happens when you’re reckless both in battle and out of battle.” he turned to walk out of the infirmary with you chasing after him.
“Can we at least talk about this?!”
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dira333 · 1 month
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In every other Universe - Zoro x Reader
Part 3 - Absinthe poem
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3. Absinthe poem
with the stars like fish in the sky 
that swam when we dipped our toes in
and made ripples, laughing, with our limbs
like broken swan wings  
From the moment you opened your eyes and saw the string, its vibrant mossy green tied to your pinky, you’d known the trouble ahead.
Because while everything you knew and loved was on this island, the string led straight away from it.
-
“Take me with you,” you say to anyone who will listen.
But you’re just a little kid.
“Take me with you,” you say to anyone who dares to stick around.
But you’re just a gangly teenager.
“Take me with you,” you press a handful of Berry into the Captain’s hand. 
His grin sends shivers down your back, but who knows when the next ship reaches your little island?
It’s hard work, being a pirate. Dirty work too. 
They say the crow’s nest is no place for a little girl, so you prove yourself and climb up first thing in the morning. 
They say a kitchen knife is the best weapon for a woman like you, so you learn how to wield a sword, then two. 
Your life might be nothing but you proving others wrong, but you can live with that, as long as you’re in motion, knowing you come closer to the other end of your string with every day that passes.
- - -
“Do you believe in Soulmates?” Robin asks over Dinner once. 
The question, innocent as it may sound, leaves the table in shambles. 
Sanji’s convinced that the mole on his back is a Soulmate Mark leading him to Nami, who, in turn, refuses to even consider that idea.
Usopp, however, has already found his one true love in Kaya, takes the chance to rave about her beauty once again while Luffy, never missing a chance, empties the plates of those otherwise occupied.
Robin’s dark eyes land on him.
“A string, huh?” She asks, as if she could see it, the neat little bow tied around his pinky.
He puts his hand down as if he hadn’t just stared at it like it would start talking any second.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’ve got one myself.” She raises her hand, looks at it in the burning light of a drowning sun. “There are days where I wonder if I’ll ever meet them.”
“It’s not like I’m searching for them,” Zoro huffs, because he isn’t, wasn’t, will not. 
There had been a time when he’d hoped it would be Kuina standing on the other side of this string. It had been a foolish idea, born from the mind of a little boy.
“We don’t have time for Soulmates anyway.” He calls out and takes his leave, a bottle of beer in his hand.
-
“You know,” Robin is hard to shake off. She looks at him from where her head has grown out of the wall. “It wouldn’t be that bad to have a Soulmate.”
“Not if you have to leave them behind. We’re moving toward something big and I’ll be damned to stay behind.”
“Sure, sure, but what if… you know… they’d come along?”
He stops, beer bottle pressed against his lips.
The thought is new, though not outlandish.
What if, he thinks, but doesn’t dare to finish the sentence.
- - -
By the time you leave your third ship you’d almost consider yourself talented in the act of disappearing.
There’s certainly some talent to it, honed by practice. You’ve spent months avoiding the Captain or other particularly nasty men who thought a woman on board meant having a wife on board. 
Your string is still taut, leading you further and further away, into the unknown distance.
But you’ve made a name for yourself, as the bounty posters proclaim.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s more to this than hunting down the supposed love of your life.
Maybe, just maybe, you could enjoy this, this life at sea.
- - -
There’s a tug on his string, just enough to shift his focus.
Zoro follows suit. Sanji and his damned market can wait. This is more important.
He tugs the string back, hopes and dreads an answer.
Another tug. He picks up speed.
The island’s rather small, from what he’s heard. If you’re on it, he’ll find you. 
But the string leads him away from the port, through narrow streets, and into the forest, up a hill he doesn’t remember seeing before.
Zoro tugs, you answer. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you don’t seem to mind that he’s about to find you.
Upon the hill, the trees give space to a clearing, just small enough for him… and you.
You’re out of breath, hands on your knees as you try to speak.
“You,” you both say at the same time.
You laugh, the sound new, yet welcoming him home. Zoro pulls you in, warm skin against warm skin, chests rising with each breath.
Maybe in a minute, he will ask for your name.
Right now, words are nothing but sparks in the face of a burning forest.
- - -
There’s nothing quite like swimming at night when the sky is clear and the stars swim in the sea just like you.
Zoro drifts in the dark water, arms crossed under his head as he looks up at the moon. 
You crawl laps around him, splash him from time to time to keep him from drifting to sleep as well.
“Hey…” You draw closer to him, dig your nose into the soft skin of his arm until he turns to pull you close, to press his warm lips against your cold cheeks. “Do you believe in Soulmates?”
“Funny.” He grumbles, squeezing your hip. 
“Do you think there are other worlds out there?” You ask, looking up at the moon. “Where we’re us, but not us? Like, I could be a medic or some really smart girl that studies the ocean…”
“I’d be a knight,” Zoro’s voice is firm, “For sure.”
You giggle, but can’t help the doubt wash over you again.
“But would you love me? In every other Universe?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” It sounds so simple when he says it. “In every other Universe, you’d still be you and I’d still be me. And I love you and you love me.”
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Dedicated to: @revasserium
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hyperfixatedonthisnow · 9 months
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Siren's call
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*not my GIF I know, I know, I suck at titles, but I’ve come to accept this about myself and therefore so must you! Summary: A Siren and a privateer fall in love, but how will he react when he finally learns what she is? Requested by: Anonymous - Sturmhond/Nikolai finds out his girlfriend is a siren. How will that go? - Dearest anon, I am *so* sorry that this took me so long to put out. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole researching Sirens and found your request so interesting that I honestly could have written much more. I started out with Sturmhond, then switched to Nikolai after reader learns his real name, and I went with Sirens as shape-shifting mermaids, rather than the Greek version of bird like creatures, mostly because it was easier to write in but also because birds freak me out a bit tbh, I’m hoping you don’t mind. Also there’s smut at the end, but if you don’t like that then feel free to stop reading when the kissing starts 😉 I realized way too late that I probably should have asked you for more details 🤦‍♀️ So I can only hope that this is something close to what you wanted! Word count: 7.5K ish - because much like our favorite prince/privateer, I prefer to use several words when one will do 😅
Warnings: NSFW - 18+ only. Mild peril, mild angst, a touch of fluff, minor OC’s who exist only to further the (minimal) plot, a very brief mention of non-con (but not with Nikolai), smut, fem!reader, P in V sex, semi-rough sex, marking, unprotected sex (not recommended in real life!)
You had been following the ship closely for weeks, watching the crew, learning their habits, and charting their course to figure out the best time to take them. Amalia preferred to wait until they were close to land, though it was easier and safer to simply lure them into open water out at sea. She liked the challenge, but more than that, she liked to be the last thing the men saw before they died. It made her feel powerful- to know how much they wanted her and could never have her.
If it was up to you, you would wait until nightfall and sing from a distance, letting your enchanting lullaby guide the men from their beds straight into a watery grave. You didn’t take pleasure in their deaths, even if you knew it was necessary. Unnatural your sisters teased, for a Siren to have such a soft heart. Amalia never joined in with the teasing, though you knew she didn’t really understand you either. Still, she indulged you by allowing you to act as scout, and that meant you could mostly narrow down the targets to pirates and slavers, offering the fishermen and other sailors some small semblance of protection.
Whenever possible, you would scout several ships at a time, so that you could choose the one you wanted and hopefully sway Amalia towards it when you returned to discuss your findings. Unfortunately, only one ship had passed through your waters in almost a month, and although you felt it was worth saving, there was no second option.
When you met with Amalia, you thought carefully about what you had found before you spoke, deciding on the major details you should share with her and filtering out your own more personal observations.
At first glance, it had seemed like a Pirate ship, but further investigation proved that it was not. The crew was an eclectic mix of men, women, and Grisha, of various ages and races. The captain - who went by the name Sturmhond and insisted he was not a pirate, but a privateer - was young, barely out of boyhood, and yet it was clear that he commanded their respect.
He ran a tight ship, but he always treated his crew warmly and he worked alongside them often, doing his fair share of the hard work. He was rarely angry and never cruel, as far as you could tell. At night the crew would gather on the deck to drink and play cards, and he usually joined them. He didn’t seem to think himself above their company as some captains would. You watched him dance and laugh along with the others, and when he lost at cards, he always took it in good humour.
In the conversations you had overheard, the captain’s responses were measured and kind, free from judgment or scorn. Although they carried an impressive arsenal of weapons, you had witnessed no violence from him, nor any of his crew. No prisoners taken, no poor souls forced to walk the plank, no slaves bound in the hull of his ship.
He spent most of his hours working on some flying contraption and after several failed tests, you saw his joy when it actually worked. He was a good man, you had concluded. Intelligent and funny, and handsome, too. You tried to imagine Amalia’s face if you admitted that last bit out loud - she would probably think you had taken leave of your senses completely.
You bit your lip, wondering how you could persuade her to spare them, to spare him.
“Actually, I was thinking… maybe we should… let this one go,” you suggested tentatively. Might as well just be direct.
Amalia stared at you as though you had grown an extra head. “Let them go?” She said after a moment, her nose scrunching in disgust. “You think these men should live?”
“They aren’t just men,” you rushed, trying to justify yourself. “There are women on the crew, and Grisha too.”
“And?” Amalia prompted.
“And, they don’t deserve to be punished for the sins of men,” you argued, “they’re innocent.”
Amalia rolled her eyes, “They’ve chosen to take up with a pirate, have they not?”
“Privateer,” you corrected, but the moment the word was out you wished you could call it back.
Amalia narrowed her eyes suspiciously at you. “Privateer?” She echoed.
“Yes?” You squeaked, and it sounded more like a question than an answer. You cleared your throat. “Yes. He’s not a pirate, he’s a privateer, and he’s a good man, Amalia. I’ve seen it.”
Amalia laughed, “There is no such thing as a good man,” she muttered, “They are all the same. Weak-minded, arrogant, selfish creatures. They live only for violence and destruction.”
“Not him,” you said firmly. “He’s not like the others.”
“He’s exactly like the others,” she snapped, “If you gave him the chance, he would kill you without a second thought.”
“No,” you argued, “You’re wrong about him. He’s smart and kind, and good. I swear it.”
She studied you for a long moment and you tried not to fidget under her disapproving gaze. Your cheeks felt hot, and you knew you were probably blushing.
“Oh, don’t tell me you’ve gone and fallen in love with him!” She exclaimed finally.
You said nothing, but your silence was answer enough. You looked away, pressing your lips together. It was out there now, no point in trying to deny it.
“Foolish girl,” Amalia said, shaking her head. “There is no future for you with him, surely you must see that?”
“Of course I do,” you whispered, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill over. “But I won’t watch him die Amalia. Not this one. I can’t.”
Amalia sighed, and then she surprised you by pulling you in to a tight hug.
“Please,” you begged, voice breaking.
“There’s a storm coming,” she murmured into your hair, “I suppose we could wait it out.”
“We could?” You questioned hopefully.
“If they can survive it, on their own, then we will leave them be. That’s the best I can do.”
Relief flooded through you, and you hugged Amalia tighter. “Thank you!” You cried.
She pulled back to look at you, her expression troubled. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but men are dangerous. All men. Even your privateer,” she said seriously, hands gripping your shoulders, “So if I do this, if I let him live, it is on the condition that you agree to stay away from him. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” you answered without hesitation. You would do anything to protect him.
“You must never see him again. Not ever. Promise me,” she insisted.
“I promise,” you said, the words bitter on your tongue.
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The sea was rough, waves cresting 30ft high only to crash back down, as loud as thunder. You watched as the ship rose and fell along with them. You weren’t supposed to be here, had promised to stay away, but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to know that he would be ok. Amalia had agreed to wait until the storm had passed, but if the ship ran aground her small act of mercy wouldn’t matter.
You moved closer, letting the current sweep you towards the ship. It had to be taking on water, but so far, the crew seemed to be holding on. Once you were close enough, you watched them carefully. The Grisha who usually guided their sails spread his arms wide, fighting a losing battle against the ferocious winds. He was just a boy, and not nearly powerful enough to tame such a storm alone. A woman jumped from the lookout, rolling across the deck, and landing gracefully on her feet beside a tall man with similar features. They moved to secure the main sail, working in perfect tandem. A man in a teal coat ran from post to post, tightening the rigging and testing the knots before making his way to the helm to take the wheel. Sturmhond. His hair was plastered to his face, his clothes soaking wet. He took the wheel with both hands, pulling hard to the left, and though his expression was determined, you could sense his growing desperation.
The ship slowly began to turn, forcing the bow away from the storm. Trying to outrun it. For a moment it looked as though his plan might actually work, but then suddenly the ship listed dangerously starboard. Sturmhond struggled to right it, but it was too late. A wave crashed over the now tilted masts, snapping them clean away with a force that rolled the entire ship on to its side. It bobbed precariously for half a second, sailors clinging to the railings, before another wave hit, cracking the hull. If they weren’t taking on water before, they certainly were now. Finally, a voice called out, “ABANDON SHIP!” and the crew began leaping into the sea, frantically trying to escape the wreckage before it capsized completely.
Your eyes scanned the chaos, looking for Sturmhond. You found him clambering up one side of the railing, the ship already beginning to sink beneath his feet. He was looking around, searching for something. Checking all his crew had managed to get out. And then you saw it, at the same time he did - the Grisha crewman, hanging upside down, tangled in the remains of the rigging. The boy struggled, desperately trying to free himself, but he was stuck. Jump, you urged the privateer silently, leave him, but you already knew he wouldn’t. He turned away from the water and began climbing towards his crew mate instead. Stupid. He would never make it in time. The ship was sinking rapidly. In just a few precious seconds it would go under, and when it did, anyone still on it would be pulled under along with it.
You wanted to help him, but you knew you shouldn’t. You thought of your promise to Amalia. She would be furious if she found out you were here, even more so if you interfered. You hesitated, still watching from a safe distance as Sturmhond reached the Grisha with barely a moment to spare. He tugged a knife from his boot and cut the boy free, allowing him to drop safely into the water beneath them. The boy didn’t wait for his captain, he immediately began swimming away from the wreckage. But before Sturmhond could follow, another huge wave swept over the ship, dragging it - and him - underwater, just as you had predicted. He was going to drown.
You made a split-second decision, diving under the water to search for him. The weight of the sinking ship acted like a vacuum, sucking everything downward to the sea floor. You followed it down, but you couldn’t see him anywhere. Panic clawed at your chest. Had he made it to the surface by himself? You turned, ready to go back up, when a flash of teal and gold below you caught your eye. There. You dove back down, looping your arms under his and hauling him against you. He was limp, a heavy weight in your arms. You held him tight, swimming away from the wreckage and towards the surface as fast as you could.
When you reached the surface, you pulled him above the water line, working hard to keep you both afloat. His head lolled back on your shoulder and his eyes were closed. You weren’t sure if he was breathing, and you felt panic building again. You tried to ignore it as you headed for the shore, where you shifted quickly into human form. Once you had dragged him onto the wet sand, you laid him on his back and pressed your ear to his chest. There was no sound, no movement that suggested breathing. Maybe he swallowed too much water?
You turned his head to the side and then placed your hands over his stomach and pushed upwards, hard. Was that the right thing to do? You weren’t sure, but you thought you had seen it done before, once… maybe. Nothing happened. You tried again, and again… and again. Were you doing it wrong … or were you just too late? But then, suddenly, he was coughing up a lungful of water and gasping for breath as he came round. After a few moments he blinked his eyes open, finding you still leaning over him.
“Am I dead?” He mumbled.
“No,” you assured him. Thank the sea goddess! Overcome with emotion, you flung yourself at him, sobbing in relief. His arms closed around you hesitantly, though he surely thought you were insane - a perfect stranger, crying over him and hugging him without invitation.
The storm was over and the sea eerily still by the time the rest of his crew managed to make it to shore. You had calmed yourself, and Sturmhond was sitting up, chatting amiably with you, as if he hadn’t almost died mere minutes earlier. You learned that he had another ship, the Volkvolny, and he cheerfully informed you that really, the storm had done him a favour, because he hadn’t liked the other one all that much anyway. It was nothing short of a miracle that everyone had survived the wreckage with only minimal injuries, and that put them all in a remarkably good mood considering the circumstances. Sturmhond introduced you to the crew, and casually insisted you join them at the local tavern, to dry off and have a strong drink, or two.
As you got to your feet, you caught sight of Amalia at the far side of the shore. Too far away to really make out her features, but you could imagine the look of disappointment on her face. You had broken the promise you made her, and worse than that, here you were walking and talking with humans as though you were old friends. To top it all off, you had committed a cardinal sin amongst Sirens - you had saved a man’s life. You had chosen a man over your sisters, and no matter how much Amalia loved you, this was the one thing she could not forgive.
At the tavern, you quickly discovered that Sturmhond and his crew were a lively, friendly bunch. You were treated as the guest of honour since you had saved the captain’s life, and they welcomed you with open arms. So, when they planned to move to the Volkvolny, and asked if you wanted to come along, you agreed to go with them.
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It was far easier than you would have expected for you to adjust to your new life aboard the Volkvolny. You found that you had watched enough Sailors over the years to pick up some of the basics and luckily you hit it off with Tamar, who quickly took you under her wing, teaching you the more advanced skills. You listened to endless hours of poetry readings from Tolya, and in exchange he offered to teach you how to fight. In fact, most of the crew accepted you readily. In truth, a lot of the men had just been so enthralled by your ethereal beauty that they were half in love with you at first sight, and the fact that you had saved their captain’s life had been enough to endear you to the rest.
All except for one woman, a young Grisha heartrender named Laila who seemed set on hating you no matter how hard you tried to befriend her. Tamar said it was jealousy - Laila wanted to be the captains favourite but he had never shown any interest in her, and now with you around, he likely never would. You tried not to let it bother you, but you were worried that she might sense something was different about you and early one morning she confirmed your fears when she cornered you in the galley, pushing you up against the wall.
“I’m on to you,” she hissed, “you’re hiding something and I’m going to figure out what it is.”
You played it cool, pretending you had no idea what she meant, and though you briefly considered throwing her overboard, you ultimately decided it was too risky. Instead, you did your best to avoid her at all times, at least as much as you could avoid someone living in such close proximity, and you became an expert at hiding in plain sight.
The bond you had formed with Sturmhond as a result of saving his life grew into a fully-fledged friendship, and then, into something sweeter. Over time, you found yourself sharing his bed as well as his company, and once he trusted you enough to reveal his true identity - Nikolai Lantsov, royal spare to the Ravkan throne - you were moved into the captain’s quarters permanently.
You missed Amalia and being on the sea everyday but never in it, was its own special kind of torture, but you had made your choice and you would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You would choose him, always, whatever the cost. So, you vowed never to use your power again, if it only meant you could keep this new life, if it meant you could keep him. But of course, nothing was ever that simple.
You had been on the Volkvolny for almost a year when it finally happened…
The crew were gathered in a loose circle on the lower deck, chatting and sharing several bottles of liquor, relaxing after a long day. You followed Nikolai down the steps to join them and when he took the only empty seat, you didn’t hesitate to drop yourself into his lap. A chorus of wolf whistles and hooting erupted from the crew around you.
“Perverts,” you muttered, giving them the middle finger and they all laughed.
Nikolai looped his arm around your waist, pulling you closer. You leaned against him, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, content to just be close to him while the crew drank and talked around you. You joined the conversation only when spoken to directly and luckily no one noticed your contemplative mood, as they all got steadily drunker and rowdier as the night went on. At some point, someone started singing a sea shanty and one by one the rest of the crew joined in, happy and loud, and painfully off-key. You smiled and clapped along, but otherwise stayed quiet. Laila was watching you carefully from across the circle.
“You’re not singing,” she said suddenly, and you were sure you weren’t imagining the accusation in her tone.
“Oh, no one wants to hear my singing,” you laughed nervously, waving her off, “honestly I’m terrible.”
She narrowed her eyes at you. “You can’t be that bad. Come on, just sing a few lines,” she pushed.
You shifted uncomfortably on Nikolai’s lap. His hand tightened on your waist, and you knew he was listening. You struggled to think of another excuse. “I- umm…”
“Leave her alone,” Tamar interjected, and you flashed her a grateful smile for coming to your rescue. “She doesn’t have to sing if she doesn’t want to.”
“But she never wants to sing,” Laila muttered petulantly, “don’t you think that’s odd?”
“What’s odd is you insisting she does,” Nikolai said, an unmistakable edge to his voice. “Let it go Laila.”
Laila flushed at the reprimand. She reluctantly fell silent again, but she was glaring at the drink in her hands, her expression murderous. Silence stretched awkwardly for a few seconds, until Tolya thankfully broke it by producing a deck of cards and starting a game.
You declined to play, and as the cards were dealt you turned your attention away. Through the gaps in the railings, you could see the miles of deep blue sea that stretched all the way to the horizon, and you felt a familiar pull, calling you home. You closed your eyes as you inhaled deeply, letting the salty air fill your lungs. Home. You would never be truly at home here, on this ship, and that thought filled you with sadness. You thought of Amalia, and you wondered if she missed you, the way that you missed her.
You were pulled from your reverie by Nikolai shifting beneath you. He leaned over you to throw his cards down on the table, declaring he was bowing out of the game and then he sat back, pulling you further into his lap.
“Everything alright, my love?” He asked quietly, his lips brushing your ear. You pushed away your melancholy, turning your head so you could look at him.
“Yes,” you murmured, and you meant it. You wanted to be here, with him, no matter how much you might miss home.
“Thinking about how absurdly handsome I am?” He waggled his eyebrows at you, and you laughed.
“No, but I was thinking about you,” you admitted, “about how I ended up here.”
“Ah, so you’re thinking about the time you saved my life then. No wonder you looked so serious.”
“Which time?” You mused, teasing him, “There are so many, I think I’ve lost count.”
Nikolai gasped, all faux outrage. “Once.” He insisted, “It was one time.”
“If you say so,” you smiled indulgently as he leaned in to kiss you, slow and deep, his hand cupping your jaw. The whistling and jeering immediately started up again. You pulled away, rolling your eyes at the crew’s antics.
Nikolai sighed. “For Saints sake,” he grumbled, but he sounded more fond than angry.
When you looked up, Laila was glaring at you. She fixed a smile on her face as you met her gaze, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’ve been thinking,” She said loudly, gaining everyone’s attention, “what exactly happened, the night you joined us? We’ve never heard your side of the story.”
Had she figured it out? You tried to keep your expression as neutral as possible, but you had stared at her for a beat too long, and now everyone was looking at you, waiting for your answer.
“There’s really not much to tell,” you said carefully.
“Don’t be so modest,” Laila said, her smile sharp, “you saved the Captain’s life after all, and I want to hear every detail.”
Your heart pounded. You should have pushed her overboard when you had the chance. As you tried to come up with a plausible story, the ship was suddenly engulfed in a thick fog.
After that, everything happened so quickly that you barely understood it. One moment you were sailing in open water, the night clear and still, and the next, you were dodging gunfire in near blindness, as men appeared from nowhere and swarmed the ship. The crew fought valiantly, but you were outnumbered and outmatched by a pair of the most powerful Grisha you had ever encountered. You had heard rumours about the drug jurda parem, and now it seemed you were seeing it’s effects first hand. All around you was chaos and you couldn’t keep track of anything. Before long, most of your crew were injured and eventually, all of them captured.
The fog dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, and then there was Nikolai - bleeding, gagged and bound - forced to his knees on the deck of his own ship.
A man grabbed you from behind, holding you against his body with an arm around your waist and a hand twisting painfully in your hair. Nikolai tried to call out as he caught sight of you and your captors laughed.
“Looks like we’ve found the captain’s whore,” one of the men chuckled.
The one holding you ran his hand up from your waist to roughly grab at your breast. You held perfectly still, you weren’t going to give these animals the satisfaction of a reaction, but Nikolai struggled against his bonds, and the man standing over him backhanded him hard across the face. He swayed on his knees, the force of the blow almost knocking him over, and blood trickled from the fresh wound at his temple. The men began talking amongst themselves, loudly detailing all the disgusting things they would enjoy doing to you later.
“Don’t worry,” Nikolai’s captor taunted him, “we’ll let you watch.”
Nikolai struggled again, cold rage clear in his eyes as the men laughed. For a brief moment, he managed to get to his feet, but that only gave his captor an excuse to hit him again, and again, until he slumped to the floor, and when you screamed in protest, the men laughed harder, enjoying your misery.
These men were going to die today, you decided, and you would not show them the mercy of a quick death.
You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and started to sing. At first the men only looked at each other in confusion, but as your melody continued, they gradually fell under your spell, their eyes glazing over. You tried your best to focus only on them, but it wasn’t an exact science, so your crew also felt the effects. Conveniently, they were all bound and so had little chance of hurting themselves.
You concentrated on the Grisha first since they were the biggest threat, followed by the rest of the men. At your instruction, they turned as one, and forming an orderly line, walked to the side of the ship before binding their own hands and feet together. Then they clambered up onto the railing, and one by one, threw themselves into the water, like lemmings leaping off a cliff. You saved the man who had smacked Nikolai for last, and before he jumped, had him stab himself with his own blade several times, just for good measure.
Once the last man entered the water, you stood at the railing, feeling a perverse sense of satisfaction as you watched them trying, and failing, to fight against their bonds in an effort to return to you. You watched each one slowly begin to sink beneath the water, and only once you were sure there would be no chance that any of them might survive, did you stop singing and move away. When it was done, you set about releasing your crew from their bindings and tending to their wounds as best you could. They were groggy from the after-effects of your song, and it took some hours for everyone to fully come around. No one could really remember what had happened, and you pretended not to know either. You could only cross your fingers and hope that no one realized the truth of what you had done.
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Nikolai was quiet in the aftermath, and though he put up a good front for the rest of the crew, you could tell he was shaken by what had happened. Once everyone was attended to, he announced he was going to his office and he took your hand, pulling you along with him. You followed him to the captain’s quarters in silence.
He let you enter first and you heard the soft click of the lock as he closed the door behind him. You perched yourself on the edge of his desk as you waited for him, but when he turned, he leaned back against the door instead of coming closer. His face was set, his eyes hard, and you knew that he had finally figured out your secret. Honestly, you were surprised it had taken him this long, you had always known it was only a matter of time. You watched him carefully, but you said nothing, waiting for him to speak first.
“You’re a Siren,” he said finally.
You nodded your head in answer, even though he hadn’t phrased it as a question. He stared at you for a long moment, and you could almost hear the cogs turning in his mind, mulling over the many questions he must have. Eventually he seemed to settle on one.
“How many innocent men have you killed?” He asked.
“Innocent?” You huffed, “None.”
He narrowed his eyes at you, “But you have lured men to their deaths, haven’t you?”
“I have.” You conceded. He knew what you were now, there was no reason to lie.
“So? How many?” He pressed. “You must have some idea.” He crossed his arms over his chest, closing himself off to you.
“I didn’t exactly keep a tally,” you muttered.
“Tell me,” He demanded, “Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands?”
“I don’t know,” you admitted, suddenly unable to meet his gaze, “I can’t remember them all.”
“Those men had lives and families,” he said, outraged, “they were someone’s father, brother, son, and you don’t even remember them?!”
You felt your own temper beginning to rise and you struggled to keep your voice even. “They were Slavers. Murderers and Pirates. They were the worst kind of men.”
“You don’t know that!” He argued, “What right did you have to judge them?”
“I’m a Siren,” you reminded him, “It’s what I was born to do. I followed them first, watched them, saw what kind of men they were with my own eyes. I only ever took the bad ones.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “So now you expect me to believe Sirens follow some kind of moral code?”
“Not all Sirens, but I expect you to believe that I do.”
“How am I to believe anything you say” he scoffed, “You’ve been lying to me since the day we met.”
“I didn’t lie to you, not really. Everything I told you about myself was true. I just omitted one small detail.”
He laughed, but there was no humour in it. “I think we have a vastly different understanding of the word small,” he muttered, “and a lie by omission is still a lie.”
He wasn’t wrong, but … “You lied to me too, Sturmhond.”
He straightened, no longer leaning against the door, but still kept the distance between you. “That’s hardly the same!” He protested.
“Isn’t it?”
“Not at all,” he huffed, “besides, I told you the truth once I thought I could trust you. Although clearly, I was mistaken.”
“You can trust me,” you insisted. “In case you’ve forgotten, I saved your life - twice. You’re welcome, by the way!”
He didn’t look convinced. “That first night, when you rescued me, were you watching the ship? Just waiting for an opportunity to kill us all?”
“No! I mean, yes - I watched you for a while, but I was never going to lure you. I convinced my sister to let you go,” you rushed, desperately trying to explain, “I promised to stay away from you and in return Amalia agreed that they wouldn’t go after you, if you survived the storm on your own.”
“But we didn’t,” he said, brow furrowed in confusion. “The ship sank and I almost drowned.”
“I remember. I was there when the storm hit. I saw you save the boy who was trapped in the rigging, and when you went under, I came after you.”
“I don’t understand. If you promised to stay away from me then why were you there?” He asked, frown deepening.
“I just needed to be know you would be alright,” you admitted softly, “I wasn’t supposed to help you.”
“I don’t suppose many Sirens would go out of their way to save a man from drowning,” he said, mouth curving into a wry smile.
“No. It goes against their nature. But you decided to act the hero and almost got yourself killed in the process,” you muttered angrily, “so I had to choose, and I chose you, even though I knew my sisters would never forgive me.”
“So, you really did save my life? That was real?”
“Yes. Everything between us has been real for me, I swear it,” you said earnestly, “I gave up everything for you.”
He moved towards you then, coming to stand over you where you were still sitting on the edge of his desk, and you widened your thighs to allow him in between them. He was so close that you had to tilt your head back to look at him. You closed your hands in to fists, fighting the urge to reach for him.
“And tonight?” He asked, “Did you kill those men?”
You could have lied, or pretended not to remember what happened, but you didn’t want there to be anymore secrets between you. “I did,” you confessed, meeting his eyes. You weren’t ashamed of what you had done. “and I would do it again if I had to. They would have killed you.”
“You’re not sorry,” he said, and you wondered if he wanted you to be.You thought about it for a moment, but when you closed your eyes, you could still see him on his knees. No. You weren’t sorry at all.
“They got what they deserved,” you hissed, “and the world is a better place without them in it.”
He gave a short, sharp nod of his head in agreement, and you smiled. Whatever he thought of you, he understood this at least.
“Tell me why,” he said, lifting a hand to brush your hair back from your face. “Why did you save me?”
“Because I love you,” you answered honestly, leaning into his touch when his hand lingered. “I loved you then and I love you now, even if you don’t feel the same.”
He dropped his hand, taking a single step back and you had to stop yourself from swaying forward, chasing the physical connection.
“How do I know that my feelings for you are truly my own? That you’re not influencing me somehow?”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “by using your Siren powers to manipulate me? To seduce me? How do I know you’re not just making me think I’m in love with you.”
“Are you?” You asked hopefully, “In love with me?”
He looked away. “Maybe,” he hedged.
“Well, Siren power doesn’t work that way. My song inspires lust-addled obsession, blind desire, unwavering obedience - not love.”
He stared at you for what felt like an eternity, considering your answer. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he studied you, and suddenly all you could think about was how much you wanted to kiss him.
“Okay.” He said finally. He stepped closer, into your personal space again, but frustratingly kept his hands to himself.
“Okay?”
“Yes. I believe you,” he said, “but you still should have told me. I had the right to know that the woman I’m sleeping with, the woman I fell in love with is a-“
“A monster?” You finished for him. You knew what men thought of creatures like you.
He glared at you. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“That’s not what you were going to say?” You asked, feigning innocence.
“No.” He said firmly.
“Mmm,” you hummed skeptically. “So you’re not afraid of me?”
He blinked at you, as though the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Should I be?”
“Well, a little bit couldn’t hurt,” you teased.
He shook his head exasperatedly, but he was smiling now, that perfect crooked smile that never failed to make your heart skip a beat. He put his hands around your waist, finally, pulling you into him and you fisted your hands in his shirt to keep him there. He lowered his head at the same time that you tilted yours up, and your lips ghosted over each other, close enough to share a breath but not quite touching.
“I have one last question,” he said, and you bit back a sigh. For saints sake, what else could he possibly want to know?
“Have you ever used your power to seduce me?”
You squinted at him, trying to decide if he was saying you might need to use your power to seduce him. You felt a flush of annoyance at the suggestion. “No,” you said carefully, “should I?”
He shook his head, no. “I already want you,” he admitted.
“Good,” you smiled, “because I want you too. All the time.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up into a pleased little smirk. “Yeah?”
“Mmhmm,” you hummed, leaning into him, and this time he kissed you for real, his lips soft but insistent against your own, not pulling away until you were both breathless.
“I’m still angry with you,” he said, when he finally succumbed to the need for air, “for lying to me.”
“I’m sorry,” you murmured, and you meant it.
“I know,” he said and then he dipped his head to kiss you again.
He brought his hand up to cup your face, the other still gripping your waist as you opened your mouth to him. He took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, tangling his tongue with your own and every time you pulled back, he only allowed you to draw a single, ragged breath before he claimed your lips again.
One of his hands ran up your side from your waist, until his thumb grazed the swell of your breast over the thin cotton of your shirt, and you shivered, leaning into his touch. You could feel his growing arousal against your thigh, and you were suddenly overwhelmed by the need to feel his bare skin against your own. You tugged his shirt free from his breeches, pulling it up and off over his head before he could protest.
He immediately slanted his mouth over yours again, as if he couldn’t bear to be parted from you for more than a few seconds, and you let your hands roam over his broad shoulders and chest, before you worked on removing your own shirt. Your fingers slipped over the small buttons, and you growled in frustration, breaking away from his kiss so that you could see what you were doing. He made a sound of irritation, ducking his head to nip lightly at the curve of your neck and you gasped, your shirt momentarily forgotten as you grabbed a fistful of his hair instead. He groaned low in his throat when you pulled him closer rather than pushing him away, and he nipped at you again, teeth grazing your pulse point, this time hard enough to leave a mark. You moaned as his tongue flicked out to sooth the sting and you felt his lips turn up into a self-satisfied smirk against your skin.
When you finally succeeded in unbuttoning your shirt, you reached around your back to unhook your bra and removed that along with it, and then you dropped your hands to the laces of his breeches before he could distract you again. He finally realized your goal then, and began to help, rather than hinder you, pushing his breeches and underwear down to his ankles so that he could kick them away. You stood so that you could do the same and once you were both naked, he lifted you back up, so you were sitting on the edge of his desk again.
You leaned back on your hands, and he dipped his head, capturing one pebbled nipple with his tongue. You arched your back, pushing your breast further into his mouth as his fingers skated along your inner thigh towards your centre. He gave a small grunt of satisfaction when he found you slick and ready for him and you threaded your fingers through his hair, tugging him upwards until he released your nipple with a soft pop.
He slipped two fingers inside you easily, and when you clenched around him, he let out a distinctly strangled sound. You met his gaze as you sat up, so you could hook your legs around his thighs, locking your ankles behind his ass to keep him there, and you enjoyed the way his eyes fluttered closed and his breath hitched as his cock settled between your thighs, so close to where you wanted him. You tilted your hips up, and he took the hint, guiding himself into place and filling you completely with one quick, hard thrust that had you crying out.
You clutched at him desperately, barely able to do anything but hold on as he set a punishing pace, driving his hips forward fast and hard, only to retreat, again, and again, until you were both panting. His hands gripped your hips so hard that you knew there would be finger shaped bruises there tomorrow. The desk creaked loudly, almost drowning out your mutual sounds of pleasure, the sturdy wooden frame rocking beneath you with the force of his thrusts.
His face was buried in your neck, and you tugged impatiently on his hair as you felt the first tendrils of your impending orgasm began to creep up your spine, until he lifted his head so that you could capture his mouth with yours. He slipped his hand between your bodies as he felt you tightening around him, his clever fingers finding your clit and tipping you over the edge into climax with just a few precise movements. You cried out his name, convulsing around him as you came, your hand tightening in his hair so hard that it must have been painful, and you felt his rhythm falter. He thrust harder, pushing as deep as he could possibly go, once, twice, three times, then he stilled and shuddered, spilling himself inside you.
You all but collapsed against each other, both boneless and breathing heavily in the aftermath of your orgasms. He was the first to recover, and he pressed a sloppy kiss to your temple as he straightened, retreating from your body. He moved over to the basin near the bed, dipping a clean cloth into the water and wringing it out before returning. His hands were gentle, in stark contrast to how rough he had been minutes before and you tried not to wince as he carefully cleaned away the sticky remnants of your shared release, but his observant eyes caught it anyway. He pressed a finger under your chin to gently tilt your head up.
“Did I hurt you?” He asked, face creased in concern.
“No,” you answered, much too quickly.
He raised his eyebrows at you, his expression disbelieving.
“I’m a little bit sore,” you reluctantly admitted.
His face dropped into a scowl, and you knew he was angry at himself for being so rough with you.
“I’m ok,” you assured him, brushing your fingers across his forehead to smooth away his frown.
He searched your face, looking for any sign that you might not be telling the truth and you met his gaze, your expression loving and completely open. He rested his forehead against yours, peering down at you through his lashes.
“Don’t lie to me,” he said after a moment, and you knew he wasn’t just talking about right now.
“Never again,” you promised.
“Okay.” He said softly.
He leaned in to kiss you, sweet and chaste, just a slow glide of his lips over yours before pulling back to slide one arm underneath you and the other around your back. You squealed as he scooped you up, bridal style, so that he could carry you over to the bed. He pulled back the covers with one hand and then lowered you down and crawled in beside you, immediately curling his body around you.
You tried to relax into his embrace, but you couldn’t, not when there was still so much you needed to talk about. You were afraid to bring it up, too scared to hear him say that this was the last time you could be together, so you waited until his breathing began to even out and he was almost asleep before you forced yourself to speak.
“What happens now?” You asked quietly.
“Huh?” He mumbled sleepily.
“With us,” you elaborated, “do you want me to leave?”
“What? No.” He said, suddenly sounding much more alert, “Of course not.”
He rolled on to his back and you turned to face him, propping yourself up on your elbow so that you could look at him.
“What will you tell the crew?”
“Nothing,” he said simply, and though you should have been relieved, you only felt more anxious.
“But Laila is already suspicious,” you pointed out, “and Tolya and Tamar are too sharp not to figure it out eventually.”
“Then we’ll tell them the truth.”
“They won’t want me on this ship when they find out what I am, Nikolai.”
“Last time I checked, I was the captain,” he smirked, “I decide who I do, and don’t allow on my own ship.”
“Don’t be stupid, it doesn’t suit you,” you grumbled, “You’ll end up with a mutiny on your hands.”
“Then we’ll leave,” he said easily, as if it was the most obvious solution.
“Leave?” You repeated, not sure you had understood.
He shrugged, seemingly completely unbothered by the idea. “I was always going to have to go home eventually.”
“You can’t just leave. You love this ship!” You protested.
“I do,” he said, turning on his side so that you were face to face, “but I love you more. It’s my turn to give something up. If it comes down to it, I’ll choose you, always.”
Your heart stuttered in your chest. Hadn’t you just been thinking that very same thought earlier? He leaned in to kiss you, slow and achingly sweet, and all of your protests died on your tongue. He nudged you gently to turn over, pulling you back against him and wrapping his arm around you, so that you could be the little spoon as you finally went to sleep.
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mr-clow · 5 months
Text
Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 4:
I walked fast into the mess hall, I didn’t have too much time to eat before my shift after the talk with Alex and his plan. I glanced quickly and nobody from my team was there. That made me nervous, what if Alex plan didn’t worked! It was too late to let him know, so I hurried up, maybe I could avoid all this.
Suddenly my tray flew off my hands, and suddenly I had food and tea dripping from my uniform.
Who the fuck you think you are, damn alien!
Wh… Wha… Alex?
Nobody teach you to clean your unif...
HEY APOLOGIZE NOW!!
ALEX BACK DOWN!
Suddenly, an angry mob of humans was coming to us. Alex tried to keep his plan going and try to grab my arm when suddenly Tom, the chef, jumped over the food stand and knock him down, at the same time I felt at least two pair of hands pulling me away from them. Two more people I barely knew went over Alex to restrain him, and I look to my side and Claire was starting to wipe my uniform. I remembered her name only from the initial meeting, I haven’t even seen her from that day, and there she was sincerely concerned about me.
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? Everyone froze when the captain walked into the room and screamed. In that eerie silence the only thing that was heard was Alex voice “Do you trust us now?”
I had totally missed my shift, my uniform was still messed up and Alex’s too. He had a black eye and was holding an ice pack over the back of his head. I was worried about him, but more worried about being in a closed office, with the captain looking us in silence while her anger ate my consciousness.
Lt Husker, if you open your mouth even to breath, I will send you back home in a pod before the end of the day. Is that clear? Alex nodded and looked at the floor.
Well Eng. Laffite, I have to say that you could have gone easily if I hadn’t heard what Alex said, but suddenly I feel you are as guilty of all this as him. Could you elaborate?
Yes captain, you are right, I’m equally guilty. I planned this scene with Lt Husker before going to the mess hall. (Alex looked at me with open eyes as trying to tell me something, but I ignored him) As the witness said, the idea was that he would make a fake attack on me to prove me his point.
So Eng. Laffite, you are telling me that you disrupted the peace on my ship for a bet?
No Captain, we didn’t bet, it was to prove a point.
Please, entertain me. Which was said point?
That I was safe on this ship captain, safe from my crewmates.
Excuse me, what did you say? Alex lifted a hand to ask permission to talk, seeing that the captain was more surprised than angry right now.
We walked down the aisle with Alex without saying a word. After he explained all that had happened, another thing surprised me. The captain congratulated him, shook his hand, and made him sign a “First and final warning”, something that wasn’t explained in my contract at least. Then, with an expression with more sweet than a mother, the captain looked at me and asked me if I felt safe or if I wanted time off, a companion or anything else. I assured her that it was not necessary and that Alex made all that was needed. Then, after a weirdly uncomfortable speech about disrupting the ship’s working environment, that all the present didn’t feel necessary, she told us to go clean ourselves and fill our posts.
I changed my uniform, clean myself and hurried to the engine room N°4, I hoped that Maggie was still there assembling the engine. Now I started feeling guilty of leaving all that work to her. As I was approaching, yelling could be heard. I recognized Maggie voice and a few others of the engineering department, As soon as I walked in everyone jumped and me and started talking at the same time.
I had to take a good time to explain to them everything that happened, they were planning to “fuck up” the people from security. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it wasn’t good. That talk was long, and I was assaulted by several emotions, I had thought that I didn’t belong to a pack and here they were ready to ruin their careers for me. They felt bad too, even if it wasn’t their fault. After a long chat, everyone returned to their positions, some of them on the other side of the ship, and Maggie gave me what they call a hug. It was weird, this human, with a strength even high for her peers, was there holding me between her arms that could kill me at a whim and I felt better than I have ever felt. More safe, understood and loved than I ever remembered.
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A human year has passed since I joined the crew. The first month were strange and full of misunderstandings, but everything worked better than I ever expected. The last two months we move to a joined quarter with Maggie, it was allowed under certain conditions in human ships to have a partner on the crew, and we made it work somehow.
Now our mission was coming to an end and the humans had this practice where, when the ship returned and all the paperwork was handled, they would have 30 rotations to do whatever they wanted to. Magg didn’t have any family, but she was really insisting on meeting mine. I had to explain to her several times that we were different, and my parents only raised me at the beginning of my life, and then we grew in large groups where we learned everything necessary, and she only dismissed it, saying that I had a bigger family than I wanted to admit.
After signing a lot of paperwork, I was ready to be responsible for a human on my home planet. She didn’t seem too worried, I guess that part fell only on me, and we boarded an express cruise to my world....
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snippychicke · 7 months
Text
Title: Cats & Ships
Overall Rating: Teen for now? May go into mature at a future date
Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond what's in the live-action series. I mean, Kuro's still manipulative and paranoid. It gets better tho? Slowly? It's a WIP, so I don't fully know yet.
Pairings: Captain Kuro (Klahadore)/Reader; hints of Kaya/Usopp
Summary: It started out as a means to get information as Khaladore. Who would be better to provide information regarding the high seas than Syrup Village’s Harbormaster? Except, for the first time in a very long time, Kuro found himself trusting, and even liking, the young woman he shared tea with every week. 
And then the Straw Hat Pirates arrived and ruined his plans. Except fate decided his story wasn’t done there. 
Nor was yours.
Masterlist here! | Read on Ao3!
The harbormaster of Syrup village had her home office close to the port, which was predictable but also meant it was about the opposite side of the village from the manor. The man formerly known as Captain Kuro hated the walk through the impoverished village, always anticipating the worst. Someone would identify him as the long dead pirate, or perhaps would merely attack Klahdore for being Kaya's butler. 
Yes, he had contingencies upon contingencies, but it didn’t mean he didn't want to use them because someone decided to be an idiot. He was so close to the fruition of this three-year ploy. Just a few more weeks, and he could finally reap the rewards. 
In the meantime, Klahadore endured the weekly trek to the simple one-story building that sat next to the ocean gate. The adobe home had a dozen of half-feral cats relaxing on--or in--  the various crates outside, and even a few on the thatched roof. A few greeted him with soft mews, or by rubbing up against his pant leg, leaving fur he rather didn’t mind as he paused to scratch between their ears. 
Others watched with wary eyes, still unused to him encroaching on their territory. Predators recognized kin, after all. Their instincts were not deadened by domestication, and they seemed to be able to tell he was dangerous despite the soft exterior. 
Inside the home, bookshelves took up any space that could be afforded and were filled to the brim; mainly with ledgers of the harbor’s past, though a few other books were mixed in. Even more cats lounged inside, most having mixed feelings about his presence though a few called for his attention. 
"Well," your familiar voice called out from within the maze of bookcases, soundly faintly amused.  "Either Klahadore has come to visit a few hours early, or I have myself a thief. Or a ghost." 
Despite himself, Klahadore smiled, feeling himself relax as he made his way to your office near the back of the home. It too was filled with books, though most of them much newer then the rest of the building. A large wooden desk sat next to a picture window overlooking the coast, a matching chair turned so you were looking outside where the white sails of the ships looked little more than points of white on the horizon. 
He was more focused on the glimpse of hair he could see over the tall back of the chair, as well as the cat that was looking over the edge, its lone jade-colored eye looking expectantly at him. "I find myself wondering how often you say that when there is no one around?" 
"More than I like to admit. But I blame the ghosties," the tall chair swiveled around, your bright smile becoming the focus of his attention, even as your cat meowed at the sudden change, shifting in your arms to resume silently demanding his attention. “But Kuro doesn’t get excited for anyone else coming to visit, so at least there is that.” 
Kuro. You had named the cat Kuro, citing you had found him the same day news had reached the isle that the famed captain of the Black Cat Pirates had been defeated by the marines. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that. Or your awkward admission you had found the Black Cat Captain rather handsome.
 It had proved useful, though, as part of that attraction unknowingly lingered. It made it all too easy to gain your trust and friendship. 
"How are you today, Klahadore?" You asked, gesturing to the chair across from your desk at the same time you stood--much to Kuro-the-cat's displeasure. The cat flicked his tail irately as you dumped him onto the desk, before stretching and deciding to claim Klahadore’s lap. 
“I’m fair, and yourself?” he asked, watching you enter the small kitchen area to start a kettle to boil as he mindlessly petted the large fluffy cat. 
Usually Klahadore didn't trust anyone to make him food or beverage of any kind--not even his own crew. But after a few years of knowing you, he had allowed you the privilege. 
Especially after you had fussed, going as far as to slap his hand when he had tried to make the tea instead. ‘You work all day serving others. Let me serve you for once.’ 
He did watch you carefully as you prepared the tea and grabbed a tin of pastries from a cupboard. For safety reasons, of course. Not because he particularly enjoyed watching you work or anything, or because it was a rare time for him to be able to appreciate your form without you noticing. You were dressed in layers to fight the cool breeze that was coming from the sea as the seasons changed, your hair carelessly messy as always, a pencil stuck behind your ear where it was likely forgotten. 
As you moved he caught hints of the curves you hid, making him watch even more closely. 
It was merely because he didn’t fully trust you, either. That was all. 
“Honestly, and please don’t repeat this," you spoke after a moment, only slightly breaking his concentration. "But I’m about ready to either strangle several someones or pull my hair out. Possibly both.” 
This was the reason why he came down to your office week after week. You tended to ramble on, divulging information without a second thought. And as the harbormaster of Syrup village and the rest of the Gecko Islands,  you were a wealth of information about the outside world. (It wasn’t because he was able to enjoy a moment of peace away from Kaya, Sham, and Buchi. Or because he truly enjoyed your company. Not at all.) 
“Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good,” he frowned even though internally he felt like smiling. “I hate the idea of your pretty hair being harmed in any way.” 
Kuro did allow a small smile as you blushed deeply, fumbling the tray a little as you glanced back at him. 
“Har-har-har,” you said dryly as you regained your composure and brought the tray back to the desk. “It’s a rat’s nest and we both know it, Klahadore. I am also offended that you don’t think I could strangle anyone. I am still the Harbormaster.” 
He was fairly certain the only reason you of all people were the Harbormaster was because the title had been a part of your family for generations, and the Gecko Islands rarely saw any trouble. Despite that fool Usopp and his stories, Syrup Village was as peaceful as a place could be. 
Granted, he had seen you knock out a drunken marine once with a shipwright's mallet once. Just the memory of it made him smile as you poured him a cup of tea, followed by a serving of cream, having learned his tastes long ago. No sugar, though he did love the small cookies you placed on the platter. 
“Anyways, a merchant ship was attacked between here and the port in Coco Village. The damn pirates did a real number to both crew and the cargo, so we’re going to be short quite a few expectant items and everyone is already at each other’s throats. It’s--” You ran your hands through your hair, wincing as you reached a few knots. “But don’t worry,” you continued after a deep breath and started working on the tangles mindlessly. “I’ll make sure the manor is given its allotment as always. The shipyard is over half the reason we exist, after all. And dues must be paid.” 
A small frown tugged at his lips, as much as he liked the deference (and the knowledge that while he had to continue this charade he did not have to worry about food) but he also knew of your altruism. And for reasons he’d rather not examine, it bothered him that you often went above and beyond for a village that seemed to take your kindness for granted.  
"You are the harbormaster, not the mayor," he stated firmly. "Your duties are to the harbor and her ships. No one else."
You shot him another wry look. "Klahadore, we both the mayor is beyond useless, and no one else gives a fuck about anyone else around here.  Hell, I'd hate to think what would have happened to lil' Kaya if you hadn't been here. Merry is a good man, but a strong one he is not." You sighed, missing the twitch in his face. "The point is, if I don't care, no one will. If I don't figure out a good compromise, the shipyard will dissolve into chaos, followed by the whole town. Maybe even the rest of the isles.  What good is a harbormaster if everyone is at each other's throats?"
"I simply worry," he excused, not able to argue any of your points. After all, it was true. The village wasn't as sugar-sweet as the name implied, and the town officials did little to change that. The only reason the place wasn't overrun by pirates was because the World Government wanted the ships that their shipyard produced. "You try to take care of everyone, yet it seems like no one regards you with the slightest hint of gratitude." 
Your eyes warmed and a smile returned to your lips. "You're too sweet, Klahadore. But enough of my woes--I could complain all day and night after all. How has your luck been with trying to raise a teenager?" 
For a moment, Kuro allowed his facade to drop as he sighed heavily. "About as tiring as one would imagine. I love Miss Kaya dearly, but…"
You laughed faintly before finishing for him. "She's a seventeen year old heiress that's been sheltered all her life." 
He smiled as well, and enjoyed watching your blush return to your cheeks as he fixed his glasses. "Exactly. If her health wasn't in such a poor state, I think exposure to the real world would do her good, but alas, I'd rather have her naive and alive versus… well, the alternative." 
"Very true," you mumbled, eyes still slightly unfocused and that delightful blush slowly traveling further--both down your neck and to the tips of your ears. "You're a good man, Klahadore." 
Klahadore may have been a good man, but Kuro was not. Yet he was pleased by your praises nonetheless. “I do my best.” 
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Text
Spoilers for Our Flag Means Death finale.
I just needed to talk things through as a crew.
So, I already posted something about how I felt about Izzy's death immediately after watching the finale. Now that I've given myself more time to mull it over though, I'm not quite as satisfied with the ending as I thought. But I think I know why I'm not exactly angry about it either.
I think I just see it as an open ending for next season? Like, I can see how Izzy's death brings parts of the story around full circle. (Mainly in Ed growing out of being Blackbeard who wasn't really Blackbeard without Izzy Hands.) However, after thinking about it some and reading some other people's thoughts about it, it doesn't really work for bringing Izzy's story around full circle, does it? No, really, does it? I'm still not entirely sure.
On the one hand, I've seen people talk about how Izzy represents piracy and piracy is coming to an end, so it makes sense for him to die with piracy. With his talk with Ricky about how they may die, but they'll live on in other ways, it makes sense.
On another hand, I also see people talking about the fact that Izzy survived a suicide attempt (potentially for the reason of protecting the crew) only to end the season saying he wants to die...
This choice just makes me a bit queasy because it invalidates some of the hope I've had building up with every episode I watched, especially in season 2, where Izzy goes through the bulk of what I feel is (at least mostly) such an amazing character arc.
On a third hand, I saw someone saying that Izzy should captain the Revenge while Stede and Ed go off to run their inn. I had thought this was going to happen too until I started seeing the foreshadowing for Izzy's death and started doubting that theory.
Part of the reason this makes so much sense is because, firstly, Izzy runs the ship already. Plus, he's changed his priorities to be about the crew.
Remember in season 1 episode 9, when the crew is planning to mutiny against Izzy and are trying to decide who should be captain next. And Oluwande says,
"It's gotta be someone we can all trust. Someone who's got the whole crew in mind. Not just themselves."
Izzy didn't make a good captain in that episode because he still didn't trust them, they didn't trust him, and he was doing everything for himself.
In season 2, none of that is true anymore.
The crew DOES trust him. He DOES think about the crew first and foremost. And, we even get to see him learn to trust the crew as well. Learn that they see him as not just a part of the crew they have to deal with like in most of season 1, but a crucial part of the crew and a person they all care about.
In short, it really would have made so much sense to make him Captain.
"Okay, but why do you think his death is an open ending? Death is typically a decidedly very closed off ending."
Ah, I see the point I keep losing is back.
How many times has someone been "dead" only to come back later. How many times has IZZY "died" to come back later. Granted, Izzy going through this multiple times is part of what foreshadows the idea that he's going to not come back this time, so it's possibly just false hope to think he'll come back (assuming we get a third season).
But think about it. Izzy has died. Stede gave up his pirating dream, which seems how likely to stick? And Ed thinks he's going to be able to work a customer service job? And both Stede and Ed think they'll be good at running a business they don't know jackshit about? Ed has proved to be lousy at working a "simple" life. Ed's subconscious said so. Pop-pop said so. Even Jackie sees this as a "wish I was a regular dude phase." Also, Stede has proved that he can be a decent pirate. Zheng said so. Spanish Jackie said so. The entire Republic of Pirates said so. The Pirate Queen said so.
I guess I just have a hard time believing the creators of ofmd couldn't bring Izzy back somehow and turn out a new plot for another season if they wanted to.
At the end of season one, Ed and Stede resign themselves to a future that is not ideal for them and Lucius "dies."
At the end of season 2, Ed and Stede decide to try for a future that is arguably also not ideal for them (it's just less angsty than season 1) and Izzy "dies."
I dunno. I guess what I'm saying is, it makes enough sense for an ending, but not this story's ending. And this show actually managed to make me feel things in my mucky rustbucket of a heart and gave me hope like not many things do. I'm just not ready to give up on it yet.
. . . . .
Maybe they didn't want to make Izzy captain because then if/when Stede and/or Ed come back wanting to be Captain, they'd have to decide how to make that work? But that wouldn't be too hard to figure out, right? I mean, they already decided a ship can have two captains. Why not 3?
Here's some of those posts I was talking about:
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likeafairytale · 1 month
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“ Guess you are my lucky compass then. ” - a slightly flirty Aeron to Zelda when he realizes she always find the right path
“Guess you truly need me now.”
Zelda did not realize she was flirting back with him, but sure Aeron did. He smirked, and that was enough to make her blush. She looked away, her attention now on the horizon. The sea was calm, nothing was in eyesight. Just water, but the girl knew they were going to the right direction. She did not know exactly how, but she just knew it. She proved it numerous times before that she was very talented to find the right path. Not once did she has mistaken, and she even saved everyone lives once, which she was very proud of. It was enough for some crew members to stop talking ill about her, realizing that she was at use here, some still think she didn't belong here, but she didn't truly care. As long as the Captain was alright with it, and it seemed that Aeron couldn't care less that she was a woman.
After a moment, Aeron gave the helm to one of his crew member who based by, before directing Zelda to follow him. She followed the order, and followed him through the deck of the ship where everyone was busy. She looked around, and she felt terrible to not be helping, but each time she tried, she was met with disapproval, or disgusted, or even worse looks from everyone, and she hated it. But now she found a way to help without having to spend time with anyone else but Aeron, and she couldn't be happier, for he was the only one she trusted here. The only one to respect her boundaries, and the only one she wanted to be around.
The finally arrived in the Captain's cabin. Aeron took place in the Captain's chair, putting his feet on the desk as if he couldn't care less of what the girl could think of him. The man smirked again, and the girl answered to that by a smile. He showed her the empty chair in front of his, indicating her to sat if she liked too.
“Now, go on, resume your story.” He said with an amused smiled.
“Ah, yes!” The girl started before sitting. She understood that he brought her here because he wanted to hear the story out of earshot. He seemed to like her stories, while everyone was simply laughing when she brought them up. Maybe it was to avoid that, and avoid having to interrupt Zelda by yelling at his men. “Where was I again? Ah, yes, the Cheshire cat! I met the Cheshire at a crossroad. I wasn't sure which path to take, a-”
“Ah, so you were lost.”
“No I wasn't! … Well, yes I was, b-”
“And you told me you never got lost.”
“I do not! Not by myself, at least. I was following the white rabbit. But the white rabbit lost his path, so I lost mine too. But if I am leading I never get lost.”
“I see. Why were you following the white rabbit again?” He asked, quite amused, but she did not notice the amusement.
“Because he said he was late. I wanted to ask why didn't he get up earlier to avoid being late. But I couldn't catch up with him, he was too fast for me. I was just a little girl.”
“Alright, so, back to the cat.”
“Yes, the Cheshire cat! He had a strange smile on his face and told me we were all mad here, so the path I take doesn't truly matter.”
“Well I suppose he was right in both matters. Do you often talk to smiling cats?”
Once again, the amusement was visible in Aeron's face, and Zelda thought he was truly his best to not laugh. He wasn't malicious about it, at least that's what the girl would like to believe, but he sure was very amused, and she did not enjoy that. She knew too well that her stories were... harebrained. So many people told her that, or made her understand that without a word, and she hated it. She hated sounded like a crazy person.
Every excitement she had to talk about her stories left her and she looked away. She stayed quiet, and he did not pressure her to talk either. They both stayed silent, him looking at her, and her looking at the wall where maps were hanging.
“I know you think I'm crazy, like everyone else.” Zelda suddenly said, and he seemed quite surprised by those words.
“I don't think you're crazy. I think you're... intriguing.” He answered, but she had a sour laugh, which made him frowned.
“Intriguing... That's what Doctor Bumby used to say too. 'You're an intriguing girl, your stories are always far-fetched.' I heard all the words possible for 'crazy', but intriguing is the one I hate the most. It makes the other person believe they are sane.”
“Do you often listen to what this... Doctor Bumby said to you?” Aeron asked after a moment of silence, which brought back her attention on him.
“I had to. He is the Doctor.”
“Yeah, that's just a fancy title. Doesn't have a real meaning to me. Do you believe your stories to be real?”
“Of course I do. I lived them. I know they are real.”
“Then, that's all matter to me. Not the opinion to a man I never and will never meet.”
To his words, she couldn't help but smile a little, and she had to looked away in order to hide her red cheeks. He stood up and came a bit closer. He sat of the edge of his desk, so close to her that she couldn't look away anymore, but she didn't mind that at all. Aeron smirked, she blushed, and he laughed a little. Softly, he touched her cheeks, not before asking for a silent approval, that she gave by nodded. She felt as if there were no more air his her lungs as soon as he fingers touched her cheeks, while her heart was racing. Her green emerald eyes were focus on his lips, and she wished her had the courage to kiss him, but she felt too weak to stand right now.
“And intriguing can be a positive thing.”
“You're intriguing to me...”
“See, I take that as a compliment. You should too.”
She simply nodded, her eyes still focus on his lips. He might have noticed it, because he smiled and came a bit closer, which, once again, she didn't mind. She felt good at the moment, and, although a part of her was a bit afraid of physical contact, another was excited right now. She didn't know which part to listen, and she didn't notice that she already made her choice, when she slowly came closer to Aeron. He wasn't touching her anymore, but seeing that he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands made her believed that he'd liked to touch her again. She was so close to kiss him when they heard a knock on the door that bring Zelda back from her transe. She shook her head and sighed, and he sighed too.
“Island! We have an island!” They heard, meaning they reached their destination.
“Well. Too bad I won't hear the end of this story today.” He whispered so close to her that it made her shivered, and a part of her told her he wasn't truly talking about the story.”
“I'll tell you more later...” She stupidly said while she part away from him.
“I look forward to that, then.” He answered with a smirk, and she blushed. “But for now, let's go see if you were right once again.”
“Oh, I am. And you'll be sorry to have ever doubted my words.”
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gendervapor14 · 1 year
Text
gen's ship one piece fanfiction masterlist!
um so my original masterlist became impossible to edit because it was too long so i decided to split it in half! so, now the old masterlist is purely my gen content (romance is not the main focus) and this masterlist will focus on romance and ships.
updated 08-12-23
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doflamingo x viola/violet
i hate this ship as much as i love it. i suffer every time i write them. anyway. here are the fruits of my labor.
a gift and a curse
rating: T warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: complete! oneshot, 2,916 words genres/cw: soulmate AU, enemies to lovers, angst, attempted murder, sexual tension, power imbalance, suicidal thoughts, canon-compliant characters: doflamingo, viola summary: They were equals now. His wild, reckless motives threatened her vitality as much as her desire to restore her kingdom threatened his. He could have the build of a cockroach, but Viola was just a delicate little princess. A knife to the chest would easily kill her, if he didn't want to play by her rules. Judging by that expression when he looked her way, that disgusted scowl, he was dawning upon the same conclusion. additional notes: this was written for a rarepair event in feburary. a friend challenged me to write a soulmate AU (not a huge fan of them). it turned out pretty dark, so be mindful of that.
cut it (out)
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! two chapters, 1,755 words genres/cw: angst, canon compliant, power imbalance, blood and injury, implied alcoholism, insomnia, unhealthy relationships characters: doflamingo, viola, dellinger summary: gerascophobia ~ the fear of aging additional notes: two separate stories that focus on doflamingo's relationship with viola, and aging.
façade
rating: T warnings: no archive warnings (check tags) status: complete! oneshot, 1,897 words genres/cw: canon compliant, unhealthy relationships, identity issues, pre-dressrosa, manhandling, hurt no comfort, threats of violence, death threats characters: viola, doflamingo summary: “What happened to the princess I used to know…?” The bridge of her nose crinkled as she maintained her balance. “She stands before you.” “This,” Another harsh jostle. “Is a façade.” additional notes: written for the "manhandling" prompt i got for the bad things happen bingo. yeah. i hate it too.
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corazón/rosinante x bell-mère
corabelle my beloved. these two are hysterical, a great fluffy/humorous escape from my angstier works. (except for when they BECOME the angstier works. then we have a problem. a good one. but a brain-eating one.
how to bed your captain
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 3,111 words genres/cw: humor, pining, sprinkle of angst, only one bed, canon-compliant characters: rosinante, bell-mère summary: Staring ahead blankly, Rosinante decided at some point between negotiating a room with the innkeeper, and getting into this bed, he’d died and gone to heaven. additional notes: probably my favorite corabelle story i've done so far. great pairing for this trope.
king of christmas
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5,136 words genres/cw: modern AU, christmas fluff, humor, slice of life, domestic fluff, drunken shenanigans characters: rosinante, bell-mère, law, nami, nojiko summary: nojiko ruins santa for nami. bell-mère finds the perfect jolly, blond replacement. additional notes: wrote this one for christmas! thought about rosinante in a santa suit and this was born.
king of karaoke
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,778 words genres/cw: modern AU, humor, fluff, slice of life, dates characters: rosinante, bell-mere, law summary: bell-mère takes rosinante (and a begrudging law) to a karaoke bar. rosinante feels the need to prove a point. shenanigans ensue. additional notes: i wrote this in like an hour when i started depressing myself writing angst
happy belated
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! 3 chapters, 13,530 words genres/cw: modern AU, humor, fluff, awkward romance, rural setting, friends to lovers, domestic fluff, awkward date, suggestive themes, birthday party, dinner, snowed in, deep talks characters: rosinante, bell-mère, law, nami, nojiko summary: bell-mère helps rosinante catch a break. additional notes: SHE'S FINALLY FINISHED WOOOO
rise & shine
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,212 words genres/cw: modern AU, mother's day, fluff & humor, romance, suggestive themes, domestic bliss characters: rosinante, bell-mere, nojiko summary: bell-mère gets a few surprises on mother's day additional notes: i think this is the fluffiest thing i've written so far. it's very sappy and a bit suggestive, verging quite close to M territory.
from the heart, for the heart
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 2,340 words genres/cw: modern au, father's day, domestic fluff, slice of life, holiday blues, found family, hurt/comfort, law is a little shit characters: bell-mere, rosinante, law, nami, nojiko summary: rosinante gets a bit glum every father's day. bell-mère and law give him a reason to smile. additional notes: another piece of the corabelle family holidays series which was totally created intentionally
set in stone
rating: T warnings: major character death status: complete! oneshot, 2,836 words genres/cw: canon compliant, angst, financial struggles, slice of life, tragic romance, suicidal thoughts characters: bell-mere, genzo summary: “He, he was a nice guy. Terrible at charades, but I guess we were both pretty banged up.” “Did you become good friends?” “We held hands.” additional notes: a follow-up to Matching Set by @crowbarsolo because he thought he could just, write a story like that without breaking my heart and making me write a copium fic
high tide
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! 2 chapters, 9,643 words genres/cw: modern au, birthday fluff, beach vacation, light angst, drama & romance, domestic fluff, slice of life, suggestive themes, recreational drug use, referenced drug addiction characters: rosinante, bell-mere, law, nami, nojiko summary: rosinante uses his birthday as an excuse for a family vacation. things do not go as planned, but he sure does have a great time additional notes: yes the title is a pun. this fic is probably not great i don't even remember writing it
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smoker x corazón/rosinante
i truly adore this pairing! not a whole lot out there for them to my knowledge. i'd like to write more, but for now, here's some tooth-rotting fluff.
from one home to the next
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 2,030 words genres/cw: modern au, college au, fluff/humor, established relationship, romance characters: rosinante, doflamingo, donquixote parents, smoker summary: maybe returning to campus this semester wouldn't be so bad. additional notes: a cute little corasmo gift for the lovely @gali-la based on the little universe they have for them! ♥
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crocodile x corazón/rosinante
one of my favorite all-time pairings!! not nearly enough content about these two out there. (they are kind of random i guess) but hey i don't care i love them anyway. the two stories i have here so far are... extremely different, so be mindful of that 😅
all bark and no bite
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! four chapters, 14,207 words genres/cw: modern AU, fluff, humor, slice of life, fake dating, undercover missions, drunken shenanigans characters: rosinante, crocodile, bell-mère summary: rosinante gets an odd new client who is definitely a crime lord. bell-mere helps him get to the bottom of it. additional notes: somehow this story became one of my all-time favorites. rosi the boarding kennel owner and croc the... totally innocent client.
broken fingers hold tightest, broken hearts bleed brightest
rating: M warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: complete! oneshot, 3,588 words genres/cw: canon-compliant, angst, unhealthy relationships, brief smut, power imbalance, arguing, mildly dubious consent characters: rosinante, crocodile summary: “Grow up.” Crocodile’s tone was flat, hand furled casually in his pocket. “I’m not here to kiss your ego. This mission was your choice—” “And this relationship was your choice.” Rosinante pushed, “If we can even call it a relationship. Starting to feel like I’m just your…goddamn plaything.” A dry chuckle. “Perceptive, aren’t we?” additional notes: somehow i am capable of writing both of these crocorosi stories. i don't know either
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corazón/rosinante x katakuri
this pairing may seem like it comes out of nowhere because it does. but i am always happy to fill in another spot on my rarepair bingo sheet.
donut miss your chance!
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5300 words, (may add more chapters later) genres/cw: modern AU, fluff, humor, slice of life, blind date, awkward date, anxiety, reference to selective mutism characters: rosinante, bell-mère, katakuri summary: bell-mère sets rosinante up with "a cute baker." a 7'2" punk-goth behemoth is not exactly what rosinante had in mind. additional notes: a gift for @gali-la! we've both succumbed to some major katacora brainrot from the wonderful fanart by M.BD on twitter and this was born in the span of like, 10 hours. might add another chapter once i actually watch WCI and feel more comfortable characterizing katakuri and the charlotte fam
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corazón/rosinante x sora (oc)
sora is an oc from 01746! she's rosinante's superior, and helps track his coordinates for tsuru while he's undercover. this story can be read without reading 01746, but some inside jokes might not make their mark.
secrets secrets (can be fun)
rating: E warnings: none! status: complete! two chapters, 6669 words genres/cw: canon-compliant, secret relationship, humor, dark humor, angst, banter, smut characters: rosinante, sora (oc), sengoku, tsuru summary: “One of these days…” Sora raised her head reluctantly, as if she’d rather keep staring into his heart. “One of these days…?” “One of these days…” His palm settled at her nape, fingers weaving through dark hair. “We’ll actually do some work in this office.” With a light laugh, Sora urged herself up onto her toes, tugging him down for a quick peck. “Not today.” “No, not today.” additional notes: my first rated E fic! yeah it's uh. rated that way for a reason. ya'll asked for this, okay. once upon a time it was one chapter and it was rated T, lmao
fill your cuts, spill your guts
rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5,835 words genres/cw: canon divergent, blood and injury, whump, cora lives au, bullet extraction, mild gore, referenced suicidal thoughts, mental health concerns, confessions, romance characters: rosinante, sora, law summary: She took the canteen for him and put it aside, helping him remove the tattered, soaked shirt. Corazón’s flashy pink shirt. Such an iconic garment. Looked so much prettier in those wanted posters, but now that it was here in her grasp, it was nothing but a threadbare, rusty, well-worn scrap of cotton. Might have been Corazón’s choice of attire, but there was still a man beneath that garish, streaky makeup. Her man. additional notes: this was festering in my drive so i posted it and doctors hate me for it
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sora (oc) x bell-mère
another spicy little blurb involving sora. did my best to make this compliant with the 01746 universe, too!
temptation, torment, and tangerines
rating: E warnings: none! status: compelete!, 4 chapters, 23,522 words genres/cw: canon compliant for the most part, enemies to lovers to friends, sexual tension, angst and hurt/comfort, feminist themes, misandry, smut, some humor, conflict of interests, moral dilemmas, arguing, size difference, implied/referenced human trafficking characters: sora (oc), bell-mere, rosinante, tsuru summary: “I’m not, we’re not doing anything. I’ll let you go, for now, but you need to get serious. If I hear of any other misdemeanors after this conversation, I will report you.” Bell-mère sauntered towards the door with her hands out in an exaggerated shrug. “You owe me a tangerine, by the way.” Sora scoffed and folded her arms. “You’re supposed to salute your superiors upon entry and exiting.” “I’ll salute ya as soon as I respect ya, toots.” ~ takes place in the 01746 universe, but can be read standalone ~ additional notes: i wanted to address the fact that i have no f/f fics in the OP fandom so i wrote this. there are undertones of f/m at the end! but yeah the main pairing is bell-mere and sora 👍
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corazón/rosinante x sora (oc) x bell-mère
uhhh i have. very little explanation for this. some friends told me a threesome with these three would be funny. did my best to deliver.
trouble, trouble, toilsome trouble
rating: E warnings: none! status: complete! 4 chapters, 21,265 words genres/cw: modern AU, polyamory, demisexuality, aromantic, bisexuality, fluff and humor, drama & romance, online dating, some smoking and drinking, insecurity, slice of life, okay. bring forth the porn tags, smut, first time, hand jobs, S&M, exhibitionism, rough sex, inappropriate use of kitchen utensils, vaginal fingering, voyeurism, threesome - F/F/M, anal fingering, pegging characters: rosinante, sora (oc), bell-mère, smoker's there for 5 seconds summary: How many times could he doom himself? Giving Smoker his phone. Dating Sora. Sleeping with Sora. Encouraging her to seek a new partner. Encouraging her to bring that partner into their home. Encouraging her to fuck that partner in front of him. The words, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.” His seven deadly sins. And he tripped, stumbled, and faceplanted into all of them. additional notes: yeah this story is odd idk why it happened either
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law x monet
yeah this is a random pairing idk
paper meets coffee
rating: T warnings: none! status: incomplete, one chapter, 4224 words genres/cw: bookstore AU, coffeeshop AU, canon universe? it's weird i know, humor, sexual tension, enemies to lovers characters: law, monet summary: A coffee bar. Installed in her bookstore. It was an outrage. additional notes: do not remember writing this. i don't know when this happened. i do know a friend gave me this random prompt generator and this is what i got.
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gladius x monet
a true rarepair. have to enter them into ao3 manually every time i write about them. they're sweet though!! i think they'd have a lot in common.
until hell freezes (us) over
rating: gen warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,190 words genres/cw: canon compliant, goodbyes, character study, self-consciousness, angst characters: gladius, monet summary: His sleeves, not ideal for absorbing fluids, smeared the vapor around to create a smudged, translucent portal of reality. Although, as those talons clattered to the glossed wooden surface, claws carving into grain, Gladius wasn’t entirely sure reality was what stood before him. additional notes: my take on a light, pretty piece to highlight the tragedy of this ship. kind of tried to write the story to frame it like a blizzard, if that makes sense.
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littlemisssquiggles · 2 years
Text
...Sooo....About The Owl House...
So I’ve been quietly catching up on The Owl House Season 2 and following today’s episode, I’ve got a couple of comments to make regarding this season as a whole thus:
I know I mentioned in my first commentary-like review of Owl House Season 1 that Willow Park was my favourite character in the whole show.
And while I still love Willow very, very much---she’s still my girl---as of Season 2, the Golden Guard a.k.a Hunter has officially become my favourite.
Not this squiggle meister falling for yet ANOTHER magical golden little prince with a tragic backstory where he is the reincarnation of a character closely connected to the main antagonist of the series. Totally not me, at all.
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I think right now Hunter and Willow are both tied for my personal all-time favourite characters as a fan of the Owl House series… which is in turn is also perfect since I’m also starting to ship them as well.
Not this squiggle meister falling for yet another budding relationship between a golden little prince and his OBVIOUS crush on a powerful girl with glowing eyes and a flower/plant themed name and motif.
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Not me again shamelessly tossing myself, shipping heart first down this never-ending rabbit hole again. Certainly not again at all. Ahahaaa~ :V
I blame “Any Sport in a Storm” for this. I did not go into Season 2 of The Owl House expecting to walk out a Huntlow shipper…just as how I did not go into Volume 5 of RWBY expecting to walk out a Rosegarden shipper. It just happened and here I am. Don’t come at me please :V
But can you blame me though? Can you really blame me for becoming a Huntlow shipper?
Hunter and Willow are both already terrific characters and what’s better is that their growing bond is just as SO GODDAMN CUTE!.
No episode proved this more to me than today’s new episode---Labyrinth Runners.
Did you see the way golden boy blushed when he saw Willow (while it was a fake Willow—he still blushed when he saw her because he thought it was her)?
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Did you see the way golden boy instantly recognized that Willow wasn’t his Captain?
Speaking of, can I take a moment to appreciate how Hunter still addresses Willow as captain despite leaving the Emerald Entrails team? Not only that but can we also take a minute to gush over how much Hunter respects Willow as much as he obviously likes her.
“…That’s not the captain.” “ You’re scaring me, Hunter.” “Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There’s no way she’s be afraid of me.”
Not only does Hunter acknowledge Willow’s strength and courageous nature but…he sadly does so more than Gus and Amity who both have known Willow longer than him. But to be fair, I can’t be too mad at either of them since a) Amity just started being friends with Willow again and you can tell from this episode that she still harboured some guilt over bullying/ failing to defend her as a friend for all those years. And b) Gus has his own diffidence in respect to genuine friendships after his gullibility got the better of him in the past. Like I said, I’m not making this point to denounce Gus and Willow in any kind of way. Not at all. I’m just pointing it out as something I highlighted about Hunter as a character in reference to his connection to Willow.
And this little detail makes me like the prospect of them liking each other even more.
And then, the icing on the cake---Hunter trying to act all coy, playing he walking past Willow and Gus hugging only for Willow to pull him in to join in on the hug. I just…beautiful. Simple perfection.
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Seriously, Labyrinth Runners is easily my favourite episode of this season and that’s hard to say since I also deeply enjoyed “Hollow Mind”, “Any Sport in a Storm” and countless other episodes of this season so far. Seriously the Owl House team has been killing with the writing this season thus far. There has yet to be an episode that I haven’t enjoyed in some way and don’t get me started on the character development this season.
I especially love what this season has been doing with Gus. I love how we got more Gus development this season. It's small but still enough to tell you a lot about him which is great. I like how we got to learn more about him. Gus is easily one of the most sociable characters in the main cast but I like how we’ve been seeing a more vulnerable side to him as well. Especially in today’s episode.
I think the core reason why I love the Labyrinth Runner episode so much is what it did for Gus’ friendship with Hunter. I love how this episode genuinely showed Hunter and Gus caring about each other and becoming friends. I loved how in the end, Hunter was the one to technically “save” Gus this episode and vice versa.
It’s great development for both of them since when Gus first met Hunter in "Any Sport in a Storm", he was the most suspicious of him. So to see these two become good friends this episode, it’s just so wholesome and great. I just love it.
Now Gus has another genuine friend in Hunter as he does with Willow and Luz. Speaking of friends, I loved how this episode also highlighted how the whole Flyer Derby team are Hunter’s friends. This isn’t just inclusive of Willow and Gus. Viney and Skara also think so too and it was good great to hear that they vouched for him to be saved when the Coven Scouts tried to take him back to Belos.
There is just so much GREAT in this episode! LOVE IT.
Now to close this post with a theory, somewhat for TOH:
Trinity of Magic
Remember that episode back in season one where the combined magical energies or whatnot between Luz, Gus and Willow caused Hooty to turn into a literal moving house?
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Since then I’ve been waiting to see if there will be a story reason for that. And while the show has yet to bring that back, after Labyrinth Runners and seeing just how powerful Gus is with another example of young witch with glowing eyes, I wonder if there will be a story reason for this.
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Before, Willow was the only witch confirmed to have their eyes glow whenever unleashing the full might or potential of their magic. Now today, here we have Gus showing the extent of his illusion magic. I wonder if there will be a story reason for this that ties back to “Hooty’s Moving Hassle”.
Are Luz, Gus and Willow part of some kind of magical…trinity or something?
I know Gus and Willow are technically full-born witches whereas Luz is human. But technically, Luz is already proving herself to become some kind of prodigy of wild magic through the use of glyphs.
I dunno. This is just me spitballing here. However, after “Labyrinth Runners”, I’m really starting to get the feeling that there may be something very special to main magical trio than meets the eye. But that’s just my theory.
Anyways, that's enough rambling about TOH for today.
~LittleMissSquiggles (2022)
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motorcyclebucket · 2 years
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Hello!! I hope your day is going well.
I was wondering if I could get some engineer!mark x captain!reader in which the reader is super patient (borderline being a pushover), and they've been putting up with Mack second guessing them and questioning them at every time a decision needs to be made.
And it gets to the point where there's a super important decision (perhaps something along the lines of scouting out areas on the chosen planet to start building stuff and getting colonists settled), and Mack once again is pushing against what the reader thinks is best. And so they snap, and they tell him off for it and they verbally park his ass back in line where he should be. Maybe Mark tries to calm the reader or something?? (I hope this makes sense (°∀°)b)
- dragon anon
Sure thing man! Hope your day is good too!
Words: 563
Warnings: Captain fuckin’ snaps, Cursing
========================
“You know Captain, maybe if you re-route the cargo ships we could get supplies down faster-”
“Thank you for the input, Mack, it will be noted.”
Second guessing from Mack had become the norm the moment you had set foot on the ship. It was like he always had something to say about the way you did things, like he always had something to prove. It did get annoying at times, but you looked past it. You knew he thought he would be a better captain, but he was an engineer. That was his position in the crew based on his skill sets.
As Mack walked off with a frustrated look on his face, Mark walked up to you. You had your eyes closed, taking a few deep breaths before turning back around. “Mark! How's the best head engineer doing? What can I help you with?” you said, a smile replacing your before upset face. ‘What the hell was that switch?’ he thought.
“Are you ok? You seem frustrated-” 
“Me? Frustrated? Pft- yeah right.” you said, waving a hand at him  with a smile, looking off to the side. “Mack could never get me frustrated, he’s just trying to prove something and fix his bruised ego because he's not captain.”
“I never said anything about Mack-”
You looked back over at Mark, a look of concern on his face. “I- you- you didn't?” you said. “Nope, not a word. You brought him up.” he said, you humming in response. “Well then.” you paused. “Trust me when I say I'm fine and can deal with him myself.” you said, walking back to the main control panel. “Everything will be fine”
Mark wondered if you were telling him or yourself that.
----------------
“Captain, i'm just saying, if we add more crew to the ships, things will get done much more quickly. We could start getting settlements built-”
“Thank you Mack, it will be noted-”
“All i'm saying,” he continued. This had been going on for the past 10 minutes. Couldn't he just give it a rest? “Maybe you need better judgment? I think i'd be able to lead this mission much better than-”
“You know what, Mack? Maybe you could. But guess what. You aren't! You're Not the captain of this ship. You are an engineer. That's your job. So why don't you Park your ass back in line where it belongs, and get back. To your. Fucking. Job. M’kay?” you say, Venom dripping from each word, stepping closer as you spoke,  giving him a smile that made you squint as you did. 
Mack looked terrified to say the least, mumbling out a ‘yes captain,’ before speed walking away, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. 
Mark watched from the other side of the room, a few of the other crewmates that were there keeping to themselves, not wanting to test your patience, it being clear you had run out. Mark stepped up cautiously, as you kept your eyes shut again, composing yourself from your outburst.
“C-cap? You uh, you alright?” he said, resting a hand on your shoulder, making you relax slightly. “I’m fine, Mark. just- lost my temper there. I'm alright.” you said, giving him a small smile.
He patted your shoulder, saying he had to get back to repairing things, but as he walked away, he thought one thing.
‘That was kinda hot.’
======================
Sorry its a bit short! hope this is alright!
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birchbow · 1 year
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Hi I’ve got a few questions regarding schoolfeeding. How does the purple blood schooling work, is it similar to earth where they have to complete a curriculum to move on to the next grade/level? What grades/levels do purple bloods have in the fleet? Lastly if a troll wants to become a school feeder how can they achieve that?
I'm about to say some shit in an authoritative tone but I don't have time to go double-check myself so if I contradict any of the things I've said in the fic somebody please let me know haha.
EDIT: this is also going under a readmore, y'all are asking very fun questions but boy are the answers long lol
RE: structure, I don't think it's age-based, partially because as a class purplebloods live so long--you get some basic husktop courses when you're on-planet, overall education and basic prep courses, then when you get to the fleet you get sorted out to different ships and split into smaller classes where the schoolfeeders can fast-track the overachievers, scold and hound the underachievers, and if necessary cull the dropouts and the ones who don't improve fast enough.
I definitely made mention of exams, which is would say are just like, all-around reviews of the skills you were taught, every few perigees/half a sweep. Pass and you get to move up to missions and more advanced classes, and officially get counted as an acrobatterer, laughsassin, what have you. Fail and you are definitely harshly judged and have to do it all over again--and if you fail enough times and you don't show enough improvement, you get culled or turfed out into unimportant non-church missions until you shape up in the field or die.
It is definitely textually in the fic that there aren't really ranks, but there are probably very general social strata, beyond that point. A nebulous and heavily reputation-dependent mess that vaguely goes: pre-pupation newbies -> pupated+graduated young soldier -> established, respected Clown Senpai -> titled champion/schoolfeeder -> ship captain/Fleet Cardinal (Scarredinal?? Eh, I'll work on it lol) -> Grand Highblood.
Actually becoming a schoolfeeder, like a lot of the processes as I write them, is kind of an informal matter of reputation and social pressures. If someone is very notable in a field, enough to become known for their expertise, they (or more likely their peers) could bring it up to their captain, who would real quick check with Kurloz and then could go "yeah sure teach those little motherfuckers some shit" and let them at it. If they're notable in a field that already has a schoolfeeder, they could move to another ship and set up there, or they could presumably challenge the incumbent schoolfeeder to prove they know their shit better and the loser has to sulk off somewhere else.
Karkat very much did it a new and unusual way, which is to say he was so intrusive and fearlessly aggressive and was seen directly talking to the Grand Highblood on church business so often that the new little 9-sweep clowns decided probably he was an authority/schoolfeeder, and then multiple high-ranking people in the church were like "oh fuck that's hilarious, uh, YEAH, sure, Feeder Vantas, you got it lololol >:oD"
Unfortunately for them when Karkat was faced with baby clowns asking him for lessons, he whipped out a romance novel and started Educating and it is rapidly becoming much too late to stop him lmao. But that's very much not the normal way, and he's definitely much much younger and uhhh less purple than all the other schoolfeeders on the fleet.
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aelaer · 1 year
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Alright, let’s take that follow up ask 😂
18. What are some tropes that others love, but you just tend to avoid?
Or something along those lines. Things you like/dislike. What marks the difference between a “good” and a “great” fic for you?
Whelp I lost my draft as I started this. I figured that's as good a sign as any to save this as a draft and review it a few times to make sure I'm critical of the *genre and trope* and not the individual writing it. And yes I think they're two *very* distinct things. And I'd like to piss off as few people (who aren't blocked) as possible while still remaining true to myself. We'll see how successful it is.
Cut cuz it got long and if folks click it thinking they might get mad, and then get mad, well, you can't say I didn't warn you. I don't like quite a few popular tropes in a lot of stories you see Stephen in. And I'll not hide my own opinions on my own blog. 😜 What's the terminology? Don't like, don't read? Yeah, if (general) you don't like strong opinions that might go against yours, don't read on. You've been warned!
Let's start with some of the most popular AO3 tropes, taken from the 2016 Fanfic Survey from Fansplaining. Here's the top 20 tropes across the survey and if I dislike it, I have bolded it and have a comment beside it. Otherwise I'm indifferent to it or I like the trope.
Friends to Lovers
Canon-divergent Alternate Universes
Slow Burn
Rescue Missions/Saving Each Other
Bed Sharing (aka One Hotel Room Left) Honestly I find this trope really stupid in most circumstances. It just makes me roll my eyes. This isn't to say that fics with this trope are badly written, I just... think the situation's really contrived. There's better ways to explore pining.
Teamwork
Fluff
Hurt/Comfort
Huddling for Warmth I only dislike it if it's adding unnecessary sexual tension. Like if you're in a perilous situation you don't need to talk about how omg touching him makes you feel things. It's like - dude you're gonna lose fingers otherwise. Characters, you need to shut the fuck up, this is not the right time. You guys can be romantic later. Hell this even counts for established relationships; characters getting aroused when they're in actual perilous situations is one of my biggest pet peeves in romance. It's dumb. (Note- this doesn't count if they're joking about it, joking is a great coping mechanism. I mean legit horniness as they're half-dead or something. What the fuck. Exception if the author explicitly lists being in legit perilous situations as a fetish in which case, good for author for that creativity.)
Mutual Pining
Established Relationship
Fix-it Fic
Isolated or Trapped (e.g. in a cave, a Canadian shack, etc.)
Missing scenes or fill-in fic
Everyone Knows They're In Love
Unresolved Sexual Tension
Fake Relationship (incl. Married for a Case and Marriage of Convenience)
Pining
Worldbuilding
Only 2 out of the top 20, not bad! Most are "take it or leave it" but some I like so yay.
Okay now for the next part.
On my Doctor Strange AO3 filtered page that I have up in perpetuity on my phone, I have the following filters applied to exclude (which takes off about 20% of all fics in the category from sight). Ordered from least likely to offend to most likely to offend others:
Non-English fics
Peter Parker/Stephen Strange
Stephen Strange/Reader
Not Civil War Team Captain America Friendly & Not Steve Rogers Friendly
An honorable spicy mention that isn't easily filtered so I don't filter it but I get into it below. It involves Peter.
Not English fics: With as picky a reader as I am, auto Google Translate simply doesn't work well for me. Trust me, I've tried and I was very sad when translate proved to be less than great. I wish I could speak/read all languages.
Peter/Stephen: I had to block this one because it was just coming up too much after NWH, but America/Stephen falls here as well (it's just significantly rarer and I can easily skip those fics). No hard feelings to those who write/ship it because they're, you know, fictional, but I'm definitely not a fan of the trope. Underage with two minors already skeeves me out, underage with a middle aged man and a minor is a big no-go unless the adult is framed as a villain in the narrative (and with luck gets justice served to him). But in the shipping sense this isn't usually the case in the story, and while some authors do a great job in showing it's not right/good, this isn't my flavor of Stephen at all. Even villain Stephen.
In the case the minors are aged up to be legal, I still dislike it. I find it incredibly creepy IRL when a person goes for someone who is young enough to be their child, and I can't separate that feeling in the fiction I read for the most part. The exception to this rule is when the person is like over 35 - by that age you know if you want to be with a 55 year old, and you have all that life experience. But there's so much growing done in the 20s and a lot of life experience that nothing but time can provide.
Finally, I find men in their 40s who are looking for someone (especially a girl) 24 or younger incredibly immature and, frankly put, the absolute opposite of dignified and sexy. There are exceptions of course, but my good guy!Stephen doesn't fall into that category. He's interested in brains, personality, and life experience, with looks being like, the 4th factor, haha, so no need for such a large age gap. Again, just skeeves me out.
Stephen Strange/Reader: I wouldn't have blocked it if it wasn't so prevalent, but it's literally Stephen's second-most popular ship. All respect to anyone who enjoys reader-insert fics, but I just... don't. The handful of times I've tried it I couldn't see myself as the supposed character because they were so different from who I am as a person. "Choose your own adventure" books that I read in my youth worked for me because I had choices in steering the story; that's not the case in reader fics so I'm left seeing "myself" doing things that I'd never do in a million years. That contradiction just makes me unable to appreciate them myself.
Big reason I don't have that problem with OCs is because they're not me, and so I don't have that weird contradictory feeling while reading the fic. They're another person so I can appreciate them as another character, especially if Stephen manages to stay in character within the story. But as romance isn't a genre I actively look for, I don't tend to look out for OC fics either as they're usually super romance-heavy as opposed to the romance being a side plot (which is how I get through canon char romances - if it's a side plot in the very long story I'll get through it for juicy plot).
Not Civil War Team Captain America Friendly & Not Steve Rogers Friendly: Blocking these two covers the majority of the stories that are not other-character friendly, and it blocks almost all Civil War Team Iron Man fics, so these two tags cover basically the entire gauntlet of that type of MCU fic. Ever since AO3 canonicalized those tags my blood pressure has lowered significantly and it's made browsing AO3 so much less stressful.
I'll say it up front: I don't think a fic can be good writing if it's written to be Not Team Cap Friendly. That's not to say that the writer themselves is incapable of writing quality works because that's usually not the case. But for works with that specific trope, I do not think that work can be good. A significant factor of what I consider good fanfic writing/bad fanfic writing is characterization, and the characterization is usually butchered in this genre of fic.
If an author chooses only to write this trope POV, all the more power to them. However, I think they are limiting their capabilities in choosing to ignore the grey storytelling the MCU brought to the story and are definitely limiting their visions by choosing to view these grey characters and their grey choices as black and white/good and bad with all the nuances erased. And because those choices are made, I don't think that the fic that comes out with those limitations can be considered good writing. And here are the reasons why, largely centering around characterization:
The only way these fics work is by making Steve completely OOC. I've seen writers erase all his leadership capabilities established in the first 3 films he was in, his ability to think fast on his feet, any sign of intelligence that is firmly established in the first three films he was in, and make him callous in a way that he hasn't ever shown in canon. I've seen writers make Steve unaware of email, I've seen them say that he never led men in WW2 (and isn't an actual captain), and most ridiculously, I've seen them say he was trying to kill Tony in Siberia and left him for dead there and completely ignore all his training in that if he wanted to kill Tony, he very well could have. (And ignore that T'Challa was there as well ffs - that's another rant.) But yes - this is all OOC to Steve's character. If someone wants to know why saying Steve trying to kill Tony in Siberia is OOC and thus not Steve friendly, send me a separate ask as I have a write up on Discord that I can bring here if folks want clarification on that front.
If you have to make other characters OOC to make your best boy shine better, I don't trust you to write best boy well. And usually he isn't. Tony is a terribly flawed character which is why he's so so so interesting, but Not Team Cap friendly fics are determined to erase all of Tony's flaws and everything that makes him interesting. For instance, I've seen Tony suddenly become an expert negotiator and politician, ignoring both IM2 and his lack of finesse with Ross in CW (this isn't him delegating the work to lawyers/PR people - this is in fics where he's the figurehead behind this because he's suddenly an expert political negotiator). Then in some fics Tony's suddenly a socialist, ignoring the fact that he's made his fortune and still makes money from his corporation and there's nothing in canon that suggests that he ain't still benefiting from the capitalist institution. He's *generous*, absolutely, and I headcanon he put in hundreds of millions into rebuilding Sokovia - but he's not suddenly a socialist. He's a rich white man with rich white man privileges and while he's doing his best to make good in the world, he has benefits that the rest of the world just doesn't. And Tony's still arrogant and it can still be hard to work with him and erasing all those flaws makes him just... not Tony. He's just this bland vanilla OOC caricature.
In a lot of "not team cap friendly" fics I see a tag along the lines of "actions have consequences". If that's the case, why the hell wasn't Tony prosecuted for making Ultron? Wanda didn't force him to make anything - she amplified his fears, absolutely, but he made the robot. In secret. And that robot killed a city. Tony in CW is rightfully really regretful about it - but if actions actually had consequences and Tony tried to get Team Cap like, jailed or forcefully retired (like he or his friends do in some fics), Nat should strike back and tell everyone that he was behind Ultron. IT'S LIKE EVERY CHARACTER MAKES MISTAKES OR SOMETHING AND THAT NONE OF THEM ARE PERFECT. WHAT A THOUGHT. And that's why that tag is not very well thought out. The tag ignores the stark (hah) fact that all Avengers have made mistakes, some of them major - and Tony's absolutely not exempt from that. And his mistake-making didn't stop after he became Iron Man.
All of Tony's friends ignore that Tony recruited a 15 year old to Germany and guess what? Pepper and Rhodey aren't Tony boot-lickers. They'd give him the appropriate "What the fuck were you thinking" language because yeah, that was fucked up! Ignoring that happened is another big item in these type of fics.
Stephen's personality is typically bland and he often has no life beyond Tony's in these type of fics. He definitely has no opinions on the Avengers that *differ* from Tony because him having his own opinions, or taking the time to form his own opinions from his own interactions, would be showing more nuance and depth than these fics want to get into.
Stephen's often petty and violent, especially towards Steve - and again completely ignores all of Tony's mistakes because Tony doesn't make horrific mistakes, oh no! I'd argue the petty violence is OOC, but fucking DS2 and fucking Waldron Jossed that. So if you want that petty violence, it's technically seen on screen, but that's a *Waldron* idea so... yeah. I don't know any big Stephen fan who is particularly fond of Waldron and what he brought to Stephen's character. But this whole essay is about OOC characterization so I can't argue that this is OOC anymore. Fucking Waldron.
Like Stephen, Rhodey and Pepper also lose their personalities and ability to argue with Tony because Tony is always right. Rhodey forgets that Tony is a billionaire and can easily go use a lab in Stark Industries buildings across the country, or go to one of his many homes that all billionaires have because they're *billionaires*, if he *has* to avoid Steve for some reason. Rhodey also forgets that Tony could handle this with the best therapist money can by if he can't physically handle being in a room with someone he dislikes. If Steve actually tried to kill him in a fic, please go back to the first bullet point on this list. An IC Steve wouldn't so there wouldn't be that fear of more physical retaliation because Steve wouldn't be trying to stop Tony from killing Bucky, so again, unless Tony tries to kill Bucky once more, the situation won't escalate to violence. But yes, in these fics, Rhodey would prefer that the civil rights breaking Accords that allow indefinite imprisonment with no promise of trial stand. He'd rather the rest of the Avengers remain fugitives with no home because he forgets his friend is a billionaire with virtually unlimited resources to go wherever he wants and to get the help he needs. The growth we see in his stance that came with IW after he saw the Accords' rollout just poofs away.
Pepper tends to be turned into a secretary again just there to help with Tony's emotional needs instead of a powerful CEO whose really fucking busy running a company.
So with an OOC Steve, it usually leads to an OOC Tony, OOC Rhodey, OOC Pepper, and OOC Stephen. And that is why I consider these fics bad.
There may be exceptions to this, but when I was still attempting the tag in 2019, I never found a fic under the tag that was an exception. I stopped trying the last 3 or so years. And unless you're an author who's written in that tag and you want me to read your story and want to try to change my mind (because you're a masochist? why would you want to do this to yourself?), don't send me those fics. 99% I'm going to find them bad.
I'm not gonna subject those authors to the above opinion because they enjoy the black/white world and they have a huge readership who loves that crack. And good for them! That doesn't change my opinion that I think it's lousy writing because characterization is 70% of my opinion of a fic. If you have all this OOC characterization in a non-crack/parody fic, I just won't have a high opinion. And I'll say it in my own space under a cut, but I'm not going to search you out anymore - I haven't since 2019 (early 2020 was the cut off). Writers have the right to write what's popular - and I can dislike that popular content. But it's a lucrative readership and if that black and white world brings you joy, then all the more power to you.
Important: Not character-friendly fics are different from Dark!character fics. Dark character fics acknowledge that in canon, the characters are written as protagonists and heroes, and the author is purposefully changing this. In not character friendly fics, the author is usually inventing something stupid or terrible (and often enough ooc) for the character to have done/not done to strengthen the position of their chosen protagonist, or is ignoring canon traits of the character to, again, strengthen the position of their chosen protagonist. This is especially seen with Steve.
Honorable mention: I dislike the majority of fics (no idea of percentage but very likely over 50%) labeled Supreme Family, *strictly* due to how Peter is treated. Let me explain.
Peter is an incredibly independent teenager living in NYC with his own friends and his own brains and solo superheroing the majority of the time. These fics have a tendency to erase all of this, making him overly reliant on Tony, making him act as if he's aged between 8 to 12 rather than 15 to 18, and erasing his connection to May, Ned, and MJ. His whole life is made secondary to be part of the Tony Stark fanclub and it's *weird*. Peter is so much more than his connection to Tony and fans of this trope sometimes forget this.
I'll give a real world example. There's a large age gap between my sister and myself, so I got to see her in her teenage years while I was an adult. She's smart, fiercely independent, and had good friends and extra curricular activities throughout high school just like Peter did. We had family dinner together on occasion but she wanted to be doing her own thing as much as possible. She'd text my parents for the "Hey I'm alive" check ins but otherwise? She was AWOL as much as she could get away with.
Peter may be less so, especially if May insists on dinner together at least a couple times a week with his form of extracurricular activities, but I cannot emphasize enough how Peter having his own life is so important to his character and him being around Tony most of his free time outside of school and Spider-Man is *weird*. Even if he likes him!
This is just one teenager in my example, but a staple of teenagers is finding their independence as they grow into adulthood. Clinging to other adult figures does not tend to be the trend with those who have a big independence streak.
Peter in canon is all about establishing his independence - and you could see this especially throughout all of Homecoming. His independence is integral to his character. And if Tony was his adopted dad in the fic, I'd say him always hanging out with him is doubly weird because, again, independence. It's a major part of most teenagers and it's very well established in Peter's personality.
So yeah. Fic writers please stop writing him like a 10 year old unless he's actually 10 in the fic. Let him live his own life in the Supreme Family trope. Let him go out with friends and do after school clubs and not go to Tony's lab after school every day of the week because it's just not him and his movies established that very well. Let him get annoyed at the tracking and let him yell at his parental figures because conflict is normal. Let him be a teenager.
(And as someone who loves Found Family, I can't emphasize enough how much that theme falls short if the characters within the family forget their independence and lives outside of the family. It's just no fun.)
So yeah. Have all these spicy hot takes!
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troubled-mind · 1 year
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My School President final thoughts
I had a whole 4-hour flight to mull over the finale and the series as a whole. So here goes the ramble.
The Personal Highlight:
High school is not my favourite setting for a drama and I honestly don't even remember how I started watching this particular show. My guess is that I found a gifset I considered endearing. What cemented my fondness towards the show was Just Being Friendly cover. I love Tilly Birds and I knew of It's Gonna Be OK (the album) way before I delved into the world of Thai BL. (BTW do yourself a favour and check out this record, it's one of the best things, musically speaking, to come out of Thailand in 2021. Other single from it, I'm Not Boring You're Just Bored, was used in Only Friends trailer and it's brilliant as well! - yes I am a huge music nerd on the side).
Anyhow, having this particular song translated both literally into the English subs and visually into the video cover done by our dear high schoolers was a fantastic dramatic device and for sure my favourite part. There is something that rings so true when Gun says that high school songs are the best because they are the soundtrack to the first love. I would go one step further - the music that you listen to in high school / early uni years is the most formative for every generation regardless of love connotations. The emotional cocktail of those years pairs up in our brains with the sounds we're hearing and they end up etched forever in our memory.
The Dynamics
I fully enjoyed observing how the leads navigate their tentative relationship and how more and more comfortable they are with each other. The emerging trust, support and the bits and pieces of adorable flirting - I mean, I am thirty something grown up and I felt like squealing half of a time. Maybe build up was drawn out too much and something was off with the pacing for some parts of the late episodes but still - I haven't seen teenagers be so unapologetically themselves for quite some time. And I mean all of them with the SoundWin bickering at the forefront - I was a captain of this ship and it sailed smoothly (ugh, the self insert in the finale!)
The Parents:
I love me some supportive parents and we had a prime example here. The approach and storyline was different for both mothers, because each had a specific relation to their kid. The fact that Tinn's mum was more reserved and awkward in communication does not mean she didn't care. I appreciate she was not vilified and had a chance to prove herself in a powerful way. Of course, Tinn's father deserves a separate award for being supportive partner and the definition of a dad (I mean, the dinner with Gun in the finale? I am still cackling).
The Friendship:
I do not want to repeat myself but the core of this show for me was the dynamic in the band. There is nothing that cements young people's friendship more than facing obstacles together. Of course there is tension, arguments and moments of despair but for every difficulty there is also support, happiness and love. Love of a family founded on your own terms. Love that makes you feel invincible because your friends have your back. Love that will grow and change, might dim with time but if cherished and cultivated can be the backbone of a life well lived. (Oh boy, I am tearing up again).
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Ugh, I could go on and on... I get to know this show by chance and it ended up being thought provoking enough to excuse a lengthy ramble. It cheered me up, made be ponder on my high school years, scratched my chin and definitely served its purpose!
Tldr; I love me some queer teenage musical drama from time to time!
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saturn-galatic-07 · 1 year
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Legend of the Duskgloom Sea: Aftermath
Captain Caviar’s submarine had docked in front of the harbor by the Salty Shark after an entire day out in the DuskGloom Sea, he opened the hatch and exited his submarine with Candy Diver following behind him, the Salty Sharks welcome their captain back, giving him salutes and such. “Captain, you’ve returned,” Blue Coral said with a smile, “and you……brought someone with you from your one-cookie voyage?” Black Reef said, taking notice to Candy Diver standing behind him, “oh, this scalawag right here? This is Candy Diver Cookie, if it hadn’t been for them, i wouldn’t be able to make it back here still in tact,” Caviar explained, patting CD on the shoulder, making the ghost diver happy, despite not being able to emote, “so, with that aside, while we’re glad you’ve returned safe and sound captain, if you don’t mind us asking, what happened while you were out in the DuskGloom Sea?” One of the crew mates asked, wondering what transpired out there, “well, i’ll be happy to tell you mateys about it, and but before I do, Oyster told me before the voyage that i need to tell her what i saw out there,” he said as he went to the platform and off to House Oyster, “take care of the ship for me, and while i’m gone, get yourselves acquainted with Candy Diver Cookie, i’ll be back in a few short minutes, and once I come back, we’ll be celebrating our safe return, drinks and all”.
After about a few minutes of walking, he made it to Manor Oyster, standing before it’s radiant beauty and glory, it’s almost blinding, he knocked on the door and Oyster’s envoy answered, she opened the door seeing Captain Caviar standing before her, she gave him a salute, saying, “ah, Captain Caviar, good evening ser, what brings you here?” the Envoy asked, standing in the doorway, “at ease, i’m here to speak Oyster, i returned from a voyage that she “requested” me to embark on regarding the missing ships near the Silent Ocean, which i wasn’t planning on going on,” he explained, crossing his arms, “she said that after I returned, I should tell her what i saw out there, so that's why i’m here”, “oh, of course, right this-” Cavs walked past her to where Oyster is, “-way, nevermind”. After about a few minutes of walking, he found her in her living room gazing at a painting of someone from her family, she was just sipping her tea, mumbling something under her breath, she then turned around and saw Caviar standing in the doorway, she put her cup down on the table and got up to greet him, “ah Captain Caviar, you’ve returned, and unharmed at that,” Oyster said with a smile on her face, “what? Were you expecting me to get myself crumbled out there?” Caviar said, raising an eyebrow, “oh no no no no no no, that’s not what i meant at all, i knew you would make it out of there, i just thought you’d get a bit roughed up out there,” she explained, “but i guess i underestimated you, well done,” Caviar let out a sigh, “next time, if you want something done, either do it yourself or just say it,” he said, annoyed, “right right, anyway, you know why you’re here right? Now tell me, did you manage to find what caused all the disappearances? Do tell me, don’t leave out any details,” Oyster said, gesturing for the two of them to sit down, “i’m fine with just standing,” he said, crossing his arms as Oyster just shrugged and sat down, “if that’s what you want, now we can start, explain what you saw out there, no leaving any details out”. 
Captain Caviar stood in front of Oyster, explaining the following, “what happened was i was gonna go with my crew the DuskGloom Sea, but the torrents and storm caused by what, or should i say, who was out there proved to be difficult so i figured it the voyage should be done by one cookie, that being me, so i took my submarine and went alone. Through my trek into the sea, i met someone in the ocean’s depths after my sub got stuck, after they helped me, they wanted to come with, so they ended up helping me throughout the rest of my voyage, in fact, if it wasn’t for them, i wouldn’t have made it back to the Republic,” he explained, “i see, but what does that part have anything to do with what you found out there?” Oyster asked, “i’m getting to that, don’t interrupt, shoosh” he said as he continued, “anyway, looking around, and after having several encounters with different sea creatures, we came across a graveyard of ships, all sunken into the sea by what was out there, which leads me to tell you what is out there,” he said, “well then, go on, tell me, who or what caused those disappearances?” Oyster said, “well, the one responsible for all those disappearances was a mermaid, or maybe more specifically, a siren to be more exact,” he said, leading Oyster to raise an eyebrow, “a siren? Strange,” she said, thinking for a bit, ‘till a realization came to her mind, causing her to remain silent for a few moments, Caviar took notice of it, “something wrong? You went silent,” Caviar asked, tilting his head to the side, returning her to her senses, to take a long deep breath in and exhaled saying, “yes, i’m fine, now tell me, what did this “siren” look like?” she asked before thinking, “this can't be the same one, right?”, “ i description, well, dough was a sea gray, long white curly, hair, tail and upper body was black as the night with a crystal clear dress which was connected to a white sea shell on her chest, had black gloves on with what looks like bat wings on each glove, she had a fin-like tiara, had black gem on her forehead, her eyes were light blue with black slitted pupils, and she was holding a fancy looking trident,” he explained, confirming Oyster’s fears, “hmmmm, i see,” she said, “so this siren was responsible for all the disappearances?”, “ain’t nothing but total honesty, saw her right before my own eyes,” he replied, leaving Oyster deep in thought, “so yeah, she was gonna crush us to crumbs but my friend found a way for us to escape and that leaves us here, so if that’s all you wanted to hear then- are you even listening?” the captain said, leading Oyster to look at him and get up from her seat, “yes yes, i was listening, just deep in thought is all,” she said, “anyway, i got what i needed, this information will prove useful to my sailors if they ever off for trading, that’s all i needed to know, you can leave now,” she gestured him to the door, “again, next time, if you want something done, just do it yourself,” he said, walking towards the door, but before he went through the door, he turned his head to Oyster, “one more thing before i leave, while i was in that graveyard of ships, i took notice to some ships in particular,” he said, giving Caviar a stern stare, “...and why does it concern me?” she asked, wondering what he was getting at, “well, i’m not sure if i should tell you but i’ll say it so i can have your input, most of the ships i saw looked like the ones from your family, not the same but similar, and there is one that looked somewhat intact, i pointed out to that siren about the possibility that left her on a bad note, which pissed her off, and it got me thinking on my way back, do you know anything about that?” he asked, leading Oyster to go silent and frown, “why the silence? Did I trigger something?”, “Caviar, i would advise you to leave, I have more important things to do than answer that question, whatever you saw, it’s none of your concern, now if you’ll excuse me, i have more important things to do, i bid you adieu,” she said, dodging the question, seeing this, Caviar decided not to argue with her and left the manor, Leaving Oyster to her own thoughts.
Hours later
Oyster was by the window in the night in her room, she can hear the Salty Sharks celebrating not only their captain’s safe return but also welcoming their new member to their crew, they were very loud, but that’s a given, she sat by the window sipping her tea, she seemed restless, not from the loud celebration going on at the harbor, but from what Captain Caviar said to her, it didn’t leave her mind, “*sigh*, so, she’s the one responsible for all those disappearances that have been happening lately. To think she’s still out there somewhere, and she became this was all because my ancestor gave into the feeling of greed and power, abandoning her, leading her to fall deep into despair,” she sighed and got up from her seat and stood in front of the window, staring at the night sky, she looked at the stars in the sky then to the abyss black Pearl on a pedestal in her room, “i now know she’s out there, i now know she was responsible for what happened, one of these days, i’m gonna find her, and make things right on my ancestor’s behalf,” she walked over and picked up the pearl from the pedestal and went back to the window, “beautiful mermaid, one day, when I find you, i will do what I can to make things right, soon I will, I will make sure of it,” she said within her thoughts, holding the pearl close to her chest.
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starlene · 6 months
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Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition thoughts:
Let me start by saying that I have some... let's say, ethical qualms about the whole artifact exhibition thing. Obviously, they're not severe enough to prevent me from seeing the touring exhibition (and to be clear, I have seen different iterations of it in four different countries now.) But even so – I just don't think it's super cool that these historical artifacts are owned by a company who thinks Las Vegas is a proper permanent home for them. There is something very sideshow-esque about the whole thing. While it's cool that some of the artifacts tour the world for many people to see, if I got to decide, their permanent home would be in a well-established museum in a location that figures in the story of the RMS Titanic somehow. But I don't get to decide that, so whatever, I guess!
Mostly, the exhibition is both respectful and informative, but there are some little problems. The most notable one is that they haven't updated all their info plaques and their audio guide, so there are issues like two plaques right next to each other having contradictory info (say, how much the tickets cost in today's money.)
I also don't think it's, hmm, super great how you walk by the names of everybody that died – straight into a souvenir shop stand of teddy bears dressed as captains. I mean, sure, they need to make their money somehow, and I did buy a bunch of postcards and stuff myself... but apart from a handful of replica newspapers, cups and such, the shop really has the most tasteless selection of Titanic merch known to man. The only things missing are the "Titanic Swim Team 1912" shirts and the ice cube trays.
To make it clear: I'm not saying you're a horrible person if you wear a Titanic Swim Team tee or whatever (tbh, I would buy a Vasa Swim Team 1628 one in a heartbeat myself) – these days, the sinking of the Titanic is a part of popular culture just as much as it's a historical event, so it's just natural there are joke-y products around. I just think the contrast of a memorial wall for the actual victims and the captain teddies is rather gruesome.
Also, speaking of Titanic in popular culture and the public consciousness, I don't think it's super great how the exhibition strengthens certain Titanic myths that don't really have much truth to them, or are less black-and-white than the usual story goes.
They make a big deal of the Titanic (and the Titanic alone) being "unsinkable", to the point of lifting Captain Smith's "modern shipbuilding" quote¹ out of context, which of course makes guests assume he said that about the Titanic specifically. They also claim Captain Smith was about to retire after the Titanic's maiden voyage, though there isn't really any evidence to prove that. And of course, they keep mentioning how the Titanic was the largest ship ever built – which is technically true, sure, but I think it's worth mentioning that in practice, she and the Olympic were twin sisters.
I even spotted a new piece of nonsense in the exhibition that I've never heard before: they claim that Thomas Andrews was not supposed to be on the maiden voyage at all, but he had to travel in place of Lord Pirrie when he fell ill. I believe Thomas Andrews was always meant to lead the guarantee group, like he had done on previous maiden voyages, and I have never heard anything to the contrary before. But what do I know?
Props to the exhibition for not demonising J. Bruce Ismay, though! On the contrary, they mention he helped passengers board the lifeboats before leaving on the last lifeboat to be properly launched.
Anyway!! I think I have been negative enough here. I may have a lot of nitpicks, but even so, as a whole, I think the exhibition is a good introduction to the story of the Titanic, and it's interesting and touching to nerds like me, too. I like the interactive parts such as the changing soundscapes. I feel the sound design has gotten better since the last time I saw the exhibition, I especially enjoyed the soundscape near the 3rd class cabin reproduction that demostrated how you could hear the engines all the time in those cabins. The touch the iceberg thing is good and very sobering too, it really helps you to understand how hypothermia was only a matter of minutes on a night as cold as April 15th, 1912.
And of course, there are the artifacts themselves! I assume they keep most of the flashier ones in Vegas, but there were some good ones. My favourite was a golden chain with three lucky charms: a clover, a star, and a lucky pig. The lucky pig obviously didn't make it, but I do wish its owner did. I also liked the Extra Moist Cherry Toothpaste jar just because that sounds so silly. There were reproductions of that in the souvenir shop, but I couldn't justify buying one – maybe I would have if it came with some of that moist paste, but nope!
ETA: Something I found interesting was that pretty much every single artifact that was a part of the ship's decor, from dishes to lamp holders, was stamped with the White Star Line logo, even the fancy first class tableware. Was that all about boosting their brand recognition, or were they that worried about things being stolen? Or did they want to show off that everything was custom-made just for them, no off-the-shelf items from any generic manufacturer? Maybe it was a little bit of each?
I also think it's interesting to think about the weird journey the artifacts have made. Someone put them in their luggage to cross the Atlantic, they sunk along with the ship and spent about 80 years in the darkness... and then someone else came along with an underwater robot that has little hands and picked them up. The people who originally owned them could never have imagined the journey their everyday items would go on – or, if they briefly saw a vision of their trousers ending up in a glass case in a Swedish mall with some Finnish nerd staring at them, they probably thought they're just about to lose their mind.
All in all, Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition in Täby, Sweden, was a thought-provoking experience for me in many ways. I'm glad I got the chance to go.
¹ "I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that." (Said by Smith after the RMS Adriatic's maiden voyage in 1907)
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clevermird · 8 months
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Hi, can you tell me more about Valthiel? I think they look very cool 👉👈
Thank you! I rather like him myself. Brace yourself, he's got a lot of lore, lol
He claims to be the distant descendant of one of the Dark Muses of Commorragh. While this is a genetically provable fact, whether it actually grants him any of the things he claims it does is another matter
Both of his parents were drukhari who were killed in a battle with a combined human/craftworld force when he was small (40k is never really specific about how long it takes eldar to mature, but I imagine him about the equivalent of human 3 or 4). The human rogue trader who was responsible "adopted" him and kept him around as sort of pet/trophy/"look at the exotic things I find on my travels". Initially he worked as her cabin boy and then, when he got older, on other jobs in the ship.
She died when he was in the equivalent of his early teens and he struck out to find the rest of his people where he was discovered by Jhovar, a former naval captain from Biel-tan who was now working independently as a corsair prince with the combined fleet known as the Four Winds. He took him in, taught him about the eldar, and tried to both help him overcome some of his trauma and learn some basic morality.
Things were going relatively well until the Winds assisted the small craftworld of Kel'tereth in retrieving artifacts from a crone world. Valthiel and the farseer in charge of the operation, Illyria, started hooking up to kill time and for stress relief initially, but grew closer and by the time the operation concluded, were madly in love. He continued to visit Kel'tereth regularly and eventually convinced her to join him on his ship full-time (something the rest of the leadership of the craftworld were none too happy about)
Sadly, however, there was quickly trouble in paradise. Jhovar took an indefinite vacation from the corsair life to deal with some trouble back home and, feeling at least subconsciously abandoned by the man he had come to consider a father, Val started looking further into his past. This led him to the Kabal of the Ashen Rose.
The Ashen Rose was less a traditional raiding kabal and more of a cult dedicated to the veneration of the Dark Muse Lhilitu, the drukhari patron of seduction and poison and consort of Shaimesh. She was also considered the patron of the Lhamean orders of courtesan/assassins and the Ashen Rose hosted one of Commorragh's training schools for the sisterhood.
Traditionally, only one of Lhilitu's descendants was allowed to claim the seat of Archon, and thus it had remained vacant for more than a century when Valthiel arrived. After his bloodline was prove and several tests and feats passed, he was accepted as the new leader for the kabal (at least until a distant relative arrived to challenge him or he made too many mistakes and someone had him killed off).
He had initially planned to split his time between the corsair fleet and the kabal but this (admittedly rather unrealistic) plan derailed when he told Illyria what he'd learned.
See, Illyria's father had been a naval commander for their craftworld when she was young but lost his wife/her mother in a conflict that he blamed on the farseer counsel (and not without reason - they hadn't intended her to die, but they had manipulated him into joining a battle that he had thought was a bad idea and she died in said battle). As a result, he became disillusioned with the craftworld way of life and began a rapid walk down the Path of the Damned. By this point, he's the archon of a powerful kabal and a strong ally of Vect's.
Illyria refused to go with him and he has since been obsessed with bringing her back into the fold. The desire to prevent this and the fear of what her father might do was ironically what led Illyria down the path to becoming a farseer herself. Anyway, she was understandably horrified and violently outraged when Val broke the news to her. She stormed off to return to her craftworld.
Here's where the timelines diverge.
In the original RP that he was a part of, Illyria returned to Kel'tereth and was killed in a battle against Chaos several decades later. Valthiel returned to Commorragh to solidify his rule but, after some time, reestablished contact with Jhovar, who had come back to the pirate's life, and began spending a great deal more time with the Four Winds again.
Many years later, he helped a ship from Yme-Loc fend off ork freebooters and as a result was an honored guest on that craftworld. There, he met a young warlock named Jian who had a striking resemblance to Illyria and a vision that he could help her find her mother (who had been captured by the drukhari decades ago) and joined his crew. What began as a casual hookup turned into love and their relationship even managed to survive the revelation of his other loyalties (helped along by the fact that this revelation came at the same time as he used his archon connections to help track down and free her mom). They married and he has recently woken up from a chaos-weapon-induced coma in time to join Jian in battle against the Sky Serpents - Duke Sliscus views Valthiel as aping his style and thus would have liked nothing better than to swoop in while he was incapacitated and add his wife to his harem.
In the fanfic version that I now consider the semi-official timeline (even though it started as a "what if" AU discussion for the RP), Illyria was instead captured by her father as she attempted to return to Kel'tereth. This sent Val into a deep depression - he felt responsible because she was only going there because he drove her away, plus he had no chance of standing up to Ordai's kabal to rescue her. He all but abandoned the corsair stuff to his subordinates and remained in Commorragh, immersing himself in the running of the Ashen Rose but rarely leaving his own dwelling/office/laboratory complex.
One day, however, a meeting with another archon forced him out into the wider city and he impulse-bought himself a freshly captured slave, a Howling Banshee from Yme-loc who happened to look enough like Illyria that they could have been sisters. After some initial missteps that he later greatly regretted, he came to care for her deeply and found new purpose (as well as a great deal of pain) in trying to make up for the traumas inflicted on her by him and other people.
Their budding romance was interrupted by the revelation that Ordai planned to forcibly marry Illyria off to one of his lieutenants. Although he had committed to his new love, he still felt guilt for letting Illyria be captured and wanted to give her the chance to return home. He also realized that if he truly loved Jian like he said he did, that he needed to give her the chance to be free and not keep her in Commorragh with him.
Unfortunately, Aurelia Malys put a monkey wrench in both plans. She had realized that Val was much easier to manipulate when Jian was around and coerced her into returning to Commorragh. By the time Val had gathered his courage to let her go again, Jian had decided she would rather stay. Likewise, Malys agreed to assist them in rescuing Illyria but, while she did follow through, she siezed the first opportunity to renegotiate the deal and force the Ashen Rose to be subordinate to her - although Valthiel was still the leader publicly, he privately answered to her. She also seemed to take an odd amount of interest in Jian, for reasons that are not entirely clear yet.
The fic ends with him, Jian, and Illyria taking to the stars as corsairs again (under Malys' orders), happy at least to leave Commorragh behind even if they're apprehensive about what lies ahead.
I have some stuff written for a sequel, but I need to do more planning before I start proper.
Sorry, that was super long, lol. And I know there's a ton of plot holes, some of them are probably actual plot holes, others I just had to cut the explanations because this was too long already, if there's something you're curious about, feel free to ask.
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