#this really gives potc au feels

[rynnnthings]

#jack davenport #the incredible journey of mary bryant #mary bryant #ralph clarke #lieutenant ralph clarke #myedit #lookit his face #THE SMILES #this really gives potc au feels

[godbirdart]

do you have anything you can share of your rps on proboards? i too miss those days.

ohh man i miss those days so much. my small group of friends in junior high were really into writing about our sparkledog ocs on proboards. we had our own private one dedicated exclusively to our ocs. all our ocs had human, quad and anthro forms and there were so many romantic scandals and plots going on it was MCU levels of convoluted sometimes.

sidenote my best friend at the time and i had a monopoly on the oc roster [it just happened that way] and made up a bunch of wolf gods that drew inspo from greek/roman mythology. each one was a deity of Something and had unique powers. EVERYONE was paired with a mate that somehow managed to corresponded with their own respective power. they had so much going on we often had multiple threads specifically for certain paired characters. if i remember right we created threads for refs, threads for lore, specific universe categories and so on. there was a point i'd even made a seperate website using my neopets-petpage level of html understanding [not too unlike refsheet.net or charahub], listing the bios and relationships of our characters.

my fondest memory was spending the better part of a school year rewriting our ocs into Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. no, we never rewrote the first or second film. ONLY the third. during this rp we were juggling multiple characters at once, and we did our best to give each character SOMETHING to do. I don't remember which scene we were rewriting but my friend had this old wolf dude named Bon who had NOTHING to do in the moment, so she ended up writing "Bon Breathed" full stop and that shit has stuck with me as the most hilarious thing for well over a decade. We rewrote one or two other things, like Underworld, but the PotC 3 au one was the longest running one.

we all rped together for a few years. by the end of high school i was super interested in making a webcomic for a bit because i'd just discovered resident evil and saw the blackblood wolves starting their comic on deviantart, buuut everyone else was being pressured into picking career paths and/or had lost their creative spark. gotta grow up, i guess.

I've long since lost contact with every person from that group. the majority dropped off the face of the planet immediately after graduation. it sucks, but I still have a bunch of their OC art carefully stored in page protectors in a binder on the shelf beside my desk. i still have notes on each character, and i still have some art from our early deviantart days saved on an external hard drive. i'll likely never see those people again, but the memories leave a warm fond feeling in my chest. i frequently catch myself wondering if i should start that comic i always wanted to make with them.

#i was part of two boards #there was another with vampires n shit but they were kinda boring lmao #sparkledogs for life #i wish i had screenshots or anything of the board itself #but it's looonnnggg long gone

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Potion Commotion by kazoosandfannypacks

Pairing: Cygnet Scholar Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 3.7K words Summary: After briefly getting captured, Hope begins acting strangely, and Gideon tries to help her get back to normal, painfully unaware that the "bizarre questions" she's asking him are pickup lines. Characters: Gideon Gold, Hope Swan-Jones, Henry Mills, Robin Mills, Neal "CJ" [Charming Jr] Nolan, and Charlotte Nolan (OC) Author’s notes: This is an experiment with an AU I plan on writing, in which Henry leads a group of the next generation of heroes on a quest through the enchanted forest. In this timeline, the Charmings have another daughter, Charlotte, who was born less than a year after the S6 finale, and Hope was born about a month later. Taglist: @accidental-spice, @saveme-storybrooke-potc [let me know if you'd like to be added to this taglist!]

also on ao3!

 It'd been hours since Hope went missing. Henry, Robin, C.J. and Charlotte had all left to look for her an hour and a half ago, leaving Gideon waiting in case she came back to the campsite.

 "She never should've wandered off," Gideon muttered to himself as he paced around camp, "she knows it's dangerous. She knows they're watching us. And still, she did it anyway. Who knows what could happen to her?"

 Gideon sighed as he sat down on a log near the firepit, wishing Hope was back at the camp already, giving him a hard time for being so frantic, picking on the unnecessary worry lines he could already tell were forming on his forehead.

 He sprang to his feet, hearing someone coming, and turned to see Hope emerge from the forest, stumbling as though out of a daze.

 "Hope!" he said, running to her while trying to act as cool as possible, "where were you?"

 "Captured," she said, rubbing her forehead, "a couple goons brought me in for questioning. Whatever they gave me to make me talk is giving me the worst headache…."

 She looked up at Gideon, and, for whatever reason, smiled at him.

 "Something must be wrong," Gideon thought. Hope had never smiled at him like that before.

 "Are you alright?" Gideon asked.

 "Besides the headache, pretty good. I've been better though," Hope said, though the unusual smile spread further across her face, "say, Gid, have I ever told you you have, like, really pretty eyes?"

 Gideon scrunched his brow, confused.

 "They were genetically unavoidable," he said, "brown eyes are a dominant trait. Are you sure you're…."

 "You're so smart," she interrupted, "ya know, if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'u' and 'I' next to each other."

 "What's the alphabet got to do with any of this?" Gideon thought, though he figured he'd humor her.

 "Uh, I'd do something similar," Gideon said, "it'd be cool to rearrange the alphabet so it's in the order it appears on a keyboard, make it easier to learn to type. Though, I suppose in time, the order on a keyboard will be obsolete, as it'll all be touchscreens one of these days."

 "Wow. Are you from Tennessee?" Hope asked, "because you're…."

 "Hope," Gideon's concern for her wellbeing wouldn't let her finish, "you grew up just down the street from me, in Maine. Are you sure you're alright? They didn't give you a memory loss potion, did they- of course, if they did, you wouldn't know- but you said they gave you something. But what good would it do them to wipe your memory before questioning you? What do you remember from the questioning?"

 "I remember, uh," Hope said, "I think I remember someone saying 'you won't remember most of this,' and then I was back here."

 "Why don't you take a seat?" Gideon asked, leading her back to the log to sit down, "you've had quite the day."

 "Doesn't feel like it," Hope said.

 She sat down on the log. Once Gideon sat down, she slid over a little, closer to him.

 "That's a nice shirt, Gid," she said.

 Gideon tried to help jog her memory, "We got it from the merchant that came by last week, remember? It was fifty percent off."

 "I'd like it to be a hundred percent off," Hope smiled, an eyebrow raised.

 "That would be a ridiculous business model," Gideon said, "stores can't just give stuff away for free."

 "It's like you fell from heaven," Hope shook her head and smiled.

 "That's a low blow," Gideon retorted, trying not to get too angry, knowing that whatever was causing Hope's unusual mood was most likely not her fault, "what, you think I'm some kind of fallen angel or something? Is it because my dad's the Dark One? Sorry we can't all have the Savior for our mom."

 "You don't get it," Hope shook her head, "it's supposed to be a compliment. That you're from heaven."

 "Oh," Gideon thought, finally piecing it together, "it's because I died that one time and came back again. Rest assured, I…."

 Hope put a finger on his lips to shut him up.

 "Gideon Gold, you are the smartest idiot I've ever met," Hope said, then took her finger off his lips and booped his nose with it.

 "What does that mean?"

 "You're so lost in your books that you don't see what's right in front of you- and yet, here I am, right in front of you."

 "I'm not quite sure what you mean," Gideon said, pulling one of the tomes his mom had given him out of his backpack, "but we should try and figure out what kind of potion they drugged you with- maybe I can whip up an antidote or something."

 "You and your one-track mind," Hope said, head shaking, eyes rolling, "whoever said 'guys only want one thing' has never met Gideon Gold."

 "Thanks?" Gideon said, unsure if Hope meant it as a compliment or insult, "can you recall anything about whatever it was they gave you? Color, viscosity, physical side effects, flavor, smell…"

 "Flavor?" Hope asked.

 "Oh yeah," Gideon said, flipping through potential potions, "for example, adder's tongue is a bit tangy, eye of newt has an unmistakable aftertaste. If we can narrow down a few of the ingredients…."

 "I'm not sure if I've ever had eye of newt." Hope said.

 "Believe me, you'd remember if you'd had it," Gideon said, "I went through a whole bottle of mouthwash in a day the first time I tried it."

 "Then I guess I wouldn't be able to recognize its aftertaste," Hope said, then leaned a little closer, "but maybe you'd recognize it."

 "Presumably, yes," Gideon said, "if I were the one given the potion, I might be able to pick out a few of the ingredients."

 "You could try a taste and find out," Hope said, her finger tapping her lips.

 "I'm all for experiential sciences," Gideon said, "but even if you had a sample of the potion, I doubt it'd be wise for me to drink some."

 Hope sighed. "You're lucky you're pretty, Gideon."

 "Thanks," he said. Though he knew her compliment was most likely borne of whatever magic had been used on her, he still didn't mind her saying something nice to him for once, "you, uh, you look nice too."

 "I've always thought so," Hope said.

 "Me too," Gideon thought.

 He continued flipping through the book of potions. He ruled out, for the moment, transmogrification potions, as she very clearly hadn't been turned into a toad or a troll- and though he didn't rule out werewolf as a possibility yet, that wouldn't be an immediate problem anyways. The first concern in situations like this was always the highest risk potions- poisons, neurotoxins, mind control, sleeping curse- then he could move onto the more likely in the scenario, like mood enhancers and late-blooming mutations.

 So engrossed was he in his studying that he almost didn't notice as Hope slid even closer to him, her arm pressed against his, her head practically on his shoulder. He slid the book over a little closer to her, absentmindedly assuming that she'd slid over to read the book as well.

 He also almost didn't notice the search party returning until they were already in the camp.

 "Hope!" Henry called out, running over to give her a hug. Hope got up to return Henry's hug, but Gideon continued his research.

 "Are you alright?" Henry asked.

 "I'm fine," Hope said, "bit of a headache, but I'll manage."

 "I am so glad nothing happened to you," Henry said.

 "I wouldn't say nothing happened," Hope said, pulling out of her brother's embrace and holding him at arm's length, "I got captured by some thugs, but I don't remember most of it."

 "Captured?" Henry asked, "what happened?"

"I already told you, I don't remember most of it," Hope said, "I think they gave me some kind of potion. Gideon's working on figuring that out- he's really smart, and clever, and polite, and sweet, and funny, and…."

 Gideon looked up to see four confused pairs of eyes glancing back and forth between himself and Hope.

 "Whatever they drugged her with has affected her mood," he explained, "I'm not sure how. She's been acting weird ever since she got back to the camp."

 "What kind of weird?" Robin asked, taking a seat next to Gideon and looking at his potion book.

 "I can't explain it," Gideon said, "she keeps asking me all these weird questions, she's smiling more than usual, she's a little nicer than usual too."

 "I don't want to be mean to you, Gideon," Hope said, taking a seat on his other side, "You're so smart, and yet so adorably stupid sometimes, and clever, and cute- really cute."

 "See?" Gideon told the others, "something's not right."

 C.J. and Henry smiled at each other, and so did Robin and Charlotte.

 "What kind of questions was Hope asking you earlier?" Henry asked.

 "Weird ones," Gideon said.

 "They weren't weird," Hope said.

 "You asked me if I'm from Tennessee," Gideon said, "and then you asked if I was from heaven, and told me my shirt should be free, and…."

 "Those weren't questions, idiot," Hope said.

 Robin put her hand on Gideon's shoulder.

 "I think I know what kind of potion they gave her," Robin said, "it sounds like it was a love potion."

 "A love potion?" Gideon scoffed, flipping through the book to that potion, "don't be ridiculous, Robin. There's nothing they'd stand to gain from that, and in order for you to hypothesize that, she'd need to be showing symptoms, like," he read from the book in front of him, "'fawning over an individual, express interest in that individual and their interests, a desire to be close to said individual, longing for affection from said individual, even bordering on obsession.' So as you can see, there's no real grounds for that hypothesis."

 Gideon looked up from the book to see everyone staring at him like he was an idiot.

 "What?" he asked.

 Henry uncrossed his arms, only so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.

 "Those weird questions Hope was asking you," Henry shook  his head, "I think those were pickup lines."

 "Really?" Gideon turned to Hope.

 "Duh," Hope smiled.

 "But that would mean…" Gideon began. If Hope was using pickup lines on him, that meant she was trying to flirt with him, which would mean that… Gideon reread the list of side effects of the love potion.

 "Guys," Gideon said, "I think Hope's been given a love potion."

 "Really?" Robin asked, "gee, what was the first clue?" 

 Gideon looked back down at the book, "her 'express interest' in me, her 'desire to be close' to me, even 'bordering on obsession.'"

 Robin rolled her eyes.

 "I don't think it was a love potion," Hope said, "I don't feel any differently about Gideon than I normally do."

 "Really?" Gideon asked.

 "Oh yeah," Hope said, "I've felt this way about you for a long time. You're cute, and smart, and such a good friend."

 "Really?" Gideon smiled a little and scratched the back of his neck. He'd felt similarly for quite a while as well.

 "That's probably a side effect of the potion," Charlotte interjected.

 "Oh, yeah, there's a lot of side effects" Robin said, taking the book from Gideon. As she looked through it, she got up, taking the book with her.

 "I think her memory's a little fogged too, anyways," Gideon said, "she can't remember anything from the time she was captured to when she got back here."

 "No, I remember something," Hope said, "I remember someone saying 'you won't remember most of this.' Turns out, they were right."

 "That does mean we can work on an antidote though," Gideon said, "now that we know the potion, I can whip up an antidote pretty quickly. I think I have most of the supplies already," he picked up his backpack and began searching through it, "and I might be able to whip up a brain-unfogger too."

 "You're so intelligent, Gid," Hope said, placing a hand on his arm, "I like watching you ramble about magicky, sciencey stuff."

 "Thanks," Gideon smiled, trying to remind himself that the only reason Hope was complimenting him was because she was under some kind of love spell.

 "She'd never act like this if she were really herself right now," Gideon thought, "I definitely would've remembered if she did." 

 "And now that we know what we're looking for, we might be able to find a clue as to where those goons went," Charlotte said, "we should see if we can find them, while the tracks are fresh." 

 "Sounds like a good idea," Hope stood up, "I can lead you as far as I can remember."

 "You need to stay here," Robin said, "that way when Gideon gets that antidote finished, we can get you back to normal."

 "Oh, good," Hope said, taking a seat next to Gideon, "I wanted to stay here anyways."

 "Excellent," Gideon said, "I could use your help with the potion anyways."

 "We do work pretty well together," Hope nudged him.

 "I think I'll hang back too, just in case" Henry said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Gideon. "I'd hate for anything else to happen to my little sister."

 Hope rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Henry."

 "But you'll always be my little sister," Henry said, "and if anything happened to you, especially given your current state, dad would probably kill me- and then whoever it was who took advantage of you."

 Gideon looked up at Henry, sensing this was meant as a threat against him. If anyone else had a lovely young lady like Hope falling all over him like this, they'd definitely take advantage of the scenario- but if something were to happen between himself and Hope, he'd want it to be her choice, not because of some kind of potion. Besides, as Henry had reminded him, Gideon had a healthy level of respect for her father, and would rather die on the spot than find out what happened when you crossed Captain Jones.

 "No need to worry," Gideon said, trying to ignore how close Hope was sitting next to him.

 "Believe me," Hope rolled her eyes, "Einstein over here wouldn't know I was flirting with him if I sat in his lap and begged him to kiss me."

 Gideon blushed, almost wishing she would, wondering what it would be like- though after this fiasco was over, he wouldn't be surprised if things were so awkward between them that any chance they had was ruined.

 Henry raised a disapproving eyebrow at his sister.

 "It's not like I would do that," Hope said, "not that I wouldn't want to- but love potion or not, I have at least a little dignity."

 "Besides, we could use your help out there, Henry," C.J. said, "it never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes."

 "Fine," Henry said, "just stay out of trouble, alright?"

 "I'll do my best to," Hope said, "but I can't promise I won't try anything funny."

 "Hope…."

 "I'll be good!" Hope said, "mostly?"

 "I won't try anything," Gideon said, as Robin handed him back the book, "I've got this antidote to work on anyways. We'll come help as soon as I get it figured out."

 "Alright," Henry said. He and the others left, leaving Hope and Gideon at the campsite.

 "So, what can I do to help?" Hope asked.

 "Here, hold this," Gideon said, pulling an empty vial out of his backpack.

 Hope took the vial from him, her hands on his as she did so.

 Gideon smiled a little as he let go and pulled a few ingredients out of his bag.

 "You have a really nice smile," Hope said.

 His really nice smile came out again. "Thanks," he said.

 "You're welcome," she said, "I think you're really handsome."

 "It's just the love potion talking," Gideon shook his head. He began pouring the antidote ingredients in the vial.

 "I don't think so."

 "What do you mean?"

 "I know you guys all think it's a love potion, but I don't," Hope said, "I don't feel any different around you than I normally do."

 "You're certainly acting differently," Gideon said.

 "I know," Hope said, "it's like I can't stop myself. I've said a few things already that I didn't expect myself to say. I don't want to tell you I think you're gorgeous and that the sound of your voice when you're talking about your favorite school subjects is my favorite sound in the world, and that one time your mom told me she liked me better than you and that in third grade I was the one who stole your Star Wars pencil, not Charlotte- but I can't stop saying stuff."

 Gideon looked up at Hope, who looked just as surprised as he felt.

 "What was that?" Gideon asked.

 "I stole your Star Wars pencil in third grade," Hope said, "and I didn't want to tell you that. I've never told anyone that, except Charlotte, of course- and I don't want to tell you any of this, but I can't stop."

 "What other secrets have you been keeping?" Gideon asked, formulating a new hypothesis and flipping back through his book.

 "I didn't actually roll a nat twenty when we were battling the orc king," Hope said, "the stakes were high, so I used one of the loaded D&D dice my dad got me for my birthday. He also actually looks up to you a lot. Oh, and Henry still sleeps with a nightlight, and Charlotte actually really loves apples, she's just been saying she doesn't because she wants to be like her mom. I'm also pretty sure C.J.'s afraid of sheep. I don't know why I told you all of that; I really didn't want to."

 "I know why you did," Gideon said, taking the vial from her and handing her a pinch of something else, "try some of this."

 Hope licked the powder off her hand, and immediately spat it out.

 "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!" Hope said, "besides those burned gingerbread men you made last Christmas."

 "Ever tasted anything like that before?" Gideon asked.

 "No, and I never want to again," Hope said.

 "Wait," Gideon looked back down at the ingredient, "my gingerbread cookies tasted worse than eye of newt?"

 "Eye of Newt?" Hope asked, "that stuff you used a bottle of mouthwash to wash out?"

"Ground eye of newt, yes," Gideon said, "it's one of the primary ingredients in most basic love potions."

"But I've never tasted it before in my life," Hope said, "no amount of 'brain fogging' could make me forget that- and yes, your gingerbread cookies were awful- ginger's a flavor, not the main course- I just didn't want to make you feel bad because you were so proud of them."

 Gideon flipped a few pages over in the potions book.

 "I have a new hypothesis," he said, thankful that the base antidote for this potion was only a few ingredients off from the love potion antidote- and that he hadn't put those different ingredients in yet. He handed the vial back to Hope, adding a couple other ingredients as well.

 "Try this," Gideon said, as he swirled the mixture together.

 "And this'll fix me?" Hope asked.

 "If my hunch is correct, yes," Gideon nodded.

 "Alright," Hope said, "there better not be any eye of newt in here."

 Gideon watched expectantly as she drank the contents, down to the very last drop.

 "Well?" Gideon asked, "how do you feel?"

 "Better," Hope said.

 "Any other secrets you wanna share?" Gideon asked.

 "No," Hope said, "and if you tell Henry I told you about the nightlight or the loaded die, I'll flatten you."

 "Your secret's safe with me," Gideon smiled at her threat. That was the Hope he remembered.

 "I just threatened you," Hope said, "and you aren't all that smart, or cute. You did it, Gold! You cured me!"

 Excited, she threw her arms around him in a quick hug.

 "I, uh," he said, flipping back through his book, "I can whip up a memory antidote too."

 "You'd better," Hope said, gently shoving him.

 Gideon smiled as he got started on the memory potion, secretly hoping that remembering the details of her capture wouldn't make her realize what serum she'd actually taken earlier.

 Gideon was right when he'd insisted there was no way Hope was under a love potion's spell- which meant that every word she'd just said was true. She did steal his pencil in the third grade, and she did hate his gingerbread cookies, and she did think of him as smart and pretty, and she didn't not want to ask him to kiss her, and she did feel that way for a long time.  She did like him, and that was the truth- otherwise, the truth serum antidote he'd just made for her wouldn't've brought her back to normal.

 "Try this," Gideon said, handing her the memory potion.

 "Is there…?"

 "There's no eye of newt in this one either," Gideon said.

 "Just checking," Hope said. She quickly drank the contents of the vial.

 "What do you remember now?" Gideon asked.

 "It wasn't a love…" she whispered under her breath.

 "Hmm?" Gideon asked.

 "I told them so much," Hope quickly covered her tracks, "where our camp is, our attack plans- I told them everything."

 "It's alright," Gideon said, giving her a pat on the arm to reassure her.

 "I couldn't stop myself," Hope shook her head, "I… I wasn't strong enough."

 "It's alright," Gideon said, "probably just a side effect of the love potion."

 "What?" Hope asked.

 He didn't let his eyes shift from hers, hoping he could feign sincerity.

 "The love potion," he said, "the one they gave you. Probably made you loose-lipped, more liable to talk. Don't sweat it."

 "Right," Hope nodded, "the love potion. That's all it was."

 If Hope ever wanted to tell him the truth, she could on her own time- she'd done more than enough of that already today.

 And for now, her secret was safe with him.

#once upon a time #ouat #cygnet scholar #gideon gold #hope swan jones #henry mills #robin mills #neal nolan #charlotte nolan #once upon a time season 7 #ouat s7 rewrite fodder #kazzy writes #kazzy writes fanfic #otp: maybe you need some normal friends

[kay-elle-cee]

Happy birthday Kelsey and congrats on the milestone!

I believe the first work of yours I read was Magic Like This when it was published last year, and I absolutely adore it. James is so soft and sweet and I love how you wrote Lily embracing her growing feelings for him.

Then, a few months later, I rediscovered you with A Thrill Divine, Down My Spine (so incredibly fun 🤌) and was pleased to be reminded of Magic Like This (because I'm notoriously bad at keeping track of first I love). And then I went down the rabbit hole of all your other fantastic works and here we are. I am a huge fan. 😁

I love restless waves rise and fall. It might be one of my all-time favorite Jily AUs out there. The backstories and universe you've created have been so fun to explore, and the micros you occasionally write bring me so much joy.

I especially love how you wove thematic imagery throughout. A scene that comes to mind in particular is when James and Lily finally talk at the end of chapter 5 about their feelings...Lily "anchoring herself to her spot," her "bursting through the surface" as she admits her feelings, "a swell of emotions eddying within her." The imagery truly elevates the emotional climax of the story, and you should be proud of what you accomplished.

Now...a couple fan questions if you'd want to share your thoughts on one or both of them.

1. Do you have a way in which you envision James and Lily admitting they are in love with each other? They're clearly very close to that point by the end of the main story.

2. Do you have any insights you'd want to share about what was going through James' mind during my waves meet your shore (forever and evermore) - specifically re: "our ship" and also when Lily confesses what she said to Petunia?

Thank you for all you bring to the Jily community - we are lucky to have you! ❤️ (Also, sorry this became way longer than I anticipated lol)

Okay hello first of all you should know I've reread this like updwards of 20 times because oh my god this is so sweet? This makes me so giddy? Truly truly truly makes me warm and fuzzy, thank you SO much for all your lovely words!

Magic Like This was really the first fluff piece I wrote and I did not expect the reception it got, but I'm so glad people enjoyed it! A Thrill Divine was something that took over my mind that I HAD to get out, and is probably up there on the list of my favorite things...it was my first magical AU and just so much fun. I'm glad you enjoyed them both!

Okay okay okay you have to know how NOT chill I am about your words for restless waves rise and fall. Like. That is my baby. My first born child. My first multichap, my first AU, it's SO close to my heart and to know people love the little self-indulgent cross section of HP and pirates (because yes I also used to write POTC fic) just ���💕💕💕💕 I promise I have SEVERAL more micros planned out because I have so many Thoughts about them all the time.

I had SO MUCH FUN with the thematic imagery in that fic, playing with the water metaphors, etc (which I know I'd done elsewhere, but felt more fitting here), and I'm glad it enhanced the fic for you and didn't feel too on the nose 😅 Now for your questions...

1. Yes. Yes I DO. I've had that scene envisioned since ending restless waves and I've been MEANING TO WRITE IT. It was always my intent to write it but then my waves meet your shore got way out of hand (after the Lily & Euphemia scene, the characters absolutely took control of the narrative) and I've been writing in that timeline knowing how much I need to go back and write the I Love You scene. I don't want to give too much away but I will say there is a phosphorescent bay involved.

2. AHHHH Yes I am HAPPY to talk about this (but will put under a cut for spoilers and also length because I feel like I will be RAMBLING)...

Follower Milestone Celebration

OKAY so "Our Ship". James is so attuned to Lily in this conversation with his parents and the Dursleys. She's not really engaged in the conversation, she's putting on a brave face but he knows her footing is off—here on land and in the presence of her sister. So, this is absolutely James' way of bolstering her both in the conversation and in their presence, as if reminding her "You have something. You are someone. And they can't take that from you." I think he also realizes that there is no way to hide what they do from the Dursleys, so before it's revealed Lily is his First Mate, he positions her more as an equal than anything else.

And then this poor man his brain is SHORT CIRCUITING during that moment when Lily tells him that she told Petunia they were married. He's got the family ring in his pocket, he's got the proposal all planned out for their next stop, he's got her to meet his parents, and she's just jumping ahead. I think it's definitely really heartening for him to hear that she jumped to that (and him) as a way to support herself/protect herself from her sister, but also while they unDOUBTEDLY love each other, maybe there's this one underlying fear that this woman who's been at sea all these years living an untraditional life doesn't want a traditional marriage and maybe a partnership like they have is good enough for her. (And I think this kind of comes up at the end where she points out a lot of priests probably wouldn't marry them. Maybe it's something she's just resigned herself to). BUT the fact that she reaches for marriage with him as a lifeline just makes his heart swell.

And he is so. happy. It's that kind of moment where everything aligns and it's like oh we're on the same page and also just like....their whole life flashes before his eyes in that instant and he just gets consumed by the need to propose NOW. He's the one that pushes on past the "oh yeah we're married, sorry we didn't tell you," and proceeds to tell her exactly the moment he wanted to propose in a code that only the two of them know. He literally can't stand the fact that she doesn't know the depths of his devotion for her in this minute and wants to give her that reassurance and security that everything she said is what he wants. <33333 OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

AH. okay I'll chill. But thank you SO MUCH for asking about my bbs. <333 You are an absolute GEM.

#asked and answered #boldfromwildmoor #restless waves rise and fall

[stardustandtwilight]

I was tagged by @nejires-hado - thank you!! :D

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

I don't think I can pick an absolute favorite, but one of them is my HP OC Elena fully hanging out with doggo!Sirius for months during the PoA events before she connects the dots and she's like 'holy shit that's not just a random stray dog'

Ooh, and also with PoA events, Emily and Lucius Malfoy having a little showdown after Emily's been questioned by the Ministry about Sirius's whereabouts and she calls Malfoy out on his bullshit.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

Hmm...not that I can think of

What is your favorite part of being a writer? Which parts could you take or leave?

I think my favorite part about writing fanfiction in particular is being able to play around with my favorite characters and not have to rely on the original authors to give me more. As far as what I would leave, I wish I could get rid of the part of my brain that gets anxious about getting validation (reviews/kudos/etc). I'd also like to leave behind the imposter syndrome.

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

I'm not sure I can pinpoint one single motivation - as long as I can remember, I've just been telling stories to myself in my head and then one day I discovered that I could write them down.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

For the love of god, DO NOT use those stupid Mary-Sue litmus tests! Mary-Sues are fine, actually. Just don't worry about it!!

What is your favorite story you’ve written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you’d like and can!

Unfortunately, I've never finished a fic. 😩 But I really want to!!

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

(from a modern AU PotC fic) "...are we seriously having a deep, philosophical conversation in the condom aisle?"

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Mark Thompson (an OC from my main Twilight fic), simply because he's an abusive asshole and thinks he hasn't done anything wrong. I think if he had swallowed his pride and gotten therapy, it wouldn't have turned out so bad, but noooo. He had do it the hard way and screw up his life, and his wife and daughter's lives. He is, however, rather fun to write.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

15 year old me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEVER FINISHED EMILY, SIRIUS, AND ELENA'S STORY??

32 year old me: ...😅 look, on the bright side, you haven't given up on the idea and you're still doing what you love as an adult? Also, stop looking at those Mary-Sue litmus tests because they're bullshit

I tag: @jessicanjpa and @edwardskhakipants and whoever else feels like doing this :D

#tag games

[carewyncromwell]

“She said, ‘My love, don’t frighten me --  ‘Are you my love, or no?’ ‘Oh yes, my dearest Nancy, I am your love, also.’”

~“A Maid in Bedlam” (recorded by me; ASMR background here)

x~x~x~x

Oh my friggin’ gosh. So yeah! This is for my finished POTC AU, with Orion vaguely in the role of (Captain!) Jack Sparrow and Carewyn vaguely in the role of Commodore Norrington. The first of these drawings in particular is modeled off of this sketch from the second part of the AU, done back in October 2020 --

-- and yeah, wow! Pretty big difference a year and a half can make, huh? Even I’m kind of shocked. The second sketch is for this particular exchange in the first part of the AU --

His dark eyes drifted down to the medallion as it bobbed back and forth in mid-air.

“You showed [this medallion] to me, to reassure me that you meant me no harm. Said your brother stole it from your grandfather’s cabin, before he stowed away with you in a jollyboat and you both escaped. Said your grandfather was a pirate too, but a much meaner one…Captain Charles Cromwell, of the ship Revenge.”

He could still see the gentleness that had been in those blue eyes – feel the soft hand reaching out to touch his cheek, to try to comfort him when he was shaking from head to toe…

“…Soon after, the Navy caught up with me, and you hid me in a hole under a loose set of floorboards under your bed. You were able to charm the soldiers enough to persuade them you hadn’t seen me. Even your own brother believed you, until you came to get me, long after the soldiers were gone – and immediately after you pulled the carpet up and helped me out, you – ”

“Insisted you stay for dinner.”

Orion looked up, startled.

Weasley’s face was very white as he stared at Orion, his almond-shaped blue eyes very wide and alight with emotion.

“You were really thin and you weren’t very clean,” he murmured, “so I refused to let you leave until I took care of you properly. You were too scared to sleep at first, so I sat up and held your hand and sang songs to you until you fell asleep. And when I asked your name, all you would tell Jacob or me was – ”

“‘Smithy,’” finished Orion, his voice oddly hushed.

His face didn’t break into a full smile, but his dark eyes had welled up with an intense, rippling, admiring kind of softness – the kind more appropriate to see on the face of a man in love.

The two sketches side by side do make it that bit more apparent how much these two grew and changed over their over ten years apart. I also went ahead and sang my own cover of A Maid in Bedlam, to try to simulate what Carewyn sounded like to Orion, the night he ended up on her doorstep after escaping the Navy and she sang to him in an attempt to calm him. Although I’m not really a Soprano anymore, Carewyn’s voice was a bit higher when she was younger than the Alto tone she develops as an adult...and well, this pitch was the same key I learned this song in, back when I was in high school and I sang the Mezzo-Soprano line in this as part of a choir. Even these lines are from the version I learned back then, since that little “epilogue” of the maid and her love marrying and living happily doesn’t appear in the older transcripts of the song I’ve found. (I included it in both my cover and the AU itself for “thematic appropriateness.” 😏) 

Hope your night is going well! As always, please consider liking/reblogging/commenting on this post if you liked it, and maybe even consider giving the POTC AU a read if you’re so inclined! Much love! 🏴‍☠️

#potc au #my art #hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #carewyn cromwell #my voice #covers #pirates of the caribbean

[johnbly]

tagged by dragon master @boltlightning on this fancy fic questionnaire that i wouldn't have been able to do several years ago because i had like. five fics or whatever

putting under a cut bc it's a long boi

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 28. hello pettersson. yes i am doing penguins numbers what about it

2. What's your total AO3 words count? 130,977

3. What fandoms do you write for? potc + fire emblem mainly though i have some triangle strategy drabbles circling in my head

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

a birthday dinner for two (tears of themis)

i would do it again (tot)

party in the mansion (fe3h)

learning to trust (fe3h)

partners in everything (tot)

not that the tot ones are poorly written (they're within the past year or two and i think i'd still like them if i felt like rereading them) but i do think they need the obligatory disclaimer that they're for a popular ship and, at the time, for a popular game

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i do indeed because i appreciate any that are left and it doesn't take any effort on my part to say so

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? hm. good question. i'm actually kind of struggling with this one a bit but i think it's one of my prison break fics? i feel like even with my angsty fics i have sort of a neutral close. i think it's a tossup between not meant to last and they all die (both pb)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? probably the earlier-mentioned a birthday dinner for two

8. Do you get hate on fics? thankfully no

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? nope and don't hold your breath expecting any [saluting emoji]

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? generally speaking no but i did start a hockey au for pb and finished one for my black eagles. also working on furthering bolt's "give that repressed naval officer a dragon" agenda with hornblower

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? / 12. Have you ever had a fic translated? / 13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? also nope to all three

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? i'm not much of a shipper! i don't think i really have an answer to this bc even though i could list ones that i can get behind i don't think i'd call any of them an All-Time Favorite

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? i'm not sure i have any because i don't really have any fanfic wips? at least, not any that i don't think i'll return to

16. What are your writing strengths? i do like writing dialogue and especially banter. it's also likely because i refuse 99% of the time to write fics for characters that i can not get into the heads of but i feel good about characterization too. half my fics are just. internal monologues

17. What are your writing weaknesses? society if i could write descriptions [sobbing emoji] like if i really make myself then i can get a nice few sentences but i'm always in awe of people who can just set a scene in their sleep

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? i haven't had a reason to do it so i haven't really thought about it. i'd definitely be scared of messing something up though if it wasn't a simple phrase i already knew

19. First fandom you wrote for? i would assume either redwall or harry potter but who knows. the first fic i have on ao3 was prison break. thank you alex for kicking off my habit of getting very into the heads of my favorite boys

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? it was written for me and like. the two other people in the universe who like him. but i put a lot into the fallen knight which is the 19k fernand character study i mentioned in the tags of a reblog

ok as usual i am not sure who wants to do this esp bc it's so long so if you want it please do bc it's a fun way to be reminded of what you've written

#but if you know you know re: hate on fics ;) #anyways thanks bolt i forgot i wrote most of these #boltlightning #chilly chats

[sw1mmingfoolz]

☠️ LINSTOCK - LEE MINHO ☠️

requested? Y/N

a/n: i never left my potc phase and this is the result. i wrote this in 2 days in a total frenzy cuz lee know brainrot is hitting me so strong these days it's unreal :') huge thanks to @etherealyoungk and @hanzzzol for reading before I posted and giving their opinions and the lovely @amazzjin for being such a good beta reader and editor that this might as well be a collab by this point 💞💞 also sorry i posted this on mobile and did the readmore on mobile; i'll be doing it on my laptop when i'm home but otherwise let me know if there are any issues! feedback is always really appreciated but especially so here because this is the first time I've written anything this long in like 5-6 years hahaha

genres: pirate!au, fluff, angst, royal!reader, captain!minho, kinda slow burn

pairing: lee know x reader

content warnings: kidnapping, general pirate violence but nothing graphic, some swearing, minho is a cocky asshole, hyunjin is insanely flirty, reader is slapped once, gambling, drinking and being drunk

wc: 15.8k (i'm so sorry)

You weren’t sure what exactly startled you into panic first. The salty air burning your lungs was a sharp contrast to your usual, well perfumed boudoir, the rough twine binding your wrists was tied far too tight and leaving indents in your skin, and opening your eyes from your slumber showed you… nothing. It was as black in front of your eyes as it was behind your eyelids, and upon scrunching your nose you found a coarse material covering them. It smelled slightly of oil. Whatever it was caused a scream to get lodged in your throat, and you started thrashing aimlessly in the seat you hadn’t realised you’d been slumped over in. Your neck ached.

“She’s moving?” You didn’t recognise the voice that spoke, a harsh imperative question that burned its way into your cochleas so hard it forced its way to repeat in your brain. You tasted iron, but you didn’t feel like you were bleeding.

“She just started,” Another unfamiliar voice - a gentler, slightly afraid sounding one. There were a few heavy footsteps before a door slammed, and you jolted in surprise at the sound. You tried to pry your wrists apart again to no avail, only hurting yourself further. Your skin prickled with goosebumps.

“She slept for longer than I expected,” The first voice sounded again, a tinge of amusement lacing the gravelly timbre. “I’ll go fetch the captain. Remove the blindfold.”

“Aye, sir,” The second voice was suddenly louder as its owner moved closer to you, crossing the room faster than you could register his presence. Okay, so wherever I am is quite small, you thought, stilling your arms. Your heart was racing as if it were trying to break through your ribcage, breathing coming out in ragged stutters.

“Where am I?” you were taken aback when your question actually came out. They hadn’t gagged you, at least.

“This might be easier if you don’t speak. Not that I mind, but the Captain… well…” uncoordinated hands pulled unceremoniously at the cloth over your eyes, struggling to untie the knot behind your head. The man spoke softly, which you didn’t expect, words melting on your ears in a stark opposition to whomever had left moments ago. After what seemed like an eternity your blindfold was pulled from your face, and you blinked as you adjusted to the light. It didn’t take long, however, as the room you sat in was dimly lit by a single candle sat atop a wooden crate in the corner opposite you. Wherever you were being held was as small as you’d expected. The man who’d gifted you your sight moved to crouch in front of you, eyes scanning your face curiously. Your breath hitched in your throat at the sight of him - soft and fairylike, with gentle eyes and an equally clement demeanour. He was pretty, and seemingly full of surprises. Streaks of dirt only seemed to enhance his looks, which you mentally described to yourself as unfair, your eyes mimicking the fast movements of his as you took one another in “Well, you’re as pretty as they say,” he chuckled shyly, brushing your hair from your face. You hadn’t noticed how it’d fallen while you’d hunched over in your sleep.

“Who are you?” You whispered timidly, not forgetting what he had said minutes ago. He hesitated for a moment, before flashing you the brightest smile you think you’d ever seen.

“I’m Felix! Or Yongbok, people call me both. I guess I prefer Felix, though,” You noticed he flicked his eyes upwards when he spoke, lips pursed as he thought of his words at the same time he said them. “I’m trying to be nice because, well,” He gestured to you. “I can imagine you’re a bit scared. And I’m sorry to tell you it’ll probably get worse. Or better! Depending on what you get up to in your free time I guess,” Before you could ask what he meant the door clattered open with as much force as it had shut, only now you were able to look over at who entered. A large man, broad shouldered and brawny, strode into the room with an aura of power you could only deem ridiculous. He demanded the attention of everyone in it, apparently even when there were so few people as you and Felix. The man who followed hot on his heels, however, was somehow even more powerful, despite his slightly smaller frame. His face was extremely cat-like, delicate yet cold, dark eyes betraying no emotion as he adjusted the puffy sleeves of his blouse and looked over you like you were nothing but prey.

“Felix!” He called out, voice authoritative and commanding. It sent a chill up your spine - and you’d spent a good chunk of your childhood around some of Joseon’s most fearsome warlords and generals.

“Aye, Captain,” Felix responded, standing upright and giving him a salute. Captain?

“I did not tell ye to converse with the princess, did I? Unless ‘watch her’ means something rather different to what I was taught?” Felix gave a sheepish apology. Captain…

“You’re pirates,” You just about managed to breathe out, pieces clicking in your head.

“I don’t remember giving you permission to speak,” the Captain said with a quick turn of his head, boots heavy and footsteps loud as he walked over to where you sat. “But, yes.” He smiled at you, a smile that was somehow both charming and unnerving, eyes still lacking any feeling.

“Captain, I will command the ship while you are down here,” The man who had brought the Captain to you finally spoke, and all three of you looked over at him in unison.

“That is, indeed, your role, Chris,” the response he got was sarcastic, and somehow you felt that was par for the course. “Take Felix with ye. He’s to be lookout, I'm quite sure we’re somewhere near Singapore at the moment.” Felix nodded and followed Chris out the door, leaving you alone with a man who caused your nerves to burn when he so much as glanced at you. Which, at this point, was about as much interaction as he was allowing you. He watched you as if he were hunting, and you wondered how you were possibly still alive with your heart racing so inescapably fast. After a few minutes of laboured breaths and hearing your pulse reverberate in your ears, he spoke, allowing you only the tiniest relief from the intense pressure. “So, you have probably come to realise that you have been kidnapped,” He began, tone way too merry for the words he spoke, eyes burning into your own. You felt oddly mesmerised, and in spite of your will to pull your gaze away, you couldn't. “It’s quite simple, really. We are pirates, and we like money, therefore we are holding you for ransom.” He clapped his hands, and you felt further confused by his demeanour. What was this man feeling, what was his story, and why was he so horrendously enthralling?

“My apologies, Captain, but you have got the wrong woman,” you responded quietly, to which he brought up his hand to strike your face. You gasped as your cheek burned, eyes beginning to water.

“I once again did not give you permission to speak!” he all but bellowed, rage washing over his face and fading away almost as quickly as it appeared. You stared at him in shock, wishing you could bring your hand up to massage at the flesh he had just smacked. As if reading your mind, he brought his own hand up, a thumb running across your cheekbone. “My apologies, Princess. I am more used to male captives and my crew, and even then I despise laying a hand upon anyone” he hummed. “I am just someone who does not stand for disobedience, and someone with airs to maintain,” You merely blinked at him, feeling rather useless as you shifted in your seat. This man was as unpredictable as he was terrifying, and you bit down on your tongue to try and keep your face as stoic as you could. You wanted to give him nothing to work with. “However I feel now I must allow you to explain as I would like to know what you meant by that,”

“It’s quite simple, really,” you copied his speech from earlier, gaze fixed on your lap. “You will not get a single penny for me,”

“You’re the daughter of Emperor Sunjo, no?”

“I am a daughter. However, I am disgraced, widely unloved by my family. They will thank you for taking me off their conscience,” Your eyes were brimming again but for different reasons, hot and stinging, but you merely moved your jaw so you were now biting on your cheek. Far be it from you to let this cocky man see you as weak.

“You are a royal. They would not leave you to die, that would do unimaginable damage to their reputation,”

“Their reputation is already damaged. My father’s government is horribly corrupt, and I have been nothing but vocal about it. I myself am surprised that I have not been slain in my sleep,” You laughed sadly, breathily, at your last sentence, knowing your already barely there facade was crumbling.

“In any case, we have already sent the message,” the Captain replied, eyes seeming softer. “My name is Minho, by the way. Not that it matters much to you, for you shall address me as Captain. Which you’re doing a grand job of thus far,” He grinned, tipping his hat towards you. It was plain leather; simple but fitting of him. “We may be the bad guys, but I can promise you that we are not bad people,”

“Captain, may I make a request?” You chided yourself inwardly for never seeming to learn, but this time his hands remained perched on his knees.

“A bold question, but luckily for you I am feeling particularly jolly today,” You swear you saw his eyes glint. “What be your request?”

“The rope is burning my wrists,” you wiggled them a little and brought your eyes to meet his. “Might I request that you remove it? I have nothing to fight with, and I give you my word that I will comply,” He watched you in silence for a moment.

“If you step out of line even slightly, you will be bound even more than you are now. We are not here to kill or hurt you, so I suggest you make this easy for yourself,” he warned you, tone stern. You nodded, mute in agreeing to his terms, and he pulled his cutlass from the scabbard on his side. You flinched as he cut through the rope in one fell swoop, metal dangerously close to your skin, a cry catching in your throat and dying in remnants on the tip of your tongue. Minho held his hands out to you, at which you stared dumbly, before he rolled his eyes and took your wrists in his grasp. He was uncharacteristically gentle as he pulled you to your feet, moving one hand down to your waist to steady you. You gasped at the touch, knowing if your mother were watching you she would deem you ‘obscene’, but said nothing as you realised why it was necessary. The ship creaked as it rocked underneath you, a motion you hadn’t yet had the chance to process, and you felt yourself stumble as you tried to walk. “Not got very good sea legs, ey?” he jibed, tightening his grasp a little. His thumb rubbed over the angry red mark left in bands on your skin, so soft you weren’t sure if it were deliberate. It made you look back at him, where he held your gaze steadily. Unreadable and seemingly unthinking, as expected.

“I have never been on a boat,” you admitted shyly. He cocked his head, seemingly surprised, and wordlessly guided you to the door. He led you down a long corridor to a small flight of stairs that led up, grip still light but sturdy around your wrist. “I suppose I’d better introduce you to the crew, since you’re one of them now,” he smirked, to which you raised an eyebrow. “What, you just expected to sit pretty for a while? We have work to be getting on with.” You nodded slowly, knowing you had no choice regardless and intimidated by how close his scabbard was to your side as he guided you from behind. You were stunned when you saw the rest of the ship, the tiny room you’d just been confined in laying low expectations in your mind only to be set alight and blown to pieces. You lingered on the top step as you took it in, Minho above you on the deck with proud eyes. The main deck was vast, three masts flying billowing black sails, a small platform high on the main one holding Felix, who waved down at you gaily. The floor was well polished and shining in the high sun, and the quarterdeck was large, bearing grandiose windowed doors as an entrance. Chris was speaking to a man with long blonde hair you didn’t recognise at the rudder on the stern, which was just as imposing. You were raised in a resplendent palace, and yet you had never had so much open space before you. You also wondered how such a tiny crew could sail such an impressive barque, but as you looked up to ask Minho his attention was taken before you even held it.

“Captain!” A call came from across the deck as soon as you both emerged, an eager young man hurrying over to the two of you and panting erratically.

“Aye, lad, speak!” Minho commanded, looking around as if after someone in particular.

“Land ho, sir, we’re nearing Singapore. However, we have company.” Lines of worry were etched deep into the crewmember’s face, in spite of how young he looked. Minho reached for a telescope in his pocket, extending it with a satisfying click and watching the horizon.

“Black flags,” he murmured. “It’s not worth it. Tell Hyunjin to bring a spring upon ‘er and fly the yellow jack,” he instructed with a huff, replacing his telescope and bringing you to the battered wooden railings of the starboard to gaze over the vast expanse of sea surrounding you. You don’t recall ever having felt so tiny.

“Will I have to learn all of these pirate terms?” you asked, half joking, to which Minho shrugged.

“It might make it easier for you.”

“Well, what’s a yellow jack?”

“Just the yellow flag,” he responded simply, pointing over your head to where the man Minho had just spoken to was hoisting new sails. “They indicate that someone on board has yellow fever.”

“You brought me onto a ship carrying someone so ill?” you asked incredulously, to which you received a derisive snort.

“And here I had heard you were smart,” he scoffed. “No one is ill. We are merely less likely to be approached by other pirates and seamen alike if someone thinks we are.”

“Ooooh,” you nodded as you were brought to understanding. “I’ll have you know I am smart, I was simply raised for royalty, not piracy.” You cried indignantly, unused to having your pride scorched in such a way by anyone other than your family.

“Were you not trained in military affairs?”

“A little,”

“Then you should have ‘a little’ tact,” he said, air quotes around your own words as he mimicked you, You rolled your eyes at his mocking, to which his eyes darkened slightly. You figured no one else was really brave enough to do such a thing.

“How did you deliver the message to my parents?” You changed the subject quickly.

“We simply left behind a letter when we took you. You really shouldn’t keep your windows unlatched whilst you sleep, Yn,” You felt your heart flutter when he called you by your name for the first time, unaware he had even known it. With how used you had gotten to nicknames like “insolent” and “useless”, you supposed you might have soon forgotten it yourself.

“How do you know so much about me?” you murmured dejectedly, and whilst he wouldn’t let it show, your sudden change of disposition took him aback.

“I do my research,” he responded vaguely. “Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

It hadn’t taken long for Minho to assemble said crew, all of them obedient to a fault. You wondered how many times each of them had felt the sting of his backhand, grimacing at the memory. You sat at a round table, covered evenly in a cloth of green, one you figured was intended for poker. However, at this moment it served as any other table, bowls of a red meat you couldn’t identify sat portioned in front of every crew member surrounded by small dishes of hardtack and pulses. Felix set a heavy tankard in front of you, half filled by a liquid that glinted burgundy in the light. You didn’t need to smell it to know what it was.

“Captain is being generous in letting us drink some of his rum,” The man beamed, taking a small sip from his own cup. “I think he’s celebrating your being here.”

“But I already told him he isn’t going to get any ransom for me,” You sighed. “I am terrified of the ramifications that will hold for me when I turn out to be right.” Felix bit his lip, as if he wanted to press but deemed it too disrespectful. This had to be the most docile bunch of pirates to ever exist.

“Lads!” Again, Minho easily commanded everyone’s attention, clinking his spoon loudly against the side of his drink. “As ye can see, we have a temporary addition to our humble crew,” He gestured to you and the men surrounding the table let out whoops and hollers, Felix clapping you on the back. You gave a shy wave, looking at the faces around you. You could count seven; an extremely small crew, which if anything only made them more intimidating. They seemed relatively successful, judging from the random piles of loot in the corners and lining the baseboard. That’s when you realised; this was the Captain’s quarters. “You’ve already seen Chris, or Chan as we sometimes call him,” He addressed you just as you realised someone was missing, and you started to fear he really could read your mind. “He’s me Quartermaster, and a damn good one. We’ve been close for years. He dines later, and is currently steering us in the direction of the East Sea.” You nodded with raised eyebrows, signalling your intrigue. Minho, seemingly satisfied with the reaction, continued.

“Here on me left,” he gave a gesture to a man who was smiling at you widely, the brightness a worthy rival of Felix’s. “Is Han Jisung. A formidable sailor and quite a way with the ladies, I must say,” Jisung snorted and shook his head, to which Minho laughed.

“Nice to meet you, Yn,” he grinned.

“Next to Jisung,” Minho continued, voice booming with over exaggerated grandeur. “Is Seo Changbin. And next to him is Kim Seungmin. The three all joined at the same time.” The two new introductions nodded at you, and you studied their faces for a moment, Minho giving you time to before he continued. Changbin’s face confused you - features bold and perpetually irritated looking but smile wide and inviting. You didn’t give his body more than a glance, immediately noting that he could tear you in half without a second thought. Seungmin was intimidating in a different way to the others; he was incredibly quiet and watched everyone with intense eyes. You didn’t feel able to look into them for more than a fleeting second, and you wondered if you too could master the rather unsettling smoulder everyone at the table seemed to have. “Next to Seungmin is Hwang Hyunjin, who usually steers the ship.” The man in question was dazzlingly pretty, even with his dirty hair straggling around his face and clothes streaked with black. He smiled softly at you before flashing a wink so small you almost missed it, and you hoped you weren’t blushing as you wondered how someone so harmless looking could be a pirate. They all seem so harmless, you thought. “Yang Jeongin is next to Hyunjin,” You recognised him as the man who’d run over to you when you emerged from below the deck, the smile he gave you somehow making him appear even younger. He was extremely fox-like in both appearance and mannerisms, nimble in every movement no matter how small, and wore a torn up beret that he seemed particularly fond of. “And you’ve already met Felix, and meself so… I suppose that’s it!” Minho concluded with a clap, Felix giving you a thumbs up and jostling your shoulder. You weren’t used to being treated so informally, being royalty, but you couldn’t say you disliked it. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

The meal was merry, with the crew talking about their adventures at sea and poking good fun at one another, though you couldn’t help but notice they were wary in how they spoke to and about the Captain. Your tankard was never empty; the rum kept flowing, and you don’t recall ever feeling so light. Eventually, though, the pressure in your head was a little too much to handle and you excused yourself with, in your own opinion, an embarrassing lack of grace. You stumbled towards the edge of the ship, hands gripping the railing until you were white knuckled, head spinning and vision hazy. You’d never properly gotten drunk, for your family deemed it unladylike, and you couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the freedom you felt under the status of someone kidnapped.

“Y'alright over there?” A call came from the helm, shaking you from your thoughts. You slowly turned your head to find Chris looking down at you, face somehow as stoic as Minho’s, as caring as his voice was.

“'M good,” you slurred, wondering if he could hear you over the steadily increasing night breeze. You’d never known how windy it is at sea. “Just had a bit too much rum.”

“You’ll build a tolerance eventually,” He reassured with a laugh, double checking the ship was on course before heading down the stairs and striding over to you with the same strong and wide steps you’d heard him take when you were still blindfolded. “Didn’t take you for such a grog-blossom!” He added lightheartedly.

“I’m sure if I knew what that meant I’d be offended,” you giggled, trying to find your balance. You were thankful for the railing before you, as your nonexistent sea legs were assuredly worse when you were under the influence.

“Yer one to talk, ye ol’ carouser!” Minho’s voice came from the nearby doors, which you had neglected to close. He clapped Chris on the back jovially, the pink tint of his cheeks evident in the beaming moonlight. He was like the star of a play, and he definitely commanded the stage. “Go join the rest of the crew and get some grub in ye,”

“Aye, sir. But Captain, I might advise against steering drunk,” Chris joked, flashing you a wide smile before disappearing into the Captain’s quarters where you could still vaguely make out the raucous shouts of young men having fun.

“I am not that drunk,” Minho defended to you, though you were in no position to question him anyway and you knew it.

“Minho,” you started, before realising your mistake and widening your eyes. “Sorry, I mean, Captain,” he waved a hand at you.

“Seeing as you’re absolutely sloshed, I can forgive you,” he smirked. “What’s up?”

“I have many brothers and sisters,” You started, twiddling your thumbs as you let the railing hold most of your body weight. “All highly decorated, up to their ears in accolades. Why kidnap me?” Minho gazed at you, silently hoping that the air of disinterest and authority he tried to uphold hid the fondness that threatened to creep into his heart as he admired how the moonlight hit your face.

“If you want my honest answer,” He murmured, voice barely audible over the crashing waves lapping at the side of the ship. “I just thought you were stunningly beautiful,” You looked at him with your mouth agape, stunned by his honesty. You gave him a timid smile and nodded.

“I guess you all really do just think with your dicks,” you joked. “Although, aren’t you pirates notorious for, like, violating women or something?”

“Some, yes,” He responded bitterly. “I have known pirates that have done unspeakable things to women, and I am not afraid to admit they all met an “accidental” grizzly end upon my finding out,” He looked at the dark horizon as he spoke, inky black sky blending into the sea seamlessly, indistinguishable at points and creating an isolated feeling you never knew you craved. Home was rather hectic. “Have you ever heard of Zhang Bao? Or maybe Cheung Po Tsai, as he may be better known?”

“Vaguely,” You hummed, mind too hazy to recall events that unfolded at least a decade ago.

“He had three rules, and I can still recite them by heart. His third? ‘Women captured from villages shall not be harmed or harassed. All women captives shall be registered, their place of origin recorded, and be given separate quarters. Those who rape or commit adultery with the women captives shall be executed.’” Minho’s voice was suddenly rather sober as he recited the rule to the letter, and you watched him through half lidded eyes as he spoke passionately.

“You sailed under him?” You whispered, and he still did not spare you a glance as he nodded.

“Only briefly. I was loyal to Captain Zheng Yi, and I suppose Ching Shih by proxy.” He smiled sourly, looking down at his hands and back up to the sky. Silver stars speckled the vast expanse of dark, twinkling down at the two of you. You suddenly thought to take a deep breath, night air cold, salt tingling on your tongue, and you realised for how long you had felt like you were suffocating. “The Red Flag fleet was formidable, and I was proud to be a part of the crew. Having trained under the Tây Sơn it was pretty much a set path for me,” He finally looked at you, and you wondered if in opening up to you the wall would crumble, but his face remained as rigid as always.

“Were you born into piracy?” You asked, anxiety bubbling in your chest at the thought of pushing too far with your line of questioning. However, if you were, he didn't show it, surprisingly open for a man who seemed so closed off.

“I guess so,” He pondered on your words momentarily. “My father was a farmer, and my mother was…” he trailed off, as if reassessing whether he should tell you or not. You willed your face to look encouraging, and it seemed to work, however successful you might have actually been. “My mother was a wench. A prostitute.” His mouth pressed itself into a thin line. “Do not get me wrong, my reaction is not me judging her for it. Rather, I am annoyed at the necessity.” He shook his head solemnly. “It got hard for farmers, as I am sure you know. My father saw his land stolen and torched, and for a lot of people put at such a disadvantage, the seas were the place to turn.” The breeze picked up suddenly, tousling his usually rather kempt hair, and the smell of salt burned at your nostrils as he looked down at you. The prompt silence was oddly comfortable, which you hadn’t ever really thought to be possible, relishing in the way your heart thrummed heavily in its protective cage as you both watched the waves dance harmoniously. You knew you were sobering up, but whatever inebriation fizzled away was quickly replaced with heavy ripples of fatigue. You leaned against his shoulder a little. He didn’t react.

“To be honest, you’re nothing like I would have expected,” You chuckled softly, breaking the stillness you had revelled in. He raised an eyebrow, cocky as always, and you knew you were blushing, your knees feeling suddenly weak.

“Oh yeah? What did you expect?”

“Well I wasn’t expecting you to be so flirty, for starters,” you mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. He scoffed and opened his mouth to retort, but before he could a shiver wracked your body, unexpected gusts raking unseen claws along your skin. He pulled his heavy woollen coat off his shoulders and slid it onto your own so confidently and seamlessly you hardly registered the touch, taken aback by the immediate warmth it provided. You looked up at him with wide eyes, and the faintest trace of a smile graced his lips.

“You looked cold. Now, you were saying I’m flirty or something?” he jibed, yelping when you poked his ribs in response. You pulled the collar of the coat around yourself more, looking down at the way it pooled at your feet. It was overly large on him too. “I just meant, like… Aren’t you supposed to be barbaric, and hurt people? To kill and torch cities and… other pirate-y things,” Minho exhaled sharply through his nose in amusement and shrugged. “Your crew aren’t the most fearsome either, honestly. Felix looks like he’d cry if he accidentally killed a fly.”

“That has probably happened before. Felix cries a lot,” Minho grinned. “But, Yn, don’t think you know us after one meal together. These men are my family, and they are not to be underestimated. Plus, it’s healthy to cry sometimes, wouldn’t you agree?” He placed a tentative hand on the back of your shoulder, studying your face for a second to see if the red flush the alcohol had brought to your face had dissipated at all. You daren’t look in his eyes as you knew it would return, despite you not drinking any more. You gave a shy nod. “Regardless, you can see them for yourself tomorrow. We’re currently on course to the Hà Tiên Islands, where we will probably have to pilfer food from other pirates, before going for an attack on a Chinese merchant ship that should be sailing the gulf,” He explained. “We can also see what strengths you have!”

“You’re including me in this?!”

“Oh, my sweet little dove,” he hummed, voice smooth as ever. The endearment might have made you weak at the knees if you didn’t know it to be mocking. “You will have the most important role, for you will be like my second pair of eyes. And unless you want us all to dance with Jack Ketch, I suggest you take this seriously, savvy?” His eyes were dark, dangerous, and they made a lump rise in your throat. You nodded. “I’ll brief you tomorrow, don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

“Well, I have no choice but to be.”

“That’s the spirit! Now come on, you still look positively squiffy!” You giggled at the term, inclined to agree in spite of you still not really understanding him. He was so very persuasive. “Let me show you to your quarters so you can take a good caulk, ey?” You nodded, too prideful to admit you had no idea what he was talking about, sleep beginning to overtake you. This had been a lot to process in one day.

You half expected Minho to lead you to the dingy little cabin room you’d woken up in and guide you to the uncomfortable wooden chair again, in spite of him having opened up to you a little more. There was a war in your mind, as you knew pirates weren’t to be trusted under any circumstances. However, you had never felt so untethered, enjoying feeling like a miniscule speck, as insignificant as any of the tiny stars that had watched over you talk. Your room was rather large, second only to Minho’s, so he told you, a hammock suspended between two sturdy wooden beams and a definitely stolen chest of drawers standing next to a bucket you definitely did not want to know the use for.

“Your uh, rags,” Minho shuffled his feet, trying hard not to appear shy but not doing the best job. “Are in the top drawer. I trust you can wash them yourself. There is a bar of soap in there too, but don’t use it all at once. It’s rare we come across such stuff.” He smiled at you, and you got the feeling he was a little insecure about it being enough. Almost as if he hadn’t kidnapped a princess who had long lived in luxury.

“Why a hammock?” You questioned, running your fingers over the smooth cloth it was composed of. It was suspiciously clean.

“It rocks with the ship. Trust me, you’ll get the best sleep you’ve ever had.”

“Thank you.” He was stunned by your sincerity, and this time made no effort to hide it.

“It’s no palace, I know, but. I am merely holding you for ransom, not because I want to make your life difficult.” He grinned and bode you goodnight, having you follow him to the door so you could latch it shut behind him. You put your hands to your cheeks, inwardly slapping yourself at how hot they felt, and sat down on the edge of your hammock, fully dazed. In the day you had known Minho he seemed to have shown you every possible emotion, whilst also managing to show none at all. He liked to joke with his members, he was actually rather kind hearted from the looks, albeit commanding and liking authority. He wanted people to look up to him, to see him as a fearsome leader, to come at his beck and call, and he refused to let his feelings show easily. Yet you didn’t feel he had to, and you wondered if he felt just as in tune with you as you did him, as you let the material of your hammock cradle you into what was indeed the best sleep of your life.

Your second awakening on the ship was far less peaceful than the first, which you laughed at inwardly given how tranquil your sleep had been. Felix was rocking your hammock, having the time of his life as you swung wildly side to side, screeching about how you were going to kill him when the vertigo stopped. If it ever would.

“Have ye not tortured her enough?” Minho’s amused voice came from the doorway and you felt your face flush slightly, something you knew Felix would take every opportunity to taunt you about later. He reached up and stilled your bed, grin stretching ear to ear. He found himself so funny.

“If I ever stop feeling too nauseous to stand, I'd say you’d better sleep with one eye open, Lee Felix,” you glared at him as he helped you to your feet and held you steady, still giggling at himself like an excited child. You couldn’t help but grin at his exuberance, shifting away from him when you finally found your balance. “What time is it?”

“Not sure, probably around eight AM,” Minho remarked, peering out of the small round window that let tiny streams of light enter the cabin to check the sun’s position.

“None of you own a watch?” you inquired innocently, to which Minho blinked at you.

“I never really considered the need for one,” he hummed. “You don’t appear to have one either?”

“You didn’t exactly bring my overnight bag,” you chuckled, joining him at the window. Felix slipped out awkwardly, leaving the two of you alone again. The sky was blue and cloudless, again meeting the sea in a shimmering harmony you couldn’t tear your eyes from. The sunlight bounced off the waves, glittering gently, and suddenly you fancied a swim.

“We are due to arrive in around ten hours,” he spoke, turning to face you.

“Aye, Captain,” you smiled, and he couldn’t help but mirror it at your confidence.

“Hyunjin, Chris, Seungmin and Changbin will all be going over to the merchant ship to fight, and Jeongin to plunder, as it were,” he smirked. “Felix is the lookout as always, while you,” he sniffed. “Will be on the offence with me.”

“Would the men going to fight not be on the offence?”

“Well, technically, we are all on the offence,” he chuckled. “We always sink the ships we've ransacked. And then, if necessary, raid the wreckage for parts. But our ship is fine right now, and I do not see that as being necessary.”

“So we’ll be sinking the ship?”

“Correct. I presume you have never seen the likes of a canon before?”

“Not particularly. As I have said, I was only trained a little in combat, and it was all more of the “how to lead an army if your father, mother, and more capable siblings are all somehow unable to” sort,” you snorted. “It’s like you’re training me,”

“I suppose that’s precisely what I’m doing,” he smiled. “You’ll be a valuable member of this crew, I can feel it.” You’d never really felt valuable to anyone, and you felt your heart ache at his words as he turned to leave. “We didn’t bring your overnight bag, but we did bring a change of clothes so you weren’t running around in a gown,” He gestured to the drawers with a grin before he left, and again your heart seemed to skip a beat as you went to change and join the others for breakfast.

“It’s not dark yet,” Hyunjin murmured as he slung a heavy looking rope over his shoulder, checking the grappling hook on the end was tightly secured.

“The sun has set,” Chris replied, redoing the knot on his own hook. “The ideal moment to go across is while they are all eating, which should be any time around now.”

“They’re coming up on our right,” Felix yelled to everyone. You had passed up landing at Hà Tiên as the merchant ship passed through early, and so you were currently obscured behind a large rock formation with Minho guiding the ship expertly through water you would deem way too shallow to sail through. You were at the mouth of a cave, one that was apparently deemed extremely dangerous for trading ships to sail through but provided a good shortcut through the gulf, and Minho had all but screamed when he had learned the ship he had his eyes on were stupid enough to take the gamble.

“Ji, take the rudder,” he instructed, voice determined. You were starting to understand what he meant the night before; everyone’s attitude had changed dramatically, with everyone helping each other prepare their weapons and equipment and making jokes you found to be all too bloodthirsty.

“Yn, they’re about to head on over. Come down with me,” he held out his hand, voice dripping with faux sweetness that did little to reassure you, and you all but prayed you would make it out in one piece. You had been assured the job you had, whilst crucial, was the most harmless. And with such a well trained veteran Captain by your side, it was sure to be a walk in the park.

It took no time at all for the crew members transferring ships to reach the merchant vessel, arm muscles flexing as they deftly and easily pulled themselves along. Their ship was smaller than Minho's, a standard trade junk as he explained. It was an older one, evident by the lack of cannon ports, and it groaned in protest as it pushed through the waves slowly. Jisung kept pace besides it, and your eyes widened in awe as you flickered them over the intricate and ornate woodwork adorning the sides; a far cry from the simple wooden railing running the way around the ship you stood on. It almost broke your heart to know you'd have to splinter it apart.

As expected the four were completely undetected, as no one was on deck around or facing the broad stern as they clambered over the railing and set about finding the door that led to the cargo hold. A harsh contrast to the expanse of gleaming wood they darted across, you and Minho were currently in the gun deck, which you hadn't expected to be so small. Dust was caked on the equipment, indicating a lack of recent use. The floor and the ceiling were incredibly close, and Minho was stooping a little so as to not bump his head. He gestured to the cannons by their ports and tables covered in ammunition; both gun and cannonball. Some of the cannonballs were simple metal, while some seemed rather precariously handmade. The wood constructing the room was lighter than the deep red hue of the oak the rest consisted of. He picked up a long, smooth wooden staff, forked at the end, and placed it in your hand. It had rope wrapped around the head where it forked, a little hanging off the wood. "Linstock," he said matter-of-factly, pointing to the staff. "You light that rope and use that to light the fuses. To be honest, they're a bit outdated by now, but so are our carronades. But they do the job, so I see no reason to change it." You nodded along as he explained, showing you how to light the rope with flint. He was detailed but hurried, and you wished you'd gotten a chance to learn before being thrown in at the deep end. "I loaded the cannons already, which is the role of gunner's mate. Jisung will fill that role in the future while I steer, but I wanted to be the one to show you what to do. Your face heated up again in the glow of the small flame he produced.

“As you have probably gathered, we no longer have a gunner,” Minho spoke quietly, watching his men the best he could through the small observation window on the gun port. He had half opened all of them on the starboard side and had them loaded and ready to fire, and he had wasted no time in explaining to you exactly how to do so when the time was right. “Our old one had to be… removed from the crew,” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, and you watched him silently. “We’re hoping you can take over, obviously, so.” He pointed at the carronade on your left. “In there we have a grapeshot, which is used first to… tear everything up. It will tear through the sails, cut the rigging, and just kind of mess their ship up,” You were ever confused by him, as he spoke with such passion but seemed so hesitant to do so. He gestured to the cannon on your right next. “The canister shot comes second. I’ll be doing two and you’ll be doing two, and together that should be enough to sink it. She's not a particularly sturdy ship, she's just long,” He smiled. “If you have any questions, I’m afraid it’s too late.”

His eyes were once again fixed on the opposing ship, where Hyunjin and Chris at the very least had been spotted, and were engaged in the most brutal sword fight you’d ever seen. You were oh so used to fencing with its courtesy and rules, and seeing a man get his arm hacked off rather unnecessarily was definitely breaching one or two of them, you figured. Chris was quick on his feet and an incredible swordsman; nimble and agile, whilst Hyunjin was just fast in general, more evasive than anyone you had ever seen. The ships were kept incredibly close to one another by Jisung's expert precision, which made the cannon fire effective, but also obscured your view of much of the merchant vessel. You silently wished you could see more of the action from the tiny hole you peered from, which shocked you, as you had never thought yourself one for such indecent displays. The deck was slowly staining carmine, and you felt the ship rock slightly as Jeongin caught the crates thrown up to him by Changbin and Seungmin and threw them carelessly onto Minho’s boat. “It’s almost time. We have more than enough.” Minho murmured, internally hoping the hands would realise this too and get back to the safety of their own ship. Two men fighting a whole crew on their own was incredibly ambitious, even for them. A flood of sailors ran out to the deck when you realised this, and they seemed completely surrounded. Minho sighed and turned to you, eyes serious.

“I believe in you, okay? On my signal I need you to fire all of them. I admit it’s a lot to ask, but I need to go and fire some warning shots and try to take a few of the sailors out from above,” Panic raised in your throat and bubbled there, words dying behind your teeth as your eyes widened. He took a hand in yours and squeezed it. “Trust me, you will do fine.” He ran up to the deck before you could say anything, both linstock and flint left in your hands. You willed your heart to slow down and continued to watch, waiting patiently for Minho’s signal. You heard shots, and resisted the urge to cover your ears and shut your eyes, an instinct you knew was better listened to. However you were in too deep, and surprisingly, you were less against it than you’d expected.

You watched as Minho’s crew started crawling the lines back the ship, shots coming from either direction as Minho attempted to single handedly cover them. A scream got lodged in your throat and came out as a startled gasp when Chris suddenly cried out and fell into the waters below, and you faintly saw Minho’s expression change as he hung off the small platform on the top of the mast where Felix stood wide eyed and trembling slightly. Minho suddenly aimed down, shooting at the ropes his own crew were climbing across, making you scrunch your brow, but before you could question what he was doing he screamed “NOW!” and pointed in your general direction. More shots sounded and you felt your hands buzzing with static, lightheaded and shaking as you hurriedly lit the fuses of what you remembered to be the grapeshots. Your head was foggy as you strained to remember his instructions, lighting the fuses of the canister shots not too long after, hoping they would fire far enough apart to have the effect Minho had asked of you. You stepped back and covered your ears, eyes squeezed shut after making sure the fuses were indeed lit, and you tried to shut out everyone’s screams as the ship was suddenly propelled sharply to the left. Your head hit the wall, hard, as you hadn’t prepared for the sudden veering and you felt your body hit the floor before you’d even registered you were falling. Your ears rang, you smelled iron and you felt yourself try to cry out. You couldn’t tell if you had succeeded. And then all you saw was black.

"If ye lay one finger on her I will personally see to it that ye can never touch anything again!" A violent hiss was the first thing you heard, before a mumbled apology and some rustling that sounded impossibly far away. You groaned as your head throbbed, wondering if you dared open your eyes. You ultimately decided you weren't going to fall back asleep and braved it, finding your gaze instantly fixed on dark wooden beams. Your quarter's beams were different.

"Captain, she's awake," you recognised Seungmin's tentative voice, shifting your eyes down and finding yourself surrounded by worried faces. Felix's face was red and streaked, and when Minho finally turned to face you at the very foot of the bed you lay upon he looked as if he'd never slept.

Wait a second.

Bed?

You moved your hands carefully, and sure enough, there were sheets beneath your body, silken and soft to the touch. You scrunched your brows and looked back over at Minho.

"What happened?" You croaked, surprised by the dryness of your throat, your head delivering another dull throb that made your spine feel electric. You winced at the feeling, knowing your eyes were betraying your concern. You then caught sight of Chris, who was shirtless, one arm and shoulder wrapped tightly in clean bandages.

"You hit into the wall when the cannon fired," Minho began, his voice as hoarse as your own. Worry lines were apparent on his face, and while he hid it well from the rest of his crew, he sat facing you with an air of vulnerability you'd never have expected to see. So he does have feelings, you thought jokingly. "I should have thought to inform you of the ricochet, my sincerest apologies. You've been out for a few hours, you hit your head quite hard. I was worried you'd have brain damage, but I think you just fell asleep,"

"Well, that at least explains the throbbing," you chuckled grimly.

“None of us have slept, except Jisung,” Changbin laughed, earning him a punch to the shoulder by the still groggy looking man in question. “Glad you’re not a vegetable,” Felix glared at him for his rather insensitive remark, though you were sure all of them had said far worse. Or maybe not, they were far from typical pirates.

"Yeah, I’m okay. I just have a headache," you smiled, trying to reassure him. "What happened to Chan?" Chris raised an eyebrow at the use of his Korean name but didn't mention it, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he looked at his bandages.

"Got shot in the shoulder while getting across. Nothing too serious, though. Luckily Jeongin is medically trained from his time as a privateer," He grinned at the younger boy, who looked positively exhausted, sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair across the room.

"I saw you," you murmured, the memories flooding back to you as you came around more. "You fell into the water,"

"Changbin fished me right back out,"

"Did I…" you worried your bottom lip between your teeth, taking a shaky sigh to try and control the tears that were threatening to spill over your lash line. To say you were overwhelmed would be an understatement, and they seemed to realise this as everyone but Minho moved back to give you space.

"Don't worry," Minho hushed, his fingers grazing yours so briefly you could've sworn you imagined it. You smiled slightly at the gesture. "It was an overall success, and you sank the ship. Chris was the only other injury,"

"That's a relief," you let go of the breath you hadn't realised you were holding, bracing your palms on the bed and slowly sitting up. Minho let his concern be evident in his face yet bit back his want to fuss over you, merely telling you to be careful. He missed the warmth of your hand next to his, but he'd never tell you that. "Where am I?"

"Jeongin's quarters. He has a big bed, because he insisted on having one to join us," Minho rolled his eyes and Jeongin flashed him a wide grin.

"I'm sorry for stealing your bed," you said, to which Jeongin waved a hand dismissively.

"Hey, you knocked yourself out, even I'm not as evil as to just throw you in a hammock and hope for the best," he chuckled. Minho requested everyone leave and tend to the ship now you were awake and physically fine, and they obeyed immediately. As soon as the door was closed behind them he let the façade crack, just a tiny bit, taking your hand fully in both of his with an urgency you figured he hadn't meant to show. You felt something cold press against your palm, smooth and hard.

"Thank you for waking up," he murmured.

"Wouldn't want you to miss out on that ransom, now, would we?" you smiled sadly, to which he frowned.

"That's not why I want you alive, Yn, and you know that. Rest your head, we're currently stopped on the islands as we'd planned before so there's no rush to get up again. We got a lot of food, material and soap from that pillage, and that's partly thanks to you." You smiled and he left once you'd carefully settled back against the soft pillow, promising him you'd rest. You unfurled your fingers as the door clicked shut, a gold glint greeting your eyes from where the low sun reflected off what you had been gifted. A small pocket watch, on a dainty chain, rested in your hand, ticking quietly. You clutched it to your chest and let it lull you to sleep again, letting your lips turn up at the corners as you did.

"Hey, Yn," a gentle voice was luring you out of your dreamless sleep, a small hand resting on your upper arm and threatening to shake it a little if you didn't respond. "Wakey wakeyyyy! It's time to eeeeat," You opened your eyes to see Felix smiling down at you rather adoringly. Why is he so cute all the time?

"Is everyone eating together?"

"Yeah, the Captain told me to bring yours to you though," he held a bowl out to you, brimming with foods you definitely could recognise this time, and not a piece of hardtack in sight. You smiled before setting the bowl down on the crate at your bedside, reaching out for Felix. Upon realising what you were doing he took your hands in his, helping you slowly sit up and eventually stand. You took it slowly despite your head not hurting much anymore, not wanting to chance anything, and Felix's brow furrowed as he supported you. "Maybe you should just eat in bed?" He suggested lightly, to which gave a miniscule shake of your head.

"I want to sit with everyone. I'm tired of this room," you huffed, Felix's face evidently conflicted as he tried to figure out whether to coax you back into bed or guide you out of the room. It quickly became apparent that there was nothing he could do regardless, as you picked your bowl up again and started making your way for the doors yourself, and so he resigned himself to supporting you by holding your arms and just hoped Minho wouldn't order Chris to cleave him to the brisket or anything. Minho was scary when he was ordering Chris to do that to people. Felix frowned at how common an occurrence that actually seemed to be during pilages. "What are you thinking about?" You frowned at how pale his face was.

"Nothing! Nothing at all." You squinted at him but decided not to push it. “You know, I’m really glad that you’re okay. And you joined our crew.” The vulnerability in his voice made you reach out to squeeze his hand instinctually, smiling down at him as he walked behind you on the stairs. “I love the other members but I’ve never had a friend like you,” His smile was timid and hesitant, making you squeeze his hand again. He seemed to be scared he’d lose you as soon as he’d gained your friendship.

“I’m glad I met you, Lixie,” you reassured him softly, causing him to beam so genuinely you thought you would cry. He was sunshine, personified.

“That’s a shame, because I’m pretty sure Minho is about to kill me for letting you out of bed,” he joked, arm around your shoulders to steady you as the tide picked up. You laughed together as you headed for the quarterdeck, steeled ready for Minho’s scolding.

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

"Yn, are you sure you're okay being up so soon?" Minho asked for the hundredth time (or so it felt). You nodded, shovelling more food into your food, not having realised how ravenous you were after almost a straight day of slumber. You were happy that Minho’s concern took the form of incessant nagging over anger, but you wanted him to eat his own food instead of boring his eyes into your skull.

"If you keep asking I will nod my head harder," you threatened, to which he scoffed.

"That will just hurt you more,"

"Exactly," you grinned, eyes burning into his. His tongue poked at his cheek but he simply continued eating, the crew members letting out mocking "ooooh"s. Minho rolled his eyes and turned to Chris, who was eating from a bowl Hyunjin was holding in front of his face. The younger male was chortling as he did so, though he stopped to flash you another wink when he caught you looking. Such a flirt.

"How's yer shoulder doing?"

"Positively unmovable," Chan responded around a mouthful of rice, nose scrunching up in distaste of by his situation. "I've had worse, I guess." You shuddered at the thought of what "worse" could possibly be, thick scars in various states of healing a prominent fixture of his broad chest, and decided you'd rather not know. The rest of the meal was quiet, clattering of spoons and chopsticks against metal bowls deafening in the silence. You wondered how long it had been since they'd eaten such a hearty meal, and felt a sense of guilt wash over you. You had taken plenty for granted at the palace, you realised.

"Hey Jisung, could you help me clean these up?" Changbin spoke suddenly, snapping you from your thoughts. Everyone was talking amongst themselves and sipping on rum, empty bowls and plates strewn over the table, and Minho was rummaging around in a nearby cabinet.

"What are you looking for?" you asked, leaning your chair back to speak to him as an aside. He glanced over at you with a smile before going back to digging through the small drawer, which was filled with random trinkets.

"These… and these…" he responded slowly, producing a pack of cards and a bag of mismatched, heavily used poker chips from the bottom of the disjointed collection and setting them before you. He saw Jisung up tidying and took the opportunity to steal his seat next to you, knee resting against yours wordlessly. You looked over at him while he kept his eyes fixed on the cards, shuffling them with deft fingers as he waited for everyone to be ready. "It's poker night. Do you know how to play? Five card?"

"I learned horseback riding and fencing," you scrunched your nose. "Not gambling and… killing people." You earned a snort and an affectionate eye roll from Minho, who dealt only you five cards. "Ooh, you have a fifty-two card pack!" you exclaimed, eyes surely sparkling, to which Minho cocked his head.

"I thought you didn't play?"

"My dad does," you said, words tasting bitter as you spoke them. "I at least know that fifty-two cards is a new development,"

"Impressive," he grinned, showing you how to hold the cards. "So here you have a pair of kings, which you should absolutely keep, and what you exchange out of the others is up to you. You're trying to make the best hand and win other people's chips," he explained, taking more cards from the deck to show you. "Ace is a high card unless used in an ace two three pattern straight," he continued, taking you through the picture cards, and what a "flush" meant. The crewmembers watched, mildly enthralled and joking amongst themselves, but their words fell upon deaf ears as Minho and yourself crafted a bubble separate from the rest of the world.

"I think she gets it now," Felix said with a nudge to your shoulder as you did your fourth practice round, trying to figure out the strategy. Minho looked at you expectantly, waiting for an answer, and you gave him a miniscule nod.

"Let's try,"

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

"Isn't that cheating?"

"What?"

"You literally lied to me," Your mouth was agape, genuine offence burning on your nerves as you took in Chris' single pair of threes. He laughed loudly, everyone else somehow having folded early on and leaving you both battling head to head. You could have beaten him.

"That's called, bluffing, Yn," he grinned cheekily. "It's a strategy, not a cheat."

"He does cheat a lot though," Felix mumbled, earning him a hard whack on the arm. "Ow!" You laughed at them and rolled your eyes, shoving the pot towards Chris. Minho's knee was still against your own, moving slightly every so often to rub against it. You knew he saw your blush every time, and you wondered why he hadn't mentioned it.

"So," you started, watching the Captain deal everyone's hands again. "How did you all come to join the crew?"

"Didn't expect to have this conversation so early," Jeongin smirked, changing two of his cards and sighing heavily. He had the worst poker face you'd ever seen.

"Who wants to go first? She knows my story," Minho grinned at you, causing Chris to pipe up.

"That probably leads to me, right? I served the Red Flag fleet with him, under Zhang Yi, and I helped Minho escape after the Captain's death."

"Best friends since we were crew members together," Minho said fondly, hi fiving Chris. "It started with just us two, in the tiniest little galley," he reminisced. "Oi, Hyunjin, splice the mainbrace would ye?" He instructed as soon as the younger made a move to stand up, to which the crewmember rolled his eyes.

"I was literally just going to piss," he deadpanned, to which Minho shrugged.

"Piss afterwards, then."

"Aye Aye Captain," Hyunjin responded, picking up the empty bottles of rum and leaving to get two more. For the first time, you noticed Minho had less of an accent to him when he spoke to you in comparison to the crew.

"We met Seungmin, Jisung and Changbin in the strait of Malacca, where they were just bouncing between crews for food and a place to sleep. They helped us on our first big "job" I guess, and we ended up on our first clipper," Minho smiled at the memory. "Everyone knows what my response was-"

"We've got a fuckin' mizzen!" Chris, Seungmin, Jisung and Changbin chorused, all mimicking Minho's voice in dramatically different ways. They erupted into raucous laughter and you couldn't help but join, finding him incredibly endearing. You were sure if you knew what a mizzen was you too would be excited.

"We were finally off that little dinghy,"

"And then we found Felix," Felix perked up and smiled at the mention of his name, looking away from the cards he'd just been poring over.

"Oh yeah!"

"Our first "man overboard!" call," Chris recollected, eyes turned upwards as he thought. "I jumped in to grab him and Changbin helped me pull him up on deck. He was thrown overboard by his old crewmates, and we still have no idea why," You turned to face Felix with wide eyes, and he shrugged.

"I don't know either! Maybe they just found me annoying or something," he pouted, to which you frowned.

"I will kill anyone who makes you feel that way," your voice came out in a growl, shocking even yourself, and everyone around you laughed loudly.

"So protective! Your girlfriend is so loyal," Jisung teased, and you did not miss the clench in Minho's jaw.

"My only love is the sea," Felix cooed in response, his eyes flicking nervously up to his Captain before he looked back at his cards. Hyunjin returned and started pouring more rum for everyone, whispering 'pace yourself, darling' in your ear teasingly as he brushed past you. Another clench.

"I was also found overboard, having fallen and gotten swept to sea during a fishing trip," he explained as he finished pouring Minho's drink.

"I have no idea how we got so lucky, everyone we simply stumbled upon has been incredibly adept," Minho grinned, a hand moving to rest on your thigh suddenly. Again, you looked up at him, ears burning, and again, he merely looked at the table.

"Jeongin was last. He actually fought against us, once. He was a privateer," Chris said, the youngest of the group taking a long swig of rum and grimacing.

"Don't remind me," he laughed. "And we're supposed to be the evil ones. Working under the government really does open your eyes. Bunch of bilge sucking bastards." His eyes landed on you and you shifted uncomfortably in your chair, knowing exactly what he was getting at without him having to say it.

"Don't look at me like that, I know," you sounded more defensive than you meant to. You hated the pity their eyes held and as such didn't look up at any of them. "Honestly, being here has given me more freedom than I ever did at home. My father is a terrible emperor, and my siblings are insufferably competitive. They take every opportunity to tell me what an embarrassment I am. When I got my first period they locked me in a shed for a week for 'being indecent'," you hadn't realised you were rambling until you caught onto what you'd said, taking in the sudden shock on everyone's faces. "Yeah, you were insecure about the ship's conditions but I wasn't living a total life of luxury," you laughed halfheartedly. His fingers massaged your flesh reassuringly, and his smile, his horrendously beautiful smile, blossomed a warmth in your heart you really wanted to get used to.

"At least we gave you rags." Minho grinned, sneaking a glance at your cards and nudging your shoulder. You had no idea how you'd managed a royal flush while not paying attention, but it took everything in you not to squeal when you noticed it. Felix asked why your ears were so red as you felt a slight squeeze on your thigh, and you concluded that your poker face wasn't so great either.

"How are you so good at that?" You asked Minho as he cleared away the cards and chips. He'd eventually swept everyone, though since they shared loot as a crew evenly (their democracy certainly stunned you initially), it was widely meaningless anyway. Just for fun, they said.

"I mentioned Ching Shih before," He reminded you as he slid the door shut, turning around and leaning back on his palms against the cabinet. "She runs a gambling house now. She taught me pretty much everything I know. However," He was closer to you now, impossibly so, and you hoped he didn't notice the tremble that shook your whole body when his hand grazed yours. "You're one to talk, Miss Royal Flush," he smirked, heading for the door and leaving you stunned by the wall, alone. "If the hammock is too uncomfortable I'll kick Jeongin out of his bed!" He called behind him, having forgotten to mention it before. You decided to go up to the deck and watch the sea for a while, feeling it too early to retire to your quarters. You checked your pocket watch again to confirm that notion, smiling as you did every time you checked the time that day. You had never considered it anything special before.

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

The night breeze was cool on your face, slapping colour into your cheeks and biting at your nose. You regretted not bringing a blanket to wrap around yourself, hugging your torso as you listened to the sounds of waves against the side of the ship. Goosebumps prickled on your skin only to melt away again when you ran your hands over them quickly, watching your breath condensate in front of your face. The moon was full and high in the sky, surrounded by her smaller celestial friends, all winking down at you as you gazed up at them. You felt them filling your eyes, overcome by awe, and suddenly tears pricked. For once you didn't try to hold them back, knowing you were alone, letting them run silently down your cheeks as you watched the horizon. Being kidnapped wasn't supposed to feel so good, was it? The way they looked at you, the way they joked with you, the way they didn't treat you like something fragile or ask you to keep up airs. You choked back a sob, and another one, and another, as your hands wrung each other tight. Minho watched you from his doorway, and he considered saying something, but he eventually retreated back into his quarters unseen.

"You looked cold," you couldn't tell if the fabric hit you first or the words that graced your ears, but either way they were comforting in tandem, a silky voice paired with a soft blanket thrown lopsidedly over your shoulders. He didn't look at you, and you were thankful, as you wiped your streaky cheeks.

"Thank you," you whispered. It wasn't just for the blanket. He knew.

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

It was a while before Minho let you join in the more violent, hands-on side of piracy again, leaving you to spend most of your days watching the sea from your window, taking inventory, or drinking and playing poker with your newfound friends. You and Felix got on incredibly well and on slower days would make your own fun on the deck of the ship. Sometimes you shot extra ammunition at dummies made of sacks full of sand for target practice. Sometimes you’d play “I spy” from the crow’s nest, although that usually consisted of “I spy something blue” and either the sea or the sky being the answer. Minho taught you to batten down the hatches in case you ever needed to, and you used the privilege of your upper class education to teach Hyunjin, Jisung, and Seungmin to read and write using a box of chalk that was pilfered from a ship off the Western Australian coast and a slate tablet Chris had chipped off for you on an island you’d all just decided to explore. You took an interest in foliage and flora, to which Minho responded by bringing you random flowers he found pretty on the isles you traversed to tuck behind your ear or ask you details about, glaring at the crew when they’d tease him about his strange mix of bashfulness and ever present cockiness. He wasn’t as hard on them as you’d first expected, though, as everyone in the crew was incredibly close. You enjoyed your freedom and the peace, exploring the seas and feeling so very close to the Earth, but eventually you did crave that adrenaline again, and you hated when the boys would go on jobs and leave you sitting behind in the confines of the Captain’s quarters.

As such, when Felix yelled “sails, ho!” and everyone set to grabbing their usual equipment, you pulled Minho aside to give him the best pleading eyes you could muster.

“I don’t want you getting hurt again,” he said monotonously before you could say a word. Again with the mind reading!

“I won’t,” you promised, hearing the eagerness in your voice and knowing it leaked through into your expression as well. “I’ve been practising. You need a gunner,” You placed a hand on his arm and gave him a small pout. “Captain.”

“Stop weaponizing your cuteness,” he scolded unseriously, waving a hand in defeat. “Go set up, then. If you get hurt, your new role is tutor!” He called after you but you were already too far down the stairs to give him a reaction, busying yourself at the shot racks. You peered through the observation window to find Chris and Hyunjin already shuffling up their ropes, and began loading the cannons quickly.

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

“All set in here?” Minho asked from the stairs, hat almost falling off his head as he swung his head down to look at you. You giggled as he fumbled to keep it on, giving him a wide grin and a nod. “Yep! And from the looks of it, this ship had a really small crew.” You gestured for him to join you at the window, and he peered through to find Jisung and Changbin easily fighting off a small group of men one by one, as if their whole strategy was taking turns to get completely bodied. You grimaced slightly at the sight of Changbin’s cutlass emerging from a sailor’s back, seemingly slicing through the flesh like it were warm butter. Changbin was very top heavy, and very useful for it.

“That’s good for us,” Minho grinned at you, squeezing your hand before he had realised he was even holding it. The crew on the other vessel’s deck surveyed the ship for a moment before heading back for their ropes, giving you a thumbs up when they saw you watching.

“Lots of rum and beer!” Chris cheered, and you whooped back at him as you waited for Felix to give you the all clear.

“Looks like we’re getting drunk again tonight,” Minho chuckled, to which you shook your head.

“I think you’ll find I plan on getting absolutely squiffy,” you said with a giggle, to which he laughed harder.

“Look at you, fast learner,” he commended, but before you could keep the jokes going you heard Felix shout from above deck.

“All clear, Yn! Take ‘er down!”

“Fire in the hole!” You yelled back in response, however upon lighting the fuses you realised you weren’t the only one who had just said that. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as you saw the glint of an eye in the small gap of the other ship’s gun port, which you hadn’t noticed was open, and threw your weight onto Minho. For a moment you wondered if it would work, for he was heavily built, however he was also not braced for impact and fell to the floor with a thud, the two of you flying back to the wall.

You kept your body covering his arms over your head as a single cannonball broke through the side of the ship, rolling dully into the corner opposite you. You thanked whatever deities might exist at the opponent’s shoddy aim and cheap, plain metal cannonballs as your own carronades fired, sinking the other vessel quickly and easily. The hole in Minho's ship made by the cannonball was not low enough as to allow water in, but you knew it had to be patched quickly anyway. The Captain called up to Chris and informed you that they’d be pilfering the wreckage for materials to patch the hole and keep around for the next time something like that might happen, promising you could join them next time. He hesitated by the stairs before turning back to you, gaze tender on your face.

“Thank you for saving my life,” he whispered, the vulnerability causing his face to burn. He was thankful for how dark the room was. He reached over and hovered by your face, thinking for a moment, before opting to kiss your cheek as usual and letting his thumb graze the side of your jaw lightly before running upstairs to tell the crew what had just happened. You put your hand against your chest, and wondered which of the events had caused your heart rate to pick up so much, before busying about cleaning up the area.

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

Minho was right - apparently rather often. You were an excellent gunner as he had predicted, once you got used to the cannons, and in your opinion a great fit into the crew. The boys loved having you around, and days faded into weeks, which in turn faded into months. You learned that a mizzen is the third mast in the end, as you watched the sails billow in the wind, and every night Minho would stand next to you as you silently observed the sea. When you had first met, you had caught on immediately that he wasn't a fan of words. You'd now realised he didn't need them.

He got bolder, as the seasons changed, clammy hands stealing grasps of your own in the heat of summer and calloused fingertips brushing your hair behind your ears in the gales of autumn. Your smiles were more frequent, your laughter bubbly and jubilant, and you found yourself rather proficient in poker and rummy. His lips found your cheeks, and your forehead, multiple times, and it went unaddressed at every one. At one point you let your lips press against his cheek in return, and you didn't realise a human being could be so red. Felix witnessed the whole thing, and it was all the crew spoke about for weeks as the leaves began to depart their branches. Stolen kisses on the face became a regular occurrence when you were away from the crew, but you avoided one another’s lips, as if playing a game neither of you had explicitly agreed upon. The branches bared.

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

"You fight like a fencer,"

"Maybe because I was one?" your smirk was short-lived as his sabre grazed your chest, his eyes glinting mischievously as the wind nipped at your exposed arms.

"That doesn't really work if you're a pirate,"

"It doesn't matter, you could just pull a gun on me anyway,"

"You learn so fast!" behind his mocking was genuine pride, and your laughs carried along the breeze to dissipate in droplets of salt water. He chased you around the deck valiantly, the swishing of his sabre satisfying to your ears as you made little effort to defend yourself. Felix watched from the mast and Hyunjin from the rudder, the two exchanging knowing glances every so often as their Captain allowed himself to laugh so freely.

You continued into the night, dancing with one another and singing shanties, twirling around your deck in Minho's arms in the nightgown you had been taken in. It swooshed around your ankles as you hopped around, Minho's eyes twinkling as he gazed at you. He only wished it wouldn't ever stop, especially so as the rum granted you the courage to mould your lips to his, smiling into the kiss as the crewmembers screamed in the background. He kissed you back so fervently you felt you might explode, his hands gently resting on the small of your back.

Had anyone noticed your absence? Were people looking for you?

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

Something was off about that night.

He stood beside you at the railing as always, the growing chill of the approaching winter gnawing at your exposed skin. But this time there was no blanket. He wouldn’t look at you, feeling the cold air grating at his lungs, leaving them raw. He wanted to take you in his arms, to give you the little warmth his body managed to keep contained, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Yn, we’re-” he strained to speak, although he knew he would have to eventually. His stare was downturned. “We’re… we’re nearing Joseon again.” You stood entirely still, swearing you could hear the gears turning in your brain as you processed what he was trying to say. Your eyes narrowed, and you swallowed thickly.

"What?"

His face was forlorn and his eyes would not tear themselves from his hands as he stood next to you, dark clouds obscuring the stars that usually observed you so diligently.

"We're nearing Joseon again," he repeated the words in a small voice, which was unlike him. He'd said enough for you to understand, and it made rage fizz through you, threatening to pop.

"Tell me you're not fucking serious. After everything we've been through, you're taking me back?"

"I mean we took you for-"

"Yeah, the ransom, I get it," you spat, and somehow you felt you had the power over him this time as his shoulders shrunk. "You're not getting one, why won't you believe me? I really thought I was a part of this crew," Vitriolic tears were burning at your corneas, brimming up and boiling over in unison with the waves of anger that shook your entire form. The tide picked up, and the boat rocked.

Memories you held dear started crumbling to ash, your hands trembling violently, as you wondered how the most genuine happiness you’d ever felt could be pulled from you so quickly. You felt as if you were falling, hurtling towards the same rock bottom you’d already visited so many times, and bile raised in your throat.

"Yn, really, just let me explain-"

"Don't fucking bother, Minho," you fumed as you stormed to your quarters, hands balled into fists. You turned back to watch his face change as you addressed him by name. He wouldn't hurt you. You knew that by now. He opened his mouth as if to say something more but thought better of it, leaving you alone to break down in your hammock, sobs wracking your body as you watched the sky. The clouds had mostly parted and the moon shone full again, her shining sisters blinking as stunned as yourself. You looked up at her sadly before turning to look at the blanket draped over the chair in the corner. A lone, delicate, pink lotus - a flower you'd taken a strong and vocal liking to during your many travels to and from Vietnam - laid suddenly discarded on the deck in view of your window, waiting to be swept up in the wind and lost to the sea. “You asshole.” You didn’t know if your insult was directed at him, or yourself.

"Did you know about this?" Your voice was quieter than you'd have liked as Felix tried to work quickly, rope once again tight and coarse against the skin of your wrists and ankles. You were allowed to keep your vision this time, for which you guessed you were supposed to feel grateful. Felix merely looked at you sorrowfully, ever unable to hide his emotions as the lump in his throat grew. "We tried to argue with him," he whispered as he tightened the knot for the last time. "Chris almost knocked him out. I mean, who kisses someone like that and then does this? Fucking blighter…" You sighed, heart pounding and nausea building gradually in the pit of your stomach, rising and falling in your throat with the words you wish you could say. How could you do this to me, why aren’t you all fighting for me, did our time together mean nothing to you… you didn’t feel any number of questions would settle the betrayal that lie heavy in your chest. Minho entered the room and picked you up without saying anything, arms hooked under your shoulders and knees. Before you could ask him any of the million questions that flurried around in your mind, he handed you to Chris, who you hadn't seen behind the door. He led everyone out to the ladder to disembark, not saying a word the entire time.

You watched as he stayed on the ship.

You watched as the only real home you’d ever had became smaller and more distant.

You watched as everything you had ever cared about slipped from your grasp as quickly as it had fallen into it.

I guess my luck has run out.

Your eyes glazed over as you laid limply in Chris' incredibly solid arms. At any other opportunity you would have been poking mildly flirty fun, but your heart felt like it had sunk to your toes, ticking gold metal pressed firmly into your palm as a cruel, sadistic reminder that you weren't as wanted as you'd easily been led to believe. The two men started making their way towards the road, air so tense it was stifling. They did not have to walk very far, as a man dressed in the palace staff garb was quick to meet you by the shore. His sandals kicked up sand as he stepped towards Chris, not even bothering to look at you as he produced a scroll and began to read from it.

"We have been expecting you, pirates," he began, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a snigger at the words he'd been instructed to deliver. "The palace would like to request that you dutifully keep Miss YLn, as she is a perpetual disgrace to the Royal Family and her country alike. The terms of your ransom are rejected, regardless of what you do with her. Should you kill her, you will be doing this great nation a favour," He coughed and rolled the parchment back up, turning on his heels to walk away towards a hut stationed just off the beach. Felix blinked slowly after him, looking over at Chris, who mirrored his expression of shock and appalment. Your ears rang, stomach churning and heart seeming to sink further, which you hadn’t thought possible. You had known it was coming, you had known they would reject you upon your return, but you had not expected the statement to be so viciously blunt. You had never considered it your home regardless, but now you had lost the one place you did. The flames of rejection licked at every fibre of your being, indolent tears not bothered enough to push past the corners of your eyes. You didn’t register them. You didn’t really register anything. You knew you were shutting down.

"Fuck, what do we do now?" The younger whispered, not daring to look at you in case he burst into tears, his own heart aching in spite of him never even having met his parents. Chris slowly turned to find Minho had followed them off after all, watching with clenched teeth and a red face.

"Take 'er to 'er quarters. Immediately," he all but spat, eyes dark, like a brewing storm ready to wreak havoc. They were readable this time, yes, but you weren't sure if you prefered that as his shoulders began to tremble. You weren’t sure if he was angrier at your family or himself. You hadn't realised the tears were now running down your face until you sniffed, suddenly embarrassed and wanting to make yourself as small as possible, which you attempted to do in Chris' arms. Felix drew the blade strapped to his thigh and cut your binding as to allow you to curl up, and Chris found himself massaging small circles into your shoulder. They were all stunned beyond words, as if they hadn't believed the stories you'd told. You couldn’t fully blame them. You had heard many a tale of barbarism during poker nights and mealtimes, however they were usually physical and gorey. They had underestimated games of the mind. Chris did as instructed, bringing you to your quarters and whispering an apology before shutting the door. You couldn't say you cared for how many times this had happened now, déjà vu hitting you hard as you came undone at the click of the latch.

You had always considered the sound of knocking to be rather irritating, however you had never imagined it on this level. It was frequent, day and night, various voices begging you to come out and speak to them, however as the palace help's words ran laps in your brain, you could not find the drive to do anything except cry bitter, bitter tears, clutching your pocket watch to your chest with a heavy heart and drifting in and out of sleep as the hours passed. The taste it left in your mouth was acrid - the taste of betrayal you figured - as you chided yourself repeatedly for daring to think you could ever find a family, or belong anywhere. You were free help, and a broken dream of ransom. He should have just discarded you on the beach to die and be absorbed into the sand; let the earth claim you as no one else would. Minho’s voice grew more tired - at some points he even sounded like he was crying - but the last thing you wanted was to look at his face.

So what changed?

What led to him sitting on the edge of your hammock, face pained, cheeks pink and streaky where salty tears had marked their trail? Your stomach knotted itself over and over, teeth sunk into the soft skin of your inner cheek and eyes flitting everywhere that was not his face.

He had fallen asleep with his back against your door, tremors rippling through his muscles in the harsh chill of the growing winter. The season reminded you that almost a year had passed since he had taken you, and you hated that you felt so taken by him. It had been hard for you to try and hoist him into your hammock; the movement had woken him up, and now he sat expectantly, eyes downturned and mask crumbling by the second.

"Why would you do that to me?" You finally managed to speak, voice embarrassingly small, feeling pitiful under the gaze of a man you felt foolish for having trusted. He got up to move to you, crouching before your legs and taking your hands in his. "Did you really want me off the ship that bad?"

"No! If anything, I wanted you to stay so desperately it terrified me and I just kind of… shut down!" You watched him in silence, trying to decide whether you believed him or not. "As I literally always told you, it was never about the money," he continued, swallowing his tears and willing himself to look strong. You wished he'd just drop the act for good. That he'd just trust you enough. "I admit, I didn't believe you about your family. And I was wrong for that; I genuinely apologise. I didn't think anyone could be so downright cruel to the children they chose to have. And I'm a pirate! The people I know are barbarians and yet they are nothing compared to the people who birthed you! Hell, Ching Shih marrying her adoptive son didn't even cause me to feel this nauseous, and that shocked all of us! I apologise for putting you in such a horrible situation and for not communicating the plan to you. I can only imagine you were scared and I feel like an arse."

"What fucking plan, Minho? The plan to make me feel like I might finally belong somewhere only to pull the rug from under my feet and try to deliver me to people who consider my existence their biggest mistake?"

"I had wanted to offer you a permanent position on the ship, I had just wanted to collect the ransom first," He stuttered, struggling to explain a line of thought he knew had been wrong and rash.

"I was gone for months, Minho. Why do you think no one tried to find me? Why do you think I kept telling you you'd not get even a penny for me? I feel so stupid for finally letting myself believe I could be happy. For trusting a disgusting, evil, twisted pirate such as yourself."

"You don't really think that about me,"

"I do right now,"

"Yn, please trust me, you really do belong here. We all love you so much, our ship is so lively because you're on it," he hesitated, his hands still on yours, grateful you hadn't pulled away as you looked at him with more venom in your eyes than he could handle. "And if I'm honest, I think I love you a little too much," he added the admission quietly, at which point you felt the anger wash from your face entirely, alongside any colour that might have resided below your skin.

"What?"

"I mean that I am hopelessly in love with you," he laughed, avoiding your gaze. "And that scared me, because I'm pretty sure people like me aren't supposed to feel that way, and I struggle enough with portraying my feelings, and I am supposed to be this big scary Captain, and I made some very stupid decisions, and I cannot begin to apologise enough-" you laced his fingers with yours to stop his rambling, and he looked up through his lashes at your stunned face. "Yn, you are, unequivocally, a big part of this little family. You are an incredible sailor, a masterful gunner, and most importantly, we love having you around, so," he held your palm up and pressed his lips to it slowly, as if waiting for you to bat him away or protest, and when you didn't, he smiled triumphantly. "I really want you to know you do belong here, and I want you to stay." Your eyes searched his, heart flipping in your chest, as he dared inch closer, your eyelashes kissing one another’s cheeks as his hot breath fanned across your lips. "With me." He finished in a whisper. You reached a hand up to cup his cheek, thumb tracing the chiselled bone, your other travelling further to grab his hat and set it upon your own head. He smirked as he finally leaned in to press his lips to yours, impossibly tender for a man so apparently fearsome, short and sweet as he tested the waters. It was as if he were afraid you might fade away beneath his fingers, and far be it from him to lose you for good. He felt as if his heart had erupted in his chest, fire and water all at once, fireworks of all colours. He had never really expected to find such pure happiness. Born to be evil, so said his path from the start, but your gentle touches and radiating kindness lit a warmth in him he'd never known he needed to feel, and now didn't think he'd survive without.

"Just promise you won't pull anymore stupid shit? And believe what I tell you about my own life and family?" You requested, making him pout cutely. A rare sight, and one you knew you alone were blessed with.

"I promise." another gentle kiss, then a slightly stronger one, and a contented sigh against your lips. You were both far from noticing the eyes of curious men crowded around the small window in the door and their subsequent hollering.

“You really aren’t a bad man,”

“Just a stupid one. But, in spite of my idiocy, you’re like, my Pirate Queen now,” he grinned at his own cheesiness, to which you snorted.

"We can work on the title, Captain,” you hummed, carding your hands through his hair as you kissed him again, and again, and again. His eyes misted over as he smiled between kisses, and finally, the wall came crashing down.

#ficscafe #skz #stray kids #lee know #lee minho #lee know fluff #lee minho fluff #stray kids minho #skz au #stray kids au #lee felix #lee yongbok #bang chan #chris bang #i.n #yang jeongin #kim seungmin #seo changbin #han jisung #hwang hyunjin #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #skz imagines #skz scenarios #lee know x reader #lee know x you #minho x reader #bystay

[bepisbee]

Poly Pirate AU

okokok sooooo I might have re watched some POTC and brain go bbrrrrr so theres an info dump about a pirates au thats Vio x Shadow x Green

Vio’s ship captain first mate Shadow converted Green from knighthood onto their ship

Just before they leave port he pulls out an older tunic he’d used to wear a child playing swordsman. A tattered green tunic sleeveless, with an undershirt. Tan work pants, classic brown pirate boots. His bag and some supplies. He’s just in line with the rest of the crew and the one or two crew they’d hired on at the port. Most dangerous poly pirate squad across the seas. Green gets a matching snake tattoo in green on his side.

Vio’s a very affluent pirate having come from a wealthy family forced into high education with his whole life planned for him. Until he met Shadow one day after sneaking out to a beach. Shadow was a rough boy who’d lived his life more on a boat than land. He’d been left on the beach after his crew drifted into a huge storm and their boat got wrecked af. Vio brings him food everyday and eventually sneaks him into his home to help him heal. Feeling alive through Shadow’s stories for the first time in years and years he decides he wants to toss away his boring life and join his new boyfriend on the seas. (maybe angst between them about Shadow craving to be back to his life??) Vio takes all of his inheritance out of his father’s vault and some jewels. Claiming to be taking on the business personally from his own volition. He gets his ear pierced by Shadow and Shadow gives him an earring that was from his mother and means so much to him. (Basically a marriage proposal) and they sneak away into another port (think Tortooga) and commandeer a medium trade ship and crew. They have matching tattoos of black and purple snakes on their sides/hips.

    The business Vio’s father ran was trade ships and Vio takes over his caches and begins trading contraband under the guise of the legitimate title. They only grow closer and closer. Vio so well with his words. They've taken up a few other lovers across ports but no one they liked enough to really come with on board. Until Green. A knight who only has known knighthood forever. Since he could remember. A bit older than the other two; the queen’s personal guard (Zelda). He saw Vio the first time joining her during a traders meeting while they were in court. And then Shadow that night at the local bar. Prowling out contacts, spreading channels, seeking the right kind of people. Shadow wears charcoal eyeliner 10/10. Drunk make outs with him until the barmaid (Malon perhaps?) kicks them out of her storeroom chastising Shadow (old friends for sure definitely know each other). He sees what he wanted to be as a child. Someone making a difference. Someone doing what they wanted when they wanted, big big adventure.

    He finds them together a few times as they come back and forth through port, after talking and sparring a few times Green was smitten. Arguing and fighting with Zelda ensues about the boys and how they’re actually pirate tradesmen but she lets it go for the morale of her country since it was all product like rum and banned literature.

    An old argument. Of loyalty and demand. The words that Green would never say no to. It was not in his blood and it was not how he lived. However eyes light anew with the promise of the world. “How dare you think you can defy me? I have told you time again who and what exactly they are. They are tainted, soulless pirates. I command you to not see them again.”

    “You can command me, and command my body to do as you please as I am your hand, and I am your sword. But you may not command my heart, and you may not command my soul.”

    Green stays on board their ship that night. And he stays overnight (eyebrow wiggle) that night. The next time they enter Hyrule port Green defects, quitting with a well flourished letter. (witty af when he wants to be. One of the few that can match Vio word for word part of what makes them click and turns Vio onto him). 

#drabble #idk #i like pirate aus #pirate au #vidow #polyamory #vio link #shadow link #green link #zelda #legend of zelda #vio x shadow x green #chili writes

[aprxl-showers]

klance x pirates of the caribbean

bc apparently when i'm upset i listen to newsies live and think up weird klance aus

in my head this could go one of two ways:

keith and lance as will and elizabeth

keith and lance as jack and will (i'll explain later)

a lot more under the cut bc i got a bit carried away...

if it follows the canon love story i picture lance as will and keith as elizabeth. (i could see it the other way around bc keith could be the orphan pirate boy but i’ve written too much to go back now).

when they were young, keith was on a ship with his father and he spots lance on a piece of driftwood. they save him ofc and keith spots a jewel necklace around lance's neck. he takes it and later has it fused in the hilt of his mother's knife that is now his.

keith hates being the governor's son with a passion. he hates the formality of it and how restrictive it is. lance is the weaponsmaster's apprentice (that's how he gets good with a gun) and he is always under appreciated! give this guy some recignition!

anyway, he has been silently pining for keith for ages. little does he know, keith kind of likes him too. a lot of mutual pining has been going on for longer than either can recall.

anyhoo, pirates invade the town and kidnap keith. he puts up a fight but in the end he's outnumbered and taken aboard the ship as leverage. he says his surname is mcclain bc it's on his mind. wink wonk. captain of the evil pirates is zarkon and when the pirates who kidnapped keith hand him the knife he realises it is the jewel that can break their spell. since keith uses lance's surname, he also thinks it is keith's blood they need to finish the ritual since lance's family are the one's who sent the jewel away with lance. but it's not. obvs.

lance, after saving a baby, watches keith get taken in horror and tries to call out but is knocked out before he can act. once he's awake he hears that there's a pirate who was caught in the dungeon. that's allura. yes, eccentric captain allura is a choice i am making.

lance manages to break her out of jail, thinking she is one of the evil pirates and he can persuade her to help him. she is not but decides to help him anyway in an attempt to retrieve her ship 'the voltron' from zarkon. the two of them go off on a quest to save keith.

meanwhile, hunk and pidge are guarding keith. they are new recruits to zarkon's crew after their other crew threw pidge out when they discovered she was a girl (silly pirate superstitions). hunk went with her. they are easily persuaded to help keith bc zarkon's a meanie and promise that they'll help him out when they make it to land.

lance and allura arrive on an island and find coran who is allura's closest friend and ally. shiro is also there. he has a peg arm (is that a thing? idk it's a weird mechanism but it does the trick). coran explains that the ship keith is on is cursed and they will be going to the mysterious isle of daibazaal to break the curse.

they get there and watch zarkon attempt to break the curse using the jewel (which he pried out of the blade) and keith's blood. nah, it don't work. they still turn into creepy looking skeletons in the moonlight. damn. he threatens keith and then all hell breaks loose bc lance shoots him. it would have definitely killed zarkon but he can't die bc... the whole undead thing, and in doing so all lance does is reveal their position. they fight a bit, as you do. keith gets hold of a sword and kills three evil pirates in about five seconds. lance falls a little bit in love with him.

in the midst of the battle, lance makes a deal with zarkon that he will stay if keith and the others can go (this now includes hunk and pidge bc they helped keith get free). lance is stripped of visible weapons and zarkon agrees to break the curse immediately. lance cuts his hand and drops the jewel into the chest.

then he grabs keith's jewel-less knife from where it lies beside the chest. zarkon, distracted, doesn't notice until the blade is buried in his gut. he dies. keith and the rest act immediately and kill any other pirates who don't surrender. keith kills an evil pirate about to shoot lance.

they return keith in exchange for allura, coran, shiro, pidge, hunk and lance's pardon. keith expresses his wish not to be governor in the future and allura invites them on 'the voltron' ship with her since she reclaimed it from zarkon. keith and lance then have a moment where they thank each other for saving each other's life. keith thanks lance for coming after him and lance confesses. it's all very sappy and they kiss for ages.

OR

lance is still will. i stand by everything i said about him in the previous version. his parents caused the curse to endure and sent him off. but instead of keith finding him, it's allura. she's the governor's (in this case, alfor's) daughter. she takes the jewel and keeps it as a necklace. lance and allura are more like besties but they're not really allowed to see each other because of their differing classes.

keith arrives and escapes the navy. hides in weaponsmaster’s shop. lance tries to fight him but he’s not as good with a sword as he is with a gun. lots of sassy banter where lance is tryna be noble and keith doesn’t care for it.

anyway, we sort of know what happens. allura gets kidnapped and uses lance's surname bc they had a conversation beforehand. lance stresses, hears about a pirate they captured, assumes it's one of the evil ones he can persuade to help him.

but instead he gets keith who he met earlier. in the time they’ve been apart he’s got himself landed in the dungeon. and he’s notoriously one of the most stubborn, grumy pirate captains in all the seven seas.

he's overall unimpressed with lance as a person and with his plan, only agreeing when he realises he might be able to get his ship, this time called 'the red lion', back. lance decides he's going to prove himself to keith. he doesn't know why he's so offended by a pirate's opinion but he just is. hmmm...

they pick up shiro and coran, pidge and hunk promise to help allura out yada yada yada and they start making their way towards the island.

they run into lotor and his crew (acxa, ezor, zethrid etc) who are unrelated to zarkon and that whole... thing but they're your typical pirates and they want their stuff. which is annoying af bc allura is missing and they have somewhere to be thank you very much.

they put up a good fight. lance has plenty of opportunities to impress keith with his pistol skills. consider keith very impressed and mildly enamoured. but he doesn't do feelings so he stuffs them down inside him as you do. they win and move on. afterwards keith asks lance where he learned those moves and lance tells him stories of his time in the weaponsmaster's workshop. they bond.

they get to the island and find allura. they fight and keith and lance save each other's backs too many times to count. lance has a revelation (inconveniently mid battle) that he actually really likes this. this is fun. this is exciting.

then keith fucks up. he says that he'll hand lance over if zarkon gives him his ship back. lance is fucking fuming and feeling very betrayed and hurt bc he actually felt like he was getting somewhere with keith. keith gets what he deserves though bc zarkon dumps him and allura on an island and takes lance away.

while they're on the island allura knocks some sense into him regarding his life generally and lance specifically. she tells him loads of cute lance-as-a-teenager stories and keith feels awful. he helps her light a signal fire using some rum he has on his person.

they spot the ship alfor sent to find allura. they persuade them to go to where lance and the rest of the crew is. keith tries to act like he's on zarkon's side when they get back to the cave and then he takes one of the cursed jewels so he's now immortal. aha! while this is happening allura has infiltrated zarkon's ship, 'the red lion', so shiro, coran, pidge and hunk can be freed.

allura then frees lance from where they were keeping him in the hull. lance runs to where keith is. they share a look. keith cuts his hand and throws the jewel to lance who does the same and drops it into the water. the curse is broken. keith goes to grab zarkon's sword so he can kill him but zarkon grabs him by the throat. lance shoots zarkon in the side before keith can pass out. he runs to keith who has collapsed. keith apologises and thanks him and promises not to betray him again. lance laughs, says he better not and helps him up.

they return allura safely in exchange for their pardon. keith asks lance to join the crew of 'the red lion' and gives him loads of reasons that are really just disguised compliments. safe to say lance kisses him senseless and they run away together, sailing off into the sunset. bc. klance. there's got to be a sunset somewhere.

hope you liked my what-were-meant-to-be-headcanons-but-just-became-plot-summaries!! i promise i’ll post some general pirate voltron headcanons unrelated to this au at some point. i wrote a pirate au piece for klance au month on my ao3 so some might be related to that?

if you want to send asks or whatever that would be cool - even if they're just random ideas for the au or changes/additions to the plot. i also might write little snippets for this at some point (i’ll tag them under ‘kl potc au’ like this post) bc i'm suddenly crazy invested so if you have any scenes from this you want (from version 1 or 2 or any scene in the plethora of potc movies) send a message and i'll probably get around to it :))

#klance #pirate klance #klance headcanons #klance au #pirates of the caribbean au #my posts #keith kogane #lance mcclain #takashi shirogane #allura #vld #voltron #pirate au #pirates of the caribbean #curse of the black pearl #kl potc au #coran coran the gorgeous man #pidge holt #hunk garrett #pirates #red lion

[ontowanderlust]

Animanga

Jujutsu Kaisen

❅ Rewritten Fate : Platonic!Junpei & OC; First Year!Junpei Yoshino

What would’ve happened if the events that night changed? What if an anomaly showed up just when he needed it and completely rewrote his fate?

Sword Art Online

❅ Let’s rewrite history, shall we? : Eugeo/OC

Eugeo Headcanons no one asked for. That may or may not be a story later on. So what happens if Eugeo’s already an established character from the start?

❅ A Forewarning : Eugeo/OC

Second part of Eugeo headcanons where he and Kirito meets the guild, and a potential ally...

Imagines

Robbie Kay

❅ Smile, for me?  

POTC Co-stars!AU. Can you describe your perfect guy? 

Shawn Mendes

❅ 2 AM

Two insomniacs going for an adventure of their own 

❅ I Love You  

How does one try to confess without the person ever knowing it? 

❅ Let’s play a game!  

“You’ll pretend you don’t know how I feel, and I’ll pretend I’m not breaking inside.” 

❅ Only a Moment  

You say you’ve already moved on from him but why does he still have this effect on you? 

Tom Holland

❅ Hogwarts AU  

Remind me, whose fault was it why we’re not talking anymore? 

Ian Nelson

Supernatural School Series

The idea behind this story sprouted from my daydreams after reading this story. However, this series focuses more on the relationship between Ian Nelson (The guy who played young Derek Hale in Teen Wolf) and the reader where they happened to be co-stars and Ian had always harbored a crush on the Reader. This series may also known as the Party Games series.

❅  Two Truths and a Lie ❅  Twenty Questions ❅  Would you Rather?

Marvel

Loki Laufeyson

❅ Loki Dictionary

Loki Laufeyson., n.

Prince of Asgard., Rightful ruler of Jötunheim., Master Magician., Sorcerer., Trickster., Silvertongue., Agent of Chaos., god of mischief., god of lies

But there’s so much more to him than what meets the eye, isn’t there?

❅ 1 AM

Established!Loki x Reader where Reader is an Enhanced whose ability is to foresee and experience a stranger’s death

❅ I can’t lose you  

Sometimes, you need to know when to step back or walk away

❅ Is this what [love] feels like?  

Because of a misunderstanding, Loki expects his relationship to burn down in flames but Reader kept on surprising him

Peter Parker

❅ 5 Times Peter thought Tony was hugging him and that one time he actually did  

Based on this fanart, fanfiction about Tony Stark and Peter Parker’s relationship

Musicals

Newsies

❅ Spring time : Jojo Dela Guerrera/Reader

Spring time madness for our lil ray of sunshine  

❅ Party Games Series : Racetrack Higgins/Reader

How do you admit to yourself that you’ve fallen for someone? Through party games, of course. ❅ Truth or Dare

Otome Games

Mr. Love Queen’s Choice/ Mr. Love Dream Date

❅ MLQC Dictionary

It is after all, a love story in the form of dictionary, with entries from dialogue to epistolary, from aberrant to zenith, only a handful of which are longer than a page.

Mystic Messenger

❅ Bright like you

A Luciel entry for @/gureishi’s June event for the Choi twins: #More than words 2021. There are more than enough meaning for your name but I think this one is the best meaning out of all...

❅ Give me the stars

Another Saeyoung entry for @/gureishi’s June event for the Choi twins: #More than words 2021. He loves her... and that scares him the most. 

Potterverse

Felix Rosier

❅ Soulmate AU 

Felix week ‘18 entry. Inspired by a friend’s dream where one bears a burden while the other bears hope.

❅ HPHM MC

A little background of Lillian Sanguine, a character in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

❅ HPHM Veela!MC

Headcanons about MC being a veela

❅ HPHM Jacob

Hogwarts Mystery Event Day 5. MC’s dear old missing brother.

❅ HPHM Actor! AU

A little fun idea between writers

❅ HPHM Angst! AU

What’s life without little angsts?

❅ Centerfold  

Coffee shop AU for Felix week ‘18. A single photo can convey what the heart can’t say.

❅ E correi  

5 instances Felix called you those words and the one time he meant it.

Sibling!Jacob

❅ See you again  

This isn’t an illusion isn’t it? This isn’t a dream of a dream where your brother is right there, right within your reach, is it?

TV Series

Once Upon A Time

❅ Fascination : Peter Pan/Reader

“Why can’t I read you?”

❅ The Boy who could’ve been : Peter Pan/Reader

“Is this who you’ll be?”

❅ What is Happiness? : Henry Mills/Reader

“How do you define happiness?”

❅ Scars : Emma Swan/Reader

Established Relationship! Where Emma asks for the meaning behind the scars

❅ It’s a mad, mad world : Peter Pan/Reader

Cursed!AU where Reader and Peter can’t stand each other

❅ Goodbye means : Peter Pan/Reader

Hero!AU where Peter Pan is one of the good guys and Reader sees the world in grey who happens to like Peter but does he like you as well?

❅ Jealousy Series : Peter Pan/Reader

Cursed!Peter Pan x Reader where Peter learns that there are different types of jealousy existed...

❅ The First Type: “I’m jealous but I’ll live,”

❅  Seven Kisses Series : Peter Pan/Reader

Cursed!AU where Reader and Peter Pan was swept by the curse just like everyone else. Reader is the princess of the Underworld whose True Love happen to be the Prince of Lost Boys.

❅ First Kiss (On the back of her hand) ❅ Second Kiss (On her knees) ❅ Third Kiss (On the nose) ❅ Fourth Kiss (On the forehead) ❅ Fifth Kiss (On the cheek) ❅ Sixth Kiss (On the neck) ❅ Seventh Kiss (On the lips)

The Flash

❅ Even if it hurts? : Barry Allen/Caitlin Snow

“You pause for a minute and two then try again”

The Umbrella Academy

❅ 7 times he confessed and the 1 time she accepted his confession : Five Hargreeves/Reader

For all it’s worth, he just want to confess his feelings, dammit!

❅ When he’s drunk ❅ When he’s overwhelmed ❅ When he’s trying to apologize ❅ When there’s only one bed  ❅ When they’re dancing  ❅

Original Works

❅ 5 Stages

The rollercoaster of emotion called love

❅ 12:12  

‘Tis a story of a guy trying to slip through the cracks of a broken girl

❅ I grew up

At what cost?

❅ I wonder

It’s all fairytales and stories until...

❅ That Kind of love  

It’s not unrequited love, but it isn’t a requited love either...

Inner Musings

❅ Rain  ❅ Writers ❅ Comfort ❅ Notebook ❅ Hands ❅ Affection  ❅ Play Pretend  ❅ Tell me  ❅ How’s it like?  ❅

Poetry

❅ Don’t tell me ❅ Vulnerable  ❅ What I truly mean  ❅ I only love three things  ❅ Melody  ❅

❅ None yet ❅

❅ None yet ❅

❅ None yet ❅

❅ Forget the Past Series

An original story of mine created back in high school which depict the story of five girls who experienced the same heartbreak, created a band to forget what they’ve been through while doing so, they had forgotten what it really means to live their lives....

❅ Fall

“What’s gonna make you fall?”

❅ If Only  

“Should I let my heart keep listening?”

❅ The 72nd Hunger Games Series

Before Katniss Everdeen volunteered for her sister’s place in the 74th Hunger Games and eventually igniting the flame of rebellion, there had already been several unfortunate children who had been fighting for their own little sparks.

❅ District 1 Female: Reaping Story

#revamped masterlist #FINALLY #HERE WE GO #Sword Art Online #The Flash #CW The Flash #Marvel #Robbie Kay #Shawn Mendes #tom holland #Eugeo #Caitlin Snow #Barry Allen #Hunger Games #Poetry #Inner Musing #series #The Umbrella Academy #Five Hargreeves #Once Upon A Time #Peter Pan OUAT #Henry Mills #Emma Swan #HPHM #Potterverse #Newsies #Racetrack Higgins #Loki Laufeyson #Peter Parker #MLQC dictionary masterlist

[little-smartass]

20 Questions: Writer’s Edition

tagged by the wonderful @dotsayers

answers under the cut!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

29 if you combine both pseuds

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

oh god you are asking me to do maths at this time of the morning??? the total comes to 280,707 (holy shit)

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I have written for the untamed, vampire chronicles, les mis, star trek, discworld and xmen on ao3, and on The Site Which Must Not Be Named I posted fic for the edge chronicles, harry potter, and teen titans. I also posted edge chronicles and teen titans and beyblade fics on dA and various forums back in the day.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All In at 1636 kudos

Into The Open Air at 335 kudos

Where There's A Will, There's A Road at 249 kudos

The Slow Path at 207 kudos

Of the Gold-Clad Behinds of Patricians at 177

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do angsty endings, because I'm baby, but the les trekkables fic you have and always will be ends with R dying (though as it's a star trek crossover you know Enjolras will figure out how to bring him back), and Soulmate Words and Solemn Promises is pretty sad but I'd say more bittersweet than angsty?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

oh boy, I'm gonna have to say All In - I am honestly very proud of the epilogue, sometimes I reread it when I want to be emotionally devastated in a good way l m a o

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I do! difficult to say the craziest, as I feel like that's a matter of opinion, but I've written the aforementioned les trekkables with @dotsayers, as well as our dearly beloved but never published wondrous les hogwables (les mis/harry potter). @xaviersass and I workshopped about a million crossover AUs, including but not limited to xmen/grease, xmen/mr&mrs smith, xmen/suits, xmen/austen, xmen/potc, xmen/frozen, xmen/titanic, xmen/love punch, xmen/RED, xmen/aristocats, xmen/friends, and last but certainly not least, xmen/scooby doo :)

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

uhhh no. I would maybe be open to writing it, but not on my own askjdldsjkg it is too easy to make me cringe I would simply wimp out.

9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I only respond to comments if the commenter asks a specific question I feel needs answering. why? I guess because I don't really expect authors to respond to me when I leave comments, I see it as more like the tag system on tumblr - a sort of passive feedback-like interaction?

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

yes, but only from that one asshole troll who was surfing the vc side of ao3 for a while

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

uhhh not that I know of?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

mmm not that I can think of

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yep! I've co-written with @dotsayers on several les mis pieces, both published and not, as well as co-written with @xaviersass on some unpublished xmen stuff, and @spicyshimmy-blog on All In. I am currently co-writing with @ellethinthewoods on our MONSTER of an untamed AU. I really really enjoy co-writing!!!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship to write for?

oh man, uh... that's a tough one. I don't feel like I can really give a definitive answer, as whichever ship is my current obsession will always feel like my favourite haha! though kirk/spock was definitely good fun, and I really enjoyed writing nieyao in Where There's A Will, There's A Road

15. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

hmmm. there will always be a place in my heart for les hogwables ngl, as well as the fireman azazel AU, but I am legit gutted I never finished the human!loustat fic... maybe one day, when that hyperfixation inevitably rears its head again ;_;

16. What are your writing strengths?

I find dialogue very easy to churn out, and I have been told that I have a very cinematic style of describing scenes, but I think my biggest strength is my STUBBORNNESS when I decide I am going to finish a fic, and I am good at sticking to writing deadlines

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

oh boy, I would say action sequences, and also REMEMBERING TO DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER'S SURROUNDINGS. I tend to intensely focus on the characters and their interactions and that can often really bog the plot down... if there even is a plot...

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I've thrown in bits and pieces of french in VC fics, but I'm not really confident in any other languages to do full dialogue without a native speaker advising me

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

ahhhh BEYBLADE my beloved

20. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

oh hmmm, tough one. All In is definitely up there, as is The Slow Path, but honestly I will go back and reread One Week, Things That You Can't Say Tomorrow Day, and Balance all the time if I want cheering up. the as yet unnamed absolute sprawling behemoth of an untamed AU is absolutely gonna be my fave once it's done tho.

tagging @guqin-and-flute, @adorablecrab, @justkeeptrekkin, and @vraik + @goth-mabel, if they fancy doing this!

#irl #THANKS FOR THE TAG ROSIE <3 #this was fun #about me

[rip-in-pieces-my-last-braincell]

Any ideas/details for the PotC AU that you'd like to share? I saw your post about Baloo and Becky's roles and now I'm curious. Especially that I was imagining Karnage to be either Barbosa or Jack, but now I really dont know lol I'm rewatching the first movie rn

Delly, my friend, you have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about this. XD Buckle up. 

Soo Karnage. I definitely see him as the ‘Barbossa’, with Becky and Baloo doing double duty as both Jack and Gibbs (take that weird romantic bs between Jack and Elizabeth and give it to Becky and Baloo). As long as there’s a ton of moments where these two are trying to out-captain each other I’m happy. 

I will also accept Baloo as Kit’s cursed father, stuck on the Flying Dutchman.

JAMES MOTHERFUCKING NORRINGTON. I love this man. Hear me out: he’s HDL’s dad (and for the sake of this, I’m calling him James). Hopelessly in love Elizabeth/Della? Would do anything for her? Wants the best for her? Sacrifices himself for her? Picture this; Della feeds Baloo to the Kraken and Kit gets pissed bc that’s the closest thing he has to a father, wtf Della? So they get into a massive fight and separate. Della runs into James in Tortuga and they spend a drunken night together. Yes she gets pregnant. Yes she regrets it bc she doesn’t love James like he loves her, and she is still madly in love with Kit. No, James isn’t angry about it. No he doesn’t know about the pregnancy (...right away). But like, he still adores her and he ends up sacrificing himself for her.

Shere Kahn and FOWL run the East India trading company. Bastards. 

Lunaris as Davy Jones??? 

When I saw ‘Potc Style wedding’ This was the first thought I had:

“Marry me” This wasn’t like the last time he proposed, where he donned his finest clothing and bared his heart to her. Now, he was filthy, his fur caked with blood and rain and seawater, fighting off adversaries with sword and claw alike. This wasn’t a question. Nor was it a demand. He’d never demand such a thing. 

This was plea. An all consuming desire to not spend another moment where they were not Husband and Wife. 

Della understood the feeling all too well. 

So really, there was only one answer. 

“Karnage!” She shouted above the roaring battle, never breaking Kit’s gaze. For a brief moment he stared at her in horror and no small amount of hurt. She couldn’t help but grin. 

“What do you want? Can you not see I’m very busy?” To emphasize his point, he planted his boot in the center of his enemy’s chest, launching them into the tumultuous waves below. 

“I don’t care, marry us!” 

Kit let out a whooping laugh. The bear spun to smash the butt of his sword into an oncoming enemy’s head. “She said yes!” 

“You want me to marry you now?” 

The battle would be a black spot on this day for sure. But how many people could say that they married the love of their life in the middle of a Maelstrom? What if this was their last chance? “It’s now, or never!” 

“And you want me, your once greatest nemesis, the feared Captain Don Karnage to -?”

“-Oh just shut up and do it. Unless you can’t. Don’t worry I’m sure Baloo will-”

CLANG

“DEARLY BELOVED...!” 

((And I’m sure you can imagine the rest of the scene.)) 

#ask tag #talespin #ducktales #delkit #potc au #Delly you need to stop cioming up with these great ideas #bc i want to write them #nina-a-pines

[agentsnickers]

So on the note of the pirates au, I know one of the really key parts of the potc films for me is the strong setting. I was wondering how you plan to approach that in your fic, considering that it might be a bigger challenge to get that degree of immersion across in a written form rather than a visual one?

Honestly, that is an excellent question.

I wish I knew, lol.

Jokes aside, this is actually one of the most difficult things about approaching this AU for me, known descriptive language avoider.

My current plan is to try to capture not necessarily the actual look of the setting or a strong visual, but something more like the feeling or impression that the setting gives, if that makes sense? Like, we all know that I'm for shit at describing locations, let alone doing it in a way that really helps to establish a tone or feel, so I am just choosing to aim for something slightly different.

For example, in the one fully written scene that I have so far: do we know what Katherine's cell looks like? Absolutely not. Do we know that it is cold and damp and kind of gross, that she is uncomfortable and irritated to be there, and that she is imagining how much better things could have been if she had run away with Davey and was currently sailing on the open sea under clear blue skies? Absolutely. And that is how I intend to communicate as much of that feeling from the films as I can - not through describing the setting, but establishing how the setting affects the characters. Because fuck if I know how to do anything else.

#the potc au

[carewyncromwell]

Hey, um...HPHM fandom?

Can I just start something nice? Please? I think we need some positivity. 🥺

How about this -- let’s shout-out some of our favorite HPHM/HPMA/HPHL MC’s that don’t belong to us! Let’s express why we love them, and make their creators smile! Repeats are okay, if you want to drown someone in particular. *snorts with laughter*

I’ll start with just a few MC’s I love! (Key word being “few!!” DX)

@dat-silvers-girl -- Sarahi Silvers, AKA the classic Disney princess of MC’s. XDD Without fail, you’re the first person I go to whenever a new chapter’s out: even now, I always have to watch your playthroughs first, and your commentary always makes me smile. Sarahi as well is just the absolute cinnamon roll...a cinnamon roll that can kick serious ass!!

@samshogwarts -- Samantha O’Connell. Just...she’s so friggin’ adorable and I just...I just love her?? So much?? I honestly cannot wait to see more of the first year comic you’ve been working on for her. It was so much fun to try to write for Samantha in the POTC AU, especially to put her in the same space as Charlie. Without fail, whenever we get to interact, it always brightens my day too...you were one of the first friends I made in this fandom, and I’m so, so glad you were there at the start of my journey! <3

@drinkyoursoupbitch -- Gwendolyn “Wendy” Gordon. Not only is your girl an absolute rainbow of a character, but so are you as a person! You’re always a joy to interact with and there are so many times you’ve made me laugh. Ben/Wendy is my OTP and I will protect it forever!!

@cursebreakerfarrier -- SO MANY. Jules Farrier. Alistair Schaefer. Robin Isherwood. Montelimar “Monty” Bloom. Atticus Grimsley. Teddy Ellison. Galen Stagg. Azariah Steele. Your creativity is seemingly limitless and I could NEVER juggle all the characters that you do. I do, however, absolutely adore interacting with all of them with my kiddos -- it seems like whenever we put one of my kids and one of your kids in a room together, the result is always a blast.

@that-ravenpuff-witch -- Ellie Hopper, Estrid Soelberg, and especially ADELIA. FRIGGIN’. SELWYN. The most beautiful and clever Slytherin Victorian fashion icon in existence! I love her relationship with Teddy so much and any time I get to write anything for “Uncle Bat” interacting with her and her family...MY HEART! Ellie’s relationship with Alistair is so adorable, and I’ve absolutely adored developing the relationship between my kid Ru and your lovely lady Estrid.

@hogwartsmystory -- Ethren Whitecross. Ethren is honestly so well-developed and so friggin’ relatable, and your writing is always on-point. I know our characters really haven’t interacted much, but I’m not exaggerating when I say I always smile when I see you on my dashboard or especially in my notifs.

@kyril-hphm -- Kyril Vasiley, of course! Carey’s bb bear!! Your art never fails to put a smile on my face -- your love for your characters and for your art always comes through, and it’s always so charming.

@brothergrimm71 -- Septimus Crowe, AKA the biggest bad-ass in the whole of HPHM MC’s, I’m not taking any arguments at this time. We don’t really interact much, but I always love see anything Septimus-related on my dashboard. <3

@makichaotic -- Cereza Gomez. I know we haven’t really interacted, like, AT ALL, but...your art is always just so unbelievably beautiful!! Especially anything with Cereza and Talbott...they’re always so friggin’ cute!! I adore whenever I see your art on my dashboard.

@annabelle-tanaka-official Elaiza Schuyler. Oh my GOD, she is so precious, I can’t even. Not only is she stylish and sweet beyond reason, but I love what you’ve done with her link to Rowena Ravenclaw and especially her relationships with Talbott, Tonks, Kyril, and Angelo. ^.^

@immagrosscandy -- Candy and Paula Vigiere. I absolutely ADORE their dynamic -- even though, yeah, it’s easy to write those two in comedic situations and comics, there’s also such sincere love between them too, and I love that. You drawing Carewyn after I’d only just joined the fandom also just made me feel so unbelievably welcome. There’s a reason I haven’t changed my avatar once since you first drew it for me, and it’s not just because it’s beautiful and fits Carewyn to a tee -- it also just always reminds me of how much time you put in, to draw a character you didn’t even know and do her so much justice. <3

@lunasilvermore -- Luna Silver. Luna is so wonderfully quirky, and yet so beautifully three-dimensional, full of talents as well as relatable hang-ups and flaws. I love how her relationship with Rath has such realistic issues. I love the dynamics within her family. I love the way you’ve characterized Jacob Silver (Jacob’s Angels unite!!). Not to mention your awesome art that shows all of that off so wonderfully!

@angellazull -- Angelo Lancaster. Angel is the purest thing and I absolutely love all of his relationships, from his romance with Penny to his friendships with other MC’s like Kyril, Elaiza, and Roger. Your art is also really, really gorgeous too! Your use of color is exquisite.

@larg04 -- Dusty Emerald. Your level of talent, just...blows me away. Seriously. Your art is always perfect, and I always love learning more about Dusty. I really enjoyed the simulator you designed for her, and honestly, Dusty’s relationship with Andre?? It gives me SUCH life, I can’t even tell you!!

Add on if you like! Let’s pass around some love!! 💚

#god I could've gone on forever #trust me this is just a handful of mc's >>; #hphm love tag

[the-arcana-but-saucier]

OK But hear me out... Pirates of the Caribbean Arcana AU

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for both the Arcana and for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so read ahead at your own risk!

I've been thinking about this AU for a while, and although it's been difficult to wrangle some characters into roles that would work for them, I think I largely have it down. I have most of the characters put in the roles I feel fit them best, either as similar characters or due to their relationship with the other characters. I'm having a tough time trying to figure out who Muriel would be, as his personality and build don't really match up with any of the main or even supporting cast in PotC. I'm also missing someone to be Davy Jones, as considering his personality, occupation, and also his past with Tia Dalma, he's a tricky character to place. If anyone has any suggestions or amendments, let me know! I've done my best :)

MC as Will (or Billy as a female version) Turner. Thought about this a lot - Will seems to be the character who ends up getting dragged along for the ride in the first movie (not knowing about his past, incidentally), whilst also being sought after by the main villain of that film (in this case, Lucio), which fits MC's role in the game. He also forms relationships with most of the main cast in various ways, which makes sense versus MC's 'fit all' role in the game. Obviously, any character wouldn't be perfect for MC as they can be pretty much any character, but I felt that Will was both main character-y enough and also diverse enough to work.

Julian as Captain Jack Sparrow. How could I not? An often charming, quick-thinking, drink-loving guy with a penchant for adventure and dodging the law. These two fit pretty damn well!

Asra as Tia Dalma/Calypso. Asra and Tia Dalma both give off these great mysterious vibes, plus Tia Dalma dabbles in magic of a sort, making a darker version of Asra a perfect fit for her. I believe she owns a pet snake in the films as well (among an assortment of other animals, mind you), so bonus points! The PotC wiki states that 'it is implied that Tia Dalma and Jack Sparrow became lovers at some point in the latter's adult life', which fits Asra and Jules perfectly, especially as in the movie, Tia Dalma seems to have fallen out of love somewhat with Jack - she's a little flirty with him, but shuts down any actual moves made towards her by him.

Lucio as Captain Barbossa. Lucio made me think for a bit, as he could also fit the role of Norrington or Beckett with his soldierly feel - he'd make a great navyman. I went with Barbossa in the end due to his relationship with the other characters, namely kidnapping Elizabeth (played by Nadia in this case, mistaking her for MC) and making sexual advances towards her. He would also be actively hunting MC, which mirrors his plot in the Arcana largely, as in PotC Barbossa needs Will's blood to reverse his curse caused by his own greed, which sounds a lot like what happens with MC and Lucio in the Arcana. It's also nice as it gives him a chance to become a good character (Barbossa throughout the films remains largely neutral, and switches sides a couple of times depending on his mood and what he's getting out of the situation). He also fucks over Julian a couple of times in the game, which fits with Barbossa fucking over Jack in PotC. Finally, Jack (Julian) shoots him as Will (MC) breaks the curse, essentially killing him (although he is brought back later on) mirroring Julian's alleged murder of Lucio.

Portia as Anamaria. You may not remember Anamria from PotC, but I feel she was a more instrumental character than her screen time suggested. Jack stole her ship in the past and subsequently sank it, and after finding him and giving him a good slap (classic Portia/Julian interaction lmao), Will (MC) suggests she can have Jack's currently 'borrowed' ship, the Interceptor, in exchange for her help, as she's an excellent sailor. She may be a side character, but I think her relationship with Jack fits Portia and Julian's relationship pretty well, plus bonus points for strong female pirates! :D

Nadia as Elizabeth Swann - How could she not be? A noblewoman with a taste for sword-fighting, who eventually ends up as the pirate queen. Obviously her relationship with Will (MC) would likely be a little more nuanced in this AU if MC announced interest in another character, so this would require some thought, as within PotC Will and Elizabeth are essentially star-crossed lovers, so I'd have to figure out a way to steer them away from that a little perhaps, unless MC falls for Nadia, in which case, all good :)

James Norrington (Elizabeth's former fiance) - Honestly not a clue here, I'm coming up empty. I would have put Lucio into this role as it fits the relationship between himself and Nadia (Elizabeth) pretty well, but Lucio largely fits better as Barbossa and I've more or less run out of characters that could conceivably have been Nadia's ex-fiance. Taking suggestions for this one!

Valerius as Cutler Beckett. I am aware that Valerius isn't exactly a villain in his entirety, but I was struggling for characters with this one. His cold and egocentric demeanor works for Beckett's similar personality, and I can just picture him sipping a glass of wine aboard a navy ship, looking out to sea and plotting Julian's downfall... his disdain for Jack Sparrow works well with Valerius's disdain for Julian. This role could also be fit by Vulgora, possibly.

Davy Jones - MAYBE Muriel due to his relationship with Asra versus Davy's relationship with Tia Dalma, but that feels like doing him dirty. It would work as a tragic love story, but I just can't see Muriel as a villainous character in any way, really. could be Valdemar, although I don't believe Valdemar has... FEELINGS, let alone feelings for Asra (Tia Dalma). In an ideal world, though...

Muriel as Cotton. Muriel is the one character I basically couldn't place in the PotC universe. He could be Gibbs (Jack Sparrow's first mate), but their relationship in the Arcana doesn't fit with Jack/Gibbs' relationship at all. Eventually, I went with Cotton - a mute pirate belonging to Jack's crew who has trained his pet parrot to speak for him. What with Cotton's fondness for animals (or at least, for his parrot...) and his uh... quiet demeanor, it COULD work, although I'd feel sort of bad making Muriel entirely mute, even if he doesn't speak much regardless. Taking suggestions for Muriel as well!

Vlastomil and Volta as Pintel and Ragetti. This is that pair of comedy relief pirates, one of which has a wooden eye, which works well for Volta. Vlastomil perhaps doesn't quite fit Pintel's general personality and build, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances, and imagining these two getting up to mischief is pretty amusing.

Overall, I feel that some of these characters fit their counterparts almost perfectly, and others require a little imagination, but it could definitely be a fun AU to write within! Hope you liked this little dip into my procrastinating-uni-work brain ;)

#the arcana #arcana game #arcana the game #arcana au #potc #pirates of the caribbean