#when i was learning sailing i wanted to make that an AU so badly

[touchmycoat]

Can we ask multiple things?

Questions 5, 7, 23 sound really interesting

hell yeah you can!!!

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

very good question...very good question. Hmm. Maybe He Xuan?? I think my love for him really came out of the blue for me since SQX was my darling from the get-go (and very much one of my Types™). I never hated HX just 'cause he was the antagonist of SQX's arc but I don't think I was expecting to read his stuff further and just fall madly in love with the guy hahahahaha, and now he's my fav 🙏🙏

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

I'm very enthusiastic! All my friends, even non-fandom ones, know I write fic and porn lmao, and if they ask I'll even tell them what the porn is about. My policy is if they end up embarrassed that's their problem nsfndnjfnjdnf

(to be real though, I can't wait for the day I actually have an original fiction project that I can talk about so I don't have to talk circuitously around fic for people I'm not super close to.)

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

yeah. Here's what I can remember at a scan:

Song of Achilles fic - my hometown Les Mis greek myth!AU - the classics course I took in undergrad One Piece MAS zoo!AU - volunteered at the zoo/worked at a bio sciences museum songxiao daycare AU - worked in early ed & babysitting We Built Our Own House - the Buddhism course I took songxiao transmigrated mail order bride AU - XXC has my ex-housemate's old job lolol songxiao temple drummer/spanking fics - i did temple drumming ndfjdfjn songxiao erotic acupuncture - i went and got acupunctured literally for this fic i think ksdnfdjfnj songxiao bachelor!AU - stage managing/first ADing/read Strike the Baby and Kill the Blonde songxiao street food!AU - me literally going to 東區 in taiwan and sussing out the food stands Cultivation No. 6 - worked at a plant store; this fic is literally just my customer service adventures songxiao aerial yoga PWP - i went and did aerial yoga SHUT UP songxiao hospital pianist AU - you already know where this is going SV porn!AU - SY's video editing (not the porn part, sadly)

a fic i'm really excited about writing is the post-canon SQX-centric fic I wanna write w freediving, which I am now learning!!

((Get to know your author))

[zuko-always-lies]

ATLA AU Idea which is Basically “Azula Raises Katara for Several Years”

I’ve had this idea kicking around my head for months, and, since I have no intention of writing it, I figure I might as well post it. To be clear, the premise of this fanfic is “Azula, Katara, and Sokka get traumatized in ways they weren’t in canon, but the events that traumatize them potentially help lead to a better outcome in the long-term,” so be prepared for rough sailing.

This idea is very much inspired by all the “Katara gets kidnapped young and raised within the Fire Nation royal family” fanfics, which I think can be excellent if done with care. However, in a situation where Katara and Azula develop a relationship when they are young, the natural tendency is to make Katara the “motherly” or parental one, and I wanted to turn that on its head. I also wanted to explore some of the possible implications of Azula taking on adult sized responsibilities as a child and of the perverse ways that power differentials can influence things. I also wanted to explore some of the ways that Azula’s commitment to duty and responsibility can be a positive thing. Another ~2000 or so words under the cut.

The premise is that, shortly after Zuko gets banished, Katara gets captured by the Southern Raiders as the last Southern Water Tribe waterbender and brought back to Caldera and presented as a trophy to Ozai. Ozai’s first reaction is to have her executed, but fortunately Azula is also present in the throne room. For reasons which Azula doesn’t entirely understand herself but which definitely have something to do with her guilt over what happened to Zuko, Azula decides to intervene, despite the risks involved. However, not being Zuko, she manages to do this without provoking Ozai, through convincing him that Katara is more valuable alive as a trophy, a symbol, and a plaything than she is dead. Ozai doesn’t really care that much, so he pawns Katara off to Azula and basically forgets about her, accidentally using language that implies to Azula that Katara and taking care of Katara is now Azula’s responsibility. Azula is at an age where she’s started to take her responsibilities and duties with deadly seriousness.

Katara doesn’t know what to make of this all.  She’s been severely traumatized by being kidnapped and torn from her family and culture and by having her life threatened by Ozai. She’s aware that Azula saved her life, but the language Azula used to in order to do so sounds warped and screwed up to Katara, who is unaware that Azula had to say what she said in order to manipulate Ozai.  Katara noticed that Azula seemed a little nervous when she talked to Ozai, but Katara doesn’t initially know how risky and dangerous what Azula did was.

Again, Azula takes her responsibilities with deadly seriousness. So, when it becomes her responsibility to take care of Katara, Azula is determined to do the best possible job, even though she’s 11 and Katara is also 11. If there were any responsible adults present, they would intervene and talk to Azula about how awful an idea this is, but there aren’t any left.  In any case, Katara’s waterbending abilities make it so she has to be kept under some kind of supervision, Azula is perceptive enough to worry that Katara might be mistreated if she got fostered out, and in any case Azula is convinced she can do a better job than any foster family.

Azula is a badly abused 11 year old who grew up indoctrinated in an absolutely toxic ideology. She’s never really seen good parenting in her life. The idea of her trying to parent should be terrifying. Yet she’s aware that Ursa didn’t do the best job with her, and since Katara isn’t a “monster” Azula sees no reason to replicate Ursa’s behavior. Azula believes the way that Ozai treats her is absolutely justified, even though she has some knowledge of its negative effects on her, but since Katara isn’t a princess who has immense duties to her nation and family, Azula sees no reason to treat her that way. In fact, Azula is aware of ignorance about parenting, and tries to read as much about parenting as she can. She also reads as much about the water tribes as she can in order to try to understand Katara better.

In terms of being a “parent,” Azula is overall a little standoffish, absent, and demanding.  She doesn’t need to directly look after Katara’s physical care(she has servants for that), but she has to look after Katara’s emotional needs, her education, and her overall care. As a temporary measure, she arranges that Katara sleep on a cot in Azula’s room because she’s not sure where to put her, and this arrangement becomes permanent. This means Azula and Katara usually eat together, since Azula has taken most of her meals in her room, but Azula is very busy with her duties, training, and education, so they don’t spend much time together in a typical day. Azula has Katara officially declared a servant(but one who only reports to Azula) in order to regularize her status and allow Katara to draw a salary(most of which Azula holds in escrow for when Katara comes of age), but Azula only rarely asks Katara to do work; Katara had far more chores back in the Southern Water Tribe. On the other hand, Azula demands that Katara work hard in her education and on practicing her waterbending. Katara is too old to be sent to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, but Azula obtains tutors for her, in addition to getting her whatever waterbending scrolls she can and trying to obtain the best possible bending coaches for Katara’s waterbending, sometimes even stepping in herself to try to coach Katara.

Azula is aware that Katara wants to return home, but she doesn’t think that Ozai would ever allow that, and, in any case, Azula is an imperialist who thinks Katara is better off being “civilized” in the Fire Nation than she would be back in her ignorant and “savage” home.  A large portion of Katara’s education is intended to “civilize” her. Azula doesn’t have firm ideas of where adult Katara will fit into Fire Nation society but plays with the idea of marrying her into the nobility or of making her governor of the conquered Water Tribes. So overall, Azula does a shockingly good job as “parent” given she’s an abused 11 year child acting within the toxic norms of the Fire Nation, but that still means she does a bad job, and her relationship with Katara remains pretty toxic.

Ozai and the rest of the court have some awareness of what’s going on, but they honestly don’t care as long Azula continues to be an exemplary princess, fulfills her duties, and continues to exceed expectations. Some members of the court even find Azula’s personal commitment to “civilizing” a savage to be inspiring. However, the burden of taking care of Katara means that Azula is under even more pressure than she is in canon, with the good news being that Azula has something more of a support network than in canon. Katara provides some measure of support, and in this AU Azula never has the energy to really push Ukano’s political career forward, and so Mai never has to leave, so Ty Lee also stays put.

Katara, again, is severely traumatized by her experiences, and to a degree feels helpless. She knows that she can’t escape and go back home. She’s resentful of Azula and particularly of the efforts to cut Katara off from her culture, but at the same time Katara ends internalizing some Fire Nation culture. Yet after a while Katara gets a sense of how toxic the environment is at the Royal Court, and she soon(after overhearing a conversation between Mai and Ty Lee which was supposed to be confidential) learns what happened to Zuko and realizes how much Azula risked in order to protect Katara, and Katara can’t help but feel intense gratitude to Azula for it. Azula also gradually becomes more and more respectful of Water Tribe culture, and Katara deeply appreciates the emphasis Azula places on Katara mastering waterbending.  Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are also the only people in the Fire Nation who are ever consistently kind to Katara, and Katara ends up deeply bonding with each one of them, although the resulting relationships are not the healthiest. Katara eventually starts to develop a sense of how each one of them has been deeply victimized by Fire Nation culture. Azula goes to great lengths to hide her own struggles and pain from Katara, but Katara spends a lot of time with her and sometimes notices. Several years in, Katara notices some positive changes in Azula and begins to play with the idea that she can positively influence Azula so that Azula will be become a kinder and anti-imperialist Firelord.

Azula thinks Katara’s waterbending is the coolest thing ever(well, aside from firebending at least), a sentiment shared to a lesser degree by Mai and Ty Lee. Azula also thinks that learning to fight is vital, so she brings Katara along for her spars with Mai and Ty Lee. Katara makes rapid progress, particularly due to her access to many waterbending scrolls. As a result of this, and of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee not separating, all four girls end up being significantly better combatants than they were in canon.

Mai and Ty Lee have complex reactions to Katara, but they eventually come to like and even love her. There is an element of resentment present because Katara takes up so much of the ever busy Azula’s time, but Azula forces her friends to spend time with Katara, and they end up bonding with her.  Katara’s empathy and compassion works in her favor here, especially since she rapidly develops into one of the few people who sees and appreciates them for who they are. Mai and Ty Lee also find Katara’s waterbending to be an interesting and intriguing method of combat, soon come to respect Katara’s budding combat skills, and, as people deeply unhappy with their own places in society, they find Katara’s stories of life at the south pole to be interesting. Mai has issues with Katara being a little too “motherly,” but on the other hand appreciates that Katara pays attention to Mai’s actual desires and needs.  Ty Lee sometimes finds Katara to be a little too similar to her for comfort, but also at the same time appreciates Katara’s caring side and the way she’s not reluctant to give her positive attention. Frequently Azula is too busy to join her friends, so Katara, Ty Lee, and Mai end up hanging out together. Freaks and outsiders stick together.

Azula, through her research into the Water Tribes, personal experience with Katara, and interest in Katara’s waterbending, begins to subtly yet strongly move in anti-imperialist directions and doubt Fire Nation ideology, but her transformation has scarcely begun by the time Book 1 begins. She does benefit from better relationships with her friends, though, and Katara gives her some emotional support. Meanwhile, to a lesser degree Mai and Ty Lee have had their own doubts develop about imperial ideology.

Azula tends to see her relationship with Katara mainly in terms of responsibility and duty, but she ultimately comes to fiercely love Katara.

Zuko and Iroh do their things, just like in canon.  They receive vague reports about Katara’s presence in court, but they don’t understand the significance of them.

Sokka gets badly traumatized by losing his sister and believes her to be killed by the Fire Nation. Hakoda, Bato, and the water tribe warriors also still leave to fight the Fire Nation. Sokka is absolutely dedicated to seeking vengeance on the Fire Nation, and when he accidently defrosts Aang, he sees an opportunity.

Book 1 largely plays out the same, with minor changes. I think an interesting one is that Suki ends up joining a badly understrength Team Avatar and temporally leaving her warriors behind in order to aid Avatar Kyoshi’s reincarnation with the fulfillment of his destiny.

Book 2 opens with Azula being sent to capture Zuko and Iroh. Mai and Ty Lee tag along, in part with the hope of making sure Zuko is captured without being harmed, and Azula decides to bring Katara too rather than leave her alone in Caldera.  However, the operation goes south, and Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Katara soon find themselves hunting the Avatar. Katara’s loyalties are about to be tested like never before…Meanwhile, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee all have seeds of anti-imperialism growing within them, but what will it take for these seeds to blossom and give fruit? Meanwhile, Azula grapples with not only her canon trauma but also the trauma she experienced through her parentification.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

~gives you an excuse to infodump about mermaid aus~

How does it feel to be my current favorite?

FIRST WORLDBUILDING, I SWEAR IT’S NECESSARY TO SET THE SCENE

Okay, in this world, merfolk and aquatic sirens are seen as two separate species. This is mostly perpetuated by the merfolk themselves who are peaceful versus man-eating and don’t have the same mystical vocal powers sirens use to hypnotize or paralyze prey. There are also other differences, such as jaw/tooth structure. Mermaids--many of them at least, may have sharp, interlocking, predator teeth, but sirens have a specific fang structure in the front of their mouth. Protruding fangs for causing wounds that will bleed the most with the least “effort,” the “puncture teeth” for quicker kills. There are also curved fangs for skinning/descaling prey. 

These latter fangs are important for more than hunting. The siren society has a culture of scarification. Each family has a crest, with individuals therein creating their own variant when they come of age. Who you are is branded/bitten/scarred into your skin, and then you mark your mate and children. There can also be specific circumstances for marks, such as a lifelong debt. For the most part though, you only bare 1 to 2 marks (depending on if you keep your family crest and make your new tattoo separate or if you bare both a mate and an individual mark) and these are taken super seriously in both who you are and who belongs to you until the day they die.

READ MORE FOR LENGTH

Sirens dwell in the deeper trenches of the ocean for the most part and have adapted for it, and who are known to not only drown humans and eat them, but to even sometimes sneak up on a merperson swimming alone, drag them to depths where the pressure starts interfering with their ability to fight back with a clear head, overpower them, and turn (basically) cannibal. 

Why do I say basically cannibal? Because the sirens are taught that really they are one common people, just adapted differently as the merfolk denied some of their true nature and excommunicated those that did not want to live oppressed. There are subsets of mers who have all sort of different tails, sizes, and talents and are still called merfolk, so why should those that “have the song” (and the taste for more than fish) be treated differently? They would also say that more merfolk (senselessly) kill sirens than the opposite, and this hate combined with the fact that Sirens hunt the surface less and less as humans grow more creative and vicious, means they are dying out.

Humans (the ones that have seen these sea creatures and believe in them at all)  just know pretty-half fish= probably dangerous and don't distinguish between merfolk and sirens at all. If you’re close enough to study their teeth it’s probably too late.

Adam and Tadashi= sirens

Langa and Shadow=mermen

Miya- Either a merman or just straight up I make him a salt-water catfish to be funny. He is identified as “sidekick” more than an actual species in my mind so far

Cherry, Joe and Reki= human sailors

Oka= a human but not a sailor, someone who runs a store in a port the Matchablossom ship often restocks and Reki's former boss before he left to sail with Joe and Cherry

ARE YOU WITH ME SO FAR? GOOD, BECAUSE HERE COMES PLOT PREMISE[

THE BACKSTORIES

So we have Adam and Tadashi when they were but tiny things playing around, exploring where they were not supposed to go, and they get attacked by some other dangerous sea creature with things only getting worse when they almost get caught in a net when they flee to the shallow. The net gets very badly wrapped around tiny Tadashi’s throat and he suffers vocal cord damage and loses his main power as a siren before he even grows into it--a consequence of curiosity, Tadashi views it, and though he escapes the net, does he ever really?

Adam learns zero lessons, and a bit later in life he dabbles in a Little Mermaid type narrative with Cherry and Joe when they were younger and dumber...until they discover Adam  luring more weak minded sailors to their doom and prove some people just aren't down with murder for fun and food.

PRESENT DAY

 Captain Kaoru and first mate Kojiro (Though Kaoru and Kojiro keep saying Carla, Kaoru's really fancy nautical compass is the first mate, and Kojiro is just hanging around) take on the plunky Reki as a new crew mate. Reki spots Langa or vice versa and the love at first sight strikes hard. They continue to find ways to interact, but mostly moon over each other in typical teen star-crossed fashion. The “true” Little Mermaid narrative vibes begin. Joe and Cherry find out about their little meetups and warn Reki about the “dangers and demons of the deep” but Reki can’t fathom Langa being like the stories they tell. 

Langa’s mother would not be thrilled with him revealing himself to a human, but the real danger for Langa, though he doesn’t know it, is when Adam hears Langa happily singing to himself about a day spent with Reki. He becomes convinced Langa has “the song” and can bend the world to his will, and runs far with the implications, convinced that he’ll somehow unite mer kingdoms, bringing the sirens out of the depths to the more hospitable merfolk territory and plentiful hunting grounds. 

The only thing standing in the way is Reki and all that needs to happen is to get rid of him or have Langa do it through a little bit of trickery in saying that if Reki's love is true when Langa sings he'll grow gills.

Well, not the only thing, because then we have Matchablossom, already feeling like it's their burden to kill Adam.

And maybe I have some other tricks planned, but I feel like this is enough of an explosion of info.

Unless anyone wants to ask more questions...

[elizabeethan]

Find Strength in Pain, Find Strength in Me 2/3

After defeating the wraith, Emma Swan is dragged through the portal they sent it through and suddenly finds herself in the land in which she should have grown up. Lost, overwhelmed, and desperate to get home to her son, she accepts help from the gruesome pirate Captain Hook— and his accomplice. 

A Season 2 AU in which Emma ends up the the Enchanted Forest alone, and she and Hook (try to) work together to get to the Land Without Magic.

Hi! here is part 2! thank you to @the-darkdragonfly for being an incredible beta and to @donteattheappleshook for forcing me to write being instrumental in the creation of this fic.

Rated T (for now) (I have no idea if that’ll change) (bit fat maybe)

~4800 words

Read on Ao3

Read my other stuff

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

Despite her circumstances, Emma does not feel like a prisoner of fearsome pirate Captain Hook. In fact, she’s been made to feel quite comfortable in his quarters, and after he was sure that their interests aligned and that they were useful to one another, he told her she could have free reign of the ship to do as she pleased until they made landfall. 

 “No one on this vessel will harm you, love,” he assured her when she became bored of exploring his quarters, and she believed him immediately. 

 Maybe she was bothering him as he peered over his logs and maps and she tinkered with the exotic items he’s collected— perhaps that’s why he encouraged her to explore. Either way, she didn’t have to be told twice, and found out that the men aboard were surprisingly pleasant as well. Mr. Smee was a shy and timid man, but friendly and caring all the same. The rest of the crew wore snarls when they looked at her, but broke down easily the moment she began casual conversation with them. 

 Maybe it’s because they know how instrumental she is in their Captain getting his revenge. 

 As she leans against the rail of the upper deck after a day of learning about ships and pirating, she watches as the sun sets behind them, painting the sky an intoxicating shade of pink that fades into purple and black. Hook is at the wheel, navigating through the ocean that almost claimed her, and despite her situation, she feels safe. If she had to be dragged from the sea and rescued by pirates, she supposes she lucked out with the Jolly Roger.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it, love?” he asks her, and she turns to face him so she can respond. 

 “It’s beautiful.” 

 “Never been aboard a ship before, I take it?” he calls from the wheel, giving her a smirk at the look of wonderment on her face. 

 “Nope, never had much of a need to,” she responds as casually as she can.  

 “Or an opportunity?” 

 She laughs, a bit awkwardly, and says, “I guess not. It’s not something I've really thought about.”

 “I see,” he concedes when she gets closer to him, leaning against the rail just across from the wheel he commands. “So, tell me about your boy.” 

 She sighs wistfully and looks up to the sky, wondering what he could be up to, what he’s thinking, if he’s worried about her. “His name is Henry. He’s almost eleven, but he acts like he’s 32. Super smart, very passionate about the things and people he cares about.” 

 “Sounds like you,” he chuckles.

 “How would you know?” she asks with incredulity. 

 “You're an open book. And you did hold a knife to my throat yesterday. I can only attribute that to your passion and assume that you want to get home quite badly.” 

 “Of course I do,” she rolls her eyes, stepping closer to him until she’s leaning against the helm and glaring at him. “I’m his mother,” she insists. 

 He nods and says, “of course. But I sense that there’s more to the story.”

 Caught off guard, she answers, “well, just… he’s been through a lot. Especially in the past year.”

 “I see. And you don’t wish to contribute to his turmoil.” She shrugs, looking away from his gaze. “You don’t wish to contribute... further?”

 Her breathing falters at his accuracy and she says, “let’s just say I wasn’t always there for him in the way I should’ve been. He deserves better and I need to get home to make sure I can give him that.” 

 He nods thoughtfully, pursing his lips and looking ahead towards the horizon again, as if anything before them has changed in the last day and a half. “I understand, love.” It’s as if he shakes himself out of a trance when he says, “try your hand at the wheel?” 

 She raises her brows and gives him a disbelieving look. “After I just told you I’ve never even been on a ship?”

 “It’s not difficult to learn,” he tells her as he lifts his hand towards her, gently guiding her behind the wheel. “Besides, the Jolly is enchanted. You can’t hurt her.” 

 She snorts softly, shaking her head as he leads her and places her hand upon a handle, letting his fingers linger on the top of her hand for a moment too long. “How do you manage to get your ship enchanted?” she asks amorously once his fingers leave her skin, taking with them a feeling of gentle warmth.  

 “You know the right enchantress,” he flirts back, his mouth just a bit too close to her ear. She can almost feel his voice rumbling through his chest as it presses to her back, keeping her warm against the whipping winds of the sea. “There,” he says softly. “You're sailing.” 

 She laughs lightly, unaware of how exciting she actually found this until he put it to words. Seriously, she’s captaining a pirate ship! Henry is gonna be so excited when she tells him this story. “I guess I am,” she says happily. 

 “I think she likes you,” he says in a way that she knows isn’t a joke, despite how ridiculous it sounds.

 “Why, because she isn’t sinking?” 

 “Aye, she doesn’t always take kindly to strangers.”

 “And you let me do this?!”

 He laughs, but doesn’t respond with words, as if he knows he’s been caught. “I had a feeling.”

 They’re quiet for a moment, and while he’d dropped her hand and is letting her steer on her own, she notes that he doesn't back up and keeps her back pressed gently to him. “We’re going to get you home to him, love,” he murmurs into her ear, so softly that she can barely hear him over the sound of the wind. “I know-- well, I would wager that you have some experience with abandonment and… Well, I’m not going to let your boy go through that.” 

 She draws her brows together in thought, considering how perceptive he is, how well he seems to know her after such a short time. She turns around to face him, seeing just how close he truly is to her, and cocks her head. He reaches behind her to take control of the wheel, bringing himself even closer. “How do you know?” she asks. 

 His smile is small, sad. “I’m no stranger to a lost soul.” 

 “Are you accusing me of being a lost soul?” she asks in a tone as soft as his own. 

 “Perhaps I'm simply trying to tell you that I understand.” 

 With a hum, she says, “what are you saying, Captain? Are we kindred spirits?” 

 He cracks a brilliant smile, his eyes crinkling and glimmering in the moonlight, shining like the stars above them. “Aye, I suppose we are.”

 She’s so calm with him. It feels wrong to let herself relax into his hold, to let herself enjoy the feeling of his chest vibrating against hers as he speaks. She should be focusing on getting home, on getting to Henry and protecting him from Regina. Not fantasizing about a pirate she thought was fictional. 

 But then he leans closer to her, his hook on the wheel and his hand reaching up to cup her cheek, and she doesn't even try to stop herself from pressing onto her toes and capturing his lips in a slow yet chaste kiss. He doesn’t hesitate to kiss her back, and she feels warmth flitting through her and settling in the deepest depths of her center until he’s tangling his fingers in her hair and getting his rings caught in the strands.

 She breathes out a soft giggle at the sharp tug, pulling from him and attempting to detangle herself from him. “Apologies, my darling,” he practically purrs against her mouth. 

 “It’s okay,” she whispers, planting her forehead against his and trying to catch her breath. They had only kissed for a second, but their close proximity and the raw, ardent nature of his observations weigh heavily between them and she feels something. 

 He kisses her lips again, one, twice, three times, before saying, “time for dinner.” 

 She groans and rolls her eyes. “Not more of that tack shit is it?” 

 He laughs heartily and says, “tonight you’ll get some more jerked meat, darling. Perhaps some rum to chase it down.” 

 “I’d love some rum.” 

 With a smirk, he steps back slightly and reaches his hand into his coat, taking out a flask and passing it to her, but not before removing the cork with his teeth and popping it onto the ground. She takes it happily from him, smirking back and stuffing the feeling of warmth that traces through her as deeply as she can. 

 ~~~~

 The ship is enchanted in several ways, she realizes. Hook told her that it’s impossible to damage her, but she’s discovered other quirks as well. For one, it’s never cold. Not only is his cabin toasty warm, as if it’s well insulated, but  the rest of the ship is comfortable as well. For another, although it rained last night and the deck should have been slick, it was completely dry. And now, music is playing, and she can’t for the life of her find the source. 

 The wind is whipping but the lanterns stay lit, maybe another side effect of the enchantment, and the crew lounges happily on the deck, enjoying their rum and their opportunity to relax. Hook leans against the ladder that leads to the helm, and she can’t help but stare through her lashes at his confident posture as he laughs at the crewmen dancing wildly. 

 They shout boisterously as a slower, more romantic song replaces the shanties, laughing and hollering at their Captain until he stands and holds up his hands in defeat, shaking his head and smiling. She isn’t sure what they’re all talking about, but she’s excited to see him do what he seems so adamant to avoid. 

 That is, until he comes up to her and holds out his hand, offering her a small, shy smile in replacement of the smirk she was expecting. “Dance with me, Swan?” 

 “Dance with you?” she asks in outrage. “I can’t dance!” 

 “Aye, another thing you haven’t had the opportunity to learn, I’m sure, but I happen to be a brilliant teacher.” 

 “You’re ridiculous,” she accuses, although she can’t deny the grin splitting her face that matches his. “Are you saying you know how to dance to this?”

 He takes her hand with a salacious smirk and practically drags her to the middle of the deck, placing his own on her hip. “It’s called a waltz,” he tells her, “and there’s only one rule.” She feels a heat radiating off of herself that’s different from anything she’s felt before, as if a light is glowing from her skin and hair as he spins her. “Pick a partner who knows what they’re doing.” 

 She’s breathless, and every fear and worry she's had since she went through that damn portal has evaporated out of her pores and into the salty sea air. He holds her closer, likely forgoing the proper form they were practicing, and she melts into him. 

 “You’re glowing, darling,” he murmurs, his lips grazing against her ear lobe in a way that makes her shiver. She looks down at her hands and sees the soft golden glow he must be referring to and gasps, noting it fading. “Relax, love, it’s very fitting. I’m assuming this hasn’t ever happened in the Land Without Magic.”

 “No,” she says thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t have worked anyway until after—” She cuts herself off, careful not to reveal the truth; that Gold brought magic back to Storybrooke after the curse broke. Then she stops to think… is this magic?

 “After what?” he interrupts her thoughts.

 She clears her throat. “Uh, after I broke the curse.” 

 “The one the Queen cast? You broke it?” he asks, suddenly serious rather than warm and flirtatious. She wonders how he would’ve known about that, but figures he must’ve been a child when it was originally cast; maybe he remembers. 

 “Yeah.” She feels guilty lying to him. Maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe she should just continue to savor the feeling of his hand running along her back as he pulls her closer. As much as she’s been enjoying their time together, she reminds herself that she needs him to get home, and she’ll need to do whatever it takes for their plan to take fruition. 

 ~~~~

 The next afternoon, Emma lounges in the Captain’s bed and reads one of the many diaries recounting his adventures. After they danced the night away, they came back to his room and she expressed interest in hearing about his journeys between kisses and soft touches. He stood and retrieved a leather bound book, handing it to her and telling her that she’s always welcome to his stories, and that he’ll happily tell her whatever she wants to know. She read until she fell asleep, with him sleeping soundly on the floor beside her, protectively positioned between her and the door.

 She knows she’s behaving ridiculously. She can’t possibly let whatever is going on between them continue once they make landfall. But it isn’t like she can accomplish anything while they’re out at sea, so she lets herself indulge in his soft lips and deep eyes and profound declarations in the meantime, making a promise to herself to let him go once they land. 

 She hears a commotion above deck and starts a bit, putting the book down on the bed and standing. Can pirates be attacked by other pirates? Certainly that’s a thing. She straightens the black linen shirt as she stands, the one Hook let her borrow while her clothes are being washed, tucking it more neatly into her jeans, and makes her way towards the door, pressing her ear to the wood and listening closely for trouble. She hears rustling and shouting, and her heart begins to race. It pounds harder in her chest when she hears a distinct set of footsteps making its way towards the door she’s pressed to. 

 When she hears the footsteps grow too close for comfort, she turns and presses her back to the door in hopes of blocking out an intruder. They try to push it open and grunt in surprise when it only moves a bit, and she plants her feet more firmly into the floor. Her panic subsides, though, when she hears a cocky chuckle. “Swan?” he calls through the door. “Are you playing hard to get?” 

 She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears his voice, moving from the door and carefully opening it just a crack to peek her head out. “What’s going on?” 

 He smirks, of course, and says, “We’re docking, love. What's the matter?” 

 “I thought… I dont know, I thought something was wrong.” 

 He shakes his head and squeezes by her to enter the room, shutting the door behind him and touching her arm gently. “Nothing’s wrong, darling. All is going to plan.” She doesn't miss the way his eyes trail down her body, slowly and obviously taking in the sight of her.

 “Stop looking at me like that,” she insists, pulling the shirt closed some more and hugging her body with her arms. 

 “I’m simply admiring the way my shirt fits you, Swan,” he smirks. “You wear it much better than I do.” 

 “Whatever,” she rolls her eyes. “What’s the plan?” 

 He chuckles and moves towards the table, stopping to pick up the book she was reading and putting it away. “The crew is docking us now, and then we’ll go to find the compass and then meet up with our colleague. Shouldn't be long before you're home.” 

 She nods, taking a calming breath at the anticipation of finally getting home. He’s told her the plan: they need to find a compass from a giant’s lair, but to do that, they first need to climb a beanstalk. She isn't sure what that will entail, and she isn't really excited to find out, but she’ll do what she has to to get back to her son. 

 Her shirt hasn’t dried yet. Hook packs it in his satchel so that she doesn’t leave it behind, but now she’s stuck wearing his flowy blouse with her jacket over top of it. He keeps checking her out, and she isn't sure how she feels about it. She ignores the blush and the heat that floods through her. 

 The port they landed at is fairly run down and not very heavily populated, which she thinks is a good thing-- she would stick out like a sore thumb in her jeans and leather jacket, but she sure as hell isn't hiking through a forest in one of those damn dresses. 

 They trek for hours, Hook filling the time with more stories that leave her with a sense of wanderlust. She grew up an orphan, traveling from foster home to foster home, and she always longed for a place to settle down. She’s never found herself wishing to travel the world, because she never had a home to come back to, but hearing his stories change things for her. 

 He’s an incredible storyteller. Sometimes it’s clear that he embellishes some events to make them more dramatic, but everything he tells her is the truth despite the fact that it sounds so unbelievable. It seems he’s spent years pillaging and plundering, and while she certainly can't condone all of his actions, it also seems like he’s spent much of his time enjoying the different realms he’s explored. He tells her so many stories that she isn't sure how he could fit all of these adventures into one lifetime. 

 “Can I ask you something?” she finally asks when she can make sense of his life no longer. 

 “Perhaps,” he smirks. 

 She carries on despite his playfulness. “How old are you?” 

 “Physically? Or literally?” 

 She snorts, bumping her shoulder against his at his joke, but falters when she realizes he isn't joking. She stares up at him, pausing her steps for a moment, and says, “uh, literally? I guess?” 

 “Around 250.” 

 “What?” she chokes. 

 He hums. “Aye, I’ve recently counted and I believe I’ve been on this plane for about 250 years.” 

 She’s speechless, blinking at him but unable to make her voice work. Shaking her head, she asks, “how?” 

 “Well, after my run in with the Dark One, I spent some time in Neverland. You see, the Dark One is immortal, so I needed to stay alive long enough to find a way to get my revenge. Once I found it, I came back for a few years, and then the most recent curse essentially paused time, so I didn't age again. So, I estimate around 250 years.”

 With her mouth still agape, she says, “I thought you were, like… 30.” 

 “Why thank you,” he smirks. “Physically, I’m around 36, I believe, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

 “So when the curse was cast, you were… the same age you are now?”

 “Is that not how it worked in the Land Without Magic? I was under the impression that time would stand still.” 

 She narrows her eyes, wondering how he heard such details about the curse, and managed to avoid it, but chalking it up to his piracy. “No, that’s how it worked.” 

 “And how old are you, then?” 

 “28,” she says without thinking, though perhaps she should have kept that a secret if she doesn’t want him to know that she’s the Savior. She can see the gears in his head turning, although he says nothing else and seeks no further clarification. 

 They spend the remainder of the trip talking about Neverland, which is apparently much different from how Barrie described. He tells her of the Lost Boys and how terrifying they were, even to a fearsome and relentless crew of pirates. While they walk, they encounter some branches in the path and he cuts them down, and she notices a tattoo on his inner forearm that catches her attention. 

 “Who’s Milah?” she asks, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the forest. 

 He stills but doesnt turn back towards her when he asks, “pardon?” 

 “Milah, on the tattoo?” 

 His shoulders fall and he clears his throat. “Someone from long ago.” 

 “Where is she?” 

 “She’s gone.” His tone is dismissive. Pained. 

 She thinks of the first day, once she was awake, when she explored his cabin in secret before she trusted him and found a sketch of a stunning woman with thick, curly hair and soft, kind eyes. “Gold,” she says as the pieces fall into place, and he turns to face her. “Rumplestiltskin. He took more than your hand from you, didn’t he?” she asks softly. “That’s why you want to kill him.” 

 She hasn’t seen him look this broken in the few days she’s known him. The timeline starts to put itself together in her mind and she realizes he’s spent almost 220 years lying in wait to avenge this woman’s death. “You're quite perceptive,” he finally says. 

 The guilt is eating away at her again. How can she go on with him, convinced he has a chance to kill the Dark One, when she knows how hurt he is? What kind of a person is she becoming? 

 One who will do anything for her son, she reminds herself. 

 They’re silent for the rest of the trek. 

 ~~~~

 She nearly slipped off the damn beanstalk. She wasn’t listening to him, his cocky attitude back in full force and irritating the hell out of her, so she grabbed a loose branch and it snapped. She plummeted, thought for certain she was going to die, until it stopped suddenly and he had his hook in the collar of her jacket. 

 “You should listen to your Captain,” he tells her, and she rolls her eyes, but internally she knows he’s right. He pulls her up close to him, pressing her front against the beanstalk and his body to her back. “Alright?” he asks, his lips brushing her ear.

 “I’m fine,” she responds, and she takes a shaky breath. 

 “Almost to the top, love,” he assures her, breaking away once she feels her shakiness subsiding. “Try that one,” he suggests, gesturing for a different handhold.

 When they reach the top, he pulls out his flask and she scoffs at his need for a drink, but then realizes she could use some herself. Only he isn’t using it for a drink, he’s taking her hand in his and saying, “let me help.” 

 “What are you--” she starts, and then he’s pouring the rum over a cut on her hand and she’s shouting at the sting. “What the hell!”

 “A bloody waste, I know. But I'll not have you losing a hand to infection.” 

 “Hook,” she starts, but he cuts her off. 

 “Haven't you learned to listen to your Captain, love?”

 She gives him an incredulous look, but when he raises his brows in quick succession, she can't help but to grin at him and roll her eyes. She’s about to say something snarky and brush him off, but then he’s wrapping her cut hand in a scarf and biting down on it so he can tighten it one-handed, not breaking eye contact with her. “Fuck,” she breathes at the sight, and then blushes fiercely. 

 He smirks and chuckles deeply, leaning in close to her and stealing a quick kiss before he places his hook on the small of her back and leads her to the castle's entrance. 

 “The last of the giants died ages ago, so we should be safe, save for any other intruders. All we have to do is find the compass and we’re homeward bound.”

 She finds it difficult to admit to herself how much fun she has as they dig through the treasure room, searching for the compass and joking around with each other as they do. Hook pilfers a few pieces of gold, but she can’t exactly blame him; he is a pirate, after all. He finds a small broach, a golden rose, and presents it to her with flair and grandeur, bowing deeply as he holds it out to her and kissing her hand when she accepts it. “You're ridiculous,” she accuses through a laugh. 

 They finally find the compass after what feels like hours, but the time passes painlessly. He helps her up onto the platform it sits on, humming amorously when her ass comes into his view, and she kicks his shoulder lightly with a laugh. 

 It’s as they’re wandering through the castle, slowly making their way back towards the beanstalk, when he says, “I must say, Swan, I’m looking forward to seeing where you spent the last 28 years,” and she feels that guilt bubbling up again. He isn’t excited to get to Storybrooke to kill Gold, he’s looking forward to seeing where she’s from. It makes her think of why he agreed to help her in the first place. It makes her think of his lost love, of Milah, and she feels as if she’s taking away his chance of avenging her. 

 “Hook,” she says hesitantly before they leave the treasure room. “There's something you need to know.” 

 “What’s that, love?” he asks gently, as if she can do no wrong, and the guilt is flooding her now. 

 She swallows thickly and takes a breath before admitting, “I know that you want to come with me to Storybrooke to kill Gold because you think there's no magic there, but… that isn't true.” 

 He stills, turning to face her fully and drawing his brows close together pensively, angrily. “There’s magic? In the Land Without Magic?” 

 She nods nervously. “After the curse broke, he brought magic back.”

 He scoffs, shaking his head and turning to pace in agitation. “Damn you, Regina,” he says under his breath. “And you knew, all this time?” 

 Her ears practically perk up, her heart starting to race again. “Did you say Regina?” 

 “Aye,” he practically spits. “The witch who said there would be no magic. Bloody charlatan.” 

 “What do you mean?” she asks, horrified to hear him talking about someone he shouldn't even know. 

 “I mean I was promised a land without magic in which to slay the bloody crocodile, and here you are telling me that isn’t the case. How am I meant to get my revenge now? Cora should've seen this coming. She bloody well knows her better than most.” 

 “Who the hell is Cora?” she asks firmly, backing away from him. “I thought that was the daughter of the lady you're working with?” 

 He runs his hand along his face and shakes his head. “I said Cora is the woman we’re working with. She’s looking for her daughter in your Storybrooke. Regina.” 

 She feels her face going white, her blood running cold and her eyes bugging out of her head. “Cora is… Regina’s mother? You know Regina?” 

 “Aye, bloody fraud has already betrayed me once,” he huffs, obviously still irritated. “I’m sorry, love, I don't mean to take out my frustrations on you, I just-- what are you doing?” 

 He notices her take the small dagger from the sheath he gave her earlier, pointing it at him and she holds the compass firmly in her other hand. “Don’t come any closer.” 

 “Swan? What are you doing?” She reaches behind her to tuck the compass in her back pocket; her sheriff’s pistol may have been damaged beyond repair by the ocean waves, but the cuffs are still fully functional. She takes in her surroundings quickly and then rushes to him, locking his wrist to the cage beside him without thinking her actions through and backing away. “What are you doing?!”

 “Hook, I…” she sighs. “I can’t--” 

 “Emma, look at me,” he insists. “Have I told you a lie?” 

 “You didn't tell me the truth; you’re working with Regina’s mother!”

 “How was I to know that was a problem for you?! I told you who we’re working with.”

 “Not really! Regina is dangerous, she wants to take Henry away from me! Do you know how bad it would be if her mother was there to help her?!” 

 “I will help you, Emma. You won't have to go through this alone; you won't abandon Henry like you were abandoned. Let me go and we can figure this out.” 

 “If Regina wanted me dead, Cora probably does too.” 

 “Wanted you dead?” he murmurs in thought. He cocks his head, confused, and ponders her claim. “Who are you?” 

 She shakes her head. “I can’t take the chance that I’m wrong about you.” 

 “Swan,” he calls after her as she turns around. “Swan!” She feels her eyes burning as she goes towards the beanstalk, but doesn’t allow the tears to fall.

~~~~

~~~~

[alkhale]

Enough for Two (Tendou x Mute!Reader) Ko-fi request

So sorry but here come the waves of request that i have for you.if you cant write some it doesnt matter.I like being able to make requests but i especially want to support you. Can i get a Tendou x reader fic please?

If and when your commissions are open would you be open to writing about a Soulmates AU Reader/Satori Tendou or what ever AU/Non AU you want? If you have too much on your plate, then no worries I just really enjoy your writing!

Also found here on AO3 if it’s more convenient to read, please enjoy!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24785287

---- ---- ----- -----

Sometimes people do things without reason to give themselves reason.

It’s a bit of a strange thought, but it’s really the only thing that makes sense to you in this situation right now at lease.

You watch your notebook go sailing across the hallway floor, sliding like a hockey puck until it smacks with finality against the opposite wall. You stare, still on your hands and knees from where you’d been about to pick it up and feel an incoming sigh well up in your lungs, hefty and full of power.

The sigh leaves your lips, nothing but a quiet, big gust of air. It does nothing compared to the racket of laughter filling the hall, shrill giggles that make you wonder if your own laugh sounds like that. You pray not.

In a perfect world, you imagine yourself turning your head to the trio of girls behind you—always in threes, isn’t it?—turning around to face their laughter with a disgusted frown and opening your mouth and spitting out, “ What the hell is your problem?” They’d probably turn white as ghosts and go screaming for the hills.

But the girls don’t go screaming for the hills. They continue to laugh and those words never leave your lips. They can’t, anyway, and your notebook is all the way at the other end of the hall since one of them sent it flying with a good kick. You remain there on your knees, staring after it for a long while before you turn back to the three girls.

They smile at you, bright, glossy sneers pulled over their lips.

You’re not really sure what it is but you think this is where you hypothesis comes into play—bullying doesn’t quite make sense, but at a school like Shiratorizawa where the students are rich and wonderful and have mostly met the hierarchy of needs necessary for a good life—they get bored. And when students are bored their minds wander, their hands wander, and their eyes wander too, all the way until they land on the girl who never says a word in the corner of their class they like to call a freak even though her problem isn’t freakish—it’s perfectly diagnosable.

When people get bored they sometimes need a reason to remind themselves they exist, even if there really is no reason for that at all.

“Oh, sorry,” the first one says, exactly the way they would in a drama—it’s a little amazing, actually. Maybe art imitates life more than you thought. “We didn’t see it there.”

“You shouldn’t just crawl on the floor like that,” another says. “What if someone tripped over you?”

“You look sad like that,” the last one says, pitifully. “Need some help?”

You gaze at them for a long moment, meeting their eyes in silence. They snicker, putting hands daintily over their mouths. They’re the annoying types who like to make sure their arm sleeves are folded up nice and neat so everyone can see the ink black words scrawled out on their skin, make sure it’s not hindered at all, bold and visible.

They start shooting each other looks. “Can you believe her?” they say to each other. “Look at her, oh my god. Is she for real?” and “Wow, this is so sad. We should stop.”

But they’re bored, so of course they’re not going to stop.

It’s useless, but you move your fingers anyways, aggressively shifting your hands in the air.

“ No, thanks. You can scram you pieces of shit. I’m tired of choking on your perfume. ��

It’s quite a hefty amount of words leaving your fingers. They take it as your way of feebly apologizing or saying something that fits their narrative and they giggle, turning on their heels and leaving you behind. This probably won’t be the last you see of them, not until graduation, but that’s fine.

It’s just one more year.

You wait until they disappear around the corner and finally stand up, brushing dust off your skirt and your knees. You stare at the floor for a few minutes, thinking up words and sentences in your head and using the memory of voices you like to imagine your own voice sounding just like that—telling them off and giving them a scare.

“W-What? You’re not mute? Oh my god!”

Yeah. You think, scoffing in silence at yourself. As if.

You feel a bit more resentful than usual even though this isn’t really anything new. They’ve done worse; tripping you in the halls or shoving you on their way to their desks. You’re just a picture perfect target in their pitifully cliche world to give them more meaning to their otherwise useless lives.

When you think of it in such a haughty manner, it does make you feel a bit better. Just a bit, because this still sucks.

You shake your head, reluctant to go get your notebook but knowing you need to do it anyway. You rub the etched, pale marking on your wrist for reassurance and start the long trek down the hall, keeping your eyes on the floor.

If it gets anymore annoying or anymore physical, you’ll bring it up to the teachers. You hate the thought of getting the staff involved but you’re not stupid enough to let them get bold enough to shove you down some stairs and risk your life. Who knew what the hell these pigeons were capable of? You’d just be the sad, bullied mute kid telling on the teachers but who cared?

No one.

Your stickered notebook pops up in your vision, grinning food stickers beaming back up at you. You blink, briefly terrified for a second before your head quickly snaps upwards.

His shocking red hair juts up in your field of vision first, followed by the easy, sneaky looking slant of his eyes and the almost perched little way his lips curve up into a tiny, peckish smile. Beside his face he throws up a giant peace sign with his two fingers.

“Hiyah,” he says, grinning cheekily at you. “This is yours, rrrrriiiiggghhhtt?”

He’s in your class, you realize, mind racing. Tendou, I think. He’s on the volleyball team and he sits two chairs behind you. You remember all this because you always collect the papers up at the front and see his name, messy and hurried. And he talks a lot too. He’s loud and laughs and teases people all the time in class—you watch him sometimes because you’re a bit jealous of how much he talks, how much he’s able to talk, shifting the tone of his voice in all these little creative ways, whether because he’s making fun of someone or just answering a question.

He feels like someone who really, really makes good use of his voice. Makes sure it's used, you mean. Doesn’t waste it.

You like that.

Tendou flaps the book once in front of you. You blink, quickly nodding and reaching out to take it.

He holds it up over his head, grinning down at you.

You stare up at him in disbelief, feeling your stomach sink.

Not him too. You knew he was notorious for being disliked amongst some of your peers—people tended to forget you were mute, not deaf—and he teased people however he liked. He was a generally tough nut to figure out no matter how you looked at it, but you never took him for a small time school bully either.

Disheartened, you wordlessly look up at him, frowning. Tendou continues to smile, holding your notebook over his head.

“Is that what you say to someone who helps you?” he says. “Nooooothing?”

I can’t. You mouth, pressing your hands to your mouth. I can’t. Sorry. You move your lips, exaggerating how you mouth the words. Thank you. Please give it back.

“Nope!” Tendou says. “Try again.”

He’s ridiculously tall. He really must be good at volleyball too. There’s no way you’re getting it with a measly jump. Your hand clenches into a fist at your side, your free hand twitching on instinct to sign out your words but you wordlessly try mouthing them at him again, feeling your frustration bubble up useless into your throat.

“Come on, I know you can do it,” Tendou says cheerfully. You clench your fist harder. His free hand moves sloppily in the air in front of you, waving his fingers in a lazy sort of manner that matches the easy look on his face, amused. “Try again!”

Wait a minute.

Your eyes quickly hone in on his free hand, staring at him in stunned disbelief. Tendou’s smile widens and he moves his hand again, shifting his fingers. With purpose. Not uselessly. You stare at Tendou’s hand, eyes growing round in shock. Your jaw drops and you look back at Tendou.

“Try,” Tendou signs and says, grinning like an imp, “Again!”

Your hands quickly move, “Thank you.”

Tendou drops your notebook right into yours hands, grinning. You stare, stunned and disbelieving, a part of you realizing he signs terribly—he must’ve just learned—and Tendou throws his hands behind his head with a whistle. “There ya go! You’re not so mute now, are ya!”

Your eyes shoot up to Tendou’s but he’s already turning, waving his hand at you and disappearing around the hall. “Bye bye (L/n)-chan!”

You’re still standing in the hallway like an idiot, staring at the spot where Tendou had been in disbelief.

Tendou, the loud, tall, bright red-head kid in your class, the same kid you never saw yourself ever communicating with, the same kid who was on your school’s top notch volleyball team, the same kid who made fun of people and scared others off and only hung out with his team—

Knew how to sign? A bit? Badly?

You blink, stunned.

Huh?

---- ---- -------

“Wow! This thing is practically empty!”

Your head shoots up in shock at the familiar voice, eyes going round as Tendou sits in the desk in front of you—it’s very much not his desk and you think you can see the bothered student at the front by the door, but his friends shoo him away from saying anything as Tendou continues to flip through your notebook. It’s nothing private—small questions to people or asking someone to hand you something when you couldn’t speak up or gesture. This notebook was the one you carted around to try and communicate with your classmates, hoping to start conversations and talk with them.

No one used it, so you didn’t either.

Tendou doesn’t look the slightest bit bothered, big and lanky and taking up all the space as he continues to flip through the notebook. He hums to himself, lips pursed in that funny little way of his until he gets to the empty pages.

You stare at him like some kind of exotic bird, a bit mystified by his presence.

“Say, (L/n)-chan,” Tendou says. “Isn’t this kind of sad? You even wrote Communication Notebook on this, but there’s not much communication going on, is there?”

You move your hands, signing, “ Not many people to talk to. It can’t be helped.”

Tendou’s eyes rapidly follow your hands and he squints, making a constipated face. You exhale quietly in amusement, signing again, slower, watching to see if he understands. Tendou’s face becomes unreadable and then he turns to you, lips pulled up into a massive, almost creepy grin.

“(L/n)-chan, how bold! Didya just say you like me?”

You shake your head. Tendou blows a loud horse sigh through his lips, flapping them. He’s clearly upset you didn’t make more of a show of the whole joke. Instead, you take your notebook from his willing hands and write. “Sorry. I was wondering if you knew how to sign. There aren’t many people to talk to so it can’t be helped.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Tendou says, waving a hand. “I only learned a little to get your attention anyway. Makes sense~”

You stare at Tendou, stunned by his honesty.

“Aren’t ya bored of just sitting here all quiet?” Tendou asks.

You write, “I guess.”

“Ugh. I’d get bored. I like talking, you know? It fills up the silence real nice. You know what I mean?”

“ Yes. I like it when you talk too.”

“That was supposed to be a joke. I was kinda making fun of you. (L/n)-chan are ya not good at picking up jokes too? Or are you just flirting with me?”

“No. It’s just how I feel.”

“Haha, okay, you weirdo! Why don’t you teach me some more sign language then, hmm? I bet you’ll get awful tired writing in that all day and I’m a pretty quick study~”

You stare at Tendou, lowering your book and frowning at him. Tendou continues to grin, his little perched lip look, sneaky and unassuming as he waggles his brows at you. You sort of understand why your classmates call him creepy, but it’s mostly from his heights and mannerisms more than anything else. Otherwise, Tendou Satori is just… another teenage boy.

You pinch your fingers together into an okay sign, still marveling at the strange creature in front of you.

Tendou’s eyes drift absently to the pale mark on your wrist and he grins, holding up his fingers in a peace sign, using it like scissors to cut your okay sign in half.

You stare at him.

“Sheesh, can’t get any reaction out of you, can I? What a tough crowd!”

--- --- --- ---- ----

This is the first time you’ve ever had class with Tendou. It’s your first time properly “talking” to him too. You know him from the announcements, from the rumours that spread here and there about his unsettling ways and most importantly, you see him on the screens when your school calls the students together to watch the boys’ volleyball team dominate Sendai’s qualifiers all over again.

Outside of staring at him from time to time and appreciating the way he talks, that day two weeks ago now in the hallway is still the first time the two of you have ever properly interacted. The day after that he approached you in class and now everyday since—Tendou talks to you.

And he talks a lot too.

Between classes he talks to you, sidling up with his lanky, swaying body like some kind of cowboy from a foreign western. He perches over and sprawls across your desk like the two of you have been friends for years, talking about school, about class, about your classmates even or this and that, but he mostly talks about you, anime, or volleyball.

He walks you between classes since the two of you mostly share each one and he stands or crouches by your desk, talking and talking while you frantically scribble or take a few minutes each class period to try to teach him new phrases and words. He didn’t lie about being a quick study, but he’s still sloppy so it’s funny to watch.

This whole thing is a bit bewildering, to be honest. You don’t know what prompted Tendou Satori to start talking to you and make such an emblazoned effort, but maybe it’s for something similar to why those three girls like to pick on you. For no real reason at all.

You don’t really mind it, to be honest. Reason or not—he’s an entirely welcome presence, jokes, teasing, and strangeness—all of it.

“Did you like this week’s Jump ?”

“Yes,” you sign and then switch to writing. “The new chapter for Chainsaw Man was good. It made me sad though.”

“Wow, wow, (L/n)-chan you like the gorey stuff, huh?” Tendou muses, tapping your book. “Scary! I thought you’d like We Never Learn better or one of the other ones.”

“ Act-Age is good,” you write. “I’m invested. Which one do you follow? ”

“The classics! One Piece! My Hero! All the typical, easy to understand, not too complicated—I’m just kidding, don’t you think Denji’s an idiot?”

“ Yes, but I like him too. ”

“(L/n)-chan, don’t tell me that’s your type of guy,” Tendou gasps, looking scandalized. “Uneducated perverts?”

“ No, ” you sign and then write, “ I like guys that seem hard to understand but aren’t.”

“Ugh, that sounds like a headache!” Tendou flops entirely onto your desk and you raise your notebook to write. “I can only talk about Jump with you, Wakatoshi said he won’t read it until the end of the season for us! Can you believe him?”

“Yes. ”

“Traitor! (L/n)-chan, you beautiful traitor~ How cruel~”

You turn your notebook over so Tendou can read it. He squints up at you.

“Not that I mind, but Tendou, is there a reason why you started talking to me?”

“The golden question!” Tendou shouts, not even trying to sit up. You move your notebook so you can see his face and Tendou just grins back up at you, looking satisfied. “Does there have to be one?”

You shake your head. Tendou hums, content. “Perfect! We’re on the same page then.”

Tendou nearly cracks the spine of his Jump that he leant to you, opening up the pages and holding it over both of your heads. You have to weasel awkwardly under his arm and crane your head to look up at what he’s looking at too, faces side by side and Tendou grins. “Now, what did you think about Promised Neverland’s finale?”

-- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----

You stare at your empty shoe locker in silence, frowning at the sight of it.

The shoes that were supposed to be there no longer are. You stare at it for a moment longer, glancing down to your school slippers and then silently turning over to the trashcan a few feet away. You gaze at it for a long time before walking over to it with your head held high, ignoring the outburst of giggles and feigned gasps of disgust as you come to stand in front of it.

You tuck your notebook into your bag, lifting the lid of the bin up. Some students look over in confusion and several make faces as you roll up your sleeves, spotting your shoes under a heap of lunch trash and papers. The snickers and giggles grow louder and louder, a waste of the sound you wish you could emit yourself.

“ Flying super Satori kiiiiiiiiick! ”

A long leg snaps into view before a foot promptly smashes into the trash bin, knocking it sideways and spilling trash into the shoe locker entryway. Students jump aside, shouting in disgust while you gape in disbelief, staring at the pile of trash before your head snaps over to the criminal, eyes bulging.

Tendou stays crouched on the floor, sticking his tongue out and throwing you a peace sign from where he sort of crab walks beside you like some kind of creep, uncaring in how the other students gape at him like an alien. “How was that? Pretty cool, right? Ten points?”

You stare at Tendou, mouth slack.

His hands swipe out and he snatches your dirty shoes, shooting up to his full height and nearly forcing you to jump back in surprise. He grins at you, wiggling his brows before he grandly turns on his heels, your shoes in one hand while he loudly shouts with the other, “Oh, my goodness! Who made this mess? Someone better clean it up before a teacher comes!”

“Hey!”

“Tendou, what the heck you crazy bastard? You’re the one who knocked it—”

“Sorry,” Tendou shouts in horrible English. “I don’t speak Japanese!”

“Tendou—”

Tendou snatches your hand with his free one, breaking out into a gleeful sprint. You hurry to keep up after his long, lunging legs, practically huffing in exertion while Tendou holds your dirty shoes and he tosses his head back and laughs and you stare at him in disbelief, throat constricting tightly as you leave the other students and noise behind.

The evening glow turns his hair fiery and redder. Tendou’s laugh seems almost insane and infectious at the same time. It makes you feel a little hysterical, chest growing tighter. You can’t hear anything else but your own pants and his racket of laughter.

He runs with you in tow all the way to the volleyball gym, right where the two of you normally part ways and he goes to practice and you go home.

Tendou tosses your shoes into the nearby watering sink with a flourish, twirling on his heel like he’s dancing for you and moving his lanky body in all sorts of funny ways before he tosses the spout on and watches the water pour over your shoes, humming.

You stare at his broad back. You stare at it for what feels like an eternity, panting heavily, shoulders and legs trembling because you don’t do sports like this monster of a young man in front of you. Tendou turns the water off and turns to you with a peckish grin, twirling a bandaged finger. “Out of breath already? You should get into better shape, (L/n)-chan!”

Tendou fishes your soaking shoes out from the trough, gives it a quick inspection before nodding, flapping them out with one hand while he casually continues speaking, “You know, now that I think about it, the name was a bit cheesy. Maybe something like, Flying Kick of Justice or maybe—”

You quietly hold your arms out in front of you, spreading them a bit. Tendou arches a brow, looking at you with his little impish smile.

You take a few meaningful steps forward. Tendou doesn’t move, staying still until your face collides with his chest and you wrap your arms around him. Tendou just continues to smile, looking amused while you raise your hands and sign above your head at him.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, (L/n)-chan,” Tendou sighs, but he throws one arm around you anyway, patting your head. “You’re so awkward. Lucky for you, I’m great at dealing with verbally stunted people. My best friend hardly speaks a word after all!”

The door to the volleyball gym slides open, revealing none other than the superstar himself—Ushijima Wakatoshi. Tendou blinks and you look over at the volleyball legend, blinking as well.

“Tendou,” Ushijima says. “Practice in two minutes.”

Without another word the door slides back shut. You stare at it while Tendou breaks out into laughter. “See! What did I tell you?”

--- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---

It’s three months into this—hanging out, getting to know each other, learning, communicating, becoming friends with Tendou Satori that you first notice.

You hadn’t meant to look in the first place since you didn’t think about soulmates and what-not often, but it just happened when Tendou was playing with your hair, trying to arrange it into a set of funky looking braids and you’d caught a glimpse at both his wrists.

You reach out, grabbing both of them in surprise. Tendou blinks over the top of your head, sitting cross-legged on your bed— “(L/n)-chan, invite me over! Let’s play some video games or read manga!” and he lets you pull his arms closer, quickly inspecting his wrists.

You blink rapidly, a little stunned. You look again and again to make sure what you were seeing wasn’t wrong and Tendou hums in amusement above you, letting you finish up until you finally look back at him, hands moving to sign, quick and clear.

“Tendou, you…” you pause, unable to finish moving your fingers.

“It’s blank! You’re not crazy, don’t worry,” Tendou says, finishing it for you. He proudly shows off his bare wrists and you stare at them a second longer before looking back to his face, brows creasing in worry. “Aw, don’t make that face, (L/n)-chan, you’ll get wrinkles!”

You know it’s possible, people not getting marks. Most people are all born with them—the first words your soulmate is supposed to say to you tattooed in simple ink onto your skin, always on your wrists, right there for anyone to see.

Tendou’s wrist are bare of any mark, not a single piece of ink in sight.

“I think you know better than anyone,” Tendou teases above you. “Words aren’t everything to a relationship, right~”

You smile at Tendou, but your chest still aches a little bit. Tendou’s strange, but he’s funny. He’s funny and kind. Very, very kind, even if he likes to act like he isn’t or seem worse than he really is. He deserves someone kind too, even if the statistics for actually meeting your soulmate are low.

You show Tendou your mark, a simple black V and nothing more. He stares at it, looking bewildered for once himself while you simply shrug back at him, holding up two fingers like a peace sign but as a V instead.

Tendou suddenly bursts into laughter. You stare at him, pouting in silence while he clutches his stomach, rolling around on your bed and wheezing.

“Well, (L/n)-chan, how about this,” Tendou says once his laughter dies down. “If you don’t like them, how about I take their place, hmm?”

You pretend to think it over for a bit. Tendou nudges your head with his foot and you swat it aside, turning over to him and pinching your fingers together in an okay sign.

“You’re so boring! Have more of a reaction, why don’t you? You know how hard I’m trying here?”

You smile at Tendou, chest full.

---- ---- ----- ----

Maybe it’s not always that people do things for no reason to find a reason themselves.

Maybe these people just aren’t reasonable to begin with.

“Guys, look at how creepy this is! She’s writing all over it like she’s talking to herself—yikes!”

You stare at the three tormentors, frozen in place for a moment as you watch them flip through your notebook, fuller then it’s ever been. You watch them, second after second ticking as they laugh and point to the stacked conversations, the doodles and jokes and the pages stuffed full of proof that you and Tendou have built something, something dearly precious over the course of this year—

Two of them look at you and laugh, watching you at the entrance of the classroom. The last one holds up your notebook, her glossy lips moving, and then her perfectly manicured nails start ripping one of the pages.

It’s Tendou’s page. It’s terribly unlucky or lucky she picked that one. He’s written all over it, trying to be quiet that day.

“(L/n)-chan do ya get sick of me talking? People say I talk too much all the time.”

“No. I like it.”

“Aw, you’re just flirting!”

“No, I really, really like it.”

“Hahaha, then maybe I’ll talk enough for the two of us, hmm?”

You feel it tear all the way down to your bones.

“What a freak!”

Something snaps.

They clearly don’t see it coming when you go flying across the classroom, lunging for the monster with your notebook. Her eyes go round in disbelief and then furious anger when your hands find hers, ripping the book from her grasp as she fights you for it, shouting and cursing. Her two cronies are quick, grabbing at your hands and trying to haul you back but your mouth is parted in a soundless, furious scream, flailing your fists and hitting, pulling and tugging at them as you scream and scream and scream even though no words come out.

One girl nearly slaps you but you duck and shove your foot into her stomach, knocking her back into a desk.

You shout at them. Shout and shout and shout and shout . You imagine the words cutting them in half. Imagine how they’d feel hearing the horrible things spat right back into their face—

She looks up at you, eyes red with rage and the other two thrust your hands down, stomping on your feet to try and hold you down while she raises her hand to strike again.

“All three of you are ugly pigs! Don’t you have anything better to do with your lives? Did all your parents ever teach you to do is bully the quiet kid? That’s terrible! You’re all horrible!”

The shrill, overly high-pitched voice catches all four of you off guard, staring at each other, stunned. The three girls share quick looks, looking startled out of their minds while your shoulders heave, ragged from the panting and soundless screaming. You don’t understand—

Firm, large hands suddenly grab you by your waist, hauling you up into the air and away from the other two girls. You quickly grab your skirt from flying up and whirl around, eyes round in disbelief when Tendou’s sleazy, easy grin meets your gaze, his eyes crinkled.

Your already quiet world quiets further, soft and silent as you stare at him and he gazes back at you for a second, assessing your disheveled form before he promptly sets you down onto your feet behind him like you’re some kind of toy. Tendou even takes a second to brush some dust off your shoulder, fixing your jacket with a happy little hum before he ruffles the top of your head and grins at you.

His eyes are crinkled at the corners, narrowed into dangerous slits. You freeze.

“Don’t worry,” Tendou chirps. “I’ll speak for both of us~”

He turns around with a flourish, blocking your view of the three girls and holding his hands out. “Sorry, ladies! I know you all might want a piece of her, but as her manager, I’ve got to be her translator and I believe my client says—oh, yes, yes, I hear you loud and clear! She says you’re all a bunch of useless bimbos with too much time on their hands!”

You gape at Tendou, clasping your hands over your mouth even though no words come out. The three girls look stunned and Tendou sweeps on in his fake, shrill voice, “Your perfume smells cheap and your nails are so last season—wow! Did you get enough sleep? Your pores are huge!”

“Asshole!” a girl shouts.

“Tendou, you freak!”

“Tendou, what do you think you’re—” one girl starts but Tendou thrusts a finger out, pointing it right at her face.

“And now this one’s from me! ” Tendou says in his own voice, a little huskier than you remember, a little firmer, clearer, and he grins devilishly at the three girls. “So listen up, hmm?”

Your classmates always complain if there’s anything about Tendou, it’s that he tends to come off as a bit scary sometimes.

You’d never really thought so until now.

“Find something better to do,” Tendou says cheerfully, eyes narrowed into dagger thin slits as he brings one threatening hand up into the air. He smiles, dripping malice, “Or you’re going to regret it, okay?”

One girl swallows, looking ready to argue despite her ashen face. The other two grab her hands, furiously shaking their heads as they drag her away from the two of you, shooting you and Tendou glares. “Freaks! Both of you!”

They run anyway though when Tendou arches a dangerous brow at them, tails between their legs. You stare at the empty classroom door in disbelief, not quite able to wrap your head around the entire exchange or how all of this happened in so little time—

“Hmph, they can’t appreciate art when they see it,” Tendou complains loudly, dragging your attention back to him. He picks up your fallen notebook, flipping through the pages and idly smoothing out creases. “Girls like that are never going to get a boyfriend, don’t worry, (L/n)-chan. You’re much cuter than they are~”

Tendou.

There’s something loud pounding in your head. Maybe it’s your heart. You’re not really sure what it is in the quietness of it all as Tendou calmly turns to you, holding out your notebook.

Tendou.

Your fingers twitch. You feel your fingers moving, spelling out his name. Your mouth parts, breathing.

Tendou, thank —

He brings up one hand, winking at you in an expression that doesn’t fit his face at all while he throws up a peace sign, the same one he always does, just like when the two of you first met.

“Our victory this time~ If they try it again, I’m not afraid to block them! I’ve got a mean—”

You freeze.

Victory?

You stare at Tendou’s peace sign.

V.

Your brain short circuits for a second. Something like adrenaline starts to pump rapidly through your body and you gape in disbelief, turning your wrist around and staring at the large, bold V on your skin. Your parents always joked with you about the kind of situation you’d have to be in for the first word your soulmate ever said to you to be V , but what if it wasn’t a matter of saying it but—

Signing it?

You feel your heart almost stop. It kicks back into gear, loud like a set of drums. You quickly grab Tendou’s blank wrist, surprising him as he blinks curiously down at you. “Hmm? What’s gotten into you, (L/n)-chan—”

“Tendou!” you sign, cheeks flushing. “Tendou, this might sound crazy but—”

You grab your notebook, quickly flipping to a blank page and hurriedly writing onto it. Tendou blinks, looking playfully confused until you turn your page to him.

“I think we might be soulmates!”

Your heart threatens to burst out of your chest. Tendou stares at your page for what feels like eternity before he pushes it down with one long, bandaged finger. He grins at you over the top of your notebook, waggling his brows.

“(Y/n)-chan, are you trying to ask me out? You could’ve just said so~”

You toss your notebook to the desk, lunging at Tendou with your arms thrown wide, mouth parted in a soundless, desperate laugh and Tendou simply grins in that sneaky little way of his, looking as content as a cat as he wraps his arms around you anyway and hoists you up.

“Ara, was I found out?”

In your flurry you abruptly press your lips to Tendou's unable to contain your excitement or words, hands no longer enough. Tendou goes stiff, eyes round as saucers when you pull back and stare at him, beaming brightly and quickly signing. "You're so dumb!"

The top of Tendou's ears start to turn red. You stare at him in surprise, pressing a hand to your mouth.

"Tendou,"  you sign. "You're so honest."

"Bzzt! Wrong answer! Better kiss me again or I'll drop you."

Without hesitating you quickly duck your head in close and this time Tendou meets you have way with his cheeky grin, both your lips molding together in a kiss that floods with laughter, even though not a single sound escapes either of you.

----------

"I never said I didn't have one. My soulmate just doesn't have much to say~"

------------

Bonus:

- Tendou gives you a whistle for when you go to his games. He always waits and then when his team scores or he blocks, a furious sound of tweets and whistles goes off, making everyone look up into the stands to find you, crazy-looking and furious waving your hands and blowing the whistle. Someone has to ask you to stop before it confuses the players. - Tendou collapses onto the floor, laughing so hard he starts to cry and Ushijima tells him he should give you a bell instead. "Bells are also soothing," he says. "Or a drum."

**** please don’t ever make fun of someone’s pores! I think I’d cry ;-;

[navigatrixnarrations]

Prequel: A Matter of Some Urgency

A possible prequel to @whenimaunicorn’s ongoing and amazing Heart of Admiration series, as inspired with conversations with her and a line from Luke Arnold’s Black Sails AU short in The Sunder City Spectacular.

Word count: 1527

Warnings: They’re pirates. They curse a lot.

Charles Vane notices her entrance. It would have been difficult not to. It's not rare to see women in the tavern, but they are typically working there in some capacity. They do not typically wear a pistol at the waist of their rather fitted sea coat, nor walk with the rolling gait of an experienced sailor, nor carry a navigator's backstaff. Her eyes fall on him, and Vane finds his own eyes following the almost arrogant swing of her hips as she approaches his table in an alcove at the rear of the room.

"Captain Vane?" Her voice is slightly husky, educated but not posh, not snooty.

He nods, and she continues. "I'm quartermaster of the Starling. I believe you're expecting me." When DeGroot told Vane that the quartermaster of a recently-arrived crew was seeking a word with him about a matter of some urgency, the bloody man had failed to mention that said quartermaster was a woman, and a damned comely one at that.

She removes the pistol and long knife from her belt and places them on the table in front of him, a sign that she has come in peace. He gestures for her to sit across from him and signals the barmaid to bring her a drink then gives her a hard look from beneath his brow. "What's this about?”

"A certain item of yours has come into my possession. I'm here to return it to you." She hands him a burlap sack containing his black. She had been appalled when a couple of the more rambunctious members of her crew came back to camp having stolen it from the Ranger. It wouldn't do for them, new to Nassau, to start their time here by making an enemy of the most notoriously violent captain on the island.

Vane looks inside the sack, not wanting to remove the flag and thus show anyone in the tavern that it had been stolen. Instead, he runs his hands over its fabric, ensuring that it's no worse for wear than it had been before it was stolen. Having satisfied himself that it hadn't been vandalized and noting that it had been folded with care, he turns that heavy gaze back to her. "What do they call you, quartermaster of the Starling?"

She meets his piercing stare with her own, unflinching. "They probably call me a lot of things when I can't hear them." Furious though he is that anyone had the fucking gall to not only steal from him but steal the very symbol of his hard-earned reputation at that, Vane has to force himself not to smile at her quip. She holds out a graceful, callused hand for a shake. "Hope Wickham."

"Why did your captain send you, Miss Wickham, instead of approaching me himself?"

She frowns, but doesn't rise to the bait. "He didn't send me," she says coolly. "He has no idea any of this happened. I'm meeting with you of my own accord and in my own capacity to try to protect my crew."

Vane takes a long pull on his ale, waiting for her to explain.

“I may be new to Nassau, but I'm by no means new to the account. Captain Fisher and the rest of the crew are used to doing things a certain way, and don't yet understand that Nassau has rather different understandings of acceptable behavior for those under the black than does Tortuga. On Tortuga, this would be seen as a prank by a new crew seeking to position itself and a score easily settled without much bloodshed. Unlike them, I know that is not the way of things here."

Vane narrows his eyes. "How do you know how we do things here?" And how, he wonders, did such a lovely little thing become a pirate in the first place? For her crew to have elected her quartermaster, she must be formidable…

"I apprenticed with Mr. DeGroot. We stay in touch." The corners of her mouth turn up in a wry smile, eyes alight in amusement at the absurdity of the situation. "I realize that he is nobody's first, second, or tenth choice for a tutor in etiquette, but," she gestures broadly, "we live in a world of wonders."

Vane finds himself smiling back at her, ever so slightly, struck as much by her candor and wit as by her appearance. "So you're a trained navigator, then?"

"I am."

Well. This is interesting indeed. But he can't let himself be distracted from the purpose of this meeting. The smile drops from his face, which returns to its customary scowl, and he hunches forward enough to give the impression of looming over her without getting up. "Members of your crew snuck onto my ship, stole my black, and they did it so badly that someone saw them getting away. So let me tell you what happens next.”

Hope doesn't quail from his ferocious growl, from his coiled posture that makes him appear to be a predator about to pounce. She meets his icy glare directly. "Who saw them?"

"My quartermaster and his matelotage." Did she just…did she just ignore his directive, his implied threats?

She tilts her head, considering. "Anyone else?"

Vane grunts and leans back in his chair. "No."

Hope nods to herself. "Can you trust their discretion?"

“With my life." Oh, he sees where she's taking this line of questioning. Barristers would do well to learn from her technique. "You're going to ask who else on my crew knows it was gone."

She shrugs as if to say you caught me. "Well, who else does?"

"Only them." She opens her mouth to speak but he cuts her off. "Regardless, you know I cannot let your crew's insult go unanswered. I’ve a reputation to maintain, a captaincy I do not intend to lose."

"Nor do I expect you to. However, by returning your black undamaged, along with compensation for the," she pauses and bites her lip, considering her next words, "inconvenience you've been put through by this unfortunate breach of propriety, I trust this need not be a killing offense." She takes a bulging coin purse from her coat pocket and pushes it across the table to him.

Vane opens it and quirks a scarred brow at the amount of coin within. "Is this from the Starling's collective savings?"

"No. It's my personal share from our last prize." Earners, then, and sure to be rivals of the Ranger. He had seen Captain Fisher at the warehouse a couple of times, and he couldn't say the man had impressed him. Perhaps their last prize was simply luck. How the fuck had Fisher convinced a woman like Hope -- like Miss Wickham, he mentally corrects himself -- to join his crew? One of the world’s wonders, he supposes.

He places both hands on the table and leans forward abruptly. Hope's large eyes widen slightly, not in alarm, Vane notes with approval, but in assessing the threat. His voice drops to a near-whisper. "My turn to ask the questions. Who else knows that your crew had my black?"

She leans forward as well, close enough that Vane catches the scent of the jasmine oil in her hair. "As far as I know, nobody." Her voice is equally low, matter-of-fact. "My crew hasn't bragged, because they didn't get a chance to parade your colors on the beach. I made certain of that. And they won't now, not after I've relieved them of it. The ones who took your black are young and foolish. I've revoked their shore privileges for the time being, until they can show they won’t be shitheads to other crews if they come into town."

Vane knows something about being young and foolish and making a mistake. Sometimes one's youthful foolishness isn't so easily atoned for, some damages can't be repaired…

"They know you're returning it to me?"

Most people would have been unable to meet his heavy gaze for this long. "Yes. If they don't like it, they can elect a new quartermaster. However, they agreed when I explained my reasoning as to why keeping it would not be in their best interests."

"And DeGroot. Does he know why you asked him to arrange a meeting?

"He didn't ask. I didn't tell." She gives a short laugh, eyes shining with mischief. “I let him think I'm here to ask you for a job, just to irritate him."

It would be so easy to accept her money then wreak bloody havoc in the Starling's camp as a warning, but Vane finds himself reluctant to end the meeting. It was masterful, the way she'd gotten to the core of the issue, convinced him of their common interest, and dissuaded him from violence, and it was brave of her to approach him alone. A man couldn't help admiring her for that. And a trained navigator, to boot -- she'd be an asset to any crew. Perhaps he would have to make her an offer at some point…

He pushes the purse back across the table to Hope. "Keep it. Buy the next round and we'll call it square."

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Goodbye, I’ll see you when I get back-Lukadrien June Day 27

It was a toss up between this and the Chronicles of Narnia au I came up with today. I might slip in the Narnia AU later. Anyway, this is a Jinx au, the book written by Meg Cabot. In this AU, Lila is Luka’s cousin on his uncle’s side and Sass is his cousin on his mom’s.  Goodbye

Luka liked this, making out with Adrien. Before, it had just been them hanging out and ignoring Lila’s many attempts to get Adrien’s attention. Even worse attempts at magic. Now he could make out with Adrien and he wasn’t so afraid of his magic anymore.

His family was special. There was a story about a woman from their family who was called a witch and died in America, leaving her children alone during the witch trials. Thing was, she actually was one. Her tell was her Heterochromia, something not common then, or at least common enough to have a name other than ‘tainted with the devil’. Luka had Heterochromia, mild, but it was still there. He was always having bad luck, knew when things were going to go badly and just reacted to try and stop them. like when he pushed Adrien out of the way of a passing biker the first time, they met because of the red of a door looking a lot like blood. For a long time, he just waved it off as stories, something their grandmother would tell when family gatherings happened. Sass was interested in the history of it and their other cousin Lila, well she took it farther.

Luka never believed it but then he met her. It was so stupid, he knew it was, but he was able to find a love spell and he cast it. At first it was just her paying attention to him, then asking him out. Then it got out of hand, to a stalker level. Like, they lived on a boat, leaving every few months. They’d been sailing and somehow, she ended up on a boat following them. It was the whole reason he was even in Paris and not with his family. He wanted nothing to do with magic after that. Of course it was his luck that Lila was very into it, thinking she was a special second witch after the whole story about there being one user in each family.

Luka wanted nothing to do with it, but with Lila trying to cast love spells and attempting curses, he had no choice. When Adrien kept showing interest in Luka, Lila decided to play a different field. She ‘changed’ for the better. Sass didn’t believe it for a second, warning Luka she was trying something. Adrien had as well, but Luka held hope. Until Lila invited his love spelled old crush to their school dance. When his cousin started talking about what he’d done and then tried to pin her own love spell attempts on him, Luka left, angry and frustrated. He’d had a dream about his ancestor, the same one who was a witch, coming to him and telling him to stop being afraid of his power.

So when Lila basically kidnapped him and tried to do ritual that would take his powers and give them to her, he decided enough was enough. Adrien swears it had been because of noise, but Luka knew that Adrien was spelled to come look outside because he cast it. He helped save Luka and tell Luka’s aunt and uncle. Which led to now, Luka was a twisted ankle and a few bruises and a very nice new boyfriend.

One who was a very good kisser. Like really good. Adrien was younger than him, he wasn’t supposed to be this good.

“Ooh.” Sass teased as he walked into the dinning room where he and Adrien were supposed to be working on homework before they were very distracted. Sass had been a godsend throughout Luka’s whole stay, more interested in the history of magic than actually trying to use it. “Kissy kissy.”

“Can I help you?” Luka asked.

“Your mom is on the phone. Sounds like they’ve docked in the French countryside.”

Luka took the phone, not really moving far from Adrien. “Hi maman.”

“Hello mon trésor. How’s the ankle?”

“It’s doing well. I’ve been keeping off of it. Won’t be fully healed until halfway through summer vacation, but it’s ok. More time to play the violin.”

“Speaking of which, that scholarship, when do you have to play for them?”

Before the whole dance incident, Adrien had told Luka that their school offers scholarships for different departments and if he got it, Luka could attend the school for his last year instead of only staying for the rest of the year and moving back. Luka liked the school and he knew graduating from there would give him a great chance into getting into a university he wanted.

“I did it actually two days ago. I won’t find out until after exams though. But I think I did well. I just had this burst of inspiration and wrote a whole piece to preform for them.”

“You still have to let me listen to that.” Adrien whispered to him.

“Oh I’m so glad. I know got it; I have full confidence in you. however-”

“However? What can I not stay anymore?”

“No, no, of course you can. I think it would be so great for you there, even though your sister and I miss you like crazy. We just need you to come home for the break.”

“What? Why? Maman, I have a messed-up ankle. Being on a boat isn’t going to help.”

“Your aunt and I were talking and we think it’s probably best if Lila comes and lives with us on the boat. And I know that staying far away from her until she changes is a good idea but you need to understand. I sent you to Paris to be safe and then the girl invites your stalker to your dance as well as tries to hurt you and lie to get out of it? You’re lucky I even said yes to you staying for another year. I want to see that you’re ok with my own eyes.”

Luka wanted to argue but he couldn’t. his mom was right. She travelled on a boat every few months, somethings longer and she thought Paris would be safe for Luka. he had a twisted ankle and a magic hungry cousin that said different.

“Fine, ok. I’ll come back.”

“What’s going on?” Adrien whispered, no doubt seeing the frown grow on Luka’s face.

“I have to go back home for the break.”

“For how long?”

“I think the whole break.”

                                              __________________

Luka hated having to leave. He’d lived on a boat his whole life so there was never really a place that felt like home for him other than the Liberty. Paris was starting to feel like that. He knew he’d be going back in a few months, but it felt like he didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Adrien. Staying in contact on the boat would be hard. Half the reason Lila was going there was so she learned to live without easy access to things. His mom did have a hotspot but it wasn’t absolute. Plus phone service wasn’t also the greatest. He liked Adrien, a lot. He’d been so nervous about actually dating anyone after his mishap with the love spell but Adrien was worth it. Besides, Sass helped him find a spell to cancel his love spell so he was able to take care of that before his former stalker went back home. Things were good with Adrien and he didn’t want to leave.

But here he was in the train station, with a sudden cheap trip his mom got hold of. He didn’t get to say goodbye and he was worried Adrien would take that the wrong way, along with the distance. He could only hope his message he left with Sass would help keep things together.

“Alright, ready?” the assistant his aunt got for him, since he was still on crutches, came back from quickly using the bathroom before they headed to security.

“I guess.”

Luka fiddled with his passport and ticket, watching as they got closer to security when he heard his name.

“Luka, wait!”

He leaned over the arm of the chair to see Adrien and Sass.

“Do you know them?”

“Yes, please turn around.”

Adrien was out of breath by the time he reached them. “Hi.”

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were at an event with your parents?” the suit told Luka he had been.

Adrien kneeled down so they’d been at the same eye level. “I was. Sass texted me and told me your mom got you an early ticket and how you were leaving tonight and I didn’t want you to leave before I could say goodbye. Well, maybe more ‘see you soon’ but you know.”

Luka couldn’t help it, he tugged Adrien over and kissed him. “Goodbye. I’ll see you when I get back. And I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Yeah, dad wants to do some forest shoots for his new line, maybe I can convince him to set up near you.”

“Sure. I’d like that. Oh!” Luka dug his hand in his bag and pulled out an SD card. “Here. It’s the recording the school took of my performance for the scholarship. I got it by the way. They told my aunt when she convinced them to send my final exams ahead. You said you wanted to hear it and I wrote it with you in mind.”

Adrien looked honoured as he took the SD card. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Train 392 is boarding at gate F.”

“That’s my train. So goodbye?”

“I’ll see you when you get back.” Adrien promised, pressing another kiss onto Luka’s lips.

He might not have wanted to leave but Adrien coming all the way down meant a lot. He wondered if it would be in bad taste to make a few ‘dream of me’ pouches with Adrien in mind.

Then again, maybe no magic around Lila.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Pirate AU Masterpost

Different ships captained and crewed by different hermits, maybe some could be normal sailors too? Or maybe even some could be sirens? There could be a pirate ship, a pirate hunting ship/law-keeping ship, some random shipping vessels, some sirens or sea monsters, or whatever else! I envision Doc as a pirate captain and Xisuma as the law enforcement captain, but it's open to whatever changes! (@-shadeswiftdraws.)

Headcanons to start us off:

-Bdubs is a fruity sailor.

-Cub and Scar sell things to both pirates and the law enforcement. They only take the aide of profit.

-DocM threatened Bdubs into joining him. Whether it worked is up to the 'what gets popular' Gods. If not, he probably just holds Bdubs hostage or something.

-Hypnotizd's bandana has a skull and crossbones on it, as does Etho's headband.

-False is feared by Doc.

-Grian has a parrot that always sits on his shoulder. Doc keeps telling him to get rid of it but Grian refuses.

-Iskall wears an eyepatch.

-Hypnotizd has scurvy.

-iJevin makes maps and sells em to pirates to keep them off his back. Did he bury the treasure? I dunno.

-All of ZIT collectively own a boat. They like to pretend its a yacht and have fun. Sometimes they just use it to relax, sometimes they just go fishing. Sometimes they scare each other with stories of pirates and massive storms.

-Joe Hills is scared of the water because he nearly drowned as a child. But when he ends up accidentally stowing away on the ZIT boat, his worst fears happen.

-Keralis is Xisuma's second in command.

-TFC is a retired sailor that knows too much.

-VintageBeef and basically all of the NHO are with Doc.

-XbCrafted grew up by the beach and likes to collect shells. One time he found a fossil of a dinosaur. What will he do? I don't know. His childhood friend, Hypnotizd, left to be a pirate. Xb hasn't heard from him since (he promised he'd write letters,) and fears the worst.

-ZombieCleo is a dead zombie captain. Her and her crew (the gals, and maybe some co,) are out to get their revenge on Doc. Her second in command is Stress but her main muscle in False.

-Mumbo is usually the one who works maintenance on the ship. (He's with Xisuma.)

-Rendog got stuck on an island he's called 'Loser Island' and has been there for at least a year. He's found by Doc.

-Stressmonster makes people fear her through her name, but they usually laugh when they see her because she's really unintimidating.

-Welsknight hoardes cool swords.

-Everyone underestimates Stress when they see her but those who have faced her in battle have realized their mistake. She is slowly but surely gaining the reputation as one of the most feared pirates of the seven seas. She’s still very sweet if you get to know her tho - 🌙

-At some point while attempting to leave the ZIT crew's yacht, Joe somehow ends up with Cleo and the gals in the middle of the ocean, who take pity on him. Because they help him with his fear and take care of him on the way back to land, he decides to stick with them for good. The Navy and a lot of other pirates don't believe that Cleo can be the captain of such a feared vessel or that False can be that deadly and decide that Joe must be doing it all. He takes joy in deferring to Cleo whenever he can, and the whole crew gets a laugh out of his combat attempts. He mainly handles navigation and stuff, though he does record their adventures and anonymously submit them to newspapers and/or publish his accounts. (Don't want to skip the Joe+ZIT stuff, just love him and Cleo and need that dynamic :-) )

-Half siren/merman grian? - Frost Anon

-Different anon adding to the Merman Wels idea, he's a siren but instead of stealing your life he steals your swords and shinies. Some pirates may be on good terms with him and gives him swords occasionally and ask for directions or just hang out with him and be nice (I'd think Ren would sing with him and Jevin would hang out and steal shinies with him landing both their crews on good terms with him. He may even follow them around as it can be lonely in the ocean)

-Mumbo never meant to be a pirate. There was just a mutiny of the last captain he was under and everyone liked him enough to keep him around.

-Some loser thinks that joe is the muscle of the group and asks for a duel. cleo decides fuck it and just pushes joe into a fight with them because thats how she be sometimes. (False is on standby so joe doesn't get creamed)

-https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/619926302710956032/another-take-on-the-pirate-au-concept

- At some point, Cleo's ship begins picking up stray orphaned children. They are kept safe below deck during battle and are taught by the crew how to run a ship and fight, but Cleo also teaches them stuff like how to read and do math. The crew is very protective of the young'uns and the ship eventually becomes known for the fact that they take care of kids. Most other ships, upon learning this, respect that and don't attack them. If a ship does, they will find that the Rotten Corpse is viscous, and has many powerful friends who will back them up. If Doc or X come across Cleo's ship, they will give the kids gifts and stay close for a bit to provide protection. As the kids grow up some go back to shore and build legitimate/legal lives (including opening an orphanage) but a group of them go off and become their own pirate crew! Their ship's name? I don't know, I'm not clever.

-In a tavern someone's just like "im gonna sail to this island." Tfc, sitting nearby "you wont find anything" a little while later that ship goes missing. No one actually knows what tfc found in his sailing days. But my god does he know where to avoid

(All above in red are from our community's lovely Anons!)

-The ZIT boat is a bit of a disaster because each person always thinks it's the other people's turn to maintain it. Joe probably saw it on an evening beach walk and thought it was abandoned, decided to explore it, and accidentally fell asleep in the hold. He wakes up to the ZIT boys arguing about what to do with him.

-Xisuma has a reputation for being strict and disciplined and running a very tight ship, but if you're actually on his crew you'll know that's a front for intimidation purposes. In reality he is organised but extremely forgiving, and he will often sit down with crew who are new or going through something stressful and talk it out with them.

-Iskall is with Cleo's crew, he appears just as driven as the rest of them but he's mostly just there to make sure Cleo and co don't go too overboard with the revenge thing. He just doesn't want them to do something they'll regret....

-Wels can be a merman! He hoards cool swords as souvenirs of the surface world and dreams of two-legged adventurers and explorers.

-The "incident" that put Cleo on the path of undead revenge was partially accidental. Doc's goal was to raid the ship and get away with no casualties, but things escalated way too quickly. He is haunted by what happened, but Cleo doesn't know that and is determined to hunt him and his crew down.

-Pirate singalong nights! Doc's ship definitely has a singalong under the stars every night, where everyone can gather together and relax and let loose. It's fun to think about who would be good at it, and who would be bad at it but sing anyway ☺️

-Grian starts off on Doc's ship (with his parrot), but he gets washed overboard in a storm. Siren!Wels rescues him and gives him siren magic.

-I got tired of referring to "Xisuma's ship" and "Doc's ship", so: X's ship is called the Voidrunner, and Doc's vessel is the Black Goat. (Cleo's is The Rotting Corpse -Anon.)

-(I did a submission mentioning ConPost earlier, so look at that for context) The ConPost boys don't sail, but they're very knowledgable about sailing supplies and even ship repair. Cub does bookkeeping and negotiates big deals. Scar likes to wander the docks checking stock levels, with Jellie napping in piles of rope or following close behind.

-https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/619819577428279296/for-the-pirate-au-cub-and-scar-own-a-supply

-Xisuma is feared and respected by pirates because his ship is one of the first/only steam powered vessels at the time. Mumbo is his engineer; he maintains the mechanics and is constantly testing ways to make the ship faster and more efficient.

-If you ask Iskall why he wears an eye patch, you will get a wild tale of adventure and heroic battle that may take an hour to relate. However, the story is different every time. He actually lost his eye in a completely non-pirate related accident as a child. It just sounds cooler the way he tells it 😂

- About Joe moving from the ZIT crew to Cleo's ship: Joe really wants to be taken back to shore, and the ZIT lads understand his fear of water and try to take him back as soon as possible. However, they get caught in a storm, and the boat isn't in great shape to weather it. The boat is not quite wrecked, but badly damaged, and Joe is washed overboard. Cleo's crew finds him and pulls him aboard to save him (maybe siren!Wels helped bring him to her!)

-As a pirate Etho is known for his skill in boarding enemy ships. It doesn't matter how many ropes you cut, how many pirate grappling hooks you throw into the sea in an effort to keep them from your decks. Even if there's no possible way across, Etho will just sort of.. . End Up on your ship, and you will end up in Davy Jones' locker. (Based on the creepy teleport thing with Grian, and just Etho's general cryptid-ness)

-The sea spray and the general ocean humidity is horrible for Doc's arm. Ren helps him keep it as clean and rust-proof as possible, but it still probably squeaks a lot and stiffens up sometimes.

(-@shadeswiftdraws.)

-ZombieCleo's gal (& co.) crew includes Iskall. [More info pending for when I finally get around to watching s6 and see the infamous Iskall & Stress duo in action] (-@basaltdragon.)

-Inspired by shade: Cub is an ex-sailor, and Scar grew up in a family of fishers. Cub was really good at ship maintainence (he just got sick of the politics), and Scar loved keeping stock of the fishing nets and what sort of fish were caught, how much they might sell for, though he's not as good at repairs.

-For the Pirate AU, Mumbo telling Siren/MerGrian stories of the surface world and (secretly?) making a way for Grian to see it for himself. (-@shiniestumbreon.)

-Pirate au: one day there is a really bad storm that destroys all of the hermits boats except for one of them. So now all the hermits are all on one boat that’s really far away from land. (Angst part) some of them went over board (I’m thinking the captains maybe) so the remaining hermits are either grieving them or looking desperately hoping that their crew mates are still alive and clinging to wreckage. Who they find, if they do find any of them is up to the reader for now. (-@lookitsspacekween.)

- Mumbo, being the spoon he is always forgets where he buries his treasure. (-@xxpzmistxx.)

-Mumbo, as the Voidrunner's engineer, has so much to work on that Xisuma will sometimes take over the maintenance so poor Mumbo can get some sleep. This leads to the hunt for a secondary engineer and maybe that's how Mumbo and Iskal end up meeting. (-@my-cat-is-a-bastard.)

-A cat scratched out Iskall's eye as a kid, and he's too embarrassed to tell anyone. He's still a bit afraid of cats, so you'll always see him keeping a close eye on Jellie when he's at the dock. (-@12u3ie.)

- i dont really know much about pirates but ima try!! ok so, cleo is human, but she gets the nickname "zombie cleo" because she faked her own death. people thought she drowned, and her old crew along with her. most of them went to live normal lives under different names, but cleo missed the sea and eventually returned to being a pirate, eventually becoming the capitain of a new ship. (i hope this makes sense lol) (-@bakubakunyanyaa.)

-Pirate headcanons! As someone said before Ren and Wels are friends and like to sign together. I can imagine Wels telling the Black Goat that there is a treasure burried in Loser Island to get Ren rescued. Also! People think Ren is halve siren/has siren magic as he is really good at singing and the melodies he hums are similar to the ones sirens are said to sing, turns out just a bit of siren magic and Wels singing style rubbed on Ren during all the time they spent together singing.

-More pirate hc cause i have no self control and they are not a lot of them: Doc gives shiny stuff to Wels in exchange of him warning them when X’s crew is on a port. Iskall is also a great engineer and is working to make the Rotten Corpse Steam powered too. He insist Cleo to let him take a peek on the Voidrunner to see if he can copy Mumbo’s work, the gals agree this is the most dangerous idea Iskall has.

(-@ivi-prism.)

-Ship AU! Hypno originally joined the ship's crew with his friend, Jessassin. They became a swashbuckling duo, and still sometimes work together, despite Jessassin's inactivity from pirate duties. (-@calmshejaguar.)

[gildedmuse]

Yes, please. More ZoLaw... How about AU ideas?

Oh, I have ton of AU ideas. Some of which I have like 11 pages of co-brainstorming, some of which I've written up summaries roughly the length of some of which are just two words: [blank] Zoro / [Blank] Law. Here's the best list I can put together while on my way to work.

Okay, Hear Me Out. A ZoLaw Fic Where....

Zoro Is Law's Marine Bodyguard....

After Corazon dies, the navy does some digging. Years later they learn about Law and insist he is in danger as Doflamingo has located him as well. A young marine, Zoro, is assigned to guard him

Law Is A Marine & Roronoa Zoro Is His Obsession...

Or Law follows in Corazon's footsteps and becomes a marine. He sort of takes Tashigi's place as Smoker's sidekick second in command. So he's there in Lougetown when the Strawhats breeze into town. and the two develope an... Intense rivalry in which Law is determined to hunt down the cocky young swordsman (mostly because he feels like a fool... Why in the world would be agree to a fight without using his devil's fruit? What kind of argument is "it's cheap" anyway? Why the hell had he been thinking?) while Zoro enjoys taunting the handsome, moody marine he kicked the ass off back in Lougetown (or totally would have if they hadn't been interrupted).

Just wait until Law follows him all the way to Dressrosa. He's been avoiding meeting The Heavenly Demon since he became a marine, so why they hell is he willing to follow this green haired pirate hunter into the devil's own home?

Zoro Hates All Doctors (Except Law) (And Also It's A College AU Because Why Not?)

Modern AU where Law is an overworked med student filling shifts at the student clinic and Zoro is a at University on a kendo scholarship, preparing for the olympics. He has a knack for getting injured (it doesn't help that his coach, Mihawk Dracula, doesn't believe in pulling punches... Or whatever the sword equivalent is). Still, he absolutely hates going to the clinic. One day Law is taking out some tension at the gym practicing with his own blade when Zoro gets badly hurt. Law rushes over to help, and since Zoro isn't really in a position to say no he has to let the young doctor help him.

After that whenever Zoro gets injured he still refuses to go to a doctor. What he does do is lurk outside the student clinic (typically with Luffy in toe to keep him company - even if your injured and tired, you can never get too bored with Luffy as your best friend) until Law gets tired of it and makes him come in so he can fix up whatever he's managed to injure this time.

The clinic receptionist - Perona - doesn't find this cute at all. Mostly because Zoro is typically sweaty and gross and the Monkey boy is just annoying. His fellow student interns Shachi and Penguin are just impressed Law has put up with him this long (they did ask if the Kendo scene attracted a lot of girls, but Law's blank stare pretty much answered that one) while Assistant Professor and Physician Marco thinks it's adorable but is kind enough to only tease Law about it occasionally (he doesn't ask about fangirls in the kendo scene since he's pretty much certain that's not Zoro's scene either way).

Of the two tenured professors who officially oversee the clinic, Dr. Crocus has never said anything to Law about the whole situation except for letting him know when Zoro is waiting outside. He does, however, sometimes bring Zoro and Luffy by snacks or something to drink and has even kept them company an few times. No need for the two of them to wait out there with no one looking out for them (and, yes, they clearly need someone looking out for them). On the other hand Dr. Kureha has never believed in cuddling her students. The exact opposite actually. She started by telling Law he'd best take his pet home since he couldn't have it here all day ("Pet? What pet? Whoever it is, it's not mine, Dr. Kureha-ya." / "So that green haired stray and his little monkey friend don't belong to you?" / "Green hai- Urg."), Which eventually evolved to her telling him this was a clinic not a dating service ("He's not... *Sigh*") and finally came to the point where she just snips st Law for not being able to control even a simple minded athlete then how does he plan to deal with actual problem patients? She's also made a point of telling Zoro off - it pretty obvious that even when he does come by the clinic he only does so after either accumulating multiple injuries or continuing to push one until it gets far worse than needed. Is the boy an idiot? Why wait until things are so bad, and why is he wasting the time of one of her top students? If he wants to stalk one of the postgrads he could at least pick a less talented one. There are plenty to choose from.

Marco tried to make up for this lecture (after which Zoro stayed away for three months until he almost lost an eye) by offering to let Zoro and Luffy wait in the actual clinic to wait. (To which Luffy helpfully announces, "Zoro isn't waiting for the clinic, he's waiting for Toroa." Which kinda makes Zoro want to strangle his best friend but since he's currently holding a towel up to his eye and feels pretty sick at the thought of not making these games because he's an idiot, he only managed an apologetic smile and mentally promises himself to pinch Luffy later. Marco is totally unsurprised by this answer, for what it's worth.)

(Also, it turns out Kendo does attract at least a couple of girls, at least at the Olympics level. It's probably more accurate to say that Dracule Mihawk and Roronoa Zoro attract attention, which Law only learns because he was heading home after his shift and saw a bit if activity around the gymnasium and wandered over purely out of curiosity and somehow accidentally ended up watching Zoro's match. And that randomly happened a couple of times. Look, the best parking is by the gym he practically has to walk by to get to his car. He isn't going out of his way. And he has a valid reason to be interested in kendo. (Also, appro of nothing, Tashigi seems like an annoying know it all and Hiyori seems like a silly teenage girl and why is Perona even here?)

Shanks Uses His Yonko Status For It's Highest Purpose - Mischief

While sailing to Wano, they stop at an island to gather supplies when they are ambushed. It turns out to be one occupied by the Head Haired Pirates. Before anyone can attcak, Shanks steps into view, smiling. He greets Kin'emon and Kunjuro (they were with the Roger pirates for a while). Robin, Franky and Usopp he recognizes as friends of Luffy. Weirdly, he calls Zoro 'Mihawk'ss boy'. Law corrects him as Zoro is also in the Strawhats. Shanks laughs because while that may be true, he's met Zoro and he's Mihawk's boy to him. Law seems unhappy with this description, while Zoro just rolls his eyes, calling Shanks an old pervert and to stop messing around. Despite everyone else freaking out, Shanks laughs it off. He insists surely Mihawk would be the pervert in that situation. Law dislikes the whole conversation. It only gets worse when it turns out they have to stay on the island two weeks, and Mihawk is visiting as well. Under Shank's bad influence (and seeing how such comments got under the other Captain's skin even if he wouldn't admit to it) he convinced Mihawk to join him in creating some mischief (Shanks is a terrible influence).

Law Is Working For Doflamingo, Gathering Information On & Chain Off Rookie Pirates

Instead of Bellemy, the crew find Law right before Skypea. He is also (secretly) working for Doflamingo. Typically it's his job to narrow out the herd, and for the pirates that might make it to the second half of the Grand Line, his job is to gather information that may be useful in "convincing" them over to Doflamingo's side later or else can be useful in eliminating them if they become a threat.

Unlike Bellamy, it takes Law only one conversation in the bar to determine that the Strawhats aren't your average pirates. Their captain's open, naive nature makes gathering information on them rather straight forward. Which is how Law determines that his biggest advantage is his crews loyalty, and none seem more so than his handsome swordsman. Luffy seems to naturally open and unashamed to be able to gather blackmail material on, but Law's willing to bet if you own Zoro, you'd more or less own the captain. So he sets out to do just that.

Swords Are Cats

Zoro owns three infamous crazy cats. Law is a vet. Look, this is an AU in which Swords are cats. Zoro has two in particular that no vet is willing (or able) to get anywhere near. When Wado gets sick, though, he shows up to The Heart Veterinary Clinic (it sounds like such a cheesy name he already can't stand it) with all three in toe. Best to get everything done at once since it's unlikely they'll ever be allowed back again. Sure enough, Shisui just has to start the trip off by escaping when Zoro is checking in.

Law is in his office when he notices Kikoku is gone, which is strange. She usually likes to stick by his side. He goes looking for her and is surprised to find her hiding under the receptionist desk, curled up peacefully with another cat. He holds up the strange tomcat only to very nearly lose an eye. Zoro catches the poor thing midair when Law stumbles back from surprise, honestly just thankful to find him before he caused any damage.

Law takes one look at Zoro and the three cats and instantly knows two things:

A. Oh, so these are the demon cats he was warned about by Tashigi and Pica and Wanda and even Shanks who seems like he can put up with almost any animal

B. He's definitely going to get these cats to like him, if only to ensure that Zoro back.

Law Ends Up On Kuraigana Island

Incredibly simple What If premise. What if instead of fighying two pacsifistas alongside the Kid pirates, the Heart Pirates wind up on the battle field with the Strawhats. When the real Kuma shoes up, Law gets a little too close to the action and is sent along with Zoro to Kuraigana Island. This has everything you need in an AU. Zoro and Law going from complete strangers to friendly rivalry to sexual tension because they're stuck on an island for two years together. A possible love triangle with Mihawk. Perona being either an annoying bratty sister to Zoro (who in fairness beat up her crew) while openlh crushing on a disinterested Law or a Perona silently shipping the two of them long before they even take any real notice of each other (I'm guessing she'd talk about it with her hallows). Bonus points for scenes of The Heart Pirates trying desperately to find their beloved captain.

I'm kidding. Bonus points for adding Mihawk in the mix and making it a triangle filled with possessiveness, jealousy and a totally unaware he's in the middle of it all Zoro. That's my jam.

They Were Childhood Friends (Who Haven't Seen Each Other In Years)

Sometimes, all an AU needs to be is a romamtic comedy formula lifted wholesale and recontextualized to fit whatever fandom you're into. So, yeah. Law and Zoro grow up at the same dojo but haven't seen each other in years, then suddenly Law is sitting there in ten Sabaody auction house when the something crashes through the roof, and that something looks a lot like a boy he hasn't seen since he left the dojo at 18. Or, hey, maybe Law catches a wanted poster of "his little brother" while sailing on the Grand Line and decides to track him down just to see how he's doing. And probably he was totally unaware that at 13/14 years old, Zoro had just about the biggest crush in the world on him.

Although most the Strawhats definitely know. Or at least figure it out damn quickly. It's kind of hard to miss how their badass swordsman suddenly can't make eye contact or flushes at the slightest provocation. ("Do you think the Heart captain realizes?"/"Maybe it's just because Zoro looked up to him. I mean, I can't imagine him actually LIKING someone."/"Oh, come off it, you'd have to be blind not to see!"/"I think it's sweet that our swordsman-san still holds such a place for what must have been his first major crush."/"Yeah, who know Zoro-bro could be such a romantic!")

Strawhats antics ensue.

Law Uses His Shichibukai Connections For Something Other Than Revenge (So Sex. Sex and Revange.)

After becoming a Shichibukai, Law meets Mihawk at an official summon and picks up on the fact that Zoro is training there. Having promised Luffy he would look it to his nakama's safety should be discover them (something he had thought would never happen) he follows Mihawk back to the island to see how Zoro's training holds up.

Perona Is Zoro's Older Sister, Just To Create Drama

AU where Perona is Zoro's older sister. She hangs out with a much darker, edgier crowd than Zoro approves of. He find Law especially questionable and not just because they seem to have a 'thing' (in my mind Zoro is in high school while Perona and Law are not in college. He's heard about the way college boys often are and he doesn't really understand that all their relationship is entirely casual, and most the time when he catches Perona cuddling up to him, it's just her being cutesy (and because she knows that while it annoys Law a little, he won't do anything to stop him). He also doesn't understand why every time he tries to confront Law about it he ends up feeling so flustered. (Not that Law is about to openly hit on his friend's little brother, but some teasing never hurt)

There's Only One Bed. Because There Is ALWAYS A Story With Only One Bed

The Polar Tang and Sunny are stolen while the two crews are meeting up, talking over a plan to take down Blackbeard (okay fine, LAW is doing all the planning). Luckily, Shanks just happens to be passing by and offers them a lift, but as big as his ship is, three whole crews take up a lot of space. And despite Shanks (joking) offer to let Zoro share his bed, Law is the one who ends up stuffed into a single hammock with the Swordsman.

Law Tries To Sleep With His Uncle's Partner (Not As Terrible As If Sounds)

Law's uncle Corazon works in Law enforcement. He talks endlessly about his new rookie partner to the point of Law's annoyance. Until Corazon brings the young green haired detective home for dinner.

Law Is The Ship Doctor For The Strawhats Pirates

Corazon lives and runs off with Law, who grows up to be a doctor. One day, a pirate ships sails to their island. They have a sick crew member and desperate for help. Law doesn't help pirates, but then the corrupt ruler of their island has Corazon arrested and locked up, claiming he's found his true identity and plans to sell him out to his brother. They come for Law, but the Strawhats save him despite his refusal to help them (Luffy doesn't mind, he's sure Torao has his reasons and anyway Corazon is an amazing man who gave them a free lunch and he's sure Torao is just as good.) The Strawhats rescue Corazon, kick out the evil ruler and bring peace back to the island. Law finds himself compelled to accompany them.

Law Tutors Zoro (In The Ways Of Love Math)

Zoro's life is way too stressful. Between kendo competitions, a job that doesn't pay enough, a second job that's a bit questionable not too mention school. He doesn't even care about most that stuff, but if he wants to be the greatest at his sport, the rest is sort of necessary. Like training. One thing he definitely needs more training in is school work. Zoro has to keep a certain GPA to keep his Kendo scholarship. Luffy insists he knows the perfect tutor, and while Zoro isn't so sure about Luffy's judgement on intelligence, he trusts his friend. Enter Trafalgar Law, college senior who tutors on the side. Oh, and - as he casually mentions at the end of their first session that he's seen Zoro at his job. No, not as at the restaurant, but the online videos. And he has to say, he's quite the fan.

There are a few I didn't manage to get to tonight, despite being some of my favorites. Maybe later, when work has not drained the life out of me, you can hear about...

Drummer Zoro/Med Student Law

Marine Law/Revolutionary Zoro

Marine Law/Marine Zoro

Police Zoro/ME Law

Rock Star Law / Bodyguard Zoro

Biker Gang Zoro / Anarchist Group Law

Kendo Olympic Champion Zoro / Sports Doctor Law

Kendo Rivals Zoro / Law

Evil Doflamingo Pirate Law / Captive Zoro

Samurai Zoro / Ninja Law

Detective Zoro / Art Thief Law

[not-majestic-bluenicorn]

Crescent || Chapter 10

Fandom(s): ATEEZ

AU: Treasure Hunters

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho

Language: English

Status: Ongoing

Chapter WC: 5,414 words

Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, more will be added.

Chapter Warnings: Blood, Injuries (Dislocated shoulder), Torture (electrocution).

Summary:

"You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.

"Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."

"You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.

"Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down.

AO3

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Tagged: @angel0taiyo​

Jongho was lying on his bed, reading a book about other treasure myths and stories. Hongjoong had picked it up for him in the last stop they had made when it had caught his attention. He wasn't much of a reader, but with their hunt for the treasure, he had gotten interested in it. Jongho had never received a formal education, and so everything he knew had been learned from the workers that had taken care of him all of his life.

The reading was simple enough that he could understand it and enjoy it, but every once in a while he would stumble against a couple of words that he wasn't too sure of their meaning. Whenever this happened, he would ask the person closest to him. At that moment, the person was Mingi, who was sprawled on the bottom bunk bed, more asleep than awake. Jongho poked his head from over the railing on his bed and observed the taller man as he fought sleep.

"Mingi..." He called. If Mingi didn't answer, he would just let him sleep and go look for someone else.

"Hm?" Mingi replied back, eyes opening and meeting Jongho's gaze. "Oh, hey..." He yawned softly. "What's up?"

"Do you have any idea what these words could mean?" Jongho asked, passing him the book and using the bookmark to point at the words.

Jongho noticed as Mingi immediately tensed once he received the book. He put it on his lap and just stared at it blankly for a moment, eyes fixed at the point in the page marked by the bookmark. Jongho waited, patiently, maybe Mingi wasn't sure either and was trying to decipher them. He knew how much Mingi liked helping others, maybe he didn't want to disappoint Jongho.

Still, the seconds became minutes and nothing came from Mingi's mouth, and Jongho started to get worried. The truth was that Mingi couldn't read. He had been orphaned pretty early in his life and raised like most kids in an infirmary until he had had the age to work at the mines. The only education he had ever received was how to operate explosives. So as Mingi started at the words, he began to panic, and without realizing, he started to breathe heavily.

Jongho got off his bed and knelt in front of Mingi, grabbing his shoulders with both hands and shaking him softly, urging him to react. Mingi looked at him after a moment and Jongho took the book from his hands, throwing it away. He couldn't understand why Mingi had panicked like that, but that wouldn't matter until he calmed down.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jongho asked, grabbing Mingi's face with one hand to make sure he was looking at him and was focused on something. "Follow my breathing, it's okay."

Mingi did as he was told, following Jongho's breathing as he looked into his eyes, unable to tear his eyes away. Little by little, his breathing returned to normal and he no longer felt like he was about to pass out. Jongho didn't let go of his face until he was sure Mingi wasn't going to faint in front of him.

"What happened just now?" He asked softly, when he felt like Mingi would be able to reply.

"I'm sorry," Mingi apologized, looking so regretful that anyone would think he had committed some sort of crime.

"Why are you sorry?" Jongho continued speaking in a soft voice to him, softly coaxing the answer out of Mingi.

"I'm sorry," Mingi repeated again, closing his eyes. "I don't know how to read, or write... I-I never learned, I'm sorry."

Jongho's eyes widened slightly before his expression softened once again. So that was the reason Mingi always refused to help when there were documents involved. It also explained why he hadn't wanted to order at the restaurant bar when they had gone, even though he had been staring hungrily at Jongho's food the rest of the night. Mingi didn't know how to read.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Jongho reassured him, trying to come up with the right thing to say at a moment like that.

"It's pathetic, though, it's such a basic thing... and I can't do it." Mingi sighed, feeling worthless. A little voice in his head shaped like Wooyoung told him he wasn't, but he pushed that voice away, feeling tired and defeated.

"It's not pathetic, you're not pathetic," Jongho insisted, grabbing Mingi's hands. "It's not your fault that you didn't get the chance to learn. There's nothing wrong with you, you're perfect."

Mingi looked at Jongho with big eyes. He almost looked like he was about to cry, but didn't, deciding to hold it in instead because he didn't want to ridicule himself in front of Jongho more than he already had. 

"You do have the universal translator installed though, right? Those are supplied by the government." Jongho asked, wanting to make sure that the situation wasn't worse than it seemed. Mingi nodded. "Then I can try to teach you how to read and write, if you want. I'm sure the others would be willing to help as well."

"No!" Mingi raised his voice, startling Jongho. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, just- You can't tell anyone." Mingi insisted, looking a bit scared. "I don't want them to think badly of me."

"I'm sure they wouldn't," Jongho reassured him, but Mingi's expression told him that he just wasn't ready to believe him something like that. "But it is not my place to tell them anything, so I promise I won't."

"Thank you." Mingi smiled weakly, and Jongho smiled back at him.

"Don't worry about it, go to sleep now." Jongho leaned closer to ruffle Mingi's hair and Mingi stared at him.

His heartbeat picked up as he stared at Jongho from up close. No one had ever told him he was perfect, yet Jongho knew so much about him, about his imperfections, and he had not hesitated when he had looked Mingi in the eye and told him he was perfect. Jongho told him to rest well before getting off of his bed and going back to the top bunk.

Mingi could only stare at him. His heart was beating so fast and loud that it flooded his ears and he couldn't hear anything else. There was no way Jongho couldn't hear it too, but if he did, he had decided to spare Mingi the embarrassment and not talk about it. Mingi, too, decided to spare himself from the conflicts that came with feelings and just covered his head with a pillow and willed himself to sleep.

--

The next morning, Yunho felt so much better after spending that small moment with Hongjoong. He wasn't necessarily a stranger to sailing through space, but he had never before passed so much time on a vessel with no obvious destiny in sight. He could tell he wasn't the only feeling like that, though, so he knew he had to keep himself in high spirits to motivate the rest of the crew. Yunho did wonder though how Hongjoong wasn't absolutely exhausted of the whole thing yet. He suspected it was probably because he wanted to honor his brother, and nothing would stop him from doing just that.

As he paced around the deck, Yunho spotted San softly stretching on the opposite side. Yunho observed him with curiosity. Since the beginning of the journey, San had kept to himself for the most part; he didn't really speak with the rest of the crew members and was always locked with Hongjoong in the quarters just working on the map. Yunho had heard from other crew members that they found him intimidating.

San had never complained about how much time he spent working on the map, and there was no way to tell only by his expression if he was enjoying it or if he hated the whole thing. Hongjoong had become sort of close to him after spending so much time together, but other than that, no one ever talked to San. Yunho couldn't help but feel curious about him. Especially after what he had noticed when they had revealed the little bet they had going on with Hwanwoong and Siyeon.

To be fair, Yunho understood how people would sometimes be drawn to Hongjoong. He was just attractive in many ways. Yunho himself wasn't jealous, so he found it very amusing when other people showed interest in Hongjoong and then were surprised when they learned about Yunho. Which was funny, because they were hardly ever apart and they weren't secretive about their relationship either.

In a split second, and driven by curiosity, Yunho changed his route and walked towards San. San looked at him at first, but seemed to convince himself that Yunho was just going to pass by and didn't say anything until Yunho stood in front of him. San continued stretching until he noticed Yunho wasn't leaving, and decided to ask him if he needed something.

"Not really," Yunho shrugged. "I was just thinking of chatting with you."

San looked at him with confusion, stopping mid stretch to just look at Yunho from head to toe and then back up again. Yunho chuckled, unable to understand why it would be so weird to San that someone wanted to talk with him. Maybe he was conscious about his intimidating presence. Maybe he was doing it on purpose and hadn't expected someone to bypass it and talk to him. Whatever it was, Yunho had made his decision that he would learn something about the man that day.

"Why are you so weirded out?" Yunho smiled. "I mean, I know we've never had just a chat before, but it can't be that weird, can it?"

"I guess not..." San mumbled, finishing his stretches before facing Yunho.

It was obvious by the straight line his shoulders formed that he was tense, and Yunho couldn't help but find it amusing. San was always so serious and kept to himself, but Yunho had never seen him tense. Now though, he looked uncomfortable and out of place, and he realized that this might be the first time someone from the crew was actually talking to him.

"You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.

"Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."

"You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.

"Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down. "We've barely spent time away from this ship, and I can imagine it might be getting to some of the crew members, so I just wanted to check on you." Yunho shrugged. "It's harder when you don't have someone to rely on."

San sighed and leaned against the rail with his back, tilting his head backwards to look at the black canvas that was space. There were so many stars and planets and whatnot out there, but even with all of that, it was dark. He reckoned it would probably be difficult to see on the ship if it wasn't because the artificial atmosphere it came with emitted a glow of its own. 

"It is a bit hard, yeah," San agreed, letting his defenses down a little. "I'm okay though."

He was very stressed, but it was not for the reasons Yunho was thinking about. Honestly, he couldn't care less about being away from land for so long, it was something he could handle. But the stress of not fulfilling his mission was killing him. He had yet to make the choice of killing Hongjoong and each day it only became harder and harder to pull the trigger on the Captain. 

Of course, that wasn't something he could share with anyone, so he had to carry the burden alone. Plus, even if he could share it by some sort of miracle, no one was willing to approach him, and he wasn't there to make friends, so there was no one to share with anyway. Yunho didn't seem quite satisfied by his answer though, so San guessed he wasn't going to get away from that one easily.

"Why don't you try to approach the others?" Yunho suggested, leaning on the rail by San's side. "Also aren't you close to Hongjoong? You could try talking to him, he wouldn't push you away."

"Well, why don't the others approach me, then?" San huffed, not wanting to have this conversation. "I wouldn't say I'm close to the Captain either..." He mumbled right after, trying to ignore the feeling akin to guilt setting on his chest.

"It would hurt him quite a lot to hear you say that," Yunho smiled slightly, but he seemed uncomfortable. "And the others don't approach you because you look..."

"Scary?" San supplied, having heard that countless times before. "You can go ahead and say it, I don't mind."

"I wouldn't say scary," Yunho shook his head. "Maybe a little intimidating."

"Well, I didn't do anything to intimidate them so..." San shrugged again. "They can just think whatever they want, I'm okay anyway."

"You're a difficult one, aren't you?" Yunho chuckled, looking down at San.

"I get told that often, yes," San nodded, scoffing.

 "What is the real reason you don't approach others?" Yunho insisted.

"Why do you think there's a reason?" San crossed his arms and looked back at Yunho, challenging him.

"Well, you're particularly defensive about it, so there must be something, right?" Yunho leaned in closer unconsciously, putting an arm behind San's back on the rail. San briefly looked at it before looking back at Yunho.

"Not really," San let out a deep breath. "Let's just say it's something my people are not very good at."

That wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't completely true either. San just had never had an opportunity to socialize. People like him were especially raised, from a young age, to be used as weapons and tools. He knew nothing but the training he had received in proper etiquette, how to act like a normal human being that had grown with a normal background. 

San had never particularly excelled at those classes though. He was an expert at managing all sorts of weapons and carrying out any kind of technical task. He had learned so many languages in case his universal translator ever failed, and he could absorb almost any kind of information. But he didn't know how to properly interact with others. He couldn't pretend to be a friend or play games of seduction.

Because of that, he was usually sent out on missions where he didn't need to interact with people much, and this one was supposed to be like that. He would just get in, kill Hongjoong, and disappear. But it had not gone as it was supposed to, and now he was basically trapped in the ship with no idea of what to do and how to deal with his situation. And he was alone, because he just didn't know how to interact with the others.

"Fair enough," Yunho said after observing him for a while and stepped back. San had to hold himself from sighing in relief. "There's not much that can be done in matters of culture and such."  San nodded and stepped away from the railway, assuming that was the end of the conversation. However, Yunho spoke again. "You can come speak to me if you need something to, or to Hongjoong. You don't have to think of us as friends, but we won't push you away."

"Okay," San agreed, his voice quiet and small. "Thanks." He didn't look at Yunho as he said that and just left towards the crew's quarters.

Yunho stalled in the main deck for a little while before going to Hongjoong's quarters to look for him. He found him sitting next to Yeosang, their heads close together as they examined a picture of a statue, probably trying to find the code in it. He smiled, amused, when he noticed the glances Yeosang would spare at Hongjoong every few seconds.

He decided it would be fun to give them a surprise and approached them in complete silence. He looked over their heads at the picture, it was kind of blurry, so no doubt they were looking so closely at it. And after a few seconds waiting for them to realize, he decided to announce his presence.

"What are you looking at?" Yunho asked.

Hongjoong raised his head in surprise and hit Yeosang on the eye by accident. Yunho grimaced at the nasty sound of their bump as they both complained in pain and tried to rub the spots. He felt only mildly sorry as his grimace turned into a laugh. Neither of the two victims paid him any mind as Hongjoong checked on Yeosang to see if he was okay.

"I'm so sorry," Hongjoong repeated, grabbing Yeosang's face delicately to check on him. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Yeosang insisted, trying to push Hongjoong away because he was too close.

Instead, Hongjoong pushed Yeosang's hands down with one hand and used the other to check the affected area. Yunho had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as Yeosang's face became red and he made the inhuman effort to not look Hongjoong in the face. When Hongjoong was satisfied with his little checkup, he patted Yeosang's head and then turned to confront Yunho.

"Why did you do that?!" He yelled, standing up to confront him. Yunho's shoulders just continued to shake slightly as he laughed, trying really hard to keep it under control. "Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry!" Yunho tried to pull a serious face before he broke into a wide smile again. "I just wanted to see what you were looking at," he turned to look at Yeosang, "it's not my fault that your reaction was so funny."

Judging by how red his face went, Yeosang knew that those words were directed at him. He stammered an excuse before giving up and just turning to look at the picture again, wanting the ship to swallow him whole instead. Yunho grinned until Hongjoong slapped his arm, claiming his attention back. He didn't seem very happy with his little prank.

"Stop teasing him, you have no rights," Hongjoong reprimanded him. He looked adorable when he wasn't truly angry, just like right then.

"Oh, and you do?" Yunho teased, raised an eyebrow. He could see how Yeosang sunk deeper on his seat from the corner of his eye, and it took copious amounts of strength to not start laughing again.

"Shut up, shut up!" Hongjoong whisper-yelled, looking absolutely scandalized at Yunho, who just shrugged.

"Yeosang, can you give us a moment, I think the Captain has something he wants to talk with me?" Yunho glanced at Yeosang before looking back at Hongjoong, who was trying to kill him with just his stare.

"Y-Yes, I'll be outside." Yeosang dropped everything he was doing and left the quarters in a hurry, gone within seconds.

Yunho turned to look at Hongjoong and smiled, but Hongjoong only looked at him with murderous intentions. The taller man raised his hands in defeat and yelped when Hongjoong hit him on the arm again. Hongjoong could be short, but he was ferocious, and usually only Yunho could get out of it unscathed.

"What was that, Yunho?" Hongjoong asked him, serious this time. "Are you trying to scare him off because you didn't want him on the ship to begin with?"

"I promise I'm not." Yunho's smile softened. "I genuinely just wanted to scare both of you 'cause you looked so focused on that picture, thought it would be fun."

"And?" Hongjoong pressed further, not satisfied with that answer.

"And he might have been looking at you in a way that made me want to tease him a little." Yunho grinned, exposing his intentions.

Hongjoong hit him again, a few times for good measure, and Yunho ran away from him until he stopped. Hongjoong seemed a little ruffled, and Yunho wondered if maybe he had hit a sore spot. He had seen the way Yeosang was looking at Hongjoong though, so he wasn't about to take back his words, he was an honest man after all.

"Stop joking about these things," Hongjoong mumbled once he got tired of hitting him on the arm.

"I'm not joking! I seriously think you've charmed at least a couple of our crew members," Yunho exclaimed. He was trying to look serious, but Hongjoong's embarrassed expression made it hard for him. "You should stop seducing our crew, Captain, it's going to make work difficult." 

"I'm not seducing anyone!" Hongjoong yelled, hitting him again, but weekly this time.

His face was so red that Yunho decided to take pity on him. He brought Hongjoong into a hug and he buried his face on Yunho's chest, taking deep breaths to calm down from how embarrassed he was.

"Stop teasing me..." Hongjoong complained weakly after staying in that positions for a few minutes.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," Yunho smiled. He knew Hongjoong wasn't genuinely upset beyond his embarrassment, but he still felt a little bit bad about it. "But for the record, you know we can work things out if one of them catches your eye, right?"

"I know,"Hongjoong nodded, voice muffled. "But that's not what's happening, okay?"

"Okay, I believe you," Yunho kissed the crown of Hongjoong's head and dropped the topic. It had been enough teasing for one day.

--

Wooyoung was sitting on his bed in the hotel room he had booked in Umeri. He had been having more dreams recently about his destiny. They were still confusing and he couldn't completely understand them since he didn't have the full picture, but the one thing he knew was that they weren't supposed to meet yet. He knew his dreams would show him where to meet them once it was time.

Truth be told, he was starting to get a little impatient. He had been visiting Mingi and Yeosang in dreams, and had already met Hongjoong once, but he really wanted to meet all of them, in person. Yunho scared him a little bit, because from what he had heard, he didn't seem to trust others easily. And San was, apparently, intimidating. The only other options were Jongho, who Mingi seemed really fond of, and the mystery man they were missing.

He went to bed trying to make his mind, and before he realized it, he had fallen asleep without choosing who to visit next. The place he found himself in was far from pleasant as Yeosang, Mingi, or even Hongjoong's dreams had been. Wooyoung was inside of some sort of building, completely white, which made the light bounce off the walls and the floor in painful ways. It took him a while to get used to it, but once he did, he began walking around.

Wooyoung had never seen a building so white, and it was starting to make his head hurt, but it's structure was so detailed that this could only be another memory. The hallway was slightly curved, and Wooyoung deduced that the building he was on was some sort of tube. Eventually, after walking for an eternity, he found an entrance on the wall to his left, towards the interior of the building. 

There was nothing near the entrance that told him what it was, but it was completely open, and since he was tired of just walking around in literal circles, he decided to try his luck. The inside of the room was the same blinding white, but here and there were specs of black that filled it up. They were training equipment. He had stumbled upon some sort of training room, and he wasn't alone.

In the center, there was something akin to a boxing ring, and a tall man dressed in black clothes stood in one of the sides as two other people sparred in the center. Wooyoung walked closer, and soon he noticed that one of these people was San, dressed in completely gray clothes. The person he was fighting with was also wearing gray clothes only, which had made it difficult for Wooyoung to differentiate them at first.

The breathing of the two fighters was heavy, and they were both covered in sweat. San had a little bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, where a purple blotch was starting to form. However, this was nothing compared to the other person, who had multiple bruises and gashes and was holding their left arm close to their body, probably dislocated. Wooyoung wanted to interrupt the dream, but San's determined eyes deterred him from it.

Instead, he watched how the other person dashed towards San and tried to throw a punch. San easily dodged to his right and grabbed the person's arm, using their weight to throw them over. He sat on the floor and pulled the arm between his legs, placing them on top of the person's neck and cutting their air flow. 

It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds before the man dressed in black, who Wooyoung guessed was some sort of coach, stopped them, but to Wooyoung it felt like an eternity. He watched the other fighter struggle, but it was obvious he had already lost. He tried in vain to ask San to stop, and then the coach pulled a small device and pressed a button. San yelled and shook in his place before his body went limp, and Wooyoung had to cover his mouth to not scream.

The coach called someone else to pick the body of the person that had lost before leaving San abandoned on the floor. Once everyone had left, Wooyoung got on top of the ring and approached San. He was on the verge of crying, unable to comprehend where the horrible dream was coming from, but he held it in and sat next to San. San was awake, but he was breathing hard from the pain of the shock, and seemed to be unable to stand up.

"Are you okay?" Wooyoung asked with a trembling voice.

San eyes immediately shot open and he looked at Wooyoung. Despite having talked to him, the dream place didn't disappear around him like it had happened with the other dreams he had visited before, and Wooyoung looked around in worry. With some effort, San sat down and grabbed Wooyoung by the neck of the shirt pulling him closer. Wooyoung yelped and looked at him in fear.

"Who are you?" San heaved out. He sounded exhausted, and Wooyoung knew that his real body was probably also restless.

"I-" Wooyoung didn't know what to say. He was terrified by what he had seen before and couldn't make up his mind.

"How did you get into my dreams? Unless..." San narrowed his eyes as he examined Wooyoung closely. His expression lightened up with understanding. "You're a Somnum."

Wooyoung's eyes widened, and he immediately tried to rip San's hand off, but it was like the other had regained all his strength all of a sudden. San pushed him to the floor and sat on top of him, immobilizing both his arms with his legs. Wooyoung trashed around, panicking, but San was too strong and he couldn't push him off, couldn't get him to move.

"Calm down!" San yelled. He too was panting, seemingly still tired from the sparring he had been doing before. 

San conjured a knife and pointed it to Wooyoung's neck. Wooyoung immediately stopped moving and looked at San with tearful eyes. He was scared, this was not how things were supposed to go. San wasn't supposed to be threatening him with a knife inside his dream. Wooyoung's panic was so strong, that he couldn't even remember how to force his body to wake up, to leave.

"Who sent you here?" San asked, voice rough.

"W-What?" Wooyoung asked, a couple of tears spilling from his eyes.

"Who sent you, to kill me?" San's mind was going a mile a minute. He knew that the Organization had captured a few Somnum and used them on special missions to kill particularly difficult subjects that wouldn't be easy to take care of with their normal tools. San was probably one of those difficult subjects.

"No one sent me!" Wooyoung yelled, trying hard to control his tears.

"Stop lying! Why else would you be here?!" San was starting to lose his patient. Had they finally decided to get rid of him?

"I promise I'm not going to kill you!" Wooyoung was now full on sobbing. If San chose to kill him, that would be the end of it all, he couldn't let that happen.

"Then why are you here?" San's resolution lost force as he saw Wooyoung cry. It made him uncomfortable, but it was impossible to think that someone who looked so afraid was there to do him any harm.

"Because you're part of my destiny," Wooyoung sobbed. His arms hurt under San's weight, but he was too scared to try moving again. "I saw you in my dream, you know what I am, you must know!" 

"I don't believe you," San muttered, but his resolve was shattering. 

He knew very well about the traditions and lifestyle of the Somnum, they were always urged to capture them if they saw one during their missions. Captured Somnum were treated worse than the soldiers of the Organization, worse than even animals. San had met a few and it was like their personalities had been stripped away from them. But the man under him still seemed human, still seemed like himself.

"P-Please," Wooyoung begged. "You can ask Yeosang, Mingi or Hongjoong, they've seen me in dreams too, I beg you."

"Why them?" San asked, leaning closer to Wooyoung. It was a dream, but he was still self conscious of his surroundings.

"Yunho and Jongho are also part of this, and someone else, but I haven't met any of them yet..." Wooyoung began to calm down as San's aggressiveness died down as well. "We're supposed to be together, there's something else beyond finding the treasure, but I don't know what it is yet."

"So you know about the treasure," San mumbled. "What else do you know, about this destiny of yours?"

"I really don't think you want to know..." Wooyoung mumbled. He still hadn't revealed to anyone what happened to them, and he was afraid to.

"Tell me," San insisted, reminding Wooyoung there was still a knife pressed to his neck.

"We're supposed to fall in love," Wooyoung mumbled, his face growing red with embarrassment. "The eight of us."

San dropped the knife, feeling genuinely shocked about the revelation, and the knife vanished in a cloud of thin smoke. Wooyoung looked at him in curiosity. The grip on him softened and he was able to get his arms out. He sighed in relief as he watched all sorts of thoughts reflect on San's face, like he was trying to decide just how bad these news were. 

"That's impossible, it can't happen as you say." San mumbled, remembering his mission.

"Why?" Wooyoung had managed to stop crying. He was still pretty much shaken, but he didn't think San would try to kill him again.

He sat down instead, causing their faces to be just millimetres away from each other. San pushed him away, slightly startled, and moved to sit down beside him, suddenly too self conscious about Wooyoung's presence. What Wooyoung was saying just couldn't be possible. San had been sent there with a mission, and yet... And yet he didn't think Wooyoung was lying either. He was in trouble.

"I think you should leave..." San said, looking at Wooyoung without really looking at him. Wooyoung wanted to complain, to stay and clarify things with San, but that empty look San gave him was enough to deter him from insisting. He nodded and stood up. 

"Just... Please don't tell the others, they're not supposed to know yet." Wooyoung added, looking at San with worry.

San nodded, and Wooyoung woke up.

[mordoriscalling]

48 Weeks (4/4)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Throughout the 48 weeks that Geralt and Jaskier spend apart, their relationship develops.

Aka, part 3 of the Singer and the Sailor AU no one asked for but I wrote anyway. The events of this story happen after Stay or Sail Away but before Homecoming.

Weeks 37-48

Week 37

“I think I’m gonna write a book,” Jaskier announces.

“What about?”

“I’m not sure.”

Geralt snorts.

“I definitely have a story in me to tell,” Jaskier says defensively, “I can feel it. My music is about stories too, but I’m not ready to write a book yet.”

“When you think you’ll be ready?”

Jaskier smiles in a way that doesn’t bode well. “Maybe after my dear White Wolf tells me of all his sea adventures.”

Geralt does not like the implications of this. “No.”

“Geralt!” Jaskier whines, “You wound me! First you bewitch me body and soul, and now–”

“Don’t quote Pride and Prejudice at me, it’s not working.”

Jaskier pouts. “At least one little story? Pretty please?”

Geralt sighs. He still hasn’t learned to deny Jaskier anything.

Week 38

“I know this is a weird question but... is Eskel straight?”

Geralt feels a chill down to his very bones. “What?”

“I just... need this information. I don’t want to jinx it so I won’t say anything more for now.”

Geralt clenches his jaw. Eskel’s only two months older than him and in some ways, the two of them are all too similar. “He isn’t”, Geralt answers, “he’s mostly into women but there’re some men who catch his eye.”

Jaskier smiles like a cat that got all the cream. “That’s fantastic.”

Geralt grips the phone so hard his knuckle go white. “Indeed,” he grinds out.

Jakier’s face falls. “Geralt, what’s–”

“Have to go.”

He hangs up without another word and tries not to let this hurt him. He did see this coming. Yet, all the moments he and Jaskier shared, all the songs Jaskier sent him, everything of this is right there, painful like hell.

He misses home more than ever.

Week 39

“Geralt, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

Geralt doesn’t want to. He didn’t reply to any of Jaskier’s frantic texts since the last video call. He only sent a message about when he would be able to talk this week and sure enough, Jaskier called at that time. Geralt wishes he didn’t. He wishes Jaskier just left already.

“Not bored of me yet?” he asks bitingly, all the bitterness of the past week coming up to the surface again.

Jaskier blinks. “I don’t understand.”

That angers Geralt even more. It’s not that hard to understand that he’s fucking hurt. “Stop fucking playing with me,” he growls, “Just say you want Eskel and leave me the fuck alone.”

“What.”

“You seemed happy to hear that he’s into guys,” Geralt answers, “so fuck off and go to him.”

Jaskier’s eyes widen. “Oh gods,” he says, then starts laughing.

“This isn’t fucking funny,” Geralt spats, furious now. Rejection is bad enough but ridicule is so much worse than that.

Jaskier stops giggling abruptly. “Oh no. I hurt you.”

Geralt grits his teeth and doesn’t reply.

“I’m so, so sorry.” The look in Jaskier’s eyes seems sincere. “I asked about Eskel’s sexuality because I have a plan to set him up with my friend Essi. I was happy to hear that he’s mostly into women because Essi is most definitely a woman, and a wonderful one at that. I’m trying to talk them into a blind date because I’m just sure they’d hit it off.”

Geralt suddenly feels like an idiot.

“I didn’t want to give you that impression,” Jaskier goes on, “I apologize, dearest. Eskel’s great but I love you.”

Geralt finds he can’t say it back today; Jaskier is too good for him. Instead, he musters an apology. Jaskier accepts and slowly, the tension between them eases, but the hurt lingers for some time.

Week 40

“Lambert is such a prick.”

Geralt huffs a laugh. “I see the first meeting went well.”

Lambert returned from his deployment a few days ago. Jaskier met him and Aiden yesterday.

“Well enough, I suppose,” Jaskier replies, “We called each other names but that was the fun part.”

Geralt chuckles. Jaskier rambles on about what’s going on back at home: Ciri's doing good at her piano lessons, Yennefer still tolerates Jaskier, Eskel and Essi have agreed to go out together. As Geralt listens to the cheerful chatter, his chest tightens.

Christmas is in two days. Spending the holiday on the ship isn’t bad – their celebration is almost like home – but Geralt hasn’t seen his loved ones in nine months. Usually, he would be on his way home around this time. Nine months is how long his deployments typically last. When they’re longer than that, being away from home starts getting unbearable again.

The sea can’t soothe him today.

Week 41

It’s their last video call of the year and Geralt wants to come clean.

“My hair used to be dark brown, even darker than yours.”

“Geralt, you really don’t have to–”

“But then in went white in a matter of a few weeks.”

Jaskier says nothing for a while. He looks unsure but Geralt waits for him to ask. Finally, he does. “What? How?”

“Blaviken.”

“Blaviken?”

Geralt swallows hard. His hands start sweating but he makes himself go on. “That was the name of the ship. I was twenty-seven, only a lieutenant. There was a sub-lieutenant there, Renfri. She and I... we had an affair, but we broke it off before we got deployed. During the deployment, she... she wanted to take revenge on one of the officers in command who harassed her in the past. She had a few of the guys on the ship on her side. They... took one crew member hostage, demanding the officer’s immediate resignation.”

“Holy fuck,” Jaskier breathes out.

Geralt’s heart is hammering in his chest. He forces himself to continue. “I was ordered to reason with Renfri but I didn’t succeed. She told her guys to attack me. I defended myself and knocked them out. Then Renfri attacked me herself because I ruined her revenge, and I...” He takes a deep breath and takes in Jaskier’s face for what he knows is possibly the last time. After drinking his fill, he looks away and confesses, “I hurt her too. Really badly. She never fully recovered and left the Navy the moment she could. I faced trial, it was a miracle I didn’t get expelled. People started calling me a Butcher and I was so fucking...” He trails off because his eyes are starting to prickle. The cruel disillusionment of that time – when he realised he would never be a hero after what he’d done – hits him all over again. It haunts him, even now, just like the way Renfri’s body went limp in his arms.

When he can speak again, he only adds, “After everything, my hair went white.”

He can’t even glance at Jaskier. A mixture of self-hatred, shame and remorse rises up his throat like bile. He listens to the ringing silence, waiting for Jaskier to finally say that it’s over.

Jaskier’s words are quiet and sorrowful, “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

It’s such a shock that Geralt can only stare. Jaskier’s eyes are brimming with compassion, which he never got from anyone but his family. No one else cared what truly happened on Blaviken. He was reduced to the Butcher, hated and feared. His infamy followed him like a shadow and Geralt wanted to out-run it more than he ever wanted anything in his life. And so, he worked himself to the ground to prove himself, then to keep his job because Ciri came into his life.

Eventually, he got promoted to lieutenant commander, then to commander three years ago. From the Butcher he became the White Wolf, known not for how he had hurt people but for how he cared about crew safety, demanding complete adherence to the rules. He’s now feared for his strictness, and it’s said that he could even become a Royal Navy captain.

Yet, Geralt noticed that he'd started drifting away from his family, especially Ciri, he slowly understood that enough was enough. The sea is what Geralt knows and finds solace in, but he wouldn’t be where he is now without the support of his loved ones. He’s been choosing the sea over them for long enough. 

And now, somehow, Jaskier has become one of them. It’s irrational and too quick but Jaskier tells him he loves him even when he knows about Blaviken. Geralt decides he wants to keep him in his life indefinitely.

Week 42

“Happy New Year, my love.”

“Happy New Year,” Geralt replies, a smile tugging at his lips. He’s sure the year will be happy, with Jaskier there.

“I have a song for you,” Jaskier says, “to kick this year off with something good. It’s just... what I wish for us.”

“Something good” doesn’t begin to cover it. The song is slow and sensual, and it speaks of being in love. Of Jaskier being in love with him, loving and admiring him despite and because of knowing him well. Geralt listens to the song on repeat until he dreams of it, wishing that it was true.

He suspects that Jaskier has a wrong idea of him – an ideal which he won’t be able to live up to once he comes back. There’s a good chance that he’ll let Jaskier down and what they have won’t last.

And yet, he’s selfish and wants it to be real.

Week 43

Jaskier turns thirty-six today and Geralt has only one thing to say.

“I wish this too, Jaskier.”

Jaskier’s smile is watery and beautiful. “Happy birthday to me, indeed.”

Week 44

“Ciri keeps talking about that boy –”

“What boy?”

“You know, the new one in her class? Dara?” Jaskier looks at him expectantly. After a moment, the name rings a bell. He nods and Jaskier goes on, “I think she likes him.”

Geralt freezes. “Likes him?”

“Well, not likes him likes him but... they’re attached at the hip already. It’s great to see her make a friend like that, you know.”

Geralt hums in understanding. Ciri is friendly but other children are a bit hard on her. Many teachers are fond of her and the kids are jealous, thinking that it’s because Ciri’s parents are of high status. Ciri did earn her position as the favourite but it is true that no teacher would want to get into the black boots of a high-ranking government official and a Royal Navy commander. Now, Jaskier entering Ciri’s life only added fuel to fire in this aspect.

Sometimes Geralt thinks he shouldn’t have fought Yennefer tooth and nail when she wanted to send Ciri to the poshest school they could afford at the time. Geralt didn’t want his daughter to grow up in that environment but Yennefer wanted her to receive a top-quality education. In the end, Ciri went to a state school with high educational standards, but when the problem with other kids’ treatment of her appeared a few years later, Geralt regretted his stubbornness.

At least Ciri has always taken it in stride. She’s even more stubborn than he was, refusing to let it get to her, and Geralt adores her for it. It’s a relief, though, that she’s finally made a close friend.

“Thank you for looking out for her,” he tells Jaskier.

“Honestly, Geralt, I’m honoured that you allow me to do it. Yennefer would never let me.”

Geralt chuckles. “She wouldn’t.”

“And yet, despite her clear disdain of me, I’m starting to like that witch-bitch.” Jaskier sighs dramatically. “Alas, it appears she’s actually admirable and has a good taste in everything. Especially men.”

Geralt rolls his eyes.

Week 45

“Essi and Eskel are now a couple!” Jaskier exclaims excitedly in lieu of greeting.

“That was... fast.”

“That’s because they’re a perfect match!” Jaskier boasts with a grin, “I knew exactly what I was doing, I’m one of the best matchmakers out there.”

“What does it make Lambert?” Geralt asks.

“What do you mean?”

“He did matchmake you. With me.”

Geralt can clearly see the moment the realisation hits Jaskier.

“God-fucking-dammit, I’ve been bested!” he laments, "By fucking Lambert!”

Geralt quickly regrets pointing that out. Jaskier refuses to shut up about it.

Week 46

It’s Geralt’s forty-first birthday. The crew sang him happy birthday to his utter disgust, at which the fuckers were delighted, and now it seems that yet another person wants to celebrate his existence.

“I have a gift for you, love,” Jaskier says with a smile.

He props the phone against what Geralt assumes to be the music rack. When Jaskier sits down, Geralt gets a great view of his face as he starts playing.

The slow piano melody entrances Geralt at once. After some time, Jaskier starts singing, his voice low and soothing. The song is full of gentle, loving, grand promises. Geralt’s breath is taken away as he watches Jaskier sway to the music with his eyes closed, basked in the afternoon sunlight, looking like a creature from another world.

All the songs Jaskier’s written for him speak of such a strong feeling that Geralt is afraid to reach for it when he returns. If it were to crash and burn, the disaster would be spectacular. All his previous relationships ended badly; he knows he should be cautious.

And yet, Jaskier lures him in. He’s bright and full of life, ridiculous and annoying, warm but sharp. Jaskier feels like safety, he has from the start. And so, Geralt lets himself have this.

“Siren,” he murmurs after the last notes of the song die down, “thank you. It’s a beautiful gift. You are a gift.”

“Godness, Geralt,” Jaskier breathes out, “don’t say such things.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t be responsible for my actions when I hear you say something like that.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to hold back,” Geralt replies, “You are a gift.”

Jaskier’s gaze darkens. “Just you wait, Geralt Rivia,” he says huskily, “the things I’m going to do to you–”

Week 47

“All right, young lady, time to show off!”

Jaskier angles his phone so that the camera shows both him and Ciri as they sit by the piano in his house. Ciri smiles at Geralt and waves in greeting. Geralt smiles back, giving her an encouraging nod, and she places her fingers on the keys.

“Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone in-between and outside of that spectrum,” Jaskier says in an announcer voice, “I present to you Cirilla Vengeberg-Rivia, who will play Chopsticks for this esteemed audience!”

Ciri snickers and then begins. She plays slowly, yet to Geralt’s untrained ear, she keeps the rhythm and doesn’t miss any notes. The song lasts only a minute or two but Geralt is still very proud of her.

“Good job, Cub,” he tells her, making her smile.

“Indeed!” Jaskier seconds, “You’re a talent, sweetheart.”

“Maybe I got it from dad,” Ciri jokes.

The joke warms him to his very core but he snorts because the very notion is beyond ridiculous. “I wouldn’t be able to play well if my life depended on it.”

“Have you tried, though?” Jaskier asks with a smirk that bodes trouble.

Ciri grins like a brat she is. “We could learn together, dad.”

“A splendid idea, Ciri!” Jaskier exclaims. “Now, how can we talk your dad into it?”

Geralt faces two pairs of bright eyes and matching mischievous smiles, and he knows he can’t say no.

Week 48

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe it.” Jaskier lets out a small laugh. “Am I dreaming? Just... it’s been so long.”

“Hmm.”

They don’t talk much, only smile at each other. Geralt can almost sense Jaskier’s excitement through the screen, and he shares the feeling.

Tomorrow, he returns to his family. Very soon, finally, he comes back home.

To Jaskier.

*** 

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you’d like to revisit this fic as a whole, you can do so on AO3. 

The list of "Jaskier's" songs in this fic: Vor í Vaglaskógi by KALEO Movement by Hozier Wish That You Were Here by Florence + The Machine Pass Them By by Agnes Obel Muddy Waters by LP Venus by Sleeping At Last Coming Home, Pt. II by Skylar Grey Angels by the xx I Hold You by CLANN

It would be... a hell of an album.

[katebacks]

The Storm - 1

— pairing |Taehyung/reader x Witch!ReaderxHuman!Taehyung — word c |12,700 — genre |Fantasy / Witch Au! / Dark au! Angst, eventualy smut. — summary |Soulmates are destined to be together. Everyone you knew, had already found the love of their lives, but you were still alone, until the day you found a lost human, wandering alone on your side of the border. Witches shouldn’t fall in love with humans, but that guy dressed as a royal knight was too irresistible, even for a powerful being like you. — warnings/tags |Adult content, Violence, low slang words, blood, death. — A/N | The idea for this story came to me from a dream I had with Taehyung. If that interests you, please enjoy it and don't forget to reblog. Any error or comment, my inbox is open to all of you.

You love nature. The sweet sound of birds, the fresh air that the beautiful and ancient trees provided, the relaxing sound of leaves and branches moving in the cool breeze. You loved that place. You loved the noise that the waterfall that was almost in the garden of your house made, you were happy there, but not as happy as your friends. Everyone in the neighborhood, all his friends who were of legal age, in human age, had met their peers, their loves, their soul mates. But you, you were there, sitting under one of the trees that was right in front of your home's balcony, watching the sunset, alone, once again.

Sometimes you wondered if your soul mate was really there, in that village, or maybe in one of the others around the world. Would you ever really find the one who would warm your heart and caress you before going to sleep? Or were you the only witch in the community, destined to be alone for eternity?

"Are you daydreaming again?" A voice said at your side and you moved your head a little to look at the black-haired man who was standing beside you, with a serene smile on his face.

"You know me so well, Hobi." You smiled at him. Hoseok was one of your best friends, he was a Warlock, one of the most powerful and wise in the village, as your father and grandfather were. He was the leader of the community of extraordinary beings, so powerful that even the wolves and vampires who lived in that area respected him and would never think of disobeying him. He was also your older brother. Both were pure-blooded, your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, they had all ruled and guided that community to peace since their name was in charge.

He had that innocent smile, that happy face, but everyone knew that when he was angry, neither the gods would be able to calm him down or save the one who was the target of his fury.

“You should come in. You know today is a full moon night, wolves are dangerous.” He said lowering himself beside you. You shrugged and looked at him amused.

“Hoseok, none of them would have the courage to attack me. And you would kill them if they touched your little sister. ”

"Yeah, but it is better not to risk it, I don't want to have to break their bones one by one if they scratch you."

"If they scratched me, would I become half a werewolf and half a witch?" You asked as you stood up. The boy laughed.

"If you were half blood, yes, but you are a pure-blooded witch, vampire or werewolf bite does not affect us."

"I should have known that."

And so you entered your log cabin, while your brother walked calmly to his, which was a few meters from yours, being greeted by a hug from his beloved. You sighed looking at them through the window before sitting on the railing, wishing that someday it could be you who was received by your love's embrace.

Sitting on your living room floor, in front of your fireplace and next to your bookcase, you took your Grimoire, the one you no longer needed because you finally learned to use your mind to control your powers and not spells, just to leaf through it, bored. There was not much to do at night there. So soon you fell asleep.

You didn't know what had happened, but something made you wake up in a jump. You had your back propped up on your couch and the Grimoire fell beside you. You could hear the howling of wolves far into the forest, something normal on nights with a full moon, where they transformed into their real form to sing the moon. But there seemed to be something wrong, your body said it, your skin felt it, chills every two seconds. In the distance you seemed to be capturing something, a sound that made no sense to you, but that had made you curious.

Getting up, you walked to the window, pulling the curtain aside and looking out, seeing everything being lit only by the moonlight. And so you felt again, a shiver down your spine that made you shiver.

Opening the cabin door, a violent breeze hit your body, the smell was different, it was like you were breathing... blood. Looking towards Hoseok's house, the candle lights were off, you thought about going to him and telling him what you were feeling, but something made you turn the other way. It wasn't a voice, it wasn't a scream, but it was a sound that seemed to be calling you. You stepped off the porch, the grass under your feet seemed to recede, the ground was shaky. What was happening?

Without thinking twice you started walking, towards the entrance to the forest that was not far from where you lived. As you moved further in, the more the moonlight became scarce, the tall trees and their branches full of leaves prevented you from seeing properly, so you raised your hand, a purple flame coming out of it, your eyes getting the same color, allowing you to see where you were going. You always liked that color and what its meaning for a Warlock. Purple stimulates contact with the spiritual side, providing purification of body and mind, and the release of fears and other concerns. It is the color of transformation. Hoseok liked to say that this were your color because you were always the calmest of the family, the most restless, the one who always succeeded in meditating, while he always failed to stay focused.

Once again you heard, felt what was calling you, causing you to change paths quickly, going in the direction that your sixth sense ordered you. You could smell that blood again, it was stronger. Someone or something was badly hurt, bleeding heavily.

Not far from where you were, you started to see two huge animals facing each other. Two wolves. One had caramel hair while the other was all black. You could feel and identify all the wolves that lived in your village, and those two, you had never seen them. You certainly didn't know them, they should be from another pack, from another part of the forest, they certainly shouldn't be there.

Hundreds of years ago, a pact had been made between the three borders. Humans should be on their side, benevolent mystical beings as you and your village on one side and aggressive mystical beings on the other. Anyone who broke the pact and entered forbidden territory could be punished by the leader of the invaded border and even risk a war between the borders. So what were they doing there? They snarled at each other, making you frown. Was it an alpha fight?

You took another step, stepping on a branch that broke under your weight and both heads turned towards you. You froze in the same second, while they both stared at you silently. The wolf with the light fur had blood in its mouth and on its paws as well. And looking at the black wolf, he didn't seem to be hurt, but the smell of blood was still there, and it didn't come from any of them. Looking down to the side a little bit, you finally realized where the blood was coming from. At the foot of a giant Willow tree, among its roots was a fallen man, he was still conscious and was pointing a silver sword towards the animals.

He used one hand to hold his belly, his pants were full of tears and blood too. And even if you couldn't see his fully face, you saw that there was blood spattered all over and he was shaking violently.

 Your senses hit the same minute, you needed to help him.

"You shouldn't be here, you are on forbidden land, get out of here, leave this man alone and I promise not to hurt you." You said adjusting your posture, moving towards them. The wolf with blood in its mouth snarled in your direction, and the black wolf snarled at him. He didn't seem to think twice before howling in your direction and growling, dragging his front paws on the ground in warning, like saying he would attack if you didn't get out of there. You raised your hands, both glowing in purple flame, your eyes too, getting into a defensive position. You were not afraid to fight, you were not afraid of them.

When he started to attack, the black wolf jumped in front of him, preventing him from proceeding. They both grunted at each other, while you were still in defense mode, confused by the black wolf's reaction. The other then turned and ran away. The black wolf looked back in your direction and you could have sworn you saw an apologetic look in his eyes before he sailed away into the darkness.

You ran towards the man who was no longer awake, kneeling beside him. As soon as the purple flame lit up his face, you felt like your heart stopped beating and started running again. He was the most beautiful man you had ever seen in your life. His long hair was light blond, with a grayish tinge, and covered part of his eyes.. His face was perfectly drawn in every detail. He was dressed like a royal guard, and his blood smelled human. And again that night you felt confused, looking around, wondering why there was a human on your part of the border, and why those wolves were there too. Was he being chased and lost himself there, trying to escape?

You saw the claw wound in his stomach, the torn, blood-soaked tissue. If you didn't heal him, he would either die from bleeding, or he would turn into a werewolf in a few hours. You didn't have much of a choice. Putting your hand over the wound, you closed your eyes, taking a deep breath, letting your mind clear, and using your powers, his skin was closing, wounds healing, as well as the wounds on his thighs. In the end, you fell sitting on the floor next to him, watching his breathing begin to normalize while your vision blurred for a few seconds. Healing spells were the most difficult to do, you always ended up spending a lot of your energy on them.

You couldn't stay there or leave him there either, those wolves could come back anytime, and pausing for a moment to think about your options, you cursed internally when choosing the option that would probably get you into a lot of trouble. Then you stood up, taking his sword with one hand, extending your other hand towards the man, a thick, purple smoke surrounding the boy's body, making him float in the air, his hair flying and moving as you guided him to your home, laying him on your bed, lighting some candles around the bed to keep everything warm.

You watched him for a moment before leaving the bedroom and looking out the living room window to see if everything was normal.

There was a human in your bed. Hoseok would kill you when he found out.

(...)

The boy opened his eyes slowly and stared at the wooden ceiling, his mind gradually processing what had happened before he went out. He then moved his head, looking around the small room in which he was staying, there were flowers everywhere, candles burning too, daylight was beginning to appear through the window and the smell of strawberries invaded his nostrils. He then looked at his own stomach, he was not bleeding anymore. The hole in his shirt was there, but the blood was starting to dry. Pulling up the hem of his shirt, he noticed that his skin was no longer torn, he was healed. As he sat down, he watched his sword still soiled with blood resting against the wall.

He heard no noise other than the birds singing outside the house. He remembered few things from last night. He remembers walking in the forest, chasing a man, remembers being attacked by wolves, remembers one of them tearing his stomach with his teeth and his legs with the nails of his paws. He remembers seeing a purple light coming on and then he went out.

He then turned his face towards the door, which was covered by a white cloth curtain. He had to get out of there. He stood up, no longer feeling the unbearable pain he was feeling before, and took his sword, lifting it and walking slowly towards that door.  After taking a deep breath, he finally pushed the cloth and entered a living room, the fireplace was lit, the door was closed and there was no one there.  He couldn't waste any time, so he walked towards the door, opening and looking at a large field with some wooden huts scattered around. A village. He thought.

"You did what?" Hoseok shouted in your direction. When day broke, the first thing you did was go to your brother's hut and tell him what had happened last night. And while Runy, his wife was making breakfast, he got up possessed from the couch, looking at you with wide and furious eyes. You weren't surprised, you knew he would have that reaction. "Are you crazy? Did you want what? Give me a heart attack? To be killed? Are you aware of the danger you were in? Are you aware of the danger that you are still running leaving a human to sleep in your bed?”

"What did you want me to do? Let the wolves kill him? Did you want me to let him turn into a werewolf and return to the kingdom?”

"Well, duh." He said aggressively, stopping pacing and looking at you.

You rolled your eyes and sighed. "Hoseok, if a human turn into a werewolf and goes back to the Kingdom, they would see this as a threat and they would declare war on us. It would be a bloodbath."

"I understand that, (Y/N). But why didn't you let the wolves kill him?" He asked trying to remain calm. "If you had killed one of those wolves, or if they had hurt you, we would be going to war with the Urdinok clan. And that would be a bloodbath."

"Hoseok, they were on our land, on our side of the border, I had the right to defend myself and if I needed to kill them to protect that human, I would.” You said more aggressive than you should. Hoseok frowned at you as you yourself sank in curiosity as to why you were feeling so furious about it.

"HELP." A scream from outside the cabin made you jump and stand, turning towards the door. Runy was startled and released the eggs in her hand, letting them fall to the floor. You heard howling from the field in front of the house. Hoseok's eyes turned orange as he walked towards the door, it was a sign that he was going into defense or attack mode. You did the same, letting your eyes glow purple, following him out of the cabin.

To your surprise, the human was awake and was standing in front of the house, with his sword raised towards two wolves. The light hair was Namjoon, while the most yellow hair was Seokjin. Both benevolent wolves who lived in harmony with you in that village.

"Put the sword down." Hoseok said walking towards the human who immediately turned to the voice. You saw that his eyes were frightened, but he didn't show it in his facial expression.

"Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here?" He demanded, while alternating in aiming the sword at the wolves and at Hoseok.

"I said." Hoseok began, in a low voice, raising his hand towards the boy, his hand glowing in orange flames. "Put the sword down, now." He growled, slowly closing his fingers.

The human began to pant, bringing his free hand up to his throat, starting to cough, until he was falling on his knees on the floor, looking for air. You didn't know what was going on, but seeing him that way, made you lose your breath too, making you force your lungs, pulling hard on the air that didn't enter your nostrils. You didn't realize what you were doing, until you raised your hand towards Hoseok, hitting him with a purple fireball on his back, making him fly forward, falling face down on the grass. Breaking the effect that he had on the human, who had fallen to the ground, breathing normally again.

Hoseok rolled over and sat on the floor, running his hand over his face, pulling the grass he had almost swallowed from his lips, looking at you, ready to lecture you and ask why the hell you did that. Until he saw your condition. You were on your knees on the porch wood, one hand on your throat, recovering from the shortness of breath you had felt.

You then got up and walked towards the human who was still lying on the grass, while the wolves transformed into their humanoid form, both confused by your reaction. You kneeled down next to him, and he looked at you for a second before passing out again.

"What the hell happened here?" Namjoon asked, looking at Hoseok who had wide eyes, staring at you standing up, wrapping the human's body again with the purple haze, lifting him back into his house.

“Fuck.” It was all Hoseok managed to say before he got up and followed you.

(...)

"No, this is not true." You mocked your brother after they both calmed down and sat in the room to talk. "He is not my soul mate, he is a human."

"So what's the other explanation for why you ran out of breath when I was suffocating him? And why would you attack your own brother to protect a human?"

You didn't have an explanation for that. You didn't even know why you seemed to have been guided to him last night. You didn't know how to explain what you felt when you first looked at him. But you knew it couldn't happen. Witches couldn’t fall in love with humans, it was strictly forbidden the direct or indirect relationship, loving or not, between human beings and mystical beings.

What would you do? If he really was your soul mate, how would you explain that to him? How would you explain yourself to the Council and the rest of your friends? You haven't even talked to him yet. This wouldn’t work. You knew it wouldn't work.

(...)

For the second time that day, the boy opened his eyes and faced that same wooden ceiling. He sat up at once, feeling his throat hurt a little. The sword was in the same place as before. And now, looking at the door covered by the white curtain, he heard noises coming from there. Once again he stood up, wielding his sword, passing through that door, seeing the same living room as before, but now there was a woman standing by the door, in front of a wood stove.

"You don’t need that." You said when you felt he was there. The boy frowned, standing still, with the sword still in his hands. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have left you to die in the forest." And so you turned towards him, the boy immediately let his arm fall, lowering his sword when he saw your beautiful eyes. “And I would have let my brother kill you a few hours ago.”

And the memories of a few hours ago came back to him, there was a Warlock whose eyes were bright oranges, who tried to make him suffocate, and there you were, your eyes shining purple, your hands too. You were the same person he saw in the forest. The person who had saved him. But now he could see only an innocent girl with caramel eyes.

“Which makes me curious why you were in the forest, on the wrong side of your border. You are dressed as a knight of the Queen; you must know that it is forbidden for any human to enter these surroundings.”

"You are a witch.!?" With the intonation of his voice, you didn't know whether he was saying it or asking it.

“Yes! And you are a human.” You said it in an obvious tone.

"Why did you help me?" He asked, letting his eyebrows fall in doubt.

"Why wouldn't I?" He fell silent, looking for an answer to that question.

"You are a being of evil, of darkness, you and your kind curse good people and you have been doing this for centuries."

"Wow, your queen's propaganda about us is pretty heavy." You laughed scornfully, turning back to the stove and putting out the flame. Letting him stand there while you put some soup in a bowl and placed it on the table, gesturing for him to sit. "Eat, you lost a lot of blood yesterday, you need to energy."

"Why are you helping me?" He asked suspiciously, without moving again. Because you're basically my soul mate. You thought. "What you want? My soul or something?”

"Boy, not all mystical creature is evil. Yes, there are wolves, witches and vampires who only seek to do evil, but in this place, we are not like that. We witches don't curse humans, vampires here don't try to drink your blood and wolves don't want to eat your hearts.”

"Oh yes? And those in the forest weren’t from here?”

"No, they came from the dark part of the forest, they are not from this village and they shouldn't be roaming our territory."

"So, you are not a bad witch?" He asked, leaving suspicion a little aside and you nodded.

“I told you, if I wanted to do you harm, I wouldn't have saved you from them yesterday. I risked a war between our peoples defending you, even if they were in forbidden territory.” You said it and then waved again at the soup. “Please eat, you need to eat if you want to get better. When it is over, I will take you to the border to return to your kingdom.”

The boy bit his lip and decided that you really didn't want to hurt him, he nodded, walking towards the table, sitting down and picking up the cutlery. He took a deep breath, smelled the soup and smiled; it was very appetizing, very different from the food his parents once said the witches ate.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"(Y/N), and yours?"

"My name is Kim Taehyung."

(...)

After Taehyung ate, you handed him clean clothes so he could change. You said he couldn’t tell absolutely nothing to no one, or many people and innocent creatures would be in danger. You explained about the rules between the borders and explained again why he should stay away from them, telling about the evil creatures that were scattered across the other side, just waiting for an innocent prey to kill. You also decided that you weren't going to tell him about him possibly being your soul mate. You didn't have enough evidence to support that theory, so you were just ignoring the signs.

You were about to leave the cabin when Jimin, one of your friends, opened the door suddenly, entering the house and looking for you. As soon as his eyes hit the blond boy behind you, Jimin's eyes went red for a moment before looking in your direction, and grabbing your arm, pulling you into a tight hug.

"Hoseok told me what happened. Is everything okay?" He asked stroking your hair, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine." You smiled away from his embrace, as he looked up at the Knight who was looking at them curiously. "Jimin, this is Kim Taehyung, one of the queen's knights, and Taehyung, this is Jimin, a vampire." Taehyung took a step back immediately, not used to being formally introduced to blood sucks, as humans called vampires. Jimin laughed scornfully when he saw that the human had trembled before him.

"And you want to tell me what a human who is part of that shrew’s royal guard is doing here?"

"When I get back, I'll explain, okay? I'll take him to the border, if he goes missing for a long time, people in his kingdom will be suspicious of something.”

"Do you want me to come along? Just in case."

"I will not harm her." Taehyung said and Jimin snorted, casting a pretentious look at him.

"Of course not. I'm talking about someone attacking her on the way to the border. If they were on our side once, they might as well come in again. You are human. Humans are not dangerous. Not for us."

"If we have a wooden stake and torches with fire, I'm sure we can be quite dangerous against your blood-sucking kind." Taehyung teased and Jimin's eyes became blood red, his eyes wrapped with red veins, his pupils retracted, his fangs sliding out of his mouth and seconds later, like lightning, they were both across the room, Jimin clutched Taehyung's throat tightly, his back was against the wall, his feet didn't touch the floor.

"Don't test me, stupid human." Jimin growled. "I don't usually kill someone of your kind, but I can make an exception now."

"Jimin, enough." You said, placing your glowing purple hand on his arm, and pulling him back, making him release the boy who fell to the ground, clearing his throat and glaring at the vampire. If he had a wooden stake, he would surely have killed him. "I appreciate the concern, but I don't think they will attack again, and if they do, I will kill them." So you looked at Taehyung and waved towards the door. The boy went through Jimin, hitting his shoulder against his, out the door. The vampire started to move forward, but you just shot him a look that made his fangs retract and his eyes return to normal, raising his hands in innocence.

"Your friends are dangerous." Taehyung said as they walked the tree-lined trail that led to the border. You just shrugged.

"Only with those who threaten them."

"He threatened me first." He said putting his hand on his chest, feeling offended. You raised your eyebrow at him for a second, before looking forward.

"He just told the truth. Humans are not strong enough against mystical beings. He has offended your ego. You humans like to think you are much better than others."

"This is not true; we humans are cool too. You who think you are better than others and stay around scaring us." You whispered 'whatever', closing the matter. "So ..." He started, after a few minutes of silence. "That is your boyfriend?" You frowned and glanced at him before refocusing on the path you were taking.

“No. He is my best friend. I don't have a boyfriend.”

"Why not?" He asked taking a jog to keep up with you. "You are beautiful, if you were from my kingdom, you would already be engaged or even married to one of the heirs of the wealthiest families."

"Unlike your kingdom that forces women to marry whom they don't want, here we don't force anyone to live under the same roof as someone they don't love." You said looking at him again. "And I haven't found my soul mate."

"Do you believe in soul mate?"

“All mystical beings believe in soul mates. We all have someone who is destined to love and care for the rest of our lives. But apparently mine has not yet appeared. And I confess that I don't think he's around.” It could be you, but I'm too scared to want to find out. You thought.

“Why don't you go to the kingdom? Maybe he's over there.” Taehyung joked and you laughed.

“First of all, mystical beings are not allowed to enter the kingdom, you know that. And second, I don't think he's there. Witches don't fall in love with humans.”

"Well, but humans can fall in love with witches, can't they?"

"Humans are too busy blaming us and burning us at campfires to fall in love, Taehyung."

(…)

After some more walking time, you finally reached the border that separates your people from humans. From there you could already see the walls around the human city and the towers of the queen's castle.

"Well, this is where we parted." You said stopping walking. Taehyung did the same, now facing you. "Remember, you can't tell anyone about this."

"We won't be seeing each other again, will we?" He asked, biting his lip and you can swear you saw sadness in his eyes. "I mean, your friends are pretty crazy and your brother tried to kill me, but you look cool. Can't we be friends?"

You didn't even have to think about that possibility, you knew it wasn't a good idea. That would put him in danger and all your friends too, you would be breaking too many rules. You had never met someone who had fallen in love with a human, or a couple formed by a witch and a human. All the news you had that involved witches and humans, was the news that humans blamed witches for plagues and bad things, and then burned them alive at campfires.

"I'm sorry, Taehyung, but that's not possible. If someone found out, you could be accused of supporting witchcraft and you would end up being killed. It's better this way."

"Okay." He sighed before smiling at you. He waved at you, before he started walking towards his kingdom, and you stayed there for a few minutes, just in case he was attacked by one of the wolves, but with each step he took, your heart sank a little in your chest. If he was really your soul mate, he would be better off away from you.

A few days went by and you couldn't get Taehyung out of your head. You could barely sleep, you couldn't stay focused on anything, you couldn't go for walks with your friends anymore, you were sinking in sadness, stuck in your own mind. Every time you closed your eyes, you saw his face and it hurt you, with each passing day, the sadness grew stronger, the wound deeper, to the point that you curled up in bed and cried every night.

One night, Hoseok was sleeping peacefully in his hut, hugging his wife, when a terrifying cry made him open his eyes at once. He thought it was Runy, but when looking to the side, she also woke up scared. He got up, wearing only his pants, and walked into the living room, opening the door and seeing that everything was quiet outside. But again, that anguished cry echoed everywhere, and only then Hoseok understood what was happening. It was you.

He ran towards your hut, but a black-haired figure overtook him, entering the house. Hoseok used his hands to light all the candles in the room, and went towards your bedroom, seeing Jimin with you in his arms, trying to wake you from the nightmare you were having.

Your clothes were soaked with sweat and so was your hair.

"(Y/N), wake up." Jimin was shaking your shoulders, speaking quietly, but the attempt to wake you up didn't seem to be working because you cringed and moaned in pain. He looked at Hoseok, his eyes asking what to do, but before he could answer anything, your eyes opened, shining in pure purple, and the room was filled with the explosion of light that came out of your body, throwing Jimin against the wall and Hoseok to the floor.

You fell on your back on the mattress, waking up in the same moment, sitting up and crawling backwards, startled. Jimin was on the wall near the bed, grunting in pain, massaging his head in the place he had hit. While Hoseok sat on the floor and looked at you who was confused to see the two boys there.

When you asked what they were doing there, they said they heard you screaming and ran to you, afraid of you being in danger, but Jimin found you rolling on the bed, screaming in agony. You said you didn't remember what you had dreamed of and Hoseok explained why.

“It wasn't exactly a dream or a nightmare, (Y/N). It was just your subconscious torturing you for being away from your soul mate.” You laughed scornfully. As if you didn't already know that. You were horrible and you knew it. You had dark circles around your eyes, your hair was no longer shining and it was a mess, and your powers started to get out of control, many times when you woke up at night from a nightmare, everything in your room, including you, was floating.

"There's nothing we can do to help her?" Jimin asked, sitting on the foot of the bed, with you in his arms. Hoseok, who was standing in front of you, shook his head.

"Only her soul mate can help."

"Then I will continue like this until I die." You said moving away from Jimin, crawling out of bed, sitting at the bedroom window, crossing your arms and looking out at the forest. Hoseok and Jimin looked at each other, both saddened. "I'm sorry that I woke you up and hurt you. I appreciate the concern, but I want to be alone now.”

"I can spend the night if you want." Jimin offered, but you denied it without looking at them. There was nothing more to be done, so they both just left the room and the house. And as soon as you heard the door close, you burst into tears again. You wouldn't be selfish, you wouldn't try to take Taehyung out of his life just because you were feeling your heart shatter more and more with each second you were away from him. That was stupid. You didn't even know each other, so why did you have to feel like you would die without him. It made no sense to you.

Nothing was making more sense to you.

(...)

Hoseok was not used to walking through the streets of the city of humans, let alone being close to them. So, the faster he could find Taehyung, the better it would be for him. It was still morning when he decided he would look for the human and take him to the village, even if it was against his will. He couldn't take it anymore to see you suffer and languish because of the human. He asked everywhere about Taehyung, until finally he found one of the royal guards wandering around and decided to try to talk to him.

"What did he do this time?" The boy asked and Hoseok frowned. Humans were too curious.

"Nothing, I'm just a longtime friend who's been away for a few months and I just came back here, I wish I could talk to him." Hoseok tried to appear as sympathetic as possible, and if it didn't work, he would probably enter the guards mind and look for Kim's location, which would be painful for the guard but a little fun for the Warlock.

"He must be in some bar. Try Willow's tavern, just follow that path." He said pointing to the path that Hoseok should follow. "And when you find him, tell him that his boss told him to be up early tomorrow at work or go look for something else to do.”

Hoseok murmured a thank you and went on down the path, finding the bar the man had spoken of and entering it. He had forgotten how much he hated places that were owned by humans. They were so dirty and clumsy. The bar reeked of urine and old beer, and the first time he breathed in, he wanted to throw up.

It didn't take long for him to find Taehyung. He was sitting at a table at the back of the bar, alone in the dark, almost imperceptible. He was destroyed. His messy, dirty hair, his hard face, his jaw clenched while drinking beer from a mug and staring at the wall on the other side of the bar.

When Hoseok sat across from him at the same table, Taehyung's eyes widened and he turned to the side, spitting the drink out of his mouth. He wasn't sure if that was a vision or his mind that had gone mad.

“You look like shit.”

“A-a-are y-you r-r-real?” Taehyung stammered as he whispered and looked around.

Hoseok rolled his eyes before leaning over the table and whispering. “I’m a Warlock, not a ghost, asshole. Of course, I'm real."

"Okay. It's just ... I didn't expect to see you around here, like, never." He said and soon his eyes lit up and an innocent smile appeared on his lips. "Is (Y/N) with you?"

"No, but that's what I came to talk about. Can we talk in a place that is not so crowded and that smells better?" The boy nodded and reached into his pants pocket, taking some gold coins and placing them on the table, then following Hoseok out of the bar.

"We can talk at my house, it's not far from here." Taehyung said, nodding to the way that they should follow. Both walked in silence until they reached a small house a little further away than the others. Taehyung opened the door and invited Hoseok in, closing the door soon and taking off his coat, hanging it behind the wooden door. "Here we can talk without being interrupted." Taehyung said sitting on the dining table chair, and Hoseok did the same, sitting across from him. "Did something happen?"

"To be blunt, yes, it did. You are (Y/N)'s soul mate." Hoseok said, hoping the boy would fill him up with questions, but Taehyung continued to stare at him, not looking shaken by that sentence. "You don't look surprised."

Kim shrugged. "It's because I'm not. I already knew that, actually."

"What?" Now it was Hoseok who was confused.

"I mean, I didn't know that I was her soul mate, but I knew she was mine. Since that day, I can't stop thinking about her, her face, her smile doesn't leave my head and I feel I'll go mad.” He sighed. “I can't sleep, I can't work, I can't stay focused on anything. And my chest, it looks like it’s going to explode every second I stay away from her. But she told me that we shouldn't see each other anymore."

“And you really shouldn't. But I can't stand to see her suffer day after day and night after night. That's why I'm here. I want you to go back to the village with me.”

"Okay, I will." Taehyung smiled rising from the chair, excited. Hoseok stared at the boy, caught off guard by his excitement. He didn't even ask a question or made a comment before accepting. He must have been so desperate to see you, and he kind of understood. Whenever he was away from Runy for a long time, Hoseok freaked out. "I just need to change."

"Taehyung." Hoseok called out to him, in a serious voice, causing the boy to stop moving and look at him. "A Warlock never had a human as a soul mate. I don’t know what can happen from now on, you can go through great dangers."

"I don’t care." The boy said smiling, “I feel like I can do anything if I'm with her. Is this normal?”

"Boy, nothing in your life will be normal from now on."

(...)

It was already getting dark. You and Jimin were returning from the waterfall. He had convinced you to go there to take a bath to cool off, trying to cheer you up, but the maximum he got was one or two true laughter coming from you. You were really broke and everyone in the village had already realized that. Jimin was talking about something when you felt a shiver down your spine, which made you stop walking immediately.

"Is everything okay?" Jimin asked, turning to you when he saw that you had stopped walking abruptly. You put your hand up to your chest when you feel your heart racing. Confused, you took a deep breath, a different, familiar smell invading your nostrils. You looked at Jimin, who was now looking in the other direction, and as you followed his gaze, your chest almost burst when you saw Hoseok coming out of the forest and Taehyung right behind him. He was not dressed in the uniform of the royal guard, he was just wearing brown pants and a white T-shirt.

He was smiling in your direction and overtook your brother, running towards you. You did the same, both meeting in the middle of the way, his hands stopped at your waist lifting you off the floor, letting your legs intertwine at his waist, your hands hugging him around the neck, and your lips touching for the first time.  The climate started to change. The wind got stronger, shaking the branches of the trees, making a symphony with the leaves, the grass on the edges of Taehyung's feet became softer. Your soft lips against his gave butterflies to his stomach. The flowers that were around your house and started to die because of your sadness, now bloomed again.

“Fuck, I’m feeling so alive now.” He whispered, smiling between the kiss. And with the pain in the chest disappearing, the wounds in your soul healing, you started to cry, hiding your face in his neck, everything was too strong. This time your tears were of happiness, finally you could feel your heart happy again.

"You shouldn't have come." You whispered after a while in silence, after he told how Hoseok had found him. You were now lying in your bed, your head was on his chest, and he was making circles with his fingertips on your back.

"I thought you were happy to see me." He whispered, confused. You bit your lip and raised your body, sitting next to him, crossing your legs, while he folded one arm behind his head and put the other hand on your thigh, stroking it.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you're here. I felt like I was dying until you arrived, but that's not the point."

"So what it is?"

"I am a witch, Taehyung. Human laws are very different to mystical laws. We answer to a Council, just as you answer the Queen. And the members of the council don’t like humans, just as your Queen doesn’t like mystical beings.”

"She doesn't hate mystical beings. But her husband was killed by a Warlock ..."

"A wizard." You corrected it. "The being who killed the king was a wizard, not a Warlock."

"And is there a difference?"

"Wizards are more peculiar, they need to read and conjure spells in order for their powers to work. Cut out their tongue and they will be harmless. Warlocks and Witches don't need to conjure spells, we don't need to read a sentence to make someone float, for example. Our powers come from the mind. Young witches train with written spells to help us control our powers, but once we reach adulthood, we no longer need grimoires.”

"I don't know if I'm stupid or if what you explained is too complex for a mere mortal understand." He mocked making her laugh. "But you know, the queen is not as bad as everyone thinks. I am very close to her, and she is very sweet. But as I said, many people in her kingdom, including the king, died at the hands of a wizard. Perhaps, if you could talk to each other, you could make her understand that not all of you are evil."

"Is that before or after she orders to burn me and cut off your head for dating a witch?” You mocked and went back to lie on his chest. "And Hoseok would never let me enter the kingdom to talk to the queen."

"He doesn't need to know." He said coming back to hug you, kissing the top of your head. "And think about it, if you can convince her that you and your village are not bad, she may even may overturn the order to prevent your kind to entry into the kingdom, and you would walk freely, would become citizens. You would no longer need to respond to your Council and we would be free from danger to be together.”

"Very optimistic, but I still don't think it's a good idea. The chances of me having to kill humans to save us and get us out of there if she orders the guards to attack us, is too big. It would turn into a war. And if I leave the village, Hoseok will know. Nobody can hide anything from him, and it is not good either. He is the leader, he has to know everything that is going on if he wants to keep this place and these people protected."

"But it is still a valid option. You could talk to him about it. Perhaps all of this could be the beginning of peace between our peoples.” Taehyung said again stroking your back, letting you rest on his chest. "We will talk about it tomorrow. We are both tired of sleepless nights."

"You're right." You whispered, just before you fell asleep, just like him.

(…)

"I still think that is a very bad idea." Hoseok said as you walked the trail, heading towards the border. It had been a few days since Taehyung had been with you and you had both sat down to talk to Hoseok and the others in the village, about the idea of talking to the queen to try to perhaps unify the peoples. At first Hoseok had been against it, but with a little more talk, he ended up agreeing to speak with the Queen. Taehyung was now in the kingdom, had gone there to talk to her about it, and apparently, from the message he sent in the royal eagle, she had accepted that you and your brother would go to her.

"Then don't come, I will go alone." You said and he snorted.

"And let you have all the fun of being threatened to death, alone? Never. You are my little sister, if it is to commit suicide, we will do it together, like a good family.”

"Yeah, mom and dad would be very proud." You provoked, making him laugh scornfully.

"Dad maybe not, I remember the time I said I wanted to know the realm of humans, and he left me hanging on a tree for three days saying that this is what would happen if I crossed the borders."

"They must be writhing in disgust in the grave now. May God have them."

"God? Witches and Warlock’s go to hell, (Y/N), you know." You shrugged and looked toward him smiling.

"I always liked the heat anyway."

As soon as you arrived at the city gates, Taehyung was there with the guards, waiting for you. He smiled when he saw you wearing your 'battle suit'. He had never seen you in pants, so your thighs were a sight of paradise for him.

"You should wear pants when we're home alone." Taehyung whispered close to her ear, as you followed the path to the castle. It made her laugh and turn to him, bringing her mouth to his ear.

"Maybe I won't wear anything when we're home alone." And Taehyung gave her a surprised look, not expecting for that answer, feeling a shiver down his spine and almost letting out a grunt in response. But the sound that Hoseok made behind you made you both look back, seeing his expression of disgust.

"Could you not say these things in front of me? I don't even like to think about the possibility of this useless human deflowering my little sister."

"If I 'deflower her' I will not be useless." Taehyung said making quotes with his fingers, receiving a threatening look from Hoseok who raised his hand towards the hilt of the sword that was on his back and growled dissatisfied.

"Your luck is that I can't kill a witch's soulmate without arousing her fury."

"Does that mean I'm allowed to piss you off and you won't be able to touch me?" Taehyung teased him, receiving another angry grunt from the Warlock.

“I said I couldn’t kill you, not torture.”

"Hoseok" You scolded him.

"He started it." The elder muttered looking around.

"Wait here." The guard asked as soon as they reached the castle entrance. "I'll let the Queen know you're here." And so, he entered through the big wooden door and closed it again. Leaving the three of you there with the other guards. Some people passing by looked at you and your brother, obviously curious to see a man in clothes as peculiar as Hoseok's and to see you, a woman, in pants.

"At least they haven't started throwing stones yet." You said and Hoseok snorted.

"It's because they don't know what we are."

"Yet." One of the guards said without looking at you.

Soon the door was opened and the guard asked you to enter. You and Hoseok looked at each other again before finally passing the door and entering the great hall. There was a large red carpet that led to the great Throne where the Queen, Elizabeth, was seated. She had long, dark hair, her lips were red as blood. To her left was her royal adviser, and to her right, a knight. On both sides of the room, from the door to the altar, there were guards armed with swords and crossbows, pointing towards you. Hoseok and you both smirked at the same moment, having the same thought. If you wanted to kill the queen, none of those guards would be able to stop you.

"You can stop now." The royal Counselor said, raising his hand in his direction. "You already are close enough." And so you stopped walking. The guards behind you and Taehyung, knelt in sync, while you and Hoseok stood still. "Kneel before your queen, scum." The man said, practically spitting out the words. While Hoseok narrowed his eyes, you raised your eyebrows, both of you standing still without moving. Taehyung moved his head a little to the side, looking at you facing the altar, and held your hand, trying to pull you down, but instead, you pulled him up, making him stand. "How dare you ..." The man started to speak, but Hoseok interrupted him.

"We are not her vassals, we will not kneel before her. We came here to talk and not to convert and humble ourselves before humans. And if possible, we want to talk to the queen, not to her slaves."

The man opened his mouth to say something, but the woman raised her hand, signaling him to be silent. The mood was tense, and Taehyung, who still held your hand, started to squeeze it, concerned to think that it might actually be a bad idea. You just looked at him, giving him a comforting smile before you got serious again and looked at the people at the altar.

"I hope you know that I am only accepting to have this 'meeting' with you because Taehyung, the boy I saw growing up and who has protected me several times as the loyal knight he is, asked me to listen to you.” She said, her voice was sweet but her words were harsh. "But that does not mean that I will accept to be disrespected, in my castle, by those of the same species as the murderer of my husband and my loved ones."

"The one who slaughtered yours and the king's family, was a Wizard, not a Warlock. We are not of the same." Hoseok replied, and that seemed to catch the attention of the Queen, who waved her hand in a slight movement so that he could continue to speak. "Wizards are treacherous, dishonest, they like to use difficult words and stupid metaphors to confuse the minds of humans and manipulate them. We, warlocks, don’t manipulate, we go straight to the point with what we want, without fooling around.”

"You look as normal to me as he was before he attacked us."

"You saw him?" You asked and the look you gave him was enough to answer it. "Wizards need to conjure spells, they need to speak for magic to happen. That's how you differentiate a Wizard from a Warlock’s. Warlock’s don't conjure spells."

"So you came here to try to take the blame off the magical beings?” She asked, still looking curious about what you were doing there.

"We came here because our peoples have been separated for centuries. This fight has been going on for too long. Not all mystical beings do evil, and not all humans are innocent." Hoseok said, before rolling his eyes. "And because that asshole” pointed at Taehyung who was now clinging to your arm. “Is a witch's soul mate, and without unification, the relationship between them would be very difficult and I'm not in the mood to endure whining." And with that sentence, the Queen stood with her mouth open and eyes wide. "I had the same reaction when I found out."

"Taehyung." The Queen called to the boy who looked up to look at her. She looked sad and disappointed. "That's true?"

"Yes, your majesty." The boy answered. "I didn't expect this to happen, but it ended up happening. And I don't regret it, they are not as everyone thinks, they are not bad."

"This is treason, boy." The royal councilor said angrily, raising his voice. "We should kill him for joining the witches."

"Try to hurt him and die in agony." You said staring at him, your eyes shining purple for mere seconds, but enough to cause fear in the eyes of that man who swallowed his words dry.

"Even if I accepted you and some, not all, of your people in my kingdom. How can I know that you are not trying to infiltrate to destroy us.” She said leaning back in her chair, while the man beside her turned to her in disbelief.

"Majesty, you cannot really be considering the idea of letting these dirty beings walk freely among us.”

"If we wanted to take and destroy your reign, we would have done it long ago. These guards, the guards outside, not even the guards in the whole kingdom would be able to stop us.” Hoseok said, and he had so much conviction in his voice, that only a fool would not believe that he was telling the truth. "I honestly only came here today, because Taehyung cannot stay in our village because of the mystical Council, they don't accept humans between us."

"We ..." Taehyung started to speak, taking a step forward. "I came here to ask you to at least think about it, Your Majesty. They are people just like us, but they are special people and just like any other resident of that kingdom, they would be useful for your reign."

"Are you saying that wizards would be my subordinates?" And apparently she started to be interested.

"Wow. No one said that." Hoseok also took a step forward, but this time facing Taehyung. "We are not going to be anyone's slaves." And turned to the Queen. “And we are Warlocks, not wizards. We are not sneaky killers as they are, so don’t compare us to them, or you will be disrespecting us.”

"Coming here was a waste of time, Hobi. Going through the black forest fighting with the living dead, wolves, snakes and carnivorous plants would be easier than convincing this woman that we deserve respect like all of them." You said. "Let's just go." And you turned away, to go to the exit, but the guards behind you did not move, preventing you from continuing to walk.

"And where are you going to take my knight?" The queen's voice sounded and you looked over your shoulder before turning your body fully towards her. "As he said" Pointed at Hoseok "Humans are not allowed in your village. Where do you intend to take Taehyung?"

"Anywhere he wants to go." You replied, frowning. The woman smiled, leaning back on her throne.

"What if he wants to stay here? With beings of his kind, with humans and his queen. What would you do?"

You looked at Taehyung. You knew he wouldn't be happy in the midst of mystical beings, and you knew he wouldn't be safe there either, even though everyone in the village was very well controlled, sometimes things got out of hand and you didn't want one of the wolves or vampires that lived there to attack him. In fact, even you could end up hurting him while trying to defend him.

That is why answering that question was so difficult. Would you leave it all behind because of him? Would you let the Queen use your powers for whatever she liked, let her order you, make you a slave, hurt people who might be innocent, just because you couldn't stay away from him?

Yes, you would.

"I could let you stay if you did me a favor now and then."

Hoseok looked at you and when he saw that you seemed to be considering the idea, he rolled his eyes and turned towards the queen, pointing his finger directly at her.

"We are not your slaves ..."

"He is right." Taehyung said and you were brought back to reality by listening to your voice. When looking at him, he was staring at you. "You are not slaves. I ... If you can't stay here with me, then I don't want to stay." And he smiled, making you smile too. “We can find another way.”

"You are not as stupid as you look after all." Hoseok sneered. He laughed and so you turned around.

"How dare you turn your back on the queen?" That man's voice screamed. The guards behind you raised their swords in your direction, making you jump back, your hand reaching for Taehyung's wrist and pulling him close. The other guards did the same, coming towards you, pointing their swords, and one of them shot an arrow towards Taehyung. Everything was in slow motion. You hit his stomach with your open hand, throwing him on the floor. Your eyes and fists shone with purple flames and when the arrow came closer, it burned, turning to ashes before hitting any of you.

They attacked. You and Hoseok moved quickly, the contrast of purple and orange illuminating the room. Taehyung got up and stood in a defensive position when one of the knights attacked him, but when the man threw himself against the boy, he hit an invisible wall and was thrown hard back, hitting his back against the wall on the other side of the room and falling unconscious on the floor. Taehyung glanced at you who had made the shield so that the other wouldn't hurt him. So you turned your attention to another of the guards, while Taehyung ran and slid on the floor towards a sword, picking it up and lifting it, hitting the steel against the sword of a knight coming towards his face. Suddenly his face was smeared with blood when a sword went through that man's chest. When the body fell, the boy saw the familiar face of Jungkook, a friend of the guard.

"Don't make me regret this." The black-haired boy said, helping the other to get up. A body flew in their direction at the same time, making them both duck so they wouldn't be hit.

"Sorry." Hoseok said before hitting one of the guards with an orange fireball in the middle of the face, and thus knocking him out.

You four then gathered in the middle of the great hall, forming a circle, all with their backs to each other, protecting each other, until one of the blows of one of the knights almost hit Taehyung's face and you lose your patience. Screaming at Hoseok, he turned around holding the two boys by the shoulders, his orange flames spreading across their bodies, pinning them to the floor. You bent down and punched the floor. A purple explosion came out of your fist, lighting up the room, almost blinding those who were looking, and a strong wave hurled all the guards who were nearby to different sides. The light of the explosion could be seen by everyone in the city, through the windows that exploded from the great hall. Then soon, more guards were entering the main door, ready to attack.

"Stop." The Queen's voice crossed the four corners of the room and the soldiers who were standing, stopped moving and looked at her, who was now standing, facing the four of you among the passed out and even dead bodies of the royal soldiers. Hoseok released the two boys, but like you, he did not leave his defensive position, and his eyes and hands continued to shine with his powers. "I didn't order this attack, so why did you attack?" She snarled at her guards, her eyes soon falling on the man beside her, terrified by that scene. You looked over your shoulder, without fully turning to the throne, protecting Taehyung's and your brother's back.

"She used her powers." The man tried to explain, but the woman hit him with a slap in the face, making him fall to the floor. It had pleased you and Hoseok, but it hadn't satisfied you.

"One of the soldiers fired first, she was just protecting herself, you idiot. How are you training these guards? Do you want a war with the other side to explode in our hands? We already have many problems with the King of the north threatening us every week. "

"We don't want war." You shouted, still with your eyes on the guards at the door of the hall. " We want peace and equality between our people."

"And if you do not want it, that’s fine. We will not return to set foot in this kingdom." Hoseok said. "Now order your guards to let us out that door, or we will knock them down too."

So, she raised her hand, and the guards at the door opened the way and the four of them walked towards it, suspicious and prepared to defend themselves. You left there, still with your bodies glowing with the colors of your powers, so all citizens opened widened their eyes and opened the way for them to pass. And it was like that until you passed the city exit gate that was closed immediately.

"Who the fuck are you?" Hoseok asked with a frown, only then noticing the presence of the boy with black hair, dressed as a royal guard. You also turned, but towards Taehyung, checking if he had been hurt.

"I am fine, love." He whispered to you, hugging you for a moment before turning to the other two boys. "This is Jeon Jungkook, he is my best friend, he rebelled against the queen to help us."

"And what the fuck do I have to do with it? I didn’t ask for his help. He can't come with us." Hoseok growled, extremely irritated.

"But I have nowhere to go, I cannot go back there, the Queen will want my head." The boy said indignantly and Hoseok rolled his eyes, looking at him now with boredom.

"It's okay, you can come with us." You said and Hoseok's eyes widened in his direction. "What? There's already a human living with me anyway."

"Yeah, and look at the shit we just went through because of this human." The older one complained and you turned at him, your eyes on fire, literally. You were also angry.

"And what do you want me to do? I didn't choose that." You screamed. "Jungkook comes with us. He helped us, whether you wanted to or not. And if you're not satisfied, expel me from the village."

And so, you turned away, walking quickly away, being followed by the two boys. Hoseok sighed and swore into the air before following the other three. They were so fucked up at the time that he didn't even know how he was going to explain the whole situation to the Council that would soon be in the village.

"What are we going to do now? And why is there another human here?" Jimin asked as soon as Hoseok finished telling everything that had happened. They were all gathered in the meeting hut, in the middle of the Forest, away from the other houses. Taehyung and Jungkook had stayed in your hut, talking. You thought it best that they didn't attend that meeting.

"Jungkook rebelled against the queen and fought at our side when the guards attacked us. He couldn't stay there or he would be killed."

You said it and that made Jimin roll his eyes.

"So what? Did you become a kind of hero to save humans now?"

"No, but I tend to be grateful when someone helps me with something, especially when someone helps me to save my ass."

"Okay, I think everyone should calm down now." Namjoon said getting up from the chair where he was sitting and walked over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder. "It is not time to blame anyone, but to find a solution. As much as he has helped you and your soulmate is a human, we know that they cannot stay here, (Y/N)."

"Why don't we transform him? If we turn him into a mystical being, we will have no more problems with the council. Seokjin could bite his ass to make him a werewolf." Jimin smirked, suggesting, receiving a growl from the wolf who was standing by the door.

"It is in the rules that nobody in this village can harm a human. We would break rules in the same way. For that to happen, we would have to do this outside the three borders and he would have to be bitten by another being because none of us can do that." Namjoon clarified, even though he knew that suggestion was nothing more than Jimin teasing Jin.

"Taehyung wouldn't want that. And I won't make him do anything he doesn't want to." You hissed, dismissing that option.

"There is a place where mystical and human beings are both welcome." Seokjin spoke up, Ignoring the vampire's ridiculous suggestion. "We can send them to the neutral area. At least until we speak to the council.”

"They will not accept." Hoseok sighed, after being silent for a long time, making everyone look at them. "They despise human life, they will not accept that we all live together, they will want to fight. And as much as (Y/N) and I are powerful, as much as we have wolves and vampires on our side, the council members are ancestors, they are older and stronger, they would kill us in a snap. The only option is for you and the human to go outside the continent, maybe they won't follow you.”

It was a good way out. No deaths, but you would probably be on the run for the rest of your life. You knew very well how the council members pursued what they wanted, and if they wanted to kill you, they would do it, and end up hurting Taehyung on the way.

"Do you want her to leave? Without us?" Jimin asked confused. "But that's not fair, this is her land. She was born here, we were all raised together. She cannot simply go away because of that human."

"They will want to kill Taehyung if he stays here." You shouted, both desperate and angry. "Not only the council but the north side of the border, Urdinok clan will not accept that a witch has a human as a soul mate and will want to claim the law of purification."

"And this is no longer just about (Y/N) or the human." Namjoon completed. "If the council kills him, it will be an affront to the human kingdom. The queen will want to go to war, many people will end up dying, not only us but innocent people as well. This is bigger than us."

"Not if we take down the council." Seokjin suggested, making everyone look at him like he was crazy. “We can try to reach an agreement with the dark side of the forest. Talk to their leader. We can propose a revolt against the council, make the two borders independent.”

"Who gave poisoned herb to the dog?" Jimin asked, making the older man roll his eyes.

"It's a stupid and potentially suicidal idea, but it is valid." Namjoon said. “I Liked it.”

"The Urdinok clan has wizards, low class witches, but if we all get together, you and (Y/N) can end the council, make us independent, and no one else will need to follow their orders."

"But what ensures that the Clan Urdinok will not try to kill us after overthrow the council?" Jimin asked. "I'm in, you know I will always be with you for everything, but you know how treacherous wizards are. And their wolves have invaded our territory once. What guarantees us that they will not try to take our land?"

"We have to solve one problem at a time, leech." Seokjin replied and Jimin's eyes darkened, when he looked at the wolf angrily.

“I am not a leech.”

“And I am not a dog, but you persist in calling me that.” Jin's look was icy.

"Guys, save your energy for the battle against the Council." Namjoon said, and then turned to you who was standing next to Hoseok, both in silence. "If you agree, of course."

You and your brother looked at each other. Each idea was worse than the other, you knew that, but there was no better way out, all the ideas, all the answers you could think of would end up with people dying. Hoseok blew out a breath. He reached out toward you, his hand glowing in the orange flame. You held it, your hand shining in purple, the colors mixing. You did this whenever you wanted to show each other, or others, that your bond, the love from brother to sister was strong and unbreakable. Neither death nor danger would separate you. He then smiled at you, that smile he always used to comfort you when you felt sad or insecure.

Soon he looked at the others who were waiting for his answer.

"We are going to do this. Let's try to speak to the council first. Maybe they understand that what happened is not (Y/N)’s or human’s fault, but if they don’t, I will try to contact the Urdinok clan leader and try to convince him about this idea, but if that also doesn't work, we will have to leave our lands, because I will not let my sister go without me. And I'm sure you think the same.”

"As human priests would say, together until death do us part." The vampire said making the others laugh. He approached hugging you tightly, smelling your hair and grimacing when he felt that you smelled human. "You need a bath urgently. You stink like a human."

"Well, I'm going to smell like that for a long time."

(…)

"They will appear at any moment." Hoseok said to his group, some wolves, some vampires, Taehyung and Jungkook were standing in front of the line that separated their lands with the lands of the owners of the black forest, their not friends but also not enemies Clan Urdinok. "We are here to try to reach an agreement with them, but we have to be prepared if they want to claim the purification law." Your brother had talked to everyone in the village the night before, explained what was going on, gave his reasons to why he was making that decision and everyone, without exception, accepted without question. Not because they were afraid to question their leader, but because everyone trusted the decisions he and you made, and everyone was also tired of that feud between humans and mystical beings that had been going on for centuries.

"Law of purification? What the hell is that?" Jungkook asked.

"It is a type of escape valve in the agreement between our side and the dark side of the border, it allows members on the other side of the border to interfere in rivals' decisions, but without causing a fight.” Seokjin explained.

"For example, they can order us to hand you and Taehyung over to them so then they will judge you guilty of invading mystical lands and sentencing you to death. The purification law was made to execute humans who step on magical soil, be they invited by land dwellers or not.” Namjoon continued the explanation.

"My god, this is too brutal." Jungkook said stunned. Jimin snorted and let out a dry laugh, walking towards the human with his arms crossed. Jungkook, realizing the approach of the vampire, took a step back. He didn't trust mystics at all and was only there because of his best friend.

"I don't know why you seem so surprised. Your queen has a very similar law that is called 'murder all mystical beings who set foot in my kingdom." And he looked away from him for a moment, looking around at his friends. "The law of purification was made for our protection, in case humans used Wizards to hypnotize us, make us defenseless and compel us to let humans enter our lands to take it from us. So, the Urdinok Clan could enter our lands using this law, killing all humans here and returning to their side, without causing a war between the borders."

"This is very confusing." Taehyung said for the first time since they got there. He was standing beside you, one hand on his waist. "It means that they will try to kill us anyway."

"They have a certain feud with the Council, I am almost sure they will be willing to make a new deal, and if they don't, we will fight." Namjoon said.

"And all of this is your fault." Jimin accused, pointing at the two humans. "Especially you, Taeyang."

"It's Taehyung, you asshole." Kim replied. "And I am not to blame, (Y/N) and I are destined to be together, we are soul mates, neither of us is to blame for that."

"Shh." Seokjin spoke loudly, raising his finger towards the two who started to argue, telling them to remain silent. He who had his back to the entrance to the Black Forest before, turned when he heard something. "They're coming."

You stopped next to Hoseok, both standing in front of the two humans, protecting them. Three men were coming in their directions along the dimly lit path between the trees. Behind them, as guards, there were five wolves, and two of them you recognized from the night you saved Taehyung. Everyone was tense, it had been years since the two frontiers had spoken directly to each other. The last time this happened was almost twenty-five years ago, when your parents were still alive.

"I heard that you wanted to talk to me. I am Yoongi, the Warlock leader of the Urdinok clan."

  all rights reserved © katebacks | 2018/2020 — no reposting and/or modifying of any form on any medium is allowed. no translations allowed.

[redroseinsanity]

IwaOi Youtuber AU

As a disclaimer, I don’t know anything about make up, I have a poor track record with fitness videos and I don’t actually watch a lot of Youtube. But these hcs just slammed into me a couple of days ago and I was talking it out with @thewhiskingpot​ but I’m juggling a few too many WIPs so I’m just gonna get it out here. 

Oikawa is fitness vlogger extraordinaire. He does pilates, yoga, ten minute home workouts, tabata in the streets, easy stretches for work from home aches. You name it, he’s done it. All with that same peppy charm and winsome smile.

Ridiculously popular? check. Super hot? check. Extremely charismatic? check.Probably makes you feel like punching him in the face when you’re gasping on the floor like a dying fish after the 6th rep but also like you wanna do it again cause he’s so bloody encouraging. 

Iwaizumi is a beauty vlogger that gives no nonsense reviews and accidental life advice while doing his make up . 

He’s the one make up youtuber you can Trust.

Especially after the time a big brand sent him their samples and he tried it for the first time on a live stream, applied it for all of 30secs before he went ‘Nope’ and removed it. I C O N I C

Oikawa doesn’t really do make up, but he needed to learn eyeliner for an event after casually making a remark in a video, was pointed to Iwaizumi’s vids by fans of both.

He is shook

He thinks about the super buff guy with a straight face dabbing glitter on his lower lashes in the middle of the night, while getting his groceries, in the shower

He binge watches aLL of Iwa’s videos

He rewatches the one when Iwa says, “ Someone who can't see the opponent before them can't see the opponent lying beyond.” while he does his eye shadow, a lot

Then he makes a direct shout out to Iwa in his next video asking him for a tutorial on eyeliner

Iwa has no clue who Oikawa is but watches a couple of videos and definitely falls into the ‘want to punch his face’ category. 

He briefly mentions the shout out in his next video and then includes the link to an older eyeliner tutorial. That’s it. 

Oikawa is Not Having It. Goes on the offensive (if you’re gonna it it, hit it till it breaks right)

Does a video of him trying one of Iwa’s tutorials and shows just how badly he messes up. Cue pouting into the camera (I need personal assistance!)

Iwa wants to smash his face so bad

Another deadpan video, another link to a tutorial for beginners

Comments are INVESTED is this a fight? Is there sexual tension? Are we picking sides? Is this what flirting looks like??? No one knows

Oikawa proposes a bet: If Iwa can’t do three of Oikawa’s killer ab workout videos without taking a break, he has to come and help Oikawa learn make up

Iwa takes the challenge, films it, breaks the internet when footage of him all sweaty and shirtless goes viral

Probs breaks Oikawa for a while too. He defs blue screens when he sees the thumbnail

Iwa is surprised because only when he does the workouts does he come to realise Oikawa is hella strong. the heck? He does all these workouts, smiling, chatting like he’s at afternoon tea?? What are his core muscles made of? 

Grudging respect from Iwa

HE WON THE BET THO fans are like :((( No more Iwaoi content?? BUt the ship was just sailing...

He feels like he’s dying doing 3 Oikawa videos back to back but he gets it done

Then he PMs OIkawa for his home address and then goes over to help him with his make up

Is extremely amused to discover Oikawa is scared of the eyelash curler

And eyeliner on his waterline

And falsies 

And does NOT understand the concept of a lip liner

The video that goes up eventually is ‘Boyfriend does my make up challenge’ 

Oikawa tries, he really does

At least he scored a bf tho ;)

[pluckyredhead]

Aristocrat and farmboy? Regency AU.

Anon, I squealed when I saw this prompt. This is SO self indulgent and I am very sure I got aristocratic titles, horses, and first aid all wrong. Do not use this as an instructional guide for wrapping a sprain, jumping a horse, or addressing the son of a duke!

-Damian, Lord Bristol, son of the Duke of Gotham, sat back in his saddle and surveyed the rolling fields before him, breathing in deeply. The part of his soul that thrilled at danger had loved the tangled warren that was Gotham City; the nights so black not even the stars could shine through it; the hidden alleys that dared the brave to walk down them alone. But he couldn’t deny the beauty of his father’s ancestral lands in Bristolshire, or how much better the air smelled here.

He had been away for too long - first at school, then university, then whiling away too many boring, pointless days in society. It was good to be back in the land that was his by birthright.

He clicked his tongue. “Come on, Goliath,” he said, kicking the big roan stallion into a gallop. “Take me home!”

They raced across the fields, so fast that Damian could tell Goliath was as happy as he was to be out of the city. Bent low over the horse’s neck, the wind in his face, it felt like flying.

That was, until a stone wall loomed unexpectedly before them, where no wall had ever been before.

Damian had only a split second to make a decision: take the dangerously high jump, or try to rein Goliath in and hope he could stop before they both crashed into the unforgiving stone?

He was a Wayne. He jumped.

They soared over the wall. Goliath landed perfectly.

Damian...did not.

He landed hard on his side, twisting his ankle beneath him. Swearing, he pushed himself to a seated position and carefully eased his leg in front of him to scowl at it. He didn’t think the ankle was broken, but he also wasn’t sure he could walk on it. Goliath slowed and walked back towards him with a surprised expression on his face.

“Yes, you stupid horse, I’m on the ground and not on you,” Damian said. “I’m not happy about it either.”

“Good heavens! Are you all right?” a voice called, and someone came running towards him - a peasant lad, stripped to the waist and holding a mortar-crusted trowel in one hand. Damian scowled.

“So you’re the imbecile building a wall on my father’s lands,” he said. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re playing at?”

The lad stared at him. “Damian?” Then he blushed and ducked his head. “Begging your pardon, Lord Bristol. I forgot.”

It was Damian’s turn to stare. “Jon? Is that you?”

He thought he was well within his rights to stare. When he’d left Bristolshire, Jon Kent had been the scrawny ten-year-old son of one of his father’s tenant farmers. Damian had made a habit of escaping his tutors and running wild across the fields with Jon, knocking over haymows and stealing from the larder and generally causing trouble.

Now Jon - for it was he; there was no mistaking those startling violet eyes - was clearly at least a hand taller and two stone heavier than Damian, with shoulders broadened by honest work. His bare chest was flushed with exertion and the sun, and his dark hair curled sweat-damp across his forehead.

“Aye, Lord Bristol, it’s me,” he said. “Your father mentioned you’d be coming home soon.”

The reference to his father reminded Damian that Jon, whether significantly larger and more strapping than anticipated or not, had almost killed him. “Oh, really?” he sneered. “And did he mention that you should build a blasted wall right across this pasture and nearly kill his only begotten heir?”

“Well, yes,” Jon said. “I mean, not the part about killing you, but he did ask me to build the wall. His cattle have been getting loose to drink from the stream.” He jerked a thumb at the rippling water that bordered the pasture.

That rather took the wind out of Damian’s sails. “Oh,” he said. “Well. He should have told me.”

“No doubt he meant to, my lord, when you arrived home.” Jon wasn’t meeting his eyes, but if his expressions meant the same thing now they had when he was ten, he was trying not to laugh.

“Indeed,” Damian said. “Since you’re here, do something useful with yourself and go and fetch Pennyworth. I can’t walk on this ankle. It’s sprained.”

“I can help you to the manor, my lord,” Jon said. “But you should bind that sprain, first. It’ll be worse if you wait.” He looked around him as if bandages and perhaps a handy bottle of laudanum would suddenly spring up out of the clover. Unsurprisingly, none manifested. The boy was barely clothed as it was; spare fabric was not about to present itself.

“Ugh,” Damian said. “Here.” He unwound his cravat. It was the finest linen that could be had in Gotham City, but sometimes one must sacrifice for the cause. “You’ll have to help me with the boot.”

Jon’s eyes seemed to take a long time to shift from Damian’s newly bare throat to his face. “You used to be able to take your own shoes off,” he said, with amusement dancing in his eyes that was more familiar than this sudden deference.

“It’s the fashion to wear things cut tightly nowadays,” Damian informed him haughtily.

Jon looked him up and down. “I can see that,” he said. Then he coughed, and looked away, and Damian suddenly felt very hot.

He thrust his injured foot at Jon. “Well?” he said. “Go ahead.”

Jon took Damian’s foot in his hands, which were much bigger than Damian remembered them. “This is going to hurt,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

He was right. It was clear that Jon was being as gentle as possible, but Damian still cursed a blue streak as the boot slid reluctantly over his swollen ankle. Jon’s sympathetic winces gradually gave way to a grin.

“What part of this is funny, pray tell?” Damian asked.

Jon shook his head. “You always could swear like a sailor when we were children. I supposed you haven’t completely changed.”

“I haven’t changed a bit,” Damian said. “You’re the one who’s changed.”

The boot came free. Jon set it aside and looked up to meet Damian’s eyes, Damian’s stockinged foot resting in his cupped palm. “Have I, then?” he asked.

Damian opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Jon ducked his head and rolled down Damian’s stocking. The ankle was already swelling and darkening to an angry red; Damian expected greens and purples in his future.

“Can you move it?” Jon asked.

Damian gritted his teeth and forced his ankle in a circle. The sweat stood out on his brow, but the foot moved. “It’s not broken.”

“Good.” Jon took the cravat from him, then sat up straighter. “Oh! Wait here,” he said, and bounded up and across the field like a sheepdog.

“Where am I meant to go?” Damian called after him.

Jon didn’t go far, just to the stream. When he came back, the cravat was soaked with stream water, which was the end of Damian wearing it around his neck, but by now he didn’t care. He just wanted to be lying in his room with a glass of brandy and no confusingly large and gentle childhood friends looking at him with striking violet eyes.

Jon sat on his heels and put Damian’s bare foot in his lap. “This will hurt again,” he warned, and began binding Damian’s ankle with sure, steady hands. He was right again, but the coolness of the wet linen helped considerably. Perhaps he wasn’t a total fool after all.

“How did you learn to do this?” Damian asked, to distract himself from the sight of Jon’s fingers on his bare foot. “Helping the village doctor?”

Jon’s smile was wicked. “No, my father. Cows and sheep can be so clumsy.”

Damian’s brows lowered. “When this ankle heals, I shall kick you very hard.”

“I look forward to it.” Jon let Damian’s bound foot rest in his lap. “How’s that?”

Damian considered. The pain had faded to something dull and manageable, and the binding would keep the swelling down. “Serviceable, I suppose. Now will you fetch Pennyworth and tell him to bring something with wheels?”

“Why?” Jon asked. “I can carry you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

In answer, Jon gently moved Damian’s foot off of his lap, then stood up, bent down, and, over the noise of Damian’s protests, lifted Damian into his arms like a bride. Damian yelped and snatched at his discarded boot as he was lifted off the ground.

“See?” Jon asked, beaming triumphantly into Damian’s face.

Damian tsked. “I concede that you can lift me, but it’s a twenty minute walk to the manor. I refuse to be dropped.”

Jon rolled his eyes and started walking. “I won’t drop you. You hardly weigh anything.”

“I’m a grown man!”

“Believe me, I’m not denying that.” Jon somehow managed to shrug with Damian in his arms. “I’m rather strong.”

Damian had noticed - it was impossible not to notice, cradled in Jon’s bare arms like this, that the friend he used to repeatedly trounce at wrestling wasn’t even straining to hold him - but this was ludicrous. He might not be as oversized as Jon, but he was no airy nothing, either. Clandestine brawls in the back alleys of Gotham City had seen to that.

“I am your lord and master and I command you to put me down!” he barked.

Jon froze. “You’re right,” he said, and let Damian’s legs slide slowly to the ground, until he was balanced on his uninjured one. To his humiliation, he wobbled badly and had to cluck at Goliath to come over and clutch his saddle to keep his balance.

“I forgot myself, my lord,” Jon went on. His jaw was tense - no more teasing smile - but he didn’t argue. How could he? “A childhood acquaintance should not have made me presume above my station. I only wished to help. I will fetch Mr. Pennyworth, as you have bidden.” He bowed and started to walk away.

“Wait.”

Jon stopped, and Damian chewed at his lower lip, thinking. He was irritated with Jon, and with his father, and with himself for not having seen that wall in time. His foot ached and his head was beginning to as well, and he didn’t think spending more time with Jon would make him feel any less unsettled and irritable.

But he didn’t want Jon to leave, either. And he particularly didn’t want Jon to leave hurt.

“Pennyworth is ancient,” he said finally. “There’s no need to make him come all this way on a hot day if you really think you can bear my weight.”

“No, Lord Bristol,” Jon said, but he didn’t move.

Damian sighed. “Will you carry me, please?” he asked. It cost him less than he would have thought.

“Yes, Lord Bristol,” Jon said, and picked him up again. Damian clucked again and Goliath followed obediently behind them.

Damian glanced up at Jon, who was looking straight ahead. His jaw was still tense. “And another thing,” he said. Jon’s eyelids flickered, but he didn’t look down. “Dispense with this ‘Lord Bristol’ nonsense, would you? If ducking you in the water trough all those times when we were boys didn’t teach you respect, I don’t see any point in attempting it now.”

Finally Jon looked at him, and he was smiling again. Damian’s head hurt worse, but somehow he didn’t mind. “As I recall, I was the one who was ducking you.”

Damian shook his head. “Sad,” he said. “Does your mother know you’ve suffered this grievous memory loss? Too many cows kicking you in the head?”

Jon’s laugh rumbled through his chest, and Damian felt it in his whole body. “I missed you, Damian,” he said.

The words I missed you too were too hard to say and Jon’s smile was too hard to look at, so Damian pointed his gaze towards the distant Wayne Manor and let his weight settle in his friend’s arms. “Yes, I imagined you would,” he said, and Jon’s laugh carried them home.

-

(Does Jon have super strength or is he just implausibly built? Is Lois secretly printing seditious pamphlets about overthrowing the aristocracy? THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.)

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2021 | Part I

For anyone that’s new to this, this is how I keep track of all of the things I enjoy and/or create throughout the year. I have literally been doing this since I had a livejournal. I think the first one was 2011? Maybe? In which case, woohoo, ten years of scrapbooking!

It’s a nice little snippet of my life and helps to organize my brain.

A reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read 80 books, finish five video games, write more than 20 fics or something larger than 20k, and write either an original short story or start a novel. 

Past Years

MOVIES

January

(Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring)

(Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)

(Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)

Robin Hood

(Hook)

Wolfwalkers

February

(Age of Ultron)

From Up On Poppy Hill

(Tangled)

(Onward)

(The Mummy)

(Hercules)

(Promare)

March

Raya and the Last Dragon

(My Neighbor Totoro)

April

(Hunchback of Notre Dame)

(Tarzan)

(Beauty and the Beast)

Weathering With You

BOOKS

January

A Deadly Education | Naomi Novak [Fin]

Home Body | Rupi Kaur [Fin]

The Sunken Mall | K.D. Edwards [Fin]

Bloom | Kevin Panetta [Fin]

The Angel of Crows | Katherine Addison

All the Stars and Teeth | Adalyn Grace [Fin]

The Adventure Zone: Vol 1 | McElroys & Carey Pietsch [Fin]

I Hope You Stay | Courtney Peppernell [Fin]

Pillow Thoughts | Courtney Peppernell [Fin]

Piraneesi | Susanna Clarke [Fin]

The Ex Talk | Rachel Lynn Solomon [Fin]

February

The Adventure Zone: Vol 2 | McElroys & Carey Pietsch [Fin]

The Adventure Zone: Vol 3 | McElroys & Carey Pietsch [Fin]

The Angel of Crows | Katherine Addison

Alice Isn’t Dead | Joseph Fink

March

Winter’s Orbit | Everina Maxwell [Fin]

Fireheart Tiger | Aliette de Bodard [Fin]

Alice Isn’t Dead | Joseph Fink

Fire | Kristin Cashore [Fin]

Bitterblue | Kristin Cashore [Fin]

The Witch’s Heart | Genevieve Gornichec [Fin]

Winterkeep | Kristin Cashore

April

Alice Isn’t Dead | Joseph Fink [Fin]

Winterkeep | Kristin Cashore [Fin]

The Memory Theater | Karin Tidbeck [Fin]

These Violent Delights | Chloe Gong 

(Red White and Royal Blue | Casey Mcquiston) [Fin]

Rule of Wolves | Leigh Bardugo [Fin]

Alice Isn’t Dead | Joseph Fink [Fin]

Not the Girl You Marry | Andie Christopher [Fin]

The Echo Wife | Sarah Gailey [Fin]

The Midnight Library | Matt Haig

Catherine House | Elisabeth Thomas [Fin]

Séance Tea Party | Reimena Yee [Fin]

Lumberjanes vol 1 | Noelle Stevenson [Fin]

PODCASTS

January

The Unseen, Christmas and New Year Special

The Penumbra Podcast, Juno Steel arc, Heart of It All and What Lies Beyond

The Penumbra Podcast, Second Citadel, Strong Arm of Justice and The Priestess’ Fortune

I Am In Eskew, Episode 16

Welcome to Night Vale, Episode 67, 68, and 69

The Magnus Archives, Episode 190 and 191

February

The Magnus Archives, Episode 192-194

The Adventure Zone, Episodes 15-60

March

The Magnus Archives, Episode 194-200 [Fin]

The Adventure Zone, Episodes 60-TAZ BALANCE ENDING

MBMBAM, Episode 1

I Am In Eskew, Episode 17-22

April

I Am In Eskew, Episode 23-END

Alice Isn’t Dead, Episode 18-END

TV SHOWS BY SEASON

January

His Dark Materials, s2 [Fin]

Watcher Entertainment

Buzzfeed Worth It

(Black Sails, s1)

The Queen’s Gambit**

February

Cherry Magic

Wandavision, s1

Watcher Entertainment

The Owl House

(Little Witch Academia)

Star vs the Forces of Evil, s3, s4

Bridgerton

Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime

Heaven’s Official Blessing

March

Wandavision, s1 [Fin]

Watcher Entertainment, Puppet History & Watcher Weekly

Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Word of Honor

April

Word of Honor, s1

Watcher Entertainment, Puppet History

Falcon and the Winter Soldier, s1

Kim’s Convenience, s1, 2, 3, 4

Leverage, s4

Shadow and Bone, s1

The Great, s1

VIDEO GAMES

January

Hades, 37 hours [Fin]

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, 35 hours

February

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, 35 hours

Hades, 75+ hours? 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 16 hours

Persona 5 Royal

March

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 45 hours

Persona 5 Royal, 141 hours

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, 35 hours

Concrete Genie, 3 hours

April

Concrete Genie, 6 hours [Fin]

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 65 hours

Persona 5 Royal, 160 hours

Monster Hunter Rise, 2 hours

Civ, 5 hours

DELIGHTFUL FIC

January

Modern Rustic by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 22k | “I think,” he says, finally, “that if we looked around this place hard enough, we’d find a rose underneath a—a glass thing, what’s it called—losing petals. Metaphorically.”

easy livin' by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved (Fallout AU) | Ryan/Shane | 6k | The Wasteland - and Ryan - through Shane's eyes.

(in nocte consiliam by oxymoronic | Bartimaeus | Bartimaeus/Nathaniel | 4k | London, 2003. Britain is on the brink of war, and someone is trying rather hard to kill John Mandrake.)

made of glass the way you see through me by uneventfulhouses | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 19k | Will it always be like this? Ryan wonders, watching Shane lope up the snowy walkway and pushing his way through the front door, humming some jolly old tune in that way Shane’s prone to do. Theatrical, performing for an audience even though Ryan is the only one around.

All Your Stars In View by alpha_exodus | Harry Potter | Draco/Harry | 18k | Life after the war is difficult for Harry, especially when the only thing that makes him feel better is, oddly enough, being around Malfoy. So when Malfoy asks to paint his portrait, Harry can't refuse, even if it means baring himself in more ways than one.

13 Genuinely Awful Things About Steven by thefourthvine | Buzzfeed Worth It | Steven/Andrew | 10k | Andrew’s learned to like cake, he’s learned to like oysters, and he’s learned to like Steven.

we’ll make a brand new start of it (in old new york) by misantlery | Buzzfeed Worth It | Steven/Andrew | 10k | “Just to be clear,” Andrew says. “You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend at a party to spite your high school bully and your high school girlfriend and possibly the entire state of Ohio?”

Russian Roulette Croquembouche by misantlery | Buzzfeed Worth It | Andrew/Steven | 9k | “Get that on your business card,” Andrew advises. “Steven Lim, video producer, world traveler, fancy dessert boy. Human cream puff.”

rose-colored boy by juniperProse | Buzzfeed Worth It | Steven/Andrew | 2k | Andrew’s eyes are pink.

Like Wildfire by makemadej | Watcher Entertainment | Shane/Ryan | 20k | “Is this gonna be a thing with you?” Ryan demands. “You can’t keep committing to stuff that no one else knows about! When people online say they want you to be more open and vulnerable, this is not what they mean.”

Scratching the Itch by bendingsignpost | Doctor Who | Rose/Ten | 20k | Her mum had always told her that blokes had only one thing on their minds, but this was taking it to an entirely new level.

lie back and let me unlock you by Lise | The Untamed | Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang | 7k | Xiao Xingchen, reluctantly, admits to certain fantasies that he has. His friend is happy to indulge him.

in our respective ways by Lise | The Untamed | Jiang Cheng & Lan Wangji | 6k | Jiang Cheng has his golden core back. But he seems to have lost Wei Wuxian.

By Proxy by Lise | The Untamed | Jiang Cheng/Lan Wangji | 12k | Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, looking for comfort in all the wrong places.

some good mistakes by Lise | The Untamed | Jiang Cheng & Lan Wangji | 18k |  Or, the one where Wei Wuxian vanishes and Lan Wangji, reluctantly, asks for Jiang Cheng's help tracking him down.

efforts in a common cause by Lise | The Untamed | Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang/Song Lan | 12k | Everybody's walked out of Yi City alive. Now it's just three badly adjusted adults (and one badly adjusted teenager) trying to make things work - a project somewhat derailed by a night hunt that turns out to be something else.

swinger of birches by astronicht | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 23k | Lan Zhan is a little witch in the house on the hill, whispering out a love curse. Wei Ying is a witch undead, undone.

let me desecrate you by hkafterdark | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 6k | “Dangerous words.” Wei Wuxian drew back. The flickering candlelight gave him an otherworldly appearance; that, and his beauty, unchanged since the first time Lan Wangji had seen him. “You aren’t afraid to be at the mercy of the fearsome Yiling laozu?”

The Demon Affair by stereobone | Yu Yu Hakusho | Hiei/Kurama | 9k | Kurama accidentally seduces Hiei into a relationship.

i came to win (and i won) by paperclipbitch | The Queen’s Gambit | Beth/Benny | 3k | They play chess, and they fuck.The two things are not the same.

February

Sylvain Gautier Would Love To Try To Solve All Your Problems Through Sex (Hey It Might Help) by Fall Out Boy by harriet_vane | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Sylvain/Felix | 22k | In which Sylvain wakes up on the wrong tour bus, and refuses to be their sex therapist (unless Felix asks nicely)

Turnabout and Start Again by runningondreams | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 34k | WIP | Wei Wuxian lives. The siege fails.Thirteen years later, Lan Wangji wakes in a body that is not his own.

μήτηρ, in the Greek by antistar_e (kaikamahine) | Hades | Nyx & Persephone, canon relationships | 37k | At the end of this recounting, she tilted her head and asked politely, Is this not how you have children?Uh, no, said Persephone.

that voodoo that you do so well by veterization | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 18k |  Ryan buys a voodoo potion oil at Voodoo Authentica meant to attract Yummy Boys. Appropriately, things happen.

A Bridge Between by Runespoor | Spirited Away | Gen | 3k | Years later, Chihiro moves into a new apartment; her parents help.

the ghost king's bride by arahir | Tian Guan Ci Fu | Hua Cheng/Xie Lian | 10k | Ghosts won't stop giving Xie Lian flowers, Hua Cheng won't stop teasing, and Xie Lian is out here doing his best, man.

Side bitch out of your league by rohkeutta | Captain America | Steve/Bucky | 3k | “I tried to call Sam,” Captain America says, bewildered. He’s sprinting like Usain Bolt and doesn’t sound even a little out of breath. Fucker. “Who’re you?”

cause in your warmth (I forget how cold it can be) by madnessandbrilliance | Promare | Lio/Galo | 7k | Lio is always freezing. Galo is always warm. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the rest.

backdraft by broments | Promare | Lio/Galo | 32k | It happens in an instant, Galo gaping like an idiot while Lio presses forward to defend against the perceived threat, the weapon sparkling but not burning as it kisses Galo's throat.

your perfect crime (& how you laugh when you lie) by aroceu | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | Death Note AU | 8k | The first time a convicted murderer dies of a heart attack in their jail cell, no one thinks anything of it.

Yosuke will now die for you! by DragonBandit | Persona 4 | Yosuke/Souji | 5k | ...This, causes problems.

dramamine by brawlite | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xue Yang | 7k | Song Lan is having a bad morning. Help comes from the last person he'd expect: Xue Yang.

Hearth and Home by lady_ragnell | Leverage | Alec/Eliot/Parker | 1k | When Eliot goes to a temple, or when he’s in one place long enough to build a shrine, he doesn’t do it for Ares. He does it for Hestia.

Where One Ends and the Other Begins by kalliopeia | Leverage | Alec/Parker/Eliot | 30k | Nobody’s particularly shocked when the job goes spectacularly sideways because their loot turns out to be magic. Parker and Eliot begin reading each other’s minds, accidental sharing happens, and shenanigans result.

Hungry Thirsty Roots by coolkidroland | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 56k | In which Akira absolutely does not learn to leave well enough alone. **

Without Grasping Yet by Angelic_Ascent | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 8k | Akechi and Akira end up far too cramped for comfort in the Morgana bus. And then they're left alone in Mementos.

Falling Up by KivaEmber | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 2k | “If it helps…” Akira spoke up suddenly, his tone morbidly amused, “I forgive you, for shooting me in the face.”

March

Touch of Forbidden by tirsynni | LoZ | Ganondorf/Link | 2k |  Nabooru warned him not to travel to the Spirit Temple. So of course Link went to the Spirit Temple.

breaking the same old heart by tardigradeschool | The Adventure Zone | Magnus/Taako | 11k | Taako and Magnus in triptych: before, during, and after the Bureau.**

your head is good, it’s loyal, it’s clean by Anonymous | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 4k | "Here, I do this all the time."Too quickly for him to react, Taako plucks away one of his golden rings and slips it onto the ring finger of Magnus' left hand.

bruising kisses, whispered confessions by tangerine_skye | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 3k | The trio stop over at an inn for the night. Taako and Magnus share a bed.

i can see what's coming (but i'm not saying it) by pansywaist | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 3k | His breath is still hot on Taako's lips, distracting enough he almost misses the strained whisper: “I thought I was gonna lose you.”

Emergency Consolation in the Pocket Spa by Anonymous | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 3k | If Magnus wants to hug a wizard, Magnus gets to hug a wizard.

together for the long haul by kismetNemesis | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 6k | Magnus and Taako were married on a bright spring day in the year after they saved the world.

thin skin, bruises, and a cold cup of tea by GayFrankensteinsMonster | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 3k | Sleep is for the weak, and Magnus has no weaknesses, except for his own natural curiosity.

tender is the night by dollylux | TAZ | Magnus/Taako | 10k |  “It’s just…” He runs a hand through the thick bramble of his hair, gripping the crown of it to anchor himself. He sighs, slumping back against the footboard. “I guess I’m just not very good at one on one. Like, not… not in any way.”

a note is attached to the top of the vial by GayFrankensteinsMonster | TAZ | Kravitz/Taako, Magnus/Taako | 5k |  Elves have a lifespan of up to six hundred years. The people that you know don't even come close to that.

Pieces of Memory and Heart by ellemaris | Raya and the Last Dragon | Raya/Namaari | 1k | Raya isn't sure how to heal everything between Heart and Fang, but returning something important to Namaari seems like a start.

the gods laugh by miss_aphelion | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 11k+ | WIP | Wei Wuxian is just getting used to being alive again when he's ripped from the world he knows. He wakes in a place where his sister and her husband live, where his brother doesn't hate him, where the Wen remnants have all survived.

In Your Room, In Your Bed by giraffeter | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji/Jiang Cheng | 25k | After Wei Ying is disowned, Yu Ziyuan forbids Jiang Cheng from letting Wei Ying live with him. Jiang Cheng lets him stay anyway because Fuck That. He tells his parents Lan Zhan is his new roommate instead.

in the blossom season (in the pouring rain) by varnes | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 14k |  “Doctor Flowers,” Lan Zhan repeats, pointing at the tiny plum tree, just to confirm that his son is suggesting a magical tree named Doctor Flowers sprouted overnight and made their tame family project turn into a verdant jungle.

34 years old - 5'8" - DL - no-BB by withpractice_ff | Ace Attorney | Edgeworth/Phoenix | 3k | Phoenix finds Edgeworth’s Grindr profile

spinning with the stars above by tardigradeschool | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 7k | Wangji returns home to Vulcan for the first time since he left for Starfleet Academy, this time with Wei Ying at his side. He’s not expecting Wei Ying and his uncle to be fast friends, but things go poorly in a very different way than he was expecting.

every breath that comes before by tardigradeschool | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 10k | Or, what if that cup of wine Wei Wuxian drank for Lan Wangji after the Phoenix Mountain hunt wasn't just wine?

never love an anchor by tardigradeschool | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 31k | A fisherman and a selkie fall in love beside the sea. Regretfully, things are never quite that simple.

Be Careful by giraffeter | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xue Yang | 5k |  Song Lan and Xue Yang try to survive a week in their shared apartment without Xiao Xingchen as a buffer.

  won't you let me know you now by tardigradeschool | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 12k | WIP | “Have you ever heard of a mind meld?” Wangji keeps his voice as level as possible, as if he is not revealing foremost Vulcan secrets.

April

running for a soft place to fall by tardigradeschool | The Untamed | Lan Xichen & Lan Wangji | 10k |  As he leaves for his coming of age test at age twelve, half-Vulcan Xichen has a goal in mind. The rules of the kahs-wan prohibit taking food, water, or weapons. In accordance, Xichen is bringing none of those things, but he does have a compass tucked into his pocket. He is going to find his father.

an act too often neglected by Ariaste | The Untamed | Lan Xichen/Meng Yao | 60k | The single faceless, anonymous photograph on the profile that catches his eye is shot in elegant black-and-white, and there’s something about the crispness of the focus and the markedly off-center composition that says art, for once, rather than mugshot.The caption below is equally sparse: “5’6. Demanding.”

where you go, I'm going (so jump and I'm jumping) by Aria | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jonathan | 6k | "I don't think so," Alex said. She looked at Martin. "Is this really how it went?"

Morning, keep the streets empty for me by feyburner | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 6k | Ghosts were drawn to the ring roads.

2am on a saturday by detectorist | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 11k | In which Lan Zhan gets high, slides into Wei Ying's DMs, and somehow ends up having the harmonica played to him at 2am in the morning.

Grief Kindly Stopped by ShanaStoryteller | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 5k | Nothing leaves the Burial Mounds alive.

superhero love triangle by Asuka Kureru (Askerian) | Bleach?! | Grimmjow/Ichigo | WIP | 17k | You know those classical superhero-genre love triangles that actually only contain two people? Yeah.

Boat Basin by downjune | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | 5k |  He thought the 21st century now maybe suffered from an overabundance of classifications for all the different ways to fuck and/or romance a person, but the most important thing—and his therapist had emphasized this—the most important thing was connection.

my touch magnifies by isozyme | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu/Ye Baiyi | 7k | Wen Kexing gets hit with fuck-or-die sex pollen on the way to Longyuan cabinet. Everything would be fine, except Zhou Zishu’s been keeping an unfortunate secret: the nails in his chest mean he can’t get hard anymore.

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

January

2020 || Multifandom Mashup

Hades - Official Animated Trailer

Hades Mini-PMV: This Year

2020, I guess

MARVEL || Energy (ft. Easy McCoy + Black Hydra)

obi-wan || give it

2020 ll Multifandom Mashup

Multifandom | Goodbye 2020

Multifandom | Goodbye 2018

2018 Multifandom | MASHUP

His Dark Materials - No Sanctuary

Lyra & Mrs. Coulter | Hurricane

► mrs. coulter || way down we go [hdm]

Wonder Woman || BORN READY 

Vikings | The End of the Journey

February

MARVEL || Ready Set (ft. Vo Williams)

MARVEL || Here We Go (ft. Chris Classic)

MARVEL || Is You Ready || The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Never forget || Hualian - Hua Cheng x Xie Lian AMV 

【魔道祖师 / MDZS】Animatic - The First Siege | Safe & Sound

The Jedi Way | THE MANDALORIAN

Multifandom || Going Bad (feat. Drake)

March

Broccolli Casserole--The Untamed

Hey Brother - The Adventure Zone Animatic/PMV

The Adventure Zone: Balance trailer

The Adventure Zone: Balance Arc Trailer (Animatic)

13 Year Olds (A MDZS Animatic by Arcxus)

Multifandom || Die In This Town

DNA | shadow & bone

(Marvel) Wanda Maximoff | Grief

Defying Gravity | MDZS/CQL Animatic

It’s Quiet Uptown | MDZS Animatic

To The Stars

(Marvel) WandaVision || Awaken

Walt Disney Animation Studios | A Magical Journey

We don't have forever.

stop living a fake life.

► Wanda Maximoff | PAINT IT BLACK (+15k)

Multifandom || Take It (c/w Quang Truong) ft. @SEIGE WORLD​

Kylo Ren | STAR WARS

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

April

MARVEL || Natural ft.ImagineDragons

​ xue yang & xiao xingchen ➤ gasoline

WEN KEXING || GASOLINE

Wen Kexing ✘ Zhou Zishu || Dandelions

Play With Fire - Wen Kexing

TOXIC ~ Wen Kexing ~ word of honor ~ 山河令

(Marvel) Bucky Barnes | Free

Bucky Barnes | Feeling Good

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier || Next Level ft. @7kingZ​ || (Marvel)

Eternity looking down on us.

The complexity of reality.

Captain America

✗ The Crows | Trouble (Shadow&Bone)

Shadow & Bone | Paint It Black

The secret fate of all life.

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

January

A Better Version - Jessie Shelton

Start a War - Klergy, Valerie Broussard

Meet Me in the Dark - Melissa Etheridge

ily - Surf Mesa, Emilee

Space Man - Eurielle

To Be Loved - Aurora

In the Blood - Darren Korb

Can’t Help Falling in Love - Tommee Profitt

Astronomical - SVRCINA

Oh Comely - Neutral Milk Hotel

In This Shirt - The Irrepressibles

goblincore + cottagecore

moonlit love letters 🌙💌 (sailor moon-inspired lofi mix)

Moonlight Densetsu Lo-Fi Remix 1 hour version

Peaceful Meditation

February

Never Forget You - Zara Larsson

Is You Ready - Migros

Recomposed Four Seasons - Max Richter

The End - JPOLND

Love Yourself - Sufjan Stevens

Deja | Daniel Roure

Used To Like | Neon Trees

Material Boy - Sir Sly

Willow - Taylor Swift

Overture - Apashe

Evangeline - Josh Garrels

Gris, pt 1 - Berlinist

Inferno - Hiroyuki Sawano

March

BAMBAM - Angie

Dictator - Rei Ami

Demons - Hayley Kiyoko

Runaway - Rei Ami

Deep Blue - Marcus Warner

Brave New World - Kalandra

Nero - The Speed

The Path of Silence - Anne Sophie Versnaeyen

Tuleloits - Kerli

Soft to Be Strong - Marina

Relic - Reeder

Ascension - Gorillaz

Will You Follow Me Into the Dark - Klergy

Voidfish (Plural) - Rachel Mitchell

Raya and the Last Dragon soundtrack

Unicorn Wizard - Ninja Sex Party

Me Too - Meghan Trainor

Umbrella - Rihanna

Colors Flying High - Lollia

Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There - Lyn

lovely - khalid

Burn My Dread - Lotus Juice

Progress - The Dear Hunter

My Mother Told Me - Rachel Hardy

Savage Daughter - Sarah Ross

Four - Sleeping At Last

April

The Other Side - Amarante

Predator & Prey - Griffin Puatu

As the World Caves In -Matt Maltese

Tell Her I Wasn’t Scared - Dan Thiessen

Esmeralda - Adriel Genet

Woods - AfterInfinity

So Human of You - Shireen

Flags of Rome - Jesper Kyd

Do It All the Time - I don’t Know How But They Found Me

Hummingbirds - Venus Hum

On and On - Curtis Harding

Grand Escape - RADWIMPS

my ex’s best friend - machine gun kelly

Sofia - Clairo 

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Charlotte Lawrence

Next Level - 7KingZ

Tell Me - Johnny Jewel

Get Out of Town - Firefles

Music for Anglo Saxes

I See Darkness In You - Red Mecca

Satan Is His Name - Holly Golightly

Rocky Trail - Kings of Convenience

Story - NF

Because the Night - 10,000 Maniacs

Use to Be (L.O.V.E.) - Chelsea Collins

Bird on a Wire - Simone Istwa

Huzzah - Nathan Barr

POSTED FIC

January

gonna make you feel, boy | Hades | Megaera/Thanatos/Zagreus | 1,101 words | “You can touch, you know,” she murmurs, satisfaction and anticipation warring within her. Her pulse pounds. Zagreus’s eyes have darkened, his pupils eating up all that color. He looks good enough to eat.

February

how long do we have? | She Ra | Adora/Catra | 1,539 words | “The war is over, Adora,” Catra tells her. Adora hums. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

March

only fools rush in | The Adventure Zone | Taako/Magnus | 5,209 words | “Okay,” Taako says, sitting down heavily. “So. Ancient ritual to… bring people together?”

til my lungs both billow out | The Magnus Archives | Jon/Martin | 748 words | The knife goes in. The tape runs out.

the echo, as wide as the equator | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 2,927 words |  “Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying whispers after it is done.

April

N/A

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

January

1685 words of Buzzfeed Unsolved, tattoo AU

February

N/A

March

3121 words of Magnus/Taako, Stolen Century verse Posted!

April

852 words of Steve/Billy

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

January

got the morbs: sad/somber songs for sad/somber people

2021: a mix for the year that comes after 2020

Sahara Baby: a mix for songs that sound like Spanish Sahara

Fire Baby: a mix for songs that sound like Play With Fire

Consequences Baby: a mix for songs that sound like Consequences

Paradise Baby: a mix for songs that sound like Paradise Valley

Real Boy: a Zagreus playlist

February

N/A

March

only fools rush in: a taako/magnus playlist

pomegranate seeds: a persephone playlist

make them bow: a megaera playlist

fuck feelings: a taako playlist

til my lungs both billow out: a jonmartin playlist

April

i am my mother’s savage daughter: a playlist for the girl

[pacifistofpatience]

okok. pirate au. what are the boys doing? which ones are actual pirates and which are privateers/navy/work on land/etc? what are they doing on the ship? i love your writing!!

((AGhskh skd I just... I just started and couldn't stop... I dont know what happened but inspiration hit so I’m hoping I can finally get back into the swing of things))

Undertale:

Sans

A simple land worker hired by the Navy to keep a look out for any incoming ships. Has a pretty nice set up right at the edge of the sea and naps at his station more often then not. Hasn’t been fired because he’s somehow still on top of his job and a fully capable member. Hangs out at the local bar on his days off and makes some good money telling jokes and making others laugh. He puts every bit of it into Papyrus, believing that no matter what his lil bro will make his dreams come true!

Papyrus

What a sweetheart! A real charmer and beyond kind! A lot of people humor him when he announces that he wants to be part of Navy but none of them believe that he’s capable to fighting both the harsh seas and Pirates because of how soft he is. It’s a little... disheartening every time he goes to train with Captain Undyne but never seems to change her mind. Until one day he decides that, if the Navy wont have him then he’ll make his own Navy instead! And thus begins the adventures of Papyrus!: The skeleton that “borrowed” a Navy vessel in the dead of night and very much insists he’s part of his own branch of the Navy that he totally didn't just make up. Wheres the Navy, despite his protests, insists that he’s a Pirate. Gains quiet the crew on his adventures. Sightings of his (Slightly vandalized) Navy ship at sea are considered good luck, and he’s always willing to help those in need.

Underfell 

Red

A conman, a thief, and a lone wolf. Separated from his “asshole” of a brother at a young age when the call of the sea was too strong and he had very a narrow view of the world. Now that he’s grown he’s struggling to reconcile with the fact that he seriously fucked up and is desperately searching for the little brother he left in the cold years ago. Of course he won't have to look far because...

Boss

...The Navy is right on his tail! And who else is the Captain of the entire fleet then the bother Red abandoned years ago! At the beginning of the chase neither of them know who the other is but after a face to face encounter where Red almost didn't survive he’s left struggling to reconcile a lot of conflicting emotions. Should he be angry that the brother he thought died years ago left him? Should he just be happy to see him again, albeit on the other side of the law? What about his duty's? Of course he’s enraged, but then... why had he let Red escape? 

Underswap

Sky

A barkeep with an itching for adventure! He tries to deny it and be an honest monster but there are times where he’ll look out to the sea and sigh with this deep longing. One day... just maybe...

Pappy

A lighthouse keeper. He loves his job, it keeps him busy throughout the day and he gets to help those at sea. Secretly a fantastic map maker as well, using the stars as his guide. He becomes second in command when sky finally finds the call too strong, and learns that he has a fantastic sense of direction as well (But only when he’s at sea, it seems that it never translates over to land quite as well)

Swapfell

Black

Captain of one of the most feared pirate ships. A surprisingly fair and just leader of a ship that holds only the most loyal of crew members. At one point he was a high ranking Captain of A navy fleet but... something that he refuses to mention caused him to defect. He refuses to tell but maybe if you get Rus in the right mood he might give you a few snippets of Blacks story.

Rus

A good luck charm to Blacks crew. It seems that whenever he’s around the Seas are always calm and the weather is perfect! The crew treat him as their personal mascot and love him dearly. He’s typically a very quite monster, but after a few drinks will become a little bit more rowdy and opened with the others, even opening up about his life before and his time in the Navy with Black. He’ll weave tails of drunken nights and long forgotten escapades and.... and stars he never... never meant to... to kil--- but they were.... She was so young... his own crew members were-- he had to--

Horrortale

Jup 

An old tale. Passed down through generations about the dangers of bad seas and the dangers of the weather. Was part of an old Navy crew for a while as a look out that went out to sea once and... never came back. The waters became too much and the Captain of the ship was far too cocky. In the end the ship crash into a deserted island. A lot of crew members died and He was left with a horrid crack in his skull that messed him up pretty badly. What was left of the crew that survived... had to do unspeakable things in order to survive. By the time they figured out a way off the island all that was left was him and his brother. They sail as a crew of two, constantly at sea searching for shipwrecks and hoping that others never have to succumb to the horrors they did.

Mars

After the whole ordeal at sea has grown to become a surprisingly stable individual. His teeth are a little wrecked but he’s learned how to right them himself and is a great makeshift Doctor. Whenever he and his brother find someone at sea he’s the first to tend to the survivors and dose a great job at healing them while Sans hands out supplies. Typically people are terrified of both of them at first- often thinking they’re Death coming to take them away- but eventually they gain a reputation as Saviors of the Sea. Often they're passed off as myths, but to those who've met they first hand they're Heros.