#I think Ves may be my only straight character? I just realized that

[captain-of-silvenar]

Kerasil vs Faith

I asked my guild again for a topic to write, and @yffresbeard​ suggested what my OC’s relationship to their faith was and how their adventures might’ve affected it, if at all.

And it got me thinking, because it is kind of a huge deal to my characters (at least two of them)

I was wondering if I should just write this for one of my characters. But then I realized this is my blog and I’ll just write it for both of my characters that this will relate to.

The first on the chopping block is Kerasil Oakvine, and the simple faith she has that became her cornerstone via a series of events that may or may not have happened?

I do not know if Kerasil is my Vestige, but she certainly is my main character in ESO that I play every quest with. I have a whole story with her that is straight and without the greater plot of ESO. She never gets deeply involved with world ending plots, nor Daedric Princes, or anything more threatening than the Three Banners War.

But also maybe she has.

I haven’t read deeply into Dragon Breaks, but my understanding is that a catastrophic or powerful event has caused time to just break (hence the name) and it is no longer linear. It is fluid, piling all at once, or none at all, in multiple places, in a hideous puddle.

With this in mind, I have imagined that somewhere in this Dragon Break Kerasil is the Vestige. That she has experienced every side of this war, every quest, every event, all at once. Yet that hasn’t really changed the core of her character.

I’ve mentioned in other posts she is a strict Green Pact follower. That follows in every aspect of her life, how she interacts with people and events. It is the literal foundation of her being so she takes her faith very personally.

She understands that not everyone follows it as close as her, that there are some who bend the rules a little bit. And that’s fine, those are other people with their own relationship with it. But Kerasil, especially if she is the Vestige, relies on her faith to guide her in which actions are the most reasonable.

A core tenant of the Green Pact is to not kill wastefully. This extends to both hunting for food, and for warfare. It is difficult for Kerasil to keep to this tenant during the Three Banners War and it is because of this that she chooses death only as a last resort.

Both in-character and in-game, Kerasil will always choose the option to spare if she truly believes the person will honor her mercy to change for the better. It is wasteful to take a life just because it might be easier. In all her travels as the Vestige, choosing death did not solve anything. It only caused more grief, more sorrow, more troubles, more pain and suffering, and for what?

And choosing to spare people did not change much either in the course of her adventures, but it was one less dead person. If it came back to bite her in the ass, she took responsibility for it.

Every time she begs for a person to reconsider, to realize the error of their ways, to submit to justice and trial instead of the chopping block is her holding tight to her belief and the idea that people can change.

Change will always happen. It is the driving force of life. A story does not advance or have meaning without conflict or differences. It is what one does with it that matters and Kerasil tries very hard to hold tight to the idea that people can be better. But she is no pacifist, and she understands there are those who desire to do harm, to not change from the path they have set for themselves, and she is not one to back down or cower from it.

No world ending events, no super villain backed by the power of a Daedric Prince, no undercover plots of assassination, or any variety of chaos that Tamriel throws at her will not change her connection to her faith because it is her armor and bones.

She was born and made from the story Y’ffre sang of her. She was placed here and fought for her position as Captain and Protector. If Y’ffre sang her into her destiny to become a Vestige and break all timelines to be everywhere all at once and a Hero to All? Then Kerasil would charge right into the thick of it with that banner held up high.

And if the unique circumstances of losing her soul and regaining it gave her demi-god like power? Then she would call herself a Champion to Y’ffre as that is what she truly desires in life.

And to end it on a semi-comical note:

Very few Princes scare her now. She knows the risks and power they have, but it certainly loses its edge when you’ve personally punched at least 3 of them with your own fist. So now most relationships with them look like this.

(get it? it’s because she’s so short)

[haledamage]

OTP Meme

tagged by @rannadylin :D thank you, dear! I’m not tagging anyone this time, but if you want to do this please do and tag me back so I can see it!

—

Bold What Applies

Italicize What Somewhat/Sometimes Applies

Ves/Aric

height difference | mutual pining | first kiss | first love | wedding | in-jokes | lgbt+ | family disapproves | friend disapproves | would die for each other | fake relationship | arranged wedding | cuddlers | pda friendly | and they were room mates | holding hands | secret relationship | opposing worldviews | opposing personalities | opposing goals | getting a pet | have kids (eventually) | want kids | grow old together | relationship failures | rests head on shoulder | share a bed | token dummies | relationship doubts | they have a song | first date | share a jacket | sharing a blanket | mutual interests | study buddies | bathing together | crash into hello | accidental nudity | laundry | same hobbies | cooking for each other | big fancy gala | sibling rivalry | hair stroking | dancing | laying in the grass | watching stars together | watching the other sleep | shared values | friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | lovers to enemies | childhood friends | slow burn | love triangle | toxic relationship | sitting on each other’s laps | can’t be together | hugs | forehead touches | neck kisses | car/motorbike rides | compliments | nicknames | falling asleep together | late night talks | gifts

Kai/Aloth

height difference | mutual pining | first kiss | first love | wedding | in-jokes | lgbt+ (Kai and Aloth are both bi) | family disapproves | friend disapproves | would die for each other | fake relationship | arranged wedding | cuddlers | pda friendly | and they were room mates | holding hands | secret relationship | opposing worldviews | opposing personalities | opposing goals | getting a pet | have kids (Vela) | want kids | grow old together | relationship failures | rests head on shoulder | share a bed | token dummies | relationship doubts | they have a song | first date | share a jacket | sharing a blanket | mutual interests | study buddies | bathing together | crash into hello | accidental nudity | laundry | same hobbies | cooking for each other | big fancy gala | sibling rivalry | hair stroking | dancing | laying in the grass | watching stars together | watching the other sleep | shared values | friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | lovers to enemies | childhood friends | slow burn | love triangle (if you count Iselmyr) | toxic relationship | sitting on each other’s laps | can’t be together | hugs | forehead touches | neck kisses | car/motorbike rides | compliments | nicknames | falling asleep together | late night talks | gifts

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hello! i hope you have a happy holidays!! just a question: do you know any good crossover fics? :0 thanks so much! 🥰

Hi Nonny!! 

Thank you! My holiday season was great <3 Sorry for the delay on the reply, but your ask was a great one because I’ve wanted to do an update list to my “movies and books” list, so I’m updating it to just “crossovers” because I have more to add and that makes me happy!! 

This list ended up getting split across two asks, so for this one, this list is all my bookmarked fics. A part 1.5 with my MFL’s is coming shortly with another ask, and I ask y’all hold off to add your own suggestions to that list instead, please :) Thank you!

CROSSOVERS and FUSIONS (Feb 2021) Pt. 1

See Also:

Fairy Tales and Fantasy

TV, Movies, and Books AU (Fantasy Pt. 2)

Wonderful Life AU

Sherlock / Hannibal Crossovers?

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Faes / Faeries

Disney-esque Fics

Moulin Rouge AU

Crossovers & Fusions Pt.1.5 [MFLs]

It's After That Hurts by jonnyluvssherlock (T, 2,791 w., 1 Ch. || City of Angels AU || Fantasy, Fallen Angel Sherlock, Soldier John, Pining Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, Permanently Incomplete Fic) – Sherlock's an angel stuck as a guardian to danger addict John Watson. Everything is fine until he gets too involved. Now he has to make the choice, eternity alone or one life time with a man who may or may not love him.

Caffeine and Adaptive Programming by DemonicSymphony (E, 5,540 w., 1 Ch. || Androids AU / Bond Fusion || Android Sherlock, Coffee Shop AU, Pining John Hinted Bond / Q, Toplock) – Sherlock is a coffee shop android slowly falling for a regular customer. But he's not supposed to be able to feel emotions.

Captain John Watson, Genetics, and Other Crazy Things by cyerus (M, 5,581 w., 1 Ch. || Torchwood Crossover ||  Humour / Crack, Jealous Sherlock, Sexual Magnet John, Captain John, UST / RST, Three Continents Watson) – The explanation for John "Three Continents" Watson? Jack Harkness is his father. Sherlock doesn't know whether he's going to die from jealousy or sexual frustration first.

The Frost Child by twistedthicket1 (M, 9,994 w., 2 Ch. || Frozen-ish AU || Magical Realism, Christmas, Angst, Fluff, Powerful John) – In a world where people are born with a Gift of varying levels, simple John Watson is the last person one might look at when thinking of any strong Magick capabilities. Hiding comfortably in the shadow of Sherlock's brilliant deducing abilities, John is content to keep it that way...

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalized Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

Equilibrium by augustbird (M, 12,351 w., 1 Ch. || Flowers for Algernon Fusion || Jealous then Worried Sherlock, Sick John) – At Baskerville, John is infected by a virus that turns him into a genius. But when the infection progresses into neurodegeneration, it's a race against time to save himself.

The Nutcracker by Odamaki (T, 13,758 w., 7 Ch. || Nutcracker AU ||  Christmas, Dark Magic, Dolls) – Sherlock is unimpressed with Uncle Rudy's present. A doll? What does he want with a doll?

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

Uncharted Territory by J_Baillier (T, 19,603 w., 4 Ch. || Dystopian Future / Black Mirror AU || Alternate First Meeting, Angst, Drama, Homophobia, Bisexuality, Technology, Humour, Romance, Near Future, Happy Ending) – The System puts people through a series of assigned relationships in order to determine who their Perfect Match is. John believes that it works; Sherlock really, really doesn't. One of them is probably going to be wrong.

Once Upon a Beast Becoming by antietamfalls (T, 24,042 w., 6 Ch. || Beauty and the Beast AU || Magical Realism, Folklore, Celtic Mythology) – An act of pride, a druid’s curse, an enchanted leaf; Sherlock’s torment has lasted an age. Hope arrives in the form of one John Watson, a man uniquely suited to break the spell. But with a single night to win his affections, Sherlock finds his carefully laid plans disrupted by a monstrous killer whose sights are set on the only thing he has left to lose: John.

Classified(s) by blueink3 (E, 36,153 w., 4 Ch. || Wedding Date AU || Fake Relationship, Jealous, PIning, H/C, Idiots in Love, Happy Ending, Mary is not Nice, Escort Service) – Clara's American father is the ambassador to some such territory that Great Britain probably used to own, but she (and Harry’s undying love for her) is the reason John is getting on a flight at 12:30pm, flying across the second largest ocean in the world, and pretending to be in a perfectly happy, healthy relationship with an undoubtedly perfectly coiffed stranger. See, Clara is not only American (and wealthy to boot), she's also best friends with John’s ex-fiancée. Whom she's placed in the wedding party. As Maid of Honor. And John just happens to be Best Man. Bloody brilliant.

The Boy Who Drank Stars by kinklock (E, 36,157 w., 4 Ch. || Howl’s Moving Castle AU || Witches and Wizards, Slow Burn, Magic, Jealous John, Happy Ending, Bed Sharing) – “I’m looking for a castle,” John informed the scarecrow. “A moving one.”Except that, as it turned out, it was not a moving one at all.

we have never seen a greater day than this by Lediona (T, 36,420 w., 7 Ch. || A Royal Night Out AU || WWII / VE Day, Prince Sherlock, Soldier John, Alternating POV, First Kiss, Bittersweet Ending, Homophobia, Dancing) – Peace. At long last. It’s VE Day and Prince William desires to join the celebrations. It is a night of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance.

Malediction by MapleleafCameo (M, 36,680 w., 11 Ch. || Ladyhawke AU || Magical Realism, Romance, Curses, Eventual Happy Ending) – Cursed to a half-life, John and Sherlock must fight the forces of evil to be reunited once again.

Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

The Curious Adventure of the Drs. Watson by ShinySherlock (M, 40,883 w., 14 Ch. || BBC & ACD Fusion || Victorianlock, Time Travel / Magical Realism, Friends to Lovers, Love and Kissing, Romance, Body Swap) – What if ACD Watson and BBC Watson switched places...  “Imposter!” Hands clenching the lapels of John’s coat, Holmes shoved him anew. “Yes!” John agreed, nodding, and then grimacing. “Sort of!”

The Soul Remembers by i_ship_an_armada (E, 43,636 w., 10 Ch. || Oblivion AU || Post-Apocalypse, Movie Fusion, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure, Angst, Dreams, Bittersweet Ending) – John Watson is the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. His dreams are plagued by a tall, dark-haired man, and when his dreams meet reality, he will be forced to question everything he believes is the truth about his life.

Anchor Point by trickybonmot (E, 49,856 w., 80 Ch. || Truman Show AU || Psychological Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Dark Characters / Fic, Alternating First/Third Person, Protective John, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Tender Moments, Love Confessions, Hand/Blow Jobs, Cuddling, Jealous John, First Kiss/Time) – The world tunes in nightly for Sherlock, the ultimate in reality TV: Sherlock Holmes, a real person with a legendary name, unknowingly lives out his life in a staged setting contrived by his brother. Things get complicated when a retired army doctor joins the show to play the part of Sherlock's closest friend. This fic borrows its concept from the 1998 film, the Truman Show. However, you don't need to have any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this story.

Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w., 26 Ch. || Dollhouse AU || Case Fic, Slow Burn, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, First Kiss / Time, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF John, Falling in Love) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”

floating through a dark blue sky by Lediona (M, 58,966 w., 15 Ch. || Notting Hill AU || POV John, Celebrity Sherlock, First Date / Time / Kiss, Past Drug Addiction, Angst with a Happy Ending) – Of course, I’d seen his films and always thought he was, well, brilliant -- but, you know, a million miles from the world I live in. Or, when John is the owner of a travel book shop and the famous Sherlock Holmes stops in one day.

Perdition's Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w., 21 Ch. || Treklock AU, Est. Rel, Genetic Engineering, Angst & Fluff, BAMF!John) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe

This Thing All Things Devours by cypress_tree (E, 63,844 w., 15 Ch. || In Time AU || Science Fiction, Dystopian Universe, First Meetings, Action / Adventure, Romance) – In 2169, time is money—literally. Humans are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25, when the numbers on their arm start counting down from one year. When that time is up, they die. The only way to get more time is to earn it, borrow it, or steal it.John Watson lives day-to-day in the crowded slums of Zone 13. He never imagined living any differently—until he meets the practically-immortal Sherlock, and helps him on a case to track a local time-thief...

Being John Watson-ish by elwinglyre (E, 69,902 w., 17 Ch. || Bodysnatcher AU || Author John, Cranky Sherlock, Angst, Sexual Tension, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love, BAMF John, Past Soldier John, Feelings, Inside Someone’s Brain, Shy Sherlock, Sherlock Loves John, POV Sherlock, Switchlock, Slow Burn, Internal Dialogue, Mental Turmoil) – When consulting detective Sherlock Holmes steps on one toe too many at a crime scene, he's consigned to a desk job in an archaic office on the seventh-and-a-half floor of the New Scotland Yard. It’s in this bleak office that Sherlock discovers a portal into the mind of renowned author John Watson. Grander than his mind palace, this new wonderland affords Sherlock new vistas of experimentation. To learn more about the mystery behind the portal, Sherlock seeks out and befriends Watson. But then it all goes wrong when others find the secret portal door—including the man whose brain he visits.

The Baker Street Nativity by SwissMiss (E, 99,662 w., 23 Ch. || Nativity! AU || Teacher Sherlock / TA John, Pining, Sherlock POV, UST, Angst, Christmas, Music/Song Fic, Anal / BJ’s, First Kiss / Time) – Fusion between Sherlock (BBC) and Nativity! (2009 movie starring Martin Freeman). Sherlock is a primary school teacher and John is assigned to be his classroom assistant. Together, they are charged with putting on the school's Nativity play. What could possibly go wrong? Part 1 of The Baker Street Nativity Verse

The Cost of a Wish by slashscribe (E, 102,493 w., 12 Ch. || xxxHolic Fusion || Spirits / Ghosts and Magic, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Soul Mates / Fated Lovers, Adventure, Immortal Sherlock, Powerful John, POV John, Frottage, Wish Granting, Angst with Happy Ending, Nightmares) – John has been plagued by a secret his entire life that has made him feel hopeless until he meets a mysterious, seemingly omniscient man named Sherlock Holmes who owns a wish-granting shop. Their meeting sets off a series of inevitable events that will change the course of both of their lives forever.

The Swan Triad Series by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Lake AU || Magical / Fairy Tale AU, Romance, Falling in Love, Pining, Psychological Torture, Transformation) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers' attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer.

Colors by Quesarasara (E, 140,537 w., 17 Ch. || Pleasantville-Inspired AU || Soulmates, Colour Bonds, Alternating POV, Angst, Fluff, Pining, Case Fic, Medical Procedures) – Everyone on earth is born with eyes that see in black, white, and an endless series of greys. When you meet your soulmate, you finally see the world in color. We're all searching for the person who brings color to our lives. John and Sherlock are no exception. Part 1 of The Colors 'Verse

Mise en Place by azriona (M, 161,004 w., 28 Ch. || Restaurant (Kitchen Nightmares) AU || Sherlock is Gordon Ramsay / Celebrity Sherlock, Restauranteur John, Harry Plays Prominent Role, Alternating POV, Mutual Pining, Cranky Sherlock, Bed Sharing, Slow Burn) – John Watson had no intentions of taking over the family business, but when he returns from Afghanistan, battered and bruised, and discovers that his sister Harry has run their restaurant into the ground, he doesn't have much choice. There's only one thing that can save the Empire from closing for good – the celebrity star of the BBC series Restaurant Reconstructed, Chef Sherlock Holmes. Part 1 of Mise en Place

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court. Part 1 of the Care And Companionship series

[polaristranslations]

Nadeko Eye Level

000

"By the way, Sengoku. Those bangs of yours that you grew out--and of course I mean they grew out in a good way--but doesn't it hurt?"

"It, i-it, i-i-it, it doesn't hurt at, a-a-at, a-at, at all?"

The one who responded to my exceedingly eloquent question was none other than my sister's friend, Sengoku, whose agitation was all but natural at this point--she had an expression that looked like a caricature of agitation, and her way of record scratching on the first sound of her sentence was a technique that followed the fundamentals, although scratching towards the end of the sentence was a novel sort of fade-out.

What was she, a DJ?

Though her posture was that of a kabuki actor--an unexpected blend of East and West.

"It's not like I grew them out to hide the third eye on my forehead or anything..."

"No, that's not what I meant by it 'hurting'...[?] I was just wondering if the tips of your hair would get into your eyes and poke at them."

For someone like me, who sometimes had the eyesight of a vampire, it wasn't really necessary for me to dramatically improve my eyesight, but it wouldn't really be funny if I lost my eyesight because of my hairstyle.

Although, a Sengoku in glasses wouldn't be bad.

"There's nothing to worry about there. It's true that the ends of my hair can taper off a bit, though."

"Are you talking about a shaggy haircut? You sound like an artisan."

"But I like to walk with my eyes closed so that they don't poke at me."

Rather than an artisan, this made her sound like an expert.

Hold on, you close your eyes?

Even now? Behind those bangs?

"Well, even if the ends of my hair didn't get into my eyes, just by being alive, your eyeballs will start to deteriorate over time. In that case, I think it's better to not misuse my eyesight, and instead keep my eyelids closed and fresh normally so that I only use them when I absolutely need to."

Misusing eyesight (shiryoku)... She said it like one would say misusing political power (kenryoku).

I've heard of athletes reading books, watching TV, or playing smartphone games only in moderation so as to take good care of their eyes, but to think that those bangs acted as a defensive wall.

In the first place, it was common knowledge that one grows hair in order to protect their head--so perhaps Sengoku's bangs were playing the role of goggles to protect her eyes from the sun's rays. Even the hat she wore low over her eyes was a sun visor, huh...

However, if you didn't use them at all, then by not using them, I felt like they would still deteriorate... Or rather, they'd degenerate.

Just look at those deep-sea fish that live in a world of darkness.

"I can't look at them. Because my eyes are closed."

"You got me there."

She sure showed me up[?], could have been the punch line I used, but why don't we continue the conversation for just a bit longer.

"In the first place, you're the type of person who does play games, aren't you?"

"I turn the screen off, and play with sound only."

That was a super-advanced way of playing.

If she could do that, then it seemed like she would be able to play without not only the controller, but without even the console itself--her eye level was at a high level.

"You know. The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes. You'd be able to see the world better if you looked with the eyes of your heart, Koyomi-onii-chan."

The eyes of your heart... I couldn't say it didn't sound even more shady than a third eye, but perhaps that depended on how you looked at it. Just with the eyes, that is.

Perhaps the eyes of my heart were too dull to take a straight look at the wise sayings of the little prince.

"I've seen too much of this filthy world, after all."

"That's so cool, Koyomi-onii-chan..."

Can you retort with something instead?

Can you not stare at me with those eyes sparkling like the stars, visible even through those long bangs?

That gaze was too radiant for me.

However, now that I realize it, saying that "you shouldn't judge people by their appearance" involves the premise that "we unconsciously like to judge people by their appearance", and I think that's something we should keep in mind. Especially since, at some point, the teachings started to become "it's not just etiquette that's important, but your personal appearance, too."

If you're going to be caught up by those misleads and feints, then it might be a valid strategy to just ignore your eyesight, and not look at all.

"That reminds me, the goddess of justice at courthouses is blindfolded while carrying scales, isn't she? In order to lay down fair judgments without being led astray by appearances..."

For those sorts of people who are at a poor station in life with the possibility of being brought to court for some crime or other, they may be thankful for this policy, but if possible, I would like for the courts to keep it in their hearts and not actually wear blindfolds during trials.

It's unthinkable (shingai) for someone to ascertain the truth with just the mind's eye (shingan).

Plus, aside from the defendant's appearance, can't you see your scales being tilted?

"They say that eyes speak louder than words, and that seeing is believing. Even with me having a reputation for having eyes on my back, I still think it's important to make frequent eye contact, Sengoku-uji. Or should I say, Kaga-Hyakumangoku-uji?[?]"

"You shouldn't make fun of people's names, Koyomi-onii-chan..."

Rather than a retort, I ended up just being admonished normally.

But if that was the case, then I would prefer you told Hachikuji that... But I guess they'd never actually come into contact before? Regardless, after being told that, especially after being told that by Sengoku, I had to apologize.

The act of teasing someone using their name can be as delicate as an eyeball.

In Sengoku's case, while her family name was just cool, her given name did seem like something she'd get teased for... I felt like, when I was in elementary school, I constantly asked about why it wasn't "Nadeshiko" instead.

Perhaps I'd poked at a trauma of hers--emotional scars are also invisible to the naked eye, after all.

For me, it would be that hellish spring break.

Though it was certainly a large cut, I wouldn't exactly call it precious to me.[?]

"Sorry, sorry. I'd like to apologize, including for the stuff I said in the past. If you could look the other way."

"Nadeko is sorry, too. It was a lie when I said that I grew out my bangs to preserve my vision."

"Well, of course."

"The truth is that I'm not good with making eye contact."

Rather than hiding my third eye, I was hiding my embarrassment.

That was what Sengoku said.

Because she'd been hiding something, I'd assumed it was something that was worth hiding, and mistaken it for some sort of valuable truth, but once I dug into it, it turned out to just be hiding her embarrassment--after having seen through it, it was quite the anticlimax.

The skilled hawk may not always hide its talons--it may not be talons (tsume), but dreams (yume).

And not dreams, but nightmares.

"When someone looks straight into your eyes and it feels like they can read your mind, isn't that scary? It's something that Tsukihi-chan often does."

It was true that that girl liked to look straight into your eyes without wavering.

You may as well call it, direct heat.

"It almost feels like my retinas are being scanned. Like all my personal information is about to be leaked. That's why I end up closing my eyes."

Thanks to my sister, such a cute girl ended up becoming the kind of character that uses her mind's eye... I couldn't help but feel responsible.

I couldn't turn a blind eye to this.

"All right. In that case, I'll be your eyes from now on. Just like Swimmy."

"Y-you don't have to go that far..."

I was rejected.

You could say that she was just looking at me from a distance, but my feelings were always looked down on with a bird's-eye view.

"It's hard making eye contact with my homeroom teacher, to the point that I want to wear sunglasses in class, but of course I can't actually do that, so I'm enduring it."

"So don't tell me, those bangs were actually the result of a compromise?"

There was nothing harder to get across than the endurance and compromise of someone that wasn't you... Just like the pain of being strangled by a snake.

"But, but, Koyomi-onii-chan, in the end, maybe the reason I isolate myself by not wanting to look at people's eyes is that I'm constantly looking into people's eyes. Because I was constantly aware of the gazes of others, I ended up thinking that maybe other people were aware of Nadeko's eyes, too."

That was, quite literally, an insight.

Or should I say, the focus of her attention was different.[?]

When you think that everyone thinks a certain way, it's usually because you're the one thinking it the most--when I thought that all my classmates considered me to be a dropout in school, it's because I was treating myself as a dropout the most.

It's the kind of self-contradiction where you're worried that someone set up a security camera, so you end up setting up your own security cameras. If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you--that is, if you're feeling that way, it's because you were gazing into the abyss.

Thinking about it, there was no way my smaller younger sister was staring into people's eyes in order to understand their feelings. It's because she loved herself to the point that she believed, without a doubt, that everyone else loved her, too.

In other words, she was a self-siscon.

"That's true. Rara-chan just turns on the direct heat towards the other person for no reason at all."

"Scary... My sister is scary..."

However, it was an extremely apt metaphor--after all, she was the advisor of Tsuganoki 2nd Middle School's Fire Sisters.

"This idea has been shelved for quite some time now, but originally, in Nisemonogatari volume 2, my lovable sister was supposed to have fallen into despair at the idea of justice and turned into a pyromaniac, setting fire to the abandoned ruins of the cram school. Just a side note."

"I, i-i-i-i, i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i, isn't that too much for just a side note?"

Her record scratching went so far that she almost sounded like a chicken.[?]

Allow me to call her, Chicken Nadekko (although, if I showed no signs of remorse from earlier, she was sure to get mad at me).

"After hearing that idea, I realized it's better to keep unseen things unseen... Let sleeping dogs lie."

"Oops. Once again, it appears my quick wit has come and gone.[?] It's been exposed, my knowledge.[?]"

Incidentally, while this idea was not used, it was carried over into Nekomonogatari (White)--in a sense, it was Hanekawa's calamity, her calamity of fire.

Perhaps she didn't see the light of day, but she saw the light of the fire.[?]

In conclusion, whether it's truth or deception or light or darkness or fire or water, or perhaps like oil and water or like oil to a fire, it's enough to look at with a wink.

"Right. Nadeko can't become like Tsukihi, who always says 'Look right into my eyes and speak', but I do think that I'd like to cut my bangs short someday. It's really hard being cursed because I had no idea about my friends' feelings or even my own feelings--it was too terrible to even look at."

In Nadeko's case, it wasn't the light of the fire that I saw, but snake eyes.[?]

Saying that, Sengoku turned her face downward, as if lowering a shutter--taking a wait-and-see approach for the looks of her downcast eyes, it didn't seem like those eyes, or rather, that day would come. But when the day comes that Sengoku did show her eyes as if she were rolling dice, if you asked whether a demon would show up or a snake would show up[?], then, well, of course what would show up would be a snake.

And they all lived happily ever after.[?]

[freckledmountain]

But I can try for your heart

By @freckledmountain for @kirbywritesstuff

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences 

Relationships:  Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man)

Summary:  

“Tony becomes Peter´s guardian.

It doesn´t go as badly as Tony thought it would.”

Anthony Edward Stark´s life had looked at words like normal, nice, easy and said “how about no”.

For as long as he could remember, there´d always been something. Terrorists, kidnappers, giant worm alien things, gods, life seemed to throw in anything and everything in it, and he was left reeling every time. Domestic life? Heck if he knew her.

…and then existence did a 180 again, and gave him the one thing he´d thought he´d never have.

Someone to take care of.

He´d liked the kid, right from the start, but getting attached to him was definitely not an option for him at first. Tony swore Peter literally had cartoony stars in his eyes whenever he looked at him, as if Tony deserved even a tenth of that adoration.

He didn´t want to be there when the kid realized how much of a failure his idol really was, didn´t want to imagine the inevitable moment that brightness would leave his eyes forever.

But it just showed how he didn´t really know who Peter Parker was back then, or rather, how darn stubborn he could be. A few months later and he was running around rescuing the kid from every possible mishap, desperately trying to keep him safe, ready to do just about anything to make him smile.

He grew on him, scaled the 30 foot long walls around his heart with his endearingly dumb t-shirt puns, his incandescent enthusiasm for technology, his 3 am rants about how fluffy some cat he´d seen was, his willingness to go out there and do his damn best to help anyone who needed it. Because when life threw dirt at Peter he stared back and smiled, and grew kinder for it.

Maybe Tony´s universe wasn´t just some practical joke, waiting to see what would trip him up next. He was terrified of breaking Peter, but after a brief period of trying to drive him away he realized the kid would just keep coming back, worming his way gently but firmly into Tony´s life without even meaning to.

And honestly?  After dozens of frantic calls to Cho as he held an unconscious Peter in his arms, lazy saturday mornings spent laughing his head off as the kid tried to flip pancakes as high as he could (he ended up getting a little too enthusiastic but no one noticed the half cooked pancake stuck to the ceiling for three days anyway so-), he realized all his doubts could go screw themselves, because no matter how badly Tony messed up, that light in Peter´s eyes hadn´t left once.

Peter was just bright, and sweet, and kind and yeah, maybe Iron Man had a soft spot now, but he wouldn´t change it for the world.

Peter was worth every night spent worrying about him, every Star Wars marathon, every “borrowed” hoodie that never quite made it back to his closet, because the kid was good, and every time he smiled he made Tony want to make the world into something good too.

Life was way more nerve-wracking when you cared for a smaller human, but he couldn´t help but think maybe it wasn´t all that bad either. Peter would always be worth it.

 And then on a day like any other May Parker´s heart failed her, and without a single warning, both of them were hurled straight into the impossible.

 Grief was…

blurry.

It made everything around you fade into spots of either red hot pain or complete numbness, and whichever one it was, you couldn´t escape it some days. He would know.

Peter dealt with it a hell of a lot better than Tony himself had done when he was 21, but he could still see himself there, mad and lost and so achingly confused, filled with screaming questions no one could possibly give answers to.

Peter cried. He went out as Spiderman, returning later and later, screaming at Tony when he tried to get him to stay. He didn´t know what to do anymore, didn´t know how to get to him.

May´d loved her nephew above all things. If there was one thing Tony was absolutely certain of in this new swirling world of legal papers and sobs masked with yelling and mixed feelings, it was that from now on, he´d have to do the same.

He´d been sitting in that plastic chair for four hours, barely moving, when someone came barreling in.

He stood up quickly, knowing immediately who it was, trying to make enough sense of the half-finished speech at the tip of his tongue to say it out loud. “May.I´m-“

“Don´t.”

That shut him up.

Firm footsteps resonated on the tiled floor as she came up closer to him. He expected her to scream at him like she´d done all those months before when she´d found out about Spiderman, only now he´d gladly accept any other feeling that wasn´t the crippling guilt currently eating his insides. He´d fucked up, and Peter´d paid the price for it. He deserved every fragment of the storm coming his way.

Instead, May Parker stared at him for a long second, and the next she had her arms around him in a fierce hug.

“Thank you.”

Any coherent thought trying to find its way into his mind promptly disappeared after those two words. May spoke gently, but her stance was firm as she held him.

“You got to him in time. You saved him, and as soon as he gets better we´re going to go in and he´s going to see us and I´ll tell him off and it´s all going to be fine. Okay?”

“I didn´t-“

“You saved him. You did. I saw you running inside that building to get him, on the news. I know together you´ve got a guilt complex the size of Canada but Peter is going to be fine and what he needs right now is people who love him to be close, so we can save the misplaced sorry´s for when my nephew´s out of surgery, yeah?”

She pulled back slightly, and he could see his own fear mirrored in her eyes, but there was trust there too. And love. Love gentle enough to be all-encompassing. And for once, his guilt wasn´t enough to overpower how much he cared for the kid.

He loved Peter too.  

“How-how ‘do you even do this? How do you deal with wanting to protect him from everything, how do you just not- implode or something-?” He was a mess, but May just smiled through misty eyes and hugged him again.

“You learn. Welcome to parenthood with a teenager, where half of you wants to see him succeed and go further than you thought possible and then the other half thinks keeping him cooped up at home with fifty blankets and a gallon of ice cream is the best idea since ever”

Tony managed a short laugh at that. “But something tells me you´ll get the hang of it, Tony. Something tells me you´re going to love him no matter what, and that´s already the most important part done”

Those words came back to him whenever he felt he was doing more harm than good by deciding to adopt Peter.

It was a whole different level of delicate now, and his attempts at being a normal parent didn´t always end well, but Peter´s fierce hugs reminded him a little of someone else´s, and he held on to the hope everything could work itself out as long as they kept trying.

 Time runs strangely.

It can never quite mend the pain completely, but given it´s gentle enough, time can help.

The weird thing though, is how you can’t pinpoint the exact moment feeling okay doesn’t seem foreign to you anymore.

Maybe it starts when he takes the kid to school again and finds the note he packed in his lunch hung in Peter’s room a few days later.

Maybe it’s when he wakes up and realizes Peter slept through the night without a nightmare for the first time in weeks.

Or when he makes a particularly bad pun as he’s helping him with calculus homework and the kid laughs so much the tears running down his face don´t make him feel terrible for once.

…it could possibly be when Peter’s so sleep deprived one night he whispers a gentle “I love you” before drifting off, effectively making Tony blub like a baby once he´s sure the kid´s asleep.

And yes, there’re still bad days with screaming, and there’re still moments where he feels like the least capable human on earth for this job, but he just won’t give up, on either of them.

He vowed to try, didn´t he?  

It´s been 8 months since he took Peter in, and things he´d have never imagined doing are quickly becoming commonplace now. Packing lunches, helping with English essays, occasionally dragging his butt halfway across the city to save his kid from yet another weirdo in a tacky suit, not to toot his own horn, but he thinks he´s definitely getting the hang of it all now.

So it should all be chill when he finds out he´s going to attend the parent-teacher conference at Midtown in a few months, but oh look at that, he’s panicking.

As much as he tried sheltering Peter from it at first, word that Tony Stark had been seen with a teenager soon got round, and within a day every reporter in New York seemed just about ready to trade an arm and a leg for some more dirt on Ironman.

Fun.

Pepper´d dealt with the brunt of it, so it wasn´t as if the world didn´t know about Peter by now, but the thought of waltzing directly into the school when every pair of eyes would be fixed on both of them didn´t exactly make him want to skip in joy, see.

Then again, Peter was the smartest freaking kid in the whole school, and the thought of teasing him lightly in front of his teachers was…yeah, okay, he was pretty sure he could work something out.  

———————————————————————————

It was a beautiful Friday morning, they only had a few more teachers to go, and Tony was so glad he´d rescheduled three work meetings earlier this week to be here, because it was freaking glorious.

Peter was blushing bright red from all the compliments his teacher´s had told him all day. They were only allowed about 10 minutes to talk with each one, lots of kids and all that, but everyone had something positive to say about him.

Most teachers did a pretty good job of not letting a vein pop out of their forehead when they shook hands with Tony, but others seemed to have mini freak outs until they focused on Peter and regained their composure. He wasn´t at all surprised when they showed him Peter´s perfect grades, but God, he was proud.

He knew all the credit in raising Peter to be the wonder he was belonged to May and Ben, but he darn almost melted when Peter beamed at him as Mr. Del showed him a perfect test score in advanced chemistry for an exam he´d helped Peter study for a few months prior. Maybe he actually wasn´t screwing up at this parenting thing.

He knew the teachers were anxious when he asked questions (hey, he had no idea what a parent-teacher conference was like 3 months ago, he did his research), but they softened slightly whenever they turned to look at Peter.

He got it; the kid was pretty hard not to love.

Mr. Del was sitting across from them now, the man visibly nervous at being in front of Tony Stark, but smiling genuinely all the same as he talked about Peter´s work in class.

“There´ve been a few late assignments here and there, but nothing major in terms of academic development. I feel sleeping earlier could be a good idea though” Peter smiled sheepishly, probably remembering all the times Ned´ had to poke him awake in class after patrol got a little too long. Tony made a mental note to check up on it.

“His essay on analytical chemistry in an applicable field was particularly impressive” Mr. Harrington took out a thick cream folder, flipping through it until he came across Peter´s, “I showed it to some of my colleagues and it´s got some real potential. If you give some more thought to it, Peter, this could really make a difference.”

Peter´s ears were positively beetroot by now and he stuttered out a thank you, smiling. Tony felt about three seconds away from exploding with pride, but he just grinned at Peter, knocking their shoulders together gently. This, this right here was nice.

Peter´d worked hard for this, spending uncountable nights staying up late finishing projects or homework, studying for hours before an exam, still muttering formulas sleepily as Tony carried him up to bed.  

He might be Tony Stark´s adopted son (months of it and the word still made his heart go full on Speedy Gonzales when he thought about it, but in a nice way, in the best way), but he had no doubt in his mind Peter´s grades had definitely been earned by him fairly.

And later, when they´re having a celebratory pizza night/movie marathon, when he´s surrounded by a blanket fort and a kid that definitely does not have the right to make him feel as mushy as he does, he thinks back to when something like this seemed impossible, and smiles.

Life´s unexpected, alright.

Somehow, he thinks he loves it this way anyway.

(many virtual hugs to all of you!)

@friendly-neighborhood-exchange​

It´s also on my ao3

[maidenof-thesea]

Snakes & Butterflies | Part II

Pairing: Jimin x reader

Genre: Soulmate Au!, Fluff, Angst, Smut (Maybe, still debating)

Words: 2.9k

Warnings: None

Note: Here’s part 2 of my story, I hope you enjoy and understand that although Jimin has yet to come into the story, I hope you may find some of yourself in the character I am imagining and although BTS is important, I believe they would want us to value ourselves as much as we value them. 

The drive to San Ysidro was uneventful… I wish I could say that. My mom’s friend had always rubbed me off the weird way. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my mom took me to her once my Soulmate mark never appeared by the time of puberty, which is the latest it should have, in some rare cases. It was straight out of cult movie, people chanting, this random lady rubbing essential oils and raw eggs on me. That was enough to traumatize me as a child. I respect my mother’s culture but brujeria (witchcraft) is where I draw the line. My father took the more medical route, I had seen countless doctors and all could not tell my parents what was wrong, having no mark was unheard of, they were very rare cases. 

Miss Cassandra was the only one who could actually give my parents an answer. It is common knowledge that Marks are there just to guide people’s souls to one another and the rest is up to them. When my grandpa died, grandma’s mark started to fade, but it never completely faded away. Although my case is rare, Miss Cassandra told my parents that my Soulmate did not exist in this lifetime, that perhaps in my past life, I had sinned and now I was being punished. I rolled my eyes at the memory. She was such a witch, literally. Now here I am about to knock on her door.

“It’s about time you got here!” a small lady with long black hair whipped open the door, regarding me with annoyed eyes. “I’m trying to watch my novela! It’s not like Netflix, okay I can’t just pause it!”

“Hello to you too, Miss Cassandra '' I said entering in the small house and almost coughed with the smell of lavender and sweet lemongrass smell. Above the door hung some dried flowers, almost whacking me. “I love what you’ve done with the place very welcoming.”

“Haha, very funny” she said pulling my coat off and ushering me to her kitchen. “Hurry up I don’t have enough time for this. I have a cleansing to do in thirty minutes.”

“What another person with pink eye?” 

SMACK.

“OW!”

“Cállate!” she yelled. “You’re gonna wake up Miguel!” As if her yelling won’t. I sat on the bar stool and saw that she had already prepared all the ingredients for the henna tattoo.

“I don’t like that we’re appropriating Indian culture,” I muttered. 

“I don’t either,” she said stirring the mix. “But business is booming.” Great, consumerism trumps morals. Wait-

“Hold on,” I said in surprise. “What do you mean booming?”

“Ay Díos mio,” she exasperated. “You’re mother wasn’t kidding! It’s like you’re living under a rock! Do you really not watch the news?”

“Well I didn’t think it was such a big deal!”

“Of course,” she said rolling her eyes. “Those girls have all come to me for help.”

“Huh, did you tell them they were sinners too?”

“Of course not!” She said putting on gloves. “I said they were cursed.” 

“I love how nonchalant you are about all this.” I said as she wiped my arm down and began to apply the henna. 

“I’m being very serious, but I know you have a hard time believing me, you are your father’s child.” She said not taking her eyes off my arm. “You never told me why you always want this specific sword as a mark.”

“Besides the fact that you told me marks as weapons were rare,” I said averting my eyes from her family photos across the room. “Which they aren’t since I helped a couple with arrow tattoos yesterday, there’s not any other reason.”

“Arrows?” she said dapping the tool in more henna ink. “That’s strange…”

We fell into a comfortable silence and I let her continue to focus on her task at hand. My phone buzzed in my pocket and making sure she was focused, I pulled it out and sure enough, there was a message from Jungkook.

Jungkook [6:30 pm]: Hey noona, it’s me Jungkook. Is everything ok?

Me [6:32 pm]: Yes, I should be home around 7.

Jungkook [6:33 pm]: Okay, I’m making pasta. Let me know when you are on your way.

Me [6:35 pm] OK.

“Is that Jungkook?” Cassandra said as she stepped back to look at her handiwork. I was momentarily taken aback, but realized my mom must have already told her. “How did he take it?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“He knows,” Cassandra said already cleaning up the ink. “Take a look to see if you like it.”

“How do you know-” I stuttered in shock. “It’s fine, I don’t need to look and I’ll make some excuse, I’ll say that my mark was burned off too just like those girls.”

“Your scars are too old for that.” she said regarding me with pity. “Just tell him the truth.”

“I can’t.” I said with finality in my tone. I wanted this conversation to end. “I don’t need any more pity from anybody.”

“Ah you see, you say that, but that is not what you want.” She said sighing. “You may be able to fool your mother but you can’t fool me. Soy una bruja. (I’m a witch)”

“I’m not having this conversation,” I said standing up and getting my bag and coat, I pulled out a couple of twenties and placed them on the table. 

“Do not be afraid of fate, Y/N” she said placing the money back in my hand. “I’m not entirely sure why but there’s something different, a spark in your future.”

“So you can see the future now?” I said scoffing as I walked towards the front door. 

“You had a dream last night? About the past?” 

I stopped in my tracks. Feeling the color drain from my face.

“A dream that felt like a memory? But you don’t remember?” she said as she approached me from behind and when I refused to turn around, she continued. “Destiny always finds a way, no matter how hard you try to erase it.”

“Well,” I said shivering. “If destiny decides to come knocking on my door, I could tell it to fuck off.” Cassandra laughs and smacks me on the back, making me flinch. This woman hits me more than my own mother. 

“That is something you would say mija,” she said hugging me. “Promise me you won’t cry too much.”

“Huh?”

“Ve con Díos” she replies and closes her door, leaving me in confusion on her doorstep. 

“‘Don’t cry too much?’” I repeated softly to myself as I made my way back to my car, only to see a man leaning against my passenger side. Great. “Can I help you?”

The man looks up at me from his phone. He looked at me up and down and started to approach me but stopped when I reached into my bag. He holds his hands up.

“Hold on!” He says, “I’m not gonna hurt you, I just wanted to talk that’s all.”

“Well you can talk from there I can hear just fine.” I said clutching my taser in my hand.

“Are you Y/N?”

“How the hell-did you follow me here?!”

“NO!” He yelled. “God no! Look here look!” He pulls up his sleeve to his jacket and shows me his arm. Nothing. No soulmate mark. “I’m just like you.”

“Excuse me?” I said offensively. “What the hell do you know about me?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude. Let me explain.” He said pulling out his wallet, he pulls out a card and attempts to hand it to me. When I refuse to take it, he places it on the windshield wiper of my car. “My name is Minho. Lee Minho. I’m a professor at the University. I heard about your situation. I-”

My phone rings and we’re both startled and I quickly pull it out of my pocket and answer without checking. 

“Noona?” Jungkook says his voice laced with worry. “Where are you? It’s already ten minutes past seven.”

“Oh Kookie,” I say cooing even though my heart was beating rapidly. “Don’t worry, I just had to stop by for gas real quick. I’ll be there in 30.”

“Oh okay Noona” Jungkook says softly. “Drive safely okay?” I hum in response and he hangs up. 

“Okay bye babe! Love you!” I say as I hear the dial tone. I look back at Minho and he seemed a bit confused. “I don’t know what you are talking about. My Soulmate is waiting for me, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“I’m sorry,” He said moving away from my car. “But you are Y/N right?”

“I’m sorry but how in the hell-”

“Your father sent me here.” He said, “He said you would be here. He told me everything. If there’s somewhere more private you want to go to dis-”

“Look,” I said stepping up to him. “I don’t know why you think it’s appropriate to approach me like this but I am definitely not interested in what you have to say or offer and as a matter of fact you can forget that I even exist.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t do that,” Minho said with a hint of desperation. And with a shake of his head, he took a step back. “I didn’t want to meet you in these circumstances either, but I was just so curious and-”

“Look,” I said interrupting him. “I’m sure you have good intentions, but you are not the first man my father has pushed on me. You are the first to approach me this way though and trust me you are not making a good first impression.”

“But-”

“I have to go,” I said with finality, entering my car. “I have someone waiting for me.”

Instead of stopping me, Minho just watched me go. I sighed with relief once I got back on the highway. I would have to break so many laws just to make it on time and I was grateful that the traffic wasn’t too bad. Once I had a view of the cottage, I slowed down not wanting to scare the beach goers. My phone started to ring again and instead of Jungkook’s name like I expected, it was an unknown number. I answered and a deep gruff voice resonated from the speakers of my car.

“Why do you always have to disappoint me?” My father said with an eerie calm voice. 

“How did you get my number?” I responded back, clenching my hands on the steering wheel. “Mom pro-”

“Do you really think she had a choice in the matter?” 

“And do you think you have the right to decide she has no choice?” I scoffed. “You must have threatened to divorce her again. And you’re supposed to be Soul-”

“ENOUGH.” He all but roared and I flinched causing me to jerk the car. 

“I’m driving right now,” I said rolling my eyes. “So if you don’t mind, can we keep this conversation civil?”

“You’re gonna want to talk to this professor.”

“Why? Because he has money?” 

“His research-”

“So what now I’m gonna be a lab monkey for this guy?!”

“Y/N did you see his Mark?” He said calm once more, and when I said nothing, he continued. “He doesn’t have one either. Just like you.”

“What?” 

“Talk to him.” He said and the phone call was disconnected. I had managed to park on the driveway of the cottage. On my windshield, I could see the business card that Minho left. I felt my breath leave my lungs and I could feel tears starting to pool in my eyes. My thoughts were racing and it made me dizzy. I quickly got out of the car and made my way to the beach, not even going to the cottage. Thank goodness it was a short walk. Once I stepped onto the uneven sand I sat down and hugged my knees to my chest. I then proceeded to take deep calming breaths and once more I focused on the sound of the waves, willing myself to think logically and calmly. 

He doesn’t have a mark? Is he one of the victims too? Or was he really just like me? Did he never have one like me? And if so, what does that mean for me? Could it be possible that no mark could be a Mark?

“Is he my Soulmate?” I thought out loud. 

“Noona?” 

I jumped up from my position that I almost lost my footing, and strong arms caught me. Looking up, Jungkook was staring down at me in confusion and shock once he saw my tear stained cheeks. I quickly scrambled from his embrace and wiped my cheeks.

“Jungkook!” I said avoiding eye contact. “How did you-”

“Why are you crying?” Jungkook said cupping my cheeks in his hands. I felt my face get hot. “Is this about your Mark?”

“Let’s go inside,” I said tugging his hands from my face, but I held his hand as I led him back to the cottage. “Did you start the movie?”

“Y/N,” Jungkook said stepping his way in front of me, blocking the path. “Why were-”

“Just got off the phone with my dad,” I shrugged. It wasn’t exactly a lie. “The usual: ‘You are such a disappointment’, ‘You’re not my daughter if you are useless.’ The works.”

“I don’t remember him being like that,” Jungkook said, pulling me to a hug. I cleared my throat as I felt my face once again go hot. This boy was gonna give me heart palpitations. 

“People change,” I replied, wrapping my arms around him. “Like you. When did you get so tall! I still can’t believe you’re the same Kookie that used to pull on my pigtails.”

“Noona,” Jungkook whined and bent down to tuck his face in my neck. I felt myself stiffen and almost immediately he released me and started up the path to the cottage. I quickly followed, not wanting to be out in the cold anymore. I followed him inside and Luke Skywalker’s face was on the TV screen and I squealed and jumped onto the couch getting myself comfortable for the movie marathon. Jungkook comes back from the kitchen and hands me a bowl of pasta to which I hum in thanks, my eyes never leaving the screen. “People never really change.”

I looked at him and he was staring right back. I put the pasta down and grabbed the remote to pause the movie. We sat in silence for a bit. Yuki jumped onto the armchair across from us and was staring intently at me, almost as if waiting for me to speak up.

“Jungk-”

“Noona,” Jungkook says, “You don’t have to explain anything to me, if you’re not ready.”

“I-” I sighed. “Depends on what you want to know..”

“Since when?” He sighs. “How long has it been?”

You should tell him the truth

“If I tell you,” I say as I clench my fingers. “Will you promise not to look at me differently or walk on eggshells around me?”

“Noona,” Jungkook says, turning to face me. “Why would I look at you any different?”

I turn to look at him with incredulous eyes and his eyes shined with sincerity. It threw me off. I look back at Yuki who started to purr, almost as if to encourage me.

“Well when I hit pube-”

“No Noona,” Jungkook said with a sigh. “How long have you shut yourself off from the world?”

“I’m not sure I understand,” I said confused. “Why does that matter?”

“Seriously?!” Jungkook shouted, standing up. “Noona, why aren’t you acting like yourself? You were never one to hide, there’s moments where you seem like yourself but then you’re this completely different person-almost like your mem-”

He stopped abruptly almost if coming to a realization or as if he said too much. 

“Jungkook,” I said standing up as well, wanting to comfort him but not sure what to do. “You aren’t curious as to why I don’t have a mark? I mean that’s what everyone-”

“Noona,” Jungkook said almost exasperated. “Mark or not, you’re you. I know that life changes people, I understand that but you act as if you’re ashamed.”

“Kookie,” I said stepping back. “You have no idea what my life has been like.”

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook said covering his face. “You’re right, but I can’t but feel guilty-”

“Jungkookie,” I said rubbing his back. “You have no reason to feel guilty.”

“I’m sorry that we-that I wasn’t there for you.” Jungkook sighed as he wrapped his arms around me, using my head as a headrest. Normally I wouldn’t be comfortable with this amount of skinship, mostly because I never let myself get close to anyone besides my mom and Jennie. But with Jungkook, it felt so natural and I felt a sense of relief. “Jimin and I would have never let you hide…”

I felt myself stiffen with the mention of Jimin’s name, and I almost recoiled from him, almost as if my body felt a sense of shame. But why would I feel that way?

“Noona?” Jungkook said, cocking his head in confusion. “Are you-”

Jungkook’s phone rang, interrupting him as we both came to our senses. He quickly ran to get it from the kitchen table as I gathered Yuki in my arms, requesting cuddles from her. 

“Speaking of the devil,” Jungkook said, his voice laced with a hint of anger. He showed me his phone and ‘Jiminie Hyung’ was facetiming him. 

Prev / Next 

Masterlist 

[ai-katsuu]

Jack and Audrey 3/5

chapters: 1   2   3   4   5

previous       next

honestly average is such a great character though

----

The nine of them walked west for a few more miles. 

“So let me get this straight, you can control water? And you can make weapons out of them?” Arthur asked her. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” she nodded. 

“Could you make a gun?” Noki asked grinning. 

Audrey laughed, “That’s funny, me making a gun out of water!” she continued to laugh until her face turned serious as she put her hand under her chin as if in serious thought “Huh..” 

Snow and Hans were ahead of the group as they talked, leaving Merlin and Jack to chat. “So, did you save her life, or did she save yours?” Merlin asked. 

“A little bit of both,” he said honestly “I was brilliant as ever though.” a smug grin came to his face as he pulled his mirror out. 

“Your hands smell like the mucus of fish.” Hans pointed out from the front. 

“I did what I had to.” Jack sharply said as he side-eyed him.

The group came to a halt when they saw horses clopping towards them. “Is that..?” Snow squinted her eyes. 

“Hello, dwarves!” a funky voice sounded from the horse. 

“Horses can talk, I’ve seen it all now.” Audrey looked at it up and down. 

“No, over..here!” the horse moved sideways to reveal a small green dwarf with slicked-back gold haired. 

“Another dwarf? No...wait is that Average?” Merlin peered in. 

“Ah-ve-rahge!” he corrected. “Even when you’re human you’re still stupid.” he mumbled, 

“So you got cursed as well?” Jack asked him.

“Shut it!” he said in a high pitched voice, “This is only temporary and I will get my kiss! So, where’s that beautiful girl who was supposed to attend my party like, months ago?” 

“Uhh…” Snow looked sideways. 

Average then suddenly gasped, “It’s you!” he pointed directly at Audrey. 

“Er, have we met?” she cocked her head. 

“You still haven’t apologized for making it rain on my coronation!” 

Audrey put her fist above her palm, “Oh you’re that prince!” 

“You made me slip and made the crown land on a passing pig’s head! They jewels fell off and they could get it out because the pigs ate them! I have pig waste jewels on my head right now, apologize!” 

The nine of them looked at Audrey who crossed her arms and dully averted her gaze...before a small smile and snicker were on her face in the recollection of the event “Heh..” 

“Stop laughing!” he yelled. The others behind her laughed as well. Average grumbled “Fine! Have it your way, I know who you really are! I know what you did on May 28th! I know your true natur-” 

Audrey had uncapped her vials and pushed him off his horse and sent him flying in the distance. Popping them back on she noted “He talks too much,” this resulted in fits of laughter of the group as she joined in, feeling a little proud of herself. 

The sun was starting to set and they were near their destination already, however they thought that it would be nice to camp one more night as this was something they didn’t get to do often. They had set camp on a nice lake which Audrey assured it was not a demon-filled monster lake. 

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Hans looked around the green and lush flower field. 

Jack stared in awe “Where did you find this place?” 

“I like to wander around a lot, it’s my secret field.” 

The triplets, Snow, and Merlin ran around the field exploring while Jack, Audrey, Hans, and Arthur went inside the small cottage. 

It was homely and had a little water wheel just beside it. “This house is adorable!” Hans noted. 

“There’s a kitchen there so you can cook,” she smiled, to which Hans gave her a grateful look. 

“It’s just one room so we’ll all have to sleep in the same place. Is that okay?”

 “Yes!” Jack immediately replied looking at her. 

“Oh..” she looked back at him before letting out a small laugh “Okay, great.” she walked out of the door to check on the others. 

“Obvious…” Arthur sang. 

Audrey walked over to the triplets who were currently taking pictures of the flowers. To her right, she saw Snow making a flower crown for Merlin as they sat on the field. She couldn’t help but blush and smile at the action. Audrey decided to walk over to the lake and dip her hands in it. The water was cold, but it always relaxed her for some strange reason. 

“Audrey!” she turned behind her to see Snow walking towards her with something in her hands, Merlin a few steps behind her, wearing flowers on his head. “This is for you!” she presented her with a similar flower crown she had given Merlin. 

The action made Audrey’s heart warm-up, “Oh Snow..it’s beautiful thank you!” she put it on then thought for a bit. “I wish I could thank you somehow..” Audrey then turned to both of them “Have you guys ever been on a water slide?”

Moments later Snow, Merlin, and the triplets were having the time of their lives as they moved swiftly around the lake. Audrey had raised her arms and conducted the water as it moved in various directions, had loops, and occasionally made them free fall every now and then. Jack, Hans, and Arthur had heard the commotion had stepped outside the cabin just in time to see Merlin thrown up in the air only to land on Kio who threw him in the lake, causing them to laugh. 

Audrey saw them out of the corner of her eye and playfully moved her right arm towards them. The water from the leaked and slithered towards them and literally swept them off their feet. The joyous laughter as she brought them on the same slide made Audrey happy. Seeing people happy and content because of something she did was something she always looked for. It was usually with children but she helped the adults of nearby townsfolk too with her hydrokinesis. 

It was at this point where Audrey felt the urge to do something a bit selfish. Carefully, as her other hand was conducting the water slide, she moved her left hand and used her pointer finger to create a new, thinner slide which she had the current push Jack onto. The slide led to her side as he tumbled on the grass. As for the others, she sent the slide on autopilot to the far end of the lake, just enough to buy her time for a conversation. 

“What’s going on?” Jack laughed getting up. 

“I’m sorry your clothes keep getting wet cause of me,” she threw a worried smile. 

Jack shook his head, “It will, take some time to dry clean...but if it’s for your amusement then I suppose I can bear that,” he chuckled. 

“Aww you’d do that for me?” she sat down next to him. “Almost anything,” he said thoughtlessly.

“Whatcha say?” 

“Almost..!! Uh, nothing, forget it.” he said. Audrey laughed, the laugh that Jack was starting to find charming.

He finally started to realize the many reasons why he took a great liking to her in the matter of two days. She helped him with the fish proposal not even knowing who he was. And even when she did find out he was a hideous dwarf, that didn’t seem to bother her at all and offered to guide him through the forest. The first few months of the spell weren’t that easy. He had tried to talk to women as if he would normally but he was shunned out and they became disgusted to look at him. 

Meanwhile here she was, laughing with him normally as if he were human. 

‘No..’ he thought. ‘She’s with me regardless of who I am’. 

He didn’t know what came over him when he left this group and came to help her this morning. But he just had the feeling that he would be devastated if something happened to her. 

“You looked stupid when you said that,” she laughed as did he.

 That was another thing. She was able to be playful with him by insulting him even though she knew he was a prince. Everyone had always treated him with respect. Authorities were formal, the staff was uptight, ladies were changing themselves just to win his favor. Audrey...Audrey didn’t do any of that. She didn’t do anything to make him like her. Heck, she even threw him across the woods and doused him with water more times than he can count.

“I guarantee you the ugliest face I can make is still prettier than yours.” he crossed his arms. 

Audrey made an overdramatic gasp and it wasn’t that hard for her to tumble him over the grass. They burst into fits of laughter and Audrey too fell on the grass holding her stomach. 

Sitting up, she looked around “Jack?” he was nowhere to be seen, “Where did you go?” putting her hair to the side she scanned the field trying to point him out. Suddenly her something covered her eyes 

“Ahh!” 

“Shh shh, it’s just me,” he chuckled. He stood behind her, his hands over her eyes. 

“Using your cloak to deceive me? What a fox.” she smirked using her hands to feel his. 

“Well, it was worth it to see your reaction,” he shrugged “Who knew you were so jumpy.” 

“Watch it, your highness. I can still throw you into the lake blindfolded!” 

Jack laughed and then clapped his hands once. “Oh! Give me a second,” he removed his hands from her eyes and took something out of his pocket. 

Audrey opened her eyes only to have them covered once more. “What’s this?” she put her fingers up and felt a soft fabric. 

“A blindfold,” he simply said, “I use it as a handkerchief. Don’t worry I clean it as soon as I finish using it, but it's mostly just covered with the water you doused me in now.” he crossed his arms in amusement. 

Audrey giggled, “So you’re human now?” 

“Well, with or without the blindfold I’m still behind you.” 

“Think I could fight you like this?” 

Jack laughed, “I’d like to see that attempt.”

Not far off, the rest of the group had emerged from the lake, squeezing the water off their clothes. 

“Oh, look at the two lovebirds,” Arthur gestured. 

“Don’t look at them! He wants to be human for a bit!” Snow moved his head away. “Let’s go inside, leave them be!” she excitedly said. 

“Well aren’t you little miss cupid,” Merlin said as Snow giggled. 

Night had overtaken the sky and the stars came out. Hans had the pleasure of cooking up a feast for the group. A ‘mukbang’ as he had called it. It was mostly seafood as that was all they had, but they all enjoyed it nonetheless. After dinner they turned it into a game night where they played a game of blindfolded twister (the F7 faced the other way when it was Snow and Audrey’s turn) While Merlin and Arthur were arguing over whose hand was on the red spot (it was Noki’s) Audrey sighed in content. 

She had never had a group of friends to stay with. With this group, she finally felt happy and relaxed. With Arthur, she could have fun with whenever she wanted to do something stupid. She could turn to Hans when she needed a meal or just someone to talk to in general, he would never tell anyone. Merlin..well she wasn’t quite there with him yet. 

She knows they both noticed something off about each other when they first met, but regardless they were still kind to each other and they worked well as a team. With the triplets she could literally goof off with them, trying all their latest inventions and using her powers as a test-runner.

And Jack.. 

She looked at him. Audrey had grown a soft spot for him. She had a hunch as to what it was but didn’t want to admit it to herself just yet. It could’ve just been a temporary feeling, it was too early to tell. But what she does know for certain is that she does care for him greatly, and he is very important to her.

She thought of this as she tried to sleep on the couch, tossing and turning. Unable to sit still anymore as she was wide awake, she sat up. She looked at the dark moonlit room where everyone else was sound asleep. She and Snow had been offered to sleep on the couch while the rest slept on chairs and pillows on the floor. Seeing as she couldn’t sleep any more she carefully made her way to the door, cautious not to step on anyone else.

Quietly she pulled the door handle down and escaped closing it behind her. The fresh night air hit her nose and she happily took it in. Walking down the stairs accompanied by the sound of wood and water moving she made her way to the right section of the field. Audrey liked looking at the lake in the evening. The water was so pure that it clearly reflected the stars in the sky, almost making it look like another dimension if you jumped in it (she tried).

While she appreciated the cool wind, sometimes it was too chilly that she got colds sometimes. 

“I forgot my cloak inside,” she mumbled as she rubbed her arms.

 When she had said that she felt something soft and warm on her shoulders. Human hands. 

[scarlett2112]

Mid 18th century - The Spanish Main

"Get into the closet, dear," Miranda commands. "You need to hide, I don't want them to see you. Perhaps help will arrive before..." her mother's exhortations are cut short when a loud bang reverberates and the ship lurches beneath her feet.

Despite her protestations to the contrary, Elena finds herself locked inside a dark space. Still she can hear the gruff voices of the men who are questioning her dad, her mom's determined assertions that there is nobody else on the ship, the laughter and footsteps of even more bandits.

Elena huddles even farther into the corner of the small hiding spot. She covers her ears when she hears shots, followed by heart-wrenching screams. As she dares to lower her hands, she realizes that it's just a matter of time before the pirates begin to explore the ship. The day had started so wonderfully, she had breakfast with her parents in the captain's quarters before going topside to watch the radiant colors of the sun bounce back off the brilliant blue waters of the Caribbean.

Terrified, she stuffs her knuckles in her mouth to keep her sobs as quiet as possible. A loud noise above causes Elena to jump. Looking around, she knows she has to escape somehow, if they scuttle the ship, she'll drown. Her planning is cut short when she hears a low roar coming from outside. Another ship? She feels the boat sway slightly in the wake caused by the second ship. Then, she catches her breath when she hears the echo of more footsteps above her.

"Salvatore."

It's the first time Elena hears any voices clearly. The thing she hones in on is how the one voice is obviously respectful of this "Salvatore" person and maybe even a little afraid.

"Niklaus." The second voice is much different than the first. She's surprised to realize that this speaker's voice sounds commanding, yet assertive and confident. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? This isn't a treasure galleon."

There's raucous laughter and then the first guy speaks again. "Salvatore is jealous because he got here too late to claim any spoils for himself." Elena hears the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I seriously doubt that they were carrying plunder of any value but we have yet to search the ship."

"I'm wasting my time here," the confident voice asserts.

Another evil chuckle. "Since I've got myself a larger boat now, I just may need to relieve you of some of that cargo," Niklaus threatens.

"You're an even bigger fool than I thought," Salvatore's voice is full of contempt. "You won't live long enough to enjoy the money you get from selling this stuff. The British navy will hunt you down..."

"You'll never live long enough to tell them about our little encounter today, Salvatore," the sinister voice growls. "The crown already has a price on your head."

Elena catches her breath again when she hears the click of guns being cocked. There are slow footsteps, and then Salvatore speaks again. "You have a mind to collect it?"

There were a few moments of awful silence then gunshots once again ring out over the serene waters of the Caribbean Sea. "That has to be some kind of nightmare..." Elena chants in a mantra to herself.

And then suddenly, it's quiet, the only sound is the sway of the ship as the waves crash against it, rocking the vessel gently. In fear for her life, Elena slowly and quietly unlocks the door and slips out into the hallway. She creeps towards the staircase, listening for any signs that someone's coming below deck. Reaching for the doorknob, she carefully raises one foot and then the other to ascend the stairs and grimaces when they creak beneath her feet.

Hearing nothing, she takes the steps two at a time and finally pokes her head outside. The hot midday sun feels good on Elena's skin, but she doesn't take the time to appreciate it as she flattens her body against the side of a bulkhead. When she finally has the courage to peek up over port side, her heart's catching in her throat when she sees bodies floating in the water below while the pirate vessel is shifting to its starboard side. Before the scream leaves her mouth, cannon fire erupts, ripping a hole in the ship just above the water line.

Knowing she's not alone, adrenaline surges through Elena's veins and she searches for some kind of a weapon. Picking up the knife, she grips the handle tightly and wields it like she's ready to strike. If she's going to die, she'll go down fighting. Suddenly she shrieks loudly when the knife goes flying from her hand and clatters to the deck. When she looks to see who kicked it away from her, Elena's blood freezes. It has to be him - Salvatore.

Backlit by the midday sun, he almost becomes part of it. A furious, powerful god of a man, with hair as dark as the hell from where he came. He stands with legs spread and arms akimbo, daring Elena to make a move. His black breeches are loose fitting and his boots reach his knees, he has a sash around his waist and a bandana on his head, a hoop earing hanging from his right ear. His shirt is gaped open and the sweat glistens on his muscled chest as it runs downwards to disappear beneath his pants. A large cutlass is hanging from his side making her flinch at the way the sun gleams off of it.

The man moves with grace and swiftness. He reaches down in a heartbeat and picks up the knife, re-sheathing it in a scabbard on his right hip. He moves closer to her, and she can see his features better without the sun glaring in her eyes.

Not one to cower, Elena stiffens her spine and raises her chin in defiance. If she was certain that her death isn't moments away, she might think him handsome. His well-defined and stubbled cheekbones give his face character. But it's his eyes that hypnotize her. They are impossibly blue, deep like the Caribbean Sea surrounding them.

He is standing so close to Elena that she can see his eyes as they move leisurely over her body, taking inventory of her assets barely covered by her dressing gown. It doesn't take long for the rest of his crew to do the same, and Elena snaps back to reality by the gruff catcalls and lewd whistles that came from behind the man.

"Ahh, Niklaus has gone and Salvatore finds the real treasure! Now we can all enjoy the spoils of the victor!" a dark haired man laughs, running the back of his knuckles over the soft skin of her shoulder.

Elena feels the blush creeping up from her toes and knows that her cheeks are probably turning the color of a red rose. When she shifts her weight towards the port side again, Salvatore's right hand snakes out and locks around her left forearm.

"The party for you will come when we reach Tortuga," he growls to his drooling crew. "Women for everyone, my treat." His eyes lock with Elena's, "This one is mine."

Something snaps inside of her at that. His insinuation raises her hackles just enough to put a spark of gutsy defiance in her eyes. "Yours?" she hisses through gritted teeth, trying to yank her arm free. Entirely forgetting she's a lady, she snaps, "Go to hell!"

The Salvatore grips her tighter and pulls her against his chest to the delight of his crew. "Can't oblige you this time, my lady," he murmurs in a low tone. "We're already in hell."

Before she can wipe that smirk off his face, he steps back and then pulls her behind him as he makes his way through the jeering crew to stairs. Elena tries to dig her bare toes into the deck to impede their progress, but it's futile.

There are more shouted salacious suggestions that make tears burn in her eyes, but she's not about to let these animals see her cry. She gasps when Salvatore pulls her into his arms, grabs a rope and crawls onto the side to swing across the sea and onto the other ship. Elena's eyes snap shut and then they're airborne, landing on The Flying Dragon's deck with a thump.

As soon as her feet touch the wooden planks, Damon grabs her wrist and pulls her below deck and into his cabin. Letting her go, he moves to his closet, after a quick search, he spins around and tosses a wine colored dress at her. "Put that on."

Defiantly, she folds her arms over her chest and refuses to comply. Damon comes to stand a hair's breath away from her, "I said," he mutters in a grim voice, "put it on."

She returns his glare with one of her own, finding the inner strength somehow to defy him. "Why? So you can rip it off me later?"

Damon's in-drawn breath is deep as he shakes with the effort to control his temper. But before he can reply, a loud splash echoes from outside. Elena shudders and can't help but look over her shoulder towards the window.

"Who were they?" He puts a hand to her chin gently forcing Elena's face back to his.

"What difference would it make now, they're dead? Elena regrets the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. His grip on her chin tightens and he comes so close that the tips of her breasts brush against his bare chest.

"Let's get something straight right now, lady," he hisses. "You're only still alive thanks to my... good graces. An inch to the side and that knife could have pinned your foot to the deck."

Elena tries to turn away but he catches her shoulders in his hands, forcing her to face him. "I could have let the crew have you, I still can, for that matter." He pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in. "I didn't kill those people," he whispers, his voice surprising Elena when it takes on a much softer tone. "Niklaus did."

Damon's at the wheel, trying to navigate through the treacherous waves. Jagged bolts of lightning light the skies in brilliant streaks. The clouds are thick, blotting out the moonlight and the stars. The wind rises to push the still waters to choppy, which morph into mountains of angry waves.

The veteran sailors struggle to get the sails down, and to tie them off. They slip on the rain soaked deck. The wind slams the rain into their faces like tiny stones. The ship presses, first up waves at forty-five degrees, and then crashes down, jarring their bones. At one point the waves spin the vessel sideways. They hold tightly onto the mast, onto ropes, onto anything. It's difficult to hang on.

Damon struggles with the wheel, the ship creaks dangerously as the unforgiving waves thrust forward in great amounts of power, allowing small glimpses of the cliffs just up ahead. He can almost hear the song of the mermaids as the ship is being pulled into depths of the watery hell known as "Davy Jones locker." As the muses play their sounds of death, salt burns his lungs as he fights to keep them afloat. The ocean teases the boat and throws it about like an infant would a rag doll. The wind mocks the pirates in their attempt to escape the ocean's hunger .

By the time the storm passes, Damon is exhausted, finally relinquishing control of the ship to Enzo so he can go below deck to rest. Having a white knuckle grip on the wheel has taxed his muscles, making them ache. As soon as he gets to his quarters, he grabs the bottle of rum and takes a hearty pull.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Elena standing near the wall staring at him. "The storm's past, you can relax now," he extends the bottle for her to take a swig.

Sucking in a breath, Elena approaches, takes it from his hand and takes a long pull. When she lowers it, she wipes her mouth against the back of her hand and gives it back to him.

Damon chuckles, takes one more himself then pops the cork back and sets it aside. "You have a taste for rum?"

"I'm not as naive as you seem to think," she arches an eyebrow then darts around him to look through the window. It's still raining but the sky is beginning to clear.

"Oh really?" he wraps his arm around her waist, pulls her flush against him then drops his mouth to the olive skin of her neck and begins to nibble.

Aghast, Elena pulls away and slaps him hard enough to make his head snap to the side.

Damon infuriates her even more when he starts to laugh and begins to disrobe. When he reaches his breeches, he winks at her. "You staying for the show?"

She huffs, picks up her dress and leaves his cabin, slamming the door behind her, the sound of his laughter follows her into her own room.

Seagulls screech, circling the blue sky overhead. There's usually something menacing in the sea vultures presence. Damon scans the horizon with his spyglass, smirking when he sees a vessel ahead.

The ship's sails billow behind him and the wind breezes across his face. He tucks a strand of hair under his scarf as he prepares to take on the other ship. Damon gives a direct glance to him across the deck, letting Enzo know that he's ready.

In this element, he's calm and collected, focusing on the gold and other spoils of battle. It pays for their food to keep their bellies full and keeps supplies in their galley. When they arrive in Tortuga, it'll pay for a night's stay with the wenches in Madame Bree's stable.

With a reassuring pat to his cutlass, secured in his belt, Damon reaches for the rope, hoisting himself onto the edge of the deck. The enemy ship is in his sights. As they near the vessel, he gives the signal and his crew goes into action. Anchors are thrown towards the merchant vessel to latch on. A second row of men spot the rival crew with their weapons drawn and ready.

"Make ready the guns! And run out the sweeps," he roars, winking at Elena when he notices her standing at the top of the stairs. "Hard a port! Rack the starboard oars! Hard a port! Keep her steady," he directs his men, "Fire! Fire all!" With their massive armament, it doesn't take long to disable the hapless ship.

As soon as they're securely anchored to the other ship, Damon along with half of the crew swing over on ropes to plunder it of its riches. Passengers and crew of the Nuestra Señora de las Angustias - are instantly alarmed by their presence. Damon slams his foot on the deck, commanding their attention.

Enzo approaches and takes his place beside his captain. With his trousers tucked into his large boots and open vest baring his hairy chest and wide shoulders, he is intimidation. His other men are baring their teeth menacingly on the main platform with their weapons poised.

"I am captain of The Flying Dragon and this is my crew. If you cooperate, no one will get hurt." He peruses the quieting crowd, the women are cowering, the men are scowling behind them in fear, but all are giving him their full attention.

"We will not be taking up more of your time than necessary, just some of your belongings. Do as you're told and you'll live to see another sunrise."

Damon hears Enzo begin to bark orders as they unload and load their plunder onto the Flying Dragon.

A raspy yell interrupts his line of focus as one of the opposing crewmen bellows and lunges toward him, swinging his heavy arms and raised fists. Damon draws his cutlass out of its sheath. Mason grabs the man by his wrist and shirt, forcing him back to the others with brute strength alone. The man is belligerent, his bluster is fueled by rum and quickly charges the pirate.

"Arrgh!" Mason roars as they brace and stumble against each other around the deck. He smiles wickedly at the fellow, relishing the fight. The man starts to flail his arms and shriek, his face red and spitting.

Damon's watching with an amused grin on his face.

"Watch out," Enzo spits just before they barrel into him then the three of them tumble over the edge and into the sea below. Damon waves his sword to dissuade any others before looking over the edge himself, laughing at the sight of his men, looking like bilge rats as they climb the ropes back onto the Dragon.

As soon as they rid the other ship of its spoils, his men urge the crew and passengers into the water, there's an island within swimming distance. Once he's certain everyone is off the ship, he grabs a rope himself, swings across the water and lands on his feet.

"Raise the colors," he directs then takes his place at the wheel and with a wave of his arm, his men fire the cannons until the vessel lists and begins its descent into Davy Jones locker.

"Now bring me that horizon," he shouts as he turns the wheel and they begin to sail away.

Glancing up at the sky, Damon shields his eyes from the sun's rays and watches the squawking seagulls overhead.

"Keep the current course," he commands Enzo then retreats below deck and runs into Elena straight away.

"What exactly are you planning to do with me?" she asks, her voice firm, belying the unease that's brewing inside.

He stops in front of her room then turns to face her. His blazing blue eyes sweep over her. "I don't yet know what I'm going to do with you."

"I'll not be your whore," she warns disdainfully.

He blinks back in surprise. Then his mouth forms a tight line and he leans closer to her. "I haven't ever needed to force a lady, or even a wench for that matter and secondly, I don't allow such things - not on my ship. Don't assume things you know nothing about, Miss..."

"It's Gilbert. And what do you know of morality? You're a pirate."

His jaw clenches. "You don't know anything about me." He replies in a low, steely voice. Dismissing her, he turns and pushes the door to her quarters open.

"And I do not wish to," she murmurs, stepping past him and accidentally brushing her shoulder against his hard chest in the small corridor. When she turns to look at him, his face is unreadable. Stepping inside, she slams the door in his face determined not to waste anymore time thinking about him...

Peeling off her dress, she unlaces her bodice reluctantly, draping them on the chair. Standing only in her undergarments, she crawls into the bed and slips under the covers. As she drifts off to sleep, her mind wanders to Captain Salvatore. From his heavy stomping black boots, brown breeches, white shirt with billowing sleeves, sash and a large belt buckle at his middle to his captain's hat; if not for her misfortune, she never would have met the renegade pirate.

Her memory drifts to the collar of his shirt exposing his throat, his square unshaven set jaw, and mostly his blue eyes locking onto hers. Squeezing her eyelids shut more tightly, her sinful thoughts flee as soon as images of her parents take their place. Her eyes fill with tears as she cries herself to sleep.

Elena's not spoken or left her quarters for several days. However, he made sure his men left food out for her so he knows she's been eating. Having a woman or women on board isn't unheard of, he's had wenches before but never one like her. Truthfully, he doesn't know what to do. She's undoubtedly upset, but he cannot change their course for her alone. His men were hungry and eager to trade in their plunder. Lost in thought, he stares at the water unseeing and doesn't notice Enzo until he speaks.

"What are you going to do with her?"

They lean with their elbows on the edge looking out at the sea and the fogged cloudbank. The breeze rustles through their hair.

"She'll have to stay at least till we dock. We can't very well dump her in Tortuga, that's no place for a woman like her. Are the men talking?"

Enzo's eyes twinkle. "The usual things a man will say about a fine woman."

Damon snorts. "She's quite headstrong."

"There is talk that you could drop her at Nassau…"

Damon waves off the idea. A disastrous hurricane, bringing with it torrential rains and gale force winds struck the island and many have died. The clearing of corpses has left the area rampant with disease and dysentery as the port continues to struggle.

"Under normal circumstances it would be ideal but not in the aftermath of the storm."

"We'll have to wait and see. The men are not to touch her in the meantime," Damon warns. The wind picks up and he takes notice of the cloudbank rolling in. "It'll be dark soon and a storm is heading in our direction."

Enzo nods. "I'll secure the rigs and make sure the lookout and the others change their shifts guarding tonight."

Damon retreats below to warn Miss Gilbert of the approaching storm. He isn't sure how long she had been traveling on the other vessel but his ship rocks heavily against the building waves. He heads into the deckhouse just as the first clash of thunder sounds. The clouds have moved in fast but the storm will be vicious.

Nearing her room, Damon pauses outside the door to listen. Hearing nothing, he knocks, "Miss Gilbert?" Silence answers him and he hesitates for a moment, "May I come in?"

He hears rustling for a moment before the door opens allowing him to enter. She has a blanket wrapped around her like a shawl and she clutches it more tightly as he steps inside.

"Miss Gilbert," A crash of thunder sounds, interrupting him. "We're sailing into a storm."

She glances at the small window, letting the blanket slip slightly.

"The ship may rock back and forth more than usual but that is just the wind and waves... I'll leave you to your thoughts," he starts to move when a bolt of lightning flickers through the window.

"Wait!"

He turns around to see what she wants.

"I don't mind storms when I'm on dry land but they're not pleasant on the sea."

"I got you safely through the first one, I will again." Instantly his eyes fly to her brown ones. They're observing him like they were the day he first saw her. "May I ask you something?"

She nods, curious.

"Why were you on that ship?"

Elena straightens her posture before replying. "I was journeying with my family to Cartegena."

"You and your husband?" he notices the pale band of white on that otherwise tan finger.

"Briefly, he died in the French and Indian War," her gaze drops to her hand.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure he was a brave man."

Her eyes snap up, fire brimming in her irises. "And what does a pirate know about bravery?"

His jaw clenches and he moves closer. "More than you know..."

"What do you mean?"

"That is none of your concern," he finds his gaze wandering to her rosy pink lips. Another flash of lightning flickers across her olive complexion. With a loud gust of wind bringing the tremble of thunder, the water crashes against the belly of the ship knocking them off balance. He tumbles against her, his hands brushing along her curves as he tries to brace himself.

He pulls back as she steps away. He wants to whisper in her ear as his hand slowly travels along her softness and heat, pleasing her in so many ways… All of a sudden it's difficult to catch his own breath and he knows it's time to depart her quarters.

"Get some sleep Miss Gilbert. We have a busy day tomorrow." he says, putting his hand on the doorknob.

"Where are we going?" she asks, her face flushed.

"Tortuga. Goodnight." he closes the door behind him. His mind swims with images of resting between her legs. He shakes his head to dismiss such a fantasy.

The firmness of the mattress, the creaking of the ship, and that man invading her dreams have all combined to make for a restless night.

She's having a difficult time understanding the desire she feels. In a rare moments of sleep, she dreams of laying with that scalawag and has more than once. Although she never really felt any attachment, much less love for Malachai, she married him at the insistence of her parents. She had performed her wifely duties and mourned the appropriate amount of time, all the while hating that ugly black clothing she had to wear.

She's not naive, she's heard pirate stories before. How many of them had been true? Her curiosity with Captain Salvatore vacillates between anger and intrigue. Thoughts of him make her blood both boil and burn.

Even though he's a scoundrel like all pirates, he isn't really the man she expected. He has respected her privacy, making sure to knock... nor has he touched her. His body is hard and lined and a part of her aches to touch him and run her fingers through his raven black hair…

A thud of heavy footing sounds above her startling her from such thoughts. From the cat calls, it sounds as if they're pulling into port at Tortuga. She gingerly steps up the stairs to the main deck and looks around while shielding her eyes from the sun.

"The lady lives!" Enzo towers over her with a smarmy grin.

"We're about to dock, leave the lady alone," another man approaches, "I'm Alaric," one of Damon's crew.

Elena looks around, not quite sure if she shouldn't make a hurried dash for her quarters.

He brushes a strand of his hair away from his face. "I know you have a loathsome opinion of pirates but know this, we are all free men."

Elena nods, that short description is profound and for the first time she feels a little respect for the crew of The Flying Dragon.

Damon scours the port and surrounding landscape from the lookout. Tortuga has always been friendly to pirates but he's a cautious sort of fellow. Once he's certain of that it's safe to disembark, he climbs down the cordage of the main sail as the men began to dock the Dragon.

His boots hit the deck loudly, startling Elena. Ric's mouth twitches with a smile that only he can see as he passes him by.

"We will be staying here for a few days. We need to trade in our loot and rest." he explains to Elena as he moves towards her. Surprisingly she nods agreeably.

"Urgh," Enzo huffs as he heaves the anchor overboard.

Once off the ship, his men clear a path through the crowd till they arrive at the town's square.

"Stay close," he whispers in her ear. He wants to keep an eye on her, not only to protect her but always to keep away the brazen whores who don't care whether it's man or woman that gives them coin.

A faint blush blossoms on her cheeks as she acquiesces to his request. They go through several shops and vendors at the market, taking the time to speak with some of the shopkeepers and peddlers.

Elena stays silent as she follows after him. Although she's had ample opportunity, she hasn't made an attempt to escape. He's certain that she would prefer better accommodations than the Flying Dragon but he suspects she doesn't want to be left alone on the ship.

Afterwards he leads her to Madame Bree's where he knew the crew is making good use of their free time. Long periods without a woman's touch are no good to a man's spirit. Stepping inside, he sees Enzo with a full figured blonde on his lap.

"Oh Miss Gilbert," he waves, and turns his attention back to the full figured blonde.

Damon rolls his eyes and leads Elena to an empty table in the back. Despite its location, he still has a good view of his men as they gulp down their ale and fill their bellies.

Bree appears and sets two bowls of stew and a loaf of bread in front of them, returning shortly with a large tankard of ale for him. While she's busy eating her meal, his heart is thundering at her closeness.

She seems content until the women show up offering themselves to the men. Though they have gotten along well this day, he senses her discomfort at being the only woman not in that line of work.

A buxom wench with bright red hair and freckles tries to catch his attention by trailing her finger down his arm while smiling a toothless grin at him. When he shakes his head no, she saunters off, her expression changing as soon as Mason pulls her onto his lap and starts kneading one of her breasts.

Elena glances around the room. "So these are the type of women you like?" she discreetly waves her hand at the group.

"These women belong to Madame Bree. They're here to serve brutish men. You're lucky you were born of privilege."

Elena shoots him a peculiar look, then turns back again to observe the hedonism. When a barmaid trips on an outstretched leg spilling tankards of beer on a man, he looks about ready to explode in rage at the barmaid or punch the man beside him in the face.

"Please don't hurt me," the woman raises her arms to protect her face.

The man stands up straight towering over her. Fisting a hunk of her garment, he pulls his arm back to punch her but before he can land it, another pirate barrels into him, knocking them both on the floor. Soon half the bar is engaged in a melee, bottles are being smashed on heads, chairs raised and slammed on opponents.

The pub's rag tag band begins to play their make shift instruments, the sound almost choreographing the brawl. Elena's watching it open-mouthed. "Aren't you going to do something?" she asks Damon when someone kicks over a table.

"No," Damon laughs, picks up the tankard and empties it with one swallow.

"Those are your men," she looks at him aghast.

"It's been a while, it's good for them," Damon replies, clearly amused. The fight continues for several minutes before Damon raises his pistol and fires a shot in the air.

The men freeze and look around, then rather than continue the brawl, one of them yells, "drinks all around." As soon as it started, it ends to the sound of metal tankards clanging together.

The dim lighting of the tavern dances in her eyes and gives a soft glow to her skin. A rosy blush fills her cheeks but she doesn't turn away from him. "These women, they will never be embarrassed about anything."

Her eyes grow wide as they join his. They seem endless but he has no idea what she's thinking or how she feels. Could she ever be interested in a man like him - a pirate? His reverie is interrupted when the barmaid appears and refills his tankard of ale. He drops her a couple of coins then picks it up and takes a huge gulp.

Rather than return to the ship, Damon excuses himself to have a word with Bree. When he returns, he takes her arm, urging her to stand. Leading her up the stairs, they walk down the hall till they reach one labeled 10.

"It's late, we'll return to the ship tomorrow," he unlocks the door and steps back, gesturing for her to enter.

"I'd rather not."

"Need I remind you that you're alive only because of me?"

Elena crosses her arms and stands with her chin raised in defiance yet again.

Damon puts his hands on his hips and towers over her menacingly. "It's this room or you can sleep outside in the mud with the hogs."

An angry expression forms on her face and her glare nearly pierces him.

"Do not test my patience," he warns.

"Hmph," she huffs then steps into the room to look around before turning to face him again, "And where will you sleep?"

Folding his arms across his chest, he leans lazily against the door frame. "In this hallway of course unless you'd rather risk having one of the men knocking down the door. They've had a long draught and most of them are very drunk."

"There are two blankets, you could lay on the floor."

Damon reluctantly shakes his head. "It would be improper for me to share a room with a lady such as yourself."

Choosing to ignore his words, she expels a frustrated breath. "You could guard the room from in here."

It's very tempting to agree with her plan. But with his imagination conjuring up visions of her bare and desperate for his touch, begging and sighing as he makes her his, he quickly shakes himself out of such thoughts, tells her goodnight then steps out, closing the door behind him. Sighing, he drops to the floor, stretches his legs in front of him and leans his head back.

"Goodnight, Miss Gilbert," he whispers before closing his eyes.

Waking up when someone trips over his outstretched legs, Damon yawns and shifts slightly. He tries to get comfortable so he can go back to sleep but his mind returns to Elena. His affection and desire for her is growing. He wants to be free to touch her in ways that she will never forget. Does she have an interest in him too? Sighing, he wipes such thoughts from his mind and lets sleep pull him under...

Sometime later, the door opens and Damon falls back, knocking his head on the floor. It takes a few seconds to get the cobwebs out of his brain and get his bearings when he looks up to see her.

"Good morning."

"That's a matter of perspective," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry," she tries to stifle her laughter but does a poor job of it.

Sighing heavily, Damon gets to his feet, adjusts his dagger and runs his hand over his pistol. "Let's go, I'm hungry," he takes off down the hall, turning at the staircase and trotting down them.

"Where?" She asks, hurrying to catch up to him.

"I don't want to eat the slop Bree fixes so we're going to the beach, maybe we can knock down some coconuts?"

"For breakfast?" Elena turns up her nose.

"You have a better idea?" he arches an eyebrow then steps outside into the morning sun.

"Is this the only place to eat? We can't get some eggs?" Elena asks, looking around a little closer now that it's daytime. Today the sunlight is conjuring up the most brilliant of mosaics, reflecting from each leaf and wisp of cloud.

"Nope," Damon says over his shoulder as he continues his trek. Suddenly someone reaches out and grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Kol?" Damon looks over the man, his skin is warm and sun-kissed like his own from long days out on the deck. His loose cotton shirt is tucked into baggy brown pants, hiding his strong and muscular frame. At his side is a fine sword, and the hilt gleams in the sunlight.

"Can I have a word?" he gestures with his head for Damon to follow him.

"Stay here," he tells Elena and follows the other pirate for a short distance. "What's this about, Kol?"

"Niklaus is dead."

"What?" Damon's in shock.

"The Royal Navy - there was a firefight near Jamaica, off the coast of Port Royal. Lieutenant Maynard allowed his ship to be boarded. When Niklaus took the bait, Maynard's forces burst from the hold with swords and pistols, overpowering the crew. He fought hard until a navy seaman cut his throat from behind," he takes a breath. "Not only did they sever his head, they hung it from his ship's bow," Kol fists his hands in rage. "To send a clear warning, they brought it here and stuck it on a spike in the town square."

Damon shoots a meaningful look at Elena.

"Be careful, the British want us all dead," Kol cautions, nods at Damon then disappears into the crowd.

"What was that all about?" Elena asks, considering the serious look on his face.

"Niklaus, the pirate that killed your parents is dead."

Elena quickly turns away when her eyes start to moisten. Taking a few deep breaths, she gets her emotions under control and looks up, meeting Damon's eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"There's one way to find out." They walk a quick pace through Tortuga, the sights and smells aren't for the fainthearted, he's a little impressed that his companion is holding her own.

When the reach the square, Elena gasps at the sight of the severed head impaled on a stake- along with a stern warning for pirates to beware. "That's him?"

Damon moves a little closer, although it's a gruesome site, he does recognize his nemesis. "It is."

"Good," Elena retorts, "It's better than he deserved." With one more look, she turns on her heels and begins to walk away.

Damon quickly catches up, "the beach is this way," he points and the two pick up their pace. Along the way he manages to swipe a rope from an ox cart to help him climb a palm tree.

The coastline is brilliant in the morning sun with its chalky white ribbon of cliffs, jagged and folded, shrinking into the distance. Below the cliffs are beaches of rocks made rough by the barnacles upon them. In the distance a spit stretches out into the sea and upon the end is a lighthouse, lonely and abandoned. The foamy crests of the crashing waves are the only sound other than the cry of the gulls.

Damon pauses when they reach a beautiful stretch of white sand and sparkling ocean that borders the island. The trees and vegetation are lush green and provide shade from the blistering sun. He loves this beach and the driftwood that comes upon the buoyant waves as tiny boats. Then there is the seaweed, the flora of those salty waves, as deeply green as any high summer foliage. His favorite though is the soft rolling dunes and the tall grasses that whisper so sweetly into the gusting breeze.

"How are you going to get those down?" she points at the cluster of coconuts.

"That's what the rope's for," he shoots her a sly smile then starts to trudge a little further up the beach, finally stopping at a location where the sea is calm. He plops down on a rock and takes off his jacket and scabbard. "Feel free to take a dip," he nods at Elena, she sighs then drops onto the sand and removes her shoes.

As she bends over he catches a peek at the tops of her breasts. If she was bare and in his arms, he's certain that they'll fit perfectly in his hands. With nothing to slake his lust, it's becoming harder to shake off such thoughts. Turning away, Damon stares at the vast expanse of blue waters stretching in every direction. The ocean laps at the sand leaving its lacy foam to trail the waves as they retreat.

Standing up, Damon uses the rope, slipping it around both himself and the tree then starts to climb up. Although his perch is tenuous at best, he manages to knock a couple coconuts to the ground before climbing down.

Damon walks down to the water's edge. He places a quick toe in the water and takes it back even quicker, the chilly temperature shocking him a bit. Hearing her laugh, he shoots her a stare. Brushing it off, he walks back to the sand with a huge rock to break open the hard shell so he can eat a hunk.

"And that's how it's done," he holds up a chunk and stuffs it in his mouth.

"Well I must admit I'm a little impressed. Where did you...?"

"Hm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."

"You are a rather strange pirate."

"My father taught me how to be self sufficient," he arches an eyebrow at her.

"And what does he think of piracy?" she challenges him.

"My father died a very long time ago, I did what I had to do to survive."

"Oh there's a fish," she squeaks, pointing at the one swimming by her feet.

"Either catch it or come have a bite," Damon stuffs another piece in his mouth.

"Catch it?" her eyes snap to his before she trudges back to the sand. When she sits down beside him, Damon offers her a hunk. Sticking it into her mouth, she moans at the taste. She looks up and gasps slightly at the fire burning in his blue eyes.

"Damon," she whispers suddenly. Feeling himself growing excited, he shifts enough to put a little distance between them.

Sighing internally, she stuffs another piece into her mouth before getting up and walking back into the surf to wash her hands. She stares at the endless expanse of blue water for some time before wading back to the sand.

Seeing the sun glimmer off the wet flesh of her legs inspires all kinds of thoughts, oh how he'd like to peel that dress off her.

"Is there a place to wash up, I haven't had a proper bath in?"

He points in the direction over her shoulder. After putting their shoes back on, Damon leads her down the beach until they reach worn pathway through some dense overgrowth. Elena screeches and jumps back when a sand crab saunters across the ground near her toes.

Damon chuckles, pulls his cutlass out of its sheath and cuts away some of the brush. Down the path there is a stream. By nature they are slow-flowing, languid in pace, and lax by nature. However this stream is mighty. Many torrents of water travel its path, rapids flick up against its surface like paint flakes off a distressed door. Boulders rise out of the water like the bows of a sunken fleet, and the hiss of far off waterfalls are the screams of their drowned crew.

The scent of moss and lichen be-fowls the air for leagues across. The stream is the reminder to all that witness its majesty the ignorance of presumption, and the existence of exemption.

They continue for a several hundred feet until they reach a tranquil spot near a falls. The water tumbles down the hillside in a series of mini-waterfalls. It tinkles in a laughing sort of way.

"Will this suit you?" he asks, stepping aside so she can see.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

"I'll wait up the path for you," he points in the direction over his shoulder. They part at the rocky edge and his heart almost beats out of his chest at the thought of her wet and naked beneath him. Brushing away such thoughts, he hurries down the path till he feels there's enough distance between them to give her privacy. Soon however, his desire gets the better of him. One little peek surely won't hurt...

He climbs up on an outcropping of rocks above her. As quiet as a church mouse, he lays on his belly and peers over the edge. Her back is to him and her olive skin glimmers under the summer sun. Finally she turns and he gets his first look at her ample breasts. Feeling himself becoming aroused, he has to reach into his pants to straighten himself.

As he moves ever closer to the precipice, he accidentally sends some rocks toppling over the edge, creating a splash when they hit the water. And then she looks up, her eyes locking on his...

When she doesn't shy away, Damon climbs down from his perch and walks to the edge of the pond. Slipping out of his clothing, he steps into the water. His eyes scan her body from head to toe. His manhood throbs with every step. Wading against the current, he considers her eyes, they're brimming with desire to match his own. He reaches out his hand but stops until he sees her nod.

His thumbs graze the sides of each breast then drop to her waist and his thumbs begin circling the crest of her hips. When he looks up, he finds her staring at him through heavily lidded eyes. Her breaths escape in short gasps. With mounting exhilaration, he bends over to take one of her nipples into his mouth and begins to suckle and nip. She responds by leaning forward, pushing her breast further into his mouth. Instinctually his other hand curls into her hair, tugging her head back to join her mouth with his. Her lips are soft and reaches up to cup his neck, and kiss him harder.

Emboldened, Damon takes her hand and moves her into the soft grass. He spreads her legs - lays between them then kisses her again. When she arches her back, her nipples grace his chest eliciting a heady moan that sends desire racing through his veins.

"Elena…" he grunts against the soft skin between her neck and shoulder.

"Please," she whimpers as her nails rake down his back. Damon leans down to kiss her again, stealing the breath from her lungs. When he breaks it, his voice is husky with passion.

"Bear with me," he whispers, then slides down her body, repositioning his face between her legs. When his tongue traces the seam where her thighs meet her body, Elena's back arches high off the grass. Damon wraps his arms around her hips and places his hands flat on her stomach, his thumbs once again opening her with gentle strokes. When his tongue flicks the delicate softness of her damp folds, Elena squirms wildly at his delicious onslaught.

"Elena…" Damon presses firmly on her lower stomach with his fingers as his thumbs once again favor her clitoris with soothing caresses.

She barely manages to open her eyes but when she looks down to see Damon's head buried at the juncture of her thighs, her heart feels like it's going to pound right out of her chest. He licks the petal-soft folds of her womanhood, pulling her closer to the edge of the precipice. And when he sucks the fiery flesh of her core into his mouth, she experiences the sweet death of total climax and shatters into a thousand pieces of light.

Damon crawls up next to her and holds her as aftershocks rack her body. She nestles her head on his chest and digs her nails into his shoulder as wave after wave of pleasure crests. Finally, he crooks his finger to tip her face up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Perfect," she replies in a breathy pant.

Damon leans over her, placing a soft kiss on her passion-bruised lips.

Elena's breath catches at the combination of fire and caring in his eyes. Wanting to treat him to the same exquisite torture as he gave her, Elena pushes him onto his back and straddles him. Sucking in a breath, she raises her pelvis up and slides onto him slowly.

Moaning softly, she uses his chest for leverage then begins the ride of lovers. Bracketing her hips with his hands, his pelvis rises up to meet her every crest, burying himself deep with each upward thrust. Damon's in awe as he watches her descend again and again. Her inner muscles quiver around him, saturating his flesh with intense warmth as her body contracts around him.

Their breathing soon becomes harsh and serrated, frantic and gasping as they approach the pinnacle together. Elena collapses onto Damon's chest and kisses him as pleasure ripples out from the spot where they are joined.

And then – they sleep - joined in the intimate way of lovers, until the blush of sunset colors the clouds in the west.

One Year Later:

Elena walks up the stairs and steps onto the deck. The ocean breeze coats her skin in a light mist of brine leaving it tangy to the taste. When they go below deck tonight, every kiss will remind her of the waves that pound the beach with a white foamy spray. She closes her eyes to the lullaby of the ocean, breathing in its poignant salty breath.

From his perch at the ship's wheel, Damon stares at his bride. She's a vision with her red bandana, white scoop neck - poofy- sleeved shirt, leather lace up corset, striped pants and knee length boots. Around her waist is a belt with a draping Jolly Roger image. Tucking her sword into its sheath, she approaches him.

"Look at that sea. And the world stretching around us... a barrel of gold ready to drop in our laps. It's the only life, Damon," she gives him a good morning kiss.

"Say the word and the Caribbean is yours," he bows dramatically and waves his ostrich plumed hat before her.

Smiling, she takes his place at the wheel, running her fingers over it as if it's been spun from the finest silk. Looking up, she notices Enzo dawdling. "On deck, you scabrous dog! Hands to braces! Let go and haul to run free!" She watches with a smile as the men skitter around and take their stations while Damon pulls out the spyglass and looks out over the shimmering sea.

"Now... bring me that horizon," she winks when Damon looks over his shoulder at her.

"And really bad eggs..." he sings with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Drink up me hearties yo ho," she follows in song then spins the wheel to the east.

The gentle wind billows the sails and the deck warms in the morning light. The Flying Dragon skips across the white crested waves like a merry child in a field of daisies.

*The Spanish Main: the former name for the north coast of South America between the Orinoco River and Panama and the adjoining parts of the Caribbean Sea when they were under Spanish control.

*The idea for Niklaus fate comes from Blackbeard, real name Edward Teach, died on 22 November 1718 when he was shot five times and stabbed 20 times in an ambush by the Royal Navy. The British forces, led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the HMS Pearl, took down the infamous pirate with a cunning ruse. After a firefight at Blackbeard's favorite hideout, an inlet on the island of Ocracoke, off the coast of Carolina, Maynard allowed his ship to be boarded. When Blackbeard came aboard, Maynard's forces burst from the hold with swords and pistols, overpowering the pirate's crew. In Blackbeard's final battle he managed to break Maynard's sword with his cutlass, before another navy seaman cut his throat from behind. Blackbeard was decapitated and his head was hung from Maynard's bow and placed on a spike at the mouth of River Hampton, Virginia, as a warning to others.

Hat tip to POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl at the end. I can't count how many times I saw that movie in the theatre. :) 

Thank you Eva for everything you do- you are truly priceless. 

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 16/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan! D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

"Is something wrong with Mr. Elric?"

"He seems...quieter than usual..."

"Does it have to do with what happened last Wednesday?"

"Naw, he was acting like himself yesterday, today he just seems.... off."

"All of you know I could hear you?"

"Sorry, Mr. Elric!"

Edward sat back in his chair, his legs propped on his desk and his right arm covering his eyes. It was a lazy day for his class, which was extremely odd for his students. They had never seen their teacher act in such a manner and they were all at odds on how to approach him.

Should they ask him point blank?

No. Mr. Elric's bark equals his bite.

Tricking Mr. Elric say his problem?

No. Mr. Elric will see through that and turn it back against them.

Go tell Professor Snape of Mr. Elric's change of mood?

Yes. That is the safest option they could come up with at that moment. If anyone could get Mr. Elric back on his feet is Professor Snape. Unless Professor Snape is the reason for the change of behavior... Anyway, it's better off to be safe than sorry.

Edward stayed in that same position for the remainder of the class time and almost throughout the entire day. His class had left after they sent him several worried looks before they scurried off to lunch. It wasn't until the door creaked open is when he lifted his hand away from his face to see who it was. "Zefferus."

Severus walked into the partially empty classroom, closing the door behind himself, and walked over towards the Alchemy teacher. "Edward."

Edward blinked several times and some sort of realization appeared on his expression. He placed his legs back down on the ground and he stretched around in his seat to regain some sort of feeling back into his body. The Golden Blonde blinked lazily at Severus once said man stood in front of his desk. "Did my students tattle on me?"

"You missed lunch and you didn't go to the kitchens for food."

"House elves tattled on me?"

"Mr. Elric." Severus stated flatly, he gave the Alchemy Teacher a deadpan expression, not at all amused.

Edward stared at Severus with a blank expression before he let out a tired sigh which he quickly covered up with a smile. He stood up from his spot and headed towards Severus with a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I am reminiscing of the past."

Severus snorted, he signaled for Edward to leave the classroom. "I have forty-five minutes until my next class and I need to make sure you are properly feeding. You have a tendency of skipping meals."

"Me? Skipping meals? No~" Edward guffawed out, he waved at Severus dismissively at such notion. He walked passed the Potion's Master to head over to leave the classroom to go to the kitchens. "Come on, let's see if they have made any apple pies...I still have to get Winry to send over her recipe. Hey, you wouldn't have some of that whiskey?"

"It's only Wednesday..."

"Exactly."

-.-

"Truth...my head..." Edward grumbled under his breath, he rested his head on the main table in the Grand Hall. It was breakfast time and nothing was helping him deal with a hammering headache. After a night of drinking with Severus to get a remaining memory to temporarily forget. It did not help that Filius later joined in and challenged him and Severus to a drinking game. The winner ended up being Severus as he is the only one that appears to be unaffected by what had happened last night. Said main is just sitting there...drinking whatever the hell he is drinking... Not even hunching over in pain... "I hate you..."

"I know." Severus responded over his steaming beverage. He reached over and pushed a steaming beverage over to the Golden Blonde. "Drink, it will help with the aftereffects."

"Does it have milk?"

"No."

Edward grumbled under his breath as he reached over to take the beverage. "Bastard."

"I know."

Edward sat up straight and cursed under his breath when he felt his bones snap back into place. Smacking his lips together, the Golden Blonde sniffed the beverage before taking a sip. Seeing that he hadn't died by that single sip, he drowned the drink down. He shook his head at the peculiar taste. Whatever he just drank sure helped him with that head...ache. "You created something to get rid of the pain did you not?"

That slight twitch on Severus's lips that caused Edward to frown and curse under his breath at how unfair he was. "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater."

"Oh, how childish of you to say such a thing." Severus said coolly.

"Shut up." Edward snorted, he reached over towards his plate of food and picked at it. He glanced around the Grand Hall to do a quick survey of the area. His brows furrowed at what he saw, groups were huddled together whispering or gloating rather too loudly for his taste. The main subject of today... "What is Quidditch?"

"Hm?"

"Quidditch? I have heard my students talk about it, but never really paid any mind to it." Edward asked Severus with a blank expression. "Vell?"

"It's a magical sport played on magical flying brooms."

"Zounds boring."

"You should at least watch a game... My house has tryouts today, you should come." Severus encouraged Edward.

Edward eyed Severus warily, this was not a side he was used to seeing. He was acting prideful but not in his typical way. It then that familiar spark he had seen from a man from another life. With a snort, Edward picked up a muffin and munched on it. "Fine, I vill see how this game is."

-.-

"Dis is...unbelievable." Edward was in complete and utter awe at what was he was seeing in front of him. There they are, kids using brooms to zooming around doing whatever was needed for them to do. Three of this students are on the team and one is trying out for the position of...Keeper? "And ridiculous...Vat the Truth are dey supposed to be doing?"

"Are there any type of sports in Amestris?"

"No, it's primary focus is on the Military."

"...Of course..."

Edward eyebrows flew up at seeing one of his students, Terence Higgs, and Slytherin's Seeker, nosedived down towards the earth. He swore his heart stopped and restart itself when Terence grabbed something before he pulled back up at the last minute. "What did he grab?"

"The Golden Snitch, catching it will end the game and give the given team 150 points."

Edward scratched his head wondering about the game. "Tell me more about... Quidditch."

-.-

"What do you mean ve get a two-week break?" Edward stated over his cup of hot tea. He had the Daily Prophet in his free hand. The magical newspaper kept on mentioning a holiday the Golden Blonde had never seen or heard before. He had mentioned it to Severus and what really got his attention is the fact there is a two-week vacation for...Christmas and New Year. "Zefferus? Vat is Christmas?"

Edward curious expression went from that to complete dissatisfaction. A religious holiday. That explains some things, a lot of things. New Years is a far more understandable reason for a holiday. Eh, he could argue about the holiday but what good will that come from it. He already has everyone around him change their view in terms of Magic that comes to Alchemy. Plus, this is more of a personal belief and...being with people you care about sounds...nice. "Amestris...does not have any sort of National Holidays, expect if dey are connected to the Military. Religion is practiced but not widely known or recited. Growing up, ve had seasonal festivities to celebrate the new season.... Maybe dey have something like this..."

The last part Edward said was more to himself than to Severus. Severus waited for Edward to continue his train of thought but he did not continue it.

"Should I go visit Winry...?" Edward absentmindedly picked up a piece of toast and munched on it. He thought about what he should do for that two weeks. Then grabbed a napkin to spit out the food into it. "Ugh...what should Mustang think of that? I hate how much I have to think about the Military now ven I do things."

"You did not think about the Military before you became a teacher?"

"In my defense...the Old Man mentioned a library..."

"Of course..."

"Why don't you have a class trip to Amestris?"

Edward and Severus stopped mid-argument' to turn to see Filius looking at Edward expectantly. Then they looked at each other, back at Filius, back at each other and finally back at Filius. By now, Filius looked extremely uncomfortable in his seat and shifted to release some of the tension that seemed to fill the air. "This could help them have a better understanding if they go somewhere which Alchemy is done more freely. Imagine what they could learn?"

"Filius does have a point." Severus agreed with the tiny professor.

Edward his fingers against the table, deep in thought. "I could... It would make things easier..."

Filius and Severus looked at Edward waiting patiently for his response. By now, Edward's students began to whisper among themselves about said instructor's behavior. That only happens if something huge about to occur.

"I vill have to talk to my superiors and students." Edward finally agreed, he folded up the Daily Prophet and plopped it on the table. "We could go to Central and visit the library. Or have Mustang and Armstrong throw on a show or something... But you two have to come with me when I tell this to the Old Goat. We have to go through him."

"Still not in speaking terms with him?"

"It iss not zat. I am afraid I will ruin it for my students by saying or doing something sdubid." Edward deadpanned, he picked up a biscuit and munched on it roughly.

"You won't say or do anything stupid." Filius waved off Edward's worry.

Edward swallowed the remainder of his food, he stood up and leaned over the table to get a better view of Dumbledore. "Oi! Old Man!"

Complete and utter silence filled the Grand Hall, everyone turned their attention to Edward and Dumbledore and said old man turned his attention to the Alchemy teacher. Severus had facepalmed at Edward lack of tact and the fact he just proved Filius wrong. "Yes?"

"Filius, Zefferus and I have to talk to you later about something."

Once Dumbledore agreed, Severus reached up and yanked Edward down by his vest to make him sit back down. "Your level of stupidity still astounds me to no limits."

"Wow...that was deep." Edward sniffled mockingly, he placed his hands over his heart. He wiped away a mock tear to add extra emphasize. "Thank you."

-.-

"Last night, I had asked the Old Man for a possibility of having a trip to Amestris during the winter break..." Edward informed one of his classes of the week, he was leaning against him with his arms crossed over his chest. The students, which mostly compromised of Terence Higgs, Fred Weasley, and George Weasley. The other two students left for other reasons, one left due to focusing on their O.W.L. and the other one had to focus primarily on their N.E.W.T.s. They still wanted to continue learning Alchemy, but they had priorities and Edward completely understood that. He would often send them packets filled with work and riddles, they show interest and skill for it, why not? Plus, it will help in the long run of helping them have a broader mindset in the long run. "For dis to be possible, I have to get permission from my superiors and the... Ministry of Magic."

The twins looked at each other with worried expressions. Their family had a small trip planned during the break and this trip is something they had planned for years. Talk about timing...

Terence on the other hand, he is looking forward to the trip. His parents had planned to visit relatives, said relatives he does not want to associate himself with. He just needed a decent excuse this time around, pretended of getting sick or excessive homework lost its charm after the seventh time.

"I need you three to inform your legal guardians, caretaker or parents if you vould like to come with me to Amestris for the break." Edward continued, he pointed at Terence when the Slytherin raised his hand. "Terence?"

"What would happen in Amestris? What would we be doing?" Terence asked.

"The main objective is to learn about Alchemy, without the interference of magic. I started to learn alchemy at a very young age-"

"How young?"

"Four.... five...ish. I did not officially start my training when I was about eight...the best and worst mistake of my life. That is a story for another time." Edward laughed out the last part when he saw the looks of amazement and horror on his student's faces. "The main idea is to have a couple of my friends in the Military perform their Alchemy, to see what they could do after years of learning and training. After that...campi-"

A soft knock interrupted Edward explanation, the Alchemy Teacher called out to whoever was on the other side to enter. Said man ended up being Dumbledore, he is holding a letter in his hand that had the seal of the Ministry of Magic. To be more precise, the current head of the Ministry of Magic. "My apologies for this disruption, Mr. Elric?"

Edward looked back at his students and cleared his throat. "I vill keep all of you updated of dis. Dismissed."

The three students picked up their belongings and quickly left the classroom. Edward watched them leave the class and once he heard the audible lock when the doors closed behind him, he turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Vat did dey say?"

"They agree to the idea...under a couple of conditions." Dumbledore responded, he walked over to Edward and handed him the letter. "The conditions."

Edward kept an eye on the Old Man as he opened the letter and only looked away to scan its contents. He grumbled at the conditions that were written, a couple of them were completely understandable and that included on the condition of Amestris agreeing to the idea and that this will help things go easier between them and the British Ministry of Magic. Edward had already sent a letter through Xerxes to see what Colonel Bastard had to say about the trip. The Golden Blonde reached over at his desk and picked up a small stack of papers and a binder clip to keep them together. "Dis should zadisfy their hunger for now."

Dumbledore took the packet of paper with curious eyes, with his free hand, he fiddled with the binder clip. "Curious. This keeps them together?"

Edward raised his hands into the air in defeat, here he was thinking for sure Dumbledore will scan the papers but no...he was more interested in the binder clip. A binder clip. "Truth!"

-.-

"Today's the first Quidditch game, right?"

"What gave it away? The Gryffindor's screaming their heads off at the minimal chance they have of beating Slytherin? "

"No... vell...zat too, the fact that apparently, Slytherin has been reigning champs for the last couple of years." Edward responded over his an old book of maps he had found in the library. He pulled out a leather bookmark from his vest to place it on the book to save his spot. Before Edward could put away the book to start eating his breakfast, Owls started to fly into the Great Hall. "Oh look...mail is-"

Plunk. Plunk.

Edward took in a deep breath when he felt two items drop on his head and flutter down onto his lap. He turned his attention to Xerxes who started to eat his breakfast, to be more precise, bacon. "Xerxes."

"Hoot."

"That is my bacon."

"Hoot."

"Xerxes. That. Is. My. Bacon."

"Hoot. Hoot. Hoot."

"DAMMIT XERXES!"

"Hoot~"

"Grrrrrrr...Evil..."

"Hoot!"

"Zefferus! She called me a bad word!" Edward gasped out, he looked at Severus with an expression of shock. He pointed at the smug little owl, which was still eating Edward's breakfast.

"Do not include me in your petty argument." Severus deadpanned, not even bothering to glance their way.

"Petty?" Edward huffed out; he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hoot?" Xerxes glanced up; it almost appeared like she was

"Well then, here I zought you were my friend."

"Hoot, hoot."

"Yeah, you are ri...HEY!"

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose to drown out the argument between Edward and Xerxes. After counting down to ten for what seemed like several hundred times, Severus reached over to smacked Edward upside the head and flick Xerxes beak lightly. "Enough. What arrived, Mr. Elric?"

Edward humph, he picked up the letters and his entire expression lightened when he saw who wrote one of the letters. He bit his bottom lip while he stared at the letter and mentally debated whether or not he should open that one or the other one. With a sigh, he put that letter in his vest and paid attention to another letter. It was a letter from Colonel Bastard himself. Opening the letter, Edward scanned through the contents and he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Good news?" "Hoot?" Severus and Xerxes stared at Edward expectantly for an answer.

"My superiors gave the trip a thumbs up. All I need to do now is inform the Old Man, figure out who is coming to the trip, and other crap."

Tag List Below:

Permanent Tag List: @runestarchild​ @princesskitomi​ @fanfictionpromptsblog​ @souleateralicestein​ @vixen-uchiha​ @okami-knight​ @legendaryneckjudgestudent​ @weird-homosapien​ @justafanwarrior​ @vivilakitty​ @ravennightingaleandavatempus​ @if-you-give-a-chat-a-cookie @moonwatcher04​ @darkshadowguardian​ @two-faced-biatch​ @kris-pines04​ @mewwitch​ @edwardhatori​​ @kuroko26​​ @tall-and-angry​​   @bloody-no-kissu​​ @crazylittlemunchkin​​ @tbehartoo​​ @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry​​ @melicmusicmagic​​

[sassycassie-s-writing]

Lockets [Version 2]

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): Avatar: The Last Airbender/Zuko

Rating: PG-11/T- (for minor injuries)

Original Idea: Same as Version 1--- @welovegroot asked and I had two different ideas so I wrote it twice.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) This one starts the same as version 1, but changes after Zuko reaches the South Pole! I like this version better, TBH... This one is also over 3,000 words!

^^^^^

“What are you doing?” Zuko demanded. I looked over at him, strapping my dagger to my belt. He had a bandage over his left eye.

“Coming with you!” I replied brightly.

“What?! No you’re not!”

“Well I can’t let you go alone. Duh.”

“No, Natsumi. Listen to me,” he pleaded, grabbing my shoulders. He looked so different with his head shaved save the high ponytail and the terrible burns on the left side of his face. “You cannot come with me. You have to stay here. This is your place—here. You’re not coming.”

“Why not?”

“Because this banishment is for me. I’ve lost my honor. And when I find the Avatar, I’ll get it back.”

I put one hand on the good side of his face. “But I don’t want to be here without you.”

He sighed and removed my hand. “I know. I don’t want to leave you either. You’re one of my only friends. But… I can’t let you banish yourself.”

“You’ll be all alone out there—”

“No. My uncle has chosen to accompany me. Stay here. That’s an order.”

I sniffed, eyes watering a little. “Of course, Your Highness.”

“Be careful. Train hard,” Zuko said.

“You too.”

He moved to leave.

“Wait!” I cried out. I rushed over to my dresser and pulled out a small wooden box. I returned to Zuko and held it out. “Take this with you. I was going to give it to you on your next birthday, but I guess now might be my last chance for a while.”

He accepted the box and opened it. The gold locket glittered in the torchlight of my room.

With one fingernail, he popped the locket open.

I couldn’t see it, but I knew inside was a smaller version of the portrait that had been painted of us when spring had begun. The court painter had been out in the courtyard, capturing the blossoms on the trees, while Zuko and I had been out playing and enjoying the last vestiges of our childhood. I’d asked the painter to paint the same thing, only smaller, and put it in the locket.

Zuko looked up at me, but didn’t say anything.

“To remember me by,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said. “But I don’t need a trinket to remember you by. I’ll never forget you.”

“Well take it anyway. To remind you of the good times.”

He nodded. “Thanks.” After a moment, during which it seemed like he wanted to say something, he turned around, toward my bedroom door.

He slipped out of my room like a wraith and disappeared from my life.

I collapsed to my knees and broke down in tears.

^^^^^

Zuko reached under his tunic and pulled out the locket. He popped it open with his fingernail. The catch and the hinge were much looser than they’d been two years ago when Natsumi first gave it to him since he opened it so often. The picture inside was preserved behind the thin, small sheet of glass, and had withstood most of the damage that could have been done to it.

There were he and Natsumi, playing under the pink blossoms in the trees, smiling and laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he really smiled since his exile began.

The portrait had been painted before he got his scar. It was strange to see the left side of his face with unblemished skin. Simpler times. Sometimes he and Natsumi would spar in the courtyard—easy stuff. Rarely with enough fire to do any lasting damage to each other or the flora.

Zuko stared at the portrait for a while, feeling the boat chug beneath him. He missed her. Not a day went by that he didn’t regret not letting her go with him. But he knew, now and back then, that he couldn’t bring her with him into banishment.

“Prince Zuko,” his uncle said. “We’re coming up on the South Pole.”

Zuko snapped the locket shut and shoved it back under his tunic. He knew Iroh knew it was there, but Iroh never commented about it and Zuko never brought it up.

“Wonderful. Hopefully there we’ll catch some luck,” he said.

^^^^^

My arm hurt. Left side. Shoulder-to-elbow. The pain drove out every other thought. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was lying down on something hard and uncomfortable, but I had no clue what it was. A stretcher? The ground? Who knew?

“The sergeant is injured! We have to get her medical attention!” one of my crewmates cried out.

“She’s the Fire Lord’s ward. Better make it fast or he’ll have our heads,” someone else said quietly.

“I thought he wasn’t terribly fond of her,” a third voice remarked.

“The Fire Lord isn’t terribly fond of anybody,” the second voice agreed. “However, she’s the daughter of one of his best late generals. Both of her parents died in combat when she was seven. Rumor has it Fire Lord Ozai promised her father that he’d make sure she was well cared-for until she was ready before she was even born.”

“Huh. Never heard about that,” the third voice said.

My blood was roaring in my ears and I was in too much pain to comment on their gossip. Old gossip. Sure I’d lived a majority of my life without my parents now, going back to the Fire Nation palace on shore leave since I was fourteen. Did people still really talk about that stuff?

I didn’t have the brain space to ask.

After several moments, during which I know I moaned in pain, there was a lot of movement, and then a rocking sensation. The movement had lasted a while, and yet no time at all.

The rocking was familiar. The creaking around me was too.

A Fire Navy ship.

The one I served on, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“Get the medic. We’re taking her back to the capital to recover. That wound is too nasty,” the captain’s voice ordered.

^^^^^

“Prince Zuko!” a serving boy exclaimed, throwing open the door to Zuko’s chambers.

“What?” Zuko snapped as Mai pulled away from the kiss they’d been sharing.

“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“Lady Natsumi is back!”

Zuko’s heart stopped. “What?” he asked.

“Yeah,” the boy agreed. He was probably fourteen. “Apparently she got badly injured on the battlefield. Sent back to the capital to recover. She was s’posed to be delivered here to the palace according to the other servants. Dunno if she made it. I just know she’s back in the Fire Nation.”

Zuko stared straight forward, hand crawling up to the locket he still wore but kept hidden. It had been a long time since he’d seen her.

Would she even remember him? Would she still care? Was she in any condition to see him?

He shook his head. “Thank you for informing me,” he said. The boy slammed the door shut again.

Zuko’s arm around Mai loosened slightly. He couldn’t believe it.

Part of him was mildly surprised she was still alive. Everyone else he loved once tended to get ripped away from him. Why should his childhood best friend be any different?

The other part of him was ecstatic. She was still alive! And she was coming home!

Mai looked up at him. “May I come with you to visit her? She was my friend too.”

Zuko nodded. “Sure.”

^^^^^

By the time the pain medicine had eased enough of the agony for me to open my eyes, I realized where I was.

The infirmary of the Fire Nation palace. I’d been in this room plenty enough as a kid—minor early Firebending training incidents, making mischief with Zuko and Azula and Mai and Ty Lee, that one time I fell off the courtyard roof—to recognize it on sight.

My arm still ached, but when I looked at it, all I could see was bandages.

“Good morning, milady,” the old nurse said. She’d guided me through a lot of pain in my life.

“Is it morning?” I complained.

The nurse chuckled. “You haven’t changed much,” she said. “I’ll tell Prince Zuko you’ve woken.”

I sat up so fast my head spun. “Zuko’s back? What happened? Did he find the Avatar? What has he said—”

“Relax, my lady,” the nurse soothed, gently but firmly forcing me to lie down again. “He can regale you with stories when he arrives. For now, you need to keep resting. Your body is trying to heal.”

I sighed. “Sorry,” I muttered, relaxing back on the bed. “I just… didn’t think he’d be here.”

“It’ll all be alright, young lady. I’ll go fetch him, but you need to drink this tea and rest.” She put a small earthenware cup into my hand. I sat up enough to sip at it. It was warm and spicy—perfect authentic Fire Nation tea. So much better than what we brewed on our ship. But there was a war on and luxuries were scarce out in the military.

The nurse slipped out of the infirmary. I set the cup down and peeked under the bandages. Yikes. The burn was gnarly and was definitely going to scar.

I resituated the bandages and tried not to gag. I’d seen worse on other soldiers. Maybe it was because it was my own skin that it grossed me out.

The door opened again. “Nice to see you’re awake,” a familiar voice said. “You’ve only been out for three days. That old bat wouldn’t let me see you.” I glanced over to the door to see a familiar figure dressed in long royal robes.

I smiled. “Hi Zuko.”

He gave me a tiny grin. “Hey,” he greeted.

“How… how are you?” That seemed like a really stupid question, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Better question is how are you?”

“Don’t do that,” I complained. “Don’t turn it on me.”

He shrugged and sat in a chair near the bed I was on. “Better than talking about me.”

“But I want to hear everything.”

“Later. I promise. But you’re the one lying on a gurney wrapped in bandages.” He sighed. “I, uh, brought you something.” He held out a small red box.

He helped me sit up and propped me up on a small pile of pillows before handing me the box.

I pried the lid open.

And gasped.

Sitting in the box was a beautiful, ornate gold locket. Like the one I’d given to him three years ago but much fancier. Gently, so as not to disturb my injury, I pulled it out and opened it. “Oh Zuko…!” I whispered, in awe.

It was the same painting as the one I’d given him when he left three years ago but updated to our current ages—along with the scar on his face. My hair was pulled up in a proper top-knot, rather than the ponytail of my youth. He was in his armor—and I was in mine. In the old one, we were in soft, loose tunics.

The smiles were smaller—and I felt my heart break.

I looked up at him. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“I was going to send it to you before your birthday. But then I was told you were here.” He gently removed it from my hands and clasped it behind my neck. I tucked it down my patient gown neckline.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. I missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

The door opened. Mai stepped in. “Morning,” she greeted flatly.

“Morning,” I replied, trying for a smile and pulling more of a grimace as my injury throbbed.

“Heard you got pretty hurt,” she said, standing next to Zuko and wrapping an arm around his waist. I could have sworn the crack of my heartbreak was audible. Why was I surprised? Mai had always had a crush on Zuko. I’d never really noticed whether or not he liked her back—but I knew throughout our childhood that she liked him. It shouldn’t have surprised me that since his return they’d be together.

“Yeah,” I said, managing to keep any quivering out of my voice. “Kinda sucks.”

“So I’d imagine,” Mai said.

“Good to see you again, though,” I said. “Both of you.”

“Thanks,” Zuko said.

The nurse came back in. “Alright, alright! Shoo! She needs rest and healing, Your Highness, Lady Mai.” She waved them out.

Once they were gone, I stopped suppressing the pain in my chest and my injury. Tears flooded to my eyes and spilled over. I reached up with my right hand and held my injured left shoulder. That caused a spike in the pain, but it also brought comfort.

The nurse started attending to me. “Are you alright, my lady?”

I sniffed. “I don’t know,” I said. “Everything hurts.”

“I’ll make some more medicine for you. The pain should be dulled.”

“It’s not that kind of hurt,” I muttered.

The nurse glanced over her shoulder at the door. “Ah. Prince Zuko and Lady Mai. Yes. I always knew you had a special place in your heart for him,” she said as she started grinding up some herbs. “I'm sorry, my lady, for your reunion with such a dear friend to be so bittersweet.” She didn’t notice my hand curling into a fist around the locket he’d given me. A gesture of friendship. Nothing more.

I opened it again and removed the small glass panel to look at the back of the small painting. It was blank.

“He never even turned over the painting I gave him,” I muttered. “I thought he’d get bored and find it one day.”

“Pardon?” the nurse asked.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

^^^^^

“Alright. Something’s wrong,” Mai said after Zuko had been quiet for a long time.

“It’s nothing. It’s just weird… Seeing her again after… all this time,” he said. “She’s changed. But… so have I.”

“Hrn,” Mai grunted, sounding disinterested. “She gave you that necklace, right?”

“Yeah. The day I was banished. She wanted to come with me.”

“The two of you were always close friends.”

I knew it, Mai thought. She’d felt the disconnect between her and Zuko the moment that servant boy said Natsumi was home. It had only grown in the three days she’d been unconscious. The problem was: Mai wanted to hate Natsumi for it, but couldn’t. Zuko’s feelings weren’t her fault. She didn’t ask for him to like her.

Zuko reached up to his locket and pulled it out, gently prying it open.

In the glimmering firelight of the torch on the wall, he caught a glimpse of something through the painting.

Curious, he pulled the glass out and removed the painting. He flipped it over.

Dear Zuko,

Happy birthday! I’ll always love you with all my heart.

Your Natsumi

He stared at it, reading it over and over. There wasn’t much room on the back of the painting, but she’d always written really small.

Mai read the inscription over his shoulder.

She sighed and stode off.

^^^^^

Zuko and I laughed at one of his stories while I was recovering. I’d been moved from the infirmary to my old room, but my arm was still hurting and I couldn’t remove the bandages. “Seriously? Pirates?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. It was… a very strange day,” he said.

I laughed and leaned my head back against my pile of pillows. “Wow. I missed a lot,” I said.

He shrugged. “I missed a lot of what you did too,” he replied.

I waved my hand dismissively. “Naw. You didn’t miss much. Just military crap.”

“C’mon. Tell me.”

Knock-knock!

“That’s probably the nurse,” I said. “Come in!”

The door opened. Mai stood there. “Zuko, can I talk to you?” she asked. He glanced at me as he stood up.

“Sure,” he said. He followed her out. But the door didn’t close the whole way, and I could hear everything they were saying. “What’s wrong?”

“I'm not blind, Zuko,” Mai said. “I can see how much you care for her.”

“Well yeah. It’s like you said. We’ve always been close friends.”

“No. This is different!” Mai snapped. “Look, Zuko. Ever since she came back, it’s like a wall’s been put up between you and me! I don’t see you as much and it’s like I don’t even exist anymore! We. Are. Over. Until you figure yourself out, don’t bother coming to me.” I heard her stomp off.

Zuko stayed out in the corridor for several long moments.

When he came back in, there was a lost look on his face. He closed the door by falling against it.

I slowly eased out of bed and stumbled over to him. I was still weak from medicine and injuries and exhaustion. I staggered into his chest, letting my good arm fall around his waist. “I'm sorry,” I whispered.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close. “I… I don’t know…”

“Shh. You don’t have to say anything. I understand.”

“Hey wait a second. You’re not supposed to be out of bed!” Zuko bent down and scooped my knees up. He carried me back to my bed and set me down. “You have to take care of yourself.”

“Is it true?” I asked. “Since I’ve come back?”

He sighed. “I missed you a lot,” he said. “I looked at your locket every day while I was banished. And I found your note on the back of the painting a few days ago. I…” He hung his head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to know everything, Zuko,” I said, reaching out and taking his hand. The movement hurt my injury and I winced but didn’t withdraw.

He glanced up at me. “Thank you.”

We went back to telling stories of the time we spent apart. In the middle of one of his stories about a woman named June and an abbey that made perfume, his hand had found my injured shoulder. It throbbed where he touched it, but the pain brought a sharp clarity to the world around me.

I sat up. “Zuko?” I asked.

“Hmm?”

“Everything okay?”

“I… I think so. What Mai said brought something to mind that I haven’t dared think about in years.” He slid the locket out of the neckline of his robe. “I love you too, Natsumi.”

“Zuko. I'm not going to be your rebound.”

“No. No I understand.”

“Give yourself some time. If you still love me by the time I'm healed and you’re over Mai just barely breaking up with you, then maybe we can try to be together.”

He nodded. “I understand,” he said.

Wow. He had changed.

^^^^^

“Well, my lady, looks like you’re all healed,” the nurse said as she removed my bandages. Permanently. It was scarred but the burn no longer hurt.

I smiled at her. “Thank you,” I said. I gave her a hug.

When I left the infirmary, Zuko was waiting for me. “You’re looking better,” he said.

“I'm feeling better.”

He snared my waist. “So. Is the writing on the back of the painting you gave me still true?”

“Always,” I replied. “Are you over your breakup with Mai?”

“Yeah. She and I drifted apart before you showed up. Your reappearance just confirmed it.”

“So do you still want to try the dating thing?” I asked.

“If you’ll let me.”

“Oh with pleasure, Your Highness.”

“Ugh. Don’t call me that.”

“So stop me, Your High—”

I got cut off by him planting his lips on mine.

I giggled. Exactly what I had in mind.

[despairingvacation]

A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES... [MOTIVE 1]

It had been a week since the announcement of the true intentions of the vacation everyone was thrown into- and things had felt awfully tense. With some guests opting to ignore the warning and continue about their day, thinking as little as possible to their circumstances, while others would choose to hole themselves up and distance themselves away from everyone, unsure of if they could fully trust them. But other than that - things had felt relatively quiet, with no activity, or word from Oswald since his appearance.

Just as everyone had thought maybe he was just pulling their legs and they’d be allowed to leave - the televisions in everyone’s room one morning crackled to life - and the image of Oswald looking on towards the guests was the first thing everyone saw in the early hours of the morning. He was the last thing everyone wanted to be seeing right now - but try as hard as they might, they just couldn’t seem to turn their televisions off to either go back to sleep, or ignore him.

“Did’ya think this was some kinda joke or somethin’!? Everyone meet in front’ve the castle now, I’ve got an announcement t’make! An’ all’ve ‘ya better be there, this ain’t somethin’ y’can just sleep yer way through.”

And with that, the televisions shut off, leaving Oswald’s message as clear as day to everyone in the park. Although it would take some time for everyone to leave their rooms and head down to the designated meeting place, everyone would find Oswald already standing there, tapping his foot against the floor impatiently as he looked on towards those approaching him, a look of clear annoyance on the features of his face.

As everyone approaches him, Oswald crosses his arms and glares towards the crowd of 26 students in front of him and takes in a deep breath. “‘Bout time! D’ya know how long I’ve been waitin’ here for y’all!?”

For the most part, everyone was silent save for a few mumbles from those who were willing to try and talk back to him. They go unnoticed, however, as Oswald waves the complains off-- he paces back and forth from one place to another. It seemed that he was having a hard time staying patient-- or still, at the very least. Whatever he wanted to say, he sure was taking his sweet time saying it. That didn’t last long, however, as Oswald jumps back in front of everyone and stomps a foot down in what appears to be anger, before raising his voice.

“WHAT GIVES!? I tell y’all t’go an’ kill if y’wanna get outta here, and we’ve gone an entire week without any bodies showin’ up! I’m growin’ bored over here!”

Everyone continued to stay quiet, growing rather tired of the rabbit’s antics and how he didn’t seem to be getting to the point. It was starting to grow clear that the one thing Oswald wanted more than anything was for a dead body to show up - and it was clear that he wasn’t going to stop at nothing to ensure he got it. However, how was that going to happen if almost everyone made it clear they didn’t want to abide to his rules?

“...So tell us how exactly you plan on having a body show up then, Oswald.” A voice from the crowd speaks up, and before everyone can turn to see who spoke up, Oswald jumps in place rather dramatically as a smile forms wide on his face.

“Glad ‘ya asked, pal!” He says, his voice loud enough it nearly echoes the empty area surrounding them. His voice echoing off the walls makes everyone nearly jump in place, and the thought of him actually having a plan to make someone kill was enough to make just about everyone feel tense.

“I’m guessin’ by the sounds’ve it, some of ‘ya have figured out that I was serious ‘bout the whole murder thing.” Oswald says, and everyone stays quiet, though the tension in the air is as high as ever. He starts to pace again, and it can only bring a certain feeling of dread amongst the guests. They remain quiet, however, not wanting to speak out of place in fear of what Oswald would say-- or worse, do.

“So, I’ll give ‘ya this. How ‘bout a motive, huh?” Oswald throws the suggestion towards them- and everyone looks towards eachother, unsure of what to think of his proposal. But nobody says anything, and it leaves Oswald more than just a little bit upset.

“...Y’guys are just gonna play the silent game with me? Fine, then. What if I told ya that while you were sleepin’, all’ve ya have been cursed, then?” The smile on Oswald’s face is as clear as day, and the dread everyone inevitably feels washes over them.

“...Cursed?”

“What do you mean cursed?”

The crowd’s murmurs capture the rabbit’s attention. Putting his hands on his hips, Oswald sways back and forth between the heels of his feet to the tips of his toes, and he tilts his head in a curious manner. “It means exactly what it sounds like, folks.” He says, but the tone of his voice dies down, which only gives the guests the idea that he’s completely serious about it.

“What it means is yer all cursed. Some’ve ya might not notice it right away, but others will. It’s gonna take some time, but rest assured - it’ll come t’ya eventually! An’ it’s goin’ to make yer lives a livin’ hell.” The way a cartoony looking rabbit can so easily say the word hell catches everyone off guard - something about it feels so uncanny… but they let him continue, even if they have a feeling they already know how it’s going to end.

“But, ‘ve course, there’s always a way t’get outta it! All ‘ya gotta do is kill someone, an’ all yer curses will be lifted. I mean, if y’really wanna be wanderin’ ‘round cursed for the rest’ve yer lives, then be my guest.” Oswald begins to hop away before anyone can retort anything to him, but he stops mid-hop, as if he remembered something important he forgot to mention to the crowd-- and that, he did.

Looking over his shoulder to the twenty six students who stand behind him, Oswald grins. “Oh, an’ one more thing I forgot t’mention ‘bout the curses. Y’know, since we’re in Disney an’ all-- wouldn’t it be fun if the curses ‘ya got were taken directly from different stories from yer childhood? I’m sure the further into th’week we get, you’ll be figurin’ out which story yer curse is from!” and with that, the rabbit takes his leave, leaving the rest of the students to stand there silently in awe and, truth be told-- confusion.

Curses? That had to be some kind of joke. They all felt fine-- sure, there was an uneasy feeling in the pits of their stomachs-- but they were fine.

…

Right?

26/26 STUDENTS REMAIN.

Hello, and welcome to the first motive of Despairing Vacation 2!!!! It’s murder time! 

If you have been selected to be the victim and culprit of this chapter, you will be privately DM’d by either Kaye or Jason. Any concerns you may have will go straight to them, and not to Freddy - as she won’t have any involvement in the choice. She’ll be just as blind as everyone else! 

Take note that a victim and culprit have already been selected ahead of time - you will not be able to offer yourself up to be the culprit/victim for just this chapter of DV.  

However, if for any reason, the victim and/or culprit decide to skip this round, then an announcement will be made in the server about it. 

You are not allowed to tell anybody your role if you are selected for this chapter’s victim or culprit.

You are allowed to continue threads pre-motive drop, however, due to the motive’s nature, you will not be allowed to make new starters without your character’s curse. Any thread made after this motive drop will have your character’s curse taking effect over them. 

NOTES ABOUT THIS MOTIVE: 

Your character will be cursed throughout the week until somebody kills. At first, they won’t be too noticeable, but the longer someone goes without killing the more obvious it will be. 

The curse is based off of a childhood story/Disney story. While you as the mun will know which story you have, your character will not.

You’re free to write a drabble of your character’s reaction to their curse when they realize what it is.

You will be DM’d with the details of your curse. If you have any questions about it, feel free to talk to one of the mods about it. 

For the sake of making threading easier, you will be allowed to tell who you’re threading with your curse if you wish to - but if you’d like to keep it a surprise, feel free to keep it a surprise. Just don’t be saying what your curse is in the OOC chat! 

The curse will automatically go away as soon as someone is killed. 

[farfromdaylight]

122/61: 122,444 words

total wordcount: 261,446

well, here we are! the last day in this completely abritrary self-challenge. i started on may 1 with the goal of writing 61,000 words in 61 days.

...which i achieved on june 5. well. uh. that calls for a new goal, right?

at first i thought i would aim for 100k, and then maybe 111k -- 61 + an extra 50k would be pretty cool. but then it hit me: 122k.

what's so special about 122k, you ask? simple: 61 + 61 = 122.

this is the part where i remind you i had 118k yesterday, and admit that yes, i wrote 4400 words today purely to make this terrible joke.

to be honest, i decided on this goal a week, maybe a week and a half ago, but i've been behind by 2k (sometimes more) the whole time. i kept telling myself i could catch up, but LMAO, I KEPT NOT DOING IT. eventually i was left having to write an even 4k in one evening. thanks a fuckin' lot, past larissa.

anyway, further tl;dr on this whole experience below

i started this whole thing with a couple of goals. let's review how those went.

get in the habit of writing every day instead of only during nanowrimo: complete success. i have written every single day for the past 91 days. by this point it's part of my schedule. it's something i look forward to every day. i would be happy to write every single day for the rest of the year.

give my hands a break/don't overachieve: ........... :"| lmao yeah about that. i think overachieving just might be my state of being. maybe i should set lower goals and then i won't be so motivated to fly beyond them...

learn how to focus on multiple things at once: mixed success. may was a pretty lousy month and my brain was mostly on writing. in june things have been somewhat better. this past week i've actually been able to work on site stuff, which usually i haven't been able to do while writing. separating 'writing time' from 'other stuff time' is the key here.

learn colemak so i can switch to it by july: lol big failure, i practiced like twice. gonna make it a part of my schedule so i actually freaking do it next month.

overall, i'm really, really happy i did this. posting about it here was actually really useful; i'm looking forward to reading back through the posts. the most useful thing though was the goal tracker on the nano site. having an ironclad 12:00am deadline to get my words in every day is invaluable.

i'm gonna roll right on forward into camp nano tomorrow; this story continues to be a ton of fun to write and i'm really enjoying it. onward and upward!

oh, briefly, a bit about what i wrote today (since there was 4k of it): finally nearly finished this scene wtf. christ i have no idea how long it was-- 18k??? no wonder i've been fucking dying. there was a lot of important emotional stuff to get through but jesus, i have got to learn how to be more concise, these 20,000-word scenes are fucking killing me.

there was this one bit i really enjoyed writing today though because the POV character straight up started dissociating. i didn't plan for it at all but in hindsight i totally foreshadowed it, so go me.

(the bad part: didn't realize until i was halfway through that i'd written the dissociation in present-tense. WAY TO GO, ME. it's not like the other 260k was in past tense or anything. to be fair dissociation scenes are typically better in present tense... maybe i can leave it that way. it's not like anyone's going to see this.)

[mathdevelopment]

Player movement

This is one entry in a multi-part series. If you haven't read the start of the sandbox demo series, start reading here.

The time has finally come to let the player move around. There are a few ways to handle movement in a 2D game, depending on the type of game. If I were making a precision platformer, I would probably just want fixed speed movement, but I’m not so I’ll go for acceleration with a maximum speed.

Even with that approach there are multiple options though. Here's an equation I've used in the past:

\[v\left(t\right)=a+fv\left(t-1\right)\]

//This is what it would look like in code: player.Velocity *= f; // 0 < f < 1 player.Velocity += a;

\(a\) is the acceleration of the player or entity and \(f\) is the "decay" or friction, generally set to a high decimal value like 0.8. The maximum velocity in this approach is equal to \(\frac{a}{1-f}\). I'm sure you could prove that with limits or something, but I'm going to take the "if it seems to work it's probably right" approach. If I let \(a=1\), the formula evaluates to:

\[v\left(t\right)=s\left(1-f\right)+fv\left(t-1\right)\]

where \(f\) represents the accleration and \(s=v_{\max}\). Oh, and if we're going for low-level optimization, I can cut out a multiplication operation with this simplification:

\[v\left(t\right)=s+f\left(v\left(t-1\right)-s\right)\]

Mathematically, this formula works. In practice, the code is going to have more trouble with it. \(t\) is supposed to represent time, but computers don't always have the same time gap between frames. If I were to lock the framerate I could ignore that issue, but nobody likes framerate locks. To fix this, I'll move outside of algebra and into programming math. Oh, and let's change \(s\) to \(m\) and \(f\) to \(a\) while we're at it.

\[v\rightarrow m+a\Delta t\left(v-m\right)\]

\(\Delta t\) can really be in any time format I want, as long as I set \(a\) accordingly.

So let's put this into code! I'll start with horizontal movement first, as that doesn't really require that I actually implement physics.

if (keyboardState.IsKeyDown(Keybinds.Left)) targetSpeed -= 10; if (keyboardState.IsKeyDown(Keybinds.Right)) targetSpeed += 10; player.Velocity = new Vector2(targetSpeed + (0.9f * (float)gameTime.ElapsedGameTime.TotalSeconds * (player.Velocity.X - targetSpeed)), player.Velocity.Y); player.Position += player.Velocity.ToPoint();

But that didn't work. I mean, it worked in terms of the scaling (my math was right!) but the actual speeds and positions that things were at were wrong. After some testing (some of which involved an actual stopwatch) I realized the problem. I had multiplied the acceleration by the time step, but not the velocity when moving the player. But after I did that, the player wouldn't move at all. I immediately realized the issue: the distance moved per time step is less than one. The positions of entities are stored as points (for reasons that will be explained later), and points use integer x and y values, rather than Vector2s which consist of floating point numbers. I wanted to preserve the exact-ness of the position but still allow for decimal positions, so I decided to comprimise with this little bit of code:

public Vector2 Velocity { get; set; } public Point PointPosition { get { return Position.ToPoint(); } }

C# properties are beautiful, aren't they. I may regret this change later on, but I'll deal with it then. For now, I have other issues. Almost everything is working properly at this point, but the acceleration isn't visible. I changed \(a\) to 0.999f, but even that still wasn't noticable. The time step was too small for my large \(a\) values. At this point I also realized another problem. In the case in which a time step takes longer than one second (which should never happen in theory), everything will break. I'm sure speedrunners would love that, but I'm not making this for speedrunners. I need to guarantee that my \(a\) term is always less than one. I also need to guarantee that my \(a\) term is properly distributed over a second no matter how many updates are contained within that second.

I thought about this puzzle for a while until I finally came to my conclusion: If this is possible to solve, I don't know how to do it. If you can think of a solution to this, tweet me or ask me the answer, because I seriously have no idea. For now, I'm just going to remove the time step factor from the acceleration. Goodbye delta t, you will be missed.

\[v\rightarrow m+a\left(v-m\right)\]

For testing purposes, I'm going to make the player speed be 24 tiles/s or 1.5 chunks/s.

Of course though, the player's velocity shouldn't change mid-air, should it? Or if it does, it should change MUCH slower. My formula doesn't easily allow for things like air control, so while I could probably implement it by changing the \(a\) term while the player isn't grounded, I'll just add a "is player grounded" check before trying to change their velocity. Note that I haven't actually implemented any code that tells me if the player is grounded. I'm just using placeholder variables for now.

Now that I'm done with horizontal velocity (yes, all of that was just for horizontal velocity), I'm going to move on to vertical stuff. I might be able to just use straight acceleration, but I don't really want the player to be clipping through the ground. There are "ray"cast solutions to that, but I'm just going to assume that the player won't be going at ground clipping speeds for now. Is that ignorant? Yes. Do I care? Yes, but I'm willing to overlook it for now.

So I'm going to use raw acceleration anyways, even though I said it was a bad idea. Otherwise it's gonna feel like the player is hanging on to a bunch of balloons whenever move. How does 1 chunk/s2 sound for acceleration due to gravity? I think it sounds fine, so I'm gonna use that.

Let's go back to the collision from last time, specifically this line:

anyCollide = true;

Instead of just checking if there are any collisions, I'm also going to eject the player from the tile. This essentially means that if a player is inside of a tile, I'm going to move them just enough outside of the tile that they are resting right beside the tile. This is where my concern about using Position and PointPosition came from. When using floats for physics, there is often an issue of vertical jitter where the player is displaced just out of the tile, falls back into the tile the next frame, and then is displaced outside in the next frame. Hopefully that won't happen here, but I should keep in mind the possibility that it could.

But how will I perform ejection in the first place? It's not actually quite as hard as it sounds. Remember that stackoverflow answer that was actually a gamedev stackexchange answer that I linked in the previous post? That specifically mentions vertical ejection, but I'll apply the same idea for both axes. However, I won't eject on both axes. If I did, stuff like this would happen all the time:

Where what I really want is this:

To fix that, I'll look for the axis which has the lowest intersection, and eject on that axis. I'll know which direction by checking which side of the original entity center the intersection is on.

if (currentRect.Intersects(tileRect)) { anyCollide = true; Rectangle intersection = Rectangle.Intersect(currentRect, tileRect); if (intersection.Width < intersection.Height) { if (intersection.Center.X > currentRect.Center.X) { e.Position += -Vector2.UnitX * intersection.Width; } else { e.Position += Vector2.UnitX * intersection.Width; } e.Velocity *= Vector2.UnitY; } else { if (intersection.Center.Y > currentRect.Center.Y) { e.Position += -Vector2.UnitY * intersection.Height; } else { e.Position += Vector2.UnitY * intersection.Height; } e.Velocity *= Vector2.UnitX; } }

It works! My problem now is that I have no jump. Adding a jump is easy, but making it only work while the player is grounded is trickier. You might not have noticed the flashing the the gif above due to the framerate of the gif, but the character was flashing between red and green every frame. This is actually a side effect of the jitter I mentioned earlier. The frame after the player is ejected from the ground, they're no longer intersecting the ground, and so they appear red again.

However, this is actually sort of weird behavior due to the semantics of how I programmed and arranged my code. By best guess has to do with the time step being so quick that -16 * UNIT_SIZE * gameTime.ElapsedGameTime.TotalSeconds, the delta-v on the y axis, is less than one.

After some quick testing, I discovered that my hypothesis was in fact incorrect. However, though I may have been wrong, I was certainly on the right track. Each frame, the position is not changed by the velocity, but by the velocity times the time step. Therefore, it would actually take four or five frames to accumulate enough delta-y to intersect the player again.

Creating a fix to this issue which is ignorant of the framerate is pretty tricky. One option is to do an additional intersection check with a rectangle expanded by one unit in every direction. Hopefully this new check can actually replace the old one, as if there is a collision with no intersection, the intersection width or height would be zero, as per the documentation.

I should be able to say that an entity is grounded if the collision pushes them up, or the height of an intersection is zero. It works... I think.

After a bit of testing I decided to increase the acceleration due to gravity, and everything seems to be working fi- oh wait, no, that's not right. I have accidentally implemented wall jumps. Let's fix this by checking the ejection direction of the expanded collision rectangle, and performing the old collision that we know worked.

And it works! The last change that I'm going to make for the post is to change the current lack of air control into a slower acceleration air control. I can do this by just cranking up the \(a\) value from earlier really high while the player isn't grounded.

// These code blocks are getting way too long. bool anyCollide = false; e.Grounded = false; Rectangle entityRect = e.GetCollisionRect(); for (int x = entityRect.Left; x < entityRect.Right + Game1.UNIT_SIZE; x += Game1.UNIT_SIZE) { for (int y = entityRect.Top; y < entityRect.Bottom + Game1.UNIT_SIZE; y += Game1.UNIT_SIZE) { Tile t = GetTile(new Point(x.FloorDivide(Game1.UNIT_SIZE), y.FloorDivide(Game1.UNIT_SIZE))); if (t != null && t.HasCollision) { Rectangle currentRect = e.GetCollisionRect(); Rectangle expandedRect = currentRect.InflateThrough(1, 1); // Uses extension function of Rectangle.Inflate to make a clean one-liner. Rectangle tileRect = new Rectangle(x.FloorDivide(Game1.UNIT_SIZE) * Game1.UNIT_SIZE, y.FloorDivide(Game1.UNIT_SIZE) * Game1.UNIT_SIZE, Game1.UNIT_SIZE, Game1.UNIT_SIZE); if (expandedRect.Intersects(tileRect)) { Rectangle expandedIntersect = Rectangle.Intersect(expandedRect, tileRect); if (expandedIntersect.Height < expandedIntersect.Width && expandedIntersect.Center.Y > expandedRect.Center.Y) e.Grounded = true; anyCollide = true; if (currentRect.Intersects(tileRect)) { Rectangle intersection = Rectangle.Intersect(currentRect, tileRect); if (intersection.Width < intersection.Height) { if (intersection.Center.X > currentRect.Center.X) { e.Position += -Vector2.UnitX * intersection.Width; } else { e.Position += Vector2.UnitX * intersection.Width; } e.Velocity *= Vector2.UnitY; } else { if (intersection.Center.Y > currentRect.Center.Y) { e.Position += -Vector2.UnitY * intersection.Height; } else { e.Position += Vector2.UnitY * intersection.Height; } e.Velocity *= Vector2.UnitX; } } } } } }

And in honor of another game created using XNA, here are some vertical hoiks.

They're a bit harder to control.

[curios-fables-blog]

Excerpt from a Possible Interactive Story

Note: Originally posted Dec 16th, 2016 3:27:27pm on my main blog.

A few days ago, I came up with an idea for an interactive story that I'd like to work on, though I'm not sure when I'm going to start on it yet.

The premise is that, like in many mythos, angels and demons are often at odds with each other. You, the player, are an Angel sent to a city called Heaven in Cailfornia by your superiors to both keep an eye on the kingdom based there and to sabotogue whatever you can. Though you keep yourself disguised, what you superiors neglected to tell you is that one of the demons there can see through disguises.

Soon after you arrive, you are brought before Eliae, the volatile Queen of the kingdom, who offers you a choice: Accept the job she has for you, or be removed- permanently. This excerpt assumes that the player has refused the job initially. Long text in [brackets] is based on player input, and single words are based how how the character has described their character (players will be able to decide on some aspects of their character early on in the story).

Eli's eyes narrowed to thin slits. "What did you say?" she demands of you.

You get the distinct feeling that she's giving you time to reconsider your answer- and from everything you've heard about her, this doesn't happen often.

["I said," you repeat slowly, "that I wasn't going to do it."]

Eli nodded once, a malicious smirk forming upon her lips. "Wrong answer, [boy]."

Rising from her throne, she casually, almost lazily raises one adorned hand towards you, then makes a gesture similar to a dismissal. When you turn to leave, however, you realize that your muscles are no longer responding. You realize, with growing concern during her purposefully slow approach, that you may have made the wrong choice.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing," the demoness taunts. "Having second thoughts?" Her smirk shifts quickly to a vicious grin, her voice expressing her maliciousness perfectly. "Too bad you squandered your only way out of this."

Eli circles you slowly, a single, long finger extended. The attached claw digs a little into your skin, and you're fairly certain in a few places. After a single, agonizingly long circuit around you, she finally stops, towering in front of you. Nervously, you wait for her to do something, but she simply stands there, almost as though waiting for something.

Your nerves practically explode as the doors burst open behind you, a deep, rich voice excitedly blurting, "Are they our new toy?!"

Eli chuckles a little, shaking her head a little. "No- just another snack."

"You... you mean I don't get to fuck ['im]?" The voice's owner sounds immensely disappointed, and his face matches it quite well as he comes into your field of vision. He's also huge- easily Eli's height- muscular, just as scantily clad as she is, and... white?

"Sorry, Verin," she states, patting his shoulder. "[He] decided that [he] doesn't want to help after all."

Verin frowns at you. "And now I don't get a new toy!" he complains. "You just had to go and refuse, didn't you? Playing with me is so much more fun than this!"

The vicious smile returns to the demon queen's face. "It's be a very long time since I've enjoyed an Angel," she informs you. "Don't worry, though. Verin here will get to enjoy you, too- even if it's not how he wants."

Opening her mouth, a mass of tongues- at least, you think they're tongues- slide out towards you. You manage to count at least a dozen by the time they begin wrapping around your body, arms, and legs. As they crush your wings to your back, their bones snapping and splintering under the force, you suddenly wish you could scream. The tongues easily lift you off of the ground and over Eli's head. Flipping you over, another one lifts your head to look straight down at her. You realize as you begin to descend, horrified, that she wants you to see what's coming.

Slowly, your head enters the tongue-filled mouth, which seems to make room for you as you enter the cavity. Helpless to stop it, your vision is utterly filled by her tongues as they slowly wrap around you and slowly pull you farther in.

Just as your shoulders enter her mouth, you suddenly stop. The next thing you see is Eli's face, now contorted in frustration and anger, before she drops you head-first on the floor. Being dropped from ten feet up not only hurts, but leaves you dazed for several seconds afterward.

"Fine. Happy?" Eli's voice is an angry hiss. "Next time [he] fucks up like this, [he]'s mine." Nothing short of furious, Eliae storms out of the throne room, dragging Verin behind her by one of his massive horns.

"Hey!" he yelps as she tugs on his horn, then calms down. "Be careful!

Motioning towards his face like it were an item for sale on an infomercial, he concludes, "My face."

"Shut up and work out my tension," she snaps at him as the door slams shut once more.

[Sitting up, you wipe some of the saliva from off of your eyes. You can't help but feel disgusted that it's covering your head, even if you were just saved from being eaten alive.]

"You're lucky we were here," says an unfamiliar female voice. "Another few seconds and there would've been nothing we could do."

Finally able to get your eyes open without having spit in them, you look over to this new voice. It takes you a moment to realize that she- no, they- are human. The woman stands a few inches shorter than you, her figure plump. Her vibrant, auburn hair is braided, and her green eyes have noticeable crow's feet by their corners. The man standing next to her, on the other hand, is almost half a head taller than you with a somewhat muscular build.

You're surprised enough by this that you blurt out, "You stopped her? How?"

"Appearances are rarely what they seem around here," the man says as he moves behind you.

[You start to turn towards him, wary of his approach.]

"It's alright," he assures you, placing a hand on your shoulder. "We're trying to help."

["Help?" you question. "How is this helping?"]

"Well, you're still alive, aren't you?" the woman in front of you states. "We can stop her from doing some things or get her to do others-"

"Wait," you interrupt, unable to help yourself. "You can control her?"

They both laugh, but it's the man behind you who speaks this time. "Nobody can control that woman- including us," he explains. "We just try to restrain her temper a bit."

"Especially when she's dealing with diplomats," the woman adds. "The Queen has little patience for them."

"What does she do to them?" you ask, hesitating a little. You're fairly sure that you already know the answer.

"She eats them," the woman answers, confirming your suspicions, "much like she just tried to eat you."

You wince as the man's hands touch your wings, but the feeling quickly changes to one of relief. "If I were you," he tells you as warmth floods your wings, "I would do whatever the Queen tells you to do. You won't survive for long if you don't."

You sigh quietly. Apparently, you don't have as much of a choice in this as you thought.

[snarktheater]

The Chemist — Chapter 30

With only three chapters and an epilogue left to go, our climax has started. Considering the pace at which the book has been moving, this makes me guess it will…probably be underwhelming compared to how overhyped it's been. Just a hunch.

But for the sake of fairness, let's just read ahead and find out.

What is noteworthy in there is that they're taking an elevator, which is bad news because it'll make their escape that much harder if they're underground. I know it's noteworthy because the book tells me to, thus making me think the answer to my previous question is in fact that Meyer was going on a tangent.

An elevator. She’d known to expect this; she hoped Daniel was controlling his expressions.

Subtlety is not strong with this one. You might as well hang a "This is bad news!" neon sign above it.

The building is guarded by men in "dark blue army uniforms", which Alex assumes are "Pace's men". Which…raises a few questions, since last I checked, Pace was in the running to maybe be a vice-presidential candidate. Why does he have army men under his command? More importantly, why would you put military troops to use in this covert operation that could get you charged with high treason and a few other major charges? That sounds like begging for someone to pay attention to what's happening here.

They go through a pretty sucky security check, and Alex seems to think this will convince a competent security service:

“Of course I’ll need my scalpels,” Alex said, letting some irritation bleed into her tone. “I’m not here to play Scrabble.” The soldiers looked at her again, understanding beginning to dawn in their eyes. Yes, she wanted to say, I’m that kind of guest.

It doesn't, and they go get Deavers instead. He and Carston banter for a while, and Deavers agree to pull his interrogator after all of two seconds of Carston assuring him that Alex is better, because…who needs conflict, right?

So Alex gets into the interrogation room, now outfitted with a surgical table because…I don't know, maybe the so-called regular interrogator also deals with chemical stuff? And if so, what makes him "regular" and what makes Alex special?

But no, apparently he's been torturing Kevin the good old-fashioned way, with physical wounds and cut toes (yes, really), so…I guess the table is just for effect or something.

She’d expected a clean, clinical setup; that was what she was used to. This was savagery. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Oh, yeah, you totally get to claim the moral high ground because your torture doesn't make a mess. After all, the mess is totally the unethical part of torture, right?

Kevin, by the way, is in fact completely unbroken and still defiant, because that's how resisting torture works, according to this book. He's even sufficiently unbroken to not give away that he recognized Alex. Not even a split-second surprise. He's just that good. Instead, he banters while Alex does her torturer routine, and…what's the plan here, exactly? The other torturer is in the room, and I assume Deavers is watching. What are you going to do, exactly?

Apparently…torture Kevin for real.

She stabbed the needle through the plastic and depressed the plunger. The response was nearly immediate. She heard his breathing accelerate, and then he started shrieking. Lindauer’s head snapped up. She could tell he’d never gotten a reaction like this from Kevin, despite his best efforts.

That sounds counterproductive. Also, really fucked-up, considering you're making his brother watch the whole thing. I realize this book doesn't even consider torture an obstacle to romance, let alone to a siblings-in-law relationship, but I'm a rational human being, so to me, this is horrible on top of being pretty inefficient. Wouldn't it be best to keep Kevin at the best of his capacity so he can help in his own escape?

Or—actually no, it's just more Mary Sue bullshit. See, Alex actually injected him with her Survive drug to make him recover. Which…fine, plays exactly into what I suggested. But the bullshit comes into the form of Kevin just…immediately knowing he has to fake pain. Like…what? This guy has just been tortured. He may not have given up any information under torture, but it's still torture. It affects you, and I can't believe this is something I actually have to explain.

Ugh. Let's just move on.

Kevin acts like this is enough for him and he'll talk. And by that I mean he says he had help from a traitor on the inside, and he names Carston as the traitor. What? The characters don't magically know each other's plan? I am flabbergasted!

…No, really, I'm shocked that it took this long for something to go awry. And before you get excited, it has no consequences, because telepathy.

She heard a commotion in the observation room and hurried on in a louder voice. “I find that very hard to believe, Mr. Beach, as Mr. Carston is the reason I am here with you. He wouldn’t send me in if he wanted to avoid the truth. He knows what I’m capable of.” Kevin shot her one disgusted look under half-lowered lids, then groaned again. “That’s the name my contact gave me. I can only tell you what he told me.” Nice save, she thought sarcastically.

…Sorry, that's a save how?

It gets stupider. Kevin claims his "contact" was sent by Deavers now, and apparently no one thinks maybe they should do something, so let's do something even stupider, shall we? Namely, Alex asks Lindauer to undo Kevin's ankle restraint for "his circulation". And it works…by which I mean she just pricks him with one of her magic chemicals and knocks him out (and, the narration claims, kills him, just slowly and painfully).

Also, she…blows up the one-way mirror in the room. Somehow. I don't know, the book mentions she has a "capacitor" that causes a "pulse" and I'm pretty sure neither of those things would help you break Plexiglas (which is what the glass is made of, according to the book), and I don't care enough to wonder about it any longer than necessary. The point being to give them an opening to retrieve Daniel, since he was on the other side of the glass.

Anyway, it's been a while since we haven't had some good old-fashioned sexism, so let's get that out of the way now.

She’d accomplished the main objectives of her strategy: free Kevin and get a loaded gun into his hands. Now she was primarily backup.

Man's free? Time to fade back into the passive role! It's not like Kevin, you know, has just been tortured. Like, she gave him pain-killing drugs, but while those might help him with the physical side of torture, there's still the mental side to deal with. Plus, you know, I'm pretty sure some of those pain-killers would alter his ability to fight. I'm pretty sure opioids were mentioned.

Fighting happens, Alex shoots blindly at the soldiers while Kevin draws their fire and kills a few more. Alex also gets a shot at a "man in a suit" that the soldiers were protecting, whom I assume is Deavers? It's hard to tell, and harder still when Alex tells Kevin Deavers is alive, and he goes off, presumably to deal with him…but then we don't follow up on that.

The reason we don't follow up on that is that Daniel's down. So's Carston, by the way, but who cares about him, right?

All of her training, all of her time as a trauma doctor for hire, told her she was far too late. It was a perfect kill shot, right through the upper left side of his chest. Whoever had placed that bullet knew exactly what he was doing. It was one of the few shots that would fell a person instantly, straight through the heart, dead before he hit the ground. Dead probably before he could even register the pain.

So…Daniel's dead, huh. I've gotta say, I'm actually surprised that the book went there. I'm not particularly sad, because I didn't really like Daniel all that much, but still. Gotta give kudos for the bold move, after writing a book that was more romance than spy thriller, of killing off the love interest who was in over his head and incompetent the whole time. I'll give credit where credit is due.