#I'm very flattered and I might be kinda cool but I'm not “making her own graphics card drivers” cool like Asahi Lina ;w;

[cai-tan]

You are a trans gamedev robot vtuber. How does it feel to be cooler than everyone?

Lies, so many people are cooler than me ;w;

[laismoura-art]

Hello!! I want to ask you something, do you have thoughts about how Kuairumi wedding would animate? Because I'm so rooting for them and I can't even wait to see them together 😩♥️💛✨

Hi Meme!!

Thanks for the ask! I'm honoured that you, @orbitinytheworld and @thedragonholder want to hear my thoughts on this wedding!

Dragon already blessed us with her thoughts and it made my day that she used my take on Harumi's clan as inspo!

You guys are all amazing and I feel so flattered right now!!🥹💕

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Now for starters, I hope I don't offend anyone by saying that I am sooooo glad their wedding won't be looking like this:

Cause look, it might be just my hating on S1 Invasions, but I truly think this wedding looks like shit.💀

From the (non-existent) decoration to the wedding gowns, everything looks so plain and boring, there's no colour, texture, volume or personality, there's NOTHING here that screams Kuai and Harumi! I hope I'm not offending anyone with this, but from the bottom of my heart, I HATE how this wedding looks🤦🏾‍♀️

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With that out of the way:

Let's talk about the new wedding!

For once, we got our first official look on the brand new Fire Gardens and NOW WE'RE TALKING!

Seriously, just look at it!

I don't know if that's it's normal look of if it has been specially decorated for the wedding, but either way, it's great!

Look at the scorpion tails on the roof! The fabrics hanging, the rug, the lanterns and textured floor!

Look at all the golden pieces and candles surrounded by flowers! THE FREAKING FLOWEEEEERS!!!

Oh! And these statues! Can we talk about them? These are just like the statues found on the Wu Shi Academy, and I SO hope they are of the Elder Gods! Cause then it means we are one step closer to the Order of Cetrion! :O

We also got to see Kuai's gown too!

SO MUCH BETTER! It has texture, depth, details, and it actually feels like Kuai Liang (I mean, the Invasions gown even got people mistaking him for Bi-Han :P)

I still feel it's a bit too simple for his grand day, but it has potential (plus, I strongly believe he had some extra layers on that he discarded once he had to engage in combat)

We are yet to see Harumi (;-;) but Kuai's new vest does make me hopeful!

And look, you may argue that the Invasions gowns were traditional japanese/chinese gowns, but this kinda leads me to my next issue:

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Kuai and Harumi are fictional characters from fictional clans and are more than allowed to have fictional lore!

Heck! I'll give you some of my own lore right now, so bare with me!

Kuai descends from dragons and Cryomancy and Pyromancy are different outcomes from a same source of power! Meanwhile Harumi is a warrior of Cetrion and her clan protects nature!

Imagine what you can draw from it!

Kuai gets to wear a gown with texture that resembles scales and an overcoat that resembles wings! Harumi wears a dress with a white to light pink gradient, on the overcoat a beautiful hand-painted landscape of a cherry blossom forest and her hair adorned with golden pins and flowers!

Her bouquet made by Kuai to show he's finally learning flower language after years struggling with it!

Kuai: *hands Harumi a bouquet of tansy*

Harumi, teasing: Are you declaring war against me?

Kuai: wHAT???

I want more lore! And more unique traditions! Clothing, dances, rituals, food!

Be creative, NRS!

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Back to Canon again.

First of all, I got to see Shirai Ryu warriors (Raiden included) and Wu Shi warriors fighting the Cyber Girls. Very cool, very nice!

Now where are Harumi's warriors??

I find it hard to believe they weren't invited! So where are they? What do they look alike?

Please tell me they are all women and they don't all dress black with a singular piece of coloured fabric to tell them apart.

NRS, you were more creative than that... right? (ಠ_ಠ)

Also, you did invite the Umgadi, right NRS? Cause Harumi was one of them and now Kuai is their ally.

Kuai invited his allies, the Wu Shi. So Harumi invited her allies, the Umgadi. Correct?

Tanya is Harumi's old friend and now is her maid of honour, yes?

Yeah, thought so! Don't you guys love when NRS is creative? I sure do!😊

Now, to wrap this all up!

@thedragonholder suggested in her post that Bi-Han secretly attended the wedding and that ended up with him being caught by Titan Havik!

I absolutely LOVED that idea! But allow me to add:

What if Bi-Han told Cyrax and Sektor he was going to the wedding but he never got there cause Havik intercepted him first?

He never got too warn the girls and they think the Shirai Ryu had him captured the moment they spot him!

And that's why they decided to invade the wedding!

One big misunderstanding, it's on brand for MK, really :P

Kuai and Harumi manage to prove they got nothing to do with Bi-Han’s disappearance and begrudgingly they decide to help look for him because "he's a jerk and I'm still mad at him, but if he's really in danger than I won't just stand here and let him get hurt😑"

And that's how the whole adventure starts for them!

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Sooooo, yeah! Those are my thoughts so far! I really enjoyed brainstorm it all and I hope you enjoy reading it all just as much!

Gang, any thoughts, additions and theories? Please I'd love to talk more about it!!👀💙🩷

@mikka-minns @madamealtruist @moody-bloos

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

I'm sorry but i'm addicted to our boy Spamton- I have a little unique request here. So this takes place where Spamton just moves in the Queen's mansion, he meets the reader and immediately falls for their kind words and gestures. Weeks pass, and he goes to see them, but catches them talking and hanging out with Swatch.. He gets really jealous to the point of changing his style to match Swatch's

"Oh [y/n]! Have You Met Our Newest Guest?"

"Uh, I don't believe-"

"He's An Interesting Addison Who Made A Big Name For Himself! Ohohoho!" Queen laughed joyously, pausing to sip her glass of battery acid. "I Wonder How He Got So Rich...No Matter. As My Peon, I Order You Greet Him......Whenever It's Convenient For You."

"Sure thing. I'll go now." With a respectful nod, you set off to the mansion's guest chambers to meet this newcomer. You've lived here for a long time--and somewhat reluctantly since Queen decided to make you one of her peons one day. But life was actually pretty good.

It wasn't like you had anything better to do, so if she needed someone to help her with plans that..didn't seem all-that urgent, you'll offer your assistance. She let you stay in the mansion for free and never made you do anything if you weren't feeling up to it.

For a tyrannical ruler she was rather kind.

Yet you didn't wanna take advantage of her hospitality, so you'd just listen to whatever she says. And if she wants you to meet this celebrity as part of her endless lists of requests, then you'll happily oblige. But you were eager too since you've seen his face on TV a lot. It felt like an honor.

After wandering the corridors of deactivated puzzles, Mona Lisa-esque portraits, and meticulously-placed pottery, you finally arrived at the guest rooms. You hummed a small tune as you passed by each one, stopping when you noticed one door was open.

Peeking inside, you saw the Addison still setting up things. A phone was tucked between his shoulder and ear as he moved a box whilst rambling to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Yea! I promise I won't let you down, okay? Soon I'll be bigger than ever before! I know I'm already a big shot but....haha, yeah, I shouldn't get carried away. Okay. Right..we'll discuss more of this tomorrow. Thanks!"

After hanging up the phone and returning it to the receiver, he finally noticed you and smiled. "Hey, hey! Haven't seen your face around here yet. But surely you know mine, right?"

"Yeah." You smiled, not wanting to shy away from talking with him. "Spamton, right?"

"Everybody's favorite number-one rated salesman!!" He laughed. "It's good you know me..'cuz soon ALL of Cyber World will know my name! It's a pleasure to meet you...?"

"[Y/n]. I'm one of Queen's peons." You shook his hand politely. The energy that radiated from him was so bright. Just as much as his pearly smile was.

Stepping inside, you glanced around at the luxurious furniture. He definitely got the higher-class rooms, with the addition of a large window that showed the neon green meridians that stretched across the night sky. It was certainly a beautiful view to fall asleep to. "Need help unpacking?"

"Oh--sure!!" At first Spamton seemed surprised by your offer, but he nodded. "If you want, be my guest. And while we unpack, I gotta ask you..how's it being Queen's peon?"

............

Weeks passed, and you've gotten to know Spamton more and more. You realized he was actually a sweet down-to-earth guy all around. Although he was on the phone a lot, he'd make time to hang out with you, so you two became fast friends.

He was truly living the best life. Posters of his car advertisements were littered all over the city, and the Swatchlings attended to his every need. Though one thing was hard to admit, even when it seemed like he had it all:

You were his only friend now that everyone else is intimidated by his status--as they would shy away from conversing with him--and the Addisons, well, abandoned him out of jealousy.

Obviously that made him worry about driving you away, especially when he's on the phone nonstop. But...the fact you've been so kind to him in every word and gesture, treating him like a regular person and not some untouchable celebrity, was quite endearing. Most admired him for his products, not his personality.

Your kindness made him fall for you hard and fast, ever since day one. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea; to let it get in the way of his business.

But what the hell? He was a big shot! He can afford to go a bit bigger and take more risks. Living in this mansion with someone who loved him would be the perfect dream.

There was a much bigger dream that his valued caller insisted he focused on, but that can come later.

So this morning, Spamton set out to find you to address these feelings once and for all. Yet he was rather nervous. Addisons were most confident in selling products, not so much...everything else. But he didn't wanna back down. He kept smiling no matter what.

As he checked inside the color café that he usually frequented, he saw you eating at the table. He noticed you weren't alone but with Swatch, talking and...

Laughing with them?

And just like that, his smile faded much like his hope.

Of course, the head butler had their ways to swoon people. He tried not to think of it as anything more than just their personality. It's just their way to entice returning customers.

That's all...right?

Spamton ducked behind one of the displays, listening in on your conversation to determine if he should proceed or not.

"By the way, we've known each other for a while and..I've always wanted to ask you something.."

"Yes? What is your inquiry?"

He held his breath. This is exactly what he feared. Knowing that you've been here longer, it's obvious you'd be closer to that damn bird-

"Your outfit."

Then he exhaled shakily, relieved. 'What are you getting so worked up for, idiot?' He thought in the back of his mind, but he continued eavesdropping.

"Did the Queen make it or give it to you? It's very stylish and really makes you stand out from the other Swatchlings."

"Ah, in fact I decided this look for myself." Swatch chuckled softly, raising a wing to adjust their glasses. "The tailor did marvelous work with my vision: black suit, tinted glasses. Very fashionable, is it not?"

"It is. I like it a lot."

"Why thank you. I see why our Lady Grace admires you. Just for that compliment, I'll give you a discount on any of our products in the gift shop."

"Should be every day if you ask me." You joked, earning another chuckle from them.

Seeing all of this and the way you two spoke like close friends was a jab in Spamton's heart-shaped object. 'So [y/n] likes people who stand out? Well I can stand out, too..' He thought bitterly as he stormed out of the shop without either of you knowing he was there.

Why should he settle with being a blank-slate Addison like the rest of them? He didn't consider himself one anymore.

Today, he told his valued caller, he was gonna be a whole new person.

It would help him get closer to both of his dreams, but there was only one on his mind now.

............

Later that night as you were getting ready for bed, you heard a knock at the door. You huffed in annoyance, assuming Queen needed you for something.

She had a knack for disturbing you at ungodly hours. But knowing better than to ignore her, you went to answer the door anyways-

To some strange black-haired guy in a black suit and white turtleneck sweater.

"Hi, um...can I help you?"

"[Y/n]? It's me."

"....wait....Spamton?"

"Yeah!" The salesman laughed, throwing his arms out and making a pose. "Whatdya think of me now?"

Perplexed, you looked him up and down. He ditched the lime-green pants, instead wearing white trousers. And his hair was slicked back. But what was most peculiar about him were his glasses, tinted with pink and yellow lenses.

Had you not known any better, you would've thought Swatch suddenly shrunk and became robotized.

"Cool but..you kinda look like Swatch a little bit. Was that on purpose?" You mused.

"...haha....yeah uh..funny story. Um.." He dropped the act, losing his trademark grin as he wondered how to explain himself and this sudden transformation. You could tell he wanted to talk inside the room, so you let him in and shut the door.

"I don't recall Queen mentioning any costume contest-"

"It's not a costume." He muttered, uncomfortably rubbing his hands together as he looked at you with sadness. "This is who I am now. The new me."

"..huh? You serious?" When he nodded, you frowned slightly. "I'm confused. You don't look like an Addison anymore-"

"That's the point...! I...I don't wanna be associated with them anymore. I decided to stand out, y'know? If you're gonna be a big shot, ya gotta stand out from the crowd!" He forced a laugh that sounded rather glitchy.

You didn't buy it. It wasn't like him to do this out of the blue.

"Spamton, why imitate Swatch of all people? And why out of the blue like this? I mean..I don't mind if you like their style. But I didn't even recognize you until you spoke."

Try as he might, he couldn't make any better excuses. So seeing that he was cornered made him finally admit his jealousy, overhearing your conversation with Swatch while he was browsing--when he really wasn't, but he didn't wanna come off as creepy.

His voice glitched further due to stress, accidentally blurting out some kind of...flirtatious term as he explained how much you meant to him since day one.

You weren't sure if he meant to say "hot single" on purpose. Though you were flattered that such a famous guy like him...actually had a crush on you, an ordinary Darkner who just fetched the Queen's stick wherever she threw it.

You found it hard to believe he thought of you that way..so you kept your own feelings buried. So to see that it's mutual was a relief, and it made you smile.

Spamton, on the other hand, was stressing the hell out. So much so he didn't even see your smile. He just saw himself being stupid the more he rambled on.

It was such a stupid, stupid reason to get insecure--to the point of changing his entire appearance without warning. All because you were friends with a butler who was doing their job???

How selfish can he get when he already had everything he wanted and more?

When he did acknowledge your small smile, he thought you were holding yourself back from laughing. But you had every right to laugh and call him a joke for thinking this will get your attention.

As he finished talking, he could see your smile fade and huffed. He waited for you to tell him how stupid he looks and to go back to being the plain old Addison you met.

Instead of ridiculing him you...hugged him?

At this point you were sitting on the bed together. Of course yours wasn't as massive as his was, but it was big enough for you two to share.

"Spammy, I'm flattered you like me in that way but...you didn't have to do all of this to get my attention. I promise there's nothing going on between Swatch and I. We're just friends. They're not replacing you or anything."

"I know, it's just.." Taking off the glasses, he set them aside before hugging you tightly, head buried in your chest. "I don't wanna lose the only person in this damn place who makes me feel like myself. Who loves me for me, not my success. And...I-I felt like I had to change something about myself to make sure of that."

"Well..you don't need to change anymore. I love you no matter what you look like."

He blinked, his face turning as red as his cheeks.

You could sense his embarrassment from the way he tensed up in your arms and chuckled, patting his hair softly. "Just..don't feel pressured to change for me..or anybody for that matter, okay? Or at least let me know if you're gonna change things up again."

"You don't think..I look stupid or creepy like this?"

"No. Honestly you look pretty handsome. Black hair suits you well."

Hearing those words made him breathe a small sigh of relief. He nodded and hugged you tighter.

His new looks were staying for good.

[dragon-tamer-1]

Parasite Meet-Up

       A small portal opened up in Freshtale, and a parasite came through. It had a red colored body with purple coloring the tips of its four tentacles. They are known as Amethyst, and they were visiting their favorite place in their home universe, a pond in the main park.

       Amethyst had left the universe they were living in, leaving Crystal behind for now. They leave every now and then on their own to take a little rest in their home universe. They knew a few of the others, but otherwise didn't know anyone. While hanging out on the grass near a pond, another parasite scuttled(?) up to them.

      This one had five tentacles, colored light blue with a yellow stars pattern on their body. She waved one of her tentacles. -Hello, who might you be?- Asked the newcomer. Amethyst waved back. -Hello, I'm Amethyst, what's your name?- -I'm called Starry Noodle, you can call me Starry or Noodle if you want.- Noodle then turned an even lighter shade of blue, the stars changing places as well.

      Amethyst was shocked yet amazed at this. -You can change color!? And the pattern!? That's so cool!- Noodle turned a purple-ish color from the outburst, but was flattered that they thought her color-changing ability was cool. -Yeah, but only in shades of blue, and almost purple. And I can change the position of the stars.- Noodle purred slightly, happy to be making a friend.

      Amethyst purred while wiggling their tentacles in delight. -Wanna get to know each other?- -Yeah, sure! Hmm, do you leave here much?- -Yeah, I actually live in another universe, I just come here every now and then to enjoy the pond here.- -Oh really? That's cool, I live somewhere else, too! There's a few people where I live, quite lively too.- -Oh, really? I only have one person, but she's a great person. Helped me out when I was in trouble. I had gotten injured by a larger animal, but I got away. I was able to hide in a bush before I passed out. Next thing I know, I'm in a house all bandaged up, with Crystal nearby. I didn't know if they were a threat at first, but we're good friends now! Are the people you live with nice?-

      -They're kinda nice, one of them, their name is Soot, takes care of me. I let them test potions on me, none of them are harmful, most I get as a side effect is a headache. It's alright, I let them do that in exchange for taking care of me. It's a deal we made. I don't know the others as much, but the one that has slime-covered tentacles seems to be one of their parents. The other parent seems to be covered in dust the majority of the time. The others and the dusty one seem to have a lot of arguments? But it seems to be the kind of arguments that lead to fighting. At least it's not the 'fight-to-the-death' kind of fights. The slimey one tends to break them up most of the time. They get pretty loud, though.- Noodle shrugs(as much as she can, anyway).

         -Huh, your life is definitely more active than mine. But I'm not complaining, I like Crystal. Hey, are you one of the ones who need a host to survive? It's alright if you're not, I'm just curious.- -Oh, no, I'm not. Or, at least, I don't want to have a host. I have reduced energy because I don't have a host, so I tend to end up sleeping and eating more often. What about you?- -No, I don't need a host. I do possess Crystal, but it was, at first, just a way to communicate with her. We managed to work out a schedule for when I have control of her. She's surprisingly chill with it, but maybe that's because we became good friends. I take her to other universes during my days.-

      -That's pretty cool.- Noodle noticed it was getting late, as the sun was setting. -Oh, I must be going, I promised Soot I'd be back before dinner. It was very nice meeting you, Amethyst. Hopefully we will meet again.- -Oh, alright, it was nice meeting you, too, Noodle. I hope we do, too!-

         They waved goodbye, and left through separate portals. Noodle and Amethyst had quite the story to tell their respective caretakers/friends.

Here's the only writing prize that came from my contest. Here you go @bluepalleteuniverse! Hope you like it! For everyone's information, the reason they speak in between this(-) is because they can't speak with words. They're communicating with clicks and chirps. They also purr, because I said so, and I like that.

I hope you all like it, I stayed up late writing this. I was in a writing mood. Also, I'm pretty sure I was in a bit of writing block with the last story, but I'm good now!

Amethyst belongs to me(design originally belonged to @entity-404, but was adopted by me)

Starry Noodle belongs to @bluepalleteuniverse(similar to above)

(Mentioned)Crystal belongs to me

(Mentioned) Soot belongs to @bluepalleteuniverse

Tagging @yuriyuruandyuraart and @jann-the-bean because they're my inspiration to write.

[raindrop-on-a-spiderweb]

On The Street Where You Live, Part 1

My laptop finally arrived! It got lost in the mail. Once I get electricity I can finally work on Ragnatela again. So this--and its next part--might be the last bonus chapters for a while.

I always thought that if Patience and Salvatore were younger--and met of their own accord--it would be quite different. Hell, extend that to Leonardo too.

***

Patience Winslow took the same route home every day, trudging down the gray street with her books in her arms, passing a cracked fire hydrant, an abandoned warehouse, a park with rusted and creaking equipment. The stream ran with green scum and sludge alongside the road in a drain.

She had no idea why her parents had decided to move from Greenhaven to stinking Garland City. She hated everything about it. She hated the school and the rude, rowdy city girls. She hated her bored, apathetic teachers. She hated the way she knew nobody. In Greenhaven, everyone had known her and her parents by name.

And most of all, she hated her slum of a neighborhood. There were union meetings next door. A drunk with dogs that never stopped barking on the other side. There were gunshots in the night and people speaking different languages and gangs of youths that loitered the street. 

One particular gang she hated with a passion. They were always standing outside of a butcher shop she passed, talking and smoking cigarettes. They always were dressed sloppily, with their shirts untucked. She suspected they were dagos, but she thought one sandy-headed boy might have been Polish or Irish.

The head boy, a black-haired youth, always yelled something dirty out to her. And always her. One day when she was crossing the street behind a group of other girls he had called out to her specifically, and the other girls had giggled and looked behind them at her.

Patience was approaching them now. Sure enough, there they were, one leaning against the wall, another holding a cigarette, and the head one spotted her.

She walked faster. 

"--skirt! Come over and give me a kiss," he yelled, and she bowed her head, flushing in shame. An old woman was across the street, surveying them closely with her lips pursed in disapproval. She was so focused on where she was going that she didn't notice when she tripped over the curb. Her knee erupted in pain.

The quietness of the street, and the loudness of his voice, stressed her and humiliated her. She struggled up and began walking again, and the shouts rang in her ears, and she covered her face with her hands and began running, tears bursting from her eyes.

"Oh, look at that! You made her cry!"

"You're a son-of-a-bitch, Sal."

She heard rapid pounds of footsteps, and someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned around to face the dark-haired boy, trying desperately to hide her face.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." His voice was regretful and a little embarrassed.

"Go to hell," she said, trying not to tear up, but he took the back of her head and cleaned her tears with his sleeve. Close-up, he was very handsome, with thick black hair in a widow's peak and sharp, angular features.

The rest of his gang were around her now. "C'mon, tell the girl you're sorry," said the heavy one.

"I..." he looked discontented. "I always looked at you walking back from school and-- hey, you all! Get lost!" He barked at his friends.

"I kinda like you," he said under his breath once they were gone. "And I guess--I didn't know that you'd. Uh, react this way--but I really do like you."

Patience studied him through her tears. His big dark eyes and stark eyebrows and thin lips and that gangly frame halfway to becoming a man. She still felt like crying but the thought of someone liking her flattered her. "Do you go to William Weston High school? I think you're a few grades ahead of me."

"Yes'm. My name's Salvatore Mallozzi." He offered her his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

His hand was warm as she shook hers.

***

After that, he began giving her little tokens every time she walked by, instead of harassing her. He had pennies and handkerchiefs and even an ice cream cone sometimes. And she knew she should hate him--she still did, a little--and stay away from him, because he was the sort of boy you should stay away from, but she was impressed and flattered and fascinated by the attention the older boy heaped on her.

Patience arrived home one day, and Mommy was yelling at Daddy. His assignment wasn't ending soon enough, and Mommy wanted to go back to Greenhaven. Patience hated it when her parents yelled like that. She didn't go home, but ran off, her schoolbag thumping against her side.

When she came to the corner, the boys were still there, and she approached shyly. Black-haired Sal was holding a cigarette, and he smiled and motioned. "Come on, join the crowd."

Patience took one inhale, coughed, and resolved to never do it again. She passed the cigarette to the sandy-haired boy. "I don't think I ever got your name," said Sal.

"Patience. Patty."

"This is Thurston and Luca and Tony and Jacko." He indicated each member in turn. 

"Is this your... like, headquarters?"

"No. My dad owns this shop so he lets us hang around."

Standing by them, their casual conversation horrified and fascinated her. Robbing trucks. Making another rival member 'pay'. Her attraction couldn't compete with her disgust, and she eventually walked home. 

But her home still wasn't empty.

A strange black car was parked in the driveway, and unfamiliar voices filtered from the living room.

She poked her head in. Daddy was sitting on the couch, face pale. Opposite him she saw a hulking beast of a man, shoulders broad, and beside him a slimmer figure with golden hair.

"Patience, honey. Go play outside," said Daddy, his voice having a note of urgency that made her hackles rise.

The hulking man turned to fix his eyes on her, and her body paralyzed with fear. They were dead as the eyes of an animal, like eyes painted on a wall, completely blank. They made her freeze in place like a deer in the headlights.

He said something in a deep voice to the golden-haired boy, and the boy stood up. "Go on, go," said Daddy.

Patience was happy enough to leave the room, and the cold-eyed man. The blond boy tagged along, smiling congenially.

"What is your name?" He asked her as she sat on the stoop. "Mine is Leonardo. My father knows your father well."

He spoke with a heavy Italian accent she could tell he was trying desperately to shed. "Patience," she said.

"Pazienza. What a lovely name. Patience is a virtue."

"Yeah. It's a family name. One of my great-aunts or something was named Patience."

"Are you from around here?"

"No, Massachusetts. What about you?"

"Sicily. Scafapani. It's a beautiful little village near the coast, tucked away in the mountains. But I was born in Rome, the capital of Italy."

"That's pretty cool." Patience didn't really want to talk with him, but she kept getting drawn back. He was a very handsome boy, with thick, curling golden hair and red lips. His eyes were so blue, and with such long lashes, that she desperately envied him.

She heard a crash from inside, and leaped up. He caught her shoulder and forced her down. "You have very pretty eyes," he said, staring at her intently. "Green as the sea."

Leonardo really was very handsome. And well-dressed, in a waistcoat and a tie. The family was obviously well-off. His hand was warm, and he stroked her leg through her tights. "Thank you," she said, wanting to move her leg but feeling frozen.

The door swung open, and the dark-haired man exited, his heavy boots clomping on the ground. He sharply spoke a word in a different language to his son.

Leonardo stood up. "I will meet you again, Pazienza."

He followed his father to the car, and Patience watched them leave before she entered the house again.

The sitting room was a wreck. The coffee table was overturned, and papers were everywhere. Her father was dabbing his bleeding nose with his handkerchief. 

"Daddy! What happened?"

"Nothing, honey." He turned to her sharply. "Listen. If you're here alone, and someone knocks at the door, never answer it. Understood?"

She nodded blankly.

"Go tell your mom it's time to start dinner."

***

Patience studied her shopping list. Milk. Red beans. Flour. Beef. The deli had bene closed that day, so that was the one thing she couldn't find. Her mom was going to give her an earful--she wanted to make her famous meat pie for guests that were coming over, three of her dad's police coworkers.

As she walked home in the waning Saturday sun, she kept an eye out for when Salvatore and his gang loitered in front of that butcher shop, but they weren't there. They never were on weekends. An idea sparked in her mind. Hell, if she knew the guy, why didn't she just get her meat from his shop? For some reason her father and his friends never went there, preferring to go to the shop that was 2 miles away. It never made much sense to her. I mean, the paint was peeling and there were always shifty-looking people in and out of there, but that didn't mean they had bad meat.

Patience was a naturally inquisitive girl, so she stepped inside. It was warm and well-lit, with a large glass counter under which various sliced meats sat glistening. The menu was written in chalk on a blackboard nailed to the wall.

The benches and tables were all occupied by older, balding men in ratty-looking overcoats, who all looked over at her suspiciously.

A stocky man with a jowly face was shaving slices off a hamhock behind the counter. He looked up indifferently. "Hi," Patience said. "Can I, uh--"

At the sound of her voice, a familiar person stuck his head out of the door.

"Patience, is that you?" He said. 

"Yeah! Hi, Sal."

He was dressed in a blood-smeared butcher's apron and his hair was in disarray. He self-consciously smoothed it back, but that did nothing but make his hair sticky with blood. "What are you doing here?"

Patience smiled inwardly. She'd surprised him at his workplace and he was all embarrassed. "Well, the deli on Fashion Square was closed, so I decided to stop here instead. Guess you don't get too many girls here, huh?"

He laughed nervously. "Well, I guess, I mean, not too much. You look, uh, great."

Patience was wearing a plaid skirt, white knee-high socks and a blouse. "Thanks. I wish I could say the same about you."

"So, what are you looking for?"

"One pound of corned beef." As he began her order, she rested her elbows on the counter amd stared at him. "Hey, Sal? Do you know anyone called Leonardo? Blond, with curly hair?"

His face turned puce, and he cut into the slab of beef with more force than neccessary. "That little fuck. His daddy pays for him to go to St. Joseph's, that private Catholic school that costs an arm and a leg to get in. Tries to pretend his whole family ain't from the ass-end of Sicily. But people love him 'cause he's a good talker and has a nice manner. I hate that smarmy little douchebag." He stopped cutting for a moment. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I met him." Patience studied him carefully. "He's real cute, you know."

"The Borghese boy?" said one of the men at the tables. "I always thought he was a fag."

Salvatore looked mortally offended. "He probably fuckin' is. You stay away from him, Patty. He's a two-faced little snake and always has been. Don't let him take advantage of you." He finished weighing her beef and wrapped it up. "Here you go."

Patience took out the rest of the money her mother had given here, but he pressed his hand over hers, closing her fist with the money inside. "Don't bother. This one's on the house." He smiled at her, that billion-dollar smile that made her heart thump. "Save it, get yourself a treat. Maybe at that Dairy Queen on the corner of 5th and 9th. How about I meet you there after school on Monday?"

She smiled back. "Sure. Sounds good. See you then."

As she left, a man walking in held the door for her. He was tall and handsome with slicked-back hair and dark glasses. "Thank you, sir," said Patience.

"Anytime, sweetie." He let the door swing shut behind him. As soon as Sal spotted the man, he stood ramrod straight. "Boss Malone!"

"Heeey, Sal. Thought I'd drop by to see how our 'project' was doing. Got yourself a girl now, haven't you?" He ruffled Sal's hair and grabbed him in a half-hug with his arm around his neck. The younger boy guffawed bashfully.

"Son, do you know who that girl is?" Malone's voice became serious.

"Patience, right? She lives just around the corner."

"That's Patience Winslow, I've seen her around before. She's the daughter of Richard Winslow." 

Realization dawned on Salvatore's face. "THAT Richard Winslow?"

"Yeah. Him. So be careful, okay? I know you're just kids fooling around. But don't let yourself get... carried away or nothin'." 

"I won't, boss." 

Malone nodded to the door that led to the back of the butcher shop. "So. Let's see how our 'project' is goin, yeah?"

In a back room, among slabs of frozen pork and sausage, was a man tied to a chair. His ears, nose, and eyes were cut out, crystallized trickles of blood frozen down his face and neck.

"Cocksucker still ain't tellin us anything, is he?"

"I've been working on him all day, Bats. Nothin." Salvatore crossed his arms, blood-stained cleaver in hand.

Malone took the cleaver from him, threw it up in the air and caught it by the handle. "Let this be a learning experience, Sal. Watch closely..."

***

The date had gone well, and Salvatore had been nice enough to walk her home after the fact. She had bid him goodbye on the street beyond where she lived so her mom and dad didn't have to see him. He wasn't the sort of boy her Daddy would have been enthused to see her bring home.

Her heart was in her throat as she walked up to her door. She was noticing all sorts of things about him now, the sharp widow's peak on his forehead, how big and black his eyes were, how tall he was, so tall he had to stoop down to kiss her.

Her mind was so focused on the kissing that she didn't notice they had company until she saw the figure sitting in the living room.

"Ciao, Pazienza." Leonardo put down his teacup delicately. 

"Whatcha doin' here, Leonardo?"

"He wants to talk with your daddy. Richard should be getting back in half an hour." Marilyn was red in the face, and her skirt was untucked. Patience collapsed on the floral print sofa next to Leonardo and tool her shoes off. "Did you just make these, Mommy?"

"Leonardo brought them by. He's a very good cook."

She bit into one. Peanut butter. They were indeed surprisingly good. "Where'd you learn to cook like this? Do you have home ec at your school?"

Leonardo chuckled. "Not at St. Joseph's, though I'd love to take home ec. I do all the cooking for my father, always have."

"That's weird." The thought of doing all her cooking for her dad was bizarre. 

"You should stay, Leo. Help us make dinner," said Mommy.

"Alas. I'm afraid I am expected home just after I talk with Mr. Winslow."

The door swung open, and she heard her father's footsteps. As soon as he entered the living room and saw Leonardo his face froze. "Both of you, get out."

Patience left, her quarrelling mother close behind. She was peeling potatoes on the table when Leonardo finally emerged, and he paused next to her on his way out the door.  "You should come over to my house for dinner sometime," he said softly. "I'll show you how good my cooking is."

She smiled. "I might take you up on that sometime."

He put his hand on her shoulder and let it slide off slowly, fingers trailing over her skin, then left like a breeze through the front door.

"He's very nice, isn't he?" Sighed Marilyn, dunking the potatoes in a pot of hot water. "He doesn't look like a dago at all. In fact, he looks very white."

"Italians can look like anything, Mom. They were Romans and stuff, remember? I learned it in World History."

"I suppose so. I don't know what the Borgheses and Richard have against each other. I wish the boy would come and visit more often."

***

"Junior Prom is comin' up."

Patience stirred her sundae, watching the caramel and ice cream swirl together. "Is it? Are you going?"

"Well, I never went to prom before. Thought it was kinda gay, you know. But... uh, I was wondering if... maybe this year, you'd like to go with me."

She stopped stirring and looked up at him, stars in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "And maybe, if everything works out... we can go next year, as well."

Patience tossed her arms around his narrow shoulders and kissed him passionately. His lips parted under hers, and she tasted cigarettes.

"I'd love to! Oh, Salvatore! Oh my gosh! I have to get a dress..."

***

Salvatore walked her home as he usually did, arm in arm, and since it was getting dark, they took a shortcut down an alley she didn't recognize.

They emerged onto a dimly lit street with weeds growing through the cracks of the sidewalk. Some of the houses were boarded up.

The street was empty but for a kid wearing a leather jacket leaning against the wall of a building. Smoke spiralled from the cigarette he held in his hand. When he saw the two of them, he threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it. "What the fuck are you doing here, greaser?" He snarled. "This is Bulldogs territory."

Sal eyed him coldly. "Calm the fuck down, Sam. I'm just escorting my girlfriend home."

"Well, escort her home some other way. Your kind isn't allowed around here."

"I will go wherever the fuck I want, you mick asshole."

"What did you call me? You ain't so tough without your little gang, you guinea cocksucker. Come over here!"

Salvatore's arm was tense in hers. "I ain't gonna cause a scene in front of my girl, otherwise I woulda beaten your red head in until it looked like a fucking pile of meat. Back off."

"Maybe you should leave your girl here so I can take her home." Sam leered at her, and her hackles rose. "Leave me alone!"

Salvatore let go of her arm and threw a punch so rapid that the boy barely had time to blink before his fist crunched into his face.

Sam stumbled back, hands going up to cover his face. Blood burst through his fingers.

Salvatore caught him with a right hook, but he was ready with a left hook. 

The thuds of muscle and bone were the only sound on that quiet street. Patient stood there, frozen, wanting to flee, wanting to scream, but able to do nothing but watch them. Salvatore twisted a an arm around his enemy and threw him to the ground. 

His nose was bleeding and his eyes were as black as coal. And he grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him over to the curb, and threw his head on top of the concrete edge. 

And Sal kicked him so hard that the crack echoed through the night. Patience was screaming by then, frightened and shrill, and when she couldn't take it anymore she ran back through the alleyway she came in.

Sal ran to catch up, grabbing her shoulder. "What the fuck are you doing? You won't get home if you take this route! Come on--"

Patience yanked her shoulder out of his grip. "What is wrong with you?" She screamed. "Is that boy going to be okay?"

"Who cares?" He looked confused. "He's just some Irish prick. He started it."

She turned and tried to walk away, but his grip on her arm was iron.

"Listen." He gripped her face between his hands. "If anyone hits on my girl, I'll make them suffer. Doesn't matter who they are. You're mine, Patience. And you better remember it."

The harsh tone of his voice made her heart thud, and she pulled out of his grip and headed into the darkness. She knew he was standing there, watching her even if he didn't follow, and his gaze haunted her the whole way back, through her mother's screams and curses and her father's admonishments.

[distant-rose-archive-blog]

I just wanted you to know that I just read all of the Little Pirates series this weekend and I am so, so, so in love with your Jones children. They feel like real honest to god kids with actual personalities rather than carbon copies of their parents. Beth is a riot and I'm trash for her and Killian's relationship. I have a few questions for you though. 1. How did you come up with the characters of Harrison, Wes, Beth and Neddy? They're amazing but they don't feel like Sues. (1/?)

I feel like that’s always a challenge in fanfiction writing with original characters. 2. Are you ever going to write a multi-chapter story for the kids or just continue just writing snippets of their lives as you are now? Because I would honest read the heck out of anything story you write for them. No pressure! 3. How many Little Pirates one-shots do you plan on writing and are you willing to write anything for Captain Swan that isn’t a part of the series? (2/3) Regardless of your answer, I will always read whatever you write. 4. You reblog a lot of Captain Swan stuff, which I appreciate, but are you going to watch Season Seven and do you think Season Seven will affect the Little Pirates series especially if it’s revealed that Killian and Emma have a child in the canon? You’ve kinda been quiet on that. (3/3)

As I have not updated all weekend since I was in my cousin’s wedding, I wasn’t expecting anything in my inbox this morning. I was pleasantly surprised and a bit overwhelmed when I checked into my tumblr this morning while I was having my coffee. I’m a wee bit hungover from yesterday.

I’m glad you like Little Pirates. I personally love writing the Killian-Beth dynamic as well since a lot of it is based upon my relationship with my own father. So, I love writing them. I love writing them all really, hence why I do it in the first place. 

I honestly feel like I’m being interviewed with the amount of questions you have, which I’m both flattered and overwhelmed by. I will try to answer them as best as I can. I apologize for the really long-winded answers, which is why I’m putting a “read more” here because it’s just a bloody essay.

1. It’s kinda hard to describe my character development/creation, but I’m generally struck with ideas of personalities while I’m doing something and I work from there. Beth came to me first. I just thought of someone who was super cheeky, super blunt and incredibly impulsive. Wes came to me originally as a rebel without a cause kind of guy who loves music more than people (this is still true) and Harrison was always just this haggard older sibling who feels the need to protect and keep the younger ones out of trouble, which ages him like a few good years. Neddy was late to the game. He was originally this quiet imp, but over time, he’s become much more thoughtful and sweet, but very secretive because he never wants to upset anyone. He’s aware he’s babied and wishes they would just stop. 

My key to making them not Sue-ish, I guess, is the fact I don’t view them as anyone I would want to be. I make them fuck up. A lot. They’re people I understand, but I don’t want to be them or really hang out with them. I gave a lot of them my own faults. 

Both Beth and Wes are inherently selfish and impulsive people who have absolutely no respect for authority or anyone really. They’ve not really sensitive to the feelings of others at all. They think it’s more important to spit the truth than consider how someone would feel about it. So you have three serious character faults right there. On top of that, neither of them are really in touch or want to talk about their own feelings. They would rather hide behind sarcasm and wit, then have a serious conversation about emotions.

Beth and Wes are also manipulative, though Beth more so than Wes. She’s so in habit of manipulating people that sometimes she doesn’t recognize when she does it, which will be explored later on. She’s manipulative, a skilled liar (something she shares with Ned) and on top of that, she’s very spiteful. She does a lot of things out of spite and anger without thinking about the long term. She has an entire serious relationship when she’s older out of spite due to the man she loves telling her that he doesn’t want to be with her. It’s a very shitty thing on her part. She took someone’s emotions for a ride because she wanted to make someone jealous. It’s not cool, but people do that. She’s human and flawed.

Wes is entire another bag of issues. I’m not sure if it’s been translating well, but he’s like a borderline sociopath at times. Wes is very charismatic, people are drawn to him, but he’s not really drawn to people. He could survive without people rather easily. He would miss certain people, but he could do without. He likes company, but doesn’t crave or need it. He’s very much lone wolf out of the four. He also has zero respect for authority and boundaries and has no issues breaking them for himself or the people he cares about which is a very short li- it’s basically just his siblings, Gideon and Bobbi. I haven’t talked about magic much, but Wes is obsessed with magic and sees his magic as an extension of himself. He would struggle picking between magic and people, which I personally am horrified by. He’s a bit Rumple-like when it comes to magic since he’s something he’s naturally good at. A lot of this stems from his competitive nature and jealousy. If you haven’t noticed, which you might have not because I haven’t necessarily pointed it out but I have tried to write it as a background issue, but there’s a lot of tension between Harrison and Wes. They snip a lot, because Wes is extremely jealous of Harrison and the perceived favoritism towards Harrison. He sees Harrison as the “golden son” and as someone to compete with. Harrison has no talent whatsoever in magic while Wes does, it’s something where he is just better than his brother at. 

Harrison and Ned are more on the introverted side. They’ve both more reserved and quiet. Harrison is more quiet out of social anxiety. A lot of that stems from expectations put on him when he was very young, not necessarily by his parents but by the community. His looks, which are very similar to Killian’s, have made really made a lot of people expect him to be like his father. They see him as a min-Killian, he’s just not. Harrison knows he’s not capable of that, which is natural since he’s his own person. He doesn’t feel he has his own autonomy and it really stresses him out. He doesn’t want to be either of his parents, he just wants to be himself but that’s not what people want so he’s just internally a mess. He has a very negative self-image and zero confidence - it doesn’t help that Wes constantly derides him. He also has anxiety because he feels the need to protect his siblings who are more outgoing and wild than he is. Killian subconsciously has conditioned Harrison to constantly feel the need to protect them like Liam protected Killian. So, more often than not, Harrison is put into very uncomfortable situations in order to help out the other three who constantly blunder into horrible situations because they have zero impulse control and are more extroverted than he is. He gets like gray hairs in his twenties from the stress of them. On top of that, Harrison is a bit on the righteous side - very David-like. His moral code is a bit black and white, which kinda leads him disapproving of a lot of the shenanigans that go on around him. There’s a reason, he’s on medication for anxiety. Some of it is family, but a lot of it is self-imposed.

Ned…this child. He’s new and I’m still working on him, but he’s very much babied and constantly shielded by everyone and he’s aware of it. He’s annoyed by it, which has led to him being very sneaky, secretive, cunning and a very gifted liar. He loves his family, but often views them as obstacles to his own fun and experiences so he lies A LOT to keep them for catching on, disapproving or freaking out about what he’s doing. Like he’s really young in the series so far, but when he’s older, like every other thing he says to his family is a lie. Like he’s very into baseball, which causes some strain with Killian because of his disability and Ned just hides the fact he’s playing baseball up until like high school. Just would say he’s over a friends’ house whenever he had a game. He fixes his report cards so his parents don’t stop him from having fun. That sort of nonsense. It just leads to so many issues. On top of that, he really resents the age differences between him and his siblings and basically tries to grow up too fast at times. Like he gets a tattoo at sixteen to match the one that the older three have. He makes so many horrible mistakes in high school in regards to partying, girls, drinking and sports that he’s kinda “been there, done that” by college and really is just the responsible one out of his baseball team and is more focused on baseball, his grades and writing than having fun. Which of course leads to him being kinda estranged from his team who hasn’t gotten to his level yet. He’s like a geek-jock in college with like only three friends.

Long story short: FLAWS. FLAWS ARE FUCKING IMPORTANT. Flaws make the characters, which is why sometimes hard to relate to characters like Superman. Sues are boring. Perfection is dull. 

2. Am I ever going to write multiple chapters on the Little Pirates? Maybe, but not likely. I have a ton of story arcs that I could write multi-chapters on but I don’t think I have a big enough audience to really write those. I mean older!Jones children have really colorful lives - Beth ends up a fucking realm jumping pirate in her own right, Harrison has an adventure in Agrabah and overcomes a lot of his anxiety before he replaces Emma as the Sheriff of Storybrooke, Wes has a lot of adventures involving magic with Gideon and Bobbi and Ned finds his own fairytale adventures while in college. I love these stories and I could write them, but they feature very little of the original cast which I don’t think a lot of people are interested in them. However, I am planning a Henry centric Labyrinth crossover fic which does have infant!Harrison (babe with the power) in it, which could count as a part of Little Pirates, but will mainly be stand-alone.

3. I think I’ve said this before, but I have no idea how many one-shots I’m going to write for Little Pirates. I have no end number in mind. Though I do know I have at least ten ideas in the works that are a mix of requests, original ideas and semi-requests. I just made a queue bar so people can see where their requests/prompts are in my lineup. As for non-Little Pirate related material, I’ve thought about it. I’ve really wanted to write a Top AU-Captain Swan/Captain Charming fic where Killian is Maverick, Emma is Charlie, Liam is Goose and David is Iceman. I’ve been doing research for it and I’ve found that like 60% of Top Gun is like actually impossible so I’m trying to make a more realistic plot line and it’s just been nutty research-wise. I’ve also been thinking about doing a Henry centric summer league t-ball story that’s about Henry figuring his life out post-college with a romance plot line with Ava Zimmer, but that could be considered a part of LP because it would feature Wes and Harrison. I’m like incapable of writing anything but domestic Captain Swan it seems. I suck and like my own characters too much. So, needless to say I’m trying, but failing fucking miserably. Too many ideas, not enough time to research and write them. 

4. I’m little confused on this last question. I haven’t said anything about OUAT season seven…at all. I haven’t been quiet at all. The reality is that I haven’t said a word. There’s a reason for that. While I plan on watching season seven because I adore Colin O’Donoghue and Hook…I’m just not excited. I love Captain Swan and I really don’t trust A+E to do this season right without Jennifer Morrison. I’m just not really invested in it, but I am curious what they’re going to do. After reading all the D23 stuff over this weekend despite being at my cousin’s wedding, I’m like 60% convinced there is a canon Captain Swan spawn, which could be interesting but I’m not like over the moon about it. I could live with or without it. I’m kinda “meh.”

I’m not sure how or why OUAT season seven would effect Little Pirates in any shape or form. I think I’ve made it clear that it’s a canon divergence post-season six. Everything that happened between seasons one to six is canon, but season seven has absolutely no baring on my universe at all. It would be insane to try and incorporate season seven stuff into my universe which is like 85% fully formed. I intend to view season seven as an alternate reality to mine. Like in comic terms, the season seven is Earth-1 and Little Pirates is like Earth-16. LOL.

Unless you’re asking if I’m going to stop writing Little Pirates because season seven would make it not-canon, which, the answer to that is no way in hell am I going to stop writing just because my universe isn’t canon. Captain Swan is one of the very few OTPs that I have that IS canon. Canon disagreements don’t bother me. I’m happy to live in my own little universe while the canon goes in an entirely different direction. So, I’m not bothered. I assume I will get less readers because of season seven, but whatever. Eh. 

Apologies for the novel length response, but you did ask a lot of questions. I hope I answered them to your satisfaction.