#IT'S AN HONEST-TO-GOD *PIRATE MAP*

[missmungoe]

I give you: The Navigator’s Map of Shanties for the Weary Voyager!

So my husband got the idea to make a timeline map of my Shanks x Makino series ("Shanties" for short), so that readers could better see how the different fics are connected, and while I should have been prepared, knowing full well how brilliant he is, I was not prepared for the end result. I mean look at it!!!

Some descriptions of key fics and planned updates below! The fics are listed in the recommended reading order on AO3, but feel free to chart your own course! Beware rogue whirlpools and dangerous straits, and remember that however dark and treacherous the sea, at the end of the voyage is always a safe harbour ♥

Hoist the colours! 🏴‍☠️

Heed the Siren’s Call // Shanks and Makino’s origin story, and the starting point of Shanties. Setting is pre-series to the timeskip.

Sailor's Folly // Siren's Call from Shanks' perspective. Includes the origins of Makino's sword, Siren.

Sea Songs // Sequel to Siren’s Call, set during the canon timeskip and after.

Scylla // Pirate!Makino AU, where Makino leaves East Blue with the Red-Hair Pirates at the start of One Piece.

Charybdis // Sea Songs AU, where Blackbeard destroys Fuschia and Makino goes on a trek across the Grand Line looking for Shanks, who thinks she's dead.

Mnemosyne // Kuja!Makino AU, where after Siren's Call, a pregnant Makino ends up on Amazon Lily.

Andromeda Unbound // Reverie Arc AU, where Makino, the Revolutionary Army, the Red-Hair Pirates, Straw-Hats and the Warlords join forces to crash Shanks’ execution.

On the Water // Pirate!Makino AU, where Makino and her child leave East Blue with the Red-Hair Pirates after the timeskip. Includes Shanks and Makino's floating bar, Siren's Call.

Salt Vows // Arrested!Makino AU, set during the current Egghead arc.

Tethered to Kinder Shores // Makino and the Red-Hair Pirates. Includes the origin of Makino's shanty, "Moored to Her Port".

Moon and Her Maiden // Selkie AU. Canon OP verse but Makino is a selkie.

Tideswept // Royal/Arranged Marriage AU.

Bind Me to the Tide // Soulmate AU, where soulmates feel each other's pain. Canon OP verse but with soulmates.

Love In Good Liquor // One-Shot collection set during the different Shanties verses.

Planned updates

This list is not comprehensive (meaning I have more fics that I plan to continue than the ones listed here), but it's the stories I'm focusing on right now:

Andromeda Unbound // Chapter 9/9 ✅ (Complete)

Bind Me to the Tide // Chapter 5/? ✅

Mnemosyne // Chapter 29/29 ✅ (Complete)

Salt Vows // Chapter 3/? ✅

Tideswept // Chapter 10/10 ✅ (Complete)

On the Water // Chapter 4/5

[tonberry-yoda]

Who's That Guy? - Trafalgar D. Water Law

notes - HERE IT IS! The Law fic as promised from my poll! I have been WAITING to write for this man, as I am so so so so in love with him tbh. He is SO FINE! I'm actually thinking about making a part 2 to this when I watch Dressrosa because this would be hella cute. I hope you all enjoy and I hope you're all staying hydrated :) word count - 1,868 summary - you're lost and can't find your crew. but luckily, you make an unexpected friend who helps you find your way back WARNINGS - spoilers for Sabaody?, implied f!reader (one use of she pronouns)

You were lost. Would you admit this to anyone? No. HELL NO. Zoro was the one who always got lost and you were usually the one to help him out.

But this island was a total mess. The Sabaody Archipelago was straight up awful. The numbers were helpful, sure, but finding your way to the next number was pure horror. Not to mention that you had to avoid any and all celestial dragons if you didn't to, oh, I don't know, DIE.

How did you lose your crew that easily?

You sighed and scratched your head as you stared at the numbers above you.

"Do you need help?" someone asked you.

You turned to them with a smile. "That would be great."

That part earlier, about you not admitting that you were lost, you were talking about your crew. You really needed some help and anyone would do to be honest.

They helped point you in the right direction, but as you were walking through alleyways and streets, you just felt yourself getting more lost.

"Oh my god," you muttered under your breath, pulling out your map again.

Not looking where you were walking, you kept the map in front of you, praying that it would magically tell you where to go.

That's when you felt someone crash into you. And of course, they hit the floor.

God, you were an idiot.

You quickly pulled your map away from you and apologized profusely, not even getting a look at who you knocked to the ground.

When you went to go help whoever it was you knocked over, a group of people, including a giant white bear stood in front of you, protecting whoever was behind them, weapons in hand.

You stepped back with embarrassment painting your face. You looked at the group and bowed apologetically. "Sorry." you said quickly.

"Guys, guys," the bear started talking. "I don't think she wants to hurt our captain! Put the weapons down!"

The group took a step back, lowering their weapons.

You knocked down their captain?? Oh yeah, you were screwed.

"I'm fine, Bepo." You heard the voice of the man who you knocked the the ground, his hand appearing on the Bear's shoulder. You saw the word "DEATH" tattooed over his knuckles.

"Oh, thank goodness, boss!" The bear turned to his captain and pulled him into his giant arms. You couldn't help but smile.

"Bepo, seriously, let go." the captain said.

Bepo took a step back, saluting. You giggled.

And that's when you finally saw the man who ate shit because of you. He was tall. Really tall. Really skinny as well, with long and lanky features. He was wearing a big hat that looked like it had cow print almost. He had black hair that included a small goatee on his chin. He had dark eyes, clearly wearing eyeliner and dressed like a high school boy.

"I'm sorry for knocking you down," you stammered. "I'm lost and I wasn't paying attention and-"

He raised his hand to you. "It's fine."

His crew looked shocked. One of the men quickly spoke up to try to show you the severity of what you had done. "Do you even know who our captain is? This is Trafalgar D. Water Law! He's got a 200 million berry bounty on his head!"

You let out a long whistle. "Not bad!" you said, looking at the captain.

The crew looked at you in surprise.

You looked around at them and smiled. "My captain's bounty may not be that high yet, but I guarantee it's gonna get there sooner rather than later."

"You're a pirate?" the bear asked, tilting his head.

"Sure am!"

"Who's your captain?" the man, Law, asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Monkey D. Luffy." you bragged. Even if the whole ocean didn't know him yet, they would soon enough. You loved your captain and were proud to call him just that.

"Damn, really?" Law asked, a look of surprise on his face.

"Yup."

"So he's here then?"

Your face went pale. You were supposed to be on the down-low and now you just told some pirate with a higher bounty than Luffy's that Luffy was here. Good job, y/n.

"I-" There really was no saving yourself.

"You said you were lost." said Law. "Need help?"

"That would be nice." you said.

"Where do you need to go?" he walked next to you, peeking at the map you had over your shoulder. He was warm, even if he was inches away.

"See, that's the problem. I can't remember what number we parked the boat at."

"Oh, I see. I can help. There's a pirate docking station. That's probably where your boat is now." He turned to his crew. "You guys can go screw around at some bar or something. You can take a break. I'll be back."

They all saluted their captain and look off like children in a candy store.

You laughed. "Do you like your crew?" you asked.

"I would hope so." he laughed. "Do you like yours?"

"Is that even a question? I have probably the best crew in the world."

"What's it like to have Luffy as a captain? I heard he was some crazy kid."

"Oh, he is," you chuckled. "But that's what makes him great. He's willing to do some pretty stupid shit to get what he wants, so there's always adventure, even out in the middle of the ocean."

"Oh, I bet. I could never go to any extremes if it meant putting my crew on the line."

"Luffy knows we can take it." you said without thinking. "Oh, shit, uh... I'm not saying your method's wrong. That's actually very sweet, I-"

Law laughed, raising his hand. "It's fine. I understand."

The two of you walked in a little bit of silence for a while, just appreciating how pretty Sabaody actually was. Sure, it was an island that made you feel uncomfortable with the acts the celestial dragons were pulling, but it was also pretty and had a lot of very kind people.

"When do you need to be back at the boat?"

"I don't know." you admitted. "We just kinda ran off from each other, but I want to be back there just to be safe."

"Gotcha." Law stretched and you could totally see him eyeing a churro stand. You ran over there quickly and bought two, bringing one to Law.

"You didn't have to." he said.

"You're helping me. It's the least I could do."

The two of you sat down to eat your churros, taking a mini break from walking. This island sure was huge.

"What's with the bear?" you asked.

"Don't you have a talking raccoon dog?"

"Reindeer, but okay."

He laughed. You laughed.

The sun felt good and the reflection off of the bubbles made you smile.

"So, you got a girlfriend?" you teasingly asked. You were just doing it for some good play, but at the same time, you totally did find him hot.

"Do you usually flirt with guys trying to help you out?"

"Sometimes."

He chuckled, throwing away a napkin he had. "No, I don't have a girlfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Do you usually flirt with people you help?"

His face went red. "I'm not flirting, I was just asking."

"I'm teasing." You stood up and threw away your trash. "Of course I don't have a boyfriend."

"What do you mean, 'of course?' " The two of you began walking again.

"I asked you if you had a girlfriend. Why would I ask that if I had a boyfriend?"

His face went red again. "I'm stupid." he chuckled.

"A little." you said playfully, bumping into his arm.

The rest of the walk went off with little jokes here and there, but mostly in silence. You would occasionally bump hands with him, feeling a little embarrassed, but even as you stepped away, it would still happen. You didn't mind it though. Something great about being a strawhat pirate was knowing that you could become friends with anybody, even in a short period of time.

When you two finally got to the area where all the boats were parked, you saw the Sunny, smiling straight at you.

"That's my boat." you said, pointing to the smiling Lion.

"Damn," Law said. "Big boat."

"Wait here, I wanna see if my crew's on board." You ran up to the Sunny and saw Law waiting patiently below.

As you ran around, you didn't see a single soul. You could've sworn at least somebody was protecting the boat, but you were wrong. No one was there. Odd.

You jumped off the boat with a look of confusion.

"Everything okay?" Law asked.

You turned to him. "No one's there."

"Knowing your captain, not like I do or anything, but there's an auction. There's bad people there. Putting that together, I think Luffy would want to take part in ass kicking there."

You sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like a Luffy thing."

"I can take you." he said. "I was heading there anyway."

"Thank you, Law. You've really been a lot of help today."

"Don't mention it."

"Handsome and sweet. How cute." you giggled.

He turned to you with not only shock, but a bright red face as well. "Shut up."

"It's true."

"No, it's not."

"Do you not think you're the hottest guy on the island right now?"

"Okay, now you're just being too much." he laughed and playfully pushed your shoulder.

You pushed him back and the rest of the walk was spent teasing him.

When you got to the auction house, it was relatively empty, you and Law being the only few people there first.

You could feel the bad energy just dripping off of the place.

"I hate this." you whispered, sitting next to Law.

"Tell me about it." he whispered back, putting his arm over your seat.

"So," you started in a joking tone. You could already see him smiling. "After this, how does a date sound?"

"Shut up."

"We could visit the celestial dragons and eat all their fine food." you said, still in a whisper, but in a joking refined tone.

"No way." he was holding back loud laughter.

"Not even a visit to the amusement park? You look like a guy who loves rollercoasters."

"Hate 'em."

"Really?" you asked seriously.

"Yeah. They make me uncomfortable. Same with any ride really."

You laughed and noticed something that brought a giant smile to your face. Your crew had walked through the front door.

"Law, thank you for everything." You grabbed both of his hands. "Today was super fun."

He looked behind him and saw your crew. "I had fun too."

"Seriously though, you're the best." You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before hopping up and running to your crew.

Law watched you with a bright red face and pulled his hat over his eyes.

"Hey guys!" you said to your crew.

Nami pulled you into her arms with a smile. "Hey, y/n!"

You waved at Law and turned back to Nami. "I've been looking for you guys all day." you sighed.

Nami smiled. "Who's that guy?"

~~~~~

one piece masterlist | pinned post | ko-fi

2023 @tonberry-yoda – do not repost or claim ANY of my work as your own! likes, reblogs, and comments are not only welcome, but appreciated

~~~~~

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

I'm In: An Analysis of Abigail's Arc (ft. Elizabeth Swann)

So, the character arcs in National Treasure are kinda weird. Or, weird is not the right word. They are a bit unconventional.

Ben doesn't change, because he's a paragon. Riley doesn't change because he's the comic relief. The characters who move from one clear worldview to another are Abigail, Patrick, and arguably Sadusky.

That means of our core trio, Abigail is the only one moving through an honest to god character arc.

And it's awesome.

Am I really contending that Abigail's arc in National Treasure rivals the exquisite coming-into-one's-own arc of Elizabeth Swann in the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies? No, of course not.

Except for the ways that I am.

Let's go ↓

First, let's define what Abigail's arc actually is. What worldview does she come into the story with, and how is it forced to change?

Part One: The Status Quo

When we first meet her, Abigail makes her position on treasure hunting pretty clear. The disdain and/or skepticism is apparent in the way she asks

ABIGAIL You're treasure-hunters, aren't you?

While she is curious enough to indulge Ben's story with a few followup questions, when he isn't able to produce any proof, she dismisses him pretty harshly.

ABIGAIL Did Bigfoot take it?

She thinks the idea that there's an invisible treasure map on the Declaration of Independence is absurd, and although she collects antiques herself (the George Washington campaign buttons) she gives no impression that she does the actual finding of these objects. The Abigail Chase of the beginning of the movie doesn't get her hands dirty that way. She is not a treasure hunter.

Abigail's position is one of impressive status. She's the freaking Custodian of the Charters of Freedom, if you take the 2003 script at its word. At the very least, from what we see in the film she has a high enough position within the National Archives to both have an assistant, and to be the person who gets called when the Declaration's case malfunctions.

She is the voice of the historical establishment, and she has the degree and position to prove it. She plays by the rules. Treasure hunting is, honestly, beneath her.

In Curse of the Black Pearl, when we first meet Elizabeth Swann as an adult, she is likewise a woman of status and prestige. Though her circumstances are quite different, she is also the most high-ranking woman we meet in her story and, at least for the moment, she is following society's expectations for who she's supposed to be and what she's supposed to be interested in.

Part 2: The Call

And yet. There is something about the darker, more adventurous world outside their walls that calls to both women.

For Abigail it's Ben's story about the map and the pipe. She's still thinking about it days later when she sees Ben at the gala, enough to ask him about it in a room full of respected colleagues and wealthy donors. That's not the kind of thing you want people to overhear. And yet she can't help herself. The way she asks about it is even a bit sheepish, like she knows she's flirting with some kind of professional line.

For Elizabeth, this is her ongoing barely-secret fixation on pirates, represented by the medallion she keeps hidden in her bedside table. Like Abigail, when prompted (in her case by her dream about seeing the Black Pearl as a child) she also indulges her interest by doing something slightly taboo—putting the medallion on.

However, both women come short of actually entering this other world themselves. They'll continue to toe the line of propriety and expectation, even if a part of them is curious about what else is out there.

That is, until that other world comes calling.

Part 3: Kidnapped

I mean they're both literally kidnapped into the rest of their stories!

Importantly, they're both kidnapped because of a choice that they make that puts them in the crosshairs of the plot.

Abigail realizes something is up with Ben, follows him outside, and confronts a man she suspects of committing some kind shady business alone, in a ballgown, in the dark. She goes so far as to (as far as she knows) take the Declaration back from him and go to bring it to security inside. That's what makes her a target of Ian's.

Elizabeth, still wearing the medallion after being rescued by Jack, fights back against Pintel and Ragetti and nearly outsmarts them. When she's caught, she invokes parlay as a way to save herself, which is what gets her taken onto Barbossa's ship.

Part 4: Taking Agency

However, neither one of our heroines stay victims for long. Both insert themselves into the narrative, taking control of their fate through their intimate knowledge of the subject at hand.

For Abigail, it is her expertise with antique documents. She has the opportunity to leave when Ben lets her go in the park, but refuses, demanding to stay with the Declaration instead. Then she truly joins the hunt when she insists on being the one to apply the lemon juice. She becomes an accomplice to Ben's search, even if her initial motivation is to prove to him that he's wrong about the map in the first place. She knows where to look for the masonic symbol, gets excited about revealing the cypher, and even recognizes what kind of cypher it is. Perhaps there's a little more treasure hunter in her than she, or we, realized.

And over in POTC, Elizabeth's knowledge of pirate history and lore got her taken onto the Black Pearl, where she swiftly attempts to negotiate a ceasefire on behalf of the whole port. When she isn't taken seriously, Elizabeth threatens to drop the medallion into the water. She's figured out how important it is to the pirates, and even arranges a little trick where she looks like she's dropping it to prove her suspicions. It's also Elizabeth's decision to give Will's surname as her own that gets her taken on the crew's mission instead of being returned/killed/thrown overboard.

Part 5: The Second Act

Granted, Elizabeth has been kidnapped by the antagonists of her story, whereas Abigail has already been rescued by the good guys.

Abigail's arc is also going to be complete by the close of National Treasure, but Elizabeth's won't be until she becomes the Pirate King in At World's End.

But in any case, both ladies travel through their respective plots while being pulled closer and closer to the thing they've always pushed away but secretly been intrigued by.

Part 6: Becoming the Thing

I'm far from the first person to suggest that it's Elizabeth, not Will, who is truly on the becoming-a-pirate journey in Pirates of the Caribbean.

As Will and Jack prepare to infiltrate the gathering on Isla de Muerta, Jack lists several reasons why he thinks Will is well on his way to becoming a pirate in his own right.

JACK SPARROW For having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail , commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga. And you're completely obsessed with treasure.

And for treasure, he clarifies, "not all treasure is silver and gold"—meaning Elizabeth.

But all of these qualifications are true of Elizabeth as well. She is also lying, tricking, and outsmarting her way through this adventure, and is in turn obsessed with Will.

Jack also famously says that "what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom." And nobody craves that freedom more than Elizabeth, who is being literally suffocated by her life at the beginning of the story.

Elizabeth Swann not only falls for a pirate, she becomes one herself.

In National Treasure we witness a similar shift in Abigail. Once the cypher is revealed and the hunt becomes real to her, she gets more and more into it. She could be dragging her feet through the Philadelphia sequence and griping about the tough spot that the guys have put her in, but instead she dives in.

Like, you can argue that Abigail is only willing to apply the lemon juice to prevent Ben from damaging the Declaration more than she, a trained professional, will. And that is absolutely true. But not thirty seconds later, when they see the masonic symbol, she's matching Ben's enthusiastic

BEN We need more juice ABIGAIL We need more heat

with literally just as much barely restrained excitement. In Urban Outfitters she's again matching Ben's frequency as they decipher the riddle Riley brings them. She doesn't miss beat as she and Ben riff off of each other, and she's the one to decode the fact that the clue points to a specific time.

All of this builds up to what might actually be one of the most fascinating lines in the whole movie:

PATRICK Then we just keep looking for it. ABIGAIL I'm in.

→ Part 2?

[majorproblems77]

A bonus links update means it's time for more comic analysis with me! :D

Hello!

Welcome back? Does that work? Sure does. We had a bonus links update yesterday which means it's time for me to ramble about another comic that I enjoy! :D

If you've not looked at the comic do go and check it out! It's really well made!

Oh, and so it has been said, all comic panels and art belong's to @bonus-links and the artist @ezdotjpg.

Now, grab some popcorn and a drink! And let's get started

Ahh yes, links private island. I love the details on it, the little chairs the hut with the little post box.

And Linebecks ship! It's nice to see it!

Yes, it is! If you dont know the Wind Waker map, if you think about it as a grid it works out diagonally by one square. you can just about see the island from the other one.

I love the fact the fairy is sitting in his hair I'm actually gonna scream it's so cute!

This is the face of a man who is fearing for his life, but can't say so.

Save himmmm

Help me im obsessed with these two.

LOFTS FACE I CANT

I love the fact that his ears moveeeeee. Little puppy wolf man he looks so upsettttt. Give him a hug okay

Pffffffffffftttttt

This made me cackle, this man is a bundle of nerves, (As I assume he's not really seen much Sea and now he's on a boat in the middle of the ocean)

So you know, who needs to face my fears when I can ask the wolf man if it's fun to be a wolf

OMG WOLF I CAN'T

I LOVE THESE TWO

ITS HEEEEEEE!

WAKE!

WAKE BELOVED!!! HE'S HERE! :D

I love Wake's design, the bandana, the tattoos just all of it. wonderful amazing stunning yes

So before I move on I wanna mention these red strings. Having gone back through the comic they seem to appear when something to do with the Curse shows up. Either Loft is talking about/feeling guilty about.

Or one of the heroes appears.

Do we know if Loft can see these strings or are they just for us? Cause if he can see them himself then this must be so damn stressful for him. It's not a, oh this guy came to help, it oh this guy is this time's hero.

I could build a separate post about the red strings as I've got a list of when they all appear and might do that rather than hide it in here.

Let me know if you'd be interested in reading that, if I get enough interest I'll build a post about the strings.

Moving on

Rip ship of red lions :(

Wake is out here already gathering information, Something tells me that Wake is gonna have one of the brain cells in this group. Even if he does pirate vibes it around from time to time.

Linebeck also looks very done with the shenanigans already

Not him asking where they've come from because he's already spotted the master sword. He's not looking at Loft here, He's looking past loft.

His eyes! He's spotted the master sword, Hes spotted the master sword. This panel makes me so unbelievably excited.

Please excuse me for one moment

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YES WAKE IT'S THE MASTERSWORD! HE IS PROBABLY ALREADY SUSPICIOUS OF LOFT BECAUSE HE HAS IT IN HIS HANDDDDD

okay I'm good

And instead of beating around the bush he just straight up asks which I can appreciate. Loft looks so nervous in this panel too. We know that Loft has seen the master sword sink under the waves so I can only assume that he's getting nervous about that.

Maybe he thinks Wake sunk the master sword himself? Rather than stabbing it into Ganon's head.

Bundle of nerves loft my beloved.

Thinking about it more it could also be because Loft knows that this is another hero. Again back to the strings thing...

God i love this man he is wonderful. Also saying it as it is. I love it

Yay optimism! They needed some of that in this group.

Lofttttttt. Poor baby.

Which nightmare are you referring to buddy cause there's several all happening at once, to be honest.

There is a storm on the horizion and they are on a boat

He's meeting heroes who all came after him, who exist due to the demise curse.

He's probably worried about this lot because what happens if they find out the extent of the reasons they are all here/went on their quests in the first place.

It's nice to see the optimism again. Wake you my friend are going to be the optimistic friend of this little team they are building.

I love it

I enjoyed this update, it was fun to read! and it gives me something to think about along the lines of the red string.

Thanks for hanging out with me!

Bye for now! :D

[ladybellissima]

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 33

"(Y/N)…"

Katakuri growled and out of instinct and pulled at the chains to get free, but knew all too well that it was useless.

Coby's look fell at her exhausted figure, while he was deep in thought.

"I have a dream to reach… And if I die tryin'…. at least I 've tried."

He could see it. Like he once saw by a certain pirate with a straw hat, who spoke those words with his strong will to fight. Everything made sense now, since his look wandered across the newspaper. Her uneasy state after meeting him and his crew, her heartbroken cries after realizing that Katakuri was just meters under her feet and the way she stood against the Navy Admiral with rage, the moment she was finally able to meet up with him. Like Luffy, (Y/N) wanted to achieve an important goal. She always gave her best, fought till the end, without losing hope. And even if she had to face death now, she kept her strong will without any regrets. Because everything she did was out of pure honest feelings towards this man. The man she wanted to save. The man she deeply loved.

"God (Y/N)….", he sighed deeply and sat down onto the floor, while crossing his arms.

"Things are really messed up right now….", he spoke, while (Y/N) brushed her cheeks to get rid of her tears.

"I know…", she whispered helpless, but also relieved that the intense moment was calming down.

"No (Y/N)… You don't know in what trouble you got yourself into. And I don't mean this situation right now. Which sure is the cherry on top.", he started and pointed to a pissed looking Katakuri. Raising her brows, she gave him one of those innocent looks he always loved to see. He wanted to do everything to keep her safe, to protect her from the darkness, which was about to come, but she sure was making things really difficult to handle.

"You wanted to get him out of here. To safe his life and flee from the marineford with your ship right? That was the reason why you were so unbelievable happy about the map. That you hugged the hell out of me, because I gave you free time…Time to plan things.", he started bitterly, while she bite her lip and nodded quickly.

" Say (Y/N). Was everything a lie? ", he asked, while looking up to her widened eyes.

" Everything you said to me…about me and the way you see things… Was this all just a game to get my sympathy… To reach your goal.", he spoke and she could see how painful it was to say his thoughts out loud. He really liked her. Coby was enjoying every single minute he was able to talk to her, but if this all was a show, he didn't know what to do.

Walking to his side and getting down to his level, Coby felt his cheeks burn of her closeness, while Katakuri felt like exploding of jealousy. Alone the thought that they hugged was enough to go on a rampage.

"I lied yes.", she started and his breath hitched for a moment of shock. He didn't want to hear the awful truth, if it pained so much. Slowly ruffling through his pink locks in a friendly manner, she smiled brightly into his face.

"But to you I was totally honest about everything. Even if I die by your hand, I still think that you are an amazing captain and hopefully soon a higher ranked Admiral who cares for the ones out there with the true thought of justice…", she spoke and let him gasp of shock. Without time to comprehend the situation he was hugged by her small form and was only able to see the furious look of her husband.

" I swear if you hug back, I break your arms.. ", he growled and let (Y/N) chuckle bitterly.

"I see…", he whispered happily, but soon narrowed his eyes. "(Y/N).. There is something you need to know.", Coby started worriedly and let her step back to listen to him.

"I wasn't going after you, because I found this newspaper article. By the way you are lucky that I was the first one at the marinebase who gets the daily news and hide the information quickly. It wasn't just because of that. Before that happened I came to your room to get you out of here as quick as possible. After I didn't got a response from your room, I was confronted with the news and put the pieces together. It was clear that I would find you here…", he started and her eyes went wide. Katakuri didn't like where that was going.

"In what trouble is my wife? How bad is her situation really? ", he asked seriously, while Coby gave the man a strained look.

"You have no idea… After I was writing down notes, I found an order in your papers. Admiral Akainu wants to stay permanently here and ordered that you have to move to his private chambers.", Coby spoke and let her gasp. Eyes widened Katakuri looked to (Y/N) to get an answer out of her shocked state. But before she was able to say something, Coby went on.

"I already felt that something was off in the way he looked at you. The way he handled things and always wanted you by his side… I think Admiral Akainu wants more from you (Y/N). More than becoming a marine..and i was sure you wouldn't be able to do anything against it...", his words echoed through the cell and let Katakuri's blood boil of anger.

"(Y/N) how on earth could that happen!? How got this bastard such an interest on you! And most of all so close!?", he growled pissed and let her shiver.

"Don't put the blame on me! I just accepted his offer to become a marine and he took me under his command. I just wanted to gain his trust to get you.. ", she shot back frustrated, while Katakuri was inhaling deeply. In a way it wasn't surprising. (Y/N) always got attention. With her beauty and kind mind she was irresistible, but sadly also for bastards like the Admiral.

"Gain his trust? Of that monster? Do you know what you are saying? You have no idea what he is able to do. This asshole never intended to make you a marine. To think that he was enjoying the view, while you were working your ass off. And all under his command!? That was just a possibility to have you close. Damn it (Y/N) you should have declined his offer and stay away from him. Of all the marines you landed by him?!", he spoke angered and looked at Coby who wasn't sure of what to say of this heated quarreling between husband and wife.

"What did she have to do? Tell me pinkie! Did he touch her? God damn it I kill him! ", he growled pissed with a dangerous look.  Nervously Coby scratched his head, while thinking of really telling him what his wife had to do all the time. For him it was already irritating and awful, but for her husband it sure was much worse.

"I ate with him, breakfast, lunch, dinner alone.. Everyday I had to endure his look. Listen to his lessons about cruel stories and awful punishments. I stepped before him and stopped him from hurting innocent marines. Yeah I did that. I couldn't stand the sight of his doings. He let it happen, never hurt me and never touched me. I know exactly what he is capable of..i heard enough to know. Don't think I am stupid. And i already noticed by the way he acted that something was off. But I did everything to keep my place to come to you. And I would do it again. Over and over again. Because I love you. So stop that shit now Katakuri! ", (Y/N) shot back pissed and let them look at her stunned. Mostly Coby, who never heard her speaking like that. Taking a deep breath she brushed through her hair exhausted with a sad smile on her face.

" I.. Never gave him any signs. Never showed any affection.. I was just myself..to think that this got me into trouble.. How pathetic.. But i think there wasn't an escape out of his fangs anyway.. ", she spoke uncomfortable, while Coby gave her a knowing look.

"If he wants something, he gets it. If you want or not. I never saw him acting like that..", the pink haired captain spoke angered, while Katakuri couldn't believe what he heard. Growling his look fell onto his wife, who was avoiding their gazes by watching the floor.

Katakuri sighed deeply. This was really a messed up situation. Silently everyone was deep in thought of what would happen now. Noticing her little bag, (Y/N) grabbed it and searched for something inside. Bitterly she took her precious ring and put it onto her finger.

"Coby?", her sweet voice let him look up. With a weak smile (Y/N) gave him a sad look.

"What happened couldn't be undone. Whatever the Admiral desires, it isn't necessary anymore. You wanted to get me out of here, but instead found out who I am. I know what is about to happen now..", she spoke and with every word the captain's heart pained more.

" I tried and failed, nevertheless I am grateful that I was able to see Katakuri after such a long time.. I accept my fate. So Captain Coby.. What now?", she asked sadly and took him off guard. Katakuri closed his eyes for a moment to escape the reality. To escape the awful truth. (Y/N) hugged him dearly, while kissing his cheek. Coby watched the two desperate lovers and felt sick into the stomach. He knew what had to be done. As a captain of the marines it was a daily routine, the moment he had to stay at the marineford. Sighing deeply he had to think about a familiar situation.

" Once there was a young pirate… He was captured and locked away.", he started and got their attention.

"It was horrible how he was treated and believe me… I don't want that someone is tortured, pirate or not… One day his crew started a fight along with many followers, who couldn't accept his fate. They wanted to safe him at all costs. It was a nightmare… A masacre. We marines had to suffer of a great loss, while the man had to watch how his friends were about to get killed without a chance to help them. I am asking you. Is something like that really necessary? Thousands deaths for one life?", he asked seriously, while (Y/N) listened stunned. Katakuri heard about that awful day for both, pirates and marines.

" Portgas D. Ace. "

Nodding slowly Coby got up and brushed through his hair frustrated.

" Yeah. Luffy's brother. And Navy Admiral Akainu was too focused on fighting. He was killing one pirate after another that he lost the control of the situation. Or what I think, he didn't care in the slightest, if innocent marines, beginners with dreams to start a career, were losing their life on this battlefield. Just because he didn't let him go. One simple man. Just because he was a pirate.", he spoke and remembered how he stood against the Admiral and was about to lose his life too. Looking at Katakuri he could see the despair of Ace. The frustration that he was the cause of this beautiful girl's soon death, without a chance to safe her. Like Luffy's brother and his many friends on the battlefield.

" I will let you go…"

His words echoed through the room and let them gasp. Shaken (Y/N)'s look fall onto Katakuri whos eyes widened in disbelief.

"You.. You will…", (Y/N) asked shocked, while Coby watched them seriously.

"(Y/N) you betrayed us, but your intentions were out of pure feelings towards this man. It's understandable and I won't ever lay a finger on you.", he smiled kindly at her surprised expression.

"Katakuri Charlotte is another topic. His list of crimes are… Let's just don't go deeper on that topic, but in this case I let you go, because the incident back then was mostly our fault. See it as a "now we are even kind" of case.", he spoke seriously while the sweet general nodded shortly.

"But what will happen to you? If someone finds out.. You will get in trouble Coby.", (Y/N) asked and he had to chuckle of her caring words.

"Still you think about others than yourself… You hot head. I have my ways and possibilities, but you two have only me.", he spoke and reached out to Katakuri's hand cuffs. With a loud clicking sound his hands were finally free and groaning in pain he fell down onto his stomach. God it hurt so much. His body burnt of all the tortures and he wasn't sure, if he really was able to move an inch, but he took all his willpower to get up to his knees to finally face his crying wife, who was more than worried about his state. Smirking into her face she sobbed relieved and jumped into his long wished embrace and held her close.

"Finally…(Y/N)…", he whispered exhausted and most of all in pain, but it was worth it. Her beautiful body in his strong arms felt so unbelievable good. No dream was able to reach this sweet reality. Looking into his eyes she gave him a sweet kiss, but sadly not for long. Her look wandered back to Coby, who watched their emotional moment flustered.

"Thank you… Thank you so much Coby…", she sobbed, while he nodded with a strained smile.

"I don't want to cut through your moment. But we have no time. Admiral Akainu will come soon. And who knows when the others know about your identity..", he spoke and headed to the cell doors.

(Y/N)'s look wandered back to her husband who was struggling to stay awake. His condition was really bad. That he was able to move was a miracle for her. Quickly she got out of his grip to help him out.

"Katakuri here. Eat this."

Watching the Pink and Blue balls in (Y/N) 's bag, he recognized them in an instant.

"Pudding gave them to me, if I get in any trouble with Mama..", she explained, while getting the pink ball out. His observation haki wasn't in a good shape, but he felt that taking the pink ball for full recovery would sure lead to something bad.

"For now a blue one is enough. We keep the pink one for the worst case.", he spoke seriously and quickly plopped it into his mouth.

"Then take some more to make sure that you are okay!", (Y/N) spoke worriedly and shoved two more balls into his mouth.

"God damn it (Y/N)! You are suffocating me!", he coughed like crazy and slowly felt his body regain his powers. Finally he was able to move with less effort, but still the pain was immense. Getting up (Y/N) watched her husband worried, while he walked to the cell doors to meet up with Coby. The captain gulped of the intimating tall appearance of Katakuri. He was sure if he had met him on a battlefield, he sure would have a hard time with this man.

Their serious gazes met and no one spoke a word. Coby knew how dangerous Katakuri Charlotte was. Hell he had an unbelievable bounty on his head. He sure was trusting (Y/N) but this man was terrifying. Slowly Katakuri reached out his hand towards the marine and let Coby look at him mouth agape.

"I am grateful that you helped my wife back then. With her reckless attitude she sure would be in more trouble than she already is.", he started and could see her pouting face even if he wasn't looking at her right now.

"And thank you that you spare our lifes and give us a chance to leave. I will keep your honorable act in mind, if we meet out there again as enemies. But listen, if something goes wrong now. I expect that you are that kind of man I think you are and focus to get her out of here that this bastard won't be able to get close to her ever again… ", Katakuri spoke in a threatening tone, which send a shiver down his spine, but his words gave him the needed answer of what person Katakuri was. A noble man whos priority was keeping his wife safe.

Slowly they stepped out of the cell.

The man with the highest bounty.

The young motivated captain

And the beautiful princess and wife of a pirate.

"Let's do this…."

[floef-likes-everything]

Sun God

The Sun God was fascinated by these Players. These Players who were pirates, running around his realm and wreaking havoc. He could’ve chosen to stay hidden, like he always had, but after intervening just one time they all started to talk about him. It had started with one, then another one tagged in and before the Sun God knew it, they could all see him. That was how faith worked: the more Players believed in something, the more powerful it became. The sunflakes were something the Sun God hadn’t been able to do for a very long time.

Not every Player reacted the same to him. There were those who where startled when he was around, which he couldn’t blame them for. He tried to leave them alone, only helping them if they really needed him. Others barely acknowledged him and he suspected there were even some Players left who had no idea he existed. For them it was maybe better that it stayed that way.

Apart from those types of Players, there were those who would wake up and look for his sunflakes on the sea breeze. They built shrines and shouted his names into the air. They talked about him with the inhibitants of the town, who he suspected got his name around in the first place. The Sun God enjoyed watching them go around, visiting them from time to time. If they particularly amused him, he sometimes gave them little gifts. They were nothing most of the time, just a banana or a lost bag of gold but they always acted like that gesture alone had saved their life.

There was one Player in particular who seemed to have taken more than just a liking to him. He spoke to him so casually, the Sun God had never struck fear in him. Not even after rumors of what he had done to other Players, this particular Player would always strike up a casual conversation with the Sun God. He didn’t always answer, but the Player didn’t seem to mind. He was good company to be around in all honesty, his adventures were exciting and he showed some real skill.

This one time he had called out to him in distress. Stranded on the open ocean with his atlas lost to the waves. He sounded in proper distress, looking around his ship and the waters around him to no avail. He was soaked to the bone as he had jumped into the sea to try and reclaim his map, but he was left empty handed. Normally, the Sun God wouldn’t intervene this much into the Players life. Their atlas' were their own responsibility, as they were very personal belongings. But this Player seemed so lost and the Sun God knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t just displace his atlas. So, with a hand over his heart he had granted the Player his belonging back, needing to seriously pull on the strings of the Universe to even be able to retrieve it. Yet, he thought his Player deserved it.

The Sun God sometimes caught the Player mumbling to himself. Not to the rats living in his boots and backpack, but just to the winds. Sun God hadn’t pieced together what he was talking about in particular, but it seemed like he was talking to an individual called Doc. He wondered if this Doc was another God perhaps, another Celestial being he didn’t know the existence off. To be honest, the Sun God had never left his own realm so he wouldn’t know if there were others like him. He just assumed.

So the Sun God wouldn’t be surprised if this Player had a tendency of talking to powerful beings like himself. He was one of the Players with the more… vague backstories, so to say. The Sun God had never heard him talk about his past with other Players, not a single mentions about what he did before he decided to become a Pirate. There had been something about rats, but rats were something common.

As long as this Doc figure wouldn’t intervene with his realm, the Sun God was happy. He made his little pocket realms for lost Players to escape to, though not every one of them was as friendly. This one seemed friendly, but something was lurking in the deep ocean for these Players to discover. That would be later, however. For now, all they had to worry about were their little bounties and the townsfolk. His pets would find them later.  

[hareofhrair]

you can either answer this in charecter or not

boom, you wake up one day on a sandy ass bitch ala castaway, before you can start doing what the british assumed to be inevitable and start worshiping a pigs head you found, you see a god damn sea gull in a lil hat with a newspaper and map! oh shit, you just got fucking isekaied to the one peice world!

the question here is this: what do you do?

what devil fruit would you go for?

would you be a pirate or join the marines? hell, maybe even go and be a fucking revolutionary?

feel free to make any assumptions you want about your circumstances.

"Well, lets go ahead and assume the island I landed on is some kinda devil fruit orchard with every available kind growin, and someone's even labeled em all helpful like so I can peruse and choose one at my leisure. Because let's be honest, otherwise I'm just eatin tha first fruit I run across, I ain't that picky. But assumin it was actually convenient ta have a choice... I'd choose the Mythological Zoan fruit Usa Usa no Mi model Jade Hare. Which is one that hasn't been discovered yet on account of it's new. The old man that grows the devil fruits on this orchard island was experimentin or somethin. It turns me into a rabbit person, makes me fast as lightenin' with legs that can jump straight to tha moon. It also gives me tha ability ta harmlessly break off parts of my body and turn em into food and they'll just grow back after a lil while. And probably some other neat things I figure out later, on account of it's a god fruit after all. If I can choose any fruit, why not go for the best?

As for what I'd do after I eat the fruit, well, I aint interested in bein a pirate. Treasure's nice but I don't care fer fightin. I'd prolly just wander around gettin inta trouble and stealin stuff, havin adventures and such like. Playin music, maybe do a little smugglin. Basically what I do already, cept I'd be even harder ta catch and I'd never have ta pass by anyone hungry without offerin em somethin'.

Check out my one piece 'sona."

[lostsneeze]

Vod Transcript From Your Fav

Hey everybody what’s up today we’re playing this game, it’s apparently just a worse version of Overwatch or something, I don’t really know. But I’m a worse version of an Overwatch player so maybe it’ll be a good time.

Now chat I did play it a little bit already, um, yesterday, on an unscheduled stream, because you have-there’s like, you don’t get to play against humans until rank 5 or account level 5 or experience level 5 or something, I don’t know what it’s called, but we did it. So now we can get into the real game *sniffs*

Is this going to be another sneeze stream? Man I hope not, that was weird. I don’t-I don’t know if it’s allergies or if I’m getting sick or if that was just random like, I don’t know. I mean I feel fine, or well, I don’t feel sick or anything. I mean I feel kind of just generally not great but I’m pretty sure that’s just because my sleep schedule is dogwater.

Alright match found, let’s go!

Okay let’s see what our team is picking…I say like I recognize any of these characters. *laughs* I’m just going to just pick one of the like 2 dudes I figured out already regardless.

Alright I’m picking this pirate guy. He’s great, he’s like the demoman in TF2. Any of you guys play TF2? Nobody better call me a boomer for that. That game’s a classic, alright?

Okay, enemy picks…Oh dangit they’re picking this…this fucking, this trenchcoat ass, beetleborg ass motherfucker. I hate this dude, he’s like…he’s like McCre-er, Cowboy, but he can fly. And he has like a reflect…shield…thing.

*sneeze* One sec, sorry. *sneeze* Oh no, it’s happening again! Ha. *sniffs*

Hmm, this is going to be tough. Actually wait that guy’s shield thing I think says it reflects shots? Like the ability description, I think it doesn’t say like attacks-one second *sneeze* augh. Excuse me. It doesn’t say attacks in general. So maybe, cuz my guy th-throws…bomb…*sneeze* Oh my god trying to explain this while I have to sneeze is so hard! *sniffs* My guy throws bombs and this game differentiates between like, shot damage and blast damage. So if he only reflects shots maybe I can throw bombs at him, or like his feet, so the explosion gets him? And then it doesn’t get reflected? *sniffs* Like does that work? What do you think chat?

Yes…No…No…Idk but try it. Alright helpful as ever you guys thanks. I mean we’re gonna try it.

Alright we’re getting into the match. I don’t know this map but it’s fine we just sit in the back and throw grenades. See…look they actually can’t handle it, they’re, they’re going to have to send that guy up here, the flying bastard…Okay here he is okay shoot, his shield’s up, we fire at the feet, and…AAGH!

*deep breath* We’ve learned a lot here today. Ugghh that’s so disappointing.. Okay, it’s fine, we get back, we focus up, the team will not get wiped in the time it takes for me to respawn, surely.

Yeahh, see, this isn’t, we just go up here now I think…Yeah that’s right, get outta here you freakin’ nerds…Oh this is so much easier, when that guy’s not around. We just k-keep...firing, I’m…*sneeze* *sneeze* oh crap the-the *sneeze* The…Crap I don’t know the names! *sneeze* *sneeze* I can’t…*sneeze* Augh BALLS I died while I was sneezing, god…dangit! Sorry chat I hope wasn’t not too loud. *sniffs*

That freakin’ green guy, man! *sniffs* He, he’s a Jedi, he force-choked me! I couldn’t move! *sniffs* Fuck, that guy’s supposed to be a healer too I think, why does he do so much fucking damage??? *sniffs* What the heck.

Why not mute mic? Because we are engaged in serious gamer business right now, there ain’t no time for that! …Literally one button just hotkey it, chat I’m actually a boomer? I can’t handle the thought process of trying to stay alive AND sneeze AND remember a hotkey outside the normal buttons, it’s too much.

Is it actually annoying though chat like is it bad? Be honest.

No, nah, no, no not really…kinda cute tbh LOL alright excellent, my camgirl era can finally begin.

Ahhh nuts, okay. Yeah so now we have to defend *sniffs*, but it’s fine cuz our…whoever she is, our goth mommy. *sniffs* She’s our healer and she has her ult so we’re going to be able to get aggressive here *sniffs* and take a good position I think. Cuz like, this…I remember hearing the maps in this game don’t have like hella chokepoints *sniffs* the way Overwatch does. So it’s important, I think we want to keep them as far as we can as soon as we can. *sniffs* We don’t want them moving up like at all.

*sniffs* Ugh should’ve grabbed tissues while I was dead.

What are you guys…chat she is! She is a goth mommy, look at her. *sniffs* It’s not weird to say if it’s true. Oh that’s her ult…yesss, yessssssss. *laughs* look, I can just stand in the…okay actually I’m still taking some damage here let’s back up. *sniffs* Back it up back it up. *sniffs* Crap I have to sneeze a-again…god dangit *sneeze* *sneeze* *sneeze* O-oh my *sneeze* god *sneeze* what is this *sneeze* Oh jesus th-this hehh bullcrap’s gonna kill me a-again *sneeze* *sneeze* *sneeze* Bro what the HECK. Aaaugh this is so annoying. I’m annoyed chat! *sniffs*

Sorry guys *sniffs* I’m getting, these sneezes are tilting me. Like I think I’m actually doing pretty well on the whole it’s just I, like every time I die it’s to this crap. *sniffs* Our team’s kind of slaying tho *sniffs* hold on. Yo our team’s kind of SLAYING tho hold on! Even like *sniffs*…see even after I die they pop off cuz my dude just does so much damage with the grenades, like look at these assists.

*sniffs* Oh my god I HAVE to blow my nose. AND I DIDN’T GRAB TISSUES WHILE I WAS DEAD AGAIN CUZ I WAS TILTED! *sniffs* I don’t have…Ugh I…alright chat look away. Look away chat. Turn the stream off. I don’t want you to see this. *blows* Sorry. I’m sorry everyone! *blows* Sorry but it was necessary. A necessary evil.

Okay now I think we can get back in this. Like I’m going to get up to this spot now and we’re just gonna like, we can just force them to come at us soooo slowly. They have to regroup and they have to, like they can’t risk being in the open for long…So we just keep, okay actually, that trenchcoat guy is coming I’mma port out…it’s fine we back up here and he has no idea, we just wait a little bit…Yeah and now we can go like over here maybe.

We just gotta attrition them. Cuz even if they make it through us here they still have to hehh oh my god *sneeze* Damnit *sneeze* I-I’m freaking *sneeze* UGhh okay hide hide *sneeze* sneeze* *sneeze*…*sneeze*

Okay *sniffs* don’t mind me I just had to hide over here and sneeze for a little bit. It’s all good, allies are killing it. Our tank’s doing like, tank things. Goth mommy is doing mom-no I’m not finishing that actually. *sniffs* Ugh. Yeah see, they have to get all the way to the base still. So all the time we buy is going to like, yeah like look how do they get through this? They don’t have, even with overtime I don’t think they have long enough, yknow? *sniffs*

Yes yes yes, hold on, we’re…EYY let’s go! Alright that was round one. I’m gonna find some tissues and then we’re gonna do this, next round’s ours. BRB.

[furryprovocateur]

finally got port of badon finished. such a frustrating chapter in that i wanted to bring in some growth units like bartre or rebecca, but couldn't. 6 slot availability is only SLIGHTLY better than having a 5 turn limit to get 5 stars. anyways

i severely overestimated how much experience sain would be costing me if i fielded him. he's better than marcus in almost every way right now (just slightly less durable) and he's just such a problem solver. that said, good god was it annoying that i had to RNG advance just to get the killer bow fucker to not crit him and one-shot him. god damn. so many stupidly strong units in this damn chapter.

i did in fact end up fielding sain, kent, lowen, priscilla, and raven. i didn't expect lowen to be as useful on this map as he was, but he was basically a stonewall against the swordslayer + damian, both of which were otherwise extremely deadly opponents. kent ended up getting a lot of experience this chapter, even though his level ups were. . . eh. amusingly he has 14/10/12 stats for st/sk/sp. why get one sain when you can get two. oh speaking of sain, he's now at 20 speed too so lawl. i should promote him in theory but i want to milk as much experience out of him as possible + who knows, he might get some skill and defense, which would be very nice. lowen idgaf about his stats but i won't lie, he keeps staying useful.

anyways with raven, he took the north route which i've literally always used him for. it's just free experience for him basically. he got good level ups too but with those bases he would have to get truly dogshit level ups to stop being good. nearly 30 HP and like 14 speed from the jump is insane for a level 5 unit. gotta love HHM bonuses (i'm so looking forward to heath, good god)!

enough about my stats, the strategy for this chapter was to rush to the front lines by the first turn. lowen on the bottom so he can intercept the swordslayer + damian and sain on the north to handle the fucking murder of pirates that approach that route. i did end up using canas to help chip some units like the swordslayer and the nomad. hector was there to fill holes, but he also ended up getting a very good level up. beyond that, the cavs basically did all the heavy lifting. i HAD to kill the elfire motherfucker on turn 2 with kent and that left him with 9 HP, but thankfully surrounding him with sain + hector kept him alive. it's really just a matter of dealing with the problem units (the elfire, the killer bow, the swordslayer, the killer axe, the nosferatu, and the damian).

after that, i rushed the arena with raven by rescuing him priscilla and getting him to the arena ASAP. i think i got him there by turn 7 and got him a whole level's worth of experience. kent even got a turn in there at the end and leveled up. it was a big internal debate for me, but i decided to use all 10 of the turns you're given, because it felt like getting raven stronger is gonna make life easier in the coming chapters + saving 1-2 turns isn't going to make a big swing for tactics compared to making raven and kent stronger. if nothing else, i wasn't planning on saving turns this chapter and i know there are other ones to cut corners on like genesis and pfod, so i'm hoping that was the right choice. honest to god, i'm just really really glad to be done with this chapter. it was a complete nightmare to route just due to the difficulty. and yet, it wasn't nearly as frustrating as birds of a feather or whereabouts unknown could be. bright sides, i suppose.

without a doubt, damian has one of the best fucking boss quotes in the entire series. you cannot challenge me on this. "You're about to die. Scream, if you must." fucking KILLER

[theunboundwriter]

The Sea is in Her Blood

"Tis a pirate that's said to be a terrifying breed o' bloodthirsty. Eyes a cursed color of orange from takin' a dead man's treasure." The man paused briefly to take a smoke from his cigar, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the barrel in front of him.

"They call him 'Cutthroat Marlowe,' the nastiest pirate to sail these waters in a long time."

He gestured for the bartender to retrieve another drink, tossing him a silver coin, and sliding the glass towards me. He released a shaky breath of smoke before continuing, "I've seen him with me own eyes when he and his crew raided a village I was passin' through. I saw Marlowe take down ten men at once with nothin' but a cutlass and thank the gods he didn't see me or I'd be a dead man too."

The buzz of the chatter of people echoed around us, drowning out any other sound that may be heard. The man leaned forwards, closer to me, his breath rancid and hot on my face. He lowered his voice, "Ye know how fast talk travels, 'specially on the waters, but they say he killed his lover, then his crew, and to be honest with ye, if I hadn't seen 'em with me own two eyes, I'd say he was just a tale."

After another puff of smoke escaped his lips, the man sighed, "I ain't never met a man who'd turn on his own crew, killin' them in cold blood. He must be all kinds of evil to do something so wretched.

"There be guesses, as to how he died. I'd heard that after recruiting a new crew they had a mutiny. Others say he danced with Jack Ketch or got his throat cut like he'd been doing all those years. Givin' him a taste of his own medicine if ye ask me."

He leaned back in his chair once again, and I doing the same. I kicked my feet up and leaned my chair back so it balanced on two legs, the gold bracelets on my wrists clicking against one another as I brought the glass to my lips.

"All I can say is I hope the man's in Davy Jones' Locker, or the darkest corner of hell for all the trouble he's caused. May he rot in pieces."

"I'll drink to that, sir," I smiled, tilting my hat to reveal the amber eyes that had been concealed by the shadows, loose brown curls falling to my shoulders. I took a sip of the ale the man had bought me as payment for listening to his stories.

Sitting down my glass, I stood up to leave, thanking the man for his time and walking to the door. But then, just as quickly as I had left, I spun around on my heel, unsheathing the dagger I kept on my right hip and pressed it against the man's throat.

He looked up at me with wide, confused eyes. They then morphed into fear as he gawked out the word, "you?"

"Aye sir, it's me. And you know how the saying goes," I smile, watching as the man quivered under my knife, "Dead men tell no tales."

About:

Genre: Adventure Status: 1st Draft POV: Third Person Omniscient Tropes: Adventure, Pirates, Curses, Buried Treasure, Found-Family, Will to Survive, Self-Reliance, Learning to Love, Loneliness as Destructive Force Content Warnings: Blood, Murder, Violence, Dark Thoughts, Tag Used: #wip: the sea is in her blood

Synopsis:

June ‘Cutthroat’ Marlowe had built up quite a reputation for herself. Not only was she the daughter of legendary Captain Damon ‘The Marked,’ but she was the only one brave enough to wrong him and get away with it. Now fleeing for her life, June has to find a ship and a crew, and sail to wherever the map she stole from her father takes her, before he can get his hands on the treasure she’s after.  Word travels fast, and it seems as if the seven seas were against her, as she’s being hunted down by more than just her bloodthirsty father: Captain Bates Anderson— The British Navy Officer— who she’d outsmarted time and time again, and wants nothing more than to see her pay for the crimes she’s committed.  The love of her life, who she had left for dead.  This pesky pirate who just so happens to have exactly what she’s looking for. And an ancient curse that had been following her family for years.

Characters:

June 'Cutthroat' Marlowe // Daughter of the infamous Captain Damon 'The Marked,' who only wants to make a name for herself separate from the legends of her father and to finally best him and gain the upper hand. She would do anything to accomplish her goals, sacrificing anyone who got in her way.

Damon 'The Marked' Marlowe // June's father and Captain of the Last Curse. He's built up his reputation through stories that have been spread across the seas, getting what he wants through tactics such as fear and threats. Damon was after a certain piece of treasure that he had to keep a secret from June, knowing that she would want to get her hands on what he was after and he couldn't afford to share with her. After she stole his map, she fled from the ship and jumped into the unforgiving hands of the ocean. If it were anyone else, he would have given up looking for them and assumed the sea had gotten the best of them. But June? She was like a cockroach: hard to kill and always lurking around the corner. If Damon wanted this treasure, he would have to find her and most likely bring her life to an end.

Bellamy 'Red' Carlyle // Captain of the Scurvy Return, and the first person whose heart was stolen by June. He hated to admit it, but he fell for her faster than he could have ever expected. Red welcomed her into his life with open arms, giving her a place to stay and offering her a job on the ship. Little did he know, this would cost him everything: his ship, his crew, his authority, his title as Captain, his heart, and his life.

Pierson 'Albatross' Rutland // The Quartermaster of the Scurvy Return and the newly named Red Treasure after June takes over as Captain. He has a charming smile and always knows exactly what to say, but that doesn't change the fact that he has ulterior motives and is doing his tasks out of greed. He'll say what he needs to say to pass suspicion, buttering up whoever is in charge so no one casts him a second glance. Of course, the traitor always dies in the end.

Captain Bates Anderson // The British Naval Officer that witnessed first hand the horrors that June 'Cutthroat' Marlowe is capable of. After losing the lives of everyone on his crew, he vows that he will do everything in his power to bring them to justice and make June pay for the crimes she's committed.

Jesse Myers // A pirate that came into June's life when his crew attempted to board her ship. She threw him in the brig for the hell of it, but Jesse reveals he has information on the treasure she is after.

Booker // A crew member of the Last Curse that helped June escape the clutches of her father. She believes him to be dead, but he holds a valuable piece of information that will help her accomplish her goals.

Salton 'Grisly' Harding // First mate of the Scurvy Return, and father figure to Red. He's a quiet, older gentlemen with more wisdom than people realize, one of the few to quickly pick this up being June.

Kit Harrison // The surgeon of the Scurvy Return, and the first to speak their mind to June. She was grateful for his snarky sense of humor and the way he says exactly what he's thinking.

Franklin Willoughby // Cabin boy of the Scurvy Return and one of the few people that June tolerates on the ship.

Carter and Carswell 'Righty and Lefty' Garrick // Pilot and Sea Artist, respectively, of the Scurvy Return. They're more fun and games than paying attention to what they're doing, and if it weren't for Salton keeping them on track they would never get anything done.

Benton 'Plank Walker' Charlton // June's first mate aboard the Red Treasure. He is as loyal as they get, following June's orders with a trust that few could possess. He does, however, advise her if he believes there is a better course of action, and she almost always hears what he has to say. He was the only one who would stand up to her without repercussion.

Raleigh 'The Mermaid' Fulton // As a woman studying medicine, she has no where to legally practice. Which is when she decides the only way for her to follow her dream is to do so illegally. June hires her to be the surgeon of the Red Treasure, and only later does she realize that she is the daughter of the Governor.

Philip Irwin // Philip came to June looking for adventure and a place to stay. She made him the cabin boy of the Red Treasure, liking his enthusiasm. He is a firm believer in the fantastical, believing in mermaids, fairies, and anything magical.

Sherwood 'Daring' Ike // The Master Gunner of the Red Treasure. He's incredibly impulsive, and quite literally a loose canon. June initially hired him for his bravery, but she's come to realize that he isn't one to follow orders blindly.

Tag List:

ask to be added or removed @fearofahumanplanet @marinesocks @parttimeghost @houndsofcorduff @creatrackers

[olberic]

ok. so. thinking abt octopath ii nonstop. im really vibing w the characters so far so really limited thoughts on them, if only to come back and see this post again once ive played it! also listing in the main trailer order bc thats easiest for me to remember. as if i dont have them memorized

hikari:

hes a warrior but hes also a PRINCEEEEE

again not a slight on olberic (bc he’s my favourite OBVIOUSLY) but i love that his attacks have different names than his

very excited that it seems like hes gonna take a “for the sake of friendship and fallen comrades” approach to his theme rather than a bland “my home country == good” approach

agnea:

i really like that she’s a different type of dancer than primrose, rather than reuse the sex appeal that primrose used. not that its a slight on primrose (one of my faves!) but dancer does tend to have that association to it

her overworld animations have so much extra flavour to them… the way she walks…

it seems like her town supports her 🥹

partitio:

helloOOOO SOUTHERN CHARACTER IN A JRPG

honestly. i just like that he seems honest. love a good honest merchant theyre so rare

osvald:

idk abt his design but ough. im always a sucker for a revenge plot. even if it involves a dead wife and child i dont care. i wanna feel osvald’s rage i wanna take my time fighting whoever did that to him.

i feel like hes gonna be one of my fave stories but im not sure if he’ll be one of my favourite characters. does that make sense.

mage character wanting to kill someone with their own hands YES!!!!! YES!!!!!!

throné:

girl im gonna love your story. i know i am

her bloody history even though shes a thief???

SO curious about the “mother” character. i need to know this backstory

temenos:

prettyboy cleric character…. i feel like theyd either make him honest and innocent or tastefully corrupt and given how innocent ophilia was i feel like theyre gonna swerve and make him a little rowdy. and if thats the case im gonna be obsessed

no thoughts on his backstory. just wanna see what they do with him

ochette:

shes like a foxgirl or something and im OBSESSED with those implications

not as hyped about her whole “hunting prize meats” storyline but im really hoping they give us some sort of twist on that

rn she’s feeling like tressa in that theres no motivation besides “doing better than what they have at the start” so. begging for some spare backstory 🤲

castti:

honestly? i want to play as her so bad

i love everything about her. missing memories. seems like she was shipwrecked and only managed to save a kid. whats gonna happen to that kid? does she get rescued by respectable ppl or pirates? is she gonna be ocean based? i dont know but im dying to find out

other thoughts on the trailers and the rest of the game:

INTERTWINING PATHS??????? IS THE ORDER I TAKE GONNA MATTER???? SQUARE ENIX. IM GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME A MILLION TIMES. YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY DESIRE FOR MORE OCTOPATH

AND!!!! ARE THE CHARACTERS GONNA ACTUALLY INTERACT IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CHAPTERS AND NOT JUST IN SKITS!!!!!!!!!

the graphics and depth of field!!! the way the beasts move in ochette’s section of the trailer!!! the day/night settings!!!

THE SPRITES ARE BIGGER SO THERE’LL BE MORE CHARACTER DETAILS THAN THE FIRST ONE

NEED to know about the job system. are the job combos gonna be the same (like will i make hikari an apothecary and agnea a scholer the way i picked olberic’s and primrose’ jobs for synergy?) or are they gonna change it up a little

for that matter are the gods going to be the same? what about the ultimate jobs? am i gonna get starseer temenos?

the collector’s edition confirmed theres gonna be eight different transitions into boss themes so im fucking losing my mind at that alone

the art book’s gonna have more maps!!!!!!!

the release date being feb (2nd month/2nd game) and specifically 2.24 (2+2+4=8) (24 as 2x4=8)

obviously. the names spell out octopath

[lunavadash-creates]

Your The real pleasure story got me idea of AC character walking on reader changing clothes and getting surprised and embarrassed, but spotting a tattoo on reader's ribs and since it surprised them even more, they couldn't help but checking out reader?

Could you make it for Altair, Edward and Shay, since they're my favorite and maybe for someone of your choice?

Since I have tattoo on my ribs myself I know it makes people peeking on it without even knowing. And let's be honest, tattoos since forever were relating to outlaws and God forbid any normal and decent woman has one. My granny refused speaking to me for 4 freaking days after she found out I have tattoo because in her opinion I look like someone who is straight out of prison..

🔪

Hello Knifey! 

Sorry it took a few days I’m a bit slow lately ;; Also when I start writing it, it turned out a little bit different but it’s still about a reader with a rib tattoo. I hope you will like this little thing. 

Also, I don’t have a tattoo myself but I adore looking at other people tattoos because they are all little works of art. So don’t worry about people being weird about it. It’s your skin, your tattoo and you can do whatever you want with it! Don’t let others tell you how to live your life!

Ayyway - here is the lil thing:

Altaїr

“Why would you stain your body like that?” Altaїr looked at you with a frown, after he spotted a tattoo covering a good part of your ribs. He was unfamiliar with that practice and people around tended to call tattooing a sin that was changing the Gods creation. Altaїr had never been a believer, especially since he saw the Apple, but he couldn’t help the disapproving tone of his voice.

“Stain?” You asked, mimicking his expression. “It’s not a stain! It’s a work of art!” You exclaimed angrily. He wasn’t the first person disapproving of your life choices, treating you like a worse kind of person only because you had a little bit of ink inside of your skin. You knew they were all wrong, but you had hoped that a person like Altaїr wouldn’t judge you. Yet, it appeared you were wrong.

Altaїr hadn’t said another word and let you leave the room.

He came back to you after a few hours, when you were preparing to go to sleep. You were still angry at your friend for his words, and it led to a minor injury during training that left you a little bruise on your arm.

“I never intended to upset you.” Those words knocked you out of your thoughts, so you turned around with an accusing look on your face.

“Don’t you knock?!”

“I did,” Altaїr was still standing near the door with a bowl of dates in his hands. “I came to…apologize. I’m not familiar with people stai- tattooing their bodies. But I am not judging you nor think lower of you.” He promised as he finally came closer, to put dates on your nightstand, next to your weapon.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t outburst at you like I did. I just heard people accusing me of the weirdest things because of that tattoo.”

Altaїr nodded, accepting your apologies and soon you were sitting on the floor, eating fruits and talking about the future, novices, assassins, war, crusades… It was until Altaїr finally asked you the very thing he wanted to ask since he saw your tattoo.

“Can I see it again?” He asked and you, after a second of hesitation, raised your clothes to show him. Altaїr stretched his arm towards you and then you felt his warm fingers tracing the lines of your tattoo.

“It suits you well.”

Shay

“Oi, were you a pirate?”

With a frown you looked at Shay, that was casually leaning against the doorframe, watching you change your clothes. You really didn’t want to walk around in those kinds of clothes among the crew. You preferred the casually, comfortable clothes you could work and, most importantly, fight in.

“Why? Are you afraid I will steal your gold and sell it for a bottle of rum?”

“Ha! Very funny! As if you could steal from me! But I saw ya tattoo. So, were you a pirate?” He asked again, watching you like a hawk, After all, so many people wanted and tried to kill him, no wonder he was cautious around everyone, except Grandmaster. You joined the Templars only a few months ago.

“No, I have never been a pirate, but I saw them. When I was little I saw them with their bodies covered by tattoos, they looked like giant maps of undercover secrets and I just… I just wanted it too.” With a shrug, you put last piece of clothing over your body.

Shay had been looking at you with a grin, sparkles in his eyes as he finally took a few steps closer. His fingers brushed over your tattooed skin as he pulled you closer.

“You wanted to become a map of undercover secrets… Well, I have always wanted to be an adventurer. I think we may actually have a lot of fun together.” Just as he said it you felt a shiver going through your spine.

On that day you discovered he was both an adventurer and an owner of a tattoo kink.

Edward

“Nice ink you have there!” Edward said with a grin. You were both messy and tired after a fight and your clothes got torn, so now they were exposing part of a tattoo on your ribs. “Watcha got there?”

“Why? Want to copy me, pal?” You asked, dusting off sand and dirt of your skin. You could really use a bath, but you had to wait for Jackdaw to get the hell out of this godforsaken island.

You earned another grin as Edward suddenly took of remains of his shirt, exposing his tanned skin, almost fully covered in ink. You hardly suppressed a gasp as you saw his handsome, muscular body. You knew the bastard had a lot of tattoos but not that many.

“If ya find some free space.”

“Yeah, I guess your pale ass has some space on it,” You said and almost immediately regretted those words as you saw Edward turning around.

“Jaysus, mate, don’t you dare flash your ass at my face!” You screamed and throw a fistful of sand at him when you heard his loud laughter. Fucking pirates.

“So, now it’s your time. Show me what you got there.”

After a roll of your eyes, you finally tore off your shirt. It was hanging on a few threads anyway and way beyond saving point. Edward examined your body, looking at the tattoo with interest sparking in his blue eyes. It took him a little bit of time and you were about to throw another joke at him when he finally spoke.

“Suits you well. Not really my type of a tattoo but it’s perfect for ya.”

“Oh yes. Because you prefer to have a giant fucking hourglass tattooed on your nipple. Your taste in ink is questionable, Kenway.”

[gooseberry-n-lilac]

"Aha, now those are good questions," excitement was clear in Jack's voice, but he remained patient explaining the ways of Navigating from one world to the other. "From what I gathered from Tia Dalma before she was freed from her human bonds, it is only possible for a person to Navigate if they've been over the edge of the world and brought back, be that from the Locker or Fiddler's Green. But that isn't all, however. They also need a map of the place they want to visit, or else they cannot cross through the veil between worlds, and then they need a vessel to carry 'em over… which is, in this case, the Black Pearl."

"As for what awaits us in Neverland… surely you've heard the tales. Pirates, mermaids and fairies roam the place, magic is real, and perhaps, there's treasure too." Jack grinned at the mention of treasure. The crew of the Pearl has been restless as of late, and their captain knew they would be happy to do some honest-to-god pirating, which meant acquiring something shiny and valuable, which Jack could understand. "Not cursed treasure, at least I hope so. The last time we went after cursed gold ended with me being betrayed and the crew cursed, and I'd rather avoid that this time. But now we really must hurry, that storm is close behind us." With that, Jack sauntered over to the wheel of the Pearl, barking orders to the crew. "All hands on deck, and hard to starboard! We're going over the edge of the map now, mates!"

Never Forget

[oblivioustoast]

since i don't know any of your ocs i want to hear you explain your top three faves :-) (if you can even rank them)

ooh, lemme see. this might be long 😅

1. Aerin Maxwell - Aerin is probably my top fav, ride or die OC. I came up with her in middle school (i’m about to turn 31) (the relentless passage of time makes me 🤪). She was originally a sky pirate in a Firefly-esque world, but without space. Her original plot was a sky captain on the search for her brother who was maybe involved in some secret government project to access alternate timelines? Now she’s the OC i throw into almost every piece of media I wanna engage with.

Since I was a kid, a lot of her characteristics were borrowed from other stuff I liked back then. Her last name and long braid are taken from Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing. She had/has a cool golden eye implant that was inspired by grown up Enzo from Reboot. (depending what universe she’s in, she has a golden eye under her eyepatch that can project maps, in other worlds it’s just a regular blind eye, sometimes she has both eyes)

She’s also morphed a little more into a pirate-cowboy hybrid over the years (mostly because i was into Brisco County Jr. in college). But her vibes have always been… cool lady with a shotgun 😂 Aerin is pretty much what I always wished I could be, self assured, competent, easily liked by others, good at running around and doing cool action stuff, passionate/compassionate, witty, Tall! Sigh.. she’s so dreamy. Her character colors are red and brown.

2. Adrian Edwards - ok I said Aerin was my ride or die, but i also have so so so much love in my heart for Adrian. He was initially created alongside my wife’s oc Liam Bardsley. Both regency boys - and I don’t remember this at all 😅 but apparently the idea was that Liam was made to reflect Romanticism, while Adrian was made to represent Gothic Literature. which makes sense! but i totally forgot haha

Now Adrian and Liam are part of an rpg podcast we do with our friends called Dandies in Danger! Adrian is a severely depressed poet, with the taste for the macabre and the unfortunate knack for picking up slightly cursed curios. As the eldest son, he’s supposed to take up a position at his family’s newspaper but he doeessnnnttt wwaaannntt ttooooo. This boy is super neurodivergent.

And in the way Aerin encapsulates a lot of traits I would like to have, Adrian is saddled with a bunch of my insecurities - depression, social anxiety, loneliness, too honest at times, self sabotaging. But he feels very deeply and cares a lot, even tho he doesn’t want people to think he does. His character colours are blue, black, silver (sometimes wine red).

3. Exile Redlink - it was hard picking a 3rd actually :0 but i’m gonna go with Exile. Also originally created way back in middle school - based entirely around scrambling my name and substituting some letters. At the time, she didn’t have a lot of substance, just kinda of an edgy goth look. But recently I felt like refurbishing her, while still embracing that middle school edgelord flavour.

So now she’s a teenager (like 15 i think?) cursed with being a demon!! 😱 Her story is set in a sort of fantasy sort of horror sort of sci-fi world. So she lives out in a pretty rural village, when bandits (or are they??) attack. Her mom hides her and when the coast is clear, she comes out to discover everyone has been killed 😱😱 in response to this, she goes to the village temple to fight god 🙂 Said god takes this poorly and curses her.

When I was a kid, I always drew her carrying a scythe - so I repurposed that into a big, evil cursed scythe that she has to carry around. The idea is that it builds up evil energy that she has to regularly disperse by killing stuff - or it’ll build up too much and like… explode. So she decides she’s gonna go around killing other demons. Exile has a lot of attitude and snark (it’s the trauma..) and is generally a rabble rousing little punk. My wife and I have a few characters in the story with her, so she eventually gets friends and a girlfriend. I can’t remember how her curse is supposed to be lifted or if we ever deconstruct the idea of demons and what it means for her to go around killing them instead of humans 😅 but that would be rly interesting to explore. Her characters colours are kind of undecided, but i associate her mostly with black and gold (as a demon she gets bleach blonde hair lol)

[mctherofdragons]

Against the Tides | 5 | F. W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

AU: Pirate!AU; Muggle!AU; Historical!AU

Summary: The year is 1710. The Duchess is kidnapped by Captain Fred Weasley, the most notorious and blood thirsty pirate of the age. Aboard his ship, The Midnight Rose, love, lust, and longing collide on the high seas.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: angst, fluff, kidnapping, fred is a pirate for god’s sake don’t come for me, kissing, gets a little steamy but no sex, physical illness (not serious), yelling, fred grabs her arm, crying, angry fred, captivity, alludes to trauma, self harm, i didn’t edit this, again he’s a fucking pirate don’t send me hate thanks. 

A/N: Thank you all so much for waiting for me during my little break! I had so much to sort through in my own mind and heart. I am feeling much better and I’m grateful you were all so supportive of me during that time. This chapter is not very long, and serves as more of a ‘filler’ but none the less I hope you all enjoy it. I’m so excited to continue this story <3 I love it so dearly! 

I do not consent for my work to be published or translated anywhere without my permission.

Series Masterlist. 

Taglist: @oh-for-merlins-sake @minty-malfoy @slytherinlovesgryffindor @futureofanthropology @inglourious-imagines @sinz-and-tragediez @acourtofsnakes @vivianweasley @n3ssm0nique @cruciostyles  @whizboingies @shadowsinger11 @whitewineandpizzapuffs @gcdric @the–queen-of-hell @gloryekaterina @hogwartslut @theanxietyqueen17 @vogueweasley @blossomweasley @asthmax @ilovejjmaybank​ @theweasleytwinsgirl @tyyyweasley @feetoffthetablee @thisismynerdyself @wandsandwheezes @loony-loopy-lupinn @missmercurymoon @willowyreads @l-adysansa @arcadianmoonlight @weasley-x-wheezes @lumosandnoxwriting @darthwheezely please message me to be added/removed from my taglist).

______________________

It had been days now since you shared your first kiss with the captain. It was new to you - the way his lips felt when they brushed yours, sending chills down your spine. The feeling of his kisses caused your heart to flutter in your chest. You had allowed Captain Weasley to steal kisses as much as possible, delighting in the way he would come to you just for a few moments of restless kissing. Captain Weasley found solace in the sweet and pure moments you spent with him. You would giggle when his hands found their way to your hips. Your chastity was something newfound for him. It reminded him of the innocence that had long been taken from him.

Fred had taken quickly to doting on you. The crew took notice as well, pretending not to recognize the way he had been going easier on you. His eyes would soften when he saw you, losing their usual shade of darkness.

“Hello, treasure,” He would greet, pulling you away from the eyes of the crew. He would go in for a soft and longing kiss. Your back was often pressed against the damp walls of the ship. Sometimes, his rough hand would wander up to place a thumb on your cheek with the other fingers behind your ear, pulling the kiss deeper than before. You had allowed Fred to play with the soft fabric atop your breasts, but never much more. He savored those touches regardless, due to the way they’d let his mind wander to what it would be like to make love to you.

_________

The days passed by slowly. Eventually, you stopped questioning the Captain about how far you were from home. In fact, you had begun to wish somewhere deep inside of you that maybe he would never return you. The truth of the matter was that Captain Weasley knew exactly where the ship was. He would have been able to get you home in just a few days’ time. But the thought of saying goodbye to you cut him to the quick, and so, he purposely steered the ship in the opposite direction. He felt only a small amount of guilt for deceiving you. After all, the joy and warmth you brought him was a small sacrifice for a lie.

The Captain had even surprised you with a chest of books when you stopped at another port. He had gestured to the chest absentmindedly as he read a map, only glancing up when he heard you gasp. You had torn through the chest, pulling out all of your favorite books. “Oh Captain! You shouldn’t have. Where did you get these?”

“Some poor bastard left his cart unattended. Anyway, you said you were lonely, and that you missed readin’.”

You dropped a copy of Romeo and Juliet as you ran over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He dropped his compass, letting you straddle each side of him. You kissed him softly and he leaned back in his seat. Fred moved to plant soft kisses behind your ear, eliciting a soft gasp from you.

“That feels good, eh, Duchess?”

He kissed your sweet spot again, letting the smell of rum fill your senses. You felt an unfamiliar flush rush between your legs and you climbed off him quickly, straightening your dress out with both hands.

“It’s not proper.”

“It isn’t anything to be ashamed of, Duchess.”

“It simply isn’t done, Captain. I’m betrothed.”

“I know.”

He turned away quickly, going back to focusing on what he had been doing before. You looked up at him as you grabbed a book, going to sit comfortably in his hammock. You were chewing your lip, deep into the story, unable to notice the way he looked at you without you noticing.

You turned a page of your book, closing it, before setting it on your lap. You fixed your dress again, cocking your head as you began to spoke. “Why are you being so kind to me, Captain Weasley? Letting me sleep here? Stealing books for me?”

“Pretty to look at,” he said, a small laugh coming from somewhere deep inside of him as he took a swig of rum. His eyes raked over you and you felt your skin flush scarlet, going back to burying your face into the pages of Shakepeare’s Othello.

__________________

You were laying in his bed, listening to the sound of his breathing. He sounded a bit stuffy, if you were honest, and it worried you. When his eyes opened, he let out a small groan, reaching up to place a tattooed hand on his head.

“You sound ill, Captain,” you noted, placing the back of your soft and petite hand on his forehead. “Thank heavens. No fever.”

“I’m not ill,” he grumbled, going to stand up quickly but shortly landing back to sitting on the bed. Fred put his hand on his head again, shutting his eyes tightly as his ears rang and his head pounded. You cooed, crawling over closer to him. You looked over his shoulder as you placed your hand on his bicep.

“Lay back down, please, and let me make you a cup of tea?”

“I’m fine, Duchess…”

Perhaps it was his recent kind gestures, but you were no longer afraid of the Captain like you were before. Fred’s soft side had become more apparent. Sometimes, you even forgot he was your captor, enjoying being in his company. You pouted a bit and he cracked the smallest smile. “Y/n, it is mighty kind that you want to baby me, but I’ll be fine.”

There was a small rap on the door and you blushed, getting out of his bed before any of the crew got wild ideas about what you were doing there in the first place. You busied yourself with straightening up his desk.

“Come in,” Fred said, going to grab his boots but becoming wobbly on his feet. He let out a loud sneeze, shocking even himself. You looked at him, giving him a knowing gaze.

The door opened and Lee Jordan entered, tipping his hat to you. Fred glanced at you, and then back at his first mate.

“Jordan, why don’t you take over my duties for today? I’m not well.”

The Captain had caved and it took everything in you to not rejoice in triumph. Lee looked surprised but nodded. “Yes, Captain.”

“Don’t let this ship go under or I’ll have your skin, Jordan.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Now, get out.”

You smiled, leaning down to light the fire under Fred’s kettle. You poured him a hot cup of tea, bringing it over to where he was sitting in bed. He coughed a bit, taking a small sip of tea.

“You must have gotten a cold from being damp and freezing.”

Fred had been out in the cold the night before, barking demands at the men as they went through another tempest. He had come back to his cabin soaking wet, shivering from the cool temperatures.

You curled up next to him, placing your head on his shoulder. “Is this alright?”

Captain Weasley hesitated before he spoke again. “...Yes.”

You looked at him, watching his eyes flutter shut slightly. “Tell me your story, Captain.”

“What do you mean? You’re the one with your head in a book.”

Fred closed his eyes. In his mind, he could feel the comfort of his childhood bedroom. As clear as day, he swore he could hear Ginny’s little giggle out in the sitting room. He and George were running around the room, playing with the wooden swords Arthur had carved for them - a special Christmas present. They would play pirates, unbeknownst of the irony in their childhood joys. In the same vision, he saw George’s body again, cold and lifeless on the ground.

He tore his eyes open, staring up at the maroon canopy above him.

“Not a story, Captain, your story.”

“I don’t have a story, Duchess. Please, leave it be.”

“Everyone has a story. Even you.”

You poked his chest playfully, playing with the top button of his shirt.

He reached up, moving your hand off of him. “Stop.”

You sat up, clearly not used to being told ‘no’. Of course, as a Duchess, what you wanted was always given to you. It was a discomfort to be denied something you desired - even something seemingly silly.

“Freddie-”

At the sound of the nickname, Fred felt his entire body tense up. It was the last thing his mother had said when she closed him inside of the wardrobe, never to return to him again. Hearing another person call him that sent fear through his entire being. He was afraid to get close to you because he knew the deep-seated truth that you were only his for a fleeting moment.

The happiness once existent faded from his eyes and he quickly rose from his bed, pulling you out by your arm. He would push you away before you got any closer to him. Fred knew he couldn’t protect his mother from the monsters. But now, he was the phantom, and he was determined to keep you guarded.

“I’m done playing this silly game with you, Duchess.”

“What ever are you talking--”

Fred dragged you toward the door and you could not help but follow behind, trying to keep up as he pulled you. You fought tears, unsure of what you had done to upset him.

He pulled you down the stairs, using his free hand to open up the cell he had been keeping you in originally. “Captain, please, talk to me,” you felt tears filling your own eyes. It was only then, as you looked up, you saw warm tears streaming down his face. His brown eyes looked brighter as they glistened.

He pushed you gently inside of the cell, slamming the door with a loud bang. His hands shook as he turned the key. He couldn’t remember the last time someone saw him cry. He felt embarrassed, but more so, he felt foolish for putting you in danger. Loving you was a losing game and all he wanted to do was keep you safe. He was falling for you faster than he could keep up with. His only defense was to retreat back into his role as a wretched villain in your story.

The only problem was that you had long forgotten him as a sinful pirate. Now, you had become to see him shed his harsh exterior. The light and warmth that emitted from his true self was not something that could be faked, and you knew it. As he stood before you crying, you longed to kiss his lips. You yearned to pull him close and wipe his tears away, using your lips to meet his dripping cheeks with affection.

“Fred, please, I...talk to me.”

Captain Weasley brought his hands up to the bars, slamming on them once more. His rings caused a loud, metallic sound to clang in your ears. “You do not know anything! You spoiled little rich girl! You think you do but you don’t.”

“Teach me,” you begged but he banged on the bars again.

“Be quiet! Jordan will be down with your supper.”

Fred wiped his tears quickly, adjusting his keys back onto his belt. He felt for his dagger, letting his thumb run of it. Just slightly, he let it slice into his skin, relishing in the pain that came soon after. He ignored the sounds of you banging on the bars, calling out to him. You were better off - or so he told himself.

[aelingalathyniusrailme]

If you find me at the edge, we’ll jump together.

Gwynriel pirate au pt 8- you don’t know who I am. 

this chapters a little bit shorter because the part that’s coming next would have made it way too long. also check out the other parts.  pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6, pt 7

Gwyn’s eyes narrowed and Azriel swore there was venom in her gaze. If he was being perfectly honest, he was slightly turned on. 

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why do we need you?” She spat out. Her words were icy, not the passionate, flirty pirate he had come to know, but someone different. Someone new. 

Perhaps new was the wrong word, perhaps he had just peeled away another of her many layers. And perhaps, as the days of their time together grew shorter, he had become more and more interested to find who, and what lay beneath. 

His mind was an absolute atrocity. Split between the pirate captain he couldn’t rid himself of, his second with secrets and lies curved around his every word, and the fae female before him, who shared history with each of them. 

Feyre. It appeared Nesta’s sister was just as lethal as she was, but where Nesta was cruel words and brute strength, Feyre was power of a different kind. Fae. 

The first of the archeron’s was ruthless and cold while the third was as immortal as she was dangerous, with a slight superiority complex. Some morbid interest had him curious as to what the second archeron sister would be like. 

At that moment Azriel sneezed, interrupting the stare down going on between Berdara and the assassin. He looked around and found the culprit. In a vase on the a shelf was a bouquet of roses. Damn his fucking allergies. 

Gwyn turned to him and everything about her softened, amused. 

You alright? she snorted a little 

Yes I am perfectly fine thank you for asking. 

Well this is good news, the infamous pirate captain can be brought down with a simple flower. 

A wretched flower. 

“Excuse me.” Feyre seemed very agitated. “I would appreciate it if you two could stop looking at each other for one moment.” 

Azriel swore he could see Gwyn blush slightly. 

“Yes of course, our apologies, please continue.” 

“Please don’t” Gwyn mumbled for only Az to hear. His lips twitched in agreement. 

“Now you two have half of what you need but you certainly cannot acquire the huge hall with a measly half.” 

She paused for a dramatic second. “You have the map and while I’m sure that the phoenix piss worked wonders in uncovering the sigil of The Dragon. But I’m sure you know it does not actually lead you to Amren herself.” 

Gwyn and Azriel shared a look. “Oh,” Feyre frowned. “I guess you didn't know that. But you must have known that her island moves with the storm and is constantly moving and the only way to track it down is to use the compass.” 

“No, you didn’t know that either?” Feyre’s frown turned upwards in a devilish smirk. “One more piece of information I suppose you need to know. Only a pure blooded fae can use the compass.” 

“And why is that?” 

“Like calls to like, power recognizes power.”

“Someone’s quite full of herself.” 

“I simply speak the truth.” 

“Sure you do.”    

Azriel sighed, this back and forth would accomplish nothing and he had treasure to find. “How about Captain Berdara and I discuss your proposition in private?”

“What is there to discuss?” 

Azriel smiled charmingly, “Not that you aren’t delightful company, but plenty.” Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Gwyn frown. 

Feyre looked him over, and then turned her gaze to Gwyn, curling her lip in disgust as she walked out the door. Her footsteps became faint and Gwyn blurted, “Absolutely fucking not.” 

Gwyn took a breath, trying to regain her composure, “I do not work with people with conflicting interests.” 

“We need her.” He was sure of it, Azriel trusted his gut instincts and his instincts were telling him she was telling the truth, or at least some form of it. Although he far from trusted her. Azriel had learned a long time ago that the only people he could regularly rely on were himself and his crew.

She swallowed, her eyes turning steel, and her gaze becoming daggers, “No.” She turned away, about to walk out the door. Her shoulders back and her chin high. Even in her moments of vulnerability she would not sacrifice her pride.

“Gwyn.” The sound of her name from his lips was enough to stop her. 

Her voice was faint, the words barely there, “What did you just say.” 

His words softened, “Gwyn.” He said again as she breathed in sharply, “I will not pretend as if I understand you even remotely.” She snorted. “But I do not believe you are the kind of person to be swayed from your goals. You go after what you want with a ferocity that could rival any. And I know you want this.” Gwyn shifted on her feet as if preparing for a fight. It was a nervous tic, he realized. “Whoever you were when you knew that woman is not who you are now.”  

“And who am I now?” 

“Infuriating, stubborn, a royal pain in my ass.” She laughed weakly. “You’re a lot of things Berdara, but you are not stupid and you know as well as I that we require her services.” 

“So what is it you said to me? Ah yes suck it up and think of the money.” 

Gwyn flexed her fingers and squared her shoulders, clearly still itching for a fight. But then she did something unexpected, her body relaxed and she exhaled slowly. “You’re right.” 

Azriel was pretty sure he was having a stroke. “I’m sorry, say that again but slower this time.” 

In a flash she had him pinned to the table with her knee pressing on his chest and a dagger to his throat. “I’ve said those words three other times in my life, every one of them ended up with their heads on the ground and their balls in the sea. Don’t make me regret it and don’t expect it again.”

He believed every word and yet the dagger was held with almost no pressure so he smirked in agreement, “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

She got off of him and wiped her clothes, “To be clear we are going to screw over feyre archeron right?” 

“You have to ask?” 

Gwyn’s smile was one of pure insanity as she murmured, “Maybe this will be fun after all.”  

He walked to the door and opened it, standing to the side as he held out his hand mockingly, “Your majesty,” She breezed through the door without giving him so much as a glance and when they found Feyre and their combined crew, god Azriel despised this women.

Feyre was holding Cassian, a man who was double her size, by the ankles as others watched with bored expressions on their faces. Cassian was grinning like an idiot, Nesta however, looked like she was 0.2 seconds away from throwing a knife into her sister's chest. Azriel didn’t blame her. 

“Feyre, drop it.” Gwyn scolded. 

“What am I? A dog?” She growled. 

“That’s an insult to dogs.” Nesta muttered. 

Gwyn laughed but instead of continuing this useless back and forth she spoke again, “Feyre if you acquire us this compass and prove that it works as you say it does, then we will agree to your terms.” 

“Thought you might say something like that.” 

“Well?” He asked.

“Well, a certain day court event will be expecting a few more members.”

Rhysand, surprisingly, groaned, “Oh my god no.” 

Emerie questioned, “Wait what?”

“Feyre darling is taking us to the sun ball.”

Tagging: @imsointobooks @meher-sumedha @himadrij @gwynrielsupremacy @ipsa-est-lux-plenae @flora-shadowshine @allthebooksunderthemoon @valkygwyn @bookish-isha @lattristantketchup @generalnesta @brieq @sv0430  @carsonjade12523 @aelinismyreligion @gwynrielisunmatched @shisingh @sarcasticsugarcookie @feyretale (let me know if you want to be added or removed.”