#She’s a whole professional pirate already she probably knows the ocean way better than them

[herbgerblin]

but what if Beck was this arc’s Angus McDonald?

[chaseatinydream]

pirate king (31) || atz

“HAVANA-OHNANA-”

The five of you are walking along the streets, footsteps echoing on the cobbles as you take in the sights about you. It’s a bright and sunny day, with a stiff breeze keeping the temperature cool while you tour the town. You’re dressed lightly for the day, your hair done up in the pin Wooyoung had given you a while back to keep it out of your face.

But Jongho. What is Jongho doing?

Seonghwa sighs, turning to look at their maknae. “Well, he did get drunk yesterday after we told him I was staying with the crew and sobbed for a whole hour about how happy he was.”

“Let’s not forget how he danced around the ship trying to do a striptease to celebrate.” San mutters under his breath. You gulp at the thought and cover your eyes, as if that could change what your eyes have already seen.

You’re probably still traumatised.

“HALF OF MY HEART IS IN HAVANA-”

Yeosang stares worriedly after Jongho, who’s still dancing his way through the marketplace, belting out some song none of you have heard before at the top of his lungs.

“Is he still drunk?”

It’s funny how Captain actually let Jongho go into town with you and the others after the little fiasco yesterday. After returning to the Treasure on your little rowboat, Seonghwa had immediately explained to Captain and the rest about all that had happened. Hongjoong had simply listened quietly to Seonghwa, nodding in understanding when his cook had told him about how he had been tempted to stay in Nassau.

“It was understandable.” Hongjoong had shrugged.

But when Seonghwa had declared he was going to stay with the crew no matter what, you swore you had seen Hongjoong sigh a silent breath of relief under his breath, the tense muscles in his shoulders relaxing.

The rest of the crew hadn’t been quite so reserved in showing their joy.

Yunho and Wooyoung, once again the life of the party, had snuck down into the storage hold and swiped an entire cask of aged fire rum, giving drinks out to the whole crew, much to Hongjoong’s horror.

And absolutely the entire ship had gotten dead drunk.

The last time when you had gone drinking with the ATEEZ crew, you had thought you had seen everything. From flirting with inanimate objects to burning down restaurant kitchens, it had been bad. Until you had seen this.

Two words.

Absolute. Pandemonium.

What happened had literally been the stuff of nightmares. Your master, soft spoken oddball Choi San, had only managed two glasses of alcohol before he had gone streaking across the main deck of the ship, dressed in a grass skirt of medicinal herbs which you had been forced to toss this morning due to hygiene purposes. You had managed to save his clothes from being lost to the unknown, but your sanity had been sacrificed in the process as you tried to drag him back to the sickbay all with your eyes firmly shut against the evils of the world.

Mingi. The silent, steady quartermaster was one depressed drunk. After a few minutes of cheering like a lunatic with the rest of the crew, he had suddenly stood up, walked over to the captain’s cabin and lay down on Yeosang’s bed, hugging a terribly ugly plushie that you assumed your master had sewn years ago, a yellow bean in blue suspenders and clearly missing an eye. To it he had sobbed his life story, which mainly involved how he had joined the Treasure and how he wished Hongjoong could have had a better life. You had chosen wisely to leave the cabin before the room flooded with his tears.

Only to run in Jongho, who was in the middle of the main deck attempting to do a striptease along to a tragic ballad he was singing at full volume, hyped on by the rest of the crew chanting along. You had gone already nearly gone blind trying to escort San back to the sickbay, but with Jongho, you weren’t quite as lucky.

For a moment, you had very nearly wanted to claw your own eyes out. Fortunately for you, you had been saved when Jongho had decided to do a swan dive over the side of the ship into the sea all while screaming something that sounded suspiciously like ‘yeet’, prompting the only other sober person besides you on board, Seonghwa, to jump into the frigid waters to rescue him.

And gods. Rational, gentle, innocent and sweet Yeosang had gotten drunk. And when he got drunk, he drank even more. And when he drank even more, boy did he let his mouth run. You never wanted to hear the words that he had used to describe his father leave his mouth ever, and in the morning when they had been slightly more sober than before, Hongjoong had threatened to wash his mouth out with rubbing alcohol if he ever heard them again.

Which was rather ironic, considering that Hongjoong himself had been Yeosang’s most ardent supporter and listener the night before, cursing his own father with all sorts of colourful and creative words that had nearly made your ears bleed. The two had sat in the bow with a bottle of fine, powerful whiskey between them, screaming all sorts of unrepeatable expletives into the dark of the ocean. You had carefully kept clear of the forecastle deck, but even from the main mast you could hear them shrieking words like ‘shitbag’ and ‘bastard can’t even aim a gun properly-’ over the howling of the wind.

You had chosen not to dwell too much on that. After all, you had bigger problems to deal with.

Yunho and Wooyoung had been attempting to swing around the masts. The three of you were rigging monkeys, so this was nothing unusual. The problem with that was that Yunho and Wooyoung were on the verge of getting into a fist fight on the yardams, and that scared you more than it should have.

Because the two of them were fighting over the mast.

“The main mast is the best mast of the three! She’s tall and gorgeous, with such a slim and sleek figure! What does your mast have?” Yunho screamed from above, clinging onto the main mast’s rigging like it was his one true love. You had wondered briefly who he was talking to, until a voice from the mizzen mast had shrieked back in response.

“The mizzen mast is made of the most exquisite conifer! I’d like to see your mast made of anything better!”

It was Wooyoung, the drunk idiot second only to Yunho.

The first time you had caught wind of their argument, you had briefly wondered if you were the drunk one instead, but then you remembered that you hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

“Guys,” You had tried to cajole them into coming down from their dangerously high perches, “The masts are just big sticks-”

From the horrified screeching above you, you would have thought you had just murdered their firstborn children.

“How dare you, Haechin!” Yunho had blubbered, sloshing alcohol everywhere from above and you had been forced to dive out of the way to avoid a shower of rum. Wooyoung had thrown his wooden mug at Yunho with all the fury of a professional thrower but without the aim, so his shot had gone far off. The piece of tableware had flown through the air and hit Jongho straight in the forehead when Seonghwa was trying to haul him back on board, so the maknae simply toppled back into the ocean, much to Seonghwa’s horror.

“Don’t you dare call Chon Ha’s name wrongly!” Wooyoung had screeched from the mizzen mast, dangling upside down from the ropes, failing to recognise the hypocrisy of his statement. “Names are important, Yun Hoe!”

“What did you just call me, Poo Young?”

You had merely stood at the main deck for a long moment, staring up at the masts as you wondered how on earth you were ever going to get them down, the two slinging insults at each other with all the maturity of a five year old child split between the two of them.

“They’re very passionate about this.” Seonghwa had appeared at your side with a limp, kicking Jongho slung over his shoulder. He watched as the two flung rude hand gestures at each other, occasionally forgetting that they needed their hands to hold on to the rigging and almost tumbling off the masts, but somehow managing to save themselves at the last moment. “That’s how the two of them started talking when Wooyoung first joined the ship.”

You had stared at the cook incredulously even as Jongho attempted to struggle out of the sackcloth Seonghwa had tied him up in to save what was left of his shredded dignity. “By talking about which mast is better?”

Seonghwa had shrugged in reply. “Every time they get drunk, they flirt with inanimate objects. Along the way, Wooyoung and Yunho just… fell in love with the mizzen mast and main mast, I guess.”

Maybe the maturity of a five year old split between the two of them had been a little too generous. You doubted they had more brain than Shiber even if you put their minds together.

“I once woke up to see Wooyoung getting it down the mizzen mast. And Yunho attempting to seduce the mast with terrible puns about… you know.” Seonghwa had mumbled, shaking his head as he massaged his temples. He had clearly seen terrible things, you could see the trauma of his experience on the lines of his handsome face. What a difficult life he has been through. “Well, anyway, I need to get Jongho below deck before he attempts to go skinny dipping in the sea again.”

Your eyes had widened in horror as Seonghwa hoisted a whining Jongho higher up his shoulder. “You can’t leave me alone with these two idiots! You’ve known them longer, you should know what to do!”

But Seonghwa merely waved over his shoulder, opening the hatch to below the decks and rolling Jongho’s body down the stairs.

“Look at the blue she dresses herself in! The beauty of her robes, she’s such a fine mast!” Yunho screamed above you, and for a moment you had been very tempted to just grab Mingi’s ax from the cabin and hack the entire mast down.

“You’re merely dressing a swine in pearls!” Wooyoung waved his fist back furiously, his face red from hanging upside down or from the alcohol, you didn’t know. “What matters most is the person within!”

“That would have been so much more touching if he hadn’t been talking about a mast.” You shook your head, completely exasperated. But Wooyoung and Yunho had obviously not forgotten about you, because they turned to you simultaneously.

“Haechin!”

“Choo Ha!”

Their voices echoed together. “Which mast is better?”

You had buried your face in your hands. This was actually a real conversation. These two grown adult men had just asked you which big wooden stick was better than the other.

You’d had enough.

“Neither.”

Yunho had slid down his rope precariously to stare at you in the eye seriously. Then he screamed “What?” so loud in your ears you were pretty sure one eardrum had just given up on you, the sound ringing in your ears. But you had forced yourself to keep your calm.

“The foremast is better.”

Now that you think back on it, you had probably broken them. The two of them had merely gaped at you in shock and horror, and Yunho had actually slipped from the ropes to land in a crumpled heap right next to you.

Sobs had burst out from the mizzen mast.

“How could you say such a cruel thing, Choo Hoo?”

That was probably why the two other rigging monkeys had refused to join your little excursion to Havana today. Neither Wooyoung nor Yunho had met your eye, probably still unable to accept by what you had told them.

It was either that or the roaring hangover both of them had.

Suddenly, a screech pierces the air, much like a dying ostrich and you clap your hands over your ears, eyes flitting around for the source of the noise. Yeosang, too, flinches, but manages to stay a lot more composed than you. He must be too used to the sound of cannon fire and Wooyoung’s shrieking laughter.

“What was that?” You gape, but then all you see is a fruit cart, overturned, and suddenly, it explodes into flames.

Yeosang dives at you, knocking you to the ground as bits of charred wood fall all about you. To your left, you see your master crouched behind another stall with his hands protecting his head. To your right, you see Mingi and Seonghwa ushering a small girl to safety and away from the explosion.

“What happened?” You ask as Yeosang crawls off you, brushing ash from the knees of his pants as the two of you rise to your feet. The navigator frowns, coughing from the sheer amount of smoke as he attempts to see where your battlemaster has gone.

“Where’s that dumb maknae?” San yelps from the ground, and you can see him clutching a small Shiber stuffed toy to his chest protectively. “I swear, if he got into some sort of shit-”

“Language, San!” Yeosang chides, but the tips of his ears turn pink in embarrassment at his hypocrisy. Then he catches sight of something, and his eyes widen in sheer horror. “What the fu-”

You clap a hand over his mouth before he can say anymore.

“-urry cute bunny.” Yeosang manages to save his mouth from a date with rubbing alcohol. “Is that Jongho? With my new explosive, highly dangerous smoke bombs?”

You almost choke in shock as you stare into the clearing smoke. Then you see it. Jongho, hooting madly with laughter as he raises another hand bomb in his hands. Yup, definitely still drunk. “Oh, fu-”

What has Jongho done?

Before you too have a date with rubbing alcohol, San spots the town law enforcement approaching, the sound of their boots thundering across the stone pavement. The healer looks at you determinedly. You glance at him, intending to convey your message to him. Your master has always understood you intuitively, much like how you and Wooyoung can communicate through touch alone.

We’ve got to get Jongho out of there before the officials spot him.

San nods seriously in agreement.

Then he opens his mouth and screams. “Abandon ship!”

With that, he shoots down a small lane and out of sight before you can say a word. To your horror, Mingi and Seonghwa bolt as well, as if this is a drill they’ve practiced thousands of times.

Your eyes widen. Those little shits...

You and Yeosang exchange grim looks. Neither of you want to do it, but you’ve been saddled with the responsibility. You’re going to murder San when you get back to ship.

“We need to save Jongho’s ass.”

“We do.”

Saying it out loud doesn’t make it any easier to do.

So this time when Yeosang swears rather colorfully, you don’t bother stopping him.

Yeosang takes your hand and yanks you with him as he grabs Jongho by the scruff of the neck. The surprised maknae barely has the time to react before Yeosang is dragging him down the street with you, deceptively strong for such a lithe person. The three of you duck into an alley, just as the officers dash past you, shouting for the offender to step forward and admit to his crimes.

“Let the world burn!” Jongho crows, attempting to toss the bomb to the ground. Yeosang struggles against him, trying to get him to let go of the bomb and simultaneously attempting to shut him up at the same time. Honestly, what on earth did Jongho drink last night? How was he still drunk even now?

Then the memory comes back to you.

This morning, Jongho had woken up with a hangover, like everyone else on the ship. He had come to you, looking for something to help with the headache, so you had suggested a common household remedy, a splash of gin with a tomato based drink to take the edge off.

Just a little gin, you remembered saying. When you had walked into the storage hold to clear up after the night before, you had seen an entire bottle of gin, empty and bone dry on the floor. At the moment, you had wondered if Jongho had drunk the whole bottle himself in the morning, but you waved it off, Jongho couldn’t be that stupid, and the empty bottle was probably just from last night.

Well, apparently Jongho was that stupid, because he had likely downed the entire bottle of hard liquor by himself in the morning and had gotten drunk all over again.

“I heard some noise coming from over here!”

You and Yeosang exchange glances and begin panicking simultaneously. Your eyes search the alleyway desperately for some means of escape, but all you see is a shop with grimy windows that are too dirty to see through…

And that is perfect.

You pull on Yeosang’s sleeve and tug him into the door, the tinkling of chimes signalling your arrival. The two of you barely manage to bundle the screeching human shape that is Jongho into the shop after you before you hear the guards run past the door. The three of you land in a tangled heap on the ground.

“We’ve got to catch those offenders!”

You groan in exasperation and feel tempted to slap your forehead, but you reach over and smack Jongho instead. The maknae yelps, but at least he drops the bomb into Yeosang’s outstretched palm before abruptly falling unconscious.

“I wish we could kill him.” You glare at his form. Today was supposed to be a relaxing day off, one in which all of you could relax together, and you and San had intended on visiting the herb garden markets for rare plants and the like. Now it seems as if you will have to wait until tomorrow to wait for the fuss to die down.

“How may I help the three of you?”

You jump in shock, scrambling backwards and almost knocking Yeosang over. He moves in front of you protectively, and from his sleeve you see the glint of something silver just in case.

But it’s just an old man standing there, with greying hair and eyes that seem to keep shifting colour. You frown. At one moment they seem to be blue, then brown, then grey, and in the end you give up on trying to decide exactly what shade they are. He must be the owner of this shop.

“Ah!” You and Yeosang exchange glances and your eyes flit around the shop, your foot shoving Jongho’s prone form behind you as you try to find a suitable excuse. “We were… ah… we were looking for a book.”

It’s a bookshop, after all.

“That’s nice to hear. You rarely get youngsters such as yourself who are interested in books.” The old man smiles warmly, and something in you feels like you want to stay with him somehow. He radiates a sense of comfort that you want to keep with you at all times. “Are the two of you married? He seems like a sweet boy.”

You spit and Yeosang chokes at the same time, you reach over to slap his back as he tries to recover from his coughing fit. “Thank you, sir.” Yeosang thumps his chest, heart racing beneath his skin at the man’s words. “But we’re just friends.”

“Oh?” The old man raises an eyebrow, and you frown again, wondering how his eyes can be such a unique shade that you cannot identify. “Then again, there are always more choices. Fate changes, you know, like a stream flowing down a mountain. It curves and winds, overcoming whatever is in its way. No path is definite.”

You cough awkwardly. “Yes, sir.”

As weird as this conversation is, you’d prefer him to ask you about this than Jongho’s body. Maybe the man is too senile to think otherwise about a dead drunk body on the floor.

“Anyway, I might have the book for you.” The old man moves about the shelves, searching for something, you don’t know. You glance about you, the shelves are made from tree roots grown into the wall, the books leaning against a wall of soil. Then you realise why the floor is so soft. It’s a carpet of soft green grass, well kept with tiny flowers blooming. Your eyes widen in wonder at the beauty of it all.

“Your shop is beautiful.” You gush, astounded at the effort that must have gone into creating and maintaining this shop. “You must have worked hard on it.”

The old man’s fingers still on the spine of a book. “Well… I have a… talent for these sort of things and I enjoy it… I suppose you could say I have a green thumb.”

With that, he pulls out a book from the shelves and offers it to you. “That’s a beautiful necklace, by the way.” He comments, gesturing to the silver chain hanging from your neck. You smile as you accept the book gratefully, Yeosang peeks over your shoulder at the cover.

“Thank you. I’ve had it with me for a long time.”

The Little Mermaid.

“Isn’t this a kid’s storybook?” Yeosang asks, studying the rendition of the mermaid drawn on the cover. The old man nods wisely.

“It is sometimes the simplest things that hold the most truth.” He says and you nod gratefully, reaching into your pocket to pay him for the book (and for harboring the three of you from guards). But he stops you. “Ah, don’t pay me. I have a feeling you might need that book. Have you ever heard of the saying, do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it? Although it may be a little different… in this case.”

You don’t really understand what he’s saying and shake your head, but take the book anyway. “Thank you very much, sir.”

Yeosang hoists one of Jongho’s arms over his shoulder and the three of you prepare to leave, but the old man calls out to you one last time.

“Chin Hae?”

“Hmm?” You turn around in response to your name. The old man smiles at you, and suddenly you feel something wet sliding down your cheek. It’s a tear, you realise in shock, and hurriedly wipe it away before he can see.

Why are you crying in front of an old man.

“That’s a beautiful name. I’m glad they chose it for you. Stay safe.”

You frown a little at the strangeness of his words, but you thank him anyway for the compliment and well wish. Then you and Yeosang are out of the shop, the chimes swaying as the door clicks shut. The old man stares after the three of you, watching through the window as you speak to Yeosang about the book.

“Chin Hae, huh?”

He glances around the shop. This is such a measly sight of what he can do, but you complimented it and called it beautiful. If only you could see the true beauty of it, like you’ve always wanted to.

“Maybe soon.” He murmurs to himself and snaps his fingers.

Suddenly, the old, aged trees shrink back into the wall of earth, the plants wilting and dying in mere seconds, the flowers falling to the earth and vanishing into the soil. The books, shelves, everything disappears in mere seconds, and suddenly, the old shopkeeper is standing in the empty alleyway all by himself.

Except he’s not an old man anymore.

The skin on his face stretches and smooths out once more, his skin darkening till it takes on an earthy brown tone. The colours in his eyes swirl together, twisting and mixing in a kaleidoscope of shades until it finally settles on one single hue.

A bright, unearthly green that no one else in the world can replicate.

[cmlopezofficial]

hello again // cleo + allister + ellie discord thread

WHERE: Kingsboro, New York

WHEN: May 30th, 2020

TIME: Early evening

WARNINGS: None that I can think of. Awkwardness, maybe? IDK lmaooo

CHARACTER FEATURES: Cleo Lopez, Allister Jackson ( @allisterjacksonn ), Ellie Robertson ( @ellicfm )

CHARACTER MENTIONS: Cordelia Lopez (NPC)

PROMPT: A date night at Amphitrite’s Cove for Allister and Ellie results in them meeting the owner of the restaurant, with two exes reuniting and an appearance from a little girl with very familiar eyes.

ellie

ELLIE was very excited to check out amphitrites cove. since a couple of her friends were performing at the place and the reviews were pretty favorable, it seemed like a good place to celebrate finally becoming official with allister. the situation deserved to be celebrated somewhere special and this seemed like a great place. “dinner was really great, wasn’t it?” she asked al, holding his hand and smiling at him — a big, happy smile. the young girl scooted closer to him on the booth, wrapping her arms around his waist. “but i mean — the best part of the evening has no doubt been the company.” she pulled him a little closer and pressed her lips against his, one of her hands stroking his cheekbone.

allister

Allister was, as always, completely unaware of what was going on in town. He just...didn’t do the whole gossip thing, or really looking into stuff about town in great detail. He trusted Ellie to make choices for the both of them, which some people would see as a giant pushover, but Allister just found it easier that way. He had his own inner anxieties, and this was just one of his ways of coping. When Ellie told him about this place, he thought it sounded interesting enough, and thank god it turned out to be even better. He was always skeptical when it came to new things, and he’d definitely never experienced anything like this before. “Yeah, he was.” He smirked right back at the blonde, squeezing her hand while he scrunched his nose at her. (god, he’d never do that with anyone else, disgusting). Al had never really considered himself to be a romantic guy. He just didn’t really know how to be honest, but El made it easy. He gladly returned her kiss, thinking more about the fact that they were celebrating becoming official more than the fact they were in public, full on making out. He just assumed no one would really notice for now.

cleo

Cleo was very much so proud of her restaurant and all that she has accomplished with it over the past eight years. Amphitrite's Cove was truly her second greatest achievement- right after her daughter, obviously. The businesswoman had been sitting in her office and helping Cordelia with her homework when one of her servers came in asking for her help. The woman couldn't help but to laugh hearing about the couple, shaking her head. "So we finally got our first PDA at AC: Kingsboro. Wondering when that was going to happen... I'll take care of this. I'll be right back, Minnow." Kissing the top of her daughter's head before brushing off her slick black dress and making sure she looked presentable (some nights, she also was dressed in pirate gear with her staff; some nights, she was dressed in a pantsuit or a dress; some nights, she was working in the kitchen in jeans and a simple shirt: she was very hands-on with her business). Making sure to check on a few customers, she soon made her way to the booth and shook her head slightly with a smirk seeing the couple making out. "I see you folks are enjoying my 'little' establishment?" she called out in a joke as she came up from behind them, soon leaning against the empty booth from before them with a bright warm grin. "Cleo Lopez: creator and owner of Amphitrite's Cove. I certainly hope you two are saving room for dessert; Is this for any special occasion? Birthday, anniversary, engagement, or just a nice evening out?" She couldn't see the man's face, his long hair and beard making him unrecognizable- along with the fact he was basically devouring the blonde's face. But... there was something familiar about him... She couldn't put her finger on it.

ellie

ELLIE admittedly got carried away easily when it came to allister. what started as a simple kiss soon became a full on makeout, but she was just so happy. ellie kept kissing him, her arms tightly wrapped around him — and she must’ve lost track of time because the next thing she knew, there was a woman talking to them. she smiled, giggling as she pulled away from her boyfriend. “baby, baby...” she hummed into his lips, pressing one last quick peck on his lips. “someone’s here.” the young woman said, pulling away  but keeping her arms around him, her embrace a little looser. “it’s a special occasion, yeah. sorry for... that, by the way. we got a little carried away there.” the blonde admitted with a chuckle. “but uh, everything’s great, congratulations.” she said with an honest smile, leaning her head against al’s shoulder. “we’ll, uh, behave from this point on. right, baby?”

allister

Allister was admittedly embarrassed when he heard the owner call them out, but what was even more terrifying than that, was that he quickly realized he knew that fucking name, and the voice along with it. He’d practically grown up with Cleo, and they dated for years. She was the last official girlfriend he’d had, as well as one of the first, and he didn’t consider himself a super religious person, but he was praying harder than he ever had in his life as he turned his head. He was hoping by some struck of weird ass dumb luck, that this was some other Cleo Lopez, who just happened to have the same fucking voice. Of course though, as his ocean blues landed on her form, the color seemingly drained from his face, and the idea of being anywhere near food made his stomach turn. For several seconds he just sat there, staring at his ex like maybe he’d wake up at any moment now, but when he realized that wasn’t gonna happen, he remembered he needed to talk. “Hi.” Wow, that was...a thing to say. He also had no idea his voice could go that high. Interesting. Suddenly his southern hospitality, and manners kicked in, and he found himself standing up to properly greet her, hugging her like he would any other old friend, politeness flooding out of him as if nothing had ever happened. He had to, because the other choice would have been awkward, and embarrassing for everyone, and he didn’t want to put any of them in that position. “Dang, long time no see, wow. What a small world. Ellie, this is an old friend of mine from home. We grew up together.” He looked back at his girlfriend, giving a tight lipped grin. “Cleo, this is Ellie. My girlfriend.” Did he feel weird and slightly guilty saying that, yeah. Only because he knew how they had left things, and he had a lot of amends to make for that, but he wasn’t going to act like he was ashamed of Ellie either, because he wasn’t.

cleo

Those ocean blue eyes. Those gods damn blue eyes that have been haunting her for nearly ten years now. Cleo froze suddenly, forgetting everything else in that moment. "H-Hey," she breathed out, her face paling at the sight of Allister Jackson. She forget everything that the tiny blonde said, her attention completely focused on her ex. Her heart raced fast when she remembered that a couple of feet away in her office, was her young daughter. Their daughter. Oh fuck... Fuck, fuck, fuck, what does she do? What does she say? Why is he getting up? Oh no... No, Allister Daniel Jackson, do not hug her. Ignore your Southern hospitality and do not-... He's hugging her. He's hugging her and she's in his arms again for the first time in ten years. Yet her body instantly responded and she wrapped her arms around him, one hand on the small of his back while the other held the back of his head. She hasn't hugged him like this in so long and it was hard keeping composure, so she quickly pulled back and brushed her hair out of her face. "That's... quite an understatement," the blonde mused, forcing out a little laugh. Her brows instantly raised, 'old friend' practically a stab in the heart. "Old friend? Another understatement." Girlfriend?! Looking back at the girl, Cleo was honestly shocked. She didn't look more than eighteen. "Pleasure to meet you," she mused, forcing a warm smile. Clearing her throat, she went back into boss mode and being professional. Pretending that these two were just any other customers. "But, yes, please keep the PDA down a notch? Some of the customers were complaining and some staff members felt uncomfortable as well; I'd like to keep this environment pleasant for everyone. With that being said, you both should check out our dessert selection and our wine list! Both have a large variety with selections from around the globe and I'm sure you'll find something you enjoy." Run. Just run, Cleo.

ellie

ellie could tell something was going on — the way that al’s demeanor changed and how his face had gone pale, and the way that she looked at him told her that they already knew each other and probably very well. she tucked some strands of hair behind her ear and watched the interaction between the two unfold, eyebrows lightly raised as the woman wrapped her arms around her boyfriend in such a specific way. was that a friend hug? ellie wasn’t sure. still, she was determined to stay calm, maybe they really were old friends and her gut feeling was just an overreaction. she stood up as allister introduced them, smoothing over the skirt of her dress as she walked over to them. “hey, nice to meet you. i’m ellie.” she said, stretching out a hand for her to shake and putting her other hand on al’s back. she didn’t know what the fuck was really happening but she wanted him to know she was right there by his side. “yes, yes, i’m very sorry. we got a little carried away.” the young blonde explained with a soft laugh and a shrug, cheeks flushed and a friendly smile still on her face. “oh — yeah, we definitely had that planned, thank you very much for the hospitality.” though allister certainly didn’t look like he was in the mood for any more food, ellie wanted to make a good impression on this old friend of his. she stood there for a second, looking at both of them and sliding her hand down al’s back to loosely wrap her arm around his waist, waiting for someone else to speak.

allister

Allister knew he’d messed up the second he went to hug her, the sound of what seemed to be offence in her voice, making him feel even worse. He didn’t want this to be awkward, or unpleasant for anyone, but it was clear that they couldn’t avoid that. Leave it to Allister to at least try though. “I’m sorry, Cleo. We didn’t mean anythin’ by it.” He looked at her apologetically, as if he was saying sorry for a lot more than just PDA. They hadn’t ended on the best of terms, clearly with the way she just up and moved across the country. This wasn’t how he’d planned on meeting again, but it seemed this was as fate would have it. “Well uh...it’s good to see you. I’d love to catch up sometime, and see what ya’ve been into. Nice place.” He gestured around them, once again trying to be polite in a less than ideal situation.

cleo

"Ellie. Lovely name," she mused politely, firmly shaking her hand while trying to ignore them standing so close together. She clasp her hands together behind her back, wanting to make this as fast as possible. "Don't apologize, it's alright. It's really nothing knew- you should've seen Valentine's Day with our other locations. Really made sure to up my staff's paychecks that night," the blonde tried to joke. However, the way she tensed at Al's words proved it to be joking to remain polite and hospitable. She was usually more charming when it came to visiting her customers. However, seeing your ex for the first time in a decade and especially with their new partner, truly would make anyone want to scream and hide under a rock. Especially when considering her biggest secret was hiding in her office. Cleo gave a closed lip smile as she looked up at him. "That would be... nice. I'm very busy, but maybe we can try. And thank you. It was good to see you, but as I mentioned: I'm rather bus-oof!" Cleo stumbled backwards slightly into the booth behind her, her look of shock turning into a bright smile as she laughed. "Minnow! I told you to stay in the office, baby," the woman spoke and signed in Spanish and Spanish Sign Language before hugging her daughter. Her demeanor changed entirely as she rested her cheek upon the tall nine year old's head, completely forgetting the two before her as she stared adoringly at her daughter. The server she asked to keep an eye on the little girl quickly came running over to Cleo, apologizing profusely. The woman shook her head and smiled softly. "It's alright- she's rather adventurous. Going to give me gray hairs soon, but it's alright." With Cleo's attention occupied, Cordelia turned her head to look around before landing on the couple before her. She smiled brightly and waved, staring up at the man she shared her eyes with. I'm Cordelia! she signed, leaning her head against her mother's stomach with a smile.

ellie

ellie couldn’t wait for this interaction to be over so they could at least try to go on with their night. she didn’t understand much what was happening, since al hadn’t told her the story of his last breakup — something she was perfectly happy with, seeing as she wasn’t exactly dying to tell him about her last breakup. ellie smiled at the other as she complimented her name. “thank you, i like it. yours is nice, too.” she replied with a nod. the younger woman chuckled at cleo’s joke, though restauranteur humor was a little beyond her taste. as the two started to talk about meeting to catch up, ellie tried not to get jealous — but it was hard not to let her insecurities act up when his gorgeous, successful old friend was standing right there in front of them and al had barely looked at her since he started talking to cleo. she had been so caught up in the interaction happening between the two of them that she had entirely missed the little girl suddenly standing next to cleo, but she smiled at her once she saw her. as cleo’s attention shifted elsewhere, ellie took advantage of the moment to press a tender kiss on al’s cheek. “are you okay, honey ?” she asked, voice gentle and only loud enough for him to hear, looking up at him. she’d learned that sometimes his southern gentlemanliness could get the better of him, and she figured she’d check up on him — reunions like this one could he tricky. the blonde turned her attention back to the people standing in front of them just as the waiter left, and she finally got a good look at the girl — and her familiar blue eyes. still, ellie didn’t really think anything of it, the thought of her being her boyfriend’s daughter not even crossing her mind. she smiled back at the little girl, waving at her with her free hand, keeping the other on al’s waist. “she’s adorable! is she your daughter?” ellie asked, feeling a little more in her element now that there was a more neutral topic to make small talk about.

allister

The small talk that was going on right now was the most goddamn uncomfortable situation Allister could ever think of being in. That was sad. But wow, far from an exaggeration. Al wasn’t surprised to see a little girl come up to Cleo, after all, he’d heard through the grapevine of mutual friends and their families that Cleo had a kid. It had hurt at first, especially since he assumed she had hooked up with someone immediately after they broke up. But, he’d learned to push that to the back of his mind, though he still found it hard to look at the little girl. He smirked when Ellie asked him if he was okay, nodding to her insistently as he reached for her hand. His breath caught in his throat when he finally got a good look at Cordelia, noticing that she was signing, and that made him feel a lot of things that he didn’t know how to explain. “She’s beautiful.” Al managed to speak finally, smirking at the little girl, and waving. He wasn’t always the best with kids, but there was something different about this girl.

cleo

She went completely still the moment she heard Ellie mention her daughter. With the server leaving, she finally gave them her attention. She attempted to smile at first, Al's words and that look on his face feeling like a stab to the heart.  "Thank you," she finally managed, looking down at Cordelia and then back at Al. The little girl looked almost identical to Cleo when she was younger, wavy medium brown hair and sun-kissed freckles that splattered across her nose and cheeks. Only difference was her taller height (something the child was proud of) and her ocean blue eyes. Those she inherited from her father. And now seeing them stand so close together, she soon began to notice other similarities between them. She soon began to feel her heart ache that ever same ache she had every once in awhile, where she found herself drifting off and thinking about her ex. Thinking about how different things could've been had she told him about Dela and if he'd been in her life sooner. Of course, she'd always shook those thoughts off; It was doubtful that they'd ever meet. Well... Here they are. "Yes, she is. And we still need to finish her homework, so... We better be off. Thank you for dining here tonight, have a good evening." Looking back at Allister again, she opened her mouth as if to say something, guilt flashing in her eyes for a moment. Closing it, she gave a tight lipped smile before taking her daughter's hand and leading her away. "We need to head home, Minnow," she signed as they walked, unable to look back. That wasn't the case for the ten year old, though. Ever the friendly child, she grinned brightly, one of her front teeth missing. She waved goodbye at the couple before hugging her mother as they walked, the two conversing and Cleo laughing. Gods... Please, please, please, don't let him guess. Please don't let him guess. Please.

ellie

ellie squeezed al’s hand, happy to hear that he was doing okay with the interaction. the more ellie looked at the little girl, the more familiar she looked. it was a little bit freaky, since she couldn’t quite put the finger where she’d seen her before or why she looked familiar — but she figured that maybe she’d seen her at des’ school when she went to pick her up. oh, if only she knew. the young blonde smiled at cleo. “yeah, she’s gorgeous.” ellie said, agreeing with al. “oh, well, then we’ll see you two later.” she replied. children mellowed her out so easily. but even in her mellowed state she couldn’t help but notice the older woman’s shift in behavior towards allister, but again, ellie chose to not over analyze it. she gave a warm smile to the girl and waved goodbye back as they left, looking at them go. she wanted what they had, both of them — a loving mother and a loving child, but life had granted her neither. hopefully someday i’ll get one out of the two. still, ellie shook it off and turned to look at her boyfriend. “you wanna head home now, or do you want to grab some desert?”

[cyanmnemosyne]

Yuletide Letter (2017)

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to write me a fic!  This is my third year participating in Yuletide, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. :D

If you have matched with me on one of these small fandoms, I figure chances are pretty good that we share some tastes as well. :D So while I’ve tried to provide at least a bit of commentary for each one, please feel free to ignore all my meandering suggestions if your inspiration takes you in a different direction.  :)  I feel certain I’ll love whatever you write, either way. <3

I also have no preferences as regards length, tense, or POV -- feel free to write the story however it works best. :)

AO3 name: darkcyan

Requested fandoms:

Shirobako

Mouretsu Pirates | Bodacious Space Pirates

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Machineries of Empire Series - Yoon Ha Lee  

[ hiding the rest under the cut, because as usual, it got long. :) ]

General Preferences:

Yes, Please:

fluff, found family, deep friendships, established relationships, brand new relationships where everyone’s trying to feel their way through, drama if it’s not gratuitous or inspired only by misunderstandings, hopeless pining, hopeless pining that turns out to be reciprocated.  People already trusting each other, people coming to slowly trust each other.

basically if it’s emotionally warm, I will probably love it

and if it hurts but resolves in an emotionally warm place, I will love it while crying

AUs.  canon-fork or otherwise.  I like it best when the characters still feel “true” to their canon personalities, as filtered and changed through the different lens of how the AU differs from canon.  For AUs that involve significant worldbuilding (e.g. sci fi AU), feel free to spend as much time as you want on the worldbuilding in addition to the characters.

Actually worldbuilding in general is great if that’s your thing.

Missing scene / other POV / canon continuation fic are also great. (I think what I’m trying to say is I like basically all kinds of fic?)

time travel. is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Primarily when used as an excuse to abuse one’s future knowledge to help put the past on a better track (though of course, it wouldn’t be as fun if the changes didn’t start piling up eventually. ;) ) Time travel paradoxes are an interesting thought experiment, but in my fic-reading I’ve got a strong preference for the “eh, changing the past forks the future, don’t worry about it too much” mode of time travel.

Female characters being their awesome selves.

Happy endings.  (Bittersweet is fine too :) )

Shipping is great, queerplatonic relationships are great, deep friendship is great.  Relationships are great! (I’ve called out my preferences or lack thereof on a fandom-by-fandom basis below in case it helps.  Anywhere I say “relationship”, feel free to assume that I’d be just as thrilled by anywhere in the spectrum from “really good friends” through “queerplatonic” to “romantic”)

Humor is good too! I’m usually not terribly interested in true crackfic, but the occasional lighthearted fic – or a dash of humor in something otherwise dramatic to lighten the mood – is great.

I feel certain I’m missing a lot, so let’s just say that anything that’s not otherwise called out in my maybe/no lists is fair game :D

Maybe:

issuefic (which seems to include things like alternate sexuality / gender headcanons? not 100% sure on the preferred terminology here?) I like my issues to feel organically part of the story rather than being a transparent soapbox, but other than that, I think that sort of story can be really interesting :D  This is in the ‘maybe’ category mostly because I guess there’s a risk that we might not happen to agree on said issue?? But if it’s the sort of fic you love to write, go for it! :)

Kidfic.  Haven’t really encountered much that interested me, but if you want to, go for it. :)

Please, no:

Onscreen sex. Fade to black or references are fine if you feel it’s critical to the characterization / plot, but if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re talking about limb positions, my reaction is almost certain to be somewhere between bored and extremely uncomfortable.  

(but honestly I’d prefer no sex at all. comes of being both asexual and a prude *shrug*)

Even if it’s not explicit or onscreen, please no rape / noncon / dubcon. *eyes list* Do I need to call out “no incest”? I don’t think so? But just in case: no incest either please. :)

Not a huge fan of drug / addiction plots either

Relationships, romantic or otherwise, where there’s a significant power imbalance (especially if it’s abused) really bother me, especially if it’s played as acceptable.[1]  (If the story shows it as deeply problematic and works through the implications, I’ve been known to have an intellectual appreciation for it, but it’s still not something I really want to read about.)

Most significant age difference fic falls into this bucket for me.  

I also feel pretty strongly about free will and freedom to choose, so “I’m taking away your choices by hiding things from you / doing things behind your back For Your Own Good” narratives mostly just make me want to punch things, no matter how good the supposed justification is on the part of the person doing it. So. I’d recommend avoidance. :)

… Emotional manipulation in general, to be honest.  Especially, again, if it’s played as acceptable.

Cheating and other forms of deliberate, sustained dishonesty within a relationship.  If the characters are lying to each other, they’d better have a really good reason, and chances are I still won’t like them quite as much after.  [2]

Gratuitous drama.  If the drama could be resolved by the characters just sitting down for five minutes and talking to each other, and the only reason they don’t is ~*~reasons~*~, then I start getting really annoyed, really quickly

Plots revolving around jealousy.  It’s a human emotion, but I hate it when characters let it eliminate their capacity for rational thought

Anything that uses “they couldn’t help themselves” as an excuse for making bad decisions. Like. I’m sure there are exceptions.  (Actual mind-control?) But in general my response to that excuse is “You’re an adult.  Act like it.“

Character bashing. Even the characters I hate are the heroes of their own stories.  

Not a huge fan of relentless grimness / Crapsack Worlds.  I enjoy some grim sometimes, but I prefer at least an occasional dose of hope with my grimness. I need to have some faith that the ending will be a happy one, or at least cathartically bittersweet.

Related: If I wanted to hear about awful people being awful all the time and how awful everything is as a result, I’d go watch the news. (... Someday I would like this statement to be less true than it was the previous year, instead of more. ;___;) There can be awful people, they can do awful things, but I’d really prefer they not be either the majority or the focus of the story.

[1] BDSM in which said power relationship has been consensually agreed on ahead of time is entirely different, of course. :)

… But it’s also not generally really my thing. :P

[2] For the record, I do not count poly relationships in this bucket at all.  All I ask is that everyone who’s involved is aware of and reasonably happy with what’s going on.

Fandoms:

Shirobako

Crunchyroll

Requested character(s): Miyamori Aoi, Yano Erika

Spoiler notes: I’ve watched the show and read the first several chapters of the prequel manga

Preferred pairing(s): gen or Erika/Aoi (side relationships between whatever set of the characters that suits your fancy are fine too - aside from my soft spot for Erika/Aoi I don’t have any strong ship feelings.)

THIS SHOW.  I love it to pieces. When I first started watching it, I was in the middle of a bit of a professional crisis of my own (trying to decide whether to change jobs), so this show hit basically all my “I love this” buttons, from laughing and crying about how well it depicted how hard it is to get a lot of creative people to work together (I’m a programmer, not an animator, but the similarities are pretty scary), to laughing and crying at its depiction of writer’s block, to adoring all the little in-jokes it slipped in about anime as a whole (I wish I could remember the name of that harem show …), to loving all the insights into how making an anime actually works, to empathizing like no one’s business with Aoi’s insecurity about whether she was “enough” for the job and whether it was okay to not have everything figure out yet, to Ema’s struggles with imposter syndrome, to Misa’s angst about whether she should stick with a stable job she knows or try for something more like what she really wanted, to …

just.

THIS SHOW.

I re-watched it last year and was struck all over again by how much I love Erika’s casual mentorship of Aoi; she’s one of my favorite characters, and I’m always sorry to see her disappear and I always cheer when she comes back.  

So what I’d really like to see this time is a story that focuses on their relationship.  A scenario where Erika helps point Aoi in the right direction?  When Aoi realizes Erika needs some support?

During that long gap when Erika is away caring for her father, do she and Aoi still stay in contact?  Does Aoi ever come visit?  

I’d just love to see more of these characters and their friendship.  

(Note: I do low-key ship Erika/Aoi, but I also am pretty iffy about workplace romance, especially in such a small workplace, and Erika especially seems like the sort to be level-headed about that sort of thing.  

So if you want to take things in a shippy direction, I’d like to request that it either stays at mutual pining or -- if they decide to make a go of an actual relationship -- actually addresses the workplace romance issue. One of them moves to a different company? idk.

But I’d also be 100% happy to see a fic that is completely gen, if that’s what you’d prefer. :) )

(And one final note: Hiraoka. I’m not sure I like him, exactly, but I’ve been uncomfortably close to where he is emotionally, so he gives me lots of complicated feelings.  So, if you choose to include him, please be kind?

And if you, too, have dealt with burnout - Erika and Hiraoka had a very interesting conversation at one point that made me think that Erika’s also uncomfortably familiar with it, but has just stabilized in a healthier place. If you wrote a story centered on that I’d probably love you forever, but I’m not sure it’s one even I’d be willing to attempt …)

Mouretsu Pirates | Bodacious Space Pirates

Requested character(s): Lynn Lambretta, Jenny Dolittle

Spoiler notes: I’ve watched the show and the movie.

Preferred pairings: Lynn/Jenny

… Yeah, no, I’m not even going to pretend that I’d be happy with gen when this is an actual canon relationship that is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.

(… Like, my high-pitched yelling about this pairing almost reaches the level of Uranus/Neptune back in my peak Sailor Moon fan years.  … … And that’s a lot. XD)

I meannnnn you can do gen if you reallllllly want to. :D I’m sure I’ll still enjoy it.  <3

But yeah, insofar as I have OTPs anymore, these two are definitely one of them. XD (And I’m hoping that if you’re offering these two characters, it’s because you ship them too. XD)

Ahem. Where was I?  

I really enjoy this show in general - it’s just so refreshingly, unabashedly fun; a lovely warm show about a bunch of ridiculous, adorable, and really damn competent girls being their awesome selves. (With a handful of fond, long-suffering adults on the side.) (And also piracy.)

And I love Jenny and Lynn in particular because even though they’re secondary characters, they exemplify this - every interaction Marika has with them, they’re being their competent, awesome selves, and it’s a true treat to watch.  

So please give me these two characters being being their badass competent selves.  Or give me something adorably fluffy with the two of them doing nothing in particular.  Give me them working together and sometimes having to remind each other to take a break and eat or sleep - or give me that year they spent separate, and their wistful pining, wishing they could reach each other through their holographic displays.  

(Okay, ngl, I have a special category of high-pitched yelling reserved for that phone conversation!! When Jenny is giving Lynn advice on being president!! And Lynn’s wistful-but-fond smile as she hangs up!!!)

In summary, please give me more of these adorable canon lesbians. <3

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Requested character(s): Nel Zelpher, Clair Lasbard

Spoiler notes: I’ve played the game and am ~ halfway through the manga and seriously wtf did you do to my favorite character less blushing more badassery for Apris’ sake!

Preferred pairings: Nel/Clair

Speaking of high-pitched yelling on the scale of Uranus/Neptune, I am fairly certain that Nel was my official first ever video game crush. This was a bit difficult for me to explain to myself, as I was convinced I was ~straight at the time, but she was so cool that I didn't bother to think about it in too much detail.

And when we are introduced to Clair as her partner, and every single scene in which the two appear makes it clear how strong their bond is -- it was a foregone conclusion that I would start to ship them as well. And Adray's obnoxious insistence on trying to find a husband for Clair just made me even more determined to headcanon them as lovers (or at the very least secretly pining for each other) in addition to partners.

As I said above with Lynn/Jenny -- if you don't ship them romantically, but just think they're great platonic partners, I'm sure I'll still enjoy it whatever you come up with. But in case there’s any doubt, I also very much ship them. :D <3

And either way, I just love their dynamic -- these two strong-willed, intelligent, fiercely competent women, working towards a shared goal that they both believe is more important than themselves. How deep and unshakeable their trust is -- and how even though it clearly tears Clair apart to send Nel out into a situation that they both know may not be survivable, she'll do it anyway. And Nel will go.

I don't have any specific prompts in mind -- if you want to write about a mission Clair has to send Nel off on, and the tension between their fear for and their trust in each other (and the knowledge hanging over both of them that they're doing something that they see as more important than them both), great! Want to just do fluffy interactions during a brief break from the action (do they get vacation? How many people do they have to bribe to get vacation at the same time?), or after the war is done and things are a bit more settled, go for it. In the narrative path where Nel goes with the party into space, does she think of Clair and all the stories she's going to tell once she gets back (if she gets back)?  What does Clair think, being left so much farther behind this time than any other time before?  What stories does Nel tell when they're reunited?

Got an idea that's burning in your mind and has nothing to do with any of these? I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever you come up with. :)

Machineries of Empire Series - Yoon Ha Lee 

Requested character(s): Kel Cheris, Shuos Alaia

Spoiler notes: I’ve read both Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem, and a decent number of the other vignettes/short stories in the world.  If you want to check whether I’ve read a specific story, feel free to shoot me an anon ask. :)

Preferred pairings: Cheris/Alaia

Ah, these books. Ninefox Gambit is one of my favorite books I've read this year, and its sequel, Raven Stratagem, was an entirely worthy follow-up. I'm really looking forwards to how the trilogy concludes in Revenant Gun, but in the meantime: fanfic! :D

I debated what I wanted to request, since there's a lot about this series that I like -- the fact that pretty much all of the characters are competent and Done With Your Shit, the way it sets up a horribly broken system and then doesn't flinch away from both how broken it is, and how the vast majority of people have just ... accustomed themselves to the situation, and make do while tolerating the horrible. It makes the system feel sustainable enough to have lasted this long, while still making it very clear why multiple someones would have gone to so much effort to try and tear it down. And yet, it also doesn't flinch from the consequences of the actions that the various characters take to try and tear it down, either. (One of the many reasons I'm looking forward to Revenant Gun -- I'm very curious to see what the consequences arise from the events in Raven Strategem.)

I really enjoy how many characters are queer (including trans!!), and how casually the narrative treats this fact. And the way that many characters' families are factored into their thoughts, even if they're not on the page, in a way that felt very true, but that I feel like doesn't often come up in other novels that aren't explicitly about something family-related.

The casual inclusion of dyscalculia and ADHD is also pretty great -- how it’s clearly an aspect of the characters that have shaped them, while even more clearly not being all their character is.

... So what do I decide to request this year?

Cheris and that one ex-girlfriend of hers who shows up for, like, a paragraph of flashback in Ninefox Gambit. XD

I just ... really liked that little bit of insight we got into Cheris’ history, and would love to see more.  How did they meet? Why did they break up?  What was the actual most ridiculous drama they watched, and how late did they stay up making fun of it?

Feel free to go in a more serious direction as well (what sort of training incident gave Alaia her nervous tic? what is being Shuos like to someone who didn’t go the flashy assassin route? How did being Kel and Shuos inform their interactions with each other, and the world around them).

And, as always, feel free to ignore my prompts entirely if there’s something you’d rather do instead. :D