#about two who meet in a sandstorm

[vellichxrr6782]

please please please write alhaitham being WHIPPED for his cute short lover

— aiming low, aiming high.

character[s] — alhaitham. theme & genre — alhaitham helps you place a book on the shelf, but not without slipping a few teasing remarks about your height. cw/tw — none. word count — 800+ words. a/n — when im short but i cant write short reader and when i kin alhaitham but i cant write alhaitham 💔💔

alhaitham is a man of great restraint, which all seemingly disappears when it comes to you, his lover. a few months ago, you started dating the scribe, who was the dictionary definition of stoic and unassuming. he didn't quite care for attention from those he wasn't privy to.

but he found himself wanting your attention all the time. it was an odd feeling for him; to be so... dependent. he was used to doing things alone, but then you appeared like some sandstorm, wrecking any level of control he had in his life.

he was sitting at his desk, while you sorted through his books. he'd given you a pattern that he preferred to have his books arranged in, when you'd said something about how messy his office was.

"i don't need it to be clean when i know exactly where everything is." he had told you. "if your desk has books on it, where will i sit?" "on the chair." "..."

alhaitham saw you reach up, holding an ivy book with gold cutouts. it was a heavy book, and you struggled to hold it properly and push it into the slot. due to your small stature, you had to stand on your tip-toes to try and reach it.

a slight smile (yet another thing he couldn't control because of you) made its way onto his lips as he observed you. you were... well, if he had to put it objectively, short.

the height difference between you two was rather prominent. alhaitham was tall to begin with, and he'd never really cared for his height until he met you. he enjoyed being the taller one, more than he'd like to admit. it was amusing to him, to provide absent-minded musings about your short stature, and even more amusing seeing your expected reactions.

he loved it when you looked up at him with those beautiful eyes of yours, he loved it when you fit so snugly against his body when you two cuddled at night, and he loved the feeling of towering over you because it made him feel like he was protecting you.

not that you really needed any protecting. you were well capable of dealing with people. they say the smallest people have anger that's more concentrated; and he found it to be true when it came to you. you were vibrant in your expressions, quite different to him.

you were like the sun, and he was the moon. and even the moon sought the sun's light, after all.

you didn't realise when he'd snuck up behind you, both hands wrapping around your waist. he bended down to rest his chin on your shoulder, taking in the scent of your freshly washed clothes. there was a soft warmth in your embrace, what he'd define nostalgically as home.

"need some help, habibti?" he murmured, his voice low, his heated breath hitting your ear in a way that made you shiver.

"i'll be fine," you replied, warding off the butterflies in your stomach, "it's a book."

"this book seems to be greatly troubling my lover," he said, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. "i can't stand to see you in such perplexion. should i deal with it for you?"

you flushed a little at him calling you his lover. he'd said it before, but it felt odd to hear someone like him say the word as if he was saying hello. he didn't wait for your response, his hand grasping yours atop the book, deftly wrestling the book out of your hold and placing it into the slot.

you coughed, once, turning to meet his gaze. you had to look up at him, your eyes narrowing into an unamused expression when you saw that smirk on his lips.

"i'm expecting a comment about my height." you said, crossing your arms.

"i wasn't going to do it." he replied, but you weren't convinced. it was almost like he was holding back laughter. when he saw you stare at him, unconvinced, he slumped his shoulders, snaking his big arms around your small figure.

"i could fit you in my pocket." he spoke, leaning down to rest his head against your shoulder. "like a mini [name]. maybe you could take care of my keys for me, make sure i don't accidentally grab kaveh's."

"and there it is." you sighed, wrapping your arms around his neck.

he wanted to pick you up and... well, he didn't think that far. that train of thought crashed the second you pressed your lips against his.

he kissed you back, cupping your cheek. when he pulled away, he didn't really know what expression to make. his mind naturally settled for a smile, his eyes narrowed teasingly.

and here comes the second attack-!

"you're so short. my back hurts from crouching like this to kiss you." he said, feigning a woeful tone. critical hit, no survivors.

"don't make me hit you." came your quick reply. "hit me where?" he chuckled, "my face? you'll need a stool to reach that, habibti." "i can still reach your knees."

posted on 10th july, 2024.

[starkeysbunny]

Omg I started reading your fics and I fell in love😭

I wanted to request a Rafe x reader (angst) where like she's Kiara older sister but she dies instead of JJ, and its all angst and something like that 🥲

(its okay if you don't want to write this!💋)

Love you!!! 💓

𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 [𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗻]

first request yay !! i’m new to writing on tumblr, so here’s my first one! excited to do more <33

pairing - rafe x pogue!carrera!reader

warnings - angst, hurt, sad asf, reliving jj’s death but plot twist it’s you this time, cursing, death

summary - ask above ↑ you’re kiara’s older sister. (rafe’s age gap to sarah is what i imagined!). when you’re in morocco on a dangerous trip to help your friend jj get answers, everything goes terribly wrong. in a last stitch effort to save your best friend and sister, you end up clinging for life in your boyfriend’s arms with your friends beside you.

i can’t see anything. my arm covers over my eyes as dust blows in every direction. the hot air coats my skin covered by cloth.

“rafe!” i shout, trying to see, trying to find him. he ran off with john b and sarah. and now, i couldn’t find him.

that’s when i see my sister, and jj.

i stand back, dodging behind a wall so groff wouldn’t see me. my hand covers my mouth in shock as i see groff holding a knife to my sisters neck. “shit.” i mutter.

“give me the crown, and you can have the girl.” groff says, sticking his arm out gingerly, while holding kiara close to his chest.

“okay, okay, you can have it. just give me kiara.” jj says, raising his hands in defense.

i try to watch through the dusty sandstorm as jj reluctantly and carefully trades the crown for kiara. they both switch hands at the same time, kiara collapsing in jj’s arms.

groff holds the crown to his chest, a sick smirk on his face. his eyes flick to the knife in his hand, then back at jj.

no. no. no.

before i can even think, my feet are moving before my mind could. through the blazing heat and thick sand storm, i move blindly. going in the direction of kie and jj, i slot myself between jj and groff.

i gasp, my hand coming to my stomach. my eyes are locked onto groff’s and he raises his eyes in surprise.

“y/n!” i hear the desperate pleas of my sister fade into blurry obscurity. i couldn’t recount every moment after that. it was all a blur of pain.

my breathing is heavy, but fast. kiara had propped me up against a weak wooden pillar.

“y/n! it’s gonna—gonna be okay? okay?” kie says, her voice shaking. i could barely hear her over the roaring winds around us. jj was kneeling next to kie in front of me. he wasn’t saying a word. he was in shock, staring at the blood beginning to stain the moroccan cloth clothing cleo stole for all of us.

the blood that was supposed to coming from his own abdomen, was now instead, on his hands. i furrow my eyebrows at him, silently pleading for him to not feel guilty. i shake my head.

“it’s okay.” i whisper weakly.

jj’s eyes were full of guilt, regret, and anger. this would kill him. the survivors guilt. and i knew kiara would be fueled by anger and revenge.

after everything we went through on this trip, to get here. to save jj’s family legacy. to get him answers. and to save what was rightfully ours on kildare, the surf shop.

instead of leaving in riches, smiles on our faces—i would never leave. and my friends would all leave with vengeance in their hearts, and no place to go home to.

as i think about my friends, all the pogues—my mind goes to my boyfriend. the one kook with us. and suddenly, my heart is ripped in two.

my eyes immediately meet jj’s. weakly, i plead. “find rafe. please.”

jj nods firmly without a second’s thought. he stands, pulling the bandana over his nose and finding rafe.

“kie.” i whisper, my voice weak as my lip quivers. i look at my sister who’s hands were pressing harshly against my stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

“no, no it’s fine—you’re fine!” she exclaims as tears violently and rapidly soar down her cheeks.

“hey.” i say, getting her attention.

finally, her glassy eyes move from my stomach to my face, a sob escaping her lips.

“i love you, kie, okay?” i sniffle. “save a seat for me at the maybank wedding, hm?” i tease with a weak chuckle.

“shut up.” she says through gritted teeth, hot tears never stopping. “i won’t have to. cause you’ll be there. cause you’re my sister-you-you’re supposed to be there.”

“okay.” i whisper with a weak nod.

she presses her lips together, closing her eyes. she hears the agreement and compromise in my single word response because, i didn’t want to argue. even if it was a stupid, little argument about her adamance of my survival. my last moments with my sister couldn’t be ended in trivial bicker.

“i love you too.” she whispers.

“y/n?!”

i look up, seeing rafe rushing toward us with an urgency i’ve never noticed him have before. jj trailed behind, john b, sarah, cleo, and pope following suit.

“baby.” rafe whispers. he kneels next to me, moving my body slightly so my back laid against his chest. kie still knelt in front of me, her hands holding pressure on my stomach.

i tilt my head back slightly as i look up at rafe. “hi.” i whisper weakly.

he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, shaking his head. “no. no, no, you’re not goin’ anywhere, alright? we-we’ve talked about this. you can’t go before i do.”

“tell that to groff.” i wince, groaning as i lean against him. “fuck.” i mutter in pain.

“i’m gonna fuckin’ kill that bitch.” rafe spits. i look up at him, and see tears falling down his cheeks.

my hand weakly reaches up, pulling down the bandana from his nose. “hey.” i whisper softly, my touch gentle as my thumb wipes his tears. “i’m gonna be fine.”

my eyes dart down at my sister. “right, kie?”

her lip quivers violently, she presses harder against my stomach. then, her eyes look up at rafe.

even though my sister and all of my friends hate rafe—they understand. they see how much he cares about me. ever since we started dating, parts of them had grown slightly tolerant to him. because when he’s around me, he’s a little nicer. a little sweeter.

and they know that even if they don’t trust him, i do. and rafe has shown it time and time again. that he cares about me. for real.

“yeah, rafe.” she whispers, her voice shaking. “she’s gonna be fine.” kie says, but i don’t even think she believes the words anymore.

“y/n…” john b says, his lips gaping open. sarah stood beside him, her hand covering her mouth. “oh-oh my god.”

“no, no.” rafe snaps. “don’t say that!” his voice is firm and sharp. “she’s gone be fine! go get help don’t just stand there and gasp—“

“hey, hey.” i say softly, my hand brushing against his cheek. “stop.” i whisper.

john b nods. “no, he’s right. we-we’ll go find help.” john b grabs sarah’s hand as they run off, searching for help. pope looks back reluctantly, but i nod at him. both him and cleo follow to find help. but there was no one for miles. we were screwed.

“you can’t leave me, alright?” rafe gasps, his voice breaking. “everyone else in my life, they always fuckin’ screw me over. yo-you’re the only one i can trust.”

his lip quivers and he leans down, pressing open mouthed kisses to my forehead. “please, baby. you’re all i have, y-you’re everything. c’mon, you-you remember, right?” he sniffles, pulling back and looking down at me.

my eyebrows furrow as i look up at him weakly, letting him continue.

“we gotta buy that house. t-the white one, with the blue shutters on the marsh.” he sniffles. “and you can get all the fuckin’ cats, dogs, bunnies, whatever you want—“

i chuckle softly, clutching my stomach from the pain the laugh causes. rafe and i had been together for about eight months. we’ve talked about moving in together. and there’s this house, on the marsh on figure eight. my dream house. rafe and i always would talk about it and make up scenarios of our future together.

one of them, involved him and i in the backyard of the house as i tend to our many pets. he groaned in annoyance the first time i mentioned it. but, i guess he secretly loved it. he’d do anything for me. anything i wanted, he’d make sure i had it.

“yeah, baby. all the pets. a-and then, i gotta make you mrs. cameron. okay? s-so don’t even think about leavin’ alright? we have so much more-more to do, please.” he begs through shallow cries and gasps.

“okay.” my eyes slowly blink up at him. i weakly bring my hand up, sticking out my pinky. “we’ll have the house, all the pets, and i’ll be mrs. cameron. pinky promise.”

he presses his lips together as a particularly rough sob threatens to escape. his hand comes to mine, his pinky latching on. “pinky promise.” he whispers.

i smile softly at him, then slowly turn my head to kie. “i love you.” i whisper to her.

she nods firmly. “i know. i love you too.”

then, my eyes turn to jj. “it’s not your fault.” i weakly whisper. “thank you, j. for being my best friend. you’re really good at that.” my voice breaks. “p4l?” i chuckle softly.

jj smiles as tears fall down his cheeks. “p4l.” he repeats.

“and, if you break my sisters heart—i’ll haunt you or some shit.” i weakly chuckle. jj grins, a laugh slipping from his lips. his hand comes up, rough knuckles wiping at his tears, he nods. “got it.” he whispers.

i look back up at rafe, leaning further into him, my hand coming up to rest against his chest. “i love you.”

“i know. i love you more. i got you.” he whispers, his voice a ghost now from how low and shaken it is. he presses a kiss to my hair, holding me impossibly close.

i didn’t want to die. but, as my body grew weak, my eyes wanted to close. i just wanted to go to sleep. and part of me hoped that, if i went to sleep, i’d wake up in a few hours magically, in a hospital bed.

maybe john b, sarah, pope, and cleo found help. maybe it’ll be okay.

but if not, i’m okay with that too. i got to go with my favorite people. kiara, my sister. jj, my best friend. and rafe, the love of my life.

as my eyes begin to flutter shut, i take in rafe’s features one last time. my gaze brushes over his blue eyes, the curve of his nose. down to the shadow of his cheekbones, and the purse of his lips that i had gotten the luck to kiss so many times.

i said everything i could’ve possibly wanted to say. i got to die, with the people i loved most in the world. i was okay.

and hopefully, in a few hours, i’d wake up. and get to live a long life with all of them.

but for now, i was going to sleep.

—

damn yall that was sad asf. making me relive jj’s death 😞 hope u enjoyed !! thx for the request lovies !! <3

[foldingfittedsheets]

So tonight in DnD. I have laughed harder than I have in a very very long time.

As background knowledge, we have an “Oops All Dragons” party. We’re modified young dragons so it’s not a huge advantage but at this point three fourths of the party are dragons.

We get called in to usurp two warlords. The setting is like fantasy mad max desert. One warlord was a warlock, the other a centaur fighter. Our first plan was that our dragons would dye themselves a different color to pretend to be rogue dragons and attack the city. They would take out the warlord. Then our bunnyfolk barbarian was gonna run in and take us down afterward to become the figurehead for the city.

But when we turned up the warlord had a pact with a demon who threatened that if we didn’t throw the fight he’d destroy the town with meteors. We started trying to scope out the magical trigger for the threatened spell. Our cleric-dragon started trying to sense magic.

After swooping all over the town we realized the magic was centered on the warlord. But we didn’t know for sure. And one dragon swooping close was just gonna be a target. So I said, “Hey… this one time my younger siblings loosed their… feces… after a dive”

The resulting hilarity took a while to calm down but finally the DM was like, “You want to try to blind him with your shit?”

Yes. Yes we did. But none of the dragons wanted to be the only one raining shit. It was embarrassing. So we decided that all three of us would try this gambit.

My dragon went, they doused him with a face full of poop but didn’t blind him. The Druid-dragon went next and did similarly well.

But he got the jump on the cleric-dragon, and furious, covered in dragon shit, he cast a fireball at her. Unfortunately for him, she has the ability to steal a spell. So the fireball launched then sling shotted straight back into his face.

There he was. A steaming flaming pile of burning shit. And then she shit on him too.

My dragon managed to dispel the rune circle we’d detected with the gambit, and he fled into the crowd to be torn apart by his oppressed people.

Then we did a WWE style fight with our barbarian and he managed to almost kill our Druid on accident and the dragons fled on schedule.

Success- after a fashion! We usurped the guy and shit all over the town.

There’s a second warlord we need to target. We decide what’s a little identity theft so our cleric posed as a grunt we’d killed previously called “The Haboob Wraith.” A haboob is genuinely a desert sandstorm but it was hilarious regardless.

We roll into town deciding to duplicate our piggyback tactics from the last one on one fight we had. The party was escorted into a champions tent and presented with the finest things before their fight to the death. The finest thing in this case is…. Milk.

We all paused and out of character said, “Did you just say milk?”

“Yeah! Like nice cow milk! It’s rare in the desert!”

I lost my fucking shit that the finest thing on offer was milk. So the Haboob Wraith strode into combat with a stomach full of milk.

The centaur warlord said, "I hope you've prayed to your gods, you're about to meet them."

"The gods pray to ME!" she shouted and went on to slaughter him.

We installed a second puppet warlord and rode off into the sunset, all of us staggered by the utter silliness of the whole session, and said goodnight with many a shit pun.

[mimimarvelingmarvel]

time bound part two

pairing: worst wolverine!logan howlett x f!mutant!reader

Part Two - Masterlist

summary: Y/n’s life takes a dramatic turn when the Time Variance Authority intervenes, pulling her from a critical moment in her timeline. The TVA sends her to the void where she eventually meets with Deadpool and a very familiar face. With Deadpool's universe in the balance, alongside his reluctant would-be pal, Wolverine, and the enigmatic time-bending mutant known as the Veil, the trio must complete the mission and save Deadpool’s world from an existential threat.

overall warnings: 18+, Fem!Reader, AFAB Reader, Use of Y/N, Her X-Men name is Veil, She/her pronouns, Swearing, Angst, Heavy Violence, Character Death, Deadpool (he’s his own warning), Hurt, Fluff, Angst, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, TVA

word count: 1.9k

Months have passed since Johnny and I first crossed paths in the bleak void of the multiverse. In that time, the Borderlands have evolved from a chaotic, unsettling expanse into a strange but surprisingly reliable haven. I've acclimated to its disjointed blend of makeshift settlements and the diverse, often eccentric band of misfits who call it home. One of them is Laura, a fierce warrior with a rough edge, but a surprising softness beneath her surface. She once tried to explain the nature of my variant in her universe, but when she mentioned Logan, it struck a nerve too deep for me to handle. 

Today, Johnny and I are on a reconnaissance mission near the heart of the void, tasked with scouting for any unusual movements. We trudge through the arid expanse, our boots crunching softly over the dry, sandy terrain. The sky is a turbulent mix of colors, the horizon a jagged line of shifting shadows and light. Alioth.

The constant strain of maintaining control over my powers in this inhospitable space is wearing me thin. I can’t afford to let my guard down. We push through a small sandstorm that sweeps across the landscape, its gritty particles stinging my skin. I keep my eyes sharp and my hand resting on the hilt of my blade—a gift from Electra, a gesture of trust and camaraderie.

The oppressive quiet is almost a physical presence, the weight of isolation pressing down on me. We are about to turn back when a sudden disturbance breaks through the stillness. My heart skips a beat as the faint sounds of a skirmish reach my ears. Johnny’s hand clamps firmly on my arm, his grip conveying urgency.

“Did you hear that?” he growls, his voice low and taut with focus.

“Yeah,” I reply, straining to discern the sounds amidst the howling wind. The unmistakable clang of metal and the harsh grunts of a fight grow louder. “Let’s check it out.”

We advance cautiously, our footsteps muffled by the shifting sands, moving toward the source of the commotion. As we approach a tall, metal structure, I begin to climb it, Johnny following to gain a better vantage point. The structure, a rusted remnant of some long-forgotten machinery, creaks under our weight. From the top, the view unfolds before me, and what I see makes my breath catch in my throat.

Two figures are locked in combat below us, their movements a blur of speed and violence. The first is a Deadpool variant, clad in a distinctive black-and-red suit. He’s wielding a pair of katanas with an expert’s precision, slicing through the air with practiced ease. His opponent is unmistakably Wolverine, his adamantium claws extended and gleaming with a deadly sheen. Logan moves with a predator's grace, slashing and dodging with equal skill.

At first, I can hardly believe my eyes. A Wolverine—how could one of his variants be here? My mind races, struggling to reconcile this unexpected sight with everything I know. The scene is almost surreal, like a twisted mirror reflecting a reality I can barely grasp. I glance at Johnny, whose expression has turned serious, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

“Is that…?” I start, my voice trailing off, unable to articulate the confusion swirling in my mind.

“Yeah,” Johnny confirms, his tone grim. “Looks like we’ve got some serious anomalies here. We need to find out what’s going on.”

I watch as Deadpool and Wolverine continue their fierce exchange, their movements a violent dance. Deadpool’s agile maneuvers and rapid strikes are met with Logan’s relentless aggression. Despite the chaos, there’s a strange familiarity in their fighting styles—both driven by an intensity that makes them almost mirror images of each other.

“What the hell is going on?” I mutter under my breath, my mind reeling from the disorienting sight.

Johnny’s eyes remain sharp as he observes the conflict below. “We need to intervene. This could spiral out of control, and Cassandra could notice.”

Before I can respond, Johnny is already moving, his voice ringing out with authority as he shouts to the combatants. “Hey! We fight each other, we lose.”

The two fighters momentarily pause, their heads turning toward Johnny as he approaches. Deadpool’s head tilts, his mask concealing any visible expression, but his posture suggests surprise. “Dear god, it’s him.” His voice carries a mix of awe and disbelief. I watch cautiously from above, hesitant to step in, my heart pounding at the sight of Wolverine. He looks so much like my own Logan that the resemblance is almost painful.

Deadpool’s voice rings out with an irreverent edge. “Fair warning, gorgeous. You’re going to encounter some indelicate language. A smidge of ass play, but we’ve been prohibited from using cocaine on camera.”

Johnny, unfazed, urges me to move. “Veil, let’s go.” He turns to address me directly, his tone focused and commanding.

Logan’s head whips up, his eyes locking onto me with a mixture of suspicion and recognition. “Y/N?”

I jump down cautiously, my heart in my throat as I watch Logan tense, his claws extending in readiness. I land, a knee on the ground.

“Now that’s a superhero landing!”

“Who the fuck are you?” Logan demands, his voice a harsh growl, the tension palpable.

Deadpool’s eyes widen in realization. “Buddy, I think that’s—”

“Shut the fuck up. I didn’t ask you.”

In that moment, I see it—the familiar huff of his breath, the furrow of his brows, and the flare of his nostrils. I’d recognize my Logan anywhere. His eyes flicker with something unspoken, a mixture of relief and anguish, and his claws slowly retract.

I step closer, my breath catching in my throat. I can barely hold back the tears as I take another step and break into a small run. Logan meets me halfway, his arms enveloping me in a tight embrace. “I thought you died,” he says, his voice choked with emotion as he buries his face into my neck. I squeeze him tightly, my tears mingling with his.

“The TVA, they sent me away. I tried to find you.” I pause, my voice faltering with the weight of unspoken pain. “The others?” I ask, my eyes searching his for answers. He shakes his head, and my face crumples in grief. I had feared this would happen.

Johnny’s voice cuts through the moment, sharp with urgency. “They’re coming.”

I pull away from Logan at Johnny’s warning, my heart pounding as I steel myself. Logan’s face is a mask of pain, and I feel the crushing weight of my failure. I could have saved them all.

Deadpool’s voice interjects with a mix of confusion and curiosity. “Who’s they?”

The answer comes in the form of an onslaught of vehicles, their jumbled piles of mechanics and scrap metal creating a menacing approach. Toad, Pyro, and Sabertooth are among those heading our way, their presence a foreboding sign of trouble.

Deadpool sidles up beside me, his tone laced with a twisted humor. “Oh, they’re driving angry. Can we pick this reunion up later, pumpkin?” He glances at me, then at Logan, who mirrors my confusion.

Johnny steps forward, his posture exuding determination. “I got this.”

I steady myself, preparing for the impending fight. “Stay close,” Johnny warns, and I move closer to him, readying myself for whatever comes next. Behind me, I hear Logan release his claws, the familiar sound providing a strange comfort amidst the chaos.

The cars circle us, forming a tight encirclement. “Cassandra is going to be giddy when she sees what we caught. You can’t run. Everybody knows that.” Pyro’s voice drips with malice as their vehicles come to a halt.

“You see anyone running, dick for brains? You’re not gonna love what happens next,” Johnny retorts.

Deadpool’s voice breaks in with manic excitement. “Oh, oh my God. Oh my God, he’s going to say it. Ha! Oh my God, he’s gonna say it!”

Johnny grins, preparing for his signature move. “Avengers—”

“—Flame on!” 

“What?”

I look at Deadpool with a mix of bewilderment and exasperation as Johnny ignites in a ball of fire. Pyro watches, amused and relaxed. I create a temporal clone in the sky, urging it to engage as I manipulate time, freezing the action momentarily. As I resume time, Pyro defeats Johnny’s clone with a burst of flames. The real Johnny lands beside me.

“I know you,” growls a voice from ahead, and I turn to see Sabertooth approaching with a predatory glare.

Deadpool’s voice is a mix of awe and irreverence. “Holy shit… Sabertooth… your brother.”

I snap at him. “Deadpool, can it.”

Sabertooth snarls, his voice a deep rumble. “Ready to die!”

Logan prepares to fight, his stance resolute. Deadpool adds with exaggerated seriousness, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Time! People have waited decades for this fight. It’s not gonna be easy. Maybe not. Shoot the double and take him down. Side control, then full mount and you ground and pound, until he makes no sound because he’s dead.” He’s gripping Logan’s shoulders.

Wolverine’s expression hardens. “Shut the fuck up.”

Deadpool responds with a mix of arousal and admiration. “Oh my God. Okay, good luck. I’m a huge fan.”

The battle erupts with a ferocity that is almost immediate. Logan’s claws flash with deadly precision, and he swiftly decapitates Sabertooth. The severed head skids to a stop in front of Deadpool, who remarks with a grim humor, “What is it, girl? Is there trouble at the well?” It stops at his feet. “Oh, big trouble.” As Deadpool leans down and picks up Sabertooth’s severed head, I can’t help but grimace at the gory mess. Blood drips onto the sand, and Deadpool’s voice rings out with a bizarre sense of theatricality. 

“Behold! The head of your precious queen, Furiosa!” Deadpool announces dramatically, holding the head aloft like a trophy. “I have the Wolverine. I alone control her. You come for me! You come for her!” He points accusingly at Logan. I furrow my brows in confusion. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s pronounced ‘him.’ I’m gender blind. It’s my cross to bear,” he adds with a wink, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Logan, breathing heavily from the intense battle, turns to me. “Who’s next?”

“Toad! You’re up!” Pyro’s voice cuts through the chaos, and I can’t help but let out a mischievous giggle. I watch with amusement as Toad sticks out his grotesque, warty tongue. I pull out my blade, my eyes narrowed in focus. With a quick, precise motion, I slice through the air, severing the tongue cleanly. It falls to the ground with a wet, squishy plop.

“Fucking nasty,” I mutter as the severed tongue writhes like a headless worm. The sight is both disgusting and oddly fascinating. Toad lets out a high-pitched scream of anguish, and as the chaos escalates, someone flips a switch. I turn just in time to see Logan hurtling towards me, and I brace myself. 

Before I can react, Deadpool appears behind me, and the next thing I know, we’re all smashed together against a massive magnet. The force of the impact slams us into a heap, and I feel myself being crushed between Deadpool and Logan.

“Uh-oh. Holy shi—” Deadpool starts to exclaim before the sound is abruptly cut off. 

The giant magnet presses down hard, and I feel a wave of darkness engulf me. The last thing I hear is Johnny’s distant shout, filled with frustration and concern.

Next Part

A/N: Let me know what you think! I’m sort of loving and hating my writing, next part will be Logan’s POV (maybe)

[splasharooni]

KittypetFirefam Au!

A lil au thats been bouncing around in my brain for a bit! Instead of joining ThunderClan, rusty stays a kittypet who roams the ThunderClan border for many moons- often getting into spats with ThunderClan apprentices SandPaw and DustPaw. As they grow older, SandStorm and Rusty find that they actually have a good time together when they aren't tussling around in the dirt. Enough time passes that they get together in secret- just as TigerClaw puts his plan into action, dethroning BlueStar in the night away from watchful eyes. SandStorm falls pregnant with Rusty's kits, quickly growing afraid of what TigerStar will do if he finds out the litter is a kittypets; though, luckily, the unspoken law that all monarchs (queens) are entitled to privacy regarding their litters sire holds up strong enough to protect little SquirrelKit and DandelionKit (Leaf!). [Since Sand and rusty never meet leafstar, who I hc Leafpool is named after, I figured sand would pick a dif name!] TigerStar is VERY suspicious of them but since the other Monarchs seem protective of the two tiny kits, he backs off for a while. SquirrelKit is eventually named SquirrelPaw and is apprenticed to DustPelt, and DandelionKit is named DandelionPaw, and is made a healers apprentice, something that has been needed by ThunderClan for some time, after SpottedLeafs near death expereince (no yellowfang since there is no firepaw to find her, no cinderpelt because she remains a warrior, as TigerStar doesn't try to lure BlueStar to the road, killing her in a different way further in the timeline than he had tried when FireHeart was there). SpottedLeaf, near constantly on deaths door, trains DandelionPaw as best she can in her condition, badly injured from a ShadowClan attack. I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS on this au but am too tired to put them together rn, will probs post about them later!

[mudstoneabyss]

It's really such a waste that they haven't done anything more with Charles considering how interesting of a character they set up. Aside from being the canon "Desert Bluffs! Carlos" and therefore being connected to two of the most beloved characters in the podcast, which is obviously something that would make people interested in him, what we see of his character outside of that is compelling.

he's from outside of Night Vale and Desert Bluffs, but not from a "normal" place like Carlos and any of the other characters who we actually see something from, like Nilanjana and Kareem. He's explicitly from Cactus Park, a town we know next to nothing about but is close enough to be competing in local football matches with nv and db, and Pine Cliff, the town we know the most about outside of nv and db, and I find particularly interesting with the way Night Vale talks about ghosts. notably, both are, even without having a lot of info on them, canonically weird places. which we even indirectly see more of with Cactus Park in the Mudstone Abyss, with them sharing the experience of having certain "weird" things in both their childhoods

and that kind of adds to this almost duality Charles has, where he's both seemingly one of the most responsible and put-together characters in the show and, well, an insane freak. He's a good father who puts his son first and makes an effort to be clear and direct in communicating rather than avoiding or lying about any matter that might be unpleasant- but he's also a self-identified theocrat who is actively into some of the cult and dictator shit Kevin was doing, and it does take a special type of person to want to fuck Kevin from the moment he met him, at no point lose that desire after all the blood and gore decoration and aforementioned cult and dictator shit, and then afterwards decide that this is the guy you want to help raise your son. fascinating behavior I would love to know more about how much is because none of this is new or shocking to him. he lived in a ghost town and who knows what went on in Cactus Park

Perhaps the most interesting thing about him, though, isn't even anything i think we need to know more about, but does make me want to know more about him in general. It's the one thing that completely contrasts him from so many other characters throughout the entire podcast- which is his reaction to Kevin. He is the ONLY one we see meeting or even just seeing Kevin for the first time who isn't completely horrified and/or disgusted by him and his appearance. Relistening to the Sandstorm, I had to pause the part where Cecil says for people to "pray, too, that no one should ever have to meet this vicious wretch of a man" to listen to, well, Charles meeting that "vicious wretch of a man" and treating him like any other person. Like someone deserving of knowing and loving without an initial hurdle of judgment. and, again, he is the Only one we see doing this after Kevin is met with fear and bias throughout the entire rest of the podcast. Fuck, we even see some of the db citizens being afraid of him. The only other person, aside from the other db citizens like Lauren or Josephine who are used to the... everything, who maybe didn't have a negative reaction to Kevin is Carlos, but we never actually see that. And personally, I do hc that he was scared of Kevin at first. So having someone react differently- and kindly- to Kevin after years and years of no one else doing that? That alone would make me obsessed with Charles

[utilitycaster]

look, I know polls are silly and fun and so I want you to understand writing this rant is silly and fun for me but EMON? Emon is the Critical Role Entry for Most Place of All Time? I must call bullshit. And so:

Friends, fellow critters, and people who have me blocked but hate read my blog each morning over breakfast: Emon is not even the Most Place on the Material Plane. It is not even the Most Place in Tal'Dorei. Hell, it's not even the Most Place on the fucking Bladeshimmer Shoreline, which includes a destroyed city now overtaken by bandits, and a cave system that hosts both a rift to the Far Realm and a different rock than residuum that can make a different magical drug than suude. Emon is if you took the aggressively mid vibes of Washington, DC and transplanted them to the inconvenient location and city of refuge for flaky people who avoid gluten for non-medical reasons of Los Angeles. The second Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III invents the motorcar that sumbitch is going to have traffic bad enough to summon Tharizdun. Also there's a literal pit of fire that's been burning for 30 years that both hasn't been adequately addressed but also doesn't really seem that interesting. Like oh a bunch of dragons destroyed your city? Big deal. Draconia got so fucked up it doesn't exist anymore, and at least Westruun has some fucking charm. At least Pike and Grog actually lived there, whereas Vox Machina got a house in Emon and proceeded to spend their time literally anywhere else.

Here is a brief list of places on the planet of Exandria in the Material Plane - not even across Critical Role's main campaigns/EXU, which includes such non-Exandrian places as "living city of people who mind-melded and escaped to the Astral Sea during a century-plus-long war of the gods"; "Ligament Manor"; "Ryn's groovy pied-a-feu, man I wonder what made the scorch marks on that furniture, anyway", and "THE MOON THAT IS ACTUALLY AN PRISON FOR A THING THAT EATS GODS AND IS POSSIBLY HATCHING" - that are more of a place than Emon:

Jrusar: 5 spires no waiting, sweet cable car system, city almost entirely destabilized by goo creatures as part of an overly complicated plot to blow up the aforementioned moon

Bassuras: (literally "garbagetown") Run by Mad Max gangs and everyone is cool with it; regular sandstorms; one of those gangs apparently sits atop a hive mind and NO ONE has examined this (except for them)?)

Whitestone: has a tree planted by one god over a buried temple to another god that was corrupted in the name of a third, shittier god; overrun by zombies but it's fine now; streetlights and two bears that are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want.

Yios: The canal system of Venice meets the colleges per capita of Boston meets the orcs from your fantasies, also there's some kind of kitchen-based organized crime ring so intricate it could be its own campaign (so, also like Boston).

Vasselheim: literally no one understands what the fuck its government system is. Old as balls. Temples everywhere! Temples full of trees. Temples full of blood! Temples full of an old guy who will kick your ass. A sphinx that regulates the monster hunter mini-game. Presumably the giant titan full of the ancient cannibal dwarf city is like, still there, as a new fixture, since I don't see how they're moving that.

The arctic: where teleportation doesn't work, there's a river of lava in the middle of the snow, ancient ruins full of snow globes full of actual people, and the Chaos Bisexual Emerald - and that's just a smattering of what Eiselcross has to offer.

Since this is about space and not time we can toss Aeor and Avalir too, since they once were places, and while we're at it whatever the fuck is going on with the Shattered Teeth and its permanent fog cloud and fish dream cult and capitalist shipwrecked merchants.

And, of course, any arbitrary square millimeter of Wildemount, frankly, has more Mostness than the entirety of Emon could muster under absolutely ideal conditions. But for the sake of one place per region, let's hand it to Rosohna (city of eternal night for practical purposes, built over the Evil God Headquarters); Uthodurn (underground! Giant goats! Elves and dwarves, living together, mass hysteria!); Hupperdook (steampunk gnome party city); Nicodranas (Fjord, Jester, Veth, Marion, and Yussa literally all live there at once; plumbing used to be courtesy of an imprisoned marid...but watch out); and Blightshore (Blightshore).

In conclusion: Emon is boring, nominating it was a mistake, there are literally sealed gods in other parts of the world and also way better taverns, good night, and what the fuck.

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

Welcome my the new masterlist. Yes thats vhagar you saw that right.

UPDATED ON 16-5-2024

Hello, welcome, welcome welcome!

I hope you brought cookies

Aemond Targaryen

The girl in the silver dress (Modern royalty au) (Completed)

��Summary: You are invited to become a selected girl for Prince Jacaerys's selection. You never thought you would fall for his uncle, prince Aemond instead

part one part two Part three (completed)

Heaven knows (We belong way down below) (slasher au)

🔷Summary: Reader or oc (You) is the new resident of a seemingly peaceful town, which hides dark secrets.

prologue, part one (Mini series) (NOT CONTINUED!!)

Wicked dark and twisted dreams part one (vampire au)

🔷Summary: After you have been kidnapped, you get sold to the vampire king's brother, Aemond Targaryen.

One part, possibly being rewritten into a bigger series, but thats a maybe. A really big maybe. (NOT CONTINUED!!!)

Sweet Nothings (College au) formally known as ''Games in the library''

🔷Summary: Your GPA is tanking and you need help. Luckily there is the grumpy antisocial Aemond to help you out.

PART 1 PART 2, updates planned but it will be a mini series. (Maybe continued)

The heart is an ocean (Aemond titanic au) (mini series)

🔷Summary: You attend the ship of dreams, the Balerion in hope of finding your match to enrichen your family. But fate is cruel for those who dream. And the Balerion might not even reach the harbor of Valyria.

Part one, part two

updates are planned but it will remain a mini series.

the doomed jaessa (???) (aemond avatar au) ONE SHOT

🔷Summary: You are a witch hunter, looking for the witches that killed your family all those years ago. Those people are called Heyks or Summoners.

Part one, one shot.

maffia au (aemond maffia au) One shot

🔷Summary: Its your 21st birthday. You dont expect to spent it as the captive of your new criminal husband, but here we are.

Part one, one shot, but might be rewritten in a bigger series.

Sandstorm (Dornish oc x aemond request) (One-shot)

🔷Summary: You are Elna/Reader Martell and before you marry you go on a vacation to the land that always held a close space to your heart: The Six Kingdoms. You become the captive of Aemond Targaryen.

One shot, Part one

A little wicked (dark prince regent x niece)

🔷Summary: After your husband dies, his brother claims his throne and also you.

Part one, one shot

Ashes Burn

🔷Summary: Dark aemond fic about a girl who becomes aemonds bedmate. Very dark.

part one, part two, part three, updates planned but might become a smaller series.

What power looks like dark prince regent one shot

🔷Summary: You once bullied Aemond and fell in favour with his brother, but now that Aegon is uhm...not able to talk right now, Aemond wants revenge for all you did to him. And he means all of it.

Part one, finished one shot

Fight and die (Main series)

🔷Summary: Your ancestors once betrayed the Targaryens and paid a high price. Now you are back at court with your brother, who hopes to sell you in exchange for his freedom.

Part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part 6.

The Song of Ice and Fire (Mini series)

🔷Summary: After getting kidnapped on your way to King's Landing, you end up in another time where you meet a dangerous prince

Part one, updates planned.

Mis characters

Daemon Targaryen

Daddy dearest (stepdaughter request) (One shot)

🔷Summary: You are Rhaenyra's and Harwin's daughter and you just proposed to Aemond, your stepdaddys worst enemy.

Part one, one shot, finished.

Vhagar

Vhagars diary (on hiatus for now)

Summary: The majestic dragon Vhagar shares her story, in a exclusive interview/tell all biography. What does she remember and what can she tell us about the past? What do we know? Vhagar tells all is part of a mini series featuring three parts of Vhagars life leading up to house of the dragon, with her ...unique thoughts and perspective!

Part one

Aegon Targaryen II/ Attention

Summary:🔷Summary: You are studying in college and you fall for a mysterious boy named Aeg. Who hides a dark secret.

Part One, more updates planned, mini series.

Older masterlist with old work (mind your step please) series

Old and mostly very dark fanfics about aemond.

Ready to read somewhere else?: Bitterballetje - Works | Archive of Our Own

last update 9-7-2024

[official-darkforest]

i love anthro wc au its so cool!! how are dogs and twolegs going to work in this.... im so curious

twolegs generally don't exist the same way in canon. for some, like sasha, petunia, and petalfur where their former twolegs are instead anthro-catified and turned into their parents or grandparents.

for example:

sasha's twolegs ken and jean hawking were her grandparents. she grew up with them when her parents became unable to care for her for some reason or another. jean passes away, and sasha puts ken into a retirement home but he passes away while she's caught up with tigerstar and doesnt hear about it until later. the boat twoleg is an older tomcat she meets after she resigns custody of her remaining children to her friend leopardstar, but they part ways when she remains unsatisfied in that city. she thinks of him fondly, though

petunia's twoleg was one of many people who fostered children in her home and volunteered frequently. she adopted petunia and the two had been living together and continuing to help and foster other orphaned children until they could go out on their own or their respective guardians were able to care for them again. unfortunately they had to quit as her mother's dementia progressed. she passed away suddenly and petunia ended up pivoting her career towards caring for seniors in her mother's memory.

petalnose's twoleg is now her abusive father. despite being partnered with rainfur, she wasn't allowed to see him and was basically kept hostage in her own home despite being an adult. eventually, with the help of a few locals and two newcomers (sandstorm and firestar) she was able to elope with rainfur and their twin children. unfortunately, rainfur would end up passing away only a year later

as for dogs, for the most part im not sure! esp for brightheart, swiftpaw, and bluestar's deaths (brindleface was murdered by tigerstar in canon, not by the dogs. i'll get into her story some other time)

[novaonhere]

Wait, What?

Relationship: Cal Kestis x f!reader

Summary: You’ve been traveling the galaxy with Merrin, taking a stop on Jedha to help Cere. She asks you to go pick up Cal and the Mantis and lead them to their location. Excited seeing each other again, old feelings are brought to light.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Fluffy, mild swearing from the author

A/N: Cuties

Prompt: "I ACCIDENTALLY TOLD YOU I LOVED YOU AND NOW WE'RE FINALLY TALKING ABOUT IT.”

(gif not mine)

————————————————————————

You take a step out of the shower. Today drained you. Cere tasked you and Merrin with pushing stormtroopers away from the front entrance of the base, but without killing anyone to lessen suspicion. Merrin used some cool space witch magic that you just had to gawk at from time to time. From teleporting troopers, to creating small, yet blinding sandstorms to push the men back. You’re job was to protect her and provide guidance. A few times you brought up the suggestion of moving rocks, making false pathways that loop them back, etc. Only twice did you have to strike down anyone, but it was nothing you couldn’t handle.

The steam from the shower had fogged up the mirror. You stare at the blurry reflection. Even though you couldn’t see your face clearly, you did notice the prominent dark circles under your eyes. Even after the steaming hot shower, your muscles still didn’t relax. Groaning, you rub your shoulder, turning to grab your freshly cleaned clothes. Standard Jedi uniform. Thank goodness for the breathability. Instead of a regular over-tunic, you placed a familiar poncho over it. Taking a deep breath into the cloth, you sigh, knowing the smell it originally held was long gone.

As you finish getting ready, a loud rapture erupts on the door.

“(Y/N), Cere needs you now.” Merrin calls through the door. You open it immediately, face to face with your friend.

“Do you know what about?” You ask, slipping on your last boot. Merrin nods, taking off at a slight jog down the hall. You follow, grabbing your light saber close to your side.

You both enter the archives, meeting Cere, who’s prime focus was one of the tablets in front of her.

“Ah, (Y/N), I must ask you of something.” Cere smiles, turning to face you two.

“Of course, what is it?” You ask, letting go of your light saber. Something about her smile seemed off, like she knew this was going to be… fun?

“I need you to collect someone from a rendezvous point. Leave at once.” Cere states, handing you a chip with coordinates. You study it from her hand before hesitantly taking it. “We have some friends coming for a visit.” You and Merrin scowl, raising your eyebrows. Merrin’s scowl is a bit harsher, not the most comfortable having to share already a small space with someone else.

“Merrin, please prepare 2-3 guest ro-“

“Cere,” You intervene, holding up your hand for her attention. “Who am I picking up?”

“Just go, young Jedi. You’ll know.” Cere shoos you away. She takes Merrin’s shoulder and leads them back down the hallway. Annoyed, you head towards the hanger to grab a speeder. From the coordinates she gave you, it was quite the journey.

Arriving at the hanger, you spot your ride. Do you remember the name? Absolutely not. This wasn’t normally your jam, big machines and what not. You enjoyed using your feet to travel, not much a speeder without a proper seatbelt nor safety precautions. You throw yourself up and head off into the desert.

—-

You don’t mind waiting, it soothes you to be alone in your thoughts. Finding a nice rock to lean against, you stare far out into the desert, watching troopers march along. Do they even know what they are fighting for? Who they’re hurting? What their future holds if they do or do not succeed? Sighing, you place your head in your hands, with your elbows rested on top of your knees. It’s be awfully hot without the wind. Taking a deep breath, you notice the wind pick up, unnaturally. You jump to your feet, peering around the rock to see a ship…

Your eyes snap open. Is that…

Stepping out of the ship is someone you most definitely recognize. The figure turns around to shout something back and a small droid appears. It runs quickly, climbing up the figure’s back. The figure steps onto the sand as the stairs fold back into the ship. It quickly takes off, most likely for a safer spot to land and hide for awhile.

You haven’t seen that face for many months. A face you would see daily. After meeting Merrin and bonding, you decided it would be safer for the two Jedi’s to split and one to escort Merrin around and teach her the ways around the Galaxy. You couldn’t be happier to assist Merrin, you grew closer; however, you couldn’t help but miss the red head daily.

The man turns towards the rock, looking at something in his hand. Most likely the coordinates, which lead to the rock you are currently hiding behind. Feeling the corners of your lips head up your face, you step out from the rock, the light now shining onto you. Geez it was hot.

He looks up, and drops whatever was in his hand. Time of course did not stop, with the sand moving and the wind blowing your hair, but damn did it feel like it. You stared at each other; one smiling like a lunatic and the other dumbfounded.

“We’ll look who it is on Jedah.” You call out, hands on your hips. He closes his mouth, shaking his head into a grin. “Let’s get a move on before the storm hits.”

“(Y/N)!” He calls out, the grin widening more and more with each step he took towards you. You match his energy, extending your arms out for a long deserved embrace. He wraps his arms around your waist, trying to not pick you up off your feet. He smushes his face into the crook of your neck, taking it all in. You giggle, your arms around his neck and head on his shoulder.

“It’s been too long, Cal.” You breath out, backing out of the hug. He laughs as BD-1 chirps for attention. “Oh I saw you too, buddy, don’t worry.” You pat the droid on his head, which beeps happily.

“Like you said, let’s get a move on.” Cal smiles, extending his bent elbow to you. Chuckling, you slide your arm through, holding onto his bicep. Together, you walk alongside the rocks, down the hill to where you parked your speeder.

“How is everyone?” You ask, trying to find his gaze. His once bright eyes suddenly gloss over, a small and quick frown coating his expression. Your smile fades as well.

“Let’s save the catching up to when we’re at base, is that okay?” He asks, patting your hand on his arm with his other hand. His eyes find yours, his filled with sorrow and weariness. You nod, looking forward.

Just as you were about to turn the corner to where you parked, you both had the sensation to stop. You could feel multiple presences beyond, not friendly presences. Looking at each other, Cal brings a finger to his lips, letting your arm go. You nod, brining your hand to your light saber in case something were to go wrong. Cal peeks around the corner. Multiple storm troopers had surrounded your speeder, taking it apart and looking at the pieces. You come up behind Cal, unsheathing your saber. He does the same, sprinting into action.

You both quickly beat the shit out of them. Cal keeps his saber out, keeping a look out as you tend to the speeder.

“Damn, they took a beating to this.” You sigh, exasperated.

“They probably wanted to make sure to trap whoever was here, you did hide it pretty well. Must have been coincidence that they found it.” Cal reassures you. Nodding, you look to the sky where you hade came from. It was filled with brown darkness. The storm was starting to catch up.

“Crap,” you breathe out. There was no way you’ll make it back to base walking. Looking around, you see a pack of spamel walking away from the storm, fleeing as well. “Come on,” You motion to Cal, jogging towards the pack. He follows closely, also eyeing up the storm.

Upon reaching the spamel, you notice one that has a few spots on its back. Smiling, you recognize this to be the spamel you saved from a few troopers just a week ago. The spamel recognizes you immediately, bending down as if it knows you need to hitch a ride. You turn to Cal, motioning for him to hop on.

He throws his leg over, bracing himself on the back of the spamel’s neck. You hop on as well. Without having time to adjust nor brace, the spamel takes off, causing you to lunge into Cal’s back, throwing your arms around his waist. You hands hold onto his toned stomach, feeling the indentations of scars he has endured. He turns around, smiling at you.

“Alright?” He asks, a small chuckle escaping his lips. The hot desert heat trickles up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” You respond, tightening your grip as the spamel picks up speed.

—-

Periodically, you’ll glance behind you, noticing the storm creeping up onto the herd.

“Cal,” You tap his shoulder. “We’re not going to make it.” He cusses to himself, looking around.

At that moment, the wind picks up, sand flying up the spamel’s legs. The herd whines in fear. Suddenly, Cal lunges forward, pointing a bit to the right.

“There!” He calls out, the wind starting to drown out some sound. The spamel seemed to understand Cal’s gesture and noticed the cave opening, big enough to fit even the tallest spamel. The heard gallops to the entrance. You tighten your grasp onto the man, hiding your face in the poncho to protect your eyes and nose from the sand being kicked up. Cal does the same with his own jacket. A few spamel’s have already made it in, and it seemed like you were the last ones. You check behind to make sure you are in fact that last set as your enter the shelter.

“Cal, help me with the rock.” You call out, jumping off the spamel. He falls off with you, following you towards the entrance. Sand and wind flow into the space, hitting and scaring the spamel. You look to see a large rock to your left. Together, you roll the stone in front of the entrance as a make-shift door. You both sigh, as Cal pats you on the back.

“Good thinking,” He smiles as BD chirps in. “Let’s see if we can get a fire going.” He hurries off as you go around to the resting spamel, checking to see if anyone had gotten hurt.

—-

You sit just as you were before earlier, in your own thoughts. The fire flickers and dances beautifully, creating a warm ambiance to the space. The spamels are fast asleep on one side of the cavern, while you and Cal stare at the fire. He sits with a leg extended out and the other folded in, where he rests his hands.

“So, what happened to the crew?” You finally pipe up. You turn to see his face, which basically glows in the firelight. His freckles decorate his features, something you were always jealous of. His eyes remind fixated on the fire.

“Greez is alright…” He trails off, not wanting to discuss anymore on the subject. You both have lost too much in this war, friends, family, innocents. You scoot closer to the man, wanting to be a positive presence to him. He looks out his peripheral to your figure nudging closer. This makes him smile, a content, warm, inviting smile. You take this as a sign to reach your hand out, asking to be held. He agrees, interlocking his fingers with yours. His hands were strong, durable, beat up, yet soft and warm. You take your hands into your lap, using your other hand to trace over each freckles. You used to do this many times on the Mantis over the years to calm him down. Your eyes stay glued to your connect the dots session, while his scan you. It’s like he’s trying to memorize you, understand you and remember you.

“I missed you too much.” He breathes out. You look up into his eyes, which are melting at the eye contact. You smile, extending your hand to his face. He practically dissolves into your touch as you rest your hand on his cheek.

“I missed you as well.” You respond, a small smile leaving your lips.

“I love when you do that,” He absentmindedly blurts, causing you to giggle. He neck, cheeks, and ears flare up immediately, realizing what he had uttered. “I mean, of course I like you touching me, not like that don’t give me that look, I love our closeness, I love you…” He continues to ramble, but your focus ceased once you heard those three words. You hand slowly falls from his blubbering face, catching his attention.

“Wait,” You whisper, making him shut his mouth. “What?” You cock your head, staring up at him.

Silence. The only noise that could be heard was from the wind outside, the snores of the spamels, the crackling of the fire.

“Cal…” You whisper, your hands retreating to your lap. His upper body begins to redden, realizing what has made you take a moment.

“Did you-“

“Okay yes, I may have accidentally told you I loved you, and I’ve felt like this for awhile but you know the Jedi code but I guess now we’re finally talking about it and what that could mean-“

You chuckle quietly, watching the red head loose his cool. This was a side you’ve never seen before, and honestly, he was quite cute. You rest a hand in his thigh, again, shutting him up.

“Let’s save the catching up to when we’re at base, is that okay?” You repeat his words to you earlier to him. With that you lean your body in closer to him. Regaining his composure, he senses your motives and quickly leans into you as well. You lips meet. At first, very much head on, wanting to be as close together as possible. Just a simple, yet long lingering kiss. You pull away, but he is not satisfied. He places on hand on your thighs, the other around your shoulder to the back of your head, bringing you back in for a longer, deeper kiss.

You both stay there, kissing you feelings away as the fire flickers down. You both don’t notice, nor really care. Your attention is on each other.

You finally pull away for a long, needed breath. He does the same. You both smile, giggling just a tad.

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” You start, sitting up straighter to look at him better. He clears his throat, fixing his collar.

“Well, you know the Jedi code.” He starts, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Cal, you both know the Jedi code is older than time itself and things change.” You giggle. “People change.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” He smiles, bringing his lips to yours once more.

You wait out the storm, falling asleep in each others embrace.

[ilguna]

supply run, aisle 1 with the prompts #1 & #17 with octavia blake, please?

☼ headspace (Octavia Blake) ☼

warnings; swearing, gun mention, ehh gore, blood mention, knife usage, death, bugs beneath the skin.

wc; 4k

prompt; 1. Always looking out for each other's safety. AND 17. Denying their relationship strongly.

notes; spoilers for s5ep5.

--

“They don’t know we’re coming, so all three northern passes will be wide open.” Octavia starts. She’s standing over a map, three fingers placed over the drawn houses. “But the village will be fortified.” She looks up at Obika. “Where’s the water source?”

He briefly points to a spot on the map. “Here.”

“Why? What are you thinking?” Indra asks.

The front door opens suddenly without an announcement, causing you and Cooper to look over at the intruders. Miller enters first, pulling his hood down, lips pressed together. He was supposed to have left to begin scouting ten minutes ago.

Behind him is Clarke, who moves around the other side of the table. “My question exactly.”

“Miller, your orders were to go—” Cooper begins, cutting off the end of Clarke’s sentence. 

“I know my orders.” Miller shuts her down. “I think we should listen to what Clarke has to say.” 

Octavia’s eyebrows raise as she turns to face Clarke. “You can’t take the sea route.” She says, shaking her head.

“Why? You said the sea is gone.” Indra says. “Is it passable or not?”

“Yes, maybe. But you have to understand—”

“Maybe’s good enough for me.” Octavia tells them, starting to head for the open door. “Let’s move out.”

Bellamy jumps in front of her, causing several of the warriors in the room to immediately pull out their weapons, aiming it at him. You reach out to grab Octavia’s elbow, wanting to move her away from him, but let it drop. They’re family, he’s not going to hurt her.

“O.” Bellamy warns. 

“Stand down.” Octavia says. 

“Please, O, just hear us out.” He says in a lighter tone.

“OCtavia, we’re all on the same team.” Clarke says, Octavia turns, you catch the glimpse of her smirk before the shadow of her hood covers her face. “No one wants to get to that valley more than me. It’s my home. But this way is too risky.”

“Risky how?” You ask.

There’s a brief silence, before Octavia says, “Show me.”

Clarke passes in front of her to get to the second map they have laid out. “You chose the shortest route, which makes sense, but the dry seabed is hit by almost constant sandstorms.”

“We have the tents from the second dawn. Sand won’t be a problem.” Octavia tells her.

“It’s not just sand. Some of it crystallized in Praimfaya. I’m talking shards of glass like razor blades. Your tents will be torn to shreds and so will you.”

“Blodreina is right.” Cooper interjects. “Besides, we can only carry rations for seven days. The sea route will take six. The next shortest path adds fifty miles. That’s two days if we’re lucky.”

“How do we know there won’t be sandstorms on the longer routes?” Indra asks.

“Enough.” Octavia says. “We’re doing this. The hydrofarm is barely feeding us now, so if this is the last living valley on Earth, then it should be ours.”

“Diyoza thinks the same thing.” Bellamy says.

“And so we fight.” Octavia tells him. 

This is the final word, and therefore the signal to clean up. Obika and Cooper reach for the maps, folding them to keep them safe when you bring them on the trip. You share a long look with Octavia, that ends with you nodding, telling her that you’re with her. You’ll follow her as long as she’ll let you. 

She heads for the door, brushing past Bellamy. You’re quick to follow her onto the street, because this means that it’s time to get moving. This was just the final meeting before marching to ensure that everyone in higher power were on the same page about the travel. 

“Are you ready?” Octavia asks.

“Yes, I’ve got everything.” 

“Good.”

“First battalion! Mount up!” Indra’s ordercuts through the air.

—

“We honor those who died so we might live.” Octavia says with her eyes closed, head tilted downward.

You sit on her right, carefully balanced on a box so that you’re able to cross your legs. You lay out your part of the rations in front of you, carefully breaking it into pieces to make it seem like you have more. Or that it’s actually a proper meal.

“Omon gon oson.” Octavia says, tilting her head back.

“Omon gon oson.” You repeat, joining the choir of the circle. 

It means ‘All of me for all of us’. If you put all your efforts into Wonkru, and everyone else does the same, that means everyone benefits. The sacrifices that Octavia makes—the difficult ones especially—are done for the greater good of the clan. If you work together, you survive together.

“Omon gon oson.” 

Octavia sits, taking a piece of the ration from your lap. You don’t object, this is normal. Usually, you pass around the rations until there’s none left, that way everyone shares. It keeps from resource guarding, a problem that you faced only once in the bunker, and it was catastrophic. However, Octavia prefers if you have your own pile that she can pick out of.

If the others were to reach for it, you wouldn’t stop them. You don’t think Octavia would, either, but it wouldn’t end well. The only people that you’ve properly shared with are Cooper and Indra, and that’s because you all work on the same playing field. You’re equals. They’re entitled to your food, just as much as you’re entitled to theirs.

You eat in silence, slowly dwindling your supply. Out of curiosity, you glance over your shoulder to check on Bellamy and Clarke, who’d decided to sit a few feet away on their own boxes. They’d decided back at the bunker that they were going to join you on the way to the valley, regardless of the fact that Clarke doesn’t think this is the best way to go.

Your eyes only find Bellamy, sitting alone, walkie in his hand. Clarke must’ve turned herself in for the night already. 

“Your brother loves you, Octavia.” Indra suddenly says.

“Love is weakness.” Octavia says back. 

An ache begins in your chest when you hear her say that. You turn away from Bellamy, looking back at the fire in the center of the circle. When you look at Indra, her lips are pressed together, face washed with sympathy.

“Gaia’s teachings, no doubt.” Indra says. “I hoped she was beyond such nonsense.”

“It isn’t nonsense.” Octavia mutters. Her eyes are open now, staring right at her friend. “Love no one… and no one can hurt you.”

You swallow thickly, looking down at the rations, finding only a few pieces left. You pick one of them up, passing it to your right, away from Octavia. This earns you a brief glimpse in your direction. 

You’re no longer hungry. In fact, you’d like to escape this conversation as fast as possible. 

“I love you.” Indra tells her, and they share a long look. “Does that make me weak?”

Octavia is uncomfortable, you can tell in the way she quickly shakes her head and faces the fire. “I would never say that to you, Seda.”

She would say it to me, you think bitterly.

A sigh escapes you, hands moving to ball up the cloth you’d laid out for the food. You don’t care where it goes or who it feeds, all you know is that you’re done. You hold it out for Indra to take, watching as her face twists, but not a single word comes to her mouth. You jerk it out in her direction to take. And when she finally does, you get to your feet.

“Where are you going?” Octavia asks, looking up at you.

“To patrol.” 

“They don’t need you out there.” She shoots back.

You open your mouth to counter, when a scream cuts you off. You turn in the direction, eyes searching the darkness of the desert for who it’s coming from.

“Help!”

“We need help!” A man overlaps the first.

“It’s the scouts.” Indra says.

At once, everyone raises to their feet to be on defense. Octavia takes a step forward. “Miller, what is it?”

“Medic! We need help! It’s Obika!” Miller shouts back.

“I’ll get the med kit.” Clarke tells them, taking off.

“Please help us!” MIller’s got Obika thrown over his shoulder, running in your direction. “He needs help!”

“Are we under attack?” Octavia asks.

“I don’t know what’s wrong!” He carefully pulls Obika down, laying him in the sand. He’s only on the ground for a second before he starts convulsing, thrashing around, twisting in uncomfortable angles. “Please! Hurry! Someone help him!”

No one moves forward.

“Out of my way. I can help.” Clarke says, pushing through the ring that’s gathered.

“Not you.” Cooper tells her, stopping her.

Obika continues to scream, growing exhausted, until he stops altogether, panting. 

“Octavia.” Clarke says.

“Let her in.”

Cooper lets Clarke free, allowing her to get down and assess Obika. She checks his pulse, and her face relaxes some, but not enough. “He’s alive, but his heart’s racing.”

“What the hell happened out there?” Octavia asks Miller.

“We separated to cover more ground. Then I hear him screaming out that they’re everywhere. Then I get to him and there’s nothing. It’s just more screaming and—”

Obika’s stomach moves from the inside. There’s several gasps of surprise, as everyone takes a step back. You grab Octavia, pulling her toward you, shielding her from Obika.

“There’s something inside him.” Clarke breathes. “I need a better spot to examine him.”

“The tent.” You suggest, looking at Octavia. She presses her lips together, head tilted to the side, not exactly a fan of it. “Where else?”

“Fine.” She agrees. 

Miller, Bellamy and a few of the others come together to lift Obika from the ground and carry them to Octavia’s main tent. There’s an arms-length distance between Obika and those who are carrying him, afraid that they might get whatever’s inside of him.

“Hurry!” Miller ushers. “Get him in the tent. Get him in the tent.”

You hold open one of the flaps, watching as the group comes in one by one, with Clarke taking up the rear. “Nobody else comes inside.”

“Move!” Miller demands. 

“Right here.” Bellamy directs. “Put him on the table.”

The table they’re talking about holds the maps and lanterns that were laid out earlier, and no one bothered to clean up. You work to clear the wood, allowing them to lay Obika on top. And then immediately hold him down to keep him from thrashing the same way he did in the sand.

“Help me get his jacket off.” Clarke says.

“Clarke, what is this?” Indra asks. 

“I don’t know.” She shifts her attention. “MIller, tell us exactly what happened.”

“Nothing happened. We stopped to eat. Then we separated again. Next thing I knew, he was screaming.”

“Your rations. Show me.”

“Nothing’s wrong with our rations.” Cooper says.

“He was eating when it happened.”

“Cooper’s right. If it was the rations, Miller would have it, too.” Octavia says. “They share everything.”

“Well, it got in him somehow.” Clarke reasons.

Bellamy grabs the lantern, bringing it to a spot on Obika’s leg. “Wait.” When he touches the area, his hand turns red, stained with blood. Cooper works quickly to pull up the pant leg, revealing a puncture wound on Obika’s shin. “Look.”

“It came from the sand.” Clarke says, eyes widening. “We have to go back.”

“What? No.” Octavia’s face twists.

“Octavia, he told MIller that they were everywhere.”

“Yes, but Miller just said he saw nothing.” Octavia tells her.

“Everywhere could mean everywhere inside him.” Cooper says.

“Yeah, but what if they went back inside the sand when Obika started screaming?” You ask.

“I agree with Blodreina.” Cooper tells you with direct eye contact.

“What a surprise.” Indra snarks.

There’s a moment of tense silence that fills the room, where no one moves or says anything, as if they don’t want a fight to break out. You narrow your eyes at Cooper, because you’ve been finding it difficult to get along with her lately. Or like her at all.

“We march on at first light.” Octavia says, moving away from Obika. 

“And Obika?” Miller asks, standing up from his leaned position.

Octavia tilts her head slightly, coming back over to the table. “If he’s not better by then…” She stands over him with closed eyes, which is a telling sign of what she’s about to say next. She doesn’t even have to, if she doesn’t want to. “I’ll end his pain myself.”

She turns, leaving the tent, the flaps whooshing behind her. Cooper is quick to follow.

Clarke and Bellamy share a look, and then they turn their attention to you. You shake your head slightly. “There’s nothing I can do, don’t look at me for help.”

“You can’t talk to her? It’s dangerous to be out here, especially if there’s parasites in the sand.” Clarke says, motioning to the ground.

“She doesn’t value my opinion in the same way she does with Indra or Cooper. I could try to talk to her, but she’ll shut me down and cast me out for the rest of the night. I’m not looking for a fight.” You tell them.

“There’s going to be a fight either way.” Bellamy says. “It’s not decided on what yet.”

“I’m going to stay with Obika.” Clarke says with a sigh, practically ending the discussion.

“I’ll stay with you.” Bellamy offers.

You start toward the flaps, pressing your lips together. You go back to the fire, finding that your original spot has been untouched. You take a seat on the box, crossing your legs, staring at the flickering flames.

You’re left alone for a while, allowing you to think. Nothing helpful comes to mind.

The scouts begin shouting nearby, a warning that something is coming, they can hear it through the sand. You don’t pay attention, not until Octavia comes out from the tents, being shadowed by Indra and Cooper. That’s when you turn, curious on what they could be worried about. 

Well, in fairness, you should be worried, too. 

In the distance, you can see dark clouds barely passing over mountains, moving quickly through the desert. Lightning flashes brightly, aggressively, a sign that this is no ordinary storm. This is an evolution of what Praimfaya had caused.

Clarke passes you, coming to a stop. Her lips are parted, staring at the nightmare that’s approaching. “Sandstorm.”

“It’s blocking the way back.” Bellamy says.

“Can we outrun it?” Indra asks.

“As long as it keeps moving laterally from east to west, we shouldn’t have to, but if the wind shifts—”

“The wind hasn’t met Wonkru.” Octavia says, turning around to face the group that’s gathered behind her. Her eyes land on you briefly, where you’re still sitting next to the dying fire. “Now there’s no choice. We keep moving.”

“Keep moving?” Bellamy asks, jumping in her way. “Thanks to you, we’re stuck between razor-blade winds and burrowing, parasitic bugs.” 

“Thanks to you, we’re at war, Bellamy.” Her voice is grave. 

“Only if you insist on fighting it.”

“Fight or die. That’s all there is. You don’t understand. I get it. Because you’re not one of us.”

“Is Obika one of you?” Bellamy shoots back, glancing at the tent over his shoulder. “Hmm? Because you’re about to end his life like he means nothing.”

Cooper moves forward, planning to end Bellamy’s disrespect. You get to your feet now, hand swiping at her elbow to keep her from touching him, yanking her away.

“I understand that.” Bellamy says to Octavia.

“Let go of me.” Cooper tries to pull her arm from your grasp.

“Do not touch him.” Your eyes bore into hers.

“Or what?” She challenges. “He’s being disrespectful. I can’t tolerate that.”

“She can handle it.” You snap.

Cooper stands taller, rolling her shoulders, despite the fact that you still have her arm in your hand. “Do you have something you want to say?”

“Cooper, no.” Octavia tells her.

“Show some respect.” One of the scouts says.

“Bellamy.” Clarke warns.

“Easy.” Octavia has her eyes on Bellamy. “I’d stop if I were you.”

You let go of Cooper, but your expression doesn’t change.

Obika’s screaming interrupts the conversation, drawing Clarke to him. “He’s awake.”

Bellamy follows after her, but you don’t move right away, shaking your head at Octavia. 

“I don’t want to hear it from you.” She says. “Don’t lay hands on Cooper.”

“You don’t want to hear anything from me.” Your face twists. “I mean nothing to you. You said so yourself.”

You walk away, heading for the tent. By the time you enter with Octavia, they’re holding Obika down. When you look in the middle, you find that the parasite inside is pushing at his stomach, growing bigger by the second, trying to escape.

And then they do.

They burst out, blood flying through the air. You shield your face with your arm, listening to the screeching of the bugs and the squelching of the blood from Obika’s stomach. Someone must knock over a lantern, because the room begins to flash with white.

“Everybody out! Now! Go!” Bellamy shouts.

As you begin to run, a piercing pain hits your forearm. You clutch the area, thinking that you’ve been hit with one of the broken poles, and duck out of the tent. From the corner of your eye, you see Indra reach for one of the torches.

Your vision suddenly goes white, the strength in your knees being pulled from you, as a scream leaves your lips. You hit the sand, teeth grit as you hold onto your arm tighter, throwing your head back.

“Indra!” Octavia shouts. “Burn it down! Kill them all!”

“(Y/n)!” Clarke is right above you, grabbing at your arm, pulling it to your side. “Stop, stop!”

When you open your eyes, you’re already facing your arm, and you’re immediately met with the sight of one of the parasites crawling beneath your skin. A heavy wave of nausea hits you, forcing you to look away before you’re sick.

“What happened?” Octavia demands.

“I don’t know.” Clarke says. “Is there another tent we can go in?”

“Why?” Cooper asks, taking her eyes off the burning tent.

Octavia pales when she sees you on the ground. “Get her up, now!” 

Indra and Bellamy work together to pull you to your feet, which work for the first few seconds, until the tops of your thighs begin to tingle, working its way down. By the time you’re halfway to the tent, all feeling is gone, they’re just deadweight attached to your body.

“I can’t feel my legs.” You tell them, Octavia holds open the flaps.

“It must be its venom.” Clarke says. They drop you in a seat, with Indra standing behind you to hold you upright. “Put her arm on the table.” They flatten your arm against the table, putting the parasite on display. “We can’t let it get into her torso.”

You share a panicked look with Octavia. She steps forward, grabbing your free hand, and squeezing it tightly.

“I need you to make a tourniquet out of whatever you can find.” Clarke tells Bellamy. “And get me a med kit.”

“There were dozens of those worms.” Cooper says, standing off to the side. “They must lay their eggs—”

“Enough.” Octavia snaps.

“Thank you! Go!” Clarke yells at her.

“I’m right here.” Octavia squeezes your hand. “Look at me. We got this.”

You shake your head slightly. Clarke begins to wrap a cloth around your upper arm, tying it tightly.

“Will that stop it?” Bellamy asks.

“It’s not for the worm. It’s for the blood.” Clarke pants. The worm must hit the barrier, because it begins to press against it, trying to get past. You squeeze Octavia’s hand tighter, tears appearing in your eyes. “I need a knife now!”

“What are you waiting for?” Octavia asks.

“(Y/n), you gotta stop moving.”

“It fucking hurts.” You say shakily.

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it.” Indra tells Clarke.

“Okay, this is gonna hurt.” Clarke warns, and then she stabs her knife into your arm.

You try to hold your breath, not wanting to scream. White stars on a black background begin to appear within seconds, pressure building in your head. You can feel Octavia squeezing your hand, encouraging you to do it back. 

“Clarke? Clarke, you’re gonna lose it.” Bellamy says. 

“Like hell I am.” She says, digging around. “I got it! Stay still.” 

“Clarke, just pull it out.” Octavia tells her. “She’s going to pass out.”

“Please, if you can hear me, this is an emergency.” A voice comes over Bellamy’s radio.

“I got this. Take it.” Clarke tells him.

Bellamy pulls it out. “Monty, it’s me. Something tells me we got your emergency beat.”

“I doubt that. The prisoners have an eye in the sky on the mothership, and a missile system on their transport ship.” Monty tells him. Bellamy looks up, Octavia grits her teeth. 

“Missiles?” Clarke asks. 

“They're on their way to you right now. You have to move. Hide somewhere. Take cover.”

“Clarke, get this over with.” You tell her.

“One second.”

“Hide from an eye in the sky? How are we supposed to do that?” Bellamy asks.

“Murphy says we have a friend inside. If he’s right, the eye won’t be watching. You have a window, but you have to move now.” Monty tells him.

Clarke begins to pull, and you watch as this long and fat bug gets pulled out of your arm. The second it’s out, there’s instant relief, but also a painful ache in your muscle from where it had been playing around. The bug begins to screech, Clarke drops the parasite into a thermos, covering the lid.

“Where do we find cover from missiles in the middle of a wasteland?” Indra asks.

Your hand loosens on Octavia’s, her knuckles begin to turn back to their original color. She reaches to push the hair that’s stuck to your forehead, out of your face. 

“If they see us retreat, they’ll stand down.” Clarke says.

“You still don’t understand. Wonkru does not retreat.”

“You do if you want to live.” Bellamy says.

“Now is not the time for a debate. Even if we did retreat, the path home puts us in the middle of a sandstorm.” Indra’s got her eyes on Octavia.

She doesn’t care, teeth baring, “Those ruins are not our home.” She grabs onto your shoulder, leaning forward. “That valley is, and we’re taking it back.” She looks at Bellamy. “Get ready to understand.”

Octavia leaves, this time no one follows after her. You’ve managed to get a handle on your breathing, but your hands are shaking so badly that you can’t grab onto anything properly.

“How are you two together but you’re not able to talk sense into her?” Bellamy breaks the silence, looking at you.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” You tell him. “We’re not together.” You raise your eyebrows, motioning in the direction she went. “That’s why I can’t talk to her. She’s afraid of loving me, which is why she can’t value my opinion, Bellamy. And I’ve tried everything to get out of this position, for better and worse, and I get nowhere.”

“How is that possible? In the past—”

“She’s not in the right headspace.” You interrupt Clarke. “That’s what she told me and I’m tired of trying to convince her otherwise. If you want help, you’ll go to Indra. She’ll get Octavia to come to her senses.” You look at Clarke. “Can we please stitch up my arm, now?”

"So you can't get Octavia to listen to you, so you blindly support her?" Bellamy asks.

"Give me a better alternative without having her call me a traitor to Wonkru." You shoot back at him. "Because I am all out tries there, too. You should talk to Indra before it's too late."

Bellamy lets out a sigh, but takes your advice, pushing the flaps out of the way.

--

this was part of my 3k celebration!!

[cozage]

The Meaning of Justice: Chapter 3

Alabasta Desert

You’re a Marine who’s always been taught to trust the process. And you always have, until you meet a certain pirate who won’t stop pestering you to join his crew. 

Nanohana < | > Yuba | All Chapters Characters: female reader, Strawhat crew, Portgas D. Ace, Vivi

Word count: 3.7k

Cw: Alabasta Spoilers, kind of Ace x reader a bit but it’s meant platonically.

A/N: I PROMISE this isn’t an Ace fic please stay with me!!!!

--

The next morning, you woke up with your body covered with sand. You coughed, your mouth dry and caked in grit. You could tell you were moved from your initial sleeping position to behind some rocks, and Ace explained there was a sandstorm during the night. You attempted to shake out the sand from your clothes and your hair, but it seemed to be a part of you now.

After a long, exhausting walk through the desert all morning, Usopp finally spotted a cluster of rocks in the distance, which meant lunch time was close. You thought you were excited to finally eat, but Luffy took off toward the rocks in an instant. He was carrying all his crew’s supplies, which he had collected due to some wager he played with his crewmates. You opted to initially carry your own pack, but the Strawhats had convinced you to hand it over in the end.

-- 

Luffy held out his hand expectantly towards you.

“I’ll keep mine, thanks though.”

Luffy furrowed his brow. “Come on, Y/N. We’re crewmates.”

“We are not crewmates.”

The crew all eyed you suspiciously at that statement. “What?” Nami demanded. “Do you not trust us?”

“I just want to carry my own damn pack, okay?”

Zoro snorted. “She’s hiding something in there.”

“I am not!”

Zoro didn’t even bother to look at you anymore. “Then hand it over.”

You were getting irritated at their stubbornness. “No! It’s my responsibility!”

Sanji grabbed the straps of your bag, interjecting. “A lady shouldn’t have to carry things when everyone else is free handed.”

You pulled away from the cook. “Don’t touch me!”

Usopp nodded in agreement. “She’s definitely hiding something.”

“Fine!” You shoved the bag into Luffy’s grasp and he smiled that big, goofy grin at you. “Here!”

“Thanks!”

 --

You were regretting that now, since Luffy had managed to lose all the supplies. You wanted to wring his neck, but it seemed Sanji was already taking care of that for you. Once Luffy had taken his beating from the cook, he set off with the promise to return with food.

He finally did return, with a Sandora Dragon chasing after him. You tensed, seeing the giant beast, but Zoro and Sanji leapt into action with Luffy, and the three monsters of the Strawhat Crew took down the dragon in one hit. They were terrifying forces to be reckoned with, and you were glad you were on good terms with them for the time being. 

Behind you the earth shook, and you barely had time to turn around before Ace had burnt a similar beast to a crisp from the inside. Freaks of nature, you thought. The Strawhats were scary enough, but Ace taking down one on his own seemed more like he was showing off than anything. Regardless, now you had plenty of meat to go around, and Sanji cooked the food to perfection. You sat with the crew eating in silence, enjoying your high-protein meal. 

Luffy and Ace ate far more than you thought possible, and you could see the similarities between the two brothers now that you knew they were related. Though Ace appeared to be much more well-mannered than his counterpart, it was clear they had similar upbringings. They laughed the same, picked on each other relentlessly, and had similar appetites. Now that you thought about it, they even had similar fighting styles, though Luffy was more carefree than his older brother. 

“Are you still hungry, my love?” The cook spoke out beside you, making you jump away from your thoughts. You assumed he was talking to Nami, but when you made eye contact with him after a few moments, he was still looking at you expectantly.

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you talking to me?”

“Who else would I be talking to, my dear?” His eyes were starting to look more like hearts again. His pet names were the thing that threw you off the most in the group. You could handle the freaky strong crew and their overeager captain, but you had barely spoken to the chef, and yet he spoke to you as if you were his lover from the moment he met you.

You stutter for a second, still taken aback by his boldness. “Uhm, I’m good. Thanks…your name is Sanji, right?” 

When you said his name, the cook practically fainted. You weren’t entirely sure you understood what was going on. Was one of the Strawhats playing a trick on you?

“Don’t mind that idiot.” You turned in the direction of the voice to find Nami looking at the cook disappointingly. “He’s just a hopeless romantic. Next time he does that, just hit him on the head. He’ll stop eventually.”

You found her advice between a mix of comical and alarming. “Really? Has he given up on you?”

Nami’s eye twitched, and her frown deepened. She didn’t offer a response, but the clear look of annoyance on her face gave you the answer plain enough.

Raised voices came from the boys, who had grouped around a random camel that Luffy had managed to find during his food search. “Pervy Camel! Pervy Camel!” They chanted, and the navigator abandoned your side to rush to the camel’s defense.

Chopper translated the camel’s words to the crew. His name is Lashes, and he only allowed females to ride on him. The boy’s name calling made much more sense now, and you reminded yourself to add Chopper’s ability to the ever-growing report you would have to file when you return to Smoker.

“Y/N, come on!” Nami called down to you. She had already claimed her seat on top of Lashes, and the camel seems to be overly thrilled with her presence.

“Let Vivi ride. I’ll walk with the rest.” You weren’t sure if it’s your own pride or the camel’s behavior that was making you turn down the offer. You were exhausted, but if the rest of the Strawhats were walking, then so were you.

“No, Y/N, please! I would much rather walk, and I’m more comfortable in the sand,” the princess called, waving you on to take a seat.

You looked at Nami and begged a silent plea for help. Thankfully, she obliged, and reached her hand down towards the princess. “Come on, you deserve to rest too, you know.” Vivi took her hand without a further complaint, and you turned back to the camp to see if you had left any items behind.

Oh. Right. Luffy had lost all your items. The only thing left back at camp was a Sandora Dragon carcass and an orange hat. Ace’s hat. Thinking back, he hadn’t been very chatty during lunch, and you hadn’t seen him much afterwards. You walked over to pick up the hat, looking around for him as you approached.

As you picked it up, he finally appeared out from behind a rock. “Sorry, sorry, just had to take a leak!” His mouth fell open when he realized it’s you standing there, looking equally shocked back at him. You handed his hat back to him without a word, not really sure there were any to say in the first place.

He reached out for it, and then pulled his hand back. “You should wear it.”

“What?” You can’t help the bewildered tone that fell out of your mouth, and you knew that your face wasn't masking the shock either.

He pointed at you with a blank face. “Your face is red.”

“I am not blushing over the thought of wearing your hat!”

His eyes got a devious glimmer, but he bit his lip to avoid saying whatever had come to his mind. “You’re sunburnt. So wear the hat.”

You were thankful for the sunburn, because you really were blushing at his words now, and the last thing you needed was for Ace to tease you further. You stood there for a few moments, dumbfounded, and Ace eventually decided to approach you. He grabbed the hat from your hands and placed it on your head for you as he walked past, chuckling at your sudden lack of words.

Fire Fist Ace’s hat. On your head. Nobody would believe you, even if you dared to speak about it. You’d be kicked out of the Navy if anyone ever found out how friendly you were with the criminal, maybe even imprisoned. You were thankful there weren’t any snail transponder cameras around to catch you. But you had to admit, the hat was comfortable and offered you the shade that you desperately needed at the moment, so you kept it on.

“Uhmmm. Hey Y/N?” His words finally force you to unfreeze. “Where is everyone?”

You looked around and realized that all of the Strawhats are gone. It appeared to only be you and Ace in the desert.

“I didn’t even hear them leave.”

“Nah, me neither.” He looked out towards the slowly sinking sun, two-thirds of the way across the sky now. “Vivi said we’re supposed to head that way, so I guess we should just keep walking. Eventually we’ll find them again.”

You nodded and followed him. You didn’t feel as confident about it as he did, but moving in any direction was better than staying here. Neither of you talked for a long while, trying to conserve energy. 

“So,” Ace said, breaking the silence of the desert heat with his words. “Why’d you become a Marine?”

“My parents were Marines.” It was the answer you always gave. A legacy of legacies, they called you. You hadn’t even done anything of note in the Navy, but the title was bestowed upon you nonetheless.

“But why did you become a Marine?”

You thought about his question for a moment. You had lots of reasons for joining the Marines, but none of them seemed honorable enough to say out loud.

“I want to find justice.” It’s not perfect, but that feels like the closest answer to what you feel.  

Ace snorted at your answer, and you shot him an irritated look. “What?”

“Nothing,” he chuckled again slightly. “That’s just what the man who raised me said too.”

You raised an eyebrow at that. “You were raised by a Marine?”

“Who’d you think I was raised by?”

A smile flickered over your lips. “Honestly, I assumed you were raised by some wolves in the jungle.”

Ace hummed in response. “You’re not far off.”

And that ended the conversation between the two of you for a while.

--

You didn’t speak again until a giant scorpion appeared. Its pinchers snapped in your direction, and your eyes flicked between the beast and Ace.

“You or me?” You asked.

“I got it.” He pulled back his fist and ignited it, aiming for the monster. He slammed a wall of fire into it, heat rolling over you in waves.

You stood there for a second, staring at the now crispy scorpion. “That was a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

He laughed and flicked the brim of the hat on your head. “You don’t get a reputation like mine by blending in.”

You chose to ignore his comment, but the two of you only walked a few steps before encountering another beast. A large purple lizard, who was intent on mimicking your movements and blocking your path.

Ace’s fist formed flames, ready to send the giant gecko flying, before you stepped in.

“Let’s ride it,” you offered up, and you saw a smirk appear across his freckled face. The two of you worked together to wrangle the purple beast. After a few minutes, you were both sitting atop its head, cruising through the sand.

After a few hours, you all arrived at the outskirts of a town. Ace looked at you and raised an eyebrow. “Shall we check it out?”

You nodded, and he jumped off the gecko. Once he was on the ground, he reached up, offering his hand to you. You hesitated, but took it, and jumped down onto the soft sand next to him.

You all snuck into the town, following the scent of food to an upstairs corridor. You both stood at the door, listening in on the conversation.

“But what happens after we run away? Live on the brink of starvation again?” One voice questioned from inside the room.

“You moron!” shouted the other; who you assumed to be the leader of the group. “Staying alive is all that matters! There are plenty of other villages like this!”

You were furious at the men's conversation in the room. You looked to Ace, ready to charge in on the fake rebels, but he had disappeared from his post beside you.

“You cowards got some real guts to call yourselves rebel soldiers.” His voice came from inside the room, and you looked in to find Ace seated at the table, eating dinner casually.

“If you ask me,” he said, with his mouth full. “It’s a pretty despicable thing for four grown men to do.”

The men tried to attack Ace, but it was over before it even began, with three of the four men ending up in bins behind him. The last man, the leader of the group, kneeled in front of Ace, begging him for help.

“Please, sir! Help us! Take care of the sand bandits that are endangering this town. We are too weak, but you’re no ordinary man. Help us! We’ll give you whatever you want!”

“Anything?” You could hear the smirk on Ace’s face even though his face was being blocked by the man in front of him.

“Yes, yes! Anything!”

“Come on in, Y/N.” His voice carried into the hallway, and you peeked your head in the doorway. Ace turned back to the man to address him. “This is just the start of it. I need one more thing, too.”

After both you and Ace had eaten your fair share of food, he gathered up a sand sled of supplies, and the two of you headed out of town to find the sand pirates that these fake rebels were so afraid of.

The whole encounter with the fake protectors left a bad taste in your mouth. “Frauds like that shouldn’t be protecting a town like that. They’re just doing it for free lodging and food. They’re not going to put in effort when push comes to shove.”

“How do you know they won’t protect them?”

“They said so! Didn’t you hear them? They’re only here for food.”

“Times are hard in Alabasta, if you haven’t noticed.” You heard some annoyance in Ace’s voice, but you chose to ignore it.

“It’s not right for them to use the town like that and give nothing in return.”

Ace only hummed in response, his indicator that the conversation was over, and you all walked in silence for a while, until you saw an outline of a group of people. The Strawhats.

“Ah, so you’re the sand pirates everyone in the town is so afraid of.” Ace led the sled of supplies over to the pirate crew.

“Sand pirates?” Luffy questioned.

Ace threw the sled of supplies towards the Strawhats. “Eat up, they have plenty to spare.”

Ace filled the group in on the situation in the town, and you sat by quietly, watching the groups’ reaction.

Vivi finally spoke up. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing if they want to operate under a fake alias, as long as they’re willing to protect the town when they need to.”

“But they won’t,” you interjected, and everyone looked over at you, surprised to hear you voice your opinion. “They said so. They were already talking about running before we got there.”

“I want to see what they’ll do,” Vivi said again.

“You want to test them?” Ace clarified, looking at the princess. She nodded, and the Strawhats began to form a plan.

“You can’t be a part of it,” Ace said, looking at you. “You’ll have to hide with Vivi and Nami.”

You agreed. If there was any speculation that a Marine was in the area, the whole trial would be ruined. You didn’t have any clothes or accessories that scream Navy anymore, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. You took your place behind the rock with the other girls, and watched the scene unfold.

In the end, the brothers stood their ground, though they had to be backed into a pretty tight corner to do so. The eldest brother managed to land a punch on Luffy, even if the pirate let him do so. Vivi made the call to retreat, certain that the brother’s hearts were in the right place. You weren’t as confident in their abilities, but you decided to trust the princess’s judgment on the matter. It was her country, after all.

After you retreated, you sat with the girls as Sanji prepared a celebratory snack for you all. The three of you watched the others interacting with each other. Zoro and Luffy appeared to be fighting over a drumstick, which you were learning was a common occurrence. 

Nami scoffed at the brawl in front of you. “Ace is so different from his younger brother. So much more well-mannered.”

You nodded in agreement, your eyes looking over at Fire Fist, sitting alone on the rocks.

“He’s very mature,” you agreed, but you didn’t allow yourself to say any more than that.

“It just makes his determination to find Blackbeard that much more admirable,” Vivi piped in.

You hadn’t heard of that name before. “Blackbeard?”

Nami and Vivi both looked at you with surprise. “You don’t know?” Nami questioned. “Blackbeard was a crewmate of Ace’s. He killed another member of the Whitebeard Pirates and fled, and now Ace is chasing after him. He’s going to kill Blackbeard to get justice for his fallen crewmate.”

Justice. Murdering another person to get revenge. That was Ace’s form of justice. It left you with conflicted feelings. You knew that the government wouldn’t worry about one pirate's life; Ace’s crew member probably had a bounty on his head that proved the government didn’t care about him. If the government wasn’t going to help Ace or Whitebeard, it made sense to take the burden upon himself. Just like how Vivi did with her country.

Vivi and Nami continued in their conversation, but you were too caught up in your own thoughts about justice and morality to listen. You were lost in your own world of defining justice versus crime until Luffy started screaming about flying meat and took off running off across the stonecrop. Ace took off as well, in a different direction than his brother, and the rest of the crew took note to pack up and follow.

You found Ace cornering two children. They appeared to be cowering, scared for their lives. You couldn’t blame them; you remember being intimidated by Ace more than the entire Strawhat Crew when you first met him just a few days ago.

“Please, you have to help us find this man!” The eldest boy held up a picture, and Ace bent down to look at it.

“Yeah, I’ll help you,” Ace said casually. “I’m looking for him anyway.”

“You know him?” You glanced over his shoulder, peering down at the picture.

“Yeah, that’s Scorpion.” Ace stood, scanning the horizon. “Apparently, he’s the one who caught Blackbeard.”

You raised your eyebrow in response. It didn’t seem very likely that a man like that could catch a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.

“That guy caught Blackbeard?” Ussop said, and you’re grateful that someone else voiced your inner thoughts. Ace didn’t say anything. He was scanning the horizon, waiting for something or someone to appear.

“Two people, and a bird,” Ace muttered under his breath. You heard something coming towards you as well, but not as exact as what the flame user has described. You tilt your - Ace’s - hat up, trying to get a better view of what is coming over the horizon.

A man appeared on an ostrich, challenging Ace to a battle. Scorpion. He looked even more unimpressive in the flesh.

“Oi, Aceeee!” Luffy’s voice emerged from behind the man, and he jumped off the ostrich as it began to run towards Fire Fist. “Don’t hold any punches!”

“Like I would do that!” Ace hollered back, but you can tell his fighting style is reserved against the old man. He is holding back, playing a more defensive role than an attacking one. He’s preserving the man’s dignity while protecting himself. Not that it would matter if he did get hit. You knew that Ace was a logia type, and the weapons this man possessed weren’t capable of piercing through his flame body.

After a few pitiful attacks, Scorpion fell into a sand pit, making it impossible for him to attack. You knew the fight was over, and you waited for Ace to make a final blow. But it never came. Instead, Portgas D. Ace granted mercy to the man who tried to kill him. You hated to admit that you were surprised. You kept waiting for the other shoe to drop on this man. You kept waiting to see the reason he had a 550 million berry bounty, but it just never came. 

“Sorry,” Ussop sighed, looking at Scorpion at the bottom of the sand pit. “But you never stood a chance.”

 You found yourself agreeing with the long-nosed Strawhat. In fact, you weren’t sure if anyone on the first half of the Grand Line stood a chance against Fire Fist Ace.

After the encounter with Scorpion and the boys, Ace pulled you aside from the group.

“So.” He picked the hat off your head and placed it back on his own. “Have you thought about your answer?”

You’re too stunned to reply. You had thought you were going to have more time to think about it. “You’re leaving?”

“Blackbeard isn’t here.” He shrugged. “No reason for me to stay.”

“Crocodile?”

Ace laughed at your concern. “Luffy’s got it, you don’t have to worry about him.”

You found yourself surprised at how casual Ace was being with his brother in the face of such daunting circumstances. Going up against a warlord was no easy feat, but both Luffy and Ace didn’t seem bothered by the challenges either of them would have to face in the near future. You hated how admirable their personalities were.

“I’ll do it,” you finally said. You wished you could deny his request, but after the past few days with the Strawhats, you have to say yes. “I’ll protect him. When I can.”

Ace's eyes lit up, and he tilted his hat towards you in appreciation. “Thank you, Miss Marine.”

He left you, and headed for the Strawhats to say his goodbyes. You stood outside of earshot, letting them have their private moment. You didn’t want to hear what kind of information they were exchanging anyway. You were already going to have a hard enough time lying on your report as is, you didn’t need more things to add to it. You did manage to hear one thing that Ace said, though. “Next time we meet, we’ll both be top pirates!” You found yourself hopeful that he’s right.

Ace appeared next to your side as the Strawhats said goodbye to Scorpion and his children.

“Are you coming with me? I can take you back to Nanohana to meet up with the Navy, if you’d like.”

You considered it for a moment. You’d been gone for a while now, and you were sure Smoker was starting to get concerned. Any other Marine probably would’ve taken the pirate up on his offer. No-any other Marine probably would’ve died long ago.

“No thanks. I’ll stick with the Strawhats for now.”

Ace smirked at you, like he knew something you didn’t. “See you soon, Miss Marine.”

“I sure hope not.” And just like the sun that’s setting behind you, he’s gone in an instant.

[the-bar-sinister]

Sandstorms and Starfall (43160 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 10/15

Summary: When Vivi makes a midnight escape from the palace of Alabasta and flees the country in an attempt to get stronger and rejoin the Straw Hat pirates as a full crew member she finds herself unsure of her path forward. That is until a chance meeting brings her face to face with her former enemy, and former hero, Sir Crocodile who agrees to help her on her quest to find a devil fruit for herself.

It's surprisingly easy to make peace with the former warlord, if not to forgive or trust him. But the longer she spends around him, and the former Baroque Works agents helping her find her way through the Grand Line, the more she finds that the troubles in her heart are not the simple ones that she expected to be facing.

catch up here

-

There'd been a toast. A toast and a celebration in the name of Vivi's new bounty, no less. Crocodile had called everyone together, drinks were poured in the galley and everyone passed her poster around and congratulated her.

'You're an official pirate now, Vivi!' had been the common exclamation as her back was slapped and her side was ribbed. They'd talked excitedly about what this meant—Vivi felt more like a part of the crew again than she had in a while at that very moment.

Crocodile had lingered close the entire time to her, his arm slung over her at one point, and the scent of his cologne and the cigar he smoked still heavy at the back of her nose. He'd refused to leave her side the entire time—congratulating her numerous times for himself.

Her heart was still beating fast when she'd wound up in the ladies' bunk again, laying on her bunk as Marianne and Zala sat near her. Zala punched her shoulder again, purring affectionately that 'she was in the big leagues now' again and prodding her teasingly about the massive bounty.

Marianne offered to paint her a commemorative picture, which Vivi took her up on with a laugh.

She was comfortable with them, the girls of Baroque Works, but her mind was still on her conversation with Bentham, the way he saw right through her crush on Crocodile. Was it true that Crocodile felt the same? Did it mean they were getting closer?

She didn't dare bring it up to the other girls yet—she knew exactly what would happen. Zala would get the idea of 'matchmaker' in her head and it'd turn into a whole thing. As she started to turn red, drawing the curious eye of the quiet Marianne, she changed her train of thought to the poster itself.

'Alive'. They'd taken the bounty out on her alive. Her father, no doubt was the reason for that. They wanted to drag her back to Alabasta to make her a princess instead of a pirate again. Her smile grew a little grim as she thought that one day— one day she'd make sure that changed to 'dead or alive'.

She'd just have to prove to the world that she wasn't just some expensive runaway.

Marianne and Zala would agree with her, of course. The two of them knew her better and better each day. She just had to prove it to the rest of the world. She held the poster up over her head with a smile.

Starting tomorrow, she was going to get stronger—stronger and stronger until the World Government knew to fear the name Vivi D. Nefertari , rather than ever think they could control it.

—

The sun broke through her sleep early that morning, the ache of alcohol in her head as she roused herself through her morning routine quick as she could. With barely a breakfast in her stomach and just enough coffee to cut through the hangover, Vivi made her way for Crocodile's cabin for her first real day of haki training.

She knocked, a little hesitantly, on the door. 

"Come in." The voice behind the door was gruff. Rougher than usual. But then she remembered how much of a morning person Crocodile wasn't. It was a little surprising even that he'd decided to do their training that early. Maybe there was something about it in the book. 

Vivi opened the door and peeked her head inside with a squint against the light and a smile. "Helloooo Croccy-dile! It's Vivi." 

Crocodile was arranged at the little desk in the room, somewhat hunched over the book. There was a large carafe of coffee next to him. He closed the book with a flick of his hook as he turned to her with a curled smirk.

"You're in good spirits this morning, Viv."

Vivi laughed as she shut the door behind her. "Well…I mean. What can I say? I've gotten a bit excited about the idea of training with you? And haki's about will, right? And will's kind of tied into a positive can-do spirit." 

"I'd say 'well no wonder I haven't mastered it yet', but that would leave Mihawk a fucking mystery," he drawled. "If a positive can-do spirit is essential he's burning his for fuel in the back."

He stood up and poured coffee from the carafe into a mug and offered it to her.

Vivi flushed with a laugh, as she grabbed the coffee mug with a shake of her head. Mihawk— well, he really did lack a positive can-do spirit, didn't he? She didn't know him well, but she'd seen him and heard about him enough to know just how absolutely stoic the man was.

"Maybe he's really good at hiding it?"

She leaned in towards him with a grin, taking a moment to look him over—to take him in in the morning light.

"I'll give him an acting award."

Crocodile ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing it behind his ear. There was no hair oil slicked through it yet, and it was wispy and fly-away. This early he wasn't as fully put together as she usually saw him. No coat, not even the habitual waistcoat he wore, just his pants, and a linen shirt that she could see the underline of his undershirt, and the curve of his strong arms through. It was a more rugged, less deliberate side of him. One she doubted most people ever saw.

It was one she knew she hadn't seen until this day. Her eyes lingered on the curve of his arms through the shirt, on the way the linen clung to his body now that he'd recovered from the stress of the Alabasta mess—he was stronger now, healthier—

Vivi felt her face heating up as she smiled awkwardly and stifled any stupid comments with a long sip of her coffee, nodding in lieu of saying anything for the moment. 

He raised his arched eyebrows, a little smirk still painted on his face. "You alright there, doll? Morning finally catch up to you?"

Crocodile chuckled at his own joke and turned briefly to grab his own cup of coffee now that his hand was free. 

"Mebbe," Vivi murmured through her sip of coffee as she tried to compose herself. Bentham's little pep talk still rang in her mind—and she felt her whole body shiver with a flustered excitement. Did he know? Could he?

She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Maybe a bit. But i"m ready to train, I promise!" 

"Good. Then as soon as I'm good and ready, we'll start." He laughed and sipped from his mug. "Congrats again, on your bounty."

Vivi perked up with a broad grin. "Thanks, Crocodile—it's a pretty high one isn't it? I ah, I'm a little offended they want me alive, but—well. I'm sure that'll change soon enough." 

"Once you manage to get out there and piss 'em off, doll," he snickered. "For now, it's more of a 'lost princess' type bounty. But you'll show them your true colors, won't you?"

Her true colors. It sounded like Crocodile was really starting to believe in her as a pirate.

Vivi felt the blush deepen, and the smile spread across her face at the compliment. He believed in her as a pirate. He didn't just see her as a princess with 'some spirit' who was trying—he saw her as a pirate. 

Crocodile knew her true nature. She took a sip of her coffee to swallow her excitement, and nodded. "I will, and real soon too—they're going to see that I'm not the little lost princess they think. One day—one day soon they'll know exactly what I really am." 

"And if we have anything to say about it you'll be ready for that day. Ready enough anyway," he said. "Otherwise the sea's going to eat you alive."

He was speaking from experience, of course.

She took an impulsive step forward and put her hand on the curve of his hook.

"With your help, Sir Crocodile—I know I'll be ready. I promise I'll be ready. I'm going to work hard every day to make sure I am!" 

He set his mug down with a heavy click, the cool curve of his hook still resting against her palm. "Well then we'd better get down to work, eh, doll?"

Ten minutes later the two of them were seated cross legged on the narrow space of the captain's bed. The small area meant that his knee brushed hers as they practiced the breathing exercises outlined in the book.

It was— a little distracting, the very gentle and very faint physical touch a constant reminder of how close they were. But she didn't let herself get distracted— she couldn't. Even if she snuck a few looks at him every other breathe in—a glance before she breathed out.

This was important after all, this was her training in techniques that would save her life one day. 

Crocodile's wide chest rose and fell as he breathed in, and out, his dark eyes squeezed shut. From the look on his face it seemed like he was having a bit of difficulty relaxing himself like she was. Again, she couldn't help but notice how much better he looked now than he had in those last days in Alabasta, and in the first days even that she'd reconnected with him on Espree Island.

He'd been pale. Thin. He was more tanned now, and he'd put on weight, most of it, it seemed, in muscle. She couldn't help but wonder. In those last months in Alabasta, he must not have been eating, or sleeping well. Must not have spent much time outdoors.

And then there had been Impel Down.

The world had given a beating to him, but he was healing. The sea air, the sun and the activity of working the ship together with his growing crew—he was healing. Her breath caught in her throat, a hiccup in her breathing exercise as she wandered into the thought that he looked really handsome again.

Had she changed since the start of the journey? If she had—had he noticed in the same way she couldn't help but notice he had?

She flushed, looking quickly down and trying to recenter her breathing. Crocodile had always been handsome. This wasn't something new. I'd thought the same thing—back when we'd dance in the Alabastan palace during the balls. It's not new. 

It's not something to be distracted by. 

Despite that, it had been distracting back then, too. But she had to master this. The first step to mastering haki.

If she was going to master her inner will—she'd first have to master her ridiculous crush. 

Eventually, she felt a tingle through her body that didn't have anything to do with her proximity to Crocodile.

She felt the tingling shudder roll through her, and couldn't quite stop the gasp that escaped as she buckled down—she tried not to let the feeling slip away, she held tight to it and tried to draw it further out. 

The sensation spread from her core and through her arms, pooling in her hands.

Her fingers clenched gently on her lap as she stilled her breathing. The gentle tingle pooling in her hands—the warmth of it gathering. It was exactly what the book had mentioned, exactly what she'd been told it should feel like when she finally tapped into that latent aptitude.

She just had to figure out how to use it. 

The soft, hissing sound of sand from the hourglass that Crocodile had set ran out and stopped, signaling the end of the exercise.

Vivi's eyes snapped open, and she looked at Crocodile with a wide smile. "Croc—Crocodile, I could feel it! For a moment I could really, really feel it!" 

Crocodile grinned a long, sly grin at her. "Good going, doll. Want to move onto the next exercise?"

Vivi flexed her fingers, looking down at them with a wide smile for a moment before she looked into his eyes with an eager nod. She'd leaned forward—forward enough that she brought herself closer than she'd meant to to him—lost in her excitement. "I'm ready!" 

He looped his arm around her shoulders when she came near and smirked. "Donno if you're gonna like this one."

Vivi was maybe a bit too wrapped up in their proximity and the warmth of his arm over her shoulder to properly dread what came next. She smiled. "I –I dunno about that Crocodile, how bad can it be?" 

And then the next half hour was with Crocodile smacking her knuckles with a long, whiplike stick.

She hissed, understanding the concept—she was pretty sure what the lesson was trying to encourage—but it didn't mean it didn't hurt like crazy.

"You can see why I didn't have a lot of patience for this when Mihawk was trying to teach me 25 years ago," Crocodile drawled. He rapped her knuckles with the stick again.

"Yeah…" Vivi winced as she tried reaching deep down inside herself again, her whole body shaking as she tried to get that feeling to pool back in her hands again. "I'm starting to see why! And why nobody ever bothered to try and actually teach me be—OW!" 

Crocodile chuckled, and she saw his eyes lingering on the pink of her knuckles. "Guessing you didn't quite get it yet. Wanna try me for a few minutes and let 'em cool off?"

He brushed the cool curve of the back of his hook over her sore hands.

She shivered for a moment, the cool of the hook soothing the stinging pain. "I…m-maybe yeah. Just for a moment. But I think I'm starting to get close, I just need to get that feeling back."

She turned her hand to rub it against the smooth curve of his hook.

The metal lingered there for a moment, and when he slipped the stick into her other hand, his hand lingered there, too.

"We'll show em, doll."

Vivi nodded, looking up at him as she let her stinging fingers brush against him for a moment. "We'll show 'em….once we get the trick we'll show them."

She was hesitant to let go—maybe it was the soothing warmth. But was he just as hesitant? For a moment she thought so, his narrow dark eyes watching her as skin and metall lingered on skin.

Then he stepped back and raised his chin, and presented his hand to her, broad, and rough, and covered in rings.

Vivi took a deep breath, before she smiled at him and took a step back to prepare her aim. She looked at his hands for a moment before bringing the stick down hard against the back of his hand. 

His hand twitched, and the edge of his lip tugged. "Again."

Vivi nodded with a slight huff of breath, before she raised it once again and sent it slapping against the back of his hand. It was a painful process for him as it was for her—that was the way of it, right? You had to feel that sting of pain—you had to fight through it and concentrate that power to protect yourself from it. 

-

Crocodile endured sting after sting from the little stick in Vivi's hands. It barely hurt, but every time he felt it he felt a little sting of humiliation as well. He had no talent for haki, that's what he'd always been told by his father. That was what his father had always used to make him feel worthless. Mihawk had believed in him, but he'd let Mihawk down.

It wasn't fair! Fucking Doflamingo was throwing out haki blasts to bring a mob to its knees before he hit puberty! 

Crocodile was more than 40 years old and he couldn't even block a stick.

There was a reason that he had sworn Vivi to secrecy. But would she think less of him if she mastered the skill and it continued to elude him? He liked Vivi. He always had. That was what made everything so damned difficult! And it was more difficult now that she was around him again— seemed to be enjoying his company again.

If he humiliated himself in front of her he might just throw himself off the damned ship.

The stick stung his knuckles again and he snarled.

-

Ten minutes of practice in, and Vivi could sense Crocodile's rising frustration, bubbling away. She had a feeling about why—it was the same reason she'd been fretting to herself the entire time she was swatting at his hands.

The concern that they didn't have a knack for it, that they wouldn't be able to make the theories connect into something functional.

She liked Crocodile—she liked him enough that Bentham was able to see right through her. His company was wonderful—his charm infectious, and his newfound determination and ambition attractive. But this was an old wound.

She lowered the stick somewhat with a furrow of her brow, before she reached out to place her hand on the back of his knuckles. 

"...hey, Croccy." She tried the nickname—hoping that he didn't reject it instantly. 

He did raise his eyebrows rather significantly, giving her a dubious look. But some of the abject irritation had gone out of his face at the same time.

"Yeah, Viv?"

She gave him her best smile, a big and warm smile as she squeezed his hand under hers. "You're getting lost in your own head, I think. Frustrated—I think that's probably what's making it hard. So I'm gonna try and help you calm down." 

"I've heard sometimes anger helps," he grumbled, Still he cocked his head as if waiting to see what she was going to say or do.

"If a lot of anger helped, I think you and I woulda been haki masters by now," Vivi stuck her tongue out at him as she tilted her head to the side in thought. 

She warred with herself for a moment. Conflicting ideas pinged in her mind, including one very tempting thought to surprise him with an embrace.

But she was trying not to distract him!

"W-we're gonna try that breathing thing again. Close your eyes, and visualize the haki with me." She shifted until she was sitting closer to him, and took a deep breath to lead him. 

He grimaced, some of the frustration coming back into his face. "That's not gonna— fine. Fine." With his mouth a thin line, he closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath.

It was impulse, a pure and insane impulse that drove her with the thin excuse of 'it'll surprise him out of his melancholy and maybe help him make a breakthrough. It'll certainly clear YOUR head too'.

But when he closed his eyes and took a breath, Vivi closed the distance and stole a quick peck of a nervous kiss before dropping back down and grabbing the stick again with a vivid flush.

She gave his knuckles an arbitrary whap. 

There was a hard knocking sound as the stick hit his knuckles that was almost lost in the sound of his startled grunt.

Vivi cracked her eyes open to glance down at him as she took a soft little breath. Her heart was racing as the impulse cooled to leave the action of what she'd done reverberating in her head.

I kissed Sir Crocodile. She squeaked out loud, preparing for repercussion, even as she stared down at his hand. The air seemed to darken and ripple down his fingers and up his arm. 

He wasn't staring at that, though– he was staring at her.

Vivi's face was flushing red, looking anywhere but in his eyes as she focused in on his arm again, shifting in her seat.

Her madwoman's theory had paid off—that was haki. That was armament haki coating Crocodile's arm. So at least there was that—even if she still couldn't fathom why she'd thought it was a good idea.

She'd tried to leave her crush in the past, so hard, and in a stunning lack of willpower—she'd crumbled. 

Apparently, though, in doing so it had ignited something in him.

"Viv."

Vivi brushed her hair over her ear with a timid grin. 

"...it worked, Croccy."

It took a valiant effort, but she'd managed to look up to meet his eyes again. 

He was staring at her in bemused disbelief, his face a scattered mix of expressions she had seen him wear before. None of them were anger.

"What worked?"

Vivi whacked his hand again with a widening grin. 

"my little scheme—I've gotten you out of your own head, Croccy and look…haki." 

She tried to stave off the embarrassment—the excitement, that was excitement, wasn't it? A vibrating, buzzy sort of excitement that pooled inside her like the haki had in their visualization exercise—but this was something different.

She'd kissed him. And he wasn't angry—he wasn't angry at all! 

Crocodile apparently hadn't noticed anything but the kiss. He looked down at his hand and raised it, turning it back and forth as the force radiated over it.

Vivi whapped the back of it again as it turned towards her, breaking down into a desperate giggle. "And all it took was a kiss, huh?" 

Crocodile stared at her. Suddenly, he felt very tall. And the room felt very close, and he was very, very close to her. He said nothing as she giggled, not a word. His silence, and his closeness only stirred the giddy, flustered embarrassment still rolling inside her. Every silent moment was another moment to start worrying that maybe she had made a mistake.

He moved suddenly like a striking snake. 

That hand, still coated in the haki of his will, grabbed her suddenly by the collar and pulled her against him, the flat of his hook suddenly pressing up against her back as he pressed his lips to hers in a very, very different kind of kiss than she'd just surprised him with.

Vivi gasped, and arched against the flat of his hook. Her lips parted—accepting the kiss even as her rational mind froze up in surprise. Her hand rested on his chest, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt as she moved on the same impulse that drew her to kiss him in the first place.

She deepened the kiss with a murmur of satisfaction. Crocodile held her tightly. He was a strong man. A rough man. A passionate man. All these came through in the depth and ferocity of his kiss. As if he were celebrating, yes. But as if he'd been waiting, too.

Her head spun, and when he let her lips go she was breathless, and he was smiling the long smile that was so like his namesake.

Vivi gasped, catching her breath as her fingers squeezed the fabric of his shirt, her eyes on that long and handsome smile. She'd always liked Sir Crocodile's rough edges, all the way back to the day she'd met him. Even if he was always a perfect gentleman to her, she could tell—he was a pirate after all, and he'd always had those pirate edges.

The passion—the ferocity of his kiss had swept her off her feet for a moment and left her speechless. It was a celebration. A long awaited celebration. 

"C…ah.." she felt her face heating up again. "Crocodile…" 

The edge of his smile curled further into a rather nasty smirk. "Problem, Viv? If there is, I'll remind you, you started it."

Vivi puffed her flushed cheek before she whacked his haki-coated arm with the stick again. 

"I did, and I'll have you know I HARDLY regret it! Maybe it'll help me have a breakthrough too, eh??" 

Crocodile chuckled as she whacked him. "Maybe. Now I just have to figure out how to turn it on and off. I can't believe it though– it actually. I. Huh."

He seemed genuinely shocked that he had managed it.

"I told you," Vivi said, leaning on her hand. "You were getting too lost in your own head—probably thinking about how frustrated you were that you couldn't do it. Telling yourself all kinds of stuff. I knew that if I just—distracted you from telling yourself you couldn't, then I was sure you'd manage at least a flicker of it!" 

-

Crocodile found himself thunderstruck by half a dozen different circumstances. The flash of haki. The kiss. Vivi's daring— and her insight.

Was he really that easy to read? Or was it just that Vivi could read him. Perhaps those long ago hours at those far away boring parties chatting smalltalk over canapes, combined with her two year infiltration of his organization had given her some real look into his mind.

It was as intriguing as it was vulnerable, and he rankled under it not unpleasantly. Vivi, former princess of Alabasta, was nothing like his old first mate Mihawk. And yet that was the only connection that Crocodile could make. The last person who had cut straight through him emotionally that way.

"Well, doll, what can I say. I guess you were right." He smirked at her coyly. "Wonder what it will take to get some out of you?"

-

Vivi felt like her stomach had become some kind of butterfly terrarium. When the thought came to kiss Crocodile, she'd had the genuine inkling that it was one of the only ways to snap him out of what she could tell was a spiral.

A spiral—something about him she'd started to notice and notice in hindsight all the more. When Crocodile got into a mood or a train of thought, he'd be sucked down into it deeper than most people could reach.

But she'd reached him. She'd somehow read him correctly and done just what was needed to yank him out of it, and into the right state of mind. She was surprised it had somehow worked.

She swallowed, trying to push down the butterfly feeling in her stomach and the yearning pang in her chest for more moments of intimate closeness just like that.

She smiled at him, trying to push the bravado they liked in one another to the surface. "I wonder. We'll have to experiment, huh?" 

He dragged the flat of his hook up her spine and it sent a tingle through her body that reached down to her toes. "I should have known when I invited you to train with me, you'd be interested in experimenting."

His coy tone was thick with unmistakable double meaning.

The warm shudder rolled through her body as his hook traced her spine. It took her back; back to the times they'd danced together in the past, his hook looped around her waist. But this—this was a very different context, wasn't it? A very different touch.

The butterflies grew agitated, fluttering about as she looked up at him with a shy smile. 

"Well, Sir Crocodile, I guess you hadn't quite gotten a handle on my adventurous personality." 

"I guess I hadn't. But I think I'm getting a better handle on it now, doll." He chuckled that sinister chuckle of his, and the tip of his hook tickled the back of his neck. "Funny, just the other day I was telling Bentham he was full of shit."

"He told me," Vivi gasped softly, her skin prickling in a way that was far from unpleasant. She'd been on the other end of his hook in other, less pleasant circumstances—but this. There was something about the gentle touch of his hook that sent a fond, warm flush through her body. "He told me that you swore up and down that there wasn't anything going on between us." 

"I didn't think there was. Well, no, I didn't think you were interested." He chuckled and shook his head. "Guess I was wrong. Can you blame me for thinking otherwise?"

"In your defense, I was kind of trying to tell myself I wasn't interested," Vivi laughed shyly, brushing her hair back, and sending it falling over his hook.

Hesitantly, she reached out to brush her fingers against his lower jaw. "He saw right through me. Bentham did, I mean—yesterday he spent the whole afternoon basically teasing me about my 'super obvious crush'." 

He laughed, leaning in toward her again. She could feel the stubble on his chin under his fingers. "Musta been right before I walked in, eh? No wonder you looked flustered."

"I'd thought you had heard, I was sure you'd overheard and were just—I dunno, holding off on saying anything because you weren't interested." Vivi glanced away, even as she brushed her fingers against his stubble "I mean, we've got a pretty complicated history." 

"Complicated history." Crocodile dragged the curve of his hook down her back again and watched her shiver. "That's one way to put it. And we'd better get out of this cabin for a while unless you wanna make it more complicated by lunchtime. I'm a gentleman, Viv, but I'm still a man, and I'm still a pirate."

Vivi's face went scarlet as his meaning struck home. He wasn't wrong—the atmosphere was charged, especially with the way her body shivered with each brush of his hook down her spine. If they weren't careful—well. He was a man, and Vivi—Vivi was a woman who'd spent a lot of time since she'd left home learning just what sort of needs she had.

"I'm a pirate too, don't forget. There's a pretty low limit for my sense of propriety."

It looked like maybe she wouldn't be mastering haki just this moment—not with the way she'd gotten distracted. Not with the way the cabin kept them so close and within arms reach of any wayward affectionate impulse. 

"Oh at this point there's no way I could possibly—"

The ship suddenly shuddered under their feet, as a terrible noise rolled through it.

Vivi squeaked, and wrapped her arms around him with a low hiss of breath. 

"What the—??" Whatever it was, it wasn't good. It could have been anything—a reef, an enemy ship, a sea monster—she looked at Crocodile with wide eyes. "We—we should probably go make sure that's not something serious." 

"Looks like we're going to have to wait til after lunch after all," he growled, holding her close to him for just a moment as the ship shuddered again. Then he pulled her up and toward the door. "Come on, doll."

Vivi stumbled to her feet with a low hiss of breath through her teeth. So it seemed. Fate, the universe, bad sense—something had spoken and said firmly it wasn't the time. For both mastering haki, and romance.

She hoped the universe had a damn good answer for getting in the way. 

[bodacious-energizedprotodermis]

the conversation that Lionpaw and Brambleclaw have about Lionpaw being upset with Hollypaw is fucking weird.

was it always supposed to be Hollypaw who caught on to Lionpaw sneaking out with Heatherpaw? or was something else supposed to happen, possibly in addition to that, that would have some cat who was not Hollypaw doubting Lionpaw's loyalty?

because.

Brambleclaw talks about Hollypaw like he would any rando cat in the Clan. not like Hollypaw is Lionpaw's sister, and Brambleclaw's daughter. he doesn't even ask why his children - or even just why two of his Clanmates - are having such a serious disagreement. he's the Clan deputy, this sounds like something he should care about.

I recall in New Prophecy Sandstorm confronting Squirrelflight about squashing the arguments between her and Brambleclaw if only for the sake of them being able to work together for the good of the Clan (Brambleclaw also should have received a similar talking-to, but whatever).

instead, Brambleclaw draws comparisons between himself and Lionpaw and having to prove himself over and over to his Clanmates because, yknow. Tigerstar.

but...it falls kinda flat if you remember that Hollypaw is ALSO Tigerstar's kin???

"You can't force Hollypaw to believe in you. You have to show her that you are worth believing in."

what??? would he say something similar about Tawnypelt???

this book is fucking weird about kin btw. Hollypaw keeps thinking about potentially fighting her newborn cousins in ShadowClan someday and gets very conflicted about it. she also thinks about her friend, Willowpaw, and how having relationships in other Clans is messy (something she relays to Lionpaw about his relationship with Heatherpaw).

but, fuck Mothwing, I guess. so far she's never brought up in the context of kin in another Clan or loose relationships with a cat in RiverClan. she meets both criteria!

on that same note, after all of Lionpaw's wonderings about Hawkfrost's death in the previous book, he hasn't thought about it at all even though he gets to talk to the ghost himself all the time. not a big deal, it's just odd that he totally forgot. he hasn't once thought of Hawkfrost or Tigerstar as being his kin. did he forget? did he read ahead?

I'm not done with the book yet tho, so catch me next time when all my gripes have been refuted and I look stupid. it's gonna take a little while, Dark River is a bit of a slog with the crushing ableism and weird character choices.

[youhavebeentraceyd]

due to welcome to night vale's resurgence in the tumblr world, i thought I'd reach out to anyone interested in listening to the show that you shouldn't be intimidated by the number of episodes. it's not a binge type of show, you can relax and take your time.

but if you're wondering what are the top tier episodes to look forward to, I'd say:

• ep 2 "Glow Cloud" - Starting out strong with the floating cat in the bathroom 🐱🐈‍⬛ its just a cat floating in the bathroom.

•ep 4 "PTA Meeting" - sets up a lot of lore nicely, like hey don't look at or even think about The Dog Park ok? It also features one of my favourite weather segments "Closer" by The Tiny.

•ep 14 "The Man In The Tan Jacket" - oooh man THE FANART that came out of this episode. just look up the titular character, the art slaps.

•ep 19A & 19B "The Sandstorm" - hohohoho you ain't ready for desert bluff 🙃 we are scared of desert bluff.

•ep 26 "Faceless Old Woman" - listen i love Cecil's voice but it's always a pleasure when a new voice is heard. and the Faceless Old Woman who's secretly living in your house is an icon.

•ep 30 "Dana" - DAAANAAAA!! absolutely love this storyline, go dana goooo!

•ep 33 "Cassette" - baby cecil ✨

•ep 49 "Old Oak Doors Part A" & "Part B" - imo this is the best place to stop if you'd like, because it concludes I'd say the first Big Arc. its a two part episode performed LIVE for an audience of fans, that had grown over the past 48 episodes. the episode resolves a lot of ongoing storylines, its a little fanservicey but its also just amazing. a great conclusion!

reblog and add some more of your favourite epa if you'd like!

[theanoninyourinbox]

Graystripe's Heart (or Hope's Beginning)

The (Short) Return Of Bloodclan and Redemption of ???

Shortly after the rescue of Darkkit, Rogues begin being spotted on the outskirts of the Clans.  Windclan claims someone is stealing prey, Riverclan smells intruders on the borders, and worst of all, Shadowclan has detected Bloodclan scent on the Thunderpath.  So Longstar sends Graystripe (still mourning his mother) and Sandstorm to find out the truth, with Fireheart demanding to come along – the Stars say it’s important!

So the three cats set off to Fireheart’s old Twoleg Den, meeting Smudge and his new mate Hattie.  The two Kittypets tell the Can cats about the return of Bloodclan under a cat named Fury – but also of a pair of cats making a peaceful group, and trying to dismantle Bloodclan as well.  The new unnamed Clowder’s leaders are unknown, save that they’re a scarred tom and a brown molly.

The Kittypets and Clan cats are interrupted by Gremlin and Scraps, siblings from the Unnamed Clowder, warning that Bloodclan Recruiters are chasing the pair of them.  The Clan Cats hide under the edge of the Twoleg den with Gremlin, and a cat named Snake attempts to attack Smudge and Hattie for protecting Scraps.  Hattie slaps the crap out of Snake, but a few more Bloodclan cats appear, and Scraps tries to surrender himself to save the Kittypets (and his hidden sister). But a twisted, gravely snarl sends the Bloodclanners running, and a heavily scarred tom approaches a relieved Scraps.

A highly familiar black striped gray tabby, with a horrid scar on his throat.

--DARKSTRIPE?!?!?--

Graystripe bolts from under the Twoleg den, with Sandstorm and Fireheart nearly riding his frazzled tail.  The former Clan cat goes bushy with startlement as they approach, but Fireheart keeps Graystripe and Sandstorm from tearing him apart.  Scraps, very confused, identifies Darkstripe as the Unnamed Clowder’s tom leader, and Gremlin chirps that he ran off her abusive former mate!  Full of conflicting emotions, Graystripe demands an explanation, and Darkstripe wheezes out, with tears in his eyes…how sorry he is.  But he won’t fight them, he probably deserves what’s coming – and Fireheart cuts him off.  Let’s talk somewhere else, somewhere safer.  Darkstripe nods, and after Fireheart extracts a promise from Sandstorm to not just kill her former Clanmate the second his back is turned, the scarred tomcat leads the Clan Cats and the siblings into the Twoleg Territory.

After some Very Tense Travel, the group comes to an abandoned Twoleg den, the walls covered in strange Twoleg berrypaint art.  Darkstripe leads them to a small opening, guarded by a pair of scraggly but friendly cats.  They greet Darkstripe and the siblings with unashamed friendliness, and the Clan cats are surprised to find themselves greeted with similar cheer.  After introductions are made, Hazard and Snaggle let everyone into the Den.

Inside is a well set-up camp, with obvious dens for nursing parents and kits, elders being cared for by a few younger cats, and a prey pile, with freshkill and a cat dismantling a large bird.  Darkstripe is greeted warmly, and the Clan Cats are experiencing a great deal of emotions.  Sandstorm is still rightfully angry – Darkstripe tried to kill Sorrelkit!  Fireheart is wary but hopeful – maybe Darkstripe has changed?  These cats seem to think highly of him!  And Graystripe?

Graystripe wonders who Darkstripe really is.  Because the cat he sees is NOTHING like the older brother he thought had died at his claws.  The older brother he loved still, somewhere deep inside.

A brown colorpoint molly greets Darkstripe, and introduces herself as Sasha.  The pair sit the Clan cats down in a private alcove and explain what’s happened.  Darkstripe was groomed by Tigerclaw (Darkstripe and Sasha both refusing to add the Star even sarcastically to his name) and was rescued from the battlefield by an injured Sasha, who was looking for Tigerclaw as well.  She had been his secret mate (to which Sandstorm shudders at) and had realized how horrible a cat Tigerclaw truly was only after her injury.  The two of them had healed from their respective injuries – Sasha only stating it was Tigerclaw’s fault – and had tried to go on together.  But there were so many cats that needed help, and with Darkstripe’s Clan knowledge and Sasha’s kind nature, they had formed a Clowder.  Somewhere that they could atone for their sins and make a better future for street cats.  Sandstorm demands to know if that should keep her claws out of Darkstripe’s hide, and Fireheart has to jump on her to stop it, but Graystripe pushes forward.

You’re sorry. Yes, Darkstripe tearily mewls. 

You’re sorry for Sorrel. Yes, he states clearly.

For Bramble and Tawny.  Yes, he sighs.

For Stonefur, for Fireheart.  Yes! Darkstripe sputters.

For mother?  YES!  He yowls!

For ME?!

YES!!! Darkstripe screams, raspy and broken.

And Graystripe LUNGES.

He catches Darkstripe in a tight embrace and sobs.

Mother will be so proud of you in Starclan.  I’m so proud of you.

Sandstorm sputters from under the (teeny tiny itty bitty) weight of Fireheart as the brothers weep into each other’s fur, one more wound of Tigerclaw’ wickedness beginning to heal.

Sasha asks Fireheart and Sandstorm for advice off to the side, as she’s no Healer or Brawler, but some cats have been interested, and would they mind giving advice while they’re here?  Sandstorm startling agrees, with Fireheart patting her on the shoulder cheerily.  The pair head off with Sasha, leaving the brothers some privacy.

By the time Graystripe and Darkstripe have pulled themselves together, it’s dusk, and Sandstorm and Fireheart have been busy.  Fireheart has a group of cats huddled around a Queen and her kits and Gremlin, listing the signs of kit diseases, and Sandstorm is running a group training session, with Scraps actually knocking down a cat larger than him to wild and enthusiastic cheering.  Graystripe joins a group of cats fixing up some nests, lending a paw and some advice, and Darkstripe leans on Sasha, drained but finally whole in some small way.  Fireheart calls the Clowder a hope for the future and a good place to rest, and Gremlin loudly proclaims they should be the Hope Clowder!  The cry is taken up, and the Unnamed Clowder becomes the Hope’s Rest Clowder (Hope Clowder for short).

The Clan Trio stays the night, and the next morning are awoken by Snaggle hollering that Bloodclan is on the move.  Everyone wakes quickly, and the Clowder Cats barricade the entrance, leaving only a peephole.  A group of Bloodclan cats are headed straight for Thunderclan! 

Sandstorm demands that the Clan Cats leave to warn the Clans, but startlingly some Hope Clowder Cats ask Darkstripe and Sasha if they can help take down Bloodclan there as well – they’re weaker spread out in two places, and there are cats that need rescuing from Bloodclan’s clutches!  Fireheart tells Graystripe and Sandstorm to go warn the Clans, and asks if he can help the Clowder rescue the prisoners.  Darkstripe agrees, and Graystripe charges his brother with protecting the cat he once tried to kill.

Sandstorm and Graystripe escort a small group of Hope Clowder Cats to the border of Thunderclan, and Graystripe rushes ahead to warn Longstar ahead of the approaching Bloodclan cats.  Graystripe yowls out his warning to the Camp Guards, who repeat the warning as cats begin scrambling to battle and defense positions.  Longstar asks where Sandstorm and Fireheart are, my guy they BETTER be fine, and Graystripe assures him they are, just as the first Bloodclan cat leaps over the camp wall. 

Chaos ensues, but suddenly Sandstorm and her volunteers charge the Bloodclanners from behind, scattering the Bloodclan Rogues.  Fury is downed by a furious (HA) Flamewish, who bodily throws the molly over the camp wall, with her living followers rushing away.  Sandstorm keeps the Thunderclanners from attacking the Hope Clowder cats, and they view the Clan with awe and curiosity.  Graystripe and Sandstorm tell Longstar and Flamewish what’s going on, with the Hope Clowder cats chiming in.  Flamewish is Very Concerned about Darkstripe, but Hazard, who came with the Hope Battle Patrol, tells her the story of how Darkstripe saved her from an attacking Bloodclan patrol, and nursed her back to health.  This placates Flamewish, but she still worries about her brother…

Meanwhile--

The rescue Patrol comes to the nearly unguarded Bloodclan encampment, a seemingly abandoned Carrionplace with thin woven silvery reeds forming a strong wall.  Scraps leads the rescuers to a hole in the Carrionplace wall, and everyone slides through with relative ease, save one cat losing some long fur.  They approach a small, enclosed area, with a Twoleg-made Dog Den and several Bloodclan cats guarding the area.  Darkstripe leads half of the patrol to attack the guards, while Sasha and Fireheart lead the other half to rescue the prisoners.

It goes relatively smoothly, with the only hiccup being a guard going for the smaller Fireheart.  The guard later regrets this decision, leaving with less ear and more scarred skin that he started with.  The rescue patrol leads the injured cats back to Hope’s Rest, and after treating them, Fireheart finds himself alone with Sasha.  And finds he has to ask her something.  He’s noticed something important and…

What happened to your kits?

Sasha buckles, and begs Fireheart to not tell a soul – only Darkstripe knows about them.  She had three kits by Tigerclaw, and after losing one of them, and leaving the others somewhere safe, she went to find – and perhaps wound – the cat who hurt her so.  Only to find Tigerclaw dead, and another cat near death, with her pain in his eyes.  Fireheart swears to never tell anyone, save under pain of death.  She sighs, and wonders where her little Tadpole went after his death, and Fireheart tells her of the Afterlives that Starclan knows of.  She weeps then, in relief – he’ll be waiting for her.

After making sure all the patients are stable, Snaggle escorts Fireheart to Thunderclan, and after a quick reunion, the Hope’s Rest Clowder cats head home, laden with herbs and cuttings and instructions and a new ally. Bloodclan is scattered, nevermore to gather the same power again, and all is quiet for a time.

(And in Riverclan, a brown and white tom sleeps peacefully next to a golden brown molly, safe and sound)

(And elsewhere, a black and grey tom rests safely)

(ALIVE)