#cursed ship is sailing i'm guessing

[petalpierrot]

Had to commemorate the kiss with an art :,)

[longlivedelusion]

An Interview with Jester Lavorre of the Mighty Nein

Warnings: cursing, mentions of sexual endeavors, mentions of death, and spoilers up until C3 Ep111.

A/N: Well this idea forced itself upon my brain after @chiakery made this request:

Jester's commentary on BH couples as she talks with Beau/Fjord/Sprinkle or just straight up goes to people in question, no filter (just like we love her) making them blush like mad/speak in innuendo with her/whatever feels right.

I know it's not exactly what you asked for, I'm sorry 😭 but this idea just took a hold of me and I knew I had to run with it. I hope you enjoy it anyways! I'll be including a part two with headcanon reactions from each couple.

I felt like after saving the world in a very public way, the Mighty Nein won't be able to stay as low-key as they used to be. But still weren't as like publicized as probably VM or BH. So I feel like Jester did this interview because she personally just loved this publication and wanted to be a part of it. So she found a way around that loll enjoy!

Hello everyone! Today I will be sharing an interview we just had with a very special guest: Jester Lavorre, Saviour of Exandria, Slayers of the Mind Weave, and Sapphire of the 5 Seas.

We're so lucky here at The Knowsy Cat to have an exclusive interview with one of the elusive members of the Mighty Nein. Known to avoid media and any sort of public attention, we were fortunate to have received an acceptance for an interview with Ms. Lavorre, soon to be Mrs. Tusktooth, an inside scoop we received from the woman herself.

But you can read more about that below.

The following is a full transcript from that conversation:

Ms. Lavorre! Thank you so much for agreeing to an interview with us. Your group is a hard one to catch on anyone's radar it seems. Any reason for that?

Well, first of all it's soon to be Mrs. Tusktooth thank you very much. But you can just call me Jester.

Congratulations! Is Mr. Tusktooth a part of your group or someone from back home perhaps? I don't recognize the name from any of our files.

Oh he's very very handsome and very sweet. And you can call him Captain Tusktooth, he has his own ship you know.

A Captain! Well, what a fine catch it seems. Then is he not of the Mighty Nein then, but simply a Captain of a ship?

Well why couldn't he be both?

Oh, I don't mean to offend! I'm just asking for clarification is all.

You know, so many people don't know I'm a First Mate of the ship! They just know me as the Savior of Exandria blah blah, but I do a lot of the pulling of anchors, and opening the sails, you know ship stuff. I'm very very strong. Like this one time, I had to carry this huuge minotaur named Braius out of a battle, and like he was super big you know? And I lifted him over my shoulders no problem!

Braius? Do you mean Braius Doomseed, Nascent Might of the Platinum's Call?

Yeah, yeah! That's him. Great artist, you should really check out his work. He draws some sexy stuff, if you know what I mean.

Oh we've seen it! He's become a pretty renown artist in Zadash it seems. Do you still talk to any of the Bells Hells, fellow saviors of Exandria?

Oh all the time! Like there's this girl Fearne who's a super hot fae, and I mean SUPER hot. She's made of fire and like can get really big, it's craazy. I talk to her all the time, she's so funny. Or I talk to the creepy spider lady, but usually through her girlfriend who I guess is kind of whatever. She does mind stuff too but like boring mind stuff.

Do you mean Imogen Temult and Laudna? Are they an item?

The BIGGEST item. They're like attached at the hip and constantly fucking. It's a bit awkward at first you know, having just met and everyone was sleeping like right next door to eachother. But the end of the world can make people do crazy stuff so who am I to judge!

How about Ms. Calloway? Is she currently involved with anyone?

I mean, she's kind of together with Ashton who's totally her other half you know? They got this hot, Titan thing going on. But she always tells me she's all about spreading her legs to fly, so they have an "open relationship." Like she had a threesome with the old wolf man from her group and his ex one time and they did some wild shit together let me tell you, [redacted for explicit content].

Wow! I-I did not expect such... Explicit details. And this was former member Chetney Pock O'Pea, High Hunter and Lupine Paragon?

Yeah, it was like really sad of course that he died but we all knew it was gonna happen. And he died like real hero stuff, fucked shit up for Ludinus that's for sure. But Orym is still super sad about it, I think it might've been his dad or something I don't know. But he's also such a softie, even though he's totally only showing his super softie side to Dorian.

Dorian Storm, the Heir to the Silken Squall? The union between he and Orym of the Air Ashari was all we could talk about for weeks! Were they involved then, during the Red Divide?

Oh my gosh, they were sooo in love with each other when we first met, but apparently they had like not even kissed yet! I remember I woke up at 3am cause someone was snoring super loud, and I was like "ugh, I'm soo bored, I can't sleep now" so I got up and drew in my journal a while but then the Traveler was like "go do some funny stuff!" So I decided to draw dicks on some people's faces and went to the room across from me and there they were! Snuggling each other! It was soooo sweet, so I was going to draw matching dicks on them you know? To make it romantic, of course. But then Orym opened his eyes and gave me a very scary look so I didn't. I ended up drawing them on the wolf man instead. But the next morning the two of them came out all shy and awkward, and Dorian was turning purple from blushing so hard. But then Braius came around with the literal most beautiful painting I have ever seen! Of Orym! Can you believe it? And Dorian was like freaked out, so he grabbed Orym's hand, stood in front of the painting to cover it and declared his love for Orym to the whole group. He was all like "I'm in love with Orym so like back off okay" and Braius totally did after that.

So there was a love triangle between the three of them?

I mean, Braius kind of hit on everyone back then so it wasn't a super weird thing. But Dorian was very not into it, which I totally get you know. I'm very protective of my Tusktooth and he's very hot so obviously everyone would want him. Dorian's the same.

So Braius Doomseed is a man about town then?

Well I heard he had a thing going on with Fearne and Ashton, but he also had a thing going on with Fearne's Nana which is like, okay a bit weird even for me. But now I think he settled down with an old flame of his.

Talking about marriage, any details you can share about your nuptials with Mr. Tusktooth?

Well it's going to be in this really big fancy estate with like 3 ballrooms and 30 bedrooms, so we can invite a lot of our friends you know. And I'm going to have a cupcake cake that's in the shape of me and his face, maybe like a blueberry cupcake or chocolate, or both. And then my mom is going to have a dress made for me that's like from this really famous designer, which they used to make all of my mom's dresses so I know it'll be really good.

That sounds incredible. We hope you'll maybe share some photos with us in the future?

Maybe!

Well, thank you for your time Jester. It's been an absolute pleasure. Anything else you want to tell our audience before we go?

I know gods are like super weird for everyone right now, but The Traveler is a really cool guy who's kind of like a god, but not. He's very powerful and nice and he likes to have a lot of fun. Here, I have a pamphlet you can share with your readers!

Unfortunately at this time, the pamphlet was not able to be printed along with this issue.

[winwin17]

One of the most underrated but significant things about Morrigan's relationship to Jupiter is how even when everything is crazy and situations are even risky or straight up dangerous, she has always been able to say she trusts him. From their first meeting in Crow Manor to the end of Hollowpox (present), whenever she faces where her confidence truly is, she can always say she trusts him implicitly. And she has always told him so to his face with little to no hesitation.

Now imagine, just imagine, the pain, the absolute heartbreak if one day her growing, changing, impressionable inner being yields too much under nefarious influences, her fortress of confidence is cracked, and when he asks her like so many times before, "Do you trust me?" looking right into her soul with his tender, knowing blue eyes, and she comes face to face with deepest honesty and speaks the one earth-shattering word, "No." What if? Just, what if?

Can you imagine how much his heart would break? How he'd leave the room in a heavy silence of disappointment, because suddenly he's about to cry like never before and second guess everything he's ever done.

All the years and stress and investigation and work to rescue her and take care of her and to prove to one young Wundersmith that she is not a curse on anyone, all the care, the love, the late nights and early mornings he's sacrificed sleep to be involved in something important for her, the glowing hopes for who she's becoming - all reduced to the dust of disappointment with a word. Every trusting look exchanged between them, every affectionate interaction that made him almost forget she wasn't his own daughter - all crashing down like the pink sailing ship chandelier, only this time, it's his Crow that has broken.

And Morrigan - I'm sure she'd be at least a little hurt herself to realize it was true.

I hate it so much, but I'm somehow I'm afraid it might happen.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

re: Jenkins' tweets about how Buttons is a witch and there's no show without Izzy, IMO there are three possible ways to interpret that:

He's being cryptic because he in fact has no intention of resurrecting Izzy (outside of maybe being a guilt ghost, like Nigel) and is trying to mollify the fans.

He's being cryptic because he wants to keep his options open in the event that he does resurrect Izzy somehow.

He does actually plan to resurrect Izzy, via Buttons' sea witch magic or something similar.

I think it's #1, at best #2, because I think him resurrecting Izzy would cause more narrative problems than it solves.

Longer explanation under the cut:

So, okay, Buttons being kinda magic was hinted at throughout season 1 but, importantly, it was never actually confirmed one way or the other.

The fact that he can identify ships on the horizon as Spanish with his naked eye when Izzy needs a telescope could be proof of sea witch powers, or he could just have good eyesight and/or guessing ability.

His ability to talk to birds could be a legitimate skill, or it could be a figment of his imagination, like ghost!Nigel is for Stede.

The hex he puts on Calico Jack could be real, especially since Calico Jack gets hit by the cannonball after Olivia has her standoff with him... or it's a complete coincidence.

Even in season 2, we never actually see him transform: he walks off into the woods, the bowl falls on the ground, and we hear a seagull, but we don't actually KNOW he's turned into a seagull. There's no Swan Princess-esque transformation scene here.

The same ambiguity is present in the curse episode. It's never confirmed one way or the other whether the curse is real, because that ambiguity is part of the point (i.e. "it doesn't matter how you feel about it, Stede, you need to validate your crew's experiences and not be a selfish ass").

So say Jenkins ends up leaning hard into the magic thing, makes it explicit and unambiguous, and ressurects Izzy. That opens up a whole host of new problems for him, like:

If magic is real, what are the rules? How does it work? What can it do? What are its limits?

Who else in this world knows about it? Obviously Auntie does, but it doesn't seem like Zheng or anyone else does: why?

If it is known by other people, how well known is it? Why do so many people (like Stede and Izzy) not believe in it?

Who else in this world is magic? It can't just be Buttons, since he needed the scroll to turn into a bird and that presumably came from some other magic user.

How much of what we've seen is magic and not plot convenience/rule of funny? Are the Loony Toons physics magic? Is the ship staying afloat despite no one knowing how to sail magic? Is the characters' ability to row anywhere they want, including places they do not know or even have a reason to try to find in the first place, magic?

And, the most important one: if magic exists in this universe, and people know about it and believe in it, and if it's been underpinning the story this entire time, why does Izzy need to be resurrected at all?

I'm not saying these are insurmountable questions Jenkins has no way of answering. But they are questions he would start having to answer, which is not only a lot more work but also very easily verging into the ridiculous if not handled well. It's an incredibly difficult needle to thread. Like, even if he's not slapped with (honestly, valid) accusations of trying to do a do-over because of fan pressure, he's going to be veering off in a direction that is way more difficult to write in a way that feels authentic and satisfying and not forced.

And I currently don't trust him to handle it well! Since we just saw how well he handled killing off a main character and navigating the cast's romantic relationships, which are both way less complex in terms of world-building!

Fanfiction can absolutely handle this. The OFMD fandom has already picked up the magical realism ball and ran with it, which is one of the things I like about the show: a lot of tropes that are often kind of jarring to me in certain fandoms (not just magic in a world with no magic, but certain whump and angst tropes that sometimes feel a little overwrought) aren't jarring here, because there's some basis for it in the canon. Like, the fandom has already written a lot of stuff more complex and better understanding of the universe's rules than the S2 finale (even, dare I say, much of the second season in general).

But Jenkins and the writers team right now? Nah.

[danvolodar]

On ships sailing

Okay, today in our regular "Takes Voiced Ten Years Too Late" section, I will note that one of the ships that have stayed with me throughout the years has been Finnceline.

First, I must say I don't much like the canon relationships for them, primarily because Bonnibel is absolutely a manipulative lawful evil war criminal. I guess it could still be palatable if there was some powerful chemistry between the two like Marceline has with Finn in Go With Me, but I could never really see it. So, the way I see it, PB simply doesn't deserve Marceline :з

Similarly, while I have nothing against Huntress Wizard per se, she's just... not a major character, really? Certainly not the protagonist's potential interest material, in my mind? She just doesn't get enough time to even really be established, especially compared to a major character like Marceline, whose biography we peek into a few times throughout the series, who has a few episodes dedicated entirely to her, and who interacts with the other major characters constantly.

Second, the objections against the pairing are common, but I don't think they're valid. For starters, somehow I've encountered the idea that Marceline is lesbian more than a few times - which seems incredibly strange to me given her on-screen relationship with Ash. Clear-cut bi erasure, if you ask me.

Then, - and this is the elephant in the room, admittedly, - there is the issue of Finn being a minor when they first meet with Marceline, especially minding that she's ostensibly a thousand year old by that time. But the thing is, her behaviour is not that of a wisened, experience-burdened thousand year old vampire, it's more of a cool older neighborhood girl (I guess explained by her hibernating the vast majority of these thousand years). There's nothing weird about a teen having a crash on an older teen, or even a young adult - and by the end of the series, Finn's old enough for relationships, anyway. On the other hand, Marceline herself is evidently barely more experienced, judging by her falling for trash like Ash (or returning to her ex, especially one as vile as PB).

Third, not only do Finn and Marcy seem to be vibing on the same frequency, they both have a lot to contribute to the relationship. Like, I will never believe PB would be better equipped for helping with all the emotional baggage with which her life has left Marceline than the hero Finn. Conversely, the "curse" of vampirism is a good way out of Finn being one of the few major characters in the series with low life expectancy. Plus Marcy has a lot of utility tactically for Finn's heroics: flight, invisibility, shapeshifting, what's not to like? Finally, shapeshifting can be as cute as it can be useful.

On a final side note, given everything seen in Marceline's Closet, and her being shown on a few other occasions hanging out invisibly at Finn and Jake's (or rather, her own, lol) treehouse, it's really easy to imagine Finn and her being at least casually intimate.

So, all in all, if Finnceline has a million fans, I'm one of them, etc.

[moonsquaremars]

I've had an extremely turbulant emotional life, which I can attribute to many different astrological aspects + placements I have.

It's been strange coming to discover as I get older how much of my world is inside my head, though. How many times I've assumed something, had meltdowns, only to later find out 90% of it was in my own head.

Moon square mars, like my blog suggests. My other blog was sunsextilemoon, but after tumblr flagged my account for adult content, I figured it was best to start over so I could still have reach.

Moon square mars makes one passionate and headstrong. I read that it is similar to the relationship between Cancer and Aries. Cancer, the emotionally nurturing, sensitive, going head to head with the impulsive and self expressive Aries. Aries was always one of my least favorite signs. My sun is in cancer, and moon in virgo. I've always been surrounded by Saggitarius, that's my favorite sign. But I always saw aries as childish and insensitive. I had a roommate, coworker, and someone who has become a best friend who is an aries. So my aries prejudice has been tamed a bit.

I would attribute my intense anger problems to my moon square mars. I don't struggle with it so much anymore, but as a kid, if somebody accidentally hurt me, I would come back at them twice as hard. Like ruthless. I also constantly struggle, on a day to day basis, with this inner conflict between what I 'feel' like I need to do, vs what I want to do. I usually let want win. Sometimes I can get too lost in my feelings, I guess because of my 12th house sun.

Moon Square Pluto.

This aspect I think gets me in a lot of trouble. It's not intentional, of course. But I definitely feel the emotional block. I will be fine, things will be going alright, then out of nowhere, a wave will come and completely knock me off balance. I'll get so overwhelmed and almost hysterical. Sometimes just super moody. and then when it's over, I'm like, what the hell happened? there doesn't seem to be a concrete cause or trigger. It just happens. I'm 27 and it still just happens.

The 12th house placement I think is a blessing and a curse. I sense the strangest of things, and have spiritual gifts. but I've been to the psych ward more times than I can count, and my daddy a crackhead who is also a 12th house sun. I love him of course, but the 12th house energy is obvious. His house has a feeling of being a hut on a deserted island, yet it's in the middle of a subdivision surrounded by other houses. He just gives me tom hanks castaway vibes, even when he's surrounded by society.

I take various drugs and medications to help tame my turbulant emotions and achieve my goals. I do weed often, because it helps with my temper. I'm also extremely impatient. I feel like weed puts me in touch with my moon. You'd think that'd be a good thing, but when your moon squares your mars and your pluto, it can cause some problems.

I also have Sun Square Saturn, which quite honestly, is a PAINFUL placement.

I've had terrible, terrible, terrible depression for most of my life. Completely sucks the life out of me. Apparently saturn can deplete the energy of the sun, and I get depleted baby.

I went to a church service on time, and the preacher said something about "misery being a ship that needs to set sail, instead of being avoided" and that really healed me. I feel like I got so scared of my depression, my own mind and thoughts, I would run around manicly just doing WHATEVER I could so I would not feel that way anymore. I was so scared of it. But sometimes you just have to sit with yourself and your emotions, and grit your teeth.

In all I feel like my sun sextile my moon really saves me. It gives a balanced personality, since the ego and the emotional nature are in such harmony. It's funny because my dad, close friends, and boyfriends almost always have sun trine moon. My little sister also has sun sextile moon. If it weren't for this, I'd probably be much worse off...

[scarsnfevers]

To the stars — Hyunjin

pairing; hwang hyunjin x female reader, (mentions of other members)

genre; titanic!au, romance, fluff, angst, tragedy

summary; the most famous and youngest violinist of her time and a young artist of the lower class on board of the Ship of Dreams? Pathetic, yes, and yet opposites seem to attract.

warnings; mature content, mature language, cursing, tw!death, drinking alcohol (only a little bit), a little bit of smut, smoking (might add more warnings later)

word count; 3,4k

taglist; @hyunskizz, @daiyoon

authors note; I'm not a fan of tragic endings, so be prepared for a happy ending?

Parts; Teaser | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 soon

!minors do not interact!

"A CONCERT IN NEW YORK?!" It all started with that. I never dreamed of getting this far in my life. I had never been the best student, nor the well-behaved daughter of the house who took private lessons in literature and history seriously. I had always been a little different from the other kids my age that had the same social status as me. And now I was England's most famous violinist.

"I can not believe it!" When the news reached me that I would play at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, it seemed I was at the peak of my career as a violinist. Luck seemed to be on my side.

"And the best thing, my dear, the costs of our trip are fully covered. We don't need to pay a penny." My mother, standing behind me and combing my hair, smiled at me through the mirror. Our trip. The corners of my mouth twitched before I smiled softly. "I can't wait to get on board, mother." Although I would have preferred to travel alone with my friends. "I never imagined such a ship in my wildest dreams. It must be breathtaking." I continued, leaning back in my chair a bit. "That's it dear. And in a few hours, we'll be able to see it by ourselves." My mother put my comb aside and finally asked me, "I hope you've packed everything? Felix and the others will surely be here soon. You should have everything ready by then." I nodded at her question. All I had to do was peel off the robe I was wearing and slip into one of the dresses my mom ordered from a special designer for me for today. And I definitely hated it. I hated everything about that dress because it didn't reflect who I was at all. But what didn't I do to be the good, loving daughter. "Darling?" My mother seemed to sense my absence, even though I knew that she didn't care about me until I finally had success in life. I blinked and looked up at her, "I'll get changed now and take care of the final details. I'll come to the driveway once I'm done." It was exactly the answer my mother wanted to hear. She smiled contentedly, "I'll have your suitcases loaded, then we can leave immediately."

When she finally left my room, I was able to get a moment for myself. I enjoyed the moment just sitting there and letting my gaze wander. I probably wouldn't see these four walls, my home, for a while. Would I miss it? I guess not. It was just a prison for me anyway. My eyes finally settled on today's flyer, which featured a huge cruise ship. Underneath it was written in capital letters:

The ship of dreams - the Titanic sails today!

"The ship of dreams, huh?" My fingertips traced the outline of the image before picking up the flyer. My gaze slid over the contours of the ship. That such a giant could stay afloat at all was almost a miracle. It was not for nothing that the creators of the Titanic boasted that ship was unsinkable. I finally put the flyer back on my desk and made sure to be in the driveway on time. I knew that my mother wasn't a friend of being late.

And yet I was. Exactly two minutes late. I gave my mother an apologetic smile, knowing it wouldn't save me, before glancing at the motorcade pulling up and parked in our driveway. I paused for a moment before two young men got out of the front car. Lee Felix and Han Jisung. My best friends and those who would also join me on my trip to New York.

Not minding etiquette, I rushed down the stairs to greet my friends. "Finally you two are here!" I hugged both of them happily. Felix laughed: "Hey, I can't breathe!" He gasped while Jisung just giggled. Reluctantly I let go of the two. "You can't believe how happy I am that you're here." I explained and lifted visibly my eyebrows, which meant that they should just save me from my mother. Jisung suppressed a smirk while Felix replied, "Don't worry, we'll get your mind off things." A smile tugged at his lips as he looked behind me and greeted my mother as she joined us. "Good morning gentlemen. It's nice that you've finally arrived." I wanted to give my mother a wry look, but that would only mean more trouble. "Mrs. l/n (your last name), we're glad to see you too." Jisung mirrored my mother's smile as he addressed her. She nodded with a friendly expression on her face before continuing, "It's a wonderful day to embark on such a great journey, I hope you're all set." "Of course ma'am." Felix replied with his typical happy smile, which is why I always called him sunshine. I grimaced and jumped into the conversation, "All right, now that everything is settled, let's be on our way as soon as the house servants have loaded the last suitcases." I looked around. Thank god my mother agreed, "I'll go and see if we have everything. Take care of your friends darling, maybe they want some tea?" I wanted to make a face, but I nodded instead. "I'll take care of them, mother." I kept smiling until she was finally out of my hearing range. I sighed loudly and turned back to my friends.

"So?" I asked, looking questioningly at Felix and Jisung. "I heard we make the Titanic unsafe?", "Oh yes!" Ji crossed his arms and grinned. "But first we have to get you out of that horrible dress. That's straight from the last century." He eyed me. "Thank my mother. If I had it my way, I wouldn't wear that either.", "Don't worry, I've got enough fabric in my luggage to design you a new dress in no time." The light that started to pop in Jisung's eyes told me he couldn't wait to get me into one of his self-designed dresses. Because as an up-and-coming fashion designer he was always looking for new ideas and challenges: "It's good that I don't have any knowledge about that." Felix said and leaned against his car, a brand new model that was all the rage in Europe. "But my mother would have preferred that I would marry you." I chuckled and looked at him. Felix cocked his head and spoke amusedly, "That wouldn't work between us anyway Y/n. We're already so palsy-walsy." I giggled at his words, "I guess you're right." Felix and I have known each other since we both could. walk. He came from an even wealthier family than I did, and had always been an excellent student, hardworking and well-behaved. He could have had any girl, but he had never been with anyone. He also got the chance to study engineering in New York. The reason why he accompanied me on my trip. "Nice car you have there." I finally said. Felix raised his eyebrows, "Uh yeah, it just got delivered a few days ago. Drives great." The young man replied, whereupon I said, "Then I have no choice but to go with you. I won't miss an opportunity like that." I smiled crookedly, earning a surprised look from Felix, "Your mother wouldn't like that." No, she absolutely wouldn't, and I didn't care. Without any hesitation, I opened the door of the car and placed myself in, "I consider this as my dowry." I joked looking out at my two friends who were staring at me, "I love when you guys look so stunned." I grinned before adding, "What? Are you jumping in? Otherwise, the ship will leave without us."

___

The music was loud, and the smoke from cigarettes and the smell of beer and whiskey mingled in the pub. It was only 11 o'clock and almost everyone here was already star-struck. "So what else do we have?" Hyunjin leaned a little over to one of his friends who was sitting with him at the round skat table. "Hm, let's see." The young man with light brown hair spoke and rummaged in his pocket. He pulled out a few pennies and a pocket knife. "Shit, guys, that's nothing. Besides, that's the knife of Minho's grandfather." Another young man standing behind them leaned over them. "I know Jeongin." Hyunjin sighed before looking at Minho, who was staring at the pocket knife, lost in thought, "Buddy, you don't have to-", "It's alright." Minho interrupted the young man next to him before placing the knife and the few pennies in the middle of the table, where all the money, some valuables, and three tickets to New York lay. A trip on the dream ship, a trip into a new life. "This time, we'll get everything." Minho smiled confidently. They couldn't lose. Otherwise they would lose everything except what they are wearing. Even if it wasn't much that the three young men owned. Because when you came from the working class, there wasn't anything worth living for. A journey into another, probably better life came as called for. "So," Hyunjin's gaze slid to the men sitting across from him and his friend, "Let's play."

___

"It's unbelievable how jammed everything here is." I spoke and stuck my head out the window as we drove down the harbor. So many cars and people gathered in one place. It was difficult to even find a way through the crowds. "We're probably not the only ones." Jisung spoke ironically. "The Titanic seats about 2,400 people on board. No wonder it's so crowded today." Explained Felix, who was driving the car. It would probably have been quicker to walk. He honked his horn and waved a few people aside. "Wow, that's a lot." I answered before we turned around a corner as a huge ship came into our view. The Titanic. I held my breath and took in the sight. I had never seen such a giant in my life. It was overwhelming. Jisung now lowered the window pane to his side too to get a better view of the ship. "Have you seen anything like this before?" he asked while admiring the massive structure of grandiose engineering. "No" Felix and I replied at the same time, cause we were both completely captivated by this view. If there truly was an unsinkable ship, it could only be the Titanic. Felix's car slowly came to a standstill before he broke away from the sight of the ship and turned to us. "All right, I'm going to sign us in. Stay by the car, okay?" He looked at Jisung and me in the back seat. We nodded almost synchronously.

So Felix left us alone while Jisung and I got out to get a better view of the ship that was right in front of us. "Amazing. Sailing with this to New York will be fantastic." I could barely hide the excitement in my voice. And Jisung sounded pretty excited too. "It truly is the ship of dreams. I can't wait to get on board." I agreed before I heard my mother's voice. I turned around and saw her just getting out of the car that was parked right behind us. She gave me a displeased look but didn't say anything. Surely I'd get a lecture for not riding with her once we got on board. "The servants bring everything into the ship." She explained and looked at me. "We're already signed up, I've taken care of everything, so let's get on board dear." I blinked and looked questioningly at Jisung, who just nodded, "Go ahead, I'll wait here for Felix." he smiled. Although I would have loved to board the Titanic with my friends, I had no choice but to follow my mother. We walked over the bridge that connected the mainland with the ship, where we were greeted warmly by the crew. But I hardly had eyes for that. Instead, my gaze wandered over the pompous interior of the ship, the high walls and the elaborate decorations on the railings and stairs. But a voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Welcome on board of the Titanic Miss." In front of me stood a young, handsome man with raven-black hair, in a uniform. I wasn't very familiar with the ranks of a ship's crew, but from the looks of the other person in front of me, he seemed important. And I shouldn't be wrong. "I am pleased to welcome you on board. My name is Captain Bang. I will take you safely to New York." His accent immediately told me that he wasn't British, but Australian. Also, his smile was quite contagious.

I blinked and finally replied, "The pleasure is all mine." Does he want to greet all first-class guests in person? It looked like that. I returned the captain's smile before he asked me, "Are you traveling alone miss?" I was taken aback by his question, "No I..." I paused and started to look around. Only now did I realize that I had lost sight of my mother in all the hustle and bustle. I gasped and looked back at my interlocutor, "No, I'm traveling with my mother." I explained to him, whereupon the captain looked around, "It's easy to lose each other in crowds like this. What's your name, Miss? I can call a retinue for you who's going to get you to your room and let your mother know that you were safely accompanied." He was very accommodating. I nodded in agreement, "That would be wonderful." I replied and gave him my name, whereupon the captain paused and just regarded me for a moment before answering, "Wait here Miss l/n, I'll take care of it." A smile appeared on his lips again before the young man turned on his heel to look for a crew member who would attend to my business. So I lagged behind a bit awkwardly, which is why I turned my attention back to what was happening around me.

Lost in thought, I looked at the many people around me. There were probably many more in the lower classes, but even here, where the rich and beautiful met, it seemed overcrowded to me. Every single one of them could afford the trip without any problems. At that moment, I wondered how those who couldn't fare. "Y/n!" Felix's voice got through to me. I looked over my shoulder before my two friends caught up with me. "Have you finally made it?" A mischievous grin spread across my lips. Felix ran a hand through his hair, a little out of breath "Yes, just about that. The ship will be leaving soon. They are about to load the last wagons." he said. I was about to say something when a young man joined us. He was obviously one of the ship's crew, "Miss l/n?" he looked at me questioningly. I blinked and replied, questioning almost as much as he did, "Yes?" "You want me to show you to your room." he explained to me briefly. I had already forgotten that, "Oh, yes right." I looked back at Felix and Jisung. "Then we'll see each other later, yes?", "Of course Miss L/n." Felix cocked his head teasingly while he wore his bright smile. I playfully rolled my eyes and couldn't help but smile. Finally, I followed the young crew member deeper into the ship. Into a whole new world.

___

Glasses flew around, and the smell of beer spread while Hyunjin and Minho were still sitting at the skat table. Behind them stood Jeongin, who looked worriedly at his friends' cards. Things were looking bad for the three young men. If they were going to win this game, more or less a miracle would have to happen. Minho's right leg bounced nervously up and down as he scowled at his cards. Things weren't looking too good for Hyunjin either. He was missing a certain card to turn the tide. He bit his bottom lip nervously before hearing Minho sigh angrily, "Damn, I'm out." He leaned back and crossed his arms. It was probably Hyunjin's fault now. His eyes swept fleetingly over his opponent. He was tall, handsome and definitely a good skat player.

"So, last round?" he raised his eyebrows. Hyunjin nodded slightly and looked at the deck from which he would draw his next card. Everything would stand or fall at that moment. He dropped the first card to his opponent and then drew one for himself from the deck. Minho cautiously squinted at his buddy while Hyunjin stared at his deck. "So?" his opponent asked, while the rubble of the masses around them almost drowned him out. Jeongin leaned over Hyunjin's shoulder full of tension, who was sitting in his chair as if stuck and had to realize for a moment what had happened right now. Minho frowned and craned his neck to get a better look at the cards as well. But what he saw at that moment made him fall from the clouds, "Damn, shit" he breathed, while Jeongin, almost at the same time, started to cheer, "Holy Mother of God!" Hyunjin blinked and looked at his opponent before a wide grin appeared on his face, "Well, I guess we won!" He revealed his cards. A slippery winning hand. Nobody would come up against that. Their victory was certain. They would go to New York. Defeated, his opponent sat back while the three young men cheered their victory. "Thank you for this extremely entertaining game gentlemen." Jeongin took the valuables and the tickets while Hyunjin and Minho hugged each other with joy. Luck had been on their side for once, but they shouldn't celebrate too soon. "Hey!" The three friends were interrupted in their burst of joy by one of the men who had also been playing for the tickets. "If you still want to go on board, you better hurry. The ship leaves in five minutes." For a moment it seemed like Hyunjin had misheard his words. "What?" Jeongin stared at the man, who replied, "Yes, in five minutes. The Titanic will leave the harbor at twelve." "Fuck." Minho gasped and looked at Hyunjin, who was also looking at his friend, "Go ahead and grab everything you fucking have and get the fuck out of here!" He gasped. Jeongin hurriedly put in his pocket the remaining money on the table and then followed Minho and Hyunjin who had already run ahead. Although the pub was right at the harbor, it was difficult to move through the crowds as quickly as possible. Everyone had come to admire the Titanic, say goodbye to relatives, or go on board themselves. "Where the hell are we going?!" Minho, who was right behind Hyunjin, gasped and tried to keep up with the young man. Hyunjin, meanwhile, made his way through the crowd, trying to get an overview while the crew members already started to catch the bridges, the entrances to the ship. Hyunjin's eyes scanned the area feverishly until he finally spotted a bridge that hadn't been caught yet. "There ahead!" he shouted and was just able to avoid an older man before nearly running him over. They had to reach the bridge at any cost. Hyunjin felt his lungs threatening to collapse, but he couldn't stop now. He couldn't miss this chance.

Not this time.

The three young men rushed onto the bridge and hastily waved to the crew members who were about to pull the bridge in. “HEY!” Hyunjin roared at the top of his lungs to get the men's attention, which worked. Startled, they looked up and waved the three friends over. "You couldn't come any later, huh?" One of the men asked them as Hyunjin showed him the tickets Jeongin had given him. "Sor....ry sir." The young man gasped for air while his counterpart checked the tickets. So the three friends could catch their breath for a moment. Finally, the man in uniform looked up and handed him back the tickets, "Welcome aboard the Titanic gentlemen."

They made it.

Hyunjin took the tickets and boarded with his friends. "Damn, we did it." Said Minho with a big, very happy smile on his face. "We really made it." Hyunjin smirked while Jeongin still couldn't believe it.

Now a new beginning, a start into a new life, was within reach.

"Come on, let's go on deck and watch the ship leaving the harbor." Satisfied, Hyunjin wrapped his arms around his friends.

They would see their home from afar for one last time, before there was no way back.

[lieutenantselnia]

Drabblecember Day 7 - Stuck Inside

pairing: Davy Jones x Selena Finley

word count: 1 764

summary: The Flying Dutchman's ability to sail underwater has helped the crew in many precarious situations, but it is always something frightening for new crew members when they experience it for the first time. Selena is no exception, but luckily she has someone to look out for her.

tags: a bit of everyday life aboard the Dutchman, just a little bit of worldbuilding too I guess (both in terms of self-shipping and general universe lore), early relationship stage, Davy and Selena are both awkward about expressing their feelings, Maccus doing his best to be a wingman

warnings: Mentions of drowning/almost drowning I guess? I kept it pretty light and didn't really go into detail, plus it isn't an actual threat in this story, but if you're extremely terrified of the sea, being stuck underwater, or drowning just a heads-up.

author's note: First of all I'm not entirely sure whether I'm happy with this or not ahhh, on one hand I think it's cute and I'm so happy I got to explore a little bit of the universe lore too, but on the other hand I'm not sure if I always knew where I was going with this😅 For example in this particular instance I wasn't sure whether I wanted it to be set before or when they're already a couple, decided to go with the latter one eventually, but they're in kind of an early relationship stage. They feel already comfortable with showing affection or touching each other when they're alone, the issue is just that they're both shy to initiate it^^" I decided to take my own spin on this prompt since I felt this idea would be perfect for Davy, however, I might have gone a bit off track and made the set-up very long before getting to the actual point. I'm so glad I was finally able to write for Davy though, I love him but he's probably also the f/o where I'm the most self-conscious about mischaracterising or misinterpreting him and writing him in a completely wrong way, and sometimes I almost feel intimidated about approaching a story with him ._. Lastly, trying to write an accent in a language that's not your native one certainly is ... an experience.

The storm made its presence known long before it actually arrived. Dark clouds were gathering at the horizon, overshadowing the light of the day, and the air had an unsettling feeling about itself.

Selena stood at the railing, watching as the sunlight faded more and more. A slight nervousness was growing within her chest; it was the first storm she would witness while being aboard the Flying Dutchman. The first ever since that horrifying night, when the winds were furious and the waves were raging, and an unexpectedly strong surge of water just yanked her from the deck of the Diligence to pull her down into the dark, cold water. Selena was sure she would have drowned that night, hadn't the cursed ship found her and picked her up, soaking wet and freezing. The life aboard the Dutchman wasn't an easy one, but it was a life at least.

A rough push from behind snapped her back from her thoughts. She felt a clawed hand on her shoulder and turned around to find Maccus.

"C'mon. The captain wants ta keep an eye on ya when we're going down. Can't have ya get lost at sea another time, hah."

"Down?" Selena frowned as she followed him across the deck. She knew of the Dutchman's ability to dive underwater and resurface without any damage on neither ship nor crew, but in the weeks she had been here, she had never had to experience it herself. Until now.

"Would ye rather want to sail right through the storm?" Maccus turned his head to grin at her, showing multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth. "'Cause I doubt that, givin' yer seafaring skills. Trust me, it’ll be easier sailing below."

Selena scrunched her nose. She knew he was probably right, but that still didn't make her nervousness go away. "It might be better than a storm, but it doesn't sound like the most pleasant thing either. It's just something new to me, that's all."

"That's why the captain 'imself is gonna have a watch over ye", Maccus said in a smug voice. He gestured Selena to follow him, leading her to the captain's quarters. Other crew members were running across the deck, even though the Dutchman didn't need a lot of preparation before going below the surface, they wanted to be sure that nothing would go wrong.

Davy Jones opened the door to his quarters upon Maccus’ knocking, his gaze darting between the hammerhead shark and Selena.

"I brought ya the lassie. Figured she better not be on the open deck during her first dive."

The captain's gaze softened in a barely noticeable way, and he stepped aside to let Selena in, before turning his attention to Maccus again. "Order tah men ta start going down. They shall not veer off th' course, sail straight away undah tha storm."

"Aye, cap'n!" Maccus returned to the way he came from, and Selena could just hear him start to yell orders before Davy closed the cabin door.

"Is the first dive frightening?", she asked. Davy seemed to think for a moment before he responded. "Tha new sailors always dread it. It certainly be an … unsettling experience for those once mortals. Many of them say it feels unusual or unpleasant, but most of them adjust in a short time. I’ve been doin’ it fer so long, I … cannae remember what it was like in tha beginning."

His eyes became a little clouded as the memory seemed to pain him. Selena didn’t say a word, but reached out to gently take Davy’s right hand, squeezing it lightly. His tentacle-like index finger responded immediately to the action, wrapping around her hand as if it wanted to make sure she didn’t let go. Davy gave her a thankful look, before leading her to one of the windows. His beard tentacles were writhing calmly around his shoulders, and his whole demeanour had softened slightly, like every time they were alone.

"Yah might feel like ye're drowning when we’re going underwater, but it will pass, alright? Ye're bound ta the Dutchman now. She will not be leavin' ya behind."” His gaze became a little more tender, and he leaned a little closer. “I will not be leavin’ ya behind”, he muttered.

All of a sudden, Selena felt a slight jolt going through the hull of the ship, before the floor underneath her feet started to tilt. Instinctively she grabbed Davy’s sleeve with her free hand, while holding onto him a little tighter with the other one. He pulled her closer towards him, just enough so he could wrap his crab claw around her back, securing her where she was standing so she wouldn’t fall over on the uneven ground.

“Maccus must’ve given the signal.” Selena was a little annoyed about how nervous she sounded. But even though Davy assured her that she would be able to get through the dive like every other crew member, the thought of experiencing another time what it felt like to almost drown made her stomach turn, and she took a deep breath to calm the feeling. She felt how Davy started to rub her hand with his thumb in a soothing motion.

“We will stay inside here for this time. It be calmer and there are less things for ya ta worry about than on tha open deck. I think Maccus made a fine decision there.”

“Maccus?” Selena tilted her head. “So he didn’t bring me here on your command?”

Davy shook his head slightly, and a little snort, almost like a chuckle, escaped him. “Nay, he didn’t. But he seems ta keep an eye on ya. He be a proper first mate.”

In the meantime, water had started to seep in, coming through every opening in the ship’s hull and filling up the insides. It was already washing around their feet, and the level rose quickly. On top of everything, Selena also felt a biting cold creeping up her ankles now, and pressed herself closer to Davy.

“It will be alright, Selena.” His gaze caught hers, bright blue eyes captivating her. “Remember, ya will survive this. Even when we’re underwater, breathe. Ye’re bound ta the Dutchman now, and bound ta the sea.”

The water had already risen to Selena’s knees now, and it couldn’t be stopped in its way. She flinched as the cold waves reached her stomach, then her chest, her chin. A few moments later, she and Davy were both completely underwater, the entire room was filled. The Flying Dutchman had completely submerged beneath the stormy sea.

Selena had instinctively closed her eyes and pressed her face into Davy’s beard when it happened. She stayed in this position until she felt something soft gently caressing her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes again, finding that it was one of Davy’s beard tentacles. He looked at her with a tender gaze, his arms wrapped around her a little tighter now.

The first thing that Selena noticed about their surroundings was how clear she could see everything. She remembered how she tried to “dive” in her bathtub as a child, and how blurry it had always been, but this now felt only marginally worse compared to her eyesight above the surface. Apparently, this was one of the positive effects of being bound to a cursed ship. She could see the details on the wooden planks that the ship was made of, and the small barnacles on Davy’s clothes. The captain himself offered an unexpectedly amusing sight in this situation. Unlike usually, his tentacles were not pulled down by gravity now, and were floating more freely, although he seemed to control them enough that they weren’t going all over the place but kept their beard-like shape. He even had used two of them to keep his hat in place.

She had initially held in her breath, as this was an instinct that was hard to suppress, but now Selena felt her chest getting tighter. Davy seemed to notice that she began to struggle, he let go of her with his right hand and brought it to her cheek instead, brushing over her lips with his thumb as if to encourage her to take a breath. Hesitantly, Selena let go of the last bits of air in her lungs, before she had no other choice than to suck in the water that was the only thing surrounding her.

The first breath was unpleasant, even painful, like something heavy pressing on her chest from both in- and outside, along with a burning sensation as her body took in the water where air should belong. Selena contorted her face, but after a few moments, the feeling started to fade again. She tried to take a few more deep breaths, adjusting to this new feeling, and to her relief it seemed that Davy and Maccus told her the truth and it was merely a matter of getting used to it.

When she looked up to Davy again, Selena received the honour of witnessing one of his rare genuine smiles. She couldn’t help to note how natural he looked in this environment, as if he belonged here. She opened her mouth, attempting to saying something, but only a string of barely understandable sounds came out. Davy’s smile turned into more of a grin, and he shook his head, as if to tell her, ‘No talking’. Instead, he leaned forwards to wrap his arms around her and pull her into him, resting his cheek against her forehead. She could feel that he was proud of her, as well as relieved that she took the whole experience so well.

Selena felt how some of Davy’s tentacles started to play with her hair - it was something they seemed to attempt at every opportunity given, whether Davy wanted it or not -, and now she felt a smile forming on her own lips as well. She lifted a hand, caressing a few of them with her fingers, and shifted her body a little to make herself more comfortable in Davy’s embrace. She didn’t know how long the Dutchman intended to stay underwater, or how long it would take to leave the storm behind them, but for now, Selena felt calm and content, far more than she would have expected before all this. She looked out the window, into the vast sea that was far quieter than what she was used to from it, and something that Davy said came up in her mind again, putting a tender smile on her lips. ‘I will not be leavin’ ya behind.’

~~~

end note: I just want to quickly mention that the whole "the Dutchman crew can breathe underwater" thing was not something I came up with. I in fact I once even read a somewhat similar scene in an ancient Davy x oc fanfic here on livejournal (The Isa Chronicles by cazcatharsis in case the link doesn't work, I'm not sure anymore in which chapter though and this website kind of of hell to navigate). I was a bit worried about copying too much, however I dare to say the the general idea is not something that can be copyrighted by a single person, I'm pretty sure there were and are discussions and different headcanons about how the crew is dealing with going underwater. It seems reasonable that their bodies have to adjust in some way, so they would be able to either hold their breath for a much longer time than regular humans or just straight up breathe underwater. As most of them are inspired by fish rather than for example whales, I decided to go with the second option. I'm not sure if I will stick with anything just like I wrote it here, as this whole story is continuously developing and just in its starting phase. I tried to also generally adapt the situation to the context of my storyline, so I figure it shouldn't be an issue?

[happy-mokka]

Tag game!

I was tagged by @santacoppelia . Muchas gracias!

So, here we go...

1. Were you named after anyone? My grandpa on my mother's side. Died far too early. Sadly I never got to meet him.

2. When was the last time you cried? I tear up A LOT. Sad things. Beautiful things. A sunset. It's pathetic but I wouldn't count that as crying. Last time I really cried, was 9 years ago, when my Dad died.

3. Do you have kids? Nope. I guess that ship's sailed. I'm a passionate uncle of 5 and for some reason kids adore me. Guess it's because I turn full out into Goofy mode once some are around...

4. What sports do you play / have you played? Played table tennis for 15 years in a team on low regional level. But stopped long ago, when I moved away and started to work. Never picked it up again. Now I just watch Soccer from time to time.

5. Do you use sarcasm? Sometimes more often than I'd like. Can irritate people that don't know me well enough. That's why I try to be more careful with it.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people? I think I have pretty good antennas for general moods and micro gestures. Generally I m always first drawn to the eyes...windows to the soul. Always trying to read people...it's a gift and a curse sometimes.

7. What's your eye color? Variations of blue, depending on my mood. Ranges from more greyish blue to deep dark blue.

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings. I watch scary movies mostly in company, almost never on my own.

9. Any talents? Don't know. Not really. Others should answer that. My self esteem is not too high when it comes to such a question. When the situation allows it, I make a pretty good clown. Not to put myself in the center of things. More when I feel a party needs some loosening up or someone needs desperately to be cheered up.

10. Where were you born? Southwest part of Germany, near the border to Switzerland and the Black Forest. 

11. What are your hobbies? Reading. Going to the movies old school in a theater. Taking pictures on long walks of everything that catches my eye. Have a thing for sunsets.

12. Do you have any pets? No. Had birds for quite some time. Now I'm just part-time Dad to my Mom's dachshund and spoiling the cats in my neighborhood.

13. How tall are you? 1.78m or 5'10

14. Favorite subject in school? Arts (drawing), English and History.

15. Dream job? Always wanted to teach. Became a software developer though. However, in the meantime I'm responsible for our apprentice program, so made it to teaching after all, to a certain degree at least.

Tagging with no pressure whatsoever

@uncleadelheid-will-eat-your-soul @sublimeobjectenthusiast @amagnificentobsession @simonezitrone79 @cryptic-queer-cryptid @eugenoid @joycrispy @kaiannanthi @notalostcausejustyet @paperclipbean @queerfables @reloha @shaggydogstail @yowlthinks

[p7agu3]

transfem neviro fic

some ppl on discord liked this, so i'm posting it here now. it's a draft with some unfinished bits lopped off. enjoy!

btw, maxwell is player but more insane: a cannon fist wind warlock assassin

-----

The Sun shines brightly over the blue waters of the Bronze Sea. Aboard an unassuming ketch, a group of distinctive idiots sit: a curse thief, dressed in dark thick clothing entirely inappropriate to the moderate climate, a fiery mage, the only woman in the group, a… regular man, dressed in a suit of chain-mail armor, and the somehow captain, wearing the frankly quite lame uniform of an Assassin acolyte. Beside them stand an old alchemist and a Navy deserter, watching their conversation with a sort of silent, exasperated intrigue.

“I’m telling you, this will be great!” Maxwell insists, grinning brightly with a touch of madness. He thinks ‘funny’ and ‘great’ are synonyms. “Team bonding! We’ll all get to know each other so much better!!”

Neviro raises a skeptical eyebrow. “How will exchanging our clothes make us ‘know each other’ better? I don’t see how that makes any sense-” Maxwell slaps a hand over the prince’s mouth with the force of a man who casually wields cannonballs. It knocks Neviro clean over, but I assure you that he is completely fine.

“Team bonding!!!!!” The madness has totally taken over the warlock’s grin. Everyone in the vicinity shivers slightly, and acquiesces to his atypical but acceptable demands.

Skipping over to Enizor, he gently borrows the alchemist’s overlarge hat. “Everyone will be participating!” The no-name acolytes he picked up in Whitesummit perk up excitedly. “..oh, I’m so sorry, guys. Not you, it might get kinda boring if there’s like ten of the same outfit…” They droop down again, saddened. “Look, I promise I’ll steal a seafood buffet from my lawful good shadow self later, okay? They’ll never see it coming and we’ll become even better criminals for it!” Cheers and brief applause can be heard before the crew goes back to manning the ketch. They kind of have to do everything. Maxwell doesn’t know jack about sailing and Edward is always being dragged into his shenanigans. At least it’s not a totally thankless job.

An empty notebook’s page is reduced to shreds of paper for the activity, and the names are dropped into Enizor’s hat, which is shaken around. “Who wants to pick first?” Maxwell asks, excitedly.

For a long moment, no one volunteers. Finally, Edward, loyal to a fault, decides to take the blow. “I’ll bite, Captain.” He sinks his hand into the hat, rummaging around through the scraps. One of them gets pinched between his weathered fingers.

“‘Maxwell..’” Edward reads. 

“Huh? What’s wrong?” The said warlock looks at him, confused.

“That’s the name I picked up. Seems we’re going to-” His calm words are cut off by Maxwell suddenly squealing excitedly and dragging him below deck. Edward’s expression is one of resigned horror as he disappears into the darkness.

“Should we run before it’s too late?” Iris asks, feeling somewhat unsettled at the thought of Enizor potentially wearing her clothes.

Morden shakes his head sadly. “He’d catch us. You can’t stop Max when he gets like this, it’s like trying to stop a ship mid-ram. Sometimes you can dodge it, but if it’s determined enough you won’t be free until one or both of you is at the bottom of the ocean.”

“Shall we determine the next pair?” Enizor asks with his crusty old man voice.

With a deep sigh, Morden steps forward and picks a name out of the hat. “‘Enizor’... Oh, for fuck’s sake…”

“Language!” The boomer chides him. “But I don’t believe this will be too terrible. I did have a, oh, what is it called? A ‘goth phase’? The style is not unfamiliar to me, I’m certain we’ll be fine.”

Morden groans horribly again. He looks at Iris and Neviro. “I guess you two will be swapping clothes too, huh? Let’s just. Do this.”

The other two reluctantly nod and begin to descend.

Below deck, Edward and Maxwell are staring at each other’s top surgery scars.

“OMG, you’re trans of gender!!!” Max shouts excitedly. He’s absolutely thrilled.

“When the hell did you get top surgery??!?” Edward asks, confused and baffled. Based on what he knows about Maxwell’s life, there’s literally no fucking way.

“I don’t know!” He’s so happy that Edward doesn’t dare to bring down the mood. The quartermaster tries to shrug casually and accepts the acolyte uniform from his half-dressed captain, (they’re both wearing a towel around the waist and that’s it) handing him the battered Navy uniform that they reclaimed from Silverhold so long ago.

Maxwell skips off into a side room to change, leaving Edward to make heads or tails of the red scarf. The rest of the uniform is simple enough, just a sleeveless buttoned shirt and black pants. Unfortunately, it seems to be a little too small. His chest seems to be straining against the buttons of the shirt, but the stitching holds strong, even as Edward takes a deep breath in. Perhaps he should give the Assassins a little more credit for their clothing quality..

It feels odd to just have his arms out like this. He’s not particularly built, and he’s admittedly gotten a bit soft around the edges since his desertion. Somewhat nervously, he adjusts the scarf so it sits less awkwardly around his neck. 

He looks in the mirror. Oh, this is quite alright, actually. It’s not a bad outfit. A bit plain, definitely, and it certainly is a bit tight, but he can live with this for a day or so. That.. that is how long Maxwell is going to make this go on, right?

Stepping back out onto the deck of the ship, Edward blinks in the sudden brightness of the day. To his astonishment, Maxwell wolf-whistles at him, pointing and laughing excitedly at Edward’s arms. It’d be kind of flattering if this wasn’t the same teenager who keeled over and fainted when Morden took his shirt off last week. The Death Curse user barely has any decent chest hair, Maxwell’s standards are far too low.

The Navy uniform looks pretty natural on the warlock. Perhaps it’s because Edward got used to seeing him in Navy blue before he joined the Syndicate. For some reason Maxwell had made a habit of constantly wearing the color. He twirls a gun, clearly not knowing how to use it, and shoots a hole in one of the sails before fumbling with reloading it. Edward sighs and takes both holsters from him, clipping them onto the Assassin uniform. Best not to trust him with weapons, that rarely ends well.

Behind him, Enizor emerges, wearing Morden’s outfit. “This is a bit thick for the weather, isn’t it?” He remarks. The dark clothing and bandanna really accentuate his baldness.

“Oh, says the guy who wears THREE layers of robes?” Morden argues, almost tripping over the hem of Enizor’s robes as he stumbles out onto the deck. “How can you even see out of this thing?” He gestures angrily towards the hat’s brim.

“It takes decades of experience, boy.” Enizor chides. “Perhaps if you trained in the arts of alchemy you would understand. Also, you need to eat more, it’s clearly stunting your growth.”

Morden looks extremely irritated and bares his teeth at Enizor. He looks like he’s about to growl at him, honestly. Edward wonders if biting is on the table.

“Aw, I think the hat looks cute on you!” Maxwell tries to placate Morden. “The rest of the outfit is kinda a lost cause, though.” Edward nods in agreement, and Enizor looks crestfallen.

“None of you are old enough to appreciate the intricacies of classical alchemist dress.” Enizor crosses his arms, looking snooty. “You’ll come around in a few decades.”

Collapsing into a mopey, overheated pile of robes, Morden leans back against the ship’s railing. “What’s taking the last two so long?”

“Beats me. Should I go check on them?” Maxwell seems unenthusiastic about the idea.

Before he can say another word, though, Iris appears, donning Neviro’s chainmail and the set of iron armor they bought for him recently. “This is really heavy..” she puffs, leaning on the railing beside Morden to catch her breath.

“Wow! You look great!” Maxwell skips over to her and helps her get her hair out of the back of the armor. “Like, you actually pull off the look! Unlike Neviro. Um, don’t tell him I said that. Where is he, anyway?”

Back in the temporary changing room, Neviro is just. Staring. 

Staring at his reflection.

He’s wearing Iris’ jacket, skirt, and pants. It’s a pretty normal outfit, as far as outfits go. While he’s not in the habit of wearing skirts, he thought it would be something he could just laugh off later, since everyone else was very nonchalant about the whole clothes swapping thing.

But this is.. Weird. He feels weird. He can’t stop looking at himself.

Why does this look so.. right?

He knows he looks good. But this is something deeper. This.. this is making something resonate deep inside of himself, and he’s not sure what to make of it. 

Someone knocks on the door and he pulls himself away from the mirror. He needs to stop being weird about this. It’s just a skirt. Just a piece of fabric. He can be normal about it.

“Hey, are you okay in there?” Edward asks through the door, his voice muffled but slightly worried. “Is this making you uncomfortable? We can call it off, it’s fine, I can handle Maxwell."

Neviro steals another glance at the mirror.

He doesn't feel uncomfortable. He feels like something he's been missing for his whole life has just been handed to him. 

"I'm fine.." he says, trying to push down the emotions swirling in his stomach. He opens the door and smiles at Edward. His heart is pounding in his chest.

"Well." Edward says, sounding a bit concerned still. "You look very pretty. If you're alright with me calling you that." He looks away and scratches his neck. "The red really brings out your eyes."

Oh. Neviro feels his face turning red as well, and he covers it with his hands, trying to compose himself before going back above deck. Edward laughs softly. "C'mon, princess. The others are waiting for you."

It's just affectionate teasing. He knows this. But it doesn't stop his heart from pounding, or his body from suddenly feeling lighter. Once again, that feeling of strange happiness makes itself known, and he wonders what's wrong with him, that just a single word could elicit such a reaction.

When the sunlight shines down upon him once more, he expects them to tease him, maybe comment on how silly it looks for him to be wearing a little skirt. Instead, they all have similar reactions to Edward.

"Oh damn, you should really get out of that chainmail more! You're so cute!" Maxwell is bouncing around exuberantly, seemingly ecstatic that his activity was a success. He twirls Edward's cutlass around like a baton, prompting the quartermaster to chase him down and confiscate it.

"The red suits you." Enizor comments, pulling the bandanna down to speak in a move that might have been badass if his head wasn't bald and shiny with sweat.

"It really does," Iris agrees, to Neviro's surprise. "Maybe we should get you a jacket like that in the next town?"

"Oh, there's no need," he insists, feeling very flustered. Even if he might want one, he has enough clothes already. Plain, boring, mostly tasteless clothes, but enough to wear. 

The skirt rustles around his legs in the sea breeze. He doesn't think about what it might be like to wear one regularly.

"Well," Morden says, getting up from his sitting position. "Does this mean we're finally done 'bonding'?" He looks somewhat relieved at the prospect.

Neviro feels a pang of disappointment. No. Stop that. These are Iris' clothes, he knew he'd have to return them eventually.

Thankfully, Maxwell has other ideas. "No, of course not! Now that I am dressed appropriately, we must make haste for Silverhold! I will visit my father!"

"Oh no," Edward mutters, slapping his hand to his forehead. "Not this again.."

"Max, we've been over this!" Morden protests. "The Commodore is not your father! You're an orphan, that's how the Order got you in the first place!"

"Family is who you choose!" Maxwell argues back. "And mine includes them and not you!" His voice softens into something more playful. "Mostly 'cause it'd make kissing you weird if you were part of it."

"Gah!" Morden throws his hands up exasperatedly and heads below deck, cheeks burning almost as red as Neviro's. There seems to be a whole lot of blushing today. As he descends, he calls back at Maxwell. "You won't be seeing a speck of Death magic during your raid, I assure you of that!"

"Good!" retorts Maxwell. "It's too early for you to meet my parents anyway!"

Silence hangs over the ship for a moment.

"Wow." says Iris. "That was certainly something." Her borrowed armor clanks as she scratches her neck. "So.. off to Silverhold, now?"

"Yeah, let's go." Maxwell huffs, signaling the crew to open sail towards the naval base.

Neviro stands by the ship's railing, feeling the wind rustle his– not his, Iris', why does he have to remind himself of that?-- skirt. He feels a bit lightheaded from all the compliments. The occasional spray of seawater doesn't do much to distract him from his boiling thoughts.

"You really do look nice." Iris tells him, clanking over to stand by his side. "It seriously looks a lot better than most of your 'outfits', if they can even be called that." She laughs lightheartedly. "Maybe you should let me do your clothes shopping?"

His heart flutters at the offer, and he has to bite back the 'yes' on his lips. It's just a joke. Just a joke. Stop being weird, Neviro. "Haha," Gods, that sounded so forced. "I'm alright. Thanks."

She seems slightly concerned about his stiffness, but seemingly brushes it off as him being a bit embarrassed. He's not sure how to describe how he feels about the offer anyway.

On the other side of the ship, Maxwell has pulled Edward aside, using his magic to make a very obnoxious whooshing noise that obscures their conversation. The warlock grips his quartermaster severely. "Edwar," he insists, so intensely focused that he forgets the last consonant. "My egg detector is off the chart."

Edward nods solemnly. "Yes, I do believe I am feeling a slight sense of 'egg' as well, Captain. What shall we do about it?"

Maxwell thumps his fist into his hand aggressively. "I'm going to talk to them about it."

"...respectfully, Captain, I think you should let Iris handle this one."

"Damn." Maxwell considers this. "You're probably right," He concedes, after a minute of thought. "I am Not Good at the whole delicate emotions thing."

"Neviro," Iris asks, after a minute of silence (and loud wind noises, wtf Maxwell?). "What are you thinking about? You seem stiff. More stiff than usual, I mean."

The lost prince jolts in surprise at the question. She's right, he has been feeling rather tense, lost in conflicting thoughts brought on by the stupid outfit he's wearing. He groans and rubs his forehead. He's a terrible liar, but he doesn't want to worry her over something so trivial. Even if it's kind of weird.

"Thinking about this, I guess." He gestures at the skirt and jacket. "The whole 'wearing a skirt' thing."

She frowns worriedly. "Is it bothering you? This whole thing was meant to be harmless fun, you can take it off now if you-"

"No!" The denial spills from his lips before he can stop it. He covers his mouth for a second, mortified. "I- I mean, it's really not bothering me. I promise." His face is turning red again, he can feel it. 

"Oh, so you like it?" She sounds slightly amused, but not mocking. Not cruel. Just curious. He's not sure how to feel about that.

"Y-yeah. I guess." He can barely look at her. It feels shameful to admit. He's a prince, he's not supposed to like flouncing about in dresses and skirts and things.

Iris looks off into the distance, where Silverhold is slowly approaching. "Can I ask you a question? It might be kind of.. invasive, I guess. So you don't have to answer it."

"..." He's not sure what she's about to ask. But he doesn't feel too worried. She's one of the closest friends he's had in his life. "Go ahead?"

"Are you… not a boy, Neviro?" The question throws him for a loop. His first instinct is to respond with a resounding 'no', since of course he's male, he's the prince of Winterveil for gods' sake, everyone knows that. But.. he thinks. And suddenly he's not so sure.

"I.. I…" For once he's lost for words. His fingers clench in the fabric of his skirt. Has he ever really felt like a man? He feels suddenly confused and a bit scared. Is.. is he crying? He can't– shouldn't be crying right now.

"Hey, it's okay, calm down.." Iris' hands rub his back, warm even through the chainmail. "I get it, this gender stuff is confusing. But you're not alone, you've got me and Morden and Edward and Maxwell. We get it. We'll always have your back."

He sniffles. "Thanks.." A part of himself that he'd taken for granted has just been.. ripped away. No, not that, it was just.. always wrong. Chafing on the edge of his consciousness. Now it's hanging loose, and he…

She's not a 'he'. It feels oddly freeing to think that, to place something new in that empty void. A bubble of happiness rises up through her body. This.. this feels better. Feels right. She's a girl. Maybe she's always been one.

Iris lets her go and takes a step back. "Are you feeling better?"

She nods. "Yeah. A lot better."

The anomaly smiles. "Glad to hear it. So, what are your preferred pronouns?"

"...she/her." It feels a little odd to say it, but also extremely freeing. Iris smiles. 

"I'm guessing this is the first time you really realized this, huh?" She nods again. "Alright, yeah. So what should we call you? I'm guessing you probably don't wanna still be called 'Neviro'?"

Maybe. But that's really the only name she's ever known, and she doesn't have any new names ready. She shrugs, feeling a little too emotionally drained to talk.

"Ah, right, you probably haven't thought about it. Hm," Iris scratches her chin in thought. "Can we call you 'Nevi'? I get you might wanna pick a different name later, but it's a little less–"

She tackles Iris into a hug, making a racket when the metal armor crashes into the railing. "Yes," she whispers. "Yes, yes, thank you so much, Iris.."

"No problem." Iris ruffles her hair with a knowing grin. "Just girls helping girls, right?"

"Stop the boat!" yells Maxwell, already making for the edge of the ship. The sound of cannons firing can be heard from Silverhold, but Edward has calculated the distance properly– the ship is just out of range. Before long the girls can hear his deranged yelling, and the terrified screams of Navy marines.

Edward follows Maxwell off the ship, perhaps hoping to spare the lives of some relatively innocent marines. And drag him away from the Commodore before Maxwell's bizarrely trusting side can make a reappearance and get him recruited into the Navy.

[noahsbookhoard]

📚May 2024 Book Review (Part 3/3)📚

A slight change of plan: this review was supposed to include a french thriller, Le manuscrit inachevé by Franck Thilliez but since it's a trilogy and I read all three books it will be easier to speak of all three at once!

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

India, 1634. Detective Samuel Pipps is arrested by governor-general Jan Haan for reasons unknown. He is to be brought back to Amsterdam aboard the ship Saardam with his sidekick Arent Hayes, the governor-general, his wife and his mistress. As they board the ship, a leper appears and curse the ship before bursting into flame. With Pipps under arrest, Arent will have to solve this mystery by himself and make sure the ship reaches its destination, despite the lepers prediction.

Stuart Turton's The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has been a total hit for me earlier this year, I wanted to read another book of his. I couldn't get his latest book yet but this one was available!

The premise intrigued me, historical novel, a nautical story (with an author's note indicating that there were licenses taken, I knew next to nothing on the subject and the period so if there were, they flew past me) and a murder mystery with a pinch of horror. The balance is really well built, the ship and period create interesting obstacles to the investigation and nook and cranies to build a horror atmosphere. The main character is not the weathered detective who guesses everything and withhold his discovery à la Poirot, we get to see his deduction as he makes them, and it adds to the threat until the very end.

The characters are nicely drawn, I felt like I knew them already and had read about other cases they solved before. The author is great at giving tiny details that makes the characters and their relationships feel life-like, it made the ending hit that much harder.

Nonetheless I wasn't awed by the resolution: I had seen not of it coming, which is frequent eniugh in murder mystery but some aspects of it didn't feel like they had been set up upstream. It was also very down to earth, and I was expecting some supernatural elements to actually be supernatural in the end (I can't be much clearer without spoiling the end). That one is on me but it still tinted my feeling.

In conclusion, I found it a bit less awe-inspiring than The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle but a nice read and a good thriller. Specialist of sailing, and the 17th century might find some historical incoherence but the book is really enjoyable.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams

Arthur Dent is the last human survivor of planet Earth, destroyed to make way for a galactic highway. His friend Ford Prefect, an alien in disguise saved hit at the last second. Together they will explore the new planets, guided by Ford's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and solve such grand questions as "where did all the ballpen go?" and "what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?"

This is a cult classic and, as I get acquainted with SciFi and British absurdism, I gave it a go.

This was a wierd experience. Fun but wierd: I was a bitclost and Arthur's reaction to everything was so far out of what I would have felt that I had difficulty identifying with him. Other characters were really fun, I love Ford and Martin most of all. I admit most of the longer names are blurry for month after reading.

The different adventures were fun, I'm really growing fond of the absurd. Zaphod's ship and its propulsion system, the Impossibly Drive is such a funny yet efficient mechanism!

This was a fun discovery, I probably missed 48% of the references but I finally have context for that "42" easter egg on Google. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is on the TBR for late September or October and I'm looking forward to it.

The Start Beast (Doctor Who 60th anniversary novelisation) by Gary Russel

The Doctor just regenerated, and this new face is strangely familiar. The coincidence is too much when he runs into Donna Noble, still amnesic. She can't remember him, it would be fatal; but as an alien called The Meep crashes in London and has to run to escape pursuit, the Doctor and Donna will run into each other again and work together to save planet Earth.

I was so excited for the 60th anniversary episodes!! David Tennant and Catherine Tate are such an awesome duo and Russel T Davis back on the team was a great news to me! I loved those new episodes and this one especially.

Aaaaand that's about all I have to say! Unfortunately, the book adds very little to the show. I hadn't rewatched it recently but it was still fresh enough that I didn't rediscover it through the book. I should have expected it. So yeah, novelisation doesn't add much but that's still one hell of an episode!

[harmonie-writes]

The Buccaneer Queen pt. 14

Pirate! ATEEZ x pirate!fem Reader

Genre: fantasy pirate AU, future romance

Warnings: angst, language, violence, gore, mentions of guns, cannons, death. The characters in this story are purely fictitious and do not portray actual people.

AN: italics are thoughts

Word count: ~3.1k

Summary: Women are considered bad luck upon the vessels that sail the Seven Seas. Before you became the captain of The Astraea, a witch of sorts cursed you and the crew leaving a physical mark upon your chest just above where your heart would lie. Anyone that sees the Black Standard flying on the black and gold ship knows that they have stumbled upon the Armada of the Damned which is piloted by the Buccaneer Queen.

Masterlist

Previous | Next

»»————-　➴　————-««

Previously on The Buccaneer Queen:

He felt guilty. It felt wrong to go against someone who was willing to work with them. At the same time, though, anger swirled in the pit of his stomach. Oh, how Seonghwa wanted the answers to fall in his lap, and he knew that those would be hard to get. For all he knows, pirates lie. Or at least manipulate the truth to something that benefits them.

Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he settles into his spot. He knew one thing for certain. He would play whatever little game you were conducting, and he was going to see to it that you weren't successful.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Hongjoong could feel the ache in his joints as he stood behind the helm. It had taken a toll on him, using so much of the blessing in him to make sure the ship made it safely out of the hurricane, and back on track to Port Royal.

"Fine steering, Captain," Seonghwa called, walking up the few remaining steps to the shorter man.

Hongjoong removes one hand from the wheel to rub the tight muscles in the back of his neck. "It's been sometime since I've had to use that much of the divine blessing," he admits.

Seonghwa nods in understanding as they both stare at the twilight that's beginning to cover the sky.

"Joong?"

Hongjoong just hums slightly in response, as he slowly directs the ship a little bit more to the south as he waits for Seonghwa to continue.

The dark-haired man licks his lips before he continues, "How much do you actually trust this captain?"

Hongjoong glances up at his quartermaster before redirecting his gaze to the sea. "Have you ever questioned my judgement before?"

Seonghwa's face drops into a dead pan slightly as he responds, "Yes, plenty of times actually."

"And yet, you still followed my directions?"

His brows furrow at this, "well of course, it's mutiny if I didn't."

Hongjoong's fist curls a little bit tighter on the wheel before responding, "Even though I'm known as the Pirate King, did I ever give you any notion that I wasn't merciful or understanding?"

At this, Seonghwa pauses, truly trying to think of a time where Hongjoong didn't have the best interest of the crew in mind. "No, I guess you're right…"

"And what has this captain done to make you mistrust her?" Hongjoong gives Seonghwa's profile a hard stare as the latter remains silent.

Taking the silence as his answer, Hongjoong presses forward, "There are some things that people prefer to keep quiet on, and even though we've just recently become a part of the crew, it doesn’t mean that we are entitled to know every single secret that she possesses. Trust goes both ways."

Seonghwa can't help how his lower lip is tucked between his teeth as he contemplates Hongjoong's words. Brows pulling together as he remembers his incident back in Tortuga with the witch. Why was he so hellbent on believing a witch of all people? Truth be told he didn't know, but her reaction was so violent that he was inclined to believe her.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Jongho's props an arm on the railing of the crows nest, head being held up by his hand as he lazily scans the darkening horizon. So many secrets and the slow brew of distrust has been festering in the crew. Sides are being taken, and all he's been able to do is watch. He'd much rather observe his crew mates before making a final decision on what's happening between the she-captain and his quartermaster.

With a shake of his head, he tries to dispel the thought and focus on his job. It shouldn't be too much longer before they reach Port Royal. Soon, he should be seeing the first glimpses of lantern light as the sail closer to their destination.

The creak of the rigging catches his attention and he leans over ever so slightly to watch as San joins Wooyoung on the mast.

"The captain has been holed up in their quarters ever since Joong offered to take over," San mumbles, just loud enough for the wind to carry it to Jongho's ears.

He hears the sound of Wooyoung humming before answering, "been pretty reclusive since leaving Tortuga."

At this, Jongho can't help the way he leans a little further over the railing to eye the two below him.

He watches the way the sage-haired gunner shrugs his shoulders. "Don't know if it has anything to do with the Diamond captain or not, but if I was in that position I'd probably be in a sour mood too."

Heaving out a sigh Jongho finally reveals his position causing both men to jump, "Do you guys forget that I'm up here?"

"Shit! Jongho! How long have you been up there?" Wooyoung gasps, twisting his head to look at the crow's nest.

"Y'know… since this morning," Jongho gives them a blank stare as he gazes at them.

"Well," San coughs to cover up his embarrassment, "what do you think?"

"What do I think about what? The captain?"

"Yes, the captain!" Wooyoung’s voice raises ever so slightly, only to be shushed by the other two.

"To be honest, it seems rough having to deal with a curse, especially one that she has," Jongho pauses briefly to look over at the horizon before fixing his gaze on his crew mates, "but, having to deal with an ex-crew member, one whom there might've been a past with would be pretty bothersome."

San can't help the way his brows quirk up hearing the youngest's answer. "That's pretty profound of you, Jongho."

The youngest just rolls his eyes before looking back to the horizon, eyes finally spots the first signs of Port Royal. Rising to his feet he rings the bell.

"Land ho!" He shouts, cupping his mouth. At his call, the two on the mast began sliding down the rigging to the main deck.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Yeosang watches with wide eyes as you begin ripping maps out of the end chest by your desk and shoving them into his arms.

"Uh, YN, what are you doing?" He flounders watching as you grab a duffel and set it on your desk.

"Make yourself useful Yeosang, and start stuffing the bag with the maps and documents," you tell him, before you start rifling through your desk drawers.

"Right, yes, of course," he responds, hastily shoving everything haphazardly into the bag. His heart aching at the mistreatment of the parchment, but not wanting to argue with you when you seem this out of sorts.

It's as you finally pull out a small hourglass that the door to your quarters bursts open, and to your surprise it's Seonghwa who is standing breathless in the doorway.

"The Diamond, it's sailing out this way."

Shoving the small artifact into the bag, you swear as you hand the bag over to Yeosang before grabbing your hat and belt with your gear.

Turning, you lock your gaze with Yeosang, "Get a life boat ready, we are going to send you to shore early with Mingi and Jamie. Begin looking for the Treasure and get it out into open water, do you understand?"

Placing your hat atop your head you mutter, "So it begins."

The quartermaster and the navigator share a brief look with each other before hurrying to the duties. Regardless of what they'd like to do right now, defying you wasn't at the top of their lists when you carried an aura that dark.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Your steps are quick to carry you to the helm where you see Hongjoong already beginning to turn the ship so the cannons are facing the fast approaching ship.

"They're going to have tipped off the guards," Hongjoong tells you, as you slide into place next to him.

"I should've known this is how Seungcheol would've retaliated," you answer, eyes fixed on the white and blue sails.

Hongjoong eyes you out of the corner of his eye, before spinning the wheel of the helm to the port side. The ship lurches as it stops its forward momentum.

"Man the cannons!" Your voice calls over the noise of the crew, your call being echoed by them. Your eyes watch as the men scrabble from below deck with supplies as they begin setting up their stations.

You direct your focus to Hongjoong before sucking in a breath. "I've sent Yeosang with Mingi and Jamie to head to shore on the lifeboat. He has all of the documents from my quarters."

His focus immediately shifts to you, mouth partially open as he registers your words before leaving the helm to look over the back of the boat. Sure enough, he can see three men rowing to shore hopefully being hidden by the quick approaching night fall.

Making his way back to you he asks, "You're abandoning your ship?"

You suck your lower lip between your teeth before answering, "No, I'm preparing for the worst."

Hongjoong’s gaze focuses on his men as they bustle about the deck before slowly looking back at you, "We're buying time, aren't we?"

You nod once, not meeting his gaze but you hear him swear under his breath.

By now you can finally see individual figures moving about the other ship, and you can see a hat fashioned similar to your own standing behind the helm.

Your jaw ticks as you raise your hand in the air getting ready to yell the command that would bring rounds of cannon fire between the two ships.

An eerie calm settles over the deck for a brief moment, and you steel your nerves. Ship battles weren't pretty. Many of your men had been lost that way, and you carried the weight of their souls with you. Finally, as if a stone had settled in your stomach, you yelled, "Fire!"

»»————-　➴　————-««

Bringing the linstock to the fuse, San watched as the wick shrunk in size as he covered his ears. A resounding thunk could be heard as the shell exited the smoking barrel. Splinters from the ships had started flying through the air as cannon balls crashed through them, causing each vessel to rock.

"Jongho! Bring another one over! We're aiming for the mast!" San called, dumping gunpowder into the cannon once more.

"On it!" Jongho called over his shoulder, grabbing a couple of chain shots from a crate on deck.

Turning on his heels, Jongho quickly makes his way back stumbling slightly as a cannonball hits the side of the Astraea.

"Shit!" Jongho curses, scrambling to pick up the chain shot he dropped as he scrambles to reach San, who is refilling the cannon with more gunpowder.

Finally making it over to San, he stuffs the chain shot down the barrel.

"We need to turn the cannon! The Diamond is moving out of position!" San tells Jongho, both moving to the left side of the cannon and forcing it to the right.

Wiping his brow, San tells him, "Alright, that should do it. Just hand me the linstock so we can light this thing."

Nodding, Jongho hands him the small linstock and covers his ears.

They watch as the fuse shrinks before the cannon lurches backwards from the force of the explosion. Eyes turning to watch as the chain shot connects with the main mast of the ship.

The eerie crack of wooden splintering manages to be heard over the deafening noise of cannon blasts and gunshots, before the large pillar is crashing into the top of the deck.

"Time for the mizzenmast," Jongho says, sliding the next shot into the barrel.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Yeosang can't help but watch over his shoulder as the sea battle continues. Small flares of light as the cannons are fired can still be seen as they draw closer to Port.

"Breathe, Yeo. We need to stay focused," Mingi tells him, dipping his oar into the inky black water.

"Right, you're right," he breathes, finally looking away from the battle behind him to focus on their mission.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to find the Treasure, right?" Jamie asks, as he rows in tandem with Mingi.

"No, it should be one of the ships in the harbor. A ship, with black sails, similar to the Astraea," Yeosang tells the blonde boy in front of him.

Silence envelopes the three pirates as they close the distance to the docks, the only sound coming from the oars as slap against the water's surface.

It doesn't take much longer before the small dingy is pulling up to the wood dock, and the leather sack is being tossed onto the planks.

"Quickly," Migni whispers, feet treading lightly against the damp wood as he makes his way to where the dock keeper would be.

Yeosang is quick to grab the leather bag as he follows the two, making sure that nothing has been dropped before catching up.

Mingi can see the lantern light sits atop of a wood desk at the very end of the dock with a body hunched over, most likely the guard fast asleep. Peering over the guards shoulder he spots the ledger of ships that are in the port. With practiced ease, he slips the paper out from under the head of the guard and hands them to Yeosang who begins flipping through the pages. With a silent nod, Yeosang begins to walk down the cobblestone path that leads to another connecting dock. Before following the navigator, Mingi is quick to swipe the lantern off the desk, leaving the guard in the dark.

"The Treasure should be up ahead," Yeosang mutters, squinting down at the papers in his hand as Mingi holds the lantern up for him to see.

"It was being auctioned right? Does it say where those ships might be held?" Jamie asks, glancing back the way they came. After their last visit to Port Royal, he feels uneasy about being back so soon.

"Should be in the West Pier," Yeosang murmurs, shoving the papers into the duffel bag.

"Let's hurry. I don't know how much longer they'll be able to handle themselves out there," Mingi mutters, leading the way to the auction.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Men dressed in royal blue garb pace the docks of the auction pier, lanterns casting long shadows along the docks and shipping crates.

"This is pointless," one of the guards huffs, rifle hanging lazily off his shoulder.

"What's pointless is you complaining," the other sasses back.

"We are seriously taking a tip from a pirate? Doesn't that sound ridiculous to you?" The first asks, gesturing around the entire pier.

"Would you shut it? If we do our job, we might get a hefty bonus from the General, regardless if the Queen shows up!" The other one says, turning to slap the other's shoulder before continuing to walk down the pier. At the mention of the bonus, the other one seems to stop and think about it for a minute before shrugging and following after his senior.

Hiding behind a stack of crates, the trio listens closely to the two guards slowly start approaching. Opening the small door to the lantern, Mingi blows out the flame leaving them to hide in the shadows as the guards grow closer to their spot. Setting down the now unlit lamp, Mingi draws a dagger from his belt before silently urging Jamie to do the same. Prepping for what's about to come.

Unsheathing his blade, Jamie waits for his cue from the blue haired man as they wait in shadows for the guards to pass by.

"It's a shame really," one of the men in blue rambles to the other.

"What is?"

"We never got to hang the Ateez crew. It would've been a town spectacle to witness the Pirate King finally hang for his crimes."

Yeosang raises his hand out while staring daggers at the two men to stop the two with him from silencing the guards.

"At least, we have their prized ship. You know how much the general has been wanting to get his hands on it. The secrets it holds within," the first one continues.

The second one nods slowly, "Is that the reason he moved so it was closer to the mainland?"

"That's precisely the reason."

Dropping his hand now that he has the information he wanted, Yeosang let's Mingi and Jamie jump on the two unsuspecting Royal guards.

Both of the guards startle as they feel firm grasps on their shoulders and the cold sting of metal against their neck.

"Thanks for the information lads. Let's cut this evening short," Mingi growls, pressing the blade against the soft skin of the Royal guards neck.

The gasping exhale leaves both men's bodies as they fall limp in their grasps before they're both dumped over the edge of the pier.

"We must hurry!" Yeosang calls, jogging down the pier to the end furthest inland. The other two hot on his heels as they begin looking for their ticket out of here.

Eyes scan the many ships, seeing many with the painted white and blue sides, making them easy to identify as the naval ships of Port Royal. Amongst all of them, there stood one with a burnt hull and black sails.

Panting, Jamie pointed at the dark ship, "Is that it?"

"Aye, there she is," Mingi confirms, untying the ship from its mooring.

"Time to set sail," Yeosang calls over his shoulder as he boards the Treasure. He can't help the nostalgia that washes over him as he takes in the ship, but he pushes it down as he runs to the captain's quarters to drop off the bag.

When he makes it back to the deck he sees that Mingi and Jamie have raised the anchor and are working on unfurling the sails. Determined, he makes his way to the helm.

"Don't worry, we're on our way," the blonde murmurs to himself as he navigates the ship out of the pier.

»»————-　➴　————-««

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[blackjackkent]

OK, headed back to camp for a long rest, and THIS was waiting for me as I did a quick rounds to talk to everyone before bed:

Gale, if you scarpered and left me a fucking voicemail I'm going to be very upset.

"Good evening! I am here on behalf of Gale of Waterdeep. He wishes to extend you an invitation for a private conversation at a more suitable locale."

LOLOL.

First of all, yes, that's exactly what he did, and second of all, I forgot I had him in that hat. I guess "Hide Helmets" does not extend to Gale's mirror image, just to Gale himself.

Also wtf are you up to, Gale? :P Are we going to channel the Weave again together? You should know I'm pretty spoken for at this point.

"Very well," Hector says, bemused. "Show me the way."

"Gladly," says the mirror image. "Simply follow yonder path, and soon you will find him."

There is, in fact, a wall in the direction the image then pointed, but the game immediately popped up a long rest dialogue so presumably we just have to sleep now to trigger the rest of the scene.

I took a quick pause to throw a bottle of water on myself to remove all the bloodstains and also to kiss Karlach because reasons.

-----

Gale has, it seems, found a hidden exit out of the tower; he's sitting outside in the moonlight, wreathed in a shimmering, iridescent wave of magic.

For a little while Hector simply stands on the edge of the clearing and watches him. By all rights, they should not be comfortable anywhere outside in this dark, cursed place, but Gale's magic is bright, driving back the darkness, resonating with a strange, almost musical chiming as it swirls. Gale's expression is distant, as if seeing past the lights into some other world altogether; his fingers move in quick, purposeful motions through the air, a conductor with his orchestra.

He looks up and smiles quietly as Hector approaches; he doesn't speak, but scoots a little to the side to indicate Hector should sit next to him.

"I love this time of night," he says softly, when Hector has made himself comfortable. "There's an almost reverent silence that accompanies the peak of darkness, when you'd almost believe the dawn will never break. The cradle of eternity..."

He hesitates, looks sideways at Hector and smiles sadly. "The timelessness of lovers. That most beautiful of fantasies."

Hector meets his gaze steadily, resisting the urge to flinch away from the intensity in the other man's eyes. There was a time, perhaps, when he might have considered reciprocating Gale's interest in him. It's well-meant - and gods know that Gale could use someone kinder than Mystra to care for him. That ship has sailed, though; Hector is Karlach's, unequivocally.

But Gale is his friend, and it doesn't take a genius to see that the wizard is extraordinarily preoccupied tonight. "You seem especially philosophical this evening," he says gently. "Are you all right?"

Gale looks away, the faint smile leaving his lips. "I will be, soon," he mutters. "I am perhaps just one hard day away from being without any troubles at all."

Ah. Of course. He thinks that tomorrow, or at the very least someday very soon, will be their final confrontation, for better or for worse, and he will have to set off the bomb in his chest. And perhaps he's right. They have seen no sign of the "Heart of the Absolute" yet, but there is certainly no question they're in the heart of the Absolute's territory. The heart of the cult's influence.

"This may be my last night alive," Gale goes on. "I wanted it to be under a canopy of beauty and wonder... I thought this place might bring me peace. I thought it might make the weight of what I must do feel a little lighter. But...I am not so sure..."

Hector frowns, watching him. There is certain noble self-control in Gale's manner that he admires tremendously, as one who has been a student of self-discipline for his entire life...and yet...everything about this still feels wrong to him.

"Is this truly what you want?" he asks quietly. "To die for the promise of Mystra's forgiveness?"

Gale's expression hardens and he sits up with a sudden surge of energy. "Babe or crone, coward or hero, death is assured. Mystra's forgiveness...is not. If you knew the end was near, would you not want to ensure it had meaning?"

He rounds on Hector abruptly, meeting his eyes, demanding an answer of him. But Hector is not sure he has one to give. Yes...yes, he would want his death to have had meaning, were there no other choice but to die. But he does not accept that premise - there must be another way.

When he doesn't respond, Gale slumps, looks away again. "I am terrified," he admits softly. "I will not claim otherwise. My face could scarcely conceal it even if my words sought to deny it." He draws a slow breath and lets it out heavily. "There is no point in running from the inevitable. Better to meet it on my own terms."

Hector shakes his head, troubled by the implications of what Gale is saying. "Nothing is inevitable," he says firmly. "Not when we face it together. You don't have to die."

Gale flinches away from him. "Yes," he mutters. "But there is so much to live for, and so few moments in which to house it all..."

"Damn you!" he snaps suddenly, slamming a fist into the soil next to him and making Hector jump. "Damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures-- this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn't."

He swallows, and for a moment the real, true grief that he has been trying to ignore becomes fully clear on his face. "If there is a way, any way, to save all that's grown dear to me, I want to seize it... I just cannot fathom what that might be, other than to fail Mystra and condemn the world..."

A long silence. Hector struggles to find something useful, something reasonable to say. I will not let you die, not if there is anything I can do to stop it... he thinks. But I have no more answers than you do. I wish I did...

Gale smiles ruefully when he receives no response; he knows just as well as Hector does that there isn't really one to give. "Stay with me, will you?" he asks softly. "I don't want to think of it any more, but I don't want to be alone either."

Stay with him and watch the stars in silence.

[sombritas-des]

Hey!! I really like ur writing!!!

For the scars one i imagine that whenever the beheaded gets a new vessel or body to inhabit they both take a good long look at it and try and figure out what the scars came from before it died. Like the both of them don't know so they just guess and try and use the information to maybe prepare for what's coming up. - Like if the body has a lot of bite wounds they'll be like "ah, bad dogs ahead" or if there's more modern signs of damage like stabbing or slicing or whatever theyll be like "ah, bad people ahead"

This is assuming they're just sorta walking around going from place to place, which I feel like they'd do.

I'd also imagine that it's pretty hard for the beheaded to actually scar up, cause a dead thing won't really produce the proteins to make that happen, so they like, staple it together until it holds up yk? So all of the beheaded's scarring is really nasty and kinda fucked up since it takes so long to actually heal over. But drifter has med packs so most of their scars are more surgically taken care of ykwim? Like drifter disinfects their wounds and tools and beheaded is like "eh whatever" Idk I just really like the idea that beheaded is all fucked up cause it makes me feel like I'm still loveable lmao (⁠´⁠°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥⁠ω⁠°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥⁠｀⁠)

Anyway, I love how soft they are with each other. like of course I'll love you when your scarred, not in spite of your scars, not because of your scars, but because I love all of you, including your scars. AUGH I'm biting the walls

ALSO (sorry this is getting long but I literally have nobody to talk to about them) like, the first time drifter sees beheaded after a combat situation he's like "HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD!!" and beheaded's like "that ship has sailed lol" and for the first time in their life (death? perpetuation of consciousness??) the beheaded is treated gently and they're stitched up with care and bandaged with love. And they like, don't know how to react because it's never happened before and they're like "this is a waste of time and resources" and drifter is like "you're never a waste to me" auhgh.,, im ill about them

- e (I hope ur chill with me talking about this at u)

aah thank you so much, means a lot i do my best when writing! also ooh long!

Yeah “scars” was something weird to be fair but i like your analogy, i do agree with you,both of them would check on the new beheaded body to most likely gather information, also something that i added as a hc is that, the beheaded can sense or re-live the source of dead of the body, that ones is explained in “rebirth” another short ramble i wrote, they don’t feel the pain but rather the emotions.

As for the mending on the injuries, i kinda roll with the idea that somehow behe could try to preserve the body they inhabit, as in dead cells probably the healing flask do exactly that, regenerate the cells of the cursed vessel . Most of my rambles take place in drifter’s universe, the land of light, in that matter probably the same medicine that drifter uses can do the same effect as the healing flask from the beheaded cursed island.

So! how they heal/mend…funny i do thing the cells mend themself with time, slower but they do, the cells mend  the injury as an awful made scar but that's only when the beheaded let stays with the body long enough to heal, which is rare or was rare before meeting the drifter.

Drifter mending the beheaded cuts or injuries, bro i melt everytime i think about it, they absolutely do so and in such a careful yet precise way is almost enduring, those scars mend wonderfully, clean and close in a way that only a soft discolored mark can be seen, those are the beheaded favorite scars.

oh! but of course that the first time they do ,goes something like this..

-------------------------------------------------

The Drifter knelt beside the Beheaded, concern etched on his face as he examined the wound. The Beheaded, however, seemed almost disinterested, his gaze drifting off as if focusing on something far away.

"Hey, behe, I need you to stay with me here," the Drifter said, his hands gently probing the injury.

The Beheaded's response was a nonchalant shrug. "It's just a body, Drift. It's not like it matters." the beheaded sign 

The Drifter's expression turned stern. "It matters to me. You matter to me."

He began to clean and dress the wound, his touch gentle but firm. The Beheaded winced slightly, but it was clear their discomfort stemmed more from the Drifter's fussing than the actual pain.

As the Drifter worked, the Beheaded's gaze wandered, his thoughts seemingly a thousand miles away. The Drifter noticed and hesitated, unsure how to reach the Beheaded beyond his detachment.

"You know, I used to think it was just a body too," the Drifter said, his voice soft. "But then I met you, and I realized...it's not just a body. It's a vessel for your spirit, your heart. And I want to help you protect it."

The Beheaded's gaze snapped back to the Drifter, a flicker of surprise in their core. For a moment, they just looked at each other, the tension between them palpable.

Then, in a small act of defiance, the Beheaded reached out and touched the Drifter's hand. "Fine. Help me, then." the beheaded sign defeated

And with that, the Drifter continued his ministrations, the Beheaded's reluctant acceptance a tiny crack in his armor.

-----------------

ah…those dumas, gosh i love them

and no worries!! i love talking about them, i adore them deeply like ooof.never hesitate to come here and aks or chat about it, also i appreciate a lot you coming and telling me about how you felt with my tiny rambles means a lot! (ง ´͈౪`͈)ว

also you filled my head with new ideas..thats dangerous

anyhow! thank you again!

[drawingducktalesducks]

Can you tell a little more about the future AU May and June and their adoptive parents?

feverish and not even sure where that doodle came from. here's some odds and ends tho

people assume the fashion designer would like everything Just So, all neat and tidy, and the long haul fisherwoman who's off sailing for moths would be fine with controlled chaos

dead wrong

the INSTANT May docks in Duckburg her anxiety spikes because she can just FEEEEEL June's messy work space

May dropping off a bucket of sea serpent scales, filling the bucket with soapy water, whipping out a mop and dust pan, and attacking her little sister's room with all the wild, furious intensity of someone trying to bail out a sinking ship

Donald likes helping but usually gets tangled up in the vacuum cord at some point

June hides booby traps for May to find in her messes. Just to have a little fun

You know how much she's been missing her sister by how many and how complex the traps are

While May is busy cleaning (and clearing) her room, June has a tradition of going on May's ship and hiding nice little nick-knacks all over it- a cool rock, a candy bar, a cursed knife Webby brought home from her last adventure... just fun surprises to break up May's extremely regulated life at sea

Daisy knits May a new wool sweater every year, and May always tears up when she get it

Donald not only has a dozen pictures of all his kids in his wallet, he also has pictures of May's first catches and allllll the clothes June has ever designed.

He talks to May about sailing to make sure she's being safe and doing okay- He listens to June talk about clothes design and construction afterwards, to calm down and distract himself from thoughts of May fighting sea monsters.

June understands that fashion trends are a thing but since they're a thing that doesn't often align with her interests she chooses to ignore them and just make what she likes

She never gets super well known as a result and doesn't mind at all

Miss Glamour admires her confidence and ends up hiring her as an assistant after Daisy starts up her own business- which nobody understands, since June doesn't cater to Glamour at ALL and the vibe is more "doting grandmother happily has tea with her headstrong and irreverent grandchild"

Daisy and June do mother-daughter martial arts exercises every morning and evening, before and after work, to stave off the carpel tunnel, and Daisy still has no idea how she survived so long without it

May tries keeping a logbook while out sailing but usually ends up writing another paperback spy novel instead (penname: Gray Gullson) 

Beakly is a BIG fan

Beakly has no idea why May keeps wanting to have teatime chats with her about the old spy days but enjoys them quite a bit in any case

June kindly pretends not to understand why her sister needs to know if you could sew secrets or poisons into dress

and she puts May’s latest novel draft back into its hiding place when she accidentally finds it

...

she also edits the draft for spelling mistakes and leaves suggestions in the margins, in May's own handwriting, knowing it'll freak her sister out when SHE finds it

they make an effort to be together for the anniversary of Black Heron's "disappearance" (June paradropped onto May's ship from the Sunchaser once) but still aren't sure how they're supposed to spend it

they always call or visit with Daisy and Donald the day afterwards though

"...you ever think about what we would do, if she came back?"

"Disappoint her, probably. We're not exactly super villains."

"Yeah...."

"..."

"I hope we'd fight her."

"I think we would. I mean, if she tried to hurt mom or dad..."

"Or Webby or the Sabrewings."

"The boys too."

"Ducks and McDucks. Beakly."

"Launchpad."

"Gyro?"

"I guess pretty much anyone, really."

"We do have a lot of people to fight for these days."

"Maybe she'd be proud of us for that?"

"..."

"..."

"Probably not."

"Well I'm proud of us."

"Yeah. Me too."

"And I wouldn't trade Donald or Daisy for anything."

"Never."

"Ever."

"..."

"...I miss them."

"Same. Let's go home."

[mizusswordtip]

Down The Rabbit Hole ⚝ Killian Jones x Reader (8)

find the story on wattpad

summary: Alice's plan to overthrow the Queen of Hearts is thwarted by a dashing pirate with a hook. Years later, after the curse is broken, they reunite once again.

masterlist

Tears fall down my face as I hoist myself back up the rabbit hole that started all this in the first place. I look up at the sky and wonder how the hell I'm going to go back to my regular life after that's happened. I lay there, for a couple of minutes, simply staring up at the sky and give myself just this moment to feel everything.

I was supposed to end Wonderland's suffering and become a leader but I couldn't even make the sacrifice necessary to do so. I failed everybody. Jefferson, McTwisp, The March Hare. Even Chesh. Hook looked guilty for what he did but I can't help but feel nothing but resentfulness towards him.

I stand up and look down at my clothes and realize I'm no longer wearing the White Queens armor. Instead, I'm back in my baby blue dress that's now covered in dirt. I wonder what my mother will think when she sees me. Probably disappointed, like usual. But she won't be for much longer.

I begin my walk back to the gazebo, where all of this started. When I approach I notice that everybody is still standing there, as if I hadn't been gone long at all. Everyone is murmuring amongst themselves, gossiping. Me walking away from that gazebo is the most interesting thing that's happened to them all year, while I just slayed the Jabberwocky.

Andy notices me first, standing off to the side and his eyes widen in concern at the sight of me. I feel my heart throb fondly at his concern when most would be furious with me. I just wish it throbbed in the way a heart should for its husband. I motion him over to me with his hand and he begins to make his way towards me without question.

The crowd parts for him, now noticing me as well. I see my mother's horrified face and his mother's disgusted one. I reach my hand out to Andy and he takes it, letting me lead him away from the prying eyes and ears around us.

We sit on a concrete bench, side by side, somewhat awkwardly. "Are you alright Alice, what happened to you?" He asks in a low voice, wrought with concern. I finally look at him and smile sadly.

"I love you Andy, but not in the way you want me to." I say, just as softly. I expect him to look hurt but he gives me a small, knowing smile.

"I know Alice." He tells me. I feel slightly shocked but it quickly passes.

"Then why-"

"Because there's no one I'd rather have by my side." He interrupts quickly. I open my mouth to respond but he continues, "You might come to love me as I do you or you may not. Either way... I think we make a good pair. As friends or as... possibly more if you wish." I feel guilt at his words, wishing more than anything that I could grow to love him beyond what I already feel.

"I accept your proposal Andy." I say, and I'm surprised when I don't feel any hesitation in me. His eyes widen and I fight the urge to laugh. I guess a part of me knows this is the best-case scenario. True love is just a myth after all and if I don't marry Andy I'll end up marrying someone who I despise. Perhaps that's his thought process as well. "On one condition." I add on before he can embrace me.

"Anything." He says with a large grin that I can't help but return.

"I want to sail, I want to explore the world like my father did. We can get a ship, we can go together!" I enthuse and he looks at me fondly.

"And what should we call our ship, Mrs. Digby." He inquires with a playful smile. I had almost forgot about the name change. Alice Digby.

"The Wonderland."