#do people understand how magnificent this ship is??

[iwishfrogswerereal3]

(they are going to be happy in like 10mins!!! just some quick midnight angst!!)

[deathbyday]

-'⁠🫧*⁠.⁠✧ MOUTHWASHING ✧.⁠*⁠🫧'⁠ -

P5

“How could we end up here…?”

Daisuke x implied F!Reader

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Written By: DeathByDay

(Also written on Mobile)

2 MONTHS AFTER THE CRASH

(continued)

You stared in shock at the sight in front of you. Jimmy had opened one of the shipping boxes, hoping for something useful. You were all disappointed after he flipped the flaps to reveal mouthwash.

“It’s.. this is..” Jimmy muttered softly, at a loss for words. “Mouthwash?” Anya finished for him, her voice squeaky, sounding like she was about to cry. “Is this the only thing in here?” You whispered through the tense air, let down by what the boxes contained.

“Un-fucking-believable.” Swansea murmured, ignoring your question. You couldn’t blame him though. You probably would’ve ignored yourself as well, due to the shock. “There’s gotta be an ocean of the stuff in here! This room looks freaking endless!” Daisuke exclaimed, waving his arms around.

“This is what they’d have six people hauling for over a year?” Jimmy asked. Daisuke and Swansea looked up towards him while you and Anya continued staring down at the liquid. “All of this.. for mouthwash?!” He shouted, getting frustrated.

“The sugar content probably offsets any potential as a disinfectant.” Anya said, looking at the back of the bottle. “Disinfectant? What are you.. let me see that!” Swansea snatched the item out of her hand, taking a look at it himself.

He stayed silent for a moment, taking his time to read it. “14% Ethanol!” He laughed, causing Daisuke to turn to him and chuckle awkwardly. “I suppose we’ll smell good at least?” He tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why the older male was grinning.

“That’s right, kiddo! You can bet your ass on that.” The older man nodded, a smirk replacing his usual frown. “W-What are you doing?!” Anya worriedly asked, hands shaking. “Stop that!” She demanded.

Swansea took the cap off the bottle before drinking the mouthwash, causing you to softly gasp. “Whew! Ohh.. shut up. I’m just an old codger taking care of his dental hygiene.” He excused. You press your lips together, brows creasing.

“You hear that? That’s the sound of 15 years of sobriety popping like a cyst. A glorious, magnificent, red hot cyst!” Swansea shouted before cheering for Captain Curly, pumping the mouthwash into the air.

“Doesn’t that burn your throat?” You asked him, eyes squinting. He chuckled before nodding slowly, already feeling the kick of the blue liquid. “Guess anyone could get seriously blasted off of this stuff.” Daisuke muttered, staring at Swansea.

“Yeah, and kill you in the process.” Jimmy added. You kept your hand on your forearm, feeling nothing but concern for the drunken man by you. You looked towards Jimmy, your face filled with curiosity.

“Could it really kill someone? Just from drinking mouthwash?” Your brows furrowed. Jimmy nodded. “Yeah, it could.” He confirmed.

“This can’t be real.. I-.. there’s no way.” Anya held her face in the palm of her hands, voice muffled by them. “Now we can go out in style!” Swansea joked before turning his head towards the boy beside you.

“Daisuke..” He sang. “Come here! Anyone ever teach you how to drink like a man?” He asked, raising the mouthwash from his hand, handing it towards the young brunette.

You couldn’t help but watch, knowing that if you tried to do anything, you’d just be labeled as a “loser” or a “party pooper” by Swansea. So, you stayed silent, not trying anything to ruin their small bonding time.

————

6 DAYS BEFORE THE CRASH

You, Swansea, Jimmy, Daisuke and Anya stood in front of the main lounge door, waiting for the captain to arrive and be surprised. You all had on party hats, yours being yellow with red spots around it.

A smile was plastered on your face, excited to do your first surprise-birthday. Swansea had informed you that every year, they do these surprises for one person per trip. You were quickly on board, happy to help set everything up.

Suddenly, the automatic door opened, revealing the blonde. The five of you started clapping as he stepped through the door. “Surprise!” Jimmy chuckled as everyone calmed down.

“Suuurpriiusee!” Daisuke shouted, a dorky grin running along his mouth. “Look at your face!” He exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air, almost smacking you in the face. “Gotcha!” Anya chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Did we get you?” You asked, tilting your head as you held your hands behind your back. Curly’s face already answered your question. “Cheers.” Swansea mutters behind you, his hands on his hips.

“Wow..” Curly murmured. “What’s the.. uh.. occasion?” He asked, his facial expression still slightly shocked. “We only get one communal birthday party per trip, right? So we can have it whenever.” Anya explained, a small smile glazing her lips.

“Only one person can really be surprise birthday’ed per trip. We did Swansea last hall, remember?” Jimmy reminded, causing Daisuke to turn towards him, his mouth open in disbelief.

“No way. I can’t believe I missed that!” He pouted as Jimmy ignored him. “You were next on the list. So, congratulations.” He continued.

“Hate to say it though, your duties have to extend to even your own birthday party.” He hesitated, chuckling. On the fridge, there’s a recipe notebook for food and beverages. Sadly enough, the cake in the book has a code to make it. And the only one who has the code scanner is the captain.

“You’re the only one with clearance to make the cake.” Anya disappointingly said, her voice soft before raising again. “The recipe is there by the machine. Hop to it, captain!” She smiled.

Curly chuckled lowly before stepping to the side and walking towards the fridge. Grabbing the code scanner, he flipped to the page the code was on before scanning it.

2341

He quickly memorized it and stepped over to the food dispenser, sweetener in hand. He set it in the machine, pushing the buttons. After a few quick seconds, it was done. He grabbed it from the dispenser before rushing to finish it, placing it in the machine and making the cake.

After only a short while, he was done. The five of you quickly sat down, ready to eat. Curly grabbed the cake and walked to the table, setting it down in the middle of you all. He then sat on the end of the table, Jimmy across from him.

“You gotta make a speech.” Daisuke started, getting hyper once again. “Speech, speech, speech!” He chanted, pumping his fists into the air. You chuckled at his actions, your mouth watering at the sight of the cake in front of you. “Go on!” Anya encouraged. Curly hesitated for a moment, causing Jimmy to interfere.

“Hey.. what’s wrong?” He asked, his brows furrowing. Curly sighed before explaining that Pony Express finally shut down, and that this would be the crews final mission together. You glanced at him, brows creasing as you felt your heartbeat get faster.

“We’ll still be paid, right? They can’t just.. send us into space and expect us not to get a paycheck, can they?” You muttered, feeing your leg bounce with anxiety.

Curly turned his head towards you, confidently nodding. “Of course. We will receive the paycheck for this delivery. I don’t know anymore than that.” He stated.

“Pony Express finally kicking the bucket, huh?” Swansea mumbled. “What a joke. And we’re the punchline.” Anya felt tears in her eyes and didn’t try to keep them in. She placed her hand to her mouth, voice muffled. “I don’t have any savings. The can’t do this.. there’s no way!” She sniffled.

“Pony Express was one of the last manned crew freighter companies. The writings been on the wall for a long time.” Swansea explained before Jimmy started getting upset, surprising nobody. “When did they tell you?” He demanded, his voice low.

“Earlier this week. I was instructed to wait until we’re closer to the haul destination, but I can’t keep something like this from you all.” Curly didn’t hesitate to reply, remaining calm as he spoke. You couldn’t say the same for Jimmy, though.

“So I guess you got what you wanted. Without the guilt.” He whispered, almost growling. “Jim.. if I had known-..” The captain gets cut off as the brunette continued. You watched carefully between the two men, not wanting it to escalate.

Suddenly, Jimmy went around the table, exposing everyone’s struggles. “Anya never got into medical school because she’s, well, let’s be real.” He trailed off before turning to Swansea. “And how many employment years Swansea got left in him?” He asked.

“Y/N’s only in this because they need the money for a new place to stay, so they’re screwed.” You glanced down at your empty plate, feeling tears prick out of the corner of your eyes. “Daisuke will be fine, mommy and daddy have him covered, so there’s that at least.”

Jimmy then stared at Curly, his eyes filled with hatred. “But you.. headed for bigger and better, right?” He asked. “I’m just.. I’m just working on my life being a place I don’t have to fucking escape!” He shouted, losing his patience. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, nothing m-..” Jimmy cut him off by slamming his hands down on the table.

“We’re the ones you’re trying to escape!” He yelled back, motioning to the five of you. “Leave the dirt behind now that your boots are clean.” You bit back a sob, not wanting them to yell anymore. You swallowed before breathing out through your mouth, your breath shaking with fear.

Daisuke seemed to have noticed because he took his eyes off of the two men arguing and glanced at you, eyes filled with worry. He placed his hand on your head before guiding you to lay down on his shoulder. The two of you stayed silent, letting them fight it out. “Let’s have some fucking cake, hm?” Jimmy muttered, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms.

“Props to the twilight cruise of the Tulpar. Props to our captain and his new prospects.” He sarcastically said, sounding like he was about to lash out once again. Curly silently grabbed the knife and cut the first slice.

————

2 MONTHS AFTER THE CRASH

You laid beside Daisuke in your own medical sleeping bag, holding his hand. Your makeshift beds were placed next to each other, leaving no space between the two of you. Jimmy was next to you two as well, his sleeping bag not too far away.

It made you a little uneasy knowing that he’d be sleeping next to you, but it calmed you down when Daisuke offered to put his bed next to yours.

Your eyes were closed, but you weren’t asleep like he was. You heard Jimmy grumble and stand up before walking out of the lounge area. You shuffled a little and opened your eyes, scooting closer to Daisuke. You kept his hand in yours as you stared at his features.

You yawn, a strange croaking sound coming from your mouth. You chuckle silently to yourself, making sure to keep quiet for your boyfriend lying beside you. You made a risky decision to touch him, trailing your fingers against his cheek.

You felt as if you’ve fallen in love all over again. His peaceful face still filled with energy, his brunette hair as dark as caramel. You didn’t understand how he could ever pick someone like you to be his partner.

Suddenly, he stirred in his sleep, causing you to softly gasp. You take your hand away in fear of him awakening. As you did so, he frowned. He shifted closer to you, his eyes still shut as he wrapped his arms around your torso, his face smushed into your neck, breathing in your scent.

You gently embraced him, your lips to his forehead. Your lips kiss his temple before settling down. You felt your eyelids become heavy, feeling at peace. You didn’t fight it, making you fall asleep tangled in his arms, his in yours.

Just before you fell into a deep slumber, you heard the lounge door open once again. You felt eyes on the back of your head, and you couldn’t help but glance behind you. There stood Jimmy, a grim expression written on his face.

You didn’t say anything and lowered your head onto the thin pillow once again, supporting Daisuke’s head by resting your hand on his hair. You finally reached the edge of slumber, your body going limp as soft snores come from your mouth.

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authors note

suddenly feeling the urge to just kill off reader for angst.. yeahh I won’t though😭😭 I couldn’t do that to yall <33 (maybe someday.. but not now 🫶🏻)

anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! part 6 will be up soon<3

[katakaluptastrophy]

Let's be very clear about what the Houses do.

When Gideon fantasises about leaving the Ninth, this is what she imagines:

Not for Gideon a security detail on one of the holding planets, either on a lonely outpost on an empty world or in some foreign city babysitting some Third governor. Gideon wanted a drop ship—first on the ground—a fat shiny medal saying INVASION FORCE ON WHATEVER, securing the initial bloom of thanergy without which the finest necromancer of the Nine Houses could not fight worth a damn. The front line of the Cohort facilitated glory. In her comic books, necromancers kissed the gloved palms of their front-liner comrades in blessed thanks for all that they did. In the comic books none of these adepts had heart disease, and a lot of them had necromantically uncharacteristic cleavage.

A drop ship of infantry. Armed with those infantry standard two-hander swords. Their job is to secure the initial bloom of thanergy. Which sounds like a very antiseptic way of saying that a House invasion starts with a suicide squad of teenagers whose job it is to cause as many casualties as possible, so that the necromancers have something to work with. Teenagers like Gideon, desperate serfs or just wanting to make something of themselves, sold a promise of sex and glory, economic assets of their far-flung Houses until their untimely deaths.

But how useful their deaths, and those they take with them are! To the necromanvers of the Second, who can drain your thalergy as you die screaming. The Third, who can draw energy from the corpses littering the battlefield. The Fourth, who can turn them into bombs...

Until the subdued planet can be flipped, a contract put in place, a profit exacted. That Third governor installed.

Later, John explains to Harrow how planets are flipped:

So back at the start we’d drop in a single Lyctor, unnoticed, to start the thanergy reaction. Not to flip the whole planet, you understand, just to get the juice flowing.” He made a hand gesture for get the juice flowing, which made your head hurt. “Then within an hour or two you could send down a team of adepts and be confident they’d have all the reserves they needed. Nowadays we can’t afford to use Lyctors, so the first strike falls to the men and women of the Cohort, and they do a magnificent job…but the old way was neater, and kinder too, I think.

And in NTN, Aim describes her own harrowing experience as a displaced victim of what happens after that invasion, after the long and exploitative economic contract, and after the planet finally succumbs to its flipping:

The usual. It had been under contract for a long time. I mean, we were the third settlement wave, they built the Crescent in the bones of two other cities, you couldn’t dig up anything without finding remnants of a people we’d never known. The microbial population didn’t show signs of serious decay until the moment before the sea went anaerobic. The things crawling out of there … they seemed to mutate all at once … The Houses pulled support, said they’d prep us for an early move, but they left minimal forces in the barracks. We dug up old caches of materiel and used them. On the mutants from the sea, on the animals as they changed, on one another, on the Houses when they saw what we’d got our hands on and came back to take control. Blood of Eden was there too, you know. And in the end the Houses won and most of us surrendered and we were moved. Two moves later, and I’m here. There’s still a facility on Lemuria, of course. A decade later the Houses made it safe for geopolymer refining. It must be desolate.

And so you get the "lonely outpost on an empty world", the assignment Gideon saw as so unglamorous.

[cosmermaid]

I wonder if there’s going to be a resurgence in maritime superstitions after this Oceangate debacle.

Like, it’s pretty common knowledge that historically, sailors are or were a very superstitious bunch. And how could they not be? On the sea you can take every safety precaution there is, and things can still go wrong. You can still see things in the water or in the darkness of the open sea that you’ll never be able to explain or understand. This is a common experience of naval sailors to this day, you can find plenty of Ask Reddit threads about it.

The sea cannot be tamed. It is the most powerful force on this planet. You can do everything right and it can still take everything and never give it back.

And now you have five dead rich men that will never resurface. All because Stockton Rush tempted fate in every possible way. He did everything wrong in regards to concrete safety precautions. He boasted. He named his submersible after a sunken ship. He married somebody descended from people that the sea had already claimed.

Maybe this part is just me being a bit of a romanticist, but the titan is actually a very different vessel from the Titanic. Despite the arrogant boasting surrounding the Titanic’s maiden voyage, and the arrogance of the Captain, the Titanic was a large vessel that was crafted with care and attention to detail. The Titanic had purpose. It was built with fail safes in mind to prevent sinking. It was meant to be a luxurious experience for those on board. Even third class cabins, though small, were meant to be elegant, clean and comfortable for those staying in them. And the sea took it’s time claiming the titanic, almost as if it was savoring it.

But the Titan was none of those things. It was an idle vessel for people who had no need to be there. It was small. Uncomfortable. Built with carelessness, with no attention to detail what so ever. And it had the gall to name itself after the magnificent liner that it came to crawl over. It didn’t fail on it’s maiden voyage in such a dramatic fashion. Instead the ocean crushed it like an annoying gnat that kept coming back.

[xxmia0wm4yh3mxx]

ENOCK

(Pomni X Caine Fic)

____________________________________

(Caine and Pomni have been together for a while now, even though Pomni is happy with him, She still suffers from Panic attacks that keeps her from living her best life and constantly on the brink of abstracting, Which Caine simply cannot let slide! So He gives Her a very speical Present)

( This is my first Ship fic, sorry if its corny/cringe )

"POMNI MY DARLING!"

He Teleported through the halls frantically Looking for Pomni who he heard was Having another stress attack, It seems no matter How hard He tries to keep her Happy, the looming threat of anxiety and Being Trapped in a fake world was always to much for her.

Caine Could never Understand, Pomni Always Said She was happy with him, He made her laugh and Smile, He worked so hard to learn to empathize and to have Emotions So she could Be As happy as Possible.

'Was it his Fault? He was Made to Make People Happy, And absolutely needs pomni to be happy, Was he not doing it right? He learned so much about humans, but their still so complicated and impossible understand'

"POMNI?"

Caine found Pomni curled up in a little ball in a corner in one of the rooms, She was hyperventilating and glitching again

'UH OH'

"POMNI! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!"

He Manifests a warm blanket and Wraps it around her to comfort her, He also hads Her a cat Plushie and some water, Her breathing slows down a bit

"Thank you Caine"

She wasn't Glitching anymore, but she still looked sad

"DO YOU NEED ANYING ELSE?"

"FRESH DIGITAL AIR? A ROOM FILLED WITH FRIENDLY CATS? SAY THE WORD AND ITS YOURS MY DEAR!"

Pomni was always so endeared by him, Always trying so hard to make everyone happy even if it dosent always work, its the thought that makes him so sweet

"I'm Fine..."

"...MY DEAR, IM HAVING TROULE BELIEVING THAT YOU ARE 'FINE'."

he floating down to her level

"PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IM DOING WRONG? I CAN'T LET YOU ABSTRACT, I NEED YOU!"

"....Ive just been feeling so... Stressed lately and I dont know why, I-I don't think I have any reason To be, But I just Am and I-I C-cant help it and... im sorry that y-you can't help.."

Her eyes started tearing up a little

He just put his Hand on her shoulder, He was starting to feel a little depressed himself

"POMNI I'M SO SORRY! I PROMISE I WILL NEVER STOP TRYING TO KEEP YOU SANE I PROMISE! JUST... TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO!"

"I-I don't know what you can do"

She cuddled into him resting Her head on his chest, Caine Gave her a little Head pat in response, he was starting to feel alittle Hopeless now, But then a little light bulb popped over his head as He got a Idea.

"EUREKA! IVE GOT IT!"

"Got What?"

Caine thought for a moment on How to Explain his Plan to her, It was a long shot but still, Everything for her or nothing at all

"POMNI, I ADORE YOU, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?"

He sounded Weirdly more Serious than Usual, which was kinda off putting and confuseing, but she Was Listening

"Yes? I Love you to Caine, Where are you Going with this?"

"WELL... I HAVE BEEN LEARNING MORE ABOUT HUMANS AND HOW THEY WORK, AND WHAT MAKES THEM FELL JOY... SO HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT A LITTLE BUNDLE OF JOY OF OUR OWN?"

Pomni Was a Little Confused and Startled by this, He couldn't possibly be saying what she thinks hes saying

"W-What do you mean?

"IM TALKING ABOUT YA-KNOW ONE OF THOSE LITTLE ANKLE-BITERS! YOUNG-UNS! IM TALKING ABOUT CHILDERN MY DEAR! DOSENT THAT SOUND MAGNIFICENT!"

Pomni Just stared off into space processing What Caine Just proposed to her

'Was he Crazy?! Okay Absolutely, Yes But Still- Is he Crazy!?'

"Caine, I can Barley Take care of Myself, How can I take care of a Child?!"

"IT WOULDN'T BE LIKE ANY OTHER CHILD, IT WOULD BE AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! AND WE AI'S ARE KNOWN FOR OUR LOW MANTIENCE! BESIDES, THEIR IS NOTHING MORE FULFILING LIKE THE WONDERS OF PARENTHOOD! SOMETHING TO REPLACE ALL THE ICKY DEPRESSION WITH LOVE AND JOY!"

Pomni was feeling a bit more enticed by the idea, What Else is there to do here expect the Adventures Caine sets out for them? Maybe a Child Could give at least the Illusion of normalcy, And Caine being there with her to help her.only made her feel more convinced

"Well... maybe... But how? I mean Like... How would that Even work..? I mean Can you even Do THAT in Digital realm??"

"WELL OF COURSE WE CAN HAVE CHILDREN MY DEAR!"

Pomni's Face starting turning bright red, Caine Quickly Noticed and became flustered himself

"N-NOT LIKE THAT! I MEANT I COULD CREATE A LEARNING AI FOR US TO RAISE TOGETHER-"

pomni started Giggling a little at Caine being flustered, Caine Always loved that Adorable Face she Made when she was happy, That little giggle, and how shy and sweet she was when she was flustered, its what made him learn to Love and experience things which he couldn't Even Imagine before

"i would find a way to bypass the filter for you"

"What was that Caine?"

"NOTHING-"

"SO MY DEAR, WILL YOU ACCEPT?"

She Thought about it for a while, maybe like Five minutes, Before she Started tearing up in anticipation

"OH GOODNESS MY DEAR! ARE YOU ALR-"

"A-ABSOLUTELY YES!"

She rammed into him, Embraceing him in tight hug

"I wanna have a Child!"

She was still sniffling a bit, Caine Was Just staring into Space for A bit, bursting with enthusiasm at the thought of Pomni being Happy, but also Having his own progeny to raise

"WELL THEN MY DEAR! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO!"

Caine left pomni's embrace and back up in the air a bit, He felt across his Teeth and grabbed one of his Molars, and Yanked it out in a Cartoony Fashion.

"THIS WILL DO WONDERFULLY!"

"NOW MY DEAR, I JUST NEED A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM YOU"

He Grabbed Her Eye and Pulled it out like a Berry in a bush, being as gentle as he can with it, Pomni was already pretty used to Caine's antics at this point so it didn't bother her that much, He Grabbed one of her hats Tassles and Yanked on it, And a new eye roll into place for her

"KNOW LETS SEE!"

He manifested a Little Gift Box and Dropped The pieces into It, and Shook it vigorously for about two minutes, Pomni watching with Excitement and smiling the whole time

"NOW, THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! ARE YOU READY MY DEAR!"

Pomni just vigorously nodded her head not being able to keep calm

"I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YES!"

Caine Put the Box into Pomni's hands, Trembling alittle, Pomni slowly opened the box.

She saw a Little Tooth-Like Creature with Big wet Colorful Pinwheel Eyes, The Little Tooth Just Stared at Her with Its Wet Eyes as it Draw back into the Box

Pomni lowerd her Hand to give it a little Stroke, It Snuggled up Against her Hand, purring while doing so

Pomnis looked at it with instant love for the little Creature, picking it up And Holding it Close to her, it cuddling her arm with its Roots as arms, She felt all her Stress, dread, anxiety and sadness fade away, Pomni had tears in her eyes at this point

"....Its Beautiful Caine, I love him"

"TERRIFIC! I KNEW YOU'D LOVE IT!"

Caine floated down to see his new child, His pupils Immediately Went big as he Gazed upon The little Tooth, It looked at its Father with Large Eyes and extending its root-legs to be held by him, He picked him up and Looked him in the eyes

"....WELL HELLO THERE SPORT! AND WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL CIRCUS! IM YOUR CREATOR AND FATHER CAINE, AND THIS IS YOUR MOTHER POMNI!"

The little baby Tooth just Stared him, and Cuddled into him like a Kitten, and Caines eyes went big

Pomni Went up to Him and Gave Caine a hug

".....Hes perfect"

________________________________

Thanks for reading!!!

Here Enock Himself if your wondering

[yannaryartside]

Carmy wants to be understood more than anything

Thinking about this magnificent post (their gifs) and the core of what I ship sydcarmy.

Carmy seems to feel rejected by his mother since early childhood, and tolerated a portion of their extended family humiliating him for his career. He was bullied for leaving home, and when he came home, he was resented for making a decision of not doing it sooner. I want the show to address this last aspect because of the horrible abuse he suffered in nyc every day, then loosing the closest thing to a parent you ever had, he probably had some sort of breakdown.

Regardless, my point is that Carmy rejects a lot of parts of his persona, because everyone around him also did. That is probably why he had a stutter (it is common in kids who don’t feel anybody wants to listen to them) he himself said that he was afraid of speaking half the time. Rejection is his core wound. Hr never felt understood or truly embraced. He didn’t have friends. He needed everybody to valid his relationship with Claire before being comfortable with putting a name to it. He doesn’t recognize his talents in drawing, he had to fake a whole personality to get through a social gathering with people his age.

Claire was okey with him pretending to be someone else in that party, she acted like it was cool. She pushes him to do a lot of things without asking for his opinion. For me, she is ignoring his voice at various levels too. She is even dismissive “talking about dead brothers you wanna go to a party”

And then you have Syd, a woman who is also romantically interested in him, that wants to know his side of things. Most of their grow as partners had to do with mutual honest communication, they have this telepathic conversations about a shared passion. She sees him. She understands him even with how little she has.

I am not saying it is about how many things he has in common with Claire vs Syd. Is about how Syd has seen the worst of Carmen and stills helps him to get better because she also sees his kind nature. It is about how she knows when he is being shitty and held him accountable. It is the lack of difficulty in their understanding and mutual respect, even when they are pissed at each other.

If Carmy chooses the dismissive ex girlfriend over the partner that had understand him more than anybody else he has ever meet, I am sorry, but wtf are you trying to tell me?

[gallusrostromegalus]

oh my god I am frothing at the mouth PLEASE tell us about how Unohana is SO WEIRD ACTUALLY

(her reveal is my favorite thing in the whole series and I was obsessed with Bleach for a good long time)

I love Unohana. She's magnificently insane and deliciously fun to write so far.

My take on AEIWAM Unohana is that fundamentally, she just wants to be happy.

Oh, that doesn't sound too nuts. I hear you say.

Yeah, but I also headcanon that she has ADHD. We joke a lot about it on this site, but if you have the good fortune to have functioning dopamine factories, allow me to explain the worst part of it, for me.

There's no passive happiness.

Most people, as I understand it, if left to their own devices without undue stressors like capitalism or any particular stimulation, tend to be able to feel pretty okay most of the time. Which fascinates me because if I am left alone without undue stressors but no stimulation, my malfunctioning dopamine factories will shut down and I will rapidly develop a terrible black depression and paranoia that life is cruel and I will never experience happiness again and also my appetite vanishes and sleep cycle collapses and I will end up mentally and physically distraught, sometimes in less than an hour.

So I've always got to be doing something, or The Horrors get me.

So imagine Unohana, and with a brain that wants to die if she gets bored... living in fantasy magical ancient japan. Not much to do, out in the early days of the soul society, besides being attatcked by monsters, or participating in warfare, or starving to death. the first two, at least, get the blood pumping, but the first is difficult to come by regularly, so as a young woman, the most interesting thing that happens to her on the regular is Mortal Combat.

And how exciting it is! Adrenaline! Dopamine! And on the rare occasions she meets a fellow combat enthusiast, she also gets one of the best things about ADHD- Recognition Responsive Euphoria. You know that great feeling you get at Con or meeting another person with your special interest and you guys just VIBE and it feels like you've been best friends for life in less than five minutes? Yeah, apparently Non-ADHD people don't get that.

So naturally, she develops her skill in combat, not in pursuit of Honor or The Art or something nebulous like, that, but in the simple Pursuit of Happiness. She gets very good at it, and a lot of people die.

But she starts getting... too good at it. The fights don't last, there's nobody willing- let alone able, to meet her on her level and the previous joy she felt fades and fades until she is once again left in the darkness.

Then, a Miracle happens! Some punk stabs her in the lung :)

Man, what an evening for her. Kills a hundred men with barely a stroke and there's no more joy in the world for her when suddenly some barely-legal scarecrow looking bastard with a raggedy sword he pulled out of someone else's corpse appears at the top of the pile of bodies and then goes Ape. Fucking. Shit. on her.

It's the most fun she's had in ages! He's strong and fast and his moves are inefficient but delightfully unpredictable and by the GODS the STAMINA! Alright, she might be 1,000 years his senior but in the soul society age really is just a number and she can't help but be charmed.

So she flirts back by nearly cutting his face off. This DELIGHTS him!

And there it is again, that sudden feeling of intimacy between like-minded individuals, only these two ships aren't passing in the night, there' here to make Titanic 2: Electric Boogaloo. They make eye contact, and know-they're just like me.

True Love is a wonderful thing.

It's also a great opportunity for a surprise thrust and she only sort of manages to block it, and despite the feeling of blood pooling in her lung, she returns the blow full across his chest.

She staggers back, coughing.

He, miraculously, sits up, coughing. He won't die if he can crawl off somewhere to lick his wounds, but he can't continue the fight either.

She stands up, teeth gritted through the pain, and sheathes Minazuki. "What's your name?" She asks. "So I may find you to fight again."

"Don't have one." he wheezes. "But I'll never forget yours."

She's had men spit that as a threat to her before. It sounds very different as a declaration of love.

"Yachiru." she says, trying to not cough up blood. "Unohana Yachiru."

*

A Year later, there's a problem.

Soul Society has a bit of a problem with lungs. They can make entire fake bodies for shinigami to travel the living world, but individual organs, especially lungs... never seem to transplant well. Perhaps it's the fact they're already dead.

Her left lung is "healed" in the sense that it no longer has extraneous holes in it, but... Godsdammit, she still has all the power but none of the stamina. Barely 10 minutes into a fight and she's wheezing worse than The Old Man. 20 minutes and her hands are starting to shake and she's seeing spots in her eyes because she can't breathe well enough to keep the oxygen in her veins. Her fights usually last seconds so functionally she's still one of the most powerful people in the afterlife but it's a far cry from where she was before.

She can no longer be the 11th division's Kenpachi. Hell, she can no longer be the woman she was before.

"Unless you figure out some new medical miracles, this is as healed as it's going to get." Explains the chief medical officer after yet another frustrating checkup.

"...If that's what it takes." She decides.

The next morning she re-enrolls in the Shinigami Academy, under the name Unohana Retsu. The sole change she makes to her appearence is to braid her hair down the front of her chest because people WILL ask about the scar, and she doesn't want to think about how badly she's letting down that warrior with no name.

Either she needs to learn how to get back to his level, or find a new rival and learn to heal them to actually last the 20 minutes she has, or she'll die.

She studies.

To her vast surprise, bodies are actually fascinating. She'd previously seen that there were lots of interesting organs inside people but now learning what they are and how they work and the fact that the human body is already astonishingly death-resistant compared to most animals AND a carefully balanced meat sculpture minutes away from catastrophic failure at all times delights. She learns about the extreme ways humans can survive and the bizarrely mundane ways they can die, and she starts to form an idea- not an image, not a philosophy per se- but a working theory of how to keep someone alive and moving for as long and far as they will go, and what they need to stay upright.

This idea shines so brightly that it can keep that terrible darkness away.

The century practically flies by, and one night she stays up manually pumping the mechanism on a device used to keep the also-failing lungs of a young boy going after the power goes out. He's been blessed by A God that he's lived as long as he has, but even Gods can fuck up sometimes and she effectively has to breathe for him for twelve hours until the God gets its shit back together and he can breathe under his own power again.

"Hell of a fight you put in, keeping him alive." says one of her colleagues, collapsing beside her out in the 4th division medical garden where all the doctors go to smoke.

Retsu slowly exhales the smoke, fatigued but still coming down from the high of success. She cocks her head. Her body aches and her mind races and her heart thrills, just like- "I guess it was. " she realizes. "Interesting fight, going 12 hours in the ring with a dying child and winning because he walked away at the end." She laughs, and hands him the cigarette to share.

"You weirdo." he colleague laughs. He's far too young to remember when she was Yachiru. Most of them are these days, and it's a weird sort of peaceful anonymity and personal joke. "You weren't fighting the kid. If we were actually allowed to fight patients, I'd've stabbed the Kuchki hypochondriac decades ago." he grumbles, taking his own drag.

She snorts. "Who was I fighting then?"

"Death?" smoke billows out as he laughs, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

She freezes. Oh. Oh. That's why she likes this so much. She's gone from fighting mere men to the one opponent she knows she can win battles with, but never the war, and who will defeat her personally someday.

"Are. Are you crying?" he asks, a little worried.

"I- yes." She laughs, tears streaming down her face. "I just fell in love all over again."

"Ouch." he nods sympathetically, offering her the cigarette back. "Who with?"

"Death's own Angel, apparently." She giggles, feeling positively prepubescent with this crush.

And thus she goes on, for centuries, learning everything there is to know about bodies and minds and how the two keep each other going and the ways she can help. She gets very good at it, and a many more people do not die.

But there is a special, secret place in her heart for that nameless warrior that defeated her in battle, and made her stronger than every before.

*

Nearly 1,000 years after she stopped being Kenpachi, she is supervising the annual "see if you can kill the captain" tournament. Her colleague Kaname is there, a walking anxiety disorder with undoubtedly real but strangely hard to diagnose phantom pains, but he's still easily in her top 10 coworkers of all time because he made her a new medical record filing system so functional they were actually able to recataloge three millennia of medical records into a usable format in under a decade. He can come twitching into her office any time he likes, especially if it gets her that mass vaccination process for the Rukongai he's been biting The Old Man's heels for.

Then

as suddenly as he had appeared the first time,

He's back.

He's older now and larger, having matured into a spectacular bastard, but there's no mistaking that cutting edge on his reiatsu (which, oh, that has gotten much, much stronger since last time) or that scar running down his face as he turns from where he had just cleft the previous Kenpachi in twain, and stares out into the crowd in the shower of blood, challenging anyone to do something about it. Hell, even when Yamamoto appears to congratulate him on his promotion, Death's own angel's first reaction is to turn to fight the old man without hesitation.

He then promptly picks three different fights with four captains in under five minutes, tells Yamamoto to shove the job up his ass, imply he's had a WILD collection of vocations in the last millennium and furthermore, he has to get home to his daughter.

...Named Yachiru.

Hilariously, Unohana is only having the second weirdest time about this here, because Kaname and Kenpachi are, somehow, even weirder than she is.

[artisticwizard]

General Grevious

Sleeper agent phrase activated.

Favorite thing about them

Fucking. Everything? I adore robots and he's a cyborg. I adore aliens and he's an alien. I love characters with four arms and guess what. On aesthetics alone he's gorgeous to me. He's been my fav character in star wars ever since I saw him in the movies, and He's been probably one of my top favorite character since then as well. Disclaimer, but I like the Legends backstory for him so much more so I usually default to that when talking about him. His backstory??? MWAH. MAGNIFICENT. STUNNING. POETIC. LIED TO AND USED ALL OF HIS LIFE? He thinks always that he is doing what is best for his people. He lost his literal other half in the war, his true soulmate to slavers of his people, swept into the sea. He changed his name to grievous to let his grief be known to all of his enemies??? My fucking GOD. He was a demigod among his people. He is a canon polyamourous king who has several wives and sired many children. He was a strategic mastermind and sought out by the sith for his genius. His hatred of the jedi was falsely implanted in him by sith interference. He thinks that the jedi are to blame for his cyborg body when it was the sith all along. Fuck man. I couldn't write a better character if I tried, and I have. Literally a character so doomed by the narrative that he is the epitome of tragedy to me.

Least favorite thing about them

I understand why he has to lose a lot, because the primary message of star wars is that good always triumphs over evil. The light will always beat the dark. I get that. I just dislike how he seems to lose in ways that are embarrassing? Anytime he loses it seems to be in an almost childish way that's unbecoming of him. It's why my favorite rivals for him are Obi Wan or Kit Fisto. Both of them are incredibly intelligent jedi masters that use strategy and his own ego against him, which make the times he is defeated against them more satisfying than other times.

Favorite line

Jedi. You are surrounded. Your army is decimated. Make peace with the force, now. For this is your final hour. But know that I, General Grievous, am not completely without mercy. I will grant you a warrior's death. Prepare! (followed by one of the sickest fucking lightsaber fights ever)

brOTP

Hard to answer. He doesn't have many friends. I wouldn't consider them friends exactly but his bickering with Asajj Ventress is always a treat.

OTP

I've dabbled in almost every grievous ship I can think of. I can't say I prefer one more than the others enough to make it an OTP. Some of my favs are obigrievous, asajj x grievous, Ronderu x Grievous, and dooku x grievous. TECHNICALLY one of my favorite ships features an original character from a fic I've read. Fanfic writers who make compelling and engaging OCs for their fics are amazing *wink wink nudge nudge at the person who sent this.*

nOTP

None I can think of.

Random headcanon

The Kaleesh are a reptilian species in general, that will not stop me from giving him some cat-isms. What if he purrs. What if his eyes get big when he sees something he likes. What if he likes scenting things. What if he bellows like a crocodile. What if he chuffs like a tiger. Shut up.

unpopular opinion

I already stated this, but I prefer his Legends backstory over his canon one. I've come around to not hating his canon one as much as I used to, but I still prefer the other.

song i associate with them

Literally I cannot think of one. I am a failure. A sham. A facsimile of my former self.

favorite picture of them

All of them, but this has been my discord icon forever. I have no clue who drew it but it was part of a doodle page here on tumblr and for the life of me I cannot find the original artist.

[queen-of-prophecy]

"My oh my......"

"Now how did you come to find your way into my Tower hmm??? Curious considering how it doesn't have any doors. Mostly naughty of you darling, breaking into my house-"

"Ah! Nevermind. I actually predicted your visit some time ago. You're right on schedule."

"Welcome to my Emerald Tower! The most mysterious and magnificent of any kind you'll find in Hell, surely. Here is where I, Queen Vine of the Ars Goetia, Beholder of Fate, The All-Seer, ruler of the Witchholm and loveliest of all those who Fell reside!"

"By the way, if you need the wifi password, it's P@im0nstinks12."

"So by all means! Make yourself comfortable. I'm sure you have many questions-"

Rules And Bio Below! Please read before interacting!

Rules:

Vine is capable of near perfect foresight, and thus can see the past, present and future of whomever she wishes with the exception of anomalies. However, I will not have Vine predict the future without consulting my RP partner about it first, or without establishing them as a said anomaly. If we can’t agree on what can be disclosed to Vine, or if you disagree with my decision to make or not make them an anomaly, please accept my decision if I choose not to continue the RP with you

Vine has extremely narcissistic habits, and is also a very privileged person. Her viewpoints are not going to always be my own, and she is bound to step on toes. I will always try to keep my partners informed of what she’s going to do in the RP, but if Vine does or says something that offends you personally, SPEAK UP. If Vine acting like an entitled queen is going to be offensive to you, we need to stop so we can avoid hurt feelings. This also goes for any element of plotting that you’re uncomfortable with. It’s much easier to do a full stop than to carry on with draa.

Vine is not interested in marriage or children. She can be reciprocative of flirting, but as someone who is demisexual and demiromantic, it takes her a long time to establish love and trust for someone. And this love is not necessarily healthy. If you want to do shipping, or plot romances, be aware Vine will not always act in your muses’ best interests.

I am open to RPing with minors. However I will not RP anything with graphic violence, sex, or other mature themes with you. If I find you’re lying about your age to RP these themes, it will be a full block, and I will delete all threads. This is the only warning you get.

I am open to all OCs and canon characters. If you want to drop little asks, my inbox is always open. However I typically will ask permission to the mun before dropping asks. If I haven’t asked yet, feel free to ping me and give me permission or ask me to. Communication is key!

Please be polite and understanding. All of what we’re doing on here is meant to be for fun, not to be taken seriously. I will respect your opinions and views so long as you respect mine. If I feel any communication is becoming unhealthy or nonexistent, don’t expect me to continue doing RPs with you.

Queen Vine is based on the demon King Vine of the Lesser Key of Solomon. Obviously this is not a canon version of that character, but only an inspiration. Still, as such, Queen Vine does have dominion over her own territory, and as such tends to do what she likes. If you actively want to RP her being a bully, be prepared!

I am perfectly accepting of other people's headcanons and bios, even if they contradict my own. For example, if you play Lucifer but do not have the same backstory as described here, that's fine! Its your character, they don't need to match up 100%

Have fun! Vine may be an omnipotent Queen but she’s also a drama mama wine aunt and spends her days writing fanfics. So enjoy that :D

All Art is made by @trissschmidt43!)

Name: Vine

Sex: Female

Age: ????

Birthday: May 1st (Taurus) / Beltane

Sexuality: Demisexual

Demon Class: Goetia (Pel’s Fishing Owl)

Location: The Royal Circle (Pride Ring)

(eldritch form below)

Bio:

In the beginning there were the orders of angels who were set to safeguard humanity and care for God’s wonderful creations on Earth. Among them were the Ophanim, or the Thrones, who worked under the Seraphim to establish to pillars of wisdom that would insure Heaven stood supreme. The Ophanim were mostly paired siblings, including two particular Ophanim, Paimon and Vine.

The role of Paimon and Vine were as herald and scribe respectively. Paimon would be responsible for announcing the edict of the Heavens, and spoke with a powerful, captivating voice. And Vine would be the writer of histories and proclamations, documenting the past, present and future. The two siblings were proud of their public roles, and served, more or less, as the Voices of God.

However, when the Morningstar came to power, things changed.

Lucifer Morningstar was a Seraphim. Beautiful, brilliant, charming and well-liked by the Ophanim, he had become somewhat of a stand-out due to his extravagant ideas for how the Earth should operate, in particular caring for the future of humanity. But he was often put down by his fellow Seraphim and the elder council of angels, who found his ideas too outlandish and believing they should obey the order of God instead. The siblings Paimon and Vine however, found Lucifer’s ideas captivating, and believed that a strong leader should be capable of thinking big. And with God so elusive and difficult to commune with, soon the siblings found themselves siding more and more with Lucifer.

And then it happened.

Lilith, the wife of Adam, found she could not bear to submit to his will and be treated as a lesser being. Though the two had been created as equals, Adam had been increasingly more demanding, and thus the two broke away, Lilith choosing to live away from the enclosed garden. Lucifer understood her desire for autonomy, and admired her. The two met, and fell in love. Heaven had been swift to give Adam another wife, a more humble and gentle Eve, but Lucifer and Lilith felt that the mother of humanity deserved to be able to give the same gift Lilith had been born with. The power to choose for oneself.

And thus, the event that would shape history forever happened. Slipping into the garden, Lucifer offered Eve the Apple. It would allow her to be able to distinguish good from evil, give her wisdom and knowledge, and grant her the free will to decide of her own volition. Eve in her innocence, accepted.

But once it was made clear that the Mother of Humanity had done so, Heaven was enraged.

Eve had been tainted by the Apple. And what was worse, was that she already carried the future generation of humanity in her belly. Worse still, Adam learned of what she had done, and chose to taste the Apple himself, not wishing his wife to suffer alone. With humanity’s future now uncertain, the Seraphim swiftly punished Lucifer and Lilith and cast them down into Hell….a dark, foreboding place no angel dared tread.

The greatest of dangers was yet to come.

For Lucifer had left many friends behind in the Ophanim, who were horrified and outraged at the Elders act of cruelty against their beloved Seraphim. Paimon in particular was crushed, as he had deeply admired Lucifer and his bold take on things. Not willing to let this go without consequence, Paimon spoke to the other Ophanim, all seventy-two of them, and convinced them that they should stand in support of their friend. Not only them, but six other Seraphim who had been close to Lucifer as well, and viewed him as a brother, agreed that Lucifer had been unjustly punished….especially after seeing that humanity had been cast out of the Garden of Eden due to this.

As for Vine, she decided to take the first step. With the stroke of a pen, she wrote in the sacred book of God that Lucifer was to be the future of humanity, now and forever. With one act, she and Paimon set themselves as proud rebels against Heaven, demanding the return of Lucifer and Lilith and the restoration of mankind to the Garden of Eden.

Their defiance took a bloody turn. Angels warred against angels, and in the aftermath, all the rebels were swiftly punished and cast down to join the man they had sided with. But for Vine, who had emulated her leader in boldness, there was a special punishment awaiting her.

After the battle had sent most of her fellow Ophanim into Hell, Vine and her brother Paimon were chained and brought before the Elders. Though Paimon had coerced his fellow angels to rebellion, Vine had committed the first act of heresy in history by going against the will of God, and declaring another to be a greater power. With Paimon watching, the angels cut Vine’s hands from her wrists, declaring she would never again be permitted to write such heresy. While still howling in agony, the two siblings were cast down, the last to fall, and the impact of their rebellion cemented.

Lucifer and Lilith had not expected company, but after seeing so many of their fellow angels scattered, wounded, and morphed beyond recognition, they understood they needed to take control. With Lilith leading the way, supporting her new husband and great love, the two established their dominion over Hell. The six Seraphim who had fought and fell first became part of the Seven Deadly Sins, with Lucifer reigning as King of Pride and Emperor of Hell. The Ophanim, not wishing to relinquish their titles as Thrones, formed the Royal Circle of demons, a large part becoming the Ars Goetia. Paimon swiftly took leadership of these royal demons, as he had headed the rebellion.

Vine, now Queen Vine, was left in far worse straits.

Despite Lucifer’s best efforts, the wound she sustained after having her hands cut from her wrists was irreversible. Every time he attempted to attach new hands, they would rot and fall off, dooming her to dependence. Fortunately, Lucifer figured out a solution. He had attempted six times to attach hands to her wrists, and thus created six magical hands that would not need to be bound to her wrists in order to work. Vine was relieved to have her autonomy and ability to write restored, but was ultimately haunted by the ordeal she had suffered.

Though she and Paimon were still siblings, Paimon chose to cement his position through royal marriages, heirs, playing games of politics and establishing an iron grip on his territories. Vine however, had been too affected by their previous rebellion, and decided she would remain Queen of her principality and operate from afar. Her power, which remained even after her Fall, would be loaned for the use of future mortals who wished for prophecy, witchcraft, and magic. Residing in the Emerald Tower; a formidable stronghold that mysteriously lacks any doors to permit entry, Vine chose instead to continue the documentation she had once taken pride in….this time for Hell.

Present Day:

Though many eons have passed since the Fall, Vine still remains, more or less, as a solitary figure in the Royal Circle. As King Paimon’s sister and a Queen, she is respected by her royal peers, particularly for her ability to see the past, present and future almost perfectly….without the need of a grimoire. However, she is also mostly a mystery as she remains isolated in her tower, rarely permitting guests. Instead, she makes random appearances at society functions, often to give away lavish gifts and give “spoilers” for peoples future as a form of amusement.

In truth, Vine’s interest in writing the future has….changed. As the population of Hell as grown, her interest has turned more dramatic, resembling that of a novelist for romance and dramas. Her many tomes are in fact “fanfiction” of people’s lives, writing down the intricacies of their relationships and struggles. She even publishes them under pseudonyms online, and seems to revel in the little dramas she writes, since she can already tell what’s going to happen.

Vine does accept the call to service when requested by Lucifer or Lilith, but she has since become notoriously “obnoxious” to her brother and fellow Kings. She often likes to poke fun at Paimon’s pursuit of control and power, perhaps because she already knows the outcome of his machinations, and often speaks dismissively of those she doesn’t find interesting.

What’s stranger is that Vine seems to have adopted a small imp companion in her years of isolation, a tiny illustrator named Triss. No one’s sure how she came to be hired as the Queen’s confidante, or how she even got into the Emerald Tower. But Triss seems to thrive mostly off of reading the queen’s fanfiction, and even draws the subjects to add to the tomes. Triss is a deeply unusual imp, even by normal standards, but is also a deeply devoted friend to Vine, who is exceedingly fond of her.

Abilities and Powers:

Though the Ophanim were irreversibly changed after the Fall, taking on demonic forms, many of them retained their abilities and powers. Vine herself has many of the same powers Paimon has; teleportation, shape-shifting, telekinesis and the ability to traverse through space. However, Paimon has more combative powers than his sister has, which makes him suitable to his role as King. Instead, Vine has the advantage of near-perfect clairvoyance, to which she requires no grimoire or studies of the stars or elements to divine. These visions of the past, present and future are all done through her third eye, which is the only eye that constantly sees everything.

However it is only “nearly” perfect. There still remain people whom Vine refers to as “anomalies”; special people whose futures cannot be divined, nor their pasts uncovered. The best Vine can do is divine the path through the eyes of those around them, but never seeing their point-of-view. Vine has a vested interest in these anomalies, often writing “AU fanfics” where she guesses at their future based on her observation.

Because of these powers of foresight, Vine has taken on many names and forms in order to commune with humans on Earth to retain her importance and power. She has claimed many names and shapes, including that of the Fates. She can be summoned for counsel by humans, but only those who provide the proper tributes; Three cups of wine (red, white and rose), three fruits (apple, pomegranate and fig), and three knives (iron, copper, and steel), lit around a circle with her sigil with three candles (black, white and red). She will permit them three questions, but often keeps her answers ambiguous.

Vine’s weaknesses however, are the same as all immortal demons that live in Hell. She is vulnerable to angelic weapons and arms, and can also be subdued or sealed away by a more powerful demon such as the Seven Deadly Sins, or King Lucifer and Queen Lilith. Though she has yet to make herself so troublesome as to incite their ire, she does have a habit of angering people by refusing to speak of the future. In fact, Vine has a personal rule where she refuses to reveal anything unless it provides ample entertainment for herself.

Personality:

Vine, like most Goetia, is an incredibly proud and vain woman who often disregards the running of her territory, having left it to the work of stewards and magistrates. She has extremely narcissistic tendencies and can be very extravagant and eccentric, often praising her beauty and brilliance, and taking a great deal of stock in public comments online from her fan base. Vine is capable of being good and generous, but that is often reserved with those whom she takes interest in or has a history with.

However, she is also capable of being very vindictive and cold, especially on the subject of her own history. Though few outside of the Goetic Circle know what happened to her hands, she finds it a very sore subject, hiding her scarred wrists under long sleeves and changing the subject when it turns to it. If someone of lower station were to pry at the subject, she would react with swift, unceasing retribution, and will even teleport unfortunate souls into volcanoes if they wrong her.

Yet, despite being Queen, Vine chooses not to marry or have children. She cites her brother Paimon for this reason, stating that child-bearing and marriage was nothing but tedious work, and states that as immortals, the question of their inheritance is rather moot since most of them will live until Armageddon at the very least. Vine enjoys romance stories, but choose to play coy, often flirting but never really pursuing. It’s unknown if Vine has had any lovers, as she does not openly speak of her romantic relationships.

In truth, there is only one person whom Vine treasures above all; her companion Triss. Aside from letting Triss live in the Emerald Tower and hiring her as her illustrator, Vine also shares secrets of the future with her, and they seem to operate on the same wavelengths, enjoying things from afar.

(NEW) Queen of Heresy:

After entering a feud with Paimon over his self-proclaimed elevation as Emperor of the Goetia (@avispatr) Vine stole away her city and kingdom and disappeared in a fit of rage. Out of sheer spite, she carved out not one, but two Rings of Hell deep below the surface of Sloth, creating both the Ring of Heresy and the Ring of Treachery.

The Ring of Heresy is a dark realm, with only a false moon and stars to light its way, and is home to the capital of New Witchholm. It resembles a shadowed wasteland with floating islands and jagged stones, icy mist rising up from the Ring of Treachery and its endless fields of ice below. It is home not only to the more gothic inclined of Hellborns, but also to Vine's own creations....wraiths. Created from the lingering memories of deceased demons, they haunt the Ring of Heresy and act as investigators and information brokers, as they have a keen ability to find things.

Queen Vine still resides partially in Pride, but splits her residency between the Rings equally as she establishes herself as the Sin of Heresy.

_______

Extra! Bio For Triss, Queen Vine's Imp Companion

Name: Beatriss (“Triss”) Lansher

Sex: Female

Age: 21-23

Birthday: August 21st (Leo)

Sexuality: Asexual (Biromantic)

Demon Class: Imp (30 cm tall)

Location: The Royal Circle (Pride Ring)

Bio:

In truth, no one really knows who Triss is or where she came from. At some point however, during one of Queen Vine’s visits to the Goetic Assemblies, she performed a “magic trick” where she pulled Triss from her long sleeves, and then let her rest on her shoulder for the remainder of the evening. At first Triss was dismissed as nothing more than a royal pet…however as she began making regular attendances at Goetia parties as Vine’s guest it was clear the Queen had a definite soft spot for her.

Triss did manage to secure a position as Royal Illustrator for the Queen’s writing projects. Despite being small enough to fit in a teapot, she is an exceptional artist, and can often draw detailed sketches based off of one lone observation. Triss presently lives in the Emerald Tower, and despite being something of an oddity, appears to be very happy and comfortable in Vine’s service.

Personality:

Triss, like Vine, loves reading about dramatic stories and enjoys the adventure, the plot-twists, and romance arcs of people the Queen writes about. Because she has an insider view on particular Hellborns and humans, she gets the inside scoop on a lot of complex stories from all around. Despite her small stature, she doesn’t seem to be afraid of much, perhaps made comfortable by the Queen’s protection. Triss is also quite bold and blunt. She’s not afraid to use the Queen’s favoritism to her advantage, often pointing to things she wants and asking Vine to get them for her. It’s an effective strategy nonetheless, and Vine rarely denies her anything.

Triss is also a great lover of the arts. Drawing is one fo the things she’s truly passionate for, and she has a creative streak that can imagine many scenarios at the drop of a hat. She also has a great love of charcuterie and cheeses, and it’s believed that a major part of her contract with Vine as her employee is to always have a full charcuterie plate by her bedside. Given it’s the preferred snack of the two when they’re observing the antics of their favorite characters, the Emerald Tower is outfitted with a fromagerie suitable to their tastes.

Given her mistress is so eccentric, Triss herself can be quite the oddball too. She can be unreactive sometimes, and her obsession with cheese and fanfics are often questionable by most.

[rapha-reads]

Rewatching The Doctor Falls because Twelfth versus Simm!Master and Missy, and Cyber!Bill and Nardole and Alit... This episode is magnificent.

Also the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the Master's regeneration timeline goes Simm then Dhawan and then Missy. And the one trapped in the Toymaker's golden tooth is either Missy or the one just after her. The Toymaker found Missy dying on the floor of that ship while spying on the Doctor and trapped her. It would explain why Dhawan!Master is so unhinged and feral, having gone through Simm!Master, and why Missy is so hell bent on redeeming herself and helping the Doctor, having gone through all the discoveries of the Timeless Child and seen the Doctor's pain and loneliness, and she herself having gone through that pain and sadness. It's how Missy says "it's time to stand with the Doctor" and Simm answers "no! Never!" - that's what Dhawan fights against his whole time - hating and loving the Doctor, ruining her but also detroying her... Missy knew where it was going, she just knew it would take some work.

Underrated friendship of the whole show: Bill and Nardole. "Bill's back", the sheer relief and joy in Nardole's voice when he says that... And then the pure HEARTBREAK on his face when Hazran shoots at Cyber!Bill and Bill says "I understand". It's just. They're pals your Honor.

One-episode only character that deserved much more screen time: Alit.

"Don't be sorry. You were being kind. Nothing wrong with being kind." - I tend to say that Eleventh is my Doctor but really it's Eleventh AND Twelfth. I adore Twelfth.

Bill Potts is the Best, pass it on. Also, Pearl's acting, can we talk about Pearl's acting? The way she moves like a Cyberman, even when she still perceives herself as a human? Robotic movements, rigid spine... I adore Bill Potts.

Eleventh and the Ponds 🤝🏼 Twelfth and Nardole and Bill > making me feel all the emotions and cry real tears and giving me ideas and thoughts. "Which one of is is stronger, Nardole?" - it's the way the Doctor, for all that he dismissed Nardole all series, actually respects and has a lot of consideration and affection for him. Shut up I'm crying, shut uuuuup. "I never will be able to find the words" - *curls up and sobs*

The Cybermen are so much more terrifying than the Daleks...

And then one of the best speech of the whole show. I've quoted it so many times already, but once more because it's seriously perfect:

"Winning? Is that what you think it's about? I'm not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat someone, or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It's not because it's fun and God knows it's not because it's easy! It's not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it's right! Because it's decent. And above all, it's kind. It's just that. Just kind."

I swear, I heard that speech the first time and immediately incorporated it into my morals and values. Just be kind. Do the right thing, even when it hurts. Even when it's hard. Even if it's not going to work. Be kind and do the right thing. That's it. That's everything. "Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind."

"Without hope. Without witness. Without reward. Pity. No stars. I'd hoped there'd be stars."

"Where there's tears, there's hope."

"I've been through a lot since the last time we met. So I'll show you around." - Bill and Heather. Love them.

"I never want to change again! Never again! I can't keep on being somebody else. Wherever it is, I'm staying. No! I will not change." contrasted with Eleventh's "We all change, when you think about it. And that's good, as long as we remember all the people we used to be."

[bluebird167]

The Little Mermaid AU.

This was actually a rough draft of Heart’s Content which was a straightforward re-telling of the Disney film but I decided to scrap it and try for something more original. Still I wondered what you all would think of it, so I re-read and re-edited it to fit with the new cannon and well..Here it is.

In a kingdom located in Denmark, Prince Alastor prefers to spend his days sailing and exploring rather than at court, despite his advisor Husk insisting that he should focus more on honoring the wishes of his deceased parents by settling down with a nice young lady and starting a family. One day while sailing over seas he hears a beautiful voice singing from fathoms below and commands it to be followed. No one else can hear the voice though but one sailor suggests that what the prince heard may have been a mermaid, specifically Lucifer's daughter for it is said that no one on land or in the sea has a voice as lovely as hers. The sailors then proceed to tell Alastor about King Lucifer who rules over the ocean and the mer-people, and how there was a time long ago when mer-people could be seen rising to the surface but then suddenly, they stopped coming. That the sea king had forbidden them from ever rising to the shore again after he lost his queen. Alastor is intrigued by these stories but Husk just brushes them off as nautical nonsense.

Meanwhile, deep on the ocean floor in the merfolk kingdom, King Lucifer and his brothers and sister in-laws Baron Belphegor, Lady Seras, and Lord Stolas are celebrating the anniversary of their nation's founding by having each of their daughters sing in a concert for their people. The concert is conducted by Lucifer's advisor and court composer, the sea-imp Moxxie and Belphegor's daughter Bee, Seras's daughter Emily, and Stolas's daughter Octavia perform magnificently but Lucifer's daughter is not present for her solo bringing the concert to a halt and enraging Lucifer.

As it turns out, Lucifer's daughter Charlie had forgotten about the concert because she is a mermaid who dreams of life on the land and spends most of her time swimming around the surface, collecting human items that occasionally fall from ships, and trying to learn about the humans. Unfortunately her people do not care for the surface or humans, and often look down on her and mock her for her interests. Calling her “odd”. The only ones who support her are her friends Vaggie who doesn't quite understand her fascination but wants her to be happy, and Blitzo a land-imp who gives her information about the human objects she finds. Or rather information that he's concocted in his own head. As he's telling her that a fork she found is used for combing one's hair and that a pipe she found is used for music, she suddenly remembers the concert and hurries home.

Elsewhere, Adam the sea-wizard and his loyal follower Lute are plotting revenge against Lucifer for banishing them and transforming Adam from a handsome merman to a hideous cecaelia. When Adam notices how head-strong and rebellious Charlie is, like her late mother, he suspects that she may be the key to Lucifer's undoing and tells Lute to keep an eye on her.

When Charlie returns home her father reprimands her for missing the concert and going to the surface, reminding Charlie that humans killed her mother Lilith years ago. Charlie then protests that the humans who killed her were pirates and that she believes that not all humans were like them. However Lucifer is xenophobic toward humans, viewing them as nothing more than savages. He forbids Charlie from ever going to the surface again and she leaves distraught. Lucifer then assigns Moxxie to watch over Charlie and keep her out of trouble, much to the sea-imp's dismay.

Moxxie follows Charlie and Vaggie to a secret grotto where she keeps her collection of human objects. Vaggie comforts Charlie and asks why she's so interested in the surface world anyway. The sea princess then responds that she gets it from her mother and that Queen Lilith always believed that the humans and the merfolk could live together in harmony if they tried to understand each other, so she would visit the surface as often as she could and then tell her daughter about her adventures. Charlie also reveals that her father once supported her mother's dream and even had a special music box made for her to show his support but that was lost along with her mother's life. Charlie then confesses that she secretly wishes to live in the surface world and have her own adventures, and wonders if maybe the humans would be more accepting of her "odd" nature than the merfolk are.

Moxxie is horrified by this discovery and makes his presence known. Charlie quickly pleads with Moxxie not to tell Lucifer about her collection or her secret wish. Moxxie promises not to but tries to convince Charlie to forget her strange hobbies and focus more on music and her singing. The conversation is interrupted when Charlie sees a ship floating overhead and curiously, swims up to investigate. She swims closer to the ship and spies on the sailors aboard who are celebrating Alastor's birthday. She watches the young man play the flute and dance with his cat Kee Kee and the crew, further intriguing her. During the party, the prime minister Zestial tells the prince that he must find a bride and take up his father's crown, then tells him that he is planning to arrange a marriage for him and the duchess Verosicka. Alastor and Husk both protest, insisting that both his father and mother would have wanted him to marry for love. Zestial counter-argues that despite that, the prince doesn't have anyone to love. Alastor tells them that the woman he falls in love with will be someone who's different. Someone who's "odd". Hearing this, Charlie is instantly smitten.

A storm suddenly hits and when the crew cannot steer the ship to safety, Alastor risks his life to get everyone on board including Kee Kee over to the lifeboats, choosing to be the last one to get off. Just as it's his turn, lighting strikes and the ship breaks apart. Alastor is tossed overboard and knocked unconscious. Charlie saves him from drowning and drags him to the shore. The storm ends by morning and Charlie checks to see if Alastor is still alive. When she sees that he is, she sings to him. Alastor begins to stir and the two fall in love.

Alastor dazedly begs Charlie to stay but she is forced to leave when she hears Husk coming. However Charlie vows to find a way to be with him and Alastor vows to find the woman who saved him. All of which is witnessed by Lute and as Adam spies on them through her eyes, he boasts on how he can use these star-crossed lovers to his advantage and that the reason for his transformation and banishment was that years ago, he and Lilith had been arranged to marry but she fell in love with Lucifer, choosing to marry him instead. Out of jealousy and revenge, he arranged for Lucifer to be killed by pirates but Lilith pushed her husband out of the way, taking the killing blow for him. He then remarks that Lucifer’s lovely little princess would make a charming bride.

After Charlie returns home, her behavior makes her father and her cousins Bee, Emily, and Octavia suspect that she has fallen in love. Moxxie tries to convince her that the sea is where she belongs and points out all the wonders of it, but she only dismisses his words and swims off. On land, Alastor is pressured into a dinner with the duchess Verosicka but he quickly realizes that she’s a vain woman only wants to marry him to become queen and rejects her advances. This upsets Zestial who believes in marriage for convenience but Husk proposes a compromise, that they give Alastor some time to fall in love and find a woman to marry before betrothing him to the duchess. Alastor reluctantly accepts but reveals that he’s in love with the one who saved him and wants to marry her but the only clue he has to find her is her beautiful voice and eyes.

At first Lucifer is pleased with the idea that Charlie has found love and asks Moxxie who the lucky “merman” is? Unfortunately Moxxie accidentally reveals that Charlie saved a human and that he is the one she is in love with. Lucifer is furious and forces Moxxie to take him to Charlie's grotto. There Vaggie has surprised Charlie with a small, marble statue of the prince that she found on the ocean floor and the princess gleefully starts to talk about how she'll sneak away to the surface to visit the prince. But Lucifer appears at the grotto and is enraged by her plans. Charlie tries to explain but Lucifer refuses to listen and destroys her collection of artifacts in a misguided attempt to protect her. Charlie swims away to cry and Lucifer is left feeling guilty for his actions but convinced that it was for her own good.

Once alone, Lute approaches Charlie and tells her that Adam has great power which he uses to help others achieve their greatest desires, and that she was once a land creature who dreamed of life in the sea and Adam made that dream real. Charlie knows nothing of Adam or of his past with her parents, and she's so devastated by her father's actions and feels so alone in her own world, that she agrees to go see him. Moxxie and Vaggie spot Charlie with Lute and follow them to Adam's lair. When Moxxie realizes who Charlie is about to meet, he rushes to warn her but Lute silences him and Vaggie.

Adam tells Charlie that the only way to be with Alastor is to become human and he offers to turn her into one for a month and if she can win Alastor's love and receive a true love's kiss from him before the sun sets on the final day, she will remain human forever. But if he doesn't then she'll turn back into a mermaid and be Adam's prisoner. He also demands that Charlie give him her voice as payment for the potion. At first Charlie is hesitate to accept, unsure if she can leave her father, family, and friends forever or give up her voice as it is her last connection to her mother. But Adam manipulates her by saying that she never really belonged in the sea to begin with and no one down below will ever truly accept her. And he convinces her that giving up her voice will be no great loss because she'll be the most beautiful human woman anyone has ever seen and that she will dance more gracefully than any other. In the end Charlie accepts the deal, Adam then takes her voice and locks it away in a nautilus shell, and gives her a potion that turns her tail into legs. Vaggie and Moxxie quickly get her to the surface before she can drown.

They meet Blitzo by the shore and Charlie is thrilled at finally becoming a human while Moxxie is mortified and almost goes to tell Lucifer what happened. But Vaggie and a now silent Charlie persuade him to instead help them as this is the only chance Charlie has at being truly happy. Blitzo finds some discarded rags and cloth to cover Charlie’s body with, just as she’s found on the beach by Alastor. He doesn’t think she’s the one who saved him due to her no longer having a voice but something about her beautiful eyes draw him to her so he decides to take her to the palace, inviting her to stay as his guest.

Inside, Rosie the headmistress of staff and Niffty the maid, take care of Charlie and see that she is treated like royalty. Giving her a suite and baths, dressing her in gowns of silk and muslin, weaving pearls into her hair, all the while Charlie is fascinated by the new world around her. In the evening, a banquet and ball is held in hopes that Alastor will choose a bride but none of the young ladies attending interest him.

When Charlie enters the room, Alastor is astonished by her beauty and invites her to sit with him and Husk at the banquet table. Charlie attempts to impress him by brushing her hair with a fork and blowing Husk’s pipe like it’s an instrument. All the guests laugh at her but Alastor finds her “odd” behavior charming and smiles at her.

Moxxie and Blitzo sneak into the palace to keep an eye on Charlie but the royal Chef Pentious mistakes them for being crabs and tries to cook them for dinner. They retaliate, leading to a brawl that disrupts the meal but luckily Blitzo escapes out the window while Charlie hides Moxxie in her room. After dinner Alastor teaches Charlie to dance and despite her clumsiness, she still moves with grace and charms him even further with her eloquent eyes. As Husk, Rosie, and Niffty watch them dance, they are pleased to see the prince so happy and suspect that love is in the air.

The next day, Alastor takes Charlie on a tour of the kingdom, going to shops and stands, introducing her to his neighbors and good friends, and he is further impressed with how she responds to everything with such an innocent and playful fascination. They end the day with a picnic on the beach which Charlie enjoys but as she watches the tide, she starts to become homesick and dips her feet in the water. Alastor notices that she's sad and understands that she misses her family. He comforts her and opens up to her about how he lost his parents and misses them. To cheer her up, he gives her a present, one of the many artifacts that his father brought back from his days as an explorer and to Charlie's wonder and joy, the gift is her mother's music box. She embraces him and they almost kiss but Alastor backs out, still longing for the "one" who saved him.

As Adam continues to spy on Charlie, he starts to become anxious. He tells Lute that he gave Charlie a month to win Alastor's heart because he knows that the prince is expected to marry another woman by the month's end and is sure that humans never break an arranged marriage. Still, he sends Lute upward to make absolutely certain that the kiss doesn't happen.

As the weeks pass, Alastor and Charlie grow closer. They go horseback riding, they climb mountain tops, he takes her sailing, and she listens to him whenever he talks about how he doesn't want to be king and that he's not sure he will be as good at running a kingdom as his parents were. Not one day goes by where they are not together yet Alastor still does not even make an attempt to kiss her. But while she spends her days with Alastor, Charlie spends her nights dipping her feet in the ocean and visiting with Vaggie who misses her terribly but is glad that she's happy. One night as Charlie comes back from the beach, she over hears Zestial and Husk arguing about Alastor's betrothal to Verosicka and she fears that he may love another. Rosie and Niffty figure this out and comfort Charlie, assuring her that Alastor does not like Verosicka at all and that they truly believe that if he ever married anyone, it'll be her. Meanwhile, Lucifer and his family have been searching the entire ocean for Charlie and Moxxie the remorseful sea king breaks down to his brother in-law Stolas about how he knows Charlie and Moxxie's disappearances are his fault and that he failed them and Lilith. Stolas however assures him that Charlie and Moxxie will be found and that his sister knows how much he loves and tries. Still Lucifer cannot help but constantly say "What have I done? What have I done?"

On the day before the last day of the month, Alastor takes Charlie on a romantic boat ride in a lagoon. A secret spot where his father used to take his mother and he tells her how his father met his mother while exploring the middle east and how different she was from all the other woman he had met before. That she was "odd" just like how his father was "odd" and they fell so much in love that no matter what they faced, no matter what stood in their way, they would always find each other. He then confesses that he wants a love like that and that is why he cannot consent to an arranged marriage. He also confesses that he considers himself "odd" and that he thinks Charlie is wonderful because she's "odd" too. Moxxie takes advantage of the moment by working with Bltizo to create a romantic atmosphere and again they almost kiss, but Lute ruins the moment by tipping the boat over.

Furious at Charlie's close success, Adam decides to take matters into his own tentacles but going up to the surface and appears to a jealous Verosicka, who is sulking over the fact that the prince would prefer a “little mute" over herself. Adam offers Versoicka a solution and gives her specific instructions to follow. That night, Husk suggests to Alastor that "Far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring, and right before your eyes." Alastor takes this advice to heart and realizes that he's fallen in love with Charlie. He decides to forget his dream girl and marry Charlie instead but before he can tell her how he feels, he is approached by Versoicka who is now wearing the nautilus shell containing Charlie's voice around her neck. She uses the voice to bewitch Alastor to forget all about Charlie and marry the "one with the voice."

The next morning Charlie learns that Alastor has decided to marry Verosicka today, much to the joy of Zestial and the confusion of Husk, Rosie, and Niffty. Charlie tries to get Alastor's attention but Versoicka does everything in her power to keep him from seeing her, and when the staff questions him about Charlie, he claims not know such a woman. Heartbroken, Charlie runs off in tears, sobbing by the shore as the wedding ship departs. But Blitzo suspects that something is up and decides to do a little snooping. He spies on Verosicka and sees her conversing with Adam through a mirror, in which they reveal that they've been using Charlie's voice to keep Alastor in a trance and that Verosicka must not let Alastor see his true love or the spell may weaken. Blitzo quickly warns his friends and they devise a plan, Vaggie will take Charlie to the wedding ship, Moxxie will get Lucifer, and Blitzo will stall the wedding.

Blitzo enlists sea animals and Kee Kee to help him and together they disrupt the wedding and attack Verosicka. Vaggie and Charlie get closer to the ship but Lute turns herself into a shark and attacks them. Vaggie fights her, giving Charlie a chance to climb aboard. Alastor finally sees her, bedraggled and on the verge of collapsing, he starts to remember her and rushes to embrace her. Veroscika attempts to strengthen the spell over him but Blitzo rips the nautilus shell from her neck and breaks it at Charlie's feet. Charlie's voice is restored to her and Alastor realizes that she's the one. Tragically, just before their lips can touch, the sunsets and Charlie turns back into a mermaid. It's too late and Adam takes Charlie away, but Alastor is determined not to lose her again.

Lucifer confronts Adam and agrees to take his daughter's place and give him his trident, in exchange for her freedom. Adam agrees, he claims the trident for himself and turns Lucifer into a sea worm to Moxxie's and Charlie's horror. Charlie attempts to take the trident back to save her father but Adam restrains her. Alastor, having found them, shoots a harpoon at Adam to defend her and Lute responds by trying to drown him. Vaggie and Moxxie defend him and Adam attempts to kill all three of them with the trident but Charlie intervenes, causing the blast to hit and kill Lute instead.

Alastor and Charlie reunite at the surface and she urges him to get away for his safety but he refuses to leave her. The couple is suddenly pursued by an enraged Adam who controls the waters to bring them to him. He takes Charlie hostage and starts trying to drown Alastor, all the while taunting him about how once he's dead, he'll takeover not only Charlie's kingdom but Alastor's as well, enslaving both of their people, and pushing the final button by declaring that he'll make Charlie his replacement bride for Lilith. Furious, Alastor reaches for the harpoon he threw earlier and stabs Adam in the chest. In pain, he drops both them and the trident, and the couple use the trident to destroy Adam.

Afterward, Alastor and Charlie swim to the shore where he proclaims his love for her and they share true love's kiss. But then Charlie tells him that although she loves him too, they belong in different worlds and that they can never be together. Alastor pleads with her not to leave him, that they can surely find a way but she tearfully insists that there is no such way. She returns to the sea and is overjoyed to see her father restored to his true form, they embrace, and both apologize for the mistakes they've made. Charlie agrees to go home but asks to have one last look at Alastor first and Lucifer consents. Seeing the way Charlie looks at Alastor and the way he looked at her, reminds Lucifer of how he used to look at Lilith and recalls that Alastor had risked his life to save his daughter just as Lilith had given her life for her husband. Realizing that he was wrong and that he wants Charlie to be happy, Lucifer decides to change Charlie into a human for good, she runs into Alastor's arms, they kiss, and at some point marry, finally uniting humans and merfolk just as Lilith always wanted.

[marysuewho]

[comments by @ilovescaryl, @mementomorlllll & @gatbsythegreat ]

I don't know if the crossed out sections are cut scenes, but I do know that things, like canon, won't appear onscreen without being written into the script. It's not improv theater. Things also have to be filmed in order for them to be shown, no matter how it's edited. If they didn't shoot an embrace, a kiss or Caryl frantically checking each other over to make sure they're both all right, we won't get to see it.

Caryl will still be down in the tunnel, getting gassed and seeing dead people because that seems to be the plot, even if they cut the ship bait. The dialogue is still stilted and dumb, even if the delivery is magnificent. Melissa McBride will be breathtaking if they didn't cut her big Sophia scene to make room for the nun, but the scene itself is uninspired.

I want more than what's in those images. I would expect Melissa to want something poignant and subtle and nuanced because Sophia obviously means a lot to her. I hate it if the gas induced goodbye hallucination is what David Zabel gave her instead of what she wanted. Seeing Sophia is going to be polarizing anyway because she's such an iconic character and going by the sneak preview of the season premiere, we won't get to see her face on the show. I understand the reason why, but I also think it takes away from the emotional impact if we don't see her eyes.

I want my enthusiasm back because I waited so long for Carol, but those scenes feel underwhelming.

[oxymorayuri]

𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝟹 – 𝐴𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 | 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟 𝐷. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑎𝑤 ✘ ♀ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Story: The princess of Tanata (Long Fic)

➽ Click on this link to see all chapters.

Spoiler: Talking about Impel Down and the battle between the Marine and the Whitebeard Pirates

Warnings: none

slowburn with plot

Wordcount: 5396

Text in italics emphasizes the reader’s thoughts

Have fun, kiss kiss ♡

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝟹 – 𝐴𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒

Shortly before the gates of Tanata you slowly realize what awaits you at home.

What will you say to Grandpa? How will he react?

Grandfather is a good man, but he isn't as friendly towards strangers as he used to be... Understandably. You clench your fists. It's been almost ten years but since you saw that symbol on the ship, all the memories come flooding back. You hold your arm and press lightly into your skin.

The gate opens slowly. The doors, just as high as the walls, shake the ground and a beautiful picture slowly emerges in front of the strangers.

A great old city in the distance, as magnificent as described in stories - stories of forgotten worlds. You all pass through the gate and guards greet you.

“I greet you, Your Holiness and Commander Zelos.” One of the guards greets and everyone bows slightly. When everyone has entered the ground of Tanata, the massive stone gate closes with a dull sound. Zelos lets his soldiers go home and follows you as an escort. Down the paved path, past the rivers and meadows, you arrive in the city after a short walk.

The guests look around in amazement. The pirates feel like they are in a fairy tale. Charming alleys and well preserved buildings covered with beautiful plants give the historic city a romantic appearance. You all hurry through the less visited streets on the outskirts of town. You move as close as possible and just as you're about to turn the corner you hear people laughing and talking. You stop abruptly and hold your hand up; those behind you also stop. A few people stumble over their own feet or the person in front of them. You don't notice it, but Law, who is right behind you, is having a hard time not falling into you because Sachi and Penguin have slammed into him. You carefully look around the edge of the wall and watch two women drawing water from a small well. You all listen to the women talk about the celebration and how they imagine themselves watching the ceremony with their crush. You're happy because everyone is always so carefree. Near the plaza you'll see a few people closing their shops, some meeting up with their loved ones, and they're all probably going to the festival. The people on the streets are dressed simply yet elegantly. “(y/n)? Why do they all look so similar when it comes to clothing?” Nami comes from behind you, with quick steps. She looks curiously at the clothes of the townspeople.

“Today is a day of remembrance in honor of Heraia.” You look into the crowd yourself from the shadows of the alleys. To you, they look the same as usual... of course, many are wearing their best jewelry and their whitest clothes, but their clothing is not that different from their everyday style. Some of them wear simple tunics and use jewelry. Others, on the other hand, prefer more ornate fabrics with gold accents and some also have elegantly embroidered capes. The women like to wear a veil or bracelets with sleeves like you are wearing. While the men, with a well built chest, like to just wear the pleated skirt with maybe a cape. But it's definitely very exciting for outsiders, you think to yourself and giggle. Your father and his friends were also dressed completely differently than your people.

“It’s nice how everyone follows tradition.” She says dreamily. “Do you have any customs or something similar for the day?” She asks you. You're happy about her interest but wince a little when she asks "Oh yeah, definitely. We’ll even have a ceremony early in the evening.” Nami’s right eyebrow goes up at your suspicious laugh. “A ceremony, yes?” she teases. You puff out and admit, “Yup, a ceremony that I’m late for.” – “Again.” Adds your uncle, who came out of nowhere. You boldly stick your tongue out at him. Dumbass.

“Commander, I believe your presence at the festival is necessary. Tell the king I'll be there in time for the speech to begin. I'll take care of the rest and heal the boy and come right away." - "Do you promise?" One of his hands on each of your shoulders "Promise." He's not entirely sure if you'll actually be on time, but that's the minor problem at the moment anyway.

You're almost at the palace. You only have to climb what feels like a thousand stairs because the royal palace is on a hill. Even from below, the columns look so huge and massive. From up there you have a breathtaking view over the city. At first you don't even notice how the group stops following you. From here everything looks so small and everyone briefly admires the timeless architecture. Eventually you realize that no one is behind you because you no longer hear the sounds of footsteps. You quickly grab Law by his clothes. “Go, go, go!” You scurry at him with a waving hand gesture. “We shouldn’t stay here so long before someone comes out of the palace!!!” You speak quietly but just loud enough to not be a whisper.

It's more than convenient for you that both the majority and Grandfather have their hands full with the upcoming ceremony... So you can take the troop of almost 30 people to the Hera Palace at your leisure. The Hera Palace is the residence of princes and princesses when they decide to not take the throne. Even if you as a princess have no interest in the throne, you don't live there. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't become Queen of Tanata. You have no right to the throne. Even though you are the Princess, you are also a Holy Priestess because of the Devil Fruit.

Besides, you just don't want to live in the Hera Palace... you'd be all alone there. Your uncle and his wife lived in the mansion but because of the tragedy they have moved back into the royal palace and are raising the next king to secure the throne. Your uncle is the commander of the army and even though the country is very safe, you have to be well prepared. Luckily, Grandpa is more than fit and is a wonderful king.

Between the royal palace and the Heras estate is the magnificent castle garden, with a long pool in the middle.

Like a secret special unit, you navigate the pirates through the castle garden. Hedges and trees give you protection (If someone were in the castle, you would be sooo seen... especially the pirates in the funny suits.) and little by little you arrive at Hera's Palace. You slam the heavy doors behind you and breathe a sigh of relief. In the reception hall, the team stands in front of you and waits for... you. You're still in your own head, leaning lightly against the door like you've had a hard day at work. Law's throat clearing brings you back.

"Ah yes, right!" You swing away from the door and walk towards the pirates.

“So! You can all feel at home, there should be enough beds available. On the ground floor there is a saloon, the large fireplace room with a bar, the kitchen and dining room. The royal family's bedrooms are on the first floor, and I allow you to use them too. The special thing about these bedrooms is that they all have their own bathroom.” You raise a finger and demand “But I have one condition. I want all women to have a royal room. The rooms on the top floor belonged to the employees and they all shared a bathroom, and I don't want to do that to the women" you wink at Nami and Robin "If I counted correctly there are only 3 women among you. There are a total of 2 double rooms and 8 single rooms, of the Royal bedroom floor. You can decide among yourselves who sleeps in the remaining rooms.” You clasp your hands together behind your back and smile at everyone around. A few crew members thank you for your hospitality and look very relieved. Then the bear comes running towards you with slight tears in his eyes and cuddles you. You startle a little but when you felt the cuddly bear's fur you couldn't help but snuggle up into him. Hyyaaaaaaa sooo soft!

"I think we should take Strawhat-ya to one of the royal rooms. He needs rest and you said you could help. We shouldn’t waste time.” He says somewhat decisively in a cool tone. You and the bear stare at him, eyes widening slightly at his voice, but he's right. You reluctantly leave the bear's embrace.

“That’s a good idea.” You nod to him and walk past him towards the stairs “Please follow me with the young gentleman. The rest are welcome to move freely.”

The pirates carrying the straw hat on the stretcher ran after you. They were followed by a few more. Among them Sanji, Robin, Zoro, Nami, which you already know. But there are also a few unknown faces, someone named Usopp, a skeleton??!! and an interestingly built man in ?panties? How obscene you think. You almost didn't see the next person because they were walking behind the big man in panties.

A little animal! It looks like a reindeer walking upright. How cute!

You're literally bursting at the cuteness… and that hat!! Like Sanji, you have heart eyes. You love cute things. With your hands clasped together, you bend down slightly towards the fur wearer.

“Well, we don’t know each other yet. A little reindeer! How cute, are you a pet?" The reindeer blushes and scratches his head in embarrassment... if you knew... he's definitely not a pet but at least you didn't think he was a Tanuki "Nooo!!! I'm not a pet... you idiot! hehe" he wiggles back and forth cutely as your eyes suddenly return to normal, staring straight down at him.

He can talk too? ?? That's it. That's it for you! You lose your temper and fall backwards. This is all TOO cute. You went knock out.

Two hands grab your arms from behind and try to support you, but you fall straight into their chest. A fairly well defined chest. You still hold one hand to your forehead while your eyes go up over your shoulder. You look straight into Law’s stormy grey eyes. When your eyes meet, you feel his grip tighten a little. You're so close that you feel his breath on your forehead, but you don't take your eyes off his and he doesn't move at all either.

Hmm, he looks a bit lanky in his sweater, but apparently he's built sturdier than he seems.

You blush at your thoughts. What are you thinking????!

Law looks at you with slight amusement and puts you back on your own two feet. His warmth leaves you and right now you're turning REALLY red.

“Eheem!” comes from the side. Your gaze goes down to the reindeer. "My name is Chopper and I'm the doctor of the Strawhat Pirates." He speaks. You lean forward slightly again and carefully hold out your hand. “Nice to meet you, Chopper!” My name is (y/n)” and you smile lovingly.

Law sees your smile and immediately notices the difference. You smile a lot, but this is definitely different. He doesn't understand why he's thinking about your smile. Generally about smiling. He stares at the two of you with a blank expression on his face.

The men carefully place the strawhat on the kingsize bed and leave the room. The people who came into the room gather around the bed with worried looks. You take a chair and place it on the bed, your arms resting on the back.

"Please explain to me what happened to him... He looks very worn out and the harder the injuries are, the more it affects me." Zoro explained to you what happened to the crew.

In front of you are all of the Strawhat Pirates; and their captain - Monkey D. Luffy - is lying in bed. Law is not one of them as he is the captain of the Heart Pirates... those funny clothed guys. Law and his comrades helped them in battle, by enabling the Strawhats to escape in their submarine. Sanji mentioned what kind of poisoning Luffy suffered when their small group tried to free his brother in a maximum security prison called Impel down. His brother was about to be executed and a fight was unavoidable. This leads to the story of the battle between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates, as Luffy's brother was apparently a commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

There was a lot of fighting over a long period of time and with far too few breaks to regenerate. You listen quietly to the members and form your own opinion. How tragic.

Their looks filled with sadness.

It moves you very much to see them like that. You can literally feel what they must have been through. You sit down on the chair, your gaze is on the boy. His skin is so pale and he has dark circles under his eyes that are slightly purple. His breathing is rapid and unsteady and every now and then he lets out a pained moan.

You reach for his shaking hand, holding it in both of your hands and bringing his hand to your forehead. You focus on the cold from his hand, as if he had already passed away. The way he looks, he must feel like he's dying... you're sure of that.

The room is filled with silence and no one really knows what you're about to do.

You bring his hand to your mouth and kiss the back of his hand with your full lips. Right now you see it. Everything that happened to Luffy and you go back to just before when he was still fine. It's as if you are in a room where the images of the past pass by like a flashback. Horrible images stretch through your mind. A tear leaves your eyes, but you have to concentrate. You hear Luffy's breathing soften. It's almost done.

A few look at you worriedly while Law, Sanji and Zoro watch you closely. Basically you just kiss his hand...are you helping him yet? You don't see their looks because your eyes are closed. You have to focus. You have a very bitter taste in your mouth as the events unfold before your eyes where Luffy was poisoned. You feel your blood heating up and your heartbeat getting faster. Just before you want to let go, you feel a burning sensation in your throat and it's difficult to breathe. You feel like the poison is literally flowing down your throat. The burning is unbearable. You let go of Luffy's hand and fall into the backrest, gasping for air helplessly. You didn't expect that. Chopper and Law rush over and check you out. Law places two of his fingers on your neck to feel your pulse. Your pulse is beating like crazy, but he doesn't know what's wrong with you. He has no idea what you've done. His cool fingers on your neck make you realize how warm you feel. Not just warm, rather hot. You weakly open your eyes and try to lean forward. You're not done yet, you have to go back in time a little more. As if you and Luffy had swapped, your hands are now shaking and his are completely calm. The injuries from the battle are gone, but Luffy still has old wounds and the poison is causing you problems. But you're sure you can do it, you just didn't expect this boy to have endured all of this without dying.

Your lips back on his hand, you continue. Law and Chopper right by your side, not knowing what to do or how to help you...

Without overstepping your own boundaries, you found a moment where you were sure that Luffy was in good shape. After a while, you let go of his hand and fall back. Exhausted, you look at Law, who looks amazed at the calm Luffy. Luffy looks like he's just sleeping. His eyes no longer have purple circles, his skin color is back to normal and his breathing has stabilized.

“He just needs a good night's sleep and be fit again after a few days as I have completely healed his injuries. He was very damaged and when he is awake I want to know how he survived these immense amounts of poison!!!” You look stunned.

Sanji and Zoro grin while the rest laugh. Law remains silent and seems lost in thought. His eyes are on you again, but you are too exhausted to notice. “That’s just how our captain is. He won't be able to give you a plausible explanation how he survived that." Robin laughs with her hand in front of her mouth.

"If he's actually completely healed, why does he still need rest?" Chopper asks you like a cute child “If I use my devil fruit a lot on someone, it leaves certain marks on them. The more strength I use, the more exhausted the person becomes and falls into a long sleep.” you look to the side, a little ashamed. “If only I could use my powers more specifically, but unfortunately I’m not that good yet.” A light pink color appears on your cheeks. Nami comes to you and squats down. She wanted to tell you something but the silence was broken by Law.

"Room" a dome appears over Luffy and when it completely covers the boy he spoke the words "Scan" He takes a few steps back, somewhat disturbed “His... wounds” he says confused and looks into your half-closed eyes. “His wounds are gone?” he asks, he can’t quite understand how that could be. You just kissed him... He saw that Luffy's condition had suddenly improved, but he didn't expect that. His wounds are completely gone.

According to Law's spoken words, the others are also visibly surprised.

You can understand that it's strange, but you're just happy to be of help.

Satisfied, you briefly close your eyes.

“I definitely owe you all an explanation, but I’ll get to that later.” You slowly stand up, putting your hands on your hips. "I have to change quickly and go to the festival, the ceremony cannot begin without me." You breathe out “I ask you to stay in the manor until I have spoken to the king. I have to explain it to him gently and that's why no one should discover you." A distressed groan comes from the Strawhats.

“What a shame, I would have loved to watch the ceremony. I have heard the village people talk about it. Your performance should be a real spectacle.” Robin says with a small, melancholic smile. You think about the beautiful evening ritual and the corners of your mouth turn up unnoticed. “Yes, that’s right, it’s a real spectacle…” you say dreamily;

Actually, everyone should have seen this at least once in their life and with so many people on the street it won't be noticeable, right?

You think with a hand on your chin, “Oh you know what... if you want, I can take you to the festival site. If you dress up, you shouldn't stand out in the crowd." That's the idea. A small cheer appears from a few of the Strawhats, just quiet enough that it shouldn't disturb the sleeping Luffy.

You're looking at the skeleton man and panties guy.

The two definitely stand out too much... You interrupt the cheering and point out that it would be better if the two of them stayed in Hera's palace. They both stop in the middle of their dance movement and hang their heads depressed. You somewhat regret your decision, but you know how it will end. There are a few people here with different skin colors, but a skeleton and a metal man are far too unusual to not be noticeable. The two of them stay in the palace with Chopper while the rest decide to go into the city. But first you all have to change your clothes.

Back through the garden you make your way to the royal palace. Once again along the hedges, you are just as careful as before. You carefully check every corner before giving the others a signal and they follow you. There should still be a few servants in the palace. Most of the servants could be bribed with sweets or wouldn't say anything since you're very popular with the people, but better safe than sorry! But there could still be a problem and that would be if you run into Anatol. Anatol is not just an old good friend of your grandfather; He is also the Royal Advisor and very loyal to your grandfather. Your sweet nature doesn't appeal to him in the slightest! The smartest thing to do is to sneak into the palace from outside through the kitchen. The servants usually use separate entrances in the castle and you are sure that the chef is still wandering around the kitchen because he is waiting for you. You bite your lip a little, feeling sorry for him missing a lot of the festival because of you. But at the same time you're happy, otherwise you wouldn't be able to come into the kitchen. The doors are always locked and either you have a key or someone can open the door for you from the inside.

When you get to the side entrance to the kitchen, you listen at the door. You hear him humming.

Good! He's in the kitchen! You feel relieved.

The others eye you and you hold a finger to your lips to signal them to be quiet. You knock on the door three times and take a step back.

Three knocks and he knows it's you. The door opens and Philippos the Royal Chef stands in front of you. With his stature and all the tattoos on his body, he looks more like a huge, dangerous thug than like a chef to the others. Philippos stares at you all with a kitchen knife in his hand. He probably sharpens and polishes all the knives because the knife in his hand sparkles at you. Usopp and Nami look at you a little uncertainly, but you remain silent, smiling at Philippos.

"Princess. What have you done?" His eyebrow goes up. Ussopp and Nami now look at each other in fear, while the others look at the big man. With the polishing cloth in his hand, he polishes the knife and looks over your squad. Their clothing is very unusual for residents of Tanata, he wonders who your new friends are and turns around and walks calmly back into the kitchen. You let your guests walk past you and close the door behind you.

Philippos puts his knife aside and asks you all to sit down for a moment. The big man goes to the stove and puts on a kettle. You nod to the others in confirmation and sit down at the large marble table in the kitchen, where the kitchen staff usually work. Sanji's jaw almost drops to the table, he is so fascinated by this elegant kitchen interior. He would be happy to cook here himself. You watch with amusement. Apparently he doesn't just have a thing for women. Nami, who is sitting next to you, pierces you with her questioning looks. You lean over and whisper in her ear that she will soon find out why we should sit down for a moment. The others look around in silence. The kitchen is like a small hall with round columns and high ceilings with ornaments. Lots of plants decorate the room and the large kitchen counter made of marble is a real eye catcher. Light shines through the large windows giving a warm atmosphere. The room appears so simple and dreamy. Philippos comes to the table with teacups and small sandwiches and pours everyone a cup of tea. Then he sits down, picks up his cup and looks at you expectantly.

"Well, I'm curious what kind of tea you have for me, my princess." With an amused smile, he brings his cup to his mouth and holds his little finger in the air. His attitude always makes you giggle. You don't know anyone else who loves gossip as much as he does. But Law, Sanji, Robin and Nami's faces are even better. Everyone is a little horrified by the playful mood. They would have expected a little interrogation but this is more of a tea party where people gossip. You rest your elbow on the table and put your chin in your hand. An amused grin appears on your lips. Zoro and Usopp apparently didn't even notice what Philippos said, as the two of them were more busy eating the sandwiches. You look at Law across from you and exhale somewhat heavily.

“I was in the woods when I saw something amazing.” You look intently at the chef, creating tension. "You won't believe me! but I witnessed how a huge ship literally came shooting out of the depths of the sea!!!" With your hand movements you emphasize the words to make it more dramatic. Philippos listens to you intently and sips his tea. "And knowing the princess, of course you went to where the ship in question was. Right?" - "Mhm." you agree with him.

"I'm currently hiding about 30 people in Hera's Palace." you giggle. Philippos smiles “speechless” and holds a hand in front of his mouth. “Oh my goodness! You’ve done something great again.” he says ironically. Because of the casual conversation, the other two girls blossom and join in the conversation. Nami told Philippos how you first stopped and then dissolved the huge wave. Philippos listens to her with interest, aware of what an amazing show it must have been. After all, everyone in the kingdom knows your abilities. The only one feeling a bit lost is Law. He listens to your conversation but isn't sure why he came along in the first place. Sandwiches aren't to his liking and gossip definitely isn't to his liking either, but he still can't stop listening when he hears your melodious voice.

After the nice chat, Philippos turned away from the table to cook something on the stove. The room fills with the scent of fresh herbs. You and Nami talk about clothes while happily eating sandwiches. You wanted Law to eat something too but he refused. You're a little embarrassed that you didn't ask him sooner. The others happily helped themselves to the appetizers while Law calmly drank his tea. Philippos came back to the table and gave you a large cup of herbal tea. He grabbed a small bottle of black liquid from a locked cupboard and put 3 drops in your cup. You thank him and hesitate for a moment. "Come on, Princess. You know you have to drink the tea hot." You exhale in frustration and quickly pour the liquid down your throat. The hot tea burns your throat a bit but Philippos has already put a glass of cold water in front of you. You quickly reach for the cold water. Law is visibly interested

"What was that black liquid?" - "This is a type of syrup that strengthens the body. Our herbalists prepared this liquid for the princess." Philippos places the small bottle on the table in front of Law. He examines the bottle, smells it and grimaces. "That smells very strong." - "It doesn't taste good either." you completed his statement "But before every ceremony I have to drink this tea. It has to be fresh and hot, otherwise the syrup won't develop... that's why Philippos waited for me for so long" you look at him apologetically and he waves you off, with slightly reddened cheeks. "The tea ensures that I have enough energy for the ceremony" - "interesting" Completely fascinated, Law swings the liquid in the bottle back and forth. "I thought you didn't have doctors" he looks intensely into your eyes "y-yes, that's true. I've never heard of doctors. Our healers have a broad knowledge of plants and their effects, so they are doctors for you ?" - “Not really.” he answers shortly. You look at him puzzled while he puts a drop on his finger and tries the liquid. He doesn't say anything else and leaves the conversation unexplained.

Okayyy so he keeps things exciting. You guess?

After you leave the kitchen, you all sneak down the long hallway. You quickly hurry into your room, you are really glad that no one saw you.

"Take a seat in front of the fireplace, I'll bring you clothes." You say before leaving the room again. You go into the royal dressing room and pick out some simple robes for the 6 people.

As you pack a bunch of clothes and accessories for the girls, you wonder what you'll give the men to wear. Your uncle probably won't mind if you borrow some clothes from him. You chose rather simple skirts, with subtle embroidery in gold. At the back there is a kind of longer cloth attached to the waistband of the back, which you can throw over your shoulder. This means the chest is covered a bit and provides some warmth on cool evenings.

You quickly run back to your room. The six people were patiently waiting for you in your room.

"I definitely found something suitable for everyone." You give each of the men their clothes and a pair of sandals. "I just brought a small selection for you two because I can give you my clothes without making it too noticeable." You put the mountain down and Nami's eyes sparkle. Robin looks thrilled at the beautiful fabrics and veils. Both of them thank you for your kindness.

"Okay, if anyone wants to take a shower, feel free to freshen up quickly. My personal bathroom is up there." You point to a door to your left. "We still have about an hour until the main ceremony of the festival. We should hurry up because I can't be late!"

(Your bathroom is like a hammam bath. In the middle there is a slightly larger pool in the ground but the water is not particularly deep.)

Like this:

You briefly discuss who would like to take a shower and decide that you women should go first because you need a little more time for your hair to dry. With the clothing of their choice under their arms, Nami and Robin follow you into the bathroom.

After you have finished your shower, you come out of the bathroom fully dressed. In your noble clothes, with veils on your arms and gold jewelry, you three look like goddesses. Apart from Sanji, the men seem rather uninterested and walk past you to freshen up in the bathroom. Only Sanji doesn't follow and falls to his knees in front of you with a nosebleed. His heart almost jumps out of his chest. A few incomprehensible sentences leave his lips as Zoro comes back and drags him by his collar into the bathroom.

In the meantime, you women do each other's hair and talk about Tanata's culture.

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

See you next time, kiss kiss ♡

➽ Next chapter

[darklinaforever]

Everlark is one of my favorite ships of all time and I never understood the comparison with Malina that some people made... thanks to these fanarts / image (besides they are all magnificent, congratulations to the artists !), I have a little Understood. The meadow, the somewhat idyllic end of a quiet life after the war... The red cat that they recover. Also, rewatching the films HG and season 1 of SAB allowed me to understand that Mal had the same dialogue as Peeta, the famous "Alawys" ... Except that it's all very, very superficial. In reality the two ships are absolutely not similar in substance. In reality, Malina would be more like Gale and Katniss to me than Everlark. It's like how a lot of people compare the Grisha trilogy to the Hunger Games trilogy when clearly... no. It has nothing to do. Even in terms of ending, especially in its deep meaning.

I also heard that people also compared Kataang to Everlark and there... Even in superficial terms like Malina does I have difficulty understanding the similarities with Kataang. As this person pointed out, Everlark would look more like Zutara than anything else :

[heliads]

okay, hopefully you have room for more than one request from me !! this time, could i pretty please request billy rocks with a gender-neutral reader, since you know i have to send in my obligatory magnificent seven request ? the reader is a member of the seven and their resident medic, in charge of patching up everyone else’s injuries after a fight. they’ve had a kind of flirting banter thing going on with billy for a while, but neither of them are planning on really doing anything about it anytime soon, until the reader collapses after a battle because they ignored their own injuries in favor of helping the others and billy completely freaks out. when the reader finally wakes up, the others tell them that billy hasn’t left their side the entire time they were out, and after billy soundly scolds them for ignoring their own health, they finally confess ?

again, obviously you don’t have to right this if you’d rather not, but if you do, thank you so much in advance, and i hope you’re doing well !! <3

'living, surviving' - billy rocks

masterlist

He will die tomorrow morning, but now, while the town of Rose Creek is still quiet and dark, Billy Rocks is alive. Alive and alone. No one sees him, no one knows him. He remains invisible, curtained by deep shadow. He looks around him at the wavering lights of candles in windows, and wonders, depressingly, when they’ll get blown out by gunshots. When every glass pane shatters, when every roof collapses, when each body falls and friend goes missing, Billy will remember this night, back when nothing had gone wrong yet.

The wind whistles through the slots in the door out back, bringing with it the vague lilts of laughter and conversation from a few doors down. There are people here who still harbor hopes of walking out of tomorrow morning’s fight alive, and they’ve gathered around fires or drinks to convince themselves that it’ll happen. Not Billy, though. Billy, as per usual, is alone.

He likes being alone, though. It lets him see what others don’t. Billy remembers being a child once, a long time ago in a place that was not this one. A schoolmate of his, a friend, maybe, had shown him a print of an ancient warship in the book with a proud figurehead at the front cut out to look like the head of a god. It was meant to guard the ship, apparently, and keep it from harm.

It had always struck Billy as a rather lonesome thing. One god, brought down to land in the form of a wooden carving, always staring ahead sightlessly and separated from the crew. Forever bond to solitude. Watching out for the men aboard that would never look it in the eyes.

Now, though, Billy thinks that he quite understands it. He is alone now, hidden comfortably in the shadows such that his eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Tucked away in a dark corner, he can see the various inhabitants of Rose Creek nervously passing the time before they’ll likely lose their lives. Lost in drink or card games, doing their best to do too much so their minds can’t sit and think about how little time they’ve got left, nobody has the patience or nerve to check for things hiding in the shadows. They certainly don’t look hard enough to find him.

They wouldn’t if they tried. Billy has had a lot of time to perfect the art of remaining out of sight. He shows off when he wants to, twirling a silver knife just right so the lithe blade reflects the sun like an arc of pure light, but he prefers being quiet. He’ll let Goodnight do the talking, or Billy’s knives. When he’s quiet, he can watch. When he’s quiet, he can learn the secrets about people that they aren’t aware they’re telling. He can guide his crew from the shadows. He can lead them from his place alone above the stormy water.

Usually, no one can find Billy unless he wants them to. The exception, of course, is Goodnight, because as business partners, it became somewhat of a necessity to find Billy when need be, so he’s let that slide. Tonight, though, with Goodnight gone and everyone else highly strung due to the battle looming ahead, Billy doesn’t think he’ll be found.

That makes it even more surprising when he is. Billy sees this new arrival coming, of course, but he assumes they’ll veer off towards the bar, or that they’ll go laugh with the drinkers or the dancers like everyone else sees fit on this restless night. Instead, their path stays true, and they not only find Billy at once but pull up a chair next to him. Like the only thing they want to do on what may be their last night alive is to spend time with him. Like Billy is the only person worth seeing at all.

Ordinarily, Billy Rocks has no problem holding his tongue. He’ll whisper a few biting jokes here or there, typically never above the volume of a sigh, but he’s never had a problem with keeping his peace. Tonight seems to be a night of surprises, though, because Y/N L/N, their resident medic, has hardly sat down before Billy’s asking them cautiously, “You don’t want to be with the others, then?”

Y/N glances towards him, surprised, as if they hadn’t even realized this would be an option. “Now, why would I do that when I’ve got such pleasant company here with me?”

Billy chuckles in spite of himself. “It’s not the most entertaining of company.”

“Mmm,” they hum, “but I like it better that way, I think. Tonight’s not a night for shouting. Seems wrong that way.”

Billy lets out a slow breath. He can feel his fingers curling at his sides, readying themselves for triggers or blades come the next morning. “No, it doesn’t,” he agrees.

Quiet falls. Billy waits for them to leave, but they don’t. They stay, and they smile at him, warm in the lamplight from across the room, and say, “You don’t mind me being here, do you?”

“Of course not,” Billy replies hastily. “Besides, what sort of man would I be to kick out our medic the night before a fight? I can’t risk upsetting you now, sweetheart. You might do something wild, like sew me up with pink thread.”

Y/N laughs. Billy finds himself glad for the isolation again– out there in the main room of the bar, the sound of Y/N’s laughter might have blended in with the stomping of heels, the creaking of wood, but out here, with nothing else to disguise it but his own bated breath, Billy delights in it entirely. The sound curls around him like music, and his fingers twitch again, this time not to reach for a weapon but to hold their laughter. To hold them, maybe. It’s a good thing he knows better. It’s a good thing he doesn’t want that more than anything, because if he did, he might do something foolish like try.

“I’d never mess with you,” they grin. “Promise. It would ruin my reputation.”

“Wouldn’t just ruin your reputation, it would ruin my skin,” Billy grumbles, but he’s smiling again.

Y/N knows it too. They always seem to smile all the brighter when he’s smiling too, like it’s a bet they’ve won. “I wouldn’t dare,” they promise. “Besides, I can’t go threatening one of our best shooters the night before I fight, can I? What sort of friend would I be? I need you on my side to keep me safe.”

Billy arches a brow. “I’ve seen you with a gun, darling. I’m pretty sure you can keep yourself safe all on your own.”

Y/N’s lips curl suggestively. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Something hot rushes through the back of his neck. “I leave it to you to find the fun in a gunfight,” Billy says hoarsely. Changing the subject is the safest thing to do right now. It’s safer than leaning closer, than returning Y/N’s fire with fire. Safer than touching them, which is what he wants to do right now most of all.

This is not the night for that, Billy reminds himself. They’re going to die tomorrow and he won’t cloud either of their judgment. So, even though he wants nothing more than to keep testing this theory and see where they break, he forces himself to pull back and resume a normal conversation. He encourages Y/N to get some rest before everything goes to hell tomorrow, and hopefully, they will. Y/N’ll have a lot of hard work headed their way by dawn. He doesn’t want them any more stressed than they need to be.

The sun rises, bringing trouble with it. Bogue brings a lot of men, too many by Billy’s estimate. He grits his teeth as he watches them ride in, and prepares himself for a long, bloody morning. They’ve set up a small medical center in one of the better protected buildings where Y/N can practice their craft. If Billy can only make sure none of Bogue’s thugs make it to them, he’ll die a happy man.

Y/N, however, doesn’t seem to like the idea of sitting pretty while their friends die. Ordinarily, Billy wouldn’t blame them for that, but he can’t deny that his heart starts racing whenever they sprint out into the streets to tend to the wounds of their fallen friends. Once Goodnight turns up, the other man wastes no time in teasing Billy about his obvious partiality to the brazen medic, but Billy’s only half listening, anyway. He can’t both partake in snide comments and keep Y/N alive, and he’s really only interested in one of those things.

The battle rages on, then, startlingly enough, quiets. Bodies line the streets, both the dead and the injured. Y/N has been moving non stop almost the entire time; how they haven’t passed out from exhaustion, Billy has no clue. He sees them swaying slightly on their feet as they move from patient to patient, and mentally reminds himself to make sure they’re doing alright. He just needs a little more time to clear the enemy from the town, then he’ll be free to check on them.

Once the final thug has been killed or chased off, Billy starts scanning the area for Y/N. A couple friends mention that they saw the medic recently, but none of them can point him in the right direction. He checks the medical center, but it’s only inhabited by the groaning injured, not sunny would-be doctors with a spark in their eye and a quick joke on their tongue. 

Heading outside again, Billy completes a slow loop around the building, but he can’t find them anywhere. Panic starting to grow in his chest, he pulls aside Sam when the other man walks by.

“You haven’t seen Y/N around, have you?” Billy asks hastily.

Sam gives him a slow, worried look. “Now that you mention it, I’m not sure that I have. They were keeping plenty busy while the fighting was hot, but it’s been a while since they crossed my path.”

Billy nods, not even sparing the time for a thank you before continuing on his careening search through the city. As he paces down the streets, some of his friends make to approach him, but he brushes them all off. Nothing matters except finding Y/N. Nothing matters except finding Y/N.

And then, almost by accident, he does. It isn’t how he’d expected. Somehow, some naive part of him was hoping he’d find them in the tavern, already with a drink in hand, or surrounded by some awestruck sharpshooters, dazzling them with their wit. Anything that would guarantee their safety. Anything that would keep them out of harm.

In reality, when he finds Y/N, it’s no different than finding any of the other fallen bodies. They’re slumped against the wall of a building, a roll of bandages fallen loosely from their hand. There’s a man unconscious next to them, a friend of theirs who’d evidently suffered from a gash across the arm. Billy spots Y/N’s expert handiwork in the form of a clean wrap across the injury, but the one who seems to need medical care now is Y/N themself.

Hurriedly, he crouches by them, lifting a hand to check for a pulse. “Y/N?” He asks, his voice wavering.

Y/N stirs slightly, their eyes half-lidded. “Billy? That you?”

“It’s me,” he confirms. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

They move slightly, grimacing in pain, and that’s when Billy notices the dark splash of red seeping out of their waistcoat. “Sweetheart,” he repeats unsteadily, “Don’t tell me you got shot, now. You can’t just bleed out like that without getting yourself some help.”

“I had to help him,” Y/N whispers. “That’s what mattered.”

“No, you’re what matters,” Billy hisses. “Fuck the rest. You were supposed to put your health above theirs.”

Y/N manages a slight slip of a grin, not even a half-smile, and the obvious pain it causes them makes Billy’s heart clench in his chest. “Now, what kind of medic would I be if I did that?”

“A safe one,” he sighs. “Now, come on. I’m going to pick you up and get you some help, alright? Don’t you dare close your eyes. I need you to stay with me.”

“I like staying with you,” Y/N mumbles as Billy picks them up.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he tells them. 

Y/N feels deathly still in his arms, and Billy doesn’t want to give that a single moment of his attention. All that matters is sprinting back to the medical center; calling for someone, anyone to help him; carefully setting Y/N down on a clear bit of space. He has to be moved away from the table so the doctor can treat them, so intent is Billy on staying within reach, and the second they tell him that Y/N’s going to be okay, he’s right back by their side.

Y/N will wake up soon, they tell him. Just a bit of exhaustion and blood loss. Y/N’s made of tough stuff, they’ll be alright. When they open their eyes again, Billy will be right by their side. This time, he has something he’d like to tell them, and this time, there isn’t anything holding them back from the love they were always meant to share.

requested by @faerieroyal, i hope you enjoy!

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[angegigigi]

If you like iv0ryc3st, you're either a pubescent chick or an adult twitter pervert who spends 24/7 on the internet.

if something is my observation, being in this fandom, I will not go anywhere, then more often the fans of this peering are teenage girls spitting bile just because they do not like their "magnificent" fantasies, what about adults is even scarier, they are so obsessed with the topic of inc3st (I'm kind of serious) okay, they did not romanticize it there, But no. They write nasty posts about how they want to f4ck Randal and write that Luther is a f4cking ped0bear. I used to find accounts of these adult shippers saying vile things about minors and so on, continuing to romanticize inc3st

I myself am not against it in fan fiction/comics/film if it is NOT ROMANTICIZED. Understand that most often such close-family ties in the real world are violence and nothing more, what they write in the comments and show on p0rn sites is complete nonsense. They are perverts who should be banished to a mental hospital and have their sick heads treated.

As for teenage girls, I'll understand them. The teenage brain wants some kind of "immorality" and something unusual, not those boring fluff fanfiction with unicorns eating rainbows. They want to show that they are not like everyone else, how cool (not in a bad way) and so on, hormones after all, but never are you a f4cking adult ass woman j3rking off to a gay/heteronormic iv0ryc3st, and then writing posts on your stinky twitter how good it is to f4ck minors and write your fanfiction how Luther is turned into a f4cking p3d0phile again and licks his sister Randal's p3ssy, who f4cking acts like he's wanted it for a long time

Have you ever read a comic book? With your ass? Luther did not show any p3d0 tendencies, at most in the role of BDSM dominant and passive on some maps Captain Howdie, and only on himself or on catmen. Well, Randal just doesn't like it, in the mini-comic about Cousin Frank, there's an example of that, lol. And Randal is not eager to fuck Luther, but wants to take power in the Ivory house

"B-but this is peering! There's no point in shipping 🥺" ! But this iv0ryc3st is just not logical, well, like how!?! Ranseb and rantoru have some kind of logic, of course Sebastian hates Randal Ivory, but you can beat it like Stockholm syndrome, and even in the last parts of the comic he more or less tolerates the antics of his master, well, in rantoru it's understandable

Now people will write to me that Captain Howdie once said that this is canon and in general I'm a fool if I'm so sad about fictional characters, but you understand that Howdie made requests from his fans of his own comic book. What's wrong with entertaining your fans who have seen your creation? Yes, even rummaging through the pinterest, you can see screenshots that Howdie doesn't like this ship, he just laughs at it and that's it

And in general, all peirings and their crazy fans suck in the ranfren fandom, where puberty and kid lovers will not step again

I can write the same post about everyone's favorite rantoru and about the love between two catmen, the outcome will be the same