#just a bird who likes older men has no idea what she’s up for

[spurbleu]

think it’s really funny to imagine the younger men of the 141 realizing that price is actually super good with women.

soap plays knight- shows off to gawking birds, kyle’s pretty boy eyes and sharp tongue garner plenty of attention, and all simon needs to do is sit in the middle of the bar, waiting till a sweet thing asks him ‘what a big man like him is doing alone?’

price isn’t as engaged. let’s his boys have fun, but for the most part prefers to hang back. enjoy his liquor and cigarettes- let them do their thing. course, doesn’t go unnoticed. which spurs their assumption it’s not a ‘he wont’ and instead a ‘he cant’.

“‘fraid they might not like you, capm’?”

“aye gaz, play nice. ye know ta old man’s sensitive.”

“lost his spark, i reckon.”

they rib him for weeks on end about being an old man, no game, out of his prime, ect ect. it’s all light and fun of course, and combat keeps them busy enough that the jokes start to be forgotten. doesn’t occur to them that price has just been biting his tongue since the first blow.

until- night off. pub lights, tallboys and pretty women. familiar scene, type of place that has been in nasty dreams for weeks. kyle and soap are assessing the room, and simon’s silently following along. it takes them a minute to realize they’re captain is gone- but not 10 seconds to find him again- with a sweet, gorgeous bird on his arm by the bar.

silently, they watch as he effortlessly charms her. they count how many times she laughs, how eager she is to hold his arm, how, within in minutes, they’re already cozied up on a booth, nursing beer and making eyes.

and why wouldn’t she? classically handsome, mature, cute smile, a rugged exterior with a gentle execution. it’s a no-brainer for her when he offers to ‘get out of here’, and hold the muscles that breech from his shirt. doesn’t catch the way he glances over to a corner of the pub as they make their leave, small smile tugging at the burs of his mustache as he clocks the shock of his men’s faces under low lighting.

soap and kyle’s jaw break, meanwhile simon lets out a barking laugh.

“old man’s still got it.”

needless to say, all three men said nothing about losing his charm at the next debrief.

[bucchiboo]

I'm crying because I love the idea of correspondence between the students leaving next year and I'd love to see more of it. The white day cards are so cute that I just want to elaborate (hc) on handwriting and maybe even writing quirks. Just Malleus (for now...)

Malleus would be really interested in how his partner writes, it's all so fascinating to him and he's a pattern noticer. The noticerrrr. And he sees so much that he even finds himself compiling all the repetitive actions you take when writing -not just what you're writing, and brings them to you to discuss further. The way you slant letters, when your pen lets up, if you type then the frequency of paragraph breaking, how you insert images, etc. I think it'd be something like "Did you know you tend to smudge the paper when you reach the furthest margin, are you perhaps left-handed? Oya, you are? I knew that to be the case." He says with a slight smile and downturned gaze because he knows he ate that. Sherlock Horns.

He would get overzealous about the fact that you're only a word away and would immediately call you with his archaic phone and pester you until you receive it. His Correspondence wouldn't actually be a surprise because you are usually visited by a heavy knock on your door and fae appropriate fanfare when it arrives, that's just etiquette when writing royalty. But, he always calls you the day he receives it so that you know he shall be returning post haste and he intends to dazzle you. In fact, you'll spend so long speaking to each other about what was written to him, that when you finally get his response, it's more or less just recapping what you spoke of two days prior. He can't hide his giddyness, even if he keeps a cool baritone while on the phone. Because you're a kind person, you pretend that his tail happily thumping against the ground is inaudible, because you know he can't help it.

He is going to surprise you by the emojis he uses because WHO taught you that!?!? He learned these from Cater and Lilia, but he doesn't change the way he speaks. It's "Good evening, How have you've been? The summer season of Briar Valley is particularly exhausting and hot💧, I am very bothered by the heat of it all.🥵🥵" and when Lilia intercepts it, he's like "that's a perfect sentence, go ahead and send it. Actually, one note, send more sweating emojis, it's really hot this summer, right?"

Your messages go through a diverse array of moderators and middle men. Those people being his Grandmother, who reminds him that he's a prince, Lilia and Silver (the two who initially opened the letter, and finally his transcriber and narrator, Sebek who scoffs at the quality of the smut you're peddling his young master, who shouldn't even be hearing this, but he'll read on against his better judgement. (It's literally benign, the furthest thing from smut, Malleus argues). His letters would look a little like this:

21.09.19XX Child, It's been nice knowing you.😌 Why do I say that? Since we've met, it seems as if Briar Valley has taken a lead in comedy and our collective temperament could not be more jovial. Your humorous description of your familiar, Grim child, was very well received by my Grandmother, as I was awoken early enough to the sounds of insects humming and birds chirping well into the night to read it aloud to me, guffawing as she spoke. (I apologize, I cannot stop her from opening my mail, but we're working on her problematic behavior, that's a fact.😉) She in particular has asked if she may keep it, you know how older individuals are with their chucklesome cat stories. 🙄 There's this understanding of the world that I just don't possess when it comes to what grabs the attention of the people's comedy, it continues to evade me. For instance, what is the humor of "surprise hot dog 🌭" and why must it be a surprise to be enjoyed? The children of Briar Valley seemingly shout this and end their sentences with it, and I am surprised and annoyed every time. It seems like you have an understanding in the matters of humor, so you are welcome to explain it to me. But I digress, If I sat down and listed to you all the things that escaped me, well, you might find yourself as old as I am by the time we've finished! 🤣The trees and wind must sense the happiness in our friendly union, and have planned accordingly to block out bad weather🌧️ and unforgiving spirits. The weather is nice enough that (forgive me I've overstretched my hand) planned your visit for sooner rather than later. Next time we meet in person, this shall be us ->🕺💃, as I've already made arrangements for a night in a cabaret club in the Capitol for us to partake in. It's a culture so far from the realm of possibility of establishing itself in our quiet little country, that I was astounded when I stumbled across its zoning request permits one day and I rushed to see it in person, paperwork be damned. The smaller fae who perform insist it to be a "cheeky, yet inoffensive showcase of the arts", and after witnessing it for myself, I knew it would be the type of entertainment you'd enjoy.🤫 Even now, it doesn't feel natural to write, like an odd mouth feel that doesn't change as I turn it over and over. A cabaret in Briar Valley, a music club in a quiet kingdom... it's as I've mentioned earlier, Briar Valley has surprisingly given itself wholly to the Joviality of life. Sincerely yours; Malleus Draconia, Heir to Briar Valley p.s Surprise hot dog 🌭

On the other hand, as confident as he is in your responses, he's always a little embarrassed to send something back. It's not fear of his ability, but rather, if you'll care to hear about the day to day of a crown prince who's routine is very boring and full of nothingburger drama. He doesn't understand that his 18 page assessment of his life is literally replacing the cable you can't afford, and when he describes the way the lion prince attacked him during a diplomatic meeting, the colorful language of his response makes you laugh, and then cry, and even gag because "how did he get close enough to gash you!?" You can see the face he's making as he writes this, pouty and angry and even chuckling when he describes the punishment that followed. Just like in his real life, Malleus has a hard time concealing his emotions. He's not shy about who he is as a person, and his writing is not either. The way it flows is a little different from traditional correspondence, if anything, he's sending you disjointed journal entries and prose while also clipping what you send him to respond directly. Your 2 page crapped out response filled with emojis and memes and inside jokes is returned in full by 20 pages of thoughtful dialogue, assessments of politics and fondness of your life, and even sketches of the things around him (okay... just gargoyles and Sebek, but those are things in all fairness.) He has a real zest that he doesn't try to contain, and even his handwriting gives it away. When he's in a good mood, it's very pristine, heavily slanted cursive that his heavy hand oppresses by not dotting his i's or crossing his t's. It's just understood between you two what he means. Likewise, when he's angry or melancholic it's surprisingly very light, almost inelligeble as if he was speaking through gritted teeth. He must be getting up and pacing, because of course he is. When upset or recounting something terrible, his handwriting is unusually neat, funnily enough the sentences are much shorter, as if he's hiding something or thinking long about what should be said next. He's a very wistful person, after all.

Malleus enjoys fine art that seeks to appease the senses and refine beauty, so attached to his letters will often be trinkets like necklaces, earrings, watches, and pocket squares that he found in shops in Briar Valley, or a ticket to a play or music shows that dazzled him. The heavier packages (these tend to come at random) are filled with small desserts, books on the anthropological history of different fae species, woven pieces from more aesthetically competent fae and their fashion, and of course, fragmented pieces of ancient gargoyles he found hiding in deserted rooms of the castle. <- He'll know if you've thrown it away, so hold on to the heavy, weird rock fragment, please.

[iphyslitterator]

Last-ditch attempt to have it "make sense" for Tommy to end up in the cockpit, with apologies to the aviation realists:

There's a malfunction in the plane that requires delivering repair parts of some sort, no way around it, they have to get a package to Athena.

They call the Air Force, as one does, to coordinate this delivery via helicopter, and Air Force guy-in-charge is like, "Hey, I hear you've got a pilot in L.A. who landed a bird on a capsized cruise ship in a hurricane, can I have him."

Tommy and Air Force guy meet up, and Air Force guy says, "Kinard!!! 😍" and Tommy says, "Uh, hello, sir, still not re-enlisting."

Turns out Air Force guy was dazzled by Tommy's aerial prowess and has been diligently trying to recruit him for months, Tommy just has this effect on older men sometimes.

Tommy warily agrees to fly the helicopter and is introduced to his Air Force co-pilot, who will be lowering the package into the plane.

As they're walking to the helicopter, Tommy awkwardly apologizes to co-pilot for taking her spot, and she rolls her eyes and says, "Not your fault [Air Force guy] is obsessed with you," so they're good.

OKAY, we got Tommy in the air, and he's flying the helicopter so good, he's very attractive, and co-pilot's lowering the package and it gets STUCK on the outside of the plane.

Athena can't reach it from the cockpit. They can't free it from the helicopter. There's not time to get anyone else up there. And THAT'S why Tommy tells his co-pilot to take the controls because he's going to go down and get it.

Co-pilot is like, "Are you out of your mind???" (yes), but he lays out their options and says, "It's you or me," and she very reasonably is like fuck that, I am not rappelling out of a helicopter into a crashing jet.

Tommy's already in midair when they tell air traffic control etc. what they're doing, and Tommy eventually has to politely say over the radio, "LAX, I need to concentrate right now, please shut the fuck up."

If Tommy is a better pilot than Air Force lady, it is not by much, and there's a breathtaking action sequence where they're both extremely competent, and Tommy retrieves the package and makes it into the cockpit.

Athena and whoever's been assisting her handle the repairs while Tommy recovers from the retroactive debilitating terror.

Meanwhile, Maddie's been on the radio at Dispatch all this time, hand over mouth panicking because her brother's boyfriend is, you know, rappelling out of a helicopter into a crashing jet.

So once she has a moment, Maddie, with deceptive calm, says over the radio, "Firefighter Kinard, this is Maddie Han with Dispatch, would you like me to inform emergency services that you are on the plane?" and Tommy is like ohhhhh shit.

Should he tell Evan? Is it worse if he knows? Or if he doesn't know? Will he be mad??? Athena is uninterested in this.

Eventually Tommy says, "Uh, Dispatch, what's your recommendation?" and Maddie says, "I'm gonna tell him," and Tommy says weakly, "Copy that."

The next time they have to take the plane off autopilot, Tommy - who does not fly giant commercial jets - looks to Athena and says, "Technically you have more experience," and she says, "OH no, it's YOUR turn," because while she has been doing an exceptional job, flying a giant malfunctioning death trap sucks, thanks. Also frees her up to go talk to Dennis Jenkins or the other passengers or something.

Air traffic control talks Tommy through it, and his general aviation knowledge/experience comes in handy.

As they're starting their final approach, Maddie comes back on the radio and says, "Firefighter Kinard, I have a message from LAFD. They just wanted to tell you both good luck; we're all counting on you." (Airplane! reference) (Tommy made Buck watch it.) (Buck made Maddie write down the exact wording and she has no idea why.)

Tommy starts laughing hysterically and maybe sort of realizes he's in love with his boyfriend :)

Tommy responds, "Roger, Roger" (Airplane! reference) (doubles as a Star Wars prequels reference), and when this is relayed to Buck, Buck maybe sort of realizes he's in love with his boyfriend :)

Breathtaking action sequence, they land the plane, Buck flings himself into Tommy's arms for a showstopping, foot-popping movie kiss, and then they go home and fuck nasty, the end.

[callofdudes]

141 + Rodolfo & Laswell general headcanons

Before he was Ghost (and still sometimes after) he was the guy you'd go to if you had a rip in something or wanted something stitched/embroidered.

His brother was the type to bully him like he did, but if anyone outside the home tried to hurt Simon Tommy would beat them.

Had a schedule where he was to be home straight after school but would sometimes get to go dirt bike riding with Tommy.

Was a prime bullies target because he was very small before his growth spurts. And after said growth spurt has a lot of stretch marks around most of his muscle area.

Is the favorite child of Laswell.

Loves squishmellows, has many.

Will eat Thrills gum just to spite everyone even though it tastes like dish soap and he hates it.

Brings all Gossip to Gaz first.

Because of trauma and stress Simon gets constant migraines and everyone knows to avoid him because he gets insanely cranky.

Knows spanish from how long he was kept in mexico.

Used to play those computer games where you had to input the command of what you wanted the simulation to do.

Doesn't like VR. It's cool but he gets motion sick inside.

Huge mama's boy.

Had braces when he was younger but it didn't stop him from showing off his amazing smile.

Used to bug his older sisters with nerd guns.

I like the idea of Johnny being the youngest chaos gremlin but being the middle child also works for him. (Of two or three sisters)

His parents let him be in football because he was a very smart kid. Topping his science and math classes and becoming valedictorian of his class.

He thinks he's the favorite child of Laswell.

Gets scared when Simon tells him about pixel command prompt games.

While his sisters were watching Frozen he was dealing with the weird crush he had on the king.

Steals pick up lines from Kyle.

Doesn't voice his achievements a whole lot because he wasn't enough for his dad when he was younger no matter what he did. Which has led to his snarky form of confidence and Rizz.

Even older people with take credit for his work and he will fight.

Was 100% a theatre kid.

And an only child.

Is scared to come out even to people close to him after what happened when his platoon mates first found out and wouldn't let it go.

Also thinks he's the favorite child.

Almost got his eyebrow pierced once.

Started to learn what a good father should be because of Price.

Brings all gossip to Ghost first.

Massive people watcher. People credit Ghost for his people watching but it just gives Kyle more opportunity to also people watch.

Has a mentor/big brother little brother relationship with Ghost and they're actually very close.

Used to be a menace when he was younger, and to be fair he still is.

Can't have kids because his balls don't work very well 😅

He was in history in school and was also very good at math.

The Duolingo bird hates him for some reason so he's taken to learning languages from interrogations, now knows 7 languages.

Is Nikolai's permanent backup plan if some shit goes down in Russia and has gotten used to waking up with the man asleep on his couch.

Attracts girls looking for older rich men and it pains him to tell them he is not old, nor is he rich.

Had a strict Military dad who currently still works for the military as a higher rank than him and they do not have a good relationship.

Spends most of her leave time up in the mountains camping. She loves being out in nature.

Has older brothers who are really into rock climbing so she'll accompany them and their friends for rock climbing and camping when she can.

Simon is the favorite child.

Everyone thinks she's married to Price but she'd actually scold him like a child half the day and encourage his antics like a good friend for the rest.

Was in the history and chest club.

Keeps gifting Simon his squishmellows.

Mother to all her 141 children.

Brings her wife to base and Johnny had taken to calling them the "moms".

Will bully people for 141.

Have you ever seen the crazy taser girl?? Yeah, that's him. He has many tasers and he loves them all.

He's actually crazy.

Very capable of yelling and defending himself but Alejandro has bestie senses and usually beats him to whoever did it.

Rudy is quiet but don't bark at him because he barks back.

Alejandro and Rudy used to skip school and go hang out on the cliffs they now trek for military.

His father made a joke once that he was going to get milk and Rudy never recovered mentally.

(and then he left for real-)

He was in photography and sports team manager in school.

After checking out each other's turf, Simon and Rudy are now chronically insane besties.

(had this in my drafts for a while, decided to post because I'm bored.)

[lilacargent]

At it again, from another angle this time.

‘Old’ weapons. Or at least redundant, as a species traverses into space the new technology makes an old gun or even older sword/arrow/spear and so on useless and nearly powerless. The new weapons are ‘ray this’ and ‘beam that’ ‘plasma so and so’ .

Ofcourse this makes sense, the energy based weapons are far less wasteful and lighter, easier to carry and easier to handle. No need to sharpen weapons with a plasma blade and even then, why use close quarters weapons if you have access to stun, kill or poison rays and many more.

On top of that many civilisations prefer to forget their less then stellar past and make analog weapons obsolete. When the humans joined the council many expected them to do the same. They didn’t, production stopped yes, but interested people could still partake in lessons and the old fashioned ways were shown off in museums. Training to be part of a spaceship crew still included lessons in their old weapons as an opportunity to be prepared for going to “newer” worlds.

So with that in mind i have a few little vignettes ideas and for ease’ sake its gonna be on the same ship, the Serpentine.

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-

Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 -Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

Yes i know all of this could have also been accomplished by saying they are all from America… nope this is more fun. This is under the assumption that to get into the joint academy for space faring you need to be able to speak and write English.

Obviously there are more people on the ship but these are most important

~~~~~~~~

1. Sparring

Ortez was having a good day, the serpentine had left port and was making good progress toward their next destination on w-kl-18, referred to as deltax by it’s residents, for a routine drop off.

In port on Unity (the planet where the council resides and the universal court is) they picked up the final crew members among who a ‘team’ of humans. Pre bonded humans were supposed to be less chaos inducing and easier bonded with the rest of the crew. Ortez was rather happy the captain listened to him on this matter.

The humans had been more diverse than he expected and were currently what they called ‘settling in’. He was on his way to the rooms they had.

‘Stop it please we’ve been here less than 4 hours!’ The soft voice he recognises as Lilly’s is barely audible over the loud clanging sounds. Rounding the corner Ortez sees a terrifying scene. The two human males locked together with two sticks made of metal baring teeth at each other, with a push the olive skinned man, he remembers is called Petrus, breaks the hold and goes in low swiping at the tall mans legs making Markus fall over.

Ortez is about to intervene when without a sound the dark skinned leader of the group seemingly appears without a sound behind him and runs into the fray with a similar stick.

Whacking Petrus stick away from Markus’ throat she steps inbetween “stop it. You’re scaring our ASR. We want to make a good impression remember.” The men look right at him and both put down the sticks, Markus puts his hand up in a ‘wave’ “sorry about that, Ortez it was right? We were just sparring.’ Moving further into the room he uncurls his front two claws tapping at the metal poles “sparring with this? We usually only do body to body training, this seems rather old.” Petrus speaks up to that “ah yes those are old earth weapons, we like keeping up a bit of skill with several kinds as a side activity. Don’t worry tho, we train with blunt weapons.”

Not entirely appeased the insectoid looks to the imposing woman, who seems entirely at ease even though two people had been fighting. When she caught his eyes, she smiled that terrible toothy grin “truly don’t worry, like Petrus said they are blunt and it is a way for us to let of some steam and keep in shape. But next time we’ll do it in the training rooms… right boys?” Pinning the two men with withering stares they nodded quickly.

Ortez did not know humans released steam, but he felt right now was not the moment to go into that. Saying his goodbye he skittered to inform the captain.

This was bound to be interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~

2. “The Roman empire”

“So you are telling me that at any given moment you could be thinking about a several thousand years old society that no longer exists and it would surprise nobody?” Artex was perplexed, when he and Petrus were working on the reactor core Lilly had wandered through and mentioned this old civilisation sparking heated debate. She thought the greeks were far more interesting but Petrus had been unmoved by her arguments. The other man speaks while pushing some buttons “well yea, the empire made great strides and amazing structures, Lilly just prefers the mythos of the greek while i enjoy the focus on millitary prowess.” Shrugging he looks up “don’t you guys have something like that?” Artex stretches his legs, all 6 of them in a wave like motion “not really, when change happened the history books were changed to make it seem like it was always that way” the human makes eye contact “wait so how do you know how to play -old civilisation- as a kid? We play fought with wooden sticks, wooden swords and branches we cut to look like guns…” that horrofied the insectoid, raised with violence like it was a normal thing.

Almost like they never left their dark ages

~~~~~~~~~~~~

3. Whats in a name (bit off topic but the idea just kinda happened)

Te very first time the humans were introduced to their new crew there was a bit of a hiccup. When Kamari introduced herself they looked up a bit confused but went further down the row. After Lilly they came back around and referred to Kamari as moon. Now Kamari recognised the strange look, they had translators that only had basic human translation, which means that her name “Kamari” which comes from Arabic and is a word for moon/soft glow of the moon, is translated fully but not as name so when they speak to her it translates out of their language to English which would be moon. This is luckily easily fixed with an update, but it was something that stil spoke of how new the human race was to the cosmos.

Her cat Sidra made them laugh as that means Star so she was the moon with her star.

(Random thought about how multiple human languages could screw with translations)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soooooo kinda had a 4th story that is pretty sad but also bad ass, but this is getting too long already

Imma write that in a new post over the coming days

Hopefully people like this, if you have prompts you’d like to see with this crew feel free to ask.

[grizzersmamma]

Omg omg omg omg I just read both of your Deamon AU fics???? They are so good!! And beautifully written!!!

please please if not too much trouble, can I please request for that Au?? Maybe like all of 141 meeting each other and Deamon’s for the first time?? I picture Gaz has some kind of bird like a mourning dove or a humming bird and Price has a stronger dog breed- like a Shepard of a sheep bearding dog — y know something protective?

UGH I LOVE THIS AUUU A

((sorry if you aren’t taking requests on this, I just wanna say it’s the best thing I’ve read💕💕💕))

Requests are always open! (I just might take a while because I'm slow af lol)

I wanted to get this out this weekend just passed, but I got a fresh 'rona shot on Friday and it took me out with more precision than a sniper bolt to the face jfc. I absolutely adore the thought of Gaz with a little birb (a pretty one ofc), but I'd actually already picked something out for him, so I hope you like it almost as much as your idea. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

Summary: John Price has hand picked every member of his Task Force carefully to create the perfect team we have today, even if it hasn't always felt like that.

Notes: Written from Price's POV reflecting on the team's past.

Pairing: John "Soap" MacTavish x Simon "Ghost" Riley

Series Masterlist: Here

CoD Masterlist: Here

Taglist: @heyitsropi

The first time John met Simon, he was only that, Simon Riley. The Ghost was yet to exist, and in his place, was a young man still full of life. He was friendly enough to the men close to him, but with a weariness toward anyone unknown.  

That caution, of course, extended toward John in the early few days. The first few times they interacted, he was strictly professional, his daemon even more so. The panther would stalk along beside her human, remaining in silence throughout all discussions, coming and leaving as quietly as a shadow. 

But over time, the younger man gradually began to settle. Simon certainly wasn’t the only person in the military to suffer from a rather poor childhood riddled with trauma and pain, and his team were kind enough to never push him too far. He would always maintain a slight distance between himself and the rest of the men on his squad, but he was often quick to smile and joke with them, telling what very well could have been the worst “dad jokes” known to man.  

Both Simon and Elanor seemed to revel in the pained groans his terrible jokes could invoke, smiling innocently as if not understanding why everyone was so upset. It wasn’t a surprise to learn that Simon had a younger brother, he certainly had the annoying-older-brother act nailed down perfectly.  

After a few good missions together, Simon was less reluctant to talk about his family with John in the room, discussing what he planned to get his nephew for Christmas, where he wanted to take his mum out for lunch during leave, and how he was going to get Tommy back for getting a stain on his ManU jersey.  

Simon was a good man and a great soldier, and John was disappointed when the time came for him to return to his own unit. John was to travel up north toward Herefordshire and Simon was to meet with some of their American contacts to help root out a cartel down in Mexico.  

Ghost was not the same person as Simon. He had the same daemon, the same brown eyes, but he was not Simon. He lacked the underlying gentleness in his eyes, and he’d grown to be cold and closed off toward everyone around him, friend or foe.  

If Simon’s daemon had been quiet before, she was dead silent now. Liz would trot over to the cat with a slowly wagging tail and try to greet her, but the panther would just look at her, before slinking off to go rejoin her human. It was heartbreaking to see a daemon who had only just started to come out of her shell become so walled off again.  

Sometimes he wouldn’t even see the animal in the same room and couldn’t help wondering where the daemon could have vanished to. Just seeing a daemon so far away from its human sent a shiver down John’s spine whenever he thought about it, his fingers instinctively curling themselves into the soft fur of his own.  

The reports he had seen about what had happened to Simon to create this Ghost, some of them first-hand from Simon’s own therapist, sent his stomach rolling uncomfortably, and the parts about their treatment of Elanor? He had sweat beading his forehead and Liz pulled into his lap. The rough collie did her best to comfort him, but he could feel her own distress at just the thought of such a thing happening.  

It took well over half a year before Ghost and Elanor were comfortable with turning their backs on John and Liz, and several before they were comfortable working alongside them. The Ghost and his daemon worked alone, but John and Liz were gradually, slowly, at the rate of a melting glacier, becoming an exception to the rule.  

This made it particularly difficult when Ghost was introduced to Soap.  

John MacTavish was, and still is, a loud and confident man. He doesn’t tolerate nonsense and will proudly stand behind his own personal morals and beliefs, even if it’s to the detriment of his professional career. He stands for what’s right, regardless of the consequences, and he’s entirely unapologetic of that fact.  

Soap’s daemon, Gwen, is a perfect match for him. A honey badger, just as unconcerned with the thoughts and feelings of others, and entirely fearless, even when up against daemons easily twice her size. They share a fierce aggression that would have most shaking in their boots, and John has seen firsthand even lions fleeing from their warpath.  

To say that Soap was a bit... much... for Ghost would be an understatement. Soap is so openly friendly with every team he works with, both verbally and physically, and his rather emotional responses to things seem to constantly have the masked soldier on edge.  

Since their first meeting, Soap has learned to reign in his emotions and has matured greatly with the help of experience and the guiding hands of more seasoned soldiers. But several years ago, fresh out of SAS selection, he was far too much for a quiet Ghost who could hardly stand having even John working with him at the best of times.  

While their first meeting didn’t exactly go swimmingly, it ended amicably enough since Soap didn’t seem to take Ghost’s reluctance to socialise to heart. Meanwhile, Ghost just appeared glad to have a break from spending time around someone so bright and bubbly, almost immediately vanishing on a solo mission for a week.  

Kyle was a much safer bet for working alongside Ghost. The young man, while inexperienced, was the top of his class and always eager to learn more. He was like a sponge, soaking up every little piece of advice he’s given and doing his best to apply it to his work. He always asks the right questions at the right times, and always thinks on his words before speaking.  

His daemon, a friendly marbled polecat by the name of Milly, was the first daemon Elanor was willing to open up to. She wasn’t insistent like many of the other daemons in the military, providing the panther with plenty of space, but always choosing to sit beside her, greeting her with a happy chirp. These simple greetings were eventually returned with small nods or pleasant rumbles, and over time, and two daemons fell into the rhythm of being at one another’s side.  

Gaz was always seeking out new things to learn and Ghost had plenty to teach. No matter how difficult the lesson, he would always have the determination to see it through to the end, and his mature, competent nature was gradually winning over the stubborn lieutenant. On the rare occasion where Kyle wasn’t with John, he could be confident that Ghost would have the younger man’s back.  

But Gaz brought more than plain professionalism to their team, he also brought the fun, youthful spark that the group had been missing. His sassy remarks during OPs and cheeky behaviour off the field was worming its way under Ghost’s thick skin, and John could see it in the way his lieutenant began to offer banter of his own in return.  

It was like watching a grizzled old dog interacting with a friendly young pup, slowly relearning what it meant to actually enjoy life here and there. Sometimes Ghost still needed that time to be alone with Elanor, but Kyle and Milly were drawing them out of the dark and back into the light again.  

More often than not the two could be found sitting peacefully together, doing nothing but enjoying the company of their fellow brother in arms. Whether it was eating meals together in private where others wouldn’t see Ghost removing part of his mask, running on the track first thing in the morning to wake themselves up, or claiming the bench under the old tree where they could discuss upcoming schedules or laugh at the young recruits just learning to walk, it was all done by each other's side.  

John could see the pride in Ghost’s eyes whenever Gaz managed to get an upper hand on him in training, he could see how Elanor now greeted Milly with a gentle headbutt, how trust was building between them and their team was solidifying into something unbreakable. Gaz was a loyal man, almost to a fault, but he had awarded that loyalty to John and Ghost and, in return, had been given it back tenfold. 

But the team was yet to be complete, and it wouldn’t be, not until John MacTavish joined them.  

John was admittedly still not certain how well Ghost would take to working so closely with Soap after finding the other man a tad overwhelming the first time, but with Liz’s encouragement and seeing how much Ghost was beginning to come out of his shell, he had no choice but to commit to the selection. Soap’s file reported nothing but constant rapid improvement. He was a talented, driven man, and precisely someone John wanted on his new task force.  

The offer was sent out and immediately accepted.  

Soap and Gaz were, understandably, complete menaces. Two young men eager to prove themselves and have a little fun while they’re at it. They’re thick as thieves and both just as determined to inconvenience John as much as possible while dodging reprimands like the plague. “A bunch of children” he’d called them one day, earning a grunt of agreement from Ghost, Liz and Elanor sharing a look of endless suffering. 

As for the relationship between Ghost and Soap, the best John was hoping for was for them to learn to accept one another, even if that was just enough to be able to put their best foot forward during missions. And it worked well enough, until Las Almas happened. Until Sheperd happened. 

Until Simon happened.  

Years of hiding away, and suddenly it wasn’t Ghost standing before him. It was Simon.  

Soap was looking right at him, and Simon was looking right back.  

Something had changed between them. From the report he got from the two soldiers about the events that transpired he couldn’t tell what, but it was clearly something significant. It had changed them from work colleagues to something far more dangerous. A better man would have nipped it in the bud before it had the change to potentially ruin them, but John has never claimed to be a good man, good men don’t last long in their line of work.  

If he and Gaz are a good team, Ghost and Soap are unstoppable.  

When they think he’s not looking, John has caught how Gwen excitedly jumps around Elanor’s body, learning against the dangerous predator and covering her with affectionate licks. More surprising, is how Elanor returns the behaviour, nipping playfully at the badger’s feet and tussling about on the carpet like a pair of kittens.  

It isn’t until he sees Soap’s bare hand brush through Elanor’s fur that he knows the depth of what they are to one another.  

He just hopes he hasn’t made a horrible mistake.  

[dreamerrgirl]

Would you consider writing a fic where Grey is waiting for Tim to check in but he and Lucy are busy in the Laundry room? Lmao I was inspired by the Mr. Bean gif set. It’d be a hilarious exchagne between Tim/Grey cuz Grey knows all and I’m sure Tim came back looking…interesting ha!

Hahaha I love this idea, that gif set cracks me up every time! For anyone who hasn't seen it, here is the inspiration for this fic by @kat-rose-griffith

Tim hurried through the precinct doors, darting around people with lightning speed as he made a beeline for Grey's office. He couldn't believe how late he was- he was never this late for anything, ever.

"There you are Sarge," Smitty greeted him, coming out of nowhere. Tim nearly crashed into the older officer as he stepped directly in Tim's path. "Grey was about to send out a search party."

Tim groaned internally, externally shaking his head at Smitty. "Are you ever out on patrol?" he grumbled, tired of this man always being up in everyone's business.

"Good luck in there," Smitty grinned, clapping him on the shoulder before sauntering away, leaving Tim with a birds eye view of Grey's office, the Sargent leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed, staring daggers at Tim through the glass.

Shit.

Taking a deep breath, Tim continued on his journey, coming to a halt just inside Grey's office, standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back, ready for whatever Grey was about to throw at him.

"Sargent Bradford!" Grey declared, spreading his arms wide. "How nice of you to join me. I was only expecting you, oh I don't know, 45 minutes ago." He checked his watch while saying this, raising an eyebrow in Tim's direction.

"Yes Sir," Tim nodded.

"I take it the check-in went longer than anticipated."

"Yes Sir."

"Are you a broken record?"

"No Sir."

Grey sighed. "Tim, shut the door and sit down, and stop talking like a robot. You're not back in the army."

Tim did what he was told, feeling like a scolded child. As soon as he sat down, the questions just kept on coming.

"So, the check-in didn't go as planned?"

Tim's mind flashed to the images of Lucy leggings laying on the grimy floor, her bare body sprawled back against the top of the dryer, the sounds of her muffled moans and their labored breathing echoing in his ears.

Didn't go as planned would be an understatement- not that he was complaining.

Truly at a loss for words, Tim simply shook his head.

"Is Lucy okay, does she need to pull the plug?"

"No, she's okay, she's good, she just wasn't expecting that is all. She said Tesca thinks it could be one of his men, or his brothers. She's hoping to use this as an opportunity to gain his trust."

"Smart move," Grey nodded. "And how are you doing? I heard it was a close one out there."

Tim shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

The look Grey gave him was full of skepticism, and Tim could practically hear the older man saying: really, because I'm pretty sure getting shot in the back unaware and without backup is something that nobody could handle.

"I'm good, really."

"Alright," Grey raised his hands in defense. "Glad to hear it. Now go and get some rest, you're going to need it in the morning."

Tim nodded his agreement, rising from the chair and making his way towards the door.

"Oh, and Tim," Grey called, his voice smug. Tim paused at the doorframe, turning around to see Grey smirking at him. "Your shirt's on inside out."

[wickedlittleoz]

Hello hello! 🙌 Some time ago on blue bird app I saw someone talking about a royal guard Genji x a (what if) royal guard captain Hanzo and would like to give a penny for your thoughts on it? :3c I think the idea is fun and has lots of potential to develop but also potential to create plot holes if not careful 🏃

Thank you and have a nice day!

HEY THERE <3

sooooo i'm not sure if you wanted this to be like a list of headcanons but i got a little excited and wrote a little drabble lmao

I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! like i didn't enjoy questwatch as much as i thought i would tbh but including hanzo and shimadacest in the story just made it so interesting LOL

i think genji would give hanzo so much work just because he knows hanzo wouldn't punish him, it would be hilarious. and the shit genji and tracer would get up to, to queen emily and hanzo's dismay? blizz should've gone with that angle XDDD

anyway, little drabble coming up under the read more, and anon? thank you!!! hope you enjoy <3~

-

Hanzo is but a child when they meet

The King has a nasty habit of taking in unruly children whose parents can’t or won’t care for, and training them to be knights. Genji comes in a scoop of scrawny 8-year-olds about three years after Hanzo himself is handed over by his father, except that Genji’s parents don’t try to get rid of him like Hanzo’s dad did; no, Genji's father was a knight himself and died in the long running war, and his mother, or so the gossip goes, died of heartache upon hearing the news.

At this point Hanzo has made himself a bit of a top dog among the other kids. He’s only 12, but there’s already so many ugly feelings inside him that he pushes and pushes on the training grounds, until when he goes to bed at night he just blanks out. Wakes up the next day and does it all over again. The kids fear him; the knights who train them, love him.

So when Genji arrives full of toothy smiles and snarky responses, they clash. He gets under Hanzo’s skin fast and he enjoys doing it – revels in the looks of wonder the other kids save for him, because he’s the only one who stands up to Hanzo.

It takes less than a week for Hanzo to lash out at him during training. Adults have to step in and push them apart before he beats the younger boy to a pulp. He gets weeks of cleaning duties for punishment and hates Genji even more.

But time does its thing; they learn to get along if only to avoid problems. Hanzo finds that Genji is fun to be around and as they grow older, when he realizes that boys are more than just stinky and prone to fight, he sees beauty in Genji’s smile and a similar desire in the hands that search for him after nightfall.

Genji is his first kiss when he’s 17 and shaking with cold and anxiety.

But they’re not alone, that night. There’s a knight doing safety rounds and he sees them hidden in the forest. It’s nothing more than kissing, but he takes them in and punishment comes hard enough to drive them apart. Hanzo is made knight early and sent to war on the far eastern front; Genji stays to finish his training.

The war is long, merciless, horrifying. Hanzo learns that while boys might enjoy a little spar, men are more destructive than any monster he’s ever encountered. He’s forced to forget Genji because he knows he might never see him again; just hopes they can end this carnage before the younger man is sent to fight alongside him and either has to watch the other die.

Years later, when he returns victorious in spite of everything, one of the few survivors, the King is dead to old age and Queen Emily, a much more benevolent creature than her father, is ruling. Her hand is kind and her smile is easy, and she crowns Hanzo Royal Guard Captain for his merits in the war.

He doesn’t think he deserves it, but when he stands before the crowd and sees the proud joy in Genji’s eyes, he forgets all the horrors and all the time passed fades away, and they’re kids hiding in the woods to experiment love for the first time all over again.

They run off that night to that same place, and Genji tells him they were going to make me Captain if the war never ended when it did and Hanzo says he’s sorry, that he deserves it more than Hanzo does, and Genji laughs and tells him thank you, I didn’t want it, you were born for this.

Hanzo cries when they make love for the first time because he’d forgotten, for years and years, what good feelings were like.

It doesn’t take long for the word to spread out, that the Captain takes one of his knights to bed every night, that this was the whole reason they got separated in their youth. Queen Emily calls them to a private meeting one cold afternoon and Hanzo wants so bad to hold Genji’s hand, he’s terrified that they’ll never make it out of here alive, but they kneel before her with pride and resilience, and she sighs.

Before he died my father told me a story about the two of you, she says gravely. About why he arranged to send you away. It wasn’t because of your love… You should know my father, albeit harsh and strict, had no problem with men like you, or… Women like me.

The Queen seems to blush, bowing her head gently to glance at her own personal guard, a lively brunette who’s far too quick on her feet for anyone’s good, Hanzo has learned since his return.

And the soft tone of this conversation finally clicks. He chances a quick look in Genji’s direction and finds a knowing smirk.

However, she resumes a minute later, the truth is that… Well… Though you weren’t raised together, my father told me you two are actually related. It was a matter of forbidden love between your darling mother, Captain, and your heroic father, Knight Genji. Now, we have no way of knowing how much of this is true, but… You understand his reticence to allow a romantic relationship to bloom between you. Here I am no one to stop love when it’s so clearly written before my eyes. But I thought you deserved to know.

Her words fall flat at Hanzo’s feet; they might be half-brothers, he thinks, but as the Queen herself said, they weren’t raised as such. He feels no fraternal affection towards the man beside him. And life and war have thrown so many horrors towards him that he wants to grab the good and the love while he has them.

Genji as well doesn’t seem at all unnerved by the news. Instead, later that night when they retire to Hanzo’s sleeping quarters, he claims love to his big brother and laughs when Hanzo blushes, and things seem to be just fine.

So in the years that follow, the kingdom of Overland becomes a place where people like Hanzo, Genji, Queen Emily and Tracer, the knight, go to find peace and acceptance. They don’t start new wars and the knights fight to protect the Queen and the goodness that she sows. Hanzo still assists training squires and Genji becomes his right arm on the field.

And together, they’re unstoppable.

[thebookwormfairy]

TEEN DETECTIVE BUCK

As always feel free to use these ideas for your own works

Evan spent a lot of time in hospitals as a kid

Weather it was because he had to donate something for his brother or because of his own reckless actions

To past the time he would read mystery novels

He loved a good mystery and that transfered to his real life

In his home town he would go searching for mysteries

Nothing too big, just a missing pet here, finding out who stole a necklace there

He was able to mostly stay off the local police radars

But that change when his parents moved him, his sister and brother to Los Angeles so that his brother could get better treatment when Buck was 9

With his parents focus on Daniel's treatment and Maddie focus of College Buck had a lot of free time on his hand and decided to continue his boy detective antics

As he got older Daniel got better but his parents still gave all their attention to him and sometimes Maddie and the only time has parents acknowledge his existence was when he was hurt or when he had to be picked up from the police station when he was caught "trespassing" for a case

Which is why he is in the backseat of his favorite police officer's car, Athena Grant

He first time met Athena was shortly after he moved to LA

He was looking for a classmates lost parrot that turned out to be extremely rare and stumbled on a black market animal trade

He snuck in and grab his friends parrot before sneaking out and calling 911

911 operator: 911 what's your emergency?

13 year old Buck: Um hi, I think I found an animal smuggling ring.

911 operator: ....I'm sorry could you repeat that?

Buck: I was looking for my friend's parrot and found an animal smuggling ring

911 operator: ...Ok? Where are you located

Buck told them he was at a warehouse by the docks

911 operator *switching over to call Athena": Hey Officer Grant I have a kid on the other line that says he found an animal smuggling ring.

Athena *rolling her eyes*: Well I'll give the kid this that is a prank call I haven't heard before.

911 operator:. Here's the thing, he's calling from a payphone at the docks, so he's either telling the truth or taking the prank way to far. Can you please go check on him?

Athena: I'm never too busy to lecture kids on the importance of not wasting 911's time.

911 operator: Thanks Athena! *Switching back over to Buck* Okay there is an officer heading to your location.

Buck *Just excited that he founds his friend's parrot*:. Awesome thanks!

Buck kept talking to the 911 operator until Athena pulled up to him.

Buck told the operator the police were there and hung up to run up to Athena

Buck: Thanks goodness you're here! We're going to need back up! That warehouse is full of all sorts of animals, like tigers and penguins, and those guys were being sooo mean to the animals and they stole my friend's bird!

Athena watch as this strange teenager who ran up with a blue parrot on his shoulder

Athena: What's your name kid?

Buck: Evan, but I go by Buck because when I first moved here there were already like 5 Evans in my class so instead I go by Buck instead of being Evan B

Athena: And do your parents know where you are?

Buck: Maybe? I know I told them before I left but they were busy talking about Daniel so I don't know if they heard me.

Athena: Ok this was a funny joke but let's get you home ande and your parents can have a nice long talk with you about prank calling 911

Buck: But it wasn't a prank! Follow me I'll show you!

Buck ran off and Athena had no choice but to follow him

He lead the officer to a ladder that lead to a fire escape exit for the warehouse that had obviously been tamper with to not go off when open

Following the boy she found exactly what he described, a warehouse filled with animals of all kinds, and men walking around either on phones probably talking to their customers or throwing food at different animals while kicking the cages

Seeing enough Athena led Buck out of the warehouse again and made sure they were a safe distance away before radioing dispatch for back up

Athena: Dispatch this is officer Grant, it turns out that prank call wasn't a prank after all, I'm going to need several more units and animal control at my location now.

After the ring was busted and animal control had the animals under control Athena walks back up to Buck

Buck: That was awesome! Do you think you can give me a ride to my friend's house? I want to return Blu to his owner

Athena: Sure and while we do that, we're going to have a nice long talk about how you shouldn't sneak into warehouses and sneak past potentially very dangerous men so that you can get a parrot back.

Despite that talk, Buck ran into Athena more times that she would have liked at first

Buck just seemed to have a knack for simple mysteries turning into major crimes

Looking for a lost necklace?

Ends up finding a jewel smuggling ring

Finding out who was spray painting they school ?

Uncovering a conspiracy to frame certain kids to get them kicked out

Just trying to find out who his secrete admirer is?

Turns out they're a stalker who follows his cases!

Buck became so much apart of Athena's career that he got is own code so Athena automatically knows that this has something to do with Buck

Over time their exasperated relationship turned into pseudo mother son relationship

Buck open up to Athena about how his parents focus more on his older siblings, Maddie who was in Nursing school and Daniel who was pre-med

That on the rare times they did acknowledge him it was because he did something they preserved as wrong or he was hurt

Athena took that poor boy under her wing and basically started to raise him as her own

She would go to his school events, encourage him when he needs it, and be a shoulder to cry on when the silence at home got to be too much for him

Athena wasn't the only emergency reaponder that Buck was well aquatinted with

He was also well know in the 118

Hey you didn't do what Buck does without getting injured or stuck in a really high tree, which is how he met Bobby

Since Bobby had joined the 118 he had heard stories about this teen detective that got himself into all sorts of trouble

Bobby didn't really believe them, he honestly thought that the team was trying to trick him

Until he got a call that a code baby blue was stuck in a tree

Bobby: I'm sorry dispatch could you repeat that?

Dispatch: You must be new, code baby blue is Buck, he somehow hot himself stuck in a tree

Bobby: Okay dispatch

Bobby turns to Hen and Chimney

Bobby: Buck is a real person?

Chimney: Yeah, did you think he wasn't?

Bobby: I honestly thought you guys were pulling my leg

Hen:. Oh no Cap, Buck is very much a really person and I can't wait for you to meet him

When they got to the sight, Bobby was expecting a scrawny preteen maybe 10 feet above the ground

What he got was a burley 16 year old, 20 feet in the air

Buck *waving his hand*: Hi Hen, hi Chimney! I know what this looks like but please don't tell Athena!

Hen *laughing*: What are you doing up there Buckaroo?

Buck: I was working on a case and a piece of evidence got blown up here

Chimney was shaking his head and taking pictures as Bobby clipped in and started to climb the ladder to get this kid that should have known better out of the tree

Buck *as Bobby reached him*: Hi I'm Buck! I promise this was totally worth it! This fabric is the key to solving my case!

Bobby: please climb down

Buck: okay!

Bobby clipped Buck in and they started their descent down from the tree

They were almost down when a police car came speeding into the parking lot

Athena *over her loud speaker*: Evan Buck Buckley you are in so much trouble

Buck: Oh man

Apparently Buck was supposed to be grounded after he snuck into a warehouse he thought was making counterfeit items

And they were because the fabric clutch in his hand proved it!

Bobby couldn't help but laugh at this whole situation

Bobby kept seeing Buck and soon also emotionally adopted him

When it came time for Buck's highschool graduation, his parents didn't come but his siblings did, as did the 118, and a good number of the LAPD

After Buck graduated he got an associates degree and spent some time traveling around before he shocked every first responder in the LA area by entering the fire academy

Everybody was so sure he was going to be a police officer or even a private detective, but no he became a firefighter

But his keen detective mind helped him on more than a few occasions

He was the first to figure out the bank heist skeem

And when it came to the lock yard mystery his brain was humming with ideas and theories

Athena: Don't even think about it Buck

Buck: But-

Athena: No I remember that gleam in your eyes

Buck: The mail isn't her own and there seems to be-

Athena: No!

Buck *talking quicker*: I bet she was blackmailing someone!

Athena: Bobby get our son out of here before he ends up back in the back of my police cruiser!

Bobby: Of course honey! C'mon Buck, listen to your mother

Buck pouted like a child and the rest of the team laughed at him except Eddie

Eddie: What does she mean by being back in the back of her police cruiser

Buck: I was a bit of a nosey kid-

Chimney: Oh no! You are not going to play this down! This kid was a menace! He was a real Nancy Drew and that would get him in so much trouble!

Buck: It didn't get me in that much trouble

Hen: Did you forget when we had to get you out of a vending machine because some guy you were tailing locked you in there

Chimney: Of that time your got stuck in a fence because you were sure that the old factory was being used to make counterfeit money

Buck:. THEY WERE!

Bobby: let's not forget how we met, you being stuck in a 20 ft tree

Eddie: Damn Buck, you were a bit of a trouble maker

Buck *blushing*: I was more of a trouble magnet, I didn't mean to get in trouble it just sort of found me

Athena: Yeah that happens when you actively look for it

Eddie: Buck Buckley teen detective! You could write books!

Bobby: Don't encourage him to encourage more teen detectives!

[the-letter-horror-lover]

Hi. How are you? I saw your request were open, so I thought I’d send one in! I always love seeing your requests in my inbox and writing them by the way. I’m not sure what you will and won’t do, but can I have a Sanji x Princess female reader, where the reader is the runaway bride of Ichiji (who has been promised to him since they were children), who meets the Strawhats around Alabasta seeking a life of adventure (not realizing who Sanji really is). The two grow close, Sanji refusing to tell her who he really is. Eventually, Whole Cake Island starts and she is forced to come back. But in the end, she is able to escape with the strawhats and her and Sanji finally make it official.

I’m so sorry it’s a lot, if you don’t want to write it that’s okay. I just have this idea but I just can’t figure out how to write it and since you have great ideas, you’d be perfect for the job! Thank you 💙💙💙

I'm gonna do it in headcanons if that is alright..

Trigger warnings: Mention of forced marriage, loveless marriage, bullying, swearing (anything else..let me know)

Bird in a cage..

One Piece

Sanji Vinsmoke x Princess! Female Reader

1. I'm gonna assume that you never really loved Ichiji to begin with and you were in a forced relationship/future spouse thing with that guy by your parents since you were a child and being a princess of Winter meant that you had a lot of marriage proposals from other men and being a princess meant that there will come a day that you will end up marrying someone that your parents would approve of and you won't. Your father was close friends with Vinsmoke judge and offered your hand in marriage to Ichiji, the eldest son in marriage even before your fourth birthday (you were promised to Ichiji when you two were children)..of all the riches in the land and wealth as a princess..there is always the cons like being forced to marry someone you hate.

2. You knew that you never liked Ichiji to begin with..he was cruel and a bully and the way he treated your servants and his made your blood boil. You were like a bird in a cage with the Vinsmoke family..expected to breed children when you and Ichiji were ready. To you, Ichiji was a total dick and to Ichiji, you were expected to know your place, Princess or not. You feared that Ichiji's behavior would be controlling when he got older and you were right on that matter.

3. Since childhood, you were always expected to play with Ichiji and his 'strong' brothers and his sister (you never met Sanji back then..because Vinsmoke judge made sure that he was out of the way and out of mind-locked up away in a prison cell-from the winter Princess *you*)..

4. It all came to ahead when you and Ichiji were of age and you were forced to face the reality of Ichiji becoming your husband (you thought that your father would change his mind and say that this is a bad idea) and you being a permanent bird in a cage..and obviously all the rules like don't do that or don't do this. Ichiji became more of a gentleman..surprising you with gifts or flowers or whatever would make a woman happy but you didn't feel happy..the love wasn't there for you.

5. The day of your marriage came with the eldest brother of the Vinsmoke family and that was when your plan came to light to Rejiu about escaping the god dammed Vinsmoke residence and Rejiu helped you escape..Rejiu knew that you deserve better then him. Despite all the compliments of how Ichiji will love to have you as his wife officially..you didn't feel the same.

6. You looked a sight..in a wedding gown escaping in a tiny boat away from Vinsmoke residence..you didn't want to bear the burden of being a princess anymore. I guess you should've planned better to escape because it didn't take long for things to go south extremely quickly when a large wave destroyed your boat and pulled you under quickly.

7. You thought that you were dead when you regained consciousness in a boat..the sunny. Someone saw you half dead in a wedding dress in the ocean and saved your life..Sanji saved your life..and Chopper treated your injuries.

8. The sunny crew was nothing as what you expected..you thought that they were evil and stuff like what your guards told you but they were really nice and treated you as family.

9. It was a bit of a surprise to some when you revealed who you were but they were accepting of it despite Zoro kinda grumbling about how they were going to protect you and stuff..after telling them your story of why you were in a wedding gown and things..you were confused at why Sanji froze when you said Ichiji's name but thought nothing of it. (You were given proper clothes instead of a wedding dress thankfully)

10. Sanji grew closer to you quicker than the other sunny members once realising that you generally meant no harm..Sanji..was generally a good guy..and a good gentleman. The development between Sanji and you was gradual but you two grew closer on every adventure you went on.

11. Then the whole cake Island arc started and you were forced to come back with the Vinsmoke family because Ichiji 'understands' why you've run off after Rejiu saved Luffy's life but it was your duty to obey as a good wife to Ichiji.

12. You were forced to stay by Ichiji's side and when he had to do something else...the other brothers basically watched you like a hawk as if you would run away..

13. When Sanji realised what had happened involving you and all..he wasted no time in rescuing you and having to reveal his identity and relationship with Ichiji and his other brothers..you realised why and you never blamed him for it..during childhood..Ichiji always told you how he bullied a weakling..you never realised it was Sanji. (Sanji never loved Pudding to begin with..he only agreed to this marriage in order for your life to be safe).

14. After the whole cake Island fiasco was over. You apologised to Sanji in front of the Sunny crew for not giving a proper answer sooner but..you still love him and Sanji gave you a proper kiss in front of everyone.

Author's note: my apologies if it is not up to your standards. You are my first requester so..I tried my best.

[crimbabyops]

The Un-Natural Love Story

Chapter 1/? The Meet Up

Warnings: Long as fuck, murder but not in detail, smut later on, usage of curse words, fluff, No Y/N all OC based uhh that should be it but let me know if not.

A/N: I know this ain’t the Montai and Nixx fic I promised but I’m still working on that but please do enjoy this series I am writing and I do promise to post the other fic that’s a promise.

These chapters are long so be prepared.

The sounds of leaves crunching, birds singing, and….curses being said in the distance. Makes a great drama in the making. But this is a story about a pirate vampire and a ninja assassin falling in love.

I know I know this isn’t your normal fantasy love story but it is very enjoyable. Let’s get started all about the pirate vampire. Named Diablo Cattaneo, he’s uhhh let’s just say older than the universe.

Born a twin to Crimson Morningstar, he was the more calm but chaotic type of person. He was so attracted to wet stuff and not in that type of way…..I think. When he landed on earth to find his twin he landed in the ocean with no direction on where to go.

He swam and swam until he reached this sandy area that mortals call a beach. Dia explored until he found this bar filled with drunks galore, clothes ragged, and his twin near the bottles of strange liquid and barrels of unknown substance.

He sat and listened as his twin told him all about her adventures of different places, treasures and a chest filled with greed and sin. He was more focused on the creatures though, mostly these 8 legged creatures called spiders. He wanted to learn more so he did.

He adventures out to unknown and un-searched lands. Along the way he finds this band of drunks complaining about being moneyless and bloodless. He continues to listen from afar. Finds out that their vampire pirates that were thrown away by their captain for he was a prince that wanted control over adventure. But before that could happen he turned them to forever be damned to the darkness and castaways to the sea forever to stay away from the shore.

This gives Dia an idea, he starts his search with the help of his twin for a spell that can turn any damned soul into a living soul once again. He finds these pirates again still on the beach moping and complaining about their troubles. “Fuck that prince he was always an ass kisser anyways.” one states in a whiny tone “You mean he was a stuck up rich boy who desired control.” another states kicking the ocean with a gruffy tone. “Now now, don’t kick the ocean, she has nothing to do with it.” Dia walks out with a chuckle and two barrels filled with whiskey and rum and maybe even a little bit of blood.

The men stand up and draw their swords at him. “Who are you?!” one shouts with a shaky but scared tone at the 8 '10 8' 11 man standing in front of them with brown and black horns, neon blue long but slightly curly hair, heterochromia eyes one brown and one blue, and arms half covered like they was a glove, and a brown skin dark like carmel once it settles. “Who am I? Well I can be your savor or your worst fucking nightmare. Truly up to you darlings but I think I may have something you utterly desire.” he spoke with a smooth but dark voice.

“We want nothing of yours, demon!” A man says getting closer to land but only immediately falling to his knees in pain. Fading away into ash, Dia chuckles and takes his hat off in respect. “See here gentleman, you can call me whatever you want but the more you deny me the more you deny the only way to feel the sand in between your toes, the heat from the sun, and the sin you disgustingly want with another body.” Dia says already getting impatient.

Dia puts the barrels down to sit on top of it while his tail just sways back and forth. The two men still alive inhale and smell blood in the barrels. Dia sees this and chuckles “Now I think yall are getting my drift here. These barrels contain what you need to feel land but on one condition.” He says poking a hole into the barrel for them to get a better whiff of the blood. The men look at each other and back at Dia, putting away their swords.

“What’s the condition?” one of them asked “I need a boat and a crew. Where can I find both of them, maybe even just one but where?” Both men look at each other thinking before finally saying. “There's an island 3 days from here. It’s called Rikers Island where you’ll find all the crooked criminals. You’ll find your crew there but for the boat that’s a longer story. ” Dia throws one of the barrels at the man. He watches as they fight over the one barrel till the one pushes the other off of him and takes the barrel and runs.

“Don’t forget I have two so tell me about the boat or you can stay here for all of your natural unborn life.” Dia says, looking at his nails waiting for his answer. “If you want a boat you have to be granted it by the ocean.” Dia looks at him curiously “What do you mean?” “In this world, there are 4 elements: each one grants people these blessings basically, if the fire grants you worthy of wielding its power it gives you that and more. 3 people were already granted these powers, One was granted earth, one was granted fire, and one was granted wind.”

Dia ponders this and tells him to continue. “If you want to get blessed, some people say you have to bring offerings, or you have to die to get your blessing. Many have brought the sea offerings only to be denied. If you can get the sea to approve you. You are one lucky son of a bitch.” The man says being close to fading out since the sun is almost out. “Please we had a deal! I told you everything I know! Give me the barrel!” Dia pokes a hole in the barrel only for it to leak out sand. “Whoops. I guess I forgot to fill it.” He says with a smirk and walks away as he listens to the man screaming curses at him.

Dia walks away and hums before stopping in front of the sea. “So I guess I gotta start bringing you offerings huh? Let’s see what the sea likes.” he says walking away. While in a different timezone on the other side of the world.

~~~~

A shadow, a mystery, and danger to most but mostly to his kill-list but to others he’s an introvert, keeps his head down and keeps to himself. His name is Nahru Ito and he’s a 23 year old ninja assassin.

Leaving the house at 15, meeting his Master Osaka. Nahru was always the silent type, never really in drama. Was more focused on his training than instead of finding love or having fun. I know it's cliche but he is still a child so I can understand.

Living in an ‘entertainment’ district Sokjin, Japan. Nahru was never allowed out, especially at night. So he trained and trained and slept until he was 18. This was the age he left to explore and start his ninja career. While also getting hired at Osaka's club. The Drunken Fox this club was very known especially for those desperate bitches who needed love.

And our character Nahru was one of the hosts. He was very requested by a few men but mostly women. Let me stop you right there by host club I mostly mean people who need dates, arm candy even for events. While being one of the hosts he was also a bodyguard to keep the place in control.

Until he was approached by a very known client that was in trouble. “I need your help. I know you're just a bodyguard and a ninja but I need your help. I can pay you however but I need you to get rid of someone for me. ” He gets curious and pulls the client into the room so they can talk privately.

“What’s going on?” He asks the client giving her water to drink . “It’s my sister she went missing a few days back only to be found once again but when she got back I could tell she wasn’t herself.” “I mean she got kidnapped so she’s probably scared.” “That’s what I thought too but when she came back with this guy nowhere near her type he…was weird. When I say weird I mean weird he talked in third person. Always holding the back of my sister's neck to keep her near him. Never slept and never ate.” She continues to tell him the situation.

“What do you want me to do about it?” He asks her, realizing what she’s talking about. “I will pay you a thousand dollars to get info and get rid of him and find my sister.” She says her eyes filled with despair and maybe even some guilt. “Make it 3,000 and you have a deal.” She agrees and gives him enough information for him to get started.

Nahru packs his stuff getting ready to make his journey over to Tokyo, Japan. As he does he starts asking locals about him. “Oh yeah, he's a very strange man. Never talked to anyone but himself and his wife. His wife was weirder though she used to smile and wave and even play with the kids but now she just stares. Always has this blank, no emotion stare. Un-human even.” The locals continue to explain until the wife and husband come out. “Look there, they go right there. See the way she just stares.” Nahru looks at her and notices more than just an emotionless void.

He notices a camera and realizes something about her neck. It turned at an unnatural angle. ‘Weird’ he thinks as he finds his temporary home for him to stay. Over the weeks he investigates and searches for answers all while more creepy stuff has happened. All the locals turned into emotionless creatures and always stared at him with blank stares. Never smiled or wave, never stopped him to talk.

They were always just staring. It didn't make him uneasy but it made him more curious than ever. The week continued with more and more strange things happening. Until he woke up one day vision foggy, hearing clouded, and his head was pounding. He tried to rub his eyes only for him to find out his hands were tied to the wall. He looks around to see all the villagers and even the sister scared and frightened.

All pleading or begging to be released. Some pray to the gods above while others just want to know what’s going on. Nahru asks the person next to him what's going on. “I-I don’t know. We woke up here with no explanation. They put food in the middle and expect us to fight over them and when we don’t…….they kill us.” The man says scared.

A red light starts shining and a loud buzzer starts going off. The middle part of the ceiling starts slowly moving down. In the middle, is stale and bland food while everyone is looking at the food. The handcuffs release their hands for them to start fighting. Except for Nahru……

Chapter two

[estevnys]

29 + 30 + 31 for ophielora pls ?

dnd asks !!!!!

29. Please describe your PC’s romantic type 

men who are older than her. I MEAN WHAT. WHO SAID THAT!!!

ophie is so awkward, i feel like she probably "falls in love" with whoever is nice to her (alexa play 'someone new' by hozier). but deep down i think she just wants someone who won't judge her for being the way she is (awkward/unlucky/weird). in game i have her paired with astarion at first and then halsin, where a few years post game they eventually all come together and are in a beautiful and not weirdly-centered-on-tav poly trio.

she always sees the good in people, and i think she's drawn to people who don't see the good in themselves quite yet, just like her. she is aggressively positive, and there's definitely a sort of "fake it til you make it" aspect, but i think. overall she always tries to be genuine, and when people aren't genuine, it makes her weirdly want to help them? and usually that means showing them this intense love. I DONT KNOW IF THAT MAKES SENSE GALKSLSKgh.

physically she is most into men than women, but she's not particularly picky. she does like to be in and out of the proverbial, uhm, "caretaker" role when it comes to the physical side of the relationship, so she's not picky in that department either.

30. How does your PC flirt? 

AWFULLY. she has no idea. i wish there was more awkward flirting in this game. i think it is why she originally does not pick up on gale flirting with her and has to let him down easy (IM SORRY GALE). she is very like. not used to social customs--being from literal werewolf woods USA--and so she's very direct. she openly gives compliments and means them wholeheartedly, but when someone comes at HER with compliments, she turns beet red and shuffles awkwardly. it's part of what draws her to astarion in the first place-- the confidence (even if its an act) makes her feel important & special in someone's eyes.

she is keen on giving little druidic gifts to people-- flower crowns, shiny rocks, messages from birds. i think she's also very touchy...like physically i mean, she will hug and grab people's hands and then panic afterwards to question is she was actually flirting or if maybe they didn't get it and she was being friendly--- skljasjfalsf she's a mess.

31. What’s your favorite part of playing your PC? 

BEING NICE.... and turning astarion nice >:) he's justtttt starting to see some good in the world and it makes me so happy :) i am terrible at being mean in video games lol

[chidoroki]

Heavenly Delusion EP1

aka: The Promised Heaven!!!

I know nothing but the slight TPN parallels I’ve gathered from trailers.

Look how normal everything looks. Everyone is at peace and certainly nothing bad will happen! Ahhaha, LIES!!!

Oh AND we’re taking tests now. Gotta see if your minds are developing as they should. You know, for dinner.

“Do you want to go outside of the outside?” says the glitched out ipad. Yeah, why not! What could ever go wrong??

Wait so our two main characters are already out? Or is this a dream? Quick time skip? Context please. I’m already so lost.

“The windows are barely broken. I guess no one’s been in here yet.” She says just seconds before breaking said window and entering anyway.

Finding two old people wasted away and death on the bed, how lovely.

Oh, I noticed the chick has a gun holster on her leg.

Yeah and now could be a perfect time to use it because that’s certainly no ordinary bird!

Or you can use the gun on these creepy men, that works too.

They’re from the lawless generation? Meaning... what?

Goddamn, Maru is quite a skilled fighter!

And this camera work is impressive, zooming around the fence like that.

Oh, yeah, that’s no normal gun. It fires some sort of laser? That melts things?

“As if anything like heaven exists since the Collapse.” What has happened in this world and why are we so driven to find this heaven? A safe place?

She threatened them with the gun to allow her to charge a battery.. a battery that is needed for the gun to fire in the first place. Clever girl.

Yo this school kid with tiny ponytail needs to chill out! You can’t just throw a ball, parkour down off a building to run and catch the very same ball with no explanation! Why are you so athletic?

“Huh? There’s an outside beyond the wall?” As if the TPN vibes weren’t strong enough already!!

“When I think about wanting to go outside, two people from the outside come to help me, and one of their faces.. is exactly the same as yours.” Tokio does resemble Maru quite a bit. Is everything that’s happening on the outside part of a dream? Or are they connected in some way we dunno yet? Or.. is this some kind of scenario sorta like “The Island” where we’re clones of each other and those in this school are only kept around to act like organ donors to those on the outside? I really have no idea.

The director of the school is an older woman.. do you feed these kids to demons too grandma??

Maru is 15 and this girl (who’s name I’m gonna look up anyway) Kiruko is 18? 20? She’s not sure either, apparently. How would you not know your own age?

Damn, she’s got some serious scars huh?

“There’s a monster that prowls around this area. Don’t go wandering around at night.” “You mean a man-eater?” Bro I can’t with these parallels!!

Using chopsticks perfectly and being well educated is strange for these times..? Or just for kids of their generation?

Oh the poor lady thought they were actually siblings and didn’t want them dating. Thank god they’re not on both accounts.

The lady is gearing up to shoot down that monster annnd nevermind, it’s already here.

Wait, we’re done already? Ehh I have so many questions, hello??

[thesconesyard]

And cause I just posted that dumb idea I had from the creation of this tale, have some

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Temporal Anomaly

Part 8

McCoy had settled into his quarters after dinner with a book in his hand and his feet up. A tumbler of bourbon was within reach and an empty glass ready if someone were to join him. Somehow he had managed to push everything about Leo to the side of his mind for the moment.

When the door chimed he set the book aside and called for whoever was there to come in. He dropped his feet to the floor and was reaching to pour another glass when he looked over his shoulder.

“Hey Sco…” the greeting died on his lips. It wasn’t the chief engineer at his door.

“I don’t mean to intrude,” Leo said from the doorway. He glanced at McCoy reaching for the bottle and the empty glass. “Were you expecting someone? I can go…”

“I—” the words were straining to get out of McCoy’s throat. He wanted to talk to this counterpart of his, he just hadn’t expected it so soon. “Come… come in.”

“If you’re sure,” Leo said.

McCoy managed a nod. Leo stepped into the room, glancing at the quarters.

“A drink?” McCoy got out.

“Please,” Leo said over his shoulder. He was looking around McCoy’s quarters with interest. “No pictures of Joanna? Or you keep’em in there?” He nodded off to the sleeping area.

McCoy frowned as he set the bottle back down. “Who’s Joanna?”

Leo turned to face him and his brows furrowed.

“Our daughter.”

Now McCoy’s eyes went wide and pang went through his chest. He could have had a daughter? Slowly his head shook at Leo.

“We… we didn’t…”

“Oh.”

Leo sat down in the chair across from McCoy and took the glass handed to him. Silence fell between the two men as they looked at each other. McCoy couldn’t slow the pounding in his chest. He could have had a child. What else did this other version of him have that he was missing?

“I, uh, guess I didn’t mean to start us off like that,” Leo finally said.

“What’s she like?” McCoy asked suddenly. “Your daughter?”

Leo took a sip from his glass and smiled fondly.

“She’s always been the sweetest thing. Same brown hair as us, but she has Jocelyn’s eyes. Smart as a whip and clever. Always taking care of everyone she could.” Leo snorted out a laugh. “The number of broken bird wings that child mended… She’s a nurse now, and a damn fine one at that.”

McCoy could picture her. A sweet little girl who grew into a bright young woman. He blinked away a feeling of tears. His heart felt it had been robbed.

“When Dad passed, she was there to comfort me the whole way through.”

McCoy looked up sharply. Of course Leo’s father would have passed. The man was much older than McCoy.

“Oh hell, Spock’ll probably frown me into the next galaxy for telling you these things, but I don’t care,” Leo said and took another sip from his glass.

“Our Spock maybe, but the ambassador passed a few things to Jim and Spock. He was a lot less uptight than our Spock.”

Leo chuckled. “I noticed. My Spock was like that when he was younger too. I think age mellowed him, but he’d never admit it. Jim helped too. Say, are your Jim and Spock…”

McCoy laughed. “No, but lord help the rest of us put up with them. Scotty says we should just shove them in a closet until they figure it out and I’m starting to think it might be the only solution.”

Leo’s brow quirked at that. “They’ll get there, don’t worry. What about you son? Sweet on anyone?”

McCoy choked on the sip he was taking. He coughed to clear his airway. He stared across at Leo’s amused face when he finally caught his breath.

“Should I take that as a yes?” Leo raised an eyebrow.

“You gonna tell me who you’re married to?” McCoy countered.

“I probably shouldn’t,” Leo chuckled. “Might ruin all the mystery and romance.”

“I haven’t believed in romance since Jocelyn divorced me,” McCoy frowned.

“Oh you will again. Trust me. When you aren’t looking for it, you’ll realize it’s been right in front of you the whole time.”

“That so?” McCoy raised his brow. “That how it happened for you?”

Leo nodded. “One day I realized what I thought was good friendship was really love, and, well…” Leo held up his hand with the ring.

Jealousy touched lightly on McCoy’s heart, but hope rose with it. Would he find someone again and be happy like his counterpart?

The door chimed again.

“I can go,” Leo started.

“Come in,” McCoy called. “Stay,” he said to Leo, “it’s fine.”

[foxymoxynoona]

one thing i've noticed about myself reading your posts is that i have very high standards (i don't think that's a good thing 😭) damn. i've started to notice that the only fanfics i've been able to finish are the ones where jk stays true to his feelings for oc. let me explain, when our pitbull hybrid, jk, received an offer to have a rutting partner, he said no. and i know the whole context, i know that if he accepted it wouldn't be a betrayal with oc because they had nothing and for a hybrid having a rutting partner doesn't mean romance! i know that perfectly well, but if he accepted, knowing that he could go through it alone (even if it was and it was heavy) even so, if he accepted, he wouldn't be being true to his feelings, he wanted oc, he imagined her all the time, he wanted her long before he realized it and long before she knew and they got involved, i really can't express how deep and adorable i find this character. he could very well have stayed just to relieve himself and it wouldn't have meant anything, right? but i really think he would have felt bad about himself afterwards, that he would have felt bad for going against his feelings, and if at some point, before getting involved with oc, he thought she liked him, i think he would have felt bad too for maybe hurting her "feelings". like i said, i understand the whole context, i know the theme was a hybrid fanfic, and i know that in real life many men don't have that sensitivity towards themselves. but it was such a beautiful thing to see in your work about the indigo sea and something i also noticed in your work about the lonely blue egg, oook that penguin was a bit of a jerk to my little oc bird, even though he was dazzled by a purebred penguin that he always wanted, many people may have different opinions, but I believe that he felt empathy, and was faithful to the principle that you don't hurt or lie to a woman you care about, even if everything there was misunderstood. What I see lacking a lot is respecting a person as a human being and having the principles of not lying, not hurting, genuinely caring, having empathy… all these things. Anyway, I'm going to end here because I think it was all very confusing, and it sounded a bit misandric but I swear it's not, it's just that speaking in a more generalized way is easier 💖

I had a LOT of time to think about this during school drop off this morning LOL and sorry you're getting my soap box 😂

This possessiveness of all a partner's physical/romantic exerience is a really interesting concept --and also one that can cause a lot of damage in real life. It's obviously something that gets romanticized a lot in writing --even in my own writing, as you point out! There's just something so good about a man who loves his one woman more than anything else in the world! And vice versa, of course! But I have some thoughts!

I think this romantic theme/trope has some roots in harmful gender stereotypes that state a woman's love is pure and wholesome and her whole life and a man's is fickle and insincere and a means to an end. So we fictionalize men who "love" like women. This is unfair to men (who are not incapable of body-consuming love as a rule) and women (who can and do prioritize other things in their lives above romantic attachment.)

I think some possessiveness of partner has roots in competition for resources that dates aaaaall the way back to our primate ancestors. I have a hypothesis that for many folks as they get older and have security in romantic relationships, this eases up. I can remember feeling sick at the idea of my crush havign any romantic entanglement with someone else. I also grew up in a very restrictive purity culture religion.

Which sort of ties to point one, that I think there's something comforting in seeing a man live in the "don't be a slut" rules that society really presses for women. The opposite --accepting that multiple past or even future romantic & sexual relationships have absolutely no bearing on the depth or sincerity of a current relationship-- is scarier to those of us who were raised on those rules, I think, because there's morality involved. Having multiple relationships (obviously not secretly at the same time lol!) is morally neutral but many cultures, religion, and patriarchy apply moral rules to it.

I won't keep going LOL. And this is definitely not to say we can't or shouldn't read or write this kind of stuff. Read your comfort stories! Bask in tales of what you find romantic and comforting! Whether that's something like this of dead dove do not eat stories, stories can be anything. Ban no books.

I just also know I like to break analyze and break through things like this with my writing 😎 and now you've got my really thoughtful about how my own upbringing and my adult process of working away from that "moralizing" still crops up in my stories, or how that comes across even if I think I'm playing with different concepts. I think this happens a lot in fandom! You get soulmate fics or fuckboy fics and not as many right in the middle of "hey most people are going to have multiple relationships in their life." SO prepare for that even though you said you don't liek that LOL SORRY 😘

Thank you for giving me so much to think about in the school drop off!

[booksandwords]

My True Love Gave to Me by Regina Scott

Series: The Marvelous Munroes #1 Read time: 4 Days Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: “Some gentlemen, like a good meal, require more seasoning than others.” — Mrs Munroe

I wish this hadn't taken me so long to read but due to Xmas preparations, it did. This is a lovely play on the song and the genre. While the ending is predictable what isn't is exactly how we are going to get there. What forms will the lines famed poem and how will Genevieve Munroe come to terms with her mixed emotions. The added drama of the vandalism which appears about halfway through was a good choice. The book needed a little spice at that point and there is a whodunit aspect there if not the who then surely their motive.

I appreciate Genevieve Munroe as a slightly unreliable narrator. She comes across as human. She has never wanted to marry, not particularly and if she does it will be for love not for the comfort of her family (see also that old trope). And yes Gen is more than a little tropey she has the intelligence of a man and the use of her full wits (always a dangerous thing for a woman in historical fiction), she has the awe of the older men in her circle for her wits and unaware of her impact on men. Rutherford Munroe, her father has ensured that she can manage herself and the family accountant (Milford Carstairs) is so proud of her intelligence and use of it. As a reader, we can see the truth of the situation, even without some of the intelligent writing choices, we can see the true affection of Alan to Gen, His mother's affection for her and the reasonings of all the staff around her.

On the writing style. The chapters are quite short. Each one is named after one of the twelve days, the gifts a reader would expect Gen to get that day. With some exceptions. The prologue is called The Orchestra Warms Up, a perfect start to a book with this theme. The others are the interludes called The Baritone Solo, these are Alan Pentercast's perspectives on the situation. The choice to add these was a fantastic one. It means we get to see his earnestness and the whole truth of the situation. There is a sweet story from Genevieve's coming out ball that I loved so much.

Something for readers, the version of The Twelve Days of Christmas that is used by Regina Scott (and therefore and Alan and Gen) is...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Twelve Lords-a-Leaping, Eleven Ladies Dancing, Ten Pipers Piping, Nine Drummers Drumming, Eight Maids-a-Milking, Seven Swans-a-Swimming, Six Geese-a-Laying, Five Golden Rings, Four Colly Birds, Two Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Now remember that the premise of this book is that Alan finds these gifts and sends them to Gen without paying a cent. I mostly picked it up for that premise. That idea of using your wits to find the items. And it really is done well. There isn't repetition in how they are acquired or presented to Gen and her reaction to them suits her attitude. The rings and swans are probably my favourites. The referee is adorable too, he has a vested interest in Alan succeeding in his goal to marry Gen. "“Why, Miss Gen? I’ve thought you and the Squire were well matched for years. If this is what it takes to win you, I wish the man well.” Gen is William's long time friend. He just wants the best for her. Even if Gen occasionally feels betrayed by his words. Ditto to Chimes, the butler come just about everything else.

The kinda cute Allison and Geoffrey unsurprisingly are the protags of book two, Catch of the Season. But to be courted this seriously before one is out? Scandalous. I want to see how that one turns out I think. Is My True Love Gave to Me likely to win any awards? No. Is it a good seasonal read? Yes. The reasonably short chapters allow it to be put down with ease as needed in the busy holiday season. The characters are likeable, the way in which The Twelve Days of Christmas is used well and the writing is quite readable.