#look. listen. i have one massive weakness when it comes to this ship

[no-light-left-on]

corvosider height difference is very much underutilized by this fandom in every aspect of the ship and in this essay I will-

[pxtched]

ok so this head has been rotting in my head and i think its time to let it free.

so pirate!miguel stumbles on siren!reader's territory by accident bc his ship got wrecked and he was sorta the only left of his crew (u can change that if u want ofc) and siren!reader saves him cus she wants to know if any other man is gonna come so she can prepare herself for a future attack. he wakes up by mouth to mouth but he doesnt realise until siren!reader herself says something about it. the rest you can decide.

i love ur fics sm! stay hydrated!<33

𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞

╰ Pirate!miguel x Fem!siren!reader.

╰ angst, death, slowly gaining trust then immediate betrayal, (not really…)

AN: this is so short I’m SO SORRY, thank you for letting it free!! Thank you for requesting and hope this is to your liking!

Miguel ohara.

That was a name that was well known, feared, and one of the strongest captains and have one of the most strongest crew in the sea. Get attacked by him? You’re dead, you aren’t making it out alive.

He’s listening to his crew mate talks about sirens, saying how they are worth a lot and they should go hunting for one! Miguel instantly rejected the idea, saying it’s a waste of time.

Miguel never really believed in sirens, he thought it was some tale to scare kids and to make pirates like him search endlessly for them.

“Awh c’mon!” “No Peter, It’s just a waste of time and resources.” “You are like probably the only captain that dosent believe in sirens” “Because I’m not stupid.”

He remembers helping another crew hunt a siren but never even saw it, nor heard it. Miguel scoffed at the fact he wasted his time helping someone hunt for something that probably wasn’t even real.

But now? He believes, he saw one. He even looked at one. Talked to one.

Miguel felt like he had a fever dream, he doesn’t know how to put it into words that what happened in that day was real and not some random dream.

He’s not even on his ship anymore, not his crew, just some random people. He dosent know what happened to his crew mates but just assumed the worst.

It happened so suddenly, He was sailing on the ocean on his ship with his crew mates. Laughing and just having fun. When he least expected it, the tides got rough, the waves got higher and it was stormy too.

The last thing he saw before passing out was a massive wave, All he remembers is feeling the impact and then black.

His ship wrecked god knows where, His crew mates most likely dead sinking down in the same ocean but different area than Miguel. Miguel was drowning alone.

Until you saw him, You noticed him sinking down. Your first thought was free food but then you realized who he is. He’s a pirate. The same ones who try’s to hunt your kind. You scowl at this discovery but you soon realized he’s alone, his ship is gone too.

You could get information if there’s any attacks coming, their weaknesses and then kill him.

So, you save him. Grabbing his body, stopping him from dying and throwing him on the shore. you look at his body, you recognize that symbol that’s on his chest...your eyes widened, you grit your teeth as the grip on him tightened.

This was the Captain that helped that crew hunt your kind. Yeah, you are going to kill this man afterwards.

You give him CPR, isn’t working. So you give him mouth to mouth. Soon enough he’s awake sitting up immediately, coughing up some water. He looks at you, looks around. He’s at some random island as some lady saved him.

“What do you want from me? Is there anyone else coming? Is there going to be future attacks I don’t know about?” You immediately question him.

He looks at you once again in confusion and opens his mouth to answer but his mouth closed then his jaw went slack as his eyes widened in horror as he realizes that you aren’t a human but a siren.

He frantically searches for his cutlass but you hold it in front of him “looking for this?” You say as you toss it in the water. He looks at it sink I the water then looks back at you in fear but regain his composure.

“I don’t mean any harm, I didn’t even know—“ you scoffed, not believing his words “Oh cut the bullshit, answer my questions now.” You demanded him.

You get closer to him narrowing your eyes at him as he backs up “Is there going to be any men attacking me? Is there going to be people trying to hunt me down?” You questioned him once again.

“I’m being truthful, I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything about people looking for you. I don’t mean harm, You can see that my crew mates are not here most likely dead. My ship is wrecked. So please trust me.” He pleads, you glare at him and backed off.

“Why would i ever believe a pirate Like you?” You sneered at him, and he sighed “Please, I’m alone. You have my word.” He pleads once again. You look at him trying to see if he’s trying to trick you but you don’t see any malice in his eyes.

You decided to trust him, you felt bad for him. And you especially know how it is to be alone so, you just nodded and point your head to the island “There’s some food there, You Can stay” you tell him and you swam away in the water.

He smiled and began to explore the island, trying to see what he can work with for the time being. He can deal with this, He is a bit shaken up that he just talked to a siren.

As time went by, you guys respected your guys space. Staying away from eachother…which was actually you avoiding him because you still hated him.

But after a couple of days, you talked to him more. Making short and awkward small talks but it’s something!

Now Miguel sits at the shore, looking at the water as he searches for you. He notices your eyes staring at him back and he’s a bit startled but he offers his hand to you, you swim up to him and take his hand.

“Yes?” You say, tilting your head. He smiled at you and puts an apple in your hand “Here, I don’t really know what you eat and i don’t want you to still hate me” you eyes widened at his kindness.

You couldn’t help but chuckle a bit “you don’t do your research?” You say as you take a bite of the apple, usually you’ll just eat whatever is in the sea or sailors but sometimes an apple wouldn’t hurt.

He shakes his head “No, I don’t focus on stuff like that. I just focus on where I’m going, why, and the safety.” He admits honestly, you raise and eyebrow at him being a bit skeptical of him.

“You were there helping another pirate hunt my kind” you pointed out and he sighed “you think I wanted too? It was a waste of my time and my resources. Even after that I didn’t believe”

You smile. Maybe he isn’t half bad “Realized I never got your name, What is your name?” You asked him.

He smiles, knowing he’s getting on good terms with you “Miguel, Miguel ohara” and he offered you a handshake, you give him a handshake.

“you aren’t that bad Miguel, I thought you were going to kill me or send men my way” you joked and he shakes his head.

“I wouldn’t either way, why would i crash my ship risk my teammates life and my own! just for a chance to get you?” He asks and you thought about it. Huh, he was right. “Dunno, people are desperate.” You shrugged and he laughed.

“True, true. I see pirates fight all the time and I don’t get why!” He says while eating some berrys, You didn’t even notice but he was halfway in the water. “So, how’s the pirate life been?” You asked him.

“It’s…Something alright, it’s always shocking something. Everyday is an adventure and I…had my crew mates with me, it was fun and I miss it. I miss their laughter, and…everything.” he tells you. His shoulders dropped as he has a frown on his face.

You feel bad for him, you understand how that feels to be left alone. To miss home, to miss everyone and everything.

You put a hand on his shoulder and then loved it up to his cheek for him to look at you.

“Hey, It’s okay. I understand where your coming from. Trust me, I know how it feels to be alone. I didn’t live here always, I was with my family, my friends but then…they came. I seen all of my family die in front of my eyes.” You looked away, You didn’t like going back to this memory but you told him anyways.

“I tried to stop them but 3 ships was there. I couldn’t do anything, so I swam away as fast as I can. And that’s how I got here” you confessed to him.

It was silence for a few moments but then he apologized “I’m sorry that happened, but hey! You got me now” he says with a smile, picking the mood back up. you laughed, You Can Finally trust him.

But that thought quickly goes away, you hear the familiar sounds of a pirate ship. Your smile dropped. There was multiple, he lied to you.

His eyes widened in horror as your widened as well. You back away from him, looking at him with disgust and betrayal. You turn around to the ships and you noticed that they are aiming their pistols at you, their cannons as well.

He desperately pleads that he didn’t do this, that he didn’t know but you glared at him. You’re in disbelief that you actually gave him the benefit of the doubt and trust him.

As much as you want to attack him, You safety matters first. So you swim away deep in the water as Miguel watches, as he hears his name being called from the people above.

A/N2: im so sorry this took so long

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Genya Shinazugawa!reader as a member of the Straw Hats with Sanemi being a member of the Whitebeards and not happy that his brother became a pirate since he is scared of losing him

-It was a massive party that had been planned out by Whitebeard, wanting to meet Ace’s little brother Luffy, hearing how the little rascal and his crew had been making big news all over the Grand Line.

-Luffy took little convincing once Ace said there was going to be a lot of food, and the two crews agreed to meet on a summer island to party together.

-What they weren’t expecting was that there was another set of siblings on the two crews, you, who was on Luffy’s crew, as he met you shortly after Zoro and Nami, and Sanemi, your older brother who had made a name for himself on Whitebeard’s crew.

-Unlike Ace and Luffy who had a good relationship, you and Sanemi had little to no relationship, after he left you, abandoning you after your whole family was killed by cruel marines, only to be killed by Sanemi, leaving both of you heavily scarred, both inside and out.

-He told you years ago that he was going to become a pirate, to become strong and prevent any more marines from doing anything like this, and when you expressed your interest in doing the same, he beat you up before leaving you, telling you that someone so weak would never be a pirate.

-He only said that and did that to you to make you afraid, to keep you safe, with the hopes you would get a normal job and live a normal life like how you deserved, but his words only drove you to work harder to become a pirate.

-Now you’re one of two marksmen on Luffy’s crew alongside Usopp, but while he used slingshots, you used actual guns, ranging in all styles and sizes.

-Despite your rather gruff personality whenever you met anyone new, your true personality was quick to show- a tsundere with a heart of gold- you were such a sweet and kind person- it was honestly adorable how gruff you tried to portray yourself as.

-You were also very respectful to everyone in the crew, as they were the ones who made you into the feared pirate you were today. Now if you could just catch up to your brother’s bounty, even surpassing it, you would be even more content, as that would prove to your brother that you were a great pirate!

-The initial meeting as Luffy leapt off the ship and ran to Ace, tackling him down made smiles go all around, both crews happy to see the reunion.

-As the rest of you got off and headed towards the large group, one person stepped forward and everyone seemed to freeze as Sanemi looked like a demon was surrounding him, looking furious.

-You glared back, a hand coming to your hip as you looked angry as well as he stomped over, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You’re not supposed to be a pirate!”

-You glared back, now being able to fight back as you were bigger now, “You don’t have the right to lecture me when you abandoned me!”

-Everyone looked between the two of you, realizing that you were siblings as you both looked similar as you both shouted back and forth at each other. Sanemi threw a punch at your disrespect, as you should listen to him since he’s older, but he only grew more enraged when you dodged his blow and threw one of your own, sending him staggering back after you nailed him across the face hard.

-The two of you were quickly in a brawl, leading many trying to pull the two of you apart, even Whitebeard and Luffy who were both yelling at you to knock it off.

-Sanemi punched you hard, sending you flying back, “You idiot! You weren’t supposed to be a pirate! You were supposed to live a normal life!!”

-You quickly rolled to your feet, wiping your bloody nose with the back of your hand, “How was I supposed to do that when our family was killed, and you walked out on me?! Who was I supposed to look up to in order live a normal life?!”

-Eyes went to Sanemi, hearing how he left you after your family had been killed and his eyes went white as he charged with a furious yell, and you did the same.

-At the very last second, someone appeared beside the two of you and punched you both hard, sending you flying. Nami breathed in deeply, her fists smoking as she stopped the fight easily.

-You both were quickly on your knees in front of her as she chewed you both out, a lump on each of your heads, but you were smart- knowing not to talk back to Nami, but Sanemi didn’t know this listen and by the time she stomped off, Sanemi was covered in lumps and he was face down in the dirt, unable to move.

-The two of you, as punishment, had to drink and eat together, to reconcile, but there was nothing like that, only eating and drinking while glaring at each other.

-It was Sanemi who instigated conversation with you, “You’ve gotten tall.” You glanced over, eating another piece of meat, “Yeah- Sanji keeps us all fed well.” It was awkward for anyone listening to the conversation, seeing how the two of you were trying.

-By the time the party ended with everyone passed out, leaving only you and Sanemi, or so you thought, he finally spoke, “You’ve gotten stronger- that punch was impressive. Guess I was wrong about you being weak.” You knew that for Sanemi, that was as close as he was going to get to apologizing to you.

-You gave him a grin, lifting your mug, “I was motivated to prove you wrong- now all I have to do is surpass you!” he grinned in return, welcoming the challenge, “I’d like to see you try!”

-While not completely forgiving him, you were at least willing to be a little nicer to him, something Luffy and Whitebeard, who were also awake, shared a grin over, happy to see you two getting along.

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

In light of Lore Olympus dropping another episode Ive just got to say that this hiatus just made me really look at Lore Olympus even worse than I have before. Like listen, I know that a lot of media around greek mythology comes up in our society and stuff and I’m not saying I’m against it I really have no ties to it culturally so I don’t know if it’s my place to say who does or doesn’t get to retell the myths but Lore Olympus has to be the worst representation of the greek gods I’ve ever seen in my life.

At least other retellings give the gods some sort of grace that can give them some correlation to their actual counterparts, Lore Olympus literally made Persephone into an “uwu” sugar baby but not actually because she’s too pure and innocent to manipulate and use the money of a much older man. Like Persephone is literally a homewrecker, a liar, a borderline cheater, she’s extremely weak, she’s a massive crybaby (which is saying something because I am too but like she only cries when she’s not getting her way) and she’s overall just a morally terrible person and a huge coward. You’re telling me that Rachel actually read, not skimmed over, but read those myths and got that from the versions of Persephone that are provided in the mythological texts? That’s honestly so embarrassing, every greek god she’s touched she’s absolutely ruined. I don’t even understand how people can genuinely with a straight face say that any of this content is good it’s just really disrespectful at this point.

Never would I ever want to be represented by Rachel and it’s only because she doesn’t put any thought behind these characters. It’s okay to slow down and think about something other than fan service and ships, and if that’s something she wanted to focus on then she should’ve just formatted it like those slices of life webtoons where it’s just two characters and each chapter is a different day with new challenges but nothing actually relating to one another. That would’ve been better than trying to cram together an entire series with no real story or plot written down it’s just really reductive at this point.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Biting her lip in thought, she was about to protest. But… maybe he did need her there. Maybe, instead of hurting something or someone, she could actually help. “Fine, I’ll come with. I’ll just be like, backup or something…”

“All sounds good to me,” she said, smiling.

Danny scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto one leg. “Okay, Snotlout, for once can you just shut your mouth and listen? I think you’re capable of that, yeah?”

Nodding, she went over to Meatlug— though technically, she wasn’t named that yet— and carefully placed a hand on her snout, gently scratching her. “I can do that, for sure.”

After everybody was mounted onto their dragons, Danny turned to Hiccup. “We can learn how to fly on the way there, because we don’t have much time.”

"Thanks, Danny. We're gonna need it."

Looking around, he saw that Danny was right. Every second counted.

He sat on Stormfly, Astrid behind him. "Danny, hop on with us. I'm sure she can carry all three. When we get there, I'll be going to Toothless anyways."

"Okay everyone. Hold on tight!"

With that, Stormfly shot into the air, followed by the other dragons, the Viking teens screaming from the quick velocity.

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

"They already drew her out..."

The Red Death was chasing after Gobber and his father, both of them trying to distract it from the horde of Viking warriors.

The Monstrous Nightmare hit it with a blast of flame, and the teens circled the massive dragon.

"Fishlegs! Break it down!"

He stuttered a little, but quickly rattled off the dragons statistics that he could easily spot. "Large nose, small eyes. Relies on hearing and smell!"

"Great. Snotlout, Fishlegs, find it's weak spot. Ruff, Tuff, see if she has a shot limit, make her angry!"

The twins sat straight up, excited at their orders.

"I'll be back as soon as I can!" He served Stormfly towards the water, where Toothless was chained to one of the ships, all of which were on fire.

Hearing the Night Fury's roar, they circled towards the source, and Hiccup maneuvered so Astrid could scoot forward as he hopped off the still flying dragon.

Landing in front of Toothless, he called out, "Go help the others!"

Astrid nodded. "Hang on, Danny! We're going in!"

-----------

Toothless was free, and while Hiccup had almost lost consciousness underwater, his resolve hadn't changed.

The brief conversation between him and his dad gave him the final burst of courage as he and Toothless shot into the sky, towards the Red Death.

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

They got back just in time to catch Astrid as she fell, having been knocked from Stormfly's back.

The set her on the ground and continued flying towards the large dragon.

The others did their best, but Fishlegs and the Gronckle crash landed, and Snotlout had been thrown from the Monstrous Nightmare. The twins were nowhere to be seen.

"That thing has wings! Let's see if she can use them!"

Toothless dove down towards the dragon queen, shooting it with such a strong plasma blast it knocked her onto her side with a painful roar.

She stretched her wings, and was now in the air, pursuing Hiccup and Toothless.

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

They were up in the clouds now, the only proof that they weren't dead was the flash of their silhouettes every time Toothless shot a plasma blast.

The dragon became so angry that she spewed fire everywhere, catching Toothless' prosthetic on fire.

"Okay time's up! Let's see if this works..."

Taunting the dragon, they circled around her head for a moment before diving back towards the ground.

They waited, holding out until she charged up a blast. "Now!"

Toothless turned, shooting a plasma blast straight down her throat.

She started burning up from the inside, crashing headfirst onto the rocky beach in a fiery explosion.

Toothless stretched his wings to slow their descent, but the Red Deaths tail came too fast for them to react.

It collided with Hiccup, knocking him off of Toothless....the Viking teen plummeting limply into the residual dragon fire.

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

When the smoke cleared, Astrid could see Toothless laying on his side, unsure if the dragon was alive or knocked out. Hiccup was nowhere to be seen.

"No, he couldn't be..."

The Berkians all fell to a somber silence, holding their breath in hope that it wasn't the worst.

[the-firebird69]

We have walled off areas before and they blame the Mac proper so we're gonna go ahead and do it and we're gonna start with 1 and see how it goes and it'll probably just leave or stop launching attacks and will decimate them and start building regular things I mean this is really awful and these idiots are taught to repress us and we need to rise up against them. I looked at it and that is what they're doing we need to be a lot more aggressive and they can't recover and they can't stop us and does work and we're going to have take take care of it because they are such little **** we have a few things to say about what they're doing but really we have to get to work.

--- We are focusing on their war they are a major impediment to survival of the earth and we need to remove them that's what we're doing. Tonight there are several major events going on that are going to change the path and course of history one of them is there is a series of storms there's maybe 5 of them coming from Africa and they have 20 mile ships out there creating these whirlwinds and they are attacking Jason nonstop and relentlessly and he is finally asked for help no but he probably will. This Soundcloud if there's a new one and yes it's from busting that 3rd series of 5 it is going to be here tomorrow probably noon and it's very big it is Sunday and that's when it's gonna be here. Jason is getting up and he might stop this guy there are some others with ships out there like Trump and they see what he's doing a little is rather weak that's too many storms the guy has to be stopped and it's idiocy and people are going after him and he's trying to take this place by storm and by invading and by terrorism guerilla attacks causing massive geological changes and creating disasters we're going to start to slow him down and remove him from the picture but really there's too many storms coming this way we get enough rain from the ships being taken out.

-There's a lot of people traveling They're going to investigate their cities they're investigating what's below and they're looking at the mac proper and they are checking out the story about these big ships and they are going to investigate and use a lot of troops to do it it's gonna be on in a moment and we are using false flag as an FYI mostly mac proper as false flag we are in charge of many of these ships most of them and we're going to take everything from Trump and he's the one who threatened our son in stow and he's got a continuously pay for it.

- We are seeing some things that are pretty harsh but this guy's an idiot OK he's too stupid to even know if something is missing or not he's been like 20 hours trying to figure it out and they can outfit his ship they're so freaking stupid and we can't stand listening to them anymore. It's a harsh harsh day this is freaking **** **** orangutan do **** ahead really it's horrible he is so **** stupid and he's such a menace even though he's dumb it's like Mr Magoo is an evil guy now

--- There is some news you're gonna wait till most of it matures tomorrow until tomorrow morning and we need rest and he does but yeah this is going on. He's putting up Gotham City saying underneath there is something that's not yours and we're constantly taking stuff by the way constantly pay me a dollar **** you you idiots

Thor Freya This moron next door is constantly taking our son's stuff and he started to have him take stuff to try and hit him and we're doing that he knows about it and we're taking stuff from down below some of the stashes and caches are half empty and the guy can't figure it out so he asked him do you know if any of it's missing today and he said not really some of it's a bit light and we said do you know how much was in there and he's saying something gets rotted and we have to take it out and destroy it and we said OK and that's it

So my husband says is he heinous because he is so freaking dumb and I say my husband's not dumb he saw the Mustangs and he sorta figured it out and said I'm not gonna let you drive my mustang and he says I don't really like Mustangs that much except for the fast back so Ken started to roll his eyes and he said this is hell and he had to tell people and I'll tell you what this guy is really stupid he's so damn dumb and doesn't follow SOP for anything it's just become very annoying So we're going to listen to him wine and complain and blame us and he's gonna finally get killed because he can't talk about it and we don't wanna hear this **** and people gonna see what we're saying we can't stop him we can't stop it up this stupid **** is going to leak stuff that's true stuff that's not true stuff people make up and sometimes it's true and we cannot we cannot stand it we can't listen to it we need to have control over this and we don't have control over what's being said and released because of this goofball it's too late now so what we say and it is it's passed it regarding the ships we have to get them out and prove they weren't there.

Hera

we adhere to our policies and do the work and ok reqwuires battalions now and huge ones assigned to it we do see it and do so now

Olympus

and we have been and huge but this is class A stuff and yes. we have to.

Thor Freya

[masterofmunson]

our paths

Andrew!Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter was always meant to find you. Sequel to leave no trace. 

Warnings: VIOLENCE, TORTURE, blood, puking, near death experiences, angst, language

Word Count: 3.4k+

Author’s Note: I was inspired (again) so I wrote this follow up piece to leave no trace! go read that and then come back and read this. enjoy xoxo

There was something off the moment Peter slid through your bedroom window. It was quiet… too quiet. It wasn’t even that late, considering he was out most nights patrolling until two in the morning. It was just past midnight, and you told him that you couldn’t go on patrol with him for at least another week. You had a massive exam coming up that you needed to study and outline for. New York could deal without Rogue for at least a week. After all, it had been years of just Spider-Man protecting the city until you came along.

You texted him earlier telling him that you would be at the library with your study group until 10:30. You should be home now. You would’ve updated him if your plans had changed, and he hasn’t heard from you in several hours.

The apartment lights are off and there’s no sign of you in the kitchen or bathroom. Peter’s heart starts to race and he frantically starts turning on the lights in the apartment. He shouts your name and tears through your apartment in a weak attempt to find you. He grabs at his hair and spins around the living room.

He walks near the door and notices how it’s left slightly ajar. In the time that he’s known you, you’ve never left your apartment door open or unlocked. He notices your worn-out backpack immediately. There’s no reason why your backpack would be here without you. You’re never without your bag. It has your laptop and suit inside.

Peter drops to his knees and rips the bag open. Your bag is untouched with everything still inside. It doesn’t look like you’ve touched your things in hours. Your wallet is still inside but your phone is gone.

Peter frantically grabs his phone and dials your number. It rings and rings and rings before it clicks on the other side. “Y/N? Are you there?” he asked.

There’s a heavy pause before your voice rings through his ear. “I’m here,” you answered. He listens closely. Your voice echoes in the background and he hears rustling too. You sound like you’re struggling to breathe. You sound hurt, and it breaks Peter.

“Where are you?”

The rustling grows louder and the connection breaks up momentarily. Peter holds his breath, grasping tightly at his phone. He hears voices in the background. A deep voice fills the space in his ear. It sends a chill down Peter’s spine. “Hello, Peter Parker. I was wondering when we would get the chance to meet.”

Kingpin.

Peter’s heart drops deep into the pit of his stomach. It had been a team effort between the two of you to track and trail King Pin for the better part of six weeks. He’d been exporting a new illicit drug and you tried to intercept and stop a shipment a few weeks ago, but the ship exploded before either of you had the chance to gather evidence tying it to Kingpin’s operations.

“You and your girlfriend have been a real thorn in my side, Peter.”

“If you hurt her—”

“You’ll do what, Parker? You’re already too late. Why shouldn’t I kill her? I would have one less problem to deal with.”

Peter grits his teeth and grasps at your abandoned suit. He swallows the lump in his throat before asking. “What do you want?”

“Come to the harbor. We can discuss it when you’ve arrived.”

The call ends and Peter screams in frustration. He tugs his mask on over his head and races out of your apartment through the back window. He swings through downtown all the way down to the harbor. His heart races with anticipation as he tries to imagine the state that you’re in.

You’re a fighter. It’s one of the reasons Peter loves you, but he knows that Kingpin won’t show you mercy, and it’s not because you’re Spider-Man’s girlfriend. It’s because you’re Rogue and you’re just as much of a problem for his business as Spider-Man is. It only makes it worse because you’re both Spider-Man’s girlfriend and Rogue, two things that won’t work in your favor.

The thought of your death terrifies him. He couldn’t lose you. He hadn’t even told you he loved you yet. He couldn’t find the right moment to express his love for you when he had the chance to. If you died not knowing how much Peter loved you, it would haunt him for the rest of his life. He had to tell you.

It takes Peter just under 20 minutes to get to the harbor. He feels like he’s going to pass out and throw up at the same time. He can’t lose you. He can’t handle another loss. He should’ve done a better job protecting you. You should’ve been more careful snooping around Kingpin’s operations. You were stupid to think that he wouldn’t find out who either of you were. He has spies and resources all over the city.

Peter carefully walks through a number of empty makeshift corridors of shipment crates. He listens closely, picking up on the whispers of Kingpin’s men and the soft crash of waves against the nearest loading dock.

“I find it really hard to believe that the two heroes this city has have no knowledge on my business. You’ve been sniffing around my stuff for weeks,” Kingpin’s voice echoes through the boat shed and Peter peers his head inside.

He sees you instantly. You’re tied to a chair on the edge of the dock. Your gloves are off, but Kingpin and his men are all wearing the same kind of black leather gloves. Your hands are pinned down on the table in front of you. There’s a series of cuts and bruises on your face. The fingers on your right hand are swollen and bent at awkward angles.

“Go to hell,” you spat through gritted teeth as you struggled against the chair.

Kingpin lets out a deep laugh and reaches for your pinky finger on your right hand. Your breath catches in your throat and he pulls your finger back. It breaks with a harsh crack and your screams fill the boat shed. Your head falls forward and collapses against the table.

“Stop it!” Peter shouted, jumping on top of the nearest boat. He bends down, ready to attack Kingpin and his men instantly.

The man turns around and grins menacingly at Peter. He grabs the back of your head and drags you up by your hair. Even though you’re beside yourself with pain, you don’t yelp or whimper in pain. You even move your head in a weak attempt to get out of Kingpin’s grasp.

“Y’know, Peter, I really respect your choice in women,” Kingpin stated as his free hand came down to brush at the cut on your temple. “First it was the valedictorian of your class Gwen Stacy and now it’s the beautiful and brave Rogue. It’s a shame that you couldn’t save Gwen. How can you have Spider-Man as a boyfriend and he can’t even protect you?”

“Shut up!” Peter screamed, jumping off the boat. He takes a step towards you and Kingpin’s men raise their guns in his direction.

Kingpin laughs again and with his brute strength, tears your hands off the table and holds you by the throat. His eyes meet yours and you struggle in his grasp. “You know what you need to ask him.”

“Go to hell,” you repeated, spitting in his face. The blood that gathered in your mouth sprays over Kingpin’s face and his grasps tightens even more. You choke and struggle to breathe. Your fingers dig into his hand but with the leather gloves on his hands, your powers are useless against him.

“What do you want?” Peter screamed desperately, foregoing his mask. He throws it to the side and takes another step towards you and Kingpin. “Let her go. It’s me that you want.”

Kingpin shrugs and tosses you in the empty space between him and Peter. You groan as you hit the floor. Your head spins and you don’t have the strength to get up. As much as Peter wants to run up to you, he remains in his spot and Kingpin’s laugh fills the shed.

“You and I both know that you can’t take me and my men on at the same time. You need Y/N and she can’t help you. She’s weak, pathetic, useless. I should just get rid of her for you. After all, she is no Gwen Stacy,” Kingpin said.

He takes two large steps towards you and takes a gun from one of his men. He cocks it back and presses the barrel of the gun to the back of your head.

“No! No! Stop it!” Peter screamed desperately. He holds his hands up in surrender and takes a careful step towards you and Kingpin. Tears threaten to spill over his cheeks and his heart races in his throat. He can’t lose you, not when you have so much ahead of you. “What do you want?”

“Ask your girlfriend, Peter. She’s the one preparing her own funeral. Ask the question.”

For the first time all night, your eyes find Peter’s. Silent tears and blood coat your cheeks and the pain pulsing through your body is throbbing. The looming threat of the gun at the back of your skull makes you swallow the lump in your throat. You let out a careful breath before looking at Peter again.

“Will you ever love me the way you loved Gwen?”  

The question hung in the air. The sound of the waves crashing against the dock and the low hum of the boats in the harbor filled the room as you waited for his answer. Peter’s brows pinch together in confusion. He doesn’t understand why Kingpin forced you to ask that kind of a question. What kind of game was he playing at?

“I don’t understand,” Peter said, looking at you then at Kingpin. “What kind of game are you playing?”

Kingpin laughs again and throws you against the floor again. He steps over your frail and broken body and pulls your head up by your hair so you’re forced to look at Peter as Kingpin holds your life in his hands. Your tears blur your vision and you struggle to breathe.

“If you had to choose, would you choose Gwen, or would you choose Y/N?”

Peter’s brows pinch together as he stares at Kingpin. “What kind of fucked up hypothetical is that? Gwen’s gone. There’s nothing I can do to change that.” Peter starts walking around in circles frantically.

“I lost my first love too,” Kingpin stated. “She was also killed, but it wasn’t my fault. I killed the son of a bitch responsible and it made me a better man as a result. Were you able to avenge Gwen? Do you think of Gwen every time you’re with Y/N, wondering what could’ve been if she was still alive?”

“No,” Peter snapped. He doesn’t owe Kingpin an answer, but he knows he’s not in a position to say anything that would potentially make him snap and kill you. He has to get you out of the harbor alive and it one piece.

Kingpin clicks his tongue disapprovingly and brandishes the gun in his hand again. “I don’t tolerate liars, Peter.”

“I’m not lying!” Peter shouted in frustration. “I mourn her, but I moved on. That’s how grief works. Gwen would have wanted me to find someone after she died. She only wanted me to me happy.”

Peter couldn’t believe he was talking about love to Kingpin of all people. It made him want to puke. Kingpin was playing games with him and he just wanted to pull you out of harms way.  

He waves his hand away, brushing off Peter’s words. There’s a long, looming silence that fills the shed. Peter stares at the mobster, carefully watching his moments and behavior. Peter doesn’t know what to say before Kingpin sighs, “I’m generally not a merciful person, Peter. I’m giving you one chance to walk away. I won’t hesitate to kill either of you next time.”

The thought of owing your life to Kingpin makes your skin crawl. Whether you liked it or not, you would be indebted to him. He would cash in on the favor you owed him for sparring your life sooner rather than later. He would own you in the same way that he owns the rest of the city.

“I’d think long and hard before you decide not to take my offer.”

“Fine,” Peter conceded, nodding his head. “Fine.”

“Peter, no,” you gasped out. You did not want Kingpin to control you the way he had the rest of the city. You rather die with your morals in tact instead of being forced to work for Kingpin when the time came. You knew the risks when you put on your suit. You choose to put your life at risk every time you put it on.

“We’ll stay out of your way. Just let her go.”

The grip Kingpin has on your throat only tightens. He forces you to look up at him and he grins. “I want to hear you say it.” You huff out a breath of air instead. You won’t cave, even if it’ll kill you. You glare at him in the harsh light of the boat shed. His grasp makes you choke for air. “Say it.”

“Just say it!” Peter begged you. “Y/N, please.”

“I’ll stay out of your way,” you chocked out.

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” Kingpin tutted before letting go of you. You fall to the ground and Kingpin turns his back to you and looks at Peter. “Get out of my harbor.”

Peter drops to his knees in front of you and helps you to your feet. “My gloves, Pete,” you mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. With the state that you’re in, the slightest touch could hurt him.

He ignores you completely, wrapping his arm around your waist and your injured arm over his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything and neither do you. Guns are still pointed at the two of you and Kingpin’s eyes burn at the back of your head. He guides the two of you out of the boat shed and you try your best not to open your hands against his shoulders as Peter swings the two of you away from the harbor back to your apartment building.

Peter carefully opens the window to his apartment and guides you inside. He quickly turns on the lights in his apartment and tears through his bathroom to find the first aid kit. You watch him carefully and clutch your mangled hand against your chest. At this point, you had lost all feeling in your hand and fingers.

“Peter,” you said. Your voice is soft and broken as you called for him. He hurries out of the bathroom with the first aid kit in his hands and guides you to the couch. His hands shake as he tries to open the box to get the materials he needed to take care of you. “Peter.”

He looks at you and tears fill his eyes. His lip trembles as he looks at you. You’re bruised and bloodied. He should’ve done a better job looking after you and taking care of you. It doesn’t matter to him that you’re Rogue. You’re his girl first and foremost. He needs to protect you.

You rest your forehead against his and your own tears and sniffles fill the air. You take a deep breath and lean into him. “This wasn’t your fault, Peter.”

“If only I had—”

“No. Don’t do that. I know the risks every time I put on the suit just as much as you do. This wasn’t your fault, okay?”

He swallows the lump in his throat and nods silently. You lean in far enough so that your lips brush against his. It’s soft and tender, like Peter is afraid you’re going to break if he does anything else. It’s gentle and warm. Peter is afraid to hurt you.

He pulls away and takes a deep breath before opening the first aid kit. He works quickly and quietly. He carefully wipes away the dried blood from your fingers and as gently as he can, tapes your fingers into place. You know you’ll have to go to the hospital in the morning, but the tape would have to do for now. You can’t help but cry out from the throbbing pain of your fingers straightening out. You bite so hard on your lip that you start to taste blood.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you whimpered. “I’ll be okay.”

Peter rips open a pack of gauze and wipes away the blood on your face. You wince and he mumbles another quiet apology. He dabs Neosporin on to the cuts before placing band aids on you. He stands up and washes his hands before grabbing you a glass of water and some Tylenol. You take them quietly before Peter rejoins you on the couch and you rest your head against his shoulder.

You sit in silence for a while, staring at the blank TV screen. You listen to Peter’s heavy breathing and the softness of his hand in yours. “The thought of dying because of Kingpin didn’t scare me,” you confessed softly.

“Y/N, don’t say that,” Peter chastised you quietly.

Your eyes meet and there’s fear evident in his gaze. You know how terrified he is of losing you. He can’t lose you, not when he’s already lost Gwen. You think of your next words carefully. You don’t want him to feel the pressure and weight, but you had to tell him. You had to tell him that you loved him.

“The thing that scared me the most was dying without telling you that I love you.”

The weight in your chest falls and the butterflies flutter deep in your stomach. You stare at him as you wait for a response. You had originally planned on telling him after he did it himself, but you couldn’t wait, not when you almost died. You were willing to wait and be patient, but you couldn’t anymore. Your life flashed before your eyes and you had to tell him.

You had been holding it in for a while. He needed to know your true feelings for him. You let out a careful breath and sip at your water. “I didn’t want to put the pressure on you, and I was going to wait until you said it, but I can’t wait, not when my life flashed before my eyes. I love you, Peter.”

He turns his head to look at you and a tear falls down his face. He smiles softly and leans in to rest his forehead against yours. His warm brown eyes look to yours and he whispers, “I love you.”

You smile through your pain at his reply. You didn’t expect him to say it back, but you knew that he loved you. He showed it every day. He didn’t have to say it to prove that he loved you. Your mouths meet. The kiss is intimate and slow. It’s a kiss you’ve never had before. You pour your heart and soul into him and you know he feels the same. Despite the pain and the fear, you would always have him, you would always have each other.

Peter pulls away and brushes a strand of hair behind your ear. You preen at the gesture and lean into him again. “I want you to know that you never have to doubt my love for you,” he said. “I know that loving me is hard and difficult, especially if someone brings up the relationship I had with Gwen.”

“—Peter.”

“I lost Gwen and that’s always going to stay with me. I told her once that she was my path, and I meant it. She led me to you, and I’m forever grateful. I know that the situation that we’re in is scary, but as long as we have each other, we can get through this. We’re in this together and I will do everything I can to keep you safe. We’ll figure it out.”

Your tears continue to fall and Peter kisses your forehead. You nod at his words, holding them close to your heart like a warm blanket. “We’ll figure it out.”

You know your future is uncertain, especially now with the debt you owe to Kingpin, but you don’t care. Peter will always be there for you, through thick and thin. You love him completely and entirely and he feels the same for you. He’s your person. He’s your path, and you’ll be forever grateful to Gwen Stacy for putting you in hers.

[littlesniggy]

Happy Birthday to me! Sakazuki x reader x Borsalino

Well, I'm a pretty self-centered person so of course I'm gifting myself a little something for my birthday. I know, I've been really inactive during the past couple of weeks (months) but work's been keeping me busy and I'm gonna move soon so stress on this end as well. Hopefully, I can post more often in the future again and I will get back to you with another request, probably on Wednesday.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little birthday present from me to myself and please let me know!

Warning: 18+, nsfw, orgasm denial, slight humiliation, voyeurism, older men, younger woman, dub-con, oral, finger fucking

Pairing: Sakazuki x female reader x Borsalino

Word count: 4.2k (cliffhanger in the end cause I felt like this was enough lol)

Your joints were aching from the way the cold, heavy chackles held you up easily against the wall, your legs dangling above the floor. Your head hung low, your hair covering your face, shielding you from the dim light emitting from the roof of your cell. You had no idea how long you’ve already been on this navy ship but you were sure you were close to Impel Down. You dreaded the moment the ship would anchor in front of the prison, sealing your fate once and for all.

You flinched when the heavy door to your cell opened and a massive form appeared, a second one following right after. You knew exactly who those two giants were and you dreaded what they’d do to you. So far, they’ve burnt and almost drowned you, dislocated some limps and put them back in place just to do the same thing over and over again. But you didn’t give in. You felt somewhat proud about the fact that they haven’t been able to break you yet but you knew you were close. And all because you were part of the Revolutionary Army.

Dragon, Sabo, and Ivankov had taught your body well but your mind could only take that much before it broke. And you feared this point would come sooner than later.

“One could almost feel pity seeing her like this.” You heard Kizaru’s dragged tone, amusement lingering on the back of his tongue, making you believe that he wasn’t sincere about his words at all. And why should he? You were the enemy, after all.

You felt a big hand gently lift your head by your chin, making you look at the tall man now standing in front of you, his yellow suit too bright for your eyes. You had the urge to avert your gaze but you knew it would be a sign of weakness so you endured it, your body tense, adrenaline rushing through your veins.

“Still so much fight left in those pretty eyes. I hope you can keep it up a little longer.” He mused, his thumb brushing against your cheek right below your eye before he let go with a lazy smile. Behind him, Akainu huffed impatiently. You’ve painfully learnt that he was not enjoying this whole little spiel as much as his fellow admiral was simply by the fact that he had been the one inflicting the most physical pain while Kizaru just watched you writhe in agony.

“So, shall be continue where we have left off before or have you come to your senses and realized that complying will save you from a lot of trouble?” he asked but you could see that he wanted to continue, wanted to hear you scream even louder.

Your lips were pressed into a thin line. “How unfortunate.” He said with a pleased smile, not matching his words whatsoever. A chill ran down your spine at his words.

You expected him to make room for Akainu but instead he cocked his head and looked at you ruminatively. “Nee, Sakazuki.” He addressed his colleague. Your eyes automatically shifted from the man in the yellow suit to the one in the red suit behind him, standing there with his muscular arms crossed in front of his buff chest, looking at you with a scowl on his harsh features.

“How about we try a different method this time? We’re almost there and haven’t been able to get even a single useful word from her….” Borsalino asked without confirming that Akainu was actually listening. “I think we should try a somewhat….unconventional approach.” You could see his eyes darken at his words and you felt the urge to get away from him as far as possible. This was different from before. His whole aura had changed and there was something sinister in his gaze that made your blood run cold.

“You talk too much, Borsalino.” Sakazuki growled from behind him. You’ve never thought that you would find Akainu less intimidating that Borsalino but for some reason you hoped he wouldn’t agree to whatever the other male had in mind. But you were disappointed.

“Just do whatever you want. Just make her talk.” He was more than impatient and his tone resonated this impatience. “Then let’s not waste any more time.” He mused, his hand finding its way back to your face. “Feel free to join whenever you want.” He offered to Sakazuki without taking his eyes off of you.

His hand slowly moved down your neck, feeling the cuts and soft, burnt skin under his fingers that he and Sakazuki had inflicted upon you. You started to tremble the lower his hand moved; you could feel his warm hand through your flimsy clothes, purposefully only grazing the side of your chest, not touching you fully.

Your face heated up and you squirmed underneath his light touch. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. This was so different from the times before and you body almost appreciated the change but you knew better than to trust the man in front of you who was now caressing your hipbone with his thumb over your pants.

“What are you doing?” you heard Akainu’s irritated voice, internally wanting to know the same but you knew better than to raise your voice. Borsalino just shrugged before answering. “We’ve tried to bargain with her, we hurt her, and we tortured her. I think it’s time we try humiliation.” The words dripped down from his tongue like poison, ready to sink into your wounds and slowly kill you from the inside.

Humiliation. Humiliation could mean a lot of things but given his hand slowly moving to the front of your pants you had a rough idea what exactly he was talking about. And you were scared. It wasn’t that you were a virgin but Borsalino was a big man who was probably proportionally big as well.

“Dirty old man.” Akainu huffed and Borsalino chuckled. “Let’s see how it goes. Maybe you’ll change your mind about this method.” He said nonchalantly while his hands swiftly opened the button of you pants and pulled down the zipper, the sound awfully loud in your ears. You expected him to pull down your pants but he didn’t do it. Instead, he seemed to simply appreciate the view in front of him; suggestive but not lascivious.

You tried to squirm away when his hand eventually moved inside your pants, feeling the fabric of your panties under his touch before he pushed past them as well. His touch felt like he tried to electrify you; a jolt rushed through your body when his index finger pressed down on your clit shamelessly. “No!” you breathed out, the first sound you’ve made this whole time. It was embarrassing how warm and nice his finger felt on you and you tried to kick him with your legs but he was fast to restrain you with his other hand, pressing your hips forcefully against the cold wall behind you.

His finger slowly circled the little nub before he moved it along your slit. You emitted a shaky breath but bit your bottom lip to suppress any further sounds.

The longer he moved his finger along your slit, the more you felt yourself become wetter and wetter, making it easier for him to move his finger. “So wet.” He drawled before pushing past your folds and entered your core, the heel of his hand pressing against your pubic bone.

He moved his finger in and out of your hot pussy, with each thrust searching for something inside of you he was hoping to find. Your eyes restlessly darted around the room, desperately trying to avoid his piercing gaze while simultaneously cussing out your body for reacting to his ministration.

You shuddered when your eyes met with a pair of hard, dark eyes, watching you intently. You had completely forgotten about the other admiral standing in the room, witnessing how his colleague slowly unraveled you with his finger. You wanted to avert your gaze but he didn’t let you. His mere authority prevented you from following your urges so you had to look back, feeling incredibly naked and exposed.

A shy moan crossed your lips when Borsalino hit that sweet spot inside of you while your eyes stayed trained on the other admiral. You saw how Sakazuki slightly shifted, his expression becoming even gloomier the longer he watched you.

Your eyes slowly turned hooded when Borsalino added a second finger, warmth spreading through your entire body and you moved your hips against his fingers the best you could, given his other hand that was still pressing you against the wall behind you.

“Someone seems to get a little excited being watched.” you heard Kizaru’s amused voice from above you. Of course, he had noticed. “Why don’t you give him a better view then?”

You mewled when he removed his fingers and pulled your pants and panties down, exposing your wet pussy to both men. Borsalino’s eyes were immediately on the glistering and soft part of your body his fingers were buried in just moments before but Sakazuki kept his eyes on your face. “Spread your legs a little, okay?” Borsalino purred, one hand slowly moving to your inner thigh and pulling it to the side and keeping it up.

Excitement rushed through your veins when you saw Sakazuki’s eyes drop down after a moment your vulnerable sex. A slight jerk with your hips had Borsalino chuckled in response. Akainu’s eyes were trained on your dripping cunt and your pussy clenched around nothing. You felt hot and cold at the same time; wanting him to look away and keep looking at the same time.

Kizaru’s other hand moved to your cunt against, inserting two fingers inside your and suddenly pumping them in and out at an incredibly high speed. The moan that erupted from your body was guttural and primal and you threw your head back, bumping against the wall.

He was drilling his fingers against your sweet spot over and over again, forcing your orgasm to rush closer and closer. Your legs twitched, your hips rutting against his hand in a desperate attempt to cum.

The sweet feeling of bliss spread through your body, making you feel electrified. Moaning, you dared to look back at Akainu, your eyes catching on to the bulge inside his uniform pants. “Fuck!” you hissed, the word like a prayer on your lips.

Your mind started to wander, imagining what his dick looks like. You wanted him to pull it out and show you, to let your eyes wander over his veiny cock and the flushed mushroom head. You knew he was huge but your pussy wanted to try and fit him inside of you, to envelope his length with your hot core.

You hated yourself for those thoughts but your mind was completely taken in by lust that you couldn’t help it. You wanted the man who had hurt and tortured you to make you feel pleasure. You wanted marine admiral Akainu to touch you in places you shouldn’t even think of, to feel his big hands against your skin while his dick fucked you into oblivion.

You shuddered; you were so close and wanted to cum. Borsalino added a third finger, spreading you wide open. And then, he stopped.

Breathlessly, you looked up at the older male confused but his lazy smile gave it all away. This was an interrogation, after all. You were suddenly painfully aware of this whole situation and tears started to gather in the corners of your eyes. You were in deep trouble.

“Now, Y/n. Should we try this again?” he started, leaving his fingers inside of you but not moving them. “Tell us something about the Revolutionary Army. Anything, really.” You whimpered at his words, pressing your lips tightly together. A single hard thrust was his response and you moaned out.

“For starters, where is your headquarter?” your silence was punished by another hard thrust. “C’mon, Y/n. It’s not that difficult. If you tell us anything we might let you cum.” A threat disguised as a promise but your body craved the release the admiral was not giving you.

“Y’know, we can keep this up however long we want. We can prolong this little journey for days and days. Just imagine what you’ll look like after only one day with my fingers buried deep inside of you, keeping you on edge but not letting you cum.” He mused, fingers pressing against your soft spot as to empathize his words.

But you kept your lips sealed. You’ve endured everything else they had thrown at you, you wouldn’t break now. You’d rather take this little secret down to the grave with you if it came to that. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you broke down here and told them everything they wanted to know.

Kizaru sighed in slight disappointment and started fucking you with his fingers again. You didn’t want to moan but you couldn’t held yourself back, your hips bucking against his thrusts. He continued to fuck you until you were so close, only to stop moving again. Frustrated, you tried to create some friction against your clit by wiggling your hips in a way that would let your sensitive nub rub against his palm but he was fast to remove his fingers completely.

“What a naughty girl.” He commented and analyzed his wet fingers, your slick covering them completely. Embarrassment made your face heat up and you looked down, your leg still being held up by his big hand, his warm fingers slightly massaging your thigh.

“Please….” You panted, your voice quiet. “Huh?” Borsalino looked from his fingers to your face, one eyebrow quirked up in question. “What was that?” he asked. “You need to speak up a little.”

You didn’t lift your head and you didn’t want to speak louder but your mouth moved on its own. “Please…..stop.”

“If that’s what you want, sure.” He drawled, the sinister look creeping up his face yet again. “If you tell us what we wanna know…..” he added. You slightly shook your head no; you could only imagine the satisfied look on his face. “Maybe you need a little more….encouragement.” he mused, his hand finding your wet pussy, cupping it with his whole palm and pressing down with the heel of his hand, grinding it against your clit.

Your stomach cramped at the jolt of pleasure that rushed through your body, a mewl the audible answer. “Oh my, you’re dripping.” He commented, tingling your folds with his long digits but not entering you. “How wet you are for a navy admiral. One could think you’re actually enjoying being taken advantage of by someone like me.” He said with played excitement in his voice as if to praise you. “I don’t.” you panted though your body was betraying you completely.

“Hm? Is that so? Then maybe I should give you a little more.” First, you didn’t know what he meant but he made it perfectly clear when he suddenly dropped down on his knees in front of you, positioning your legs over his shoulder and his face only inches away from your cunt. His hot breath ghosted your wet folds and you looked at him in panic, not believing what you were seeing.

“Don’t!” your voice was high and distressed; the anticipation what was about to come scaring and exciting you at the same time. Borsalino didn’t listen.

You felt his hot tongue glide over your folds and you pressed your thighs together with a loud moan, trapping his head between your legs and not being able to let him go. He didn’t mind. Instead, he went to work and oh God was he good!

Your hips involuntarily bucked against his face whenever the flat of his tongue pressed over your whole sex before slowly and deliciously pulling it back, licking your folds and your clit from back to front before repeating this little spiel over and over again. Your eyes were closed and you were a moaning mess, wanting to spread and close your legs at the same time.

Your legs tried to pull him even closer and he let you do as you please, his hands comfortable resting on your ass, even pressing your body closer against his face. The short stubbles of his beard lightly scratched against your skin, his nose firmly pressed against your pubic bone.

Heavy footsteps came closer and announced the second admiral but you were caught off guard nevertheless when his gloved hand grabbed your chin – his hand feeling enormous – and made you crane your neck and look at him. Your legs twitched around Kizaru’s head while your eyes were trained at Sakazuki, pupils blown due to the pleasure.

“Talk.” Was his single command and your lips quivered to his demanding tone. It sent shudders of pleasure down your body, coating Borsalino’s tongue with even more of your slick juice. You stayed resilient though. At least for now but this resilience started to crumble.

Sakazuki growled deep in his throat, not too pleased with your silence. His grip tightened and you feared he’d might crush your bones with his strong grip but before anything like this could happen, he let go and instead grabbed your hair in a tight grasp, not giving you the chance to turn your head away, forcing you to keep looking at you while Kizaru’s tongue started to rummage through your hole, pressing against your tight walls.

You couldn’t suppress the following moan while your eyes stayed on the second admiral. God, his stare was driving you insane! He was fucking your soul with those harsh eyes even harder than Kizaru was fucking you with his tongue.

For a moment, Sakazuki’s eyes shifted from your face down between your legs where Borsalino’s face was buried between your thighs, wet sounds stressing exactly what he was doing down there.

His tongue moved in and out, his teeth grazing against your clit sending waves of pleasure through your veins. His hands massaged your ass, his thumb inching closer to your asshole ever so slightly, almost unnoticed until it started to tickle a little. Your eyes widened in shock, not wanting him to get anywhere near this part of your body.

“S-stoooohp!” you moaned at a particularly good lick of his tongue. You couldn’t see it but Borsalino looked up from between your legs but immediately noticed that you couldn’t see him so he didn’t pay you any mind.

Your moans started to become more and more high pitched with each lick, with each thrust and with each inch his hand got closer to your hole. “N-not there….!” You tried again but he ignored you, pressing his finger inside your butthole, entering you with his first joint. You didn’t like it but he didn’t care. His thumb patted your insides a little before he shoved it in until his second joint disappeared inside of you as well. You arched your back, trying to get away from his finger but it was useless. As a last desperate attempt you looked at Sakazuki but you immediately learned that he wouldn’t help you. And why should he?

“Admiral Borsalino, sir!” the sudden voice caught all of you off guard and you froze in place. Who was there? Were they coming in? Would they see you like this? Would the two men want anyone else to see them like this?

Sakazuki turned his head towards the door of the cell but Borsalino tried to ignore it, his tongue eagerly licking up your juice.

“Sir? Borsalino?” the person on the other side didn’t seem to want to give up. Borsalino also seemed to notice this fact and with a sigh he turned his head towards the door as well, a dark look on his face, his voice not giving away his anger though.

“What is it? I’m somewhat in the middle of something here.” He said, hoping the marine on the other side would go away. But they stayed persistent.

“Sir, there is a call for you from Fleet Admiral Sengoku!” they informed him. Borsalino sighed dramatically, realizing he needed to leave, even if it was only for a moment. He put your legs down from his shoulders surprisingly gently and got up, his lips and chin glistering from your juice, making you avert your gaze from his face.

“One moment, I’ll be right there.” He announced, wiping your juice away with the sleeve of his suit, licking his lips, a smug grin on his features. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” He drawled, looking up from you to his colleague, his hand pulling something out of his pocked and offering it to Sakazuki. The other admiral looked down, the scowl on his lips only deepening at the sight.

“You’ve planned this all along.” He simply stated, taking the little ‘gift’ Kizaru had offered him nevertheless. “Let’s say I’m always prepared.” He purred before slowly strolling towards the door. “Have fun, Y/n!” he waved at you. “I know you’ll be in good hands. Maybe you will even change your mind.”

When he was gone, the temperature inside the cell dropped by like twenty degrees and you gulped, your eyes still on the closed door, too scared to look up at Sakazuki. You’ve thought you wanted the feral dog to touch you but now that Borsalino was gone you weren’t too sure about this anymore. You remembered the other day where his huge hand burnt your back, leaving you heaving and crying in pain.

How could you think you would want this man to fuck you? Were you out of your mind? When you slowly looked back at Akainu, your muscles tensed up.

“If you think I will continue where that horny bastard has left off you’re mistaking.” He simply informed you, planting himself in front of you, his aura even more intimidating than before.

You watched in fear how his big hands slowly reached down to his waistband, opening his pants in one swift motion. “Watching you get fucked by that bastard’s hands and mouth made me realize something.” He reached inside his pants and you could see his hand work his dick underneath the fabric. “You’re not gonna talk no matter what we do. So why should we waste any more time on interrogating you when we can just….have some fun with you instead and forget about you once we’re done?”

You gulped at his words, your eyes almost rolling out when he pulled out his dick from its restraints, the flushed head glistering from a small amount of precum.

“Spread your legs.” He ordered, leaving no room to argue. Even if you wanted to defy him, your body reacted on its own and you spread your legs, exposing your glistering cunt to his and his eyes alone. You bit your lip, feeling even more exposed at his shameless stare.

You watched him open a small pack with his fingers, eyes widening once more when you realized it was a condom. “You thought I’d fuck someone like you raw?” he said in a condescending tone, rolling the condom over his hard cock.

“You should feel honored that I even consider putting my dick inside of your dirty pussy.” He put his hands on your thighs, spreading them even more before lining himself up with your pussy. Your gaze dropped down between your legs and you almost choked on your own breath. How was he supposed to fit?! He was huge!

You tried to get away from him but his grip was unforgiving, pulling you closer to him. He pressed against your entrance and without hesitation pushed past your entrance and buried himself deep inside your still dripping cunt. You couldn’t event make a sound due to the mixture of pleasure and pain his dick was inflicting on you, mouth wide agape and a quiet scream leaving your throat.

Sakazuki’s body didn’t leave a sound at your tightness but he could feel the stress of the past couple weeks slowly leave his body when he started to move inside of you. He hasn’t had sex in a long time and as much as he would like to deny it Borsalino had a point in his change of approach though he doubted the older admiral had anticipated that he’d be called out of the cell and leave Sakazuki alone with you. But he wasn’t complaining. He could fuck you to his heart’s content without some yellow monkey interrupting him.

He grunted when he forced a painful groan out of your body, enjoying that he could inflict even more pain to you with his dick and add humiliation on top. Yes, he will definitely enjoy this different approach of ‘interrogation’ he decided, snapping his hips against you, forcing himself deeper and deeper with each thrust. Even if you decided to talk now, he wouldn’t stop. You had enough time to talk, now Sakazuki didn’t care anymore….

[lightblueterracota]

Tenderness, Undescribed

hermitcraft grian x mumbo jumbo. i don’t have a fully established and intricate universe for this storyline, but basically it’s their hermitcraft characters and grian also has wings :^)

another note is this is in no way shipping the irl people, this is absolutely only for their fictional characters! please don’t ship real people and/or harass the actual people behind these characters :)

/

There’s a certain tenderness to Mumbo that Grian finds fascinating.

For his long legs, clumsy mobility, and dark eyes above a bold mustache, Mumbo is not often associated with the word tender. More often than not, other Hermits know him for being the friendly neighborhood Redstoner that often finds himself in disasterous, life-threatening situations, often needing to call for other Hermits to dive in and save him last second. His general obtuse nature and lack of direction make him seem like a friendly yet out of control aircraft helicoper with styrofoam blades. 

But there’s no denying that Mumbo is a genius as well. Almost on par with Doc, Grian would say that Mumbo is one of the brightest people he knows, despite his daftness. Even if he gets his Redstone wiring mixed up terribly sometimes, there’s a brilliance beneath that mustache that shines through everytime Mumbo eagerly invites Grian to his base to show him another massive and impressive machine. 

And when he talks about his Redstone -- he’s all over the place. Big gestures and waving arms, loud exclamations of excitement as he eaglerly jumps around and points out each piece of Redstone and its wiring, it’s hard for Grian to keep up sometimes. But there’s something oddly fond whenever Mumbo gets insanely proud of a build, and even if Grian doesn’t understand it 100%, he listens attentively anyway as Mumbo explains it to him.

It’s hilarious, sometimes. Mumbo’s fingers are big and clumsy sometimes, and he struggles with piecing together intricate Redstone wiring that require small pieces. When he’s impatient, sometimes he has to ask Grian’s sharp eagle-eyes to help him piece together a particularly tricky part of a machine, and Grian is more than happy to help.

All in all, while Grian is very fond of Mumbo, he’s not someone Grian would consider gentle and tender.

There was a moment though, when that changed.

It happened on one of Grian’s worst nights. Upon visiting a nearby village, he hadn’t realized that he had accidentally triggered a raid, and at that time he had no combat gear on him. As the mobs swarmed from the hillsides and Grian desperately tried to protect the villagers and herd them indoors, arrows and slashes of melee weapons cut across Grian’s body. Even when he decided to draw back, trying to make his escape by flying away, several arrows were shot into his wings, and he almost didn’t make it.

He was on low health and bleeding when he crash-landed into Mumbo’s base -- the only other person that was also active at that time of night. He had scared the crap out of the man, Mumbo jumping out of his focus on his Redstone as the winged individual crashed through his window, heavily injured and weak.

He was too faint to respond to Mumbo’s frightened, “Jesus, Grian, what happened?!” as he collapsed onto the floor, wings spread across the floorboards of Mumbo’s base. He blearily watched as the man jumped up, immediately rummaging through some storage for healing supplies.

“Your wings,” Mumbo had said, and there was some saddening awe in his voice. “Oh Grian, your wings. They must hurt so bad. Hold on a second.”

Grian didn’t want to think about it. He could feel blood dripping from his wings and could see a few scattered feathers that had fallen off in his crash-landing. His beautiful wings, ruined.

“Can you stand?” Mumbo asked, and Grian was about to protest, when Mumbo continued, saying, “Wait no, you probably can’t. Hold still. I’m going to pick you up, okay?”

Grian cringed, expecting to be hauled like a sack of potatoes and bracing for impact, but was shocked when he felt Mumbo’s gentle hold as the taller hoisted the winged man up, moving him to a nearby bed. Mumbo seemed to be very careful of not brushing his damaged and bleeding wings, gently shouldering Grian so that his limbs were comfortable and his wings had room. 

The closeness of Mumbo’s body caught Grian off guard and he silently let Mumbo gently place him down onto the bed. Then Mumbo got to work, grabbing some healing supplies and bandages.

“I’m sorry,” Mumbo warned in advance as he disinfected his own hands, “but there’s a couple of arrowheads still in your wings. I need to take them out before I bandage you. This is going to hurt.”

Before Grian could react, a sharp, excruitating pain blossomed from his left wing as Mumbo carefully removed the sharp object, the scalding pain shooting up his spine. A pained yelp came escaped from Grian, only to be sizzled away by Mumbo’s gentle shushing as he immediately started applying pressure to the wound.

“Shh,” Mumbo said softly, disposing of the arrowhead and cleaning the area. “Shh, I know it hurts a lot. It’s okay. You’re alright, I got you.”

It wasn’t often Grian heard Mumbo speak in such a soft manner. Oddly enough, his words were comforting, settling over Grian’s tired bones like a blanket, and Grian forced himself to relax as Mumbo continued to softly speak some encouragements.

Whimpers of pain continued to come from Grian as Mumbo continued to clean him up, his normally clumsy and large hands now extremely gentle and intricate as he delicately plucked the damage out of Grian’s wings and applied healing salves to his wounds. As Mumbo gently worked through patching up Grian’s wings, he made sure to inspect the rest of Grian’s body carefully, checking for other signs of bleeding and wounds.

Once he was doing bandaging him, Mumbo told him, “Lean back, please.”

Grian obeyed, settling back carefully into the bed and watched as picked up a bottle of healing potion. Grian groaned in protest, not in any mood to digest anything, but Mumbo simply leaned forward to place two fingers underneath Grian’s chin and lifted, making Grian’s mouth aim upwards.

“I know you probably don’t want to drink anything right now, but this will make you feel much better, I promise,” Mumbo said gently as he held Grian’s face up firmly and lifted the cool glass edge of the bottle to his lips. “Please drink.”

A feeling of tenderness, undescribed, washed over Grian as he became acutely aware of Mumbo’s fingers underneath his chin, and the way his thumb barely brushed against his bottom lip.

Too weak to fight against the gentle push of Mumbo’s hands, Grian let Mumbo slowly feed the potion into his mouth, obediently swallowing the restorative liquid. Mumbo let out a pleased hum as he watched Grian consume the potion.

Once Mumbo made sure Grian drank every last drop, he softly released Grian’s chin, letting his face fell back softly.

There was a belated, blurry moment where Grian realized he enjoyed Mumbo’s warm touch on his face.

Falling back into the bed pillows, exhausted, Grian felt his eyes go heavy. It seemed that the healing potion Mumbo fed him had a drowsy side-effect, likely to encourage overnight healing. As sleepiness slowly ebbed over his brain, Grian watched as Mumbo cleaned up, the warm light from the nearby lantern seeming to frame Mumbo in an entirely new perspective.

Who knew Mumbo would have such good bedside manners as a doctor, Grian thought lazily.

“You can sleep here for tonight,” Mumbo said. “I wouldn’t want you flying around in the dark now anyway. Your wings will be okay, they just need some time to heal a bit.”

Oh. Yeah. 

“My wings,” Grian whined softly. “They look so damaged...”

“No,” Mumbo cut in gently. “Your wings will be back to beautiful once you rest up for a bit. I promise. You’ll be back to flying in no time, don’t worry.”

“They’re so ugly now,” Grian lamented miserably.

“They don’t,” Mumbo insisted. “You look beautiful right now, Grian, I promise. Now go to sleep.”

Grian knew damn well he was in no good-looking shape. He could still feel the dirt on his face and the way his hair was still curled and messy from crashing. But he was too tired to open his mouth and argue against Mumbo, so Grian let his eyes shut, the last thought drfiting in his mind being:

He thinks I’m beautiful.

/

After that, Grian could only ever see the tender side to Mumbo.

After nursing him back to health, Grian had thanked him countless times, with Mumbo simply giving him a kind smile and insisting it was no problem. From then on, Grian could only ever see that gentleness in Mumbo, and remember the way he tended to his wounds and cleaned his wings and held his face that night. The kindness and way he had jumped up immediately to take care of Grian. The gentleness and how he soothed his pain.

So maybe to other Hermits, they know Mumbo as a clumsy, bumbling human being.

But to Grian, he knows him as someone tender, undescribed.

/

[justfangirlthingies]

The prince of lies (Loki x reader)

Soulmate AU: Every time your soulmate lies, their words are permanently written on your skin

Word count: 3140 Words

I think this is the last Soulmate one that I have on Wattpad as of right now

Father is dead. Your banishment... The threat of a new war...it was too much for him to bear. You mustn't blame yourself. I know that you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he wouldn't listen.

The truce with Jotunheim is conditional  upon your exile

Mother has forbidden your return

This is goodbye brother, I'm so sorry

Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service

I'M NOT YOUR BROTHER I NEVER WAS!

I don't know what happened on earth to make you so soft! Don't tell me it was that woman?... Oh, it was. Well, when we're done here, maybe I'll pay her a visit myself!

You're not

(etc. more lies)

Lies...

Every single one of them. How did you know? Well, because they were printed all over your body.

Every single lie your soulmate ever told up until now graced your (s/c) skin.

How was a liar like that supposed to be a soulmate for you? Someone you could trust?

Yes, your so called soulmate would never be able to lie to you, for as soon as he tried the lie would appear on your skin. Had they only been some minor white lies, that would've probably been fine by you, but looking at the severity of those lies you could only shake your head in disbelief and sorrow for whoever had received those news.

Now ignoring the fact that those statements were lies, there were other aspects that made absolutely no sense. Those you had already researched quite a bit . Jotunheim for a start was a mythical place and the lies stated that apparently the liar and his brother were not from earth, which was complete nonsense was it not? Otherwise he had to be some kind of alien.

You were interrupted in the middle of your thought-process.

I missed you too

A new lie, gracing your forearm. Though this one seemed rather small and harmless, this man was still lying through his teeth and you had to carry every single one of those lies. How often had you been asked why your body was full of lies. Yet you never had an answer to those questions. He was your soulmate, even if he was a liar he had to be good somewhere, right?

Aliens and beings from other worlds did exist though. Thor the god of thunder and the events of New York city. Did they have soulmates as well? They had to, otherwise the statements on your features made even less sense.

But who?

Who would lie so much?

The thoughts in your head kept floating around as you got ready to meet up with your friend Anthony.

You started walking to a nearby park. Your usual meeting point, as you felt yet another familiar tingle. Pushing it to the back of your head in hopes of ignoring it, you kept walking towards your friend and hugged him "It's good to see you" you smiled but only got a confused stare in return "What?" "You uh...got a new one there, a long one." A sigh escaped your lips at the reply of Anthony. "Well, where? And does it at least make sense?" Your friend just shook his head as he took a picture of the lettering on your collarbone "No, but here. Maybe you can understand some of this. It looks like sarcasm this time." He gave you his phone to look at the picture. Great another one.

Wait? Sarcasm? One thing you had to give your soulmate credit for were his snarky remarks, at least those sometimes put a smile on your face. You zoomed in on your collarbone as you read what was engraved on the previously clear space of (s/c) skin.

You know this is wonderful! This a tremendous idea! Let's steal the biggest most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that! Flying around the city, smash it into everything in sight and everyone will see it! It's brilliant Thor! It's truly brilliant...

Thor?! You could not believe your eyes. Whoever your soulmate was knew Thor. It was a shock and a relief as well. If he was friends with this god he couldn't be so bad, could he? You did however, question why Thor would spend time, let alone steal some kind of spaceship with this person.

"I see. I can't say I understand what it's about, but whoever this liar of mine is, seems to be friends with Thor..." The words left your mouth as you handed the phone back to your dear friend. The two of you sat down on a wooden bench underneath a tree, but when you heard Anthony speak up, your mind went blank "He could also be Thor's brother, doesn't that one lie a lot?" It took you a few moments to fully comprehend what he meant "No, that'd be impossible, that man is sitting behind bars for the rest of his life. Besides, that guy is evil. My soulmate could never possibly be a bad person." that last part was a lie. Your soulmate was a liar, he could easily be a bad person, you just hoped with all your might that he wasn't"

■ ■ ■

"Trust my rage" the god of mischief spoke. Just as he had finished his sentence he felt a tingle on his wrist. A rare occasion if it was a real lie, usually it was just a sarcastic comment which most of the time he enjoyed quite a bit. These sarcastic statements often caused a small smile to appear on his face, the few nice moments that made the time in his cell more bearable, not only did he find them funny and witty, they also stood for his soulmate, for someone that was destined for him and also that he was a perfect fit for whoever this soulmate was. He looked at his bare wrist expectantly, waiting for one of the snarky remarks that his soulmate had spoken to appear. When it did appear though, it broke his heart. His cold expression fell for a second as he looked at the writing on his wrist. Quickly regaining his cold exterior before anyone would notice. It was too late though. His brother had seen the trickster's face falter just in time and he had also seen what Loki was staring at. Before the raven-haired could pull his hand back he felt it had already been grabbed "Let go of me Thor!"

"Brother, just let me see!" Thor replied loudly, he wanted to know what this was about. Loki looked away in shame as he let his brother read what his soulmate had said. My soulmate could never possibly be a bad person. As he finished reading he loosened his grip on the other's hand, allowing Loki to finally pull his hand back "I'm sorry" he muttered. "They think I'm a monster too..." The black haired god whispered as he sat down in the small ship, his stone cold exterior dropping by the second. Was a soulmate not meant to understand? Was there really no hope for him?

"Loki..."

"Stop it. Don't pity me for something that's my own fault!" he screamed. He just needed a moment to calm down.

■ ■ ■

"How is this possible? How do I deal with this? I can't just ignore it can I? No" before you knew it you found yourself in front of a massive building. Stark tower. Your (e/c) eyes stared at the monument in awe, but you soon shook your head in order to resume your task. "Enter the tower and talk to the avengers on how to communicate with Thor. You have to do this because Thor knows your soulmate..." you repeated in your head as you entered the building...

...or so you thought.

In the blink of an eye you were consumed by light and gone from where you stood. Was that some kind of security system Stark invented?

Your eyes fluttered open just to see some old man on a throne before your sight went black and your body dropped to the ground unconscious.

■ ■ ■

"Are you certain Heimdall?" the king asked, looking at the unconscious human, who was now dressed to fit the Asgardian culture. He was inspecting some of the tattoos on their body "You were right they definitely are his soulmate. Though they seem to be a rather honest person, for Loki does not have as many markings on him. As far as I know at least"

What were they talking about? Who were these people, why did they speak of you in a connection to Loki, it made no sense. None at all. You tried to look like you were still passed out.

But apparently you failed in your acting. "The human is awake" a different voice spoke. Maybe it belonged to this Heimdall person.

A sigh of defeat left your lips as you opened your eyes. You tried to take in your surroundings when suddenly, your eyes went wide from the sensation on your skin.

You sighed as you waited for the writing to appear on one of your upper arms. "Oh boy this is a long one" You muttered underneath your breath, but it seems Odin had heard, for he raised an eyebrow as his eyes followed your gaze to your arm which you had uncovered from the strange clothing you were dressed in. The king had taken a hold of your arm to read your words.

You really think I cared about Frigga? About any of you? All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet! Malekith! I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift! I ask only one thing in return, a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn.

"Fools!" Odin shouted.

Meanwhile you thought your eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as you tried to comprehend the meaning behind those words. The only thing you could focus on however, was the name etched in your skin. His name. Loki.

Your thoughts were interrupted when the Allfather spoke up again "Send guards to Svartálfheimr and retrieve my sons! Bring the Aether back if it's still there!"

His sons?

It was at that moment. Realisation hit you like a bus. You were in Asgard and this man before you had to be Odin then. Your brows furrowed. Why were you here? How did you get here?

"Come. You must have many questions." The king said as you got up and followed him "I am Odin of Asgard. Tell me child what is your name?" "M-my name is (Y/n) (L/n). How-how did I get here?" you stuttered as you looked around still walking. "I gave orders to bring you here" He replied casually.

■ ■ ■

The Jotun prince laid on the ground panting as his brother cradled him in his strong arms "No. No, no, no. Oh, you fool, you didn't listen." "I know." Loki spoke, his voice quiet and weak "I'm a fool. I'm a fool." he gasped in pain. "Stay with me, okay?" The god of thunder spoke close to tears as he pat the other's face to keep him conscious. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" the young god apologized gasping for air but he was quickly shushed by his brother "shhh...it's okay" Thor nodded as tears welled up in his blue eyes. "It's all right. I'll tell father what you did here today" He spoke again the tears now making their way down his cheeks. "I didn't do it for him" The raven haired spoke calmly. As he took his dying breath he spoke his last words "Tell them, I didn't want to be a monster" Just like that the god closed his eyes and went limp in his brother's arms. "NOOO!" Thor shouted in pain and hugged Loki. "I will find them and tell them in your stead brother" He whispered into the other's ear before he let go and left with Jane. Loki's limp body was left in the sand and dirt.

■ ■ ■

"I take it, you know who your soulmate is,  judging by your reaction. It must certainly be hard to carry all the lies of the god of mischief and lies" Odin raised his eyebrow. "I have heard quite a few stories about him indeed." You replied taking a sip of your tea. You were seated in the throne room across from Odin as he tried to answer some of your questions.

In the middle of your conversation a guard entered and as soon as he spoke up you felt a burning and tingling just underneath your chest.

"Forgive me my liege. I've returned from the Dark World with news. " The guard spoke.

"Thor?" Odin asked with hope. The guard dropped his head a bit at that "There was no sign of Thor or the weapon, but..." As soon as the man spoke up again the tingling began once again in the same place as before. "What?" the Allfather asked.

The tingles continued "We found a body."

Silence filled the air for a moment before Odin spoke "Loki"

The guard just looked at his king with sad eyes. The burning had stopped. "Thank you. Bring this one..." The old king pointed at you "...to Heimdall. Tell him to return them to Midgard. Then you may be dismissed for the day."

Your chin dropped as the guard nodded and turned to you. Oh now you were definitely not going to tell the god that Loki was alive and lying. He grabbed you roughly and brought you out of the throne room and to another room, the room you had woken up in. "Gather your belongings mortal before you return to Midgard." Midgard? Was that what they called earth. As the guard was about to close the door you shouted after him "Mister guard man! Wait!" He raised an eyebrow at you, seemingly amused, but he waited for you to speak nonetheless and so you did "Loki can't be dead." He stared at you confused "Well he is."

Another tingle. This time on your finger, but you ignored it for now seeing as you were focused on the conversation you were having "No. I don't think you understand. I-I know he is alive. I can feel it." A small smile was placed on your lips as the man before you began to laugh, he seemed curious though "And how would a little mortal like you know that? Oh you feel it, of course"

"I-I don't know how I know" That was a lie for you did know why and how "I just know." You finished, he seemed distracted though. While the guard was distracted you took a moment to look at the side of your pinkie finger. "No." You mumbled when you realized the man before you was your soulmate, disguised as a guard. "What?" The man asked. "Nothing" you lied, a small smile on your lips. You were scared yes, but he wouldn't hurt his own soulmate, now would he? "Would you please come in and close the door Loki?~" You asked innocently.

His eyes went wide, confused as to how a simple human like you could look through his disguise with such ease. So he complied. He didn't really have a choice now. As he closed the door, he dissolved his disguise. Green smoke surrounded the man as Loki the trickster god stood before you now. He was stunning. Yes there was a deep hatred for this man inside you, but he did something good today and you hadn't met him before. Well not personally, you had however seen him on TV as he tried to take over the world, you had heard he was under some kind of mind control though. "You are a curious little thing, aren't you?" Loki spoke as he approached you "Who are you and how did you know it was me mortal?"

You grinned "I'm no one important to you" Your smile widened as you noticed him being distracted again. You watched in awe as your statement appeared on the back of his hand.

The black haired god stared at you in disbelief "No...no no no no. How? That's not possible" Before you realized what was happening he was already too close for comfort. He grabbed one of your arms and shoved up your sleeves. Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service. Disbelief filled Loki's eyes as they pierced your own gaze. He let go of your hand as some kind of hatred but also hope filled his eyes "You hate me. You think I'm a monster." He spoke with clenched teeth. He was trying to compose himself, to seem calm, but you easily looked through his disguise. "I do not" You replied, your (e/c) eyes were soft as you looked at him. He stood there, waiting for the tingling and burning somewhere on his pale body. But the feeling never came. You had been truthful. "I know better than to lie to my soulmate." The words escaped your throat before you could even think. "Why did you say it then?!" The god growled. "Said wha-" The mischievous man cut you off "My soulmate could never possibly be a bad person" he quoted your lie "what changed?"

"I-I" you were speechless "I said that, knowing that anyone could be my soulmate, I tried to convince myself to see things positively. I did not know it would affect you as it was about soulmates in general. I am sorry for causing you pain Loki"

"So you don't think I'm a bad person?" he asked, turning your words around "I do know of the bad things you did. You tried to take over my home. I cannot confirm that you are a completely bad person though. I-I don't know you well enough to judge. For I try to build my opinion when I get to know people myself, even if this person is the prince of lies. Besides, you can't be too bad if you are my soulmate, at least not towards me" You grinned, reaching out your hand for him to shake "I'm (Y/n) by the way."

Loki looked at your hand, a smirk on his lips as he held your hand in his and brought it up to his lips to press a small kiss against the back of it. His eyes never leaving yours as a blush took over your features "It is a pleasure to meet you (Y/n). My name is Loki and I do not think I'll send you off to Midgard just yet, if ever..." The last two words were not meant for you to hear but you did. "Before we get to know each other better my soulmate~" he smirked "I have to take care of my father and brother." He turned around and walked towards the door "You stay here for now" the man winked at you before he turned himself into the guard again and left the room.

[istanleyff7]

TOTP, Episode Aerith, Scene 1-4

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Traces of Two Pasts Episode 2- Aerith Scenes 1 - 4

A Light Novel by Kazushige Nojima Translated by Stanley (@istanleyff7 on twitter)

Scene 1

Aerith Gainsborough was on Shinra Ferry No. 8, and like her friends, she was wearing a Shinra's military uniform. It was her first time on the sea, as well as on a ship. The ferry connecting Junon and Costa De Sol was unexpectedly lavish. Enticed by curiosity, she looked around the ferry. However, the wealthy passengers were not welcoming towards troopers. Driven away by the cold stares, she arrived at the bottom ferry's cargo hold. The goods and luggage were all over the place. Someone was already there.

"Hey, I heard this on the deck a while ago..."

It was Tifa Lockhart, clad in Shinra's equipment. One won't expect it based on her tender smile, but she's an excellent martial artist. She is a reliable companion, equipped with her unstoppable punches, diverse kicks and jumping power. It hasn't been long since they met. However, Aerith believed that the bonds that were fostered by overcoming critical situations were genuine.

"When you feel that you're becoming seasick, it seems that it's good to chat as a distraction."

"I see. Tifa, are you feeling sick?"

"Nahhh, I'm good."

"Me, too."

The conversation ended there. Soon after, Aerith noticed that Tifa wanted to speak. She's reserved at times.

"You wanna talk? Let's talk."

"I'd like to hear about you this time."

"Me?"

"I'm a good listener. You see, I am always doing so at the bar."

She straightened her posture and pretended to polish a glass.

"Hello, it's your first time here, isn't it. Where are you from?"

"Wow."

Aerith was in admiration.

"Do you live around here?"

"Nope. I live in the slums of Sector 5."

"I see. Sector 5 seems pretty lively too. Were you born there too?"

"Well...." Aerith hesitates to say. "It's probably hard to explain."

Tifa immediately sensed it. She had already spoken about her being an Ancient and about her being the last surviving one.

"Sorry, I've gone too far."

"Oh, not at all." Aerith denies it immediately.

"I was just a little taken back. There isn't anyone who says that they want to hear it, nor is there anyone I thought of telling. Well, you wanna hear it? You wanna hear it?"

"If it's alright with you."

"I'm good! I'm good!"

Scene 2

Ifalna, Aerith's mother, was the final pure-blooded descendant of the Ancients as both of her parents were Ancients. She was under the protection of Shinra. To collaborate with the various studies concerning the Ancients, she lived on the upper floors of the Shinra building for a long time. Except for having the freedom to go outside, she had a room that provided almost everything. Aerith lived with her mother, but she couldn't remember the day when she first entered that room. Her first memory was in that room too. As everyone around was adults, the only person she could call a friend was Ronnie, the son of Ifalna's caretaker, Mariel, who brought him along. He was two years older than her.

It was the year 1992. Aerith was seven years old. Her head was suddenly flooded with images. She saw not only landscapes and people that she had never seen before, but also the figures of animals and monsters too. Aerith's Ancient powers were awakened. The inexperienced Aerith could not only control these images, but she also could not ignore them. She painted on papers, painted on the walls and showed it to anyone who wanted to see them. She thought that by doing so, these mysterious "visions" would disappear.

Scene 3

"I understand now that up till then, I was a hostage, and to protect me, my mother had no choice but to obey Hojo. But because Hojo also knew that I inherited the powers of the Ancients, he was overjoyed. Because he discovered a successor, he started doing terrible things to my mother, which he hadn't done until then. And just like that, my mother's health began to break down..."

Scene 4

Because of Hojo and his fellow staff, Ifalna's “working” hours increased. She was made to work for Hojo's studies every day from morning till evening. She was weak every day, and she could not walk on her own. There were also times when Hojo's staff pushed her back into the room in a wheelchair. At that time, Fuzz Hicks appeared and was dressed in a lab coat. Out of all the staff that Aerith knew, Fuzz had the largest physique. His eyes, nose and mouth were huge too. He was a very trustworthy figure who easily carried Ifalna with his massive arms. 

When Fuzz came over, Ifalna begged him for medicine. She had a sad, sweet voice. Aerith did not say anything, but she did not like her mother whenever she made that kind of voice. She wanted her to be cured soon if she was ill.

“Fuzz, please…”

Aerith was almost sure that Fuzz knew it. He turned his back against the surveillance camera. He left a small bottle of medicine and a syringe, reminding her to keep it a secret from the other staff, and then he left. Ifalna used it on herself. Aerith could not see her mother sticking the needle in her arm, usually hiding in the sofa's shadow. 

Aerith has little memory of the calendar dates of events regarding her childhood. It was one night when she was seven years old. She snuggled under her mother's bed as usual. It was a habit she had since she knew she was being monitored. She covered herself entirely with a blanket.

"Aerith. Want to go on an adventure?" Ifalna whispered from the other side of the blanket.

“What will we be doing?” She had a longing and a fear towards the outside world.

"I miss it."

Aerith did not understand what her mother was feeling. However, she sensed that tears were mixed in with her voice. 

Aerith did not want to see her mother's face and got out from her blanket. Ifalna covered her face with her arm. The sleeves of her loose sleepwear were turned inside out. She had plenty of painful injection marks.

"If we head out, will you be okay, Mummy? You’re not going to take any more injections?"

“Yes. I think that will be so.”

"Well, let's go. But, I wonder if we can do it. The cameras are watching."

"Fuzz will help us out."

"Why will Fuzz help us out?"

There was a brief pause.

"Because he's a good person"

↞↠

Ifalna was taken out of the room as usual and returned in the evening. Fuzz was pushing the wheelchair.

"Yo Aerith," said Fuzz with his deep voice.

"The preparations are in order. I have prepared a secret house in the Sector 3 slums. You will also have a room. It's small, but we'll be leaving here."

He only told her that, and he left the room.

The emergency bell rang in the morning. Hurried by Ifalna, Aerith changed her clothes. It was clothes she had never seen before.

"Fuzz prepared these for us," Ifalna informed as she also wore her new clothes.

"Let's go."

"We will be seen."

"Don’t think like that."

Ifalna opened the door.

"It can't be. The lock is open. Why?"

The mother did not reply, took a deep breath and dashed out to the corridor. There was not a single person there. The bell signalling a crisis rang into their ears. 

"Experimental monsters are on the loose. Staff from the Science Department evacuate to a safe location," the public announcement monotonously announced.

"That's rough."

Aerith was frightened. However, Ifalna ascertained the direction and walked. She was hobbling. Her condition was good only when she opened the door. Aerith took her hand and kept up with her.

They turned at the first corner of the corridor. No staff were seen, and there were also no signs of wandering monsters. Ifalna rushed over to a wagon carrying cleaning tools; a large metal box attached with tiny wheels, with a long brush and mop, stuck into it. She slid her hand on the side of the wagon, and a part slid open. It was empty. There were supposed to be various cleaning agents and tools in there. The shelves and dividers were also removed. 

"We will be hiding in here. I'll head in first."

Ifalna bent her body and slipped into the box.

"Come, Aerith."

Invited by her voice, Aerith went inside. Ifalna pulled her knees towards herself to make space for her daughter. The petite Aerith quickly got in.

"We are going to be here for some time, so find yourself a comfortable position."

"Okay. This position is good."

"Got it."

After Ifalna closed the door, the wagon became pitch black. The public announcement remained unchanged and announced the experimental monsters’ escape. Before long, there was an indication that someone was nearby. The wagon vibrated lightly.

"It's me."

"I'm leaving it to you, Fuzz."

"We'll get going."

The wagon started to run.

"No matter what happens, do not make any noise."

"I'll be making a turn."

"It's an elevator. We will be transferring elevators several times."

From time to time, Fuzz could be heard. While in the elevator, Aerith became nauseous.

"Mummy, I don't feel good."

"It will be over soon."

When the free-falling feeling with the wagon was over, it started running again. As Fuzz mentioned, he will be transferring elevators several times.

"We're in a parking lot."

A different and unpleasant odour, unlike before, crept into the wagon.

"I'll be stopping soon. There'll be a truck, so hurry up and hop onto its cargo bed. I'll assist the both of you."

There was likely a change in the ground surface. A rattling sound came out from the wagon as it ran. The wagon soon stopped, and the door came open.

"Well then, hurry on."

Aerith was pulled out by the large hand that went into the wagon. He held Aerith up and placed her on the cargo bed as though she was an object.

"Move inside," Fuzz said as he also lightly placed Ifalna on the cargo bed.

"There are a few wooden crates. The innermost one is empty, so hide in it. Don't forget to close the lid. My cousin will be driving the truck. After arriving at the train station, the crate will be loaded onto the freight carrier. The cargo will eventually arrive at the Sector 4 slums station, so wait for me there."

"In the box?" Ifalna asked.

"Nope. I think you both will end up waiting for me somewhere at the station. I have a friend there, so follow her instructions. I've written the details in this letter," Fuzz said as he folded the paper and passed it to Ifalna.

"Where are you going, Fuzz?" Aerith asked.

"I'm heading back up to pretend to search for the both of you. If I get caught, it's going to cost me more than my neck."

The car horn sounded, and feelings of anxiety rushed in.

"Well, later then. There is food and water in the crate."

"How long do we have to wait for you to come?"

"At worst, till the last train," Fuzz said as he kissed the back of Ifalna's hand. Aerith was surprised and looked at Fuzz and her mother one after another.

"Fuzz, thank you."

The truck moved off before Ifalna could finish her words.

↞↠

The mother and daughter crawled on all fours on the swaying cargo bed and moved to the back. There were five wooden crates, one size larger than the cleaning tool wagon. After Ifalna found the empty box, she opened the lid and placed Aerith inside.

"Smelly..."

After leaving the room, they smelled various odours, but this was unbearable.

"Endure endure. We'll get used to it soon," Ifalna uttered as she also entered the crate. 

Aerith did not overlook the frown on Ifalna's face.

"You think it stinks too, Mummy!"

Ifalna stuck out her tongue, and after gazing at each other, they laughed.

Aerith noticed the paper bag at the bottom of the crate. There was also a portable torchlight, a pouch of dried fruits and nuts, a hard bread and a water bottle when she looked inside it. There was a thin envelope, so she peeked inside and found that there was money in it.

"I have to close the lid."

After struggling to close the lid, the crate went pitch black.

"Next, uh ... let's read the letter."

In the dark, there was a dry sound of Ifalna unfolding the paper.

"Aerith, may you shine at this for me?"

"Okay."

She had difficulty operating it, but Aerith found the switch and turned on the torchlight. In the cutout of the darkness, her mother's pale face was there, and sweat was oozing out from her forehead.

"Mummy, are you alright?"

"I'll be reading it, so remember this too, Aerith."

It seems that she does not intend to reply to her question.

"Okay."

“The plate on which the Shinra Building is built and the slums are connected by rail. This crate will be carried into the freight train as it is. After the train runs for a while, the inside of the crate will glow red, and it will be glowing several times. But you don't have to worry about it, and do not mind it."

“What does this mean?”

"Fuzz... He thinks I don't know anything, and he is right about that."

"I'm scared."

"He wrote not to worry, let's believe him."

"Okay..."

"After a while, you will realise that the railroad tracks will be running on ground level rather than at a descent. You will soon hear the train stoppage announcement. Once you hear it, get out of the box. Next, stand by the doorway at the width of the carriage. The last stop is the Sector 4 Slums Station. The door will open when you arrive. Give the money in the envelope to the person who opened the door. It's a reward. Rest assured that she is a friend of mine, and follow her instructions and wait until I pick you both up..."

Ifalna violently coughed before she could read it to the end. It was a long-lasting cough. She turned her head away and covered her mouth with her arm.

"The light... turn it off..." Ifalna said so and violently coughed again.

↞↠

The truck eventually came to a stop. The truck bed shook, along with the rattling sound of the cargo hitting each other. They sensed people in the vicinity. The unloading began. The handling work was rough, and the crate was even thrown down to its' side.The mother and child endured through the shaking and pain in the crate. Ifalna embraced Aerith in her arms and held her daughter's leaking voice with her palm. 

"We got to press on."

Silence came. They were relieved in that brief moment, then the loading operation on the freight train started.

"This is going to the Sector 4 Slums."

After hearing the muffled voice of a man, the box started to move. Again, the crate was handled recklessly. They used their hands, feet, and back to anchor their bodies down and clenched their teeth.

Shortly after that, the loading came to an end. There was a heavy, loud sound as the freight car door closed. After the train started running, it began to make a periodically repeating rattling noise. Eventually, the rhythmic sound becomes pleasant. Aerith dozed off and was half asleep. She woke up suddenly and looked at her mother's face. Ifalna's profile, dimly lit by the torch that was left on, was as beautiful as usual. In her line of sight, she noticed Ifalna smiling. Aerith was relieved, and she closed her eyes again. She finally slept.

In her dream, Aerith was painting.

When she woke up, Ifalna was coughing violently again.

"Are you alright, Mummy?"

"Yup... Give me a moment," 

Her voice got hoarse. Soon after adjusting her breathing —

"It looks like the descent stopped some time ago. The red lights are over too, so perhaps we'll be arriving soon?

"Ehhhh!? I wanted to see the red lights!"

"You said you were scared of it."

Ifalna laughed.

"I want to see it even if I'm scared."

At that moment, the inside of the crate was tainted red. The two were surprised and looked at each other.

"It turned red!"

"Yup! It turned red."

"I wasn't scared at all."

"Hey, Aerith. Let's eat something. We don't know when we'll be able to eat next."

Ifalna tore up the bread in the bag into pieces, handed it to Aerith, and ripped open the pouch of dried fruits.

"I wonder if this is like a picnic."

Aerith stuck the bread on her cheek.

"What's a picnic?" Ifalna asked. 

After Aerith swallowed the bread —

"I heard from Ronnie. People would take along food, head out, walk a lot and eat. It seems that they don't eat anything sometimes. But Ronnie has never been to one before."

"Hmm. I really don't know, but walking seems to be fun."

Under the dim light shone from the portable torchlight placed on the floor, Ifalna offered her the remaining bread.

"Aren't you eating, Mummy?"

"I've already eaten. I ate it while you were sleeping with your mouth open."

She thought it was a lie. However, Aerith inflated her cheeks and showed her anger.

The train slowed down, and Ifalna coughed violently again.  She shook her shoulders violently to hold down the cough.

"I'm really okay."

"Alright."

Aerith felt even more worried as she was reminded again that her mother was ok.

"Next station,... Four Slums. Sector Fo... lums," a muffled voice could be heard. It's the train stoppage announcement.

"Let's get out of the crate, shall we?"

They flipped the lid up. Ifalna comes out first and pulls Aerith up. Although the train was slowing down, the train carriage was rattling and shaking. 

"This is fun!"

Aerith planted both her feet down to keep her balance. Ifalna held on to the crate to support herself.

“Aerith”

“Yup.”

“Never forget that feeling, okay?”

“Which feeling?”

“The feeling that you’ll enjoy anything.”

“Hmmm, I understand.”

“Hey hey, Aerith, look at this.” Ifalna pointed to the label on the crate which they were in.

"What's written on it?"

"From Shinra Company to Shinra Company. To be stored at Sector 4 Station. Dangerous goods. It is strictly prohibited to open it en-route..."

"We are dangerous goods?"

"That's rude."

Ifalna laughed, and the train slowed down again to a stop. Aerith lost her balance and clung to her mother as she almost fell over. 

"Stay silent for a moment, Aerith. Leave this to me."

She looked up at her mother to see what she meant. She wasn't smiling anymore.

It was a young woman who opened the door. She had a pouty face and wore loose-fitting overalls. Her whole body was covered in dirt.

"Are you a friend of Fuzz?" Ifalna asked.

She nodded her head.

"Here you go. It's the reward."

Ifalna held out the envelope.

"I told him I didn't need it..."

“But…”

In the end, the lady snatched the envelope and pushed it into her back pocket.

"Get off. Quickly."

The carriage floor was well above the ground, a height that anyone would need help with. However, the lady was keeping watch of the surrounding people.

"Okay. I'll head down first."

Ifalna disappeared from Aerith's line of sight as she had jumped off. A painful moan could be heard.

"Mummy!"

"Hurry up," the lady's sharp voice pierced through their ears.

Ifalna apologised as she stood up, looking back at Aerith and reached out to her with both hands. Aerith was worried whether the woman in dirty clothing would get angry again, so she hurriedly jumped on her mother's body.That force caused Ifalna to stumble. She almost fell over while holding onto Aerith but managed to get her balance after taking a few steps.

"It's already chaotic at the top. Hide in the container yard until Fuzz picks you up," The woman pointed to a place stacked up with a lot of containers. 

"When the sun sets, consignees will enter and exit the yard, so don't be discovered. That would be a pain."

"How much longer until the sun goes down?" Ifalna asked.

"In about four hours."

The woman tried to leave, but Ifalna called out to stop her and asked, "Which direction is Sector 3 in?"

The woman pointed out the direction with her chin, and as though she was escaping from them, she headed back to work.

"Mummy, let's hide quickly?"

"Yup. Let's do so."

The woman looked back once she reached the end of the train carriage and pointed towards the container yard. She was probably telling them to head over quickly.

"Aerith."

Ifalna held out her hand.

"From here on out, it's a real adventure. Let's go."

Ifalna held Aerith's hand.

"Mummy, why is your hand hot?"

"It's because I'm excited."

Ifalna laughed, and they started walking towards the rear of the carriage they had just got off. The carriage they were riding on was at the end. When they went around the carriage and crossed over the rail, they could see the station building. The woman from earlier disappeared into the station building. They saw some others in uniforms that looked like railway workers.

"Mummy, where are we going!?"

Aerith was extremely worried. However, her mother did not say a word. Instead, she held her hand firmly and started walking. They headed towards the wire mesh fence that was directly in front of them. There were a lot of people coming and going on the road over there.

"Mum!?"

"Let's climb over this fence."

"Ehhhh?"

The fence was about two metres tall.

"I can't."

"But we have to. Otherwise the adventure will be over."

In the end, they clung to the fence.

"Well, let's have fun!" Ifalna uttered.

Passers-by across the wired fence saw them, but nobody stopped walking.

"First, grab a high spot on the wired fence with both hands, and then put the toes of your left foot into the wired fence."

"Ohhh."

Aerith was confused, but she managed to be in the same position as her mother.

“Next, apply some strength to your hands and put your right toe into the fence.”

“Okay.”

"Once you can do that, move your right hand to grab the fence higher up. Then, also move your left hand to grab at the same height."

"Ah, I got it! Next will be my legs."

Aerith felt that she understood how to climb the wired fence.

"Mummy, look!"

While making a rattling noise, she climbed the fence in a blink of an eye.

"Nicely done, Aerith. Now from there, climb over."

"Hey! Get down from there!" came a piercing, angry voice.

Aerith saw a station employee running over.

"Mummy!"

Ifalna saw the station employee.

"Aerith, quickly get going!"

"You too, Mummy!"

Ifalna started climbing the wired fence. She was frustratingly slow.

"Hey!"

The station employee was getting close. The scene gathered the eyes of passers-by. At that moment...

"Hey! Hurry up!"

They looked over. A tall adult male was reaching out his hand. Aerith was confused. He was probably an acquaintance of her mother, but that should not be the case.

"Hey! Let's go!"

Before Aerith knew it, Ifalna got up to the same height and got over the fence. The station staff extended his hand out, but he barely could not reach her. Finally, Ifalna got over to the other side, reached out and grabbed the chest area of Aerith's clothes and pulled firmly. Aerith could not help but lose her balance and almost fell headfirst outwards of the fence. However, a pair of solid hands supported Aerith.

"You alright?" the man asked Ifalna while lowering Aerith to the ground. 

However, Ifalna was coughing harshly and could not answer.

"Riding without a ticket is a serious crime!"

The station employee also started to climb the fence.

"It’s a serious crime which too many people commit, and you can't catch those culprits."

"Thank... you," Ifalna finally answered.

"You're welcome."

The man then struck the fingers of the station employee, who was grabbing the wired fence, with his fist. The station staff screamed away from the wired fence.

"Shinra bastard, damn y'all!"

After hailing abuse at the station employee, the man walked away as if nothing had happened. The station employee was panting heavily and glared at the man.

"Which direction is Sector 3 in?" Ifalna abruptly asked the station employee.

Not only the station employee but Aerith was also surprised at this.

"Who would teach you!" the station employee's angry voice froze Aerith's legs.

"Very well. Pardon us for our rudeness." Ifalna calmly apologised to the station employee 

She then took Aerith's hand and left the station. When they looked back, the station employee was glaring at them. However, he was soon hidden in the flow of passers-by.

"Ahhh, that was heart-wrenching."

Ifalna coughed. When Aerith looked up, she saw the radiant face of her mother.

↞↠

There was no sign of anyone chasing them. The mother and daughter were moving away from the Sector Four Slums Station. Looking up, they could see the underside of the steel city. They were overwhelmed by the orderly combination of the steel-framed plate. Many people lived on it, there was the Shinra Building, and they were way high up on it. The scale was too large for Aerith to picture it well.

"Aerith, if you just look up, you'll fall."

"Okay."

Indeed,  none of the surrounding commuters were looking up. It's a natural sight for slum dwellers. From time to time, Aerith could hear mysterious noises. She could also hear angry voices. And as expected, nobody cares.

"Mummy, who was the person that helped us at the station?"

"I think he's someone who hates Shinra. It seems that there are many of these kinds of people in the slums."

"How do you know about the slum, Mummy?"

"I asked a lot of people. For a day like this."

"Even on how to climb a wired fence?"

"Yup. If Professor Hojo weren't around, everyone would talk to me a lot."

"Actually, everyone is a nice person."

"I wonder. Everyone sympathised and cared for me, but no one helped me out. The truly good people are those that not only say that they'll help but also act on it."

"I wonder what Fuzz is doing."

Aerith waited for a while, but her mother didn't answer.

"Hey, Aerith, I want to rest for a bit. Shall we go over there?"

Ifalna pointed towards a small plaza in front of them. They saw several benches.

↞↠ You’re on page 24/142 of Aerith’s segment of the Light Novel.  Next Scenes: Scenes 5-9 Back to Content Page (click/tap here)

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[evolutionsvoid]

When it comes to the ocean, everyone is quick to bring up tales of sea monsters and massive beasts of the deep. I don't know if it is possible to go on a voyage without hearing one of these stories at least once, but maybe its just me. I think bringing up my field of work gets people eager to talk monsters and strange creatures, either to hear my take on the situation or in some weak attempt to scare me. Kind of funny that so many sailors try to freak me out with these tales, I am not sure what they are trying to prove. Listen, guys, I am a dryad sailing across an endless expanse of saltwater. Just falling overboard will most likely kill me, so your really not going to find anything scarier than that. But anyways, the folk of the sea really love their tales of strange creatures, and they are probably the reason why so many people are scared of the open sea despite never stepping foot on even a beach. Hearing all these creepy tales gets them thinking the ocean is filled with leviathans and voracious sea serpents! An endless parade of aquatic horrors and bottom dwelling monstrosities! The truth is...well, yeah, the ocean has got a lot of big, strange creatures in it, but not all of them are aggressive! Some are, of course, but not all! There are those that mind their own business and have no intention of sinking ships and eating sailors, except when a whaling ship...well...you'll get what I am saying in the entry, okay?   Some of the famous beasts featured in these tales are massive whales and freaky squids. A leviathan of unrivaled size, dwarfing the very ships that hunt them? Pretty scary stuff! And how about those strange tentacled creatures that are said to pull men over board and drag ships down to a watery grave? Equally spooky! But what if I were to say that some of these tales could be talking about the same beast? Though these two may seem impossible to confuse for one another, there is one species that dwells in the ocean that actually thrives off of this deception! They are officially called the Cetaciform, but most folk refer to their common name: Mimic Kraken. The regular name should tip you off that these are much like squids and octopi, which they are indeed related to! They have the mantle and the tentacles to show for it! Despite these many limbs, they use a siphon for their movement, pumping water out to shoot themselves through the ocean. One of the things that set them apart from a lot of their family is their size, which kind of varies. You see, this species has sexual dimorphism, which means there are some differences in characteristics between the males and females. Size is one of the easiest to spot, as the males are much smaller than the females. Male Mimic Krakens grow to about twenty to thirty feet in length, which sounds pretty tiny, eh? No? Well, they are small in comparison to their female counterparts, which are known to grow about fifty to sixty feet long. Some even argue that they grow bigger, with claims of them reaching even seventy! Regardless if these tales are true, you can clearly see how massive each of them can get. You could even say that they grow as large as whales, which is the correct observation! There is a reason for that, and it is because they want to blend in. While the Mimic Kraken are quite large, they are also quite intelligent. They are no brutes of the ocean, instead they are giant tricksters! Though big, they aren't the biggest things around, and sometimes it pays off to play pretend even if you are incredibly large! If you were to look at the mantles of both the males and females, you would notice familiar patterns and shapes. A very aerodynamic mantle, but purposefully rounded and pointed in certain parts. Their fins, too, have an odd structure to them, being more than just muscly flaps. Combine this with their ability to change the color and texture of their skin, and you may start to see a different animal form! Tighten those tentacles together and turn those feeding tendrils into a fluke, now suddenly you have a whale! And different ones too! With their pointed "snouts" and slimmer "bodies," the males seem to be mimicking beaked whales, while a bulkier, more rotund shape for the females suggests a baleen mimic. This species are able to disguise themselves as whales, and they can even act the part too! Special organs in the bodies allow them to create a variety of sounds, most of which are various whale calls! With their powerful brains, they can organize their bodies to fit the proper silhouette, and then use their fake calls to sound like the real thing! Incredible! The question is, why do they go through this trouble? Why does a squid want to be a whale instead?

The answer to this question is a bit complicated, and it varies between the two sexes. I think the good place to start is with the male Mimic Kraken. Why does he want to be a whale? Well, it turns out, being over twenty feet long isn't all that incredible when it comes to the ocean. Big deal, there are dozens of other leviathans bigger than you, and a bunch have a taste for calamari! So the male puts on this ruse for protection, as they can pull off their mimicry so well that they will be incorporated into a pod of real whales! They use their calls to sound like just like them, shape themselves to look just right in their eyes, and they can even mask their scent if need be! Their smarts go beyond visual and audible trickery, as they know collect to bits and pieces of odorous material to help fit in with the others. One incredible example can be seen when the pod starts to get itchy. Whales can get parasites and other hitchhikers on their bodies, and sometimes they need relief. They will find coarse ground in the shallows or underwater rocks to rub up against to scratch these bothersome critters. The male Mimic Kraken takes part in this ritual too, not just to play along, but to get a bit of that skin that comes off of his fellow whales! Rubbing against the same rocks and collecting shed skin helps them mask their own scent, and they store these odorous goodies in a special pouch near their mouth. These same pouches are where they store extra food and a few special surprises! So as I mentioned, the male uses mimicry to get in good with a real whale pod, as the extra numbers give them protection from predators. When a hunter is out looking for squid, they won't pay any mind to an innocuous pod of whales, especially since it would mean picking a fight if they went after one of their members! The other reason they pretend to be buds is because group hunting is a pretty is a surefire way to get a meal! A chunk of a male Mimic Kraken's diet is smaller creatures, like fish and even other squid! They tag along with their buddies and use teamwork to go after shoals and schools. Outside of these family dinners, the Mimic Kraken may also nab some extra snacks. It turns out, there are some creatures of the ocean that feel safe around these whales, as they know they aren't on the menu. What they don't realize, though, is that this imposter will go after anything it can get its tendrils on. During the chaos and confusion of a feeding frenzy, the Mimic Kraken may turn on a different prey species and devour them instead. They will engulf them in its tendrils, and use their razor lined suckers to rip them apart. A powerful beak will feast on the pieces, while the flailing victim is hidden from the others in a shower of tentacles. When everything calms down, the Mimic Kraken will toss away the remains and return to the roll as a normal member of the pod. Outside of food, the Mimic Kraken may target other species to collect special parts. Venomous creatures like jellyfish may be sucked up and stored in their special pouches. They do not intend to eat these creatures, but instead wield them as weapons if things get dicey. If a predator does decide to attack them, they can spit out a cloud of stinging tendrils to ward them off. In some cases, the Mimic Kraken can store prey that the other whales enjoy, but not because they want to share. Instead, they collect these tasty treats to use as bait, because there is another thing that makes up this species diet: the whales themselves. The Mimic Kraken doesn't just disguise itself as a whale for protection, it does so to get nice and close to their favorite prey. How can food run if they believe you are a trusted member of the family? By traveling and working with the pod, it gains their trust as well as the best seat from which to spy on its prey. They can see which members are the strongest, and which are the weakest. When is their defenses down, when do they drop their guard? Watching all this, they wait for the right moment to strike, which may require some encouragement on their part. When the timing is good, the male Mimic Kraken may try to lure away a smaller member of the pod, usually the young, old or sick. They may split off and use calls to encourage them to follow, or drop scent trails of tasty prey to make them think food is close by. If they can't lure a member away, then they may try to disorient the pod. During times of high tension, they may release a fake call of a predator or a threat to scare the pod and drive them apart. Panic may cause them to separate, dividing the strength and leaving the weak exposed. When their target is isolated, the Mimic Kraken strikes. With lightening speed and startling ferocity, it will launch itself at the victim and bind them with their hook-lined tentacles. Latching on tight, it will bite them with their beak, which contains a paralytic venom. The moment the poison is injected, the squid will use all its strength to pull its prey downward. The pod may try to regroup and retaliate, but the venom and powerful grip will already mean their family member's fate is sealed. Dragging the trapped victim down, the squid will use the rapid dive and the whales' need for air to keep them away. At a point, there will be no point in pursuing, and the pod will have to give up. The victim will drown in the squid's grip, as they are pulled away from air and the venom freezes their lungs. Pulled into the darkness, the Mimic Kraken will feast on the carcass and load up its pouches with as much as it can. They cannot hope to eat the whole thing themselves, but they will spend as much time as they can feeding off the body until something else drives them away. When the feast has ended, the male shall ascend once again and seek out another pod. Before emerging, though, it will alter its skin coloration to create a new set of fake scars and patches so that they are unrecognizable to any that once knew them. They can even change certain parts of their calls to sound slightly different, hopefully throwing off those who witnessed a previous deception. Once they have taken on a new persona, they seek out another pod and perhaps another victim.   So far I have mainly talked about the male Mimic Kraken, who blends in with the pods and uses this deception for both food and protection. What of the female, though? What does she get out of this ruse, and where is she? Another big difference between the sexes is that the female does not dwell where the males usually roam. The males stick close to surface waters and where other beaked whales live. The female, however, lives far down below, right on the ocean floor. If you want to talk deep sea leviathans, they are one of them. She spends most of her whole life down there in the darkness, living quite a different life than the male. While the males seek out pods and travel along with them on migrations and hunting, the female remains on the ocean floor doing very little in sakes of moving. She does not swim around freely, instead settling down in a place that they call home. This lair of theirs, though, is not what you are thinking. It isn't just some deep sea cave or a barren hole in the seafloor. Instead, it is more of a garden. On the ocean floor, the females tend to a special set up, watching over a special bounty. What crops they grow in this "garden" are not plants, but instead sea life, as the "soil" they use is whale carcasses. The territory of a female Mimic Kraken is crafted from the bodies of whales, and whatever is left behind when the scavengers have their fill. They collect these corpses and arrange them to create the fusion between a graveyard and a garden, and they sit in the center of it all. In this state, they barely move their bodies, instead letting their tentacles do all the work. Their many limbs will reach out and tend their gardens, arranging it just so and making sure everything is perfect. They are meticulously working on it in order to make the perfect feeding ground for scavengers, like isopods, worms and other invertebrates. These are the creatures that will still feed on a mostly cleaned corpse, picking away at what gristle remains. These critters are her "crop," as her setup attracts them from miles around. Since the female Mimic Kraken doesn't move a lot while dwelling in her garden, she doesn't burn up a lot of energy. With that, she can subsist off of small meals, like a bite of isopod or two. Every once in a while, she will nab one of the scavengers for a snack, harvesting from her plentiful bounty. These small fry will satiate her in this dormant state, allowing her to easily survive in the empty abyss. However, every garden needs some fresh soil, and these tiny meals will not always satisfy. What usually puts the female Mimic Kraken in an active state is the sound of prey passing overhead. They listen out for whale song and use that to determine if a pod or individual are drawing close to her domain. If things sound promising, she will begin to call out in return, mimicking the species and their calls. Like a siren song, the female Mimic Kraken seeks to lure them closer, especially if they are a lone traveler, which makes for easier prey. Judging by their calls, she can respond with tempting sounds, like that of a breeding female. If her ruse works, and the prey starts to turn her way, the female will rise from her dormant state and begin to move. She will slowly swim up to the surface to "greet" these creatures, continuing her calls to ensure they remain interested. Her body and skin will shift to match the look of another whale, though she does not always mimic the exact species. Female Mimic Krakens disguise themselves as baleen whales, even in front of different species. Since she is rising from darkness and is not looking for a long term "relationship" with this pod, the ruse does not need to be perfect. She just needs to keep them close until she can make her move. Due to her size, she can take down even bigger prey than the males, but the female still knows that a strike must be perfectly planned. A whole pod of giant beasts can still spell trouble for the female, and adults who are healthy and strong can put up a powerful fight. She will still target the weakest member, or look for one who is in a vulnerable state. Female Mimic Krakens are bolder in their attempts when the target is solo, as that means she doesn't have to worry about retaliation. Swimming upwards to visit these inquisitive whales, she will slowly aim herself at her intended target. As she grows close, suspicions may start to rise within the pod. The females do not put on perfect disguises, they just need to pass as legit long enough to get close. So when she draws near, her attack must be planned and ready. With a disorienting screech of mangled whale call, she will charge towards the pod, striking fear and confusion. In a flash, the female will snare their prey with her powerful tentacles and drag them down. With more bulk and strength then the male, she has an easier time wrangling the trapped creature, though that advantage may be lost if she tackles a hefty target. The female does possess venom like the male, but there is a slight issue with using this right off the bat. Since she is taking on bigger whales, their skin and blubber is much thicker. Her beak cannot easily reach the spots where the venom will work the best, as these thick layers serve to insulate from her poison. As a result, the female has to gnaw her way through the fat in order to reach the vulnerable tissues, which means the female needs time to properly deal the death blow. This makes it very important that the female picks the right target and ensures that the pod can't return the violence. With prey snagged, the female Mimic Kraken injects them and then drags them to a watery grave. Just like the male, all of her victims will die by drowning. With prize in tow, the female Mimic Kraken will bring it back to her garden, where she will feed upon the carcass for a good long while and use its pieces to decorate the lair. Whatever she cannot eat is added to the arrangement, drawing in more scavengers and additions to her crop. With this lasting feast, the female will return to her slower, inactive state, feeding and working on her territory until opportunity rises again. The corpse garden of a female Mimic Kraken appears to unique amongst the individuals, or so I am told. Obviously I can't swim down there myself to check, but many aquatic associates claim this is true. They have observed the arrangements of a bunch of these leviathans and have noted each has their own special touch. How they arrange bone and use the environment around them shows that each have their own preferences. Some like to keep the skeletons whole, while others enjoy mixing and matching the pieces. One illustration I saw had the female use ribs like a fence, jabbing them into the ground to make a pale wall of bone! There is question if these personal preferences have any actual use, or if the females just enjoy adding their own flair. Some say that these designs may be meant to encourage different scavengers, or separate them in a way that more can join the feast. By pulling the carcass into pieces, it means more critters can sit around the table, which means more food for her to choose from. There is no solid evidence for this as yet, and we may never really get it since observing these females in their natural home is quite difficult. Judging from tales and other illustrations, I think there may be a creativity behind these intimidating giants, as some patterns and design choices feel purely aesthetic. Arranging vertebrate in a giant, endless spiral? Not sure if that does anything, but boy does it look pretty! So with the male up above in the lighter waters and the females lurking far down below, how do these two meet up? It turns out that these two will only make contact in the breeding season, which has some interesting timing! They seem to get in the mood right around the time that other major whale species are giving birth! It makes sense why, but it is fascinating that this species has timed things out as such! If you don't realize why this is works well in their favor, the whole birthing process for whales is quite taxing and it results in a calf that is quite vulnerable. This means that the Mimic Krakens are most active right as the pods are at their weakest, which is important for this special occasion. When the season kicks in, the males will take on a different attitude. Instead of meekly following along with a pod, they become bolder and seek to alter the course of this traveling group. They will use calls and lures to try and redirect their path, taking a slightly different route than usual. They aren't trying to radically divert the pod, but instead trying to nudge them a bit so that their path goes right above the territory of a breeding female. This tactic is used by males already integrated with a pod, but some males may be swimming solo. In this case, some lonely males have been observed targeting other solo whales, even ones that are larger than they can handle! Researchers have seen several instances where a male Mimic Kraken will come in contact with a massive baleen whale even though they cannot visually mimic them perfectly! Instead, they rely heavily on their calls, hoping that they sound like the real deal. They swim just out of view so that the target cannot get a close look, and instead must go off the song it hears. It has been noted that many of these lone whales they target seem to be sick or lost, falling into a state of vulnerability that the male easily notices. With such a prime target, the male does his best to draw them towards the range of a breeding female, using lures of tasty smells and enticing songs to string them along. In some cases where the males struggle to find viable prey, they may locate an already dead whale and try to haul the carcass to female territory! Regardless if it is a whole pod or a single victim, the males want to bring them above one of these gardens, and that is when the ritual begins. Using a strange alteration of normal whale song, the males seem to encode some kind of signal in their calls that the females recognize. It still sounds like whale song, but there are certain inflections and pitches they use to tell the female that there is a suitor amongst the ranks. Think of it like when your partner sings that one song over and over again, and how you would be able to pick them out from a group singing that same song. They don't sing it perfectly, and may add their own touches to it, so you would know it was them singing in a heartbeat. When the female hears the male's call,  she will begin her ascension. This is when the two will meet, and it will be over dinner! With the massive female drawing close, the male will mark the target for her. He will latch onto the chosen victim and begin to tear and gnaw at them. Against a hefty adult whale, the assault can seem futile for the smaller male, but they will totally attack much bigger prey during this special moment. It is because he is aware that he is not the one making the kill. The male is instead making the victim bleed, using the blood to draw the female in and focus her attack. With blood in the water and the male's song drawing her in, she will burst from the depths and grab hold of this wounded offering. When the female lunges, the male is quick to release, and not just because he chivalrous! When put into a feeding state, the bigger female doesn't think about much else than food, and that includes the male that bought dinner. Her attack is a brutal one, ramming into the target and seizing them in a powerful grip. If the male does not get out of the way, than he may be pinned to the whale and crushed in her grip. He bolts so that he doesn't become a part of the meal! With her tentacles latched on tight, she will focus entirely on her struggling victim, which means the male can make his move! The thing is, females can be aggressive and also picky about their suitors, which can result in rejection at best or violence at worst. If a female is hungry, than the odds are even worse for the males, as she may decide they can serve as the main course if the pickings are meager. By luring the female into a hunt and giving her an opponent that occupies her attention and tentacles, the males can swoop in and begin courtship. They will latch onto her as she hauls the bleeding whale away, riding along as she returns to the abyss. When she returns to her garden, the ritual can happen and mating can occur. The prey is an offering, and the bigger they are the better the male has it in hopes of mating. If all goes well, the deed will be done and the two shall feed. The male will gorge himself on the carcass and then return back to the surface. The female will remain down below, eventually laying thousands of eggs in her garden, where she will carefully watch over them. It is said that this is when their lairs are at their most magnificent, as the clusters are attached to bones and ornaments throughout the garden, almost looking like flowers! She will guard them and eat any scavengers that may try to take a bite. In time, the young will hatch and feed upon the carcasses and crop. Once full, they vanish into the dark, hopefully living long enough to become such giants. Unfortunately, not many reach this adult stage, but that is why they lay so many! Only a handful will grow to such size, but they are enough to ensure the species continues on for quite some time! Mimic Krakens are fascinating creatures and certainly are magnificent to behold. I have only seen glimpses of males in the wild, and have gained most of my knowledge from books, fellow researchers or preserved specimens. Their unique style of hunting and intimidating prey make them well known in seafaring culture, though you can imagine what kind of image sailors give them. Mimic Krakens are one of those species that are accused of being horrible sea monsters, beasts that attack ships and drag them down below. The thing is, Mimic Krakens are not aggressive towards boats or human-sized creatures. The males are the ones you will encounter while sailing, and they have no interest in such a target. They want fish and whales, not some scrawny sailor or wooden hull. The females dwell down at the bottom, far from any ship or barge. So if they pay no mind to boats, then why the stories? Well, if you pay close attention to the speakers of these tales and the victims within it, you will notice that they are all whalers. Folk who also hunt these giant creatures, which is where these "attacks" occur. In some cases, whalers will sink their harpoons into what they think is a beaked whale, which turns out to be a male Mimic Kraken. If they are not careful and get too close, the wounded animal will break its disguise and lash out with razor tentacles. Smaller whaleboats moving in to claim the kill will be attacked in the pained frenzy, which can result in men being seized and pulled overboard. If things get bad enough, these smaller craft can be completely flipped, throwing everyone into the violent sea. When attacked and trapped like this, the male Mimic Squid will indeed be aggressive, but do realize why it came to this. If someone caught you in a bear trap, I think you may not be up for pleasantries during the ordeal! Of course damages and death can come from these interactions, which leads to some of these tales. However, there are stories that have massive squids attacking great ships, and the males aren't big enough to go after such large vessels. This is where the females come in but, once again, these "attacks" are not without reason.   Whenever I hear tales where female Mimic Krakens attack, I immediately look into what time of year they took place. Most of the time, folk fail to mention it, but whenever I do get a confirmation it is always during the Mimic Kraken breeding season. The other unifying detail in all these stories is that these attacks occur when whalers have got a hold of their prey. With harpoons stuck in deep and blood pumping into the ocean, the struggling victim may catch the interest of another hunter. If fate has caused these whalers to play their game near female Mimic Kraken territory, than they could accidentally get her attention. With the taste of blood and the sound of injured prey, the female may mistake it for the actions of a male. She will wait for his call, but hunger will eventually win out. With all this blood and no offer for dinner, what is she to do? Obviously go up and see what is taking so long! She will rise up and get caught in this frantic battle. With the ocean filled with blood and the actions of vulnerable prey hitting all the right sensors, the female will be switched into attack mode. She will go after the caught whale, or she could get mistaken in the chaos. In the frenzy of blood and screaming, the hull of a whaling ship may look like the body of potential prey and the female could think they are the source of the blood. Do remember that whaling ships are not the cleanest things, which means if they have caught prey before hand, they could totally be spilling blood into the water. A ship that bleeds! It must be a whale! So the female will latch onto the ship by mistake and begin her attack. Obviously the whalers aboard will not see this coming, and will lose their minds when tentacles burst from the ocean and begin tearing apart their ship! Their panicked actions will agitate her further, especially when they start hacking away at her tentacles. She will fight back in return, causing more chaos and confusion. The attack will eventually break off, as she realizes the thing she is biting isn't flesh, but the impression given will stick with these sailors forever. Even if she hits the whale first, the sight of a massive squid tearing at your prize and pulling you along for the ride is quite something! Like before, though, they do not do this out of aggression, just confusion. Though I will agree it probably is pretty terrifying when one is holding your ship fast! I would say it would be incredible to witness, but A) I don't want people or animals harmed and B) seawater can spell certain death for me if I can't wash it out of my system fast enough, so being aboard a besieged vessel is probably not healthy. Guess I will stick to admiring illustrations! Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian ---------------------------------------------------- A concept brainstormed with Lediblock2 , talking about some different kind of mimics. Started with mimicking sounds, which naturally led us to whales and this wonderful concept. Apologies for it taking so long for me to actually draw them. I can be reeeeaaally slow with stuff at times! And also it may be because I knew this description was going to take a while to write!

[celestial--abyss]

✧ wayfarer .

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a shipwrecked cruise. a mysterious portal. if you woke up in teyvat, what would you do?

1 . a new world.,

↬ by mod kai

1.9k words || mild swearing

a/n ; did i write just a bit too much for this? perhaps. in my defence, we have a lot to cover. enjoy :D

when i opened my eyes, the storm had dissapated. i couldn’t tell much more than that between the blurriness of the world around me and the pounding in my head, threatening to split my skull in half. i heard the sounds of the ship around me, with the crewmates bustling about, doing whatever they did. but that couldn’t be right- the ship had crashed. so where were we?

i tried to sit up, only now noticing the blanket covering my slumped figure, before the nausea overwhelmed me and i was forced to recline against what i assumed was the edge of the ship. 

“oh, one of em’s awake,” i heard someone say, and in a moment several humanoid shadows made their way towards us. “hey, don’t sit up- someone call the captain, they’re awake!”

i heard someone run off as the first person started barking orders at people. i would’ve listened more, but the rocking of the ship wasn’t doing anything for my nausea, and i was using most of my energy to stop myself from vomiting on myself. there was more commotion and, if i’d been paying attention, i might have noticed the silouhette of a tall, eyepatched woman standing over us, but i had already closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness. 

the next time i woke up, i felt significantly better. this time i was in a cabin, sitting in a corner, leant against a surprisingly comfortable sack. around me were hammocks and mats, and i realised this was probably where the crew slept. kind of old fashioned, but-

“hey, you’re awake again. come on, the captain wants to see you.” a sailor called out to me from the entrance.

i could only stare at him dumbly. the captain? the captain of the cruise? it had definitely crashed, i was sure of that. maybe i’d been rescued by some other ship? but this place looked really outdated, so what was going on here?

“hello? did you faint again?” i heard him approaching me.

“oh, um. sorry, no.” i said, my voice weak and hoarse. i tried to stand up, but the action made my head spin. in a second, he materialised to my side, helping me stand. together, we slowly lumbered our way to the deck, stopping at an ornate door.

“the captain wants to see you,” he repeated. “your friend’s inside, too.”

river, i realised with a jolt. i’d completely forgotten about him; was he alright? i felt guilt twist my stomach into an even tighter knot than before. i wasn’t sure what i’d do if they’d... well. probably best not to think about that.

the sailor was looking at me, confused as to why i was just standing there. with a deep breath, i stepped forwards and pushed open the door.

the first thing that caught my eye was the woman sat behind the desk, an eyepatch over her eye and a massive greatsword in her hand. the next thing was my cousin, looking worse for wear but generally intact. they straightened up when they saw me, looking as surprised as i felt.

“ah, there you are. i was beginning to think you would never show up,” said the woman, and she gestured for me to sit. “here, have some food. you’ll need some strength.”

a part of me wanted to question what for, but my rumbling stomach yelled at that part to shut up and accept the bread. 

i accepted the bread.

i could tell river wanted to say something, but neither of us were entirely sure what was going on, or who this woman was. it was best to not reveal too much to this stranger, so we ate in tense silence. once we were done, the woman leaned back, observing us.

“so what exactly happened?” the two of us shared a glance, but neither of us responded. “two random kids stranded in the middle of the sea... not exactly a regular sight. you’re on my ship now, so you’re my responsibility- it would be wise to tell me the truth.”

i turned to face river, hoping he’d explain for us. thankfully, he did, starting to tell the apparently-captain about the storm, and the shipwreck, and the lifeboat. “could you radio, like, the coast guard or someone? we just wanna get home and find our family,” he said at last, a pleading tone creeping into his voice.

“radio the coast guard?” the captain sounded unimpressed.

“yeah, maybe they could tell us what happened to the ship,” i chimed in. 

“listen, kid, i don’t know what you’re talking about. do you mean the port authority? we’re headed to liyue now, so i can take you to speak with them.” she leaned in, looking more interested than before. “where are you from, anyway? you look like you’re from sumeru, but your clothes look like something from fontaine.”

i stared at her blankly. “we’re from asia.”

there was a moment of uncomfortable silence, in which i mentally grappled with the fact that our saviour might be racist. 

then something clicked in her eye. “oh, i see. you’re outlanders, aren’t you?”

internally, i sighed. oh boy.

“what?” river asked, likely on a similar train of thought.

“as in, you aren’t from teyvat.” i mean, she wasn’t wrong there. in fact, i had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. “you mentioned some sort of blue light? i’ve heard stories of people seeing things like that. when they got too close, it sucked them in, kind of like a whirlpool.” her gaze intensified. “it sucked them into other worlds.”

river leaned back in his chair. “that... that explains things.” i could hear the gears turning in his head, but i was quicker to doubt. 

“so you’re saying we got sucked into a magic portal and fell into the past, or something?”

the captain shook her head. “not necessarily. i don’t know where you’re from, but if you don’t even know what teyvat is, it must be very, very different from here. besides, there aren’t many other explanations.”

my best explanation for this was that i had hit my head and was now in a coma-induced hallucination, but i supposed it was best to not mention that. besides, a portal might explain the fact that we were in a completely different place, with really weird people who carried weaponry around and looked like pirates. i wasn’t about to accept such an outlandish theory completely, but there was no point in arguing. besides, maybe river was right and magic was real. after today, anything could be possible.

“either way, chances are that you two are outlanders. i’ll bring you to liyue so you can get your bearings, but until then you’ll be treated as part of the crew.” she suddenly grinned, and i almost forgot how intimidating she’d been just a few seconds before. “i’m captain beidou. welcome to the crux!”

-

the first few days on the crux were just bedrest, but after that, the crew began to show us the ropes of running a massive ship like this one. literally. they spent most of their time showing us how to tie various knots. beidou would supervise us whenever she could, occasionally giving us pointers or laughing at our incredibly dramatic mistakes.

we were surprisingly good at the knots and navigating with the stars, but when they began teaching us the basics of medicine i immediately decided that i would never become a doctor. there were a lot of herbs and ointments with fancy names and convoluted mixing procedures, and half the time i had no clue what was going on. river, on the other hand, was thriving. they seemed very intrigued by the idea of healing, and would powder butterfly wings and de-leaf mint with a fascination that escaped me entirely. 

our score evened when we moved onto combat, however. beidou taught us this personally, since she was apparently good with weapons. when she toted a massive claymore over her shoulder like it was nothing, i noted that this was very likely true. she tried to get us on the claymore for some unknown reason, she was sorely disappointed by our physical weakness. i couldn’t even lift it over a centimeter off the ground, and watching river i was pretty sure his arms were about to break. together, we managed the amazing feat of budging it slightly to the left. after a reconsideration, beidou handed us both spears (she called them polearms, but they were pretty much spears) and we actually began our training. 

i was good with the polearm- swishing it around in the basic drills beidou showed us was easy enough. river, on the other hand- their arms were shaking like leaves, and they jumped every time the spearpoint even remotely pointed towards a person. they tried their best, but they never really took to it. 

they weren’t a fan of fishing, either. the marine biologist in them wouldn’t allow them to bring harm to a fish like that. i saw where they were coming from, but i also didn’t want to refuse beidou, since she could probably use us as fishbait. she wouldn’t, but she could. besides, i was curious. 

river was standing a good distance away from beidou and i as beidou handed me the fishing rod.“i humbly boycott this.”

“i humbly don’t,” i gave them my best annoying little sister smile as i cast the line.

i managed to catch a pretty big fish, but after i immediately let it go at river’s request, it was decided that we should maybe do something else instead of wasting all their bait. we were happy to comply. 

beidou seemed pretty fond of us. the entire crew ate together, and beidou would sit near us, making sure we were comfortable. at training, she, of course, kicked our asses, but her friendly manner and general niceness made it surprisingly fun. she was a good teacher, and we grasped the basics of combat and nautical navigation rather quickly. 

the two weeks we were on the crux went by in a flash, and soon we could see land in the horizon. “liyue,” beidou told us. “when we get there, we’ll probably have to tell the port authorities about you. people might not take too kindly to a couple of random outlanders, so if anyone asks just tell them you’re scholars from sumeru who got shipwrecked in a storm.”

“what if they know there wasn’t a storm?” river asked. 

beidou was dismissive. “you’d be surprised at how often random storms happen. trust me, they won’t say a thing.”

we never got a chance to use our cover story. as we docked the ship at liyue harbour, river and i admiring the colourful city bustling with people, beidou groaned. “ugh, i think i can see one of the qixing’s secretaries. it’s probably ningguang again, damn.”

“who’s ningguang?“ i asked.

beidou sighed. “she’s a part of the the liyue qixing- that’s the group of people who oversee affairs in liyue. she’s probably gonna get on my ass about my taxes.”

“did you do your taxes?” river asked.

“irrelevent.”

it didn’t appear to be irrelevant, since as soon as we got off the ship, someone who i assumed to be the secretary approached us. “captain beidou, lady ningguang wishes to see you.”

beidou crossed her arms. “and why is that?”

the secretary gave her a look that led me to believe this had happened several times before. “i think you know why.”

beidou’s arms dropped defeatedly to her sides, and she turned to look at us. “i’ll be back in a minute, i just have to deal with this. remember what i told you before?”

we nodded our affirmation, and she grinned. “alright, then you’re set. i’ll come and get you, just stay put.”

[mobius-m-mobius]

U know thinking about Mobius who’s all about work and tva and catching variants and eating bland salad is just sad and then his whole life changes bc of loki. Mobius’ very structured very disciplined routine has been shaken to the core and he probably never gets flirted with or be the centre of someone’s attention that doesn’t require his expertise. So when Loki flirts and courts his attentions just bc he’s bored, Mobius doesn’t know how to react, i.e the fixing mobius’ tie scene and u can look how he tries not to REACT but you can see a flicker of curiosity of what is this intimacy? bc he never has that with ravonna and he’s intrigues now for more hence why when loki goes off with sylvie, mobius gets all jealous; a feeling with which he probably never experiences before and thus why it’s funny for us to watch him just let loose and loki who is very much intimate with envy and jealousy KNOWS that mobius is jealous as he tries to deny the whole thing like he would a lover like THERES NOTHING GOIN ON I ONLY LOVE U STOP so yes my point is that, mobius’ mundane little life just gets flipped all over bc of loki and it’s so good

Yes yes yessssss exactly this! Thank you for the perfect summary of how much Mobius deserves someone like Loki in his life 😭💖

Idk if the show really ever gives you the chance to let it sink in that Mobius has been living this routine for EONS and at the TVA even that probably feels stretched beyond comprehension. Endless days after days with reading his jet ski magazine being the only thing to look forward to until Loki comes along 😔

(What's worse is that before he got taken by the TVA he likely already had a full career and was finally ready to enjoy time for himself ;;;;;)

And his reactions to Loki are exactly what make their relationship so intriguing, they each become incredibly obvious about what they're feeling for the other which is so out of sorts for their character before meeting? Loki would've seen that as a weakness in himself and as lead analyst Mobius wouldn't have ever lost his temper, much less because of jealously 👀

Don't think I ever stop thinking about the way he LEANS IN at first when Loki reaches for his tie because that's in my mind every single day but every one of their cafeteria scenes (episode 2, my beloved) are probably my favorite of any ship I've ever had. I mean look at this

He was angry at Loki! Frustrated and annoyed and disappointed over the way he acted during their last mission and didn't hesitate to let him know exactly that but all of a sudden Loki not only proves he listened and did the work but now he's putting on this whole show and how many times do you think anyone's sat with Mobius for lunch and made him laugh like that? They're just these massive dorks with love for each other written all over their faces 🥰

[human-do-a-worm]

Ramblings of an Old Soldier Part 1/?

The young Unkall child approached the scruffy looking Terran sitting outside the library reading from a data tablet.

“Hey, you’re a Terran, aren’t you”

“Sure am, kid.“

“I have a report on Terran history, do you know any good events I could use?”

“Maybe, but you’d just be listening to an old soldier ranting about the things he’s seen.”

“I wouldn’t mind listening if you have the time to talk, sir.”

“Alright then, I’ll tell you the story from my most important battle in the Terran-Vrumoid war.”

“Would you mind if I record it? I might need to go back over some details once I get to writing my paper.”

“Not at all kid, now sit back and get comfy, ‘cause this story’s a long one.”

“This story comes from a time when hope was lost. When the Vrumoids threatened to wipe out humanity, as impossible as that seems now. It was over 20 cycles ago that humanity was pushed back to their home system. Everyone knew that the crafty Terrans would become even more determined now, and so the Vrumoids sent the largest fleet they had ever assembled. Unfortunately for them, they had never truly seen humanity at its darkest times, and simply expected the Terrans to be a bit stronger. They were wrong.”

“The Vrumoids had studied the task ahead of them well, and were considering places to launch their first strike on the Terran home system. Europa held no direct strategic importance, it could simply be blockaded. Venus and Mercury would prove too difficult, as the fleet would have to pass beyond Terra itself to even get in striking distance. Uranus and its moons were too sparsely populated to mount an effective civilian resistance, and held nothing but a communications pose which could be simply destroyed with an orbital strike. Eventually, the Vrumoid armada settled on Mars. It had a decent military presence, as well as a significant civilian population. An attack there would surely force the Terrans to surrencer. The planet was well terraformed, and would prove to be a fine colony to the ever growing empire.”

“Unfortunately for them however, they were not fast enough to block the warnings from Uranus, and the people knew what lay ahead. All children and anyone who would not fight if need be was evacuated to Terra. Those who could manned the dense turrets or took to the skies, those who couldn’t prepared the planet for total war. The final preparations made was the commandeering of all PA and speaker systems on the planet to be controlled from the central command bunker hundreds of meters under the ground. With that completed, the bunker doors were sealed from the inside, and reinforced with sandbags and debris at every doorway. Mars was as prepared as it could be.”

“When the Vrumoid armada entered orbit, they were immediately set upon by ships of all sizes; bombers, fighters, interceptors, frigates, light cruisers, and even civilian ships, filled with boarding parties hoping to enter through a gash in a Vrumoid ship. Though ultimately a failure at destroying the fleet, those brave souls accomplished their task, and forced their enemy to descend on to the surface. The fighting was fierce. Farmers mined their fields, factory workers planted explosive charges on their warehouses, and each city had to be taken building by building, room by room. This was not a matter of win or lose, the Terrans had already known that victory was not likely. This was to make the Vrumoids pay for every inch of ground with blood, and lots of it.”

“For the first two months, the battle seemed to be a stalemate, until a clever group of Vrumoid engineers figured out how to remove some of the smaller guns from their ships and mount them to vehicles. Then the tide began to shift. First one city fell, then another, and another after that. Seeing no more need to keep their ships docked on the planet, the fleet command pulled their ships into orbit once more.”

“Eventually, the Terrans had but one stronghold left; the citadel of steel. A massive structure with anti-aircraft High Energy Laser cannons mounted atop it, and guns at every possible avenue of approach. As the now aptly named “Terra’s Doom” cannons were brought to bear on the fortress, the planet suddenly came alive. All across the planet, a single voice could be heard.”

“People of Mars. The enemy has pushed us back to the final bastion of safety on this planet. We are now forced to show our hand. Strike fierce brothers and sinister. Fight for your species, for your friends, for your family. Fight with no mercy, no respite, and no weakness. Now is our chance to show them one last display of what it means to be human. Let the sound of glorious battle fill your hearts, and don’t let our enemies rest for even a second.”

“With that, suddenly, deafening music poured across the planet. It was simple, composed of only a few instruments and played by those of talent among the commanders who were of best use at the command screen rather than on the front lines, but with each power filled note, a city on the planet came to life, from the buildings where the Vrumoid army had not bothered to check the dead, or not bothered to search every building. In but a few measures, the Vrumoid fleet command was in awe, as all across the planet, thousands of units went silent. Finally, the song ended, and Fleet command breathed a sigh of relief, but as quickly as the last song ended, another soon started.”

“Brothers, sisters, friends one and all”

“Come, gather round, and heed my call”

“Our foes draw closer, but hope is not lost”

“We’ll hold this red rock no matter the cost” “They think themselves mighty, they think themselves strong”

“But they’ll not be thinking that way for too long”

“For our people have rallied, together we fight”

“And we will not softly fade into the night” “For our cities may fall, and our walls they may rend”

“But my friends we are very far off from the end.”

“With those words echoing in their hearts, the doors of the citadel fell into their emergency holds, dropping out of the way. Thousands of Terrans, on vehicles from armored transports and tanks, to motorcycles charged the last Vrumoid battalion on the planet. The charging Terrans all knew that this was their chance. This was their final opportunity to make the Vrumoids regret ever attacking humanity. The stampede split neatly into two, surrounding the Vrumoid soldiers. No matter how many they picked off from the horde, it was not enough.”

“The first to strike were the armored vehicles designed for military use. Though they could not hope to penetrate the thick armor of their opponents, they targeted their wheels and treads, forcing the Vrumoids to simply sit and wait for what was to come, though they wouldn't have to wait very long. The riders broke off from the circling swarm, and after forming a smaller circle inside the perimeter, charged in a single line straight towards the three Terra’s Doom tanks. As the riders drew closer, the Vrumoids could clearly see that these riders were charging them with what appeared to be nothing more than simple spears. It wasn’t until the first rider drew near and the tank shook did the crew inside realise that they were doomed. Those were not spears, they were pole mines, and each one was slowly but surely chipping away at a piece of their hull.”

“The riders then finished their assault, and retreated back to the safety of the horde, which then quickly dispersed. Thinking this to be the end of the attack, the crew laughed. One of them got out of their Terra’s Doom and looked at the citadel, before quickly scuttling back inside. From the gate of the citadel came a loud rumbling. When the others looked to see what frightened their comrade, they all panicked. Four large tanks came from the gates, carrying on top of them the HEL cannons formerly mounted on top of the citadel. One by one, the HEL cannons powered up, and one by one, the Terra’s Doom tanks were destroyed.”

“Shocked by how quickly what was shaping up to be a pyrrhic victory became an even costlier defeat, the remaining Vrumoid fleet jumped the system and headed home. And that was how the war shifted, from a simple matter of planting a small fleet on a planet and killing anyone who resisted, to getting as far away from Terrans as the Vrumoids could manage.”

“Well, I think I’ve talked enough for one day. See if you can get what you need out of what I’ve said. If you can’t then just come on by the same time tomorrow, I usually come out here to relax and read the news from home.”

“Thanks for helping me out mister.”

“Don’t worry about it kid, be safe.”

With that, the Unkall child went home to begin his work.

[zellerysworld]

hii! can I request levihan headcanons? loved the vets trio one,, thank youu♥️

Levihan Headcanons

[A/n: Hi, Thank you for being my first requester! I’m a huge fan of Levihan myself and I’m drafting a fanfiction for them. I really hope you like my headcanons about the ship! Thank you :) ]

If you’d like to see more of my content, my inbox is open for fanfic commissions and headcanon commissions. I love taking request so request whatever you’d like!

Contains Sexual themes.

Pictures not edited by me. Credit to the owners.

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Levi Ackerman

Levi fucking a d o r e s Hanji.

Like he sits there and calls her names like shitty glasses and four eyes, but in reality he is screaming on the inside because he loves her eyes.

One time she didn’t wear her glasses at night and ran into a door. Levi showed his soft side for like 5 minutes because he actually got scared she hurt her head when she was just laughing about it

Usually when in public and she hurts herself, he acts unfazed. But in private he turns into a little mom-

But 9/10 when she actually does something stupid as fuck he seriously isn’t fazed anymore

When they take showers together, he really likes to wash her hair. He claims it’s satisfying because her hair is so soft.

Levi and her don’t sleep together much because they are always super busy, but when they do, Levi is a l w a y s the little spoon

But that’s okay because hange doesn’t mind being big spoon

One day he told her if she didn’t brush her teeth then he would never kiss her again and she got really upsetti spaghetti

But she did it anyways-

These guys FUCK LIKE RABBITS- like when I say they don’t stop; they just d o n t.

Like for some reason when they are together, it can go on for ages and they both still have fun

I mean yes they climax multiple times but these dudes just l o v e to fuck on another level that’s seriously scary

Levi lives for the fact Hanji is a switch-

One time Hanji slipped some weak whiskey into his tea, and Levi didn’t notice because he was too tired. He ended up plastered because he’s such a lightweight and she had to take care of him for the rest of the night

When they both get a day off together, they like to go for walks.

Hanji talks about Titans the entire time and Levi just sighs and listens

He doesn’t have much to talk about so he enjoys listening to her ramble forever.

Levi really appreciates the fact that Hanji is super intelligent. He himself isn’t too academically smart so being with someone who is that way is very refreshing to him.

He actually never dated anyone until meeting Hanji

Sometimes he fantasizes about marrying her to help him fall asleep/deal with his insomnia

When he sleeps with her, he sleeps like a rock and doesn’t get nightmares

He has definitely been cradled before by Hanji from having PTSD attacks

Hanji tries to make him tea but it never comes out good.

He still drinks it and pretends it’s the best tea he’s ever had-

But usually they are dead honest with each other. Hurting each other’s feelings in nearly impossible because they are both super sarcastic

Now that I think about it, their flirting would be through sarcasm

Loves to dance with Hanji to Classical music.

Levi relies on Hanji to spill tea about the drama going on with the kids in the survey corps

It’s literally how he knows everything about them- I mean yes he’s very intelligent in the matter of reading people but he’s a captain, he’s too busy to focus on them 24/7

But Hanji happens to figure out everything and blabber it all to him so it’s a win/win situation-

_________________________________

Hanji Zoë

Dear god does Hanji love this man

She thinks she started to fall for him when he walked away from her when she started to talk about Titans.

Why that of all things? Apparently to her that meant she got to “chase her prey”

I mean Hanji is slightly insane so it makes sense to me

anYWHO- Hanji has been through really bad relationships in her past so she was scared of falling for Levi

But Levi treats her really well in bed and out ;)

She actually trusts Levi more than anyone

Hanji really likes to message his hands for some reason

She claims they are soft like baby hands

Levi gets really annoyed when she says that-

One time she brought Levi breakfast in bed on his first day off in over a month and it made him almost cry

Like he was so happy that she did that-

Hanji is actually bad at cooking but she tries super hard. Levi knows this so he eats her food no matter how bad the taste is

Honestly they were a match made in heaven because of the fact he grew up in the underground so therefore he can stomach anything and everything with an unphased look. Including hanjis food

She has fantasized about Levi being a Titan shifter and wOW

Some nights Hanji cries because she constantly thinks and overthinks things like if Levi gets eaten

But Levi always finds her when she does cry (she goes and hides in a secret place like a closet) and holds her

So yes, he has held a crying Hanji in his lap while sitting in a closet

She tries to hide when she cries because she thinks if Levi sees she has a weak side then he won’t love her anymore like her ex’s did

Poor baby 🥺

But Levi comforts her nonetheless because of the times she has been there to comfort him

Her favorite drink is when Levi makes her Tea and puts a spoonful of honey in it.

There was a time when they both got sick and they had to take care of each other

When on her period and cramps are worse than usual, she forces Levi to carry her around like a kid

Levi goes out to the market and tries to find carrot cake for her before she even ask for it because he knows exactly what she likes.

As a prank she bought Levi the most expensive and nicest of cleaning supplies for his birthday...

But he didn’t think it was a prank and actually loved the gift-

She ended up pretending that it wasn’t a prank and saving his actual gift for some other time

Has a tiny plant growing in her office that she named after him

Levi doesn’t like that she named her plant after him and gets frustrated about it

So instead she pokes jabs at his name by calling the plant tiny-

Everytime they brawl/train together, after a few minutes of going back and forth she does some dirty trick to make him lose attention and it works

Hanji usually ends up on top but he’s starting to get used to her tricks now

But it always ends with them having a massive make out session so-

She actually taught Levi how to slow dance

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Okay that’s all. I hope you liked it!