#serena captain of the pirate kids

[calam1typann3]

CRAIG OF THE CREEK POPPED OFF WITH ANOTHER CHARACTER DESIGN WHO COULDA GUESSED

[iverna]

Given The Choice (30/?)

… in which life on Ria’s ship brings new challenges, and Emma and Killian help each other overcome them; meanwhile, Snow struggles to keep everyone working together on the same side.

~ 10,200 words | read on ao3

Post-Neverland AU where Pan did not escape Pandora’s Box and Emma tries to come to grips with her strange new life featuring pirates, parents, and flying monkeys. Catch up here, or on ao3!

Killian knows the Serena Hawk, though he’s never been aboard. She’s a brigantine, and though she looks rather more beat-down than the Jolly Roger, he knows better than to underestimate her.

Henry gives the ship a critical once-over, then says, “Now I know what you mean about looking after your ship, Killian.”

“Don’t let the captain hear you say that, kid,” Emma says, giving him a little nudge. “Don’t think that’d go over well.”

“No indeed.” Killian smirks. “And don’t underestimate the Hawk. She may not look it, but she’s likely the fastest ship on these seas.”

“Can she make the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs?” Henry says.

“What?”

Emma narrows her eyes at the boy. “Are you quoting Star Wars again?”

Henry grins.

Killian doesn’t have time to ask what Star Wars is, because Ria appears to welcome them aboard—or rather, to keep an eye on them as they enter her ship.

“This is my quartermaster,” Ria says, indicating the man at her side. “Wesley Carswell.”

Carswell is tall and broad-shouldered, with fair, sun-bleached curls and a bright, charming smile. He turns the latter on Emma. “Not to mention the best-looking sailor around. She always forgets to mention that.”

Emma returns the smile. “Maybe she doesn’t like stating the obvious?”

His grin widens. “Oh, I like you already.”

Killian manages not to roll his eyes nor say any of the comments that come to mind as Carswell greets Henry and him in turn.

Then comes the part he’s been dreading: Ria holds out her hand for his weapons. One by one, Killian unbuckles his sword belt, his gun belt, the holster under his arm. He pulls the daggers from their sheaths inside his tunic, the knife from his boot, the trio of smaller knives from his other boot. After he’s handed all of them to the quartermaster, he glances back at Ria.

She looks expectant, and immoveable. His gut twists, just like it did yesterday evening when he agreed to this deal. But he has no choice, not unless he wants to stay behind—and that’s not an option.

He takes hold of his hook, twists and presses inward, and pulls it free of the brace. Ria takes it from him, and he manages to keep his smirk in place, as if it’s a ridiculous formality. “Will that do?”

She shrugs, tucking the hook into a pocket of her coat. “Welcome aboard.”

He doesn’t expect that the Hawk has passenger quarters, but he’s only half-right. Off the captain’s quarters is a small cabin that he’s sure usually belongs to members of the crew, a space that must have been converted from its original purpose. The “windows”, he can’t help noticing, are cannon ports.

The quartermaster stands back and gestures them in. If he’s annoyed at losing his cabin—and Killian is willing to bet he usually sleeps in here—he doesn’t show it.

“Here we are,” he says, with a slight bow for Emma. “It probably isn’t what you’re used to, milady, but it’s what we’ve got.”

“Oh.” Emma shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

There is barely enough room for the three hammocks that have been strung up, but Killian concurs with Emma. It’s fine. It’s a lot better than he expected, in fact. Still...

“I can see about staying in the crew quarters,” he says, once Carswell has left them to make themselves at home.

Emma frowns. “Why?”

He frowns back. “To give you and the boy some privacy.”

She doesn’t even hesitate before she shakes her head. “I think we should stay together.”

That’s what Killian wants, if he’s honest. He’s been bracing himself for weeks of sleeping in a hammock on the gun deck or perhaps even further down in the hold. Among strangers, in the dark. It’s not that he dreaded it—he’s a grown man now, a captain himself, and those days are long behind him—but he can’t deny that he’d like to avoid it. On some deep-down level, though, the part of himself that he still thinks of as decent is protesting. “It’s hardly proper.”

“Proper?” Emma stares at him as if she’s never seen him before. “You’re worried about what’s proper?”

Henry frowns. “We all stayed in the same room before. And didn’t you guys all share a camp in Neverland?”

Killian and Emma look at each other, and there’s a moment, just the briefest moment, where he knows their minds both went to the same place. The same memory. Her hand on his collar, her lips on his, his heart pounding... and that incredible, soul-lightening relief and triumph as he realised that he could still feel all of that, he could still be that man, he still had a chance after all.

The memory is probably a little different for Emma. He really wants to ask her about it. Someday, he reminds himself. Now is not the time.

“That was different,” he says, trying for a light tone. “Emma wasn’t married in Neverland, for one thing.”

Henry makes a face. So does Emma. Killian grins. “But if you don’t mind, then by all means, let’s stay together. I do prefer your company.”

Emma tries to hide her smile at that. Henry beams at him.

 *  *  *

 As the Serena Hawk leaves the port of Azar behind and heads out into the choppy ocean, Emma finds that her gut is twisting. At first, she puts it down to nerves, but the twisting gets worse, and her hands feel clammy, and the pastries she had for breakfast no longer seem nearly as appetising.

Killian is not officially confined to the cabin, but Ria has made it clear that she wants him to stay there as much as possible. Henry, by contrast, is already making friends with the crew, who don’t seem to mind him exploring the ship and asking questions. Emma wanted to join him once she settled in, but moving makes her stomach lurch, and she’s started to feel nauseous. She sits down on the bare wood of the cabin floor instead, her back to the hull, and presses her hand to her forehead.

“Are you all right?” Killian asks, pausing in the act of rooting through the bag he brought to peer over at her. “You’re looking rather green.”

“Just feeling a bit sick,” Emma admits. “Must be something I ate.”

He frowns. “Do you feel lightheaded? Or clammy, perhaps?”

“Yeah,” she admits. “Both of those.”

“And it came on after we set sail, didn’t it?” he asks. “I think perhaps you’re seasick, love.”

She shakes her head, and regrets it immediately as the cabin starts to spin around her. She swallows, determined not to throw up. “I was never seasick before.”

“Not on my ship,” he says, with a touch of wistful pride. “She wouldn’t do that to you. This one, however... well, no offence, love, but you aren’t used to sea travel.”

“Are you seriously telling me that your ship was... was being nice to me?” Even as she says it, it doesn’t sound nearly as far-fetched as she’s making it sound. She winces as the Serena Hawk lurches over another wave, and a corresponding wave of nausea washes through her. “Whoah. Think I need to lie down.”

Killian shakes his head. “Don’t. It won’t help. Try closing your eyes.”

She obeys, leaning her head back against the hull. It helps a little, but it makes her feel even more light-headed.

When she admits as much to Killian, he says, “You ought to go up on deck, really. The fresh air will help, and it helps to look at a fixed spot on the horizon, too.”

Moving doesn’t sound any fun at all, but if he says it’ll help, she’s willing to give it a try. She has to shake this. It’s miserable, and it’s embarrassing. Killian doesn’t seem to be having any trouble at all with the waves, and she is absolutely not going to throw up in front of him. “Sure, worth a shot.”

She gets to her feet—and promptly feels dizzy again, stumbling. Killian catches her, one steadying arm around her shoulders. “I’d better go with you.”

Emma grits her teeth, but doesn’t argue. Much as she doesn’t want him to see her like this, the thought of going up on deck alone is worse.

The quartermaster—Wesley Carswell, she remembers after a moment—throws Killian a challenging look as he helps Emma out onto the deck. “What happened to staying below?”

“The lady is feeling the waves,” Killian says. Emma is not proud of the way she’s clinging to his arm, but the first brush of blessedly cool wind over her clammy face is enough to make her forget about dignity.

“Ah.” Carswell’s expression softens, and he gives Emma a sympathetic look. “Keep your eyes on the horizon, that’ll help.”

Emma’s instinct is to head for the front—whenever she’s been travelsick in a car, looking straight ahead helped—but Killian stops her. “Over here,” he says, motioning towards the railing nearby. “Best to stay in the middle of the ship. It’s the steadiest part.”

He demonstrates with his free arm, moving it like a see-saw, and Emma gets it. The middle of the ship is the fulcrum, so to speak, and the further out she goes from there, the more it will move. Up ahead, she can see the bow dipping and rising with each wave—yeah, probably the last place she wants to be right now.

Killian guides her to the railing, out of the way of the crew, and she leans on it, letting the wind cool the sweat on her face. She picks a spot on the horizon, and keeps her eyes on it.

“Stay here,” Killian says. “I’ll go see if there’s any ginger tea to be had.”

She has to rein in a frankly pathetic urge to ask him to stay. It’s not like he can do anything. But she’s miserable, clammy and nauseous and light-headed, and without him, there’s nothing to distract her from it.

To her surprise, looking at the horizon does help. The nausea doesn’t go away, but it eases until she no longer feels like she might throw up.

Killian returns after a few minutes, sauntering over the rolling deck like it’s not moving at all. Bastard.

But she can’t call him that when he gives her an encouraging smile and hands her a tin mug with steaming hot ginger tea. “Wrap your sleeve around it, it’s hot. But it should help. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she admits, taking a careful sip of the tea. It doesn’t taste of much, but it warms her throat as she swallows, the gentle burn of the ginger lingering. “Please tell me I’m not gonna be dealing with this for the entire trip.”

“No, no, it’ll pass soon enough,” Killian assures her. “You just have to get used to the waves.”

Emma glares out across the ocean, and takes another sip. It might be her imagination, but she thinks she can feel it soothing her stomach. “Well, the sooner, the better.”

Killian leans against the railing beside her, his back to the sea, giving her an encouraging smile. “Not to worry, love. It won’t keep you down for long. Nothing can.”

She wants to argue, because right now it feels like this can very much keep her down, and her instinctive reaction at his belief in her is always to try and dampen it. But she can’t, not now. Not when she needs it. She is not going to spend this entire trip feeling sick and sweaty and gross. “Damn right,” she says instead, and wills her stomach to settle.

“That’s the spirit,” Killian agrees, flashing another smile.

She needs to change the subject, but luckily, it’s easy. “How long d’you think it’ll take to get to Misthaven?”

He looks up at the sky, squinting into the sunlight. “If this wind holds, I’d estimate a little over two weeks. Of course, whether it does is anyone’s guess, especially at this time of year. But it shouldn’t be much more than three weeks.”

“Right.” Emma keeps forgetting that the ship is at the mercy of the wind. There is no precise schedule. “How fast is this ship, anyway?”

Killian turns to glance out at the sea, resting his forearms on the railing and watching the waves go by. It’s odd to see the brace without the hook in it, the way it just... ends. It reminds Emma, bizarrely, of a declawed cat in one of the foster homes she stayed in. It was a grouchy, suspicious thing, and at the time its lack of claws seemed like a blessing. Not until years later did she learn exactly what declawing is, and realise that the poor thing lashed out because it was miserable.

“At the moment, I’d hazard a guess at around twelve knots,” Killian says, and Emma shakes away the odd thought and focuses on the conversation again. “She can go faster, given better winds. I’m not sure.”

“So that’s...” Emma has to do some not-so-quick math. “14 miles per hour? Give or take?”

He grins, and she feels a flash of pride. “Aye. Rather slower than your car, I imagine.”

Emma thinks of the bug, back in Storybrooke, and wonders what happened to it. Did the curse wipe it from existence? Or is it still there, in the place where Storybrooke was?

“Yeah,” she says, pushing aside the image of the yellow bug sitting alone in the middle of the forest. “Although... it depends. It’s not all that fast in the water, you know?”

It takes him a moment, but then his grin widens. “A major shortcoming.”

“Yeah. That’s why I didn’t bring it.”

He laughs, and his arm moves, as if he might hug her to him. But he seems to think better of the impulse—if that’s even what it was. “Always thinking ahead, aren’t you?”

She grins back at him, but it falters as the ship hits another wave and lurches. Killian’s eyes narrow, and she swear that he directs a little glare at the ship, as if reprimanding it. Old habits, she thinks. If it were the Jolly Roger, he probably would have muttered a little reminder about bad form.

For all she knows, he did exactly that, and the ship listened.

“I’m sorry,” she says, because it’s been on the tip of her tongue since yesterday and she has to say it. “About your ship.”

He shakes his head. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Kinda was.” She doesn’t like saying it; the thought that he lost his home because of her is awful. But she has to say it. “You traded her for me. If me and Henry hadn’t been there—”

“Swan,” he cuts her off, serious now. “That doesn’t make it your fault. If anything, it was mine.”

She immediately wants to argue, but instead, she raises her eyebrows incredulously. “Okay, how the hell would it be your fault?”

He hesitates for the briefest moment, and then he gets that look, the one he always has when he’s going to do the right thing and admit something even though he’s ashamed of it. “Blackbeard played me. He—when I was waiting for you outside the shop, a boy tried to pickpocket me. I caught him, of course. And I could have let him go, but,” a sigh, “I didn’t. I threatened him, which meant I was distracted, and in that time, Blackbeard’s crew absconded with you.”

He takes a deep breath, not quite looking at her. “If I had just let the lad go, I would have noticed it. Blackbeard was counting on my anger and my ego, that I would waste time trying to scare the boy.”

Emma still wants to argue, but she can’t find the right words. “Why did you?” she asks instead. “Scare him, I mean.”

He huffs out a laugh, spreading his arms as if inviting her to look at him. “Do you need to ask?”

I’m a villain. But Emma nods. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t need to.”

“I was angry,” Killian says, almost defiant now. “I wanted to scare him so he’d know to never try that with me again.”

“So you were defending yourself.”

His eyes flash. “That’s not an excuse.”

“No, it’s not. It’s also not your fault.” Emma holds a hand before he can argue. “You said Blackbeard played you. He sent the kid?”

“I assume so.”

“Right. So he distracted you, and kidnapped us. It’s just as much my fault for not noticing his crew before they were on us, and for not fighting them off.”

“You couldn’t have fought them off,” he protests. “Even if you had noticed... they had your boy.”

“Yeah, but you still traded the ship for us,” she insists. “If I hadn’t been there, you’d still have it.”

“If you hadn’t been there, neither would I,” he says. “Shall we go back further? If I hadn’t gotten myself cursed, you wouldn’t have lost your magic and been able to stop Blackbeard.”

“That was Zelena’s fault!”

“It was just as much mine!”

“Well—" Emma huffs out an impatient breath. He’s infuriating when he’s like this, stubbornly determined to be the villain in every scenario. Worse, she knows that he means it; this is how he feels. “Okay, this is stupid. We are literally arguing about who gets to take the blame.”

He opens his mouth, and she knows he’s about to claim all of the blame again and tell her to stop, but he stops himself. And then, slowly, comes a cautious, rueful smile. “I suppose... traditionally, people try to blame each other, don’t they?”

She tries a grin. “Yeah, we’re doing it wrong.”

He shrugs, that smile still tugging at his mouth. “I’ve never been much for tradition.”

“Yeah, well, let’s not make this the new tradition, okay?” She fixes him with a steady look. “It was Blackbeard’s fault. He’s the one who did it.”

Killian doesn’t accept that, she can tell from his expression. But Emma has spent enough time around Snow by now, and she’s not stupid, either. “Okay, fine. Let’s say you kidnap me.”

One eyebrow jumps up. Before he can make a comment, she goes on, “And, uh... my dad comes after me. And trades you, I don’t know, a new ship. Or a ton of gold. Whose fault is it that I got kidnapped? Mine or yours?”

Killian knows exactly where she’s going with it, of course. He hesitates; and then he lets out a breath, and there’s something like acceptance in it. “Mine.”

“And whose fault is it that my dad’s now down a ship or a ton of gold or whatever?”

He’s already nodding. “Also mine. I see your point.”

“Good.” She hesitates. “Look, I get it, you’re being all... honourable, and stuff. But beating yourself up about it doesn’t help. And just ‘cause you made a mistake doesn’t mean other people aren’t at fault.”

He flashes a smile. “You have a unique way of looking at things, love.”

She grimaces, but he goes on, “No, it’s good. I—it’s helpful, having your perspective, if I’m honest. Thank you.”

“Oh.” She shrugs, at a loss for what to say to that, just as glad that she’s got the excuse of looking at the horizon right now. “Yeah. Well. Thanks for the tea, and... you know.”

“Feeling any better?” he asks, accepting the change in subject.

“A little, yeah.” She takes a deep breath. The nausea has subsided somewhat, though she still feels every rise and dip of the damned ship. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I know you love the sea and all, but I’ll be glad when we reach port.”

He gives a wry little laugh at that. “No, this time I’m entirely in agreement, love.”

 *  *  *

 For once, the argument is already in full swing by the time Regina arrives in the war room—or the conference room, as Snow insists on calling it.

Snow is sitting in her usual spot at the round table, flanked by David and Leroy. Beside Leroy is Blue, wearing her usual look of arch disapproval, only for once it isn’t directed at Regina. Instead, her side glances are finding Robin, who is in the middle of talking.

“—not really theft,” he says as Regina sweeps into the room. “More like—” He cuts off as he notices her, half-twisting in his seat to look. “Ah, your Majesty.”

“The meeting started ten minutes ago,” Blue says, in that tone that sounds like it’s just giving information but really contains a mountain of censure. Regina knows it well. Her mother was a master of it, too.

“So sorry,” Regina says, shooting the fairy a fake smile. “Had to trim my nails, then I ran out of better things to do with my time so I came to listen to you shouting at each other. Please, carry on,” she adds with a gracious wave of her hand as she slides into her chair.

Blue only raises her eyebrows slightly, but Regina can tell she’s annoyed. Robin smirks, shaking his head. David gives Regina one of those half-resigned, half-admonishing looks he does so well.

“We’re trying to figure out how to keep funding all this,” Snow says to Regina. “There isn’t much left in the coffers here. Robin and his people have—well, they’ve been waylaying carriages, and...” She glances at Blue. “He has some ideas in that sort of... area.”

Regina already figured as much, from what he was saying when she walked in. “Thievery? Colour me surprised.”

“If it helps,” Robin says, ignoring her, “think of it as liberating resources that would otherwise line the pockets of some greedy nobleman.”

“A nobleman with obligations,” Blue says. “The aristocracy has a duty to look after and protect the people on their lands. That’s where those resources go.”

Robin snaps his fingers. “You know, I keep forgetting that. It’s so obvious, what with this castle being a typical dwelling that everyone can afford, and that,” he waves a hand at Regina, “being how everyone can afford to dress. Clearly everything is divided very fairly.”

Blue sighs impatiently. “I’m not saying there aren’t any perks, but they’re balanced out by duties.”

“I used to steal,” Snow says uncertainly. “I mean, as a bandit. I stole from passing noblemen, or,” she glances at David and smiles, “men pretending to be noblemen.”

David flashes her a sappy grin, and Regina rolls her eyes and looks away.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Granny says stoutly. “I’m sure they could afford to lose whatever you took.”

“And we need more funds,” Robin says. “We have a lot more people to feed now. It’s going to be a long winter.”

They keep arguing, back and forth, everyone weighing in and nobody getting anywhere. Regina stays out of it, waiting for Snow to make the call.

But Snow doesn’t make the call. She waits, listens, lets everyone make their case... and tries to mediate.

It’s at times like these that Regina finds herself almost missing Emma and Hook. All right, missing is a strong word. But if Emma were here, she would have put her foot down by now. If Hook were here, he would have made some sarcastic but pragmatic comment about ends justifying the means and not being able to eat morals no matter how good they are.

Granted, they would probably also have turned this argument into one of their weird flirting-while-pretending-not-to rituals, but at this stage, Regina would take that over this endless back-and-forth.

“Snow,” Blue implores. “I agree we need to beat Zelena, but we need to do it the right way.”

“All right,” Robin says. “One question—why exactly does the decision ultimately rest with Snow?”

“Because she’s the leader,” Granny growls at him.

“Is she?” Robin looks around, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t vote for her.”

“She’s the rightful heir to the throne,” Blue says, looking scandalised.

Robin grins. “Not much of a throne at the moment, is it?”

Snow is staring at him, wide-eyed. She shoots a fractional glance at Regina—that’s where she would have expected this kind of challenge from, Regina knows. As if she’d challenge Snow around these people. She has less chance of winning a popular vote than Leroy.

Then again, Robin doesn’t stand a chance either.

“You want a vote?” David asks, scowling at him. “Fine. Let’s have a vote. All who want Snow to be our leader, say aye. Aye.”

There’s a chorus of ayes around the table. Regina opens her mouth, but she can’t bring herself to say it. She can’t.

Robin shrugs and leans back in his chair, looking relaxed. “Aye.”

Snow narrows her eyes at him. “You’re voting for me?”

“No need to gloat,” Robin tells her with a wink.”So. We have a leader. What does she say?”

And Regina, not nearly as naive as Snow, realises: he did that on purpose. Snow has been leading them, but without everyone’s explicit approval. Now she has it.

Regina feels her lip curl. Why is everyone always Snow’s ally? And where the hell did an outlaw learn about politics?

Snow still looks shocked and maybe a little hurt, but she rallies. “Okay. Well. That’s settled, then. Blue, I understand the moral concerns, but I don’t think we’ve really got much choice. And, honestly, back when I was—before my father died, I think we could have afforded to lose a few carriages.”

Regina scoffs. Yeah, Leopold certainly could have taken the loss. It might have meant one less new dress for his precious daughter, but oh, that wouldn’t matter as long as they loved each other so much.

Her stomach twists.

“What?” Snow all but snaps, and Regina realises that her scoffing was maybe a little loud.

“Nothing. Actually, I’m agreeing with you,” she says. “It’s not like you were poor.”

Snow looks at her for a moment, eyes narrowed, as if looking for a trap. “Right.”

“Right,” Regina says. “Thievery authorised. Anything else on the agenda?”

 *  *  *

 Snow tracks Robin down after the meeting is over. He and his people have set up camp in the ruins of the east wing, and that’s where she finds him, sitting on a crate and darning a tiny shirt that has to be Roland’s.

He looks up as she approaches, and smiles. “Hey there.”

“Hey.” She hesitates. “I wanted to talk to you.”

He nods, as if he expected it, and gestures towards a chest nearby. “Sit.”

She sits. “I just wanted to say, if you want to share leadership—”

“Yes, I thought you might.” He shakes his head. “I’ve no interest in being in charge. I’ve got enough on my plate keeping my lads in line.”

“Then why...?” she asks.

“Because someone needs to be in charge,” Robin says. “You may be the rightful queen of this land, but with the Wicked Witch and the Evil Queen around, that isn’t enough. You’re in charge, but you haven’t made any appointments. We don’t have a treasurer, a captain of the guard, nothing, and like it or not, you need them. It makes meetings like the one we just had a lot easier. But you need everyone’s support for that. You needed that vote to give you legitimacy, so I made it happen.”

“I just wanted...” Snow shakes her head. “I want us to make decisions together.”

“Do you?” Robin challenges. “Then why were there only ten people at that table? Why didn’t the entire castle vote on my plan?”

Snow stares at her. Of course the entire castle didn’t vote. That’s just common sense. If they needed a consensus every time, they’d never get anywhere.

Oh.

“I just—I’m not a tyrant,” she says, and it sounds defensive even to her. “I’m not—I don’t want to—we’re—”

“You’re in charge, and you’ve got people advising you,” Robin says. “That’s how it works. Take it from me. What happens if Zelena attacks, or we have to take the fight to her? You can’t win battles if you have to keep stopping to hold votes.”

He’s making sense, and Snow hates it. She isn’t like Regina, and she doesn’t want to be. She doesn’t want power.

“I don’t want to just order people around,” she says.

“Oh, I know.” Robin grins. “I wouldn’t be here if you did. But that isn’t what you’re doing.”

Snow takes a deep breath, hating how unsure she sounds when she says, “Right.”

“Trust me.” Robin shrugs. “I’ve encountered enough power-hungry nobility and bad leaders to know a good one when I see her. You don’t want to be in charge. You just take charge because you have to, because someone has to, because everyone else needs you to.”

“Like you did?” Snow says.

“Pretty much.” Robin gives a self-deprecating shrug. “I won’t pretend that I have all the answers. I just do my best. And I know that usually, if someone really wants to be the boss, they shouldn’t be. For example, I’m sure Her Majesticness would love to share leadership with you, but you aren’t offering it to her, are you?”

Snow doesn’t need to ask who he’s referring to; she huffs out a laugh. “Somehow, I don’t think it’d stay shared for very long.”

“Exactly.” Robin blows out a breath, looking almost incredulous as he considers Regina. “Hell of a lady. But not someone you want in charge.”

“That’s Regina,” Snow agrees wryly, resolutely not thinking about Regina being queen and everything it brought about. “At least I’ve got plenty of examples of what not to do.”

“Valuable,” Robin agrees. “But for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing fine. Don’t let her undermine you. Nor Blue.”

“Blue’s just...” Snow trails off.

“Trying to help,” Robin finishes with a nod. “And a little too concerned with morality. And that’s a good voice to have around, just... don’t let her guilt-trip you, either.”

“Yeah.” Snow takes a deep breath. “Thank you. Really.”

Robin smiles at her. “Of course. We outlaws have to stick together, right?”

She grins back. “Right. But since you brought it up... you’re right. I do need to make some appointments. The captain of the guard, for one thing. You interested?”

Robin considers it. “I can do it, but with the caveat that I’ll step aside if you find a better candidate.”

Snow nods. If Emma or Hook were here... but they’re not, and she needs to do her job and do what’s best for everyone who is here. “That works for me. I’ll make it official at our next meeting.”

He smiles again, and so does she, feeling the weight on her shoulders lift somewhat. He’s right: someone needs to be in charge. The others need her, so she’ll figure it out.

 *  *  *

 Killian is kneeling on the deck, both hands gripping the brush as he scrubs the weathered boards. All around him are shadows and noise, and a rising urgency. He’s running out of time. He has work to do. The captain will be back soon, and there’ll be trouble if the deck isn’t clean. He has to finish his task, but the deck is still filthy, and there’s no more water in the bucket. There’s no water to be had anywhere. He keeps scrubbing anyway, trying to hurry, trying—

The captain looms over him. Killian scrambles to his feet, heart pounding in his chest, his only thought to get away. He runs over to the mast, catches hold of one of the ropes, but the captain is on him before he can climb.

Killian can’t move. The captain grabs him and twists his arm around, getting hold of his hand. And then he begins to squeeze.

Killian’s hand clenches, caught in a grip like a vice. He tries to pull away, but he can’t move. His fingers tense one by one, going rigid.

And then pain explodes—in his fingers, his palm, his wrist. The more he tries to pull away, the more he tries to fight, the more the captain’s grip tightens. He draws breath to scream—

And shoots awake with a gasp. Around him is darkness, but it’s silent, save for the usual sounds of a ship at night. He barely registers any of it. His left hand is coiled into a fist, agony like fire in his veins, stabbing his palm, his knuckles, his fingers. He reaches for it, heart frantic, expecting blood, torn flesh—and his hand encounters nothing.

Nothing.

There is no hand. There is nothing. He doesn’t have a hand anymore. There’s just the hard leather of his brace, covering what remains of his wrist.

And he remembers this—the sudden cramping, feeling his fingers go rigid, and then the pain. Not real pain; it can’t be real, because his hand is not there anymore. It’s been a long time since he felt like it was, since his own mind played this trick on him. Tearing the brace off won’t help. Nothing will help, because nothing is there to be helped.

Killian bites back a scream, his whole body tensing as he tries to will the pain away. He’s not alone in here. He can’t wake Emma and Henry. If they wake up, he’ll have to explain this, admit it, and he can’t. He has to stay quiet. It will pass. It will pass. It always does.

He curls up as best he can, grits his teeth, and waits for it to end.

 *  *  *

 Emma isn’t sure what wakes her. The cabin is dark, and as quiet as it gets aboard ship. She can hear wood creaking, a murmur of voices some distance away, the gentle, almost-regular sound of waves against the hull. All the night-time sounds of a ship under way, almost familiar by now. Except for the voices, but those are reassuring.

She lies there a moment, listening. And then, there’s something else—a low hiss, like a sharp, stifled intake of breath. Emma looks around, though the cabin is almost pitch black. The only source of light is the window, casting the dim, bluish-silver glow of moonlight into the cabin.

“Henry?” she whispers.

No reply. Henry’s hammock is close enough for her to touch, and she can just about make out his head, dark against white. “Kid?”

He doesn’t budge.

“Killian?”

Nothing. Emma debates getting up to see what’s going on, but she doesn’t want to wake everyone for no reason. It was probably just Henry or Killian sighing in his sleep.

Emma lies awake for a while longer, listening, but she doesn’t hear anything more. Eventually, she drifts off again.

By next morning, she has all but forgotten about the sound.

 *  *  *

 To Emma’s relief, her seasickness seems to be gone for good. There’s no hint of it the following day, not even after she eats breakfast in the corner of the gun deck that seems to count as the kitchen—galley, she corrects herself.

Henry has made a friend, a dark-haired, gangly boy of maybe fifteen or sixteen named Jim who has a lot of stories to tell and is eager for a wide-eyed audience. Emma doubts that even half of them are true, which is all but confirmed by the knowing smirk that Killian does his best to hide, but she keeps quiet. Henry’s eyes are bright and he’s smiling, and if half-invented smuggler stories will make him happy, she’s not about to ruin it.

Killian, on the other hand, is on edge. He’s doing his best to hide it, but while his bravado and sarcasm might fool the others, the fact that it’s there tells Emma that something is up.

So she asks him to accompany her up on deck again. “Think maybe breakfast was a bad idea after all,” she says, wrinkling her nose as if she still feels sick. “Do you mind?”

“No, of course.” His eyes are narrowed, though, and while the quartermaster seems to buy her excuse, Killian doesn’t.

“You know you don’t need an excuse to claim my company, don’t you?” he asks as they make their way over to the railing again, out of the way of the crew.

“Uh-huh,” Emma says. “That’s not what the excuse was for.”

That surprises him. Clearly, he expected her to deny it. “Oh?”

“I thought you could use a little time up on deck,” she said. “You were looking a little trapped.”

“I—” He stares at her.

“You don’t like being a passenger, do you?” she asks.

He winces. “Is it that noticeable?”

“A little,” she says, because the alternative is to admit that she knows him well enough to catch the little moments of discomfort and impatience that he tries so hard to cover. “And I know how rough it can be to watch someone else do a job you’re good at.”

“Aye.” Killian makes a face, then shrugs. “It’s all right. Ria is competent. And all things considered, passenger isn’t so bad. At least she’s not making me scrub the deck.”

He’s making light of it, but there’s something behind those words that makes Emma take notice. “Is that what you did?” she asks, driven by instinct. “Before?”

Even as she says it, it dawns on her that it’s an insensitive question. She doesn’t know why, but she can feel it, the same way she can tell that he’s making light of something other than his status as passenger.

“Everyone starts out scrubbing the deck,” he says with another shrug. His tone is light, but his eyes are haunted, and it’s not an answer, not really. “You work your way up, and if you’re the best,” he flashes a grin, “you become captain.”

She knows that grin. It’s the bravado grin, the one that says he doesn’t want to talk about it. Emma’s first instinct is to keep asking, but she doesn’t need to. Between the comments he’s made lately, she’s been piecing some things together, and she knows better than to ask. Killian might wear his heart on his sleeve half the time, but he doesn’t speak about his past.

“Right,” she says, and grins back. “I can’t wait to get there.”

It takes a moment, then he laughs—a real laugh, one that lights his eyes and drives away the haunted look. “Ambitious, are you?”

“Hey, you said that’s how it works. You don’t think I’ve got it in me?”

He opens his mouth to reply—and then a certain glint comes to his eyes as he thinks of something, and he laughs again, a deeper chuckle this time. “You—no. No, I won’t even say it.”

“What?” It’s some kind of innuendo, it has to be. And once Emma knows that, she knows exactly what he’s thinking. “Oh, for—let me guess. Something about having a captain in me?”

That has him laughing again, throwing his head back, eyes briefly squeezing shut. The corners of his eyes crinkle when he laughs, and she swears there’s a dimple hiding under the stubble on his cheeks. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbles—or tries to. Her cheeks feel warm, but so does her chest, because he looks delighted with himself (and with her). “I was asking for that one.”

He raises his eyebrows, eyes still sparkling with mirth. “You can ask for that anytime, darling.”

“Stop it.” She gives a half-hearted slap at his arm, unable to keep from laughing herself.

Killian chuckles, before turning his attention to Henry, who is just emerging from belowdecks with Jim. “How is he doing?”

“Okay, I think,” Emma says. “It’s hard to tell sometimes. I think Neverland had him a little on edge.”

“Can’t say I blame him,” Killian says with a grimace.

“But since we left, he’s holding up better than I thought,” Emma goes on. “Still, it’s... he’s trying to be patient, but I think he misses home.”

“Naturally,” Killian agrees. “Storybrooke is all he knew his entire life, and this is the second time he’s been abruptly whisked away from it.”

Emma makes a face. “I think he’s liking this time a lot better than last time, all things considered.”

“I’d have to agree with him there.” Killian tilts his head at her. “And you? Do you miss it?”

“Storybrooke?” Emma thinks about it. Her time in Storybrooke was certainly eventful, and she’d be lying if she said it was all good. She misses Granny’s, and walking Henry to the bus, and the beach, and strolling from it to the pier. But there are definitely things she doesn’t miss. “I don’t know. Maybe. It... I guess it kinda became home, for a bit. And if I could go back there right now, with everyone, I would. But...” She shrugs.

“You miss the people more than the place?” Killian prompts.

The moment he says it, Emma knows it’s true. That’s exactly how she feels. She misses her parents, her friends; she even misses Regina a little bit, if only because playing mom to Henry alone is kind of terrifying. She shrugs again.

Killian smiles. “It’s all right, Swan. I miss them too. Well... some of them.”

She gives him a sceptical look. “Oh yeah?”

“Aye, I even find myself missing David on occasion,” he says with a grin. “It’s not the same without him glaring at me occasionally, is it.”

She has to laugh at that, even as memories of her father and his pointed comments send another pang through her stomach. She can’t say she misses his disapproving looks, but she misses him. David. His reassuring, cheerful presence, his unfailing support, and yeah, even his sarcastic remarks.

“Don’t tell him, though,” Killian goes on. “I’d never live it down.”

The ache inside her recedes again, and she smirks at him. “I can glare at you instead, if you want.”

He sighs. “You’re too kind, love.”

“I’m just saying, if you need someone to glare at you and take you down a peg, I’m here for you.”

“Oh, thank you so much.” He gives her a theatrically-grateful look to match the words, and she laughs. A moment later, so does he.

Carswell joins them a few minutes later, ostensibly to ask after Emma’s welfare. He’s all smiles and charm, but she suspects that he no longer believes her claim of seasickness—and, to be fair, she hasn’t been acting very sick. Chatting with Killian made her forget all about the excuse.

Feeling a little like a chastised teenager, Emma lets Carswell send her off the deck and back to the cabin.

 *  *  *

 A few hours into the day, Emma has decided that she agrees with Killian: she doesn’t like being a passenger on this ship either. They’re not confined to their cabin, so they join some of the off-duty on the main deck once the ship is steadily underway, but she has nothing to do other than watch. On the Jolly Roger, she could help because she was the only one available, but for everything she can do, there’s someone on the Hawk who can do it better.

Killian is another matter. Ria doesn’t trust him, but there can be no doubt that he’s an experienced sailor, and after another conversation with Carswell, he’s been put to work. He’s sitting cross-legged a little ways away, a slight frown on his face as he bends over his task—working on some part of the rigging, Emma thinks, but she has no idea what he’s actually doing with it. His hand deftly moving and knotting the ropes, he looks both in his element and out of it. He knows what he’s doing, but Emma doesn’t have to be a sailing expert to know that it’s grunt work, the kind of thing he can do in his sleep but usually orders others to do. And he’s working one-handed now, the empty brace rarely coming into use to awkwardly help pin a rope in place.

She’s never really noticed how naturally he uses the hook until now, seeing him without it.

Once the ship is underway, she joins some of the other off-duty crewmen on the main deck. Henry is crouching next to Jim, who is playing dice with an older woman named Aileen and listening to her stories. Stories about sailor superstitions and mermaids and magic, from what Emma can hear, which explains the enraptured look on Henry’s face.

She sits back and listens too, her eyes straying upwards to where one of the men is climbing the rigging, surefooted and agile. She imagines what that would be like, to climb all the way up there and out, and hopes she’ll never find out. If that’s part of it, she might leave the captaining to Killian, after all.

Another movement draws her attention. Killian has dropped what he was doing, scowling as he gets to his feet. His shoulders are tense, his face pinched. He looks around, catches her looking—and most of the pinched look disappears as he flashes a smile and turns away.

She watches him disappear through the hatch, her gut suddenly churning. Something is wrong. Even so, she hesitates. She doesn’t want to check up on him—he’s a grown man, and he has the right to privacy. If he wants a moment to himself, she’s the first to respect that.

But the look on his face before he caught her watching him...

Henry is still listening to Aileen, completely rapt as she launches into a ghost story. Making up her mind, Emma climbs belowdecks and makes her way to the cabin.

It takes her a moment to realise that Killian is here. He’s sitting hunched over on the floor, his back to the hull, and Emma’s first thought is that he’s crying.

“Killian?” She says it quietly, almost changing her mind halfway through the name.

His head snaps up. He’s not crying. His face is pinched, shoulders tense—hurt, she thinks.

“Whoah, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” His voice is strained, almost angry. “I’m fine, just—” He ends on a hiss. His lips press together, jaw clenching.

Emma hasn’t known Killian for all that long, but she knows that he can handle pain. She’s seen him laid out on his back with broken ribs after being hit by a car, and he called her ‘beautiful’ and tried to flirt. He isn’t one to admit when he’s hurt, and the fact that he can’t muster up any comment right now tells her more than he ever will.

She’s across the cabin in two strides, kneeling before him. She can’t see any wounds, nor think how he could’ve got hurt, but he is. He’s in agony. “Hey,” she says, as gently as she can.

He shakes his head as if to ward her off. His face is screwed up in a grimace she’s never seen before, his shoulders hunched—

Because he’s curled around his arm. His left arm, where he’s missing a hand.

She doesn’t know a lot about amputation; bits and pieces she picked up, idle curiosity leading her to Google—but she knows about this.

“Phantom pain?” she says, scooting around to sit next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. “That’s it, right?”

He makes a sound somewhere between a sob and a growl and leans into her touch, just a bit, and to hell with it—she slings her arm around his shoulders and pulls him closer. His shoulders are wider than she realised, and she can’t actually make him move, but he lets her move him. He doesn’t protest, nor does he make any comment, another sign that he’s in a bad way.

Emma feels helpless. She has some rudimentary medical knowledge; she can clean and dress a cut, she could even make a decent attempt at splinting a broken bone, but this? She has no idea how to help this.

“It’s not—real,”  Killian mutters. He sounds angry—his way of keeping the pain at bay, she thinks.

He lets out a long, shuddering breath, and she tightens her hold instinctively. He’s leaning against her, his face pressed into her shoulder, and it’s a little awkward because of the angle and the hull behind them and him being rather too big for her to hold him like this, but she isn’t about to let go.

“It’s okay,” she says, because she has to say something, she has to make it better. “You’re okay. It’s just—just a memory. It’s sort of real, I think, but it’s not coming from your hand. Nerves getting confused, I think. I read about it.”

“You did?” His voice is strained. “Tell me.”

Emma has a thought that he should be telling her; he likely knows more about it than she does. But that isn’t what he asked, and she knows a thing or two about distraction, so she tells him. She has no idea what she’s doing; she just holds him, stroking what she hopes are soothing circles over his arm and back, telling him that there’s nothing wrong, that it’s just the nerves sending the wrong signals to the brain, that he’s okay.

To her surprise, it seems to work.

She can’t be sure how much time passes, but it can’t be more than ten minutes or so when he pulls away, and she relaxes her hold on him. He sits up away from her, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck this way and that.

“Better?” she asks cautiously.

“Aye.” He runs a hand through his hair, not quite looking at her. “Apologies, love.”

He’s embarrassed. She gets that; not twenty-four hours ago, she wanted to murder her own stomach for betraying her. “Don’t. How do you feel?”

“I’m fine.”

“Killian.”

He finally looks at her then, and offers a rueful smile. “Truly. It goes just as fast as it comes. It’s not as though I’m injured. I—it’s been a long time since it’s happened. I thought I was done with it.”

Emma nods. “But you’re okay now?”

“Aye. Thank you.”

Now it’s her turn to feel embarrassed. “I didn’t really do anything.”

“Yes, you did.” He still looks like he wants to bolt—definitely embarrassed, maybe even ashamed. For all that he’ll wear his heart on his sleeve, he hates admitting to anything he sees as weakness. But he takes a deep breath, and nods. “It helped. What you said.” Not being alone, she thinks, but he won’t say that any more than she would.

“Well, then,” she says. “You’re welcome. Anytime.”

“Thank you, but I’d rather not make it a habit.”

“Does it happen often?” she asks. She’s never seen him look like that. She never wants to see it again.

He shakes his head. “Not for centuries now. I’d all but forgotten.”

She hesitates. “What about last night?”

Killian’s eyes widen a little, and she has her answer even before he asks, “You heard?”

“I thought I heard something,” she said. “But I wasn’t sure. You should’ve said something.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, love, but I didn’t see any point,” he says. “It passed. It always does.”

“Yeah, but if I can help—” She can’t help, not really. She’s not a doctor. She doesn’t even have her magic right now, not that she even knows whether that would do any good. All she knows is that he shouldn’t go through that alone. “Just—tell me. If you want. I—you know. I’m here.”

He’s staring at her like she’s talking about modern technology, like there’s something in all of what she just said that he’s having trouble understanding.

She wonders when the last time was that someone was just there for him.

And she’s suddenly gripped by that familiar urge to explain—to justify. “I just mean, you know, you helped me. Yesterday, and before, and it should go both ways, right? It has to go both ways, or... or no deal,” she ends firmly.

He finally smiles then. “Fair enough.”

“Any idea what brought this on?” Emma asks. She might not know a lot about this, but if she’s going to help, she needs to know all she can.

He shakes his head. “I’ve no idea. It always came on at random.”

“Yeah, but not for years, right? Twice in one day after years of nothing, that seems weird.”

Killian stares down at his brace, frowning—more in annoyance than in thought. It couldn’t be clearer that he hates this. It’s a weakness, and he’s at the mercy of it, with nothing to be done. He’s not in control. All he has to counter it is anger, and that’s enough to stop him falling apart, but not much beyond that.

Emma looks down at the brace and thinks, again, of that declawed cat. A year ago, she would have shrugged off her own thoughts, but she’s learned a thing or two about trusting her gut since then.

She pushes away from the wall, and gets her feet under her, ready to stand. “If you’re okay,” she says, “I’m gonna go back up on deck. I want to talk to Ria.”

“I’m fine.” It’s an automatic response, and it makes Emma want to stay. But they need a solution, not just comfort, and she knows without having to ask that he wouldn’t accept comfort for this anyway, not now that it’s over.

Killian tilts his head, an intense look on his eyes. “Sw—Emma. This stays between us, aye?”

“’course!” She’s a little offended he even has to say it. “Not my call to make. Hang on, I’ll be back in a bit.”

 *  *  *

 When she gets back on deck, she finds Henry where she left him, now telling a bemused Jim a story—she catches the words “Wolverine” and “Professor X”. Carswell, busy with some tackle nearby, is leaning over to listen with a smile tugging at his mouth.

Ria is over by the railing, talking to two of the crew. Once she turns away, Emma steps forward. “Captain? Can I talk to you a second?”

“Sure.” Ria looks expectant.

Emma hesitates, tries to find a diplomatic way to approach this, and gives up immediately. Ria hasn’t struck her as very diplomatic so far. “I have a request,” she says. “Give Hook his hook back. Please.”

Ria’s eyebrows rise halfway to her hairline. “You must be joking.”

“I’m not.” Emma takes a breath, trying to imagine what Snow would say. Except... she’s not sure Snow would be trying this in the first place. “I’m not. You should give it back. You basically took one of his hands away.”

“I took his weapons,” Ria says. She’s quite calm, her air more curious than anything else.

“That’s not—” Emma breaks off, shakes her head. “It’s not a weapon.”

“I’ve seen what he can do with that thing.”

“Yeah, well, I can punch someone with this,” Emma counters, making a fist with her left hand. “Or choke someone. But you didn’t take my hand. You didn’t take his hand, either, even though he can do plenty of damage with that.”

“Lot harder without any weapons,” Ria points out.

“Trust me, if he wanted to cause trouble, he’d find a way no matter what you took,” Emma says.

Ria tilts her head. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t have let him on my ship at all.”

“No, I’m saying...” It’s hard to hold onto her temper. Emma has never been good at calm, rational debate, but Ria is all cool logic. Infuriating. “You wouldn’t have let him on your ship if you didn’t trust him. You know taking his hook makes no difference.”

There’s a pause, as Ria regards her and Emma does her best to withstand that gaze. It’s moments like this that make it clear how and why Ria came to be captain.

“What is it?” Ria asks eventually. “You’re not his lover, not his captive, and you’re definitely not related. What hold does he have on you?”

“Nothing,” Emma says, hoping that the jolt that went through her at those words didn’t show on her face. “We’re... friends. Kinda. Like I said, he saved my life, and... look, I just get it, that’s all.”

“Get what?”

“That it’s—” She can’t mention what just happened. She can’t so much as imply that this is a problem for him. It galled him to admit this weakness to her, but she’s been trusted with it, and she’s going to guard it.

She hesitates, watching Ria. The captain reminds Emma of herself—before Henry, before her parents. Not cruel, but hard, protecting herself.

And Emma isn’t Emma right now. She’s Snow’s lady-in-waiting, Henry’s mother, someone’s wife. And maybe, just maybe, she can get through to Ria like Snow got through to her. She’s certainly someone who can admit to caring about the pirate who saved her life. “It’s his hand,” she says. “He insists that it’s fine, but I—I worry. We’re on a ship. What if something happened? Would you want that on your conscience?”

Ria regards her for another moment. Then she pulls Killian’s hook from a pocket of her coat, and turns it in her hand, watching the reflections in the metal. “Honestly, I just wanted to see if he’d surrender it,” she says matter-of-factly. “Didn’t think he would.”

She looks at Emma, those shrewd eyes narrow. “His ship, his hook... what hold do you have on him?”

Emma swallows. “Like I said. We’re friends.”

Ria’s eyebrows rise again, and for a second, she reminds Emma irresistibly of Regina, of that look she gets when she doesn’t believe a word but won’t say so. “Mhmm-hmm. Fine.” She holds the hook out. “I’m not giving it back to him, I’m giving it to you. Your choice what you do with it.”

Your responsibility, hangs unsaid at the end of her words.

Emma takes the hook from her, nodding. The metal is slightly warm from Ria’s body, the sight of it familiar, the feel of it less so. She hasn’t touched it often, and holding it in her hand feels intimate in a way she didn’t expect. Almost invasive.

“Thank you,” she says.

Killian is still in the cabin when she returns. He looks relaxed now, one leg out in front of him, the other drawn up with his elbow resting on his knee, brace hanging down.

He glances up as she enters, and she smiles at him. “Got something for you.”

And before he can ask, or make some kind of innuendo, or say anything at all, she crosses over to him and hands him the hook.

She has the rare pleasure of watching his jaw drop.

Then his eyes fly back to her face. “Swan, please tell me you didn’t just steal from the captain.”

“Steal?” She feigns outrage. “What do you take me for? No.”

“Then how...?”

“I asked her for it.” She shakes her head before he can ask. “Didn’t tell her anything, don’t worry. I just reminded her that, y’know. Disarming us is one thing, taking someone’s hand—or whatever...” She trails off, not sure if she just offended him or not.

He pauses in the act of reaching for the hook. “You just asked her.”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, he just stares at her. Then he shakes his head and takes the hook from her, face breaking into a smile. “You’re a marvel.”

The way he says it is both matter-of-fact and laced with fondness. He looks back up at her as he clicks it into the brace, those blue eyes finding and holding hers. “Thank you.”

For once, the sincerity in his gaze isn’t overwhelming, or uncomfortable. Emma nods, feeling like the world has shifted back into balance. For the first time in weeks, she feels like she has actually contributed something, done something for him that matters. Something he couldn’t do himself.

She stands a little straighter—she can’t help it—and grins at him as he gets to his feet. “Sure.”

His clothes rustle as he stands up, louder than usual in the small cabin. He looks taller, too, bigger somehow—or maybe that’s her memory of holding him, realising that her arms couldn’t quite span the width of his shoulders. He’s still smiling as he looks down at her, his eyes warm, and the air in the cabin seems to be in short supply all of a sudden.

How does he do that? It’s really annoying how that keeps happening. She can’t prevent it. She can’t even predict it. It’s like something just shifts, from one breath to the next, and just like that, she’s floundering. Hot and shivery all at once, her heartbeat picking up, feeling like she’s just run five miles. And above all, that damnable urge to step closer to him, like he’s some kind of human magnet.

She’s familiar with attraction; she’s been attracted to people before. Until a few months ago, she would have said that she’s basically immune to it if she wants, that she knows how to handle it, that it doesn’t affect her unless she lets it. This, though... this is not like any attraction she’s ever felt before. She’s starting to realise that she has no idea how to handle it.

Emma swallows, takes a step back, and hopes that it doesn’t look as awkward as she suddenly feels. “Come on. Let’s see if they’ve finished with the ghost stories.”

*  *  *

Tags as requested! @optomisticgirl​ @mariakov81 @courtorderedcake @tomeandflickcorner @spartanguard @snowbellewells @karl0ta @heavenlyjoycastle @queen-serena88 @stahlop @inkerii @therealstartraveller776 @bubblegum1425 @iamanneenigma @elegies @itsfabianadocarmo @winterbaby89 @kday426 @sals86 @superchocovian @pirateherokillian @laschatzi @scientificapricot @kmomof4 @thisonesatellite

[amindofstone]

let me hold you for a bit

{

a/n: And here we have another scenario I made up in my head before going to sleep just to make myself sad over basically something none existing. GREATTTTT!!! Anyways, while writing this I honestly got hella mad over the word swordsman. I googled it and found out that this is a neutral word and can be used for the male but also female gender. It's just like the word mankind. Like the fck?! Why is language so patriarchal?! I'm going to have a looooooong discussion with my professor about that... Anyways have fun and enjoy this little work of mine. ;)

Genre: anime image?

Character(s): Eustass "captain" Kid × Serena (reader)

Words: 2295

Spoiler(s): none

Info: For better reading keep in mind that the words in italic are either Kid's or readers train of thoughts. It is both written in italic but it is understandable on who's thoughts it is (Hopefully).

Warning(s): a bit of cursing and swearing, I guess. But nothing to be worried of. (+ grammatical or spelling mistakes since English is my third language and I'm still improving in every aspect. (Please have mercy on that))

!!! Please do not steal my idea or work. Credit me if this is shared or published in any other platform or any other way. This took me a lot of time. So please respect me as the writer and my work. Picture is not mine. Credits to the rightful owner @nan50ku (on Twitter). !!!

}

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

One and a half year ago he send his first mate to recruite her as a swordsman although some of his mates weren't really fond of his choice for a long time. So he took it upon himself to convince them to agree to his word. He might be the captain but he cherished his crew a lot although he never said nor really showed it because he is not the type of man who likes to openly show emotions since he considered it as weak.

So after a few days of long arguments between the stubborn captain and his first mate he was able to make him and his crew accept his decision to make the female fencer a part if their life and goal. Although the captain was really fond of her being the crew still took her presence on board with a lot of scepticism and caution since they barely knew anything about her. Not only took it the entire crew but also the woman itself a lot if time and patience to get used to their new environment. Lucky for her she was not the only female on board. There seemed to be another woman who was recruited by the pirates long ago. She however had nothing against her and welcomed her with open arms just like the captain who unlike her had more than just one reason to accept her with joy.

Days passed and she slowly started to open up more and socialise with the people on board more and more. Weeks passed and she laughed and fought side by side with them. Months passed and she shared memories of her childhood with the people off the Kid pirates and heared a few of theirs. But it was after a year with them when the woman Eustass Kid took in his crew with pure joy, told the people she grew fond of that her father was a important person at the revolutionary army and that she therefore was also a part of them. She thought that they might throw her out and get mad at her secrecy but nothing happened. In fact they were glad she told them something important as this. But most of all they were happy to see that the woman that kept quiet for so long opened up to them to this extent.

While they all thought nothing else of it and kept going as if nothing happened one person in particular seemed to grow angrier day by day. He locked himself up in his cabin or his workshop and only came out when it was necessary which got the crew worried more and more.

It was well known for his mates that their captain was a naturally reckless man but never over nothing. He was going mad at the most unnecessary and simple things. When they docked on islands Kid would usually celebrate, drink more and more. He wouldn't give a damn about anyone and would have a great time. But since he became quite temperamental and gloomy for no reason in particular he kept staying in his cabin. He would always give all of his crew mates a list of supplies and get back in his workshop and ignore his first mates question if he doesn't want to come out for a while. Even when he slammed the door shut behind him his first mate who was also his best friend would keep telling him that it was not okay for him to stop talking to his people. After all it was them that worked for him and respected him. But the only thing the blond man would get was a annoyed and angry "Fuck off!".

Now one and a half year later, after he recruited the female bold fencer, the crew would find him knocking on the door of her bedroom at least twice a week. And when she wouldn't be in her bedroom when he came he would simply enter and just wait for her inside, no matter how long it took her to come back to her room. Just like now.

Kid took a quick glance at the clock at the wall over her desk that was occupied by probably a dozen books for her researches. A smile spread over his red lips that turned into a small chuckle when he remembered how happy she got when he came back yesterday with a bunch of new books. When he told her that Killer included some novels to the already enormous pile of books they came back with her face light up. How can someone like reading that much. It's a waste of time when it's not informative. Kid who was sitting on her bed stood up and walked up to her desk and took a look at her notes of the task he gave her. With a little too much of a proud smile he leaned back and took her notebook in his hands and went through it to kill some time. Not long after, the door to the room he was sitting in was opened by its owner.

"Oh I'm sorry did you wait long?", a woman with two swords attached to her small waist entered with a genuine smile on her plum lips with the colour of a deep pink. "Not at all. I was going through your notes and I'm am surprised how much informations you found out in such a short period. It really was a good idea to get you to be a part of my crew.", said the red haired man without looking up from the book in his hands. He was taking his time reading because he didn't wanted to leave so soon. He wanted to have a reason to stay in her room with her without anyone else. He wanted her to himself all alone. But he never dared and will never dare to say it out loud.

He came to her again just like any other time since months now with the hope of her coming and sitting on his lap on her own. He wanted her to hold his face in her small and tender hands while caressing his cheeks in the painful slow pace she always did. He wanted to bury his face on her neck and breath in her scent that got him addicted. He felt small, he felt weak, he felt stupid when she was around. Because he knew that he was helplessly in love with a woman that was to good for him and would probably leave as soon as the no. 2 of the revolutionary army would order her over. The thought of a man that could get her to any place in the world got him angrier than necessary.

Kid pushed everything aside. All of his emotions and the need to hold her just to lean on her desk and take a pen and paper and work on her notes. Focus and ignore her you fool. He told himself off and tried his best to bury his need to take a look at her in the deepest corner of his heart. So it came that he was now working on her notes while every now and than asking her what she meant with a specific note or if the information that was given to her is trustworthy or not. A hour passed and Serena took a shower and changed into a pair of shorts and an oversized sweater she recently purchased. She was sitting in her bed and read a novel when she let out a quiet yawn. She put her book on her nightstand and got under her blanket just to realise that she wasn't alone. Her green orbs fell upon her captain that was silently doing her work. When was the last time he had eight hours of sleep? Can't he relax for a bit? Every time I see him he is either in his workshop or on sea. "Kid? Aren't to going to sleep or at least rest for a bit?"

A soft and gentle voice replaced the calm silence and made the red haired man's heart race while his body turned warm. He felt like he had a fever and was about to collapse when he heard the bed behind him shift. He didn't move a bit or said anything until he felt her soft hands on his shoulders. "You should go to bed. Rest a bit. You need a healthy dose of sleep and resting otherwise you won't be able to fight properly, you know?"

Kid said nothing. He didn't reply to her or move. "Kid? You alright?", and again he didn't gave a answer but closed his eyes and turned around just to sit her down on his lap. "Stay. Stay like that for a while. I know that you want me to leave and I will do so but for now just stay like that and let me hold you for a bit."

The usually loud and aggressive captain was holding onto the female fencer like a child while his face was buried between her shoulder and neck. The feared captain was slowly breathing in her scent and letting out a hardly audible whimper. But Serena heard it what made her shiver slightly out of shook. She carefully placed her hands on his face and made him look in her eyes but the stubborn man refused to do so. He kept his eyes closed and his jaw clenched out of anger towards himself. What the actual fuck am I doing?! What is wrong with me? Why is my fucking heart racing?! GOD, stop it!! The captains cheeks were softly caressed by the woman he sat on his lap. While doing so she waited for him to hopefully open his eyes and allow her a look into his onyx black eyes. She didn't want to push him to something he didn't wanted so she kept quiet and gave him time to relax. While doing so she place her forehead against his and hummed a soft melody that seemed familiar to the captain of the worst generation but he couldn't quite get why it was so familiar and comforting.

Still not opening his eyes Kid spoke in a low and quiet voice "Would you mind me sleeping next to you for tonight?", a smile grew on Serenas lips and made a chuckle follow. "How come you are able to speak so nice and so.. I don’t know... gentleman like? No, thats not it. Let's just say it was really really nice and respectfully said.", said the green eyed woman while leading him to her bed and tugging him in. "Don't make me regret my word choice. I can go back to cursing and insulting you in any minute, woman."

The laughter of Serena filled the comforting silence that lingered in the room. A laughter that made the heart of the man laying at the right of the bed jump in joy. "And there we have our rude captain back. I kinda missed your rudeness around me. It's kinda entertaining and funny. I mostly like to see you and Killer fight with him always stating facts and you just yelling around a bunch of angry - No's- like a child.", with a smile upon her lips she made a little fun of the man she loved to have close to her. She liked spending time with him. She loved it when he came to her to complain about a failed plan of his or that of his first mate. She really appreciated when he searched for her whenever he needed to calm down and get away form his responsibilities as the captain. And everytime she would drop anything and anyone just to give him all of her attention as long as she could help. But everytime she did so the tall and muscular man wondered why she acted that way towards him because he knew that he wasn't someone easy-going.

"You're really annoying. Everytime I come to see you, you make me regret it.", Kid rolled his eyes to show his annoyance to support his point while still wearing a tiny friendly smile on. Serena laid down and pulled her blanket up to her shoulder right before she placed a hand under her pillow and her other hand lovingly on her captains cheek. Kid closed his eyes and did exactly what he asked her for. Sleeping and laying next to her with the hope of being able to suppress his need to hold her tightly in his arms and to calm his racing heart. But sadly she only knew about his wish of just being allowed to sleep next to her. Carefully she went through his hair to help him sleep when he took her wrist and held her back from making any other move. "Woman, your annoying. Let me sleep in peace."

Serena was hurt and felt her heart aching more than any other day but she said nothing else beside apologising and taking her hand back. "Good night cap."

She slowly turned around with now her back facing the sleepy big figure of the man beside her. Out of all the men around the world her heart chose to love him. A reckless and unpredictable man. A man that does not hesitate to kill and destroy when he wanted or needed to. She, a woman with a loving and sweet personality. A woman who probably could marry a king or a Prince ended up loving a pirate, a criminal hated and feared by any person with a sense of sanity. I should have stayed with my father and never accepted this mission Sabo gave me. A tear fell down her cheek when she heard the man, who owned her heart and soul without even knowing, lightly snore.

And just like that another night passes for the two lovesick pirates without them knowing that their feelings were actually returned.

[my-muses-in-op]

Love as strong as the sea

@asktheseawitch Oops my mind slipped XD

It wasn’t often they came across the Thousand Sunny, the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates, but when they did, it wasoftne the same. Luffy trying to get Whitebeard to fight him, declaring that he would be the King of Pirates and not the old man or whoever he wanted to be the King and Whitebeard laughing amused by the young boy’s bluntness. After some shouting, teasing and good hearted advice - not the the young captain would ever listen to them - Luffy ‘attacked’ Ace, trying to defeat his brother.

There was never a dull moment with the boy around, his curious nature bringing up the most unusual questions. He made the seasoned pirates feel alive and grateful for not having such a ball of energy as captain. They once more apreciated Ace for his politeness and while the frekled commander could be a handful too, he was far from the level of his little brother.

The Straw Hats were all used to this and didn’t even lift a brow at the antics of Luffy, some even oining in on his silliness, which told how close the crew was and how much they knew each other. A good trait, if you asked the sixteenth commander. Once the crew knew that they were mostly welcome as guests on the Moby Dick, they ventured around, getting to know the crew a little.

Now when they met up, the crew went to those they’ve befriended with and from whom they might learn a few things from. Marco, Deuce and Marchel was bombed with medical questions from Chopper, while Robin was mostly found in the library, either reading or talking to Mihal, the latter almost living in the library.

Every single Straw Hat Pirate had someone or more they could spend time with. While Luffy was ‘lecturing’ Whitebeard and then sparing with Ace, the sniper soend some time with Izo, showing off his skills. It had taken some time, but with the help of a certain crew member of the Straw Hats - the lovely sea witch - did Usopp find courage and confidence in being around the sixteenth division comander and soaking in the wisdom he could give the younger sniper.

As soon as Luffy was ready to mingle, however, Usopp was at his captain’s side and telling people aout the adventures they’ve been on, even if he exaggerated a lot.

It gave Izo the perfect opportunity to sneak away with Serena to his room. Their relationship wasn’t a secret at all, but gettin galone time tgether could be tricky. Especially after they had kids. Avery and Yamato wanted to spend time withtheir father too, but today they were far more interested in spending time with their grandfather. Whitebeard had them on his knee, telling them sotries about the adventure they had since they last met.

Alone in their room, Izo pulled her close, their lips meetin for a long and passionate kiss. They were pressed against each other, as if they tried to melt to become one being. The time spend apart made them long for each other so much more. Balancing the short time they had with being alone, being a small family and part of th ebig family, was not easy, but they made it work somehow.

Their lips barely parted, as they needed air to breathe. Hungry hands roamed over soft skin and Izo loved that she was showing a lot of skin. He loved the feeling of her skin under his palm and fingertips, loved how his hands made her sigh softly into thee kiss. Her ands weren’t still either, roaming his free chest and forced his kimono of his shoulders, giving her more skin to touch.

He lifted her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, as he walked towards his bed. Wihtout letting her go, he kneeled on the edge of the bed and managed to get them both to lie down on the side. Heated kisses were exchanged, along with hands imprinting every feelin of the other. For a long while, they were just making out, hunger and need evident every kiss.

No words were spoken, they didn’t need them too know what the other wanted. Their bodies were pressed against each other and it was impossible to hide the arousal that filled Izo with every heated kiss. Sere was a tease, however, only ghosting her hand over his woken member. He shuddered and lt out a soft moan.

Being a tease himself, he let his hands ghost over her breasts, feeling the hardness of her nipples pressing against fabric. She mooaned softly into his mouth and he smirked a little. Without a warnin, he parted their lips and shifted position, so he could tease her more. His lips closed around her nipple and he slowly let his tonue lide ver it. He was rewared with a shudder and moan. Serena grabbed his hair, pressing her body closer, the need for him growing with every second.

He knew that they wouldn’t be able to tease each other for long, the need, the hunger and desire was too strong for them to ignore. It’d been a while for them both to feel each other and be intimate, so their first time after meeting up again, would always be rushed and yet oh so wonderful. Later they would tease more and fight to dominate the other. He enoyed how playfull they were in bed.

Without a word, he started to undress her and she him. It didn’t take long before they both were naked in each other’s arms again. Her hand found his hard cock and started to rub it, while he let his lips return to her nipple. Sucking and licking it, he soaked in her moans. HIs hand found her womanhood and he pressed a finger between her folds.

She was wet and eagerly letting his slender digit slide inside. Another finger was quickly added and she shifted her position to lie on her back. He rolled with her, getting onto his knees above her. Their bodies were so in sync and a proof to him that they were meant for each other.

Her moans got needier, small pleasing whimpers leaving her lips. She wanted him, wanted to feel his cock buried deep inside of her. Feeling the need to be inside of her, he gave into her unspoken wish. Smoothly he slid inside of her, drawing out sweet mans from both of them. Lips found hers, as he started to rock his hips, loving the feeling of her tight walls cramping around his pulsing member.

He was slow at first, wanting to soak in the feeling of her around him and under him. The feeling of their heated skin tingled so delightful and increased his lust and need for her. With every thrust he got slight rougher and also picked up the speed. Nails slid down his back, as she held onto him, pressing him closer.

Moans filled the room, heavy and fast breathing leaving thei lips inbetween moans. Izo felt his body tensing and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer and from the sound of it, neither would Serena. Grabbing her ass, he lifted her up a little, allowing his to reach a little deeper.

A loud, but muffled moan left her, as he started to thrust harder and faster. She clung onto him, pressing her body as much as she could against his. The fast pace and hic cock hitting her just the right way, she let go and cum over him, her juices sliding out of her, while a deep and lone moan left her lips. It was the last straw to his climax and he filled her up with his cum, her name leaving his lips. His hips slowed down, as his cock spilled all of the seed he had, until they came to a halt.

Panting heavily, they looked into each other’s eyes. Love and happiness shined in them. They might not be around each other on a daily basis, but their love was pure and strong as the sea. It made moments like these more intense and powerful.

“I love you.” Izo smiled and kissed her lightly.

Smiling back, she let a her fingers go his hair, which was messy by now. “I love you too.”

Their lips met for a loving kiss, before they needed to go out again or take another round.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Fic Rec Bingo

Okie dokie, this is the Fan Rec Bingo - idea courtesy of lightvials on twitter, but I don’t have a twitter that I ever use, so I’m filling it out here instead.  Let’s see if I can fill it all out!

I did, and then some.  To save poor dashboards, it’s all under the cut!  If I know author tumblrs they’ve been mentioned - I know pitifully few so if anyone knows the ones I don’t, let me know so I can mention them, too!

A fic you love without knowing the source material: The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kyral (Stargate SG-1/Avatar the Last Airbender)

Through the spite of the spirits or plain rotten chance, a door that would have been better left untouched has opened. On the other hand, with Fire and Earth as one's allies, sometimes escaping is the easy part. Rated: Gen.  AO3 Archive Warning for Graphic Descriptions of Violence. Characters: Zuko, Toph Beifong, Janet Fraiser, Sam Carter, Jack O’Neill, and more Words: 196311.  Status: Complete

I very rarely read fics without already knowing the canon, but one that I think counts would be a Stargate/ATLA crossover, because I know nothing about Stargate and I have yet to finish ATLA!  This was recommended to me due to the creativity of the author regarding a language barrier (something I always enjoy, and my friend knows that).

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A fic series with a premise that shouldn’t work but it does: Crazy=Genius by blackkat (Bleach/Harry Potter)

Minerva McGonagall isn't about to let Harry go back to the Dursleys after his first year. She finds an alternative, and along the way, Bazzard Black finds that he might have more family left than he'd ever thought. Rated: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Bazz-B, Harry Potter, and more Words: 21682.  Status: Incomplete

Okay, I cheated and picked a series.  Not my fault blackkat decided to make this universe a series of oneshots rather than a single entity and you’re certainly not getting me to only pick one of the five already published ones.  Bazz-B being a Black and also kinda a wizard is a brilliant concept, and having him adopting Harry is pure gold.  Not sure how crazy Quincy adopting poor, neglected Boy Who Lives works, but it does!

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A fic you’ve reread several times: The Guardian (Director’s Cut) by SGTBrowncoat (Naruto)

Itachi Uchiha receives his first mission in ANBU: protecting a certain trouble making Jinchuriki. He bonds quickly with the boy, but dark forces rise to threaten Itachi, Naruto, and those they care for most. Rated: T.  Canon-typical violence Characters: Uchiha Itachi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Shisui and more (includes Uchiha Itachi/Inuzuka Hana background pairing) Words: 35945.  Status: Complete

Back to my first ever fandom, here, and a really fun non-massacre AU fic, with lots of Itachi and Shisui goodness.  There are a fair few ANBU-looking-after-kid-Naruto fics but this is by far my favourite of them!  There is a sequel, but unfortunately it’s not finished and hasn’t been updated in a long time (I live in hope!)

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A fic you still remember many years later: While The Ring Went South by Thundera Tiger (Lord of the Rings)

What happened after the Fellowship left Rivendell but before they came down off Caradhras? Behold the missing scenes. Rated: K+.  Canon-typical violence Characters: Legolas, Gimli, Aragon, Gandalf, the whole Fellowship Words: 149624.  Status: Complete

I refound this fic completely by accident the other week, after first reading it (according to when I favourited it on FFN) in 2011!  It was just as amazing as I remembered, and is really the standard I hold all other LotR fics to, especially ones that involve the entire, pre-Moria, Fellowship.  It has a sequel but sadly that’s not been updated in some time (but again, I live in hope!)

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A comfort fic: There May Be Some Collateral Damage by metisket (Bleach/Harry Potter)

Ichigo’s been ordered to go undercover at a magic school to bodyguard a kid named Harry Potter, and this would be fine, except that he’s about as good at bodyguarding as he is at magic. And he considers it a good day, magic-wise, if he hasn’t set anything on fire. Rated: Gen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Harry Potter, Weasley Twins, and more. Words: 61209.  Status: Complete

I have no idea what this means by ‘Comfort Fic’ but if I want a laugh and Umbridge getting a pile of comeuppance, this is definitely the fic I’ll turn to.  As the A/N says: ‘sending Ichigo to Hogwarts is basically the same as swinging a wrecking ball directly into the side of the castle’.  Beautiful chaos is what we get.  Beautiful, beautiful chaos.

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A cathartic fic: See You Again by cookietosser (One Piece)

Rocinante has been through a lot in his life. Adding uncontrollable time travel into the mix? That's just the icing on the cake. Rated: Teen.  AO3 Violence and (canon) Character Death Warnings Characters: Donquioxte Rocinante|Cora-san, Trafalgar Law, Heart Pirates Words: 15755.  Status: Complete

You want to rip my heart out and trample it into lots of little pieces while still making it all better because Law and Rocinante?  Well, this little time-traveller’s wife AU fic is just the one for all that.  Sad moments, frustrating moments, happy moments, all wrapped up in this oneshot!

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A fic you’d print and put on your bookshelf: Thrower of the Dart by Vathara (Artemis Fowl/The Avengers)

What might have happened instead of Artemis Fowl book 6, if it'd happened in the Marvel Universe. Megalomaniacs ahoy! Rated: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Artemis Fowl II, Tony Stark, and more Words: 101272.  Status: Complete

It’s long, it’s epic, and it would nestle in perfectly at home alongside my Artemis Fowl books on the bookshelf!  It’s not so much a rewrite of book 6 as a complete replacement of it, with a new plot and an all too familiar villain!

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A fic you associate with a song: Goodbye, Brother by Serena Estelle (Bleach)

Ilforte's final moments as I like to picture them-with his brother. Rated: T.  Canonical character death Characters: Szayelaporro Granz, Yylfordt Granz Words: 3073.  Status: Complete

Might be cheating, because the author actually names a song in their starting A/N, but this definitely brings to mind Exile Vilify by The National, and I fully recommend listening to that (on loop - there is a 10-hour loop version on youtube) as you watch this for maximum tear-jerking effect.

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A fic that inspires you: Magic of the Rose Cross by Awensweth (Harry Potter/D.Gray-Man)

In Harry's 4th year the Triwizard Tournament is brought back to live, but the appearance of a fourth mysterious school about which only Dumbledore seems to know brings new secrets with it for everyone. Who are the students of Rose Cross? Rated: Mature.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Harry Potter, Allen Walker, and more Words: 66632.  Status: Incomplete

I have been inspired by many, many fics, but I chose this one in particular because it was the main one that inspired me to join the HP/DGM Triwizard Tournament wave of the early 2010s - indeed, The Combat School is one of my most popular fics, but without this and other fics of the trope, I probably would never have written it!  That’s not to say I’ve copied this fic - aside from the base trope I tried my best to make my own work unique against the others, and hope that I succeeded!  Sadly, this fic is incomplete and hasn’t been updated for some time, but it’s still worth a read.

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A fic that brought you on board a new ship:  Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by MsChunks (Boku no Hero Academia)

Uraraka and Bakugo have a secret. It’s not what their classmates think it is. Rated: Teen.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Bakugo Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako Words: 182478.  Status: Complete

Putting Bakugo and Uraraka together was something I’d never considered, and I started this fic with some trepidation after a friend recommended it to me, but said friend has never steered me wrong with fics and didn’t start now!  Fake dating, Uraraka actually being badass, the most terrifying couple in class 1-A?  That’s this fic.

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A fic you wish could be a movie: Mission Impossible by Loopstagirl (Thunderbirds)

Being selected for his first solo mission should have been exciting for Captain Scott Tracy of the Air Force. But there was something else at play. Something dangerous and deadly. Something that could cost him more than his life. Rating: T.  Warnings: Violence Characters: Scott Tracy, Gordon Tracy Words: 55048.  Status: Complete

Air Force!Scott?  W.A.S.P.!Gordon?  On a joint mission together?  Yes, gimme, gimme, gimme.  Gimme Scott’s awkwardness alone on a boat of WASP personnel, gimme Gordon’s horror when he realises the suicide mission pilot is his older brother, and now give that all to me on screen!  And we can’t forget the Hood, of course!  Might be a bit higher rating than the current Thunderbirds stuff, but hey, I’m old enough.  Gimme.

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A fic that led to you becoming friends with the author: The Gabriel Project by Aceidia (Bleach)  - @thetwelvecaesars​

When Szayelaporro knew Aizen's reign in Heuco Mundo was coming to a close, he took matters into his own brilliant hands. He reincarnates himself and the other nine Espadas into a new life full of surprising turns and irony. Yet, the harmony and ignorance is not forever as they begin to remember. Rating: M (violence) Characters: Szayelaporro Granz, the Espada Words: 116030.  Status: Complete

Well, this fic sparked off a friendship that’s still very much there, even if neither of us write much for Bleach any more!  What started off as a challenge to identify who the Espada were turned into essay-length PMs about anything and everything, and then RP groups and now random emails about whatever at random times of the day (different timezones don’t help)!

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A fic you’ve gushed about irl: Living Like Kings by CLynnB (Thunderbirds)

The world wants to know more about the Tracy brothers. So Lady Penelope takes it upon herself to show the world just who they are. Through YouTube. Rating: Gen.  AO3 Author Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Lady Penelope-Creighton-Ward, Tracy Family (background Pen/Ink, Scayo, Virg/Brains) Words: 35348.  Status: Complete

I love social media fics like this one, and my poor boyfriend got the brunt of it while we were on holiday... he knows basically nothing about Thunderbirds except for what he’s heard from me (which is a lot because he’s amazing and lets me gush).  I mean, Tracy boys playing “The Floor Is Lava?” and tackling each other to the ground?  Gimme.

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A fic you associate with a place: Thunderbirds Meet Thunderbirds - Alan trip in to the movie verse by ak47stylegirl (Thunderbirds) @ak47stylegirl​

Crazy stuff always happens to Tracys, don't they?  Add felling into a different world to the list. Rating: Gen. AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Alan Tracy, Tracy Family times two Words: 25599.  Status: Incomplete

This might be a little random, but this fic was one that I found while I was ill on holiday to the Lake District last autumn.  Sadly, it’s the only trip there I’ve ever done where I couldn’t climb a single fell (and my car’s clutch burnt out after having to reverse up a pass... thanks bus coming the other way), and this fic’s updates while I was there kept me sane!  This has actually very loosely inspired a fic of my own which is in the making - which might get posted in the next year if I’m lucky...  Still waiting eagerly for this fic’s next update :D

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A fic that made you gasp out loud: The Colours Of The World by MaiKusakabe (Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter)

When Roy Mustang went to retrieve his eyesight from Truth, he wasn’t expecting to end up doing a job in exchange. It couldn’t even be an easy job, of course, because Edward’s assessment of Truth was a pretty accurate one. Rating: Mature.  AO3 No Archive Warnings (but watch for canon-typical violence) Characters: Roy Mustang, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, and more Words: 120578.  Status: Incomplete

Badass Roy yesss.  Twists and turns and Truth is a pretentious you-know-what but Voldemort’s even worse so where does that leave poor Roy except caught in the middle and very much a war veteran at this point... much to the horror of a few wizards!

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A fic you found at the right time: Seafaring Heartless: Exit North Blue by Avian Swallow (One Piece)

Pirates may be considered evil by the majority, but Law had met quite a few of the world's navy who were corrupt to the core and putting up a very thick facade. He reasoned that if he was going to manipulate and scheme his way into that goal, at least he was going to be honest enough to admit it. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Trafalgar Law, Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, Heart Pirate OCs Words: 159644.  Status: Complete

Is there ever a ‘wrong time’ to find a fic?  (a 100k+ at 4am debatable, but shh).  When I craved Heart Pirate content, this fic (and its sequel, still in progress but updating) appeared!  Only loosely clings to canon at the moment, thanks to some SBS revelations, but with well developed OCs to fill the faces we have no names or personalities for at the moment!

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A fic that you would read fic of: Only a Boy by Riddle Lee (Harry Potter/Merlin)

Merlin has changed Camelot forever but while that part of his life is complete, destiny has a new task for him. Now he has to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, hide the fact that he's the Merlin, and defeat a Dark Lord that's messing with magic he knows nothing about. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Merlin, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and more Words: 340998.  Status: Incomplete

An amazing universe with Slytherin!Merlin, no Harry Potter/Boy Who Lived, and the good old ‘hiding real identity’ trope to underpin the whole series.  Currently just into the start of Merlin’s third year at Hogwarts, aka “The Prisoner of Azkaban”.  This universe has so much to give, although Riddle Lee is doing a fantastic job at it.  It’s incomplete and slow to update but does update!

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A fic that made you laugh out loud: HOW’S THE COMA GOING by ossicle (One Piece)

Kidd and Penguin keep trying to murder each other and Law is done with their shit. He assigns them to take care of each other’s injuries so they’ll learn to get along. It doesn’t work. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Eustass Kid, Penguin, Trafalgar Law (background KidLaw) Words: 2062.  Status: Complete

Oh this one had me in stitches basically the whole time.  Kid’s bedside manner should not be mimicked in the slightest, but a beautiful bonding fic in typical pirate fashion - beat ‘em up ‘til they have your approval.  Poor, poor, Law.

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A fic with a line (or two) that you’ve memorised by heart: On Their Side by Gumnut (Thunderbirds) - @gumnut-logic​

She trusted these boys with a great deal. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Warnings Apply Characters: Colonel Casey, Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy Words: 1116.  Status: Complete

I think I have basically the entire thing memorised.  This one also falls into several other categories, most notably ones that made me laugh and ones that I’ve reread several times, but it really belongs here on this list.

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A fic that gave you butterflies: it’s a long way forward so trust in me by aloneintherain (Miraculous Ladybug)

Six times Marinette carried Adrien (plus one time he carried her). Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Adrien Agreste|Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng|Ladybug (all sides of the love square) Words: 5611.  Status: Complete

Aaah I have a weak spot for strong!Marinette and this fic ticks that box time and time again, with a side of blushing!Adrien and general love-struck Adrien/Chat.  I mean, what more could a girl need?

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A fic that embodies something you value in life: Team Itachi by Killer of thy Cookies (Naruto)

What if the Third Hokage stopped the council before they could order Itachi to commit the Uchiha Clan Massacre? Itachi is one of the village's strongest ninja, and has now been given the task of being a Jonin sensei, assigned to Team 7 with his little brother Sasuke, the 'dead last' Naruto Uzumaki, and fangirl Sakura Haruno. This is Team Itachi. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and more Words: 155092.  Status: Complete

(Yup, another non-massacre AU.)  Loyalty.  Honestly, there are so many fics that have loyalty in them, especially in fandoms like Naruto, where loyalty is a pretty big thing anyway (alongside friendship, of course), but this one is Itachi staying openly loyal to the village because Sarutobi actually saved the clan, and of course lovely bonds between the team!

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A favourite AU: A Son By Any Other Name by carryonstarkid (Thunderbirds)

Cursed as a child, Scott Tracy lives a life in which everyone he encounters must follow all of his given commands. Rating: Teen.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Scott Tracy, Tracy Brothers, Kayo Kyrano, and more Words: 83429.  Status: Complete

I rarely read AU fics - my preferred sandbox is the canon one, or a nice slice of canon diversion, rather than completely taking characters out of their home and dumping them somewhere entirely new.  This fairytale AU, however - reminding me very much of Sleeping Beauty except instead of sleeping it’s, well, what the summary says - is fantastically well done and addresses the strain such a thing would put on even the closest of family relationships.

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A fic you stayed up too late to finish reading: As N Approaches Infinity by Corisanna (Bleach/Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Despairing as yet another timeline goes horribly wrong, Homura wanders into Karakura. There she discovers that while the spiritually-aware people of Karakura were distracted by Ichigo Kurosaki and Xcution, Kyubey had managed to contract the Kurosaki sisters as magical girls. Drawing the attention of the shinigami could be just the advantage Homura needs. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings but watch out for canon-typical situations for both fandoms (especially Madoka) Characters: Akemi Homura, Kurosaki Karin, Kurosaki Yuzu, Urahara Kisuke, and many more Words: 465297.  Status: Incomplete

There are many fanfictions that have kept me up til dawn.  Many.  This one, however, has literally robbed me of all my sleep and I’ve still been unable to finish it in one sitting.  It’s good, the pacing is fantastic, and with Homura as our leading lady, that means those time resets really hit hard when they happen (and they happen.  They really, really, happen).  Might be incomplete, but is still updating - and there’s plenty to keep you occupied in the meantime!

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A fic that made you feel seen: A Seed Once Grown by Darkestwolfx (Thunderbirds) - @darkestwolfx​

Believe it or not, they did have a garden on Tracy Island. It looked a little like a… tip. And that was being kind. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Ned Tedford, Tracy Family Words: 4785.  Status: Complete

Okay, so I’m taking this literally because I spend a lot of time feeling invisible on the internet so having a fic written for me from someone I’d barely spoken to before was a whole pile of screaming.  Not that it’s the first time someone’s written a fic for me, but the other ones have been done by friends I’d already known for some time, and not someone in a fandom I’m just starting to find my feet in.

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Free space: whoo boy, fun time!  There are a few fics on the top of my head that didn’t fill any of the above prompts (or got beaten to the punch by another), so my wildcard space is going to be a few fic links without the extra detail because I’ve already spent about 12 hours on this to get to this point (did I get sidetracked and re-read a bunch?  You bet) and I’d quite like to also get some fic written today, too!

Eight-Day Week (JoJo Spotting) by TrufflestheMushroom (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

The Trouble With Eastern by teaandtumblr (One Piece)

Remembrance by ClioSelene (One Piece)

Legacy by MaiKusakabe (One Piece)

A Fleeting Smile by AnonymousTwit (Boku no Hero Academia)

Too Loud For Comfort by vaporeon_ninja (Boku no Hero Academia)

A Dragon’s Hoard by Chezka (Boku no Hero Academia)

Nine Lives by P_Artsypants (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chat’s Eye View (Love Letters To Paris) by Icka M Chif (Miraculous Ladybug)

Gabriel’s Lament by Chaotic Neutral (Miraculous Ladybug)

What The Cat Dragged In by Kyral (Avengers/Miraculous Ladybug)

Weekend Warrior by BlackDog_66 (Avengers)

Fitting In (Tiny Spaces) by aloneintherain (Avengers)

Autonomy by beetlebee (Naruto)

Great Minds by ScreamingViking (Final Fantasy VII)

Dear Kunsel by Sinnatious (Final Fantasy VII)

Cracks in the knight by authorettejasmin (Magic Kaito)

To Wrap An Elvish Princeling by Jael (Lord of the Rings)

There are more, many more, and I’ll probably post a few more recs around - you can also find some on my blog and I’ll try and get that updated with a few more at some point because there are many more than that!

[ao3feed-hamilton]

by Zxrcon

die

Words: 10, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Orange is the New Black, Steven Universe (Cartoon), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), Shark Tale (2004), Sharknado (Movies), Jaws (Movies), XXXTentacion (Musician) RPF, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Undertale (Video Game), Deltarune (Video Game), Roblox (Video Game), Family Guy (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, The Cleveland Show, Garfield - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Universe Online, Victorious (TV), iCarly, Minecraft (Video Game), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Russian Doll (TV 2019), My Singing Monsters, Revolver - The Beatles, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Fairy Tail, SpongeBob SquarePants (Cartoon), M&M's Commercials, Homestuck, Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Donkey Kong (Video Games), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), Santa Clarita Diet (TV), Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い! | Watamote - No Matter How I Look At It It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular!, Free!, American Horror Story, Ирония судьбы | The Irony of Fate (Movies), John Wick (Movies), Fortnite (Video Game), Overwatch (Video Game), Salad Fingers, Wonder Woman (2017), अलीबाबा और चलीस चोर | Alibaba Aur 40 Chor | Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves (1979), Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Political RPF - US 21st c., Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare, Everyman HYBRID, Everybody Else (Band), Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng, Arctic Monkeys, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, Game of Thrones (TV), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Teen Titans Go!, Regular Show, Clarence (Cartoon), Flaming Carrot Comics, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain | Amélie (2001), Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë, Jane the Virgin (TV), H2O: Just Add Water, Shrek (Movies), Fish Hooks (TV), Shark Tank (TV 2009), Of Mice & Men (Band), Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck, Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series), The Stanley Parable, Hitler: The Rise of Evil (TV 2003), Fran Bow (Video Game), Hamilton - Miranda, Johnny Test (Cartoon), A Separate Peace - John Knowles, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Office (US), Five Nights at Freddy's, Phineas and Ferb, Moshi Monsters (Video Game), Neopets, K-pop, Poptropica (Video Game), Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Ann M. Martin, Super Planet Dolan (Web Series), Slazo, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), We Bare Bears (TV), Adventure Time, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Magiswords (Cartoon), Hey Arnold!, Rugrats & All Grown Up! (Cartoons), CatDog (Cartoon), Harvey Beaks (Cartoon), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunter X Hunter, Camp Camp (Web Series), Fairly OddParents, Camila Cabello (Musician), Anne with an E (TV), G.I. Joe - All Media Types, 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), Eminem (Musician), Club Penguin, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, LOVECRAFT H. P. - Works, Captain America (Movies), American Dad!, Country Music RPF, Tiger Cruise (2004), Karate Kid (Movies), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom - A. C. Crispin, The Princess and the Frog (2009), The Aristocats (1970), The Muppet Show, The Muppets - All Media Types, Sesame Street (TV), Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series - Jeff Kinney, Dork Diaries Series - Rachel Renee Russell, Looney Tunes | Merrie Melodies, Apple "Get a Mac" Commercials, McDonalds "NHL Mini-Sticks" Commercials, Talking Tom and Friends (Cartoon), Nintendogs

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Oscar (Shark Tale), Brook Soso, Alex Vause, Piper Chapman, Megan Bloomfield, Graham Eaton, Lenny the Chocolate Moose, George Milton, Lennie Small, Nicky Nichols, Lorna Morello, Lemony Snicket, Alexandrite (Steven Universe), Dominga "Daddy" Duarte, Artesian McCullough, Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe), Yellow Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Yellow Zircon (Steven Universe), Jade West, Joel Luschek, Noelle Holiday, Slim (Of Mice and Men), Slime (Minecraft), Creeper (Minecraft), Enderman (Minecraft), Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale), Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, Sunny Baudelaire, Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Janae Watson, Sister Jane Ingalls, Sophia Burset, Baz (Sharknado), Robin Hood (Once Upon a Time), Starfire, Cyborg (Character), The Beast (Over the Garden Wall), Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast), John Bennett (Orange is the New Black), John Doe (Roblox), John Wick, Ruby (Steven Universe), Jane Doe, Justin Hammer, Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Peridot (Steven Universe), The Narrator (The Stanley Parable), Shrek (Shrek), Annoying Dog (Undertale), Ben Shapiro, Desert Glass (Steven Universe), GLaDOS, Winnie (Free!), Bird That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap, Watanabe You, Franny Morello, Thanos (Marvel), Spider (Minecraft), May Parker (Spider-Man), Courage (Courage the Cowardly Dog), Peter Parker, Lois Griffin, Michael Scott, Freddy Fazbear, Nevel Papperman

Relationships: Piper Chapman/Alex Vause, Nicky Nichols/Alex Vause, Parker (Leverage)/Alex Vause, Megan Bloomfield/Graham Eaton, Barry Benson/Oscar (Shark Tale), Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Amethyst (Steven Universe)/Sans (Undertale), Sans (Undertale) & Peridot (Steven Universe), Olivia Caliban/Jacquelyn Scieszka, Blue Diamond/Greg Universe, Sans (Undertale)/Shrek (Shrek), Papyrus (Undertale) & Sonic the Hedgehog, Noelle Holiday/Susie (Deltarune), George Milton & Lennie Small, Artesian McCullough/Maritza Ramos, Alex Vause/Reader, W. D. Gaster/Sans/Reader, Ned (Pushing Daisies)/Harry Potter, Amethyst (Steven Universe)/Harry Potter, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Garnet/Jasper (Steven Universe), Alice (Alice in Wonderland)/Christopher Robin (Winnie-the-Pooh), Frank Castle/John Wick, Joel Luschek/Nicky Nichols, Alexandrite/Malachite (Steven Universe), Freddie Benson/Carly Shay, Star Butterfly & Steven Universe, Count Olaf/Esmé Squalor, Galina "Red" Reznikov/Gloria Mendoza, Enid (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes)/Pearl (Steven Universe), Enid/Red Action (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes), Carol Denning/Reader, Sans/Sans (Undertale), Chara/Frisk (Undertale), Tony Stark/Thanos, Peter Griffin/Johnny Test, Courage/Katz, Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester, Blue Diamond (Steven Universe)/Eugene Krabs, Gene Forrester/Phineas "Finny", Creeper (Minecraft)/Sans (Undertale), Creeper/Steve (Minecraft), Creeper (Minecraft)/Reader, Gene/Jailbreak/Hi-5 (The Emoji Movie), Jailbreak/Smiler, Lord Boxman/Eugene "Gar" Garcia, George Washington/Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton/Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Halpert/Michael Scott, Eievui | Eevee/Pikachu, Kasumi | Misty/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum/Serena, Chica (Five Nights at Freddy's)/Harry Potter, Bonnie/Foxy (Five Nights at Freddy's), Freddy Fazbear/Reader, Freddie Benson/Nevel Papperman, Gibby Gibson/Nevel Papperman, Lorna Morello/Nicky Nichols, Lorna Morello/Vince Muccio, Liane Cartman/Quahog Residents (Family Guy), Lois Griffin/Glenn Quagmire, Glenn Quagmire/Joe Swanson, Benny (In the Heights)/Alexander Hamilton

Additional Tags: Futanari, Orgy, Mouth Sewn Shut, Gay Sex, Everyone Is Gay, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Kissing, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Necrophilia, Murder, BDSM, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Must Read, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn, Discussion of Abortion, Abortion, Glasses, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Fuckin' Fluffy Mondays, Everybody Dies, Holocaust, I did this instead of studying for my finals, harambe trump, Cereal

from AO3 works tagged 'Hamilton - Miranda' http://bit.ly/2YSndqV

[ao3feed-babysittersclub]

All Together™

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2YSndqV

by Zxrcon

die

Words: 10, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Orange is the New Black, Steven Universe (Cartoon), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), Shark Tale (2004), Sharknado (Movies), Jaws (Movies), XXXTentacion (Musician) RPF, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Undertale (Video Game), Deltarune (Video Game), Roblox (Video Game), Family Guy (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, The Cleveland Show, Garfield - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Universe Online, Victorious (TV), iCarly, Minecraft (Video Game), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Russian Doll (TV 2019), My Singing Monsters, Revolver - The Beatles, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Fairy Tail, SpongeBob SquarePants (Cartoon), M&M's Commercials, Homestuck, Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Donkey Kong (Video Games), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), Santa Clarita Diet (TV), Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い! | Watamote - No Matter How I Look At It It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular!, Free!, American Horror Story, Ирония судьбы | The Irony of Fate (Movies), John Wick (Movies), Fortnite (Video Game), Overwatch (Video Game), Salad Fingers, Wonder Woman (2017), अलीबाबा और चलीस चोर | Alibaba Aur 40 Chor | Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves (1979), Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Political RPF - US 21st c., Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare, Everyman HYBRID, Everybody Else (Band), Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng, Arctic Monkeys, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, Game of Thrones (TV), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Teen Titans Go!, Regular Show, Clarence (Cartoon), Flaming Carrot Comics, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain | Amélie (2001), Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë, Jane the Virgin (TV), H2O: Just Add Water, Shrek (Movies), Fish Hooks (TV), Shark Tank (TV 2009), Of Mice & Men (Band), Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck, Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series), The Stanley Parable, Hitler: The Rise of Evil (TV 2003), Fran Bow (Video Game), Hamilton - Miranda, Johnny Test (Cartoon), A Separate Peace - John Knowles, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Office (US), Five Nights at Freddy's, Phineas and Ferb, Moshi Monsters (Video Game), Neopets, K-pop, Poptropica (Video Game), Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Ann M. Martin, Super Planet Dolan (Web Series), Slazo, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), We Bare Bears (TV), Adventure Time, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Magiswords (Cartoon), Hey Arnold!, Rugrats & All Grown Up! (Cartoons), CatDog (Cartoon), Harvey Beaks (Cartoon), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunter X Hunter, Camp Camp (Web Series), Fairly OddParents, Camila Cabello (Musician), Anne with an E (TV), G.I. Joe - All Media Types, 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), Eminem (Musician), Club Penguin, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, LOVECRAFT H. P. - Works, Captain America (Movies), American Dad!, Country Music RPF, Tiger Cruise (2004), Karate Kid (Movies), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom - A. C. Crispin, The Princess and the Frog (2009), The Aristocats (1970), The Muppet Show, The Muppets - All Media Types, Sesame Street (TV), Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series - Jeff Kinney, Dork Diaries Series - Rachel Renee Russell, Looney Tunes | Merrie Melodies, Apple "Get a Mac" Commercials, McDonalds "NHL Mini-Sticks" Commercials, Talking Tom and Friends (Cartoon), Nintendogs, Melanie Martinez (Musician), Little Witch Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia, Cowboy Bebop (Anime), Gravity Falls, Halloween Movies - All Media Types, The Nun (2018)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Oscar (Shark Tale), Brook Soso, Alex Vause, Piper Chapman, Megan Bloomfield, Graham Eaton, Lenny the Chocolate Moose, George Milton, Lennie Small, Nicky Nichols, Lorna Morello, Lemony Snicket, Alexandrite (Steven Universe), Dominga "Daddy" Duarte, Artesian McCullough, Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe), Yellow Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Yellow Zircon (Steven Universe), Jade West, Joel Luschek, Noelle Holiday, Slim (Of Mice and Men), Slime (Minecraft), Creeper (Minecraft), Enderman (Minecraft), Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale), Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, Sunny Baudelaire, Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Janae Watson, Sister Jane Ingalls, Sophia Burset, Baz (Sharknado), Robin Hood (Once Upon a Time), Starfire, Cyborg (Character), The Beast (Over the Garden Wall), Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast), John Bennett (Orange is the New Black), John Doe (Roblox), John Wick, Ruby (Steven Universe), Jane Doe, Justin Hammer, Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Peridot (Steven Universe), The Narrator (The Stanley Parable), Shrek (Shrek), Annoying Dog (Undertale), Ben Shapiro, Desert Glass (Steven Universe), GLaDOS, Winnie (Free!), Bird That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap, Watanabe You, Franny Morello, Thanos (Marvel), Spider (Minecraft), May Parker (Spider-Man), Courage (Courage the Cowardly Dog), Peter Parker, Lois Griffin, Michael Scott, Freddy Fazbear, Nevel Papperman

Relationships: Piper Chapman/Alex Vause, Nicky Nichols/Alex Vause, Parker (Leverage)/Alex Vause, Megan Bloomfield/Graham Eaton, Barry Benson/Oscar (Shark Tale), Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Amethyst (Steven Universe)/Sans (Undertale), Sans (Undertale) & Peridot (Steven Universe), Olivia Caliban/Jacquelyn Scieszka, Blue Diamond/Greg Universe, Sans (Undertale)/Shrek (Shrek), Papyrus (Undertale) & Sonic the Hedgehog, Noelle Holiday/Susie (Deltarune), George Milton & Lennie Small, Artesian McCullough/Maritza Ramos, Alex Vause/Reader, W. D. Gaster/Sans/Reader, Ned (Pushing Daisies)/Harry Potter, Amethyst (Steven Universe)/Harry Potter, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Garnet/Jasper (Steven Universe), Alice (Alice in Wonderland)/Christopher Robin (Winnie-the-Pooh), Frank Castle/John Wick, Joel Luschek/Nicky Nichols, Alexandrite/Malachite (Steven Universe), Freddie Benson/Carly Shay, Star Butterfly & Steven Universe, Count Olaf/Esmé Squalor, Galina "Red" Reznikov/Gloria Mendoza, Enid (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes)/Pearl (Steven Universe), Enid/Red Action (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes), Carol Denning/Reader, Sans/Sans (Undertale), Chara/Frisk (Undertale), Tony Stark/Thanos, Peter Griffin/Johnny Test, Courage/Katz, Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester, Blue Diamond (Steven Universe)/Eugene Krabs, Gene Forrester/Phineas "Finny", Creeper (Minecraft)/Sans (Undertale), Creeper/Steve (Minecraft), Creeper (Minecraft)/Reader, Gene/Jailbreak/Hi-5 (The Emoji Movie), Jailbreak/Smiler, Lord Boxman/Eugene "Gar" Garcia, George Washington/Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton/Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Halpert/Michael Scott, Eievui | Eevee/Pikachu, Kasumi | Misty/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum/Serena, Chica (Five Nights at Freddy's)/Harry Potter, Bonnie/Foxy (Five Nights at Freddy's), Freddy Fazbear/Reader, Freddie Benson/Nevel Papperman, Gibby Gibson/Nevel Papperman, Lorna Morello/Nicky Nichols, Lorna Morello/Vince Muccio, Liane Cartman/Quahog Residents (Family Guy), Lois Griffin/Glenn Quagmire, Glenn Quagmire/Joe Swanson, Benny (In the Heights)/Alexander Hamilton

Additional Tags: Futanari, Orgy, Mouth Sewn Shut, Gay Sex, Everyone Is Gay, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Kissing, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Necrophilia, Murder, BDSM, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Must Read, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn, Discussion of Abortion, Abortion, Glasses, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Fuckin' Fluffy Mondays, Everybody Dies, Holocaust, I did this instead of studying for my finals, harambe trump, Cereal

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2YSndqV

[obsolxtx]

📔+ a couple weeks after the break out Luffy caused

Lenora:

Entry 750- Things are starting to finally settle down here but I'm worried about Warden... (perhaps Vice Warden) Magellan. He was on the edge of death when we found him after Blackbeard and his crew left and we'd managed to return the remaining prisoners to their cells. Vice Warden... no... Hannyabal has almost fully recovered from his injuries so that is good... but I've noticed that he's taken to binge eating and I can't help wonder if it's due to the stress of being promoted or if it's because he too is worried about Magellan. Those two might not have seemed like it but they were pretty damn close.

Lancaster:

Entry ???- Looks like I owe that Luffy kid after all... if it weren't for him I'd still be trapped in that hell hole. I just wish I had some idea how to pay him back that didn't put my ass in the spot light again. Three weeks in that place was long enough...

Serena:

Entry 117- It would appear that the captain of the Strawhat pirates did something that no sane person or person who didn't have a death wise would do. Although he did free Captain Rutherford perhaps it would have been for the best if he had stayed in Impel Down a little longer. No offense, I just enjoyed the peace and quiet... which is all but gone now.

[princesslillyan]

Hook (5/5)

Happy Endings and New Beginnings

Hey guys, so this took longer to update than I thought was going to, but here is the last part!

ff.net

The ship lurched, and the chorus of excited voices rang out as water sprayed over the bow of the ship when they erupted from the portal. They had taken as many children as they could with them, leaving only Tinkerbelle and seven of the lost boys behind. Emma couldn’t help the smile on her face at the excitement of the children. It was decided last night, around the campfire, that they would find this mysterious Storybrooke, and return the other stolen children. It was the right thing to do. They had also promised that they would take a sample of the dreamshade with them, to see if a true antidote could be found, so they could return for the rest of the children. With a sigh, she leaned into her husband’s side and helped steer the ship.

In a matter of 4 days, her life had turned around. She was married to a notorious fairytale pirate. According to her son, she was a long lost princess, destined to break a terrible curse and to ‘bring back the happy endings’, whatever that meant. And she had discovered she had magic. True magic. She didn’t know how it worked, it was mostly just instinct and accident. Except when she had felt the need to save Rufio. The feeling came out of nowhere, but she had felt compelled to try. A little concentration, a warm glow from her hand over his heart, and he was healed. It should have terrified her, but instead it was calming. All the little things that didn’t make sense as a teenager were clarified now. They were her Harry Potter moments. Nothing as crazy as letting loose a snake on an unsuspecting zoo, but the lights had a tendency to flicker when her emotions had run high.

And Killian, she had been so worried he would see her as some sort of freak, but he had just held her and told her how wonderful she was, and that he was so proud of her. Emma didn’t think she could love him more, but her heart swelled with his acceptance.

Staring forward, she could see a port come into view. “Is that it?” She nodded towards the arena.

“Yes! That’s the dock. Look, I think I can see my mom.” One of the girls jumped towards the bow of the ship. Her dark curls bounced with excitement. But Emma couldn’t help the sense of foreboding. As the figure came more into view, she could see the woman on the dock was anything but welcoming. Dressed in a pantsuit, she had an air of authority, and looked like she had never smiled in her life. The sense of foreboding deepened as she locked eyes with the woman. If looks could kill, Emma felt like she would be long gone by now.

“Mom, that’s her.” She looked down at her son, who was also staring at the woman on the docks.

“Who is she?” Killian asked.

“She’s the Evil Queen, well according to the book anyway. It’s her curse that mom is supposed to break. She might not be happy to see us.” Henry explained. Killian and Emma exchanged looks, a silent conversation taking place before Killian nodded and Emma turned to their son.

“Ok kid, we need you to get all the children below deck. At least until your father and I make sure it is safe. Can you do that?”

“Aye aye Captains,” he saluted them before dashing down the stairs and herding the kids below.

Before long, they were docking and walking down the gangplank, to the await the woman who was not anymore pleased with their presence than she was when the first ship appeared.

“Who are you people and what business do you have here?” She demanded in a way that was just shy of disrespectful.

“My name is Emma, and this is my husband Killian,” She explained. The woman raised her eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed. “We are on a family trip along the coastline and were surprised by this little town as it is not on any map. We were curious, and also in need of supplies so we decided to kill two birds with one stone.”

“Family trip you say, is that the reason for the ridiculous amount of leather your husband seems to be sporting?” There was something about the woman’s tone that made Emma believe she wasn’t as hard as she wanted to appear. Like she was holding back fear, heartache, and didn’t want to appear vulnerable.

“Indeed, your highness,” Killian mocked with a bow. The woman’s eyes flared at the term he used.

“I am the mayor, Regina Mills, and I suggest you resupply what you need quickly. This town doesn’t take well to outsiders. So I suggest you move along as the longer you are here, the more suspicious I and the rest of the town will be that you are up to no good. Now if you will excuse me, I have some very important matter to attend.”

Emma watched as she turned away, but clearly saw the hurt in the other woman’s eyes, the longing, the loss. Now was not the time for charades. “Madam Mayor!” She called out, causing the woman to turn on her heel and glare at them. Not to be deterred, she continued, “what if we were to tell you, we just returned from Neverland, after defeating Pan and the Lost Boys, and we’ve come to return what he took from you.”

She watched as the breath caught in Regina’s throat and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes as they flashed with what Emma would consider hope. The woman recovered quickly though, and her mask of disdain was back in place almost immediately.

“I would say someone has been reading one to many fairytales.”

“Mommy?” The voice was quiet, but the adults looked up and saw her. The little girl with the black curls, wide eyed and amazed, looked down at them. Henry stood at the railing with his arm protectively around the girl.

“S- Serena?” Regina’s voice cracked as the girl shook Henry’s arm off before she ran down the plank and threw herself into her mother’s arms. Dropping to her knees, Regina hugged the girl to her and didn’t look to ever let her go. Emma looked up at Henry, who just shrugged before he grinned.

“Mommy, I missed you so much. But I stayed brave and strong, just like you taught me. I love you mommy!” Regina carded her fingers through her daughter’s hair and kissed her forehead before looking up at them.

“I knew he had taken them,” her voice broke as she clutched her daughter to her chest. “I knew it and I had no way to get them back. There was no magic here, until a few days ago. I was out here to see if I could call his shadow, but it wasn’t answering. I can never thank you enough.”

“How about you start by helping us find the homes of the ones taken, plus we have a few extra that might need a place to stay.” Killian commented.

“Of course, follow me.”

It had been a long emotional day of reuniting families. Killian was beyond proud of his wife. Finding orphans forever homes was her job in Boston, and it was nice to be able to reunite lost children with their real families. They had taken shelter for the night and a little Inn called Granny’s. It was ran by quite the formidable woman that he had instantly taken a liking too. Emma found him, sipping on his rum in front of a fireplace as he tried to shake off his feeling of dread. During their errands today, he learned that 3 weeks had passed in this land while only 1 day had passed in Neverland.

He had made the appropriate calls to Wendy, letting her know that they were home and safe. He had given her the scaled down version with a promise of the full story the next time they came to visit. After that, he had called John and told him what had happened, though Wendy had already clued him in. John had been understanding, and it had been him that covered up the real reason he was missing, and that Killian could take as much time as he needed to make a decision.

Was he going to return to the modern world, or follow the winds wherever they took him and Swan.

“So, all the kids are sleeping in beds upstairs. It was very nice of Granny to open her inn to the children. I was wondering if- hey, are you alright?” She looked at him and he just smiled sadly before taking another sip of his rum and offering the flask to her.

“Aye love, I am perfectly happy. I have my children, I have you.” He pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head. She hummed contently and snuggled into his shoulder.

“Does it bother you that I am a princess, with magical powers and am somehow destined to break a curse on this sleepy little town?” She looked up at him and the twinkle in her eye made him chuckle.

“Not at all, I can pride myself in the fact that I have stolen the greatest treasure of all.” She smiled up at him and tugged on his ear.

“Pirate,” she murmured affectionately as she settled her head back on his shoulder. “Whatever happens, I just want you to know no matter what that I love you. My parents, my real parents, might be in this town somewhere and they might not. I know how much you have fought for a place in this world. You have a career that you are amazing at and-”

“Swan, you are my world. If we stay here and you take up this mantel of the savior or we decide to go back to Boston, it matters not to me. I will follow you to the ends of the Earth, or time. Wherever you are, that is my home, because you are my home.”

With tears in her eyes, she leaned up and kissed him gently. A beat passed and there was a flash of light and wind that separated them. Several moments passed as they stared at each other in confusion, before Henry came running down the stairs before bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of them.

“Mom, Dad, did you feel that? You broke the curse! That rainbow whoosh, it happened in the book after Charming woke up Snow White with a kiss! You did it- wait, how did you break it? Eww, were you kissing? That's only ok in books guys, kissing is so gross! I’m going back to bed. By the way, Happy Birthday Mom.” They couldn’t help the laughter at Henry’s complete 180 as he realized how they broke the curse. Contently he snuggled her back into his side and sighed with contentment.

“So we’re staying a while?” She murmured into his shoulder.

“Aye, I think it would be best. Boston will still be there, once we figure all this out. What say you love, ready for the next chapter of this adventure we’re on?”

“With you? Always.”