#she'd put them on a boat lol

[pines4thetwin]

Younger Pines Twins finding out about Stancest!

Mabel: ✨️🎊Old Man Yaoi🎊✨️

Dipper: 😟😢Old Man Yaoi😟😥

[dragonroilz]

lore written by Ccmaci:

She used to be your typical low brow Karen, but then she tripped into the rabbit hole of really fringe conspiracy. She didn't trust America to train her for the coming thermal nuclear crisis cause they put steroids in the military's food that down the line will turn their children into sleeper-agent-zombies, and she doesn't go to foreign governments because when you get your picture taken for a passport, the flash from the camera imprints your Social Security Number into your brain, a number she believes decodes the subluminal messaging in fast-food commercials that make you want to not question the yearly 0.50 cent price raises for a burger (burgers which are laced with micro-pathogens that cause you to love the concept of being called in for jury duty, obviously).

The only place that was safe place to acquire military training was [insert fake county name here], a legally unrecognized country off the coast of Alaska, with a population of less than 200 people. Obviously, all boats are rigged with ice-berg attracting magnets which go off incase an American hasn't had their daily intake of jury duty micro-pathogens, so swam the coast of Canada as to avoid crossing the boarder where she'd likely be asked to give the Canadian government a sample of her blood (cause we all know what horrors Canadian's can commit with 2 liters of blood from a woman born south of the global hemisphere).

Anyways, so she makes it to the unrecognized country, and thankfully they let her into their militia cause SHE GOT JACKED FROM LITERALLY SWIMMING FROM WASHINGTON TO ALASKA. Obviously she did her homework before this, and was already pretty knowledgeable on basic military concepts like rocket jumping, so this was really just to round out the edges on her proficiency's (that's what she thinks, in reality she really needed this training to be competent lol).

Sadly, after discovering the unrecognized country was literally planning thermal-nuclear-warfare, she decided to leave Alaska, which strangely after she did, all evidence of that legally-unrecognized country ceased to exist. She was later picked up by Mann-Co after being coerced into thinking that she was stopping the enemy from furthering the goals of the shadow-government-fast-food-conglomerate, and as been working with the fem-mercs ever since.

similar to how the mercs lie to normal soldier about all being american, the female mercs lie to female soldier about various beliefs like how they're totally not all vaccinated and all of the rations delivered to them are definitely not inspected by the government. shes particularly distrustful of the scout and medic, the former being a borderline material gorl, and the latter being involved with more than questionable medical practices.

[ursa9909]

Sammy Knows AU

(I'm running on like two hours of sleep so this might be hopping a bit in every direction lol)

Headcanon that towards the middle to end of the second season (if half the season they're on the ship give or take) we have a scene where like Yas or Ben is about to get eaten when Sammy goes full cowgirl and starts rangling the dino on its back, ropes over it's maw to keep it from eating her friends, etc...and it's successful, until the boat gets hit by the approaching storm.

Then we see the big metal cargo containers and dinos start falling into the ocean, the last shot with the five camp fam is them rushing towards her, but it's to late. A cargo container does a glancing blow on Sammy and the dino knocking them and the rest can do nothing but watch as dino and Sammy take a plunge and don't come up. Yas and/or Ben almost caught her, traumatizing them even more their seam of six now down two.

The rest of the shenanigans happens and like with the ending of the first season we get Brooklynn, only this time she's out at night backlit by moonlight when a soggy figure emerges from the water. Her only words, "Do you remember?"

There's a something in her hand, it's the same devices to disrupt the chips that were once used to make dinosaurs fight, only this time it was to keep a mind from remembering. A safeguard. Brooklynn would complete her mission no matter what (just like her conviction with keeping the laptop away from Dr.Wu)

Sammy looks at her, looking more like a drowned rat than anything else. Her head is killing her, and it's like the poisoning all over again, the pain behind her eyes, the fogginess in her head accompanied by a killer headache, like her nerves were set aflame.

She looks at the unwelcomed ghost come to life again, she agreed to this, knows that Brooklynn is doing what she thinks is right and Sammy would help a friend in need, especially one that she considers family. But the others were far away, she saw them as they scrambled for a life boat before Sammy went under.

Ben was right to be suspicious of her, even if she and Brooklynn were doing this for them.

Sammy sighs heavily, lets her memories clash with one another; she wonders what permanent damage has been done to her brain, wonders if she'd ever remember anything in the correct order without feeling like she put one piece in front of another at the wrong time.

"Yes"

[mylovelies-docx]

I absolutely adore 'Sorry, I love You'! 💖💖💖 This isn't a request, but would you consider writing a chapter or something from Bucky's perspective from right after she left the first time? I just want to see people lay into his ass about how he's acting like a dumbass lol 😆 Thank you for sharing your writing with us all!!! 💖💖💖

I love the idea of y'all roasting the shit out of Bucky for being an idiot 🤣

I do have a future chapter that's written from Bucky’s POV and I think it mentions what he was up to while Reader was gone, but I don't think I wrote anything specific.

______________________________

My HC is that everyone was super pissy with Buck-o for quite a while.

Sam's constantly saying things like, "well, if Y/N were here," and, "why did she have to leave instead of you." "Shut up, Sam." "I'm just saying. I'd rather hang out with her than put up with your sulking."

Nat would constantly be glaring at him and giving him the silent treatment except during training. She'd be giving him shit while landing hard hits to very sensitive areas. "This is for Y/N," and just absolutely rockets her foot into Bucky's groin.

Steve tries to be supportive for his life-long friend, but sometimes he just gets so frustrated with Bucky. "Didn't you talk to your therapists about this? Why haven't you called Y/N to aplogize?" "I'll apologize when she's back, Steve. This isn't something to say over the phone." "... and if she doesn't come back? What would you do then?"

Wanda is younger and nicer than everyone else on the team, so she's not going to be outright rude or try to rock the boat. But Bucky notices that any food she prepares for the other Avengers have cute little smiley faces or fancy toothpicks holding it together but his are plain in comparison.

Tony just absolutely despises Bucky again at this point. Tony really saw you as his younger sister/surrogate daughter and it's all Bucky's fault that you're gone. FRIDAY is constantly locking Bucky out of his bedroom, blasting music at 3am right after he finally went to sleep, and the temperature is always super uncomfortable in his bedroom. Bucky has asked Tony if this was his doing, but Tony never responds.

Bruce, Thor, and T'Challa are away and don't know what's going on. They live on in ignorant bliss of Bucky's assholery.

Bucky finally has to set the record straight with everyone and tell them that he's been working on himself and he feels really really bad about how he treated you. He tells them that he's going to fix it and make everything right with you again. They believe him and lighten up a little. When they figure out that Natasha can't go on the undercover mission with Bucky, he's the first one to suggest bringing you back into the project. Everyone's a little hesitant about throwing you two together again after such a long time, but they're confident Bucky is going to come clean and talk to you.

... Unfortunately they don't realize just how stubborn you both are when it comes to your feelings. You've been burned before and don't want to be hurt again, and Bucky can't quite express himself the way he needs to in order to make you see him as you once did.

[the-blossica-fan]

Out of the Reverse 1999 cast who would be a good driver? (Ignoring the fact that some of the cast probably dont know what a modern car is, lets just say some eventually learn to drive)

Like we know Tooth Fairy if given the wheel will run over people. We know Blonney can drive, should she teach Jessica I wonder?

How about characters like Vertin, Kakania, Windsong?

(I probably headcanon Schneider probably does know how to drive, being a mafia boss and all)

(I totally see Tennant riding a motorbike lol)

(Lucy would probably be like installing Siri or something into a car since she can be 'installed' into a new body)

Just thinking of a silly idea that Vertin is forced to drive a car to escape Manus or something, it would be funny to see.

Mmmmm, characters being good at drivinngggg

Let's see with the ones you mentioned.

And no, I don't think Blonney should teach Jessica to drive, at all. She's not bad but she gets distracted easily and that well... Thank God it was just Blonney's arcane skill and not a real car. Good enough to drive but gets overwhelmed or distracted easily, not recommended to drive.

Kakania? Mmm I can see her as a reliable driver. She's probably really good at driving once she learns and is properly trained. I can see her driving a really nice car she bought around town.

Isolde on the other hand...

She's not bad, technically, but the ghosts messing around are very dangerous. She could get distracted, possessed or something along those lines. Someone ends up damaged. And if she and Kakania haven't made up and she sees someone resembling Kakania she WILL stop the car in the middle of the route. She's a safety hazard.

Windsong probably doesn't drive because she's poor. She doesn't think she could own a car because of her lack of money and when she actually tries to drive she gets easily confused or overwhelmed. She's good with field work and studies but in a car she's putting both at use. it takes her some time but she's probably a good driver. Very, very nervous and follows every rule in order not to have an accident.

I think it's better if Vila drives.

Vila Is pretty good at driving, she has to anyway. She's basically a mother of the Rayashki kids after 1.8 and has to take them to places so eventually she has to learn how to drive. It's calming when she drives, she's very careful but not overly careful and she knows what to do. The kids can be relaxing, Windsong studying and she's driving!

As for Vertin. Girl HAS to learn. She takes care of a bunch of arcanists and has the custody of someone like Isolde, she has to learn something. She probably has a variant of the Tooth Fairy curse where she's always getting parking tickets instead of running over someone. But she's chill, she's ALWAYS in charge of the music, I'm sorry Regulus but your ass is NOT listening rock.

Speaking of Regulus, she's surprisingly a decent driver. She had a boat and a motorbike, she's pretty good at driving. She doesn't like cars tho, she only drives if absolutely necessary, she's more into motorbikes.

I actually can't see Tennant driving. Listen to me okay-

Tennant is definitely a player and technically poor since she's always trying to take your money. She probably never actually drove a car and had the women drive her around. She plays a lot on that con and low-key useless woman. She actually has Vertin drive and asks her for money every time they get a ticket, she's just like that.

If she took the time to learn, she'd probably be fond of those old (well, canonically they're new or close to new) cars and use it to seduce older women. Or if she's trying to play onto the "bad girl" vibe, a really cool motorbike.

Lucy? Lucy has Simone against her will. The first time Lucy tried to drive she had her cables connected to the car and become the car. It was a terrifying experience to hear Lucy from the radio of a car. Eventually Simone became her chauffeur because she's the only one willing to deal with Madam Lucy. It's just Lucy telling Simone where to go trying to keep her excitement while Simone is like "Yes, Madam Lucy. We can go to an amusement park." (She a silly)

Schneider probs had to learn. She's the youngest of like, 12, so she was taught how to drive and drove Mariam around a lot. She's a menace on the street but actually follows the rules, she wants to mess with her terrified sister but still be a reliable sister.

Bkornblume is probably a good driver too! She's probably more fond of bikes because they're silent but she can drive you a stolen car around.

Melania... No I don't think so from Melania. She's probably walking or driving a normal bike around to get where she has to be in silence. She takes rides with the others but she's a terrible driver, Ms. Acey recommended that she doesn't try to drive anymore.

Diggers Is a good driver and I don't know how to feel about that. He's okay ig. He still gets arrested every time he touches a car, another variant of the Tooth Fairy curse.

Kaalaa Baunaa Is a good driver! She learned a long time ago, probably from Kumar, but hasn't driven in a while. It's actually Kanjira the one who helps her drive again since Kanjira does know how to drive.

Shamane tho, my man rides a bear he can't drive at all. He's bad at it and has to own it.

Going to 1.4, Sophia is the most decent driver out of 6 and 37 (her father taught her some things, she just never actually tried), unfortunately since she's gone they have to fend for themselves. They never saw a car, only Sophia, so they both suck for different reasons. 37 can't concentrate, 6 gets too nervous.

I could add so many more but I feel like it'll be too long since, well, too many characters. But if you want more you can tell me!

Vertin having to drive her squad in a stolen car far away from the Manus only to get five tickets for speed even if she followed the law. She just can't catch a break.

[mmkin]

Fishman friends and lovers (Siren's Shark)

Chapter 12 of Siren's Shark is now up. Link to AO3 here, also included under the silly pics I doodled at work a few days ago. IDK why but I can only seem to draw at work on my breaks instead of at home, go figure.

Content warnings - some smex (consensual) some slavery, past trauma and abuse.

Thought it'd be fun to draw when Arlong meets his siren in the first chapter lol... Ignore the words at the left, that's my grocery list. And yes, I decided on Yolande's birthday.

And Hatchan and Yolande are besties. So kawaii!!!!!!!

XII

o0o0o0o

Yolande wrung her hands anxiously as she saw several smaller fins move toward the larger one. There was no time for discussion, and she'd been left behind with the younger fishmen and Rekiin as Arlong and his crew made their way toward the Sea Beast.

If the gods were real, she hoped they listened to her prayers. It wouldn’t be the first time she prayed and despite her skepticism in a higher mystical force, the emotional part of her sought assurance in the hope that there might be a sympathetic ear out there.

Her stomach knotted and her hands shook as she tried to imagine what it was like under the water. Some of the fishmen had also gone in with harpoons and nets, but how could she not worry? After all, wasn’t this why she had agreed to go with Yoshi when he wanted to retire to Coldrock Island? So she wouldn’t have to deal with shit like this? Her heart was pounding as she looked through the telescope. There was splashing. Occasionally she’d see a fishman. The Sea Beast raised its head out of the water, bearing a strong resemblance to a bear.

She’d heard about them but this was her first time seeing one. Arlong was a mighty fishman, but no matter how big or strong someone was, there was always someone out there, bigger and badder. She felt Caten’s hand on her arm. “Can I look?” the catfishwoman asked. Numbly, she handed over the telescope before going to the prow of the ship, the wind whipping through her hair as she watched the fight. Blood came to the surface. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t.

Arlong. And not just Arlong, but the others. The bear's head reared out of the water again, giving out an angry roar, she saw several harpoons near its neck.

Then it was over. Her heart thudded against her ribcage as Arlong jumped out of the water, traces of blood on his face and bare chest. She felt light-headed as she heard his triumphant laugh.

“Fire up the grill! Let’s not let this meat go to waste!”

Fishmen eagerly lopped off choice parts of it, and as the Sea Beast was a bear mix, it had a quite nice thick flavor to it. She sat on the upper deck, watching quietly as Arlong helped his brothers hoist slices of meat to the deck from the water, chopping it into smaller pieces to be cooked. The rest of the animal was towed behind the boat.

What would Yoshi say if he could see her here, amongst a band of fishman pirates? She’d gone from being a Marine widow to the lover of a pirate captain. Since Arlong was busy with his men, she retreated from the deck to spend some time alone in her lab, trying to distract herself from her anxiety.

“Hey Yolande, Arlong wants you,” Hachi informed her. Around him was the scent of smoke and spice. He’d obtained plenty of flavors at the market on Dreamsicle Island and it smelled like he’d put some of them to good use.

“You called for me?” Yolande asked as she approached Arlong, who had a platter of cooked meat in front of him. She was grateful to notice that he’d washed the blood off himself.

“Come, sit by me. Share our bounty.” He waved his hand to the meat in front of him, which contained quite a few choice cuts and bits. Hurrah for Captain Arlong, she thought dryly��� not that he hadn’t earned it. Taking on a Sea Beast required a coordinated effort, and the fishmen trusted Arlong to lead them. None of them had gotten hurt, though a couple of them had been nearly swallowed when the Sea Beast thrashed around.

Hachi was in charge of the grilling, and the kitchen helpers assembled several sides to go with the meal. A gentle breeze blew the rich scents across the deck, but Yolande had no appetite. She simply sat there, observing the festivities, listening to the fishmen chatter about their encounter with the giant bear-fish.

“Go on, eat,” she heard Arlong urge, and she slowly turned her head to him.

“I lose my appetite when I get anxious.”

He stared at her for a moment. “Is it something I did?” he asked with mild confusion.

“Yes… No, no, I’m not angry at you. But when you were in the water with that Sea Beast, I worried about you. I was so scared.”

"Hmm." He tutted to himself a few times as he stared at her, and she looked down. He lifted her chin, rubbing his thumb along her jaw. "I suppose if you're not trying to starve yourself, skipping a meal will do you no harm. Bask in my presence and know that I am safe, let that calm you." He released his grip on her and turned to talk to some of the fishmen. She slumped back in the chair with a soft sigh, watching as the afternoon sky faded to evening stars.

o0o0o0o

“Have a drink, at least,” Arlong offered after a few minutes. “Relax.” He was gratified to see her accept the bottle that Take brought forward.

So his siren worried about him to the point where her stomach got into knots. Poor thing. Had anyone else ever worried so much about him? His mother, his sister, his nakama? He turned his head, looking down at her as she nursed her bottle, staring out thoughtfully. He reached out to rest a hand on the top and side of her head, feeling the thick bun of her hair against his palm.

“Perhaps when we retire for the night, I could help soothe away some of that anxiety, hmm?” he asked with a lecherous purr. His hand slid down, the back of his fingers against the side of her face. She did not move for a moment, and he wondered if he would be rejected.

“You think to distract me with your cock?” she asked as she finally looked at him. Her tone was unreadable.

“I didn’t think there was any harm in offering.”

"… You're right. There's no harm in that." With that, she leaned her head against his hand, nuzzling it. She lifted her head to take several gulps of her drink but lifted her hand to hold his, long, slender fingers curling around the side of his hand.

He would face another danger soon enough. Marzu Island. How was she going to handle that? Wisely, he did not mention it, and simply sat back, enjoying the feel of her small but warm hand in his large one.

What would Ajkul say if he saw his protege with a hybrid siren? Not once had he ever heard Ajkul say anything nice about humans. Doubtless, the old shark would have been incredulous at the thought of a siren having human blood. Sirens were always supposed to be mermaids or fishwomen, creatures of the sea as much as any fishman. Ajkul would say Yolande was tainted by that human blood.

Tainted. Arlong glanced down at Yolande again, squeezing her hand. He would be lying to himself if he said he never wondered what Yolande might look like if she were a full-blooded fishman. But he found himself dwelling on her human heritage less and less. A couple of months had passed by but he was still crazy about her, there were some times when the heat would overtake them and they'd just go at one another, but even when that mood wasn't on them, he still enjoyed her company.

She finished her bottle, and it was taken away.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“A little. I have a good buzz going.”

He chuckled at that. Oh yeah, a good buzz made plenty of worries go away, how well he knew that.

o0o0o0o

Erhu rubbed the back of his head nervously as he glanced at Caten. Both of them had come from the Fishman District but had not met each other until Aiuchi and his crew captured them.

When they'd been resting and recovering from their ordeal, they'd taken the time to get to know one another, comparing their childhoods. Erhu was only a year older than her at twenty-one. He was a neon tetra fishman, giving him two distinctive blue stripes along the sides of his face and back that flashed neon green-blue when the light hit them, and Caten told him that she thought these stripes were cute.

So they started flirting, and he noticed that she was also flirting with two of the pirates that rescued them. One thing led to another, and he'd shared Caten with Ishidai and Mido. It was a learning experience, to say the least. If Caten wanted to carry on with the other two, Erhu would accept that, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to participate in that sort of group activity again.

“Something you want to talk about?” Caten said as she sipped her drink, leaning against the railing.

“I was wondering if perhaps you and I… hm.” He didn’t want her to think he was ungrateful for her invitation.

“You’d prefer a little one-on-one?” she asked. He stared at her for a moment and she smirked.

“… If that’s all right with you.” His heart was pounding as he looked down at her.

“It is,” she reassured him. “And I’ll admit, three fishmen at once can be a bit much sometimes. So, tonight, just you and me?”

He gave out a relieved chuckle. “Gosh, yeah. I’d love that. Um, thank you.”

She grinned at that and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Such a gentleman.” After a bit of time drinking and looking out at the stars and the water, he let her lead him away.

After some foreplay, she wanted to get on top, and he was happy to oblige. He nuzzled her breasts and ran his hands along her back and hips, happy for some joie de vivre after the ordeal he’d been through.

After he came into her, she leaned down so she was resting on top of him, and he nuzzled the crook of her shoulder and neck as he rested his hands on her back. Since he wasn't part of the crew, Arlong didn't ask him to be part of the raid on Marzu Island. He and the other younger fishmen, along with a few pirates, would maintain a lookout and other various duties around the boat while Arlong and his crew did the dirty work.

If Arlong had asked him to participate, Erhu would have felt obligated to say yes, considering that he would face life in slavery if not for the sawshark fishman. He hadn't been here for very long but was coming to understand that the life of a pirate was quite different than the old life he'd known back in the Fishman District as the child of one of the many poor families that lived there. He wasn't an orphan, but his parents were barely able to support themselves let alone their kids. His one role model was a neighbor who worked as a healer, collecting local herbs to make whatever medications he could for the people around him.

The healer took Erhu under his wing, teaching him the things he knew. He was not a doctor and had no formal training, but in the neighborhood, he was the closest thing to one, and his herbal remedies did work for various mild aches and pains.

The healer passed away a couple of years ago, and among other factors living in the District became increasingly untenable. Even with Whitebeard’s protection, pirates still found ways to acquire fishmen and mermaids to sell. Erhu thought of the proposal that lured him away from the District and into the clutches of Aiuchi and his crew.

He looked down, running his fingers along Caten’s hair as the fishwoman gave out a contented hum.

“Have you asked Arlong?” Caten asked. Erhu frowned in confusion for a moment before he remembered. He gave out a soft sigh.

“Not yet. He’s so busy with other things. He has a crew to run.”

"I doubt this is something he will have any difficulty agreeing to," Caten replied. "You're already doing it, might as well make it official. I'm no mind-reader, but I think it's something that might make Arlong happy, and you want to be on his good side."

He raised an eyebrow as he lifted his head to look at her, and she smiled back sweetly.

o0o0o0o

The early morning sun illuminated Yolande’s legs as she stretched out, doing her exercises while Arlong was sleeping. Her legs were splayed out on the floor as she leaned forward, feeling the pull in her back as she reached her arms out in front of her.

With a contented sigh, she rose to her feet and turned to see Arlong lying on his side, staring right at her. She gasped a bit in surprise before collecting herself.

“Did you enjoy the show?” she asked.

"It'd be a more entertaining show if you wiggle around," he replied lecherously. "Especially since you're in that," he said, pointing to the silk nightie she was wearing. He was clad in nothing but a pair of undershorts, which afforded a quite fine view of his well-toned body. One of the nice things about living in warm weather was not needing to layer up, which meant she saw more of Arlong’s body on a regular and casual basis.

… Not that she was about to complain. He did make a pretty damn nice piece of eye candy.

“If I had any artistic talent, you’d make a fine subject to draw or paint,” Yolande replied, sidestepping his suggestion. He sat up with a smirk.

“If you’re going to appreciate my body, I’d prefer you do it with your hands and mouth than with a pencil or brush,” he shot back. “… And besides, I find the skills you already have much more useful than making a pretty picture on paper.”

She shrugged in acknowledgment of that. She was very nearly done with putting together what the crew needed for the mission. She’d already demonstrated to Arlong the various explosives she was using, albeit in much smaller amounts. She remembered well the gleam in his eye as he saw the explosions, the flames shooting up, bits of debris raining down from the empty crate she’d used for the demo. He grinned to himself as he imagined it on a much larger scale, bringing the rulers of Marzu Island to their knees. That evening, he’d been especially fierce in bed.

In certain instances, explosives were used in an attack. But for this particular mission, some of them were meant to provide distraction. The fishmen had been working hard and training under Kuroobi and many of them were actively trying to develop Haki. With the intelligence Koji, Hazel, and Lew provided, Arlong and his officers were able to work out a strategy that even Yolande acknowledged was pretty solid. And not only that, but the fishmen would be turning some of Marzu’s defenses against them.

One of the ways Marzu Island kept itself relatively safe from pirates was the use of underwater mines so that there were only a few safe ways to approach the island. The fishmen would move them around to cut off escape routes in case anyone tried to alert the World Government or the Marines before Arlong was done with the island.

There was still the matter of the Devil Fruit users that were in employ on the island, but Yolande was working on something that she was certain should be effective.

Useful skill, indeed. Her ruminations were interrupted when she felt Arlong’s fingers under her chin. She looked up into his intense blue eyes.

“You truly are a credit to our race,” Arlong said with a prideful grin. She smiled thinly at that and jerked her chin from his grip before she snapped at his fingers, growling softly. He chuckled lowly.

“Snapping and growling at a shark?” he asked, his lips pulling back to reveal his trademark predatory grin. He rose from the bed, towering over her.

“Squids are predators too,” she shot back. His grin faltered for a moment at this almost non-sequitur, and he glanced at her with confusion. She grinned back.

“That’s what I am. Hachi figured it out when he took a close look at my ink. Octopuses have black ink but squids have a bluish tint to theirs.” He lifted his hands to cup the sides of her face.

“Squid, huh,” Arlong responded musingly. “And yes, they’re predators too but I think it’s obvious who has the edge here.” He ran his thumbs along her cheeks as he maintained his grip.

“Indeed,” she said dryly. He’d never threatened her air supply, but whenever he had his hands on her, it was hard to not feel vulnerable under their grip, especially if he was holding her head or neck. His eyes were cold and predatory as he studied her.

She might not be caged or chained, but she didn’t have the option of leaving. Nor would he allow her skills to go to waste.

“Little squid. I’m glad you understand.” His voice was smooth but dangerous, velvety with an edge to it that had her shivering. His hand slid from her neck and he stepped away from her to get dressed for the day.

Common sense told her that she shouldn't find that danger sexy. His nose and sharp teeth alone were lethal weapons, and she noticed that he seemed stronger than the average fishman. Not for the first time she wondered about the parts of his past that he did not tell her about. Hmm. Not that she didn't already know plenty about him simply from observing and listening to him.

She watched the flex of muscle in his shoulders, back, and arms as he pulled on a tank top. Hmph. Stupid sexy sharkman.

o0o0o0o

Capturing slaves for Marzu Island was a quite profitable endeavor for Captain Aiuchi. His father and grandfather had done the same, though their methods were refined through the generations. In the old days, they could sneak into the Fishman District and kidnap orphans and poor fishmen easily lured by a coin or two. They had to space out their raids to not be too recognizable, so they tried to capture as many as they could at a time. Sometimes there might be a pretty or particularly talented one among them, and a bit of extra profit could be made from that. Fishman Island proper was more guarded, but a mermaid from the nicer part of the Ryugu Kingdom was quite valuable.

They’re not fully human. They’re part animal, and it makes them inferior to us, his father and grandfather would say. When he’d asked about the human slaves on the island, his mentors would shrug. They got themselves into debt one way or another, so why should we care? The weak get preyed upon. Better to be the butcher than the cattle, after all. And so on.

… And now, here he was, in the position he’d put humans, fishmen, or otherwise into over the years. Aiuchi muttered to himself as he scratched the side of his face as he sat against the wall, looking through the bars. His side ached every time he took a deep breath. He’d dealt with pirates before, and humans and fishmen who resisted their enslavement. His men were well-trained, culled from the best the island had to offer, so even against a fishman’s superior strength, they prevailed. He wasn’t stupid.

He never would have invited fishmen onto his ship, but the sharkman’s bitch had him fooled, the fishmen trailing behind her like obedient lapdogs. That intrigued him, and he wanted to know more, and who knows, someone as like-minded as him could be good for a bit of fun.

Even though he was already locked in the brig, he was chained, as was the rest of his crew. Designed for fishmen, the chains were extra heavy, which robbed the humans of much of their energy when they tried to move around.

Oh, he’d certainly made attempts to escape. But the sharkman was no naif from the Fishman District who’d had little experience with humans. This one had been out in the world and dealt with humans long enough to have a pronounced distaste for them.

Aiuchi had tried some mental warfare. He'd needle at the fishmen, trying to pinpoint various weaknesses as they stood guard, but that was met with silence, threats, and even a few blows, one of which broke a rib. When he was interrogated, he'd tried various attempts at obfuscation or stonewalling. Much as Aiuchi hated to admit it, he'd developed a begrudging respect for the ray fishman that handled much of the interrogations and otherwise. He understood the resolve of a warrior.

He lifted his head as a fishman came by with a cart. His stomach rumbled as it often did but he learned to ignore it as the fishman ladled some cold stew for him. He looked down at the concoction he’d have found unappealing, but he was pragmatic enough to know that beggars could not be choosers. So he lifted his bowl and swallowed its contents.

He looked up again sometime later when Koji was dragged to the cell next to his and dropped on the floor.

"Did that fish-loving bitch want to play with her little pet again?" Aiuchi grunted. The blue-haired youth gave him a deadpan stare as he made his way to the thin mat before sitting down.

“Call her what you will, but she’s the best chance I have of getting my sister’s freedom,” Koji said flatly.

"Come now, you don't think slaves are cheap? Especially one such as your sister?" He remembered the girl, her hair a similar shade to her brother's. She had been seventeen, legally a minor, and therefore her father could sell her to settle his gambling debts. "You knew that it would take you a while to earn that money. Such is the way of things," Aiuchi said. Spike himself had started as a slave, a delinquent teen sold by his parents. But Aiuchi had seen the potential in him and channeled Spike's resentment and rage into a useful tool, paired with a Devil Fruit that made him a formidable part of the crew.

"Hah, that's easy for you to say," Koji muttered. "But now we're in the same position. You liked to lecture our crew about survival of the fittest, of making yourself strong however you could and not letting others take advantage of you. And I thought I was doing that by working hard." Koji stared at the wall angrily. Aiuchi smirked to himself. This was Koji's first fishing expedition. That's what Aiuchi and his forebears had called it… fishing. They'd go fishing every several years, collecting fishmen and perhaps a few other types of slaves along the way.

“You would have eventually earned her freedom… eventually,” Aiuchi taunted lowly. It was indeed possible to buy freedom, so the slaves could hardly complain about unfairness, but it was no easy task, and why should it be? Otherwise, where would be the profit of it?

o0o0o0o

Erhu sat in the infirmary, watching as Lew quietly mopped the floor. The petite man moved around calmly and methodically, keeping his infirmary clean. Regardless of who his master was, the doctor tended to his infirmary much as Hatchan did to his kitchen. If Omald had been working at that pace, Toma or one of the other fishmen would have been on his ass about it, but Erhu sat back as he asked Lew questions about medicine.

As the captive slave-doctor of the Arlong Pirates, Lew could hardly object to the company of a fishman who had sincere questions about his profession. So the two of them would converse, and he obliged Lew’s questions. The fishman talked about the healer who had mentored him and what he’d learned. Since he wasn’t a member of the Arlong Pirates, Erhu was little more than a passenger and found this a good way to spend his time when not helping with a chore. He’d narrowly escaped being a slave and was determined to not let this opportunity go to waste.

“I’m about to grab tea and a bite, would you like me to bring you some?” Erhu offered.

“That would be appreciated,” the doctor said with a bow of his head. Erhu smiled to himself before he brought back a pot of tea, two cups, and a generous portion of grilled sea-bear meat among other things.

“You can put down that mop and relax,” Erhu said as he gestured to the desk, where he’d set down the tray. He knew that Lew had been a slave for many years and this behavior was ingrained in him, which made him quite agreeable to his new masters, but Erhu found it unsettling at times. Would he have turned out like that too, if he’d been enslaved long enough? “Please, help yourself.” Erhu’s tone was sincere as he looked down at Lew.

o0o0o0o

Arlong watched from the upper deck as Kuroobi drilled his class, using two of his students to put on a demonstration of focusing their fishman strength. It pleased him to see the renewed fire in Kurrobi’s eyes. It reminded him of the determined boy he’d come across back in the old days. Ajkul had just died, so Arlong was alone again. He was strong and scrappy, but there were plenty of bigger fish than him and he was only eleven years old. He knew he needed nakama to ensure that he would have many more years.

Kuroobi had an abusive father, so he was on his own a lot, and he’d made friends with Hatchan who had been but one of many mouths to feed to a worn-out grandmother. The pair was a few years younger than Arlong so even if they might have one another, they were still quite vulnerable.

He’d gone from being the ward – and sometimes caretaker – of an old fishman to someone who was now responsible for two young fishboys. But Arlong saw the potential in the pair, and they saw what he offered – protection. They watched one another’s backs, and Chew becoming part of the group did not change that.

People might prattle on about growing stronger, training themselves, and so on. That was why Devil Fruits existed, to give people a shortcut.

Many fishmen disdained Devil Fruits, but Arlong knew that raw fishman strength was not enough. After all, it was that very strength that made a fishman attractive to humans in terms of exploitation.

Although Kuroobi, Chew, and Hatchan remained his core, Arlong drew other fishboys – and fishmen – to his side. Strength in numbers, he said, and that proved itself time and time again. Mess with one of Arlong’s brothers, and you mess with the whole crew. Regardless of the upheavals the crew had experienced, that remained one of his core values. One of the best ways to deal with humans was to support your brothers and sisters. See what had been done with the takeover of the White Mermaid and the eventual fate of Marzu Island.

He would be lying if he didn’t have doubts. His defeat at the hands of the Straw Hats proved that he wasn’t as infallible as he once believed. But it wasn’t as if he came to Marzu unprepared. He had strength, yes. But also explosives and other useful chemicals. And stealth and surprise.

Wonder what Brother Tiger would say if he could see me now, Arlong mused. He returned his attention to the two fishmen sparring in front of Kuroobi. If one were to go by looks alone, the larger fishman would have the advantage, especially since his opponent was one of the smaller fishmen on the ship.

Mido looked down at Erhu, but the almost-scrawny young fishman squared his shoulders, looking up at his larger and more experienced opponent. Arlong smirked to himself. He’d known Mido for years, the pink-skinned fishman was part of the Arlong Pirates before they merged with the Sun Pirates. Most people wrote Mido off as a clumsy-looking oaf, but the heavyset fishman had a quite sharp mind. He’d been good at collecting tribute and keeping down unrest back in the days.

As a newcomer, Arlong wasn't quite as sure of Erhu. He wasn't officially part of the crew, but he was a brother regardless and has thus far given no trouble.

Erhu’s smaller size gave him a certain maneuverability not found in bulkier people, but Mido defeated him nonetheless, knocking him back with a well-aimed blow. After a couple of moments, Erhu got up and resumed trying to take the larger fishman down.

Arlong smirked to himself as he watched, trying to anticipate what one or the other might do next.

o0o0o0o

Marzu Island was visible in the distance with a telescope. The initial explosives had been planted and were soon to be lit. They would take advantage of the darkness and confusion. And they'd taken the time to prepare for contingencies if the information they'd been given proved false or no longer up-to-date, but Arlong didn't think that the slaves under Yolande's care would lie to him, even if Aiuchi or his elite clients would – and did.

He smirked to himself. Turning humans against other humans… well, if humans were willing to betray one another, he might as well use it for his benefit. After all, much as he had disliked Nezumi, the rat had his uses. So the cabin boy wanted his sister’s freedom, the doctor was doing as his new owner commanded, and the maid wanted to be with her family, and that meant giving Arlong accurate information. He looked around at the fishmen getting ready. Each fishman knew their job. He smiled faintly as he saw Ishidai and Caten have a quiet conversation, Ishidai holding the catfishwoman’s face affectionately. Yolande gave Chew a bag, exchanging a few words with him before going to Hatchan, who pulled her into a hug.

Sweet siren, expressing concern for her nakama. Well, shouldn’t she anyway, since these were her brothers and sisters?

She approached him, the wind whipping several loose strands of her hair around. He reached out, rubbing his thumb along her cheek.

When he’d first taken her to bed, he tried to maintain a certain sort of distance from her. His long, painful experience with humans kept him wary despite the bond he undeniably shared with her. He would make good use of her and treat her decently, but now he knew that he had developed genuine feelings for her. Her concern touched him, but he didn’t want to admit that.

“Marzu Island will know the rage of the fishman race!” Arlong roared as his crew cheered for him. Behind him, a firework on the island went off, illuminating the sky for a moment with flashes of blue and green before fading away. The first wave of fishmen was secure on the island. He grinned to himself and joined the second wave of soldiers, diving into the water.

As he and the others approached Marzu’s shores, several explosions went off around the island, strategically placed and lit by Kuroobi and several other fishmen. He grinned as he stepped onto the beach, hearing panicked screams as the island’s security forces attempted to marshal themselves, but the fishmen had prepared well for it.

One of the ships belonging to Marzu’s security went up in flames hundreds of meters down the shore. He grinned to himself and lifted his sword, signaling for his men to move forward. He would have his vengeance.

[twopolars]

Lily thought that Touma will be protecting Mahiru like a normal dad from Tsubaki when in fact he's on the same boat with the "let's fuck my own spawn" squad.

It's sad but funny at the same time.

Anyway, it's getting clear that Touma has this goal to make his own Servamp cause like what Lily said, he's a threat to them from getting a sniff that Germain wanted to be brought back. Knowing Touma and his dislike(?) towards Mikuni, he's not gonna stand still and let Mikuni has it all. In fact... I think..... Touma wanted to be the one who revives Germain so he use Tsurugi as his Lab Rat to see whether he could do it or not.

But the one that interest me the most is the fact that Lily wanted to put Kuro on Mikuni's path first. But considering the hatred of Tsubaki towards Kuro can be ruining their (questionable) alliance, he changed the plan to Mahiru. Knowing Mahiru is Touma son and has no magic ability. He use Mahiru with a hope that if Tsubaki wanted to target Mahiru (coz he's Kuro's eve), Touma will protected his son and will be killed along the way. But the reality? LOL.

Anyway, the one with Tsubaki's sister being the main reason why Tsubaki wants to bring Germain back is realy mind blowing. All along I thought that the hatred towards Kuro is because Tsubaki is so loyal to Germain and the jealousy from knowing that Kuro is Germain's favorite (i still don't understand why he's so obssesed with Kuro) .

But I wonder when was Touma get a sniff about this Germain revival thingy. Is it when Akira is still alive? If so, the reason why Akira won't tell anyone that Touma is Mahiru's dad could make so much sense. Touma ambition is scary, that's why Akira choose to keep him in the dark. And i think she also didn't want Mahiru to be in touch to anything about C3, vampire, etc. Guess she'd be crying in heaven right now seeing her son was in EVERYTHING that she didn't want his son to be. And again the one who's to blame is Lily, cause he's the start of everyting.

That's make me question one thing. Is Akira death is for a reason? Is it really accident? Or is she killed by someone to perfect the plan?

This getting dark, did I miss something from the manga....

Anyway, let's see where is this going..

[leiawritesstories]

It Happened Off-Camera

Rowaelin Month 2023, day 10: Guest Stars with Chemistry

a continuation of the dating show au prompt i wrote a while ago ;)

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: language, innuendo, flirty Fenrys, naughty jokes, and i have no idea how a reality show works so i just made up stuff about that lol

Enjoy!!!

@rowaelinscourt

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

Views spiked almost 200% after last week, Aelin! The producer's comment echoed in Aelin's mind. We can't wait to see what the numbers look like when this week's episode airs.

She grimaced and turned away from her bathroom mirror. Although her villa was a camera-free zone, she wouldn't put it past the production team to find some loophole in that rule and sneak footage of her alone in her private space. Last week's episode had been an incredible success, though, what with her stupidly romantic date with Fenrys and the satisfaction of watching sniveling little Sam get booted from the suitor list.

Speaking of Fenrys...he was the first man she'd put down on the second-date list. He was just as charming and suave as the rest of the men on the show, but his infectious laugh and penchant for cracking inappropriate jokes at highly inappropriate times were right up Aelin's alley, so to speak. But she was famously close-lipped about her suitor list, both for her own sanity and for the drama.

So it was no surprise when the entire production crew gasped collectively when she and Fenrys went on a second date.

He rented a little rowboat and took her out onto the property's gorgeous lake, bringing her to the opposite shore, where he'd set up a picnic, complete with blankets, charcuterie, and wine. The camera crew followed them at a discreet enough distance, allowing Fen to lean over and whisper into her ear as he helped her out of the boat.

"Let's hope the subtitles don't pick this conversation up," he murmured, "because I don't need thousands of people hearing me tell The Bachelorette that I'm fighting a boner."

She snorted and playfully smacked his shoulder. "I wouldn't be worried about that if I were you, Fen. It's not like it's visible or anything."

He gasped in theatrical shock. "Aelin!"

"Fenrys," she cooed, the portrait of innocence. "You promised me food?" She raised her voice to camera-ready levels.

"Indeed I did." He gestured broadly to the picnic. "And even dessert, if you play your cards right." He wiggled his perfectly groomed eyebrows, playing it up for the cameras.

She laughed. "Slow down, Moonbeam. I'm one of those three-dates-before-going-home girls, you know."

"I was so hopeful!" He faked a dramatic groan. "Does this mean you'll grant me a third date, milady?"

"Maybe." She sipped at her wine, unaffected by the way he laid his head in her lap and stared imploringly up at her. "You're cute, Fen, but puppy eyes don't work on me." She leant down and whispered her next words too softly for the crew to hear. "Only bedroom eyes do."

Faster than she expected him to react, he raised his body and propped his arms on either side of her, pressing himself almost indecently close. "Thought you wanted three dates before that, Ae," he purred, playfulness and lust mingled in his dark eyes.

"Indeed," she murmured. And she pushed him gently back to his place. "No need to rush yourself, Moon Moon."

~

After the picnic, Fenrys rowed them back across the lake, stopping in the middle so she could gaze up at the blanket of starry darkness that laid across the property where filming took place. "Up there," he whispered, loud enough to be heard. "You can hardly see any constellations in the city, but they're so gorgeous out here."

"I was half expecting you to drop the not as gorgeous as me line," Aelin teased.

He snickered. "I can call myself gorgeous if you want, but I'd rather hear it from you." He paused, a roguish grin curling across his lips. "Moaned, ideally."

She coughed out a laugh and doubled over, almost toppling out of the boat. Swiftly, he lunged to catch her, righting both her and the boat. He cracked a quiet joke about not rocking the boat just yet and rowed them back to the shore, back towards the house where the rest of the candidates were waiting.

At least one of them was probably stewing at the fact that Fenrys had pulled a second date.

Just before they reached the pier, the boat bumped against something below the water's surface and rocked sharply.

"Shit!" Fenrys yelped, digging the oars into the water to counterbalance the sudden tilt, his muscles straining as the boat jostled and rocked again. "Hold on, Ae, I--fuck!" He spoke too late.

With a splash and a high-pitched "Shit!," Aelin went flying over the side of the boat, drawing in a sharp breath just before she plunged fully into the icy lake water. It might have been early summer, but the lake was far from pleasantly warm. She held her breath and extended her arms and legs, pushing at the water as she tried to work back to the surface.

But the godsdamned ridiculous, overly formal dress she'd been put in clung to her in all the wrong ways, constricting her range of motion, and those stupid heels were caught in what felt like a tangle of roots and wouldn't budge. Hell.

Aelin tried to keep her pounding heart under control as she bent back downwards and reached for her shoes, fumbling with the stupidly fucking tiny straps and buckles until she'd managed to free her feet from the damn things. Her lungs ached and burned with the effort of keeping her breath held. Push, Galathynius!

Partially freed, she pushed towards the surface, swearing violently to herself as she struggled against the godsdamned dress. Air rushed from her lips in a stream of silvery bubbles, and she clamped her lips back together, willing herself not to let go of any more precious breath even as she struggled to float.

Then a pair of strong, muscled arms wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled to the surface in a stroke of powerful, purely masculine strength.

She gasped and spluttered, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Her hair was plastered all over her face and her makeup ran in smeared trails, destroyed by the icy lake. Teeth chattering, she noticed the cameras zooming in on her waterlogged form and rapidly crossed her arms over her chest.

Her lack of a bra meant her nipples were rigid behind the dress, and the assholes editing the footage would never let that go unnoticed.

"Are you alright?" The man who still had his arms around her deposited her on the pier and grabbed the floating dock for stability, peering anxiously into her face. It wasn't Fenrys, as she'd thought.

It was Rowan Whitethorn.

And now her heart was pounding for multiple reasons.

"I-I'm f-f-fine," she managed to get out through chattering teeth and shivers.

"Hey!" Rowan hoisted himself out of the lake in a smooth, sleek lift that made Aelin immediately think of Anthony Bridgerton, and directed his next yell at the handful of men and crew members standing around watching Aelin shiver. "Get Miss Galathynius some damn towels! Have you never seen someone almost drown before?"

She smiled to herself. Maybe the man was more of a gentleman than she'd given him credit for initially. "I'm f-fine," she repeated, but the tremors shaking her body belied her words.

He crouched back down next to her, grumbled something about useless idiots, and laid two fingers against her pulse. "We need to get you inside," he murmured. "Can I pick you up?"

"Yes." Normally, she would refuse, but this wasn't normal.

Rowan scooped her into his arms, letting her nestle against his warm, if wet, chest, and strode towards her villa, leaving a trail of slack-jawed suitors, eager camera crew, and one flabbergasted Fenrys in his wake. "I wish they'd all fuck off," he mumbled into her sodden hair. "Yeah, yeah, it's a drama, but really?"

"Can't let the knight in sopping armor go unnoticed," Aelin quipped, her humor unharmed.

He chuckled. The deep rasp of it went right between her thighs. "If I wasn't on the damn show myself, I'd be the person punching the cameraman right about now."

"No need for that," she returned. "Just...just get me home." Exhaustion had overtaken her more than anything else.

"I will." She clung to the solid surety of those words and closed her eyes for the rest of the short walk to her villa. When he reached the steps, Rowan paused, suddenly unsure how to proceed. "Uh..."

"I don't think I can walk," Aelin admitted. "So, if you'll bring me inside, that would be lovely." She met his concerned pine gaze. "It's okay, Rowan. Plus, my villa is strictly no-cameras."

"Okay." So he walked up the stairs, pushed open her front door, brought her inside, and nudged the door closed behind them. Holding her stable with one arm, he locked the front door and then carried her into the kitchen. Gingerly, he set her down, but kept one arm around her waist for stability. "Where do you need to go?"

"Bathroom." She found her balance, wobbling only a bit, and led him down the hall to the master bedroom and its attached bathroom. She made it all the way into the modern, marble-and-glass space before her stomach roiled and she lurched away from him. "Gods," she groaned as she bent over the toilet. "Why now? Why tonight?"

Unexpectedly gentle, Rowan's hands swept her wet hair away from her face and rubbed her back in soothing strokes. "It's alright, Aelin. Just let it all out."

She retched a couple more times before her stomach settled down and her body started insisting that she get out of her uncomfortably wet clothes and into a nice warm bath. "Rowan?"

"Yeah?"

"I...I need a bath."

His tan cheeks flushed an adorable shade of bright red. "Do you need me to leave?"

She blew out a sigh. "I'd say yes, but--oh hell," she cursed as her legs gave out beneath her. "Well, it seems I'm still unstable."

"Okay." He glanced around the bathroom for a minute, unsure, and then went and turned on the bathwater, filling up the sunken marble tub with steaming heat.

"Unzip me, please," she requested, feeling her face burn crimson with the awkwardness of the request. To her relief, he didn't comment, just fumbled with the wet satin before finding the tiny zipper and carefully pulling it down the length of her back. She peeled the sodden material off her body and dropped it on the floor, not caring that she wasn't wearing any underwear, and walked down the steps into the deliciously hot bath.

Behind her, Rowan drew in a sharp breath. "Aelin." If she was in any other reality, she'd swear that there was predatory violence underlying his tone.

"What?" Safely submerged in the water up to her shoulders, she turned to look at him.

Poorly-concealed wrath tightened his handsome face. "Who did that to you?"

So he'd seen the scars slashing across her back. "Car accident. Happened when I was a child," she said, simply, boiling the truth down to its most sanitized version. And because he still looked like murder, she added, "The drunk driver who hit the car I was in died on impact."

He relaxed. A smidge. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She leaned back into the bath, a small, soft moan escaping her as the hot water eased the tension in her muscles and warmed her chilled body back up. A thought dropped into her mind, and she cracked her eyes open. "You can use the shower if you need, Rowan."

He was still fixed where he stood, and she could have sworn that she saw dark desire flicker in those forest-colored eyes of his. "What if I want a bath?" he asked, and fire licked down her spine at the sound of his voice, low and rough and thrumming with leashed need.

And with that question, Aelin got the unmistakable sense that she'd found her bachelor.

"Then the steps are right there," she breathed, holding his intense gaze, feeling her body electrify the longer he stared at her. The longer he dragged out the charged silence, though, the more she began to question. "Unless I've read the room wrong, in which case I'm an idiot, and--oh gods, I fucked up, and--"

"Aelin." Clothes hit the marble floor with a wet thud and Rowan's chiseled body cut through the steaming water until he stood right in front of her, reached out, and caught her chin with his fingertips, tipping her head up to his. "You didn't read anything wrong."

Her breath hitched at his closeness, at the heat between them that had nothing to do with the bath. "Rowan," she whispered, hardly daring to believe the scene was real, "kiss me."

"What about the three date rule?" Gods burn her, he had a sense of humor, too?

"You found the loophole," she grinned. "Rescue the damsel in distress, and that counts as three dates."

"Lucky me." And Rowan kissed her.

~

Aelin blinked awake to bright sunlight, rumpled sheets, and Rowan Whitethorn snoring behind her.

She couldn't control the grin that blossomed across her face as she laid there, snug and warm in the cocoon of his arms, and listened to the adorable, snuffling snore emanating from the most controlled man on the show. Unable to help it, she rolled over and looked into his slumbering face, reaching out to trail her fingertips lightly over the tattoo that spiraled down his arm.

"I can feel you staring," he mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Can you blame me?" She dipped her head, brushed a featherlight kiss over his lips. "You're adorable when you snore."

He grumbled something incoherent. "I don't control that."

"And it ruffles your feathers, I know," she teased. "I think it's--oh!" Her teasing was cut off with another kiss.

After they separated, breaths ragged, Rowan twined a lock of her hair around his fingers, uncertainty flashing across his face. "Ae?"

"Hmm?" She held his gaze. "You can talk to me, Ro," she murmured, reassuring him the same way he'd comforted her last night.

He exhaled heavily. "Last night...it...what's going to happen?"

"Well, I'm going to start dating you," she replied. "I'll probably keep one or two other guys around because the contract says I have to, but as of now, you are the only man in my life." She traced the angle of his cheekbones. "Why?"

"Because--" The normally unflappable, granite-faced businessman fumbled for words. "Will you promise to keep a secret, Ae?"

"Of course." She laced her free hand into his and squeezed. "I promise."

He worried his lower lip, took a steadying breath, and dropped the biggest bombshell of the whole show on her.

"I have a daughter."

~~~

TAGS: please lmk if you want to be added or removed or if there's any problems :)

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@backtobl4ck

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@chronicchthonic14

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

[just-someone-online]

More Monster High Headcanons

There'll probably be one more of these before I get them out of my system lol. Again, I haven't finished the diaries yet so some of the G1 headcanons might not gel super well with them.

River Styxx does in fact have a scythe, but after putting one too many holes into her dad's boat due to carelessness, her access to it has been restricted.

G3 Lagoona's scales were indeed blue when she was little, but as she grew older, they began shifting hues to pink.

While most monsters say nonboonary instead of nonbinary, skeletons and similar boney monsters refer to it as being nonspineary.

Despite all three versions of Draculaura being vegetarians, one of them (Not sure who. Probably not G2) has turned somebody to save their life. She doesn't like to talk about it.

While most monsters lived alone after the Great Fright Flight, many formed small communities around the world. Emphasis on small, as they needed to be able to quickly evacuate if any humans stumbled upon them.

Not all zombies speak zombie. Some grow up speaking whatever the dominant language is where they live while others simply don't use the language until their larynx begins rotting away. Moanica is the former and G3 Ghoulia is the latter.

Even though humans have largely forgotten that monsters exist, there have been some unfortunate incidents, hence why a lot of the monsters the Ghoul Squad found were living on their own.

G2 Clawdeen (And I suppose all werewolves by extension) has a tail, but after being bitten by teething werepups one too many times, she prefers to keep it tucked away.

G1 and G2 Twyla are autistic, they told me themselves. One of them (Both of them?) has a little hourglass necklace that she stims with.

For a few months after Electrified, Frankie had some issues regulating her electricity. Sometimes they'd give off a minor jolt, but other times she was shooting off enough electricity to power a classroom. They hope they never have to absorb a city's worth of power ever again.

Alivia has a habit of twisting at her bolts when she's thinking and it makes Frankie's heart stop every time they catch her doing it. "Those are holding your skull together! Stop it!"

G3 Cleo has never had a good school picture. You could take a picture of her falling down the stairs with your iCoffin and she'd look amazing in it, but if it were for the fearbook, she'd look like a mess.

The first time the ghouls invited G2 Twyla to a creepover, there was a brief moment where they thought she bailed on them partway through. Turns out she had fallen asleep and sank into the shadows.

G1 and G2 Frankie have no idea where babies come from (Well, non-simulacrum babies) and none of their friends want to deal with the secondhand embarrassment of explaining. G3 on the other hand, learned when they got a flashback to one of their brain donors learning.

[twodiamondhoes]

AU BATTLE TIME dirges crew vs fallout crew

This isn't one of the 100-500 word ficlet prompts but I cannot stop thinking about how distinct the home court advantages of these two crews are.

If Dirges crew set foot in the Fallout setting they would spontaneously combust because of the radiation poisoning just... present in the air. There was 0 radiation in the air during the 1800s. (there was radiation, obviously, please see the radium girls and uranium glass, but there's a reason we can find forgeries painted after the 1940s with specific tests). The Fallout Crew got frog-boiled, and even the non-radioactive areas have radiation.

But if the Fallout crew ended up in Del Sombra, they would be vaporized the second one of them even sort of made a move towards violence.

So I guess the best answer is, if they both ended up in a completely neutral ground, like some kind of arena a la the M9 v. VM battle oneshot, there would be a couple of really interesting determining factors on either side (More under the cut lol)

On the side of the Dirges Crew we've got their heavy hitters:

Del Sombra/Grian: hindered by the fact that she's more or less trapped in a mortal body and outside of her direct sphere of influence

Jimmy: who's got all of his, uh, Morhua things going on. Can I post about that yet? Probably not actually but oh well.

Scar, and all of the magical buffs he's got from Nick

Pearl, and all of the magical buffs she's got from [VERY REDACTED]

[Redacted] and Tango, but Tango's given up his scythes to Pearl, and is actually mostly mortal at this point. All he's really got going for him is chutzpah and grit (and explosives). [Redacted] can stand his own though.

But shockingly, as you pointed out not too long ago, the biggest dog in this fight is actually False. It really is a "You have rad-x, 275lbs of explosives, and power armor, but we have a False," and none of that will make sense to anyone for a very very long time because I write so so sooooo slowly I'm sorry guys.

But on the Fallout Crew side, their heavy hitters are:

Jimmy: Who was literally engineered in a lab vault to be good at hyper-perceptive and good at combat. Sorry about that semi-constant overstimulation though, bud.

Tango: who now owns 100% of the Powder Ganger's stock of explosives and is only hindered by carrying capacity (200lbs is based on my vague recollection of what the FNV companions can carry lol)

Impulse: and his power armor.

Skizz: and his power armor.

Etho: and, uh, everything that he's got in his silly little bunker in the desert.

Also, Etho's car. (After Wild Life, it is SO funny to me that we gave Etho the Last Working Car in existence. Truly the Boat Boys hit us with that clairvoyance beam. They get to be antagonistic buddies in this au now, I say so.)

Oh, yeah, (<- pretending that I forgot and haven't been chomping at the bit to write about Fallout AU Gem) and Gem, who, let's be honest, is their dark horse in this fight. Between her ability to survive and her ability to fight, I think it's even odds that she can hold her own against several members of the Dirges crew, especially if she gets in close.

And look, if Dirges!Pearl can get [Very Redacted] to care about the fight, then it's all over for the fallout crew, but otherwise, I think the fallout crew comes out on top, based on numbers, tactical knowledge, and the fact that they've got Mr. "I was raised on simulations and so many gene mods" leading them. Falsie puts up a good fight, but her body is not made to go up against power armor. On the plus side, she'd finally get to figure out if she can... go home.

[blitz0hno]

For the ask game: general 1, 3, 6, 7. Prisoner, 1, 3 (Amane), 4 (mikoto) I didn’t ask too much questions did I

I AM SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG RAHHHH I got the notif, forgor, got another ask for this like a day ago, forgot again, and finally check my inbox today lmao you asked the perfect amount of questions no worries!!

General:

1. My favorite prisoner? It really is Mikoto I cannot tell a lie 😭 why? He's just... So heartbreakingly earnest. And when I was on Milgram Twitter back in 2021 I really didn't want his story to be a DID story. I wasn't about to discuss that stuff on a pretty public account no matter how intrigued we were. However, as time went on, and we thought about how all the other prisoners are "mentally ill" in some form or another, we held out hope that the whole "DID murderer who doesn't remember" thing would be subverted in some way. We came to really really look forward to his second trial, and after Purge March even moreso. In our opinion, Milgram team fuckin DELIVERED when Oct. 25th came around. While I personally relate more to John, Mikoto's story and how it's being told are very important to me. The extreme ambiguity of it all makes it better honestly; it's strikingly realistic in that sense. A host who has no idea what's going on or how to deal with it, in a boat with a bunch of presumable singlets who feel the same way, strikes a chord that few other medias have. Plurality is a very difficult topic to do justice, but I think Mikoto's narrative is very humanizing.

3. Favorite headcanon has gotta be the sibling-type relationships, particularly Amane and Fuuta. I love the idea of them stirring up trouble together. Trans headcanons are also my favorite anything ever (transmasc Fuuta and Mikoto/John and nonbinary Amane are my personal favs but transfemme!Fuuta, transfemme!Kazui and other trans headcanons are all GOATed imo)

6. RAHHHHHHH DIFFICULT favorite MV? siiiigh it probably is MeMe. Surprise tone-shift? Check. Tarot motif? Check. THE CRIME IN BRUTAL DETAIL? Check. Lyrics go crazy. Color palette goes crazy. Outfits go crazy. Although I will say "I Love You" is criminally underrated and provocative. Also LOVVVVED Harrow, Tear Drop, INMF, Purge March and Deep Cover. It's so hard to pick!!

7. Who I would get along with? Ironically, probably Fuuta. I think I would put up with his gruff attitude better than most, and we'd probably have similar worldviews regarding justice and the systems in place in society. I've been in similar (thankfully less serious) positions regarding his murder. We both enjoy video games and ramen lol he's still a little shit tho. I also feel like Yuno and I have very similar worldviews and would get along just fine.

Prisoners:

1. What do I think of Amane? Easily one of my favorites. Why? SHE IS SO REAL THAT'S WHY. She's thoroughly heartbreakingly indoctrinated but STILL trusts herself enough to do what's in her best interest in protecting herself. She denies herself so much joy to honor her devotions, even though I'm almost sure she will come to realize that the only "god" looking out for her is her. She just wants everyone to have the "heaven" of infinite happiness she's been promised, and doesn't yet understand that it's something one must make for themselves and that no one can see and know her every move and judge her like that.

3. Amane's first verdict was cruel, but I understand why it happened. Magic's very vague about who she killed and it seemed like she did it simply because the doctrine said to. It was almost like she'd been manipulated into doing it and didn't feel bad at all. When really, she was just joyous that she got to punish her abuser for once, using the rules THEY told her; not the other way around. I still do regret voting "unforgiven," personally. Her second verdict though? Based. I was in the trenches w y'all for that shit. Purge March my beloved. She had every right to punish someone who would torture a child and I don't see how Kotoko doesn't get that??? Amane inno sweep all the way they better treat my girl RIGHT from now on.

4. What do I wish people understood more about Mikoto? Woooo boy. How do I word this.

In the fandom: Mikoto is just a host alter - he's as capable of being mean and aggressive as John is capable of being nice. And his response to John and anger towards the protector is as natural as it is unfair. He's not immune to being a flawed human and deals with stress very differently from John despite sharing a body. Mikoto's denial keeps him going along "normally," but it's doubtless that "he," Mikoto, is truly the responsible one for the crime (as hosts often are the ones making big decisions). And idk, people seem to understand overall?? But there still seems to be confusion sometimes, about how John isn't "just" a protector, but a completely separate person/ego state. Neither one is the "main" alter, or a "nicer"/"better" alter. They're rounded people like the rest of the prison.

In-universe: I wish they understood him and John. I wish they knew he switched sometimes, and that though they're different they aren't dangerous just by virtue of being like that. I wish Mikoto wouldn't shame himself for not "measuring up," and accept himself and what he's done. But we're going to superhell so idk about that.

Thanks for asking!

[dairogo]

5 for the Hughes, 42 for Royai, and 35 for Fuery/Sheska!

Oh, the Hughes! :') 5. Do they argue often? If so, what do they argue about?

Not often, but just because Maes mooned over Gracia and Elysia constantly doesn't mean everything was perfect at home! When Maes lashed out it was big, loud, emotional responses. He tried to keep Gracia separate from Ishval - he never wanted her to be tainted by the life he and other soldiers led there - and so once (hc) when she cleaned a drawer where he'd hidden some of his correspondence with a war buddy, he blew up at her in a major way. It was verbal not physical, but very much like a feral animal trying to protect itself (he doesn't want her to see any of that), and Gracia backed off at the time but afterwards they had Big Words together about his behaviour.

When Gracia argued with him, it was just like scolding a puppy. ("Maes, calm down - my sister's wedding isn't the right place to talk about how amazing our wedding was in comparison.") She spoke calmly and clearly - and most of the time she was right and he had to back down about the situation, but sometimes she'd start scolding him and Maes knew he was in the right. He'd just persist in his argument until Gracia realised how ridiculous she was being, and she'd get pretty embarrassed. And Maes thought that was really cute. He liked arguing with her when she was wrong - but when he was wrong, it crushed him (very momentarily) to have disappointed her.

Then for Royai, 42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

Well, we've seen Roy interact with all of Riza's family, lol, so briefly about that: Master Hawkeye and General Grumman both look/looked on Roy in the same way - wanting to further their own obsession through him. No wonder H and G didn't get along - they're both so ambitious they wouldn't have been able to compromise for each other.

For a long time, Riza's relationship with Chris Mustang is mutual respect from a distance. Riza is actually really intimidated by Chris - the idea of touching on Roy's personal life strongly enough to meet his family feels forbidden in and of itself, but Riza's scared to face the woman who brought up that idealistic boy when Riza was the one to put a weapon of mass destruction into his hands. She's ashamed.

From Chris' perspective, Roy and Riza are both kids in the same terrible boat, and she's just happy her nephew has found someone who makes him happy. And who enables his scheming - Chris loves scheming, after all.

Roy's sisters love Riza to pieces, but she's scared of them all for a combination of reasons (guilt and too introverted).

And finally, for Feury/Scieszka - 35. Is their relationship a secret? If so, why?

No! They're out there openly dating. There was never a chance to be secret about it, because technically they were supervised for their entire first date. Scieszka ran into the group when they were all at lunch together, and Breda - who knew her from a few intel gathering trips - loudly announced, "You two would get on great. You should date." Feury and Scieszka had been just introduced at that point and they got really embarrassed. They might have just gone their separate ways, but Breda mentioned it to Feury a few times a week for the next month and when Scieszka happened to run into them at lunchtime again, Havoc got talking to her and distracted her long enough to get her to sit down with them, across from a very red Feury. Then Breda told her Kain was interested in finding a particular book about telecommunications, and as she started talking about it, Breda and Havoc just ... slowly slid down the bench ... Then from about two metres away they observed the rest of the date and hissed out hints to Feury about how to keep the conversation going until Feury found his footing.

At the wedding, even though the best man was Feury's younger brother, Havoc and Breda strongarmed their way into making a speech and they called it "the best relationship either of us has ever started."

[emwritesstuff]

so about dynamo?

i'm not realy a enemies to lovers type of person but holy fucking shit, somehow you have gotten the right amout of ''i care, deeply, truly, about this person'' and ''oh ny fucking god, can they shut the fuck up FOR ONCE. i need to fuck them. but because of my own issues, sure, but i need them dead like rn. for the love of god, can they fuck offf-''

and i think that's great. steve dosn't feel ooc, him feeling annoying and demanding without his softnes, also feels in character

sparky is wonderful, she'd messy and snarky and sharp around the edges as a means of survival. Of course steve wants to help, but she's not bucky so it's weird, comes off as entitled, ''lectury'' to sparks

i also think that it would be realy cool to expolore how, maybe, a relationship between bucky and sparks would function (i mean this fully platonicaly for both of them), cuz both are kinda fucked, and somewhat in a similar boat (with the whole...activation thing) the uncertainty if the people in your life can ever see you beyond the things you've been put through and all of that, y'know,

(but also it's your story, and it's realy fucking cool as is)

so uh, yeah 👍🏻. i hope they get to fuck nasty in the next one (i need her to bite him)

oh my god hi. this is THE BEST ask here we go

somehow you have gotten the right amout of ''i care, deeply, truly, about this person'' and ''oh ny fucking god, can they shut the fuck up FOR ONCE.

I tried to give both Steve and Reader traits that could either clash or bring the other balance, and also not make one All Good and the other All Bad. I love enemies to lovers but it can be really hard to find harmony between that hate and affection, and make the progression feel natural - that's what I've been trying to do and it's sooo good to hear that it's been working!

steve dosn't feel ooc, him feeling annoying and demanding without his softnes, also feels in character

I love that you think that! My favorite Steve is CATWS Steve. He feels real but also holds all the traits we love about him. What's happening in this movie is also happening here: our man is under a lot of pressure from multiple sides (including Sparky's) and it's hard to let his true personality shine when he has so much on his shoulders. But with time we'll get some more of his softness, it's there

I added some of this glimpses already, but I hope to touch more on the post Civil War Accords soon, and show that he had to compromise a lot to get his team back to the comfort and resources of the Compound.

Of course steve wants to help, but she's not bucky so it's weird, comes off as entitled, ''lectury'' to sparks

Their distrust of one another definitely made things more difficult than they could be. She doesn't see it as him trying to help and Steve doesn't understand - at first - how warped her world views have been at this point (and he is indeed lecturey). What should be obvious isn't and it creates frustration for the both of them. But I think that's on its way to change hehehe

i also think that it would be realy cool to expolore how, maybe, a relationship between bucky and sparks would function (i mean this fully platonicaly for both of them)

I'm so glad you touched this subject because it's for sure going to happen! I've started to set that up on part 5 and I want to get something going on part 6. Reader and Bucky have had very similar experiences, and that's the reason they've kept their distance so far - it's too close to home. If I may give an itty bitty spoiler, someone is gonna spill the beans about the record player, lol Also! Bucky has been Steve's wingman since the 1940s 👀

i hope they get to fuck nasty in the next one (i need her to bite him)

I'm not the most skilled with smut but it's happening! I'll see what i can do about the biting 😈

[houseaeducan]

@prohalla

Do you think if the origins coup didn’t happen that your aeducan would be better or worse then bhelen, harrowmont, or trian as the queen

love this question ty... it's a bit tricky with daera because she never actually planned on becoming queen of orzammar -- she's pretty uninterested in politics and always felt pretty content with the idea of focusing her energy on her position as commander under whichever of her brothers ended up on the throne. she'd play the game to undermine and fuck with them a bit as sibling antics and because you need to if you're going to last, but bhelen moved against her more because he knew that she would turn against him once she realized he committed fratricide and less because he thought she would actually contend for the throne. she could have! the assembly liked her! but the assembly liked her because she was naturally charismatic and an incredibly promising warrior, and being good with a sword and at parties doesn't translate to legitimate political ability.

if she ended up in some sort of designated survivor situation where her father and brothers were all killed then i think she'd be ??? okay?????? as queen? the biggest problem would be that she'd be deeply uninterested in it, and i imagine she would end up pushing a lot of the day-to-day decision-making onto her advisors (who in this case would probably be harrowmont so. lol.) when she actually did get involved, i think she would do Fine but not particularly challenge the system in any way. for reference, like, in her origin she told that noble guy to stop harassing the scholar guy (agkjhag its been a year since I've played the aeducan origin can you tell), but also told the scholar guy to keep the false history in the shaperate. no use harassing someone just doing his job, but it's not use rocking the boat when it threatens a noble house's pride. she was open to the idea of restoring titles to some surfacers for the benefit of orzammar, but amended her position to "yeah we should respect the surfacers or whatever but they gave up their right to be here" as soon as she learned there would be political ramifications she didn't like. she's not as much of a strict traditionalist as harrowmont would be, and is pretty open to the idea of the casteless being like, people, but i think making any actual moves to reform or push back on reform would depend very heavily on whether her allies thought it was a good move strategically

the one place i do think she'd do a very good job and maybe lead to some legitimate change for orzammar is in the military. i imagine that's where she would turn her actual sights to basically immediately (and probably spent a lot of her reign off the throne leading expeditions in the deep roads and leave the at home ruling to whoever she got into a political marriage with. kind of cailan-esque. wait.) from there i don't think it would take her too long to realize how deeply fucked orzammar really is in their current position (which i don't think she thought of particularly deeply before being put into a commander position). from that perspective, i can see her taking a much more aggressive approach to the darkspawn, and eventually coming to some of the same conclusions bhelen did about training non-warrior caste soldiers, making a concentrated effort to retake abandoned thaigs, and, maybe even opening up more with the surface for the sake of getting reinforcements, all of which i can see having a positive effects on orzammar outside of just their survival.

so i guess i would say, probably better than harrowmont and hmm, it's tough to compare her to bhelen. less of a reformer but also less likely to vindictively execute you. honestly have not thought much about trian as a ruler so I'm not sure on that! i want to say she would be better because trian seems so petty and shitty but lbr how you act with your shitty siblings does not constitute what kind of king you would be.. need to think more on that

[ao3fujoshevik]

first sentence pattern game!!!

rules: post the first sentence of your last ten posted fics to see if there's a pattern.

thank you @thehollowone16 for tagging me!! very fun & honestly pretty informative to look at pieces of my writing this way. I kind of want to go back and workshop these now lol

open heart, closed eyes: "Kakashi was a super special elite jōnin, and that is the issue that really caused all of this."

vir sulevanan: "The Templars were invading."

that thing inside: "ON A ROAD TO SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, some years ago, there is a tall group of Cree boys on a bus."

wolf & hound: "When the rush of green first hit him, Fenris had expected death."

let the hearth warm you: "The red barbarian fell out of the sky like a meteor, crashing deep into the mountains on the borderlands of the Land of Earth."

stories don't repeat (they rhyme): "When Hatake Kakashi was eight years old, already a bloodied jōnin, he stood and watched as Kurosuki Raiga put his father down with his own swords."

life & death by water: "Even after she had remembered her past life, Mi Qingwan could have lived in happy ignorance to the world she'd been reborn to." breaking the rules to get to ten by including some of my nonposted current WIPs;,:

[actually named wip] the sunday night seal club: "Tenten had been close to tears leaving the hospital’s classroom when she’d noticed the older boy in the hall vanishing information into a card."

[unnamed nart/a:tla crossover wip]: "It was a two-week journey from their village to the capital city of Agna Qel’a, and they were too far into the tundra to make the full journey by boat."

[edo tensei/time travel wip]: " “Alas, poor Shisui,” Kabuto smirked, examining the damaged sockets on the skull fragment. “I found you.”

pattern I noticed: i tend to start by introducing the main character(s) by name and describing the setting, though not all the time. I don't use dialogue much (this is a general issue for me; the fics I wrote in high school were almost too dialogue heavy, and now I basically forget to write it in at all). There's also a kind of general vibe of starting in a bad spot? in all of these save the 3rd one I'm starting with a description of an issue, a death, or a negative experience. this might be why it's hard for me to dig fics out of the angst holes I put them in.

tagging: @entelechies, if you're interested! would be curious to see, but of course no pressure !!

[widowshill]

Questions for multimuses: Which of your muses loves winter the most? Which one loves summer the most? (& It's time for a heist! Tell us what role each of your muses has in this operation (name as many as you'd like). if you feel so inspired?) Please & thank you!

QUESTIONS FOR MULTIMUSES.

thank you very much for this question :DD

loves winter: elizabeth. this one, to me, is quite easy ––  elizabeth embodies a very wintery spirit no matter the season, but she has a particular fondness for the blistering maine winters at collinwood, and the most used to the cold (having lived there longer than anyone). she loves ice skating: she was excellent at it in her day, and taught carolyn personally. mugs of hot cocoa, elaborate hand-cut pine decorations (courtesy of matthew, or willie) and poinsettias and holly (courtesy of herself from the greenhouse), evenings warming up from the annual collins family snowball fight in front of the fireplace. summer: roger. this isn't so obvious vibes-wise because man always looks like he walked out of a vintage sears catalog with the turtleneck / suit / trenchcoat combo. but, unlike his sister, he's far more sensitive to the vicious seaside winds, as well as chill of the house itself in the wintertime. he loves a warm summertime walk along the beach in the seabreeze, or along the docks of the bay, or skipping rocks off the cliffside. likewise, a pleasure drive with the top down in the convertible, or a jaunt out in the boat. he is rarely happier than he is with a fun little umbrella in his drink and book of Romantic poety in his hand. true at collinwood and especially abroad in england in the summer.

as for the heist! i decided to include everyone even the muses i forget exist on this blog sometimes... lol.

the mastermind: liz. goes without saying. she has the most working braincells at any given time which make her the best choice for organizing/hiring the team/managing funds ... and a way of Authority and fabricating Truth that puts her in an ideal spot to be a heist leader. also, her unique relationship with law enforcement where they greatly respect her / are friendly with her, and yet immediately know if anything shady is going on it's at her house.

the conman: nathan. excellent smooth talker with a great knack for manipulating people, when he's put on the scent of that cold hard cash. he can be either (seemingly) harmlessly charming and flirtatious, or the more ruthless and backstabbing sort, whichever the situation at hand calls for. not bad with a crossbow if things go south!

the hacker: josette. every good heist team needs a ghost to disable locks, bug security cameras, spook guards, etc ! considering this role also usually entails keeping an eye on the rest of the team and keeping them safe / alerting them to danger, my good ghost buddy is particularly suited for that.

the muscle: gore. longest kill streak and the most ruthless with practical weaponry, not the least afraid to get his hands bloody ( they might have more trouble keeping him restrained / not attracting too much attention than anything else ) also just generally the most physically imposing – bulk, scary looking.

the inside man: vicki. no one will ever suspect the harmless little innocent governess :) i don't think she'd really be that good in the active part of a heist because she's a little too Goody Too Shoes for that ( and usually terrible unsubtle) but she is good at uncovering secrets, getting the lay of the place, reading her employers, things of that nature.

the fixer: eleanor. again, not terribly useful in the active, crime-committing part of the heist, but she Knows a Guy and she can absolutely acquire that thing that you need, and will see it done so that you can go out and commit the ultimate crime.

the distraction: lena. my little OH actress that could totally play the ultimate noir femme fatale ( or any other type of part ) depending on what the situation called for. there's definitely something going on there with her and liz but no one is stupid enough to say anything.

the driver: roger. does elizabeth trust her younger brother to take on an important role in a heist? not really. would he insist being a part of it if he knew about it? yes. what she knows he can do and likes to do is drive expensive cars much too fast (and making him stay with the car helps ensure he's not underfoot or interfering in her plans in other ways) i also rag on him for his repeated accidents a lot but generally speaking he's not a bad driver, especially considering the amount of alcohol usually in his system. just triple check the brakes :)