#the island chapter 8

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

What do you think Theon and Asha's respective plotlines in TWOW are going to be? It's always been something I have a hard time puzzling out. I could see one staying with Stannis so we see the campaign for Winterfell play out, but not both? What do you think? Is it possible they head back to the Islands after the Battle in the crofter's village? Is it possible Dagmer Cleftjaw will come into play since he's still at Torrhen's Square?

I'm really not sure. I do think Theon will survive whatever happens when Stannis tries to execute him by the weirwood -- those ravens are not yelling "Theon" and "the tree" for nothing, Bran is getting involved there and something deeply weird is gonna go down -- but what happens to Theon and Asha after that? 🤷‍♀️

But yes, it's possible one or both could head back to the Iron Islands. (Along with Dagmer, sure.) I'm certain Asha would want to bring Theon there, to pull a Torgon the Latecomer with him and declare the kingsmoot invalid. Whether she will, or whether that's something that has to wait for ADOS, I don't know. But it's possible that if Euron and/or Victarion's actions come to Stannis's attention, he’ll decide Asha's not worth keeping as a hostage and instead recruit her to find out what's going on with the other Greyjoys. Theon also has some kind of backstory yet to be revealed re Euron -- and considering Aeron and the Forsaken, and the way Theon nearly had a panic attack seeing Mors Umber's eyepatch, it's unfortunately not hard to make certain assumptions -- so he may have potential re Euron's downfall? Or perhaps Theon won't be involved, and just share backstory details with us while Euron does whatever the hell he's doing over by Oldtown and the Hightower and with Dany and the dragons and the glass candles and the Valyrian steel armor and the Horn of Joramun and everything.

Note also that Theon and Jon have highly interesting potential for their future meeting, so while Theon could be the POV for Stannis's campaign, it's also possible he could end up at the Wall somehow? Could this be somehow related to Theon's potential as a prophet of the old gods/Bran re the deeply weird thing happening up by the tree? And then there's the fact that Jeyne is already on her way to the Wall with Alysane Mormont and Justin Massey, and from there probably to Braavos... might Theon follow them? And that's not even getting into the mystery of who wrote the Pink Letter.

It's no wonder you're having a hard time puzzling things out, there's just too much to consider, honestly.

[peemanne]

In Infinite Wealth, the character Yutaka Yamai commonly complains about it being "too cold", despite Hawaii's tropical climate and his choice to layer up on clothes. This is because it is physically impossible for a character to be this fucking cool holy shit what a badass

[kowareta-exe]

I swear, Slippery Slopes is been carrying all of us, Alenoah ao3 fandom 😭

(The fanfic is Amicus Curiae by courtney-deserved-better (she did deserved better-) i like the concept of this fanfic :3

[ramonag-if]

The gang has safely docked 🏝

This isn't really a spoiler because you learn nothing 😋

[fiddler-sticks]

Ninjago seasons and specials ranked by how good the music is (with commentary)

Just a comment before we start: This does not include Weekend Whips or any other intros. Just the score that plays under episodes and credits music

21. Skybound

There's just barely any music for this season due to budget cuts or something of the like, and what music that is there I'm just not super enthused about or I forgot about

20. Crystalized

While there's a good amount of music for this season, I didn't find it super special or appealing, and it was just kind of meh like the season itself

19. Legacy of the Green Ninja

I hate to put this here, but something's gotta go here so it might as well be S2. The music was pretty great and there's a LOT of it, plus it's available to the public on an album, but really the only tracks from this season that stick out to me are Day Jobs and The Final Battle

18. Rebooted

Again, don't dislike the music, but something's gotta take these spots and I can't even recall any pieces from this season except for X-1 Joyride and Built to Protect

17. The Island

The score for this season is miles better than the plot and execution, but there's not a lot of it. There was like, one piece I could find on youtube. It was great though! Really fit the island vibe

16. Fire Chapter

It was pretty hard to decide whether The Island or Fire Chapter went here, but eventually I decided on Fire Chapter just because it had more tracks, plus the ongoing and reused Serpentine theme. None of the tracks really stood out to me, but I loved that they reused the Serpentine theme from the first few seasons for Aspheera and her minions

15. Seabound

This one is here for a combination of reasons from The Island and Fire Chapter. It has a lot of music, plus it fits the ocean theme super well. None of the tracks stood out to me except for the one reused one from Wu's Teas when they're all walking out in their diving gear though, so that's why it's this low

14. Hunted

I absolutely love the plot of this season and the hunter's theme, but the only thing that really stood out to me as 'Wow, this is amazing was Dragon Hunt'. It's also super all over because of the whole realms thing, which obviously doesn't make for a very consistent soundtrack. The Resistance Never Quits is a great track, too

13. March of the Oni

Now we start moving into the great seasons. 13th place might seem low, but considering how flipping amazing the other soundtracks are I think this is well-placed. It's diverse, but all fits together and the two moods are nicely separated, unlike whatever was happening in Hunted. I really like the nice, flowy, and clean tracks when we're around the ninja, and the choppy, dissonant music with the whispers and uncommon time signatures for the Oni never fails to give me good chills

12. Hands of Time

I'm gonna be honest with you and say that I was going to put this one a LOT lower, but then I decided to give it a relisten, and DANG. I can't believe I forgot how much of a BANGER this soundtrack is! Especially the ongoing theme. I think I forgot just because the plot of the season is so forgettable, but the music definitely goes hard

11. Rise of the Snakes

I think this is probably the most expected ranking on this list. The soundtrack is great, but it's not amazing. It's really hit-and-miss, honestly. You have bangers like Falcon Chase, Taking the Bait, Weapons Take Flight, and Race to Ouroboros, but the rest of it is kind of bland and forgettable in my opinion

10. The Lego Ninjago Movie

It seems like no one talks about the score for TLNM when we should absolutely be talking about it! It's great! You should really go listen to it. The percussive flute tracks by Greg Pattillo are especially good. Pieces like Sibling Rivalry, The Rise of Kitty Kitty, and Wise Master Wu are also super great!

9. Sons of Garmadon

I honestly can't remember why I put this so high, but I trust more-awake-Fiddler's judgment. It's got a great score, it's just that not a lot of it is super memorable for me. The very beginning of the season (the first bit of Sons of Garmadon Heist) gets stuck in my head all the time though

8. Pilots

Even though there are only 3-4 tracks in both episodes (depending on whether or not you count the Overture), all of them are amazing. Attack of the Skeleton Army, Discovering Spinjitzu / Dragon Ride, and especially Training Course all go hard, and I love that the very first taste of Ninjago we ever got had such great music. Like, be honest. Do you think that Ninjago would've taken off if it had some crap MIDI, mass-produced music in the background? I personally don't think so. We owe a lot to Vincent & Kramer for the Ninjago we know today

7. Day of the Departed

Considering that this special has like, only one track, this is pretty fuckin' high for just one piece of music among whole seasons worth of music. I cry pretty much every time I hear Maybe I'm Departed, and it hits so much harder after Kirby Morrow's passing. Also, little self-promo here, if you haven't listened to my version of Maybe I'm Departed yet, what are you doing?

6. Prime Empire

Prime Empire's music is just fucking sick. It goes so hard and perfectly fits with the cyberpunk/video game vibes of the season. It's so diverse, too, with tracks from Scott's Stowaway Part 2, to Stayin' Aflight, to Fourth Mile Marker, to the Noir Whip. I'd say one of my favorite parts in the entire thing is when a West Side Story reference appears in the soundtrack of Confidential when two or three of the goons are snapping like the Jets lol. My favorite track in Prime Empire would have to be Fourth Mile Marker, just because it's so beautiful, and the melody also reminds me a lot of the theme from Schindler's List, which is just a beautiful theme

5. Dragons Rising

DR is all the way up here despite being so new because the music is already so iconic in my eyes. I haven't even really paid attention to the 'remixes' of old pieces yet, I'm just in love with the original music. It's so unique, and you really can't mistake it for any other season. I especially love the credits from The Merge Part 1, and Tradition of the Ninja

4. Master of the Mountain

I originally had this at #3, but I made a last-minute decision to bump it down one. Not because of anything about it though. It's fuckin' epic. I love the ongoing theme, and in the suite, I absolutely love at the very beginning the few notes played by handbells. Also in the suite, from about 5:49 to the end is the most epic, magical, grandiose thing I've ever heard in my life and you need to go listen to it right this second. Exit tumblr, listen to it, then come back for the top 3. I'll be here when you get back. And one more thing I love about the score is that it's constantly in different and weird times, and cuts out beats when you're least expecting it. Also, I know I said I wouldn't bring Whips into this, but I absolutely love that the beginning is in 6/8. First whip not in 4/4 let's gooooooooo

3. Ice Chapter

Honestly, I was super torn about whether I should put this one at #4 or #3, but in the end, I chose this spot for a number of reasons. The whole thing just gives off winter vibes, I absolutely love the folk aspect of it for the Formlings theme, the Ice Emperor theme is so freaking dark and scary, and there are so many bangers! Namely Akita Finds Her Animal Form and Twice As Stubborn

2. Possession

If you know me, this might come as a surprise seeing as how much I love this season and its music, but it's actually second place for me. It is home to my favorite piece from Ninjago ever, though, which is Ghost Story. I've probably made dozens of posts about the geniusness of Morro's theme and music when he's around and talked about, so I won't go into great detail about that. Just know that the well-known bit features the tritone (often called the devil's interval) played on a fiddle and/or viola (the fiddle was considered the devil's instrument back in ye olden days). Anyway, I highly recommend that you go listen to Ghost Story because it's just a wonderful piece that beautifully tells Morro's story through music

1. Tournament of Elements

I always go back and forth on whether ToE or Possession is my favorite season, but there was no doubt in my mind that ToE is my favorite from a musical standpoint. It's so diverse, yet fits together so nicely. The music features a lot of traditional drums and chanting, really fitting the whole island/fight club/cult theme. The season also has a bunch of bangers, spanning from Gauntlet of Humility, to Thinking About Yourself, Rooftop Ruffhouse, And That's The Kink, I Am the Titanium Ninja, Lloyd's Flashbacks, and who could forget Sneaking Around, the credits music for a bunch of episodes in a lot of other seasons

So, do you agree with my ranking? Feel free to reblog with thoughts or your own rankings!

[bingus35]

My 2 favs beefing with each other :D

Confirmation that my boy is really fucking dead D:

[jaggedwolf]

#of course nate's going to do this....but he better not lie to her about it i'm gonna be cross if so

I am a fool and am very cross at mr drake >:(

[akaiuchiha]

Chapter 8: What Have I Ever Done to Have a Past Like This?

Sanji stood alone in his room with his thoughts swirling.

Minutes ago, Reiju had put around his wrists some kind of bracelet that would blow up if he dared to mess with those. Just the idea of losing his hands terrified him and the cook barely stopped a trembling sigh from leaving his mouth.

He ran a hand through his hair and stopped himself from pulling the blond strands. Sanji could feel his entire body being on high alert and deep down he knew that his brain was really close to reaching the survival state that kept him alive all those years ago. But he had to find a solution, anything really just to be able to go back to his crew, to his family.

The blond let himself fall on the couch and looked at the ceiling. Everything was dull in there, only grey and white, sometimes blue too and purple but the only sparks of colours were from his oh so lovely family.

Sanji closed his eyes and crossed his arms on his torso, as if he was trying to hug his fears away. He hated this situation, he felt weak again, worthless and more vulnerable than ever. For god's sake, he had had the best teacher in the world, a.k.a his dad, to finally be able to fight. And he was good! His kicks were powerful, he could literally set himself on fire and sky walk!

However, even thinking about his qualities and his strength, Sanji didn't believe it at the moment. He just wanted everything to end, to feel safe again and not threatened to be blown up at every minute.

He just wanted peace.

 

Sanji didn't realise he had fallen asleep until he eventually woke up. He was tired and yet, it hadn't felt good. The cook still felt the bone crushing weight of his anxiety and of his situation.

Looking out the window after he had stood up to stretch, he realised that the first real meal with the whole “family” was due in mere hours. They were in Big Mom's territory by now and Whole Cake Island not that far. Sanji knew that after all of this, there was no turning back. He would lose his freedom, his happiness and his will to live. Oh sure, he could praise the girl and treat her right but, even though he was a romantic and a gentleman, he never imagined himself with someone so soon.

He was young, he had a dream, he had friends. He wanted to go and live adventures, he wanted to laugh and smile, scream and fight. He wanted to live freely, to make Luffy the Pirate King, to see his crewmates realise their dreams.

He wanted to find the All Blue and make Zeff proud.

Now everything seemed to be a distant memory.

Maybe he had been lost in his thoughts for longer than he thought when a maid knocked to announce to him lunch was ready. With a sigh and a new fear in his guts, Sanji left his room.

Everyone was there, just like in the past. The table still had five chairs (or maybe they had gotten one more when he came back because who would want to have a reminder that Ichiji, Niji and Yonji had a missing number among them?)

Judge still had his throne above them, which was fitting for a man whose superiority was everything to him.

Sanji took a deep breath and sat down. Lunch was brought and set in front of them and they began to eat. It was quiet for a time but then, his “brothers” started to mock him just like before and the only thing Sanji could focus on after they had laughed at him was that Niji's plate was still full.

Then everything happened so quickly Sanji didn't have the time to think until his worst nightmare threatened him.

Niji threw the plate at Cosette's face but Sanji stopped it and praised her cooking. However, a fight began between him and Niji but was cut short by Judge showing him a picture of his old man in East Blue.

Sanji felt his heart miss a beat. His whole body froze when he was told that they had the Baratie and Zeff hostage. They could kill them any time if Sanji didn't behave.

With this new information, Sanji lost hope. How could he even keep it when his father, the man who had taken care of him, was threatened?

The cook left the room quickly and started to wander in the castle. Zeff didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to be put in danger because he had saved some long lost prince. Why couldn't life and Judge leave him alone for once?

However, someone passed near him in a rush. The man was running towards the throne room where they had their lunch and seemed to be anxious. That raised Sanji's curiosity because, yes he was hopeless but maybe there was a tiny chance for him to hurt Germa just like it had hurt him in the past and now.

So he followed the man which was easy for him with his observation haki. When the man entered the room, Sanji stood close to the door and tried to hear what was going on.

“....the ship….found it… Alabasta..”

Sanji raised an eyebrow and focused even harder. A ship? In Alabasta? It was something common but…he had the feeling that it was important.

“Left…following him…should we attack?”

From what he was hearing, that ship was in trouble and you could call it a foreboding but he didn't like where the discussion was going.

“You're sure? …East Blue…left? Keep….stay near…”

It was enough for Sanji to understand more or less what was all the fuss about.

He took a step back, turned around and ran away. If he hadn't misunderstood, then a ship had left East Blue, had been in Alabasta and was followed by Germa's soldiers. Maybe he was being paranoid, maybe everything was just a big coincidence, but there were no reasons for Judge to care about some random whip leaving East Blue. The only reason he would was if something important was related to said ship. And Sanji didn't think of himself as a genius but he was quite confident that he had enough brain cells to connect the dots.

If he was right, then Zeff was in danger and probably because of him.

He ran for maybe five minutes before he saw a body collapsed on the floor. When he saw who it was, his whole body froze before anger took over. Cosette was lying unconscious and covered in bruises. Sanji knew who had done that, Niji was a brute, a stupid and cruel man who didn't like it when things didn't follow his decisions. The blond took Cosette in his arms and decided she was his priority before he went to find Niji and make him regret everything. However, Yonji was waiting behind him.

“It's your fault Sanji.”

Sanji gulped discreetly and didn't really pay attention to the rest of what Yonji was saying. He only registered that he would take him to Niji and seeing that Cosette was being taken care of, he decided to follow him. It was probably a trap but Sanji didn't care anymore at this point.

They went down and they arrived in front of a giant door. Yonji said more things but what mattered for Sanji was to beat Niji and to make him regret everything. And yet, he wasn't prepared for what was behind the doors.

Clones.

Everywhere.

This kingdom was a clone factory. They created life as if it was a normal thing. They played with life as if it wasn't precious.

Sanji wanted to throw up.

Yonji explained everything and the more he talked, the more Sanji felt sick.

He sat down on a pipe, then Ichiji and Niji came. He kicked Niji in the face but they reminded him how everything he cared for was in danger if he didn't obey.

When Sanji passed out, the last thing he wished for was for Zeff to be safe.

Pain was everything he had ever known, even love was harsh and could hurt. Yet, Zeff loved him. He sacrificed a part of himself to give him a future.

Zeff was on his way, maybe in an attempt to save his son, maybe to kick him in the stomach, but for the first time in more than ten years, he had left East Blue. It had to mean something, it had to mean that he cared very much about Sanji, because even with his lick of self esteem and his self hatred, Sanji knew Zeff almost better than anyone. That man wouldn't leave East Blue for something trivial.

In a sense, it was comforting to know that somewhere, someone still wanted him. Yes he had his crew but he was still scared their relationships were only good because he was a good fighter and a great cook.

Zeff was one, if not the only, person he trusted wouldn't abandon him.

Deep down, he knew Luffy would come, that kid never left his friends alone and in pain after all, but knowing it and believing it were two different things. And if he left, then Zeff, his old man, his real dad would die and his hands would blow up.

So when Luffy launched himself at the carriage with his toothy grin and asked him to come back home, to leave and finally be free again,

Sanji kicked.

[kamuro-junrenka]

I may have trash-talked yakuza 8's story way too much now that im playing lost judgment... i mean considering how much i said i hate it i did play the fuck out of that game and i cant even play a full hour of lost judgment orz

[punkshort]

'swept away' masterlist

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Series Summary: Detached, closed off, and hardened by failed relationships (romantic and otherwise), hotel mogul Joel Miller is looking to expand his empire to an exclusive tropical island off the coast of Fiji. The problem is, he's not the only one looking to stake his claim in the tropics. The owner of the island, a family man first and foremost, invites all the bidders to the island for a month long retreat to help him decide which mogul will be crowned the winner. And to make himself look more appealing, Joel hires you to accompany him as his significant other. But it's strictly business... right?

-or-

Big, grumpy sugardaddy!joel falls for you.

Series Warnings: no outbreak au, sugardaddy!joel, language, smut (18+ MDNI), slow burn, references to prostitution, (a little bit) of physical violence towards reader (not Joel), alcohol and food consumption, angst, Joel sucks at feelings, past infidelity mentioned, some daddy talk, implied age gap - chapters will have individual warnings

Status: complete

Chapters:

1: Into the Deep

2: Paradise

3: Go with the Flow

4: Tropical Heat

5: Riptide

6: Undertow

7: Making Waves

8: Line in the Sand

9: Sink or Swim

10: Turn the Tide

Epilogue: Smooth Sailing

Asks/BTS/Extras:

Joel's Likes and Dislikes

Floor Plan of the Villa

Edit by @pvssyfvck3r ❤️

Oops! [between ch. 3 & 4]: what if you walked in on Joel watching porn?

Sway [between ch. 6 & 7]: you and Joel share a dance during dinner

lovely dividers by @saradika-graphics

[rafesangelita]

₊˚⊹˚ 𐙚 WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW

a pogue!sweetheart!reader series by rafesangelita ©

POGUE PRINCESS AND KOOK KING who would’ve thought that the ultraviolent rafe cameron could fall for the girl who baked sweets for a living? with the island being divided into two parts; figure eight and the cut, the rich and the poor, high class and low class, there’s no room to dabble in both. with the cameron’s being the most prestigious family on kildare island, rafe has a reputation to uphold, and dating a pogue just won’t cut it. once ward gets word of his son’s whirlwind of a romance, he threatens his place to be next in line to run the family business. in the eyes of a man who views everything, even love, to be transactional, ward will do whatever it takes to keep you rafe apart. with everything rafe worked so hard for on the line, and the unwavering devotion he has for you, he’s torn between the two worlds that should never collide; business and pleasure.

₊˚⊹♡ PROLOGUE

release date: 11/27/24

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER ONE

release date: 12/4/24

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER TWO

release date: 12/11/24

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER THREE

release date: 12/18/24

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER FOUR

release date: 12/25/24

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER FIVE

release date: 1/1/25

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER SIX

release date: 1/8/25

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER SEVEN

release date: 1/15/25

₊˚⊹♡ CHAPTER EIGHT

release date: 1/22/25

all rights reserved. i do not allow any of my work to be copied, translated, or reposted on any third party site such as wattpad and/or ao3. violating this will result in you being blocked and restricted from my blog, along with a plagiarism submission.

[just-a-ghost00]

FS series : the context of your meeting

Deck used : White Numen tarot.

Group 1 - White Numen, The Fool, The Star, 6 of swords

Okay this feels pretty clear and to the point! A travel is involved. An important one at that. The combination of The Fool and The Star tells me that this is something completely out of the blue, almost unseen. Like you've never done such a thing before in your life. Not only that but also where you're going is definitely abroad. Water is significant as well as mountains. So the place where you're going is known for either one or both of these two things. If we analyze this a bit further, I'm thinking of places such as Manhattan, Miami, London, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo and prefectures around Mt Fuji, Mt Rushmore, Niagara falls, islands in general and so on. It will be a period of your life when you're taking a new start, you're in an energy of being optimistic and open to what the future holds, trusting the Universe and your guiding star that somehow you are on the right path and will make the right decisions at the right time. Serendipity comes to mind. I did some research because I felt like sometimes we might misunderstand this concept and I found out the origin of this word and somehow I thought this was relevant to the reading. This word comes from an oriental tale entitled The Three Princes of Serendip. Serendip is another name for Sri Lanka or Ceylan island. It means golden island. In this story, three princes are sent abroad by their father and live a certain amount of adventures in which their education allows them to make astute assumptions and solve mysteries. They often times find themselves in trouble but each time a fortunate event that they did not ask for or provoke allows them to know a positive outcome. These findings that they make seem irrelevant to their purpuse in appearance but in realty they are of very important significance.

Getting back to your reading, what I mean is that this meeting with your FS feels very coincidental. You are not looking for them and expecting to find them at such a time, in such a place and yet, here they are. Also, this time of your life is going to be very unexpected and tiring for you. The reason I'm saying that is because my computer ran out of battery as I was doing your reading and I wasn't prepared for it lmao. So this travel or move will be something that you hadn't planned. For some of you, this could be something that you are somewhat "forced" to go to, like a business event or a family celebration. But for others this could just be something that you decide to do on a whim. The sign of Taurus could be significant. First quarter of the moon and full moon are also significant. So this could give us a time frame where this is happening. This feels like a very fated meeting. Your meeting could involve something creative. There are other people around you when you meet this person. I get a feeling of both of you writing a new chapter of your life and leaving behind a period of dissatisfaction. You and your FS are in similar energies when you meet. It's like both of you acted on a whim and decided to do something they would never have done before and boom magic happens. I really love this energy, this is so cute.

Group 2 - 10 of wands, ace of swords, 8 of wands, 6 of pentacles

Okay I feel the need to tell you this : if some of you knew me in my baby stages as a tarot reader, we already had a similar reading maybe you'll remember it. Yes, I this isn't my first tarot blog. I had tried one time but something didn't feel right so I deleted my blog and took a break from tarot. Now onto your reading. This feels work related. There's a lot of pressure surrounding this meeting. There are a lot of people around. Either you or they are in a rush. One of you needs to quickly communicate something or feels desperate to get a message across and the other will be helping in clearing the way so that this person gets the opportunity to state their truth and/or do their job. This is just one example among many but imagine someone working in a grocery store. And there are a lot of people in a certain area that are doing something that shouldn't be done or blocking the access to the staff room. Anyways, the employee is in a rush and needs to get these people to move but somehow the customers aren't listening or they don't care. I see someone else barging in and telling everyone to fuck off lmao. Another scenario is someone just doing their job and receiving a lot of hate or mockery for no reason whatsoever and someone steps in to defend them and restore balance. It could even be as far as someone being hurt and in need of medical attention and while everyone is panicking or like filming and stuff, one guy/girl just barges in and actually helps the person while yelling at others for being so dumb. I don't really sense a timing for this group so I guess it varies for people. But I have a hunch it could be happening sooner than you'd expect. I heard November for some reason. This person could have a dog or you could have a dog. (For some obscure reason I wrote god instead of dog the second time...lmao). That's also very specific but for some of you your person is very influential. Quite rich. Who's been asking for a sugar daddy/mommy? lmao.

Group 3 - ace of wands, Hermit, 8 of pentacles, king of pentacles

For this group I'm also getting a work related meeting. But the context is different. I'm getting more night time vibes, especially night clubs and such. One of you is partying, celebrating and very horny I must say. The other is working and not really in the mood for flirting. I see one person trying to get the other to break character or to get out of their comfort zone, while the other is not budging and doing their best to keep their cool. I sense power dynamics but also age and status differences. It's like one is afraid of being seen in a state of vulnerability while the other just doesn't care and is pretty much vibing. There might be alcohol involved. Also for some reason I'm picking up on medical shifts and police patrols. So maybe some of you will be hitting on very respectable people while you're drunk lmao. I see the more reserved person being very respectful and uptight. More than anything they want to make sure you are safe and their job is done correctly. This context doesn't feel like the best for them to meet their FS. If one will be definitely feeling the attraction right away the other might not because they're too busy working. They're not emotionally receptive because the other isn't in their usual state. Again I'm not getting any timing here except for night time so this could happen any time depending on the people. However the sign of Virgo is showing up as well as Taurus so it feels like it will take quite some time for you to meet this person. It will also take time for the relationship to progress. I guess you won't be meeting this person a lot in the beginning stages of your connection. Like maybe you could meet them once randomly at a party and then a lot of time passes before you see them again. Maybe through work connections can you get to know this person a lot more. I see some of you investigating lmao and coming back to this person's work place regularly until they finally let their guards down. This feels very funny. Kind of an ennemies to lovers vibe.

[andypantsx3]

SOMETHING IN THE WATER | 6 | SHOUTO x READER

SUMMARY: As a future marine biologist, you’ve scored big on your final internship: a summer in the tropics, researching the waters off the coast of a lush, sunny island. But what you thought would be all beach days and piña coladas turns out to be the revelation of a lifetime when you haul in a handsome merprince, and discover not everything in these waters is quite as it seems. TAGS/WARNINGS: mermaid au, interspecies relationships, mating rituals/courting behavior, (sort of) case fic, aged up characters, eventual smut, fem pronouns/afab reader LENGTH: 3.7k of est. 27k, 6th of 8 chapters

Shouto was waiting on the shore when you returned, mismatched gaze pinned on you as you stepped out of the trees. He seemed to know from your expression that you’d found exactly what you’d been looking for.

“It is what you wanted, then,” he said.

You could feel a grimace overtake your features. “Not what I wanted, exactly, but it is what I expected to find.”

A clawed hand reached out to catch your ankle as you stepped out of the shade onto the hot sand. You could see the impression of Shouto’s tail in the sand where he’d dragged himself from the water, a thick line of disturbed beach. He peered up at you, thumb pressing into the hollow behind your ankle bone.

“They’re polluting this place and they’re trying to hide it,” you said, your mouth pulling into a thin line. “They’ve dammed off that lagoon for now but it’s not going to hold forever. And they’ve already killed off everything in it.”

Shouto’s claws rasped lightly over the skin of your ankle. “You are upset.”

You glanced down at him, finding his handsome face concerned. “I’m—angry, I guess, yeah. Especially now that I know you and your whole pod are here. It’s bad enough thinking of what this is going to do to all the local populations, but to think of you getting sick…”

Shouto’s long eyelashes fluttered as he took a slow breath. You carefully studied the sand next to him so you didn’t watch the way the muscles of his chest flexed and relaxed as he did so. “You want to protect me,” he concluded, something strange in his tone.

Your face flushed hot. “Well, yeah.”

Shouto’s expression went carefully blank, like he was trying not to look too pleased. Instead, he reached out a hand, taking yours, prying it open to reveal the sample kit containing a bleached chunk of coral you’d cut off the poisoned reef. “And you will keep the coral I gave you,” Shouto said.

You nodded, blinking in surprise. In your momentary funk you’d almost forgotten the underlying reason for your visit here—Shouto had given you something that would have taken him hours to get. Something he’d have had to pull himself through the forest on his arms alone for, something he too would have had to have waded into a poisoned reef for—and that had to mean something significant.

You doubted it was a token of friendship, as you’d first assumed. But then—what would be the cultural significance of the gift?

Shouto’s thumb petted over the hollow of your ankle bone again. “And you will wear them.”

You nodded absently, suppressing a shiver at the feeling of his touch.

“Yes, when I get back to my room I’ll scrounge up something to wear them on,” you promised.

Shouto’s expression shifted into something satisfied. “With dinner and a movie,” he said.

You stared at him. “You want—right now?”

“Right now,” he echoed, nodding seriously. His features rearranged themselves into a mask of determination.

You laughed at the expression, like a movie was some great hurdle to overcome, some life-or-death mission.

Well, you supposed a promise was a promise. And it was nearing dinner time.

Your mind instantly began to churn with plans. You’d have to dock the boat and beg off the meal with the science crew, figure out when and how to tell them about the poisoned lagoon, find a meal somewhere that Shouto could digest, meet him back at the beach, steal a wheelbarrow, and figure out how not to get caught.

“Alright, a deal’s a deal,” you decided.

An almost triumphant smile teased at the edge of Shouto’s mouth.

His hand left your ankle and he followed you back across the sand down to the water, slithering agiley like a handsome snake. He supervised you as you stuffed all your things back into your dry bag, then slipped into the water, keeping pace alongside you as you swam out to where you’d anchored the boat.

He pulled himself in after you, and boated most of the way back to the dock with you. He only slid back into the water when you shooed him off just out of sight of the port, promising to meet him back on the beach in front of the inn.

You docked the boat in town, then poked through a couple take-away food stalls for something that seemed like it wouldn’t mess with Shouto’s digestion. Stifling a wry grin, you settled on a sushi vendor, picking out a few basic rolls with local fish and a seaweed salad that you and Shouto could split.

You trekked back to the inn, stowing your food in your room, then poking your head into Yu’s room to let her know you’d finished up on the water, but weren’t feeling well and were going to sit out dinner.

Once you’d also verified Izuku was nowhere to be seen and that Inko was safely installed in the front office, you crept over to the maintenance shed. The door was unlatched—probably a product of living on such a small island with little crime—and you helped yourself to the wheelbarrow and an ancient tarp wedged underneath several old planters.

Shouto was waiting for you just off the beach, that head of red and white pair poking out of the water inquisitively as you approached. He eyed the wheelbarrow with suspicion, even as he hauled himself up on shore.

“What is that,” he asked, flatter than a question.

“Your chariot awaits, good sir,” you joked, gesturing at it.

A red eyebrow went up, Shouto’s mismatched gaze pinning on it with distrust. “I do not think I like chariots.”

You laughed. “It’s actually called a wheelbarrow—it’s used to haul heavy stuff. And you most definitely qualify as heavy stuff. I’m not strong enough to carry you all the way back to my room.”

Shouto’s eyes slid over the muscle of your arm assessingly. “Humans,” he murmured, almost to himself. “You cannot swim, fight, or lift things. It is a wonder you survive at all.”

You poked him with a sneakered toe. “Hey, I can too swim and lift things.”

Shouto’s pointed non-reply was answer enough and you huffed out a laugh.

“I will do it for you,” Shouto decided. “The swimming and fighting and lifting.”

For some reason this made you flush. “I—there will be no fighting on my watch.”

Shouto’s mouth quirked. In lieu of another answer he reached out an arm, gripping the side of the wheelbarrow. Your mouth went a little dry as you watched the muscles in his arm activate, and you just barely remembered to hold the wheelbarrow steady as he pulled himself in, biceps cording.

He was far too large for it, the bulk of his muscle and broad shoulders taking up nearly the entire thing, leaving his tail to drape out and drag along the sand. There was no way the tarp was going to cover enough of him.

“Okay, let’s wrap this around your tail, at least, in case anyone sees us,” you decided, spreading it out over his waist like a blanket. He looked a little goofy, and possibly a million percent more suspicious with the tarp dragging after him on the ground, but it was the best you were going to get, probably.

“So how long can you last out of salt water, do you know?” you asked, wheeling him around and heading up the beach. You figured it had to be a couple hours considering how long it must have taken him to reach the coral he’d given you, but you hated the thought of him getting uncomfortable.

“A long time. Close to a day I think,” he said.

“Wow, and you don’t dry out?” you asked.

He tipped his head back to look at you as you wheeled him, wet hair dripping into the wheelbarrow. “I do, but it takes some time.”

“And you’re not uncomfortable?” you grunted out the question, shoving him up the incline towards your room.

“Not for a long while,” he said.

Well that was good. You probably wouldn’t need to set him up in the tub then. It would be nice to eat your sushi somewhere other than the bathroom.

You were panting by the time you got Shouto up the hill, and it was an even larger production getting him through the door. It was only when you finally wheeled him inside, watching him peer around your room curiously, that you realized your seating options were limited. You were possessed of a single chair, currently occupied by your suitcase—and Shouto was far too large for it besides.

Something flipped in your stomach as your eyes were drawn towards your bed.

Like he could sense your sudden hesitance, Shouto turned to you, mismatched gaze pinning on you with a startling focus.

“You are nervous,” he observed.

You could feel your face heat. “Well I don’t exactly wheel mermen back to my room every day of the week.”

Shouto’s mouth pulled like he did not like the image of that. He grasped the sides of the wheelbarrow with clawed fingers, hefting himself out and slithering to your floor. You stared at the sight of him perched there on the rug, eyebrows lifting when he reached out a hand and drew your sitting chair towards him.

Instead of climbing in, however, he flipped open the top of your suitcase, peering in curiously.

You watched him flip a book over then ease it aside, rifling through your bag of clean socks and shorts. You sputtered when Shouto’s long fingers unearthed a bra, his head tilting.

“Nosy!” you squeaked, darting forward to throw your suitcase shut again. You didn’t know why you were so embarrassed, but you desperately hoped merpeople did not know the difference between swimwear and underthings.

Shouto’s frown was almost too cute to be borne. He looked up at you, his hand going to your ankle, as it always did.

“You do not have anything to bind the coral with,” he said, sounding a little pouty again.

Oh. So that’s what he’d been looking for.

You nudged his other hand aside, unzipping the pocket where you’d stored a few pieces of jewelry. You hadn’t brought many on the assumption that you’d mostly be working, but you’d brought enough to be useful. Shouto watched with some interest as you unclipped the chain of a necklace, sliding off the charm and storing it in your bag again.

His eyes followed you as you stepped away to your nightstand, where you’d stowed the coral he’d brought you. Immediately, you realized there was a problem.

“Uh, we might have to wait a couple more days until I can find a way to put a hole in these,” you said, gesturing with the pieces.

Shouto’s heavy tail made a scraping sound as he dragged himself across the carpet to you again. You plopped down on the edge of the bed so as not to tower over him, holding out the coral to him. Shouto angled his claws carefully away from your palm as he took a shard in his long fingers, the bleached white of it standing out starkly against the crimson of his coloring there.

Shouto’s handsome face stilled in careful concentration as he angled his pinky claw carefully, so that just the point of it pressed to a corner of the piece. You watched in fascination as he pressed down, and his claw bore right through—piercing it shockingly easily.

Your stomach flipped, and you recalled the first time you’d seen Shouto—how deadly those claws had seemed. Weeks into your friendship, you’d realized you’d been so focused on his most human of qualities—his beautiful face, inadvertently funny manner, his sweet thoughtfulness. But here was a reminder that he was also something far more than a man—possibly one of the most dangerous things in these waters.

Your heart beat a little faster as Shouto did the same to the next piece of coral, and you looped the necklace chain through them. There was a sort of dark, satisfied look in Shouto’s eye as you clasped it around your neck. A clawed finger gently touched your sternum, lifting the coral for Shouto’s inspection.

“Good,” he rumbled, looking pleased. His finger was warm against your skin, and you wondered if he could feel how quickly your heart was beating against it.

For some reason you felt your face warm. You stilled under Shouto’s touch until he let the coral drop back against your skin, seeming gratified.

Clearing your throat, you quickly rose from the bed, gesturing Shouto onto it.

“I’ll, um, grab our food,” you told him, hoping you sounded normal. “And get my laptop to pick out the movie. Just, uh, make yourself comfortable.”

You pointedly did not watch as Shouto levered himself up on the strength of those arms, instead unearthing the sushi from your room’s miniscule fridge, along with two bottles of water. You piled it all on your laptop like a tray, then turned back to Shouto.

He was far too large for your bed, laid out across it like a sunbathing model. His tail was far too long, draping off the end in a sweeping fan of scarlet and white. Your eyes traced the line of his tail back up the bed, up to where the scales freckled into the taught muscle of Shouto’s abdomen, fair skin all but glowing in the fading summer daylight, the shadows swirling and pooling in the divots of the muscle like water.

You flushed again at the sight of all of that laid out in your bed, waiting for you. You reminded yourself that he did not have the cultural context you did for sharing a bed, and that you were just splitting food. And he was another species, besides, no matter how human his upper half looked.

You very deliberately did not think about the fact that his sister had a human husband.

Shouto wriggled back against the headboard as you approached, and you clambered in next to him, careful not to brush his arm as you did. You set the sushi between you like a shield, then flipped open your laptop, wondering what kind of movie a merman might like.

“Um, got any requests?” you asked him.

Shouto’s mismatched eyes pinned on you. “I want to watch whatever you want to watch.”

Well that was no help. You wracked your brain for options, blinking when you remembered you’d told Shouto that he’d probably find human movies about merpeople funny. An idea formed.

Shouto watched with interest as your fingers clacked across the keys, alternately watching the movement of them and the windows that appeared across the screen. The island wi-fi was slow, and it took a few painful minutes, but eventually you ended up with a title screen queued up: The Little Mermaid.

You looked at Shouto for approval, only to find his eyes searching over the screen, as if for some clue of what was to come. Oh—that was right—he might have been able to speak to you, but chances were probably slim he could read any human languages.

“It’s an animated film about, uh, this mermaid who strikes a deal to be human and live on land,” you explained. “She, um, falls in love with a prince and they, uh, sort of fight to be together.”

Shouto’s mismatched eyes picked over you speculatively. “A human fights? I thought you were not capable.”

You rolled your eyes. “Well he mostly steers a boat around. But he does help try to defeat a sea witch.”

Shouto eyed you. “There is no such thing.”

A startled laugh burst out of you at the look of suspicion on his face. It was patently ridiculous that a merman was propped up in your bed telling you what was and wasn’t real.

“It’s fiction,” you told him. “People also think merpeople aren’t real, as you well know.”

Shouto looked doubtful, but you pressed play on your laptop anyway. You deposited his sushi in his lap, then hesitated over whether to hand him chopsticks too. As you watched him draw one long claw across the plastic cover, slicing it open instead of just uncapping it, you decided no. He most definitely would not be needing a pair of chopsticks.

Shouto seemed to like his plain rolls, all of the ingredients except the rice ocean-based. You watched his handsome nose flare suspiciously at your own rolls when you opened your container, shooting a look of obvious distaste at the spicy mayo drizzled over the top of one.

You had to hide another smile, strangely charmed by everything about him.

Shouto also was quickly absorbed by the movie, and did not notice when you plucked his empty container from his lap. He seemed to find it equal parts amusing and ridiculous. It was only when Ariel and Prince Eric almost kissed in the boat that you felt Shouto’s eyes on you. You stared resolutely ahead, pretending not to notice, your skin prickling.

He was distracted again by the rest of the film, even leaning forward with interest during the climax. But his eyes wandered your way again when Ariel and Eric finally kissed, and you looked up reflexively, face heating when his was closer than you had expected.

“Uhhh,” you said, stupidly. “Did you… like it?”

“Yes,” Shouto replied. Outside, the sun was sinking, and it cast Shouto’s face in an orange glow, the blue light of your laptop refracting strangely off his eyes.

Your breath quickened, for some unfathomable reason.

You jumped when warm fingers met the skin of your sternum again, and you heard the chips of coral click as they were lifted. Shouto’s eyes dipped to them, then back up to your face, dragging over it slowly.

“You said there were no other mating rituals, correct?” Shouto said.

You startled under his touch, brain functions freezing up at the mention of mating. What—mating rituals? And what did he mean other?

“Mating rituals?” you echoed, trying to keep your voice from coming out strangled.

Shouto nodded. “You said jewelry is often given. And dinner and a movie. But I believe you said there were no other common practices across cultures.”

You blinked, mind whirring with the implication that Shouto thought dinner and a movie was a mating ritual and yet had engaged in such a thing with you. And as for jewelry… you felt one of Shouto’s claws drag delicately over the skin just under your neck as he thumbed across the pieces of coral.

A sudden suspicion formed in your brain, illuminating your synapses like a light had just been snapped on. A million other things Shouto had said about fighting and hunting and protection suddenly felt like they made a terrible sort of sense to you. You stared back at Shouto, mouth dropping open.

No. There was no way.

“Shouto,” you said, your voice shooting embarrassingly high. It was ridiculous to even ask the question, and yet… “Are you—did you ask for dinner and a movie as a date?”

Shouto inclined his head. His hair had mostly dried, and it looked soft and silky in the orange light from the sun. You fought down the sudden urge to reach out and touch it.

“Dates are mating practices, are they not?” he murmured.

A hand pressed down next to your hip, titling you a little towards him with the dip of the mattress. Your heart beat fluttered, the skin at your hip prickling.

“But you—but there’s—but we didn’t—but you—” you fumbled, blinking flusteredly. The air in your room suddenly felt about a million degrees warmer, almost suffocatingly hot. Shouto tilted his head, then pressed the backs of his fingers to your cheek, as if testing your temperature.

“Are you well?” he asked.

Were you well. Were you well?

A literal fairytale creature, a prince of fairytale creatures, was sitting in your bed, having all but just admitted to engaging in mating rituals with you, and here he was asking if you were well!

You made a noise somewhere between the moo of a cow and a goose honk, and Shouto’s fingers shifted against your skin.

“How is it that you conclude the mating ritual?” he asked, watching you carefully. “If it is successful and my suit is accepted?”

His suit. His suit! Like he was courting you!

Dear god what had you been getting yourself into. And why did every single inch of your skin feel like it was on fire, especially when Shouto leaned closer?

“When they—in the movie when they pressed their mouths together,” you stammered. “You must know it from your sister having a human husband—it’s called kissing.”

Shouto’s fingers moved across your skin, until he was cupping your face in one large palm. Your breath froze entirely in your lungs. This close, his face was somehow even more perfect, and you were entirely robbed of higher brain function, gawking at him like he was an animal in a zoo.

Shouto was near enough that you could feel the exhalation of his next words on your mouth. “I would like do it, this kissing,” he said, tone slow and rolling. “That is if you accept me. If you acknowledge we are mates.”

You couldn’t really think past the feeling of his hand on your face, the way his claws rasped so sweetly over the skin behind your ear. He was so warm and so close and so stupidly, mind-numbingly handsome, and the low, gentle way he spoke to you sounded like the sea, a rumble of waves you wanted to sink beneath.

You opened your mouth to ask him to repeat the question, as your processing power was suddenly at zero percent.

But then Shouto shifted on the bed, the weight of his hand tipping you even further towards him. You felt yourself losing a little balance, falling, a hand pressing against his naked chest to catch yourself—

—And then Shouto’s mouth caught yours, and you forgot to feel anything else at all.

[adragonprinceswhore]

Rumours

Aemond Targaryen x (Ex)Wife

Chapter VI: Storms 🎼 Masterlist

Summary: Aemond’s wife left him following an explosive fight last week, and he hasn’t been able to find rest since.

Warnings: 18+, AFAB reader, she/her pronouns, depictions of a toxic relationship, possessive Aemond, shitty and useless coping mechanisms, reference to violence and injuries

Word count: 2300

A/N: Thank you always sweet sweet Justine (@theoneeyedprince) for looking this over and giving me ideas 🤭 ILY! The lyrics are interwoven with the story in this chapter, hope it makes sense! As you can tell, this is set a week after his wife left him, and before he wrote his new songs for Rumours…

‘Every night that goes between, I feel a little less’

8 hours and 25 minutes.

That’s how much sleep he’d gotten in the last week.

Since the fight.

Fights. Plural.

It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten into a physical altercation with his brother. His childhood memories are tainted by endless disputes, especially after their father died, back when Aegon would sneak out to get drunk while their mother worried sick at home.

Why was his brother seemingly incapable of behaving well? Aemond saw how his mother worried herself sick over her oldest son, while also having to deal with grieving the loss of her husband, and navigate the internal political turmoil the death of such an influential man left behind. And Aegon couldn’t even spare her further heartache.

Fucking pathetic excuse of a man.

It was, however, the first time he had hurt his wife. Physically, that is. She’d told him he’d hurt her before, when his jealousy got the best of him.

He knows he’s crossed a line. As soon as he lost his temper and threw that plate against the wall. Dangerously close to where she was standing.

He regrets it all. Why did it even have to happen in the first place? If she had just cooperated with him; worked with him instead of against him. Instead of hiding things from him, talking with Tyland behind his back.

He always knew that she’d leave. One day.

He’d never leave her.

Frustrated, Aemond lets out a quiet sigh and gets up from the bed, moving to sit on the edge, slouching as he places his head in his hands. He suddenly notices how quiet the room is; the loud thoughts echoing in his mind momentarily disappear as he ponders what he could do instead of sleeping.

He moves quietly to not wake Alys next to him, whose heavy breathing provides the only real sounds in the room. It is almost eerily quiet now that he thinks about it; such a stark contrast to the insufferable buzzing of thoughts roaming around in his head.

Rest doesn’t come to him anymore. 

His mind can’t provide him with any repose. Not even for a second.

He closes the door to the bedroom with a quiet ‘click’ and exits, moving towards the balcony connected to the large, open-plan living room.

She had picked this apartment, together with him.

Our home.

The memories of going to look at cabinets for the kitchen together, choosing a sofa together, fucking on said sofa, overtake his mind before he can distract himself.

‘As you slowly go away from me’

When he realised that she’d left and wouldn’t come back, he tried to erase her from the space, shoving all of her belongings into one of the wardrobes in the spare bedroom.

He couldn’t bear to throw them out. He couldn’t bear to see them either. She’d left behind everything he’d ever given her; all gifts he’d carefully picked out for her. Seeing her wedding ring on top of the kitchen island, next to the divorce papers and the shattered plate on the floor had made his stomach turn when he came home from the hospital.

‘This is only another test’

He’d suffered much harsher trials than this.

When he lost his eye in a car crash at only 10 years old, he suffered through the most excruciating pain of his life. He had to relearn everything; how to focus his gaze, how to read and write without developing a headache, how to play his favourite sports without running into his opponents. 

He’d managed all that, yet this time he felt consumed by an aching sense of dread.

A hopelessness deep in his chest.

‘Every night you do not come’

It was all too late. No turning back.

‘Your softness fades away’

He knows that the aching dread is the longing he feels for her. The thought of never touching her again, never being close to her again. 

Never being in her embrace again.

He feels a chill run through his body as he settles on the armchair placed by the wall, overlooking the bright lights of King’s Landing.

Reaching for the pack of cigarettes on the nearby table, he takes one out and lights it before taking a long drag, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back to rest against the back of the chair.

She’d chosen the patio furniture as well.

He fucking resents himself in this moment. Why is his body, his mind, incapable of doing what he wants? Forget her. She sure as hell wants to forget him.

‘Did I ever really care that much’

‘Is there anything left to say’

When she left during the fight backstage last week, he had wanted to run after her. But then he threw one quick glance at his older brother, and could barely see his expression due to all the blood smeared over his face.

He called out to him, but Aegon didn’t answer, laying limply on the old leather sofa with one arm hanging from the side and his mouth open. That was when Jace had come back in, face turning white in an instance as he was confronted with the scene before him, pulling out his phone from his pocket with a shaky hand to call an ambulance.

Aemond went with his brother to hospital, waiting by his side until he regained consciousness while trying to calm his distressed mother and wide-eyed sister. They had looked at him in the same way she had; eyes filled with animosity. He could barely meet their gazes as shame left his cheeks scalding.

‘Every hour of fear I spend’

‘My body tries to cry’

All he could think of at that moment was coming home. Home to her. To her warmth.

‘Living through each empty night’

‘A deadly call inside’

He takes another drag of his cigarette. Not being able to sleep, to eat, to think clearly is so foreign to him. It’s like when he lost his eye; he has to relearn everything. How to fucking breath.

There’s this restlessness inside him that won’t disappear, no matter how hard he tries to exorcise it. He’d tried going for walks; his usual go-to when he needed to clear his mind.

On one of those walks he’d smoked an entire pack of cigarettes.

How much time had passed? How long had he been out? He could hardly remember where he’d gone, what he’d seen or what time of day it’d been.

He’s lucky to have grown up in the centre of King’s Landing, knowing every street by heart, intuition leading his steps as he eventually finds his way back home. To an empty flat, haunted only by the memory of her.

She haunts him worst internally though, through his own mind.

There, in the eye of his mind, he sees his greatest fear; her with another man.

Any time he closes his eyes, the same image greets him; her, naked in the arms of another, throwing her head back in bliss.

She sighs and moans, letting her new man know how good he’s making her feel. She tells him too; that he’s the best she’s ever had.

She runs her hand down his cheek, unmarred and smooth. No harshly red scar, no unpleasant raised skin. Someone pretty, like her.

‘I haven’t felt this way I feel’

‘Since many a years ago’

He tried drinking; Aegon’s lobotomy of choice.

After downing two bottles of the Dornish red he’d received from some business associate when he was still working with his grandfather, he found sleep for 1 hour and 12 minutes before waking up with a racing heart and body covered in a slick sheet of cold sweat.

He would have tried talking to someone, if the only person he wanted to speak to hadn’t blocked his number. He’d realised that after being connected directly to voicemail each time he called her. That didn’t stop him from leaving messages though. First, they were filled with apologies and promises of never losing his cool again, of being better for her, of reassurance that he loves her. But as he grew to understand that she wouldn’t come back, his frustrations got the best of him.

He called her just to scream at her, into the nothingness that was her disconnected voicemail.

“I always knew you’d leave me! You fucking liar”, he spat as he threw his phone against the same wall he’d smashed the plate against.

It doesn’t matter. She’ll never hear them anyway.

The tiny bit of relief he felt afterwards hadn’t made any significant difference. He still couldn’t sleep, couldn’t find even a moment of tranquillity.

He places the cigarette between his teeth as he reaches forward to grab the notebook on the patio table next to his seat.

There’s one thing he still hasn’t tried.

As he plucks the pencil from where it's hanging on the side of the hardcover, he begins writing without thinking too much of what’s coming out, letting his hand guide his thoughts as he brings his plagued mind down on the paper.

‘In those years and the lifetimes past’

‘I did not deal with you, I know’

‘Though the love has always been’

His most recent attempt at finding respite from his mind was sleeping in his bed.

Our bed, he corrects himself with a wince.

He’d met Alys Rivers, manager at Riverland Creative Agency, earlier that day when he stopped for a drink during his quotidian nightly walk. She recognised him instantly, swiftly approaching him to mask her true intentions with some saccharine small talk. He knew she wanted to inquire about his band’s management; if they were satisfied with Tyland or if they’d be persuaded into joining her instead.

But all he could focus on was her hand casually placed on his shoulder as she spoke, her large, green eyes locking with his as she playfully teased him about his stoicism.

The heat radiating from her palm alone lit a fire inside of him, but rather than lust, he felt something akin to longing.

Yearning.

For warmth.

He asked her if she’d like to have a drink at his house, and when she replied with a wink and a cheeky retort, he knew she’d give him what he craved.

‘So I search to find an answer there’

‘So I can truly win’

Alys didn’t feel like her. Didn’t set the fire within him ablaze. Nor did she extinguish it. He didn’t feel better; he felt the same.

Restless.

Uneasy.

Different.

Broken.

‘Every hour of fear I spend’

‘My body tries to cry’

‘Living through each empty night’

‘A deadly call inside’

His hand moves on its own accord, words pouring out from him without having a chance to pass through his consciousness.

‘So I try to say goodbye, my friend’

‘I’d like to leave you with something warm’

Maybe he never gave her comfort?

Maybe all he did was take?

No. He knows he’s been a dutiful husband. He’s always been by her side, supporting her no matter what.

Unlike his own father; a shitty husband who was more of a burden on his mother’s shoulders than a pillar to lean on. Aemond knows that he’s nothing like his father. He gave his marriage his all; he never neglected his wife. 

He gave her all of him.

‘But never have I been a blue calm sea’

‘I’ve always been a storm’

But she didn’t want his love. She didn’t appreciate all he’d done for her. She didn’t understand him, not really. If she did, she wouldn’t shut him out like this.

Fuck her selfishness.

When he left his grandfather's firm to pursue music full-time, Otto Hightower had threatened to disown him, telling him that he’d make sure all ties Aemond had to the Hightower name would be cut off.

All he knew was how to be a good son and grandson. How to please his grandfather and mother. But when he confided in her about his predicament, asking her for advice on how to handle his grandfather's wrath, she’d cupped his cheeks and gazed into his eyes as she reassured,

“I am your family now, Aemond. We’ll always have each other” 

Liar.

He feels bile rise in the back of his throat as he keeps writing, allowing the feelings he didn’t know how to express some outlet. The thought of her now makes him feel sick.

‘Always been a storm’

‘We were frail’

He feels stupid; blinded by the light of her love.

‘She said, “Every night he will break your heart”’

‘I should have known from the first, I’d be the broken hearted’

Being given such warmth from another person. That’s what made him addicted to her.

He’d never experienced that before, not even from his mother or sister. There was always this restraint; this rift between them, for as long as he could remember.

But she let him in with open arms; let him into her comfort without resistance.

And now she’d taken that away from him.

‘I loved you from the start’

Looking at the lyrics written down in front of him, he doesn’t feel better. His shoulders don’t feel lighter. His chest doesn’t feel less tight. All he knows is that she did this. She promised to be by his side forever and broke that vow.

He leans back in the chair, fiddling with his lighter in one hand as he reads over the text again. What would she say if she saw how much she hurt him?

Would she come back?

The fleeting thought makes a tight knot form in his throat and he swallows forcefully to make it go away.

She’ll never come back.

He picks up the paper, letting the fire from the lighter in his other hand grace over the bottom corner, and sets it alight.

A/N: No, this is not a song form Rumours 🤭 but technically he doesn’t record it, so I think it’s fair! Tysm for reading 🩵

[gh0stsp1d3r]

Maybanks sister, part 3 chapter 8-Blackbeard

Maybanks sister masterlist | previous chapter

Warnings: character death, mentions of blood

A/n: finally brought this series back for the new season. This is wrapping up from season three and then I’ll start season 4’s part.

Ward pointed his gun towards everyone, his face covered with the realization that he was indeed outnumbered, that he wouldn’t win this.

“What are you gonna do, shoot us all?” Pope spat bitterly, his sword pointing at the man. Ward turned the gun to him for a moment before Big John spoke.

“If you gotta shoot somebody, Ward, shoot me.”

He turned his body and the gun to Big John now, cocking his gun. John B however, stood in front of his father and blocked Wards gun.

“Or me.”

His hands shook, going closer to John B when Sarah stepped in front of the gun.

“Stop.” She told him, staring him directly in the eye. “Enough.”

He now had the gun to her chest, “don’t!” He shouted in protest.

“You’re not gonna kill all of us.” Sarah shook her head, “I know you won’t. I know you.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “You forget that I know you.”

Ward started to sob when she put her hand over his own, glancing down and back at her.

“You can’t.”

Ward shook his head, slowly letting her take the gun from him.

“I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it.” Ward shook his head at her, tears still running down his cheeks. He went to cradle her face.

“Yeah? Well, I can.” The man behind him spoke, cocking his gun while walking towards the group of you all.

You turned quickly, holding his gun up to the man, but the man turned it to Big John, staring you in the eyes.

“Toss it.” He spoke.

“Take it easy, big bud.” Big John murmured, still holding his bleeding chest in pain. “Your boss is dead. You got no reason to do this.”

“I can think of a few reasons.” He paused for a moment, “Toss it!”

You breathed heavily, your heart pounding as you held your hands up. The man inched closer, everyone getting on their guard.

“Thought you’d end up with the gold, eh? All right, nobody move.” He bent down to pick up the gun, holding it to all of you. “My mate back there is dead. Because of you.” He stared at Sarah, raising his gun.

Jj got impatient, you glancing at him, Kiara holding her hand out in front of him, stopping him from doing anything reckless.

“You go first.”

He cocked the gun, Sarah’s mouth opening in shock.

“No.” Ward turned to his daughter, his mouth forming a small smile. Sarah shook her head with tears in her eyes, already having an idea of what was about to happen.

He rushed towards the man, taking two bullets for Sarah. He shoved him off of the mountain, both of their bodies flying off of it. Your eyes widened, hearing a thump of both of them at the bottom.

Sarah gasped, everyone lowering their weapons and moving to where the two men had fallen.

“Sarah.” John b said in a warning tone, but she ignored him, continuing to look down at the fallen men. You all stood on the edge, Sarah starting to sob while John B held her.

You swallowed, before hearing someone else’s heavy breaths, turning your head to see Big John’s head resting back.

“Hey, hey, big John. Big John.” You murmured, lightly shaking him. You checked his pulse before shouting John B’s name. It was faint.

“Dad.” He whispered as he turned his head, helping you to lift him up off of the rock.

“Okay, dad, we gotta get you out of here.”

“It’s all right.”

“Hey, stay awake, man, stay awake.” You told him, your breathing becoming heavier by the second you grew more anxious.

“Come on, come on, come on.” John B repeated.

You all made up to a high point, farther than you would have believed you would make it. You and John B still held Big John, helping him walk slowly.

“We just gotta get you downriver. You’re gonna be okay.” John B spoke, but he didn’t know if he even believed it anymore.

You all made it to the docks, practically dragging him into the boat, everyone watching him closely.

You all made it off the island, Big John breathing heavily and groaning. John B looked down at him.

“Pop, hey, hey, hey. Hang in there, okay?”

Big John chuckled, his eyes shut. “But we did it together, my boy.”

“Yeah.” He sniffled.

“Just…”

JJ had his hand over his mouth, his leg anxiously shaking like you knew it did whenever something like this had happened. You glanced at him, wrapping your arm around him and laying your head on his shoulder in some small attempt to comfort him.

Ever since he was a child, Big John had played a large role in his life, taking him in when his dad was mad at him, or when he needed somewhere to rest. He was like the father he never had.

“Just like we drew it up.” Big John continued, opening his eyes to meet his sons.

“Yeah. Yeah we did.” John b nodded with a sniffle.

“Bird, bird, bird.”

“Dad, yeah.”

“Hey, hey, bird.” He grabbed John B’s hand, placing it over his bloody chest, caressing it as he stared up at him with a mixture of aching pain and love all at the same time.

“Sarah. Sarah.” Big John spoke, looking down at her now, who sat next to John B.

“Hi.” She spoke with a smile, grabbing his hand as well.

“Bird, you got to hang on to this one.”

Sarah and John B looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Big John.

“I know… that I wasn’t any great shakes as a father.”

“Stop, dad.” He whispered.

“But you… you were the best son any man could hope for.” He paused for a moment. “I want you to know that…”

“You can tell me when we get home, okay?” John B whispered to him. He sniffled again, looking solemnly down at his father. “Almost there.”

“Okay…”

“Hold up. Look, dad, look.” He held a piece of gold up, wrapping his arms around his head. “We did it. We did it. You did it.”

“I’ll see you. I’ll see you at home, kid.”

It was silent for a beat, John B knew it. He knew what what happened. “Dad?”

“Dad?” He whispered, putting his lips on his forehead, sobbing next to his body, laying his head on his father’s.

18 months later, you were all finally being recognized for finding it.

“An expedition of one man, John Routledge, and a group of teenagers, who are with us today, locals, who grew up here, and who succeeded where centuries of conquistadors, explorers and admirals failed. Today, we come together to celebrate these teens, friends from both sides of the island who came together to solve this 500 year old mystery. Let’s hear it for them!”

All of you stood up in front of the town, listening to the claps and the cheers of everyone.

But something was missing. Or rather, someone. You hadn’t seen him in a while. Not since you told him.

You took a deep breath, raising your fist to knock on the door before it opened in front of you, your eyes widening and you swallowing.

“You’re back.” He noted, you nodding along.

He narrowed his eyes at you, peering behind you for a moment to see nobody else behind you.

“Where’s my dad?”

“Can I talk to you?” You asked him, ignoring his question. He glanced behind him and into the empty house.

He opened the door wider for you, moving aside so you could enter.

You sat down on the couch, and he stood with furrowed eyebrows.

“You should… sit.” You told him, his worries becoming increasingly worse.

He opened his mouth to argue and you just looked up at him, letting out a quiet and broken plea.

“Please.”

Your voice cracked, and it was then he knew you were being serious. He folded his arms over his chest, sitting down across from you, waiting for you to speak.

“There’s no…” you took a deep breath, avoiding his gaze, “easy way to explain what happened.”

“What the fuck happened, y/n?” He asked you, his leg bouncing up and down as he heard you utter the words.

“Ward… he… your dad is dead.” You paused for a moment, finally looking up at him. “I’m so-“

“What?”

You understood his reaction, and you had a feeling it would be like this before you came here.

He had tears in his eyes, trying his best to process this all.

“You— you step into my home, telling me this— this— this bullshit,” he stammered, frustration evident as he rubbed his hand over his furrowed brow, “and you just— just…” His voice trailed off, lost in a mix of disbelief and anger.

“I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it on the news.” You told him quietly, your voice barely audible. “I’m sorry.”

“Get the—” he inhaled sharply, the tension in the room almost palpable as he hesitated. “Get the fuck out of my house, y/n.”

Anger.

The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, and you felt your throat tighten, a lump forming as you nodded. Slowly, you rose from the couch, your movements heavy with reluctance. He ran a hand over his buzzed head, watching you leave.

You turned away from him, your heart heavy as you paused at the door. Before stepping through it, you stole one last glance over your shoulder, your eyes lingering on his expression.

A deep breath escaped your lips, a mixture of relief and sorrow, as you stepped outside.

You couldn’t focus on that now, not when you had accomplished this. You knew he had moved on, and you knew you should probably do the same. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t get him outside of your head.

You swirled the liquid you had poured for yourself in the cup, staring directly into it as you stood at with JJ, kiara, pope and Cleo. Your thoughts were interrupted when you all heard some man come up to John B and Sarah.

“Excuse me. I… I don’t mean to interrupt.”

All of you began to walk over there, Pope furrowing his eyebrows. “Uh, can we help you?” He asked the man.

“Yes. I wanted to tell you all it’s remarkable what you all did. Royal merchant,” he glanced around behind him, before continuing on. “El dorado, Denmark Tanny. Impressive resume, impressive. I was wondering if you all would be so kind as to look at an item of mine.” He spoke, pulling out a suitcase and putting it on the table.

“Oh yeah? What type of item would that be?” You asked him with a raised eyebrow, sipping from your cup.

“It’s a manuscript. I would investigate it myself, but it’s too long in the tooth. I need partners. And you all were first on my list.”

It was silent for a moment, everyone collectively thinking about it. Pope held his hand out, “May I?”

“I was hoping you would.”

“1718. Jeez, this is old.” Pope murmured to himself, flipping through the pages of the logs. “Exhibition notes, dates… this is a captains log. This shows the exact position of the ship.”

“The exact location where the ship sailed and where it stopped.”

“Who is the captain?” JJ asked him, looking down at it, everyone turning to the man for answers.

“Edward Teach. Blackbeard.”

Taglist

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[wonhes]

☁︎ — 6:51 PM MAY 08, 2024

“like seriously?” seunghan had randomly asked, turning to SOHEE with wide eyes, completely disregarding what anton was talking about. “since middle school?” he added, causing sohee to let out a groan in annoyance.

“we weren't even talking about that,” sohee mumbles out, shaking his head as he moves forward to grab a chip from the kitchen island.

“just can't wrap my head around it, that is all.” seunghan said, shrugging his shoulders as he took another sip of his drink.

“he’s liked my sister since he first saw her,” anton mentioned, deciding to join in and poke fun as well. “so, what? a good 8 years?” he added, causing seunghan to let out a dramatic gasp.

groaning once again, sohee brings his hands up to his face to cover the deep shade of red his face was turning. he would be fine with his friends teasing him anywhere else to a certain extent but at anton’s house? that a big no. especially when you could walk in at any given moment. “can we please talk about something else?”

“what? lover boy’s embarrassed?” shotaro jokingly asked, laughing as he noticed how red the younger boy’s face was getting.

shaking his head at his friends, sohee opens his mouth to speak but just in cue the sound of the front door opening interrupts him. immediately shifting his focus to the person entering the house, sohee subconsciously stands up straighter with a small smile soon forming on his lips when he realizes it's you.

from the side, shotaro watches as his younger friend’s mood completely changes in a blink of an eye. snickering, he grabs a dorito and throws it at sohee, hitting the side of his face. “whipped,” shotaro whispers out.

“and?” sohee quickly responded back, barely even acknowledging shotaro; wanting to give you his full attention.

“oh, anton!” you yelled from the doorway. taking off your shoes, you make way towards the kitchen. “dad said-” you start but stop midway when you make eye contact with a certain black haired boy.

“dad said what?” anton asked, confused on why you stopped talking mid sentence. not being able to speak, you simply point at the boy causing the boy to look at you confused as he pointed at himself.

“oh! that’s seunghan!” anton yelled out, understanding now why you were taken back. “sohee introduced him to us last semester and we’ve been friends ever since,” anton mentions to you as seunghan awkwardly waves at you.

“friends?” you manage to squeak out, still not able to properly speak. you

“yeah, although he clearly favors sohee over us,” shotaro jokingly adds, nodding his head towards the two to prove a point. turning your attention back to seunghan you spot him trying to hug sohee while sohee struggles to push him off.

still in shock with this newfound information, you decide to excuse yourself. making eye contact with sohee, you send him a small wave.

“bye sohee,” you say, smiling at him only causing his brain to completely stop functioning. not knowing how to act, he doesn’t respond to your wave and just stands there dumbfounded, staring at you as you walk away.

while you’re walking to your room, you decide to glance back just to make sure that was in fact the boy you had bumped into at the library. peeking over your shoulder, you feel caught when you make eye contact with the said boy. seunghan stares back at you before he sends you a soft smile. he then turns his attention back to the boys as you enter your room.

“guys, i think she wants me.” SOHEE finally breathes out when he hears your bedroom door shut.

annoyed at his words, anton moves to smack sohee on the back of his head. “you and your comments man,” anton sighs, earning a laugh from the rest.

☁︎ — CLOUD 9

CHAPTER 14 — sohee’s best friend

summary !! after years of constant pining after his best friend’s sister, yn finally takes notice of sohee and sohee swears he’s on cloud 9. or in other words, loser sohee finally gets the girl.

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CLOUD 9 MASTERLIST

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