#the jacket too…….I imagine it does that irl too

[lazer-screwdriver]

women?

SWOONING OVER HERRRRRR AAAAA!!! THE HEELS

[gyuswhore]

Never Shall We Die (3; final)

«« Nothing is too outlandish when it’s a life of liberty on the line. »» 

PAIRING: kwon soonyoung x reader

PLAYLIST: right here!

pirate lingo glossary (pls refer!)

SYNOPSIS: Deadliest pirate on the high seas or a damn fool? The stupid King and his men have snatched Hoshi's precious pirate ship with their too clean, too soft hands; grounds to question his own vices. Except, when he and his crew land in the quarters of a navy ship, revenge on their roster, they stumble across a princess in its gallows. Hoshi wonders if he's just struck gold, or if you'd become the final tread to his downfall.

GENRES: pirate!au, enemies to lovers, slowburn, angst, fluff, smut [minor dni], some pirates of the carribean vibes but ? idk

WORD COUNT [full fic]: 48.1k

Part 1: 17.07k | Part 2: 15.2k | Part 3 [final] : 15.8k

@highvern's out of context comment box: new fear unlocked: hoshi with explosives, victorian ankle moment, HATE HIM (need him carnally), hoshi covered in soapy water would distract me enough, strip for me pirate mingyu [hes litrally taking off his jacket], your honor hes a bitch, freaks!, mingyu crushes hoshi's head like a grape, WONWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, massive dick, the way i literally gasped like an old scandalized woman

masterlist

WARNINGS: slowburn, plot heavy, happy ending bc no angsty endings in this household, being taken hostage, knives, bombs, and guns, mentions of blood, mentions of SA (does not happen and it is not explicitly mentioned), alcohol, mentions of death (patricide), hoshi is ✨selectively moral✨but kind of moral nonetheless, side character death, [pls lmk if im missing something its alot] smut tags: hoshi loves thighs, corruption kink to the mAX, clit stimulation, oral (f. receiving), breast play, p in v sex (unprotected, 1800s contraception will make you prefer it but pls dont do this irl), making out

[AN]: final part oh my god if youve read the other parts up till now, THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU i hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as i loved writing it, im really proud of this fic and im so happy so many of you have enjoyed it so far. @highvern betaing as always ty for not giving up on me. AS ALWAYS, PLS TELL ME YOUR THOTS IN THE RBS OR THE REPLIES OR SEND ME AN ASK LITERALLY WTV MUAH MUAH HAPPY READING <3

THIS IS THE NICEST PRISON Hoshi has ever been in, which was saying something, because he had been in quite a lot of prisons. 

But it was uncomfortable nonetheless, six grown men tied up and shoved into a crouching space to be done with as the men that prowled above pleased. 

Hoshi would be lying if he said he hadn’t had to restrain from pushing some of those sorry soldiers into the ice waters beyond the glaciers. He had resisted, the crew had resisted, but just enough to convince them of their unwillingness. 

Hoshi had realised early on that there was no possible way of getting aboard Tigress without somehow climbing aboard the King’s boat first. The king wasn’t about to simply hand Hoshi’s ship over, and there was no indication that they'd wait till after nightfall to depart. 

Hoshi also knew that the King would refuse to have him die so easily in the waters of the Green Islands, his pride depended on it. He imagines the man drawing up the specifics of the most gruesome execution the Kingdom would ever see. Hoshi was counting on it. 

The bounds could’ve been broken out of and the locks somehow picked, but Hoshi also knew that he had to wait. Wait for you to find him first. 

“What’s taking her so long?” Jun asks. He’d been the most anxious out of all, the shaking feet and restless moving making it clear. 

“The bomb won’t…go off still strapped to her, will it?” Minghao asks and Hoshi isn’t quite sure he wants to know the answer. 

“It shouldn’t. Not until she pulls the tab. But…”

“But?” Hoshi whips around. “Why is there a but? You were supposed to make sure there was no but!”

“Big bomb, more boom, less predictable!” 

“Are you sure we can’t break out and look for her ourselves?” Mingyu grumbles, the most compromised with his longer limbs folded in uncomfortable positions.

“The minute they know we’re loose they’ll swarm her. There won’t be a way to get to her, not without fighting off every last bastard on this ship. They’ve taken our stuff too, we don’t stand a chance.”

They did, actually, stand a chance. But that was only if they were to break away and head straight for Tigress that was empty and standing right beside this very ship. But they couldn’t. Hoshi couldn’t. Not without taking you with him. 

Nobody dares to suggest the easier route, and he doubts it’s just because of what he wants. 

But panic was beginning to trickle into Hoshi’s veins anyway, the closed off brig refusing to give him any indication of the time of day. 

The sun was only beginning to set when they were taken to the ship, and he knew they were near done for if they didn’t finish what they started before nightfall. He can’t tell how long it’s been, and it eats away at his insides. 

Please be okay. 

And then he hears it, the sound of a body hitting the floors with a loud thud, a chortle of air before it’s knocked out. He finds himself sitting up straighter, pressing his hands to bars of the prison, trying to peer out the narrow walkway that leads to the doors. 

And then you appear in the lamplight, haphazard and ruffled up beyond measure. 

The knife in your hand drips with blood, your shirt torn at the arms, your hands bloodied and bruised. 

When Hoshi sees your face he almost doesn’t recognise you. 

There’s angry blooming marks of red and purple all across your neck and collarbone, your eyes bloodshot and red, watering like you’d been swimming in salt water. 

“Who did this?” he asks before anything else, watching you drop to your knees in front of the prison, unanswering as you fumbled with a giant ring of keys in your hand. 

You jam each key into the lock, twisting it to no avail. Your hands are shaking. 

The crew finally twist out of their loose bonds, Minghao lurching forward immediately, swatting your hands away. He picks out a few skinny pins from his boot, picking the rusty lock. Despite the strange angle, the bars creak open within seconds. 

“There’s…There’s ropes hooked onto the ship on the main deck.” 

Your voice sounds like you’re speaking through sandpaper, talking while struggling to emerge with the bomb you had. 

Hoshi doesn’t know what to do when he crawls out of the space. 

He’d had it all figured out in his head, what would happen in every possible outcome. You getting hurt wasn’t in any of his universal conclusions; especially not on this ship. They’d kill his crew, they might even kill the King with themselves, but you were meant to remain unscathed. 

“Why–why do you look like that? What happened?” Nothing registers in his head, not even when Jun is pushing him out into the hall. 

“Get up to the deck and get out across the lines!” Jun gruffs in his ears. “That bomb’s gonna go off with us still on here.”

He sees the canister that lies in the same prison they had just exited, he sees your mouth moving without sound. All he can think of are the distinct fingerprints around your throat and how it looked like somebody tried to kill you before they tried to kill him. 

“Soonyoung,” he hears you say in a broken voice and that’s all it takes for him to snap out of it. 

His crew is looking at him expectantly. He looks back at the door and sees the crumpled bodies of the prison guards. 

So much for leaving quietly. 

The minute Hoshi is out the door of the brig, he finds a chest next to the collapsed, bleeding soldiers. Kicking it open, he can only scoff as he finds the entire crew’s weapons in such close vicinity. 

He feels better with his dagger at his hip, along with the rest of his knives that he slips into the loops. Even more so with the rest of his crew armed and ready. 

“We know where the deck is.” He swallows, eyeing his crew’s weapons in their ready hands. He knew they’d agreed to ensure the clean sinking of the ship, but the fallen bodies on the floor were an ode to a different route they’d have to take. “Don’t hesitate if someone gets in your way.”

Taking cautious steps to the upper decks, he finds more bodies collapsed onto the floor, bleeding and unconscious. He opts to ask you the details later, wondering how you were able to take down all these guards by yourself. 

It isn’t until they reach the stairs that lead to the main deck that he comes across a guard. 

Before the witness can raise any alarm, Hoshi’s slamming the butt of his dagger into the side of his head, knocking him clean unconscious as he falls off the side of the short railing. 

Clambering up the steps as quietly as possible, he raises a hand behind him to signal his crew to halt, peering into the main deck first. 

The sun is still out, but low in the sky as it dips in the sky. There’s a few people on the deck, pacing and moving about in preparation for departure. Angling his gaze, he finds ropes suspended over the edge of the railing, parallel to the water. 

He can’t see Tigress, but he knows that’s what the ropes are hooked on to. 

“Jun,” he beckons. “How long till the bomb on the other ship goes off?”

The bomb Jun had planted in the first ship they had arrived in should be going off any time now, and Hoshi finds himself needing it to go off now. 

Jun barely opened his mouth to reply when the ship shuddered. 

For a moment, Hoshi thinks the bomb in the brigs had gone off, but when he finds the clambering of boots to one side of the ship, opposite to where the ropes tied to Tigress, he realises their surrogate ship had given its last gift to the crew. 

The rest of the ship would be bounding to the main deck to inspect the noise soon, so he shoots a quick, “Hurry!” behind him before stepping onto the main deck. 

The entire deck is occupied with the ship that lies a ways away across the expanse of sea, the beginnings that would soon lead the entire ship to be engulfed in flames. It’s tilting at a dangerous angle. 

Hoshi stands as he uses the crew straight towards the ropes that lead to Tigress. Glancing, he finds Mingyu and Chan already hanging on the suspended ropes, making their way towards the empty deck of their ship. 

Hoshi keeps his eyes on the occupied men on board, still staring at the lightshow that was their old ship. It isn’t until one of them turns, eyes towards the stairs that lead to the lower decks, that his eyes dart to the unfamiliar men on the deck. 

“Fuck,” Hoshi curses, before lunging, grabbing the man by the shoulders and covering his mouth, dragging him wordlessly to the edge before throwing him off the ship and into the icy waters below. 

“Go!” he hears you rasp brom behind him, ushering him to the ropes. 

The crew is gone, Jun making the last jump to land on the deck. They’re running around, pulling ropes and fastening the sails to push the ship off into open waters as soon as possible. 

There’s two ropes that tie the two ships together, and Hoshi ushers you onto one of them, pushing you to suspend yourself before he follows. 

“There’s not enough time, go to the other one!” you tell him, pushing him to hold onto the other tattered rope. 

Soonyoung eyes your state, “Are you sure you can—”

“Yes! I promise I can, please, before they cut both the ropes.”

So he trusts you, eyes straight ahead to the railing of his ship, gripping the rough, frayed rope to push himself towards the deck. His hands burn, but he finds himself moving ever closer to his final destination. 

His hand grabs hold of the wooden railing of his Tigress at long last, pulling himself onto the deck of his beloved ship. Immediately whipping his head to his right, he tries to find you reaching the ship with him. The crew is preoccupied in attempting to get the ship ready for departure, he finds your form nowhere. 

When he looks back, the rope he had climbed was gone, leaving gaping space in its absence. He trails the second rope, from the hook that had dug into the railing of Tigress’s wood, trailing it to the naval ship’s deck. 

What he sees puts his heart in his throat. 

You stand on the deck of your father’s ship, swarmed by now alert guards and soldiers who swarm you, yelling profanities and orders as they watch their prisoners get away right in front of them. 

Hoshi watches as you lift your dagger, and cut the last rope that ties you together, free to fall and hit against the hull of his ship.

He calls out your name in what could only be described as a guttural scream. 

His crew halts whatever it was they were doing, taking the steps to realise what had just happened. 

Hoshi’s boot meets the top of the railing, ready to take the plunge into the water. He’d climb back up the ship and get you out. He doesn’t know what you were thinking, what he was thinking when he left you there, but he’d get you out. 

Arms pulling him, he’s yanked back and positively thrown onto the deck.

“What is wrong with you?” Minghao yells, pushing his captain back as he springs up. 

“She—”

Your father emerges from the crowd of guards and soldiers that run rampant on the deck, approaching you at the railing of the main deck. 

Hoshi sees the hand that remains on his shoulder, the blood that covers the still bleeding wound, the effort it takes him to simply walk. 

The bruises on your neck, the wound at his shoulder that looks like it was slashed through by a knife. 

And then it clicks in Hoshi’s head, what had truly happened in the hours that you were out of his sight. And all he sees is red.

WITH THE WAY THE words on the pages seem to double, you would’ve thought you were going mad. 

You’re a child, barely grown into your own body as you sit in the dimly lit library of the palace, utterly exhausted, wishing to be anywhere but sitting at the wooden desk with your name on it. The moon barely shone through the window, your only source of light the fireplace that burned in the corner and your lamplight. 

It was a time where you felt like you could prove yourself, that perhaps, the reason your father refused you his approval was because you were simply not working hard enough. And now, at an hour where you should be fast asleep in your four poster bed, you attempt to understand diplomatic structures and everything that made your country what it was. 

It was late, and there was nothing you would’ve liked more than to put your head on the table and rest your eyes for a few tantalising seconds, which you do, right over the book you were reading. 

You awoke in the same place, shaken awake by a panicked looking servant, the sun shining through the great windows of the palace library.

It seems your disappearance from your bedchambers had put the entire palace in disarray, not realising the princess was fast asleep behind the giant pile of books other servants had already skimmed past thrice. 

Not only were you unable to recite the rankings of the constitutions with the vigour your father required, but you were unable to give him a reason as to why you were absent for both breakfast and morning lessons. 

He made the servants kneel in the throne room for hours, and did not fail to tell you that it was all your fault.

And now, in the ice cold of the Green Islands, old and wise enough to know that your father simply needed a reason to despise his heir, you accept the hands around your throat as his final act of terror. 

Red faced and arms shaking, your father does not speak to you as he presses down on your windpipe with all his might. Your vision is going dark and splotchy, and you decide, for a moment, to let him have this moment. 

He’s too preoccupied in applying his pressure to realise that you’ve raised your right foot enough for your hands to fish out your knife from its place, taking positivity in the handle of your knife that fits in your hand. 

Before you can lose consciousness, you raise your arm high, and plunge it directly into his neck. 

Howling, he releases you from his hold, both of you dropping to the floor of the ship with a resonating thud. You cough, sputter and hack, cold hands finding your now warm neck. 

Your father lays clutching his shoulder as he remains in agony on the floor, and you realise you missed the crucial plunge in your own disarray. 

It was good enough, rendering the old man incapable of finding his bearings. 

You watch as he writhes on the floor of the quarters that almost became your figurative deathbed, the same hands that wrapped around his own daughter’s throat now clutching the shallow wound that renders him useless. 

Standing over him, throwing your own shadow on his body, you feel a surge of power, a rush of adrenaline that shoots straight to your head. Perhaps this was your circulation returning from the deprivation, but you let the feeling imprint in your soul, let your father’s broken figure bring you satisfaction.

You leave him there, writhing in pain, digging your knife under the lock of the quarters, pulling back to break it away from the door. The guards stationed outside do nothing as you leave, and it isn’t until you’ve taken to lower decks that you hear the distinct yell of, “Your Majesty!”

Two more guards, who don’t expect an altercation from their princess, simply buffer as you send your knife plunging into them both. You do it deep this time. 

Nobody was innocent, you knew these people as your father’s closest men, and knew that all of them were to remain silent as their King murdered his daughter. And when the remorse doesn’t do that thing where it trickles in after doing a bad thing, you decide you weren’t part of the innocents either.

It’s easier than you would’ve expected to get to the crew in the brig, letting out a sigh of relief as you appreciate the familiarity of people on your side. 

And when Hoshi took his place to guide everyone out and into the open space of the main deck, you let your racing mind rest and decide to trust the man in whatever decision he made to lead you all out. And he did, he led himself and his crew right into the ship that was theirs, safe and where they would have the upper hand. 

Hoshi didn’t know it when he climbed onto the ropes that lead to his boat that he wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t stayed, hadn’t used your voice of authority to keep the soldiers from attempting to shoot at the escapees, cut the rope while Hoshi remained suspended from it, still only halfway there. 

You didn’t look at him when you sliced both ropes before either party could pull back, didn’t register him screaming your name across the void, pretending it wasn’t taking everything out of your strength.

But you couldn’t jump into the water, not now when a dozen of the royal guards remained ready to take the plunge to save their princess as their duty. The same guards that would comply with their king when told the princess was dead for reasons they all knew but were to forget. 

The bomb had to go off first, and you had to keep them away from hooking another line to the ship in the meantime. You were operating on a flawed plan and an overenthusiastic crowd of guards that were moments away from shooting a canon straight into the side of the disconnected pirate ship.  

The distraction comes in the form of your father parting the crowd of soldiers like the red sea, swatting every soldier that attempts to help his bleeding form for anything it was worth. He approaches you at the railing, and for once, you don’t look at the ground in his presence. 

“Bold,” he heaves, the effort in his voice apparent. “Bold of you to think you could slip away.”

“I haven’t tried to slip away, father,” you correct. “I’ve stayed right here, even after you failed to kill me. And I, you.” 

“Nobody is going to listen to you, child. Give in. This is the easy way out,” he says. 

As if on cue, Jun’s bomb goes off for the second time, but this time the ship shudders with more force. It has your father unbalance and fall, along with multiple other soldier’s stumbling. You grip the railing tight, counting on your father’s need to live. 

Despite your horrid throat and the ache in your body, you announce as loud as you can. “The bomb is in the brig, this ship is sinking.”

The fallen king trembles in a rage you had never quite seen before. Any other time of your life, you would’ve wished for the ground to swallow you whole to be the subject of such anger. 

Except, in the setting sun, a burning ship in the background, a pirate ship that awaits you, and the ground beneath your feet that was actively sinking into the freezing water; you smile at your doomed King. 

“Get to the brig! Secure the lower decks, do not let this ship sink or so help me God!” His voice rings across the deck, spittle blowing from his mouth at the situation. 

And just like that, your father gives you the final gift of clearing the main deck out for you, leaving but a few straggling soldiers that are too preoccupied with either the sinking ship or their bleeding sovereign. 

Looking back, you find the crew of Tigress standing at the railing, you find Hoshi already half over the edge and send him a slow nod. 

Turning back to your father that remains on the floor of the ship that would become his coffin, you utter your next words; for yourself, and the girl that was every second before this, all the way to her first ever memory of sad:

“You’ve taught me to be a ruler fit to be the best for our Kingdom. Consider your death my first act of service for the Crown.”

And then you jumped into the darkening void of the waters below. 

THE COLD FEELS LIKE every nerve in your body ceased to work. 

It was nothing at first, the temperature so intense it had your body numb in the face of shock. And then it grew, to a striking cold, and then a feeling that pricked every inch of your skin like a million needles plunging into your body. It was only getting worse with each passing second, before it was so painful it was hot, going from cold to searing and blistering like you’d plunged into the licks of flames. 

Nowhere in your body did you find a rational sense of mind, something to tell you to kick, flail or float. The warped sky was an orange through the green, only more vibrant. Like there were two ships actively burning on the surface of this water. 

Hoshi’s face appears behind your closing eyelids, like a mirage or a taunt. Like he was there with you when he wasn’t. 

Would he come for you? Would he take the plunge for the girl he held in his arms, promising her something to fill the gap of a companion, right before she killed her own? 

You’d given him what he wanted; your father, his worst enemy, dying as he sank slowly into the bottom of the ocean. You’d run your course of use, and if he was as smart as people claimed, he’d leave you to suffer the same fate as your father. 

He could find his freedom elsewhere. 

And you would find your freedom in the close of your eyes, and the sinking feeling of nothingness. 

Except, you feel a hardness against your body, stronger even than the current of the waters. Moving impossibly upwards, you remember opening your eyes to find a leather cord suspended in the float of the water, before you remember nothing. 

THE GREEN ISLANDS WERE on fire.  

But as unnatural as it seemed, Hoshi had no inclination to register anything but the way the ship in front of him tilts so far out it's already half submerged in the waters. He’d assumed they might have to ready the cannons, but with the way debris and hollowed wood floats in the waters below, they would not need to. 

The King was about to be introduced to Davy Jones’ Locker at the hands of his enemy and successor, but Hoshi could not care enough right now to relish in it. 

Right now, he stares at the direct circumference of water your body had made contact with and disappeared into, like the world would explode if he lost his place. 

“Should I jump as well?” Mingyu asks, already half taking his boots off. However, when the man turns to find his captain gone, he lurches over the railing to find his captain diving into the water through all the debris.

Hoshi lets the momentum of his dive take him as further down as possible, whipping his head around as soon as his eyes open into the abyss. The water ripples and erupts in showers of bubbles as broken pieces of ship come apart to fall into the water. It blurs his vision immensely, any ripple that could be you in the water coming out to be yet another piece of wasted wood. 

The deeper he goes, the more the water presses into his ears. He was a good swimmer, good at holding his breath when needed, but even he had limits. 

When he cannot see any sign of you, he begins to feel the churning of something skin to panic brew. Panic was never good, not this deep in the water. 

Twisting and turning, flailing about in place, moving dangerously closer to the burning ship that continued to drop flaming bits of killing slabs, he finds no sign of you in the water. 

Instead, he watches men in uniform sink deeper and deeper in their failed attempts to stay afloat. 

All he can think about is if they were losing the battle for air, then so were you, somewhere deeper in the void than he was. He prays that he’s looking aimlessly, that you’ve already somehow made your way to the surface by yourself, and you were safe on the deck. 

The beaded bracelet that remained on his wrist, but belonged to you. 

“A reason for you to come out of this alive.”

Even without the encasing on his wrist, you had given him more than enough reason to want to come out of this alive, to want to live beyond just for himself and his duty to the crew he’d taken in. 

He chose the life of a pirate because it was his only out, and every member of his crew that he recruited in succession, he acted as the hand he had needed so desperately in that awful brothel where his mother despised him and his father, a faceless man of Port Ash. 

Amphitrite was not kind, it was a lesson he learned quickly in his first ventures out at sea. So he too, had to learn to be unkind, to survive in the horrid bellies of ships that weren’t his own. And when Tigress came into his life like a vessel of hope, he found a home in her merciful wood, in the ship that he could call his very own. 

Hoshi lived as a free man on his ship, with his crew that had become his brothers in ways beyond what the thick of blood could offer. He did not care if he lived or died after that, as long as it was on his ship, in the waters that held no quarter for anyone, but gave him everything that nothing else could give him. 

And so when you approached him with a proposal so bizarre yet so apt for a man like him, he could not refuse. It may have been the way he saw himself in you, terrified of the prospects  but thirsting for an escape more than the fear that came with it. 

Besides, the king was a nuisance that needed to go, and he found himself agreeing to play the hand too complicated for you. 

What he did not expect was to end up here, in the depths of the ocean in the most uninhabitable part of the earth, trying to pull you out of the cold, unrelenting sea. 

Hoshi realises in that moment that this might ruin him, the possibility of breaking the surface without you. 

He decides that if the heavens do not let him find you, he would simply drown in the same waters that gave him purpose, and find peace with the idea that he would lay rest in the same waters as the person who might have given him something more. 

Kwon Soonyoung, the deadliest pirate to cleave the seas, was in love with you. A princess, so undeserving of a man like him; a bastard, a rogue, a good for nothing criminal. 

And when he spots the all too familiar build of your form, the linen shirt under the corset he had tied for you just hours ago, the dark brown trousers that signified the change he’d brought into your life, he swore to leave everything he’d ever known to thank the skies and seas for bringing him to you.

His burning lungs, screaming and searing for air, grabbing for your suspended arm that looked as defeated as your closed eyes. Tugging you towards him, he wraps his arm around you to press you to him as tight as he could. 

Relief. And with the warm sting in his eyes that he doubted was from the salt in the water, he’s sure of everything he’s felt with the feeling of you in his arms. 

With the bruising on your neck, the bleeding wound in your father’s shoulder, he finds it within his breaking body to begin kicking upwards. 

Every limb, every cell, every hint of life in his body shrieked with its efforts to make him stop. There was no air in his lungs and he’d lost track of time in his search for you, he doesn’t know how long he has. 

But if the blots of nothingness in his eyes were anything to go with, he doesn’t presume he has much. In a last ditch effort, he attempts to kick his boots off to weigh him down a little less, holding your dead weight tighter than anything. 

He was so close, he could feel the warmth of the upper levels of the water change in its temperature on his skin. The glow was near blinding as the orange refracted on the disrupted surface of the ocean, so close yet so far. 

Inch by inch, kick by kick, memory by memory, he does everything left in his drained power to touch the surface. 

And he does, breaking out hand first into the burning air of the world above, taking the longest gasp of air he ever has in his life. Once he’s sure he knows where he is, he pushes you up further on his chest, your head resting against his collarbone, still unconscious. 

“Stay with me, princess,” he pants into your ear, hoping you could hear. “I’ve got you.”

Chan and Mingyu are in the water beside him, pushing him towards the pulley that awaited them. 

Mingyu makes an attempt to take your weight of his already struggling captain, but Hoshi finds himself holding on to you tighter, simply urging him to help him back on the deck. 

The minute your head hits the wood of the deck, he’s checking your pulse. There’s no regard for the chaos that ensues around Tigress, both him and his crew too preoccupied with the way you were not breathing. 

“I–I can’t feel anything,” he stutters his words as Seungkwan places a less panicked hand at your neck, under your nose. 

“It’s weak, she’s taken in too much water.”

In an instant, he reaches for his knife at his hip, only to realise it was gone, lost somewhere in his rescue. 

“Knife,” he rasps before repeating louder. “Someone give me a knife!” 

The minute a hilt is in his hands, he’s pushing you over, to reach the back of your constricting corset, pushing his knife into the complicated sailing knot he’d tied it into before, breaking it free. With both hands, he takes hold of the top of the corset and rips it clean in half. 

Turning you back over, he presses his hands over your clothed stomach, pushing into it with all his strength in an attempt to get the water out of your system. He keeps his eyes on your face, and when he sees no sign of you coming round, he feels another set of hands pushing him off. 

Seungkwan takes over for his weakened captain, pushing into your stomach harder, attempting to get a break out of you. 

“Why isn’t she coming around, what’s going on?” He throws the question aimlessly as he takes your unmoving face in his hands, trembling from everything. 

Only a moment later, he hears the glorious sound of you sputtering like something was stuck in your throat, promptly spilling out an ungodly amount of water onto the deck as you retch loudly. 

Sitting up from the force, your hands clamp onto the deck as you cough and heave, Hoshi’s hand coming behind you to thump your back hard, pushing you to throw up any remaining seawater from your body. 

The sight of your back moving up and down, the audible sound of you taking in air; it was enough for Hoshi to simply lay on the deck and pass out. 

You rear your head and look up at him, both of you still breathing heavily. 

“You’re okay,” he assures, gulping. He takes your face in hands cupping it very gently as he speaks to you. “Go with Seungkwan, you’re okay, you’re safe.”

Nodding, you let yourself be helped up by the rest of the crew, watching as you’re led to the lower decks of the ship. 

“Open your shirt, let me see the wound,” Mingyu says, and Hoshi doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Looking down, he sees his shirt soaked in red, sticking to a wound on the right side of his torso. He didn’t even know where he got it. 

It looks like a shallow gash, but enough to leave a scar. He takes it better to have it tended to while he was still high on adrenaline and he couldn’t feel much of the pain. 

By the time Mingyu and Minghao are done cleaning him up and Hoshi’s standing upright with wobbly legs, he finds the two burning ships beyond his own mere floating structures of wood that were in slow flame. There’s too much debris, too many bits of everything that bob in the large expanse of water to make out any bodies. 

“There’s nobody,” Mingyu tells him. “Most of them were in lower decks when it all went down. Trapped themselves.”

“And…?” he asks in silence. 

“He stayed on the deck until it sank,” Minghao informs. “Yelling about how he…about how he should’ve finished her when he had the chance.”

“Horrible king and somehow an even worse father,” Mingyu scoffs. “Made it better to watch him die.”

“He didn’t suffer enough,” Hoshi croaks as the marks on your throat dot his vision. 

Just then, floating in the water, illuminated by the final streaks of setting light, Hoshi sees it. A darkened purple cloth right next to the hull.

“That,” he points out. “Get that out of the water.”

The late king’s purple cape laid on the deck of Tigress, darkened with water, but also with his blood.

To the Kingdom, this cape would be the last piece of their King that was gone too soon. But for every person on this ship, it would forever be their spoils of war.

Hoshi makes sure the cape will be dried and stored, ordering his crew to begin their slow journey out of the Green Islands, before he too crumples onto the deck unconscious. 

IT WAS A SPECTACLE to see Hoshi in his element. 

Something about how he seemed to beam, like this ship was charging him a different kind of energy. It was infectious, the rest of the ship decreasingly sour as they put on musical performances on the main deck while they cleaned the floors. 

As relieved as you felt, the tight ball of anxiety refused to leave the pit of your stomach as you grew closer to the Kingdom. Nothing could prepare you for the shitstorm you’d have to deal with the moment you’d step onto the soil off a pirate ship of all things—let alone as Queen. 

The first few days following the ship's exit from the Green Islands were difficult, if that was all you had to describe it. You took to your hammock for most of the day, curled up as you pretended to sleep, only waking up when one of the crew would come down to force feed you and to make sure you hadn’t died. 

You knew they were doing all this to make you feel better, and somehow it was working. More than halfway through your journey, you began to feel more like yourself, emerging from your cave to visit the deck on times other than the nights. 

Even now, as you sit on the floor of the deck with Seungkwan, who hands you an all too familiar stack of parchment, you feel nothing as you take them into your hands. As you read his handwriting scrawled in ink, you appreciate your past self for having the sense to keep them all. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better now,” he says to you. “Had us worried for a while there.”

“Sorry.” You smile weakly. “But thank you for…everything. I don’t think I could ever express how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. All of you.”

“I’d like to think we’ve gone past the status of mere business partners,” Seungkwan chuckles. “Lion befriends the bear? Whatever it is. But know we’d do it again.”

Blinking back the sting of tears and doing your very best to not let the warm feeling in your chest overwhelm you, you place the letters on the floor next to your folded legs. When you look up, Seungkwan's eyes are on your neck.

“They’re taking their time to fade, aren’t they?” you say. 

Seungkwan has a hard look in his eye, “I guess you didn’t need your letters to remind you of anything after all.”

Your mind wanders, drifting past how easily this crew could have been forgotten in the unforgiving elements. Perhaps you would have let the man that wrapped his hands around your neck finish his job.

“Was getting captured part of your grand plan?” you ask Seungkwan. 

“Hm?” It takes a moment to realise what you may be questioning him about, smiling slightly. “What makes you think we went in with a plan?”

“I thought I asked you to man the wheel?” Hoshi stands above the both of you.

“Not to batten down the hatches,” he side-eyed his captain. “Clear waters ahead, the wheel does not need manning.” 

You zone out as they squabble over nothing, not finding the heart to be entertained by their back and forth. Seungkwan either loses or forfeits, because you feel him rise from next to you, only for his captain to take his place. 

“What are you thinking about?” Hoshi asks. 

“Everything,” you sigh. 

“How come Seungkwan gets a thank you for your service and I don’t? Need I remind you who jumped for you and who didn’t?”

Rolling your eyes, you answer him, “Thank you, Captain Hoshi Kwon, I am forever indebted to your service.”

He chuckles in exaggeration, “Oh please, all in a day's work.”

“I mean it.”

“Hm?”

“I never did say thank you. But you did jump for me when you didn’t have to.”

“Who said I didn’t have to?”

“Our deal was done.”

“Of course not,” he scoffs. “Our deal was to get you out when you jumped. I merely honoured that promise!”

“Merely?” you raise a brow. “Was it all merely a matter of conscience?”

His gaze locks with yours. “Don’t ask questions you know the answers for. I would’ve jumped even if you asked me to rope myself to the mast.”

“Please. I have enough blood on my hands and I haven’t even sat on my throne yet.”

“Blood is only on your hands if you tell a soul of what you’ve done,” Hoshi utters. “You’re the only living soul who knows.”

“And you are…?”

“Pirate. Our word means nothing.” Hoshi smiles. 

The thought hangs in the air as you take in the man in front of you. He’s changed an era’s worth, yet all the same. His hair is longer, going from his initial shorter crop to curling around his ears, shielding his eyes. It makes him look younger, like a boy with much to live for. 

That, and the multitude of notable scars he’s added to his collection, many of which have somehow been because of you. The wound at his torso is doing better, but far to go in its quest to heal. 

Hoshi senses something amiss even after his sermon. Breaking his gaze, he turns to look straight ahead at the raised bow of the ship instead. 

“Do you know how I got my splendid reputation for being the filthiest pirate on the seas?”

You can only stare, “I have a few guesses.”

He chortles, “Other than my criminal status.”

“Tell me.”

“Unnamed sailors have the odds of a peanut facing its inevitable fate of being crushed under a straggling boot. Pirates don’t see the government as their enemy when they’re own supposed brothers are more likely to jam a cannon in their mouths.”

He lets out a heavy sigh before continuing, “My mistake wasn’t that I was on the losing side in my early days, but more about how I was leaving nothing behind when I was done.”

“How humble,” you hum. 

“Dead men tell no tales. When it’s worth it, it might be better to leave a straggler or two to live to tell the tale. A routine stab in the jugular can turn you into somewhat of a myth.”

“Am I a survivor?” you question. 

“You may be sovereign on land, but you’re also an unnamed pirate,” he responds, turning back to lock eyes with you. “And you’ve left nobody to tell the tale.”

No one listens to a pirate, and everyone listens to a Queen. 

“This isn’t to say there won’t be a legend that follows you.” He quirks a brow as he speaks. “Shows up and claims her father and his entire ship and crew sank at sea, only to befriend his sworn enemies in the aftermath. And then it evolves; she sent a cannon through her fathers ship, he died at the end of his own daughter's sword, she cursed him to captain a crew of the undead for eternity.”

“Have I planted the seeds for yet another ghost story?” It’s difficult to not giggle at the thought, despite how morbid. 

“You’ve given yourself substance,” he says, a little stronger than before. His eyes too, wander to your neck and the bruises that refuse to budge. “Beyond just a royal or even a pirate. You did it for your honour as a human being, and that may be braver than anything I have ever conquered.”

In your anxiety ridden, feeble mind, your thoughts had convinced your conscience that everything would be over the minute your father’s heart stopped beating. That it would bring you peace at last. 

And it did, especially when it felt like you’d gotten rid of this constant monster under the bed that had followed you far into adulthood. But from the bleeding heart of the creature emerged yet another one of its brethren, and then another and then another. 

Smaller albeit, but monsters nonetheless. Problems nonetheless. 

Weeks of this, and in one short interaction, Hoshi seemed to have given you the key to turn this monster into a pet. 

On instinct, you feel your hand reach up, brushing against the skin of his cheek. It’s an all too familiar setting, seated on the deck of a ship too close for anybody but yours’ comfort. But without the rum and resentment, of course. And how you doubt he’d pull away this time. 

Very lightly, you brush your lips against his. It was nothing but to simply feel him again, to feel a semblance of familiarity. 

You feel him take your hand that rests on his cheek to place a kiss on your palm, nuzzling his nose into the concave of your hand. 

Everything that was to come seemed a little more possible in that very moment. 

Even more so when his fingers found the sensitive areas of your coloured throat, when his lips closed against your jaw, only to trail lower and to press into the marks his fingers continue to trail tucked into your neck. 

That night, when slipping into your hammock felt like the most unbearable prospect in your near future, it couldn’t possibly be worse than uttering your next question to the man that seems to fix it all.  

“Will you stay with me?”

With nothing but the light snores of the rest of the crew and the creaking of the ship, both you and Soonyoung laid in a hammock most definitely not meant for two. Head on his chest, ear pressed against where his heart beats under his scar, it’s bliss. 

The feeling of his warm body against yours and the scent of him settling in your lungs, you decide that this was enough. At least for now. 

IT WAS DIFFICULT TO give yourself the full list for obvious reasons, but it does seem to help when you tick off all the possible reasons why your patience has run as thin as it has. 

Sitting at the decorated seat at the convened court of old men appointed by your father, you briefly wonder if you should finish them off too amidst your flash of anger. The men continue to squabble and babble about the next course of action, slamming their wrinkled hands on the pristine table and sending their own daggers of threats to the other inhabitants of the table. 

“If you’d like to send a search party for the King’s body, be my guest,” you finally speak, having had quite enough when the throb in your temple worsens. “But remind me what troops you’ll be sending to the North if your best men will be gone for months attempting to find a body they never will.”

The dispute in the North side of the Kingdom was taking up most of the conversation anyway, and you doubt they’d put customary burial rites over their own glory of victory the North would bring. 

“Your Majesty—”

“I would happily jump on the next search ship for my father,” you lie through your teeth. “But I watched him drown in front of my own two eyes, and as the next sovereign I cannot let you waste our resources for something that will both risk our soldier’s lives and have them come back home empty handed.”

Perhaps you had come off slightly more heartless than you intended, so you quickly add, “Please, let my father rest in peace.”

That seems to end the conversation easier than you had expected, but they’re quick to jump to the next issue not long after. 

“The court would also like to bring light upon the palace guests.”

Tightening your jaw, you slump against your seat slightly. “What about them?”

They remain silent as their mouthpiece attempts to form the right words for the following question, mostly because you’ve addressed this multiple times beforehand but they continue to sit restless. 

“Allow me to help you, Lord Bridge,” you sit up straighter, intending to put this matter to rest. “My guests will remain here for as long as they do, and if you have any more arising issues towards my guests I will only take it as your collective issues towards me.” 

In the moment of silence, you continue, “The Kingdom is in a place of instability as we are all well aware. I find it most appalling that you remain fixated on trivial matters of the palace’s domestic code of conduct than you do for the wellbeing of this country!”

Silence yet again as you wait for their forcibly rehearsed chorus of apologies. 

“Our greatest apologies, your Majesty.”

The pain in your temples becomes near unbearable as you dismiss the table after that, screeching your chair as you push it back as loud as you possibly can to do nothing but spite the men. 

Turning the corner out of the room, you catch the open gates that lead to the paved gardens outside, the sun seeping into the marble floors indoors. Taking an instinctive step towards the gardens, you find most of the crew sprawled onto the grass as they soak in the sun. 

Chan and Seungkwan look like they’re wrestling, their laughter ringing throughout the open court while their captain snaps at them to cut it out, only to get roped under one of their headlocks all the same. 

There’s a call of your name and a giant wave from Mingyu, who spots you from beyond the flower beds. Still leaning against the gates, you smile and wave back. 

Years the halls of the palace had gone, never hearing laughter in its walls. And something about watching them let themselves ruin the petunias and laugh so loud it echoes, heals you just a bit. 

Even that night, when you find yourself in your giant four poster bed you’ve slept in since you were a child, this time dozing under the arm of another, you feel the itch of a healing wound somewhere in your heart. 

Soonyoung laid with you for every night on the ship since that night, and stayed even here where the space was big enough to host the ghosts of your worries if not distracted. 

He had found you on that first night in the palace still awake, haunting the library fireplace with another stack of papers to keep you company. 

“Can’t sleep?” he’d asked as he picked up some of your documents. 

“Clearly not,” you huff. The papers were mere decorations as you attempted to find an excuse to leave your rooms. 

“You realise you won’t be much of an effective monarch if you exhaust yourself to death?”  

There was no answer to that, especially when you were absorbing nothing of your new duties. You’d expected to fall asleep on the armrest of the uncomfortable settee whenever it was that you exhausted your brain of thoughts, even then refusing to sleep in that large bed. 

He’s awfully persuasive, because as he tucks you into those very sheets, about to leave but not before placing a kiss on your forehead You stop him. 

“Stay. Please.”

True as he has always been, he does.

THE CROWN IS HEAVIER than you had expected, even more so when it remains on your head for longer than your previously practised sessions walking around the throne room. The crew was exceptionally good at giving you things to train with, including fraudulent rodent scares to ensure the crown would not topple from your own head the minute you rise from your coronation.

And now, as you finally remove the decorative piece from your head after your actual coronation to replace it with something lighter for the following ball, you find relief in the fact that you’d only ever have to wear the actual thing only a few times in your life. 

Everything moves as smoothly as it could, the decorated pirates that saved their Queen from a horrid shipwreck taking up most of the attendees attention as they either question inquisitively or send snarky remarks to the men who are well versed in how to rebut in true informal manner. 

The past months had taken up more of your time than you had anticipated, and during the latter half of the still twinkling party, you attempted to spot the person you’ve been trying to corner all night. 

Soonyoung stands at the edges of the gathering, empty handed as you watch him reject yet another offer for a drink from the trays that float about. His attire is the most formal you had ever seen, his face scrubbed and hair pushed back for the glorious occasion. 

Approaching him from the sidelines, you take hold of his wrists and pull him towards one of the many doors in the ballroom and into a hallway you knew for a fact was rarely ever frequented. 

“I feel I haven’t seen you ages,” you say once you’re sure you’re alone. 

“Probably best for you to keep busy,” he replies with the smallest smile. 

“Have the wrappings on your wound come off?”

Looking at his covered torso, he runs an instinctive hand over where the wound was. “Just a smaller patch now, but it’s nearly there. Disappointed it won’t scar too much.”

“Disappointed?” 

“These are my spoils of war, miss princess,” he adds with a smirk, before correcting himself. “Ah, miss queen?”

“Doesn’t have the same ring,” you comment. 

“The crown suits you.” His voice is soft and sincere.

Scoffing a little, you answer, “I would hope it did.”

“Although, I do prefer you in trousers and a knife.”

Laughing, you can only agree. Especially in your heavier than yourself dress and jewels. “I think I prefer them too.”

At the mention of your new status, he asks, “Shouldn’t you be milling between your new subjects?” 

Keeping your eyes on his face, you wait until he meets your gaze. “I have more important things to attend to.”

He breaks eye contact first, and you can feel the distance grow further. One reach and you could take his hand in yours. 

But you don’t. 

“I know I’ve been quite busy, but…” you trail off as you attempt to find the words. “Is something the matter? What’s going on?”

With a long sigh, he runs a hand through his kept hair, effectively tousling it a little. “I was going to wait until after the ball to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

He makes no moves to look at you when he utters his next words. “The crew and I will be leaving at dawn tomorrow. We’ve taken up enough of your space and it’s best if we don’t intrude any further.”

It’s like you’ve taken a blow to the chest, the air knocked out of your lungs as you register what he’s just said. “You’re….you’re leaving?”

“I would think we’ve both gotten what we wanted. We had a deal.”

Deal? Why was he mentioning that now?

“Are you going to abandon me too?”

His head snaps up to finally meet your eye, mouth opening closing as words betray him. 

“What happened to what you said about gaining you? All of you?” There’s a blatant accusation in your words.

“And you have! We’ll visit. Assuming the state doesn’t want my head on a pike anymore,” he chuckles uncomfortably. 

In a moment of desperation, you take his hand in both of yours; his scarred, gnarled hands that tell you even in the dark who’s warmth it is that you feel every night next to you. 

“Stay. Stay with me, please,” you plead. “I can’t live in this place alone, I despised it when I was young and I’ll only despise it even more now.”

Soonyoung brings his other hand to clasp over both of your own, eyes closing as you hear him take a somewhat shaky breath. “I’m doing this for the both of us.”

“So am I! I can’t possibly rule a kingdom by myself.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone—”

“I don’t want someone! I want you!”

He begins to whisper your name, moving his face away to blink rapidly. 

“How do you feel about becoming a pirate king? I can never forbid you from the waters, that’s your home, and you will have it.”

He does not look at you, but you know he’s listening more intently than ever before.

“But I ask you as someone who loves you more than I have ever anything else, will you stay and marry me?”

Soonyoung falters as he absorbs the fact that you’ve just proposed to him. 

“I—” he stutters. “The court—”

“The court wouldn’t dare to deny me the man that saved my life.”

You squeeze his hand tighter, moving impossibly closer. 

“And even if they do, I'm ready to fight for the man who fought for me. So answer me as a man and not a pirate, Kwon Soonyoung, will you marry me?”

Soonyoungs mouth enclosing over your own is all the answer you need as you feel him break free of your hands to let them find your waist instead. Amidst the pile of fabric he pushes himself into you as close as possible, letting your hands guide his head to move against your mouth. 

It’s everything, as you grip onto the back of his shoulder, pressing unforgettably into his open mouth. He takes in your bottom lip between his own, sucking before letting go, only to engulf your mouth once again. 

“We’ll figure it out,” you whisper against his lips, feeling the nuzzle of his nose against the apple of your cheek, hot tears spilling from your eyes. “I promise, we’ll figure everything out.”

He shushes you when he feels you shudder in his hold, pulling away to rest his forehead against yours. “No need to torment your pretty head. Not right now.”

For once, you listen to your pirate captain without a fight, simply feeling the stretch of your lips as he moves down to capture them once more. 

The pressure of his hands isn’t nearly as strong as it would’ve felt without the layers upon layers of fabric that cover your form, but standing in this desolate hallway, you swear his fingers might as well be caressing your bare skin underneath. 

The thought sends your mind into a dazzling spin, letting go of his mouth with a gasp, suddenly needing to take a step back. 

“I have to—I have to go back inside,” you breathe into his slick mouth. “Meet me outside my quarters at midnight.”

As scandalous as it was, you could not deny how alive it made you feel to be like this, meeting in darker corners in the dead of night. But for now, you allow him to fix the bits of your ensemble you could not see. With the bad of his thumb, he blends in the smudges of your rouge, swiping at your lips ever so delicately to ensure he leaves no trace of himself. Tucking the loose strands of hair back behind your ears, and finally, fixing the encrusted crown on your head, a flash of one of the diamond’s gleams reflecting onto his perfect face. 

“You’re beautiful.” There’s a dazed look that graces him. “Beyond beautiful.”

With one last innocent press of your smiling mouth onto his, you promise him your midnight. 

BY THE TIME IT was finally an appropriate hour for you to excuse yourself for the evening, you were near to exploding entirely. 

Whispers of “Are you alright, your Majesty?” plaguing you through your already racing mind. It was beyond difficult to keep the constant shaking of your foot unobvious, however you could not simply up and leave whenever you wanted—at least not yet. The monarch would remain in an unstable authoritative position for quite some time after ascension, and with the unorthodox situation at hand, you assume you’d really have to push yourself if you were to be of any use as sovereign. 

But when the time finally came and you were escorted out of the grand ballroom, only mere ticks away from the resounding bells of midnight, you were holding back from breaking into a sprint. Outside your quarters it was empty, but you remain steadfast in your refusal for your ladies in waiting tonight, promising you could dress yourself for bed on your own. 

Standing at the double doors of your rooms, still the princess’ quarters as you refuse to move into the Queen’s rooms, you stand waiting. The two guards remain staring straight ahead, and you wait for the clicking of your ladies to go muffled before you ask. 

“Has the Captain approached?” 

“No, your Majesty.”

You try not to feel disappointed, despite knowing the midnight bells were yet to sound. “If he does, allow him in, please.” 

Opening the double doors, you half wish you had let your ladies help you out of the god awful dress, tight and loose in all the wrong places. The jewels are thrown haphazardly on your vanity, needing the heavyweight of them off of your body. 

Perhaps months of little to no bedazzling had rendered you incapable of wearing anything mildly less comfortable than linen and leather, but you suppose you’d slip back into the habit just as easily as you slipped out of it. Your nightgown feels like heaven on your tired, tired body, and the dimly lit interior of your bedchamber is only encouraging you to slip under your covers and fall deep into sleep. 

That was one thing about the ship you doubt you’d ever miss. 

Three rapt knocks outside of the heavy double doors have you sitting rapt at attention, hastily making your way to the door from your vanity. Pressing the front of your nightgown down, you open the door slightly and poke your head out. 

Soonyoung stands at the door, nervous of all things, still clad in his full suit. You smile as you let him in, closing the door to turn the lock. 

“Your guards mortify me.” 

“Oh? So they’re doing their job right?” You walk up to him and grasp onto his lapels, pulling him down to meet the lips you’ve missed so much despite only being hours apart. “Why? Has this big bad pirate found his match in the palace guards of all places?”

“Hmm,” he’s humming against your lips. “I could take them both.”

Giggling like you were in love, you wrap your arms around his neck and hold him close. 

“I hope you weren’t bothered too much,” you say. “The aristocracy seem to have being a pain in the ass written in their birthrights.”

“I think they were too scared to approach, probably thought I’d start swearing and snatching the pearls right off their necks. Some of them were bearable, asked me how long my sword was.”

It’s difficult to not laugh at that, “Well?”

He raises his brows unceremoniously, “Won’t you like to know?”

Taking the opportunity while you giggled uncontrollably at the situation, he goes back placing never ending kisses to your mouth. Sighing involuntarily, you melt into him once again, infinitely more relaxed than in the hallway. 

Soonyoung’s eyelashes brush against yours in a whisper of their own, only reminding you how close you were to him in the moment. His kisses go from soft and fleeting to something with a little more vigour. The warmth of his mouth goes back to overtaking the lower half of your face, sucking and licking into your mouth like his life depended on it. 

If your mind was reeling when his hands were merely ghosts of pressure over your heavy dress, the feeling of his palms and fingers so distinct over your nightgown, the only thing separating you two, is enough to have your knees begin to buckle. 

From your waist, they move to your back, before caressing back to the sides of your waist, thumb running in circles. Gentle handfuls of your flesh, bunching and letting go of the material of your nightgown. Very soon, his mouth leaves yours and instead moves to your jaw, the air in the room letting you feel the wetness that he leaves behind as a passionate trail.

He soon reaches the junction of your jaw and neck, leaving a particularly long suck in the area that has a gasp leaving your mouth. Remaining in that area, you feel the pleasant graze of his tongue on your skin, only making you tilt your head farther out to let him carry out his loving. 

Your mind wanders back to the hands that grope you in ways that would defame you, the unseemly palms that have you needing to feel him all the same.

With grazing hands, you slip your fingers underneath his jacket, pushing it off one shoulder. He understands the message, flicking it off of his frame before loosening his cravat and throwing it somewhere behind him. 

Unlatching from your neck, he comes round to face you to find your face the epitome of disconnected and dazed. 

“Can you wait for me on the bed, my love?”

“But—” The thought of him being even an inch away was most aggravating, but he cuts you off before you can refute. 

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” Soonyoung rests his forehead against your own, taking your hands in his. “I’m right here. I just need to take this awful suit off.”

Your face must have been peculiar because he’s immediately jumping, panicked. “Uh—do you not want me to, we don’t have to, I just thought—”

“No!” you yelp, wide eyed. “I, um, I’ll wait. On the bed, I mean.”

He lets you walk over to the giant four poster bed, pushing the flow of your gown down when you realise how high it had ridden, cheeks burning scarlet at the thought of exposing so much. 

Hearing ruffles from behind you, you cannot bring yourself to look back at him, already extremely lightheaded and afraid that the sight might make you faint altogether. 

Perhaps you were experiencing a delayed case of sea legs, because it’s more difficult than usual to make yourself comfortable on the soft beddings. You make a futile attempt at slowing your breathing. 

By the time Soonyoung is done, meeting you in the middle, you keep your eyes on his face as he’s immediately climbing over to kiss you softly. Hand on the back of your head, he guides you to lay flat, adjacent to the headboard so you’re laying on the breadth of the bed. 

He handles you like you were made of glass, and it only makes the strange ache between your legs increasingly present and uncomfortable. 

Noting a cool feeling on the base of your throat, you open your eyes and catch the leather cord that dangles from his neck, the letter opener charm that’s attached to the end of it connecting you two as your lips part. Just beyond, through the dip of his collarbones and the valley to his chest, you catch the scar  that curls above his heart. Even lower, you find the smaller wrappings of his scarring wound. 

You trace over the edges of the new addition, shaking hands as you try your best to not brush over the wound. 

On the other side, Soonyoung has his hands on shin as his body hovers over you between your legs. Curling around, he caresses the skin of your bare calf, drifting to the back of your knees. He takes the opportunity to lift your leg, urging you to wrap it around his waist. 

The action has gravity doing what it does best, the hem of your nightgown dropping to bunch over the junction of your leg, your entire thigh exposed for the air. 

Soonyoung takes no time to let his hands wander higher, taking light handfuls of the flesh of thighs, dragging his grip further and further up. 

“Nearly tipped the ship over when I saw you in those fucking trousers,” he says, eyes closed as he drags his mouth over the inner part of your thigh. 

The sound that leaves your mouth is breathy, mind preoccupied with how quickly he was making his way towards the apex of your thighs. He’s using his mouth like he used it on your own lips, nipping at the flesh before biting down hard. 

“Soonyoung!” 

Tongue running over the patch, he sucks on the area to sooth the bite. It’s taking everything out of you to not twitch uncontrollably in his hold, the heat in your core reaching temperatures you’ve never experienced. 

Unlatching himself from your thigh, Soonyoung rears his head slightly. The sight has your head rolling back, mind drifting to the face of the man who’d visited you in your dreams, the same man that had now made home between your legs. 

Before you realise it, the bunched hem of your nightgown is flown upwards entirely, fluttering as the fabric lands on your stomach. 

Your heat is bare underneath, evident with the way Soonyoung keeps his eyes on the now fully exposed part of you. Your chest continues to rise and fall as you lift your head to look at him, eyes half closed and mind muddled.

“What…What’re you doing?” 

Soonyoung looks like you’ve disturbed him from a trance, snapping up to look at you as you ask him your question. 

It hardly registers in his mind. What was he doing? Was it not obvious—

Ah. 

If the mere sight of your bare thighs weren’t enough for him to release his load onto the sheets untouched, your unawareness might just end up doing it for him. 

Of course you didn’t know why he was at eye level with your cunt; women from this world were not supposed to know. 

The buzz in his mind renders him useless for a few moments as his vision blurs, the pain in his lower region unbearable. The thought of him being the first person to do this to you, to pleasure you like this; he wasn’t sure if he’d make it till the end of the night alive. 

Screwing his eyes shut, his palms full of your thighs, he drops his head and counts to ten. 

“Will you let me show you how a Queen is meant to be worshipped?” 

Wet mouthed and unhinged eyes, your arousal was doing nothing but multiplying at the sight of him. 

“Do you trust me?” he asks. “I promise I’ll make you feel good.” 

It takes you less than a moment to nod your head, eyes locked with his. 

Bringing a hand closer, he dips one finger into the beginnings of your hole. Bringing some of the glisten onto his fingers. Your lips are parted and he brings a second finger to gather your arousal, rubbing over your entrance ever so slowly. 

The motion makes you let out a heavy exhale, gripping onto the bunched fabric at your stomach till your knuckles turn white. 

With little warning, you feel his fingertips push and drag upwards, right over the sensitive bundle of nerves. Immediately, he’s rubbing your arousal all over the area, rubbing your clit in rhythmic circles with both fingers. 

You can’t stop it when you throw your head back and let out a slight whimper, relishing in the feeling that overtakes every last sense and capability, anticipating the next surge of pleasure that courses through your entire body like you've been struck by a bolt of something.

Vision obscured, you loll your head to the side when you feel his fingers retract, confused. 

All you catch is the outstretched nature of his tongue, and how it lands directly where his fingers were. 

You let out the loudest moan yet, back arching off the bed as he licks a forceful drag up your cunt before moving back down your clit, circling your hole with the tip of his tongue, right before repeating. He flicks your nub right where he’s found you twitch the most, back and forth as your hips begin to fail at your suppressed stutters, his hands needing to pin you down onto the sheets to continue. 

He becomes more generous, laying his tongue flat now as he massages your nub so good. Your thighs are closing around his ears and he does nothing to stop you, nearly suffocating between them. Hips going from their stutters to a grind, you find your hands flying to his hair, grip tighter than you thought you’d come down with. It doesn’t help that he’s now taken a finger to circle your entrance while his lips suck on your clit. 

“Soonyoung.” It’s all you can say, throat incapable of forcing anything but his name, the burn behind your eyes only making it harder to not say it louder. 

When he pushes the finger in, it has you letting out a moan, the foreign feeling against your walls only forcing them to clamp onto his digit. Gradually, you feel his pace quicken as he slides his finger in and out of your hole, his mouth still doing beautiful things to your cunt. 

It doesn’t take long for him to shove in another finger, stretching your hole as you let out a constant string of noises through the pleasure, ever-building as every passing moment only scrambles your brain further. 

And then you feel him groan, a vibration throbbing through your system. 

It’s suddenly all too much, and before you can tell him what’s going on, you’re rendered incapable. You don’t know where your limbs fly, but all you feel is white hot and overwhelming to an unbelievable degree. 

“Oh–ungh—” Your body is telling Soonyoung all he needs to know as he only pushes into your pussy even further, letting you ride out your high as you claw at him in every way possible. 

Inevitably, the feeling subsides and you realise you’ve been reduced to sobs, tears streaking the sides of your face. Laying flat with your head still on the sheets, you stare at the ceiling of your four poster, trying to remember where you were. 

Barely noticing the man that now hover above you, you hear him whisper. “Are you alright?”

Nodding weakly, you don’t even try to lift a finger in the remaining aftermath. 

“I need words, my love.”

Swallowing thickly, you give him a breathy, “Yes.”

The lower half of his face glistens in the light like unorthodox diamonds, and all you can think about is how you need him closer to you. 

You make an attempt with your nightgown, your trembling arms, still coursing with the aftershocks of your orgasm. 

Soonyoung decides to help, hands pushing your spine into an arch as he pulls the slip up and over your head, now entirely bare in front of him. 

You watch as instead of throwing the fabric away, he brings it to his mouth to wipe the slick off, tainting the gown with your essence. 

Mouth over yours in a salty kiss, you pull him into you as close as humanly possible, needing to feel his heat, his weight, his scent as close as possible. His mouth reaches your throat again, lips brushing over the expanse as he places open mouthed kisses over the nearly faded marks. 

His hands are lingering once again as they ghost the sides of your breasts, thumbs coming close to your nipples before retracting in a caress. He takes them in handfuls as he goes back to busy your lips with his own, massaging the mounds with a pressure just enough to have you reeling. 

Flicking your nipple lightly, he goes back to circle the bud with thumb again. Making himself further familiar, his fingers begin to pinch and pull at them, pressing down to get a noise out of you, one that you sound as you breathe into his mouth. 

Trailing over your stomach, he pushes himself off of you. On his knees, he takes the distance as his chance to look at you in your entirety for the first time. Your fucked out expression and your lack of words is doing nothing but fueling him, your loud breaths somehow more sinful than anything he could ever do to you. 

In one swift motion, he’s slipping his arms beneath you, pulling you up so he can lay you against the headboards and pillows. You barely register what’s happening, having given yourself up to him long before. 

Grabbing one of the millions of cushions on the bed, he swings one over. Using no strength of your own, he lifts your hips and places it down beneath you, effectively propping you up. 

And then he’s meeting you at eye level, hands cupping your face. “I need you to listen to me, darling.”

He waits for confirmation, of which you can only nod, still seeing mild stars. “Do you want to stop?” 

It's a visceral reaction; the violent shaking of your head, the hand that flies to his bicep. “N–no!”

You pause as he grips onto your upper arms tight, right as you continue. “I just—a moment. Don’t stop, please.”

Leaning down, he places a long kiss on the corner of your mouth before moving his head to fit into the crook of your neck. He nuzzles his nose against the skin below your ear. 

“I’m right here,” he whispers. “For as long as you want me.”

His kisses go from desperate to something with a little more intent, pressing his lips into your neck consistently. Oh so gently, it begins to feel like a draught. He turns into calm just as he could become chaos, bringing you down from the after effects of his own actions. 

The hum that leaves you is unthinking, fingers remaining deep in the roots of his hair. Your own nose is pressed against his hair, his scent mixed with sweat infiltrating your nostrils. It fills your head with a pleasant buzz, one that you feel force a pull at the corners of your mouth. 

“I meant it when I said it,” you murmur into his hair. “I don’t want anyone but you.”

Raising his head, he meets your eye, smiling slightly. “I believe you. Forgive me for making you believe I was trying to leave you.”

“You weren’t?” 

He presses his lips into a line, exhaling as he drops his chin to his chest. “I’ve needed to be selfish my whole life just to survive. Leaving…I wasn’t sure how I would’ve gotten on that boat in the morning without taking you with me somehow.”

Moving back to look at you, you realise very quickly there’s more to the mere glassy look in his eye. “For once, I wished to be anything but a pirate, to be anywhere but near the sea. Not when you wouldn’t be there with me.” 

Taking one of his beautifully decorated hands to your mouth, you kiss the soft of his palm. “You’ve done more than anyone ever has to protect me.” 

You laugh against his hand, “This is my turf, captain. Let me protect you… protect us.”

Something injects you with a dose of bold, and you find yourself wrapping your arms around his raised shoulders. “But…I believe we were in the middle of something. I’d hate to ruin the mood.”

The smirk that graces his lips is immediate, pushing you back down onto the sheets as you let a laugh escape you. 

And then you feel something warm graze your bottom lip, pointed in the way it pushes inwards. He’s brought the glinting letter opener charm up to your lips, the trinket pinched between his fingers as he continues to keep it on your mouth. He kisses you deep as the metal remains between you two, your hands run across the expanse of his back, feeling the muscles ripple as he props himself between you. 

“I love you,” he cuts between the kiss to groan, the charm dropping from between your mouths to your chest. 

“I love you, mmh—” His fingers have found your clit mid confession, rubbing quickly as he attempts to get you all hot and withered again. 

Your legs raise on instinct, back arching as he rubs you mercilessly, the pressure building quicker than it had before. 

“I–I think—” you start to tell him, and it seems it’s all he needs to remove his fingers entirely. 

“Soonyoung!” you yelp, landing on the bed with a thud. 

Looking down, you find his hands wrapped around the length between his own legs, and you realise this was your first time seeing it. Past the white-oozing slit, his tip is a painful looking red. If his hands weren’t already pumping and he hadn’t already lined himself up to your hole, you would’ve taken him into your own palms, done exactly with your mouth that he’d done with his own. 

But you can’t find it within yourself to stop him when you feel the initial push of his bulbous tip against your hole, the stretch causing you to drop your mouth open. 

“Fuck,” you hear him curse, and when you look up you find his own eyes screwed shut. His hands grip the plush of the pillow beside your head as tight as ever, face askew like he was holding himself back from combusting entirely. 

Slowly, you feel the stretch turn into something akin to a burn, a sting in the back of your eyes. You let him push himself into you at his own pace, the never ending battle between your mind and your refrained hips ever present as you attempt to keep them at bay. 

He keeps his pelvis flush against yours ince he’s sheathed himself inside you entirely. BOth of your pants fill the thick air of the room, the throb of your walls around his shaft leaving a tremble in his forearm despite your forsake. 

Hand somewhere above your head, you feel Soonyoung pull out ever so slightly before pushing back in. Just like this, in shallow thrusts, he pumps himself in an out of your walls in a slow pattern. 

It begins with a simmering tremble of pleasure that prolongs as he drags his cock in and out, and then in and out, and then—

Your eyes fly open when you feel his hips slam against yours with a resounding sound, fingers gripping his arm as he does it again, your moans penetrating the air. Before you know it, he’s hiked your legs up to wrap around his waist, ankles locking as he goes back to snapping his hips into you. 

“Oh, Soonyoung.”

Your nails are digging into his bicep like it was the only thing tying you to this earth, the only thing keeping you from passing out entirely. He’s taken up a brutal pace, pistoning into your clamped walls with a vigour unmatched. 

All Soonyoung can hear is the stretch of your moans and groans directly in his ear, the obscene squelch of both of your fluids mixing at your middles. Your hands have migrated to his back, clawing at the skin like you’ve been utterly possessed. 

He can’t seem to mind, not when they’ll simply become reopening wounds every time he’ll have you like this, all to himself and no one else. He wonders vaguely if your guards outside can hear the way you’re losing yourself in him just as he is in you, wonders if it appalls them that a filthy pirate gets to have their Queen in his arms as her vindictive pleasure. 

One hand rubbing over your slick clit, he pulls back to sit on his heels, the angle allowing him to keep ever part of you occupied, his spare hand coming up to toy with the pillow of your breast. 

It’s all too much, for the both of you as your collective noises become increasingly frequent and high pitched.

And then he’s pushed you over the edge, the shake of your thighs electrifying as you nearly scream out in the bliss of your high. Hands moving every which way to find a grip as you let the feeling crash into you over and over again. 

“Oh, that’s so good, so good, oh my goodness.”

You’re still in the middle of your climax when Soonyoung can’t take it anymore, letting himself release his load inside of you like a mark. It’s a mess of force and pleasure as the both of you lose sight of your strengths and weaknesses, the feeling of his hot cum shooting into your walls only prolonging your orgasm even further. 

He continues to thrust, continues to play with your nub, continues to flick at your nipples despite the orgasm subsiding. It’s all suddenly too much all at once, the sharp jerk of your body and your voice asking him to stop. 

“Soon—Soonyoung, it’s too much.”

Hands coming to a halt and his thrusts slowing, you feel him ease himself out of you. 

It’s a sight Soonyoung doubts he could ever forget even if he tried, your still pulsating walls doing everything but keeping the milky white of his load inside you, globs of the liquid spilling out as you shudder near lifeless on the bed. His hands grope at the inside of your thighs, pulling your lips apart to take in the mess he’s made. 

He can’t help himself when he pushes two fingers into your hole, feeding his cum back into your hole right where it belongs. 

You’ve only barely started to come round when he meets you at eye level, plopping next to you on the bed. 

“Hi,” he grins. 

“Hi,” you breathe back, hands coming up to touch his face. 

He lets you breathe for a few moments as he finds himself getting off the bed to find your tainted nightgown, moving back to you to spread your legs and wipe you clean as best as he could. 

You find it within yourself to allow him to pull you into a sitting position, a cup of water from the nightstand pressing against your tired mouth. 

“Come on, just one,” he urges as you slump against his chest. 

You take a few sips as he coaxes you into drinking the full cup and half of the second helping. 

He gives up as he holds you against his chest, brushing his fingers through your tangled hair to push past your face. 

“Are you alright?” he asks you. Your eyes are closed when he leans down to place a peck on the apple of your cheek. 

“Mhm,” you muffle. “Want to sleep.

“I’d let you, but…”

“Soonyoung, I can’t go again,” you whine. 

He chuckles, “I meant to ask where we could find some sugar around here. You barely ate anything at the ball.”

“The kitchens?” you answer with a floating question mark. 

Soonyoung can’t help it when he squeezes you so tight it has you complaining loudly, not being able to sustain the love just in the tiny expanse of his heart. 

“Come on, let’s get you some cake before both our hearts give out.”

BUNDLED UP IN WARMER clothes, the only thing the palace walls hear is the tiny whispers and giggles of you and your lover as you make your way to the kitchens. 

It’s empty at this time of night, the dying embers of the fireplace the only source of light. Soonyoung uses every last bit of his thievery to manage to find a basket of dough balls, the syrup more readily available at the table in the centre.

The tingling in your brain can’t seem to decipher the overwhelming happiness that floods you from the ends of your hair to the tips of your toes. Especially when you call out his name amidst his shuffling, your heart can’t take the grin on his face as he hurries to join on the floor in front of the fireplace. 

Arm looped through his own and your head on his shoulder, you decide you’d be quite okay dying like this. 

The dough balls are cold and the syrup is probably a little too sweet, but you can’t possibly complain when it warms you just the same. 

“I’ve despised my name my entire life,” Soonyoung starts in the silence, picking at the insides of his treat. “Some old merchant sailor was giving his ship away in exchange that the taker would take care of it. He’d built his Tigress from the first board to the last sail, but the years had made their mark. It was practically falling apart when I took it off his hands.”

He pushes the remaining bit of the pastry into his mouth, muffled as he continues, “He had a strange name, said it was given to him by his crew when they realised he was born without a name. Hoshi. I liked it well enough so I kept it.”

“Soonyoung—”

“That one. I wanted to replace the name I loathed, the one my own mother gave me.” You watch as his throat bobs as he swallows. “Ash is my birthplace, my mother worked in the brothels where I was born only because she couldn’t get rid of me.”

Taking one of the hands that wrap around his arm, he brings your fingers to your mouth, kissing the tips of each one. “I despised that name, until I heard it from your lips.” 

“Soonyoung.” It felt right on your tongue, like you were destined to say his name. 

“Yes, my love?” He smiles softly. 

“I love you.”

“I love you more,” he says as he kisses you again. “Thank you for keeping my name, thank you for giving it life.”

You take the opportunity to grab one of the syrup soaked dough balls from the basket and stuff them into his mouth. “Enough, don’t tell me all this luxury’s made you soft.” 

It was a jab but a lighthearted one in any case, you loved to see this side of him and you doubt you would ever get enough of seeing him like this. Vulnerable with his softer smiles and squinted eyes. 

Bringing one of your digits to your mouth, you suck the remaining syrup off your fingers. 

Soonyoung is quick to take notice as he takes your hand and brings your fingers up to his mouth, running his tongue over the pads of your fingers to take in the remaining sugar left on your fingers. 

He keeps his eyes locked onto yours as he sucks on the tips of your fingers, making sure every last hint of sweetness is gone. 

And then he’s kissing you, tongue in your mouth as he moves against your lips slowly. 

Breaking apart, you whisper, “As much as I’d love to, the bakers will be coming in any minute now.”

Soonyoung’s grin is dangerous, and you find out why the minute you feel his arms loop around your waist and under your thighs, lifting you clean off the floor of the kitchens. 

You squeal before you can help it, his lips finding home in your neck as you laugh as loud as your chest would allow. 

You could get used to this. And you will. 

THE SERVANTS CARRYING THE giant stack of plates nearly topple over when you sprint past them, yelling a loud apology over your shoulder as you do nothing but hasten your pace. 

The paper in your hands is clutched tight in your fists as you run to where your carriage awaits, near yelling at the driver to make it to the docks before the streets would be full of the early morning merchants and bakers, slowing the gallops of the decorated horses. 

The town is waking as your carriage races past, the beginnings of the new day making itself known as the sun peers through the gaps of the houses. You’re incapable of sitting still, your heels tapping against the floors of your cabin incessantly as the docks grow nearer and nearer. 

And then you see it, the rush of dock handlers that see the royal carriage slow to a stop in front of the boardwalk. You slam the door open before any of the tens could do it for you, breaking into a sprint as you find the distinct flag of the royal crest wave high on the other end of the docks. 

You had already seen Soonyoung off in the dark of the night as he made his way to the ship that was near ready to depart as you slide to stop in front of the anchored ship. 

There was nothing sane about what you were doing, the chortles and shocked noises of sailors and merchants deaf to ears as you finally spot him near the prow. 

His eyes meet yours and he has to do a double take. 

Panting and needing to hold onto your knees for support, you peer up as you watch him run towards the ramp that leads down to the docks to see you, to ask why you were here when he’d kissed you goodbye mere hours ago. 

By the time he meets you at the wobbly boardwalk, you’ve somewhat recovered.

“Are you alright?” he asks you as soon as you’re within earshot, hands grasping onto your upper arms in evident concern. 

“I had to tell you, this came in right after you left.” You brandish the paper clutched into your fist, smoothing it over as the light catches the red stamp at the bottom. 

It takes him less than a minute to realise what it said, eyes blinking rapidly and mouth gaping like a fish. “They…They said yes?” 

“They said yes,” you repeat, nodding furiously as you break into a smile. “We can get married, Soonyoung, they said yes.”

His arms are crushing you before you know it, wrapped around you so tight as he buries his face into your neck, repeating it like a mantra, “They said yes…”

By the time you part, he keeps his arms around you, still embracing you in front of the entire port. You take hold of his face bringing it closer to you. 

“Three months, and then you come home,” you breathe. “And I get to marry you, in front of everyone.”

Soonyoung lets his lips meet your own in a chaste kiss as he corrects you, “I get to marry you in front of everyone.” 

There’s a thud of something nearby, and you look up to find the crew of the Tigress hanging over the railings of the newly appointed naval ship that looked suspiciously like a pirate’s. 

“He can’t come back home, if he doesn’t leave!” Seungkwan yells over cupped hands. 

You’d like to send him an affectionate gesture involving your middle finger, but choose to save him in front of the crowded port. 

“You’ll miss me, Seungkwan, just you wait,” you send him a pointed glare that he simply scoffs at. 

He might miss you, but you’ll definitely miss the lot of them when you return to a significantly emptier palace. 

“Don’t let the royal snobs walk over you, you’re a better sailor anyway,” you tell Soonyoung. “Not that I needed to tell you, anyway.”

“I promise on our future wedding to be a complete menace.” He grins at the declaration as you admire him in the morning light. 

One last time, you memorise the dips and hills of his features, pressing your final kiss into his lips as the voices telling him to hurry it up grow louder. 

He blows you a kiss from the railings as the anchor is hoisted, and you send him one right back. 

As your carriage trudges its path back to the palace, at a pace more acceptable for both the stamina of the horses and the integrity of the structure, your eyes remain glued to the shrinking ship that fades into the distant horizon. 

There’s a pang in your chest, one that brings a tear to your eyes. It’s all very dramatic, the way the melancholy makes a home in your heart. An inkling tells you how you’ll probably become quite used to the feeling, learn to greet it like a friend. 

For now you enter the lighter palace, and take your place on the chair in your study and find solace in the ideas your mind brings. 

That no matter how long Soonyoung will remain far from you, he will always come back home to you. 

Always. 

[AN]: ty for joining my babies on their journey, i cannot thank you all enough for reading all 48fuckingK words of this i love you guys truly!!! thank you for all the reblogs and comments on the other parts, it makes me genuinely so happy to see you guys enjoy this universe that i've built. I read every single comment and know i appreciate all of it so so much <3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Riddle, Rook: By Order of the Queen

I wrote this one during a very busy time for me irl so I apologize if I didn’t end off the Platinum Jacket line of imagines strongly 🙇‍♀️

A Tale as Old as Time.

A young girl, an older man, and an odd hare shared the same table. The latter two were sitting upon it, propping their feet on the cloth.

Pots of tea—each of a different design—did not match the cups. A mouse poked its head out of one, curiously staring at the girl. Bent spoons sat beside the saucers, gigantic sugar cubes floating in pools of tea.

Riddle stared at the painting intensely, picking apart the details, the rules being skirted or blatantly violated. The man and the hare are not in chairs, there’s far too much sugar in their drinks, and is there even jam properly smeared on that dormouse?

“Roi des Roses, what about this painting has captured your gaze so?”

He startled at the deep timbre at his ear, jolting back. His shoulders relaxed when he met a familiar face. His heart, still racing, was unable to be wrested under control.

Devious, tumultuous thing, the heart.

Riddle cleared his throat. “A roundabout way of asking for my opinion on this work, Rook-senpai.”

The grin the Pomefiore student wore stretched, reminding Riddle of his childhood days. Cheshire smiles and sugar-coated memories, tasting far sweeter than the hours he toiled at a desk.

“Ah, do forgive me for the sudden request! As an avid fan of art, I love to hear different interpretations of the same piece,” Rook rambled excitedly. “A painting that invokes joy in myself, for example, may bring about despair for you, or vice versa! The wellspring of human emotion, expression, and experience is just that vast.”

With an exasperated expression, Riddle folded his arms. “… Well, I was just thinking that I would never allow for this sort of behavior at an unbirthday party. It would be an affront to the spirit of Heartslabyul.”

And yet…

His chest ached so longing when he looked at the illustration. A taste that remained long after he tried to wash it down. It drew a word out of him, pulled thin.

“However… I must admit, I feel a little envious of their quaint little tea party. It looks…” He grasped for the correct adjective. “… fun.”

Rook’s brows sprung up. “Fun!”

“You disagree? Or does it perhaps surprise you that the rose-red tyrant would make such a remark?”

I know what they say about me. The thought was tinged bitter like medicine as he swallowed.

“Non, non.” Rook wagged a finger, his eyes half-lidded. “You are correct in every way!”

“I beg your pardon?”

The Pomefiore vice dorm leader placed a hand on his chest. “My immediate family is quite large and likes to keep busy. Those few precious times when we are able to steal away and sit down for a meal with one another… Those are the most magical of all.”

“We each fall into our seats and—like a match struck, the moment comes alive. Words and laughter flow like fine wine, enhancing the flavor of the food that touches our lips. The weariness of study and work melts away in the dishes and drinks, replaced with good company in a safe, warm haven.

Riddle squinted at his senior. Suspicious. “… What is it that your family does for a living again?” When met with Rook’s still dubious smile, he sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s fine so long as you’re not hurting anyone.”

“Fufufu. Roi des Roses, I see that you’ve considerably lightened your evaluation of the rules.”

Riddle made a pensive sound, not confirming nor denying. “Mmm. Lately I’ve come to a realization.”

“And what might that be?”

He hesitated. “That perhaps the world as I saw it is not as it truly is.”

It feels like waking up from a dream. Tendrils of it still clinging to him as he made to rub them from his eyes.

Rook silently nodded, watching him. Not the huntsman stalking his mark, but a silent observer.

“I wonder for just how long I’ve been living in that false reality. Seeing the tea party and thinking it a disgrace…”

Something slovenly. In need of fixing. Out of line.

Wrong.

“Ah, but—” Rook raised a finger, “what matters now is that the veil has lifted. The line between truth and lies is that much clearer to you. That is the first step to any story: the beginning.”

Then his hand fell and grasped Riddle’s.

“R-Rook-senpai…?!”

The man practically glowed, his grip firm. “Now the decision to stay on the path or to stray from it is yours.”

To renounce the party or to join it, given the invitationz

Riddle pulled himself away with a frown. “Of course, within the limits of what is acceptable,” he lectured. “A minimum level of decorum is expected, even at the most ‘fun’ of festivities. Should anyone cause a disturbance in the peace—”

He raised his arm, slashing at the air once, delivering a strong blow to an invisible victim. Riddle, in his element, brimmed with smugness, arrogant as an unchallenged queen.

“—it will be off with their head!”

Without an ounce of fear, Rook laughed and bowed his head. “As the queen commands, so shall I heed her orders,” he drawled. A tilt of the head, then came a suggestion. “And if I were to drop by an unbirthday party to observe?”

“Because you asked politely, I may consider it—but see to it that you attend as your normal self,” Riddle warned. “That means I expect you to be on time, your behind planted in a seat at the table. There will be no hiding out in the bushes, no watching us from a distance. You are to stay and engage in all manner of merrymaking with us.”

“Oh la la!” Rook feigned surprise, throwing both hands up in an exaggerated act. “Is that a rule?”

“No, but they are orders,” Riddle clarified with an all-knowing smirk. “After all, it would be a shame if you disobeyed and missed out on all the fun we shall have.”

[wireman-au]

[OOC] hey hi! i have. a question for you that you do NOT have to answer but uh. what do all of the characters so far LOOK like? like what clothes do they wear, do they have inhuman traits at all, what objects do they usually carry, etc etc. (if you want you can include tango in this too because i’m cooking up ideas also if you have any ideas for like. a poster of sorts for this i would LOOOVE to draw it) but yes yes no pressure to answer!

well that seems like a reasonable stopping place for the night.

so! in my head there are a few details that are important about everyone we've seen so far!

both impulse and skizz are fairly big guys, but impulse is like, 5'9" and just built big in my head, while skizz is like, 6'4" and built like a linebacker in my head. i don't know WHY skizz is so Triangular to me, but know that he is.

impulse dresses like a dad who wears cargo shorts despite not being a dad in this au because i can't imagine a universe where impulse doesn't dress like a guy who shops at home depot but is slightly confused by doing so.

skizz is a little more varied, but also a little more practical for outdoor stuff because he works a lot outdoors. i also picture him as the kind of guy who would wear a tuxedo t-shirt? i think that would be funny. unnecessary detail.

both of them are otherwise relatively plain-looking.

etho has white hair because i am letting myself give in to a FEW not-realistic appearance things that are fun to have around. he dresses in plain colors. he does have a mask in this au, albeit a more normal one--think a cloth or surgical mask like you might see people wearing around in general these days.

as for tango... i'm allowing for red eyes, i think my conception of him in my head skews slightly more towards irl tango than some designs? he's blonde like his in-game avatar, but trying to explain more about his appearance details is... hard. bomber jackets seem like a him kind of thing for his casual clothes, though, so that's probably what impulse would picture him in.

there are also a few design details i'm not telling you right now about everyone because impulse does not know them yet.

[owmylasagna-blog]

hello lasagne 😸 hope ur feeling better by now!!, thinking about how ed and eddy would have def did the full splits on the Bulls float at Chicago pride this year ... don't know where that thought came from but eddy in cheeeader outfit is on my mind 😸😸

Aww thanks! Definitely still sick but holding in there 🤧

Hahah meanwhile Edd sits out the parade all together because he doesn’t care for crowds and objects to the vapid corporatization of lgbtq liberation. Imagine his shock when he sees his two best friends splitting it wide open on the front page of Chicago Gay Times the next morning.

Yes yes Eddy as a cheerleader would be awesome! I think Eddy has a lot of untapped talents so he’d obviously be really good. He’s too short to spot and too heavy to throw so he just does lots of backflips and everyone eats it up. The only thing he’d lack is team spirit, but the positive attention makes up for that.

I’ve had this idea of a varsity jacket with a little cheer pennant or megaphone patch on the breast that says “QUEER” instead of “CHEER”. I don’t have any idea how I’d make this IRL so I constantly toy with drawing Eddy in my silly made-up clothes lol

[devilart2199-aibi]

Does your Ethos walking slouched have anything to do with "outside influences"? While I agree that he does have that vibe I always wonder how much artist let themselves be influenced by Kakashi and/or fanon interpretations that shape the collective depiction of the character (for example the maple leaf instead of the uzushiogakure swirl)

I guess my question is how much is your Etho Kakashi? Lol

Ohh! This is a great question! Hmm 🤔

For the walking though! I really should have said 'a relaxed posture' rather than 'slouched' since he isn't really slouched in the animation. Just hands in the pockets sometimes, comfortably walking.

Etho has a comfortable feel about him, both the vibe he gives off and being comfortable with himself. Not a loud, eyes on me, personality. He likes to observe, listen and add on to a conversation. Where say, Bdubs, would lead a conversation, want to be complimented and have eyes on him. He would walk with an air of confidence, trying to be larger than he is and have a pep in his step. Or Tango, who has traits of both, but leaning more towards Bdubs, has a handful of sass and is happy to show you a thing or two, but when walking, might walk with a hand in his pocket like Etho or even arms crossed with a slight sway of his head to his step.

Of course, if they were taking care of tasks they would probably walk differently, more focused and wanting to get things done efficiently. This fits more as how they'd walk with each other / around others.

As for how i see my Etho!

Personality wise I wanna say he's 100% Etho. And visually... well he does have a Kakashi skin so it's a bit hard to go too outside the box. I want him to be recognizable. Keep the shape and where colors go, just change the clothes to try and form an 'Etho' within the Kakashi skin.

My one thing that's clearly unfaithful to the Kakashi skin is the fur lined hoodie my Etho design wears. I believe I saw that was a thing in community arts and added it. It's cool and gives a nice shape to the design, but I can't imagine Etho irl actually wearing one that big, maybe a fur insulated vest or coat, but nothing that huge hahaha.

My art has definitely changed over time, but here is the changing of my Etho design as well. He certainly had a more Kakashi flavor to him at first. (The glasses were for a request, but I included it for the shape of the hair)

At one point I even tried to change him further from the Kakashi fit by removing the vest and switching it to a bomber jacket with the colors in the same spots.

Design wise it's kind of a big catch 22. By moving Etho away from the Kakashi look you are also moving him away from his actual design and thus his look he chose. You can't exactly make assumptions on the pixels and form your own design because an actual design exists since the skin is based on something. It's interesting.

All in all, I like to think my Etho is him and not Kakashi, though it is a bit unavoidable because of the skin. Thank you for the fun question!! 😊

[systastic]

sissasystem based on these three songs?

No One’s Here To Sleep by Naughty Boy

Part Of The Band by The 1975

NOT ENTIRELY ALONE by The Narcissist Cookbook

only thing we request is that you use irl people as faceclaims! :D if not thats okay too

one sisasystem , made just for you !! :3 hope you enjoy ~

collective name(s) :: laynie, harrison, wendall, wilder, august, arizona, cavendish

collective sign off :: 🌅, 🛤️, their collective name, AMT (stands for amos, maxie & tj), yeehaw [ironically]

name :: amos, altair, layne, sav/saf (safia), bree

age :: 13 to 17

pronouns :: she/her, it/its, zhe/zher, xi/xir, di/der (dirtself), si/sin (sinself)

roles :: protector, persecutor, avenger, fear shifter, candorian

species :: human; embodiment of “sin”

gender identity :: syrvivgender, videretrian, analogix, missinggender, purgatorean

orientation :: cuiporomantic, autosexual

source :: brainmade, songtive (no one’s here to sleep)

aesthetic :: analogue horror, zombie apocalypse, darkcore

appearance description :: “amos is gross” : that’s what everybody says when they look at her. it cakes its hands in mud, lets its hair get greasy, re-wears the same clothes over and over again. zhe knows it’s unhealthy - but zhe can’t stop zhirself. letting xir guard down for even a second could get xem and xeir headmates hurt. di opts for darker, less noticeable clothes that dey can move around in; the more di can move, the less likely dey are to get trapped. si keeps sir hair long (no time to cut it), sometimes snapping it into a ponytail. when si does change clothes, si always keeps one thing on: a black jacket covered in patches si made with sir former friends.

personality description :: amos is most well known for her hostility towards people zhe doesn’t know. new people are seen as possible infected: kept at an arm’s distance, keeping communication to a minimum lest they be potentially hostile. zhe is quiet most of the time, often thinking about how zhey would deal with the worst outcome should it come to pass. (this often involves fighting.) even after befriending zher, zhey don’t get much nicer: zhey always have a backup plan in place in case the other person betrays zheir trust.

likes :: fighting hostile entities, keeping the way clear, survival skills, survival YouTube channels, pocket knives, portable gear, zombie movies where the humans win, first person shooters, PvZ, barbed wire bats, punching people in the face

dislikes :: sleeping, shadows, long creeping hallways that twist and turn, unsettling environments, things that upset the “norm”, zhemself (especially in terms of being a good person), other people, zombies seen as “good”, being called cute or adorable

front triggers :: bedtime (actively fights off going to sleep), physical danger, zombie media, eerie settings, hotel hallways, der source song

signoff :: 🐦‍⬛, ⚾️

mood board :: amos

songs for you :: run boy run by woodkid, enemy by imagine dragons, i love you by woodkid, DARKSIDE by neoni, the phoenix by fall out boy, daydream by ruelle

kins :: ellie from the last of us ; ace of clubs from the batman universe

typing quirk? :: prefers shorter sentences. proper punctuation. opts for simpler words to get the message across. does not capitalize zhir sentences.

name :: tj, frances, miles, wendall, rhodes

age :: 20, on the cusp on 21

pronouns :: he/him, hu/hum, per/pers, roe/roeself

roles :: absorber, optimist, caesian, energetic alter

species :: human through and through!

gender identity :: your typical male. he doesn’t really like labels, as he finds them more confining than they are helpful.

orientation :: bisexual with a preference for men

source :: brainmade, songtive (part of the band)

aesthetic :: wanderlust, americana (specifically wide open plains), campcore

appearance description :: tj is simply incapable of dressing normally. he is that one guy who wears shorts during the winter and long pants during the summer. hum reasoning? “hey, you never know, maybe we’ll end up in Florida today!” per likes to mix and match, but he does have some semblance of consistency: everything he wears is easy to move in and won’t end up with bloody knees if he does some parkour tricks. while he does wear some jewelry for funnies, he almost never takes those camping with him unless they’re designed for extreme conditions. breaking his accessories would be heartbreaking.

personality description :: the most out-there guy you’ll ever know. tj does things that make him happy whenever he feels the inkling to. this can be climbing on top of things, scaling walls, jumping up a tree, driving five hours to see a friend — he cannot and will not be stopped. unlike amos, tj sees the best in people and situations no matter what happens. he sees the silver linings in the grey skies: sure, the game got rained out, but hey… that’s perfect sleepover weather!

likes :: taking things as they come, road trips, long car rides, sporadic adventures, being active, camping, sitting around the fire, walks through nature, natural wildlife, having a good time, fucking around and finding out

dislikes :: people who can’t chill, hyper-specific organization, charters, control freaks, plane rides (can’t see the world go by), over-urbanization, pollution, hostile architecture, people being addicted to social media (he doesn’t get it — why fixate on a small screen when you can see the real deal?)

front triggers :: car rides, sightseeing, camping, being with friends, trips, natural beauty, worldly wonders

signoff :: 👣, 🪵, 🗺️

mood board :: tj

songs for you :: could have been me by the struts, the great escape by woodkid, where is your rider by the oh hellos, someone to die for by hurts, torches by x ambassadors, FUNGUS by the narcissist cookbook

kins :: bennett from genshin impact, indiana jones (allegedly)

typing quirk? :: rambles a heck of a lot, chronically allergic to punctuation, never swears and rather substitutes them for sayings (dangnabbit = damn, flipping flapjacks = flying fuck)

name :: max/maxie, jessie, waylon, cora, wilder

age :: 17 to 19

pronouns :: he/they (alternating), he/him, they/them, thon/thons, co/cos

roles :: apparently normal part, pseudo host, sensory soother

species :: human (asomatic)

gender identity :: cassgender, dazegender, coyotething

orientation :: gay, reciprosexual

source :: brainmade, songtive (NOT ENTIRELY ALONE)

aesthetic :: amateur photography, prairie, rustic

appearance description :: despite spending so much time in the sun and desert, Maxie is soft by nature. their clothes are kept clean and tidy, their hair is a reasonable level of messy, and they take good care of their skin. Maxie opts for large baggy clothing in neutrals and dark colors due to the fact they’re often outside.

personality description :: calm and comfortable, maxie doesn’t lean too hard one way or the other unlike his system mates. they are a watcher of all the things they can see, trying not to take things for granted. thon would love to share thons appreciation for the world with others — but with everything around them feeling like it’s falling apart, it’s harder and harder for thon to get people to listen. cos is horrible with conflict; whenever cos is faced with a problem, they switch out to let either tj or amos say their piece and (hopefully) smooth things over without starting a fight.

likes :: watching the sky, birds flying overhead, talking to people, rustic furniture, country music, playing the guitar, pottery, horses, coyotes and wild dogs, what has yet to come

dislikes :: things outside of his control, natural disasters, darkness, animal abuse, rapid urbanization, people forgetting his name (really, it’s so simple!), being talked over, people who don’t listen, conflict, picking sides

front triggers :: country aesthetics, wide open spaces, horses & horse riding, taking pictures, peace and quiet, howls in the night

signoff :: 🌵/📷

mood board :: maxie

songs for you :: fire by barns courtney, ghost on the shore by lord huron, foreigner’s god by hozier, the mute by radical face, swan upon leda by hozier, o susanna by the smoky mountain band

kins :: none to speak of, but he likes dolly parton a good bit. (and mater from cars, but he won’t admit to that one.)

typing quirk? :: doesn’t quite… finish their sentences. frequent use of ellipses… oh… lots of interjections… always seems a bit distracted.

[the-fiction-witch]

Pangolin

Media IRL

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster

Couple Thomas X Reader

Rating Sweet + Fluff

Concept Anxiety

Requested

Is there any possible way you could write and imagine on TBS where the main character has a bit of social anxiety and doesn’t know how to tell him that they have feelings for him?

"So what's her name again?" I asked as I worked on my hair 

"Y/n. She's Lisa's sisters work friend but they don't work in the same office it's weird" jack explained from his seat on my bed 

"Right." I nodded a little nervously. I don't particularly like dating at all. It's not exactly fun. Especially when you're in your thirties, most women my own age are desperate to get married and have kids, I had a woman say she only goes out with guys who've paid off their mortgage the other week. 

"It'll be great, we wouldn't have arranged this if we thought you weren't going to like each other. She's just your type and your perfectly hers" he explained "honestly how you hadn't already found each other and fallen deeply in love kinda surprised us"

"She does sound nice, everything you've told me sounds really good" 

I finished up getting ready and jack wished me well and headed home so I did a final check and locked up the house getting into my car and driving across town to the address I had been given it was actually a really cute little house but it looked almost completely shut up like knowone was there. I didn't want to text or call I felt kinda rude so I got out and headed to the door, no door bell, so I shrugged giving it a firm few knocks. For a moment no answer even if I could tell there was a light on Inside so I knocked again a little louder maybe she was upstairs getting ready but the door opened quickly.

She was just as jack had described her in a sweet black dress and jacket with her bag in hand 

"Hi"

"Hi, y/n right?"

"Umm humm" she nods 

"Great, I was worried I had the wrong house for a moment, Thomas" I smiled offering my hand she took it even if she seemed a little worried. "So shall we?"

She nods locking up her house and following me to the car I opened the door for her and she blushed a little as she climbed in. I climbed in too and started off towards the restaurant, we didn't speak much and she seemed to be holding her handbag strap really tightly like noticeably tightly. But I didn't mention it. I parked up and got the door for her leading her inside. I spoke to the hostess and we were quickly taken to our table and we each got a drink. 

She seemed to kinda burry her head in the menu a little bit almost to the extent I could barely even see her but then again the lighting is pretty dim and some of this writing is pretty small so I didn't mention it. We spoke back and forth about things for a while until we ordered and they took the menus away, it was then I noticed in the quiet as I sipped my drink she seemed to be, kinda picking at her nails nervously, looking out the window, constantly adjusting the glass, the knife, the napkin. Eventually our food came and for a few short moment here and there it was really fun, we laughed and chatted but it was always kinda stopped again as if she wanted to continue but found it impossible to get her words out the little things continued the whole time we had dinner small little things she clearly was doing out of nervousness.

And I felt compelled to speak up

"Uhh y/n? Are you comfortable?"

"Oh I'm sorry. Really I am. I just…"

"What is it? I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"

"No! No you've been ever so sweet Thomas. I'm sorry I told Lisa this wouldn't be a good idea." She says "I'm so sorry. I just… I'm not great in social situations. A Lot of anxiety. Like really really bad social anxiety."

"Oh, that's okay I'm not the greatest social either." I reassured her

"That's sweet, but really I have alot of fear and anxiety with this sort of thing. I don't even go out to get groceries anymore. And I work from home."

"Oh … really?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry it's not anything you've done you've been ever so sweet, but… I don't know."

"If your anxiety is that bad, if you don't mind me asking why did you agree to come out tonight?"

"I wanted to try and push myself. That and from what they said you seemed really nice, and honestly I am really enjoying being here with you under the layers of fear" she explained

"I like being here with you too. Well, I don't mind maybe dialing it back if that would make you feel more comfortable, maybe next date we could go to a movie somewhere quiet, dark, less people around?' I suggested 

"You'd want to see me again? Even if-"

"Of course, you've been lovely and I would really like to see you again if … you want to see me again?"

"I would like to" she nods even if you could tell she was struggling a little to push herself "I just don't want to be any trouble"

"It won't be, I'm sure while you get more comfortable we can work around things," I told her "would you like me to order us some ice cream?"

She smiled and nodded.

I sat in the garden enjoying the sunshine but keeping an eye on the time, 

"So how's it going with you and y/n?" Jack asks as he brought me a lollipop

"Good, you know you could have told me about the social anxiety do bad she can't get on a bus?"

"Is it that bad?"

"Yeah, did you not know?"

"I knew she was bad didn't think she was that bad? Soo bad then?"

"No, your right we are very well suited to each other we've been out a few times together, just have to be delicate with her I don't mind helping her out. I really like her she's so sweet." I explained "going out tonight actually"

"Oh where? Where does one take a social anxiety person in a date?"

"I found this little BBQ place they have little Booths you shut the door in and then sit and BBQ you own food on a hot plate in the centre of the table. I figured that would be good for her." I explained

"Hu smart."

"You know when she's not scared, she's really sweet and cute. We talk alot on the phone too I was up with five am yesterday just chatting with her. It is a little more work then someone who doesn't have anxiety but she's worth it. She really is worth it" I smiled just then my phone went off but jack grabbed it making me roll my eyes and continue with my lollipop before it melted 

"You have a texted from pangolin? What the hell and who the hell is that?"

"That's y/n" I answered snatching the phone back "she's a cute little pangolin"

"What the hell is a pangolin? What's wrong with every other cute pet name in existence?"

"Because she is a pangolin. We went to the zoo and saw them. They are most active at night. Their adorable, their endangered, and when they feel threatened they physically roll themselves into balls of anxiety to protect themselves."

"...okay yeah that it pretty fitting." He laughed

"Yeah I thought so too, I got her a plush after we went to the zoo" 

"Ohh god. Did you re mortgage your house buying things from a zoo gift shop?"

"No, I bought one on Amazon while we were looking at the fish and it was at her house by the time we got home she was so happy she cuddles it everytime we call now" 

"You too are adorable."

I sat a little nervous checking my phone over and over, she was late. I had been seeing y/n alot lately and talking non stop, we'd been on a lot of dates now and things were going really well working around her struggles while still encouraging her to try to slowly come out of her comfort zone. But I know tonight I was intentionally kinda pushing it. Can't swim if you don't get in the water right, nothing too massive! Not like I was gonna throw her in the ocean or anything, but you know maybe time to come out the paddling pool into the hot tub, normally this place wouldn't even be on our list of considerable locations due to how busy and popular it can be, but she would love their food and their deserts so I wanted to take her. At first she was excited but then that little anxiety bug started to eat away at her slowly nibbling away since I brought it up. Now I sat waiting watching the clock, five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen all within a word from her. I was actually really worried I'd tried to hard. Pushed her too much. When my phone went off and I saw her per name as well as the little emoticon and I sighed a little in relief. Maybe she just got caught in traffic or something.

'I'm so sorry Thomas. I hate standing you up like this. I really should have said earlier. I know you're trying and I thank you for trying but I just can't do it. It's all just too much and today's been really rough so much so I can't even process the thought of leaving the house, I understand if that means you don't want to see me anymore, as I know it's hard for you to work around my problems, I'm so sorry but I understand if you don't forgive me. I'm sorry again and hope you can still have a nice time without me" 

I wanted to cry, I felt awful that I'd made her so anxious that she felt this way. It's my fault I was pushing way to hard. I didn't know what to reply I'd typed a lot but couldn't send anything.

But I got an idea, I abandoned the table and got the food we were going to order as well as a bunch of their ice cream and deserts all to go in little boxes, headed out to my car and I stopped at the fuel station grabbing a couple bottles of her favorite wine, some chocolate and a little bundle of flowers all they had where some little daffodils but that was nice. I drove to her house and knocked on the door a few times the house shut up as always it took a few rounds of knocking before she answered in her PJ's clearly been crying with her pangolin plush in her arms 

"Hi" she says surprised to see me

"Hi, I'm sorry. I pushed you too far. I know you can't help it and I didn't want to make you feel bad, I need to learn to be a bit more considerate of things, maybe plan us a few dates that don't make you anxious. It's not a problem really it's not well get there just takes a little time" I told her 

"You mean it?"

"I do" I smiled "I brought the food from the restaurant, maybe we could just have it here?"

"I'd like that" she nods 

I finished up with my shirt unable to control my wide smile watching her get dressed into her adorable dress, we had decided to dress up tonight as we often did for our little living room dates, but tonight was different we were going out, for dinner, for ice cream and maybe dancing if she's feeling okay. She looked so sweet in her little dress I couldn't help giving her a cuddle "ummm I'm so proud of my little pangolin"

"Why?" She giggled

"I know this is hard for you, I'm so proud of you" 

"I haven't gotten out the door yet Thomas"

"No, but you've made the effort, you had a bath, got dressed, did your pretty make up all with intention to do to it. And I'm proud of you for even just getting this far even if you can't make it out the door. Remember anytime you need a minute, you want to stop, or you wanna go home it's perfectly fine just let me know" I told her giving her a little kiss 

"I want to try and be out all night"

"And I proud of you for wanting to but it's okay if you struggle and want to come home it's no trouble. No trouble if my little pangolin needs time in her ball" 

I made sure to hold her hand as much as I could as we left her house and got in the car heading to the restaurant, I know she was nervous holding her handbag as we waited so I made sure to keep her close till we got to our table I ordered my drink and I was going to do hers as I usually did but she squeezed my hand and was brave enough to do it herself, and the waiter left us with the menus to get our drinks so I smiled and kissed her hand "proud of you my little pangolin. You brave enough to order your dinner to or?"

"No."

"Okay no problem, what do you want?" 

We got our drinks and I ordered for us both and we chatted a little while we waited and often she was fiddling with her little fidget toy I bought her to keep her hand busy so she doesn't sit picking her nails or moving cutlery around, all it really was, were two rounded balls with enough magnetic material inside they always stayed connected Allowing her to sit them in her hands and move them across her fingers as she flipped them one side to the other she'd gotten so use to it now she didn't need to look at it anymore. "Can I?' I asked and she handed them over so I had go with them and it was really relaxing and kinda Hypnotic "I think I should have got myself a set of these" 

"Thomas?" She asks nervously and I noticed I had been playing with it for like ten minutes leaving her without her anxiety toy

"Ohh sorry" I laughed giving her it back "I think I need a set of them" 

"They are calming" she smiled "well you keep stealing my slime at home"

"That's true. It smells like marshmallows, it's really nice."

"And you broke my metal toy"

"I didn't break your metal toy. It was a metal puzzle, that you used as a fidget toy. I didn't break the toy I solved the puzzle"

"Now I have two bits of metal. Useless." She giggled

"I'd put it back if I could figure out how I solved it" 

We had our dinner and went and got ice cream even if we had to line up for a while for it she got a little anxious but nothing a tight hand hold and some head kisses couldn't fix. We decided against dancing as the place seemed to definitely not be our kinda vibe tonight so we headed to the park and found a bench to sit on to watch the ducks, "I'm really proud of you tonight y/n. You did really good. I think we're figuring out ways we can make little nights like this work"

"I think so too" she smiled leaning on my shoulder

"Awww hi" I smiled kissing her head 

"Hi" she smiled "thomas?"

"Yeah?" 

"I really like you" she smiled

I kinda got teary, the whole time we'd know each other she'd never said that always too anxious to say anything like that to me, honestly we only really fiddled and kissed because of how long we'd been seeing each other it naturally just started happening, I'd never heard her say that she actually liked me. 

"I really like you too" I smiled

"Did maybe … you wanna be my boyfriend?"

"Awwww of course I do." I smiled hugging her tightly

"You thought you already were, weren't you?"

"I assumed I was. But it's nice to hear you say it after all this time" I cooed "I love you y/n my little anxiety ridden pangolin" I smiled quietly as to not scare her 

he turned bright red and for a moment I worried I'd pushed to far but she smiled and gave me a kiss

"Love you more" she giggled

[cosmic-m-b]

Hey. It’s been a while.

I’m back because I wanted a low stakes place to talk about gender. Too many people I know IRL are on my other platforms, so I came here.

I have been using the label, “nonbinary” for about 2 years? Maybe a little longer? And this year I finally understood that gender =/= presentation (as it applies to myself—I have known this about others for a while). I present fairly femininely, and even prefer to look feminine over looking androgynous or masculine, so I tied that into how I felt about gender, even though on the inside I feel fairly genderless. This summer I had that epiphany and started using they/she pronouns. I will likely go full send into they/them at some point because it does appeal to me, but for now while I’m still learning to reconcile my appearance with my gender, they/she works perfectly for me.

It has recently come to my attention, however, that I am a little uncomfortable with my name. I wouldn’t say it’s dysphoria (if after I describe my feelings someone tells me that it is, I will believe them), but it is discomfort.

I never had a problem with my name growing up. I don’t know if I ever really liked it, but I was used to it and it was mine. However, since figuring out a little more about my gender (which has and will likely continue to evolve), I am uncomfortable with such a feminine name. And I think that’s mainly because once someone hears it, whether in full-length form or my nickname, they immediately assume she/her pronouns. Most of the time, unless I’m wearing clothes with rainbows, I am not visibly queer. My fashion sense most days resembles that of a teenage boy, but in the most basic way. (T-shirts, jeans, and vans or converse) I don’t bind my chest, so I have a very feminine shape regardless of what I wear. (I do have a denim jacket with a pronoun patch on the sleeve, but I don’t really feel like that is enough.)

So anyway, I’m trying to come up with a new name for myself. I don’t know if I will ever go through the process of changing it legally, but I want something new to call myself that will better reflect how I want to be perceived.

I want to keep my initials as they are, in part because I’m a huge nerd and they fit my niche interests, but also because they feel like a big part of me, so I’m thinking about taking the name, “Corvus Mars,” and going by “Crow.”

In theory this is a fairly gender-neutral name. (Mars is arguably masculine but it just sounds so cool that I can’t let it go just yet.) My brain keeps worrying that the name might be too masculine or that people won’t take it seriously. I know my mom won’t, at least at first. I literally can’t imagine her calling me anything other than my given name, but that’s mostly because I have had it for 29 years. I also worry about my siblings thinking it’s stupid. I know that they would use it, but I can’t help but worry about them rolling their eyes when I tell them.

I also worry that I’m not cool enough to pull off a gender neutral name. It is yet another thing that I’m not “allowed” to do. (My brain has weird specific rules based on literally nothing. For example, I also wasn’t, “allowed” to identify as nonbinary or convert to Judaism. I obviously got over both of those.)

Anyway, if anyone wants to send some words of encouragement, it would be appreciated. I think most of my followers on here are bots now, but if any human soul is still around, feel free to comment.

[lookismaddict]

KIN LIST?????????????????????????????????????

AHHHHHH SON!!! THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!! 😩❤️ I’LL GIVE YOU EVERY TYPE OF RAMEN DISH THAT YOU WANT. Also, KIN LIST??? MINE??? 😳

Hmmm… Well, I do have a few in mind, so here’s my Kin List:

Mary Kim: I resonate w/ her HEAVILY because her attitude, her behavior, and even the way she interacts with people (esp with Vin Jin) is literally me irl. If I’m close to ANYONE (guy/girl) irl, I’d usually be the type to tease a lot and be the “big sister” in the friend group who usually supports. And I’d be the type to throw hands if necessary, but would never initiate for no reason. Also, her FASION SENSE TOO??? I KIN. DEF KIN. Omg you guys have no idea how similar I dress like her sometimes. It’s insane. 😭

Zack Lee: I feel like his humor and mine, are similar. I just… have a feeing. Imagine, Zack reacting to a bunch of memes (probably dank, dark, and offensive memes) on his phone and he pulls out some Vine references out of nowhere. And I STG, our taste in music would be similar. Zack would definitely listen to rap music like Kanye, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar, etc. Even the way he dresses (usually in streetwear) is one of the clothing styles I mainly go with whenever I dress up to go outside.

Johan Seong: Typically, the way he dresses is my MAIN go-to. Mostly, BLACK CLOTHING. Like bro… Majority of my clothes consists of 95% black clothes and 5% any other color. I’m not kidding. Plus, I can imagine me and Johan just chilling and walking out in the street, and some old ladies would ask us if someone died because we’re both wearing black clothing, which is just… our usual outfit. 🧍🏽‍♀️ Also, the way he deals with people who piss him off or is annoyed by them like he doesn’t give a fuck, is such a big personality trait that I kin with. When he doesn’t like someone, then he’d REALLY show that he doesn’t like them. Same goes for me irl too. I like how he doesn’t fake his attitude towards people as well, and he’d come for them like no one’s going to stop him. I fuck with that. 🤝🏽🖤

Lua Im: Lua got a bit of fight in her too, but I like how she isn’t really the type of person to fight in the first place. Similar to Mary’s explanation, she wouldn’t resort to fighting unless she has a good reason to. I also like her personality, and how she involuntarily handles things funny and does some “dorky” things when stressed (because honestly, me too girl). I’d panic and I’d say or do the dumbest shit ever and I’d just embarrass myself even more to the point that I want to die. 💀 In addition to how I kin with Lua through her actions and personality, I really mess with her sense of fashion too. Yeah, I know she rocking the Stüssy top and that one simple style with the hoodie and the jacket over it, because I’d wear those irl. Not joking. She’d def vibe w/ streetwear too, as if she’s the female version of Zack Lee.

Vasco/Euntae Lee: Vasco’s cheerful goofiness from the older chapters is something that I can relate to. Especially when I’m out with friends, I usually act like a fool whenever I’m with them. And tbh, before I even started to simp for Gun, Vasco was my comfort character LMAO. Because he was such a cute Cinnamon Roll back then, and now? What happened…? 😭 I even see Vasco as the “fun older brother” too. Man, if he was my older brother, I’d def want to ask if I can hang out with the Burn Knuckles Crew until it’s time to go home because they’re all so fun and lively!!

Daniel Park: Even though Daniel is attractive (even in those recent chapters 👀) I view him to be the “brotherly type” who'd protect anyone. That’s the type of vibe I get from Daniel. (To be honest, between Daniel and Vasco, I think they'd be the best "big brothers" ever.) Or, just a male/guy best-friend who you can always depend on and talk to whenever you want to rant/vent about something. I kin with him because I always have the urge to help out people who are having a hard time, and I usually offer to listen to friends’ issues irl because I’m aware that we all need someone to talk. If no one’s there for them, then I don’t mind being someone’s shoulder to lean on. In addition to his kind-heartedness, I relate to Daniel because of the whole “bullying” thing. Back then when I was in elementary school, there was a girl that used to bully me by poking me, flicking me, etc. And she’d even turn people against me so I wouldn’t be able to hang out with certain people (but eventually I became friends with her and we settled our differences ig). I even asked her what was the reason why she bullied me back then and she said it was because of the way that I used to look and the clothes that I wore, which made me look “dorky”. 😀 Sooooo, that’s why I kin with Daniel strongly too LMFAAAOOOO 😌✨

[itsbrucey]

hihi brucey you mentioned naga glenn and uh i have some snake suggestions for him :] IF YOU HAVE A FEAR OF SNAKES I’M VERY SORRY/GEN (i’ve never had an intrest in snakes and all of a sudden my brain was like i need to share the beauty of australian snakes so i am so sorry for this nahdkhdskhdk)

Red Bellied Black Snake!! They’re know for being very venomous and deadly but also they just lie in the sun a LOT and can be confused for truck tyres and fun lark fact i stepped on one once and it tried to bite me :] i was wearing a gumboot so it was fine but yeah yeah- a glenn snake because of the colouring tbh i think it’d be cool especially if he’s wearing a cool leather jacket as well

Tiger snake! Never seen one irl before but again very much deadly also a glenn snake but more on the yellow side but like firey naga glenn does that make sense?

This is a blue bellied black snake! Basically the first one but cooler (like colours cooler pun unintended sorry that was a bad one) A very Jodie snake if i think about it but could also be glenn!

This is a desert whip snake and fun fact about the little guy is that apparently he was discovered last year in 2023!! Apparently but the internet can lie akdhdkdjkd but again glenn colour pallete but also nicky? since orange and blue are jodie and glenn’s colours and put those togehter you get nicky?

Uh that is the end of my weird snake talk :D i think i was possesed by Steve Irwin or something becuase i’ve never felt more passionate about snakes. I will draw naga glenn and harpy henry and stuff ahhdjhrhehhe but just wanted to share design notes/ideas? Sorry for falling into your inbox with something completely unexpected!!

NO DUDE I LOVE SNAKES!!! I'm not super knowledgeable about them but I adore them and I'm seated and listening.

THAT COLORING FOR GLENN??? SO TRUE??? Looked them up and they got these dope black tongues....a metal snake. A cool ass snake. This snake IS RAD. GLENN-CORE!!!

The tiger snake also works so well,,,,,grrrrrrRHAHAGGAGHH. WITH THE GOLD????????????? I can almost imagine. The two mashed together bc the fiery golden yellow and the red and the almost metallic black...... Both are so good I literally can't pick.

AND THE JODIE SNAKE!?!?!??!.......?..! I like the idea of it being Jodie bc y'know. Blue n Red. Jodie n Glenn. At least Jodie is blue-coded and Glenn is red-coded to me but I've seen it switched up :] If they're red n blue bellied black snakes though that would be so funny... they are forced to be foils in every timeline.

I love the desert whip snake...it's one of those animals where the head is a smidge too big and it's so cute.. big agree on the color mash-up btw!!! I'm throwing my hat in the Snake Headcanon Ring by offering up either the Regal Ringneck snake or the CLASSIC Horned Viper bc.....well.....get it....he's a...demon...badum tssshh

( the Regal Ringneck snake btw which is SOOOO PRETTY. I was tinkering with a Swap au for my OCS a while back and Marley would've swapped with Eli, making her a big naga creature and I thought it would be silly if she color scheme was a blue n yellow to contrast his red n green!! And this snake was on the Vision Board)

PLLLLEASSEEEE SHARE ALL THE IDEAS AND NOTES YOU WANT. I love OCS. Worldbuilding. And character design so much and you can fall into my inbox anytime :] I'll try to fish you out in a timely manner next time /j

[thechildbesuffering]

Okay so basically here’s how this is gonna work…

Jin is going to deviate from me IRL in some says, so Jin is gender-fluid and uses any pronouns on account of shapeshifting semi-often.

On to the triviaaaaaaaaaaa and loreeeeeeee

Jin’s Ruyi Jingu Bang looks like the one from Monkey King: Reborn, but slightly thinner.

As a result of shapeshifting the way she does, Jin’s voice ranges from sounding like it normally does to sounding like a near identical replication of her own voice, this is because she herself sometimes remembers her voice differently.

Jin hums the HELL out of different KANA-BOON songs during battle, some demons find it annoying.

Wukong is transfem and uses any pronouns.

Wukong is going to look like she does in Monkey King Reborn, it’s not that he isn’t using glamour, she’s just using them differently.

Jin and Wukong’s relationship is like Luz and Eda’s but if Luz was a smaller Eda.

Jin has four distinct clones that painfully and embarrassingly emulate the personalities of fictional characters.

Jin intentionally made sure that in her monkey form that she is shorter than most people in order to not appear intimidating.

I want Jin’s hero alias to be "Monkey Jin" because I wanted it to roll off the tongue better.

Jin once won a fight between two demons after she yelled “DESTRUCTO DISK!” accidentally while throwing her staff. She was too distracted and hit the ground so many times that it caved in on the two demons. She doesn’t consider it to be a win though.

Jin once also yelled “RASENSHURIKEN!”, which she also thought was funny.

Jin constantly quotes DBZA during normal conversations, battles, or training.

Jin anonymously conceptualized her own merch.

Jin dropped out of college because why not? She doesn’t need to further her education when college might not exist in 200 years.

Jin has a monkey form that she assumes when in public using her powers, but that form uses male pronouns on the rationale that people expect a Monkey King.

Jin wears glasses when she’s not doing hero stuff, the only times where Jin isn’t seen wearing glasses if when she’s using gold vision or while she’s in monkey form because she can just glamour them away even when she is wearing them.

Jin’s powers weren’t limited in the same way that MK’s were, this is because Jin came to the realization that imagination-based powers aren’t too much of a hassle. However, Jin’s power was halved but she can use any one of the powers from the get go due to having somewhat of an understanding of each one.

Wukong doesn’t withhold as much information from Jin compared to MK, the things Wukong does hide from Jin are some things that Jin already knows.

Jin watches and reads Chainsaw man (more on that somewhere).

Jin meets Wukong a week after the defeat of DBK, that’s when she gets her power halved.

Red Son and Jin are “friends” for the most part, it’s a little bit strained considering the fact that Jin left DBK in worse shape than MK did in canon.

Red Son and Jin go skirt shopping on Sundays (Yes, they call them “Skirt Shopping Sundays”).

Jin has gone through a multitude of catchphrases before realizing that it just isn't for her. Everything that she does yell is wildly inconsistent.

Jin’s power being halved and not limited means that she is semi-immortal, very durable but not invincible, and ages slower.

Jin can levitate to a degree, although she spends most of her time doing Sonic poses four feet in the air rather than making better use of that power.

I think I want Jin to go through a jacket change with every major event/battle.

Despite any forms of damage that Jin takes being significantly lessened, she doesn't trust herself not to fall or mess up if she were to try and use the staff like a pogo stick.

I also want something to happen where the staff is somehow destroyed and Jin somehow making peace with herself causes it to reconstruct with a navy-blue base with cracks that are sealed up with some gold liquid.

When Jin lost the staff, she didn’t feel like a part of her was incomplete, she felt like a part of her self died. It felt like a part of her had died and had no chance of returning.

Wukong’s training sessions make it very clear when Jin makes a mistake, one slip up and he will aggressively show her how much of a hindrance it’ll be during a real battle (Similar to Macaque's teaching method in S1 E9).

Screw putting the Staff in her ear, Jin shapeshifts it into either a bracelet or a choker when she’s not using it.

Jin taking off her jacket during training or a real battle means that she’s taking it more seriously.

Jin cannot construct things out of other things like MK can, like the Monkey Mech, not like she needs it anyway.

Jin was convinced that if she were a JTTW character, she'd be Tang Sanzang or Zhu Bajie on account of being somewhat lazy, never in her life did she expect to be thrust into being Wukong's successor.

Jin's only unique power is to tap into Wukong's intellect, improving her memory. She also uses it to polish her martial arts when she's training alone.

The second that Jin had a firm grasp on the 72 Transformations, she threw her estrogen in the trash and phoned her doctor.

During the LBD situation in this AU, Jin is more of a threat without her staff and powers because she was angry at herself for losing them in the first place, she learns they were never gone and she mellows out a little until she and her friends actually saved the world.

If all of Jin’s power was siphoned off or stolen (obviously in the LBD arc, it wasn’t stolen, it was jusr sealed off), Jin would most certainly die immediately because Jin does not take care of herself.

Jin turned her staff into a gun once, it shoots smaller staffs and she thinks it’s funny when she revealed it to a demon that one time.

Jin and the reincarnations of the Pilgrims have a discord gc together. The reincarnations of the other Pilgrims aren’t Pigsy, Sandy, Mei, and Tang in this AU btw.

Jin already didn’t take care of herself before becoming Wukong’s successor, her body becomes entirely self-sustaining thanks to her nigh-immortality.

Jin nudged the entire Moon with her staff and flew straight to the Moon after Wukong insinuated that a certain someone would be pissed.

Chang’e was extremely understanding and gives Jin moon cakes as a parting gift every time she visits.

Gender Euphoria makes Jin stronger (it’s my self insert au and I get to choose the power ups >:P ).

Jin practicing making clones along with her negative emotions basically created her own Macaque or Ink MK (Xīn).

Jin watches and rewatches multiple Monkey King movies to find ways to creatively use her powers.

Sleeping on her Kinto’un is the only way that Jin can sleep on her back comfortably.

Jin makes income from commissions and in mail or presents from fans.

Jin’s nigh-immortality is probably the one thing keeping her arteries from destroying themselves as a result of her using the money from her commissions to order from DoorDash several times a week.

Ironically, Jin gets the best use out of her power when she’s not thinking (it’s a “don’t think, just do” kinda situation).

LMK exists in Jin's universe in the same way that it does in ours. In their free time, Wukong and Jin watch the show together and Wukong spends that time pointing out any inaccuracies that she sees.

Jin’s fans send her LMK lego sets.

Jin uses her Kinto'un as an excuse to sleep anywhere that isn't a bed in her own room.

The clones in Jin’s mass clone army pose would all be giving their enemy the middle finger.

The first time Jin used the full 100% of Monkey King’s power, she gained a white circlet around her head, after the battle (and nearly killing DBK) the circlet tightly constricted around her head and burned her, giving her a circlet-shaped scorch mark that she doesn’t feel like hiding.

Jin once used the Staff as a back scratcher and got smacked in the head by it, she never used it like that again.

Macaque isn’t evil here, he and Jin get along pretty well.

 (Real quick, if Jin had some sort of doppelganger (like Macaque is to Wukong) what would I call them?) EDIT: I gave them a name!

Xīn uses any pronouns but they/them are preferred.

Xīn never intended to be the dark to Jin’s light, but finds it fun now.

The few things Xīn does that Jin is okay with is acting as Jin’s evil shadow self on Tumblr.

Xīn orders a lot of McDonalds breakfast under Jin’s name.

Xīn and Jin basically become the friends that constantly rip on each other and pick fights all the time.

Xīn‘s outfit was initially a darkened, singed, and tattered version of what Jin was wearing at the time, Jin buys Xīn clothes as result and knows their fashion sense well because it’s just an edgy version of hers.

Xīn’s existence basically works like the shadow clones in Naruto, they won’t go away unless they want to.

Xīn turned their staff into a halberd with a purple base and uses it less frequently than Jin uses her staff because their spear is less durable.

Xīn has their circlet on permanently unlike Jin.

Xīn doesn’t have shadow powers or anything like that, their energy is just dark and they’re generally just edgier than Jin.

Xīn‘s favorite Sonic character is unsurprisingly Shadow but also Blaze.

Xīn listens to drop pop candy, like, religiously.

Everyone only sees Xīn as some evil version of Jin, something Jin feels bad about.

Xīn is the only clone that’ll stick around, their basically their own person.

Even then, whether they want to or not, Xīn simply can’t exist without Jin’s power. So when Jin gets her powers sealed off during the LBD stuff, Xīn’s either severely weakened or they’re just gone altogether until Jin learns to make clones later in the arc.

Onto Jin’s other clones!

There’s Qiáng, who constantly radiates Power from Chainsaw Man energy.

Qiáng uses She/They pronouns.

Qiáng is basically a lazy ass, except when she wants to be a little shit, in which case she will go the extra mile to mildly inconvenience any of their victims.

Qiáng acts a lot like a cat, the annoying kind.

Qiáng‘s pretends to suck at basic stuff to get people to do things for them.

Qiáng‘s battle strategy is LARGE SICKLE, JUST SLICE THINGS.

Qiáng turned her staff into a sickle with a hot pink base.

Qiáng offhandedly insults Jin at least once every time she’s created.

Qiáng thrives on McDonald’s Happy Meals.

Then there’s Nǎo, basically Sans.

Nǎo uses any and all pronouns because she’s apparently too lazy to pick any.

Nǎo uses their speed to appear to teleport or appear in multiple places at once to mess with people.

Nǎo is the kind of person to wear large parkas in the summer.

Nǎo uses gold vision to appear serious or intimidating.

Nǎo‘s pupils glow faintly even without gold vision.

Nǎo frequently makes jokes, puns, and deez nuts jokes.

The only time Nǎo’s hands are out of his pockets are when he’s using his staff, which none one will ever see because he’s too lazy to pull it out.

Nǎo is secretly protective of Xīn and Qiáng, seeing them as siblings despite them being facets of the same person.

Nǎo somehow gets tired more quickly than other clones despite them all having nigh-infinite stamina like Jin.

Nǎo knows how to code to an extent, although not enough to really get anywhere.

Now for the Reincarnated Pilgrims! (excluding Jin)

Sanzang’s reincarnation gets cicada wing powers, sound based powers, and the ones that Sanzang has in canon.

Longma’s reincarnation is a huge Demon Slayer fan.

Wujing’s reincarnation has awesome water powers and crazy strength (did you know that Wujing’s staff has size changing powers too? Awesome).

Bajie’s reincarnation is sometimes at odds with Jin, although not as much as Bajie was with Monkey.

Longma’s reincarnation instinctively lets Sanzang’s reincarnation ride on their shoulders, they don’t know why...

The Pilgrims (including Jin, excluding Wujing’s reincarnation) actually lived together as kids (Wujing’s reincarnation visited frequently tho).

Sanzang’s reincarnation is not a monk. They aren’t opposed to violence and can kick some serious ass.

Longma’s reincarnation and Jin spar sometimes.

The reincarnated pilgrims seeing Xīn next to Jin for the first time played out like that one icarly episode with the ostrich.

Jin has somehow always seen the Reincarnated Pilgrims as siblings, whether it was because they lived together, or whether it was destiny remains a mystery to her.

[shapom]

stupid question but do you have any hcs or any pic references for the members in nynfgf? like how they dress or how they look etc etc… love ur writing so much ^_^🩵

not a stupid question! thank you for asking !!

😅😅 this makes me feel like a bad writer but i feel like most of my headcanons will just be in the story ? i do have a lot of ideas that build the main couple up but maybe I should have some ideas that are separate..

headcanons (READ AT YOUR OWN RISK bc most of these will be in the story later):

-nayeon has penis envy. she tried to use the bathroom designated for alphas as a kid and got in trouble. she's comfortable and doesn't have dysphoria but she does really want one. she has an absurd collection of straps in every length and thickness to please the omegas she hooks up with -jeongyeon's first gf was significantly older than her and it was an *interesting* dynamic -momo is an omega who has only ever dated omegas. she's been in love with mina since they met -sana is capable but was not ambitious in school so she worked low stakes jobs after college before taking a sales (phone operator) job at jeongyeon's company. she worked on a different floor before she was promoted to a contract hire (her current role) and happened to spot jeongyeon 1.5 years before the start of NYNFGF. she had a huge crush on her and immediately tried to meet her but was unsuccessful. that's why she's so casual about offering to help jeongyeon and hooking up with her, she never forgot about jeongyeon (but she isn't obsessed) -jihyo isn't closeted but is pissed at having to perpetually come out as an alpha who is into alphas. she likes really masculine types who are never into her -mina had some internalized homophobia before she dated momo and tried to date alphas. all the relationships ended badly (she also had bad taste in alphas) and she is kind of an omega version of a misandrist

SMC will show up at some point but have very small roles so i'll save their details for the story

i have somewhat deliberately not visually defined the members bc i want people to imagine what they like. nayeon definitely has that brown hair she will never give up though HAHA

visual references:

i have two ideas for Jeongyeon. i mainly like to imagine her similar to this WIL look, but with actual hair / not the bad wig lol. she has jet black hair (or black or brown) and it's short

if people don't like this look i have also imagined her around FS era. the point is she has a natural hair color and a low maintenance haircut

style wise she wears suits (black or gray with a white collared shirt and simple tie) to work but doesn't wear the jacket when she's at her desk. i don't have any jeongyeon references here bc all the suits she has worn have been too fitted or too baggy. i imagine this jeongyeon to have less of a feminine body/less curves so the suit does fit her more like a man (loose, isnt tight on her hips or bust). her height is supposed to be the same IRL but if ppl want to imagine her a little taller that's fine too

Sana i imagined her close to how she is now, but maybe less supermodel looking? less thin, with a fuller face, but with brown hair. i like this IGY pic bc it's recent but she doesn't look intimidatingly hot like she does in her Prada ads..

style wise she dresses very in line with japanese fashions, except her clothes are kind of simple and structured. she doesn't wear clothing with a lot of ruffles or overly feminine patterns but always looks very feminine in contrast to how simple her clothes are if that makes sense?

sorry for potato quality

these photos are not examples of what she would wear because she is a little more feminine than this but they're an example of how feminine she looks wearing a simple outfit if that makes sense ??

omg i think i spent an hour on this ask i hope this helps anon and sorry if the visuals are different that what you wanted!

[rassicas]

Summary of the new Splatoon character chart from the Nintendo JP website

I spent a couple hours writing up a summary of all the new, noteworthy, or otherwise obscure information from this character chart. Basically, if its lore that’s been mentioned in a more known source like a sunken scroll or in the game itself, I left it out. Click the link above to see the chart, its interactive and more than what I can fit in a single screenshot. Summary under the cut, with my own notes written in brackets.

Agent 3/S1 Player character -came from a region a little far from Inkopolis where there are many prosperous towns. they left their parents at age 14 and moved to the city. [old comic in the 1st artbook followed this backstory. mentions of parents are rare in splatoon lol] -the age that inklings gain their humanoid form varies, but its usually around age 14 [mentioned in 1st artbook, nice to see it brought up again] -some inklings keen on turf wars participate in competitions held in distant lands [probably in reference to IRL competitions] Agent 4/S2 Player character -came from a place about 40 minutes away from Inkopolis square by train, so they didn't have as much longing for the city as the S1 player character -was too busy with extracurriculars to know who Marie/the squid sisters were [previously mentioned in the S2 artbook] -many Salmon Runners have become "addicted" to the work Pearl -She thought of the Squid Sisters as rivals, but the 2 duos hit it off when they performed together in a distant foreign country. -When she gets serious, she builds up emotional energy by hopping side to side [in the JP version of Octo Expansion, she does this to build up her special to use the princess cannon. this was localized to her warming up her vocal chords in English.] Marina -She loves shoujo manga and practices her crosshatching -She got the groove of the squids in her soul after hearing the Inkantation [bringing this up because in the JP dialogue there's no mention of being 'freed of the oppression of Octarian society' or whatever. She wasn’t literally sci-fi mind controlled by Octavio, and still holds some respect for him despite leaving the Octarian world] -her description is "Maiden in love," the word for "love" seems to be the romantic type. [pearlina real???????] Callie and Marie -Callie loves the outdoors, while Marie is bad with both hot and cold weather -Their debut happened after their performance at a youth singing competition in their home region caught the attention of Shy-ho-shy, who then went on to become their producer [mentioned in Splatune album jacket] Agent 8 -worked in combat in Octarian society -really looks up to Agent 3 and has a “strong mental image” of them. Watched the battle between them and Octavio. [the inner agent 3 fight was never real, its just 8's active imagination. hence the name “inner” agent 3.] Judd and Lil Judd -Judd's eyes are able to instantly determine the winner of turf wars -the voice that you hear when first arriving in inkopolis is not some out-of-universe narrator, it's Judd talking telepathically -While Lil Judd is always plotting to backstab Judd, his plans fail because he's too small -Lil Judd is basically an omnivore, but is especially interested in 'crispy prawns' -once again it's brought up that judd and lil judd are the only 2 mammals to exist, and that judd is immortal. [considering Lil Judd was intended to be a back up for Judd in case he died in cryo freezing, I wouldn't be surprised if lil judd was immortal as well. hasn’t been confirmed tho] Capn Cuttlefish -[if you played Octo Expansion then nothing really new in his info, mostly stuff mentioned in the chat logs.] over 100 years old. made the zapfish plushies that appear in place of the real zapfishes when you replay a level. Annie and Moe -Annie is a fan of metal music -Sheldon sometimes asks her to help him decorate weapons -Moe is a bit overweight because Annie feeds him a lot of sweets

Crusty Sean -he can sometimes sense that Judd and lil Judd are looking at him in a "i want to eat you" way, but he doesn't seem to care. -not new info, but the tidbit about why he uses tickets instead of cash is mentioned. Basically when he first set up his food truck, the long lines were bothersome to the folks running The Shoal, so he worked with the Inkopolis chamber of commerce to set up the ticket system to cut down on lines and bring customers into The Shoal as well.

Jelonzo -his store doesnt sell pants because jellyfish dont wear pants [makes sense lol] Jelfonzo -He won the National Karuta Tournament on his first go because of all the old books he read to memorize the Inkling language. [This tidbit was referenced in splatoon 2's sunken scroll 8 but was never really explained. Karuta is a japanese card game thats been around since the mid 1500s.]

Sheldon -The building that houses Booyah Base is owned by Sheldon's family [I think this was mentioned before in a 2015 famitsu interview] -Sheldon's grandpa, Ammoses, made a fortune off selling weapons for use against the Octarians during the Great Turf War

Spyke and Murch -both came from the same town in a nothern region [previously mentioned in a famitsu interview] -Sea urchins are good at processing Super Sea Snails, and use their spines to dexterously remove the insides -the process of applying chunks is described as a technique(technology?) developed by Murch, and that sea snail shells are used to reapply gear abilities -Flow loves to dote on Murch

Flow and Craymond -Flow loves to drink alcohol, and when she gets drunk, she loves teasing cute kids. [in the 2nd artbook theres art of her getting drunk.  In the chart, her thoughts on the player character is that they are a cute kid. This also explains why she dotes on Murch] -her age is unknown but the inklings think of her as a 'cool older sister' kind of lady -Craymond cleans up parasites that may have latched onto Flow

Bisk -the 3 shoes he wears are his favorites -mentions the thing about him leaving his lover to pursue a band career in the city of Inkopolis, but that’s not really new info CQ Cumber -Kamabo Co. continues operation nowadays just for the sake of those living in the Deepsea -CQ detonates the ink-filled backpack on test subjects when they fail without hesitation because they're faithful to their duties -life form created solely to operate the deepsea metro. there are many of them spread throughout the metro. [this tidbit was previously mentioned only in Haikara walker concept art and the Nintendo Dream interview in 2018] Telephone/Tartar -being left alone for over 10000 years made it go from 'lonely' to 'completely out of control' [the 'lonely' part was previously only mentioned in a couple dev interviews, nice to see it brought up again] Iso Padre -the bag he carries is said to be filled with 'hopes and dreams' DJ Octavio -described as indomitable, and able to escape and rise up after defeat -his wasabi DJ style is unique to him -the music played throughout the Octarian world is mixed by him. The rhythm regulates the dilligent octarians [again, Octavio is not literally mind-controlling his soldiers! think of 'regulate' like how a commander keeps a military in line.] -He once hijacked Inkling airwaves to provoke the Inkling world. The Inklings, however, thought it was a new promotion or something and didn't care, but they appreciated the music. Octarians -Extremely dilligent, follows the music that is played in Octarian society -due to their diligence, they dont really care about how their designs (of their machinery) look -There are two types of octarians: those that are made from tentacles cut off from a host, and those that can become humanoid. more limbs=more intelligence [Essentially, it seems that Octolings reproduce the same way as Inklings, while other Octarians like Octotroopers are made through severed tentacles. octarian reproduction FINALLY clarified after years of confusion massive W] Mr Grizz -described as a mysterious entity, seen by nobody and unknown whether he really exists -the benefit package for Grizzco is described as "excellent" : free transportation, no overtime, and free uniform rental -golden eggs are used as a high-performance energy source, and may be contributing to the overall energy situation in Inkling society [i speculated this for years FINALLYYYYY THEY CONFIRM THIS OUTRIGHT] -some inklings are addicted to the experience of using the illegally modified grizzco weapons, since its a feeling you cant get in normal turf wars... Salmonids -They can live in both land and water, and have the intelligence to weaponize junk that sinks underwater [like ive been saying guys salmonids arent a bunch of dumb animals, thanks] -many of them feel that they are prisoners to their part time jobs [im unsure if this is referring to ω-3 or to salmonids as a whole tbh] -[personal note: the "smoke rises from the 7 rings" bit from the sunken scrolls is brought up and not explained, but i finally realized... the seven rings is in reference to a shichirin 七輪, a small charcoal grill... the literal translation for the kanji is "7 rings." same tattoo ariana grande got lol]

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Ride the Cyclone Kids and The Lake

in which the kids go to a lake to hang out!

(loosely based on when i once went boating with my irl best friend)

For sake of the concept, Constance’s parents own a boat

Mischa BEGS her parents to let him drive it

He did his research!!

With WikiHow

“How To Drive A Boat (with pictures)”

Ocean’s gotta wear a life jacket, but she’s not happy about it :/

The lake’s deep, though, and there are waves from other boats, so she’s gotta stay above the surface

But Ricky also has to wear a life jacket, so it’s okay!! She’s not the only one who looks silly!

You know how sometimes a life jacket will ride all the way up to your neck and it literally feels like you’re being strangled by it?? That’s these two in a life jacket

Penny is like “you think i can touch the bottom of this lake” and then tries to swim to the bottom of this 125 foot deep lake while Constance is screaming “PENNY! PENNY NO! PENNY!!!!!!”

Meanwhile Mischa is like “i bet she can do it”

Noel, like anywhere they go with water, prefers to stay dry

He doesn’t really like the idea of floating in water he can’t easily reach the bottom of, especially when it’s over twenty feet deep

He’s kinda worried about something grabbing his foot and pulling him under

But he REFUSES to wear a life jacket because he doesn’t want to look stupid (like Ocean) (it only looks stupid on Ocean, Ricky is fine)

So he sits on the boat and watches the others most of the time

Mischa and Penny try to swim back to the shore

When they’re several miles out in the middle of the lake

Constance looks away for two (2) seconds, looks back, and these two dummies are breaststroking their way to land

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!”

Mischa and Penny also personally put together a nice playlist for the trip

Well

“Nice” might not be the best word for it

It’s certainly…something

It starts off normal. It’s got songs they all like, and the other kids are starting to wonder if maybe they should let Mischa and Penny choose the music more often

And then it all escalates

They’ve got the STRANGEST assortment of songs

But not even all of them are songs!!

There was two minutes and fifteen seconds of fucking BLENDER NOISES

“What is playing right now??” “That’s the scene in Ready or Not where Grace gets her hand impaled by a nail”

They get to this song, and the others are all staring at Mischa and Penny, while Mischa and Penny are trying their best to hold in their laughter

Penny: Constance, you like Vocaloid, right?

Constance: Yeah, I love Vocaloid! :)

Penny:

Constance: I don’t like Vocaloid anymore

Imagine driving by another boat and bass boosted The Lion Sleeps Tonight is blasting from the speakers

The real bread and butter of this trip, however, is when they pull a tube behind the boat

Poor Ocean goes FLYING

She gets jostled around a lot, and then finally loses her grip because she’s about as strong as a stack of cards, and is just LAUNCHED

Homegirl PINWHEELS through the air

Mischa tests his luck a little too much on his turn

He keeps putting his hands up in the air and won’t hang on

He gets what’s coming to him when the tube hits a pretty large wave, and he wipes out HARD

Penny!!

This gal has an Iron Grip

They could not flip her at first

But then they convinced her to ride on her stomach

Finally!

Victory is theirs!

She hits a large wave and literally BARREL ROLLS off

“MY BOOB CAME OUT” -Penny, frantically fixing her bathing suit

Meanwhile everyone else is crying because this is so much fun

Noel’s turn!

He makes the grave mistake of letting go to move his hair out of his eyes, and when he does, he kinda bounces, smacks into the tube, and then ricochets off

Ocean is on the floor because she’s been WAITING for this, and it’s so much better than she had expected

Ricky’s hanging on for dear life when it’s his turn

The tube ends up flipping under him, and when it gets pulled away, nobody can see him, and they were all freaking out

And then he appears from the water like :}

Finally, Constance!!

The SECOND she sees a molecule of slack in the line, she knows she’s going down

Sis literally BACKFLIPS off the tube

She was ROLLING across the water

She could hear Mischa howling with laughter from where she was floating

At the pier, Penny jumped into the water and caught a turtle with her bare hands

[your-daily-biaswrecking]

Hello! can you do a scenario with fem!reader and father's best friend!namjoon? I totally understand if this is a concept you're uncomfortable with. All the armys are going crazy with the dilf!bts concept so I need to have this 😭

Tbh that's a hard concept (like absolutely don't do this irl y'all plss it's not okay if it's not fiction– go in the notes to read my PSA pls) so I had to write a bit of plot at the beginning just because I wanted to make it as less weird as possible lol

Namjoon wasn't the type of family friend you got to see a lot growing up. He was, however, the type of friend you got to hear about a lot. Your dad had spent his high school years being in a band that never really had its break, and Namjoon had apparently been the youngest member and your father's favourite. He kept talking about how he "raised" him, meaning he helped him get his first kiss and taught him about girls. Then your dad got your mum pregnant right after graduating, and they both decided to move to the US to find a job and start their family. Your family. And so your dad lost touch with his best friend.

He talked about him quite often, and you knew he had even visited once when you were still too young to have a memory of it. You had only ever seen a couple of pictures of them together; Namjoon looked like a very cringy 13-year-old with a terrible haircut. Not that your dad as a teenager looked any better. But that's beside the point. It doesn't matter what he looked like back then, today you probably wouldn't be able to even recognize him even if he passed you on the street.

"Did I tell you? My best friend moved here from Korea! The band kids are back together!"

Namjoon came back into your father's life at around the same time as you left it– moved away for college. And you kept getting all these updates on how great it was that they found each other again, how many things they did together and in general how happy your dad was. When you visited home for Christmas, Namjoon was away so you didn't run into him. And almost a year after he had moved there, you would finally meet him during the summer. Your father invited him for dinner one hot evening in July.

You opened the door to find him standing outside, your mother just a step behind to greet him. “Joonie! So glad you could make it. Come on in, come on in... Ah! As you know, this is our daughter.”

The man was tall and handsome, nothing like the pictures you had seen. And familiar. His eyes met yours and he smiled, making your blood run cold— you had seen that man before. Not even a week ago, staring at you at the bar while sipping his whiskey until you decided he was too hot and couldn’t be older than 30, so you walked up to him and gave him a napkin with your number and a lipstick stain of a kiss on it. He never called.

“Wow,” Namjoon said without his tone matching his words. “She has grown up so much.” And he looked you up and down again, checking you out kind of like he had done that night. Your entire face was burning, turning on your heels to get away. What the fuck kind of luck was that? He was your dad's friend? You hoped– you begged that he didn't recognize you. He wasn't saying anything, though his eyes kept on stealing looks, and so you thought you might have had a close escape. Until you run into each other in the kitchen. Alone. "Come here, young lady," he said in a deep voice that sent shivers down your spine. You already felt like you were in trouble. "Does your father know you go around giving your number to men almost twice your age?"

He was so close, eyes travelling lazily down your form with a smirk on his lips. "No," you choked. "I– I don't– You were staring at me, that's why I thought..."

"I was staring at you because I was trying to figure out if you were my best friend's daughter."

Hearing him say the words made your cheeks burn. Defeat. He had a logical excuse and all you had was that he was a little too much your type. And he sounded like he was scolding you, reminding you of your place. You lowered your head, really wanting to get out. "Please don't tell him."

Don't tell him I hit on you. Don't tell him I wanted to fuck you.

Namjoon didn't reply right away, but late that night you got a text from an unknown number. "I won't tell him anything."

He won't tell him anything. Perhaps that could be applied to what had already happened, or what would happen in the future.

You didn't text frequently, but you did nonetheless. And even though you were sure both of you would say they were simple, innocent texts, how innocent could they really be when the man already knew how you felt about him? Maybe you were crazy, but you thought he might like you too. Maybe he liked the fact that you liked him. It wasn't evident in anything he did or say, just the vibes you got from him those days he visited your house, or the way he looked at you when you were left alone for a second. The summer passed by so fast when every other day you met your father's best friend in one way or another.

When it was time for you to move back to the city where you attended college, Namjoon just so happened to be going there for some work too. And your parents were grateful that you had someone to travel with. The car ride was long and mostly silent. You had never been left alone for so long and suddenly you realised how hard it was to keep a conversation going without talking about how horny he made you feel just by being in the same, tight space with you. But the farther away you got from home, the less you cared about keeping your good reputation up.

"Where will you sleep tonight?" you asked him after he helped drop off all your stuff at your apartment late that night and was already at the door, ready to leave.

"I'll find a hotel," he told you, hand still on the door handle.

"You can stay here if you want to."

"Don't–" His plea was soft-spoken, in contrast to the intense way his eyes were piercing yours.

"Don't what?" you acted dumb. "All I'm saying is I'm sure dad would rather you stay instead of paying for a room. You're like family, anyway."

You noticed how he took in a deep breath, grip around the knob getting harder. "Don't bring him into this."

Saying that you two shouldn't mention your father was like admitting what was going on right now was beyond innocent. And even though your stomach clenched at his harsh tone, you bowed your head and whispered. "I'm sorry."

"This is so wrong," you heard him call loudly all of a sudden, making you look back at him. He was chewing on his lip desperately. "I was there when your dad got your mom pregnant. Do you know what I said? Fuck, man, how are you gonna get out of this bullshit? I shouldn’t be…"

You blinked at him, waiting to hear the end of the sentence. "Shouldn't be what?" You weren't gonna let him slip away that easily. You would push him until he had to say what he wanted to say. It was your only chance, anyway.

Namjoon sighed. He pushed the door closed and walked up to you steadily all while he was staring straight into your eyes. "Why did you give me your number that night?"

Your breathing was already getting heavier. You wouldn't back away. What was the point? He knew already. "Because you were hot. And I wanted you to fuck me."

He chewed his lip for a few seconds, watching your face as he contemplated his next words. "Why do you want me to stay over tonight?"

You gulped. He was so close, closer than ever. "Because you're hot," you whispered. Glance down on his lips. "And I want you to fuck me."

He closed his eyes momentarily before he was exhaling loudly. "Fucking– hell!"

And he instantly moved forward, one hand grabbing the back of your head as he brought your face to crush on his, mouths smashing against each other after all the times you had dreamed about it. It was so much better than you could have imagined, lips full and soft parting yours for his tongue to slip in between, making you moan. And you were trying to get closer and closer, almost tripping as you walked blindly further into the apartment. His jacket was discarded on the floor before your shirt joined it, and Namjoon was growling before attacking your neck with his teeth.

"Daddy..." The word truly slipped out of you, and he was pausing for a moment, pulling away to look at you.

"Really? You're really gonna call me daddy?" Your eyes were wide and cheeks burning, squirming away from him before he grabbed your wrist to keep you close. "Shit," he grunted, not sounding mad at all. "Alright, baby. Show daddy where your room is, need to get you in bed right away."

And you mewled at his words. You were there in no time, pulling the rest of your clothes off as Namjoon undressed too. Big and thick, he was even hotter like that, making you press your legs together as you took the sight in. And when he removed his boxers too, you got to found out his dick matched the rest of his body perfectly, long and thick and so hot it made your mouth water.

"Daddy," you whined as he started crawling over you. "You're so big. You're gonna tear me apart."

His large hand grabbed your jaw. "That's what you get for playing with big boys." And he kissed you ruthlessly again. His other hand travelling down your form until he found your pussy, fingers playing with your folds and humming in satisfaction. "So wet. Is that all for me, baby?"

"Yes, daddy," you moaned, hips trying to grind on his hand for some more friction. "I've been wet for you since I first saw you."

"Fuck. I know, baby," he breathed into your ear, two fingers slipping slowly inside you and stretching you out. "I could tell. You weren't hiding it very well, baby. How much you wanted me to ruin you. Which is why daddy's been hard for you all this time, too." Your breath was hitching as he was moving his hands slowly, not even trying to fuck you like that, just trying to get you ready for his cock. And he stopped. "Are you gonna let daddy fuck you raw, baby?"

You almost screamed. "Fuck, yes, daddy, please! Fuck me open with your cock."

Namjoon was growling as he retrieved his fingers from inside you. "What a dirty mouth! Who taught you to speak like that, you dirty, little whore? I thought you were a good girl."

Your nails were scratching his back as you whined and squirmed underneath him. "Oh, daddy, please! I need you! I'll be good for you."

And you felt the tip of his dick press against your entrance as he shushed you. "Alright then. Be a good girl for daddy and take this big cock like the good, little slut you are." And he shoved himself in you.

"O–oh my god!" you yelped. Namjoon didn't go easy on you, didn't go slow or gentle, he started pounding you fast and hard right away, truly fucking you open like you had asked him to. You were squirming underneath him but his body was so big and strong, it was caging you completely. And just to shut you up he kissed you again, tongue so deep in your mouth he was choking you. Namjoon was fucking you so hard he brought tears to your eyes, and you felt euphoric being used by him like that.

"My dirty, little cunt," he rasped after he freed your mouth. "Like taking my cock like that?" You were nodding, mewling, unable to speak. "What a good girl. Letting daddy fuck her as hard as he wants." He leaned back, grabbing your arms until he had your wrists pinned above your head and the new position gave him the ability to piston his hips against yours even faster, diving even deeper.

"Fuck, daddy, I'm gonna cum," you cried, legs shaking as they fought against his abusing thrusts between them.

"So easy," Namjoon panted with a smirk. "So easy to please you. Gonna cum cuz you've never had dick like daddy's before, huh? No one's ever fucked you this good? Those little boys your age, I bet they don't know shit about pleasing a nasty girl like you." He spat on his free hand and brought it right down on your clit, pressing on it hard. And you were moaning even louder. "There you go, baby. You can cum on daddy's dick now."

"Namjoon–" you yelped, and you felt your orgasm pop, gushing all your juices over him as he kept fucking you through it. He slowed down a bit, coming down to kiss you sloppily as you continued to whine with each thrust against your sensitive, tight walls.

"That's my good girl," he whispered, kissing you almost lovingly. "Don't worry, baby. We're not nearly done yet." And his thrusts slowly got deeper and deeper. "You really shouldn't have let me fuck you, baby. Cuz now I don't ever plan on stopping."

Masterlist | Part 2