#v;; the pirate heir

[sfznyxio]

THE DRIP MARKET OF THESE TWO GAMES IS CRAZY. brand new places at the same time: rinascita (wuwa) and amphoreus (hsr). I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HSR AND I DON’T THINK I’LL SHUT UP ABOUT THEM EVER.

fav designs of rinascita so far are hands down phoebe and brant. phoebe gives off nation leader vibes like jinhsi and brant is definitely a pirate. knowing kuro, their 3d models are gonna be sick. ik they’re gonna make brant extra bbg like xiangli yao and i won’t be mad.

OK SO TELLING ME THAT THE CHRYSOS HEIRS ARE VARIANTS OF THE 13FC??? GLORY TO THE FUCKING 13 WE ARE SO BACK??? YALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM??? they showed us 8 and 4 aren’t revealed yet as well as the ely variant at the end whose name is cyrene.

aglaea - eden

anaxa - su

hyacine - yae rin, sakura’s sister

mydei - kalpas (?) / kosma (?)

tribbie - senadina (not 13fc)

cipher - pardofelis

castorice - aponia (?)

phainon - kevin

cyrene - elysia

missing - vill-v, mobius, griseo, hua

last 2/4 unrevealed look like kalpas and griseo to me

maybe mydei could be kosma but kalpas-ified? idk.

marshal hua exists, but another one could happen.

we have 2 bronyas there so anything’s possible.

oh, another one of the heirs looks like phoenix hua.

[edit] going back to this, how could i forget my girl senti. since bronya and silver wolf exist in the same universe, it makes sense that there can be two huas, senti variant and marshal hua.

aglaea - eden

anaxa - su

hyacine - yae rin

mydei - kalpas

tribbie - senadina/vill-v (5 minis)

cipher - pardofelis

castorice - mobius (purple)

phainon - kevin kaslana

cyrene - elysia

4 unknown - aponia, senti, kosma, griseo

SO BROKE FOR NEXT YEAR BYE—

[whumpspicelatte]

Terry: King's Counsel Mini-Series Masterlist

Juno and Timorsia belong to co-writer @echo-goes-aaa / @echo-goes-mmm

King Terrance of Rhodantheia was the spare heir before a series of unfortunate circumstances landed him on the throne. Now it has been three years since he was coronated, and he is drowning under the weight of the crown. His council of advisors and looming need for an heir are not helping.

The arrival of Juno, a Timorsian slave, may be just the anchor Terrance needs to keep himself going. Pity how not everyone agrees.

In Chronological Order

Juno in "Birthday Present" by Echo (Juno)

A Boy Named Juno (Terry)

King's Counsel Extra #1 by Echo (King Jason V)

Juno in King's Counsel pt.1 by Echo (Juno)

Fit For a King (Terry)

Juno in "King's Counsel" pt.2 by Echo (Juno)

The Last Straw (Terry)

Bedside Vigil (Terry)

Aftermath by Echo (Juno)

Regress by Echo (Juno)

Two Steps Back (Terry)

A Mouth Filled With Blood (Terry)

Reverse AU : Prince's Solace

In another world a king, another time a prince, another day a slave. Four years ago, Terrance was abducted by pirates and trafficked into Tismoria, broken down piece by piece and sold under the ruse of being born into the slave caste of the once-conquering empire.

And yet again, a king is gifted a slave.

In Chronological Order

A Gift of Pomegranate Wine (Terry)

As Time Goes On by Echo (King Jason V)

To Be Grateful (Terry)

To Be Silent (Terry)

Relief by Echo (King Jason V)

To Be Obedient (Terry)

Bathed in Chamomile (Terry)

Numb by Echo (Juno)

[stray-kaz]

Masterlist

Fandom works! So much here...

All reader inserts are female.

Marvel

Bucky Barnes

T.L.C.

Girl Dad

Reds and Whites

Not Even a Candle

Reparations - 18+

Prologue   One   Two   Three   Four

Snow & Ice - 18+

One   Two   Three   Four   Five   Six   Seven   Eight   Nine   Ten   Eleven   Twelve   Thirteen

Frank Castle

Kiss Cam

A Touch of Crazy

Brothers In Arms

Frank Castle x Family headcanons

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

Time and Time and Time Again - 18+

A Baby Shower for Frankie

Two Pink Lines

Two to Tango - 18+

Baby Talk

Paper Ring

Blooded

The Opposite of Soft - 18+

Gone Off Half Cocked - 18+

Butterflies On Fire

A Stitch in Time

Look Where You’re Going

I Do

Matt Murdock

On Blind Faith - 18+

ONE   TWO   THREE   FOUR   FIVE   SIX   SEVEN   EIGHT   NINE   TEN

Headcanons

Steve Rogers

I Love You, But... - 18+

Shadow and Bone

Jesper Fahey

A Better Distraction - 18+ - Completed

One   Two   Three   Four   Five   Six   Seven   Eight   Nine   Ten   Eleven Twelve

Kiss & Tell

A Good Shot

Ruse

Little Lantsov

An Unexpected Prince - sequel to Little Lantsov

Tender

Trigger

Swap With Me - 18+

He’s A Criminal and He’s Mine

Safe Inside, Out of the Rain

Laundry Day

The Law of Loss

You’re The Reason I Hate Champagne

There Goes My Life - An Assortment

One Two Three Four Five Six

Mal Oretsev

Twice Wounded - sorta 18+

Nikolai Lantsov

Patched - 18+

All Patched Up - 18+ - sequel to Patched

Monkey in the Air

Daddy and The Fox

To Be His Queen - 18+

Kaz Brekker

Stray - request prompt

A Murder of Crows - Miniseries

Part One Part Two

Memento Mori - request prompt

Green - request prompt

Love is a Battlefield

Set, Charge, Boom

The Magpie Verses - Completed

Take Off The Mask , Caught , The Crow and The Magpie , Unmasked

Aleksander Morozova

Trouble Just Walked In - sorta 18+

Matthias Helvar

Scrubbed Clean

Tolya Yul-Bataar

Awoken

Top Gun: Maverick

Bob Floyd

A Soft Landing - 18+

Red Flag Week

Baby. On. Board.

Jake Seresin

Out of Bounds I, II, III, IV, V, VI - 18+

Bradley Bradshaw

Jukebox Jive

Lockwood and Co.

George Karim

Death and Doughnuts

A Personal Experiment - 18+

Stuck in the Middle With You - 18+ - requested

Oh Dear Baby - fic idea from @the-biscuit-agreement​

Oh How Time Flies - sequel to Oh Dear Baby​

Ghosts I Get, People Are Crazy

Anthony Lockwood

Between a Tree and a Lockwood - sorta 18+

Honey, I’m Home - 18+

Delirium

His Mistake

The Invitation

Walt de Ville

The Flower and The Serpent - 18+

one    two   three   four   five   six   seven   eight   nine   ten

Little Women (2019)

Laurie

Sugar & Spice - 18+

one

two

Zombies (Disney)

Zed Necrodopolis

Awkward Question

Betwixt

Midnight Resolution - 18+

Leo Grande

Three Day Hire - 18+

One   Two   Three   Four   Five   Six   Seven

A Very Grande Christmas

Austin!Elvis

Sky High

The School for Good and Evil

Rafal Mistral

The Sky Is Falling

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

Under The Blood Moon - 18+

The Heirloom and The Heir

Evil, Be Mine

You Shall Be Loved

Rhian Mistral

The Storian’s Favour

Back from the Brink

Bubbles

To Sleep and Not To Wake

Ben Hardy Characters

Billy / Four

Hold Me Close, Don’t Let Go - 18+

The Witcher

Istredd

Chasing Fire - 18+

One Piece Live Action

Roronoa Zoro

Buoyant

A Book and A Nap

Starless - 18+

First Kiss, Last Kiss

Keeping Watch - 18+

Double The Bounty - 18+ - Part One  Part Two

Sanji

Tall Blond Pacifier

Sand and Stars

Wind and Rain - 18+

Monkey D. Luffy

First Blushes

Usopp

In The Moment

OPLA Men

Dance With Me

Christmas Drabbles 2023

Scent of Pine - Shanks

Neatly Tied With A Bow - Mihawk

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice - Sanji

The Perfect Excuse - Zoro

Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward Elric

Happy Birthday To You

Rest and Recuperation - 18+

Tale of the Nine Tailed

Lee Yeon

Need - 18+

Sweet Home

Cha Hyun-su

Sunshine Part One - 17+

Let Me Do It

A Shop For Killers

Jeong Jin-man

Breathing

Time - 18+

Misc.

Ready or Not - 18+

Original Writing

Top Drawer

Quiet Peace

The Hat - 18+

Pirate Intro

Sweetness

Bandaged

To The Sea, My Love, To The Sea

The Uncanny Counter

So Mun

Oops!

Love & Pragmatism

To Spar or Not to Spar

Wong Yeok

Illicit - 18+

[scotianostra]

On 21st May 1424 James I was crowned King of Scots at Scone.

James I of Scotland was a complex and colourful king. He was a poet, a sportsman, a musician and a patron of architects.

James survived being kidnapped by pirates when he was just 12 years old - and the following 18 years he spent as a hostage to the Lancastrian kings of England.

In 1424, he made a triumphant return to Scotland and was crowned at Scone, but 13 years later he was brutally stabbed to death, his body dumped in the sewer below the Blackfriars monastery in Perth.

James Stewart was born in 1394, the third son of King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. By the time he was eight years old, he was their only surviving son. His brother Robert died in infancy and his other brother David, the Duke of Rothesay, died in suspicious circumstances at Falkland Castle while he was being detained by his uncle Robert, the Duke of Albany.

After David’s death, James was the heir to the Scottish throne, but he was also an impediment to the royal line being transferred to the Albany Stewarts. Fears grew for his safety and plans were made to send him to France.

In March 1406, he boarded a boat bound for France, but just days into the voyage, the vessel was intercepted in the English Channel by pirates who delivered him to Henry IV of England.

On 4th April 1406, Robert III died and the 12-year-old James was now the uncrowned King of Scots. But he was imprisoned in England and his uncle, the Duke of Albany, became regent in Scotland a position he had no intention of giving up.

James may have been a prisoner, but he was allowed to keep a small household and was treated well by Henry IV. This lasted until 1413 when Henry IV died, his son Henry V became king, and James was transferred to the Tower of London with other Scottish prisoners.

It took another seven years before James��� standing improved enough for him to be regarded more of a guest than a hostage - but it took a third change of monarch in England before James was finally allowed back to Scotland. Henry V died in 1422, and the regency council for the infant Henry VI were eager to organise his release as soon as possible.

Despite opposition from the Albany Stewarts, it was arranged for 1424 when he arrived triumphantly in Edinburgh on Palm Sunday, accompanied by his newly-wed English wife, Joan Beaufort.

Prominent members of the Albany Stewarts were found guilty of rebellion and executed, but a conspiracy against the King began to grow and he reigned for just 13 years before his death.

On 4th February 1437, the King and Queen were in their royal apartments at the Blackfriars monastery in Perth, when a group of about 30 people was let in by one of the conspirators against him. James was alerted and had enough time to hide in a sewer tunnel, but his exit was blocked and he was trapped and killed. He died in a pool of his own blood, stabbed dozens of times.

The assassin, Sir Robert Graham, is said to have screamed after his death: “I have thus slayne and delivered yow of so crewel a tyrant, the grettest enemye that Scottes or Scotland might have.”

James I was buried within the grounds of Perth Charterhouse, but the priory was destroyed in the reformation, now no-one is exactly sure where his grave is.

The last pic is a reconstruction of how the site at Scone may have looked.

[captainelliecomb]

WIP Wishlist Round Twenty

WIP Wishlist

make yourself another by aliveanddrunkonsunlight @aliveanddrunkonsunlight (1,200 words) 

Posted to Tumblr only, as far as I found. There are several other posts with more bits scattered around this tag.

Jaime x Brienne, arranged marriage, Joanna Lannister lives and changes some, but not all, things.

Things I Love: Arranged marriage stories, Jaime’s voice, Jaime and Joanna’s relationship, sweet young Brienne when they first meet, Brienne’s love for Tarth, the politics around Tarth and pirates.

when the sun shine, we shine together by cardinalgirl75 (9,340 words, first posted 15 March 23, last updated 28 March 23)

Summary: Brienne spent one incredible weekend with hockey superstar Jaime Lannister, only for him to break her heart when it was over. Four years later, she's moved on with her life and made a name for herself as the lead choreographer for one of the hottest shows on television--Lip Sync Battle. The last thing in the world she wants is for the show's creator to announce that he's pursuing Jaime to be one of the contestants.

Things I Love:  Brienne and Jaime’s voices and characterisations, Brienne the choreographer, the setup of the story, this iteration of Jaime and Ned’s long-standing feud, Jaime and the Flea Bottom kids, social media in fic, the Jaime and Starkling social media snarky conversation, the rhythm of the writing.

A king’s decision by Musing_and_Music @musing-and-music (5,958 words, first posted 21 Feb 23, last updated 31 March 23)

Summary: In 252, king Aegon V Targaryen decides to name prince Duncan as his heir once again. This decision will have long-term consequences for the kingdom and the royal family.

Things I Love: This sort of premise where Duncan and Jenny are set to inherit the throne, interesting, twisty political and interpersonal connections, Alysanne and her sweet flower crowns, the conversations, the quick whip of short chapters, Genna Lannister.

marvel at flowers you’ll have made by jellyb34n @nossbean (5,398 words, first posted 5 Jan 23, last update 24 Jan 23)

Summary: Since Jaime and Brienne were last together, the world has fallen apart and is starting to come together again. Going north to check in on the Winterfell settlement gone mysteriously dark, they travel a Westeros whose people are making sense of life when the dead walk, when flowers are used as protection against them, and where some don't care for the gentler approach. Brienne and Jaime navigate their own fractured history, the things they've done when apart, and discover that hope continues to grow between them, even after hurt, distance, and an apocalypse.

Things I Love: The sweet tension and pain between them, Jaime’s humour, the flowers, the world building, Brienne and the children, the history simmering between them, the way Brienne sees Jaime.

On the Breaking (and Keeping) of Oaths by auntie_social (2,620 words, first posted 2 Jan 23)

Summary: A masked man in a blue top hat has been orchestrating broken betrothals in King's Landing's high society for years. Though women throughout the ton had him to thank for their rescue, when Jaime Lannister begged for him to help his sister his pleas were coldly rejected. Jaime has long harbored thoughts of revenge, but when he finds himself forced into an unwanted betrothal there's only one man who might be able to help.... 

Things I Love: The world building, arranged marriage, the hero of the women throughout the city, highborn and smallfolk alike, the tone and pacing of the writing, the building thrill of the plot.

[msfantasy-anime]

That’s my Wife you Jerk!

Monkey D. Luffy x Reader

Summary: Luffy rescues his wife from the Big Mom pirates

Warning: based on whole cake island arch. Do not proceed if you do not want spoilers.

Part V

Now looking back, you could kick yourself silly for not taking Luffy up on his offer to join his crew when you had the chance.

In your fears of being chased and caught by the marines, you denied your a chance for adventure with the Straw Hat pirates.

It was so fun being with them that night. Why did you refuse Luffy’s offer?

Now you get to bask in your regret after having been chased and caught by the Big Mom pirates.

Standing before the pirate emperor, you wished you hadn’t gone aboard the merchants ship, when instead, you could’ve been on the thousand sunny, sipping cocktails and sunbathing on the deck grass.

A long fight later, and the merchants ship crew are long dead, and your fate remains at the mercy of Big Mom who took a keen interest in your strength.

“Ma-ma-ma-ma! You’re quite an interesting find! You must be the strongest Haki user I’ve ever seen, and by my experience, that’s definitely saying something. I think I’ll spare you.” Big Mom announces making you feel grateful at the prospects at your survival “You’ll be quite a fine addition to my family.” The feeling of relief is quickly fleeting, spiralling to defeat.

Once you’re married in, there is no escaping Big Mom.

“I’m already married.” You say, hoping to any god listening that Big Mom will spare your life and not force you to marry someone from her hoard.

“I’m well aware Monkey. Y/n.” Big Mom waives your excuse. “I think you would suit my son Katakuri just fine. Two strong Haki users are bound to heir a strong Haki protege.”

“Hell no! Listen here lady. I’m not marrying anyone! I’ve already got a husband, and that’s how it’s staying!” You challenge. Fears be damned, if you’re loosing your freedom, then it’s not a life worth living for.

“What makes you think you’ve got a choice girl?!” Big Moms voice seeps with venom. “You’d seriously rather die? What kind of idiot are you?”

“There’s no life if there is no freedom!” Your yell back, voice booming across the room with determination.

“Don’t you throw out your conquerors Haki to me you little brat! Listen here girl, that rubber idiot is on his way to my Island to take back his crew mate Sanji.” Your eyes bulge at the news. “Yes, that’s right. Vinsmoke Sanji is here marrying my daughter. Marry my son with no fuss and I won’t squash Straw hat.” You stare up unbothered at her threat. “Mark my words. If you become difficult, I’ll make sure Sanji has a hard and unhappy life.” Big Mom grins at your crumbling resolve.

You thought of Luffy and all of your past adventures together, and many more adventures ahead. That’s all you needed to reinvigorate your resolve. “Shove it hag! Sanji is a big boy, I’ll remind him where he belongs!” Big Moms vein pops from her forehead. “I’m not gonna marry your son and I’m not gonna join your stupid crew, because I already have a Captain! And my husband- he’s going to be king of the pirates!” You yell with all your might, making sure everyone felt the authenticity of your claim.

“Marriage or Death?!” Big Moms voice booms. But not a moment sooner, Luffy blasts through the wall, his hand impossibly inflated.

“That’s my wife you Jerk!” And with all his might, Luffy’s fist comes smashing down.

Dust fills the air, blinding you. Hearing the familiar echos of Luffy’s sandals, you begin to speak out. “Luffy! Take me home to the Thousand Sunny!” You demand, your wobbling lip coming to a stand still at Luffy’s maddening grin.

“Took ya long enough. Comm’on, the crews waitin’ for you.”

[burgerking-offical]

alright i am going to begin with all of the (non-train related) history of the isle of sodor

6200BC- Sodor becomes a separate landmass from britain, ireland, and mann

4000BC- the first Indo-Europeans arrive on sodor, and they functionally eradicate all pre-indo-european culture and language on the island

3000BC- the sudric bronze age begins, as there is large amounts of tin deposits on the island, and many nearby copper reserves throughout britain

2400BC- (Alleged) first king of sodor, Ardcaggee becomes king of sodor and (supposedly), defeats seven dragons, six sea beasts, five giants, one giant dog with four heads, three medium-to-large sized rodents, two plant monsters, and someone else vying for the throne of sodor who might have also been a plant (the 2nd century poem that recites these events is unclear)

1600BC- First sudric dark age begins due to an alleged volcanic eruption, which supposedly bathes the island in dark clouds

1100BC- First sudric dark age ends and business continues as usual

950BC- the celts invade sodor and allegedly place Faildergdóit, legendary high king of ireland, on the sudric throne

720BC- first known historical king of ireland, Machan I becomes king, and dies four months later of a disease that most modern historians suspect to be naegleria fowleri, as the king believed that snorting water up your nose was a good way to preserve your reproductive health, and a week before he died, he said he was experiencing headaches, insomnia, and other similar symptoms.

720BC- King Machan II, also known as Machan the Bloody becomes king and he is a really shitty king so all the people rise up and kill him and all his known relatives and the house of Killdane ends at two members

177BC- the island of sodor is taken over by another clique, this time being a band of pirates allegedly from a land that was approximately 4000 miles west of sodor, which wouldn’t make sense because firstly 4000 miles west of sodor is inland and also it’s in the americas, and secondly, the pirates spoke a language that modern linguists believe is very similar to Ingrian, a Uralic language from around what is now Leningrad, so chances are they weren’t actually from the west at all

154BC- The oldest descendant of sodor’s modern royal family, Ulf I, becomes king of sodor

46AD- sodor and ireland have the same king for approximately two minutes until he decides that he doesn’t want to be in charge of ireland

123AD- king Feradach II and his army single-handedly defeat a roman army at what is now barrow, which pisses off the romans and they continually try and invade sodor, and the sudrians keep fending off the invasions until the romans leave britain

312AD- Christian missionaries try to convert sodor, and king Aedan VI of sodor goes down to Rennes and kills the king of brittany, puts his 2nd cousin Breesha on the throne, burns down every church, monastery, and cathedral in brittany, and makes a law saying that everybody in brittany has to be a celtic pagan from now on

420AD- Queen Breesha V becomes queen and she makes the country significantly more progressive

573AD- Sodor and ireland have the same king again and they continue to do so until 732

732AD- king Eochaid III resigns and sodor is left with an interregnum for 12 years

744AD- the king of sodor would have been the heir to the english throne had he not died before the king of england did

871AD- sodor becomes a vassal of england, who decides that Ulf XII would become king of sodor instead of Robert III, who was very clearly the legitimate heir

1066AD- Godred I becomes king of sodor and declares independence during the english succession crisis going on at the time

1324AD- grandson of saint machan of harwick becomes king of sodor, and everybody hates him but they also respect saint machan so one day, he “accidentally” falls out of a window, and dies.

1389AD- king Rolf II is a fucking idiot and gets the whole country taken over by england

1401AD- england loses control over sodor

1450AD- england gains control over sodor again

1471AD- england loses control over sodor again

1499AD- the king of england says that sodor would be “An independent nation for three hundred and fifty years, if not more”

1797AD- a revolution takes place, inspired by the french one, and everyone’s lives get better

1799AD- the first complete constitution of sodor is written, and it is very cool and good (for a country in 1799)

1854AD- the sudric monarchy is back again, and about time too, and they rewrite the constitution to suck a lot

1892AD- sodor is absorbed into the UK, and they still retain relative independence with their own constitution that is very good and cool and is continually modified so it can stay good

1946- railway series is published by the reverend w awdry

1984- a television series is created that’s based on the railway series

2021- a shitty reboot of the television series is created and the governor of sodor makes it illegal to watch within the country and publicly denounces mattel for being fucking stupid

[aline-the-cat]

Okay! I just read your royal AU and let me raise you:

🙌🏻 Lost Prince Fairy Luffy 🙌🏻

Poor Luffy was just living his normal life with his adopted parents Makino and Shanks when a weird Marimo head specialist came along and told him he was the heir to the throne of the pirate fairy world (I would LOVE to make Zoro a Fairy, but for the sake of his swords, lets make him a specialist)

he kind of expects Luffy to have breakdown (like any normal person would do) but Luffy just takes one look at him and goes: alright! Its adventure time! :D

Of course he talks to Shanks and he reveals that he is a adopted! (Zoro: why are you surprised about that, idiot?!). Basically Shanks worked for the former Fairy King Gol D. Roger (Luffy's uncle :D) but he, his family and Luffy's mother were killed by a complot, no one knows where Luffy's father and older adopted brother are; Shanks escaped with him as a baby and almost gets himself killed

Luffy says goodbye to Makino and Shanks (who cant go back "cause you know, they still want to kill him and he doesnt know who they are, plus, makino is human)

So Luffy goes to Grand Line High (?) A school for fairies and specialists alike ruled by director Whitebeard, where he meets the rest of his crew friends

Zoro is his first and best friend and of course there's Nami (fairy), Ussop (specialist), Chopper (pixie that evolved to a fairy), Robin (fairy), Franky (specialist), Brook (magical esqueleton that was a fairy when alive :v), Jimbei (magical professor) and of course: ... Sanji (specialist)

Sanji is one weird specialist if Luffy says so, he loves all fairies equally and fawns over almost all fairies, except Luffy

With Luffy he turns almost shy, just being around the sunshine freedom fairy is enough to make Sanji's heart flutter for some reason

And oh, by the way Sanji is a fugitive prince from his magic kingdom the Germa 66 who ran away from an arranged marriage with a witch's daughter who he never really met

He normally is so smooth around pretty fairies (simp) but then he sees Luffy and he is something else entirely

*cue to adventure and drama

OKAY SANLU BASTARDS.

Winx Club(nickelodeon) x One Piece AU, Fairy of Freedom! Luffy and Specialist! Sanji

GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT/GIVE ME IDEAS

[loyxltyloyxlty]

the THING with @deathisachoice

[normally, mia is good at sneaking in and out of the house. slipping out the window. taking off into the treeline for hours after her aunt has gone to bed. she knows how long to take. how much she can do. it’s her few hours of freedom. no uncomfortable dresses. shoes pinching her toes. her hair isn’t pulled back too tight. she’s free. but tonight....something is wrong.]

[there’s a candle lit in the window and she’s unsure of why. her aunt should be fast asleep. carefully, she tiptoes on bare feet towards the backdoor unwilling to risk the small noise caused by going in the window. hoping that she can slip in and up unaware. though, perhaps, her aunt already knows she isn’t there.]

[she’s barely closed the door when she hears the shrill voice call her name and she knows she’s been caught. knows what comes next. a part of her considers darting out the door but she doesn’t. she’d rather take her punishment in defiance. as she always has. stiff upper lip. no fear.]

[her back straightens as she walks into the living room, a nine year old girl, stubborn and determined not to show any submission to her aunt. though, she must be a sight, mud covered feet, cuts and scrapes on her legs and hands, only in her night clothes with leaves in her hair.]

[she enters the room but stops short when she sees that her aunt is not alone. she recognizes one face. her grandfather. the father of the mother who died when she was born. but the other. she doesn’t know. a frown makes its way onto her face as her head tilts, eyes on the unfamiliar man.]

               ❝ Who are you?❞

[lantsovheir]

-- verses

♕ ┊ v. main ┊ ❛ the crown prince of ravka ❜

♕ ┊ v. post rar ┊ ❛ you are my most trusted advisor ❜

♕ ┊ v. ketterdam ┊ ❛ no mourners ; no funerals ❜

♕ ┊ v. privateers ┊ ❛ and we could be pirates ❜

♕ ┊ v. nichevo'ya ┊ ❛ a creature wrought from shadow ❜

-

♕ ┊ v. modern ┊ ❛ don't you know that the kids aren't all right? ❜

♕ ┊ v. alt. modern ┊ ❛ i don't like violence. i'm a businessman. ❜

♕ ┊ v. immortal ┊ ❛ we could stay young forever ❜

♕ ┊ v. football ┊ ❛ famous for being almost famous ❜

♕ ┊ v. regency ┊ ❛ heirs have the responsibility ❜

♕ ┊ v. pjato ┊ ❛ you take what you can get ; and you make the most of it ❜

♕ ┊ v. opposites attract ┊ ❛ got a broken ego ; broken heart ❜

♕ ┊ v. modern royal ┊ ❛ let me be your ruler ❜

[legends-and-savages]

Tag Dump

[haitaniapologist]

MY HEART BEATS FOR YOU.

pairings — pirate! hanma shuji x fem!reader.

genre — fluff, medium angst.

warnings — reader is the older sister of hinata and naoto, v*olence, pirate things, a bit of m*sogyny, soft s*x, c*rruption k*nk, enemies to lovers ish, plot twist at the end, a 5 year old kid and a 8 months old baby make an appearance, family problems, d*ddy issues, a br*astfeeding scene.

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT.

word counting — 9.1k

notes — eheheh it's finally here !!! it wasn't supposed to be this long, but i guess old habits die hard. also, the ending is kind linked to my other shuji's works, so give a look at my masterlist if you hadn't read them!!! also, this is a respost, since this app have something against me lmao.

my taglist form can be found at my nav !!

he thought kidnapping one of his worst enemies' daughter was a good idea.

but if captain shuji hanma knew how much of a brat you, lady y/n tachibana, would be, he would've killed your father in the spotlight instead of seeking revenge on him. 

maybe he was even helping the high commander of the king's army by kidnapping you — your groans and sighs and short words were insufferable, but he couldn't just return you to your family. he wanted your father to suffer, your siblings and mother to weep over the thought of never seeing you again. 

he wanted to destroy the tachibana family, and if that meant needing to deal with you, he would endure your bratty ways.  

but your bitching was so, so infuriating. he wanted to put a tape on your mouth and never hear your voice ever again. it was irritating, and it made him want to pull his hair out of his scalp whenever you directed your attention to him — but what annoyed him the most was when you weren’t talking to him, using your sweet words to lure either keisuke or kazutora to pay attention to you instead of doing their work in the ship.

you were a siren, a siren surrounded by men ready to fall for her voice and trap. 

tetta advised him to kidnap your younger sister, hinata, but shuji knew it was only because of his infatuation to the youngest tachibana lady — in a time that his family was favored by the king, you, him and your sister were childhood friends. but hanma knew that the middle child wasn’t as treasured as the oldest one or the heir, in case you and naoto. but he couldn’t kidnap the heir, too, since your brother had the best guards around his room.

you were the best choice, even though you trashed and squirmed around his hold when he was tying up the ropes around your flimsy nightgown and waiting for chifuyu to take some lady things from your dressing table. hanma shuji could be a kidnapper, a murderer and a thief, but he knew that nobody in his crew had womanly clothes or whatever ladies like to use to pamper themselves. 

but if he knew you would look as amazing as you did wearing an old shirt that belonged to chifuyu, a red long skirt and your hair loose, without all the pompous hairstyles the ladies in the land were using, while flirting with his quartermaster, kazutora hanemiya, he would’ve kidnapped your brother. 

“oi, kazutora!” his screamed for his mate, almost hearing the twitch in tetta’s eye by being interrupted by his captain while he was trying to discuss plans. “could you assist baji in sailing? i don’t think the winds are good today.” 

he could hear, too, the roll of your eyes and pout, but if he needed to watch kazutora almost drooling at the sight of your tits, he would’ve more blood on his hands than necessary. 

“yes, captain!” he heard kazutora screaming back, watching him placing a kiss on your knuckles before running to where keisuke was. he needed to stop having such thoughts about you, but it seemed that your spell managed to hit him, too. hanma would die before admitting that he wanted to be the one you flirted with, because he knew the extent of your hatred towards him. and the captain couldn’t do much, because you were right.

he was the one who took you away from your family and the luxurious life you had. 

“you are hopeless.” he heard kisaki muttering, but his eyes were still glued to your form. you were now looking at the ocean, probably wondering how many miles away you were from land, and if your father’s men were now searching for you. hanma made sure that lord tachibana knew it was him who kidnapped his precious daughter, the future wife of lord wakasa. were you happy that he took you from the miserable life of marrying a man ten years older than you, that preferred to have whores at his side than a wife? 

he gave his first mate one of his signature smiles. “what? don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for lady y/n.” shuji teased, knowing how much tetta wished it was your sister there rather than you. 

“you know very well lady hinata was the best choice.” 

“for who, my dear tetta? you or my vengeance?” shuji didn’t wait for the younger man to answer, starting to walk in your direction. plans would be discussed at dinner, while you were in your room sulking and not just a few meters away from where the captain and his second in command were. hanma knew you weren’t dumb, and when you were retrieved to the land, you shouldn’t know anything about his plans.

he was the most feared pirate of the seven seas, after all. 

—

you only wished for a few moments of peace, after all, but capitan shuji hanma would never let you have it. “sunshine!” you heard his voice and you instinctively rolled your eyes — it was almost natural for you to rest that way whenever he was close, but hanma didn't to be bothered by your reactions. 

“captain.” you said back, eyes trained in the horizon line. 

you wondered if your father, or even lord wakasa, sent their man to search for you in the sea — you doubt it, of course, since lord wakasa seemed to want to marry any whore but not you, and the fact that you were your father's least favorite child. you didn't resent your siblings, not at all, but in more nights than you could count you went to sleep with wet cheeks, praying that any god who was willing to listen to you, to make your father look down with the same gentle eyes he did to hinata and naoto. 

you felt his presence on your back, his arms caging you between his sturdy chest and the wood of his ship, your eyes now observing his hands — how sin and punishment were beautifully written in black ink, mixed with the pale green of his veins and the bloody red of his knuckles. you wondered if his hands seemed to be as warm as they looked to be, and you dreaded yourself for having such thoughts. 

shuji hanma was everything that you shouldn't desire, yet, he was the embodiment of everything you ever wanted.

but you know what you were to him. you knew that all the flirtatious words, the subtle touches and the winks during dinner time were just a part of his revenge against your father. maybe he just wanted to be the first man you laid with and break your heart, and then return you to your family — as a disgrace. 

your father would probably be overjoyed about such news, but you wouldn't be the one telling him that it would be better if he had kidnapped hinata. 

“today we’ll stop at a city.” the news didn’t make you excited. you wouldn’t leave the ship, of course. you may have more freedom than the prisoners that your father dealt with, not needing to use chains or ropes around your body, being able to walk around freely in the ship’s deck, but you were still one — your chains were invisible, but you could feel them around your body. “i’ll give the boys a free night. they deserve it, don’t you think?” you only nodded, trying not to flush because of the way his lips touched your neck when he told you the news. “we’ll have the ship all for ourselves.” 

that made you nervous. 

what should you expect from that? hanma had always been as respectful as he could be, but he was always under the watchful eye of tetta kisaki, a boy you knew from childhood until your father discovered his parents to be traitors of the crown. king shinichiro and his queen were always kinder than they should've been, and you remembered how your mother rushed into your room in tears to announce the news for you and hinata — how kisaki’s parents died in a carriage accident, and the boy was nowhere to be found. it was a surprise to find him as one of your kidnappers, but you could understand why he wanted revenge on your family. 

but he seemed to keep hanma in his shoes, and spending a whole night without him on the ship made you nervous. 

“aren’t you happy, sunshine?” he asked, putting emphasis on his nickname for you. it used to bother you a lot when you first found yourself inside his ship, but it now brought uninvited butterflies to your stomach. you hoped they could all die with the acid you knew was inside you, but they seemed to revive every time the captain got closer to you. “because i am.” he finished with a kiss to your right cheek, getting away from you with a happy trot, shouting orders to his subordinates. 

you didn’t dare look back to see his reactions, cheeks in flames as if he was prometheus and you were the first human to discover fire. 

you should not, and you would not, fall in love with him. 

— 

night time arrived quicker than you would like, and it was quieter than normal, too. 

you thought that at least one of the boys would be staying. tetta, probably, since you were aware that he didn’t enjoy “mundane” things, such as drinking his ass off and returning to a tavern with a whore hanging by his arm. he never expressed such out loud, but by the way he asked about your little sister was proof enough that he harboured some feelings for her — you would’ve found that cute, but she was already betrothed to lord takemichi, and they were pretty much in love. you envied her in such a way. lord wakasa never batted an eye at you when your father and him were discussing your marriage, and never answered any of the letters you sent him in the beginning.

you sighed, passing a hand on your face to get rid of such thoughts. 

since no one was in the ship besides you and its captain, you knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to lock yourself in your room and only go out when you heard more voices. shuji had the key to your chambers — which used to belong to him, once — and he could enter the room as he liked. and you were hungry, too, and you heard kazutora saying he brought fresh bread and some vegetables from his first trip to the land. the captain wasn’t the best cook, but it was better than nothing. 

you found yourself making your way to the main deck, wearing only the nightgown they stole from your belongings, and a red blanket over your shoulders to protect your modesty and from preventing the wind from making you cold. it was some minutes past dinner time, and you found hanma exactly where you thought he was going to be — putting the table for both you, hair in a messy ponytail and wearing just plain clothing. 

“oh, so the princess finally decided to join me?” he asked in a mocking tone, and you were surprised at how quickly he managed to sense your presence. you knew he was the best pirate in the seven seas, hearing stories about how him and his ship always meant doom whenever they stopped at — but you never thought he would have supernatural abilities too. 

you scoffed. “i am no princess.” you stated, sitting comfortably in one of the two chairs the captain put on display. normally the table would be filled with chairs and laughter and hungry hands in search for food, but tonight it was only you two. it made everything seem more domestic, in a way, and you didn’t know if you liked it or not. 

he smirked, putting the food he cooked on the table. it seemed to be a soup of vegetables and meat, and it had a good scent coming from it. “you’re far more beautiful than princess emma, after all.” 

you cursed yourself for blushing from his words. “did you ever saw her to be speaking such nonsense?” you weren’t as close with the princess as your sister was, but she was kind enough to always spare some kind words in your direction and gift you with the most beautiful jewels and gowns you ever wore — sometimes you even missed them, but your time in the ship made you noticed how heavy they were, both physically and mentally. 

“of course.” he replied while you handed him your plate, watching as the soup filled the stolen ceramic from your house. it wasn’t just you who were stolen — the boys made sure to ravage your family’s state, bringing all kinds of objects, such as ceramics to gold, so they could sell whenever they stopped in a city. “you’re way more beautiful than her, i can assure you.” he winked in your direction, sitting at the end of the table, in your diagonal.

“you are lying.” it was only what you could say before shoving his soup in your mouth, ending the matter. 

hanma chuckled seeing your flustered state, eating calmly in comparison with you. “only if you could see yourself with my eyes, y/n.” you knew he only used your name when he was speaking seriously, and you averted your eyes to your food, not being able to hold the intensity of his gaze. it was the first time you were truly alone with him, without any of the boys surrounding you — without hanma being a captain, without the authority that always followed him like a lost puppy. he seemed different somehow, as if the light of the candle in the table and of the moon had a different effect on him. 

you decided to say nothing, earning a chuckle in return, and you both finished eating in silence. 

you helped the captain to clean the table, still getting used to performing household chores. as the daughter of a duke, you never needed to do anything, always with servants gushing over you and treating you as if you were made of glass — your time as a prisoner made you realize that you were stronger than you believed yourself to be, enjoying doing mundane tasks such as combing your own hair and helping the boys to make the meals.

after everything was cleaned, you found yourself sat again facing the captain of the valhalla ship, a cigarette hanging from his mouth and a set of cards on the table. “do you play?” he asked, his voice an octave lower, as if he was offering you the apple that eve ate. 

you just shook your head. your father would never allow you to learn such an activity — it was only for the men, he used to say. 

“do you want to learn? i’m not just the best captain of the seven seas, no. i’m also their best glamber.” you giggled at his dramatic ways, and shuji smiled at you — it was the first sincere smile he ever gave you, and you almost said he should smile more. it suited him, it made him look the age he was. 

but his smile was pretty as a devil’s one should be.

“i do.” you answered, and his smile grew wider. he always noticed how you would look at him and the boys whenever they were playing, and shuji wondered if someday you would break the ladylike shell society made you grow around yourself.

maybe today was that day, after all.

it was almost like the devils were rolling their dice now, trying to pinpoint exactly when you would give up and give yourself to the man in front of you, while the angels rolled their eyes, knowing they lost another pure soul to the temptations of one of the devil’s spawn. 

—

something changed in your relationship with the captain after that night when he taught you how to play cards, but you couldn't pinpoint what.

it seemed that you were more open to his touching, more open to his flirting — you found yourself spending all your "free" time on his company, his hands always in the small of your back or around your shoulders, as if he was claiming you as his to all the other boys in the ship. it was almost pleasant having someone wanting you that much, so pleasant that you even forgot that he was probably doing that just to return you back to your father not as a maiden anymore, pregnant with his bastard child and an empty promise of seeing him again. 

but even if he did that, you couldn't care less. 

shuji treated you as if you were the most precious gem he ever saw, and it was good — good to be wanted, good to be cared for, good to be heard. it was as if you became the queen of the ship, all the boys knowing that you were off limits now, and a friendship was the only thing they would be able to pursue with you. and they did, and you found on kazutora the friend you've always wanted while growing up.

you told him everything, even your feelings for hanma. it was relieving being able to tell every single thing you felt for the captain, your head resting on kazutora's lap while you poured your heart out. he only chuckled, stroking your hair. it was one of the times you managed to be without shuji trailing behind your skirts, but as soon as you heard his voice calling for you, you were on your feet, promising to kazutora that you would finish your rant after dinner. 

but you never did, because you were once again in shuji's company, laughing and smiling as if you were a little girl.

besides playing cards, the captain also taught you a lot of skills you would never dream of having before — such as fishing, shooting and even what parts of he body was better to kill a man. alongside that, you also grew into the role of the only woman in the ship, sewing the boys’ clothes, making sure they were eating well and drinking water, as well as learning how to cook some things that the ship’s cook didn’t know how to. 

however, as much as you liked to pretend your life was a field of fresh roses, the reality that you were just a tool for shuji to accomplish his revenge became a harsh reality. 

it was a warm night the day you decided to pry in the boys’ meeting. you were forbidden to participate — even if someone never expressed such a prohibition out loud, but just the fact they did the meetings when you were sleeping was enough for you — but as a curious person, you needed to know at least something. it would be easier than sneaking into one of your father’s meetings, as you just needed to leave your room and stay hidden behind a drinking water barrel. 

but you wished you had stayed there, with your imagination. 

at first, they only discussed pirate things — such as what lands to invade, where it was better to stop the ship and have a peaceful night, how they would divide the gold they’ve stolen from the last stop. until a curious question popped up. “do you think you are close to accomplishing your mission, captain?” tetta was the one who asked, and you had a feeling he knew that you were listening to their chat.

you could hear the confusion on hanma’s voice, almost. “why do you ask, tetta?” 

all the boys were silent, and you were sure they could hear how fast and loud your heart was beating inside your ribcage, waiting for hanma’s answer. “just wanted to know. i do not know when we will be able to stop at the kingdom again.” 

“that makes sense.” shuji answered, and you clutched the fabric of your nightgown. “hopefully soon, then. i think just some more weeks until y/n open her legs for me, then we can deliver her back to her father.” 

tears soon blurred your vision, and you bite down on your lip to stop the sobs that were threatening to escape your mouth. deep down, you knew that shuji would never love you like you loved him — his first love was the sea, and she would always have his heart intrinsically intertwined on her hands. you had lost that fight, and you wondered if that was something that you had chances of winning.

you tried to pretend you didn’t know anything, but it was difficult. you tried to put a bit of distance between you and him, but it wasn’t easy. hanma was always in your company, treating you as if he wasn’t just doing that so he could get revenge on your father for god’s knows why, and you needed to pretend your heart didn’t break even more every time he whispered sweet nothings in your ear. your only solace was kazutora’s friendship and the bit of peace you had at night. 

your days passed like that, until you kissed him. 

it wasn’t something you were expecting, only three days after you listened to the boys’ meeting. you thought he would wait a bit more to make his move on you, enjoying the gentlemanly way of “courting” you — you didn’t know his past, but it seemed that he had some influence of the aristocracy on his uprising, due the way he was treating you. it was bolder than the men you were used to, only gentle smiles and some gifts every time they visited. shuji, however, touched you freely, but always managed to have a small gift for you everyday. 

though he never expected to have the same knife he gifted you pressed against his throat. 

old habits die hard, but maybe he had teased you a little too much. he didn’t mean it when he called you “a spoiled papa’s little princess”, but that seemed to ignite inside you a fire he never saw before. your body was caged between his chest and the ship’s prow, wind messing your hair and eyes shining with a fierceness that seemed that you both were the most hated enemies. he wasn’t no better, with his gun pressed to your temple and a smirk on his lips — his gun wasn’t loaded, of course, but the pressure of the knife on his throat was making him pant with something he hasn’t felt in a while. 

desire. luxury.

“can’t handle a bit of teasing, sunshine?” he whispered against your lips, almost touching — but he wanted you to be the first one to give in, and, by your state you were really close to finally doing something he only dreamed about. if things were different and you weren’t a lady, you would already be on his bed, legs over his shoulders and his cock buried inside your cunt. 

you rolled your eyes, applying more pressure to the knife. you didn’t know what prompted you to react that way — maybe the thought of you actually not being treated amorously by your father as he hinted, or maybe the fact that it had been almost two months inside the ship and nobody went to look for you. kazutora told you that you had no ‘missing person’ poster on the streets, just a drawing of shuji labelled as a pirate and a thief. “you are insufferable.” 

“but you love it.” he replied quickly and you groaned, letting the knife fall from your grip so you could cup his face between your hands and press your lips to his. 

shuji didn’t hesitate a second to wrap his arms around your form, gun long forgotten on the ground alongside your knife, his hands squeezing and groping your skin, reading you as if you were a poem he wanted to memorize. the kiss was messy and desperate, as if your mouths were fighting each other, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. his taste was addicting, just like a drug, and you wondered if it wasn’t because of all the cigarettes he smoked when he was bored — but you couldn't get enough of him, and you wished the gods would make you and him become one person. 

but the spell was broken as soon as shuji broke the kiss, his mouth latching itself to your neck and his leg coming between your thighs. 

he had you exactly where he wanted, didn’t he? exactly where he needed to get his revenge on your father. at first, you thought you didn’t care if he managed to have what he wanted and leave you in the dirty — but now? now that your feelings for him were so much deeper and stronger than when you first had such a thought? now that you were so used to living on a ship, that you were sure you couldn’t ever be the lady of the household again? 

now that you couldn’t phantom the idea of living without shuji at your side, even if you knew he didn’t love you? 

you snapped from your thoughts when he bit hard on your neck, something you knew it would leave a bruise on. you weren’t as strong as him, but just a faint push from your hands made him take a few steps from you, a dejected puppy look on his face. “y/n?” he asked, voice small, as soon as he saw the tears in your eyes. 

but deep down, he knew what it was. 

you still had a prejudiced vision of him. you couldn’t believe that shuji was doing that because he loved you, but because of his revenge — which was the least thing inside his mind, now. what would be the best revenge for your father than making you his wife and happy at his side? not returning you pregnant to the kingdom anymore, but having you pregnant with him now, raising a small child at his side and exploring the seas.

he thought he had given you all the signs to show how serious he was about you, but maybe it wasn’t enough. would he ever be enough for you? probably not, as he was no fancy lord, but he still could dream of being happy at your side. 

“i will not let you use me for your sick revenge against my father.” was what you said before you stormed off, going down to your chambers. he couldn’t follow you there, because you would never open the door for him again, and hanma never felt his heart so heavy before — was that the pain of heartbreak? it was too much, as if he had a beast inside his guts from inside out. 

but how did you know he was — really was, because he had dropped such an idea as soon as he saw himself thinking about you more than he should have — trying to use you against your father? was it too obvious? 

but just by looking at tetta’s eyes, he knew what happened. 

he kicked the wood before him, cursing in pain, both physically and mentally. what was he supposed to do? shuji never felt such strong feelings towards someone as the one he held for you, and he was lost. he never loved someone like he loved, only used to fuck and leave the whores in their brothels, or the low-born ladies in their houses, and never thinking about them again. it was so easier before — he was a man married to the sea first, he could never allow himself to get attached to someone who could never think about living in the sea in the first place. but you were getting used to it, and he thought… 

shuji really thought you were the one. 

but he was the one to blame for everything, and now he didn’t know what to do to fix his own mistakes. 

— 

you stayed locked in your room all day. 

even though your stomach was rumbling with hunger, you didn’t have the strength to leave the four walls that protected you even more from heartbreak. it was foolish and you knew that, because in some moment you would need to face the harsh reality of your foolishness, but you preferred to ignore your own health than to face shuji again. 

every time you thought about leaving your room, not hearing any footsteps or voices near the room’s corridor,you heard his voice — softly pleading that you left your room, because you needed to eat and maybe you two could talk. you didn’t even need to look at him, he said after a while, just accept the food he made for you. but shuji was met with silence and the faint sound of your sobs, of course, because you didn’t know if you would ever be able to look at him again without feeling the most painful pain you ever did in your life.

it was something ugly and blue, something that you never found describe in the romance books you once read — it was tearing apart your heart in paper cuts, as if shuji was using the knife he gave you to make them on you. 

you didn’t know how many hours you spent crying, or how you did manage to sleep through your tears, but you woke up hearing gunshots and screams above you. tetta and shuji, and even kazutora, always told you that you should stay in your chambers whenever they were under attack — even if that never happened in your almost six months time in the ship — but what the enemies were screaming got your attention. 

“lord masato tachibana is ordering the return of all his stolen property or your head, captain hanma!” 

masato tachibana was your father. were their men there to rescue you, too? 

you should try your luck. you would never be able to live happily now, not after having the biggest heartbreak someone could have, but everything was better than to live seeing hanma and knowing what he wanted to do with you. maybe you could even find happiness with lord wakasa, a man that you didn’t love and could never — because he didn’t have black and blond hair and amber eyes, and his name wasn’t shuji hanma. 

but it was better than to have to look at his amber eyes and know the love in them was just a lie. 

the ship was shaking from the battle and from the pouring rain that was cursing such a situation, but you still managed to climb to the deck, eyes scanning the battle in front of you. the boys were fiercely fighting against your father’s men, sword against sword, sometimes a gun there. curses were being shot by both parties, and you noticed that baji was bleeding on your stomach area. even though you were worried about him, your eyes quickly scanned once more the deck, finding hanma fighting a man you knew very well who he was — one of your father's most trusted advisors, lord rintaro. 

you knew it would be difficult to reach them, but you could try — what harm could happen if you treated something that was once heaven to you, for hell? 

“lord rintaro!” you screamed from where you were, gaining the attention of those who were close to you. they stopped fighting, recognizing you even though you were soaking wet. “it is me, lady y/n!” you noticed how hanma froze in his place, eyes pleading for you to shut up and return to your chambers. but he didn’t have such a right anymore, not when the only thing he could think about was using you. 

you rushed to where they were, trying to avoid the still fighting men as best as you could. you received a few cuts and slaps, but you didn’t care — rintato and shuji were still fighting, but it seemed like hanma had lost his spark. when your eyes first landed on him, he was fighting like you always heard him to be: skilled and dangerous, his movements always a surprise to his opponent. but now, it seemed as if he had given up, and your heart almost broke in half again seeing your father’s advisor managing to stab him on his shoulder.

shuji fell on the ground exactly when you arrived where he was. that was it, he thought, that would be the last time he would ever see you. he was ready to die — he couldn't bear the idea of you marrying a man that didn’t love like he did, bear the thought of never seeing you again. his plan had backfired, after all. 

your father managed to make his life even more miserable. 

“lord rintaro!” you pleaded, putting your body in front of him and the older man. “do not hurt him even more. he might have kidnapped me, but captain hanma was always kind to me.” how could you still be like that? shuji expected you to order his death as soon as you had the opportunity, but you still pleaded for his life. 

but the lord just sneered. “why would i listen to a bastard’s words?” he spat, and you froze in your place, hearting falling to your stomach. what was he saying? “the captain here did a favor to lord masato, getting rid of his wife’s bastard and, for that, he asked me to give him a peaceful death.” 

that couldn't be true, could it? lord rintaro was just making up lies, lies for making it easier for you the fact that your father didn’t want you back — but, if you thought about your childhood and the way your father treated you, it made sense. you didn’t look like him or even like your mother, like naoto and hinata, and she always said that you resembled your great-grandmother. you never paid much attention to that, because not looking like them never bothered you, but your siblings were always more loved than you, by both parents. you didn't have the prestige an older sister was supposed to have in your family, such things always destined to hinata, and your needs were always pushed back. even your marriage proposal was something chosen to humiliate you. 

you never tried to understand why, but it now made sense. your whole life was a lie, and you didn’t know what hurt the most — the fact that your family wasn’t your family, or the fact that you weren’t loved by your parents because of something that wasn’t your fault. 

while you dwelled in your thoughts, you didn’t notice lord rintaro taking his gun from his belt, only noticing the gravity of the situation when its barrel was pressed against your forehead. “we were never here to rescue you, foolish woman.” he explained, a sinister smile on his face. the rain made it difficult for you to hear or see what was happening around you, but at least you would die surrounded by people that cared for you. “i will be granted with the highest honors by killing such a disgrace as you. he gave you a sinister smile. “or i can make you my personal whore, what do you think, captain?” he put pressure on the gun’s barrel, the act bringing you back to reality once more.  

you whimpered, closing your eyes, accepting your death with open arms — it was the best option. what was there for you to have now? you didn’t have a family anymore, the man you loved only wanted to use you as a tool, and now you weren’t even useful to him. 

maybe it was better to die. 

you heard a gunshot and you opened your eyes, seeing the blood coming from rintaro’s head. you burst into tears, shuji’s arms around your form as soon as the first tear fell down your cheeks, his voice screaming instructions to his men. you just stood there, limp around his warmth, feeling his blood staining your blouse until he held your face between his hands. 

shuji’s heart broke even more seeing the emptiness of your eyes. but before he could say anything to soothe your pain, your hands gripped his forearms. “you are hurt.” it’s what you said, tugging him to follow you. 

and he did, not before spatting at the man you called rintaro. 

—

shuji didn't know how you managed to bring him to your chambers, with all the fighting still going up on the deck. he ordered the boys to kill every single one of your father's men and then take everything of value from their ship, before sinking it. everyone was up and well, despite some blood stains his eyes managed to see through the pouring rain. 

it was almost like he blinked and he was inside the safety of the room that once belonged to him, your smaller hands pushing him to sit on the bed, despite the fact he was drenched and would wet the mattress and the blankets. he watched your form while you took the few medical supplies you had — the ship would need to stop at a city so he could get proper treatment, but you learned some things that could be useful. 

“can you take your shirt off, captain?” it hurt not being called by his given name, or even surname by you, but he thought he deserved that. he would miss your honey dripping voice calling his name so beautifully, as if by just muttering some syllables you were the salvation he always desired. but because of him your life did a 180 degrees turn, and for the worst, so he would never blame you if you could never call him that again. even not in his wildest dreams he would imagine that you were a bastard, and not the firstborn child of lord and lady tachibana. 

but that didn't change anything. shuji's heart would always beat for you, and only for you. 

he nodded, opening the last buttons of his white shirt, wincing when the fabric was lifted from his skin, and he could see the worry shining on your eyes. it was better than the empty look they carried when that lord gave you the news about your true heritage — hanma would do anything to not see such a thing in your eyes again. they were always full of life and kindness, a contrast with his own amber pair. 

as soon as he discarded his shirt on the floor, you started your work, soft hands pouring alcohol on his skin and cleaning the wound. 

but shuji could tell that you were doing everything you could to not break in tears and sobs. 

he encircled one of his arms around your waist, bringing your body closer to his, resting his head on your chest. it was the closest of a hug he could give you at the moment. “it’s alright, sunshine. you can cry around me.” he tried to console you, but he never knew such a thing. his parents were taken away from him too quickly, yes, but they were still his parents. he could never imagine that his father wasn't his own father, that his siblings weren’t his full siblings.

“i do not want to cry for something that was never my fault.” you replied, softly, voice not above a whisper. your hands were still treating his wound, cleaning and applying pressure to make sure the bleeding would stop. shuji hummed, and it was what you needed to let some tears fall from your eyes. he seemed to notice the slight shake of your body, embracing you even harder, free hand rubbing soothing circles on the small of your back. you head fell into his hair, and you closed your eyes. 

he didn’t urge you to say anything, respecting your time. 

“i am… i am so a-angry, shuji.” you managed to say through sobs, lifting your head from his hair to not soak it even more. you found his amber eyes already looking at you. “my father treated me horribly.” you admitted, finishing tieing a cloth around his shoulder. it was the best you could make before he visited a doctor. as soon as his right arm was free, he wrapped it around your middle, bringing you to rest on his lap. it was the most intimate you have been with a man, especially one who was shirtless, but you weren’t a lady anymore — you didn’t need to have any scruples. “i never understood why. my sis— hinata, she was always the apple of his eye. always getting the best things, the best opportunities. she was a better option to kidnap than me.” you tried to smile at him, but shuji could see all the pain you always carried with yourself. 

he shook his head in denial. “no, never. she would be the best option for tetta, but for me?” punishment came to rest on your jaw, holding it so he could look at your glossy eyes. “i always knew you were the best. the best for me, sunshine.” 

shuji smirked when he noticed the way your eyes travelled to his lips then to his eyes again, but before he could claim what was his once more, it seemed that you had more to speak. “you will not be able to achieve your revenge using me, shuji. you did lord masato a favor for kidnapping his wife’s bastard.” just by the way that you know spoke so lowly of yourself, shuji knew his revenge had changed. he would kill the one you once called father, and he didn’t care for the consequences. 

“i’ve given up on such an idea as soon as you smiled at me, princess.” he admitted, chuckling when your eyes widened. “you heard tetta’s question in the last meeting, didn’t you?” you sheepishly nodded, trying to avert your eyes to anywhere but him, but hanma’s hand on your jaw didn’t let you look at anything else. “i can guarantee you that i didn’t want to do it anymore. use you, i mean, because the revenge plan will have some modifications now.” he stroked your cheek while you nodded and he thought it was his cue to kiss you, but as soon as he ducked his head to get closer to yours, you put a finger on his lips. 

shuji groaned while you giggled. 

“but why? why do you want revenge on the tachibanas?” 

it was a question that troubled you since he kidnapped you for the first time, but if he wasn’t comfortable saying his reasons now, you would respect him. revenge was something that always had ulterior motives, and you knew it wasn’t just because your father deemed shuji and the valhalla crew as traitors of the kingdom — his revenge had roots deeper than that, and you knew just by the ways he used to achieve it.

“your father— i mean, lord masato, killed my parents. as well as tetta’s, too.” he confessed, punishment letting go of your jaw so he could nuzzle his face on the crook of your neck. they were painful memories, memories that he wished he never needed to go through. your hand soon found his hair. “my father was a rising knight, a good friend of king makoto.” you have all your answers now. you knew how lord masato did everything in his reach to achieve what he wanted — killing someone was the least that you knew he was capable of. 

“i am sorry, shuji.” 

he had cried all his tears when he was just a little boy, but your kind words and hands on his hair was enough to bring a few more to his eyes. it was a sensation that he hadn’t felt in so long, the burning and itching in his eyes — he even used to joke about how his tear ducts were broken and dry, now. but he knew he wasn’t just crying because of his parents, far from it. 

shuji thought you were going to leave him, and he couldn’t think of such an immeasurable pain as that. 

he felt your lips kissing the crown of his head and he let out a breathy laugh. “if… if that man was there to take you back to your family, would you say yes?” he knew the answer — of course you would say yes, especially after what transpired between you two in the morning. 

“i do not know.” you answered, hands find their place to rest on his shoulders, bringing him impossibly closer. “i just know that i would be miserable without you. you broke my heart, shuji, but it’s still yours.” you confessed and he lifted his head, looking at you with big and glossy golden eyes. he looked like a puppy, a dejected puppy that was searching for someone to take him. “and i do not think i am still suitable to be a lady of a household. the sea welcomed me like no one else did.” 

the smile he gave you could rival the stars that shined in the sky when the moon decided to grace the earth, and you were so lucky — because that smile was for you. 

“what would you say if we stopped at the nearest city and i find a priest to marry us?” 

you felt your cheeks heating up. “first you need to find a doctor, because i will not marry a man that can die from a wound that easily.” you giggled when he pouted, softly pressing your lips against his. but hanma was a wild card and you knew it, and despite an injured shoulder, he managed to put under him on the mattress, hovering over you with a boyish grin on his face.

“are you saying you’ll marry me, then?” he asked, eyes shimmering with hope and love — and lust too, as far as you could tell. you were still soaked, white shirt now not hiding anything from his hungry eyes. his wandering hand grazed over one of your nipples, touch as soft as a ghost, and you whimpered. “what do you say, sunshine? i’ll only continue depending on your answer.”

“gods above, shuji. do you think i would say no? i have always been yours. ” you replied, hands bringing him closer to your face so you could kiss him. you felt him smirking, sin — the hand on the side that was hurt — already undoing the buttons of your blouse. 

as soon as your chest was exposed to him you felt the urge to cover yourself, shame already dancing inside your mind. what if that was still his plan? what if the fact that you were a bastard didn’t change anything? he could send you back to your family either way, because nobody, except lord masato and your mother, knew about your true heritage. but his words soothed all the poisoned thoughts in your head. “are you sure you want to do this, princess? we’ll be married by tomorrow night, i can wait.” 

you could wait as well, but the unfamiliar ache between your legs and the desire to be his in ways nobody else was, spoke louder. “please, shuji.” you whispered against his lips, pressing butterfly kisses to his cheekbones. “make me yours now.” 

it was all he needed to hear. as soon as the last syllable left your lips his head travelled south, pressing kisses and sucking in your untouched skin — the thought of being the first to see you like that made shuji’s cock heavier inside his pants, but he wanted to take his time with you before indulging on his desires. 

and he did. oh, how he did. 

he coaxed orgasm after orgasm from you, first using his fingers and then his tongue. by the time he buried his cock inside your warm cunt, you were already a babbling and drooling mess because of him. shuji tried to be slow and soft with you, trying to be considerate because that was your first time being so intimate with a man, and it was the best choice he had — he was used to being rough and fast with the whores he had slept with before, and he never knew what he was missing from having such an intimate moment with someone he loved. the soft praises, the touches of your shaking hands, the pleasure dancing in your eyes. he would murder everyone with two walking legs if another person saw you like that, if your loving hands touched another person as you were doing with him. 

shuji finished the night filling your womb with his cum twice, despite his aching shoulder — but he couldn’t stop himself. not when you asked so nicely if he could finish inside you, or how good your walls were sucking him up. your cunt was the best his cock had ever experienced, and he knew you had ruined him for anyone else.

as if he would need them now. 

he cleaned you up as best as he could, not used to after care, making sure to change the blankets of the mattress, lighting the fire inside the room and changing your clothes. as much as he wanted to cuddle you until you both fell asleep together, he still had his duties as a captain to fulfill — he needed to see if his boys were alright, and what treasures they would have after plunder lord masato’s ship. 

shuji left with a kiss on your forehead and the promise of coming back to your arms as soon as he could. 

despite your sleepy foggy brain, you still could hear the boys’ cheers when he told them the news of your marriage. 

—

“that’s how mama and papa met, sweetheart.” you finished the story with a smile, your daughter jumping in your lap as soon as the words left your lips. 

shinobu glanced at you with her big blue-green eyes, a puzzled look on her face. “mama, this doesn’t make sense.” she said accusatively, her small arms gripping your shirt. “papa isn’t a pirate, and you don’t have a sister! where was uncle chifuyu in the story?” she pouted at the absence of her dear uncle on her bedtime story, and you controlled yourself to not squeeze her. 

but you could never tell her how you and shuji met. it wasn’t a beautiful story — you had lost your first love two months before, still grieving about his premature death when you first found sitting in the stairs of a church in the last hours of christmas. someday she would know the truth, she would know why her mama had a photo of her, her uncle and an unfamiliar man on her bedside, why she was always sad on halloween. but not at five years old. 

“who said papa wasn’t a pirate, shin?” you teased her, kissing her cheeks before picking her up from the ground. “and as for mama’s family in the story, don’t worry, okay? they aren’t real.” they were, of course, but your daughter also didn’t need to know that they were one of your best friends and her brother, both now dead, alongside her father. it was purely for the love story you were telling her — because you didn’t know if you could portray your relationship with your brother without bursting into tears. 

mikey was dead, yes, but that won’t ever ease the pain in your chest, the emptiness you felt whenever you remembered you were a big sister without a little brother. 

you tucked your daughter under her blankets, whispering a song that your mother used to sing to you and chifuyu whenever you two were giving her a hard time going to sleep, watching as she fought with sleep. you almost giggled at how she was doing everything to not close her eyes, but shinobu gave up as soon as your hand started to caress her black and blonde locks — a courtesy of her father, who bleached her hair when she was just four and never asked yo go back to her natural color —, eyes closing at the same time you gave her a forehead kiss. 

you stayed a few more minutes watching her sleeping form, leaving her room as silently as you could. 

you smiled hearing the faint sound of your favorite music playing down the hall, walking towards your son’s room. 

you opened the door, poking your head inside it, your smile growing bigger at the same time you acknowledge what was happening — a shirtless shuji was in the middle of the room, holding his eight-month-old son while he danced with him at the tune of your favorite song, punishment rubbing circles on the little boy’s back. it seemed that chifuyu had the same problem as his older sister, always fighting with sleep. you could see he was tired, but the giggles leaving his mouth were still loud and lively. 

“look who’s here!” shuji exclaimed, turning his body towards your direction. chifuyu started to make grabby hands as soon as he noticed his mama was inside his room, and you promptly picked him up, nuzzling his small body on your chest, while shuji’s arms encircled your waist. 

he kissed your cheek tenderly, rocking you back and forth, to see this action could make his son sleep. “i think he’s hungry.” you whispered, putting the strap of your nightgown down and freeing one of your breasts to feed your youngest son. 

shuji watched with loving eyes the scene in front of him, pressing soft kisses to your skin while chifuyu finished his midnight snack. as soon as he burped, the little boy was already fast asleep in your arms. “i can do everything for him, but unfortunately i can’t give him milk from my boobs.” you giggled as you passed your son to his dad’s arms, adjusting your nightgown back to its place. 

you and shuji kissed chifuyu’s forehead before closing the door of his room. 

“a pirate, huh?” your husband teased you, his hands back again at your waist and his head nuzzled on the crook of your neck while you tried to walk to your shared room with him. 

“you were listening to shin’s bedtime story?” you asked, dumbfounded, wigrilling away from his touch. 

shuji chuckled. “you are always so creative. this one was my favorite, princess.” 

you groaned, dodging his arms that were trying to hold you once more. you weren’t embarrassed, but sometimes you didn’t want to hear the stories you came up with to make shinobu entertained before sleep graced her. you and shuji had been king and maid, mermaid and prince, and now lady and pirate. it was hard having an imperative five-year-old in your home. 

“oh?” you asked, allowing your husband’s warmth to engulf you. “think you can make me feel the pleasure lady y/n had when she and captain shuji had their first time together?” you teased, kissing his jaw silently. 

shuji only smirked. “you don't need to ask, princess.”

[ltwilliammowett]

The Lioness of Brittany

This lady from Brittany lived from 1300-1359 and her real name was Jeanne-Louise de Belleville de Clisson Dame de Montaigu. She was a noblewoman from Brittany who, as heir to her family, took over the estates and the salt trade, and later a Pirate.

She married for the first time at the age of 12, the 19-year-old Geoffrey de Châteaubriant VIII, who died in 1326, and had her first two children with him at 14 and 16. After his death, in 1328, Jeanne married Guy de Penthièvre of the House of Penthièvre, widower of Joan of Avaugour and son of the Duke of Brittany, for the protection of her children. The union was short-lived, as relatives of the ducal family, particularly from the de Blois faction, complained to the bishops of Vannes and Rennes to protect their inheritance, and an investigation was held on 10 February 1330, leading to the annulment of the marriage by Pope John XXII. Then, in the same year 1330, Olivier IV de Clisson married a very wealthy Breton. They had five children together: Maurice, Guillaume, Olivier, Isabeau († 1343) and Jeanne. In 1342, Olivier, joined the Duke of Brittany Charles de Blois in the Breton War of Succession defending Brittany against the English claimants and the forces of English sympathizer John de Montfort.

During the ensuing campaign, Olivier came under suspicion and criticism from Charles de Blois for failing to hold Vannes against the English forces so Clisson defected to the English side. January 1343, the Truce of Malestroit was signed between England and France and under the perceived safe condition of this truce Olivier and fifteen other Breton lords were invited to a tournament on French soil. He was arrested and beheaded for treason against the king. His head was sent to Nantes, where it was presented on a spit on the battlements of Bouffray Castle near Nantes. His widow, Jeanne, swore revenge on the king and Charles de Blois, who had happily supported the death sentence.

A painting of Jeanne in a mock 15th century style, part of a composition by Elsa Millet. (x)

Her revenge consisted of selling her possessions and buying a ship. Dismayed by the death of her liege lord, she quickly found a crew of 400 men and together they hunted down French merchant ships. After several successful battles, including two attacks on two castles, her ship was badly damaged and she had to flee. She found protection and support in England and from King Edward. He and Breton sympathisers gave her money and she was able to buy several war cogs, which she had painted black and fitted with red sails, the flagship was named My Revenge. Because of this appearance, the fleet received the name Black Fleet. The ships of this Black Fleet are said to have first attacked ships in the Bay of Biscay, but then advanced into the English Channel to hunt down French merchant ships, killing entire crews and leaving only a few witnesses to carry the news to the French king. This earned Jeanne the nickname "The Lioness of Brittany" or in French  “La Tigresse bretonne” (The breton tigress).

Execution of Olivier IV de Clisson. Painting attributed to Loyset Liédet, Flemish illuminator (v.1420-v.1483) in the Chronicles of Lord Jehan Froissart. (x)

She is sometimes referred to in literature as a privateer of the English, which would imply that she was subject to certain protections and obligations, but there was no known letter of marque.

In 1346, during the Crécy campaign in northern France, Jeanne used her ships to supply the English forces.

In the process, the French eventually succeeded in attacking her fleet and sinking her flagship. Jeanne and her two sons drifted at sea for five days; her son Guillaume died from the effects of the cold. Jeanne and Olivier were eventually rescued and taken to Morlaix. But this did not stop their revenge, on the contrary Jeanne continued her piracy in the Channel for another 13 years.

She probably ended her revenge in 1356, but by 1850 she had married the English nobleman, Walter Bentley, lieutenant to King Edward III until 1353 and captain of the English troops who continued to fight Charles de Blois. For his services and inheritance, both had received lands and castles in Brittany, which they were to relinquish in 1353 in order to finally achieve peace Charles de Blois. Bentley refused and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Jeanne, tired of fighting, gave up and handed over the lands they had wanted. He was then released and in January 1357, the barony of La Roche-Moisan was granted to them. Toward the end of her life, she returned to France and has lived in Hennebont castle until the end of her life in 1359.

[xf4iryx]

THEME SONGS (ballad of empires)

This is a what songs would play if my character would enter the scene in a show?, it'll feature film music and songs.

Chapter I, Whisper of Change, Season One

A man of the north embraces his heritage.

Chapter V, Ghost, Season One

An unlikely alliance is formed in the east.

Chapter VI, Rebels, Season One

Griffin returns to reclaim his birth right.

Chapter XI, The Dragon's Fire, Season One

A revelation is made when the friends arrive at the court in Calvaera.

Chapter XV, The Dragon and the Phoenix, Season One

In the night two hearts unite as one.

Chapter XVI, Warlock and Rebel, Season One

Aedion gets unexpected help to escape from the fortress.

Chapter XVII, Depature, Season One

The companions leave to find the sword of the true heir.

Chapter XXIX, Gathering Storm, Season Two

A revelation is made when the gild starts an attack on both, rebels and Danaham's forces.

If anyone wants to do that feel free to. 😊

tags: @pluttskutt, @whimsyqueen , @writingpotato07 , @queerlilchinchin, @italiangothicwriteblr, @verba-writing, @marinesocks and @maybenow22

[princediavolos]

every clue in endless summer, explained

technically the title is kinda misleading because some clues simply have no explanation, they just are. still, there’s a lot of pieces to be put together over the three books, and there are clues found in the first book that aren’t explained till the last one. (if you’re confused about the clues, here’s the fandom wiki for book 1, book 2 & book 3.)

before i dive in, here’s some clarifications:

i’ve used mc’s default name, taylor, and neutral pronouns wherever i’ve referred to them. the endless is also referred to by neutral pronouns.

acts 1, 2 & 3 fall under book 1

acts 4, 5 & 6 fall under book 2

acts 7 & 8 fall under book 3

each act has one bonus scene, so if i’m referring to bonus scene 5, it implies to the scene shown after act 5.

ok so unnecessarily long exposition under the cut!

ACT 1

i. tranquilizer dart: found by taylor and diego upon landing on the airstrip. presumably used on the sabretooth, t'kal, to keep it docile. likely done by rourke or his henchmen, but it is also highly possible the endless tranquilized t'kal in order to keep it from killing everyone.

ii. strange creature: a colourful flying seahorse, found by quinn and taylor along the beach in a premium scene. as shown in bonus scene 1, rourke knows of the creature, as he examines it with interest through his binoculars.

iii. weird lights: lights resembling the auroras displayed at the control tower, found by taylor and jake. it is later explained in book 2 chapter 10 by grace, that the lights are caused by the doppler effect, due to the dilation and contraction of time around la huerta. the vaanti call it the lights of vaanu, said to bring them good luck.

iv. vintage wine: if taylor goes to the ballroom with zahra, quinn notes that every bottle in the room predates 1924. as revealed in book 3 chapter 7, the wedding in the ballroom was that of flora and arthur, and group arrived there due to the time anomalies of the island.

v. sharp tooth: found by grace by the pool, near the fence. according to her, the bars were all twisted. presumably belongs to t'kal the sabretooth.

vi. old note: a note found by taylor and diego in one of the upgraded honeymoon/rainforest suites. it was written by flora sullivan to eugene rosencraft, before her wedding to arthur barnaby. it also references neptune cove, where the second half of the island's heart is found in book 3.

vii. pirate coin/wolf symbol: can be obtained either by going to the waterfall with quinn, or by hiking the cliff with jake. the doubloon is probably a remnant of malatesta and yvonne's loot, while the wolf symbol could have been left behind by the endless. the symbol also matches the stamp on jake's dossier.

viii. shoe prints: a set of muddy shoeprints were found by the celestial's shelter. no solid explanation or implication towards who these belong to.

ix. gas mask: found by taylor underwater in the cavern. it looks very old, and as noted by diego, probably from the world war times. it would have probably belonged to kele, a world war ii soldier who paddled his way into la huerta while escaping from the germans.

x. padlock: the unbroken padlock to the burning hangar, which implies that the hangar was unlocked and jake's plane sabotaged. in one of the memories taylor receives from the endless, lila is shown to deliberately sabotage the plane in order to keep everyone on the island, implying she may have done it in this timeline, too.

ACT 2

i. cufflink: lila is discovered pocketing the cufflink in rourke's office, which she probably did to discover his whereabouts later on. in bonus scene 2, rourke is shown to remove all his clothing, including his cufflinks, before he steps into the containment pod. the cufflink can also be used in book 1 chapter 10, where rourke's dna on it reveals a footage video of him complaining about strange occurrences on the island.

ii. dossiers: files containing data on sean, grace, raj and estela are found in the paper shredder, intact. each of them is stamped with symbols of the constellations aquila, cygnus, centaurus and draco respectively. the symbols are left behind by the endless.

iii. whiskey notes: a note discarded by rourke in the vip lounge, referencing the satellite uplink at the la huerta observatory. this is also shown in bonus scene 2.

iv. frying pan: a frying pan embossed with the centaurus symbol on it, which raj says he feels very drawn to. this was also left behind by the endless. he also uses this pan to deflect a sedative dart aimed at taylor in book 1 chapter 16.

v. arrowhead: an amber arrowhead is found lodged inside the king crab's shell, as found by taylor and estela. as the vaanti have been shown to use amber weaponry (as well as in other ways, such as the catalyst idols), it is implied that one of them may have attacked the guardian with an arrow.

vi. dossiers: files containing data on jake, zahra and diego found in the room inside the observatory. they are stamped with the symbols of the constellations lupus, corvus and canis. symbols left behind by the endless.

vii. strange gun: a futuristic gun found by either estela or jake. in book 1 chapter 16, it is revealed to be a tachyon accelerator, used to move objects forward in time. in bonus scene 5, lila refers to the gun as a temporal perforator.

viii. star map: a holographic display of constellations, as seen by taylor and sean as they go up the pod. sean points out that the stars in the sky over la huerta don't have the usual constellations, and that the stars have not looked like this for a million years. this is confirmed in the book 1 epilogue, when aleister notes that atropo's eruption has caused la huerta to go back to the hadean eon.

ACT 3

i. dossiers: files containing data on quinn, michelle and craig found by taylor and diego by the marina. they are stamped with the symbols of the constellations delphinus, pavo and ursa. symbols left behind by the endless.

ii. rourke's ship: if taylor and lila venture into a familiar-looking boat, they will discover it is rourke's ship, the daedalus. he was seen on the ship in bonus scene 1, and he presumably destroyed it along with the other boats on the marina immediately afterwards.

iii. plastic explosive: the semtex explosive is found by taylor in the back of the boat. it's what was used to blow up the other ships in the marina, but this one malfunctioned.

iv. strange shell: a blue-purple coloured shell that repeats the speaker's words over and over. in one of the memories taylor receives from the endless, varyyn is seen tearfully listening to the shell echoing diego's voice, saying 'i'll always love you, varyyn' over and over again as it gradually fades away.

v. telepathic vision: varyyn telepathically communicates with taylor, showing them what would happen if the catalysts didn't go with the vaanti. it is later revealed to be a depiction of atropo erupting, setting the whole world on fire and destroying it.

vi. numbers: in the wine cellar, 1908 refers to a lever to the underground tunnel, disguised as a vintage wine bottle, as well as the cheat code to rourke's arcade game, most wanted 2. rourke also uses an override program on iris called the directive 1908, explained in book 3 chapter 9, which makes iris prioritise the goal she was created for -- to utilise imogen rourke's knowledge on cloning to provide an heir to rourke. another program, directive 8091, forces estela into the omega mech cockpit in book 3 chapter 10, as she is rourke's 'true' heir.

vii. dossiers: files on taylor and aleister are found inside the security centre, both stamped by the endless with symbols of constellations andromeda and serpens. aleister's dossier is newer, printed recently by iris upon discovering that he was aboard the plane to la huerta.

viii. healing plant: leaves of the plant, when wrapped around aleister's bleeding palm, heal it with unnatural speed without a trace. grace and aleister theorize this may be due to some cellular reconstructive properties the leaves may contain.

ix. necklace: worn by varyyn in book 1, the necklace is seen to have time travelling properties, as it brings back jake/estela/sean/quinn/diego back from the dead. it is unknown if the endless facilitated its use or it is associated with rourke.

x. pirate cutlass: the cutlass was forged by malatesta and was stolen from him by admiral higgenbotham, who was presumably killed alongside malatesta's crew in the flashback taylor experiences, by the vaanti. yvonne then stole the cutlass from higgenbotham's corpse, naming it chouchou. it is unclear as to how the cutlass ended up on a display case at the celestial.

ACT 4

i. hydra caduceus: a staff found in rourke's library, which when placed in the statue's hand in the atrium, turns it into a sundial. iris says that the caduceus is the only item in the library she cannot find the origin of.

ii. crimson glove: a futuristic, yet battered metal glove put on display in rourke's underground museum; taylor realises that the person's arm was probably cut off. the glove belongs to the endless, who tells taylor that they learnt very soon that 'the laws of time can be very unforgiving' with reference to their loss of limb.

iii. shotgun shell: michelle and taylor find the 12-gauge armor-piercing shell casing, as identified by jake, during the time loop. he notes that whoever shot this meant business. the shell probably came from one of the arachnids who were on the island searching for jake.

iv. snowy hills: taylor, with either jake or estela, finds snow on the hills and by the lake on a hot and sunny day, indicating time is in disarray throughout different parts of the island, much like the northern and southern parts of the island.

v. wedding ring: a wedding ring is found on the hand of a statue of a masked bride, in the valley of tombs by jake and taylor. the statue is of flora sullivan, and the ring was given to her by eugene rosencraft which she had turned down. it was after this she wrote him the note found in act 1.

vi. tattoo: uqzhaal has a back tattoo of the legend of the threshold. it is the place where yvonne finds the endless in bonus scene 5, and where yvonne, taylor and uqzhaal meet the endless after collecting all the catalyst idols and solving the puzzle.

vii. words on the wind: the voices at the singing cliffs tell taylor that something is coming across the sea, destroying everything in its path. this could either be an immediate reference to yvonne's arrival the next morning, or a vague prediction about the omega mech used by rourke in book 3.

viii. musket ball: yvonne concedes the gold musket ball at sharktooth isle in exchange for their services to find her 'treasure.'

ix. antique compass: yvonne's said treasure turns out to be an antique compass which she tries to conceal; malatesta made her walk the plank for stealing this compass, which she did in order to find the fountain of youth. the compass also leads her to the threshold in bonus scene 5.

x: oath blade: seraxa's gift to taylor for saving taari, saying that debts must be repaid in accordance with vaanti culture. she is shown to threaten the catalysts with this blade in book 2 chapter 4.

ACT 5

i. silver sap: the sap that drips from elyy'stel's tree aids the catalysts to walk in between dimensions. it is the consumption of this sap by eugene and flora that gradually turned them feral and eventually into the vaanti.

ii. deep fissure: if taylor keeps rewinding until they can't go any further, right up to the ancient sea, the catalysts witness the forming of a fissure in the ocean bed. this fissure was caused by vaanu crash-landing on the earth, and it eventually becomes mount atropo, and forms the bubble surrounding la huerta.

iii. the island's heart: one half of the island's heart, which was formed right in the crux of the volcano, found by the catalysts in the base of elyy'stel's tree.

iv. the mask maker: the masks worn by the vaanti bear the name of their maker, rosencraft & sons, 1921. this explains the masks worn by guests at flora and arthur's wedding, which also took place in the rosencraft manor. the rosencrafts were said to be bankrupt, and that the estate belonged to the banks.

v. burning shard: a burning crystal shard that glows green and reacts the same way that quinn did while possessed by the island's heart. it is one of many crystal shards scattered across the island, originating from the crux of the volcano.

vi. mansingh crater: a crater found near the chasm bears the name of mansingh transglobal tech, the company run by grace's mother, blaire hall. it is suspicious to both taylor and grace, as it implies blaire hall was somehow involved with rourke. no further explanation has been made about the crater.

vii. newspaper clipping: a scrap of an article is found by taylor in the elysian lodge, detailing the deaths of arjun and subhanu sethi due to a car accident, also killing their son and putting their daughter in a critical condition. this daughter is lila, and this article implies that rourke (or someone else) was doing a background research on lila.

viii. rourke's note: an old note written by rourke to look into the new junior researcher, as they look familiar. this is most likely a reference to olivia montoya, although it is not known where he recognises her from.

ACT 6

i. rourke's plan: out of agitation, lila blurts out rourke's plan to save the world through a machine at the masada facility. this machine turns out to be the omega mech, and rourke's plan happens to be controlling the world and its people's existence on his whims.

ii. tracking device: a tracking device is found by taylor, attached to the yeti's fur. this was placed there by the arachnid. this tracking device relays location details back to them, as seen in the military humvee by michelle, jake and taylor, where the code name for the yeti is arktos.

iii. garbled message: a distorted voice reveals the date and coordinates of jake's location, received by the arachnid through an anonymous transmission, which is how they came upon la huerta in the first place. this voice belongs to jake himself, who did so using a 'time-phone' in order to merge realities and help them escape through a helicopter from the masada facility.

iv. crashed satellite: varyyn, while talking about shooting stars, says a satellite once crashed to the ground from the skies. it is probably a stray satellite that got caught in the la huerta time bubble, or it belonged to rourke.

v. omega mech: olivia montoya demonstrates rourke's plans for the omega specimen, aka the endless, through a vr headset. she urges the viewer to understand the destruction the specimen, and rourke, are capable of.

vi. missing guests: rourke claimed that the guests at the celestial were evacuated in time at the beginning of the book, but it is shown that he had them put in containment pods. as seen in bonus scene 4, lundgren and the other arachnids were a part of these guests, but were released by rourke upon striking a deal with him to capture jake.

vii. charred skeletons: skeletons of people are found in the flames and ashes at hartfeld, proving that people did not escape the eruption.

viii. havana cigar: lundgren's cigar at the masada facility implies that he was snooping around where he shouldn't, and that he didn't trust rourke. this distrust is confirmed in bonus scene 6.

ACT 7

i. temple/ancient map: if taylor, yvonne and uqzhaal find the endless, they will give the whereabouts of no'ox naj temple to yvonne, where the fountain of youth exists. if they don't find the endless, taylor and yvonne find a carving of the la huerta map on the walls at the threshold, also hinting towards the temple. the whole group meets the endless for the first time in this temple in book 3 chapter 4.

ii. scout: a mechanical spider with a spy camera is found by taylor while they go windsurfing to win malatesta's bet. like the tracker on the yeti, this was also placed by the arachnid to track down their locations.

iii. padlock: a weathered padlock bearing the inscription, 'no land, no sea, no one will keep us apart. flora & eugene, 1920,' found by taylor in a coral reef. after turning down eugene's proposal (the ring clue, book 2), she tried to make it up to him with this padlock and by asking him to show up at neptune cove (the note clue, book 1). when he failed to show up, flora gave up on him and somehow ended up in a forced marriage to arthur barnaby a year later.

iv. pen: a tarnished silver pen bearing grace's name is found in the shrine at no'ox naj temple. it is implausible that she was at the temple, as she was under rourke's custody the whole time. it is also the same pen seen in grace's catalyst idol, returned to her by aleister and ultimately found near professor diaz's car which she had smashed up.

v. silver sap: one of the drinks served at the anachronists' party at quarr'tel is the silver sap from elyys'tel's tree. the creation of the vaanti myth, which is said to have started at a masquerade theme wedding, is that of flora and arthur's, where the former gets shot after confessing her love for eugene at the wedding. in an attempt to save her, eugene gives her some of this sap. this consumption eventually turns them into the feral vaanti.

vi. spirit's identity: the anachronist, clockmaker, refers to the faceless spirit as vaanu. in reality, vaanu is simply an alien being from another planet (the prism dimension) who crash landed on earth when its planet was destroyed. upon communing with vaanu, taylor discovers they are vaanu's creation, made for the purpose of returning la huerta to its normal state, allowing vaanu's departure.

vii. aleister's note: aleister writes a note to grace, apologising to her, and how he feels genuine remorse over his betrayal. he mentions that he hopes to redeem himself in her eyes.

ACT 8:

i. painting: at the rosencraft manor, there's a painting titled 'depiction of the divine' portraying rourke writing the ten commandments dressed in roman attire. the attire probably matches the statue of himself in the atrium, which opens up the sundial to his museum.

ii. communicator: the anachronists provide sean, raj and michelle with antique communicators which lets them coordinate the attack on cetus.

iii. path to the core: vaanu shows quinn the way to the core of the volcano, where the island's heart belongs. this core is the place where vaanu landed on earth.

iv. molten crystals: a crystal orb with claw markings in it, made by the oryctoraptor that dwells inside the volcano. referred to by varyyn as the deep guardian, it is the most reclusive of the four. it is also responsible for the orb found in the cavern in book 1 chapter 5, and possibly the orb that causes the time loop in book 2 chapter 2.

v. the endless' musings: zahra finds a diary belonging to the endless at the base of the volcano, in which they speak of how the sentience of the crystals probably drew the four guardians (cetus, king crab, yeti, oryctoraptor) to establish order on the island, but they were driven mad. the endless also believes it is possible the crystal created the creatures. this is possible, as it would explain the existence of the colourful seahorse, t'kal and furball (although they have not been affected like the guardians have.)

vi. closing words: the closing words spoken by seraxa during the handfasting ceremony, which is customary as 'it was for the first bride and her beloved.' they are the same words that were engraved in the padlock that flora made for eugene.

[ulircursed]

aloe :   how does your muse handle grief ?

BOTANICAL HEADCANONS (no longer accepting!)

(Note: Ok, at risk of making Ring into a v sad widower, I’ve always tentatively hc’d that the reason Brigid/Edain and Andrei have different mothers is because Ring’s first wife died (this part has been discussed with leon a while ago, but not nat yet, so I’m open to input!), but then I also further hc that his second wife... also died?? Fairly early on too, since I feel like if a mother were part of the scenario on the ship, the then four-year-old Andrei would not have clung to Ring alone and prevented him from looking for Brigid. So yeah, my tentative hc is that apparently Ring’s type... is people who don’t live very long ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

I swear I’m going somewhere serious with this. Since the death of his mother happened when he was so young, I don’t think Andrei really understood grief, not even when Brigid was taken — according to the Oosawa manga, knowing that Brigid was captured by pirates merely strengthened his resolve to get stronger to ‘get her back’. Later on, as per game canon, we see that Edain has always held out hope that Brigid was alive, while I think Andrei gradually lost hope bit by bit, until there was a point (when he was officially named heir to the house) that he fully believed Brigid to be dead, and he kept up that belief until learning for certain that she was with the Orgahil Pirates.

Therefore, I feel it was during his teenage years that he went through a slow and conflicted grieving process, where he forced himself to accept that Brigid was truly gone on the surface, while simultaneously still holding onto his childhood idolization of her. Compounded by the fact that he’s always compared himself in the heir role to how Brigid would’ve done it if she were still here, and it resulted in that shining, perfect image of her that he had in his mind, the perfect sister and the perfect heir who can do no wrong and will lead Yngvi to its greatest glory. That... didn’t end well when reality didn’t match up with his expectations.

Besides his sister, there’s been little occasion thereafter for true grief, but for general loss of people he cares about, I feel that experience has also affected him, in that he is the type to hold onto idealized memories of bygone days, which is then compared to reality when it crashes down upon him, often to his own detriment.