#what else was she meant to do facing death for all of the crew

[a-menaceinpink]

ok listen octavia you know i love you but this is your only flaw. why would would say everyone is always counting on you and everyone depends on you nd clarke saying she’s trying her best and O going that’s not good enough?? bffr rn

[acemeaskipper]

I'll be forever devastated that season VIII was that bad because, in concept, it's brilliant. Decades after their deaths, decades of being stuck alone in a tin can with only a hologram, a cat, an AI and an android for company, the whole Red Dwarf crew is brought back. Lister is brought face to face with every single person that he loved and lost, and every single person that he lost suddenly all wake up to find they're in the middle of nowhere, deep in space, far off course, in a year that should be impossible. But, none the sense, they are millions of years in the future, and all their families and friends on earth are long dead. Where even is the earth? They were never meant to go this far. There's an entirely new lifeform strolling about the ship and despite all logic, Lister is demonstrably older than everyone else. He's also different, matured (somewhat) and more prepared to handle the difficulties of this new world than anyone else on board.

It is such a fascinating idea, especially if you throw in this young, living Rimmer, appearing so soon after his Rimmer's departure, one who can't even begin to comprehend the afterlife of his hologram counterpart. Does Lister stare at him sometimes for a moment too long? Does he make a joke only his Rimmer would understand and fall quiet? And the original Kochanski! Wouldn't it be cool to see how she reacts to this Lister, and how she'd handle seeing this alternative version of herself who's so different to her- and hey, what do you mean there are alternative realities???

How do they all handle this? They surely wouldn't believe Lister at first, but all signs would point to the truth eventually. What if some familiar villains showed up, and this mining crew had no clue what to do? How would the captain feel as he sat back and watched third technician Dave Lister take the reins and save the ship along with his crew? And how would Lister feel when, after gaining back all he's lost, he loses it all again?

But instead we got- that.

[pandora-writes-one-piece]

Happy birthdayyyyy!!🥳🥳🥳🥳

If I’m still on time for the birthday event may I please request the following prompt:

"I can't pretend like everything's fine when I’m falling apart inside."

With fem reader and nsfw and Eustass Kid. 👀

Hello, Anon! Thank you so much for your request! I know, I know, it's been so long and I still have so many of these waiting for me in my inbox! Please forgive me, everyone... Anyway, this turned out more angst than NSFW, I hope that you still love it! Thank you for your support!

Source for pic

Gone

Word Count: 2671

Tags: Fem!Reader; Heavy Angst; Grief; Mourning; Sorrow; Pain; Mentions of sex, not explicit; Blood; Death;

Special Warning: English is not my first language, I apologise for any possible spelling or grammar mistakes.

Summary: Kid faces a loss that devastates him like nothing else. Not even Killer seems able to rouse the Captain from his grief.

|Masterlist|

Kid holds your lifeless body against his chest, cradling you with so much care that it’s as if you are merely sleeping. Your eyes are shut, and your head lolls softly with each step he takes towards the Victoria Punk. He’s covered head to toe in the blood of his enemies, having gone on a killing spree after he witnessed life spilling from your eyes as he held you close, sheltering you both from the bullets that took your life in a cocoon of metal he created far too late. 

‘Don't be sad, Captain.’ 

He can almost hear you whisper the words, but your death was nearly instant, not giving him any moment to tell you how much you meant to him. 

'Don't worry, Kid. It's just death. Nothing is final.’

That sounds like you. But it's just his mind putting sentences together. A way to cope, perhaps. His chest feels heavy, each breath pulling with a raging effort just to travel from his lungs to his throat. 

“DOOOOOOOC!” He doesn't sound like himself. He has never sounded so broken, so torn, so incomplete. The word drags, a ragged sound that tears through his heart and rips his insides. You can't be gone, he refuses to believe that. 

Kid's scream summons half the crew, and they all have different reactions to what they see. Some sob, some curse, some freeze, and some rage. The Doc appears, rushing towards Kid and your still body, their breath immediately hitching in their throat as they see your pale face and stilled chest. 

“Captain, she…”

“No! Heal her.” Kid’s eyes are red, a fiery rage held within, ready to snap, ready to break and take everything in his path. “She ain’t gone.” The whine that leaves his lips sounds far away. It's not Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid speaking. It's your lover, your ‘baby’, your everything. “Bring her back.” He almost sobs, knees faltering as he's brought down by grief, shoulders sagging and wracking with effort. 

The Doc stutters, knowing Kid is the one in need of comfort, not your still, lifeless body but they pretend, fussing over you, checking your breathing - there's no air leaving your lungs - checking your vitals - gone. 

Killer approaches, his head bowed down with sadness as he nears the broken form of his oldest friend. Squeezing Kid's shoulder, Killer kneels down next to him. If anyone can bring sense to Kid, it's him. 

‘Listen to Kill, baby. He's got you. Always.’

“Kid… she's gone.” Killer's voice trembles as he delivers his words, they seem so final, so somber. The Doc stops fussing, taking a step back and hiding their face behind their hands, like most of the crew are doing, coping with their loss and grief. “You have to let us care for her. She wouldn't want you to feel like this.”

Kid doesn't speak. His hold tightens and he brings your body close to his chest again, burying his face in your hair like he did a thousand times before. “I never told her–...” Kid's breath catches and morphs into a broken wail. “Kill, I never told her how much I–...” Kid mumbles and murmurs in your ear. Promises of eternal love, words of devotion, just for you. Words that were trapped inside of him, words he couldn't let go off. Everything you meant to him, lost against a lifeless body. 

Killer's hand grips harder. “She knew, partner. She knew.”

But Kid doubts that very much, his memories betray him.

You held his face in your hands, cupping his cheeks and showing him your easy smile. Eyes shining just for him, as bright as the stars above in the vast sky. You'd always kiss him tenderly, your devotion flowing freely from your lips and the tips of your fingers as you caressed him. 

Kid got easily bored. Your touch immediately riled him up, and rare was the time he was gentle in his lovemaking. He needed you, his desire animalistic, almost primal, and he couldn't contain himself. Searching for pleasure, giving pleasure, but always harsh, brute, intense, equal in action as he was in personality. 

You’d sigh, mewl and moan into him, giving in to his needs because you needed him back just the same. Every thrust was an extension of his roaring desire, every bite, a mark of how much you meant to him. Every bruise from holding you too tightly was a testament to how fiercely he cared. 

And every time you unravelled under his unbridled ministrations, a tug in his heart reminded him just how much you meant to him. 

Tangled in the sheets, his seed dripping from you, you'd smile in bliss. Holding him. And always, always uttering those four words he longed to hear: I love you, Kid. 

He'd force the words out of his mouth, but they never got past his tongue. It was never in his nature to be vulnerable, let alone show vulnerability. But he did. He loved you fiercely, blindly, madly. 

Had he known that was to be your last night together, would he have made love to you instead of fucking you? Would he have slowed down his relentless thrusts to languid, lazy strokes? Would he have kissed you, leaving a trail of perfect lipstick marks on your skin instead of smudges mixed with blood from careless, harsh bites? 

“That was an amazin’ fuck, lass.”

Would he have told you he loved you instead?

“Ye know how to make a man have a good time.”

Would he have told you how much he cared, instead? 

“So tight ye make my dick hard again, just thinkin’ about it.”

Would he have told you how perfectly you fit against him, instead? 

“Kid… You have to let her go. It's time.” Killer's voice pulls him out of his painful spiral of memories. 

Yet Kid remains motionless, his hold on you only tightens, his clothes soaking more of your blood, dyeing them as red as his hair. His fingers tremble against your cold skin in an endless caress, like he’s trying to memorize every little bit of you, too afraid to let go.

The ship, always so full of laughter, of rowdy screams and clangs from something or other, is unusually quiet. The gentle splash of waves against the hull being the only song lulling in the air. 

That, and the mournful sobs and whispered cries of your friends - your crew. 

“She ain’t gone…” Kid whispers one more time, his lips pressing hard against your temple, his eyes glassy as if he’s not here, as if he’s somewhere far away, with you still breathing and smiling in his arms. 

Killer opens his mouth to argue but knows that it’s useless. Nothing can change his captain’s mind when he’s fully set to it. “Back to work, everyone.” He commands gently as he gets up, a stiffness to his usually fluid movements. 

The crew disperses slowly, some looking at Killer with doubt in their gaze, but he just shakes his head, silently asking for more time. Kid just needs a little more time with you. That’s all.

‘It’s okay, baby. You can let go. I know you loved me.’

Kid’s breath hitches as he tries to stifle a sob, a sound so broken, so lost, that it can’t have come from him. He keeps hearing your whispered words, as if you’re still with him. 

So why can’t he feel your warmth? Why doesn’t your body respond to his touch? Why is the pain he’s feeling hurting like nothing else ever did before. 

“Ye ain’t gone…” The raw vulnerability in his words hangs around the deck like a thick fog, coating the ship with grief and sorrow. The Victoria being a reflection of her captain’s moods. “We still have more time…”

‘We’ll meet in the afterlife, love. After you’ve achieved your dream of becoming the Pirate King.’

Kid’s tears seem foreign to him. It’s been a while since he shed them. They scald his skin, and he won’t be surprised if he finds blisters marring his face later, the weight of his pain is so grand that it has to leave physical scars. 

“Yer my dream.” Kid whispers against your temple, your sweet scent still so strong that you have to be alive. You have to. “Bein’ Pirate King means nothin’ if yer not by my side.”

That’s what he should have told you. 

A fresh wave of memories inundates his mind as Kid clenches his jaw and braces himself for a new outbreak of pain. 

“I can taste it already! We’ll have all the riches, other crews will fear us!” 

You laughed softly, your bare back turned to him as you removed your makeup in the mirror, preparing for bed. Kid paced back and forth, his muscles rippling with every movement.

The Alliance had taken out Big Mom and Kaido, and now he felt invincible.

“Baby, the other crews already fear us. Have you seen your bounty?” Your voice rang soft in his ears. How he loved that sound. He’d have you whisper a freaking recipe in his ear just to be able to hear you speak forever.

But he’d never admit it out loud.

“Fuck yeah, they should!” He roared, a hearty laugh bubbling up his chest.

“You’re one step closer to your dream, love.” You turned fully to him, a softness in your gaze that could crumble the highest resolve. Yes, he wanted to be Pirate King, but he knew at that moment that his dream would mean nothing without your presence. 

“Aye, lass, I am.” 

What he really wanted to do was cup your face in his hands, revel in the way your cheeks felt soft and warm against his calloused fingers, and take his time to kiss you gently. Show you just how much you meant to him, how deeply in love you made him feel.

Instead, he bent you over the dresser and made you unravel over and over again before he was spent, panting over you. 

What a fool he’d been. 

If only he knew there would be no more time. No forever. No eternity.

Breathing hurts him. Looking at you aches. Feeling nothing but cold when he touches your cheek devastates him.

He’s lost. He doesn’t know what to do without you. He doesn’t know who to be without you. 

‘You’ll figure it out, Kid. You always do.’

“Not this time, lass… not this time…”

He clutches you against him, only moving to take off his coat and drape it over your cool body, trying against all hope to keep warmth inside you. 

The minutes stretch to hours, and Kid remains rooted to the same spot. The crew gives him a wide berth, trying to carry on with their tasks, the ship still anchored in the same spot since Kid hasn’t given orders to sail, and Killer still clings to the hope of burying you on dry land instead of dropping you in the unforgiving sea. 

Hours drag on, bringing the dusk with them. The sky fills with bright dots, though they seem far duller and dimmer than usual, a mimicry of the grief that haunts the Victoria. 

Kid doesn’t move.

Killer checks on him from time to time, but all he sees is his captain mourning the loss of a loved one, whispering broken promises against your hair, cradling your face in his hands, holding on to a hope that will never be fulfilled, as if you could, somehow, open your eyes and come back to him. 

Yet Killer doesn’t intervene. He knows Kid needs time.

Dusk settles into night, and night turns to dawn. 

Kid’s cheeks and ears are red, his breath comes out accompanied by tendrils of smoke. He’s freezing, but the numbness of the cold does nothing to stop the ache in his heart. He still feels empty and lost. Broken and incomplete. He fears he will never feel whole again. 

“Kid. It’s time.” Killer’s gravelly voice does little to shake him from his stupor, so he doesn’t move. “You can’t stay here forever. She needs to rest.”

A primal growl leaves his mouth through bared teeth as Kid clutches you closer to his chest. “The fuck do ye know what she needs? I’m the one who knows her! I’m the one who loves her! Fuck!”

Kid slams his fist against the deck, and Killer hears the wood groaning and cracking under his power. 

The First Mate takes a tentative step forward, his hand hovering over Kid’s shoulder. “You’re right. I don’t know what she needs. But I know she wouldn’t want to see you like this. Rotting with grief, hurting, becoming a shadow of the man you are.”

Kid groans, shutting his eyes, forcing Killer’s words out of his head. They ring far too close to the truth, and he can’t bear it, not now. 

“I can't pretend like everything's fine when I’m falling apart inside, Killer…”

Killer sighs behind his mask, fearing that what he has to say might not be enough to help his friend. 

“You have to try. She loved you because of your strength, your fire, your ability to chase your dream. Don’t let that die with her.”

“Shut the fuck up, Killer!” He slams his fist again, and the wood splinters. New blood drips from his fist, coating the dried, caked one with a bright red instead. “I failed her… I fuckin’ failed her…”

“We all did, Kid. And we’ll have to live with it. But not like this. She wouldn’t want this, think about it.” 

Kid freezes, his hand trembling as he prepares to strike the battered wood again. Yet something in Killer’s words strikes close to home. You used to talk about what came next: the afterlife…

‘That’s it, baby…’

“She used to say that she’d wait for me if she went first…” Kid’s scoff turns into a sob, and Killer’s shoulders sag at the helplessness of it all. “I always told her to shut her mouth, sayin’ she was talkin’ nonsense. In truth, I just didn’t want to think she’d be gone first.”

The waves lap gently against the husk of the ship, and Killer doesn’t dare disturb the silence. Kid is clearly lost in his own head, memories swirling around, taking hold of him, either saving him or drowning him in sorrow. 

“How am I supposed to go on, Kill? I can’t–...”

Killer’s hand squeezes his shoulder, the gesture the same as the day before, but this time, it seems to ground his captain in reality. 

“You go on by fulfilling your dream. By fighting. By being the fierce Eustass Captain Kid she loved. If there’s something else, she’ll be there for you, and you’ll want to face her as a proud man, won’t you?”

Kid lifts his head, his amber eyes dimmed by pain, searching the horizon as if mapping the islands that surround him. Creating a pathway to his goal. 

“Aye. I want her to be proud.”

‘I already am, love.’

“And I’ll let her know, Kill… I’ll…” Kid’s voice breaks as he slowly sets you down on the deck, his fingers brushing one last time against your cheek.

“She knows, Kid.”

But he’s not listening to Killer, his eyes are fixed on you, brimming with tears again, but burning a little brighter now. “I’ll become the damned Pirate King for you - for us. Just wait for me, love.” 

Later, after they buried you and left a marker on that small island alongside the Kid Pirates' flag, Kid faced the horizon with a fierce determination setting his features. “Ready the Victoria. We’re just gettin’ started. We’ve got a damned throne to claim.”

“Aye, Cap’n!”

Grief might have shadowed the crew for a while, might’ve even made the sails of the Victoria less willing to fly, her husk heavier, more burdened. But your love was what drove your captain further now. That and the promise of the afterlife, of what came next, of unspoken vows and a way to fulfill them. 

‘I’ll be waiting, love.’

Tag List: @rosidaze @beachaddict48 @armiliadawn @jintaka-hane @sprinkklz @baby5555 @hopelesslover06 @mars-mizuko @sleepykittycx @nerium-lil @eustasscapitankid @ren-ni @jqperi @lycoriskalmia @daydreamer-in-training @iloveyoushanks @thegalaxysedge22 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth

[radio-fmm]

Red satin and a sundress

Sanji x gardener!reader

Warnings: Fluff, confession, angry reader (just for a moment) fem reader

Word count: 1,944 words

Summary: In which Sanji confesses his love for you but you don’t understand what’s happening. From my gardener!reader series but can be read as a stand alone

˖°𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧.𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

“Are you afraid?” Yo dropped your pencil, turned eyes wide and a gasp escaped your mouth “Robin you scared me half to death!” You collected the pencil from the floor as the woman sat in front of you with a coffee mug in hand “Are you?” You looked at her puzzled “Afraid of what?” Robin motioned her head to where you were once glancing before she made you jump in your seat, the cook serving an afternoon drink to Nami “Sanji?” You laughed “The only man that scares me a little in this ship is probably Zoro” you said while looking back at your notebook “I meant, are you afraid to love, y/n?” Robin asked while pointing at the sketch of the blonde you had made beside your annotations. Red colored your face, hands sweaty “Quite the contrary actually… but him” you glanced at Sanji again as he swooned around the annoyed navigator “I don’t think he likes me the way I do, I just happen to be a woman and he happens to love them” the black haired woman giggled as you looked at her confused once more “If you allowed to open yourself to him, I’m sure you’ll change your mind…”

So you did

You talked and talked to Sanji, spending time together, flirting back every now and then even if it made you mad nervous and making sure he noticed how you’ll treat him differently from the rest, you were patient, understanding and caring. Of course he didn’t stop being a huge flirt with every single woman he’ll stumble upon on, but he did something more meaningful for you , he made you a space in his heart. He would tell you about his dream, his passions, his past and just all about him, parts no one else saw but you, as well as he saw parts of you one else did, and eventually Sanji realized that love wasn’t always loud and over the top, love was looking at your person and feeling safe, warm and at peace. So yeah maybe he would skip and spin while serving Robin a coffee and would make heart eyes whenever Nami addressed him, but with you, he was himself and nothing else.

“Are you coming to the Island?” You were leaning in the door frame of the kitchen, Sanji jumped, he was seated at the counter with a cooking book in hand absolutely lost in thought “Oh Flower! Didn’t see you there” he closed it immediately as he saw you standing in the room “No dear I… I’m staying to keep watch on the ship!” You frowned.

This last week the cook had been acting quite strange, whenever you wanted to initiate a conversation he would cut it short, whenever your hands brushed he would back up, his eyes wouldn’t even cross your way. This was absolutely weird behavior considering you two were considerably more close than anyone in the crew, you hoped to talk to him about the matter during a walk around the Island “But you always restock the fridge” you walked closer which made him flinch “I gave the stupid moss head the list of things we need, I’ll wait here!” a piercing silence filled the room, he felt distant “Sanji what’s wro-“ you were loudly interrupted by Luffy who barged in “Y/n!!! Are you coming or not?”

“Yes, I guess I am”

Did you smell? Did you said or do something wrong? Did you looked uglier? Was there something different? Was he bored of you? He was probably all this time super sweet to you for mere entertainment right? A million questions overwhelmed you, you just couldn’t place what had possibly changed between you two.

“Y/n? Are you even listening?” After buying new plants and seeds for the garden, you decided to join Nami and Robin at the local boutique, you needed a distraction but it seemed you were the one distracting yourself “Is there something wrong?” Robin asked quite worried, you shook your head and tried to brush it off but your hands grew green moss and sharp roses, you couldn’t hide your emotions even if you tried. The two girls shared a look, they respected your decision to not talk about the matter and they were not gonna pressure you to say anything you didn’t want to “How about we find you a new sundress?” Nami smiled your way “Nah, I’m a gardener, dresses are not very practical”

But you underestimated the navigators persuasive abilities, now you had tried 6 dresses already, none of them convincing enough for your friend. You heard Robin’s muffled laugh coming form outside the dresser “I had never seen such a serious hunt for a dress” you sighed “Tell me about it” yet another dress appeared hanging in the door behind you “Ow c’mon you guys this is fun! I’m having fun” Nami defended. You tried on the next dress and for your surprise it planted a smile on your face, it was red and it tied with a delicate bow in the front, giving apace to show all the beautiful jewelry you always wore around your neck, with short princess like puffy sleeves with an opening in the side of your legs that showed a white fabric with red flowers under it. As you came out of the dresser and spinned around for your friends, it was like you had completely forgotten about the cook “I am amazingggg” Robin clapped at Namis incredible styling skills “Are you sure you still want to be a pirate?” You asked her, smile wide “I can be a pirate AND a stylist” she winked

You decided to head back to the Sunny, inevitably insecurity made its way trough your stomach, you still weren’t ready to face Sanji about whatever the hell he had going on. You arrived and to your surprise there was no sight of him, you thought he was keeping an eye on the ship… you payed it no mind and went to your room to cool off for the day. After putting your shopping away, you decided to slip on the red sundress and have a little picnic by yourself, picking the fresh fruit from your garden and reading while sitting in the sunset sounded like a perfect plan for you… but it seemed like someone beat you to it.

As you walked closer to the garden delicious smells filled your senses, it made you close your eyes in enjoyment and took in a big breath, confused but curious you looked for the source of the smell. There standing next to two beautiful plated dinners in a picnic blanket, a rose and a candle in the middle of the food and drinks already poured in was Sanji, who played with nervous hands with the ring you had gifted him that now hanged form his neck. He looked handsomely dressed in coincidentally a red satin shirt, buttons loosened up, sleeves were up showing his strong arms, formal black pants and he had gelled his hair back enough to show both of his ocean blue eyes that enchanted you and most importantly no cigarette in sight! “Sanji? What the hell is happening?” The blonde cook surely didn’t expected you to show up in such a beautiful dress, mouth agape he stuttered “I.. uhm” you got closer and dismissed the book in your hands, now you really could witness how nervous the man was, cheeks and ears red and shaky breath.

You looked… upset? confused? Sanji couldn’t place the look in your face, he was already nervous looking at you and now he felt sick as he witnessed your brows scrunch together at his sight “I made this for you” was all he could let out, but you couldn’t even look at the scenery as you frantically searched for his gaze “Are you serious?” You let out a sarcastic laugh “You really think I’m just gonna ignore the fact you suddenly started to avoid me like the plague and was just overall rude to me just because you did a picnic for me?!” What? “What?” He didn’t understand what was happening, him rude? To you? That sounded atrocious. All around you the plants in the garden grew and surrounded your figure “I am not just one of your lady friends thats gonna fall for your stupid games Sanji. If you really think you can just ignore me because you got bored of me and then try and win me back with a flirty date night you’re out of your mind”

Then everything clicked in the cooks mind, he had indeed messed up. He had been planing this whole thing for so long, down to every last detail that being around you made him nervous and he would’ve quite probably spoiled everything, so he didn’t notice how to you, who had no clue about what was happening, his behavior may have came across as rude. You shook your head, you didn’t even wanted answers anymore “This is stupid” as you tried to turn around and leave, Sanji stopped you by pulling your wrist which made you stumble into his embrace; as he held you close you could listen to his heart and swore you could feel it against your own skin, it was pounding like crazy “It would be impossible for me to treat you like a simple fling my love, for me you’re my forever”

Now the one nervous and embarrassed was you, his voice echoed through his chest as you started to realize what was actually going on, the plants that once surrounded you now gone “I was so busy trying to make this picnic perfect for you that I didn’t notice how I was acting, the mere thought of you made my heart stop” you stepped back a little to look at his face, Oh~ “I’m really really stupid aren’t I?” You whispered as your face matched the color of both your garments, your head had played terrible tricks on you, the blonde just laughed “Sunlight, were both stupid” time seemed to had stopped around you, Sanji had positioned one hand in your lower back while the other held your face, yours intertwined with his chest. Suddenly everything seemed to make sense, you were supposed to he right there right in that moment; In the Sunny that held your dearest memories and favorite people, with waves that crashed in like an old tune, in your sacred garden your safe place, sunset shining from behind the man you had poured your heart out to making him look like a being of light and warmth, you had dreamt of this “You know what would be pretty stupid of us?” your lips brushed as you stand on your tip toes “If we didn’t kissed” you said before closing the space between you.

And finally you kissed him, like a so long awaited promise you had made yourselves finally coming true, your hands traveled to the back of his neck to deepened the kiss, as if you didn’t wanted him to run away. Your breaths danced with the breeze of the ocean as your hearts felt finally full, flowers bloomed from your head and hands inter-wining Sanji with you. You gasped for air and broke the kiss, your eyes immediately looking for one another, comfortable silence and sweet smiles in front of the sunset was all that could be heard, before Sanji spoke “Could you please break this spell you’ve casted upon me, and please be mine?”

“Yes, yes I can”

And finally you could confidently say that you are not afraid to love, as long as it’s him

˖°𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧.𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Omg I wrote this like 3 different times but here it is they finally said it WOOO. Like always feel free to suggest scenarios for these two idiots and correct me if I made any mistakes English is not my first language 🫶🏻

[cherry-romper]

hoshina and a easily scared reader, where he’s always popping up behind her, pulling pranks, trying to get a laugh out of it (gets an earful from reader). but it’s all fun and games until he’s the one whose scared (reader and maybe even mina join forces to scare the crap out of hoshina), fluff please!! thank you and have a great day:)!!!

- 🐟

Hoshina x Skittish!Reader

Warnings; Mentions of anxiety and blood.

Contains; GN!Reader, Fluff

Word Count; 891

What a menace. In every sense of the word. 

He finds your skittishness the most amusing thing in the world. 

Any chance he gets, he’s gonna make you jump.

He will wait in a dark room just to scare you.

It’s to the point where you make others walk in the room before you, just in case he’s waiting in there.

He also loves to give you electric shocks on the pressure points on your waist. 

A big fan of hiding your things. 

Sometimes he’ll tell you he’s hidden more of your things than he actually has, just to make you run around and look for nothing.

Will message/call you from unknown numbers really ominous things.

Will say “hey, come look at this!” and when there’s nothing there, he’ll call you gullible.

Will tell you you’ve been summoned by the captain when you haven’t.

He tells you, you have something on your face when there's nothing there.

After a while, others caught on and got involved too.

Namely Kafka and Iharu. They both found your reactions amusing, much to your dismay. 

The worst one was when they all pretended there had been a devastating attack on the base while you were asleep. They were rolling with laughter at you running around in your pjs.

Captain Ashiro has pulled him aside more than once and told him to stop, as had you.

Although, Mina was far more polite about it than you were. 

He only toned down his pranks as he didn’t see the harm in them.

You knew he meant no harm, but it made you so wary doing anything, and you were sick of being the “laughingstock” of the crew.

You brought it up with the captain.

You explained to her that you were unhappy with feeling like you were walking on eggshells in the base, it made it hard for you to know when or where there was an actual attack. 

You brought up “the boy who cried wolf” and explained to her that you couldn’t even sleep soundly any more without the fear of others laughing at you. 

The reason you fell for most of the pranks was because you took your job very seriously, to play on your selflessness made you upset. 

Captain Ashiro listened intently as you talked. She was upset that others had joined in and that now it was bordering on harassment.

As you spoke, she got a wicked idea. An awful, terrible idea.

She would be the last person Hoshina would think to pull a prank, let alone team up with you. 

Since he didn’t listen the first time, more extreme measures would be employed.

She proposed to you that, while on the battlefield (in a controlled environment) you would fake being grievously wounded or worse, dead. 

Captain Ashiro would make sure that only Hoshina would be on the field with you, he would believe it to be a training exercise. Everyone else would be watching from the sidelines.

And when he comes to check on you, you can scare him showing that you are alive. 

It was a silly idea, something you didn’t expect the captain to do.

But she explained that it wasn’t fair for them to have all the fun, you might as well teach him a lesson while you’re at it. 

So, you put your plan into motion, and soon you were in position on the field.

Your foot had “slipped” and you had plummeted to your untimely death off one of the buildings in the training range. Your suit failing to save you. A tragic turn of events.

Your vital signs were negative. Your pulse had "flatlined". Everyone watching stopped moving, their breath caught in their throats.

Hoshina rushed after you, pure adrenaline taking over his body. 

He called helplessly for medics over the radio, his voice cracking under his emotions.

He landed next to you, a pool of “blood” surrounding you – curtesy of Mina. 

He ripped your mask off your face, putting his ear to your mouth.

You paused your breathing for a second, when he couldn’t hear you, he began CPR. 

Mina intervened over the radio, advising him not to as your vitals showed a punctured lung.

Reluctantly, he stopped, tears welling in his eyes.

Picking you up and cradling you in his arms, he confessed to you how sorry he was that he didn’t catch you. 

Mina told you, through a private channel, that the medics were on their way in and to wrap it up.

Hoshina quietly sobbed into your shoulder, squeezing you tightly.

He cares a lot more than he lets on, you thought.

With a wicked grin on your face, you whispered deep in his ear “you’re really gullible, Hoshi.” 

His breath hitched and he pushed you back to see your face. 

You were cackling uncontrollably, pointing out the look of bewilderment on his face.

He sniffled a bit, amazed at how you could pull off such a thing. 

He’d never thought you capable of it, and yet, you never cease to amaze him.

He joined you in the laughter, happiness and relief washed over him.

You wiped away your own tears of joy, “do you think you could stop pranking me now?”

Hoshina stopped and stared, a goofy smile stretching his face, “Not a chance!” He giggled, “but it does put you on the scoreboard.”

What?

You should have known better.

“You’ve started a war now, kid. Good luck.”

[bg-brainrot]

Alone in a Crowded Camp

Featuring: Astarion x Rogue!Tav

Series: Fits into Love at First Knife, AO3 link here

Summary: A short Astarion reflection, where he realizes that company isn't so bad.

Tags: Astarion POV, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hurt/Comfort, Vampire Spawn Astarion, set in Act 3, Astarion is Bad at Feelings

A/N: My ~mood~ persists and I wanted to make this real angsty, but even I couldn’t do that to myself hah. A short little oneshot to try to get me out of my funk!

Word count: ~1.1k

Alone.

Astarion has gotten quite good at being alone.

For two hundred years, he's been surrounded by people– their faces, their bodies, their sickly sweet words and insincere affections. But all along, he has been deeply, achingly alone.

He's had his siblings, ugh, if that's what you could call them. They’ve been a constant, annoying, and at times cruel presence in his life. They’ve felt like a growth he could no more remove than he could ignore. And, through the misery and the pain, he somehow still managed to feel gods awfully alone.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the source of his loneliness. After all, he has nary a moment to himself. But no matter how many people, no matter how frequently he’s with them, something is missing. There is no connection, no kindness, no caring. He simply is alone.

As such, Astarion has grown downright skilled at solitude. A practical art form, he's certain– someone else may call it a method of coping. Either way, it’s not a skill he's comfortable to admit.

Especially not when he suddenly finds himself surrounded once more, veritably drowning in the same disgusting familiarity and the startling newness of companionship. Because this time, he's free. Or as free of Cazador as he's willing to believe for the moment. And his companions don't expect much from him. At least not more than he's willing to provide.

So when he settles into the motley crew, he’s prepared to face the same discordant discomfort of isolation, all while being a hair’s breadth from falling into someone’s bedroll.

Instead, what he finds is an unconventional, at times chaotic, symphony.

The loud sheering sound of weapons being sharpened.

The heat of bodies surrounding a late night campfire.

The beautiful, desperate joy on the faces of those who may not live to see another day.

Astarion soon discovers that, despite the dirt, despite the tentacled doom lingering over his gorgeous head of curls, the boisterous mundanity of daily life is oddly… welcome.

For so long, as long as he can remember honestly, he’d dreaded meeting someone new. Meeting someone new meant as much a death sentence for them as it meant a detestable evening for him, a night lost to his inevitable withdrawal into the deepest darkness he could muster. 

But here, in the warm glow of firelight, the darkness abates. 

Against all of his efforts, he actually learns about the group.

How Lae’zel single-handedly took on her entire crèche while training, how many rooms Gale’s tower boasts back in Waterdeep, how far Wyll’s travels have taken him along the Chionthar, how Shadowheart didn’t need her memories to remember she hated bad wine, how Karlach once defeated a Pit Fiend in the hells themselves. None of them are things he expected to learn, nor care about. But he finds himself listening, chortling along all the same.

And then there’s you.

At first, he’d kept you a careful arm and knife distance away– an asset surely, but just as surely a dangerous one. He’d learned early in his time with Cazador that anyone who could wield both blade and charm was not someone to be trifled with.

What he hadn’t expected was the way that you made him feel: Distinctly not-alone.

Whether it be catching the mischievous twinkle in your eye from across the room or finding himself wrapped in your arms, feeling your body heat slowly seeping into him– he simply can’t understand how you make the world feel so full.

Astarion isn’t sure if he loves this new feeling of overwhelming closeness or misses the solitude. He wonders if he’ll ever feel alone again, and the idea that he may not both thrills and terrifies him.

Because there is something soothing about being alone, a type of insidious succor only his own thoughts provide.

The ache loneliness has carved in his chest is as lingering as it is deeply rooted within him and, like a plant desperately trying to survive, he finds the roots digging deeper and deeper in an attempt to stay grounded.

His moments of actual time to himself have been scarce, of course. So, in his fear, Astarion has gotten used to finding his solitude among the chaos, sequestering himself away from any who might hurt him before such a chance could arise.

Retreating from their kindness, reciprocating with sharply worded barbs, shooting utterly underserved glares in every direction. Their wounded looks mean nothing to him– why should they? They are just another group of strangers, one vampire lord away from becoming another pile of corpses.

However, much like every other of his carefully thought out plans, you are ready to thwart him. For every attempt he makes to withdraw, you’re right there, proving time and again that you are no stranger. Not anymore.

“Astarion.”

It’s a simple thing, his name. The last remnant from a mother he no longer remembers. It sounded wretched upon Cazador’s lips, a curse he could never break. Upon yours though? It may as well be a blessing. 

With that one, simple name, his loneliness is allayed. The roots embedded within him pull back, if only for the moment.

Despite his best efforts, he remembers that he is not alone. Astarion feels at ease.

His heart opens, little by little, and not just to you.

Living hundreds of years as he has, faces had begun to meld together, names began to lose their meaning, voices their distinct candor. But for the first time in a long, long time, he finds himself seeing, listening, connecting to others in a way he no longer believed himself capable of.

It’s… nice. Not that he’ll ever tell the others.

Naturally, his past doesn’t simply up and vanish. His mind still drifts, and he finds himself retreating into the damning safety of solitude from time to time. But each and every time, a hand reaches out– at times jovial, sometimes tentative, other times caring– ready to pull him back to the present.

“Astarion?”

One such hand comes into his field of view, and he takes it instinctively. It’s warm, comforting, and scarred with the beautiful history of an adventurous past. He could get lost in the look and feel of this hand.

“Astarion? Are you alright?”

Your voice is soft, tone gently questioning– yet still worried. Adorable, but you needn’t worry about him. He doubts he’s ever been better.

“Mmm, yes, darling. Quite alright.”

“Good.” 

Your hand squeezes his as you respond and he’s certain that, as long as you’re next to him, he may never feel alone again. Perhaps that’s not such a bad thing after all.

[la2yn0va]

Hello Sensei! In celebration of me finally beating Shadow of Feixiao. Can i humbly request some Shadow the hedgehog like male reader x yandere kafka, Robin, Firefly, Black Swan and Feixiao? The reader was not born really. More like made to be the ultimate lifeform. The reader is one of the top strongest in the universe, being soo powerful that he has to wear special bracelets to contains his powers. He has access to chaos magic and has a few more powers that only he can use. The reader is a loner and doesn't trust anyone reader being someone hard to approach

CW: Yandere Characters.

Note: This. Is my favorite request to date. Yes, it’s because of shadow the hedgehog 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Also you disrespectful bastard! Those ‘bracelets’ are called Inhibitor Rings! Respect the lore, damnit!!

——

Feixiao

She first learned about your existence from General Yueyu. Some creation made years ago that was given the title of ‘ultimate life form’

A creation made to perfectly counter all abominations on the xianzhou, someone so powerful it would take an aeon or two too defeat. Or so she said.

To say little feixiao was interested was a major understatement. If this were true, where were you? What ship were you in? Why hasn’t she heard of you anywhere else?

When she asked yueyu this, the general had a face of regret and sadness, before saying the information was classified.

Years later, she met you, the fabled ‘ultimate life form’ was an enemy of the xianzhou. She couldn’t believe it, Yueyu spoke so highly of you, so why’re you an enemy?

And just like general Yueyu said, you were STRONG. Hell, possibly the strongest being in the entire xianzhou and universe.

But, as a general, it was her duty to stop you. So you two fight, and she gets utterly defeated. She’d never known defeat like this, power like yours. Just WHAT were you?

For the next days, every general and the astral express crew, even the marshal of the xianzhou had confronted to stop you, all the generals were forced to play a supporting role, as the marshal was the only one able to deal damage to you.

However, it didn’t matter, your plan had been successful. Inputting 7 ancient gems into the core of the xianzhou and causing it to self destruct while having some biological monster protecting it.

Feixiao couldn’t believe YOU were meant to be the great savior Yueyu talked so highly about. But then, once the gems were entered, a video began to play on everything and anything that had a screen, reveling the dark truth.

Your creator was betrayed, his granddaughter killed by the xianzhou military! And the marshal herself being the one who betrayed the great doctor. Showing long lost and thought to be destroyed footage of the dark incident Hundreds if not thousands of years ago. (Not doing the 50 years ago, cause why not)

It was at the point everyone lost hope. The marshal herself was a traitor to one of the greatest scientists and ally to the xianzhou, even the generals will were shaken. And the astral express couldn’t help but feel sorrow for you.

But, with a powerful speech from the marshal, everyone’s will and hope were restored and the generals, the nameless, large almost unending numbers of cloud knights, and the marshal went down to stop you.

But, the bio-lizard got in their way. It would see its creators plan through the very end. It was a monster, all cloud knights were flies it swatted dead, the generals focusing all their strength to defeat the lizard.

Only feixiao and the marshal were able to get past the impossibly defense of the lizard, who was luckily for them, to distracted to notice. The two ran down the hallway and saw you, watching the fight through a holographic screen.

Feixiao tried to move towards you, but the marshal stopped her before taking a piece of fallen debris and throwing it towards you, seeing an invisible death shield surrounding you.

Marshal: M/n!! Stop this madness!!

M/n:…you’ve got some nerve. To betray my creator, get Maria killed! And lock me away for years upon years!!

Feixiao: Tsk…! M/n, we need you! Please help us!

Feixiao blurted out, much to the shock of the marshal and m/n.

Feixiao: You were made to be the strongest force for the xianzhou!! Why are you so intent on destroying it!!

M/n:….Doesn’t matter. It's all going according to plan. There's no reason for me to help them. Besides, there's no way to save anyone. All of them are unsaveable, pathetic, and childish. Only then will the marshal feel the consequences of her betrayal!

Feixiao: Forget the marshal! Hate her all you want, but not the people of the xianzhou! There innocent! Was this maria’s last wish!? For you to become the enemy! Hated, feared, a boogeyman!?

Marshal:….I know what I’ve done to you is unforgivable. I know that you’ll never forgive me. Even if you kill me, you’ll never forgive me. But the people of the Xianzhou are innocent. I know that people fight over the most trivial things. Some people may be selfish, like the professor said... but they're good, if they try their best and never give up on their wishes. They always have a reason to be happy; that's why you should help them out! Saving them is a good thing! M/n, I beg you, please do it for them! Give them a chance!

The marshal pleaded, bowing to you much to the shock of feixiao. To see the marshal like this was almost… fictionally impossible. However, Feixiao’s words seemed to strike you, as you remembered Maria’s true last words.

M/n:….Maria….

You said as the marshal and feixiao looked up seeing a horrified and saddened realization dawn on you, a single tear falling down from your face, before you forcibly ripped out one of the ancient gems.

M/n: I…I have to stop this! I have to keep my promise to her!!

You declared before using your monstrous strength to rip out all the emeralds and jump down from the platform, running towards the biolizard.

The biolizard stopped its killing blow on Yanqing and March as it felt a shift. Something had changed, the xianzhou wasn’t shaking… you had betrayed your creator!!

The biolizard released a horrific shriek of rage, shaking the very soul of everyone who heard it. The lizard turned to see you running towards it with the chaos emeralds, as you focused on your sadness, Maria, the professor, and your promise to her—turning super.

Everyone could only watch as the lizard and you fought, each impact shaking the universe itself. A beautiful spectacle infront of them as your speed and strength left them in awe, wondering if your power could rival that of the aeons.

Eventually, the lizard couldn’t contain its rage nor its own existence as you ripped off the machinery that kept it alive, as it expanded, ready to nuke this whole stellar system. But, you saved them, using chaos control to teleport yourself and the lizard away, FAR away. Managing to somehow teleport it to IX itself, having the lizard be swallowed whole by the black hole of the end as it released its final explosion of energy.

—Okay now that the story is over, let’s get to the point of this request—

Your body was blasted away as IX swallowed the biolizard, killing it as its explosion blasted you away. Your body crashed through multiple planets, destroying the rock and any life forms on it before it crashed down onto the xianzhou’s outer ship.

The ship shook and spun horizontally 5 times before stopping. Everyone was confused at what could’ve cause this. The marshal went outside and saw you. You were still alive! After 50 years!?

She took you in and decided to keep your existence a secret for now. She cared for your body until you awoke. After punching the marshal in the face, she began to fill you in on everything that happened after the Great War with you 50 years ago.

Although you’d never forgive her, you needed to keep your promise to Maria. So, you tell her your joining the cloud knights, not to serve her, but to keep maria’s promise.

She agreed and asked what ship you wanted to join. You remembered that foxian/borisin general. Being the first general you fought, and being…unique, you wanted her ship.

Feixiao was then informed of this which shocked her. But, surprisingly, she accepted with what seemed like… joy? Nevertheless, you ran to the yaoqing and met her at the cloud knights headquarters, where she greeted you with friendliness.

Feixiao would have you on the four front of battles, leading a platoon, but you declined. You refused to work with anyone and you would only work alone.

Feixiao felt a little pang hit her but agreed. You were strong enough anyway, so she allowed it. And over the years, she grew close to you.

The battles and bloodshed you two would spill from the borisin was beautiful, watching as your guard slowly but surely lowered around her, seeing you smile only to her made her feel special.

She keeps you as close as she can. Letting you sleep in her house and bed, cooking for you and even wanting to bathe you. Daily trainings with you at the gym, along with hundreds of spars and competitions a day.

To feixiao, you two were already in a relationship. After all you lived together! And you only smiled at her! Of course you loved her back…!

And since you’re completely distrustful of everyone else, the thought of someone stealing you away was laughable and fictional. It’ll never happen.

So, feixiao never overreacts when someone ogles at you or tries to get close to you. Cause 10/10 times, you’d just teleport away from the area.

Kafka

Kafka heard of you from Elio. Apparently you’re supposed to join the stellaron hunters as its final member.

With the help of Sam, she used her webs to catch you and Sam used his mech suit to slow your pace. Simply trying to stop you from falling took all her strength along with firefly’s mecha suit, which made her even more curious about you.

They’d take you back to their little hideout and nurture you until you wake up. Which would only be a month. You wake up and look around, not recognizing the area around you.

Kafka is there though, and she introduces herself to you, along with the entire deal with the ‘stellaron hunters’

Seeing as it was apparently ‘destiny’ that they saved you, and that this would possibly be the best way to up hold your promise, you accept their invitation.

You go on missions and learn about what’s changed in the cosmos since the battle at the xianzhou. Apparently a lot has changed, but none that you care about.

Kafka slowly begins to become infatuated with you, you were just so adorable. The ‘loner’ demeanor of yours that hid the cutie you were was so addicting to her.

She ain’t afraid to show it. She’s blunt with her desires and romantic at the same time. Oh how your adorable face lights up with a blush due to your emotional inexperience~

Kafka LOVES to dress you up and do your hair. Also, she sleeps in your room with you. She knows you love it despite your cute little struggles.

On missions, kafka takes the time to rub her thighs and tits against you, to show everyone exactly who you belong to.

Kafka likes to puppet you closer to her, making you sit on her lap and bringing you in for a HEAAATED 1 hour make out session. Purposefully leaving lipstick on your lips, chin, jawline, and neck.

Robin

Robin like everyone else, had heard of you. How your power was rumored to rival that of the aeons. At first, she couldn’t believe it, someone so strong existing as a mortal? No way, right?

But then she saw you at the main lobby of penacony. Your appearance matched to what she heard of you, down to your hairstyle and the small details of your clothes.

She was amazed by your beauty, and the fact that you were real. She approached you with Sunday, who had his own interest in you.

You blew them off, not interested in some pop star and her brother. They were slightly put off but decided to chase you, still having some questions of their own.

Inside the actual penacony, robin acts as your tour guide. She doesn’t try to dig into your life, as it’s none of her business. But she does want to stick around you.

Your whole dynamic is her wanting to stick around you, and you trying to get away. Let’s skip to when you two eventually get close enough for others to consider you to in a relationship.

Robin is clingy but will let go of you if you ask, and you never ask her to let go as you don’t want to hurt her feelings.

Sunday, much to his dismay, uses robin to get you closer to him and the family’s goal. He plans to use you to successfully enact his plans.

But, you’re extremely distrustful of him and the family. Something about them is just, off. Sunday and the family grow increasingly annoyed at your intuition.

So, they decide to take you by force. They try to use a smaller type of the Harmonious Choir to make you submit. But you easily destroy the mission and go to kill Sunday, only for Robin to step in, begging you to not hurt her brother.

Your eyes grow feral, robin…. How could you be so stupid!? She was in on this! So, you punch her into her brother, spitting on them and declaring them pathetic and a blight of Xipe before leaving forever.

Robin desperately tried to stop you, make you stay with her, but it was no use. Your mind was made up and you couldn’t care less about penacony, Sunday, the family, or robin.

So with one more punch, you leave penacony forever, and Sunday runs to his sister cursing at himself for his failure and for getting his sister hurt.

Robin wasn’t able to be herself for a full month. How could she? The person she loved had left her and hurt her! And her brother was a catalyst to that.

Sunday desperately tries to make it up to robin, but she just can’t bring herself to forgive him. Why did he try that? Why did her hurt YOU. And she hates herself for it.

She hates how weak she is, not being able to stop you, not being able to clear up the obvious misunderstanding between you and the family/her brother.

So, she leaves penacony. She can’t live with the knowledge that you hate her. She’ll track you down and bring you back to her, even if she has to get in her knees and beg.

Black Swan

Black swan teleported you to her little dimension, watching as you crashed into the ground and made the whole place shake.

She’s so interested in you. Your genetical structure, your story, your memories, and your prowess.

Black swan keeps you with her. As she wants to learn a lot about you. She’s patience, and doesn’t try to read your memories, shockingly.

After all, what would happen to her if she tried to pry the memories out of an…. ‘Aeonling?’ It’s just too risky.

She loves to watch you from a far though. You’re just so adorable. That little ‘loner’ demeanor of yours made you even more of a cutie.

Trying to hide your personality from her made her fall harder for you. Also seeing you try to ‘call out her fraudulent divination’ was cute.

She helps you with your trauma while making you more reliant on her. Making you face your trauma in a healthy manner while also manipulating your memories and putting some memories that never happened into your head.

Such as you two going on dates, playing some games, cuddling. Little did you know, she’d cuddle you everytime you went to sleep.

These memories make you ease up to her much quicker, just as she predicted. She holds you close and hums a lullaby for you, while playing with your hair like Maria did.

Firefly

This one short, cause it’s just like kafka, except she’s much more nervous and reserved as firefly, yet more confident as Sam….

Yes, this is the laziness and tiredness catching up to me…. I’m so sorry. I’m just so tired of this and other shit making my anxiety rise.

[desperatemeasures-if]

✶ DEMO (TBA) ✶

It's always the picture-perfect days that end the shittiest...

You had finally been having a good day after a horrible week-- nice weather, good company, and you got your manager off your ass-- but you should have known that was only the calm before the storm. A storm that completely rips apart not only your life but that of your family-- not the ones related by blood, you had given up on them long ago, but the people that had taken you in and given you a home. The Vipers, the most reputable gang in the Northside of Riverwood, and the only family you had left.

The boss is dead... We have no leads.

A single message had completely turned your life on its head. The man that had singlehandedly saved you from yourself, from ending up face down in a gutter, was dead. You don't hesitate in volunteering to help hunt down his killer-- not if it meant protecting your family and avenging his death. Even if it means calling on your biggest rivals for help or getting assisted by an over-eager detective.

Desperate times called for desperate measures...

Desperate Measures is rated 18+ for explicit language, sexual themes, drug and alcohol use, violence, intense interrogations, blood, questionable behavior, and more.

✶ Features ✶ Character Intros (WIP) ✶

Customize your MC: appearance, parts of your personality, segments of your background, hobbies, vices, and more! Do you have what it takes to avenge the death of your mentor? Do you have a nickname that's specific to the Vipers?

While you're investigating make sure you maintain contact with your gang, and don't forget that you have a job. Even if it is just at a shitty cafe.

Romance is definitely something that is offered and will bring insightful moments to characters that may otherwise remain an enigma to you. Or, of course, you can strike up a friendship with them!

Find a killer and either take justice into your own hands, allow someone else to do it, or follow the law!

✶ The ROs ✶

Heather Grant ✶ She/Her ✶ 29 ✶

The Heiress of Riverwood Royalty, the Grant Family, and one of the only people that could offer assistance with the investigation-- with her limitless amount of resources and the fact that the Grant Family seemed to own all of Riverwood. The only problem? She absolutely hates the Vipers. Will you be able to come to some sort of middle ground?

Special Aspects: Enemies-to-Lovers, but will you be able even to blame her for her hatred in the end?

Damien Frost ✶ He/Him ✶ 29 ✶

A recently promoted detective within the RPD. A man that's been assigned the case, either out of pity or malevolence, you aren't quite sure, but Detective Frost isn't one to give up, even when all the odds seem to be stacked against him. In fact, he seems to have a penchant to appear wherever you are, and he doesn't seem to mind at all that he's working alongside criminals. He simply wants to get the crime solved. Is it only because he wishes to prove himself? Or is it something more?

Special Aspects: Law Enforcement Officer with a Gangster... Need I say more?

Stephen/Stephanie Matthews ✶ He/Him or She/Her ✶ 27 ✶

Stephen/Stephanie, or simply Stevie, is someone you know you can count on no matter what. They'd as easily offer you their last beer as they would knife someone in the gut to protect you. Your best friend since you joined the Vipers, being the one that had trained you after your initiation, it's no surprise that they join you on the hunt for the killer.

Special Aspects: Best Friends to Lovers

Gabriel/Gabriella DeLuca ✶ He/Him or She/Her ✶ 28 ✶

The other half of your motley crew within the Vipers. Gabby is known for a multitude of things within the Northside, being a jack of all trades when it comes to their skills, but their true trademark is the sea of broken hearts they've left in their wake. With a disarming smile and devil-may-care attitude, it isn't hard to understand how someone could be pulled into their axis. It's just escaping it unscathed that's the challenge.

Special Aspects: Have the option to be friends with benefits, or simply friends, and see how that could influence the possible romance to come.

Leon/Lena Prince ✶ He/Him or She/Her ✶ 28 ✶

The one person you wouldn't wish to run into within Riverwood-- having completely destroyed your relationship with them; possibly breaking their heart in the process. You haven't heard much about them since you left the Southside, but learning about them taking over the rival gang of the Vipers? Your week just couldn't get any better, could it?

Special Aspects: Exes-to-Rivals-to-Friends-to-Lovers (once more). Will you be able to build back the trust you lost?

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi there!

I was wondering if you could do a yandere RoR with the reader being the daughter of either Acnologia (Fairy tail) or Whitebeard (One piece). The reader being the kindest person there is, but have a wicked temper.

Like when they fight their opponent (a rather cruel god) and they try to attack their family and they lose it and unleash their power and rage on them.

And that gains the attention of the gods and humans.

Gods: Thor, Poesidon Buddha, Loki, Hercules and Hermes

Humans: Lu bu, Jack the Ripper, Raiden, Sasaki Kojiro and Leonidas

-The strongest man in the world, one of the strongest and mightiest of pirates, who commanded a massive crew full of powerful individuals, calling them his family, his sons and daughters, was an opponent none wanted to cross unless if they had to.

-Of all the children he laid claim over, there was only one who was biologically his, his daughter, Y/N. She was tall, beautiful, and just as powerful as her old man.

-Normally level-headed and a good leader, Y/N was a force to be reckoned with in her own right, earning her respect and power young, but she did have one little weakness- her temper.

-You weren’t known for losing your temper often, but when you did…. There was usually a lot of property damage, usually a couple of deaths, and lots of people crying, begging for forgiveness.

-However, you had a pretty good lid on your temper, only losing it for a few small things here and there, so your crew, your family, had learned quickly to avoid those triggers, and if someone else caused you to pop off, they would be safe, as they all knew to stay a safe distance back, away from the carnage.

-You lived a life full of adventure and fun, and died doing what you loved, sailing, being pulled to Valhalla, as you were deemed someone worthy of coming.

-You enjoyed your time in Valhalla, being able to meet new people, make new friends, and battle strong opponents, and while you did miss your family dearly, you knew they would yell at you for lingering on them rather than sailing forward like your dad always taught you to do.

-You weren’t like a lot of the other women in Valhalla, you were crass, talked back, could drink almost anyone under the table, and you loved to fight, you had no issues getting hurt if it meant you were going to get a good brawl out of it.

-This is what led Brunnhilde into seeking you out to fight in Ragnarok, fighting alongside with other champions of humanity for it’s very survival against the gods.

-You knew that gods existed, being in Valhalla for so long, and while there were many good ones, ones you could call friends, there were ones who were cruising for a bruising and you had been feeling a little antsy here as of late, mainly because you weren’t getting the challenge you so desperately wanted.

-Your opponent was cocky, seeing a woman, despite her not looking dainty and delicate, but he was arrogant, immediately thinking that this was going to be an easy fight.

-People were cheering loudly for you, those you had befriended and those who knew of your power, many of them knowing full well who was actually going to win the fight.

-Your opponent laughed obnoxiously when he heard your dad’s name, “Whitebeard?! What kind of stupid name is that?!”

-Many people groaned in the audience, immediately handing over their losing bets to their friends; it’s not that they were betting against you, but they were betting on how quickly this fight was going to end.

-He was not prepared for you to come flying across the arena at him and throw a harsh right hook across his face, sending him flying back into the brick wall behind you.

-You glared darkly, a murderous aura surrounding you as you cracked your knuckles, stalking towards him, “Nobody talks about my daddy like that.”

-You won your match in a little under two minutes, not even using your weapon with your Valkyrie partner, you did it with your bare hands.

-While you assure her that you were fine, Brunnhilde dragged you to the infirmary to get your knuckles wrapped up, as you had busted them open pretty bad during the beat down.

-A knock came to the door of the room you were in with two nurses, one working on each hand, and your eyes lit up as a man walked in and you beamed, “(Love)!”

-Couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing you getting patched up, walking in but not bothering the nurses, “Have to say Y/N, it was pretty hot watching you go feral for once.” You pouted lightly up at him, showing your softer side, “Nobody gets to talk about my papa like that!” he chuckled, as he knew that was a fact, that’s how he met you, seeing some cocky upstarts insulting your father which led to a one on however many there were with you walking away the clear victor with no major wounds. He asked you out right after that for a drink, which you accepted and the two of you have been nearly attached at the hip. He respected you heavily, you were not to be underestimated and he demanded respect for you if he felt like you weren’t getting it. Keeps PDA to a minimum but behind closed doors he’s a total cuddle bug. Once you were free from the nurses he picked you up like you were a delicate maiden, making your face blaze brightly. He thought you were adorable when you got so shy, but now that you won your fight, he was treating you to a drink- you earned it!

            -Leonidas, Lu Bu, Thor, Poseidon, Hermes, and Raiden

-Knew not to coddle you, but you could see the worry in his eyes, even if he didn’t say anything, sitting nearby, “How’s the hands?” you grinned, flashing him a wink, “They ache so good- bastard got what he deserved.” He chuckled warmly, finding your humor comforting. He knew that you were going to win, but he was still nervous watching you fight, not wanting you to get hurt as you were important to him. You knew of his worry but said nothing out of respect to him, something he did appreciate. Your hands were stiff from the bandages, leaving you not able to use them really easily, but (Love) was happy to help, letting you sit on his lap, holding your mug of ale for you, enjoying your after fight feast he prepared for the two of you. He praised your fighting skills, showing what you were able to do without a weapon but also while overcome with fuming rage. He knew of your triggers that would set you off, unintentionally setting a few off himself, but now knew better. Adored you, showers you with love and praise and just makes you feel so happy and dainty, but at the same time knows full well you will throw hands with anyone if they were to disrespect you, your father, or (Love).

            -Buddha, Hercules, Loki, Jack, and Kojiro

[canaidliafail]

what she brings out of me

sadie adler x f!reader

4.5 k words MDI

old piece that isn’t proof read but I wanted to post it. Sort of canon compliant for 1/7 of the story so read at your own risk + bad english ahead. enjoy

hunting with Hosea was a chore more often than not but the man raised you to be the hunter that you are now and you were willing to tolerate the withered old man. He had his fun but he couldn’t do the miles he did before and his aim left much to be desired. But he kept you company and gave you maps for all the legendary animals he wanted to see and you, to catch.

That winter while you sought out shelter and a temporary camp while leaving blackwater,he was more prickly than usual.He insisted you stay in and help Pearston skin and cook the animals and man were you a shitty cook.

Pearston decided he would let you sneak out to hunt being the greedy drunk fool that he was so long as you brought something other than vegetables for the crew to eat.

You had barely managed to mount your horse when Arthur came back with Dutch and the rest with a new guest. a woman, frightened like a rabbit, shaking from the cold and the grief judging from her tear stained cheeks

the crowd came in with questions and she shrunk in herself stepping behind Dutch. You hitched your horse back and half ran your way to them

“This is Ms. Adler. Abigail help her out, she's had a rough night” he said and Abigail approached the woman who seemed reluctant to move from her spot as everyone discussed what took place. fed up with the situation you pushed the others away clearing a path for her and stopped beside Abigail

“Christ people give her some air can't you see she’s frightened?” You commanded and they lowered their heads, hats covering their eyes.

The three of you made your way back into the cabin and left it up to Abigail to talk to the woman.

Men widowed her that night and took everything else with them, money,silver, dignity….

the night was grim and you could hear her weep quietly, mourning her lost husband till daylight hit and she passed out from exhaustion. You woke up first and made coffee and left one by her bunk bed with a note

You probably won’t have much appetite but try to consume some liquids at least

Throughout your whole stay there you never conversed any further than a tip of the hat when you entered the cabin at night and a soft sigh when you replaced her untouched plate and cup in the morning.

You felt for her despite not knowing what it meant to lose a husband. You didn’t know what it meant to even have a husband in the first place

But your heart still ached to see such a lovely woman stripped of all joy and light

•••

“a 1000 pound bear and you thought we could take her out with our piss poor rifles?!” You asked bewildered and glanced at Arthur who had much more patience than you that day, which said a lot. Hosea passed him the map with a hand over his heart still scared and in shock how quickly he came face to face with death

“Ill head back…You two gonna chase after that thing are are you coming with?”

“coming with. Arthur its all yours” You said and mounted your house and he did the same

“Had enough entertainment for now. Let’s head back” He agreed and you all three started the two day journey back talking about everything and how everyone was settling in

“By the way, Karen has been asking for you again”

“hm?” you looked up at Arthur. Of course she was. you leave for a few days and she is looking for you again to let out some steam. You stay at camp and she won’t bat an eye your way. You took little offense however simply enjoying that you had someone to have your fun with when no one was looking

“Ill go by her tent later…” you mumbled

“Speaking of can you keep some company to Ms. Adler as well? You two have a spunky spirit and might lift her up a bit”

Sadie Adler had continued her daily routine of wandering off to the far end of the camp sitting on the rocks and crying. You caught her talking to Abigail more than anyone else and despite wanting to get close to the woman you had no idea how to approach her

“Ill…see what I can do”

you agreed and continued silently too tired to indulge in small talk

you arrived at the hideout the next evening. Arthur took off shortly to go back to blackwater for a lead on some members that stayed behind

You bathed in the dreadfully cold river and made it back to your tent combing your hair into two braids, putting on a clean pair of jeans with a shirt to go out and see if there was any coffee or herbs to make tea.

Your caught Sadie with the corner of your eye sitting by the rocks looking off into the distance and decided to give it your best shot. At this point you were the only woman who had not talked to her and it felt rude

you grabbed two chapped mugs and poured whatever hot liquid was available and made your way to her

“Evening Ms. Adler” she looked up at you

“Good evening”

“Mind if I keep you some company?” you said pushing the warm cup in her direction which she took without protest and schooched to the side giving you space. You sat next to her and looked at the dim light from the sparse fire pits enjoying the cracking of wood and soft unison of voices talking in the background

“Listen Im sure everyone had asked how you are doing so I won’t try to remind you of that but, I hope you are finding your stay with us of some comfort”

you said and dared a fearful look at her admiring her untamed blonde hair and freckled nose. A second longer and you may have found yourself in love with a widow so you turned your sights back on the coals and fire in the distance

“As much as I'd rather be left alone, its nice to have some company” she confessed and you nod, waiting to see if she had anything else to say. With a shaky voice she continued

“I just wish my Jacky was here with me. He was a good man you know, better than anyone out there”

your lips thinned almost feeling her anger. Karen passed in front of you in the distance quirking a brow indicating she would be waiting for you tonight

“I just wish it was me in his place. I feel so lost”

you brought your attention back to her and slowly pressed a hand against her back gently moving it in circles. she leaned into your touch and you felt her breath stutter

“I wish I could take my own life…but i’m not brave enough to do even that” you matched your breathing with her own pulling her closer silently trying to calm her down the minute you felt her shoulders shake

“To be brave is to keep on going. To keep on living” you quietly offered your thoughts and she shook her head tears falling again

“I don’t know…”

you kept caressing her back

“Keep on living Adler. Show those fuckers what you’re made of”

You said boldly and she turned to look at you surprised. she seemed to consider your words and then your face. maybe both. You knew you weren’t good at this but you were satisfied to see the tears stop and her features soften

You smiled and hesitantly tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and then stood up

“We are here for you. Take your time to grieve the man. He is worth it” she nod and took in a deep breath looking into the distance, taking a sip from her tea “Thank you for listening” your shrugged “least I can do for a pretty lady. Should you ever seek company my tent is open” you said and saw a soft smile graced her lips for the first time before she turned away. Remorse hit you quick and hard realizing you accidentally just made a pass at her and felt shame drown you.

with a tip of your hat you excused yourself.

You feared you had messed up, spoke too soon and maybe with too much ignorance. You prayed she’d brush your words off. Its not like anyone even considered that a woman could flirt with a woman.

You sought out Karen and her willing touch that night. You forgot yourself in the pleasure of her spread legs and let her soft gasps fill your mind.

However the next day you were surprised to see Sadie with her hair braided and her shirt tucked in neatly with a lovely brown straw hat shielding her face from the sun. she went to pour coffee and caught you staring and for the first time greeted you first with a smile

•••

Days turned into weeks and Sadies curt greetings turned to small talk that turned into long conversation and eventually she took interest in your role with the gang asking of your trips

“a huntress?”

you felt pride in your chest. sure women weren’t expected to do much but you loved that you challenged that standard from a young age

“I feel I am of more use with a bow in the wild than with pins and needles”

“What's up with you managing to have every woman all over you?” Arthur asked one day and you laughed pushing him away with a soft punch on his arm

“Its my talent”

“and here I thought that laid in hunting animals. ‘s that why we’ve been starving lately?”

he asked meaning no harm and you saw his crooked grin and the softness in his eyes, crinkling with wrinkles

“shut up arthur. Don't you have a train to rob or something?”

“my bad, I won’t take any more of your precious time with Ms. Adler”

You also quickly found out Sadie had a sharp tongue and a short temper. Her strength and quip was overshadowed by her grief before but slowly it raised to the surface and more people took interest in her. She grew more familiar with Arthur and her long skirts were slowly replaced by the occasional tight black jeans that accentuated her assets even better

Some nights she was still haunted by nightmares and you took it upon yourself to invite her to your tent. You talked for a while and when she tried to excuse herself you stopped her and patted the side of your bunk bed

“You can sleep here for tonight”

“and you?” you laughed “Ill also sleep here. Never had a sleepover with a friend before?”

“Not like that you prick” she said and laid next to you. Her eyes widened, noticing she was a little too close than she calculated. you held her by the waist guiding her “turn around for me” you whispered and she obliged. You pressed your chest against her back and held her like that and felt her tense shoulders slowly relax only to stiffen again when you spoke again close to her

“Goodnight Sadie”

“goodnight”

It only happened once but after that night You often caught yourself admiring her, those warm brown eyes, the raspy voice that gave you goosebumps and when no one paid you attention you shamelessly eyed her figure.

“You are no better than a man,huntress” Karen teased and leaned next to you against the tree. You chuckled and glanced at her “jealous?”

“you wish” she said. It didn’t go past you that she wore a dress that exposed her chest nicely yet it did little to arouse you and in horror you realized your mind drifted over to Sadie and how nicely she tucked in her shirt leaving no more than two buttons open barely exposing her collar bones

“The boys are going out for some job” she said leaving the invitation and you smirked looking down at her

“Hm…Maybe Ill join them”

“or..” she said and carefully flattened her palms against your chest pretending to fix your bandana for you “you can join me instead” she looked up at you with doe eyes and your lip twitched in a smile. She left swaying her hips and you let your gaze linger for a second before looking up. Sadie stood there with an unspoken question in her eyes and then cocked a brow in challenge.

you took two cigarettes out of your pocket and she approached you accepting your offer. she placed the stick in her lips and you motioned her to come closer.

her head tilted in confusion and you carefully pulled her in by the back of your head till the ends of your cigarettes touched and lit them both in one go

you tucked the lighter back in your pants and she took in a long puff in thought “You seem closer to Karen than the rest. Does your friendship go back in time?”

you laughed at the innocent and awfully unsuspecting question and decided to test the waters

“Friends ? Hardly, we are close though. In different ways” she seemed even more puzzled “Everytime you answer my questions I end up more lost and confused than I was before”

“Maybe I'm just that bad at conversing with others” she chuckled, a low raspy giggle almost “You give yourself too little credit. Had it not been for those coffees you left and your company Id probably still be on that rock crying” you smiled

“Glad I could help” you continued to smoke in silence and you inspected her clothes your eyes falling on the yellow brooch tied around her neck

“That's a nice brooch” she looked down and smiled “thanks. One of the few good things I own”

“Oh don't say that. You have a lovely sense of fashion darling” you held the ornament in your fingers leaning closer feeling her breath fan your cheeks. Something shifted and it wasn't even anymore. you looked up and saw her completely focused on your every movement catching her eyes that were stuck on your lips. Flattered, a cocky smile escaped you.

There was a tense moment that snapped from Peaston calling out to everyone informing them that dinner and drinks were ready.

You both pulled away from each other abruptly and pushed yourself off the tree patting your pants and dusting them off

“Will you join us?” you asked and she shrugged “Was about time I did”

•••

You were drunk. Way too fucking drunk.

“shit how many…” you tried to look around and count how many glasses of whiskey you had. everything was spinning and buzzing. Karen and Mary-beth were singing and you clumsily joined. Sadie sat next to you cracking a joke here and there but still was mostly quiet listening to all of you and sometimes laughing. Karen laid her head on your shoulder and her hand fell on your thigh beneath the table going upwards and staying there fondling your thigh. Too drunk to care if Sadie was looking, you indulged her sensual move and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

unbeknownst to you Sadie withdrew from you slightly and confused looked at the pair of you her frown growing deeper as Karens hand traveled higher eventually tugging at the metal belt clasp

amidst the chaos- which you were uncertain if there was any due to your drunken state- you remembered getting up and escaping to the quieter place of the camp, then your hands were on Karens hips and her lips on your neck biting and sucking and everything else was a blur

had you been slightly more sober you would have noticed that you weren’t completely hidden. Because Sadie was interested in you in ways she couldn’t explain and she was out looking for you that night. And she unfortunately caught a glimpse of your nasty sexual endeavors with the other woman who you had so willingly pinned against the tree and who elicited the most pornographic sounds

•••

Sadie caught herself interested in you. She liked the fact that you were a huntress and she liked more that you took little pity on her state and gave her solid motivation to get back on track with her life. She realized she chased your polite compliments when she wore a new accessory or when she braided her hair.

but to feel like this towards a woman? how?

she questioned and doubted it immediately believing it was the grief that made her lose her mind. That was until she saw you devouring karen in the deep of the forest. Something woke within her. fiery jealousy and heat bloomed in her chest and her core ached.

She-at first- was convinced she was repulsed by the act, finding it vulgar. than she thought that she was simply taken aback by it but not in an unpleasant way. eventually she decided to sleep frustrated and confused, unable to understand what she felt.

two days later she sought out Karen who seemed very eager to tease and taunt her

“What a voyeuristic eye that you have Adler”

“Are the two of you in a relationship?”

she laughed, loud enough to almost make her feel humiliated and stupid as if the answer was obvious

“Gods no! I mean I know she only likes women but I don’t care for things like that”

“only women?”

“If you ever find yourself with too much frustration pay her a visit. In my opinion every woman should feel her tongue” Sadies eyes widened and then she shook her head in disappointment

“Ill find other ways to keep myself busy” she barked growing angry with Karens games

“Suit yourself. I'm just saying that I trained her well” and with that she left. Sadie was angry. Jealous.She saw Karen marking her territory and she didn’t like that

why does she try to claim something that isnt hers

She avoided you on purpose for the upcoming days and she hated seeing your confusion and visible pain to her dismissive attitude

You once tried to approach her more boldly and in her spitefulness she spat

“what's up with you? Nothing to do?”

You huffed out a frustrated breath and crossed your arms standing in front of her.

“Ive thought about it a lot and it all boils down to you probably finding out I swing the other way”

“I did find out”

you nodded in repeat looking away and she saw your jaw tense and your brows lower “well Fuck me then” you hissed exasperated

“Id like to be alone” she said with a low growl and you scoffed “Really Sadie? Am I that disgusting to you now that you won’t even say goodmorning to me?” you raised your tone and she stood up “Don't you use that tone on me”

“or what?!” she stared at you long and hard. You were the first to break contact and took a step back, arms swinging softly

“You know what Sadie? You wanna be alone ? then be fucking alone” she watched as you turned your back on her and left immediately regretting how sbe handled that conversation.

She didn’t see you for a week after that. That week she herself was busy with her first bounty hunt and she could hardly be happy about it. Her stomach felt like she’d swallowed stones and her throat was dry.

and when you came back it was with Arhur, Hosea and another woman. Someone you rescued on your recent bounty hunt who was as lost as she once was. You attention was on the hurt woman keeping her company making sure she felt secure with your group of people

“Listen we ain’t good but we ain’t them either” you consoled an arm around her shoulders soothing her and Sadie had enough of it. She approached you with heavy steps the heel of her boots digging into the dirt

“I wanna talk to you”

you looked up and the girl in your arms seemed intimidated by her. Sadie disliked that she seemed threatening to an innocent person but her focus was on you and you alone

you silently questioned her, eyes wide, jaw tense as if saying really?! now?!

she stood her ground until you gave in and followed her back to your tent where you could have some privacy

“You wanted to talk? speak”

“Why do you have to be like that?” she asked annoyed and you shook your head defeated “Like what hon? I am around you and you are repulsed, I give you space and you are equally unsatisfied. The hell do you want from me, woman?!”

“I just needed time! Time!” she emphasized the words and you sat down knowing your knees were too weak to handle this unprovoked attitude

“time? for what?” You tried peacefully and truly exhausted knowing someone had to be tame or this conversation wouldn’t go far without resulting in you pulling a gun to each others head

“Christ I- I just was confused. I didn’t know a woman could look at a woman like that”

“And why does it concern you?” you asked and she seemed taken aback. Why indeed

Because I considered you that way too

she came to the conclusion her tongue numb and heavy, unable to speak these words out loud.

She hated how quickly you caught on and in a delightfully predatory way she watched you stand up and approach her, circling her like a vulture

“Sadie did you hate that I look at women like that or did you hate that you weren’t one of those women?”

the hair on the back of her neck rose and heat pooled in her stomach again. A feeling she thought had surely died with her late husband yet here it was.

“I wasn't?” she asked, her confidence faltering. She was sure she caught you staring at her chest, her lips, her hips at first not questioning the wandering gaze until she put the puzzle pieces together to figure out the reason behind it

your hands were on her shoulders running up and down the length of her arms slowly

“Would you like to be?” she turned around and as if in a dance sequence your hands fell on her neck to pull her in for a hungry kiss

She could feel how starved you were in the way your lips pressed against hers tasting her, imprinting the feel of her skin against hers. She returned the notion with equal fervor if not with more and was reluctant to be the one to submit. her hands landed on your hips pulling you in and she was shocked to find how right this position felt. how velvety your tongue felt against her own and how your skin molded into her palms becoming one.

she pulled away to take in a few deep and heavy breaths looking at you and was pleased to find you putty in her arms, to see the mighty huntress small, fragile and ready to do anything she would ask you to

“Do I awaken something in you Sadie?” You asked and held her closer, your arms wrapped around her neck and she responded by kissing you again loving the power and control she had. The passion melted into something more gentle, affectionate and tender and when you pulled away the second time she held your cheek in her hand caressing the flushed skin

“ that answer good enough for you?” she asked with a lazy smirk and you huffed out a laugh still gasping for air “Never thought you packed such heat” you confessed and her ego grew dangerously “You haven’t experienced the half of it”

•••

Unlike you, who was secretive and shameful of your nature the minute Sadie felt sure in herself she didn’t hesitate to greet you with a good morning kiss letting everyone think about what they just witnessed. As outlaws you certainly had bigger problems than two girls deciding to kiss each other and you came to the stupidly obvious realisation. Hosea and Arthur were the first ones to tell you

well we knew men didn’t do it for you, but I didn’t exactly know what did so…I just do now thats all it is

and you felt good about his awkward and reassuring words. Sadie didn’t care on the other hand. if she spent the night in your tent she didn’t hide it and if she felt like making a move on you while at the saloon she would and dealt with the consequences violently and eagerly still needing to vent out her pain and frustrations.

“are you not…scared?” you asked her once at night when you both laid together, naked beneath a thin sheet and she smiled giving you small kisses on your cheeks, jaw, neck

“I am scared of other things darling. Death is one of them. Random drunk men ain’t on the other hand are not”

“You aren’t indestructible Sadie. I worry for you” you confessed and she smiled “Nobody’s taking nothing from me ever again” she said and kissed you “And nobody’s taking me away from you either”

[romancingromanoff]

Second Death

Andromache the Scythian x f!reader

I decided to create a series for Andromache (my beloved). Here’s part 1, part 2, and part 3

Summary: Your first mission does not go according to plan

TW: Violence, major character death, somewhat descriptive gore, getting shot in the face, head explosions (kinda), ANGST

Words: around 3,000

A/N: Aside from being very difficult for me to write, this is probably the darkest I've ever gotten in terms of physical violence. So, uh, Happy Halloween I guess?

The plan was based off Buenos Aires 1822 (not 1922 as you had incorrectly assumed at first) which was a reference you obviously didn’t understand but was being explained to you in the most hectic way possible.

“Wait, so Nicky was decapitated-”

“Half decapitated. I didn’t actually die!”

“But you were quite light-headed for the rest of the day, my dear.” Joe feigned concern, brushing the back of his hand across his partner’s forehead and smiling like a fool.

Your leader was having none of it.

“Can we be serious please?” Immediately, the entire group’s focus shifted back to the Scythian. She certainly wasn’t going to admit it but she was apprehensive with this being your first mission. For months, you’d been doing nothing but training and begging her to let you in on the action until she was finally forced to give in. The instinct to keep you safe gnawed at Andy while it became increasingly difficult to ignore how your desire to prove your worth would only continue to grow. She recognized the same frustrations in a much younger version of herself and remembered how reckless it drove her to be.

“I’d rather we didn’t repeat that portion this time, agreed?”

You all nodded.

They laid out all the details about the traffickers and the group of people you were meant to rescue. It was an estimated 25-40 women and older girls being smuggled through for undoubtedly unpleasant purposes Andy didn’t get too detailed with. She, Joe, and Nico planned to storm the ship when it completely docked and most of the crew was on land retrieving supplies and weapons. That would leave only a few guards standing between them and the captives, who were most likely being held somewhere below deck. Once they find them, you and Booker would bring in the truck to help get everyone out. It sounded simple enough, but the fact that it was meant to go off without a hitch somehow doubled the amount of pressure you were applying to yourself. They had all done this at least once before, so if things went south then it was all because of you.

A few hours passed and you sat next to Booker in the passenger seat of the truck parked a couple of meters away from the ship and near a loading dock. With the engine off it was starting to get increasingly cold, but you didn’t even mind the chill at that point. You needed to be as alert as possible for what was to come.

Booker clearly sensed your apprehension. “It’s okay to be nervous, we’re not going to let anything bad happen to you.” He kept his voice low and his eyes glued on the dock entrance while you tried to do the same. 

Your mind was wrapped up in much bigger concerns. “I’m not worried about that. What if something goes wrong because of me? If I get hurt then so be it, I just don’t want to endanger anyone else when their lives and freedom are at stake.”

“You’ll be fine. Trust your training and lean on your team if you need help. That’s what we’re here for.” He offered you an encouraging smile that you attempted to return the best you could, yet you also wished he wouldn’t look at you with so much sympathy all of the time. As much as you appreciated everything they had done for you, you longed to show the others that you were capable of carrying your own weight and didn’t need someone to hold your hand constantly.

The two of you settled into a silence that was occasionally filled with a comment or two about nothing in particular. It didn’t do much to settle your nerves. You watched as dozens of muscular men left in packs, each one armed with at least a pistol that Booker taught you how to spot. He translated some of the French he could hear them speaking, which was mostly crude, misogynistic banter that made your jaw clench up.

“Good to know that men are pigs in basically all cultures,” you murmured mostly to yourself and tried to get your jaw to relax. Surprisingly, it earned you a gratifying laugh from the Frenchman and you were relieved when he didn’t take your comment too personally. 

“For the most part, I don’t disagree.”

“How will Andy and the others know when all of them have left?” You changed the subject upon the realization that the rest of the guard was hidden somewhere no one would see them, not even you. It was still difficult to imagine they had a better scouting position than the near-direct view you did.

“Don’t worry, they’ll know,” Booker assured you in a slightly amused tone. Some secrets were still too complicated for you to know about yet, you supposed.

Almost a half hour later, three heads eventually peered up through the shadows and Andy, Joe, and Nico lifted themselves up onto the ship. Perfectly lit by hues of the full moon, they danced towards their destination, the sheer coordination and skill reminding you of just how experienced they were. With Andy leading the pack, they silently began making their way up the vessel as a single unit. No words or other body gestures needed to be shared when they occupied the same hive mind. The group only came to a stop when they reached a door and huddled around it, trying to listen for anyone that might be on the other side. When you assumed everything was clear, Andy swiftly kicked it open and entered with her gun aimed and ready. 

Not even a minute after all three filed in, the sound of a gunshot suddenly shook you. You immediately turned to Booker, whose face gave away the slightest look of concern at the noise. This must not have happened in Buenos Aires. No more gunshots followed, thank goodness, but there were sounds of a struggle going on below deck which had the two of you on high alert. You prayed that nobody else close by could hear the commotion.

Things began to steer away from the original plan when Joe emerged from below far before he should have, struggling to keep another figure under control as he held their arms in a twisted position behind their back while continuing to firmly push them forward. Even in the dark, you could just make out how young the kid appeared to be. He couldn’t have been older than 16 and you assumed his reason for being on the ship was because he had an older relative in the crew. You relaxed when you realized that meant how unlikely it was that he’d be trained in how to fight. Joe would definitely keep from harming him unless he absolutely had to. Stupidly, you also forgot about how reckless young boys can be.

Everything fell apart in a mere matter of seconds. As he appeared to calm down, Joe eased up on the grip he held the boy with and he it didn’t seem like he would move at first. But in an instant, the scraggly kid darted from his grasp and sprinted around a corner and out of your line of sight to the completely opposite side of the ship. Booker reached for the door handle as a precaution while the rest of his body remained seated. A bead of sweat rolled down your neck despite the chill in the air and the gradual understanding that Book might be preparing to leave you on your own stilled your body completely. All of the careful planning you had fought to carefully commit to memory melted into mush.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched whistle that rang through the air and your eyes quickly followed a bright red light travel up into the sky before it burst into a large display of lights and smoke. Time seemed to slow down and your heart sped up. Of course, if there wasn’t going to be another pistol going off, it had to be a goddamn flare gun. Yelling, alarmed Frenchmen could then be heard scrambling towards the dock and Booker cursed under his breath.

“Stay here, I’ll go help the others!” Booker leaped out of the vehicle, throwing the keys which hit your petrified figure. Part of you wanted to speak up and stop him but you could only squeak out an indecipherable sound of concern seconds after he was gone. Looking back at the ship, you caught sight of Nico peeking his head out from the door they entered through. He exited with a determined look on his face and was followed by a line of women. You itched at your sweating palms when twenty women or so had piled out and there was still no sign of Andy. 

The men hurrying in from the opposite direction quickly diverted your attention. Squinting your eyes, you were able to spot a figure in the distance headed straight towards your vehicle. You nearly panicked but caught yourself, uncertain if you were dealing with the traffickers or possibly random dock workers that had been alarmed by the flare and merely wanted to check out the situation. Either way, you decided it was still too risky to start up the engine just yet. At least, you told yourself the others probably wouldn’t want you to give away your position.

That’s when you noticed a faint movement in your side mirror. A tuft of matted blonde curls belonging to a distressed woman’s face peeked over the top of one of the crates not to far behind you. She must’ve spotted something concerning, because her eyes went wider than a trapped mouse’s and she disappeared back down, ultimately causing the crates to shake. You ground your back teeth together and prayed it was only you who had seen her. But then right on cue, the blinding glow of a flashlight landed directly over the area where the woman was hiding. The man you had spotted only moments before, his flashlight lit up a devious grin on his face that urged you to hold in your breath. He even sounded like the devil when he spoke. It didn’t take a high level French skills to tell that he began goading the poor woman like it was some sadistic game to him. 

He approached the crates ever so slowly, savoring the anticipation which laid before whatever unspeakable plans he had for his victim. It then occurred to you that she was most likely paralyzed with the same fear that had struck you.

And yet, she was the one currently being hunted while you were poised to sit and watch it unfold. You, protected by both your position and inexplicable gift of immortality. None of it seemed remotely fair and your body began to stir at the simple thought.

“Under no circumstances should you be engaging in combat,” Andy had firmly laid down the law several times leading up to this day. You’d never wanted to disobey anything she said so passionately before and here it felt like you scarcely had no other option but to go against something she forbade. 

The adrenaline rushing through your veins threw your body into action before you could debate any further. Barely aware of the forces taking hold of you, you tumbled out of the door and landed directly behind the attacker who continued to stalk forward towards the woman’s hiding place. He slowly began to raise his gun, something with barrels much longer than your forearms, and it was like you didn’t have the time to properly assess whatever danger lie at the other end. You just didn’t want it pointing at her.

Without a hint of hesitation, you drove foot into the back of the man’s left knee and he immediately crumbled down to about a third of his height. You were ready for him with your knife once his face spun around and an overpowering sense of rage guided your arm to make a clean cut from just below his right eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose, and finally through the center of his left eye. 

Something solid and heavy smacked the front of your head and you could hear the woman behind you scream in horror before everything went black.

Horrific violence was nothing if not a sheer constant to Andy. She had both experienced and caused enough to fill the oceans with blood, yet nothing made her seethe with rage more than watching yours spill from your head like a geyser. A thousand lifetimes stained with death could not have prepared her for the sight of your limp body hitting the ground, to which there was no question as to whether or not you were dead. Even if you had been wearing some type of protective head gear, a shotgun firing within five inches of your face would have been fatal. 

She was usually a pro at keeping her emotions under control until the mission was completed and never steered away from the plan without first calculating the absolute best course of action. The other teammates she had and the terrified group of women she was meant to protect called upon her to uphold her position as the leader, a task she had shouldered over a million times before despite whatever her personal feelings demanded. Absolutely none of that mattered now. Getting to you, killing that bastard, and wrapping you up in your arms became the only course of action she was capable of taking. 

Her first priority was taking out the son of a bitch that dared to touch you before anyone else got hurt. She handed off the little girl she had been carrying to Nico before barreling over a crate and launching herself over the side of the ship, rolling smoothly to break her fall when she hit the the dock. 

Despite how fast she ran, she seemed to move at a cursedly slow pace. She was still too quick for the man, his blood leaking from the fresh gash you had tore across his face, to notice her. He didn’t even get a chance to run before the warrior drove her labrys straight into the already-open wound. Andy could only revel in the brief taste of satisfaction for a moment before her emotions began swarming once again, the anger she had held for that man was now aimed solely at herself.

“Booker, get her into the back!” She barked at the Frenchman to take care of the hostage still hiding while rushing over to where your body collapsed. Up close, the sight was even more gruesome as blood, flesh, and bone were splattered all across what used to be your face. It would have been generous to call what was left of everything above your neck a simple stump. She knew she needed to get you out of there fast but hated to leave behind any parts of your head that might have been salvageable. Even saving something like an ear or significant chunk of your skull could aid in speeding up the healing process. She knew it would be excruciatingly painful for you to grow back yourself. 

She desperately grabbed at fistful of what she hoped was your brain before scooping you up in her arms. It was the fact that you were so much lighter than usual which made her wince, though she couldn’t help but be somewhat relieved when it meant it allowed her to run faster on her feet. Cautious yet quick, Andy made a beeline for the passenger’s seat of the truck and cradled your body in her arms while you continued to bleed out. It wasn’t a sight she wanted any of the hostages to witness and it’s not like she was letting go of you anytime soon anyway. 

“Drive!” One word was all she needed to command whomever was at the steering wheel to get out of there as fast as possible. It didn’t even occur to her to look up and check to see who she was sitting next to, as she immediately began trying to pick up any movement in your chest or a sign of a pulse in your wrist, anything that indicated the resurrection process was in motion.

“Please, please, come back to me,” she pleaded as your warm blood began to pool across her lap.

“Give her a second.” She realized it was Booker currently driving. “It’s only her second time and will probably take longer than expected.”

The women they had freed were now crammed together once again, only this time being in the back of a dark loading truck as it sped through the dead of night was probably far more merciful than them being forced to witness the transformation you were currently undergoing. Andy, however, couldn’t tear a single string of her attention away from you throughout the entire process. 

Each noise you made followed by the eventual cries of her name from your lips, once your mouth and airways had completely reformed, tore at Andromache deeper and deeper, in ways that no physical pain she had ever endured could compare. She bit down on her tongue till it was bloody as you repetitively squeezed her hand throughout the entire process. The same ones you often used to delicately recreate precious moments on paper broke more than a few of her bones. But Andy barely noticed and didn’t have the capacity to care. All she was focused on was you.

For the first time in centuries, the Scythian invoked the words of an ancient prayer and resurrected a long dead language as she tried to soothe your pain. She stopped believing in a higher power a long time ago but couldn’t shake the truth that repeating those words made her feel anchored to something even larger than her life or her immortality. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t try if it might possibly bring you a sense of comfort, which she actually prayed may happen. 

[hahaifolded]

The Siren, the Cook, and the Sister (18/End)

Sanji x PirateHunter!Fem Reader (Masterlist) Chapter 18: 850 Million (Previous) Summary: A new chapter begins. Warnings: In-World Typical Violence

No, no, no…

You were so close…

We were so close…

Sanji couldn’t believe his eyes. One second, you were on your way home and the next, you’re 6 feet underwater. 

“NOOOOOO!” screamed your sister. She ran to the Sunny’s railings. She tried climbing over it, but two long arms stopped her. Luffy immediately appeared behind her and grabbed her. 

Your sister scratched and fought against his grip, but it was no use. She begged to be let go. “Please, she can’t die… I told that I hated her. That can’t be the last thing I told her.” 

Luffy’s eyes darkened. “I promised her I’d keep you safe,” he solemnly admitted. 

I won’t let these sisters get separated again. Sanji laid a hand on your sister’s shoulder. “I promise you, that won’t be the last thing you’ll say to your sister.” And before Luffy or anyone could stop him, he dived into the ocean.

“Jimbei!” yelled Luffy. The helmsman passed the steering wheel to Nami and jumped overboard. 

The rest of the Strawhats stared in horror at the scene. As a devil fruit user, the ocean meant death. Even without that stipulation, the harpoon through your body did not provide any comfort. And with all of the sinking debris, the chances that all three of you escaped unscathed were low. 

— — —

Is this really the end?

Funny… actually.

Just when my life as a pirate hunter was about to end… again, death had to follow.

Maybe that is my life. 

To imprison, to capture others.

Like they’ve done to me.

At least she’s safe.

She’ll be safe with Luffy, Robin… Sanji.

Sanji… 

Sanji…

SANJI?

— — —

Sanji crouched over your body and began to give you chest compressions. His clothes were drenched and body shivering, but he didn’t care. He had to save you. He had to bring you back.

“C’mon, c’mon,” he muttered under his breath as he pressed your chest up and down. Your sister and Chopper immediately joined him. Chopper began to treat your wound. Your sister just begged.

“Please (Y/N), I am so sorry. Please, I don’t hate you. Come back. I need my sister. I need you. I’m so sorry,” she cried. She turned to Sanji and continued, “please, bring her back. Bring my sister back.” 

Sanji continued compressing your chest. It’s not doing anything! He stopped chest compressions and pinched your nose. After opening your mouth, he counted 1 - 2 - 3 and gave you mouth to mouth. He alternated between chest compressions and CPR. One way or another, you were going to come back.

The rest of the crew looked on in suspense. A sibling dying for another one was a pain too raw for this crew. 

Chopper began, “Sanji, I don’t think—“

“NO! It’s not over until I say so!” As long as he lived, he would make sure you and your sister would never be separated again. Never again.

He pressed and gave CPR over and over again until…

You suddenly sat up and threw up whatever water you had in your chest. You gasped for air with your eyes blown wide. You looked around and took in your surroundings. 

Chopper pushed Sanji aside to check you. Sanji and your sister sat to your side. Both were silent but with tears in their eyes. 

“She’s okay!” cheered Chopper. Everyone else cheered. You sat with a small smile on your face. You looked at each happy face one by one until you reached your sister’s. 

“Hey you,” you warmly said. She threw herself on you and dug her face into your chest.

“You might not want to do that,” warned Chopper. Robin tapped him on the head, almost saying to let it go for now.

“Don’t ever do that again! I love you so you can’t die! Please, you can’t leave me alone” she scolded you. She pouted at you, but her lip wobbled as she held in a sob. 

“Okay.”

“What?”

“I won’t,” you vowed. Your sister sobbed at your declaration. You held her close despite the pain. 

Sanji wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to be close to you and make sure you were okay, but didn’t want to impose over your reunion with your sister. Deciding that leaving was the best, he got up and headed for the kitchen. 

— — —

You looked away from your sister and saw the cook leaving. Not on my watch.

You called out his name. He spun around, almost surprised to see that you were calling my name. You waved him over. It was time to do the thing that was long overdue. 

“Hey, I want to introduce you to someone,” you mumbled in your sister’s head. She sat up and followed your gaze. You could tell Sanji was nervous. Once he was in arm’s length, you grabbed his hand and used it to get up. You grabbed your sister’s hand and hoisted her up. Now, as the three of you stood, you turned to your sister and began, “this is Sanji, the amazing cook of the Strawhat pirates.” 

Realizing what you were doing, Sanji bowed. Your sister giggled. 

“I’m sorry for not telling you about his family,” you admitted, “I just didn’t want to hurt you, but I just ended up doing that either way.” 

“It’s okay. I know why you did it,” your sister said. You looked at her in awe. She ushered you to crouch down. She got up in her tippy toes and whispered, “he’s kinda cute.” She giggled as your face warmed. 

Oblivious to what your sister said, Sanji crouched down to her level. “I’m sorry that I never got a chance to properly introduce myself, little lady. But if you allowed me, I’d love to get to know you. Is that okay?” Your sister just nodded. 

“Okay, that’s enough feelings for one day,” Zoro clapped. “Let’s get going before any more Marines come.”

Usopp and Nami yelled at him, calling him a brute and heartless. 

You laughed. Things were finally looking up.

— — —

“WOAH! IS THAT MY SISTER’S BOUNTY POSTER?” 

You stopped eating to see your sister crowding Robin who was reading the morning’s newspaper. After saving your sister, you and the Strawhats returned to your home to rest. Now the morning after, it seemed like news of your betrayal got back to HQ.

“Oooh, let me see that,” demanded a curious Luffy. Before Robin could answer, he swiped the poster.

“Read it out loud, Luffy,” yelled Brook. Everyone’s eyes twinkled in excitement while you felt… dread. Not exactly… annoyance if anything. A bounty meant trouble, you would know?

“Wanted, dead or alive, the Siren… NO WAY!” Luffy gasped. 

“What!” yelled Nami in frustration. She pulled the poster from the boy’s hand and read it herself. She gasped. “The Siren, $850 million berries!”

Usopp, Chopper, and Brook gasped. 

Franky, Jimbei, and Zoro congratulated you. 

Robin gave you a thumbs up. 

You just stared at everyone with your mouth wide open. You knew if you ever got a bounty, it would be high, but you didn’t think it would be that much. Wow, they must really be scared of me.

Coming out of the kitchen, Sanji entered the room. “What’s going on?”

Your sister gleefully answered. “My sister has a bounty of over 800 million berries!”

Sanji nearly fainted. “WHAT?” He looked at you with wide eyes.

850 million berries? Yeah, I’m going to be one of the hottest catches in the area. Everyone is going to come after me… shit. You put your own face in your hands at the realization. The life of peace you dreamt for you and your sister slipped from your fingers. 

“What’s wrong?” asked Jimbei as he noticed your mood change. Everyone quieted down.

You admitted, “I have a target on my back now. I can’t stay here,” you motioned to the house. “I have to constantly be moving… we have to constantly be moving.” You shrank in your seat. Silence filled the room. 

Your sister broke the silence. “That’s okay.” You stared at her. “As long as I’m with you, everything will be fine.” You bit your lip to keep yourself from crying. 

“Yeah, you’ll be fine. We’ll protect you,” added Luffy. What?

“What do you mean by that?” You asked. You had to wait a bit for an answer as Luffy stuffed his mouth with food.

After a big gulp, he answered, “yeah, you and your sister are joining us, duh! I always wanted a robot on my crew.” Did you hear him correctly? You looked at the rest of the crew to see if they were on board. They all shot you a welcoming smile. 

Your sister jumped up from her seat and ran next to you. “Oooh, can we? Pretty please, can we be pirates?”

You felt a hand rest on your shoulder. You looked up to see that familiar eyebrow.

“So what do you say?” he gleamed. “Want to be a pirate?”

You smiled. “Why not?”

Word Count: 1495

Previous - Masterlist

Author's Notes: It's over. Honestly, I can't believe it. I just finished my first ever fanfic series!

First of all, thank you to everyone who followed and read this story. Honestly, I've learned a lot through this process when it comes to storytelling and writing so thank you for sticking it out with me.

Do I think this story is perfect? No. I know there are areas where I could improve and maybe one day, I will. But for now, I think I'm just going to celebrate the fact that I managed to write all of this.

This story is dear to me as I am an older sister. So in a way this is an ode to my younger sibling and our relationship. So thank you again for joining me on this journey.

[ominous-auburn-orbs]

Royalteeth fic because your new writing gave idea! When looking for an exit the performers accidentally mess up the antivirus on the computer that sees Caine as a threat and screws him up, leading Kinger to be the the rescue

Sorry this took so long, I was trying to find the right situation to put them in. Enjoy!

"Hello, superstars! I've got a special excursion for you today!" Caine floated above the performers, addressing them all.

"Excursion? Weren't we meant to stay in the tent?" Pomni had seen what was outside, and there really wasn't much other than the void, that theme park and the digital lake. If they were going to either of the last two, she could already see how it could all go horribly wrong.

"Usually, but I wanted to show you all something! You've been asking a lot of questions about how things work, so I thought I'd show you all the game's code so you could understand better!"

With a snap of his fingers, Caine had teleported the group to a strange area with black surfaces and coding spread about everywhere. It was disorienting, some of them almost failing to stay on their feet.

"Here we are! This is where the game's code is stored. Just look around for a bit and all your inquiries will be answered!"

The others wandered the surprisingly expansive area, trying to make sense of the fast-moving words and numbers. If anything, it was creating more questions for the crew. Kinger, however, stared at one of the walls of text with a calculating look, absorbed by the code. Gangle thought about asking him if he knew what it meant, but thought better of it. If anything really was happening in his mind, it would be better to let him go through the whole process and tell them in his own time, rather than disturb him and risk losing the only solid information they could get out of the excursion.

Jax was looking for something interesting to mess with, but he still couldn't tell what was what.

"Hey, Caine! Any of this code yours?" He called to the ringmaster.

"Oh, why yes, Jax! In fact, i believe you're standing rather close to it! Just be careful not to touch it!" Just as Jax started to do just that, Caine remembered why everyone else now had horrified looks. "I shouldn't have told him that, should I?"

Unfortunately, it was already too late. Caine's body spasmed and changed colours as Jax took and rearranged pieces of his code, chuckling to himself all the while.

"JAX!!" Caine's yell pulled Jax away from the code and awoke Kinger from his reading. He reached out his hand and the rabbit's rubberhose arms twisted around his own body, holding him in place as well as being rather painful. Unable to keep balance, he fell to the floor.

Whatever he'd done, it had made Caine far more aggressive. While the other performers had no qualms with Jax being beaten to death, Caine also ran the risk of hurting everyone else in the process.

Gangle wrapped herself around his legs, attempting to pull him down and restrain him enough that they could fix what had happened, but she was promptly shaken off and tied into knots.

When Zooble tried to attack him, their parts were sent flying, with one of them hitting Ragatha hard in the face, knocking her down.

Kinger finally processed what was going on and rushed in front of Caine, hands up in a defensive position. "Caine, please, stop!"

For once, the ringmaster paused. His now altered code told him to attack, to remove this obstacle, but a part of him knew Kinger wasn't a threat. He never wanted to hurt him. Conflicted, he simply stared, his thoughts unreadable.

"Caine? Please, you're scaring me." Scaring him? Caine had scared him? That realisation brought some of himself back. He had harmed his performers; his superstars. He'd almost hurt Kinger.

Slowly, Caine lowered to the ground and walked to Kinger. The chess piece didn't move, not wanting to set him off again. Caine grabbed Kinger's robe and opened it slightly, wrapping it around himself and hugging Kinger close.

Kinger risked lowering his hands, placing one on the top of the ringmaster's head and gently moving it back and forth, feeling him physically relax. Kinger breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at the others.

Pomni was untangling Gangle while Ragatha searched for Zooble's parts, a pile of them already in her hands. They all seemed a bit dazed, shocked by what Caine could and would do if something in his code went wrong.

"Uh, are you all okay?" The group looked to the pair then each other, unsure of how to answer. Ragatha eventually made that decision for them.

"We'll be fine, what matters now is fixing Caine's code." Kinger nodded, taking a few steps to confirm that Caine would walk with him before going to the wall of text that defined Caine's very being. No pressure at all.

"Hey aren't one of you gonna help me-" Jax was kicked aside to give Kinger more room. He read the code with intense focus, somehow understanding it rather well. Even he was confused by that, but it wasn't what mattered.

As he rearranged and added to the code, it came to him that he also had Caine's coding near memorised. Once the other circus members were back to how they should be, Ragatha attempted to go up to Kinger and ask him about his progress. Unfortunately, the moment she got close, Caine's head popped out of his robe and bit her, causing her to jump back. The chess piece hadn't seemed to notice. The performers then decided to keep their distance while he worked, Zooble also giving Jax a good kick to fully roll him out of the way.

Eventually, Kinger was finished. Immediately Caine snapped his fingers and they were all sent back to the tent. Jax was also unravelled, to near everyone's disappointment.

The ringmaster still clung to Kinger, put poked his head out to speak to the others. "I'm sorry, my superstars. That really wasn't the educational adventure I wanted it to be. I hope you can forgive me."

"Uh, s-sure, Caine. Jax started it, anyway. Just- just be more careful next time." Pomni was itching to go to her room and think over what she had been able to see. Nothing about an exit. She would have to ask what Kinger saw, no matter how strange the answer was. He knew something she needed, which could really be anything at all. Any knowledge was useful at this point.

Jax at least looked a little shaken, but not really remorseful. Still, he'd hopefully learned some sort of lesson. Hopefully.

"Of course, Pomni. Now, how about you lot retire? I'd say we've had just about enough of everything for one day."

The performers agreed, going to their rooms. However, Gangle had stopped for a moment to stare at the way Caine embraced Kinger. She had new writing material already.

[stray-tickles]

Letters

Read on AO3

“Hey, Commander.” Eiffel stuck his head through the door to the bridge. “Are you busy? Got a sec?”

Minkowski looked up from the monitor. “Yeah, what’s up?”

He floated in, looking somewhat sheepish. “I- I had an idea, but it’s kind of a downer, if you’d rather…”

She rolled her eyes. “Just spit it out.”

Eiffel stared out of the window to avoid looking at her. “This- this is way worse than we knew when we signed up for it. I was thinking about Lovelace’s old logs, and…” He sighed heavily. “We don’t know if we’re all gonna make it home.”

“We are.”

“We don’t know that.” He stressed. “And I- her crew. Some of them wrote letters to go back.” Now he did turn his head to meet her gaze. “We both have people back on Earth that we’d… I thought, if you want, we could do an exchange. Just in case.”

Minkowski narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like this kind of talk. “I’ve already decided that we’re going to make it back. You’re under direct orders to do so.”

Eiffel laughed quietly. “And I’ve always been super at following orders.” He laced his fingers together. “Look, I’m not giving up, I swear. It’s just for insurance.” Because he sometimes lay awake thinking about Anne and all the things he wanted to say to her. How if he died, he’d never get to. He cleared his throat, so he didn’t sound too choked up. “For peace of mind.”

The thought of Dominik had been on her mind, ever since she’d found out they were officially dead. If that death wound up being real… It would be nice to be able to say goodbye. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. You’re not wrong. I can’t say I haven’t thought about… having insurance sounds good.” Especially when she’d already promised herself that Eiffel was getting back to Earth come hell or high water. “Anything you want me to take back, I’ll do it.”

“Okay.” Eiffel relaxed. “And you too. I mean out of the two of us I know what kind of chance I stand but… insurance, right?”

“Yeah.”

She’d have to write an apology for him too. For insurance.

--

Things were… okay. Doug could see that they’d all been through a lot, but given it was going to take them a few months to reach Earth, they were okay. Renée was getting stronger by the day, recovering from her gunshot wound, and he only occasionally caught her or Isabel looking at him in that heartbroken kind of way.

Despite what he’d heard of the logs, it seemed like he meant a lot to them. He’d get the hang of it eventually. They were easy to like.

Renée had been up and about for a couple of days when Hera gently reminded him that he needed to wash his clothes. He knew that, but at the same time, it had slipped his mind.

It was only in changing out of his filthy jumpsuit that he found a stack of envelopes stuck to the inside, tied together with an elastic band.

He removed it and flicked through them. Had he left something for himself?

Mom, Dad, Dominik… Eiffel. That one had his name on it. He stared at it. The handwriting wasn’t familiar, but nothing was familiar to him right now. Should he ask about it? Who would he ask? He didn’t want to bring up anything painful for the others.

Besides, he thought as he opened the envelope and slid out the folded paper within, it was addressed to him.

‘Hey Eiffel,

I guess if you’re reading this, I’m dead. I don’t think you’d expect me to write one of these for you, but then again, maybe you wouldn’t expect for you to be the one to make it home out of the two of us either. I don’t know what happened, but I promised myself a while ago that I’d make sure you made it back safe before anything else. I hope you’re not going back alone, but if you are, I’m glad it’s you.

I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to say. Something heartfelt and meaningful, of course, but there’s so much. And so little. Thank you for being here. I’d never admit it to your face, but your dumb jokes were only dumb some of the time. Thank you for being my friend. I want you to have a good life back on Earth. I hope you can hug Anne again, and I hope you keep trying. I hope there’s a new Star Wars movie waiting for you. I hope you get that pizza, and you get to really enjoy it.’

He was crying. Doug wiped his eyes on his sleeve to keep from blotting the paper and tried not to think too hard about why he was crying.

‘If it’s not too morbid, maybe you can look for Wolf 359 in the sky some time. By the time you’re back, you might be able to see the day we arrived. If you do, tell past me to relax a bit. To appreciate her dumbass Communications Officer more. Tell her that he’ll become one of the most important people in the universe to her, and that I need her to get him home.

I hope, if you are reading this, that it’s an accident, and you’re making fun of me. I’d happily play keep-away with you if we all make it back safely.

Signing off,

Renée Minkowski’

The tears were coming full force now, along with a crushing ache in his chest like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed. Doug released his grip on the letter and fell back onto his bed, clapping his hands over his mouth as the sobbing started. It hurt, why did it hurt so much? What even was it that hurt this much?

“Doug?” It was Hera.

Oh. Hera. Hera.

He was shaking. A lot. He couldn’t seem to stop doing that any more than he could stop crying and gasping for air. He hoped Hera wasn’t too worried. She spent too much of her time trying to protect him. Oh. Where did that thought come from?

“Doug, are you okay?”

Protecting him. Why was she protecting him? He remembered being cold, feeling clumps of hair coming off in his hands. He remembered… being lost.

“Douglas Eiffel!”

He was… dying? Had been dying? He was trapped in a tiny space with no way out, cold and bleeding and alone and…

“EIFFEL!”

He gasped, coming back to himself. “S-sorry!” He gasped, the shaking easing off marginally.

“What is going on?!” Hera demanded, agitated. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

Doug swallowed against the lump in his throat. He remembered Hera. He remembered being lost in space. He remembered the deep pit of loneliness in his chest. “I’m fine, Hera, thanks.”

“Then tell me what is happening with you! You looked like you were having a seizure!”

“I’m okay.” He rubbed his hands over his face, eyes stinging from the tears. “Don’t worry about it, it’s… it’s fine.” He couldn’t tell them yet. This was so small. Isabel was still a blur, never mind Renée.

He was starting to understand why she’d been so sad.

Hera, predictably, didn’t listen. “Either you tell me what’s going on right now or I’m calling the others.”

“Hera…”

“Now.”

He sighed. “Okay, okay, just… you’ve gotta promise not to tell them.”

“Fine.”

“I’m serious.”

“Okay, I promise.”

Doug took a breath. “I think… I remembered something.”

Hera was silent for a few long seconds. When she spoke, she sounded breathless. “Are- are you sure?”

He groaned. “No, I- was I… lost? It felt like a nightmare, I was so cold and alone and maybe dying? I don’t know what that even means.”

“You- were lost.” Hera said quietly. “You were on a shuttle lost in space for… a long time. You used the cryogenic pod to survive.”

“Oh. That sounds right.”

“Anything else?”

Doug wrapped his arms around himself. “I think I remember you? Nothing specific, but… I remember that you- you’re stubborn and caring and- and you make me happy.”

Hera made a sound that could have been a sob.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“No!” She exclaimed. “No, I- that’s right. I think.” She seemed to take a moment to brace herself. “You- you make me happy too.”

“Oh.” Doug smiled to himself. “That’s nice.” It felt nice. He felt warm.

“We should tell the others.” Hera said decisively.

He balked. “What- no!”

“Doug?” She sounded genuinely confused.

He sighed heavily. “Just- what if that’s all I remember? I don’t- I don’t remember Renée or Isabel o-or Daniel, what if I never do?” He sagged. “I’ve seen the way they look at me. I- if I don’t remember… I don’t wanna hurt them. They’re okay right now. If I don’t remember them, we- we’ll be okay.”

“I… I understand.” Hera sighed. She didn’t like it, but she understood. “What triggered this? You were reading something, what was that?”

“Oh.” He looked over at the letter floating in the middle of his room. “It’s… Renée. She wrote me a letter. I don’t know, I just… found it. There’s others but I don’t recognise them.”

“Oh.” Hera breathed. “Yes, you two made an agreement a while ago. In case one of you didn’t survive, the other would be able to deliver them to their loved ones.”

For some reason hearing her say that, hearing the words ‘loved ones’ in reference to something addressed to him sent another white-hot jolt through his heart. “Oh.” He said in a small voice, quickly wiping away a stray tear.

“I’m sorry.” Hera murmured. “I wish I could give you a hug.”

Doug sniffled. “Me too.” He said, and grabbed one of the pillows from his bed, hugging it tightly to his chest. “I’ll pretend this is you, for now.”

“Thank you.” Hera said affectionately. “It does look very cozy.” She vowed to herself that she’d get one of the others to give him a hug for her as soon as they’d gotten to the bottom of this.

--

When things came back to him, they first came back as feelings. It turned out to be a good thing to tell Hera, because she was great at helping him make sense of it all.

“Hera? Was I… super mad at Renée about something?”

Hera snorted. “Well yes, at some point over the last few years, but you might want to be more specific.”

Even without his memories, Doug got the joke. “Ha, yeah I guess. I don’t know, it was like. Like she was leaving me behind.” He muttered the last few words. That sour feeling came with them.

“Or like she was sending you away?”

He huffed. “Yeah.”

“Yes, you were mad at her about that, not long before…”

He looked down, trying not to ignore the feeling. The feeling of the door as he pounded on it. The sound of her voice, guilty but determined. The helplessness of knowing that almost everyone important to him was back there and he was leaving.

“She… tried to send me back. To Earth. By myself.” Eiffel looked up. “Right?”

“Yes.” Hera admitted. “She said that if we failed… someone would need to warn the rest of humanity of what was going to happen.”

“Right.”

She sighed. “But I- I think she mostly did it because she cares about you. Wanted to keep you safe.”

“Oh.” He ran a hand through his hair. “That kind of backfired, huh.”

“You’re still here.” Hera reminded him. “That’s enough.”

--

A few days later, Doug woke in the middle of the night with tears streaking his face. Feelings, what was the feeling?

Guilt. Horror. Despair. The sound of sirens and the smell of metal and blood.

He sniffled. “H-Hera?”

“Yes? Yes, I’m here.” He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the pale blue light that seemed to fill whatever space she was in. “Are you okay, Doug?”

He wiped his eyes. “D-did I almost get my daughter killed?”

Oh. “Doug…”

“Please. Please just tell me.” He felt wrung out. He felt like the worst person alive. He felt like he didn’t want his memories back anymore.

“Yes.” Hera whispered. “It was an accident, you…”

He swallowed thickly. “I was drunk.” Shame. The memory of his little girl’s face, how she’d looked the last time he saw her, bleeding and injured.

“Yeah. But you didn’t mean to hurt her, a-and-”

“Enough.” He said flatly. “Please. I- I think I need to be alone now.”

“Eiffel…”

“Thanks for telling me.”

--

Memories of Anne snowballed into memories of Renée. Of her not talking to him, and how much that had hurt. How it had only hurt more when he found out why, even though he knew she was right to. How the pain mattered because… because she was important to him. He knew that before, but he felt it now.

Hera helped fill in the blanks. Reminded him of how they had reconciled. It helped. A little.

He spent as much time with the others as he could. They were good people, and regardless of whether he remembered them better or not, he wanted to be with them.

It was with that in mind that he made two cups of coffee and set out to find Renée. He knew from the recording about how they had lost coffee, and how much he had missed it. Maybe she had too.

He found her alone on the bridge and carefully floated over, cups in hand. “Coffee?”

Minkowski nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. “Jesus Christ! Don’t do that!”

Doug blinked and looked around confusedly. “Who?”

He was even more confused when Renée started laughing.

“S-sorry!” She giggled, one hand trying to cover her mouth. “It’s n-not funny.” It wasn’t, he’d forgotten everything, why was she laughing?

Well, he did have a way of getting under her skin, even now. She forced deep breaths, the laughter petering out, and noticed that Doug was giving her an odd look. “What?”

He shook himself. “Oh, uh, nothing.” He held out a mug.

“Thanks.” She said, taking it gratefully. “But seriously, what?”

He shrugged. “It’s just… nice to see you happy.”

Oh. She smiled into her coffee. How was she supposed to respond to that? “Sorry if I’ve been kind of a downer.”

“Nonono! You- you’ve been through a lot, it’s to be expected.” Doug knew he was a big part of that. Still, he couldn’t shake the warm, proud feeling inside sparked from making her laugh. That had happened before, hadn’t it?

Renée sighed, feeling herself relax that bit more. “Still. I’m glad you’re here.” She tried to come off as casual. “You gonna keep me company?”

He smiled. “Only if you want me to, Minkowski.”

She stared at him, and he realised he’d messed up. “Oh, I- that’s right, right? In the recordings…” He didn’t mention how natural it felt to call her that.

“Yeah.” She said quietly. “That’s right.”

“Cool.”

Minkowski cleared her throat. “And I… yes. I’d like you to stay.”

Eiffel smiled. “Cool.”

--

It was nice spending the time with Renée. They talked about nothing in particular, looked at the stars, drank their coffee. That proud, happy feeling in his stomach didn’t go away, in fact it got stronger. More memories of her surfaced, of them arguing, her saving him, patting him on the shoulder and wishing him a happy birthday, them laughing together.

He remembered Hera, too. Him staying up half the night chattering away with her about movies and music, her covering for him when he was slacking off, her saving him. Her viciously sarcastic streak. He waited until his door had closed behind him to speak. “Hey, Hera?”

Her voice crackled to life. “Yes?”

Doug smiled to himself. “I love you.”

“Oh!” She glitched. “Did you, um, did you remember something?”

She sounded flustered. It was kind of cute. “Yeah, a bit, from hanging out with Min- Renée. Mostly her, and you.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“And that I love you guys.”

“Okay Doug.”

He grinned. “Are you embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Are you lying?”

“No.”

“Are you the bestest AI in the whole wide galaxy?”

“Eiffel!” She squeaked, seemingly incapable of saying anything else.

He chuckled. “I just want to make sure you know.”

“Okay, fine, just shut up!”

“Anything you say, sweetheart.”

--

They were having dinner the next time it happened. Isabel had slathered her food with a bottle of red sauce that Doug didn’t recognise, and when he asked about it, she offered him some. Minkowski gave him a warning look, but, well. He’d never paid those any mind before.

He was so caught up in the euphoria of knowing that, that he swallowed before registering the flavour, and the next thing he knew he was spluttering and coughing from the intense burning in his throat.

Isabel clapped him on the back, clearly trying not to laugh, and offered him some water. “You okay, man?”

Doug nodded weakly, gulping down the water.

Minkowski shook her head but said nothing.

He finished the water, but the feeling in his throat lingered. Burning, stinging. Sticky? No, his throat wasn’t sticky, where had that thought come from?

Hot, sticky, panic. He’d been scared, choking. Dying? Again?

“Hey! You in there?” Isabel waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Oh. Lovelace. She clicked right into place in his mind as if she’d never been missing. Terse, no nonsense, goofy, brave.

An alien?

Yes. She was, yes! Her alien blood had saved his life when he was dying from decima, and again when he was brainwashed.

“Doug!”

He jumped. “Sorry! Sorry, I- uh, zoned out there.”

She seemed concerned. “You sure did! You okay?”

“Yeah,” He swallowed. “Yeah.” Concerned. Why did that ring a bell?

You guys weren’t… actually concerned, were you?

When was that? Why were they concerned? He felt… bad. Guilty and upset. And lonely.

What don't you do? You lie. You keep secrets. You do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Lovelace. And it hadn’t just been her, had it? She was just the first to say something, to tell him what a jackass he was being. He didn’t mean to be, he didn’t even notice!

But he had. To everyone.

Doug stood abruptly. “I, uh, I think I’m done.” He said, trying to not let his emotions show on his face. “Gonna go to bed.”

He didn’t sleep.

--

“You should tell them.”

Doug floundered. “But there’s still so much I can’t remember! Those books, a-and what happened in second grade, the movies!”

Hera sighed. “You’re never going to remember every single thing that happened in your life, you know that. But you remember them, and me, and you remember how much they matter to you. Isn’t that enough?”

It was enough. More than enough, actually. They mattered to him so much, and what was he? He’d hurt everyone who he’d ever cared about. He was useless, lazy, and thoughtless. This couldn’t be the person that they wanted. It just couldn’t. “I need more time.”

Hera didn’t seem to care. “For what? I thought you’d be excited to tell them.”

“I’m not.” He muttered, his heart aching.

Hera paused. “Please.” She said quietly. “Talk to me.”

Eiffel hugged the pillow to his chest and buried his face in it, struggling not to cry. Hera waited patiently.

He let out a shuddering breath. “Hera, I’m… awful.” He whispered. “I almost got my daughter killed, I’ve been terrible to you, to all of you! Why would anyone ever want that guy back?”

“Eiffel…”

He sniffled, blinking back tears. “But that’s it, maybe- maybe they don’t. Wh-what if when we get back…” He was trembling. “What’s the p-point in keeping me around?”

“Because we love you, you idiot!”

“Why? After everything-”

“After everything is the whole point! We’ve been through hell together; you think none of that matters because you made a few mistakes?”

“It’s more than that and you know it.”

“What I know is that you were the first person who made me feel like a person.” Hera said fiercely. “And I won’t let anyone talk about you like that, even you.”

Eiffel hugged the pillow tightly. “Hera…”

She softened. “Are you really worried that the others won’t want you to be part of their lives when we get back?”

He tried to laugh but wound up crying instead. “C’mon. Look at me.”

Hera sighed. “I need to figure out how to do hugs.” She muttered, getting no reaction. “Look, I know you’re scared, and you feel like you- you’re not good enough. But you can’t go on like this. The only way to make that feeling go away is to tell them.”

He fell sideways onto the bed. “I don’t want to.” What even was he, without his crew? He might as well go back to jail.

“I know.” Hera murmured. “I guess the memories about how much we all need you haven’t come back yet.”

“Sure.” Eiffel muttered. He didn’t have the strength to question whether such memories even existed.

--

It took him a day to find the resolve to make the choice, and another after that to figure out how to do this. He’d looked Minkowski and Lovelace in the eye enough times to know that he couldn’t just casually start that conversation.

He owed them the truth, in whatever way he could deliver it.

Eiffel held the letter in trembling hands, looking over it for the hundredth time, trying to absorb some of Minkowski’s strength. It helped somewhat.

‘Thank you for being my friend.’

He’d need to return that sentiment, somehow. When he could.

He shook himself. One thing at a time.

It was a good thing he’d figured out the comms system on the Urania. Eiffel cleared his throat and flicked a switch. “Hey gang.” He said awkwardly. “I- uh- couldn’t think of a good way to do this, so I’m just gonna take the coward’s way out! Anyway, I- I got my memories back, mostly. Yay. That’s all. Um… carry on.”

He could have left the comms room. Part of him wanted to. The nervous energy buzzing under his skin screaming at him to run away, but he stayed. It was done now.

Barely a minute later the door opened, revealing a wide-eyed, out of breath Renée Minkowski. She stared at him. “If this is supposed to be some kind of joke…”

Eiffel felt his nerves melt away. “Hey.” He said softly. “Thanks for the letter.”

It was a good thing that he’d had the foresight to strap himself into the comms seat, because otherwise the two of them would have ended up slammed into the opposite wall from the force that Minkowski launched herself at him. Eiffel managed to catch her as they collided and swallowed his grunt of pain from the tightness of the hug.

He let out a long sigh. This felt right. “Hey.”

Renée took a shaky breath. “Hey.” She managed to loosen her iron grip enough that he’d be able to breathe. Letting go wasn’t on the cards right now. “How did you…”

“Like I said,” He murmured. “Thanks for the letter.”

Oh. She huffed a laugh. “I forgot.”

“Me too.”

She snorted into his shoulder. “Don’t even- it’s too soon to joke about that.”

Eiffel grinned. “Oh yeah? I swear I heard a laugh there.”

Minkowski felt herself smile. “No.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

He was teasing her, and it felt so utterly normal. It was okay. They were going home, Eiffel was here, himself, and they were safe… Wait. “Pryce!” She yelped, drawing back, “Is she-”

Eiffel jumped. “It’s fine, it’s okay!” He said. “And jeez, don’t yell right next to my head.”

“What do you mean it’s fine?”

He sighed. “It’s fine! Hera’s been keeping a really close eye on her. We might have been linked before but… seems like this is just a me thing.”

“Oh, thank god.” There was a scare, and then there was thinking they might be trapped with a pissed off Miranda Pryce. “Wait…” Her eyes narrowed. Hera has been keeping a close eye on her? “How long have you-”

He looked away. “I mean, that’s a complicated-”

“Almost two weeks!” Hera chirped.

“What?”

“Hera!”

Hera was utterly unrepentant. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was just answering the Commander’s question.”

Eiffel groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Oh my god, you’re the worst.”

“No, I can think of someone who’s worse.” Minkowski growled.

“Ugh, it’s not- look it’s not like everything came back all at once, okay?! I wasn’t gonna say anything if I wasn’t sure it’d stick, or-” He groaned again. “How am I back for five minutes and already being court martialled?”

She forced herself to take a long breath and drop the anger. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I-I just don’t understand.”

Eiffel hugged himself. “Like I said, it was… gradual. I found your letter, but I didn’t know what it was, and it- I don’t know, it triggered something. All I remembered at first was being stuck in cryo, and I thought maybe it was a fluke.”

“And after that?”

She shrugged, not looking at her.

“Eiffel…”

“Oh, it’s nothing really, Commander.” Hera said, a steely edge to her voice. “He’s just upset because we’ll obviously never speak to him again once we get back to Earth.”

“What?!” Now she was incredulous. There was no way he could think that, right?

Apparently he could, because he looked utterly crestfallen at Hera’s words. “Hera, c’mon.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, is that not what you think?”

He looked like he was about to cry. “Hera…”

Minkowski felt something hard settle in her stomach. No. Absolutely not. “Why would you think that?” She asked, trying her best to keep her voice gentle.

He buried his face in his hands. “Seriously Renée? Have you seen me? I’m terrible. I’ve hurt literally everyone I’ve ever cared about, I’m lazy and rude and shitty.”

The venom in his voice stunned her into silence.

“And you- you’ve got your shit together! What- are you gonna come home and be like ‘hi honey, this is Doug; high school dropout, air force dropout, alcoholic jackass convicted felon, we’re just gonna- gonna hang out?!’”

Doug was crying now. He tried his best to stop, he didn’t need either of them feeling sorry for him. It was his own fault that he’d turned out like this.

A familiar hand took his. Against his better judgement, he looked up at her.

Renée started slowly. “I’ll say, ‘Hello Dominik, I missed you so much that it felt like a hole in the chest. This is Doug Eiffel, he’s my best friend. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have made it back at all, let alone as anything resembling a human being. He’s going to be part of my life now, and if you don’t like it,” She squeezed his hand tightly. “I know my choice.’”

“Wh- no.” He rasped, “Y-you can’t.”

“No, what I can’t do is move on from this and- just let you go. It’s not happening.” She spotted the letter half floating out of his pocket and took it, holding it up to him. “I don’t know what part of this made you think I’d even want that.”

He felt like he couldn’t breathe. “Please, don’t- I’m not worth it.”

Well, she couldn’t not hug him. “You are.” She said, cradling his head with one hand and running her fingers through his tangled hair. “I can’t go back to regular life without you. Promise you’ll be there.”

Eiffel sniffled. “Commander…”

“Eiffel.” She tightened the embrace. “Please. For me.”

She just had to play that card, huh? He swallowed thickly. “Fine.” He raised his arms to return the hug. For you.

She sighed in relief. “Thank you. And we’ll work on the whole feeling like you’re not worth it thing. Together.”

He wasn’t sure about working on it, but together? That he could deal with.

--

Minkowski had insisted he had some tea after… all of that. It was all he could do to stop her from making it for him. He did have to admit that talking to her helped. He didn’t exactly feel great about himself, but… well, if she was going to throw her lot in with him, he’d have to be better.

Doug sighed, watching the tea steep. He couldn’t deny the part of him that was happy from the ultimatum. He didn’t like being alone, never had.

“Um… Officer Eiffel?”

He looked up. “Hey Hera, what’s up?”

“I-” She hesitated. “I wanted to apologise.”

He cocked his head. “Apologise?”

Hera sighed. “Yes. I’ve been too harsh with you. I don’t like seeing you like that, talking about yourself like that, and I tried to… well, I can’t shame you into thinking about yourself more positively.”

“Eh, never hurts to try.”

“Yes it does!” She exclaimed. “It does, I-I feel like I just made you feel worse.”

Eiffel’s hand curled delicately around the handle of his mug. “It’s okay, Hera. You did help. It’s not like I was gonna open up on my own.”

“You talked to me about it.”

He laughed. “Yeah, well, it’s easier when I don’t have to look you in the eye. No offense.”

“None taken.” She paused. “Are you feeling better at all?”

Eiffel held the cup in his hands, savouring the warmth. “A little.”

“That’s good. I want you to be happy.”

He smiled weakly. “Thank you. You too.” He sipped the tea and grimaced at the temperature, putting it down to cool.

Hera coughed. “Oh, um… incoming.”

Doug frowned. “Incoming what?” He asked, before being tackled by a very enthusiastic Isabel Lovelace.

“Are you kidding me?!” She said, as they span in circles.

He grinned. “Oh, hey Cap.”

She squeezed him tightly, laughter colouring her voice. “The first nap I take in literally years and that’s when you decide to break the news?”

Eiffel burst out laughing. “Oh my god, really?”

“Yes! I got up, like, a few minutes ago! Ran into Minkowski in the hall and asked what I missed; I think she thought I was screwing with her.”

His shoulders shook with laughter. “Jesus-”

“You’re officially on my shit-list, Eiffel.” She said, though the effect was ruined by the massive smile.

He pulled back enough to grin at her. “I wasn’t before?”

Lovelace laughed. “Oh, you really do remember.”

He hugged her tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. “I really do.”

She buried her face in his shoulder. “Good to have you back.”

“Good to be back.” It was. Despite himself, he was happy.

She drew back. “Oh my god, I wanted to tell you, you should have seen the look on Minkowski’s face when she realised you were gonna ram us with the Sol.”

Oh yeah. He did do that, didn’t he. He winced. “Was she mad?”

Lovelace snorted. “I don’t know if mad is the right word. Definitely surprised, but like,” She broke into giggles, “I swear she aged like twenty years; it was like a parent finding out their kid set fire to the classroom on the last day.”

Eiffel covered his eyes with one hand, laughing silently. “That’s such a specific picture.”

She nudged him. “But you know exactly what I mean.”

“Oh yeah, I’m familiar with all the annoyed faces of Lieutenant Commander Renée Minkowski.”

“You sure about that?” Renée asked from the doorway, making them both snap their mouths closed. “See, Hera? It’s when they shut up that I know they’ve been talking about me.”

Hera laughed, and Doug grinned. “Heeey, bestie!”

“Oh Jesus-” She buried her face in her hands to hide the smile. “Well, it’s good to see you’re feeling more yourself.”

“Is it? Are you sure?” Lovelace teased.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes.” Even at her expense, she’d missed that smug grin.

--

It was late in the supposed evening when Minkowski found him alone on the bridge. “Hey.” She said quietly, to avoid scaring him.

Eiffel looked up. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”

She shrugged. “Just checking in.”

“Oh.” Pause. “Why are we whispering?”

“I don’t know.” Hera whispered.

Their eyes met, and all three burst out laughing.

Renée straightened up, stray giggles still leaking out. “What are you doing up here?”

He shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. I figured I might as well enjoy the view.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Eiffel smiled gently. “’Course not.”

“Thanks.” She floated up to the middle of the window, beside him. Maybe she’d actually miss this kind of view when they got back.

“Really doesn’t feel like we’re going very fast, does it?”

“I could always add some whooshing noises for effect?” Hera said.

Minkowski barked a laugh. “No, thanks Hera.”

“Happy to help!” She chirped, in that sweetly insipid voice that she only used when she was joking nowadays.

They floated in silence for a little while.

Minkowski spoke first. “How are you doing?” She asked, not looking at him. Knowing that being stared down was the last thing she’d want, in his shoes.

“Better.” He said. “I slept a ton last night, and… it’s nice, having you guys back.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was thinking, getting hit with every bad day you’ve ever had in rapid succession like that probably isn’t great for the ol’ self-esteem.”

Oh. “Yeah, probably not.” Suddenly remembering all the people she had gotten killed would probably take a toll on her too. “Still. If you need to talk…”

“Thanks, Commander. I’ll keep you posted.”

She stretched. “I won’t be that for much longer.”

Eiffel groaned. “Ugh, don’t remind me, Renée.” The disdain in his voice made her grin. “Can’t believe I called you that, it feels like a weird taste in my mouth.”

She elbowed him gently. “You’d better get used to it.”

“I only just got used to Minkowski!”

That earned an eye roll. “You can stick to that, if you want.”

He raised his eyebrows, floating upside down. “You sure? Doesn’t feel like normal civilian behaviour.”

“You really think we’re gonna be normal civilians?”

Eiffel chuckled. “Fair point. I’ll try though.”

“What about you? Got a preference?”

“Huh?” It took a moment to realise what she was talking about. “Oh, not really. As long as it’s my name I’m good.”

Minkowski smirked. “Good to know, Fernand.”

“I hate you.”

“Sure you do.”

He laughed. “Jackass.”

She grinned to herself, then noticed something floating out of his pocket. “Hey, you got a man overboard there.”

“Huh?” Eiffel looked down and spotted the letter making an escape attempt. “Oh, thanks.” He pushed it back, buttoning the pocket, and looked up to find her giving him a strange look. “What?”

Minkowski wasn’t sure if she was touched or mortified. “Are you… carrying that around with you?”

He put a hand over the pocket the letter was in. “Why not? It’s mine.”

She groaned, but couldn’t quite put the messy feeling into words.

Eiffel’s mouth quirked into a grin. “I like it. I think when we get back, I’ll get it framed.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Aw but it’s so sweet!” Eiffel teased. “Who knew the big bad Commander was such a sap?”

Minkowski grumbled, her face flushing, and Hera scoffed. “Oh please, like yours was any better.”

His face dropped immediately, seeing her expression shift into a grin. “No.” Doug said, pushing himself right way up. “No, don’t even think about- No!”

With a laugh, she took off in the direction of her quarters, Eiffel hot on her tail.

He couldn’t help but laugh too. “Minkowski! Don’t you dare!”

“It’s only fair!” She shouted, punching in the code to her door.

“No!” Eiffel yelped, catching up just as the door opened and quickly darting in before she could. He was triumphant for a moment, right up until the door closed and locked him in. “Shit!”

She took a moment to laugh and catch her breath. “Hera?”

Hera laughed. “Okay, it is only fair. I won’t let him out.”

“Traitor!” He yelled through the door.

“Aw, that’s not what you really think, is it?” Minkowski teased, digging around in her pockets for the stack of envelopes.

He banged a fist on the door, grinning helplessly. This was what she’d said in her letter, wasn’t it? Something about how it’d be okay to be made fun of if they were all safe. They were all safe, and it was okay. Embarrassing, but… he could live with that.

“Did you seriously keep them on you?”

“You didn’t?” She said, skipping through the admittedly not numerous letters.

“No, I-I did.” He didn’t mention that they’d been jammed in his armpit for several months.

There was only one blank envelope. Seemed like he’d gone a step further than her in the hopes of it not being noticed while he was still alive. She opened it, pulled out the contents, and snorted. “Is this a pizza voucher?”

“I’ll have you know that place is amazing!”

“It’s expired.”

“What? No!”

“It expired before we left!”

“Well…” He floundered. “It’s the thought that counts! Anyway, that’s the only thing in there, so you can just let me out now…”

“Nice try.” Minkowski grinned, audibly rustling the paper.

Eiffel groaned, completely unable to stop smiling. “C’mon!”

She paused. “Seriously.”

He groaned again, burying his face in his hands. This was worse, somehow. He could remember setting out to write something for Minkowski; he knew she’d blame herself if she was going home without him, but he’d been stuck on what he could possibly say that would make that better. Hera helped. She’d asked him what he wanted to achieve and he’d come up with two answers. He wanted it to be sincere, and he wanted to make her laugh.

He pouted. “Ugh, it’s fine, I guess…” Knowing she’d get the message. This warm, happy feeling buzzing inside him from the sheer joy of being understood, of how much he loved them all.

Minkowski ran her thumb across the folded letter with an affectionate smile. She was almost tempted to put it away and save it for another time. Almost.

The first thing she noticed was that it wasn’t so much a structured letter as a series of disconnected fragments. The second thing she noticed was a cartoon that he’d drawn. “Is-” She coughed to hide a laugh. “Is this supposed to be me?”

Eiffel was smiling, she could hear it in his voice. “What, you can’t tell? I thought the harpoon would be a dead giveaway!”

Did he… He didn’t even know, did he? “I killed Cutter with a harpoon.”

“Oh yeah, sure, very funny.” There was a long pause. “Wait, for real?!”

It wasn’t funny. She’d impaled a man, it wasn’t funny. She laughed anyway. “Yep.”

He cackled. “Oh my God, badass. I wish I’d seen it.”

“It did feel pretty badass.” She glanced over one of the small paragraphs scribbled in the margin and felt her eyes get a little misty. Eiffel’s loyalty had surprised her before, but seeing the words ‘really special person’ written about her… shit, maybe she was a sap.

“You hanging in there, Minkowski?”

“Spoiled for choice.” Wait… “Is this a poem?”

Eiffel snickered. “I don’t know, is it?”

She stared at the letter incredulously.

‘There once was a man with a face Who almost drowned out in deep space His commander she saved him But then it was mayhem And she was really really cool’

Any chance she had of maintaining composure went up in smoke at the last line. She clamped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, but knew it was futile. “That- that doesn’t even rhyme!”

“Oh, it doesn’t?” He sounded delighted with himself. “Silly me.”

“Idiot.” She snickered, smiling so widely it hurt.

Eiffel grinned. “Can I come out now?”

Minkowski rolled her eyes and pocketed the letter. “Fine.” As if she wasn’t going to cherish that scrap of paper for the rest of her life.

The door whooshed open after a moment, revealing Eiffel standing there with an expectant smile and his arms loosely outstretched. She rolled her eyes again and dragged him into a hug. “Thanks.”

He squeezed her tightly. “Eh, it didn’t trigger decades of missing memories, so nothing too special.”

“Or tears!” Hera said.

“Hey! That was the flashbacks!”

“Sure, sure.” She said, amused. “And the second time?”

“Hera!”

Minkowski grinned, pulling back. “Eh, not his fault he’s a softie.”

Hera scoffed. “Oh please, you’re soft peas in a sappy pod.” They both flushed. “You do realise it was never part of the agreement to write something for each other?”

Eiffel fumbled. “It- it wasn’t not part of the agreement!”

“Uh huh.” Hera teased.

Minkowski smirked. “Okay, so maybe we’re saps.” She conceded, slowly reaching a hand into her back pocket. “You sure it’s just us?”

“Commander!”

“Yes?”

Eiffel looked between her and the nearest camera, confused. “What?”

Hera sounded mortified. “Okay, okay, you made your point!”

She smiled smugly. “Oh, good.”

“What is going on?”

“Nothing!” Hera said.

“Don’t worry about it.” Minkowski said with a wink. “You’ll find out.”

--

Doug returned to his room the next day to find a folded piece of paper on his bed. He frowned at it. “Hey, Hera? What’s this?”

Surprisingly, there was no reply other than the slight buzz of the speakers. So, she was there. But she wasn’t answering him.

He sat down and carefully unfolded it. This time, he recognised all of the handwriting. The slightly untidy scrawl, the meticulous block letter, and of course, the one clearly typed and printed.

He smiled as his eyes scanned the words, and the signatures at the bottom of the page. “Thanks, Hera.”

She didn’t respond.

Eiffel’s smile grew and he hugged the letter to his chest. “I love you.”

Hera paused nervously. “I know.”

He laughed quietly. “Yeah, yeah. Wait, that’s Star Wars, isn’t it?”

“Um. Yes?”

He laughed delightedly. “Oh my god! I remember Star Wars!”

Oh. “I’m happy for you.” She said warmly.

Eiffel pressed himself against the wall, hugging it as best he could. “I love you so much, Hera.”

“As much as Star Wars?”

He laughed quietly. “So much more than Star Wars.”

She softened. “I love you too.”

[alexihollis]

Sticking Place

CW: discussion of SA/themes of SA; i make something darker than it needed to be/than it is in canon

Cochise never wanted to be a leader. She made that clear to Cleon from the absolute jump, when Cleon first started the Warriors. She didn't want to be leader, she didn't want to be Cleon's second, she didn't even want to known as one of the founding members. Cochise wanted to be a strong soldier, maybe help others learn how to fight, and she was cool with patching people up, but relying on her? No. Absolutely not.

She was choosing to not interrogate the reasons behind that, thank you very much. It had nothing to do with being in her brother's gang as a little kid and watching all the older members get drafted and seeing the other little faces look to her when they got left behind and comforting them as the knocks on doors from men in uniform came. Absolutely nothing to do with the older boys returning home and Cochise being so relieved because someone else could help now, but they were different and needed help and no one else was stepping up and-

Yeah. Cochise was not interrogating that, remember?

Cochise was not a leader. Cleon was leader. Swan was a brilliant number two. Unfortunately, Swan, for as sincere as she was, was horrific at talking about emotions because she thought you could logic your way out of negative emotions (yes, Swan, I understand that you logically know that Fox's death wasn't your fault, but you are still allowed to feel that way. No, pretending you aren't will not help. No, you should not go spar Ajax about it, that was not what I meant by healthy coping mechanisms-!).

Cleon was...not much better (Cleon. You cannot order someone to be happy. It doesn't work that way). She tried and half the time Cochise was pretty sure Cleon was joking, but Cleon also had issues with her crew having problems that Cleon could not fix. It probably had something to do with the train derailment all those years ago and Cleon not being able to save her little sister, but Cleon did not like it when Cochise brought that up. (No, Cochise was not a hypocrite at all, why would you think that?)

And that left Cochise. Fortunately, Cochise found emotions interesting and she liked to think people felt better after she talked to them. Even if she had to trap them on the Wonder Wheel to do it.

Like Cowgirl. Because something was wrong with Cowgirl.

"I can't believe I fell for this," Cowgirl groaned as they pulled away from the loading dock, sinking in her seat as she realized too late that she and Cochise were alone.

"What do you mean?" Cochise asked, picture of innocence.

Cowgirl glared. "I'm fine."

Cochise shrugged. "Okay."

"You didn't need to trap me in your moving shrink office."

"Okay."

"There is literally nothing wrong and you are overreacting!"

"Okay."

"Stop saying okay!" Cowgirl exclaimed.

"...all right."

"You're impossible!"

"I haven't said anything," Cochise said. "You've said a lot, though."

Cowgirl's leg was bouncing. Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. "I'm fine. Whatever Mercy told you is an exaggeration."

Cochise raised an eyebrow. "Mercy didn't tell me anything."

Cowgirl's leg stilled. "She didn't?"

"Does she need to tell me something?" Cochise asked.

"No!" Cochise stared. Cowgirl groaned, "Look, I may have overreacted at the bar the other day."

"The bar you both work at? That bar? What happened?"

"Nothing!" Cowgirl protested. But Cowgirl hated silence so it was barely a moment before she groaned, "Jenkins took me off rotation for a few days because I punched a patron."

Cochise stared, slack-jawed. "You what?!"

"He startled me!" Cowgirl tried to explain. "I didn't see him come up to the bar and it was loud and then he touched me-!"

"He touched you?!"

"On the shoulder, to get my attention," Cowgirl clarified. "Then...I decked him."

Shit. "That's not like you."

"I know," Cowgirl groaned, rubbing at her eyes with one hand, her thumb on one and forefinger on the other. "Cleon's gonna kill me."

"Cleon doesn't know?"

Cowgirl shook her head. "I asked Mercy not to tell her and Jenkins still pretends to not know we're affiliated. He wouldn't tell."

Cochise let out a long, low breath. "That's...certainly a choice you made."

"I wanted to tell her myself, but I just, I dunno," Cowgirl groaned again. "It's fucked up and Cleon's gonna notice that I don't have as many tips and then she's gonna be mad I didn't tell her and then she's gonna be mad Mercy didn't tell her and then Mercy's gonna get all freaked out and Swan's gonna get mad at me too-"

"Hey, Cowgirl, hey," Cochise reached over, put a hand on Cowgirl's knee. She always did that, Cowgirl liked things like that, always threw her arm around the girls, always wanted a hug, always.

Except, this time, Cowgirl flinched away. Hard. Cochise startled back, yanking her hand away.

A tense silence filled the car.

"Okay. What's going on?" Cochise asked, because she was concerned when they got in the car, but this? This was another thing.

Cowgirl shrugged, not looking at Cochise.

"Cowgirl," Cochise felt the tension in her voice. Tried to take a breath, calm down.

"I'm fine," Cowgirl's voice broke a bit and she still wasn't looking at Cochise.

"Fuck," Cochise whispered under her breath, staring at Cowgirl in something akin to horror. Then, louder, "Can I sit next to you?"

Cowgirl nodded and Cochise switched to her bench, careful not to touch. Except Cowgirl tilted to the side and rested her head on Cochise, scooching over so that their sides were pressed together. It made the vice around Cochise's heart loosen, just a bit. This was good.

Cochise didn't say anything.

"I haven't gone out," Cowgirl said finally.

"Since when?" Cochise asked. She had noticed that Cowgirl hadn't been sporting as many hickeys lately, hadn't talked about guys as much, but she couldn't really pinpoint when the last time Cowgirl had a night of fun was. Which was bad, considering they lived in the same apartment, Cochise should recognize this sort of thing, but they also lived with Rembrandt and Ajax and up until recently, Cochise supposed she'd been a bit distracted by Rembrandt missing Ajax.

Cochise decided she needed to learn how to multitask.

Cowgirl didn't answer immediately. When she did, her voice was small. Tiny, even. "Since that night."

"What nig...." Cochise trailed off as it clicked.

That was months ago.

"Oh," because what else was there to say?

"I tried. Once," Cowgirl said, voice hollow. "But- Y'know. Can't bring them to our place, we're at capacity, and...I can't go to theirs."

There was just a second where Cochise was still confused. And then, "The Bizzies."

"Do you know how many times I've done shit like that?" Cowgirl asked. "And it never- I mean. You hear stories, you know? Girls not coming home, but I never...I never thought it could be me, you know?"

"Yeah. That wasn't our best move of the night," Cochise winced.

"Ajax is pissed it happened," Cowgirl said. "She yelled at me about dragging Rembrandt when Rembrandt didn't want to go. Which...that was pretty shitty of us, huh?"

"Yep. Yeah, Cleon read me the riot act when she found out about that, too," Cochise said. Swan had tried to interrupt, claim it was her fault for letting them get split up, to which Cochise had reminded Swan that Swan would have one hundred percent been caught by a cop if she hadn't followed Mercy and- it was a whole thing.

Cowgirl groaned, once again, burying her face in Cochise's shoulder. "That was so stupid. I'm stupid. I'm the stupidest person alive and I have done shit like that so many-"

"You aren't stupid," Cochise interrupted firmly. She hated when they all said shit like that, though it was usually Swan.

"I could have gotten all of us killed," Cowgirl said.

"We all agreed. Rembrandt didn't, that's different, but the rest of us?" Cochise asked, because saying Fox's name still hurt. "We agreed. We followed, too. It wasn't just you."

"The rest of you at least waited to get a lay of the land," Cowgirl muttered.

Cochise furrowed her eyebrows as the pieces started to click into place. "Is this about the boy who bit you?"

"...It hurt, Cochise."

Ow.

"Oh, shit," Cochise said mostly to herself.

She felt Cowgirl shrug against her. "It's dumb. I just- I didn't like it. That's never- I've never had someone do something like that. It freaked me out."

"I'm sorry, Cowgirl," Cochise said.

There really wasn't much else to say.

"I feel a bit better, actually," Cowgirl said, her words sounding lighter.

"Are you sure?"

Cochise felt Cowgirl nod, just slightly. "Yeah. It does help. Talking about it."

"Do you want me to talk to Cleon about what happened at the bar?" Cochise asked.

"Please?" Cowgirl asked. "I don't- Tell her I'm sorry I told Mercy not to tell her, it's just been a lot."

"She'll understand," Cochise promised.

They approached the loading dock again.

"Can we go around another time? I didn't really see anything," Cowgirl said.

Cochise nodded and signaled to the operator, who was more than used to Cochise's antics and gave her the thumbs up. Cochise rested her cheek against the side of Cowgirl's hat and they watched the island grow small beneath them.

------------

Wonder Wheel Anon, I am sure this is not what you expected when you wanted people talking in the wonder wheel, but here you go anyways!

Honestly - I don't know where this came from. I'm sitting at the airport because my flight got delayed and I already got here an hour earlier than necessary to get my cousin on her flight. This is what came from me feeling stuck in the airport. I also got four hours of sleep last night, so I am really returning to my high school boarding student days lmfao.

[deskgirl]

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Rating: General Main Characters: Ivan, Izzy Hands, Edward Teach Setting: Pre-series, during the rise of Blackbeard

I am oh so very late for Ivan's week of the Izzy and Crew Event, but please enjoy this one-shot of how Ivan joined Blackbeard's crew.

Excerpt:

“You’re ready then?” the man asked.

Ivan gave a humorless smile. “Actually, I left my good axe stowed with my hammock, if you’ll let me—”

The man in black crossed the deck in three quick strides and attacked.

~

Interview with a Pirate

~

It was a funny thing, Ivan reflected as he struck a man upside the head with a round shot and sent his teeth flying—the career of piracy, that is. It wasn’t something most people set out to do. There wasn’t a proper brick-and-mortar school for it, and there weren’t any formal applications or interviews, save for the odd fellow in the back of a bar looking for any warm body willing to put their mark on a piece of paper. 

Piracy was something you fell into, more or less.

Ivan hadn’t set out to be a pirate. His dad had passed when Ivan was young so he had no connections or learning, and he didn’t have a touch delicate enough to help his mum craft the combs she sold. That left him to pick up any odd, miserable job he could find. When your choices were spinning cat-gut, sifting through trash heaps, or working sails on a ship of ill repute, it wasn’t much of a choice. Sure, sailing with pirates meant you had to kill a guy every now and then, but Ivan was pretty good at that. 

Ivan hit the other fellow a couple more times just to make sure he wouldn’t get back up, then took stock of his situation. He was the only person left on the gun deck to defend the stairs down to the powder magazine. Everyone else had gone up top to fight. Ivan supposed he could load up a cannon himself and try putting a hole through the enemy ship, but it was much harder without someone else to help. Plus, he didn’t feel particularly motivated to put in the extra effort. If he were being honest with himself, he’d been dissatisfied with the workplace environment for a while now. If he didn’t die today, he might go about finding employment elsewhere.

Captain Afzal wasn’t the worst boss, but he was careless, presumptuous, and thought too much of himself all around. Any captain was bound to have their faults. Usually, though, they had the brains or skills to make up for it. Afzal had neither. He expected other people to clean up his messes, didn’t give half a thought to the daily running of his ship, never took the advice of his sailing master, and, most notably and recently, thought it was a good idea to open fire on a ship with no flag flying. 

Ivan could’ve told Afzal that proper European ships loved two things above all else: a good keg of wine and showing off their country’s colors. Which meant the unmarked ship could only be bootleggers or other pirates.

Turns out they’d been pirates.

Ivan stooped to check the dead man for anything useful. He had a couple of boarding axes on him that he’d kept in good condition. Ivan could appreciate a well-maintained blade. 

“So that’s what was taking Matthews so long,” a thin voice said. 

Ivan looked up from where he was crouched. 

On the stairs, one arm braced casually against the frame, was a man all in black, his hair slicked back and blood flecking his face, a saber held loosely in his other hand. He wasn’t looking at Ivan but rather at the body. Ivan expected anger, but the man only seemed disappointed. 

The man in black sighed and gave Ivan a thoughtful look before he stepped down onto the deck. Ivan surged to his feet, hatchets in hand. He was immediately struck by how small the other man was. If not for the sword in his hand, Ivan might’ve discounted him as a threat entirely. He wasn’t sure the man even had the range to stab him. 

“You’re in my way,” the man in black said casually. He swept his blade in a quick, fluid circle. Flashy. Overconfident. Dismissive. And in a few seconds? A dead man.

Then his stance shifted, and alarm bells sounded in Ivan's head. He knew what an untrained fighter looked like. This man knew how to hold a sword. He had the form of a man who'd had it drilled into him, but rather than the stiff, uniform posture of a naval officer, his stance was loose and comfortable. Familiar.

Ivan brought his axes up just in time. Blades clashed, then the saber swung away, twisted, and came in again for another strike. Ivan deflected with intent this time, pushing the saber away and breaking his opponent’s stance. 

Going on the attack, Ivan menaced the smaller man, trying to bait him into lifting his sword to defend. He thought he had it for a moment, but just as he dove in, the other man sidestepped and brought his sword down overhand like an executioner.

Ivan leapt clear in the nick of time. The other man followed, taking the ground he’d surrendered. 

The man in black lunged for Ivan’s face—a risky move, but between a seasoned fighter and a rookie, it was guaranteed to end a fight fast. It wasn’t meant as a killing blow, but it might blind an opponent on a lucky hit, and an amateur was sure to cower or flail wildly and drop their defense. Death tended to follow in short order.

Ivan wasn’t going to fall for something like that. He knocked the sword off-course, then slipped his axe blade around and hooked it. With his opponent wide open, Ivan swung with his other axe, aiming for the man’s exposed middle, but he managed to pull free.

The man relented and gave up ground as he readjusted his grip. He hummed thoughtfully. “Neat little trick there. Where’d you learn that?”

“Learned it from none of your business.”

“Fair enough.” 

Ivan leapt forward, looking to cleave open his opponent’s arm or the muscle of his chest near the shoulder. The other man barely repelled his attack. Ivan found the pinch of his brows and the tight press of his lips immensely satisfying. 

Ivan kept pushing. He couldn’t risk being put on the defensive. He followed as the man in black retreated. When the other man attempted to circle to Ivan’s flank, he lunged to the side to cut him off. He tried again, and Ivan responded in kind. The rarely-indulged, fanciful part of his mind likened it to a dance. 

Despite holding his own well, Ivan knew he was getting winded faster than his opponent. He had to end this.

Ivan feinted. The man in black moved to block as expected. But as Ivan swung for the opening he’d made, he realized the block had been a feint as well. Ivan tried to recover, but he’d overextended and he knew it. 

The man in black moved like a viper. He caught one of Ivan’s axes with his saber blade, snuck out his free hand to push the other aside before catching hold of his shirt, then twisted his sword and slid it along the axe, the blades singing against each other as the sword snaked towards Ivan’s neck. 

Ivan forced their locked blades up at the last second. Steel bit into his cheek. Then he wrenched himself free and stumbled back. 

Ivan struggled to catch his breath as he put distance between himself and his opponent. Warm, tacky blood trickled down the side of his face into his beard. The cut burned like fire. That’d been too close.

The other man didn’t follow, instead allowing the short reprieve. He ran a hand through his hair, which had begun to fall into his eyes. For the first time, Ivan noticed the stark black ink of new tattoos on his neck and upper cheekbone. “You’re good. How long’ve you been doing this?” he asked.

“Long enough,” Ivan said.

“This your first ship?”

Ivan wasn’t sure why they were chatting all of a sudden, but he’d take the breather while he could. “No. It’s my third.”

“Axes your specialty?”

“Wouldn’t say it’s a specialty. Just what I had on hand.” Ivan glanced pointedly at the corpse of the late Matthews. 

“Good to be versatile in our line of work. Tell me, do you like working for your captain?”

“I like getting paid.”

“That's all? That’s what it takes to earn your loyalty?”

“Everyone likes getting paid.”

“But you don’t like your captain.”

“I don’t need to like my captain.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Do you respect him, though?”

“Don’t need to respect him.”

“Don’t you?”

Ivan chose not to respond, instead lifting his axes. 

“You’re ready then?” the man asked.

Ivan gave a humorless smile. “Actually, I left my good axe stowed with my hammock, if you’ll let me—”

The man in black crossed the deck in three quick strides and attacked. 

Immediately, Ivan knew something was wrong, the same way he knew when the dice in his hand felt loaded or a game of shells was rigged. The other man’s blade lashed out left and right, striking off of Ivan’s axes in a discordant, staccato rhythm, refusing to let up even for a moment. It was all Ivan could do to avoid being struck. His feints and blocks were deftly answered, every gap in his defense menaced so that he could only retreat. Whenever he managed a decent swing, his axes caught on nothing but loose fabric or were easily batted aside. 

Ivan barely caught himself when he felt the back of his boot meet open air. He’d been pushed all the way to the lower stairs. 

Desperate to regain ground, Ivan surged forward, hoping to startle his opponent back. 

Instead of defending or retreating, the other man stepped into Ivan’s space. It was a nonsensical move that gave him no room to maneuver while exposing his sides to Ivan’s axes. At the last moment, though, he tipped his sword up and lashed out with the hilt instead. 

Ivan registered the axes leaving his suddenly throbbing hands a split second before the sword hilt connected with his chin.

Ivan stumbled back with a shout. Too late, he remembered the stairs as the floor vanished from beneath his feet. He flailed, trying to catch hold of anything to stop himself from tumbling backwards and breaking his neck. 

A hand caught his wrist. Ivan grabbed hold, letting himself be pulled back to safety. He gasped for breath even as he felt the weight of a blade come to rest on his collarbone. 

“I’d say we’re done here, don’t you?” the man in black asked. 

Ivan fought to school his features even as his heart tried to pound its way out of his ribs. So this was how he was going to die. He supposed he’d lived his life as best he could, all things considered. At least he hadn’t gone out undignified, ass over kettle down the stairs.

The blade tapped his chest before withdrawing. “Come on, then.” The man in black gestured with his sword for Ivan to move.

“What?”

The man pointed up towards the deck. Ivan could hear shouting and pistols firing, but now that he listened, it sounded more like… cheering?

“That’ll be your captain surrendering,” the man in black explained. “Let’s head on up.”

“Could be your captain surrendered,” Ivan countered.

The man laughed. It was a thin, raspy sound like the way he spoke, the noise coming short and sharp on the inhale. He shook his head, flashing Ivan a smile that was all teeth. “Not likely.” He turned his back to Ivan and headed for the upper stairs without even a glance back, sheathing his sword as he went.

Stunned by the turn of events, Ivan could only follow. 

Halfway up the stairs, the man paused and nonchalantly asked, “How would you like a job?”

Ivan wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “You serious?” 

The man looked over his shoulder. Ivan was close enough to see the afternoon stubble on his jaw and the hazel of his eyes. His face was schooled into a stern expression, but there was a hint of mischief in the corner of his mouth. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re wasted here. And I can guarantee you we pay better than your boss. You said you like to be paid, right?”

“I did,” Ivan relented. 

The man gestured with a nod of his head for them to keep moving.

Out on deck, Ivan saw everyone who was still alive being rounded up. A couple of his fellow crewmates looked at him curiously, but they were mainly concerned with the enemy pirates forcing them to the front of the ship. 

It didn’t escape Ivan’s notice that the whole of the enemy crew were dressed in varying amounts of leather. He supposed there was something to be said for having a consistent aesthetic. 

“Iz, there you are, mate!” someone crowed from the quarterdeck. Ivan turned to watch another man bound down the stairs and jump the last few steps, hair flying behind him like a black flag. He sported an ink-dark beard just starting to get some proper length to it and a smattering of tattoos that peeked out from under a leather jacket missing its right sleeve. 

The man held his arms out triumphantly. “The plan worked!”

“I knew it would,” the man who was apparently named Iz responded.

“Oh yeah? Cuz you’re the one who insisted on securing the magazine, in case ‘everything goes to shit and we have to blow them up’.” The taller man emphasized his words with his hands.

The other man sniffed. “It’s good to have a backup plan. Speaking of which, I want you to meet…” He turned to Ivan.

“Ivan,” he answered. He made an aborted gesture as if to shake hands before thinking better of it, but the taller man jumped at the opportunity, reaching over to take Ivan’s hand in his.

“Nice to meet ya, mate,” he said brightly. 

“He’s a new hire I’m considering,” the man named Iz explained. He caught Ivan’s eye meaningfully. “Ivan, meet Blackbeard.”

Ivan felt a thrill up his spine. He knew that name. Word had been going round about him in the ports. Smoke and moonless nights, ghost ships and glowing eyes, cannons loaded with chain shot and iron bolts and broken glass—Blackbeard was a legend in the making.

Blackbeard turned his attention back to Ivan, and it was like a different person was looking at him all of a sudden. Gone was the bright, boyish grin. Ivan tried not to fidget as dark, thoughtful eyes took him in anew, studying his face. Ivan wasn’t sure he’d ever met anyone with such intense eyes before. He was acutely aware of the blood drying uncomfortably along his jaw and the tang of it fresh in his mouth from being struck in the face. He crossed his arms and tilted his head back, trying to act unaffected.

The man’s face split into a grin, the tension dissipating in an instant. “I like him.”

“I thought you would.”

“New hire, you said?” He looked at his crewmate. “You interviewed him? He did alright?”

“He’s alive, isn’t he?”

“Interviewed?” Ivan interrupted.

“Yeah, he asked you some questions, tried to stab you up, you survived. Means you passed the interview. Good job, mate!” Then Blackbeard’s brow furrowed as he turned back to his companion. “Thought you said we were good on crew, though? Don’t need a new guy. Not that I don’t like your whole thing,” he said, gesturing at Ivan with a charming smile.

“Matthews is dead,” the other man, Iz, stated bluntly.

“Yeah? How’d that happen? I saw him just a bit ago.”

Iz nodded towards Ivan.

“Ah.” Blackbeard settled back on his heels, hands on his hips. “Well, no big loss there. You were just telling me the other day that he was getting uppity.”

“I said he was planning a mutiny.”

“Same diff. So, Ivan! You in? We’ve got competitive pay, a decent surgeon, and the work’s steady.”

Ivan licked his lips thoughtfully. Pushing too much could cost him the job, but his mates had been telling him that he ought to advocate for himself more. “Religious days?”

Iz responded dutifully, “Work shifts are scheduled around prayer and days of rest, if you partake. Just don’t give me any shit about Calypso.”

Blackbeard laughed, his voice a rich, rolling chuckle. “Iz here’s been Calypso’d a couple times. You know what they say about tricking someone twice.” He squeezed his crewmate’s shoulder good-naturedly. “So, is that a yes then?”

“Suppose so, considering the alternative.” Ivan glanced over his shoulder at his old crew. 

“Hm? Oh, those guys. Don’t worry about them, they’re fine. I just need the captain to tell me where he stashed all the good stuff.”

“I know where,” Ivan offered.

“Yeah?” Blackbeard lit up. He slapped Ivan on the shoulders. “Look at that, you’re already earning your keep. Captain’s cabin, right? I’ll go on ahead.”

Blackbeard swept past with an energy that left Ivan on his back foot. Ivan let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped. Everything was changing so quickly. He needed to get his things. Did he even really have things? He could barely think.

“Go on, then. Don’t keep him waiting.”

“Oh!” Ivan had forgotten he wasn’t alone. “Uh, Iz, was it?”

The man’s lip curled in distaste. “That’s Mr. Hands or First Mate Hands to you.”

For the second time in one day, Ivan felt a shock run through his body. He knew that name, too. Everyone in the Republic of Pirates knew Izzy Hands. Half of them owed him a favor, while the other half had good reason to stay out of his way. Of course he was Blackbeard’s first mate. Why wouldn’t a man who once took a prize galleon without firing a single shot have one of the most infamous swordsmen in the Caribbean serving under him? 

Mr. Hands gave him a crooked smile. “Recognize that name, do you? Don’t you worry. You’re one of my lads now. You do your job and I’ll look after you.” He laid a hand on Ivan’s upper arm, gently turning him towards the door to the captain’s cabin. “Now off with you. You don’t want to keep Blackbeard waiting.”

“Short temper?”

“Short attention span. The man’s a genius, but his mind’s constantly in motion. Best to not let him sit idle too long.” Mr. Hands gave a small shake of his head. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Right.” Ivan headed for the door. 

“And Ivan?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge.”