#captain’s quarters theory

[tornoleander]

Jay’s been through it

CW: Sexual assault Implications brief discussion of sexual predators + lotta swearing

(Please let me know if I missed any content warnings and Check if you are ok to hear this theory before reading. This type content has potential to help or hurt you depending on who you are as is the nature of problematic themes. Safety over curiosity.)

This is cannon compliment. Uhh kids show?! Yeah I know shouldn’t really have these themes but they’re there hear me out. Spoilers for season 6/8 I guess.

I’m bothered by this scene and how It connect to certain events so I’ll cautiously share

Sons of Garmadon Episode 7:

Here is the clip

Kelo asks “Where’s the green Ninja”

WHAT THE FUCK! Dude the double take I had when first watching this.

So he looked at Kelo’s… lower half and basically said ‘Cole shut up that man’s crotch is too close’. And not in Jay joking tone, he’s like dead serious and stressed. (The scene just cuts away after)

Jay you ok? Why is it implied some guy might have tried something?! Why else would he say that?! Who the FUCK touched my boi? What even is this scene?!

The fact it’s Jay that said it out of everyone is bad because it’s been implied to him before.

So let’s talk about the darkest Ninjago theory that’s been quietly circulating for a while in fan content. For simplicity I’ll call it captains quarters theory, If you’re unfamiliar I’ll explain.

Basically some speculation happened because of a certain villain that displayed subtle ongoing predatory behavior. And a part when Jay was his prisoner that caused people to worry what happened before the scene started.

As some of you have caught on It’s the scene where Cole rescues Jay from Misfortunes Keep.

He didn’t find Jay in his cell where he should have.

Cole found him beaten as ninjago has ever depicted except when literally dying.

Alone

no explanation given.

In the corner of Captains Quarters.

Nadakhan’s room.

Dude :(

And his concern afterwards.

And thinking he didn’t deserve saving.

“Thank you for trying to save me,-

It’s Just a lot.

Doing awful things to make Jay wish it all away is terrifyingly in Nadakhan’s character. Not just the sadistic torture part.

Nadakhan has many behaviors similar to a sexual predator. I’ll go over it briefly but see my last post for a detailed analysis.

He Seeks out vulnerable people for victims. The Ninja are teens and he waits till or makes them emotionally vulnerable. The way he talks about gifting his wishes and giving his victims anything they desire can be read as grooming behavior. His secrecy in getting all the ninja alone and doesn’t even talk to his crew about his plans. Manipulative and Controlling obviously.

And the most glaring issues he’s WAY tooo fucking touchy all the time. Like watch his body language during Skybound and see how uncomfortable it is

“Too slow junkyard boy”

Not to mention how explicitly he doesn’t care about consent….

And “If you don’t come willingly Nya, I will take you regardless” followed by a forced marriage.

Side note he doesn’t refers to Jay with his name and the things he calls him…uggh “What lies is our little canary whistling now, hmm?”

So… It’s cannon compliant that something was attempted or happened to Jay. Bruh wtf.

Well if you feel like you resonate with this or it may help there a few great fanworks that explore this I can recommend if interested. Mmm comfort angst.

(Note don’t bother anyone for enjoying Nadakhan as a character. It’s fiction and it hurts no one)

#captain’s quarters theory #ninjago #ninjago jay #ninjago ninja #ninjago nadakhan #ninjago nya #ninjago thoughts #ninjago theory #ninjago angst #tw sex abuse #cw swearing #tw predator #tw implied abuse #cw sa implied #cw language #ninjago skybound #Oli speaks #Oli’s Skybound insanity #skybound slander

[thresholdbb]

Yes, yes, coffee black, but what kind of coffee?

Arabica? Robusta?

Light? Medium? Dark roast?

Drip? Pour over? French press? Percolator?

Single origin? Blend?

Ethiopian? Brazilian? Colombian? Hawaiian? Kenyan? (Ad nauseam)

Paris Delight? Landras Blend? Paksor Blend? Firenut Blend? Even-better-than-coffee Substitute?

Fruity notes? Chocolate notes? Earthy notes? Warm notes? Bright notes?

Is it the ritual? The caffeine? The flavor? The comfort? The headache?

And why did she stop taking cream?

Since we know she has coffee opinions...

#captain janeway #you best believe I think this says something about her #she knows how to program a hot drink in the replicator #so she would be tweaking that coffee recipe to perfection #cause she doesn't have a coffee maker among the antiquities in her quarters #plus growing harvesting roasting coffee beans is resource intensive #my theory on the cream is she stopped for replicator rationing reasons #she cut everything down to bare essentials after caretaker #coffee? essential. cream? not so much #cause more complicated recipes might take more replicator energy and/or rations? #I realize coffee opinions were not nuanced in the 90s lol #mmm I need to go to sleep so I can wake up and make a coffee #I gotta tell you I'm so jazzed at the prospect voyager might be coming back it's most of what I can think about rn

[eightmakesonebraincell]

ateez as pirates who fall for you (hyung line)

read maknae line here

genre: pirate!ateez x gn!reader (fem!reader for hongjoong), fluff, angst, crack, and as always - a brainrot of every pirate trope to exist

length: 10.4k

c/w: heavy and mature themes - mdni, explicit language (swearing, insults), death, violence, blood & injuries, weapons, illegal acts (piracy, ransoming, verbal abuse, abduction), alcohol, pet names

a/n: maknae line will come yes but who knows when 🤷‍♀️ work has been really testing my dopamine vibes this year 😔👎 thank you @sorryimananti-romantic for keeping a detailed hitlist for me ♡

hongjoong

pov: you're a royal princess rescued by him

“captain, are you sure we can’t toss her overboard?”

jongho and hongjoong watch as wooyoung’s face falls after you pointedly ignore his attempts to make conversation once again

for someone who is technically their guest aboard the arriba, it seems as though you are hellbent on being as difficult as you can be

“unfortunately, we can’t,” hongjoong grouches to the younger, “not unless we want to exchange our payment for a hefty bounty on our own heads”

when jongho sighs, the captain squeezes his shoulder in comfort and adds on, “trust me, i’ve thought about it too”

hongjoong and his crew are privateers - pirates in theory, but technically excused so long as they have their letter of marque to state that they are authorised to attack other vessels

rescuing a royal princess was never explicitly part of the contract, although he thinks that not rescuing you would have pretty much been equivalent to a blatant show of insubordination

you had been taken ransom by one of the merchant ships the arriba had been plundering

needless to say, they had been close to tossing you overboard too; your kingdom had never paid for your ransom

the lack of response from your parents wasn’t anything you weren’t expecting but it’s a sore spot nonetheless

so it’s certainly hard for you to play friendly when you’re quite literally shucked off from stranger to stranger faster than a hot potato

san tugs wooyoung closer towards him and gently says to you, “he’s just trying to be nice - we all are”

the movement doesn’t go unnoticed by you

“i don’t need your pity,” you answer, the only sentence you have spoken today

you’ve lived two decades of your life pretending you don’t see the pitying gazes of your maids and butlers

you certainly don’t need pity from these people - pirates no less

“it’s not-” wooyoung starts to say

but the captain steps in before he can defend himself

“if this is how you’re always acting, i’m starting to see why your kingdom never paid for your ransom”

had hongjoong been less preoccupied by your words, he would have realised that your tone is candid, as if it is only natural for the people around you to pity you

but he’s clouded with his mindset as captain, unable to stand by idly while his own crew put up with your attitude, and so the words come out anyway - shards of shrapnel that bury themselves into your heart

there is only a fleeting second when your eyes dilate with hurt

you conceal it immediately, replacing it with a steely gaze, yet the image has already seared itself into hongjoong’s mind

“maybe you should throw me overboard, then,” you counter, “i’m sure my family will thank you for it”

and even if you have completely neutralised your expression, no one misses the wounded tone of your voice before you disappear down into the lower deck

mingi lets out a low whistle after the resounding slam of the hatch closing

“you fucked up, captain”

hongjoong doesn’t need anyone to spell it out for him

the heavy feeling in his stomach is telling enough

it isn’t until the moon has long since risen that you emerge through the hatch again

you had bypassed the sleeping quarters to the hold, wedging yourself between barrels of grain until you were sure no one would find you

not that they would have tried to anyway - seonghwa had told them all to give you some space

you had run your finger up and down the sides of the barrels repetitively for hours on end, mind simultaneously void and filled with thoughts

the walls you had built around yourself kept you safe, but it had started to become awfully lonely after a while

when it had become a little too suffocating in the hold and you guessed that most of the crew was asleep, you had softly padded back up the stairs and across the main deck

you now sit on the foredeck where the endless expanse of the sea stretches out in front of you, closing your eyes and letting the swaying of the ship lull you into tranquillity

tonight, the moon winks down fondly upon the waters

hongjoong watches you from the quarterdeck

he’s seen you sit at the front of the ship on many nights when you should really have been asleep

he wonders if you’ve always looked so small and fragile with your knees drawn up to your chest, or whether it’s because the flash of hurt in your eyes and voice is still fresh in his mind

“go, captain,” yunho murmurs from where he’s at the helm, “it’s a quiet night”

hongjoong startles at having been caught gazing, clearing his throat and dragging his eyes away

“why should i, if she’s just going to ignore me?” he scoffs

but he knows he’s just being petty at this point and his chest churns in agreement

“maybe,” yunho hums softly in response. “did seonghwa ever give up on you, though?”

it’s rhetorical - hongjoong knows the answer better than anyone

the captain doesn’t say anything but after several beats of silence, he sighs and makes a move to the foredeck where you are

yunho smiles to himself

you and hongjoong may be more similar than his captain realises

your shoulders stiffen when the sound of hongjoong’s footsteps approaches

you’re not sure what to expect and you don’t exactly want to find out and risk getting hurt

but having spent all day swimming alone in your thoughts, you do want to show that you feel apologetic because admittedly, you were being an ass too

getting up to walk away when he’s taken the first step certainly won’t help your case

you hold your breath in awkward silence as he settles down beside you, leaving a respectable distance between your hunched figures

only now is hongjoong realising that he hasn’t actually thought about or decided on what he wants to say to you

but he can feel the confusion rolling off of you in waves, so he grits his teeth and says fuck it

“i won’t apologise for defending my crew, but i’m sorry for how i did it and for what i said”

he hopes you know he is sincere when he continues, “we all have our prickly edges. i can’t fault you for yours”

compassion is a foreign concept to you and so you’re a little stumped for words

hongjoong isn’t sure whether your silence is a good or bad thing, but you have yet to stand up and walk away from the conversation

“there’s only about a week left until we reach port and we’ll leave after you make it back to your kingdom and we receive our payment. i’m not asking for you to be friendly, but let’s at least be civil with each other until then,” he says

you want to nod, agree, anything

and yet you can’t seem to make your head move or the words to come out of your mouth

rome was not built in a day. but neither did its walls fall in a day

hongjoong doesn’t push for an answer when instead, you ask, “how many people have you actually tossed overboard before?”

he resists the urge to laugh at your question, suddenly endeared by the fact that you’re still bothered by his very empty threat

“none, but my offer still stands. you’re welcome to be my first,” he deadpans

you let out a snort and although you quickly turn your head away, hongjoong sees the hint of amusement in your eyes

no further words are exchanged between the two of you and you do not acknowledge him when he eventually stands to rejoin yunho at the helm

but it’s a start

and as with any relationship, be it friend, foe, or lover, there is always that

a beginning.

hongjoong isn’t really expecting much to change immediately so he doesn’t pay you much mind when you walk into the mess hall the following morning

you hesitate at the entrance when you see most of the crew are already present, the conversation you had with hongjoong last night replaying at the forefront of your mind

you chew on the inside of your mouth

wooyoung stops mid-conversation at the scrape of a plate on the table, looking up to find you sliding into the seat beside him with a tight-lipped smile

to your surprise, he greets you with enthusiasm and immediately drags you into the conversation

hongjoong watches as you slowly warm up and add one or two comments of your own in between bites of your hardtack

and when he catches your gaze after staring for too long, he gives you a smile to convey his appreciation; to acknowledge your efforts

you return it with a small smile of your own and unbeknownst to you, it stays on your face for the rest of the day

slowly, there become more and more reasons that elicit a smile out of you

you still sit out on the foredeck when everyone else has gone to sleep, but on most nights, hongjoong will join you even if just for a while

the two of you are content to sit side by side with nothing but the steady pulse of the ocean and intermittent creaks of the ship’s hull to break the silence of the night

tonight though, you find curiosity burning through you

“what’s it like?” you ask

“being a pirate?” he clarifies

you shrug vaguely, unsure yourself either, “being a pirate. being at sea. sailing with your crew”

he takes a moment to gather his thoughts - not because he doesn’t know what to say, but because there is too much he wants to say

when hongjoong answers, his voice rumbles softly from within his chest, tender and heartfelt

“there’s a sense of freedom that you can’t obtain when you’re bound to land and society. sailing the waters, the only limits are those of the open seas and of your own compass… the sunrises, the storms, the moonlight - it all becomes part of your home”

hongjoong leans back to rest on the palms of his hands, tilting his gaze up towards the twinkling sky

he reflects, “you experience brotherhood and gain a family that is worth multitudes more than the treasures you can accumulate, even if you were to live as a pirate for several lifetimes”

you’re enraptured by his words, like poetry that swirls off the pages of a book and drifts into your very soul

“i may be the captain of this crew, but they make me who i am. without them, i am nothing”

his words wash over you and unearth vivid memories

“that’s what the queen always says to me,” you reveal

a small smile starts to grace hongjoong’s face, but it falls just as quickly when he hears your next words

“that without her - without her title - i am nothing”

it’s funny, how the same phrase can hold such different meanings; can evoke such different emotions

you don’t elaborate any further, but hongjoong doesn’t think he needs you to in order for him to understand

he just wishes he had more time to show you that your mother is wrong

he can’t though

tomorrow they reach port and you will return to your rightful place in the palace

“tell me more about your crew,” you attempt to change the topic, “how did you all find each other?”

so hongjoong tells you

he talks for hours and hours and you listen all the while with a heavy heart, clinging onto his every word

on your final night, you two stay like that until the stars disappear and the horizon becomes streaked with the pale hues of sunrise

after the ship docks mere hours later, only hongjoong accompanies you to your kingdom after goodbyes are exchanged

wooyoung doesn’t take it well, and you find yourself holding back tears of your own as you are let through the palace doors with the captain by your side

but you blink them away when you approach the throne room because vulnerability is not an emotion you are willing to display

“y/n”

the queen addresses you curtly when you enter, and hongjoong wonders for a split second whether he has brought you back to the wrong kingdom

he knows your mother does not treat you fondly, but it’s still staggering to see it before his very own eyes

the monarch glances distastefully over him before her eyes flicker back to you

“i did not expect your return,” she states

your eyes remain impassive as you merely answer, “neither am i delighted to be back”

hongjoong recognises this look

he’s seen it when you first boarded his ship; he’s seen it when your hackles were raised

he’s seen it in himself, when he had been a teenager filled with nothing but growing resentment, before he had met seonghwa

your mother sneers, “then you should have made yourself useful and stayed with the pirates. as a whore or a dog, whatever it took.”

hongjoong has understood you since learning of your demons, but right now, he is you

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, standing before a couple who are his parents only by title

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, who doesn’t know what he has done that deems him undeserving of love

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, all alone with no one to take his hand

“or really, you should have died on the ship”

hongjoong is close enough to you to hear the small hitch in your breath at your mother’s final jab

he may not have had someone to save his younger self, but he can do that now

he can be the person he so desperately needed years ago

and so he does just that.

hongjoong grabs your hand and drags you out of the palace

no one stops the two of you from leaving and he is unsure whether his heart hurts for you or sings with relief

you can only stutter in shock as you try to keep up, “hongjoong, what about your payment?”

his determined steps do not slow down, even as he looks back at you with a sure smile, “i told you before. some things are worth more than money”

the comforting squeeze of his hand conveys that you are worth more than any amount of money

the form of the arriba grows bigger in the distance and you think you can see the movement of excitement on deck when the crew spots your figures

hongjoong has slowed down his steps, but he has yet to let go of your hand

“and you deserve to know that. welcome to the crew, y/n”

to a family and love that you never had

you think you like the sound of that

“thank you, captain”

seonghwa

pov: you're a royal navy officer in disguise

you lay awake in your hammock, listening to the soft snores of the crew members around you

sleep doesn’t come easy to you anymore

particularly tonight

you contemplate whether it’s worth the risk to simply not show up

you know what the consequences are if they capture you - a slow and painful death - but you’re unsure whether you want to put ateez on the line too

your ship is currently docked for the night, having made a port stop at alcarres following one of the crew’s wishes to retire the pirate lifestyle and settle in the small town

their last night with ateez had been celebrated with sloshing rum and rowdy jigs, something you had found strange

there’s none of that in the royal navy

when one leaves, it is shameful and through one of three options only; old age, crippling injury, or…death

you had asked seonghwa, the quartermaster, why he and the captain were so accepting when crew members left as they wished

he had simply smiled and answered, “better a small but loyal crew than a large and unpredictable crew”

his words are like a sharp stone in your shoe as you finally slip out of your hammock and make your way off the ship

as ordered, you head to the tavern addressed

you salute the person in front of you and ease into your seat with a formality only when he disregards you

“admiral jang”

“you’re late,” the royal navy officer raises an eyebrow

“sorry, sir. i had to make sure everyone was asleep”

it’s not exactly the truth, but no one needs to know that you had spent an hour in your hammock questioning your morality

he ignores your excuse, jesting as he asks of your captain, “has the pirate king found the chart’s whereabouts yet?”

the charts

centuries ago, a crew of experienced sailors had travelled the six great seas and created the original navigational charts

the charts had become scattered and lost over time, but its value only increased exponentially as more and more sailors became victims to the sea trying to map its waters to the same detail and accuracy as the original charts

of the six originals, only the whereabouts of five are known, with most of them within the possession of the royal navy

it’s rumoured that hongjoong - the pirate king - has his hands on two of them and is currently tracking down the lost chart of the aurorian sea

the only sea that has yet to be chartered after its original map due to its dangerous and unpredictable sailing conditions

you know that your next words can hold an inexplicable amount of possibilities

“not yet. the last lead didn’t get him anywhere. turned out the last of the ahn clan had passed a decade ago”

his lips flatten at the lack of worthwhile information

“where’s the captain headed to next, then?” he probes

for a split second, the thought of lying crosses your mind

you can’t provide a different location - it would be much too obvious and would raise immediate suspicions

but you could give him a different time frame

after all, it’s not uncommon for navigational routes to be one to two weeks off should the waters be unpredictable enough

you find the truth spilling out of you anyway once you’re looking into his stone-cold eyes

“vlasgar. in about three weeks’ time”

for a moment, time stands still as your heart pounds and you attempt to slow your breathing, the officer staring back at you calculatingly

then he finally hums in satisfaction

you think that he is going to dismiss you, but as you make a move to leave, he leans back in his seat

the split second of hesitation was enough

“remember where your loyalty lies, y/n”

the air feels cold with the underlying threat

seonghwa’s words flit through your mind

better a small but loyal crew than a large and unpredictable crew

you swallow, “of course, admiral”

and then you’re dismissed with a nod

the unsettling feeling follows you all the way back to the ship and every miniscule creak of the floorboards underneath you seems to be amplified in the silence

you let out a short gasp of surprise when you’re about to climb back into your hammock, only to see seonghwa blinking blearily at you

“couldn’t sleep ‘gain?” he mumbles

you choke out a response, “yeah”

“i’ll make you tea b’fore you sleep ‘morrow,” his words slur with sleepiness

“okay,” you whisper

but you know it won’t make a difference

after all, there’s no remedy for guilt

it continues to fester the next day, as you linger outside the captain’s quarters

you can’t remember why you had come down to the lower deck, but it doesn’t matter now, not with seonghwa and the captain discussing what you think is related to the aurorian chart

“do you think he’s still in vlasgar?”

“min taesoo? it’s hard to say. but i’m sure he’ll have acquaintances still on the island who may have an idea of where he’s gone”

min taesoo

your brain tries to carefully file the name away, knowing that it’s what admiral jang would want to know, but at the same time, your heart tries to pretend it doesn’t know what you have heard so that you can forget about it

you find yourself scratching the name onto a scrap of paper anyway

unbeknownst to you, at the almost-imperceivable sound of your footsteps walking away, the two men behind the doors share a look

the crew sets sail again in the afternoon towards the next destination - vlasgar - and the scrap of paper in your pocket weighs you down so heavily that you feel off-kilter as you absentmindedly follow jongho up into the rigging to unfurl the sails

you’re near the top of the ropes when a sudden wave lurches the boat to starboard

it’s only a small push, really, but with your mind elsewhere, it catches you off guard and you miss your next step

the feeling of your hand dislodging from the sudden drag of your body weight brings you back to the present with a yell of surprise

(whether it’s your own or jongho’s, you can’t remember)

your sailing experience takes over and you try to swing your body back towards the safety of the rigging

you barely manage to grasp the ropes again but your hands slip down with your weight until they hit the next knot, the hot rush of friction threatening your grip

with adrenaline rushing through your body, you shakily climb back down, where there are several pairs of hands waiting to help you down the rest of the rigging

seonghwa’s hands do not leave you even after your feet are planted on the deck again

dread and shame heat the back of your neck and curl around onto your cheeks, knowing that a mistake like the one you had just made - accidental or not - would lead to a punishment like confinement in the lower deck back in the royal navy

except, when an apology starts to form on your lips, seonghwa bursts out in dismay

“y/n, your hands!”

you let out an unintelligible noise as seonghwa gently turns your palms over and you realise that the ropes have grazed some of the skin off

“it’s fine,” you want to say

but you’re silenced when he leads you to the small sick bay on the orlop deck

even if there is no surgeon on board, there is a small chest fastened to the wall that is home to their few and valuable medical supplies

you sit as he fusses over you with alcohol and strips of cloth

although he does a good job of wrapping your hands, your insides start to bleed with how intensely guilt eats away at you, like a maggot deep inside the core of a festering apple

that night as you shuffle towards your hammock to sleep, you flinch when you find seonghwa already sitting in his

he’s fighting the heaviness in his eyes as he carefully cradles something

upon seeing you, he wordlessly hands it to you with a sleepy smile before he finally sags into his own hammock with a content sigh

you look down and the warmth of it seems to burn through the padded dressing that the man before you has tenderly wrapped around your palms

the sensation travels upwards to burn your heart too

because in your hands is a cup of warm chamomile tea

and yet, despite the emptied cup, you find yourself unable to fall asleep

but in the darkness of the sky, with no witnesses other than the waves and sea foam themselves, a small piece of crumpled paper gets tossed overboard that night

the closer their ship approaches vlasgar, the more distant seonghwa notices you become

he worries

seonghwa thinks he worries for the reasons that he should be

he is the quartermaster; entrusted to protect the crew as the captain’s right-hand man

if that means ensuring no one will compromise the rest of his crew, even if it’s you, then so be it

that’s what he justifies to himself as he walks through the cobbled streets of vlasgar, slinking through the shadows as he follows your figure from a safe distance

(in reality, seonghwa worries for the reasons that he is not quite ready to admit yet)

he follows you into the dim bar of a tavern and carefully situates himself where he can watch over you without being discovered

he orders a mug of common ale as you approach someone

the man is dressed in civilian attire, but seonghwa can tell straight away from his demeanour and expression that he is not as ordinary as he appears

it’s confirmed when he hears you say, “admiral jang”

and then he sees it

the small but striking lapel pin on the breast of the man’s coat - the royal navy’s insignia

seonghwa feels for the sash that’s hidden underneath his own jacket and his fingertips meet the cool metal of the pistol tied inside

“you better have updates for me, y/n. what’s the pirate king’s purpose here in vlasgar?”

seonghwa knows he only has about five seconds to make a decision - one that could jeopardise the crew, or one that could jeopardise you

but you surprise yourself and the both of them when you answer steadfastly, “i don’t know, sir”

despite the din of drunker patrons in the tavern, it seems to fall deathly silent

“am i hearing wrong, officer?” the admiral questions with a disbelieving scoff

to your credit, your voice does not waver when you state again, “no, sir. i believe the captain and quartermaster are lying low. they have not revealed anything to me nor the rest of the crew”

seonghwa suddenly understands why you have distanced yourself

the admiral’s jaw tics

“is that so.”

you do not respond, only focusing on the spot between his raised eyebrows as he leans forward across the table

“where does your loyalty lie, y/n?”

neither the admiral nor seonghwa need to hear your answer to know the truth

a small crew may be outnumbered, but they have strength in loyalty and devotion

there’s a glint of movement from underneath the table as the admiral inches something out from his belt

seonghwa makes his decision

you flinch, eyes wide as there’s a deafening gunshot and the table beside you splinters and scatters the tankards of alcohol onto the floor

instantaneously, chaos erupts

there are drunken yells of fright and weapons clumsily brandished, tables upturned and chairs hurled across the room

it only takes one other misfired shot for the tavern to descend into hellfire as customers who were previously drinking together now turn on one another

nobody notices the two pirates dashing out, not even admiral jang, who is busy wrangling two inebriated men off his arms

your composure dissolves the moment you are dragged into an alleyway several streets away and you look up in shock to discover-

“seonghwa?! why are you here?”

“i could say the same about you,” he counters, hardly out of breath

you’re stunned by the fact that he seems completely unfazed by the mess that he has just dragged you out of

something clicks

“was that you? did you know all along?”

seonghwa smiles, “let’s just say you’re not as subtle as you think you are when you sneak around. plus, it’s uncommon for sailors to have the experience that you do without having had some sort of training”

you curse under your breath and wince, “does hongjoong know too?”

the quartermaster nods and you fear the answer to your next question

“then why has he not…why have you not…”

“killed you yet?” seonghwa chuckles. “i’m sure you’ve realised by now how skewed the royal navy’s beliefs are”

you’re quiet

the royal navy has always been cult-like in preaching the ruthlessness and barbarism of pirates, drilling into the officers the belief that pirates are the scum of the sea

but everything that you’ve known has been proven false since you’ve joined ateez; ironically, the pirates are more humane than the royal navy themself

their crew stand at attention whenever hongjoong or seonghwa walk onto the deck - not out of cultivated fear but genuine respect

when jongho is sore and tired from handling the riggings on a particularly rough and windy day, the others will offer to cover for his chores instead of flogging him into submission

and when mingi is divvying up the shares of the provisions and loot, the others will slip an extra bar of soap for seonghwa, the shiniest ring for mingi, or the largest bottle of rum for yunho, because they want to make each other happy

“hongjoong is the pirate king, yes, but a king should not take the lives of others for his own power. a true king uses his power to change the lives of others for the better…like yours…and like mine”

you frown with a jerk of your head

“what do you mean?”

you can’t see seonghwa as a broken man whatsoever

he gives you a weak smile, “i, too, used to be part of the royal navy”

your jaw drops

everything clicks into place - how he had figured out you weren’t just a common sailor and why he hadn’t confronted you about it

the shame and guilt come rushing back over you in a storm that is much too familiar by now

“i’m so sorry, all i’ve done is betray your trust-”

“but that’s what second chances are for, no?” seonghwa cuts you off, playfully flicking your forehead as he reminds you, “and i’m pretty sure you’ve chosen me over the royal navy”

your cheeks grow hot

“not you. the crew,” you mutter

he laughs and it’s a wonderful sound

“come on, it’s late,” seonghwa beckons. “let’s get some sleep”

when he sees that you’re still rooted to the spot, unsure whether you are deserving to go back, he decides for you and moves behind you to gently nudge you forward by the shoulders

you let him guide you

his hands are warm, you note, even through the linen of your shirt

his hands are also pretty, you observe, when he tries to fluff your hammock once you two have crept your way back to the berth

seonghwa helps you up into the hammock and you watch as he climbs into his

his hands are also teeming with love, you realise, when he wordlessly extends his arm nearest to you in a silent invitation

if you both reach out, you can just entwine your hands together from your respective hammocks

the burns on your palms have healed nicely and without the need for them to be wrapped, you can feel every expanse of his hand covering yours

he doesn’t retract his hand and neither do you, even though it’s not the most comfortable position and you both lose feeling of your arms soon after

but you lay in your hammock, drifting to the soft snores of the crew members around you and the soft tug of seonghwa’s fingers in yours

sleep comes easy to you

particularly tonight

as it will for the rest of your life

yunho

pov: you're the crew's navigator

you know it’s going to happen even before it actually does

you can feel it in the air and from the way the baby hairs around your hairline start to frizz

but you never say anything because you wouldn’t trade it for the moment when the first raindrop hits the back of yunho’s neck and he abandons his duty at the helm to drag you out onto the upper deck

(hongjoong only sighs in defeat before he stations himself at the helm instead)

you don’t like the rain

not like yunho does

you are already looking up from the map spread out in the captain’s quarters, a knowing smile on your face just from the sound of his bounding footsteps alerting you of his presence, when yunho appears with the beckon of rain

you pretend to let yourself be dragged to your feet along to his urges of come on!

but then you dash forward towards the hatch with yunho chasing after your bright laughter

in the short span of time that it has taken him to fetch you, the sprinkle of rain has steadily grown and the weathered planks of the deck are already a dark grey

you feel the coldness of the raindrops hitting the crown of your head and the spreading chill as your clothes start to become damp

but that’s not what makes you feel alive

yunho catches up to you easily and then he is snaking his arms around your waist to lift you up into the air

you barely have time to squeal and steady yourself on his broad shoulders before he is spinning the two of you around, the world blurring away as the spotlight shines on him and he is all that you can see

the deck is your stage and the sea is your audience

rain with yunho is twirling hugs, tiptoed kisses and tinkling laughter. it’s soaked shirts and rosy cheeks and the only thing that matters in the moment

you don’t like the rain, but it’s easy to like the rain when it’s with him

(hongjoong lets the two of you be - so obviously and hopelessly enamoured by each other - because when one sees people in love, one cannot help but watch and smile)

the rain eventually peters out and you and yunho must return to your respective duties, but not until you two have changed out of your drenched clothes and sneaked in a few more kisses

a few hours later, you hear the racket above the deck as a ship pulls up beside the arriba and ropes are thrown across from both sides to lash the vessels close together

hongjoong comes down to join you in his quarters, but he’s not alone

behind him is the captain of the silver light, dae jihoo, and his quartermaster, with seonghwa entering last

you note that this crew doesn’t have a navigator of their own

but you suppose that’s one of the reasons why their captain had implored an alliance for this particular raid

the crew of the silver light are wanting to target the prosperity triangle - an area between three large ports that is frequently trafficked by wealthy vessels transporting valuable goods

it’s a raid that would prove difficult for a smaller pirate crew like your own and the silver light, and especially if they have no navigator

but it’s not uncommon for pirates to form temporary alliances for such purposes, and together, your crews have a good chance of plundering a fortune

you nod your head in acknowledgement when hongjoong introduces you to the two pirates as ateez’s navigator

you don’t miss the way jihoo’s eyes seem to linger on you for a second too long before he flashes a crooked grin and gestures towards the navigational map spread out on the oak table

clearing your throat of discomfort, you step forward and flatten the creases out with your hands

“this is the most open spot within the triangle that the vessel we’re after will pass through,” you tap an annotated spot on the chart, “and this is where we are now”

you slide your finger across, “we’ll follow the rhumb line west to avoid the shallower waters and when we can catch the trade winds, it should be smooth sailing from there”

jihoo challenges you, “how can you be sure we’ll catch the ship within the triangle?”

“they’ll need to sail past the equator and i’m almost certain their ship will be slowed down by the doldrums. we can easily gain knots on them”

he squints at the scribbles you’ve made noting down what you’ve gathered of the wind patterns

you know for a fact that it will mean nothing to him, but whatever he sees must satisfy him because jihoo appears to make up his mind

“when do we set sail?” he directs his question to your captain

“three days from now”

he grunts a noise of affirmation and stands, which hongjoong takes as the cue to see them and the rest of their crew off your ship

you trail behind the group as you all head back to the upper deck

you prepare to emerge from the hatch with a playful wink, knowing that yunho will be craning his neck from the helm to get a glimpse of you, when a sudden holler surprises you out of your thoughts

it’s immediately met with the answering cries of several other pirates - none from your crew - and you hurry to clear the hatch to gain your bearings

you’re thrust right into the throes of battle as ateez are forced to unsheathe their cutlasses to defend against silver light’s sudden attack

having been caught off guard, basically none of your firearms are loaded with gunpowder, rendering them unusable

you will have to make do with the short sabre at your waist

there’s no time to account for the whereabouts and safety of your crew members and you just have to pray that you all make it out of this unscathed

especially yunho

but as ateez retaliate, you all notice something is off about the situation

your crew is very quickly overpowering the other pirates - it was a losing fight for them from the very beginning

it makes no sense to you nor the rest of your crew

the losses of breaking the alliance before the planned raid, much less through betrayal, far outweigh any gains they could possibly make from their choice of action

it makes absolutely no sense

until it does.

you are blocking the swing of a sabre with your own when you are tugged backwards harshly by the collar of your shirt

there’s an angry snarl in your throat as you prepare to turn around, but it’s quickly silenced by the warning shot of a pistol right beside your ear

the cold ring of metal is then pressed to the back of your head

you know that firearms require time to reload and there’s a chance that this pistol is now useless

but, like wooyoung has taught the rest of the crew to do, they may have pre-prepared several pistols and you are not willing to play with fire - especially when you are only the flex of a finger away from death

you vaguely hear someone yell out your name in panic, but you’re not quite sure you hear correctly over the clamour of cutlasses clashing, warcries resounding and your own heartbeat pounding

“stand down or your navigator dies,” the voice behind you thunders

it’s jihoo…and he wants a navigator for his crew

“ateez,” one of your men commands, “lower your weapons”

your crew may make decisions fairly, but in battle, only hongjoong has the power to make commands

yunho has never spoken against his captain or disobeyed orders

until now

the words do not come out of your captain’s mouth but yunho’s

the rest of the members hesitate - they will not stand down unless hongjoong commands them to, yet, they are unsure whether they will be able to follow should he demand them to fight on, even if it means endangering your life

but there is no guarantee jihoo will let your crew go unharmed even after you all surrender, and as the captain, hongjoong must make decisions in the best interest for the crew

“captain!” yunho yells desperately

yunho never yells

“stand down,” hongjoong commands

silver light’s captain steps in closer behind you until you can hear and feel the noise of intriguement that leaves his mouth down the back of your neck

“that your loverboy, hmm?”

he smirks

there’s a false moment of primal relief when the press of the pistol is removed from the back of your head, but it is immediately replaced with fear that is irrevocably worse as he aims it in yunho’s direction and shoots

“no!”

you shriek and pull against the tug of his hold, still fisted around your collar, your pupils blown wide with terror at the sight of the clean hole in the mast right beside yunho’s head

“it’ll be pretty boy’s head next if you don’t come with me,” jihoo coos into your ear

the fight slips out of you immediately

because if you can save him, a life for a life, then you will

even if the sight of mingi holding yunho back from lunging forward when the pistol’s barrel returns to your head makes your heart clench painfully

“y/n, don’t you dare,” yunho pleads, voice filled with anguish

you’re barely given enough time to lock eyes with him and say resolutely, “remember what you said to me,” before you are tugged away to the boarding plank

ateez can only watch helplessly as the planks are removed from over the bulwarks and the last of the ropes are untied, releasing the silver light from their ship for good

jihoo tugs you down the hatch as the ship starts to pull away, and just like that, you’re gone from their sights

“fuck!” yunho shouts furiously, unable to contain his emotions as he turns around and connects his fist with the mast

right where the musket ball had made a hole

his hand pulls away with bloodied knuckles from the splintered wood and the sheer force of his punch

a concerned whine leaves seonghwa’s mouth and he tries to approach the taller, but yunho shakes him off and looks determinedly at hongjoong

“we’re sailing to the banver isle just east of the triangle. we’ll ambush them there”

seonghwa looks between the two, hope flickering in his chest at the potential plan, “you think the silver light are stupid enough to try taking on the prosperity triangle alone?”

yunho chuckles darkly, “they were fucking shitbrained enough to take y/n, so yes”

nobody disagrees and hongjoong smirks dangerously

“ateez, ready the sails for banver isle,” he commands. “prepare for battle”

because not only have the silver light taken you away from ateez, but they have also annihilated the light from yunho’s eyes

gone are his warm brown orbs - they are now black holes thirsty for retribution

there will be lives to pay and even that will not be enough for the void

unaware of what your crew is capable of, jihoo looks down at you with a triumphant leer

“you’ll navigate us to the triangle in three days’ time. don’t even think about lying - you’ve already shown me where the location is”

with an even nod you reply, “of course”

it’s true though - you have absolutely no intention of navigating them somewhere else

because you know yunho will be waiting there for you

amidst chaste kisses exchanged between plush lips cold from the rain, yunho tells you in a brief moment of seriousness

“don’t show them where the real location is,” his breath is warm across your cheeks. “you know the coastal island roughly ten nautical miles away? show them that instead”

you tilt your head to look up at him, “you think they’ll betray us?”

“no,” he reassures you with a deeper, slower kiss, “but we can never be too safe”

and even if your vessels miss each other this time, you have complete faith that yunho will sail to the very ends of the world just to find you

two days before the originally-planned raid, the arriba sails as closely to banver isle as possible without risking running aground

yunho has navigated the ship around the back of the isle so that the form of the rocky terrain conceals them from sight

once the anchor is lowered, the crew members use every ticking moment to make preparations

swords are sharpened and firearms cleaned

mingi distributes the gunpowder and ammunition, which is pre-loaded into muskets, pistols and swivel cannons ready to be engaged

the ship’s sails and riggings are checked and yeosang keeps a keen lookout in the crow’s nest

and it’s as if the world itself can sense the brewing storm that grows inside yunho

the sea is eerily still and silent, but the sky is an omen to something impending, its rolling clouds dark and angry with the threat of rain leering over the waters

yunho doesn’t actually like the rain

he only likes it because it’s with you

rain with you is barefoot dancing, breathless confessions and bashful giggles. it’s drenched locks and fluttering eyelashes and the only thing that exists in the moment

but as the profile of the silver light finally approaches the isle two days later, the heavens split open and you are not by his side

rain without you is falling pinpricks, frigid winds and flaunting mockery and yunho despises it with his entire being

at yeosang’s call of, “vessel approaching from starboard,” up in the lookout, yunho smothers the fervid desire to barrage the other ship with cannonballs like hail from hell; to unleash an inferno that blazes through their hull as he sadistically watches the crew jump for their lives

he stamps out the hunger to shoot the ones that make it into the sea, not to kill, only to maim and induce a long, painful struggle in the open waters until death becomes inevitable - until there is enough blood spilt that it becomes the only stench in the air that stretches across for miles

yunho leashes his monsters with an iron fist

because he will not do anything that could even remotely endanger your life

even if it means that he has to hold back - to sit and wait like prey instead of advancing on the other ship like a predator

at least not yet.

silver light do not know, but this is the calm before the storm

the heavens may be crying, the winds may be howling and the waters may be roiling

but this is nothing compared to yunho

yunho is a tempest of unparalleled rage and their ship is in the eye of his storm

as the bowsprit of the silver light starts to appear around the isle, the members ready their grappling hooks and yunho draws his cutlass with a menacing whisper of unsheathing metal

you are his treasure, and pirates never lose sight of their treasure

today…you return to him

yeosang

pov: you're a tavern keeper

watching the ale reach the brim of the tankard you are holding, you’re about to step away from the barrel when the voice of a patron sounds behind you

“‘scuse me, could i get a mint-”

you look up and turn around in confusion as their voice cuts off

only to have the question taken right from the tip of your own tongue as you’re met with the face of the person you had loved for years

the same person you have spent twice as long trying to forget

eyes searching each other’s in a surprised stupor, seeing kang yeosang standing right in front of you takes you back to those memories that you have tried to remember and simultaneously bury

it thrusts you headfirst into what used to be of your shared love - like the feathery remnants of a dream, so distant from the fingers of your consciousness, suddenly returning to vivid existence when you least expect it

“hey, mint leaf. i’m back”

yeosang at least has the perceptiveness to appear a little apologetic, immediately pulling you into a hug and pressing soft kisses against your hairline uncaring of the other people in the tavern

it’s been several weeks since you last saw him, and whilst he had warned you he would be gone for longer this time, you hadn’t expected it to mean two whole months

he’s a small merchant who also fishes along the coast to earn enough to make ends meets, so he’s often gone for a few days or a week or two

you knew what you were in for when you first made it official with him, but just because you become accustomed to something, doesn’t mean it gets any easier

and he’s never been gone for this long

something must have happened - something good - because he looks alive, cheeks glowing and eyes fiery

“i met the crew”

“the crew?” you ask, hands reaching for the bourbon to prepare him a drink as he lets himself behind the counter to stand beside you in your workspace

he nods excitedly, "wooyoung’s pirate crew, ateez"

you think you know where this is going to go and you hate that your stomach sinks at the thought of what your future may become, because yeosang looks so happy to tell you about this and a happy yeosang is all that you could ask for

“the captain offered me a position as their lookout”

you pick out your next words carefully as you hand him his finished drink - a mint julep with two sugar cubes, just the way he likes it

"aren't…isn't being a pirate dangerous?"

“not as dangerous as you might think, actually. they’ve been showing me the ropes the last couple of weeks and…and i think i want to join them. officially”

there it is

the forked end of the road

you wonder how far two people can keep walking with their hands intertwined before the distance becomes too great and they have to let go

his words become a little muddled when he goes on to tell you about how they divvied up their recent loot to include his share too

how he’s gained more money than he’s made from the last two years of working as a merchant and fisherman combined

if he joins his old friend and his crew, he could earn enough to buy his parents a proper house; earn enough to build you your very own tavern

you want to tell him that you don’t need the tavern, just him, but you also know just how important his family is to him

his filial desire to take care of his parents was one of the very reasons you fell in love with him in the first place

before you can say anything though, the tavern keeper is interrupting to let you know that your shift is over

yeosang immediately perks up and herds you out of the place, claiming that there is a new fishing spot he discovered that he has to show you

and so you sit while he rows his modest boat, only the splash of his oars disturbing the peaceful stillness that has settled over the waters as the sun dips below the horizon

the waning light casts a soft, warm glow over him, like a gentle kiss against his skin and birthmark

if angels graced the earth, there would be one sitting right in front of you

“i missed you, mint leaf,” he confesses, gaze shyly averted. “i thought about you when i was gone”

“did you think about showing me this place?” you feel a little breathless

he nods, “every single night”

and that’s enough for you

it feels like everything is okay again

it doesn’t matter if you’re standing at a forked road

you think that perhaps, for him, you can walk on an unpaved path - just so that you can keep holding his hand

“y/n”

yeosang’s voice is deep

the word sounds foreign to your own ears but you don’t dwell on it

(because if you do, you’ll wonder whether it’s because you’ve forgotten the sound of his voice or because you want to hear him calling you something else)

“what would you like to order?” you ask

(because it’s easier to pretend that he’s just another patron than to admit that he used to be all that you ever knew)

yeosang fumbles a little but then regains himself, “oh, um- just a mint julep, please”

you turn your back to him to prepare his drink, hands reaching for the barrels lined along the bottom shelves without needing to look

you’ve made this drink too many times to count

half of those times were in the safety of the darkness that midnight offered; when the tears could flow freely without anyone seeing

it’s only when you start to mix his cocktail that yeosang realises he didn’t ask for his sugar cubes, but he figures the drink will taste bitter tonight either way so he opts to watch you instead

he wishes that he could walk past the counter like he used to and wrap his arms around you

he wishes that he could whisper endearments into your ears and press them against your lips

he wishes that he could show you that he still loves you

“do you still love me?” your voice wavers with hurt as you stand in front of him

he’s finally back after being gone for four months this time and you hate this conversation as much as he does, but it was bound to happen eventually

yeosang pleads, “more than anything”

“then why does it hurt so much? loving you…and being loved by you”

he doesn’t have an answer

but god be damned if he doesn’t try to find a way to fix things

“tell me, mint leaf, what can i do?”

you blink back your tears furiously, having already made up your mind while he was still at sea

“let’s break up”

because in the end, unpaved paths have too many rocks, too many thorns and too many arched roots; they were never meant to be walked along

you pass yeosang his finished drink without another word and then move further down the counter to serve a different customer

his eyes linger on you wistfully before he tears them away from you

it’s a good thing his hair has grown long enough to cover his face when he looks down

because his eyes start to grow wet at the sight of the mint julep you have made him

with two sugar cubes in it, just the way he likes it

perhaps, once you’ve loved somebody, you never really stop loving them

yeosang shows up again the next day and seats himself at the bar

you don’t serve him though, actively avoiding his end of the counter and letting another of your staff tend to him

he orders his usual but he leaves out his request for additional sugar cubes

it feels wrong for him to order it from someone that isn’t you

but you’re watching out of the corner of your eye as the worker mixes the bourbon, sugar and water, topping it with a few mint leaves and then sliding it across the counter for him

you let out a little sigh, half amused, when he takes a small sip and smacks his lips together at the bitterness

you take two sugar cubes and drop it unceremoniously into his pewter cup before you realise what you’re doing

yeosang immediately seizes the opportunity to talk to you

“my crew’s docked for the fortnight…” he waits to see if you’ll respond. you don’t, but you also don’t move away, so he continues. “we’re making some repairs to the hull and sails before our next raid”

you have half a mind to walk away after you reply, “i didn’t ask” 

he forges on regardless

“we’re going to work with another crew for this one. it’s going to increase our chances of a successful raid because-”

your voice comes out a little harsher than you mean for it to when you hiss again, “i didn’t ask”

yeosang’s mouth closes as he pulls away slightly, back straightening

then he says in a softer voice, “i’ve been doing well. wooyoung still takes care of me, even though i’m not new to the crew anymore. i also saw my parents today and they’re happily retired now…”

you don’t stop him from talking this time

because how many sleepless nights have you spent sitting outside your tavern looking up at the stars; how many times have you served a mint julep to a patron and accidentally added sugar cubes; how many moments have you been consumed by the thought of him, simply wondering if he is living well?

this is everything that you have ever wanted - yeosang in the flesh letting you know that, yes, he has been well

but it is also everything that you have ever feared - that he has been well even without you

you don’t know what to feel

“my parents asked about you,” he says gingerly. “how have you been?”

his voice is barely audible, as if he is afraid of what you might say

or perhaps, afraid that you might not say anything at all

“good. excellent,” you force a small smile, your eyes still focused on the mint leaves floating in his drink. you don’t think you can look at him. “i own this place now”

his body loses its tension, cheeks rounding as he looks at you with genuine relief

“that’s…that’s really good to hear”

his words sting

you are unsure if it stings your ego or if it picks at the wound in the shape of the person you have lost

but it hurts to know that he has worried over you in the exact same way you have over him, the whole time you two have been apart

you’re suddenly overwhelmed by the realisation and hot tears well in your eyes almost immediately

your bottom lip starts to crumple so you rush into the back room to escape

“y/n!” yeosang calls out after you, alarmed

when you don’t stop, disappearing into the storage, he jolts up from his seat and follows

your body shudders with every heaving breath you take, unable to stop yourself from crying even harder when you feel him tug you into his chest

you try to pull away but his sturdy arms tighten around you

yeosang refuses to let you go once more

“i hate you,” you sob, struggling against his hold as you hit his chest weakly

he hushes comforts against the crown of your head, soothing noises as he endures your fists

“you have every reason to”

yeosang holds back tears of his own

he feels your body gradually losing its fight, sinking into his embrace instead, hands desperately holding him close

your voice is so impossibly small when you tearfully confess, “but i still love you”

“oh, mint leaf,” he brushes the stray locks of hair away from your face and cradles your jaw tenderly, “i still love you, too”

he presses a soft kiss against your forehead, pulling away once only to reaffirm, “so, so much”

when he kisses you again, his lips taste salty against your own, but nothing has ever tasted sweeter than this

your breath no longer stutters but the tears continue to run down your face because your heart finally feels right after all these years apart

and yet-

you pull away

“we can’t do this”

yeosang feels his heart shattering

“why not? i don’t understand,” he whimpers

“you know why,” you say distressingly, “my life is here, yeosang. i can’t just leave and return whenever i want. but you, on the other hand? you can. you go where your crew goes - you belong with them”

“but my heart belongs to you. please, y/n,” he begs

his arms are still wrapped around you and you feel his desperation as his fingers cling onto you like a lifeline

you look earnestly into his bloodshot eyes, your own vision blurry, “yeo, you’re not the one who gets left behind here. you’re not the one who waits weeks, months, years on end, just hoping that the next person to walk in is the person that you want to see”

he wants to plead that he waits to see you, too, but he knows that he’s the one who leaves, too

“you’re the right one for me - the only one for me - but it’s not the right time,” you tell him gently

slowly, his arms lower themselves from around you

“it wasn’t the right time then and it isn’t the right time now,” he repeats, “then when is the right time for us?”

you shoot the question right back at him, “when is the right time for someone whose life is to sail the world?”

neither of you know the answer

nobody does, because loving a pirate has no certainties

but yeosang doesn’t give up

“if we can’t ever be sure, why don’t we just make it the right time ourselves?”

you caress his cheek sweetly, and despite having stepped away from you earlier, he leans into your hand, starved of your loving touch and affection

“yeosang…what if we’ve already had it? what if…meeting each other was already it? what if we’re just meant to love from a distance, not side by side?” your voice is poignant but resolute

he brings up a hand to cover yours, still warm and tender against his wet cheek

how is it that he can be touching you yet simultaneously feel worlds apart from you

“okay,” he accepts with a whisper

if loving you silently is the only way he gets to love you, then he will choose it in a heartbeat over losing you entirely

he thumbs away the remainder of your tears

“can i kiss you? one last time?” he asks

you nod

“one last time”

your lips slowly meet, slotting together as they find their home in each other’s dips and curves

his hands cradle the small of your back and neck and your own hands rest against his chest

the kiss you share is steady, longing and bittersweet

it conveys everything that you want to say to each other, and even then, it is hardly enough

thank you

i’m sorry

i love you

goodbye…

you can feel your eyes burning up again, but you focus on the feeling of yeosang’s lips against yours instead

because you know that the moment one of you pulls away, that is it forever

in the world of love, there are people who are ill-fated

they meet the right person, but at the wrong time

and then there are people like you and yeosang

not ill-fated, but star-crossed lovers

the right person…

but just not meant to be

#loren writes #ateez fics #ateez fic #ateez x reader #hongjoong x reader #hongjoong scenarios #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa scenarios #yunho x reader #yunho scenarios #yeosang x reader #yeosang scenarios #ateez ot8 x reader #ateez fluff #ateez angst #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez headcanons #ateez au #pirate ateez #pirate!ateez #pirateez #ateez crack

[rosewaterandivy]

stop making plans / start making sense

Summary: eddie finds himself smack dab in the middle of an ap english iv class, all because some do-gooders at Hawkins High happen to “believe in him” or whatever. the catch? it just so happens to be your ap english class.

A continuation of this blurb and the result of an ongoing eddie munson hc convo with @powderblueblood 💚

Warnings: eddie’s senior year 2.0, no Upside Down, scary smart debate team captain reader, NHS president and tutor nancy wheeler, ap music theory nerd and general nuisance robin buckley, pretentiousness alert - you have been warned!

W.C.: 1771

It’s his second time around as a senior, not even the first week of school under his belt when Mrs. Meloy calls him into her office. The counseling center, which he is unfortunately far too familiar with, is busy as it usually is at the beginning of the year— schedule changes, registration, students complaining about not getting late arrival or early dismissal. Before he can settle in one of the worn chairs by the door, a woman pops her outside of an office door. She glances around, blue eyes searching for someone or something, before landing on Eddie.

“Think the wall can hold itself up just fine Edward,” She calls as she opens the door to her office and waves him in.

He grouses at the use of his full name and rolls his eyes, languidly strolling into the smaller room that smells overwhelmingly of cinnamon.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”

She’s turned around, fingers flicking through thick manilla files in the cabinet in front of her. A cup of coffee sits on her cluttered desk, cold, from the looks of it. Mrs. Meloy mutters under her breath before turning from the filing cabinet in annoyance.

“It’s only the first week of school,” Eddie points out, “I haven’t done anything.”

The yet between them goes unspoken.

The older woman merely raises a knowing brow and takes her seat opposite him. She sorts through a few loose papers on her desk before letting out a surprised huff, “Gotcha!” Flipping through the file, his file, Eddie supposes, her eyes scan over what is undoubtedly his lack of academic achievement.

Satisfied with her perusal, she sets the papers down on her desk and addresses him.

“Round two.” Mrs. Meloy begins, resignedly. “Hopefully the NHS tutoring placement will be to your benefit Mr. Munson. Miss Wheeler is an exemplary student and I have high hopes for you under her tutelage.”

She then runs through his current schedule, emphasizing the classes he needs to perform well in (mostly all of them, save for English and a few others).

“Which brings me to the reason for our meeting today,” she says with a smile. “It has not escaped my notice, nor that of Mrs. Seguin, that you are quite adept in English class. At least,” she qualifies with a pull of her lips, “When properly motivated.”

And yeah, okay, he was decidedly not trying all that hard in Mrs. S.’s senior English class last year and he breezed through with a respectable A minus.

Wayne even got a little choked up when he read that particular report card.

“I guess so,” he says with a cross of his arms.

“Rather than having you repeat the same content and curriculum this year, Mrs. Seguin and I have petitioned the principal for permission to move you into a more challenging and appropriate English class.”

Well, that perks him right up.

“Principal Higgins has agreed to the change, with a few stipulations.”

Of fucking course.

The gist of it is, Eddie’s admittance to the AP English IV class will be probationary for the first quarter, given his past exploits and record. If he can keep his grades at a respectable B across the board, Eddie will be permanently placed in Mrs. Seguin’s advanced class. If he can’t, it’s back to regular Senior English with that crone, Mrs. Cotter.

Easy peasy.

And he’s almost out the door when Meloy stops him with a furitive, “Eddie,” and pauses to look him in the eye. “We believe in you and we went to the mat with Higgins on this.” She says emphatically, standing up to escort him through the office, “You can do this, Eddie, we know you can.”

She smiles and sends him off with his newly revised schedule, the summer reading assignment, and information for Wayne to peruse about Advanced Placement courses.

The rest of that day unfolded as expected despite his new schedule. Slight differences were made, such as: Eddie sitting in the middle of the class instead of the back, hopefully next to Buckley or Wheeler if he could swing it.

With Nancy’s help, he was able to narrow the summer reading options down to books that would hold his interest. The librarian, Ms. Berkowitz, was more than happy to oblige him with checking out a copy of Notes from the Underground by some Russian dude whose name Eddie couldn’t possibly pronounce.

The bell for the final class of the day rang just as he slipped through Mrs. Seguin’s door.

“Timely as ever,” she teased and kicked the door stop into the classroom.

Her room was the same as last year, but the mood within was markedly different— more relaxed and at ease. Students sat where they pleased and chatted amongst themselves while Mrs. S. checked off the roll and fielded a few questions from the group.

Eddie settled in the only open seat right in between Nancy and yourself. He tried not to be offended that you didn’t even glance up from your furious scribbling on the page, seemingly writing a mile a minute, as if you couldn’t get the words out fast enough.

Ink smeared on the college ruled paper underneath your hand.

Eddie found it endearing.

“Okay, okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Mrs. S. set her clipboard on the desk and leaned against it with a casual grace.

She was one of the newer teachers to Hawkins High, from some big name school out west with not one, but two degrees framed on the wall behind her desk. She was young and quick to laugh; the older teachers were a bit weary of her and those “new agey” teaching philosophies, but the results produced were proof enough for her to granted the AP English III and IV courses for this year. According to Nancy, she’d only had AP juniors and regular seniors last year.

Eddie, being one of those regular students, would know.

“Alright, hopefully we’ve brought in our summer reading novels today. The goal is to break you all into thematic groups based on your selected text. From there, you will collaborate with your peers to create a presentation on your findings.”

With this, she steps away from her desk and begins writing on the chalkboard.

“Consider such things as character archetype, thematic resonance, literary merit, of course. But more importantly,” she says, turning to the class with a smile, “How did the story affect you? What new perspective or insights were gained? What concepts were reinforced? Did you despise the protagonist, or did you identify too closely with them?”

The class has fallen to a hush, you’ve stopped writing and are rapt with attention. Eddie, used to overworked teachers and coaches who could care less, is shocked.

“I remind you, as always, that there are no right or wrong answers in here. As long as you can support your interpretation—” She begins.

“With evidence from the text,” The class choruses in reply.

“Good, exactly.”

At that, students break away into smaller groups and begin talking in hushed tones about the project.

“Whatcha got there?”

This, from Robin, who unceremoniously plucks Eddie’s book from his grasp. She flips through it, eyes lighting in interest, just as Mrs. Seguin makes her way over.

“Eddie, always good to see you.”

“Right back at ya, Mrs. S.”

She smirks, eyeing Robin scanning through Dostoevsky. “Had a feeling you’d gravitate toward the nihilists. Got a chance to start reading yet?”

He swipes the book back from Robin and ignores her petulant pout.

“Uh, kinda. Started it during lunch today.”

She nods knowingly, “Well, I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” Surveying the classroom she nods to herself, “And now that I think of it,” She turns back to Eddie, “Looks like you’re in the right group over here.”

He almost says there is no group over here, but then he notices Nancy and Robin chatting with you. Feeling his stare, you turn back from where you’ve set up shop on Robin’s desk and jerk your head, an invitation by any other name.

“C’mon Munson, we don’t have all day.” You say this softly, chidingly, with no real heat behind it. Your eyes narrow as a group gets particularly loud across the way, “Because I’m certainly not about to let Phillips show us up.”

“Oh, bite me!” Phillips crows from his desk.

“You wish, you cretin!”

Eddie does his best to hide the curl of his lips and stifle a laugh while Phillips sulks at his desk.

Robin thumbs through a worn copy of Nausea while Nancy talks Eddie through the plan thus far. She’s read The Death of Ivan Ilyich and come to the conclusion that the novels in the group are both deeply depressing and deal with themes of existentialism, and in some cases, nihilism.

“I dunno. Philosophy is all well and good, but,” you pipe up, “Mine had elements of magical realism and a satirical critique of Soviet Russia.”

Eddie attempts to process what you and Wheeler have just said. Sensing a lull in the conversation, you slyly pass your novel over to Eddie and start to take notes over whatever it is Nancy is rambling on about.

The Master and Margartia.

Huh, weird title.

He reads the blurb on the back cover and kind of regrets not choosing this one to read. Maybe you’ll let him borrow it after the project is over. Setting it back on your desk, Eddie peruses the syllabus Mrs. S. must’ve slipped him.

“So, will that work for you Eddie?”

Lost in a daze of genres and titles, he looks up. “Sorry, what was that?”

Nancy sighs, “We’re going to meet at my house on Thursday for a study group. I know you and Mike have that thing on Fridays, so.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks Wheeler; that’ll work.”

With a smile, she goes back to chatting with Robin.

“Psst.”

A neatly folded paper lands on his desk. Eddie glances at you, curious, taking in your arched brow and smirk.

Scary smart, he reminds himself as he unfurls the page.

I know Nance is your NHS tutor, but if you feel like you need to catch-up for this class, give me a call.

Your deft hand and neatly printed letters dance across the page, an errant smear of ink where the heel of your hand drug across the paper. The digits of your phone number underneath your missive make his heart race.

Annotating your copy of Dune without permission was one thing. And at that you didn’t even bat an eye, but this…

Well, this had potential.

He tries not to let the possibility of what if turn to ash in his mouth.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fanfic

[inuhodo]

Dan sighs, putting a hand to her face. She doesn't miss that she's keeping her fingers grouped—the index and the middle, the ring and the pinky.

its an honest job making the prothean cipher affect shepard more but its a living! minific the excerpt is from below the cut

Dan doesn't understand herself, sometimes. It's a terrifying feeling, because she's used to understanding herself and her motivations—she has a theory about herself that she won't share—but she's at a loss here. The Captain's quarters of the Normandy let her sit and consider this wrongness as they make their way to Noveria, at the very least.

Feros was… Difficult. Dan would have preferred to have washed her hands of every colonist there if it meant solving the problem faster, but that's not how it worked. She had to fight tooth and nail to knock them unconscious and make sure everyone survived. It meant more time with the spores everywhere, more time with the growing headache, more time with that damn plant.

She doesn't think it's the plant's fault for her wrongness, either. She wasn't in the colony long enough to be effected like that salarian, and Chakwas cleared everyone that was outside for no ill effects. And yet, Dan sits, staring at her hands.

How many fingers does she have? Five fingers, which she knows to be the correct amount a human should have, but it feels unwieldy in a way it never has before. She has to remember that she can move each finger independently.

Dan sighs, putting a hand to her face. She doesn't miss that she's keeping her fingers grouped—the index and the middle, the ring and the pinky. She wonders, then, if this feeling of what she can only describe as some sudden onset of body dysmorphia against the shape of a human was caused by whatever that asari had beamed into her brain.

So, protheans had three fingers, incredible. Humans have five.

Dan forces her fingers apart, curling each one individually. Five, she repeats internally. Five.

#i am Burning #mass effect #commander shepard #dan shepard #look at her funny me1 haircut and her me1 tattoos before she fucking exploded #i have more i can say about how dan um handles the cipher but the shadow assassins are coming for me #my deeplore... my me3 rewrite

[namism]

impressions | koby

➳ categories: canonverse, fluff, funnily helmeppo-centric, gender neutral reader

➳ word count: 743

➳ notes: idea came from the canon fact that koby hates black coffee ☕️

Koby hates black coffee, even if Rika makes it herself. Helmeppo jokes that it's part of his character to still act like a child since he was Marine-trained at such a young age, to which Koby flips him off out of annoyance.

Helmeppo knows that Koby would never drink black coffee. It was one of the things he learned about him when they became friends.

So imagine his shock when he sees Koby drinking it like it's nothing for breakfast.

Helmeppo approaches the pink-haired teen, whose blue circle-framed glasses rest on his patterned headband, clear of the dirt that stuck to them during yesterday's mission. Helmeppo places an arm on his shoulder, prompting Koby to look up from the newspaper he's reading.

Koby is confused for a split second, but he realizes right afterward.

"What is this?!" Helmeppo overdramatically reacts. His eyes flit back and forth from the Captain's face to the white coffee mug on the table, still hot but already quarter-full.

With a blank stare, Koby takes a sip of the coffee and swallows it immediately. Helmeppo's eyebrows subtly jump. Koby, however, doesn't notice this, as he provides an explanation that he believes he shouldn't even be providing.

"I'm drinking coffee," he responds nonchalantly. His eyes return to the newspaper, and he reads where he left off.

Something is odd, Helmeppo thinks to himself, retracting his hand from Koby's shoulder. The coffee mug on the table looks conspicuous as it stands there, just existing on its own—but its mere existence shouldn't even collide with the existence of Captain Koby in the first place. No, it shouldn't.

At this moment, a crowd of Marine executives enters the mess hall. Their joyous cheers earn them a few glances from nearby tables, including the pink-haired Captain, who sits so calmly on the farthest table by the windows. While Helmeppo is distracted by his silly theories and rushed conclusions, Koby tilts his head a little bit upward to find you.

Surrounded by your colleagues, Koby thinks that you won't see him amid the morning chaos, but a smile makes its way to his lips when he's proven otherwise. Your face becomes visible in the crowd of Marines, shooting him a beautiful smile like you just won against a pirate.

Koby breaks the eye contact after four seconds, afraid that Helmeppo will snap back to his senses and notice his person of interest if he doesn't make his staring less obvious any sooner. To his luck, his best friend is gullible.

When Koby immerses himself back in the newspaper he's been reading, Helmeppo finally notices your crowd that sits two tables down from his. He scans the metal trays of plates and glassware in boredom, still finding a logical explanation for Koby's sudden coffee interest.

Koby grips the mug, takes another sip, and swallows like it doesn't burn. Helmeppo squints his eyes, still suspicious.

"Strange Captain Koby..." he murmurs to himself. He rubs the cleft of his chin, thinking, wondering, and pondering until his mental energy depletes, and he decides to sit beside Koby in defeat.

"You look like you need some coffee."

Helmeppo raises his head in response to the direction of the voice that chirped the suggestion.

Leaning on the table with one hand supporting your weight, you push a coffee mug in front of him with two sugar packets. Helmeppo points at the coffee, then back at himself, asking in silence if it's meant for him.

"Yep, it's yours," you say. "I already got my second fill, ha-ha."

As Helmeppo sniffs the liquid, he detects the bitter aroma of black coffee and decides to add sugar to the mix. He takes a sip afterward to taste, being careful not to burn his tongue in the process.

Meanwhile, you reach into your uniform and slide three small sugar packets across the table, closer to Koby and his nearly empty mug.

"You forgot the sugar again, Captain," you joke. Helmeppo raises an eyebrow as he drinks away. "Do I always have to get it for you? Or have you warmed up to the taste of my plain black?"

Before giving out a response, Koby wickedly smiles to himself at Helmeppo's reaction to a burning tongue, who wastes no time in fetching himself a glass of water from the back kitchen.

When he meets your eyes, you both laugh heartily at the occurrence, clutching your stomach and Koby burying his face into folded arms on the table.

#one piece #koby #captain koby #koby x reader #one piece koby x reader #one piece koby #coby #captain coby #coby x reader #one piece coby x reader #one piece coby #op coby #op koby #helmeppo #rika #op x reader #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #one piece x you #op x you #op x y/n #koby x y/n #one piece koby x y/n #koby x you #one piece koby x you #coby x y/n #one piece coby x y/n #coby x you #one piece coby x you

[helpinghanikan]

Domestic December: COD

Day 20: Graves, Like teenagers

DD Masterlist

Philip Graves was a football player back in the day, and you can bet your ass he was captain. He told you this as an icebreaker. Neither of you sure of what to say on that awkward first date, the simple fact that he could find anything to say was a blessing.

He was popular back in the day. A cherry picker and handsome young man the mother’s love and fathers respect. They were certainly some of his best years. He’s told you so while driving one night.

“Nothing compared to now, though.” He said, taking your hand while he drove with the other.

“Of course not,” You reassured him, not completely sure if he meant it or not. Thankfully, the turn came up before you could think about it too much.

There’s a makeout spot in every town; be it a turnaround, a drop and ride, or just a clearing off the beaten path. Not every spot has a name, but they have one thing in common; fogged up windows and a look out for cops.

The visit back to Graves familiar home has been a long one. Tight quarters with a lot of family left zero room for alone time. Maybe some light making out before someone makes a comment. Even with him pressing into your back in the morning wasn’t as fun when a ten-year-old was sleeping on an air mattress barely a foot away.

“This was a great idea,” He says, both of you getting out of the car.

“Get in the back seat, like, right now.” You practically order.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He says, slamming the door shut behind him.

Going at it in the backseat of a car is always more fun in theory than practice. It’s a tight squeeze, which results in a lot of bumping and pushing when neither of you meant to. Your teeth clash when going in for the first kiss. In his excitement he’s ripped your pants down the seam. The same being said for the front of his shirt, opening down to his naval.

It’s a heated and amazing moment. When encourages you backwards what else could you do but obey?

Knock-knock

The tapping on your window pulls a gasp from your throat. Graves grunting in a same level of surprise. The shock only staying for a second before it’s replaced with a smile.

“Graves, don’t-.” You say, but he’s already rolling down the window.

“Alright, Kids, zip it up.” Says the cop who immediately stops when she sees Graves adult-man face. “Oh, that’s pretty new. Most adults have a bed for themselves, nowadays.”

“Evening, Officer, something we can help you with?” Graves asks as casual as can be.

“Well you can start by putting a shirt on, then you can finish by wrapping it up before I take you both in for indecent.” She says with the grace of a chainsaw and the temperament to match.

Graves rolls up the window without adding anything.

“I thought you knew all the cops,” You said, pushing him up and off.

“Wasn’t aware the department made new hires.

#reader insert #domestic december #graves call of duty #philip graves x reader #cod x reader #call of duty reader insert #call of duty #Afab reader

[dean-winchesters-clit]

Welcome to Emory Attempts to Create a Series of Events Based Solely on the Trailers and Promo Pictures!!!

This is gonna be a long one. Buckle up bitches! (Excuse the shitty collages, I couldn't figure out a better way to include all the pictures)

So, I don't have a perfect timeline. We just don't have enough info for me to create an exact series of events. I think, however, I can piece together scenes and events that take place around the same time based on the costumes we see the characters wearing, especially Stede.

The really helpful thing about the promo pictures on the Warner Bros. website is that they labelled which episode each picture is from. So, we can tell from them that Stede is wearing a grimy white shirt with a red necktie in the first episode, which means the scene in the rowboat, the scene where Stede is sleeping next to Roach, and the scenes in the marketplace with Susan and Oluwande all happen in the first episode.

We also see the picture of Ed's back tattoo as well as the picture of Izzy with his grimy makeup being listed for episode one, so I think the scenes in the captain's quarters we saw in the teaser will happen in episode one as well. We also see the Stede wedding topper, so I think we'll get our wedding boat raid in the first episode.

In the second episode promo pictures, we see Stede in the Chinese inspired outfit which I think means Oluwande enlisted Susan's help to get them a ship in the picture of him and her together. I believe this also means that the pictures and scenes of the crew in these outfits means that these events happen around the same time, between episodes two and three or four. Which means that - because we see Stede wearing this outfit in the scene where Ed headbutts him - we will be getting our reunion within the first few episodes.

The events from Stede and the crew's POV (I think) is this: The crew enlist Susan's help and get dressed up in the Chinese outfits. This is also when they find Lucius. Stede has a heart to heart with someone on the ship and they eventually catch up with the Revenge. They plan on sneaking aboard in the middle of the night and the plan goes relatively successfully, leading to Stede and Ed reuniting. In the light of day, Stede sees the remnants of an attack on the Revenge (not sure what from).

From Ed's POV in episode two we see that the night following the wedding raid, Ed has his sad time playing dolls. I think this is when we get those shots of Fang and Jim in the auxiliary wardrobe, finding him all sad and very much not over Stede. I think this might be when Ed decides to get his act together. The next day, he corners Frenchie and starts cleaning up the captain's cabin. He's still wearing his full leather get up, but unlike what we see during the wedding raid, his hair is pulled back and his makeup is less severe. Then, something happens and Ed gets hurt. We see him with a split lip and a cut on his cheek. I'm not certain what happens to him, whether it was just a raid gone wrong or maybe the storm, but whatever it may be, the Revenge gets wrecked and Ed gets hurt. Then we get our reunion.

Next, I think, are the scenes where Stede is wearing the white shirt without the red necktie. We see him in this getup after he and Ed have reunited. Notice how Ed is no longer bleeding in the scene where he's talking to Mary and Anne, meaning his wounds are no longer fresh, so this scene takes place after the headbutt scene. I think we'll get the scene where Stede asks Ed to 'show him some respect, please' and then somehow Ed runs off to meet with Mary and Anne and Stede follows him, which is why he's so awkward when Stede shows up. Then we get Ed coughing on the joint and him and Stede having dinner with the pirate queens, during which Stede gets kissed for some reason.

I think after this, Ed and Stede get separated again. If my theory about the red necktie being just an episode one look is correct, it means Stede sends the message in a bottle after they've already been reunited. So something must happen to Ed, which is why Izzy starts training Stede. We see a mostly-empty Revenge when Stede is swinging on the rope, and during this time, I think Stede will try to figure out which pirate captain look is right for him, hence the red outfit in that one scene and the sparkly coat before we finally get to our last look, the blue shirt.

This is where the series of events is the least clear, but I believe all these scenes will occur during the second half of the season. Stede and the crew get tortured for some reason (you can see that this takes place on the Revenge), Stede gets his ear pierced, talks to someone about being a failure, and then we get our scenes on the island. We can tell these island scenes happen all around the same time because it's clearly the same island with the same foliage, and Stede is wearing this late-season blue shirt on the island. So, there will be a battle on a beach, Frenchie and Lucius sneaking around disguised as Naval soldiers (note the blue coats), and maybe even a mid-battle reunion.

I'm not certain where the scenes with Ed and the mysterious figure factor into all this. I have a theory that maybe the Navy capture Ed and banish him to the island, but I don't think that's the case at all. I really like this one theory I read where those scenes could be a dream sequence about Ed facing his inner demons. If anyone finds that post, please let me know who made it so I can give them credit.

That's the best I can do at this point without more info. I'd love to hear all of your guys' thoughts if you have any!

#long post #long ass post #our flag means death #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means death s2 #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 #stede bonnet #the gentleman pirate #edward teach #blackbeard #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ed teach #mary read #anne bonney #oluwande #jim jimenez #crew of the revenge #izzy hands #israel hands #theory #my theory #timeline #series of events

[demigoddessqueens]

shroud

For the September monthly prompt before Codextober 😁

Summary: he didn’t trust you. but that didn’t mean he was totally against you

Shay Patrick Cormac did not trust you, but Haytham saw a great potential to you and no one dared to question him.

Still, he had his fair share of mistrust and betrayal and even if you were of use, Shay didn’t want to test that theory the hard way.

It had been a colder than normal evening on The Morrigan and you were pouring over a text to decode. The details were lacking, but given the demeanor of these men, you bided your time in figuring it out.

The one called Shay seemed the most closed off from the group, but always lingered the longest around you. Piercing eyes always followed every moment of yours, brows furrowed to where the scar on his carven face was prominent.

As much as you tried to make your mind forget the cold air, it just bit and nipped at your skin.

Teeth chattered relentlessly in the cabin and the last of your lamp had dwindled to just one meager ember.

A raspy Irish voice broke through your concentration as you felt a tattered cotton shroud surround your shoulders. It was some relief for now.

“Here….this may warm you for now. Can’t have ya freezing to death on us now, can we?”

You were caught off guard by the gesture, but quickly accepted before you kept gawking more than usual.

Hours churned on for the rest of the evening until you finally completed your task. Sleep took ahold of you before everything was dark around you.

Unbeknownst to you, two large arms scooped you from the rickety chair and to the spare warm beds near the captain’s quarters.

Shay Patrick Cormac did not trust you. But that didn’t mean he had to dislike you, and he really didn’t. Not entirely.

#assassin’s creed x reader #shay cormac #shay patrick cormac #shay cormac x reader #my writing #assassin’s creed iii #ac rogue #assassins creed iii #assassins creed rogue #codexmonthly

[merci-bitch]

please write those headcanons for Janeway!

Sure thing ! A bit long whoops

Not my gif!

- Janeway is a very gentle lover

- This whole situation between the two of you happened after she got the letter from Mark, saying he’d moved on and married someone else

- It was no secret you were one of Janeway’s favourite crew members

- She was very protective of you

- You were one of the youngest, but older than Harry onboard

- After an away mission that left you injured with a few bruised ribs, Janeway was a little too worried

- The first to notice was Tom

- He mentioned it to B’Elanna. And she started seeing it as well

- Well, Tom, B’Elanna, and few more started making little theories

- Pairing the two of you together

- Later on, even Chakotay joined in

- Kathryn was very against any thoughts like that

- Chakotay told her about the “rumours”

- She was shocked, but not as surprised as she thought she’d be

- She started keeping her distance from you

- It was wrong

- She realised that she cared very deeply for you

- Perhaps more than she should

- You didn’t really understand what was happening, but respected her distance

- She was your captain after all

- It wasn’t until B’Elanna asked you how the captain was with a wink in her eye

- So you went to the captain and talked

- It caused a little stir between the two of you

- Eventually it calmed down, but she still kept her distance from you

- Slowly she started apologising for herself and how inappropriate it was

- You started spending time together again

- She was still a little distance, her feelings for you still a little tumbly

- It was eventually Chakotay who pushed her towards you with reassurance

- But it was small at first

- She told you she cared deeply for you

- So it kinda built from there

- Slow and gentle

- You started spending more time together, dinners and hours in the holodeck

- Kathryn is very much for physical affection in private

- A hand stroking your cheek, a shoulder squeeze, a kiss on the cheek, a side hug, you name it

- She misses it too, after so long in the delta quadrant

- She’s very fun outside her “captaincy”

- She still holds her distance on the job and refuses any viable PDA, she’s still the captain

- Loves neck kisses

- She loves cuddling

- A MASSIVE TEASE AND FLIRT

- Honestly

- So many smirks and looks

- It’s insane

- Her voice is already low and growly, but when she lowers it even further??

- Oh boy

- You’re done for it

- It later comes out that the two of you are involved

- No one was really surprised, and none had anything against it, much to Kathryn’s relief

- She’s so protective and loving it’s just so <3

- She doesn’t treat you any different

- Perhaps shes a bit harsher with you, because she still wants to maintain those different qualities

- She’s still your captain

- HUGE DOG LOVER

- She misses her beautiful girl at home

- You’re her rock

- Specially when something rough happens and the crew becomes one man shorter

- It takes a pull on her

- During the void she shut you out, much like Chakotay, but still wanted you close

- After the darkness she slowly comes back, with your help of course

- Many people see the captain as a happier person with you

- But she’s still the same old captain

- Kathryn reads a lot of books

- She often says it’s literature, but sometimes it might actually be erotic love stories

- Purely innocent of course

- When she’s about to lose a game in the holodeck, she pulls rank

- Something to notice when she’s upset or angry is that she tends to mumble to herself. Perhaps stress clean her quarters. You find it amusing sometimes to watch

- But don’t get on her bad side

- When she’s angry, she’s scary

#ask #kathryn janeway x reader #star trek: voyager

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

(hi thank you for being understanding about my question and being cool with doing this!) can I ask for headcanons for somethin like movie night with the 501st? Gender neutral reader is fine

Of course babes. 🩷 We can do movie night any night with the 501st!

Warnings and Information: There’s nothing to do in the barracks tonight, and it’s been a long time since anyone’s seen a good movie. So, throw in like fifteen packets of popcorn in the microwave (one at a time, Hardcase) to get this popcorn poppin’, because the 501st + one good friend is having a movie night! (Once mostly everyone agrees on what to watch, of course…) Blankets, pillows, snacks, and cozy Clone cuddle-piles galore~ Who’s falling asleep first? 😴 2nd person POV with an undescribed reader who has a gender neutral nickname. Bullet point format. We’ll use a little Mando’a, as a treat. Fluff and good feelings all around. Everyone’s happy. Everyone’s safe. 💙

Word count: 1,652

The previews

There’s no paperwork to do, there’s no assignment they need to ship out for in the morning, and they’ve gone ahead and tidied up the bed racks for good measure. They could play some Sabbac to kill the time, but they’ve either lost or misplaced more than half the deck, and they don’t feel like the lights and thumping bass of the local drinking hole tonight. (It’s just not quite the same as 79’s…) Nobody really has the energy to do much of anything, but given their purpose and training as soldiers, they don’t often have nights like this where they simply do… nothing. Being idle leaves a gnawing feeling of discomfort for many in the 501st, so they’re trying to come up with a plan.

“Uh-oh. Hardcase has his thinking face on.” someone mumbles, growing slightly uneasy. 

“I got it. I’m gonna call someone.” Hardcase declares, punching in one of his favorite contacts on the comlink. This makes the ARC troopers slightly nervous. “Not the Captain, I hope-” Fives chimes in warningly. “With any luck he’s just gone to the mess.”

Hardcase shakes his head, grinning broadly before he punches ENTER on the device. “Nah, I’m not calling the Captain right now, I’m callin’ Ember!”

You’re a favorite of the 501st. At least, that’s your theory. 

And through one series of events after the other, you've become well acquainted with them and their antics.

Why else would you possibly need to be commed in the middle of a meal? “Don’t answer that.” Captain Rex advises you. You both barely started eating. It’s not an emergency tone. It can wait. But… maybe you should see who it is, first? “Umm… Hardcase is calling me.” you reply. That means one of two likely scenarios.

Boredom, or trouble.

Specifically future trouble.

(Or he’s in trouble.)

You’re at least going to see how urgently you need to scarf down your meal so the Captain has time to enjoy his for once in three blue moons. “Hello? What's going on Hardcase?” 

“Hey little flame, you wanna do something tonight? We’re bored!”

“Define bored…” You’re gonna regret asking that, you’re sure. “And who’s “we” exactly, Hardcase? How many others are listening?” The jumbled cacophony of names and voices tells you it’s mostly Torrent Company, which you pretty much expected. “... hi Echo and Fives… hello Dogma … hey there Tup, I’m doing okay, thanks… yup, just trying to eat a little dinner, Kix…” 

So why exactly did he call you, you ask Hardcase, exchanging wary glances with the cobalt captain. What's going on? "Do you know where we can find a lot of popcorn for a movie night? You and the Captain are invited too of course, little flame!"

Grab your snacks…

The bunkroom has been torn apart by the time you and Captain Rex make your way in from the mess hall, and it smells better than you imagined for military sleeping quarters. Lots of beds are missing mattresses, bedding, and pillows. Except for Dogma's. His is untouched, saved for a slight rumple in the sheets. "Boys, we're here! … Where'd all the stuff go?" You step further into the room, and find all the missing mattresses laid side-by-side on the floor near one end of the room, where everyone's either currently wrangling with the holo-projector, or taking down a few posters from the wall to clear the space that will serve as your "screen". Tup spots the pair of you first. "Oh, good. Captain and Ember are here!" 

Hardcase is grateful that you found some popcorn for movie night, and that you could come join in for the fun. "There ya are, burc'ya! Just in time to start deciding on a movie!" He offers to get a jump on getting all the popcorn bags popped too, with the promise it's not going to be like last time. Trying to pop more than one bag resulted in a small fire, last time, evidently. 

Jesse and Kix are scouring over the descent film selection together, sorting them by type or genre. Action. Horror. Family-oriented. There's- how'd this kids movie end up in here? Eh, no thanks on the war films, we see enough of that. "What about a comedy?" you suggest, rifling through the stack to see what your pickings are there. There's a couple you do and don't recognize, and some that are tied to fond memories from before the war. "This is a good one, I think most of you guys will like it. I used to watch this a lot whenever I needed a good laugh, or some cheering up." 

Everyone agrees to give it a shot at least if that's what you recommend. In any case, it'll be difficult to get everyone to agree on one holo, and more than half of men squeezed around you on this giant raft of mattresses, blankets and pillows will probably fall asleep partway through it anyhow. 

… and enjoy the show!

"C'mon Dogma, come join us!" you urge with a friendly smile, seeing him return to his neatly-made bunk. "There's plenty of room, I'm sure." Tup and Hardcase, slightly sprawled next to you on your left, would need to move a bit to make it happen. Echo and Fives are sitting nearest the projector, their shoulders brushing against one another with every little movement. Jesse has positioned himself nearest the Captain, who is also beside you on your right. "It's okay if you don't, either. Nobody's gonna force you." you add pointedly, just as you feel someone start to pull his legs under him to go drag his brother into the tangle of limbs and bedding. Maybe he's more comfortable on his bunk. Or perhaps he's not interested in a film right now.

The lights are dimmed, the snacks are passed around, and the film begins. 

You only make it fifteen minutes into the film before there's a casualty: Kix, diligent man that he is to make sure all his brothers are taken care of, falls asleep behind you. "Psst! Kix, can you pass me the- oh nevermind. Ember, could you grab the candy under his arm before it melts?" You carefully wiggle it free and pass it up to Jesse before tucking a loose blanket kicking around over Kix. Generally, once Kix is out, he's out, so the group doesn't have to worry about waking him for a while. 

Hardcase stays surprisingly still through most of the movie so long as he keeps his hands mostly occupied in some capacity, or has one of his brothers leaning on him in some way. He's a very tactile person, so it's no surprise that he's slowly migrating around the raft of mattresses as each of his brothers either allow Hardcase to fiddle around with stuff he finds in their pockets, or just hold him close in a brotherly embrace for a bit if he's getting too disruptive. (He eventually settles down around the midpoint of the movie, and is one of the few who stays awake through the whole thing.)

Tup pays attention to most of the comedy film, occasionally conversing in whispers with Fives and Echo about their opinions on the jokes until Echo nods off for a bit, and the hushed conversation continues back up again when he wakes up before movie's end. It's Jesse who's not paying much attention to the film, but he's not too disruptive. Jesse almost makes it to the end of the movie before he falls asleep in the middle of scrolling through something on a datapad that's made its way into the nest of pillows and blankets and limbs, his head resting on Captain Rex's knee. 

Dogma does eventually join everyone on the floor. You suspect he was starting to feel a little left out, or maybe he changed his mind about the offer you made earlier, growing bored of whatever he'd been reading on his datapad, or deciding he'd give the movie a try. He tentatively makes his way over, and asks if he can still sit by you. "Of course, Dogma. Here, I saved some popcorn for you!" You give him the rest of the bowl you'd set aside for him, unable to get up and give it to him yourself since you've got multiple people surrounding you. (You didn't want Dogma to miss out on the snacks just because he wasn't initially watching the movie with everyone.) "Thanks for saving me some, Ember." Captain Rex reaches behind you and gives Dogma a warm pat on the shoulder. "Glad you joined us, brother." There's an unspoken finally in his words, but he's just glad to see that Dogma didn't end up isolating himself for long. 

You and Captain Rex, being firmly in the middle of the mattress pile, end up being the ones who become the human pillows of the group. It's nice to see all your friends having fun tonight, and be a part of enjoying a movie together. No stiff, uncomfortable armor; everyone's either in their fatigues or their blacks, and draped over and across their friends and brothers. Everyone is content and full of maybe a little too much popcorn and other snacks. You'll have a heck of a mess on your hands to clean up, either in the morning, or when everyone returns their respective mattresses to their bunks tonight, too.

Nights like this are how it should be. Everyone's happy and there are signs of trust everywhere you look. Brothers let their sleeping siblings rest on their shoulders, against their backs, their legs, or under their arms without complaint. There are sleepy smiles and shared blankets. Those who stayed awake until the end are now joking happily with one another and their Captain, and you too. 

And for a moment, in this night that will become a cherished memory no matter which way this war winds up, everyone you care about is safe. 

And what could be better than that?

Don't have a fic taglist for the time being, but I'll likely start one soon if I can figure out how to make those forms some people have since I write a variety of stuff. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (for example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

[Masterlist] [Requests: OPEN]

#frostfics #star wars #anon ask #request fic #x reader #501st x reader #gender neutral reader #star wars headcanons #star wars the clone wars #star wars tcw #tcw fanfic #tcw #tcw captain rex #tcw rex #tcw fives #tcw echo #tcw tup #tcw jesse #tcw hardcase #tcw dogma #tcw kix #501st #501st fluff #star wars au

[tornoleander]

How Nahdakan is written weirdly predatory (Sorta Essay)

TW: Discussion of sexual predators and their behavior this might get rough.

(If I’m missing any content warnings please let me know. Please check if you are ok to hear this before reading. Though knowing signs of predators can be helpful. Will warn you this might ruin his character for you)

You absolutely can Ignore this aspect of him and love him as a villain! Don’t be guilty, It’s fiction you’re allowed to do that! (Please don’t attack anyone who likes him)

However If you’re like me this may explain some of your repressed Skybound feelings.

Nadakhan always unsettled me, even back when I was 12 and watched it for the first time. I loved Skybound then, even though the wishes didn’t make sense and the misogyny pissed me off (still dose). But I’ve rewatched it quite a bit, and as an adult know exactly why It made me feel like that.

Nahdakan as he is in the show displays many signs of being a sexual predator. (Not just cause Nya). And in my opinion they should have written him differently.

It might sound like a surprising allegation at first but to many adults I know in the fandom, It’s not much of a hot take. But I wanted to compile the evidence in one place so I wouldn’t have to reexplain this.

What’s a Predator?

A sexual predator is a person who seeks out sexual contact with another person in a predatory or abusive manner. People who are sexual predators may or may not have committed sex crimes but all sexual predators have sought out inappropriate contact.

Those who exploit others in a sexual manner they see sex as a form of dominance and control.

Vile enough to make someone wish it all away.

Now I’m not saying Nadakhan definitely did something or he’s for sure a predator. But I am saying for some reason he displays common traits of these kinds of people.

Seeks Out Vulnerable Individuals:

Profiling suggests sexual predators often target vulnerable individuals who are more likely to be victimized or overcome due to their age, lack of knowledge, or emotional or mental capacity.

This is the very talked about part but Nya is 15-17 Jay and the ninja are vaguely 16-18. Nadakhan is like thousands of years old. Which makes the plot creepy. But other than the fact that he’s messing with teenagers he preys on their emotional vulnerability.

Think of the first scene with him and Jay. He watches from afar Nya was alone too but he saw how hurt Jay was and targeted him.

Same thing later, when he was distressed about being adopted.

Grooming Behavior:

A predator may seek to groom the person by establishing their trust to facilitate abuse, such as spending excessive time with them or singling them out, or giving gifts.

All of Nahdakan’s kindness is a trap, He talks about his wishes like he’s giving them something and helping them. He is with the ninja as soon as and as long as they’re alone.

Speaking about himself in terms of what he can gift others. Obviously leaving out the wishes consequences.

Evasion and Secrecy:

On the topic of singling them out, sexual predators will often hide their actions and keep it private to not revealing their activity.

Nadakhan waits till they are alone to prey on them. Or teleports the ninja away like he did with Kai.

After Nahdakan gives Jay his wishes he doesn’t tell anyone. His guilt and shame from accepting Nadakhan’s offer keeps their secret. (Just so you know if an old man pulls you aside and starts gifting you shit tell someone.)

And Nahdakan doesn’t talk to his crew about his plans for Nya at all, he keeps it to himself.

Manipulative and Controlling:

Sexual predators use their personalities to flatter, course, and control others around them and utilize deception. Predators may insult victim and use gaslighting tactics to make them believe that they are at fault.

This one is very straightforward manipulation is his thing. But here’s a few.

- Manipulates Jay into making his first and second wish

- Manipulates Kai and Zane into his blade

- Expresses very controlling behavior over Jay as his prisoner.

- And grossly controlling of Nya Literally with magic later on.

Sadism

As a quick note Nadakhan messes with Jay a lot and seems delighted by his suffering. From physically, trying to intimidate, jumping out to scare him, causing emotional harm to just straight up torture in scrap n tap. And he’s SO pleased by it.

Ignoring Physical Boundaries

Sexual Predators overstep boundaries, this may be seen as a harmless touch on the back, hand, or leg. But it can progress to unwelcome contact and unwanted sexual advances.

THIS is the most obvious and damning evidence I have. He Does NOT respect personal space. The Djinn’s so fucking touchy it makes me nauseous. Here’s some examples but his body language during all his scenes is like this.

“Too slow Junkyard boy”

On top of that he like explicitly doesn’t care about consent.

First, the ending of the episode, where he leans in to kiss Nya. Something she obviously would not agree to EWW what the fuck Ninjago then this.

“If you want come willingly , Nya-

So yeah, the way Nadakhan behaved and was written in the show is not OK.  Watch Skybound with what I said in mind and you’ll see what I mean.

Nadakhan doesn’t actually do anything I hear you.  but this kinda behavior is already too much.

I also wouldn’t be so sure he did nothing, unfortunately, I have some evidence here.  so I’m working on a sorta part two to this post with the captains quarters theory part.

#ninjago #ninjago ninja #ninjago jay #ninjago skybound #ninjago nadakhan #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago thoughts #ninjago theory #tw predator #cw sa implied #captain’s quarters theory #Oli’s Skybound insanity #Oli Speaks

[dross-the-fish]

So, Adam and Erik have similar backstories, what's the difference between them?

There's not as much overlap as you might think tbh. Erik suffered a lot of abuse but to some extent his isolation was self-inflicted. True he retreated underground to escape from a world that treated him like he was a monster but we still see he has the ability to maintain relationships of a fashion, such as with the Daroga, and he does go up and do mundane things like shop while wearing a prosthetic nose. He's not totally isolated. He even indicates that if Christine were to marry him he'd be totally chill to go back and live in an apartment like everyone else, he just doesn't want to do it alone. Erik is a character who's suffering is enhanced because he's always adjacent to getting what he wants, he can exist in society but never as well or as comfortably as other people, it's like getting table scraps at a buffet, so of course he's angry and resentful. The Creature doesn't even get that. There isn't a single soul he encounters who acknowledges his humanity, except for Captain Walton at the very end when it's already too late for him. Also the fact that the Creature's main target is his creator frames the story a lot differently. Erik wants a living wife, Adam just wants companionship, any companionship but preferably he wants his creator to take some responsibility for making him. I also feel like their anger is very different. When Erik kills it's a fit of rage and histrionics, it's impulsive and there is a desperation to his actions that almost seems to indicate that he's spiraling. When he finally gets to the point where he threatens to blow up a quarter of paris if Christine doesn't marry him you really feel like he's reached the end of his rope and completely lost it. There's a sense of a ticking clock that's about to hit midnight and this leads me to the theory that Erik knows he doesn't have much time left, that's he's quite possibly dying and he's desperate to have what he wants while he still can The man is completely gone and doesn't care who he takes with him anymore because he has run out of time. Adam meanwhile feels a lot more calculating. There's a deliberation to what Adam does that is pretty chilling to think about. For as much as Adam cries about not being treated like a person he doesn't really see the people he kills as people either, all of his victims are extensions of Victor. Adam is obsessive and driven similarly to Erik but the goal and the execution is different. I've always felt The Creature's was a very cold sort of anger. It's very, "Fine, if a monster is what you want then a monster is what you get. I am what you will make of me." If he can't have love he'll take hatred but he won't be ignored and he's certainly not going to go away. Even after he knows he can't get what he wants he keeps going just for the sake of revenge because that's all he has, it's the only relationship he can ever have to Victor so he'll take it.

[cenorii]

Hello, I just read your theories about Wesker and Chris in RE9, very interesting! I'd love to see more interactions between them and exploring how obsessed they are with eachother.

I wanted to ask if you have any wishes regarding the probably soon coming RE5 Remake? I'd love if they put more homoerotic tension between them, I am just fascinated by their relationship XD from subordinate who trusted his captain and looked up to him and captain who called him his best man and saying that he's proud of him to archnemesis

Hello, thank you for the question and for taking the time for my theories!

I expect the re5 remake to have reimagined locations, normal lvl design. I like the levels in re5, but often they are not very convenient or aesthetic, I'm sure that in the remake it will be fixed and make a good map of the area, as they did in re4r, where they fixed all the shortcomings of the locations. And...

From my personal wishes for the remake of re5 I would emphasize Wesker's emotions. The thing is that in re5 he has a very large set of various funny emotions, which are very cool. But in re4r he doesn't look like an emotional person, his face doesn't look like something that can compete with the original. I'd really like to see Wesker's new face adapted to emote. I don't like the idea of a complete reimagining of the character where he loses all the silly and fun things that make him himself.

I'd also like to see the volcano battle completely changed, or removed altogether. I never liked it, even though that battle is a lot of fun. But the undressed Wesker is too much, that scene made me question more than laugh. For example, why did he take his clothes off? Did he do it during the fall? It's a silly moment.

I also wish they had conveyed the atmosphere of the grueling African heat, showed that the enemy is not the only thing that threatens the lives of the heroes. I also miss the puzzles in this part, maybe adding more puzzles would be cool. After all the remakes, the developers have gained enough experience to make a decent reimagining of this game. Taking all the good things that were in re5 and multiplying it, as well as getting rid of the controversial moments and faulty decisions.

I know the game has issues with racism, there have been a lot of scandals with that. I'm sure they'll get rid of that too by fixing the controversial stuff. For example, in re4r they took away Luis' lewd joke, deepening his character and making his personality much more interesting.

I appreciate the modes in re5, Mercenaries is my love. I would love to see the updated characters in this mode. Speaking of which, I'd like to see the ability to fight in close quarters added to the game like in re6, getting rid of the annoying qte. That way we'd get Chris, who does a lot of damage up close, and Wesker, who is able to quickly shorten his distance and move around the entire location in a few seconds. Oh yeah, I already want to play as them.

About the relationship… I really wish they paid attention to the relationship between Chrisker, because they have a whole 10 years of history, betrayals and thwarted plans behind them. In re5 their relationship doesn't get the attention it deserves, so I hope for a remake. We as players have to believe in Wesker's hatred if it's present. Or is it now a deep interest in Chris as the perfect person? Lots of options. I'm not sure if the developers will make their relationship more homoerotic, since RE has almost no focus on romantic relationships…

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Honestly, no matter how the re5 remake comes out, I'll love it any way I can, as it's my all time favorite RE game. We'll definitely get something high level, as Capcom will never make the mistake of re3r again.

#resident evil #resident evil 5 #chrisker #chris redfield #albert wesker #re5 #re5r

[art-tea-chill]

"Next game up! Guess the Tune!"

Another Crashbox OC I made last year, meet Melody Maestra.

Melody Maestra is the host of Guess the Tune, in this segment. Melody is the conductor of a performing orchestra in a music hall and they play a piece of classical music and you have to guess what the name of the piece is. The pieces in Guess the Tune range from pieces that originated in ballets, ordinary plays, or just standalone pieces.

Melody drops hints about what piece it might be while her orchestra is playing. Sometimes she brings up who composed the piece, other times she mentions what key it's played in, and if it's a symphony, she'll mention the number it.

Trivia Time!

Melody is a prideful, boastful, but otherwise polite and welcoming host. She always boasts about how you'll figure out the piece easily at the beginning of the segment if you as musically knowledgeable as her. Melody is also very complimentary of her orchestra and kids who answer her questions correctly.

Slightly introverted, although she can be social if she wants.

Melody speaks in a deep and smooth French accent and incorporates French into her dialogue. (EX: "Bonjour! Mes amis. Mon name eez Melody Maestra and ai am ze fine conductair of zis airchestra.) I used a French dialect translator for this.

Melody and her orchestra is animated in a stiff paper puppet style similar to Distraction News.

Melody's mouth moves in a marionette/ventriloquist way similar to Dora Smarmy. But instead of a portion of her jaw moving, its her entire lower jaw.

She's good friends with Professor Rocket, Eddie Bull, and Colora Contour.

I incorporated music theory into her design. Her eyes are whole notes and there's a staff line connecting them and her nose is a half-note. Her hands are quarter notes, and she wears a button with the bass clef on it. (NOTE: She also wears earrings that are the treble clef but I forgot to add them.)

Her favorite pieces are In The Hall Of The Mountain King, Swan Lake Act II, Op. 10, and Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

Her favorite ballet is Swan Lake.

Reads books and listens to classical music in her spare time.

Her game is loaded through the Metal Game Loader and the Car Game Loader.

The icon on her cartridge is just her face, similar to Captain Bones, Radio Scramble, Haunted House Party, etc.

#crashbox #crashbox oc #my art #oc art #artists on tumblr #art #i love her

[carionto]

There's always an unknown unknown

The good thing about advanced technologies is that it makes you near invincible.

The bad thing is it makes some people think they are ARE invincible.

(Previously)

After a hasty DIY rescue of the ill-advised expedition team, Sergeant Ying Zhao was out of commission. Turns out there's a very good reason power generators and propulsion engines, and the shoddily refitted tractor beam (that extracted the team from ground level since Zhao never learned how to properly land), are always fully shielded - they emit some nasty short range radiation of the more exotic cosmic variety. Another, less talked about, reason Human vessels are so massive and over-engineered.

The space suits are miracles in and of themselves, capable of withstanding truly mind-boggling stresses and conditions, but that's when it is against what nature can throw at it. It is generally easier to destroy than protect.

The reality of one of the most competent (and sensible) people of the crew being treated for a five page list of issues in the medbay seemed to hit Captain Knoslark in a peculiar way. He's locked himself in in his private quarters, leaving a simple message on the door:

Don't do anything!

Despite being a three decade veteran of the experimental science and testing arm of the military, somehow or another, whenever someone did get hurt in one of the assignments he was a part of, it was always Knoslark himself.

A phase shift teleportation experiment once cropped his right arm off. After a "huh, that didn't work" and passing out, he later opted for a different experiment - a DNA reshuffled regeneration salve to regrow his arm. Aside from the skin color becoming a weird swirly pattern, it worked out fine. Then his original arm popped back into existence a few weeks later, so he laughed it off and had it stuffed into a thumbs up pose and encased in his office as a trophy for scientific progress.

Or that time where he insisted on proving all time travel theories as false by personally testing them all and secretly diverting way more resources than he had authority over to do so. He succeeded, at least within the bounds of all known laws of physics and most theoretical ones (actually disproved two along the way), but he did also almost die four times, and technically did once for a few seconds.

He also got demoted for that misuse of power from his rank of Vice-Admiral to an honorary Captain position and never allowed to oversee more than one project at a time. They forgot to impose a limit on the scope of said singular project though, and so eventually we got to here.

Seemingly just as crazy as any other projects he's been a part of, but only this time there is no safety net or pre-existing guard rails or near infinite resources of all of Humanity in Sol. The Radiant Dusk at Everest and 27 crew members, now one short, are all that we have. Knoslark is the central pillar now, and he's on shaky ground with an eroded foundation. And he's crumbling.

Trisha, after getting out of quarantine and learning about the state he's in, in her unknowable wisdom, went and printed a laser sword, cut a hole in his ceiling, jumped down (did a superhero landing pose, but turns out that hurts when you're just a normal person), plopped the Captain on a chair, sat with her back in front of him and said:

"Right, Cap'n, everyone else sucks at this, so - braid my hair while I educate you about sea turtles."

Continued->

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humans are deathworlders #humanity fuck yeah #carionto #story #scifi