#that she hid the secret because the mermaid who saved his life from the time he almost died (!) has been haunting him for months. but he

[klbwriting]

Pirate’s Heart - Prologue

Fandom: Six of Crows

Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader

Summary:  The Galacia Islands are magical and surrounded by a protective reef. The humans and mermaids who lived among the islands were at war for decades before an uneasy treaty was made. A foolish mermaid turned pirate and an angry heir also turned pirate join forces to take down the military leader who threatens their way of life and their families.

Notes: welp, here’s another Kaz story with pirates and mermaids and I cannot wait to keep writing it

Taglist: @sixofshadowandbone @awomanwhoisupsidedown​

Once upon a time there was a reef that circled a group of 12 large islands called the Galacia islands due to their cool waters.  Before humans arrived the islands were home to many magical animals and plentiful resources, ruled over by loving Sea Witches and frequented by mermaids.  They spent most of their lives swimming in the deep but if the spirit took them they could ask permission from the witches to explore the land, maybe even live there for a time.  It was a happy time, full of laughter and life, prosperous for all life.  All the islands had different types of mermaids that lived around them, their tails telling a story of where they were from.  Rarely, a mermaid was born with a multicolored tail and these were considered lucky to the others in their villages and were kept guarded with hopes that they would bless their village with safe travels and a good harvest or trade.  

It the soft heat of the summer, while most of the mermaids were deep in their waters to keep cool, a loud boom rang out and part of the reef that protected the islands was destroyed.  In sailed three ships full of humans, some looking for treasure, some for a new life, and some for opportunity, and everything was changed.  

At first the mermaids just hid, allowing the humans some space, seeing what these new creatures would do with this land.  They brought in more humans, they killed the animals for fun and food, and they built ports and cities.  They also began hunting the rare colored mermaids, desiring the scales from their tales for jewelry or charms.  This angered the sea witches who rose up, revealing themselves and combining their powers to seal the reef again, destroying many of the ports and towns in the process.  They also destroyed themselves to keep the reef intact forever and left their mermaid brethren to pick up the pieces.  The humans were furious at suddenly being trapped within the reef and blamed the mermaids, sparking war between the two.  

For decades the war raged, the mermaids of the deep taking down any and all ships that  dared to venture into their waters, the humans hunting any sea witches that were born to prevent the mermaids from being able to walk on land with them.  After nearly 100 years the two sides were at a stand still and an uneasy truce was coming to pass.  However, an up and coming captain in the navy was determined to wipe out all mermaid life in revenge for the sinking of a boat his wife and child were on.  His name was Pekka Rollins and he was determined to find a way to catch a mermaid and make them reveal where their leaders were from.  

*******

Y/N was unhappy with her lot in life.  She lived on the border of the largest island, called Argoes, and she was born with a multicolored tail.  Her tail was even more rare, the colors were not common and completely out of typical order.  Normally a tail would be many shades of red or green or blue.  Y/N's tail started yellow, moved onto blue, then red, white, and finally green.  She was more heavily guarded than any of the rare tails before her.  When she got an opportunity to escape it was the first thing she did.  She broke above water for the first time right near the boat where Pekka happened to be, scouting the area.  He saw her tail and realized that this was something special.  She was guarded, she would hear things from those guards about their leaders, possibly find a sea witch for him to use for her powers.

"Hello there," he said, smiling sweetly at her.   Y/N noticed he was young and handsome and the first human she had really interacted with.  

"Hello," she said back.  

And that was the beginning of a months long romance for her.  She was entranced with his tales of the human world and what amazing things they created.  He would bring her trinkets, they would lay on the beach and sing songs to each other.  He even made up a song about her tail that made her smile.  It was perfect and soon she was hopelessly in love with him.  Once he knew had her he planted a seed.

"I wish you were human, we could get married and I could truly show you the human world," he would say every time they met.  In truth Y/N was already tracking down a sea witch, hoping to bribe them into giving her legs.  One day when Pekka mentioned her turning human she smiled bright.

"I found a sea witch...they said if I gave them my heart and its power I could be human like you," she said.  "But, I heard a rumor that you can't be in love without a heart, would you still want me if I couldn't love you?"

"What fool told you that?  Love comes from the soul," he said.  "Give them your heart, they will bring you to the surface right?  You wouldn't swim all the way up would you?"  She nodded.

"Yes, they bring you to the shore because your legs are weak at first," she said.  Pekka smiled.  She thought he was happy that they could finally be together, she had no idea what he was really so happy about.  They made arrangements to meet the next evening in secret after she had her legs.

Y/N swam into the seaweed grove where the sea witch had made their home and summoned them.  The sea witch was beautiful, with hair a fine gold and eyes black as the night sky, neither man nor woman, just magic.  They were also tricky, now in hiding and rarely did anything unless given something of high value and the heart of a rare tail mermaid was something to be coveted.  Their hearts were full of magic and would give the sea witch even more power.  This sea witch was called Horus and once the agreement was made, sealed with an exchange of scales from the mermaid, they reached out and gripped the skin on Y/N's chest.  She felt a pain that seemed eternal as the sea witch pulled her heart seemingly through her chest, leaving a jagged scare where it had once been.  She felt empty now, her emotions dulled, her love for Pekka disappearing almost instantly.  This should have been a sign that the love was not true, the sea witch knew this but not Y/N.

"How do you feel about your love now?" they asked, a smirk on their face.  If the love was true the heart would return to the mermaid with a kiss from the object of their affection, if not then the heart remained with the sea witch for as long as they lived, which was a very long time.   Y/N shrugged her shoulders and the sea witch beamed.  "Don't worry my dear, when you kiss him you will feel your true love."  

"Alright," Y/N said half-heartedly.  This was perfect, a rare tail's heart and it would stay with Horus forever.  They were ecstatic and gladly helped the mermaid to the shore.  

Upon arrival Y/N's legs appeared, weak and unable to hold her up.  She was in the shallows, Horus helping her further in when Pekka arrived with a squad of navy soldiers, ready to attack and kidnap the sea witch.  Horus realized what was going on and abandoned Y/N, using her new found power and kill several of the soldiers before returning to the deep.  Pekka was livid and grabbed Y/N, dragging her deeper into the jungle in case the mermaids that were her guards actually found her.  He threw her to the ground and knelt on her naked body, holding a dagger above where her heart should have been, unaware that it was missing.  She was living on magic alone now, its power infinite.  

"Tell me where the sea witch went!" he demanded.  She groaned out, still in pain from her heart's removal and feeling weak.  He snarled at her and she was confused.  He said he loved her, why was he doing this?  

"Pekka...what...why?" she sputtered, trying to speak through her fog of disorientation.  He pushed the dagger more to her chest, drawing some blood.

   "The sea witch, how do I bring them back?" he demanded.  She finally felt herself becoming right again and figured out what was happening.  This was a betrayal.  He had used her, led her on until she did what she wanted, lured a sea witch to the shore.  Her heart's power had saved the witch and now she was going to die.  Fine, what use was there to living without a heart anyway?  Her feelings felt soft, dull, lifeless.  She guessed she might still have a soul and that made her feel something, but not the same as having a heart.  

"Just kill me already," she said, tired and ready to be rid of this pain.  He scowled at her and one of the other soldiers told him to give up, the truce was signed and this would just bring around more fighting.  

"Pekka, you need to get home, you know your brother's sick, his wife is pregnant, she is going to need help with Jordie and the new baby," one of his men said.  Pekka glared him but realized that he was outnumbered, most of the squad was already leaving.  He roared his anger at Y/N and pierced her chest, stabbing her where her heart should have been before standing and leaving her for dead.   Y/N knew she wouldn't die but she couldn't go on like this, now all she could do was sleep.  So she did.

#six of crows #kaz brekker x reader #kaz x reader #kazbrekker #kaz brekker #kaz #pirates heart series #pirate kaz brekker

[rina-writes]

Calm Waters (Part 2)

Part 1: x

A/N: Thank you for all the kind comments on part 1 :D Please continue to give me feedback on this fic as this is my first multiple part fic in a very long time haha

Summary: Grayson suspects that something fishy is going on and enlists his brother, Ethan, to track down everything they can find out about “Aurora”.  During their search, they find out more about the real you.

Warnings: Same as the last one...mentions of abuse, captivity, and bullying.  Also lots of fluff.

During the day, their tank opened up to the entire park aquarium, so they had a bit more room to swim.  It still sucked in comparison to the ocean, but like you, they appreciated their freedoms.  Nelson, Doris’ mate, made a figure eight with his nose when he saw you coming toward them.

You’re late.

You clutched your chest lightly.  

I’m sorry.

Doris came up and tapped her tail fin three times. 

Mate.

Nelson let out a squeaking sound that you recognized as his laughter, making you blush.  You realized that Doris must have brought him up to speed about Grayson.  

Dolphins thrived off of gossip.  They spread it like wildfire and had great memories to boot.  You tossed them their fish, and moved around the area to give the other dolphins there share as well.  You made sure to give the new recruit some extra.  You hadn’t give him a name yet.  Dolphin names were quite difficult to understand, because they were in their tongue, and did not translate well into to sign language.   You often gave them human name equivalents and you would use them in the shows. You would teach them the signs for their name, once you made up, so they knew who you were calling on during the performance.

Doris was your first friend, so her sign was three taps on top of your heart.  Nelson, being Doris’ mate, got two taps on the heart and one on the stomach.  You hoped to give the new dolphin something strong to uplift him.

You moved on to the hammerheads.  They did not talk as much as the dolphins, but were always polite.  They spun in counter clockwise thrice in order to say thank you and always asked about your day.  Occasionally, Hunter, the hammerhead that was “rescued” when you first arrived would inquire more if you seemed sad, but sharks really didn’t like to talk about feelings.  

You didn’t mind because it allowed you to think about Grayson more.  How his finger tips were so rough, but his hands in general felt soft.  How he laughed loudly, but then would always stop himself short before he would start to snort.  How he lit up when he talked about his family, especially his twin brother. You wished you could see him again.  

When the park was closed.  You walked over to the shed that when you were in a good mood you called your closet.  You hung up your uniform, and changed to your other pair of underwear.  You washed the one you were wearing in a sink nearby with hand soap.  You hung the underwear to dry in your closet and went to wash your mouth out.  One of the scientist that would experiment on you would periodically bring you travel size toothpaste and a toothbrush.  You figured it made them feel like less of a monster.  

You stood in front of your reflective glass and looked at yourself. You looked different today.  Your skin was more radiant and your dyed red hair didn’t look so bad. You realized it was because you were happy.  You hid your toiletries and your drying underwear so no one would find it the next day.Then just before the top of your cell closed automatically, you jumped in.  As you sunk to the bottom, you heard the top of your cell click.  About three minutes later, you heard footsteps that walked by to make sure no one was upstairs.  The steps stopped by your cell, the person most likely looking for you red hair.  Upon spotting it, the person walked away.  You looked up and to your surprise saw the gap on the corner of your cell was still there.  It must not be noticeable from up top.  You smiled to yourself as you curled into your ball.  You didn’t have to rock too much to fall asleep as your mind was excited to dream.

The next day, you awoke as usual to the sound of the cover leaving your tank.  You swam upward and pulled yourself out. You jiggled your legs a little bit and took a deep breath to let the air fill your lungs.  After years of being under for 12+ hours, holding your breath was second nature.  However, there was nothing like feeling air.  

“Oh my god…”  You heard from your right. That was the door that led to the roof. 

You turned slowly, goosebumps appearing on your skin.  Your eyes met Grayson’s hazel ones, and your jaw dropped.

 You were too afraid of the conclusions that Grayson had made from seeing you crawl out of a tank that him seeing you half naked was not that big of a deal.  Grayson started to back away, slipping and causing himself to fall on the ground.  Your heart sunk to your stomach as you squeezed your chest to cover yourself.  You couldn’t tell what worried you the most:  the fact that you secret was out, the thought of what would happen to Grayson if your uncle found out, or, your own punishment that would be waiting for you.  No, the worst thing was that now, the one person who you thought could understand you realized what you really were and you were going to die knowing you were a freak.

“I-I should have knocked…” Grayson stammered, as he tried to look away.  “I had a suspicion you were living here, but I wasn’t expecting you to be naked.”

You were stood there, paralyzed by fear, holding yourself as you stared at him blankly. 

Grayson did his best to tear his eyes away from you.  There was a part of him that was terrified by what he just saw.  He could hear his heart thundering in his ears and his legs were itching to run away.  However, staring in to your eyes and seeing his Rory with an even more petrified expression, he just wanted to hold you.  He wanted to protect you and save you, just like you saved him.  His eyes wanted to continue to scan your body, for multiple reasons, but one in particular stood out.  He angled his body towards the view that you admired each morning when you woke up.  He stared straight ahead and signed.

“Your skin is so beautiful.” Grayson remarked, still avoiding your eyes.

Your skin?  You looked down and suddenly remembered the one thing that marked you differently from “normal” humans.  When your skin was wet, parts of your body as part of the drying process turned a turquoise blue color, that almost looked like gems.  They kind of looked like the scales with reflective property that made them look like part of a rainbow from certain angles.  Looking at it now, it was clear to you how the myth of mermaid fins came to be.  They were irregular shapes all over your body from the tops of your thighs, the sides of your legs and even down the middle of your chest.  You learned from the “experiments” that this attribute of your skin also helped you to rebuild more skin cells quicker. 

You finally snapped out of your “deer in headlights reaction” and walked over to your closet and pulled out your uniform.  You put on your clothes and waited for Grayson to say something.   You attempted to look on the bright side.  He didn’t gasp or take pictures of you like your uncle’s colleagues did.  He seemed more embarrassed to see you naked.  You weren’t sure if it was a compliment or insult.

For the first time in the 48 hours you knew Grayson, it seemed like he didn’t know what to say.  He just stared at the view as if trying to gather his thoughts.  As you got dressed, you took the opportunity to look at him.  This could be the last time you ever got to see him.  You wanted to etch his image into your mind.

Today, he was wearing a cap backwards with his uniform.  He always had his lifeguard whistle around his neck, but today, he also had his red lifeguard towel draped over a shoulder.  Around his waist was a fanny pack that matched his towel and he was wearing white vans to go with the uniform.  He looked like a model, especially turning to the side like that.  

“What are you thinking?” You asked, breaking the silence.  You stood by the sink as you attempted to tidy up your hair.  “Aren’t you afraid?”

“I wouldn’t say afraid...” Grayson said after a long pause.  “I mean, I legitimately thought you were an angel when you saved me that night.  How else could I explain how someone who was nowhere to be seen before it happened saved my life when I needed someone most.”

Grayson smiled and turned to look at you.  His eyes seemed to reflect the orange and pink hues of the sun.  He was the one who looked unreal.  

“I guess,” Grayson said with a soft smile. “I should have guessed you were a mermaid.”

Your mouth got dry and you walked over to him.  “I’m not a mermaid.  There is a logical explanation for all of this.” You realized that saying there was a logical explanation for something did not make it anymore believable. However, you needed to buy time to think of something.

Grayson bit his lip.  “I know you’re not Aurora.”  Grayson said, sadly, looking up at you as he sat up with his legs stretched out.  “Because there is no one in this town named Aurora.  But I do know of someone named Y/N Y/L/N, who was said to be at boarding school, but is not registered at a single one in the country.”

It felt like the ground beneath you was shaking. You hadn’t heard your name in so long that it brought tears to your eyes.  You eased yourself down to the ground and slowly crossed your legs.  

“H-How much do you know?” You asked, finally.

12 hours earlier - Gray’s POV

Grayson waited by the gate of Pete’s Ocean Land until closing in hopes of running into Aurora before she left.  He knew he was being annoying.  After all, Aurora clearly stated she did not want to walk home with him.  At the same time, he could see how happy she looked around him.  He loved the fact that she was able to open up to him and everything he was able to learn about her.  She was funny, charming, and a little weird, but in a good way.

There were a lot of mean rumors about her that Grayson assumed was started by some of the female workers.  Things like she didn’t shower, she was poor, she talked to the animals, anything to explain why no one saw her outside of work.  The threat of Aurora was that  most guys admitted that there was a beauty to her that they couldn’t place. However, no one want to confess to liking the “freak show of the park.”  So, the rumors piled up, and everyone kept their distance.

It wasn’t just employees either. Guests adored her character during performances, but still would treat her like crap when asking for favors outside of her job description.  On Grayson’s first day, he even witnessed someone pretend to bump into her and toss her drink on to her and her food.  She just sat there with a blank expression before she took off running.  It was a little comical, like watching a cartoon. Grayson was ashamed to admit that he chuckled himself. Making fun of her was the norm and like everyone, Grayson just wanted to blend in.  While he didn’t partake in her bullying, he didn’t do anything to stop it. 

And then he was the butt of the jokes.  A couple girls asked him out and suddenly he was the guy everyone was trying to put down.  He was stupid to think that when they invited him on one of their late night adventures that it was an olive branch.  They were all drunk, deriding him for not drinking with them.  In order to prove himself, they said would have to stick his hand into this tank. It was supposed to have some monster.  It was closed off, and not even people who worked there could see what was inside.  They all had done it,they said, he just had to do it too. Everything told Grayson this was a dumb idea, but if it meant that the teasing would stop, he was willing to do it.

They pointed to a crack in the retractable cover that was quite large.  As Grayson stuck his hand in he felt a push.  He lost his balance and another push sent him into the pool.  He was paralyzed by fear and the unknown darkness surrounding him. 

He blacked out and then next thing he knew, he saw her.  She was staring at him in the tank, and she was glowing.  Her skin looked like aquamarine crystals, and her eyes were reflective.  He assumed it was the oxygen slowly returning to his brain that made him hallucinate, but he couldn’t deny that even without the sparkle she was beautiful.

Now that he spent lunch with her, he knew for sure that she was the most beautiful person he had met inside and out.  He was going to convince her to be his.  He would protect her from all those assholes and he would make sure that she got out of this dump amusement park and doing what she really loved.

Except, she never came out.  As the security guard closed up the park, Grayson asked if there were any workers staying behind.

“Nope.” The security guard confirmed in a gruff voice.  “Even Pete’s gone home.”

Something didn’t sit right with Grayson.  Because when he looked up at where the tank of the “mysterious creature”, the dolphins and the hammerheads opened up, he saw a man standing on top surveying the tanks.  And that man looked like Pete to him.

When Grayson got home, he immediately enlisted his brother Ethan to help him research everything on Aurora.  Ethan, Grayson’s twin brother, with shorter brown hair, narrow hazel eyes and a chiseled jaw, was only awake for four hours when his brother stormed in. 

“You could knock.” Ethan groaned, pulling off his gaming headphones.  He was only wearing a pair of red shorts when he swiveled around in his gaming chair.  Today was Ethan’s day off from working at the bicycle store in town where he fixed all non-motorized vehicles.  Ethan was hoping to enjoy it by sleeping in and playing games.

“Can you look up a girl named Aurora?” Grayson asked, about to sit on Ethan’s bed.

“Please don’t sit on my bed with your dirty clothes.” Ethan complained.

Grayson knew Ethan was just cranky about him ruining his afternoon plans.  He figured he would be equally obnoxiously and just strip down.  If you aren’t petty with your brother, then are you even siblings?

Grayson shrugged.  “Fine.  You’re lucky I showered after work.” Grayson stripped down to his boxers and socks before sitting on his brother’s bed. 

Ethan had already begun typing, “Any last name for Aurora?”

“Nope…” Grayson said.  “No idea.”

Ethan hummed as he started his search.  He was quiet for a bit despite clicking on various links and searching for different keywords.

“There’s no Aurora who was born in the last 16 to 20 years anywhere in our county, or the nearby one” Ethan informed Grayson.  “Did she just move here?”

“No…” Grayson shook his head, thinking back to this afternoon.  “We talked about the park near our house and how one of the swings was always broken.  There’s no way someone who just moved here would know that.”

“Well she’s definitely from our area. Is she our age?” Ethan asked.

“Yes.” Grayson confirmed.  “18.”

The sound of Ethan typing filled he room.  Grayson laid back on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to think of information that could help Ethan’s search.  The last of the sun was peaking through Ethan’s windows and warming Grayson’s abdomen, making it harder for Grayson to fight back the tiredness of being by the pool all day. 

By the end of the summer, he and Ethan would have enough to live anywhere.  They were hoping to move to Los Angeles and now, Grayson wanted to take Aurora with them.

“Do you remember that girl Y/N Y/L/N?” Ethan asked, breaking Grayson from his thoughts.  

“As in Peter Y/L/N? The owner of Pete’s Ocean Land?”  Grayson asked, sitting up on his elbows.  “Not really….”

“Remember like 5 years ago, her house burned down and her parents died in it? Then Pete adopted her and sent her to some cushy boarding school so she could have a new start?” Ethan backed away from the computer to gesture to a newspaper article.

“Not really...” Grayson said, sitting up suddenly.  

Ethan slid over to unblock the monitor and Grayson leaned in to see to read. His eyes scanned the page with a furrowed brow.

Local Tragedy

The house of {Your Father’s Name}, brother of Peter Y/L/N,  was caught on fire by which, police speculate, was caused by a cooking accident. The house was engulfed with flames, prompting the {Your Father’s Name} and his wife, {Your Mother’s Name} to toss their 13 year old daughter out the window, sacrificing themselves.  Their bodies were not found, but firefighters claim that with the intensity of the flames and the rubble, it’s not surprising.

Y/N Y/L/N is currently in the custody of her uncle Peter who has decided to give her a new chance.  “It can’t be easy for a kid to lose their parents.  I can’t replace my brother, but I can give her the life I know he would have wanted her to have.  I’ll make sure she has the best education money can by and the opportunity to have a normal adolescence.”  Peter said to news on Monday.

Grayson sucked in a breath.  “I don’t really remember this, but it’s terribly sad.  You don’t think that has something to do with Aurora, do you?

Ethan nodded as though he was hoping Grayson would ask that question.  Ethan opened another tab, and continued to flick through multiple tabs for Grayson to see. The first tab was some cushy boarding school Grayson had never heard of where Ethan had searched Y/N without any results.  The next was another boarding school.

 Ethan looked up over 20 boarding schools across the country, none with a student with the name Y/N Y/L/N.

“How is it possible that the only results for her are these news articles, but nothing about her at schools?” Ethan asked. 

“Well, maybe she got a fake name to make sure that she wouldn’t get connected with the case.” Grayson suggested.

“Exactly.  Like Jenna, or Kirsten or…” Ethan trailed off.

“Aurora…” Grayson continued.

“Exactly.”  Ethan pulled up a yearbook picture of the middle school you attended.  He found a few photos of you including you in your class photo and a few pictures of you in a musical.

“That’s her!” Grayson said, squinting.  “Sure, she looks a lot older now, and her hair is that red color, but that’s definitely her.”

“Now, why would Pete lie about sending her to boarding school and force her to work at his amusement park?” Ethan asked.  “I mean it doesn’t make sense, right? He could have just sent her to school and then had her work part time.  No one would have found that strange.”

“Unless she couldn’t leave the park…” Grayson said mostly to himself.  He grabbed Ethan by the shoulders.

“Dude, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” Ethan asked, startled by the sudden movement.

“This is going to sound crazy, but what if Pete is keeping Aurora...err, Y/N, captive in the park because she’s different…” Grayson said, not sure how to find the right words.

“What do you mean different?” Ethan asked.

Grayson explained in detail what happened two nights ago when you saved him, including your bedazzled looking skin.  He was impressed that Ethan didn’t crack a smile and only nodded to show he was still listening. 

“To summarize,” Ethan ruffled his hair with a sigh.  “You think Aurora is being held captive in a water tank where she can somehow breathe over night and has reflective scales on her body.”

Grayson paused.  Was that really what he was saying?  

“Yes.” Grayson confirmed out loud.  

“You’re right that is crazy.” Ethan nodded.  But he didn’t laugh.  Nor did he dismiss it. Instead Ethan sat on the bed, coaxing Grayson to sit down as well. 

“You know Travis?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, the owner of the bike shop?” Grayson asked.

“Yeah.  Apparently, he comes from a long line of fishermen.  Since our town is so close to the water, a lot of them would live here and then travel by sea to catch fish and sell them in other areas.  His family believes in mermaids and they said…” Grayson cut Ethan off.

“Okay, I know my story is crazy, but I don’t think she has a fin dude.” Grayson said, putting up a hand.

“Wait for it…” Ethan said, “That’s the thing, they don’t have fins.  Instead, their skin and hair blend in to the color of the bottom of the sea like chameleons. The only time you can see them is when they come up for air.  Apparently, they do breathe air, but they can hold their breaths for crazy long times.  The legend was that if one of these maidens fell in love with a fisherman, she would bring him all the fish that he needed.  It was seen as a badge of honor because they only trusted men that were kind and good to the sea.  There are other legends where they would cast doom on fishermen that brought harm to the ocean.”

“So you think Aurora...err Y/N is one of these water creatures?” Grayson asked. He let out a long sigh as he looked at his brother blankly for moment. This had to be the most ridiculous thing they had ever come up with and that was saying something.  “I mean, it’s a little far-fetched don’t you think?”

“Sure…” Ethan agreed, nodded slowly.  Up until ten minutes ago, Ethan and Travis only discussed the legends while Travis got high on his break.  Ethan never expected for it to be the missing piece to a mystery involving the girl of his brother’s affection.

Ethan took a deep breath.  “At the same time, it connects a few dots, doesn’t it?  Let’s assume that Pete isn’t one of these creatures, then his brother probably isn’t either.  That leaves Y/N’s mother.  So, she’s one of the water creatures and her daughter becomes one too.  Pete tries to convince his brother to put the ladies on display, his brother says no, and then he mysteriously dies.  But, custody of the daughter suddenly becomes local news and Pete would look like a monster if he put her in a tank.  So, he keeps her there, probably pimping her out to the government, while using her for free labor.”

“Because she can talk to the animals!” Grayson said.

“Okay...that’s a bit far-fetched.” Ethan said, putting his hands up in surrender. 

“No come on.” Grayson explained.  “People used to hear her talking to the animals..  Maybe that’s why she does all the shows, because they trust her.”

“Dude,” Ethan grabbed Grayson’s shoulders.  “Do you realize how insane this is? If any of this is true, you’re practically dating a real life mermaid.”

“If it is true.” Grayson said, grabbing Ethan’s arms. “Then, I have to save her.  I can’t let her suffer in that place anymore.”

“Well, we can’t just bust in there with the police.”  Ethan reasoned. “At least not without proof.”

Grayson thought for a moment.  The last time he went to find her, he went straight to the roof at the beginning of his shift.  She was already there with her uniform on.  He wondered if he got there just a bit earlier if he would be able to run into her.  The morning security guard was really laid back, so as long as you were quiet, he would let you in.  He was sure he could sneak in Ethan as well.

“We could go there tomorrow morning.” Grayson suggested.  “See what time she arrives.”

“Yes.” Ethan said, slamming his a fist on his open palm.  “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to Pete’s Ocean Land bright and early to see if she emerges from that tank.  Or, maybe we just go late at night and wait it out.”

Grayson tapped his chin.  This was the most insane thing he had ever done, but he was willing to give it a try.  “Alright, let’s do it.”

Present moment - Your POV

You felt overwhelmed with emotion as Grayson explained the events that led to this current moment.  Part of you was mildly impressed.  To job to those conclusions you had to be just the right combination of observant, resourceful, and a little childish.  You weighed your options.  You could deny it, but there was so much of your story that you would have to build up.  You never spoke to anyone before, so Aurora didn’t have a back story.  There was also the fact that he saw you emerging from a tank of water with scales on your skin.  You could pretend that you were just doing some performance, but that was even more unbelievable than his theory.

You let out a shaky breath. “Is Ethan here now?”  You asked.

Grayson pointed with his thumb behind him to his brother who took a “mini-nap” and was now completely knocked out.  You chuckled softly, a weak laugh, but it made Grayson smile as well.

“So uh...how crazy are we?” Grayson asked. 

“All I can tell you is that you’re not crazy.” You said in a measured tone. “But you can’t tell anyone what you learned.  Pete is not the nice guy everyone thinks he is and you two are in grave danger with everything you know.”

#grayson dolan #ethan dolan #dolan twins #dolan twins scenario #grayson dolan scenario #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan x reader #dolan twins x reader #fic-cw #r-writes-fic

[sergeant-donny-donowitz]

Long Odds (OmarUlmerxFem!Reader)

Requested by @mylovelyreblogs​

@owba-chan​ @war-obsessed​ @inglourious-imagines​ @tealaquinn​ @struggling-bee​ @frozenhuntress67​

Let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist! :)

Donny set his beer down on the pub counter, and smirked, "Five hundred francs." Hirschberg rolled his eyes, "What is that? Like ten bucks?" "Yeah, but we're in France...so five hundred francs. Take it or leave it." Hirschberg snickered, "Aint'cha got somethin'...luckier than that?" Donny sneered as he muttered under his breath, "Fucken lucky, I'll show you lucky." He set his lucky baseball card on the counter. Rare, 1939 Teddy Williams baseball card. Autographed. Omar raised his eyebrow, and grinned, "Goin' all in, huh?" Donny smirked, "Might as well. I'm the one that needs the least luck here." They all grumbled as the betting went on. They were betting on something...well...odd, to say the least. You were a basterd, and a friendly one, too. Friendly with all of them.  As a matter of fact, you'd gotten a laugh or two out of Hugo, which wasn't an easy thing to do. As much as they hated to admit, each of the boys had a thing for you at some point or other.

They looked back to the other side of the pub, where you were dancing with anyone and everyone that so much as looked  in your direction.... Boy was it a sight that would never fade away from anyone's memory. You were one of a kind basterd...but a basterd no less. Still, you were more than anyone of them could have ever bargained for. Especially Omar. To him, you were more than he could ever say. You were what they'd all dreamed of having by their side once they got home... But goddamn was it a perk having you there by their side in the war, where it mattered most. Where it was rough having friends, but...none of them would have it any other way. Now...they were all betting who you'd be "friendliest" with in the end... And looked down the counter, "Aldo?" He rolled his eyes, set his whiskey down with a clunk, and crossed his arms, and muttered, "I'm gettin' too old for this shit..." He cleared his throat, "And I respect Y/n too much to just bet on th-" Donny smirked, "You're scared, huh?" Smitty snickered,  "You scared you'll lose, lieutenant?" Aldo narrowed his eyes as he looked at his men, "Lose?"

Hirschberg nodded, "You don't got it, old man." "Old man?! Old man?! Wicki's the oldest." Smitty nodded in agreement, "Oh yeah...Wicki's older." "Shaddap Uti." Donny raised an eyebrow....If he was in danger of losing his Teddy fucking Williams baseball card, he wasn't letting anyone get away with less than that. All or nothing. "Neat stash of tobaacco there, sir... Y/n's always sayin' that stuff aint no good for you. 'Specially if you're gettin' up there in your years-" Aldo rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright. I'm in." He slammed his tin of snuff on the table, next to the card, the francs, and the mementos everyone was willing to bet.

"Omar." The last one to enter the bet. And frankly, not the one most of the boys were worried about. With him, it was a long shot. ...Even if they wouldn't advise him (or Smitty, or even Wicki) to join in on the bet, he had something they all wanted. One impressive hoarde of chocolate. He knew that was what they wanted from him. And he was confident... He wasn't very good at holding  a poker face, but frankly most of the boys were pretty dense as to why he was smirking, "Alright. Hersheys. I'm in." 

"Everyone quiet!" Hirschberg spotted you coming toward them, and they all scrambled to hide their wagers. "Hey, why's everyone so quiet?" You stood at the end of the counter, after dancing for what seemed like an eternity, but not quite done for the night. The tavern’s band was taking a short break. And you just needed to cool off a little. Aldo knew that, and held up a glass of whiskey on the rocks. The most refreshing thing he could think of. "Y/n?" You smiled a little as you caught your breath, "Ya know that brunette back there keeps eyeing you, sir?" "What?" You smiled, and gestured back to the dancing youth, "There." "O...oh..well..." You smiled, "Maybe save that drink, huh?" "I-" A little way down the counter, Omar lifted a different glass. Cognac. Which is all you liked to drink. Which he knew. Hugo, thinking you had to be at least a  little tired out, and noting the band had been playing some slower songs earlier, he figured, he might as well give it a shot. "Y/n...." You looked to him, with a naive, sincere smile, "Yeah?" All he had to say was "Dance?" And you nodded, "You got it!" You smiled at him, and turned to get to Omar. So...the basterds watched as you passed Aldo by, and somehow Omar and Hugo seemed to gain favor... Minutes later, after finishing that cognac from Omar, you were back on the dance floor...and Aldo withdrew from the bet, seeing that the brunette on the dance floor had a thing for the Tennessee man. He swung by the bar with her, and passed by the basterds. She was clinging to him, and looking up at him dreamily, passing a lit cigar to him. He held it up, eyed his tin of snuff, and sighed. "Men." They all stood waiting, as if he'd give an order. He smirked a little, knowing he'd get snuff some way or another, "I fold." And he was off, with his new acquaintance. With one less basterd in the race, the stakes were raised higher. "Five hundred and fifty francs!" Donny held his poker face...he had to. Frankly, that was all the francs he had to offer. Smitty looked on as you danced the night away, "Y/n likes music, right?" Omar chuckled, "Oh she does, Einstein?" "Look." Smitty narrowed his eyes, and Omar rolled his, and smiled "Y/n don't care what music plays, Smitty. She'll dance to anything." Donny laughed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. It made him happy to see you happy. Frankly, he didn't really care who won the bet, as long as you were happy. He only bet to begin with because...well he's Donny Donowitz. He's just competitive. And impulsive...and regretted betting his lucky card. Still, he smiled with a sigh, "Ain't that the truth." He took a drink and looked back at the counter. His competitive instinct kicked in. He grinned, as he nudged Hugo, and looked on to the dance floor, "Y'know what Y/n really likes dancin' to, Hugo?" Hugo raised his eyebrow as the band came back. Hearing the blaring, wild trumpet beginning to play, as you looked back at them from the edge of the dancing crowd, waiting for your dance partner, His eyes widened as you gestured to him... Hirschberg taunted him too, leaning over the bar, and snickering "That's right. Ragin' wild swing." He looked back at Wicki, as if asking for help for the first time in his life. Wicki shrugged as he sipped some bourbon. "You aready asked her to dance. Might not be the best time to disappoint her, kumpel." Utivich laughed, "Her? Don't dissapoint us!" He pushed Hugo off his stool, and toward the dance floor. He grimaced, and looked as if he was about ready to snarl at them like a rabid animal... 

Just then, you walked out from the dancefloor, and took his hands, and pulled him toward the crowd, your laugh like a beacon in a stormy night, pulling a smile from him.

"Damn can she do the goddamn charleston!" Donny chuckled, looking on. Omar narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out where Hugo had gone.  "L-Is that Hugo?!" "Y-Yeah...." "Damn look at him go!"

The basterds laughed and started cheering for him, until he stumbled a little, and fell. "Look at him go!" Wicki smiled, as you came back to them, your laugh was like a song to him. Laugh! That was it! He tried to capture that light in your gleaming eyes in the milisecond before your laugh rang like a mermaid's song. A joke or two would do it... Except he stumbled on the punchline. There was a lot on the line, after all. And the boys laughed at him and his mistakes. Omar chuckled, "Careful boys, you'll break an old man's heart." Wicki rolled his eyes, and the jeering went on, Hirschberg smirked, "Might be having a stroke." You rolled your eyes, though you could hardly contain your guity smile as you punched Hirschberg’s shoulder, "Oh, you're so mean!" He looked up at you, and caught sight of that hidden grin, and felt at ease with himself for a moment. He'd made you smile...that was a start. But it wasn't much. Omar knew that, as he smirked and took a sip of his beer. 

You could read a room. Better yet, you knew each of the basterds inside out, and knew something was up. You weren't blind either, so you had a pretty good idea at what was happening. You were killer at war, but a heartbreaker at nature. All it took to throw Hirschberg off his game, and blow everyone else's egos to bits was to wink at him. One little wink.| Omar hid his smirk again as he raised his beer to his lips, and raised his head back, dousing his retained laugh with the rich, bitter, cool beer as he shot you a knowing, loving glance.

************ "Y'know...I think...I thinkn y/n's on to us..." Hirschberg sighed as  he loked down at the crumpled, orange and red leaves as he marched with Donny, Omar, and Smitty to a rendezvous point. You had gone with the rest of the basterds to a somewhat distant town for supplies, and they were meeting you at  a hideout that was roughly the halfway point. The rest of the boys were discussing their progress in the wager, and Hirschberg was a little unsettled. Donny sighed as he stretched out his arms, "Oh yeah? What makes ya say that?" Hirschberg grumbled a little then admitted, "Made my move...and she wasn't havin' none of it. Got far enough to try and sneak in a little kiss." Omar, who had been splashing some water from a creek onto his face, stopped. He looked up, still facing away from them to hide his cheeky grin, "Yeah? How'd that go?" He knew you. He knew you'd always be true. You'd told him so, once, long ago. And he believed you. Still, he couldn't help but sigh a little, remembering the soft, secret touch of your lips. Sure enough, your lips were often cracked by the carelessness of war and winter, but still the best kiss a soldier like him could ever ask for.

Hirschberg wouldn't know. And that's what made Omar smirk. "She slap you?" Smitty couldn't help but laugh a little, and Donny suggested, "Punch ya?...Can't blame her. Wouldn't want a face like yours near me either." Hirschberg rolled his eyes, "No! She....she put her fingers...on my lips, goddamn it!" Omar smirked as he walked by him, patting him on the back, "Well, looks like you're losin' you're luger." "Yeah, yeah..." He sighed, wondering in defeat if he'd really lose his luger, "Then she said. She looks at me with those eyes, y'know...those fucken eyes..." Omar nodded with a sigh, looking up at the sky, as if he could see them, "Yeah...I know those eyes..." The boys didn't quite catch that air of sincerity in his voice. That trace of love, that hint of reminiscence Omar's dreamy daze was interrupted by Hirschberg's brash voice, "And ya know what she says? She pushed me back, see. And she says to me, 'Hirsch, you gon' tell me what this is all about or not?' "

Donny gasped, almost in disbeleif, like he was hearing gossip in a salon, "No!"

Hirschberg replied in the near same tone, "Yes!" Smitty shook his head, "Well what'd you say?!" "I said no, that's what I fucken said!" Smitty rolled his eyes in exasperation, "So you admitted there was something going on!?" "No, didn't you hear, I said no?!" Smitty sighed, "No. You said no, you wouldn't tell her what was happening, not no there was nothing happening." Hirschberg frowned, and opened his mouth to respond... Then quickly realized Smitty's point, shrugged, took a puff from his cigarette, and sighed, "Guess I did..." As the boys marched on, Donny spotted something poking through Smitty's jacket. "Whatcha got there, kid?" "A book." "Aw, yeah? What kinda book?" Donny smirked at Omar and Hirschberg, and nudged Smitty. Smitty pulled it out of his jacket. The cover read "Le Petit Prince." A story born and banned in France. Nevertheless, there it was, in his hands, wishing to find yours. "Ya know Y/n can't read French, right?" And in that moment, his heart broke into a million pieces. He wasn't in it for the wager, or even to win your heart. To him, you'd always be like a shining star, across the universe. He'd always hope to see you, but he'd never be close enough. He loved you like a friend could, from the moment he figured that out. He knew love was much like war, not something to be toyed with or bet on. It was far beyond his hands. He loved you, but not in the way you deserved, so he stepped down... He'd confided that to Omar, still not knowing the truth. And Omar had listened with a sigh, knowing you loved Smitty, like you loved all the other basterds. As brothers. But Smitty was, well, the youngest, and so you thought of him as a sort of baby brother. So Omar helped Smitty find that book. Did it nearly cost them an arm and a leg (literally)? Yes. Would either of them ever tell you? No. So Omar's heart sank when he caught that defeated look in Smitty's eyes, and stepped up. "She's got a French dictionairy, y'know she's learnin'. And...it's the thought that counts, kid. Chin up." Smitty smiled a little, and stopped for a moment, as Omar turned back around and kept marching with the others.  Smitty looked up ahead, knowing you were somewhere out there, and he was more excited than evere to give you that book. After a few moments of silence, something started picking at Donny. "Omar." "Yeah, sarge?" "How the hell are you still so confident about this?" Hirschberg, Smitty, and Donny then stopped in ther tracks to look at Omar, and wait for an answer. Omar was the only basterd that had never had a steady relationship before. Hell, Smitty might've been the youngest, but even he had a high school sweetheart at some point. Hirschberg nodded, "Yeah you ain't even made your first move yet!" Donny sighed, having made more moves than he'd ever had to before, "Yeah you should do sometin' quick, Ulmer. You ain't got any idea what you're getting yourself into with that girl. It's fucking impossible." Omar shrugged, "Well...we did go through boot camp together." As a matter of fact, that was where it all started. Sneaking out of your bunks in the middle of the night, and roaming around under the stars, jsut talking. "And we spent our fair share of time together." This was the first time you'd been split up... And he failed to define 'together'. He shrugged, "I know a little more about her than you think."

Hirschberg crossed his arms and remarked, "That right?" "Yeah... She likes a good show. Action pictures, that sort of thing." Donny raised his eyebrow with a grin,"Action pictures, huh?" A few hours later, after ambushing a nazi outfit nearby, Donny was swinging with his bat, "Y/n likes action movies, right?" Omar smirked a little, "Give her a real show, Donny. Knock 'em dead." Donny smirked a little, and walked into the tunnel, already riled up.

And, after some intimidation and interrogation, Aldo called Donny out. And Donny did put his all into it... He really was the closest thing the basterds had to seeing a movie. 

And at the end of it, as Werner lay dead, and his private gave Aldo all the information he needed, Donny looked across the fort to you, with smouldering, smirking eyes, and a sly grin. His eyes fell on you, your basterd grin, and laughing eyes, and moved down, and saw your hand. Your hand, resting on a stone. With Omar's hand resting on yours. "No..." His eyes grew wide. His mouth dropped open. The other basterds' eyes followed his, because if something left the Bear Jew speechless, it was something worth looking at. And indeed, it was. Because they all saw what he did. Omar smirking, his raised eyebrow, pulling his arm around your shoulders, and kissing you. What's more...they'd all just lost a bet. In fact, they'd lost the moment they even put their wagers on the table. Then, a million questions went back and forth. "WHAT?!" being the most common. Followed by "WHEN?!?!?!" and, of course, "HOW!?!?!?!" To which Omar responded, "Learned a lot more than you think in basic training. Y/n's been by my side since then. Made it official just before we left England." You laughed a little, "We didn't know we'd be leaving together." You didn’t know you were both being sent to the basterds. Hirschberg smirked. "So ya can do somethin' right, huh Omar" Aldo chuckled a little,  "Say, y/n that how  ya get him to shut his mouth every once in a while? Ya learn that trick in basic training too?" You blushed a little, "More or less, Aldo." Omar smiled as he looked at you, the basterds saving their grumbling about their gambling for later, for your sake. Still...Hirschberg slipped up and said "Some fucken bet..." Then, it all made sense to you. A bet.... The other basterds never had a chance to start with. They were betting blind. Omar though, he took a gamble of long odds when he met you. He bet it all on you again that night in the pub. It wasn't just his chocolate stash, it was his love, his pride, his heart. That was clear to everyone from that moment. But you didn't understand why. You spoke softly, a way only Omar ever heard you speak before, and you asked him, "Why?" He smiled. "Because I trusted you. I knew my odds, they were always on my side. Like you." You shut your eyes, feeling like a fool, and giving a small, amused smile. Loving someone during war was always a wager with death, with odds that weren't in your favor. But loving a basterd... Loving Omar Ulmer... Now that was a chance you were willing to take, from the moment you first laid eyes on him. He didn't know that. He'd played a game of fortune and heartbreak, once, and won. And he'd be willing to bet it all again, for you, and only you.

#Inglourious Basterds #inglourious basterds imagine #Omar Ulmer #omar ulmer x reader

[fanfic-fangirl]

My Little Mortal prologue 1

Because Every Fairy Tail, has to Start with a Tragedy pt 1

A/N: This is the prologue to my “My Little Mortal” series. It’s something I’ve worked very hard on, and one of the story’s I’m most proud of. In this part of chapter, there are no pairings. It’s pretty much, just plot, and setting up the next part of the story. It’s a Little Mermaid AU, featuring our favorite Asgardian Gods! It’s more of a Dark Fairy Tale, & less traditional. So if you’re thinking Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, you will probably be pretty disappointed.

I hope you enjoy!

Words: 1866

Warnings: violence, cheating, magic, dark magic abuse, lying, sexual assault (mention), emotional hurt, multiple character deaths

Welcome to the beginning of our story. A story about a kingdom under the sea and it's youngest prince. A dark prince, consumed by jealousy and grief.  Though, he wasn't always a dark prince. When he was a boy, he was the happiest he had ever been. He had the love of both his mother and father and an older brother to take him on made up adventures throughout the kingdom. Where his brother was favored by their father, Odin, he was favored by their mother, Frigga. There was no one more beautiful than she in all the realms, and no one more loving. She was a very powerful sorceress, loved by all in her kingdom. Where his older brother, Thor, was trained as a warrior by their father, the younger prince, Loki, was trained in the ways of magic, by their mother. He excelled in his studies, taking to the art very quickly. He was always a mischievous child, but as he learned magic, he began to use spells to play tricks, mostly on his older brother. His mother always praised his skills, nurturing and encouraging his natural talent.

With each year, the prince grew more and more powerful in his magic, more powerful than the king, or the queen. The king began to get suspicious of where such power was inherited from, and though the king, himself had magic, it was nothing like what the prince was capable of. The king knew, a child with magic like that, could only be the offspring of two very powerful sorcerers. Needing to have his suspicions confirmed, he confronted the queen about it. He was heartbroken to learn that she had gone to the most powerful sorcerer in all of his kingdom.

The king had been seriously injured in battle, she was told by the healers that they had done everything they could, but it was doubtful he would ever wake up. Distraught, the queen went to a powerful sorcerer, begged him for his help, begged him to use his magic to save her husband. The sorcerer agreed, but for a price. She promised him anything, anything as long as her husband would survive. The sorcerer was not kind, nor generous, he had been banished from the kingdom for his trickery and deceit, but he loved the queen, coveted her beauty. She had always been kind to him when he lived in the palace, when he had been one of the many advisers of the king. Where the others laughed and mocked him for being leaner and not built like a true warrior, she had always shown him kindness and respect. As time went on, he began to fall in love with her, wanted her for himself. He planned to steal her away, fleeing the kingdom, he was going to enchant her, make her fall in love with him. Somehow, the king found out about his plan, so on the night he planned to steal the queen away, the guards were waiting. The sorcerer was banished, never allowed to return to the kingdom again.

The sorcerer vowed revenge. He was finally able to take it when the queen came to him, desperate for him to save her husband's life. He agreed, told her to come back the next day and he would have a potion ready for her. She asked what his price was, he told her he would tell her when she returned. The queen went back to the palace, returning to the king. Before the light of the next day, she left, returning to the sorcerer. He was waiting, a hungry, lust filled smile on his face, a glowing potion in his hand. Upon seeing the smile, the queen knew his price. She also knew, that if she wanted her husband to live, she had no choice. She agreed to the sorcerer's price, gave her body to him willingly, allowed him to touch her, to taste her, to experience what only the king knew. She loved her husband more than anything, was willing to give anything to save him. The younger prince was the result of that price. The king did not blame her, he knew he would be willing to give up anything to save her, therefore could not fault her for her actions.

They agreed to never tell anyone, to never tell the young prince of his true heritage. The king promised he would love him just as much as Thor, would treat him as if he were his own son.

As time went on, the sorcerer became more and more obsessed with the queen. After she willingly gave herself to him, he had convinced himself that she loved him, that she was under some spell cast upon her by Odin. He began to plot a way to free her from the spell, so she could return to him, with their son, the young prince. The sorcerer knew she would bear a child for him, cast an enchantment to make sure of it. When he found out she'd given birth to another son, fair skin and dark hair, he knew the boy was his.

The sorcerer drove himself mad with his obsession, every attempt to break Odin's spell over her, failing. As a last resort, he had her and the young prince kidnapped. The young prince was not in his room and had been in the library studying magic that night, completely unaware that this was the only thing that saved him.

The sorcerer was furious the boy had been left behind, but he had the queen and that mattered more than anything. The young prince had spent his entire life in the palace, growing up believing Odin was his father. The sorcerer had seen the prince a few times, saw how he looked up to Odin, tried to please the king by being a warrior. With the queen, now by his side, the sorcerer knew he would be able to have another child with her.

The sorcerer cast his magic, to break Odin's spell, convinced it had worked, he freed the queen from her bindings. Once free, the queen attacked him and tried to escape, the sorcerer did everything in his power to keep her with him, but she fought back with everything she had.

The sorcerer pleaded with her to break Odin's spell, to look in her heart and see that she was meant to be with him. He knew she loved him as much as he loved her, the young prince was proof of that. The queen lashed back, said she had never, nor could she ever, love such a vile creature. The young prince was not a result of her love for him, but for her love of the only man, her heart had ever yearned for.

The sorcerer became blinded by rage, losing control of his power, in turn, losing the life of the queen as well.  Realizing what he had done, the mistake he had made and knowing that once the king found out, he would loose his own life. Quickly coming up with a solution, he decided to make it look like she had been killed by the Kingdom Above the Sea.

He removed everything from her body and wrapped her in a net, he took her to a place he knew the surface dwellers frequented and he left her. Left her floating in the current, ungraceful and undignified. With one final look, he left. He swam where he knew the king would never find him and he hid. Bidding his time, until he could approach the young prince. His son.

It didn't take long for the king to notice his wife missing. He sent out search parties in all directions to find her. It didn't take long for her body to be found. She was brought back in secret, not wanting to alarm the princes. The young prince had always prided himself on being able see through lies and find out any secret. This was no different. He heard whispers that she had been found, floating in the current. So quietly, he waited and followed the guards who brought her back. They took her body to the king, and the young prince hid, and he listened.  He listened when they said she had been found near the human fishing grounds. Listened when they explained that she had been found tangled in a net, how she had been stripped of everything and left to drift with the current.  Listened when they said it had been the humans.

This infuriated the young prince more than anything ever before. In all the centuries he had been alive, there was nothing that had ever made him feel this blindingly angry. He didn't understand how the humans could commit such an atrocity. His mother had always told him they were understanding, kind, and very fascinating creatures. She had loved them dearly, had even been known to save them during fierce storms. The prince didn't understand how these creatures could kill so recklessly.

Not able to control his rage any longer, he burst into the room and upon seeing the lifeless body of his mother, demanded the king take his revenge on the humans. Demanded he flood their cities, sink all their ships and kill every last one of them. The king looked at his son with nothing but compassion and sorrow in his eyes, as he refused to raise a hand against the Kingdom Above the Sea.

This only enraged the prince even more. The prince vowed that if the king was going to do nothing, then he would take matters into his own hands. He would make the surface dwellers pay for what they had done.  Before the king could stop him and explain himself, the young prince left. He left the kingdom. He remembered hearing whispers of a dark and powerful sorcerer who had been banished from the kingdom. He knew he had to find this sorcerer, plead with the sorcerer to teach him stronger magic that would allow him to destroy all those who lived above the surface.

After many nights, searching for the sorcerer, the prince had finally found him. The creature was weak, broken and quite mad. The prince attributed it to all the centuries of being alone in the open ocean. Leaving the sorcerer to his madness, the prince began to explore the cave he now called home, finding a small library in the back, he began to flip through the books. These were like no books he had ever seen in the palace. Full of dark spells and enchantments. Dark Magic.

“I can teach you.” The sorcerer offered.

The prince spun around, surprised to see the sorcerer behind him, a dark smile gracing his lips, the madness seeming to have completely vanished.

“At what price?” the prince asked, knowing knowledge like this was not given freely.

“Consider it a favor to the queen. A payment for her kindness and a punishment for her murderers.”

The prince examined the sorcerer, looking for the lie, the trick, anything that would suggest he wanted something else. He sensed nothing.

“Then teach me.”

#Loki #little mermaid au #loki x OC #Loki x reader #marvel au #dark fairy tale #the little mermaid #tragedy #dark magic

[jordanlahey]

My Jolly Sailor Bold (1)

Pairing: Pirate!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Y/n gave up her legs for a tail, a painful life for a carefree one in the wide ocean but what would she give up for the heart of a salty bloodthirsty pirate? Is there even anything left for her to give up for him?

Chapter Warnings: Slight violence?

Word count: 1499

A/N: What’s this? Another Update on the same day? You lucky fellows. Tag list it still open

MJSB: @queen-of-elves @undiscovered-misunderstood, @baybay123455

Permanent - @doowneey , @m-a-t-91 , @fuckthatfeeling , @jitterbuck , @pvnk-bivch , @etherealmandi, @pri00r @5aftermidnight , @thisismysecrethappyplace @dtftheavengers, @straycuties9, @typicaltrashbag, @lanijoy, @fourtyninekirbygamzeegirl

Bucky Barnes - @release-the-cathyrchkn, @ria132love

Y/n would swim rapidly in the ocean. This was when Y/n felt free, this was her time to do whatever and however she did it for. She would converse with other merfolk in the further out waters away from land, she would swim with the deep sea creatures and play with dolphins, she will explore deep underwater caves and find treasures of her own. 

Although Y/n chose to give up her human life for a mermaid’s one she still finds herself watching the humans from time to time, she’ll often wonder if her parents miss her but shakes the thoughts from her mind. Lately Y/n’s obsession has been with a certain ship that plows the sea and a certain pirate she fancies.

This pirate was a good man at heart and was not always a pirate, he worked for the throne but he was treated unfairly and had slaughtered the whole crew and made himself into the ruthless pirate he is today. Over the years he had gathered enough men to join his crew and he became one of the most wanted pirates at sea for the crimes he has committed.

Y/m would swim below his ship and follow it wherever she can and occasionally will look through a window like whole in his ship and watch him steer his vessel. Heavens knows why Y/n has fallen for this pirate besides his devilishly handsome good looks that’s about it but Y/n knows there is still good in his heart but it’s been locked away for too long. Y/n watches over the ship and a few times she has saved her pirate and his crew from those bloodthirsty sirens, her voice was powerful enough to block out the sirens spell from the crew allowing them to escape before their lives were stolen from them.

Times like this where she would sit and watch her pirate she wished she still had her legs so she could one day meet him if she could she would sail with him for the rest of her days. Y/n had to leave the ship as it pulled into the docks but she would never be far away from it, she would sit on the rocks near it but still out of sight of humans.

*2nd POV*

You sat on the rocks ringing the water out your hair as you kept watch of the ship, you began to hum a tune to yourself to pass the time then found yourself being joined by another mermaid.

“Good evening Maria.” You smiled and turned your head to see the other mermaid still in the water. “How did you find me?”

“I have raised you since you were a child I know where you would run off to.” She laughed and pulled herself up onto that rock beside you. “Y/n, he’s a dangerous man you know that.”

“I know but there is good in him, i know it.” You sigh, looking down at your tail then Maria took your hand in hers and gave you a sympathetic smile.

“You know, I never properly took away your legs dear.” You looked up at Maria with a confused but Maria only grinned. “You see if you stay out of water long enough you tail will dry and your tail will become your legs again and if you want your tail back you go into that water.” She smiled.

“So I can…” You look over at the ship then back at Maria and she nodded. This was your chance to meet the man you have fallen for.

“Just please be careful Y/n.” You nodded at her and pulled the rest of your tail out of the water. “There is a human couple who are swimming in the ocean give me a second.” with that Maria dove back into the water and then appeared again holding a few pieces of clothing. “Don’t worry I didn’t get them wet.” Maria came back with a corset, a pair of bloomers, an underskirt and a blue dress to go over the top. She helped you get into the things she could while you still had your tail, it was nearly dry by the time you had finished getting the million pieces of clothing on.

“Why do humans have to wear so much items of clothing?” You huffed as Maira finished fixing the dress.

“Humans are strange people you should remember that.”

“Yes but i never wore this much clothing.” You answered back, just then a strange feeling washed over you and you looked at your...legs? “I have legs!” You shouted and began touching your legs and feet. “Wait I’ve forgotten how to walk.” You panicked but Maria hushed you and told you to put one foot in front of the other. You started off a bit wobbly but you were quick at learning. You put on the rest of your items of clothing but you didn’t have shoes although your dress hid the fact you didn’t wear any. You said your goodbyes and you attempted to quickly make your way to the ship you have been following for a while now. 

You finally reached the ship and you looked around to see if anyone was around but as far as you were aware no one was near or on it so you went on.

“Oi, you’re not supposed to be on there!” A voice shouted and you quickly ducked down behind two massive crates and covered your mouth to muffle your breathing.

“Captain Barnes! There’s a woman on your ship!” The voice shouted but you stayed behind the crates. It wasn’t long before you heard many footsteps aboard the ship then the all stopped. A part of you was scared and another part of you wasn’t but this is what you have been dying to do and it was definitely too late to back out now. You suddenly felt pain in your head as you were pulled up by your hair and then grabbed by the neck, you winced and a strangled cry escaped your mouth before you met eyes with your pirate.

“Look what we have here men. What’s a girl like you doing on my ship?” His grip tightened around your neck and you lifted your hands to start clawing at his hand but it was no use, he wouldn’t let go. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you darlin’ it might just get worse for you.” He squeezed a little tighter and you started to feel dizzy.

“C-can’t…t-t-talk….to….can’t breathe.” Your efforts to get him to let go of you became weak and your eyes were about to close then he let go and you dropped to the floor coughing and gasping for air. “That...was not what...I was… expecting.” You mumbled mainly to yourself but the pirate heard.

“Well what did you expect? You snuck aboard my ship. Now tell me your business and i’ll consider a quick death for you.” You looked up at him with wide eyes, surely this wasn’t the man you caught feelings for. You stood up, nearly losing your balance then smoothed out your dress.

“I’m Y/n and I don’t know why I’m on your ship but I did want to meet you?” The crew was silent then they erupted of laughter.

“Darlin, do you know who I am?” You opened your mouth to speak but he cut you off. “I am Captain James Barnes, one of the most ruthless and wanted men at sea. Nobody wants to meet me. Right men?” The crew cheered in agreement and James’ smirked at you, you felt a part of you break a little inside.

“Well I did and I’m not a nobody and I’m most certainly not like everybody else. I gave up something important to me for this but I must have wasted my time.” You sighed, You went to walk passed him but a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes stopped you.

“Now hold on a second there sweet cheeks, I didn’t say you could leave.” You turned around to face James once again. “Explain to me what you gave up and how you’re not like everyone else.”

“I cant.”

“Why not.”

“Because it’s a secret and you’ll use it against me.” You raised your voice slightly. This was not like anything you’d imagine, you were disappointed to say the least. “I just want to see the world from a different perspective once more that’s all, can you grant me that?” You sighed in defeat. Captain James thought for a moment and looked between you and the man behind you.

“Y/n, welcome aboard to The Winter Sailor.” he held out his hand and you beamed at this and some of the men behind you cheered mostly to the captain but you didn’t mind really, you were finally going to get to know the pirate you grew to like.

#marvel #avengers fanfiction #avengers #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #winter soldier #avengers fanfic series #bucky imagine #bucky x reader #pirate!bucky barnes x mermaid!reader #pirate!bucky barnes #pirate!bucky barnes x reader #pirate!au #mermaid!au #pirate!bucky

[mymindsmadness]

Mermaid Draco Part 3

These scenes keep coming to me, and who am I to deny Draco and Harry their happiness? :,D. It means a lot that you guys enjoy this, and your comments really make my day. Even if I don’t respond to them, I promise that I read every single one!

As long as I’m writing this, updates will come out every Friday as part of my Fanfic!Friday reform (along with fic recs). 

As always: I am not a writer. I am American. Shit’s bound to go wrong lol

[PART ONE] || [PART TWO]

Harry’s insomnia had always been bad. Like many things, it had only been made worse by the war. The dreams weren’t anything he couldn’t handle, not for the most part anyway. Sometimes, in the darkness of his room, he found himself back inside his tiny cupboard under the stairs. The walls had grown tighter and bed smaller. Or maybe Harry had grown enough for his memories to smother him. Either way, he was sure it was the catalyst of why he found himself sitting cross-legged at two AM across from Draco Malfoy. Once again, Malfoy was leaning against the side of the not-pond, his arms crossed.

Harry hadn’t meant to stop by the pond after procuring a bottle of firewhisky from his secret stash. He had simply been on his way back to his bedroom when he heard something that sounded a lot like muffled singing. Of course, the sound had stopped as soon as he had opened the door, and Malfoy had denied it whole-heartedly. After his sharp gaze moved to the bottle in Harry’s hand, it seemed rude to not share. Besides, how many opportunities would he have to get a mermaid drunk?

“You know, I used to think you were a prat.” Malfoy’s voice was hollowed a bit by the lip of the bottle.

Harry snorted, leaning back a bit as he watched the other man take a big gulp with a wince. “Really? You hid it so well.” Harry rolled his eyes, snatching the neck of the bottle out of Malfoy’s hands, and holding it out of reach when he made a noise of protest. “I suppose we’d have to outgrow our younger selves at some point. Does that mean you don’t think I’m a prat anymore?”

“I’m sure you still are. At least your fit now.” The firewhisky had just made it to Harry’s throat before he was coughing, wincing as it burned his sinuses. He hardly registered Malfoy’s smile of triumph as he snatched the bottle back. “Why aren’t you asleep? I physically can’t sleep anymore, but you seem to be actively choosing not to.”

Harry wanted to backpedal a few paces. Had Draco Malfoy just called him fit? Had it been a way to get the whisky, or did he mean it? Blinking away his confusion, he tried to focus on the question at hand. “I don’t like sleeping.” He shrugged with one shoulder. This time, Malfoy offered the bottle freely. “I have nightmares.”

“I don’t miss those.” Malfoy mumbled, his head resting on his folded arms again. “I used to dream Nagini was swallowing me whole.” He admitted, his voice small and far away. “I couldn’t sleep with sheets for a month because they would get bunched up and feel like a large snake.”

“I sometimes dream of the war, but mostly I dream of before Hogwarts.” Harry admitted in return. Their voices were so quiet they were nearly drown out by the lapping of the water. “My aunt and uncle were almost as bad as – okay, not quite that bad,” he shook his head. Even he couldn’t compare them to Voldemort. “For the first eleven years of my life, my room was a cupboard under the stairs.” It was weird, telling something so intimate to Malfoy. At least he didn’t have to worry about him running off to the press… or anywhere for that matter.

Instead of commenting, Malfoy just watched him for a long moment before the side of his mouth ticked up. “When I was five, my father made me memorize the entirety of wizarding laws and recite them to the Wizengamot. I was like a trained crup.”

“I was like a house elf!” Harry rose to the challenge, his small smile matching Malfoy’s. I cooked and cleaned, but was never allowed anything until they finished eating. And they weren’t exactly in good health.”

Malfoy’s scales seemed to shift to a light blue, which Harry was thrilled to watch up close. “My mother would put me in dresses until I was eight. She got the idea from great-grandmother’s portrait. Apparently it was standard at one point in time, and mother wanted a daughter.”

“Please tell me there are pictures!” Harry laughed, and to his surprise, Malfoy did too. It was warm and deep, and did things to Harry’s anatomy that he’d rather not admit. The laughter died down, but there was still a sparkle to Malfoy’s eyes that Harry felt proud of putting there. His gaze drifted to full, pink lips before settling on a light trace just under his bottom lip. The top most of his sectumsempra scars. Harry had seen them when that first day at the aquarium, but they seemed to scream at him now.

“Once…” Harry breathed, taking a gulp of firewhisky before continuing. “I was a pillock and hurt someone with a spell I didn’t know.” He breathed. Without thinking, Harry reached out to trace his thumb along the scar, his fingers curling loosely along Draco’s narrow jaw. He blamed the firewhisky for the way Malfoy’s eyes softened as he leaned into it. “And instead of helping him, I panicked and ran… I never got to say sorry.”

A pink tongue ran over dry lips just above Harry’s thumb. Why was he still stroking Malfoy’s chin? Why hadn’t either of them pulled back? “Once…” Malfoy’s breath was shaky and warm over Harry’s hand. “I threatened to crucio someone because they caught me at my lowest point. I was… horrible to him. I was jealous and hurt when he rejected my friendship at eleven. I lashed out – as most eleven-year old’s do. By the time I was old enough to know better, it was too late to fix anything.”

Harry’s breath left him in a defeated huff as he dropped his hand away. The air had gone heavy again. “It’s never too late.” He attempted to change the tone with a forced smile. “I have it on good authority you think he’s fit.”

“I was talking about Longbottom.” Malfoy tried to follow his lead, but his smile didn’t last long. “Do you… regret anything? From Hogwarts? From the war? It seems like you made all the right choices. Perfect Potter.” He snorted out the nickname as he snatched up the nearly empty bottle of firewhisky.

Harry thought about the question as he moved to lay on his stomach across from Malfoy, his own head pillowed on his folded hands. “It’s hard not to have regrets in war.” Harry offered simply before thinking about it. What was it about Malfoy that made him want to… lay everything bare? “I regret not taking Voldemort more seriously early on. I regret not being able to save everyone… you.”

It was something he seldomly admitted to himself. What would have happened if instead of the sectumsempra, he had offered Malfoy an ally? How would the war have changed if he had gotten the Malfoy’s into a safe house in exchange for information? Would Draco’s life have been different? He would still bare the mark, but would everyone regard him as a hero for turning on a mad man? Would he have avoided the curse that brought him into Harry’s home? Would they have been friends? Possibly more?

Malfoy snorted and placed the bottle off to the side to mirror Harry’s position. “Always trying to save everyone, Potter. For what it’s worth, you did save me.” He gestured to the room around him. “And my mother.” His eyes softened at the mention of her. “I think my biggest regret was not convincing myself to take my mother and run. It might not have been the noble or brave thing to do, but I’m not exactly the type.”

“Yes, you are.” Harry’s eyes were fighting to close, but he didn’t want to stop talking – now that they had finally started. “Maybe not in a Gryffindor way, but in your own. I might not have agreed with what you did, Draco, but I understand why you did it. You did what you had to do to save your family. When you had the chance to hand me over to Voldemort, you didn’t take it.” He enjoyed the way Malfoy’s cheeks and scales tinted pink. “We were both children caught on opposing sides of the war.” Harry’s words began to slur as sleep pressed harder against him. “It was never your fault.”

There was a long moment of silence in which Harry almost fell asleep before a low, rumbling voice reached the edges of his consciousness. “Harry…” He nearly purred at the sound of his name in Draco’s tenor. “What do you regret the most from that time?”

Harry hummed, both in thought and in effort to make his voice work. “Not saving you sooner.” He admitted. He thought he felt a damp hand brush over his scar before settling in his hair, but before he could be sure, sleep finally won out.

#harry potter #drarry #draco malfoy #mermaid draco #fic #my fic

[edward-richtofen-queen]

The Legends of Crystal Lake

Masterlist

❀Decided to put a twist on the Legend of Jason Voorhees—Mostly because I got bored (I hope this story isn't too bad, I'm a amateur)! This is a gift for @irageneveart with the use of @masks-n-steel's Jason ❤❤❀

Jason had always been a special boy—never like the other kids at Camp Crystal Lake. One eye was asymmetrical to the other, slanting downwards to make his face look a little messed up; in turn, he was always made fun of for it. Another, he had not known, was a literal parallel of himself—she too was special in her own way and was shunned from her family. As another summer day rolled by, Jason sat on the dock of the lake, alone once more. The other kids laughed and played together as Jason stared in silent envy.

Beneath the surface of the lake lay a mermaid, head laying against the rocky floor. Mermaids were supposed to be beautiful and equal in beauty, but to them, she held no beauty. Half of her face was human and the other had grown scales, the ear on her left becoming a type of fin. No sailor would fall into a love spell with a face like that, they would scold her. She was a failure to them, so she swept away by the ocean and it lead her to this little secluded lake hidden through a secret little current. She was young, no less—what kind of parents abandon their only child? A large thrash of water stirred her awake, her eyes shooting up as she stared up. Another child, a special child just like her. Swimming up cautiously, he seemed to be choking on the water.

Her webbed fingers met his face as he immediately calmed down, her whispering something in a unknown tongue and kissing his soft little lips. Bubbles stopped popping on the surface as she pulled him down with her, his body resting and trying to ease with the new gills that rested on the sides of his neck. Cupping his cheek, she stroked his messed up face—he was so beautiful to her. Flipping her tail, she propelled over to her secret little cave to keep him safe, for now.

The mermaid had counted a whole day, her dark skinned hands playing aimlessly with her black hair. The boy she had taken care of had yet to wake, but he was still alive and breathing. Finding this as a good time to let him go, she brought him back near the edge of the water as he roused. Laying him on the ground near the lake, he gasped greedily for air as he coughed. He opened his eyes only to find a pair staring back at him, tilting his head as she copied. Her tail flipped behind her as he stared in awe. "Go," She whispered.

"Live on."

∾❦∾

It had been years since that day—she had grown close to the man that visited her, having saved his life and kept her little lake clean and safe. He had become huge now, a large beast of a man who hid behind a beautiful mask. He would communicate through nods and shakes of his head, her speaking in mostly yes or no questions. The majority of his skin had rotted away, his jaw exposed fully with a chain on his neck. He had been the one to teach her how to walk on land once she learned she could, her frail body not used to walking. She had aged like any other, that flaw on her face still showing but she learned to love it.

He was still beautiful in her eyes, and she was eternally beautiful in his—Two special people in the world.

#jason voorhees #jason vorhees x reader #jason x reader #jason x s/o #gift #big man is cute #mermaid au #fanfic

[until-theend-oftheline]

Outcast - Part 5: Paris Burning

Pairing: Jefferson x Reader

Warnings: Witch burning (sorta), PTSD, Rapey asshole Frollo. Character deaths.

Word Count: 1700ish

A/N: This is for @thorne93’s challenge and my prompts were: Pink - Reader is having a bad day/week/month - Character is there to make it worse or better AND Bridal wreath - “How about you fuck off?”

Thanks to @thorne93 for betaing this one for me also.

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

Outcast Masterlist

Jefferson wasn’t really sure how long you sat holding each other like that, but he knew that it wasn’t long enough. His body ached for yours the be close to his again when you pulled away smiling sweetly at him.

“Come,” you held out your hand to him, feeling the butterflies in your stomach when he took it without hesitation. He wiped the tears from his eyes trusting you completely to lead him to the ends of the world if you wanted to. You didn’t. Instead you led him to the balcony climbing the rails much to his protest.

“It’s fine,” you laughed, tugging his hat a little. “You got your hat to save us right? Not that we need it to fall through.”

Your teasing, made him roll his eyes but he still followed you to sit next to you. The view was impressive he would give you that, but it would still be impressive behind the safety of the railing.

“Frollo went crazy when he found out that I escaped,” you spoke quietly, restarting your story and instantly Jefferson’s hand found yours again. You loved him for that. His touch gave you the strength you needed to carry on.

“He hunted down my people. Locked them up. Those of us that weren’t hiding over there,” you pointed towards the cemetery. “We had this underground small city almost called The Court of Miracles. It’s how we were safe from men like him. Not this time however. When he couldn’t get to us, he got to the people that normally took us in. He burned down houses sometimes with people inside.”

Jefferson saw the way you looked into the distance and heard the way your voice started to tremor. He knew you were blaming yourself just like he had earlier. He wasn’t having it.

“It wasn’t your fault. Nothing that happened. It was on him,” Jefferson gently, but firmly reminded you. You smiled sadly, giving his hand a small squeeze.

“If I hadn’t have hid…” you started and Jefferson shook his head.

“You don’t know. You can’t know. A guy like that. The entire city might still have burned,” he said quietly and you nodded.

“It did. He tricked Quasi into thinking he knew where I was. So he came to see me. To warn me. Frollo followed him and he locked all the gypsies up. He put me on the pire claiming I was a witch,” you continued your story, smiling sadly at the confused look on Jefferson’s face.

“What does a witch have to do with him being insane and burning people?” he asked and you sighed.

“In my time. In this world. Magic was seen as wicked. All magic. Thousands of women were burned and drowned even if they had no magic. That’s how it disappeared from the world I think. People got scared to use it and it was forgotten.” Jefferson wore a look of disgust as you told him this and he couldn’t wait to leave this place. As bad as Regina was at least she had never been that insane and she was getting better. Storybrooke wasn’t that bad of a home he thought, smiling a little thinking getting back from this journey it might become better still. Grace would like you. He knew it.

“He tied Quasi up here.” You pointed to the balcony and the pillars behind you. Your motion tore Jefferson from his thoughts and he noticed you had started shaking. He, careful not to look down as he moved, shifted a little closer to you so your side was pressed against his with your hands still linked resting on your thigh.

“Frollo he… He told me to marry him. Share his bed. If I did I would be spared from the flames.” You felt Jefferson tense up next to you and you looked up into his eyes. “I spat in his face.”

A proud smile spread across Jefferson’s face. He still wanted to kill the guy even if he knew he was already dead, but you standing up for yourself was even better. Your strength and courage was admirable and one of the things Jefferson was falling for the hardest.

“I still feel the flames on my skin and the smoke going into my lungs.” Your eyes pooled with tears as you rested your head against Jefferson’s shoulder overlooking the city. “I don’t remember much after that. I remember Quasi swinging down and lifting me free. I remember the city catching fire and it looked like a sea of flames beneath us when Frollo followed him up here. I remember them fighting. I remember falling but I never hit the flames. A portal opened beneath me and when I woke up I was in Atlantis.”

You felt Jefferson’s arm around you, pulling you closer. Keeping you as if he was afraid you would fall and disappear once again.

“How?”

“I have no idea…” you began before a voice sounded beside you.

“We do…”

You screamed in surprise and Jefferson acted quickly, pulling you off the rail with him and shoving you behind his back. His eyes however was as wide as yours watching the odd sight of three very much alive gargoyles hopping towards you.

“What the hell is that?” Jefferson asked, emphasizing “that”, but before you could once again claim your ignorance the little round one spoke.

“We are gargoyles. I’m Hugo. That’s Victor and Laverne,” he explained, getting up close to Jefferson staring him down. Jefferson wasn’t quite sure what to make of the statue glaring at him but he didn’t like it one bit.

“Quasimodo brought us to life,” the tall one explained. “He passed on peacefully decades ago, but his magic still lingers.”

Jefferson wanted to protest and pull you back behind him when you stepped forward with a curious expression on your face. He however knew you well enough to know that would only get him punched so he stayed close to you instead.

“Magic? Quasi didn’t have magic,” you insisted and the female gargoyle smiled.

“He didn’t know he did for a long time. We never told him that him giving us life meant that he did. We thought he knew,” she explained, hanging her head. Apparently rocks could have regret too, you thought.

“He was the product of true love,” Victor explained. “A savior. He rebuild this city after it burned. He watched over it.”

“Frollo?” you asked and Laverne took your hand, to ease your mind.

“He fell. Burning with the old city. With Quasi’s help new leaders rose. The city was reborn. His magic was unstable though. Opening the portal was his fear of losing you. He never figured out how to bring you back,” she spoke sadly.

“I was trapped under a spell in Atlantis for decades until I met a mermaid who freed me. Ariel,” you explained to the Gargoyles and Jefferson that stayed close against you, his arm resting comfortably around your waist. “It wasn’t Quasi’s fault. He saved my life.”

You looked up at Jefferson who smiled down at you, giving you the courage to move on. “She brought me to the enchanted forest. I was searching for a way home when Regina’s spell trapped us all.”

You spend a few hours in the bell tower, sitting with Jefferson listening to the gargoyles tell you of your friend’s life. He never stopped searching for you but near the end he found peace. He learned a way to look into your future using an earring you lost. The gargoyles didn’t know what he saw, but whatever it was had made him happy. Laverne had handed you a folded up drawing he made, before you left with Jefferson, thanking them for showing you their secret.

Jefferson was quiet when the two of you walked out of the cathedral. He kept his hand in yours but his mind was a million miles away. The two of you slipped through the square and down to the river by the old docks where Jefferson could work the magic of the hat without anyone seeing.

“Are you ready to go home?” was the first thing he said to you since the two of you were alone in the bell tower. You frowned stepping in front of him blocking him from throwing his hat.

“In a minute. What’s on your mind, Jefferson?” you asked softly, taking the hat from him and putting in on the ground next to you. You took both his hands in yours looking up into his eyes, trying to will him to talk.

“I’m sorry. I said I’d take you anywhere, but going back in time to see your friend… I don’t know how to do that,” he spoke quietly and you smiled. You truly had underestimated his kindness when you first met. He was nothing like you thought him to be but everything you didn’t know you wanted.

“It doesn’t matter,” you insisted but Jefferson didn’t feel any better. He wanted you with him and if he couldn’t take you back you wouldn’t stay. The bell ringer’s prophecy told him as much.

“The drawing…” he started and you finally understood. You shook your head affectionately, giving his hands a squeeze.

“The drawing won’t show me going back. It will show me moving forward,” you explained smiling at the confusion on Jefferson’s face.

“How do you know?” he asked, sadness still lacing his eyes.

“Because I know Quasi. My happiness would be enough for him to be happy,” you answered, letting go of Jefferson’s hands surprising him by wrapping your arms around his neck. It didn’t take long for him to respond and his hands came to rest on your hips as he looked down into your eyes.

Hope was starting to return to him but he still couldn’t let go completely. “Don’t you want to look?”

“No. I don’t want to see my future,” you answered, standing so close to him your breath warmed his lips. “I’d rather live it.”

You pressed your lips against his and Jefferson closed his eyes, pulling you closely against him. For all you had both been through, you had still found each other. You had found love across worlds and times. A true love that was going to last for the rest of your lifetime.

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Outcast tag team

@caplansteverogers @girl-next-door-writes @thinkwritexpress-official @peterman-parker @feelmyroarrrr @primenumberscanbeintimidating @docharleythegeekqueen @mizzezm @cd1242 @learisa @ifyougetkilled-walk-it-off @blacktithe7 @angelsandwinchesters  @ashleygee16 @grace-for-sale @captainradicalpassion  @mavelous-super-soldier @whiskeyxcola

#jefferson x reader #ouat jefferson #jefferson series #ouat fanfiction #ouat mad hatter #mad hatter x reader #mad hatter #mad hatter series #ouat reader insert #ouat series

[kismetrpg]

the basics

Name: Catherine “ Cathy “ Yerin Song

FC:  Bae Suzy

Age: 23 years old

Species: Selkie

Pronouns and Gender: She/Her & Cis-female

Occupation: Hostess/Barista at The Siren Song Cafe

Affiliated Group: Gentilly Colony

Neighborhood: Gentilly

background

TW: RAPE, Mentions of rape

Catherine Yerin was a mouth full by any standard, both in name and in action. Catherine was the daughter of a Selkie woman and a merman.  Add in a crazy grandma that refused to speak english ( the Song family had lived in Louisiana for nearly 50 years ), a family secret, a terrible mistake and you have the makings of a beautiful southern teen novel, of betrayal, of love of finding one’s footing. All of that and more is wrapped of in the five foot four frame, of a girl who just wanted to swim in the ocean.  How you ask is a child of Selkie and Mermaid a Selkie when the Mermaid gene is stronger? That before mentioned mistake? That was the birth of Catherine, the Fake, she who is seal daughter of the merpeople.

From the time she was born Cathy ( as she insisted ) was told to guard her skin, her precious skin that was more valuable than anything in the entire world, she hid it from everyone in her life, her mother, her “father”, her half-siblings. Because there is nothing more valuable to anyone than a Selkie skin, she knows that from the experience of her mothers being stolen. Her strong and amazing mother ( who only ever had mermaid children after Cathy was born ) had her skin stolen by a human male. A human male that realized her could make the woman do anything he wanted, and make her did he. It was pure chance that, her father had saved her mother and taken her skin back. After all no one looks for someone that was eaten by an alligator, though his  but not before the burning mistake took root and nine months later the small bundle of what should have been joy was born.

Though it should not have been a surprise, the girl loved her grandmother the most even if she insisted on calling her “Yerin-ah”, and never answered a single question in English even if it was asked. Her grandma was the one who calmed her, who taught her how to use the powers that she had. It was her grandma who taught her how to behave in her human sport classes that would go swimming. It was her grandma who told her tales of their homeland, and just how the Song family became Selkies when they were of Scottish origin.

Though she was loved by both parents even Cathy knew that she was nothing but a mistake in their eyes, she was unworthy of being their child. She even had a different last name than the rest of her siblings, they wanted to hide their shame, to distance her from their now perfect little family. Even when they had council meetings, she could feel eyes and the judgement from her fellow aquatians, the others didn’t pay her any mind. She heard the whispers of if she knew her place, of if she actually thought she was a wanted member of the prestigious family of Mermaids with the lovely Selkie mother.

personality

Cathy is the girl who falls in love too quickly,  she is the girl with stars in her eyes, she is the girl whose head was more likely underwater than on the land. All the petite woman ever wanted was to be, live in her moments and speak the truth that she knew was in her heart. She was gentle and sweet, offering an ear to anyone who needed it but there were times when she could be just as cruel as a riptide if she wanted to be. She was just as proud as any of the supernatural creatures that floated through New Orleans she was just as protective of her land. All she wanted was to be wanted in every way at once. She was desperate for approval, for acceptance, for love. Cathy would do anything for someone to love her.

ooc information: taken by hachi - she/her - pst

#bae suzy #supernatural rpg #oc rpg #new rpg #town rpg #tw: rape #ktf #selkie #character bio

[seachangeadornments-blog]

The Baltic Mermaid

Rumor on the shores of Tallinn have it that a hundred years ago, a French wine merchant ship went down. Crashing in the waves, bottles and other merchandise were lost to the sea. Tumbled by time, the glass has begun to wash up on the seaside, offering treasure to the beach wanderers.

In the spirit of Estonian lore, here is my version of what happened:

There was a maiden of the Laplands with hair of the palest gold and eyes like the noonday sky, a foreign angle to her face. The lapi nõid* were jealous by her beauty and cursed her. While wandering the forest, a group of brigands abducted her. Clever was she so kept her wits about her. Seeing she was lovely, the brigands decided she would be good for trade and took her with them.

They brought her to a shore and put her on a ship. She was hidden for months, unable to see sea or sky. At one point though, cramped and dismayed, she felt something change, despite the ocean. A presence entered the place, which seemed neither good nor bad, and there it lasted until she noticed it no more.

Eventually, she no longer recognized the difference in day and night but just the coming of food, which sometimes seemed forever. The day the presence came, she also found a pair of mittens* thrown aside, which she wore to defend further against the cold and would unwind and repair to cope with the tedium. But soon the cold drifted away.

They stopped and once more it felt different to her. The wood of a barrel near her came to life, a faint face of an elderly man showing through.

“Do as I say and you will be safe,” it said. “Out on the dock there is another ship close by. When you see the opportunity, slip away and board it. Find a safe space and stay there and be absolutely silent.”

Shocked but level-headed, she remembered and followed the directions exactly.

The air was hotter than she had experienced but dared not remove her cloak. She was beautiful and would be seen.

A different set of brigands came for her and took her ashore. She squinted in the hot, French sun, but saw the ship the haldjad* had mentioned and waited patiently for her chance. It came as the brigands were bartering over their barrels. She was intended for a duke.

It would not happen. She stowed away with stealth. She creeped quickly into the storage on the ship, away from the Sun once more, but unnoticed with the dirt accumulated in her hair and her wool cloak and mittens concealing her. She hid, once again between barrels, filled with the fish that feed the seamen, and masked her smell. She hid for a long time, but had sat longer on the way there.

After enough time that she feared they were searching the ship, it began to move. How lucky!

Good fortune found her again out of a wooden barrel. The same face which had given her instructions before. He told her new instructions on when to move when she needed.

“If you followed my instructions exactly, you will be safe,” the spirit told her, then left.

Once again, she followed the instructions exactly. Long months passed again, but not as many as she’d first sailed.

“This is your stop at the next harbor. I must return to the forest where I was first cut and begin anew. I am no vetevana* to dwell in the water. The rest of the journey is for you to navigate.”

“Have I made it to the north of Finland already?” she asked.

“No, your blood is of a different land, lost in the north many, many generations before. This will be your new home. Here you will find your mate and great joy. If you make it,” he answered, then vanished.

She remembered the instructions to stay safe and contemplated her potential obstacles.

This was not to happen so easily.

She heard a great uproar above and the ship rocked heavily. The men screamed.

Ever present was the underlying sound of a song. The song seemed to incorporate the screams into a strange melody.

The maiden was terrified, but strong-willed she was, and continued to hold on with ferocity.

The water began to pour into the space from every direction, going up the walls as well as down.

Then came the creature, part woman, both beautiful and hideous at once, and part fish, silver-scaled and dangerous.

The mermaid grinned at her and that was when the maiden let loose her own scream as the song rose from everywhere at once, lulling her while scaring her. Without moving her mouth, the näkk* told her she was drawn to the scent of a maiden and hungered for her.

The girl lifted from the floor into the grasp of her new captor. Fear rose and she was pulled by the magic of the hungry, horrible beast.

She was taken far but quickly, to a cavern, the secret home of the mermaid.

“Now, I prepare,” said the mouthless voice.

The maiden panicked but then caught in a trance and went still, hovering in the water, neither floating nor sinking.

Over the water, some distance away, a couple on a fishing boat heard the song and knew, a touch of magic they both had. They also knew that the song of a mermaid was lethal to men.

The wife, who could hold her breath long like a dolphin, saw the ship suddenly go down in the distance. The husband stayed below, holding his ears.

They were in agreement.

They took their lives into their hands and went as far as they could go without killing the husband, sailboat tossing in the water.

The wife dove in, first taking much air into her lungs.

The husband, with the gift of animal speak, washed his hands across the water in prayer. The dolphins, white on their bottom side*, heard and responded, the pod heading to the source of the song.

Feeling danger coming near her, the mermaid grew annoyed and she left her preparations to meet the enemy. Surprise took her as the dolphins came upon her. She lashed with claws and teeth, unable to send them off.

Meanwhile, the wife, worried for her husband’s life, but set on her task, entered the cavern.

She groped and cut herself on rocks but saw the light. Knowing it a dangerous glamour, the fisherwife averted her eyes and cut the ropes of the maiden and pulled her from the light.

When they exited the cave, the fisherwife gave the maiden air and the knife, for only the victim may kill this näkk, then went to the surface for breath.

The maiden saw the beast, now fleshy and torn, surrounded by dolphins who cut her with sharp teeth.

The creature turned to the maiden, eyes flashing, fangs gnashing, claws thrashing. She made to seize the girl but the dolphins made formation and held her, teeth holding fast her arms.

Without hesitation, the quick-witted maiden cut the throat of the mermaid. It screamed and made such a sound that the dolphins dispersed and pain filled the ears of both women.

Then it ended, the mermaid decaying into nothing as she fell into the deep.

The women surfaced and swam to the boat. As it happens, the scream of a mermaid which can be lethal to women, is restorative to men. The husband had lost consciousness at the sound, losing his path to the dolphins. But, he awoke with his ears and diminishing bones restored to perfect health.

He pulled his wife and the maiden aboard, both weak from their trial, but alive.

They made their way to land and saw many men swimming away from the place where the ship went down, their lives regained long enough to save themselves from a watery grave. They never took for granted their lives from that day on.

Once the husband saw that the maiden and his wife were back on land and well enough to return to the couple’s small but tidy home, he returned to sea to help the swimming sailors make it to safety along with the others on the coast who had dared not risk their lives before.

The women, once in the couple’s home, fell into a deep sleep for three days.

During that time, the husband and his son cared for them.

After awakening, the maiden told her tale, and the family invited her to stay. She spoke confidently, the language having been given to her, perhaps by some magic, from her ancient blood.

Soon after, the maiden and the son found that they were deeply in love and were married.

The people loved and admired her because from that day forward she brought luck to the people of Estonia and also to the Frenchmen who’d lost their ship while unknowingly freeing her from evil captivity.

Still today, the glass from the ship’s wares of wine and perfume, tumbled by sand and salt and made into something new, washes to the shores of Estonia, holding the tale in their myriad colors shining from within their frosted skin.

*Lapi nõid is the Estonian word for Lapland witch

*Mittens are sometimes used in Estonian lore and give protective powers and are often made by sailors

*Haldjad is the Estonian word for nature spirit or fairy and may preside over the traveling forest

*Vetevana is the Estonian word for water spirits

*Näkk is the Estonian word for mermaid

*The Atlantic white-sided dolphin is a rare and currently vulnerable species. They live in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, polar regions, the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and the Baltic Sea.

#SeaChange Adornments #sea glass jewelry #Estonian folklore #Mermaids #Baltic Mermaid Collection

[bensportfolio2017-blog]

Film Studies - Queer Theory

Queer Theory - the investigation into the positive and negative representation of the LGBT community within media, such as, film, television, and literature.

Self-identified Queer Artists and Filmmakers

Dustin Lance Black (born 1974) Black is an American screenwriter, producer, and LGBT activist. He came out as gay when he was 17/18, and in May 2016, he married openly gay Olympics diver, Tom Daley. Throughout his career, he has created several popular LGBT-oriented films, including:

‘Milk (2008, directed by Gus van Sant)’. Black wrote the screenplay for this film, which was based on the life of gay rights activist, Harvey Milk, who eventually became the first openly gay person elected to public office in California. Sean Penn portrayed the main character, who won an Oscar for Best Actor, for his role in this film. Black also won an Oscar for his screenwriting credits.

‘J. Edgar (2012, directed by Clint Eastwood)’. Black wrote the screenplay for this film, which is about the life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, who was the first Director of the FBI, and was rumoured to be either gay or asexual. Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the titular character, and he gained mostly positive reviews on his performance of the historical figure. The film was also praised on its story, direction, and production; Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter wrote “This surprising collaboration between director Clint Eastwood and ‘Milk’ screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tackles its trickiest challenges with plausibility and good sense, while of its controversial subject’s behaviour, public and private”. 

Ian McKellen (born 1939) - McKellen is a British actor and LGBT activist. He has been openly gay since 1988. He has always been a massive activist for LGBT rights, and he campaigns regularly to gain equality for his community. He is the co-founder of Stonewall, which is an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, who currently are working towards equality for LGBT people at home, work and schools. He is also the patron for LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GAY-GLOS, The Lesbian and Gay Foundation, and FFLAG. He hasn’t starred in any recognised LGBT-subject films; however, he has starred in huge film franchises such as:

The X-Men series, in which he starred as the elder version of villain, Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto.

The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit series’, in which he starred as wizard, Gandalf the Grey/Gandalf the White.

Jonathan Groff (born 1985) - Groff is an American actor. He came out as gay in October 2009. In his career, he has starred in several different LGBT-orientated media, such as:

‘The Normal Heart (2014, directed by Ryan Murphy)’, a TV movie about the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City in 1981-84. He portrays Craig Donner, a young gay man who dies suddenly of suspected gay-related immune deficiency (GRID), which was later known as AIDS.

‘Looking (2014-15)’, a comedy-drama series, about a group of young gay friends living in San Francisco. He portrays Patrick Murray, an openly gay video game designer.

Representation of LGBT characters in film

In 2013, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) started to release the Studio Responsibility Index, which is an annual report of statistics on the representation of LGBT characters in films produced by the six major production companies (20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Colombia, Universal Pictures, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros.), in the previous year.

In 2012, 13.9% of films released contained lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters. No transgender characters where portrayed. But, only 28.6% of these films, had LGBT characters as major characters.

In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment was added to the list of major production companies. 16.7% of films released involved LGBT characters, with the majority starring in comedies.

In 2014, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Roadside Attractions, and Sony Pictures Classics were added to the list of studios. This year, 17.5% of films included lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters, with no identifiable transgender characters. This year, Warner Bros. was the most inclusive studio, with 32% of their films were LGBT-inclusive.

In 2015, 17.5% of films included LGBT characters. In these films, there was 1 transgender character, and 47 lesbian, gay and bisexual characters.

Queering the canon

Queering the canon is the theory that characters in film can be assigned as being LGBT, judging by their personality, actions, metaphorical storylines, and the characters they associate with.

Walt Disney Pictures, is mainly used as an example of having non-explicit LGBT characters. Disney have always maintained a positive relationship with the community, as they were the first company to extend healthcare benefits to the partners of gay employees. They also host regular pride festivals at their theme parks. Therefore, the company and their films have always been the subject of gay theories about characters.

Films that include confirmed or suspected LGBT characters are:

Ursula from the film, ‘The Little Mermaid (1989, directed by Ron Clement and John Musker)’. The character of Ursula, is a suspected lesbian or bisexual woman. This is because she resembles the popular drag queen, Divine. Her personality also reflects this. Some viewers also interpret the character as an overtly male ‘butch’ lesbian, who represents the evil of homosexuality, and wanting to turn the innocent, Ariel into a lesbian woman.

Timon and Pumbaa from the film, ‘The Lion King (1994, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff)’. The characters of Timon and Pumbaa, are suspected to be in a gay relationship. This is reinforced in the fact they have a ‘married couple’ type relationship. They go through popular LGBT struggles, of being social outcasts and gay adoption. They are also negatively represented as they are the flamboyant comic relief for the film. 

Elsa from the film, ‘Frozen (2013, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee)’. The character of Elsa, is portrayed as a young girl who was born different to everyone else. Her parents hid her away, because they feared they would be judged, and she would be rejected by the world. When she reveals her ‘icy powers’ (a metaphor for her being a lesbian), she is called a freak and cast out of her home into isolation. Multiple elements of the story, can be metaphors for coming out, and suppression of her sexuality from her parents. Her bedroom acts as her ‘closet’ which she eventually comes out of, and her parents tell her to ‘conceal, don’t feel’. All of these elements indicate to the character likely to be a lesbian. She even has a ‘coming out’ song – “Let It Go”, in which she says ‘Let It Go, Let It Go. Turn away and slam the door’ and ‘I don’t care what they’re going to say’. Elsa is also a good representation of women, as she is the only Disney princess not to require a love interest to survive.

Films with an LGBT subjects and characters‘

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, directed by Jim Sharman)’ - This film is about a young couple who, after their car breaks down in the rain, seek help at a castle, where they come across a group of strangers celebrating an annual convention. They meet Dr. Frank N. Furter, a mad alien transvestite, who creates a living man for his own sexual desires. This film was written by Richard O’Brian, who is openly transgender. He also starred in this film as Riff Raff, the house handyman. This has become a cult film for members of the LGBT community, including their allies, as this film would regularly bring everyone together, disregarding their sexuality, dressed up in stockings and heels, to participate in screenings of the film in movie theatres. The popularity of this film and similar films helped to bring LGBT rights to mainstream media, and to the attention of the public. Most of the LGBT-orientated films of the 20th Century were usually about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other gay-related issues, whereas this film depicts the gay community in a friendlier, more accepting way.

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, directed by Stephen Chbosky)’ - This film is about a young student called Charlie, who suffers from clinical depression because of childhood setback. He is very shy and finds it difficult to make friends. When he meets two fellow students, Patrick and Sam, he is invited along to several social activities with them. The film carries on telling the story of their friendships and of Charlie’s depression. The character of Patrick, is openly gay, and is in a secret relationship with Brad, a closeted football player. They get caught kissing at a party by Charlie. Later on, Patrick and Brad are caught having sex by Brad’s dad, who then kicks out Patrick and beat up his son. Brad is then forced to tell his friends that he was jumped, to hide the fact that he is gay. The next day, Patrick walks past Brad and his friends, and Brad shouts out and calls Patrick a ‘faggot’, which provokes Patrick to ‘out’ him to his friends, who then beat up Patrick, and he gets saved by Charlie, who beats up all the friends then blacks out. This film was subject to mainly positive reviews, commenting on the strong cast performances, and “heartfelt and sincere adaption” of the 1999 book it was based on.

‘Moonlight (2016, directed by Barry Jenkins)’ - This film is about the main character, Chiron, and his difficulties he faces, relating to his race, and sexual identity, which includes his physical and emotional abuse that he received whilst growing up. The film is presented in three different parts, Little, Chiron, and Black. ‘Little’ tells the story of young Chiron, who is a withdrawn child, who lives with his drug-addicted mother, Paula. He befriends drug dealer, Juan, and gets bullied at school by fellow students, who called him a ‘faggot’. ‘Chiron’ describes Chiron’s teenage life, as he avoids bullies, and spends time with Juan’s girlfriend, after Juan dies. One night, he spends time with his friend, Kevin, they eventually kiss and engage in sexual contact. The next day, Kevin beats him up reluctantly. In ‘Black’, Chiron, who is now adult, sells drugs. His mother is in a rehabilitation centre. He goes and visits Kevin, who after talking for a while, go back to his house and Chiron breaks down, Kevin comforts him and they embrace. This film received huge critical acclaim, gaining an Oscar for Best Picture, being the first film with and all-black cast, and LGBT theme, to do so.

‘Call Me by Your Name (2017, directed by Luca Guadagnino)’ - This film is based on the 2017 novel which has the same name, and was written by André Aciman. It is about the gay relationship between 17-year-old, Elio, and his father’s student, 30-year-old, Oliver. When this film was aired at Sundance Film Festival, it gained huge acclaim and mostly positive critical reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 98% which was based on critics and public reviews, which had an average rating of 9.1/10. The site describes the films as “a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love”.

Representation of LGBT characters in Hollywood films

Ever since the beginning of Hollywood, there has always been controversy over their negative representation of homosexuality. Critics and activists would usually focus on how portrayals would often demean and try to silence the LGBT community.

At the beginning of Hollywood (1890’s to the 1930’s), homosexuality was usually presented as an object of mockery and laughter. Films regularly used the archetype of ‘the sissy’ – which were feminine men who usually have delicate emotions. This was popular, and was used as a source of amusement for the viewers. However, this was not a negative representation, because it was in the middle of masculinity and femininity.

In the 1930’s to 50’s, Hollywood was criticised by religious and homophobic groups, because films would apparently contribute to immorality. Therefore, the Hay’s Code was introduced. The Hay’s Code was a system of self-censorship that mainly affected the representation of homosexuality. During this time, films were unable to include openly gay characters, so instead homosexuality would be included into the character’s mannerisms and behaviour.

During the 1960’s and 70’s, the Hay’s Code was loosened. This was during the dawn of the gay rights movement, and because gays and lesbians were becoming more vocal and visible in society, therefore representation became increasingly more homophobic. Gay characters were portrayed as dangerous, violent, predatory, and suicidal, shown in films such as ‘Midnight Express (1978, directed by Alan Parker), ‘Vanishing Point (1971, directed by Richard C. Sarafian), and ‘The Boys in the Band (1970, directed by William Friedkin).

In the 1990’s, Hollywood improved their representation of LGBT characters. Films such as, ‘Philadelphia (1993, directed by Jonathan Demme)’, ‘To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995, directed by Beeban Kidron)’, and ‘In & Out (1997, directed by Frank Oz)’, proved that audiences can and do enjoy films that have gay and lesbian characters. But, the film industry was still cautious of their representation of gay characters, themes, and experiences. Because Hollywood films were designed to appeal to as big an audience as possible, producers were scared that gay and lesbian themes would offend audiences, and potential investors.

#queer theory #lgbt #lesbian #gay #bixexual #transgender #essay #representation #hollywood #disney #dustin lance black #ian mckellen #jonathan groff #ursula #timon and pumbaa #elsa #the rocky horror picture show #the perks of being a wallflower #moonlight #call me by your name #film studies #brokeback mountain

[honeyedmilks]

i’ve debated a lot on addressing this but it’s the second reply like this made by blogger @labiotte so i thought i should. these replies where made at this post of mine. it’s nearly three am but here i go on my wonky rant.

look, i don’t at all disagree with the fact that any of that stuff happens, and trust me- i’m no fan of it either. but can i first of all make clear that that post of mine was to acknowledge some positivity in korean dramas. 

now, yes there are a lot of terrible male leads and characters but that shouldn’t negate the fact that there are nice boys in korean dramas too. there are lots of boys who don’t do many of those things described in your reply. the way you made your point was worded in a way where i think you meant to mock me for thinking that any of the men in korean dramas could be soft. i don’t appreciate that. you can make a post of your own highlighting these issues that almost every kdrama viewer acknowledges and feels. 

here are some examples of lovely men; baek in ho from cheese in the trap who said these iconic lines. baek in ho himself was a wonderful male character. someone’s made a whole appreciation post for him. i could go on about him for ages. he doesn’t take sexist shit, disrespectful things said to women, and he’s just lovely. 

you have people like joon hyung, though i don’t agree at all with his first kiss scene with bok joo, from weightliftig fairy who cried because his mum basically abandoned him when he was a child and when she came to see him and his current for family- it was for money. he missed her a lot and was ready to welcome her back into his life, thinking she loved him and missed him just as much. when he found out the truth he felt embarrassed for himself and hid away for hours and found comfort as he cried and explained to his worried girlfriend about how he felt.  he was a cute and lovely boyfriend, both supportive and sweet. 

you have one of the softest people in the world- the grim reaper from goblin, or grimsie as i call him. do i really have to explain what made him soft and sensitive and lovely? i don’t think so. i think lee dong wonk cried enough to fill a bucket for me. he cried for sunny, for the things he did in his past life, cried out of guilt, cried when eun tak died, when shin died… he bent all of his rules for his friends even though he’s seemingly uptight. do people forget the cutest thing? the fact that it was his idea to buy eun tak that ice cream cake? 

there’s also shin from goblin too, a man who was also a little fragile inside. he fell to his knees when his bride died, sobbed, and sobbed. he was a renowned general in goryeo and fought countless battles but managed to be the biggest dork when it came to just about everything else. he gets drunk off of one beer and blooms flowers when he spends time with the love of his life. he said that meeting eun tak was the reward of his life. not immortality or powers- eun tak. he’s said he would always prefer to help little children first. he cried reading a contract he knew he couldn’t uphold. he made apple rabbits for a sad grim reaper. he’s a cute boyfriend. he would rather live an eternity alone but have at least a few lives with eun tak. 

there’s ho goo from hoo goo’s love who cried when he saw a women he basically loved give birth, praised her for her strength, understood the strength of woman from his lovely father who was just as soft as him, helped her through labour in the most endearing way, like seriously, was a kind son, is overall a cutie who gets jelly legs from (non forced) kisses, appreciates his mother even more after witnessing the miracle of birth, and the best friend of the littlest baby.

there’s hae joon jae from legend of the blue sea. he was a silly drunk, helped a girl he didn’t even know and even though he stole from her, he went back for her. he helped her and fed her and gave her back the thing he took. you should just see the cute, ridiculous, kind things he does. he is so gentle? he cried when his mum vanished and harboured no ill will against her, he just missed her and wanted to be reunited with her. changed for the better for the girl he loved and for himself as he went from con man to civil servant. thought his girlfriend was cool and nice, loved her as she was when she worried he wouldn’t. he wanted to protect her secret, and allowed himself to be weak in front of her. in his past life he was a cool guy who saved a mermaid from the clutches of a gross ass man.

there’s also jung hwa from reply 1988 who was a tsundre type and a little abrasive but he really was just shy and lovely and a great son who loved his dork brother and dork friends. he never really confessed to the girl he loved after he found out one of his best friends liked her too. he cried when his brother was getting a heart operation, cried when he couldn’t get his feelings straight and do something about them until he found he was too late. in fact so many of the boys and relationships in this show were soft. even the grown men and fathers were lovely. 

there’s park do kyung who had to deal with the trauma of his father dying in front of him as a child and trying to recover his dead body and take him somewhere safe. do kyung was kind, not at all an inherently bad person, and was only ever violent when in pain or angered but he was never the kind of person to attack anyone innocent and nor did he ever threaten oh hae young. in fact there are lots of reasons to like do kyung. because he’s so soft spoken and shy, but at the same time… he was a man with high work standards and a hard worker who didn’t take slackers. he looked out for oh hae young when he saw iffy stuff, that’s one example of many; he’s sped home to get her out of reach from a stranger who was following her, he’s driven out of work to make sure she didn’t jump in front of a car. he was also a good friend, a kind person, he was dorky said cute things, and he had a pack of loyal male friends who trailed after him and tried to cheer him up as he dealt with his mistakes. he cried from guilt and then pain as he hurt and lost the women he loved. he never wanted to hurt her. 

and there are lots of other examples of cute and soft and nice and unharmful and good and emotional men who aren’t mean and horrible and problematic that i could mention. 

but i never say that kdrama boys don’t have their faults, i don’t love how they talk about women sometimes, i hate their wrist grabbing and other such nonsense but please do not say that every man is like that, and you’re tone does imply that i’m an idiot for believing so. like i said, feel free to make your own post. this post i made was directed towards those kind of boys. it was made for positivity and acknowledgement of those boys, and that kind of negativity doesn’t belong there in my opinion. 

#this is sooo long and so badly written but fuck it! #thank you to the lovely network squad for helping me pull out receipts!!! ily!!! #sorry for any typos!! #kdramanetwork #tumbly talks #i was mad tbh #i was enraged #i was- #kdrama #tumbly talks: kdrama edition

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Modern Day 2

And here is part 2! (In which Undertaker appears - and he is worse than ever.)

Chapter Two: The Reaper, Encounter

“I can’t tell you why ‒ but on that day she had managed to bewitch a creature she knew nothing of.”

London, England, United Kingdom ‒ January 2016

I had watched them for quite a long time now because of my work.

Every time, one of them was launched by the Royal family a lot of people died. People whose souls I had to collect.

And eventually, they died too ‒ mostly in a gruesome manner. Only a few of them had died peacefully at an old age. There had also been times when one had died only a few months after his decoration.

But a case like this time had never occurred before. Because the past Watchdog’s of the Royal family, the past heads of the cursed Phantomhive family, had always been males.

Therefore, I was especially interested in this new one. In the very first female Watchdog in the long, bloody history of the United Kingdom. Also, she was already one of the Watchdogs with the highest body count ‒ and she held this position for not even five years now.

Well, that’s what I call “gender equality” ‒ just kidding.

Almost every day, I was sent to collect the souls of the people she had killed ‒ or would kill.

Today it was the same.

He watched her from high above as Cloudia Phantomhive stabbed Ronan Parrish in the dead of night.

Like always, he was amused by the way she lured her prey into her trap. She would play the lovely girlfriend of a dangerous man who didn’t exist, the grieving daughter of a famous man and the caring one for her poor mother.

And when she managed to successfully trap her prey, she would immediately let her facade fall down and show her true face as the deadly Watchdog of the Queen.

In the last five years, Cloudia Phantomhive had played the same game over and over again ‒ and to her own fortune, she was always successful. The society only knew her facade, the person she had built on lies; and the Underworld she ruled over was as unknowing as its counterpart.

She was like one of these very special agents or soldiers nobody really knew existed. Or more poetically...

She was like a rose whose immense beauty bewitched everyone. And you would only remember her thorns, which she had hidden so well behind her deadly spell, when there was already no way back anymore.

She never showed mercy ‒ never spared a life. This girl provided most of my work. This girl who could so easily kill people without hesitation.

Without ever thinking about the value of a life.

And this since she had turned twelve years old. She had been turned into the current murderous Watchdog as a child even though “state parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities” according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 38. I hoped that I did not have to mention that the United Kingdom was part of the United Nations, and still they had made a twelve-year-old child into their secret, personal murderess.

The world was cruel, but that was the world.

“L... Lady Cloudia...,” Parrish said with his last breath. Cloudia looked down at Parrish, and he thought that the pale moonlight made her look eerie.

“That’s Cloudia Phantomhive, Countess of Phantomhive for you. Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth’s Watchdog.”

She buttoned down her dark blue coat while Parrish laid dead in front of her feet, his empty eyes staring at her. Cloudia had opened her coat and taken out the dagger so quickly, that Lord Parrish hadn’t realised anything before it had been too late.

To be honest, I had listened to their entire conversation and after a few minutes my whole body screamed “Kill him already, Countess.” He had not only been a bad person, he had been annoying as hell too. If I had wanted to watch an idiot who thought he was superior over everyone and everything, I could have turned Trash TV on as well. The only difference between Parrish and Trash TV idi... “actors” was the well-known fact that Trash TV “celebrities” didn’t know fancy words like Parrish had.

“I liked this dress,” Cloudia sighed when she hid the blood stains on it with her coat. “Not even Lisa will be able to save this now.” She sighed again.

He had seen the dress Cloudia was wearing before ‒ in the magazine of a female colleague ‒ and thus knew that it was part of Tony Ward’s Autumn/Winter 2015 collection: The dress had been light blue gown with lace, tulle which had been embroidered, and with a mermaid shape ‒ tight upper half, loose skirt part. It also had cap sleeves and a sheer neckline. A beautiful pattern of flowers in blue danced over the soft dress. And now, ugly blood stains befouled this beauty.

What a pity, I thought while grinning.

Like always, Cloudia would wait for her butler, Alfred Newman, to arrive ‒ she had already called him quickly –, to load the corpse in a fancy shining black car with perfectly tainted windows that you had problems to distinguish between the windows and the rest of the car, and clean up the blood. It was always the same procedure. She never went out on a job without her butler nearby.

“What a mess,” Cloudia murmured to herself. “Now I will have to buy the same dress a second time.”

“This is fairly a mess,” he agreed with her ‒ and even from his place on one of the roofs, he could see her flinch and turn around, looking for a matching body for the voice which had just spoken.

“You always leave quite a mess, do you know that?” he continued, even though he shouldn’t. He should run away before she discovered him. But, he had already spoken and she had already heard him, so it wouldn’t matter anymore if he continued or not.

Cloudia looked around and, finally, she spotted him. Her large blue eyes widened when she stared up at him.

She was like a deadly Snow White: Hair as dark as the feathers of ravens, and as dark as sin; skin as pale as snow; lips as red as blood ‒ blood which wasn’t hers and painted her lovely clothing in dread.

And in this night, Cloudia Phantomhive looked even more like an eerie Snow White: With the moonlight making her skin paler than usual and soaking her pretty blue eyes in silver.

I wasn’t sure why I had decided to show me to her ‒ or to even talk to her. Actually, no one should be able to see me, except, of course, I wanted to. But today I had lifted the “invisibility spell” from me to face this young Countess of the Underworld.

For a long time now, I had grown sick of my occupation, feeling empty and bored while executing it. Every day for many, many years, I had followed the same old procedure. I lured for excitement, for something new, for something entertaining, but I had never done anything against it, pushing my desires back and continuing this life which couldn’t fill me anymore.

And now I had shown myself to this Dark Queen. It could have been anyone, but of all people, I had chosen her.

Her, this girl, who couldn’t even understand what it meant to die. This girl who faced death without blinking an eye.

The reason why, however, was even a mystery to me.

Or why my head had suddenly decided to go all Nicholas Sparks. Seriously.

“Who are you? Tell me your name, and the reason why you are sitting on a roof and watching me!” Cloudia demanded, her eyes glaring at him.

She was not afraid. I was sitting on a roof, and she could only guess how I managed to get there ‒ but still, she did not display any fear. Instead, she glared at me.

He smiled and jumped off the roof. She stepped back, staring at him. He bowed gracefully at her for a second, before standing up again and starting to laugh. “Well ‒ I have never done something like that before. Bowing is really a funny thing to do, don’t you think, Countess?”

“I have asked you something, stranger,” Cloudia said harshly, eying him suspiciously.

I jumped off a roof. What did I have to do to scare this woman? It would fairly be amusing to see her scared face. Definitely, it would make me laugh.

My colleagues were all very boring, and when you had all the time in the world to go through jokes in books and the internet or to watch a million cat or silly baby videos on YouTube you often had a bit of a problem to find a good laughter.

Just kidding ‒ I would never grow tired of cat videos. They were just hilarious.

He grinned widely. “I’m sorry. I was just observing the mess you have done this time. You always kill your victims so cold-heartily, and every time the whole ground is soaked in their blood. Also, you always ruin some nice clothing. You may be a lady, Countess, but you’re fairly a messy one.” He chuckled at his own words.

She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you? Answer me! I won’t allow you to make a fool out of me!”

He laughed. “Why so serious, Countess? I didn’t do you any harm! Actually, I’m the one who cleans up your mess in a certain way.”

Cloudia lifted one of her elegantly swung eyebrows. “‘Clean up in a certain way’? Which way do you refer to, stranger? And did you just quote the Joker?”

He giggled while covering his mouth with both his hands, which were hidden in his far too long sleeves. “Well, Countess, while I know you very well as you can see, you don’t know much of me. Honestly, you don’t know anything about me. But that’s fine as you actually shouldn’t get to know me ‒ not even now. But for you, little Countess, I will make an exception.”

Again, he bowed in front of her, before standing up with a giggle, his yellowish green eyes shining behind his glasses in the dark night.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Countess of Phantomhive ‒ I am nothing else than a simple Grim Reaper collecting the souls of the fallen.”

#cloudia phantomhive #UndertakerxClaudia #claudia phantomhive #undertaker #cedric k. ros #kuroshitsuji #black butler #fanfiction #modern day #modern au

[pika-ace]

selkie sonny au!

I was VERY tempted to include Vanessa and Nina as selkies, cause female selkies are apparently SUPER beautiful, but then I read up on the lore and ALL the legends including female selkies getting with a man involves the man stealing their selkie coat and basically keeping them from their true form and their true home (which is the sea) and I don’t wanna put our girls through that. So yeah, Sonny can be a selkie along with Benny and Usnavi and I can see almost a Little Mermaid setup here, at least for Usnavi and Vanessa. But I think Benny and Nina could be a the main plot here since their stuff can fit with the lore better (and I’m a sucker for mythology and legends). So maybe Nina’s life ain’t the greatest with maybe pressure to do good in life and she doesn’t know what to do. According to the legends, male selkies seek out females but for vice versa, a woman must shed seven tears into the sea, so Nina unintentionally does that, crying at the shore cause the ocean calms here and Benny pops up and asks her what’s wrong. After that, Nina basically goes to Benny in the ocean when she needs to vent or if she just wants to talk and Benny is TOTALLY smitten with her. Normally, male selkies use their powers of seduction to win over women, but Benny doesn’t want to do that. In fact, I could see Sonny, Usnavi, and Benny being few selkies who don’t like using their seduction powers to win women over because that’s just unfair and fucked up. Also, apparently selkies and humans can only meet once every seven years but these guys are like ‘fuck that’ and throw that rule out the window. For Usnavi and Vanessa and maybe Sonny and Pete as well, they meet and fall in love WITHOUT the humans needing to cry. Usnavi maybe sees Vanessa and instantly falls in love with her and eventually gets up the courage to talk to her, and maybe Sonny could save Pete from drowning or something. So all three couples basically slowly build up their romance and when the time comes, the boys willingly give their selkie skin to their lover, basically giving their lives to them because they love them that much, and maybe they can give the skins back if they feel as if Usnavi, Sonny and Benny are missing the ocean too much and everything’s good (cause almost all the selkie stories I found were freaking sad, let’s have a happy one, please and thank you). That’s my equal part version.

But if you were looking for a solely Sonny selkie AU…

So Sonny’s the only selkie and the only ones who know are Usnavi and Sonny’s mom. Jane met Sonny’s father who was a human, but he stole her selkie skin so Jane had no choice but to be with him. But when Jane got pregnant with a selkie child, the dad turned tail. Unfortunately, Jane couldn’t find her selkie skin (the asshat either destroyed it or hid it really good) so she can’t go back to the sea and that just TEARS HER UP. I have a theory that selkies as humans aren’t as strong as regular humans cause they grew up in the sea, they’re not used to living as humans. So Jane’s pretty weak and depressed most of the time, leaving Usnavi to take care of Sonny. Jane teaches him about his selkie powers and tells him to NEVER give his skin to ANYBODY. Sonny has a better chance of not being tricked since he’s a boy, but that won’t stop treasure hunters from trying to take his skin to sell since they’ll think he’s a seal and try to skin him (foreshadowing??) So Sonny’s able to live out his childhood pretty well, but, kinda like Moana, he’s just so drawn to the ocean, just like his mom. But when he turns fifteen, his mother dies. She couldn’t handle living as a human, and she was just too weak. As a last gift to his mom, Sonny gives her burial at sea, letting her be at rest in her one true home. So now he only has Usnavi and he has to take care of a selkie child which is easier said than done. Sonny almost ALWAYS goes out to the ocean to swim and Usnavi FREAKS whenever this happens cause if something happens in the ocean, Usnavi can’t help him. The only thing Usnavi can relax about is Sonny not telling anybody his secret, cause Sonny was PISSED when his mom told him about what his dad did to her so yeah, he’s not giving his skin to ANYBODY and maybe one of his goals in life is to find his father and find out what he did with his mom’s skin cause she deserves justice, dammit! Usnavi however, has been tempted to tell Vanessa, Benny, and Nina, cause he trusts them the most, and thinks that if more people know, they can protect Sonny easier. Usnavi’s discussed it with Sonny and he’s iffy about it, but thinks that Usnavi does have a point, he just needs some time to think it over. But then, one day, everything goes wrong, and one day, while Sonny is swimming around as a seal in the ocean, he gets caught in a net. Usnavi was watching him on the shore but there’s nothing he can do. The boat is too far away. So Sonny gets taken onboard and he has to shift and you can practically see the money signs in the sailors’ eyes. Sonny clutches his selkie skin cause he’ll be damned if he lets ANYONE take his selkie skin but they don’t want to just take the skin. They want SONNY. They caught a god damn selkie and they plan to make bank off of this. They dock the boat and get ready to transport Sonny, when Usnavi appears, followed by Vanessa, Benny and Nina (he just told them that Sonny was in trouble and followed) and Usnavi tries to get them to let Sonny go, but of course, they don’t, and the barrio fam is helpless to stop them, and just watch as Sonny’s squirming around in a net and put in a crate to be shipped off god knows where. So Sonny is maybe shipped somewhere in New York city and dumped in a tank and he’s completely helpless to fight back. All the sailors have to do is threaten to take away his skin and Sonny won’t move. Meanwhile, the barrio fam (Usnavi went ahead and told them Sonny’s secret) are trying their best to track down Sonny and praying that he’ll escape and find his way back home. Poor Usnavi basically spends all day and night just sitting at the docks, waiting for Sonny. Vanessa starts joining him on those excursions, offering her support and comfort and they have a bunch of cute moments. So Sonny spends some time in an aquarium, staying as a seal and he’s able to transform back into a human once it closes; the bad guys aren’t too happy about that since his transformation is the big money maker, but people are still paying to see this pretty seal so whatever. One night, he’s sitting out as a human in his display tank and he’s crying, missing his cousin, his home, his freedom, when it just so happens, he’s not alone. Enter Pete, as his usual street punk self and he happened to be passing by when he heard Sonny’s crying. He goes up to the tank and taps the glass, 'Hey kid, what the hell are you doing in a tank?’ Sonny doesn’t answer and just hides cause his trust for human strangers is just about shot thanks to the sailors and all the patrons ogling him through the glass. However, Pete keeps coming back and just talking to him; he has no idea what’s going on, but he’s a bit uneasy that this kid is stuck in this tank every night with only seal skin for clothes. Sonny eventually decides to throw him a bone and they start talking a bit when Sonny mentions that he was kidnapped. And Pete’s just like 'Why the hell would these guys kidnap a kid and stick him in a tank? You don’t look like a mermaid or anything.’ But before Sonny can answer, the bad guys come back and Pete hides. They tell Sonny that they’re planning to ship him somewhere SUPER far away and he has to transform in front of everyone to make it happen. Of course, Sonny refuses, so the bad guys step it up a notch. They tie Sonny up and threaten to burn his selkie skin if he doesn’t do as they say, and the head honcho of the bad guys eventually blurts out 'You selkies are all the same; take their skin and they’re yours to command, just like that one bitch a long time ago.’ Yep. Sonny’s dad is one of the bad guys. Now Sonny’s pissed 'YOU BETRAYED MY MOM!! SHE’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!’ But Sonny’s dad doesn’t care, and just goes, 'I’m gonna do what I should’ve done with your mom; sell you.’ So the bad guys leave, keeping Sonny tied up in his tank and take his selkie skin away so he can’t try anything and Sonny can just writhe about in his bonds in anger before slumping over in tears. And Pete, who saw this whole thing, is just FUMING. He follows the bad guys and watches where they hide the selkie skin and he sneaks in when they leave. However, he finds two selkie skins and he can’t tell which one is Sonny’s, so he takes both. He goes back to the tank and does what he SHOULD’VE done: breaks the damn glass. He unties Sonny and holds out the skins, 'There were two, so I just took both.’ Sonny takes his but the other one feels familiar. 'This…this is my mom’s skin…’ They get out of the cage and they have to get to the ocean somehow, but the bad guys start chasing them, and we have a big climax that maybe ends with Sonny taking on his dad and dealing the final blow 'That was for my mom, you son of a bitch.’ So after that, Pete and Sonny go to the beach and it’s a straight shot for Sonny to get home. They have a goodbye and promise to meet again, and Pete watches as Sonny swims off in the sunrise. Before he goes home, Sonny lets his mom’s skin sink into the ocean to be with her, and then he jets home. Usnavi is still at the docks along with the rest of the barrio, waiting for him and he sees Sonny swimming towards him, jumping like a dolphin, and jumps right into Usnavi’s arms as a seal, changing back into a boy, and there’s lots of tears and hugs and everything’s good. 

#whew! #long post #but this was fun #I like both of these versions a lot! #in the heights aus #selkie au #vansnavi #benina #sonny/graffiti pete #sonny de la vega #usnavi de la vega #vanessa otilia garcía #nina rosario #benny #graffiti pete #sonny's mom #fantasy #in the heights