[danandblair]

incorrect dair quotes

[eriklehnsherryes]

Bridgerton 1x08 : After the Rain

[mishellejones]

#it’s their love language

[placingglaciers]

taylor swift + marjorie

[how--the-story-ends]

“The Brethren Court”

Katie practically fled from the back room. She was grateful for the bustle in the front; it would help her to regain some of her composure. Her Aunt Giselle was smirking at her, while Jack and Scarlett were conspicuously absent. Katie instead managed to dash to the bar (manned by Pintel), who passed her a beverage. She grabbed one for Aziz, handing it in his general direction, still not entirely meeting his eyes.

Katie was saved from further embarrassment by the knock of boots on the floor. The pirates parted like the sea before Calypso, their chatter drifting into respectful murmurs as Elizabeth Swann-Turner, and Will Turner, entered. Elizabeth wore a white undershirt (clearly one of Will’s based on its length) with a simple black corset (more than loose enough for her to breathe) and leather pants. Over that, she wore a long, weathered trench coat and a simple tricorner hat, her sword glinting at her waist. Will was attired similarly, though he of course did not wear a corset (the better to show off the scar on his chest, though of course every pirate knew of his time as Davy Jones), and favored a bandana over a hat. He too wore a sword. Katie swallowed as she laid eyes on it- it was one he’d made himself.

Just like he’d made her father’s.

Will nodded to her, a soft smile on his face when he saw her. Elizabeth stayed serious, as befitting the situation at hand.

She glanced at the crowded tavern, then announced gravely: “I’m glad to see you’ve all arrived here. As you know, these are dangerous times, with further dangers likely to follow. We leave our waters open for a few days more to allow our brethren traveling greater distances time to arrive, but then-“ the Pirate King stopped as she noticed Aziz.

“And you are?”

[thexlastoftherealones]

Aziz hesitantly grabbed the drink, barely looking at her as he took a sip from it. If they kept going like this, this would be one long journey…

He looked up as the new guests entered the room. Based on the way the other pirates were treating them, he could tell they were important. Probably some of the brethren that Katie had mentioned before. He was about to ask  for more information when he was startled by the woman’s question. 

If he was being honest, it felt weird to have to introduce himself to someone else- his face was plastered on far too many magazines for that to be neccessary. But in a way, it was also a bit of a relief, knowing that the other person didn’t already have a preconceived notion of him. Here, no one really cared about his family’s throne or his tourney throphes. He could just be…himself. Whomever that was these days. 

“Uh, Aziz. Aziz of Agrabah, ” he replied, omitting his title- it wasn’t as if that meant anything here (except for motivation to be held for ransom, perhaps). “I’m Katie’s friend,” he added as an afterthought. He readjusted the jacket, trying to look more presentable. Again, it wasn’t as if anyone cared about his looks here, but old habits die hard. He stuck out like a sore thumb and he knew it, so the least he could do was try and seem less…well, less like someone like him, really. 

[how--the-story-ends]

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at this deliberately vague response, and Katie swallowed as it seemed everyone in the tavern kept looking back and forth from her to Aziz. The pirates, all a ragtag group, tended to look after her in their roundabout way, but she didn’t typically bring friends to Tortuga (as the town tended to offend Auradonian sensibilities).  A long moment passed where Elizabeth appraised the two, before finally inquiring:

“Agrabah? That’s a long way to bring a friend.”  True, Tortuga was set apart from the mainland on purpose- and if Central Auradon was far, Agrabah was even farther. 

“Aye. It is, isn’t it?” Ragetti sneered.  He looked Aziz up and down, gauging the clothes on his back.  

“And to Tortuga? Safe haven of pirates? Agrabah isn’t home to us-“ one pirate continued, raising his fist.  

“And there’s naught of pirates there,” finished another. The crowd started to advance towards Aziz, suspicious now. A few reached towards their weapons, clearly itching to use their guns or swords.

Recognizing the situation was escalating rapidly (and that it was far too early in the evening for the tavern to erupt into a fight), Katie immediately shouted, “PARLEY!” Amidst a chorus of groans, Katie repeated, “Aziz demands parley.” She kicked him, trying to get him to repeat after her.  Despite the murmurs of dissatisfaction, Katie stood straight and tall, daring any of them to stand up to her.  

The pirates looked to Elizabeth for confirmation, who shrugged, “We honor the Code. Far be it from me to deny anyone parley. Though I must say- I think we’ve got bigger problems.”

“Elizabeth!” Jack’s voice rung out in the tavern, as he appeared on the second floor of the tavern, Scarlett on his arm.  He quickly untangled their hands in order to sweep Elizabeth an exaggerated bow, “I think we’ve discussed how those clothes do not flatter you at all.”  He sauntered down the stairs, “Still, from all the shouting I gather one of you lot’s asked for parley?  And we aren’t even on a ship-”  “He who’s asked for parley,” Scarlett interjected, “will answer to me, in my tavern.  And any who threaten him will earn my wrath.  Savvy?”   The pirates nodded, angrily whispering under their breaths.  Will rolled his eyes and muttered, “Bloody pirates.”   Katie started.  By all arguments, Will counted as one too. Still, he gave her a wink, and she shook her head at him.   “Now that we’ve established we will not be having a shoot out this evening,” Elizabeth declared, “Let’s redirect our attentions to something a tad more appropriate: what news has anyone of Auradon?  Confirmed news?  Not rumors?”  Katie looked at Aziz.  If he shared what he knew, it could help save many pirates.  But who knew if any of the pirates would believe him?  

[thexlastoftherealones]

"I demand parley with Scarlett the Redhead," Aziz shouted back after Katie nudged him. This was one word he wouldn't forget anytime soon.

He sighed with relief after realising that he was truly safe now. He also realised why everyone in the tavern seemed to look towards the new guest for guidance; she must have been the 'Elizabeth' that Katie had mentioned before. He had a faint memory of a story about a Pirate King named that way that his grandfather Cassim had shared with him once.

"And you're Elizabeth Swann. The Pirate King," he smirked, proud of his realisation. "Which makes you," he continued, pointing to the man next to her, "Will Turner, former captain of the Flying Dutchman. " Just like Cassim had said. "So you're, uh, Jack ? I forgot the last part," he added hesitantly, addressing the last guest. He was sure there was another word that came before 'Jack', but it slipped his mind.

Okay, now that he'd figured out what was going on and who these people were- no thanks to Katie, who was apparently still avoiding him- he just had to figure out what to do next. His revealing his true would place him in a lot of danger, that much was true.

But, then, wasn't he already in a lot of danger? Wasn't that the risk he'd taken when he decided to drop everything and try and save Katie?

There was no turning back now.

"Right, about that," he started, clearing his throat. "I actually have news directly from the source and things are not looking good for anyone in this room. " He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "They want to rebuild the Isle- and this time around they're not sparing the pirates. Most of them agreed, while some agreed under the condition that certain adjustments are made, so they're probably preparing their armies as we speak. You've got like a week or two left."

And, now, onto the hardest part.

"I know because I was there when they announced it. I'm Aziz al-Hamed of Agrabah...former Crown Prince, " he admitted, hesitating on the last part. "If you don't believe me, you can just search my face online, or ask an Agrabanian pirate. Trust me, my face is all over the news, now more than ever. " Now that he thought about it, it was surprising how none of them recognised him, at least as one of Katie's friends. Yasmine and Aladdin knew all about the pirate girl, because he'd mentioned her a lot. Then again, it was getting increasingly obvious that his feelings were probably not returned. Or not to the same extent, in any case.

"But you can't tell anyone else, obviously. We'd all get in trouble, " he added, not because he didn't expect the pirates to figure that out on their own, but because he was kind of desperate. He had no idea what he was doing, honestly.

[thexlastoftherealones]

Curiouser and curiouser||Solo Para|| Lily Kingsleigh

~Eleven years ago~

Wonderland's two moons hadn't risen yet, but its skies were already coloured in hues of purple, pink, and blue, marking the arrival of evening time.

 Inside the Summerlands, Governor Alice Kingsleighs estate, Lily laughed as she raced across blue and white hallways of the marble palace in the centre, chased by two Knaves of Spades, who were desperately trying to stop the child from reaching her destination: the governor's office. 

It was to no avail, however. Lily was faster and before the Knaves of Spades guarding the office could react, she burst through the door.

“Liliberenza!,” her mother sat up from her desk, looking at her daughter in shock. “Wha– How did you get here?”

“Sorry, your excellency,” the two knaves bowed before the governor, “We were on a requested trip around the palace with Lady Liliberenza–”

“Staying as close to the safe perimeter as possible, of course, when–” the other guard added, before being interrupted by Lily;

“When I spotted a singing flower near the Tulgey Woods! Look, mama!” the child said with delight, holding up a white rose that kept shouting curses to no avail. “Sorry, I have no idea why it's suddenly gotten so angry! When I first saw it, it was singing this beautiful song and–”

Alice grimaced for a split second, before kneeling next to her daughter, “Thank you, my dear, but you know they don't like being picked up like this. I think it's better if we return it, okay?”

“Fine,” Lily sighed, as her mother picked up the flower and handed it to one of the Knaves, who quickly ran off to return it to the edge of the  Tulgey Woods. The other followed suit, happy to escape the unwanted attention; and hopefully keep his job for another day. 

“I just wanted to bring you a gift from my trip. You're always so busy with all those boring people in fancy clothes who sit in your office all day, and you won't even let me go beyond the Summerlands without guards,” Lily complained as soon as they were alone. She hated how everything was so confusing to her, how her mother wouldn't tell her anything, and how she barely got to spend time with her. She thought a beautiful singing flower would catch her attention, and she was so happy when the Cheshire kids helped her escape the guards for just long enough to get near the forbidden Tulgey Woods. But it was all ruined now. 

Alice's face dropped her daughter's words, looking down for a few minutes. How could she explain to her daughter that she was ruling over a land torn apart from civil war and that she had no way of fully understanding it? That she couldn't let her go anywhere without security in case an anti-Auradonian Wonderlander might harm her or hold her for ransom? 

She couldn't. And the worst part was knowing that, someday, Lily might just start connecting the dots herself, seeing how she had clearly inherited her own mothers curiosity. The same curiosity that had dragged her into this mess in the first place.

But maybe she could at least help her channel her desire for adventure into a…safer hobby.

She forced a smile, “I'm sorry, my precious lily. I guess I just got so caught up with all of the…boring, fancy people,” she mimicked her daughter, who gave her a weak smile, “that I forgot about the person who's most important to me. I love that you thought of me, and I love your curiosity and sense of adventure; it might just be a family trait, don't you agree?”, she winked at her daughter, who beamed at the comparison.

“Yeah, I totally got it from you. Does this mean you're going to join me on my next adventure? We can go see the old palace where the Queen lived and–”

Alice stopped herself from shouting again at the mention of her biggest enemy. What would Lily do if she saw the ruined castle? If she saw the lost princess' nursery room and figured out later on that her mother had sent an innocent child to the Isle as well?

“Oh, that old thing is in ruins now, there is nothing left to see, “ she lied. “I'm afraid tea parties with the Hatter and trips through the labyrinth will have to suffice.”

“Oh,” Lily made, her facial features giving away her sadness again. 

“But you know what else we can do? We can tell stories! And we can read them, too. Do you want to hear about Auradon? Or perhaps about the Jabberwocky?"

Lily seemed to consider this for a minute. "Well, I've actually always wanted to know about your first time in Wonderland. You never told me the full story. "

Huh. This was easier than Alice had assumed. 

"Of course, my dear," Alice answered, as she sat on a large sofa in the office room, beckoning for the girl to follow." I'll tell you all about the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter, and- -"

"And the wicked Queen of Hearts?" Lily exclaimed, eyes widened, as she laid on the sofa, placing her head on her mother's lap. 

For a split second, she could swear she saw her mother wince. 

"Her, too! Oh, I feel like I can still hear her voice–"

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!" the little girl tried to mimic the villainess she's heard of many times before. It was never a full sentence or explanation, though; always just a whispering of a name, a fragment of a long forgotten, forbidden history. These were Lily's favourite kinds of stories. 

Alice forced a laugh, pretending to back away in fear. 

"Are you still scared of her, mommy?"

“Of course not, my precious flower. The Queen is locked away, in a place that no one can get out of," she replied, her hesitation going unnoticed. 

“How do you know?”

“The King promised so, my little lily. And Kings always keep their word.”

The girl seemed pleased with this response for now. "Can you tell me the story now?"

Alice took a deep breath and began…

"Once upon a time, a little girl fell into a rabbit hole…"

Before she realised it, Lily fell into a deep sleep. That night, she dreamed of singing flowers and blue gowns. 

Alice stayed up, her mind filled with visions of burning tapestries and lost princesses…

[laurens-german]

— You deserve to be recognized.

THE ROOKIE  4.18 — Backstabbers

[pinkfairiesteaparty]

[btterflyarchive]

[love]

[ursulasbabysister]

bev’s descendants 3 fancasts (51 / ??) : rowan blanchard as the daughter of rapunzel and eugene

[myheadisfullofpoison]

favorite lyrics on folklore

mirrorball

[reminds]

Lonely Day, System Of A Down

[pinkfawnfairy]

sucle_pink  

[suspend]

[observando]

[qvotable]

“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”

— Najwa Zebian