#riider

“ Do you think it’s okay to fall apart? ”                                                                          ~  { @riidcr​ }

     “...what? ”

  Oh.... oh wow....

     The question sunk in her chest like being struck with a swung pillow.  Surprising, catching her off guard, and knocking the wind out of her, but only painful if she really thought about it for a moment.  And she did, for a long moment in fact.  She mulled over her usual wonder of misunderstanding him or hearing him wrong, but there was no mistaking the look on his little face.       This poor child really was asking if going through one of life’s most universal experiences .... was okay...

   She waited a moment more for him to respond but... it became clear he wouldn’t.  The captain took a deep breath, carefully selecting the words in her brain for perhaps a little too long, before managing to clumsily fill the quiet.

     “ Fallin’ apart ‘appens t’ everyone, Flynnie.          Happened to me, happened to Molly, and... ”

   Her words were soft, but her tone was a somber one.  She didn’t look at him.  Perhaps she should have.

     “ It’ll happen to ya if it hasn’t, more than once if yer lucky... Fell apart myself a couple o’ times now...”

   Her heart told her to elaborate on that but her mouth just wouldn’t move to let her.  That was such a dark time... such a long time ago... and it wasn’t her place to scare him with her own stories.  How can she be understanding without opening herself?  ...could she...?      Suddenly, an idea flicked to life behind her eyes and her somber tone was dropped like it never even had weight.  Sweetly, she turned to address him:

short angst ☾ accepting ☾ @riidcr

{☾} "So PERT for an intruder," Maleficent muses, voice taut with fury despite the amusement on her face. Ruby lips purse in thought as Diaval settles on her shoulder, perched with a mischievous glint in his onyx eye.

She climbs to her feet regally, keeping wide, accusing eyes on the man's frame. Handsome? Yes. Incredibly stupid? Also yes.

"No. I don't think I'll kick you out--I've got something much more...REWARDING in mind." A long, slender finger reaches out and points at him, watching as now brilliant PINK feathers plume from his body.

{ Free Hugs! } ~ accepting.

     She didn't need to say anything to make her utter sadness clear. Arms stretch forward, sternly but fondly, and tie themselves like a worn net around the torso of her greatest treasure.

     This was it... her little boy was a man now....                  ...and now... it was time to say goodbye.....

     Red Jessica loved him with a solid, unyielding tenderness that really only came with age. While always she would hold him dear in her heart and attempt to protect him when she could, she would never, ever, be so selfish as to step between a man and his freedom.      This was his first time setting out on his own, the first time in fifteen years they've every truly been separated. He'd talked for months, no years, about how excited he was to see the world himself. Oh the plans he'd made, the adventures he'd have; the open sea a glittering oyster just waiting for him to crack open. It was his life and he deserved to live it; it's his right to go out into the world and take whatever he can! Every Never-Pirate has at some time or another been part of this time-honored right of passage. He'd see the world, take names, and return home safely, right?

                                      .....right?......

     Red Jessica refused to allow her anxiety to show on her face. She'd trained him well, he'd passed her tests... he was ready for danger... but was he ready for life? For hardship? For failure? ....as worried as she was, there was simply no doubt in her tremendous amount of pride. Failure or success, she knew he'd pull through. She was brimming with hope, fear, and joy all at once! And after an eternity clasped in the arms of her grown child, she finally allowed herself to weep.

your iicon iis a thiirst trap underboob shot. stand asiide.

there’s no competiitiion.