Sea Hawk

Screw it. Take my She-Ra meme lol.

Just before midnight for me here in Minnesota, enjoy this palette swap!

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Sea Hawk looked at Mermista with a determined look on his face.

"Ready, my dearest?"

Mermista groaned. "Fine... Let's get this over with."

They both stepped into the machine and Sea Hawk hit the start button. Suddenly, there was a whirring sound as a brilliant flash of light enveloped them both. When the light faded and they both stepped out of the machine, Sea Hawk had Mermista's clothes on, and Mermista had Sea Hawk's clothes on. She let out an exasperated sigh and said:

"Okay. Remind me to never trust you again."

Well, this is a thought-provoking prompt! 😄

One could say so much!

Or also one could not!

In any case, here's my take on "Lust."

And I hope you enjoy it!

There was something about this particular night.

Strange and powerful . . . feelings . . . were coming over people . . . all over Etheria . . .

Adora looked at Catra, and thought:

There’s something about the way she’s waving her tail . . . and how she's . . . stretching like that after our evening workout that makes me feel . . . kinda light-headed . . . and also . . . like I wanna touch her . . . all over.

Hordak looked at Entrapta and thought:

There’s something about observing Entrapta in her work . . .

Her fearlessness in pursuing solutions! Her meticulousness in recording her observations! Her uninhibited passion for knowledge and understanding, no matter the risk or the peril!

It makes me . . . feel something . . . an intense admiration!

Entrapta looked at Darla and thought:

There's something about discovering this entirely new access panel in Darla's inner hull, which reveals power conduits and control feeds for an auxiliary drive mechanism operating independent of and parallel to the primary motive units, while simultaneously extending holographically within the substrate of the energy crystal matrix, thus permitting course trajectory calibration on the molecular level . . . that makes me wanna find out what else Darla can do!

Mermista looked at the ice cream and thought:

There's something about Sea Hawk bringing me a carton of ice cream to eat in the bathtub, . . . and then leaving . . . so I can enjoy it in peace . . . that's . . . actually . . . kinda hot, not gonna lie.

Sea Hawk looked at his torch and thought:

There's something about fire! . . . ADVENTURE!!!!

Perfuma looked at the stars and thought:

There's something about sitting calmly under the glorious night sky . . . that makes me feel like shouting out to the entire world, "I am at peace and full of love . . . for everything in the universe!!"

Scorpia looked at Perfuma and thought:

There's something about watching Perfuma literally shouting out, "I am at peace and full of love for everything in the universe!!" that makes me feel like hugging her right now.

The Shop Owner in Erelandia looked at her wares and thought:

There's something about closing up shop in the evening with none of the inventory stolen and nothing weird or troublesome happening all day . . .that makes me feel . . . like going to bed.

Yes, all over Etheria . . . strange and powerful feelings.

But only in Bright Moon did those feelings lead to . . .

Catra looked at Adora and thought:

There’s something about the way she’s looking at me right now . . . that little light in her eyes that makes me feel . . . like . . . yeah, I think we need a little time alone.

And she reached out her hand and said:

"Heeey, Adora."

And off they went together for . . . you know, whatever . . .

😉

CALLING ALL SEAMISTA SHIPPERS!!

I was gonna do a Catradora hug, but then remembered i already did a couple catradoras this year, so here u go!

HOW MESSY CAN SKETCHES GET???????????

Okay, I guess I'm makin' my own rules this She-Ra-tober. 😆

Tonight, I'm inspired to do a combination of the last two prompts!

So, here we go!

In the midst of the building chaos, Scorpia held up her pincer and bellowed with a firm, commanding voice.

"Wait, wait!! STOP!!!"

Her words jolted everyone around her into silence and stillness.

Glimmer paused beside her, eyes narrowing suspiciously with a sparkly ball of light raised at the ready.

Mermista frowned at the interruption, standing on the gunwale and holding her trident firmly against Lonnie's stun baton, while Lonnie held her ground sneering angrily unmoving, and glancing in the direction of her Force Captain.

Kyle and Bow were as if frozen, lying on the deck in mid-grapple, bearing equally stunned expressions.

Rogelio hung by his claws from the mast of the ship, halfway up climbing after Sea Hawk.

And Sea Hawk dangled by one hand from the mainsail, his mouth hanging open dopily, having only just intoned the partial word, "AD-VENCH----"

Even from far away, Catra halted her claw in mid-strike, crouching awkwardly on She-Ra's shoulders. She turned her head and craned her neck to see behind her to the waters below.

"SCORPIA!" she barked, "WHAT -- IN ETHERIA -- ARE YOU DOING?!!!"

Scorpia herself just smiled sheepishly, still holding up her pincer in a halting gesture as she fumbled with her other amongst the pockets and crannies of her uniform.

"Hold on!!" she urged, frowning as she searched, "Just a sec! Hold on , hold on!"

Catra let out a seething grumble.

Scorpia called to her, and everyone else around her. "No, just . . . won't take a minute . . . I just gotta--oh! There it is!!"

Triumphantly, Scorpia produced a small sketch pad and a pencil, holding them up as if they explained everything.

Glimmer raised a quizzical eyebrow, her sparkleball momentarily forgotten.

Bow and Kyle relaxed their grips and collapsed beside each other, as if they were just carelessly lounging.

Lonnie and Mermista looked at each other uncertainly and unconsciously lowered their weapons a little, obviously fatigued by the static position.

"No, no, no!" Scorpia pleaded. "Everyone stay where they were! For the sake of art!!"

Catra glared. "WHAT?!!"

Scorpia grinned. "Oh, come on! Look at this!!"

She gestured to the boat excitedly. "A pirate ship . . . ," then to Sea Hawk, "an actual pirate . . . ," and finally to the rest of the group, "and a very pirate-y fight aboard said ship with said pirate! I mean . . . what a moment!!"

She threw up her arms and chuckled.

"It's just golden! I have got to draw this! So, just . . . humor me, okay? Just for a minute, and then we can all get right back to the fight, you have my word."

Kyle looked at Bow, questioningly. Bow shrugged, and together they tried to recreate the hold they had just been engaged in.

Lonnie shot a frustrated look at Mermista and aggressively raised her stun baton again. Mermista smiled eagerly, striking a power stance with her trident.

"Yes! That's perfect!" exclaimed Scorpia happily as her pencil flew over the sketchpad and Glimmer leaned in curiously to watch her work.

Catra just sighed heavily.

"Almost done!" Scorpia assured her as her sketching reached fever mode.

She-Ra glanced uncomfortably at the cat-girl on her back, but carried on with her quiet struggle to repair the Sea Gate with the Sword.

"There!" Scorpia announced proudly, with a final flourish of the pencil. "All done!"

"Mmm. Not bad," Glimmer murmured with an approving smile.

Scorpia grinned, pleased at her work, then raised it high toward the others. "Wanna see?"

Catra snarled. "Later! Now get back to it! FIGHT!!"

Scorpia nodded and dutifully put away the pad and pencil.

And all heck broke loose again!

Looking over the bow of the Dragon's Daughter V, Sea Hawk felt a sense of pride.

"Ah, the open sea! What a day! What a time to be alive!!"

"Okay, could you be alive a little quieter, please? I'm trying to sleep..." Mermista said as she rolled over in her bed.

"Nonsense, my dear! In fact, I feel the need for a shan-"

"DON'T EVEN!!!"

Sea Hawk groaned. Suddenly, he saw a small blip on the horizon that got bigger and bigger with each passing second. When it finally came into a clear view, he realized it was a pirate ship. Then, a grappling hook shot out from the ship and embedded itself firmly into the Dragon's Daughter V's port side. As the two ships drew closer, eight armed pirates hopped onto the deck, looking for treasure and a fight.

At this, Sea Hawk just smirked.

"Oh, Mermista, my dearest..." he said in a sing song voice. Still in bed, Mermista raised her hand, and her trident shot into it as an electric guitar riff played in the background.

"Okay, let's do this."

Okay, I know this is super late, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

I had this idea a few days ago but didn't have time to finish it until now.

Hope you like it!

Here it is, and it's Shanty Time!!!

Come near, my friends!

The time has come to tell this mermaid tale! (Really?!?)

And none may tell it quite so well as he who loves to sail!

Haha, it’s me! (Yeah)

Oh yes, it’s me! I’m he! (Uh-huh, you said that.) 🙄

For Sea Hawk loves to sail! (I mean . . .)

SMALL ACCORDION SOLO!!! (So, like, the first verse was just so you could tell us your name again?!?) 😐

Twas many a sailor year ago when I was just a lad! (Sailor year?)

I dreamed of grand ADVENTURE, but one other dream I had! (It’s literally the same as a year.) 😑

Oh yes, I did!

Indeed I did, as a kid!

One special dream I had!! (Uggggghhhh, this shanty is taking forever.)

Of all the wonders, all the sights and beauties of the sea,

I longed the most, the most of all, the mermaids most to see! (Whaaaat?!?)

I longed the most,

From coast to coast!

The mermaids most to see! (You longed the most to most? What does that even mean?) 🤨

SMALL FIDDLE SOLO!!! (Are you kidding me?) 😒

I joined a ship, a mighty ship that bore a mighty crew!

And far across the ocean in our mighty ship we flew! (Uuuumm . . . ) 😕

And so we flew! (That’s not --)

We flew, ’tis true!

Across the waves we flew! ( . . . never mind.)

For months and days and many hours and seconds by the score, (Huh?)

I gazed across the waters and the endless ocean floor! (For months and seconds??)

I set my gaze

For hours and days

Upon the ocean floor! (Not gonna lie, that’s actually kinda deep.) 🤔

SMALL BASSOON SOLO!!! (You don’t even know how to play that!) 😬

So through the years I searched and searched but all to no avail!

Alas, no mermaids did I find no matter how we sailed! (What?!!)

In journeys wide (No, wait, what did you say?!)

From tide to tide

My quest for mermaids failed! (!!!!!) 😳

In bitter grief, I lit a torch and cried into the night! (But . . .!)

I shook so hard, I dropped my torch and set the ship alight!!

I loved that ship! (What about me?!!!) 😩

My grip, it slipped!

An accident, that’s right! (Sea Hawk, I’m right here, and I AM A LITERAL MERMAID!!!!!) 😡

The crew were slightly skeptical as I carefully explained. ( . . . )

The captain missed the lighter side of his vessel all in flames! ( . . . )

Despite my charm

They took alarm

And sought to do me pain! (Yeah, keep going. Now, I kinda wanna hear the part where you died.) 😠

I fought the crew together, and the battle lasted long! (Uh-huh.)

They were a cut-throat band of five, er, no, five-hundred strong! (Ha ha, yeah, no.)

So I bravely leaped,

Into the deep!

And bobbed victoriously along! (And then died, right?) 😠

SMALL LUTE SOLO!!! (Aaaaand, one last solo . . . ever.)

Well, that’s my tale, I told it true, and there’s a moral, too! (Ughhh!!)

To dream of seeking mermaids is a foolish thing to do. (Yeah, and so is shantying about it later!)

For your own good,

Instead you should . . .

. . . (What??)

. . . (Should what?! What?!?!?!) 😖

Take this advice to you!

You should do like me and seek the hand of a beautiful princess, however unworthy you may be beside her brilliance and grace, for even if you should never attain her hand, to be her loyal servant and most ardent admirer and faithful friend is an ADVENTURE far greater than any you could otherwise imagine!!!

ROUSING FINAL CHORD and END OF THE SONG!!!

(Okay. That was kinda terrible. Buuuut, also sorta sweet, I guess.) 😏

(I suppose you could sing the part about you being thrown overboard again. That was pretty funny.) 😊

(And maybe sing that last part again, too!) 😉

I probably won't do something every day, but this prompt went so well with today's Inktober prompt ("Mustache") that I combined them... (click image for full)

It's a costume, so it's nice and Halloween-themed as well.

"So... you want to learn how to swim?"

"Oh yes, I want to glide through the water with grace and elegance!"

"Uggghhh... fine. Come with me."

Mermista led Sea Hawk through Salineas's great castle halls into a side room. There, she handed him a flabby wetsuit made of sharkskin and a small bottle of green liquid.

"Okay, a wetsuit, and... what's this bottle of green liquid?"

"That's a potion that allows you to breathe underwater. It lasts for 24 hours, so you should make a note of when you take it so it doesn't wear off when you're underwater."

"But... why is it green?"

"Well, there are a ton of different flavors, but I guess people have been using them, so you're stuck with that flavor, which is... seaweed."

Sea Hawk groaned. "Seaweed? Really?"

"There's no other flavor available, okay?" Mermista snapped. "Look, do you want to breathe underwater or not?"

Reluctantly, Sea Hawk nodded. He opened the bottle and drank it, holding back a gag. After he finished, he put on the wetsuit, which looked absolutely hilarious on him. Mermista had to stifle a laugh.

"So, I've got this wetsuit on, and I can breathe underwater... now what?"

"It's time to head to the Sea Gate."

What Mermista didn't tell Sea Hawk, however, is that they weren't going to the base of the gate. They were going to the top of the gate, which was about 200 feet above sea level. Thus, Sea Hawk was surprised when Mermista announced they had made it.

"Wait... how are we supposed to get into the water?"

Mermista frowned. "Uh... let's see. No stairs, no elevator, and no backing out. I don't know, how do you think we're getting into the water?"

"You're not saying..."

"Uggghhh!! We're jumping, okay? JUM. PING."

At that, Sea Hawk turned as white as a ghost. "Jump?? Are you out of your mind, my dearest??"

"Look, if you have the audacity to set four of your own ships on fire and embarrass me at the Enchanted Grotto, you can survive this 200-foot drop. Now come on!"

With those words, Mermista threw herself over the railing, leaving Sea Hawk alone. He nervously looked over the edge, then muttered quietly to himself:

"Advencha."

And he threw himself over the railing.

I got bored and I love geography and this show so I did some analysis on where some of the characters come from or are inspired by. Feel free to leave your own theories below!

Frosta - Nepal 🇳🇵

Frosta's kingdom is cold and mountainous, and she is the ice princess. I think that her kingdom could be based off the Himalayas and Mount Everest in the north of Nepal.

Sea Hawk - Italy 🇮🇹

Sea Hawk is from Seaworthy, a coastal city between Bright Moon and Salineas. I think he could be from south coastal Italy, where boats and sailing are a big part of the culture.

Mara - Egypt 🇪🇬 *this is where my heritage is from :)*

Mara's name is an Arabic name (مرح). Her wiki page also says that her name means "the truth of God Ra" in ancient Egyptian text. She wears lots of gold in her hair which is common within royalty in traditional Egyptian culture which makes sense given she is a princess.

Spinnerella - France 🇫🇷

Her name is a reference to Cinderella, which is a French story by Charles Perrault originally titled Cendrillon in French.

On to ADVENTURE

First chapter: here

Previous chapter: here

I'm actually posting this when I said I would? Wow. I deserve an award /j

I planned this chapter out the day after rewatching The Princess Bride, and at the time it seemed like a brilliant idea to steal a creature from it and put it in this fic. It seemed slightly less brilliant by the time I actually finished writing it, but I kept it in anyway. No regrets.

There's also an action scene, or at least the closest thing I've ever written to one. I don't like writing action scenes. Oh well.

“Where exactly are we going?” asked Double Trouble. They were aboard Sea Hawk’s ship, and Sea Hawk had lifted the anchor and… okay, fine, Double Trouble didn’t actually know what boat things he was doing, but the point is, they set sail.

“To the Straits of Serpentine! Many merchant ships have to pass through them, but it’s a hazardous journey, a nightmare to navigate—twisting and turning, sharp rocks either side… Nowhere for merchant vessels to flee. Falcon’s favorite hunting ground.”

“Mm.” Double Trouble looked out at the ocean for a moment, then turned back to Sea Hawk. “Piracy’s a dangerous business, isn’t it.” They knew the answer, but didn’t want to ask their actual question; this was the closest thing they would say.

“Very! A life of adventure takes great courage and skill. Not for the faint of heart. I can handle it, of course…”

Double Trouble cut him off before he could launch into a longer boast. “And does your Falcon have ‘great courage and skill’?” They smirked.

“Oh— He’s, ah… ambitious, I suppose. And… decent at what he does.” Sea Hawk looked uncomfortable, confirming Double Trouble’s suspicions that this was a sore subject. “But I hope your clone friends can handle it. They can fight, right?”

“I don’t know,” Double Trouble admitted. Had they retained their skills from fighting under Prime? And the clones had relied so heavily on their arm cannons, which they no longer had…

Normally, Double Trouble would ask more about how Sea Hawk knew Falcon and just what had happened between them, but now they found themself strangely uninterested; all they could think about was the clones. So instead they asked, “Can this ship go any faster?”

Sea Hawk tasked Double Trouble with various jobs around the ship, and since they’d practically begged him for help, they didn’t have much choice. But ugh, such labor was below them. Also, they weren’t very good at it.

Sea Hawk was probably enjoying putting them through this. While they swabbed the deck (humiliating), Double Trouble pondered revenge—what if they ruined all of his relationships? How many friends did he have, anyway? But fun as it was to scheme and fantasize, they couldn’t focus on it; their mind kept drifting back to the clones. Were they okay? Where were they now? Attacking some merchant vessel that they were woefully unprepared to fight?

Finally, they reached the Straits of Serpentine. Cliffs rose on either side of the ship, though it was wide enough for the boat to fit comfortably.

“It doesn’t look that hard to navigate,” said Double Trouble.

“Maybe not to the untrained eye, but I assure you, it is a treacherous voyage,” said Sea Hawk, who was alternating between steering the ship and peering through his spyglass. “I’ve maneuvered it before, but many a captain dreads having to pass between its cliffs.”

“And how far in does Falcon usually go?”

“Hmm… Past a turn or two, at least, so the merchant ships can’t escape. He likes to hide just around a bend… Keep your eyes peeled.”

“I could take a turn with the spyglass,” Double Trouble suggested.

“No, I’ve got it. But if you need something else to do—”

“I do not.” Double Trouble had done more than enough things Sea Hawk told them to already. Before he could assign them another task, they asked, “How do you normally pass the time while sailing? It must get tedious being out here alone for hours.”

“Well, there are always shanties! Ohhh!” And he burst into song.

This probably wasn’t ideal if they were supposed to be on alert, and were they supposed to be being stealthier than this? But oh well; Double Trouble wasn’t going to interrupt the song.

But once he finished the first shanty, Sea Hawk offered to sing another one, and Double Trouble pointed out how this might not be the best time.

Sea Hawk started to say something, then suddenly rushed to the helm. They’d been about to crash into the cliff; Sea Hawk hastily steered them around the bend.

Sea Hawk had been right about Falcon hiding just around bends. There was another ship, close enough to make out the distinct forms of several people on board. The ship was about the same size as the one they were on, maybe a bit smaller, and while Double Trouble couldn’t make out the details of those on board without a spyglass, it appeared one was wearing a greenish shirt, and the others were dressed mostly in white.

“Is this it?” Double Trouble asked.

Sea Hawk, who did have the spyglass, nodded. “Falcon. That’s a new ship; I haven’t seen it before…”

“Can you catch it?”

“Of course! I am an expert captain aboard the fastest ship on the sea; they’re no match for me.”

Double Trouble was fairly certain they’d seen ships a good bit faster than this one, but they didn’t call out the lie.

Speed wasn’t needed, it turned out—Falcon’s ship wasn’t fleeing. He must have seen them, but he just waited there as they sailed closer.

They were close enough now that Double Trouble could clearly see the clones—one pointed at their ship and said something, but Double Trouble couldn’t hear what over the sound of the waves.

While the clones appeared surprised or confused, their companion looked angry.

Double Trouble looked over at Sea Hawk. “You realize Falcon is holding a sword, right?”

“Oh- er, yes. Of course, I can take him in a fight.” He didn’t sound half as confident as he probably meant to.

“And the plan is still to board the ship?”

Falcon was clearly waiting for them, ready for a fight. Closer, closer, the two ships were only a few feet apart now. Without answering, Sea Hawk brandished his own sword, and with a running leap landed on the deck of the other ship (miraculously not stabbing anyone in the process). Falcon charged at him, and the clones moved out of the way and watched as the pirates dueled.

Double Trouble wasn’t going to jump between the decks like that. Instead they found a plank and placed it between the two ships, and strutted across it as if it were a red carpet and not a wooden beam over the open ocean.

Giving the sword fight a wide berth, they strode over to the clones, putting their hands on Will and Plato’s shoulders. “Darlings, there you are. I looked everywhere… What are you doing?” To the pirates, they called, “Excuse me, could you two stop trying to kill each other? It’s very distracting, and you could end up stabbing someone else.”

“I’m not trying—!” Sea Hawk started to protest, jumping out of the way of one of Falcon’s attacks.

Double Trouble sighed and shook their head. “I suppose we should talk somewhere less… perilous.” They edged back towards the plank they’d set up, back to Sea Hawk’s ship, beckoning for the clones to follow them.

“Hang on.” Falcon paused trying to kill Sea Hawk for long enough to glare at Double Trouble. “Are you trying to steal my crew?” (Sea Hawk took advantage of the moment to leap further away from him.)

Double Trouble didn’t like the look of the sword still in Falcon’s hand. “Your crew? Why, do you mean these clones?”

“He gave us a job,” said Augustus.

“A job?” Double Trouble put a hand to their head. “Oh, honey…”

“You said we should get jobs,” said George Electra.

“So that we could get money,” said Jellylorum.

“To rent a place to live,” Will added.

Jellylorum nodded. “And he”—Jellylorum gestured to Falcon, who was still glaring and holding the sword threateningly—“gave us money to work for him, and said he’d give us more if…”

“I said I’d give you a share of any loot we get,” Falcon cut in. “But this”—he pointed his sword at Double Trouble—“was not part of the deal.”

“Wait,” said Sea Hawk, looking around the ship, which was otherwise empty, “do you not have any other crew?”

Falcon whirled to face him again, snarling something too rude to print.

“Now, now, there’s no need for violence.” Double Trouble held their hands up, willing Falcon to calm down. “I’m afraid there may have been a bit of a misunderstanding…” Turning back to the clones, they said, “When I said you should get jobs, I didn’t mean piracy. It’s far too dangerous—I assume that eyepatch isn’t just an accessory, and we don’t want you getting killed, now, do we?”

The clones exchanged glances.

“I’m terribly sorry for any inconvenience,” Double Trouble purred to Falcon, slinking closer to the plank. “Come along now, lambs.”

The clones started to follow Double Trouble, who was now inching across the plank back onto Sea Hawk’s ship.

“No!” Falcon brandished his sword. “You work for me now.”

The clones hesitated. Will was already in the middle of the plank, and it took Double Trouble’s beckoning for him to finish crossing it.

The clones continued walking; then, so fast one could hardly know what was happening, Falcon lunged at Plato, the plank fell in the water (thankfully with no one on it), and Sea Hawk set Falcon’s ship on fire.

The flames were a fitting backdrop for the chaos. Someone gasped. Someone screamed. Sea Hawk leapt deftly onto his ship. The other clones still stood on the burning one.

“Brothers!” shouted Will.

“I said come along!” cried Double Trouble.

As the flames closed in around them, the other clones each jumped, each making the landing onto the deck of Sea Hawk’s ship.

Double Trouble stamped out a smoldering corner of Jellylorum’s robe, and let out a breath they hadn’t realized they’d been holding.

Sea Hawk, who had been staring at the flames for a moment, was now busy sailing them away. Falcon leapt off his burning ship, landing in the ocean. He flailed his arms desperately, barely managing to keep his face above water.

Double Trouble watched Falcon with disdain. “You’d think a pirate would be a better swimmer.”

“Well, mostly we try not to fall overboard,” said Sea Hawk.

“He should’ve jumped sooner, then.” Their ship was sailing further away from the burning wreck, further away from Falcon. “Did you really think it was a good idea to set the boat on fire with everyone on it?”

“We needed a distraction!” Sea Hawk looked back at Falcon, still struggling in the water. “Oh— Perhaps I shouldn’t leave him to drown?”

Double Trouble shrugged. “It’s all the same to me. What happened between you two, anyway?”

“Er…”

“Now we cannot get more money from him,” said Will.

Jellylorum hung his head.

“Don’t worry about that,” said Double Trouble. “We’ll work something out. I could take on more odd jobs, you could find another, safer one… Or…” A plan was beginning to form in their mind.

They noticed a strange, eerie shrieking sound coming from somewhere in the water, followed by a normal human shrieking sound coming from Falcon.

“Oh, right, the shrieking eels…” said Sea Hawk.

“The what?”

“These waters are infested with them. Their shrieking grows louder when they’re about to feed on their favorite food—human flesh.” He paused, watching Falcon, whose shrieking ceased as his head sunk below the waves. “I suppose I shouldn’t leave him to get devoured…”

“Well, he was just threatening to kill us,” said Double Trouble, but Sea Hawk was already turning the ship around and throwing a rope into the water.

Falcon managed to keep his eyes above water for a moment long enough to see the rope and grab it. Sea Hawk hauled him onto the ship, and he lay on the deck, gasping for breath. (He had, thankfully, dropped his sword at some point while in the ocean and was now unarmed.)

“So, what’s the story with you two?” Double Trouble grinned.

It was a very long trip back to Seaworthy for Falcon. Not so much for Double Trouble and the clones, who were happy to hear Sea Hawk and Falcon spill the tea.

The short of it was, they’d been lovers once, but they had their differences — which is to say, Sea Hawk set Falcon’s previous ship on fire, and apparently that was unforgivable.

The clones listened with great interest. It was somewhat educational, Double Trouble supposed, for the five to hear this drama, not to mention Falcon’s colorful language. As long as their students were safe.

I once again promised to post this more regularly and then did not do that. Whoops. Anyway, I really do plan on posting the next chapter in a week or two because... well. you'll see. So uh if I don't do that feel free to remind me ahaha.

First chapter: here

Previous chapter: here

When Double Trouble got up the next morning, they found Will and George Electra asleep on the couch (it looked like they’d fallen asleep sitting up, and were now slumped over) and Jellylorum and Augustus sprawled on the floor. Only Plato was awake; she was looking at Double Trouble’s record collection.

“Good morning, darling. Sleep well?” Double Trouble came over to Plato, who was currently inspecting the Phantom of the Opera album cover. “Looking for something to listen to?”

“I thought they would be interesting to look at. I had nothing else to do after looking through all of the drawers,” Plato said matter-of-factly.

Double Trouble looked over at the little chest of drawers. “Oh, you’ve been snooping!” They grinned. “Nothing very interesting in those, I don’t think. I keep my secrets much better hidden than that…”

Double Trouble showed Plato how to use the record player, then got to work fixing breakfast while the other clones woke up one by one to the Phantom soundtrack.

They persuaded the clones to eat breakfast; everyone gathered around the counter separating the kitchen from the living room.

“I’m afraid this place isn’t big enough for you all to stay over more often,” said Double Trouble. “Are you all still just… ‘standing around outside’ when you’re not here?”

“Most of the time, yes,” said Will. “Sometimes we stay in that… tavern, but sometimes we are forced to leave it.”

“I wish I could get you a place to stay,” said Double Trouble, “but paying the rent… I don’t have the cash to spare.” They were already sharing food with the clones… renting an apartment for them? They could afford it, really, but… no, they weren’t going to spend that much on these people. Of course they’d save it for themself, how could they not? What a thought.

“Cash?” Jellylorum repeated.

“Yes… Money.” Had they been over this already? “You need money to buy things, you know.”

“So… if we had money… we could have… a place like this?” asked Jellylorum.

“Yes, if you had enough.”

“Or if you had more money?” said George Electra. “Since you do not have enough?”

Double Trouble pursed their lips. “Perhaps…” They’d have to have a truly decadent amount of wealth… Oh, were they really feeling bad for not sharing? What was that? Instead of examining that feeling, they said, “But really, maybe you should earn your own rent, get your own jobs.”

“Our own jobs?” echoed Augustus.

“Never mind. Now, not that I don’t enjoy your company, but I’m a bit tired… It’s hard work being this fabulous.” Double Trouble put their arm to their forehead in a woe-is-me gesture. “And the rain stopped last night… So, why don’t you go now, and come back at the usual time for our lesson…”

The clones did leave after that, and Double Trouble had some time to themself. They brainstormed what to do for that day’s lesson a bit, but mostly just did whatever they felt like.

It got late enough that Double Trouble was expecting the knock on their door at any minute—was it later than usual? But there was no precise way to tell time; it was probably nothing.

By late afternoon, Double Trouble began wandering around Seaworthy, keeping an eye out for the clones. Then they thought their students might come to the apartment right now while they were out, and headed back to check, but found nothing. Maybe they couldn’t get in and had wandered off…? No, that wasn’t like the clones, they could stand in front of a door for hours. And the light was just starting to fade… Concern growing, they hurried to the tavern.

They glanced around—no, still no sign of them—then headed straight to the bartender.

“Hello, love, have you seen a group of Horde clones?” Their voice had a frantic edge to it, unlike their usual calm. “Five of them—most of them dressed up, hard to miss…”

The bartender nodded. “Came by a few hours ago.”

“And do you have any idea where they went after that?”

She shook her head. “Saw them leave with another patron.”

“And who might this patron be?”

The bartender grunted, then turned away to pour a drink for another customer.

Double Trouble sighed. Time to turn on the charm. “Darling, can you really not spare a moment? Not that you aren’t doing important work here, and of course I don’t want to keep you from it… But surely you could answer a couple questions?”

She huffed. “Long blonde hair. Green shirt. Eyepatch. Don’t know his name.”

“A pirate, I presume?”’

She just grunted and turned away again, this time taking a glass off the shelf and starting to polish it.

Wasn’t that the shelf of clean glasses? Double Trouble was betting it didn’t need to be polished, and the bartender probably well knew it… She was just ignoring them.

Sighing, Double Trouble walked away from the counter. Time to try someone else. They surveyed the tavern again, more carefully this time. There, at one of the booths, they spotted Sea Hawk, that handsome Rebellion sailor. They hadn’t seen him since the incident at the Enchanted Grotto’s underwater soiree, but they weren’t surprised he was in Seaworthy; if anything, it was strange they hadn’t seen him here before. Busy elsewhere, maybe.

He also might be less likely to charge them for intel; they could always appeal to the “goodness of his heart” (those “hero” types were susceptible to that), so they decided to start with him.

They strutted over to his table. “Hello, darling. Long time no see, mm?”

Sea Hawk’s eyes widened, and he sat up straighter. “Double Trouble?”

“The one and only. Haven’t you heard? I’m staying around here now. You should come to one of my shows sometime…”

Sea Hawk still looked bewildered, but he went with it. “Ah– yes. I haven’t been here in some time… I’ve been staying in Salineas with Princess Mermista.”

“Oh, yes… She’s not fighting for Prime anymore, I presume?” The answer was obvious; they just wanted to see his reaction.

Sure enough, a frown flickered across his face, then a look of relief. “No. Of course not. She’s… That’s all over now.”

“Mm-hm.” Double Trouble looked at their fingernails. “Shame she ruined the Enchanted Grotto, it was such a nice venue… Speaking of which, how’s Salineas?” They grinned wickedly.

His face fell. “Ah… Well, with the Horde invasion–” He sighed. “We’re working on rebuilding, but… it’s… It takes time.”

Double Trouble nodded, their smile understanding but not sympathetic. “Anyway…” It struck them what a waste of time this was. The clones could be anywhere by now… And oh, if they wanted Sea Hawk’s help, they shouldn’t be trying to get under his skin. “Much as I’d love to chat, I’m afraid there’s a more pressing matter… Did you by any chance see a group of clones leave with a person in an eyepatch?”

“Clones? No…”

“They’re… students of mine. And I’m afraid they’ve gotten themselves into some trouble… Apparently they were here a few hours ago, and left with someone with long blonde hair who wore a green shirt and an eyepatch. Do you know who that might be?”

“Blonde hair, eyepatch… Oh. Hm.” Sea Hawk paused. “Were they a man? Dirty blonde hair, and his surviving eye a beautiful amber?”

“The bartender didn’t say.”

“Well, it could be– No, he doesn’t come here anymore, does he?”

“Who are you thinking of?”

“His name is Falcon. He’s, ah… I knew him well.”

“Really? And do you know where he might be?”

“Of course, I know his old haunts. His favorite places to plunder…”

“Could you take me there?”

Sea Hawk started to say something, then paused. “My service isn’t free, you know. Are you sure you can afford me?”

“Of course, I can respect that; I’m a person of business myself. But” —Double Trouble poured the sap into their tone— “you must understand, this is very important; I so desperately need your help. We can’t let anything happen to these innocent clones, and I’d be so grateful for your help. Surely a brave hero like yourself would do it for free?”

Sea Hawk nodded. “So you’ve heard of my heroism, I see! Yes, I can help. Although… are the clones really innocent?”

Oh, he’d noticed that, had he? No, Double Trouble didn’t think they were, but that wasn’t a helpful argument. Instead they said, “It’s not really their fault, anything they did; they believed it was right, and it was under Prime’s influence. You wouldn’t blame Mermista for anything she did when chipped, would you?” They gave him a pointed look.

“Of course not.” He shook his head. “Anyway! We’d better leave now if we want to catch Falcon. Onward!”

This is my short fanfiction named A Tale of Pirates, Princesses, and Romance.

It's inspired by a post where Kit (ArchduchessKittycat) asked about our theories on how Mermista and Sea Hawk met.

In this fanfiction, Sea Hawk tells the princesses how Mermista and he met, but we can wonder how much of it is true.

Sea Hawk doesn't recall anything about Mermista trying to kill him when retelling the story.

But it isn't easy telling the princesses what happened because he keeps getting interrupted, and he only gets to say a few sentences.

I also want to say that I started and finished this today, and the editing is minimal, and there might be a couple of plot holes.

I hope you enjoy it!

--

"Who would like to hear a story…" asked Sea Hawk with an announcer's voice. "... a story of how my dearest Mermista and I met," he continued.

"Me! Yay!" shouted Frosta and made a jump of excitement.

"I'm Frosta, I am, I am…" sang Frosta.

Sea Hawk made sure to wait before beginning his story; he knew how important it was to get the chance to finish singing the shanties when you had first begun.

Sea Hawk noticed that the singing had stopped. He apparently had zoned out for a moment.

"It was in the middle of the night," said Sea Hawk and recalled the events in his head.

"I was walking home at night and passed Salineas Castle when I heard someone screaming. A princess could be heard screaming from her bedroom…" he said but was interrupted.

"That is not what happened at all," said Mermista and crossed her arms, seemingly annoyed.

Netossa and Spinnerella exchanged looks and smiled before both letting out a grin.

"Dearest, is it you or me who tells the story?" Sea Hawk asked Mermista eagerly to continue his story.

"Ugh, you do," she said.

"Let the story continue!" shouted Sea Hawk dramatically and put his right foot on top of the coffee table.

"Yay!" shouted Frosta.

"Yeah, we want to know what happened," said Scorpia.

Perfuma came out of the bathroom and walked over to her chair. Her chair where someone was already sitting. Because in her chair, Entrapta was sitting, working on some little tech thing. [Here you can hear that the author isn't the one who knows most about technology and definitely did not have research time; he started this today.]

Perfuma started to tense up, but she didn't say anything. Mermista noticed this.

"Hey, Geek Princess, you sit in the Flower One's chair," Mermista said. Entrapta didn't hear this and continued her work.

"Hello," Mermista said and tapped Entrapta on her shoulder.

"Oh, hi," said Entrapta and looked up at Mermista.

"You sit in the Flower One's chair," Mermista said and pointed at Perfuma with her thumb.

Entrapta looked behind her at Perfuma. "Oh, hi," said Entrapta, using the same greeting she had used with Mermista.

"Hi, Entrapta," said Perfuma, but Entrapta had already turned her attention to her work.

"You sit on the Flower One's chair," Mermista repeated. "Yes, you already said that," responded Entrapta.

"Can you give Perfuma's chair, where you sit, back to Perfuma?" asked Sea Hawk. The question was not asked in his usual bright and adventurous pitch but in a monotone one. He really just wanted to get back to his story. Was that too much to ask?

"Ah," Entrapta said and walked away from Perfuma's chair. Perfuma sat down; she did not look tense anymore.

Now Sea Hawk could continue his story.

"I ran and parkoured my way into the princess's bedroom. A handful of pirates were attacking my dearest Mermista. But she had already stolen my thunder! She totally kicked those pirates' butts."

When Mermista heard that, she began to smile and cheered up.

"While it wasn't a true story, it was a sweet one, Sea Hawk," said Mermista.

"And that's how we met!" Sea Hawk shouted dramatically.

"Doesn't this remind you of the first time we met? You also tried to kill me then."

What happened? How did they end up dating? This is one of those things that's funnier because the show doesn't explain it, leaving us to wonder. So let's speculate! I have an idea I've been playing around with, but I'm curious to hear what other people can come up with. Plausible or ridiculous, serious theory or random thing made up on the spot, anything goes.

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