princess tiger lily | laken cole
the little death bird
once an inhabitant of neverland, now of storybrooke. once and always a princess.
((a once upon a time independent roleplay. both the mun and muse are 18+, though this blog will be mainly smut free.
tracking the tag "listentotigerlily"))
I know I keep popping in and out here; it's annoying to me too. I've kind of been having a love/hate relationship with OUAT lately (not even just lately, kind of since the second season), and it's really affecting my ability to play Tiger Lily. I still love her, but it's hard.
I'm going to be taking an official break from her for a while, but if you'd like to find me, I've started my Harley Quinn (link) account back up recently. I'm willing to write with whoever wants to. I know I miss you guys.
It had been quite some time since John had last made himself known at the Rabbit Hole. Even longer perhaps since he’d actually enjoyed a night out at the bar. Tonight however, he was determined to enjoy himself at least a little bit. The urge to have fun was one that scarcely showed itself since losing his hand to the crocodile, but when it happened to, it tended to prove for a rather memorable night. Of course, John didn’t plan on getting too crazy tonight, perhaps he’d get plastered and snog a random girl but that would be about it.
When he arrived to find that near everyone was already halfway to their goals of being drunk, it didn’t surprise him. Everyone was so wrapped up in their own nights that no one turned to see who let in the gust of freezing air. Rather than call attention to himself, John made his way to the bar, sitting at the farthest end and ordering himself an entire bottle of rum. As he so infrequently spent his money on luxury, it gave him the ability to do such things when he did decide to have a night out.
It didn’t take long for the rum to arrive, and he was pleased to see that the standards of their rum were at least up to scratch. Expertly, he used his one hand to pour the drink into a glass. Then, tilting the glass back onto his sea chapped lips, he nearly sighed in appreciation. “Still the best,” he murmured more to himself than to anyone else.
Laken had been frequenting the Rabbit Hole much more than usual. Maybe it was something about the weather, or the fact that everyone in Storybrooke had suddenly decided that they needed a dozen cookies a.s.a.p. for some reason, leaving Laken physically exhausted but mentally buzzed, but the Rabbit Hole had suddenly become appealing in a way it hadn't been before. Apparently, she wasn't the only one circumstance was dragging out of their hole that night. A man with dark, interesting features, but a fairly pleasant face had entered the bar. Storybrooke was almost annoying small, which meant that there was hardly a face she didn't know, but his evaded her. Curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself crossing the room to steal the spot beside him.
"Another rum drinker, huh?" she said, nudging him gently with her elbow as she sat down on the stool next to him. She tilted her own glass, amber liquid sparkling gently within it, slightly in his direction in a form of cheers. "Ever tried a Ron Millonario? Especially this one, XO Reserva Especial." She sighed blissfully, glancing down at her glass as though she was viewing a small piece of Heaven, before meeting his eyes again. "Peruvian. Beautiful. I get it sent here for me because it lasts forever and no one else here knows about it." She spoke slowly, circulating the glass so the drink released a thick aroma into the air between them. "Richest rum I've ever tasted with enough burn to remind you that you're doing something you'll probably regret in the morning." Laken gave him a quick wink, barely noticeable, and brought the glass to her lips, smiling against the rim as the liquid toyed with her throat. Beautiful, indeed.
i feel like there's a little bit of pirate in tiger lily. maybe.
Oh, but of course.
(I’m about to meta, hold on tight.)
This is a girl that spent many, many years of her younger life, if you can call it that, aboard a pirate ship. She has learned to love the smell of the salty air, the feel of the ship beneath her, the sight of the stars reflecting against the waves at midnight.
This is a woman, now, that led her people, an army, into wars as though it were her due, over and over and over again. She has blood on her hands and in her snarl, but she has never apologized for the lives she has taken. She has learned the art of persuasion and knows political games like the back of her hand. In her world, there are two choices: alliances or wars. She does what is necessary to keep her people alive. She has never apologized for the lies she has told.
She has learned how to protect what is rightfully hers, and knows how to take it back by force. She has abandoned the life she was handed and has made it her own. She chose to allow the pirates to capture her again and again and again in order to protect the people she was charged with, because if they have her, there’s no reason to go after them. She knows the game and plays it well and lives.
It’s a miraculous feat that she lives. But, naturally, she learned survival by following the example of the best pirates she knows, though she would rarely ever admit it. He shaped her every time her tied to mast. He forced her, perhaps by accident, to love the smell of the salty air, the feel of the ship beneath her, the sight of the stars reflecting against the waves at midnight. If anything, the little bit of pirate in her is the scar of him on her very being, a little piece of that pirate captain she just can’t seem to get rid of.
She shrugs off the people that laugh and make them her servants later. Her taste for blood and ruthlessness might make her a pirate to some, but she would prefer the term ‘warrior’.
The emotions sparking between them were practically tangible. Both knew exactly what to say to infuriate the other. Killian understood perfectly the point in which she wanted to make, but he would never admit it. He couldn’t allow himself to think that Milah would choose someone over him. After all, he’d been the one she’d chosen over the other man. Even that was a difficult choice for her, so why would she leave him after having left her husband already? She wouldn’t. She had loved him unconditionally, even through his worst of moments. Killian had to hold onto those thoughts, else he might completely unravel. He couldn’t bare to even consider that three hundred years of Neverland fighting to stay alive long enough to kill Rumpelstiltskin had been all for naught. He was not about to let this little girl be the one to unravel him either. Better to continue prodding at her, to make her break, to give him some small victory in the midst of hell that Storybrooke was proving to be.
At first Killian wanted to call Tiger Lily out on her lie, but there was something deep in her eye, something that grew as she looked past him, seemingly into nothingness. He knew better though. She wasn’t seeing, but rather feeling, a deep breath further confirming his thoughts. Part of him almost wanted to know what she was thinking, why she had so easily pushed Neverland to the side. Perhaps it hadn’t been an easy thing to do though. She’d had plenty of time to come to terms with her life now. “Is that so?” he mused softly, his eyes hard on her, looking for any flicker of uncertainty. “You’re perfectly fine staying here then, are you?” he asked somewhat incredulously. How anyone could be okay staying in this land was beyond him, though in many ways it was far better than Neverland. A person could live here, truly live. The lack of magic and decent rum however, was a heavy negative in his mind. Besides, unlike himself, she had a family to lose in all of this.
Tiger Lily looked back at him and gave him a small, but confident, smile. "I am. I can't say I would pass up the opportunity to try again." She pulled off the thick ring she kept on her ring finger and held out her hand to show him the name permanently in ink there, hidden beneath it: Peter. "I did it myself. I have others, and others I did myself, but that one hurt the most," she said with a smirk, glancing up at his eyes. "I won't say I wasn't scared shitless when the curse lifted. I had no idea how to be Tiger Lily anymore. I didn't really want to be her...me." She squinted slightly and tucked her thumb underneath her middle finger to rub it across the tattoo. "I didn't mind being Laken. She had different problems, and I guess she was happy, at least. It was nice only having to take care of myself for once. And I honestly wouldn't choose to give up the pie at Granny's if you paid me." She sighed and slipped the ring back on, shaking her head. "But I'll go back if I can. Mainly because I have to. I'll fight to get back to them, if I have to."
She wasn't sure why she told him things like that. He had no reason to care and she had no reason to be telling him, other than he had known her longer than anyone else and didn't have to ask questions. Whether he would understand was a different matter entirely. Besides, he always looked like he wanted to strangle her, for reasons she wasn't quite sure she understood. There was a very small chance he would even want to try to understand. Mentally, she kicked herself, scolding herself for not thinking more before she opened her mouth.
"You're Killian's...ship?" She couldn't lie; the idea was slightly horrifying. That ship had been both a prison and an escape for the better part of her many, many years, but there it was in front of her, talking. She, rather. She was in front of her. Talking. It was like having her house come to life to tell her that she needed to do some sweeping (that was an even weirder thought so she shoved it away quickly, just in case there was any chance of that happening. Obviously anything was possible at that point). "I...you realize that this is really, really odd, right?"
"This form?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I don't think I can say I've heard that one before, Juliana. Pleased to meet you." Tiger Lily paused. She didn't really know many people outside of her tribe, so the odds that she had met her previously felt slim. "'This form', though. I'm still hung up there. Is that implying that I should know you some other way?"
OKAY OKAY listen so if killian and tiger lily ever have a child, i'm like 95.999% sure gemma arterton should be the face character just trust me on this
Juliana stared straight at the woman, studying her closely before seeing her name tag. “Tiger Lily? The Tiger Lily? The chief’s daughter?” She asked, cocking her head to the side curiously.
Tiger Lily was momentarily taken aback at being recognized. Being from Neverland and not from the heart of the Enchanted Forest like everyone else made being a familiar face to everyone else rare. "The one and only, yes." She narrowed her eyes a bit, trying to place the woman. "I'm sorry, but do I know you? You're not ringing any bells."
The sound of the bell's jingling when the door made contact with it made her jump slightly off the stool she was perched on. The bakery hadn't had many visitors in recent weeks, so she had grown accustomed to a deathly quiet, rather than actual, human life. Quickly, she pinned her name tag on- it had previously sported the name 'Laken', until the curse had broken, though she had haphazardly marked it out with a sharpie, writing in her true name, Tiger Lily, above it -, and gave the customer a warm smile. "Hey, welcome. Let me know if I can help you, okay?"
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