#AND SHE STILL WENT OUT OF HER WAY TO PROVIDE HIM A KINGDOM AND SOME FOOD.

[idolomantises]

Rewatching Adventure Time, I can't help but think so much Princess Bubblegum discourse would be non-existent if people actually watched the show to completion instead of randomly hyperfocusing on some of PB's bad deeds.

There's a very bizarre and commonly held belief that Princess Bubblegum did terrible things and got away with it, that nobody held her accountable. When the show makes a point, repeatedly, that Princess Bubblegum is well meaning but deeply flawed, and to some characters, straight up evil.

I see fans point to "The Cooler" a lot as proof that PB is an irredeemable character, and while it is her worst act in the entire show.... I think people forgot that that was the point. Near the end of the episode she stops spying on people in Ooo because it was an invasion of privacy. In another episode she's called out for exploiting some aliens and lets them go. She feels ashamed that her own people are terrified of her. She loses her entire kingdom, and realizes she needs to get her shit together.

I'm pretty critical of shows that are way too lenient on flawed female characters but Princess Bubblegum isn't one of them. She's awesome, and heavily misunderstood.

[thatdeadaquarius]

Harry Potter/Genshin Impact Crossover Fun🎉

for @kiraisastay my beta reader for the big fat Eldritch AU awhile back! :)

“…a genshin/Harry Potter crossover where reader (still fem) comes from genshin (so she has a vision) and tries to fit in at Hogwarts (would love for it to be set around the Goblet Of Fire so the hp characters in that age start maturing and actually understand what happens around them and aren't little kids , plus, y'know, YULE BALL), would also like for the reader to have a more stoic/emotionless personality with tragic past (so like having scars y'knowww) cuz it makes character building a lot more juicy ahah, but you can write it however you want tho!! (this can be funnier to write if you're feeling a lot creative)”

UGH sorry i took forever! im rlly bad at estimating time...

I hope this is a fun read at least, and thanks for much for taking on that eldritch monster fic awhile back lol

☆

Orbit: Long Headcanon/fic-thing (~2k words) - Harry Potter x Genshin Impact Crossover (4th Year)

Sun: Feminine Reader (she/her), Slytherin Reader, Reader is 15-16 year old.

Stars: Harry, Ron, Hermione, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, Viktor Krum, mentions of others.

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: Reader has rough past, & Trigger Warnings: vague mentions of scars, Reader has bad relationship with parents.

☆

You’re so fucking happy your Cryo Vision came with you.

You knew you were in a different country, one you definitely had never been to before, but you couldn’t figure out for the life of you where it was at first

Your first guess was Fontaine, but the robes and strange overuse of catalyst weapons (actually, only catalyst weapons??) began to convince you otherwise real quick,

Fontaine was just the closest country you could compare it to

yeah so obviously by the time u realized you shouldn't be waving a sword around, it was too late lmao, u scared the shit out of the potions shopkeeper and had to make a hasty exit

bc for some reason any other weapon than a catalyst is shamed here?? which makes no sense to you, as it seems like their “magic” here could just as easily be channeled into different weapons/items??

u guess not having monsters to randomly fight everytime u just wanna take a walk outside makes for a pretty peaceful world, and specifically this country ”England” or the “United Kingdom”

u had taken a week or so to re-orient yourself to this new world, how only a certain society knew about their magic, how there were no gods here, at least not any u could easily interact with, and that most people your age would be in school still???

while u could choose to pursue higher education or specialize in Sumeru’s Akademiya, basic schooling was still provided in every country in Teyvat up until about 15 years old

but at this point u were willing to do what it took to blend into this world, and u didnt want anyone to be asking how old u were/why u werent in school when you wandered around, so u went to Hogwarts

It also proved to be a good way to acquaint urself with the world/its magic and give u a place to better excuse any social or magical mistakes

But needless to say, u struggled, u had to constantly find some workaround for “magic” from the wands/catalysts in classes

and luckily they took u being a transfer student pretty smoothly, as u were just in time for the “Triwizard Tournament” to be announced and other schools were coming to participate, u easily got accepted in

and the only one who batted an eye at it was the weird old Headmaster, who u already suspected knew more abt u than he was letting on (Dumbledore seemed to have eyes everywhere the more u learned, which made u more suspicious of him too)

you'd been sorted into Slytherin, along with the Russian magical students, (Durmstrang?)

of which you had absolutely no frame of reference for how bad that was, other than being accused of literally being from the Abyss 💀

while the rest of the student body treated u with the basic contempt u learned all Slytherins just seemed to kind of get all the time, ur own house was a little more confusing when it came to you

some were curious abt all the scars, the strange glowing snowflake gem that u concealed on ur hip, what ur country was like and what the magic school over there was like (thank fuck for ur poker face and insane lying skills that made it believable)

(there was absolutely a rumor abt u pulling a sword on Filch at some point, u neither denied nor supported it)

the other half of the slytherins were all uptight about u possibly being a “Muggleborn” and sneered at u every chance they got (some weird blond kid a year or 2 below you??)

or they outright ignored u

tbh u didn't really get much genuine favor between Slytherins just being Slytherins and ur own reputation/cold disposition until Professor Snape saw how good u were at potions a month into this insanity

(it was just basic alchemy? nearly everyone, especially Vision-users, knew how to do it back home? why was it so special here?? u had this kind of question a lot in this world over most things, like the “muggles dont know abt magic” thing, it seem like more trouble than its worth.)

U both got along in the same way a cold-demeanor father bonds with his carbon copy cold-demeanor daughter lol

in which he invited u for tea sometimes out of polite extra teaching for “ur future plans of being a potion master, like myself”

which okay?? u were better than most ur age at potions bc of alchemy (which u learned is taught at higher levels of potion mastery) and its not like you've figured out how to get back to ur world anytime soon

so u just roll with that being ur “future career” for now, it makes the old emo professor happy so u figure why not

And its the first scrap of favor you’ve found here so it works

Tho u did complain at Snape for picking on Gryffindors, saying “ur rlly not helping that Slytherin reputation for tall dark and evil here”

He proceeded to make u clean and reorganize his potion stores for that lol

(Tho he did start to lighten up the more u picked on him abt it, the poor kid with huge round glasses followed you with his huge green eyes for weeks, he seems to be the only one who's really realized ur the one convincing Snape to mellow out)

U begin researching information (thanks to Snape) in the forbidden part of the library abt different worlds/time travel, anything thatd put u close to possibly getting back home

Or, to be honest, a portal would be better, bc youd like to come back here sometimes,

Its not like u have family back home (not any who you'd want to visit), mostly just a few good friends who'd be worried abt u (Childe misses his sparring partner for sure)

Which then leads u to noticing that boy with the black hair and big round glasses (was it smth like,,, harold sculptor? Atp that seems like a feasible name to you bc in this world parents rlly were cruel abt naming their kid “feathery” or smth wild)

Harold and two others, one with fluffy long hair, and the other a redhead,

Were attempting to “spy” on u from behind bookshelves or at tables seated near the forbidden section

U saw them learn the times u came there and how they made sure to match them (tho it seems the redhead got bored easily and begged to eat instead)

You'd actually managed to make friends with some Durmstrang friends in the meantime too

And by that u mean Viktor Krum mostly

Ppl were constantly obsessed with him and he'd managed to escape up the astronomy tower to get some peace and quiet,

Only to run into u reading away, and he'd heard abt ur reputation, and wanted to befriend u

U two got along rlly well, lots of peaceful silences, and chill convos, esp since u guys had some stuff in common

Mostly how ur both foreign to Hogwarts/this country and adjusting still

Anyway that is to say, Viktor teased u abt the ducklings following u around everywhere thinking they were sneaky

And this was a routine u got used to, until it was time for the tournament

You hadnt bothered to put ur name in, u didnt feel like risking ur life for no reason afterall

So needless to say u were pissed when rumors went around abt u putting Harol- Harry's name in the goblet

(u finally learned his name, apparently he's famous for not dying? As a baby?? A powerful tyrant evil wizard wanted to kill him as a baby??? Just,, why)

Not only that but then he was obligated to be in the tournament???

U knew there was smth insane abt this school, bringing back this crazy tournament in the first place, somehow getting Harry's name in the goblet,

but u didn't think they were batshit crazy.

(Dumbledore is not helping his case in your eyes, esp as u suspect he’s got Snape involved in his BS too somehow…)

So needless to say you were going to fix this mess since these seasoned “wizard adults” weren't 😒

You snuck into the Great Hall using a high level alchemy invisibility amulet, and used ur Cryo vision to extinguish the Goblet of Fire 💀

It reset the game, and luckily they were able to resubmit the champions to the Triwizard Tournament and hide away the Goblet before it got tampered with again

Lol u got Harry out of it, and it wasnt until later in the library that u get cornered by the Gryffindor fourth year himself

He admits to seeing u under his invisibilty cloak that night and thanks you for getting him out of that hell, poor kid looks so grateful 😭

But regardless of that, he insists u tell him abt the ice spell u used, how u used it wandless, with no incantation, etc.

You just gave him a small smile (his big green eyes look even more shocked behind the glasses, what, was that old professor right? do u rlly not smile that much?) and tell him he owes u one

He agrees and u go on ur way to the forbidden section

(U dont explain the ice, afterall, who would believe him? You werent even that much older, and only “master wizards” could do what u did)

After that, Harry starts to follow u around a lot more,

much to the annoyance of his redhead friend (Rodrick? Rocky? smth with a R-) and the absolute admiration of the younger girl with big hair

the champions start the first trial, and u help Viktor out with a plan to defeat the dragon and get the egg in one piece (u had lots of experience with monsters after all, and Viktor and Snape, who couldn't keep his big nose out of your business, were simultaneously disturbed and yet not surprised by this information)

it works flawlessly, and that's when you notice the new DA teacher acting suspicious

as the champions gear up for the 2nd trial, u help Viktor try to figure out the egg’s secrets,

Both Harry and Hermione have taken to interrupting ur library research time (u finally learned her name, but not the redhead, he seemed a bit rude tbh so u don't care to know)

after brainstorming (well more like talking at the brick wall that was Snape) with the old potions professor over tea gossip time again, u finally figure out how to get the egg open without screaming, and tell Viktor

Who thanks u by taking u to the Yule Ball, but u only manage the first dance before u get absorbed in the food and the cool decor, and u also convince him to gossip with u in the corner too

(u do appreciate having a reason to dress up at least, as you attempt to imitate the Tsaritsa herself with this dress)

U notice further on into the night that Hermione ran out looking upset, and ur “girl’s girl” instinct kicks in, (regardless of ur neutrality for her, u lie to urself) and follow her outside to comfort her

u talk, and tho ur cold demanour did intimidate her a little, after she realized u were genuinely trying to help her, she took u up on the offer, and asked if u two could be friends since she’s “surrounded by stupid Gryffindor boys all the time”

u agreed amused, and convinced her to join Viktor and u in ur gossip session, which Harry (after humiliating himself on the dance floor), joined in later as well

(You may or may not have iced the floor secretly under the redhead’s and the equally annoying prissy Slytherin blonde’s feet, sending them sprawling on top of each other, so neither would come bother u four)

Over the next week you hear from Hermione’s researching/studying sessions with you that Ron did apologize to her, of which u advised her to get revenge on him anyway lmao

Harry at one point came groaning and complaining to you abt Cedric bothering him abt the egg problem, and u went ahead and gave it to him

Finally the next task was here, something abt rescuing smth underwater that mattered to each of the champions

u were immediately on ur guard when Dumbledore called u and 3 other seemingly random ppl to ur office (but u began to connect the dots after realizing one of them was the little sister of the Fontai- French Champion)

only to deflect the spell that would've knocked u out, and instead pretend to be knocked out

u obv kept ur Vision on u at all times, as always, and realized what was happening as the teachers levitated u all out to the lake

Snape snapped about being the one in charge of you, (and lowkey told u he knew u were awake, did he sound a little,, proud?? no, not Snape surely of all ppl)

Viktor did end up fishing you out, which he said u “looked like a very unhappy drenched old tom cat” while swimming to shore, (u awkwardly pat him on the back for thinking ur the best part of Hogwarts, and then smacked him for getting u kidnapped to go into a freezing lake)

and u also ended up helping Viktor rescue the other girl left behind, and froze some of the mermaids’ tails in the water for their trouble

Fleur was so grateful that she came to hunt you (and Viktor too at the time) for helping her and her sister that she came to thank u two again while at the library

which then led to her sometimes hanging around ur table at the library (everyone avoids it like the plague initially bc of you, but now youve got a gaggle of wizards rotating out all the time, like the younger years Harry/Hermione/Ron, Viktor, and now Fleur)

by the time the third trial rolls around, youve taken to bullying the prissy blonde brat a year below you to keep him from not only bothering Harry and Hermione, but also ur own peace and quiet

The other Slytherins are beginning to warm up to you, or at least not actively ignore you, since you’ve been hanging around Viktor Krum, along with gaining favor from Snape more obviously (he’d plopped a singular towel in ur lap after getting out of the lake, and u might as well have “Snape’s Favorite” written across ur forehead for all that means)

(also some of them may or may not find u roasting the annoying blonde bully kid amusing too)

it isn't until u see the creepy retired Aura (or whatever they call their knights) DA professor milling about the castle more, nearer the Gryffindor tower, that you begin to warn Harry to spread the word among his little lion club to not travel alone, esp in the evenings

(u don't like how his weird rolling blue eye looks thru you, it reminds u of Dumbledore)

by the time the third trial is finally announced, you have ur sights set on that weird old man, and end up following him to his classroom at one point,

in which he cracks open a rattling trunk, tosses some food in, and seems to have definitely stolen what you assume to be the Triwizard trophy

he casts a spell on it, and you put on that same invisibiltiy amulet from alchemy to better follow him, and watch him sneak into Dumbledore’s office to return the trophy

(You break the “portkey” spell you find on it)

(you also leave a note behind on the headmaster’s desk to look into a trunk in the new DA professor’s classroom storage, and to be more careful hiring the next one.)

Harry somehow gets sucked into the maze you find out, and you end up sneaking in to save him, using your sword and Cryo Vision to battle him out

(finally, Archons, you didnt realize how much you'd miss fighting monsters)

Aurors descend upon Hogwarts, only just after the trial ends, and Viktor wins (you trained him too well for him to not, and may or may not have viciously sparred with him a little too much for him to not be a little afraid of the consequences of losing after you helped him so much lol)

Just as Harry is taken in by Dumbledore for questioning of how he got trapped in the maze, he runs back to nearly squeeze the life out of you in a hug, he tells you thanks for helping him again (and forced u to promise to teach him sword fighting or “ice magic”)

Then, surprisingly, the entirety of Durmstrang (and some Slytherins??) haul you up into the air with Viktor to celebrate his victory

(You can see Snape snickering at ur misery in the air)

Viktor and Fleur stay penpals, and the “golden trio” (more like “gryffindor triplets”) sticks around your library table

and you think you could start to get used to this, and Harry, Hermione, and Snape had gotten you a Yule/winter gift

(what’s Christmas. and why is everyone obsessed with decorating trees??)

…that is until Hermione looks over your shoulder one day at your usual reading table, and points to a book you’ve chosen for research,

saying “if you need to make a portal somewhere, that’s the book you should be looking in.”

☆

i hope you liked it!! and that it wasn't too much of a clusterfuck/chaos that was barely readable 😅

again, thanks for being patient with me, and here's finally ur payment for dealing with my ass lmao

Happy late new year!!

Safe Travels Kirarisastay,

💀♒

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[dilemmaontwolegs]

hey queen, for “see no evil hear no evil” pt3, would you consider doing pregnancy x speech where our girl discovers from someone that she can learn how to talk, and she secretly practices it and one day she finds out she is pregnant and she tells aemond that she’s pregnant by talking to him (she also tells him “i love you” 👀) bc that would be so cool!!!

Sorry this took a few days but my writing time had seriously been cut back and I miss it 😭

See No Evil, Hear No Evil {3}

Aemond Targaryen x deaf!fem!reader Author's Note: I may have got a little side tracked but I think I have covered this all as requested with a few extras thrown in. Warnings: 18+ only, NSFW, period sex, blood, allusion to infertility struggles, canon-death, vomit. WC: 4210

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four

Half of your body was too hot and the other half was too cold when you woke at dawn. The golden hues of the sun breaking the horizon lightened the room as you looked around and found the fire had died overnight. Aemond’s arm tightened around your waist and he nuzzled your shoulder as he curled his long body around yours, providing more heat than you needed. 

Easing out of his embrace for the fifth week in a row, you went into the adjacent room and pulled the string that connected to the maids’ quarters. You had just finished washing your face to chase away the lingering feeling of exhaustion from the early rising when two handmaids appeared and grabbed the dress you had selected for the day. 

Appropriately attired, you made your way through the quiet castle to Princess Helaena’s chambers and found the whimsical woman already opening the door for you with a warm smile. “Ready for today’s lesson?”

Nervousness crept in once again as you nodded and stepped into her room while the children still slept, apparently dawn was the only time it was quiet, or so she said. You thought you had long put the feeling of self-consciousness behind you but these lessons with Helaena had regressed you to the youthful mindset of bygone times and it was a constant battle to continue to show up, until you reminded yourself why you were doing this. 

Helaena waved her hand to the cushioned chair opposite her and you flattened your skirts as you took a seat, grabbing your book and a graphite pencil that Aemond made sure you had plenty of. After writing your message you turned the book around and Helaena read the writing. 

I am to see the maesters this morning so I must leave before long.

“You are not ill,” she stated or asked, though you weren’t quite sure which.

Your hand flew across the page as your chest tightened at the mere thought of what you were writing. It had been the cause for your increased anxiety and only grew as the days passed by and your body experienced no changes.

Six cycles and I am yet with child. 

Helaena gently pushed the book back onto your lap and took your hands in her smaller, delicate ones. “You are not ill, and you will be with child soon. You will be holding a babe by Maelor’s third Name Day. I have dreamed it.”

You struggled to concentrate on the lesson as Helaena’s words echoed in your mind and hope fluttered in your chest. You loved Aemond more than anything, you loved him so much that you felt you could not contain it - you wished to take all that love and create life from it. You wanted to see Aemond as a father, knowing there is no one more loyal to his family and that the child would be loved deeply. 

Yet each cycle you would wake with cramps in your abdomen and an ache in your heart. Aemond could see the tears in your eyes on those mornings and, try as he might to comfort and assure you that good things take time, you could see the same sadness in his eye. 

You had hoped to have a moment with Alicent but with King Viserys’ ailing health she was oftentimes busy ensuring the kingdom ran smoothly and you did not want to be a burden. The queen had enough pressure on her shoulders as it was, though she could have had some more help in the kingdoms’ matters if her eldest son would do his duty.

You looked at the princess, ethereal in her beauty and kind in her disposition, she hardly saw her husband and you wished she had known a dutiful husband. She deserved to be doted upon as Aemond did you. 

“Your mind has taken you places, dear sister,” Helaena said with a smile. “It is almost time to break our fast, would you accompany me to the dining room?”

You nodded and tucked your book back in your pocket with the notes from the lesson before following her to where the twins were being ushered by their maids. Both Jaehaera and Jaehaerys waved excitedly and broke away from the maid trying to detangle their hair to wrap their arms around your legs. 

You knelt to the floor and hugged them back until they pulled back suddenly. 

“Uncle Aemond,” Jaehaera said with a toothy grin and a moment later the door opened to reveal your husband. 

Though it had not been long since you had seen him, your arms were reaching for him and wrapped around his waist as he placed a kiss on your forehead. “I thought I would find you here, my love. Are you hungry?”

You nodded and took Jaehaera’s hand as she reached for you and Aemond, swinging herself between you two as you imagined you would be doing with a child of your own one day. You looked across to Aemond as she swung again and his smile grew although the light never quite reached his eye.

Jaehaera tugged at her Uncle’s arm until he dropped to one knee to address her and his eyes darted to your, then your stomach, then back to your face. Her back was to you so you did not see what it was she said but whatever it was gave him pause. You flipped your hands over so your palms faced up, asking him ‘What?’ but he just shook his head with a smile and took Jaehaera’s hand once more.

You woke the following morning with waves of pain and rushed from the bed to the bathing chamber where the strips of clean linen were stored. You had grown to hate the natural process of your body with each passing month and when word came that Rhaenyra was pregnant yet again, you questioned yourself. 

You had seen it time and time again throughout the Red Keep and in the city beyond. You couldn’t understand why some found themself with a child after bedding a stranger for one night but you could not with over one hundred nights bedding Aemond. You were not one to delude yourself with what was fair and not fair in the life you had been dealt, but seeing the blood stain on your nightdress certainly challenged that. 

You dropped the nightdress into the basin and wrapped a robe around yourself as the weight of defeat pressed on your shoulders and tears leaked down your cheeks. Light poured into the room as the door was open and Aemond filled the space, the soiled sheets bundled in one hand.

You looked away, feeling guilty that a prince was reduced to maids activities, when he knelt before you so you had no choice but to face him as he spoke, “I have trained with the guards for much of my life, dear wife, a little blood is of no concern to me.”

Fresh tears rolled down your face as his tenderness served to catapult you far from your sadness but his worry only increased. 

“Why are you crying, my love?”

You shook your head, hoping to shake the abundance of thoughts filling you. There was no explanation that would make a man understand how turbulent emotions were in those first days of your womanly cycle, so you settled on kissing him instead. 

He dropped the sheet to the floor so he could cradle your face in his hands and deepen the kiss. You pulled away breathless as his hands untied the sash of the robe and pushed the material off your shoulders. You gasped and tried to cover yourself but there was no hiding the streak of red between your thighs, your body burning with embarrassment. 

“Don’t hide from me,” Aemond said as he bent his knees to look at your bowed face. “There is not one part of you that is not beautiful to me, nor is there anything that would change my love for you.”

You bit back the fear that filled you as you asked him something that had been dwelling in the depth of your mind for months and your hands shook as you signed, What if I cannot give you a child?

His lips pressed together sternly and your stomach plummeted within your body before he gave your shoulders a small shake and said, “There is nothing that would change my love for you.”

The air in your lungs released along with the immense pressure that you had not realised had been building in you and you sagged into Aemond’s embrace with relief. His strong arms encased you as your tears dampened his skin and he pulled back. 

“I did not know this weighed so heavily upon you, my love.” He closed his eye and pressed his forehead to yours for a moment. “I should have been more attentive as your husband.”

The thought of your loving husband being even more attentive than he already was didn’t seem possible and your lips parted with a laugh as you shook your head at the impossibility of it all. He froze and wonder fell across his features at what he heard before he crushed his lips against yours and hooked your leg around his thigh. 

“Please,” he said and you knew what he was asking as you felt his erection against your thigh. Your heart skipped a beat at the thought of the act, one that was usually saved for those wishing to not fall pregnant. If you said no, Aemond would respect your choice but you found yourself not wanting to say no - though it was possibly the lady-like thing to do. You always wanted your husband and the blood was no concern to him, so why deny both of you the pleasure?

You nodded and wrapped your arms around his neck as he guided you backwards to the bench that held the basin. The wood was cold beneath you as you sat at the edge and Aemond spread your legs with his hips as he stepped between them and pressed his manhood to your entrance.

Your fingers danced over his back as he filled you and from the smile on his handsome face you knew he was enjoying the sounds you were making as the cramps eased and a different tightness grew. You had not known the remedy his body could give but you were grateful as he chased away the pain and replaced it with pleasure. 

His breath was hot on your neck as he kissed over your pulse and you buried your hands in his hair, holding him close as you felt your heart beating hard in your chest and the same pulse throbbed at your core. 

The long thrusts were teasingly slow and you needed more, dropping your hands to his firm buttocks and pulling him closer. His response was instant as he planted his hands on the wall behind your head rutted hard and quick, leaving you gasping as he hit the deepest parts of your core until you came undone around him. 

Aemond bit his lip at the feel of your release tightening your walls and he dropped his head to your shoulder, wrapping you in his arms as he filled you with his seed through the shudders. Pulling away, he kissed you sweetly before reaching for a washcloth and he laughed as you gasped at the mess, your jaw dropping wide.

“It is blood, not poison,” Aemond teased as he dunked the cloth in the basin and wrung it out before cleaning your thighs. Once you were clean, he wrapped the robe around you to chase off the morning chill before cleaning himself shamelessly, easing the sense of taboo that had crept back in. “I’ll call for breakfast in our room this morning, unless you feel well enough for the dining room.”

Though the cramping ache had gone for the moment, there was still a dull tenderness with each move you made and you did not wish to trek down the halls and stairs to the dining room so you shook your head. You left the bathing room with a handful of linen strips as Aemond grabbed his own robe and found a fresh sheet cast across the bed, though it was not tucked in finely as the maids did.  

Another wave of emotion swamped you and your chest jumped with a hiccup that drew Aemond’s attention. He was in front of you in a heartbeat, seeing fresh tears in your eyes and he ran his hands down your arms. “Did I hurt you?”

You shook your head and placed one hand over his heart as the other signed, I love you.

“I love you too,” he said with a smile as he wiped your damp cheeks. “I never realised how many different tears there were. I prefer your happy tears over all else.” 

Another laugh bubbled from your chest and you pulled away, leaving him smiling to himself as you went to the dressing room. There was nothing pretty about the undergarments that were reserved for your cycle, their only purpose was to hold the linen strips in place and you quickly hid them under a fresh bed dress, deciding you were not going to venture out into the public eye at all. 

Aemond was already laying in the bed when you returned, the blanket barely covering his modesty as he watched you cross the room to him. The hunger in his eye had you stumble and you knew that look intimately, it held the promise that he would give you no reason to want to leave the bed, perhaps ever again.

Smiles came easier and there was no longer an ache in your chest when you watched Aemond play with his nephews and niece. In the last six weeks he had reassured you a plenty that child or not, he would love you until the end of time. 

Sex also came a plenty as the stress of bearing a child was eased from your mind and you took your time enjoying and learning Aemond’s body intimately. There were certainly perks to having sex purely for the fun of it, especially when you wrapped your lips around his cock and brough him to release with your mouth. That was a favourite of yours, being able to look up the length of his body and see how he reacted to your touch, to your tongue. 

“Look at me like that and we will not make it to the Vaemond’s challenge,” Aemond said as he sent Maelor toddling back to his mother so he could have a moment with you in the tower window.

You grinned and lifted your shoulders, silently asking if it would be such a bad thing. His hand wrapped around yours and lifted it to his lips to place a delicate kiss to your palm. 

“And miss the grand family reunion,” he said with a slow growing smile as he saw his sister’s carriage arrive unmet in the courtyard far below. “Come, my love, we should get ready.”

 Your stomach turned as you looped your arm in your husband’s and let him lead the way down the staircase, towards the one who had scarred his face. You knew the story of that night, and how young the boys were when the incident happened, but Aemond’s resentment still burned like the red hot embers that remained long after the flames stopped flickering.

The nervous nausea grew the closer to the throne room that you stepped and when you crossed the threshold you were sure you were going to vomit. Aegon and Helaena were already waiting with Alicent, a clear division in the room as they stood to the left and waited for you to join them.

Alicent greeted you with a kiss to your cheek and she cupped Aemond’s scarred cheek gently as if to remind herself of the pain the other half of King Viserys’ family had wrought on hers. All words that could have been exchanged between mother and son died as Rhaenyra and her family entered the great room. 

Your eyes immediately fell to the swell of her belly that her hand rested upon but you did not feel the usual pang of hurt and it was a relief. 

The relief was short lived as three heads of dark hair trailed in her wake and you felt Aemond tense beside you as his eye fell on them too. You laced your fingers with his and felt him squeeze your hand gently in thanks but he dared not look away from the ones he saw as a threat to his family. 

The group barely gave you a passing glance but their stares lingered on Aemond, or more so the scar and leather patch that hid the worst of his injury. 

Your free hand inched up your throat and flicked out while Aemond coughed a laugh at the vulgar gesture you aimed at the young man who had drawn blood from your husband. The laugh was echoed by Aegon, as he was usually on the receiving end of the gesture, and Alicent shook her head but said nothing as the corners of her eyes wrinkled like she was suppressing a smile too. 

Your eyes trailed over the two halves dividing the room but as you were not in the centre there was not a lot you could read of what they were saying. You could only judge how the challenge was going by the reactions of the faces you were seeing. It was almost a physical ripple of surprise that spread along the room and you watch row after row turn to face the doors. 

The King had risen from his healing slumbers to decide the fate of Driftmark. 

Risen may have been the wrong term, for the King was hardly upright as he struggled to cross the floor with his cane to aid him. Pity filled you for the ailing man who had been kind and welcoming to you and you wished someone would ease his struggle to the throne. 

Your respect for Prince Daemon grew as he stepped up when Viserys’ crown tumbled from his head and the second son placed it back upon his brother’s head. It said a lot about a man who could be so close to the throne and never have it to still hold love for his older brother. You had no doubt that if tradition had not been broken to have Rhaenyra as Viserys’ heir and not his first born son, Aegon, that Aemond would have publically supported his brother too. 

With Otto sitting on the throne as Hand you could read his lips, but with Viserys there was no hope, not with half of his face hidden by the golden mask he wore. You didn’t like the confusion that came with being on the outside of the conversation and it left you more than a little stunned when Daemon suddenly drew his sword and beheaded Vaemond with one foul swoop.

You could scarcely believe your eyes as his body collapsed one way but his head the other and Aemond grabbed your waist, spinning you away from the sight that stayed burned in your mind. It took you a moment to process what you had seen, the odd organ that had been bared from the strike, and you realised it was Vaemond’s tongue that had remained with his body. 

Your stomach lurched and there was no stopping the bile that rose in your throat as you tore away from Aemond and made it passed the line of witnesses before collapsing to your knees and vomiting across the stone floor. Cool hands brushed across your forehead and you knew who they belonged to in an instant. He did not hesitate to use the corner of his clean cloak to wipe away the bile that clung to your lips and draw you away from the mess you had made.

There was no condemnation on his concerned face when he turned you to look him in the eye and you were glad to find that the wave of nausea had passed with what you had emptied from your stomach. With a trembling hand, you closed it to a fist and rubbed your chest but he caught your wrist before you even completed one circle, shaking his head as he pulled it away.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, my love,” he said, placing your hand on his chest instead. “You are too pure to have witnessed such violence.”

You frowned at the statement, remembering the many violent deaths you had seen during tourneys over the years and not once had you been squeamish at the sight of a man dying on the sand and straw ground in the summer heat. However jaded it may seem, you had come to expect violence when royals and knights collide.

You looked at Helaena beyond Aemond’s profile and she was clutching her hands together, looking far too joyful for the startled response she had had only moments earlier. Her smile only grew as she stared back at you and her hands arced over her flat stomach before pointing at you. 

Your lips parted with a gasp and you looked down, expecting to see a bump in your dress but it looked as it usually did. You counted back in your head and your hands began to shake harder as you realised while you had not been paying such attention to your cycle, you were about two weeks late for yours. 

“Aemond,” you said as you stumbled back in surprise, but not as much as he did. 

“What did you say?” he asked in shock, and you feared you had not enunciated it as well as when you had practised with his sister. “Say it again, please.”

“Aemond,” you said carefully, breaking it down into the syllables as instructed. It was possibly too quiet for him as he stepped closer so you said a little more forcefully, “I’m pregnant.”

His eye widened in surprise and behind him you saw Alicent, as well as most of the guests, spin away from the throne to look at you. Many smiled at the news while others frowned but you paid them no mind as you saw a tear slip over Aemond’s thick lashes and cascade down his unmarred cheek.

“You’re pregnant?” he asked as if he couldn’t quite believe it had finally happened. “A child, our child?”

You nodded and he closed the distance, crushing his lips to yours despite the bitter taste that still filled your mouth. He did not care. The only thing he cared about was you and his child that was growing in your belly. His arms wrapped around you and you melted into his embrace as if the world around you and the body on the floor behind him did not exist, it was only you and Aemond sharing this moment.

You pulled back so you could see his face when you spoke, “I love you, Aemond.”

His chest shuddered and he swallowed deeply as he savoured hearing those words on your tongue. “Say it again,” he begged.

“Aemond,” you said with a teasing smile and he kissed you before nipping your lip lightly.

“Not that.”

Unable to tease him anymore, you gave into the adoring look on his face. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he said as you wiped his tears away and he placed his hand on your stomach. “And our child too.”

Aemond turned away at something someone must have said but when he returned his smile was tenser than before. “The King wishes to have a family banquet tonight, to celebrate the news.”

You stepped around Aemond so that you could see the King watching his youngest son and you touched your chin with your fingers to show your gratitude before bowing your head. Helaena had not stopped staring at you with a knowing grin and you returned it as Aemond curled his arm around your waist and you nuzzled into his side to look up at him.

“I was quite jealous, truth be told, when you snuck from our bed to visit my sister each morning,” Aemond said with a smirk. “But this is how you and my sister spent all those hours locked away together?”

You slapped his chest lightly at what he was inferring and rolled your eyes before parting your lips to speak, “It was for you.”

Aemond stood a little straighter, his shoulders back and his chest puffed. “I have never been prouder to call you my wife, mother of my child. You continue to surprise me, my love.”

Your lessons had not been so extensive and without seeing how some words were broken down to each sound they were harder to speak. Instead, your fingers danced and he watched them speak for you, I have to keep you on your toes.

With many pairs of eyes still intently watching you and your husband, he gave you a wink before returning his own signs that caused a heat to wash over your skin. 

Or you could keep me on my back.

Click here for part four.

Taglist: @sheetalkalkhandey , @hydrationqueensworld

[ratcate]

I'm here to admit that I may have developed a hyper fixation on your OCs (especially on Zerion and Sir. Valentine) so can you perhaps tell us more about them? (And other OCS)

oh hey!! great selection of characters. Makes me really happy you wanting to know more about them! I love them a lot, but Sir Valentine more, as Zerion's personality and setting is pretty nebulous still. info about them both under read more!

Zerion is some sort of cartoony super villain, heavily inspired in the night of the bald mountain monster interpretation from Fantasia(disney)

(art from 2020)

I think he's a very strong dark mage or something. Right now I have him reduced to a joke. A cartoony villain living his slice of life, but always awaiting action, the smallest spark chaos, to join in, in a world where nothing ever happens. He has his sidekick, Vampina (I think that was her name). A vampire chick who lives in the moment and is Zerion's servant, as long as he provides him with some blood every now and then

(2023)

(2021)

she almost never pulls off that relaxed smile from her face, her brain usually has no thoughts more than "can i eath this?" "I can eat this" Both of them are pretty evil. I remember once i tried to sketch out a first chapter, where they had a visit of income tax department agents, coming to remind Zerion he hadn't paid his taxes, and both Zerion and Vampina made a whole intricate plan on how to get rid of them and torture them, to show the government they're not to be fucked with. Though, all their scare tactics were just confusing, failed magic tricks for the men, now tied to apparent non functioning electric chairs, looking at each other through their sunglasses, stoic faces, while confused to what Zerion is yapping about in his villain monologue, while Vampina eats a stale bread in the BG. ---------------------------------------------------------

I don't have much about Sir Valentine either, but I certainly have drawn him more. For now, His name is Sir Cannon Valentine, but we'll get to that in a bit.

(both from 2020)

This is the first art ever I made of him, and that's a lot of his vibe. (2019)

This MAN, is some warrior who died in his armor but is back by some whack magic, and he's impatient, easily irritated, screams instead of talking, and I've always imagined having him a strong accent. He's here to fight and go headfirst into everything bc he really cannot die.

As of 2024, Sir Valentine is Sir Cannon Valentine (you can still call him the first version), BECAUSE, besides him being reborn and inmortal, angry and ready to fucking obliterate anything in his way, now his body works as a canonball

He went through my manic episode of redesigning many of my characters, after getting a taste of Pizza tower's cartoony characters, and became this. Much more functional, easily drawn, flowy. he just works, i can animate him in a snap of fingers. Still consistenly working to improve his design even more.

I will probs change the story, but this guy is resucitated as a last resort for a war between kingdoms, as a mistake, bc they wanted to revive some other guy, but got mistaken and went to his thomb. This guy revived him, after a ritualistic dance and some lightning

and then he is like "oh wait I fucked up", and Valentine is like "TOO LATE BITCH I'M FREE!!" and blasts away from him, as a cannonball, fueled by his own fire and methane gas from the catacombs he is in lol. This story is very not much constructed, but I love Sir Valentine a lot, and the characters I can surround him with. I see him falling for a bourgeoisie woman, or a princess even, bc all my stories need the romance, I'm nothing without the romance. I am also thinking of including another character of mine, Sayen, as the daughter of this death guy

Sayen previously appeared as a participant in a nsfw comic in my twt alt account lol. I love her and her design very much.

[klbwriting]

Surface Tension

Chapter 9: This Feeling

Fandom: Aquaman

Pairing: Ormxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: Plans are being plotted to save Y/N from execution

Notes: comment/critique appreciated! song is 'This Feeling' by the Chainsmokers and Kelsea Ballerini

Taglist: @hyperagitatedcydonian13 @gabrieleskywalker @philiasoul @duchcess

Orm met Arthur at the lighthouse, holding out the letter for him. When Arthur went to grab it, Orm pulled it back and his brother gave raised an eyebrow.

“We’re not kids, little late to be playing keepsies,” Arthur said.

“I…I can’t do anything else to help her without risking my life and your reign as king,” Orm said, voice low. “You must promise me you will save her, promise me or I will go right to Atlantis and offer myself up. Do you understand?”

“I won’t let your girlfriend die Orm, we will save her,” he promised. Orm handed over the letter and Arthur left to confront Hendrix.

Hendrix was waiting in Arthur’s office when he got back, looking at some of the parchment on his desk. Arthur entered and the other man stepped back, pretending to have been admiring the view. He wasn’t subtle, thought he was smarter than everyone else. And he was, Hendrix was the person who should be running this kingdom, not some half breed. He wanted to find and destroy any evidence that Arthur had found but he must be keeping it on the surface, probably at his worthless father’s home. Once Hendrix had a chance he would toss that place, maybe kill the father and the heir to the throne. Make it look like Orm had done it.

“Hey, anyone home?” Arthur said. Hendrix snapped back to reality, taking the offered seat.

“Have you found more evidence against the terrorist?” he asked. Arthur sat down behind his desk, glancing at what Hendrix had been looking at before producing 3 items.

“I have found some interesting evidence indeed, however, some of it is incriminating to you,” Arthur said. “I would hate to think a trusted member of my council was responsible for any harm coming to the royal family.”

“What possible evidence could be found against me? I mean, I know that I was part of that group, but only to gather information for my king and the council,” Hendrix crooned. Arthur smiled and nodded.

“I know, it's why I want to get this out of the way. You’ve been a good advisor, many ideas from that the council has implemented have come from your arguments. I’m hoping that you would allow me to have some of your recent correspondence so that I can dismiss these,” Arthur held up the two letters he had gotten from Orm, “as fraudulent. And possibly explain the footage from that day.”

“I have seen the footage and told the investigators about it at the time the crime occurred,” Hendrix said, eyes shifting around the room as he tried to plan on faking some documents to give the king. Arthur waited. “O yes, yes of course, I will provide some recent letters to you tomorrow morning.” Arthur held up a bundle of documents.

“No worries, friend, I already had investigators gather some for me from your home, I knew you would be ok with it. You’re an upstanding member of the nobility, I have no concerns that your personal letters will clear your name.” Hendrix paled staring at the letters.

“Those…those are old, and people’s writing changes as they age…”

“Now the footage from that day, I know that you spoke then about it, but in light of finding the accused we have cleaned up the video and we noticed that she seems to actually be saving Orm. Maybe she got cold feet, doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved in the conspiracy still, but we are interested in the person actually holding the pulsar,” he said, bringing up the holodisk video and showing Hendrix, who stopped breathing.

“You can’t see who shot it…” his voice strained. Arthur nodded.

“We also can’t see you in the group. You said you were there, where are you?” he asked. The video showed the entire group clearly, they were separated from the rest of the crowd. Hendrix could see what was happening, they were going to push this onto him. He scowled.

“I had left already to try and find the authorities,” he said, teeth gritted together. Arthur smiled and nodded.

“Alright, well we have a list of who was there that day we’ll talk to them, I’m sure they will confirm your whereabouts,” the king said. “Now, you can leave, but just know that some of the council have suggested that you are not safe, that your involvement in the group Atlantis for All has made some members of nobility angry so I’m going to put a guard on you, wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Hendrix felt Arthur’s hand on his shoulder as he escorted him from the office. As soon as he was out, he brushed his shoulder in disgust and headed to his home. He would bide his time, wait for an opportunity, then he was going to destroy the king.

Queen Atlanna moved through the cells with the guard until they arrived at the door to Y/N’s. She heard something and stopped the guard for a moment, listening. Orm said the girl liked to sing, not that she was really good at it, but she liked it. Atlanna listened, not knowing the song but feeling what it meant through Y/N’s voice.

They tell me to think with my head, not that thing in my chest They got their hands at my neck this time But you're the one that I want, if that's really so wrong Then they don't know what this feeling is like

The door to the cell opened and Y/N stood, shifting from foot to foot. Atlanna entered and smiled at the girl sadly. Y/N bowed her head to the queen.

“No need to worry, I am perfectly safe,” Atlanna said to the guard, who closed the door behind her. “Please sit Y/N. You are safe to speak in here, Arthur has turned off the recording, our conversation is private.”

“Did you tell Orm what I said?” Y/N asked, sitting on her cot while the queen sat in the other chair in the room. Atlanna shook her head. “Why?”

“Because you have nothing to be sorry about. You were in hiding, he should understand that more than most,” she said.

“You know that I didn’t try to kill him? I would never hurt him, not then and…not now,” she said. Atlanna reached out and took the girl’s hands, gently holding them.

“I know, and he knows that too. He is devastated that you were taken and, with help from your friend Aria we have found proof that Hendrix planned the attacks on his own. We are just waiting for the evidence to be verified. However, for now it looks like you were involved still, which is still treason, and if Hendrix is able to prove that your forged evidence against him. I’m afraid we need more,” she said, looking helpless.

“What can I do? I’ll do anything, if it helps me get to Orm. I need to see him, I need him to know…” she looked down, biting her lip. It was strange to not be able to cry again. The feelings were there, but she couldn’t let them out like she could on the surface. It just welled inside her.

“You love him?” Atlanna finished for her. She nodded. “He knows, and he loves you too. He wants you back with him. Is there anything you know about Hendrix that might convince him to confess?”

Y/N threw herself back to that time. Back into those meetings. She could see them gathered as Hendrix, always competing with Aria to be in charge of the group. He couldn’t stand a woman being more important than him. He couldn’t stand that Aria was stronger than him, smarter than him, and her confidence drove him mad. Sometimes he would slip up, make comments that were dismissed at the time of just an asshole, he was an asset at the time, but he was an asshole more than anything. Then she remembered something a particular conversation.

“Hendrix you know we are not going to riot, and that is final,” Aria had said before the parade. She had been arguing with him all morning against violence and she had finally stopped being patronizing. She had riled him up, trying to get him thrown out of the group, and then shut him down, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.

“When I am king you low born scum will regret this…” he had started. He hadn’t gotten any further in his tirade because Aria held up a hand.

“When?”

“If…If we can create change and I am king…”

The memory faded and she looked at Atlanna.

“He hates when women are more powerful than him. He hates the people from the lower city. He thinks he is smarter than everyone else, thinks he should be king. Let me talk to him, I’ll get him to confess,” she said. “He won’t be able to help himself, make sure I’m scheduled to be executed, I will make him the person I speak to last, record the conversation on a holodisk.”

“He cannot be stupid enough to think we wouldn’t try that exact plan,” the queen argued.

“He isn’t. I’ll get him riled up, let him find one recorder on me, we make sure another is hidden in the room, focusing on his face. He will think he has thwarted me; I promise his ego will be so big he will admit to anything thinking he is invincible,” Y/N said. Atlanna smiled.

“Do you want me to send Orm another message? Tell him you love him?” she asked. Y/N shook her head.

“I don’t want him to hear that from anyone else. Please, just let him know I will see him again, and it won’t be on Halloween.”

Atlanna left the cell confused, but happy that her son had finally found someone who saw him the way she did.

[mynqzo]

lore thoughts so far [ophelia & penelope]🌿 

Okay so. The world this takes place in has magic and it’s widely accepted as something some people can do naturally or learn if they wished. The nations of the world are threatened due to monsters attacking their city walls. 

There used to be a king who had a wife he dearly loved and they ruled together over a large nation. The king went off to war and while he was gone, his wife passed away, either due to illness or some other reason. When he returned from war, altered with delusions and suspicion, he believed his wife was kidnapped and kept from him. He vowed to find her even if he had to raise hell. He retreated and sooner or later, devil and demon-like monsters began attacking cities and countryside, all fueled by a similar type of magic that the nations dubbed as ‘dark magic’ - magic that, due to this instance, was banned and publicly condemned.

In the kingdom/city this story takes place in, there is an established ‘wizard’ guild and a ‘hunters’ guild. The Wizard Guild holds anyone who wants to pursue magic and provides resources for people to learn all sorts of magics (with exceptions to some). This guild, in their part of protecting their city from these monsters, focus on defences and barriers as well as healing and general assistance for the hunters. The Hunters Guild holds people who go out and fight the monsters. Usually most hunters aren't people who do magic but there are battle mages and field medics who do magic that are part of them. They get sent out every week to defend their city walls and push the monsters back. The guilds are still new in and are still figuring out ways to aid each other and maximise safety for their city.

Penelope is a prodigy of The Wizards Guild. She was born and raised with magic and has mastered a lot of difficult and advanced magic types early in her childhood. Her parents are part of the wizard council that make most of the major decisions surrounding the guild. She is heralded as someone who will take over leadership or enter the council for the wizards guild when she gets older. Though, both as a mixture of boredom and genuine curiosity, Penelope wants to study the dark magics that possess the monsters that attack the city. When this is brought up to her higher-ups the idea gets shot down immediately and she is turned away on the account that it would be insane for anyone to want anything to do with that kind of magic. She, of course, determined to use this forbidden magic to help her people and advance magic, continues to pursue her goal.

Ophelia is a lower ranking member of The Hunters Guild. Not many people know her nor do people really approach her a lot to question her of her past. She is known as large and intimidating and someone who gets the job done with no complaint, a valuable asset in hunting monsters. She doesn’t have any sort of strong or intimate connection to the hunters or the guild, thinking that being part of this is the least she can do to protect people, despite her not being a very violent person to begin with [not that people would know]. Wielding weapons and fighting was just something that she was good at, since she worked on the countryside her whole childhood and often had to fight off whatever wild animal crawled up her barn. After moving up to the big city as a young adult, she was recruited into the hunters guild. 

Penelope and Ophelia had been friends since childhood, and their friendship developed and got stronger the older they got. They met when Ophelia visited the big city for the first time to sell things for her farm and saw ophelia crying her head off about a pigeon that hurt one of its wings and couldn’t fly. Ophelia helped her bandage the wing up and comforted her about how the bird would heal and fly soon if she took care of it. Neither of them had friends previously to each other (Penelope didn’t really think of her classmates as friends, since she was usually not in the same age group as them) so they grew attached quickly. Whenever Ophelia would visit the city; which was quite often after meeting Penelope, they would meet up in secluded alleys and buildings to talk and have fun before they had to part ways. They shared everything with each other, hopes, fears, dreams and aspirations, and they promised to be by each other's side no matter what. 

When the monster invasion happened, Ophelia fled to the city from her farm which had been attacked and destroyed. Having no one to go to and no place to stay, she depended on Ophelia who gladly helped her through this tough time. They held each other close during this period of uncertainty and fear, keeping their promise from their childhood into their adulthood. 

Ophelia was the only person who knew about Penelope’s experimentation with dark magic, often being the one that helps her by bringing back monster carcasses after a hunt for Penelope to research. Ophelia, while not proficient in magic in any way, believed Penelope whole-heartedly that what she was doing was for the good of everyone. They both knew if this information got out it would be devastating for both of them, specifically Penelope. 

[Dark magic, while suggesting imagery of necromancy, darkness, magic that inflicts pain, is not actually all that. This form of magic was dubbed ‘dark and evil’ due to its association with monsters but it’s actually magic that connects to nature, elemental magic in a way]

There was a point, when Ophelia was on a hunt with her group when she encountered a monster called a Leman. A Leman is a monster most known for taking the visage of someone you love the most to lure you in (akin to a siren but on land) and then proceed to, bit by bit, eat away at your physical visage until nothing remains of you. Ophelia was the only one to return after her group's encounter with them, but not without missing her face. Penelope promised she’d get Ophelia’s face back no matter what.

Eventually, the city was breached by monsters, and everyone, hunter and wizard alike, fought back against them. Penelope as well, and this moment was when she first utilized her newfound magic to defend the city and banish the monsters. Thinking she would be praised and her ideas about dark magic would be accepted was quickly shot down as the wizard guild began denouncing her for using this sort of magic and endangering the people. People’s opinion of her fell quickly and mere minutes later people began yelling about how she was on the monsters/king’s side and how she was working for them all along. Ophelia stood up for her, saying that she helped and that this magic wasn’t dangerous by itself but that it was used for dangerous reasons by the enemy. She soon began being grouped in with Penelope. 

They were quickly condemned and vilified and guards were ordered to seize them immediately. They began being chased down by the city people and fled the city together to escape them, leaving behind everything they had.

[drones-of-innocence]

With the Mario movie still on my brain and that reunion scene melting my heart that I now have fallen down the rabbit hole. Do you think you could you do some headcanons with Mario and Luigi with each? Their relationship is just so pure 😭😭

Sure!! I adored the bros' relationship in the movie, and I love writing about them too 🥺 Here are a few of my headcanons about them, some are well established in my writing and others I've never really mentioned. Some will be in my upcoming WIP 👀

I like to have Mario and Luigi lean into the Italian part of their Italian-American identity, so in my head they speak with more of an Italian accent than a Brooklyn accent like they do in the movie.

That being said, Mario speaks slower than Luigi and has a little more trouble with correct grammar in English, which he's a bit insecure about. Contractions in particular are hard. But in Italian, he's a much more rapid and animated speaker. Luigi is pretty clear in both languages and is very comfortable with both.

I adore Mario calling Luigi "Lu" in the film! His nickname for Luigi in my stories is "Coniglio," which means rabbit. Italians use "rabbit" the same way that English speakers use "chicken," so it's affectionately teasing Luigi for his skittish demeanor. It's a childhood nickname that just stuck.

In the same vein, Luigi's nickname for Mario is "Capo," which means boss. It reflects how Mario is the one "in charge" between them, but also it's sort of teasing because often when Mario makes decisions on their behalf, he almost always heavily considers and goes with Luigi's preference/advice, so it's like Luigi is making the decisions anyway.

They both have high anxiety, but for different reasons. Luigi is a people pleaser by nature and will do anything to mediate and keep the peace, even if it means sacrificing his agency or energy. Mario is a giver and provider by nature, and often frets about not doing enough, so he overworks himself in trying to protect/feed/care for others and doesn't really know how to stop and let himself be taken care of.

Coming to the Mushroom Kingdom had the effect of easing Luigi's anxiety; it's a less chaotic world and a (mostly) peaceful place to call home. There are rarely emotional conflicts that he feels responsible for regulating, and it's overall better for his health. His stress went down significantly despite the occasional heightened dangers. Coming to the MK unfortunately only escalates Mario's anxiety, though; now he is thrust into this protector role with an entire Kingdom relying on him for its security.

Luigi (being the more emotionally intelligent one between the two of them) clocked the exact moment that Mario fell in love with Princess Peach. He knew it before Mario did. And though he was hesitant to fully trust her at first (being that she's a gorgeous woman in a position of great power and he doesn't want his brother to get hurt), he eventually learns her nature is truly kind and gentle, which he comes to admire her dearly for. And he figures out that Peach reciprocates Mario's feelings pretty quickly, too. He leaves it unspoken, but he teases each of them with nudges and meaningful looks when the other isn't paying attention.

Mario had no idea that Luigi was in love with Princess Daisy for a while until Luigi started showing more obvious signs of a crush, but the thought occurred to him after meeting her for the first time that she would be a wonderful partner to his brother. He came to this epiphany when Daisy was able to beat him in a competition, and he was so amazed and impressed that his immediate thought was that a tough lady like her is exactly what Luigi needs. He considered her to be like a little sister even before it was ever a possibility that she might actually become his sister-in-law. It was a conversation with him that sparked Daisy's romantic affection for Luigi, listening to Mario speak so tenderly about him.

The brothers have a very playful relationship. There's banter, teasing, and sometimes even a little roughhousing. They have inside jokes within inside jokes that no one else could possibly understand. Even times when they were very deeply hurt in the past, the other brother finds a way to reframe it so they're both able to look back and laugh at the things that hurt them. It's easier now that they're in the MK; Mario was beginning to lose some of his spark in Brooklyn.

The movie never specifies that the brothers are twins I don't think, though that's usually a pretty common understanding. I personally HC them as two years apart just so I can bring out that older/younger sibling dynamic a little bit more.

They are inseparable 🥺 Both of them will do anything to make sure the other is content. But both of them also can never shake the feeling that they can't possibly give the other everything he wants and deserves. Nothing Luigi does will ever be good enough for Mario in his own view, and Mario can never do enough to assure Luigi's peace and security in his view. They might never admit it, but on some level they know and try to compensate anyway.

Their tempers are scary. Both of them are extraordinarily patient and understanding even to the most frustrating people and situations, but there are limits. Mario's end point is more easily reached. Where his anger is often fiery and passionate like in the heat of a fight, his unhindered rage is sharp and cold. He speaks quietly, never raising his voice except to be heard. It's scariest when he's moved beyond words into dead silence. It is Luigi's pure rage that is loud and aggressive, but it is much harder and rarer for him to reach his boiling point.

Firebrand and Thunderhand!! Their powers manifest in many ways that they've adapted to their practical lives. It wasn't easy learning how to control them, but once mastered, they almost couldn't imagine their lives without them. Mario's Firebrand makes him a very comforting presence (exuding warmth 😌) and able to traverse many different climates without problem due to his ability to control his body's preservation or release of heat. Luigi's Thunderhand regularly halves the time spent on his various engineering projects, as well as being potentially medically useful.

Luigi doesn't quite have Mario's strength or control, but he is much more meticulous and observant. He's more likely to come across the secret passages or hidden objects that can be helpful on the journey. Mario's more likely to fixate on the objective (e.g. Rescue the Princess! Save the world!) and do whatever it takes to accomplish it as efficiently as possible due to his imperative to serve, even if it sometimes means missing some details.

The movie characterizes Mario as a kind of misunderstood visionary, and he's a bit like that in my stories as well. He has some big ideas, but his motivations are purely based in the comfort and safety of others. He just wants to help people. Luigi is the one who can really assist and realize Mario's ideas, and he often has several projects going on because of how fast Mario can jump from plan to plan.

[bolithesenate]

Boli I saw your wip game post and my god that's a lot of wips lol, I'm mostly curios about this ones:

anti anarchist royalists

no witches

the heart of a star is home

cache lineage

true sith padme (tale the l palpy)

fuck it all

come ooooon, tell me what your brewing!

*cracks knuckles* Okay, here we go

anti anarchist royalists - this one is a original fiction writing exercise for the fantasy writing course I am in. I got the prompt "a young and inexperienced king tries to stop his kingdom from falling into anarchy" and the main purpose of the exercise is to figure out how to describe characters

this is everything I have so far and I'm not sure if I'll add some more bc I'm actually quite happy with it even though I am miles away from the recommended word count lol

Augustin folded his hand in front of his face and observed the chaos that lay before him. Noblemen screaming their lungs out left, right and center, none really getting the point across they would liked to have made. Maybe that wasn’t the worst thing though, he thought. He’d seen what their ‘points’ had done to his mother’s reign – as well to the short time his dear sister had claimed the crown that was slowly and steadily making its way down the back of his head. It was technically his sister’s crown and thus made for a woman two heads taller than him and with the thick hair befitting her heritage and station. They hadn’t had time to fashion one for him properly, the people who’d led him to his crowning had said – but Augustin knew that was not true. His sister’s guard, those that had stayed, hadn’t even bothered to hide their whispers.  Everyone expected him to last a week at the utmost on this damn throne. His nanny-turned-head-maid had even told him so straight to the face, just this morning. She’d been braiding his hair in an attempt at providing some support for the crown and tried to talk him into slipping some sharp hairpins in. You know, just in case a would-be-assassin came into stabbing distance. Which was unlikely, from everything Augustin knew of their ilk. Assassins tended to stay in the shadows and way out of reach of their intended marks. Those that didn’t, didn’t stay assassins for long. At least that’s what he had gathered from the fact that the head of the palace guard and the spymaster were still looking for the man – or woman – that had taken his sister’s life. Only barely suppressing a sigh, he reached up, pulled the crown back into position and winced. The ominous mass of gems and gold immediately had jabbed one of the sharp pins into his scalp. Great. Heavy crown, heavy mantle, heavy heart – Augustin was just fourteen, palace-pale and definitely not made to be king. Least of all king of a nation that was so dedicated to tearing itself apart as Vesna.

no witches - this one is a future part of the mud fic universe, centered around Sheev's (mis)adventures on Dathomir and the weird situationship he strikes up with Talzin during it.

It's also the fic I have started coming up with the dathomiri conlang for, so there's that

(Ig this makes little sense if you haven't read the mud fic, but the tldr is that Sheev was kidnadopted away from his og family by Jaster and so is about 50% more stable in his life choices down the road)

Well after the sun had gone back down again, the little witchling returned. Only this time, she carried a thick, leather-bound (Sheev hoped it was leather) honest-to-the-Stars book with her. By the Manda, Jaster should never be allowed to know of this, lest Silas reconsidered his stance on expansive politics. Conquering worlds over rare books was not something that had been done before in Manda'yaim's history, but if his buir had shown anything so far then it was his neverending willingness to pave new ways. Her yellow eyes flitted towards him, then to the book and she let the thing plop down on the dirty floor. The wince that went through Sheev at that sight was entirely the fault of the rigorous conditioning Jaster had put him through in regards to proper handling of precious artifacts. Nothing more. He didn't care for old books, after all. The witchling's grubby little hands pawed over the pages of the thing, flipping back and forth until she seemed to have found what she was looking for. Hopefully not some sort of crazy witchcraft magic spell. That green fire everywhere was really starting to give Sheev eye strain. If he got myopic during his stay here they were going to pay for his contact lenses, that Sheev swore to himself. Then his attention was drawn back to the witch-child, who started sounding out words. "Ssah-," she tried, but broke off with a frown. "Ssuh," her face did weird things as she sounded out the words - at least Sheev assumed that's what those were trying to be, "Zuh-ee…kar?" Yellow eyes wandered up at Sheev, seeming almost hopeful? Which was weird. Sheev scowled. For good measure.

the heart of the star is home - now this i am excited to talk abut, because it's my ghiblification origin story for Feemor! We all know and love him as the one normal guy in the disaster lineage, but I say what if that is all very hard work on his side!

His father might be a farmer (and proud o that) but his mother is the spirit of the desert their family cultivates XD

It also gives me the opportunity to smol Feemor, which is a joy in and of itself

He moved through the field of glowing lights, Feemor in his arms. With every step Audunn took, the glowing, hovering points closest to them shifted, parting and making way. Then, the man raised his voice and a smile was plastered on his face, the burnt skin around his eyes and cheeks crinkling in delight. “Najm,” he called out, “Look who has returned!” And while Feemor’s mind was preoccupied with following the implications of those words, the lights all around started to move. As if someone had dropped a loadstone in a bucket of magnets, all the individual points of light coalesced into a rising, writhing flame in the sand before them.  Audunn’s milky eyes reflected the multicolored fire like mirrors, shadows deepening the laugh lines around his mouth and the mottled skin above. It would have been scary if Feemor hadn’t felt the genuine love and joy radiating off the man. Yet he couldn’t look directly at the flame. He tried to and the Force screamed in warning – and with the Force rang a second, lower warning, like a woman whistling in the night.

now for cache lineage - this one is all about Jocasta and her padawans! Listen, the moment I learned she had three whole students in (eu) canon, I knew I HAD to do something with it. The thing that popped out eventually was the start of my first ever chatfic, so....

('cache lineage' is the name I have given their lineage because I think it fits nicely) (Ole Bole is Olee Starstone, Mr.Galaxywide is Jerec and Grandstand is Jocasta Nu. Jin-Lo is self-explanatory)

Box Office Hit Ole Bole: who tf changed the chat name? Ole Bole: rude Mr. Galaxywide: guess Mr. Galaxywide: also, Master whi is this traitor still in the chat? exile her now Ole Bole: TRAITOR?! Ole Bole: I’ll show you traitor you ******* ******* *** *********** Ole Bole: wtf what’s that Ole Bole: what is happening Mr. Galaxywide: guess you got censured, Ol. ***** ** **** Mr. Galaxywide: D:?! Mr. Galaxywide: really? suck is censured?! Mr. Galaxywide: OH NOW IT WORKS?!?!! Mr. Galaxywide: ***!?!?! Mr. Galaxywide: ******* ********* ***?? Ole Bole: @ Grandstand what is going on??? Ole Bole: @ Grandstand Ole Bole: @ Grandstand Ole Bole: @ Grandstand Mr. Galaxywide: @ Grandstand Mr. Galaxywide: @ Grandstand Mr. Galaxywide: @ Grandstand Mr. Galaxywide: @ Grandstand Mr. Galaxywide: @ Grandstand Grandstand: Preemptive safety measures. Grandstand: Children, behave. @ Grandstand has added @83365299 to the Chat @ Grandstand changed @83365299 to @ Padawan Learner Rayce Padawan Learner Rayce: Thank you, Master Nu Padawan Learner Rayce: :D Ole Bole: A BABY?!?!?! Padawan Learner Rayce: Hi, I’m Jin-Lo Rayce, happy to be here. Padawan Learner Rayce: I’m not a baby, I’m 12? Mr. Galaxywide: A BABY!!!!!!

true sith padme - that one was my very impulsive 'a sith is just nine handmaidens and a queen in the same trenchcoat' fic where Padme and company get to be the unhinged teens they were meant to be. They also cause enormous psychological damage to Palpatine because in true naboo fashion they all chose very similar sith names and also switch places willy-nilly to cause more confusion

This actually had one chapter already published, but I've been very lazy with working on the next one. nonetheless, here, have a snippet of a later thing

<Pretender, you do not know what Forces you play with. My wrath will- > "I'm sorry," Eirtaé interrupted the cloaked figure, "I think you have the wrong comm number. Who are you?" <What?!,> the cloaked stranger spat, <I am DARTH SIDIOUS, and you, 'Darth' Akako, are a pretender to the Line of Bane and I–" "Ah, yes, I see now," Eirtaé interrupted him once again, "No, I am not Darth Akako, I am Darth Shirogo. Darth Akako is my cousin thrice removed." Then, after a very brief moment of consideration, she added, "She is known for her rogue actions, if you have an official complaint, please direct it to the High Council. I will transmit their contact right now." She sent the guy Dormé's private comm. The older Handmaiden would know how to stall for time better than her. <You–!> "Thank you for your time and have a good day, good bye!," she cheered and then cut the line, the fake smile that had split her face immediately falling. Grumbling, Eirtaé rubbed her cheeks. Just what the kark were Padmé and Sabé doing out there? And who the fuck had given this old creep her comm number?!

and last but not least

fuck it all - the one and only crossover i'll likely ever write. That's my witcher/lotr crossover where Thranduil and some guard ocs get transported into the witcherverse and proceed to adopt their way through the ranks of protagonists

Another already published thing i should fix up a new chapter for at some point, but after the latest weirdnesses with how the witcher series was treated by netflix it kinda lost its shine. i'll return to it one day though.

Until then, have this. I like to think I am hilarious.

Thranduil looked at the young edain with the rather garish red doublet (the scale-like detailing of the fabric woke unpleasant memories and seemed a bit distasteful). The man was currently drinking what must be the fourth or fifth tankard of beer since Thranduil had entered the dimly lit establishment and he was still holding up pretty well. This, coupled with the fine lute leaning on the side of his chair sealed the deal. ‘He certainly looks like a sensible young man’, the Elvenking thought. “Young man.” There was a benevolent smile on his face as Thranduil tapped the edain’s shoulder to gain his attention. The man reared back, startled, and stared at him with big brown eyes that were red and swollen, as if he had cried not long ago. ‘Oh dear’, Thought the Elvenking now, but it was too late. His smile took a tad of a strained note. Hopefully it wasn’t recognizable. “Young man, I may have a business opportunity for you.”

[jasperisabisexualmess]

Royal

Summary: You were separated from your childhood crush and meet again.

Warnings: Y/n is technically a criminal, bloody Y/n, Wanda is a little scary, not that i'm complaining, I don't really know what else to put, let me know if I missed something.

A/n: I wrote this a long time ago so it might be trash. I don't really remember so might as well post it.

The Scarlet Queen, the Queen, and the Scarlet Witch were the only titles you could use to describe the queen of Sokovia. The once small but cozy town that had become the biggest powerhouse kingdom to exist. 

It was all because of one woman, The Scarlet Witch, no one knew her real name. I did though. I knew her in elementary school. It was a rich private school which my father worked at. We were friends until 8th grade when her father died and she had to leave school and become queen. I admit I might have had some other feelings for her but I ignored them. When she made the rule that she was only to be addressed by her titles I made sure that I never slipped up while talking about her. When I was in 9th grade my father got this disease and passed away. I no longer could stay at the school and had to provide for myself so I started a life of pick-pocketing. I felt awful and would never take more than I needed but it was the only way to survive. 

One fateful day I picked the wrong pocket.

I was looking around for someone to pickpocket when I saw a tall guy that looked like he made some money. So when I passed him I reached in his pocket and pulled out some coins and started to walk away. When he yelled,”Come back here you pickpocketer.” He started to chase me so I ran. He then caught up to me and threw me to the floor. He yanked my hair back and asked,” Do you know who I am.”. I shook my head. He then angrily said, “I am the captain of the guard.”. I finally realized how bad I fucked up. Rule 12 states that If you steal from someone that has a lot of power you can be sentenced to death. “Wait, please sir.” I pleaded. “You better not say a word till I say you can.” He said. I agreed and followed him. He grabbed a couple of horses and they started riding with me connected to the ends of the horses. I was covered in mud and dirt which was probably from before to. He then took me to a huge courtroom thing with paintings all over the wall. He threw me to the middle of the floor and said to wait till the judge comes to huddle this. Apparently the royalitie type people have their own judge. Who? I didn’t know. 

I just stared at the floor till I heard a loud voice that was sort of familiar but rough and stern,” You can face the court now.”. I looked up to see my childhood best friend, The Queen, in charge. She continued on and didn’t recognize me, “State your name.” She sternly said. Everyone was staring at me but I didn’t know what to say. She looked more angry, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”. I then said as loud as I could without coming off as rude, “Y/n Y/l/n”. Her face faltered for a second and she then quickly yelled, “Everyone leave.” As the captain went to grab me she angrily yelled, “NOT HER”. He quickly scurried. She ran down to me as fast as possible, ran down to me and hugged me.  I said, barely able to breath, “I’m a little dirty and bloody.”. She still didn’t let go until 30 seconds after. “What happened to you?” She said, “Wow, still straight to the point.”. She looked at me with concern. I answered her question with,” Life I guess.”. She didn't push further but just said,'' You need a bath come on.``. I followed her to a washroom with a fancy marble tub already filled with hot water. “Here is a towel and there is some fresh clothes in that drawer. Then we can talk.”

A/n: To be continued?

[science-lings]

If you’re still doing the prompt thing, how about pre calamity Urbosa realizing that Zelda might not be the only one suffering from self worth issues ( she’s such a good mom, I can’t resist)

Ever since Link had assisted Zelda up from the sand after the Yiga incident, she was glued to side. The fright of her near assassination left her quiet and in shock, gripping his arm with a strength he could only compare to that of a moblin.

The whole trek from Kara Kara Bazaar to Gerudo Town was filled with her muttering apologies, saying sorry for avoiding him, for running away from him, for yelling at him. It seemed to finally click for her why he was even there in the first place.

While he was glad that she had made the realization, he hated that it had happened this way, that the outspoken brave girl he had come to know was hidden behind a shaking weak voice. She could barely manage the facade of normality, forcing her face to rest in a polite expression but no matter what she did, he could see how she failed to tame her rapid breaths and feel her racing heartbeat through how tightly she held onto him.

Urbosa was waiting just outside the walls of the town, after the hero had confided in her that his charge had left and went to search the desert for her. She could tell something was wrong the moment she could identify their silhouettes on the horizon.

"What happened?" The chieftain worried after a quick speedwalk two the duo.

"Yiga, She's okay," Link replied simply, but it provided enough information for now.

Even with Urbosa's hand on her back, Zelda's hold on her guard refused to lessen. For some reason, she suddenly took more comfort in his presence than she took even with her godmother.

Link hesitated when they reached the gates of the town, hyperaware of the spear-wielding guards within impaling distance. He wasn't allowed in town, at least not without some nonmalicious disguising. But when he attempted to hand off his traumatized charge to Urbosa, the princess's grip only got tighter. Her wide eyes frantically looked at him with a sudden fresh wave of fear.

"I'm not allowed in, your highness," He reasoned in the same tone of voice that he used when soothing his steed, though that part was a little accidental. Through Zelda's silence, she easily conveyed her discontent with the arrangement, sending a near-tearful pleading look to Urbosa.

"Well... It wouldn't be the first time we've made an exception to the rule for the hero," She considered before turning to the guards of the town, "Let it be known that the princess's personal knight be allowed in, so long as he doesn't cause any problems."

"Of course Lady Urbosa." the nearest one nodded, though she wasn't too worried as it wasn't Link's first time in Gerudo Town, even disguised he kept the master sword on his back which made him easy to identify.

"Come, let's get you two inside."

******

The princess rested her head against his shoulder, her iron hold finally relaxing for the first time since the incident. Even now when he could easily slip out of her grasp, but he decided not to, even if it would be far more comfortable to do so.

If he was truly honest with himself, it wasn't out of obligation that he stayed, or even the slight worry that she would wake if he moved.

Though he couldn't show it, the event had left him shaken too. The Yiga's blade had gotten far too close and he was nearly too late. If he had decided to check a different set of ruins first, if he had not recovered from nearly tripping in the sand, if he'd even struggled to weave through the merchants at the bazaar, the princess, Zelda, would've bled out onto the sand.

Now that it was all over and he'd had some time to process what had happened, it really started to hit him just how lucky he had been. How close he was to failing his most important responsibility, to dooming the entire kingdom, and proving everyone who doubted him right.

It shouldn't have been so hard to keep track of one person and keep them safe, he should've been better. He had to be better. It shouldn't be so easy for fools like the Yiga to take them by surprise.

He wondered if it had been a close enough call to warrant some kind of punishment, or if he had been successful enough to be given some hollow congratulations as if everyone wasn't just waiting for him to mess up.

He was the chosen hero, he had to be perfect at all times. Everyone depended on him being perfect and the pressure constantly threatened to suffocate him.

Worst of all, no one seemed to care, or even notice. Perhaps that was a testament to how strong his mask was, or how isolated he was from everyone he spent time with. He was cursed to remain that way, alone and silent and even if the princess were to warm up to him, he wouldn't dare get his hopes up in the thought that she might become someone he could confide in. She already had more than enough on her plate.

"Kid? You okay?" Urbosa's voice nearly startled him from his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed her in the doorway. What if she had been a Yiga? He had to be more vigilant.

Then he registered the question, it immidiately confused him. He wasn't the one that got attacked, he was clearly unhurt, why would he not be okay?

With this logic in mind, he nodded. The chief raised an unbelieving scarlet eyebrow.

"You two are very similar you know, I was surprised to find out that you didn't get along, but I guess I should've expected it. Instead of seeing your place being alongside hers, she could only see how her failures compared to your successes, but you never blamed her for that, did you?" Urbosa sat on Zelda's bed, looking at the sleeping princess with a certain fondness in her eyes.

"She has it worse than I do," Link muttered.

"That doesn't mean your problems don't matter. Even if you were right, it's ridiculous to compare the two as if you aren't two different people who deal with the stressors that come with carrying the weight of the fate of the kingdom on your collective shoulders differently. We're all fighting the same battle, so why are you so convinced that you must fight it alone?"

"I don't know, I guess... if people realize that I'm not as brave and strong and as perfect as they think, they'll lose hope. I don't... take pride in how important and heroic I am, I think I grew out of it." He didn't know why it was so easy to release the thoughts that have spiraled in his mind for years to the first person who seemed to acknowledge them.

Even though Urbosa was the strong terrifying leader of her people and a thundering presence, he had seen how she treated Zelda. He had stuffed away a foreign kind of jealousy at the sight of their closeness, knowing that it was too late for him to forge anything similar.

Maybe he was desperate, he wanted to be heard, he wanted to be understood, he wanted to be given a grain of sympathy after being consumed by the expectations of every single person who knew his name for so long. He just wanted someone to care.

"You're more than your destiny little knight. Your life will not end when the calamity is defeated, and you will have a whole new horizon of opportunity at your fingertips. You will be able to disappear into the woods if that's what you would like, though I would like to extend an offering. You will always have a home here, if you decide you can handle the dessert," She smiled as her words passed through him.

He had never really considered what would happen after, if he expected there would even be an after. His whole life had been centered around the calamity for so long that he forgot that there was an entire world outside of that.

He didn't have to be a knight when the greatest monster had fallen. He wasn't chained to a legacy in the same way that Zelda was. And if he was able to conquer the king of demons, why would he let any other King choose his path?

"Thanks, I'll consider it." He managed a slight upturn at the corners of his lips.

"Get some sleep, don't worry, I won't tell the King." She stood, eyeing the completely unnecessary contact between him and the slumbering princess. Suddenly the evidence of a smile disappeared from his cheeks and was replaced with a distinct dusting of pink.

At least his expression made Urbosa laugh because the insinuation was certainly not something he was enjoying unless he was truly honest with himself.

For a minute he stayed, enjoying the reminder that he wasn't alone, but eventually, he snuck out of her grasp. It was too early on to push his luck.

Send me prompts?

[calyxthenerd]

@thirdlotusprince3

Somewhere in Omashu:

He wakes up, feeling the effects of a nasty headache he doesn’t remember how he got, so he goes to rub his eyes, but face is weird and he doesn’t feel the scar that has been there for eight years, the symbol of his resistance and the kindness that he sworn by since that day of black sun, it’s gone, he looks down, but he realizes he can’t see anything, but he can feel the bedding around his body, and it feels weird, did he get shorter? he goes to get up and tumbles out of bed and when his feet hit the ground, he’s suddenly overwhelmed by the sensation of every little movement around the city, he clutches his head and he screams

—————————————————————

Firelord’s palace, caldera city

She wakes up, feeling extra woozy, since when does she get headaches? And then there’s the sunlight against her eyelids, she opens her eyes, and stares out at the bedroom she’s in, knowing full well that’s not her room in the palace in Omashu, where she was currently in an ongoing competition against king Bumi to see who could be the the other more until one of them croaked, but this room didn’t have the earth kingdom greens and browns she was told about, it looked like what fire felt like, burning and bright, and- WHAT THE FUCK? SHE COULD SEE OUT OF HER OWN TWO EYES?? She quickly went to the mirror, after all, being blind your whole life, you want to see what you look like, but when she saw two golden eyes, a scar around one of them, staring back at her, she did what she never thought she would do, after all, her tough façade is as smooth and resistant as the earth she bends, but when she saw her best friend in the mirror, she screamed

—————————————————————

After relaying the situation to Bumi, the only one brave enough to check in on the yell that he let out, he got helped onto an ostrich horse, vowing to never tell Toph that he let people help him do things while in her body, and quickly set off to the palace, wanting to get there before his chaotic best friend screwed up his years of progress in restoring the honor of his nation, by accident

—————————————————————

As the scream that echoed through the palace alerted everyone of trouble brewing in the Firelord’s quarters, General Iroh, who came home to visit, Advisor Mai, and Kyoshi warriors/personal security to Firelord Zuko, barged into his bedroom, to see him staring at himself in a broken mirror, as manic as his sister was before she was sent to the mental hospital, so Iroh gestured for everyone to stand still as he moved forward, not wanting to spook the boy

“Nephew” he said softly

“Ah yes, you are my uncle, Iroh, and I am your nephew Zuko, who can see out of his eyes” she replied, stiffly

“Nephew are you alright?” He asked, now concerned

“Actually, I’m not Zuko?”

Iroh was now suspicious “Who are you then, some kind of clone?”

“A shapeshifter!” Ty Lee declared, way more excited than she should’ve been, as usual

“An extraterrestrial?” Mai questioned, deadpan as always

“A spirit?” Suki, ever the logical one, supplied

“None of those, I’m actually… Toph” she grimaced as all of their faces shifted into complete and utter shock

“Oh dear, would you want some blindfolds? I imagine sunlight must hurt after a lifetime of nothingness” Iroh provides

“Actually” she turns to Suki, taking her time to commit all of their faces and figures to memory before addressing the girl “could you call the gang here? Before we fix whatever spirit stuff made this happen, I want to see… everything”

“Of course” the warrior smiles fondly, at her friend “I’ll send a messager Hawk right away, come on Ty Lee, I know you love sending mail” “Yay!!” And both brunettes exit the room

“Iroh, Mai, I want you both to stay here and help Zuko when he arrives, while me… I’m gonna take a walk around the city”

“As you wish, Ms Beifong” they both say, bow and go sit down at a table in the corner as she leaves

—————————————————————

The next month or so, consisted of the group of old friends traveling around all the kingdoms so two of their beloved friends could experience the world like they’d never have before, and in the last day, when they were back in Caldera, a spirit appeared “hello earth spawn, child of agni” “hello grand spirit” the whole group said “I switched your souls to give you perspective, a jaded young soul who deserved to experience the beauty of the world like never before, and a man who had the world at his feet, needed to answer the callings of said world once again, you both were given this experience to make you better people, kinder to yourselves and those surrounding you, and you learned everything you could, so I’m going to put your souls back into their respective flesh, but rest assured, your memories will remain, after all, without them, this would all be fruitless, would it not?”

[aidanchaser]

Boulangérella: A Miraculous Fairy Tale AU - Chapter Thirty-Four

Table of Contents Read on Ao3 Prologue

Queen Wasp’s chest buzzed with fury. It danced in her bones and darted through her blood with a speed and frenzy like the creatures she had been named for.

She and Adrien had been engaged since she was a little girl. She had always been destined to become queen of this kingdom, and there was no way some half-noble upstart who barely even lived in the city half of the year was going to worm her way into the position she had been promised.

And if Hawk Moth wanted Chat Noir’s ring in exchange? Well, she knew exactly where to find it.

As Queen Wasp charged at Lila Rossi and the prince, Lila screamed and hid behind him, placing the prince between her and Queen Wasp.

It was not a place Félix wanted to be. Not only was there no telling what Queen Wasp might do to him thinking that he was Adrien—or worse if she found out that he was not Adrien—but he already suspected she knew about Adrien’s second career as a thief. He did not want Queen Wasp or Hawk Moth to get their hands on the ring he currently wore.

So Félix ran.

Lila’s scream, as well any command she might have made to force Félix to protect her, was lost as one of Queen Wasp’s darts struck her and froze her in place.

Félix didn’t have a lot of options for escape—a feeling he was running into more and more often these days. He had only two ways out of the ballroom: either the terrace that led to the gardens or the doors that led back into the palace itself. While the corridors of the castle might afford more places to hide, Chloé had grown up in those hallways as much as he and Adrien had. He needed to get into the gardens and get as far away as he could until Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived. He just hoped Chat Noir wasn’t too far from the palace.

The ball’s guests were in pandemonium as they, too, rushed for the exits. Félix hoped to use the chaos to escape Queen Wasp’s line of sight, but it was as futile as any of the plans he had concocted for escape in the last month.

Queen Wasp’s gown glittered in the candle light, and the harsh black lines that cut through her corset’s midsection and the thick black ruff around her neck gave her the same shape as the insect she had been named for. A pair of sheer, iridescent, wing-like sleeves that draped off of her shoulders lifted suddenly and transformed into a set of wings, carrying Queen Wasp above the panicked crowd.

“I don’t think so,” she snarled, and with a simple thrust from her hand, a small dart, much like the stinger attached to Queen Bee’s bandalore, hurled itself at the fleeing prince.

Félix ducked through the tightly clustered musicians, hoping they and their instruments might provide some sort of cover, and the dart nicked the young man with the viol’s arm instead. He froze in place, shocked expression turning into an unmoving mask. Félix kept running.

But Queen Wasp was not going to be denied. She flew forward, reaching the glass doors before the prince by flying over the guests and landing in front of the exit to the gardens. She slammed the glass doors closed.

Guests ran for the other exit, but Félix’s heart dropped into his stomach. Even though he knew he was trapped, his mind spun desperately for some other way of escape. His hand went to his chest, where the fan-shaped brooch rested beneath his jerkin.

Was it worth it to reveal what he had taken from Gabriel? Would whatever cost the Fay of Emotion demanded from him be worth escaping Chloé in this moment?

“You’re not going anywhere, my prince,” Queen Wasp smiled. Her black-stained lips curled back in a smile that felt more like teeth bared in anger than any sort of affection or even just joy in victory.

And before Félix could commit to running or asking Duusu for help, Queen Wasp raised her hand and a dart struck his chest. Cold crept through him, freezing him in place, until he was aware no more.

Queen Wasp reached for his hand, still pressed against his heart, and ripped the ring from his finger.

Marinette brushed her thumb against Chat Noir’s ring and bit on her lip to keep it from trembling. She didn’t understand why he was refusing her offer to run away. She looked up to the bruise on his cheek that he’d incurred saving her from falling off of the city’s walls. She’d seen that bruise on both princes, but when one prince had escorted her to the ball and the other had not made an appearance at all…

Marinette felt fairly confident in her suspicions about Chat Noir’s identity, and she didn’t see why he couldn’t run away with her. It wasn’t as if he was the Crown Prince, after all. He didn’t need to lead the kingdom. And, as cold as Prince Félix had been with her, at least he wasn’t his cousin, who had nearly kissed her then rejected her and then told her he wasn’t sorry about it.

“What’s really keeping you here?” she asked, struggling to keep the desperation out of her voice. She needed Chat Noir; why did the kingdom need its spare prince?

“I have a duty to fulfill,” he said softly, which was not the answer Marinette was looking for.

“Can’t you—”

But Marinette never got to finish her question. Guests of the ball began to run out into the gardens. Her heart sank. She was not sure there had ever been a worse time for Hawk Moth to strike.

The ears on Chat Noir’s head seemed to sag along with his shoulders.

“I believe this is goodbye, Mademoiselle,” he said, and lifted her hand to his lips. “I’ll see if I can manage this before it spreads, but you should get somewhere safe, just in case.”

She squeezed his hand, and the truth of who she was and why she wasn’t going to run anywhere poised on the tip of her tongue. They were both quitting tonight, so why not tell him everything? But before the words could leave her lips, he was gone.

As the fleeing crowd drew closer to her, Marinette ducked behind the nearest tree. She took only a moment to herself, a moment to stare up at the leafy branches and swallow down one hiccuped sob. This would be it, then. Even if she did catch Hawk Moth now, this would be the end of Ladybug and Chat Noir. He would marry and live as a prince, she would leave and become the Guardian, and their paths would never cross again.

“Marinette?” Tikki asked, voice tinted with equal parts concern and anxiety as a loud shriek echoed from the palace ballroom.

Marinette blinked back tears and took in a deep breath. “I’ll be okay,” she said, though she wasn’t sure she believed it. “Tikki, spots on.”

Chat Noir flexed his claws as he dashed up the terrace steps to the ballroom. The glass doors were closed, which explained why the number of fleeing guests had dropped dramatically and suddenly, but through the glass he could see a woman in black and gold with sheer, shimmering wings, hovering a few feet from the ground.

He decided a direct approach would be unwise, and just as he had the other day against the Sapotis, leapt up into one of the windows near the ceiling.

With his vantage point over the chaos, he could see that all the guests who could flee had; the ones who remained were frozen in mid-motion as if Queen Bee’s Venom had gotten to them before they could escape, but it was not Queen Bee who floated in front of the doors. Though her dress was gold, it was marked with stark black lines at her waist and neck. The mask that decorated her face and the comb that ornamented her hair were also stained black.

Chat Noir’s stomach sank when he saw the gold pin transformed in color. If Hawk Moth had used Chloé’s miraculous gift as the source of his power, then he was going to have to break that hair pin to free her. He did not know what would happen if he were to ruin a miraculous gift beyond repair. Their gifts allowed them to use a fay’s power without being consumed by it. If he released that power, what would happen to Chloé or to her fay companion?

He hoped that he was wrong, or at least that Ladybug would have an answer.

“Chloé!” Chat Noir shouted, as he dropped down into the ballroom. “Release these people from whatever power—”

But as her dark purple eyes met his brilliant green ones, she shrieked loudly. “Adrien?”

It wasn’t just the pitch that made Chat Noir wince. At least he could be mildly grateful that everyone present was currently insensate, and her outburst fell on deaf ears.

“Let these people go,” he said, with a bit of hope that maybe she would listen to him if she knew who he was, “and we can talk.”

“But you’re—” She clutched her hand to her forehead and mimicked his own grimace, as if a sudden headache had set in.

“What do you mean ‘Adrien’?” Hawk Moth snarled in Queen Wasp’s head.

“But he can’t be!” she snapped back. “If that’s Chat Noir, then this—this is—”

“How do you know that Adrien is Chat Noir?” Hawk Moth growled.

And even if Queen Wasp had had the will to resist, she would not have been able to stop Hawk Moth as he recalled the memory of her conversation with Adrien from that afternoon as neatly as if it were his own.

And if Adrien was Chat Noir, then the prince who had danced with Lila could not have been Adrien.

“But if that was Félix,” Queen Wasp protested, still not entirely convinced this Chat Noir in front of her was not some trick, “what ring did I take?”

She opened her eyes and opened her hand. The small silver ring had not transformed into black onyx with an emerald-set pawprint. Instead, a faint relief of vines intertwined the outside of the band, and as Queen Wasp squinted at the inside of the band she could see E. Graham de Vanily written on the inside.

“No!” Hawk Moth shouted, and Queen Wasp’s head nearly split in two. “You will not lose that ring—you will deliver it to me—”

And as easily as Hawk Moth had pulled up the memory of her discovering Chat Noir’s identity from her head, Queen Wasp saw the memory of Queen Emilie placing the band in Gabriel’s palm.

“Promise you won’t use it to control him,” Emilie whispered. “When I’m gone, you’ll need to keep it safe to keep him alive, but promise you won’t use it.”

“Of course I promise,” King Gabriel murmured.

The moment of understanding that passed between Queen Wasp and Hawk Moth seemed interminable as each one internalized the new epiphanies they were faced with: Hawk Moth knew who Chat Noir was with utter certainty; in turn, Queen Wasp knew Hawk Moth’s identity and the power of the ring in her hand.

“Bring him and the ring to me, now!” Hawk Moth demanded.

But she shook her head and pressed one hand to her head. “No, you can’t—”

“I have made you! I gave you Adrien’s hand, I gave you this power, and if you want to keep it, you will do as I have asked!”

“Chloé,” Chat Noir tried again, “if we could talk—”

But she let out a loud yell and thrust her hand in his direction. A black dart tipped with yellow, no bigger than his little finger, flew towards his chest. Chat Noir jumped to the side, only just missing the projectile. It thudded into the wall on the opposite side of the ballroom.

“I am Queen Wasp,” she shrieked at him, “and I will have what I am owed!”

As she hurled another dart in his direction, Chat Noir ducked and hastily scanned the room for cover. There were a few tables full of food that he could tip over, but little else. And even if he could get close enough to destroy the cursed object, he would have no way to purify it.

His best hope was to stall and hope that Ladybug arrived soon.

And Ladybug was on her way, just cresting the terrace steps, as Chat Noir turned a table on its side to make himself a barrier. Through the glass doors Ladybug saw Prince Adrien, perfectly still, with his hand clutched to his heart.

Ladybug, despite how hurt she had been by their near kiss and despite her decision to focus her attentions on Chat Noir, still felt her heart snap in two at the sight of him. It was the second time the prince had been hurt by one of Hawk Moth’s curses in the palace. At least after today, she wouldn’t be able to fail him again.

But before Ladybug could cross the terrace, a figure materialized before her and she stifled a scream.

A young woman in white, flowing silk, appeared as if out of thin air. Her hair was deep blue at the roots and faded to white at its tips, and two soft, white, triangular ears perched in her thick hair. Her face was covered in a white mask, shaped like a fox’s snout.

“R-Rena?” Ladybug stammered, heart racing. She didn’t know why Rena Rouge looked so different, nor why Rena might be using her miraculous gift to create an illusion of some sort of ghost.

“There’s a complication,” the apparition whispered, gestured to the roof of the palace with her thin white flute, then she vanished as suddenly as she had come.

Ladybug’s heart stammered in her chest. If this was some trap of Hawk Moth’s, she was about to fall right into it. But she could see Hawk Moth’s cursed victim through the glass, flying around the ballroom in pursuit of Chat Noir, who ducked between flipped tables in an effort to dodge her attacks.

Hawk Moth had never cursed more than one victim at the same time, a gracious limitation on his power. So surely she was just being paranoid, and Rena’s request was genuine.

Ladybug used her bandalore to pull herself up to the rooftop of the palace where she found Nino and Master Fu and—

It was hard to tell in the light of the full moon, which seemed to pierce Rena’s form as if she were made of the translucent silk that now draped her body, but she certainly appeared to be standing with them.

“What’s happened to you?” Ladybug asked, terrified that the complication was Rena’s magic.

Rena looked down at her form and shook her head. “I asked Trixx to make sure we would be hidden from Hawk Moth. I think this was his solution. I promise, I’m still here.” She reached for Ladybug’s hand and squeezed. She was as solid as anything else, despite her translucent appearance. “Though I suppose I’m not quite as red as I was before. I’ll have to reconsider my name.”

“There is little time for that,” Master Fu interrupted. “Marinette, I am sorry to put this on you now, but we have no choice. You need to give up your earrings and take on the mantle of Guardian now.”

Ladybug took a step back, nearly walking off the roof of the palace. “What? But why? You said I had time to decide, to make sure—I haven’t even gotten to say goodbye to Chat Noir and—”

“Hawk Moth knows who I am,” Master Fu said, “or if he does not know yet, he will know very soon.”

Nino rubbed his neck and tried his best to look sympathetic. “We’re sorry, Marinette,” he said, feeling odd using her name when she was dressed as she was. “Chloé got cursed, and Alya transformed immediately while I helped Master Fu get out of the palace, but it seems like Chloé knew who Chat Noir was and now Hawk Moth knows.”

“And Chat Noir knows who I am,” Master Fu sighed. “It will only be a matter of time before Hawk Moth tries to take advantage of his knowledge of Chat Noir’s true identity, and it will quickly lead him to me.”

“But even if I become the Guardian,” Ladybug protested, “that won’t keep you out of danger. If Hawk Moth wants the secrets of the fay—”

“I will be unable to give them to him once a new Guardian has been chosen. The price of such power is steep, and I am sorry to insist on it without warning, but we have no time. We must act before Hawk Moth defeats Chat Noir.”

Chat Noir certainly felt like he was fighting a losing battle. He could only dodge Queen Wasp’s poisonous darts for so long. If she managed to strike him even once, that would be the end of him. He would lose his ring, the whole kingdom would know the truth about his identity, and Hawk Moth would be halfway to victory. He may have already decided that this was last night as Chat Noir, but he certainly didn’t want it to end in abysmal failure.

His Cataclysm would only be useful if he could get close to her, but she had height from her wings, and even though he could climb to the ceiling by clawing his way up a tapestry, he would lose what little cover he had. He needed Ladybug, he thought, as he tossed a goblet at her, buying him just enough time to slip between tables in an effort to get just a bit closer to her. If he had his Lady’s bandalore, he could pull her down to the ground.

Chat Noir was about to make a last desperate lunge for her—he had nothing left to lose but his pride, after all—when the glass doors swung open and Chat Noir breathed a sigh of relief. Ladybug had arrived.

But it was only a brief thought, for it only took one good look for Chat Noir to realize that the dark-haired woman in a red gown was not Ladybug at all.

Her lips were bloodred, like Ladybug’s, and her similarly dark hair was tied up with red ribbons, but she bore none of Ladybug’s spots. Instead, she wore red dress decorated with black and gold scales that formed a spiked and twisting tail curling around her figure. The skirts of her gown reached the floor, and its long sleeves draped loosely around her wrists, but the top half of her dress fell off of her shoulders, revealing another gown underneath. this one decorated in clouds that seemed to move as she moved, like with each step she took, wind rustled the pattern painted into silk. From the black sash around her waist hung a pair of swords and at her neck was a thin black cord decorated with a plain red bead.

Queen Wasp turned to face her new opponent and Chat Noir took his chance.

He leaped into the nearest tapestry, and the threads snagged beneath his claws. He wasted no time, and immediately jumped towards Queen Wasp, but even with his determination and agility, he was too slow. She turned back to him the moment he was airborne, too late to change his trajectory. Her hand stretched out to meet his chest and her poisoned dart shot forward.

Chat Noir braced for the loss of sensation he had felt that afternoon after his first encounter with Queen Bee’s venom, but instead, a sharp, sudden burst of air threw him and Queen Wasp apart. She hurtled to the other side of the ballroom and he fell to the floor, skidding across the smooth dance floor until he came to rest at the newcomer’s feet.

She had one hand raised, and as she lowered it, the strong breeze died down. The swirling of the clouds in her dress stilled. Chat Noir looked up at her face, painted white with both gold and red rimming her eyes to cloak her true features. He was embarrassed to have thought she was Ladybug for even a moment. Her dark eyes gleamed with a cool determination, nothing like Ladybug’s bright vivacity.

“Who are you?” he asked.

A tiny smile twitched on her painted lips. “I am a friend,” she said. “If I keep her occupied, will you be able to undo the curse?”

Chat Noir pushed himself to his feet. “I can destroy the thing keeping her tethered to Hawk Moth, but I can’t fix it without Ladybug.”

“Then we shall keep her here until Ladybug arrives.”

Queen Wasp did not want to get up, exactly, but her head throbbed if she so much as thought about quitting, so she pushed herself to her feet. She had accepted Hawk Moth’s power because she was furious with Lila Rossi and determined to have the thing she had been promised since she was a little girl.

But knowing the identities of both Hawk Moth and Chat Noir changed things.

She wanted to be queen, and she knew Hawk Moth was never going to give her that chance, no matter whether she won Adrien’s heart or not. But that thought, too, made her head pound.

Hawk Moth had given her this power and demanded Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous gifts in exchange. She wasn’t strong enough to reject the power outright—she had tried—and Hawk Moth was not about to relinquish his curse when he now knew that his own son was in the very thief he had hunted for the last year. He could not trust Queen Wasp to her own power for even a moment to send his guards to the ballroom. As she was his only hope at victory, Queen Wasp was trapped in this fight until she either delivered Chat Noir and his miraculous gift to Hawk Moth or Ladybug defeated her.

At least a new hero to fight might keep it interesting.

The woman’s power of wind was uniquely powerful against Queen Wasp’s poisoned darts and flight. As Queen Wasp tried to lift herself into the air again, she was hurled into glass window. It cracked beneath her but did not shatter. She snarled and charged forward on foot.

Chat Noir intercepted her, and his quick cat-like reflexes were enough to dodge her strikes as she attempted to at least get a hand on him. If she could just touch him, she could get him still and get him away from here, but his forearm collided with hers each time, sending her shots wide and keeping himself out of harm’s way.

She snarled and dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him with a sudden kick. He leaped up, but his moment of suspension was all she needed. She thrust her hand forward once more and, once more, she was hurled aside.

But it was not by a gust of wind. The powerful bursts of air, while strong, were not enough to knock Queen Wasp off of her feet. Instead, a tidal wave crashed into her and she tumbled across the ballroom floor.

Queen Wasp picked herself back up, dark lips curled back in a snarl. Her gown dripped and her wings twitched uselessly, too heavy to carry her now that they were sodden. The water that had knocked her over swept back towards the woman in red, who still stood in the doorway, uninterested in entering the fray herself. Her gown, however, had changed. The clouds that had swirled in a breeze now turned dark and dripped with rain.

She pulled her hands close against her chest, and the water lifted into the air and curled into a sphere as if encased in an invisible glass. Then it burst in a sudden spray and disappeared.

The dark clouds in the woman’s gown turned darker still, and though the night sky outside was clear, a low rumble of thunder filled the ballroom.

Queen Wasp was not eager to find out what other power this woman wielded.

A sudden cry of “Lucky Charm!” filled the ballroom and Chat Noir’s head whipped up to the windows that bordered the ceiling. He knew his lady’s voice, and despite all the hurt he’d felt from her rejection, despite all the affection he’d recently found for a young seamstress, despite his decision to quit after tonight—despite everything, his heart swelled with joy just to see her.

Ladybug caught a length of red rope that fell into her hands and hastily scanned the ballroom. She was determined to finish this quickly. She had promised Master Fu that this would be it, that she would just finish this fight and say goodbye to Chat Noir, then she would give up being Ladybug. Surely to take just this bit of time would not mean the end everything.

Ladybug set aside hers and Master Fu’s worries as she gauged the fight before her. She needed to immobilize Queen Wasp and the series of steps to do so appeared in her mind as certainly as if her gift were to see the future rather than simply fall into a lucky solution.

She had to drop down from the window to dodge one of Queen Wasp’s darts, but she whispered the plan under her breath as she ran. Though she could not see Rena, she trusted that Rena was nearby and would carry the plan to the others.

Ladybug slid behind one of table’s Chat Noir had overturned and three of Queen Wasp’s darts thudded into the wood. It splintered from the force, warning her that it would not hold for much more of an assault, but Ladybug did not need much more time.

“Now!” she shouted, hoping that Rena had effectively carried the message.

The woman in the red dress drew her swords and hurled them expertly at the two cords that suspended the tapestry as Ladybug threw the rope in her hands to Chat Noir. As the heavy tapestry fell, it was buoyed by an unnatural wind, and it twisted its way through the air until it enveloped Queen Wasp. Chat Noir looped the rope around her and the tapestry, tying them together and keeping her arms and wings pinned beneath the thick fabric.

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir’s power of destruction crackled in his hand only briefly before he touched it to Queen Wasp’s comb. The bee perched on a black honeycomb cracked in two and a burst of bright yellow dust and light shot from the damaged jewelry.

Chat Noir choked as the dust filled his lungs. Queen Wasp coughed too, even as her magical gown seemed to drip away, revealing Chloé underneath.

But as Chat Noir and Chloé collapsed, Ladybug’s eyes were only for the escaping black butterfly. She had let it get away when it had left Luka, but she was not about to let it escape again.

She snatched the butterfly up in her bandalore and pulled it back into her hands. Her bandalore grew warm with magic as the blessing whisked away all remnant of Hawk Moth’s curse. She released it and wished it well, pausing to watch the white butterfly flit towards the open doors. This would be the last time she did that, and she could not help taking a moment to mark the occasion.

But even that brief moment was too long. As she turned to Chat Noir, she saw that he and Chloé were unmoving on the floor and the yellow dust that coated them was rolling across the floor like a tidal wave. She saw her Lucky Charm, still tied around Chloé at the heart of the pollen. She stepped back, thinking she could use her bandalore to draw the Charm closer to her without entering the growing yellow haze. Surely if she used her magic to undo all of Hawk Moth’s damage, it would fix this, too, right?

But her magic had never been able to repair an object that Hawk Moth had cursed.

Still, she had to try.

Ladybug used her bandalore to yank the cord from Chloé and back into her own hand. She threw it up into the air and called on her magic for what was, in all likelihood, the very last time. She prayed it would fix everything.

But as the magical ladybugs swept through the palace, the yellow pollen did not fade. It curled around her feet and before she could step away, the world was already spinning. The floor of the ballroom rose up to meet her and Ladybug fell to her knees. She saw, through blurred vision, the doors of the palace burst open, and a phalanx of soldiers brought up by King Gabriel charged into the ballroom.

[kradogsrats]

tumblr user @raayllum is a HUGE enabler so here's some "Harrow and Viren are married and raise Ezran as their son" AU garbage

After Ezran is a year or two old, Sarai returns to her full-time military career (which was put on hold after Callum's father died). Callum is raised alongside Ezran, but is always hyper-aware of their difference in status, which makes their relationship a bit less close than in canon.

"Your highness." "Callum, you know you can call me 'Ezran,' or even 'Ez.' We're brothers." "Half-brothers, and you're the prince."

Viren does intend to teach Ezran magic, but Ezran ultimately refuses to learn (to varying degrees, depending on whether it's ultimately important that he NOT be susceptible to Aaravos's control). He also doesn't believe Ezran's explanation of his ability to understand animals, and is hurt and resentful of what he perceives as personal rejection. Harrow has to intervene and it's a big point of contention in their relationship.

Viren also has a deeply toxic rivalry with Sarai because, being hyper-aware of status dynamics, he's insecure about not being Ezran's "real" father and that tends to manifest as him being extremely possessive of Ezran and trying to drive a wedge between him and Sarai. Sarai, for her part, is very protective of Callum in that she trusts Harrow to ensure he's taken care of in her absence, and... tolerates Viren, at best. (She definitely looks at the royal portrait of him like "I've had enough of this dude".)

This is important because it's Callum who Viren winds up training in magic, because Ezran refuses but Callum is open to it. Ezran went through a phase before he began outright refusing lessons where he demanded Callum be present for them, so Callum learned enough to be interested and also demonstrate that he's potentially very good at it. He may not be a prodigy like Claudia, but he's desperate for something to be good and useful at, which is both deeply resonant with and exploitable by Viren.

Since Soren never exists, Kpp'Ar doesn't have his major falling out with Viren. @raayllum wants him to be around as a grandfather-like figure to Callum, which I acknowledge would be awesome. However, I am a bad person and want him to stop Viren from riding out after Neha and Annika during the Titan Heart expedition like "your son needs you, mine no longer does" and go himself.

On the geopolitical front, a mage king in the human kingdoms is a big red flag for Xadia. Without Sarai (and Sarai's early death) as a moderating influence on Harrow, tensions continue to escalate on both sides, to the point of actual dragon attacks on Katolian border outposts and settlements.

Sarai is killed(?) during one of these escalating skirmishes. (I say ? because it would be kind of fun for Callum to have Rayla's "my dead parent is alive" arc.)

Out of both genuine feeling for Callum and also knowing a golden opportunity, Viren convinces Callum to provide the blood and hatred that will kill Thunder. (The spell here would have to be tweaked a bit, since Sarai's last breath is not available, but I don't think that's insurmountable.)

Killing Thunder at a point where open warfare is basically already beginning is less out there than randomly showing up to do so in peacetime, but it does kind of complicate stealing the egg. The problem here is that either the egg still needs to be stolen, or there needs to be something else that convinces Rayla to not go through with the assassination mission. Coming up with a way for the egg to still be stolen is probably the easier option, but I'd try reeeeally hard for some other Rayla pivot point just because it would be a lot of fun to have her character dynamic also changed by the fact that her parents are still alive and not disgraced. Maybe something to do with Ezran's abilities?

Either way, Zubeia's reaction is basically "This was Avizandum's war, not mine. Fighting it won't bring him back. Cut off the head of Katolis and end it." She gives the order to assassinate the entire royal family--the blood king, the dark mage, and the heir. Series plot kickoff ensues. (OR maybe the directive is to kill the kings and capture/kidnap the heir, since that uncertainty would be even more crippling to the kingdom than a decisive end to the royal line.)

Who goes after the prince(s) and egg if Soren and Claudia don't exist? Well, I think it would be fun for novice dark mage Callum to have to face off against one of his teacher's powerful spells, and for Rayla to have to fight her lost comrades, so--shadow assassins.

Where's Aaravos? Shhhhhhhh. I want him to get to Callum first.

[leftythehelpingtankengine]

The Princess, the Pea, and the Beast

Chapter 1: Grief

Word Count - 1.1k

Also available on AO3 & WattPad

Summary: In an attempt to provide aid to a runaway princess, Luigi gets himself mixed up in an arranged marriage to a prince of a neighboring kingdom, what he doesn’t know is that a certain evil king also plans on having the princess’ hand in marriage regardless of whether or not (s)he’s partial to it. Will he find a way out of this, or will he end up falling for one of them? (or both >;))

Content Warnings: none yet

It took Luigi about half a day to reach the castle, the sun could be seen along the horizon peaking over soft, lush green hills that seemed to stretch on forever. His attention was on the castle ahead of him. Princess Peach and her handmaiden, Toadette, were already at the gate waiting for him. They wasted no time ushering him inside, leading him to an empty room. Peach walked to the center of the room while Toadette closed and locked the door behind them. 

“Alright Princess, I’m here, can you please, tell me what’s going on now?” Luigi said following the princess to the center of the room. 

“I need you to attend an upcoming ball for me, I must leave the kingdom posthaste. I’m needed elsewhere, some personal issues have arisen and can no longer be delayed. Toadette will help you make sure you’re well-prepared for the ball and any other situations that may occur in my absence. I will be writing you as soon as I arrive at my first stop, the Flower Kingdom, in Sarasa Land, as I promised to keep you and Toadette updated.”

“Princess, you’re still keeping us in the dark, why can nobody know about what we’re doing?”

She was nervous, so she took a second to think before responding, “Mario would try to stop me, he wouldn’t approve of it. I cannot risk anyone preventing me from doing what must be done. I apologize to both you and Toadette for being so vague, but please, trust me.”

Luigi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Going against his better judgment, he decided to trust her. He dropped his stuff onto the ground and turned towards Toadette who was now approaching him.

“Alright, what first?”

Toadette spoke up, “We need to get you fitted to Her Highness’ garments, we have also prepared a wig and a cover for the lower half of your face. Follow me, Sir Luigi, the Princess will wait here for when we’re finished.”

Toadette took him by the hand and hurriedly led Luigi to the Princess' chambers. The garments Luigi needed to try on were lying on the bed, seemingly prepared before Luigi’s arrival. Toadette instructs him to change into the chemise and she’ll take his old clothes to his other belongings and then lace his corset. Luigi went behind a dressing screen in the room and handed Toadette his clothes. 

He was left alone to think about what he’d gotten himself into, getting himself in the chemise and stockings. He was beyond embarrassed, he couldn’t bear looking at himself in the mirror on the opposite side of the dressing screen. He knew he would have to at some point but chose to wait until he was in the full disguise. Unfortunately for Luigi, Toadette returned motioning for him to sit and lift his arms. She made quick work getting the corset on him and then promptly lacing it. 

“So, what do you know about the ball, Toadette?” Luigi asked, breaking the silence.

“I know that it takes place on the Winter Solstice and it’s held in Her Highness’ honor. And… that we’re going to need to do something about that mustache…”

“Absolutely not, this is where I draw the line-”

“Sir Luigi we don’t have a choice, you can’t use a fan all the time to conceal the lower half of your face.” Toadette was stern.

“I want answers from the princess before we discuss this any further.” Luigi stood up and marched to the door, irritation and fear plastered to his face. 

Toadette chased after him, calling out in a vain attempt to get him to slow down or stop. Luigi threw open the doors to the Princess’ bedroom and found she was nowhere to be seen. His face paled and Toadette, panting behind him, was confused until she caught up to him.

“Oh… oh no.” Toadette gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

Luigi turned towards Toadette fighting tears, “Toadette. I’m done playing mind games with you tell me EVERYTHING.” Luigi’s voice cracked.

Toadette shrunk, “All I know is that since she was pulled aside and notified of the ball, she hasn’t been the same. I don’t know what about it has got her so worked up, she said the ball was celebrating the Winter Solstice, however, I doubt it now. I swear I know nothing more, she’s been unusually distant as of late. She was just here! She was here when I dropped off your clothes.” she sounded like she was one second away from crying.

Luigi frantically began looking for the belongings he had brought with him. Gone. All of it was gone.

Luigi is overcome with panic, “She deserted us… She-”

“Sir Luigi, we must get back to the fitting now that the princess is no longer here.” Toadette regained her composure, the gravity of the new situation donning on her.

Luigi did not attempt to resist and followed her to put on the rest of his new clothes. 

He looked at himself in the mirror while Toadette laced the back of the bodice and adjusted his wig. It was uncanny how much he resembled the princess.

“Sir Luigi, we must remove your mustache now. Do you know what they’ll do to us if they find out we let the real princess disappear?” Toadette’s tone is stern and serious.

“How are you going to explain the nose?” Luigi scoffed, folding his arms.

“We can say you were stung or bitten by something if anyone asks, now hold still, I don’t wish to nic your face.” She responded quickly.

It seems she had thought everything through, she turned him to face her and began to prep his face for shaving. Luigi was still fighting against it until she brought out a blade. He froze and she took the opportunity to shave his mustache off in two flicks of the wrist.

Luigi whipped around and began mourning once he saw a clean-shaven face staring back at him. He crumpled to the ground clutching his face, silent sobs racking his body.

“I do apologize, Sir Luigi, it had to be done. I’m hoping you will not have to do this for too long. The princess ordered me to make you look the most like her, including mustache removal.” Toadette apologized, her voice was sincere and remorseful. 

She took this as her cue to leave as Luigi didn’t respond. After hearing the door click shut, he couldn’t silence his sobs any longer. He moved to the bed, his crying filled the now empty room.

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AN: hey sorry its been so long I'm working on the requests and the next chap, ive been super sick and busy ;( I hope you all are having a great day/night <3

[mewatchingstuff]

Just some thought vomit about Kit,

I fucking love her but she's a mess. Kit has so much potential that she undermines being an arrogant jerk who hates that she's not the hero of everyone's story. She's jealous of Elora Danan for being the chosen one, because Kit wants to be special herself. The quest to save Airyk is equally about proving herself to be the ultimate adventurer and swordswoman hero, the person of which legends are created from.

The latest episode (6), does a really great and subtle job of showing the duality of Kit as a character for the sake of the audience perspective. Kit feels sorrow about not having her dad and feels the sting of his abandonment every step of the way. You truly feel for her hurt but at the same time it's being made explicitly and abundantly clear that her father didn't abandon his family FOR Elora Danan. Madmartigan was sent to find a way to protect EVERYONE from the darkness. He was sent on a hero's quest because of the Crone not because of Elora Danan. However, Kit refuses to acknowledge that because it will force her to call into question and reign in her own arrogance. As much as Kit is hurt by not having her father around, she also fueled her own hurt by not accepting the truth -even when she only had a small piece of a larger version. Episode 6, shows us that Kit is eager to believe what she wants instead of what she knows. She's quick to believe Allagash because he feeds into her own idolization of her father and gives her an out of "he was betrayed and trapped. He didn't really choose someone else over her" instead of forcing her to accept that her father went on a dangerous journey to help save everyone and may not return.

Boorman called it in the first episode, Kit would rather believe her father abandoned her because she can hate him and Elora Danan instead of accepting that his leaving was not solely about her but about something greater than herself. Kit can be angry with her father choosing a single person over her but she can't be mad at him for choosing a kingdom, or the world above her. Because she would then need to acknowledge that she doesn't like being looked nor chosen over for ANY reason. Kit's biggest fault is that she can't accept that it is just not about her. At all.

I also love that this constantly brings her into conflict with Elora Danan because now there's a physical embodiment of Kit's insecurities and she's seemingly weak enough for Kit to question and even bully some. I don't think it would have mattered if Elora was already a full-fledged sorceress with unimaginable power but Kit would still be jealous and cold to her. But in these moments of conflict there's an exchange of truths -hard truths- for both Elora and Kit. They both are hurt by each other but the truth digs into them and helps them to grow in their own ways.

I greatly prefer the dynamic of Kit/Elora Danan over that of Kit/Jade in terms of character development. It's fine that Jade and Kit are in love but that love doesn't produce much when Jade still acts in servitude to her princess and Kit still acts like the boss of Jade -because she's still a princess. There's a difference between stations, of power, that makes Jade and Kit not so great with encouraging character development long-term. I mean, they're cute but that's it, imo.

However, Kit and Elora are able to avoid that pitfall even though Elora was raised as a kitchen maid in Kit's castle. Elora Danan grows in station and power in equilibrium to Kit's station as a princess, so Kit inadvertently sees Elora as a peer even when she doesn't want to. Kit doesn't give orders to Elora in the same way as Jade and Boorman. But she treats Elora like Graydon or Willow, someone she cannot truly call rank on. Which again, makes it sooo much easier for Elora and Kit to have conflict with each other - a type of conflict that forces them into reality. Jade provides Kit with comfort and familiarity, while Elora forces Kit to question and confront her insecurities and arrogance.

There's so much good stuff in their scenes together whether they're fighting or getting along. So I'm excited about the final two episodes to see which way Kit goes. If she digs deeper in her own hurt or if she finally lets go and grows up.

[fumikomiyasaki]

The Queen of Ruin and Ruin itself

As part of Idol Au, we made a Royalty Au song... so here is the Role Carol is gonna play, supported by Leroy given they are best friend so he helped out playing the role of the Villain.

Story under the cut:

There was a Kingdom ruled by a King who was already pretty ruthless but worse was his Son who was about to take over. To do that his son needed to announce a Queen he was going to marry... and so the young maiden Carol was chose in exchange for her Parents live being far more provided for... she married the newly crowned King Leroy.... but love was never a Topic at them... not even friendship.

She became his defacto trophy.... who he brags with on festivities and holds close like he owns her... but she never felt anything like love or Romance... People hailed her as Queen of Ruin... cause their Marriage made the kingdom fall under a even worse Ruler than the sucessor before. She was trapped in the castle.... at least untill one fateful day.

King Leroy brought her to Festival at a nobles mansion with him... instructing her to stay close to him at all times and not leave his side... her smile fake... her eyes hiding a long time of mistreatment and despair... feeling like a bird in the cage... trapped. Yet she went this night to go against his words... following a stranger inside the courtyard... and finally enjoying the nature, the feeling of fresh air, the slight sunlight on her face... it was like hope was slowly returning... but not for long.

Her Ruthless Husband and King found her... just to drag her back to the room the two should be staying at and tying her to a chair with rope.

“You belong to me... and I won’t ever let you leave without my guidance.”

With a kiss on her cheek and a faint gaze at her that struck fear in her eyes he left the room... left her to not being able to get up. Left her looking out the window hopeing for freedom.... and this night... she got her chance.

The mansion Festival was a coup, many were tired of the kings reign and many disdained the nobels... and so the mansion was covered in fire, the rope burned off and giving her a chance to free herself before the rest of the fire could reach her... she ran out of the room to try to escape.... but her dress was a hinderance. She ripped off the bottom part of it so at least her legs would be free to roam and continued on. In the main hall she found her fate... or at least what it was.... Leroy squished under tumbles, still alive but he couldn’t get out.

“Please my love... get me out of here.”

“No... if I do... you will treat me the same...”

“I won’t I promise just please...”

She looked at him angry.

“You know how many times I said please and you didn’t listen to me... I had enough... this day.... I will cut my ties with you.”

And so she left... as the mansion behind her crushed into pieces... and she didn’t look back once...

Her troubles still weren’t lifted... the neighbouring Kingdom had a greedy Emperor by the name of Yuuta.... and even as she asked to stay over at it, even if it had to be in the most poor parts... he refused her entrance... leaving her outside and alone... not knowing what to do.... as she encountered a curious figure. One clothed in a hood.

“Are you lost?... your clothes tell you went through some hardship.”

“I... basically have no place to stay... although I aquired my freedom and am Queen no more... I am utterly lost.”

The hooded figure pushed down their hood and as she saw her face... she saw a somewhat Tired smile stay back at her.

“For now I know where you can rest... I might have some people you would want to meet as well... maybe this way... we can find a way for you... a way to new hope.”

“New hope.... it all sounds so unreal but... please guide me on my way... I have no place to return to.”

Tags! @starry-night-rose @windbornearchon @nem0-nee @rosietrace @authoruio @sakuramidnight15