#AND the fact that this arrangement as a prince makes her feel good. the ROLE makes her feel like she has worth and on an even deeper

[fellhellion]

I have like. Thoughts brewing on Utena in episode 12 specifically hinging the “taking back” of her old self upon the repossession of Anthy when prior to their relationship she still believed she could fulfil the role of a prince

[acourtofthought]

Your posts about Vassa almost always end up pitting her against Elain, and implying that she’s lesser than her, or not good enough for Lucien. You insinuate that Elain is a much more desirable woman, when the reality is, Elain is easily the character people in the fandom dislike the most - often even more than Tamlin. Even a good chunk of Gwynriel’s dislike (or are neutral towards) Elain.

Even Lucien seems more fond of Vassa, and the beauty is: he doesn’t need a pre-arranged, non-consensual, mating bond to want to save Vassa, or to laugh with her, or to want to live with her. Lucien and Vassa are pulled together of their own volition.

And what happens when Vassa becomes a more prominent character in future books? SJM has spoken about wanting to retell the Vasilisa, firebird and Swan Lake fairytales. Her Pinterest board reflects this. Gwyn became a fan favorite in just one book… the same can happen with Vassa. Given what we’ve seen of her personality so far (confident, brave, carefree), I’d say that would happen very easily.

And consider this: as I just mentioned, SJM is planning a Vasilisa, firebird and Swan Lake retelling. This is very clearly about Vassa… so why would she just be a side character in someone else’s book?

Thus, the only way for Vassa’s story to be told is her as the main character, alongside Lucien — a character readers have been familiar with since book 1, and who everyone knows and loves. In comparison… most casual readers would have no idea who Jurian is (or just remember him as the abusive, stalkerish, eye guy - does anyone even want to read about him as a love interest? 🥴).

A Vassa x Jurian novel is unlikely. A Vassa x Lucien novel, however, would make sense. 😏

So what I'm to understand is a side character can't have their story told in someone else's book?

That's so weird then, how Sarah made sure to include in the actual book a phrase stating how Gwyn's story is worth telling yet somehow she can't have her own book according to e/riels because she is and only ever will be a side character!

And you're right, my posts end up "pitting Vassa against Elain" because my posts are typically in response to those such as yourself coming here trying to prove why Vassa is better for Lucien than his own mate. It doesn't matter if the fandom would date her, it matters who her best match in this fictional world is.

Also, I think she's doing just fine with her desirability in the series considering who her two love interests have been 🤦

But my posts are not pitting Vassa and Elain against one another as individuals, they're explaining why Elain is in fact better for Lucien than Vassa. Pointing out how it's Elain he looks at with longing, not Vassa.

I'm fairly sure if I was oh so lucky to look over your page and liked posts you'd have plenty on there pitting Lucien against Azriel.

Come now, please don't honestly think you can insult my intelligence with your gaslighting.

I think many struggle with Elain's character but that is typically a byproduct of the ship war and how some Gwynriels have been forced to choke down a version of Elain that doesn't actually exist in canon.

People don't actually like Vassa more than Elain because many don't think much about her as a real contender for Lucien's affections. They don't think much on her outside of the very specific role she's played so far.

It's easy to like or feel neutral towards a one dimensional side character because that's really all Vassa is right now. They accept her as being there and accept her as someone who isn't a villain just as they accept Viviane as being there and not a villain but that doesn't mean they actually adore Vassa and can't wait for her to receive a main pov to the point that they want her story with Lucien over an Elucien one.

And yes, SJM is building to something, she's clearly been cursed by Koschei but guess what? Dorians father was cursed by a Valg prince and played an enormous role in the TOG series yet he never took off as anything more than a side character either. He never received a book or his own pov.

If you haven't noticed, SJM already explored the Firebird fairytale when she wrote about Vassa's curse. Some seem to think Sarah goes into a lot of depth with her retellings but she's on record calling them a retelling "light". How much of Hades and Persephone was obvious for Feysand? How much of Beauty and the Beast Feyre and Tamlin? TOG was Cinderella, was it obvious?

She does not need to dedicate an entire book with a Vassa pov for her to explore the fairytale to the depth which she explores most fairytales. Vassa is already written to have a "Russian" accent and we know of her curse which will be broken by someone other than her and probably not Lucien considering neither Helion or Feyre could detect a spell to be broken.

Lucien is not pulled to Vassa of own violation, he went because he had no where else to go:

And if you think it's more beautiful for a couple to be together without a bond than (come a little closer, I want to tell you something) ACOTAR IS NOT FOR YOU - SJM IS A FATED MATES AUTHOR!).

If you don't think fated mates makes for a beautiful love story than what the fuck are you doing here?

And to your point, if a side character can become a fan favorite in one book than why can't Vassa and Jurian receive their own book one day? Where Jurian, also a side character and Vassa have their own love story in the ACOTAR series?

Also, does it matter if Elain is a fan favorite when Sarah seems to like her considering she is on record saying Elain will be getting her own book, how she likes to garden like Elain and would be best friends with Elain in real life? (Nesta wasn't a fan favorite before SF and Sarah said she knew people weren't going to like her yet that's the story she felt she wanted to tell).

Why would the author take a character who could be a best friend in real life, mate her to a male who she wrote to be like Jamie Fraser and who Sarah has also said is one of her favorites yet give them a broken bond that will trail them for their entire lives just so Lucien can end up with a human who literally does not have any interest in the fae world and pays more attention to Jurian because of all the "at each other's throats" bickering they do? That doesn't sound very happy for Lucien at all.

Also, no one knows who Jurian is? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

You're joking, right?

Jurian who was in book 1, who was resurrected in book 2 and "worked" for the King, shot an ash arrow through Az, was there when the sisters were turned, played a prominent role in Spring in ACOWAR, turned out to be a double agent, that Jurian??? The Jurian who was in the war with Mor and Rhys 500 years ago? The Jurian who had way more page time than Vassa yet you think people don't know who he is? The Jurian who shares the same vision as Vassa for leading the humans. The one who is iconic for sitting on a pink couch. The Jurian who would be crowned King because he's keeping everything running and Lucien says he's thankful for him?

You're right, I've got no clue who that guy is. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Penny for your thoughts, if Vassa was clearly meant to have a book with Lucien, than why do you suppose SJM said this?

The second book had to be Elain's at this time, correct? Because in that exact same interview she wrote how she'd already done research for Elain's book. And she was "keeping the door open after that".

That means Vassa was never guaranteed to get her own book. That logically means Koschei was always going to be resolved in the book after Nesta's because she wouldn't just keep him hanging unresolved in the background while she decided who she'd write about after Elain's book.

I guess Sarah never planned on putting as much effort into that Firebird fairytale as you seem to be trying to convince yourself.

[coolcattime]

Duty, and Its Implications [Mianite Royalty AU Oneshot]

Relationships: Tom Syndicate/Jordan Captainsparklez

Characters: Jordan Captainsparklez, Tom Syndicate, Lady Ianite

Prince Jordan has always been the very image of a dutiful crown prince. He has never faulted in what is expected of him, making sure to uphold his kingdom’s ideals and traditions in the way that is both expected and admired in a future king. However, on this night, that of his official engagement to Lady Capsize, he can’t help but feel nervous about the situation he finds himself in. Despite his duty and how the engagement is for the good of his kingdom, he worries if he’s really ready or prepared for it.

Little does he or his surprise visitor in the form of Prince Tom know, he will not be engaged by the end of the night – and his doubt about his engagement will be put to the furthest reaches of his mind as now a far different issue faces him and threatens the peace between all three of the kingdoms.

AO3 Link

Mianite Royalty AU Tag

Prince Jordan was alone for the first time in as long as he could remember. The older he got, the more he was constantly surrounded by people, be they advisors, tutors, servants, governors, visiting nobles, his mother, his friends, or his fiancée. He was never alone, and he had never felt so thankful for that fact as he did now sitting alone in his room, the silence eating away at him. Tonight was the night, he and Lady Capsize would finally be officially engaged. Technically nothing was really changing, Capsize had been his fiancée for years now in terms of her education, duties, and living arrangements, but despite that his stomach wouldn’t settle. As he stared at his own reflection, he knew deep down that everything was about to change.

He looked the perfect image of a crown prince, not a single hair out of place. He was dressed in purples, as was traditional for his kingdom, deep purple jacket and pants embellished with golden embroidery that matched the golden crown he wore. He’d tried on the pieces so many times as they were being tailored, but actually seeing it now as a completed outfit felt different. It wasn’t dissimilar to outfits he had worn at previous balls, but his crown weighed heavier than it ever had before, especially as he stared at the family ring he was going to be proposing with before the end of the hour. He had never felt so lost as to what he was meant to be feeling. This was his duty, something important to the continued survival of the kingdom. Maybe that was why he felt so nervous, it was a lot of pressure on one event. Everyone important from all three kingdoms were here today for him – obviously he couldn’t get rid of the nerves, he was soon going to get down on one knee in front of the most powerful people in the world. Even knowing Capsize was going to say yes, he still felt so unbelievably nervous about tonight.

Gods, his thoughts were locked onto the idea that Capsize might say no. It was ridiculous, their engagement had been in the works for years now, she knew as well as he did that this event was really just for show. Yes, he knew in reality that she would play her role perfectly, she would accept his proposal in the exact way that was expected of her, she would sit by him during dinner and smile politely as he spoke, and the moment it was socially acceptable, she’d disappear off to talk with literally anyone but him. The last part was the highlight of the problem that had him as nervous as he was. Despite how she had been living in the castle for years now, he still barely knew Capsize. There had been times when he thought he was actually seeing her true personality, but most of the time she was annoyingly closed off from him. Of course, she was quite the same with nearly everyone, but he knew there were people she was open with which just made her all the more frustrating to him. She seemed happy to talk with his mother or Prince Tom during his visits, but absolutely refused to interact with him in any meaningful way. He was trying, she just didn’t seem receptive to him, which left him fumbling with what he was doing wrong. He knew that this engagement was unlikely to result in love, but he had hoped they’d at least be able to be friends.

There was still time, he assured himself. While the wedding planning would certainly take up most of their time, they’d still be given time alone to continue their courtship. Of course, Capsize hadn’t exactly been receptive to anytime with him, alone or not. Though she was never outright rude, she was always so quiet, but after tonight, things were going to get better. He’d spoken to her brother, gotten what information he could on things she might like to do and why she seemed so quiet all the time. He’d made her comfortable here, show her that he wanted her to be happy. Then she’d start talking more openly with him, he was sure. He just needed to get through tonight, which he knew he could do. Capsize always seemed to enjoy balls so she’d be fine, he was sure. Just get through tonight. He could do that. Realistically there wasn’t anything that could go wrong.

Despite that thought, Jordan nearly jumped out of his skin when the door to his room creaked open. He didn’t expect it to be time to go in so soon. He didn’t feel ready, but he rose to his feet anyway. Only it wasn’t someone that had come to collect him. Despite how anyone entering his room without him expecting them on such an important night should panic him, he completely relaxed.

“Tom,” Jordan breathed, smiling at the man. Tom, crown prince of the kingdom of King Dianite, dressed in all the finery one would expect of someone of his station attending an event as important as this one. He was dressed in deep reds, embroidery decorating his jacket, mostly in other red tones, though his lapels were done in silver. He stepped inside Jordan’s chambers, carefully closing the door behind him, smiling warmly at his friend. Jordan couldn’t help but reflect the action, happy to be having some alone time with the man before a night where he’d be focused on his duties as a future king. However, even in briefly reminding himself of his duties, his nerves were brought back to the forefront of his mind. “You can’t be here. You’re meant to be in the ballroom with all the other nobles. You’ll—”

“Relax,” Tom cut him off with nonchalance, moving to drape himself across Jordan’s bed. It wasn’t as if he had a reputation of being uptight and duty bound as Jordan did. Him sneaking off from an important event and being found in a noble’s bedroom was likely expected from him at this point. Of course, he knew that reputation wasn’t exactly what the man was worried about. So, though he didn’t move from his lying position, he shot him a flash of a smile. “I’m not the only person that’s missing, Sonja’s disappeared to gods knows where. Plus, the whole event seems delayed anyway. So, I thought I’d check in on you. I mean, it’s your big day, thought it would be nice to talk.”

“What do you mean delayed?” Jordan asked, more nerves growing. Nothing should be delayed; the whole night was planned down to the last detail. Had something gone wrong? That idea was enough to make him nauseous.

“Maybe delayed isn’t the best word. More like you wouldn’t be needed for quite a while. Ergo, I wouldn’t be needed for a while,” He said with a shrug. Sure, maybe there were some reasons that he could be worried – it seemed like people were getting pulled out of the room and not returning, which probably wasn’t meant to happen, but he didn’t want to worry Jordan, he seemed stressed enough. That was the actual reason he had wanted to see Jordan. Anyone with a working brain could tell that Lady Capsize wasn’t particularly happy with the engagement, but it was a lot less clear how the crown prince felt. Logically, given that he had picked the woman, one would think that he must be happy, but Tom knew he had a tendency to hide behind his duties to his kingdom. He was beyond worried that his friend wasn’t actually okay. “How are you doing anyway? Getting engaged is a big deal, are you feeling good about it?”

“Yeah, of course. I mean, we’ve technically been engaged for years, nothing’s really changing in that regard. It feels more like a performance than an engagement really,” Jordan’s words were well practised, as if a rehearsed speech themselves rather than anything with feeling behind it. He didn’t notice the small frown forming on Tom due to his words, too focused on once again running through the words he was going to say to Capsize during the engagement. A pre-written, well-practised script, prepared well in advance as he knew he wasn’t going to be able to come up with anything from the heart. He really thought he would feel something tonight, even if it wasn’t love. The fact that he didn’t, it didn’t bother him per say as there was always the chance with arrangements like that that nothing blossoms forth, but he did find himself more than a little frustrated that he hadn’t made any real progress with Capsize. “I really thought she wouldn’t be so closed off by now. I’ve been trying to make her comfortable, but the longer she’s been here, the less she wants to talk to me. How did you get her to open up?”

“Just, you know, talked to her without formalities. Asked about her life and interests,” Tom replied, Jordan quickly groaning. He had tried getting to know her, and there was a time in her first few months here that he thought they were on their way to becoming friends. She had been laughing with him, openly competitive, but it wasn’t long afterwards that she shut off completely. Tom frowned just the tiniest bit more. He shouldn’t feel so worried about his friend when it was completely possible the man was just being dramatic, but it really did seem like Jordan was quite locked into feeling that his arranged relationship with Capsize was both the only one he was allowed to explore and completely doomed not to evolve any further. In actuality, Tom knew neither of those ideas were true, though perhaps Jordan was not in any state of mind to hear a suggestion of the former. So, instead, Tom decided to press on with trying to bring some hope for the latter not being true. “But because I've become so friendly with your fiancée, I’ve come up with the perfect wedding present that you’ll both love and will help peace between our kingdoms prosper or whatever.”

“That coming from your mouth worries me,” Jordan said. Tom mock gasped.

“You wound me! Maybe I won’t gift you a honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon?”

“Yep! A private cruise along my kingdom’s coast. It’ll give the two of you private time away from royal expectations. You will get a lovely tour of my kingdom, and Capsize happens to love the ocean,” Tom was pretty sure he had come with an idea beyond any expectations for him. Jordan was always talking about wanting to explore more and he didn’t think he’d ever seen someone as passionate about anything as Capsize had been about the ocean. Jordan smiled wider than he had all day. He, despite his friendship with the man, hadn’t been expecting a genuine idea to come out of his mouth, let alone one that sounded perfect. Capsize liking the ocean made sense to him as well, she was from the coast after all. Maybe they had a real chance of both enjoying such a trip. “So, have I come up with the best wedding gift?”

“It’s great! Seriously, it sounds perfect!” He had always been a little jealous about the amount Tom got to travel. It seemed that the man never stood still, always going somewhere, whether in his own kingdom or visiting one of the others. Meanwhile, Jordan only got to travel on rare occasions, and the idea of getting to see so much of Tom’s kingdom was beyond exciting. Though a question popped into his head. It was a question unlikely to occur to a soon to be engaged man, but Jordan was not exactly in the position of a normal engagement. “Would you be coming?”

Tom, for a moment, stared baffled. If anyone but Jordan had said that he would know they were flirting. Unfortunately, with Jordan it was completely possible that the man was just oblivious to the implications of his words. Still, he was obviously going to have fun with this. He pushed himself off Jordan’s bed and approached the man with a coy smile.

“Am I, your notoriously single friend, going to come on your honeymoon? If you’re ready for the rumours it’ll cause,” He found himself certainly too close to Jordan, smirking as he wrapped his arms around his neck, almost pulling him into an embrace. It was almost too far even for him, but Jordan didn’t pull away. Why would he? He felt comfortable, more comfortable than he did with anyone else who had tried to do such a thing with him. The noble women who had come as suitors had all been far too familiar for his liking. Capsize had never tried anything like this, and he imagined neither of them would enjoy it. Tom pulling him into an embrace, though? It felt right in a way that Jordan didn’t quite know how to explain, that he couldn’t explain because nothing could happen between the two of them. His engagement was for the good of his kingdom, what he had to do. He and Capsize both knew that and were both okay with that. But in this moment, standing with Tom like this felt so completely and utterly right in a way few other things did.

A fumbling at the door had the two quickly shove away from each other, both knowing being caught in such a position was not going to lead to anything good. What didn’t occur to either man was that fact that whoever was on the other side of the door wasn’t knocking. This wasn’t a servant coming to collect Jordan for the ball. Though they didn’t realise just how serious a situation was occurring until Queen Ianite burst in, several guards alongside her, looking utterly panicked in a state that neither had seen in before.

“Oh, thank the heavens you’re both safe!” Relief flooded her features. She didn’t care for what reason Tom was in Jordan’s bedroom, the fact they were both present and unharmed was more than enough to erase any questions. Jordan and Tom looked at each other briefly, both knowing something terrible must’ve happened but not wanting to actually acknowledge it despite the growing pit in their stomachs. Jordan approached his mother.

“Of course we’re safe. Are we late? We were talking, so I’m afraid I’ve lost track of time,” He tried to keep his voice steady as if he truly believed that might be the reason she was in such a state. The Queen shook her head, tears threatening to spill as she knew she was going to have to break the news she desperately didn’t want to. The peace between the kingdoms was about to shatter, and the seeming facts of the situation were as terrible as that implied. She ended up pulling her son into a hug, clinging to him as she desperately tried to figure out the words. How could she possibly break the news?

“No, no, you’re not late… It’s…”

“Your Majesty?” Tom spoke carefully, taking a hesitant step forward as he didn’t want to say what he was about to either, but there was only one possible reason he could think of for Queen Ianite to be in such a state as this. He didn’t want the terrible thought stuck in his head to be true, but he couldn’t let himself be stuck wondering. “Has something happened to Capsize?”

Her words failed as she tried to reply, though that was itself reply enough. She ended up sobbing into Jordan’s shoulder. That was more than enough for the two men to forget the fun and calm they had just been experiencing.

“Lady Capsize is missing,” A guard stepped forward, explaining what his Queen couldn’t. “Given the state of her room, it’s clear she has been kidnapped. We’re still looking for evidence but given that she’s also missing and that her weapon is missing from her guest chambers, it appears that her kidnapper was Lady Sonja, ward of King Mianite.”

With those words, reality set in. Whatever nerves Prince Jordan had had about his engagement escaped his thoughts. He placed a comforting hand on his mother’s shoulder, trying what he could to calm her. For the good of his kingdom, the good of all the kingdoms, he would have to rescue Capsize. Whatever danger he might face didn't matter, he needed to rescue his fiancée and bring her kidnapper to justice. That was his duty, and he could not afford to doubt that now.

[a-hell-of-a-time]

((Drabble time, featuring Andre, Caim, and some bad decisions that would make Vassago and Stolas proud-

Under a read more for length.))

"I assume you already know why I'm here?" Andre and Caim were currently in the dining area of his mansion, the air between them tense.

"I know he wants me gone, and he sent you to do it, right?"

"It was either myself, or the king resorting to less than ideal means. Not that you can't handle yourself."

"Damn right, though honestly all of this is needless. You and I both know I never wanted this life, or anything pertaining to it; I took on my role and place because my father had no other choice or option. If I could give it away, I could."

"Then why not do so? I was sent here to strip you of your title, property, and everything that ties you to us. In doing so you would be excommunicated and be free to live on Earth with Yui and do as you please."

"...so you're saying that you will take it all on, while I never have to set foot in Hell again?" It sounded too good to be true, but there was a problem. "...and what of you? If I can no longer enter Hell, I will be unable to see you."

Andre paused. "...that is true, and is the price to be paid from this arrangement. However, no one said that I cannot come to you."

"Won't this put you at risk of incurring Paimon's wrath?"

"Perhaps, but have we not been doing so this entire time already? The visits will simply be less frequent."

Caim, upon hearing this, lightly shook her head. "To think that you would go to such lengths, even after I...broke off our engagement."

She let out a sigh. "I had never intended to hurt you, and had I known that it would-"

Andre held up a hand. "We've already went over this, and I forgave you, did I not? Our friendship remains intact, so we need not rehash old matters."

"No, we do. I know you're still hurting, Andre, and no amount of words will convince me otherwise. I know what I did broke your heart, and is the reason why you have avoided others for so long." This prompted a surprised look from the marquis, but she continued. "I know you've forgiven me and that we continue to remain close, but that doesn't excuse things. Had I known, I would have went through with it."

"But you would have been miserable," Andre said quietly. "You would not have been happy with me, not when you had Yui waiting for you. To go through with the arrangement just to spare my feelings would have ruined us, not unlike my sister and the Prince." Granted the pair didn't care for each other from the start, but they tried to fake it, only for it to blow up on them both. He never wanted that for himself, or for Caim.

"...I won't deny that it hurts, and that there aren't issues that need to be addressed, but I have come to accept it."

She remained quiet as he spoke, her eyes closing as she thought about what to say next. "If you have, then promise me you won't let that pain sabotage your happiness. You may be an asshole at times, and a scheming one built for the bullshit that is Goetian politics, but even you deserve to be happy." Opening her eyes, Caim fixed him with a stare. "If you can promise me that, I will hand over everything to you."

"Weren't you going to do so anyway?" he asked with a slightly cheeky grin that earned him an eye roll. "But in all seriousness, I will promise you that. In fact, I have already acted upon it."

"So I've heard~ This guy seems to be legit, but if he ever hurts you, or you do something stupid to ruin this, I will kick both your asses."

"Alright, alright. Nothing is going to happen."

"Good."

A moment of comfortable silence fell on the pair, broken only by a sigh as Caim reached for a pen. "Now is there any paperwork for this, or will verbal consent work."

Andrealphus gave a wave of his hand, and a small portal opened to dump a hefty stack of papers onto the dining table. "Paperwork, as per custom."

"Because why would it be anything else?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

As she signed the documents one by one, Andrealphus spoke. "Though, you know, I have another idea in mind."

This caught her attention, her pen hovering just above another dotted line. "Do go on."

"You mentioned before that yourself and Yui wished for a child."

"...yes, I did. Unfortunately we couldn't find a suitable donor that wasn't a complete asshole."

"What if I said I had a solution to that issue?"

Caim's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"I will be the father, if that is agreeable to both of you."

"...Of course, but why-?"

"You know that I do not have an heir, and that was the whole point of our previous engagement. As it stands I have no one to pass my title and property onto aside from my niece. However, she will bear the burden of Stolas's legacy, and I do not wish to add my own to it. This is especially so since relations between Via and my sister are...not great.

Therefore, it would be best for me to have an heir of my own." He paused for a moment. "Of course I do not intend to marry or reproduce with another goetian woman anytime soon, and if I had to, I would prefer it be you."

Caim said nothing at first, staring at Andre with wide eyes. Eventually, she spoke up. "And how would this work, exactly? If this heir is to be legitimate, it would require marriage, and Paimon does not want me around in any capacity. Furthermore, this child would have our blood, which would further anger him. Besides, I am signing away all my ties to the goetia."

"With regard to the ties, once the paperwork is complete you will be an outsider. The marriage would be a private affair and in name only, to reduce the chance of it getting out.

As for the child, we could raise them jointly across both realms."

"And if Paimon finds out?"

"I'll deal with that as it arises. For now, simply having this paperwork done will be enough to appease him, for it is exactly as he wishes; you are being stripped of everything and will be sent back to the human world to do as you please. Everything you own will then come to me, and I shall hang onto it until the child is old enough to get it. Or I could give it to another.

The marriage and child arrangement is separate from this and will be carried out on the side."

As she listened, a smirk crossed her beak. "And here I thought you wouldn't have the balls to go against the hierarchy. What changed?"

Andrealphus shrugged. "I do not wish to be tied down to another goetia, or have marriage candidates chosen for me. I will decide for myself who I shall be with, and who my heir will be." He knew being with Vassago would cause an uproar, but Andre was happy and had no desire to marry another just to save face.

"...very well, then I accept. But let's wait a while until this," she gestured to the paperwork, "is taken care of. We can talk later."

"Then it is done."

Once the last paper was signed, Andrealphus collected the stack before opening a portal to her home. "You are now free. I wish you well."

Caim rose from her chair, smiling to Andre. "I do have one last request."

"Which is?"

"Let my old man continue to live in the manor. I've been letting him stay there since I took over, and he need not be homeless." She paused for a moment. "Paimon left the decision of who to give it all to, correct?"

"Yes."

"You could always give it back to him, or to a relative of his if they are trustworthy. I think our child will be just fine with your inheritance." With that Caim left through the portal, leaving Andrealphus alone.

[ohlookanothercartoontofallinto]

Another random BUT kind of cute linked universe au.  Introducing Link as the prince and the pauper. 

Staring Wind as the main role of the Prince and Spirit as the main role of the pauper. 

Once upon a time in a kingdom long ago their was a King (Time) and a Queen (Malon) and their eight sons Sky, Warrior, Twilight, Wild, Legend, Hyrule, Four, and their youngest Wind. However the day Wind was born the universe did something quite strange. A identical looking child to the prince was born to a lower class family, minutes before him. Neither boy knew of each others existence until after their 14th birthday. 

 You guys get the idea. 

Wind is a prince who is trying his best to be of help his family, however despite his best efforts he feels like a complete screw up who can never do anything right, unlike he’s perfect older brothers. So when advisor Cole suggest that the young prince be set up in a arranged marriage to the princess of the phantom kingdom. He holds his tongue, he does not want to marry her, however it be four years until the marriage so maybe he could learn to love her? If he was honest with his family, what he really wants to do is run away with is bestfriend Tetra (Who is his body guard/tutor) and sail the high seas. However his people come first. 

Spirit, is a indentured servant, who is forced to work hours upon hours to repay his parents debt, as a engineer/mechanic, building robots that he thinks are to dangerous. Guardians as the rich nobles call them. He would honestly rather be anywhere but there, however trains sure have caught his eye, and he really likes playing his flute. 

How Wind and Spirit would meet is very similar to the movie, Wind sneaks out with Tetra to see the town. By chance they stumble upon one another and are quite confused.  “I HAVE ANOTHER BROTHER! WHY DID MOM AND DAD NEVER TELL ME ABOUT YOU!” “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!” After that they would hit it off. Tetra would join them, dumbfounded by their similarities, only biggest difference is Spirit has freckles. Soon though Warrior would come looking for his youngest brother and Wind would slip spirit a pirates charm so they could talk later. 

Warrior would drag Wind back to the palace, and not meaning to, he say some fairly harsh words towards wind. “Why can’t you just do as your told! The kingdom needs a prince that will help it, not one who go’s running off!” “I AM HELPING THE KINGDOM!” “WHEN HAVE YOU EVER HELPED IT!” Something like that, something triggering enough to have wind dart to his room and isolate himself from everyone even Tetra. Warrior would regret what he said. As captain of the royal guards and armies he’s under a lot of stress, and the soon arrival of the princess has got him even more frazzled. 

This is when advisor cole would start his evil plan. Kidnapping Wind, and killing him to cause the kingdoms to go to war. Kidnapping him goes relatively easy, and he takes the prince to a hidden cabin in the woods. He’ll keep him alive for now, he needs to make it look convincing. 

Only problem is Cole did not account for the literal doppelganger in town! Who some guards find and are like “Oh prince thank goodness.” “I’m sorry what!” “Let’s get you back to the palace. You look awful.” “Rude these are my normal clothes.” They still drag him back to the palace where winds family, because of how relived they are ,just assumed its him. Spirit gets a very lengthy apology from Warrior that was meant for wind, and poor spirit is just. “Um thank you but there is a huge misunderstanding, I’m not the prince.” “Oh my gosh he’s lost his memory.”  

Only two people who know it’s not wind our Wild and Tetra, Tetra knows because she met spirit. Wild know because like DETAILS. Sadly no one believes them. So its up two the three of them to find Wind. Spirit agrees to play the part, and help with the princess situation (Cough who when he does meet he falls head over heels for and is agonized by the fact he will have to let he go cough). 

While Wild and Tetra search for Wind, they do find a lead but tetra is forced to go in alone because wild’s prince duties. She will find Wind, who has been starved and abused. Despite Tetra’s best efforts, she will get captured to and both would be taken to mine to be hunted down by a guardian. 

Cole would come back around and claim, spirit is a imposter which he just respond with, “Yeah I said that from the beginning, but how would you know! Unless you had confirmation about the prince.” Which would put all of boys up in arms, and they finally realize wait oh m gosh Spirit isn’t their little brother. 

Now I can see this ending in two ways. One Tetra and Wind make it out all on their own and come into the room dramatically despite their bad injuries. 

OR

The royals and Spirit very aggressively integrate cole, and he pulls a, “You’re probably to late. The guardian most likely all ready tore them to shreds.” Which in turn would cause Warrior to knock his lights out, and all of them head over to the mines. 

Where Wind and Tetra are about to be blown to bits, but spirit is able to save them because “I built that.” 

So yes happy ending, all around, and the royals adopt Spirit into the family, and he takes on the arranged marriage, and low and behold her kingdom has trains. Wind also gets to fulfil his dream of sailing off with Tetra, for the benefit of the kingdom and creating better trading partners. 

So yes, wanted to make this into a fic, however I HAVE NO TIME! If someone else wants to make this into a fic for some reason, I give you my blessing just let me know! Anyways thanks for reading. 

Now how about Link as the twelve dancing princes? 

[sassyfrassboss]

RE: Meghan's PR.

Wholly agree, I also see a few other things coming:

Something about how the Royal Family is taking so long deferring titles on her children and the fact she did not get a promotion but "they/myself are Prince and Princesses in the public eyes" or some world salad.

PR of William getting two promotions in two days when they did not.

She is gonna make a dig at William and the state of his marriage in a negative light, I would not be surprised if she tries to reignite the cheating rumours.

I also feel she is gonna say something along the lines of "Oh H and I are openly affectionate and they only let their guard down after we held hands" or some BS explaining the recent very lovely PDA of the Waleses.

Something I also see happening but is more of the last result:

She is gonna make a dig at Camilla what I don't know but she will say something along the lines of it is hard on H seeing a role his mother should have had blah blah blah taken over by Camila. Trying to make herself the heir of Diana.

I also feel her dress and clothes will be of note, something like we arranged it in rush etc or nothing fitted.

She is gonna make a dig at Camilla what I don't know but she will say something along the lines of it is hard on H seeing a role his mother should have had blah blah blah taken over by Camila. Trying to make herself the heir of Diana. I also feel her dress and clothes will be of note, something like we arranged it in rush etc or nothing fitted.

Good points! I forgot about Camilla but yeah, I see Meghan talking about how that role should have been Diana's and that is something Harry is having a hard time accepting.

About the clothes, she will say the other ladies knew for weeks TQ's health was not well but the BRF is SO threatened by Harry's relationship with her that all contact was cut and Harry was never informed. If he was then they of course would have gone to Balmoral prior. She will say she had to use what she left at Frogmore and that all the other ladies were given a clothing allowance but she was not so she had to make do on short notice.

[babytaes]

the originals (you belong)

summary: The Mikaelsons family stumbles across a plot to assassinate the Prince. Despite Klaus’ judgement, you are determined to take on that challenge with the help of some magic. You demonstrate to them and to yourself that you BELONG!

paring: jake x female reader

genre: angst, slight fluff, slight smut/suggestive

word count: 7k

warnings: suggestive scene

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖘: click me before reading!

➳ part of the drunk & dazed series

a/n: i’m not a big fan of this work, i don’t know what it is but i feel like it could be better. I didn’t do my routine thorough read so forgive me for any mistakes. thank you for waiting for this member. enjoy and much love from babytaes. :)

☆ ҉ ◢▅◣

"This is not allowed, Your Majesty. This is not something I believe we should be doing, "You began to walk out of Jake's regal room, shaking your head.

Hearing footsteps behind you, a hand touches your shoulder as he turns you around, shutting the door behind you as he gently pushes you up against the wall.

"Don't pretend you haven't been keeping an eye on me for the past few weeks. I'm sure you want it as much as I do, y/n.”

Licking your lips, you slap his hands off of you and make your way to his massive bed as you fall back.

"It's not like I don't want to do it. It's just your royalty, and I'm not the Mikaelson type."

Jake snickers as he approaches you and raises you up by your hands, bringing you face to face with him. He touches your cheek in his palm and caresses it as he moves closer to your face.

"Well, we're notorious for occasionally breaching the rules. Why don't you give it a shot?" As you yanked his hand away from you and dashed to the door, you snapped back to reality.

Your heart ached as you turned back to see a befuddled Jake, and you cried out to him before closing the door.

“Jake, please stop. You and I both know I'll never be good enough for your family"

It wasn't the finest decision to leave him standing there, but it was necessary for your protection. You wouldn't want to jeopardize the next person in line.

Even if something might have worked with him, the risk was too high.

Everyone should be cautious when they're among the Milkasons, including the youngest.

It wasn't all bad being with the Mikaelsons. They were like a second family to you, despite the fact that you had only met them millennium before. It was strange to find them on that fateful day.

You never know when the all-powerful Originals will appear on your doorstep and request to look after their brother.

It seemed strange. Right?

"Calm down, brother; we'll find a place." We wouldn't be in this situation if you quit yelling and spreading mayhem all over the place."

Klaus ignores his brother and knocks on a cottage door, rolling his eyes at him.

"Oh, Elijah, just shut up; you're just trying to prove me wrong."

Elijah straightens himself as he hears light footsteps approaching the door and approaches the madam who opens it.

"Hello-, your mother bowed down to them and swiftly looked down."

Elijah takes a step in front of his sibling, who is rambling to your mother. Nothing is audible to you. Even so, you see a boy from behind the corner. He appears to be your age and is hidden behind the towering man.

As he moves from behind the man and toward the back, you snicker and watch him through the windows as he approaches the back door.

As you walk through it, you come face to face with the curious boy.

"Hello, my name is Jake; how about you?" He extends his hand, and you eagerly examine it.

"My name is y/n."  Do you want to join me in my game? "I don't have anyone to play with." As you drag him to your makeshift playhouse, you grasp his hand in yours and shake it hard.

You and he hit it off right away when you were outside. You didn't have many friends, so having someone to play house with was very entertaining at your young age

"Hey, come back," He said as he snatched your toy vehicle, making you and him giggle. "Give it back," you insist  

The two men and your mother were standing by the rear door, staring at you two. 

"I believe he will be a perfect fit. Don't worry, I'll do my best." Before summoning Jake over, Klaus and Elijah thanked your mother one again.

They said their goodbyes and walked away, and your memories were about to start.

---

You and Jake have been inseparable since then; it's always been you two against the world. Despite the fact that you and he come from two different worlds, you manage to make it work on occasion.

You stood far away from the commotion, watching the royal family squabble over royal matters. Jake had just been summoned, and you took a step back, not wanting to cause any disruption.

Despite the fact that they could clearly hear and see you, you continued to stand there.

"Brother, we wouldn't be in this stupid situation if it weren't for your inconvenient behavior once more."

Life is always tumultuous when you basically grow up with a group of originals. I don't think there has ever been a moment when someone wasn't screamed at, killed, or cursed.

It's always something with them.

Jake looks at you, rolling his eyes and making a variety of facial expressions. He loved his life except for this part.

His family 

Your mother took him in and practically raised him when you were younger. You never understood why his family always left him behind. It seems like just because his family was on the run at the time they couldn't or didn't have time to look after him.

As a result, when he reached adulthood, he was able to take his rightful place in the kingdom, and because your family took on that responsibility, you were granted permission to remain in the kingdom.

I mean, the enormous rooms and countless bathrooms never get old, noo. Even though everything appeared to be all in good humor, you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Feeling as if you've never belonged there 

You were a vampire with most of their powers, but you lacked the "royal," and no matter how hard you tried, you could never fit into their mold.

You take one last look at the family, shake your head, and then walk away. You still have a lot of work ahead of you.

You arrive at your mother's room slowly and open it to see her folding laundry. As you approached her and sat down on her, her demeanor brightened.

"You do know you're pretty heavy, sweetie?"

"Mmh," you mutter under your breath as you roll away from her and to the ground. To pass the time, you take a shirt and begin folding it.

"Mom?"

As she continued to fold, she hummed a quiet yes.

"What made you decide to take on such a difficult duty as raising Prince Jake?" She let go of the blouse in her hand as she came to a halt and stared at you. She sighs as she takes a seat next to you and tells you about that fateful day.

Your mother was inside talking to the royal family as you played in the backyard with your new friend.

She dropped her head and gazed up at Elijah and Klaus, saying, "It is such an honor to have you both in my company."

Making their way over to the table, they all sat down and discussed ways of how you could best protect him.

"We don't know when or for how long we'll be on the run, but we're prepared to pay any charge if that time comes."

As Klaus' voice boomed over the table, she shook her head at them, her hand trembling.

"We have to get out of here; I sense them." Elijah gave his troubled brother a stern look and motioned him to leave. He was in a hurry and dashed out of the house.

Elijah reached into his back pocket and placed a bag of coins on the table. He swiftly thanked you after scouting the front entrance.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but forgive our ill-timed intrusion. I'll make arrangements for payments to come from the castle every week. I'd like to thank you in advance for everything you've done for us."

Elijah nodded before sprinting into the woods in pursuit of his brother. She smiles as you take it all in and grab the bag of coins from the table.

"This is for you, love, Rest in peace, my dear."

As she make her way to the back, she calls over the two rowdy children and embrace them in a hug. As she looked at them both, they both smiled. You watched as she squatted down and spoke, holding them in her hands.

"So those two lovely gentlemen who just came by were members of the royal family, as you may know y/n, and they have entrusted us to watch and maintain track of this handsome little boy," Jake squirmed around as his face reddened as you pinched his cheek.

"For the time being, we'll do our best to make this the best time for him." Before embracing Jake in an embrace, your daughter cast a glance at him. As you gazed at the scene in front of you, a warm flush spread across your chest as you imagined the days you three would spend together..

"So it was difficult at the time, and due to your father's death and financial difficulties, it was only a matter of time before we were thrown out on the street. So, aside from the age-old law of not disobeying the royal family, it was now or never."

Your smile crept across your face as you shook your head up and down. Your mother was your role model, the woman who always wore a grin on her face and never let the world bring her down. She was daring, loving, and brave, and she did it all despite the fact that she had recently become a single mother. Moms have a lot of strength.

"Ahh, I see. Dad would be incredibly proud of you and all of your efforts."

She grinned as she threw her shirt in your direction.

"Ahh- stop"

*Knock Knock*

As you and your mother stood up to tell them to come in, a guard approached you both and communicated a message.

"You are required in the Prince chambers, Ms. Y/n." You bowed down and pecked your mum on the cheek before taking your place behind the guard.

---

You thanked the guard as you entered inside the familiar area after arriving at the enormous set of bronzed yet golden doors. When you peek inside, you notice him lying on the floor; as you carefully approached his side, you smiled and hovered over him.

"You asked for me, right? I'm going to leave if this isn't something significant." Jake gently rises, his head resting on his gigantic bed.

"It's nothing major, but I do have a request," he says. As you faced him, your eyes widened. As he turned to face you, he exuded a princely radiance. He leaned forward and lingered near your lips, his gaze fixed on you.

You leapt to your feet, terrified and intrigued, and shoved him back as you took a step back.

"Excuse my language, Jake, but what the hell was that?"  As he got up and approached you, he cocked his head to the side.

"My request?" He snatched your hands and held them in his. You'd never been caressed with such gentleness before. It was an unfamiliar sensation that made you feel warm but strange.

"This is not permitted, Your Majesty. This is not something I believe we should be doing, "You began to walk out of Jake's regal room, shaking your head.

A hand touches your shoulder as he turns you around, shuts the door behind you and gently pushes you up against the wall, hearing footsteps behind you.

"Don't act like you weren't eyeing me these past weeks. I know you want this just as much as I do y/n."

You smack his hands off of you and make your way to his large bed as you fall back, licking your lips.

"It's not like I don't want to do it. It's simply your royalty, and I'm not the Mikaelson type."

Jake snickers as he approaches you and raises you up by your hands, bringing you face to face with him. He touches your cheek in his palm and caresses it as he moves closer to your face.

"Well, we're notorious for occasionally breaking the rules. Why don't you give it a shot?" As you shoved his hand away from you and opened the door, you snapped back to reality.

Your heart ached as you turned back to see a befuddled Jake, and you cried out to him before closing the door.

"Jake, please stop. You and I both know I'll never be good enough for your family."

As you turned the corner and ran down the corridor, you left him stunned and in disarray. You didn't stop running until you were outdoors, far away from the castle, in the fabled garden.

As you fall on top of the fountain, the tears won't stop flowing. The day was slipping away as your sobs drew the attention of a curious woman. It wasn't until she sat next to you and spoke to you that you realized it.

"One of those days, huh?"

As she stretched her hand to you, you shrieked and fell back on your hands, frightened and terrified.

"Sorry for scaring you, hun; I didn't intend to. Haven't we all had awful days? My name is Davina, by the way." As she helped you up to the edge of the fountain, you took her hand in yours.

"Thanks for asking, today is one of these days." "So, may I ask what the problem is?" she asked, smiling as she moved closer to you.

"I miss my father and all that made up his eccentric character. He would know what to do." you sniffled as you glanced up at the girl with a welcome atmosphere.

She leapt to her feet and squealed, extending her hand "I enjoy helping others. In this area, I do have the upper hand. Allow me to demonstrate." You took her hand in yours after a brief moment of hesitation.

You had never expected a witch to be able to assist you, but you were willing to try. She waved to her neighbor across the street as she unlocked her door. As she arranged her stuff, she turned on the lamp and signaled for you to come sit at her table.

"Please take a seat; I won't bite. Maybe" You chuckled as you sat in the wooden chair, having forgotten that the witches lived in this neighborhood. It's not like they were exiled, but you hardly had time to check in on them and the rest of the group.

Everyone looked to be so comfortable in their own little world. Why couldn't you seem to fit in anywhere?

"All right, all right, we're ready; don't worry, it won't hurt."

"What might hur-'' As the knife quickly passed across your palm, you felt a searing feeling.

'What the hell, Davina,' you exclaimed." She chuckled as she put yout palm over a stone bowl and watched the blood drip into it.

"Sorry"

As the blood began to bubble up in the stone bowl, you pouted. As her hands swiveled around the bowl, Davine began to speak phrases you couldn't comprehend. As your eyes blinked quicker, your head began to spin.

"What's going on?" you exclaim. When she opened her eyes, you could see white orbs replacing her natural ones.

"We're ready."

---

You passed out as you receded back into your chair. Awoken Davina took your hand in hers and escorted you outside. This time, though, things were different; the day had turned to darkness, and everything appeared to be dissimilar. The town has turned completely around.

"Where are we?" As she turned to face you, she laughed.

"A better question is when are we. The spell I casted transported us to a time when I hoped you would learn something new and put things into perspective." For the 23rd time today, she began to tug you. Your heart began to drop as you arrived at your house, well, the one in the past, as you beamed at that. As you let her hand fall from yours, your nerves were heightened. As you took a step back, you began to feel panicked.

"Noo-nooo wait, how did you do this?" you say as you fall to your knees and cover your eyes. You could feel her hands on your back as she gently caressed it.

"I know, it's crazy, y/n. I just pulled some old memories back to life. I won't leave your side if you're afraid." As you saw the familiar image in front of you, you slowly pushed forward.

"Just don't leave." As you walked through the front door, you held her hand in yours. Everything seems so blurry at this point; you were just a small child, and your life was about to alter dramatically.

"Hey sweetie, go tell your father to go get some firewood. Okay?" As you crawled down off the stool and out the door, you smiled. As he turned to face you, your little feet found their way to your father's side.

"There's my little princess. What exactly do you need?" He massaged your backside as he hauled you onto his lap.

"Mommy said to get wood, and I wanna come too, daddy. May I, pretty please." He sighed as he looked at his watch, it was fairly dark, but the wood wasn't far away.

"Yes, you are welcome to join me. You're a big girl now. So you gotta help daddy out, okay?"

As you and Davina stood on the sidelines watching everyone make their way to the woodpile, you wished you had done more for him.

"All right, sweetie, you can carry one and I'll take care of the rest." You squealed as you clutched a small, almost insignificant log in your arms. As he placed a twig in your batch, he gazed down at his girl.

"Daddy, I think that's all I can carry." As he and you both began heading back to the home, you both laughed.

As the horror grew, you turned around and began crying on Davina's shoulder. You knew what was going to happen, but you couldn't bear the thought of having to go through it again. As Davina turned to face you, you felt her hands on your shoulders.

"You must see for yourself. It is the only option."

As tears flood down your cheeks, you slowly open your eyes and look at the scene.

"Thanks for helping daddy, sweetheart." "Mommy would be so proud of you." He kissed you on the head as he knelt down to you.

"You're welcome, Daddy. "Now that I'm a big girl, I can do huge things." He smiled as he took another glance around. " As your mouth enlarged, you dropped your logs. Your father's life vanished before your eyes in an instant.

As his body went slack, he fell to the ground, and you began to scream. As words slurred from your mouth, he began to shiver.

"What's the matter, Daddy?" HELP, MOMMY." As he held you in his hug, your small body slumped forward into your father's chest.

Your mother's footsteps were quick to arrive as she knelt down and took up your father, holding him in her arms.

"Honey, I'm right here," she says. A tear streamed down his cheek as he glanced up at his beautiful girls.

"Never forget that I love you all." And then, as he fell limp on your mother's lap, life left his eyes. As you gazed up at your mother, the screams resonated across the forest. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

You had no idea what was going on, but you knew something had changed.

"What's wrong with daddy, Mommy?" She slowly turns to you, pulling you closer to her breast and kissing you on the head with moist lips.

"He's gone, daddy's gone."

----

"NOo, noo stop this. I don't want to remember this." As Davina chases you down, shouting out to you, you begin to flee the scene. You come to a halt and turn to face her, yelling at her.

"Is this a joke or something? Your spells, you witches." As you fall to the ground grasping your arms and gently rock back and forth, tears begin to flow from your eyes.

Davina finally reaches you and attempts to calm you down by wrapping her arms over your shaking body. Your heart felt like it was racing at 100 miles per hour and you couldn't stop it. Everything seemed a little too real. You didn't want to think about it.

It's not that you didn't believe it; it's just that you didn't want that memory to resurface in your life.

"Just wait and listen to me, y/n. I know it's horrible, but something good came out of it." You push her away from you as you leap to your feet, tears streaming down your cheeks.

"How did something wonderful emerge from my father's death, who died in my arms? DAVINA, HOW DAVINA." Davina frowns as she walks around, taking your hand in hers and leading you somewhere.

"You weren't the only one whose loved one was taken from them." You look up at her and stare blankly at her as she comes to a halt at a familiar location.

"How did we end up in front of the castle?" As inaudible sounds flow from her mouth, she begins to swirl her hands around. You stand there in astonishment as you are whisked away to someone's private quarters.

You and Davina both walk into a room where a young boy is crying into the chest of someone. As you recovered consciousness, you noticed that you were surrounded by the Original family, or at least some of them.

"We couldn't get the remedy to her in time." You stood there watching Klaus thrash around as he collided with a vase that shattered on the ground.

You shifted closer to the young kid as you observed him as his brother shouted out to him, "Niklaus." As the rest of the family walked out in tears and small sniffles, you shifted closer to the young child.

Jake was there; you had no idea his mother had died. It had never been mentioned before, so you were taken aback.

The little boy crawled onto his mother's chest as he sobbed into her chest.

"Mommy, come back to me, please."

"I'm ready to leave right now." You took her hand in yours and gripped it strongly. You were prepared for anything the world could throw at you now that you had this new knowledge. Although it was painful to revisit that memory, you chose to use it to your advantage.

Your father raised a fighter, not a wimp. You wanted to honor his memory rather than mourn it, and I feel Jake should as well.

"This is for you, Dad,"

With that, you were transported back to reality, and you found yourself back where you started. You instantly stood up and exited her room.

"Hey, where are you going?" 

You came to a halt, raised your head, and shook your head, saying, "Acceptance."

She waved you off with a smile on her face. You brushed yourself off as you walked out of her house, mentally preparing yourself for the road ahead.

----

You felt more alive when you woke up in this house. Although the work was endless, you earned something greater than it all, A friend. Your mother groaned as you rolled over and landed flat against her backside.

"Mmmh, mom, I think it's time for you to get up." "Mmmh, five more minutes," she mumbles as she yawns on your shoulder. As your body moved up off the bed and towards the blinds, you giggled. You chuckled as you let the blinding light move into the room as you heard your mother's nasty shrieks.

"Sweetie, it's Saturday; it's a free day today. Go hang out with your friends." As you fall to the floor, she kicks your body off the bed. You giggle as you walk towards the shower, scoffing at her acts and mumbling words to her.

"Have you noticed, Mom, that I only have one friend?" You chuckle as you take a step into the shower and let the suds run down your body. As you wash slowly, your thoughts begin to wander.

You were reminded of your previous outburst with Jake as the water flowed over your body.

"Shit"

You felt the chilly air hiss against your body as you stepped out of the shower and hastily wrapped a towel over your body from the shelf. You noticed that the girl in the mirror had a different smile. She felt happier and more grateful.

You cried out to your mother as you opened the door and entered the frame.

"Yes, darling?"

"Get ready. I'd like to take you out for a picnic." She grinned and drew you in for a hug while cocking her head to the side.

"That would be fantastic. I'll take care of everything. You don't worry, okay?" You grinned as you shut the door behind her and returned to your self-pampering.

"It's going to be a terrific day today."

As you rested your head on your mother's shoulder, you held the picnic basket tightly in one hand and your mother's hand in the other. It was moments like these that made you long for your small family. You spread the blanket on the ground and placed the goods on it as you chuckled.

"My two lovely ladies are here."  When you raced towards your father, he stretched his arms open wide for you. Your mother took out her little camera and snapped a candid shot of you two.

"Don't forget about me," as she made her way over, your father pressed a kiss on her lips as you all sat down on the grass.

As you stumbled towards the basket, your little fingers pointed to it, saying, "Mommy, open". Before you saw the glorious fruit in front of you, a small pebble made its way in your path as you trip on it.

As a result, your father gracefully caught your small body in his grip while you giggled.

"My princess, you need to be more cautious. I can't have my pretty girl all beaten up."

You chuckled as you kissed his forehead and said, "OK, daddy, me be careful." You dashed over to your mother's side as he let you go, and she handed you a strawberry.

Your smile widened as you jumped up and did a small dance as you bit into it. Your parents stood there in astonishment as they watched you eat some more fruit.

"Is it good y/n?" You giggled as you ran around them, shaking your head up and down, as they simply watched their exuberant kid spout forth incoherent words. They smiled.

'I love you, honey,' she said. Light kisses on her temples were exchanged by your father while your mother rested her head on his lap.

"I will always love you."

Finally, with everything in place, you sniffle and wipe a stray tear from your eyes. Your mother immediately turned to you and rubbed your arm as she drew you closer to her.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"I miss him," you said as you drew closer to her.

She smiled as she rocked you back and forth, kissing you on the head.

"I miss him as well. This brings back memories of our picnics with him." As you reached for the basket, you shook your head. Before removing the famed strawberries, you smiled. You chuckled as tears streamed down her cheeks after delivering them to your mother.

"Thanks for this, y/n." You were both crying as you rested your head in your mother's lap before entwining your hands.

"Anytime mom, but I do have to get going. I need to speak with someone, and I'd prefer to do so now before the situation escalates."

Before biting on a plump strawberry, she laughs and smirks.

"Tell Jake I said hi." "Wait, how did you know?" you start to stand up as you freeze in place.

As she pushes you toward the gate exit, she shakes her head at you. You blow a kiss to her, embarrassed and honestly surprised, as she yells at you.

"Use protection."

You cringe as you race towards the gate, not even looking back. You came upon a guard at the entrance who winked at you as you stared at him.

"Oh, Mark, shut up." After saluting you, he chuckles and returns to his former stance. Making your way to his chamber, you slowly knock as you hear his voice on the other side of the door.

As you slowly come in, you notice him at his desk, working, and you move your glance in his direction.

"Oh, look who it is?" As your lips fell, his eyes rolled at you.

"Hey," you say as you approach him and take a seat in one of his sofas. They felt like marshmallows, and you spent your days and some nights in them.

"Let me explain before you go all pouty and stirred up." He doesn't even move as he goes about his business. You kick his chair while rolling your eyes at him, eliciting a yelp from him.

"Fine, I'm listening, what?" he says, smiling as he scoots over to you and places his hand on his lap.

Not only did the close proximity make your heart race, but his position didn't help matters either.

"So, for starters, I'd like to apologize for my outburst. We both know if they're a problem we can freely discuss it. That's something that's been on my mind for a while and has now exploded, but it's not your fault. I just don't think I belong."

He approached you with a puzzled expression on his face as he moved forward. You look around, worried, as you cough.

"What?"

"What you just said made me pause because you and this family know how important you and your mother are to all of us, especially to me. I'm sorry you feel that way. My family can be difficult at times."

As you push past him and land on his colossal king-sized bed, you scoff "Yeah, tough how about, protective, vengeful, murderous, and hot-headed? That's a lot better." He laughs as he pushes you over and lays down next to you, a little closer this time.

"I can't argue with that, but you still love us. Right?"

"Yeah, I do love yo-" As you rolled over and smacked your hands in your face, your eyes widened.

"Yeah, go ahead and spill your secret y/n."

You kicked him as you rolled back on your side, facing him, rolling your eyes. As his hand landed on your leg, the newfound electricity between you two shifted.

Before his hand lightly moved up your leg, he grinned at you. He came to a halt and stared at you, waiting for a response. You softly shook your head as he continued as his hand came to rest on your chin.

"You must have been waiting a long time for this one, dude, ain't I so attractive," you chuckled before scooting closer to him. Before extending his delicate hands towards your lips, he reddened.

"Shh, also what happened yesterday? You said this wasn't right, didn't you?" As your desire overtook you, you became irritable.

"Oh, shut up and kiss me, people change Jake." you said as you drew him closer to you and your lips smashed together furiously. As he pushed you over, you both synced up quickly, and he was on top of you in no time.

"Oh how the tables have turned," says Jake. You had definitely changed as your body craved for his touch even more. As you threw your arms around his neck, pressing him closer to you, his lips never left yours.

His shirt was ripped off and dropped to the ground in a flash as he touched yours, hoping for a response.

"Yes, you may remove it." He stopped and peered at you, chuckling, as he slowly pulled it above your head. You subconsciously flew your hands to your chest, concealing your body.

This was the first time a boy, much less a Mikaelson, had seen you half-naked. Jake's mouth falls open as he rushes to unlatch your hands.

"Hey, don't hide your beauty, because I love each and every part." That made you grin as you approached him and kissed him on the lips.

"You haven't even asked me to be your girlfriend yet, and already you're behaving cringy. Maybe this was a mistake." As you begin to rise, you smirk. Jake grabs you and pins you down before you can even get a foot off the bed.

"Wait- stop, wait, don't go" You chuckle as he kisses your frigid body while you squirm under his touch.

"Ahhh, please stop tickling me...ahh." He comes to a halt in his actions to look at you for a little moment.

"I can't believe we've reached the point where we've gone from friends to lovers. It feels like some teenage drama."

(Am I right readers, don't we all love a trope like this... I know I do.)

This isn't a book; it's real life, and can we please get back to making love? Jake, the readers are waiting." He continues to laugh as he gently removes your bra as he completes the last clip.

He didn't have time to marvel at the beauty in front of him as you placed your hand on his hardening spot. This elicited a tiny moan as he swirled his lips around your soft nips.

"Mmmh, wow, don't stop, that feels great." You quickly remove your jeans and underwear while his tongue works its magic, placing his hand within your folds.

"This is my first time; wow, I'm not sure whether I'm doing it correctly." Wow!" As a moan explodes from your throat, you laugh.

"Stop playing me; you're making me laugh. I'll show you the way." He finds a groove in your folds as he pushes faster and deeper, striking a familiar area, while your eyelids roll back.

"AHHHH, Jake, right there."  As your back arches off the bed, thrusting deeper into his finger, your body reacts perfectly.

A knock on the door is heard just as your high reaches you, and you both pause and look behind you.

"Prince Jake, you have been summoned to the royal room to receive a message." Before Jake speaks to him, you both remain silent for a few moments.

"Thank you very much; I'll be out for a minute."

Before he turns to face you, you cover your lips with your hand. Before pulling away, he bends forward and kisses you on the forehead.

"You're not going to finish me off, are you? You can't stick and dip; it doesn't work like that." You start arguing with him before he bends in and kisses your folds.

"I have to get going, and if I'm late, I'm toast. You did mention that my family is what now-" You shake your head as you push him off your body and start putting your clothing on.

Another knock is heard as the door slowly begins to open and a familiar face appears. Jake rushes to conceal your half-naked body as Elijah walks in.

As you lowered your head and snickered, it felt like a million pairs of eyes were on you. Jake covers your body with a blanket before pulling up his pants and walking towards the door.

He flashes a big grin at Elijah before crossing his arms and stepping closer to him. "My dear brother, keep your indiscretions to yourself," he yanked his handkerchief from his pocket before handing it to Jake. Another familiar figure arrived in front of the entrance as he saw the chaos unfold before his eyes.

Kol appeared behind Elijah before chuckling as he crossed his arms, "well, well, well looks like someone having fun." He gave you a wave as he walked out of the room, smiling to himself. You turned away and mentally slapped yourself as soon as he said it.

"We'll be out in a second. Please visit us again." Before turning around, Jake slammed the door shut. While yelling under his breath, his reddened face brought you your garments.

"Please forgive them; they enjoy barging in here unannounced. I'm sorry if they saw anything." You're hauled up by him before you can secure the button on your jeans. He kissed your lips as he assisted you in putting on your shirt.

"Okay, I'm definitely not going to get tired of those." You kiss his lips once more as you pull his shirt closer to you.

"Mmh, your lips are soft. As you approach the door, you take Jake's hands in yours before gently pushing it open.

“We will definitely finish this later.” As he plants a kiss on your hand, he smirks. Before enlarging your gaze, you licked your lips.

You moan under your breath, "Oh, I can't wait," as Jake discreetly lays his palm over your mouth.

“You’re already a mess for me, aren't you?” He comes to a halt in front of the door and cups your face in his hands, kissing your hungry lips.

“As much as I would love to kiss you,” you say as you rest your palm on his chest and giggle. "Let's hurry up because I don't want them to come back and dagger you." He took your hand in his and led you to the throne room.

---

Jake strides over to his family's gathering and excuses himself, letting go of your hand. You took a step back and stood next to Mark, who was looking at you with a curious expression.

"So...how did it go?" Then, after a brief scan of the area, you struck him across the shoulder with your fist.

"Aren't you guards supposed to be quiet? You do know we all have vamp hearing." After chuckling at your remark, he returned to his job.

Besides Jake and I, Mark was the only person around our age with whom we both became close as we basically all grew up in the castle. Although being the only female in the group, they made up for it.

We all had our own ways of having fun in those late evenings, so there were many nights of loud laughter and sticky fingers. Those were the days, but now Jake had his royal duties, they were a thing of the past. Everyone seems to be set in their ways.

When your name was called, you were swiftly brought out of your thoughts. They didn't seem to know you were there, but you knew it was true when Mark bumped your arm.

"Uh.. yes. I'm here, your majesty."

Walking over to the gathering, you stood next to Jake as you heard his booming voice; still to this day, you could never get over that.

"So, y/n, you and your family have been so kind to not only the Mikaelson family, but the entire kingdom. And we thank you for your service, but we've heard rumors that my father is planning to travel to our country to assassinate our future heir."

You exhale, your body trembling as you clasp your hands behind your back. You weren't old enough to recall certain details of the attacks.

This was how horrible it was 

As he gazed down at you and winked at you, he entwined his fingers behind your back and whispered, "It's going to be okay."

As he stepped up from his throne, Klaus began again, "So, once again, I'd like you to protect and guard him while we're out; you've had plenty of training for this, so I'm confident you'll do fine. Finally, you are responsible for whatever happens to him."

He was now directly in front of your eyes as he kept a wary eye on your flimsy frame.

Thanks for the extra pressure. 

Jake gave him a gentle push back as he walked in front of you and coughed "Okay, don't scare her. We've got a lot of security in place, and I'm an original here who can take care of myself. I don't want to put anyone at risk, especially y/n."

As he acknowledged you specifically, it warmed your heart. He squeezed your hand not only to show that he was paying attention, but also to make you feel comfortable and secure.

Klaus grinned as he walked away from you, both of you speaking in a condescending manner.

"Our father has not and will not stop if we are alive in the past centuries, and now that you are of legal age, he is coming to take advantage of that opportunity. Our father's reign is far from done. After all, it's more for y/n than for you. Take a look at her. Do you believe she'll be able to defend YOU?" 

Your heart stung as you gasped in pain as you yanked your hands from his grasp. As you took a step forward, tears welled up in your eyes. You coughed as you drew Klaus' attention, enraged and honestly taken aback.

"No one has the right to treat me like an outsider just because I'm not a member of this family. Instead of making trouble and fleeing, why not stay and fight like a brother once in a while?I've done more for Jake than YOU could possibly do.

You turned and walked away from the family, tears streaming down your cheeks. A hand grabbed your wrist as you flung it off of you. Before exiting the room, Elijah caught Klaus just as he was ready to explode with wrath.

"This meeting is over. After 30 minutes, we'll be on our way." As you raced away from Jake, he called your name.

You heard shouts of anger from Jake as he yelled at Klaus.

However, he has never been able to see what you and your family went through to safeguard his prized heir. They were going to get a guard if they wanted one, and a good one at that.

You vowed to prove to them, and particularly to Klaus, that you belonged here.

You got to a familiar area and pounded on the door, enraged, as she approached the door.

You hurried by her and sat down, your hand outstretched as you glared angrily at her. "Oh hey—," she said. As she sat down gently across from you, she rubbed her chin and arched her brows.

"Okay, no hello or nothing. That's awesome, what's up?"

"I'd like to see him; please, show him to me right now." She chuckled, as if she'd read your mind. You wanted to prove yourself to someone. And he was the only one who had a clear idea of what needed to be done.

She sliced your hand and poured the liquid into the stone bowl as she spoke. You sat up straight and became ready. As soon as you closed your eyes, you were transported somewhere else.

---

Davine touched you on the shoulder as you sat up straight and followed her instructions by moving forward.

"You just have a few minutes, so work quickly. This is a difficult spell that becomes weaker by the second."

You stood up, shook your head, and walked over to the man perched precariously on the ledge, his feet dangling dangerously in the air. After a few minutes of sitting next to him, you began to become worked up.

"I was curious as to when you planned to pay me a visit. Princess, how are you?" As tears welled up in your eyes, you turned around in astonishment. He looked exactly the same as he did that night. His black slacks matched his stained white collared shirt.

He was perfect, still 

"I miss you, dad." Upon entering his embrace and taking in his smell, he extended his arms and welcomed you in. The lingering woody smell filled your nostril as you held onto him tighter.

"Hey, love. Whatever you're going through right now, I have complete faith in your ability to get through it. I didn't raise a wimp; instead, I raised a powerful warrior. Don't allow them get to the point where they're controlling your thoughts. What is it that I usually say?"

"Life struggles are necessary for growth."

You continued his sentence with the words "life struggles are necessary for growth." He pecked your head and held on for a little bit more.

"Y/n we have to go; the spell is slipping."

When your father saw you, he got to his feet and stood up. His hand went to your face as he noticed all your new features. He seemed intent on studying you, as if he wanted to make up for the time he had lost by not seeing you.

"I'm very proud of the women you've grown to be. I'm so proud of you, y/n. Remember that and know that I am always here for you." As a tear rolled down his cheek, he pointed to your chest.

You gave him one more hug as you raised your eyes to see his face.

"I love you, dad."

"Princess, you have my undying love. Now go out there and confront the world. Fighting for you always."

Davine held your hand as she guided you back to the present moment in time. You observed his disappearance as you bid him farewell by waving.

As soon as you regained consciousness, you hugged Davine and thanked her for her time. Afterwards, you left.

"Don't worry, y/n you got it. I've had my fair share of the Mikaelson family, so don't fret. I'm here for you."

You took a deep breath and then made your way back to the castle, smiling as you did so.

You already knew who you were on the inside; you didn't need an all-powerful family to confirm it for you. You only needed a little nudge to remember who you truly were on the inside.

The princess in your father's eyes.

"Thanks, Dad, this one for you."

[alicanta77]

Finale: Glitter and Gold

Pairing: princess!y/n x prince!Chenle

Themes: royalty au, fluff, angst

Warnings: arranged marriage, violence, war, character death, injury, descriptions of injury and blood

Words: 11.5k

Inspiration: BTS - Blood, Sweat and Tears - orchestral cover

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Finale

tag list: @hiqhkey @jaeshatshop @lebrookestore @honei-n @cheonsa1004 @haechans-sunflower @crispy-chan @rvse-hvvck @chezzontop​ 

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Note: This is it! The final chapter of Royal Blooded! I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story. The first chapter of this story was published before I had 100 followers on here, and now, as we celebrate the finale, we have over 1500. I have grown so much throughout the 9 months of my life that I spent creating this world, and every word of support, every message, every ask about it means so much to me. I’m a little emotional that it’s ending because of how long I spent on it and how much I put into it, but I am so excited to look forwards at everything that’s coming next. Thank you for the love on this, and enjoy the finale!

Felix xox

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~ 6 months later ~

You held your head high as you walked towards the throne room. You had your main servant walking behind you and two guards escorting you on either side. Your shoes made small tapping noises on the stone floor with every step you took and your clothes and hair gently flowed in time to the repetitive movement. Your lady in waiting was smoothing out your dress as you moved, trying to make everything look perfect. You paused as she quickly adjusted one final piece of hair before giving you a loving smile and hug and wishing you well.

Your chest felt tight with nerves and you took a deep breath. Your dress was beautiful, the most expensive one you owned and you were made up to look more beautiful than you think you ever had before. Your mother had bought this dress for you and, as soon as you had seen it your jaw had dropped, the scarlet red colour complimented your skin tone perfectly and the gold details that swirled around to form the shape of dragons were captivating.

You knew that a dress like this would only be wearable on a day like today, the most important day of your life.

You approached the grand doors, nodding at the two knights guarding the entrance with a smile, both of whom bowed back before moving their spears and opening the grand doors for you.

The throne room appeared in all its glory. The metal chandelier hung from the ceiling, dangling above the engraved stone floors that were currently stood on by the entire court. The court and knights of your kingdom were all in neat rows on the left of the room, framed by the sculpted columns that ran up the walls, engraved with detailed patterns. On the right side of the great hall stood another court entirely. One which you had met once and had recently had the pleasure of getting to know better. Their red and gold emblems were proudly on display on their cloaks, letting everyone who saw them know that they were the court of the royal kingdom of Shanghai.

You remembered doing this over a year and a half ago, only then you had been meeting Chenle for the first time. If someone had told you just how much he would come to mean to you in such a short amount of time, you would never have believed them. You had thought it would take you years to fall for the boy you were arranged to marry, but life is funny like that. You look back now and you don’t see him as the boy you were arranged to love, but rather the boy you were destined to.

However, even with all this going on around you, you couldn’t take your eyes off the boy waiting for you at the end of the hall. He too was dressed in his finest clothes, the dark green and silver colours of your kingdom decorating his outfit. As you walked down the hall, dressed in the representative colours of Shanghai, his face split into the largest smile you had ever seen.

His eyes never left your face as you moved closer to him with every step, in fact, it took all of Chenle’s self restraint not to run towards you right there and then. You finally reached the front and Chenle offered a hand to help you up the few steps.

You accepted, your hands slotting together as if they were jigsaw pieces. You lifted your dress with your left hand, making sure not to step on it and accidentally rip it or, god forbid, face plant. You would never recover from the embarrassment if that happened.

Luckily you made it up the three stairs without any problems, but now you faced the challenge of speaking. You knew Chenle was going to speak first so you had time to mentally prepare yourself, but deep down you felt an overwhelming sense of serenity. You knew that you would be fine. You had been taking public speaking classes since you were young and you’d addressed more people than this in one go before. Just as with the stairs, you knew that nothing would happen, but your mind went to the worst case scenario. You just wanted this day to be perfect, after all, you were only doing it once.

You and Chenle tore your eyes away from each other as you turned your attention to the front, where your childhood tutor, now a well respected member of the court and keeper of the archives, was about to speak.

“We are gathered here today for the wedding and coronation of Prince Chenle and Princess y/n.”

~ flashback ~

“Will you marry me?”

The words left Chenle’s lips and it was as if they kick started your brain into action. You threw yourself at him, his arms catching you as the two of you hit the ground in a heap.

“Yes.” You cried repeatedly. “Yes, with all my heart.”

Chenle rolled the two of you over so that you were lying on top of him, the laughter that was emitting from the two of you radiated pure happiness. You sat up, kneeling next to Chenle as he gently grabbed your hand.

He held you so softly, his thumb gently caressing the back of your palm as he slipped the diamond onto your finger. A second passed in which the two of you stared at the jewel, the symbol of a silent promise to love each other until the end of time.

You looked up at him, eyes shining and his hands came up to cup your face. He pulled you in and you kissed him with everything you had.

You’d lost count of the amount of time you’d kissed Chenle, but this was different. This held so much more to it. It was as if it was a kiss that made all the other kisses on the planet seem pathetic. Love exploded between the two of you, your love, the kind of love that would last a lifetime.

You both pulled away, the need to breath breaking the captivating spell that Chenle had cast on you with that kiss. He leant down, resting his forehead on yours as you both closed your eyes and enjoyed being so close to the one you adored.

“I love you so much.” He whispered, afraid that if his words were any louder they would shatter the perfect moment.

“I love you more.” You whispered back, grinning as you heard Chenle chuckle quietly.

He pulled his forehead off yours only to replace it with his lips for a soft kiss.

“That’s not possible.”

~ flashback ends ~

The great hall was decorated with banners of both your kingdom and Shanghai. Ever since the engagement announcement, the castle had been in full on planning mode, preparing everything for this day to be perfect. There had been banquets, feasts and balls thrown in your honour, with gifts from kingdoms far and wide coming to the two of you in congratulations.

Word had been sent to Chenle’s family in Shanghai and they had announced that they would be coming to visit for the wedding. You had never felt happier than when you saw the smile on Chenle’s face when he was told he was going to see his family. His parents and three older brothers, Kun, Sicheng and Renjun, were all leaving Shanghai to attend, and they were planning on staying with you for a couple of days either side of the monumental event.

However, the good news about Chenle’s family came with bad news about yours. Your mother was frail, ill and barely eating anymore. She spent her days drowning herself in work so she didn’t have to focus on the cold empty space in her bed beside her. For the past 6 months she had worked diligently and done everything she could, but one night she came into your bedroom and quietly asked to speak to you and Chenle.

She told you that she didn’t think she could do it anymore, she didn’t think she could rule the kingdom. She explained that she had only managed to take on all the duties because she had had her husband, your father, by her side. But he wasn’t here anymore, and she couldn’t go on with the burden, it was simply too much for her to bear.

After a long and heavy conversation, your mother announced the next morning that she would soon be stepping down from ruling, and allowing you and Chenle to ascend to the thrones. She addressed her people, admitting to them that she was unfit to govern them and that she felt it was unfair to keep herself on the throne and deny them a better pair of rulers. She then proceeded to inform them that the wedding would be combined with the coronation so that you would be married and crowned on the same day.

You would be lying if you said that this hadn’t had an effect on you. You were already feeling the stress of your title, and you had been working closely with a group of advisors and your mother to introduce you to the world of being Queen. But, still, you were terrified. What if you weren’t a good ruler? What if you made a bad choice for your people? What if this affects your relationship with Chenle? You wouldn’t even get a chance to get used to being married before the role of King and Queen would be thrust upon you. But you forced yourself to ignore the growing voice in your head that filled your being with doubt. You had been preparing for this day your entire life, and now that it was here, you refused to let down those people who had helped you along the way. You would do your best, and make them proud.

So here you were. Standing next to the man you loved, about to promise your everything to him forever. Even though you had been filled to the brim with nerves before entering, as soon as you had locked eyes with Chenle, all of that had melted away. You knew that, as long as you had him by your side, the two of you could handle anything.

While the wedding was only attended to by family and members of the court, the celebrations ran throughout the entire kingdom, with all your people overjoyed at the beautiful ceremony.

You listened as the officiant went through the traditional wedding procedure, both you and Chenle replying with the rehearsed statements. His hand never left yours and you couldn’t express how relieved you were that it didn’t. The physical reassurance that he was there grounded you.

You turned to face each other, holding your joined hands out for the gold ribbon to be wrapped around them. The officiant continued to speak, his words about unity and strength reminding you of your father’s speech when Chenle first arrived with his family. So many things about this day were taking you back to the beginning, and the similarities were making you miss your father more than anything.

You felt a small squeeze on your hand and looked into Chenle’s soft brown eyes. He gave you a nod, one so minute that it would be unnoticeable to anyone who wasn’t you. You repeated the move to him, another reassurance that the two of you were there for each other, no matter what.

The officiant moved on to the vows, Chenle going first before you followed, saying the words you had recently memorised. Due to you both being royals, you couldn’t write personal vows and you had to stick to the scripture, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t mean every word. You meant it with your whole body when you promised to stand by him for as long as you lived, to look after him as best you could, and to support and love him no matter what. And from the look in your soon to be husband’s face, he meant every word he said too.

“Chenle, do you take y/n as your wife?”

“I do.” He spoke, sincerity strong in his voice and you didn’t bother to fight the smile that grew across your face at his certain words. The only thing you didn’t know, was that Chenle had never been so sure of anything in his life. 

“Y/n, do you take Chenle as your husband?”

“I do.” You repeated Chenle’s answer, your voice just as steady and sure as his had been, your mindset reflecting that as well.

You were still scared out of your mind at what was going to happen after today, but the thought of having Chenle by your side for the rest of your life, that didn’t scare you at all. No, that thought was the most comforting thing on the planet.

And that thought was just about to become your reality.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Chenle wasted absolutely no time, moving forwards before the officiant had even finished speaking, gently grabbing your face and pulling you in for a kiss. You smiled into the kiss, your hands coming up to rest on his waist.

The kiss wasn’t long, the awareness that your families and courts were watching you not quite having left your mind. But it held everything, the past years that you had known each other, your entire journey together into who you were now was told in the few seconds that Chenle’s lips pressed against yours. The clapping and cheers brought the two of you fully back to reality as you pulled back. You leaned back in for an even shorter kiss, officially sealing the eternal bond between the two of you.

“I love you.” You whispered, Chenle chuckling.

“That was my line.” You opened your eyes to look at him and he smiled down at you. “But I love you too.”

You both pulled away, as the claps gradually died down and the ceremony began to progress. The two of you barely had time to register the giant step you had just taken before you were being instructed to kneel in front of the thrones and the crowns were held above your head.

You were sure that it had taken longer than you realised, but you were so wrapped up in the feeling of loving Chenle, and how much he loved you, that it felt as though not even thirty seconds had passed.

And yet, here you were, repeating yet another set of responses that you had been taught, promising to protect and fairly govern the people, vowing to follow the example set by those who ruled before you and do whatever you can to live according to the traditions and customs of your kingdom.

As the final vows left both your lips, you felt the gold crown land on your head, the heaviness of the metal it was made out of, and the title it represent, weighing you down already.

“I crown you King Chenle. I crown you Queen y/n.”

With those words, you pulled your legs underneath you and stood, turning around to face the people of your courts. Chenle reached for your hand once again, this time you interlinked your fingers, intertwining your hands as a physical sign of the link between your kingdoms.

The throne room erupted in cheers and clapping once again, this time to an almost deafening volume. You and Chenle began to walk back down the middle, waving and smiling at those closest to you as you passed. You walked all the way out of the throne room and straight onto the balcony, ready to greet your people as their official rulers.

---

You stood just outside the balcony together waiting for the words that would signal the two of you to step outside. You hadn’t spoken to anyone yet, just waiting for you final duties of the day so that you could celebrate with your friends and families.

“Did you feel as though that went really quickly?” Chenle asked out of nowhere, making you jump slightly at the sudden noise before your eyes widened in agreement.

“It did! Leading up to the ceremony felt like an eternity, but then as soon as the ceremony began, it went in a flash. I’m not sure I was even there for half of it.” You muttered the last part, but Chenle’s sharp hearing caught your words none the less and he chuckled whilst muttering out a softer reply.

“Me neither. It kind of feels as though it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Exactly.” You didn’t realise how nervous you had still been until the realisation that you were both feeling the same way. You both fell into silence, it was comfortable but it still felt as though there was a lot that the two of you were leaving unsaid.

“You know-” Chenle paused his words to swallow his nerves, he hadn’t been this nervous around since the two of you met. “I’m starting to remember why I was so nervous for this marriage when I met you.”

You looked at him, the short distance between you suddenly feeling like a million miles.

“Me too.” You admitted softly. “It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other, there’s still a pressure for this marriage to be successful and for our kingdom to flourish.”

Chenle whispered a quiet “Yeah”, showing you that he was feeling exactly the same way.

“Chenle?” His eyes shot up from his feet to yours and you could see the nerves bubbling in them. He was chewing on the inside of his cheek and you took a step forward to grab on of the hands that he had behind his back. “Listen to me, I thought you weren’t nervous at all. Honestly, I thought I was the only one freaking out.”

“Trust me you weren’t.” Chenle said dryly, moving slightly so that he was facing you full on.

“I know that now, but I didn’t when I really needed to.”

“What are you saying?” Chenle asked, his brows creasing with worry at your soft words. He knew you only spoke with this tone of voice when you had something important to say to him.

“I’m saying we need to communicate. We need to tell each other the truth, talk about how we feel, both the good things, and the bad. We’re in this together, and that means we don’t need to be perfect for each other. We just need to be there.”

Chenle nodded, a small smile finally making it’s way onto his face as he pulled you closer by the hand that was already in his. His arms came to wrap around your shoulders and you fell into his arms for a hug. You felt his scent overcome you and drown your senses and you let out a deep sigh, feeling some of your worries and concerns leaving you with it.

“You’re right. I know you are and I promise to tell you when I’m stressing out of my mind or nervous to the point where my knees are shaking, especially if I can’t tell anyone else. We’re married now so that means you’re stuck with me no matter what.” Chenle looked down at you, grinning that signature grin of his that you fell in love with until a look of shock suddenly shot across his face. “Holy shit, we’re married!”

You stared at him in confusion.

“What did you think the wedding ceremony meant?” You asked him as Chenle waved you off.

“No, no, I mean, I knew we were married but I guess it’s starting to sink in that we’re really married. Like I get to have you by my side forever...” Chenle trailed off, his eyes never leaving your face.

You leaned up to him, pressing your lips together softly, before pulling back slightly and whispering:

“Well you better get used to it, because it’s you and me for the rest of time now.”

A trumpet riff interrupted your moment, signalling that your time was almost upon you. You and Chenle got into position just as the doors in front of you opened and you prepared to greet your people.

You walked out into the sunlight, the sound of cheers and shouts overwhelming you as you waved to the citizens you had just promised to govern. Chenle’s hand found you once more, holding onto it tightly and pulling you slightly closer as he waved with his free hand. His grip remained tight, and you squeezed it reassuringly leaning in so that only he could hear before saying “I got you” and he seemed to relax. His grip loosened slightly and his smile faded into a genuine expression of joy and awe and you grinned, knowing that you loved him more than anything else on this planet.

The announcer lifted his hand, calling for momentary silence as he uttered the words that were followed by the largest cheer and celebration of them all.

“May I present, for the first time, the King and Queen of Ivairis!”

---

You laughed as Chenle twirled you around in time to the music, before pulling you back in and dipping you gently. You’d lost track of how long the celebrations had been going on for, but the music and lights had hypnotised you into staying longer and longer to enjoy the night. 

You’d had the pleasure of meeting Chenle’s brothers as well. Kun was first in line for the throne, he was also married and honestly was the epitome of a perfect heir. Sicheng was second in line for the throne and, before you had met you had been slightly intimidated by him. After meeting him, however you had learnt he was one of the nicest people and so easy to get along with. Family was everything to him, and he spent most of his time working with new recruits for the Shanghai army.

Renjun was closest in age to Chenle, with only a year and a half separating them, and it was clear that they were closest to each other. Chenle had previously confided in you that, since he had three brothers, he hadn’t had much attention from his parents when he was young, and it was Renjun who was there for him. It was Renjun who had essentially shown him how to learn to grow up. Their casual bickering provided you with huge amounts of entertainment, but it was clear that they cherished each other dearly, and Renjun was so proud of everything Chenle had accomplished here.

The most bittersweet moment however, came when Chenle’s father approached you and asked to dance. He had the same kind smile on his face that he always wore and you easily agreed. He led you out onto the dance floor, just as he did the day Chenle first arrived at Ivairis.

“You two have come a long way since the last time we met.” King Zhong commented, a twinkle in his eyes that made you smile.

“You gave me some good advice.” You admitted to him. “When you came here, and we danced you told me: don’t rush this. And that was the best piece of advice anyone has ever given me. I feel like I married my best friend.”

King Zhong smiled down at you, blinking twice as he tried to figure out the best way to say his next words.

“Y/n-” You looked up at him as he paused, before swallowing and continuing. “I know how much you must have wanted your father to be here, he was such a brilliant man and I’m so sorry he couldn’t be with us today.”

“Me too.” You whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the music and people chatting in the background.

“I know that no one else will say this to you, so I will.” You looked up once again, to see him looking down at you with an expression that reminded you so much of your own father that it brought tears to your eyes. “I’m proud of you.”

You felt even more tears gather rapidly in your eyes at that, and you blinked repeatedly to keep them at bay. Chenle’s father’s hands came up to rest on your shoulders and hugged you. You hugged him back, feeling the fatherly warmth from his hug calm you down slightly.

“Thank you.” You said as he pulled back and smiled at you. He nodded at you, patting you on the head gently before the two of you continued to dance. You couldn’t quite describe the comfort that his words had brought you. Deep down you knew your father would be proud of you and all you had accomplished, you just wish he had been here to see it happen.

The song that was playing came to a stop, and you stepped away to clap for the musicians. You and Chenle’s father smiled at each other, before you excused yourself to the sides, needing a short break. You stood quietly and just observed the scene in front of you. There were countless members of the courts of Shanghai and Ivairis dancing together, you saw Chenle’s parents dancing in the middle as well, Renjun was speaking to Jisung by the side, saying something that caused Jisung to stare at the older boy with his eyes wide in amazement. Over on the other side of the hall were Taeyong, Jaehyun, Sicheng and Kun, all immersed in deep conversation and you could see both Jaemin and Jeno heading over to join the conversation. In fact you could see everyone except for-

“Hi love.” You felt a soft kiss on your cheek as you turned to your left and saw how Chenle had snuck up on you without you noticing.

“Hi.” You replied, smiling up at him.

“I was thinking, do you remember the celebration when we came back from the battle against Odin’s kingdom?” You nodded at his words and he carried on. “Well, what would you say about going back into the town again? Not just us though, opening the doors to the palace and courtyard and bringing the musicians outside so that the court and citizens can all celebrate as one?”

“Chenle...” You breathed. “I think that’s an amazing idea.”

His face split into a wide grin at your words and you both immediately moved to put his plan into action. You split up to find different guards who were on the doors, and explain to them what you would like to do. They seemed slightly hesitant, as this had never been done before, but they couldn’t disagree with their new King and Queen so they did exactly as you asked. You walked back into the hall, finding Chenle there waiting for you and the door remained open after you had arrived. 

You slipped your hand into Chenle’s and he squeezed it gently, while signalling the musicians to stop playing. An air of confusion came over the room as every single pair of eyes came to rest on the two of you.

“Whenever we have a celebration, it seems to be split in two, with a chosen few celebrating in the castle, and the rest down in the town. The Queen and I would like to change this.”

“Indeed.” You took over from Chenle, your voice strong as you addressed the courts. “The whole emphasis of this marriage and alliance is on unity, and so, as we stand united in two different kingdoms, we will also stand united with all our people. We would like to invite you to join us as we go into the lower town for the rest of the night.”

There were a few murmurs amongst the crowd, but most people nodded and smiled in agreement, understanding your point on unity. You gestured for the musicians to come first, allowing them to be set up amongst the others playing in the lower towns before the rest of you began to move. You and Chenle were amongst the last people to leave, with only Jisung behind you.

He was grinning at the two of you like the Cheshire cat, shaking his head slightly as he chuckled.

“What is it?” Chenle asked his friend, rolling his eyes jokingly.

“Only the two of you would do something like this. In your first few hours as King and Queen, you break up an age-old tradition because of the separation and divide it causes. Only you would realise that and take the step to do something about it.” Jisung shrugged, brushing off his own words as if they were meaningless, but you knew he knew how much they meant to Chenle and yourself. If your marriage was supposed to bring unity, you had to make sure that you were making sure that it did. “Come on then, let’s go dance!”

He stepped in between the two of you, throwing his arms over each of your shoulders as the three of you burst out into laughter and headed into the lower town together, ready to dance the night away.

---

Both you and Chenle relied heavily on advisors during your first months of ruling. You mother stepped down and completely away from royal duties and, even though you felt as though you needed her guidance at times, you couldn’t ask her for help. She barely remembered who you were anymore, much less how to rule a kingdom. You visited her everyday, as did Chenle, and each time hurt more than the last. Watching the clouds pass over your mother’s mind as she struggles to place the face of the child who she cared for and loved all her life, was an indescribable pain.

She always remembered you eventually, something that you counted yourself very lucky for. You remember sitting by her bed, holding her hand as you spoke to her late one evening, telling her about a successful conclusion that you had come to during a council meeting that day.

“You’re doing so well my dear.” She spoke, her voice gravelly as if her throat was constantly dry.

“I’m trying.” You replied, forcing a smile on your face so that she wouldn’t see how tired you were. “I’ll make you proud.”

Your mother tightened her grip on your hand, encouraging you to look her in the eyes as she spoke again. 

“You already have.”

She passed away that night.

You were almost relieved that her suffering was over, but her loss hit both you and Chenle very hard. She had become a second mother to him, and you knew how much he loved her. The night you both lost her, you stayed together, hugging each other and crying, just allowing yourselves to be vulnerable before you had to put on another strong appearance for your people when you appeared for the funeral.

Her funeral was identical to your fathers. She was laid, in her best clothes, softly in a long boat, decorated with flowers and pushed down along the river. You held Chenle’s shaking hand in your own as you both whispered your goodbyes into the lanterns and let them fly off into the sky. Allowing your mother to finally be reunited with the man she loved.

You walked back into your shared room, breathing out a heavy sigh as the doors closed behind you and you could finally drop the act you’d been holding all day. Sitting in those meetings, talking with different noblemen of the court about petty details, you had never felt more alone.

You were struggling to come to terms with the fact that you held the entire responsibility of this kingdom on your shoulders, and you didn’t have your parents to show you how to do it anymore. You rested your back against your door, and allowed your knees to give out and for you to sink to the floor.

Once you softly hit the ground you just sat there. You didn’t cry, you didn’t speak, you didn’t move. You just sat there, listening to the sounds of the kingdom around you. You shut your eyes, allowing yourself to get lost in your mind as time passed you by.

A knock on your door forced you to open your eyes and pull yourself back into reality. You stood up and quickly opened your door, finding one of your main advisors there with the paperwork for tomorrow’s sessions. You thanked him, accepting the documents and closed the door once more.

You stepped further into your room, placing the papers down on the desk you had before turning around, planning to lie down on your bed, but your gaze was caught by a figure standing on your balcony.

He had his back to you and was leaning over, but you knew without needing to see his face that it was Chenle. From the way that he was hunched over the balcony to the way he rolled his scarred shoulder every so often to keep the injured muscle moving, you knew he was deep in thought. You debated whether you should go out to see him, wondering if it was best to just leave him thinking, and eventually you turned away, deciding to leave him to his thoughts.

You pulled off your shoes, removed your jewellery and combed through your hair with your fingers. You looked at the small pile of jewellery on your dresser,  before reaching down slowly and picking up the silver ring that bared the royal seal of Ivairis. Your bottom lip began to tremble as your mind was flooded with memories of your parents and your childhood. From your mother gently tying up your hair in the mornings, to your father bringing you along to meetings and you hiding behind his legs.

You dropped the ring, your head falling into your hands as you finally let the tears fall. Your breath shortened as you quietly sobbed into your hands, hiccuping as you tried to catch your breath. You needed to see Chenle. You stood up, whirling around to run out to the balcony, but instead you were greeted with him standing in front of you. He had come back inside, and you had been so lost in your sadness that you hadn’t realised. 

The two of you stood there, staring at each other, both having red eyes and countless tear tracks down your faces. Chenle said nothing, and instead just opened his arms and you ran into them, the force of your bodies colliding making him take a step back to steady the two of you, but it didn’t matter.

You completely broke down, sobbing into his shoulder as Chenle tried to console you. He gently stroked your head with one hand, the other resting comfortably on your waist as he whispered soft words of comfort into your ear. It didn’t seem to be helping as your crying wasn’t stopping at all.

Chenle’s voice broke more as he tried to talk and all it took was you tightening your grip on him for him to give up on trying to hold it together. He buried his face into your shoulder and let the grief overcome him, crying for the people who took him in and gave him a home.

You both held onto each other for dear life, as if the other would slip through your fingers if you let go for a second. It took a while for you to calm down, feeling as though you only stopped crying because you ran out of tears. You brought your hand up to the back of Chenle’s head, running your fingers through his hair and placing a feather light kiss to his temple.

Even after the two of you calmed down, the sadness was still there, drowning your every thought.

“I’m not ready to be Queen.” You admitted, your voice so quiet, as if you were scared for the words to come out. “I thought I’d have more time, I thought I’d be able to get used to the idea of doing it by myself but I’m not. I’m not ready for any of this, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I’m not ready either.” Chenle croaked back, his voice sore from the amount of crying he had done already that night. “My parents may still be alive, but they aren’t here, they aren’t close and I can’t contact them easily enough to ask for help when I need it. I just feel... isolated.” Chenle voice broke once again as he pushed his head further into your shoulder.

“Me too. I’ve never felt this alone.” You whispered, not trusting your voice to speak any louder.

This time Chenle didn’t reply, instead just silently nodding as he held you close. You both understood that you didn’t need advice, or a solution. At least, not yet, right now, all you needed, was to tell the other how you felt. Finally saying the words, admitting the overwhelming emotions that had been weighing you down for the past few months, had already made you feel lighter. 

He pulled his head out from your shoulder to rest his forehead on yours. You breathed out, leaning into him as he kept his comforting grip on you. Your eyes were closed, as your mind focused on the one fact that Chenle was standing right there with you, and he understood how you felt.

“I’m sorry.” His quiet whisper making you open your eyes in confusion.

“What for?” You asked and Chenle sighed, as if he was preparing to get something off his chest.

“For not telling you. We made a deal on our wedding day to always be honest with each other about how we were feeling, and I didn’t tell you, and now we’re both here breaking down...”

“Chenle... I’m sorry too. You weren’t the only one keeping things to yourself.” You swallowed, before finally pulling your forehead off his and losing at him straight on. “We aren’t used to this. And I don’t just mean being King and Queen, I mean all of it. We aren’t used to being married, we aren’t used to be sole rulers, we aren’t used to being alone. We had just got married when we then got crowned what felt like five minutes after.”

“We need to figure out who we are as a King and Queen, and who we are as husband and wife. And they don’t necessarily need to be the same people.” You nodded at Chenle’s words before adding onto them with your own.

“There’s so much pressure on this, and I think a lot of that is coming from us. We need to take a step back from being this groundbreaking alliance, and just be us. Chenle and y/n, just two people in love, not the King and Queen of Ivairis whose wedding united lands for generations to come. We don’t need to be our titles, we just need to be-”

“Us.” Chenle finished and you nodded. “And we need to mean it this time. We can’t just say that we’re going to be honest and open with each other and then keep things to ourselves. We’re a team. It’s you and me y/n, and nothing is going to change that.”

You leaned up, closing the small distance between the two of you and pressing your lips to his. He kissed you back, sighing into it slightly before you both pulled away. The kiss was short, but it was enough. It was a promise.

You weren’t just these young kids in love anymore, trying to figure out the best way to spend time with their crush. You were grown adults, married, ruling a kingdom, but no matter how far you went, or how much you grew, you knew that Chenle would always be by your side. You knew that now better than ever.

And for the first time in a long while, neither of you felt alone.

---

You and Chenle kept to your promise, coming to talk to each other, to trust the other to be vulnerable with the smallest of details. Whether it was a certain knight in training being a bit arrogant, or a trade deal you were unsure was worth you signing off on, you shared it with each other. Your close bond as husband and wife translated into your royal duties and you found yourselves settling into a good rhythm as King and Queen. 

But nothing good lasts forever.

You and Chenle stayed late after a particularly gruelling council session. The repairs to the outlying villages were almost complete, and the bandit attacks had decreased to them being almost non-existent. A few more supplies were being organised to be sent down, and Chenle was still keen on the idea of training some of the people in the outlying villagers so that, if a bandit attack does happen, they can defend themselves. However, a couple of council members were arguing that it would be a waste of resources to train them, which resulted in a lengthy discussion that lasted for much longer than planned.

With both you and Chenle in agreement however, there was not much that the council men could do against it once the decision had been made. They would send some knights down to the outlying villages to train the few they could, and then that knowledge would be passed down from generation to generation, with knights arriving every once in a while to help out and make sure the correct technique was being practiced.

You quickly instructed a messenger to deliver this note the following morning, thinking that nobody needs to be disturbed this late. The two of you were looking over the plans, deciding on the knights who would go when the doors to the great hall burst open and a scout of yours came running in.

“Mark, what’s wrong?” Chenle asked worriedly, noticing the look of panic on the older boy’s face.

“Fayre’s kingdom, your majesty. They heard of the Queen’s mother passing and that the two of you ascended to the throne and they think you’ll be weak. They’re planning to attack Ivairis with the full force of their army.” Mark relayed the bad news, breathing heavily as he tried to recover from his rush to the palace.

“Oh god.” You breathed, your hand coming to your face in shock. This was not good. Fayre was one of the strongest and bloodthirsty kings around, and if he wanted Ivairis, chances were he wouldn’t stop until he had it.

You and Chenle shared one look and knew that you had to act fast. Chenle called for the guards to bring in his closest knights, two scouts and a messenger, while you whirled on Mark to ask him more questions.

“When did their army leave?” 

“Three days ago, I rushed to get back here to warn you before them.”

“Thank you Mark, you may have saved us by doing that. If they left three days ago, they still have at least two before they reach us here, meaning we could send our army out to meet them somewhere we choose.” You thought out loud, Mark rapidly nodding his head next to you.

Chenle reappeared out of nowhere, you not even having noticed he’d left in your state of panic. His arms held a bunch of rolled up papers that depicted the maps of the surrounding lands.

“I’m way ahead of you.” He said, placing them all on the round table in front of you as you rolled them out and moved them into position.

You were lining up details to get a larger picture when the people Chenle had summoned began to arrive. Jisung came first, the head of the royal guard was always ready to be called for his job, with both Jeno and Taeyong close behind. The two scouts, Yangyang and Shotaro came next, with Jaemin close behind and Jaehyun and the other messenger Xiaojun arrived last.

You didn’t both to tell them to take a seat or to greet them, the stakes were simply too high. Instead you just told them the news straight away, not wasting time by sugarcoating it or easing into it at all.

“Fayre is planning to attack Ivairis.”

You heard a chorus of worried inhales of breath, signalling the panic that the rest of the group were feeling. You nodded at Mark, allowing him to explain the rest of the details.

“They left their kingdom three days ago and were travelling south, aiming to take this route here to avoid getting spotted by the Ivairis patrol. As far as I’m aware, this plan wasn’t changed, meaning that, as long as nothing disrupts their route, they should reach Ivairis by sunset in two days time and will likely attack the following morning.”

“Our best shot is heading out to meet them somewhere, like we did with Odin’s kingdom.” Jisung spoke first, the rest nodding in agreement. “I would place my bets on somewhere like here.” He reached forwards and circled a certain spot on the map. “It’s not sheltered, so there’s no chance for a surprise attack. While that limits our chances of coming up with one ourselves, Fayre destroys his enemies by drawing them in and then having a second plan up his sleeve.”

“Jisung’s right.” Taeyong said, all eyes flicking towards him as he spoke. “We can’t try to outsmart him by using his own tactics against him, that’s how people get killed. We need to force him into a situation where he has to fight us on our terms, that’s our best shot.”

“Xiaojun-” Chenle called out, the boy’s head shooting up at his king’s voice. “I need you to send word to Shanghai, tell them of the severity of the situation and that we need reinforcements as soon as possible.” Xiaojun nodded, quickly making a note of the battle location before disappearing.

You turned to the other two scouts.

“Yangyang, Shotaro, you need to scout the army. Get us a rough idea of numbers and see if there’s any weak spots. There won’t be enough time for you to report back to us here so you’ll need to tell the army when they arrive at the battle location, understand?” Both of the boys nodded at your words, before heading back out of the door to go do as you asked.

“What about me?” Mark asked, but you shook your head.

“You’ve done enough Mark.” You said, not allowing him to put himself in danger again.

“But they trust me, I could find out more insider information, I-”

“No, Mark.” Chenle cut him off. “Y/n’s right, you’ve done more than enough. Without you we would never stand a chance, that’s for sure. Plus as soon as we meet them they will know that we had a man on the inside, and it won’t take long for them to figure out it’s you. We can’t put you in that danger.”

Mark nodded, understanding your decision before you both thanked him again and allowed him to go for the night.

“What about us?” Jaehyun asked and Chenle turned to look at the remaining knights, his face grave.

“Be ready to prepare the troops in the morning. We’re going to war.”

---

One night. That was all it took for your world to be thrown upside down. In one night you had gone from council meetings and rebuilding the outlying villages to sending the man you loved off to war. You were standing in your joint room, watching as he finished getting dressed just as the first rays of light were appearing through the window. You walked towards him, silently taking the necklace out of his hands and fastening it yourself.

He turned around to face you but you didn’t take your gaze off the jewellery he was wearing. He wore it everyday, a simple necklace with two seals on it. One being the royal seal of Shanghai and the other being the royal seal of Ivairis. The symbol of his two nations. Chenle noticed you avoiding his gaze and brought his hands to your face, gently cupping your jaw and guiding you to look at him.

He leant in, placing a kiss on your forehead and your hand gripped at the fabric around his waist.

“If things aren’t going well-”

“Stop.” You said, not wanting to hear about what would happen if they lost this war. If they lost, Chenle would be dead, and you didn’t want to think about the possibility of that happening.

“Listen.” Chenle commanded softly. “If things aren’t going well, I’ll send a Shanghai messenger back here. You need to get as many of our people as you can, and take them with you to Shanghai. I made sure Xiaojun mentioned in the message the possibility of that happening and I know they would look after you. They reassured us we always have a home there, and I know that would apply to you if I don’t come back from this.” Your hands tightened their grip around his shirt at his words. “If anything happens to me... I need to know that you’ll be safe.”

You nodded silently and Chenle breathed a sigh of relief at your agreement, moving his hands from your face to around your shoulders to hug you close as you did the same around his waist. You buried your face in his chest, breathing in as much of him as you could before you had to let him go.

You walked with him through the castle, your hand held tightly in his as you both approached the main doors. You knew that beyond those doors stood your entire army, waiting for their king to lead them into battle. You suddenly stopped moving, causing Chenle to turn back in confusion.

You stared at him for a second, trying to find the right words to say before just throwing your arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as you could. Chenle caught you, wrapping his own arms around your waist and squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to make this fleeting moment last forever.

“Come back to me.” You whispered.

“I promise.”

---

It had been a month.

An entire month and the only sign you’d had that they were still alive were the two letters from the Shanghai reinforcements sending word to you that they had arrived at the battlefield to help. The knowledge that they had extra men fighting with them was reassuring, but not hearing a single word from Chenle, not knowing if he was even alive, for a whole month was tearing you apart.

The entire kingdom had been in a state of fear. The outlying villages had been told to be prepared to move into the citadel in case the battle was lost so that they could barricade themselves in and be protected. Every citizen had their nerves on fire for the past month as they all waited for any kind of news.

You had been in the weekly review of the tax collection when the sound of horses hooves caught your attention. The entire table froze, knowing that, one way or another, the battle was over. The doors to the great hall burst open and Mark appeared, nodding at you, a relieved expression on his face.

“It’s them.”

You dropped the paper in your hand, standing up and running out of the hall. You ran down the corridors, Mark by your side and you didn’t stop for anything. Various other members of the court and servants in the castle joined you as they all were eager to welcome the knights home, but all you cared about was finding Chenle.

You burst out of the front doors just in time to see the last of the knights trickle back in. Your jaw dropped, nothing could have prepared you for the sight in front of you.

Out of all the knights who went to battle, only around a fifth of them made it back. Your eyes did a desperate scan of the faces of the live men. You saw Taeyong, who had his left arm in a makeshift sling, Jaehyun and Jaemin were carrying an unresponsive Jeno between them, the large red stain on Jeno’s shirt giving away that he was seriously injured, and Jisung was standing further down the steps in front of you.

You couldn’t see Chenle anywhere.

Jisung took a few steps towards you, limping heavily, and you rushed down to him, throwing your arms around him in a hug.

He caught you with a grunt and you tried to apologise but the words got stuck in your throat. You were shaking slightly in his hold but Jisung still hugged you tightly, relieved to be back home.

“We won.” He whispered, and you nodded slowly at his words before pulling back.

“At what cost?” You asked, too scared to directly voice the question that was plaguing your mind.

Did Chenle survive?

“He’s alive. The last I saw him, he was alive.” Jisung answered your unasked question, a small ounce of relief flooding your system, but it didn’t nothing to calm the furious fear at the fact that nobody knew where he was.

You took a couple of steps back to find all the knights looking at you for your words. You found that you didn’t even know what to say to them, how could you comfort someone who has been through the ordeal they have?

You cleared your throat before addressing the men in front of you.

“Our brave knights. There are no words to describe how thankful we are to you for everything you have done for us. You bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Today, we will have our traditional victory procession, and I would like to add a moment at the end, for anyone to address anything they would wish to. And to speak to or about anyone they may have lost. Please go to the court physician and your people in Ivairis are eternally indebted to you.” Your voice broke slightly at the end and the knights all nodded at you in appreciation.

They each headed inside one by one, only Jisung, Jaehyun, Jaemin and Jeno remained. A few members of the medical team rushed out, taking Jeno’s limp body from Jaehyun and Jaemin and carrying him inside, shouting out various treatments. Jaehyun squeezed your shoulder as he went inside, the exhaustion clear on his face. Jaemin stepped up but paused for a minute and turned to face you.

“Thank you, for adding that opportunity at the end. We lost a lot of men out there and I know people will want to address it.”

With that he headed inside, leaving just you and Jisung standing there looking at each other. Jisung opened his mouth to speak but you got there first.

“Go to the court physician Jisung. Please get yourself checked out and your wounds treated first.”

He closed his mouth, nodding at you before moving past you and entering the castle. You turned you gaze on the now empty courtyard, the men having cleared out and the horses having been retrieved. You took a few shaky breaths, waiting a few extra seconds, staring wistfully at the gate, praying that by some miracle Chenle would come riding through. But he didn’t. So you shut your eyes, took a deep breath, and turned back into the castle, the doors closing behind you.

---

The victory procession was bittersweet. The knights were acknowledged for their hard work and struggles, and nobody tried to deny that this had been a heart wrenching battle. The celebrations were half hearted however, the entire kingdom feeling the loss of so many knights and the king that they were all missing. The toasts at the end brought tears to your eyes as the knight took it in turns to remember their fallen friends.

And through it all, anyone could tell that the entire kingdom was terrified that their king wouldn’t come back. The king who every citizen had grown to love and admire. The king who set an example for all future kings, who acted as a king should, the king who you were lucky enough to call your husband, your love.

You removed your final piece of jewellery, staring at yourself in the mirror as you tried to figure out the whirlpool of emotions in your head. The knock at your bedroom door made your head snap towards it as you called out for whoever it was to enter. Jisung’s head poked around the door, and you couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed.

You had known Jisung almost your entire life, and you had never seen him look this broken. He took a couple of steps into your room before looking questioningly at your bed, asking silently for permission. You gestured for him to sit, moving over to join him yourself.

“I think I should tell you what I know.”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak quite yet.

“It was the final day. We knew it was coming to an end, we could all feel it. It’s hard to describe but there’s a difference in the air. On the final night, the king names someone he wants to be in charge of the army in case...” Jisung swallowed as he continued trying to get the words out. “In case he’s killed. Chenle chose me. The next morning, just before we went out, Chenle told me to do whatever I could to get this back to you.”

It was only then that you noticed Jisung had been holding something ever since he stepped foot into your room. He lifted up the object and you recognised it immediately. He placed it gently in your hands, watching as you turned it over in your fingers.

It was Chenle’s necklace.

“I didn’t see him after that.” Jisung’s voice brought you to tear your eyes away from the necklace in your lap and look back up at him. “I lost sight of him in battle. I know it sounds like he didn’t make it but- we scoured every inch of the battlefield after we won, there was no sign of Chenle among the bodies, nor was he taken captive by Fayre either because we searched their base. Aspen was missing too. Chenle is out there, alive and trying to make his way back here to you. And he will, he has to.”

You let your eyes flicker back down to Chenle’s necklace for a second before looking back up at Jisung.

“Thank you.” You whispered. “It’s been a long day, you should get some sleep.”

Jisung nodded, standing quickly and heading back out the same door he entered through. You didn’t from move your position, instead sitting in the same spot for the next few hours, turning the seals over and over in your fingers, wondering if Chenle would ever find his way back.

---

You were sat in the throne room, having just finished a meeting with the keeper of the archives to document the battle. Labelling Chenle as missing was something you had hoped you would never have to do, but there you were, drawing your signature on that very slip of paper. You really understood your mother’s words now when she said that she only felt as though she could rule when she had the person she loved by her side.

Because you didn’t just feel alone without Chenle, you felt completely and utterly lost.

A guard appears, telling you that there is a messenger for you, and you gesture for them to be let in. Yangyang strolls through the door, and you can’t help the small smile that appears on your face at sight of his much larger, contagious one.

“I have good news!” He announced, making you raise your eyebrows. “News of the victory travelled fast around kingdoms both close by and far away, and any thoughts off attacking Ivairis have been wiped off the map. Between the strength of our army and the alliance with Shanghai, the kingdom is almost invincible.”

You let out a breath of disbelief, smiling lightly at the boy in front of you as the news settled. Ivairis was safe. You asked Yangyang to spread the news around the kingdom, allow everyone to revel in the announcement and he gladly agreed before running out of the room so fast he left the door open.

You chuckled slightly at the sight of him, but the smile on your face faded quickly as the thought of Chenle travelled through your head. Another two weeks had passed but he was still missing. Nobody had heard a word from or about him since the final day in battle, and the fear that you were never going to see him again had become your natural state of mind.

You looked out of the window on your left, staring down at the rose buses and stone bench that sat there. You felt all the memories rush through your head of the times you and Chenle had sat on that very bench. You still remembered walking past it in the first few days of Chenle arriving, when you had given him a tour around the grounds. Though he would deny it within an inch of his life, Chenle had a soft spot for flowers and loved nothing more than spending a day surrounded with flowers of all different kinds.

You sighed out once more, closing your eyes to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

“You promised you’d come back to me...” You spoke to the empty room, your voice wavering heavily.

You rested your head on the glass, lost in your own mind when a voice cut through. Your eyes shot open and you whirled around to be greeted with the person you thought you would never see again, the person you loved more than anything else in this world, more than life itself.

“Have I ever broken my promises?”

Chenle.

The world stopped when you saw him. You didn’t blink, didn’t move, didn’t even breathe, terrified that if you did, the image of him would disappear and you would be left with the reality that didn’t have him in it.

He took a step forward, standing in front of you and reaching up to tuck a stay piece of hair behind your ear. You lifted a shaky hand to his face, pressing your palm against his cheek and taking in the fact that he was stood in front of you.

“Chenle...” You whispered, trying to convince yourself that this was real life.

He nodded at your words, tears filling his eyes at the sight of you after so long. When it sunk in it hit you like a ton of bricks. You threw your arms around him and broke down, sobbing into his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Chenle. You made it back.” You cried, holding him tighter that you ever had before.

“Of course I did, I could never leave you like that.” He whispered, his quiet voice a stark contrast to your broken one.

His arms were securely around your waist, capturing you next to his being. You could feel that he was smaller, having lost weight when he was lost and trying to get back. He had dirt in his hair, and various bruises and other minor injuries that you could see, but he was here. He was here, in your arms, alive.

You pulled back, bringing one hand to rest on his cheek as you pressed your foreheads together.

“I love you so much.” You breathed, the tears still steadily falling down your cheeks.

“I love you more.” He replied, relaxing in the knowledge that he was home. He was standing in your arms, surrounded by his kingdom.

Chenle was home.

---

~ 10 years later ~

“So we are in agreement?” You asked the court, looking around the round table and seeing all the other heads of the men and women present nodding at your words. “Well in that case, we can call it a day here. Thank you for your input.”

You stood, smiling at the people in front of you as they all left the room.

“Ten years and council meetings are still as dull as the first one.” You muttered to yourself.

“I hear that.” A voice replied, making your eyes shoot up. You found yourself looking at your husband, who was leaning against the door with a cheeky grin on his face. “But if we want to set a good example, we should probably pretend they are.”

You shook your head, chuckling to yourself at his words. The sound of light footsteps running down the hall caused you and Chenle to send each other a knowing look.

The doors to the great hall opened once more and in ran two little children.

“Daddy, look I won!” You son yelled happily, grabbing Chenle’s hand and pointing towards the doorway where a panting Jisung stood, leaning on the door frame for support.

“Really Jisung? Two children under the age of 6 can outrun you?” Chenle asked, his eyebrows raised judgmentally.

“Look.” Jisung spat, pointing a finger accusingly at the two of you. “If the two of you hadn’t had twins with Chenle’s bluntness and y/n determination, I would be fine. But these two are like the mixture of you two, it’s terrifying.”

“Well, Jisung I hate to break it to you, but that is how children work. They tend to be a mixture of their parents.” You replied dryly, reaching down to hug your daughter as she held on to your leg, catching her breath.

“You know... we made a deal that we would have three.” Chenle reminded you, wiggling his eyebrows at you as you burst out into laughter at Jisung’s disgusted expression.

“Okay, that’s my cue to leave. Just remember, there are young children here.”

Jisung gestured to the twins that were standing close to you, before saying a quick goodbye, which your twins shouted back even louder, as he headed off to the next training session.

“Is everything sorted?” Chenle asked you, trying to stop your son from attempting to sit on the documents on the table.

“Yes, everything was agreed upon today. Starting from tomorrow, we are in an official peace treaty with all the surrounding lands. There are plans to share combat tactics, and resources if any kingdom needs it. We’re about to enter a new era.” You told him, the smile on your face growing at your words.

“That’s amazing, I’m so proud of you.” He breathed, his voice lowering for the last part as he grabbed your hand.

You intertwined your fingers with his. “I’m proud of us. We did this together.”

Chenle smiled at you, the signature smile of his that always took you back to the shy boy who you toured around the rose garden. You reach out with your other hand, your daughter grabbing it as Chenle took a hold of your son and together you walked out to stand on the battlements. Neither of your children were tall enough to see over the stone walls, so you both picked them up, allowing them to sit and see the view.

“One day, you’ll be the ones to rule this kingdom.” Chenle told them, watching as their eyes lit up in amazement. “And you’ll do it with a very special someone by your side.”

You smiled out at the view, the roofs of houses, the market stalls, the training grounds... you could see your entire kingdom from up here. Your entire home.

“Tell us the story again of how you and Mummy met?” Your daughter asked, looking up at her father with wide eyes.

Chenle began the tale, pointing out to the view as he did. He had got in the habit of telling them this story to put them to sleep, and since then they had asked for it constantly, the way he changed certain words to make it sound like a fairytale had made it their favourite.

He told the story of a magical land that became his home and the evil kings and dragons that he and Uncle Jisung had fought to protect it, all while his fairy queen, which was you, stood bravely behind the walls sheltering and looking after the people.

You listened to his calming voice tell the legendary tale and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across your face as you watched your family. You thought about how your life had turned out, all the ups and downs and challenges that you had faced, but you never faced them alone. Chenle was right there with you, ready to tackle any problem that the two of you may encounter. You turned your gaze out to your kingdom, the wealthy and prosperous civilisation that the two of you had grown together, yet it only meant everything it did because of the man you shared it with.

You remembered your conversation with Chenle before he proposed, the two of you talking about the life you could possibly have if you weren’t royals. You discussed all the things you would change, and how it would be different. But, standing here now, looking over your kingdom, with your family by your side, you knew one thing for certain.

You wouldn’t change a thing.

[britishassistant]

I wonder what the supervillains (the dorm leaders) would do if they get switched with their other self in Twisted Wonderland.

They'll meet a younger Yuu calls them senpai and probably get shivers when they hear someone shout Prefect but then realize its Yuu's role in that world.

Bonus would be if Yuuken's there too, sharing the dorm with Yuu.

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

I decided to take a little inspo from my Villainous Paranoiac series for this one! Not a whole lot, but the idea of Twisted Wonderland Yuu being put in the infirmary after the events of Chapter Five!

(Also consider it non-canon, since it kinda involves everyone’s identities being exposed!)

Basically imagine that the supervillains find themselves in what looks like a private school infirmary, late at night. The air is buzzing with a strange energy, almost like the powers back in their home world, but...different, somehow.

The room nearly empty, save for one occupant in a cot close to the door.

Poison Queen and King immediately begin bickering over whose fault this mess is, while Royal Flush tries to get them to keep their voices down or else they’ll be detected. Charon is half a minute from going to curl up in a corner, clutching his freeze ray like a lifeline, while Octo Dealer and Snake Charmer are busy inspecting their surroundings for anything of value or that can be requisitioned into a weapon on short notice.

Tsunotaro has wandered over to inspect the sole other living being in the room with them.

He is pleasantly surprised to see what looks like a younger version of the reporter he’s so fond of, fast asleep in the infirmary cot. Their cheeks still retain the last bit of baby fat from childhood, and there’s some acne left that will fade with age. He may give one cheek a gentle poke, just to satisfy his curiosity. The sleepy mumble they let out is a little more high pitched than normal, but that’s the reporter’s voice alright.

He is less pleased to see dark circles under their eyes, or the bandages around their throat that stink of medicinal salves. If this truly is a younger version of his child of man, then why do they look so worried, even in sleep? Why are they injured and sleeping in this place of healing in the first place? They’re a mere child, barely old enough to operate a vehicle or live alone. Their only worries should be trivial things, not whatever is causing this furrow in their brow and hunch in their shoulders.

The other supervillains have begun to migrate over to where Tsunotaro is crouching in silent contemplation. King flips his eyepatch up to get a better look, whistling lowly. Octo Dealer busies himself with refilling their water glass, sneaking glances at them as he places it within easy reach. Snake Charmer pulls their pillow more under their head from where it’s almost slipped off. Poison Queen straightens the arrangement of the very tasteful bouquet on the bedside table, so the flowers’ best angle is shown to the bed’s occupant. Royal Flush carefully tucks their covers in over them.

Charon takes a picture with his tablet.

He forgot to turn off his flash.

Yuu cracks their eyes open...

To see seven adults looming over their bed in masks that resemble the ink from the overblots that haunt the Prefect’s nightmares.

Cue terrified screaming.

Snake Charmer lunges forward instinctively to cover Yuu’s mouth—

It’s only thanks to Poison Queen yanking him back that he doesn’t end up with an arrow in the shoulder.

Several more follow the first one through the window above the prefect’s cot, cold iron sharp and perfectly aimed to seriously maim if the supervillains don’t immediately get away from the screaming teenager. Rook was lax in protecting the Trickster after VDC ended, assuming there was no more danger after Roi du Poison’s overblot was saved. He will not make that mistake again.

The infirmary doors burst open, a younger Yuuken in a sleep-rumpled uniform barging in from where he decided to sleep outside because Ramshackle felt too empty and quiet to bear, but was forbidden from staying in the infirmary himself. He only has a pillow, but he brandishes it at the strange adults, fully willing to defend his dorm mate in whatever way he can.

The vanguard appears in a flurry of bats though, too many to fight off, small and vicious and furious. Their commander materializes in the center if the swarm, hovering over the head of Yuu’s cot, pink eyes brimming with a cold rage that makes his small and cute form look like it’s bursting at the seams holding something much older and angrier back. He opens his mouth, fangs long and glistening—

Only to stop short at the sight of one of the supervillains. “Malleus? Malleus Draconia?”

Tsunotaro nods warily.

“Wh-What in Twisted Wonderland are you wearing??”

Tsunotaro ducks his head like a chastened child. “I could say the same thing.” He mutters sullenly.

From there the lights get turned on, and the seven supervillains are made to explain themselves to the sleep-deprived students and staff who trickle in to see what’s going on. All six dorm leaders and one vice dorm leader vanished from their beds, setting everyone on high alert until news of these...alternate versions spread.

It is very weird for the supervillains to see all their minions as teenagers (again in some cases). It is only surpassed by how weird it is for everyone else to see their dorm heads and vice head all grown up and adult, even if they are dressed weird.

Ortho still wants to shoot them with a beam until they bring back his nii-san. Luckily Charon is able to convince him that Idia should be fine if he’s in Charon’s lair—he’s got plenty of the latest games, manga and tech for him to play with, so that should keep him occupied for a while.

Sebek is in a state of Malleus awe. He has shut down and will not restart. Silver has taken to pinching himself just to make sure this isn’t a Lilia’s cooking induced fever dream, while Lilia himself scolds Tsunotaro that he raised him better than to go around watching people sleep like that! Tsunotaro tries to use the “but I’m a supervillain” excuse, only for Lilia to shoot back “and I’m a war criminal in some nations, what’s your point?”

King is enjoying watching the overgrown lizard get scolded. Now if only the tiny Ruggie would stop asking him what injury the eyepatch is for, and making remarks about how embarrassing it would be if it were totally pointless—King does not pay his adult self so much to put up with this shit. The baby Jack also needs to stop demanding to know if his adult minion self can pull a sled faster than a moose or something...

Jade and Floyd are attempting to wind up the adult Octo Dealer, trying to see how much they can get away with compared with the normal Azul. Octo Dealer is legitimately at a loss as to how this world’s Azul doesn’t keep them in line without letting them turn to a crime or two. Then he learns about Azul’s contract business and feels a pang of commiseration and understanding.

Poison Queen, Royal Flush, and Snake Charmer are unpleasantly shocked when their dorms address them by their respective secret identities in front of their fellow supervillains out of the blue.

Poison Queen has to put up with King’s uncontrolled laughter as he finally understands the full extent of the incident with White Neige so long ago, while Tsunotaro tries to tell him he liked Schoenheit in his role as the evil dragon prince in the GaoGao dramatization. Royal Flush is about two seconds away from throttling Octo Dealer if the bastard doesn’t stop trying to make a deal to guarantee his mother doesn’t learn about her son’s private activities. Snake Charmer’s just glad his civilian identity flies under the radar enough that Charon has to try and look him up to understand who he is (and fails because he’s not on school wifi and his cellular data is bust).

Poison Queen is also getting a headache from Rook rhapsodizing about how his villain form is another, enhanced mode of beauty he is fortunate to lay eyes upon, as if he hadn’t been willing to skewer Poison Queen along with the rest of the supervillains five minutes ago. He’s at least able to amuse himself by letting Epel run away with his speculations about how he’s the buff hyper-masculine muscle for Poison Queen.

Kalim is crying that Jamil had to resort to becoming a villain in his home world! He must be so sad if he has to do that! He’s mildly cheered up when Snake Charmer tells him they work together on schemes, and that Snake Charmer is actually reasonably happy with his chosen vocation—and then he begins panicking that Jamil will like that world so much, he won’t want to come back.

Royal Flush is glad his counterpart at least has good people around to look after him, even if it is odd to have young versions of Trey and Cater trying to mother hen him despite the fact that he’s the older one now. At least Ace and Deuce acting up seems more fitting now considering their age than it ever did on their adult selves.

Ace huffs a sigh and leans on Yuu’s shoulder. “This is a mess, huh Prefect?”

“You said it.” Yuu replies. “I just wanna sleep forever.”

The supervillains go still.

“I’m sorry,” Snake Charmer says carefully. “But isn’t Enma-san the Prefect?”

“No?” Yuuken replies, confused. “Yuu’s the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm. I’m their vice— or would be, if we had any other students apart from them, me, and Grim.”

Octo Dealer laughs, sounding slightly strained. “Ah, apologies, but you see, that isn’t possible. It can’t be. Yuu isn’t—”

“But I am the prefect, Azul-senpai.” Yuu the Prefect says. “I’ve–I’ve always been the prefect.”

There’s a stunned silence.

Royal Flush places his head in his hands. “What the fuck.”

Back in the Supervillain AU universe, Yuu the Reporter sneezes sharply while trying to wrangle five frightened teenagers, one frightened-but-playing-tough twenty year old, and one confused however-old-he-is-but-younger-than-Tsunotaro fae.

They wonder what the chill down their spine is.

[dreamingsnowflake2013]

They are so freaking domestic and married and functional the whole time I can’t!!! They bicker and banter with ease of two people who feel secure and confident around each other and know each other’s boundaries and limits and don’t need to worry about offending the other person or the conversation turning antagonistic which allows them this sort of brutal honesty, at times, and frank criticism.

Issei gets the edamame shell husband treatment and he literally can’t believe it Hayame did that to him right in front of his salad when it already helped to ruin her previous relationship. It seems Hayame didn’t understand his lesson about the difference between the edamame shell and skin, well, she was in the middle of confronting her cheating ex so I suppose she was otherwise engaged.

Though, poor Issei doesn’t know the depth of Hayame’s culinary disability until he discovers her special lemon and cereal gyoza! HA! I admire that he doubles down on his criticism and even if he tries to back pedal, he simply can’t make himself lie to her even to please her when it’s so awful.

Unlike her ex-husband, he doesn’t put on a fake smile and swallows it so he wouldn’t hurt Hayame’s feelings but actually tells her it sucks bigly, showing that not only won’t he ever lie to her or keep secrets from her, he won’t feed her white lies to avoid conflict either. You almost never see portrayed in Asian dramas how these little mundane details can lead to a complete failure of a relationship once they pile up. Quite the opposite, they often depict swallowing food that makes you puke as something romantic and a proof of love without giving any thought to the fact whether the person can manage that for the rest of their life, considering it’s suggested most of the OTPs live happily ever after. The issue shows that Hayame and Issei are already more than one step further regarding the growth and functionality of their relationship than she ever came with Masahiro, illustrating their suitability. It’s not about a relationship being conflict-free, it’s about confronting the problems, argue about them even though it’s exhausting and uncomfortable and solve them through communication and misucommunication, not about hushing the issues up and staying silent about them in order to avoid arguments.

The drama might be called Promise Cinderella but it has been turning the Cinderella stereotypes on their head since episode 1. One of them is Hayame not fitting the bill of a girl who is amazing at cooking, sewing, reading, embroidering, polite conversation, dancing and generally being more princess-like than all the princesses and noblewomen, even though her mother died in her childhood and she couldn’t have taught her all those things, neither could her father, nor the mice or the other animals she spent all her whole time with. Let’s face it, Cinderella has always been the fairytale counterpart of Richardson’s Pamela and Hayame - divorced, almost thirty, penniless and jobless - is the modern real-life version of an orphaned abused virgin fallen on hard times. 

On the other hand, while Hayame might share Cinderella’s origin story of her mother dying at an early age, this sad event tragically affects her whole life in a much more realistic and darker way. Her father falls into a depression and becomes neglectful and she has to grow up overnight, having to learn everything by herself as she is left with no one to teach her, guide her and defend her so she ends up turning into a fiercely independent tomboy who is a self-taught cook and, as such, her cooking, well, sucks. She is literally the farthest thing from a Mary Sue ever. 

Then, Issei may be a modern version of a prince but while young, he has been taught since an early age and has a very unconventional unique upbringing in a modern world - he is the one who excels at cooking (because he had someone who actually taught him), can tie kimonos, knows the proper etiquette, can arrange flowers and knows their language and meaning. 

You would expect all those things from a woman, not a man; however, he is not only educated and good at them, he has a natural talent for them. In this way, the drama re-invents the Cinderella story, gives it a new original meaning and a breath of fresh air. 

Thus, you can see all these details in which Hayame’s relationship with Issei differs from her marriage - they are left to live together alone in what is basically a simulated marriage, but she doesn’t end up in the traditional role of a woman and housewife whose purpose is to provide dinner/food for her husband who comes back from work. She used to work back then, too, even if only part time. Now, it’s her who works full-time while Issei works part-time but despite it they share the cooking and he, fittingly, ends up being the better cook, completely changing up the dynamic of the traditional roles both in the original fairytale and male/female relationships in general.

Except for a brief denial stage caused by his confused feelings, Issei has always been honest with Hayame, sometimes brutally so, be it regarding the major issues or mundane everyday things like her cooking skills. 

He treats her the way she wants her to treat him, and, as a result, he rightfully expects the same honesty and consideration in return from her. He doesn’t want any lies or secrets between them, he wants a conversation not a deafening silence, regardless whether they are lovers or friends. 

He wants honesty and equality and instead, Hayame is trying to dismiss him as a child again in an attempt to avoid the problem because it’s uncomfortable and she doesn’t want to have a messy argument or worry him. She should have known by now that that’s exactly the attitude which led to the failure of her marriage. Not that they are an excuse or justification for cheating, but Masahiro raised some good points about the things he disliked about her and it’s time Hayame learns from her past mistakes.

Marriage/romantic relationship is not a one-person show, the point of it being you are not alone to deal with your problems, some burdens should be shared and if not, the other person feels left out because their partner keeps secrets from them which then leaves many opportunities for misunderstandings and creates a rift that keeps growing between the couple. Hayame’s greatest strengths - her self-reliance and independence - which allowed her to survive on her own so far become her greatest weaknesses and drag her down now. 

Issei immediately realizes Hayame has been putting a mask around him, trying to make herself look cheerful and happy, he can see through it right away as she can never fool him because he knows her so well and, frankly, she couldn’t pretend even if her life depended on it just like him. She fails to notice that this sort of consideration and selflessness are a double-edged sword. 

It’s both apt and ironic she tries to dismiss him as a child because her stubborness, discomfort and avoidance maker HER appear like a child and Issei the one 10 years older with his patience, calm and and persistence on discussing and solving the whole issue. This time it’s him who calls her out on her bullshit and childishness.

Issei notices everything about Hayame, including her mood swings which also refer to the mixed signals she’s been sending him, and how could he not when he always watches her so searchingly as if he were trying to look inside her soul, trying to spot every quiver of her lashes and nervous press of her lips. 

Thus, he can sense and predict what she plans to do because he can read her like an open book after watching her so closely for so long but also because he’s been there where Hayame is right now - he had been running away for the past 10 years before he met her and she saved him by making him realize he had been fucking up his life that way, therfore he gets angry seeing her repeating his mistakes. 

Moreover, he is scared shitless he may one day wake up and end up like Seigo, abandoned by her, not even left with a direction where to look at her, because she thinks she is not good enough and fears she might drag him down and mess up his life.

Despite it all, Issei doesn’t think about himself first, he thinks about Hayame and what it is she truly wants. She feels so lost and conflicted, fretting and completely panicking and he pretty much tells her ‘fuck the world and other people! You are the only person who matters! Think about yourself first and do what you truly wish to do even if it makes them hate you.’ And from the hopeful way she looks at him, it’s exactly what she needs to hear and wants to truly do but lacks the courage to go through with it just yet. 

Finally, THIS SHOT on the sofa! It pretty much says ‘married, in the middle of marital crisis and before a huge life-changing conversation’!

[elftwink]

i have now seen the new cinderella movie twice and it’s so weird. first of all it’s probably because i’d only ever heard about the movie via tiktoks making fun of it and not seen any ads but i didn’t know it was a jukebox musical and it took me like three songs to figure it out but like... all the song choices are so bizarre? most of them just barely apply to the scene so it feels more like an interruption than a natural progression. it also feels like they made 0 attempt to match singers up to a style that they’re used to and sound good in which is partly i think why the vocals are getting torn apart so bad.

i mean like. okay sorry this is going to be very self important ex theatre kid of me to say but if you listen to camila cabello in million to one (a song they WROTE!! for this movie!!![i think]) it sounds like she’s trying to belt using her head voice and so it sounds so strained and not in like an ‘overpowering emotion’ strained but like she can literally barely get the notes out. and like hey. why did you make her sing that then. why is it so bad when you wrote it for a person who already has a successful career singing for a musical that isn’t even live like you can edit the audio and process it and do several takes if one doesn’t sound the best.

and the reprise is so bad because it has all the same problems but it’s in that part of the plot right after the stepmother ruins her dress and before the fairy godmother arrives and she’s like crying and it’s very sad and then the energy of the scene completely changes for her to do another uplifting verse of million to one and it’s like WHY ARE YOU MAKING HER SING THIS LIKE THAT. and the lyrics are adding NOTHING!!! to the story!! it’s just the chorus so it’s nothing new and it feels almost unrelated to ella’s emotional state. and bc of that the only thing you can focus on is the vocals!! and how they’re very clearly not her best work!!

it feels like this movie was written by someone who has seen a musical but not really understood it at all. the songs come in abruptly, and it’s very poorly communicated when characters can hear each other. while they generally fit the vibe of the scene that’s... all they do. like in a musical the lyrics of the song are dialogue. they’re part of the story; if you remove them you leave holes in the story because major plot beats should be happening there. in cinderella (2021), songs are just kind of about the scenes, if that. the plot sort of happens around them, to the point where it’s sometimes annoying when they start singing bc it’s a 3 minute pause on anything you actually wanna see. this is the musical people are talking about when they’re telling you why they hate musicals and don’t find them believable.

ONE good section song wise was seven nation army which is annoying bc it’s prefaced by whatta man which.... has just an awful instrumental arrangement like stop leaving these singers out to dry. but like anyway this happens when the prince first comes to the ball and the various women come to try out to be princess sing whatta man and then they transition into a rendition of seven nation army by the prince which... in this context works! it comes off as melodrama from the prince and offers a different interpretation of the song that i think is actually really funny. it has personality, it fits with the story, which makes it so weird that most of the other songs do not. like i could put together a better track list for this movie i think.

and that all sucks because in between the songs, the movie is actually like... pretty good. like not great; it’s very... direct with its #girlpower plotline in a sort of tell-not-show way, so some lines of dialogue feel like the writers thought you might be too stupid to pick up on the fact that ella wants independence and [financial] freedom but misogyny is a major barrier in her way even though that’s the whole point. BUT the plot itself is actually a kind of fun twist on cinderella, if not 100% untrodden ground. the characters all have motivations and goals that make sense. the stepsisters and stepmother are great; i think sometimes cinderella retellings make the stepfamily very cartoonish and flat, but i think they feel like real people (i mean, a little silly, but that’s in keeping with the tone of the movie; and it means the stepsisters make for decent comic relief without ruining the tension between ella and the stepmother). most of the jokes landed! if there were 0 songs this would be a fairly decent family movie with a kind of wildcard cast. but instead it’s This. wow.

(also it’s really unclear whether the problem is interpersonal misogyny or systemic misogyny, and the movie seems to purposefully conflate the two. the prince points out that women are not allowed to run businesses, and refers to purchasing ella’s dress as doing his part to correct a flawed system. women have a prescribed role in royal courts that would require ella to give up her work. the stepmother’s entire motivation behind trying to get the [step]daughters to marry rich is that women only have social mobility through marriage to men; men who control their lives and can on a whim destroy them. but then also you simply just have to believe in yourself and not let anybody tell you what to think about yourself and it will all work out! like hello?? what are the laws in this kingdom. maybe i’m too leftist for this movie. i don’t know what i expected from an amazon original.)

disclaimer i’m not a singer or a musical expert and i don’t know what i’m fucking talking about i have no qualifications i was a drama kid over 5 years ago and that’s all. i just love to be a bitch. xoxo

anyway. 4/10.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

TOP 12 PRINCE CHARMINGS (FROM CINDERELLA)

@superkingofpriderock​ @princesssarisa​ @sunlit-music​ @mademoiselle-princesse​ @amalthea9​ @anne-white-star​ @lioness--hart​ @theancientvaleofsoulmaking​ @astrangechoiceoffavourites​ @parxsisburnixg​ @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark​ @filmcityworld1​

I made a ranking for Cinderella. Is fair that i make one for her greatest love. What is interesting about Cinderella’s Prince is that, in contrast to Cinderella, who is more of a character defined by her resilient hard work, kindness, romanticism and dreams of a better life, he is more of a simbolic reward for her to win, with makes him a blank slate that gives total freedom to screenwriters, directors and animators imaginations, but over the years adaptations have shown some comonalities: sometimes he is a classical brave hero, sometimes he is a lovely bumbling dork, sometimes he is just a hedonist concerned with his own fun, but at the end of the day, they all fall in love with the honest and good hearted heroine. And tonight, i will share my favorite takes on the man who catchet Cinderella’s and, by extension, our hearts.

12º Tony Oliver as the Prince in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

There is a Prince who just wants his Dad to stop meddling with his personal life. Specially when it comes to making a ball despite the fact that he doesn’t know how to dance. But thankfully for him, while trying to escape trough the gardens he literary stepped over onto a napping Cinderella, who promptly teached him how to dance, and how to love.

11º Florian Bartholomäi as Prince Viktor in Sechs Auf Einen Streich (2011)

This Prince can’t hit a target with his arrows to save his life, and isn’t particularly excited to have the responsabilities of a King. But he is kind and humble to help Cinderella to catch back some lost piglets in the woods, even if it means getting dirt in the mud, and for her and the audience, sometimes that is enough.

10º Jimmy Smits as Prince Felipe in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child (1995)

A Prince who admits that he isn’t fit for battlefield and would rather spend time chilling in the Palace’s dance floor. What it’s not to love about him?

09º  Pavel Trávnícek as the Prince in Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)

The original Slacker Prince, who is constantly running away from studying with his tutor to go hunting in the forest. He looks chill enough to accept handing over the actual role of ruller to a wise Prime Minister.

08º Masami Kikuchi as Prince Charles in Cinderella Monogatari (1996)

A Slacker who has to learn about dealing with the consequences of his actions! Charles prefers a hundred times to go out fencing than to studying Power and Politics, and wears his best friend’s Alex clothes to pretend that he is page and go out stealing the grapes of his own family vines. But when Cinderella is unfairly framed by the grape robbery, Charles has to slowly understand that not everything is fun and games, and that he has to think in doing something for the well being of others, providing a good character arc about maturity and responsability.

07º Dougray Scott as Prince Henry in Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

Another Prince who has to go trough a character arc, this time about letting go of his prejudices. Henry first runs in the heroine Danielle while running away from an arranged marriage that his parents are trying to push over him. He falls in love with her when she presents herself as the noble lady Nicole and the two share heroic adventures, but eventually the masquerade will have to be broken, and Henry must decide: will his class prejudices win over him, or will he accept Danielle for who she trully is and assume the love he has for her to the world?

06º Matthew Broderick as Prince Henry in Fairy Tale Theater (1985)

The adorkable Prince who gaved a second ball to see his mysteryous beloved lady again and conquered her hearth with melon balls. Three word describe him: Himbo! Himbo! Himbo!

05º Stuart Damon as Prince Chistopher in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965)

The veteran warrior hero who after having many adventures rescuing damsels and slaying dragons and evil sorcerours, is getting ready to settle down in a calm, domestic family life. When i watch Damon’s Prince Christopher, i feel that his shoulder will be a strong source of support and comfort to Cinderella after all she went trough, and that’s what makes me to want so much for him to get together with her.

04º Paolo Montalbán as Prince Christopher in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)

While Stuart Damon was a strong Prince with lots of world experience and confidence, Paolo Montalbán was a young man that, instead of being known as a travelling dragon slayer and damsel rescuer,had the feeling of falling in love itself be his greatest adventure. Because of that, i felt that as a romantic partner, he was in a more equal footing with his version of Cinderella, portrayed as another young lady that was about to discover the world, and the two found the perfect companion in each other for their emotional journey. Plus, it helps the higher ranking that after this 1997 TV Movie production, Montalbán retook the role of Prince Christopher in the 2000 stage production known as The Enchanted Edition. Is he or not the definitive face for this musical version of the character at this point?

03º Richard Chamberlain as Prince Edward in The Slipper and The Rose (1976)

He can sing, he can dance, he has a happy musical number about pondering his mortality in his family’s mausoleum, he helps his best friend getting together with the girl he likes, he fights with his father for the right to marry whoever he wants for love. Chamberlain gaved a very energetic an fun performance to the one of the most idealistic and romantic encarnations of Cinderella’s Prince, and for this he earns the number three spot in this ranking.

02º Michael Wilding as Prince Charles in The Glass Slipper (1955)

After spending years studying in London, Paris and Rome, Prince Charles returns to his father’s small principality to reconect with his people and prepare to become the next rulling Duke. One day, walking in the woods, he remembers that he didn’t knew what sorrow was until one day when he was eight years old and saw a poor five year old girl of sad rebellious eyes crying and running in despair for the loss of her mother. By the force of destiny, he finds that same girl as a grown woman and despite her initial rejection of his polytiness as mockery, he insists in being her friend, presenting himself as Son of the Cook at the Palace of the Duke and teaching her to dance. One day, Charles that he is falling for the sad girl and kisses her, but she runs away, afrayed of being loved. And he melancholicaly sits at the piano to sing, reflecting about how her sad eyes and explosive rebellious temper, instead of repelling, atract him to her, and he asks himself how to make her thrust him.

For being this kind, perfect friend, this version was originally going to be my number one. Until he got surpassed by...

01º  Aleksey Anatolyevich Konsovsky as the Prince in Zolushka (1947)

This is a colorfull russian feature film adaptation of the Charles Perrault version of the fairy tale. One of the highlights of this adaptation is how it combines its visuals with good dialogues, where the characters talk honestly about their feelings. Thanks to that, it is one of the first adaptations to explore the Prince as human being, instead of treating him as a simple trophy. We first see him sitted at the ball, looking bored, trowing a paper plane onto the Stepmother to amuse himself. And then, he is called by his father to receive the new guest of unknown identity, and smiling in awe he says to his father that he cannot speak at her vision. A magician makes a spell for the guests to spent time in their dream lands, and the Prince gets alone with the unknown lady in a beautifull garden, asking what counsel would she give to a friend of his who likes a lady but doesn’t know how to tell her. He gets to sing to her. Back at the ball room, during their dance he guesses that she would like some ice cream, and he goes far as to select fourty different flavours, but when he arrives, the lady says goodbye and that she must go away, but he begs her to stay, declaring his love for her. When she is gone, leaving a glass slipper behind, he admits to have felt ofended with her running from him, but still wants to get reunited with her, going in the next morning to a search in the woods, where he hears a beautifull singing voice: the voice of his mysteryous beloved from the ball, to whom he promisses going in the most difficult quests, if they mean he will earn her love.

Prankster, wish guesser, shy, proud, and, above all, romantic, Aleksey Anatolyevich Konsovsky’s performance is historically significant in reaching the right balance of making the Prince the perfect man of Cinderella’s dreams, while also being palpably human, and that is why he is my number one portrayal of Cinderella’s Prince.

Honorable Mention: Robert Westenberg in Into the Woods (1987), The Triplets version (1998).

This list is dedicated to the memory of Libuše Šafránková (7 June 1953 – 9 June 2021)

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 8 - Winter Comes Again (Part 3)

I like how Kakeru seems like your typical “uwu I have a dark past and now I’m emo” sports anime protagonist but has a completely personality change when it comes to running

Full list of translations here

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After Chikusei-sou was introduced on the news, Kakeru and the others were frequently called out to on campus and in the shopping district, ranging from a casual “I saw you on TV!” or “Do your best!” to offers of “I’ll help out if you need a hand.”

However, there were no more applicants wanting to join the team, as expected; the rumor that Kiyose kept turning everyone away had probably spread through the school. Kakeru couldn’t help but hope that they wouldn’t give up and would come back to Chikusei-sou next spring.

The administrative preparations for the actual race were also underway, with Kiyose and Shindou taking the lead in making arrangements for the day.

In the Hakone Ekiden, each school placed people along the route. In addition to the people who handed out water at the fifteen-kilometer mark, it was advantageous to have someone relay information to the runners; it would be best if they could inform the athletes at each key point of the time differences with the schools running in front and behind them, and whether they should increase or decrease their pace.

The water providers had to run alongside the runners in order to hand out water. A complete novice would not be able to keep up with the runners' speed, so a certain level of running ability was desirable, and the short-distance runners of Kansei University’s track and field team graciously agreed to take on this role.

Kiyose and Shindou also discussed the personnel to be placed along the route. From among the students who had offered to help out, they picked those who lived near the course; they couldn’t put too much of a burden on them, since they had to round them up on New Year’s Day.

Even if they told the people of the shopping district not to come, they would probably rush over to support them, so they didn’t hesitate to include them in the number of people who would pass on information from the roadside.

In the leadup to the day of the Hakone Ekiden, Kiyose worked tirelessly on the details, not just for running but also for other tasks. Shindou assisted in negotiations with the university as well as communication with the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto, the organizer of the event. Hanako stood between the shopping district and the Kansei student volunteers; she efficiently gathered up people and informed the volunteers of their roles and the schedule on the day.

Kakeru was shocked at Hanako’s ability to handle the paperwork—he couldn’t have listened to the needs of that many people and coordinated everyone so that things ran smoothly. It seemed that she was even cutting down on her sleep to manage everything by herself so that Kakeru and the others could run the Hakone Ekiden without any problems.

It might have started with the fact that she liked the twins, but now Hanako seemed to be fascinated by the sport of track and field itself. She had become an indispensable asset to Chikusei-sou and frequently came by to discuss various matters.

“Hana-chan hangs out with us all the time. I wonder if she has any girl friends,” King suddenly said when Hanako wasn’t there, as though it had just occurred to him.

“She does,” Kakeru answered. For some reason, his voice was low.

Just the day before, Kakeru had seen Hanako in the school cafeteria: she had been laughing brightly as she ate lunch with a friend of the same sex.

Isn’t Katsuta-san putting off hanging out with her friends because she’s working for our sake? Kakeru felt irritated by King’s words, which were insensitive even though they weren’t meant to be offensive. And then he thought, “Huh?” Why am I getting so angry? Kakeru thought about it for a while and decided that it was because he was tired from training.

One night in early November, while eating dinner at Chikusei-sou, Hanako was reading out a report on the number and placement of the volunteers. Kiyose and Shindou mainly gave their opinions, which Hanako wrote down in a notebook.

I wonder if her feelings have gotten through to the twins, Kakeru wondered. The twins were busy shoveling dinner into their mouths, taking little notice of Hanako enthusiastically preparing for the Hakone Ekiden.

When they had finished the necessary discussions, Kiyose spoke.

“The Sunday after next, we’re participating in the Ageo City Half Marathon.”

“Where is this Ageo?” Musa asked.

“It’s in Saitama Prefecture. It’s a relatively big race with many citizens taking part as runners, and the schools participating in the Hakone Ekiden are invited. It’s good because we can join for free and it’s also a good way to practice on the road—we can get a good spot right behind the start line and experience running through a cheering crowd. It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

With the exception of Kakeru and Kiyose, none of them had participated in a race on a public road during their high school years. As a rehearsal for the Hakone Ekiden, the Ageo City Half Marathon was the perfect race, both in distance and date. Most of the schools that had been selected to participate in Hakone were also participating in Ageo.

It was the first time he would be running more than twenty kilometers on the road in a proper event. Given the chance to see the results of his training, Kakeru suddenly felt motivated; he was fine with laboriously training by himself, but Kakeru liked races where he could compete with other runners.

The twins, however, objected.

“The Sunday after next? We already have plans.”

“We’re forming an amateur soccer team with friends from our language class. We finally found someone to play against, so we’re going to the Tama riverside area to play.”

“Say you can’t do it,” Kiyose said.

“Then there won’t be enough people.”

“There’s still time to find a couple more people. Also, you’re playing soccer at a time when you have to train? What if you get injured? You’ve been slacking off lately.”

Kiyose too must have been steadily getting frustrated by the awkward atmosphere; he was condemning the twins in a harsh tone that he never used. Kakeru, not knowing what to do, raised and lowered his chopsticks in midair for no reason.

“Training this, training that, what’s the point in training so much?” Jouji roughly slammed down his bowl of miso soup. “It’s just like that Sakaki guy said: no matter how hard we work in Hakone, we won’t have enough members when spring comes.”

“He’s right,” Jouta said. “We’ve all been tricked by Haiji-san. We’ve been training our asses off every single day, like idiots.”

“Tricked?” Kiyose clacked his chopsticks. “When did I trick you?”

“You said it at the beginning, didn’t you! ‘With the power of all ten of us, we’ll reach the top of the sports world!’” Jouta shouted. “But that’s impossible. I did my research—no matter how much we try, we can’t beat Rikudou. We can’t win Hakone!”

Yeah, what they said, King blindly followed the twins’ lead. Kiyose seemed like he was going through his memories for a while.

“It’s true that I said we’re going to the top,” he nodded.

“See, Haiji-san’s a liar!” Jouji denounced him. There was an uproar around the dining table.

Musa asked Kakeru in a whisper, “Is it true that we cannot win no matter how hard we work?”

“Well…”

Kakeru was evasive, but Yuki, who valued theory, was merciless in that regard.

“To put it bluntly, it’s impossible. Our times prove that.”

“Good grief.” Nico-chan, sitting in his chair, gave a big stretch.

“It’s easy to guess how the race will unfold and which team will win if you look at the runners’ personal best times, and it’s impossible for that to be overturned unless something extreme happens. That might be one of the boring things about long-distance.”

“Hmm,” Prince said, reaching for the salad bowl with his chopsticks. “In baseball, soccer, basketball, or any other team sport, unless there is a huge difference in ability, you don’t know which team is going to win unless you try it. Is there that big a difference in ability between us and Rikudou?”

“There is.” Yuki, who seemed to have analyzed the data, flatly vouched for that once again. “Almost all the regulars at Rikudou are good enough to become aces at any other school. In addition, they have a big lineup of runners, and even the reserve runners who aren’t entered in Hakone—in other words, the second-string runners—would be very likely to rank higher than us if they were to run.”

“So, what you’re saying is that Rikudou University is a group of elite runners, and the best among them are our opponents?” Shindou said gloomily, his shoulders drooping.

“But depending on how you think about it, aren’t we lucky?” Prince said, chewing on lettuce. “Even though Rikudou’s second-strings are fast, they can’t participate in Hakone. We’re weak, but we can run in Hakone because we passed the qualifiers. Even if we don’t win, I think it’s worth more to be able to just be in Hakone.”

“There’s no point if we don’t win,” Jouji said.

“It’s a sport where the results are obvious, so what are we doing it for?” Jouta stared up at the ceiling.

Kakeru was indignant. “If you want to win, then this isn’t the time to be playing soccer,” he said, finally snapping at the twins. “You should train more and be in Ageo.”

“Ah, there goes Kakeru and his idealism again.”

“Didn’t we tell you that even if we wanted to train, we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it?” the twins counter-attacked together.

“So if you can’t win, you can’t run? So are you two gonna stop living just because you’re gonna die eventually?”

“We didn’t say that.”

“It’s the same thing—the same logic.”

“It's completely different. And don’t call that logic, you don’t even know what that means.”

“I do!”

“You don’t, you’re an animal who only knows how to run!”

“Let’s take this outside!”

“Why don’t we!?”

“Stop this now,” Kiyose said, but they didn’t listen.

Kakeru and the twins kicked their chairs away and stood, glaring at each other across the table. Musa pulled on the hem of Kakeru’s shirt, but Kakeru shook him off. It was a child’s quarrel, with the reason already forgotten and the argument confused. Yuki and Nico-chan watched the events unfold, grinning. Prince muttered in admiration, “Kakeru’s words about life and death earlier were an unusually clever expression.” King might have been close to the twins on an emotional level, but he pretended not to see, probably not wanting to get punched.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Hanako put her hands out to desperately restrain Kakeru and twins, who looked like they were about to leave the kitchen at any second. “Calm down! Look, every Rikudou runner might come down with food poisoning on the day of the race, you know?”

The people of Chikusei-sou turned their attention to Hanako, who had raised her voice, but deflated at what she said.

“I don’t think that’s possible…” Musa said reservedly.

“Ultimately, we still can’t beat Rikudou in terms of ability, right?”

That’s not a good follow-up, Shindou sighed. However, thanks to Hanako, the tension between Kakeru and the twins, which had been about to burst, had nowhere else to go.

“Thanks for the food.”

The twins put their bowls in the sink. As they were about to return to their rooms, Kiyose called out to their backs.

“I did say that we’re going to the top. But by that, I didn’t mean winning. It might sound like an excuse, but…”

“We’re over it,” Jouji said, and the twins went upstairs. His voice held a mixture of rejection and resignation, which could be taken to mean that he didn’t want to hear Kiyose’s words, or that he wanted to stop fighting and practice as usual. Kakeru didn’t know what to do with his will to fight that had ended up not going anywhere, and he sullenly sank down into his chair.

“Umm, I’m going home now.” Perhaps unable to stand the awkward atmosphere, Hanako quickly stood. “Thank you for the meal.”

Kiyose stopped Hanako as she was about to put away the dishes and called to Kakeru, “Send Katsuta-san home.” Normally, the twins would walk Hanako back to Yaokatsu, but they were unlikely to come down again tonight. “It would be good for you to get some night air and cool your head.”

“I can go home by myself,” Hanako declined, but Kakeru said, “I’ll do it,” then stood up and went to put on his sneakers at the door.

In the kitchen, Yuki and Nico-chan were gossiping.

“Alone with Katsuta-san at night.”

“I hope the blood doesn’t rush to Kakeru’s head, if you know what I mean.”

“They are correct. What if Kakeru and the twins get into another fight over Hanako-san?” Musa criticized Kiyose.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Kiyose fended him off easily. “Just as he looks, Kakeru is a man who honors friendship deeply.”

Kakeru, of course, had no idea he was the topic of conversation, and he matched Hanako’s pace as they made their way towards the shopping district.

Kakeru almost never walked—if it was within walking distance, he preferred to run. Going to school and going to the shopping district were all part of jogging for him. Normally, he passed by these places so quickly that he never really took a look around.

It was so slow walking with Hanako that he didn’t know what to do with all the time on his hands, so his gaze roamed around, reading the nameplates illuminated by the street lights, looking at the fruit-covered mandarin tree branches sticking out into the road. Hanako was wearing a thin coat and a light purple scarf. It’s the color of akebia, Kakeru thought. He used to eat them a lot when he ran around and played in the hills and fields. His tongue recalled their taste, like very diluted sugar water.

“I was a bit surprised,” Hanako said. Her white breath spilled out of her mouth. Kakeru looked away.

“About what?”

“Even you guys fight.”

“Well, of course. We live together in a small apartment and we’re always running together. Someone’s always fighting about leaving hot water in the bucket for the bath, or smelling the socks that have been taken off after training.”

“Smelling socks?” Hanako laughed a little. “Who would do something like that?”

Jouji did. But Kakeru felt it was wrong to throw cold water on her feelings of love.

“I can’t tell you that,” he answered. Would this make it seem like I’m projecting? He worried, but there was no helping it.

“For some reason, I thought most long-distance runners were untalkative and patient.”

“I don’t know about that. I lose my temper easily, and the twins and King are pretty annoying.”

“Kurahara-kun, you’re one of the more mature ones, but I think everyone at Chikusei-sou is gentle and kind. I guess a patient personality really is suited for running long distances every day.” Hanako kicked a pebble that had been lying on the white line. “That’s why I was surprised that you guys were fighting, but also relieved. You can run twenty kilometers or so at a fast speed, and now you’re going to be in the Hakone Ekiden, and I keep thinking you're going further and further.”

Oh, Kakeru thought. She really does like the twins.

He secretly touched his chest. What is this? There was a shrieking pain in his chest, like when a cold drink soaked into your teeth—a pain like it was gradually swelling up around him, and heating up.

They turned the corner at the park and entered the shopping district, where fake autumn leaves hung from the street lights at both ends of the road, swaying in the wind. The day’s work had finished, and most of the stores had their shutters down.

From out of a half-shuttered small bookstore, three men who looked like high school students came bursting out, each of them carrying a large sports bag over their shoulder. All at once, they ran towards Soshigaya-Okura Station. After them, an old lady who was working as the shopkeeper ran into the street.

“Stop, thieves!” the old lady shouted and tried to run after them, but her slip-on sandals were no match for the legs of young men. The old lady looked at Kakeru and Hanako, who were standing stock still from surprise. Her eyes were filled with expectation.

Hanako seemed to come back to her senses.

“Kurahara-kun, go catch them.”

“Huh, me?”

“Go, go!”

The high schoolers were about fifty meters ahead of him, but he could still see them clearly because the shopping district was a straight line. Kakeru dashed off.

The high schoolers must have been relieved, knowing that the old lady would not chase after them, so they slowed down, but when they noticed Kakeru’s footsteps approaching, they shouted “Crap!” and began running with all their strength again.

However, they were carrying heavy bags and they were amateurs after all, and Kakeru was soon in range of them. Observing their running from behind, he thought, “I could catch them at any point if I feel like it.”

But, there were three of them. If he jumped at them alone, some of them would probably escape. Even if he hit them, it would be a bad idea to get into a violent situation right then.

The best thing to do would be to get them to give up running. Kakeru decided that and followed the three closely.

“Hey, you guys!” he called out to them as he ran. The three turned back with a start and sped up, panicked. But for Kakeru, it was like turtles going faster.

“I can easily chase you guys for thirty more kilometers at this pace, you know!” Kakeru said, not even out of breath.

“Who are you?” one of the high schoolers said, scared. Kakeru didn’t answer his question and tried to persuade them.

“Just stop this. Apologize and ask the old lady at the bookstore to forgive you.”

The station came into view. At the same time, he saw two uniformed police officers running towards them from the police box in front of the station.

“Stop right there!” the policemen shouted. They caught two of the high schoolers, holding them from the front. Kakeru had no choice but to grab the remaining one’s arm.

“Open your bags.”

The high schoolers seemed to have given up and meekly followed the policeman’s instructions, revealing a large number of stolen manga in their sports bags. They probably stole them to sell, not to read. Prince would be furious if he saw this, Kakeru thought.

“You did a good job. Come with us to the police box over there," the young policeman said, smiling from under his hat.

“No, I…” Kakeru said, but there were two officers and three shoplifters. He had no choice but to follow, still grabbing the high schooler’s arm.

“Kurahara-kuuun!”

He turned around and saw Hanako pedalling furiously on her bicycle, the old lady from the bookstore sitting on the back. It seemed that Hanako had called the police on her cellphone, and her message had been relayed to the police box. Kakeru thought it was problematic to have two people ride on the same bike, but the policemen pretended not to see.

The old lady climbed off the back of the bike.

“I heard that you’re a runner in the Hakone Ekiden. You have been a great help, thank you," she thanked Kakeru.

The high schoolers were going to be taken to the local police station in a police car. The old lady was going to accompany them to make her witness statement.

“You should come to the station too. You might get a certificate of thanks.”

It was a horrifying thing to be told, and Kakeru desperately declined. The policemen seemed disappointed, but Kakeru left without telling them his name. Hanako pushed her bike and followed.

“That was amazing, Kurahara-kun. The old lady at the bookstore was having a lot of trouble because there were so many shoplifters. She was very grateful that you chased after them for her.”

Kakeru walked, looking down. He hadn’t intended on doing a good deed, it was just that he was good at running—he only chased them because Hanako told him to catch them. It was the same reflex as a dog chasing a frisbee.

Hanako was delighted by Kakeru’s good deed like it was her own. Kakeru couldn’t breathe.

“I don’t know about that kind of thing,” Kakeru finally said to Hanako in a low voice. “I’ve shoplifted too. I don’t think it’s good or bad. I don’t really get it.”

Kakeru felt Hanako looking up at his profile in surprise.

“I don’t care about anything other than running. If I’m hungry, I shoplift. If I’m angry, I hit someone. You said Haiji-san and the others are gentle and kind, but I’m different, at the very least. Just as the twins said, I’m an animal who…”

“Animals don’t worry over not knowing right from wrong,” Hanako said quietly. “You’re too hard on yourself, Kurahara-kun. The old lady from the bookstore was grateful to you. Everyone at Chikusei-sou always has high hopes and trusts in your running. Why don’t you trust in that more?”

When they reached the front of Yaokatsu, Hanako waved her hand with a smile. “Thanks for sending me home. See you.” Kakeru watched Hanako disappear into the service entrance of Yaokatsu. His ears turned hot as he realized that he had raised his hand, as though drawn in by Hanako.

Trust the people around you, Katsuta-san said. Come to think of it, Haiji-san once told me to believe in myself more. I feel like what the two of them wanted to tell me was the same thing, in the end.

I fought with the twins again, Kakeru thought. He had clashed violently with TSU’s Sakaki and his high school track coach because they couldn’t understand each other. Kakeru got angry easily—running was an important act for him, and he spent almost all his time running. That was why he overreacted when his opinions clashed with others on the topic of running; it felt like his very existence was being denied.

But that’s no good, Kakeru thought. Anger was the flip side of fear and a lack of self-confidence.

He thought Kiyose and Hanako were telling him to “accept without fear” when they told him to “believe.” Accept himself as well as others.

Just running doesn’t make me strong. I have to control myself. Convey my heart with words, just like Haiji-san and Katsuta-san. Once again, Kakeru resolved to do just that.

Kakeru ran the whole way back to Chikusei-sou.

The next afternoon, a reporter from the local news section of the Yomiuri Shimbun came. Apparently, the old lady from the bookstore was so moved by what Kakeru did that she had called them. The newspaper decided that it would also serve as promotion for the Hakone Ekiden and decided to devote space on a page for it as a “nice little story.”

The twins forgot about their fight and were happy for him, saying, “That’s great, Kakeru.” Prince also praised Kakeru’s achievement, saying, “Shoplifting in bookstores is a crime that must be eradicated.” Yuki teased him, saying, “And you were finally alone with Katsuta-san too. Didn’t you have something to do before catching shoplifters?”

Kakeru didn’t turn the interview down. The article was published with the headline of “Kansei U Runner in Hakone Ekiden Catches Shoplifters” and a photo of Kakeru’s face.

Previous | Next

[imagine-loki]

Hiding In Plain Sight

TITLE: Hiding in Plain Sight CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 8 AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE:Imagine coming from a line of nobility or royalty and being in an arranged marriage with Loki in an attempt to strengthen your kingdom / alliance with Asgard. You’re not entirely on board with the idea but figured that the best you could do was to get to know your fiancé.You form an agreement with Frigga for you to pose as Loki’s personal servant for a few months so you can get to know who Loki really is – beyond the veil of his responsibility to the Asgardian throne, behind all the masks he wears when facing the public, to really know who Loki is behind closed doors as you slowly fall for each other.How long will you keep up the ruse with the God of Lies? RATING: General Audience

NOTE - I finally got my ass in gear and finished something, thank Loki.

Raven thought over everything she and Frigga discussed. Her earlier worry that Frigga was blinded by motherly bias was very much confirmed. Loki was by no means a tyrant, he did not seem to have an aggressive bone in him. She knew he would never physically harm her. She also suspected that he would not be the kind to constantly say negative things to her and belittle her publicly but she knew too that behind everything, he would be thinking it, and that was an issue.

Frigga had ensured that until her family arrived, she would not be bothered too greatly. She instead spent time learning different aspects of Aesir court that could only be taught on her coming to Asgard, as it included court records that were kept in Asgard’s archives and could not be taken off the realm. It made for interesting reading, there were so many things she would never have even thought existed. Alfheim’s court was run so differently, it was a large learning curve for her, and she liked it. It gave her something to do while waiting that made her feel like she didn’t have to think of Loki all the time. On occasion, he came up in the court records, but they were in the grand scheme of things, where the royal family went and such so it was interesting but not overly informative. There was one situation that seemed to have arisen when Loki seemed to think it humorous to play tricks on his brother and a few of his friends and had been reprimanded in court for that but overall, he seemed to not be much of the situation. The only things of note from outside of the court that occurred but made it into the annals of it was an ambush in Vanaheim that noted his seidr was one of the reasons they made it to safety and when he was able to prove a young man innocent of a crime he would have faced a long sentence for. She read the articles pertaining to both with interest and noticed that Loki had a keen interest in justice and perceived imbalances of such. It was a trait to commend but again, she found herself wondering how to deal with her future with him. Clearly, he saw having to marry her as an injustice against him.

The knock on the door that stole her from her thoughts startled Raven. She walked over and opened it, not expecting anyone as Frigga had already told her that she was to deal with different matters through the day and would see her that evening and her family was not yet due to arrive. When she opened the door, the large burly figure on the other side caused her to frown slightly. “Your highness.” She bowed.

Thor nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Princess. I am sorry to bother you, but may I speak with you briefly?”

Raven moved to the side and closed the door again once he was inside. “Is everything alright?”

“I was going to ask you that. I noticed that Loki’s old maid had returned and that there was no sign of you anywhere. I was worried my morose brother scared you into hiding in some dark corner of Svartalfheim.” Thor meant it as a joke but the manner in which Raven looked awkwardly to the side caused him to worry. “He has not been overly rude, has he?”

“No more than usual, I suppose. He just…” She toyed with her hands.

“I can assure you, I will not run to Loki with whatever you say to me,” Thor promised.

“I could not stand his manner of speaking of me. He decided to actually attempt to learn something of me and Light Elf customs through my guise as an elven maid but that went about as well as a Jotun going to a sun for a holiday. He would not even use my name, he called me “Her” and “She” and “The Princess”. When I told him that it would be wise to use my name, he was uninterested, so I told him I could not stomach his disrespect any longer and left.” She explained.

Thor stood in silence for a short time thinking over what she had said. “Can I just say, that your official meeting as intended is going to be utter madness?” He chuckled.

“I have been hiding here reading, trying not to think about it.”

“How is that fairing?”

“Very badly. From what I am reading, Prince Loki does not take well to being lied to or deceit.”

“That is true, though the irony is utterly startling as he himself often lies and is deceitful, but I digress.”

“Two wrongs do not make a right.”

“No, that is true, but if you go left twice, you end up going right,” Thor argued.

“I am not entirely sure that has much logic to it but it’s not wrong, I suppose.” Raven laughed slightly. Thor smiled at her as a result. “Thank you, I think that is the first laugh I have had all week that is not at the expense of my current situation.”

“It does seem like it was by the look on your face.” Thor nodded. He sighed at the defeated features of the Elvish Princess. “Princess Raven, I know this is not ideal and I know my brother is immense work but I assure you, for as many faults as I can list him having, he is not a bad being and his recent adversity to the Light Elves is not a lifelong dislike, merely a reaction to the impending situation and I believe it is unfair to thrust this upon you, he is just trying to deal with it and I know he will cease his foolishness upon realising that this is not as bad as he seems to think it to be in his head.”

“How will he react when he realises who I am?” She asked. “I am trying to figure out myself how I think he will but I am not sure.”

“What have you thought would be his reaction?”

“Insulted and embarrassed that his mother and I schemed this. Perhaps angered at you too for not revealing the truth to him. Leading to an angry and scorned prince.”

“I would think that to be a fair assessment.” Thor nodded.

“Yet you seem to actually smile at the thought?”

Thor exhaled loudly. “My brother is very proud.” He explained. “Too proud, far too much so. And this will very much hurt his pride, I know that deeply but that is not a bad thing. Pride is not something one should have in great amounts as it is not a good trait. I too suffered this affliction but through Loki mostly, I have been cured of my pride and see now how harmful it actually is to one’s self. Loki has thought himself too much above others for too long, this will crash that delusion down and yes, if I am honest, I am interested to see how that goes. The worst you will endure is scathing comments, glares and such. I, on the other hand, will be subjected to abuse, both physical and verbal.”

“And you’re okay with that?” She asked, noticing the devious smile on his face.

“Yes, I am. It’s nice being the one not feeling fooled for once.”

“It was not about fooling him, it was about getting to know him before being married to him for the rest of my life,” Raven verified.

“Yes, but you fooled him by doing so,” Thor pointed out.

Raven became silent after that, uncertain of what to say. The closer the time came to reveal the situation, the more she regretted ever coming to Asgard before the wedding.

*

Loki eyed Thor with interest as he walked up the hallway of the royal wing. When Thor passed him, he noticed something about his brother that was off. “Where have you just come from?”

“What business is it of yours?”

“You smell of lavender and rosemary. Unless you have accidentally fallen into mother’s bathroom supplies, which, going by the fact you are dry, I sincerely doubt, then you were in the presence of someone who uses such perfuming plants and I am curious as to ascertain who that was.”

“That is entirely none of your concern.” Thor dismissed. “Why would you even care? So long as I am not encroaching on you and your business, what is it to you?”

“Now you have caused my curiosity to alter into intrigue.”

“I would have thought you would have been too busy readying for your impending nuptials to care what I am doing, seeing as you are to be wed so soon.” Loki scowled at the thought. “You know, if I were you, I would have some gratitude. Mother spoke to me about my perspective wives, and none come near the beauty of Princess Raven.”

“Ask Mother to give her to you then,” Loki growled before his brow furrowed. “How in the Norns would you know what she looks like?”

“We met her, years ago, in Vanaheim. Her and her brothers. I recall her being pretty then. According to Mother, she looks even more beautiful now. So, while I need to fret about the appearance of the woman I will have to have by my side, you are being gifted a pleasant one of good looks and mind and are complaining. Honestly, Loki, you state that you have it the least favourable of the two of us, yet on this front, you very much are at an advantage. Your wife will be appealing looking but even more importantly than that, she is well-versed in the role required of her as a princess herself and is genuinely a nice person and before you demand to know how I know this, the answer is simple, her brother Richard and I have spoken substantially of late. He is the second oldest of her brothers, he was at the same camp as us in Vanaheim.” Thor stated. He used the fact it was true that he was in correspondence with Richard because of the elf’s thirst for knowledge of the battles through time so that he could learn from them. In Vanaheim, he had spoken to Thor at length with regards to different battles and the Aesir prince promised that he would send books on different historical effects for the elf prince to better himself in his role as general of Alfheim. Never once had the elf asked for his sister, but Loki did not need to know that.

Loki gave a small disinterested sound. He had known of Thor corresponding with Richard, he was slightly startled that the two other princes were discussing Raven but it was not entirely implausible either. “Lucky me.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Sounds like she is perfect for you, you can have her.”

“She is not a fruit bowl, she’s a living being and you need to remember that,” Thor growled. “She comes from a culture where she is not as utilised as she should be but that will not equate to her being vapid and dim.”

“Norns, why is everyone so sure that this princess is so great? Between you and Mother, I am getting so sick of hearing about this. All I need now is Father bothering me about her too.”

“Father has said several times in my presence that this is the alliance we need to secure our ties to the Light Elves. Raven being married to you and the children that will result in such ensure that.”

“Unless one of her four brothers wed elsewhere, of course?”

“Three are marrying Light Elves and one is promised to a Vanir, General Everett’s daughter, Evie, is it? Their alliances are being set in stone via that.” Thor informed him. “He aligned his daughter after it was ensured you and Raven were to be wed. This alliance was integral to everything.”

“Whoopie.”

“Loki, please….just…” Thor sighed, he wanted to tell his brother to be nice to Raven, that she was a genuinely nice person but he knew that when it would be announced that she was actually the being that had been playing his maid and that his mother and the princess had concocted the plan and then, of course, when Loki realised that Thor knew who she was too, there would be a severe issue and he would not be easily calmed. “Try and be reasonable.”

“What were you going to say? Or was your brain not able to keep up with your train of thought?” Loki growled.

Thor sighed, no longer feeling the slight twinge of guilt for his brother at being deceived. “I was going to say, be nice to her when she arrives, but I gathered that was too much to ask.” he simply side-stepped his brother. “I hear they are arriving soon.”

Loki said nothing more to his brother as he left, too busy considering what was to come.

[tabriscadash]

I was asked this on my old blog right as I set about transitioning to this one, so...

The first character I ever fell in love with: for DA:O, dare I say Daveth? What can I say -- I irrationally got incredibly attached to him. otherwise, DEFINITELY Morrigan, and I have crystal clear memories of my first run through Lothering and looking at Morrigan like 😍 the whole time. For DA:2/E, Carver -- unless you count Anders & Justice since I knew of them from Awakening beforehand, in which case probably Justice. For DA:I, it’s a toss-up between Vivienne or Cole -- I technically liked Cole first but SPECIFICALLY in the supporting material (Asunder), and didn’t vibe with him anywhere near as much in the game, AND I got him as a companion after I got Vivienne, so probably Vivienne.

A character that I used to love/like, but now do not: for DA:O, I guess Oghren? I never loved him, but I liked the idea of him because I really liked the dwarves/Orzammar side of DA’s worldbuilding -- but he’s such an unlikeable character that I just.. don’t vibe with him at all. I debate recruiting him every single time now, and I don’t think I ever do his personal quest (in the base game OR Awakening). for DA:2/E, I don’t really have anyone that fits -- but I REALLY wanted to like Merrill and Aveline more than I did, and especially in Aveline’s case, I can’t stand her and genuinely think she’s the unintended, secret Big Bad of the whole game. for DA:I, probably Cole, bc I was really into the idea of a little walking-corpse serial killer animated by a spirit as per the book, but that’s not really the vibe in DA:I, and combined with the somewhat patronising/ableist language and how significantly he is infantilised (including by the fandom) I just got put off him. I do still like him, but not as much.

A ship that I used to love/like, but now do not: for DA:O, I don’t really have one? I guess see my DA:I answer, lol... for DA:2/E, has to be Anders - I don’t think he’s OOC in 2, but I think his writing does so little with him and he feels v. reductive. Where his relationship could be SO interesting and angsty, it instead is written in a really dull and/or cringey way. It would have been nice to see Anders more like the Anders of Awakening near the beginning of the game (rather than random, infrequent and questionably rare snippets), and then see the progression of his relationship with Justice as the game went on -- I want more interesting abominations, PLEASE. for DA:I, listen I cannot express to you HOW EXCITED I was for my planned Lavellan to romance Sera… also I used to be way more tolerant of Cullen x Amell/Surana ships because, like, hey dark ships are fun, right? But since Cullen’s ~wholesome whitewash~ in DA:I, and his fandom clamouring to absolve him of any wrongdoing ever.. it’s boring to me.

My ultimate favourite character™: for DA:O, probably Sten? or Morrigan. They’re both fantastic, and also are significant comfort chars for me. for DA:2/3, honestly, probably my own Hawke -- I feel so hugely proud of her, and can’t imagine I’d enjoy the game anywhere near as much had I not played it as my Hawke. If not her, maybe Sebastian or Carver? for DA:I, I really love Vivienne, as well as Blackwall, and Solas is a great character even if I probably would not say I liked him.

Prettiest character: for DA:O, we all know it’s Zevran. for DA:2/E, I think Aveline -- although her aggressively bland colour-scheme lets her down in a major way (although I respect her dedication to all orange all day every day). There’s just something about her arms -- very Abby from TLOU:2. for DA:I, maybe Josephine? Ser Barris is very pretty, too...

My most hated character: for DA:O, I really didn’t like Alistair, Wynne and Oghren, and of my companions - Oghren is probably my least favourite. He’s vulgar and also profoundly uninteresting. for DA:2/E, it has to be Aveline. There’s just something about ineptitude and a complete, wilful refusal to take accountability for your actions that I can’t stand. It would be okay if it was an intentional character flaw, but the game/narrative treats her like she’s lawful good and it really annoys me. for DA:I, maybe Iron Bull? He was a huge disappointment for me. I also really dislike Sera, Cassandra, and Varric. I’m so sick of Varric - I never want to see him again.

My OTP: for DA:O, I really loved Zevran’s romance -- but I am also very amused by the fact that Leliana got to ‘love’ status with Kallian accidentally, AND I got the ‘love’ glitch for Justice (👀) and Velanna. I do sometimes wonder about an AU where Kallian is forced to make a politically expedient marriage with Nathaniel Howe for diplomatic reasons in order to consolidate her position as Arlessa, and it being an entirely platonic arrangement (it’s not like anyone expects an heir from an infertile Grey Warden) -- and maybe Zev and Nate kiss sometimes, who knows? I also LOVE my Darkspawn Chronicles AU where Kallian and Nelaros are a happy, married couple each hiding their skills with weapons from each other like dumb, cute sweethearts. They shelter Zevran when he fails to kill Alistair and a poly couple evolves. for DA:2/E, I love the IDEA of a Seb romance that isn’t so strictly conditional around the structures that abused him -- he should be allowed to love, chastely or otherwise, but free from the Chantry OR his position as prince/heir. I’d LOVE to actually have a romance with him where you can actually challenge the abuse he’s experienced. for DA:I, Malika doesn’t have a canon romance (although I think when I replay, I’m going to romance Josephine!) but I think Blackwall has an amazing romance. Solas’ is also iconic, it must be said. 

My NOTP: for DA:O, I really dislike Alistair in a shipping capacity; he’s immature and says a lot of misogynistic shit and I don’t think he’s the worst for it, but I don’t really vibe with shipping him, having played the game as a female city elf. for DA:2/E, I wouldn’t say I have one, particularly? although I really dislike Aveline’s relationship with her husband simply because it seems incredibly inappropriate, given that they work together and she has power over him -- and because I dislike her, generally, I don’t feel inclined to do something nice for her. for DA:I, I suppose Sera/Lavellan -- although I’m not AGAINST it, it just really isn’t for me, having attempted it. I also don’t really vibe with Dorian x Iron Bull. Something abt the way the game handled BDSM and their relationship banter specifically I don’t really like.

Favourite episode quest: for DA:O, probs Orzammar/the Deep Roads. I really love the dwarven lore! and, of course, Fort Drakon is really funny, even though it’s not canon in my game iirc. for DA:2/E, maybe the murder mystery with the serial killer, where ultimately Leandra dies? I also really enjoyed all the companion quests. for DA:I, The Descent (just, all of it, lmao) and everything to do with the Avvar. Crestwood also BANGED.

Saddest death: for DA:O, it’s frankly a fucking INJUSTICE that Shianni gets murdered if you make her Bann of the Alienage -- the idea of that happening whilst Kallian is in Amaranthine and unable to protect her :( genuinely very upsetting. I go back and forth on who is made Bann, tbf, so idk how canonical it is: I think maybe Cyrion would get it, but I’m also endeared to Soris holding the position, with Shianni as Hahren. for DA:2/E, Bethany. I wish both twins had had the chance to reach Kirkwall :(. Let Leandra die instead. for DA:I, maybe not the saddest death, but the most memorable for me was that one sleeping dragon in the Hissing Wastes.. leave her alone. Stay out of a womans’ business.

Favourite season game: DA:O!

Least favourite season game: DA:I.

Character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but I hate: for DA:O, Alistair. I cannot deal with his complacency and hypocrisy. for DA:2, I really disliked Merrill but I honestly cannot remember why. DEFINITELY Varric -- I hated how the game forces you to be his best friend, and if you’re low approval, you have to endure these pointless pissy little comments with this little anti-dwarf centrist pissant. After the expedition, I literally have no reason to put up with him, and I NEVER take him out. I hate that he plays the same role in DA:I, too. for DA:I, the Iron Bull was hugely disappointing, and I also really don’t vibe with Cassandra. She just seems very wishy-washy and complacent and hypocritical, and many of her comments about other cultures seem snide for literally no reason other than bigotry. 

My ‘you’re a piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: for DA:O, lbr probably Sten. Mans is gonna launch a HORRIFYING invasion in the next game iirc and frankly, I’m ok with it. Just wanna see that big bastard again ❤🥵. for DA:2/E, I LOVE Gamlen, ok? for DA:I, I am not sure if I have one.

My ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: for DA:O, if any of you so much as LOOK at Velanna wrong, it’s hands. That includes Bioware. I also feel incredibly protective of and sad for Morrigan. for DA:2/E, probably Sebastian -- I feel so sad for him, and so frustrated by the limitations with the game. for DA:I, I’m honestly not sure.. maybe Josephine? I don’t really feel this way about Sera, but I do think she deserves better from the game and its writing, and also from fandom: there are valid criticisms of her, but the hate she gets is not proportional to any valid issues with her -- and gee, I wonder why that is.

My ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: for DA:O, I did use to find Cullen x Surana/Amell intriguing as a dark ship -- I actually hc that Neria Surana is actually Nelaros’ sister, and have dabbled with it as a dark ship. I also am interested in Loghain/Alistair - which each pretends the other is someone else. Alistair is wooby, hate ships are, in general, fun -- so long as we acknowledge that they are, indeed, unhealthy ships. for DA:2/E, I kind of feel like Sebastian romances are, invariably, kind of dark... and, similarly, Anders romances -- especially with certain red Hawkes, The way it ends is, invariably, bordering on fucked up. ALSO Hawkecest is weird and wonderful: GET WITH IT. 

My ‘they’re kind of cute, and I lowkey ship them, but I’m not too invested’ ship: for DA:O, I joked about Velanna x Leliana once and I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it ever since… Velanna x Sigrun is also something that can be so personal. Ariane x Finn is adorable and are paid DUST by Bioware AND fandom. I actually am really into Anora x Nathaniel & NO I will NOT explain myself; it’s a crackship but it’s MY crackship. for DA:2/E, Isabela x Fenris is super cute, but I don’t pay enough attention to them to really have super committed thoughts & feelings on them. for DA:I, Blackwall x Josephine is cute as a background ship; I also think Maryden x Cole is sweet.

[cno-inbminor]

adsentio

a/n: for some reason, i got the idea of prince!akaashi stuck in my head. mildly inspired by the swan princess. 

wc: ~2.1k 

genre: arranged marriage!au, royalty!au, emerging feelings. fluff mainly? idek, it’s word vomit

royalty!au: adsentio (pt. 1) | bonus letters (pt. 1.5) | the masque (pt. 2)

-

Prince Akaashi likes to believe he’s a smart cookie, even if he’s only seven. Then again, his parents aren’t exactly the most subtle people on the planet, and he believes it’s quite obvious as to what they’re planning. In fact, not only is he aware, but the whole castle is as well. Hell, even 90% of the citizens in the kingdom are fully aware of what’s to be expected. He strongly dislikes it, and he wishes it didn’t loom over him every summer.

Ever since the summer of the year he turned five, Princess (y/n) of the West Kingdom would show up for two months to make his life miserable. To be fair, it wasn’t exactly your fault, as you were very much forced into this arrangement as he was, but it was easier to blame you. He’d rather just play fight with Bokuto all summer rather than try to include a girl. It’s not because you’re capable of kicking his butt.

That is absolutely not the case here.

His mother, the queen, is scrambling to get all the preparations done in time for (y/n)’s arrival. Akaashi almost rolls his eyes when he spots her rearranging a bouquet of roses in the dining hall. Unfortunately, she spots him from the corner of her eye and beckons him over with a frantic hand. Never one to deny a parent, he quickly jogs over to her.

“Oh darling, would you be a doll and check in on your father? He needs to be dressed properly for the West Kingdom’s arrival. Tell him to wear that cyan blue shirt of his, it’s much more flattering.”

“Do we need to be so overboard like this again? They’ve already been here twice, it’s not like they don’t know us.”

“For reasons you don’t know, they’re extra special to us. Aren’t you excited to see (y/n) again? You two got along so well last summer!”

Akaashi wrinkles his nose in distaste. “It feels like I just saw her yesterday. Bokuto and I just wanna play by ourselves.”

“Nonsense, dear. Now go check on your father, please,” His mother implores before scurrying off to another bouquet of flowers.

It’s so obvious, he thinks to himself as he jogs towards his parents’ chambers. Did they really need this alliance with the West Kingdom? Would they be that much more powerful together? “In due time, you’ll understand,” his parents always said. Akaashi was starting to become tired of hearing those words.

Why is it so hard to just tell him now as to why they want him to marry Princess (y/n)?

-

“You know why I’m here, right?” (Y/n) asks him one evening. They’re sixteen now – Akaashi counts that this is your twelfth time at the castle. You call the castle your second home, as he once heard you tell your assigned handmaiden, the same lady who attends to you every summer. Somehow, the statement strikes a chord within him – his initial childish annoyance at your presence had long disappeared and been replaced with something akin to defeat. There was very little chance that they could run from this, but in the late nights, Akaashi found himself believing that if there were someone to be betrothed to, (y/n) wasn’t so bad.

“What do you mean?” He replies, slowly turning a page in his book. You both found that one way to quickly pass the time was to raid the royal library. At first, it was custom to read your respective books at opposite ends of the castle. Yet as time passed, you found yourselves meeting closer and closer towards the middle. If desired, the servants could find you two either together in the library, in an empty ballroom by the massive windows, or on the balcony in the summer sun. Most times, Bokuto, Akaashi’s most loyal friend, was with you as well. Reading wasn’t necessarily one of his top hobbies, but he’d rather be with friends than alone wondering around the castle.

This time, the two of you have taken refuge by a fireplace, a terrible thunderstorm casting a chill over the building. Bokuto is conveniently off doing his own thing.

“The reason why I’m here every summer.”

Akaashi casts his best exasperated look towards you, but it goes unnoticed as you refuse to look away from your book. “I’ve known since I was six.”

You sigh and gently shut your novel closed, one finger stuck between the pages to keep your place. With the grace of an angel (Akaashi thinks), you pick yourself up from the lounge chair and drift over to the couch he’s sitting on. Because he’s sitting upright towards the end closest to the fire, there’s more than enough space for you to sit and stretch your legs across the cushions. In fact, you do just that, settling for leaning your back against Akaashi’s strong side profile, his arm supporting most of your weight. Without meaning to, Akaashi finds himself adjusting his sitting position for your comfort. He feels your body tremble slightly and a small wave of concern washes over him.

“Should I ask one of the servants to bring a blanket for you?”

“That won’t be necessary. But thank you for your concern, your highness.”

“You don’t have to address me as so.”

“My apologies, it’s a force of habit.”

“Hmm.”

Akaashi has long given up on reading the words before him. Your question repeats in his head like a broken record.

“Doesn’t it frustrate you?” You whisper, interrupting his thoughts. “Doesn’t it anger you that since my birth, you’ve been forced into a game that you have no choice but to play?”

Akaashi hesitates. This topic has never been broached before, and he’s not sure how to address it.

“I’ll admit it was more frustrating in the beginning. Nobody enjoys being told what to do, especially when you’re little. But I learned to just accept it. In fact, to call it a game would assume that there is a losing side. From what I’ve studied, both of our kingdoms would benefit from this merger. What’s the loss?”

“Our freedom and choice,” you bite out, yet refusing to look at him. You’ve also given up on reading, yet you don’t want to arouse suspicion that this conversation is happening. If a servant were to hear, rumors would fly around the castle like a plague. “I think it’s only human that I want to experience love the way ordinary people do. We don’t even get a say.”

“What about both of our parents? They were arranged yet they love each other.”

“Simple, they got lucky.”

“Then would you rather run away and find another man to fall in love with?”

“More than that, I just want to experience life beyond the castle walls. My position is different from yours.”

“How so?”

You purse your lips, pausing. “Your Highness, what do you think would happen to you if I were to disappear, or god forbid, die?”

Akaashi’s eyes widen in bewilderment. “Why would you ask that?”

“You just need to answer my question.”

“Well,” he ponders. “I…believe I’d be somewhat sad. We would mourn the loss, surely.”

For the first time this summer, he hears a genuine chuckle from you. “I’m honored by your sentiment, your highness. I’m asking more of what you think would politically happen to you.”

Akaashi’s cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I guess…politically I’d be okay. Mother would be devastated, but I guess they’d find me another match. The merger with your kingdom would’ve been our strongest move, but it could still happen since we’re already on such good speaking terms. Supposedly there are other princesses waiting for a chance, and a merger could result from that as well.”

“What a humble braggart you are, your highness,” you tease.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“I know. But in all seriousness,” you switch to a more solemn tone. “The point is, you’d be okay. As you so nicely put it, you have women lining up to be with you.”

“Aren’t men lining up to be with you as well?”

“It’s not the same, Your Highness. As a princess, I’m brought up to constantly prove my worth to others. More importantly, I’m raised to prove my worth as a wife and a queen. We’re left to care for the children we must bear, we must keep our noses a reasonable distance away from kingdom business. If this engagement were to break, many outsiders would automatically assume that I was deemed unworthy of you, that I must’ve wrapped myself in some horrible scandal.”

Akaashi hums and stares into the fire. “I suppose that it’s rather unfortunate. I wish I had realized that sooner.”

“Your self-awareness speaks volumes. I usually wouldn’t admit this to you, but I know you’ll be a great king when it’s your time. Your people already love you, and they will only continue to love you more.”

“That’s very kind of you, Princess.”

“I only speak honestly. There’s no need to sugarcoat my words around you.”

Somehow, Akaashi finds that very comforting. Perhaps as someone in his position, he would consider honesty and wisdom to be valuable. Just because he’s destined to be king someday, doesn’t mean he would always make the right decisions. He would appreciate having you by his side in his decision-making.

“If this happens,” Akaashi finds himself speaking, also not one for beating around the bush. “I can promise now that I’ll try to change that. Even if we end up never loving each other, I’ll do my best to ensure that you never feel confined to such a role. As my w-wife,” he stumbles over the word. “I would want your input. You have a good head on you, and I’m sure you have valuable wisdom that I will need in due time.”

“Somehow, that’s the most romantic thing a man has ever said to me,” you say. He can hear the smile in your voice, his own small one forming on his face. When you move off the couch, his body immediately misses the warmth of your body pressed against his. After you’re done dusting yourself off, you begin to curtsy. He knows that this means you’re retiring for the night, but he’d rather you not leave right now.

“Wait,” he calls out, reaching for the hand not holding your book. You stay silent as Akaashi delicately holds your hand, then breaking out into a slight blush when he lays a soft kiss on the back of your hand, eyes never breaking contact with yours. He’s never been more princely to you than this moment – though his mother had made him do this on every first day you arrive at the castle, it never held so much meaning. This was of his own doing, his own volition, and that spoke volumes to you. He was trying to make this work in his own special way.

You don’t miss the way his thumb ghosts over your knuckles before releasing your hand, although the movement seems hesitant and troubled. “Good night, Princess,” he bids quietly, eyes looking back at the ignored book in his lap. Your heart beats with adrenaline, the chemical fueling you to step closer to him and bend down to place a kiss on his cheek. Akaashi does his best to not look surprised, but he knows that he has failed when he hears the sound of your gentle laugh.

“Good night, Keiji.”

The prince concludes right then and there that he has never heard anything more beautiful.

-

When you return to your chambers the next night, it’s hard to miss the most beautiful glass vase you’ve seen that’s sitting on your dresser. Inside stands a half-bloomed peony, a flower you recognize from the castle gardens. The petals have a tender shade of a light blush pink – if the flower-arranging lessons taught you anything, they stood for romance, compassion, and bashfulness. A neatly folded cardstock with your name stands demurely by the vase. The handwriting is strikingly familiar, and you can’t help but smile at the words neatly written inside.

To my future queen.

As you bring the flower to your nose and inhale the sweet scent, you begin to think that perhaps, you and Akaashi might just be lucky enough for love.

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feel free to send requests for this au!