#I love them a normal amount my liege

[yuutsunaoi-writes]

Kokichi's feelings for Shuichi are obvious and anyone who are capable of reading and understanding words would surely not deny that fact. Hence why one-sided saiouma is definitely canon.

As for how people interpret how Shuichi sees Kokichi, well, that depends, I guess. In a free time event when Shuichi actually does show that he genuinely worries and cares for Kokichi that he himself tends to Kokichi's wounds, we could interpret that Shuichi at least sees Kokichi as someone he wants to understand and be friends with - at least at that point in time.

Although, seeing how Shuichi ended things with Kokichi on a quite bad note, we could assume that Shuichi may have been very annoyed at Kokichi, hence further proving that in canon saiouma might as well be one-sided.

However, I think most saiouma shippers know this, of course. In fact, if we're talking about which ship has the possibility to be closest to canon, saimatsu would be a quite obvious answer. Though, in my opinion, of course, I still have saiouma as my favourite ship in Danganronpa because:

I like how if the time given to them was longer and the situation was different, the two of them could be dancing around each other with Shuichi trying to understand Kokichi's actions and Kokichi having fun throwing riddles and confusing words everywhere.

I like how Shuichi would definitely put some effort into trying to understand Kokichi.

I like how there's a possibility of Shuichi falling for Kokichi's antics and just that guy in general while he's trying to understand Kokichi.

I like how their dynamic could be so fun to write and think about.

I like to wonder what would change if Shuichi ever managed to figure Kokichi out.

I find the dynamic of person A trying their best to understand person B who's hard to figure out and often misunderstood actually quite romantic-

I just prefer them, most importantly!

(In other words, yes they are still living in my brain and I'm thinking about them 24/7)

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 12

Part 1 Part 11

Steve’s starting to like Eddie the Freak Munson. It would be a problem if he thought they’d ever get out of here. He can almost hear Carol’s derision and Tommy’s violence should Eddie deign to speak to him in front of witnesses. They’d snicker into their milk cartons about torrid love affairs and queerness being communicable, as if there was no other reason for Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson to be seen together. 

It would take minutes for Carol’s whispers to grow sharp, teeth bared into listening ears until Steve joins Eddie as person non grata to the Hawkins populace. Tommy would find Eddie opening his locker and slam his head into it, using fists and nails and slurs to make his opinion known. 

Steve misses them. 

But, he has Eddie now. Eddie, who says what he means. Who’s bandaged Steve up, pulled him off bathroom floors and grocery store aisles, and vine-filled alleyways. And he’s so goddamn distracting, Steve sometimes forgets how scared he is.

“Dungeons and dragons is like, for the creme de le creme, Harrington,” he says, pacing the length of his shoebox living room, gesturing wildly with one hand while the other throws his fucked-up dice up and down with surprising dexterity. “While you jocks are playing your sports ball, the rest of us are learning the ways of the blade.”

Steve laughs. “No, fucking way, man.”

Eddie spins, waggling his finger condescendingly in Steve’s face, towering over him where he’s seated on the Munson’s springy couch. “The blade is metaphorical, my liege, but the mettle we test and the bonds we strengthen are not!”

Steve leans back in his seat, slouching away from Eddie’s closeness. “You’re such a nerd.” He means it as a joke, but the way Eddie’s mouth twists makes regret curdle in his intestines. “So how does this work?” he asks, gesturing to the die now clutched in Eddie’s palm.

Eddie smiles, still leaning over him, dimples popping, before dropping to sit crisscross in front of Steve with alarming speed. He holds his hand out, throwing the die into Steve’s lap.

“Now, we’re talking Stevie,” Eddie says, flapping his hands, before shoving them beneath his butt and letting his bent knees flap instead. “It’s easy.”

Steve looks down at the die. It’s white and translucent, the red of the light from the windows turning it a soft pink. The edges feel almost sharp as he turns it over in his fingers, counting the sides. The numbers aren’t like normal dice, with the dots. They’re just numbers, slowly counting up, 1, 2, 3, all the way to twenty. 

“There’s a dungeon master, moi,” he says, gesturing with grandiosity toward himself, “who spins a tale for the rest of the party.” Steve nods along, like he knows what a party means, or what a dungeon master is. “Alright, you ready, Stevie?”

“What? Munson, I didn’t agree to–”

Eddie jumps up, making Steve startle back, barely keeping hold of the die. “Sir Steven, arrives at the front of a castle. It’s covered in vines, they’re trailing up the windows, making it impossible to see the glass that covers them.” 

Steve glances at the windows of the Munson trailer, the way the vines have blocked out more of the light, leaving trailing shadows like vines to cast shapes across the stained carpet. 

“Sir Steven unmounts his horse,” Eddie says, miming lifting his leg off an imaginary beast and jumping down to the ground. Steve can almost picture it. “What do you do?”

Eddie’s making an almost uncomfortable amount of eye contact, eye’s shining with more life than he’s shown in what has to be days. “I go into the castle,” Steve replies, voice lilting in question. Is there a right answer?

Eddie claps his hands three times, quick and quiet, grinning as he drops back down, this time on the coffee table,  leaning toward Steve. “Roll the die.”

Steve looks down at the die in his hand. He leans to the side, rolling it on the table by Eddie’s side. The clatter it makes as it bounces sounds loud in the absence of this world. It stops. Steve leans over at the same time as Eddie, Eddie’s hair tickling the back of his neck with the way it trails down. 

“A nineteen!” Eddie says excitedly. “The door knob turns easily, both unlocked and well-oiled enough not to make a sound despite its apparent age. You walk into the castle. It’s dark in the foyer, but there’s a candle inexplicably lit, beckoning you up the stairs. Your armored feet clack loudly on the worn-down wooden floors as you walk up them. You reach the candle, what do you do?”

“I pick up the candle?” Steve asks. 

Eddie picks up the die, putting it back into Steve’s hands. He rolls it. “Three?”

Eddie clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “Just as you pick up the candle, it’s as if a breeze rolls through the whole castle. You keep a hold on the candlestick, but the flame goes out. You freeze. Sir Steven, you’re practically shaking in your boots! And then, a voice, dark and grating snarls out of the darkness in front of you, ‘who dares disturb my slumber??”

Steve looks down at the die, that damning three staring back at him. “So, low numbers make bad things happen, and high numbers make something good?” he asks. 

Eddie waffles his hand back and forth, “sorta,” he says, pickup the die up off the coffee table and throwing it in the air again. “It’s more like, whether or not you complete that one action you list correctly. Like, a one is going to make you miss your target if you’re firing at something, yeah, but it doesn’t say anything about whether you should’ve been firing the gun in the first place.”

Steve digests this. “It’s kind of like sports stats,” he says, thinking aloud. “A high number of assists means you’re helping get the ball in the hoop, but it doesn’t say anything about how the game’s gonna go.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Eddie replies. 

SIlence falls between them, the only sound the quiet slap of the die hitting Eddie’s palm. Steve waits. And waits. And waits. His impatience grows, “Well?”

Eddie snaps his eyes to Steve’s face, brow furrowed. “Well, what?”

“What happens with the sleeping dude?”

Eddie’s eyes open wide, more whites than pupil, as his mouth drops open, seemingly shocked by something Steve doesn’t understand. It takes him a second to continue, but he does.

Steve fights off some old magical wizard dude, destroying the castle and breaking the wizard’s curse in the process. He crumbles to dust. It’s kind of sad. He tells Eddie as much, only to get laughed at.

“He was tired, man,” he says. “All he wanted was for his nightmare to end, and someone to help him rest.”

Steve looks back at the vines crawling up the windows, and can’t help but empathize. 

“I don’t know man,” he says. “Sports seem easier.”

Eddie laughs. “Sports are boring, Harrington. What’s there even to like about throwing a ball through a hoop like a bunch of cavemen?”

“It’s like,” Steve starts, before stalling out. Staring down at his knees. He’s still thinking about the wizard and how sad and tired he must’ve been. There’s something to be said about a game that doesn’t leave you in a moral quandary, wondering if assisted suicide is okay if the dude is tired and old enough. 

“It’s like, when I’m swimming, or running the ball up the court, I’m so in my body that I’m out of it, you know?” Steve asks. “I don’t have to think about anything but the next step. Does that make sense?”

When he looks up from his knees, Eddie’s cheeks are rosy, and he’s holding a piece of hair in front of his mouth again. “Sure,” he says, voice almost squeaking out before he clears it, dropping it past his normal register, “That makes sense.”

Steve laughs. “Whatever, man.”

There are two feelings warring in Steve’s stomach. He’s more comfortable, here on a ratty couch playing a nerd game with Eddie Munson than he can ever remember being. He’s terrified of getting out, terrified of staying here, terrified of what waits for them outside these walls.

The feelings coalesce in his stomach, making him queasy. Or maybe he’s just hungry. He can almost smell the bacon frying on the griddle, can almost see Eddie in the booth across from him. 

Maybe they can play his nerd game while they wait for a coffee refill. Steve sighs, not thinking of Tommy and Carol at all. 

Part 13

[kicktwine]

I hope you understand that I am still! Obsessed! With the whole "anything, my liege" comic with Sor and Venty. Like just how Shook Sora is as he *gets* it a bit too much as he realizes that Ven might be willing to go just a bit *too far* for him and he doesn't know if he wants or even can handle that responsibility, but at the same time he doesn't wanna just dismiss that part of Ven yakno?! Cuz that is just how that funky lil blondie is with his knightly ways and menacing protective streak

KICKS MY FEET GIGGLING…. IM GLAD YOUR BRAINS BEEN WORMED I also think about knight wayfinders and fiercely protective ven a verrrrry normal amount I love them….. I love how so extremely different all the heart hotels perceptions of the world are you think they’d be the same but nah one of them has a high school dramadey cult of the coworkers thing going on and one of them has an ancient society sworn fealty thing going on and that’s. concerning, but probably fine. it does however shape how they act around each other dramatically. and sora is just right there with his own business but he seems to be the focus of the things going on (because he’s sora). which is concerning but probably f

[theodora3022]

Bloody Rose(Sebastian Michaelis x Vampire F!reader)

Request: Sabastian with a female vampire s/o? Can be yandere or not! You choose.

Notes: I made this in headcanons form and I’m typing on mobile during witching hours, so bear with me dear anon-

I decided to go with fluff since I am in a soft mood today~~

Warnings: Fluff, mentions of blood

To others, you were a tailor owning a small haute couture shop, a spinster who make her living by making outfits. But they won’t know you been doing this since the Georgian times.

You move from county to county, around England every decade or so, to avoid suspension. Luckily no vampire hunters has ever been on your tail: you consider yourself as a good subject to the crown despite being a blood drinker. You only consume animal blood, which made you a harmless vegetarian. Being a forever maiden is not unpleasant by any means, apart from being banished from sunlight. You miss being able to run around in the sun freely. When you do go out during a sunny day you cover yourself in fabric as much as possible, resulting you with overly pale skin.

Contrary to common belief, you slept until the afternoon, opening up the store even during the day. You had forced yourself to change your biological routine to fit in the human society. Although your bed resembles a traditional coffin in shape, it is never an actual one. The mirrors in your shop were not backed by silver, so you can still see your reflections.

You happened to be at late Victorian London when a mysterious murderer decides to drain the blood of thier victims like a vampire would, how unfortunate.

You were one of the suspects, so Sabastian and his lord were obligated to pay you a visit. Although they did not put you as priority to begin with: you never done things like this. 

You welcomed them to your store with a polite smile and warm greetings, as any good saleswoman would. 

Ever since transforming, you had not drank a drop of human blood. However, you can still smell the scent of their blood even through skin. It feels like...a natural perfume to you, to describe it at best. Some are sweeter then others, like tempting sweet delights, and you had to make sure you are well fed before going near them. 

That little lord’s blood is sweet and tempting. The butler, however, his blood just...is that even blood? You thought to yourself. It reminds you of the mighnight, danger lurking underneath the peaceful surface.This man is no ordinary human, you can sense that much. You had never delt with a demon before, therefor your knowledge is rather limited, only from books and theaters. 

Vampires are demons are cut from the same cloth, in a way right? Both can only venture in the shadows for eternity, trying to get by without being slain by those self righteous dastards. Sebastian had met some of your kind over the centuries, albiet none of them are as lovely as you are. You still act like a young human woman, if not for your overly pale skin you would be considered as normal. He wonders what made you this way, as all vampires, save a selected few, are humans before something happened. You seem like a kind lady, not one of those blood-hungry lowlifes he had seen before. 

You showed Ciel your collection, took his measurements when he demanded, never flinching away from the young lord’s cold attitude. When you went into the inner chamber to retrive more material choice, Ciel decided you are most likely not the murderer they are looking for, and Sebastian agrees. There is not a single scent of human blood on you or anywhere in sight, as demons can smell such things even one uses the finest soap to cover the traces.  Even though you are a vampire, if you are harmless to others Ciel is not intersted in fighting you(he has a demon for butler, so?).

“But she is a fine tailor, right milord? Maybe you can just make this a normal shopping trip.” What an unsual person you are, thought Sebastian. He might just take a little more time to observe you. It has been forever since he met another immortal being that does not irritates him.

“Very well. This would not be a complete waste of time then. I need a new suit for the social season anyway.” The young man tsked.

When they asks you to deliver the order yourself, you were hesitant about going outside. Your ususal customers send their servents to collect their orders, as you insisted so. You know what sunburns can do to you, but they offered you a down payment you cannot refuse. It is a risk you are willing to take. Even vampires needs gold to survive, if you do not wish to massacre humans for food.

The moment you stepped onto the estate, covered in a long hooded cloak and gloves, you can sense great calamity has occured in this location rather recently. But that is none of your concerns, the customer’s private life is nothing to pry about.

The servents...they are an odd flock, to say the least. They might seem clumsy or even impotent, but you know that butler knows better then to hire three imbeciles.  

After you made your delivery, Sebastian insists on you staying for the afternoon tea. You wanted to decline, since normal food has been tasting like wet paper ever since that awful day, but you find it hard to say keep saying no to such a comely man. He is the most goregous male you ever seen, and you say that as an immortal. The term “devilishly handsome” is like a tailor made suit for him. 

To your surprise, you can faintly taste the refreshement’s fruity flavours. When you were human yourself you have always loved food, missing it much when all you can taste is blood. So you helped yourself to quite a few tarts and biscuits, not knowing the demon had added special ingredients just for your vampire taste buds. You were so focused on your plate that you missed Sebastian’s calculating smile. 

That esclated rather quickly, soon you found yourself promising to tailor more clothes for Earl Phantomhive, therefore being on their premise more. 

Sebastian would always treat you to a plate of mouth-watering refreshments before you depart. Soon you find yourself answering his somewhat intrusive questions, as it is only fair to give him some compensation for those delicious treats.

The questions are surfaces ones at first. What is your favorite color or your preferred weather. Then to more personal territory, such as the reason behind your spinsterhood or what in a man that attracts you the most. You would blush madly, a feeling you have not felt in years fills your empty soul, and tell him your little answers.

How endearing. Compare to werewolves who behaves like canines, vampire leans closer to the feline side. You reminds Sebastian greatly of the black cat he encountered last spring. Your nonchalant and cheerful attitude are identical to the lovely creature. Oh and how he loves petting her soft fur. He wonders how your hair would feel under his hands. He initially might just be curious of how an odd vampire you are, but now the demon had found you to be quite an entertaining presence.

It has been so long since you had any friends, so you opened up to him quickly, disregarding the risks. You even revealed your identity to the man in black after he swears on his heart to not tell a soul. 

“My entire family was slaughtered by venegeful vampires. My father used to work as a vampire hunter for the mad King, therefore he made enemies of many. Ironically I survived, only to found out I turned into this. A creature who can only hide in the shadows forever. I swore I would never be like those blood suckers, I would never kill someone just to saitate my blood lust. Thank you Sabastian, for all those delicious cakes. They made me feel human agian once more. Also thank you for listening to my rambles, it has been so many years I confided in someone.” So you where a noble lady once. That is where your fine but antiquated manners originates from.

What a calamity you had suffered, yet you remain strong and lighthearted nonetheless. Moving from place to place, afraid to be burnt for your youthful appearance.You deserve to be cherished as the treasure you cleary are. No more hiding and running, not if he can help it.

You gladly accepted Lord Phantomhive’s offer to serve as the household’s tailor, the pay is generous and working for one person greatly reduce the risk of being discovered. Plus you get to spend more time with your new friend Sebastian! It is an offer you cannot turn down.

Sebastain is in a contract right now, but Ciel could only live so long. Prior to meeting you, he never thought about the future after his contract is completed. He imagined the two of you traveling across the European contient as friends, or something more, for the rest of your infinate lives. He has always been alone whenever he was not in a contract with humans, but the idea of being with someone forever is rather appealling to the demon. 

Even though he does not let his emotions discract him from his duties, you can still feel how he smiles whenever you enter the room. You would curl up your lips jovially in return, sometimes even teases him for having a charming smile. 

For now, Sebastian would be your good friend, always lend an ear to you for anything, or offer his shoudler should you need it, as long it does not get in the way of his duties to his liege. But who knows what would happen after the contract is completed? The world is yours to explore, with infinate amount of time, with him by your side.

[moomoorare]

Dream SMP Art🎭

Lots of stuff:

something about the deities of the dsmp taking form of the first human they see

an Ⓐⓛⓘⓔⓝ🛸 and a 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕪🌹

C!purpled

demon c!Eryn & demon c!Tommy

Them demon kids

Michael and his chicken <33

Fashion Stars ☆✧✯✷

a group of cool miners ⛏️💎

Primeboys

i watch the exile vods a normal amount ☺️

hey tommy.

Bee Duo

✧ Posin' ✿

They're having a wonderful time on holidays and they're all more or less alive yeppp ^_^

Bee Duo & Michael <3, to heal the soul

^_^ Benson! & <3 locket

Bench Trio

They're watching.

SBI

Wholesome SBI!!! 3/4 cus philza is like out dealing crack or something idk.

The boiss

4/4 SBI POGGERS!!!

c!Tommy LGBTQ 1 / 2 🏳️‍🌈

TommyInnit

on the grass, tears

Some Exile arc art, nothing special

Sad Boy, pogtopia outfit i guess

demon c!tommy is my jam >:3

Pogtopia times

White Braid Hair

Blah blah

Rat

cTommy advertises my art

Just a littol boi, a smol long scrunkie⭐

Just practicing art, he talks!

*Hands u this* Rascal Bastard <3

He looks like he's about to go to the gym lmao

I've been on a drawing spree, he keeps coming up so you can have him <3✨

Chilling in the front yard, in the morning when there's silence

Frowne :\

Happy Boy :D !!⭐✨☀️

Drawing this Bitch again<3

[ he ] visited, [ he ] left a gift, a nod to past times and a promise for the future. smile :)

winter is coming..

In a chest somewhere, taken out again to see the light, appreciated in silence. ◝✺◜

This asshole >:V <333

Chatting up to thin air

Littol doodol of yellow moobloom c!Tommy💛

Zombieinnit for Halloween, even if a bit late

Star eyes⭐, sunset hair🌇, autumn clothes🍂.

Demon Boy finds a stuffed cow in a field

We love pain, let's give him more

>:v

Hair changes, eyes like gemstones

I think he looks swell

Inspired outfit from this post

Quick sketch

Tubbo

lot of floof, a little ring and a peculiar bandana <3

I think c!Tubbo deserves a big ass bandana as well to snuggle up and hide his snoot ^_^

New Horns !!

Gratuitous doodle of c!Tubbo :3

Ring <3

Bandana!! Kiss my ass if you think it clashes ;)

Scrncikle Primclke<3 Turbo from the side ☆❀☢

Sad Bee Boee :(

New super improved Bee Boy design

Ranboo

Kity dead, i repeat deadest cat ever, he died 😔

Ok have my new cranboo design, punch him too if you'd like ^_^

[he AMGY]

Practicing his design, i really like it :3

The Boobster >:]

Eryn

Just a lad

Dream

Creepy Smileys . .. .

He really said (๑•‿O๑)

i want to kick him in the face so bad, just a swing 🤪😘☺️

new c!dream design just dropped

Captain Puffy

she has. Dimples 😳 and!!! Shorter hair 🥰

she's pissed off, looks comfy tho

I'm the gayest motherfucker on this earth, cPuffy brainrot!!!! 🥰🥰🌈🌠

I fucking love her dude🥰

She thinks you can do it! <3 ^_^

c!Captain Puffy, but the design is tweaked :)

Her <3333

For every day that c!puffy exists i get gayer and gayer 🌈

Captain Puffy !!! (◕ᴗ◕✿)

🥰🌈💝 (she↑☺️🥺😳)

New Puffy Design <3

Practicing c!Puffy

Close up :3 of the Puff Puff ✯

Puff Puff! It's the Captain! Her <33

Caption Puffer <3

Red Banquet Puffy ❤️

Technoblade

Very self-indulgent doodle of c!Techno with short hair, me love <33

another c!Techno doodle

cTechno doodle

c!techno pose practice

Hannaxxrose

tbh just an excuse to draw her :3

Practicing my c!Hannah design

Fairy Power, Roses and Thorns, a Flower.

Eret fanart

Thy liege 👑

TinaKitten fanart

Welcome to the smp Tina Kitten! ^_^

[yostresswritinggirl]

100 Followers Special

(And how to participate) you don't need to be a follower to vote ack

~yostresswritinggirl

Hello AGAIN, with your back to back followers special! Exiled here, very tired, as I just closed the requests box for our 50 followers special. I asked for some recommendations and no one helped me so this is what I came up with!

Granted, it's nothing that special, I literally just dumped my notes into this so—

Please make sure to follow the guidelines and read this thoroughly to properly participate!

1. You will be given a long list of fic prompts specific to a character that I've come up with for weeks on end, please don't steal, as I will remove them after this event is done!

2. Voting! You now have the power to influence my writing schedule haha- what you need to do: is to pick three prompts from the list and send it to me; either through reblog tag, a reply, or in my ask box (not anon so we can count fairly, will not publish these answers tho so worry not)! Not in messages tho! It should be in this format:

1. Character - prompt or prompt title

2. Character - prompt or prompt title

3. Character - prompt or prompt title

example:

1. Albedo - Citrinitas

2. Zhongli - Braid

3. Xingqui - Author!Reader

The top three most voted prompt and character will be the next fics I'll publish after I'm done with the current reqs. Speaking of: Voting ends when I finish the current reqs. You'll know it's done once the counter in my blog desc reaches 12/12.

3. In addition to the three prompts, you also get to add your own prompt to it! My prompts list does not include ALL the characters that's why I wanted to give you this option too! Add a fourth number and specify a character, a prompt/idea, and the format of the fic! Format it this way:

4. Character - Prompt/Idea (Format)

4. Kaeya - What's under that eyepatch? (Scenario)

After I pooled the answers, I'll randomly pick between the bonus answers and write them last! So give it your best shot!

4. Tags-list! I thought this would be necessary for this kind of a whim special, so if you wanna be tagged, just put Tag Me! at the end of your vote. Please make sure that you're actually able to be tagged because I just tried and some users are not in my orbit huhu, look here

5. If a pocket watch/series prompt gets chosen, I will only post the first chapter, not the whole damn fic pls. Have mercy,,,

I will post a counter of the top three in my blog description and will be updated as frequently as possible. Any questions, please direct to this post or my dms <3

Without further ado, here is your choice list!

Xingqui - "My liege, would you care to accompany me on my reading break? I've picked up a romance novel and it reminded me of us."

-> Author!Reader: You met Xingqui at Wanwen Bookhouse when delivering a batch of your newly-published book. But as a ghost writer, no one knew it was you that authored such books. Safe to say it was cute watching the noble bookworm fanboy about you in front of you. [FLUFF] [FIC]

-> Headcanons with a reader older than Xingqui who's a close family friend of the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Fascinated after meeting you in a party, the noble boy aspires to become the best man for you despite the difference, promising to be the best suitable partner for you in the future. [FLUFF] [HEADCANON SCENARIO]

Childe - "Hey there, comrade! What a coincidence that we had a break at the same time, care to accompany me for a walk? I promise I won’t lead you to a fight haha... hey, don’t look at me like that!”

-> Antinomy -  The 10th Harbinger (You) and the little shit they had to mentor (Childe), this fic enumerates the trials of the 11th before he became a Harbinger under your care. From strangers to mentor to friends to love- Childe made a grave mistake, now you’re once again strangers. [FLANGST] [ONESHOT]

Albedo - "Ah, it's you. I've heard of fleeting rumors that you've been pestering a certain someone just to see me. Next time, just come directly to me, I wouldn't mind the assertiveness."

-> Refer to these three as well: Albedo Fic Ideas [FLUFF/FLANGST/FLANGST] [ONESHOT/ONESHOT/SERIES]

-> “You’re Enough”: A year into being the new Chief Alchemist of Mond, Albedo finds himself holed up in his room in the dead of night, haunted as he continuously comes out empty on his research to bring his master back, feeling inadequate. So you reminded him of what he’s capable of. [FLUFF?] [ONESHOT INSPIRED BY You Are Enough - Sleeping At Last]

-> Under the Artificial Sky: Michaelangelo Scenario focused on Albedo’s sketching aspect. Grand Master Varka and Acting Grand Master Jean figured Albedo needed a break and a change of scenery, and sent him off under the guise of a commission in Liyue. What he didn’t expect was another artist from Fontaine accompanying him in this big project.(Albedo and Reader are tasked to paint the new Jade Chamber within 7 days) [FLUFF] [SERIES - 7 CHAPTERS]

-> Albedo SMUT: I had this idea while laying wide awake at 3 AM. The alchemist had been trying all remedies to shake off the stress and fatigue in his system and they all seemed to fail, no amount of sketching or discoveries can pull him away from it. So when you offered a solution he hasn’t heard, he’d jump at it immediately. “You know, some people say having intercourse with someone is a good stress-reliever.” “Intercourse? If it’s true, then please, I wish to have intercourse with you.” “Wha- wait Albedo, do you not know what that is? It’s only done between lovers!” “Convenient, I love you, anything else?” (Two virgin dumbasses do the thing to relieve stress) [SMUT] [ONESHOT]

Xiao - “I’ve taken care of every threat around this area, you can relax now, I made sure of that.”

-> What is it with you and Qingxin flowers? The Traveler had once heard of Xiao’s affinity for Qingxin flowers, and they’re flying companion boldly asked this lingering question to the adepti himself. His pupils dilate and sharpen before Paimon could finish her sentence. (An origin story about his favorite flower, and his favorite person) [SLIGHT FLANGST] [ONESHOT]

-> Just how harmful is adeptal energy to normal humans? You both found out in the worst way possible: silently, deadly. (Slight spoiler: you fucking die) [ANGST] [ONESHOT]

-> Nightmares Taste Horrible: He’s seen that look in your eyes and the ancient soul within it; you’ve lived long ago, and the only thing your soul carried now was the nightmares of a macabre timeline. Was it him or was it demons that brought you that fear? No matter, he’ll protect you even from yourself. (eating the nightmare of a dead soul reincarnated to you) [FLANGST?] [ONESHOT]

-> Go for the throat: The seal that marked you had made it all too late for him to remedy. Bleeding eyes, growing fangs, it’s just another demon to vanquish just like he’s done for centuries. What makes it different was it was sealed in you. (Inspired from Melanie Martinez’s song uhu) [ANGST] [ONESHOT]

Zhongli - “Mortals are capable creatures that evolve and adapt for means of survival, but they advance in ways that changes the world around them. This retirement, may be harder to me than it is to them.”

 -> “In human history, there’s a certain noble and powerful connotation to rulers who braid their hair.” Convince to braid his hair using some historical braid trivia; that long hair behind his back should not be ignored for any longer. [PURE FLUFF] [DRABBLE]

-> History has its eyes on you: A traveling theatre hailing from the land of entertainment finds its way to Liyue for their last caravan. A certain Geo Vision man seems to resonate with your newest script: fighting and protecting your land, building up its nation, before being forced to let go of it. He resonates maybe a little too much. (Musical!Reader with heavy references to Hamilton hehe) [FLUFF] [ONESHOT]

Venti - "Can you hear the symphonies of the wind as it sings to you? That's me, guiding you and protecting you! Whenever you hear it, know that you're safe and sound under my protection!"

-> the one the bard once loved: like actual bard, you are the archer or smth, loved by Venti and Barbatos. Yandere!Barbatos undertones, very unhealthy relationship. This hurts the kokoro. [PURE ANGST] [ONESHOT]

-> The Caravan: (related to the Zhongli and Musical!Reader up there) Your caravan stops at Mondstadt for a whole week before it reaches its final destination. This new fanfare pulled in a peculiar bard who now wants to tag along for the fun of it. "I have no more responsibilities in this free land!" Just what kind of responsibilities does a broke bard have in the first place? [FLUFF] [ONESHOT/HEADCANON]

Diluc - "You look weary, and you still managed to pull yourself here. Here, a fresh and cold glass, on the house. A relieved smile should be enough payment."

-> Abandoned by The Altar: A timeline oriented story focused on your once perfect childhood relationship as Diluc's bride to be, soon becoming estranged after the death of his father and his neglect. You only wish now that he looks at you the same way he did when you heard you were supposed to be together forever when you were young. [FLANFF] (The ending gets better pls; Inspired by Still Into You - Paramore) [ONESHOT]

-> There are No Laws Against Homelessness in Mondstadt: My favorite title out of all of this ahahhaa- who says adventurers can't be broke? You're the living embodiment of that. (Good boi Diluc with a broke ass reader) [FLUFF] (Warning: homelessness) [ONESHOT]

Scaramouche - "Let's go already, the sun is setting and we're nowhere near our destination. If you wanted to linger just to spend more time with me, I would have indulged you behind closed doors anyways."

-> Scaramouche Finally Does the Fandango: Have you ever wondered how Scaramouche is like working with other people? His first assignment was to accompany you in your main region and he sees you in your natural habitat, entranced. [I dunno how to tag this, NORMAL?] [ONESHOT/SHORT]

-> Skincare bitch, how I headcanon Scaramouche as someone actually conscious and always tending to their skin. Look at that smooth skin, cute cheeks, let me pinch, eyeliner glory— In which case, that hat has more purpose than being a frisbee. (May or may not include reader. (based from a reblog convo with chels-void) [GOOD VIBES] [HEADCANONS]

-> Once Supreme: Before Scaramouche, there was someone else higher than him. Before Balladeer there was just a young man fighting for his beliefs and her Majesty. Before Mondstadt, his smile wasn't just for deception. "Someday, someone would take advantage of that smile, Scaramouche. It's not appropriate in this work environment." The day you break a man. (Harbinger!Reader again, and lots of HCs for Scaramouche, same format as Antinomy) [I also do not know how to call this, eventual ANGST] [ONESHOT]

Kaeya - "What are you doing out here in the dead of night? Citizens like you should be cozied up in bed and leaving the patrols to us Knights. Come, I'll accompany you back home."

-> Honey Whiskey: A mysterious band of dancers from Sumeru visits Mondstadt and its taverns to offer a night of alluring dances. What was supposed to be a night of drinking for Kaeya and his troops ended up becoming a tipsy surprise mission when the main dancer steps down from the stage— and ignores him?! How scandalous! (Slightly suggestive themes/You're a bad guy) [COOL?] [ONESHOT] [slightly inspired by song with the same name]

General:

-> A Musical!Reader but with a scenario with every other character, most probably headcanons master post.

-> Genshin Food prompts: From that one post, I ended up making a whole storyline of oneshots related to their special dishes. Oneshots connected to a bigger picture. By impulse you've ended up leaving your normal life behind to pursue your cooking career, starting from Mondstadt, to learn all the cuisines to establish the first ever international restaurant. With the implications of magic and peculiar customers, your simple dream turns into a harder goal. [GOOD SHIT] [SERIES] [CANON-COMPLIANT]

-> God of Time!Reader that hails from Fontaine. Do you wish to know more about their origins and their purpose in this world? [CANON-COMPLIANT] [HEADCANONS] (General since it deals with all the characters/interactions)

▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱

Tagslist-for-my-thirsty-homies:

[ladycatofwinterfell]

A new marriage and an old one, pt3

Summary: Robb is getting married and Catelyn have been married for many years. This is a happy story about the Starks (mostly Ned and Cat, but also the others) that takes place in a world where AGoT never happened and they’re all living happily in Winterfell. 

Rating: I’d say mature, but message me if it should be changed.

English is not my first language, so I apologize if there’s any spelling or grammar mistakes. I hope you enjoy it :)

~*~

How was Catelyn going to ever pray in her sept again without thinking of that? Thanks to Ned, she didn’t believe it was possible. But it had felt good, so so good. And it still occupied her mind hours later even though they had only been there for a couple of minutes. She didn't have time to be distracted but she found herself thinking back on her moment with Ned in the sept over and over again. Tonight was so far away, she just wanted to get to it immediately. She was a patient woman usually, but with all that was going on it was so nice to just relax into Ned’s touch every once in a while. It was such a sweet feeling to let him take care of her in every way imaginable and just forget about all the things that screamed to be done.

She was currently trying to get the seating to go together. And it was giving her a headache straight from the deepest of the seven hells. The Boltons didn’t go very well with any of the houses with lands next to them, there had been conflict there, to say the least. It had involved a few angry letters and meetings about the fact that Roose Bolton had a very hard time with keeping his hunting on his lands. But maybe she could place them close to the Dustins. There had been no conflict there that Catelyn was aware of. But maybe she was wrong and the whole feast would fall because of it. All she knew was that she didn’t want the Dustins close to herself. Barbrey Dustin seemed to dislike Catelyn fiercely for some unknown reason, and she wasn’t very fond of Ned either. And the Reeds of the Neck rarely showed up at Winterfell, but now they were coming for the wedding of their liege lord’s eldest son. They went well with everyone, didn't they? Or had there been some conflicts with the Flints of Flint’s Finger about men disappearing in the swamp? She had a feeling of that Ned had mentioned it to her some time ago while they were getting ready for bed. Had they solved that with good tones or had it ended badly? Well, it was wiser to not place them next to each other, she didn't want to risk anything. Fights could end with injured and dead men and she wanted no such things to happen in her hall, she wanted no further conflict between any houses in the north. 

She sat like that for what at least felt like hours. With the list of everyone who had said that they would attend and a drawing of all the tables in the Great Hall in front of her. Slowly she crossed names off the list and filled the tables with them and every once in a while she had to start over with a table because she had forgotten something or someone, or because she had placed someone too close or too far away from the high table. And when she finally looked down at the finished seating plan she realized that she had forgotten herself, Ned, and the Tyrells, because she had forgotten that Robb and Margaery would have the high table all to themselves, as was tradition. Gods, her little Robb was getting married. He would have a wife soon, would become a father and have a little family of his own. Time went too fast, they were all slipping from her fingers before her eyes. Maybe it was greedy to ask the gods, Ned’s or hers, for another child, but she wanted one last child that was hers before her children started having children. She would be a grandmother soon if the gods blessed Robb and Margaery with a child. She had thought of it often since Margaery and her family arrived at. Winterfell. That there would be children running around around the castle that would call her “Grandmother” instead of “Mother”. The thought made her both very happy and sad. She was getting old.

And that was not what she was supposed to be thinking about.

She sighed deeply and rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes. Her head was pounding. How could seating be so hard when she had done it a hundred times before? And why did she even bother? Everyone would start moving around and changing seats the moment all the courses had been served. As soon as the dancing started all she had planned would fall apart anyway. But it had to be done, because her eldest son was getting married and it had to be perfect. And she had to make sure all of the more important guests fit inside the Great Hall. There would be fires and food outside for the free riders and men that had came with their lords, but the more important men had to be inside the hall.

“My lady, is everything alright?”

She raised her head from her hands and saw that Maester Luwin had entered the room. She had been too deep in her thoughts and feelings to notice. Her immediate answer to his question was “No, everything is not okay. I have a headache, I can’t get the seating together and my children are growing up too fast”, but that was not what she said.

“Yes, Maester. Everything is alright, I’m just trying to get the seating together” Catelyn said and looked down at the papers before her. “It’s harder than one would think it is.”

She, Ned and the Tyrells had to be closest to the high table, so she would have to move everyone back a little. But then the people at the end of the hall wouldn’t fit inside. Maybe if she squeezed them together a little everyone would fit inside. But then they would practically sit in each other’s laps. She decided that maybe they would think that it was worth it to attend the wedding feast of the eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. Or they could always go outside, she had no doubts about that the celebrations wouldn’t be big outside the Great Hall too.

“Do you need my help, my lady?” Luwin asked. “Or do you want me to send for anyone?”

“There’s no need” she said and frowned. “Or wait. Send for Sansa, Arya, and Lady Margaery. I will have need of them.”

The Maester bowed before he left her with her struggles again. She tried to get it together, tried to make it work. And every now and then she suddenly remembered something that forced her to make a drastic changing to the seating. Wedding planning really was a lot, she would be exhausted by the time it was all over. She almost longed for it. It would be good to have the amount of work go back to normal.

“Mother.”

Arya poked her head into the room.

“Maester Luwin said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes” Catelyn said. “Have a seat, sweetling.” 

She smiled at the thought of getting company in her misery. Company that would help her put an end to it. So that she could bury herself in the next one by getting started on other things that really needed to be done.

“You’re doing seating, aren’t you?” Arya said as she sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk. “Robb said you would be doing that today.”

“I’m tempted to let him do the seating himself” Catelyn said with another sigh. “It’s his wedding, not mine.”

“Nah, it’s been some time since you married.”

“Twenty years today.”

Sansa also came in through the open door, immediately joining the conversation.

“Did you like Father’s gift?” she asked. “I helped him with it.”

“It was lovely” Catelyn assured her.

It had been a wonderful gift. She had nothing for Ned, which made her feel pretty bad. She had not even remembered that it was their wedding day. Maybe it was actually her who had to make something up to him that night.

“It was, wasn’t it? The colors were so pretty!”

“They really were. But that was not why I called you here, I need help with the seating. It has to be done today, preferably before supper.”

The fact that there was a possibility of that they would have to keep on with the seating after supper made Catelyn extremely tired. She just wanted to eat in peace and then retire to her chambers with Ned. But that wouldn’t happen, since she just couldn’t get the damn seating to work out. When Jon married his Alys she would not volunteer to do more than she absolutely had to. Haha, who was she trying to fool? She would absolutely take on more work than she could actually handle and then she would curse herself for not remembering how stressed she had been when she was planning Robb’s wedding.

“Mother, I can see in your eyes that you really want this to be done before supper. So could you please hand me the paper so that we can have a look?” Arya said and stretched out a hand.

Catelyn gave her daughter the paper and leaned back in her chair while Sansa and Arya looked at it. She sat quiet and just listened to them talk with low voices about what you could do with the damn seating. All her daughters were absolutely brilliant girls and she fully trusted that they would do a good job with whatever task she gave them.

“You wanted to see me, Lady Stark?”

Margaery looked into the room.

“Oh yes, come inside” Catelyn said and smiled. “We are trying to fix the seating, would you mind giving us a hand?”

“Not at all, I would love to help!”

Thank the gods. For a moment Catelyn considered to leave the girls to it and take a short break. But did she have time for that? Absolutely not, she needed to look over all the resources and shippings to Winterfell so that the kitchens had everything they needed for all the courses that would be served. But she would rather discuss with Sansa, Arya and Margaery than sit in silence and just read through page upon page of documentations of the latest wagons that had arrived to the castle.

And so the four women sat huddled around the desk and tried again and again to get everything together. The sun started to sink down underneath the horizon outside the windows and Catelyn was forced to light candles and get a fire burning in the hearth so that they would be able to see anything. 

“Almost all these people are new to me” Margaery said. “It’s hard.”

“None of them are new to me and I’ve been here for hours. It doesn’t make it any easier” Catelyn said.

Maybe it actually would have been easier if she hadn’t been married to the liege lord of all those people. She would’t have had to take so much into consideration because she would have known nothing. What wouldn’t she have given to just know nothing of all the squabbles among the northern lords?

“But if we do it this way” Sansa said.

“Nope, that won’t work” Arya said immediately. “Where are the Umbers? How could you even forget them? You are betrothed to the Smalljon!”

“You know, Mother, now I understand why you look like you are thrice widowed” Sansa sighed.

Catelyn had been aware of that she probably looked as tired as she felt, but honestly, was it really that bad? Maybe it was. And on top of looking like hew was thrice widowed, she was getting really hungry. She had not eaten anything since she broke her fast and there had been many hours since that. 

“I’m glad you get it, sweetling” she said. 

All four of them looked up at the same time when it knocked on the door and Ned came in. 

“Could you come outside with me, Cat? I need a word.”

She wondered what he had to say. Had anything happened? He didn’t look worried. But he didn’t look very happy either. He just seemed tired. How lovely that they were in the same mood.

“Of course” she said and rose form her chair. “You can continue, girls, I’ll be right back.”

They walked out of the solar together and Ned closed the door behind her. And without saying a word he pulled her into an embrace. She laid her arms around his waist and leaned against him as he buried his face in her hair. 

“I’m tired” he said.

“Me too. This really is a lot.”

“Jon will have to wait.”

“Preferably until I’m dead and buried” she said and smiled. “That way I won’t have to do anything.”

He chuckled softly at that. Then they were quiet again. She closed her eyes and just took in the feeling of his arms around her. His heat and the smell of him, it was so calming. She had really needed that. 

“Was that what you wanted to say?” she asked after a few minutes.

“No, but I needed to have you close for just a moment” Ned said. “What I actually came to say is that supper is being served now. You should come down to the Great Hall to eat.”

That meant that they were not going to be done before supper. How absolutely terrific. Catelyn was ready to cry at that point.

“We’ll be down soon” she said. “So keep my chair empty.”

“No, you should come now. You need a break” Ned said softly.

“I have already had a break today. And it was an excellent break, but I don’t have time for one more. And if I finish it now I will be free after supper.”

She looked up at him. 

“I seem to recall that we had plans for tonight. We won’t be able to carry out with those if I have to sit up with that half the night because I took too many breaks.”

He sighed and kissed her forehead.

“Okay” he said. “But promise that if it takes too long you will take a break and come down and get some food. You need to eat, my love.”

“I won’t be long” she said. “I promise.”

She gave him a quick kiss before she turned to go back inside. But just as she was about to lay her hand on the door handle the door flew open and Arya almost danced out.

“We did it, Mother!” she shouted. “We solved the seating!”

Oh thank the gods, old and new. Finally it was over. Catelyn could go down and have supper! She was free from the seating.

Sansa and Margaery also appeared in the doorway behind Arya, both of them were shining. And an overwhelming feeling of pride took over Catelyn. Those were her girls, in one way or another. And they had actually thought out a way to make it all work. Oh how she loved them for it.

“You’re brilliant, all three of you” Catelyn smiled. “I knew you would do it!”

Well, if she was going to be completely honest, she had had her moments of doubt about that they would actually managed to finish the task. But those were all washed away, now she was purely happy and proud of them.

“Ned” she said and turned to him once more. “Please take me down to have some supper. I’m starving.”

~*~

”To twenty more years” Ned said and raised his cup to her.

”I’m a greedy woman, I want at least thirty” Catelyn replied and raised her own cup.

”To thirty more years then.”

”To thirty more years” she smiled and drank.

The Great Hall was so filled with people that you could almost believe that it was the day of the wedding. It wasn’t, so many people had arrived with the Tyrells. And northern lords and their parties also started to arrive, it was just a little more than two weeks left after all. Winterfell and the winter town were both filled with more people than ever. Catelyn, who was in her usual chair next to Ned’s high seat, could see each and every person in the hall. She had some of the Tyrell family to her right, the rest was on Ned’s left.

”I didn’t mean to listen, but I overheard your conversation” Olenna Tyrell said. ”I want to congratulate you on your twenty years.”

”Thank you, my lady” Catelyn said and smiled again.

”Standing out with a man for that long is an accomplishment” Olenna continued.

Catelyn glanced at Ned for a second. He was in conversation with Mace Tyrell, Olenna’s son.

“It’s hard sometimes, but worth it in the end.”

Ned could absolutely drive her to madness every now and then, but she loved him. He was a loving and good husband to her, and a loving and good father to their children. He was a good, but just lord to his people. She couldn't have asked for a better person to share her life with. He had helped her into her second home and loved her even when she felt like she was unlovable.

Olenna was just about to reply when someone grabbed Catelyn’s arm. She looked down and saw little Hoster. He was a copy of Ned, but with her own eyes and her nose. The Stark face and hair with the Tully blue eyes. He and Lyanna were the only one of their children who had taken after something from both her and Ned.

”What is it, Hoster?” she asked.

”Lyanna hit me” the little boy whined. ”With a stick.”

”How did she get a stick in here?” Catelyn mumbled to herself and looked out over the hall in order to find Lyanna.

Her handmaiden should have been watching her. And prevented her from bringing a stick to supper. It was hard to find such a small girl in such a large crowd, but Catelyn managed to catch sight of her youngest daughter’s fiery red hair between two tables.

”Excuse me for a moment, Lady Olenna” Catelyn said.

She took Hoster’s little hand in hers and walked around the high table to go down and get Lyanna. It was clearly bedtime for her and her twin brother.

”Lyanna!” she said sharply. ”What are you doing with that stick?”

The little girl smiled up at her. She too had Ned’s long face, but she had Catelyn’s red hair and blue eyes. She was an extremely charming girl at the age of six, she knew exactly how to get what she wanted and how to get out of anything. She owned the heart of every person in Winterfell. Especially Ned’s, she could just smile and he would immediately forget everything about how she had misbehaved. It was as though her little face smiling at him made the Lord of Winterfell completely blind.

The thing was that she was not always like that, she did everything she was told when she wanted. She could behave like a perfect little lady when she wanted to. Some days she was impeccable and some days she was a nightmare. It depended solely on what she felt that day. But no matter which, she was always the most charming little thing to have ever walked around in the world. Catelyn couldn’t deny that.

”It’s a sword, Mother!” she explained cheerfully. ”I’m protecting people from evil dragons!”

”And why did you hit your brother?” Catelyn asked.

”He said I’ll never be a real dragonslayer. So I hit him, because he is an evil dragon.”

”Dragons doesn’t exist anymore. Maester Luwin says so” Hoster sneered from Catelyn’s side. ”You’re stupid for thinking they’re still real.”

Her little twin pair was usually very tight, they were together at all times. When they started getting cranky with each other she knew it was bedtime, and by the morning they would be partners in mischief again.

”Well, you look like a dragon!” Lyanna pouted. ”Ugly!”

”Hush, both of you” she told them. ”It appears you’ve both done something bad, I want you to apologize to each other.”

Lyanna and Hoster remained silent. They could be stubborn as ox, it was very hard to get them to do something they absolutely didn’t want to do.

”I want you to apologize to each other” she repeated, a little more strictly the second time. ”And I want you to mean it.”

”I’m sorry” Lyanna mumbled and looked down at the ground. ”I shouldn’t have hit you.”

”And I’m sorry for saying that you’re stupid” Hoster almost whispered.

”Will you go to bed as friends?” Catelyn asked.

”Yes” Lyanna said and smiled at Hoster.

Hoster smiled back at her. It never took long for them to make up, fortunately.

Catelyn waved for their handmaidens to come and put them to bed. Then she returned to the high table.

”Your youngest daughter was slaying dragons instead of eating her supper” she informed Ned when she sat down again.

As she had suspected, Ned only laughed. Lyanna could have killed someone and Ned still would have waved it off.

”She has a wild imagination, our daughter” he chuckled.

”She’s your daughter for as long as she pretends her brother is a dragon and hits him with sticks.”

”She’s more like you.”

”When have you ever seen me hit my brother with a stick?” Catelyn asked, slightly offended.

You wouldn’t have found her in the Great Hall of Riverrun with a stick. If she had been to hit her brother with a stick, she would have done it where no one would be able to see her so that there were no witnesses. You had to do it with finesse, you didn’t want to get caught.

Ned took her hand and looked her in the eye.

”I mean she has the charm that I lack. You know your way with speech, my love.”

Ned was excellent with speech when he had to. He could have seduced the queen if he set his mind on it. Catelyn knew that better than anyone.

”You two could stab me in my sleep and I would forgive you as I bled out and died” Ned continued.

Catelyn laughed.

”Your northerners wouldn’t forgive us though. I suspect that my head would be separated from my body before you had time to die.”

”I don’t want to find out if you’re right” Ned said.

”Well, I’m not about to stab you. And I don’t think Lyanna will stab you” she told him. 

”So I have no reason to worry when I go to bed tonight?”

Catelyn smiled as she leaned over towards Ned so that no one would hear what she said.

”Not if you make up for leaving me yesterday” she whispered.

”You won’t even remember it when I’m done with you.”

”Is that a promise?” she asked teasingly.

He kissed her on the lips then. There, in full view of everyone in the hall. She was almost ashamed of how much she liked that. She belonged to him, and he would have everyone know that.

”It is.”

~*~

[princejingdontcry]

Nirvana in Fire fic recs!

((bc y'all need to read these masterpieces))

Rated solely by how much they made me cry bc,,,, yk. My tears aside, these fics are all exceedingly good, and are well worth a read.

halcyon // 滄海為水, by @presumenothing. 7,5k words.

A collection of tumblr fics and assorted drabbles, from different times. (or: sugar, spice, and the occasional knife… but mostly fluff? mostly.)

It does say "mostly fluff", so there weren't lots of potentially tear-inducing moments. I might have cried if I had been in the right mood, 2/10

With a little help from my friends, by orangememory. 3k words.

Prince Jing needs to try courting Sir Su, Shen Zhui thinks, with a little help from his friends.

I love Shen Zhui and Cai Quan a whole Lot and seeing them scheme over MCS and Jingyan's relationship was delightful. They had me tear up (from laughter), 4/10

the hush before you speak, by @hunxi-guilai. 3k words.

Normally, what his liege-lord didn’t notice, 列战英 would take care of himself, but this time, as 靖王殿下 tears his sleeve out of 苏先生’s insistent grasp and turns angrily away to face the wall, silencing the 谋士’s pleas to think twice about rescuing 卫峥, this time, 列战英 realizes with a cold, creeping dread, it is a problem.

I didn't know I needed a mute!MCS AU until I read this. Ngl the Chinese characters (as opposed to pinyin) do slow you down, but the fic is absolutely worth it. It made me sniffle, 5/10

Return of the Cicada, by ZairaA. 6,7k words

For thirteen years, Jingyan has locked his emotions deep in his heart and carried them with him like shards of a life broken beyond repair. But when Mei Changsu arrived in Liang, slowly but mercilessly, hope clawed its way back into his soul. Maybe Jingyan's crazy, but after the battle at Mount Jiu An is won, he's more certain than ever that his suspicions are true, and he realizes there's only one way to look behind Mei Changsu's mask: to rip it off.

Set between episodes 44 and 45.

The angst and h/c are exquisite in this one. It was painful and I'd do it all over again. I shed a copious amount of tears, 8/10

Still Here (With All I Hold Dear), by marvelist (Ardent). 10,8k words.

Jingyan misses Xiao Shu in all the ways that matter but he cannot fall apart.

Surprisingly enough, Lin Chen can relate to that.

K so it's been like a year and a half since I first saw NiF, I'm still not over MCS's death, and I don't think I'll ever be. So this fic kinda destroyed me. I was sobbing, 9/10

a special kind of sadness, by LadyMerlin. 4,6k words.

"Remember that time you dared me to eat red chillies until we both cried?”

“Oh god,” Xiao Shu replies, and his fingers fist in the front of Jingyan’s robes. His grip is terrifyingly weak. “Oh god, my mother was so angry, remember?”

It's tagged as "bittersweet ending" and for some reason I thought I would've been fine with it. I was not. I bawled my eyes out, 10/10

[gascon-en-exil]

Lords and their Knights: When FE Chivalry Goes Gay

@mwritesink prompted me to write about my favorite tropes in FE and how they evolved over the course of the series. I already crossed a few others off in an earlier post, but this one is a particular favorite of mine where M/M romance in this series is concerned and one I felt had enough examples to constitute a piece of its own. Let it not be said that this is merely the gay variation on the well-worn heterosexual romance trope of a lady and her knight (ex. Eirika/Seth), because negotiating the fundamental power imbalance in this type of relationship takes on different dimensions when both parties are male. I draw a closer comparison to courtly love, which in the traditional sense is also socially transgressive (being adulterous) and not consummated via marriage or other public means...which in FE terms means an S support and possibly a eugenics baby. A vassal in love with his lord rather than his lord’s wife is not only cutting the female intermediary out of what can already be a very homoromatic scenario, but it’s directly tangling together a kind of martial romantic love and ideas about what knighthood/vassalage even is or ought to be - two topics FE loves to explore. I’ve therefore compiled a few of the most notable examples of this trope across the series to talk about in more detail, because if one is willing to be liberal with subtext there’s surprisingly quite a few to pick from.

(And yeah, this is also in part because I like hot rich men who take orders, and this series already has plenty of gay or otherwise ambiguously non-straight mages, thieves, archers, and their ilk without my help.)

The Sad Gay Knight: Quan/Finn

This one I’ve talked about before in a fair amount of depth, from my hopes for how a Genealogy remake will treat Finn to speculation on just what Quan got out of this relationship besides a devoted retainer and (we may assume) a nice piece of ass. The summary here is that Finn’s love for Quan supersedes anything he’s shown to feel for any of the various women he can hook up with and quite frankly astonishes in its ramifications for the future of Leonster and Thracia as a whole. It’s poignant, adulterous (but Ethlyn’s probably ok with it?), and messy as all hell once you factor in whatever’s up with Glade and whatever Lachesis wasn’t feeling about the whole situation. It is also, naturally, very sad; Finn loses his lord when he’s only around eighteen, and with their kingdom collapsing around him and the entire continent consumed by war he dedicates the next twenty years of his life to raising Quan’s son to be the king Quan himself had wanted to be. And for all his labor he apparently derives no lasting satisfaction, spending his epilogue wandering around the Yied desert and at last returning only to (possibly) pen the history he’s helped to make. 

Finn is the embodiment of knighthood loyal unto and beyond death, and that paired with all the romantic and erotic subtext surrounding the two of them - Finn as Quan’s treasured favorite, his catatonia after Yied, the obsessive polishing of the brave lance that Quan gave to him, his inability to satisfy women in some vague way - makes them the defining example of this trope in Fire Emblem. I look forward to seeing how remakes will handle them; Finn’s presentation in Heroes is definitely cause for hope there. As for the issue of yet another story in media of gay men beset by tragedy and death, I did draw up a long headcanon on the technically crack pairing of Diarmuid/Tristan that specifically plays into the lord and knight trope while also allowing Finn a chance to pass his experiences on to a later, happier generation. IS is free to take notes, just saying.

Pretty Blond Twinks and the Men Who Love Them: Perceval/Elffin and their lasting influence

Moving on from Jugdral, I’ve got to say that I’ve really been sleeping on the original gay Elibean duo. Before Raven and Lucius (but chronologically after, because these games are out of order) there was another feminine young man with long blond hair beloved of a severe-looking warrior. Binding Blade gives us the bard Elffin, who in another life was Etruria’s Prince Mildain and Perceval’s liege. The Knight General takes Mildain’s alleged accidental death about as well as Finn takes the death of his lord and lady; he turns grim and humorless, and without a dying dream to guide him he follows the command of the corrupt revolutionary faction of Etruria with little protest. It takes learning that Mildain is alive and in Roy’s army for Perceval to drop the halfhearted Camus routine and switch sides, and the strength of his fealty not to his nation or even to his king but to the prince he’d thought dead is absolutely touching in the moment not to mention incredibly useful since the guy is one of FE6′s best units. 

Binding Blade doesn’t give anyone but Roy and his harem paired endings, but there’s still a fair bit to be gleaned from their support lines, both what is in them and what isn’t. Perceval and Elffin each have supports with women, but nothing remotely romantic - Perceval’s support with Larum is particularly amusing since he clarifies that her, ahem, dancing does nothing for him. Also worth noting is that neither of them can support with Clarine, even though one would think they’d make fine romantic choices for her given their statuses and physical resemblances to her beloved brother. Their own support line is quietly intimate. Elffin has changed since his near-death experience, and Perceval is still struggling to accept that their relationship can’t be as it was, that in fact for the time being they can’t now be a knight and his prince. Perceval also frets over Elffin’s refusal to see his father the king, and he later extracts a promise from Elffin to come home to Etruria after he’s done traveling the world as a bard, in one of the series’s several instances of writing what sounds like a marriage proposal in ambiguous terms. Per Elffin’s ending, he’s only gone for a few months after the war, so their promised reunion isn’t long delayed. I’m interested to see what a remake would add to their relationship, because as it stands Perceval/Elffin has an established romance arc that deserves a paired ending or at the very least more suggestive epilogues.

Further compounding their underrated signficance, it’s not too difficult to trace a line from Perceval/Elffin to a number of other M/M pairings in the two later GBA games and in Tellius that present some variation on this theme:

As mentioned above, Raven/Lucius is physically similar and performs a nearly identical gameplay function, with the pretty blond waif again responsible for recruiting his surly but protective boyfriend from the ranks of the enemy. 

Gerik/Joshua meanwhile borrows the character of the end of their support line and turns it into a genuine paired ending, with a prince incognito recruiting a swordsman to come work for him. They being who they are however, it’s all handled a bit rougher, with Gerik being impressed by Joshua’s “swagger.” Take that as you will.

Ike/Soren may be the defining seme/uke dynamic in Tellius’s overflowing fount of queer subtext, but Tibarn/Reyson smashes that trope together with this one and FE’s power couple unit archetype plus a dash of whatever the avian equivalent of furries is for wholly unique results. Although both of them are technically royalty, only Reyson is a prince by heredity whereas Tibarn presumably became king of Phoenicis by beating the crap out of any rival contenders as most laguz prefer to do. One can therefore read shades of a courtly relationship in Tibarn’s decision to zealously take up the cause of justice for the Serenes massacre in Reyson’s place. Combine this with Reyson’s characteristic edge that even Tibarn is forced to rein in at times and their relationship comes off as surprisingly more egalitarian than the sum of its parts. Oh yeah, and blond waif dancer + premade OP unit with ludicrous physical stats and movement again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the conflict of the Tellius games Zelgius -> Sephiran explores what would happen if a gay Camus archetype chose instead to dedicate himself to an antagonistic lord. Sure, you can still recruit Sephiran via a convoluted and unintuitive process, but Zelgius is doomed no matter what.   

They Can Say It, But They Can’t Do It: Awakening and Fates

Ugh. If I must....

I’ve made no secret of my ambivalence toward FE13 dragging the series into open acknowledgement that same-sex attraction is a thing that exists, handled as it was with a lot of explicit homoerotic denial and an assortment of cheap gay panic jokes and...whatever the hell Victor and Vincent are supposed to be. Chrom/Frederick, hot though it may potentially be in fanon, is one of those jokes, making a parody out of a knight enamored of his lord and leaving it to mean absolutely nothing since Awakening’s relationship endgame is invariably S supports for time traveling eugenics babies. FE has taken cracks at the overly dedicated knight before - see just about everything involving Kieran from Tellius, up to and including his overzealous devotion to his superior officer - but Awakening plumbs the depths of Frederick expecting Chrom’s nude image to raise the army’s morale. Just..what do you even say to that, apart from the awkward sputtering that comprises most of their support line?

FE14, for all its stumbling steps toward something less completely offensive, fares little better in this particular regard. Leo/Niles is a deeply troubled albeit thought-provoking callback to the subtextual lord/knight relationship, one where it’s hard to imagine them finding a healthy way to navigate the power differential. Then there’s Ryoma/Saizo. It’s nothing special in localization, but the never-localized festival DLC involves Saizo’s ardent desire to warm Ryoma’s clothing in his cleavage. That sounds like absolutely normal behavior for a servant and not a rehash of Frederick’s shenanigans, uh huh. Fates may indeed be said to be slightly better about playing palpable homoerotic tension for drama rather than comedy...but only slightly.

Paving the Way for an OT3: The Deliverance

This is, incidentally, yet another reason to appreciate Echoes for doing so much to redeem the 3DS games in the realm of (male) queer content. Yes, there’s a large and unaddressed divide between the openly gay and very modern Leon and the heavily subtextual faux-historical queerness of the Deliverance, but taken independently the two presentations work for what they’re each separately aiming to be. Among Clive’s gay entourage are not one but two men who’d dearly love to be the knight to his lord, and Forsyth’s strong desire to put Clive on a pedestal evokes the earlier spoofs of this kind of relationship precisely because Forsyth is that kind of vassal, the kind that would read Ribald Tales of the Faith War and cry like a heavily erect virgin bottom getting his first taste of dick at the brief interludes of tender manly love between Quan and Finn. He’s played for comedy just as much as Kieran or Frederick are, and yet Echoes comes across as less down on the concept as a whole for several reasons, being that

1) Python’s snark over Forsyth’s attraction to both Clive and Lukas is genuinely funny, much more so than when it’s the object of these affections quietly groaning his way through them,

2) Lukas is also there, and his desire to be Clive’s beloved knight is not played for comedy at all but is allowed to be unrealistic and unsatisfying because Clive will never get it,

3) everyone wants to screw Clive for some reason, not just his subordinates but also his sister and the estranged BFF who dies in his arms...and the guy is shown to be unworthy of all of them, and

4) all the characters involved are allowed other avenues for romantic attraction outside of a lord who’s just not that into them. Forsyth has Python, Lukas has both of them as friends and possibly more later, Clair has Gray (...at least he’s not her brother?), and Fernand has a bad rebound that goes to hell in the manner of Zelgius and Sephiran but at least ends with him getting to reconcile with his former friend before he dies. 

The setup for the Deliverance’s overarching queerness is a bit strange as it rests on all these characters somehow finding Clive attractive, but nonetheless it makes for an unexpected and refreshing critique of the lord and knight trope, given a situation where the lord just isn’t that into it and in fact doesn’t seem to realize that he can be into it. It’s a good reminder that this isn’t a particularly good dynamic for a stable and lasting relationship, and that as hot as it can be it takes more than impassioned one-way devotion to make it work in the long term.

The good news if you’re into this kind of relationship like I am is that it’s a trope with some life in it yet. Echoes came at it strong, and prerelease information on Three Houses suggests a few possibilities for this dynamic in that game. I’m especially keeping my eye on Dimitri and Dedue, whose relationship appears to contain echoes of the original duo of Quan and Finn. I highly doubt there will be anything on the level of S supports acknowledging this type of attraction, but I’ll settle for some suggestive A supports.

[widziadelko]

Lady of Winterfell and Mother of Dragons

Hello, beautiful people! I’m gonna talk about Sansa and Daenerys, so if you don’t want to read about them, that’s fine! Just know that I love both of them and I’m not gonna hate on anyone. 

But if you want to fight with this long text, just know that I’m not a native speaker and there can be a few (just a few? more like a lot of) mistakes. Be free to tell me, I will fix them and learn something.

Okay, so I've watched e03s08 of GoT yesterday, but I had to take my time and think about everything what happened to actually write something about it. I don't ‘speak’ often, unless the world ends and when I was scrolling through my wall on tumblr, fb or ig I saw a lot of posts about Sansa-Daenerys war, and well. . . The world doesn’t end, but I still have something to say. 

I'm gonna start with very simple statement - this episode wasn't something I was expecting. Do I feel disappointed? Maybe, but not much, I kinda liked few scenes and characters interactions, but it totally can't be called another battle of Helm's Deep. BUT I loved Jaime's and Brienne's scenes (Okay, they are my OTP, I'm very happy they are alive and this is everything I could ask for. Really, I don't even need a love confession, I want them to be alive. Nothing more. But this is GoT, so my wish is kinda stupid and naive.); I felt proud of Jaime; I loved Jorah's and Theon's death who were protecting dear to them people and who died like heroes; I loved Ser Davos face, when he saw Arya's fighting skills; I loved Arya (!); Sansa's and Tyrion's interaction was great! 

Those were awesome! And there are a lot of better and worse scenes and character's behaviours we can talk about, yet still many people fighting over Sansa and Daenerys. Don't get me wrong, do what you want, but you have so many things to talk about after this episode! For exampe: why the fuck Jon did nothing during the fight his character was literally made for; Arya being Azor Ahai (though, I feel like Azor Ahai's topic was abandoned in a tv show) or what is planning Bran with his crows (because there's have to be a plan, I don’t believe he just warged away) or how  badass Lady Lyanna Mormont was! 

So many good (and bad) scenes to talk about (or shit on them)! Yeah, and here I am, I'm gonna talk about Sansa and Daenerys. To get things straight, I love Sansa and I like Daenerys. I really do. They are strong women who have been through a lot in their lives, I respect them both and they were great in the latest episode.

Sansa’s and Daenerys’ fans fight each other, when someone says something about their favs. I get it, we want to defend characters we like or see ourselves in them, BUT they’re still only fictional characters AND people you are talking to are real. Don’t be mean. And stop hating on one character over and over again, because it can hurt someone, especially person who identifies themselves with them or is very bonded to that one. You can criticise, but don’t hate. (Unless it’s an asshole like Joffrey, Cersei or Ramsey)

As fan of both of them, I’m gonna say something - they are created to be seen as humans who are flesh and blood, what means they make mistakes; they have flaws; they don’t have every fucking ability; they are not meant to be seen as goddesses or even demigods; they can be afraid and brave, angry and calm, hard and soft, they can love and hate. You know why? Because those are things humans do!

Why do you find problem with Sansa’s “I won’t leave my people” and later her hiding in the crypts? She was told to do so by Arya, who knew that her sister is not a fighter, would be a burden and very possibly die! And Sansa knew that too. She can’t fight, she’s not an assassin, not a warrior but a politic. She doesn’t have dragons, she wasn’t ressurected and she’s not a Priestess. 

But she feels responsible for her people and that’s good, that’s the thing the leader should feel about others. But what use is of a leader who is dead? If she had stayed she could have gladly commit suicide - it would be the exact same thing. 

Sansa knows her weaknesses and even spoke about them to Tyrion. (Yeah, guys, she wasn’t there alone, Tyrion, Varys, Gilly, Missandei were there too! And it made more sense than let them fight like Sam, who indeed, had killed people before but not in a war scene and was useless on the battlefield.) That was their war, but they could do nothing. That is normal to be afraid and hide when people are dying around you and you are defenseless! Guys, have you even seen a war movie or read a book about fights? Most of people want to do something, but they can’t!

Yet when things went wrong and dead people started waking up in the crypts, she took her dagger and was ready to protect her people. They didn’t show it unfortunately, they cut this scene, what was a big mistake, because it’s almost like they took something from Sansa, but still you see her and Tyrion when they go to fight with Wights and later (after NK was killed by our little Azor Ahai) they were standing before everyone like they were trying to cover them.

A lot of people call out Sansa’s comment about Tyrion’s loyality to Dany and praise Missandei’s protective behaviour. Look, I’ve never cared of Missandei, yet I understand that Dragon Queen is her best friend, but. . . Sansa didn’t say a bad world about her, she didn’t try to make fun of her or something, didn’t try to show her in a bad light in front of others! She just told Tyrion that he’s already loyal to Daenerys and that loyality would destroy their marriage.

But I agree that after this, Sansa should at least thank Dany for everything, not bend a knee, but thank her. They would be fucked without her army.

And to those who have a problem with her talking about North independence when they are gonna face Death itself - this is her home that was lost and now they had it back. It’s not weird she doesn’t want to rely on anyone anymore. Especially when her previous experiences with queens and kings look like that.

Now few things about Daenerys - yes, she wants power; yes, she can turn into a Mad Queen; yes, she’s very proud, but really. . . She’s a girl who had nothing and got so much in a small amount of time almost only on her own. Just like Sansa she was beaten, humiliated, raped, hurt in so many ways, but it made her stronger. Does she can seem to be overpowered with her dragons and the biggest army in the world (well. . . not anymore the biggest, but leave it)? Yes, you know why? She has two fucking dragons and the biggest fucking army in the world! (Well. . .)

She grew up with the thought that Westeros is something she deserves and this is her main goal. I understand her behaviour, BUT she still should act like Dany we know from previous seasons if she wants North trust. 

During the last episode she was brave. The whole time she thought she can’t be touched, because she has dragons and thanks to them they will win, but she was wrong. She helped her army as much as she could, but it was dark, there was a snowstorm, Dany and Jon almost didn’t see anything. They couldn’t help much. 

And later you saw what was happening, even Drogon felt afraid and left his mother. Daenerys neve held a weapon, yet she was fighting side by side with Jorah, because what kind of a queen she would be, if she didn’t fight for her lieges.

They both lost people that were important to them: Sansa lost Theon, her people and her home has been destroyed again, also deads from the crypt where her family. Daenerys lost Jorah, Dothraki (remember, that they weren’t only fighters for her, she found her strenght thanks to them),  Unsullied and had to fight her own child.

They are both strong female characters and they are both good leaders, but in a little different ways. They both are devoted to their people. Both don’t have great physical strength and still are ready to defend defenceless. 

Sansa sometimes seem to be a bitch and personally I love her for that, she’s a good player and still can be kind, she is a great Lady of Winterfell, who would make Ned and Catelyn proud.

Daenerys has her goals and is trying to achieve them, she had nothing, but now is a queen, she cares about others and learns on her mistakes. Remember, that she is more similar to Rheagar than to her mad brother and father. (But I would love her to take their legacy and be a Mad Queen.)

And yes, and that’s all, that was. . . Long. You don’t have to agree with me, I don’t care. We can talk about it, I’m not biting. This is only my opinion.

Also what do you think about eposode 3rd? I’m one of those who think that serial ended with books material and I’m gonna read everything this time, when show will end. 

Bless you all!

[st-just]

Worldbuilding

So, as previously mentioned, a world-building thing I semi-seriously work away at when bored is building a fantasy setting with a three-party Cold War. And what’s been puttering around my head recently has been...exemplars? Characters who almost perfectly embody their culture’s ideals of what they should be. So now I’m going to inflict them on all of you!

Academian Hira, Special Adviser to the Secretariat on Irregular Warfare. Called “The Sword of Reason” by her partisans among the Janissary Corps, (something she’s said to find rather embarrassing).

While she holds no committee postings or military commands, this is purely a matter of preference- Hira is easily one of the most influential women in the Commonwealth. Along with being so off-puttingly virtuous the Ideologists semi-officially use her as the standard to judge offending Janissaries against, she easily the most accomplished political technologist on the continent, being directly responsibly for at least twelve (variably bloodless) coups and revolutions in strategically relevant areas. While the Commonwealth frowns on personal propaganda as philosophically retrograde and politically unwise, her secondary role as an extraordinary auditor sent to ‘rectify’ troublesome or corrupt officials has given her something of a folk reputation as well (which her allies in Public Safety have seen little need to repress). Given her very precise Alignment and talent with basic applied metaphysics, it’s only her own personal intervention that’s kept some of the more thoroughly domesticated churches from declaring her a blessed or holy.

Personally, she’s very possibly the only person to take the teachings on dispassion and non-attachment entirely seriously, leaving her untroubled by the fact that friendships are hard to maintain when you consider it unjustifiable to get to the cofeehouse on time instead of making sure every beggar  you pass is properly taken care of. The closest thing she has to friends are political allies and coworkers, who do find that behind the agreeably kind persona there are a lot of truly bleak jokes.

The Exalted Vyas Asraya, Beloved of Glory, Thrice-Hailed, Maestro of Falling Stars, Tyrant of the Ashen Steppe, Artisan of Glass and Wind, Of Silver Tongue and Golden Hand, Great Man of the Republic (and a great many things besides), generally refereed to in dramatized accounts and propaganda as ‘The People’s Prince,’ in deference to his claimed descent from royal spirits or djinn.

Vyas is not the most important man in the Republic-he’s not even the most important once you discount all the old monsters for whom ‘man’ isn’t really a relevant signifier any longer. But he’s close. While Beloved of Glory, he has been reluctant to use her gifts except in the most auspicious circumstances. Instead, he dragged himself from the teeming masses of Quepta through his own arts-and has since been entrusted to raise and lead armies on a score of campaigns, to mint the currency of three full Cities, and a great deal besides. His generosity is legendary, hosting public banquets and festivals wherever he happens to be seemingly every week, employing the finest artists around to glorify his current project or whoever happened to catch his eye. All made possible through a merchant empire that touches three continents and a standing commission to extract tribute from the goblin hives of the steppe for the Republic.

He is a passionate, tempestuous man, his very public affairs and quarrels dramatized almost as soon as they fall off the newsreels (often with his own financial backing). His own genius besides-and the demon does not love him for nothing, and his names aren’t empty boasts-he has a great eye for talent, serving as investor and patron to whatever grand projects consume his lovers and companions (whether the investment or the relationship comes first varies).

Lady Binder Katerine sol Dalme sol Telrin ir Paimon, Heiress to the Viscountcy of Light and Darkness, Countess-Regnant of Tarlow, Grand Celebrant of the Order of the Leaden Mirror, and Royal Councillor by Blood. Called many things in various whispered conversations, but currently styled in court as the Lady of Einwil, a royal rebuke for her role in ‘saving’ the city.

The priest’s first lesson to any schoolchild is simple-”You Are Your Chains.” Normally this is meant metaphorically-about connections and obligations and the folly of fighting your proper place and the divine hierarchy that governs us all. But Katerine is the granddaughter of the Imperial Chamberlain, only three quarters human and born with the privilege of overseeing rather more literal bonds. The Queen-Empress is the Warden of Hell, sure enough, but she has a prudent lack of interest in dealing directly with all its devils. Her Chamberlain, in turn, needed trusted agents for missions far from the capitals-and in true Illyrin fashion, started a dynasty.

Katerine is easily and obviously Duke Paimon’s favoured scion, to the point where he personally intervened to ensure she would inherit her mother’s county over any number of step-sisters (her gratitude cooled somewhat after realizing just how many knightly families she was expected to take a husband from). She, in turn, is the ideal study of filial duty, loyally serving the interests of family, fief, and liege (in precisely that order). A once-in-a-generation ritualist, her aid restoring failed crops and constructing public works is viciously fought over by the highest nobility (even if it’s usually lesser vassals who sign a contract in blood and tears). She prefers providing her yearly service the crown in similar ways-for all that she can field a legion of spirits, she prefers noble estates to campaign tents.

By nature an academic, Katerine prefers to spend her time in one of the three appropriately stocked libraries in the world, conversing with one of the dozen or so people with whom she can have a productive conversation. She devotes the expected amount of time scheming to expand her family’s lands (with predictably greater success than most) and responds to challenges to her house or honour with enough thoroughness that they don’t come up often, but otherwise leaves administration to her favourite husband.

[blogging-phelddagrif]

EDH Deck Tech: Phelddagrif Group Hug

[you can see every deck tech here]

Hello & welcome to this weekly deck tech! This week we’re doing something very very special and very close to my heart, we’re talking about Phelddagrif! The commander that gives your opponents some life, some hippo tokens, and some card draw!

Over the past few years I’ve talked a lot about this card and the archetype Group Hug but I never actually wrote a deck tech about it so today this is going to change. For those who don’t know the archetype, Group Hug is all about helping everyone at the table through various methods. Now I don’t claim to be the Group Hug expert, but I’ve been playing this deck for many many years and got the chance to try about every possible card that could fit to know what works and what doesn’t, for example I think cards like Braids Conjurer Adept, Hypergenesis, Oath of Druids & Tempting Wurm (cards that let every player play some cards for free are not great ideas...from my experience instead of “helping” the players it usually gives a window for 1 of them to win the game, which makes things less fun for everyone else, so I avoid those kind of cards. If you like them though go ahead and play them, they are very Group Hug for sure! In any case, what follows is a deck tech of the version I’m playing at the moment and what I feel is the most fun version of the deck, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Ramping Up

Let’s start with something kind of boring: ramp. I see too many decks out there focused on strategy too much that they don’t include ramp or mana fixing, which often leads to clunky plays & unstable mana base. If you’re playing green you need to make some space for some ramp it really helps any deck. What I’m running is Rampant Growth, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Farseek, Cultivate, Kodama’s Reach & Explosive Vegetation. Those cards really ensure you can accelerate your game plan and have a smooth curve.

Mana Rocks

Another good way to fix your mana and ramp up are mana rocks. In the same way as you should play ramp in green decks, in ANY decks you need to play some mana rocks, ALWAYS. I feel like the best ones to run are Chromatic Lantern, Azorius Signet, Selesnya Signet & Simic Signet. You could play more, but with these plus the ramp spells it feels like enough.

Recursion

I think this is a personal preference, but I feel that if you’re playing green decks you need some amount of graveyard recursion, and honestly it’s REALLY useful in this deck. Having ways of bringing back certain cards to reuse them can be massive, or at the very least, pretty useful. I’m running Reclaim, Eternal Witness, Skullwinder, Noxious Revival & Regrowth. I used to play more but it felt a bit like an overkill. Those cards are really good to bring back whatever card you had that was dealt with, or just to reuse something that might be useful.

Pillowfort

Now this is a very common theme you’ll see among Group Hug decks, one that I’ve neglected a little but still appreciate in the deck. The idea is that with these kind of effects people will avoid attacking you, which gives you more time to do your things. What I found was that the amount of help you’re providing to your opponents, a) they will instinctively not attack you because you benefit them, and b) often they’ll have enough mana to attack you anyways. I still feel like it’s important to run a few Pillowfort effects to protect yourself in the early game like Ghostly Prison, Propaganda & Collective Restraint. There are other options but I personally don’t run more.

Removal

Every deck needs some answers and playing Group Hug doesn’t change that; the difference is that here you can run removal that gives your opponent some compensation, so they’ll feel less bad about what happened. I honestly love those removal spells because they tend to be cheaper because of the drawback, and they give your opponents some neat stuff! I’m running Curse of the Swine, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshare, Condemn, Oblation, Beast Within, Pongify, Rapid Hybridization & Reality Shift. These cards let you prevent someone from taking too much advantage from your kindness, so that every player can have fun.

Other Answers

Not every game-breaking card is a permanent, so in cases where you need to stop a player from doing something un-fun before it resolves, you need some counterspells. Personally, I run Swan Song & Arcane Denial. You could run more, but from my experience you don’t need them often, so just a couple if often fine.

Mana For Everyone

NOW we’re getting to the heart of the deck, this is what it’s about! The deck wants everyone to have fun and play some magic; a good way to do that is ensuring everyone has access to lots of mana (though I avoid mana-doubling effect because I’ve come to realize it often breaks the game and lets a player win on the spot...). So I’m running Collective Voyage, Magus of the Vineyard, Veteran Explorer, Borderland Explorer, Jungle Wayfinder, Shizuko Caller of Autumn, New Frontiers, Pir’s Whim, Tempt With Discovery, Oah of Lieges & Eladamri’s Vineyard. With all these cards, everyone will have plenty of mana to do whatever they feel like and have a good time.

Cards For Everyone

Another big part of the deck is making sure everyone draws as many cards as possible, so that they always have something to play with all the mana they have. You can achieve that with burst of card draws, or through constant card drawing, via different cards/effects. In this deck I’m running Minds Aglow, Prosperity, Dakra Mystic, Kami of the Crescent Moon, Heartwood Storyteller, Walking Archive, Anvil of Bogardan, Howling Mine, Horn of Greed, Temple Bell, Font of Mythos, Ghirapur Orrery (granted the card draw isn’t often a possibility, but the extra land/turn is really helpful), Otherworld Atlas, Standstill, Dictate of Kruphix & Rites of Flourishing. With all those cards, your opponents will be drawing tons of cards and will be able to play whatever they want.

Life For Everyone

Something that really bothers me is that there not a lot of life-gain cards that affect everyone...like I really hope one day we get a card like Collective Voyage or Minds Aglow where everyone may pay mana and then every players gets twice the total of mana spent or something like that...anyways, we need to work with what we have so I’m playing Temporary Truce, Truce & Arbiter of Knollridge, plus I need to try out Reward the Faithful in the deck to see if it works well, since it seems situational. There isn’t much, but those little life gain spells can be pretty useful to help out your opponents stay alive.

Other Effects

There’s some other cards that are useful to the deck but have effects that don’t really fit in the other categories. Stuff like Alliance of Arms, which can give a huge amount of tokens to all your opponents; Constant Mists, which can keep people alive for a VERY LONG TIME; or Noble Benefactor, which lets everyone fetch for any card when it dies. Those cards are more than welcome in this deck and really makes for a fun time.

Mana Base

I don’t always talk about the mana base since it’s often up to the user, but since this is my deck I thought it’d be important to talk about it. First of all, Forbidden Orchard is a must, it gives your opponents some neat tokens which is always helpful! For the rest of the lands I play a few fetches like Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Bant Panorama, Myriad Landscape & Thawing Glaciers, to really smooth out my mana fixing and thin out the deck, plus a Reliquary Tower to prevent having to discard to hand size. Oh, and pretty important, I run 30 basic lands (10 of each); this might sound like a lot for a 3-colour deck, but trust me, with the amount of fetch/ramp the deck does, you WILL run out of basic lands VERY fast, and honestly even with 30 I still run out every now and then, I wouldn’t go under that amount.

Wrap-Up

That’s it for this deck tech! I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did, because this deck is very dear to me; I’ve been playing it for many years now and it’s always so much fun to play! You might have noticed that there isn’t really any win condition in the deck, and that’s normal; this deck is not made to win, it’s made to enhance the experience of other players, to use their deck to their full potential. If you really want to you can probably win via commander damage, or force a draw with a massive Prosperity, but the point of the deck is not to win by any stretch, just to sit back and have a good time with your friends. If I missed anything please let me know. I’ll see you guys next week for a pretty special deck tech!

[beautifulduckweed]

Dear Yuletide Author

Dear Dread Liege of the Yule Stories,

I’m beautifulduckweed on AO3. I am so stoked to get a story from you! I picked one normal-ish fandom (Band Sinister, a delightfully queer and poly romance novel) and two of my favorite meme fandoms. Because why the fuck not. The spirit of the season lives in us all.

A smattering of things I love:

Cracktastic mashups and premises. No, for serious, if you want to jam, like, Temeraire, Hannibal, and Malaysian trickster stories featuring Sang Kancil into the same fic, do it; I will eat it the fuck up and beg for more.

Smut. Feel free to write at any explicitness level you feel comfortable with! I have only a few Do Not Wants.

My favorite genres are romance (it’s what I read and write the most of), SFF, horror, literary fiction, and the YA variants of all of those.

My fave romance tropes: Idiots to lovers. Friends to lovers. Only one bed. Grumpy/sunshine.

Sluts, himbos, and slutty himbos are my catnip.

I love stories about big-hearted people doing scary, vulnerable things and being rewarded with love, affirmation, orgasms, and generally every fulfilling thing they ever wanted.

I also love having my sense of what’s real and what’s not fucked with. Like, what the fuck is going on? How reliable is this narrator? How far can we trust memory, reality and experience—not just in this story, but in general? What is, like, the fundamental nature of storytelling, man? I’m sorry, reading a lot of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick in my early 20s broke me forever; that’s just the way I am now.

Enough with the happy happy joy joy shit. You know what else I love? Body horror, and horror in general. If you wanna be gory and violent and gross, go the fuck nuts! A friend once told me I’m hard to squick and easy to please, which is uncomfortably accurate to the point of being a read. THAT SAID, I do have a few buttons I don’t want pushed—see the Do Not Wants section.

I would like, if at all possible, for the fic to end happily, i.e., all the major characters are stable and happy and if not exactly 100% OK with their previous life choices, at least not actively tormented by them any more.

Do Not Wants:

Pet death. I am totally fine with, like, random rabbit needs to be killed for dinner while out in the woods, or oh no, we have to defend ourselves from a charging hippo or hostile lizard from outer space. Just. Don’t let Freddie Purrcury or Dave the dog who’s obsessed with tennis balls die in this fic.

Animal cruelty. Brief mentions of stuff happening in the past or whatever are fine; seeing an animal tortured on-page is a big no.

Noncon/dubcon. Enthusiastic consent only, please!

Major character death. Random minions, as always, can be sacrificed to the storytelling gods.

Kink no’s: I’m not into blood, shit, puke or piss, but honestly, everything else is fair game, as long as the characters are enthusiastically consenting.

All right, here are my three requests:

Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles

Characters: Lord Corvin

Thoughts/Prompts:

Look, I just want to see Lord Corvin bone down with anyone and everyone, OK? If you're in the KJC Chat Facebook group, KJ Charles posted an excerpt set post-Band Sinister in which Corvin makes a remark about a hot curate, and John's like "You can't fuck the curate," and Corvin's all "But I already fucked a bishop!" So Corvin seducing the hot curate, or a story about the hot bishop he fucked and the hilarious consequences that ensued would be DOPE, but honestly, I'm not too picky. If you don't want to write a fic in which Corvin gets down and dirty, that's totally fine, too, but would appreciate, like, a truly staggering amount of flirting. Just. Make me sweat from the UST.

Crack Prompt:

What would happen if a Star Trek crew (take your pick, I don't have a preference) used the holodeck to explore this world, eh? EHHH??

Or. OR. What if the fic is Lord Corvin tripping balls and flirting with/seducing an inanimate object, like the loveseat, or a lamp? Oh god, what if he’s not tripping balls and the Disney animators fucked up and put the wrong russet-haired beauty in Beauty and the Beast and he runs around seducing everyone, from Beast to Gaston to Angela Lansbury Teapot, and the animators are like, goddammit, we know this is supposed to be PG, but this CHARACTER won’t stop WHIPPING HIS DICK OUT. And then Corvin seduces an animator. A whole team of animators. *galaxy brain*

Fandom: moon's haunted - dustinkcouch (tweet)

Characters: Worldbuilding (moon’s haunted)

Thoughts/Prompts:

OK, so moon's haunted, so does this mean space ghosts are going to fuck with our tides? What types of ghosts are haunting the moon? Why are ghosts susceptible to bullets? Hell, is it being haunted by something other than ghosts? How did the astronaut find out it was haunted? How long has it been haunted? How did it get that way? So many delicious questions. Pick the one(s) most pleasing to you and write about it.

I decided to pick Worldbuilding as the only character because I want you to have absolute free range; definitely feel free to include the astronaut and the NASA employee if you like!

Crack Prompt:

The astronaut, themself, is a ghost, and the NASA employee is a werewolf and the astronaut's ex, phantom knotting is hot, let's gooooo.

 Fandom: Because I Will Never Be Able to Eat Lava (Tumblr)

Characters: Put Upon Volcanologist (Eat Lava), Chaotic Himbo (Eat Lava)

Thoughts/Prompts:

Are these people friends? Enemies? Frenemies? I need to know more about the nature of their relationship! I can't decide it'd be funnier to know the origin of this obsession with the texture of lava or whether if it'd be funnier to leave that forever a mystery, so you decide for me.

Crack Prompt:

They're both contestants in a reality show about action geologists who are dropped off in dangerous parts of the world and forced to overcome/solve geology challenges with minimal tools, wilderness survival style. Like Alone, but for geologists.

Oh god I have semantic satiation now. Geologist. Ge. O. Lo. Gist.

[theblondegoesabroad]

Day 5

Monday 27th May 2019

Today I thought I would tell you a bit more about where I am, it’s a good opportunity for me to learn a bit more about the region too. So here we go. Belgium -> Walloon Region -> Liege -> Sprimont -> Rouvreux.

The Walloon Region; Belgium is broken up into three regions, which have then been divided further into provinces. Therefore, I now live in the Walloon Region, the Provience of Liege and the town of Sprimont, and more accurately Rouvreux. The Walloon region (Wallonia) is primarily French speaking, although there are German speaking parts too. Wallonia accounts for 55% of Belgiums territory, and 1/3rd of the population. Back in the day – during the industrial revolution - Wallonia was one of the wealthiest parts of the country and Europe (second only to the UK for industrialisation) due to its coal and iron trading. Apparently now, after the second world war and the decline in heavy industry the Flemish region of Belgium surpassed Wallonia in wealth and now there are high rates of unemployment and this is a great cause of divide between the two regions. According to Wikipedia – there is a 30% unemployment rate in Wallonia – which in comparison Auckland has an unemployment rate of about 4%. Interesting. However, the overall unemployment rate in Belgium is only 5% so I guess it averages out or maybe Wikipedia is wrong. Anyway…

Liege is the closest city to where I now live, it is about 20 minutes from me to the city centre. Liege is the fifth largest city in Belgium. Liege is famous for its night life, beer and the waffles. About 195,965 people live in Liege, which is about 8 times smaller than Auckland. And if you ask Benoit, the best thing in Liege is probably that it has two climbing gyms right next to each other. Apparently Liege has a wealth of churches and medieval buildings as well as first class museums and art galleries. The city sits nicely on the Meuse River which winds around the city. I for one am very excited to fully explore Liege!

Sprimont is a municipality of Belgium, in the Walloon Region and the Province of Liege. There are about 12,782 people that live here. For comparison, Pukekohe has 31,400, so Sprimont has less than half the population of Pukekohe. Sprimont is an ancient name, the earliest written records of which date from 855 and 856 AD. These are located in the Abbey of Stavelot. Which is interesting as Benoits family have a house in Stavelot so when I read this I was like oh yay I know that place!

There are a lot of theories about the name Sprimont - there is a consensus that the root is of a Latin origin. If this is correct, the suffix -mont is probably from mons, montis, meaning either hill or mountain. However, some historians point out that many geographical names with this suffix belong to places not on a hill, some of which are even in valleys. This may cast doubt on the true meaning being "hill", but another source indicates that mons was used in Roman times to indicate a way-station for travellers. As for the prefix of spri- its origin seems to be lost to antiquity. Ancient written documents indicate several possible Latin origins: spiris, spers. Regardless of the meaning of the root word, one must also consider the usage in the context of the name itself. For example, if it does indeed refer to a species of tree or wood, in those ancient times, what was the connotation? It has been argued persuasively that 'spri' means 'lance'.Concluding the etymology of Sprimont, the active might mean 'Mounted Warrior,' whereas the passive might mean 'Lance of Defence.' This is from mont de Spiris.

And then I live in Rouvreux – there is hardly any information on this little village on google, so I guess I will have to find out on my own.

History and geography lesson over!

In short, today was a good day, rather relaxing. Benoit has got me reading a series from his prized comic book collection and it isn’t too bad. It is a good way to read in French without it being too much work and too heavy. I also went for a run which was good considering I had a lovely amount of chevre for lunch and instead of doing my normal exercises afterwards I did some yoga which was a nice change and much needed. All my muscles have been so tense after the rock climbing, so it was good to stretch them all out. In the evening two of Benoits friends from primary school came over for dinner. It was really nice to meet them and talk to someone other than Benoit and the cows that I met on my run!

Love Kate xx

ps. I’ll work at translating the shampoo recipe for those that are interested 

[alwaysaprilia]

Captain Swan AU Prompt Series No. 8 (B)

No.1: Alphabet City

No.2: Of Singing and Streaking

No.3: Lie to Me (I’ll lie to you, too)

No.4: Like Toy Soldiers

No. 5 (A): We’re Going Down Swinging Part 1

No. 5 (B): We’re Going Down Swinging Part 2

No. 6: Bend, and Don’t Break

No. 7 (A): Speak Now Part 1

No. 7 (B): Speak Now Part 2

No. 5 ( C ) We’re Going Down Swinging Part 3

No. 4: Like Toy Soldiers Part 2

No. 8 (A) It’s Always Been You (And You Should Know That)

No. 9: The Art of Remembering

No. 10 For Your Consideration

It’s Always Been You (And You Should Know That)

Notes: Set in the “It’s Always Been You (And You Should Know That) Universe, originally written for For CS AU Week Day 5- Role Reversal (In role reversal world, let’s pretend Lieutenant Duckling is…Captain Prince? Hehe.)

Summary: Prince Killian of Misthaven was never meant to rule-as the second son, he was content to let the limelight and responsibility fall upon his older brother, the Crown Prince Liam, while he lived a carefree life of adventure, tempting danger at every turn-much to the consternation of his body guard and best friend, Captain Emma Swan.

After Liam’s untimely death, the entire Kingdom is thrown into a tailspin, and none worse than Killian and Emma. Killian must now step up to the role he was never meant to play, and Emma must deal with the consequences of falling in love with her charge, the Prince who would be King.

Killian and Emma are 14 and 13

“Your highness!”

“Ssh! Keep it down, Swan.”

“This is highly inappropriate, your highness!”

“Of course it’s inappropriate, why do you think we’re doing this? And stop calling me that, it’s Killian, remember, it’s just us here.”

Killian, crouched under the shadow of a pillar, shot his companion a grin full of mischief. Emma, daughter of the Captain of the Royal Guard, glared at him in return, her scowl telling him in no certain terms that there was no ’we' doing anything. Rather it was ‘he' sneaking around the Kingdom’s resident Sorcerer’s chambers, and ’she' was merely the unlucky servant who was tasked to come along and make sure he didn’t get himself killed.

It was a speech he knew by heart, especially given the way she’d just hissed it at him before they began this newest endeavor.

“Remind me again your highness, why you cannot simply ask Merlin for the potion?” Emma kept pace with him easily as they stealthily ran down the short hallway that would bring them to the door of Merlin’s chambers. Killian motioned for her to keep watch, a request she greeted with an aggrieved sigh but complied with anyway.

“I already told you Swan. He is still a little put out with me because of how I used the last potion I asked for. And it's Killian.”

“You mean he did not enjoy having to be called away from his meditative retreat to restore the giant rabbit you created to it’s normal size?”

Emma’s tone was dry and mocking, and indeed, it was a special sort of servant who would speak so to their liege lord, but that was exactly what she was. The two were of similar age, and had practically grown up together-in private, despite their vastly different stations, they were best friends; in public, he was the Royal Spare, and she was his long suffering personal body guard-in-training.

Killian grinned at the memory and shot her an impish look over his shoulder, blue eyes dancing merrily.

“You have to admit, seeing Scarlett’s face when he woke up to find a giant rabbit on his bed was well worth it, that was probably the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life.”

Emma rolled her eyes, unwilling to give in quite so easily. “Was it still funny when it had grown as large as an elephant, tried to eat you, and I had to rescue you?” Her quiet mutter wiped the grin from his face, and he scowled at her briefly before turning to examine the door.

“I was doing perfectly fine by myself,”

The younger girl smirked at his petulant tone and went back to scanning the halls. “Not the way Will tells it, Killian.”

He thought of arguing the point, but decided to reap his victories where he could, for she had finally used his name. He knew that his and Emma’s friendship was the cause of consternation amongst some of the stuffier members of the court, who held the opinion that it simply wasn’t done for a Prince and a servant to be so close-those he could care less about, one, because he outranked them all, two, because Emma could kick all their behinds with one hand tied behind her back, and three, because his own family was as fond of the Swan girl as he was.

Of more concern was Emma’s family’s thoughts on the matter-her grandfather was in charge of her training, and he was forever reminding his granddaughter that she needed to properly address her charge. Most days, Emma thumbed her nose at this, but the more time she spent under his tutelage, the less often she used his name, and the more Killian had to remind her that he was still just him. He had quite enough people bowing and scraping to him, all pretty smiles and manners, and all as false as the fancy wigs that had been quite the craze in their neighboring kingdoms a while back. The wigs had gone out of fashion, but unfortunately, double speak and a tendency to view Killian only as another path to the throne had not.  

So he ignored her and concentrated on carefully tossing a coin at the door to the Sorcerer’s Tower instead. As expected, the silver piece stopped about six inches from actually making contact, bouncing off harmlessly, without the flurry of sparks that would have indicated Merlin’s use of his more dangerous wards. He withdrew a tiny vial, filled with a brilliant emerald liquid, imported from Agrabah and guaranteed to break any lower level ward with a single drop, and after Emma gave him the all clear, drew as close to the boundary as he dared and allowed a tiny amount to fall.

The space before the door shimmered once, twice-and the next silver coin he threw made contact.

“We’re in. Come on,”

“Me first.” Smoothly intercepting him, Emma slipped ahead and was the first to enter the tower, braced for anything that could happen. Used to the girl barreling into situations ahead of him, Killian let her get on with it, and when she motioned him forward, he followed behind and closed the door gently behind them.

Merlin’s Tower was the most fascinating and dangerous place in the entire castle. When they had been little, he had rarely allowed them up there, preferring to instruct them in the library or their playroom, the less chance of them knocking over something that could obliterate the castle, he’d said. Filled the the brim with ancient texts, strange artifacts and a whole host of the potions he was famous for brewing, it was most certainly not a safe haven, but they wouldn’t be staying long. All he needed was one particular potion, and they could be on their way.

“We’re looking for a vial, about this big, it’s going to be filled with a purple liquid with flecks of gold. It’s the healing elixir he used that time Lancelot was poisoned. You start at that end, I’ll look here.”

“I remember.” Emma, peering carefully at the dusty shelves that housed the potions, gave him a curious look. “I’m sure if you told Merlin this was for the Crown Prince’s trip, he would have given you this, my Prince.”

The return of  his title made him frown a little, but the reminder that his brother was going to be gone for a year on his diplomatic mission made him frown a lot more

.

He shook it off and resumed his search.

“I’ve been seeking audience with him for a week, Emma. Liam leaves at noon tomorrow, and I’ll not have him go without an extra measure of security.”

Killian could just make out the top of Emma’s head as she continued looking through the lowest shelves. She popped up and pulled a cobweb from her hair. “You know he’s probably already got some of these. Lancelot for sure would be carrying some just in case.”

“Well another won’t hurt, will it?”

“No I suppose it wouldn’t.” Silence fell between them as they continued their search, and Emma hesitated a little before bringing up a sore topic. “Have you decided to start speaking to him again, then? Since he’s leaving and all?”

Killian set his jaw and stepped closer to shelves he’d yet to look through instead, hoping that this show of concentration would be enough to stave off the line of questioning. His hopes were dashed by the crumpled up piece of parchment thrown his way and he scowled.

“Oy. Watch it, that could have been dangerous,”

Emma’s arms were crossed and she smirked confidently. “Don’t worry, I can protect you from a bit of paper.” She skirted around another table heaped with a mess of opened and unopened books and scrolls and smaller cauldrons, making for another bookcase that had some promising looking potions on it. “Are you really not going to talk to him? He’s leaving tomorrow. For a year.”

Killian huffed crossly and resumed his search. “I know, Swan. I was at the same proclamation as you were.”

“Just because the King isn’t letting you go-”

“Actually, he said it was Liam’s decision, and he didn’t even consider letting me come with him for a moment. He gets to travel the world and he promised I could come with him the next time, Swan, and yet-that’s not happening is it?”

“Dun Broch’s been having quite a few uprisings, Killian. Having both of you there is simply-”

“Then why is he going at all? He’s the important one, I’m just the spare,”

Emma stayed silent at the outburst, allowing Killian a moment to compose himself. She knew he really didn’t mind his position as the kingdom’s spare heir-he rather relished it. No, the heart of the matter was that the younger Prince of Misthaven was scared out of his mind that the brother he worshipped was being shipped off to a war zone, and he was afraid he would never see him again, hence their clandestine mission to steal from the most powerful Sorcerer of all time.

“I’m sorry, Emma. I shouldn’t have-I know it’s not your fault, I-”

“You’re forgiven. But we won’t be, if Merlin catches us in here.” Out of the corner of her eye, golden flecks suspended in deep purple caught and reflected the candle light in the chamber and Emma stooped low and retrieved the vial, holding it up in triumph. “Found it. Let’s go!”

They stole away as quickly as they had come, Killian letting a drop of blue liquid fall on the threshold this time, renewing the ward, before they made their escape to their favorite battlement, the one with the best view of the surrounding lands below. In the courtyard, Liam’s farewell celebrations continued, and Killian soon turned to Emma with an expectant eyebrow.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

He rolled his eyes, and extended a hand towards her. “The potion, Swan.”

Emma grinned and then presented the vial with a flourish, only to move it just out of his reach at the last second. “How about a trade? You promise to speak to your brother, to have a real conversation with him, and I’ll give you the elixir.”

“What? No!”

“All right then. No elixir for you.”

“Emma!”

“What?”

“Are you really blackmailing me? I’m the Prince. I could order you to give it to me.”

Emma made a face. “ You could. But you’re not going to.”

She had him there, for in the entirety of their lives, he had never given her an order and he certainly wasn’t going to start now. Irritated, he settled for glaring at her instead.

“I’m not going to apologize to him.”

“I’m not saying you should. But you should talk to him, and say goodbye in person. Merlin might be able to conjure a mirror spell for you two to talk later on, if he hasn’t killed us by then, but that’s not the same, you know it isn’t. So promise me you’ll talk to him, and you can have vial.”

Killian groaned in exasperation, and direct his attention back towards the party, where he could make out Liam in the brilliant crimson that was the Royal Family’s colors, dancing with one of the courtiers. “Why is this so important to you?”

Emma snorted inelegantly, something her mother and grandfather would surely have censured her for. “I am your body guard, my Prince. Its my job to protect you-even from your own stubbornness. Now, have we a deal?”

His initial impulse was to respond in the negative, just to be contrary, but a quick glance at Emma revealed that her jaw was set in that particularly stubborn manner that meant she would not yield. Beyond that, and he wouldn’t admit it to her right now, because she would gloat endlessly, she was quite right. Killian worshipped the ground Liam walked on, and giving him the cold shoulder these last few weeks had been extremely taxing. He missed his brother, and he would miss him even more when he left. There was no more time to waste.

“Fine. On my honor as a Prince of Misthaven, I will talk to my brother.”

Emma’s eyes searched his, and whatever she found there seemed to make her happy, for his favorite smile of hers broke out over her face, making her eyes sparkle brighter than the finest emeralds in their treasure rooms. More to distract himself from his observation, and the uncomfortable realization that butterflies always seemed to dance in his belly whenever she smiled like that, Killian pulled up a sigh.

 "Happy, now, are you?“

"Ecstatic.” She nodded and  nonchalantly tossed the vial to him, smirking slightly as he fumbled to catch it. “You would have been miserable if you didn’t speak to him before he left, and even I wouldn’t be able to handle you in a mood for an entire year. Off you go then, Your Highness.”

Killian grumbled under his breath, muttering about which of them was supposed to be taking orders from whom. He did as she requested, but stopped at the door leading down into the castle for a brief moment.

“Emma?”

She automatically turned at his soft call, and was caught by the full force of the soft look in his eyes, that small, grateful smile curving his lips upwards, making her heart skip a beat. It made no sense, for she had seen him smile thousands of times, he did it constantly-except maybe the fact that he only ever smiled at her like that was making the difference.

“Thank you. For helping me and for…saving me from myself. And it’s Killian!”

With a wink and that last cheeky reminder,  the Prince disappeared into the castle, leaving Emma staring after him, shaking her head. She sighed and stared up at the stars, and wondered for a moment why it felt like she was standing on the edge of something dangerous….but incredibly exciting and alluring too.

“You’re welcome…Killian.”

FIN.