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rabbitenn · 8 months

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HIDDEN REGION.

No one dared to brave the castle deep in the snowy woods. The legends told obscure tales of lost souls that followed the singing voice through the trees. And yet, you don’t believe it. What awaits inside the palace’s rooms?

ft. dragon prince Kujo Tenn x gn! reader.

cw/genre: halloween special, romance, fluff, fantasy au, reader wears a dress.

Something special I wanted to write based on TRIGGER’s spooky night artworks ! I’m not sure I’ll be able to write one for each of them, but I wanted to at least post one for my dear Tenn 🩷 I hope it’s an enjoyable read for you all <3

Don’t step into the woods in winter.

Those were the words you had grown up hearing, ever since you were a toddler, cuddled up in bed with your stuffed animals, as your mother told you stories.

You had heard the legend countless times, and yet, you couldn’t help the fascination that came with it.

No one knows what lies at the end of the snowy lane.

The trees sing, and those who dance to their wintry song lose themselves, never returning the same.

Why? What hid in that forest that could be so scary?

Despite all the warning signs, the more you heard the tale, the more intent you became on deciphering this enigma.

Theoretically, there was some kind of palace or fortress past the woods.

Or at least, you had been able to infer as much after thorough research on the topic, varying versions of the tale being depicted in the books at the local library.

Still, there were missing pieces to this puzzle…

Something is definitely not adding up.

And so, now here you stand, in front of warnings inscribed in blood red, an attempt to dissuade trespassers or utterly reckless souls.

You take a deep breath.

Then, you step inside, under the decrepit tree canopies that seem to curve into each other, obscuring the soon to be dusk sky.

Nothing seems amiss so far, you think, as your footsteps leave indentations in the pristine snow.

Just… the silence.

It’s a little overwhelming. As if the tortuous branches were holding their breath.

They are too still now that you pay more attention to them…

Your steps suddenly feel too loud. Even your breath forming puffs before you seems to intrude in the silence of the trees.

The calm before the storm.

For, the next thing you know, music fills the gelid grove.

Or rather, a voice.

It’s… gentle, soft… like…

An angel’s.

You feel compelled to follow it, the trees swaying now, a gentle breeze lifting up rivulets of snow, glittering against the twilit sky like starlight.

And yet, you don’t feel cold.

You power forward, keeping your wits about you.

Whoever’s singing must be nearby.

By the time the crescent moon watches from her throne, and flecks of stardust are the only illumination in the woods, you reach the end of the road.

A huge building rises before you.

A castle, its walls of molten moon.

The bricks forming it have a bluish sheen to it. Almost as if…

You put your palm against the stone.

So cold.

Like ice.

You take a couple steps backwards, noticing the big picture.

The gates are open and warm light pours out of the windows.

The voice seems to emanate from them.

You step inside.

—

Despite the icyness of the exterior, the palace’s hall is warm, as if gentle sunshine was clinging to you.

And that melody.

You believe it’s that voice that’s keeping you warm.

It’s louder here, wrapping around you like your blankets did as a kid, as you listened to the story you’ve decided to become the protagonist of.

You follow the notes, until they stop.

A white door stands before you, a crystal handle shaped like a scaly wing beckoning you to turn it.

You swallow.

Silence again, like in the woods before your guiding song started.

For a moment, you close your eyes, steeling yourself.

You place a hand on the knob.

The door opens.

“Hello, outlander.” A male voice, the same voice that’s led you here, greets. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

—

Your eyes snap to the end of the room, where a table is set, someone already sitting down.

Maroon eyes meet yours, quartz-like, speckled in rosé in the dim light. The gaze is… harsh, cold, but beneath it you feel unbridled kindness, the sweetness of powdered sugar in chilly wintry dawns.

Framing them, deepest night and stardust seem to converge, the man’s long lashes casting shadows over the pools of sunrises contained in his stare.

Silken moonlight falls lightly around his face, perfectly framing his features.

He’s the prettiest being you’ve ever laid eyes upon.

Almost angelic, were it not for his frown and the tight line of his lips.

“Please, take a seat.” He gestures to the multiple empty chairs gathered around with the cup he’s holding.

Bright cobalt liquid glimmers inside of it, oddly enticing despite its unusual color.

And against your better judgment, you join him.

A crown of pure white hovers above his head, akin to a thorny halo, a spectral glow radiating from it.

A few moments pass in silence, with you trying not to stare at him (and failing).

You just… can’t take your eyes off him.

Who is he? What is he? A prince? But where is the rest of the court?

A fallen angel perhaps?

To live in this frigid plane… It must be so lonely, so desolate…

He graces you with a subtle smile, the melodic lilt of his voice pulling you out of your thoughts.

“All questions will be answered at tonight’s ball.” Your glass magically fills with the same blue liquid as his.

At your fearful expression, he chuckles.

“It’s not poisonous, rest assured.” As if to prove his point, he takes a sip from his own drink.

And that’s when you notice the lack of color on his lips.

Like faded peony blooms, washed out pink is overridden with nightshade.

Does he feel cold? You wonder, your brows furrowing in concern.

“Can I at least…” You begin, before you can stop yourself. “Know your name?”

You aren’t sure what made you ask this question, but something in you broke a little at the sadness and hurt you could see in those kind eyes, burdened by hardship.

“Tenn…” He softly utters. “My name.”

You give him a kind smile, introducing yourself.

“It is my pleasure to meet you, Tenn.”

The rest of the meal goes by in comfortable silence. The food feels homey and warming, regardless of the biting winter ruling these woods.

As for the blue drink… you temptatively take a sip. It’s cool and sweet, not unpleasant in the slightest.

After a while, something frigid touching your hand jolts you up from the tranquility.

You look down to see Tenn’s hand gently grabbing yours.

So cold…

“Come with me. Let us join the ball.”

You wonder if there’s anyone else in this castle, or if what he calls ‘ball’ is some kind of prison cell where he’s going to throw you in until you freeze to death.

However, you don’t feel any kind of animosity from him.

Tenn just seems… very sweet and very lonely too.

A soft symphony can be heard, its ebb and flow coming from somewhere higher; it gets louder as you and your host ascend spiraling stairs.

When you finally reach the top, Tenn pushes open a door.

Behind it, a dim lit room awaits, shadows of the starlight above reflected against its wooden floor, as a music box plays the incessant melancholy song.

You stare at him, wondering.

“Ah… Excuse..” You begin.

But then, the man turns to face you, brushing away a stray strand of hair from your face.

“Oh, yes, how could I forget? You will need a proper dress for the occasion.”

With a snap of his fingers, the corner of his frigid lips rises as he nods in approval.

When you look down, a silvery gown matching his own clothes falls around your waist. The skirt is adorned in flecks of blue glitter, like pieces of the fragmented sky through snowy clouds.

It’s beautiful… But how? Who is he really?

Well, you suppose this is the ball, so you take the chance to ask.

“Who… or what, are you?” You venture, as one of his cold hands laces with yours, the other on the small of your back.

“It’s complicated, and maybe you wouldn’t believe it… But I’m a prince.”

Well, you don’t doubt it with his looks.

“But why are you here? Prince of where?” You press forward, as he spins you around the starlit room.

He smiles, and you think the gesture is a little sad.

“I… left my kingdom. To protect my family. I’m supposed to be the keeper of these woods due to my powers, but…” He trails off, those long lashes fluttering closed as he exhales.

“You were cursed.” You finish the sentence for him.

Tenn’s rosy eyes widen, his movements faltering for a second.

“The ice… all the snow… this…” You stop dancing, holding his freezing hands. “This is your curse, right?” You give him a look of concern. “You protected everyone, but in doing so, all the warmth was stripped from you…”

He offers another woeful smile.

“You’re quite sharp, aren’t you?” He whispers, in the starry centimeters separating you two.

He touches his spiky halo.

“This… crown…” Tenn says, disdain and hurt lacing his voice. “Acts as a tether of sorts… It can’t be removed, it will only break when the curse is dispelled.”

In your breathless silence, you realize the music has halted.

You can’t leave him alone here.

You must find a way to help him.

“How can the curse be broken?” You ask, determined.

“That’s part of it. I can’t know.” The crescent moon illuminates his perfect profile.

How can someone so kind suffer this twisted fate all alone?

You’re not leaving here. Not until you find a way to revert Tenn’s curse.

“I’m staying with you.” You blurt out. “I’m staying here until I find the way to end this curse.”

“I can’t ask you to-“

“You’re not asking me to, I’m staying of my own volition.” You cut him off.

With that, the so called ball comes to an end for tonight.

Tenn shows you to a set of unused chambers, for you to stay in freely for as long as you’d like.

You say your goodnights and pass out without even bothering to change clothes.

Today’s been a long day.

Outside your door, Tenn’s cheeks feel a little warm.

When was the last time that happened?

He no longer recalls.

—

Days merge into weeks spent by the prince’s side.

Even if cold reigns around the palace grounds, you’re either getting used to it or the temperature has begun to rise.

Tenn knows very well it’s the latter.

During this time, you’ve learned more about his powers. Tenn possesses dragon magic. Sometimes he can summon wings and a tail, you’ve observed his flying figure many a time at dawn, the sun glinting off of the iridescent scales of his wings.

He’s beautiful.

And after all this time spent with him, you can’t deny the fact that you don’t want to ever leave this place.

Neither of you has voiced it yet, but it is clear you two share a bond that goes well past platonic.

You knew, since the evening nightmares plagued your dreams and he sang for you; in the way his hands (are they warmer now?) linger for a little longer after you two finish dancing, or when he passes a glass to you.

In this icy world, Tenn makes your heart flutter, impossible heat rising to your chest, to your face, sending tingles to your lips; an ache for him.

Would it be okay, if you revealed that to him?

You don’t want to burden him anymore than he already is… And yet, something inside you urges you to whisper the three magical words into his ear.

Luckily for you, tonight Tenn wants to have another ball with you.

You were notified previously this time, and you didn’t hesitate to don the dress the boy your heart belongs to gifted you on your first night here.

A full moon greets you tonight when you reach the attic room.

Multicolored starlight dances across the floor, its sheen entwining with the moonbeams that cast you and your beloved in an ethereal glow.

The nightly illumination catches on the silver accessory pinning the prince’s hair to one side, his crown of thorns dimmed.

No music accompanies the scene this time, as if the spinning ballerina from the music box knew that, for tonight, your heartbeats and your sincere words should take the spotlight.

You take the lead this time, one of your hands tenderly grasping Tenn’s, the other one resting on his shoulder, the silk from his clothes warm under your palm.

Warm.

He’s no longer freezing.

You steal a furtive glance towards his lips.

They’re not that dull frozen hue anymore, no.

A subtle pink fills them in, akin to cherry blossoms after long cold nights.

Your heart pounds faster; perhaps there is hope for the curse to break, maybe him not being alone is subduing its effects.

You must tell him.

“Tenn,” You call him, as you sway around the nightlit floor. “I have something to tell you.”

His hold tightens a little on you, as if he was afraid you’d melt away, an ephemeral ice statue, succumbing to the blazing rays of dawn.

“What is it, [Y/n]?” He asks, quartz-like gaze set on you, the sparkles from your dress and the constellations above, reflected in them.

You take a step closer to him, your noses almost touching.

“I think…” You start, then close your eyes for a moment. When you open them, you look at Tenn with resolve. “No, I’m sure.” Both of your hands find his, your thumbs running over the back of them, as if you were attempting to dissolve the remains of ice tainting them.

“I love you, Tenn.” You breathe, to him, to the moon, to the stars.

One moment you’re millimeters apart, and the next his lips caress yours.

The hands you were holding are definitely warm now as they cup your face. Your arms wrap around the dragon prince’s shoulders, pulling him closer and closer to you, until your heartbeats dance as one.

Something wet and cold lands on your cheeks.

Tears.

Tenn’s tears.

They pool at your feet, shattered shards of frost that can’t withstand the unbound affection you hold for each other.

His hands lose in your hair, his searing kiss taking in your every heartbeat, a collection of sunrises he could endlessly sing about.

Eventually, however, you need to pull away for air.

And yet, when you do, you gasp, holding your breath.

The thorned halo that used to rest atop his head is no more.

It lies shattered on the ground.

In its place a silver crown with subtle rose gems sits.

A wide grin curls your lips.

“Tenn… the curse…” You can’t quite finish the sentence before his arms have tightly wrapped around you.

“It’s over.” His forehead rests on yours. “You broke it, my [Y/n]. Thank you so much.” Tenn utters, with a last fleeting kiss.

If you had paid attention to yourself, however, you would have realized your own dress resembles a gentle dawn now; shades of lilac and gold glittering on your skirt.

Beneath the full moon, your gazes cross.

“I love you too.” Are Tenn’s words, as the music starts to play.

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stillcarmine · 2 years

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Just thinking about how much better the whole Hazel-Frank-Leo dynamic would have been if we just... took all the romance out of it. Like, no romance at all. Hazel and Sammy were friends, and Hazel and Frank are friends and everything else is much the same. I wouldn't mind if the whole thing was scrapped completely and see how it went from there, but at least, the doppelganger thing gave them a reason to interact and start them getting to know each other?

Anyway, so without the plot of SoN revolving around romance between Hazel and Frank, we can just see them as people in their own right, have more time to explore who they are as characters. When Hazel finds the photo of Sammy in her old house in Alaska, Frank is canonically just concerned that she's crying. However, Hazel felt guilty for thinking about Sammy when Frank was "being so wonderful". That wouldn't be a problem here, and she'd either let herself think and feel how she does or she'd share the memories with them. So we get more of her reaction and feelings about her past past and the people she left behind.

As far as MoA goes, Hazel is still freaked out by seeing Leo at first, still a bit uncomfortable, but also more thoughtful. Like she's consumed with her memory and wondering what's going on here, asking how is my old best friend seemingly sitting right next to me right now?

After the attack on New Rome, in the book, Frank and Leo were actually civil with each other, Frank going so far as to say that maybe it wasn't Leo's fault. In this version, it'd be even more so, since Frank's internal monologue (and Hazel's) have said that in the beginning, Frank made mistakes all the time. So Frank waits until the others go below deck to tell Leo that "Yeah, I know exactly what it's like to mess things up, it'll be alright."

And Leo, who's usually really uncomfortable with emotional support, is spiraling right now because he might have just started a war, and is grateful for the reassurance. Frank tells Leo about the time he fed Hannibal the elephant peanuts and gave him indigestion and how Reyna hadn't killed him, so she has some mercy.

Frank asks if he's sure his name isn't Sammy, but more for a "Alright, this is my best friend's other best friend's doppelganger or whatever, I wanna make a good impression" psyching himself up kind of thing. Like landing on deck as a dragon didn't accomplish that.

When they have to split up to get supplies for the repairs, Frank is only hesitant because he's worried about how Hazel's handling the whole 'my dead best friend' thing, while at the same time knowing it'll be good for her to have a chance to talk to Leo in private. And Leo doesn't take it so much as a challenge to win Frank's trust. When they're talking about making sand castles, Leo still surprises Hazel by mentioning Sammy, but she's less skiddish about the whole thing.

Not sure how this would impact the conversation with Nemesis. Probably, the goddess would still have a point about Leo being the 7th wheel, because there are still two couples, and even if Hazel and Frank aren't dating anyone on the ship, they have much more history with each other and Percy, they're their own little family unit. Maybe that would actually hurt more to Leo, because he knows that his own best friends are occupied with each other and want time without him, which is understandable but lonely. Maybe it hurts a little more knowing that when it comes to Hazel and Frank, who are two people that he's already ruined his first impression of himself with, he has the added obstacle of being compared to someone from Hazel's past.

When Hazel tells him not to listen to Nemesis, it's coming from the perspective of someone who's viewing Leo only as a crewmate, rather than an antagonist to someone she cares about. She's stilll wary about Leo's fire, as she's still carrying Frank's life line, but she's not so unsettled about Leo as a person.

She still takes Leo on her memory quest, and as she's less nervous about the whole thing, she can take the opportunity to revisit her old home one last time, to see Sammy one last time and say goodbye. It does reinforce Leo's idea that Sammy is much better than him, especially if he was someone Hazel would consider a friend, when all Leo's done is attack her new home.

Later on, because Hazel has seen Sammy use humor as a tool for deflection and escaping tough spots, she can see through Leo's defenses a bit better than some of the others. She calls him on it, but doesn't try to force him to talk about things he doesn't want to, because she knows exactly what that's like. While it fills him with panic to be caught out, eventually he does settle into the idea, lets himself relax around her.

The real tension between Frank and Leo would come from Frank's wariness about Leo's fire powers and Leo finding Frank so intimidating and much more capable than himself. And their conversations are this odd mix of camaraderie and jealousy and distrust. They’re less antagonistic and that lets them get to know each other a bit more slowly and organically.

Since the handcuff thing is important to the plot, that scene still happens, but with less beligerence and more playfulness. Since Frank isn't so combative with Leo, he recognizes that Leo doesn't mean any real harm. It's still a bit embarrassing and he does go to Annabeth afterwards. He brings up that he's intimidated by Leo's pyrokinesis. When Annabeth tells him that he can trust Leo, the fire is the main issue Frank is worried about.

When they fall underwater, Frank isn't as antagonistic and so he takes a moment to parse out Leo's meaning when he asks if the ship is fine, because it's vital to the quest and if it goes down, then so does everyone aboard.

It's easier to take Annabeth's advice about trusting Leo, and without having to talk about the hand holding, they have more time to talk about other things. Namely, Frank gets to tell him about his life line himself. It's a good bonding moment, where Frank is intentionally vulnerable with someone who embodies his one weakness. It means so much to Leo, who has been thinking that he doesn't deserve anyone's trust, least of all the demigods from Camp Jupiter. Even in the book, Leo took Frank's fears about his life line seriously and didn't tease him or scare him. Just imagine how much more so he'd be when they're just being open and honest with each other.

It reminds him of his mother's death, and he's like. "Yup, okay, I'm keeping this guy and I'm keeping him alive."

Leo panics like he does in the OG text, worried about whether the stick is getting smothered in sea water right now, and Frank feels reassured about telling him, and amused about Leo's sincere worry. It gives him insight into how Leo thinks and how he approaches problems logically.

Leo does feel relieved when their hosts interrupt him, because he's reached his weekly limit for genuine emotions.

The narrative would have room to examine Hazel's grief and give her an outlet to think about or discuss her struggles at adjusting to the 21st century, since that wasn't touched on aside from the chicken nugget line and a brief line in SoN about her freaking out the first time she went to Berkley.

There's some light hearted stuff like that, but also discussions between them about about what it's like to have so little family left. Hazel tells Leo about Nico and how she's so happy to have a brother, but it was hard at first when she knew she wasn't the sister he had set out to bring back to life. Leo's like, yeah definitely know what not being the first choice is like, and maybe he's a little bewildered at how Hazel's like... not as super affected by that anymore the way he still is. Like, fam... can't relate.

It'd be interesting to see how that would impact Leo's view on Nico and how he brings up the fact that rescuing him could be a trap. Tbh, during that convo in the book, it didn't seem so much like he was flat out refusing to go after Nico, but that he wanted to discuss all the dangers there, so they could plan on how to counteract them. Maybe that wasn't the case, but I think that would have been plausible since Leo's an logical thinker.

Frank is definitely a part of these discussions, dead moms club, the worst club to be part of, but at least we have each other. Leo thinks about how Jason fits there as well, but it's not his place to tell the other two about that. That lends an interesting opportunity though, if Leo includes Jason in these talks, it might humanize him in Hazel's eyes.

One night it’s the two of them on watch, and they talk about the prophecy, and Leo's like "Yeah, I'm freaking out about possibly ending the world."

And Hazel says, "From personal experience, would not recommend."

And Leo goes, "Huh?"

So Hazel explains, and Leo sits there for a moment before pulling out a notepad from his belt and adding Hazel and her mother to the list of reasons for the revenge he gonna take on Gaea.

So yeah, they talk about how much they hate Gaea, and in canon, Leo only ever told Jason that Gaea goaded him into setting the fire that killed Esperanza, but seeing that the goddess did the same to Hazel, it just gives Leo the strength to say it again, to trust Hazel with the worst moment of his life.

Also, there wasn't enough about the fact that Hazel's power has literally killed people. Like, way more than Leo's ever did, so she'd explore that trauma, probably on her own. She's so young and has so much weight on her. She never asked for this curse and she never even had a chance to actually be angry with her parents for their decisions that put her life on the course it took. She’s even told that she herself doesn’t have the power to break her own curse. I want her to be able to feel however she needs to feel to process everything she's been through.

It's not her fault that those people died, but she still feels responsible, and maybe it's be easier to forgive herself when she sees Leo in a similar situation, because it's usually easier to forgive others than it is to forgive yourself.

It's a bummer that Hazel never had any real interaction with Festus. Leo introduces her to him like he did with Frank and since he's made of precious metal, she's able to like, read his history, like she could sense all the different precious jewelry and coins of travellers under the earth on the hill with Skyron. For the first time, she gets to interact with metal that isn't cursed and he's alive?? I want to know her thoughts on that. There's a lot of celestial bronze on board the ship actually, like Leo can touch a piece of machinery and get an understanding of how it works, Hazel can touch Festus's neck and get this mental image of the precious metals on board, like a sonar or that feedback she gets in the Amazon warehouse in SoN. But since it's all connected, it's like an x-ray or an image of the human nervous system.

There'd be so many more moment like the "He reads Chinese, how cool is that?" scene.

Hazel and Leo bring out each other’s southern accents, Piper and Frank do a double take the first time one of them pulls out a “y’all’d’ve”. Those two have known Hazel and Leo the longest and have never heard that one before.

Late night watches on deck that devolve into late night talks, Juno/ Hera comes up and Leo says to Frank, "So she visited us both as babies and did like, the inverse of what she did to you that she did to me.

"Like, she put me in the burning fire place and she told your folks to pull you(r stick) out of the fire place. I feel like she's stepping in on Hestia's territory but whatever."

Leo gets excited coming up with ideas to keep Frank's lifeline safe, and extrapolating about the whole situation-

"Alright, get this, so technically- technically- fire isn't fatal to Frank, just his fire wood-"

"I don't like where this is going," Frank says.

"I'm just making a point, don't worry."

And-

"No, no, Hazel if we're ever all on fire, y'all should just like- jump on me, because if I concentrate real hard, I can keep other stuff I'm touching from burning, like with my clothes."

"Why would we all be on fire?"

"You think there isn't some god or monster that wouldn't want to set us on fire?"

"Touché.”

When talking about ways to protect the wood, Leo's talking about hypotheticals and ways to possibly treat the wood and Frank points out that he'd have to be careful because they don't know how such treatments would affect him.

Leo waves his concern away, because he's in Thinking Mode (TM) saying, "Yeah, of course, I know how to handle precious resources, you've only got the one piece and we've only got the one you."

Leo says it so offhandedly, but Frank is like Touched (TM).

Just- them being softer with each other, letting other issues between the three have more time to be explored, giving them more screen time to develop as characters and the three of them having more chances to just get to know each other and develop their friendships.

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elvencantation · 6 months

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blue's comic recs

@ori-flails inspired me to start making a list of these since ive been reading so many comics lately <3

self-hosted:

earthsong- my very first webcomic ever, sci-fi/fantasy? art style develops so much! the artist redid the first volume after finishing, so the second might be jarring cause its back to her older style

mias and elle- i love them so much. chaotic and fun fantasy romance

inverloch- like a fantasy epic. i miss it

ava’s demon- I HAVE BOTH VOLUMES AS PHYSICAL BOOKS I AM OBSESSED. SCIFI WITH THE MOST UNIQUE ART STYLE AND IVE ADORED WATCHING HER GROW AS AN ARTIST

spindrift- beautiful fantasy, abandoned but the art is to die for

phoenix requiem- same author as inverloch, steampunk ghost mystery?

gunnerkrigg court- magic school with lots of secrets! never finished this... in fact im pretty sure its still ongoing! a fun kinda steampunk fantasy story with lots of mythology and another one where ive loved watching the art style develop!

webtoons: (fantasy unless noted otherwise, usually transmigration, time travel or general revenge)

remarried empress

go away romeo

omniscient reader

marry my husband

my in laws are obsessed with me

i am the villain- one of my first ones!! gorgeous art and i love the characters so much

for my derelict favorite- love the mc. so satisfying and a cute slow burn

im the queen in this life- absolutely badass MC reliving her life, court intrigue and politics included

from a knight to a lady- i adore this one. literal reincarnation. enemies to lovers

wished you were dead- everyones miserable and there’s so many misunderstandings but its like a trainwreck i cant look away

perfect marriage revenge- so much drama, sort of marry my husband vibes

the reincarnation of countess diabolique- very short chapters but very pretty

obsidian bride- fantasy dating show! cute so far

i thought my time was up- god i love seeing the FL fluster the ML. cute cute but also some asshole family drama. fun and beautiful

her wish to be isekai’d- silly and fourth wall breaking but cute

saving a mercenary unit from bankruptcy- transmigration is a known phenomenon in this series!

as if love doesn’t exist- also sort of marry my husband vibes? with switched at birth added in

reporting for duty duchess

winter before spring- not fantasy at all, cute WLW!!!

i stole the first ranker’s soul- dungeon break video game system but this time with a female MC!!

i will live the life of a villainess- isekai’d MC AND ML???

baby tyrant- cute cute but the mc is stuck in her baby body for quite awhile so if that’s not ur thing keep scrolling

tricked into becoming the heroines stepmother- cute transmigration with a side of romance

adopted by a murderous duke- just what it says on the box for now! a new one, as of updating this list

leveling up my husband to the max- got a lot of politics and a cute relationship. reincarnation

who stole the empress?

mythic item obtained- dungeons and monsters suddenly invade the real world kinda story, more based on the norse gods though than DND

my husband changes every night- oh it keeps getting better! don’t trust the title though. his hair color changes and that’s it, physically

the tyrant wants to be good- oh i love some good good time travel/reincarnation angst

every rose has a death flag- gotten a bit bored of this one but cute art

new webtoons ive gotten into!

adopted by a murderous duke’s family

paranoid mage

they wish to take away my child

katlaya rising

the reason for the twin lady’s disguise

my villainous family won’t let me be

reincarnator

what the evil dragon lives for

the fish i loved

the price is your everything

what melvin left behind

ten ways to get dumped by a tyrant

the gardener in a hunter world

the reborn young lord is an assasin

not your typical reincarnation story

onsaemiro: never changing

re:trailer trash

webtoons that are whole ass novels in their own right: (AWAN)

castle swimmer

suitor armor

morgana and oz

eternal nocturnal

wintercicle

star children

lore olympus

blood reverie

sable curse

eaternal nocturnal

a spell for a smith

PETS- sci-fi wlw slow burn

your throne- haven’t caught up with this yet but it’s a fascinating story with two female mcs who have some amazing character growth and are badasses in their own ways (also yes i ship them)

the touch of sunlight- a cute one shot story with like ten chapters

empyrea- might have been abandoned, gorgeous art style, steampunk mystery

made of stardust

potion witch

the princess’s jewels- starts out as a beautiful reverse harem, then becomes badass

death head’s deal

cute episodic webtoons:

finding fiends- funny cryptid youtuber who's friends with mothman

grand ma- a new mythological creature each episode!

crow time- just cute things about crows, a few stories that last longer than one chapter

how to be a dragon- mostly one shots, like crow time

finished webtoons: (all AWAN)

muted- god this one’s a masterpiece, GL, maybe its time for my own reread i love this one sm

spells from hell- god i love this one!! kinda modern wuxia-esque. it is daily pass now for some reason but i highly recommend it

unholy blood- vampire mystery thriller with a dash of romance? its amazing

night owls and summer skies- wlw camp romance

shadow prophet- very weird but cool kinda dystopian sci-fi. unique and beautiful art style

siren’s lament- same creator as eaternal nocturnal, so gorgeous art obvi

always human- a cute scifi wlw story

webtoons i’ve fallen behind on but are still amazing: (also all awan)

in the bleak midwinter

subzero

stray souls

the croaking

diamond dive

like wind on a dry branch

the sweetness of salt

covenant

found on mangahasu:

finished:

solo leveling- finished, the ultimate OP main character saves the world with amazing supporting cast, dungeon break system

monstrous duke- finished, AWAN, one of my favorites, i adore the MC's new family. strong enough to protect her from the monsters who birthed her

the admiral's monstrous wife- AWAN, kinda romance, a dash of best revenge is living well, and so much cool worldbuilding

still updating:

cheating men must die- THE BEST. every arc is another revenge transmigration story i. am. obsessed.

the beginning after the end- i feel like this might be abandoned? on hiatus? hasn’t been updated in forever but it’s basically a high fantasy novel. literal reincarnation. as in reborn into a rando in another universe. but with all memories intact. AWAN, also i love all the other charcters so much and the art is so pretty

who made me a princess- just finished, starts out rough character dynamic wise, has some really dramatic bits but it turns out really intricate and wholesome and i love it sm

master villainess the invincible- god i love this one i want it to update so baddddd. wuxia and there's a cute romance too!

the villainess is a marionette- beautiful unique art style, transmigration, deliciously badass and manipulative MC

millionaire divorcee- lovely and sweet sort of ‘a life well lived is the best revenge’ kinda story. also so much pretty jewelry wow

untouchable lady- time travel squared, gorgeous art and wow so much angst it's delicious. last time i checked the translations weren't so good so im hoping its better now, ive been waiting to come back to this one

death is the only ending for the villainess- transmigration into a video game with, in my opinion, too many restrictions. svsss vibes in that way but its a fantasy AWAN romance video game

into the light once again- reincarnation, AWAN, wholesome and so damn pretty. i keep drooling over the intricate outfits

I will surrender my position as empress - remarried empress vibes. love it so satisfying

villainess’s stationary shop- cute and sweet and the MC gains a coterie of adorable children defenders, but yes also revenge

my unexpected marriage- kind of a “the best revenge is living well” story. very sweet very pretty unique art style. starts a bit dark

she no longer wields her sword

the perks of being an s class transmigrator- one of my faves! very fun video game mechanic and wonderful art and i love our mc. some great humor too

I've Become A True Villainess- isekai, green hair mc!! very sweet and caring ML too i love their dynamic

The Reincarnated Assassin Is A Genius Swordsman- actual reincarnation into another family, also i love the weird kinda sort of sidekick. evil? maybe? either way its funny

divorcee’s dessert cafe- another cute one

author of my own destiny- author falls into her own book!

vengeful weapon, tears of poison- kinda what it says on the box

how to live at the max level- OP MC falls into a video game but this time it’s a girl! fun and lighthearted

no more nice sis- revenge that turns into cute romance honestly

with vengeance, sincerely your broken saintess- lots of plots and intrigue in this one, i love it

the newbie is too strong- another dungeon break one, OP MC with adorable animal? monster? companions

the villainess turns the hourglass- both revenge is best served cold and the best revenge is living well

my farm by the palace- super sweet and wholesome i love it

the duchess’ fifty tea recipes- finished, super cute, transmigration addressed, romance?

the soulless duchess

all hail lady blanche- gets slow in the middle, then gets cool and starts kinda breaking the fourth wall. revenge and kinda video game dynamic

the doctor is out- forgot about this one, time travel, its cute!

villainess' reprisal boutique- revenge for her mother this time! mostly kinda fantasy royal school stuff, if that makes any sense

please marry me again- time travel, so fluffy and precious and satisfying

karina’s last days- AWAN, slow burn romance

the villainess’s daughter- reminds me a bit of monstrous duke

the princess in the attic- AWAN, revenge, oof this one is a bit dark but it’s got its light and i do love it

red hot revenge- lot of politics in this one! and some slow slow burn

solo max-level newbie- kinda like solo leveling, but more merciless MC

angel of the golden aura- very cinderella, tropey evil sister in the most fun of ways (imho)

self-made lady- fantasy transmigration with video game mechanics

carrier falcon princess- bit weird, i feel like it hasnt updated in awhile, but fascinating premise. MC spends a very large chunk of the story as a bird

#webtoon #webtoons #manhwa #manhua #transmigration #time travel #reincarnation #revenge story #comics #webcomics #isekai #idek what to tag this but i worked very hard on it #will come back and add stuff im sure #hence the readmore #and also cause its hella long #comic recs

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themurphyzone · 2 years

Text

Batb AU: Tale as Old as Time

AN: Presenting the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I really hope I did this dance justice here. Enjoy!

AO3 Link

Ch 15: Tale as Old as Time

The preparations were completed for the ball faster than the Beast had expected. He'd planned for a week's delay in between springing his idea on everyone and the actual ball.

He'd greatly underestimated how quickly his servants could get things done when they set their minds to it.

What should've taken a week only took three days. The kitchen had been chaotic as mountains of dishes were churned out faster than Pinky could say narf, the maids had dusted and swept and mopped the ballroom at double time, and the orchestra practiced until the conductor broke his baton as he yelled himself silly.

As much as he appreciated all their hard work, he wished they'd taken the entire week he'd given them.

From the hushed, excited way they all spoke when they thought Pinky and the Beast couldn't hear, they were all banking on this ball as one enormous romantic gesture that would serve as the catalyst for breaking the curse and restoring them all to their normal forms.

The Beast had fantasized about that scenario too.

Dancing gracefully, the words flowing off his tongue like honey, the curse disappearing, revealing himself to be a handsome prince who would sweep Pinky off his feet and carry him off on a big white horse…

Yeah, right. All that would simply remain a fantasy.

He'd hardly danced before. He'd choke on his words if he tried to speak them aloud. And most damning of all, he wouldn't be tall or muscular or able to slay a mighty dragon while blindfolded with a hand tied behind his back once he was normal again.

Would Pinky be one of those 'only dates tall people' types?

The Beast quickly discarded that notion.

Pinky wouldn't be that shallow.

Hopefully.

In truth, he hadn’t come up with the idea of hosting a ball to break the curse, though he could see why his servants all assumed it was a grand romance in the making. All he knew was that Pinky had, for some unfathomable reason, turned to him for comfort when the story of Cinderella brought up the memory of dancing with his mother at a pretend ball.

How Pinky had known that because of his upbringing, the royal ball of his dreams would always remain a fantasy, and that he’d never be invited to one.

But the Beast had the power to change all that.

He had a castle with a ballroom. He had servants who could prepare everything they needed. Clothing, food, music…it was all there.

The only thing he couldn’t provide was an enormous guest list, but he hoped Pinky wouldn’t mind.

And he could provide…himself, as a dancing partner. He knew Pinky would find that acceptable, but it still didn’t calm the Beast’s nerves.

Then a hand slipped into his. Soft and gentle, but with a hidden strength that shouldn’t be underestimated. The Beast’s fingers slowly folded around Pinky’s.

“...a very lovely picture, don’t you think, Beast?” Pinky asked, smiling at the book’s illustration of Maid Marian and Robin Hood’s wedding with all the Merry Men gathered around them in celebration.

“It’s…colorful,” the Beast admitted. Though he’d selected the story of Robin Hood as a way to pass the time until the servants called them to get dressed, he hadn’t paid attention to most of it. He was just glad this tale didn’t have any romantic flings at royal balls, or his anxiety would be much worse.

As an added bonus, Pinky had enjoyed the romance, though the Beast was more into the swashbuckling action.

“Thanks for sharing this one,” Pinky said, and his sunny smile was now aimed at the Beast. The room seemed a bit too warm for his liking now. “‘Marian, my darling, I love you more than life itself’? My heart can’t take much more of this! I think I’m gonna faint now!”

Pinky dramatically flopped onto his back, arm draped across his eyes and tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

The room had gone from uncomfortably warm to scorching hot, and he quickly let go of Pinky’s hand.

Did he just say what I…no, no, don’t be ridiculous. He was just quoting the book, he didn’t mean it that way…he said Marian. That phrase wasn’t directed at me.

“Sounds cheesy,” the Beast muttered.

“Narf! Well, you can’t go wrong with cheese!” Pinky exclaimed, completely oblivious to his awkward choice of quote.

The Beast just sighed, more focused on trying to keep Pinky’s grabby hands away from his face. Pinky took the Beast looming over him as a friendly challenge, trying to touch him without getting up while the Beast attempted to pin Pinky’s hands down. The Beast might’ve been strong, but Pinky was slippery and kept freeing himself just when the Beast thought he had him.

It was a silly, meaningless game to idle away the time, but as the Beast listened to Pinky’s laughter, saw the mirth in his eyes, felt every fleeting touch of his hand, he realized that this moment mattered just as much as this ball to Pinky.

And perhaps to himself as well.

The sun had finally set, its light yielding to a dark, starry sky.

The grandfather clock struck six.

There was a knock on the library door, but the Warners didn’t wait for the Beast’s permission to enter. Right behind them were two coronets with long, blue and gold flags attached, who immediately played a loud fanfare to announce their presence.

Pinky rolled onto his stomach, tail swishing with anticipation.

“Hear ye, hear ye!” Yakko declared once the fanfare was over. “All participants to the first ever Golden Ball, make your way to the wings of the castle to be cleaned up and outfitted appropriately!”

“Pinky to the east! Beast to the west!” Dot added. “No delaying now! Move it or lose it!”

“By the time we’re through with you, you’ll look absolutely smashing!” Wakko exclaimed.

Pinky hopped to his feet at once, eager to begin right away. The Beast nearly tripped over himself as he stood up, and he was completely unprepared for Pinky throwing himself against him for a hug. Unbalanced, the Beast nearly fell over, but managed to steady himself just in time.

“See you tonight, Beast!” Pinky exclaimed, and once the words slipped out of his mouth, he was gone.

But his touch lingered on the Beast’s fur all the way to the West Wing.

o-o-o-o-o

Pinky sank into the heavenly warm water, resting his hand against the side of the tub so the manicure team could trim and file his nails.

He inhaled the misty air, and though he couldn't identify the scent, it smelled nice.

Though he could've stayed in the tub forever, he didn't want his fingers to get all wrinkly and pruny like a raisin. And besides, he could hardly leave the Beast waiting out there by himself!

He smiled as he thought of the Beast, wondering what sort of clothing he'd have. Neither of them had been allowed to see their formal outfits as they were being made, since Marita got a kick out of the thrill of the surprise.

It was kinda funny. A few months ago, this never would've been possible. The Beast had been so aggressive, temperamental, and frightening when they'd first met. He yelled a lot and sent furniture flying with a single swipe of his paw at the slightest provocation.

Pinky wanted to hide in the bedroom and never come out again.

Then the Beast saved Pinky's life from the wolf. It had been his temper that had driven Pinky into danger in the first place, but Pinky had seen the silent apology in the Beast's eyes when he fell into the snow.

He'd seen the helplessness, the fear, the vulnerability that the Beast tried to cover up with raw, destructive anger.

But after Pinky saved the Beast’s life and took care of his scratches, something changed.

The Beast had visited him when he was sick, replaced his mother’s traveling cloak and ensured there would be a way to hang onto a piece of her as an apology, and always sought for Pinky’s company.

And gradually, they trusted each other enough to reveal secrets that were never spoken out loud before.

The Beast was lonely, the only living creature who was trapped in a fortress of stone. He cared about his servants, and they cared about him too, but there was only so much a living inanimate object could provide. Physical touch seemed to confuse the Beast, but once he relaxed into Pinky’s hugs and getting his ears scratched as he fell asleep, he’d make those cute happy growly noises, which soothed Pinky right back.

And in return, Pinky revealed the truth of his mother’s passing. How a growing family had been cut in half unexpectedly, and how they’d been moving around France ever since.

It was the first time the Beast initiated a hug, and he let Pinky cry against him until he fell asleep. His embrace had been steady and warm, and for once, Pinky hadn’t felt like he was wandering through the world, trying to navigate his way home but always losing his way.

And now, the Beast enlisted the entire castle to prepare a ball for them, all because Pinky inspired him with a bedtime story.

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

“We’re ready over here, Pinky!” Adeline called.

Stretching out luxuriously, Pinky blew one last handful of bubbles into the air and climbed out of the tub. “Be there in a few, Adeline!” he shouted. “I’m drying off now!”

He took extra care in drying his fur with the soft, fluffy towel.

“Thanks for the manicure!” he told the small set of nail care items, who responded in kind.

As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, someone wrapped a cloth around his eyes. Confused, he tried to lift the blindfold, only to be met with a disapproving noise.

“Keep that blindfold on until we say you can take it off, Pinky!” Dot scolded. “No peeking!”

“I love a good surprise as much as anyone, Dot, but don’t I need to see the dress to put it on?” Pinky asked.

“You could,” Adeline said. “But where’s the fun in that?”

That was true. The servants enjoyed pampering him. When he’d first come to the castle, he found it strange that they wanted to serve him hand and foot all the time, and occasionally the Beast had to order them to back off from time to time when Pinky found it overwhelming.

But now he understood that they genuinely loved and took pride in their roles, and serving was how they cared. Sometimes they argued and fought and squabbled, but they always had each other’s back like one big, chaotic family.

The servants had become his friends too, and Pinky couldn’t imagine the castle without them.

“Well, if you insist!” Pinky exclaimed. He closed his eyes too, just so he didn’t accidentally see anything in case the blindfold slipped off.

He felt something silky laid out at his feet.

"Step forward, please!" Adeline said.

With the servants' help, Pinky stepped into a hole within the silk. The fabric was pulled upwards until the top portion rested against his upper chest.

The skirt was much heavier than he was used to, somewhat restricting his movement, but he was sure he just needed to get used to it first.

"Arms out!" Dot called.

Pinky lifted his arms, and the silk against his chest was adjusted, the clasps in the back securely fastened.

There was a thin covering of silk around his shoulders, but his arms were left bare.

"Gloves!" another servant shouted to remedy that.

A long pair of elbow-length gloves were pulled over Pinky's arms. They were slim and delicate, but weren't thick enough to get in his way.

There was a chorus of oohs and ahhs from the servants.

"Simply magnifique!" Marita exclaimed. "This is my best work yet! A magnum opus for sure!"

"Can I take off the blindfold now?" Pinky asked, itching to see what he looked like.

From everyone's reactions, he was sure he must've looked absolutely stunning. He wanted to see himself more than anything!

Except for the Beast, of course.

"We're not quite finished yet, dearie," Marita said. "It won't take long. Just a bit of light makeup to highlight your eyes!"

Someone helped Pinky onto a stool, and the blindfold was removed. Pinky couldn't resist peeking, but a brush was quickly applied to his eyes, forcing him to shut them again.

Not that much powder, just a light dusting!

Good work on those eyelashes!

Just a tiny bit more eyeshadow to the right!

The makeup team chattered excitedly as they worked on Pinky's face, tugging his head in every direction to make sure everything was perfect.

He shivered as someone applied a cold spray to the back of his neck, though his initial discomfort melted away as he scented something sweet in the air.

“Apple blossom perfume,” somebody giggled. “So you’ll smell all lovely for the boss!”

Pinky had rarely worn perfume before since it was so expensive, but it was a special occasion, and it was nice of the servants to share their luxury items with him.

After a few minutes, the makeup team declared they were finished.

“You can open your eyes now!” Marita announced.

Unable to wait any longer, Pinky opened his eyes.

And the mouse in the mirror stunned him.

On his body was a floor-length ballroom dress, golden and bright and shimmering like the sun. The bodice left his neck and upper chest bare, hugging his body and showing off his frame. A thin layer of silk delicately circled his upper arms, leaving his shoulders exposed. The skirt was full and framed with intricate patterns, spreading out in a wide circle.

Covering his arms were a pair of golden elbow-length opera gloves that matched the dress.

And the makeup team really highlighted the color of his eyes, just as they promised.

Pinky could only gape at his reflection, and he had to make a few faces just to be sure it was really him.

A pair of glittering golden slippers were laid before him, and he slid off the stool, his feet fitting within the slippers perfectly.

Then Pinky gave the dress an experimental twirl, the skirt flaring out in a wide circle around him.

So he wasn’t dreaming after all. This was real. This was really him!

“Narf! I’ve never felt more beautiful in all my life!” Pinky exclaimed, his disbelief transforming into pure joy and excitement. His own village wouldn’t recognize him! He stopped twirling and faced the servants, unable to stop smiling. “Thank you, everyone! This is the loveliest dress I’ve ever worn! You’ve all been so wonderful tonight, and over the last few months too! I’d never be able to thank you enough!”

“Just knock the boss’s socks off and we’ll call it even!” Dot shouted, and everyone laughed and congratulated each other for a job well done.

Pinky turned to Marita, who was puffed up with pride at her finest creation yet. “You really outdid yourself with the dress! I love it so much! Thank you!” Pinky hugged one of Marita’s wooden legs, and the wardrobe gave him a broad smile back.

“You know, the boss let it slip that your favorite color was yellow,” Marita winked at him. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

He remembered!

Pinky’s heart soared. The Beast had really thought of everything! And of him too!

“I didn’t think it was possible for me to love this dress any more than I already do, but I’m so happy I was wrong!” Pinky grinned.

Adeline and several of the seamstresses approached him, carting a small box along in the middle of their procession.

“We have one more item to give you before your big debut,” Adeline said. She opened the box to reveal a sparkling golden tiara inside a velvet-lined interior. It was so shiny that Pinky could see his reflection in it, and he hesitated at wearing something so beautiful. “Go ahead. Put it on.”

With her permission, Pinky picked up the tiara and faced the mirror as he placed it upon his head.

“You look like a princess, Pinky!” Dot complimented him as he studied his reflection. “A real belle of the ball!”

Not only did he look like a princess, he felt like one too! He wondered what Papa and the Squirrels would say if they saw him now. Would they even recognize him?

“Princess Pinky does have a nice ring to it…” Adeline admitted.

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves, ladies,” Marita said. “Dot, would you mind checking on everyone in the West Wing? Let them know we’re all set here.”

“Will do!” Dot exclaimed, and she took her leave at once.

Now all Pinky had to do was wait. But it was easier said than done, and he took a seat so he didn’t collapse into a dead faint before he had a chance of enjoying this wonderful night.

His heart raced in anticipation of seeing the Beast again, and that single thought consumed his mind.

o-o-o-o-o

The Beast didn't think it was possible to make his reflection any worse than it already was, but the servants proved him wrong.

A mass of colorful ribbons was now tangled up in his fur, tied onto his tail, and wrapped around his horns. The thick fur on his cheeks were twisted into strange curls that belonged more on Mindy than a beast.

He sneezed at the excess powder that covered his face, scattering makeup all over the dresser he was seated at.

Yakko cheerfully clapped his candlesticks together, oblivious to the turmoil the Beast was facing. "You look so-"

"-stupid," the Beast finished for him. As much as he wanted to lock himself into the dungeons and never see the light of day again, he didn't want all the servants' hard work to be wasted, nor could he stand the look of disappointment that would surely be on Pinky's face if he canceled.

He wanted to see Pinky, but he was afraid of Pinky seeing him. He wanted to hold Pinky close, but keep him at arm's length too. And most of all, he wanted to tell Pinky that he…well, he wasn't sure what he wanted from Pinky now.

His kindness? His friendship? His lo-

He stopped that thought right there.

None of the servants seemed to realize that he hadn’t planned the ball to break the curse. He just had the means to throw a ball to see Pinky smile.

The Beast didn’t want to ruin Pinky’s night by telling him that he wanted to be more than just friends.

There was a knock on the door, and everyone froze. The Beast looked around for somewhere to hide in case it was Pinky. He wasn’t presentable yet! He needed more time to get ready!

“Hey, Pinky’s all set over here! You guys done yet?” Dot shouted as she poked her handle into the room. “You’re taking foreve-”

She stared at the Beast, and he sheepishly tightened the towel wrapped around his body as she scrutinized the mass of ribbons in his fur.

“Why does he look like a unicorn vomited all over him?” Dot sighed, tapping her base against the floor as she waited for an answer from her brothers and the rest of the team.

The servants backed away from Yakko. “Gee, thanks for the support,” Yakko told them, and they only shrugged. Then he turned back to his sister. “I wasn’t the one who assigned all the senior makeup artists to Pinky. We had to improvise.”

“You call sticking every ribbon in the castle onto him improvising?” Dot shouted.

While Yakko and Dot squabbled, the Beast ignored them as he carefully untangled the ribbons from his fur. It gave him something to focus on, at least. His nerves were already frayed, and the only thing that kept him from losing his temper entirely was that he didn’t want to ruin tonight.

“I don’t think Pinky would mind,” Wakko said as he collected the discarded ribbons. “Can I have these if you don’t want ‘em?”

“Take them. I’m not going out there with this mess,” the Beast growled, wincing as a coat rack tugged too hard while removing the ribbons from his tail. If Pinky was going to put effort in with his appearance, then the Beast could do the bare minimum and not show up in a towel. With all the accessories gone, he accepted a washcloth from one of the featherdusters and scrubbed out all the powder on his face, then ran a paw over his fur to undo all the curls. Once he was finished, his fur had gone back to mostly normal, save for a few odd strands. Then he looked away from his reflection. He’d gotten slightly better at tolerating it, but there were still times when he couldn’t handle seeing his own horns. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this at all.”

“Why not?” Wakko asked, his brass arms completely covered in ribbons. “Pinky cares about you. And you care about him too, right?”

More than anything, the Beast didn’t dare say out loud.

“He has some…admirable traits,” he admitted, choosing his words carefully.

Loyalty, kindness, the ability to find something good in the most unlikely places, just to name a few.

“All you need is a little pep talk to boost your confidence!” Yakko exclaimed, completely forgetting his argument with Dot. “Back me up here, sibs! Now, repeat after me! You’re going to put on a nice suit!”

“I’m going to put on a nice suit?” the Beast echoed.

“Is that a question or a statement?” Dot shouted.

“I’m going to put on a nice suit,” the Beast declared.

Wakko jumped in next, tossing his ribbon pile into the air. “You’re going to treat Pinky to dinner with romantic candlelight and ambient music!”

“I’m going to treat Pinky to dinner with candlelight and ambient music.”

Reviewing tonight’s plan step-by-step was helping, the tasks no longer as daunting once they were broken down.

“You’re going to be bold, daring and sweep Pinky off his feet with a dance!” Yakko added.

“I’m going to be bold, daring and sweep Pinky off his feet with a dance.”

“And you’re finally gonna confess your love and break the curse for good!” Dot eagerly shouted.

“And I’m finally going to confess my-”

Then the Beast stopped himself before he parroted that ridiculous sentence mindlessly.

He’d ruin everything if he told Pinky that his feelings weren’t just platonic anymore. Pinky seemed happy enough to be friends, but that wouldn’t last if he had to be a lover to a monster.

“Great, he was doing so well until you mentioned that part,” Yakko muttered.

Ever since the Beast had forged this new friendship with Pinky, the rose’s petals hadn’t dropped as quickly as they used to, but they still fell occasionally.

But even with the approaching deadline, the Beast was still afraid to say it.

He shoved all his misgivings aside.

He’d delayed long enough. It was time to face Pinky.

The wardrobe swung open, revealing a white dress shirt with a kerchief, a golden vest, and black dress pants. But the most striking piece was a blue overcoat with gold trim, and though he knew Marita could make anyone look impressive even if she had nothing to work with but scraps, he was still taken aback by the sight.

Did he really have the right to wear a suit that belonged more to a prince than a beast?

He glanced at the Warner siblings and the other servants, who were all watching him expectantly.

They’d been on his side, all this time. They were rooting for him to break the curse, and perhaps for him to find someone he could cherish too.

He took the suit from the wardrobe.

Maybe he could do this after all.

“Give me a few minutes,” he said, stepping behind a divider for some privacy while he dressed.

He dropped his towel, took the pants, and set to work.

o-o-o-o-o

Pinky waited at the top of the stairs in his golden ballgown, one hand holding the skirt aside so he wouldn’t trip over the hem. He flicked the skirt back and forth, enjoying how gracefully it swept against the air.

He had a beautiful view of the golden ballroom from here. The walls and floor were polished and spotless, and a gorgeous chandelier hung from a ceiling painted with cute little cherubs.

The servants gathered at the base of the stairs, forming a line on each side. Towards the back of the ballroom, Rita and Hello Nurse were perched on top of a grand piano, an orchestra filled with string instruments surrounding them.

The Beast was taking a long time to get ready. Was everything alright?

Just as Pinky thought about checking on the Beast himself, the Warner siblings appeared from the doorway. Wakko and Dot rushed down the stairs to wait at the bottom, while Yakko hauled himself onto the banister, gentle flames springing from his candles.

Across the ballroom, other candelabras lit up at his signal, and the ballroom shined brilliantly. A light piano melody filled the air.

And from the other side of the stairs, the Beast finally appeared.

He was incredibly dashing in his blue coat and white kerchief. Marita had done a wonderful job tailoring a unique suit just for the Beast.

His fur was neatly brushed, his horns beautifully polished.

The Beast’s brows lifted, his lovely rose-pink eyes widening as he stared at Pinky. He was still as a statue, hardly daring to breathe.

Pinky smiled at him, then twirled in place to show off his golden ballgown. The skirt flew in graceful arcs around his body.

Though the Beast tried to maintain a neutral expression, even he couldn’t help but grin back.

And the Beast had a beautiful smile.

They descended the stairs and met on the landing. Pinky curtsied, and the Beast bowed in return.

When he straightened up, Pinky reached out and smoothed the tiny crinkles from the Beast’s ruffled kerchief. “You look very handsome,” Pinky said, beaming at him.

The Beast blushed. “T-thanks,” he stammered. “And you’re very…um, punctual.”

“Aww, thanks! I try my best! Narf!” Pinky exclaimed. “So…would you kindly escort me to the dining room?”

The Beast offered his arm, and Pinky looped his own around it. They walked down the last set of steps together.

Oh, the night had only begun, and it was better than anything Pinky had ever dreamed up!

He was so lost in his daydreams that he almost missed the Beast suddenly holding him in place as Runt broke away from the line of servants, his tassels wagging with excitement. A cute protective look crossed the Beast’s face, and Pinky loved the firm yet carefully controlled strength of the Beast’s hands on his shoulders.

Once the others herded Runt out of the way, the Beast linked his arm with Pinky’s again, and they continued their journey to the dining room.

A long table with a gorgeous white tablecloth was laid out before them. A colorful bouquet of flowers sat in the middle with beautiful dishes of food, silver cutlery, and candelabras surrounding it.

There were two seats, one on each end of the table. The Beast released Pinky and moved to the opposite side. As he sat down, surprise flashed in his pink eyes.

Pinky glanced at his own seat, suddenly aware of the distance between them. How was he supposed to talk to the Beast if they were this far away from each other?

“Excuse me,” Pinky said to a wineglass as it hopped along the table. It stopped and leaned towards Pinky. “Would you mind if I moved down there? It’s a bit lonely on this side.”

The wineglass hopped twice, and Pinky’s plate, bowl, and cutlery stood up, moved down the table, and arranged themselves on the Beast’s right.

Then Pinky yelped as his entire chair slid towards the Beast, who dropped his dinner roll on the floor from surprise.

A broom quickly swept the bread away.

“So much better! Thanks a bunch!” Pinky exclaimed as a ladle poured a delicious smelling soup into his bowl. “Hi, Beast!”

“Pinky,” the Beast said, quickly trying to compose himself as he grabbed a fresh roll from the basket. “Everything satisfactory so far?"

Pinky blinked. "What's a factory?"

The Beast stared down at his roll, now squished between his large paws. "Are you…enjoying yourself?"

He sounded unsure. So far, the Beast hadn't said much since the ball began. And if he did respond, his answers were often short and straight to the point.

Maybe someone else would've mistaken it for disinterest, but Pinky had seen how broadly the Beast smiled when they met on the stairs, how quickly he jumped to Pinky's aid when he almost tripped over Runt, and how he couldn't keep his eyes off Pinky as he provided that gentleman's escort to the dining room.

Not to mention all the effort he'd put into organizing the ball.

The Beast wasn't the type for flowery language, but he didn't need to be. He was perfectly willing to spring into action for Pinky though.

It was sweet. Pinky had never known anyone who went through so much trouble just to make him happy.

"It's everything I dreamed of!" Pinky exclaimed.

“Good. That’s…good," the Beast replied. He glanced down at the various forks and spoons at his paws of different sizes. The Beast selected one of the smaller spoons and leaned over his bowl, one hand pressed against his clothing to keep it out of the way as he dipped the spoon into his soup and brought it up to his mouth.

Months ago, he couldn't hold a spoon without dropping its contents. Though his grip was somewhat tense and stiff as he tried to balance the spoon in his hand, he managed to get the liquid into his mouth without spilling anything.

He seemed surprised at his own accomplishment.

Pinky raised his thimble to toast the Beast's victory, and the Beast returned the gesture.

o-o-o-o-o

When the Beast first laid eyes on Pinky from atop the stairs, he’d been rendered speechless and tongue-tied. And he still was.

It was difficult to hold a conversation with someone who was the embodiment of sunshine, now clad in a shimmering ballgown that had been tailored to bring out that inner light for everyone to see.

Pinky’s ballgown was a beautiful gold, just like his heart and soul. Like he was wearing the sun itself, and his eyes were the bright blue sky that came to chase away a dark, lonely night.

The ballgown framed Pinky’s figure well, showing off his slender shoulders and snow-white fur.

And Pinky may not have been born a princess, but he had the spirit of one and the tiara to match.

Perhaps some uncultured noble would have been offended at Pinky wearing a tiara since he wasn’t royalty, but they could take their opinion and shove it. In the Beast’s eyes, there was nobody else more worthy to wear that tiara than Pinky.

"Look, Beast! The big spoon and little spoon are cuddling! Aren't they adorable?" Pinky asked as he clinked the extra cutlery together like a little girl playing with dolls. “I’m gonna call them Silver and Table, and here’s their baby, Tea!”

He showed the Beast a tiny teaspoon with a flower marking on its handle.

Yes, this was the mouse he'd developed all these strange, new feelings for.

He wouldn't have him any other way.

At least the spoons were enchanted objects with no human form, or it would’ve been mortifying.

“Cute,” the Beast replied, and Pinky laughed.

It was a wonderful sound.

Soon they were finished with the appetizer course. The soup bowls were cleared away by the staff and replaced by a dish with several choice cuts of roast duck on a bed of cabbage and a smaller plate of cheese souffle to the side.

The portion sizes weren’t large, but they were just enough to be satisfying without leaving them too full to move around.

“So did you read anything good lately?” Pinky asked as he shoveled cheese souffle into his mouth.

The Beast hadn’t really contributed much to any conversation since the ball began. He probably should’ve said something a lot sooner, though Pinky seemed content to just spend time with him.

Thankfully, Pinky chose a simple topic.

When Pinky hung out with the servants, the Beast used his spare time to practice reading. After several years of giving up on books, his literacy wasn't up to par. Since he could read books from the children's section without too much trouble, he was gradually trying out more complicated books.

First he tried to peruse the thick history tomes that he'd often been required to read by his tutors as a child, but found them incomprehensible due to the tiny words and lack of illustrations.

So he tried a science journal instead. With all the European countries racing to explore and conquer the oceans and far-off lands, new scientific discoveries were being made all the time.

It was a fascinating subject, but the Beast had to keep his interest a secret or risk traditional parents burning his books in the fireplace.

But there was no need to hide his science-related interests around Pinky.

The Beast thought of an amusing anecdote he'd come across in a science journal written by a scientist from a British expedition to Australia, who had some choice words for the Royal Science Society after they'd rejected some of his findings.

"Well, I was reading this science journal the other day. Have you ever heard of a platypus before?" the Beast asked.

"Platypus?" Pinky said, testing the word on his tongue. "Platypus. It's a funny word, but a bit long for a catchphrase. Is it a type of pimple?"

The Beast shook his head. "No, it's an animal. Try picturing a beaver, then give it a duck's bill and feet. That's what a platypus looks like, according to the diagram anyway."

Pinky tapped his fork against his plate, chewing on a piece of cabbage as he tried to picture the Beast's description of a platypus in his mind. He snickered at whatever mental image his mind was cooking up.

"They're semi-aquatic, diet consists of insects and worms, and those characteristics I can believe, but then the author makes this ridiculous claim-"

"-that platypuses wear cool hats and fight crime?" Pinky asked. Then he gasped, his hands flying to his mouth. "Don't tell anyone I told you, Beast! I think that was supposed to be a secret!"

"I won't say anything if you won't," the Beast said, and Pinky wiped his forehead in relief.

God, why did his inanity have to be so endearing?

"I was going to say that the author claims platypuses lay eggs, yet the journal classifies them as mammals," the Beast scoffed.

He could see why the findings were rejected and the platypus was ultimately declared a hoax.

"Well, that's just silly," Pinky declared.

Finally, someone who agreed with him!

"Obviously, it's the stork's work!" Pinky exclaimed.

And the Beast decided that for his peace of mind, he would assume that Pinky was messing with him and wasn't serious.

Dessert consisted of a light, fluffy cake with white icing and cut-up strawberries along the top. A coat rack entered the room as they were served, towing a violin in its wooden arms.

Their conversation died away as they listened to the soft, flowing melody of the violin’s music. Pinky swayed back and forth as he ate his cake, his tail swishing along to the music. His eyes were closed in contentment, and he twirled his fork in the air in between bites.

Hello Nurse and Rita had chosen some fitting songs for this event, but the Beast wished he could tell the servants to stop laying it on so thickly without running the risk of Pinky overhearing. He didn’t dare interrupt the violin’s melody.

Not while Pinky derived so much enjoyment just from the music alone.

The Beast focused on clearing his plate, a pit of dread forming in his stomach as he thought about what was to come.

Where there was music, there was dancing. And where there was dancing, there was a certain level of closeness that would come with it. And from that closeness, would come his…confession.

He was throwing this ball to make Pinky happy and give him the experience he’d never received as a child because of his commoner status.

But…if Pinky associated balls with dreams and princesses and romance, maybe there was a chance that he wouldn’t mind the Beast taking the opportunity to confess?

Pinky wasn’t expecting a handsome prince to carry him off on a noble steed, was he?

Balls were for princes, not monsters pretending to be one.

A hand touched his own, and the Beast looked up from his plate, startled by the joyful twinkling of Pinky’s sky-blue eyes.

“Care to join me for a dance?” he asked.

The Beast hesitated, trying to remain in his seat despite Pinky’s insistent yet gentle tugging. “I…I don’t dance,” he admitted. “Never learned.”

Before the curse, he only bothered attending balls when he was required to, and he’d never been asked by anyone to be their dance partner. They were always a lonely affair, watching everyone revolve around the ballroom while he was stuck watching the proceedings from the sidelines.

He might’ve been a prince, but everyone acted like he didn’t exist at all.

Only the servants bothered to check up on him, but they had other duties and could never stay with him for long. At the time, he thought they’d abandoned him too.

Now, he understood they were pushing their constraints as much as they could without giving themselves away, and he’d never thanked them for their effort.

Pinky gave the Beast’s hand a reassuring squeeze, offering him a gentle smile. “I learned from my mom. I can show you what she taught me, if you’d like.”

Strange, how he’d been so adamant against receiving help in the past. The Beast had been taught that princes needed to know absolutely everything from every subject, from economics to etiquette to wartime strategies to their predecessors’ accomplishments down to the date and year.

Even if he didn’t know something, he had to act like an expert on it anyway, or he would be considered weak.

But Pinky never judged him for losing his ability to read. It stood to reason that he wouldn’t judge him over not knowing how to dance.

“...okay,” the Beast agreed, feeling rather warm under his suit as Pinky hauled him to his feet and clung happily to his arm.

They entered the golden ballroom, and though the Beast was familiar with every nook and cranny of his castle, the sheer size of the ballroom was overwhelming.

There was a grand piano in one corner, its ivory keys moving alongside Hello Nurse's strings. Rita and the Warner siblings were perched on top, hardly able to contain their excitement.

A new song began. Its melody flowed beautifully, though the Beast could barely make out the lyrics. His nerves were too fried.

Pinky turned to him, a bright smile on his face as he took the Beast's hands. He guided one large paw to wrap around the bodice of his gown, his thin figure fitting perfectly within the Beast's palm.

The Beast gulped. He couldn't imagine just how much trust Pinky was placing in him with this gesture. How Pinky willingly let the Beast hold him in an intimate place, how he trusted that the Beast's claws wouldn't sink into him.

His entire hand could easily wrap around Pinky, and the mouse did nothing but encourage it. Pinky placed one hand on the Beast's arm, then clasped their free hands together.

"Ready?" he asked.

There was a lump caught in the Beast’s throat. “I don’t know…” he whispered, the only thing he could say.

But Pinky only smiled. “That’s okay. Just follow my lead.”

The Beast was used to leading, not following, but he allowed Pinky to pull him along as they began their dance.

He watched the movement of Pinky’s golden slippers beneath his shimmering dress, trying to match their rhythm.

There was a pattern to it. When Pinky moved forward, the Beast had to step back. When Pinky moved his right foot, the Beast would move his left.

He knew Pinky could definitely move faster if he wanted to, but something about his dazzling smile told him that he didn’t mind taking it a little slower than he usually did to help ease the Beast into their waltz.

Funny, how he used to think he had to know everything. How he had to be strong, how he had to hide everything about himself so he could cultivate the powerful image of a prince.

Pinky had proved him wrong though, and strangely enough, the Beast was grateful for that. Pinky wasn’t afraid to challenge him, yet he was always ready to encourage the Beast to come out of his shell and try something new. He consoled him when he suffered that horrible nightmare, offering a shoulder to cry on and never berating him for showing vulnerability. He invited him to play with him in the snow, to ride on Pharfignewton’s back with him.

He shared the Beast’s sorrow over losing something important, and his joy when he discovered that he could reclaim the skills he thought were lost forever.

His gaze shifted from Pinky’s feet to his sparkling blue eyes, which radiated nothing but pure joy.

After so many dark, lonely nights, the dawn was finally breaking through. And the sunlight was absolutely beautiful.

Pinky beamed at him as they completed one revolution. “Egad, you’re doing great, Beast!” he exclaimed. “And you didn’t even step on my toes like I did with my parents!”

“I am?” the Beast asked, shocked to hear that he was doing well. He glanced at his servants who’d gathered by the grand piano, and they all gave him the closest thing to a thumbs-up they could manage while cheering him on. “I am!”

He was matching Pinky’s pace! He was actually dancing!

Excitement coursed through his body, and he couldn’t contain it any longer. He swept Pinky out into a wide arc, unable to stop grinning like a fool.

o-o-o-o-o

They were having so much fun!

Pinky's heart soared as the Beast's confidence and enjoyment reached new heights. It was rewarding to see his uncertainty melt away, replaced by a broad grin as he swept Pinky out and reeled him back in.

All the Beast needed was the basics. And it looked like he had them down beautifully!

Pinky was more than happy to relinquish his lead to the Beast as they waltzed around the ballroom in a giant circle. He loved how his body fit so well in the Beast's giant palm, how firm yet gentle his grip was, how he could feel the subtlest shift of his fingers as he directed Pinky's movements.

The entire ballroom belonged to them, and nobody could tell them otherwise. They were free from any obligations beyond dancing. The rest of the world disappeared, and all that mattered was their waltz and each other.

And seeing the Beast smile as they danced was just the cherry on top of a wonderful night.

Before he met the Beast, he’d never belonged anywhere. It was just him and Papa and Pharfignewton, always moving with nothing more than what a cart and a horse could carry.

But now, he had more friends than ever before. The Warners, Rita and Runt, Marita and Flavio, the Goodfeathers, Mindy and Buttons, Adeline, the stablemaster and his apprentices…they always made him feel welcome from the start.

Then there was the Beast, who tried his hardest every single day. Even if he didn’t always get it right, with a little encouragement, he would try again. And Pinky appreciated his efforts, no matter how small they were.

And in turn, the Beast had made him the happiest he’d ever been.

Content in the Beast’s arms, Pinky laid his head against the Beast’s warm chest, nuzzling into the warmth of his body. And he heard those wonderful happy growlies rumbling deep in the Beast’s throat.

The melody became softer and sweeter as the song drew to a close. The candelabras dimmed their lights, and the ballroom’s golden glow faded to a soft, muted bronze. The doors to the balcony opened as Pinky performed one final twirl before latching onto the Beast’s arm.

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” Pinky smiled up at the Beast, who blushed at the compliment.

“You taught me,” the Beast replied, his hand sweeping out to the balcony, revealing the most beautiful night Pinky had ever seen in his life.

It was time to wind down.

Tonight had been absolutely magical, and Pinky wished it would never end.

End AN: The ‘I love you more than life itself’ line Pinky quotes was taken from Disney’s Robin Hood, and poor Brain has to listen to Pinky latch onto that XD

Brain calling Pinky punctual is another shameless Aladdin reference.

Look, if platypuses are mentioned in any capacity than internet courtesy dictates that I must allude to Perry the Platypus. I have now achieved my life goal of mentioning Phineas and Ferb in a PatB fic.

Also…you know what’s coming next lol. I deeply apologize for what I’m about to do.

#pinky and the brain #patb fanfiction #beauty and the beast au

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lorirwritesfanfic · 3 years

Text

The Order of The Five Kingdoms: In His Honor

Author's note: A long time ago, my dear friend @myclevernamehere asked me to write a Superheroes AU for Leo x Madeleine. So here I am, several months later posting it for CFWC Nerd Week. It took me forever to finish but I hope you all have fun reading. [Leading characters are owned by Pixelberry Studios and original characters are creations of the author]

Book: The Royal Romance x Rules of Engagement Pairings: Leo Rys x Madeleine Amaranth, Liam Rys x MC (Jade) Rating: M Word count: Summary: Dark Ivy (Madeleine) is on a mission to save Black Dragon (Leo) from making a reckless decision to seek revenge from his father’s death and avoiding a natural disaster that can destroy the duchy of Valtoria. Based on the prompt: CFWC Nerd Week - day one: Superheroes / AU-Gust Writing Challenge - day eight: Superheroes/Superpowers AU

Warning: This piece contains adult material (violence and unhealthy coping mechanisms to handle grief) that may be disturbing/offensive for some people. Reader discretion is advised.

County of Fydelia

Birds chirped inside the nest on the biggest laurel oak of the main sqaure while Madeleine sat on a large branch with her binoculars. Stakeouts hardly were an activity she'd do willingly, though she was proud to be known for her abilities to be an excellent spy. Disobeying her new leader's orders, however, would mean not to be in his good graces, which wasn't something she wanted. So she acquiesced. Besides, given how complicated things were after her former leader's death, she knew somebody had to keep an eye on Black Dragon and patrol the city.

Pearls of sweat ran down her face as she scanned her surroundings. Everything seems just the same as it has always been in the capitol, despite the slight changes on the weather, nothing seemed unusual to her. The tremors in the area near the castle on the same night King Constantine passed away may have raised suspicions about seismic activities in different places of the kingdom, but most likely it was just a natural reaction of nature to the loss of its leader. On that particular morning, nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

"Horde, report to the Tower." The new leader's calm voice rumbled on the earpiece.

"Yes, sir," she replied at the same time as the others.

"I need status update of the kingdom."

"North is calm, sir," Hawk answered.

"South is calm too," Grey Wolf replied.

"Sea cost is clear, sir," Squid Master added.

"And the mountains?" Golden Dragon asked.

"Temperature is still high, but it has dropped four degrees. Scarlet Fox hasn't reported any new seismic activities in Lythikos. No smoke is coming from the Mountain Greaves," Lotus Tiger informed.

"Good. Dark Ivy?

"Yes, sir."

"Any news about him?"

"No, sir."

"Dammit..." The Golden Dragon grumbled.

Nobody else said a word. The members of Five Kingdoms Horde knew their leader was still struggling with the loss of his father and his job certainly didn't get any easier when his older brother stormed off the funeral to search for Constantine's murderer. To say things were tough in Cordonia would be an understatement.

The Young King suddenly went quiet as a velvet female voice muttered something inaudible in the background. Though Madeleine's usual response to the voice would be to roll her eyes, this time, she sighed in relief. She may not like the future queen nor the fact that she has gained some many powers in such short period of time, but if Jade could use her skills to calm the leader, so be it. The stability of the kingdom always came first.

The king cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank you for the update, everyone. Back to your positions."

"Yes, sir." All five members of the Horde replied in unison.

Madeleine adjusted her binoculars lens when one of the birds landed on it, its feathers blocking her vision. "Shoo! Shoo!" She waved her hand and pushed the animal away, but it insisted on staying in front of her. "Get out of my sight, you useless creature!" Still the animal wouldn't budge.

She pulled the binoculars away from her face and looked down to see a young boy laughing. With that, Madeleine effortlessly went down the tree and stood before the kid, who tried to run. Using her powers, she unleashed her branches that snaked around the boy and pulled him back. "Lord Devereaux!" She scolded.

"Ow! Let me go!"

"I'll let you go when I see fit." She gripped the vines tighter around him. "What are you doing sending that bird to disturb my investigation?"

The little lord started cackling.

"So you think this is funny?" She pursed her lips. "Does your mother, Countess Cecile of Lykos, know you walk around the city interfering in Royal matters?"

The boy gulped. "N-no, ma'am."

"Then why are you?!" She bellowed.

"I'm sorry, Dark Ivy! I just did what Black Dragon paid me to do. Please don't tell my mom!" The kid begged.

Madeleine shook her head. "Ugh, Leo..." She grumbled. "Where did he go?"

"I- I don't know..." The kid frowned.

"Really?" She produced her phone from her pocket and started tapping the screen. "Let's see what your mother thinks about you using your powers to prank the people who serve the Crown."

"Okay, okay!" The boy pleaded. "I saw Black Dragon taking a path to Valtoria."

"Did he say anything else?"

"No...?"

"Hmm... It's been a while since I talked to Lady Cecile. Maybe I'll give her a call to catch up and keep her up to speed." She tapped the screen one more time and pressed her phone against her ear.

"All right!" The kid yelled.

"What did Black Dragon say?"

"He told me to do this to distract you because he has unfinished business with the Vulture. But I thought it was weird. I don't know who this Vulture is."

"Unfortunately, I do," she said, releasing the kid.

"Horde, I need backup! Is anyone near Valtorian Highlands?" Hana's voice came on the earpiece.

"I'm near the border, Lotus Tiger. What's going on?" Madeleine answered.

"We just detected seismic activity near Mountain Greaves. It could be a regular activity related to nature still mourning the Silver Dragon, but it’s been over a week and the tremors are getting stronger. We think it could be..."

"The Black Dragon," Madeleine concluded.

"Yes," Hana answered.

"Shit..." Drake grumbled.

"Grey Wolf, go meet the Squid Master by the shore. I'm flying to Valtoria with the Hawk to reinforce backup," the King commanded.

"Copy that," Drake replied.

"Lotus Tiger, do what you can to isolate the area. Dark Ivy, can you handle him?"

"Yes, sir."

"Golden Dragon, don't you think maybe The Phoenix could help?" Maxwell asked.

"No," the king replied.

"Sir, but this is her duchy. Maybe with her connection to Valtorian Highlands, we could—"

"I said no." Liam cut Hana off hastily, raising his voice just enough to be commanding, but not rude.

"Copy that, sir."

"I'll meet you all as soon as possible."

Once the Horde and Tower conversation ended, Madeleine scanned her surroundings one last time then glanced at the little boy, who now seemed scared. "Lord Devereaux, go home."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Tell the guards to keep civilians away from the borders and roads that lead to Valtoria."

"Dark Ivy, did something bad happen?" The kid frowned.

"No." She adjusted her suit and stared to the top of the mountain, from where a sheer smoke escaped from the Heart Mountain. "But it's about to."

Duchy of Valtoria

As soon as Madeleine crossed the borders to arrive in Valtoria, the countess went straight to Highlands, where she found Hana suited up and pacing on the meadow, as if waiting for someone to show up.

"Thank you for coming, Dark Ivy," Hana said after releasing a sigh, probably in relief.

"No problem. I saw smoke on my way here. Are there any new seismic activities here?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Temperature doesn't stop rising and a few citizens felt small tremors last night. But most of the complaints came after this morning's earthquake. The seismology team didn't find anything in particular that could point to natural activity."

"This is definitely Leo's doing." Madeleine shook her head. "Any signs of him here?"

"Not really. You know how stealthy he is. Our best chance is somebody with an emotional connection to him to track him down."

Madeleine made a face as the other lady looked at her expectantly. "What?"

"You were engaged to him. It has to mean something to him."

The countess scoffed. "Don't fool yourself, Hana. That was years ago. I can't feel his presence, which means he probably doesn't even want to see me."

"Maybe he tried to break the connection because he can feel you tracking him down?"

"I don't think so. Leo only has real emotional connections with Liam, Bastien, Queen Regina and Maxwell."

"What do we do until they arrive here? It'll take at least forty five minutes to get here. Who knows what can happen until we find Leo?"

"Call the Phoenix. She can use her connection to the land to find Leo and buy us some time some time until Liam arrives."

"Madeleine, we can't..." Hana grimaced. "You know what Liam said about getting her involved in this investigation."

"But Jade is our best shot. She can teleport here. She can control the Highlands. Liam should have listened to Maxwell or you."

"He has a point. Jade is still in trainment and she got ill the last time she overused her powers."

"But it wouldn't hurt to try..." The queen-to-be approached the ladies as she pushed the hood covering her head.

"Jade! How—" Hana stopped herself then proceeded. "You can't be here. You should be resting!"

"It's sweet of you to worry about me, Hana, but give me some credit. I helped saving almost everyone in the last assassination attempt," the duchess of Valtoria said with a weak smile.

"Do you see what I mean?" Madeleine gestured to the Phoenix. "She's not going to break, Hana."

"Jade, the last time you passed out from exhaustion. You're still recovering. You know how Liam feels about you fighting before you learn how to have full control of your powers." Hana frowned as she tried to reason with her friend.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. Connecting myself with my own duchy won't do me any harm. Besides, these are desperate times. We can't wait until Liam arrives."

"Thank you!" Madeleine exclaimed in exasperation. "That's what I've been trying to tell everyone on my way here. But clearly I reached out to the wrong members of the Order."

"You'd be surprised to know what I do when I worry about someone I love," Jade implied as she looked down at her engagement ring. "But I see your point. We have no time to waste."

With that, Jade crouched down and placed her hands on the floor. A sudden gust of wind circled the region. Flames sparkled from the duchess's eyes as she spoke in a monotonous tone, lost in trance. "They're here... Black Dragon has the Vulture cornered near the peak of Mountain Greaves."

"I knew it," Madeleine scowled. "We have to stop him."

The Phoenix closed her eyes and inhaled deeply when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Jade?" Hana called, gazing at her friend in worry.

The duchess snapped out of her trance. "Grief is consuming Leo. He wants revenge. And he won't stop. Madeleine, you have to go now."

"On it. Hana, you take the—"

"No." Jade looked up at Madeleine. "You have to do this alone. You still have a connection with him. I can feel it. Appeal to the side of him only you know."

"I—" Madeleine trailed off in shock.

The countess's astonishment didn't go unnoticed by Jade, who continued to persuade her. "You said you were tired of being a second class member of the Order. Well, this is your chance to prove you're better."

"Madeleine, go. I'll stay here with Jade to gather strength to reduce the effects of the earthquakes until Liam and Horde arrive." Hana then glanced at the top of Mount Greaves, from where more smoke escaped.

"Alright," Madeleine nodded to both ladies and ran as fast as she could, hoping it was too late to stop a possible disaster.

Ashes slowly fell on the dark soil at top of Mountain Greaves. Anton struggled to steady himself as Leo pushed him forward, towards the peak of the mountain. Yet, he didn't see it as a defeat. He hit a nerve on the former crown prince. Even if he died, he was sure his mission to take Rys family down still would be accomplished.

"What are you smiling about?!" Leo snarled and tightened the chains around Anton's limbs, binding him from using the Vulture's powers.

"I don't think you have the guts to kill me, Your no longer Highness." Anton smirked. "If you wanted to, you would have done it when you found me in the cave."

"Just killing you isn't enough." Leo pulled the chains once again, making his nemesis wince. "I had to torture you, watch you contort in pain, then I'm going to do it all over again until you beg me to push you into the same volcano you got your powers from."

"Funny how pathetic someone can be when they're led by emotions." Anton snorted. "Constantine was a corrupt leader, a terrible father and an awful human being. But you still want bloodshed just because your daddy got what he deserved."

A thick smoke came out of the crater when Leo scowled and grabbed Anton by the throat, lifting him up effortlessly. "If you say another word, I will break alll your fucking bones, you piece of shit," he hissed.

Just then, a familiar voice chanted. "I wouldn't doubt him if I were you." Madeleine's voice cut through the thin air. "Leo has a thing for inflicting pain."

Leo's head snapped to the side and his eyes went wide as he stared at his ex-fiancee approaching the top of the mountain. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm hoping you come to your senses before you do something you will regret for the rest of your life."

"You know, that's exactly what I was telling him before you arrived, Dark Ivy..." Anton jeered.

"Shut up!" Leo yelled, tightening his grip on Anton's neck. The floor trembled at the sound of his voice.

"Black Dragon, this isn't you..." Madeleine insisted as she did her best to steady herself. "You're not a murderer. You care about people, you have the gift to lighten up the mood anywhere you walk into. You're so much better than this."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Dark Ivy. After all, you said it yourself I like to inflict pain on other people," Leo replied, taking a few more steps closer to the crater.

Leo's grip on Anton's neck loosened up as Madeleine continued to speak. "Do you remember when you told me about not feeling ready to be king? It was pouring at the capitol and we were watching the rain fall when you said you weren’t running away from your responsibilities like I assumed you were. You just wanted..."

"...The best for the kingdom I was born and raised in," Leo completed her sentence as his blue eyes went glossy.

Suddenly, another gust of wind blew, dissipating the smoke coming from the mountain. Dark clouds began to form near the region, ready to wash away the air still filled with volcanic ashes.

"I was selfish when I yelled at you that day. But you stayed true to yourself. You gave up your birthright because you knew you weren't destined to the Golden Dragon. You did the right thing the whole time and you made your father proud."

Tears fell down his face as he gazed at her.

"I know you're hurt. I still can feel your pain. But your revenge will cause a disaster in Valtoria and you'll hurt the kingdom, your loved ones. And I know you don't want to hurt them."

A drizzle softly touched Madeleine's suit. She looked down the meadow near the Highlands and spotted Liam enveloping Jade into an embrace, giving her strength to avoid another earthquake. She then looked back at Leo still holding Anton.

"Release him," she said, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder. "The Order is here. They'll handle the Vulture."

Leo put Anton down and released his enemy, who snickered. "How touching... I almost shed a year. Now if you excuse me, I have other things to do."

"You must be really dumb if you think you can escape," Drake called from the back.

"You can surrender now or the Order can chase you down. But it won't take long. As you see, you're trapped." Madeleine pointed to the dome created by Bastien that surrounded the Highlands.

Anton rolled his eyes, lifted up big hands and walked towards Drake, who pulled him by the wrists and dragged him down.

Madeleine turned to Leo, who sat on the floor lost in thought as he gazed at the breathtaking land he almost destroyed. “Are you all right?”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe I almost ruined everything…Maddie, if you didn’t show up, I don’t know...” He trailed off and took a deep breath. “I thought if I killed Anton, I could make the pain go away…”

The countess sat beside him and stared at the clouded sky. “It’s okay to miss your father. You’re not the only one who does. And you don’t have to be alone while you mourn him.”

Leo draped an arm over her shoulder and the two of them remained in silence as they watched the rain wash away the ashes from the sky.

#choices fanfic #the royal romance fanfic #rules of engagement fanfic #leo rys #madeleine amaranth #leo x madeleine #liam rys #liam x mc #cfwc nerd week #lorirwritesfanfic #lorircreates #tw grief #tw violence

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pennamesmith · 3 years

Text

Romeo and Skeletor

Double Trouble needs dating advice. The Super Pal Trio is here to help. More Skeletor stories!

“Remember,” Wrong Hordak recited, “recovery comes from connection!”

Several hands went up. Most belonged to clones. This was a common and welcome sight in Wrong Hordak’s Ex-Horde Therapy Group.

“And no,” Wrong Hordak continued, anticipating everyone’s question, “that does not necessarily mean romantic connection, or even connection with another sentient being. It means that in order to heal our traumas, we must be a part of the world around us, and acknowledge the world as a part of us.”

Most of the hands went down. Thoughtful murmurs rippled through the crowd. It was the end of another day of helping and healing. With a few more words of wisdom Wrong Hordak closed the meeting, and the assembled members began to stand and make their way out of the room. Most seemed sanguine and cheerful, but one stayed seated and watched the others wearily.

Double Trouble was the group’s newest and most skeptical member. They were trying, they really were, but it wasn’t easy. A lifetime of artful deception did not exactly lend itself to sharing or emotional honesty.

They had their reasons for being there, though.

Wrong Hordak, effervescent as ever, looked over and winked. “Another successful session, my most exalted paramour!” he told Double Trouble proudly. “Now then, I must consult with Perfuma about the itinerary for next week’s field trip to Mystacor. But tonight, I hope you are prepared to be dazzled by my famous quiche!” He beamed brightly.

Double Trouble worked very hard to maintain a calm expression while their stomach did acrobatic flip-flops. “My breath is bated, darling,” they finally managed, before scurrying off to the other side of the room.

The thespian cursed, internally. It should not be this difficult for a shapeshifter to hide a blush.

Closer to the door, Hordak was showing Adora something on a data pad. Double Trouble wended a wide circle around them, even as Adora gasped in surprise and began babbling what certainly seemed like juicy gossip. They simply weren’t in the mood.

Outside, Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta were strolling away together, while the scorpion princess spoke excitedly about something called ‘Super Pal Trio Game Night.’ Double Trouble pricked their ears — this, perhaps, was a more promising prospect for their problem.

They took a step forward, and were immediately interrupted.

“Where do you think you’re going, hmm?”

Besides Perfuma, Wrong Hordak’s other assistant for his therapy group was ‘Skeletor,’ one of Entrapta’s eccentric bots. Once, he had been a part of Horde Prime’s drone army. Now, he had a nasally voice, a talent for self improvement, and a puppy.

The puppy’s name was Relay.

“How’s this for a surprise?” Skeletor said, holding Relay and patting the robotic canine gently on the head. “I’m considering putting him on a leash!”

“That’s very nice dear, but you’ll have to excuse me,” Double Trouble deflected. “I’ve got issues right now.” They began to move past the skinny robot, before a thought occurred to them.

“Actually, you might be able to help me out with something. Tell me, how do you feel about aiding and abetting identity fraud? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Mehehehehe! Just like the old days!” Skeletor cackled. “All right, you’ve got yourself a deal! What’s your plan?”

Shadows Over Salineas was going swimmingly.

It wasn’t really a game night, more of a game afternoon, but that hadn’t stopped Scorpia from bringing a tower of boxes into Entrapta’s Bright Moon lab. An entire world of cardboard and plastic was spread out before the three women.

“I am going to finish this Sword of Protection quest!” Catra angrily declared as she moved her game piece back and forth. “No matter how long it takes!”

“Okay, but the Evil Horde already has a lot of points at the Princess Alliance table,” Entrapta cautioned, gesturing to another part of the board. “Plus they’ve got a lot of tanks in front of the castle.”

“Anyone want to help me battle the Laughing Dragon?” Scorpia spoke up from behind a clawful of cards. “I’m gonna —”

She was cut short as the laboratory door suddenly opened and Skeletor slouched inside, wearing a miserable expression.

“This is the worst day of my life!” Skeletor moaned, flopping bodily across the table. Game pieces flew in every direction and clattered on the floor. The other three exchanged nervous glances.

Catra tossed her cards aside. “Well, I guess this is what we’re doing now. What’s the matter, boneface?”

“You’ve got to help me!” Skeletor blubbered. “When are you goody-goody fools going to understand? I care for no-one and no-one cares for me!” He shook his fists and produced a rose tied to a card covered in cartoony hearts.

Scorpia tilted her head. “Is that a flower?”

“It is a flower!” Skeletor howled. “The bitter rose! From a secret admirer.” He clutched it to his chest lovingly.

“Seriously?” Catra floundered. “Does somebody actually have a crush on that goof?”

“I know it sounds strange,” Skeletor retorted. “Never mind that!”

Entrapta rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “So, to be clear. You’re happy about getting the rose?”

“Yes, I am!” Skeletor shouted.

“But it’s a problem because…?”

“I live to be bad!” Skeletor whined. “How else can I act when I’m surrounded by such fools?” The robot swooned again. “Nice? Doesn’t sound like much fun to me! Yuck! What a disgusting idea!”

“Oh, I get it!” Entrapta grinned. “Skeletor needs us to teach him about love!”

Scorpia’s eyes sparkled. “A Super Pal Trio rescue mission? For love? I accept without any further questions!”

“Wait, wait,” Catra protested. “Stop. No. None of this makes any sense. Entrapta, is this another one of your secret friendship experiments?”

“Nuh-uh,” the scientist shook her head. “But... it is unexpected. Skeletor, are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

Skeletor looked uncomfortable. “Certainly! Um… Tell me about the loneliness of good! Is it equal to the loneliness of evil?”

Entrapta seemed suspicious. “Hang on,” she said, peering more closely at Skeletor. “Something isn’t quite right here.”

At that moment, Skeletor walked into the room, again. This time he was holding Relay and a fresh armload of barbarian romance novels.

“I can’t do it,” he admitted with an apologetic shrug, sheepishly handing back the books. “And, I do not look like you.”

“Oh phoo. I went too far, didn’t I?” the other Skeletor sighed, in a completely different voice. “I knew this wasn’t going to work.”

In a flash of dark light, Skeletor morphed into a decidedly more reptilian shape. Double Trouble huffed and tossed their hair back. “Well, that was different, at least. I’ve never done a robot before!” They paused. “Not in that sense, anyway.”

Catra started out of her chair. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Just what I said.” Double Trouble sat back down on the table and nonchalantly studied their nails. “I need advice. Romantic advice. And since you three are all half of some of the oddest couples on the planet, I thought I might start here.”

“Okay,” Entrapta said, already beginning to take notes. “But you’ve come to me for that before. Why the disguise?”

Double Trouble looked away and muttered something.

“What was that?”

“I said it’s because I was embarrassed, all right?” Double Trouble crossed their arms and pouted. “This is not something I usually need help with. I’m supposed to be the one who’s cool and in control. I’m Double Trouble! But now I keep feeling things! In my mind, and my body! Making my guts act all weird, and my brain stop working, and… gah!”

“Those are called emotions, Dee Tee,” Catra deadpanned.

“Plus, you and Wrong Hordak have been going steady for a while now,” Scorpia added. “What’s the matter? Oh no! Have you lost… the spark?” She gasped, claws to her face.

“Just the opposite. Wrongie is perfect! He’s always in a good mood, he always wants to spend time with me, he always knows the right thing to say, and he’s just so darn cute! All the time!” Double Trouble’s face sank. “And sooner or later he’s going to realize that I’m not perfect, and it’s all just an act.”

“You don’t have to be perfect,” Entrapta pointed out, looking up from her notes.

“This is just like what happens in Romeo and Julian!” Double Trouble wailed, ignoring her.

“What?” asked Skeletor.

Double Trouble sniffled. “It’s a play. Someone in the Bright Moon army wrote it and it’s been getting rave reviews in all the theatre magazines — oh, but that’s not important! We’re talking about me!” The lizard flailed their hands helplessly. “What I mean is, it’s like we’re from two different worlds!”

“What, Horde World and Etheria?” Scorpia guessed.

“I’m thinking more Innocent Baby World and Cynical Opportunist World,” Catra cut in.

“Hey!” Double Trouble snapped. “I am not a cynic! Anymore!”

They turned to Scorpia. “But I can still make it work! I just need more research. Your girlfriend is all about this self-care nonsense. How do you deal with that?”

Scorpia got a dreamy look in her eyes. “Yeah, Perfuma’s pretty great. She’s kind, and patient with me, and she knows all kinds of meditation stuff, which is good because hey, funny story, it turns out I’ve actually got a lot of pent-up anxiety from —”

“Ugh! Useless! Next!” Double Trouble pointed to Entrapta. “You! Space bats. How do they even work?”

“Good question! I could share some of my research on Hordak with you,” Entrapta suggested. “It’s more of a hobby though, so I’ve only got a few terabytes of data. Did you know their species has an entire sub-language of ear movements? It’s fascinating!”

Double Trouble paled. “Um. Do you have an abridged version, or…?”

“Look,” Catra interrupted. “I think you’re coming at this the wrong way. First off, you can’t control what other people do or feel.”

Double Trouble narrowed their eyes. “That’s a bit rich coming from you, kitten.”

“I have been doing a lot of self-reflection the last few years, okay?” Catra growled back. “And trust me, trying to be the coolest, the strongest, the best? It doesn’t work.”

She looked across at Entrapta and Scorpia, and fiddled with the wedding ring on her finger. “Sooner or later you have to show your real self. Even if that’s uncomfortable. You can’t connect with someone that way until you’re willing to be weak in front of them.”

Double Trouble regarded Catra for a long time while their face registered a range of unreadable emotions.

“Fine,” they finally groaned, defeated. “But can you at least help me think of something nice to do for our dinner tonight?”

Catra smiled. Entrapta and Scorpia squeaked in excitement.

“For that, you’ll need my help!” said Skeletor. “I’ve longed for this moment!”

Wrong Hordak looked up brightly from his cooking. “You are here! Come in, come in!” He swept Double Trouble up in an enormous hug.

The lizard blushed and did not try to hide it. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world, darling.” With a flourish they revealed a rose and a box of distinctively tiny chocolates, which Wrong Hordak accepted gleefully.

“Now then, why don’t I stand back and let you impress me for a while?”

Wrong Hordak glowed with excitement.

“Impressive?” Skeletor said, somewhere far away. “You boob, it was spectacular!”

#spop #spop fanfic #skeletor #double trouble #wrong hordak #wrong trouble #catra #entrapta #scorpia #super pal trio #DT had everyone fooled until they quoted Skeletor from the live-action movie instead of the 80s cartoons #Romeo and Julian was written by General Juliet #it's a romantic comedy and everyone lives

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lokilickedme · 4 years

Text

Master Fic List ~ updated 7/13/20

Sorry for taking so long to do this...it was brought to my attention that it’s been almost a year since I updated this list and several people have requested it - so here you go, my fully updated and almost completed Master Fic List with links, synopsis, character rosters, pairings, ratings, word/chapter counts, warning tags with squick notices, and update dates.

All fics on this list are posted at AO3 unless noted

*The Loki Reads series is exclusively on tumblr.com

Everything is under the cut because this list is LONG (75 individual works, 13 series, plus published works included at the end of the list)

Fics are categorized by main character (i.e. Loki, Tom Hiddleston as Original Characters, etc)

Series and associated AU’s and side stories are grouped together (Chemical + Prehistories + Troika Apocalyptica + Penumbraluna + Wolfsbane…you get the idea)

Fics are identified as WIP (work in progress) or complete, with associated word counts and chapter amounts. Latest update dates are noted for WIPs.

WARNINGS are notated, though the warning tags at AO3 should be paid attention to because they are far more complete and detailed.

Fic genres (romance, comedy, thriller) are briefly notated but these are general.

There is a link at the end of the list to my published books at Amazon, if you’re interested in those.

This list will be updated as fics update and incomplete information will be added as I have time.

Click READ MORE to see the complete list:

Exclusively on tumblr:

Part 1 - Loki Reads The Night Manager Part 2 - Loki Reads High Rise Part 3 - Loki Reads Fifty Shades of Grey

~WORKS AT AO3~

Word/chapter counts are current as of 7/13/2020

Loki

Jack Montague - WIP - 183,860 words, 65 chapters, ongoing - WARNINGS: hardcore sex, language, violence, sexual deviance, mentions of abuse, mentions of depression, explicit everything, blood/vampyric activities, numerous smutty kinks, and whatever else you can think of. Not kidding, everything in this one is really hardcore. Supernatural romance/adventure in the post-MCU/Post-2012 Avengers. Main character - Loki. Secondary character/love interest - Jack Montague. Relationship - Loki/Jack. Side characters - Adam (OLLA), Thor, Nick Fury, Eve (OLLA), Selina (Sanguine). The Trickster God has been exiled to Earth for a very long time…as the oldest living monster in the realm, he’s bored off his skull and endlessly intrigued when he runs across a monster of an entirely different kind - and strikes up a playful romantic partnership with a vampire who may be far more than he bargained for. *EXTREMELY EXPLICIT* Updated 6/14/20

Sugar Skull - complete - 3115 words. Side story to Jack Montague, part 3 of The Joker And The Thief. Main character - Loki. Side characters - Jack, Thor. WARNINGS: Language, sex. What Loki does every year on Halloween. *MATURE* **also published in the Trickster Tales compendium

The Gucci Incident - complete - 4278 words. Side story to Jack Montague, part 2 of The Joker And The Thief. Main character - Loki. Side characters - Adam. WARNINGS: Mostly language. Loki and his vampire father-in-law Adam chase a pair of bedroom slippers across New York City. *MATURE*

The Trickster’s Wife - complete - 71,001 words, 31 chapters. Post Avengers, MCU. Romance/epic adventure. WARNINGS: Very explicit sex, some language, some violence, very adult themes, mentions of abuse. Main character - Loki. Secondary character/love interest: Princess Anja. Relationship - Loki/Anja. Side characters - Thor, Odin, Frigga, Bragneire. Asgard needs Loki, but Loki has a price - a wife he has no right to ask for. So of course he does just that. *MATURE, EXPLICIT*

The King of All The Rest - WIP - 1444 words, 1 chapter, ongoing (Part 2 of Myths of Asgard) - Sequel to The Trickster’s Wife. Romance/comedy. Main characters - Loki, Bragneire, Anja. Relationship - Loki/Anja. Loki has retired, left Asgard, left the throne, left everything save for one beautiful thing that he’ll never lose again…the wife he fought so hard to keep. WARNINGS: Sex, language. *MATURE*

The King’s Heart - complete - 47,229 words, 21 chapters. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, sexual violence, abuse, language, mental illness, blood, grief, very adult themes. Main character - Loki. Secondary character/love interest - Lyra. Side characters - Thor, Frigga, Aleks Lokisson, several offspring. Post-Avengers UA. Loki has been given the throne, but his apparent madness prevents him from opening his heart to his new queen. *VERY EXPLICIT* **currently being reworked for publication

The Wolf King - complete - 44,315 words, 17 chapters. WARNINGS: Sexual activity, language, some violence, smutty talk from Loki, adult themes. Fluffy adventure/romance. Loki’s son Aleks has been handed the throne, but he doesn’t want it yet - not while there’s a universe to be conquered in “other” more satisfying ways. But a mysterious pair of offworlders have a vested interest in the boy king fulfilling his prophecy the way his famous father did. Main characters - Aleks, Loki. Secondary characters/love interests - Cara, Lyra. Side characters - Thor, The Syl, Sleipnir, Loki’s daughters, some surprise guests at the end. *MATURE*

Lost Creatures - complete - 4929 words. Main characters - Loki, Thor. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, explicit language, violence, male/male. Loki and Thor have always loved as much as they’ve hated…but which of the two emotions is the stronger? *EXPLICIT* **published in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

Civil Disobedience - complete - 1066 words. WARNINGS: Spanking, nonconsensual. Main character - Loki. Short vignette involving a Dominant Loki and his disobedient plaything. *EXPLICIT* **Rewritten for publication in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

Mine - complete - 2051 words. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, language, voyeurism, angst. Main character - Loki. Side characters - Thor, the bride. She was one thing over all others…she was mine. *EXPLICIT* **published in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

THE TEMPEST SERIES

Main character for all parts - Loki. WARNINGS FOR ALL PARTS: Hardcore sex, strong language, some violence, implied bestiality, very heavy smut. All parts complete. Dark romance/thriller.

Part 1 - Darkness Lives In Me - Loki’s fall from grace (1421 words) Part 2 - Before Chaos - Loki plots to take over Midgard (3120 words) Part 3 - After The Maelstrom - Loki kills some time before the conquest (3088) Part 4 - Eye of The Storm - Loki finds a way to…well… (2369 words) Part 5 - Her Side of The Storm - Loki’s chosen conquest tells her side (2476) Part 6 - A Perfect Whirlwind - Loki serves his time, misses his chosen (2928) Part 7 - Cyclone In A Teacup - A conjugal visitation to Midgard (2654 words) Part 8 - An Intemperate Rain - Loki comes bearing gifts (2132 words) Part 9 - Darkening Skies - A trinket with…dubious powers (4304 words) Part 10 - The Nature Of Thunder - Loki, kidnap, what could go wrong? (3325) Part 11 - Lightning Strikes - Fury’s revenge, Loki’s redemption (3905 words)

*All parts of the above series: EXTREMELY EXPLICIT including violent consensual sex*

No Regrets - complete - 1634 words. WARNINGS: Crazy explicit sex, language, absolutely no plot. Smutty comedy. Loki, dad’s throne, and a willing partner…just another Wednesday on Asgard. Main character - Loki. Side characters - woman, Thor, Odin. *EXPLICIT* **published in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

Whisper - complete - 6440 words, 6 chapters. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, explicit language, threatened explicit violence. Main character - Loki. Side character - woman. Romance. Asgard has fallen while Loki is imprisoned far beneath the city, leaving him the sole survivor - and as the world slowly decays above him, he opens a path to escape through the dreams of a Midgardian female. *EXPLICIT*

The Dragon Queen - complete - 37,503 words, 28 chapters. Main character - Loki. Relationship - Loki/Eira. Romance. WARNINGS: Very hardcore sex, violence, rape, abuse, language, torture. Odin has given up trying to break Loki - until the day he sends his other prized prisoner into the Trickster’s cell. *EXTREMELY EXPLICIT* *WARNING - CONTAINS NONCONSENSUAL SEX SCENES*

The Good Stuff - complete - 3513 words. WARNINGS: Crude explicit language, some smutty sex and references and drunkenness. Comedy. Main characters - Loki and Thor. Side characters - Frigga, Odin, castle servants. Two bored brothers, one long night, and mom’s secret hooch stash - what could go wrong? *MATURE* **published in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

Smooth Criminal - Part 1 of the Criminal Activity Series - complete - 4252 words. WARNINGS: Explicit sex and dominance. Avengers (2012) adjacent. Where did Loki get that suit anyway? *EXPLICIT* **published in the Trickster Tales compendium, original version remains on AO3

Blue Collar Criminal - Part 2 of the Criminal Activity Series - incomplete - 1171 words. Post-Avengers. WARNINGS: None really, it hasn’t gotten far enough yet. Sitting on the throne is dull as fuck. Might as well hit Asgard again, only this time Loki only intends to conquer one human - the girl from the suit shop. *WILL BE EXPLICIT IF I EVER FINISH IT*

Tom Hiddleston as Original Characters

The Department - WIP - 148,227 words, 37 chapters, ongoing. *UPDATED 7/10/20* Main characters - Greta (OFC), Chief (Tom Hiddleston). Side characters - Andy (Andrew Hozier-Byrne), Cree (Jason Momoa), Cade (Chris Evans), Kevin (Dave Bautista), Hawk (David Tennant), Sarah (Sarah Lancashire), Ted (Sebastian Stan), Wilson (Owen Wilson). Pairings: Greta/Chief, Greta/Andy (FWB). Comedy/romance. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, explicit crude language, sexist banter, minor violence. Greta arrives in a small town in Minnesota to wait out her disciplinary review after an on the job accident and struggles to survive a crackpot stationhouse full of cops who may or may not be quite what they seem…while trying really hard not to fall in love with the Chief. *EXPLICIT* - updates weekly (Sundays) **now off hiatus!

Hammer Of The Gods - WIP - 29,935 words - 28/30 chapters, ongoing. *UPDATED 4/18/20* Main characters - Jake (Tom Hiddleston), Tate (OFC), Pete (Chris Hemsworth). Pairing: Jake/Tate. WARNINGS: hardcore language, explicit sex, mild/brief violence, referenced mental/emotional/verbal abuse. AU Loki and Thor as human construction workers renovating a house next door to a recently divorced mom who really needs to learn how to live again. *EXPLICIT*

Sunflower - WIP - 33,577 words - 13/15 chapters, ongoing. Main characters - Tommy (Tom Hiddleston), Chloe (OFC/Dove Cameron). Side characters - Amy (Sarah Wayne Callies), Martin (Idris Elba), Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) , Tony (Robert Downey Jr). Pairing: Tommy/Chloe. Sweet romance. Don’t park in the disabled spot unless you’re ready to fall in love with the girl you stole it from. WARNINGS: Sex, mild language, injury description. *MATURE*

THE MCCLARY CHRONICLES

Part 1 - Sgaile Leannan - complete - 58,066 words, 20 chapters. Main characters - King McClary (Tom Hiddleston), Molly Thompkin (OFC). Romance. Molly arrives in Scotland on a work assignment and meets her nemesis - the surly kilted sheep farmer who owns the land she’s trespassing on. WARNINGS: Very explicit sex, explicit language, mild violence. This story was rewritten for publication with changes - original version remains on AO3. *EXPLICIT*

Part 2 - Samhach Mhiannan - complete - 78,763 words, 25 chapters. Molly returns home to Philadelphia with a little secret - and her world flips upside down when King shows up at her door months later. SAME WARNINGS AS PART 1. This story was rewritten for publication with minor changes - original version remains on AO3. *EXPLICIT*

Part 3 - Na Binne an Leann - complete - 77,600 words, 25 chapters. Molly moves to Scotland to be with King, but her future with the cranky sheepherder is, as always, shaky and uncertain. SAME WARNINGS AS PARTS 1 AND 2. This story was rewritten for publication with minor changes - original version remains on AO3. *EXPLICIT*

A Meeting With The King - complete - 2507 words. Side story to The McClary Chronicles. What really happened that day at Clendon Williams when King met Ian, told from King’s POV. WARNINGS: Some language, mild violence. *MATURE*

Aingeal Ard - WIP - 16,297 words - 16/20 chapters, ongoing. *UPDATED 10/14/19* WARNINGS: rough language, explicit sex. Main characters - King McClary (Tom Hiddleston), Molly Thompkin (OFC). A retelling of Sgaile Leannan from King’s POV, chapter by chapter. *EXPLICIT*

Chemical and its Related Side Stories

Chemical - incomplete version, ended - 263,007 words, 58 chapters. This story was rewritten and completed for publication in two volumes with major changes - the original version minus the final chapters and epilogue remain at AO3. AU Loki/Tom Hiddleston as a bartender in San Diego who falls for the last girl he should ever look at - who just happens to be his soulmate. Main characters - Tom Heyworth (Tom Hiddleston), Anja Black (OFC). Side characters - Chris (Chris Hemsworth), Ewan (Ewan McGregor), Pop Heyworth, Cara, Kady, Robert Laing, Eric (Michael Fassbender). Romance. WARNINGS: Extremely hardcore sex of all kinds, language, mild violence, references to past sexual abuse and child abuse. *EXTREMELY EXPLICIT, NOT REMOTELY KIDDING*

THE CHEMICAL PREHISTORIES

All parts complete, all parts MATURE AND/OR EXPLICIT for sex, language, references to past abuse, mild drug use. **This series of shorts have now been published as Volume Three of the Chemical books

SIR - Characters: Anja’s mother and her lover; young Anja Das Vorspiel - Characters: Alicia and The Boss Quiet Gods - Narrator: Eva. Characters: Eva, Tom, Chris Medialuna - the original unused ending to Chemical Two Princes - Narrator: Anja ADDITIONAL WARNING: character death The Mechanic - Narrator: Chris. Characters: Chris, Tom, Anja Eidolon - Narrator: Emma. Characters: Emma, Tom, Anja ADDITIONAL WARNING: disturbing imagery, imagined character death, mental illness The Scottish Barman - Narrator: Ewan. Characters: Ewan, Tom, Anja Taos - Narrator: Alicia ADDITIONAL WARNING: character death Girly - Narrator: Anja

Penumbraluna - complete - 19,179 words, 10 chapters. Main characters - Tom and Chris (as teens). Side character - Meredith Hemberley. Coming of age. WARNINGS: Strong language, references to sexual abuse and child abuse, mild drug and alcohol use, male/male (brief), semi-explicit sex, character death. Tom’s friendship with Chris, from the day they met as kids up to the point where Chemical begins. *VERY MATURE THEMES* **This novella has been published as part of Chemical Volume Three

See You After The Apocalypse - Part 1 of the Troika Apocalyptica series - complete - 5414 words. Chemical AU, post-Chemical - Tom, Anja, Chris, Pop, Cara, and Tom & Anja’s two babies have all survived the zombie outbreak, hunkered down in the cabin in Big Bear. But Tom sends Anja and the two little ones away with Chris when the mountain is overrun with the undead. Will they find each other alive when it’s all over? WARNINGS: Suspense, mild violence. *MATURE*

Meet Me In Phoenix - Part 2 of Troika Apocalyptica - incomplete - Characters: Tom, Anja, Pop, Chris, Cara. Chemical AU in which Tom & company survive a zombie apocalypse, are separated, and embark on a cross country quest to find each other again. WARNINGS: language and some sexual references. *MATURE*

Wolfsbane - complete - 1826 words. Tom/Anja Chemical AU side story. Assassins in love. Tom and Anja are agents assigned to bump each other off, if they can stop seducing each other long enough to pull the trigger. WARNINGS: Language, sex, mild violence.

Tales From Quarantine - ongoing, limited series of oneshots - 6171 words currently, 2 chapters. Short stories featuring several of my fic couples in lockdown during the covid-19 crisis: Tom and Anja from Chemical, Jack and Loki from Jack Montague, Molly and King from The McClary Chronicles, Adam/Eve/Selina from Sanguine, Jake and Tate from Hammer of The Gods, Tommy and Chloe from Sunflower, Greta and Chief from The Department. WARNINGS: explicit sex and language

Tom Hiddleston as Himself:

Body Double - complete - 143,489 words, 40 chapters. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, language, references to past sexual and physical abuse, brief reference to miscarriage, heavy Dom/sub undertones. Main character - Tom Hiddleston (as himself). Secondary character/love interest - Anna (OFC). Side characters - Chris Hemsworth, Ian. Pairing: Tom/Anna. Romance. An actor and a body double working on his film embark on a romantic relationship after the movie wraps. *VERY EXPLICIT*

Other TH Original Characters:

Burn - complete (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Would You Like To Play A Game? - complete (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Golden Boy - incomplete (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Awakening - complete - RPF - (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Beautiful Disaster - complete (will fill in this summary ASAP) **this fic has been partly rewritten and published, the original version remains on AO3

Dandelion Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 - complete (will fill in summary ASAP)

Broken Petals - A Magnus Martinsson fic - incomplete

Yes Please, Magnus - Magnus Martinsson fic - complete

Weekly Meetings of The Most Useless Muses in The History of Fanfiction - incomplete - 23,802 words, 22 chapters. Pretty much what it sounds like. Characters - all of them. WARNINGS: All of them.

Adam - Only Lovers Left Alive

Sanguine - complete - 28,795 words, 16 chapters. Main character - Adam. Secondary characters - Selina, Eve. Romance/mystery. WARNINGS: Very explicit sex and violence, language, vampirism, blood, pregnancy, rape. A redemption tale twisted up in an epic love story between a vampire and a mortal who break a few rules and make a few of their own in the process. *EXPLICIT*

(Adam is also a prominent character in JACK MONTAGUE and THE GUCCI INCIDENT)

Thomas Oakley - Unrelated

Sleep - complete - 1471 words. WARNINGS: Sex and language. Thomas Oakley is chosen for a college sleep studies program. Too bad the only thing that puts him to sleep is an orgasm. *MATURE*

Tom Hiddleston - Jaguar Promo

The Way of The Cat - complete (summary will be filled in ASAP)

Andrew Hozier-Byrne

THE TALIESIN SERIES

Part 1 - Nobody - complete - 3293 words. Romance/fantasy. WARNINGS: character death, raunchy language, implied sex, implied drug use. A perpetually reincarnating Celtic deity (Andrew Hozier-Byrne) just won’t stop causing problems for the Pantheon, no matter how many times they reboot him and his lover. Loosely based on the song. *MATURE*

Part 2 - Shrine Of Your Lies - WIP - 1011 words, 2/15 chapters, ongoing. Romance/fantasy. WARNINGS: Explicit sex, some language, some implied violence. Taliesin (Andrew Hozier-Byrne) and his lover have been reincarnated again, this time without any memory of who they are - or of each other. Fate won’t let them wander for long though and their paths cross over two parallel lifetimes. *MATURE* - this fic may not be updated on AO3 as I plan to change the background setting and include it in the upcoming WICKLOW HOUSE book of short stories

(Andrew Hozier-Byrne is also a prominent character in THE DEPARTMENT)

Can Yaman

Kiz Yan Kapi - The Girl Next Door - WIP - 5533 words, 3/10 chapters (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Chris Hemworth

Thor’s Beard - complete - 3163 words (Part 2 of Forgotten Gods, side story to Hammer Of The Gods). WARNINGS: Explicit sex, language. Pete from HoTG hooks up with Jake’s older sister and a battery operated device. *EXPLICIT*

See You After The Apocalypse - see above under The Chemical Prehistories

(CH is also a major character in Hammer Of The Gods and Chemical)

Allan Hawco/Frontier inspired

A Wife For Mister Brown - complete (will fill in this summary ASAP)

Et Tu, Mister Brown? - complete (will fill in this summary ASAP)

~~PUBLISHED BOOKS~~

All of the following are available at amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle formats:

Sgaile Leannan - Rewritten from AO3 version with changes/additions. Sex, language, adult situations. *EXPLICIT*

Samhach Mhiannan - Rewritten from AO3 version with some changes/additions. Sex, language, adult situations. *EXPLICIT*

Na Binne an Leann - Rewritten from AO3 version with minor changes/additions. Sex, language, adult situations. *EXPLICIT*

Chemical Volume One - Rewritten from AO3 with major changes/additions. Sex, language, adult situations, references to past child abuse. *EXTREMELY EXPLICIT*

Chemical Volume Two - Rewritten from AO3 with major changes/additions (includes the final three chapters, ending, and epilogue that are not included in the AO3 version). Sex, language, adult situations, references to past child abuse. *EXTREMELY EXPLICIT*

Chemical Volume Three - The Prehistories and Penumbraluna - a compilation of the Chem shorts and the novella (some are partially rewritten) *EXPLICIT and VERY ADULT THEMES*

Here And There - Book One of The Strada Series - not associated with any AO3 fics. Sex, language, violence. Paranormal romance. A man falls out of the sky - literally - and Holly’s quiet existence goes all kinds of sideways when his otherworldly nemesis follows and the two of them end up in her bed…and inextricably in her life. The Strada have been here longer than mankind, but their existence has been closed off to the “There” - a dimensional prison realm that separates them from the humans by a split second of time. When the protective barrier between the dimensions begins weakening, the most dangerous creatures ever created start coming across to wage war against their own kind, using the world of the humans as a battlefield. Two angelic criminals - Keene and his soulmate Baltho - have been conscripted to regain control...but do either of them want to? And perhaps more importantly, can they stop fighting with each other long enough to do their one job? *EXPLICIT SEX, violence*

The Carmichael Addendum - not associated with any AO3 fics. Sex, language, violence. Paranormal/supernatural romance. Clarissa is one of a final few peacekeepers left in a world where the monsters have quietly retreated into myth - but the local library has started spitting immortals and werewolves out through a rift in the Genealogy section, and it’s time for the last two slayers - Clarissa and her ex-husband Kaine - to come out of retirement. But orchestrating peace with the enemy is a difficult undertaking when you can’t even work out a visitation schedule with the ex and your self-help divorce group is peopled with oddly sexy males of dubious origin. A heated love triangle with monsters on the side and a middle-aged single mom heroine who’s more than a few years past her prime. *EXPLICIT SEX, violence, language, adult themes*

Trickster Tales - a compilation of seven Loki fics that originally appeared on AO3 (most were rewritten to varying degrees for publication). Includes Mine, The Good Stuff, Civil Disobedience, Smooth Criminal, Lost Souls, No Regrets, and Sugar Skull. *EXPLICIT SEX and adult themes*

Beautiful Disaster - a short romance in three acts - *adult themes*

*All of the above are available in both paperback and Kindle format

Complete officially published works on my author page at Amazon

#master fic list #lokilickedme #Hiddleston fic #Loki fic #Hemsworth #Hozier #Momoa #Gandy #AO3 works #original works #published works #here it all is

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septembercfawkes · 4 years

Text

Obligatory Scenes and Conventions

Today I want to talk about Obligatory Scenes and Conventions™️ 😱 These are things that often writers, particularly new writers, don't like . . . all that much.

Why?

Because they are . . .

Obligatory Scenes and Conventions™️ 😱

Okay, they aren't all that bad for all of us . . . but some of us go out of our way to avoid them because they feel so contrived, and it ends up just hurting our book 🙄 (#guilty).

So what are obligatory scenes and conventions?

They are the stuff, the elements, that are "obligatory" for your genre.

Meaning, if I'm writing a romance, I need to write a first kiss scene. If I'm writing a murder mystery, I need to write about the discovered body at the beginning. If I'm writing a superhero origin story, I need to show how the superhero got his or her powers. And if I'm retelling Sherlock Holmes, I better have his deductive reasoning in it.

In some genres, the conventions are really obvious:

Others are a lot less noticeable.

But every genre has them.

Shawn Coyne, an editor with over 25 years of experience, has noted that many writers he works with try to avoid writing obligatory scenes. They feel they are stupid or even "cheesy." Writers may try to leave them out in order to write something "fresh" and "original."

But this is sort of like saying you are going to be "fresh" and "original" by ignoring the "Show, don't Tell" rule, and instead "tell" your whole novel. In fact, it's like saying you will be "fresh" and "original" by disregarding any writing rule.

In reality, it isn't ignoring the rules that makes you great, it's understanding and respecting them, and then knowing when to break them. Ignorance rarely, rarely, rarely (I used it three times, so I hope I get the point across) leads to "fresh" and "original" content. In fact, ignorance most often leads to poor content.

And yet writers often want to try to leave out the "rules" of their genre. Sometimes it's not because they want to be original, but because they want to be surprising. But this doesn't work.

Why? Because the most surprising things are surprising because of conventions.

What's more "surprising," a story where you don't have any grasp or idea of where it is going, or a story where you think you know where it is going before it twists a different way?

The most satisfying surprises come not from disregarding conventions, but from flipping, twisting, or inverting them. From breaking them.

In order to create true surprises, the audience must have some kind of expectation. We need to understand and respect the conventions, first.

It's like that with every rule in the arts.

You have to know the rule inside and out before you can break it.

One of the most important aspects of writing surprises is that the surprise isn't a disappointment. If you ignore the obligatory conventions instead of respect them, you are more likely to disappoint. After all, the reason your audience is drawn to your genre in the first place is because of the conventions. Surprises usually work better when they are more than what the audience expects, and they almost never work if they are less than what the audience expects. But I don't want to spend too much time on surprises--if you want to know more about them, check out my post "5 Types of Surprises."

For some of us writers, obligatory scenes and conventions can be a little annoying. A few months ago, I saw a romance writer lament on social media something along the lines of, "Just HOW many ways can you write a first kiss?!" After writing several romance books, it can be hard to think of new ways to portray it.

But while originality doesn't usually come from ignoring the conventions, it can come from respecting them.

HOW many ways can you write a first kiss?

As you struggle to write it a brand new way, you may well breathe some originality into the story. Because again, what makes something feel satisfyingly original often isn't something that has no relation to any conventions, but rather something that bends, twists, and properly breaks conventions.

In order for something to feel "fresh" and "original," the audience has to have some kind of expectation--formed from what they've seen before.

As you respect and bend obligatory scenes and conventions in satisfying ways, your target audience, immersed in their chosen genre and surprised over a sense of originality, may not even notice them for what they are.

For example, in a typical fantasy story, at some point, the protagonist must face some sort of hellish creature or entity. In old stories, this is your traditional dragon. Usually this creature is in the earth or underground, or at least comes from somewhere deep and remote or secluded. In old stories, this is related to tunnels or caves, a sort of symbol of hell, which is "beneath" or "downward"--the underworld.

If you look at some of the most famous fantasy stories, you'll see this convention respected in some way.

In Harry Potter

Book 1: Harry and Ron defeat a troll that came from deep under the castle, Harry faces Voldemort (who is more of a spiritual entity at this point) deep in the forest, and then again deep down, through the trapdoor (not to mention facing the Devil's Snare and Fluffy on the way).

Book 2: Harry defeats a giant serpent in the Chamber of Secrets, which is located under the lake, deep under the school, and the snake has been getting around using the plumbing as tunnels. (Not to mention all the spiders in the forest.)

Book 3: Harry goes through a tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, a "haunted" place, where he encounters a werewolf, and then later is deep in the Forbidden Forest trying to fight off Dementors.

Book 4: In a secluded graveyard, he faces Voldemort, who appears almost more of a hellish creature with red eyes and slits for a nose, than a human.

Book 5: Deep down, in the lowest level of the Ministry of Magic, Harry faces the "fringes" of magic--floating brains, a death chamber, time itself, and then Voldemort's possession. Sure, Death Eaters are human, but even a name like that suggests something hellish.

Book 6: Harry and Dumbledore go deep into a cave where inferi from deep under the water attack them.

Book 7: Harry goes deep into Gringotts--one of the deepest chambers--to retrieve a Horcrux, but must watch for (and then rides) a literal dragon.

Have you ever noticed how often he goes into the "underworld" and faces a hellish entity? I hadn't really put it together until preparing this post. The only one I think might be a little iffy is book five, as much of the elements of the Department of Mysteries aren't living things, and those that are, are human. But the department is full of things that seem hellish--the Death Chamber with the mysterious veil, the brains that attack Ron, the time room with the bell-jar that changes a person slowly into a baby, over and over again.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, we have Smaug, a literal dragon, literally deep in a mountain.

In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo must traverse through tunnels, where he encounters Shelob, a giant spider.

Right now I'm rewatching FMA:Brotherhood, and even in that story, the heroes face animal/human chimeras and artificially-made humans in tunnels under cities or in abandoned laboratories near a prison. Hellish creatures linked to a kind of underworld.

Look at all the different ways this convention is met in all these stories.

I once had a person say to me--why do all fantasy stories have to have a real or figurative "dragon" in them?

Well, because that's a convention of the typical fantasy story. It's like asking why every romance has to have a first kiss scene.

Sure, you can probably find some that don't have these things, but usually the best stories of the genre include some kind of rendition of it, even if it's so twisted or subtle that no one realizes it until they are analyzing.

Do you always need to meet the exact expectations? Of course not. Remember, we work with the understanding of conventions to create satisfying surprises and original ideas. Maybe the dragon turns out to be an ally. Heck, maybe he turns out to be a human (Voyage of the Dawn Treader). The underworld doesn't have to be a recess in the earth. It can be a forest, a graveyard, a secret government laboratory.

Even if we aren't fully aware of all the conventions of our genres, often we will intuitively know that such an element needs to be added--simply because we have consumed so many stories of the genre. In one of the earliest drafts of my fantasy book, I felt that I needed to add some kind of monster; it just felt "right" and like it would make the story more . . . "complete." Did I know that such a thing was a convention of fantasy at the time? Sorta, but not really. I just knew it would be a more satisfying story.

See, but what we don't want to do when this arises is go, "Uugh, but no, I can't do that--so many fantasy stories already have monsters! I don't want to be the same as them; I want to be original (wink wink), so I'll make sure to avoid putting in anything that could be interpreted as a monster at all."

This is ignorance, not invention.

(And trust me, in my early days, I did this a lot! (and have paid for it.))

Which is one of the reasons I'm doing this post.

If you respond that way to obligatory scenes and conventions, you will probably pay for it. The story might not feel "right" or "complete," regardless of how much work you put into everything else.

HOW many ways can you write a first kiss?

Now that's invention.

And you need to be inventive about it. Otherwise the story will feel just like "so many fantasy stories." Otherwise it will feel cliche. How do you make the scenes and conventions unique in your story? Well, look at how even each of the Harry Potter books does it differently.

How do you make that dead body scene in the opening different than any other?

How do you make that saloon scene in a Western different than any other?

How do you make the hero-at-the-mercy-of-the-villain scene in your thriller different than any other?

You have to respect the convention as you twist it into something new.

Obligatory scenes and conventions aren't our enemies; they're our friends.

We all know the buddy stories where two characters start out hating each other and realize they needed each other all along.

For some of us, that's how our relationship with conventions go.

And often the key element to making a relationship work, is respect.

#writing tips #writing tip #writing tips and tricks #writeblr #nanowrimo #fanfic #harry potter #The Lord of the Rings #the hobbit #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

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shining-red-diamond · 4 years

Text

In the Frozen

Words: 4.6k

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

Rating: PG-15

Warnings: mentions of blood, brief birth scene, and some violence

Summary: After General Christopher Bang defeats a ferocious dragon, he is finally able to marry the princess and do his best to run a peaceful kingdom with kindness. However, when the princess awakens on a winter morning to discover her husband, the most decorated and heroic knight, missing, she knows something isn’t right. She wants to go out looking for him, but there’s a problem: she’s expectant and due any day. Will she be able to find her beloved Christopher before she has to give birth to the future prince or princess?

General Christopher Bang was one of the king’s finest and most decorated soldiers. His leadership and skills helped him climb to the rank of general. He fought bravely and was loyal to the king and his country, but he was known for his kind soul. Chris never boasted when he talked about his battles, never was prideful, and never was cross with a soldier if they messed up. Children also looked up to him as a hero or as someone they wanted to be like when they grew up, and he enjoyed telling the children slightly exaggerated stories of some of his adventures.

But with all of his amazing battles and journeys he had led, his greatest adventure to him was meeting Princess Y/N. The two first met when an assassin of the rival kingdom had threatened to kidnap her before murdering the king and queen, and Chris served as her bodyguard. Over the course of a three-month war, the two became close; and by the time the war was coming to an end they had confessed their love for each other. The summer was filled with a budding romance, and the fall and winter was spent by a cozy fireplace. However, she was still the princess and had been promised to various suitors, but she could never see herself happy with any of them. Y/N only had that kind of love for Chris. As kind as her father was, he wouldn’t let her marry anyone that wasn’t of royal blood. After he was to pass on or decided to step down from the throne, he would be passing his crown to his son-in-law. Y/N would inherit the queen’s crown at the same time.

However, after some time, the king finally agreed to give Y/N to Chris if he could slaughter the beast that terrorized the forest surrounding the kingdom. The general accepted the challenge with the reassurance that if he survives, he’s marrying Y/N for love, not for the crown. Of course Chris loved the people of the kingdom and wanted to protect them, but being king wasn’t on his agenda. He promised that if he was to be crowned king in the near future, then he would rule with kindness and love.

The general gathered his army of 3,000 soldiers, built their strategy of taking down the creature, and set off into the forest. After four long days of battle, injuries, and fifty-seven losses of some of Chris’s men, the creature, a shadow dragon, was finally slain. The people celebrated the victory with a festival, music, and a parade. The fallen soldiers were given a memorial, and General Bang married the princess.

For about a year and half, the entire kingdom had a period of blissful peace. The villagers went about their everyday lives, political issues with other kingdoms were resolved without war, and Y/N and Chris were experiencing the ups and downs of their first year of marriage; but the couple was crazy for each other each passing day.

Soon, the news came that Y/N were going to have a baby, and the kingdom was overjoyed with excitement about a new prince or princess in the royal family. All was at peace.

Or so they thought.

…

The early, winter morning sun shone through the bedroom windows with a soft orange glow. Snowflakes could be seen lightly falling outside, giving the view an almost magical feel. The room itself was nice and warm, and Y/N was beginning to awaken from a sweet dream.

Her eyes fluttered open just in time to see her maid Ryujin open the door and carry in a tray of food.

“Good morning, miss,” she greeted with a smile as she brought breakfast over to her.

“Hello, Ryujin,” Y/N said groggily as she sat up. She then noticed that Chris wasn’t on his side of the bed. “Where’s Christopher?”

The maid placed the tray in front of Y/N. “The general had an emergency call this morning. Did he not tell you?”

“I don’t believe he ever came to bed last night.”

Y/N retraced her footsteps from the day before. They had spent the day together organizing things for the baby such as its bed, where the toys went, and even old children’s books Y/N had saved for this occasion. When they had finished they took a walk in the greenhouse that protected most of the plants that would be placed in the garden once spring approached. After dinner that evening, Chris was called to an emergency that he couldn’t ignore; but he promised that he’d return.

“He had an emergency call yesterday,” Y/N said. “How could have one this morning? He would have woken me up to tell me.”

“Maybe he was in a hurry, miss,” Ryujin shrugged. “Shall I start a bath for you?”

“Sure.”

“Warm water with Epsom salt?”

“You know me too well, Ryujin.”

“I’ll have it ready by the time you finish your meal,” the maid promised and headed into the bathroom.

With the sound of the bathtub facet turning on, Y/N began to eat her breakfast of fresh berries, yogurt, and eggs and a glass of water stood at the corner of the tray.

Y/N was never really a breakfast-in-bed person, but as her baby bump swelled throughout her pregnancy she found it harder to get out of bed to join her family for breakfast. Chris always made sure to massage her feet or do something to ease any pain she might have been experiencing that morning, and he would sometimes eat an apple as he tried interacting with his wife’s bump.

Chris’s absence this morning was making Y/N feeling uneasy. He typically would come to bed about the same time she would be falling asleep, but she never felt his presence the night before. She didn’t want to assume the worst, but she couldn’t help the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. And it wasn’t the baby’s feet kicking her, which interrupted her thoughts.

The fetus developing in her liked to move around a lot, and Y/N always found herself giggling because of it. It typically happened whenever she was having a meal or if she was talking to her unborn child. Now, that she was due any day, the movements weren’t as frequent. Y/N worried that she was losing her first baby; the doctor had reassured her that the child was alive but now had limited space within the womb. The baby had also moved into position for birth, and Y/N was still counting down until delivery.

“You’re bath is ready, Your Highness,” Ryujin called from the bathroom doorway right when Y/N finished her breakfast.

“Thank you,” she replied. “But can you help me up.”

Ryujin was already at her bedside and gently helped the princess to her feet.

After a blissful and calming bath, Y/N felt fresh as a daisy and threw on a comfortable, baby blue dress to meet her parents in the throne room. She managed to half-waddle through the castle halls, and a few maids kept a keen eye on her as she carefully stepped down the stairs. Two guards pushed open the throne room doors, and Y/N found her parents in discussion with some of Chris’s soldiers.

“Mother?” Y/N called out to the queen.

“Good morning, darling.” Her Majesty threw her arms open to hug her daughter.

“What’s going on?”

The king dismissed the soldiers before turning to greet to the princess with kiss on her forehead. “How are you today, my dear?”

“Wanting an explanation. Papa, why were Chris’s men here just now?”

The queen took her by the hand and guided her to the princess’s seat next to the king’s. “You better have seat.”

Y/N eased herself into her chair and locked eyes with her parents. “If something has happened to my husband, I have the right to know.”

“Y/N,” the king said, “Christopher is missing.”

Her heart began to pick up speed. Her hunches had been right, but she didn’t want to believe her father.

“No,” she argued as she shook her head. “That can’t be. He’s on an emergency call, isn’t he? That’s what I’ve been told.”

“We thought so, too,” said the queen, “but when the guards told us he had never returned within the hours he had promised, we knew something wasn’t right.”

The kind then explained everything that had happened that morning. One of the guards had discovered that the emergency call was just to lure General Bang from the castle and into the snowy forest. However, when the other knights went to see if he had possibly returned, they only found his horse running out of the woods a nervous wreck as if he had seen a monster. Reports of a beast lurking deep in the woods had also been buzzing around the kingdom for a few weeks, but nothing serious came of it. That’s when the king decided to send a search party for his son-in-law.

No one ever went into the forest unless they were traveling along the path that led to the other kingdoms. Children and teenagers would go a few feet in but only to play games. The likelihood of someone needing help in the woods was low but not impossible.

With the new information she had now, Y/N began to cry. Her beloved husband was out in the woods somewhere with possibly no food or anything else for survival. She was scared the beast might have gotten him.

“I’m so sorry, dear,” the queen cooed as she embraced her for comfort. “But we’re going to do everything we can to find him.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Y/N asked through her sobs. “I want to find him.”

“We know,” said the king, “but in your condition, we can’t have you wandering off.”

“Especially now with the baby coming any day now,” added the queen.

“But you have our word that whatever news we get, you will be notified.”

Y/N sighed. “Thank you, Papa.”

“How about a walk in the greenhouse before lunch?” the queen asked.

…

For the next three days, everything seemed to turn into a routine: Y/N waking up alone, eating breakfast in bed before a morning bath with hair washing every couple of days, a walk in the greenhouse with the queen, a nice lunch, and meeting with subjects before dinner. Very little news came from the search party except if they found something that had been on Chris’s person the day he disappeared: his sword, pieces of his armor, and eventually his helmet. However, despite never finding a body, some of the knights were starting to presume their general was dead.

Y/N refused to believe her husband was dead. The knights were starting to give up on the search, and Y/N begged them to continue until it got to a point where she was almost nagging them. They wouldn’t budge anymore, and the king and queen were starting to give up.

Now, Y/N had enough. She decided she was going to search for Chris herself. She knew running off while still very pregnant was risky, but she felt in her heart that Chris was somewhere. She just hoped he was safe.

Evening fell, and Y/N was rushing to pack any essentials she would need on her journey. Food, extra clothing, medicine, a thick blanket, a machete, two daggers were stashed into the sack she was bringing with her. The snow was falling softly outside, and everyone else had gone to bed; so Y/N had to work quickly before she could sneak out of the castle.

“What are you doing, miss?” Ryujin asked, startling Y/N. “My apologies, but are you heading somewhere?”

Y/N sighed. She placed the last cloak in her sack and said, “I’m going to find my husband.”

Ryujin opened her mouth to speak, but Y/N stopped her. “If it was me out there missing, he’d do the same. I know I’m days from giving birth, Ryujin, but I can’t sit here while he’s possibly lost out in the forest somewhere. I have medicine, herbs, food, and a cloak for him if he needs them.”

“It’s not just yours or his health I worry about,” the maid said before lowering her voice into a whisper. “It’s the beast out there.”

“I have a machete and two daggers I’m taking with me. It might not be the best protection, but it’ll give me a running start if I need it.”

“But-“

“No, ‘buts.’ I know I’m risking a lot-“ Y/N placed a hand on her watermelon belly “-but I want my child to know who his father is. If I’m not back in three days, send a party.”

Grabbing her sack, she left her room, leaving a shocked but hopeful Ryujin standing there to try to cover for her.

As soon as she sneaked into the castle’s kitchen, YN didn’t hold back and burst through the wooden door. She knew it wasn’t the best idea, but she was desperate.

Chris was out there, and nothing was going to stop Y/N from looking for him.

The cold air nipped at any exposed skin. Snow crunched beneath her feet as she ran in the frozen forest. The pale glow of the full moon was her only source of light in the forest, and she could hear the distance growls of the beast chasing after her. Y/N wanted to look back if it was behind her, but her gut instinct told her not to and to keep going. Her lungs were burning, screaming for air as she was running while heavy with child; but she wasn’t about to give up until she found some sort of shelter for the night.

She spotted an opening in the trees and a yellowish-orange light coming from it. As she got closer, she realized there was a cottage in the middle of the forest. Her feet picked up speed, but because of the darkness Y/N failed to see the branch that struck her in the head with a gigantic force. She lost her balance, but she still kept going.

Dizziness began to swarm her head, her vision began to cloud, but she managed to find herself in front of the cottage. Two figures emerged from the doorway, but Y/N couldn’t tell who they were. She felt herself fall to the ground, and the distance roar of the beast was the last thing she heard before everything faded to black.

…

“Is she going to wake up soon?”

“She hit her head pretty hard, so I can’t say when.”

“Not to mention, she was bleeding out, so she could have a headache when she wakes up.”

Two of the voices were unfamiliar to Y/N, but she could easily recognize the third one. However, she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not. Everything had echoed at first, but they steadied quickly.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Immediately, her head started pounding, forcing her eyes shut again; and she moaned in pain.

“Easy, dear,” one of the voices, which was female, soothed.

A cold, damp towel was placed on Y/N’s head, and she opened her eyes again. Three people were standing around her, one female and two male. The woman had a kind face and cheeks that were round when she smiled. One of the men had kind eyes and had a few tattoos covering his tanned skin. The third man made Y/N’s heart leap for joy when she saw him.

“Chris?” she muttered.

The soldier knelt down by her and kissed her passionately, Y/N’s fingers running through his jet-black curls. “Hi, my love,” he whispered softly with a smile.

“I thought you were-“

“I’m alive,” he reassured her. “Just injured.”

“Where are we?”

“Don’t worry, your Highness,” the woman said as she helped her sit up. “You’re safe with us.”

Y/N then took in her surroundings. She was in a double bed with soft and warm sheets covering her lower half, but she was now in a nightgown. A lit fireplace was across the room from her, keeping the cottage warm; and a kitchen and dining room could be seen from the doorway.

“Darling,” Chris spoke up, “this is Hyorin and her husband Taeyang. They found me after I had killed the beast and took me her to patch up.”

She now noticed the sling on her husband arm but was confused. “It’s dead?”

Chris nodded.

“How? What was it?”

“I’ll explain everything in a bit,” her husband promised. “Right now, you need to relax.”

Taeyang and Hyorin left the room and shut the door behind them. Chris sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his wife’s face.

“What were you thinking?” he asked.

“You’ve been gone for almost four days,” Y/N replied. “Everyone else was starting to think you were dead, and I got impatient.”

Chris couldn’t help but softly smile. His wife wasn’t one to give up easily and would willingly go to the ends of the earth for her loved ones if she had to. He couldn’t stay angry with her.

He planted a kiss on her forehead and said against her skin, “I’m alive, my love. I’ve just been healing and gaining my strength back.”

“What about the beast? If you killed it, then how come I could still hear it?”

Chris chuckled. “The mind can easily play tricks on a person. I’m guessing fear somehow got a hold of your imagination, and you began to hear things that weren’t there.”

Y/N listened to her husband’s tale from the time he left the castle the night of his disappearance until now. He had heard what sounded like a child crying for help coming from the forest. Upon arrival, he discovered it wasn’t a child but the beast. It had turned out to be a black snow dragon, which were descendants of regular snow dragons but much more ferocious. They mimicked sounds that appealed to their prey as a way to lure them close in order to have their feast; but Chris was cautious when he entered the forest. He was able to run before the dragon could snatch him up and eat him whole, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to battle it first. The dragon was stronger than its parent that had terrified the kingdom for decades, and it was near impossible to penetrate its tough, leathery skin. The only way Chris would defeat would to blind it before finding a soft spot under its black, chromatic scales to pierce the heart. He went into surprise attack mode, but not without getting beat up by the dragon.

Chris was successful in defeating the dragon, but his sword had been broken and his shoulder dislocated in the process. He was also bleeding badly, but he didn’t have the strength to get up to journey back to the castle or seek help. Eventually, he woke up to Taeyang and Hyorin tending to his wounds that he knew he was safe; but due to his injuries, he wasn’t able to return back to the castle.

“I’m just happy you’re alive and well, darling,” Y/N responded when he finished his story. “Your men were starting to give up and say you were dead.”

Chris faced palmed his forehead and exhaled in annoyance. “Those cowards. I taught them better.”

“All they were finding were pieces of your armor.”

“I took them off when I heard the dragon approaching. Metal against metal noises are what attracts them to their prey other than scent.”

“That makes sense.”

Y/N hand went to her bump and began to rub it gently. “Was it selfish of me?”

“What?”

“To rush into the woods knowing full well I could have put our baby in danger?”

Her husband sighed. “It was a bit reckless of you to run from the castle’s safety, but when I saw that you had brought medicine, food, and a blanket in the sack that was with you; I knew you were just wanting to keep the baby safe in case you had gone into labor looking for me.”

“But still, I’m sorry,” she began to cry. “I just had to do something, anything.”

“And you chose to come look for me?”

“That’s what I promised you. When we said our ‘I do’s,’ I promised that I would come looking for you.”

Chris paused for a moment before wiping her tears away and kissing her again. “And I made that same promise to you.”

He then lifted her nightgown, exposing her swollen belly before trailing kisses all around it. “And that promise get extended to you, little one,” he cooed to the unborn baby.

Y/N giggled as he did so, and the child kicked its feet in response.

“Will we be able to return home?” she asked.

“We leave at first light,” Chris said. “Since I’m mostly healed and you not having any other injuries, Taeyong and Hyorin will help us get back.”

“How far is it?”

“Only a mile and a half, so not far at all.”

…

As soon as the early, winter sun began to break through the forest trees, the quartet gathered everything they needed and left the cottage. The general was given a fresh sling, and new gauze was wrapped around Y/N’s head. Taeyang led the way as he walked in front of them, Hyorin had her arms linked with Y/N’s to help her walk, and Chris was behind them as a means of protection. The weather was just as ice cold as the night before, but thankfully it wasn’t a blizzard, making the journey through the frozen forest an easy one.

“Y/N, close your eyes!” Chris instructed his wife about three-quarters of the journey in.

“Wha-“ she asked, but was interrupted.

“Just do it! Don’t open them again until I say so.”

Without another word, Y/N did as she was told. Hyorin acted as her eyes as they continued through the woods. Y/N then smelt something without a warning. The stench of death attacked her nostrils so badly, she had to cover her face.

Her eyes remained closed for about ten minutes before Chris said, “Alright, you can open them now.”

Y/N fluttered her eyes open. “What happened?” she asked.

“We were passing the dragon’s corpse,” her husband explained. “It was decaying badly, and I didn’t want it to scare you.”

“I could smell it.”

Chris laughed. “Well, that section of the woods is going to stink until the body is all bones.”

“Your Highness,” Taeyang called. “Come take a look ahead.”

Chris and Y/N exchanged looks before taking each other’s hands and moving a few feet forward. Through the thinning trees, they were beginning to see an opening in the distance. They could see the castle walls. They were almost home. They could heal and rest in bliss before the baby arrived.

The latter was quickly thrown out of the window when a sharp pain shot through Y/N and liquid began pouring through her legs onto the glittering snow. Her knees buckled as she cried in pain, Chris catching her in the process.

“He’s coming!” Y/N cried. “It’s nearly time!”

Chris wasn’t able to carry his wife, so Taeyang was quick to scoop her up and carry her to the castle. They didn’t stop running until they had burst into the castle’s kitchen door and into the couple’s bedchambers. Everyone they had passed was trailing after them with millions of questions.

Taeyang gently settled Y/N onto the bed, and Ryujin escorted out him and Hyorin. As soon as they left, Chris and the other maids immediately stripped her of the dress she had been wearing and changed her into a clean nightgown. The general struggled a bit as his arm was still in the sling. A large towel was put beneath her to prevent any blood from getting on the bed once the baby was born. Ryujin rushed back in and quickly prepared a large bowl of water.

“General,” Ryujin said, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Are you sure?” he asked as he stood from where he was kneeling, not letting go of his wife’s hand.

“Honey, just go,” Y/N whimpered. “You’ll get to see the baby when he or she is born.”

“I don’t want to leave you, though.”

“Please, Christopher. The doctor can check you over to make sure you’re one hundred percent healed.”

He kissed his wife passionately. “You can do this.”

Ryujin escorted him out.

…

“Keep pushing, Your Highness,” the midwife encouraged Y/N. “The head is almost out.”

The princess had been pushing her child out for the past half-hour, and the pain was almost torturous and unbearable. Every now and then, an uncontrollable yelp of agony would escape her mouth after each push, but she never allowed herself to scream. Y/N was tired, and she was close to giving up. Ryujin kept whispering words of encouragement.

“One more push, and the baby with be born,” said the midwife.

General Bang had returned from his exam after being told that his injuries were healing nicely. He wasn’t allowed into the bedroom yet, but hearing his wife’s cries of pain worried him. He wanted to break the doors down, run to his wife, and pepper kisses on her face; but he knew his son or daughter would be arriving any moment, so he would have to be patient. Chris just sat on the floor in the hallway as he awaited any news.

Then, he heard it. A newborn’s cries echoed from the bedroom, and the general felt his heart pick up speed. He was nearly jumping out of his clothes when Ryujin came and opened the door and said, “It’s a boy.”

Rushing in with excitement, Chris found his princess still in bed, a little sweaty and looking exhausted, but he could see the overflowing look of love in her eyes. His attention then went to the tiny baby swaddled in Y/N’s arms, and he knew he was in love.

“He’s perfect,” he smiled before kissing his son’s little head. “Hi, Maxwell.”

“Maxwell?” Y/N repeated.

“Max for short,” Chris chuckled.

...

Within a few days of baby Max’s birth the kingdom celebrated his arrival and the general’s return with a feast and a winter festival. Taeyang and his wife Hyorin were rewarded for their hospitality and kindness and given positions as the royal medics for the army; Chris was given a medal for slaying the beast, and Y/N had been rewarded for her courage and love.

“Y/N,” Chris whispered to his wife during the festivities as he was holding his newborn.

“Yes?” she said.

“I really hope peace maintains throughout the kingdom. Max deserves to grow up being the happiest person in life.”

“As do I, but since that peace got shattered for us right before his birth, can we agree to stay alert no matter what?”

“Of course, my love.”

The two shared a long, gentle kiss, promising to always protect and care for their people and family with love, kindness, and courage.

A/N: I hope y’all enjoyed this. I’m sorry if it seemed rushed in some parts, but this was my first long fic. I had fun writing it, so hopefully my long fic writing skills will get better.

#kwritersworldnet #thekpopnetwork #stray kids #skz #skz imagines #skz scenarios #skz fluff #skz angst #skz bang chan

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laurelsofhighever · 4 years

Text

The Falcon and the Rose ch. 67 - The War Dog in the Slips

Chapter Rating: Teen Chapter Warnings: None Relationships: Alistair/Female Cousland, Cailan/Anora (background) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Fereldan Civil War AU - No Blight, Romance, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Fereldan Culture and Customs, Cousland Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Read on AO3

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This letter is written on fine paper, in a steady if slightly scrawling hand, pressed with the seal of a rose in burgundy wax.

Twelfth day of Wintermarch, 9:33 Dragon

Dear Cailan,

Rosslyn agreed to marry me! She said yes, can you believe it? I know Brantis says personal matters should come after business in official correspondence, but this is important. She’s going to be my wife. I know I didn’t tell you I planned to ask her, or really ask permission, and I’m sorry for that. Everything after the battle was so muddled. To be honest when I did the words sort of slipped out without me really thinking about them, but I know you’ll be happy for me – us. There’s an us now.

Fergus has agreed to the match, to make it official as the head of her household, although Rosslyn said she would have challenged him to a duel if he’d refused, and of course after all the excitement died down she just had to go and be clever and point out there would need to be a wedding if I really wanted her to be my wife.

Since I do (very much) that’s part of the reason for this letter – neither of us know how to plan a wedding. The last one either of us attended was yours, and of course we didn’t have any hand in the arrangements. Rosslyn (my wife-to-be!) has been quiet about it, but I know she feels a bit out of her depth and misses the experience her parents might have shared with her, but we would both be honoured if you and Anora would lend your wisdom. She is writing a similar request to her grandparents in the Storm islands, and – she’s just smiled at me and now I’ve completely lost my train of thought. I never thought I’d be so lucky.

In any case, we should be with you in Denerim within two weeks, though our departure from Highever may be delayed for a few more days. R is worried about her brother’s condition, even though Enchanter Amell has agreed to stay behind and continue as his healer, and she herself is recovering only slowly from her injuries – slower than she would like, anyway. She has resumed training since you left, and is determined as I’ve ever seen her. Despite the strain, she’s insistent on learning the use of her left hand for more than just shieldwork. I understand why, but she keeps accusing me of clucking over her like a broody hen. I would have thought I’d merit something a little more impressive, like a dragon, or maybe a griffin. When I say that it makes her laugh, at least, so it isn’t all bad.

But I cannot take up an entire letter talking only about my betrothed(!) when the report of your victory in Denerim lies on the desk in front of me. We hope all is well, and that casualties have been minimal. We have also received news of unrest in Amaranthine, from both the banns and the people, which I hope won’t cause too much of a delay in us joining you, but aid has to be brought to the freeholders and sedition routed before it really takes root. One day, we’ll have a year where the entire country isn’t at its own throat – won’t that be nice.

Your brother,

Alistair

PS, She knows about the book. I’ll say no more and only mentioned this much because otherwise you’ll ask and then she’ll ask why I’m blushing and then I’ll have to tell her. Just know I’m happier than I thought possible, and that your advice is something I don’t know how to repay.

Cailan’s grip on the letter warped the paper as he scanned it a second time, the carefree betrayal of happiness turning a sour feeling in his stomach. His thoughts were unworthy of him, but shadows had preyed on his mind since the battle at Highever, twisting even the most innocent of gestures into cynical attacks, and it took effort not to perceive every line as a slight. He ought to be happy for Alistair, that his brother and Rosslyn had found contentment together, but the snide hollow in his mind that had been gaining a louder and louder voice in recent days pricked at the fragile walls he tried to build around his charity. Would it really be too far a stretch to believe the letter a veiled crow of triumph, his half-brother gloating that he had won the affection of the woman who rallied armies around her with a mere word and whose smile lit her face like the first grace of morning? To think of the queen she would have made…

She blamed him for what happened to her, he knew. He had been too paralysed by the strange terror that had come over him to run to her aid before the walls of Castle Cousland, and that shameful hesitation had almost cost her life. The sudden still on the battlefield haunted him. The shriek of pierced metal and the silence that followed chased him through his nightmares every time he closed his eyes, mocking him, goading him with the lack that everyone had seen in him since he took the throne. Maric would not have hesitated so; the great rebel king who had saved Ferelden would have rushed to put himself before the blade, would have won the heart of the fair maiden, would have halted Loghain’s descent into madness before it even began and thereby spared his subjects the chaos of war.

And Alistair – his brother was a proven warrior, amiable and respected. What had Rosslyn seen in him that she had not seen in the king himself? The pair of them must laugh at him, whispering secrets and plans in their bower as they held each other close. They had stood against Eamon, and won the trust of the Storm Islands – how short a leap it would be, with the other deals they must have made in Orzammar, and the Bannorn, and across the Waking Sea, for them to supplant him. When they reached Denerim, the people would cheer them as deserving heroes and the court would fawn over them while he looked on and was forced to smile even as they drove the dagger into his back.

One of the logs in the fire cracked and fell into two pieces. As the sparks vanished up the chimney, Cailan rubbed a hand down the side of his face and deliberately folded the letter from Alistair before laying it aside on the desk. He was sleeping poorly, and the fatigue made him restless, suspicious. On some days, even Anora turned into an enemy, one whose movements he tracked down to the wine she poured for him, so that he might discover any hint she still took her father’s side and only waited to overthrow him. In those moments, he dreaded that Rosslyn had told the queen of the half-baked plan to divorce her, and any protest from the more valiant part of himself was smothered by the knowledge that the Gwaren soldiers paroled at Highever had sworn their loyalty to his wife, and not to him.

“The people are starving, the nobles discontented, and sleep will not come for me,” he grunted, reaching for the decanter of brandy he had set on the table next to him. “I suffer nothing more.” The lies slipped away more easily with drink, and the fog that settled over him was preferable to the chase of dreams through his mind, the swirls of green smoke and voices calling out in reproach.

Next to him, an elderly mabari with milky eyes and a grey mask of fur around her muzzle lifted her head to whine at him.

“I know, Biscuit. I should know better than to disturb your naps with my malaising.” He reached down to stroke her head as she dropped it on his lap. “Any insight you can give me into Loghain’s plans would be helpful.”

There was the truly disturbing part. Rosslyn’s bartered blood mage had revealed that Erimond had planned to open a gateway to the Fade using the bloodshed at Highever, and whether or not Loghain had been party to the full plan, only luck had turned the battle’s purpose before the ritual was completed. All intelligence now pointed to a search for an equally powerful source of entropic energy. Regardless of whether Erimond found it, the threat to Ferelden now went beyond mundane civil war.

Biscuit whined again, and added her paw to Cailan’s knee, looking up with the same imploring, white-rimmed gaze she had first used on him as a pup when he had walked through the kennels on his twentieth birthday. The door to the study opened and he caught the smell of lavender and orange flowers, Anora’s winter perfume, and the tap of her shoes on the floorboards. Tail wagging, the dog creaked to her feet and limped over to ask for attention from the newcomer.

“What do you have there?” the queen asked as she bent to scratch between Biscuit’s shoulders. Her gaze swept over the accounts and reports organised on his desk, the ones he had been perusing when his thoughts took their dark turn. At first, she had been surprised that he applied himself voluntarily to bureaucracy, had been snide about Rosslyn’s apparent ability to train him to paperwork when his own wife could not, but in the time since arriving in Denerim, she had offered only help. He pushed away the thought that she was just waiting for him to prove himself incompetent and offered her a smile.

“It’s a letter from Alistair,” he said. “My brother has asked Lady Rosslyn to marry him, and she has accepted.”

She nodded. “They deserve some happiness after all of this – her especially. It is a shame her parents are not here to marry them out of her own house.”

“A greater shame that they were murdered,” he replied.

Anora pursed her lips, deciding whether to rise to the bait, but straightened her shoulders after a moment and crossed the room to lay yet more papers onto his desk.

“I came to bring you the scout reports from the Southron Hills,” she told him. “Though I hope you will not linger as late tonight as you did yesterday. You need your rest, and Ferelden needs it too.”

Meeting the pale blue gaze, Cailan slumped. His wife stood with the same neutral poise that had so fascinated him growing up, her hands folded in front of her and every golden hair on her head perfectly set in place, waiting for him to respond. And he was being unworthy, as sulky as he ever was as a teenager realising his life would never truly be just his alone. The events of the past year were not her fault; Loghain had used them both to further his own ambitions.

“Forgive me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am suffering a lack of sleep, now I think on it.”

The narrow shoulders, held so stiff and straight, relaxed slightly. “I worry for you.”

“Have dinner with me tonight,” he suggested, conviction settling the tremor in his voice. “We can… talk.”

“I am at my husband’s disposal, of course,” she answered, the smile she turned on him guarded, but genuine in the way it brought a crease to the corners of her eyes.

“Good. That’s – good.”

The past could not be undone, but nor could he step forward with despair keeping pace like a hound at his heels. Unless he fixed the problems that had led to war in the first place, he might find himself sitting in the very same position at some point in the not-so-distant future, presiding over a divided court with bodies towering on both sides. It was not just a habit for paperwork Rosslyn had drilled into him over the months on campaign; her wisdom haunted him. One who cannot keep the peace has not yet won it.

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #dragon age origins #alistair theirin #rosslyn cousland #cousland #f!cousland #alistair x cousland #king cailan #queen anora #cailan x anora #the falcon and the rose

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kittenshift-17 · 5 years

Note

What are your favorite dramione fanfictions??

Ok, so I’ve been sitting on this Ask for over a month trying to think of favorites because I honestly haven’t read a dramione fanfic that wasn’t written by me or one of my besties in a really long time. But I’ve put together a list of those I have read, and those I liked enough to add to my “Favorites” list on FFN. I’ve included a bunch of my own stories, too, since I honestly do enjoy reading my own work and hope others will too. *shrugs*

Presque Toujours Pur by ShayaLonnie Bellatrix's torture of Hermione uncovers a long-kept secret. The young witch learns her true origins in a story that shows the beginning and end of the Wizarding wars as Hermione learns about her biological father and the blood magic he dabbled in that will control her future.

Howl For Me by Kittenshift17: The Ministry enacts a Marriage Law, magically pairing couples who'd never in a million years agree to even speak, let alone wed. Paired off with Malfoy, Hermione has to suffer the added indignity of the Ministry banning all contraception and forcing fertility treatment and aphrodisiacs on them all. Draco's secret makes it worse.

The Alkahest by Shadukiam The Marriage Law, once enacted, has the power to destroy Hermione's perfectly normal life. Luckily, she and Ron are already planning to obey the horrific law together as a team... Until a Malfoy-shaped wrench gets thrown into the works. Dramione. Cover by littleneko1923 (thank you!).

Lady of the Lake by Colubrina Hermione and Draco team up after the war to overthrow the Order and take over wizarding Britain. "I don't even especially mind belonging to you most of the time," he closes his eyes and just breathes for a bit, savoring not being in pain. Finally he adds, "Just… try to take better care of your toys." Dark Dramione. COMPLETE

Last Year by Canimal There's nowhere to hide when a victorious Voldemort sends his best tracker to find Hermione. Draco won't give up until he finds her again. A story of the unraveling of the lies we tell ourselves. (Dark!Hermione)

Give Unto Me by Kittenshift17: The Ministry is offering rewards for having children. They've got a list of unconventional pairings and their willing to give certain people the thing they want most. When Ron overreacts to the idea of Hermione being paired with Mafloy and does something stupid, Hermione's life is set on a new path. One that involves having a baby with Draco Malfoy.

Eros & Psyche by RZZMG Draco challenges Harry and friends to play EROS & PSYCHE, a scandalous card game with a dark, mysterious history. It's Slyth vs. Gryff, male vs. female, pride vs. desire in the ultimate game of hearts and amour! Pairings: Draco/Hermione, Blaise/Ginny, Ron/Pansy, Seamus/Lavender, Theo/Daphne, Harry/Tracey. AU 7th yr. Secrets, romance, angst, and sex await the turning of the first card...

Summer of the Dragon by Lena Phoria 3 years after the war Hermione takes a break from Ron and accepts a summer job collecting supplies for Ollivander's wands. What she doesn't expect is having to work with Draco Malfoy, who's more haunted by his past than she ever would have believed. Together they will travel the world, fight dragons, conquer demons and maybe find exactly what they're looking for. COMPLETE.

The Silver Dragon by Kittenshift17: "This can never happen again," he warned quietly, waving a hand between the two of them indicatively. Hermione nodded emphatically in agreement, not daring to say a word lest she be terribly rude. Or vomit. Either was an option. Hermione wondered why she had a terrible sinking feeling inside to think that it still might.

The Green Girl by Colubrina Hermione is sorted into Slytherin; how will things play out differently when the brains of the Golden Trio has different friends? AU. Darkish Dramione. COMPLETE.

Stripped Bare by Kittenshift17: *COMPLETE* Dragged to Malfoy Manor, Hermione is tortured for information on Harry's whereabouts. When the Cruciatus curse proves useless, Bellatrix settles on a heinous course of action to loosen her tongue. Forced to come together under threat of death, Draco and Hermione are about to learn there is more to their relationship than hatred.

Ninety-Five Percent by HufflepuffMommy A new Wizarding Marriage Law has come into effect and Hermione takes her chance with the Ministry and lets them decide who would be the best match for her. Who would ever believe that Draco Malfoy would be her best match with a 95% Compatibility? (Hermione/Draco). Rated M for language and mature themes later on. COMPLETE!

Sang et Lumière by Freya Ishtar *8th Year* Late one night, Hermione hears a sound that chills her bones—a howling from the Forbidden Forest, yet all werewolves fled at the end of the War. When she finds Draco stumbling back into the castle the next morning, she becomes his confidante . . . and something more.

Tip of My Tongue by Kittenshift17 When Draco's wife is caught cheating and pregnant to another man, Draco must fight for custody of his son, Scorpius. Hermione, determined to ensure her son, Aurelian, grows up knowing his brother without Draco finding out, somehow winds up tangled into the middle of Draco's impending divorce. Can she help it if she also keeps finding herself tangled in his embrace, and liking it?

His and Her Bruises by lezonne "I congratulate your ability to leave a mark on me, Granger. Although I must make a point of it that my bruises on you are far larger than yours on me. When competing, you should always aim to win, yes?" Fractured timeline from fourth year up; will eventually look into their lives after school. Violent references. Sequel "His and Her Scars" is now up!

The Wayward Familiar (complete) by Freya Ishtar Returning for 8th year, Hermione unexpectedly winds up with a 2nd familiar when the one she buys for Ron as a gift—a ferret she jokingly names Draco—refuses to go to him. When she realizes the creature isn't what it seems, she goes further than she ever thought she would to get the real Draco back.

Addicted to You by Kittenshift17: An act of kismet whilst herb gathering sees Hermione interacting with an unknown werewolf. When he bites her while she is in her animagus form, he sets into motion a twisted destiny that binds them together as mates. With Remus and Sirius there to help her through, Hermione's biggest worry is finding out the identity of the werewolf who marked her.

Star-Crossed by HeartOfAspen Three years post-DH (EWE/Dramione). A prophecy handed down the Malfoy line for generations revolves around Draco, throwing a wrench into the life he's trying to rebuild. Even more perplexing, it somehow also seems to involve one Hermione Granger? Angst and murder, fluff and stuff.

Amuse Me by sloanwolves DMHG head boy and girl share a dorm. Draco walks in on Hermione doing something naughty then blackmails her. And Draco has been secretly been pining after the head girl all year! - Rated M for explicit sex scenes, language and lots of casual drug use.

Little Do You Know by Kittenshift17: Post-war, eighth-year marriage law fic. In a world where pureblood pomp collides with muggleborn sass not everything is as it seems. As the pairings unfold in the most peculiar matches, the current and former students of Hogwarts have a learning curve ahead of them. Little do they know that those people they called enemies might turn out to be their perfect match.

A Dangerous Affair by krissh Hermione was terrified. The rage in Draco's eyes was unmistakable; He looked like he was ready to kill someone. When she did not answer, he slammed her arms above her head, pinning her to the wall. "How dare you mock me like that," he snarled in her face. "You filthy mudblood."

Curls and Bruises by s l y t h e r i n d o l l "When I'm done with you, I won't need your permission. You'll simply be begging for it."

Better Dig Two by Kittenshift17: Hermione never expected she'd fall pregnant with a lovechild fathered by a mystery man to get back at Ron for cheating. Her drunken revenge leads to the birth of her son. 5 years later she is confronted by Draco Malfoy with a photo she thinks is of her son. Things get complicated when he tells her it's not.

The Risk-Reward Ratio by MissiAmphetamine Set during TDH; a maimed, disillusioned Draco surrenders himself to the Order after he earns Voldemort's displeasure. Hermione's pity for him blooms into something more and he stops seeing her as just a mudblood, as they both discover there's far more to each other than they ever thought possible.

A Regular Life by acro acro Draco's mouth popped open. He'd seen hair like that before in his other life, all curling golden-brown madness, rippling and crackling with an intensity that matched the gold fire in its owner's eyes. Her eyes. Her…Mione. Draco stumbled forward on disbelieving feet. "Granger?"

Lost Images by EvilGu MARRIAGE LAW Hermione must marry Draco Malfoy- the only wizard that (begrudgingly) petitioned for her who is not actively trying to kill her. If only there was some loop-hole... Can the unlikely pair survive marriage, in-laws, ghosts, murderous enemies, and their own traitorous feelings?

Unrequited Snowfall by Kittenshift17: Draco Malfoy has a secret. An Infatuation. An Obsession. '"I have to admit Granger, I was less than pleased with some of the things you drew in this book of yours" he said, pulling his hand away before he could do something crazy like sliding it into her hair and tugging her close so he could snog those pouting lips of hers.' Sequel: UNREQUITED SNOWSTORM.

Unrequited Snowstorm by Kittenshift17: SEQUEL TO UNREQUITED SNOWFALL. The trial of Draco Malfoy was the most controversial of the year. Most felt that he ought to be thrown into Azkaban for his crimes, the other half passionately believed it was wrong to lock up an eighteen year old boy for choices he'd been forced to make under duress. Hermione Granger never expected the trial to take a turn like this. DMHG.

Isolation by Bex-chan He can't leave the room. Her room. And it's all the Order's fault. Confined to a small space with only the Mudblood for company, something's going to give. Maybe his sanity. Maybe not. "There," she spat. "Now your Blood's filthy too!" DM/HG. PostHBP.

Draconian Heart by camnz Hermione had known the bitter end was coming, but it still took her by surprise as their cottage was crumbling from the force of the Deatheaters' assault. There really wasn't any hope left, but she would fight none the less. The dark side had won and there was no place left in the world for the remnants of her side, so this is how it ends. Very DARK - contains non consentual.

Wrapped In Red by Kittenshift17: *COMPLETE* During a school wide Secret Santa, Hermione has the bad luck of picking Draco Malfoy, suspected Death Eater. When she tries to sneakily learn his secrets in order to get his gift, and Malfoy winds up trapped under some mistletoe, things get out of hand. Who said snogging a Death Eater wouldn't land her in a strangely addictive mess? A Christmassy Dramione tale.

The Switch by BackInBlack99 When Hermione and Draco wake up in each other's bodies, chaos ensues. Will they set out to make or break the other's reputation? And can they find something more along the way? Pride, pranks, and forbidden temptation...

The Boy in the Hammock by galfoy Hermione tugged at the string holding the hood onto the boy's head, gingerly pulling the fabric back to reveal his face. Lying before her, barely recognizable beyond the swelling and the blood, but still very much himself, was Draco Malfoy.

Seeds of Seduction by AnjaliMalfoy There is only one rule in the game of seduction...Never fall in love. Draco Malfoy is a prized Death Eater. Hermione Granger, a member of the Order of the Pheonix is sent to seduce him for information.

Fallen by cyropi What can you do when hatred is tearing your world apart? Can you survive when love is all you have left? And how can you win when you’re fighting your own reflection? DMHG, HPGW.

Mistletoe Masquerade by Kittenshift17: *COMPLETE* Hermione Granger receives a strange and beautiful gift anonymously, and is swept off her feet at the Ministry's staff Masquerade Christmas Ball. Caught beneath the mistletoe, Hermione finds herself snogging an incredibly intoxicating young man, only to be shocked when she learns with whom she had been locking lips.

Aurelian by BittyBlueEyes Two years after the war, a young stranger pays a visit to the burrow. His arrival alone is baffling, but the news he brings of an upcoming war turns the world upside down. Hermione's quiet, post-war life will never be the same.

Someone Saved My Life Tonight by JadedDragon4 COMPLETE! They didn't choose to be partnered together or for tragedy to strike. But now, lost, hurt, and together, they must choose to save each other . . . or die alone.

Bathwater by xXBeckyFoo It's their 7th year,the Dark Lord's dead and the Death Eaters are all rounded up. Nothing could go wrong, right? There's a sense of peace in the air, but how long can it possibly last when the Ministry's throwing people together for all eternity? Curse the new Marriage Law.

An Aversion to Change by Mel88 Sent back to Hogwarts with the suspicious title of Head Boy, Draco is forced to share a dormitory with none other than Hermione Granger. With a war looming on the horizon and another danger even closer to home, their final year is anything but ordinary.

A Marriage Most Convenient by AnneM.Oliver Hermione lost it all when she divorced. Draco would lose it all by age 30 if he didn't marry. Marriage to each other would be perfect, one would even say it was most convenient. Her daughter even looked like him, although, he wondered why that was.

What A Difference A Night Makes by Kyra4 DHr prefects, top students in their year and Houses. Makes sense that they'd be chosen by the faculty for an honors project that requires them to be locked in the astronomy tower all night. Will they fall for each other or rip each other apart? COMPLETE!

Soooo.... Yeah.... Lemme just fling these 42 recommendations at you. *laughs*

All I ask in return is that if you read the works by these talented authors, please, please, please, make sure to leave them some kind and encourgaing reviews in return.

xx-Kitten

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intakeofbreath · 4 years

Text

Details (Chapter 7)

Fandom: Dark Souls (Video Games), Dark Souls III Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Lord's Blade Ciaran & Dragon Slayer Ornstein, The Nameless King/Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Artorias the Abysswalker/Lord's Blade Ciaran Additional Tags: Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Hurt/Comfort, Alcohol, Vomiting, Tags May Change Summary: Secrets can also be told by corporal language and Ciaran is too good at reading it.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23427736/chapters/58109368

AO3 link to first chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23427736/chapters/56150551

“I think I’m going crazy. I don’t know why I even listen to you in first place.” Ornstein voice came out as a whine.

He was laying splattered on Ciaran’s bed, covered with a heavy blanket although the room was starting to get warm thanks to the fireplace they littled a hour ago to endure the winter days of Anor Londo.

Ciaran was sitting on the frame of her window, also covered with a blanket, and reading a book deeply absorbed by it. After hearing Ornstein’s voice, she hummed and briefly raised her eyes from the words without paying too much attention to him. “Weren’t you going to take a nap?”

Ornstein let out a sigh and mumbled, “I just couldn’t sleep...”

It had been the weirdest and most stressful month Ornstein had ever had in his life. First, he spent every day training that damned knights of Osmela and just the thought of them made him grunt and writhe with disgust. They were nothing compared to their Silver Knights, who were so respectful, hard-working and prone to learn. No, they were the completely opposite and they sure got on his nerves more than once since the first day they put a foot on the training field.

No wonder they were at the very verge of losing a war if they took so lightly the commands from their captains. Goddamned, even them seemed like they didn’t hold any authority upon their knights!

Ornstein didn’t know how he ended up forcing some respect upon them, but he recalled he kicked many of their asses clouded by anger, and they were far less than the amount he actually wanted to kick. Not like he was proud of it and neither used to resort to that kind of behavior towards his knights, but, god, he reached a point where he didn’t know what else he had to do with them anymore.

Secondly, and out of nowhere, Artorias started to avoid him too and weirdly act around him. He just walked off wherever they happened to be on the same room and he just stopped meeting him between their shifts to chat for a while. Ornstein knew their meets weren’t arranged at all, they just came across each other because their paths crossed, but that only served to create a weird feeling on him. Why he was avoiding him? Surely, that didn’t made Ornstein sad like Ciaran was, but oh, he was starting to get really pissed off.

And last but not least, for some unknown reasons, Prince Gwynsen started to need him more around him, even to do errands he always has done by himself. In fact, he didn’t complain, he was always glad to be able to serve him, but it was the worse moment to start demanding so many things of him. And if he wasn’t training knights, he was running behind the Prince every minute he was awake.

It was awfully exhausting. So, if before Osmela Knights came Ornstein barely has free time, during the last month he didn’t have time to breath or even blink. And when the knights finally left for good, leaving Ornstein at the very verge of a mental breakdown, Ciaran successfully convinced him to go on leave, though the urge to get things done didn’t stop chasing him.

Ornstein groaned, sitting with his legs folded on the bed. “I shouldn’t have took a week off. This was such a stupid idea!”

Ciaran was on leave too, because knowing the bundle of nerves her friend was, it was better to kept him company and prevent him to run back to Lord Gwyn and renounce his days off after being one hour without anything to do. So far, it was working, but the only drawback was hearing him whine almost every minute.

“How about you do something more interesting than laying in my bed?” She said, turning a page without looking at him.

“Any thoughts?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you start painting again? You can use the paper and ink from my desk.”

Ornstein looked at the furniture with a long face and, after a couple of seconds, dismissed the idea with a noise. “I don’t feel like it.”

Ciaran let out a sigh, rolling her eyes and resuming her reading, but just when she turned another page, her face lit up with a new idea, “Wait, I know the perfect thing you can do!” He gave her a lazy sideway look, and when Ornstein saw that Ciaran had that smirk on her face, he knew that whatever she was going to say next it was far from perfect.

Quickly, she rushed to his side and started to push him out of the bed. “Go grab your coat.”

“Why?” He asked, grimacing.

But Ciaran just kept pulling him through the room by his arm, until she opened the door and widely smiled at him. “We are going to the market.”

And just like that, they headed off the castle.

At first, Ornstein thought Ciaran was referring to the highest part of the city, which was full of elegant shops, not so far of the castle and where many servants stopped by to do their God’s errands. But no, an hour’s walk later confirmed him the contrary when they both reached the lower part of the city, walking past people far away form the divine in a noisy street full of shops with a cold weather that didn’t invite at all to be outside.

Ornstein looked down to Ciaran, who happened to be enjoying the walk way too much, looking around with excitement, and asked her, “So, where are we going to?”

Ciaran looked up at his clearly uncomfortable expression for being surrounded by a lot of people, and smiled, “I want to buy a book.”

Ornstein hummed, “Don’t you have plenty of them already?”

“Not this one! Besides, what is the problem of having new books?”

“Well, you still have a huge pile of unread books and you are supposed to read them first!”

Suddenly, Ciaran grabbed him by his arm and pointed to a bookshop. It looked very old from the outside, with a wood sign, where you could read the name of the shop, hanged on top of the door. And when they crossed it, they were welcomed by the heavy smell of old wood. It was so strong that Ciaran sneezed multiple times and Ornstein felt the urge to clear his throat. There were several shelves stacked up with books, books piled up on the floor, on desks and on a counter. Behind it, a young man with a weird hat was seated reading a book, and after hearing the jingling of the door, he raised his gaze with a kind smile.

He greeted them and asked if they needed help. After that, Ciaran approached him and started to ask him about the book she needed. Ornstein, meanwhile, started to wander between the shelves, curiosity growing though he wasn’t an avid reader as much as Ciaran or Artorias were.

Ornstein noticed the books weren’t classified with any criteria, they were just placed on the shelves carelessly, and a lot of them looked like they have seen better times. He passed his finger over the spine of the books, skimming through the titles, on the background he could heard the muffled voices of Ciaran and the bookseller. Their searching appeared to take longer than needed, so Ornstein started to pick up random books and skim through the pages, and after a while, he was taken aback when one of the books turned out to be about Lordran’s history.

Now, with his curiosity picked, he flipped the pages until he reached where the Dragon War was mentioned, greeted by an ink drawing of the Lords. Unconsciously, he held his breath for a second, admiring how magnificent they were portrayed even on paper, including that treacherous dragon. He only stopped when a title caught his attention to briefly read the explanation written down, most of the time wrinkling his nose slightly annoyed because the book wasn’t telling what really had happened back there.

Suddenly, a drawing of the Knights of Gwyn caught his attention, and Ornstein knitted his eyebrows, humming surprised, because he have been... drawed significantly shorter than Artorias. And that was completely inaccurate! He wasn’t that short, just a few centimeters shorter than him, but not a whole head!

“What are you reading?” Ciaran’s voice startled him, and Ornstein jumped, closing the book abruptly and returning it back on his place.

“Nothing, just a stupid book…” She arched an eyebrow, humming appreciatively. “Did you find what you needed?”

“Yes!” She showed him a cooking book and he raised his eyebrows.

“So you didn’t give up.”

“Of course not! I found it quite funny actually. Gough’s recipes helped me a lot to learn, but I don’t want to ask him for recipes every time I want to do something new, so… Oh! I could cook you something tomorrow!”

“If it won’t poison me, I don’t mind to try it…”

Ornstein giggled when Ciaran playfully pushed him, and then, they left the shop. Once they started to walk down the street, Ciaran searched inside the bag she has brought with her.

“By the way,” pulling out a book, she continued, “I bought this for you, now you can have something to do and not spent all the day whining about being bored in my bedroom.”

Ornstein gave her a questioning glance, grabbing the book from her hands and scanning the cover, though the title said nothing about the content of the book.

“Oath? What is this about?”

Ciaran giggled, looking at him mischievously. “Oh, you know... It’s just a story about a secret passionate and torrid romance between a princess and her faithful knight,” she said, entonning every word with a fervil energy. “The bookseller told me that it’s a very popular book right now.”

Ornstein’s expression fell off, completely white, but then his lips parted with a nervous smile. “No, you are just teasing me. I don’t believe you, you have to be kidding.”

“Well, you can confirm it by yourself,” she said, giving him a signal with her hand to go on.

Ornstein knitted his eyebrows, insecure, and opened the book by half to start reading.

With every passing word he read, his face blushed harder and harder, after he abruptly closed the book and looked bewildered at Ciaran, who let out a loud laugh.

“Why the fuck did you buy me this?! Have you opened and read it?! This… This is totally blasphemous and improper!” Ornstein was stumbling on his words, and looked like he needed to remember how to breath. He had spoken in a higher tone than expected, causing a couple of people to turn and look at him.

Ciaran whipped some tears out of her eyes, and needed a couple of seconds to regain her breath before grabbing the book from his hands and read the page he was on. “Aw, you opened the book where they fuck, I’m sure you have ruined the story for yourself.” Then, she let out a whistle and murmured, “Damn, this is really explicit… Maybe I should borrow this in the future...”

Ornstein loudly grunted, wanting to throw that damn book away and kick Ciaran’s ass with all the force he had.

“Don’t take it too serious, Ornstein, it’s just fiction!” Ciaran said between giggles. “Is not like it could happen in reality, isn’t it?”

He let out a strangled suffering noise from the deepest of his throat, which only made Ciaran start to laugh again.

“Oh, for the Lords, it’s so easy to mess with you!”

Ornstein narrowed his eyes to her, denying with his head and grimacing. “Your humour is the worst...”

“Aw, come on, but look at how cute you look, all red and flustered.” She reached her hand up to pinch his red cheek, but it was quickly pushed aside, though the shadow of a smile could be started to be seen on his lips.

“You are unbearable, do you know that? No wonder Artorias doesn’t want to be near you, with all that damn teasing of yours.”

“Excuse you?!” Ciaran made an exaggerated gesture, bringing her hand to her chest and gasping, to seem like she was really hurted.

Ornstein expression fell off after noticing what he had just said. “Oh my Lord, I’m so so sorry, Ciaran, I didn’t mean to-” He shut up when she puffed, pushing him by his arm.

“I know Ornstein! I got it was a joke, don’t worry!” Ciaran reassured him with a soft laugh. “Let’s kept going, all right? I need to visit other shops.”

He looked down at her and, for a moment, he felt really dumb, but Ciaran didn’t pay much attention to him, and kept walking with the book back in her bag.

They spent the next hours visiting clothing stores and an antique shop, just because Ciaran saw a figure that reminded one that her mother owned years ago at her first home. When they finished, it was starting to get dark, and they were very tired from the walk. Both, Ciaran and Ornstein, thought they wouldn’t be on time to attend the dinner and decided to stop by a tavern and order some food.

Surprisingly, after they have eaten half of their food, Ciaran ordered a bottle of ale and Ornstein arched an questioning eyebrow at her. “Why? You don’t usually like to drink.”

Ciaran shrugged with a smile. “Why not? We’ve earned it.”

She grabbed the bottle and poured the drink in their glasses and then, pointed the mouth of the bottle to Ornstein. “We’ve spent many days sad because of some damn idiots.” He opened his mouth to punctuate that, in fact, Prince Gwynsen was not an idiot, but Ciaran didn’t let him the time, “It’s time for us, my friend, that we have some fun for once.”

And they started drinking, and Ciaran forgot that Ornstein had no control over the alcohol, and when she should have stopped him from drinking most of the content of the several bottles they ordered, she was far way too tipsy to care about it.

They didn’t know how they got to the castle’s door and passed through the poor guards keeping everybody outside. Maybe Ciaran threatened them, or was it Ornstein? Either way, they stumbled over their feets multiple times through every corridor they went through, grabbing onto each other and laughing loudly with almost every word they let out. But until Ciaran didn’t abruptly stop, causing Ornstein to collide with her back, they didn’t shut up their mouths.

Ornstein looked where Ciaran had her gaze fixated and suddenly felt like he was floating on a cloud just by looking at his beautiful Prince. He was standing right besides Artorias, who, for once, wasn’t covering his face with his helmet. They could see the quickly movement of their eyes, switching between them and Ornstein’s coat over Ciaran’s shoulders, and their weird expressions that Ornstein didn’t bother to decipher.

Then, suddenly, the Prince moved quickly to Ornstein’s side with a frown on his face and placed a hand on his jaw to lift his face. The knight just gave him a goofy smile.

“What the hell happened to you?” he snarled, and briefly looked angrily at Ciaran. “You have blood on your face.”

Ornstein reached a hand to touch it and when his fingers brushed against his nose, he took a sharp breath. “Ah… Probably I fell in some stairs?” He carried every word, and letting out a giggle he continued, “I don’t remember very well, my apologies, my highness.”

Gwynsen arched an eyebrow after hearing my . “Are you drunk?”

Once again, Ornstein giggled, tilting his head. “No... Well, just... A little.”

The prince sighed, letting him go, and before he could say anything else, Ciaran started to angrily speak behind them.

“You, asshole!” Ciaran was trying to hit him again square on the chest at the same time she tried to not be grabbed by a nervous Artorias. “You don’t speak with me for weeks and now you say you are worried about me?! What do you think I am? A fool?!”

Artorias finally grabbed her wrists but she started to shake them with all the force she could came up with on her drunkenly state. “Don’t touch me!”

“Ah… Ciaran, please don’t scream.” Artorias looked really overwhelmed.

Ornstein stepped away from the Prince’s reach and walked to Artorias with an angry face. After noticing that, the wolf knight raised his eyebrows in a plea to Ornstein. “Oh, please, don’t hit me you too...”

But his friend only touched his chest with his index finder, making him flinch, though when nobody was punched, Artorias let out a relieved sigh.

“Yeah... She’s damn right, you are an asshole. Don’t you have a heart?” Ornstein was tapping his chest with his finger repeatedly. “Have you no consideration nor even thought about what she may be feeling? I’m very disappointed at you… I mean, you can ignore me as much as you like, but her?!”

Ornstein raised his voice when he said the last question, pointing with his other hand at Ciaran, who hardly kicked Artorias’ leg, full of angry, breaking her free. He grunted in pain and looked with a plea at the Prince, who finally stepped between the three knights and put Ornstein aside, grabbing him by his arm and shoulder.

“That was fantastic, Ornstein, I’m sure he has learnt his lesson and will stop his dumb behaviour and apologize with Ciaran, right, Artorias?” The Prince accentuated the question, giving him a sideway look.

Artorias nooded rapidly, avoiding to look at Ornstein or Ciaran, but that was enough to satisfy Ornstein, who hummed contently and returned to dreamily gaze up at the face of Gwynsen.

“Let’s get you to your room and leave them alone to clear up their problems,” continued the Prince, placing a hand on Ornstein’s upper back to guide him.

“As you like, my highness.”

“Wait, Ornstein,” called Ciaran, opening her bag and handling him the book. “Mmm… Don’t forget your things.”

“Thank you very much!” Ornstein lengthen the words with a smile, extending his arm to grab it from her.

In the time the book was passed from hand to hand, Artorias and Gwynsen had the chance to look at the cover and recognize the title. Artorias opened his mouth, repressing a gasp in his throat, and both of them looked at each other with their eyebrows raised with astonishment.

#dark souls #nkstein #artorias/ciaran #fanfic #myfanfics

2 notes · View notes

whichstiel · 5 years

Photo

I made this art for the 2019 Dean/Cas Tropefest. (HUGE thanks to the mods, Jojo and Muse, for being amazing!) As soon as I read through the summaries, I knew I needed to try to grab the DRAGON STORY right away. I just...really love dragons, okay? This story is delightful and unexpected, with lovely world-building, rich side characters, and a beautiful romance between Dean and Cas. I really enjoyed reading it and working with zaphodsgirl! You can read Shadow & Storm by zaphodsgirl now! You’ll love it. <3

Here’s the summary:

One night, a mysterious visitor appears in young Prince Dean's bedroom, and he suddenly finds himself transported to an abandoned replica of his home in an unknown land. He learns quickly that the borders are finite, and none may leave without incurring the wrath of the guardian: a dragon the people call Storm.

Left with no choice, Dean adapts to life as the others have, tending to the animals and working the land to survive. As he grows up, the life he knew as a prince seems more and more distant, until a new person arrives that he remembers from his childhood. Shaken by this arrival, Dean’s desire to escape returns anew, and he discovers more than he wanted to know about the Shadowlands and its occupants -- especially about the mysterious guardian of the castle, Castiel.

Continue reading for some insight into the process and drafts behind the art.

Reading this story, I was struck by its lovely fairy tale vibe, which inspired me to make some kind of story-book art. I’ve always enjoyed pop-up books, so that seemed like a fun thing to try. My first step was to learn more about pop-ups. I turned to the internet for ideas, and found recommendations for: Pop-up design and paper mechanics, by Duncan Birmingham. This was a really useful book (I got it from the library - and you can too!) It gave me some basic structures and some general rules of thumb for how things fold and work when opened. I stuck with the simpler forms, given the short time period before posting.

Tools & supplies:

Cardstock paper

Watercolor paper (for the folding pages/backdrops and some stand-ups)

Watercolors, colored pencil, sharpie markers

Glue (I really like this scrapbooker’s glue pen for paperwork. Dries FAST and mostly doesn’t warp.)

Scissors, precision knife, ruler, protractor

Bone folder for pressing seams

Once I had some broad ideas of some of the rules of pop-up creation, I started to sketch out some quick ideas. I always like to start with the cover image, since that’s the main image people see when they’re browsing a story list. I did a few basic sketches on paper, but I decided the easiest way to develop these pop-up pieces would be to do what Birmingham called “paper sketching.” With paper sketching, you just...eyeball the pieces, attach it to a folded piece of paper, and cut away whatever paper you don’t want. It’s sort of like working with negative space in that way. Paper sketching was invaluable for helping me figure out things like: how tall should the mountains be? How high are the wings? What can fold together to lay flat? (Because I wanted this to be a functional book.) How long can I make that flame spout? (Not long, as it turned out.)

Here are some paper sketches I made of the cover image. A few of these were before I re-read the story and realized that the castle was built INTO the mountain. Oops. Building drafts helped me to realize that the concept was possible. Once I had some general structures under my belt, I could start to do the finer work of cutting out the final pieces. Draft work was typically done with sketchbook paper or cheap cardstock from Walgreens.

(Left: first draft; Right: Oh my god maybe this will actually work)

I wanted the cover to convey the full expanse of the lands surrounding the castle. I made my author draw me an actual map and diagram of all the agricultural lands. Thanks, zaphodsgirl! I chose black paper for the cover for REASONS you will discover when you read the story.

(Left: background watercolor progress with marker details; Right: taping in a quick test sketch to see if it will fit with the dragon and to test the angle)

Behind the scenes

For each design, I started by painting a watercolor backdrop, making note of the center where I’d need to fold the page. Watercolor paper was a pretty good choice because it’s thick and you can really crease the hell out of that middle joint - and the page stays strong. The cover is the most detailed. For the others, I went with more imprecise watercolor washes - mostly in the interest of time.

Finding a good backdrop is always a challenge when photographing art, and was a big issue for the cover since that dragon really gets lost if there’s too much in the background. I decided to go “Maria from Sound of Music” and pull down one of my curtains as a backdrop. That, plus desk lamps for light made a pretty good set.

This piece features Castiel fading into the dragon. I suffered from proportion control for this project but chose to forge on ahead, anyway. Sometimes the dragon is huge, sometimes it’s small. Oooooh well, it’s a dragon, anyway. :D The little Dean torso is intended to be a manually-opened inset, more to show his reaction than anything else. The dragon is 5 pieces - tail, head and forepaw, wings, and body. Castiel is a single piece; his fold is attached to the dragon and there’s a little paper accordion behind his head to keep him upright.

(Top left: I hate concept sketches; Top right: Cas coming together. I made him too tall! Oh well, I’m gonna roll with it)

Behind the scenes

This next piece was actually the second one I did, because it was the most complex and I wanted to get it finished so I wouldn’t fret over it. The red light is from a bicycle tail-light that I’m holding in the air with one hand while taking a photo with the other. I just really liked that little shadow claw on the ground!

This dragon was somewhat inspired by a Game of Thrones popup my author shared with me. My dragon isn’t as complex, but it still opens wide and closes flat, so I’m happy. It’s basically built as an upside down triangle, cut into a folded piece of paper. The fold is on the bottom. You can draw a line from the fold in its snout to a fold on its torso. The spines were cut out and glued on after the fact because I completely forgot to add them!!!

I was having some trouble with the wings attaching properly, so my test models had the dragon at various stages of height or angles from the ground. Too high and it would pop beyond the book pages. Too low and it might as well be sitting on the page completely. The dragon body has built-in tabs to which the wings are glued and the forest cutouts have this as well, for max strength. This is one of those cards where I went through enough drafts that I resorted to tape as a quick-hold option to figure out things like height and angle and how much dragon could fit in the folded pages. I ended up using an actual tool with (gasp) measurements to finally get the angle of the forest inserts right. Folding the test dragon into the card, I actually just sliced off the excess wing and tail that peeked out from the edges, then used that space when I was cutting out my final dragon.

For each of these, it’s best to get your pattern pieces as close as possible and then use that to cut your final pieces. The angles and length of everything needs to be fairly precise or what worked in your draft won’t fold well in the final version.

(Top left: So many draft pieces, so little time; Top right: Use math, kids!; Bottom: Dragon open and closed)

Behind the scenes

The last piece is modeled after a simple folding animal style. Its feet are glued symmetrically over the fold.

It’s essentially a folded piece of cardstock with an animal cut out of it. The head is attached separately, as are the wings and Amara. I had a star hole punch, which made it easy to add some stars to Amara’s gown as well as on the page. I’d wanted to do a big fold-out window arch here, but realized that it wouldn’t fit over the dragon or the Dean/Cas fold. Ah well. Please imagine it, instead.

(Top left: concept sketch; Top right: Paper sketching is a great reality check; Bottom: Amara astride Storm)

Behind the scenes

The final step was to turn this into some kind of book. At first, I planned to stitch the pages together. I’d never bound a book before, and I was cursing myself for putting down all those layers of pop-up inserts if I was going to have to stitch through each page. Then I looked at some pop-up books and realized that often just the edges of the pages are glued, leaving the middle to float as necessary. This was good, because it was a way easier option! (Also the dragon in the forest came out a little tight, so the float was very helpful there.)

I glued the page edges and, since they were a little curly from the watercolor and popup designs pulling at them, I weighted them with books to dry for a while.

I found an old book cover that would work (from a very outdated technology textbook). I sliced out the original pages, recovered the book with black paper, and glued in my new book pages on the front and back. It was a perfect fit!

I finished with time to spare, so I added a little watercolor and paper cut-out picture and frame to the front and back to add some flair. Please enjoy my terrible glue job. (I forgot to smooth the paper.)

I used a hair tie cut in half to hold the pages down for photographs (or display). I clipped two wedge-shaped bag clips to the underside of each tie to weigh down each side, and hold the book open at a slight angle.

This was a fun and challenging project to work on, and I’m so grateful to zaphodsgirl for all her effusive words and gifs of encouragement. You’re going to love this sweet story. Go read it now! Shadow & Storm on AO3.

(And if you feeling like tossing a comment my way, I’d love to hear from you here on Tumblr or on my art post on AO3.)

#deancas tropefest #my art #dragons #popup book #papercutting art

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amazable01 · 5 years

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Mr. Sanders Neighborhood

Collab with @theobsessor1!

Note: THE LONG AWAITED NEIGHBORHOOD AU IS HEREEEEEEEEEEEE!! I’m so excited, you guys, you don’t even know.

Link to AO3 is here

Logan lived in a quiet town, where extraordinary things never happened, and he’s always been fine with that. Today is peaceful as it is every day, so… why does today feel different?

He had awoken at the usual time of 6am, ate a healthy breakfast and began on chores. Logan had the whole house swept, mopped and vacuumed by 8, planning to get to laundry once he fetches the mail just like every Saturday Morning.

Logan puts the vacuum back in the closet before heading out the front door. He blinks almost owlishly, stepping outside to hear singing.

The source of the sound comes from his right, another man that looks like the stereotypical Prince Charming from children's fairy-tales. The outfit they wear further affirms the idea. It may even be contributing to making him look even stranger as he continues to sing to the birds sitting in a nearby tree.

The man looks over, spotting Logan watching him in bewilderment. He greets him with an enthusiastic wave and a bright smile as if his behaviour is perfectly normal.

Before Logan can process any of this, the gentleman is striding over to him. The princely figure introduces himself with a small bow. “Hello fine sir! I’m sure I need no introduction as you must know who I am already.” The stranger places a hand to his chest with a flourish, his tone dramatic. “I must apologize on mine own behalf for not coming to greet you sooner, but I have been busy redecorating the insides of my new home.”

Noting that the stranger has SOME form of manners, however odd he seems to act, Logan tries to remain polite, despite the fact he would rather hide in his house and avoid the odd person. “I believe you are mistaken, as I do not know who you are-”

The stranger promptly interrupts Logan, a string of offended noises escaping his lips “You don’t know who I am?! I am Roman Charming!” Making a dramatic pose as if that’s supposed to help jog Logan’s memory, Roman gives him a waiting glance.

Logan quickly shakes his head. “Sorry, I’ve never heard of you before. Are you some kind of... children’s entertainer?” He gestures towards Roman’s royal attire, expecting that to be the answer as to why he was dressed in such unusual garb.

“What?!” Roman appears even more offended and agitated than when Logan admitted he didn’t know the man, “I will have you know that I am ROYALTY, you peasant!”

This guy is clearly mental! Logan raised his hands, trying to come off non-threatening, fearful the man would grow angry. Knowing how strange he was acting, there is no telling what he might do. “I do apologize for the mistake, sir. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have chores to finish.” Leaving his mail to sit in the mailbox, Logan hastily enters the safety of his home before the other could protest. Carefully making sure to lock the door, he breathes a sigh of relief, thankful to be away from the insanity outside.

Maybe if I’m careful, I don’t have to face any more of that ridiculousness, Logan muses.

Despite his best efforts, however, Logan might as well give up trying to avoid Roman. The man must be used to getting lots of attention, and seeing as there isn’t anyone else in the neighborhood other than them, Roman would often attempt to seek it out from Logan, much to the annoyance of the latter.

--------------------

Logan huffs with annoyance. Roman had followed him to work several times now, often talking about nonsensical things and being an overall distraction. And a nuisance, to top that. Logan had been contemplating kicking him out, when Roman wandered off into the bookshelves. Deep within the novels and biographies, lies an oasis of imagination and naivety. The children’s section.

Taking advantage of the moment of reprieve, Logan begins putting away some of the returned books. He hadn’t realized how long Roman had been gone until he realized that most of the books had been return to their places, and only a few remained on the return cart.

In his peripheral vision, as he puts another book back in place, he notices the manager heading off towards the children’s section. Logan doesn’t think twice of it as he continues working. She is the owner of the place, after all. Seeing her check up on things was nor-Shit!

Roman was still in there! She would likely not take too kindly to his strange delusions, nor would Roman take how she would react very well.

Making haste, Logan races off to the children’s section. He looks around, scanning the area.

The ceiling had been repainted into a bright blue, the walls depicting a forest that supposedly surrounded the kids as they played. Bookshelves were designed to look like trees sprouting with knowledge. A playset sits in the corner, a child-sized tower that could be climbed and played around. The tower was connected to the reading room, which was painted to look like a gigantic castle, where activities would often be held. A glass doorway across from the reading room lead to a outdoor garden, where stepping stones and benches often held older children finishing up a book, or younger kids enjoying the sun. A dragon statue laid outside, as well, to bring the inside theme into the garden.

All personal opinions aside, it had become a good place for children to stay, compared to the dark wood and clean counters of the normal library outside.

Logan spots the manager watching Roman. She doesn't look at all like he was expecting. Hesitantly he stands next to her, copying her as they watch Roman.

Roman is sitting by the child-sized tower, the children scattered around him in awe as he reads, no, dramatically acts out the story. A couple times he purposefully played the scene wrong, and with laughter the children would correct him as he feigned ignorance.

As Roman finishes up the book, Logan hears the manager hum in thought before walking over to Roman and pulling him aside to talk.

Logan quickly followed, hoping to keep the peace if things were to start escalating, only to freeze as she proposed something to Roman.

“I would be delighted!” Roman cheers, before turning to Logan, beaming. “I get to work with you now! How about that!”

Logan felt his brain shutting down. “...what?”

“I get to keep the little gremlins occupied while their guardians get their business done here! Isn’t that spectacular news?!”

“I believe I might require some air.”

Leaving the two before they could respond, Logan exits the children’s section and the library. He uses an arm to lean against the wall, taking some much needed deep breaths.

Not only did he have Roman as his neighbor, but now he was stuck working with him, too!

-------------------------------------

Roman believed he was royalty. And not just any royalty, but the child of Cinderella, someone who didn’t exist to begin with.

He’d searched everywhere for the so called “Storybrooke” that Roman claimed to have originated from, and it didn’t exist either!

Footsteps sound close by, but Logan hardly notices them. There’s a much more important problem right now.

Did a Roman Charming even exist?! Who was he?! Where did he come from?! Why did he appear out of nowhere?!

A hand places itself softly on Logan’s shoulder. He mutters to himself as he turns, still caught up in his thoughts.

Roman jolts back, removing his hand like he had been burned. He looked bewilderedly at his hand, before shaking his head and turning his attention back on Logan, concerned.

“Are you alright? You seemed a bit upset when you left the library.”

Logan runs a hand through his hair, an anxious mess. “To be honest? No. I am not alright.” He points at Roman “The world apparently thinks it would be hilarious to ruin my perfect life with some neighbor who has delusions of being a nonexistent character! You’re CONSTANTLY harassing me for attention, and now I have to share my WORKSPACE with you?!?!” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to bring his emotions back in check. “You don’t exist on ANY sites...h-how can I be sure your not some escaped convict, or madman?”

Roman tilts his head contemplatively, his eyes saddened. “I guess there really is no way of knowing if I am a madman, since I technically don’t exist outside of home... I sometimes forget that.” He continues, sighing softly. “Even so, that is no excuse for my behavior. I am a prince, and I should act like one. I do tend to enjoy your company, however, so I hope you can forgive me, or we can start all of this over again.”

Logan just knew he was going to regret this decision in the future, and yet... seeing the sincere expression on Roman’s face had made him feel more than a little guilty

With an exasperated sigh, Logan sealed his fate. “You're forgiven, just… I sometime need my own space, and for the love of all things celestial, PLEASE tone down your dramatics.”

“Of course! I’ll make sure to be more considerate with both of those things!” He pauses. “Does... does this mean I should decline working here?”

“No, it’s fine. As long as you don’t distract me while I’m working, I’m fine with it.”

“Yes! Work buddies!”

Logan might as well have lost his mind for what he just agreed to. Thankfully, the rest of the neighborhood will most likely fill with normal people to save his sanity.

After all, things couldn't get any weirder...

Right?

Taglist under cut

@pikachutali @0callmevirge0 @wolfishhel @anachronistic-cat @chemically-imbalanced-romance @nightmarejasmine @thepoolofthedead @broadwaytheanimatedseries @hanramz-the-fander @silversunshine2012 @tree4life25 @changeling-ash @Multi-fandom-trash-x9000 @thespiritsquid @crankthatyee @anangelridingintheimpala @alyssadashrub @nottodaylogic @corerianna @the-gayest-one-of-them-all @skelekitty42 @Emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn @scorching-scotch @ab-artist @cloudchaser7

If you would like to be added, contact me or @theobsessor1 through an ask, comment, or dm!

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dotuindex · 5 years

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Because In This House We Love and Appreciate The Royal Pulluxian Trio

HCs for Avok, Romelle, and Bandor that no one asked for but I don’t care because I love them and I will never stop talking about them

For the trio and Pollux as a whole: ⭐ As of their debut Avok was 21, Romelle was 18, and Bandor was 13 ⭐ Their mother, a blonde haired, brown eyed Arusian woman named Amue, died when Romelle was almost 8 years old from illness. The medicine required to heal her came only from Arus, but Arus had blocked all trade with Pollux many years before then so there was no hope of getting the medicine. ⭐ Their mother was actually one of several ambassadors and nobles sent from Arus to Pollux in hopes of bettering relations between the two planets but it didn’t work out, however she did grab the attention of the newly crowned ruler ⭐ The freckles come from their mom ⭐ Their father had red hair like Bandor and Avok before it went grey ⭐ Their parents were a total power couple ⭐ After their mother’s death their father was never really the same man ⭐ After the death of their mother Romelle became a mother figure to Bandor as they got older ⭐ They all like peanut butter but disagree on whether crunchy or smooth is better (Romelle likes smooth, Avok likes crunchy, Bandor really doesn’t care but joins the argument anyway for that sweet, sweet drama). ⭐ All three of them have bottomless pits for stomachs. They can pack food away like nothing. ⭐ Pollux is Space Sparta TM so all three have had combat training ⭐ Both Romelle and Bandor, standing at 5′8 and 5′3 respectively, are considered short by Polluxian standards. Avok stands at the male average of 6′4 ⭐ Polluxians are overall bigger and stronger than Arusians, but they also have a few years shorter life expectancy. Polluxians also have denser bones. ⭐ Polluxians are polytheistic and have many patron saint type figures ⭐ Pollux has a bad reputation of being full of violent warmongers, but at least they tend to be less sexist. With the vast majority of young men being in military service, women take up many leadership roles and are often considered to be the head of the home. ⭐ The first ruler of Pollux was a man named Lam. When he was kicked off of Arus, many Arusians who believed in his way of thinking followed him. ⭐ After the incident with Avok, their father vanished. His whereabouts are unknown. ⭐ When Avok was still around, Bandor often made him and Romelle reenact scenes from his favorite games/cartoons/movies with him ⭐ The reason Romelle knows the key to Pollux’s defenses and Bandor doesn’t is because Avok, next in line for the throne at the time, had entrusted the secret to Romelle before he became a robeast in case something happened to him. ⭐ Bandor and Romelle make sure that Avok’s room is taken care of after he died. They keep everything where he left it. The room has become some sort of shrine ⭐ The knife Romelle gave Sven is actually one of a matching set of three. The other two belong to Avok and Bandor. They were gifts from their father when they were very young. They always carry the knives with them. Avok’s was lost because he had it on him when he died and Romelle’s was destroyed, so Bandor’s is the only one left. ⭐ After Romelle came home from Doom, Bandor offered for her to co-rule with him ⭐ Romelle and Bandor were left in the dark about most of the details of Avok becoming a robeast, and their father never told them the whole plan of betraying the Drule. ⭐ All three of them are very defensive of one another ⭐ Sometimes, when they were having particularly hard days, the three of them would get together and read a book. Avok would start out, then pass the book to Romelle once he got tired. She’d then pass the book to Bandor, who had a habit of adding in lines and words to make the other two laugh. ⭐ Romelle and Bandor had a statue of Avok built and displayed outside the castle with other statues of prominent figures in Polluxian history. ⭐ Lady Zeeb is a noblewoman who acted as the governess/ god mother/ caregiver for all three of them. She’s in her late 40′s and was close friends/rivals with their father growing up.

Avok: ⭐ Exercise is how he relieved stress ⭐ Romelle and Bandor can’t sing for shit… but he could ⭐ He was a perfectionist ⭐ He actually had a soft spot for novels ⭐ Secretly really liked romance books. He liked the idea of being in love, but at the same time didn’t like the idea of a relationship, so books are a way for him to get those romancey butterflies without an actual relationship. ⭐ His eyes were dark blue ⭐ Was actually pretty bashful when you complimented him ⭐ His nose was crooked because one time he broke it and it didn’t set right ⭐ People who knew him would describe him as a bit of a softy, but stubborn and blunt as all hell. ⭐ He’s haf one hell of a temper if you knew what buttons to press ⭐ Kept a log of his daily activities ⭐ Collected bladed weapons, old coins, and rocks/minerals ⭐ Despite the amount of stuff he had, his room was always neat and tidy ⭐ Got uncomfortable when people touched his things, even his siblings ⭐ Do they have chess on Pollux? if so he was the champion ⭐ He was a curious child with a close bond to Romelle, but after their mother died he became more withdrawn into his studies and didn’t spend as much time with her. ⭐ Mostly took after his father but was actually closer to his mother ⭐ Could and would eat anything you put in front of him with no complaint ⭐ The main reason he agreed to be turned into a robeast to fight Voltron was because he blamed Arus for the death of his mother ⭐ He was the spitting image of his father, and was secretly a bit sad that he didn’t inherit much from his mother aside from his freckles. ⭐ Homeboy had a lot of hair. Everywhere. He was basically Chewbacca. ⭐ Constantly in his head about things. Overly analytical, overly critical. That’s why he liked training so much. It gave him something else to think about. ⭐ Surprisingly, he actually held many of the same views as Romelle, but he believed it was his duty to his planet to honor their traditions and long held beliefs. ⭐ Was known to pick verbal (and occasionally, physical) fights with people who talked shit on Romelle. ⭐ He had great respect for Romelle, and always saw her as his right hand woman. ⭐ I have absolutely no basis for this but my heart says he’s gay ⭐ Self conscious. Not necessarily insecure, but was very aware of himself and his surroundings. ⭐ Really into sculptures and architecture but never got the chance to really pursue those interests outside of just studying them. ⭐ When he was younger he kept his hair just long enough to pull back into a little ponytail.

Romelle: ⭐Her earrings were a gift from her mother given to her on her 7th birthday, the last birthday she got to spend with her mother. ⭐ She was taken out of combat training at 10 due to her father’s growing paranoia and pressure from other planets ⭐ After she was taken out of combat training Avok took it upon himself to train her privately. It turns out he’s a pretty good teacher, and sparing was a great bonding activity for them. ⭐ Was exceptionally close to both her parents, but most of her values come from her mom ⭐ The public has mixed opinions on her due to her unusual beliefs ⭐ Their mother tried to teach her to play various instruments but she never got into any of them ⭐ her pink outfit is actually meant for training ⭐ Her blue dress is actually the only floor length dress she owns. The rest only go down to her knees, at most. She only wears the blue one on the occasion that they have to see other royals or officials who would see her normal clothes as inappropriate ⭐ Has freckles you can fight me on this ⭐ Bi and unable to die ⭐ Keeps a diary ⭐ Her favorite color is teal ⭐ Junk food junkie ⭐ Had a pet bird when she was little. Her father only let her have it on the condition that she not let it out of it’s cage. She still did but shhh ⭐ Was really into sports as a kid ⭐ She wants to name one of her future kids Amue after her mother ⭐ Has scars on her wrists and ankles from her imprisonment ⭐ She also lost a ton of weight as a prisoner ⭐ After spending so much time around Lotor, she can no longer stand the smell of alcohol. ⭐ Sees Allura as a sister ⭐ Her father was the one who taught her how to pilot a ship ⭐ Was a major tomboy growing up. ⭐ After returning home it didn’t take long for others to notice she acted… differently. She was more temperamental and anxious ⭐ After her return she spent a lot of time alone in her room ⭐ Suffers from PTSD ⭐ Was never really into dolls, but she has a porcelain one that her mother gave her when she was little. ⭐ She can’t cook for shit. ⭐ Used to be such a heavy sleeper that she might as well have been dead when she fell asleep. After escaping imprisonment, she became a light sleeper. She often has night terrors. ⭐ Her appearance is very out of the ordinary for Polluxians. She’s blonde while most of the population has darker, redish hair, she’s pretty pale compared to Polluxian’s typically more Mediterranean/olive complexions, she keeps her hair much longer than typical for Polluxian women, and she’s pretty short by their standards. Over all, she isn’t considered traditionally beautiful. ⭐ Lady Zeeb was the one who originally styled her hair like that. It’s a pretty old fashioned, classic look for Polluxian women… and pretty much the only thing Lady Zeeb knows how to do with hair. ⭐ Her and Lady Zeeb bonded over being the only two blondies in the royal court.

Bandor: ⭐ He has his mother’s eyes ⭐ Has a bad habit of idolizing people ⭐ Is a very active and sporty child with a wild imagination ⭐ Avok and Bandor were never really that close but Bandor still admires his brother ⭐ When he was little he used to pull people’s hair a lot. That’s when Romelle started wearing her hair up and out of the way ⭐ Was a really happy baby. Always smiling and laughing. ⭐ Has ADHD ⭐ Cartoon addict ⭐ Major sweet tooth ⭐ Was the kid to tie a blanket around his neck like a cape and wave a stick around like a sword while running around the castle, yelling about how he had to save the kingdom from an evil dragon ⭐ Single handedly keeps bandaid companies in business with his shenanigans ⭐ Likes drawing but isn’t very good at it ⭐ Extremely picky eater. Certain textures really bother him ⭐ Wishes he’d gotten more time to get to know his mother ⭐ Was not at all prepared to become the ruler of Pollux. Working with the military came as a second nature to him, but civil and economic issues are hard for him to get his head around ⭐ Is allergic to peanuts. He used to eat peanut butter all the time when he was little but the allergy developed as he got older. He’s bitter about it. ⭐ Once when Romelle was sleeping, he took a marker and played connect the dots with her freckles. She was not happy. ⭐ His room is a mess 24/7. Servants used to have to pick up after him daily, but he’d just complain that he couldn’t find anything once it was all put away so everyone gave up and trying to keep his room in any sort of order. ⭐ Loves dogs, but his father never let him have one because he’s a strict and hates joy because he thought it would make a mess ⭐ Has a rivalry/friendship with Pidge ⭐ His father and Avok would always ruffle his hair when he did a good job at something. He is literally a puppy!!! Give him head scratches!!! ⭐ Is good at chess but doesn’t have the attention span for it ⭐ When he was little he used to sneak into Romelle’s room at night a lot, especially when he was upset and wanted company. ⭐ Words can not describe how he felt when he lost his whole family in one day. In just a few hours his brother died, his sister was kidnapped, and his father went missing, leaving him to lead a planet all on his own. In the few days between getting Romelle back and her running off with Sven, he’d slept more soundly that he had in months. ⭐ When Romelle was a prisoner, he often had nightmares of her being killed and him being powerless to do anything about it. He was constantly terrified of her never coming home. ⭐ When he was little he so badly wanted to have long hair like Romelle. They’d have to chase him down in order to cut his hair until eventually his father just said screw it and let him grow it out. He ended up cutting it all off when he was about 11 when he decided he was a Big Boy TM.

#voltron #80s voltron #dotu #romelle #avok #bandor #lady zeeb #king coba

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