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yamoksauceforsale · 3 years

Note

Please tell me more abt all your aa fics I kinda forgot that you've also played the lawyer game (also miles to go is a brilliant title sdjfkljsdflksjdfl)

I am a CLOWN for the gay lawyers so please feel free to message me about them whenever especially on my main @ghoullian (happy disbarment day also ahah 🥲) More summaries/status/excerpts under the cut!

Since most of the fics on that WIP list were AA I’m gonna sort by whether they’re miles, franziska, or klav gav flavored

Miles flavored

1. On the Dichotomy of Colors in Neo Olde Tokyo and its Applications to Japanifornia, An Essay by Miles A. Edgeworth, Grade 4

Status: COMPLETE, Read here

A oneshot kid!fic set after the classroom trial but before DL-6. Miles confesses by way of steel samurai.

2. Cry for Absolution:

Status: This one is essentially done but I’m debating whether to publish it bc it’s personal.

The miles goes to catholic school au i wrote about here! I added in some slight lang/edgeworth elements.

3. Miles to Go:

Status: Outlined, some chapters written. This is my only AA multi chapter fic. I haven’t worked on it in a bit bc i’ve been playing the games more (started outlining/writing mid game 3, and am now on the game 5 DLC), but I have a bunch of roadtrip stops planned!

Motivated by my desire to have more Miles & Trucy bonding moments, and to torture this poor stuffy man with a chaotic roadtrip. Miles is overworking himself so Phoenix & Trucy convince him to go on vacation with them. Most of his vacations (when he takes them) are spa days with Franziska, so he doesn’t realize until they’re pulling up to the bus terminal that Phoenix has booked a roadtrip across CA.

The parts I have written currently are: a narumitsu having to share a bed in a shitty motel that ran out of rooms chapter; trucy & miles making s’mores. I know I also want to write: supernatural themed roadside attraction chapter with Miles and Maya arguing about whether ghosts are real (possibly at the Mystery Spot or Winchester Mystery House); the opening of Larry’s art gallery as Laurice Deauxnim; supportive!Miles walking with Phoenix across the Golden Gate Bridge (Phoenix is scared shitless bc of Bridge to the Turnabout, but Trucy really wants to go); epilogue is Miles’ choice of vacation— the opening of steel samurai land at Gatewater Land

Excerpt from the s’mores scene:

Trucy looked up at him curiously. “Have you really never made a smore before Mr. Edgeworth?”

Miles shifted uncomfortably. “‘No, I... I haven’t ever been camping before either really.”Trucy’s mouth dropped open, “NEVER?” she said, awed that someone could miss out on something so fundamental to all her childhood vacations with her father.

“No. I mean,” Miles sighed, “My adopted father wasn’t much for camping.”

“Why?” said Trucy, chomping on another marshmallow straight from the bag.

“Well, for one, he dressed like... erm, me. Not me right now, of course,” he said, shifting awkwardly in the baggy matching pink Yellowstone T-shirt Trucy had picked out for them earlier.

“Who knows! maybe if he’d have been less of a stick in the mud, you could’ve had matching t-shirts with him too!” said Trucy, full of naive hopefulness.

Miles knew she couldn’t possibly know the story behind von Karma’s atrocities and speak so lightly of it. Still, he found himself stifling a snicker at the thought of Manfried von Karma being caught in cargo shorts, sneakers, and a souvenir t shirt.

“Somehow I don’t think that would fly,” said Miles, in the understatement of the century.

“Eh, too bad for him I guess. 2 for 1 deals are just for us cool kids I guess,” she said, elbowing Miles on an affectionate joke.

Miles smiled, “Weren’t you just calling me elderly not 10 minutes ago? And now I’m a cool kid?”

“Objection!” yelled Trucy. “That was Auntie Maya!”

“Touché,” said Miles. “Your father was the one getting the most kick out of it though I think.”

“I think he just likes to see you so... flustered? Not that he wants to see you mad, but... you’re so much more fun when you’re not all geared up to use your pink suit like armor and be an ice man. It just makes us all happy to know you’re here having fun and wanting to spend time with us.”

Miles was glad for the darkness and the heat of the fire to cover up any possible embarrassment or other... frivolous emotions that might be flushing his cheeks from those remarks. He found himself oddly struck speechless.

Clearly noticing the awkward pause in the conversation, Trucy tried to redirect to safer subjects. “Anyway, I’m sorry your dad was a bummer. I love hearing everyone’s cool camping stories.”

4. Miles’ feather of truth nightmare:

Status: this is an outline for a scene I’ll probably stick into another fic at some point!

Egyptian mythology inspired. Miles has a nightmare where his heart is being weighed against the feather of truth, he looks up to find the judge to plead his case, but the judge’s stand has been replaced with a throne. Mvk sits on it, cackling madly before eating his heart

5. Miles Edgeworth & chess through the years:

Status: just an outline currently.

Canon compliant AU with chess as a metaphor to track Miles’ character arc and recovery from his abuse at the hands of MVK. Basically him going from the dehumanizing WIN WIN WIN attitude to love & using chess to bond with loved ones. I wanna have him as a kid learn to play from Gregory as a way to bond, but then suddenly change to being coached to be the best under von karma (who hides a piece in his sleeve to get a win). Picks up in aa1 with him playing against phoenix (phoenix wins by pure luck, not strategy or underhanded tactics), him commissioning That Gay Ass Chess Set in his office, faking his death. Two scenes at the end of him playing against Kay (who cheats and briefly reminds him of MVK, but then laughing bc he knows MVK would HATE that comparison), and then married narumitsu laughing when Pess and Trucy accidentally knock over the chess board

Franziska flavored

1. Franziska’s having a bREAkdOwn! bReaKdOwn! (hospital franmaya):

Status: Scenes partially written, excerpt below.

Franziska and her father share many things: a name, a legacy of success, a destiny of greatness, and matching bullet holes to remind them of their greatest failures. What happens when Franziska wants to see more of herself not in her father, but in Maya Fey?

Excerpt:

“Maya Fey, your family was disgraced by my own father. How can you even look at me?” “You’re not the sins of your father, Franziska. And... to be honest... I relate to you.”

Of all the things she’d said that night, that finally caught Franziska’s attention. She turned her head up in a wide eyed perplexed gaze.

Maya rubbed her head self consciously, looking away from Franziska. “I mean... not to the prosecuting parts, or to putting people behind bars but... I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like destiny had laid out some grand path for me to follow, and I decided that, no thanks, that road isn’t for me, I’m just going to go tear up the map and make a pit stop at every burger joint in a hundred mile radius instead.”

She laughed, and Franziska let out a furious scowl. “How can you just JOKE about this, Maya Fey? About your future? About your family? About destiny?” Maya sighed. “Look, Fran, I get where you’re coming from. But we deserve more than that. The chance to set our own destinies. Maybe we’re the beginning of our own new family legacies.”

Klav Gav flavored

1. klav gav haircut fic:

Status: Scenes partially written, not outlined

Premise is Klavier visits Kristoph in his cell post aa4 and tries to get closure. Klav cuts off his braid, finds more of a sense of self, and klapollo hurt/comfort at the end

Excerpt:

“You are nothing without me Klavier. You never will be.” Klavier laughed coldly. “You think I don’t know that Kris? You’ve stained every part of my life. Every moment of joy and suffering somehow comes back to you. I can’t even look in the mirror without starting at myself, convinced that it’s the ghost of you and not myself looking back at me.”

“I should’ve thought the great rock star would fancy himself a narcissus. How touching this is not the case. Why, it almost seems you miss me.”

Klavier laughed ruefully. “Miss you?! Of course I miss you. I miss you teaching me how to braid my hair. I miss the person who held my hand at mother’s funeral and didn’t let me cry myself to sleep alone that night. I miss when I didn’t know what atroquinine was and I miss who I was when I could just blindly look past the way you’d just been grooming me this whole time to be a pawn in some sick revenge fantasy against phoenix wright. But I know that none of those memories—none of what i miss—were actually you. Or at least, not the you that you’ve chosen to become.”

Klavier paused and let out a long sigh. When he spoke next, his voice was small and strung out. “I’m tired Kris. I don’t want to see you in me anymore.”

That’s it for now! I genuinely am debating making an ace attorney side blog so I can talk about these more, but idk if there’s much engagement in the AA fandom compared to star trek. Anyway, thank you sm for your ask!!! <3 I’m down to ramble on more about these anytime!!

#long post #💌#matsuorka #writing tag #ace attorney

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utilitycaster · 4 years

Note

hello!! i just went thru your history of exandria post and im confused by the dates of the even of crimson midnight and the moleasmyr accident- in De'Leth's bio it says that he is one of those escaped elves and was also the founder of the assembly (ergo, was there for the Eve) so I think something is amiss... I also checked the dates, and Ludinus is an original member of the assembly. So how could he have fled Moleasmyr AFTER he'd already established the Assembly in Rexxentrum?

Hi!

Short, Doylist answer: Matthew Mercer is not superhuman and made a very understandable mistake.

Extremely long answer: Matthew Mercer is still not superhuman and still made a very understandable mistake (my guess is either he meant to put in 565 instead of 585 for the fall of Molaesmyr, or “not a half-century” for the date of the Eve of Crimson Midnight), but this, one of the the two biggest discrepancies in the history of Exandria* can both be handwaved (Watsonianed, if you will permit me turning that into a verb, and if you don’t I fully understand and probably deserve it) with a little bit of headcanon. Here is my headcanon which you are welcome to adopt, with dates, citations, and reasoning, below the jump.

Reasoning for the Date for the Eve of Crimson Midnight

So: the exact phrasing (Matthew Mercer, The Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount (Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2020), 16) for the Eve of Crimson Midnight is “Not a quarter century after the Marrow War ended....” blah blah, wizards fought, got captured and brought to the king, “After days of deliberation, an agreement was drawn up that would absolve those involved of the usual punishment in exchange for direct subservience to the Crown and the goals of the empire. Establishing themselves as the Cerberus Assembly, this council of mages became an powerful tool for the empire to maintain its position as the dominant force of Wildemount.”

“Not a quarter century” is something I’d personally interpret as “slightly less than 25 years later”; this is also the typical interpretation of that phrasing for most native English speakers, certainly native speakers of American English, which both I and the author of the book are, so we’re going with that.

The Marrow War has an explicit date given; the Admonition (execution of rebellious priests who were in turn spurred on by Julous Dominion interests) was in 544 PD (Mercer, p. 15) and later that year Emperor Manfried (the title of King rather than Emperor comes later) attacked the Julous Dominion, starting the Marrow War. It lasted “over sixteen months” which again I’d interpret as “more than 16 months, but probably not more than 17 otherwise you’d say that”, so depending on when the Admonition was, it ended in either late 545 PD, or early 546 PD. Not quite 25 years later would therefore put us in roughly 570 PD for the Eve of Crimson Midnight.

Reasoning for the Date of the Fall of Molaesmyr

This is much simpler! Per Mercer, p. 42: “What is known is that in the year 585 PD, suddenly and without warning, a wave of purple-gray shadow rapidly crept from the center of Molaesmyr to engulf the entire city.” It then goes on to describe that the elves fled, some “eventually” to settle Bysaes Tyl, some to Uthodurn.

Ludinus Da’leth’s personal history

Mercer, p. 42: “Ludinus is the oldest and only original member of the assembly...He was one of the mages who survived the destruction of Molaesmyr and fled to Bysaes Tyl, but he saw the opportunity to achieve greatness within the empire and left his culture behind to continue his arcane pursuits.”

A note on Bysaes Tyl

Per Mercer, p. 96, it took several years to build up the city, but for the sake of argument I am treating the region to which the elves of Molaesmyr originally fled as also Bysaes Tyl, thus indicating Ludinus may have only been there very briefly.

Here’s How Ludinus Can Still Be A Founding Member Of The Assembly

While the Eve of Crimson Midnight occurred circa 570 PD, as did the initial agreement that those involved would be directly subservient to the crown, it doesn’t actually indicate how long it took for those people to establish themselves as the Cerberus Assembly.

I would absolutely believe that a bunch of wizard academics who all tried to kill each other so hard they created collateral damage in the streets of Rexxentrum would absolutely take 15 years or more to consolidate a formal council and give it a cool name. In fact, can’t you just imagine it? Ludinus Da’leth, a promising young elven mage living in “the height of reborn civilization on Wildemount” (Mercer, p. 18) sees his home, his laboratories, everything he’s worked on, all destroyed. Perhaps it’s by his hand; perhaps by that of a colleague. He flees to a bitter cold forest with absolutely nothing. To the south, Rexxentrum stands as now the major site of arcane talent. Perhaps there’s been communication between the wizards of the Empire and those of Molaesmyr. Perhaps he’s heard that they are sworn in service to the king, but have been in disarray because they can’t elect a leader-after all, they’re in this position because “A number of noble houses with a strong history of studying arcane pursuits began to compete with other high-born magic practitioners from the Julous Dominion”. They can’t openly fight anymore, but the political games continue and neither those from within the pre-Marrow War boundaries of the Empire nor those from the recently-incorporated Julous Dominion can agree on council representation, and they’ve been deadlocked for over a decade. They have been serving the king, but he is becoming displeased.

Enter a neutral** third party: Ludinus Da’leth, formerly of Molaesmyr. A suitable compromise who just happened to make his way south - a gifted mage, eager to prove his allegiance to the Dwendalian crown and share what he knows. And so: the founding of the Cerberus Assembly, 15-20 years after the Eve of Crimson Midnight and shortly after the fall of Molaesmyr, following an uneasy interim period of mages in slightly disorganized service to the crown. And scene.

*the other big discrepancy is that the Chroma Conclave was stated to be in the year 815 PD on page 20 of the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, but in Campaign 1 episode 103 a minor NPC when asked for the date says the year is 812, which would instead put the Chroma Conclave in the last few days 810 PD per the dates given. However, since the month and day that NPC gives also don’t line up internally even with the other stated events of Campaign 1, and since using a date of late 810 for the Chroma Conclave would make Allura pretty young when she sealed away Thordak and conflicts with a bunch of dates mentioned since, including Delilah Briarwood’s expulsion from the Cerberus Assembly, Vilya’s time on Rumblecusp, and The Darrington Brigade’s stand against Quackthulu, I’m personally inclined to say “Matt probably didn’t have the date written down when asked, because it was episode 103 and the exact year had not been relevant so far, and/or misread 817 for 812 when looking down at his notes.” The headcanon to fix this is of course that the NPC got the date wrong and Vox Machina either didn’t realize due to *gestures vaguely at the events of episode 102* or was like wait are we in the past? seems fake and then asked someone else offscreen and got the right date, which is way less fun but much easier.

**technically, lawful, although who knows what his alignment was then. If you also buy into theories that Ludinus was in some way responsible for the fall of Molaesmyr you get some fascinating parallels to one similarly opportunistic and ambitious Hot Boi, and yes I did make a really stupid alignment joke just to make this point.

#critical role #ludinus da'leth #herein lies my application to the cobalt soul #betaadmin

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yoshimickster · 6 years

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STAR VS STRAY THOUGHTS(3-24-19 spoilers)

Okay Eclipsa HAD to have Yadda-Yaddaed Manfried, I know they didn’t SHOW her put the berries in there but it feels obvious. Also, those statues with the glowing eyes are TOTALLY victims of her Yadda-yaddaing.

Moon learns that in her role as supreme magical ruler giving her subjects everything she wants, she ultimately raised them into a state of utter complacency where they couldn’t take care of themselves.

ALSO-how the fuck is it that only ONE family lived in that big ass monster house? That shit’s basically a CASTLE!

Back to Moon, I see that while Star got her wild side from her dad...she got her “Running away from problems once things get hard” genes from her mom. Her entire plan was to veg out in a yurt and treehouse with her husband and do NOTHING, all the while her daughter continues to live with a VERY morally ambiguous lady. In a weird twist of fate Star became more mature than Moon, in that while Moon faced a big hurdle after her mother died, once she de-fingered Toffee she didn’t face many challenges unlike Star.

KELLY...is there. Yeah I get they want us to believe Marco and her have chemistry, but now that I think about it her entire personality is based on adventuring and having a stalker ex-boyfriend, she isn’t really interesting by herself. I’m hoping “Kelly’s world” goes more into it.

SPIDERSLIME-fuck yes! OH-I was so fucking afraid Slime wasn’t gonna appear in this episode! Also Globdor....should probably STAY in Rhombulus’ magic crystal, he did some messed up shit.

All in all good eps, but if I have to criticize the show its primarily Star’s development as a character. She kinda keeps re-learning the same “Don’t run away from your problems” and “You can’t get what you want easily” lesson episode after episode, and it gets repetitive.

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gunterfan1992 · 7 years

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Episode Review: ‘Bonnibel Bubblegum‘ (S09E18)

Airdate: September 17, 2017

Story by: Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström & Aleks Sennwald

Directed by: Diana Lafyatis (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Princess Bubblegum’s origin story has been one of Adventure Time’s most tantalizing mysteries, presented to us in bits and pieces throughout the shows seasons-long run. In ten seasons, we’ve learned quite a bit about the candy monarch (we know that she was spawned from a gum wad along with her brother Neddy, we know the story of her early kingdom during the time of Shoko, and we know that she befriend Marceline many moons ago), but until “Bonnibel Bubblegum” we the viewers were never privy to how the Bubblegum became the leader of a candy empire.

I guess they’re saving the best stories for last, eh?

“Bonnibel Bubblegum” opens with Finn, Jake, Bubblegum, and Marceline chilling near a river. Finn presents Bubblegum with a silver goblet full of apple juice, to which Bubblegum remarks that it reminds her of a cup that her uncle had made many years ago. Finn and Jake are caught off-guard because Bubblegum rarely talkes about her past and has never discussed her family with them, despite their being fairly close friends. With a captive audience, Bubblegum begins to talk about the rise of the Candy Kingdom and the fall of her Uncle Gumbald...

The story then shifts to roughly 800 years into the past. It was during this time that Princess Bubblegum was but a young girl trying to establish her kingdom in a dangerous and desolate land. Eventually, after moving from the protection of the mothergum, she selected a small tree near a mutagenic river to serve as her capitol while she scoured the land for bits and bobs that she could use to raise up an empire. Because she only had her brother Neddy to keep her company, Bubblegum decided to bio-engineer a family: an aunt named Lolly, a cousin named Chicle, and a great uncle named Gumbald.

At first, the five got along quite harmoniously, but soon, the familiar bonds that united these candy entities began to fracture. The first sign of trouble came when Gumbald felled Bubblegum’s forest of taffy trees and used the wood to erect a cabin; Gumbald told his niece that by building the structure, he hoped to begin construction of a new candy city. Bubblegum became frustrated with her uncle’s rampant self-promotion (for instance, he produced a number of promotional silver goblets with a crest of his face stamped on the inside), and so to foil his plan and get him to yield to her, Bubblegum used one of her science experiments to engineer Butterscotch Lake near Gumbald’s cabin. Because he was planning on putting his gift shop in that space, Uncle Gumbald reacts with anger, vowing to curb Bubblegum’s micromanaging tendencies.

To distract Bubblegum, Gumbald created her a boyfriend, Young Mr. Cream Puff, and sent the two off on a date. With his domineering niece out of the way for the time being, he called a family meeting with Chicle and Lolly, explaining that he had created a ‘dumdum juice’ that would render Bubblegum docile. He then poisoned his family to prove the formulas efficacy: the potion turned Lolly into Manfried the pinata and Chicle into Crunchy. But little did Gumbald know that Bubblegum was witnessing the whole ordeal; after a brief scuffle, Gumbald’s potion was dumped onto his face, turning him into Punchy the punch bowl.

The episode then jumps back to the present. After inspecting the cup, Bubblegum is shocked to realize that it bears Gumbald’s crest.

I’m appreciative that the writers and producers for Adventure Time understand the importance of continuity. In a world as sprawling and silly as Ooo, it would be easy to hit the reset button at the beginning of every episode, but such an approach would cause the world to lose a sense of realness (which I do realize is a bit silly to say, since this is a cartoon). Instead, the writers of Adventure Time often double-down on maintaining in-world consistency. In this episode, this takes on the form of expanding on the history of characters and providing backstories for certain locations (Gumbald’s felled forest first seen in “Susan Strong”, his cabin that was first visited in “Hot Diggity Doom”). The episode also makes use of the artful retcon by retroactively inserting Uncle Gumbald into the story by arguing he has been there all a long as Punchy.

But how, might you ask, did Punchy revert back into Gumbald? The answer has to do with Elements. At the end, when Lumpy Space Princess’s anti-elemental essence was pulsating throughout Ooo, characters who had been magicked or otherwise transmogrified were reverted to their original form (and unrelated ot the topic at hand, this is likely how the Lich awoke in Sweet P). In one shot in “Skyhooks II”, we see Manfried, Punchy, and Crunchy all standing together. It stands to reason that when the anti-elemental wave hit them, they reverted back to Lolly, Gumbald, and Chicle. How clever!

Throughout the episode, it is clear that Gumbald is driven by a desire to create, promote, and then sell. Much of what he does revolves around making capital; for instance, he created a slew of merch to woo people into living in his new town and he was furious that Bubblegum's butterscotch lake took the place of his gift shop. Given that Adventure Time has never strayed away from criticizing absurd capitalism (e.g. “Furniture & Meat”), it seems to my mind that Gumbald represents what the Candy Kingdom could have become had rampant materialism and unfettered capitalism taken the wheel. Contrasting the diabolical and money-hungry Gumbald with the well-meaning but micro-managing Bubblegum is important in my mind because it continues the trend of reforming Bubblegum’s image—a trend that began around mid-season six when Bubblegum vowed to turn off her extensive surveillance system. Prior to this shift, Bubblegum was often derided by fans of the show for being autocratic and deranged. With this episode, however, the show further suggests that while her methods in the past were not great, she was/is a much better leader than a money-hungry kleptocrat like Gumbald. What is more, this episode suggests that some of her more unsavory behaviors might not really be her fault, but rather instinctual and unconscious reactions caused by her family’s coup d’etate those many years ago.

“Bonnibel Bubblegum” was storyboarded by two of my favorite Adventure Time artists: Hanna K. Nyström & Aleks Sennwald. Given that their last episode, “Fionna & Cake & Fionna” was a bit disjointed, it was nice to see them return to true form with this episode. Both Nyström and Sennwald are quite funny and gifted writers, but what makes their episodes so strong is that they seem to fundamentally understand how characters like Bubblegum think and act. It’s hard to explain, but watching these two artists handle the characters just feels right.

And speaking of feeling right, I enjoy how the episode presents Finn, Jake, PB, and Marceline all hanging out together. No real excuse is given, other than four friends killing time and having fun. To reiterate what I said earlier, it is writing like this that makes the world of Ooo seem so real.

Mushroom War Evidence: Because this episode largely takes place in the pre-Ooo, post-Mushroom War past, we see a lot of relics from the war. This is perhaps most true near the beginning, during the scene wherein Bubblegum rummages through what appears to be an abandoned gas station. The building’s walls are covered in graffiti, and the ruin is littered with bits of trash that suggest a rather tragic story. The desert that Bubblegum then traverses through is full of war rubble. When Gumbald shows Bubblegum his cabin, the area around the house is littered with debris and refuse.

Final Grade:

#adventure time #atimers #season 10 #bonnibel bubblegum #uncle gumbald #hanna k nystrom #aleks sennwald

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ohthehypocrisy · 7 years

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Just Like You

Drabble request by TheOneAndOnly1993.

Word length: 3.4K

“Hey Jake, should we be worried about the princess?” Finn asked as he watched his dog brother climb into his bed.

“Nah,” he replied, stuffing himself into the square shaped hole, “She’s smart. She’ll sort things out.”

Finn’s gaze hardened. He wasn’t convinced, “But you heard about all the things Uncle Gumblad did, right?”

“Actually, I wasn’t really listening,” Jake said nonchalantly, layering a blanket on top of himself.

“What? Really?” the boy replied in disbelief, “Even with all the weird things that have been happening around here, you’re not worried?”

“Nahhh,” he yawned, stretching his limbs with great effort before they collapsed around him, “No one’s smarter than the princess, Finn. She’ll have everything all figured out soon enough.”

Finn leaned back down onto his bed, still doubtful, “Alright, but, she did leave in a hurry. She looked kinda worried, y’know?”

When Jake failed to respond, the boy looked up from within his sleeping bag to see that the dog had already drifted off to sleep. Heaving a weak sigh of frustration, Finn decided there was no point in mulling over the doubt within him. Try as he might, his mind roiled with thoughts as he shifted around in his bed. The sense of foreboding filled him with anxiety, making sleep difficult for him.

Jake was right about one thing, Finn thought. Princess Bubblegum is the smartest person in all of Ooo that he knew, and he was confident that she could solve any problem. And if she couldn’t solve it by herself, she wouldn’t hesitate to call upon the aid of himself and Jake.

This moment of ease was enough for him to find sleep, as he relaxed and closed his eyes. It would only be a matter of time before she approached him with a plan. He would ask her about it later.

“Finn?” cried someone knocking at the door downstairs, “Finn, it’s me, Peebs. I know it’s late, but I forgot something. Can you open the door?”

He groaned as the noise and banging roused him from his sleep. For a moment, he wondered who could possibly be knocking at his door at this hour. But as he came to, he immediately recognized the sound of Princess Bubblegum’s door knocking. He couldn’t just ignore the call of his princess, especially as he was her appointed knight. So, with great effort, he lifted himself out of bed and climbed his way to the front door.

With a great yawn, he opened the door, “Good morning, princess,” he was rubbing his eyes, “What do you nee-…”

He had to pause as he noticed how ragged her hair had become compared to earlier. Even in the pale moonlight, he saw how frayed her bubblegum hair had become. And, although the lighting made it hard to see, there were stains on her shirt that weren’t there from earlier today.

Princess Bubblegum tapped her foot with impatience, “I’m just gonna let myself in, ok?” she said as cautiously nudged her way past Finn and into the treefort.

In his sleepy stupor, Finn stood there dumbfounded as he had to process the princess forcing her way into his house looking like a mess. His curious thoughts from before he went to sleep had resurfaced in his mind, and now he had the chance to ease his concerns. Besides, if he didn’t try, he’d have a harder time falling back asleep after this now that he remembered.

He followed the princess up the ladder, hearing some shuffling coming from the living room. He peeked over the floor to see Princess Bubblegum shifting furniture around. Confused, he entered the room cautiously.

“So…what’dya forget?” the teen asked.

“Oh, I dunno, but I’ll know it when I see it,” she replied, double checking the back of a chair.

“Oh, okay,” Finn had to do a double-take, “Wait, what? You don’t even know what it is?”

“Oh, I know what it is,” the princess replied, looking through a drawer, “I just haven’t found it yet.”

Finn took the moment to rub his temples, trying to unwrap her riddle, “So, wait. You forgot something here and you’ve come back for it?”

“Yep,” she replied, head deep in a drawer.

“But you don’t know what it is?” the princess replied with an “Mhm,” to which Finn then responded with, “But you left it here earlier today.”

“No, not today,” Princess Bubblegum said as she retracted her head from the drawer, “Some time ago. I don’t know when, but I’m sure I did.”

He couldn’t help but slap his forehead in disbelief, “You’re not even sure if you lost anything?”

“No, but I wanna be sure,” she said, leaning down to dive under a sofa.

It bewildered him for a moment as to why she was here wasting her time with this distraction. Why was she playing hide and seek with some imaginary thing she might have left behind some time ago? She should be in her lab, concocting some sort of countermeasure to the threat Uncle Gumbald was posing to them. There’s no way she’d be wasting her time here with her kingdom and livelihood on the line, not after she had lost her rule twice before. Unless…

Unless…

Finn’s eyes widened in shock. The frayed hair, the stains, the drooping eyes he caught a glimpse of, it all suddenly made sense. For Princess Bubblegum to have come here seeking some unknown factor, something she claims to have forgotten…

He scowled.

“Princess,” Finn said sternly, but did not receive a reply, “Princess!” he repeated a little louder, to no avail.

He knew what was going on, having put the pieces together in his head. That unwarranted feeling of unease from earlier had crept back up without his knowing, but now he knew why, because he could see it in the princess. That feeling of anxiety, the tension of waiting for something terrible to happen, he saw it all over her, in her actions despite how hard she was trying to hide it.

It was fear.

With a carefully angled kick, Finn punted the wooden sofa off and away from Princess Bubblegum. For a moment, she looked surprised and confused, but one look at his steadfast face had revealed to her that her charade did not work. Ashamed, she looked away, not moving from her spot on the floor, hoping that she would be able to escape this confrontation without resolution, for her mind failed to engineer an escape plan.

They both knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“What’s going on, princess?” Finn demanded more than asked.

“I…” she leaned to sit upright on the floor, “I’m sorry.”

He tried to, but he just couldn’t stay mad. He still wanted an explanation, though. Exhaling, he asked.

“You don’t know what to do,” he watched for a reaction, “Do you?”

She gripped her dress in response, glancing at him briefly only to look away.

“I just…I just thought that,” she bashfully placed a hand on her other arm, “Maybe I left something here that could give me an advantage, you know?”

Just as he thought. Finn said nothing as he walked over and took a seat on the floor next to her. A comfortable distance, close but not too close.

“You’re desperate, aren’t you?” he asked. Nothing but a tired sigh was all she responded with. The silence between them didn’t last long as Finn spoke again, “You don’t know how to get rid of him without killing him, right?”

“How’d you-?” she was quick to respond, turning to him in shock, until she saw the robotic arm she had built for him held out. The look of guilt on his face flashed briefly in memory as he told her all that happened with him and Fern. She could only give a blunt , “Oh,” in response.

The two sat in silence, finding comfort in each other’s presence due to the similar problem they shared.

“So…” Finn broke the silence, “Why are you having so much trouble figuring out this whole Gumbald situation?”

After the charade she had pulled off earlier, she felt that he was justified in an explanation. With great ease, she answered, “I built Gumbald to be my equal. Not a true clone in a sense, but close enough, I guess.”

“And everything you could think of to get rid of him,” Finn followed up, “You think he has a counter plan?”

“Most likely,” she replied, shifting herself for a more comfortable seat, “He’s not showing up on my tracking radar. Neither are Manfried or Crunchy.”

A brief look of surprise on his face as Finn turned to her, “I thought you got rid of your security system?”

She looked back, “Trackers are still on my candy people, but I only look at the radar if anyone goes missing,” she leaned back a bit, “You can blame Cinnamon Bun for that.”

With a nod of his head, Finn asked, “You think he’s responsible for that Grumbo last week?”

“Definitely,” her eyes fell to the floor, “He…he came up with the candy people recipe.”

Finn’s eyes widened in astonishment, “I thought you came up with that on your own?”

Princess Bubblegum leaned forward, gaze still affixed to the floor, “I mean, yeah, I did. It took me months to figure out the formula for constructing an organism out of candy and bring it to life. But he learned it on his own, somehow, and built Mr. Creampuff.”

It seemed pretty obvious to him, but Finn didn’t want to sound presumptuous, “You don’t think he’s smarter than you, do you?”

Bubblegum didn’t answer. She just tucked her legs in and hugged her knees, a look of doubt spread across her face.

Finn responded by folding his legs, not knowing what else he could say to alleviate her fears. It wasn’t like the way he ended things with Fern was the best solution, but it was all the experience he had regarding this situation. What else could he tell her aside from rip him inside out accidentally?

Like it or not, he was all she had.

“Look, princess,” Finn spoke up after a lengthy silence, “If…if it ever comes down to it-“

“I’m not going to kill Gumbald,” she shot him a displeased look.

Finn was expecting that reaction but he remained resolute, “But what if he tries to kill you?”

“I won’t let that happen,” she insisted, staring him down with determined eyes.

“And how are you so sure?” he shot back, keeping a firm face.

“Because I’ll plan for it,” she responded, the energy of the conversation forcing her up off the floor, “I’m not going to let anything like that come to pass.”

Finn stood up as well, “Princess, that’s not like you. What am I supposed to do if there’s no other way?”

Princess Bubblegum clenched her fists, “You’re not going to be involved in this,” Finn was taken aback, “This is a personal matter and I’m responsible for it. I’ll handle this my own way.”

That’s what was upsetting him so much earlier.

The idea that she didn’t need his help, the fact that she didn’t come to him for assistance when she had hit a metaphorical dead end, her stubbornness in forging on alone even after everything they had been through, he couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Here she was telling it to his face that she could handle this on her own when her appearance and desperation said otherwise. What perplexed him the most was that she thought she had to do this by herself, especially when it was literally his job to protect her and the Candy Kingdom from harm.

“You can’t just leave me out of the equation,” he pointed out, “I’m supposed to protect you.”

She looked away for a moment, a gap in the armor exploited, before scowling at him, “I can’t trust you not to do something desperate, Finn. I can’t risk it.”

“But what if something happens to you?” his tone turned from unwavering to distraught.

“That’s what I’m here for!” she nearly shouted, her arms splayed outward, “If I can figure out how to neutralize my uncle, no one will have to get hurt! This is a personal matter, Finn. You are not obligated to get involved!”

He winced at her words, “But do you really think you can fix this by yourself?” he was starting to sound desperate.

“I…” she looked away for a moment, “Of course I can! I’ll work something out with my uncle, and we can all forget this ever happened.”

“And do you think he’ll go down that easily?” she noticed his lip trembling.

The princess took a moment to take deep breath, “Look, I know you’re worried, but I can handle this myself, Finn. I don’t need you protecting me all the time.”

His face twisted into a mix of anger and fear, “Answer the question, princess.”

The sudden lack of faith had frustrated her all of a sudden, “I said I can handle myself, Finn! Don’t make me repeat myself!”

“Can you, or can you not?” he repeated, tears creeping out of the corner of his eyes.

Princess Bubblegum was too upset to notice, “I can and I will!” she forced out, “This isn’t the first coup I’ve been through and it won’t be the last! I’ll do this by myself, and I’ll-”

“I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you!” Finn suddenly shouted, tears streaming down his face, his robotic arm held before her, quivering in distress.

All the drive, all the power in her voice and stance, gone as soon as she laid eyes on Finn’s trembling figure. Why had he suddenly burst out in tears? Was there something she was missing? She had a terrible habit of missing emotional cues from Finn, but she thought she had gotten a hold of them by now, especially after all these years.

“F-Finn, I-“ she couldn’t finish as the boy interrupted her with a sudden embrace. Years ago, he was only tall enough to have reached just shy of her bosom. Now, he was holding back tears as he breathed into her shoulder, his arms gripped tightly around her back. All she could do now was hug him back, but it didn’t feel deserved.

“I…I couldn’t do it, princess,” Finn breathed, snorting, “I couldn’t bring myself to kill Fern. I didn’t know if I could let him take my life…”

Why bring this up, she thought as he sobbed silently into her already messy dress. It’s not like he was wholly responsible for Fern’s death, even though the robot arm she built had done the killing for him. But she wasn’t one to blame Finn for accepting responsibility for something he could’ve prevented.

Wait, this sounded familiar…

“It…” Finn sobbed, gripping the cloth on her back, “It was an accident. I made a joke, the arm misheard me, it thought I said fatality, and-and Fern was right above me. I…I could’ve done something…”

She had to agree with him. Letting Fern get to the point where his frustrations of being a living copy of Finn superseded reason had led to that fateful day. If Fern had been more honest, or if Finn had been paying more attention, surely something could’ve been done. Or maybe…

“Finn…” Bubblegum said slowly, “Did you have…any idea about what was going on with Fern?”

The teen snorted, “Y-yeah,” she gasped slightly, “I was trying to make him feel better about it. We were supposed to go dungeon crawling…”

“Wait,” she was beginning to understand, “You were trying to fix it by yourself?”

Finn only nodded.

She gasped in realization at how selfish she was being. She thought that, as long as she could solve this, as long as she could put her uncle behind bars and neutralized the threat he represented, things would have been okay. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought, because as long as they were safe in the end, they would forgive her in time.

That’s how she did things for the past eight hundred years. She should have known better than to think Finn was okay with this.

“Finn,” she spoke softly, “Why did you lie to me about what happened to Fern?”

When Finn told her about the incident several weeks ago, she knew there was more to that story than he was letting on. He had told her that some sort of self-defense mechanism had triggered and dealt the killing blow, but she knew it was a lie. Finn’s vitals would’ve had to reach critical for anything like that to have happened, but she didn’t call him out on it. He was already uncomfortable enough telling the story as it were, so she let it slide.

For once, she was right in that, in due time, Finn would tell her the truth. How ironic it was that it happened through these circumstances, with her having to figure out how to deal with her biological copy all by herself.

“I…” his breathing fell from a hasty sob to a calmer tone, “I didn’t want you to worry about me…I didn’t want you to think about what could’ve happened…”

“Finn, you could’ve died,” she pointed out.

“And I wouldn’t have been able to stop it,” he responded quickly.

She couldn’t help but think about what would’ve happened if she had just made him a normal, non-robotic arm without an automated response A.I. built-in.

“But you…” he continued, his voice trembling a little, “Your arm saved me… You saved me, princess. I…didn’t think I could’ve saved myself…”

Now she understood. He wasn’t being righteous or overprotective. He was trying to keep her from making the same mistake he did, with Fern. If things had happened differently, if he had reached out to others, if he had noticed in time, Fern might still be with them.

No wonder he was feeling so strongly about this. It’s happening again to one of his best friends.

“I…” he sniffed, “I don’t-“

She patted his head gently but forcefully enough to get his attention, “Shh, it’s okay Finn. I get it now.”

“You do?” he looked up a little.

“Yes, Finn. I was being a real butt, just now,” she parted a little to get a better look at him, “And you know what? You’re right.”

He looked at her expectantly, “…about?”

She giggled, “Everything, pretty much. You’re just as much a part of this as I am, and I’m sorry for leaving you out like that.”

A sense of satisfaction as he gleamed, Finn leaned back in for another hug. A genuine hug of happiness, not of sadness or distress, one that the princess was willing to return.

How stupid was she, thinking that this was a personal matter. As if she could have done anything differently to prevent the return of her uncle aside from some morally questionable choices. And shame on her for thinking Finn was being overbearing. He had been through this kind of junk before, and it messed him up for weeks on end.

She should’ve known that, when all else fails, Finn was the only one she could truly rely on.

“I…” her smile fell as she spoke up, “I still don’t know what I’m gonna-I mean, what we’re gonna do about Gumbald.”

Finn exhaled a sigh, “Well, it’s just like Jake said. Everything will turn out fine. You’re the smartest person we know.”

Princess Bubblegum giggled, “Well, the optimism is assuring, but it’s gonna be a team effort.”

Several seconds passed before Finn tried to part from the hug, but the princess refused to let him go.

“Uh, Peebs?” Finn spoke up shyly, “You can let go now.”

The princess responded by hugging a little tighter, “No, Finn. Just a little bit longer,” she said as Finn decided to play along, “I don’t ever wanna forget this feeling.”

He relaxed in her embrace, “I don’t think I ever will.”

She giggled again, “Yeah, pretty sure you still like me.”

Finn took a moment to lean his head back to face her, suddenly realizing how close they were. A slight blush appeared on his face, but she just giggled at him. Surprised turned to curiosity as he instinctively moistened his lips, her smirk falling in response.

Their hug loosened. They exchanged looks briefly before the distance between them shortened.

She didn’t ever want to forget this feeling either.

Jake yawned as he climbed back into his bed, “About time those two figured something out,” he covered himself with his favorite blanket, “Like I said, nothing to worry about.”

With the issue resolved without his input, Jake happily dozed off back to sleep.

#fubblegum #finn #princess bubblegum #adventure time

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record-super-chart · 7 years

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Genre: House, Tech House, Deep House Tracks: 26 Format: MP3 Size: 378 MB Tracklist: 01. Nino Pipito' - Urban Ritual [00:06:56] 02. Nick Wayzer - Grounded (Original Mix) [00:06:21] 03. Techno Red - Daring (Dub mix) [00:05:46] 04. Techno Red - Energetic (Dub mix) [00:05:59] 05. Stephan Crown - Idro (Original mix) [00:04:23] 06. Music Atom - Cool Track (Original mix) [00:05:46] 07. Costa - Badness (Original mix) [00:07:20] 08. Berny Manfry - Whith My Hearth [00:06:33] 09. Ale Rossi - Gruvy (Origina... Читать дальше »

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witchthewriter · 1 year

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𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛

Personalised story for @leniabranch. Pairing: Otto Hightower x Lenia Branch Word Count: 3.6k Warnings: none, just fluff

It was tradition amongst your mother’s family, House Manfri, to have a women-only gathering a day before the wedding. Memories of the bride’s life would be shared; gifts would be exchanged, and laughter would never cease.

The morning was perfect as you awoke. Warm sunlight heating your skin to wake; you hadn’t been alone for many nights. Sanah, Elrie, even at times your mother, would accompany you to and from places. Part of it was customary, but mostly it was so the groom couldn’t have a moment alone with you.

“Morning Bride,” Sanah’s voice was always croaky in the mornings. If one could describe the perfect night owl, she would be it.

You let out a small chuckle, “morning sister,” you rolled over to face her. Neither of you caring about morning breath, you moved the mess that was Sanah’s hair out of her face.

“What does it feel like?” She said sleepily, her eyes still half closed.

“What? To be a bride? You already know –“

“No, Lenia, to be the future wife of a man with such standing.” She moved her hand to rub her blue-green eyes, yawning in the process.

Not being able to stop your own, you yawned as well. Underneath the sheets, your feet were tangled together, a small physical connection. Someone born without a sister would never know the closeness that came with that bond. Physically, emotionally, mentally – sisterhood was a connection that not many could articulate.

“Hmm… I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’ve never seen him as someone with influence. Only as Otto Hightower, a man with ambition and … a love for his country.”

“Oh, very diplomatic. You’ll be a great politicians wife.”

The two of you giggled then, still feeling like children. Your wedding day was tomorrow and whenever you thought about it, nerves rattled your stomach and sweat formed on your hands.

“It’ll be okay though, right?” You whispered this, feeling so vulnerable.

Sanah gave you an empathetic sigh, and slowly smiled. “Of course, it will be.”

-✶-

The castle hadn’t seen so many unconventional people in … well, ever. Only those with high standing or something valuable to the Kingdoms were invited to court. Your mother’s House had shocked even the cityfolk as they made their way into the Red Keep.

As soon as House Manfri was spotted, the gates to the Red Keep were opened and there stood the King with Otto Hightower. The leader, who was your mother’s oldest sibling, bowed to Viserys and his Hand.

“It is a privilege and an honour, to be here, my King. We thank you.”

Viserys was doing all he could not to balk at the colourful aspect of House Manfri; even the horses were adorned in some type of dresswear. And these decorated horses were pulling carts that look like miniature homes.

“I am glad you’re here!” The King replied, his voice bellowing over the silence. “The pleasure is mine,” he finished and held out a hand for Vai to clasp it.

Your uncle did, and from the Manfri’s came shouts and yells of joy.

-✶-

You ran to them as soon as you saw them; even though they all had the same dark curly hair, you knew exactly who was who.

Even though you spent a lot of time with your father’s side of the family, it was your mother’s side that truly helped raise you. Especially in your youth.

“Bibi Leonora!” You cried, running, and wrapping your arms around your mother’s younger sister.

“Ah! Nini!” Her nickname for you went back to the day you could talk. You wanted so much to be like your Aunt, she always wore long skirts, with a veil loosely wrapped around her waist. Rings on her fingers; her toes as well, she was in love with jewellery. Even wearing anklets, and many bracelets on her wrists. One could hear her before they saw her.

“My beautiful niece, how much you have grown!” she said in her native tongue.

“Well, it has been many, many years,” you replied, looking into her dark brown eyes.

They were a peculiar shade of brown, with green rings around her pupil. Some could call them hazel, but outlining colour was one of the deepest shades of brown you had ever seen in someone’s eyes. Near black in certain lights.

You felt a presence come up behind you and your mother shouted her sister’s name.

Their hug nearly brought tears to your eyes as Elrie hung on nervously to her mother’s hand. Luci was clutching to your mother’s skirts, peeking every now and again at all the people in front of him.

You crouched down and opened your arms, gladly, he clutched onto you. Picking him up, and shifting him to one hip, you looked around the hall where nearly a hundred of your relatives resided.

Overhearing your mother’s conversation, you heard her explain why Sanah wasn’t here to greet the other family members.

“Finishing touches on the dress, she wants it perfect for Lenia.”

“She’s a good girl, both of them are.” Your Aunt remarked, her mass of curls bounding down her back.

Suddenly, there was a tug on your own skirt, and you peered down to see a child that looked like the epitome of your Aunt, except in child form.

“Oh! This is Analetta, my youngest. But she goes by Letti,” your Aunt’s curved form held out her hand and the little girl took it. However, it wasn’t in shyness.

“Hey, that sounds like my name,” whispered Luci in your ear. He was still clutching desperately to you.

“You’re right!” You murmured, “Letti and Luci-“

“Luci, why don’t you introduce yourself to your cousin?” Your mother said, taking him out of your arms. You let her but crouched down to his height.

His cheeks went red, and he shook his head.

“Ha, stubborn, just like his mother,” Leonora said. Then she ushered Letti forward and told her to teach him one of the Manfri games. Luci’s eyes lit up at the word ‘games.’ In an instant he was chasing after her, toward a group of young ones in the corner of the hall.

Helping your mother to her feet, Onatah shook her head and smiled. “I won’t lie, sometimes I think there are too many etiquettes at court. Look at how easy it is with our ways.”

“Mother!” You said, utterly and completely shocked. You hadn’t seen this side of her since the last time she was with her family.

Your Aunt laughed and nodded her head in agreement. As she did so, her curls bounced around her, like they had minds of their own.

Moving so that she was in between the two of you, your aunt looped her arms between your mother’s and your own and led you off to the rest of your female family.

“Oh, I cannot wait for you to see Vano, Lenia. He’s thinking of becoming a maester…”

-✶-

It was midday by the time Sanah entered the hall with the servants behind her. Their arms full of an assortment of different foods and drinks. Pomegranates, berries, freshly baked bread, suckling pig, honey cakes, salted pork, candied almonds, mulled wine, pomegranate juice, and a specific wine made only by the Manfri’s. However, in your chalice was added herbs for fortune, protection, and fertility.

You were all sitting on the floor, cushions underneath you, blankets askew across the floor and around shoulders. The food was set on an array of small side tables that had been pushed together; there was no formality, no pressure to say or do the right thing.

You were mid conversation with another ‘Bibi,’ who you had never met (but was a relative nonetheless) when Sanah stealthily slid down next to you and gave you a kiss on the cheek.

“Sanah, this is Bibi Malina, she’s –“ but you were interrupted mid-sentence by a booming voice announcing Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra. Oddly enough, they entered together, albeit distantly.

Everyone stood as they entered, with Alicent sitting between Sanah and yourself, and Rhaenyra on your other side. Sister between stepmother and stepdaughter. Or rather…your stepdaughter sitting beside you.

Even though you had invited them, you didn’t think either would attend. It was a shock, to many (even to the young women themselves) but there was no time for awkward silences as your Aunt started speaking as soon as the royals sat down.

“Lenia…our Lenia,” your Bibi looked at you with so much love, even after all these years. “Your wedding tomorrow is blessed, not just by family, but by the Gods and Goddesses.” Every woman raised their cup, Onatah and Sanah making sure the Queen and Princess knew what to do.

Your Aunt continued, “we call upon the blessings of our Goddess Despoina, her story now becoming yours, as is tradition. You looked at Onatah and she had tears in her eyes. You knew how much it meant to her; this tradition, which went back centuries. On and on it had passed, from one woman to the next. A gathering of those who had been overlooked and underappreciated.

That was one thing Onatah missed about her family. The fact that it was led by a matriarch. It wasn’t the firstborn son who the titles passed to, but the firstborn child. And it was by luck that Vai had inherited the leadership of House Manfri.

After the speech came the gifts. Each woman seemed to flock you, their seats in the circle long forgotten about.

Stacked around you were clothes, scarves, jewellery, tonics, powder, tinctures and remedies. Everything a woman – everything a newly wedded woman, might need. And that included a knife given to you by your great aunt. Your long-passed grandmother’s sister. She could not speak, but wrapped the knife within a scarf, letting Bibi Leonora do the explaining.

You took it as not to cause a fuss, especially when the Queen was sitting close by. Your mother had gone red in the face when you told her.

“Keep it underneath the bed, or your pillow – somewhere easy to grab,” your aunt had said. Shaking your head in disbelief, you swallowed deeply as you recognised your family for who they truly were. Warriors, female warriors – even if they had not fought in any wars.

-✶-

Sanah nearly choked when you showed her the dagger, the wine she had been drinking nearly hitting you in the face.

“I thought you were joking-“ she said, sitting the cup down and walking over to examine the fine weapon.

“It’s actually quite beautiful…”

“Then you keep it under your pillow!” You whisper-shouted, exasperated.

The pair of you had retreated to your chambers when the skies had darkened. You loved your family but spending hours with them…it would cause anyone to erupt.

Luckily enough, it was also tradition for the bride to leave the gathering early, to prepare for the day ahead.

As you took your leave, as did Alicent and Rhaenyra. And you swore when you looked out the window, you could see a shadow moving in the sky.

When you turned back around, Sanah was across the room, talking to someone at the door.

“Thank you, yes, this is perfect,” she said and closed the oak door shut. When the lock clicked, she turned to you with a wicked grin.

“What did you do?” It was a question you had said a lot during your childhood…and teenage years…and now young adulthood too.

“I couldn’t give you my present in front of the family…” She sauntered over to where you stood and motioned for you to sit. In her hands was a giant box, and when you opened it your eyes grew wide.

“Sanah!” You said laughing, picking up the shift that looked tiny in your hands. “And what exactly is this meant to fit?”

“It’s not meant to fit much!” And she threw her head back in laughter.

The turned it this way and that, seeing the light purple underclothe near transparent in the candlelight.

-✶-

You had woken up alone the next morning – just as you had asked. You wanted your last night as an unmarried woman to be by yourself.

It was an effort to get out of bed, to face the day ahead. Your body was a whirlwind of excitement, nerves, and ‘what ifs.’But you had to check the weather. Flinging back the blankets, you scrambled across the floor to open the window.

Whatever prayer you had said last night, worked because the sky was clear and bright. You wanted today to be perfect, you truly did. Even if that was a far-fetched desire. Because a cloudless sky was more than important for today.

Your stomach was churning as you heard the doors open and close.

“Oh! You’re awake-“ Your mother was the first one to enter your chamber, followed by Elrie, who was just as eager for today as you.

“Truthfully, I’ve barely slept,” you replied, walking over to let her kiss your cheeks.

When you were done, Elrie turned to you and curtsied, causing you to raise your eyebrows. Your eyes flicked to your mother and she explained:

“She overhead yesterday ‘how important you were now, marrying the Hand of the King’ and wants to show you her loyalty-“

“-and gratitude for all your future husband does for the realm,” Elrie finished off. For a girl of one and ten, she could be a tad too easily influenced.

“Elrie, I’m your sister, you don’t need to do that.”

“Yes I do!” Her hands balled at her sides and she stamped her foot.

“Okay, okay. How about you only do it in public?” You said, trying to soothe the oncoming storm.

Onatah was too used to this to intercede.

You could see the thoughts flicking through Elrie’s head. “Fine,” she said in conclusion. And that was that.

You were waiting for Sanah to come into the room but moments passed and still, she did not arrive. Sitting in your vanity’s chair, your mother brushed your long dark hair and soon footsteps could be heard in the hallway.

“Good morning, bride,” it was not Sanah, but it was someone’s sister. Bibi Leonora strolled through your chambers, holding many, many pots and brushes on a tray.

“Bibi did my make up and hair on my wedding day too,” said your mother and she squeezed your shoulders in excitement. A moment shared. A memory to be looked back on. But it wasn’t that you did not trust your Aunt to do a good job, no…it was that you didn’t trust her to make you look like a Westerosi bride.

“Where’s Sanah?” You called to your mother in a light tone, trying to hide the fear you felt.

“Coming!” A familiar voice called, and you nearly slumped with relief.

Holding your dress up in her arms, with Darick and your cousin, Vano, keeping it off the floor.

The white, near blue dress was light and flowing, with a tight corset that showed some bust. Your sleeves were loose, as they draped beneath your shoulders flowing down your sides. In some light it looked as if Sanah had worked some type of magic as the white-pale blue turned white-pale lavender as you moved.

The skirt was just as light and free as the sleeves, and it had a long train in the back with small beadwork that travelled from the back of the skirt into the train, cascading down into the earthy colours of House Branch and House Hightower.

Everyone in the room nearly gasped at its beauty. Elrie looked at the lone dress and nearly started crying for her own, when servants came rushing in, holding a dress for your sister’s and mother.

Soon the attention turned to Vano, who you hadn’t seen since your childhood. With open arms, you two embraced, gushing over how much the other had changed.

“Now isn’t the time!” Your Aunt ordered and ushered the men out of the room. And when she picked up a brush, your eyes flung to Sanah in a silent plea.

“I’ll start on her hair,” she said taking the brush from your mother’s hands.

“Ah, and I’ll do the finishing touches on that too.”

There was no stopping Bibi Leonora.

-✶-

“She did do a fantastic job though,” Sanah said as you walked with her and your mother down the hallway.

Your father was waiting for you at the doors, Sanah behind you, fixing your dress and veil before slipping through the large doors to signal you were ready. Elrie and Luci were with Darick, waiting for your entrance.

“You look beautiful,” your father said and kissed your forehead. You could see the tinges of red in his eyes, definitely still hungover from the night before. House Branch and House Manfri must have reunited at last.

The band started playing and your stomach started churning once more.

“You can do this, my love,” your mother kissed your cheek, and you realised you were about to cry. But she took your other hand and kissed the back of it. “We’ve got you. No matter what.”

As on queue, the doors opened, and the sun appeared - nearly blinding you. Silently wishing for some clouds, you walked down the stone steps with your parents’ arms linked in yours.

There were rows upon rows of wooden seats, each with a standing guest. You realised that the courtyard had never been so populated, and probably would never be so again. Because who else would want to get married underneath an apple tree?

Your hair billowed in the slight breeze, your veil along with it. The white and pink roses, baby’s breath and ranunculus’ were clutched tightly in your hands, as if they would keep you steady.

At the end of the altar, Otto nearly sobbed at the sight of you.

Standing in his most formal attire, a white rose pinned to his cloak, he watched as you walked toward him. Regal, the word flashed in his mind. His eyes found your own and you blushed deeply, your eyes lined with the same black kohl as your family.

You willed yourself to look back, not to shy away from his gaze, to not look anywhere else but him.

And then suddenly the priest asked if your parents give you to Otto and they said yes.

The ceremony seemed to go by in a flash. Someone had collected your flowers from your hands, and Otto’s cloak was around your shoulders and you both swore your love to one another for eternity.

And you were married.

-✶-

It wasn’t exactly tradition, but you wanted to put a piece of yourself into your one and only wedding. Not caring what the other courtiers may think, Sanah helped you into your second outfit. A green dress in the colour of House Hightower, bare feet (aside from the traditional Manfri anklets) and matching bracelets.

The guests were sitting expectantly, excitedly, as the music stopped. Like doors to the throne room opened, and there you stood, with your arms across in the air, hands at a graceful halt.

As the strings were plucked and drums banged, it all came together. You waited for the flute to start before you moved.

One.

Two.

Three.

You twirled into the room, letting your long hair fling around you as you did so. The guests sighed in awe as they watched a fair maiden transform into a married woman.

You moved to pluck a rose from one of the table centrepieces, gracefully extending your leg as you did so, then turning to graze the face of your Uncle who was sitting at the that table. The crowd gasped and laughed at your mischievous action.

From the bridal party’s table atop the dais, Otto stared at you with love-filled eyes. (Well…lust-filled as well.) He couldn’t look anywhere else, his body was almost compelled.

The violin’s turned harsh as you made your way closer to your husband. As if the players were other men vying for your attention, and you had to fight against them to find your true love.

You flung yourself toward Otto, but caught yourself mid air and whirled to the side. Elegantly holding the rose in one hand and holding the back of your hand against your forehead in pretend distress.

The crowd reacted exactly as they were supposed to, feigning the emotions along with the performance.

And just as the song built and built, you looked this way and that, trying to find your love. You knew your facial expressions were over-the-top, but that was a part of performing. That was a part of it that you loved; becoming something else, morphing into a character and playing pretend…even for just a little while.

The climax of the song was building, and you whirled past family members, members of House Hightower, and tapped their shoulders or grazed their faces (the HighTower’s’ were very unsure of how to react to that one. Compared to your Uncle Vai, who loved it).

And then suddenly, like your eyes were opened for the first time, you spotted him! Your love! The music halted as you saw him from across the room. And then the music picked up at once, as you leaped and bounded toward your love. The rose was still in your hand, now in your mouth, as you twirled and twirled and twirled in the middle of the open space. Your anklets and bracelets tinkling as you did so.

You halted, and taking the rose from your mouth, gently walking up the steps and held out the rose to Otto. The music stopped once again, almost as if this silence was one of deliberation.

Shocking everyone, he played along. Furrowing his eyebrows and cocking his head to the side, you moved your hands to your heart and bowed your head.

Completely unscripted, he got up from his chair, lifted your head and kissed you.

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