#i think there's probably some. like. ~royal tradition~ that they all bond with this one specific breeding line or whatever

[egophiliac]

Please elaborate on your twst Pokémon headcannons I’m very interested

I had planned on drawing everyone for this (I made a LIST!) but it. hasn't been going well. 💀 soooo here's what I have so far!

Riddle - Roserade (I was going with 'no legendaries', otherwise I would've given him a Shaymin) (and I don't think Togedemaru is actually a hedgehog or I would've given him one of those too) (...they kind of do fit though. hmm.)

Trey - Alcremie (clover/mint cream + strawberry/ruby cream)

Cater - DITTO SQUAD! DITTO SQUAD! DITTO SQUAD!

Ace - Impidimp (I feel like there's probably a better one for him, but I can't think of it)

Deuce - Scraggy (meanwhile I KNOW deep in my heart that this is true)

Leona - Pyroar (but like. a nasty Pyroar. just a grizzly old Pyroar with the shittiest attitude imaginable. they pretend to hate each other but secretly they are a bonded pair, do not separate)

[agentrouka-blog]

i always love your responses because i think you do such a good job explaining things (even though some of it is just common sense)... so i was wondering if you could read this meta? i've come across this sort of idea about sansa before in their circles, but this is the first time that i've seen them try to argue that she is somehow inherently unloveable *rolls eyes*

-Something I find really interesting is that for all Sansa craves admiration and “love” from others, she’s not especially good at making friends or inspiring supporters. When people do decide to support or “befriend” her in the story, it is always with ulterior motives—almost all of which serve themselves. This includes characters like the Hound, whose connection to Sansa is built off his own ideology concerning knighthood and gender in their social system.

Her inability to create that support system is partially due to her environments: King’s Landing and the Vale, neither of which are necessarily forgiving places. However, despite her hostage status and shamed House, Sansa is still a valuable person to befriend, even if only for ladies. She’s pretty, performs her ladyhood well, has a famous bloodline, and is tied to the very wealthy ruling family. What’s more, she’s obviously mistreated (for a portion of her time in the capital) and without much actual power. If anything, she should garner sympathy friendships, but with everything else in mind, she should attract at least some love, some support that isn’t totally disingenuous or self-serving, however minuscule. And yet even that eludes her for some reason.

The way similar characters—her siblings particularly—so easily find friends and supporters throughout the books really draws Sansa’s lack of them to the forefront. Jon, for example, finds friends in both the Night’s Watch and amongst the wildlings. Bran forms close friendships with Jojen and Meera. Arya literally makes friends in nearly every place she goes, be they high- or lowborn. Daenerys finds companions in her ladies and Missandei and gathers loyal supporters in people like Ser Barristan. Even Catelyn as Lady Stoneheart earns the support of the Brotherhood. Granted, many of these supporters operate in their devotion to specific Houses, but they’re not doing it to serve their own wants and desires, which is a stark contrast to those “supporters” who surround Sansa at various times.

All in all, I’m intrigued at the way Sansa’s desire for love—genuine or affected—evades her while many of her contemporaries, misfits and traditional characters alike, garner it quite easily. Aside from her environments, what is it about her specifically that seems to repel genuine relationships? And what does this persistent inability to gather loyal friends, companions, and supporters indicate about her future role, if there is one?-

if you can probably tell its written by an arya stan

I laughed. 😂 Anything to cling to the idea of queen Arya - or rather not!queen Sansa.

As if being a hostage of the royal family in the royal palace in the royal capital, surrounded by enemies and spies is not the entire reason Sansa is isolated. Do they even consider how much more risk is involved in even casually approaching her, than there is for anyone having a chat with "Arry" or "Nan" or "Cat"? There is nothing "partially" about it. She is a well-guarded hostage and no one safe and well-intentioned enters the perimeter of her prison, end of.

Once Sansa is in the Vale, she is still more difficult to approach by anyone than a "simple" lowborn girl, as the bastard daughter of Littlefinger (soon Lord Protector) - who takes pains to control who she interacts with and how. And still she begins to form tentative bonds to the people around her - mindful to keep her emotional distance to a degree after what happened with Margaery and Dontos.

Which highlights another crucial aspect. Arya's bonds? Generally represent her attachment to others, not the other way around. She declares Hot Pie and Gendry her pack and feels betrayed that they have their own lives and plans, she never asked them if they feel the same way and I doubt it - and yet her bond to Gendry (also on the run, no threat to her!) - is the single most genuine mutual attachment she forms after she becomes a fugitive. Do they think Yoren helped her because she's uniquely worthy and not because she is Ned's daughter? Do they think Jaqen has no ulterior motive? Or Harwin and Beric? They are kind because they can afford to be but their motives are their own ends. Do they think Lady Smallwood would have somehow withheld this same kindness from Sansa? The captain of the Titan's Daughter knows she is connected to the Faceless Men, ffs. And what possible risk is attached to the women of the Happy Port being kind to a beggar girl?

To her vast credit, Arya forms quick and genuine attachments to other people. More so than Sansa, whose situation also doesn't allow for it. But these attachments don't represent a support system and they aren't deep bonds.

This distorted representation of their ability to connect to people certainly doesn't allow for some kind of speculation how Sansa would act and be perceived in a safe environment and or in a role of political leadership.

[bruxairacunda]

P5 HEADCANONS

So here I bring some Persona 5 Royal headcanons I have because I kinda need to let them out of my system.

Would love to listen about your headcanons as well. Also if you're particularly interested in any of them I'd love to elaborate more or even write a short fic or whatever, just ask! <3 Many of them are post-game soooooo this gonna have spoilers. Also I'm gonna refer to the protagonist as Akiren because I can't decide on which name I prefer. I'm not gonna include here HC about ships for many reasons, one of them being that I want to keep these as neutral as possible. Other is that I'm against the idea of having a partner as a "goal". However I love shipping so probably I'll post headcanons about some ships sooner or later

This is already WAY TOO LONG so for the moment I'm not including more characters. Definitely there's gonna be an update sooner or later.

Phantom Thieves

Each of them have a big PT flag like the one you can see at Akiren's room during Shido's Palace.

After the events at Maruki's Palace they built a small shrine for Akechi, as they don't know where his grave might be or even if he has one. Of course they also left a PT flag for him there.

After Akiren's departure back to his hometown, the rest of the group kept being regulars at Leblanc. At the beginning they only went individually as customers, then they started going as a group, and some time later Sojiro just let them use the attic as they wanted. To compensate, some of them help Sojiro at the store, the most invested in lending a hand is Haru

Once, thanks to Morgana's help, the PT managed to go pay a surprise visit to Akiren at his hometown. He was so genuinely happy he started crying. That opened the floodgates and everyone started ugly crying for a long time. None of them wants to talk about this.

It gets really hard for the Phantom Thieves to make new friends or have a partner for a while. The bonds they formed are so strong and deep that for most of them it's really difficult to have that kind of connection again with anyone, and anything less than that seems like a waste of time. This is particularly hard for Yusuke, Futaba and Makoto, whose social skills aren't that good to begin with, and for a really long time they don't feel like they belong anywhere else but the PT

The whole group tries to meet at least once a year, but it gets difficult as time passes as Akiren is back in his hometown and Ann lives abroad most of the time. If one of them couldn't make it to a meeting, they try to at least videocall while they are still together

Ryuji

He dyes his hair himself and despite being quite used to it he has indeed fried it a couple of times. The first time it happened his mom told him he was gonna get bald if he kept damaging his hair like that. He pretends he's not worried about it at all, but getting bald is now a recurrent nightmare of his

He was utterly convinced he was dumb and a lost cause until Makoto offered to help him study for real and showed him that he just learns different, and traditional school doesn't accomodate to his needs.

He's pretty good at doing household chores. He started doing them to compensate the terrible son he thinks he is (he's clearly not but our boy has self steem issues). Later he realizes it's just the normal thing to do so he and his mom share domestic chores

His bigger fear is to be in any way similar to his father. That's one of the reasons why he dies his hair (his father has it black). Also that's why he's very against drinking alcohol. He doesn't intend to even drink it himself and he's very wary around people who drinks. Drunk people trigger him real bad.

It takes him a lot of time to move out from his mom's place. He feels like he's abandoning her, just like his father did, and doesn't feel comfotable leaving her living alone. Once he finally leaves to his own place, he keeps visiting her frequently and calls her several times a week

I know it's a very common headcanon but I don't care. He ends up being a teacher/trainer/instructor in anything sports related. Kids and teenagers adore him and he loves his job. But it's also is very hard for him because he mades his students problems his own and suffers with them

When Ryuji starts job-hunting he stops dieying his hair and goes back to his original black. He once went into Leblanc just after a job interview with black hair and wearing a suit and Futaba almost kicked him out because she though he was a random guy getting too friendly. The first time Morgana saw Ryuji with black hair, he hissed at him because he didn't recognized him. He gets back to blonde once he has a job that allows it

With his first decent salary, Ryuji got her mom a one night spa break so she could relax for once.

Makoto

She finally admits to herself that despite her initial reticence she likes her PT outfit. As she grows older and she's able to separate herself from that projection of perfection she kept as a teenager, she starts wearing more "punkish" clothes (always under that classy aura of hers, of course)

She does the same with her enviroment, so once she gets her own place even if it's still organized and practical, she adds stuff that makes it more "Queen" and less "little miss perfect" than her room at Sae's . For example, she requests Yusuke a big painting of Johanna, so she won't forget her rebel spirit. She also has TONS of Buchimaru stuff she got at second hand stores that Futaba recommended her. And of course she has a boxing bag at the living room.

Everyone in the PT refers to her as the "mom friend", in fact they call her Momkoto...all behind her back of course, they are not brave enough to face the consequences. Ryuji slipped his tongue once and called her "mom" in front of the others out of habit. It's hard to know which of them both was most embarrased by it.

Whenever she rents a place to live she always tries for it to have some extra space she won't use that much so in case a friend needs somewhere to stay for a while she could offer them her place.

Her relationship with Sae improves drastically when she moves out. Funny enough, they start doing more stuff together than when they were both living under the same roof

Makoto wants to be a cop to try and change the system from the inside, that's why she wants to become a commissioner. Once she realizes it's almost impossible she has an existential crisis and doesn't know what to do with her life.

She gets into videogames due to her passion for Yakuza movies. Both Futaba and Ryuji convinced her to give a try to Yakuza games and she becomes obsessed. From them she jumps to more genres and her competitive nature did the rest. She once snatched in half a controller with her bare hands playing Mario Kart

After getting a motorcycle license she realizes she really enjoys the feeling of driving, so from there she went for a heavy vehicle license, then a special vehicles one...She kept it to herself (didn't see the need to say anything since nobody asked) and one day Haru told something about how it would be a lot easier to go to a certain place flying and Makoto offered to fly them there as she has a Private pilot license

Yusuke

Yusuke carries a sketchbook everywhere, even if he's not planning to draw anything or goes to a place in which he won't be able to draw. He just can't leave home without one

Of all the Phantom Thieves he is , by far, the one who spends more time at Leblanc

He and Sojiro get along pretty well, to the point that he becomes a father figure for Yusuke. Sojiro, far from being disgusted with this idea, embraces it and kinda adopts him. He even went to Yusuke's graduation at Kosei.

Despite his talent and dedication working as an artist becomes a struggle for Yusuke. Not only because how hard it is, but because the art he loves so much is many times used as a tool to get money and that clashes head-on with his idea of purity.

From time to time he disappears and it becomes really difficult to contact him in any way. He calls those moments "a journey of artistic and existential dread ", Futaba calls them "autistic burnout" (she's right)

It's really hard for him to keep a job. The moment something doesn't align with his moral compass he won't hesitate to speak out and most companies do not like employees who remind them the huge pieces of shit they are

At a certain point he gets into digital art as he has to admit it's easier to get by with commisions than just art contests. However traditional art keeps being his absolute fave and he always favours it. (I feel you, my boy, traditional artist speaking here)

Futaba (and Sojiro)

They both miss Morgana so much they end up adopting a cat. Sojiro allows it on one condition, he has the right to name it (it's terrible)

Every year at Wakaba's birthday Sojiro and Futaba celebrate it doing something she would have loved. There's always a lot of crying but for them is a very special day, even more than their own birthdays

Futaba gets a very VERY lucrative job in cyber security. She tries to give back everything Sojiro spent on her but he obviously refuses and won't accept a single yen. To compensate Futaba gets him really expensive presents from time to time

She doesn't want to leave Sojiro living by himself so instead of moving out, she gets a better place at Yongen-Jaya for both of them to live together.

Haru

Haru has little to none attachment to the money her father hoarded by exploiting others. That results in her not wasting it mindlessly, but using as much as she can to make other people happy (mainly her friends)

She always offers to lend her friends money if any of them needs it. They always refused until she told them "if you ask a bank for a credit you gotta pay interests, if you ask me for a credit my only interests would be company and coffee dates"

Haru commissions Yusuke whenever she realizes he's struggling financially. She asks for huge expensive art pieces, giving him complete freedom on what to do. It's her way to help him whitout making him feel that he owes her.

She later uses said pieces to decorate her coffee shop.

In her crusade to learn as much as she can about coffee, tea and coffee shops she makes a list of all the places in Tokyo (and other places in Japan) she wants to visit. Knowing that Yusuke would never decline anything food related she invites him to go with her, also wanting to know his opinion on the different places as she knows he would be brutally honest. That way coffee dates (in a completely platonic way) end up being a routine for both of them

On the menu of her coffee shop she has drinks inspired on each one of the Phantom thieves, fitting their preferences and named after their codenames at the Metaverse.

[hail-brod]

A Chance and Beyond (4)

Previous chapter: (Chapter 3)

Next chapter: (Chapter 5)

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Loki x FReader

Warning/s: Light angst?, patronizing treatments/mentions, nothing else probably (please tell me if I missed something!)

WC: 3.6k

The Norns must be taunting you for making you feel hopeless. But a little sorcery bonding is nice. Until it leads you somewhere else.

You remember the day when you and Loki exchanged Betrothal rings.

It was a formal celebration to announce your engagement with the prince. In Asgard, it was tradition to publicly officialize the bind of two people, especially when it ought to be an arranged one. It was a way to let people know that, it is a merry day for Asgard's future and for any suitors planning to court you, to lay off. The same is said for the young prince, Loki. Assuming that he does have a flock of maidens eager to get his attention.

He is a prince after all.

As the people of Asgard cheered for your affiance to the god, you and Loki intertwined hands. Just where your rings are. A gesture that contented the All-father more than ever. Even the All-mother glowed with smiles at your courtly showmanship.

And you remember yourself sneaking glances at the older prince.

Thor.

You we're so smitten when you first saw him the day you arrived in Asgard.

But as you stood there beside Loki, you realized it's no more than just a little puppy love at the man. You decided. He was still handsome and charmingly brave in your eyes but you only savored the limited moment you had with such feelings. It was better for you to let go lest you ruin the honor of your family's name.

Everybody knew the crown prince had no eyes for anyone in particular. He was a youthful god with so many choices of fine young maidens to behold. So you just settled for quick glances and far admiration, even more so that you've been chosen to wed his brother.

You didn't mind the deal. Nor did Loki.

He once told you that marriage was just a part of his duty as a royal prince, to heed his father's wishes. Nothing more than just that. It was all in favor for Odin All-father himself. And you don't think you had the right to oppose his wishes.

You're just a simple daughter of a noble from his court, a mere subject of his.

In fact, you we're quite satisfied at the arrangement. It brought prosperity to your household and a high recognition amongst the nobles. And you know your father deserved the title to be a king's in-law. He has done so much for Asgard and your family, as a wise lord and a kind father.

You never thought of marriage before, that's why you never felt bothered to be robbed off of such freedom to choose a husband. You had older brothers that would inherit your father's legacy, so you weren't as much as fussed about by your parents to set off and be a trophy to some entitled lord.

You enjoyed your position. Especially when you're fortunate enough to travel to Vanaheim and learn the ways of sorcery.

That kept you occupied so much for many years.

But to be asked to marry Loki was never much a disappointment to you. A well-trained sorcerer for a husband and a powerful sorceress-witch for a mother-in-law?

I mean, what's there to refuse?

Other people may not have understood it, but the practice of magic in Asgard isn't as well known as compared to the other realms like Alfheim and Vanaheim. So to have these two people within your reach is quite exhilarating to you.

You thought as much.

The celebrative air in the royal hall was far from dying down when you finally landed your eyes to Loki. Who was, at that moment, already grinning teasingly at you. You had to stop your growing irritation from showing in your eyes as you feigned a smile at him. You hated it when he always catches you swooning at a particular prince.

"Are you seriously mooning over Thor rather than me?" he lowly said to you with a tease. "You must really like torturing yourself after saying that you're done with my brother's charm."

"Pardon me," you faintly rolled your eyes and replied equally with playfulness. "but your eyes must be tricking you, my prince."

He huffed. "We'll see about that."

When the banquet hall feast came, he didn't waste a second and brought his dear brother to you, forcing you to an inescapable rounding chat.

Which was quite a surprise on your part. You thought he would have planned something far more despicable under his sleeves, but it seemed like he was feeling humble. Suppose you quietly swooned at the crown prince while the three of you flowed the conversation. But after that, you didn't pass the chance to cast a simple magic trick at Loki while he entertained his lady guests.

Just a silly parlor trick right up his nostrils.

When he felt magic was at hand, probably nose itching to sneeze a thousand times, you provocatively avoided his hidden glares right at your peripheral view as you only smiled at your new chatty guest, intentionally dismissing him.

But you didn't miss the other guests' condescending stares, boring at your fiancé's form, going as far as distancing themselves away from him. Even hearing someone mutter to themselves the words 'immature second son'.

You recognized their ploys. These we're the other half of the Asgardians that didn't favor Loki well, and deemed him as a—rambunctious troublemaker.

They're not wrong, but they do act as if he'd personally wronged them—which he didn't.

As far as you'd known.

But you still also knew that Loki had done some inexcusable things at court—or even as a person.

You had witnessed him betray someone before, even experienced it yourself. Hel, even the first time you met he almost stabbed you. You had fought and insulted each other, but the storm calmed after awhile. Because you had one thing in common: sorcery.

Through sorcery, you picked at each other's abilities. But also through sorcery, you gave each other respect.

Followed by more common grounds, one after another. Until you crossed the border and saw why he acted the way he is. At first, you understood why his people separated themselves from him, despised him—and you still did—but the fact that, all that time, Loki was also trying not to be who they saw him to be. And then still twisted his intentions into something far more malignant.

That's also part of what you despised in their royal court and amongst the people of Asgard. As much as you ogle at the older prince, they make it a point to give all their praises to Thor, and then push back Loki into his brother's shadow. You didn't find the idea sensible at all even before meeting Loki, but you definitely knew courts can never have a time without taunts.

And it bothered you so that it just became natural for them to ridicule and antagonize Loki, even when after he did his best to satisfy their screwed morals.

Ultimately, he can be just a simple prince with so much naught for petty parlor tricks and a clever silver-tongue, ready to pierce one's own. He became bearable to you overtime. And you guess to him, you we're too.

But he's still remarkably good at concealing anything he feels. There's no wonder why he's a master of persuasion and has an adequate amount of patience.

Well, you? Not quite.

You clearly remembered what you did after you felt yourself increasingly get annoyed by the group of snob noblemen, who in fact, was clearly mocking Loki in their heads.

Next moment, one of the man's drink was spluttering out from his own mouth as his disgust was evident on his face. The magic you casted had altered his mead's taste. Though the worst part is, King Odin was standing mere inches in front of him. The man had spat at the king's face, that was enough to get all of the guests' attention.

You knew you we're responsible for it. So you paled.

Even more so when you spot the queen's eyes on you as she lifted her chin up. You saw the glint in her eyes that made you stand up straight.

By Mimir's head, you thought. the queen will behead me.

You know she wouldn't.

You could say she looked amused, but there's no possible way in Urd's well you're excused to be that unrestrained. That was her husband for Bor's sake! You discreetly flew your eyes away from the scene and the All-mother's face, to which then landed on Loki who clearly saw the mishap.

Now both master sorcerers felt what you did and you have never felt so cornered in your whole life.

But you certainly didn't miss the odd look Loki gave you before it contorted into a delighted one. Almost as if he is proud.

"Looks like you'll be given a scolding later by my dear mother." Loki tauntingly whispered to your ear as he neared.

All you can give him was a pleading look and a hesitant, "She wouldn't."

"She would." he said, and lightly laughed. "But she'll probably realize that that sod deserved it."

You only huffed. "Well, he definitely did."

When you glanced back at him, he was already giving you yet again the same odd look. But it quickly disappeared once he met your eyes as he looks away with a faint jovial smile.

You've never seen him so genuinely pleased more than ever.

When you woke up, your heart was heavy.

You sat there on the bed, your breathing lightly quickening as you tried to process something in your mind.

While you stilled, you dryly swallowed and blinked the sleep away, trying to calm yourself down. As soon as you opened your eyes from your slumber, then sat up to orient yourself better, everything you dreamt just started to fade into missing parts of images.

Panic rises up to you.

No...no, don't....

And as your chest kept closing in, you realized you wanted to go back and force yourself to sleep. You felt like you just ended up in a different reality or in an another nightmare that you've lost in, so you desperately grasped for the dream that's slowly slipping away from your fingertips. You pulled your thighs to your chest and buried your head above.

You crumbled. This is a different reality.

You heaved out a shaky breath as you closed your eyes, only then did you found yourself weeping as the tears welled out from your closed lids. Your nails dug onto your arms while you leaned there.

In that moment, you know you've given up.

You know you're gradually waking up to a reality that's only existed within your mind, and heart. You know there's no way to go back. You know it's gone.

You know you want that life back.

It hurts because you never truly did got tell how much you love him.

Taking your time to sulk and let the weight from your chest disappear, you tried to count to ten. The pace of your hitched breathing begins to slow down until you lastly take a deep breathe, then exhaled.

You dryly swallowed. Early in the morning and you're already having a crisis with yourself.

Hvergelmir could just drown me for all I care.

Alas, you don't really wish that right now. You think that a cold bath would be nice. Your eyes are swollen and cheeks are soaked, and it seems like the brightly lit sun peeking through your window feels too warm on your skin.

But you also take a moment to look around the room, orienting yourself once again. Until you did remember something clearly the night prior.

You heard Loki.

You know his voice anywhere, and it was loud enough to hear and to hear your name at that. Of course, you could not explain how that would be possible. Once there and then just disappear? If it was the Loki from TVA, then he would have had opened a time door, then off you had gone with him. But apparently no. Your mind must have been just too desperate with so many things so you guess you're starting to hear voices now.

It's either that or it was also just a dream.

Yeah.. you thought. just a trick of the mind.

Though, you know in your heart that you wish it wasn't.

When you headed out from your bedroom, with clothes now changed into Midgardian ones that you've scoured about in your given wardrobe, the hall that greeted you was empty. Yet, at the end of it, there we're voices talking. You sneakily walked towards it to see who. And you see two people.

You just realized now why the blond woman with the Avengers was familiar to you. All that's different from her appearance is her hair, which is according to what you remembered was red.

Natasha Romanoff.

And next to her was Steve Rogers.

You slowly let yourself be visible, urging yourself to step out louder to get their attention.

Though, never mind that. They already felt you before you could even take a few steps. Their heads immediately turn not a moment from your spot. You freeze.

Ah, you thought. that's terrifyingly great instincts.

"Oh," Natasha was the first one to speak. "it's you." she looked at you with nothing much but curiosity as she regarded you with a tug from the corners of her lips.

"Hello.." you hesitantly greeted with a small smile.

"Good morning to you." Steve says with a polite nod and a gentle smile. There's that firmness in his eyes mixed with a softness that balances his authoritative and kind nature. But then he struggled to say his next words. "You, uh...We actually didn't got your name."

You raised a brow. Did they not joined to watch your interrogation?

Oh.

You suppressed a laugh and slowly nodded your head. "Yes, I- I know...." you said with a pause as they quirked up. "I know you watched my interrogation. You don't have to lie no more." your eyes went to Natasha who looked quite awestruck, but gathered herself in an instant.

Steve lightly raised his brows and his eyes lowered down in shame as he exchanged quick glances with his fellow Avenger. "Of course."

Natasha turns to you with an apologizing look. "Sorry about that. Tony is just hard to deal with and...we just had to see for ourselves if you can be an ally."

You lightly shook your head. "That's fine now. After all, it is the reason why I'm out of that cell."

Steve lightly chuckled. "You're right. You have to thank Thor for that. He's been very insistent on convincing us to free you. Saying that you're still one of his people even if from a different reality."

You softened at that. "So I heard." you said. You try to recall what Bruce said to you last night, and thought about what else he told you. "What about Loki?"

Steve thinks for a moment before he gave you a faint serious look. "You should keep an eye on him."

Beside him, Natasha huffs with a roll of her eyes. "I don't see it that way." she raised a brow at Steve. "Have you seen how that rascal acted when he heard her name?"

Your ears perk at that.

"I did." he turns to her with a look of neutral assurance. "And he could be plotting something because of it."

The blond woman tilts her head, eyes challenging him. "I'm pretty sure everybody in this building thinks the same."

"Exactly." Steve answers back.

"Why? What did Loki say?" you ask with eagerness. Their eyes turn to you, though Natasha just gives you a smile.

"You'll see for yourself." she says, while she receives a frown from Steve, seemingly lost at what she's saying.

You're no different though. Confusion strikes you, but before you could even crease your bows harder than Captain America, Natasha followed through with her next words. "By the way, dining area's over there." she points towards the place. "You should eat first before the wizard portals next to you."

"What about you two?" you questioned.

"Don't worry about us." Steve replies with a nod. "We already had our fill. You should go eat...You earned it."

You revel at his soft tone and friendliness. Something in his eyes looks like understanding. A look that knows your hardship and the feeling of being lost somewhere. Being lost to time.

There's a wonder at the back of your mind but you just settled for a genuine smile.

When they left as soon as an aircraft landed outside the compound's fields, which you can see now in the light of the day, you ventured forth into the dining space and ate your fill. The meal just sat there and probably prepared by someone. Or something? But you didn't think much of it as you regarded the spacious dining area.

Before you could even feel the loneliness sink in at the sight of the empty seats, you had the feeling of being watched. Maybe even heard.

Perhaps, it's the thing about what Stark said. You are being watched.

You don't know by what but you don't really want to know either, so you just ate.

Sanctum Sanctorum.

That's where you are right now.

And while you are, magic courses through your veins as you kept trying to conjure, absorb, harness, control, anything that you can do to the little pebble of green that doesn't seem to open up to you.

And by you mean open up, trying to find its core of command and borrow its power to somehow lead you to where time is managed. One thing you know about magic, is that it can tell you secrets and commands. It's like an immediate breakthrough of knowledge that you can try to cast until you can be able to familiarize yourself with it.

But with the Time stone, its like there's nothing there. No core.

It's not like any other magic embedded crystals that you've tried to harness or absorb. But you also considered the fact that, this must also be what makes an infinity stone special.

"Nothing?" behind you, Strange stands while the Time stone is placed in front of you as it rests on a crystal holder beneath an antique table.

You turn, breath pacing. "Nothing...I- I don't get it. The stone itself, it's like- it's empty."

Strange's frown before only deepened and he sighs. Both of you had tried it several times. He didn't allowed you to do it in the first place since he had firmly told you before that he should be the only one to use it. But he eventually gave up and lend you a chance to try for yourself.

And now you both found yourselves still unsuccessful.

"How about we harness it both at the same time?" he steps beside you, eyeing the stone.

You look at him for a moment, eyes narrowed. "The stone will be overloaded and probably be destroyed."

He laughs and turns to you with a daring look. "Not if we put little amount of magic."

"Now, hold on." you halt him. "Acquiring the core command would be impossible with little magic—even if you and I combined."

Just when he's about to harness it himself, he lowers his arms down and looks at you. "Any suggestions then?" he says, almost irritatingly.

You think.

How can crystals be used in other ways? You know how to harness the core but what about the outside of the item? It's surface where the strings of magic can be accessed to cast its main level use. The simplest function of a crystal or any other magic stones. What else can it be used for?

You widened your eyes.

Of course!

"Compatibility." you mutter, turning to an increasingly confused Strange as you continued. "We might need to perform a forbidden spell."

"No."

You inhale, getting ready to explain yourself. "I swear to my own life that I will be cautious and perform it carefully."

He gives you a dead look. "And what exactly are you proposing?"

"I have no idea." you honestly say. You see Strange preparing to retort to that but you hurriedly added. "But, there's a grimoire in Asgard that contains the spell and we can use that as a guide."

You've never been really allowed to read that same book since it was prohibited for anyone to learn and use. It has lists of forbidden magics like dark magic and such, but you're clearly in dire need of a solution. And that's all you have left. There's one particular spell that can help you tear through space and time and its no wonder why it is forbidden. But with the Time stone and its ability to rewind events, its doable.

"Asgard?" he surprisingly asks.

"Yes." you nodded. "Your Asgard here should have it."

He only looks at you with a sudden change of his expression. His irritation had dissipated as he sadly frowned at your form.

What...

"Come with me." he finally says, walking past you. "Your fellow Asgardians might be able to help you know more." he then opens a portal to somewhere you don't quite recognize, but you do see a lot of greenery and expansive fields of grasslands.

"Is that...Asgard?"

He almost avoids your gaze and shakes his head. You looked at him in confusion, wanting more answers. He eventually gestured his head towards the portal, urging you to follow, so you did. Stepping out of the circular entrance, you took in the lands as you came to finally see the visible ocean. Along the fields we're houses being built and people scurrying to help—men, women and children.

"Why are we here?"

"To see Thor...and an another asgardian sorcerer who might be able to help us." Strange replies.

"Welcome to Norway."

Previous chapter: (Chapter 3)

Next chapter: (Chapter 5)

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

'A Chance and Beyond' taglist:

@oscarissac2099 @lcolumbia1988

Ko-fi?

[ghostinb00ts]

all my monster culture hcs

(may be based in things we see in game, may be random stuff)

monsters’ ages of maturity vary a lot and it’s very difficult to tell what monsters are adults and who are children since there are so many different kinds, that’s why all monster children wear striped shirts.

once a monster child reaches their species’ equivalent of around 16 years in maturity, they have a big, special celebration (like a bar mitzvah or quinceañera in human culture). the main event is the monster’s friends and family gifting them new clothes. for some families, it is tradition to pass on a single garment to the first-born child for generations, although this is not always the case. (for the royal family, it’s asgore’s cape)

when monsters were first sealed behind the barrier, the underground was much smaller than it is in the game. originally, it was just the ruins, snowdin, and a small bit of waterfall. but due to erosion over time and many wanting to mine further to avoid overpopulation, it’s size grew a lot.

all monsters are immortal (in the sense of that they can’t die of old age) until they choose to have children, in which they give up that immortality.

this is done by a soul bond, when two (or more) monsters fuse their souls together and the part of immortality in them leave to form a new one. this can only be done if both monsters want to create a new life, therefore accidental and/or non consensual pregnancy can’t happen.

we know a lot of human stuff has been repurposed for the underground, but a lot of the stuff containing images or videos of actual humans (except for stylised animation) have been confiscated by the royal guard. the government said it was because many monsters could have pstd flashbacks to the war by seeing real humans. this is why many monsters don’t actually know what humans look like.

monsters species that possessed wings live primarily in new home due to its open nature.

education in the underground is usually pretty good. to make things easier on monster students that age faster/slower than their peers due to species, formal education in a standard grade system is not required. in order to become a legal adult, a monster that reaches the age of maturity would have to pass a government-made exam to prove they can function independently.

while new home, the core, and hotland exist in a modern capitalist system that functions as well as it can, waterfall and snowdin operate on a more trade-based economy while maintaining use of g’s.

i’ll probably add more when i think of them, but feel free to add on your own!!

[silly-inky]

Art class

(Booigi (king boo x Luigi) post)

(Quick note from op at the end)

I have made the headcanons before that Luigi models for Peach’s painting’s and it’s coming into play here (there are random perspective changes so I do apologize)

Anyway’s

Peach had to watch the Koopalings again as Bowser had a very important meeting to attend with both Kamek and Kammy so he needed someone to watch the kids (this is not a ship, this is purely Peach helping Bowser out because she has free time and she loves the kids)

For the most part Peach can still do her own thing while keeping an eye on the rowdy bunch, so she is able to do some painting as they play outside, as they are all outside Luigi is sat in chair opposite peach posing for her as she paints, he’s in a nice summer dress with a straw hat.

The kids wonder over one by one to ask what she and Luigi are doing and decide to start painting with Peach, she gives them all a sketch pad with some pencils and paints while Luigi takes a quick break to stretch his legs and get some food and then models for them all.

By the end of the day when bowser comes to collects the kids, they all show off their paintings of Luigi, Bowser think it would be a nice activity to join in and the kids gave it a go so if it’s something he can do to bond with his kids he’s going to do it.

The word slowly spreads of this growing art class/group within the royals, so whenever there are royal meetings or gatherings where they all come to visit Peach, after the meeting they all sit in a hall as Luigi poses for them, which is very nerve wrecking for him at first but he warms up to it as no one insults him, he gets to wear nice dresses, it’s helping with him stage fright, plus he lives to see all the paintings made of him, some being traditional, some more abstract, but in the end he’s glad that in some way he helped create those.

Now for the Booigi, King Boo gets wind of this, either through E.Gadd, or hearing it said casually at one of the races. Now King Boo being King Boo, he loves to paint, he loves Luigi, he loves to (peacefully now that him nd E.Gafd are on alright terms) terrorise Luigi, why not combine 3 of his favourite things together? So he decides to start attending his royal meetings purely so he can be in the art classes

Peach welcomes him in giving him a place to sit/float with all the equipment he needs (not what he personally uses but they will do for now, he’ll have to recommend the princess the brand he uses, or at least bring his own next time) and waits for Luigi to come in a pose.

Not to mention seeing Luigi in a dress, now that would make his day, it wasn't much of a secret he had a thing for the green plumber after all, he hasn’t really seen Luigi in anything but his overall’s before, but he’s heard from the other royalty he looks quite lovely in them, in fact sometimes Luigi would be gifted dress by the respective Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses either to wear for the next meeting or as a gift. He heard that a few of them have even made it a competition to see who can get him the most loveliest dress. Poor Luigi loves all the new dresses but has to leave them with peach as he has no room for them at home

King Boo was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Prince Jr whisper next to him “Luigi’s coming in now, you should probably get your paints ready”. As he thanked the little Prince for the heads up he looks around to see the plumber clad in green, only he wasn't in green. Luigi entered to room and took his place in the middle of the room were he could easily be viewed by all, and what a sight he was.

(Sorry for the long description here) He had his hair up in a messy bun with a few face framing pieces falling beautifully around his face (my Luigi has long hair) and his dress was a lovely snow white, if he didn’t know any better it almost looked like a wedding dress, well he looked more like princess with the style of dress but the white immediately reminded him of a traditional wedding gown. It was floor length, and had layers of tool that made it look as if it was light as a cloud and as flowy as air, the bodice was decorated with patterns of flowers and snowflakes in intricate lace, it was off the shoulders and the sleeves were made out of the same tools used on top of the skirt. He was wearing pearls to keep it some what simple, which were also pinned in his hair. He looked breath taking to say the least.

Princess Peach stood up and began to speak “thank you again Luigi for agreeing to our model, and if I remember correctly this dress was gifted to you by King Penguin yes?”

“yes it was I and my wife that gifted it to him, when I showed her the paintings that I had made of Luigi, she insisted on having our finest seamstresses make him a dress inspired off of our kingdom” King Penguin beamed

“That’s lovely to hear, but why not blue? That’s the colour you and your people typically wear is it not?” Princess Peach asked

“It is but my wife insisted on making something that would truly stand out amongst the blue, and as nobody else had suggest a white dress for Luigi to wear she quickly had commissioned to be made for the next time I visit your kingdom Princess. She did want to accompany me but unfortunately she got a bit caught up in some personal matters *ahem* a surprise visit from her lovely sister ” He replied

“Well hopefully she can join us next time, and I must agree with her, Luigi does indeed look lovely in white” the Princess said as she tried to stifle the small laugh trying to force itself out of her from the King’s last remark

“I am happy to help Princess, and send my thanks to the Queen for those beautiful gift Penguin, and your seamstresses as well of course” Luigi spoke out, seeing Peach struggle to keep in the laugh he too was holding back

“Anyways Luigi would you like to get yourself comfortable, you are free to do any pose you’d like” Peach affirmed before re-joining the other royals and taking a seat

Luigi laid down on his side on the chaise longue, facing towards them, he had his arm resting on the arm rest of the chaise, he put on a more still face that way it wouldn’t be hard to keep pulling the same expression, he decided to look around the room to find somewhere to rest his eyes on, and that’s when he made eye contact with King Boo

He was utterly entranced with Luigi, and when Luigi looked at him he had to fight away his boo urge to cover he eyes from embarrassment. Luigi just looked.. well gorgeous would be an understatement, he could feel his dead heart beat in his chest and his face flush as he saw a sly smirk cross Luigi’s face before it returned to its neutral look it had before, but it looked like Luigi had decided to rest his eyes for the hour long class.

As the class ended Luigi got up to stretch and talk with his friends before making his way over to the ghostly King who was busy cleaning up his supplies in a flustered rush, to only then be started by a tap on his shoulder

He looked down to see Luigi smiling in that beautiful white dress staring straight up at him

“ hey KB, did you enjoy your time here today? You look awfully flushed” Luigi teased

“ I did, not my preferred brand of paint but it will do for now, I’m fine I’ve just got ghost fever” the King lied

“Ghost fever huh? Well that’s too bad does that mean you can’t stick around for about longer? Peach has made cakes and biscuits for all of us, I’d really like you to stay but if you have to go it’s fine..” Luigi out on a fake disappointed tone, but nonetheless the King fell for it

“Well it’s not to bad! Just made me a bit flushed is all, I can stick around if you want, I’m in no rush” King Boo sputtered out trying to keep a calm tone but his mind was racing just a a bit to fast for him to catch up with

“Oh that would be amazing! Thank you so much” Luigi said as he returned to his usual cheery tone as he hugged the Boo’s arm

“Oh don’t thank me it’s nothing, plus I still sort of have to make it up to you after the whole peace thingy I made with E.Gadd” King Boo said, trying to play it off, he couldn’t help the look of destabilise on his face though when he manticores E.Gadd

“Well that goes both ways, I need to apologise too, I never meant to get your boo’s involved” Luigi said with a smile

“You were doing what you thought was the only thing you could do, I don’t really blame you for that. Anyway’s we can talk about that later, let’s not sour the mood” He replied

“Fair enough, though I have to ask, what do you think of my dress?” Luigi implored before stepping back and doing a little twirl for the Boo

“ You -IT looks amazing! It looks beautiful” The King tensed

“Do you think I pull it off? I’m not sure if white is really my colour” Luigi Pressed

“You look good” is what he said but what he actually wanted to say was “you look breath taking, I wasn’t aware anyone could look this handsome and beautiful at the same time” oh how nerves can get to a person

“Well I’m glad, it looks like the others are ready to go, you all packed up?” Luigi asked as he gazed around the room

“Yep all ready to go” King Boo said as he left his paint brushes to dry

“ come on then, oh and one more thing before I forget” Luigi stopped halfway to the door

“And what is that” King Boo quizzed with a small roll of the eyes and a questioning smirk

“Will you be joking us next time? Daisy gifted me a lovely sundress to wear for the next meeting” Luigi grinned as he turned around to face him

“Uh- yeah of course, I have to do kingly stuff now like attend meetings and such” King Boo said as a slight to it of purpled kissed his cheeks as he turned his head away

“Ah right, Kingly things, we’ll I look forward to seeing you a bit more often then, now come on” Luigi said as he turned around with a bit of blush made its way onto his own cheeks

….

Yeah I got a bit carried away I’m so sorry, sorry if the change in perspective was a bit confusing, but I hope you liked it!

I’m going to be posting a few of these Booigi prompts/ headcanons here as per the request of Skully, they are free to use/ to be added to. As much as I’d like to write these down in more detail for you all, I’m not as committed to writing stories as some of the other creators. I will still try and write a few of them but for now I’m leaving them here, free for anyone to use, and of course they can be converted into any ship your prefer (e.g. Bowser x Luigi, Mario x Peach, Luigi x Daisy ext…)but for now it’s written with my personal headcanons and from the viewpoint of booigi (king boo x Luigi)

@skulls-soul eat up

[canyon-tale]

Long time no see :3

I come with new questions!

* what claims does Error have?

* what do the bad sanses think of Cross and Epic being together? Especially since they don't have kids together

* i'd love to hear more about Blue, i haven't asked much about him

* is Ink romantically involved with anyone? is he aroace like canon?

* does Geno exist? what is he like? does he have a brotherly bond with Fresh and Error?

* do dragons follow the rule of males being more colorful to attract females?

Happy to see you back, I always love answering your questions :D

Gonna stick them under a Read More again, but enjoy and let me know if you have any follow up questions! <3

What claims does Error have?

Error is a bit of a mix bag of magic elements tbh, mostly cuz I want to include all his eye colours XD His main claim is Carnage, and he is a demi god of that element to aid the Maid of Bones. He has a light and water sub claims as well, most likely due to either carrying or having absorbed magic items. He also has a slight connection to the Void, but he’s also terrified of the Void realm and magic.

What do the bad Sanses think of Cross and Epic being together? Especially since they don't have kids together

They were VERY suspicious about Epic when they realised who he was and that Cross had picked him as a talonmate. Epic is technically Cross’ first mate, he just didn’t talk about Epic to the others because while he loves them it was also kind of nice to disconnect from the Nights and Stars from time to time. Cross is probably the most relaxed and dorky when with Epic because Epic gives the same energy back.

When the other’s did find out about their relationship they were all basically like over protective parents, following Epic around, doing background checks, questioning him once Cross actually invited him to the dens, etc. Epic was none too phased about it, but Cross was a bit embarrassed XD

Even while they were all cold towards him at first they all eventually warmed up to him. Nightmare was the last, but when Cross came to him to ask if he could help with Epic’s eye and nightmares he kind of developed a soft spot for him.

Epic actually ends up joining the Night flight eventually! The other’s are very relaxed and open minded so they never take issue with them becoming heartmates despite not wanting eggs together.

I’d love to hear more about Blue, i haven't asked much about him

Blue is a lightning guardian! He was very determined to join the royal flight and capture a human someday, but those ideas changed when he came across a few books about dragons and human riders. He’s been enamoured by the idea of having a human partner ever since, but he still keeps up the act of wanting to fight one instead.

His brother is a fire scout who was sure Blue would end up as a nurse due to his sweet and caring character, and was a little alarmed when Blue started growing scales and became a guardian. Little Blue is very determined to be a royal guard after all uvu

Is Ink romantically involved with anyone? Is he aroace like canon?

He is aroace! He’s technically talonmates with Dream and Blue, but it’s more a queer platonic relationship and doesn't follow the traditional definition of talons. He’s of course also thornmates with Error, and I’m playing with the idea of him being at least wingmates with Cross since I like the two of them having some kind of bond.

Does Geno exist? What is he like? Does he have a brotherly bond with Fresh and Error?

He does! He’s stuck in the Void but I haven’t thought too much of his side of the story yet. I think I’d like him to have some kind of connection to Fresh and Error, probably mostly Fresh at the start since I can see Error being terrified of the Void.

Do dragons follow the rule of males being more colorful to attract females?

No, mostly cuz there are no biological males and females since the dragons are hermaphrodites. There’s definitely dragons with similar traits though, they’re just more randomly genetic than anything else.

[leonsliga]

Hi! How could you describe leon personality with the people he knows 🤍

Aww hi anon 💜 I think, like all of us, who Leon is depends on who he’s around. So what do you say we talk about some of the Bayern teammates he interacts with the most? I’ll also try to throw in a picture that summarizes his relationship with each one, like a mini picture book of sorts :)

Joshua Kimmich: Leon’s the order to Jo’s chaos, the quiet to his noise (when he hasn’t had his magic potion coffee, anyway). He’s protective with Jo while also giving him the space he needs to feel secure in himself and his role in the team. Leon seems to steady Jo, to ground him in a way no one else can. Their relationship is more than just Leon stabilizing the defense so Jo can surge forward and fuel the attack (or vice versa) though. It’s not reserved only for the midfield; their bond transcends the football world. It’s a partnership forged as much off the pitch as on it—one based in trust, tenderness, and mutual respect. After all, they’re business partners—We Kick Corona’s founding fathers. They even appeared on the German Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as a team. We may not know everything about their relationship, but the snapshots the cameras catch tell us a vivid story—a story of twin anchors taking turns grounding each other.

As is tradition, Leon Goretzka embraces his midfield partner, a gesture of recognition for the way in which they have helped each other thrive. In turn, Joshua Kimmich clings to him; the expectation that Leon will steady him through currents of passion remains unspoken.

Serge Gnabry: I’m almost 100% sure Leon and Serge love to annoy the shit out of each other, but at the end of the day, it’s all love, holding hands, piggyback rides, and strutting around Säbener like the royal couple they are. Serge didn’t call Leon his “kleinen Bruder” (little brother) for nothing after all ❤️ Leon has literally lifted him up before, but he isn’t afraid to knock him down a few pegs when necessary to keep him humble 😂

Leon Goretzka accompanies his best friend and brother, Serge Gnabry, on a stroll around Säbener Straße, Serge’s arm looped through his.

Leroy Sané: I feel like Leroy brings out Leon’s goofy side. They’ve probably known each other longer than Leon’s known anyone else on the Bayern squad, since they went to school together and played for their school’s football team. In other words, he’s not in as much of a “jaha” mood when Leroy’s around 🤣 That hardened shell Leon’s developed to handle the media attention cracks a bit, in the best possible way. That practiced seriousness melts away and leaves a genuine smile behind.

A passionate kiss on the cheek for Bayern’s number 10, the kind reserved for a relationship born in childhood and nurtured under the watchful eyes of millions.

Thomas Müller: I think Leon’s annoyed and amused by Thomas in equal measure. When I think of their interactions, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the classic Die Mannschaft video where Thomas says Holland instead of the Netherlands and Leon immediately snaps back with “Das ist auf gar keinen Fall richtig!” (“that is in no way right!”). I think Thomas wore Leon down in the end though, because Leon’s not afraid to tease him right back. If Thomas winds him up, he can expect that Leon won’t let that crime go unpunished!

Thomas Müller being his usual self and Leon looking off into the distance in amused disbelief.

Manuel Neuer: describing Leon’s relationship with Manu is a little bit trickier. Like Leon though, I like a challenge! I think Leon enjoys pushing his buttons a lot and tossing little jabs at him, trying to get him to crack. However, Manu’s not just any old Bayern teammate, he’s the captain, and as the overworked team mom, he’s used to dealing with the rambunctious, meddling kids that make up the Bayern squad. Whether Leon’s ever succeeded in winding him up is anyone’s guess, but what we do know is that the two are clearly close. After all, Leon’s addressed several of his selfies to him; not even Jo or Serge can say the same 😂

“Don’t hurt yourself, kid” Manuel Neuer writes to Leon Goretzka, one of the teammates under his charge as captain. If this exchange is any indication, it appears Leon’s attempts to grind the gears of his fearless leader have failed so far.

[starseneyes]

What are your thoughts on the Moroi and the Strigoi as vampires?

Hi, Anon! Reminder that I have not read the books. So, my understanding of Strigoi and Moroi is completely informed by the movie and the series.

So, I'll just share my thoughts on what I'm seeing and my probably completely wrong perceptions.

To me, Moroi come off as the original vamps who decided to create a culture that worked for them after they started reproducing with humans.

All Moroi are born with inherit privilege due to their pure-blood status. They have the means to protect and defend others in the form of their Elemental Magic, but they choose not to use it. Instead, use of Magic has been deemed a "sin", thus keeping them in a state of needing constant service and protection.

This feeds into the perceived need for the Guardians and the Damphirs... so they can continue to live their lives without the fight. They can have comfort and be oblivious.

Strigoi, to me, seem like they are ruled by emotion rather than reason. Again, this is just my interpretation from what I've seen. I don't know the source material. But in the movie they were still able to communicate, and from what I understand of the books, so can some of them.

My thoughts is that Moroi and Damphir have determined Strigoi are mindless. Or, at least, that's what people are told. We've seen their strategy to try to breach the wards. We've seen them target Rose and follow her from the Human Club to the Heretic. And we know they're being organized in some manner, likely by someone on the inside.

To me, the Moroi are the upper class lazybones. Yes, Lissa and a few others try to break outside of that, but it's really hard to buck tradition. Our Heretic found that out with her excommunication. Their whole society is built to their benefit... the Royals, at least.

The non-Royals are still afforded some benefits of society, if not as many as the Royals. It seems proximity to major cities has an effect on that, which is fascinating.

The Damphir are the working class, to me. They are the ones upon which everything falls, but few of the rewards are awarded. They are expected to give everything—including their lives—for their Moroi counterparts.

The Strigoi, to me, are the poorest of the poor. Yes, some of them have chosen this life, perhaps as a way to try to gain some control over their fates not afforded to them in the strict bonds of Society. Is this the right way to do it? Maybe not. But, the Royal Moroi rig society in such a way there are no right paths to justice. There is no justice. Justice is a myth.

I can't think of Strigoi as straight-up monsters when we see so many monsters parading about in petticoats and red cloaks. I don't yet understand if Strigoi are capable of independent thought, if they are puppets of a greater master, or if they really are blood-thirsty demons.

For all we know, Strigoi Mikhail was STARVING because he's never consumed blood before and was suddenly starving after 20+ years of never having to. Maybe once he sates it, he can carry on a conversation (minus the stake through the chest delivered by Rose). I don't know!

My 5-year-old gets Hangry after a few hours without food. Ya know?

I hope this answers your question, somewhat. Again, I'm not in on all the facets of these classes of Vampire because I haven't read the books. So, just my perceptions based on what I have available.

Thanks for reading!

[peony-pearl]

I think one of the easiest, but still complicated ways, to look at Iroh’s ‘laziness’ or how he ‘sat back during Ozai and Zuko’s Agni Kai’ is something that kind of happens in a lot of families.

There are things that seem strange to other families that, within another family unit, would be very normal.

When I would talk to my previous therapist, I was going through a period where I really, really missed my family. The only family I have near me is my dad and stepmom and her family extended around the city that I’m not close enough with to just go and visit or go to lunch with. I have to travel 2+ hours to start seeing others, and, working full time, I don’t get the chance to just up and go as much as I would like.

I grew up with my mom and stepdad, two older siblings, and around aunts and uncles and my maternal grandma (dad’s parents lived out in the country; I rarely saw them if he wasn’t in town). My grandmother was always within reach and was reliable; a stern British woman who made sure no one went without, but wasn’t the traditional warm, affectionate Grandma, although I have so many pleasant memories of her.

I saw a very specific portion of my aunts and uncles on a regular basis for Sunday dinners at her home (my mother was the youngest of 8 kids). Some showed up less than others; and being a kid I took those days for granted.

Growing older and seeing and knowing how internally distant my family is, let alone that many of them are barely Facebook-savvy, I would tell my therapist how much I missed it. She would say ‘well, try to reach out and get an idea of a reunion going’

to which I replied ‘oh no, you don’t understand. That isn’t going to happen.”

And she would ask why.

And I didn’t have an immediate answer other than ‘it’s just not.’

Everyone knows things about their family in ways they can’t discuss that may seem obvious on the outside. My family is hermit-like, quiet, particular; unless they’re bonding over something they enjoy and then we can laugh and riot. But change on my mom’s side is HARD; to the point that it’s an inside joke - even to my dad who has been divorced from my mom for over 30 years. I can joke about my mom’s sides particularities with him, because it’s very very obvious once you spend some time with them.

Distance is normal on my mom’s side; and even a bit on my dad’s side. We can joke a lot about how we can never talk for years and then we see each other and just continue like nothing’s happened. It’s not personal, we just... aren’t great at keeping in touch. Unless some are more prone to messaging or texting; then it’s a matter of actually sending something.

‘Wait, don’t you at least send a ‘hey how are you?’

Actually no. I’m friended with some family members on Facebook and we just... don’t really talk. But if we all see each other again we’ll continue like we always have.

I don’t even have the contacts to all of my family members. Ones that I do, I rarely speak to. I speak the most to one of my sisters, but that doesn’t detract to how much I love my other sister. I see my dad and stepmom on a regular basis and I call my mom 2-4 times a month. But I can’t just call my mom without sending her a text earlier saying that I can call, or else it’ll throw her off. She wouldn’t tell me I couldn’t talk, but her routine will get shifted around.

Because even if I did get the idea out about a reunion for my mom’s side, it’s a matter of who could show up; or who WOULD show up, or who would even respond to the idea of a reunion.

And maybe I’m wrong; because change for me is hard too, and the idea overwhelms me, even to see people I love, to navigate such an idea frightens me as well.

Families all have their internalized issues; it doesn’t answer problems to their fullest and I’m probably just rambling, but anyway.

Back to the point

Zuko, Ozai, Azula and Iroh, being part of a militaristic royal family that is highly dysfunctional and absolutely shows favorites (despite Iroh trying his best to become enlightened from his mistakes and traumas), isn’t going to change on a dime. Zuko’s Agni Kai was horrifying.

And yet Azula, Zuko’s own sister (who has her own set of issues), and Zhao (who, aside from speculations, is not part of the royal family) smile at the act of Ozai burning his son’s face. No one is showed to balk at the series of events or cry out for Ozai to stop.

Zuko - the crown prince, spoke out against a cruel plan and was punished for it by his own father - no one in the kingdom stepped forward to stop it, despite it being obvious that something had to be done.

But Iroh, even if he tried to help simply knew one thing.

If just couldn’t be stopped. And he would never be able to tell anyone outside of the fire Nation how and why.

Because it just couldn’t.

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, What's in a name?

I thought I was done, but I have material for one more post. I want to write more about how royal names work, because I've seen a lot of confusion and simple lack of knowledge in the tags, so think of this as more of an informative culture post than an analysis post of the show.

European royals and nobles have styles, names, titles, and houses. In addition, monarchs have regnal names.

A style is how you formally address someone, based on their rank and title. In Sweden, the only styles left are "majesty" and "royal higness", where kings and queens are addressed as "your majesty", and select members of the royal family are addressed as "your royal highness". In Swedish, these styles are often abbreviated as H.M. - Hans/Hennes Majestät and H.K.H. - Hans/Hennes Kungliga Höghet. In English, the abbreviations are HM and HRH.

In the show, you can see this when Simon meets the Queen, and shakily addresses her as "Your Majesty", or when Minou calls up August and says "Her Majesty the Queen has resolved your problems with the school fee".

In less formal, but still polite speech, you would use third person addressing when talking to or about the royals, and there are numerous examples of this in the show:

Anette to Erik: "How nice to see the crown prince again!"

Some aide to Wilhelm: "Could we get a shot of the prince shaking hands with the headmistress?"

Anette: "Wilhelm, sorry, the crown prince, how nice the memorial was!"

August: "The queen has asked me, personally, to take care of him."

Malin: "I just wanted to remind the crown prince that breakfast closes in five minutes."

Names for royals and nobles work just like the rest of us, but with one exception: Royals generally do not use last names, while lesser nobles do. They also tend to have several first names, and while they generally pick names for their children based on trends in society, they stay on the traditional conservative side, and they often pick names from their family history.

The show only tells us one first name for each member of the royal family: Kristina, Ludvig, Erik, and Wilhelm, so we have no idea what other names they might have.

In the real world, the name of the king of Sweden is Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, the crown princess' name is Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée, and her oldest daughter's name is Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary, just to give you some flavour of what it could look like.

Titles are what sets higher nobles apart from us mere commoners, and have their origin in the feudal system of medieval Europe, which was a hierarchical socio-economic-military system where the lord of a land could grant a portion of his land, a fief, to a vassal in exchange for fealty - loyalty, taxes, and military service. Doing so would create a title, it would make the vassal a noble of a lower rank than his lord, because you could only create titles lower than the one you possessed. So, in general, kings could create dukes or lower, dukes could create counts or lower, and counts could create barons. The fief of a duke is called a duchy, a count ruled over a county, and a baron over a barony, although there were more ranks and more titles than that, depending on region and language, but those are the main ones.

Every single squabble or conflict or battle or civil war or war fought in the middle ages was over the titles, because the titles legally conferred ownership of a piece of land, and with it the rights of taxation and the economic value of that land. Over time, kingdoms got more centralized and the hierarchical nature of the system broke down, while the titles became more hereditary, and ownership of the land became less important, which meant that minor nobles lost the power to create vassals and fiefs, while the power to create titles was reserved for the monarchs, and titles created in this era usually only granted people a title for an area or a castle or a manor house that they already owned.

Going into modern times, European countries curbed title creation, but generally kept protections for existing titles and allowing them to be inherited according to whatever inheritance rules applied to each title. But if a title holder dies without a legal heir, the title is lost forever, which means that most modern day noble families want to make sure their title, their history, their legacy can survive long into the future. Also note that one person can hold several titles, and each of those titles can be inherited individually and under different rules.

In Sweden, there are currently 46 comital families (greve/grevinna - count/countess), 131 baronial families (friherre/friherrinna - baron/baroness), and 484 untitled lower noble families. There are no independent ducal families, instead the monarch grants royal children a ceremonial duchy at birth, for one of the 25 historical provinces of Sweden. This means that every single member of the Swedish royal family is a prince or princess of Sweden, and also duke or duchess of some province.

Again, we have no idea what province Wilhelm is the duke of in the show, while for example in the real Sweden, Princess Estelle is the duchess of Östergötland, Prince Carl Philip is duke of Värmland, and Princess Leonore is duchess of Gotland.

A noble house is a noble family or clan that is associated with one or more hereditary titles. Noble houses were founded when someone was ennobled and granted a title, and a noble house can branch and wither and split and form new houses over the ages, and it can gain or lose status as its members gain or lose noble titles and ranks.

In medieval times, these family bonds were very strong, and many major conflicts were a result of different houses fighting over various titles, for example the Wars of the Roses was a 32 year long civil war over the throne of England between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

A royal house is a noble house that holds a title of king or queen, and for members of the royal family, their house name is what they have instead of a normal last name. We don't know which royal house Wilhelm belongs to in the show, but the current royal house of Sweden is the House of Bernadotte, named after the French rando we imported that I wrote about in the last post. Other houses that have been the royal house of Sweden throughout history include the House of Holstein-Gottorp, the House of Oldenburg, and the House of Vasa.

Finally, a regnal name is a name that a reigning monarch chooses for themselves when they ascend the throne, and it consists of one or more of their first names, and a roman numeral ordinal if there have been previous kings or queens with that name. If you're the first of your name to rule over a kingdom, you can choose to call yourself "the first", or you can choose not to.

In the show, Kristina doesn't appear to have an ordinal, but in real life Sweden there was a Queen Kristina who reigned in the middle of the 1600's. (She was probably a lesbian, caused the death of French philosopher René Descartes, abdicated in favour of her cousin, and moved to Rome and converted to Catholicism. As you do.)

In the real world, the king of Sweden reigns under the name Carl XVI Gustaf, because he's the sixteenth (tenth, actually) Karl to have been king of Sweden, and he also picked his second name because he liked it, or because he wanted to stand out from the fifteen other Karls who preceded him. His regnal name is pronounced Carl den sextonde Gustaf - Carl the sixteenth Gustaf.

Putting all of this together, the styles, the names, the titles, and the houses, and we can finally get the full formal names of various royals. Here are examples from some European royal families to demonstrate what it can look like:

HRH Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine, Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, of house Bernadotte.

HH Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, of house Glücksburg.

HRH Ingrid Alexandra, Princess of Norway, of house Glücksburg.

HRH Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge, of house Windsor.

HRH Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange, of house Orange-Nassau

HRH Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie, Prince of Belgium, of house Belgium.

HRH Infanta Sofía de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz, of house Bourbon.

These names are quite the mouthful, and the full names and styles are only used in very formal settings. Normally, these people are referred to with their highest title, and their chosen first names, i.e. Princess Madeleine, Prince Felix, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince William, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Prince Emmanuel, and Infanta Sofía.

We only have the short name of Wilhelm, i.e. Prince Wilhelm, in the show. We don't have his full name, but if it follows form, he would be HRH Wilhelm <Name> <Name> <Name>, Prince of Sweden, Duke of <Province>, of house <House>.

Note that Wilhelm's father is not a king, he's a prince-consort, since Wilhelm's mother is the reigning monarch. The proper styles for his parents would be Her Majesty Queen Kristina (II?), and His Royal Highness Prince Ludvig.

The only other nobles in the show we have full names for is August and Felice, and August's full name would be August <Name?> Horn, Count (or Baron) of Årnäs. Felice's would be just Felice <Name?> Ehrencrona, because her parents are still alive and still hold whatever title they have.

Commoners marrying into a royal family is no longer forbidden or controversial, and all European royal families have had commoners marrying into them in the past few generations.

Based on precedence, if Wilhelm and Simon were to get back together and marry in the future, and if they get the consent of the Queen and the government, the following would happen:

Simon would be offered to be made a prince of Sweden, and with it gain the style of HRH.

Simon would be offered to be made a duke of some province.

If he accepts, he would lose his last name, and go from Simon Eriksson to HRH Simon, Prince of Sweden, Duke of <Province>, or simply Prince Simon.

If he declines, he would stay as Mr. Simon Eriksson.

When/If Wilhelm ascends the throne, he would chose a regnal name, and get an ordinal depending on the number of Wilhelms before him. If he's the first of his name, he would simply be King Wilhelm.

And if he and Simon are married when he ascends, Simon would not become king, he would become a prince-consort, and keep the title of prince.

[ashesandhackles]

The Hogwarts Express scene in Prince's Tale: A Sirius and Snape analysis

I really, really enjoy Sirius and Snape as characters and their respective narrative functions in story. But what gets me most about them is how much Rowling hints about their backgrounds and so much of it makes sense with regard to who they are as adults. So I am going to be breaking down a very small scene from Prince Tale and getting into long winded hypothesis about their respective childhoods.

So, let's start with Snape. The scene begins with Snape rushing to find Lily, already in his Hogwarts clothes. Harry notes he must have been eager to get out of his clothes - ones that look like he borrowed from his mother, as Petunia spitefully pointed out. This has always been a very interesting detail to me - first off, it indicates how poor Snape's family is. Second, this indicates his tiny rebellion from his father - he refuses to wear clothes of the abusive man, and prefers his mother's. I admit, I am partial to the reading that Snape refuses to associate with his father in tiny ways, rather than Tobias refusing to hand his son clothes.

(I have seen readings which say that it is also a sign of neglect - perhaps his parents bought clothes that simply don't fit him, but I am more inclined to think it's a hand me down, simply because Harry identifies so strongly with it. Because Harry knows what it is like to wear a hand me down that don't quite fit, that are too big for you, or the ones that make you look ridiculous.)

Lily and Petunia's relationship is fraught with Petunia's jealousy. And young Lily is upset over it when Snape meets her. "I am not talking to you. Tuney hates me" she tells him. "Because we saw the letter from Dumbledore". Young Lily shows signs of being extremely emotionally reactive and this scene is one of them. It's easier for her to deal with Petunia's rejection of her by telling Snape she doesn't want to talk to him. It's a childish displacement of her hurt over her sister's rejection. (I am genuinely baffled by interpretations that Lily and Hermione are similar. Hermione is very cognitive person, Lily, as we have been shown repeatedly in memories, is not).

Snape, however, with his bad history with Petunia and his inability/ poor social skills to understand why this matters to her, goes: "So what?"

Lily, who throws him a look of deep dislike, says "So she's my sister". This seed is important because this is what develops into "he doesn't get me" feeling she later displays in her teenage scenes with him. Interestingly, most of Lily's personal relationships have deeply interwined love and dislike - Petunia (whose rejection bothers her but she cheerfully informs Sirius that Harry nearly broke a vase her sister sent - which means there is resentment on her end too), James - who she was attracted to even before 7th year but also disliked at one point, and Snape - again, a contentious friendship filled with love and distance.

"She's only a -" we dont get to hear what Snape intended to say. And given his own acrimony with Petunia, it could be anything. However, I read it as "She's only a Muggle" because it ties into his feelings about his father. Snape, who is proud of being half a Prince, emphasizing his magical lineage from his mother's side, his refuge in a violent, neglectful home. (Barty Crouch Jr and Snape with their disappointing fathers - I imagine Voldemort is supremely attractive leader to people with broken homes like this)

Snape, by all accounts, shows a disorganised attachment style. His caregiver, his mother - and perhaps the only parent he seems to have regard for, is too preoccupied by her own abuse to be there for her son - we see this in glimpses Harry sees in OOTP: " woman cowering" where a man shouts at her, and a young, neglected Snape cries in the corner. Children born in homes like this have trouble regulating their emotions, simultaneously displaying tendencies to aggressively lash out or show disassociative symptoms. Both of which Snape displays. Statistically, this is also seen more in low income households where economic instability and resulting domestic instability creates an unsafe environment for the kids to safely form ideas of their identity, or express emotions in healthy ways, modelling instead out of behaviour seen at home.

Then, Snape reminds her that they are going to Hogwarts. He is already in his Hogwarts clothes - now, Snape gets to be the impressive figure. The one who told her about magic, who theorised about how Muggles get letters from magical people, the one who told her about Dementors and Azkaban. He has already left behind the Spinner's End version of him, he wants to bigger than that, and is keen to be in place of magical learning and to join Slytherin. Essentially, he shows signs of unstable identity, insecurity - all prime for grooming into a cult.

And here comes along James Potter, who looks around at the mention of Slytherin. James's comment uses Snape's line and directs it to Sirius instead and it becomes a conversation between them, as a way to bond more with a fellow "rowdy boy" Sirius. Effectively ignoring the other two.

Sirius as we see here, "does not smile" when James talks about Slytherin. He essentially says something that can be construed as a way to nip that conversation in bud: "My whole family has been in. Slytherin". This suggests to me that there is some loyalty to his family there and his disillusionment with them isn't entirely fixed yet. After all, Sirius's intense loyalty to his friends, more specifically James, did not come out of thin air. It is reasonable to suggest that he felt some loyalty to his family at some point and the intensity with which he regards his friends is a reaction to burned off and being a "displaced person without a family" as Rowling put it.

Interestingly, while his reaction to his mother and Bellatrix are obviously sore spots, his response to Regulus is comparatively quite soft. ("Stupid, idiot" - something he calls James later on in the same book, OOTP). I imagine Sirius has quite complicated feelings about his brother and he is capable of nuance (when the person isn't Snape, where his dislike seems to be borne of an intense projection): "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". As someone who is grown up among them, Sirius would understand that.

His framing of Regulus's need to please his parents also further highlights what exactly is the source of disillusionment. He calls Regulus "soft enough to believe them" - which means he is crediting his own intelligence to see through his parents bigoted world view. Clearly, bigotry is not something the Blacks explained in a way that Sirius, eldest of their male line and their heir, bought it. It also probably didn't help the Blacks case that Grimmauld Place is in a Muggle neighborhood and that their eldest son is a bit of a wild boy with interest in pushing boundaries. His intellectual disconnect leads to the righteous rage he later feels but it began there. (Boy, it must suck to discover that everything you have been taught to value in the world and in yourself as the heir is essentially rubbish). Since his differences with his family began with seeds of intellectual disconnect rather than on intense empathy with downtrodden, it makes him, as a pureblooded privileged boy, unable to truly understand Lupin's fears regarding his lycanthropy. Hence, the Werewolf prank (I am not getting to the Snape bit, just the Lupin bit). To James' credit, he does understand what that means for Lupin and saves all three of them from different set of consequences.

Anyway, back to the scene. James, who has made an ass of himself in front of his new friend, who he was getting along with fine until now, then goes "Blimey, I thought you seemed alright". (Btw, I find James wildly large ego kind of hilarious here, especially in light of Snape's comment about him to Sirius in OOTP: "You will know he is so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off him"). Sirius, who I believe has been raised like "royalty" as Blacks would, has good enough social skills to defuse a situation. He grins and says: "Maybe I will break the tradition".

This line is an indication of Sirius's desire for independence, an identity seperate from his family. The use of the word "tradition" is interesting. It sounds like Sirius is expected to behave in a certain way, the heir of Black family whose parents thought being a Black "made you practically royal". Adult Sirius is contemptuous of this, or their "valuable contribution to Ministry" which means they just gave gold - it tells me that any and all conditions put on him by his family were to fulfill tradition that is either worthless or holds no meaning in his eyes. The root of the emotional abuse Sirius suffers from his family is this - realising his parents love for him is conditional on him being a certain way. (In fact, you can read Regulus desire to emphasise his connection to the family as a reaction to what he sees with Sirius - Sirius does not behave, Mum and Dad don't love him). As a child with unconscious knowledge of lack of love, Sirius then acts out, they react, rinse and repeat "until he has had enough". Sirius chafes against boundaries well into adulthood and doesn't react well to people enforcing it on him, even if it is out of love for him. Cue the fire scene with Harry where he behaves as if Harry is rejecting him instead of protecting him.

Sirius asks James about where he wants to go, and Snape, who is incensed about James being insulting about a House he put stock in, which he made part of new identity (so that he is no longer that Snape boy from Spinner's End) and was in general trying to be impressive about in front of Lily, "makes a disparaging noise" once James talks of Gryffindor. Snape's response to James' : "Got a problem with that?" is interesting. He says: "If you'd rather be brawny, rather than brainy-"

This is an important value for Snape. He knows he is clever and values it. He spends his spare time inventing hexes, making great shortcuts to Potions. He has genuine thirst for learning and he hones it. In SWM, we see that he has written far more longer answers than anyone else, he is poring over his paper after exams. He even mocks Hermione's lack of inventive answers: "Answer copied word to word from the textbook, but correct in essentials". He values originality. It may be me stretching this, but I am partial to the reading: this is his way of rejecting his father once again, who is implied to be a violent man. (in other words, someone who is hypermasculine - "brawny". In fact, Snape's rejection of hypermasculinity is a huge post on it's own - Potions (brewing, cauldrons - coded as feminine arts), the doe Patronus, his proficiency in Occlumency and Legliemency (intuitive mind arts, again seen archetypically feminine) etc).

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you are neither?" - Sirius is quick with emotionally cutting insults. Snape hasn't even finished his sentence, but Sirius is already on his case. Which suggests growing up in a household with sharp tongues. It's a fair assumption, given Mrs Black's half mad portrait. It also tallies with Sirius's talking about his mother: "My mother didn't have a heart Kreacher, she kept herself alive out of pure spite" . The wounds are fresh enough on this. (Another interesting way Snape and Sirius act as inverse mirrors - Snape rejects his father, Sirius rejects his mother. Sirius acts as proxy for James for Harry while Snape takes on Lily's role of protecting him). However, you know who else is spiteful? Sirius.

While James is the physical bully (the tripping Snape, doing most of the bullying in SWM), Sirius attacks emotionally. ( Sample the one about Snape's appearance - "I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment, there will be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word" or even the carelessly vicious- "Put that away, before Wormtail wets himself in excitement"). Curiously, with all that talk of how his mother being spiteful, it's her room he spends time in when he is depressed. (Again, in inverse mirror way, we can talk of how Snape looks for a father figure in Dumbledore - craves his validation and is proud of Dumbledore's trust in him). We could argue it's also because Buckbeak is there, and perhaps it's the largest room in the house, but it's very telling that's where Sirius spends time when he is "in a fit of sullens". Sirius's sense of abandonment from his family, makes him look for family connections with friends - a trait he shares with Harry. Interestingly, the first time he glimpses Harry in Privet Drive, Harry is also running away from home - just like he did. Anyway, I could go on.

[ladyartemesia]

ঌ⊙ fic preview ⊙ঌ

Once Upon a Bracelet

Pairing: Prince Jungkook x Sorceress Reader

(Featuring Platonic Jin x Reader Friendship)

Genre: Fantasy • Soulmates • Enemies to Lovers

Predicted Word Count: 7K (Teaser is 1K)

Rating: Explicit (18+) (Teaser is PG-13)

Summary: You were born to nothing, but your powerful craft caught the eye of a charming prince.

However, his distinctly un-charming younger brother challenged your betrothal and is routinely challenging you.

Jeon Jungkook is (probably) a former necromancer and (definitely) the wrong prince...

But the bracelets tell a different story.

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Prologue: Blood Magic

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Blood magic was the oldest and most powerful of the ancient crafts.

The best and strongest blood crafters hailed from Dionysia, where the heart of all blood magic, the Sanguine Well, rose up from the earth. The people of Dionysia served as caretakers and protectors of the Well and, in time, reverence of the blood craft wove into the fabric of their souls.

Their culture thrived around it. Their beliefs embodied it.

Even love bowed before it.

Bonding bracelets were born of blood magic.

The ritual creation of a bonding bracelet pair marked the transition from childhood into maturity. When a man or woman reached their 20th birthday, they and their family traveled to the Sanguine Well.

Four cuts were made on the right hand. Six drops of blood offered to the water...

Then the Well would churn and rise with violence, swelling till the overflow swept over the youth who fed their blood to the currents.

When the water receded, the bracelet pair remained.

One bracelet for the man or woman who sought the well.

One for their soulmate.

Only the first of any soulmate pair (the first seeker) to perform the ritual received the bracelets. Many who traveled to the Sanguine Well left empty handed because their soulmate had offered blood first.

The first seeker’s bracelet formed fully clasped around their wrist. The second bracelet remained open and would only close for the first seeker’s destined mate.

When an unclaimed bracelet united with its true host, the open ends stretched and intertwined to form a rune.

From that moment on, the first seeker and their mate were blood bonded; their powers and abilities joined in a sacred union that was – to all known craft – unbreakable.

The strength of a blood bound pair could be quite formidable and, over the centuries, powerful soulmates rose to become great warriors, crafters, and leaders of their people…

For this reason, Dionysia did not take the gift of bonded soulmates lightly.

All proposed matches were registered and approved by the Ruling Council before an open bracelet could even be tried on by a potential partner. Both parties were required to present evidence of their commitment to one another. If the alliance was approved, the betrothed pair participated in a public ceremony where the first seeker’s intended mate would activate the bond by finally placing the open bracelet around their wrist.

The Royal Council believed this care and reverence honored the craft and the gods, thereby allowing the sacred tradition to continue.

In 900 years of recorded history, only five bonding ceremonies ended with a bracelet that did not close.

Now there were six…

⊙ঌ⊙థ⊙ঌ⊙థ⊙ঌ⊙ঌ⊙ঌ

Once Upon a Time...

⊙ঌ⊙థ⊙ঌ⊙థ⊙ঌ⊙ঌ⊙ঌ

“Jin!”

Your voice echoed dismally down the dusty corridor of Silent Truth Hall. “I’m sorry…I—”

Jin whirled on you, shaking his head vehemently.

“None of this is your fault.”

“There are many reasons why this could’ve happened,” you offered breathlessly.

“There’s only one reason why this happens.”

He sighed in defeat as you rubbed your temples in frustration.

“I don’t understand. The Council gave permission!”

The Ruling Council was a sovereign governing body of three kings and three queens, one monarch from each of Dionysia’s six royal bloodlines.

“The Council isn’t all knowing… ” Jin collapsed against a nearby wall. “This is a disaster,” he whispered.

And it was.

You had no family, but all of your friends from the Academy were there.

Jin was technically an orphan as well, but his adopted family, the Jeons, were there.

Jeon Alaya was high queen of the Ruling Council, so half the kingdom was there to see her (adopted) son bond with a craft prodigy from The Wastes.

Half the kingdom, but not her blood. Not her youngest son, you thought bitterly.

The two of you were silent for several moments while your minds struggled to process the shock.

“Do you think the rumors—what they say about me—is true?” you asked solemnly.

Jin’s head shot up in an instant.

“No,” he swore, “they’re absolutely not true.”

“But it didn’t close—”

“It didn’t close because we aren’t soulmates—not because you aren’t one of us.” His expression softened. “We were a good idea… just not the right one.”

Tears begin to burn at the corner of your eyes.

On some level you were not surprised. You cared for Jin but–

Yours was not an overly romantic attachment.

It was a strong friendship—one that spanned several years. When you decided to apply to the Royal Council for bonding, it seemed…

Logical.

Friendship was an excellent basis for blood bonding. More than one bonded pair applied as friends.

You believed in the wisdom of the Royal Council—everyone did. If you and Jin were not meant for each other, then surely the Council would see it. They would turn down the application. Someone would object…

Someone did object, your mind taunted.

But you were approved.

The date was set. Announcements made. Invitations sent out. The bracelet was placed on your wrist and…

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

Jin’s bracelet remained stubbornly un-closed.

And you had never felt so mortified, so exposed… so profoundly alone in your entire life.

It was a scandal of epic proportions, one which potentially called into question the judgement of the entire Ruling Council.

“Listen,” Jin said at last, “I need… I need to clear my head and think about the next steps. I know an expert on bonding bracelets. Maybe I can convince her to help. There might be another explanation.”

His hands slid up to grasp your shoulders in a familiar comforting gesture.

“Head to my house outside the city for a while. No one will bother you there, and I’ll be back tomorrow.” He gave your arms a brotherly squeeze. “We’ll work through this.”

You nodded, extremely grateful for the opportunity to be alone for a few hours.

Jin helped you slip out the back corridor to avoid the insanity still unfolding in the Hall (where the failed ceremony took place), then you parted with a final hug and quietly walked the few miles to his beautiful manor near the lake.

Technically, Golden Starlight House was one of many homes owned by the Jeon family. This one, however, Jin shared with his younger brother…

Jungkook

Jeon Jungkook was a sore subject for you. In fact, you preferred not to think about him at all if possible—and you certainly would never agree to hide at his house if you thought he would be there.

But Jungkook left weeks ago… right after the betrothal was announced.

“I cannot stand by and watch my brother make a mistake like this.”

His horrible words echoed in your mind as you unlocked the door, prepared to simply collapse fully clothed on the chaise when—

“Shouldn’t you be off playing bride-to-be literally anywhere else?”

You turned, already knowing who you would see.

“Jeon Jungkook. Of course.” A mirthless laugh bubbled up before you could stop it.

Just what I needed right now.

Full story should be posting very soon! Please let me know what you thought of the teaser! 🥺I would really appreciate it and it really fuels my creative process! I promise I treasure every word!

Let me know in the comments if you would like to be tagged for this story!

Tagging: @lemonjoonah @xjoonchildx @ppersonna @hobi-gif @untaemedqueen @underthejoon because you ladies are my heart and I always want to show you what I did right away 🥺

Important Note: I previously published a version of this story for a different fandom (Star Wars). So if you see it elsewhere (though I have made considerable changes) I promise it’s me and I can prove it. Tagging @wwilloww because she read the original way back when 😂🤣

[erazonpo3]

WOWM

so What Once Was Mine came out and I read it.

My General Thoughts are that this book was something of a rollercoaster but in like a pop up carnival with dubious safety regulations and diseases in the DIY log flume water kind of way. I had some fun reading it but I also feel like I picked up a rash.

If you're like me and you enjoy picking a book apart for morsels of interesting concepts then you might enjoy it, if you think holy shit why the fuck is a literal real historical serial killer in this book I need to see this then you might enjoy it, if you care about engaging plots and character beats then you probably won't.

If you want to ask me anything specific go ahead, but otherwise for more in depth thoughts: spoilers ahead

Basic Summary of the Plot

Okay so here's the deal. The story has the framing device of two siblings in a cancer ward, where one tells the other a story. I'll get into that later, but that's how it starts. Our actual story starts with a pretty long prologue: We learn that the King & Queen got the Moonflower thinking it was the Sunflower, Rapunzel was born with silver hair, and then baby Rapunzel kills a maid who accidentally hurt her when brushing her hair.

Oh, by the way, Max is a human man named Justin Tregsburg. Yeah.

Anyway, the royal family puts out feelers for legit witches who can safely take care of Rapunzel because the baby is too dangerous, and Gothel shows up to take her away. Queen Arianna visits Rapunzel once (but is only allowed to watch through a peephole) and decides watching another woman raise her child is too painful and throws herself into restoring the kingdom's orphanages instead.

Now we're in the present. Rapunzel is nineteen and she wants to go and see the lanterns (a mourning tradition of the Dead princess in this story). She tries to argue with Gothel but gets shut down, and Gothel makes her kill a chicken to prove the point that she can't go outside because she's too dangerous. However we as the audience already know Gothel plans to sell Rapunzel off as a bride or a servant or a weapon to some other nobles, because she's evil.

Also by the way Gothel still has access to our Sundrop Flower and is using it to live forever that's just a thing that happens in the background.

When Gothel is gone Rapunzel watches as a man (Flynn) stores a satchel in a tree outside of her tower, and that motivates her to leave the tower for the first time. Then she goes back inside the tower with her prize of a crown, and a skink she found and named Pascal. Rapunezl and Gothel have another spat, and Rapunzel decides she will run off to see the lanterns and she will find Flynn and make him her guide.

She ends up at the Snuggly Duckling and she doesn't find Flynn but she does find Gina, a young career criminal girl looking to break the glass ceiling. Gina agrees to help her find Flynn. They find Flynn, and he agrees to help guide Rapunzel to see the floating lanterns for a split reward of the crown with Gina.

The Snuggly Duckling gets burned down by Countess Bathory (yes that Elizabeth Bathory) and the Pub Thugs are pissed about it and also they're helping Rapunzel even though she didn't sing the I've Got A Dream song don't worry about it. We learn that the nobles that wanted to buy Rapunzel are now hunting her down so she can go to auction.

Gina takes them to her adopted mother's cottage. Gina's mother is a white witch, who goes by the name of Goodwife. She doesn't get an actual name she's just The Goodwife. Anyhow, the cottage is a magic safe space (for now) and Goodwife teaches Rapunzel that her hair isn't inherently evil and may not even be all that deadly! Rapunzel learns that her hair has other powers too, like the ability to turn skink Pascal into a sentient Chameleon. Yeah.

Also Goodwife tells Rapunzel she's the dead princess but this isn't like, an immediate call to action. Not a lot happens until we get this story's version of the Mother Knows Best Reprise where Gothel finds Rapunzel again but has to flee, but this Rapunzel has a bigger support network and isn't buying it. Flynn and Gina decide the safest course of action is to bring Rapunzel to the castle, but along the way she gets kidnapped by the Countess.

Gothel is pissed because she still wants the money for Rapunzel, so she rallies the armies of all the opposing bidders. Flynn and Gina convince Max the Man to send for his troops, and he joins them in going to the enemy castle. Flynn tries to sneak in, gets caught, and meanwhile there's a bloody battle out the front between the noble armies. Max jumps into the fray, Gina turns around and rallies the Pub Thugs.

Rapunzel uses her shrinking magic (!) to disappear half the castle and escape with Eugene, and the Pub Thugs arrive and basically end the battle. The Captain is dying but it's okay! Rapunzel turns him into a horse :) Also Rapunzel sees Gothel and tells her to fuck off.

The story ends with a tearful reunion between Rapunzel and her parents, Eugene and Gina are implied to be biological siblings, and things are good but of course in direct parallel to Cass Gina leaves at the end to become an adventurer. The end.

(There are a few other smaller plot beats, but you get the idea.)

MY THOTS

So here are my thoughts™.

Framing Device

I'll just state that I didn't like that the story was told via the vehicle of an older brother telling his 16 year old sister a different version of the Tangled Movie in a cancer ward. From what I've heard it also isn't normal for the Twisted Tales series to use a framing device for the AUs either.

I sympathise with the author's personal story, of course I do. That doesn't mean I'm stirred with compassion every time the flow of the story is interrupted to remind you to be sad because this is a story being told to a girl sick with cancer. It feels more than a little tragedy-porny rather than emotionally touching, and maybe that's because I'm too burnt out on real life tragedy to waste emotional energy on fictional cancer patients but we don't need to do Fault In Our Stars discourse again.

Real World References

This story goes heavy with Real World references. And another issue with the framing device as above is that you do feel like this is a story being told by someone namedropping every historical figure they know which makes it harder to get into the story.

There's like... a lot of references to Christianity, particularly in the prologue. There's a priest that thinks Rapunzel's hair is the work of the Devil or whatever. It's a lot. The Patriarchy is a thing. And that's not even getting into the Countess. I put it very succinctly in my notes so I'll paste it here:

I wish she’d just been an OC who could exist to chew scenery because the fact that she was a literal historical serial killer is super. Off putting. Like, she could have been an obvious reference to Bathory, but it feels like Miku Binder Hamilton levels of uncomfortable to me.

I miss Lady D.

Which basically sums up my problem with trying to take the setting of Tangled and put it somewhere in the Real World and somewhere on the Timeline. Who thought this was a good idea.

Misc. Thoughts

So, I used the five highlighter colours my ipad allows to organise my thoughts and organised them accordingly: Yellow for out of place IRL references, Blue for worldbuilding/character points that aren't plot relevant but still interesting, Pink for when something I find personally amusing happens, Purple for when the story feels like it's trying to 1-up the movie in some kind of way and Green for Heterosexual Nonsense. I'll touch on those last two in the Character sections but be prepared.

Also: for a book about giving Rapunzel killer hair, her hair isn't very dangerous. I wanted to see Rapunzel kill someone, and I'm disappointed that I didn't.

Characters

I'll do a deep dive into my thoughts about the characters before wrapping it up. I'm starting with Gina because she's honestly the easiest to get through.

Gina

Gina is a new character introduced for the story. She's a young woman trying to make it as a career criminal but keeps hitting that glass ceiling. So here's the down low, for all those who want to know: Gina is basically Cass, only not really. She's implied to be Eugene's biological sister, as previously mentioned, but you can imagine she's Cass the entire way through without breaking your immersion because if you imagined Cass if she were adopted by a Goodwitch rather than the Captain and had a looser, more wilderness survivor than trainee guard upbringing then you get Gina.

I liked Gina! I think she's fun as her own character too, and her best moments are when she's interacting with her mother Goody Goodwife, and she of course picks up a natural sibling rivalry with Eugene, but I was disappointed with how little she really bonded with Rapunzel because she needed to make room for Eugene and Rapunzel's romance.

Rapunzel

Okay, here's our protagonist. There's a notable effort to make Rapunzel more active in her destiny and whatever, and sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't. I was worried they'd try to go full butt-kicking girlboss with her but I was pleasantly surprised that Rapunzel was pretty useless in most scenes, genuinely love to see it.

With a more intimate look into Rapunzel's psyche through the medium of prose, we see Rapunzel really questioning Gothel's behaviour even before she leaves the tower, and while I appreciate that she can develop her own cynicism I feel it starts unnecessarily early. This is my purple colour; the movie needs to be "fixed" by showing the readers that this Rapunzel is quicker to distrust Gothel. She's also quicker to hatch a plan to go outside of the tower on her own, and she makes a plan to make Flynn her guide for the lanterns even though he never stumbles upon her in the tower- and even though she has a perfectly rational reason not to trust him which is that he is a stranger and a Wanted Thief.

In the moments where it does work is when Rapunzel is surrounded by her new support network: Flynn, Goodwife and Gina, who encourage her to question Gothel's sincerity, and Rapunzel comes up with her own defences for Gothel so that she can poke through them herself.

I have some other thoughts about Rapunzel's hair and her powers, like how the story provides the interesting concept that her hair gets different powers with the different phases of the moon, but a lot of the powers are uhhh stupid and also I feel like it really robs the story of the whole gripping conflict of "Yes I'm Rapunzel Yes my hair kills people what of it".

In as far as just Rapunzel herself though, she still felt pretty in character nonetheless, and maybe that's all I can ask.

Flynn Rider / Eugene Fitzherbert

My boy I am so sorry. They neutered my boy.

Long story short: Eugene in this story is the sexy lamp. He contributes nothing to the plot except to be there for Rapunzel to drool over. And of course because he won't get any character development, he starts from the very beginning as a sweet soft boi with none of the Flynn Rider characterisation from the movie because we don't have time for that, he needs to be husband material stat.

His whole character is the colour green for Heterosexual Nonsense.

So, here's the problem. In the movie, there's not a lot of time for ~friendship~ between Rapunzel and Eugene because they kind of immediately see each other as a romantic prospect. And whatever, it's a movie and there's only so much time. But this book had the opportunity to take things a bit slower and instead chooses to make Rapunzel get jealous whenever Eugene and Gina interact and for her to be constantly wishing he was holding her hand.

Say what you will about Lost Lagoon, but it tells a good romance story just by virtue of not intending to be a romance story, because the author is trying to convey a strong bond between Rapunzel and Cassandra without using "and they kiss" as a cheatcode. What Once Was Mine says "he was a boy, she was a girl, could it be any more obvious?" and leaves it at that.

Now as for how this all pertains to Eugene's character? Well, it just robs him of any flavour. In the movie there's a clear distinction between Flynn and Eugene, when we learn Eugene's real name about halfway through. We see a clear difference between the Flynn we knew- kind of an asshole, wanated to drop Rapunzel off at the Snuggly Duckling and get rid of her- and Eugene, who is sincere and chooses Rapunzel as his New Dream in opposition to his Old Dream of living alone on an island with a bunch of money.

This version of Eugene is basically Eugene all the way through, because the plot doesn't really need Eugene there but he has to be there because it's a Tangled AU so there's no Rapunzel rescuing Flynn from the guards and healing his hand scene, he just loves her immediately and that's that. They have a little spat at one point but it's cleared up later and not because they actually communicate but because they kiss.

Rapunzel only learns Eugene's real name at the very end of the story, and gives a speech about how Eugene is the real him, but it's just so flat because 'Flynn' has been sincere this whole time? Anyway he does nothing of value for the entire story except be there for Rapunzel to lust after. Eugene I'm so sorry.

Gothel

Gothel's sort of the Big Bad and is characterised as an abusive asshole, the usual. I wish there were a bit more nuance to her character but then again in this story she's not just being passively evil- taking care of Rapunzel for selfish reasons but nevertheless maintaining the status quo- she's being actively evil in trying to sell Rapunzel off.

It's notably funny that Gothel sees the Countess Bathory and is like "what the fuck".

Anyway Gothel in this story also feels very weak in part because this Rapunzel is more critical and in part because this Rapunzel has a new support network. It's for that reason the Mother Knows Best Reprise scene doesn't really work, because the original has Gothel pit Rapunzel against Eugene, whereas she can't do that here so it remains a Gothel vs Rapunzel thing.

She gets a boring death as an epilogue addendum that someone rips out the Sundrop flower, which tbh? lame. It would be a lot more fun if it were open ended but I am also preferential to Rapunzel actually using her killer hair to kill someone. Please

Captain Justin Tregsburg

It's Max. He was a human but then he got turned into a horse. what the fuck you guys

[house-of-galathynius]

Only You ~ Rowaelin

A Rowaelin fanfic, set if Aelin’s parents had lived and she had met Rowan under normal circumstances, if Erawan and Maeve weren’t threats. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Ten: Unexpected 

Chapter Nine ~ Chapter Eleven 

@endlessdaydream @aflickeringsoul @tillyrubes10 @fredweasleyhasadhd @rowaelin-cressworth @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @rowaelinismyotp @rosegoldannie @maryberry @viajandosinalas @becarefuloflove @allthebooksunderthemoon @sheharahu 

The two of them had been reluctant to break apart, neither one wanting to break contact first. But when they had, Rowan didn’t move from her bed, he sat close to her, his hand drawing patterns on hers.

“Was it worth the wait?” Aelin smiled at him.

Rowan chuckled. “Gods yes.” 

She placed another chaste kiss on his lips, savouring the feel of it, the taste of it. She would never get enough of this, of him. If this was what it was like from a mere kiss she hated to think how she would feel when they took things further— because when she was healed, they would be taking things further. 

Rowan scented her arousal and coughed. “You need rest Aelin.” His words pained, like it took all his strength not to feast on her right then. Rowan returned to his chair, even with the distance she could still feel him on her lips. She brushed her fingertips along them, smiling to herself. She didn’t want to think too hard on the repercussions of what had just happened. She didn’t want to think about the bond or the future; she was just content to bask in that brief moment of utter bliss. 

A knock on the door pulled them both from their thoughts. Her mother and father were loitering in the doorway, assessing the situation. “Can we come in?” Her mother asked tentatively. 

Aelin smiled warmly at them, nodding as they stepped through the archway and into the room. Rowan took that opportunity to stand, bowing slightly to her parents and then to her. “I’ll be back later, Aelin.” She wanted nothing more than to make him stay, but she understood that he wanted to give her time with her parents. 

Neither of her parents said much as they pulled another chair to her bedside, both taking a seat. Her mother looked tired, dark circles under her eyes and her hair braided messily over her shoulder. Her father too, looked worn out, the usual glint in his eyes gone, replaced with a gloomy look. 

“I’m not dead, you know. You could look a bit happier to see me.” She attempted humour, hoping to ease the tension, to ease the worry from her parents faces. 

“The healers had no idea what you’d be like when you woke. You hit your head hard, and there was so much blood—“ her mother choked back a sob. 

“It was such a low fall, I don’t— I don’t understand what happened.” Aelin could barely remember any of it, after the fourth or fifth shot of whisky the evening had started to blur, and the carriage ride home was a complete blank in her mind. 

“You were too drunk to stop yourself, you just let yourself fall into the ground. If people hadn’t been there to help… Gods.” Her father pinched the bridge of his nose. “This could’ve been a lot worse, Aelin.” 

“I didn’t exactly do it on purpose.” She looked away from her parents, focusing on the flickering candle on the table instead. 

“That doesn’t matter. Whilst we’re obviously relieved that it wasn’t more serious, you cannot be going out and getting drunk like that. You are a member of the royal family, people look up to you.” Her father looked away from her, breathing deeply for a moment before turning back. “You have an image to maintain, and I know you don’t enjoy it, but this is the life you have, and unfortunately you cannot do what you want, despite what Lysandra might say.” HIs voice was quiet, but his tone stern as he spoke. 

“Rhoe…” Her mother placed a hand on his knee. “Not now.” Evalin shook her head lightly.

“No, continue. I’d like to hear what he has to say.” Aelin knew where this was going. Her father had had this talk with her when she was sixteen after she had broken her wrist racing horses with Aedion. He’d done it again only a year ago when she’d spent most weekends of the summer getting drunk with Lysandra and Sam— although they didn’t know about Sam at the time. 

Her father continued. “We’ve been lenient with you for a long time, letting you get away with too much. Things are changing and you have to start taking more responsibility. No more running away when things get hard or locking yourself in your room when you can’t deal with something, no more getting drunk to solve your problems— playtime is over Aelin. You need to start acting like the queen you are going to be.” 

Even in the past she had never heard her father talk to her like this, with such evident disappointment. She felt embarrassed… mostly because he was right. She had been sneaking off with Sam for years, ignoring her duties to play pretend, going out partying with Lysandra or taking days off to go riding around with Aedion. Orlon had probably let it slide because there was no rush for her to be queen, but at some point he would step down and she had to be ready for that.

“I’m sorry.” 

“And whatever is happening with Rowan… you have to sort it out. If you are not going to accept the bond then we must know so we can find other options for you.” 

She flinched. “Other options?” 

“You are expected to marry Aelin.” 

She looked to her mother who remained silent by his side. She hated the way her mother turned meek when there was confrontation. More than that, Aelin hated how she felt looking at her parents, feeling the shame and frustration rising. 

She let that frustration surface. “I know. I am well aware that I have to marry and that people are waiting for me to make a decision about Rowan; but Orlon will be on the throne for a long time before I have to step up anyway, so why is there a rush?” 

Her parents looked towards each other, their brows furrowing. “Because…” Another glance.

“Because what?” 

Her mother spoke this time. “Orlon has decided that in one year he would like to step down.” Aelin could feel the world stop. “We were going to tell you a few days ago, but with everything happening with Rowan and Sam…” She trailed off. 

Her father once again began speaking. “He has been ruling for forty years Aelin, he’s starting to get tired. He has been king since he was twenty-two and you know he doesn’t have an immortal life ahead of him. He wants to spend whatever time he does have left with Darrow, not thinking about running a kingdom.” 

She tried to feel anger at Orlon, but she couldn’t. They’d never discussed when Aelin would officially take over the throne, only that she would at some point. Her father had never wanted to be king, so he had passed the title to his child; that child being Aelin. She had assumed Orlon would rule until he physically couldn’t any longer… but one year. That was so much sooner than she ever imagined. 

“A queen is expected to be married when she takes the throne. And given your situation...” 

She stilled. “That is an antiquated tradition. Why should a woman be expected to be married when a man can take the throne and be single his entire life?” Her head had started to ache, she blinked back the black spots in her vision.

“So you’re not accepting the bond then?” 

She rubbed her temple. “That’s not what I said.” 

Rhoe stood then, frustration on his face. “Then I do not understand the issue. Why are you making this all so difficult?” Her father paced as he spoke. “You have known this was how it will work, and you have never fought it until now. Why?”

Her flame burned on her fingers, her body going hot. “Because all of a sudden I’m not getting a choice!” She tried to calm the flame that was fighting to be released. “From day one I was told that any decisions would be mine; but from where I am sitting, that isn’t happening.” 

“Taking the throne has never been negotiable, Aelin.” 

She glared at her father, who did the exact same thing back, before she finally said, “it was negotiable for you.” 

“It was different for me.” 

“How?” 

“I had a daughter to pass the title to. You do not.” 

She was silent. 

“This is about more than just taking the throne, isn’t it?” Her mother’s first words.

Aelin tore her eyes away from her father and turned to her mother. “Considering you’ve mentioned marriage multiple times, yes, this is more than just the throne.” She rubbed her temple. “Even if I officially accept the bond with Rowan I will still be forced into marriage— after knowing him for three weeks. And don’t give me the lecture about how we’re mates.” 

“That isn’t what—“ 

She cut her off. “And then if I don’t accept the bond, I’ll be forced into marriage with a stranger.” 

“So it’s about you not wanting to get married?” 

“That’s not—.” She groaned. “I want to get married; just not on someone else’s schedule.” She blew out a breath. “I just want more time to really figure out what I want.”

“Fireheart…” 

She shook her head, the aching increasing the more she argued. “It doesn’t matter. My head hurts, I want to sleep.” She turned away from her parents, trying to steady her breathing, trying to calm her fire as she did. She didn’t turn as her mother came to place a kiss on the back of her head. She stared at the empty bed at the other end of the room, willing her mind to quiet. 

She didn’t know how long she stayed that way. She didn’t stir as footsteps sounded behind her, but she relaxed as she scented Rowan. He didn’t say anything as he climbed onto the bed and brought his arm around her waist, enveloping her in his warmth. He placed a kiss on her head, just as her mother had done, and she felt herself relax at his touch. 

The two of them stayed like that for a while, long enough that Aelin had started to drift off. His arm was a steady weight over her, a blanket of protection from the world. She drifted in and out of consciousness, Rowan never moving his position. And in between those brief moments of rest, she let her mind think about the future, about what she would have to do. 

She must have fallen asleep because she woke later to Rowan talking in a low voice to someone. He was no longer behind her, the coldness he had left was enough to get her turning to see who had arrived.

Aedion was stood there, concern etching his face as he looked at Aelin. Rowan had stopped his sentence to look at her too— and she could have sworn she saw a flicker of love behind the concern. 

“How are you feeling?” Aedion asked. 

“Like I’ve said to everyone… I could be better.” She tried to lift herself up and Rowan was there in an instant, gently helping her into an upright position. He loitered by her side as Aedion spoke.

“Lysandra feels awful. She’s only just managed to stop crying.” 

“It’s not her fault I was clumsy and fell from a carriage.” A bad attempt at lightening the mood. 

“She feels like she pushed you to go out with them, that it’s her fault your parents are—“ 

She stopped him. “We don’t need to talk about my parents.” 

He looked to Rowan who was pretending to be interested in the spec of dirt on his shirt. 

“You came back then.” Aedion directed his statement at Rowan. 

“Of course.” 

“It was nice of you to let us know you were going in the first place.” Aedion’s tone was cold as he spoke. 

Rowan practically growled his response. “It was none of your business.” 

Aelin wished she could sink into the covers, or disappear completely. 

“It’s my business when my cousin is hurting and moping around the palace for two weeks, wondering why her mate left without telling her.” 

She stilled. “Aedion, it’s fine.” 

“It’s not fine. You were not fine. He should be on his knees begging for forgiveness.”

“Aedion.” 

The two males stared at each other, neither saying a word.

“Let me know when you’re back in your normal rooms, I’ll swipe some cake from the kitchen and we can talk.” He didn’t say goodbye as he left the room. 

“He seems nice.” 

She glared at Rowan. “Don’t start.” 

“How are you really feeling?” Rowan took her hand in his own. She warmed at the touch. Despite their time apart and despite not officially accepting the bond— there would have to be some sort of ceremony for that—, Rowan was the only person she could stand to be around right now. 

“I feel extremely overwhelmed.” She kissed his palm. “And I feel anxious.” 

“Do you wish to talk about it?” 

She mulled it over. There was no doubt in her mind that she could trust Rowan, but she was afraid of scaring him away; the thought of actually being queen terrified her, and she had been preparing since birth for it… Rowan had not. It scared her that everything was moving so fast.

“Nothing you say will scare me.” It was like he had heard her thoughts; or perhaps the expression on her face said everything. 

“Orlon is stepping down as king next year and when he does, I’m expected to take the throne. It’s not like I didn’t know that… it’s just—“ 

“It’s happening sooner than you thought.” 

She nodded. “I just thought I’d have a lot longer, you know?” 

“Orlon wouldn’t make this decision if he didn’t think you would be ready.” Rowan squeezed her hand. 

“Maybe he’s just trying to give me some sort of wake up call.” 

Rowan laughed. “Or that.”

Her smile fell away as she said, “I’m expected to be married before I take the throne.”

“Is that why you’re anxious?”

She shrugged. “Partly.” 

“You can talk to me Aelin.”

“I just—“ She swallowed. “Marriage is terrifying— it’s not that I don’t want to eventually get married.” She thought for a moment. “I think what is scaring me is that I’ve realised the person I want waiting for me at the end of the aisle is a male who I’ve known for less than a month of my life.” She took a deep breath. “I feel like I am going crazy… because in the time that it’s been since my father informed me of this, I’ve somehow come to the conclusion that it’s you I want to marry.” Another breath. “But I’ve been so distant from you; and we’ve spent almost two weeks apart and then suddenly I’m looking at you and none of it matters.” She finally met his eyes. “None of it matters because you came back, and we’re together.” She paused. “I look at you Rowan and… I am home. I touch you and my entire world is set ablaze. I sense the bond between us and I feel—“ She couldn’t find the words. 

“I know.” He whispered, then louder. “I know because I feel it too. The very first day I saw you, I knew.” 

She could feel it— the bond. Solid and unyielding as it flowed between the two of them. 

“I’m not scared of this Aelin. If you want me to be the one at the end of that aisle, then I accept. Because there is no one else in this universe I would want to spend the rest of my immortal life with.” He lowered his brow to hers. “I told you before that even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust, I will wait for you. That is still true.” 

She closed her eyes, savouring the closeness of Rowan. “You don’t have to wait anymore.”

Her lips touched his own and it was just as beautiful as the first time. And as Rowan deepened the kiss, she felt that bond pulse between them, she felt their souls entwining and Aelin felt herself shudder at the sheer intensity of it. 

She had absolutely fallen in love with Rowan and she would burn this world to ashes for this… for them. 

[ascottywrites]

AO3 History

That list that I, for some reason, think is valid enough to share. My personal Ao3 History. 

Saddle up. The inner interests of my brain are kind of all over the place. 

The Basement by My_Write_Life (Wip: 25/? | 40,696) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

Stiles doubles back to the Argent’s house to free Erica and Boyd before making it back home. In which Stiles, not forgetting all about Erica and Boyd very much remaining in the basement saves them, Derek and Peter killing Jackson does make him go through the process of rebirth but he is brought back human and not a werewolf. Allison and her family go through the very legal repercussions of abducting three teenagers and Scott and Stiles friendship is put on hold because of that. Derek’s still the alpha.

Strip by Fessst (Wip: 12/? | 54,439) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

"Singletail whip. Your favorite, isn't it?" Red. Stiles felt nauseated as he bent over the bench. Red. The tremble only increased when his wrists and ankles were secured with leather straps. Red. He heard the Dom behind him give a sample crack of the whip in the air. Red. This would likely pierce his skin. So fucking Red. "What's your safeword?" Red. "Stiles?" "The... the stoplights, Sir."

When Your Back’s Against the Wall by A_Diamond, Michicant123 (Complete: one-shot | 11,976) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

Fifteen years ago, the country of Beacon was shaken to its core when three slaves murdered most of the royal Hale family and one of the politically powerful Argents in the course of a single night.

Six years ago, Stiles Stilinski was forced to grow up fast and hard when his dying mother, herself a freed slave, left him at the head of an abolitionist revolution.

Two months ago, beloved princess-to-be Allison Argent was assassinated; three weeks ago, Stiles was caught and charged with her death.

Five hours ago, he was sentenced to serve the remaining Hales—tyrannical King Peter and reclusive Prince Derek—as a slave for the rest of his life. In a palace where the only people who may hate him more than the king are the ever-present family of the woman he’s convicted of murdering, the best he can hope for is that death will only be a few torturous years away.

Caution: swallowing dick may lead to injury - memoirs of a size queen

by

raeupchen (Complete: one-shot | 7,115) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

“Derek, can you give me my phone? I want to document this memorable moment,” Stiles said, before making grabby motions in the direction of his phone. Derek – unable to deny the other man anything – gave him the device before sitting back in his chair. He only raised one eyebrow when he saw what Stiles was up to. Apparently ‘documenting this memorable moment’ meant for Stiles to take a selfie and post it online. He showed Derek the picture with the caption ‘Dick sent me to the ER’.

soulmates tbh by bleep0bleep (Complete: one-shot | 1,423) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated Teen and Up] 

"It’s been five months," Derek says darkly. "Why am I still getting these proposals? You know these are probably all fake marks."

Five months since the paparazzi had snapped that photo of him with the overzealous fan tugging at his shirt, five months since millions of people on the Internet realized that the birthmark revealed was in fact, the mark, five months Derek was inundated by claims from people who desperately wanted him to believe that they were his soul-mate.

Cornerstone by Vendelin for foreverblue_navy (Complete: 6/6 | 83,738) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

Suffering from PTSD, ex-Marine Derek Hale moves back to Beacon Hills to open a bookshop and find a calmer life. That’s where he meets Stiles, completely by accident. Stiles is talkative, charming and curious. Somehow, despite the fact that he’s blind, he’s able to read Derek like no one else.

The Triskelion Mafia - Volume I by JamesAlexander (Complete: 10/10 | 20,834) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

Derek Aletto saw his family being killed in front of him. Years of ruling the underworld of the organized crime were flushed down with the flames and the shot of a gun. Sixteen years later, under the name of the Triskelion Mafia, the family is back, leaded by Derek. He keeps his most trusted people close, for the Argento family is forever watching, trying to usurp Derek's prestige among the hidden world of New York. And everything seems to go according to plan, until the Argentos set an ambush for Derek's consigliere, Lydia Martini, and in the middle of the rush for survival, she ends up bringing Stiles along with her to the family's hideout.

tipping scales by jdphoenix (Complete: 2/2 | 3,810) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: BioSpecialist [Rated Teen and Up] 

An early morning emergency wakes Jemma and Grant.

Slick As A Baby Seal by Faradaze (Wip: 52/? | 131,098) Game Of Thrones: Brimund TarthBane [Rated E]

Tormund is in love/lust. Brienne is repulsed, then intrigued. The story begins shortly after Brienne arrives at Castle Black. This is my interpretation and expansion of the greatest ship that never was. Spoilers for GoT season 6, canon divergent as of season 7.

Rich Man, Poor Man by TyReed (Complete: 10/10 | 58,055) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated M]

During a first date gone horribly wrong, Stiles Stilinksi realizes that the snarky guy he's been asked out by is actually Derek Hale, an heir to Hale Industries, one of the most profitable companies in the entire world. Who is, for whatever reason, interested in the son of a teacher and a cop, a loser who spends all weekend watching movies in his pajamas, and who is also possibly one of the biggest dorks on the Internet.

At the same time, after screwing up their first date horribly, Derek Hale realizes that the funny guy he's asked out is Stiles Stilinksi, the warmest and kindest individual he's ever met in his life, with a family just a loving and caring. Who is, for whatever reason, interested in a guy who screws up everything he does, lacks any semblance of a backbone, and who is possibly one of the biggest history dorks in all of the United States.

These rich and poor men will come to experience a taste of each other's lives, and learn where the real blessings in the world can be found.

Bonds of Blood, Bonds of Family, Bonds of Love by TyReed (Complete: 10/10 | 44,003) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated M]

After being beaten up by a door, werewolf Stiles Stilinksi finds himself bonded to Derek Hale, of the Hale Noble Bloodline. For a scrawny, wimpy, Tainted Bloodline werewolf, Stiles runs away, embarrassed and humiliated as he worries about bringing shame to the Hale Family, and even more shame to himself. Because the Nobles and Tainted just don't mix, never have, never will.

Except, things aren't exactly what they seem.

With the help of the (meddling) Hale family, his adoptive (meddling) human parents John and Claudia Stilinksi, and one very persistent Alpha Derek Hale, Stiles might come to see himself as more than just the blood that runs through his veins, and open his heart to find the happiness, friends, pack, and the family that he'd always wanted.

Matenapped by xcaellachx (Complete: 12/12 | 36,671) Teen Wolf: Sterek [Rated E]

Alpha Derek Hale has known Spark Stiles Stilinski was his mate for over six years. The traumatized Spark had killed the rogue alpha who tried to kill his friend so many years ago and was still scarred by the experience. Now, Stiles was settled in as a magic shop owner and Derek was ready to claim him for his own. The ritual of matenapping was an old but accepted tradition and Derek had his den ready to receive his mate. It was time.

Stiles Stilinski thought Lydia was insane for thinking the sexy alpha wanted to matenap him. He was damaged by his past and determined to stay single so he didn't harm anyone. He kept his magic tightly leashed and couldn't believe that anyone could want him. Not a murderer. Even when the wolf came to see him and touched him gently, winking at him and looking at him longingly, he just couldn't accept it.

Very soon, Stiles wouldn't have a choice but to believe it. Derek was taking his mate and bringing him to his mating den where he would court and woo him until he couldn't help but fall in love with him.

(A/N: This is a lighthearted fic for the most part. This isn't an evil kidnapping/fall in love with your captor type. Not very serious at all, to be honest. Enjoy!)

**I could have sworn I had more eclectic tastes but I guess in 2018 I was firmly about the Sterek.