#knight is explaining some sort of plan or talking about his adventures with Princess and fire spirit is like

[detective-piplup]

I don’t explore enough comedic, dorky and adorable fireknight to balance out the amount of tragedy I see in them. btw do not look at the tags again

[shirorozutriea]

Sing-a-long to the Hexes Song

Day 8: Free Day

 Sing-a-long to the Hexes Song

It wasn’t really uncommon for adventurers to get cursed in one way or another. You could instantaneously be Sleeping Beauty in a matter of days. You could be the beast in Beauty and the Beast if you perform the same thing he did when he was quite young. And while plenty of hexes and curses are somewhat… tolerable, but of course, there’s the type of hexes and curses that would make you feel like the world’s ultimate jester alive.

And who’s fault is that right now… Yang Fucking Xiao Long. Weiss, in all her days living and performing spells and magic, she was never this embarrassed and mad at the same time, at the same person for nearly over a decade.

Weiss was cursed.

And she doesn’t like every single moment she spends her day, mulling over her predicament, while planning a mouthful of hexes and curses for Yang, and trying to keep her mouth shut. Apparently the curse was making her say all the things she wasn’t supposed to say at all. It was like, downing a years worth of truth potion. And she doesn’t like every single word she says. And what’s more aggravating, there was no known cure for it except a some sort of riddle that written it’s way on Weiss’ vision after she got flung by the hex’s power in the catacombs.

Verity is your greatest enemy Melody shall be your guide When hearts collide It will bid their good bye

Lovely.

  “I’m so sorry, Weiss. I didn’t know that thing was hexed.” Apologized Yang, for like the umpteenth time already. Weiss gave her a look. “If you actually keep your hands off where it should really belong, then we will not be in this god fucking forsaken predicament at all!” She hissed. Apparently it also makes her curse like a sailor. Or is it just her pent up emotion talking?

“Can’t you like, uncurse yourself or something?” Yang asked.

“Are you an idiot? You’re lucky you’re beautiful—shut up. As I was saying, haven’t you read that riddle. It can only be undone by, whatever that is.” Said Weiss, biting her tongue at the slip. Yang gave her a cheeky grin.

“You think I’m beautiful?” She teased. Weiss rolled her eyes, but decided that she could take her own medicine. “You, Yang, are one of the most beautiful lady I laid my eyes on. Your bright blond hair glows just like the sun. Your warm lilac eyes, beats any shades of purple. Your voluptuous bod—”

“Ack—fine, I’m sorry. Sheesh. Stop.” Yang squirmed at the compliments, blushing. “An honest Weiss is not a good Weiss at all.” Weiss huffed. “I’m glad we’ve got something to agree on.” Then Weiss did a double take at her words, suddenly blinking at her realization.

Blake then entered the scene, panting and sweaty. She looked at the two and puffed an air before speaking. Which was immediately cut off by Weiss.

“You know even if your sweaty or wearing anything ragged you’re still beautiful as ever. Now it makes sense why people call you the ‘Mystic Beauty’. Please forget about that. Anyway, are you okay?” Weiss asked, trying to sound casual. Blake gaped at the woman, red tinge was visibly present in her cheeks. Yang whistled. “She got you too. Tell me it’s uncomfortable.”

Blake didn’t hesitate. “I’m flattered, but Yang is right.” She said, and was taken aback. “I don’t know what’s weird, me actually agreeing with you or Weiss complimenting me?”

“Hey!” Protested Yang. Weiss giggled at the shadow weaver's remark. “I know right.”

“As I was saying, before I was nicely interrupted. We’ve got some bad news.” She started.

Weiss spoke, jokingly. “And my thing is not already a bad news.” Blake shook her head smiling before turning serious. “Miss Glynda does not have any cure for your hex.”

Weiss opened and closed her mouth, raising her index finger. “Yeah. That is.. bad news indeed.”

Yang gave her a side way hug. “Cheer up, princess. Lest you can be as suave as you can be.” Weiss let out a sigh. “Only you, would love having this hex.”

Yang laughed. “Well, the hex would have probably been mine if you didn’t become a superhero at the last minute.” Weiss groaned at her.

“Because I didn’t know, that the hex is much, much worse than a potent truth potion in all of Remnant. Be glad I became your knight in shining armor, miss damsel in distress.” Weiss didn’t bother to hide the slight sarcasm at the last sentence, yet it still hold some truth on it. And Yang, again, was blushing. Weiss took notice.

“Yang, are you blushing?” Blake addressed the goliath in the room. Yang’s eyes widen and looked away. Weiss smirked mischievously.

“Who would have thought that the brute was actually a real lady behind those magnificent physique of muscles.” Weiss’ smirk stayed on place as Yang became more flushed. Blake looked at the two in amusement.

“You’re having a bit much of fun in this, Weiss.” Blake stated and Weiss puffed her chest. “But of course!”

“Whatever. Let’s get her fixed up. I don’t think I can handle any more of her compliments.” Grumbled Yang. Weiss shrugged and Blake stifle a laugh on her palm.

The three went to their shared house to rest up their already tired muscles. The three was sharing a room of four, but the fourth roommate was nowhere to be found.

“Where's Ruby?” Pondered Blake. Yang shrugged before speaking. "In the Guild. Probably going to hunt something."

"Without us?" Weiss asked. Yang nodded at her. "But why?"

"That.” She answered while pointing a finger at the latter. “I don't know of." Said Yang. Then their door burst open, revealing a panting red clad adventurer. "GUYS GUESS WHAT?!"

"That you finally asked Penny out." Spat Weiss, then she close her mouth as a hand flew on her mouth as her eyes widen. "I.. forget about that. What?"

Ruby dismissed the statement, or she just didn't heard it at all because she was busy giggling and fisting the air. She looked at Weiss and grinned. "I found the maker of the hex! He's here! Downstairs!!"

The three blinked at her and followed their fearless leader downstairs. They saw a man sipping coffee in the coffee table.

"Why isn't it Miss Schnee?" Said the man. Weiss brows met in confusion. "Professor Oobleck?"

The man chuckled and nodded. "Why yes, it is I, Doctor Oobleck." Oobleck gazed at the witch and nodded. "I see you have been hexed by my own magic."

Weiss sputtered, wondering if she should be mad by how nonchalant the doctor sounds like, or just ask the question she had wanted to hear the answer to. She chose the latter. "Do you have any potions or cures for my predicament?" Before Oobleck could answer, Yang butt in. "And why would you have a hexed mirror?"

Oobleck laughed and sipped his coffee. "Good question, Miss Xiao Long. As you may know, I am a doctor and as a doctor, it is my sole purpose to create antidotes, potions and cures for possible sickness and/or hexes and curses around. That hex was made of a failed attempt of a cure. I abandoned it, and maybe the vial that contains the hexed liquid was poured onto that mirror during the quake." Explained Oobleck. Yang was perplexed by the answer. How could someone just act so nonchalantly about all of this?

"As for your question, Miss Schnee. Unfortunately, I do not have a cure for the hex. You see, it is quite a unique type of hex, heavily influenced by the mirror." He stated. Weiss felt her left eye twitch. "The mirror is possessed by a spirit who wasn't able to confess to her true love. So, I'm guessing, and this is a theory. The hex would be under the influence of her grieve of being unable to confess, and so, the hex would be... confess and the curse will be broken. She's giving the person a chance to confess. My, what a good soul."

He fixed his glasses and smiled at Weiss who is now much more paler than her usual pale skin. Her only thought was;

There's no way in Remnant that I will confess to.. to... HER!!

Weiss inwardly panicked, although she was already sweating bullets under her robe and she felt how they turned like droplets of ice on her skin, no doubt was caused by her magic connected to her emotion of being stressed.

"Well! I shall seek my way home. I have to run tests on my potion. Would you like some?" Oobleck asked. The four shook their heads and the man shrugged before making his way out of the house. The three individuals looked at Weiss.

"I rather shut my mouth. Endure this curse, than confess." Stated Weiss, firmly crossing her arms in her chest.

"But it might take a while for a cure to be brewed." Said Ruby in concern. Weiss harrumphed at her and looked away. "I thank you for your concern, my l—goddamit." She cursed herself for almost slipping. "But I'll be fine. I don't know if Yang will be though."

Yang sputtered, blushing. "No! I don't wanna hear any more compliments!" She yelped. Ruby grew confused at her sister's action.

"Compliments?" Asked Ruby.

"The curse makes her say things she doesn't normally say, but it hold truth." Answered Blake. Ruby nodded in understanding.

Weiss cleared her throat and looked at the brunette. “I will see to it that.. this… wretched curse won’t be a bother to our future hunts.”

 Except it did.

 One time, three days after meeting the doctor, they went for a hunt. A hunt is a job adventurers do to make some money. But, rather calling it a mission or a job, it was chosen to be called a hunt for some unknown reasons. Now onto that hunt, they were tasked to fight some Fire-Breathing Runner Lizards. And this lizards are tall. Like, ten foot tall. Needless to say, it proved quite hard to defeat the fire breathing specimen.

 There were a lot of running, and so, of course, a lot of sweating. Now Weiss was a hundred percent sure that she won’t have a gay panic anytime soon. But seeing three of her attractive teammates sweating and attractively wiping a sheen of sweat, made her think twice. But when her eyes landed on the hard rock abs her leader is sporting, well… there was a flurry of red reaching to her ears and a very well-detailed describing of said voluptuous, well-made, mouth watering abs. Needless to say, Weiss was only millimeter away into digging a hole and burying herself in pure embarrassment.

 And now this time, a week after the first, is when they are tasked by Doctor Oobleck to find him some Rainbow Frogs inside dark, creepy caverns. Doctor Oobleck even insist to them to take his pouch and put some clothes in it, because according to him, “There is a possible hundred percent chance that you might need some extra clothes.” And oh yes, they do indeed need spare clothes.

 As if everything was a com-fantasy anime, ironically, the caves were home to one vicious nightmare(Weiss words after reading about them). The one and only Strip Slime. Yes, you read that right folks, I also can't believe it(did I watched or read too many of these anime cliché?).

 Yang was the first victim.

 As they were walking, Yang was complaining(second to Weiss) about feeling slimy and slippery. There was no light or fire magic on, they simply forgot that they have a mage and a fire user in their group. Then Yang soon complain of being cold.

 “Maybe that’s why we need clothes. It’s so chilly in here.” Said Yang.

 “Don’t be absurd, Yang. It's not that cold.” Weiss rebut. Yang smirked at her, although Weiss wasn’t able to see it. “Or is it because, the cold doesn’t bother you anyway?”(Yes, I sang that in my head..)

 Weiss rolled her eyes. They heard Yang sneeze and the three stood in alert and wonder. Yang’s teeth chattered as they go. Then Weiss had enough.

 With a flick of her wrist, let there be light, and there was light. A small ball of light, three of them, soon came floating. It lit the path they had been trekking on and Weiss inwardly face palmed for not thinking of using her magic sooner. Weiss felt that Yang was about to say something about her magic when she held out a palm to stop her and look at her—oh. Yang is naked. Yang is naked??!

 Weiss let out a high pitched shriek, flailing her arms around like a flappy bird before putting her hands in her eyes, but her fingers were a bit parted.

 “Sweet mother of Oum!! What a fine specimen—oh fuck!! Yang, you’re naked!” Weiss stammered. The remaining two looked at Yang wide eyed in surprise. Yang looked down.

 “Oh, I’m naked… I’m naked…” The cogs on her brain seemed to slowly move. Then her eyes widen and gaped down at her. “OH OUM I’M NAKED!!”

 Weiss flicked her wrist letting the glowing orbs float on different direction and saw eerily familiar blob of gooey slime. Weiss inwardly shiver and gulp.

 “Don’t make a sudden move.” Weiss said in a hushed tone. The three stiffen at her words. Weiss silently grabbed the pouch that the doctor had given them and flicked her wrist. Yang’s spare clothes came flying and magically fitting itself to the blonde’s body with a flick of Weiss’ wrist. Weiss continued her warning. “They're sensitive to movement.”(kudos to people who gets the reference)

 “Why are we whispering?” Questioned Ruby, as silent as she could.

 “I thought their sensitive to movements?” Seconded Yang, her eyes darting around the bouncy blobs of slimes.

 “I don’t know too.” Weiss answered truthfully. Blake glanced at her. “Do you know how to avoid them?” Weiss took a deep breathe and exhaled.

 “When I say run, run.” Exhaled Weiss. The three just looked at the mage wide eyed, realization creeping in, that even their resident smart mage knows nothing to avoid or possibly petrify the slimes.

 Weiss eyes then flickered to the rest of the cavern and gulp as her wrist twitch in anticipation. She breathes in and let's out, “Run!!”

 The four ran like they are in a marathon. Like a stampede of buffalos running through canyons with the slimes bouncing from wall to wall, catching up to them. The whole cavern was filled with panic screams and squeals as they scampered around the dirt. Weiss was cursing.

 “Fuck!! Of all the creatures to be gifted existence in this fucking whole wide world of Remnant. Motherfucking strip slimes had to be the fucking one!!” Hissed Weiss. Her wrist twisting, index and middle finger drawn as light emerges on her fingertips, scrawling out runes. “Even if people like Yang who has a nice body, as well as Blake and Ruby, will be stripped off by these miracle makers. I wouldn’t mind gawking.”

 Yang screamed back, her face red from embarrassment. “NOW’S NOT THE TIME, WEISS!!”

 Weiss screamed in return. “TELL THAT TO THIS STUPID CURSE!!!” Suddenly, glyphs appeared over Weiss that proceeds to shoot ice shards towards the slimes.

 Weiss closed her eyes and screamed to high heavens. “CAN THIS GET ANY MORE WORSE!!??”

  To answer the question, yes. Yes, it could get any more worse than getting chased by a cloth-eating slime disaster. They were stuck in the cave. Luckily for them, at the end of the cavern were piles of unused metal scraps are lying around that were made to become a wall slash shield from the crazy slimes.

 “Weiss, are you really sure there is no way we could get rid of those… whatever those things..” Asked Yang, looking warily at the magic-made wall.

 “For the umpteenth time, Yang, there is no possible way of ridding those pesky little stripping miscreants.” Hissed Weiss, running her temple angrily. “And well, what are the odds that they would eat Yang’s clothes like it’s a snack… well she is a snack—I give up..”

 Yang sighed and looked away. Ruby just stared at Yang, then to Weiss. “Are you attracted to… Yang?” Weiss visibly hear something from behind her words. A certain tone that says jealousy. But that can’t be right, right?

 Weiss closed her eyes and deeply let out a defeated breath. She looked at the brunette and weakly smiled. “You want the honest truth?” Ruby nodded. “I find all of you painstakingly attractive. By far you all, are the most gorgeously attractive women I’ve ever met, aside from the other girls I know.”

 The three blushed at the admission. But Weiss was so tired she couldn’t stop. “I’ll have to admit, there are actually many of times that I had found myself gay panicking every time one of you walk by with only a shirt and an underwear inside our little quaint home.”

 “And you know what… I may or may not have a genuine interest on one of you..” Now Weiss was proud that she didn’t actually blurt out who she really like, but nevertheless it was the truth. “Admittedly so, I had a crush on the three of you. Had.”

 The three were rendered speechless. Their mouth agape, well Yang is. They couldn’t believe what had gone out from their friends mouth. Yang was the first to talk.

 “So.. does that mean… the person you like is one of us?” Asked Yang. Oh Weiss actually didn’t thought of that part. Oh no.

 Weiss grimaced and huffed. “Maybe.”

 After a beat of silence of silence, they heard a certain familiar splash of liquid body from behind. Weiss was the first to notice the blob of gooey green slime. Weiss muttered a chant and a red glyph appeared from behind the three and shoot a large fireball to the little ‘innocent’ blob.

 It disintegrated.

 Oh.

 Weiss looked at the melted body of the slime and observed it. There’s a possibility that it may put itself back together to regenerate. She stared. Nothing. Thank Oum. Weiss grinned and grabbed her little notepad and wrote the little interesting discovery of a certain weakness of the stripping monstrosity.

 “Now that we know what their weakness is, I guess we can go out from this hell hole.” Weiss stated in triumph, as if she just didn’t admitted a rather embarrassing confession to her friends.

 “But we haven’t found what we were looking for.” Queried Blake.

 Ruby raise a tentative hand. “I may or may not have already gotten some on our way running in here. They were just sticking around on the walls when I saw them.” She showed a transparent cage, the specimen, Rainbow Frogs were in sight.

 Yang grinned triumphantly and smacked the back of the brunette making her cough as the former gave her a thumbs up, where she replied with a weak smile.

 “Now let’s go!”

   “Excellent job, ladies! Now I have enough to brew a cure for your recent predicament, Miss Schnee!” Announced the doctor.

 Weiss did a double take and grinned. “That is excellent news, Doctor!” Now she can be free from this wretched curse.

 “But I’m afraid that it would take longer than usual to brew it.” The doctor said dejectedly. Weiss blinked and looked at him. He noticed the gaze. “You see, Miss Schnee. I have recently found the formula for the cure, they were just around the shelves of my home. And I noticed that the ingredients are more or less hybrids of plants that I had made which is another matter of a problem.”

 He held up a finger and exhaled. “They could take months to prepare.” Ended Oobleck.

 Weiss stood gaping at the doctor. She felt faint. Does this mean… I’m going to be like this… FOREVER?!!

 Weiss is clearly traumatized.

 The group had to grab the silver haired woman who stood frozen stiff in front of the doctor not moving at all. That got them worried so they carried the statue of a woman back to their home. They laid her down on her bed and left her staring in the ceiling.

 The three went down, worried for their friend’s mental health. Although, Weiss was the least to be affected by any types of trouble that would definitely made one insane, this one may took a huge toll on Weiss’ self. And it probably did.

   “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHHHGHHHGHGG!!!!”

 They heard her shout. No doubt it would be heard from outside their very own home. Panicked, the three jumped from where they are. Ruby fell from the sofa, groaning and holding her side. Blake jumped, very high, and found herself perched on the ceiling, claws outstretched. Meanwhile, Yang tripped spilling water everywhere, and she slipped when she stepped on it, her behind hitting the floor. They heard a clambering of feet upstairs and saw Weiss running down, red faced.

 “What happened to you guys?” Weiss asked, as she noticed the three. Ruby held out a hand and signed okay, Blake fell down in a hiss and Yang groaned, letting herself fall on the floor.

 Blake was the first one to recover. “And you? Are you okay? You screamed.” She stated. Weiss ran a hand to her face and huffed heavily.

 “I’m tired. And I think the whole world is plotting against me, giving me this…” Her arms flail around, gesturing. “… thing, telling me to confess already!”

 Yang stood up, rubbing her behind. “Maybe that's not a bad idea. I mean, you’ve been single for like, what? Almost six years, Weissy. And your last relationship was with…”

 “Coco, I know.” Weiss sighed and shake her head. “But… I don’t know.. I feel like she won’t reciprocate my feelings.”

 Yang scoffed. “C’mon Weiss. As if anyone can resist you.” Weiss looked at her. “Honestly speaking. Although, I don’t like you in that way, cuz I like someone else you know and they're pretty—shutting up now. Anyways, whoever the lucky girl is, I’m sure they’ll like you back and if not, well it’s their loss.”

 Weiss smiled at her. “Thanks, Yang.” Yang grinned and have her a thumbs up. “Just a question though, it’s not me right?” Weiss chuckled and shook her head.

 “No. You're more of a colossal dolt than she is.” Hinted Weiss. Blake caught on this. “You said that you have taken an interest in one of us.. can I take a guess?” Blake asked.

 Weiss sighed in defeat and let out a weak grin. “Knowing you, there will be no second guess.” Blake smirked at this.

 “Let's see, it wouldn’t be Yang because I don't think you would want a pun master spouting jokes all around the place… all day.” Yang gaped and protested at the notion. “It could possibly me, but you know my preference and you still continue to tease and push me to her, so that's a no… and so that left is..” Blake deliberately trailed off, her gaze fixing to Ruby.

 “Ruby.”

 She dropped the bomb.

 Ruby flailed her arms around and vehemently shake her head. “That couldn't be! W-Weiss? Like likes me?!! No way!!” Ruby put her arms in front of her and from a cross.

 “What makes you say that?” Questioned Blake. Ruby stopped flailing and laughed nervously. “I mean, that can’t be right… Weiss is.. she deserves more, a-and… I don’t think I fit the bill.”

 “Weiss is the heiress, the master of magic, a goddess and many more… while I’m just—me, and nothing more. I’m a dolt.. I could be annoying, and my past relationships do say so… I can’t be worthy of her…” Ruby whimpers as she had taken an interest on her shoes, wriggling her toes.

   “What's that suppose to mean?”

 Ruby looked up to see Weiss glaring at her, cheeks dusted with red, a frown of displeasure etched on her lips. Weiss step forward to Ruby, and Ruby almost melt at the sheer intensity of her glare.

 “You? Not worthy of me? Ruby, I beg to differ.” Weiss took a deep breathe and exhaled. “You are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. You had become the light that shed away the darkness crawling deep within me. You helped me when I fell over and when I thought that I could do everything and anything on my own. You held me when I need a shoulder to lean on. You even saved me from my bastard of a father, which you didn’t have to do, and yet you still did because you care.”

 “Your stubbornness became your charm. Your cheery personality became my light. Your determination became my strength. Everything you are and everything you do is something I always admire and now… I’ve come to love it.”

 In the middle of Weiss’ speech. Yang and Blake had already snuck out to give them privacy, while Ruby just stared at her, wide eyed and jaw ajar. She listened to her. Absorbing the weight of her confession. Does that mean, she really like her? HER? Ruby Rose? The person she really abhor disliking to—well, used to. She, Ruby ‘effin Rose?

 The circuits on her brain fried.

 “And your beautiful mouth that I really want to kiss, had the audacity to tell me that you don’t deserve me? Me?! Heck, I don’t even deserve you! What did I do on my past life to have you in my life? How did I became so lucky to have you literally stumbling into my life?”

 Ruby zoned out by the time she heard the word kiss coming from her crush’s mouth.

 “How did you became the most annoying pain in my ass to the most endearing, lovable, extraordinary, gorgeous woman that I want to live with for the rest of my life? I don’t know, it just did. You are just that.. deeply engraved, into my life.”

 Weiss was crying now. Ruby woke up from her reverie and cautiously approached the mage. When Weiss didn't show any protest, she raised her hand to brush the tears away from her cheek, resting it there as the alabaster woman leaned on the hand with her own darting to rest on the back of Ruby’s hand. She sighed.

 “You changed me, for the better, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. You became the light to my darkest days, you shine so bright I almost think you're not real. That you are just a pigment of my imagination, a dream—and if this is a dream…” Weiss sobbed. “… then I don’t wanna wake up..”

 Weiss’ hand gripped at the hand in her cheek and closes her eyes, exhaling a shaky breathe. She opened her eyes and stared at the silvery pools staring back at her.

 “I love you, Ruby Rose. From the bottom of my hypothalamus. And more.”

 Ruby couldn’t believe what she had heard. Or if she's even hearing it right. She had always thought that Weiss wouldn’t like her the same way she had always like her—love her. She would just, daydream about the day she and Weiss would be together. It didn’t occur to her that it would actually happen. But now, Weiss has confessed to her. Admittedly it was because of the curse, but she still confessed. And she still couldn't believe it.

 “Y-you lo-love me?” She stuttered. Her tongue darting to wet her lips. “Are you r-really serious?”

 Weiss smiled lovingly to her. And she swore her heart swoon. “I do. I always have. Ever since you stayed as my friend in the academy.”

 Ruby choke back a sob, tears pricking her eyes. “I’m not dreaming right?” Weiss shook her head ‘no’. Ruby smiled with tears freely flowing to her cheeks.

 Weiss held the hand on her cheek, while the other wiped the tears away. She closed the gap between them and kissed her forehead, longer to stress the fact that she had love her so. When she broke away, she looked at those eyes that she also fell in love with.

 “I love you, Ruby—”

 Weiss went unfinished when a sudden soft lips pressed timidly on her own. She stood there in shock. Blinking owlishly at the sudden movement. And just move goddamit!! Weiss leaned in, reciprocating the now filled with more passion, less timid kiss. While Weiss half-brain complained about the difference in height, the other half was praising the heavens that she actually had a kiss with her long time crush. Weiss felt an arm snaking to her waist, pulling her flush against the adventurer, while the other cradle her head. Likewise, she darts her arms around the brunette’s neck, twiddling the shorter ends of her hair at the back of her neck. She then felt a tongue dart to lick her lips, biting it softly, causing a moan to bubble on her throat. But the moan was effectively muffled when Ruby’s tongue entered the mouth that wasn’t hers.

 Oh my gosh! I’m kissing Weiss!!!

 Oh Oum!! I’m being French kissed by Ruby!!

 The two inevitably parted, their chest burning, both due to the lack of air and from the intense passion of their kiss. The two could only stare at each other. Admiring what they actually had done to the other.

 Weiss is flushed. Her cheeks deep red, panting, eyes clouded with love and lust, dilating. Ruby on the other hand, her once bright silver eyes are now darkened, her tongue grazing her lips again as she stared back and forth to Weiss’ lips and eyes.

 “I—so that happened..” Breathed Ruby. She looked at her—now lover in the eyes. “Wanna do it again?”

 “Please.”

   “So I'm guessing, you both are okay? No more hex?” Asked Yang, as she and Blake re-entered their home.

 “I think the hex is already gone by the time I said.. erm…” Weiss muttered awkwardly. Her hand squeezing her girlfriend’s hand. “I said that..”

 Yang nodded in understanding. “Congrats, you two.” She said. Weiss nodded a ‘thank you’, a smile etched its way to her lips. Yang saw this and visibly relaxed.

 “Now that you had already resolved your thirst…” A couple of ‘hey” was heard. “Are you two going out on a date now?”

 The two looked at each other, as if speaking in telepathy to each other. Weiss timidly nod while Ruby grinned. “We will. The both of us. Although, we haven’t decided when, but most certainly will.”

 Yang hummed and leaned on the sofa. “Well, hex problem solved! Now, what?” Weiss’ eyes darted to Blake. She then looked at Yang. Ruby noticed this and put two and two together.

 “Sis. How about I offer you something?” Proposed Ruby. Yang perked up at this. “Whatsit?” Ruby grinned, Yang didn’t noticed the hidden message behind it. “How about we give you some ‘space’? You know, to ‘think’ things through?” She cleared her throat and slyly looked at Blake. “With Blake, of course.”

 Yang’s eyes widen considerably and sputtered. Weiss glanced at her lover and gave her an appreciative look. Ruby understood. Weiss stood up and held Ruby’s hand as they march to the door, leaving two lovebirds alone. The blond blushing, and the raven confused.

 “Now, if you will excuse us. We have a date to go to.” She looked at Yang and smirked. “Ciao~”

 Yang wasn’t sure if she prefers the hexed Weiss or the Weiss now. But the former sounds easy to deal with than the latter.

  Notes:

Well, I said I was going to continue this one. So, here you go.

I wanna make Weiss gay panic around her friends soooo, hehe.

This was the Curse I was supposed to make and boom.

[taiblogcomics]

Star-Crossed

Hey there, applewood-smoked bacon jerky. Oh boy, we're getting into the really cool Pony comics now. Let's do this one first, mostly because it's so big. Last week was issue 74, and this week would logically be issue 75. Wow, can you imagine 75 whole issues? That's a milestone for sure, and the comic agrees. That's why the issue is an absolutely huge prestige format book. And being IDW's 20th anniversary, too, that makes it really a milestone to celebrate~

Here's the cover. Well, part of it:

Yeah, this is only the front cover. It's actually a wrap-around cover, with the other characters on the back cover. I chose to put only the front half for a couple reasons. One, because putting the back cover on the left while the logo is on the right just didn't look right. Two, you're still not going to see the back cover when it's on the shelf or in a collection. The front cover is the selling point, so that's what we'll look at. And it's a very nice stained-glass look. Rather than betray the story, the cover opts to just celebrate the main characters for its milestone, and that's respectable~

The comic opens with a long-ago battle with Discord. Princesses Celestia and Luna are in resplendant armour, and joined by Queen Novo of the hippogriffs, the cat queen of the Abyssinians, and even that deer king of the Everfree that I don't remember the name of. Everything's going nuts, and the wonderful combination of Andy Price's art and Discord's magic is a treat to look at. However, when confronted, Discord bleats out that "It's not me this time!", and indeed some other being appears on the horizon. Discord and the five monarchs team up and combine their magic (in a display vaguely reminiscent of the Elements of Harmony) to banish this mysterious intruder. The magic and the creature dissipate. When Celestia then demands an explanation from Discord, he puts them all to sleep, saying he can't let anyone remember what happened here. He leaves them an apology cake as well, which is nice.

Cut over to the present day, where the mane six are out at a bazaar or rummage sale of some kind. Rarity's found some sort of necklace, with a stone that not even she nor Twilight can identify. Rarity offers it to Twilight, since the purple matches with her colour scheme, and that's when things get weird. No sooner is it around Twilight's neck does a mysterious voice boom out "FIND THE REST". A voice only she can hear, no less. After a quick reconvening back at the castle, it seems only Twilight can hear the voice, no matter who wears it. Fluttershy is the voice of reason here, suggesting that maybe wearing jewelry that talks to you in a voice nopony else can hear is a bad idea. But that's when the necklace suddenly starts projecting a map. Not just any map, though: it's a star map.

The star map interacts with the Cutie Map in Twilight's castle, showing a projection of the sky and then several objects falling from said sky and impacting with the map of Equestria. There are also a bunch of space-related shout-outs in the star map, and if you recognise them all, you're a bigger nerd than I. Also, the display of the celestial objects impacting Equestria is one of those two-page spreads you have to turn on its side, which is especially difficult with the stiffer prestige-format cover. Anyway, all that aside, Twilight identifies the celestial objects not making Star Trek references as the Andalusian Constellation, a lost constellation that appeared from the sky centuries ago (gonna go out on a limb and guess probably "a thousand years ago"), and then disappeared just as quickly. The origins of both its appearance and disappearance are one of the greatest mysteries in Equestrian astronomy, so Twilight is eager to solve it.

Now, I should note that every time the necklace starts whispering to Twilight, her eyes go a bit... weird. Wobbly and bright pink. So I'm sorry to tell you that everypony's hopes that this will just be a nice, safe adventure about astronomical research are probably going to be dashed rather spectacularly. And indeed, after the rest of her friends depart to make travel plans, Twilight ends up snapping at Spike for daring too close to the necklace, unleashing one of Andy Price's legendary Scary Character Faces, a fan favourite of this blog that we haven't talked about in some time. Once Spike clears out, it is indeed revealed that something's not quite right here. Twilight is being possessed through the necklace by some sort of malevolent entity, one sharing a silhouette and name with the creature banished in the prologue...

Speaking of said prologue, we get another brief scene of probably a thousand years ago, with the same spooky silhouette rampaging. It seems that Discord could even have been in a relationship with this mysterious Cosmos, and now he's looking to break up with her the only way he can think of: by bringing it before Celestia and making it her problem. Real mature, Discord. Anyway, back in the present, the teams and travel plans have all been... planned. Since it's such a big undertaking (both the quest and the milestone comic), there's gonna be some cameo teamups. Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh will go to Klugetown. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Spike are off to the Crystal Empire. Zecora and the Crusaders are headed to Griffonstone, while Fluttershy and Angel Bunny are going to scour the Everfree Forest. And finally Twilight herself will take Applejack with her to Canterlot. And when they each recover the fallen stars, bring them back to Twilight. She literally demands it.

We follow that latter team first. Twilight and Applejack ride the train to Canterlot, and Twilight begins to report that her necklace is detecting where the next nearest star fragment is. Despite AJ's concerns, Twilight leads her to the castle. Without even telling the princesses they're there, they head into a secret basement. This is apparently where Celestia stores all the dangerous things she doesn't want lying around the castle, and there's a few more cameos littered in the backgrounds here. The nature of some of this stuff starts to make Applejack even more suspicious, and when she reaches for the necklace, Cosmos drops the facade of being Twilight and attacks AJ. After a short (but really cool) fight, AJ ends up locked in a cage while Cosmos claims her prize.

Since the Everfree Forest is not too far from Fluttershy's place, she has time to stop at home and prepare there, unlike the rest of the teams. Discord's already visiting, and he tries to tempt Fluttershy off to some fantastical adventure. When she explains she's already on one, to find a fallen star, he suddenly begins to panic--especially when he finds out Twilight's already found one of the others. Rather than the Everfree, he warps the both of them to his realm. To Discord's credit, he then tells her exactly what's going on: Cosmos was a magical being like himself, but much more actively malicious. She was imprisoned in the stars, which fell to Equestria to keep them apart. He found the one in the Everfree and hid it himself, to keep it away from anyone else. Fluttershy is understanding, but reasons with him that perhaps they'd better bring the matter to Celestia.

Discord agrees, and the pair retrieve the star from the Everfree, just to further ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of some villain later on. They then warp to Canterlot--Discord's powers really cut down on travel time--where Celestia is waiting for them. Failing their spot check, Twilight grabs the star from them and tosses it to Luna. Now there's three stars, each possessing one of the princesses with a piece of Cosmos' consciousness. Yes, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna are all speaking in unison and getting flirty with Discord. Half of Cosmos being reunited has begun to bring back enough power to start warping the area around them, and Cosmos begins discussing her new takeover with Discord. Discord, however, declines, having reformed since they were last together. Cosmos is deeply displeased to hear he plans to oppose her. So, to distract him, she zaps Fluttershy with some sort of spell to give him something else to worry about, while Cosmos waits for her remaining fragments to return to her...

First of all, congratulations to My Little Pony for reaching 75 issues! It’s very rare to see a comic book reach such a high number nowadays, especially one based on a licensed property. Everyone who’s worked on this series to get it here should be very proud! I’m pretty sure I said the same sort of sentiment fir the 50th issue, and now it’s even more true~

Now then: here’s yet another villain of ages past come to wreak havoc on modern day Equestria, as they so often do. If it was anyone other than Discord, I’m not sure I’d buy the whole memory spell that he used to make them forget the incident, but Discord’s powers can suspend any disbelief. Either way, Cosmos is scary. I know Nightmare Knights just introduced Eris as another sort of “malevolent counterpart to Discord”, but Cosmos sells it way better in her flashback scenes. Additionally, when you finally get to see her in full glory at the end of the issue, she’s way scarier than a big pink anthro bird. And her being able to take over the princesses so easily is highly chilling. Of course, this is also all helped by Andy Price’s art, which continues to knock it out of the park as always~

Whatever she’s up to, we’ll just have to see if the heroes can handle it next issue. I know I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully another 75 more~

[prissyhalliwell]

Summary: Mr. Gold has been working for the dinner theatre company “The Enchanted Forest” for years, performing the same boring show every weekend. Nothing has ever changed, until Belle French joins the cast to play its princess.

~ Winner of Best Mr. Gold in the 2016 TEA Awards ~  Read on AO3

Chapter One I Chapter Two I Chapter Three I Chapter Four I Chapter Five I Chapter Six I Chapter Seven I Chapter Eight I Chapter Nine I Chapter Ten I  

Chapter Summary: An emergency during the show forces Belle and Gold to put their improvisation skills to the test. 

Chapter Eleven

The kissing was driving him nuts.

Gold glared as Jefferson and Belle exchanged a kiss onstage, receiving cheers and whistles from the crowd.

It was a quick kiss, barely a peck on the lips. But that didn’t stop Gold from wanting to rip the other man’s head off.

The kiss wasn’t anything new. It had always been part of the show. As someone who had been acting for a long time, he knew it was just part of the scene. It didn’t necessarily mean anything.

Of course, Regina had met Robin that way, but that was an outlier. Just because Belle was smiling didn’t mean she had personally enjoyed that kiss anymore than all the others she’d exchanged with every other good-looking man in the cast.

Or at least, that’s what he reminded himself for the dozenth time, as he continued to glare daggers at Jefferson’s back.

It had only been the last couple weeks that it had started to bother him that Belle regularly kissed some of his coworkers. As the villain of the show, Gold knew he would never be on the receiving end of one of those kisses.

In fact, it was his death that led to the kiss each evening. After defeating him on the battlefield, the triumphant knight would meet the princess onstage, telling her of his success and proclaiming that it had all been done out of love for his kingdom and his princess.

The king would appear afterwards, congratulating the knight on his victory and giving his blessing for the two to marry. The princess and knight would exchange a kiss and the show would end, the cast gathering onstage a few minutes later for their curtain call.

It was all fairy straightforward, even if the timing leading up to it was a bit tricky. Once Gold’s character was defeated on the arena floor, the lights would drop and he, the knight, and the knight’s squire, Henry, would quickly exit through a tunnel that led backstage. While he and Henry would take the horses back to the stables, the knight would dash up the backstage stairs in order to make his appearance on the stage moments later.

The stable hands were waiting at the end of the tunnel, so Gold was always back by the time the kiss took place. In the past, he’d always taken those few minutes to relax before curtain call. But for some reason, he’d begun watching the end of the show recently, for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely.

He pushed away the annoying voice in his head that told him exactly why he was upset. It also reminded him that if he wasn’t so stubborn, he could easily be kissing Belle offstage any time he wanted.

Gold grit his teeth and turned away from the stage. He knew he was being irrational, but it was getting harder and harder to listen to logic these days.

The truth was he wanted Belle. He wanted her so much it drove him half mad some days.

She had brought new energy into the theatre, breathing fresh life into his world. Her presence had made the same old routine exciting and fresh again. Playing opposite her was exhilarating.

Even offstage, he liked nothing better than her company. She was witty and clever and beautiful and…young. While he’d been aware of the age gap between them, it had taken seeing her yearbook photograph for it to truly sink in.

And sink in it had. It had lodged itself deep in his brain, wedged in among all the other insecurities he’d had for decades.

Despite what Belle and probably half the cast believed, he wasn’t ignorant of her interest in him. However, he also knew that any feelings she might have for him were based off an idealized version of himself that he could never measure up to.

He wasn’t young or adventurous. He tripped over his words more times than he could count, especially around Belle. The man she actually liked was the charismatic chancellor who had inspired her to act. He was just…Gold.

If they did get together, she’d see that soon enough. Milah had certainly wasted no time in moving on to greener pastures once she’d realized he wasn’t what she’d wanted. While he had no fear that Belle would cheat on him as Milah had, the eventual outcome would be no different. Belle would realize her mistake and she would leave him. If that happened, he knew he wouldn’t have the courage to continue working with her every day, knowing he hadn’t been enough for her.

No, it was better to keep things as they were. Belle’s infatuation would eventually wain and she’d find someone more worth her while.

As long as it wasn’t Jefferson, he thought grumpily. Gold could endure a lot, but even he had his limits.

“Speaking of,” he thought moodily as he saw Regina walking towards him, a familiar gleam in her eyes that set alarm bells off in his head.

He held his hands up. “Whatever it is you’ve come to taunt me about, I’m not in the mood.”

Regina pretended to look offended. “When have I ever…” She trailed off, unable to suppress a grin. “Oh alright, guilty as charged. But you can hardly blame me for trying to have a little fun.” She gestured to her very large belly. “There’s only so much trouble I can get up to right now.”

“Counting down the days?” Gold asked.

She groaned. “Feels more like years, but yes.” She nodded towards the stage. “Are they almost done?”

“Just a few more minutes,” he said, his attention once again drawn back to Belle.

Regina followed his gaze. Noticing her interest, Gold quickly dropped his eyes.

Seeing the smile on her face, he realized he hadn’t been fast enough.

“So, what’s going on with you and the princess these days?”

He cleared his throat. “Nothing. We’re just friends, as you well know.”

Regina let out a bark of laughter. “For a smart man, you can be incredibly stupid sometimes. If it was any more obvious how you feel about her, it would be tattooed on your forehead.” She pointed towards Belle. “And you’d have to be blind to miss the way she looks at you.”

He frowned. “Looks at me?”

“Oh come now, Gold. Even you’re not that dense.” Regina caught his eye and her smirk fell. “Oh god, you’re really that dense, aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “Sometimes I wish I were.”

She frowned, and Gold sighed, realizing he’d have to explain.

“You’ve know the type of person I am, Regina.” He gestured helplessly at himself.  “How could I possibly be enough for her?”

Regina raised her eyebrows. “Gold, that girl worships you like the sun shines out your ass!”

He made an inarticulate growl. “That’s just it! She thinks I’m some sort of dashing knight who always sweeps in and saves the day.”

Regina snorted. “I don’t think she’s that delusional.” Her expression softened a moment later. “I don’t think Belle is under any illusions about you, Gold. She likes the real you, bumbling idiot that you are.” She gave his arm a quick squeeze. “Now you just have to see if you can accept yourself or not.”

He cleared his throat, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the entire conversation. “When did you get so wise?”

“Apparently it comes with being a mother.” Regina placed a protective hand on her stomach. “Or at least, I hope it does.”

“You’ll do great,” he said, his voice a bit thick. “You’ve always taken care of me, after all.”

Regina waved off his comment, but he could see how much it pleased her. “Well, you’re just an overgrown baby, so it’s not - “ She paused, clutching her stomach and wincing. “Speaking of babies…”

Gold’s eyes grew wide. “Is it coming? What should I do?” He racked his brain for any memory of what people in the movies did in this kind of situation. “Boiling water and towels, right?”

Regina just stared at him. “I’m fine, moron. I’m not due for another two weeks.” She gave him a level look. “But seriously, if I do go into labor, will you do me a favor?”

Gold nodded. “Anything.”

“Run in the opposite direction.”  

The cue for the curtain call played, and he was saved from having to reply. He gratefully ran off, leaving Regina to berate his intelligence to herself.

The next few hours flew by, letting Gold push his conversation with Regina to the back of his mind. With two shows on Sundays, there was very little time between when the matinee’s audience left and the evening crowd arrived.

There was always the danger of running through the second show on autopilot, but Gold always tried to give it his best.

Even so, he was glad to be finished with the fight that night. As experienced as he was with the routine, it was still physically challenging to go through twice in one day.

He, Henry, and Robin had just stepped offstage and into the tunnel with the horses when their stage manager, Isaac, ran up to them in a panic.

“Regina’s in labor!” he hissed, careful to keep his voice down that close to the stands. “Her water broke backstage!”

Robin stood in shock for a moment before leaping into action. He tossed his sword to Henry and took off down the tunnel, going the opposite direction of the stage where he was due to appear at any moment.

“Wait!” Isaac cried helplessly, taking off after Robin, no doubt hoping to convince him to finish the final scene before going to his wife’s side.  

Gold and Henry turned to stare at one other.

“How do you feel about playing a knight?” Gold asked.

Henry paled slightly, clutching the reins of Robin’s horse, Arrow. “I think I’d rather stick to the horses, if that’s alright.”

Gold sighed. He couldn’t really blame the kid. There wasn’t time to come up with any kind of plan. In less than a minute, Belle would be stuck on stage talking to herself.

He handed Ogre’s reins to Henry. “Looks like I’m about to make a miraculous recovery.”

Without waiting for a response, he raced down the tunnel and towards the stairs that would take him up to the stage.

He had some improvisation to do.

Reaching the entrance, he took a few deep breaths, not wanting to rush onstage out of breath. He still wasn’t exactly sure how they were going to pull this off, but he hoped Belle would be up for the challenge.

After all, wasn’t this what they had been asking for a chance to do?

In a moment of inspiration, he grabbed a cane off the wall and stumbled onto the stage, favoring one leg heavily as he dragged the other behind him, leaning on the cane for support.

Belle’s mouth fell open at the sight of him. After a moment’s pause, she rushed forward. “You’re alive?”

“Of course!” He looked out at the crowd, giving them a toothy grin. “It was only a flesh wound.”

That got a laugh out of the audience, as he had predicted. If he could keep them laughing, perhaps they wouldn’t notice or care that the end of the show made no sense whatsoever.

“Where is my brave knight?” Belle asked, still looking at him like he was completely insane.

“You mean, him?” Gold waved his hand dismissively at the field below. “He beat me in our sword fight, but I persevered in the end. My hidden dagger made quick work of him.”

“Your hidden dagger?”

“Yes, it is extremely efficient at getting the job done,” Gold said proudly. “And uh, very pointy.”

Belle’s mouth trembled, but she managed to keep a straight face. Her gaze flicked down to his trousers. “It’s amazing that you manage to conceal it so well.”

Before he could reply, she turned away. “However, that does not excuse your conduct here today. You have betrayed our kingdom. What possible excuse could you have for doing something so vile?”

He hesitated. What possible motivation could the chancellor have – apart from the obvious need for power – that the audience would believe? They needed to wrap up the scene so they could finish the show, but they couldn’t do that without giving the crowd some kind of resolution, perhaps even a happy ending, if possible.

At this point though, he wasn’t picky. He’d settle for any ending, as long as it worked.

He cleared his throat, letting his real anxiety show for the audience. “I didn’t do it for love of my kingdom, princess.”

She snorted. “That much is obvious.”

“But I did do it for love.”

Belle spun to look at him, actual surprise on her face. She didn’t know where he was going with this scene, not that he really knew too well either. He only hoped she’d catch on soon.

Otherwise, they were in real trouble.

“I did it for love of my princess.” He took a couple steps closer, drawing on his real feelings for her as he spoke.

Belle looked stunned. “For – for me?”

He nodded, walking up to her until they were only inches apart. “I couldn’t stand to see one of those worthless knights win your heart. I thought if I could offer you an empire to rule over, you might find me worthy enough.”

Belle’s smile was so brilliant, he almost couldn’t believe it was fake. “Silly chancellor. Don’t you know you’ve always been enough for me?”

“I - I have?” he stuttered.

She laughed softly, putting her hand in his and squeezing gently. “Yes. There’s never been anyone but - ”

Leopold burst onto the stage, brandishing his sword. “Stop right there, ruffian!’

Gold clutched at Belle’s hand, barely stopping himself from groaning at the interruption. They were so close to finishing the scene. If Leopold messed this up, he was going to kill him.

“Father,” Belle scolded, “put that thing away before you put someone’s eye out. Especially your own.” She smirked, no doubt remembering the practice where Leopold had nearly done just that.

“But daughter, this man is a traitor! He just attacked one of our knights.”

“Killed,” Gold corrected. “I killed one of your knights.”

Leopold gestured at him helplessly. “See?”

Belle rolled her eyes. Gold couldn’t tell if it was an act or if she was just as impatient as he was to finish the scene.

“Father, the Chancellor has united all of our enemies against us. He’s defeated our best knight and now has control of the city. I think a marriage between him and myself would be most prudent at this moment, don’t you?”

When Leopold looked at her in confusion, Belle hissed, “Give us your blessing!”

The audience laughed, prompting Leopold into action. He gave them the standard blessing he recited every show and held their joined hands up in the air for the crowd’s approval.

The crowd leapt to its feet, cheering and clapping louder than Gold could ever remember hearing. In all his years at the theatre, he didn’t think he’d ever seen such enthusiasm from the audience.

It wasn’t until the lights went down a short time later that he finally let himself relax, taking in a deep breath.

Belle sagged against him and they exchanged relieved looks.

“That was crazy,” she mouthed silently.

He smiled. “I know.’

Belle smiled tiredly before resting her head on his shoulder. He held her close, laying his head against hers.

Whatever fallout would come from their little performance, they would face it together, knowing they had tried their best.

The rest of the cast joined them onstage. As the lights came up, the audience began to shout and clap again, their excitement energizing Gold all over again. He looked at Belle who returned his smile with equal delight.

Perhaps they hadn’t done so bad, after all.

Author's Note: Shout out to @rumple-belle for suggesting dagger innuendos late last night when my brain broke.

[105ttt]

Hey why is Vio a better fit for Shadow than Shadow Link, since Shadow Link is the obvious choice. Hes literally named Shadow. What a missed opportunity.

Okay first off hi Noot

Second off, I used to have a million reasons for why I always thought Vio was a better fit for a Shadow the Hedgehog role instead of Shadow Link, but since that was ages ago and I’m tired, I’ll just sum up my thoughts as best as I can.

Most people would assume that Shadow Link fits Shadow the Hedgehog’s character better than Vio because they think of Shadow the Hedgehog as a stereotype mostly promulgated by Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) that isn’t really true to all of his character: they think he’s an edgelord who loves shooting guns, riding around on motorcycles, and being violent and cranky and mean for no reason. Vio’s thing isn’t really violence, but Shadow Link has been shown on multiple occasions to be easily angered and violent to the point where he acts animalistic. For people who aren’t really invested in the Sonic franchise, they would see Shadow Link as a better fit for Shadow the Hedgehog because of the name similarity, color scheme similarity, and shared grounds for potential violence. They would see Vio as more fitting for someone like Blaze or Espio, calm purple characters who act cool most of the time. And that makes perfect sense! There’s nothing wrong with interpreting those characters in that way. It’s just a silly manga and video game franchise crossover.

However, I feel like people who are more invested in the Sonic franchise such as myself know that Shadow the Hedgehog isn’t just your typical violent edgelord. He’s so much more than that, and it gets overlooked because he hasn’t had a major role where he really got character development since Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). If you look back at the Dreamcast Era games (Sonic Adventure 2 to ShTH, since he wasn’t in Sonic Adventure) and Sonic ‘06, however, you realize that there is so much more to Shadow’s character than just what we see in ShTH. He’s loyal to a fault to those he loves. He’d do anything for his loved ones, even if it puts him in danger. He feels personally responsible for the bad things he did and initially felt guilt over it. He’s very clever and driven by his passion for his loved ones and his desire to protect them. After ShTH, he doesn’t let anyone manipulate him or make him stray from the path he sets for himself (see the famous cutscene from Sonic ‘06 where he tells off Mephiles for trying to get him on his side), and he pursues his goals by any means, even if that means doing morally grey things at times. And he’s a great actor, actually (see the cutscenes in SA2 where Shadow the Hedgehog pretends to be in on Eggman’s plan when first explaining the Eclipse Cannon to him). And if you read all of those and compile them together, it really sounds a lot more like Vio than Shadow Link, doesn’t it?

Yes, I admit Shadow the Hedgehog does have many similarities to Shadow Link: besides what’s obvious, both were misguided and manipulated villains who turned into heroes after some truth about themselves was revealed to them by a wise girl who cares about them that made them release what they had been doing to achieve their goals was wrong the whole time. Both also have some sort of innate power most people don’t have that can be likened to magic (Shadow the Hedgehog has Chaos powers while Shadow Link has dark magic), which makes them powerful (though I’d argue that Shadow the Hedgehog is way more overpowered in his universe than Shadow Link is in his). Both also had an identity crisis where they felt like they had to prove they weren’t mere copies of someone else and got defensive if anyone tried to imply they weren’t who they said they were or otherwise threatened the validity of their identity.

However, the reason I still say that Vio is a better choice for an AU role where he takes the place of Shadow the Hedgehog is because of the part of Shadow the Hedgehog’s personality that is quiet and gentle. He does brood quite a bit (not in a I-hate-everyone way, but he still does it), and that’s simply because he’s not as expressive as other characters. He has a resting frown, and he’s not as outspoken as other characters unless he wants to be. Shadow Link isn’t the type of person to brood and be a loner. He wants attention; it’s literally part of his character arc. He makes sure he’s heard and that everyone knows his thoughts and how he’s feeling. He’s very expressive and quick to get angry, excited, or sad. Vio, on the other hand, is more reserved, but like Shadow the Hedgehog, if he shows his rage or excitement, it really shows and is deeply felt. And Vio had to learn it was okay to show his emotions, just like Shadow the Hedgehog did after SA2 and later in Sonic Heroes. He’s quieter in those games because he doesn’t know who he is and is learning about his place in the grand scheme of things, but after he’s developed bonds with his loved ones, he learns to be himself and not bottle everything up and hide his feelings or thoughts from people. Sound familiar?

And I’d argue that the level of devotion Shadow the Hedgehog has for his loved ones and the lengths he goes to to do things for their sake is a lot like Vio’s devotion to his teammates and princess. Shadow the Hedgehog was literally willing to die for Maria in SA2 if it meant he fulfilled his promise to her, and in both SA2 and later games, we see Shadow the Hedgehog put himself in harm’s way or do drastic things for his loved ones (like jumping in front of Sonic when Silver was beating him up in Sonic ‘06, or catching Rouge as she fell to the ground after being shot down in one cutscene in Sonic ‘06 knowing that he would lose something critical to the mission at hand, or when he pushed Rouge out of the way of Omega’s deadly fire at the beginning of Sonic Heroes even though he didn’t remember her at all). That kind of innate heroism, that desire to protect innocent people, doesn’t seem as easily associated with Shadow Link as it is with Vio. Vio is a literal hero of Hyrule. That kind of kindness and selflessness was always inherent in him, even if he seemed like a jerk at first because he was so full of himself originally. This cockiness is another trait he shares with Shadow the Hedgehog, who often bragged about being the Ultimate Lifeform just as Vio often bragged about being self-sufficient and not needing teammates. Both started as loners, but they eventually became devoted to their loved ones. By that same token, they both were willing to deceive people if it meant helping the ones they loved (though it had different implications for their true characters). Shadow the Hedgehog deceived Eggman in SA2 in order to get the Chaos Emeralds faster and get access to the Eclipse Cannon that could destroy Earth and satisfy his need for revenge for Maria’s death. We all know what Vio did as a double-agent for his teammates that ultimately led to him hurting Shadow Link (and while that wording may tempt you to associate him with Rouge instead of Shadow the Hedgehog, don’t let it). Both Vio and Shadow the Hedgehog felt guilty for the bad things they had to do to accomplish their goals (we see this less with Vio, but there is the infamous panel where he says Shadow Link’s name while looking sad as if he regrets hurting him, so we can assume he feels guilty), but they also try to right their wrongs by doing only heroic deeds after coming to realize that what they did was wrong in some way. They may do morally grey things to accomplish their goals, but they ultimately do them for the greater good (or at least for Shadow the Hedgehog, in games after SA2), and they don’t let anyone lead them astray.

I would also like to quickly note that the way Shadow the Hedgehog saw Maria and the way Vio sees Zelda is very similar. It is clear that Vio is very close to Zelda since Link was close to Zelda, and Shadow the Hedgehog canonically saw Maria like a sister according to ShTH. Both parties felt a deep connection to their sister-figures, and they would do anything to protect them (with Vio going on a journey to save Zelda and Shadow the Hedgehog trying to run away from the G.U.N. soldiers on the ARK with Maria, though unsuccessfully). Their devotion, as well as the way they talk to and act around their cherished sister-figure, are quite similar. In fact, Shadow the Hedgehog almost seems like Maria’s knight despite not formally being so as Vio is to Zelda. In ShTH alone, we see that Maria was always able to call on Shadow the Hedgehog for help with anything, even if it there wasn’t any personal benefit that would come out of it for him, and he talks to her in such a gentle, caring way that lets you know they’re the closest of friends. Vio’s knightly and brotherly devotion to Zelda is similar in the sense that she can always call on him for help if she needs to (both because it’s his job and because he loves her), and he would do anything to keep her safe. It makes for a neat, sad, bittersweet relationship in any Sonic Four Swords AUs where Vio takes Shadow the Hedgehog’s role and Zelda takes Maria’s role.

“But Fanta!” you say. “Rouge is literally a double-agent like Vio!! It’s a perfect role for him!!”

Well, there’s a few good reasons you could choose for Vio to take Rouge’s place instead of Shadow the Hedgehog’s, such as the double-agent thing and their high self-esteem as well as their love of showing off. Both can also be snarky and use their charms to get what they want. But, in a surprising twist, I would actually say Shadow Link fits Rouge better than Vio. Yes, this has many weird implications seeing as this basically swaps the relationship they had in canon, but if you ignore that, I believe that Shadow Link really does fit Rouge better. Rouge is more outspoken and quick to take the lead. She’s a master manipulator when it comes to getting people to work with her, and she really does want it all - just like Shadow Link. I honestly can see the fun-loving and rambunctious Shadow Link acting a lot more like our favorite bat girl than Shadow the Hedgehog, who is known to be reserved. Again, the idea that Shadow the Hedgehog is a violent edgelord is a misconception, and so while it would seem obvious for the two edgiest characters to match each other better, it’s not as simple as it seems. I could write a whole separate post about why Rouge is a better fit for Shadow Link than Shadow the Hedgehog, but this is about Vio right  now.

Case and point, I’d argue without hesitation that Vio is best suited for swapping roles with Shadow the Hedgehog in a Sonic Four Swords AU of any kind (my favorites being SA2 and ShTH) instead of someone who is less important in most games such as Blaze or Espio or someone like Rouge. Having Vio as Shadow the Hedgehog and Shadow Link as Rouge allows them to be on the same importance level as the typical matchups for the rest of the Links (which is usually Green as Sonic, Blue as Knuckles, and Red as Tails). That isn’t to say that assigning Vio to Rouge and assigning Shadow Link to Shadow the Hedgehog is wrong or bad, but I personally just have it the other way around. I’m probably missing some other points I’ve thought of over time here, but I hope this is enough to make sense and be convincing for the moment.

[heroofhyrulelink]

Here it is! The final chapter of The Hero of Hyrule, a SidLink fanfic. This is more of an after story than everything but if you want to read the whole fic in its entirity then click on the link above! 

Since this chapter is so long (11k+ words!) I’m only posting part of it on Tumblr, as a sort of excerpt. The chapter alone can be found here. (Another link will be provided at the end as well so don’t worry) Enjoy!

Summary: Link worries about the future of Hyrule since no Princess with the blood of the Goddess Hylia is around. To get his mind off of things he goes out and takes care of a Lynel problem for Bludo up at Death Mountain. However after a fatal accident leaves four kids stranded near the Eldin Great Skeleton with a powerful Lynel closing in on them, Link does what any knight would do and soon gets four answers to his problem.

"You shouldn't let the gossip get to you, my dear." Sidon hummed as he placed every single piece of jewelry away for the night. "You and I both know that there is no possible way for us to conceive a child, especially not a child with the divine blood of the goddess Hylia." Link grunted rather loudly and continued to, rather violently, polish the savage lLynel crusher he had managed to snag out of the hands of the silver beast. The weapon was already spotlessly clean, Link could see his own upset reflection staring right back at him, but he still continued rubbing it with the rag in his hand.

"Link," Sidon sighed and sat besides his husband, "Wasn't it you that had reassured me that the Goddesses had a plan for the next goddess blooded princess? I seem to recall you rolling your eyes and waving my own worries away while stating that you had complete faith in the Three Golden Goddesses. Now its a year later and you hear one person mention the fact that there is "no heir and no mortal Goddess" and suddenly you're throwing all faith out the window!" The Hylian King stopped his cleaning and crossed his arms, looking away from Sidon.

"I don't like to see you this upset. Especially not over something so small and so...fixable." The giant Zora Prince  wrapped an arm around Link and pulled him closer. When Link didn't respond to the affection Sidon sighed and stood up before picking Link up from under his arms, much like how someone would pick up a small animal or child. The Hylian King glared at Sidon but Sidon merely smiled back. "Cheer up, my pearl. The Goddesses have not let us down once, I'm quite certain they won't let us down now. Besides," the zora prince brought his spouse closer and placed a gently kiss to his lips, "Such a heartbreaking expression should never make its home on your beautiful face." Link blushed darkly and attempted to keep his upset face but it didn't last long. Soon he was smiling and looking at anything besides Sidon so his smile wouldn't grow.

"You're cheating you know." Link signed as his Zora husband set him back down onto the bed. "Using your smooth talk to get me to feel better is considered cheating and you should feel rather ashamed of  yourself."

"Now why should I? You yourself have said that in battle you must use everything you can to win. No holding back." Link couldn't argue with that logic.

The rest of the night was spent in bed, the two of them talking about anything they could think of. Link's hair had grown back to where he could have a pony tail again, Sidon had learned more and more about his ancestors with Hyrule Castle's extensive library (he had learned that the zoras of old had used their arm fins as some sort of weapon which was pretty cool, he wished to see if it was still possible), Link had to go up to the Eldin Tower Region to speak with Bludo about some odd increase of Lynels in the area, and Sidon was to meet with Riju to catch up with her. When their small talk had returned to the more serious topic of whether or not they would ever have a goddess blooded child Sidon sighed, pulled Link close and kissed his forehead. He reminded the King that everything would work out. He had to have faith.

"Although," Sidon mumbled a moment after convincing Link that everything would work out, "It would be nice to have a child." He leaned over and put out the light of their bed-side candle before snuggling closer to his husband and continuing. "It would be a dream to raise a child- or even children- with you, my love. Anyway, sweet dreams." Sidon closed his eyes and sighed contently. Link, however, did not close his eyes and to sleep soundly. Instead the Hylian King was now more awake than ever, panicking slightly. Now he knew for a fact that Sidon wanted a children (or children) and Link wasn't about to let his husband down.

-

"We've been seeing Lynels a lot lately, Goro." Yunobo mumbled as he walked Link through the entrance of Goron City. "It's gotten kind of scary to be honest...I-I know that I have Lord Daruk's shield power but...still. Lynels are fierce monsters, Goro!" Link nodded, adjusting his crown. He decided to not wear the usual fireproof suit one would wear if visiting Death Mountain. Instead he chugged about three fireproof elixirs and deemed himself good to go. "These Lynels..." Yunobo continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "I dunno. They're...scarier. They look like they're a different color but Boss says it's just the, uh, "fire in the air". I don't believe him, Goro. Somethings kind of off. But then again that's what you're here for!"

"Don't worry." Link signed. "I'll fix the problem. Lynels are a piece of cake." The young Goron smiled and thanked his friend, offering him a word of encouragement before finally pointing him in the direction of the Goron Boss, Bludo. Link hurried over, wanting to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Bludo explained the situation, all around the outskirts of Death Mountain there have been multiple reports of Lynel sightings. Bludo estimated a total of six Lynels surrounded the area, mostly silver ones. There was one, however, that people thought to be a weird yellow sort of color. Bludo stated that he believed it was probably the fiery air of Death Mountain making it look like that since that particular Lynel happened to be closer to the volcano than the rest. Link nodded, thanked Bludo for the information, and got straight to work.

Normally this would be a job for the soldiers trained to handle these overpowered monsters but Link didn't want to risk anything. So many Lynels...he didn't think even the best of his soldiers could handle six Lynels. Plus Link missed the adventure.

He headed to the stable that rested at the foot of the Eldin Region and asked the stable manager of people that had gone out during the night (to keep an eye out for them, just in case). The manager reported that only a small group had gone. Two hylian adults and four children. But they had left early yesterday evening and were heading towards the hot springs located behind the mountain. That was a relief.

He got on with his task, visiting Robbie's Tech Lab to purchase a few ancient arrows (Robbie only allowed Link to buy three, he spouted something about upgrading the arrows so he needed as many as possible) before beginning his search for the Lynels.

It was easy work. Within an hour Link had found and defeated one silver Lynel without trouble. He continued his search, using the weapons Sidon had given to him when he first proposed as well as some other ones Link has been hoarding since he first woke up from the Shrine of Resurrection. When he defeated the fifth silver Lynel most of his weapons were broken and useless. No matter. He had all three ancient arrows. The last beast would be the fastest to kill.

He spent a good two hours searching for the final foe and so far he had no luck. He checked and double checked his Sheikah Slate, making sure the tracking for Silver Lynels was on, and attempted "activate the animal instincts" he supposedly developed while traveling alone. Nothing happened.

Link was beginning to lose hope. Perhaps someone had already defeated the last Lynel? That was unlikely but it wasn't impossible. He continued his search. He reached the point where there was rocks mixing in with ruins of old villages. Hardened lava made up the ground and a cliff leading to certain death was in eye sight. Still, he saw no sign of a Lynel and decided that maybe getting up on higher ground would help. So he begun climbing the mountain side and carefully jumped from ledge to ledge, keeping an eye out for any sign of the monster.

A screech pierced through the air and Link looked around wildly in search of the source. Just in front of the Eldin Great Skeleton was a small group that Link only assumed to be the ones who had left the day before. They were backing away from an usually large Lynel (nearly twice as big as any silver one) with weird gold skin.

Link began sprinting down the side of the mountain, pulling out his bow and ancient arrows. One of the two hylian adults was injured and on the ground, trying their best to drag themselves away from danger. The other adult had pushed the crowd of children behind them, shield up. The Lynel raised its gigantic crusher and just as the injured hylian prepared for the worst, the other dove and raised the shield in a feeble attempt to deflect the weapon.

The monster didn't even hesitate to swing and knock both hylians off the side of the cliff and to both their dooms.

Another loud shriek was heard and the Lynel focused on the group of four children. Link began running even faster. He jumped off a small ledge and aimed in midair he aimed and shot the ancient arrow.

It had no affect.

Link's heart sank. The beast didn't even seem bothered by the fact that it was just hit by an arrow. The children continued backing up as the Lynel slowly went forward. He was nearly there. Nearly there...

The monster's pace quickened as it raised it crusher once more. Just a little farther.

Link hastily yanked the Sheikah Slate off of his hip, running faster, and quickly pressed on the stasis option. He aimed the Slate and pressed it once more. The Lynel was frozen in time but only for a short while. When the stasis wore off and the golden beast turned to look at what caused his momentary stop, Link was already there. With the strength of Lord Daruk, the tiny hylian king successfully tackled the monster to the ground. Not a second later and Link had stood up once more, ran to the frightened children, scooped all four of them up into his arms and began sprinting towards the skull of the Eldin Great Skeleton. Once they were safely hidden from the Golden Lynel, Link got a good look at the kids. The eldest looked like a Gerudo, she carried a baby Goron in her arms and holding onto both of her arms was a silver Zora and a blue feathered Rito.

"Stay here." Link said as he handed the shield to the Zora child. Before any of them could respond Link had already pulled out his sword and was sprinting towards the enraged Lynel. He already knew that this monster would probably impossible to beat, if it didn't instantly disintegrate when hit with an ancient arrow then a sword wouldn't do any damage.

Link dodged a swing of the giant crusher and got an idea. If Link couldn't hurt the monster with his weapons, maybe the Lynel's own weapons would be enough to hurt it. It would be risky, so very risky, but he had to deal with this monster before anyone else got killed.

Link dodged again, pulled the Slate off of his hip and froze the Lynel for a split second before unfreezing him and snapping his fingers. The lighting struck the golden monster and it dropped its over-sized weapon to the ground. The Hylian King ran to the crusher and froze the Lynel once more before picking up its weapon. It was admittedly heavy, but the adrenaline of the battle gave Link that extra bit of strength. He began hitting the frozen beast like crazy and once the stasis wore off, the Lynel was flying off the edge of the ground and down into the chasm where its earlier victims lay dead. The battle was over and Link's adrenaline was gone.

The four children watched the hold thing, heads poking out the side of the giant skull. Link took a moment to catch his breath before he walked back to the four kids, dragging the Lynel's weapon behind him.

"That...was so cool!" The silver-scaled Zora girl exclaimed, running towards Link. "The way you just-just tackled it!! Then you used lightning!! And you froze it!! And you used its own weapon to-to smack it dead!!" Link smiled. "Oh! I'm Cilia! That's Nanju." She pointed to the Gerudo who was clutching a Goron baby in her arms. "The little Goron she's carrying is Derun. And he," She pointed to the Rito boy, "is Areli."

"You're...the King." Nanju asked, tilting her head. Link nodded again. "Thank you. For saving us."

"Anytime." The Hylian King took his shield back from Cilia, patting her head. "I'm just sorry I couldn't save your parents."

"Those two," Areli sighed, "weren't our parents. Just a couple of delusional hylians that got too excited at the idea of looking like the kingdom's heroes for collecting orphans and finding them homes." The Rito boy shrugged before speaking again. "But they did offer us food and protection for a short while so I suppose their death is somewhat tragic." The other two solemnly nodded in agreement. Link blinked and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Right, well...I suppose I should take you all...uh, to the springs? I was informed by the Foothill Stable manager that you all were going there."

"Yes, in hopes of finding a home for Derun but none of the Gorons there wanted to adopt him. They brought us too look at the skeleton and cheer us up." Nanju sighed. "Now we have no where else to go." Link thought for a moment. He supposed he could take them all with him to Hyrule Castle while he finds suitable caretakers.

"I hope you don't mind the long trip to the Central Tower Region because I'm bringing you all to the Castle with me." Link took Derun from Nanju's arms and held onto him, beginning to walk.

"What?!" Cilia's tail flapped happily as she ran besides Link. "We get to stay in the Castle?! With you?! And Prince Sidon!! Will I meet him??" Link smiled and nodded.

"Will we really get to stay in Hyrule Castle?" Nanju's eyes practically sparkled at the idea of getting to stay in such an extravagant castle after spending so much time in cold caves and makeshift tents.

"Of course." With his free hand Link unhooked his Sheikah slate again and opened up the map. "I usually travel by shrines. I can get anywhere in Hyrule with the Sheikah Slate. Up until a few months ago I couldn't bring anyone else along because it only worked for the, uh, "chosen hero", but Robbie and Purah recently upgraded it so I can have people join me. But...there's a lot of us so I won't make it take us too far. Just in case." Link swiped a finger across the screen of the slate, looking for a shrine a good distance away. "Alright, everyone hold onto me." They all did, grabbing onto Link as tightly as they could. A moment later they became nothing but blue light floating up into the sky and vanishing.

Full Chapter Here

[kwrittink]

Hidden Majesty (3)

Pairing: JEON JUNGKOOK X READER (Prince!JJK AU)

Genre: FLUFF

Warnings: Language (...yeah, that’s about it for now)

Words: 3,316

Part 1  Part 2    -----  Part 4   Part 5

The ride to the secluded place Yoongi had told them about was rather short; they reached the woods on the border of the village - which was one at the far end of the kingdom - before it started to snow lightly, just as the sky changed from dark purple to black. They all were quiet in a way, and wasn't for Taehyung's deep humming of a lullaby beside Y/N, the silence of the forest would have made her scream in agony.

    - How are you holding up? - the calm voice of Namjoon puller her out of the doozing off state Y/N was in, and she smiled at the tall man.

    - Not so bad. How long till we get there? - she asked, and Namjoon shrugged.

    - Yoongi didn't told me a thing. But does he ever? - the knight quipped, and Y/N laughed softly.  The baby was moving a lot that night, and she imagined it was because of the whole commotion.

    - This one has been kicking my hands away from you a lot now. Seems like this child has the jealous nature of the father huh? - Jimin commented behind her, and she snorted.

    - Oh, I haven't felt it kick yet, can I? Does it hurt you? - Namjoon asked, reaching out to softly place his hand on her swollen belly. Whenever they did that Y/N felt like crying, because all she could think about was how she'd like to see JungKook do that to her.

    - No, it usually don't. But take it easy, your blessed hands may play some tricks today. - Y/N teased her friend, which made him roll his eyes. He was very known on his clumsiness on ordinary situations, and more yet the cause of everything that was replaced on Y/N's shack those months to be broken. As she laughed, the baby took that moment to kick her, and Namjoon jerked his hands away, amused

    - Shit this one is strong! I'm going to have to teach him some fighting moves thought. - Namjoon whispered loudly, grinning so hard it made his dimples appear. Jimin snickered behind Y/N, muttering something about being better if he just stood away from the baby. 

- Alright now, we're getting near. Don't get scared with anything you see, it all has an explanation. - Yoongi's voice sounded louder above the silence, and it served to startle them all at once.

Y/N wondered what he was about, while clutching her chest as she recovered from the fright. She wasn't sure, but if they were in escape and hiding, Yoongi shouldn't be talking so loudly.

  - Yoongi, where are we? - Hoseok asked concerned, voicing the thoughts on the rest of the bunch.

  - Oh is this... - Taehyung started, and Y/N saw the spy turn to the Archer with a grin, as he cut open his way through a thick curtain of leaves, making a path to somewhere.

  - Yeah. Is that place, the village we nearly died on. But did you know it is actually a Kingdom? - Yoongi said, and they all remained silent while walking inside. Yoongi has so much to explain I'm actually getting a headache just in fear of listening. Y/N sighed, looking around the well lit stone path where they found themselves on, which lead to what she tried to make out as a mirage of a castle.

  - What on earth... - she asked herself, and heard Jimin scoff in disbelief.

  - So... We're invading a kingdom? You made us avoid the Queen's guard so we could be arrested by this other ones?  - Hoseok was to start scolding him, and Y/N wondered if he was scared, mainly because all of this wasn't planned by him or he didn't had any knowledge of what was going on. Since he's second in command, he might feel a little uncomfortable without having some control on the situation.

  - Well, why would we get in trouble in this kingdom, once we're friends with the Queen herself? - Yoongi stated, suddenly turning with his horse, and they all stopped in a halt, watching bewildered as Yoongi bowed to Y/N.

  - Wait, what?! - she shouted, frowning surprised. Is he... What does he mean by me being Queen?

  - What exactly is this commotion, my father? - JungKook asked, walking inside of the King's common room, still tying his robe around himself.

  - JungKook my son, where have you been, why are you in such clothes? - his mother was the one to talk first. He dismissed her questions - he had just walked Yoona to her bedroom after a long night on the library and was just preparing to sleep himself when a guard warned of his parents discussion - as he walked to his father, seeing he had a very displeased expression on.

  - I was just inquiring your mother, the Queen, about her orders to her... No, our troops to search for a mere commoner! - he exclaimed, voice hard but not yelling at all. That was something JungKook admired, but feared on his father, the way he made his words heard without elevating his voice. That is, by all but my mother.

  - I've told you my King, I sent a small group,  of the men that were sent with me on the occasion of our marriage, to search for a maid which stole two diamond rings that could buy her a small castle! - she explained, and the King perhaps never looked so enraged in his life as he stood, walking up to her.

  - Then I presume you have at least the name of such woman, that made you act so desperately without my knowledge, spread panic into the villages and make me look like a fool? - the King's face was red, almost purpleish, and maybe JungKook would be a little bit more worried, if his mother's answer didn't interested him so much at the moment. There's something wrong with this, I don't really like it...

  - I only have a surname, Tantalas... - the Queen muttered, looking to the ground, signaling she was sorry. JungKook wondered why did that surname sounded so familiar. The King exploded into laughter after a few seconds, and his son frowned, wondering what had happened to him.

  - Did you heard your mother, my son? - he barked another laugh, walking away and plopping again on the couch he was initially in. - Fooled by a woman with the name from a tale's Kingdom! Might as well go on a search for their cousins Humpty Dumpty! - the King laughed, but the Queen didn't looked like she was happy to have provided such amusement to her husband. 

The tale of Tantalas... My tutor had told me about that, but he taught me like it was something that had really happened... JungKook pondered, and deciding to leave his parents to their discussion, he hurried back to the library, wanting to search for a specific book, that he hadn't touched in ages.

  - Prince JungKook! - the little voice of Yoona startled him to no end, when the heavy wood door banged against the wall. She was back to the same spot where they had spent several hours quietly exploring the gigantic shelves, hundreds of books in huge rows, surrounded by books of diverse themes.

  - Oh it's you, Yoona! Damn you surprised me. What are you still doing up? - he asked the girl, walking up to her as she got up and did a small measure. She was wearing her nightgown, only covered by a cover - the one in her bed, he assumed -, and barefoot.

- I'm sorry, my prince but I just couldn't sleep... I had to read a little bit more and - she looked just about to sob, and JungKook was quick to put his hands in front of him, signaling he was okay with that.

- No, it's okay I... Well, since you're here, you can help me search for a book, I need to find an old tale. - he smiled lightly at her, which perked up at the mention of a book search. The hours that they had spent there made him notice the little princess was really avid to read and learn, but mostly, was thirsty for an adventure of some sorts. Makes me wonder if... If Y/N was like that when younger... No, I betn she was the type of kid to make her own adventures. With that wit and genious of her, I can only imagine what troubles she had got herself on... JungKook snickered to himself.

- Hm, if you don't mind me asking, prince JungKook, do you know the name of the book we're searching? - Yoona brought him out of his thoughts, and he whipped to meet her curious eyes. She was endearing, looked so small and fragile that made him feel some kind of way. Not like love of some sorts, but maybe... Well right now, Yonna definitely feels like a little sister.

 - If I'm not mistaken little princess, - he began, seeing how her cheeks blushed from being called like that, but mostly because it was annoying to her, and he wanted to see Yoona react in another way than just putting on a fake smile and bowing - This book is called "Tales of Southern Kingdoms". I wanted to see the one called Tantalas, have you heard of it? - JungKook inquired, as she stared at him, thinking. He realized Yoona had an habit of biting her lip while doing so, something Y/N did often too, whenever she was concentrated on something.

- Well, I know about this, but from where I come, it isn't a tale. - she said, and JungKook frowned. There was another person who said that the narrative wasn't just that, but actually made part of History. Yoona must have seen his confused face, and chuckled. taking his hand, she asked him to follow her, since she had an idea where the book could be. The prince was surprised for a moment, but the same feeling of care and fraternity washed over him. The funniest thing is that this girl is supposed to be my wife, but I don't think we both don't have any will in fulfill those parts. He thought, smile fading out a bit when he was reminded of Yoongi's note.

- "... After such dreadful attack, the aunt of the Queen - which was sword fighting her own blood with fierce determination - ran away with the only child, a little girl which was the very next Empress of the Great Kingdom of Tantalas." - Taehyung's voice lowered as he finished, the silence downing on them as they sat in the grass.

- And here are the letters. Queen Gabrielle received these in her deathbed, to know her little baby was safe. - the couple of elders that recieved them on the gates of the castle said, and then handed the letters to Hoseok, while they all waited for him to read them. Y/N was still shocked with the whole place, which looked like a day hadn't passed since the previous Queen was alive. A kingdom reigned by Queens, not Kings...

- "I Anya report to our Queen Gabrielle, to say that Tantalas princess' is now on Alabaster's Kingdom, we are now in a sort of a shack provided by your friend Fae, the current..." - Hoseok's voice faded, and only then Y/N turned her eyes back from the royal guidon - it had a wolf and a rose etched, and for some reason she felt like she had seen it before - to look at the knight that seemed to shiver a bit as he swallowed dryly.

  - What is it? "The current" wh- Y/N was about to ask, but then his words sank in. Fae... It can't be, the Queen?!

  - You mean the Queen?! - Jimin exclaimed, voice filled with the same surprise of them all but Yoongi, that sighed tiredly, picking the letters from his teammate's hands.

  - Yes, but that's not really the important issue right now. Aren't you curious to know who that child was? - he asked almost impatient, searching through the papers the exact one he wanted them to read. Once he did, he handed it directly to Y/N, which gripped it with trembling hands.

  - Yoongi, I have a feeling you know too much already, and I don't really know if I like it... - Y/N admitted, making the spy snicker.

  - Well, I'm telling all this from the middle but believe me, his is pressing matters. The rest of the explanation comes later. - he spoke, and Y/N swallowed dryly. She trusted him blindly, as well as he others, but that didn't made her any less scared.  - "I Anya report to our Queen Gabrielle... I heard that your Majesty's condition worsened. Your baby misses you, but the princess is strong as her mother." - Y/N stopped, gulping the growing lump on her throat. She looked around, from her friends, that were anxiously waiting her words, to the elder, which sported a soft smile towards her. Breathing out deeply, she then decided to continue.

  - "Queen Fae was really gentle with us, provided us food and clothes, and she's the only one who knows from where we came, but advised us to get documents, just to avoid questioning, if... Anything were to happen. So today I'm not longer Anya in this kingdom Majesty, but Hani Tolouse, and our princess doesn't carry the Tantalas surname anymore - only the blood, and by the goddess this no one will spill it -, being now "adopted" as my child, so called Y/N. Y/N Tolouse." - as she finished speaking, the clear image of her aunt Hani came to her mind, the old woman in her last breaths making her swear that she'd find her path - her true path. Before I had no idea of what aunty Hani meant, but now...

  - Y/N, correct me if I'm wrong but your surname is Tolouse, isn't it? - Seokjin asked her in a whisper. She turned her face to look at the oldest knight, and was to open her mouth to speak, but the next thing she ever saw was her world spiraling to black.

JungKook only listened as Yoona read the supposed tale of Tantalas to him. She had a beautiful voice, and so soft if almost made him fall asleep at some moments.

  - Prince JungKook, I hope you're not bored, since you were the one searching for this story... - the princess sassed, and he snickered, shaking his head at her ways.

  - Not at all, you have such a sweet voice... But then, what happened after the Rose Warrior ran away with the princess? - he asked, trying to understand why did his mother mentioned that tale.

  - Well this isn't written in here, but I remember my tutor saying something about a Queen Fairy helping them hid when they got to the South Kingdom, and there the princess would be, till the day it was safe to go back to her Kingdom, and reign as the Queen. In resume, of course. She also had a beautiful name... Princess Y/N or something, I'm not sure. - the girl explained, and JungKook nodded slowly, the words sinking in and shocking him one at a time. This is too much of a coincidence. Princess Y/N?! But... Fairy Queen? What does it have to do with my mot...

  - Queen Fae! That's it! Not fairy, Fae! You're amazing, Yoona thank you so much! - the realization hit the prince, and he got up, picking the girl up and twirling around with her, in an access of happiness. She squealed content, holding herself in his arms as he laughed.

But... Does that mean Y/N is the Tantalas princess?

  - Well look what we have here, aren't you two lovely? - the voice of the Queen replaced the noise of laughter as it died down, and JungKook almost dropped the girl, surprised.

  - Ah my Queen, I'm sorry I hope we weren't making too much noise... - Yoona reversed it a split second to the shy and submissive girl she was whenever there was other people around, and it only made JungKook realize how afraid of his mother she was. The Queen, on the other hand, looked very pleased at how much power she held over the little princess, as well as most of her people. But me and my father. JungKook thought, an old anger burning low within his chest.

  -  Not at all, I was just curious to what you two were up to, I really haven't seen you get long this well till now. - she said, her sweet voice making his skin crawl.

  - We were just exploring the library, Yoona really likes books, and I wanted to show it around a bit. - JungKook stepped forward, trying to look anything but defiant as he touched the princess' shoulder, so she would stand straight. - But now I'm taking her to bed, it's late already. If you'd excuse us, mother. - he spoke, noticing the pleased expression of the Queen as she watched him grab Yoona's hand and walk with her towards the doors.

  - Good night, you two. Sleep tight, little birds. - she seemed to almost singsong, and JungKook asked himself what was on his mothers mind, to be suddenly so sweet.

What does she thinks, that even after all this time I'd forget about the one who owns my heart?

  - Prince JungKook, I have to thank you for the amazing afternoon. - Yoona brought him out of his thoughts once again, and he looked down, where she hugged his arm almost awkwardly. - I know you didn't really liked me at first, but I just wanted to thank you for getting along with me. It means a lot - she said, and JungKook wanted to kick himself in the face as he saw the sad expression she had on, even if she tried masking it with a smile. She has nothing to do with my situation, and I was being a prick to her. I was more childish than I ever claimed her to be.

  - No, it's you that I have to thank, Yoona. And apologize. For being so stupid, you don't deserve this. - he patted her head as Yoona shed a silent tear. - You didn't wanted to be put in this situation as much as I did, and I failed to understand that. But now, we're here. And to be true, if not a friend, you can count on me as a brother. Since we're family anyways. - he scoffed, trying to be funny. Yoona sniffed once, then looking up to him with a smile.

  - I guess you're right, prince. And well, to be honest, fraternal love would really suit us better. No offense but... I can't for the life of me see you as more than that. - she retorted, her spirits up high again. JungKook chuckled, ruffling her hair as he assured her no offense was taken.

They bid their goodnight to each other, and Yoona entered her room, doing a quick measure before closing the door. JungKook was supposed to go to his own chambers, but he had still an itching of curiosity on the whole Tantalas issue, so he decided to just go change into something more composed, because he'd be spending a lot of time there on the library, researching.

I'm going to get to the end of this. If my gut is right and Y/N has something to do with this, I'm going to find her.

[ninjasmart]

Do you think harry and meghan will make it down the aisle? Whats going to happen to FD?

I looked in the cards a few days ago. It showed the Tower for what Prince Harry feels deep down about Meghan. There’s couple of explanations here and I’ll give them all as I am not really sure what to make of it. The tower is about illusions, about believing things that are not true. I’ll give an example - I had an ex-boyfriend who had a roommate who convinced him that she gave him her rent money (she and her mom planned on snagging my boyfriend) and they were so convincing that he started asking me if he by any chance gave me the exact amount of money to me. I am dead sure he didn’t because it’s not good for a relationship if your boyfriend hands you money. If he wants to make a gesture and pay for something like paying on a trip together, buying you a gift for Christmas, that’s different, but to just get this thought in his head that he gave me the exact amount of rent money his roommate had to give him is weird. It’s the Tower type of situation and the tower was coming up very often with him at that time. 

So, the first interpretation is - erroneous thought stuck in his head because of someone else that is simply not true. The Tower also means that the person thinks that the other person is the one they’ve always wanted and waited for. I think he also said this in the interview and I truly believe that he is very sincere. I believe that he WAS looking for someone for the job of royal, someone whom he can do engagements well, who will want to make an impact to the world and be humanitarian. It could be that the erroneous thought that is currently leading him forward is: someone who can take on the job, someone to marry me, someone to become the mother of my children.

I am sorry that this post will be very long as I looked at the cards for both Prince Harry, Meghan and his FD. So, I’ll get to that too. The other day I was in a taxi and of course the taxi drivers like to chat. The taxi driver is now married, with a child who’s a little boy but he wasn’t like that 3 years ago. I, of course, told him about my lucky escape from marrying a man who loved my properties instead of me (and I found out that 2 weeks before the wedding).  3 years ago he had a girlfriend who became pregnant and he of course fell down on one knee. The girl didn’t have much money, he didn’t too, so his parents took a loan for the wedding. Very close to the wedding the bride to be started with demands - she wanted to live in an apartment which his parents were renting so that they can have an extra income during old age, she wanted all of a sudden to have a whole bunch of people to the wedding on which his parents were discussing whom to exclude so that they have enough to cover the costs. In the end - when things didn’t happen her way she broke off the engagement, the wedding, the relationship with a text. In that text she told him that she made an abortion. So, the taxi driver told me then that he was humiliated beyond any words can explain. He also told me that at this moment he understood what his grandfather meant when he said that he needs to look for a woman in his life, not a mother of his children. Going back to Harry - I think he’s learning a very difficult lesson with Meghan. He needs to fall in love with a woman, not a first-class trips, glitsy gala gowns, perfect speeches from a job applicant. I also think that he’ll be given lots of opportunities to have this thought challenged until he sees the truth and the Tower crumples down. 

One more thing before I go into the reading. The cards a few days ago also showed that he’s waiting on something. He wanted to see something - I think it’s the picture of Meghan in front of BP (I think it’s BP but correct me if I’m wrong - I’ve been only for a weekend in London and besides the Abbey, London Eye and the Shrek adventure, the rest of the attractions are a bit blurry). I think he now knows the truth - that princess pushy is not a hearsay that she should not believe. I think that this is the first crack that shows what really real. 

Now, the reading. His feelings for Meghan, and what he shows her - the king of pentacles. I got this card last time too. He’s the rich, titled, royal who can make everything happen for her. Her real feelings for him is: the wheel. Yes, for her he is karma, he’s fate, he’s destined to be hers. What’s really happening between them is - the queen of pentacles. There’s lots of talks about money, possessions, I’d also say - projects. They are in full business mode designing their future projects, I think, 

Now, Prince Harry and FD - he’s very fond of her. The king of cups says smitten in a very good way. That’s also the third possible explanation of the Tower - of what;’s really deep down Harry’s mind. He may not be even honest with himself about it but I think he’s very fond of FD. I wish I could sense if he already know who she is but I don’t have an answer to that. Her feelings toward him - Strength. She’s attracted to him. If the previous forecasts were saying that she won’t know about him, well - with the latest news (thanks to Meghan’s PR in part) she definitely knows about him and finds him attractive. I read the word dork somewhere - she’ll think that this is cute. 

What’s happening between Harry and FD - the queen of wands. I’ll get back to that card in a moment. 

How things will proceed with Harry and Meghan - the Chariot. I’d say - abrupt ending.  But not so fast, the last card in the pack is 10 of cups - it will take 10 long months in which Harry can rely on his push and pull personality. A few months ago, when I was on family constellations there was a lady who was having trouble finding the one and she was always meeting the wrong guy and she was always pulling away from them. At the end of the constellation we, the participants, were invited to share our feedback and mine was: the tendency to run away from relationships could be saving you from ending up with someone who will drag you down with them through emotional abuse, domineering or controlling behavior, irresponsibility, etc. And one more thing I feel like it fits in this post - when I broke off my wedding I had  a chat with my then “love of my life”. I did not want to marry him in a million years but I was willing to be his girlfriend, I was willing to have a family with him, just not marry him. Well, when he learned that he will never be on my inheritance list he disappeared without a trace. With Meghan - I think that Harry will need to keep checking what’s Meghan in love with really not who but what.  

Right now the advice for Harry is to enjoy being engaged. It’s a dream come true for him. He should not be looking for epic rows, or disagreements - THEY will find him. He needs be happy, enjoy the moment and listen to his heart. His heart always knows. And look for genuine reactions. She’ll actress and domineer her way through anything. But actors always have real reactions. I’d also (that is not in that cards) would suggest that he takes on secret hobby from Meghan. I’d suggest that he starts reading. The book “Codependent no more” is a must read for him. 

Back to FD: the way things will progress with her are: knight of pentacles. The way I interpret it - Harry needs to turn from the king of pentacles into the knight of pentacles. FD will not need the world scene. She’ll be looking for a dependable, reliable man, a provider. This brings me back to what’s between Harry and FD at the moment: the queen of wands.This queen draws a line in the sand when someone tries to violate her boundaries. Some sort of action is needed here. I’d say the action should come from Harry as a queen does not go chasing after a man. He needs to step out of his royal, very wealthy shell and approach her in a passionate way, yet be mindful of how to not be turned down. He needs to be coy, like a cat. At the end things will be successful when it comes to him and FD so he needs to use the catlike, playful, strategic, always with a plan B,C,D up his sleeves. He needs to not try to use her for self-centered purposes. That will be his caution. He needs to show a lot of respect, a lot of gallantry. If he wants to win her, and he will, he needs to win her with his personal qualities. And, for some strange reason, I feel that what Harry and Meghan were saying in their hushed engagement interview WILL actually happen with FD and Harry will be dumbfounded. But, we’re not there yet. As I said - Harry needs to start getting in contact with his princess and at the same time really pay attention to his fiance, and definitely find time to read this book. It will explain a lot of things for him.

[bellarkefanworkawards-blog]

Best Slow Burn

ARKADIA FLORAL & GARDEN by wanheda_two_heda @youleftme-clarke

Clarke has owned Arkadia Floral & Garden Supplies for 3 years when Bellamy Blake, her high school rival, comes back into town following his mother’s death and needs Clarke’s help to restore his mother’s garden to its former glory. But gardening isn’t Bellamy’s strong suite, and neither is coping with losing another parent. He might need a lot more help than he’s willing to admit, but luckily for him, his feisty blonde former rival is there to guide him through some of the most difficult months of his life.

DON’T LOOK BACK, YOU’RE NOT GOING THAT WAY by andsowemeetagain @and-so-we-meet-again

Viking Bellamy prepares for the journey of a lifetime. Clarke Griffin is the new, mysterious girl that wants to join him.

Best Fake Relationship

THINGS WE SHOULDN’T DO by Willaphyx @rebelprincebell​

“The history between the two of you is well known,” Marcus went on, talking over Clarke’s continued splutters. “And it hasn’t escaped the notice of certain news organizations–” “What, you mean fucking TMZ?” Clarke interjected.Marcus sighed. “It would be in the best interest of the show and I think both your careers if you were to be seen as a couple. ”Silence.“A dating couple,” Marcus added as if that hadn’t been clear. Bellamy and Clarke exploded simultaneously.“If we what?” Clarke demanded at the same time that Bellamy just started laughing. He slipped sideways, dangerously close to falling out of his chair. Clarke is at the bottom of a downward spiral and Bellamy is riding an all-time career high when they’re cast as the leads of Marcus Kane’s newest drama. The entertainment world expects a blowup of immense proportions between the two feuding actors but get a hard to explain romance instead. Or: a fake dating celebrities AU.

I DREAMED YOU A SIN by monroeslittle

“If I do this,” Blake said, “how are you imagining it’s going to work? I can’t just knock on his door, and say I want in again. It’s been eleven years. And even before I left, I never cared about the business. Do you have a plan? You say you want me to open the door for an agent. How? What’s that mean?” “You’re going to get in touch with your grandfather again at your wedding,” Clarke said. He stared. “I hope you don’t have a girlfriend, Mr. Blake.”

fake!married AU. Clarke’s in the FBI, Bellamy’s the grandson of a mobster, and they’ve got to work together.

Best Pining!Clarke

I (LOVE)D YOU by funfanfin @funfanfin

A relationship that only lasted five months and ended four years ago shouldn’t still be affecting her, but…it wasn’t just any relationship. It wasn’t just any breakup. It wasn’t just any ex. It was Bellamy.

AND THEN WE WERE CHASING COMETS by prosciutto @prosciuttoe

That same, elusive shrug. “It’s a secret, princess.” He says pointedly, snagging the book from her before throwing the truck into park, “But you’ll be the first to read it once it’s done, okay?” “Wow,” she says, nodding. “I’m honored.” A beat as he sizes her up, his brows furrowing together in exasperation before he says, weary, “You’re going to ask me what it’s about again, aren’t you?” “Bellamy,” she says obediently, grinning, “what’s your book about?” If you told Clarke Griffin that she would become best friends with the resident black sheep of Arkadia, she would have difficulty believing it, let alone the fact that he apparently wrote an entire book about her.

Or: Clarke and Bellamy through the years, as childhood best friends.

Best Royalty AU

KINGDOM COME by the.ktgrace

Her father, the king, was poisoned. She, heir to the throne, fled into hiding. Ten years later, a royal guard needs to bring her back to the throne to save his sister. Faraway kingdoms, arranged marriages, deception, brewing war… And that’s only the beginning for this stubborn princess and her arrogant guard. A story of fantasy and adventure in the kingdom of Ark.

HOW TO SAVE A KINGDOM by Laughingsenselessly @wellsjahasghost

Clarke sputters an indignant laugh as he takes her elbow and steers her away from the doors. “You won’t let me out of the palace and you’re calling me a difficult person? You,” she fumes, “are insufferable.” Bellamy merely grins. “Now that’s no way to talk to your husband.” Clarke forces herself to stalk away before she can give into the urge to throw her glass of wine at him. She doesn’t know why she bothers, though. Somehow, none of their guests seem to notice the clear antagonism between the king and queen, or maybe they just don’t care. And why should they? The two of them are just husband and wife. They’re not actually expected to like each other.

AU. Clarke marries Bellamy for a political alliance.

Best Teacher!Bellamy

MUST BE LOVE (ON THE BRAIN) by Caramelle @mellamymake

Is she grateful for the distraction that is Finn Collins? Sort of. Does that make her want to punch his teeth in any less? Hard no. Or, the one where Clarke Griffin wishes the annoying boy who always sits next to her in class would shut up and let her listen to her professor. Her professor also happens to be really pretty. The two things are mutually exclusive.

AFRAID TO CALL THIS PLACE OUR OWN by HawthorneWhisperer @hawthornewhisperer

Clarke frowned at the notification on her ipad. “Why does your history teacher want to meet with me?” she asked, but Madi kept her eyes innocently on her homework. A little too innocently. “Mr. Blake’s a hardass,” Madi said with a shrug. “A hardass who wants a meeting with me barely a month into the school year?” Clarke asked. Madi shrugged again and Clarke narrowed her eyes and scanned the email. “He’s worried about your performance already. Have you even had any tests? What am I missing?” “He just doesn’t like me,” Madi replied and erased something on her worksheet.

Best Roommates AU

KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS by Kacka @katchyalater

Clarke thought subletting Miller’s room for the summer would be a perfect solution: convenient, affordable, and it comes furnished. Unfortunately, it also comes with his roommate, who for some reason, hates her.

I DON’T KNOW HOW TO LOVE PEOPLE WITHOUT THEM DYING by Kacka @katchyalater

“This is where it falls apart,” Clarke whispers. Her finger traces random patterns across Bellamy’s chest, his gently untangling the knots in her hair. The sun hasn’t yet risen but the sky outside has begun to lighten, those nebulous hours when night fades to morning and the world starts to think about waking up. Clarke greets them like an old friend. Most nights she wakes with a jolt– sometimes from nightmare, other times from the stress of an unimaginably long to-do list– and lets the slow ascent into day calm her racing mind.

Best Social Media AU

OR, YOU COULD ALWAYS GOOGLE IT by Prosciutto @prosciuttoe

“You know,” Bellamy muses, grin wide and a little conspiratorial, “you’re robbing our legions of fans here. They’re expecting a showdown and you’re being perfectly cordial towards me.” “Right,” she nods, pursing her lips to keep from smiling. “Well, it’s not too late. I could always pitch that glass of water down your shirt.” Someone really should have warned Clarke that the first step to becoming internet famous would involve acquiring a nemesis.

(Or, Bellarke as rival YouTubers, basically.)

YOU’RE COOL ON THE INTERNET, AT LEAST by Prosciutto @prosciuttoe

Look, Clarke will not dwell on this. She will not get flustered just because a possibly cute guy on Facebook apparently shares her views on what constitutes a terrible person. Ten minutes later, her phone gives a short, irritated buzz; startling her enough that she jumps. Biting at the inside of her cheek, she allows herself a quick peek. Friend request from Bellamy Blake. Clarke has no idea how she manages to develop a crush on a guy who won’t stop fighting everyone on Facebook, but here they are.

(Or: Clarke meets Bellamy on Facebook. They hit it off.)

Best Enemies/Friends to Lovers

EMERGENCY CONTACTS by wanheda_two_heda @youleftme-clarke

When Bellamy gets a call from Ark Memorial Hospital because he’s the emergency contact for an unnamed girl in her early twenties, his only thought is Octavia. He can’t imagine that someone might have just entered his phone number by mistake. But when he sees the blonde girl lying unconscious in a hospital bed with no other contacts until she wakes up, something tells him to stay. So he does.

Based on the prompt: au where person a accidentally puts the wrong number as their emergency contact and when they end up in hospital person b gets called (and comes anyway, despite not knowing person a)

IN MY DREAMS WE ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER by andsowemeetagain @and-so-we-meet-again

100 delinquents got sent to Earth and battled for survival against the odds. They landed in Trikru territory but that is not where they stayed. After weeks of battle and war, the Sky People finally lost. They were sent to a land far away, where a group of Grounders unlike any they’ve met waited for them.

*This is a terrible summary…I don’t know how to describe this story. It’s a mix of canon and AU. But if you like arranged marriage and enemies->friends->lovers and friendship and love and fluff and angst, then this is the fic for you.

Best Arranged Marriage

BEFORE: KING OF A BROKEN LAND by forgivenessishardforus

Miller, a knight who had graduated with him five years before and now a lieutenant and one of his best friends, sticks his head around the door. His mouth is quirked in a smile that instantly makes Bellamy wary. “You have visitors,” he announces. Bellamy groans. The last thing he wants to deal with right now is visitors; most were families of murdered nightbloods, looking for answers he didn’t have; some were looking for advice on problems he didn’t care about; still others came to him with suggestions and criticisms on what he should be doing to better protect his people. “Tell them to wait in the audience chamber. I’ll deal with them in a couple of hours, or maybe in the morning.” “Oh, I don’t think you’ll want to keep these visitors waiting,” Miller says. His eyes are positively snapping with mirth now. “Who is it?” Bellamy demands. “Just the Queen of Arkadia and her daughter.”

JUST AS YOU ARE MINE by prosciutto @prosciuttoe

Bellamy’s already there by the time she makes her way to the centre of the room. She didn’t get a good look at him before, so Clarke takes the time to look at him now. He’s not all that much taller than she is, but the breadth of his shoulders feels worrying, somewhat. His skin is marked with a array of calluses and scars, white against his tanned skin, and the deft, sure movements he makes confirms that he’s every inch the warrior he’s promised to be. Swallowing, she steps forward, meeting his gaze. His face remains carefully blank, same as before, when Kane had told her that they’d be married. In hindsight, marrying a total stranger may not have been one of Clarke’s brightest ideas.

Or: Arranged Marriage AU. Clarke seals an alliance with the Broadleaf clan by marrying Bellamy Blake.

Best Past Relationship

KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU by caramelle @mellamymake

In hindsight, staying in the apartment he shares with his ex probably isn’t the best idea Bellamy’s ever had. Probably not his worst either, to be fair.

Or, the one where Bellamy and Clarke break up and, instead of moving out, somehow find themselves in a heated prank war.

I FEEL IT IN MY FINGERS by lightyears

It’s a short wait for the patient to arrive once Clarke gets herself organised. She stands out at the emergency entrance for all of three minutes before the ambulance comes to a stop in front of her, Jasper jumping out of the driver’s seat and rounding to the back to open the rear door. Clarke’s right behind him, watching as the patient is pulled out on a gurney, and getting ready to take action, just like she’s done countless times over the years. But instead of grabbing ahold of the stretcher railing to help wheel the patient inside, asking Monty what happened, what his initial evaluations found, she falters in her step, feels the air get knocked from her all at once. Because she recognises that boy, warm brown skin sprinkled with freckles, unruly inky curls and a jawline so sharp it could cut glass. She recognises him despite the ten years that have passed and the bruises and cuts scattered across the skin free from his clothes. She recognises him and it makes her world stop. “Bellamy,” Clarke breathes out.

[rowanstories-blog]

The Roles We Play

"Time to get us some grub! Now remember kids, play smart, play safe, and don't go into my office!"

The trio of kids mouthed the words as their father said them. After hearing him say the exact same words more times than they could count, which was not just because they hadn't learned numbers above 50, they could hear it in their minds and parrot it back with no effort whatsoever.

To any other children, the addition of "don't go into my office" would inevitably lead to just that. The Morrison children were no different. The third time they heard that phrase, curiosity overwhelmed them and led to a clumsy romp through the forbidden space. It was then that they found... nothing. Absolutely nothing. Papers here and folders there, but none of the secret pet dragons or superhero supplies that they expected with all of their naive hearts. They went in a few times more, just in case, but after several journeys into the room proved to be a waste of time, the three gave up entirely. They could not tell their father that they had absolutely no interest in the boring room, however, because then he'd know they had seen it and found it boring, so they instead gave bored glances at one another as their father went down the hall and vanished out the front door.

"What now?" asked Marco, with the confidence and leadership that he gathered in his twelve lived years.

"We could play Princess Criminal," Maria offered, testing the waters with her brother, knowing the two year age gap between them could lead to her ideas being veto'd for no other reason besides her comparative youth.

"Ugh, I don't wanna," Max groaned back, accepting that, at age seven, his ideas would never be listened to, so all of his power went into complaining about the current options his two older siblings debated.

Marco nodded. "Princess Criminal is for ten year olds," he explained to the ten-year-old Maria. "We've got to go on more mature adventures than that!"

"Mature?" Maria asked. "Do you even know what that means?"

"I do! It means there's guns and swears and stuff! I saw it on the back of Dad's videogame," Max shouted, beaming with the pride of sharing knowledge.

"We could go into Dad's office again," Marco wondered aloud.

Maria and Max groaned continuously, leaning closer to Marco and getting louder until he got the point.

The three ended up collapsed on the couch, all watching whatever Marco, as the Remote Overlord, wanted to watch. The past few months led to this exact scenario playing out on repeat. Their mother's later hours at work and their father's chores after he came from his job left an hour gap where neither parent ruled the household. At first the sudden freedom filled them with unbridled joy, but after a few weeks the freedom became normalcy, the desire for adventure fading away in routine.

Just before Max could complain for the eighteenth time about the show Marco chose, the front door creaked open. They heard the familiar sound of high heels dropping onto the floor. The force that the heels hit the ground always gave them an idea of just how much nonsense their mother had dealt with that day. Judging by the harsh clack followed by a bit of clatter, her day had been exceptionally annoying.

"What a day," their mother sighed as she made her way to the living room. "How're my kids doing? Are they behaving over here?"

"Marco's making us watch turd," Max whined.

"That's not how you use that word!" Maria complained.

"This show is good and he's just trying to annoy me!" Marco shouted.

"Never change, kids," their mom said with a laugh.

When their father returned minutes later, the five of them sat down for the dinner he had bravely ventured out to get: pizza and pasta. Their dad monitored the boxes and take-out bowls as they piled food onto their plates, reminding them to come back for seconds instead of taking too much and letting it go to waste. Their mom sat at the table with a single slice of cheese pizza, eyes unfocused.

"I'm sorry," their dad said, seemingly unprompted. "I planned to cook the hamburgers tonight, but-"

"It's not that," their mother said, looking up and returning to reality. "It's just... work stuff." She said the second part after a hesitated look at the children around her, all only listening to the sound of their own chewing on the cheesy carbs around them.

Their father took his seat next to his wife, with only pasta on his plate. The kids never understood how a man could not like pizza, and at one point doubted whether he really could be their dad because of it. Once their mother commented that his dislike meant they could have more pizza to themselves, they quickly dropped the subject, allowing him to enjoy pasta in peace once more. "More rude support tickets again?"

"That's a given, sweetie," their mom said with a muffled laugh. "No, it was Ian again."

Their dad put down his fork with a furrowed brow. "What happened this time? Is HR involved?"

"He snuck a book into my purse when I wasn't looking." She sighed. "He didn't sign it though, so I can't prove it was him. But he did it, I know it. He's always trying to give me gifts like he's some kind of sugar daddy!"

"Is Dad a sugar daddy?" Max asked through a mouthful of pizza.

"Does that mean he's made of sugar?" Maria asked, eyes wide.

"No kids," their father said, trying to hide a wide smile. "A sugar daddy isn't made of sugar, it's like... a guy who gives you gifts."

"Like Santa!" Marco proudly concluded.

The two parents tried hard to stifle their laughs as they told the kids to forget the whole thing. At first their young minds refused to let it go, but after a quick bribery to the tune of a whole extra cookie after dinner each, the three ate their cheese and bread products in relative silence.

---

Just before bed, Maria skipped her way toward the shared bathroom, looking forward to playing with her new singing toothbrush. Between her room and the bathroom were many doors, but only one was partially ajar: the parent room.

"Let's just throw it away," she heard her mother say.

"But what something more happens?" her father asked. "It could be evidence."

"I can't prove it was him, though."

"Maybe we should take pictures at least?"

Maria loved pictures. She especially loved pictures of her, all dressed up in the fashion of the kid world. Tonight she donned a horse-pattern nightgown, one of her favorites ever since her aunt remarked that it made her look even cuter. She bounded into the room with a huge smile. "I want a picture!" she declared, ready to model.

"Oh sweetie," her mom said from her seat on the bed, wiping her sleeve across her puffy eyes. "We weren't talking about that kind of picture."

"But we can take some pictures of you tomorrow, if you want," her dad added.

Maria turned to face him and agree to his proposal, which is exactly when she noticed something in his hand. A small book, with painted vines along the spine. Between his fingers she could make out the image on the cover being some sort of wizard stand-off, with one of the characters standing next to a beast she couldn't identify. "A book!" she declared as soon as her brain worked out what she saw. "I want to see!"

Her parents shared a concerned glance. During that moment of distraction, Maria ran up to her dad and tried to grab the book from his hands. Pulling it down, she could see the cover clearly: two characters, a knight and a wizard, fighting against another wizard next to a huge beast, the colors of the characters bright and vibrant, standing out clearly from the dull, aged material of the cover.

Her dad quickly pulled it away and held it up, out of her reach. "Woah now, this book is your mother's," he said.

She turned to face her mom. "Mom, can I see the book?"

"You want to read it?" her mom asked with surprise. None of her children showed any sort of interest in reading before.

"Does it have magic in it?" Maria asked, ignoring the question entirely.

Her dad brought the cover down to face level, investigating it. "I... guess?" he answered, with all the certainty of a student who hadn't studied at all for a test.

From Maria's point of view below him, she could only see the back cover, which, instead of English, had a blurb area filled with little nonsense symbols. Whatever the language was, it was clear that her dad couldn't read it either. The mystery only increased her interest and excitement. "I want it!" she began to chant, a trick she saw her friend use in a supermarket to get a candy bar once.

"Is it even appropriate?" her mom asked over her chant.

"I don't know, the back's not in English. Must be a misprint or something." her dad shrugged.

"We can't just give it to her, what if it's all blood and gore?"

"Blood and gore!" Maria chanted even louder than before.

"Maria, Maria, honey," her dad said as he got down on his knees, now on eye level with her. She quieted down. "How about... I read it first? And then we'll give it to you. Just to make sure it won't bore you, okay?"

Maria considered his idea. "Okay," she decided after minutes of internal deliberation.

"Perfect!" He got up, placing the book on the top of a shelf drawer above her reach. "Now how about you get to bed?"

She complied, mind swimming with ideas about wizards and beasts battling it out on the pages of the book.

"Are you really going to read that?" she heard her mom ask as she exited the room.

"Yeah, why not? It's ours now, might as well. You can tell Ian that your husband is loving his gifts!"

Maria heard a groan from their room as she closed the bathroom door. Moments later, her toothbrush brought the tunes of Miley Cyrus directly into her skull, driving out all thought of the book.

---

The weekend came and went as it always did for the Morrisons. Their mother, off work for a blessed two days, would take the kids, unencumbered by the demands of the educational behemoth, out on trips to the movie theatre, or the park, or the mall, or anywhere else they could imagine and reach in their decade-old minivan. Their father locked his office and went to work, emerging only for bathroom breaks and to grab a bit of whatever their mother left out for him. The kids understood that their dad didn't have a weekend like they or their mom did, so they did their best to find other places to be so he could have the house to himself as he worked on things they didn't entirely understand.

They returned from school on Monday to find that, instead of being out to greet them in the living room as usual, their dad was nowhere to be found. After a quick look through the house, they determined one place that he could be which they had not yet checked.

Marco hesitated, but gave the office door a knock. "Dad?" he called out, two siblings hiding behind him, too scared to speak, but too curious to leave.

"What?" a voice barked out. The difference of tone between this voice and their dad's usual speaking voice made them instinctively back up and huddle closer together.

"Dad, we're home," Marco said. "Are you still working?"

No response.

"Dad, what's for dinner?" Max yelled, his fear outmatched by his short attention span.

A few seconds passed in silence. Suddenly the door swung open, their father barging out, his clothes hanging loose on his body and covered in stains. His eyes, bloodshot and with deep bags under them, stared down at the trio of kids, now shoved up as close as possible to each other. "Food, food, I'll get the damn food," he mumbled as he walked around them, put on his shoes, and went out the front door.

It took several minutes before the kids felt safe enough to release their protective huddle on one another.

"Why is Dad mad?" Max said through tears.

"Maybe his work is bad," Marco pondered aloud. "Or someone messed with his computer stuff again, he hates that."

"Maybe he doesn't like the book," Maria added.

The two brothers looked at her. "Book?"

"He's reading a book for me," she said, a hint of pride showing through her voice. "He's making sure it'll be good before I see it!"

The brothers glanced at each other. Why didn't they get  a book?

"Well if it made Dad so mad it must be awful," Max sneered, trying to bring Maria down a notch.

"Is not!" Maria declared, feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Is too!" Max said, accepting her challenge.

Before the war could begin, Marco put a hand up between them. "Guys. Guess what?" he said.

The two couldn't resist the allure of the age old question. "What?" they said in unison.

"Dad didn't say not to go into his office this time."

The three stood in silence for a moment, all looking at one another. Previously, their dad always said not to go into his office, and when they went it was boring. This time, he didn't say not to go, which is the opposite of the usual. Following that logic, the second statement, the status of the office, would also be an opposite. The three reached the same conclusion at the same time. Clearly something cool was in the office.

The siblings forgot their previous fear of their dad's strange behavior as they rushed into the office.

"We're not going to find a dinosaur," Marco said as he turned on the lights, trying to prevent hopes from getting too high.

"You don't know that!" Max yelled from near the bookcase, unwilling to change his expectations.

Maria hopped onto the chair behind the desk to get a good view of its contents. "My book!" she yelled. The others ran over to it as she picked it up from its place in the middle of the desk, losing track of which page her dad left it open on.

"What's it about?" Marco asked, entranced by the action-packed cover. A wizard and a knight fighting against a snarling beast and a... ghost? Marco couldn't really tell what the faded character next to the beast was supposed to be. Unlike the other characters, the one next to the beast had faded somewhat, making its features hard to identify.

"I don't know, but Dad says there's magic in it!" Maria said with a huge smile.

"Well then, I wanna read it," Marco shouted, reaching out for the book.

"No way, it's mine," Maria refuted, using her added height on the desk chair to keep it out of his reach.

Max lost interest and walked away, continuing his search for dinosaurs, or at least their eggs. Even a footprint would be better than nothing, and it certainly would be better than reading. He did enough of that in school.

Marco groaned, realizing Maria had height advantage, which trumped his age advantage. "Can we read it together?" he asked.

Maria hmmed and hawed for a bit, making Marco squirm as she dramatized the act of thinking. "Yeah okay," she agreed. "But I get to turn the pages!"

Marco reluctantly agreed, and she dropped down off the chair and took a seat on the floor. Marco sat beside her as she opened the book and the two began to read.

---

Marco blinked and found himself outside, in the middle of a dirt path. People bustled around him, mostly walking, but some on wooden carts pulled by strange creatures. The building around him were made from stone with straw rooftops, and each one had a tent with various products underneath, such as food or pots. As he looked around him, mind still adapting to the sudden change of scenery, he felt someone pull him to the side.

"Marco!" Maria yelled from beside him, forcibly turning him to face her. He immediately noticed her clothes, before a simple t-shirt and skirt, but now a colorful robe.

"Maria!" he replied. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," she said with worry. She started speaking again, but instead yelped and hid her face in his chest. He looked over to where she had been looking and noticed one of the large lizard-like creatures pulling a cart nearby.

"Wait," he said, suddenly struck by a realization and pushing her away to see her face. "Those things were on the book! On the cover!"

She made herself look over the shoulder at one, but only for a moment.

"We're in the book!" he concluded confidently.

She looked at him blankly. "That's stupid."

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's check it out."

Maria pushed herself closer to the wall between the two fruit stands around them. "Why?" she asked.

"Well," he thought out loud, "we don't have to sit around and watch TV today because we're here. It's like vacation, and with no one telling us what to do. And Max is home in case Mom and Dad come back, and he can cover for us."

Maria nodded, won over by this perfect logic. "Okay, but I don't like the lizards."

"You're gonna touch a lizard."

"No."

"I'll make you!"

"No!"

"Hey!" The two siblings jumped at the gruff voice of a large man hanging over the side of the stall beside them. "What're you kids doing over here?"

Marco's eyes darted around the stall the man leaned out from. "We were... deciding whether we wanted an apple or banana." Maria nodded, catching on.

The man chuckled. "Well you can do that from over here," he said, gesturing them to the front of the stall. They obliged, choosing one of each. In truth they didn't like either, but the stall had no chocolate items, or any sweets at all.

"That's 12 zel," the man said, picking up the fruits from their respective boxes.

Marco chuckled nervously. He didn't have any dollars, let alone whatever a zel was.

"Will this do?" Maria asked. Marco and the man looked over to see her holding a large golden coin.

The man nearly choked upon seeing it. "Yes, yes, that'll do quite nicely!"

"Where'd you get that?" Marco asked her quietly.

Maria shrugged. "My pockets are full of them."

---

Marco and Maria quickly learned the value of a dollar, or in this case, a zel. The coins in their pockets made everyone they met treat them like royalty, which the two were sure to take absolute advantage of.

"We wanna go on an adventure," Marco declared as he and Maria played with the swords of the guards in a tavern. "Who can we fight?"

"There is a pickpocket running loose in town that you could hunt down," one of the guards remarked.

"No, not a person!" Marco complained. "A monster!"

"Or someone evil!" Maria added.

"Perhaps Ryoth, the cave beast master. He loves the darkness and meat, just like the cave beasts he raises. He's been quite a bother for the kingdom."

"Is he the one on the cover?" Maria asked.

"I have no idea what that means," the guard shrugged. "Besides, I'm not sure if that's a quest for two eight-year-olds."

"I'm twelve!" Marco said, blatantly offended.

"And I'm ten," Maria said in a proud stance.

"And we'd pay for an army," Marco said, jingling the coins in his pockets. The metal loops of his chain-mail shirt clanked along with them.

The guard sighed, but gave up his corrections. The money these children threw around clearly indicated royalty, and their clothes matched those of nobility learning the ways of the sword and magical crafts. Since their king couldn't remember which of the neighboring kingdoms had royal kids, it was best to treat them well until a messenger came looking for them.

That night, the two collapsed on the beds of the tavern, exhausted from their playing through the town.

"This is a good vacation," Maria said.

"We need something to fight!" Marco said, swinging an imaginary sword in the air with what little energy he still had in his arms.

"Tomorrow," Maria said, turning away from him in bed.

"Tomorrow," Marco mumbled back, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

---

"Guys! Guys! Guys!"

Marco and Maria opened their eyes and found themselves staring at Max. His face was inches away from theirs, shouting at full volume.

Marco shoved Max away, sending him tumbling backwards.  

"Guys," Max repeated, now starting to cry, "that was so mean, you're both mean!"

"Then don't shout at us," Maria scoffed.

"I'm gonna tell Dad you were hiding from me in the office," Max threatened, forcing back tears.

"Hiding?" Marco put a hand in front of Maria's face to interrupt her next verbal jab. "Why do you think we were hiding?"

Max sniffled. "I was looking around, and you were reading, and I turned around, and I looked back, and you were gone," he said, each 'and' making him talk faster and louder, "and I was looking for you, and I couldn't find you, and I was yelling and looking all over the house, and, and, and that was mean, that was so mean!" At the final word he began bawling.

Maria and Marco looked at each other, then at Max, then at the book. Before he could act, Maria ran over to Max and towered over him. "We weren't hiding, dummy, we were in a book."

"I'm not a dummy," Max complained, "and you're a liar."

"Am not!" Maria protested.

"Am too!" Max yelled, still crying.

The two continued their stand off, so Marco took that moment of distraction to snatch the book off of the floor and investigate it further. The knight and wizard on the cover looked oddly dull compared to the vibrancy of the dog-beast and surrounding vines. He turned it over and tried to read the back cover, but the random symbols made no sense at all.

A door slammed shut.

The three jumped, jolted from their respective thoughts, and shared a glance. Simultaneously, they threw the book back on the desk, moved things back to generally where they were before, and bolted out of the office.

---

As the days went by, the Morrison children's father chose to work from his office full-time, keeping the door locked shut for almost every hour. "I can't have any more intrusions," he said to the kids after a hefty scolding the night they found the book. After that he stopped getting the dinner food entirely, and about a week in began sleeping in the office instead of upstairs with their mother. Nothing their mother said changed a thing, and the three could only watch as their mom became bitter and drained from the ordeal.

Two weeks later, their father had an announcement. "I'm going to be a dog breeder." Their mother protested, but in the new family dynamic, his word was law. Not two days passed before he had several dogs locked up in the office, walking them in the dead of night. At first the children loved the idea of having dogs, but the dogs only barked and snarled whenever they saw them. The children quickly became afraid of the dogs, thankful that their dad seemed to want them all to himself.

As each day felt more strained and tense than the last, Marco and Maria found themselves craving the world of the book. They stayed up after bedtime to tell Max about what they saw, telling him about all of the adventures that awaited if he went into it too. He agreed to go with them, but the three never got the chance; their father never left the office door unlocked, and even if he did, the snarling dogs kept them at bay. To try and keep their minds at ease, they both pursued new after school activities; Marco chose to try karate, and Maria opted for learning magic tricks to show at the next school talent show.

After a month of changes, the children awoke from their sleep to a clamor downstairs. They heard frantic barking, starting loud but becoming softer and softer. As the barking faded, the shouting began. The three kids met up in the hallway and slipped their way down the stairs. The living room lights were still on, the TV still droned on without an audience, and the fireplace's flames crackled away on scorched wood. They directed their attention to the kitchen door, where they heard the voices.

"You have to get them back," their dad's voice shouted, the rattle of pots and pans following closely after. "If any of those dogs are hurt, by God, you'll be paying for it!"

"Those dogs are better off in the shelter than with you," their mother's voice replied, breaking. "I can't believe what you've become! What happened to my husband?"

The trio approached the kitchen door, leaning closer to hear the conversation.

"Damn it, am I not allowed to have dreams? Ambitions?" their dad said.

"Hurting dogs and locking them in an office is not a dream, it's a nightmare," their mom said. "And it's not one that I'll be exposing the kids to any longer."

The three kids visibly winced as the argument continued, their mom talking about living at Grandma's and their father screaming obscenities and insults too personal to re-tell.

Max, ready to cry, moved away from the door. "I don't want to live with Grandma," he said through sniffles. "She smells, and her cats are mean."

Maria patted his back. "It'll be okay," she said in her best reassuring voice, trying to hide her own tears.

Marco noticed something around them. "Guys," he whispered, "what if we lived in the book?"

Max and Maria stared at him as he pointed to something nearby. Their eyes followed, all three seeing the office door fully open, the doorknob hanging loosely from the wood.

"We'd be rich and have adventures forever," Maria said, the realization making her smile despite her tears.

"What about Mom?" Max asked.

"She can't come, she'd bring Dad too. She can live with Grandma," Maria said.

"We can't just leave Mom!" Max protested.

"Stop being a dummy," Maria replied.

Marco held his hands up, stopping his siblings. "We'll figure it out when we're in the book. But we need to get it now. Before Dad sees."

The three nodded in agreement and quickly slipped into the office, the arguing voices of the parents becoming loud but unintelligible background noise. They clicked the lights on to find the office in near ruins. All of the lamps laid across the floor, most of them with cracked, unlit bulbs. In the dim lighting from the remaining lights, they saw the damage. The bookcases and desks sat in piles of wood and paper, covered in bite marks. The rug reeked of dirty dog smell, and the papers from the desk laid across the floor like bedding. A large heap of tattered fabrics and book remains covered one corner of the room, with a person-sized indent across the middle of it.

"Did the dogs do this?" Maria asked.

"Did Dad do this?" Max asked.

"I think they both did," Marco answered, voice shaking.

They all forced themselves to touch the dirty, stinking papers and fabrics around what once was the center desk, digging through uncomfortably damp materials for anything that looked like the book.

"What if Dad or the dogs destroyed it?" Max asked.

Marco and Maria shared a glance. "Maybe," Marco said, "but we've got to look anyway."

Maria pulled up one of the fabrics on the corner pile and yelped in surprise. "It's here! The book, it's okay!"

The others quickly swarmed to her. They stared at the cover, once again entranced by the action. The knight and wizard remained clear to see, but the beast and the character next to it were faded significantly, barely visible against the coloring of the cover.

"Are you ready?" Marco asked. Maria nodded. Max whimpered. "Okay, then let's go." He opened the cover.

As Marco opened the book, Max couldn't stop thinking about leaving his mom behind with their mean dad and all of the angry dogs. He imagined her sitting on their beds crying, wondering where they went. He'd rather live with Grandma and the smelly cats than leave her behind and make her cry. Max closed his eyes and kept them shut, overwhelmed with the thought.

He heard a thud next to him. When he opened his eyes, his siblings were gone, leaving only the book behind. He picked it up, investigating the faded characters on the cover.

"Hey!"

Max jumped up to see his father towering in the doorway, face contorted in fury, the shadows on his face stretched and intensified by the dim lighting from below. His heart stopped, and he held the book firmly to his chest.

"That's mine," his father growled, stepping closer to him.

Max's feet worked before his brain caught up, and he found himself sprinting across the room, dodging his father's hands and escaping the office. Once out, he saw his mom, face in her hands, standing by the fireplace. He immediately ran up to her, stuffing his face into her leg and sobbing. He tried to explain what was happening, but his words became garbled and lost through his tears and snot-filled nose.

His mom pulled him close, staring up at his father. "What is wrong with you?" she shouted, moving the two of them away from his father's hulking figure.

"Give it back," his father snarled.

"Give what-" his mom started, then paused, noticing the book held between her and Max through the force of his hug. She grabbed it and pulled it up, holding it in one hand and keeping Max close with the other. Her eyes skimmed the cover, noticing how dull it looked in the firelight, then raised them to look his father in the eye. "Is this where all of this is coming from?" she asked, her breath heavy with repressed anger.

"Give it back," his father repeated.

"He's been hiding it," Max managed to say. He tried to tell his mom more about the book, but his sniffles and quick breaths kept interrupting him.

"Is this what this is all about? Ian's stupid gift?" She scoffed. "What is this, some messed-up expression of jealousy?"

"Give it back."

"Do you think I wanted him to give me things? To get so obsessed with me? I can't help what he does! You know I love you, I-"

"I don't care about that," his father barked. "He can fuck you for all I care!"

His mom stopped, then slowly nodded. "I see." Staring directly at his father, his mom flicked her wrist, tossing the book directly into the flames beside her.

Max's heart froze. For a second, both he and his father didn't respond, couldn't respond. That second, seeing the book that contained his siblings, felt like eternity. After that eternal moment, time resumed.

"No!" he heard his father scream, heavy footsteps getting closer to him and his mother.

Max shoved himself away from his mother, sending her to the floor, and grabbed the side of the book. His fingers burned, but he kept his grip and pulled it out of the flames, swinging it back. The flames of the book followed and lit the room, making his father stop running and step back, blocking his eyes with a growl. He hit the book against the rug in an attempt to put it out. The rug ignited, but the book's flame fizzled and died, leaving the rest of the book intact.

"Give it back," his father hollered, blocking the increasing light of the flames with his arm.

Max's feet once again responded before his thoughts, and before he could acknowledge the danger of the situation around him, he found himself outside in the darkness, sprinting into the woods behind their house, away from the increasing smoke emerging from what used to be his home.

---

Maria and Marco opened their eyes and found themselves back on the dirt road, surrounded by the bustling activity of the old village.

"We did it," Maria cheered, "we're back!"

"Where's Max?" Marco asked.

The two looked around, seeing no signs of their little brother anywhere.

"He must have chickened out," Maria scoffed.

"Then we have to go back," Marco said.

Maria rolled her eyes, but nodded. They walked up to the guards, as they did in their last quest. "We need you to lead us to the inn so we can sleep," she said proudly, remembering their treatment before.

The guard didn't move. "Are your parents at the inn?"

"No, but we have-" Maria stopped mid-sentence. She patted her pockets, but found them completely empty. Looking down, she realized her clothes were not the flowing robe she remembered, but a dirty fabric tied with rope. Her eyes widened, and she looked to Marco for help.

Marco felt his pockets but found they, too, were empty. His clothes, too, were changed, from chain-mail and metal pads to the same dirty fabric Maria wore.

"Run along, kids," the guard said, gesturing them away. "Go find some merchants to beg from or something."

The two obeyed, unsure of what else to do. An hour later, they managed to find a nearby field to lie in without any disturbances.

"We'll sleep here," Marco said, "and return to Max, so he can come with us."

"But we don't have the money," Maria said with a huge frown.

"Maybe we'll have it next time," Marco reasoned.

The two closed their eyes. It took several hours, but they managed to drift off to sleep. They later awoke to see the darkening sky, stalks of corn blowing in the breeze all around them.

Maria jolted up. "We're still here. Marco, why didn't we go back?" she asked, eyes watering.

"I don't know," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

"What do we do?" Maria asked, staring at him.

He held onto her arm, pulling her close. "I don't know."

The two stayed huddled together in the cornfield as night fell, holding each other close as they cried in silence, their hearts falling and falling with no end in sight.

---

After running for longer than he ever had, he stopped in a small cave down a rocky ravine, catching his breath. He couldn't go back. His father wanted the book, and his mom wanted to destroy it. He couldn't let either of those things happen, not with Marco and Maria inside of it. He looked at the book, checking the damages in the moonlight. The cover took most of the damage, with the wizard and knight characters barely recognizable through the scorch marks. Some of the pages were equally unrecognizable.

Cold, tired, and alone, Max finally gave in to the idea of entering the book world too. Their father and mom would never find it in the woods, and it would stay safe in the little cave. He took a deep breath and opened the book, reading the text in the dull moonlight.

One page passed and he still sat in the cave. He turned to page two and experienced the same. As he kept reading, he remained painfully in reality, and learned what, and who, the story was about. He tried to cry, but found he had no tears left in his body. His nose ran and his breath jolted with sobs as he read, but his eyes stayed painfully dry. His fingers burned, his eyes burned, but most painful of all was the burning in his chest, as he realized in those moments just how alone he truly was.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

What do you think the Aks favorite book genres are?

I do believe I touched on this before with the VKs, but can’t find it at the moment, so I’ll just focus on answering this with the AKs:

Ben

Horror and Crime Thrillers

With the absence of any true nightmares, “Evil” beings, andeven petty criminal behaviour in Auradon, plus the creation of theIsle of the Lost where all the “Evil” people were put on, youngBen was obviously curious about the nature of “Evil.”

What makes someone “Evil?” Does it really merit such anextreme measure as the Isle? When does an action go from beingquestionable to a crime?

These are all things that could be explained to him by no shortageof legal experts, authorities from the various realms the statesoriginally came in, and the odd religious leader, but between all thetechnicality and the thought experiments, Ben needs something thatengages the other side of his brain, something that truly grips himand shows him the depths of Evil as someone who is victimized by it,or as someone who perpetrates it.

And really, it’s very different to read about the legal,real cases of Jack the Ripper vs being in the shoes of one of theirvictims unaware that this will be the last shortcut they ever take.

“I can know it through police reports, but I can’treally feel it like I do with fiction.”

Audrey

“JaneEyre,” “Gone With The Wind,” and “Twilight” style novels

Audreyis a sucker for classic “Princess” style tales, seeing as that’sexactly what she’s (planning to) live out once she graduatesAuradon, but she is also a product of the Feminism wave thatswept through all of Auradon, and her tastes adjust accordingly.

Shereally enjoys herself some female protagonists that are forced tochallenge and break away from the stereotypes and the societalconstraints that have been thrust upon them, but she also won’t sayno to the plot of a female protagonist being saved by and falling inlove with a handsome male suitor.

Thetroublesome elements and the ill-advised reality of a “rescueromance” where she tries to “fix” a broken man who “lovesher” don’t really bother her or even register to her, as she isalso a product of Auradon’s “love trumps all” belief.

Chad

“HardBoiled” Detective Thrillers, Action Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers

Chadwas raised by actual heroes and daring knights, people caught in theworst circumstances possible, only to rise up from them and emergebetter than ever, frequently to the adoration of the people aroundthem and a permanent place in the history books.

WithAuradon being entirely peaceful—well, in the spheres he runs aroundin, anyway—he can’t really find any opportunity for a war or adaring adventure to “earn” the glory he thinks he is destinedfor, nor do anything particularly impressive aside from being one ofthe top Tourney players in the School Leagues alongside Ben.

(Inthe part of his mind that has a strong sense of ethics, but is sadlyignored most days, he is also bothered by the fact that he NEEDS torely on other people doing his homework to actually stay onthe team, whereas someone like Ben can tear up the field andace the tests, no problem.

Thisis a huge part of why he is the way he is, by the way–”AlwaysSomeone Better” Syndrome.)

Anyway,it would make sense that he would enjoy reading about (usually, butnot always) male protagonists dealing with circumstances beyond theircontrol, finding themselves waltzing through a door and findingthemselves in a murderous Wonderland, being stopped, obstructed, andalmost murdered at every turn only to succeed at the end, scarred butvictorious.

Thoughwhen he puts the book or the tablet down, and its back to hiscomfortable, luxurious, easy life, there’s a part of him thatwonders if he will ever find something so meaningful as theadventures of his favourite hard-boiled detectives…

Doug

“PopCulture” Science

Whatwould you need to do if you wanted to build the Great Wall of Chinastraight up?

Ifyou could lift the Formerly Lost City of Atlantis using ping-pongballs, how many would you need?

Ifyou took all the chocolate Arendelle consumes in a year, and made itinto a giant chocolate bar, how big would it be and how would you goabout making it?

Theseare the questions that ignited young Doug’s curiosity about theworld around him, beyond that of the mine and the woodland cottagewhere his uncles and his father works, and Aunt Snow White comes byevery once in a while to bake their perennial favourite, AppleDumplings.

“Hard”Science books about physics, chemistry, and architecture do catch hisinterest eventually, but in the beginning, when he needs a break fromserious problems about real world matters, or is stuck with a problemthat just doesn’t have an obvious solution, he goes to the realm ofwhimsy and wonder with a dash of science.

Sometimes,the unusual questions, odd uses of scientific principles, andhypothetical situations are just what he needs to make his real lifeprojects come to life.

Failingthat, they’re always good fun.

Jane

“HeroesJourney” books like “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars,” and“Fangirl” (Rainbow Rowell)

Asone who’s supposed to be a Future Fairy Godmother, Jane wouldnaturally be very interested in the lives of the types of peopleshe’s supposed to help. The downtrodden, the innocent, those thattried and thought they couldn’t—fictional or real, she lovesreading about how external and/or internal crises knocks on theirdoor, and they find a way to overcome it, oftentimes with the help offriends and magical beings.

Italso comforts her to read about people just like her, outcasts,“weirdos,” and those that just don’t fit in and never willfinding their place in the world, not by changing themselves butchanging the world around them.

Shefigures she will NEVER be like any of them, and her problems willstill exist after the story ends, but hey, that’s why it’s called“escapism.”

Lonnie

Non-Fiction,largely on Revolutions, Societal Movements, and Eccentric Inventorsand Ostracized Geniuses

Eversince Lonnie first heard Hip-Hop and watched a dance-off, she hasbeen obsessed with the culture and how it started in Harlem and theBronx.

Naturally,you can’t study this without getting into the Civil Rights movementand the oppression of African American populations, and you can’tstudy this without getting into the slavery era, and you can’tstudy this without reading about the people who rose up against whatwas considered the norm, fighting for what they believed to be abetter world…

Revolutions,Massive Society Changes, the Geniuses of the World who were thoughtcrazy then and are being revered now—they’re all of massiveinterest to Lonnie, someone who’s never truly fit in, and stillfaces numerous societal pressures to conform with what the worldstill expects, and sometimes demands her to be.

Forclarity, I only use this example to differentiate her from the restof the AKs—she loves fictional outcasts and oppressed minoritiesrising victorious as much as real ones.

Allie

Non-Fictionabout BGU and AGU Cultures and Society, and Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Wonderlandis a weird and wacky place that we can’t even begin to understand,and even its residents admit to not being able to make sense ofit—well, at least in ways that fit into the majority’s idea of“sense.”

Theland down the rabbit hole or through the looking glass has been oneof the biggest sources of fascination (and early retirement) for manyof Auradon’s scientists, scholars, and philosophers, but sinceAllie has lived there all her life or spent every weekend having teawith the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit, “things being topsy-turvyand hurly-whirly” is completely normal to her.

Instead,her interest radiates to places she’s never been, and will neverpersonally experience herself: BGU and AGU (Before/AfterGreat Uniting) societies and cultures, and of coursethe fantastic worlds that fiction invents.

Donote that she is VERY strict about her world-building and thateverything in your series should subscribe to the logic the worldruns on, or you provide suitable, realistic justification.

“Comenow, I may have come from a world where the Sky talks quantum physicswith the Heron, but even I can only suspend my disbelief for solong!”

Jordan

Superheroes

Peopleand beings born with fantastic powers, or suddenly getting themwhether or not they wanted it.

Oftentimesostracized or feared by society just for being them, with thepotential harm they can cause.

Frequentlyportrayed rising against their own inner demons and outer forces,showing to the world that they do belong, that they were wrong tohave shunned and feared them so, and who oftentimes become idols anddearly beloved members of the society after they prove themselves.

Jordan(sincerely hopes) isn’t about to be pushed into any sort ofworld-threatening danger where she’ll have to explore and push thelimits of her magical powers, and more importantly get over her ownpersonal hang-ups and character flaws for her and others’ sake, butthat doesn’t stop her from enjoying the stories of people who do.