#meeting royalty

[kaladinkholins]

shoutout to taigen for being the most expressive character in the entire show.

you will never not know whatever the hell he is feeling or thinking at the moment because he will literally tell you (either very earnestly like when he traumadumps to mizu or very sarcastically which is the other 99% of the time he talks to mizu) or you will see it plain as day on his face.

this is the textbook definition of a man wearing his heart on his sleeve. look in the dictionary for what a "simple man" means and you will find taigen's face there.

like once you cut through the massive ego and pompousness he uses to mask his own insecurities and traumas, he is literally just some guy. he's not evil or stupid. not super kind or super smart either. an asshole but not the worst there is. he's incredibly skilled but he's not the strongest ever or even the most skilled. he is literally! just a guy!

y'all can hate him all you want but let's be real, taigen is actually the most relatable character out of everyone. like this man is POOR, he is PATHETIC, he is COMPLAINING ALL THE TIME, and most of all he is OBSESSED WITH MIZU. if that shit ain't relatable idk what is.

[tidalst]

Fantasy AU where Neil & Kevin are the princes of Palmetto 👑🦊

[scifrey]

NINE-TENTHS

Oh my gosh, the book is now officially out! This is the first original novel I've published since 2018 and I am very excited and very nervous to share it.

☕♥️🐉

➡️ You can read it here. ⬅️

Chapters drop Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you're worried, the story is already finished and fully uploaded. This is not a WIP that I will abandon later--it's totally complete.

About the book:

Twenty-four is one year too young for a quarter-life crisis, but hey, Colin's always been an overachiever. He's got a degree in Sustainable Tourism, which his family says he's wasting as a barista, an annoying anxiety disorder, and no freaking idea what to do with his life. The only thing going his way is the cute coffee shop regular, a homo draconis named Dav (who, in his humanshape, is a total hottie.) Still, it'd be easier if Dav didn't have a habit of accidentally setting things on fire when he's startled. Like the café kitchen.

When Dav breaks draconic taboo and volunteers as a replacement bean-roaster to apologize for the inferno meet-ugly, sparks really fly. Everything's finally happening for Colin, until he learns that hooking up with Dav means that under dragon law, Colin is absorbed into Dav's hoard.

Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but becoming his boyfriend's property does not make this whole identity crisis thing easier. Especially now that Colin must navigate politics, paparazzi, and legal questions about his personhood. Colin's still angling for his Happily Ever After, but the growing scrutiny on his relationship with Dav threatens their budding romance. And if he's not careful, Colin's fight for agency may just destroy symbiotic human/dragon relationships worldwide.

Beautiful cover art by @seancefemme

[weatherbane]

takes break from work to doodle my bimbo princess <3

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

Pov ur a royal smthn or other that only works during the night and ur used to going overlooked bc again u work at night but then this one servant tells u abt this plant they’ve been breeding that only blooms at night and they give u a baby one that’s small and like rlly ugly and scraggly looking and ur like 😳💘

[moeblob]

She can transform into a dragon and then falls in love with a man on a mission to slay all the dragons he finds. Who then begins to travel with her brother and his friend and keeps hearing about how "my sister could kick your ass" and he tries to keep his sister away from the dragon slayer because that's a risk he won't take.

Then the sister ends up marrying the dragon slayer.

The end.

[evienanaki]

🐿️⚔️

[poisoned-pearls]

❗❗❗❗❗❗

BOTHERING YOU!!! I AM INTERESTED!!!

AUGHH OKAY OKAY SO-

It’s INCREDIBLY similar to canon, that’s like, half of the point. Jamil and Azul have been in the same class for their whole school a career and I firmly believe Azul has HAD a crush on him since their first year even in canon (ex. “I’ve always been curious about you since we were first years.”)

so in this au it happened completely on accident. Since they were only around 3 weeks- a month into school, Jamil didn’t have kalim to worry about yet (who arrived a month later) and azul didn’t have such a large reputation (so Jamil was a little less cautious). Potion project, truth serum. Should be easy right? That was until azul accidentally lost balance and tried to catch himself on the cauldron, sending it all over him and into his mouth.

so when Jamil leans over to ask if he’s okay, because a giant metal thing just tipped over him, the first thing out of his mouth is “great seven you’re gorgeous.”

when Jamil is promptly like “what” Azul literally can not control his tongue and is like “please go on a date with me-“ and Jamil just stares at him for a moment before going “…sure” because, well, hell. He’s free from kalim for the first time in his life, he thinks he’s pretty too, it’s worth a shot and he’s under a truth potion, so at least he knows he finds him attractive. So sure, couldn’t hurt to try.

And it did, in fact, not hurt to try, they snuck their way up the astronomy tower and had a nice dinner that azul made. And they were both, very very happy.

another date later (this time by Jamil, where they played mancala in one of the scarabian common places) and they were official.

And a month later, (a week or so after kalim transferred) Jamil joined basketball and Azul became his number one fan, where a year later Ace learns about his existence from

Azul keeps Jamil from becoming more stressed about kalim, and Jamil uses his study guides to not go insane. Jamil also becomes a third enforcer for the monstro lounge, and knows EXACTLY how everything works, because hell he was there right next to Azul and helping him figure it all out when it was happening. He’ll catch someone trying to run from Azul and his contracts and toss them right back into the shark pit.

theyre also horrible. Like the most couple to ever couple. Jamil waits outside every housewarden meeting to walk with Azul, they always either bring breakfast or coffee for each other (they’ll switch it up on who brings it each day). Hell even Ace originally knew Azul as “Jamil’s boyfriend from octavinelle” during games.

[world-of-wales]

Kensington Palace released a video featuring the Prince of Wales during his meeting with Jack Beeton whose life he helped save following a crash during his time as an Air Ambulance Pilot along with the ambulance crew held at Windsor Castle | 2 JUNE 2023

[aftgficrec]

This is the first time I’ve ever caught you open! Can you send fics of just neil being put through absolute hell. I only need it to be finished and to have a not totally sad ending. Im good with canon post canon and aus so really whatever. Thank you so much I find literally all my fics on your page <3

This kid just can’t catch a break, can he?

There’s plenty of fics we can offer you where Neil doesn’t have a great time (physically or emotionally), just see our list of recs from previous posts.  You’ll find more under our raven!neil, dark and angst w/happy ending tags (not all fics in those tags are complete).  

Please be aware of the trigger warnings though, due to their nature some of these fics deal with some heavy material.

Hope you’ll find what you’re looking for here! - S

A selection from previous posts:

‘Black As Is The Raven, He’ll Get A Partner’ and ‘Timeless’ here

‘hawk in the raven nest’  here

‘Take to the Wing’  here

‘Oh Raven’  here

‘Die Free or Die a Failure’ and ‘Night is the Raven, Day is the Fox’ (both completed) here

‘Scared to Live (But I'm Scared to Die)’ (completed) here

‘Not Damsels, Not Knights’ here

‘what it takes to survive’ (completed) here

‘Heartlines’ and ‘This Is What Hollows’ (completed) here

‘If Only I Were Enough’ (completed) and ‘don't break the glass’ (completed) here (part 1 of the glass series) 

‘Double Trouble’ series here

‘Out of the Ashes’ series here (Part 1 and 2 completed)

‘Make A Believer Out Of Me’ here

‘what if the butcher hurt neil permanently in baltimore’ here

 ‘here and where you are’ here

‘Pause and Restart My Heart’ series here

‘The Bones of You’ here

‘and in a flash, it’s gone’ and ‘(don’t fear) the reaper’ here

‘Creatures We Find in the Forest’ here

‘There Now, Steady Love’ and ‘Except When It's No’ here

‘I Hope You Lie To Me’ here

‘The Story After You’ here

‘and you thought i hated you’ here

‘The Morning AUs, Chapter 14: The Bodyguard AU’ here

‘If all else perished, and he remained’ here

‘stifle my choice and the air in my lungs’ here

‘Purple Skies’ here

‘Monsters on the Top Floor’ here

‘The Reaper’ and ‘TALE OF A MARTYR IN XII PARTS’ (both completed) here

‘The Nameless Monster’ here

‘Through our memories, we live’ (completed) and ‘Hold Each Other, Chapter 24-31: Go or Go Ahead’ here

‘Hold Each Other: Chapter 5: The Gun Still Rattles’ here, ‘Chapter 7: Nothing Always Means Something’ here

‘Calling Me Back Once Again’ here

‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ (completed)  here 

‘Run to You’ here

‘Ghost of You’ here

You may also find something in these posts:

Neil with depression/mental health issues here

Neil attempts suicide here

Christmas at Evermore here

What Lies in Wait by starwarned [Rated M, 23419 words, complete, 2023]

Neil is being haunted — or else he’s losing his mind. All he can hear are the screams echoing in his head. But he and Andrew have made it this far, haven’t they? Can’t they survive a little more? Based on What Lies Beneath.

tw: violence, tw: psychological torture, tw: kidnapping 

Pull Up The Ladder When The Flood Comes by WinterFrost250 [Rated M, 3248 words, complete, 2023]

“Neil-” Kevin paused and looked around the room. As if only just realizing they were surrounded by people, he began speaking in vehement French. “I’m sorry Neil I didn’t mean to look, I just-” Kevin glanced down at his phone, “It was just there when I opened it. I’m sorry.” OR Kevin gets sent pictures from an unknown number of Neils's time in Evermore and shit hits the fan.

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: panic attacks

the boy in the basement by iriswords [Rated M, 3376 words, complete, 2023]

Part 21 of Febuwhump 2023 The Wesninskis are a well-known family in town. A macabre one, with only one survivor: Nathan Wesninski. Every day, Andrew likes to pass in front of the house on his way back home. He observes it distantly, taken over by morbid curiosity. It's how he notices the eyes watching him through the windows of the basement.

tw: violence, tw: torture, tw: blood, tw: major character injury, tw: implied/referenced abuse

next best thing by iriswords [Rated M, 1546 words, complete, 2023]

Part 13 of Febuwhump 2023 Mary and Nathaniel are caught by one of Nathan's enemies while they're on the run. Said enemy doesn't have anything against the two of them, but he deeply desires revenge on Nathan. And in the absence of Nathan, he chooses the next best thing.

tw: violence, tw: blood, tw: major character injury

keep telling me that it gets better (does it ever?) by phan_taloon [Rated M, 15415 words, complete, 2022, locked]

Except the cool steel felt too much like the cool cement of a dirty basement, it burned and numbed his back too much like- He wasn’t fine. But his meds could fix it. He scrambled to his feet, stumbling down the hall to the bathroom and yanking the cabinet open and grabbing the pill bottle in a fist tight enough to hurt. He shook one of the pretty little pills into his palm and he swallowed it dry. But one wasn’t enough. Or, AU where Neil never met the Foxes, with a little less mafia and a little more pain for Neil when he ends up captured by Nathan for months, and has to deal with the consequences by himself. He ends up in treatment for chronic pain with opioids, and let's just say opioid use is tricky when you're alone and in pain; one thing can lead to another more easily than it seems.

tw: drug addiction, tw: drug overdose, tw: withdrawal, tw: suicidal thoughts, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: vomit

no matter when and where, we'll be alright by jingerhead [Rated M, 11611 words, complete, 2022]

Of all the night’s events, there were only three things that Nathaniel really remembered clearly: the moments before the riots, being questioned by Lola in the car, and watching his father walk down the stairs to the basement. The last thing Nathaniel could remember was the way the light caught the blade of his father’s axe, blinding and terrifying as it was raised towards the ceiling. He couldn’t remember it coming down but it had to one way or another, right?

tw: amputation, tw: nightmares, tw: panic attacks

are we whole or just two halves/reaching out to the unknown? by Raphael_Stantiago [Not Rated, 18881 words, complete, Aftg Big Bang 2022]

An informant/defence attorney au, where Neil never left his father and was sucked into the family business, and gave them all up as soon as possible. However, when Neil meets his attorney Andrew, it gets a little more complicated. Cue them falling in love across various court cases, arrests and one on one meetings, all with the threat of witness protection hanging over their heads. NB: fic art by @oliviaillustrations here

tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced violence, tw: dissociation 

All Alone, I've Lost the Hope by phan_taloon [Rated T, 6873 words, complete, 2021, locked]

Even now, lying in the cold concrete floor of wherever he is, surrounded by armed men and women, drowsy from a concussion and drugs, and body pulsating in pain from several places, he still doesn’t believe in regret. Even at the face of the bastard in front of him, the cruel smile and the hungry glint of his eyes, he’d always choose to stay. Even if the FBI may have been right to say the Witness Protection Program was the only logical path to choose with so many of his father’s men and allies still out there.

also available on tumblr here and here 

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: kidnapping, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: blood, tw: suicidal thoughts, tw: depression

It never comes from your enemies by spectaclesandbooks [Rated T, 19408 words, complete, 2021]

"Name?" "Andrew Minyard," he pushes out through gritted teeth. “Well well well,” the man on the other end sounds amused, smug. Andrew waits for him to continue, his feet pounding against the pavement. “If you’re the one coming to meet me, I have to assume you’ve finally found a way to keep Josten on a leash?” The clink of metal, rough breathing, unseeing blue eyes, panicked pleading. When Andrew doesn’t answer, the Raven presses further. “Either you’ve found a way to keep him subdued or you’re not coming alone like you were told. Which is it, Minyard? I told you what would happen if you didn’t do as you were asked.” “Neil won’t be bothering us,” Andrew spits out, “he’s staying at home for this one.” There’s movement on the other end of the phone, presumably the Raven preparing to leave and come meet him. “Excellent,” he says easily. “That means you and I can conduct our business in peace and no-one gets hurt."

tw: violence, tw: blood, tw: panic attacks, tw: implied/referenced self harm

That one party series by Thegaydepression [Rated T, 13872 words, 2 complete works, 2021]

Part 1: Orange (T (we say M), 9237 words)

"Orange is for someone who doesn’t suffocate. But Neil does. He suffocates and he feels it clawing at his throat and beating in his ears and pounding on his chest" ----------------------- Neil thought he was fine, but then he goes to a stupid, loud, bright party. Neil thought he was fine, but he isn't. Not at all.

tw: rape/noncon, tw: violence, tw: panic attacks, tw: depression, tw: anxiety, tw: nightmares, tw: implied/referenced self harm

Part 2: Maybe Orange isn't Suffocating (Not Rated, 4635 words)

A second part to "Orange" ---------------------------------- Andrew is (not) coping Aaron is a surprisingly good brother Neil is not fine

tw: rape/noncon, tw: violence, tw: kidnapping, tw: dissociation, tw: panic attacks, 

hold me close (don't let go) by cake_lovin_ace [Rated G, 4123 words, complete, 2021]

Part 2 of weight of a martyr night by night memories of his childhood flooded his mind’s eye, all the things neil had tried his hardest to suppress. all the times he had been hurt; gotten the scars that littered his torso; been betrayed by the very people meant to protect him. it was like reliving everything all over again in vivid technicolor, and when he managed to claw his way out of the maze his mind trapped him in it was all he could do to remain upright and not crumpled on the floor; on the bed instead of hidden below it; dry-cheeked instead of sobbing hysterically. or neil struggles with memories of the past. andrew helps.

tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: panic attacks, tw: dissociation

what comes after nightmares by moth_writes [Rated T, 10146 words, complete, Aftg Big Bang 2020]

Father won't accept anything less than the best. Nathaniel shuts his eyes and wills himself to a dreamless sleep. Or at least one without knives and blood and pain. He's not successful, but the next time he wakes it is to an alarm and the sun in his window. It's the best he can hope for. ... Neil falls asleep easily, and he knows he has someone with him to battle the darkness back where it belongs now. Neil is thirty, and he is wrapped in his husband’s arms with two cats purring next to them. He fights his own nightmares, and he has his family at his side to help. He’s home. (Neil's nightmares and what happens after, ages 5-30.)

NB: find art for this fic by @i-did here

tw: graphic descriptions of violence, tw: nightmares, tw: child abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture

👑 ROYAL AU WRITING MASTERPOST 👑 by @emry-stars-art [tumblr, 2023]

(especially the posts concerning Neil’s (Abram’s) treatment at Evermore)  e.g. Abram’s return from Evermore, Pieces of his recovery, Andrew taking over Abram’s care

👑 ROYAL AU TUMBLR LORE MASTERPOST 👑 by @emry-stars-art [tumblr, 2023] (comprises both text and art posts)

e.g. Abram's brands pt1 / pt2

tw: violence, tw: injuries, tw: scars, tw: panic attacks, tw: dissociation 

“Perhaps you’ll take me out one day — or do I have to make an appointment?” prompt fill by @ravenvsfox [tumblr, 2017]

His morning is a string of disasters that begins with covering the ER in the Sunday rush of hypochondriac elderly and fussy children. It’s one long stretch of kicked over paint buckets, a mess you can’t ignore, splattering the walls and getting on his shoes.

Art

andreil post-baltimore by @intradaya

It’s over. You’re going to be okay. We’ve got you. by @rainbowd00dles

"All that time fighting and you never learned how to duck?" by @rainbowd00dles

Sunrise, Abram, death: these are truths. by @boydsjosten

Neil Josten art by @runningwithhellhounds

Neil & Wymack after Evermore comic by @rijirain

Neil in the Wymack’s bathroom after winter holidays art by @eggpy

“Help me,” “Let me” by @rainbowd00dles

And if you make it out alive, hold that bloody head up high art by @pearsfears

I’m fine art by @laurafromnowhere

Nathaniel/Neil gif by @queen-of-perplexity

hurt Neil by @rhyva

[mrsthunderkin]

Bartemus was a skinny nervous kid tossed into the world on his own.

Then he found a pirate captain who dadded up for several months.

Bart NEVER forgot him.

But he did forget the boon he gifted him that got passed down to his descendants and snowballed into excessive "good fortune".

His name is Antonio Boscovilla

[bingus35]

I like it when people make fanworks for characters whose backstory/current story hasn’t been revealed yet with a “haha wouldn’t this be funny” mentality, then fast forward a few years and their story turns out to be exactly Like That

[tavina-writes]

currently trying to think if I remember any situations in Jin Yong wuxia where a family preferred sons over daughters (especially as like, a socially mandated thing) and coming up short.

Like I think there are plenty of situations where powerful men/families/sects only have one child and that child is a daughter. And this is neither weird, highly remarked upon, or considered odd in any way. Nor is anyone feeling pressed to come up with a son in the future.

Ren Yingying from XAJH, Yue Lingshan from XAJH, Huang Rong from LOCH, Guo Fu (from ROCH) for a good portion of her life (16 years of it, also Guo Fu wasn't displaced bc one of the twins was a boy, NOR were her parents trying to have more children on purpose), Yang Guo and XLN's daughter from ROCH/HSDS, Gongsun Lu'e from ROCH, etc.

Also their status range from like 'extremely important and visible family in the jianghu' to 'actually not all that well known' so it's not just a "well our family is powerful so who gives a fuck" kind of situation.

Like these are male dominated books, there are more men than there are women in Jin Yong's books (there are really cool women in his books though), but there's almost none 'oh no how will a girl inherit!' left beef. The girl will learn martial arts, like it's hard?

I think this is also relatively true of Gu Long books too, so at some points I'm left ??? at the discourse re: inheritance and gender in MDZS fandom bc I don't think it's actively stated anywhere that women aren't supposed to inherit? Or aren't allowed? or are less capable? or that there's a strong societal prejudice against it? Just. It's a danmei so most of these positions are occupied by men. Like, there are maybe five whole women and even less among the juniors. Who and how and why will they inherit if they don't exist.

[rotzaprachim]

digging my teeth into the really dark fascinating fucked-upness of helnik. they’re fascinating in being a wartime love story about an intentional victim of genocidal violence and an unintentional fuck-around-and-find-out victim of “collateral damage,” both of which are different forms of wartime violence. 

nina is targeted as a grisha, she’s almost killed by the druskelle and fjerda in the books not for being a ravkan spy or agent but simply for being grisha. they will kill her for being grisha. and how will they kill her? they will burn her. and it’s fascinating when she tells matthias in a very justified moment of rage (i mean. they’re looking at the dying burned corpses of her people whom jesper, also a grisha, had to physically shoot) and says i want your family to burn i want them all to be burnt in the way my people were. and matthias says, they already have been. they already burned. and how that changes the entire dynamic between them, everything leading up to that, becuase FUCK. yeah. his whole family has already been burnt. he’s a lone survivor of something in much the same way she is, and his family was burnt not on purpose for being grisha but as a “justified accident,” the casual civilian side-damage of war. and it was her people. unlike the intentional, systemic violence that destroyed her people and left nina a shaken, traumatised survivor of a purposeful genocide, we have matthias as this destroyed survivor of one of those little sorts of accidents that’s swallowed and justified by the shape of the war and what Must Be Done to succeed. (also he serves as like, one of the only times i think it’s really faced that the first army is, you known, a national army that does national-army-during-a-war things.) one does not cancel out the other. 

their relationship is difficult and fucked and that’s why it’s fascinating and has so much potential to explore. it’s so much more complicated than the tiktok “enemies to lovers” trope because they dig right at the base of what it is to be an enemy to someone else. from the ship nina is an almost-lone survivor of the damage his people did. from his village being burnt by inferni matthias is a lone survivor of the damage her people did. from the consequences of war on his people and violent prejudice against her own, nina is raised a child soldier and in many ways reduced to weaponry, something that absolutely is a form of child abuse. from the consequences of war on her people matthias is inducted into a cult and subjected to spiritual abuse. they’ve been hurt by each other’s nations, but also by their own. there’s something so brutal but also tender in the way they knock each other off the orbits they’ve been living in and force them out of the home that is burning. love may make you free, but not without drowning first. 

[somer-writes]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Midna (Legend of Zelda)/Twilight (Linked Universe), Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe) Characters: Twilight (Linked Universe), Midna (Legend of Zelda) Additional Tags: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Alternate Timelines, Twilight (Linked Universe)-centric, Twili Prince Twilight (Linked Universe) Series: Part 1 of Twili Prince Summary:

Twilight meets the chain but he went with Midna to the Twilight Realm post-game.

-----------------------------------

ignoring fluff wips bc i had the Muse to work on this. 

this is probably gonna be a series to explore everything i have ideas for tbh

[shapelytimber]

Wanna see the most insane meeting room I've ever seen ?

I was invited for a visit of Castle Valrose (now called Valrose science univercity) by an historian today. What do you meen people work here ????