#or is it better to tell her the council was right just to spare her life bc it wasnt directly HER choice to wipe ur mind

[eruukat]

in el terms i have recently* replayed kotor but im missing bastila so bad. and cutscene comps for kotor SUCK the last time i went looking for tattooine clips, op slaughtered all of the tusken raiders just to get some czerka credits WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YUO so anyway methinks ill have to replay it myself. or something.

*translation: like 3 years ago

[nebulaafterdark]

The Rats Pt. 2

Aegon Targaryen ii x Velaryon(Strong)!Reader

Summary: Aegon attempts to make peace with Rhaenyra after being forced to usurp her throne. Lucerys’ death complicates things.

18+ ONLY, MDNI

Part 1

“Princess Y/N of house Velaryon.” The guard announces.

Rhaenyra’s heart skips a beat, surely he is mistaken.

“Mother,” Y/N says, racing toward her. “Your grace,” she corrects herself.

Rhaenyra wraps her eldest child in her arms. “Mother will do just fine.”

Y/N buries her face in Rhaenyra’s shoulder.

“How did you get here?” Aegon would never let her go of his own free will.

“Daemon,” Y/N breathes. Knowing that her stepfather will owe her for the half truth.

“Where are the children?”

“In King’s Landing.” Y/N tells her, “to keep Aegon’s wits about him in my absence. He wants to come to an agreement, he’s more than willing to bend the knee. I only ask that he and Helaena be spared…as for Aemond Targaryen, he is a murderer.” Y/N’s voice breaks, “we will avenge the murder of my brother.”

Rhaenyra’s strokes a hand over her hair, feeling the dark waves that remind her of Lucerys. “Aegon and Helaena will receive full pardons based on your testimony. Rest assured I appreciate what you have done on my behalf.”

“Thank you.” Y/N pulls back marginally, realizing her mother’s pregnant belly should be between them. “Where is the babe?”

Rhaenyra shakes her head.

Y/N covers her mouth with her hand, “I am terribly sorry.”

“It is no fault of yours, darling girl.”

“I should have been here with you.”

“When I offered your hand in marriage, I had no idea Aegon was capable of love. It has complicated all of this.”

Y/N nods, “speaking of my husband. I should send word that I am well, lest he take out his frustration on Dragonstone.”

Rhaenyra taps her chin, affectionately. “I will fetch a scroll.”

————————————————————————-

Aegon’s youngest son is the only one of his children to share Y/N’s dark locks. His wife insisted they name him Aegon. After my dearest love. She said.

Aegon agreed of course as he can deny her nothing. The child wails nonstop, in the absence of his mother. At all of four months old, Aegon is the only one who can quiet him besides Y/N. As such, the King is now attending the small council meeting with a babe in his arms.

Their daughter, Dahlia, the eldest of the twins will sit the iron throne one day, through his line of succession and Rhaenyra’s. At all of six, she is sitting at the table. His other children Visera and Laenor have not been properly protected under the guard, they too must stay in his sightline.

“Gods be good.” Alicent frowns at her son.

“What is it?” Aegon huffs, arching a brow at her.

“The small council is no place for children, your grace.” Alicent explains. “They would be better tended by their maids.”

Aegon nods, “right. As you all know, two nights ago, the Princess Helaena was attacked in the children’s chambers. Our heirs were threatened and Queen Y/N was taken from us. During which time, not a single guard could be found on the entirety of the royal floor! Because you were-”

Aegon looks to his children in turn, “cover your ears my darlings.” He smiles, waiting until they have done as they’re told, holding his own hand over his infant’s ear. “Where were we, mother? Oh, that’s right, no one was guarding my children because you were fucking the royal guard.”

The council members lower their heads in acknowledgement.

“The men who carried out this attack, entered under the guise of rat catching. I want them found and swiftly executed.” Aegon demands, patting his sleeping son’s leg.

“We have been interrogating rat catchers for days, thus far we have no leads.” Otto explains.

A slow smile spreads over the King’s face. “Then hang them all.”

Alicent blanches.

“Anything else?” Aegon asks, watching Visera begin toying with Otto’s chair.

“A letter arrived from Dragonstone, your grace.” Lord Tyland informs him.

“Oh?” Aegon says, “from Rhaenyra?”

“From Queen Y/N.”

Aegon swallows, “did you read it?”

“No, my King.”

“Good,” Aegon reaches for the rolled parchment.

‘My dearest Aegon,

Please know that I am well. We would like to begin negotiations to end the blockade and create a peaceful transfer of power. This will require your cooperation, I hope you will meet me at Dragonstone to discuss this matter farther.

Forever yours,

Y/N’

Aegon exhales, sharply.

“What is it, your grace?”

“The children and I are off to Dragonstone.”

“Whatever for?”

“To negotiate the terms of Y/N’s return.”

“My King…”

“And if you cannot agree on said terms?” Alicent asks.

Aegon frowns, lifting a shoulder. “To war then.”

“He is unhinged,” Otto whispers to his daughter.

“As I warned he would be.” Alicent rises from her seat. “He is quite…devoted to her.”

————————————————————————

“It has been three days since you sent word to King’s Landing. We must assume Aegon’s silence is his response.” Daemon seethes, around the drawing table.

“Give it time.” Y/N insists, “you owe me that.”

Daemon smirks, “I owe you nothing, spoiled thing.”

“Mmm,” Y/N hums. “My mother does not yet know how I came to be here.”

“And you are not going to tell her. Otherwise, my distaste for your usurping cunt of a husband will be demonstrated at length.”

Sunfyre roars, calling their attention to the nearest window.

Daemon huffs, “I’ll be damned.”

“And he’s brought the children.” Y/N rejoices, running out to join her family.

Jacaerys is already helping to unload her children from the makeshift carriage on the dragon’s saddle.

“Mother!” Dahlia and Visera charge Y/N nearly knocking her backwards.

Laenor runs after them with his little legs as Aegon the fourth, stares at her, babbling in his father’s arms.

Y/N is moved to tears, “you came.”

“You didn’t think I would?” Aegon cocked his head to the side.

“It’s a rather large ask,” Y/N explains.

“For you, the world.” He replies, with a kiss to her temple. “Now, where is Rhaenyra? We have much to discuss.”

“Her grace will join us soon.”

Aegon nods, “I request a small audience, before the council.”

“That can be arranged.”

“After which your brother might tend the children whilst you show me your quarters.” Aegon whispers.

Y/N smirks, “of course.”

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[aernx]

under the rearview 𖧷 （ 엔하 ）

[❕] secret relationship w enha maknae line · warnings jealousy in jungwon’s part · genre · fluff, minor angst?, university au · not proofread （hyung line ver ）

001. KIM SUNOO （김선우）

It’s the nth time they asked, yet your answer remains the same. You and Sunoo were just friends, nothing more, nothing less. Well for them, that is. But in reality, you two far exceeds the label of “friends”. It’s been nearly three months since you both started dating and watching your friends remain clueless towards your intwined hearts, made everything more exciting.

Sunoo was your crush friend since high school. With his perfect looks and personality sweeter than the dose of sugar in a candy bar, it was extremely hard not to catch feelings. Not that anyone can blame you, Sunoo’s charms were irresistible.

After endless years mastering the art of pining and denial, you finally mustered the confidence to confess. Much to your surprise, the feeling you held for him did not remain one sided.

Stolen glances across cafeteria tables, intwined pinkies in between lecture halls, you and Sunoo were good at keeping it under the rearview.

Always so cautious, but it makes everything better, more thrilling. Sneakily hiding behind staircases, biting back the smile that crept on your lips as he enters your line of sight.

One day maybe. One day you’ll be able to tell your friends. But right now, you feel content on what was going. Just you and Sunoo, overlooked under the blinding lights, hands joined in the darkness where the shadows loom.

002. YANG JUNGWON （양중원）

Maybe it was an impulsive decision. Maybe you shouldn’t have done it. Hell it was your idea, you wanted to keep you and Jungwon’s relationship private. And you regret every second of it.

You get that Jungwon was popular—hell you are even popular too. But you didn’t think he would be that kind of popular.

There was a difference between you and him. If any guys dared to approach you, you were quick to turn them down. But Jungwon? He’s different. He’s too kind to shoot down girls like that. Especially when that girl is the student council secretary.

As the council president, it was his job to deal with countless of students, and that was no issue for you. After all you yourself knew better. As his vice, it was also your job to attend such matters.

But you knew something was wrong when the secretary never once spared you a glance in meetings, or such. Her eyes basically glued to your boyfriend as he presented the important matters in hand.

You felt like rolling your eyes. Hell maybe you did. Sure maybe it’s not her fault—she didn’t know any better. You had no reason to hate her.

It’s not her fault she developed a tiny little crush on Jungwon. I mean the whole university probably did at some point. But you didn’t like it. Maybe it’s your fault you decided to keep it private. But you didn’t want your relationship spectate any unwanted attention. The council was already busy as it is, there was no need anymore unnecessary stirs.

But once you informed Jungwon of this matter, you knew you did the right thing. He understands, because that’s who he was. You took notice of the way your boyfriend set boundaries with the secretary you were wary of. After all their relationship were just bound to student council matters, nothing more. Unlike you and him, who’s hearts beat in sync in between all those meetings, amidst the busyness of the council. Because you knew he always got your back, and you always got his.

003. NISHIMURA RIKI （西村 力）

You loved it. You loved every second of it. Seeing his eyes searching yours in the midst of the crowd, seeing his friends tease him for having a crush on you while in reality, you were already his.

He loved seeing them completely oblivious with the fact. It’s funny, really. Maybe it’s a bit childish, but that’s just how you and Riki has always been. Light and carefree was the motto of your relationship.

You wanted to keep things easygoing, slow. You both weren’t ready for the others to know just yet. Though, it’s not like you both were trying hard to hide it. Your friends and him was just a bit blind. If one were to pay attention it would be all too obvious.

The way his eyes lights up everytime you pass by was hard to miss, even for a blind person. The sight of you itself made him giddy to the heart. Sure maybe it’s a shame that he couldn’t show you off. That he couldn’t shove the smirks of his hyungs’ face, a clear look of triumph displayed on his features as he tells his hyungs how he got the girl.

It’s a shame, really. But deep down, you both think it’s more intimate. No one knows about what’s happening under the bleachers. No one knows the way you sneak him in your dorm room in twilight, where the moon shines its brightest. No one knows the way his heart is in your grasp, fingers fully intwined, as he held you close, not willing to ever let go.

perma taglist ❀ @1-800shutthefuckup @astrae4 @chaerybae @haechansbbg @ja4hyvn | nets. @enhanet @hyfenet @kflixnet @k-labels

© aernx 2023 / do not steal, copy, translate — hope you enjoy my works! let me know if you have any suggestions ! comment ur thoughts n reblogs n likes wld be appreciated !

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // ELEVEN

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: Your evening with Lee is cut short by the arrival of a strange boy with hooked swords. Instead, you go to the fountain and reveal your greatest secret to the Blue Spirit.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.0k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: i hope you guys don’t think i’m insane for how often i’m updating

Something amazing had just happened to you, and there was no one you wanted to tell more than Kuei. Your brother, who you loved more than anything. You could envision his pride already, the way his face would glow when he saw it, the way he’d pick you up and spin you around and tell you how happy he was.

It was as you ran down the carpeted hallway towards his chambers that you heard hushed voices coming from the room where your brother’s council of advisors met. He was still young, of course, a child as you were, and so the daily goings-on of the kingdom were managed by these advisors, who were all specialists in their field and had advised your father before Kuei.

Always more interested than your brother in this type of affair, you rested your back against the wall by the door, holding your breath so that you did not alert the men to your presence. They were speaking quietly, but they had left the door ajar by mistake, and so it was not very difficult for you to listen in.

“That boy is no king,” the first said. “Do you think his father would let Long Feng walk over him like that?”

“He is still a child,” the second said. “We cannot expect much from him.”

“Even as a child, he has no interest in learning statecraft, nor the history of his kingdom. He’s far too busy playing with his sister and drawing pictures of bears in his lesson book to absorb anything of use. I fear his reign will lead to the end of the kingdom as we know it,” the first argued. At this, the second sighed.

“You’re right about that much, to be sure. He does not have the power to back up the few proclamations he makes. What kind of general obeys a king like that?” the second said.

You swallowed, for these were words you knew to be treasonous. They were speaking ill of your brother, of the King Kuei, and they ought to lose their stations for it. There was nothing you could do, though; even if Kuei would believe you, who else would? Who would discharge two premier advisors on the words of a little girl?

“If only he were born an Earthbender,” the first said. “Then he could be trained. Then there would be a way that he could eventually gain the respect of the rest of the council.”

“There hasn’t been an Earth King who could Earthbend in many decades now,” the second said. “At this point, I’d even take a queen, if she could just do that much.”

“What do you mean by that?” the first said. The second huffed.

“You know. That sister of his,” he said. “If she shows some promise…if she can lift even a pebble…then we will do what we must in order for the kingdom to have a strong ruler.”

“You’d kill the king in favor of a queen?” the first said.

“If she can Earthbend, then I’ll kill anyone for her to rule,” the second said bluntly. “It’s about time that the world was reminded of why Shan’s line is so feared.”

“You are more daring than I thought, old friend!” the first said. “Let’s vow to keep an eye on the young princess. The moment she gives us a hint that she can Earthbend, we will strike.”

“And if she doesn’t?” the second said.

“Then we’ve lost nothing but a few spare moments spent caring for our dear king’s heir,” the first said. “It’ll only make us look better in the eyes of the royals. We really cannot lose in this scenario.”

“You’re right,” the second said. 

You didn’t stay to hear the rest of it. Staring at your palms in horror, those very palms which might lead to your brother’s death, you ran back to your room as fast as you could, pressing your hands over your ears as you chanted the same thing to yourself under your breath, over and over like it was a mantra.

“I am not an Earthbender. I am not an Earthbender. I am not an Earthbender.”

“You know, I had a lot of fun with you,” you said, pulling on the end of Lee’s sleeve to get his attention. “Lee, I really am being serious. I enjoyed it.”

The two of you had spent the rest of the afternoon doing random things around Ba Sing Se. You had bought lunch for you both, and Lee had argued with the vendor until he agreed to give you the food for half-price, after which you had sat by the fountain and eaten together. It was surprisingly nice, even though neither of you had spoken much. Oddly, you didn’t mind silence with him. It was alright. It was nice, even.

“Yeah, whatever,” Lee said. “I guess you could say I had fun, too.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to admit that you like spending time with me,” you said.

“It might,” he said.

“Oh, save it. At the minimum, won’t you say that it was better than working the afternoon shift?” you said.

“That much is true,” he allowed. “But it’s back to work for me now. It’s just about time for the evening round to start.”

“For shame,” you said. “Let this not be the last time we do something like this together.”

“Okay,” he said gamely. You were actually taken aback, not expecting him to agree so readily. Lee was one of those particularly contrary people, the type to refuse on principle, even if he harbored no real misgivings, so for him to just say yes was out of character. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Did you like your lunch that much?” you said.

“Huh?” he said.

“It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you to acquiesce so quickly. Normally, you would’ve pretended to deliberate over it for at least a minute or two,” you said.

“You told me a good story,” he said. “Do you blame me for wanting to hear more?”

“Ah, so I’m your new theology lecturer,” you said. “You should’ve said so from the start.”

“Not exactly,” he said, staring at his feet as he walked. “You’re something else.”

“Something else! And may I be privy to what that might be?” you said.

“No,” he said. “It’s for me to know, not you!”

By his tone alone, you could understand what that something else could represent, but you did not force him to explain further. He always gave you these considerations, never made you talk more than you offered, never demanded you elaborate, so you did the same for him, only humming a song your brother used to sing to you as you entered the tea house.

“This is where we must part, then,” you said when you and he reached the counter. Lee pulled his apron down from its hook and tied it back on miserably, already dimming, though you had not noticed until it was vanished that he had been close to happiness the entire time the two of you had been together.

“Lee, Y/N! You’re back!” Mushi said as he exited the kitchen. “How was it?”

You arched a brow at Lee, jerking your head towards Mushi, indicating that he had to respond in his own words. It was not just because it was polite; you wanted to hear it, too. What would he tell his uncle about the outing? What had he thought of it?

He finished tying the apron behind his back in a neat bow and rolled his sleeves up again, revealing his sinewy forearms. It was something you had always taken note of: he was far more well-built than you would’ve expected of an ordinary citizen. It was closer to the lithe musculature of the higher-ranked soldiers, but you had never come up with a satisfactory explanation for why he was like that.

“We had a good time,” he said shortly. “Am I serving or washing this time?”

“That is great to hear,” Mushi said. “I told you you would! And I think they want you serving tonight.”

He said something under his breath that you could not quite catch, but then he nodded, ducking beneath the counter to produce a tray. And though it meant that you would be late to the lighting of the fountain lamps, where you might meet the Blue Spirit, you found yourself lingering, trying to squeeze out every bit of time you could spend with Lee until you had to go for good.

You weren’t sure why you wanted to. It was a realization you were on the brink of arriving at, but you hadn’t quite reached yet. It just remained that that was how it was, that you preferred arguing with him to speaking fondly with anyone else, that you’d rather sit in silence with him than have an avid discussion with another person.

“Hey,” Lee said, pausing before you with the empty tray in his hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Y/N.”

“What a turn of events,” you said. “The very boy who tried to ban me from the shop is now inviting me back.”

“And the very girl who was once illiterate is now telling stories of her own,” he said with a wry half-grin. “Things change.”

The door slammed open, almost bursting off of its hinges, and you all but leapt out of your skin as a boy brandished a pair of hooked swords at you and Lee, a piece of grass sticking out of his mouth, incongruous with the rest of his regalia.

“That’s enough!” he shouted. “I’ve had enough of all of you! Since no one believes me, I’ll prove it myself!”

“What are you talking about?” one of the low-level militia members who frequented the shop said. “You have about ten seconds to drop those swords, boy.”

“That boy and the old man are Firebenders!” the boy shouted. “Judging by the girl’s closeness to them, she’s in on it, too! I bet she’s a Firebender as well!”

You thought it was ironic that he was accusing his own kingdom’s princess of being from another nation, but considering no one knew who you were, you could not share the humor you derived from the ridiculous declaration. Glancing at Lee, you saw that his mouth had set into a firm line.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about! You must be confused,” Mushi said.

“I saw you warming tea!” the boy said. Almost collectively, everyone in the shop rolled their eyes.

“Uh, yeah,” you said, speaking for the entire crowd when you did so. “He’s a tea-maker. They do tend to do that.”

“That’s not the point! How about this?” he said, jabbing his swords at the poor, defenseless Mushi, who backed away in concern. “I’ll just make you Firebend! If you do it in front of everyone, then there’s no way it can be denied any longer!”

As the boy rushed towards you, Mushi, and Lee, the militia man stood in your defense. Before he could do anything, though, Lee was taking the swords of the man’s back and pointing them at the boy.

“If it’s a show you want, then it’s a show you’ll get,” he said. You gasped as the two of them began to battle. Mushi took you by the arm, pulling you out of the way as Lee and the boy leapt atop the tables, slashing at one another with blows that were not meant to solely maim.

“What is happening?” you said as the clash made its way outside. “Since when can Lee use broadswords?”

“He’s a boy of many talents!” Mushi said as you followed the crowd outside. You hid behind him, peeping over his shoulder and clutching the back of his shirt when Lee sacrificed one of his swords so that the other boy would lose one of his.

“Will he be alright?” you said. You couldn’t understand the extent of your nerves, only that you were nervous. You didn’t want Lee to die, of course, but that was a natural reaction which any person might have. What was strange was that every time the boy’s hook whistled near Lee’s face, every time its wicked tip nearly caught on Lee’s arm, your heart leapt into your throat.

“He’s skilled, but this poor boy is confused. Someone, please help him!” Mushi said. “Oh, thank goodness.”

You weren’t sure why he was so relieved, but then you saw those familiar uniforms and squeaked before crouching behind Mushi. It was two Dai Li agents, come to take the other boy away — two Dai Li agents who, if they had turned their heads even a moment earlier, would’ve seen you and known that you had escaped the palace right under Long Feng’s nose.

“Are they gone?” you said as the crowd began to disperse. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, it’s all clear,” Mushi said. You looked around his legs, but he seemed to be telling the truth, so, straightening, you brushed yourself off.

“Thank Quynh,” you said with a shudder. “That was so frightening. Lee, are you fine?”

“It was nothing,” Lee said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he handed the militia man his swords back. His expression was still dark as he took off his apron and tossed it at his uncle. “I’m taking the rest of the day off, uncle.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” you said, reaching out and placing your hand on his shoulder to stop him before he could stalk back into the tea shop. He whirled around, and you preemptively cringed back, already feeling sorry for asking, but it was too late.

“I said I’m fine!” he said. Upon noticing how you had already shrank away, though, his eyes widened. “Just…it’s fine. You should go, Y/N.”

“Right,” you said. “I’ll, um, see you around.”

He nodded, and then, before Mushi could convince you otherwise, before anyone could tell you to stop, you were running towards the fountain, the only place where you might find some solace, even if said solace had not come in so long.

Finding that familiar bench, you collapsed atop it, the stress of everything compounding until you were close to tears. What if Lee had really been injured? What if the Dai Li had not come in time and the boy had bested him? What if he ended up in the same state as some of the people you had seen in the Lower Ring? If he lost his arm or his leg, if another scar was sliced into his face, then what?

You had not been crying for very long when there were those same footsteps in front of you, the soft, light ones that you had all but memorized from how frequently you imagined them. Though you did not take your hands away from your face, you opened your fingers, peering through watery eyes at the figure squatting before you.

He tapped your wrists, and you let him pull your hands down, even though you were more than a little embarrassed to be found in such a state by the Blue Spirit, who always seemed so collected. Using your neckline to blot away your tears, you ignored your rational mind’s warning and threw your arms around his shoulders, resting your face against the crook of his neck.

“Things are so terrible, Blue Spirit,” you said, holding onto him as if he were an anchor. He was hesitant in reciprocating, but eventually, his own arms settled around your waist, keeping you in place if not pulling you closer. “My — my friend, have I told you about him? My friend, his name is Lee…I’d never say it to his face, but he’s someone I really admire. He’s so certain of himself and his opinions, and he’s not like Kuei or the servants at all — he’s really very witty, he can actually keep up with me and argue his own points when we speak instead of constantly bowing to my whims or dismissing them in turn! He’s my friend, my only friend, except you, but today he was attacked. Attacked! In my own city, he was attacked!”

The Blue Spirit patted you on the back. It was a little too rough to really be considered comforting, but you understand the intention and found that the effect was not lessened despite his ineptitude.

“I was so worried he might’ve been hurt,” you said. “What would have I done then? Who would I have if not him? You might not believe it, or maybe you might find it depressing, but I’ve really grown attached to him in the short time we’ve known one another. Besides you, he’s the only person who’s treated me normally, without reverence. I’m not her royal highness the princess when I’m with him. I’m just the frustrating Y/N who likes books and distracts him from his work.”

The Blue Spirit pulled away and shook his head at you. You laughed, though it was a thin, brittle sound.

“You don’t know the half of it,” you said. “It’s a wonder he gets anything done at all when I’m there. A testament to his character, maybe. Anyways, I think I’ve upset him.”

The Blue Spirit shook his head once more, but you could only stroke the cheek of his cool mask.

“Thank you for that, but I really have. It’s alright; I will apologize to him tomorrow. I was in the wrong for bothering him when he had been in such peril only seconds previously,” you said. “I’m sorry to you, as well, for burdening you with my troubles. It’s only that I hadn’t realized the truth of Ba Sing Se until now. I was told that the city was more dangerous than I expected before I came here, but until I experienced it myself, I didn’t quite appreciate what it entailed.”

The Blue Spirit nodded, using his gloved hand to swipe away the tear tracks which had dried on your face. You caught his hand and squeezed it.

“I want to show you something,” you said. “It’s a secret that I haven’t told anyone else in all my years of living, but since you’ve saved me twice already, I think that it’s alright if you know.”

He cocked his head as you trotted over to the fountain, fishing around in the water, pulling out one of the little glass lanterns that floated along the surface in the night, when the turtleducks had gone away to wherever they slept. Blowing out the candle, you smashed it against the ground, careful not to cut yourself on the twinkling shards.

“You see, the reason why I’ve been kept in the palace is because I’m a nonbender like my brother, like my father, like most of my family, in fact. It’s because I’m defenseless — or at least, because I’m thought to be,” you said. “But it’s not entirely like that. Er, the second thing is true, sadly. I am defenseless, or nearly so, but as for the rest of it…”

Gathering the pieces of glass in your palm, you concentrated on them, or, specifically, the tiny particles of earth which they were made of. It was not a feat of strength but of precision, and though you held no claim to the former, the latter was something you could proudly call yours.

Shielded by the Blue Spirit’s body on one side and the fountain on the other, the jagged edges of the glass smoothed and curled on your palm, melding together until they formed the shape you wanted them to: a sparkling lily, which you presented to the man.

“That’s the extent of it, I’m afraid,” you said as he held it up to the firelight. “Glass flowers and other such sculptures. I’m not particularly strong, you see, or if I am, then I’ve never been able to cultivate that strength. Bending exercises, repeated forms…I could not practice things like that for fear of what would become of Kuei if I did.”

He was obviously confused; you did not blame him. It was a confusing statement without the context behind it, so, staring at the rushing waters of the fountain, you began to explain.

“I was fairly young when I discovered that I could Earthbend,” you said. “I ran to tell my brother, but on the way there, I overheard a pair of his advisors saying that if I turned out to be an Earthbender, they’d kill my brother so I could take the throne. That was something I could not allow — he is my brother, you know. My only family. I could not let him die, too, so I swore off bending forever.

“I was not entirely successful. Bending is something that those of us who have it must perform frequently in order to be fulfilled, so my compromise was making things like that flower. Little artworks, which were innocuous enough that no one was ever suspicious as to their true origin. I didn’t have a traditional teacher, but Quynh — yes, the bear spirit, the patron of the Earth Kingdom, the great mother, that Quynh. I’m the princess, aren’t I? It only makes sense that she guided me. Anyways, she taught me that, if I could not train my power, then I had to refine my senses, so that I was sufficiently challenged without making my prowess obvious.

“At first, I only bent crystals, which are harder than pure earth but easier than glass to work with. Eventually, though, I grew bored of making small pieces of jewelry for Quynh, no matter how lovely she looked draped in diamonds and rubies. After that, I graduated to glass, and that’s what I do when I’m bored of reading and studying — I practice.

“I suppose you could call me the world’s only Glassbender,” you finished. “Not the first, but the only remaining, as Quynh was the only remaining bear. It’s not a very practical element, but it’s not like I’ll ever need to use it for anything but aesthetics, so for my own purposes, it’s suitable.”

The Blue Spirit admired the glass lily, and you laughed as he turned it over in his hands — a real laugh this time, not a despairing one. He was like a child, filled with such delight at the simple toy you had fashioned. For a while, he played with it, tracing each edge and crevice with his slender fingers, caressing each individual petal, and then finally, reluctantly, he offered it back to you.

“No, it’s a gift,” you said. “You can keep it. It’s not difficult for me to make more, and no matter how pretty it is, it’s really only glass. It’s not in rare supply by any means.”

He did not think twice, carefully tucking the flower away in the folds of his clothing. You smiled at him before raising your finger to your lips.

“It’s a secret, remember? No one can know I’m an Earthbender. No one can realize the truth, lest they depose Kuei and install me in his place,” you said.

The Blue Spirit offered you his hand, and for a moment you stared at it unsurely. It was a strange form of agreement, but then you understood — it was not his hand he was offering but his pinky finger. You interlocked your own with it, so that the deal was made, the secret sworn, and then you let go.

“Imagine how the civilians would laugh,” you said, sitting on the marble edge of the fountain and dipping your fingers in the water. “If they knew the truth. That name they call me is more apt than they realize, isn’t it? The Glass Princess. I really am one.”

He sat beside you, though he did not dip his own hand into the water. He only observed you, and though it might’ve been intense, uncomfortable, awkward, were it anyone else, it felt reasonable with him. Like that was what he was meant to be doing.

“Can I see your hand?” you said. He gave it to you readily, and you cradled it in yours, arranging it so that the palm was facing upwards, before pausing. “Is it alright if I take the glove off?”

You waited. For a moment, the night was utterly still as he thought about the request, and in that time, you came to notice things about the world which you had thus far been blind to.

The precise shade of his mask, which was a deep blue like sapphire-paint. It was something that you could never erase from your mind, the visage of your savior, the color which had stood between you and your death — but it was also the color that had unmasked the truth of your city to you. If it were not for the Blue Spirit, wouldn’t you still live in that same ignorance? You could not yet say you understood anything, but now you knew that there was something there which needed to be understood in the first place. Before, you were not even aware of that much.

The exact scent clinging to him, which was the delicate fragrance of the honey that some used as sweetener in place of sugar. It was not overwhelming nor heady; it was a soft, warm aroma, as gentle and inviting as candlelight.

The shushing rhythm of the fountain in the background, which was melodic in its sameness. It was another one of those sounds, the type that easily faded away when it was not on your mind but which was omnipotent when you paid attention. The steady flow of the water lulled you into another state — not sleep, because you could not sleep when you were so close to the Blue Spirit, but the opposite, a heightened awareness of both yourself and of him.

That was why time passed both agonizingly slowly and yet dizzyingly quickly, up until the moment that he nodded in agreement and whatever trance you had been in was broken.

Anticipation rushed through you as you took your free hand, the one not supporting his, and tugged on the end of the glove. It came off with a swift motion, and for the first time, there was the sensation of your skin touching his own.

“They say you can tell someone’s future by these marks,” you said, dancing your fingers along the creases of his palm. “It’s an ancient art. Very esoteric. I never learned much about it, but now, I wish I had.”

You wished you could read his future, untangle those winding ways into something comprehensible. The roadmap of the Blue Spirit’s life. You wished you could read it, could know if that destiny was one that included you in its course, but you did not say anything along those lines. You didn’t know what that desire meant yourself, and you didn’t want to frighten him, either, in case it sounded like something it was not.

Though his hands were surprisingly soft, there were calluses formed in the places where he gripped his swords. They were incredibly warm, too, though it was in a pacifying way, not with the sickly sense of fever. They were the hands of a warrior, but also the hands of vanity, and it relieved you to see that even the perfect, infallible Blue Spirit was prone to this fault.

“If only I were more like you,” you said. “Ba Sing Se is in such a state of disrepair, and I can do nothing but offer coins to those I come across, in the hopes that I might alleviate their personal struggles. That’s not hardly enough, though. For every one person I can help, tens of others do not get the same chance. Tens of others continue to suffer from a problem that I cannot identify. What princess does not even know why her subjects are in such pain? What princess can do so little about it?”

The love for your kingdom or the love for your brother? If you were the queen, would things be any different? Would Ba Sing Se be in a better position, or would it all be the same? Well, it was a moot point now. You were not an Earthbender in any way that mattered. The advisors had longed to instate you so that you could remind the world of the power of Shan’s line, but as it was, you would only make a mockery of your famed ancestor. The man who had established the entire Earth Kingdom, left with a great-to-the-nth-degree granddaughter who could only bend glass. That was his lineage. That was his legacy.

“My forefathers must be so ashamed of me,” you said. “What have I ever done with my life? What is there that I can still do? I am the Glass Princess, and that’s all I will be remembered as. King Kuei’s sister who would’ve watched Ba Sing Se fall if it meant she could keep her pretty jewels and fancy dresses.”

Taking another lantern, removing its candle, you twisted the glass into a miniature replica of the Earth Palace. It was meticulous and perfect; such was the training Quynh had given you, after all. Form over function. Accuracy over mass. Mental fortitude over physical fortification.

“That’s where I am,” you said, tapping the minuscule window. “All of the time, unless I am with you or in the tea shop. That’s the extent of my world.”

Two finger lengths long. That was your existence in summary. You put the Blue Spirit’s glove back on and gave him the model of the palace.

“In case you ever visit,” you said. “So you don’t get lost. Come see me if you do, won’t you?”

He didn’t offer you his pinky this time, but you figured that when he nodded his head in acceptance, he still meant it as a promise.

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[simarcana]

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Transcription under the cut!

Alika: My head hurts like hell… What just… Happened?

??: You’re already awake! That’s promising… In some way ??: I guess it’s time for the courtesies. May I have the honor?

Ebe: My name is Ebenezer Schuster. The Spellcasters next to me are Morgyn Ember and L. Faba. You are now in the Realm of Magic, in the presence of the three Sages to be put on trial for Faustian bargain.

Alika: Mo-Morgyn?! I didn’t recognize you at all. What’s the meaning of all this?! I didn’t do anything with any Faust guy!! I swear- please we’re friends. Help me out of this.

Faba: Look kid, we have nothing against you directly. But the way your magic exploded… It can be explained only by a trade with a demonic entity. We don’t intervene for mundane trades, but we must eradicate Faustian spellcasters since they are made to haunt and harm our people. Ebe: The last time I witnessed one was in … 1890. She ate ten spellcasters before the Order captured her.

Morgyn: Put down the act! Your magic exploded in the blink of an eye during a full moon. Just tell us what you trade, and I’ll try to intercede with the Council to at least spare your life. Given the situation, this is the only gesture of kindness I can offer you. Faba (whispering): Shouldn’t he be more concerned about the existence ofa magic realm? Ebe (whispering): Kids these days are hard to impress.

Alika: So you’re accusing me of some big ass crime out of thin air? You have no idea how I got any magic! Do I have the right to some kind of wizard lawyer, or the trial is just a formality before sending me right the stocks?

Ebe: *Unintelligible whispers* Morgyn: Mh- It could easly do the trick.

Morgyn: You're in luck, we currently have something much, much better than a lawyer- Alika: Oof, you’re such a show off-

Morgyn: There’s a powerful soothsayer in the Realm. He will see what precisely happened during the last full moon. If what you say is true, we’ll drop everything. I hope you’re not playing games. I don’t want to lose another friend.

Alika: Losing? You’re so pessimistic, love. When this buffoonery of trial comes to an end be sure to buy me a drink. Now let’s see this soothsayer, and let’s set this thing for good.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Challenge: Aegon had to be King for his own survival. Rhaenyra would have killed him. And Alicent. Maybe not Helaena. DEFINITELY Aemond. He was protecting himself. AND he offered her the chance to p much keep living her life in peace.

Rebuttal: We have absolutely no evidence of this short of Otto's claims. And Otto is lying.

He saw firsthand what happened when a member of Rhaenyra's family tried to steal her inheritance. When Daemon occupied Dragonstone and declared himself Viserys' heir, did Rhaenyra resort to bloodshed? Did she use this as an excuse to try and kill Daemon? No. She called his bluff. She invited him to strike first. So when Otto tells Alicent that Rhaenyra will have "no choice" but to put her brothers to the sword, either he is suffering from memory loss, or he's lying through his teeth. He should know better than anyone that Rhaenyra is no kinslayer.

Here's the real truth. Otto realized that he couldn't control Rhaenyra. That she would not accept her position being taken away without a fight. He saw how easily she won over Daemon, how alike the two of them were. Just look at Otto's expression when Rhaenyra is flying away. He's realized that if it came to a fight with Rhaenyra, she'd have Daemon backing her. And that terrified him.

The story that Rhaenyra would preemptively murder her brothers to prevent any challenges to her claim is just that, a story. Otto uses it as justification for his plot to reject the succession. During the Green Council, he tries to have Rhaenyra and Daemon murdered so they won't challenge Aegon - exactly what he claimed Rhaenyra would do. Realistically, why would she ever do this in the first place? If she murdered her own brothers without any provocation, she would look like a tyrant. All the lords actually on her side would abandon her. Rhaenyra doesn't have a reason to harm Aegon unless he gives her one, and it's clear as day that he wouldn't do so on his own. She'd likewise have zero reason to hurt Helaena or Alicent. They have no real power. I suppose Aemond might be a problem, but again, only if he initiates. Rhaenyra isn't going to pick a fight with him.

The terms offered to Rhaenyra in 1X10 are, frankly, a complete joke. They offer her Dragonstone...which she already has. She's been living there, and now that she's queen, the castle belongs to Jace. They offer to re-confirm Luke as heir to Driftmark...even though he was already re-confirmed, just two days ago. Not to mention that Corlys survived, so the Crown really doesn't have jurisdiction over that anymore. Corlys will always choose Luke. Oh, and they offer to take her two youngest children as hostages. Sure, they don't call it that, but Rhaenyra's no fool, and it's plain as day that they would be hostages. Perhaps treated as guests, but taken for no other reason than to keep Rhaenyra in line. She's the rightful Queen, why should she entertain such nonsense? Oh, and they offer to spare any Lords who "conspired" against Aegon's ascent. Even though the story of Viserys "changing his mind" isn't well known, and these Lords would have simply been following the succession as they knew it to be. Get real.

Finally, Aegon acting in self-defense based on what he was told might have been his motive in the book. But in the show, it's very clearly a case of enjoying the attention. He feels validated and seen by the crowd. It's the first time he is actually shown to enjoy being King and maybe even start to want it.

[goodqueenaly]

do you think tywin ordered gregor to rape elia, or did he "just" order gregor to murder her brutually?

Does it matter?

Is Tywin absolved of guilt for Elia's death (and the horrific manner of it) if he did not literally say the words "ok Gregor, now when you get inside the Red Keep I want you to make sure you brutally rape Princess Elia before you murder her"? Does Tywin get to shift the blame entirely to Gregor, as he asserts to Tyrion, for the rape and murder of Elia, because, he, Tywin, "did not tell him to spare her"?

Whatever Tywin told Gregor with respect to Elia (and I tend to doubt Tywin's insistence that he did not personally want to take vengeance on Elia, given how petty and thin-skinned Tywin always was), Tywin undoubtedly sent a brutal, sadistic young knight (along with Amory Lorch, another brutal knight) to murder an infant in the care of that baby's own mother. Tywin picked Gregor Clegane specifically and gave at least that specific order. This was not a situation like, say, the northmen who murdered the tavern women along the Red Fork, where an independent loyalist band for a certain faction took it upon itself to commit horrific crimes against the (perceived) enemies of its faction (though even there, I think, the story very much wants readers to consider how those actions reflect on the nobility of Robb's faction); this was Tywin giving an order to a hand-picked soldier - a man who was "huge and terrible in battle" - to terrorize noncombatants and murder an infant. The blood was on Tywin's hands for Elia's death and the circumstances of it, just as much as it was on Gregor's (and just as it was on Amory Lorch's for the murder of Rhaenys).

This is a point that the story underlines again and again - Tywin cannot escape blame for his crimes simply because he raised his hands and said "well, I didn't swing the sword, I didn't say 'do xyz'". Think about his attempts to outsource his terror program in the Riverlands initially to Gregor Clegane, a clumsy ruse that Ned saw right through back in AGOT. Think about Tywin's facially hypocritical declaration to the small council in ASOS that he would give Prince Doran Martell "the justice Robert denied him for the murder of his sister Elia and her children", a ridiculous promise that Tyrion gleefully (if silently) mocked. Think about Tywin's flimsy excuse when Tyrion points out the breach of guest right at the Red Wedding - "The blood is on Walder Frey's hands, not mine" - and his distaste at Tyrion referring to his, Tywin's, "plotting" with Walder Frey for the massacre - a recognition that he, Tywin, was no better than Walder in breaching arguably the most fundamental Westerosi socio-political tradition to murder Robb Stark and his men. The horrific rape and murder of Elia Martell is no different: Tywin not only specifically empowered two bloodthirsty, terrible men to carry out the murders of innocent children with the full knowledge that their mother was living with them (and so every reason to expect her to fight for their survival), but chucked the dead Amory Lorch's body under the bus to explain Elia's murder explicitly so that his favorite attack dog Gregor could live to terrorize another day. What Gregor did, in Tywin's name and with at least some direction from Tywin, falls on Tywin too.

[countmur]

How Literate Arcane Characters Are - Headcanon Thread

(Vander, Silco, Benzo, Caitlyn, Vi, Mylo, Claggor, Powder, Ekko, Jayce, Viktor, Mel)

I’ve never used tumblr before so please be patient w me 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️ some minor spoilers for arcane 1 ahead!!

Vander:

Barely literate. He gets by mostly but he reads increasingly slow and needs to read out loud. The undercity doesn’t have an actual school system so the kids usually have to teach themselves or have their parents teach them. Vander was just a little shit as a kid, thought it was useless then and now he’s trying to learn since he’s running a business and all that. He can write, but again, barely. Has to sound out every word and even then it’s not guaranteed to be spelled right. He doesn’t understand how people read for fun. You give him anything thicker than a pamphlet and he’ll look at you like you’re crazy

Rat bastard Silco 🥰

A lot more literate than his brother, he was always more of the brains than the brawn anyway. For his work the ability to write well is a must, and he was a little less of a shit in his childhood than Vander so he actually started learning early on. He does enjoy reading actually!! He’s a bit of an elitist though and thinks he’s better than everyone else for “enjoying” classics. Probably wrote some fanfics as a teen, If Vander could read then he would definitely bully Silco.

Benzo (off topic but he doesn’t get as much love as he deserves)

He’s around the same level of literacy as Silco. Read data sets and instructional pamphlets all the time as a kid. Probably stumbled upon an IKEA furniture assembling guide once as a kid and was so fascinated he just had to figure out what it meant. Vander always comes to Benzo for help when he gets an especially fancy message from Grayson. I think Benzo would actually have some nice handwriting and would be super proud of his signature. He’s used to tinkering with very small and complex machines so he’s got good control.

Caitlyn

Idk what you want me to say here she’s a piltie with a council member for a mom I don’t know how she could be anything less than that one kid in elementary who was reading at a 12th grade level in 3rd grade. Read fanfics as a kid. Still does occasionally. Probably figured out she was a lesbian from reading fanfics. Had a weird obsession with mystery novels back then which may or may not have led her to become an enforcer.

Vi

Yeah she’s obviously Vander’s kid. Didn’t see the need to read and Vander didn’t really push her to so she just kinda never learned to read. To her the most important thing is to be able to speak well and not die. Probably liked to flip through comic books and try and piece together the story from the pictures (that or she just made up her own). Being locked up in prison for several years also doesn’t really help with literacy so yeah. Vi is illiterate.

Mylo

Most literate of Vander’s kids. He’s not super advanced but he’s doing a LOT better than his siblings. Benzo probably gave him a book on lockpicking without telling Vander once and that’s probably where Mylo actually began to read a lot more. He enjoys the usual fantasy and adventure books but rarely has the time to read them. He’s probably around a 5th or 6th grade reading level. Likes to rub the fact that he can understand the comic books into Powders face.

Claggor (I couldn’t find any good gifs of just him sorry 😢😢)

A little less literate than Mylo but he can still read pretty well! Probably likes to flip through craft books and then never make any of the projects shown (cough cough I’m projecting cough). Same with cooking books except he actually MIGHT make a thing or two shown in the book. Likes Fantasy books as well.

Powder / Jinx

As a kid she definitely loved flipping through kids’ encyclopedias with different animals in them. That’s partly why she started reading, cuz she was so interested in what those animals were. She also had a lot of spare time since Mylo would always insist on leaving her behind and sometimes it was enough to convince Vi. Once she got older I think she stopped reading as much. She still knew how to read she just lost the love for it, reminded her too much of her past life. Silco didn’t push her to keep reading either.

Ekko 😢😢😢😭😢😭😢😢😢😭😢🥺😢

Benzo actually pushed him to read a ton, and Ekko absolutely loved and respected Benzo so he wasn’t a tough student. He loved loved loved learning from Benzo and just honestly enjoyed spending time with his mentor. Benzo wasn’t too bad of a teacher either so Ekko became very literate very quickly. Again, after the events of the first arc he also lost his love for reading. He’s a great letter writer tho especially when he needs to give instructions.

Jayce

He got into a university I think you gotta be pretty literate for that. Idk tho. Could be wrong. Again idk what you want me to say for him. Oh but! I think he speaks atleast one other language just not well. He’s highly literate in English but not in the language his mom speaks. He can understand it and can speak it but can’t read or write in it.

Viktor

Kinda like Jayce I think he speaks another language EXCEPT he can also read and write in the other language too! So he’s very literate in both of the languages he speaks. He may be from the undercity but from his accent I want to make the guess that he may have moved to the undercity when he was very young. Maybe the place he was from actually had a decent school system where he learned to read and write in both his mother tongue and English. Seems like a fan of French novels and poetry books. You give him Frankenstein and he gets excited as hell.

Mel She comes from Royalty so she is very very well educated. Speaks several languages that her mom made her learn and can probably read and write in atleast 4 different languages. Traumatized girlboss polyglot!!!

Once she was no longer living with her mother I think she really started to indulge in fiction while before her mom would rarely allow it, saying it was a waste of time or that it promoted degeneracy (off topic but if Ambessa was a politician irl she would 100% use woke unironically). Seems like she’d be a big fan of Jane Austen and Emily Dickenson.

End of thread!!

[blackjackkent]

Not a particularly challenging fight against the Zhentarim. I'm pretty sure we didn't lose a single Guild fighter! And the most satisfying part was watching Nine-Fingers take Roah from full health to zero in one turn by throwing knives at her. XD

The conversation with Nine-Fingers afterwards is a bit strained.

"The Zhent are down. Just you and me now, Stone Lord. So if you mean to take my chair, you'll get no better chance than this."

"Minsc has no interest in your furniture, Nine-Fingers - only in the wicked rump that fills it!"

Uh oh. It didn't occur to me that a dewormed Minsc might still dislike Nine-Fingers enough to attack her regardless. O.O;

"...What?" the Guildmaster says, bemused.

"You have been a stone in this city's boot for too long! And it will be no Stone Lord who reaches 'twixt Balduran's sticky toes to dislodge you. It will be Minsc!"

Nine-Fingers shoots Hector a baffled look. "I haven't got the slightest idea what he's trying to say."

"Proof that he is back to normal, no?" Jaheira murmurs dryly.

Hector reaches out and puts a hand gently on Minsc's arm. "Minsc. Calm down," he says quietly. "The battle is over."

Nine-Fingers tilts her head curiously. "So the hound answers to his name again, does he?" she says - and the words are more caustic than the tone, which is oddly soft. "And you didn't have to put him down. Good." Her eyes fix on Minsc. "I'd rather you die as Minsc the mad Rashemaar. It's silly, but - d'you know you were something of a hero of mine, when I was young?"

Minsc's eyes narrow in puzzlement. "Even now your tongue twists the truth," he says. "When you were young and ten-fingered still, Minsc and Boo were stone, enstatuated on a city square!"

She smiles, just a little sadly. "Aye. I remember the spot - by a garden on the Wide. A soft thicket near the market, with ample pockets to pick. Celestia itself to a street rat looking for shelter." She shrugs ruefully. "You might not have been wrestling monsters, but you kept the wind and the rain off. Heroic enough for me."

Minsc clicks his tongue and blinks a few times rapidly, visibly affected by this story. "Bah," he says fiercely. "You try to dampen Boo's eyes! Do not think you will be spared his teeth! Evil is evil, even if it once was... innocent..."

Keene shakes her head. "Oh, I'm no innocent," she says dryly. "But evil... You tell me. With the Fist, the watch, and the Council itself all licking the Absolute's boots, who's the only one left standing to protect Baldur's Gate?"

"She's right, Minsc," Jaheira says quietly from behind him. "She's been an ally down through the years." A pause; she looks at the younger woman thoughtfully and her lips twitch slightly. "A friend, even."

"A *friend*?" Minsc cries, appalled. "Jaheira, Boo cannot believe his ears! Has the city fallen so far in our absence? Are there no heroes left?"

"Heroes come and go," Nine-Fingers says bitterly. "But the Guild has always been here, protecting the city." She gives him a cool glance. "Until the Stone Lord came to break us."

Hector has listened to this all in silence, trying to gauge the thoughts going on under the surface. He can see Minsc wavering, uncertain, ready to be swayed by the arguments being made to him. And Hector, in fact, believes those arguments are right. However - in every such confrontation in the past, he has leaned in the direction of encouraging his friends to confidence in their own decisions, a holdover from the traditions in which he was raised, which placed such emphasis on self-reliance.

And this is no different - and in fact even more salient than usual. Minsc has struggled, since emerging from his stoney prison, with the idea of his own choices; his dependence on Jaheira's wisdom has been obvious from the get-go.

Hector thinks Minsc will make the right decision - but Minsc must be reminded that it is his decision, and not simply Jaheira's influence directing him.

[INSIGHT] "Well, ranger?" he says quietly. "You cannot always leave it up to your wychlaran. Make a choice."

Behind him, Jaheira makes a scoffing noise of irritation - but Hector did not use the word arbitrarily. He said it deliberately so that Minsc would countermand its usage and thus assert his own agency even while listening to his friends' guidance - and he is not disappointed.

"Heh. Jaheira says she is no wychlaran," Minsc says with a slight shake of his head. "Perhaps not. But if she says I should not honor, defend, and listen to her, it is the only time she has ever been wrong." He pauses uncertainly. "If she trusts in Nine-Fingers - if you do - then so will Minsc. But that means..."

He trails off, and an expression of pain rockets across his face. "The things Minsc has done... I am shamed! Nydeshka, unworthy to fight alongside my friends! Boo..." His voice breaks with sudden despair. "What am I do to do?"

"I can't speak for your rodent," Nine-Fingers says cautiously, "but I know something of debts. If you reckon you've got one to repay, well - we could always work together."

Minsc squints at her. "With you? Minsc has no lust for gold, that he would shake grandmothers by their ankles or set Boo nibbling at their purse-strings."

"I'm not talking about that," she says hastily. "We've both got bigger enemies than one another - the city's enemies. And Tyr's honest truth - you gave my Guild the wakeup call it needed. We've grown complacent, lazy. Too sure of our standing. We never would've needed the Zhent if we'd had a fighting force of our own. Swords for the city, when the watch and Fist fail us."

Minsc blinks, trying to parse this, and then his eyes light up. "Like a berserker lodge of my homeland! No army or militia, serving the local lords, but heroes working for the common good!"

Keene smiles sardonically. "Heroes. Sure."

"Very well," Minsc says eagerly. "Minsc and Boo accept!"

Keene must see something in the Rashemaar's expression that she doesn't like, because she immediately starts to backpedal. "I'm sorry, you-- you what?" she asks.

"Boo and I will be your berserker lodge," Minsc says brightly. "Taking the ugly ways of your Guild and beating them into a more virtuous shape!"

Hector can see the immediate regret blossoming in Nine-Fingers' eyes. "That's... not even slightly what I was saying. I wasn't asking--"

Minsc flinches back, not letting her finish. "You are right," he mutters. "I have proven myself unworthy. I cannot serve the city if I was so easily turned against it. If I do not know my own mind... perhaps I no longer know what is good..."

This conversation has grown so tangled that Hector is not even sure what outcome he is arguing for anymore. But Minsc's distrust of himself still troubles him more than anything else. "Minsc," he says gently, "I'm fairly sure that 'good' is literally the only thing you *do* know."

He's relieved to see Minsc relax a little. "My friend... I am touched by your kind words," he says gravely. "And now I must be equal to them." He squares his shoulders. "What say you, Boo? When the Absolute is slain, shall we join Nine-Fingers Keene and show her the ways of goodness?'

Keene groans. Jaheira grins suddenly, lounging back on her heels. "You did say he was your hero, Astele," she points out dryly. "Maybe you'll learn something."

Nine-Fingers sighs. "Can't we just go back to killing one another instead?" she asks dryly, then waves a hand dismissively before they can respond. "All right. Fine. Let's leave this particular fight for when the actual war is won, shall we?"

She straightens, hooks her hands behind her back and looks at Hector more seriously. "With the Stone Lord off my back, I'll be able to bring my people out of hiding. Cobble together a force so we're ready when you call on us."

She nods slowly. "You have my thanks." A pause, and then the flash of a grin, indomitable. "Though I'm still not actually sure you haven't made my life that little bit harder."

Probably true, Hector reflects with some amusement as they turn to leave. Should we all survive this mess, I suspect she and Minsc working together will make for quite a show.

[giaourtopita]

but does he know you call me when he sleeps?

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warnings; poly fem mc, angst, implied drunk sex, feelings, not very good writing, cheating(?), a little ooc

finally, my silly little fanfic is done shout out to @strawchocoberry for helping me edit this beast‼️🫶🏻

word count; 5.7k

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MC had been in the Devildom for about three years. She loved being there, truly, living there was probably her most cherished experience. Learning about everything magic was so fascinating. She knew she could never go back to the human world without longing for the Devildom and specifically for a few of its residents. Well, not exactly few but seven, seven demons who were so beloved to her. She never wanted to think about how her life will be once she goes back to the human world for good. Of course, she was friends with the others involved in the exchange program but the human is much, much closer to the seven brothers; after all they were her housemates and she also had pacts with them. She wanted to stay permanently but she knew convincing Diavolo would be hard. Even so, she wanted to give it a try anyway.

She waited for the RAD council meeting to end to talk to him again.

"Hey, can I talk to you in private for a little bit?", she whispered to him.

The prince nodded and immediately she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a spare classroom.

"Diavolo, I wanted to ask if you could reconsider about me going back to the human world. Please, I can't go back…", she pleaded.

The truth is she didn't have a home to go back to. Ever since her first stay in the Devildom as an exchange student, she knew she never wanted to go back. Her house wasn't home anymore, she felt suffocated there. The only person she could go back to was terrible to her, it was her brother who would create hostile situations out of nowhere. And despite certain situations she went through during her first year in the Devildom, she still thought she was better off there.

"I suppose I should think this through better. Even if I send you back, you'll be back again soon, so sending you there in the first place would be for nothing… Barbatos won't like this but then again he's not the prince right?", he joked.

"Thank you!", she said before pulling him in a bear hug.

——————————

MC was hanging out with Levi in his room when she got a message from Diavolo. He was just making small talk but she just knew he wanted to tell her something else.

Do you want to stay over at the castle tonight?

She was surprised at first but she ended up saying yes. She didn't know what to think about it but knew it would be fun. Plus she wanted to get over the feelings she had for the brothers; having feelings for all of them and wanting to be with all of them was just unrealistic. She hoped that as long as she got over them, things could still work out. After all, she loves and cares about them either way. She thought maybe Diavolo could help her get rid of those feelings.

As she was getting ready to leave Levi's room, she gave him a kiss on the cheek to tease him. She always does that and yet he always acts surprised.

"Hey, normie! Don't do stuff like that out of the blue…", he yelled at her while trying to hide his obvious flushed face.

She chuckled and walked away. She went over to Asmo's room, she wanted to ask if he could do her makeup. She might have feelings for him right now, and it does make her feel bad asking him to help her with her date, but he is an expert and she knows the demon loves doing her makeup.

The makeup he did on the human wasn't heavy at all, the Avatar of Lust just made sure to accentuate her beautiful features. How he longed to kiss that face… For the very first time someone he's attracted to has managed to make him so flustered he's unsure of what to do. Most humans seem to lose their minds over him and yet this one is different, she treats him differently. Not like someone that is put on display for everyone to objectify, but as an actual person. Sure, physical affection was his thing but it was nice to be heard. Being with her felt more intimate than most - if not all - his other physical relationships. Sure, he'd love to get physical with her too but that's for her to decide. Besides, he can tell there's something between her and his brothers as well.

——————————

MC went to Lucifer's office to let him know she's staying at the castle for the night.

"Hey, Luci. I'm going to the castle. Don't wait for me, I'll stay there. We're having a slumber party with Diavolo!", she said while smiling at him.

He was expecting something like this to happen, but the reason why he wouldn't just talk to her about his feelings wasn't just his pride. During her first year in the Devildom, with him, she never listened to him even if he was right and since then she got into numerous dangerous situations which has made him worried and hesitant about telling her how he feels. Wouldn't him being the Avatar of Pride make her even more of a target? He keeps replaying scenarios in his head, thinking about how to make things work with her. He knows she cares about him just as much as he does for her but to him her safety is more important than his feelings. He has done the same with Lilith and his brothers. Which is why her potentially dating the prince feels off to him. He's worried, he's always worried but at the same time he wants what's best for her…

"Wait, come here, I have something for you", he motioned her to get in the room. MC sat on his desk and waited for him to respond. He started chanting something in the demon language.

"It's a little protection charm. I know you think it's unnecessary but-", before he managed to finish his sentence she cut him off.

"I think it's really sweet, thank you Lucifer!"

He was glad she appreciated his gesture without asking too much about it.

"The castle is twenty minutes away, are you sure you want to go on your own? I can drive you there if you want, I'd prefer that if we're being honest", the demon said.

"I guess you're right, it's always dark and I'm human…", she played along with him. He knows this human isn't weak, but he also loves pampering her and keeping her safe.

She got on the passenger seat next to him. They didn't say much but she had had her eyes locked onto him during the entire ride. He was looking on the road, so beautiful like always. All she wanted to do was kiss him but she knew things could never work out; she doesn't have feelings just for him. If she ever got into a relationship with one of the brothers, her feelings for the others would interfere with it.

Lucifer knew Diavolo had feelings for her. He never actually told him but he could just tell. He was sure the prince knew about his feelings for MC too. It was like they had an unspoken agreement to never talk about it. Diavolo is his boss and more importantly the future king of the Devildom. He is used to getting what he wants, so addressing it would be pointless. And it seems like he's finally getting what he wants…

They finally arrived, he parked near the castle entrance, they both got out of the car. Lucifer obviously wanted to stay with her as long as he could.

"You don't have to do this", she looked up at him while telling him.

"It's okay, I want to see you getting inside and then I'll go home", he said while giving her a pat on the head.

A guard opened the gate. Once Lucifer saw Barbatos waiting there, he told her goodnight but before he was able to leave, she pulled him in a hug, thanking him.

——————————

MC had stayed in the castle a few times before this but this time it was her first time staying there without any of the brothers.

"The Young Lord is having dinner, you should too", Barbatos said as he was extending his arm for her to grab on while escorting her to the dining room.

The human had visited the castle many times but going there alone really made her take a look around; she would just pay attention to the seven brothers, so she never actually saw what was around her there. Once MC arrived at the dining room, Diavolo dismissed everyone so they could hang out in private.

There were only two chairs in the room, one was the one the prince was sitting on and the other one was across from him. She moved the chair next to him, then her plate and finally sat down.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" She didn't really think about what the two would do once she got there; usually they just hang out at RAD so she didn't have anything in mind.

"Oh, I was thinking we could sneak out to the amusement park! Barbatos doesn't really like when I sneak out but that just makes it even more fun to me.", he answered.

"Won't you be recognized? You're basically a celebrity you know"

The demon is really recognizable. Ever since he became in charge of the Devildom, everyone knew who he was. There's no demon that doesn't know what the prince looks like.

"You have a point but I can just use glamor. To you I'll look the same but to everyone else I won't. We have to go MC! Ever since the new attractions were brought in I've been itching to go but I was always too busy..."

"That's handy. Well, we should finish dinner so we can stay there for longer!", MC said while stuffing her mouth with food, signaling him to do the same.

The two finished their dinner within ten minutes and went to the movie room to "watch a movie"; they were actually planning how to sneak out. Barbatos usually tails the prince so sneaking out isn't as easy as it sounds. The butler hates when the prince sneaks out; he believes that if he uses his time more efficiently, he won't have to sneak out but no, the prince has to have it his way.

The best plan they could come up with was to just go to Diavolo's room and then sneak out from the balcony. The prince has wings so he could just fly up with MC to avoid Barbatos and the other servants until they're out of their sight.

"So that's what we're doing?", he asked one more to make sure.

"You bet we are!"

He switched to his demon form and picked her up. He's way too strong to find her heavy so she didn't impact his flying at all. After a little while, Diavolo stopped at an alley and did the glamor spell on himself. He wanted to do it just before they arrived at the amusement park to get the most out of it.

The two went on all the rides, tried every snack available and got so many prizes from the mini games there. MC was having so much fun, she had so much more than she expected. He was nothing like he was at RAD or the castle. Could she really have been that oblivious?

——————————

After that unofficial amusement park date, Diavolo confessed his feelings to the human. They began dating despite her still not being completely over the demon brothers. She thought that in time she'd get over them for sure. And Diavolo is her friend so their relationship is going pretty smoothly. It's been about three months now since they began dating. She still lives at the House of Lamentation but she stays over at the castle a lot.

MC still mostly hangs out with the brothers as her boyfriend is a lot busier than them. He doesn't want her to be alone so it works out. However, ever since she announced her relationship to the brothers, they haven't been as rowdy as they used to be. For example, Belphie and Satan toned it down with their pranks on Lucifer and Mammon has managed to slightly reduce his expenses. What happened?, she wondered. Even Levi attends more RAD classes compared to before, when he would just do online classes instead…

She wanted to ask but wasn't sure the answer she would get would be one she'd like hearing. Tonight, she's having a sleepover with the twins so she'll get a chance to observe them more closely…

Currently she had to make a potion with Levi and Satan. Things were all going smoothly until Mammon's potion exploded in his face. Lucifer, who was the one actually in charge of making that potion, scolded Mammon for not being careful enough with it. At least these two seem normal, she thought.

After their classes were over, MC headed back to the House of Lamentation with the brothers. She went to her room, which had been her room ever since she first arrived in the Devildom, to see none of her things were where they're supposed to be; in fact everything hers was missing. The door was locked when she first came in and her room doesn't have a window so there's no reason to believe she was robbed.

She went to check the other rooms only to find out her room was the only one with practically nothing in it. The human looked for Satan, she wanted to ask him if there's a chance she touched something she shouldn't or is cursed…

"MC, I don't sense any magic on you… Whatever happened must've been done either by someone powerful or it wasn't magical to begin with", he told her, disappointed that he couldn't help.

"It's okay, I'll figure out what happened!", she reassured him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of help to you, I could help you look though"

"It's fine really. I might have an idea of what happened but I'm not too sure yet. I'll go investigate more", she said as she was walking away but before she did, she gave him a small peck on the lips. Both of them looked at each other shocked. She ran away immediately, her heart was pounding. Why do I do this to myself?

She practically ran to Lucifer's office to ask him what had happened; he has to know right? As she opened the door, she found Diavolo there talking to the Avatar of Pride. She greeted both and asked what happened.

"Ah, you saw my surprise. I was hoping I'd be there but you came here early… I suppose I'll have to do something even better next time!", he said.

"This was a surprise? Where are my things? I'm supposed to stay here tonight…", the human was furious to say the least but she remained seemingly calm. Lucifer didn't look much better than her either but as she did, he didn't react to the prince's actions in a negative way.

"I had your things moved at the castle so you can stay with me full time. You can still have your little sleepovers but tonight I want you to stay with me…", the prince looked at her as if he was begging.

"Dia, I would've canceled my plans if you had asked me to and now I will. But next time please talk to me…"

She left the office to tell the twins she couldn’t stay with them for the night. The human was so conflicted; on one hand, her boyfriend had her things moved so they can spend more time together, but on the other hand, she won't be able to spend as much time with the brothers. At this point she wanted to disappear just for a little while just so her feelings would finally deflate, just so she's not so confused…

——————————

She arrived at the castle with Diavolo, the servants looking at them as if they had never seen them together before. After they reached the hall, Barbatos showed up.

"MC, you should come check your new room. You could also inform the staff of any changes you might need for it.", Barbatos signaled at his hand so she could get a hold of it while he showed her where it was.

"My room? Won't I be sharing a room with Diavolo? He's been my boyfriend for a while you know…", she complained.

"Ah yes, the Young Lord is pretty busy. So we figured a room of your own would be a better fit. Plus it's royal protocol, you can't share a room with him at the castle unless you want to marry him but it's way too early for that", he explained.

When she finally arrived at her room, which was on an entirely different floor from his, she couldn't help but be disappointed. What was his plan? He's too busy most of the time, that's why she spends more time with the brothers, that's why she only used to come over at the castle and that's also probably why she was even able to stay with him in his room…

She changed into different clothes as she was still wearing her RAD uniform and went to the dining room as it was about time for dinner. Already prepared food was something she loved about the Demon Lord's Castle, but then again she also loved cooking for the brothers…

She once again noticed that her chair was too far from Diavolo's as it was on their first date. She moved it once again and sat next to him. The food was exquisite as it always is but she felt like something was off…

"Can we hang out in your room after this? We could watch a movie or play a game or something", she suggested.

"I'm sorry, my darling, I'm pretty busy tonight. Tomorrow I'm yours though…", the demon promised.

Disappointed, she finished her food and headed back to her room. Why would he do all this and then not even spend time with her? There's always tomorrow, she thought.

The next day passed quickly, Diavolo was busy at RAD again for some new event this time. Luckily the brothers were there so she wasn't alone. She and Satan acted like everything was normal but both knew something was up, neither of them said anything though…

She headed to the dining room but Diavolo wasn't there this time. She looked around to see Barbatos.

"MC, the Young Lord had an emergency meeting with the House of Lords. It was something about feral demons on the southern part of the Devildom if I'm not mistaken. He won't be home until late. The Lords always keep him there for a ridiculous amount of time", the butler informed her.

"Well, can you have dinner with me then? I'm not used to having dinner alone…", she pleaded.

The demon stayed with her until she finished her, the two didn't say much but this made her realize something; her relationship with Diavolo wasn't one that would last…

After she headed back to her room, alone once again she remembered that Diavolo is fine with her sleepovers. Immediately she thought which of the brothers would drop everything immediately to be with her; the truth is all of them would. So she just called the ones that would be awake or not busy at this hour.

Immediately she sent a message to Mammon and Levi, the second and third eldest brothers arrived at the castle so fast that she wondered if they teleported. She let them into her room. Levi had brought with him a USB stick containing a few of his favorite anime for them to watch. Mammon had no preference on what they'd watch as long as he sat next to the human so it all worked out.

The Avatar of Envy plugged in the USB stick and selected one of the anime on it. He was happy he could spend some time with her, and his older brother but you'd never catch him say it outloud. The three used to spend a lot of time together in the House of Lamentation before she started dating the prince. Could things have played out differently if he was just a little bit more confident?, the demon was overthinking, not paying attention to an anime was rare for him. All he could think was what could've happened…

MC could sense something was off with Levi, Mammon too, but she could feel Levi was on the verge of a rampage… She paused the anime to see if the demon would react.

She waved her hands in front of his face with not much of a reaction…

He started transforming to his demon form when she grabbed his face and asked him what happened, reducing him to a sobbing mess in the process.

"It's just that you started dating Diavolo and now you moved out too and we don't spend as much time together anymore… I don't like that you're dating him…", Levi sobbed as he was trying to hide his face, Mammon looked as if he agreed too.

The human didn't know how to respond but this did further solidify her realization about her relationship with the prince. Instead of saying something, she pulled both of them in a warm hug. After this heart-to-heart, none of them wanted to watch the anime Levi put on, rather they spent the whole night talking each other’s ear out.

Eventually the three fell asleep in MC's bed. When it was finally time for them to wake up, she found herself right between Levi and Mammon, cuddled by both. Almost like their bodies longed for her, just as she did…

——————————

A week went by and Diavolo was still just as busy, the feral demons issue has to be what's keeping him away from her. By the looks of it, the prince has to find a way to put a stop to this soon or someone might get hurt. Well, even more seriously hurt than before.

Once again she went to the dining room and once again she was disappointed to see she would be dining alone. That was until Barbatos came in and informed her that the young prince had a surprise for her in his room. She headed there immediately. Diavolo wasn't busy. He would finally spend time with her after a while. She was so excited…

He was there, he had a table full of her favorite food set up for her, candles lit up and flowers scattered all over the room.

"I had all this prepared for my favorite human, I hope you're hungry", he told her as he was pulling the chair behind so she could sit.

"Starving!", she told him excitedly.

There was even human world alcohol there. He really did put an effort into this. Human world products weren't all that common as not every demon can teleport freely there. The only ones allowed to go there without permission are Barbatos, Lucifer and himself. He's also far too strict with the permit, so chances are it was either the Avatar of Pride or the butler that bought it since he couldn't be the one to get it, he's far too busy to go grocery shopping…

Thinking one of her beloved demons could've helped with this surprise made her a little uneasy, her appetite was affected too. She forced some food down so she could drink some of that alcohol. It had been a while since she drank alcohol from the human world and she kind of missed the feeling of being numb from the alcohol. Demonus tasted good but had absolutely no effect on her, so it was rendered useless.

Diavolo picked up on her wanting the alcohol, he poured some for her and then poured a little demonus for himself as well, careful to not get drunk as he tends to get drunk easily. She missed it but because she hadn't had a drink in a while her tolerance was basically non existent.

Soon enough, both of them were drunk and started getting touchy with each other. The human started caressing the prince's chest as if she's inviting him to do the same and he did. The prince laid her on the bed, bodies grinding on each other. This was a mistake and she knew it but it felt too good to stop. His kisses were hot and passionate, he needed this. Soon after he moved lower to her neck, kissing the sensitive skin over and over… Then he started moving lower and lower…

——————————

MC woke up naked and alone. She felt as if her head was going to split apart and once again he wasn't there. She has to put an end to this. This relationship is only causing her harm. Disappointed, she got up, put her clothes on and went to her room. She took a warm bath as if to wash away the touch of the prince, got dressed and headed to the library. She wanted some time away from everyone, including her thoughts, so she picked up a few books Satan had recommended to her a while ago.

She spent her whole day in the library, so focused on her books she failed to notice the time or her growling stomach. She went over to the dining room once again ready to dine alone but to her surprise Diavolo was there. The two made small talk and ate until she received a message from Belphie, the youngest of the brothers just told her that Beel had an accident during his fangol practice. Immediately she got up, let Diavolo know she's leaving and teleported to the House of Lamentation.

She showed up inside the house right next to Asmodeus.

"I came as soon as I found out, how is he?", the human asked the fifth of the brothers.

"He's alright now. Really, you worry too much. He's been through this before. His ankle is wrapped up and Satan just gave him a pain relief potion so he should be fine for the next few hours…", the demon updated her on his brother's condition.

She nodded and got in the twins' room to check on Beelzebub.

"Hey, Beel", she greeted him and looked at him almost as if she was examining him herself. She sat right next to him and gave him a snack she sneaked out from the castle.

"I know you'll ask so I'll just tell you what happened. I was on defense and this other demon launched himself at me and I guess I put too much pressure on this leg… So yeah, I'm fine though, this will be fully healed in like two weeks. I'm not human, remember? I heal faster!", he reassured her.

"Beel, can I do anything for you?", she asked.

"Can you just stay with us? I- We all need you here. And I can tell you need to be here too… MC, please tell me what happened. I might be quiet but I'm not oblivious. I can tell something has been bothering you for a while. I promise I won't judge you. Just please, talk to someone. It's like this thing has been eating you alive…", the Avatar of Gluttony expressed his concern for the human.

She explained everything to him, he listened without saying anything. His face showed nothing but concern.

"And there's also this thing-", she said but before she could finish her sentence Belphegor and Satan stormed into the room.

"MC, go on, we've been eavesdropping the whole time", said the youngest. Satan nodded to reassure her.

Here goes nothing, she thought. She took a deep breath before mouthing the words.

"I've had feelings for all of you for the past couple years and I have no idea what to do. Because if I only date one of you, then my feelings for the rest would destroy that relationship, just like what happened to my current one. Diavolo isn't the only one to blame… But I used him to hopefully get over all of you, which didn't work and now everything is a mess…", she said while trying not to start sobbing uncontrollably.

"I knew it! So that's why you kissed me the other day?", Satan asked, the twins looked at each other and then their older brother in shock.

"Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we would rather see you happy than not.", he exclaimed, while looking at his younger brothers for confirmation, both of which simply nodded.

"I mean, if I had to choose between causing Lucifer slight inconveniences and keeping you happy, I'd choose the second option in a heartbeat", said Belphie in a cheeky tone.

"Do you have a plan about what to do? How to break things off with Diavolo?", asked the Avatar of Wrath, his mind running in circles, trying to help his beloved.

"I'll do that tomorrow. Now I just want to stay here, with you all…", the human said.

Satan looked at Belphie's bed and signaled him to help him push it next to Beelzebub's. After both beds were pushed together, MC made herself comfortable on Beel's chest leaving a little bit of space between them for Belphie who would in turn make himself comfortable on the human's chest, ready to fall asleep. Next to her lay Satan who instead of sleeping played with her hair and looked at her, his eyes focusing on her face, almost like he's lost in thought.

This was the best sleep she had in a while, she almost didn't want to wake up but she knew she had to.

"Good morning", she said to Beelzebub as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, the demon not being fully awake yet smiling at the feeling.

"Good morning to you too", she said to Belphie who was already puckering his lips in his sleep.

"Good morning MC", Satan smiled at her as he was the one to kiss her this time.

She stayed for a little bit in bed with the demons, until she had to get up. Didn't Beel need to take another dose of the potion? She thought she could just bring it to him and also get him breakfast. As she was heading to the kitchen, she went into her room out of habit to notice her things were back. Did Diavolo realize what happened? She should probably explain herself to him…

"Lucifer, where's that potion Beel is supposed to get for the pain? I'll give it to him", she asked as she was preparing breakfast for the three demons she spent the night with.

"Oh, he drank the last dose earlier. He should be free of pain by the afternoon, no need to worry, MC", she just smiled at him.

"Also you should probably talk to Diavolo, I saw your belongings were returned and you spent the night with Beel, Belphie and Satan so-", the human interrupted him by kissing him. Finally, he thought to himself.

"MC, I…", the man was left speechless.

After briefly explaining everything, Lucifer agreed with what Satan told her, that all brothers just want her to be happy.

She gave him another kiss as she took a tray full of food back to the twins' bedroom. Immediately Beel was wide awake, already salivating. Belphie, Satan and the human took their usual portions and left everything else to be devoured by the Avatar of Gluttony.

"I missed your food, MC", said Beel. She wasn't even gone that long from the House of Lamentation but her absence really impacted the brothers.

"Ah, here you are, darling! Come on now, we have skincare to do~", Asmodeus stormed and practically picked MC up. He took her to his room, so he could spend some time alone with her.

"So, MC, you're back, right?", he asked, anxious for her response. He took some face creams and masks out of a mini fridge he keeps in his room, picking and choosing which one is the best.

"Yeah, I missed you and well, I guess Diavolo no longer wants me in the castle…"

Asmo's eyes lit up, ignoring the second part of her answer completely.

"You didn't miss just me though, right?", the demon asked. "What? You thought I wouldn't know? I can feel the lust you feel through the pact, especially when we're close. I can tell something is going on, and you can tell me. Hey, I'm like the least judgemental out of all the demons living here!", he reassured her.

She proceeded to explain everything once again. Asmo might look superficial but he's actually a great listener. He really made her feel understood and well, everything felt more possible…

After her talk with the Avatar of Lust, she went to the Demon Lord's Castle. She felt bad but she also knew she wasn't the only one to blame. Luckily, this time, Diavolo wasn't busy, he was just having tea in the garden. She practically stormed there, wanting to talk and apologize.

The atmosphere was awkward to say the least. The human and the prince avoided looking at each other.

"I'm sorry, Diavolo, for everything. It wasn't my intention to hurt you, but I'm sorry that I did. I used you and it wasn't fair"

"It's alright, I apologize too, I guess I didn't think of your needs and wasn't communicating enough. I hope we can eventually put this whole thing behind us and stay friends and I have arranged for you to stay here permanently if that's what you still want…", the prince said, anyone could tell he really was sorry as she was.

"Yes, I'd love that, thank you. I should go but it was great that we were able to talk about this…", she said and soon enough left the castle.

She was officially dating five out of the seven brothers now, which meant she would be even busier than before; but all she ever wanted was to be busy with the brothers so it all worked out. Leviathan and Mammon were the ones she couldn't do anything with yet. It makes sense though. One is the physical embodiment of envy and the other wants her all to himself. Luckily she was optimistic since they seem to get along just fine when she's around…

[hello-nichya-here]

Why does Rhaenys support Team Black when, as far as she knows, Daemon and Rhaenyra killed her children, while Alicent basically offered her a position in Aegon's council?

Laena died... during childbirth/commiting suicide by dragon

Rhaenys said Laena died because "She needed our Maesters" - she's not accusing Daemon of murdering her daughter, she's basically saying "Oh, if only she had been home instead of moving away, our doctors are better, her and her baby would have been fine" which her husband full on pointed out was not true.

Trying to find someone or something to blame when a loved one dies is a very common thing in grief, it's not the same as genuinely believing your loved one was murdered by their spouse because the doctors couldn't get the baby out.

Laenor's (Fake) Death

While the show never made it clear if Rhaenys believed her, Rhaenyra DID tell her, very clearly "I did not kill your son", and Rhaenyra went into the marriage knowing full well that Laenor was gay, and didn't do anything against him even when he failed to keep his end of their agreement of "We'll have a few kids together while sleeping with people we actually like on the side" for well over a decade.

That doesn't exactly paint Rhaenyra as a trigger-happy person that is going to immediately kill anyone that inconviences her - especially not when Alicent, as well as her children and grandkids, all of which pose a threat to her claim to the throne, are still alive and well.

At the very least, I think Rhaenys is unsure if Rhaenyra helped Daemon kill Laenor, if Daemon acted on his own, or even if they both were actually fully innocent. They do live Westeros after all, someone else could need Laenor gone for reasons that had nothing to do with the Blacks VS Greens conflict.

(I do think it was very stupid of Rhaenyra not to go "Actually, your son is alive and well, he just ran away" and I don't mean just in the confrontation, but literally the very second they put the plan into action. Would have spared her of a major headache)

Bhaela & Rhaena are Team Black

Laena's daughters all live with their father, aka Daemon, aka Rhaenyra's husband and seem very loyal to them both. Opposing the Blacks could mean seeing her allies kill her granddaughters, or even having Rhaenyra and Daemon hold them hostage and abuse them as revenge for her disobedience.

There's a reason why, when Rhaenys was considering supporting the Greens (or at least staying neutral on the whole conflict) Rhaenyra reminded her that, instead of being a tyrant, she could also choose to be VERY generous and have her grand-daughters marry their cousins/step-siblings, thus inheriting the throne and Driftmark - it's both a cunning AND diplomatic way to sway someone important to her side.

The Greens Fucked Up

The Greens held Rhaenys hostage and stole her dragon right after Viserys's death, with people being hanged and beheaded left and right for not bending the knee to Aegon II (aka breaking their oaths) -and then Alicent said to the Queen that never was "I know my husband should have never been king and that you were clearly the superior choice, but can you pretty please step aside again try to help me control my son that I can't even fucking find right now because he drank too much and passed out somewhere?"

Alicent can spend all the time she wants trying to frame this as being genenous and offering her to be the King's advisor - it doesn't change the fact that this whole thing is a direct threat against Rhaenys and a major insult (seriously, imagine expecting a Targaryen not to be pissed that you stole their dragon).

Now compare that to Rhaenya saying "Baela will be queen someday and Driftmark will go Rhaena's children. Your descendents are going to inherit the Iron Throne and the seat of House Velaryon through the female bloodline, to compensate you for the fact that you didn't get to be queen and that your GAY son that you KNEW was gay didn't have any heirs to inherit Driftmark because HE didn't keep his end of the deal, so I didn't even have to do this in the first place."

Also, take into account that Rhaenyra allow her and her husband to take their sweet time deciding if they were going to support her (to the point that Rhaenys even admited that she was the one person trying to prevent a truly massive war), and also allowed her NOT TO BOW TO HER DURING HER CORONATION.

Who do you think offended Rhaenys and made her feel cheated, and who offered her a ton of respect, freedom and political claims that could make her at least consider supporting them? Because let's not forget that...

Rhaenys is not fully Team Black

Like I said, she did almost side with the Greens when Viserys was still alive and did not kill them when she had the chance even though that would have ended the war because, in her own words, it was not HER war. Her and Corly did NOT support Rhaenyra right away, and while she looked proud and even happy in her coronation, she did not bow to her Queen.

Rhaenys prioritizes her interests (and the interests of her family) before loyalty to ANY king or queen. If the Greens had played their cards right with her, she would have supported them or at least remained neutral as long as possible.

But they didn't, so she's supporting their enemy, who offered her a better deal. Just the nobles and royals playing their Game Of Thrones.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 16: The Wisdom

Spoliers here! Get your spoilers here! This is a reread and I've read every book in the series except the ones that came out after it was over and I will tell you every detail that ever happened out of spite if you don't take this opportunity to protect yourself now! Run away!

We get yet another new chapter icon as we move into this chapter. Three leaves on a vine, and boy does it symbolize a lot. For this chapter it represents Nynaeve and her crashing the party. As we go forward it will refer to Tinkers, Ogier (particularly Loial) and the Waygates built for them, and even the Green Man.

“We don’t have time for that, boy,” Thom said gruffly. Min gave the white-haired gleeman a sharp look. “Go juggle something,” she snapped, drawing Rand further away from the others.

I can't tell what's better, Thom assuming that Rand's ducking out of the meeting to make out with a random woman, or Min telling Thom to go play with his balls. It's a strong showing though!

You’re all in more danger today than yesterday. Since she came.

Min, I'm going to be honest with you: you are the worst person in the world when it comes to interpreting your visions. There are assholes who grew up literally on your hometown's antipode with more skill than you. Right now, you're making Rand think that the danger is supposed to be Nynaeve, and that's crazy talk. Everyone is in more danger right now than they were a little while ago when you tormented Rand last because he's gone off and antagonized two sets of people.

Also, I forgot to mention last night, but all of Rand's actions are the equivalent of Frodo accidentally putting on the One Ring in the inn in Bree. I guess that makes Nynaeve Strider, which is awesome but of course nonsense because Lan is Strider. Thank goodness it's not one-to-one. Really I'd say every member of the nine EotW crew (counting Loial) has equivalences with two or more members of the Fellowship. Nynaeve's other half is Sam, for example.

Moiraine and Nynaeve sat at opposite ends of the table, neither taking her eyes from the other. All the other chairs were empty. Moiraine’s hands rested on the table, as still as her face. Nynaeve’s braid was thrown over her shoulder, the end gripped in one fist; she kept giving it little tugs the way she did when she was being even more stubborn than usual with the Village Council. Perrin was right. Despite the fire it seemed freezing cold, and all coming from the two women at the table.

I don't have anything to say here, I just really like it.

“You . . . followed our trail?” Lan said, truly surprised for the first time that Rand could remember. “I must be getting careless.”

This is the exact moment that Lan realizes what love is, and unlike so many of the romances in this series I'm quite happy with this one because as minimal as their reasons are they're perfectly good ones. Nynaeve is talented enough to best Lan and he's awestruck. Good.

“If you can follow a trail I have tried to hide, he taught you well. Few can do that, even in the Borderlands.” Abruptly Nynaeve buried her face in her cup. Rand’s eyes widened. She was blushing.

And this is the exact moment that Nynaeve falls in love, because Lan doesn't give her shit, he doesn't dismiss her for being too young, he just tells her she's as incredible as she knows she is.

They’d swarm over this inn like murderous ants on a rumor, a whisper. Their hate is that strong, their desire to kill or take any like these two.

Also Thom, Rand royally pissed them off earlier. You all should probably know that. It's a real shame none of you know that.

“We can’t,” Rand said, and was glad that his friends all spoke up at the same time. That way Nynaeve’s glare had to be spread around; she spared no one as it was. But he had spoken first, and they all fell silent, looking at him. Even Moiraine sat back in her chair, watching him over steepled fingers.

I mean she's way more moral about all of this but she is technically part of a cabal trying to bring about the fulfillment of prophecy to usher in a new age of humankind, and the reluctant teenage boy is finally promising to get in the robotgo to Tar Valon.

The Light knows how your . . . Mistress Alys”—she invested the name with a wagonload of scorn— “managed to make him believe; he has a mite of sense, usually, more than most men.

She didn't even talk to him, amusingly.

He’s afraid you’ll try your tricks with outlanders and get your head thumped.

Well, Mat's dad is right about one of those things already.

Egwene sat back so she was shielded by Perrin. “I left a note,” she said faintly. She tugged at the hood of her cloak as if she was afraid her unbound hair showed. “I explained everything.” Nynaeve’s face darkened.

What so many people miss in their support of one character over another is that Egwene is just as stupid and immature as Rand, Mat, and Perrin: she just shows it differently. If I were in Nynaeve's shoes and hearing this shit, Moiraine couldn't have interrupted my rant about "A note!" if she'd balefired me.

Even those poor men who find themselves wielding the Power for a short time gain that much, though sometimes touching saidin protects, and sometimes the taint makes them more vulnerable. 

For somebody who's supposedly pretty impatient and pissed, she sure is infodumping. Moiraine's such a nerd.

Egwene bounced to her feet, her desire to be dignified obviously warring with her desire to avoid a confrontation with the Wisdom over her unbraided hair. She had no difficulty gathering up everyone by eye, though. Mat and Perrin scraped back their chairs hurriedly, making polite murmurs while trying not to actually run on their way out. Even Lan started for the door at a signal from Moiraine, drawing Thom with him.

Again, there's not much to say, just the joy of the sheer intensity that is Moiraine and Nynaeve in the same room while innocent bystanders look on in horror. Shame it's over.

She turned toward Rand, and for the first time he realized the others had all quietly disappeared.

Poor Rand, too nosy to escape quickly, too thick to realize that Nynaeve's nervous around Lan because she's afraid that she'll jump his bones.

“Something happened,” he insisted. “Why do you want us to go back if you think there’s even a chance we are right? And why you, at all? As soon send the Mayor himself as the Wisdom.” “You have grown.” She smiled, and for a moment her amusement had him shifting his feet.

Again, Rand's actually really adept at political matters, he just doesn't realize it. Tam must have been prepping him for the Council his whole life.

Either way, though, almost every man wanted to be one of the party. Tam, and Bran al’Vere, with the scales of office around his neck, and Haral Luhhan, till Alsbet made him sit down. Even Cenn Buie. The Light save me from men who think with the hair on their chests. Though I don’t know as there are any other kind.

Note the double hypocrisy, in that Nynaeve is criticizing everyone for thinking they should be the ones to go get the kids when she thought the same thing about herself, and for criticizing people for thinking with their hair when her braid is how she gets her own neurons firing.

“Are you all right?” Nynaeve asked. “He said . . . said I . . . wasn’t his son. When he was delirious . . . with the fever. He said he found me. I thought it was just. . . .” His throat began to burn, and he had to stop. “Oh, Rand.” She stopped and took his face in both hands. She had to reach up to do it. “People say strange things in a fever. Twisted things. Things that are not true, or real. Listen to me. Tam al’Thor ran away seeking adventure when he was a boy no older than you. I can just remember when he came back to Emond’s Field, a grown man with a red-haired, outlander wife and a babe in swaddling clothes. I remember Kari al’Thor cradling that child in her arms with as much love given and delight taken as I have ever seen from any woman with a babe. Her child, Rand. You. Now you straighten up and stop this foolishness.”

It is both incredibly sweet that she notices something is wrong with Rand immediately and cares enough to ask and try and reassure him when she's pissed at how stupid she thinks he is and incredibly silly that the reassurance she gives - of a time when she was four or five years old and would have had nothing but a few fleeting encounters with the foreigner and baby who live out of town even when they do come home - is going to reassure anyone who isn't actively trying to drown in denial.

“No, it isn’t your business,” Nynaeve agreed. “It might not mean anything. She could just be searching blindly for a reason, any reason, why those things are after you. After all of you.”

This, though also wrong, is a much more reasonable sort of guess. That said, it's something Nynaeve wants to be true, so she doesn't think about the obvious connections either.

Sadly, that's it for this chapter. Next time we return to the Lord of the Rings inspiration when they have to leave the inn early due to an invasion of black-cloaked riders who serve supernatural evil.

[averseunhinged]

💌 send this to the twelve nicest people you know or who seem to have a good heart and if you get five back you must be pretty awesome. 💌 :)

ilu, ella! you're cool and nice and you should probs know that i've prev screenshotted your translated class notes for my own further investigation. you're like a history stuff influencer.

here is a thing from further on in i never said i had the answer i thought you might enjoy! it's v rough and idk what the final form of it will be b/c there's a giant chunk of s4, plus boring new orleans supernatural politics, left to go before this, but it involves my favorite pet theories about the elena + caroline + bonnie friendship.

“You got into Yale?” Elena questioned with a little laugh, dripping in disbelief.

“I had the highest GPA in our graduating class,” Caroline scoffed and crossed her arms, leaning her weight back on one hip. “I got a 2130 on my SATs in one try. Yeah. I got into Yale.”

“Because you’re organized and you obsess over stuff. Not because—”

“Whoa, Elena,” Bonnie protested off to the side.

“Not because I’m intelligent or hardworking? Or because I dedicated myself to cheerleading and student council and spent most of my spare time doing civic activities and community service, because I wanted to be the most attractive candidate to every school I applied to?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Elena insisted, squeezing her hands into fists and pressing them into her stomach, like she always had when she argued with Caroline before turning sucked out her personality and replaced it with Damon’s.

“Of course, that’s what you meant. Because I’m just bitchy, bimbo Caroline, right? Nothing else to see here, right?”

A petite, delicate hand inserted itself between their faces. “Absolutely not,” Bonnie demanded. “You are not doing this to me. I refuse to relive the freshman year fights.”

“Freshman year fights?” Stefan asked, heroically latching onto the attempt to defuse the two women.

“Caroline makes varsity cheer squad freshman year, so Elena goes on a date with Caroline’s crush. Caroline embarrasses Elena in front of said crush and he doesn’t ask her out again. Elena tells the sheriff about the college guy hitting on Caroline, so she gets grounded.” Bonnie flopped onto the sofa next to Stefan. “Why does Elena look better in low rise jeans than I do? Why is Caroline’s hair always shinier than mine? I love you both very much, but I swear I’ll figure out a way to dagger you like Mikaelsons if the alternative is living with that for the rest of my life.”

The room was quiet for a moment, until Damon loudly slurped Liz’s Maker’s Mark. Caroline rattled a disgusted noise deep in her throat when he responded to her disapproving glare with a toasting glass and a show of settling more comfortably into his chair, like he was ready to be entertained.

“I thought we were all going to Whitmore together,” Elena finally said.

Caroline took a steadying breath and tried to shake off her defensiveness. Forced herself to uncross her arms and roll the tension out of her shoulders. She explained, “We were! Yale was just a last minute whim, because they have this specific interdisciplinary Classics program, and I didn’t know when I applied, but the head of the department is a vampire, so when I said I wanted to minor in finance, too, it raised some flags,” she paused and then burst out in a quick rush of justification, “and I might have used a passage I translated out of an old journal in Grams’ collection as an example of the work I was interested in doing. I didn’t think it had anything obviously witchy, but it rang more bells.”

“Jesus, Barbie,” Damon groaned.

“Well, I know it was dangerous, now,” Caroline stopped and thought, frowning. “Mostly because they recognized my last name and universities have problems with hunters infiltrating the student population with their kids. They waitlisted me while they investigated, but I really am a vampire. So, they didn’t have to kill me and everyone I know. Crisis averted. Everything’s fine.”

[hangesdarling]

Could we get a one-shot of Midari comforting a transfem reader during her transition pains?

pillow fort — m. ikishima

PAIRING. Midari Ikishima x transfem!reader SYNOPSIS. Midari comforting you through transition pains. CONTENT. just fluff, midari being a softie hehe WORD COUNT. 1.1k A/N. sorry this took so long anon 😭 I posted an ask in the reddit trans community about transition pains bc idk much about them. hope this fic turned out to your liking :)

Midari likes to call your Friday game nights hot poker games. Usually, you would be entrusted as the dealer, Midari telling you that you always managed to give her the good cards, or that you're a charming character she wouldn't hate even if it's a bad hand.

The beautification council was composed of gamblers as insane as their president. Here, you saw the wildest, most daring bets even risky gamblers would turn their head away in fear. You're only spared with those risky encounters as Midari's girlfriend, the members knowing that messing with you would be their end. On those prolonged nights, you enjoyed dealing out cards, finding thrill in the raucous and intense betting.

Midari would often love it when you sat on her lap and played with her hair when you were not in the mood to gamble. Just having you around flares up her gambling nights, your presence motivating her to engage in dicey gambling to show off.

Tonight you'd be the dealer again. You could see how much the members had set the room up the usual way when you saw bowls of finger foods and cases of beer being set down, marking the beautification council tradition to gamble on Fridays.

Throughout the game, you tried to deal out the cards in the elegant fashion Midari adored about you, knowing that she's watching you closely with an eye as you do so. But Midari was overlooking that right now, seeing the trace of discomfort behind your eyes or the way you would clench the poker table after every deal as if you were in pain.

"Hey, hey," Midari tapped her revolver at the poker table to get everyone's attention. "I'm outta here for now. You guys better report the winner to me tomorrow, alright?"

Midari downed her can of beer, squeezing the empty can until the metal crumbled before she stood up.

"Eh, you're leaving, President?" one of the new members asked. It was this girl’s first poker Friday, obviously thrilled about it when she asked Midari further, "What does the winner get after winning?"

Midari smirked, now close enough to wrap an arm around you which she did, "A chance with me and my bullets tomorrow. How does that sound?"

The group just chuckled, shaking their head at their leader's usual morbid humor. Midari pulled you aside, taking the cards from your hand and handing them to one of the members, asking her to act as a dealer for the night.

Midari kept a gentle arm around your waist as you exited the game room. A small squeeze on your hand before she asked, "You okay there, sweetie?"

"I'm quite alright," you said, half-lying as your chest began to tighten. "Why did you leave the game?"

Your mind circled about thoughts that maybe Midari was being considerate knowing you prefer somewhere else more quiet, or maybe because your preferences gravitate to a calmer scene with less intoxicating food.

Midari gently hugged your back and said, "It's painful again, isn't it?"

You shouldn't be surprised as Midari always had a keen eye for things but the sudden gentleness, their usually loud voice soft against your ear was enough to leave you tongue-tied, heart touched by their approach.

"Come home with me tonight," she said with a slight wink. "I have a surprise for you."

---

You wouldn't have been surprised if Midari would just pull you onto her couch to watch absurd, campy movies or offer you an unhealthy amount of popcorn.

To say the least, the pillow fort surprised you. It was neatly set up in her room, full of plushies and blankets, the light bright enough to create a sleepy atmosphere.

"Soft enough, eh?" Midari asked, smiling as she saw you lie down inside, hugging a huge stuffed toy in your arms.

You hummed in agreement, inhaling the soft scent of the stuffed toy, a mellow combination of floral and citrus.

"Now, why hug this bad boy when you can have me?" Midari smirked, playfully pulling away the soft toy in your arms to replace it with her own body. She was careful not to hug you too tight, afraid to hurt you in any way.

"Damn. Feels so peaceful in here. Weird,” she remarked, making you laugh softly. Seeing a smile on your lips or hearing a laugh from you nudges her heart– a way to say that she's doing a good job at making you happy and would love to keep it that way.

"Thank you so much, darling," you whispered into her ear to which she petted your head in return.

Your eyes roamed around the fort inside. The blankets were so soft and warm, there were two pillows cushioned on your body while the rest were soft plushies of your favorite animals. There was even a cute holder laced with a ribbon where Midari's revolver could be hung. You never thought Midari would set up such a fluffy atmosphere considering she has much more gritty preferences.

"Ya know, I'll surprise you with this fort thingy next week on our anniversary. But why not set it up now when you look like you'll need it, right?" Midari smirked, thumbing over your cheek. "Besides, I could just surprise you with something else..."

Her suggestive tone earned a shy smile from you, a blush creeping on your cheeks which Midari always finds cute.

"Sweetcheeks," Midari began, voice softening as she tucked your hair behind your ear. "If anything hurts again, tell me, alright? Tell me right away. I'll be here."

You nodded at her, an immense appreciation and gratitude blossoming in your heart. People always see your lover in a different light; reckless, insane, or even aggressive. But you knew Midari had a seriousness within her, a sensibility you always managed to bring out. She loved danger, a dance with death, a play in fate— all those things might have branded her crazy but above all of that, she loves you. A love enough for her to put away her beloved gun or let go of a hot poker game to spend time with you in a pillow fort. She held a soft smile despite her sharp features.

"Lemme ease you up a little, alright?" she said, unbuttoning and loosening up your clothes. "Not gonna do anything perverted. I just want to make you more comfortable."

You chuckled at that, helping her loosen up the buttons and zippers fastening the uniform tight against your body. It was somehow a relief to have your clothes loosened up as it lessened the pressure on painful areas.

Midari kept you in a close embrace, lips pressed on your hair as she fell asleep holding your hand. Your slumber followed closely, the soft atmosphere making you dream of clouds in flower fields.

likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated, sweethearts <3

[finitefall]

That's bad writing. They're telling us for twenty years there's been animosity building enhanced by Aemond losing his eye, and then we see Vaemond Velaryon lose his head because he tried to claim Driftmark and called Rhaenyra's sons bastards, but they want us to believe that Alicent's reaction to this is “ooh let me hold hands with Rhaenyra and toast to her” and not further increase her fear ? And the fact that she exhorted Aegon that Rhaenyra will cut off anyone who challenges her inheritance to the throne and told him that his existence as a male heir is a challenge to Rhaenyra, that the entire realm knows in their bones that one day he will be king, but she's apparently done nothing to secure the crown for her son. The Green Council should've been Alicent talking about her fear for her children and grandchildren, how Aegon's and Aemond's existence as the king's trueborn sons is a threat to Rhaenyra, how Daemon is Rhaenyra's consort and considered too dangerous to be near the throne (a “second Maegor” as Otto put it), how Rhaenyra may fear her sons claim to the throne being challenged (as Luke's claim to Driftmark had already been challenged by Vaemond), as Rhaenyra does have a clear motive to want her siblings gone. These reasons are understandable and valid. Not YOU CAN'T KILL RHAENYRAAA ! (But I get it, they needed some cheap queerbait).

And seriously, are we supposed to believe Alicent suddenly cares about Rhaenyra ?? Since when ? This is the same Alicent that made her walk to her chambers immediately after giving birth spilling blood everywhere with placenta still hanging just so she could see the color of Joffrey’s hair. She did everything to undermine the authority of Rhaenyra, and her decision to spread damaging rumors about the legitimacy of her sons is very clearly a calculated political act of destruction that would result in exile or death for the children as well as Rhaenyra. To Alicent, Rhaenyra should be living in shame and feel shameful of her own children.

We're supposed to believe Alicent's reactions because of the whole tragic Rhaenicent love story they've been (and are still) trying to make us believe in. Mind you, nonnie, it does work with many who absolutely love Rhaenicent and are dead serious when they say they're in love.

The Green council after Viserys' death showed how much book!Alicent is important. She's the first one being told, and she's very clear about what she wants and what she thinks of Rhaenyra and her children. It's literally her big moment:

"King", insisted Queen Alicent. "The Iron Throne by rights must pass to His Grace's eldest trueborn son."

"Nor will they spare my children," she declared. "Aegon and his brothers are the king's trueborn sons, with a better claim to the throne than her brood of bastards. Daemon will find some pretext to put them all to death. Even Helaena and her little ones. One of these Strongs put out Aemond's eye, never forget. He was a boy, aye, but the boy is the father to the man, and bastards are monstruous by nature."

This is Alicent, a Queen who's been plotting with her father and supporters to put her son Aegon on the throne as soon as Viserys would die. A coherent, well-written character, not show!Alicent who's an incoherent mess.

About Alicent making Rhaenyra walk all the way to see her just after having given birth to Joff, you have Green stans saying she did no such thing since she only asked to see the baby. I'm sorry, Alicent was caring about Rhaenyra because she wanted her to just give her newborn son to anyone so someone else could show him to Alicent while Rhaenyra was resting? Yeah, that's totally what any mother would do, and I'm sure Green stans would have had so much more respect for Rhaenyra if she had done this...

[saber-slutt]

Writing practice: Obi-wan confessions - pt 2

☆ Idk guys sometimes I lie and say I’m gonna post smut next but then I don’t because I’m like “hm I should split this up into the lead-in and actual smut”

☆ anyways enjoy! WARNINGS: None, this time. I’m like 99% it’s Gn!reader

☆ it’s writing practice so this SUCKS but that’s why we practice

☆link to pt 1 (if u want it’s not necessary at all to read) https://www.tumblr.com/saber-slutt/721080873884221440/writing-practice-obi-wan-confessions-pt-1

You dropped your kettle as the words left his mouth. He was waiting for you to say something. Neither of you knew what exactly. He sat cross-legged on your bed facing you, while you stood across your dorm at your mini stove. Obi-wan kept staring right at you, and you couldn’t bring yourself to look away. After what seemed to be an eternity of strained silence, you found a singular word, “What?”

“I think I’m in love with you,” Obi-wan breathed out, clasping and rubbing his hands around his mouth.

“Seriously, what?” you replied. Your stomach dropped. You couldn’t understand, let alone believe what you were hearing. Love? Love? He was being insane.

“Satine and I had a disagreement, and-”

“You came here to tell me you love me?” you said quizzically. A part of you was reeling now. Your heart raced, and you felt a tiny bit nauseous. This part of you had always wanted to hear these words, since the day you met him. But, another part of you was pissed. Obviously, he was upset from his fight with Satine, and was grasping at straws to make himself feel better, and that the fight was okay because he was ‘actually in love with you’. Love. He was playing with your feelings. And you didn’t know which was worse, that he did not notice or he did not care. “Obi-wan, you need to leave. I get that you're upset, but you don’t know what you're talking about. This fight’ll blow over, okay? We’ll talk tomorrow,”

“Please, hear me out.”

“No, not right now. Not tonight,” you said, gesturing to the door.

“We fought because of you!”

You choked, “What?!”

Obi-wan looked at you, deeply, before gesturing you to sit beside him. You did so, tentatively. He began, “That came out wrong. I was talking about you, with her, and she claimed that I can’t go a measly night without mentioning you. It evolved from there, I’ll spare you the details, but it ended with her suggesting that if I need you so much, I should be here with you. Permanently.”

“Oh.”

“She meant it spitefully, but she’s right,” he said, moving his hand to hold yours on top of your thigh.

Your heart zoomed and your hands were clammy. You stammered for a moment, “Sorry, I’m just trying to, you know, understand what’s going on.”

“That’s okay.”

“But, we’re, y’know, Jedi,” while it was true you were worried about that fact, you were more scared that this was actually happening, that he might feel the same as you knew deep down you did. “We can’t. We shouldn’t.”

“I believe I’m my best self when we’re together. And that makes me a good Jedi,” he reasoned.

“Even so, you were just in love with Satine. How do I know you actually like me, and I’m not some rebound you want to use to deal with heartbreak?”

Obi-wan sighed, “I would never use you. I think I liked her because of our past, and the memory, but it truly wasn’t the same. When I found out that you liked me, it almost killed me not to say anything. I also wanted to protect you, we both know what would happen if the Council found out we were in a relationship. So I went to Satine. In a way, if I was with Satine, I thought it would sate the feelings I had for you.”

“And you just figured this all out?” you whispered.

“More like came to terms with it.”

“Wait, so, you knew I liked you? How? I didn’t show it, did I??”

Obi-wan laughed breathlessly, “No, darling. Anakin heavily hinted at it.”

“I am going to kill him! He said he wouldn’t say anything!” you groaned.

Obi-wan scoffed, “Yeah, king-of-subtlety Anakin Skywalker hid it very well.”

“I hate him,” you giggled.

“I don’t,” Obi-wan moved to hold you cheek, and leaned in for a kiss.