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tossawary · 3 years

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Because my brain does NOT stop even when I’m grounded, today my brain told me, “Hey, I figured out how to make a Hobbit Fusion AU work.” And I was like, “Great! We’re working, though.” And my brain was like, “I’ve figured out how to make it a Pre-Canon Canon Divergence AU for Moshang.”

And I was like, “...I’m listening.”

The Hobbit is another one of my Comfort Media and it got brought up when I was asking about that, but I was feeling kind of “eh” about mixing Tolkien mythology with SVSSS. I mean, the mental picture of Dwarf Mobei-Jun is extremely funny and Shang Qinghua would make a great hobbit! But that interpretation felt a little too direct for my AU tastes.

So, hm, now I have another potential Big Bang contender. My love for The Hobbit is very, VERY strong and looking at my current outline, I have to be like, “Yeah, this could be 50,000 words, no problem.”

It’s a very good outline!

After saving Mobei-Jun, Shang Qinghua bailed A.S.A.P. because he honestly thought Mobei-Jun was going to kill him. He psyched himself out of sticking around before Mobei-Jun woke up. Mobei-Jun didn’t get enough information to track Shang Qinghua down.

Shang Qinghua (who isn’t SQH because he isn’t the Peak Lord) decides that he can’t fucking take it anymore and bails from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect too. The System objects, but also falls into line when Airplane shrieks at it. Airplane is going to go become a humble merchant and inventor and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him!

It turns out that Shang Qinghua’s presence or help was actually crucial to stop some Emperor of the Abyss from taking over the Ice Palace and the Northern Desert. Airplane is like, “Oh, yeah, I remember… offhandedly writing something about that happening in the past off-screen?” It was one of those things that he just threw in there because it sounded really cool, and it gave Mobei-Jun another reason to “owe” Shang Qinghua and not kill him immediately, but he never got to elaborate on it because he was too busy writing stallion novel bullshit.

So, borrowing the lore from my “Horns” one-shot, an extremely powerful Emperor of the Abyss escaped the Eternal Abyss. This is some devouring horror being from the depths of the abyss, which ate everything in its vicinity in the abyss itself and crawled into the Demon Realm to eat more things. The Emperor of the Abyss was attracted to Mobei-Jun’s father. They fought. Mobei-Jun’s father should have won, but didn’t, because he was too fucked up (thanks to his own hedonism or something) to fight properly. What an asshole.

Mobei-Jun’s father was killed and devoured by the Emperor of the Abyss, which has made it… exponentially powerful. It’s now… basically a calamity. The desolation that it leaves in its wake across the Northern Desert is unspeakable. Mobei-Jun and his family, their allied clans, and pretty much all demons in the Northern Desert have had to flee.

Mobei-Jun is currently essentially a “guest” of the Sha Clan. He’s homeless. He’s lost the power of his ancestors. He’s a “king” without a kingdom. It’s humiliating. He needs to kill the abyssal creature to retrieve: his title, his ancestors’ power, and his kingdom.

While working for other demon clans to support his family and people, Mobei-Jun crosses paths with Airplane. Airplane has become a relatively successful merchant and inventor, and he calls himself Shang Houhua. He lives a very comfortable life and does his best to ignore anything resembling the plot. He’s pretty successful at ignoring the plot.

Mobei-Jun is never in a good mood these days, but he’s especially pissed off to see that human who abandoned him all those years ago. Airplane tries to argue that Mobei-Jun told him to fuck off, but Mobei-Jun is too angry. Airplane makes lots of offers in an effort to get Mobei-Jun to spare his life, one of which ends up being a claim that he can help Mobei-Jun kill the Emperor of the Abyss and make him a king again. Mobei-Jun pauses, now even more pissed off than before, and Airplane just starts babbling desperately to save his own skin.

Mobei-Jun was already forming a company to take on a Quest for the Northern Desert - in the hopes of slaying the Emperor of the Abyss and retaking his homeland. Part of the issue has been that forming the company is difficult. Mobei-Jun wants people who are loyal to HIM and ONLY to him. He won’t owe anyone else anything or promise them pieces of his homeland.

(Airplane is like, “Bro, I don’t know if you can afford to be so picky, but okay.”)

So Mobei-Jun is like… “I still want to kill you, but fine, you can come on our quest and help us.”

So Airplane ends up on the Quest for the Northern Desert, led by his very angry future murderer the “king without a kingdom” Mobei-Jun, to fight the calamitous Emperor of the Abyss who killed Mobei-Jun’s father. Fuck.

Some details beyond this opening premise:

Airplane and Mobei-Jun fall in love over the course of the quest, obviously. They have their own hijinks like each chapter of The Hobbit (equivalents to the trolls, to Rivendell, to Goblintown, to Beorn, to Mirkwood, and to Laketown, etc.).

Oh, damn, I just realized that making a pre-fall Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang the Beorn equivalents would be so fucking funny.

The Emperor of the Abyss is a horrifying Smaug equivalent. It can totally talk because Airplane having a conversation with a draconian horror sounds incredible. I would love to have Airplane outwit the Emperor of the Abyss in some fashion.

Mobei-Jun and Airplane somehow manage to successfully kill the Emperor of the Abyss together. Like, together. Probably using some plot device whipped up or some clever plan devised by Airplane on his feet. Mobei-Jun trusts Airplane at a crucial moment and it all works out. Airplane actually gets Mobei-Jun his kingdom back.

I’m tempted to just skip over the Ring and not having a Ring equivalent. BUT if I made this into a longfic instead of a one-shot, I would have a Ring equivalent (if it was a one-shot, I would ditch the Ring equivalent). I think I would make Xin Mo the One Ring equivalent. During the Goblintown equivalent event, Airplane falls either into the Eternal Abyss or into Bing-Ge’s dimension, where he proceeds to successfully take up Xin Mo because he knows the trick and portal himself out of the Eternal Abyss, or he proceeds to outwit Bing-Ge in some fashion and uses the Xin Mo sword to portal himself back to the right dimension.

So then Airplane is stuck with this super powerful sword that he doesn’t want to use again because he KNOWS that it will fuck him up. He KNOWS that it will FUCK HIM UP. So Airplane has to go through the rest of the quest ignoring the temptation of the Xin Mo sword that he is absolutely not supposed to have and can’t possibly let anyone else have.

(Oh, man, imagining the influence of Xin Mo giving Airplane extra horny thoughts about Mobei-Jun on the rest of the quest is very funny. Like, Airplane was already hot for Mobei-Jun, but now it’s worse and he might never have a normal thought ever again.)

Bagginshield Movie Hug when Airplane turns up again, for sure. Mobei-Jun thought he was dead. Mobei-Jun smiles and everything, until he remembers to frown again.

I’m feeling like I don’t want Airplane to use Xin Mo to help defeat the Emperor of the Abyss, but it makes sense if he does. Him not using it doesn’t make much sense. I do like the idea of Airplane dealing the killing blow and Mobei-Jun’s pride being hurt by Airplane being the one to kill it. I also like the idea of Mobei-Jun being a little smitten by Airplane just… loyally handing him his kingdom and restoring the power of his ancestors. I also really like the idea of Airplane just… not having some super powerful plot device up his sleeve on the quest.

Like, instead of Airplane’s Author God knowledge totally setting him up to deal with this thing no problem, Airplane had NO FUCKING PLAN when he set out with Mobei-Jun. He was talking completely out of his ass when he said he knew how to help Mobei-Jun. That this all worked out at all is almost completely due to luck and improvisation.

That feels MUCH more true to both Shang Qinghua and to Bilbo Baggins. Lucky lads of fast-talking, complaining, lying, not knowing what the fuck is really going on, thirsting after kings with tragic backstories, and somehow not dying despite winging it all the time.

Instead of goldsickness, Mobei-Jun is forced to deal with some side-effects of consuming the Emperor of the Abyss to regain the power of his ancestors. (Demon cannibalism rituals. Yeah.) He starts acting really scary and out-of-character and forceful, until Airplane loses his nerve and runs away. Maybe under the influence of the late Emperor of the Abyss, Mobei-Jun actually tries to kill him? I could see Mobei-Jun trying to kill Airplane for the Xin Mo sword which dealt the finishing blow on the Emperor of the Abyss.

(I need a better name for this thing. If I can’t come up with something that actually sounds good, I might just call it “The Calamity”, but that’s giving me BOTW vibes so I don’t like it. Maybe I’d call it “The Desolation” or something? Ehhhh, I don’t really like that either.)

I want to have a Battle of the Five Armies equivalent, if only so Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang can swoop in as benevolent helpers as the Beorn equivalents. Currently, I’m seeing three options. 1) The orc army equivalent are neighboring demon lords who want to strike while the new Mobei-Jun is getting established. 2) The orc army equivalent is Linguang-Jun trying to kill his nephew and take power at the last minute. 3) The orc army equivalent is Bing-Ge here with an army and he’s pissed off and wants his sword back.

On one hand, 1 and 2 would be SO MUCH EASIER to pull off. I could be really lazy about the whole thing. On the other hand, 3 would be much fresher (more surprising and links back to the Xin Mo element), more challenging and the idea of pre-fall Tianlang-Jun facing off with Bing-Ge delights me. Kick his ass, Tianlang-Jun!

(Su Xiyan gets involved? My brain says YES. Kick his ass, Su Xiyan!)

Also, I was sad about there being no Fili and Kili equivalents, because Mobei-Jun has no friends, and I’ll have to make up a company pretty much from scratch. (Sha Hualing is too young and Luo Binghe hasn’t been born yet.) BUT then I was like, “Where’s Linguang-Jun in all this?” And I would absolutely have Linguang-Jun be a part of Mobei-Jun’s Company. Instead of nephews, Mobei-Jun has a sketchy uncle who might be trying to kill him. Keeping Linguang-Jun out of it might be easier, but actually doing some character-building with him sounds fun and challenging, and I’d rather limit the number of OCs if possible.

Mobei-Jun manages to shake off the goldsickness equivalent somehow, probably through “the power of love” (and/or straight-up “dual cultivation” with Airplane?). Moshang makes up while Mobei-Jun is apparently mortally wounded from fighting Bing-Ge and Airplane thinks this is all his fault. But Mobei-Jun doesn’t die! It’s all good!

It’d be pretty funny if there was a “Returning to the Shire” equivalent where Airplane leaves because he thinks Mobei-Jun hates him now and never wants to see him again. So then Mobei-Jun has to track his man down like, “Get back here and marry me. (Also I am so sorry for trying to kill you. Please forgive me. I hate myself so much for that.)”

And they all live happily ever after!

Holy shit, this wasn’t in Proud Immortal Demon Way.

#svsss hobbit fusion au #tossawary updates #tossawary svsss #moshang #mobei jun #shang qinghua #comfort media fusion aus #fic ideas

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not-majestic-bluenicorn · 2 years

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Crescent || Chapter 28

Fandom(s): ATEEZ

AU: Treasure Hunters

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho

Language: English

Status: Ongoing

Chapter WC: 3,445 words

Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.

Chapter Warnings: Fighting, Mentions of Child Work, Mentions of Slavery.

Summary:

“How do you plead?” The Emperor asked, barely blinking as he held Hongjoong’s gaze.

“Not guilty, Your Highness.”

AO3

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Tagged: @angel0taiyo

Hongjoong opened his eyes to the dark ceiling of the prison cell. He hadn’t been sleeping, not quite, but had instead focused on remaining calm and thinking about escape plans. He wasn’t entirely sure how many hours it had been already, but was almost certain that it was probably the dawn of the next day already. No one had come to see him ever since he had been dropped in that cell.

He patted the inside of his coat subconsciously only to find his compass was gone. He sat up, aware this time, and deliberately patted himself down to confirm the compass wasn’t on him. Hongjoong cursed under his breath. The guards must have taken it while he was out in the ship, or maybe even when they had taken him to the cell. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would be able to get it back, even though there were more important things at stake.

“Are you looking for this, brother?” The venom-filled voice made him instantly turn around.

“Yijoong…” Hongjoong breathed out when he met eyes with his brother. The compass was in his hand.

“Hongjoong,” Yijoon nodded as a form of greeting, thought his voice was full with contempt.

“Why?” Hongjoong swallowed, feeling his mouth and throat dry up.

“Oh, well, one of the soldiers gave it to me, I guess he recognized it.” Yijoong shrugged, and Hongjoong couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

Yijoong and him had never had the best of relationships to begin with, but he had loved him like family nonetheless. He was starting to see his true colors now. And somehow, the worst part was that the knowledge of the betrayal still welcomed a familiar sting into his eyes, and it was hard to keep it at bay.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Hongjoong sighed, walking closer to the bars to face his brother.

“Oh, you mean, this?” Yijoong made a wide gesture, encompassing all of the cell. “Well, you’re too much of a threat to the crown, measures had to be taken, I’m sure you understand.”

“How am I a threat? I’m your family!” Hongjoong yelled, grabbing the bars with force. Yijoong looked at him like he was some sort of wild animal and took a step back.

“The same way Taejoong was a threat,” Yijoong spat. “Your stupid ideals will get in the way of the kingdom’s expansion! You were even allying with a rebel group!”

“There are people being harmed directly by our actions as royalty! Are you really going to step that low?” Hongjoong felt like the air had been punched out of his gut. He couldn’t believe the words his brother was speaking were real.

“Power and status require sacrifice, you have everything here, why would you worry about… people like them?'' Yijoong frowned, seeming genuinely confused about Hongjoong’s inability to understand his point of view.

Hongjoong thought of the mines at Mingi’s planet, about the ship that had kidnapped Seonghwa and many others, about Yeosang’s dream of escaping his planet, about Jongho working as a child in order to survive. He realized how blind he had been to the reality that the mere existence of his family had brought upon others, and he felt ashamed. He felt ashamed of his brother in front of him, who seemed to think that the status quo they had established was right.

“Taejoong was like that, and he made dad angry.” Yijoong continued at his lack of response. “He was constantly talking about stopping the empire’s expansion and focusing on the colonies we already have, almost like he wanted to put the family’s name to shame. He was stupid, and he paid the price for treason.”

“He was our brother.”

“He was a traitor.” Yijoong scoffed. “And so are you, so I hope you remember all the classes we took on law, because you’ll be facing trial later today, and you’ll be defending yourself.”

“You can’t be serious,” Hongjoong’s eyes widened. The grip on the bars tightened as he leaned closer.

“Unfortunately no one wanted to take your case,” Yijoong shrugged, a knowing smirk on his face. “We tried, really, for like five minutes anyway. You’re good with words, I’m sure you’ll at least put up a fight, give everyone a good show!”

“You’ve lost your mind,” Hongjoong whispered, mostly to himself. “You’re going to murder me like Taejoong.”

“Oh no, no, Taejoong got the honor of being backstabbed in the battlefield, the people loved him too much for us to make a successful case against him.” Yijoong shook his head. “But no one knows you Hongjoong, and I’m sure when the people hear you murdered their favorite prince, everyone’s going to be very mad. Your name will be tainted, you’ll fall in disgrace and face The Depths all on your own.”

Hongjoong froze for a moment. Just the thought of it felt so cruel.

“What did I ever do to you?” Hongjoong asked. His eyes were glazed with tears, he couldn’t help it.

“Nothing much, but someone has to take the fall for the Empire to be able to rise, Hongjoong.” Yijoong shrugged again. “You’re the Battleground’s Devil, you more than anyone should be aware of the sacrifices that must be made in battle.”

“You won’t get away with it.” There were people who knew the truth. The others were looking for him, Hongjoong was certain.

“Oh, are you referring to your little boyfriend?” Yijoong smirked. “That thing about you always disappointed dad so much, but it wasn’t worth the hassle when you were going to be sentenced anyway. I’m sure the soldiers can take care of him anyway, after all, his weakness is here.

“Besides, whether I get away with it or not… well, you won’t be here to see it, will you?” Yijoong smiled. “Prepare a good defense brother, I want a good show!”

“Yijoong come back!” Hongjoong shouted at his brother’s back as he walked away. “Yijoong!” However, his cries went unheard.

“Is the connection stable now?” Yunho asked, looking at the camera that showed Chan, the leader of the Interplanetary Resistance, sitting in his own vessel.

“Ah, The Crescent’s crew, it’s been a while,” Chan greeted, his own way of letting them know he could hear them loud and clear.

“Captain Chan,” Yunho nodded in recognition.

“I see Wooyoung made it safely with you?” Chan smiled slightly, nodding towards Wooyoung, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Safe and sound, thanks to you.” Wooyoung nodded.

“We received your signal, as you mentioned, though we weren’t expecting it to be Hongjoong of all people, especially not Prince Kim Hongjoong.” Chan looked at them pointedly, especially at Yunho who looked uncomfortable.

“In the defense of the crew, only a few of them knew, before the disaster a couple days ago.” Yunho sighed. Among all the possible developments, he had never thought this would happen. “I’m sorry we lied to you.”

“Why are you calling?” Chan cut to the chase.

“We wanted to join you in battle and rescue Hongjoong.” Seonghwa explained. He was a natural negotiator and knew how to speak concisely. “We will put all of our resources on the line to aid you in battle.”

“How do I know you’re actually on our side?” Chan frowned. Seonghwa opened his mouth to speak, but Yeosang was faster.

“Hongjoong wanted to help. He wanted to keep his promise of aiding you with the treasure, even after learning his family had turned against him.” He spoke with passion, like with everything else he did, and the others couldn’t help but smile a little.

“His family turned against him?” Chan leaned forward.

“We have evidence that they hired a hitman to kill Hongjoong, plus, Wooyoung has access to the memories and dreams that prove what happened.” Seonghwa explained, taking back control of the conversation.

Chan seemed to consider it a moment. He exchanged glances with the members of his crew that were also there, and some of them even shared their opinions on the issue. Finally, Chan nodded.

“Very well, we’ll let you participate, are you anywhere close to the Home Planet?” Chan asked, leaning back into his seat.

“We’ll arrive very soon,” Jongho confirmed from his place next to the navigation map.

“Excellent then, Wooyoung-” Chan smiled as the younger man turned to look at him. “You’re in charge of giving us the signal of when to attack. We’ll be watching the trial meanwhile.”

“Yes,” Wooyoung nodded immediately. “We’ll be watching too.”

“Very well, it’s been a pleasure making business with you. We’ll leave the line open in case there’s any urgent messages to relay, but we must get back to work for now.” Chan stood up. “Preparing for a war is tough work.”

“You tell me,” Yunho smiled. “We’ll see you soon.”

Chan waved goodbye and the call ended.

Silence settled among them for a moment before Yunho sighed and placed a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder. The latter immediately tensed up, wondering if he had stepped too far when speaking in Yunho’s place.

“You have quite the way with words, has anyone ever told you that?” Yunho explained, looking completely serious as he tugged on his collar slightly.

“Uhm,” Seonghwa swallowed, his eyes slipping a little too far down to Yunho’s neck before shooting straight up to his eyes. “No. Thank you.”

Yunho chuckled before patting his shoulder and walking off.

“I’ll go check on the soldiers, Yeosang?” He explained.

“Yes?” Yeosang perked up, closing his mouth where it had fallen open after witnessing the interaction.

“Make sure we stay en route, alright? We need to arrive there as soon as possible.” Yunho smiled.

“Yes, right!” He scrambled next to Jongho, eyes glued to the map.

As soon as Yunho left the room, everyone let out a collective sigh.

“What was that?” Mingi’s voice was quiet and confused.

“Seonghwa is blushing,” Jongho noted out of nowhere, making everyone’s attention turn back to Seonghwa.

“I’m not!” He tried to defend himself, but his voice came out strangled.

“Oh, god, he is.” Yeosang muttered. Wooyoung chuckled softly from in front of him.

“You’re all menaces,” Seonghwa grumbled under his breath, but maybe he was blushing just a bit.

The sound of footsteps brought him back from his quiet meditation, and Hongjoong sat up facing the cell’s bars as the guards rounded the corner. He knew it was time, his brother had warned him after all. Still, he didn’t feel prepared. There was dread in the certainty that nothing he could say or do would stop him from getting convicted. Facing The Depths was a given if the others didn’t find him first. He couldn’t let his faith falter though. It was the only thing keeping him sane.

“Put your hands forward and don’t try anything funny,” one of the guards ordered.

Hongjoong complied, keeping to himself. There was nothing he could say or do down there that would save him. In fact, it was probably the opposite. If he couldn’t save himself, he needed to at least make time for the others to find and rescue him. He remembered Wooyoung’s glazed eyes as he told him to turn himself in and knew that the worst was still yet to come. But he couldn’t let go of hope. Wooyoung had seen them all happy in his visions, that had to mean something

The walk to the courtroom is sped up by the beating of his heart, despite the fact that they have to walk through the gardens that had witnessed his late-night practice countless times. Hongjoong realized, at that moment, that no matter how that trial went down, he could never call this place home again. He wasn’t safe there, and the Empire had simply fallen off of the pedestal he had once put it in. There was no room left for him.

The doors to the courtroom opened and he was guided inside to the small podium in the center. One of the guards retired the cuffs, and Hongjoong mentally sighed for it. Chains and cuffs would do no good for his image. His gaze looked over the room, taking in the serious-looking jury and the hungry gazes of the media. He felt his gut twist and turn inside him. Hongjoong had never been one to give great speeches to the masses, and he wondered if Taejoong had ever felt like that in the presence of the media.

“We’re now starting the trial of Prince Kim Hongjoong, please read his indictment.” The Emperor’s voice echoed through the courtroom. Hongjoong looked him in the eyes and his father held his gaze. It was not his father preceding the trial, but the Emperor himself. Hongjoong felt cold inside.

“Kim Hongjoong, you’ve been charged with high-treason for ordering the murder of your brother, late Prince Kim Taejoong, as well as aiding in the plotting of an insurgent movement agains the crown.”

There was a deafening silence in the room as his charges were read, which erupted into murmurs at the mention of his brother. His heart jumped at the accusation. Yijoong had warned him about it, but he still couldn’t believe they were charging him with it. It felt unreal that the adventure that had started with the death of his brother would end in this, and yet here he was.

“How do you plead?” The Emperor asked, barely blinking as he held Hongjoong’s gaze.

Hongjoong looked at Yijoong, sitting to the left of his father, for just a moment, and upon catching the knowing smirk of his brother, he knew that the game was on. If this is what they wanted, then he would play. He couldn’t just allow them to win, not after everything they had done.

“Not guilty, Your Highness.”

Yunho was sitting at the edge of his seat, hands turned into tight fists. Siyeon was sitting right by his side while the others stood behind him. The silence in the Captain’s quarters was deafening and painful. None of them could believe what they had just heard. Not only that, but the fact that the Emperor himself was presiding over the trial meant no sane lawyer would want to defend Hongjoong. They probably hadn’t even tried to get him that.

“Wooyoung?” Yunho turned to look at the Somnum, but the latter shook his head.

“Not yet, he needs to make it out of that room,” Wooyoung explained.

There was a collective sigh but they observed with aching hearts as Hongjoong declared himself innocent and began giving his defense. Yunho wanted to get him out of there so badly… But they needed to follow through with their plan, as there was no way they could deal with the Home Planet on their own. He had to put trust in Wooyoung’s words.

The communication line with Chan’s ship came back to life as the Captain himself opened the camera and sat down to give them a status report. For a brief moment, they looked away from the trial and heard what he had to say.

“The Interplanetary Resistance is ready to engage as soon as you give us the signal.” Chan clarified. Wooyoung simply shook his head again.

“Not yet.”

“Very well, you may begin your defense,” The Emperor sat back as he spoke, almost relaxing into his seat.

Hongjoong didn’t move from his place in case the guards took it as a threat, but he made a point to look as many people as he could in the eye. Among the unfriendly gazes, there were some genuinely confused or curious one, and Hongjoong thought that maybe he could appeal to them. And even if not, he just had to make time.

“I loved my brother more than anyone in the entire Universe,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “He taught me everything I know, raised me and took care of me more than His Highness ever did.” And it was true. For all those years, Taejoong had been the only constant presence in his life.

“I adored my brother, I would’ve never hurt him, I-” He couldn’t bring himself to say that there was proof about the crimes of his father and brother. Weren’t they still family, despite everything? Maybe he was being a fool, but inside him there was still a bit of affection left in him for them. “I’ve been set up.”

“What about the charges for cooperating with a terrorist group?” The Emperor seemed amused enough to want to hear what he had to say.

“I encountered them once when my ship when my ship was unfairly taken by my own men for attacking and rescuing the hostages of a human trafficking ship,” Hongjoong explained easily, not letting himself be intimidated. “Ship which was, by the way, registered under our government.” He turned towards the cameras. “It is clear that the Empire is corrupted to the bone, but it doesn’t have to be like that!” He turned back towards the Emperor. “I agreed to talk to you on their behalf.”

“You agreed to talk on the behalf of a terrorist group?!” Yijoong exclaimed from his place next to the Emperor, seeming scandalized.

“They’re worried for the people in the colonized planets,” Hongjoong kept his voice level, aware that they were trying to turn the trial against him. “There are people starving and dying from the lack of medicines, the overworking and the economical crisis! We can’t keep living like this at the cost of others’ lives.”

“Bring in the witness,” the Emperor sighed, dismissing Hongjoong’s words with a movement of his hand.

Hongjoong felt the blood drain from his face. He hadn’t been prepared for them to have a witness, it hadn’t even crossed his mind before. The guards brought in the man from the vision Wooyoung had shown him of the death of his brother. He looked disheveled and his hair had grown quite a lot, but he was still very recognizable.

Almost immediately, the man rushed towards Hongjoong and knelt in front of him. He rubbed his hand together, muttering incoherences as he grabbed Hongjoong by the hem of his clothes. Hongjoong was staring at him with wide eyes.

“You…” The sentencing word escaped his lips without him even realizing.

“Ah, so you know his man, the one who wielded the sword that killed Prince Taejoong.” The Emperor said with a smug smile on his lips.

“Please forgive me, please forgive me sir, I tried not to tell them,” the man’s words became clearer as he raised his voice, and Hongjoong stepped away from him.

“This is the man you paid to kill our brother,” Yijoong said, and oh, Hongjoong loathed the way those words had come out of his mind.

“I didn’t-”

“Enough is enough.” The Emperor raised his hand to silence him. “Jury, what is your verdict?”

One after the other, the members of the jury sealed his faith. Hongjoong felt the room close in on him as each one of them pronounced ‘guilty’ again and again until the word stopped feeling like a concept at all to Hongjoong. He felt guards grab his arms and drag him back. He yelled and kicked and tried to reach towards the family that had abandoned him but he had already lost.

Yunho watched as Hongjoong was forcefully dragged out of the courtroom, heart stuck in his throat as Hongjoong struggled with all his might and yelled at his father and brother. He was aware that his Prince was in no immediate danger since his execution had been scheduled for three days later, but it was still devastating. Knowing it was meant to happen that way didn’t make it any better.

“Wooyoung,” he turned to look at the Somnum with pleading eyes as soon as the doors had closed behind Hongjoong.

Wooyoung’s eyes were completely fixed to the screen, and he looked close to tears. There was a certain familiarity in his gaze that reminded the others he had already seen everything, and had had to carry that knowledge on his own. Not anymore, though. They were ready to fight together in order to get Hongjoong back and finish off the corrupted Kim family.

“Go ahead,” Wooyoung nodded after taking a deep breath.

“Chan?” Yunho immediately turned to the screen that was showing them the Captain’s quarters of the other ship.

“Heard you loud and clear,” Chan grinned. He pressed a button next to himself and there was a brief sound of interference before the line cleared. “This is Chan from Silmerion, one of the leaders from the Interplanetary Resistance.” He explained briefly, and Yunho noticed that he was speaking to the other ships. “It’s time to burn everything down.”

#kwritersworldnet #kdiarynet #kpopscape #8makes1teamnet #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez fanfiction #atz #kpop #kpop fanfic #kpop fic #kpop fanfiction #crescent #bluenicorn writes

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juniaships · 3 years

Text

Odelloyd (Yodel shipping)

Since @minecraftninjerkid expressed interest I wrote a particularly long post about Odette and Lloyd Garmadon's relationship. It's basically set in my AU of the while Ninjago canon. It's pretty angsty in some parts, and honestly I love this couple because it's a story of two individuals who learn to trust and like TALK with each other and work out their issues together! Plus I feel like if Lloyd needed another love interest within canon it should be someone who can match his energy, a strong young lady who works side by side with him!

Harumi is still the princess but now she has a LADY IN WAITING!! YAYAY

Mostly because she needed a morality pet in some way but also a foil to show if Harumi hadn't been so consumed by personal demons

Odette was a homeless orphan living on the streets with her sister; often stealing from food carts to feed themselves

One night Odette made the mistake of stealing from one of the SOG and they catch her and bring her to their base

Instead of being mad Harumi was impressed by her thieving skills and decided to recruit her. Odette didn't want to at first but then she had second thoughts thinking the extra money could help her and baby sis

So Harumi brings her back and manages to convince the Emperor and Empress to hire Odette as a lady in waiting & decoy if Harumi needed to sneak out to do her business Odette is So instead of it being Harumi it's Odette who stays and befriends the ninja

Odette had NO IDEA her friend plotted to blow up the palace - with her still inside - not great thinking there o' Quiet One

She also had no idea how AWESOME Lloyd is on a motorcycle: "Sweet moves grasshopper!"

They stop at several places gathering clues on the location on the final mask leaving a lot of time for Lloyd and odette to bond; for the first time in forever Odette starts to enjoy life again

The Ninja take Odette in and decide to search for the final mask. Odette does what she can to help out (and find info) getting close to them and my OCs

Lloyd even buys her a gift: a lotus shaped hairpin to replace the one she lost in the palace fight

The jungle incident happens; Lloyd and Odette separates for a while and she comes across the real princess who had stalked the group the whole time undercover

But she's afraid that her big secret might come out everywhere she goes she's often looking over her shoulder

Odette starts to really enjoy the Ninja's company and all her perceived notions about them fade; but she still had to find Harumi to try to talk her out of her plot

Odette meets up with Lloyd inside the caves and they look for the final mask. Finally they see it and Lloyd grabs it, happy that they found the masks before the gang did but notices Odette isn't feeling the same

She's tells Harumi that they're all making a HUGE mistake with the Masks; Harumi of course refuses and orders her to stick to the plan or else

He asks her what's wrong and that's when Odette becomes hysterical and begs Lloyd to destroy the mask or run

Lloyd doesn't know whay she's talking about and tries to calm her down suddenly they hear some sarcastic clapping and in steps in Harumi. Dressed in full Royal Garb

Lloyd is confused and doesn't understand looking back and forth between the newly revealed Princess and the one next to him

Harumi reveals that she is - was - the real princess and that Odette was acting as her decoy to spy on the ninja. She hadn't count on Lloyd catching feelings for Odette which made it all the more sweeter

Odette pleas with Lloyd claiming that while she was ordered to spy, her feelings for him and his friends were genuine. Lloyd coldly brushes he brushes her off and calls her a liar and demands Harumi why she planned all this. The Princess explains that the Ninja failed to save her family from the Great Devourer & that it was Lloyd himself who unleashed such monster on the city killing her parents and several civilians

Harumi also revealed that she had the Emperor and Empress assassinated as punishment for their inaction during that event, and subsequent failure in treating her like a person. "They didn't want a daughter they wanted a Princess."

Harumi takes out her knife and begins attacking Lloyd; Odette watches helplessly as they fight and in the ensuing chaos Harumi knicks Lloyd and orders Odette to return to their group

The Ninja wait by the docks and discovers Odette and the real princess together. They're shocked to see two Princesses; the real Harumi admits her plan knowing they wouldn't last for long to do anything to stop her. An Angry Kai yells at Odette for selling them out

Then the monster attack happens because it is drawn to the mask's essence; Lloyd saves Odette from being crushed, she tries to use the brief chance to explain but he still brush her off

The SOG board their ship and leaves; Odette wallows in guilt Harumi snarky asks her if she really thinks the Ninja are her friends. Odette shakes her head no and looks out the window praying for them to be alright

Back at the city the SOG takes Misako (and Cole's gf Rhenée) hostage to draw Lloyd out. Odette is no longer in her casual clothes but in SOG attire; at the ritual she pretends to be clumsy hoping to stall the ritual long enough

Rhenée asks Odette if she's willing to risk her soul for the terrible actions of other, hoping that Odette can make the right choice. This makes her think about her placement in the SOG

Suddenly the ninja crashes the party just in time and battles the gang. Odette frees Rhenee and Misako and allows herself to be apprehended

Outside she's sitting in the police van when Lloyd walks by and she begs him to hear her out. He wants to listen but is furious with her for betraying them and cuts her off

The ninja head to a bar to celebrate their victory; Lloyd has an honest talk with his mother about Harumi and vows to never trust again. Rhenée says that while Odette lied to them she notices that she's very different from the rest of the SOG

At the jailhouse Odette is sobbing at having lost everything - her friends, her life, and maybe even her sister. She takes out the lotus pin and is about to throw it way when she hears some commotion outside. Apparently the ritual brought back a monster. Fearing for her sister's safety she uses the pin to unlock her cell and sneaks out

Lloyd is too occupied with protecting Baby Wu to fight off Harumi; before she knocks him off Odette arrives & saves him and the baby

In the chaos the Monster arrives and tries to crush them all, Odette gives Lloyd enough time to escape but she falls to her supposed death in the process

Once the battle is over the four original ninjas are nowhere to be seen and are presumed dead

They find out Odette disappeared also, and believe her to he dead too

Harumi and her gang express joy at their enemies demise; and the gang no longer recognize Odette as their own seeing her as a traitor. Deep down Harumi feels a tiny bit pain over the loss of her only real friend but quickly sets that aside to prepare one last scheme

Lloyd grieves Odette's loss regretting they never had the chance to really TALK about what happened between them.

Unknown to everyone, the ninja and Odette were transported to the First Realm

Seasons 9&10 ramps up the angst

Cole is the first one who demands to hear her explanation. Odette explains her backstory and says whole none of it justifies her lies she has now become aware of her actions and is willing to help the ninja FOR REAL FOR REAL

The ninja do NOT want Odette anywhere near them after her betrayal and for a while shuns her.

Zane is the second one; his relationship with former merc Jetta he understands a bit what it's like to choose bad things for survive

Jay and Kai takes the longest: Jay because he's paranoid that Odette may just be evil and insane as Harumi; Kai because he is very protective of Lloyd (who he sees as a younger brother, and even had begun to saw Odette as another sister) and furious that she'd hurt him and their whole team like that

This leads to a series of trials for Odette to prove that she's willing to atone; she actually finds the last dragon's nest and vows to protect it

Meanwhile in Ninjago the city started an underground resistance led by Lloyd and Nya; Lloyd took in Odette's sister to take care of her now that she is gone

Odette and the Ninja finds a way out of the first realm and arrives with their new dragons. Odette splits off to confront Harumi and sees her on top of a building...which is about to fall much to her horror

Lloyd witnesses the scene and shouts Odette's name; the building collapses and he sinks to his knees in fear

Everyone watches with baited breath and cheers as they see both girls and the dragon coming out of the smoke alive

Lloyd and Odette apologize to each other then go off with their friends to fight off the Oni invasion

Once everything is over & Harumi decides to turn a new leaf and surrenders, everyone gathers at the monastery to celebrate. Wu invites Odette and her sister a permanent home with them

After s10 they don't get back together that quickly. Lloyd still has trust issues as in canon and Odette feels like shit believing herself to tbe the cause. Lloyd says it's not her fault, he's simply fed up with random villains coming at him for the crime of being the Chosen One.™

Odette isn't exactly let off easy by the public; there's multiple conspiracies about her and stuff and some aren't exatly forgiving her for working with a group that killed the royal family and destroyed the city. In order to redeem herself in the eyes of the public Odette starts training to become a real Ninja, doing little side missions to help people even something as simple as helping little old ladies use an escalator. Lloyd supports her every step of the way, using his popularity "and natural charisma" to dispel any rumors about her.

#oc lore #ninjago #ninjago season 8 #lloyd x oc #lloyd garmadon #oc: odette #candyshipping

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aforrestofstuff · 4 years

Note

What's the heroes' morning routine to start their day before going to work? Or their night routine before they're going to sleep? (And here is sprinkle of positivity vibes for you today: 😊😉👌💕💞💗💓💝💝💖💖🌟✨🍀🍀🍀🍀💐💐 Have a nice day! ❤)

Thanks for the request, anon! ❤️❤️ sorry this took me so long to get to, hope you’re still around!

Tornado of Terror: I’ve said in a previous hc that she sleep-levitates and wakes up in the weirdest places. So, she’d probably spend 10 straight minutes prying herself out of her bathtub or some shit with hella cramps. After that, she’d spam Fubuki over text message, asking her how to make a cup of coffee for the 57th time, then manage to burn it anyway, and finally go to work salty as fuck.

Silverfang: Wakes up at the crack of dawn, mediates next to a waterfall or some shit, broods over Garou, and makes himself a nice breakfast with a cup of tea. After that, he drags Charanko’s ass up the mountain to do some training, meditate some more, drink more tea, and around then it’s gonna be like 9 AM, so he’d probably just go the fuck back to sleep for a quick nap before actually going to work. Look, he’s old. Let him vibe.

Atomic Samurai: Also wakes the fuck up at the crack of dawn and proceeds to freeload a breakfast off of Iaian, wash it down with some alcohol at 6 in the AM, and complain about the weather. Then, he’d probably run over some sorta training routine with his disciples before doing group meditation and finally, finish it off with another drink. His tolerance is so damn high at this point. He shows up to work while pretending he wasn’t ten seconds away from getting wasted that morning.

Child Emperor: Wakes up rather early (if he even slept at all), runs diagnostics on all of his machinery, does tests on his latest weapons, takes 7 decontamination showers, and then makes himself a hearty breakfast consisting of Froot Loops and choccy milk. He shows up to work early and energized, running solely on his 87th lollipop and the single shot of espresso he had that morning. If it’s a weekday, he’d wait off on going to Association headquarters and teach a few classes at the local university instead. He’d then go to work in the middle of the day, grading papers and dying internally at the dumb shit his students say. He keeps a mental tally of how many people forget to write their names on their assignments. He’s suffering.

Metal Knight: Upon slapping the shit out of his alarm clock, he rolls out of bed and commands one of his bitchbots to make a Michelin-Star quality breakfast for him, then proceeds to stalk to the bathroom. He doesn’t shave or shower. He just takes a 45-minute shit because he’s forced himself to go to the bathroom once a day to “save time” when it, in fact, does not save time. After that, he takes a decontamination shower before entering his lab (also another 45 minutes because he’d spend the whole time je— nevermind) and doesn’t show up to work at all because he’s a little bitchboy hellbent on building Skynet in his mom’s basement.

King: Wakes up, cries, plays video games, cries some more, eats some cereal, takes a shower, cries, calls Saitama over, plays video games, Saitama leaves, cries. Then, he’ll show up to work for a single meeting at 4 PM just so everyone knows he isn’t dead, have an anxiety attack, go home, and then cry (while having another anxiety attack). After that, he’ll play video games until 3 AM. Rinse and repeat.

Zombieman: He’ll wake up at 3 AM and then sarcastically open his blinds like “oh wow, what a beautiful morning”. He’ll make himself a hearty breakfast consisting of leftovers, some protein pills, and half a pack of cigarettes. Next, he’ll shower, shave, and do some routine vigilante detective work out in the town before coming back home just as the sun is beginning to rise. After that, he’ll take a thirty second nap and walk his ass to work (because his car has been in the shop for like, seven years) so he can vibe for 3 hours before throwing in the towel and isolating himself for the remainder 18 hours of the day because depression.

Drive Knight: he sleeps plugged into the wall like a Samsung. Either that, or he’s solar-powered.... or maybe he runs on AAAs. I don’t know, but his ass ain’t waking up like everyone else. He’d power on, do some routine checkups on his laboratory or whatever the fuck he’s got going on, and then show up to work for 3 seconds only to dip the fuck back out and go poach some endangered monster species for his collection or some shit. Look, he’s a robot.

Pig God: wakes up at 10 AM like a king and eats a small breakfast consisting of three rotisserie chickens, a whole pot of rice, 57 eggs, and a cool glass of milk (because calcium is important, kids). He’d spend 4 hours on the internet before he gets hungry and decides to go outside, stopping to casually devour an entire species of demon-threat monsters in the middle of the street while simultaneously traumatizing every single child living in a 3-mile radius in the process of doing so. After that, he’d do some hero work for like 30 minutes (and somehow eat like, 200 living things in that timeframe), go back home, and then indulge himself in a 17-hour food coma. He’s earned it.

Superalloy Darkshine: Homie wakes up at 5 AM, works out for two hours, takes a shower, and eats a breakfast big enough to feed a small family of 19. After terrorizing every health expert in the country with his buckwild diet (ironic considering Pig God exists), he hits up his bro Tanktop Master for another 2-hour workout. He then proceeds to take 3 seconds getting dressed in his hero uniform because it’s literally just a thong, and goes to work for a full 8 hours because he’s a good boi who takes his job seriously and genuinely wants to make the world a better place. :)

Watchdog Man: wakes up, pisses on a fire hydrant, eats dog kibble, sits on his pedestal in city Q, and then gets dressed.

Flashy Flash: wakes up in a forest somewhere because he’s probably homeless. The local birds flock around him and sing a morning song. He feeds a baby deer like a Disney princess. Then, he bathes in a waterfall and spends two hours doing his hair. After that, he buys himself a fucking bagel and takes his ass to work smelling like the inside of a Cabella’s. He vibes at HQ for like, 30 minutes, before traveling 500 miles away on his 57th quest for revenge and ends up breaking a record for “most homicides committed by a hero” on the way there.

Genos: wakes up, makes breakfast for Saitama, takes a shower, and spends half an hour doing chores while Saitama bums around with a yolk stain on his pajamas. Then, he’d hit up the professor for any news about upgrades, and go on about his day handing out justice as he sees fit until Saitama suddenly gets the urge to go buy some cabbage. It’ll be another 2 hours of walking around the inside of a grocery store while holding 2 grams of food (because it’s all Saitama could afford, broke ass) before he actually goes to hero HQ for a single meeting (while Saitama tags along), and then slaughter 87 monsters on his way home.

Metal Bat: wakes up at 6 AM because it takes him 8 years to do his hair. He’d wake up Zenko about an hour later and tell her to get ready for school while he hauls ass downstairs to make breakfast (burnt toast and 8 Flinstone vitamins). They walk to Zenko’s school together. He takes ten minutes to shower her with love, and then he turns back around to walk to his own school only to show up like, 45-minutes late to his first class. He only attends hero meetings on weekends because A. Homework and B. He doesn’t give enough of a shit to juggle official hero business and school in the same day (unless it consists of a monster/criminal [or 12] in need of a beating).

Tanktop Master: same as Superalloy. He wakes up at dawn, works out, eats enough to feed a small army, and then calls his actual army over for a meeting. He and the gang discuss ways to better represent the Tanktop ideology over tea, while also sharing workout tips and just having a good time together in general. Around then it’ll probably be 8 or 9 AM, so he’d join Superalloy at Hero HQ and do hero work for the rest of the day alongside his homies. He’s living the life, honestly.

Puri-Puri Prisoner: he’s in prison so he’d wake up at 8 AM on the clock every day, eat his nasty-ass breakfast (although, I’ve said in a previous headcanon that he gets special meals prepared for him on account of being a literal superhero, but I digress), and then he works out in the courtyard for a good hour before going to work in the cafeteria for 3 bucks a day (or the yen equivalent). During visiting hours, he and his boyfriend are inseparable. They’d make some crafts together, gossip, and just hang out. If there’s a threat in the area, Puri will waste no time busting himself out and hugging that shit to death. A true icon.

Amai Mask: he either wakes up at 10 AM or 2 PM every day, there’s no in-between. He’d spend his morning doing every self-care routine under the sun: taking a warm bath, doing a face mask, eating a good breakfast (prepared by his own personal chef, of course), listening to an audio book, you name it. If he has a concert that night, he’d spend the entire day surrounded by people as he gets ready/rehearses/prepares. If not, he’ll just patrol the streets, handing out autographs and some slices of justice. He wouldn’t really show up to any meetings or do official hero business at HQ unless he’s in the mood to cuss out Sekingar and Sitch over some stupid shit or insert himself in S-Class business.

Iaian: wakes up earlier than any of the other disciples and Atomic Samurai because he’s like, responsible or whatever. He meditates, showers, does his own personal routine, and then kicks everyone out of bed for breakfast like an angry suburban mom. After that, he’d participate in everyone’s routine training, and then take his ass to work while showing up to every meeting at HQ (sometimes tagging along with Kami) because he’s a good boi and he has no problem engaging in business. :)

Okamaitachi: She sometimes wakes up with Iaian, but sleeps in most of the time because she needs her beauty rest, obviously. After breakfast and participating in everyone’s training routine, she’d do her hair/makeup and go do her own hero work the majority of the time. She’d sometimes tag along with Iaian, but she prefers to go on her own every so often. If she has some extra time before breakfast, she’ll also do a face mask or catch up on her favorite soap operas.

Bushidrill: this motherfucker sleeps like a log and Iaian wants to kill him for it. He wakes up like, 2 seconds before breakfast and hasn’t shaven in a month. Still, somehow, he manages to get ready in time for training without Kami trying to assault him for being a doofus.

Fubuki: She wakes up hella early and texts her herd of hooligans the daily plan before dealing with Tatsumaki’s shit over the phone. Then, she showers, does her hair, and takes fifteen minutes to get her makeup done right. It doesn’t take her long to plan out her outfit because she has like, 87 black dresses. After an actual hearty breakfast (unlike the rest of these clowns) that she makes herself, she meets up with the blizzard group to discuss business and engage in hero work together as a ✨team✨. She never gets asked to participate in official business by HQ because Tatsumaki strictly forbids it.

Saitama: he brushes his hair and sits on his ass all day.

Mumen Rider: wakes up at dawn, feeds the cats outside, eats a good-ass breakfast (despite being poor, because he’s actually really good at budgeting), and goes out for a nice, morning patrol. He’ll also call his mom and make sure she’s having a good time because that’s important. If it’s not a busy day, he’ll go to the gym and treat himself to some time at the park afterwards. If there’s monsters all about, he’ll spend the rest of the day in the hospital after getting his shit rocked for the 300th time that week. They’ve basically got a bed reserved for him at this point. He’s so pure but so, so selfless. And a little dumb. But mostly selfless.

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darkdevasofdestruction · 4 years

Text

Lau - Pink Lotus Princess

(( Just a little disclaimer - I chose to find a nice name for the Reader as well, mostly because I wanted that name to be symbolic and have the meaning that I wanted it to, to be in a clear anti-thesis to her sister.

Yahui (Elegant, Graceful) Lianyi (Intelligent, Unique)

I did quite a lot of research on things from the Quig dynasty and how things were around that time...And also some influences from the phone game Royal Chaos that I used to play a year ago, more or less because the plot was pretty interesting, so I hope didn’t do any errors or stuff like that x ))

---

The whole kingdom had a reason to party as the Empress gave birth to a little Princess, and although it wasn't an heir, as everyone hoped for, they were still content with it, being his first child.

The Emperor stood by the Empress' side on her bed, stroking her hair as she smiled exhausted down at the little angelic creature she gave birth to, leaning her head on her husband's side, and at least for that night, there would be no Harem troubles.

That happiness was short lived, as the main Consort also gave birth to a little girl, a little over 2 months later, which made for everyone comparing the 2 little Princesses in everything they did.

And thus comes the story of the little Princess Lianyi, a girl of merely 10 years of age, seemingly so innocent to the world, and yet, knowing so many of the harsh realities that she witnessed or heard of from her mother, the Empress, who thought the nest birthday gift for her little Lotus was to take her in town to see the world.

Her father gifted her a beautiful pink dress with long sleeves, which she used as pockets for little coin bags and a hair pin, just in case. The maid brushed her long, beautiful hair that looked like black silk in a beautiful half-braid, the upper part being a complicated, royal braid, while the lower part she let loose, dancing to the rhythm of the gentle Spring wind.

The Empress let the girl do as she pleased, keeping an eye on her from afar, and she realised she admired the beautiful craftsmanship of various hair accessories, when she suddenly heard a huge commotion at a food stand, and a furious man furiously yelling at a boy about her age who looked terrified.

The little princess frowned and went to the booth, realising the boy must have stolen to feed himself, as he looked like an orphan, and she took out one of the little coin bags and threw them at the booth owner.

"Here, I'm sure this is enough for what he stole and some more, correct?" she spoke in a light voice, yet her eyes were unwavering. "Who tha' hell d'ya think ye are, kid?! Get outta mi sight!" the booth owner shouted at her, making her raise her chin and stare at him offended and condescending. "You dare disrespect Princess Lianyi? How unsightly! But I am merciful today, since it’s my birthday. I will give you a second chance to redeem yourself before I call over my guards." her words shocked the man as she spoke so maturely, almost as of the Emperor himself was in front of him. "Y-Yer the P-Princess...?" the man jaw-dropped, his eyes wide like saucers, before falling to his knees, bowing to the ground in front of the girl. "F-Forgive me rudeness, Yer Highness! That rat stole food and with no money, I can't take care of me own family! P-Please take anything ye'd like!" he sobbed, making the girl crouch down and pat his head awkwardly. "That's enough, I forgive you. Take the money for your family and let me take the food from here. This boy here is just a child without family. Next time you are so ride towards an orphan, imagine what would happen to your child if you were to die right now." she explained in a gentler voice, before taking the food bag and dragged the boy away to a beautiful koi fish pond that was shded by a Peach tree.

The girl lifted the hem of her dress, sitting on the ground and drawing shapes with her finger on the sheen of the crystal clear water.

"Well? Aren't you going to eat? I thought you'd be famished." she mused in a playful way. "Why...Did you help me? You're a Princess...Nobody from the royal family ever helped the homeless..." he spoke in a hushed voice, almost as if afraid. "Oh, I see you're brave. Nobody would dare drag the royal family in front of the Princess herself. Tell me your name." she smiled deviously, shifting her gaze completely to the boy. "Lau, Your Highness. My name is Lau." saying his name, a soft smile started to creep on his face. "Aww, look at you, you're smiling, how cute. Here, take this. Spend it wisely, I'm not sure when we'll be seeing each other again. Now that I practically bribed you, tell me why are you so at ease with talking to me." the Princess smirked, making the boy muse and grin wider. "You see, Princess, I can read people very well, and I can tell that you have something...Unique about you. Just like a Lotus flower. So tell me, my pink Lotus, what do you do at the palace? Sing like a little songbird for the Emperor? Or do a graceful dance for your suitors?" Lau rested his chin on his palm, looking completely at ease, fox-like features gracing his visage. "Goodness, no, that's my sister...My job at the Palace is to be the China's disappointment." she chuckled drily, looking away. "If I were a bird, I could fly away and be free...I could do anything that I wanted and nobody would judge me or treat me as an object for political means. I could discover the world and...I could be happy." she sighed, closing her beautiful jade-coloured eyes in resentment. "You are just like a butterfly, my Princess. A caged bird, trying to break free. What are you going to do?" he mused in a lower voice. "What is there to do, Lau? I'm a woman! There is nothing to do! My father is already angry enough on me for being such a weird daughter and now I have to learn how to behave, so to speak, so at least he wouldn't kill me or send me away to some nasty old man." she bit her lip without realising, before she felt a gentle hand on her face. "And what are you interests, little flower?" he asked, caressing her face. "I'm...Sneaking to the healers to study medicine. It's my passion. If I could, I would become a healer...But I can't. My fated was sealed to me the day I was brought into this world." she sighed once again, looking down. "If I could marry you, I would, and we could live our life away from all these terrible people. Isn't it sad how fate works sometimes? But I'm asking you, my dear Pink Lotus...What if we were to fight destiny?" he smirked mischievously, making her widen her eyes in disbelief. "Fight fate...? Is that even possible...?" she whispered, barely able to find her voice. "We can do anything we want to, my dearest. All we have to do is be smart about our little plans. So, what do you say? Do you want to escape your fate together with me and get away from this place? Or will you continue to be the Emperor's little doll that will get thrown away in a few years? I believe you're almost old enough to marry, am I right ~?" he slurred his words, almost as if entrancing her in his spell. "How old are you that you know so much?" she raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Barely 15, but my little sister is just a bit younger than you, and I would be devastated if she were to have such a terrible life ahead of her." he spoke with slight amusement. “How nice...You have a sister that you love...And she loves you back. I and my sister have been pitted against each other since birth. I expect death every day by either her hand or the Consort’s.” she scoffed, looking away in disgust. “Who would have thought that such beautiful ladies would be so much deadlier than war generals.” he chuckled in amusement, making the girl nudge him. “Don’t joke like that...Instead, tell me your plan.” she leaned in closer, motioning for him to tell her everything. “Hmmm...? Plan? What plan? I have no idea what are you talking about.” he shrugged simply, a wide, innocent and clueless grin on his face, making the girl look at him in complete shock. “Excuse....Me....WHAT?! You did all that build up, giving me hope that I could somehow get away from all this madness, only for you to destroy everything...Just like that?! How cruel can you be?!” she glared at him, getting to her feet, rushing to leave, before he caught her wrist, turning her to face him. “Wǒ qīn'ài de fěnhóng sè liánhuā (My dear pink lotus) ...Don’t turn your back on me like that, you’re breaking my heart. You showed me kindness, and I have to repay my debt in a way. Even if you decide to throw away your status, you’re always going to be my dear little Princess. Life works in mysterious ways, don’t forget that.” Lau caressed her face, planting a soft kiss on her forehead, leaving her awestruck, little beads of water glistering in her eyes. “You better not betray me, Lau, or I swear I will have you publicly executed and I will swing the sword myself.” she threatened, despite her voice being so light and shaky. “I shall remember that.” he mused, finding her words rather cute.

---

Years passed faster than anyone expected, and while Lianyi wasn’t able to go visit her friend too often, at least once per year, during her birthday, she managed to see him, thanks to her mother’s kindness, seeing her only daughter being so infatuated with the boy that treated her so gently.

Her mother only got into the Harem and accepted to marry the Emperor because her brother was a powerful War general and she was the eldest daughter of the family, so it had to be done.

She never loved the Emperor, and she wished for her daughter to find and marry a man she loves... The Empress knew from the second she gave birth to her little angel, she knew that she was special and had a great future ahead of her...But she had to be far away from this terrible place...Far away where she wasn’t a Princess and she could marry the man she fell in love with and practice healing, just as she always dreamt of.

However, the Princess’ 15th birthday gift was her mother’s death, which she realised was due to poison from the Consort, and her father arranged her marriage with the enemy War General to make a peace pact, which made her heart break and whole life shatter in front of her.

Lianyi ran to the meeting spot where Lau was waiting, this time, without his little sister, Ran Mao, with whom the girl played with or braided her hair or gave her gifts like hair pins or other nice clothes.

She threw her arms around the only person apart from her mother who showed any bit of love to her and let tears stream down her soft, porcelain like cheeks, making the man worry and put her to his chest, stroking her hair.

“What ever could have happened to make you cry, wǒ de húdié (my butterfly) ?” he asked in a gentle voice, wiping away the tears. “They killed her, Lau! Those harpies killed her! With monkswood, nonetheless! How much more cruel can they get? Don’t they realise that it’s an act of treason and they could be killed? And if that wasn’t enough, my father is sending me away to marry some 60 year old general that’s our enemy nonetheless...Next week...I don’t know what to do! I’m losing my mind!” she sobbed in his warm embrace as he tried to calm her down, but she was lost beyond reason. “My poor little Princess, so young, yet burdened with such sorrow. I wonder how you will get out of this mess.” he cooed at her, making her grit her teeth in anger. “If you’re not going to help, at least don’t be a jerk about it! I going through a crisis right now, and despite you being the only person I can rely on, you’re mocking me! I am still the Princess and with the little influence I have, I can still have you killed!” she sneered at him, pushing him away, but it only made him chuckle. “Please forgive me, my darling, it’s just...You’re just so adorable when you respond to my teasing. It just makes me want to squish your cheeks and gush over how cute you are. Here, as a way to apologise, I’ll let you braid my hair. How is that?” he unbraided his hair, letting his ebony hair that almost reached his waist fly in the soft wind. “Sure...” she muttered, sitting on the ground behind the man, gently playing with his hair, slowly letting peace wash over her. “If I run away...How will we ever see each other again? I don’t want to lose you, Lau.” she sighed, finishing the braid and hugging the man, resting her forehead on his shoulder. “I would never leave my little Pink Lotus alone. This only means that we have to act sooner than expected. We shall be just like this Peach tree, blooming earlier than our time, but just as beautiful. Lianyi, my darling, will you listen to what I have to say?” he got up, helping the girl stand as well, putting his hands on her pale face, looking deep into her jade-like eyes, feeling his heart warmer as he noticed how divine she looked with her face rosy, in the divine light of Mother Moon. “Of course I will listen to you.” she spoke breathlessly, gazing shyly into his dark eyes. “Then follow your instincts and know that even if you don’t see me next to you, I am still guiding you from the shadows, and soon, we will see each other again when you least expect it. I made a promise with you and I intend to keep it. If you stay around me for now, you will be in grave danger, and I will not allow that to happen.” he spoke firmly, letting her know he wasn’t being playful, as usual. “What have you gotten yourself into...?” she frowned in worry. “Nothing that you should worry over, wǒ qīn'ài de xiǎo gōngzhǔ ( my dear little princess ).” he soothed her gently, letting his sleeve fall down a bit down, revealing a dragon tattoo. “Oh, Lau...Please be safe. I don’t know what I’d do if I knew something happened to you.” she pleaded with her eyes, glimmering like jewels in the light, making the brunet man smile gently at her, tracing her soft, luscious lips resembling the petals of a pink lotus, with his thumb. “I promise you that we will both be okay, if you promise me you’ll still love me so beautifully when we see each other again. No matter what happens, never lose this innocence of yours, my dear.” speaking so softly, he put a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Why is a man so invested with a woman? Surely you realise I won’t be a Princess anymore when we next see each other. So...Why...Do you behave so differently from everyone else...?” she raised her eyebrow in naive confusion. “I imagine for you, this feeling would be foreign, but I didn’t lie when I said I wanted to spend my life with you. Now, should we seal this promise of ours?” he smiled softly at her, raising her face to gaze at him. “How...?” she asked in that sweet voice that sent shivers down his spine.

There was no need for an answer, for Lau slowly leaned in, capturing her lips softly, pulling her closer to him, before pulling apart and gazing into her eyes, seeing stars and love.

He had never seen such a pure and lovely person in his life, especially one to show him such warm and genuine emotions, and over these 5 years they spent together, his love and need to protect her only grew more and more.

He didn’t know how long he will have to be away from her, nor did he know if he was going to survive being a top official of Qing Bang, and more, quickly reaching up the ladder and being close to becoming the manager of the Shanghai trading company, and very soon, having to move to Great Britain and extend his influence there.

Lau’s life has always been unpredictable and dangerous, so until he somehow manages to settle in a more relaxed environment where he’s sure no assassin may attack or use her as bait or bribe, there was no way he could have her around any longer.

He was an ambitious man, he wanted to be so much more than a street rat, he wanted money, he wanted luxury and riches, he wanted the world, he wanted to indulge in sins...

He wanted everything.

And he WILL get everything.

---

While Lau was busy making a name for himself, the girl was forced to dance for her soon to be husband, who was nothing less than a lecherous scum of a human being.

She was fed up, she’s had enough of this life.

She was going to end it all.

She was finally going to take the reigns of her fate in her hands.

Nobody was going to control her anymore.

She followed the advice that her mother gave her on her deathbed, took her trusted servant with her, and ran away on a horse, disguising herself as a man and acting as a travelling healer.

She already had enough money at her, courtesy of her mother’s shrewdness, so for the rest 5 or so years, she lived peacefully with her servant in a decent home, working as a physician at a smaller palace.

But due to a series of unfortunate events, she was found out and she was Physician Yi no more, but a woman once again, who was not allowed to work as a healer. What was even worse, was that the Lord of the palace forced her to join his harem, otherwise she would get executed for treason, all while they killed her servant in an attempt to warn her.

But she wasn’t going to let men take control of her life again.

That night, she created a poison and dipped her hair pin needle in it, killing the guards that stood by the gate, leaving with her horse far, far away.

What she wasn’t expecting, however, was to arrive to a ship that was sailing to England, so she decided to change her fate completely, with no regrets, and see if maybe other continents, other countries, would treat her better.

The whole thing was a mess and the living conditions on the ship were horrible, but she wasn’t Princess Lianyi anymore, nor was she Physician Yi, so she couldn’t afford to complain, and nor she could afford to give any money away recklessly.

She arrived at what she would find out is called East End - London, where poor Oriental people would try to find work...But she wasn’t going to do any physical work. She wasn’t strong enough, she knew her strengths, and that wasn’t one, so she started searching around for physicians and doctors where she could work, of course, disguised as a man, but nobody would hire her without a proper license.

She was going to give up and look for an inn to rest at, when she stumbled upon a Mortician parlor, and thought it wouldn’t be too bad to work there - Better than nowhere, at least, so she knocked on the door, entering nervously.

She was met by a creepy laugh and a man with long silvery hair coming out of a coffin, grinning carefree at her, asking her what she was looking for, and as soon as the man heard she was looking for work, addressing to herself as a man, instead of a woman, he started laughing, which slightly freaked her out.

“Darling, I understand you had to worry about being a woman, out there, but here, you don’t have to hide anymore. I will hire you regardless. I have a spare room here, not that I was expecting to hire anyone, but it sure comes in handy.” he spoke in a low, playful voice, taking away the hat from her head and letting her beautiful, long, ebony hair cascade down her back. “Is it...Really no problem...At all...? No catch? Nothing? Just your heart’s kindness?” she asked in a broken English. “Hmm...I suppose I’ll have to teach you proper English, but that’s no problem at all. You see...I have a few special people that I know and I don’t charge them money, but something much more important in these grim days. It’s laughs. And dear, your attempt at imitating a man, no matter how cute that was, failed. I wonder if it failed because I already know a Chinese man...Who knows?” he giggled, lifting her face up to inspect her. “If you don’t want money, what do you want? And who’s this Chinese man that you’re speaking of?” she asked, hoping, at least for a second, that this is the fate Lau was talking about. “Tell me your story, and you won’t have anything to worry about. You, little mouse, piqued my interest. And the man I’m speaking of usually walks around a little guard dog...I’m sure he’ll come around sooner or later, and you’ll see him yourself.” he explained, intertwining his fingers together. “...I am Princess Lianyi, the Emperor’s and the Empress’ only child. I ran away from home 5 years ago when I got fed up with being used like a doll, married off and mistreated, only for political reasons, and I decided to pursue my dreams. However...I’m not sure if I can settle with only being a healer. I want to kill the Emperor for treating me that way, despite being his first child, and I want to kill his Consort and their daughter for poisoning my mother. If they are dead, then I can be Empress and nobody would dare pressure me again.” she spoke timidly, knowing very well that her ambitions were far beyond reason. “What a marvelous story! To think I’d find myself in the grace of a Princess with such dark ambitions! Hehehe, that’s rather amusing! Don’t worry, little mouse, I will help you with anything I can. You can wear any outfit you wish, it may bring some colour to this gloom place. After all, the beauty of life is like a blooming flower, isn’t it?” the Undertaker hummed, stroking a strand of her hair. “Pink Lotus...That’s what someone special used to call me...Never mind that. Thank you, Undertaker, for your kindness. I truly appreciate it.” she spoke in a soft voice, bowing slightly, not knowing the customs of this new place.

No matter that, however, for the Undertaker was there to teach her everything she needed, be it the language, the customs or medicine, which in this place was so different, yet incredibly efficient.

She quickly learnt of his connection with the underworld and how, before, he meant that people come to him to buy information and this was mostly a facade hobby of sorts.

The Undertaker, for some reason, never called her by her name, but by random nicknames, only using “Pink Lotus” when there was something more important, knowing how many emotions that would bring to her. He would, however, use “Physician Yi” when referring to her in public, not wanting to potentially give away her identity, but also, playfully mocking her 5 years of living as a man, which would greatly annoy the girl and would either glare at the silver haired man, or throw a dog biscuit at him.

Weeks and months passed rather fast and working for the mortician became a rather pleasant routine, until a certain dog bark disturbed their peace.

She was in the back, preparing a tray of tea, before fixing her pink outfit and gold hair accessories, and putting the tray in front of the Undertaker’s table, not sparing any glance for the new comers.

“Wonderful as usual, my dear. This is the guard dog I was telling you about. Isn’t he cute?” the silver haired man giggled, but she only glared at him, remaining silent. “I wouldn’t have expected you to hire Chinese servants who can’t speak English.” the midget smirked, irritating the girl, who cursed him in Chinese, barely audible. “Tiān nǎ (goodness gracious), how amusing!” the Chinese man chuckled dramatically. “What did she say?!” the dark haired child raised his voice impatiently. “Oh, I wonder...!” he smiled deviously, which made her raise her eyebrow at him in confusion. “Do you need me for anything else, Undertaker? Or can I go back to my work? I don’t fancy wasting time with meaningless things, like you.” she spoke in a harsh voice, looking down at him, like a true Empress would. “Well, I was thinking you could present our guests our newest case! As Physician Yi, I’m sure you’d find some joy in showing your expertise, wouldn’t you?” he teased, making the girl harden her glare. “How pathetic. Besides, why should I help them? Jack the Ripper case solved or not, there’s nothing in it for me, is it? I’m not here to do charity work.” she crossed her arms, scoffing. “Ohhh, I see! Then, darling, what is your price? Or do you want jewelry? Fine clothes? Just name it, and in exchange for your services, it’s all yours!” the Chinese man walked in front of her, grinning just like a fox. “Kill the Emperor for me, and I’ll tell you everything.” she matched his grin, her face glowing with a poisonous and fake innocence, leaving the man open his eyes in shock. “...Eh?” he managed to blurt out, certainly caught off guard. “HA! Never mind that, your dumb face was enough to pay me.” she laughed patronising, making the man stare at her in shock, not knowing what to say. “Gods, you’re just like him...” the kid muttered in annoyance. “If you don’t mind...All of the victims were female prostitutes and all of them had a missing, representative organ. If you haven't guessed by now, it's the uterus. It's been carefully taken away. One might conclude that, despite being few people on the streets at night, the culprit has at least the minimum anatomical knowledge, to perform such a clean and specific organ removal...In pitch black.” the girl explains simply and professionally, as if she wasn’t trash-talking them just a second earlier. "Very well, my dear Pink Lotus, you did your homework well~!” the Undertaker chuckled, making the girl hit his chair, making him fall off, in a fit of rage. “How many times must I tell you NEVER to call me that? You’re incurable.” she gritted her teeth in anger, before leaving the parlor.

What she wasn’t aware of was that, for a few seconds, the talk of the day was still about her.

“Why would you get such an irritating servant?” Ciel rolled his eyes in annoyance. “She’s not my servant, Earl. You could say she’s my little apprentice, but it was her who came so timidly at me, asking to be hired, since no one would hire a healer without a license. Poor thing, and she’s such a brilliant young girl.” the mortician commented with a vague smile on his face. “I would say, Young Lord, that you’re not as amiable as you think you are.” Lau teased the young boy, who gasped, offended. “What did you say?!” he glared at his associate with such hatred. “People who had bad things happen to them don’t act as they feel. You should know that by now, shouldn’t you?” he explained, extending his arms to his sides. “Does that mean that you know who she is or what she’s been through or what?” the dark haired child raised his eyebrow questioningly. “I have no clue.” Lau deadpanned, leaving everyone facepalming. “Undertaker, would it be too much to ask you to let me hire your little assistant for a week or 2? I promise I’ll bring her back home safe and there’s no underground business involved.” he averted his gaze to the Undertaker, his heart beating faster after seeing the girl. “If she accepts, who am I to come between the work of fate?” the man hinted, making Lau grin even wider.

It was all he needed to be sure that the girl that made a fool of him was actually the little Princess he loved so much. Oh, how she matured! Alas, she had to experience so many terrible things to make her so cold and harsh, unlike before!

But it’s no problem, he was going to heal her - After all, his little Pink Lotus mustn’t hold so much hatred towards the world! She should just be happy in indulge in anything that would make her smile! Let him bear the darkness of the world and worry about tomorrow.

---

After a bit of pushing from the Undertaker, seeing how uncertain she was, but she followed the man to his home, which she found out was above an underground opium den, which only made her even more reluctant to her next steps, but him putting his arm around her only made her feel a strange feeling of reassurance.

Is this Lau? Is this really HER Lau?

But what happened to him? His clothes changed...He even cut his hair...She wondered why would he have such short hair? And more, where his little sister would be?

She was afraid to ask anything, and was rather timid in replying to any of his trivial questions, until they got this his room, after he gave her a tour of the whole place, except the den, saying a lovely lady like her shouldn’t be exposed, at least right away, to drugs and dirty business.

“So, uhm...Why did you really call me here? I’m sure it wasn’t so you would give me a tour of your house or tell me what you do for a living.” she asked, shifting in place, not looking at him. “Why, my dear Pink Lotus, should I feel hurt that you don’t recognise me? Although, I have to say, so many years passed...And you became even more beautiful than before...I didn’t think that would be possible...Princess Lianyi.” he spoke in a low, fox-like voice, as he leaned down to her height, as she was so much smaller and delicate compared to him. “I...I did suspect it was you, but...Your hair...And Ran Mao...And...And your clothes...” she stammered over her words, looking down, her face warming up from emotion. “Only details, my dear. Besides, Ran Mao is here, at home, and she’s eager to see you as well. But until then, my darling, shouldn’t you tell me how much you missed me?” Lau grinned, extending his arms towards her, expecting a hug. “Did...You...Miss me...? Just like you said you would...?” she whispered, looking up at him with teary eyes, barely able to stop herself from jumping on him and never letting go. “You were on my mind every day so far.” he spoke gently, seeing her bottom lip quivering as she threw herself at him, holding him as tightly as her delicate arms could. “Don’t leave me again, Lau. It’s so terrible being alone, in such a huge world...” she managed to say, as she felt herself being picked up and gently laid on the bed. “I’m going nowhere, my dear. I made a promise with you, and my feelings haven’t changed. If anything, they’re more powerful than before.” he put a hand on her cheek, looking down at her, before putting his forehead to hers, while his other hand had his fingers intertwined with hers. “I love you so much, Lau...So much...I missed you...All this time you were away...” she closed her eyes briefly, as she felt his lips on hers, the electrifying feeling surging through her veins, just as it did the first time they kissed, many years ago. “Lianyi...Will you marry me? My life has been tied to the underworld for more years than I can remember, and no matter how much I want to keep you away from that, I can’t stay away from you. I’m no angel like you, and you deserve to be happy, but I can’t keep you away from all dangers and darkness.” he confessed, his voice serious, trying to bring her back to reality. “You...You’ve never called me by my name before...I...I would want nothing more than to stay by your side, no matter what. I don’t care what you’ve got yourself into, I just want to be with you. Yes, Lau, I’ll marry you, I’d love nothing more than to be able to stay in your arms and love you.” she put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her in another kiss.

But just as they kissed again, the bedroom door opened, revealing Ran Mao looking at them with the same serene look as usual, making the princess push Lau to the side and throw herself at the girl that grew into such a fine, beautiful lady...But what the hell was she wearing...?!

“It’s nice to see you again, Lianyi.” she said, patting her back. “Ran Mao, goodness, I missed you so much...But what are you wearing?! Lau, why would you let her wear something so revealing?!” the princess freaked out, her face bright red in embarrassment. “This is the new fashion, my dear! Combining traditional with modern, we created the Cheongsam! All the girls below in the opium den are wearing it! It’s rather alluring, don’t you think?” Lau chuckled in amusement, putting his hands on her shoulders, resting his chin on her head. “But...But...But...” she stuttered, not knowing what to say. “We have one for you. It’s green with golden thread patterns, to highlight your eyes.” Ran Mao explained, going to fetch the dress, and seeing how short it was, the girl could feel her knees weakening. “I can’t wear that! That’s too revealing! Wh-What...W-Wait, Ran Mao, where are you pulling me?!” the girl pulled her in another room, alone, where she started quickly undressing her and helping her into the new dress, just a bit shorter than knee-length. “You’re beautiful. Now go, Lau is eager to see you.” Ran Mao dragged the flustered girl and pushed her back to the bedroom, as she could only hide her face in her hands. “My, my, what a gorgeous little Pink Lotus. Come here, my darling. I will show you how much I missed you.” Lau watched her shyly approach him, like a little lamb, before catching her wrists and putting her on his lap with the same teasing grin on his face. “This...This is so...Embarrassing...” she clutched her fingers on his messed up blouse as she hid her face in the crook of his shoulder. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing in my life, Lianyi, and your shyness only makes you more endearing...It only makes me want you more. You managed to keep the same sweet and pure innocence, just as I thought you would...Wǒ ài nǐ (I love you) , my dear Pink Lotus Princess.” he spoke, slowly tracing her legs, making his way up to her sides, her arms, before touching her face and bringing her in for a more passionate kiss that sent fire through her system. "I love you so much, Lau. I don’t care what you’ve got yourself into, but I will always stay by your side. Forever. I want to help you and support you with anything I can, just as you did for me.” she confessed, her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. “How would you feel helping me with the girls? That’s the least risky thing I can let you handle. But nonetheless, it would let us spend more time together, if that is what you truly wish.” he smiled vaguely, planting more and more kisses all over her face. “That would make me very happy.” she smiled, letting herself get lost in the warmth and love she felt, feeling their hearts beating so fast and in sync, as if they were one.

Who would have thought that fate would play such an important role in their life...They fought it, they escaped fate, only to let destiny reunite them both, just as the red string of fate would always bring them back together, nothing able to stop them.

Finally, they were in control of their own life.

They were together.

#kuroshitsuji imagine #kuroshitsuji x reader #kuroshitsuji #black butler x reader #black butler imagine #black butler #lau #lau x reader #lau imagine #kuroshitsuji lau x reader #kuroshitsuji lau imagine #kuroshitsuji lau #black butler lau x reader #black butler lau imagine #black butler lau #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #undertaker

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haledamage · 4 years

Note

Kiss prompts #67. When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

(I wanted to finish something for Valentine’s Day and these two were the only ones who would speak to me, but that’s okay because I love them

“Thank you,” Marii said to the medical droid as it left the room. It didn’t reply. They never did. She always thanked them anyway.

She sighed and sat back on the edge of the hard medcenter bed to finish changing out of the medical gown she’d been stuck in. She flexed her jaw as she did, clenching her teeth and then opening her mouth as wide as she comfortably could. The right side of her face felt stiff and sore. She wondered if it always would, or if it would become easier with time.

The door hissed open just as she finished buckling her boots. She hadn’t been expecting any visitors. “Did you forget–Theron.” It wasn’t the medical droid in the doorway like she’d assumed, but the bruised, exhausted, and very familiar Theron Shan. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t say anything. His eyes locked on the right side of her face; she used a whisper of the Force to cover it with her hair. Only then did finally enter the room, the door hissing closed behind him. “They said you were awake. I wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m okay,” she said, and it sounded like a lie. She corrected herself, “I’m recovering. Looking forward to getting out of here.”

“I bet.” He looked down, worrying at the seam on one of his gloves, uncharacteristically nervous. “There’s… something you should know.” He sat on the medical bed next to her, though he still wouldn’t look at her. He reached out for her hand, but pulled back without touching her. “Ziost–the Emperor, he–”

“I know. I felt it.” The pit in her chest when she thought of all the life lost in the so-called Emperor’s quest for immortality was an emotion she didn’t have a name for; colder than fury, darker than hatred, calmer than vengeance. “Vitiate will get what’s coming to him, if I have to hunt him to the edges of the universe myself. I swear it.” She pushed the feeling away and turned back to the man next to her. She touched his cheek, tracing the edges of the mottled, yellowing bruises around his implants. “I’m glad you’re okay. If he’d made me…” she couldn’t even finish the thought. “I think that would have broken me.”

“Yeah, I think I know the feeling.” He finally looked up at her then, though he still didn’t meet her eyes, staring like he was trying to see through the curtain of her hair. “Can I see?”

“Of course,” Marii said, with much more enthusiasm than she was feeling. She knew she couldn’t avoid it forever. She pushed her hair back from her face and let Theron get a good eyeful of her new scar. Equal parts burn and electrical damage, it arced across most of the side of her face, worst near her ear and stopping just short of her eye and the corner of her mouth. Even with kolto and Jedi healers, it was still angry and ugly, dark pink and shiny like burn scars always were.

She flinched when he touched it and he pulled his hand back. “I am so sorry.”

“No,” she said firmly, reaching out to take his hand and lacing their fingers together. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“You wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for me.”

“I wouldn’t be alive to have this conversation if it weren’t for you.”

They fell into a tense silence. They didn’t want to argue, not here and not now, so they just didn’t say anything.

Theron broke it first. “So what happens now?”

“There will be hearings,“ she said with a sigh. “A lot of them, probably. The Council wants to know what happened, and they’ll probably start preparing for the worst. It’s what they’re good at.”

“Have they talked to you yet?”

Marii laughed, dry and humorless. “Oh stars, have they ever. Grand Master Satele especially had quite a few things to say about my being on Ziost.”

He scoffed. “I bet. What did she say?”

“That I’m not a member of the Sixth Line, and regardless of how questionable she may or may not find their part in all this, she has concerns about my reasons for being there.” She looked down at their joined hands, tracing a thin scar on one of his knuckles with her thumb. The next words caught in her throat, and when she finally forced them out they came out rough and too sharp-edged. “Satele is worried I’ve grown too attached to you. I think the words she used were ‘emotionally compromised.’ She forbid me from seeing you anymore, in any capacity.”

Theron’s expression collapsed as she spoke, going from dawning horror to heartbreak to resignation to a blank, emotionless mask. “Well, that’s that, then.” He pulled his hand from hers. “I guess I should go,” he said bitterly, though he didn’t move to stand yet. He was bracing himself for ‘goodbye,’ but he wasn’t going to give her an easy out. He was going to make her say it.

“I told her I quit,” Marii said all in a rush, needing to get the words out, to erase that terrible blankness from his face.

He stared at her, speechless and shocked. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but no sound came out, until finally he managed to blurt the word, “Quit?”

“I think the term is ‘self-imposed exile.’”

“Exile?”

“I’m no longer a part of the Jedi Order.” It was the first time she’d spoken those words out loud. The lightness that followed them felt a little bit like fear and a lot like freedom. “I think I’ve had one foot out the door for a long time. I guess I just needed the right incentive.” She bumped his shoulder with hers. “Don’t let it go to your head, spy boy. I didn’t just do this for you. I did it for myself.”

The smallest smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “But… a little bit for me too.”

“Maybe a little.” She didn’t mind admitting that if it meant he’d keep smiling at her. “Maybe more than a little.”

He laughed, awed and disbelieving, then dove across the space between them and kissed her. She could feel his relief, something like hope bleeding through the cracks of his usually unreadable aura.

He pulled away suddenly. “Wait. Marii, are you sure about–?”

She kissed him again before he could finish that question and the tension finally drained out of him. One kiss became two, became three, became a dozen. There was a strange satisfaction to knowing that, for the first time since they’d met, they weren’t breaking the rules doing this. There weren’t any rules to break anymore.

His fingers traced the edge of her jaw, then slid up to cup her face. As soon as he touched the scar, Marii gasped sharply and broke the kiss. Theron didn’t let her pull away this time, continuing to carefully caress the angry lines across her cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“Not… physically.” It felt like an exposed nerve. Like bad memories made flesh. Like standing over Theron with her lightsaber in her hand and Vitiate’s dark laughter in her mind. Like holding a live wire to her ear until her implants shorted out, the world falling into silence and then darkness. She didn’t know how to say that in a way he’d understand. “Does it look bad?”

“You’re beautiful.”

“That isn’t what I asked. But I’ll take it.” She let him pull her into another kiss, and only flinched a little when he touched her cheek again. “I don’t suppose you know anyone willing to hire ex-Jedi? I find myself suddenly in need of a job.”

“I can make a few calls,” he said immediately. The look on his face said he was already doing the calculations. “Spy and black-ops experience and Force training? I expect it’s only a matter of time until the SIS is knocking at your door.”

Marii giggled, enamored by his enthusiasm. “That may be a little difficult, since I’m also technically homeless now.”

“You know you can stay with me until you find your own place.” Theron’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d just said. “That is. I mean, if–if you want to.”

She bit her lip to stop from impulsively agreeing. Their relationship so far, such as it was, had mostly consisted of a few stolen moments surrounded by reckless endangerment and the constant threat of galaxy-wide destruction. It seemed like they were missing a few steps if they jumped straight to living together.

She grinned and tried for levity instead. “I’m surprised you even have your own place. I figured you just have an office in SIS headquarters somewhere with a cot in the corner that you never use.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she put a finger to his lips to stop him from interrupting. “I’ve seen you fall asleep at a console more times than I can count. In fact, I bet this right now is the closest you’ve been to a bed in at least 48 hours.”

“You’re… not wrong,” he admitted begrudgingly. “We can discuss it more later. We should probably get out of here before the medic kicks us out.” He slid off the medical bed and grabbed her bag containing the meager belongings she owned, then picked up her lightsabers and offered them to her.

Marii hesitated before taking them and clipping them to her belt, the familiar weight of them comforting. Was she still allowed to use a lightsaber? Should she learn how to use a blaster?

Theron interrupted her reverie with a kiss to her cheek, right in the epicenter of her new scar. The jolt of warmth it sent through her felt nothing like the electricity that had originally caused it. “You’re still my favorite Jedi.”

“I’m not a Jedi.”

He shrugged. “You don’t really have much competition.” He gestured to the door in a dramatically formal bow. “After you.”

#theron/marii #aramarii wrinn #kiss prompts #happy valentine's day! <3 #this was fun to write #and also a little heartbreaking but that can be fun too #(and yes I will be giving marii a shiny new scar after ziost in-game too :3)#storyknitter

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trisanachandlers · 4 years

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I read Wild Magic really fast and here are all my thoughts on THAT:

the only thing this book is missing for which there is NO excuse is Raoul. 5/5 stars. needs more Raoul. that is my entire review

I had forgotten how deeply I love these books and these characters, including and perhaps especially Numair? and by “these books”, to be clear, I mean Wild Magic, Wolf Speaker, and Emperor Mage, you know, the Immortals trilogy

Ok that’s my whole review I’m actually done now

just kidding

Honestly make Daine like 5 years older so she’s 17-18 at the beginning and 20-21 at the end and like... it’s fine. I wouldn’t mind. It’s still not great but it’s okay. That’s my take, that in fact if/when Immortals gets adapted I will be fine with Daine/Numair as long as she is a young adult at the beginning when they meet instead of a literal 13-year-old. Just do what g*me of thr*nes did with Daenerys in the beginning! it’s fine!

haha daine and daenerys. dainerys. haha

mother of dragons haha wait a minute -

HOLD ON JUST ONE SECOND HERE

these books predate a s*ng of *ce and f*re I’m just saying

I forgot Onua was like at least in her 40s (based on she’s been working with horses for 28 years) and like she’s a cool early-middle-aged lady with a no-nonsense attitude who wanders the wilderness with her dog? oh boy is 23-year-old lesbian me into THAT, conceptually, in a way kid me was not so much yet

of course everyone is gay but YOU KNOW WHO’S GAY? MIRI. THIS IS MIRI’S INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:

“She had dark hair cut boyishly short and a pair of dancing green eyes. With a tip-tilted nose, a cleft chin, and a dusting of freckles, she looked like pure mischief.”

GAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know things were not exactly the same in the 1990s as they are now but this is just every single late millennial/gen z queer I have ever met in my entire life

anyway

Just generally it is very cool how many more women are in this book, because as much as I love Jon (usually) and Raoul and George and Myles and Thom and Coram and and and, up until Thayet and Buri showed up in Lioness Rampant there were like... not a lot of women who were around very much in SotL and it’s just very nice that in this book the cast is much closer to even

“Let’s only name our plot-relevant children after our dead relatives whom readers will remember from the last book,” the friends all agreed collectively

Can you imagine Maude’s face when Alanna was presumably like “Maude, I have a favor to ask of you. I’ve just had a son, and I hope you’ll come help me take care of him as you raised my brother and me. I’ve named him after Thom and he has the Gift” Maude: oh gods FUCKING help us all

anyway I love Roald, Kally, and Thom so much and I wish there was more of all of them in the books but especially Kally? like we do get plenty of Roald development in Protector and there’s a little of grownup Thom in Trickster but Kally agrees to not go for her shield and be a princess and a healer instead and then goes to Carthak to marry Kaddar when she grows up and where is that quartet, dammit

Speaking of Thoms, I assume Alanna meeting Arram went something like this:

Arram: hello

Alanna: oh fuck. ok everyone out of the way, let me handle this, I’m the expert on dealing with vain and overconfident magical prodigies around here as I have trained literally since the moment of my birth and you guys sure royally fucked it up when I was gone last time so I’m adopting this overgrown puppy of a mage. he is mine now. I will not be hearing objections good day

Arram: ... okay cool!

I have so many questions about the timeline of Numair’s backstory that make me think I need to reread Tempests & Slaughter before I go any further because if he’s 25 in this book (for some reason I always thought he was 14 years older than Daine, not 12, turns out I was wrong about that) and he’s been in Tortall doing his thing for 5 years that means everything with Ozorne and the multiple years of being homeless and on the run (as well as becoming a Black Robe!) all happened before he was 20, and I do not remember how old he was at the end of Tempests & Slaughter and the wiki is deeply unhelpful on that cause apparently no one has updated it since that book was published???? I guess I could fix that but my first day of my second semester of law school is tomorrow so I’m not going to

I want Cate Blanchett to voice the mom dragon and that is my one (1) strong opinion on tv show casting that I have developed from rereading these books so far

I also think whoever plays Roger should voice the kraken, just to make viewers go “wait... no. wait. what? no. what?”, because it would be fun

Actually the 10-year time skip makes me really question how they’d even include Song of the Lioness in a tv show (since Immortals + Protector pretty much run straight through), except that a) it’s kind of necessary to get that backstory in order for people watching to have the degree of attachment to all the adult characters in this book that readers do, and b) I guess the Numair books should fill in the gap basically right? but also because the Lioness and Protector books are so inconsistently paced (4:4:1:1 years for SotL, 1:3:4:1 years roughly for PotS) I don’t know how they’d pace out seasons and obviously if they tried to adapt it all and keep about 1 season for every 2 years or so they’d end up with like. 20 seasons total which, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

anyway I really really love Numair and I’m very angry about how thoroughly that love is going to get destroyed a few books from now

#tortall #wild magic

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gofancyninjaworld · 5 years

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OPM Manga Chapter 113 Review: ‘Terrible Luck’

When I said it’d be a couple of days before I could get round to reviewing Chapter 113, I didn’t realise it’d be nearly a week. Ah well, better late than never.

This may be a shortish chapter that webcomic readers expect they know allll about, but there’s still value added here that’s great to see.

Gallows humour

It must surprise many readers (and viewers) who get sold on One-Punch Man as a comedy that pokes fun at shonen tropes that it’s actually a dark and serious fantasy that finds reasons for us to laugh anyway. And I do mean for ‘us’ to laugh. The characters almost never laugh. Homeless Emperor obliges with a story that would be outrageous if it weren’t painfully close to what all to many people have experienced for real. Being so desperate for work that one will do anything. Unfair dismissal. Homelessness. Suicidal ideation. The streets have no pull: rather, it is ‘home’ that has given one the push.

Yet, even in this, the story finds humour. What are the chances of a ‘person’ who for all intents and purposes looks and talks like a mentally ill homeless man convinced about the reality of a deity who has invested him with a divine purpose actually being a homeless man who really has had a conversation with a deity that has left him vested with a divine purpose -- and the firepower to match? One of society’s most powerless and overlooked... with the power to end society itself. It is a joke as black and as bitter as the carbonised bits of sausage scraped off a barbecue grill. I put ‘person’ in inverted commas because Homeless Emperor’s repudiation of mankind and commitment to the destruction of humanity is monstrous to its very core, even if his outward form is yet to follow.

It’s also not every day that you find the hero disappointed that the villain doesn’t monologue for long enough -- bad luck, Zombieman.

On the other side of the story, we have another hero coming face to face with a monster who believes himself a hapless victim of circumstance. Amai Mask may be nobody’s idea of a nice guy (even if he doesn’t exactly agree with that assessment), but that monster is still monstrous. The beheaded monster begging to be killed rather than listen to any more of Amai Mask explaining how inconvenienced he was by the extension of the mission is a very nice touch.

there’s thinking highly of yourself and then there’s this

Fuhrer Ugly’s problem is that the world is a lookist one. He might not have been able to help the way he was born. Changing the reality that society treats beauty as virtue, out of his control too. We can feel sympathy for him on that too. But the response, to be so consumed with resentment as to lose all humanity, that was entirely within his control. And utterly reprehensible.

Then again, ugly versus uglier (in character, not looks) is the sort of mudfight you get popcorn out for. I quite understand anyone who does just that.

Come to think about it, one thing that ties all four characters together is how they’ve responded to circumstances not entirely of their making. Zombieman never asked to be an undead creature, and while he was angry about it (still is), he’s nevertheless made enough peace with it to lead a socially beneficial life and even allow Dr Genus to live. Under the skin, Amai Mask is not pretty and he really is wearing a mask for he has a huge complex about it. Still, even as he doesn’t endear himself to us, he is like a wasp, unpleasant but still a beneficial creature on the whole.

Conversely, Homeless Emperor and Fuhrer Ugly have abandoned any notion of humanity and feel themselves empowered to destroy the world of men for having the temerity to not treat them in the way they ought to have been. Which is nonsense.

If you want to take over the world, you need scale up

Standards are so low in the megalomaniacal villain world that any time I see a bad guy give thought to how to scale up activities to meet the challenge, I feel like giving them a prize. Well, I feel like giving the author a prize for remembering that the world is actually a big place.

Of course, Gyoro-Gyoro doesn’t want to take over the world: just kill all the people in it. Which is much less admin.

Even if each monster can kill hundreds of people, you still need millions of monsters to efficiently kill billions of people, particularly as people are as a whole resourceful and adaptive and will absolutely learn to fight back quickly if not utterly overwhelmed. Just killing off the strongest heroes and smashing the Hero Association will not be enough to wipe out humanity.

The manga has taken the time to show us two very important things. First, pro-heroes are just a small subsection of all the really strong people out there; even with heroes gone, there will be a lot of people able to oppose heroes by force of arms (to say nothing of our ability to force multiply with weapons technology). Second, while the S Class may number fewer than 20 individuals (counting both Amai Mask and Saitama), the vast majority of monsters can be killed by the vast majority of heroes. If Gyoro-Gyoro wants to succeed, the monsters need serious and rapid force multiplication of their own.

So the tanks for nurturing and multiplying the monster cells Orochi produced is absolutely necessary. Looking at the size of the tanks compared to Amai Mask, there are tens of millions of the cells to use. Not every person will knowingly and willingly eat a monster cell, but enough will that they can kill off those who won’t.

This is a big change from the webcomic. In the webcomic, in keeping with the heroes accidentally stumbling on an unprepared Monster Association, Psykos (the real person behind Gyoro-Gyoro) had no credible way to carry out her ambition of wiping out humanity. In the manga, she does.

Yup, that ought to do it. The power of science augmenting the power of monsters

Good on Amai Mask for destroying the facilities and good on Murata for doing a good job of showing how thorough Amai Mask was. With Orochi also dead, what could have been a much nastier version of a zombie apocalypse is now averted. It’s not impossible that there’s still some monster out there with a few monster cells yet to be handed out, but monster cells as a ready source of monsterisation, that’s no longer an issue.

As I said in an earlier post, it’s good to see that the competing theories as to why so many monsters in City Z that Spring Mustachio enumerated all the way back in Chapter 20 were all correct, being parts of a bigger whole. It’s also very interesting to see that when Phoenixman spoke of the Monster Association having scientists, he didn’t only mean G5 and its strange fixation on the Metal Knight.

I love it when stories tie plot ends together when the time is right for them.

The only actual bit played for laughs.

Ahh, if only you knew, Saitama. It’s bad luck for you too, but good luck for everyone else that you’re stumbling around the place.

#OPM #manga chapter #review #Zombieman #Amai Mask #Homeless Emperor #Fuhrer Ugly #thematically appropriate enemies #sorry heroes #such bad luck #for you #the monsters have this planned #worldbuilding #I love intelligently used science #amazing how few writers even think about logistics

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feena-c · 4 years

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Completely self-indulgent shit about my Scott Ryder under the cut from @gallusrostromegalus thing

On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

Scott is quite clean. He doesn’t have time for an in-depth routine everyday but he bathes regularly and takes care of removing his make-up (most days, sometimes a day was just Too Much and he has to wash his sheets the next day)

What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

Likes things with a mix of textures, likes flavorful things. Would rather have too spicy than too bland most days (Drack’s cooking is well, Krogan). Gets by with Initiative rations without complaint though; it’s what everyone is dealing with.

What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

Dirty clothes left on the bathroom floor SARA & GIL

What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

Sure *gives them some credits*

Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

With SAM in his head, no. On his own, depends. He’d be fine navigating a city, the wilderness... ehhhh not super.

What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

Being really angry/worked up/emotional. Would be hard to override his sense of right and wrong though.

Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at thier own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to? A Dog? A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

Yes, he could. He keeps his space hamster alive, and is having kids with Gil. He might be a laid-back parent but he’s not gonna let them starve or fall into the engine.

If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do? both emotionally and academically.

Emotionally, annoyed as hell. Academically, variable. Ok to good, not super.

What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

Retaliation for something done to them (or more likely even something done to one of his crew/family). Or his sister being SARA.

On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens?

*annoyed sighing and trying to escape* Def leaning the god-emperor route, if they are at all friendly. Scott is nothing if not charming, in a dorky way. ymmv.

What song is 100% garunteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and emabarrasingly, either in public or the shower?

All of them. But seriously my Scott loves to sing (and write songs). That didn’t make it into my writing cause ppl aren’t here for that but he absolutely loves to dance/sing. Sun by Sleeping at Last and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk come to mind.

What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies their neighbors?

Biotics to get things/move around, in some circumstances. Listen to music as deafening volumes. Be 100% chill with an AI being in his head.

Under what circumstances would your OC appear naked in public?

A bet, drunk, or circumstances beyond his control.

What thing did your OC’s parents do that your OC wishes they had a better explanation for?

Hahahaha *completely ignores the Ryder family secrets quest*. In my headcanon Scott’s relationship with his parents is pretty okay so nothing really, well, except Alec making Scott Pathfinder. He THINKS he gets it but he has questions.

How often does your OC “zone out” or do things on autopilot and how severe have the problems that have arisen from that been?

Not often, he’s pretty present. So no real issues.

How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened because of their impulsive nature?

Ehhhh, Scott has decent impulse control. Sometimes his mouth opens before his brain boots up but most of the time he’s okay. Nothing too terrible has happened, maybe pissing off some people.

How does your OC sabotage themselves?

Not backing down when he probably should.

What’s the trashiest item in your OC’s wardrobe, when was the last time they wore it and why do they still have it?

Oh boy, probably some club outfit he got cause it was amusing to him; still has it cause it still amuses him/flusters other people/annoys them.

How Dehydrated is your OC right now? Are they going to fix this?

Minimal, if he gets too dehydrated SAM wil say smt, and if he ignores SAM Lexi will get involved. He keeps a water bottle around his room so he’s usually fine.

What’s your OC smell like? no, not that “Vanilla and Anxiety” evocative stuff, realistically. Body odor? what have they been touching all day? When was their last shower? Did they put on any kind of artificial scent?

Around the ship? A mix of hair product and laundry soap, he’s quite clean. After returning from the field? Blood, sweat, probably heat from using his jetpack, plus whatever he touched out there (eyes all the creatures). Maybe that’s why he likes showers...

#OC #scott ryder #feenrambles

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tunishai · 5 years

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18. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take, (best, worst, most likely?) what would cause them to come to pass, and what consequences might they have? What paths would you especially like to see, and why?

A dovahkiin is destined for power and conquest. That is what the history books about other dragonborn tell you. And much to Lydians surprise he will fulfill this little prophecy. One way or another. The picture shows Lydians best possible future. He is the ruler of the south of Morrowind. He brought safety, stability and money (and dragons) to that region and it flourished under his rule. A small part of the land actually was righteous his, as the last heir of a influence part of the Dres family. Speaking of which, Ildren Dres, his father, is still around. Not alive, since he fell in the great battle for Cyrodiil, but as a ghost. And he guards his only son like a hawk.

The great battle for Cyrodiil was not only the turning point in the second Great war, but very much for Lydian himself. As the dominion ruthlessly attacked the imperial forces, the emperor called all his alliances to battle. And for the first time Lydian made good on the power and might that he could wield and called the dragons to battle. Of course the Aldmeri Dominion was prepared, they knew he was out there and they felled many dragons. But the dragon souls went straight to him and made him more powerful. It was because of him and his dragons that not only the battle was won, but months later also the war.

Gone were the days when he tried to life with Ildren in the shadows of the city of Abah’s Landing. Trying to hide from the Thalmor or bounty hunters that could come for the both of them. Gone were the days of trying to live his fake identity of a young enchanter apprentice. He misses those days... When his life could be called normal. Trying to earn money in a honest safe way living with his father. Actually having someone. Having a parent. Having something like a family. No matter how small and how difficult. And it was difficult. Before they settled down in Abah’s Landing they tried so much. But a dragonborn and an ex slaver are not easily hidden. Both with their own set of complicated problems and personality. Even the decision to go and try to life with Ildren was not an easy one. But it was more or less born out off desperation. It is better to be with an murderous, angry ex slaver than to be completely alone... isn’t it.

And the time he misses most, are the short years he spend with his husband Onmund. Right after he killed Alduin, they married. All these years ago Lydian refused to marry Onmund before he would face Alduin, because he feared he would not survive the encounter. Onmund should not be bound to a dead mer. He would never have dreamed that he would outlive the mage to such a degree. And he nearly didn’t. Because when Onmund died from the sickness Lydian was more than willing to join him. But his promise to Onmund and the dragons in his soul wouldn’t let him. Even 200 years later he mourns the short time they had together- not even a decade.

Lydian’s life will in no version be a perfectly happy one. And this is the version I like the most. He loses much, but he grows so much more. Into something good and kind. He knows the world can be shit and he wants to make it a little bit safer and kinder. There are some friends, even a lover (an influential argonian, which makes Ildrens ancestor ghost sooo mad. its funny.) I actually feel proud of him. he came so far from his humble beginnigs as a homeless street rat in Windhelm.

#lydian #dovahkiin #skyrim #character questions #answers #so much text #I got really emotional halfway through #I have to many feelings for this boy #my art

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number9robotic · 5 years

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Untitled Cyberpunk Magical Girl Project characterization prompt response:

Original prompt by @gallusrostromegalus!

OC Recap (left to right):

Suzi: Dance student, part-time magical girl/virtual celebrity, half-stoic, half-upbeat depending on the mood.

Kim: Botanist, semi-retired veteran magical girl and mentor, awkward “cool” mom with baggage.

Crash: Delinquent spirit, first magical girl, currently hyperactive virtual ghost, born troublemaker.

Nano: Rebellious slave class member in hiding, uses magical girl powers for personal investigations, comically deadpan.

HD: Gifted rich girl/conspiracy theorist unknowingly chosen to be a magical girl, quiet but eccentric personality.

A. On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

Suzi: She’s a teenage girl, so a bit. Even disregarding her online presence, she’s in the know of cosmetics just to look good to friends.

Kim: Very basic hydration and cleanliness, only gets special treatment if something’s actively acting up.

Crash: Currently doesn’t care due to being a virtual ghost. Didn’t care much in her physical life either except for concerts.

Nano: Very basic cleanliness; she’s very out of the loop of many things, optimal skincare included.

HD: Focused a lot. Part of it is casual access to high-brand cosmetics, part of it is natural obsession with cleanliness.

B. What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

Suzi: Has a pretty varied middle-class palate, likes even mix of savory and sweet. Very fond of fish and rice (sushi of course) and sugary drinks (boba, lemon tea).

Kim: Very light diet. Just needs something only mildly flavorful like tea or natto rice she can easily have at work, sometimes forgets to eat in general.

Crash: Likes cheap/instant ramen and other fast foods; grew up on the stuff and hates the taste of “real” food. She also likes things spicy.

Nano: Currently expanding taste buds due to lifetime being served nutrient goop. Likes sweets, but only has them on occasion because they cause headaches (taiyaki’s pretty good).

HD: Regularly gets to enjoy high-quality “real” foods, but very frequently jumps to easier-to-access comfort foods like strawberry milk or curry rice.

C. What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

Suzi: When the train arrives earlier than scheduled, so she misses it and has to wait for the next.

Kim: Zoning out while steeping tea and realizing it’s cold after forgetting about it.

Crash: Anti-aliasing, and the inability to turn it off. NOOOO SMOOTHENIIIIIIING

Nano: Her senior chef’s taste in music. She recently got a job as his apprentice, and she can’t stand the pirate rock he blares in the kitchen. She hates the accents.

HD: Lacking the right word to articulate an emotion or idea she wants to express and being unable to look it up.

D. What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

Suzi: “Some other day.”

Kim: (quietly looks to her phone)

Crash: “Nah fam, not today.”

Nano: (completely ignores them)

HD: (quietly looks the other way)

E. Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

Suzi: Checks the skytrain routes and maps at the stations.

Kim: Knows her path from home to work enough to never get lost.

Crash: “Thanks, GPS!”

Nano: Checks street signs and looks for maps at skytrain stations.

HD: In order: check maps, call guardians for directions, ask strangers.

F. What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

Suzi: If she’s in physical danger without her powers. She don’t punch above her weight.

Kim: If she has no personal stakes in the matter. She doesn’t like escalating conflict, she’s already tired as is.

Crash: If it’s a strictly physical conflict where she’s unable to interact.

Nano: If it’s none of her business. She’s in hiding; attention is bad.

HD: If she doesn’t have powers for it. She’s not even in her teens, fam

G. Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at their own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to? A Dog? A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

Suzi: She underestimates her ability to accommodate someone/something. She’d start off nervous, but she’d probably pull through.

Kim: Pretty well. She wants to ensure others are safe, she’s just very awkward at it.

Crash: Even in life, she was a mess, so probably not.

Nano: She’s only just learning to take care of herself among the surface world, give her some time.

HD: She’s like 12! She might take care of a plant just fine tho

H. If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do? both emotionally and academically.

Suzi: Print out practice tests, head to a cafe, get some boba, and hunker down.

Kim: Work at home, take a shower, prepare some tea, scented candles, and some ambient records.

Crash: Wait for Kim to take her to her apartment and force her to do the same thing.

Nano: Internet biiiiiinge. Get the taiyaki ready.

HD: In her room going over various books with some music playing, and probably with a tab open for streaming.

I. What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

Suzi: If she’s good friends with the target and another friend dared her to, and/or if she stands to get free food from it.

Kim: If she’s REALLY had enough of you but doesn’t have it in her to tell it to your face.

Crash: If she thinks it’d be funny. It isn’t always funny, but when it is, it is.

Nano: If she’s really angry at you and thinks she can get away with it without notice.

HD: If she’s feeling especially exhausted and has briefly given up on being nice to you.

J. On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens?

Suzi: “Oh shit.”

Kim: “Is this a spaceship?”

Crash: “Kickass!”

Nano: “Are you from The Corporatocracy?”

HD: “I was right!?”

K. What song is 100% guaranteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and embarrassingly, either in public or the shower?

Suzi: “Crazy Crazy” by Yasutaka Nakata.

Kim: “Sad Machine” by Porter Robinson.

Crash: “Whole New World” by SOPHIE.

Nano: She’s not the singing type, but “Giving Bad People Good Ideas” by Death Grips gets it done.

HD: “Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz.

L. What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies their neighbors?

Suzi: Dances to loud mixes in her room.

Kim: Very frequently lights candles or incense in her apartment.

Crash: She used to practice a lot of vocalizations, ie scream a whole lot.

Nano: Have virtually no furniture aside from a bed and table for her laptop.

HD: Own an entire floor of an apartment building.

O. How often does your OC “zone out” or do things on autopilot and how severe have the problems that have arisen from that been?

Suzi: Often, but basically only during boring times where nothing is happening, including stuff that could potentially cause problems.

Kim: Almost never when at work, but frequently gets contemplative when at home.

Crash: As a virtual entity, she’s very active and almost never blanks out. In physicality, CONSTANTLY.

Nano: She doesn’t exactly zone out so much as she gets locked into one sensation/action and is unused to the need to adjust on her own.

HD: She can get twitchy at the worst of times, her mind going on extended tangents if there isn’t a lot of stimuli.

P. How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened because of their Impulsivity or inability to be so?

Suzi: Generally gives things careful consideration, but if a prospect is extremely exciting, she may need a reminder to step back a bit.

Kim: Very mellow and not one to making particularly decisive decisions, unless it’s regarding someone’s safety, where she’s very firm.

Crash: Very impatient and prone to making bad decisions without thinking through them. Ever since becoming a ghost, she’s a little more careful for Kim’s sake, but still needs a lot of work.

Nano: Very methodical and calculative, but feels the need to make fast decisions if she decides she has no time to be careful.

HD: Very patient and careful, almost glacial in terms of getting her onto another mindset.

Q. How does your OC sabotage themselves?

Suzi: She’s forming a double-life as a civilian and as a Magica for excitement, but she isn’t fully realizing the consequences of it or what she must do in the future, potentially barreling into danger for a brief thrill.

Kim: She simultaneously wants to have a normal life away from supernatural shenanigans but is irreparably locked into it with her relationship with Crash, ironically denying herself closure by wanting nothing to do with her trauma.

Crash: Constantly seeks to rebel introduce excitement to the world, but is often dishonest about her own motivations, resulting in an inability to think through her plans or the consequences of her actions, some very deadly for herself.

Nano: Her extremely methodical and calculative approach to everything leads her to make an enemy out of everyone. Her inability to trust anyone to not screw up leaves her pretty ineffectual in her goals.

HD: She’s extremely smart and critical, but constantly traps herself in loops of obsessive paranoia, often isolating herself from anyone else to support her or give her better grounding.

S. How Dehydrated is your OC right now? Are they going to fix this?

Suzi: Keep a reusable water bottle for water, occasionally gets ice tea/coffee if she feels like treating herself.

Kim: Keeps a thermos of hot water/tea.

Crash: Currently NA, previously just gets water from the tap.

Nano: Usually gets her fresh cups at work, enjoys municipal tap water at home. Blame Crash.

HD: Fills a cold water mug from a filtered fridge.

T. What’s your OC smell like? no, not that “Vanilla and Anxiety” evocative stuff, realistically. Body odor? what have they been touching all day? When was their last shower? Did they put on any kind of artificial scent?

Suzi: Takes regular care of her hygiene and attends clean facilities, often showers with a peach fragrance that sticks with her daily.

Kim: Smells sanitized and like a dentist’s office when traveling from work, smells like tea and “herbal” everywhere else.

Crash: Like electrons. In life, she showered, but always smelled like a combo of light sweat and coffee.

Nano: Often times faintly like dirt, sometimes with a literal fish-y stench from work.

HD: Very presentable, often has the aroma of strawberry and bread.

#my art #character prompt #writing prompt #untitled #untitled cyberpunk magical girl project #magical girl #oc #oc prompt

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thelunarbond · 5 years

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OC questions time with Phoenix

A few days ago I reblogged this post with some questions to help with characterisation, and I wanted to write it out here with Phoenix as he’s my main oc! Here we go...

1) On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

Phoenix hates showering, especially when his anxiety is high. He still does it as often as possible, and he uses moisturiser and proper face wash, and that’s about it. He still barely grows facial hair despite the fact that he’s 19 years old. The rest of the Lunar Bond get jealous of him because he rarely gets acne or rough skin and he doesn’t even try

2) What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

Phoenix is the least fussy eater ever and will eat almost anything. However, his preference is crunchy foods and/or spicy food. He doesn’t really have a preference with calories. He’s not very good at self care, so Phoenix’s diet normally consists of cereal and cup noodles for virtually every meal, as he never remembers to feed himself or remembers to buy food in the first place. (He might occasionally sneak out of bed to eat some shredded cheese at 5am too)

3) What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

Anything vaguely unsatisfying. Things such as when people cut wrapping paper and it rips, or when people draw with a ruler and it goes loose so the line isn’t straight, things like that. (Side note: Phoenix definitely watches satisfying compilations or soap cutting videos on YouTube)

4) What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

Fear, as he never carries cash or change on him (when he has money at all). He puts all his money on his bank card, and he knows he can’t transfer it to the homeless person. He gets scared that it would lead to the homeless person being angry or upset with him. And he feels bad that he could have done something to help someone

5) Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

Phoenix doesn’t get lost very easily as he never goes to places he hasn’t been to before. However, when he moved from the countryside to Westerlyn City he got lost all the time, and his response is a lot of fear (and probably a panic attack). When he would get lost he’d rely on his phone for directions and hope he wasn’t going to be lost forever

6) What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

Answered here!

7) Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at their own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to? A Dog? A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

Phoenix has been taking care of his little brother for years up until recently. He’s incredibly good at caring for other people or pets and making sure they are well, but he isn’t very good at looking after himself (probably because he’s too distracted while thinking about the other person/animal etc). He also has multiple houseplants in his home that are thriving

8) If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do? both emotionally and academically.

Academically, Phoenix would do amazingly well. He has the highest IQ out of anyone in the Lunar Bond; he picks up information very quickly and is good at retaining it. His emotional well-being in that situation is a whole other story. Phoenix doesn’t believe he’s very good at anything. And he doesn’t think he’s particularly clever, no matter how many high test scores he gets. He would spend all night drinking energy drinks and studying, and freaking out that he’s going to fail and everyone’s going to be disappointed in him. He’d probably also be a big puddle of anxiety on the day of the test as well

9) What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

Nothing. Phoenix is terrified of upsetting or angering people. No matter how many cruel or petty pranks are pulled on him, he doesn’t lash out as he’s scared of having an argument. If it’s constant, he might eventually yell at the person in question that what they’re doing is unfair, but it takes a lot to reach that point

10) On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens?

Very very badly. He would have a total mental breakdown. He’d spend the whole time thinking he was going to die

11) What song is 100% guaranteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and embarrassingly, either in public or the shower?

Pompeii by Bastille. Phoenix loves songs that he can sing along loudly to and are still calming in nature. He doesn’t really like “thumping” songs, such as songs with heavy bass or techno songs, as he thinks they’re too noisy. But he’d 100% sing along with a song like Pompeii in the shower at least (probably not in public though)

12) What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies their neighbours?

He doesn’t really do anything that would piss them off as he’s scared of being confronted, but they would be confused by the fact that he leaves and goes back into his house constantly before he goes out to buy groceries. He’ll open the door, take about 2 steps outside and then go back in and stay there for another 10 minutes, still wearing his coat. He’ll leave the house again and walk to the end of the street and walk back, shut the door and not come out for 20 minutes, and it continues like that. To Phoenix, it’s his normal routine as he’s not sure if he’s too anxious to go into a store and buy groceries. In the end, after leaving and going back into his house about 5 or 6 times he’ll order his groceries online, and leave his neighbours very confused

13) Under what circumstances would your OC appear naked in public?

Only if it was life or death. If going naked in public would save his life or someone close to him he’d do it. But nothing else would make him do something like that

14) What thing did your OC’s parents do that your OC wishes they had a better explanation for?

This question is kinda confusing and I honestly don’t know how to answer it, sorry😅

15) How often does your OC “zone out” or do things on autopilot and how severe have the problems that have arisen from that been?

He zones out all the time. Multiple times a day he’ll start daydreaming, and something he does on autopilot is make cups of tea. The amount of times he’s nearly died as a result of his daydreaming is unreal. He still doesn’t stop his daydreaming while he’s in public, no matter how many times this has happened. His autopilot tea making has resulted in multiple occasions of him finding random cups of tea of different flavours around his house that he’s made, taken one sip out of, and left to go cold somewhere

16) How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened because of their Impulsivity or inability to be so?

Answered here!

17) How does your OC sabotage themselves?

A better question for Phoenix would be how he doesn’t sabotage himself. He’s the worst at self care, he’s never told someone he’s had a crush on that he loves them, trouble constantly seems to seek him out... someone help him

18) What’s the trashiest item in your OC’s wardrobe, when was the last time they wore it and why do they still have it?

Phoenix doesn’t really own embarrassing clothes but the trashiest thing he owns is an ancient oversized shirt that he’s had for many years; he lounges around the house in it (and sometimes wears it to the store when he occasionally braves the store). It’s covered in holes, stains and rips, the print is completely cracked and peeling and it’s about 4 sizes too big. And the last time Phoenix wore it was yesterday, because he refuses to throw it away (he claims he’s had it too long to throw it away)

19) How Dehydrated is your OC right now? Are they going to fix this?

How hydrating is tea? Because he hasn’t had a glass of water for about 6 hours but he’s had 4 cups of tea and he’s making himself another one

20) What’s your OC smell like? no, not that “Vanilla and Anxiety” evocative stuff, realistically. Body odour? what have they been touching all day? When was their last shower? Did they put on any kind of artificial scent?

Phoenix’s last shower was yesterday, so the smell of his body wash has faded a little. It’s scented like lemon and tea tree, and he still smells like it a little bit. Perfumes or aftershaves irritate his skin so he doesn’t wear them. His fingers smell like the pages of the second hand adventure books he’s been reading all day. The smell of the scented candles he has also lingers on him a little, and they’re scented like black cherry

#lunar bond #oc questions

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setepenre-set · 6 years

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Can u recommand some good books pls?

I DEFINITELY CAN!

(I’ve divided them up into categories, and included a short summary of each, so that you can choose more easily, and put the list under a cut, since it’s fairly long.)

Comedic Fantasy With Emotional Center

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (part of the Discworld series; everything in the Discworld series is excellent. main characters of this one are a god stuck in the form of a tortoise and his last believer.)

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (Discworld. Death has to take over the duties of discworld’s version of Santa Claus in an attempt to keep the world from ending.)

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Discworld. Death gets fired and decides to live as a human—as near to human as he can, at any rate. eventually he has to battle the New Death to save the discworld.)

Guards, Guards! by Terry Pratchett (Discworld. Sam Vimes, leader of the disgraced and dying Ankh-Morpork City Watch, regains his self-respect and his interest in life as he works to solve a mystery of who is summoning a dragon and killing off citizens of his city.)

The Bromeliad by Terry Pratchett (small ‘nomes’ live secretly in this world, hiding from humans. the perpetually out-of-his-depth and put-upon nome Masklin finds himself in charge, tasked with leading them to safety and finding their way home.)

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (an angel and a demon tasked with seeing that apocalypse happens as scheduled decide to try to avert it instead. completely and utterly fantastic.)

Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams (murder mystery involving Norse Gods, record contracts, and the Ultimate Bubble Bath.)

The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber (novella told like a fairy tale, full of wordplay and beauty and fun. this one just absolutely shines.)

The Gates by John Connolly (young boy, his dog, and an extremely minor demon try to stop the end of the world.)

The Infernals by John Connolly (sequel to The Gates, featuring the same characters.)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (a young lady is cursed to be old, decides to become cleaning lady for a wizard rumored to be dangerous but actually just vain, overdramatic, and irresponsible. so very fun and romantic.)

Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien (a local peasant finds himself unwillingly roped into facing a marauding dragon.)

Comedy

All of the P.G. Wodehouse books, particularly the Jeeves and Wooster series (wonderfully fun and lighthearted comedy set vaguely between the edwardian era and the 1920’s. Rich, cheerful, and kindhearted Bertie Wooster has a habit of accidentally getting engaged to girls he has no desire whatsoever to marry; his clever valet Jeeves gets him out of trouble every time.)

With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed by Lynne Truss (hilarious and surprisingly touching at the end. lots and lots shenanigans. really fun.)

Romantic Comedy

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (romantic comedy, fake relationship, regency era.)

When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rhinehouse (romantic comedy with a stolen jewels mystery plot. cast of characters stuck in a house together.)

Romance

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (historical romance with intrigue and comedy. The main character crossdresses and, to me, reads as genderqueer. The love interest is basically a villain who accidentally becomes the hero. I LOVE IT.)

Her Every Wish by Courtney Milan (regency romance novella. hero is bisexual. subplot about bicycles being scandalous. this is the one that I have Roxanne give Megamind in Code: Safeword.)

The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan (regency romance, the last in the Brothers Sinister series, all of which are good. main character reads as autistic. her love interest is younger than she is; they’ve secretly presented her groundbreaking scientific work as his, so that people will take it seriously.)

When a Scott Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare (regency romance; main character has social anxiety and made up a fiancee years ago to get out of her impending social season. but now a man with the same name has shown up claiming to be this fiancee, and intending to marry her.)

Mystery

Behold, Here’s Poison by Georgette Heyer (1920’s murder mystery with comedy and romance. The characters are wonderful.)

Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie (murder mystery featuring elderly heroine Miss Marple, who seems fluffy and harmless but is really a sneaky, nosy, and terribly sharp woman. I love her.)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (murder mystery featuring detective Hercule Poirot. intricate and enjoyable.)

Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie (murder mystery set in ancient egypt. both the mystery and the historical features are extremely well executed.)

Difficult to Categorize

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann (A group of sheep decide to solve the mystery of who killed their shepherd. Funny and moving. The point of view is amazingly well done.)

Watership Down by Richard Adams (A group of rabbits set out on a journey to establish a new home. The worldbuilding and characterization are fantastic.)

Kiln People by David Brin (science fiction mystery. amazing worldbuilding. One of the main characters is a robot who, due to a slight malfunction, has developed a personality and will of his own.)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (A love story set during the zombie apocalypse, between a young woman named Julie and a zombie known as R, who isn’t quite as dead as zombies are supposed to be. Horrifying and romantic and uplifting.)

Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving by Martin Millar (Main character Elfish is basically the living embodiment of ‘fuck you’. She’s a guitarist on a mission to claim the name Queen Mab for her—just at present nonexistent—band from her ex-boyfriend Mo.)

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt (a young woman in the medieval era gets lost in the forest and nearly dies. When she meets Death, though, she convinces him to postpone her demise—she claims that love is stronger than death, and he tells her that if she can prove it by finding her true love within one day, he will spare her life. Full of joy and sorrow and love.)

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury (A group of children go on a fantastic trip through time with a mysterious man called Moundshroud in an attempt to save the life of one of their friends. Fun and dark and beautiful.)

The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson (An epidemic wipes out all of the adults in the world. Ten year old Lisa Nelson bands together a group of survivors and shapes them into a new society, with her at its head. Satisfying.)

Fantasy

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Gorgeous worldbuilding, kidnapping, romance, magic, and adventure.)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (The last of the Unicorns goes on a quest to find out what happened to the rest of her species. Fun and frightening and hauntingly beautiful.)

Transformation by Carol Berg (The Emperor’s New Groove for grown-ups. Formerly a magician and currently a slave, Seyonne finds new meaning in his life when he and careless, proud Prince Aleksander work together to defeat the demonic forces that threaten the kingdom. Slavery and freedom, loyalty and friendship. Intricate worldbuilding.)

War For the Oaks by Emma Bull (Urban fantasy. Eddie has just broken up with her boyfriend, and, in the process, broken up the band they both played in. She has enough problems of her own, without getting dragged into a war between the Seelie and Unseelie courts of the Fae.)

Young Adult Fantasy

So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane (Young adult fantasy adventure. Preteen protagonists Kit and Nita journey into a terrifying shadow world to fight a dark entity. One of my favorite depictions of magic of all time.)

Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson (The Great Evil Wizard Arriman has decided to take a bride! The members of the local witches’ coven are invited to a contest—whichever witch performs the most dark and wicked act of black magic will be Arriman’s bride. The young witch Belladonna is absolutely smitten with Arriman, and desperately wants to win the contest. The only problem is that Belladonna is a white witch.)

Megamind: the Novel by Lauren Alexander (A little darker and a bit more grown-up than the movie; still incredibly fun. It features additional scenes from Megamind and Roxanne’s developing romantic relationship.)

Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde (Teenage Kerry is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ends up being taken captive by a group of people who are holding another person captive as well—a young man they insist is a vampire. Kerry thinks they’re crazy, and helps the boy escape…but it turns out they were actually right. And now she’s being held captive by a vampire on the run.)

Young Adult

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going (Depressed teenage protagonist Troy almost commits suicide, but is stopped by a homeless teenager named Curt, who is also a local punk rock legend. Curt convinces Troy to form a punk band with him, featuring Curt on guitar and Troy on drums…even though Troy can’t actually play the drums. funny and angry and deeply moving.)

The Undertaker’s Gone Bananas by Paul Zindel (Thriller. The misfit teenage protagonists are convinced that their neighbor murdered his wife, even though no one believes them. They set out to prove it.)

Older Children

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Bernard (Recently orphaned, the disagreeable young Mary arrives at her uncle’s house—a house full of secrets and mysteries.)

A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Bernard (Young, precocious, and strange Sara Crewe is sent to boarding school. When her father dies unexpectedly, leaving Sara a penniless orphan, the Headmistress forces Sara to work as a servant. Strength in adversity, the power of imagination, and an eventual happy ending.)

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Neatly Snyder (A group of children secretly play at being ancient Egyptians in a deserted lot. This one really captures the dangerous, wild, and intense feeling of childhood.)

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (adventure with young girl as heroine. genuinely creepy and exciting and so clever. my great-grandmother loved this one, too.)

The Witches by Roald Dahl (Young boy and his grandmother happen upon a convention of terrifying, evil witches.)

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischmann (Spoiled Prince Brat and his whipping boy Jemmy run away together, much to Jemmy’s annoyance. Adventure and friendship.)

Trapped In Death Cave by Bill Wallace (An adventure story with a secret map, a hidden cave, and an evil plot.)

#books #book recs #Anonymous

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