#where are the council fans. where are you gathered

[gabe-lovebot]

Will you port the counsler model to sfm too?? I would use it so much I’d go crazy it’s really good :D

omg i would literally cry & implode & melt into a puddle if i saw sfm stuff of him!!

i have an incredible 0 sfm experience and my weekend is looking kind of full so it might take me a while but i will definitely attempt it!! at this point i would sell my house for more councilor stuff

[roguerambles]

Diplomatic Relations

Record of Ragnarök - Shiva x Male Reader. Mentions of Indra x Male Reader

Warnings - 18+Only. Adult situations.

Still suffering from the curse of Writer's Block, but thirsting with @icy-spicy over Record of Ragnarök (particularly guess who) got some creative ideas flowing. So blame her and thank her for this blasphemy :P

-

Shiva could not believe the Gods Council had been prolonged for this.

Indra stood at the centre of the chamber, his posture straight but somehow relaxed, presenting himself with his usual cool, confident demeanour. But even at a distance, he could spot the occasional, unconscious flex of his fingers, loosely gripping a pale sheet hanging low around his hips. It was only the slightest twitch of nerves, but Shiva wondered with some amusement when Indra had his last cigarette.

The God of Destruction let his gaze slip over his fellow deity's bare shoulder, where he could see You somewhat peeking out from behind Indra's back, your expression a good deal more sheepish. You similarly had a long sheet draped over your shoulders and spilling down at your sides, but it was plain to see you were both naked, wet and completely at the centre of attention.

Somewhere above Shiva, in the Chairman's Seat, Zeus was howling with laughter.

"...ahem."

Hermes cleared his throat politely, but loudly, only barely being heard over his father's wheezing cackle. "Thank you all for your attendance. This meeting of the Gods Council has been called to address the conduct of Indra, God of Lightning of the Hindu Pantheon, and...." Hermes blinked a few times, peering thoughtfully down at You. "...my apologies, which of Aphrodite's sons are you again?"

You huffed, looking indignant. From her seat across the hall from Shiva, Aphrodite made an eerily similar sound, snapping her fan shut with a loud click. "Really, Hermes. Get to the point, will you? This hardly seems like something to call all of us for."

Hermes smiled serenely at the Greek Goddess of Love, as Zeus's laughter began to settle into choked chortles. "Very well." Hermes lifted a large piece of parchment, clearing his throat once more. "The two deities before us today stand charged with the unlawful destruction of a Temple of Aphrodite in the human world."

There was an immediate rumble amongst the gathered gods, several voices rising up at once.

"Wait, a temple dedicated to his mother?" Kali asked from beside Shiva, sounding confused. "Why?"

"This is an outrage!" Somewhere near Aphrodite, Ares shot out of his seat, his face red as he pointed down at you and Indra. "How dare you?!"

"Well, this just got interesting." Buddha chimed in, chewing loudly on some sweet treat or another, looking awake for the first time the entire meeting.

You gave Ares an irritated glare, while Indra remained stoic, although Shiva could tell he was really craving a cigarette. Curiously, despite Ares yelling beside her, Aphrodite looked rather unconcerned about the destruction of her own temple. From what Shiva knew of the Goddess, this was a rather unexpected reaction.

"The Temple was empty!" You burst out, shaking your head furiously, sending drops of water flicking everywhere. "And the humans had abandoned the town for some festival, so its not like anyone was hurt--"

"You destroyed a town as well?!" You slapped your hand over your face as someone else cried out in shock.

You tried to keep talking. "I invited Lord Indra because I was...interested in learning more about his pantheon and--"

Indra snorted, loudly, and Shiva caught the smirk twitching onto his face before he quickly smothered it. You jabbed his side, hissing something that sounded distinctly like "You aren't helping!"

Shiva let his gaze trail over you, lingering on the exposed muscle of your thighs briefly before glancing back at Indra. "Nobody has mentioned the nakedness yet." He commented dryly to Parvati, who tilted her head in response.

"I was wondering..." She hummed thoughtfully, fingers gently stroking one of his arms. "I thought maybe it was some new fashion amongst the Greek Pantheon--"

You turned suddenly, and for a moment Shiva wondered if you had somehow heard them talking. You peered up, your head tilted, before a small smile bloomed on your lips. The sheet parted slightly, exposing your shoulders and upper arms, your stance shifting to show off more of your legs and thighs, barely concealed by silk. You lips moved softly, and Shiva could just make out the words--

"Like what you see?"

Shiva snorted at your audacity, feeling the edge of his mouth curve upwards in a smirk as he let his eyes slowly roam over you. "Yes." He mouthed back, and you grinned, slightly turning your body to the other side, your eyes sparking with mischief.

Parvati squeezed his arm. "Stop flirting, you." She covered her mouth in an attempt to smother a giggle. "You'll get us in trouble as well."

Hermes spoke again, his voice ringing over the rising noise of his fellow deities. "The Temple was destroyed by a powerful storm, which resulted in the town below becoming flooded." He raised the scroll higher, covering his face, but Shiva caught the slight, amused curve to his lips as he spoke his next words. "The storm was summoned via divine will during sex."

Shiva felt his eyebrows shoot upwards, sitting up with a jolt of genuine surprise. The entire chamber was silent for only a brief moment, everyone staring down at You and Indra in shock.

Aphrodite flicked her fan open again, a tinkling laugh falling from her lips. "That's my boy."

Everyone began talking at once.

"Wait, they didn't notice the storm because they were too busy fucking--?"

"Sounds like a good time."

"Apollo!"

"Indra lost control?" Durga sounded incredulous. "Our Indra?"

"Oh my." Parvati said softly, eyes drifting to wear you were standing, looking flustered. "It must have been very good, then."

"Parvati!"

"Only saying, Durga!"

Shiva laughed, loudly, reaching down to squeeze his wife's hand. She grinned at him, her own laughter bubbling in her throat, and Shiva could hear several others in the crowd join in on finding amusement in the situation.

Zeus finally seemed to have composed himself somewhat, wiping tears away from his eyes. "Oh, to be young again!" He chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Call this meeting to a close, Hermes. The damage was minimal--"

"The region where the Temple was located is now quite uninhabitable for humans, father--"

"Oh, two gods made love and inadvertently terrified some humans. Happens to the best of us." Zeus waved a hand dismissively, and Hermes sighed long-sufferingly.

"Regardless, Father, some discipline should be--"

"I agree with Hermes." A deep voice spoke suddenly, and Shiva lifted his gaze to where Odin sat, staring down at You and Indra with a cold, unimpressed look in his eye. "Accident or not, this can not go unaddressed. Or are the self-professed leaders of the Greek and Hindu Pantheons unable to control their own members?"

Shiva felt a stab of irritation - who was Odin to talk? Like his lot were so well behaved? - but he reached down to catch Durga's hand as it coiled around her weapon. Best not to start a brawl in the Gods Council Chamber (he could still remember the last one, and shuddered slightly at the memory. Nobody left that one unmarked.)

Zeus laughed, but Shiva could hear the sharp edge that had formed in his voice, the spark in the air moments before a lightning strike. He did not like to be questioned, either. "Perhaps you, Odin, would care too--"

Shiva seized the moment to rise from his seat, and spoke loudly and clearly. "He may return with us for a time." He gestured down to you and Indra. "To spend time among my pantheon." He smiled at you, allowing a faintly wolfish edge to enter his tone. "To learn from us. That is what you wanted in the first place, yes?"

You stared up at him in surprise. Beside you, Indra shook his head, but Shiva caught the pleased smirk flashing across his face. You shook yourself, grinning brightly as you bowed slightly towards Shiva.

"It would be a great pleasure, Lord Shiva." You said, tilting your head upwards, softly mouthing something only Shiva could hear. "For us both, I assure you."

Oh, he was going to enjoy you.

Odin sounded thoroughly unimpressed. "I hardly see what kind of punishment--"

"Oh, I'll put him through the ringer." Shiva said cheerfully, crossing his upper arms behind his head, grinning as Parvati struggled to contain her laughter beside him. "Both he and Indra. A good, stern talking to. Ensure it won't happen again, and all that." He nodded towards Aphrodite. "Does this please the offended party?"

Aphrodite smiled, looking delightfully amused. "Have your lovely wives share some of their finery, and I will consider it even, as the humans say."

"Ooooh!" Parvati waved from beside him. "I have some fabric you would love--"

"Excellent!" Zeus clapped his hands together, the sound of thunder signalling the end of the meeting. "Council adjourned."

Odin looked as though he wanted to smite everyone in the chamber, his birds squawking indignantly at his shoulders, but Shiva ignored him to focus on you whispering to Indra, who chuckled lowly and tugged at your hip as you both headed towards the exit. You cast a quick glance over your shoulder, shooting Shiva as playful smirk as you slipped around the corner.

You were going to be an interesting guest, Shiva thought to himself, smirking softly. He couldn't wait to hear a thoroughly clear account of you and Indra's encounter.

Perhaps a demonstration would be in order.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Brilliant Minds | Yandere Idia Shroud

Idia couldn’t help rolling his eyes as he watched the frantic news reporter report the hacking of the Intergalactic Federation of Force and Intelligence.

“Behind me is the I.F.F.!’s home base on Feluschia, where the council members are meeting to begin the investigation on who is the culprit. Now I.F.F.I has many that would jump at the opportunity: the Jupiter Faction of Control, the Galaxy’s Safeguard, space pirates–”

It was not the easiest to break past the thousands of firewalls to get into the system but it still could be done in less than a week. But to him it was needed. If it inconvenienced those pencil-pushers in any way shape or form it’d be worth it. Idia remembered being plagued with the mandatory ejecting of adolescents who spent a set amount of time within their rooms. Too many times could Idia think back to the days he was dragged out of his room to meet said requirements. 

“Consider it payback for all the 24 hour events you made me miss!”

Thunk!

Thunk!

“Hold on what–”

Ship’s main power is being diverted to the bridge. 

“What?!”

Lockdown procedures in process and will only be released with authorized code.

“Wait–”

Pepare for boarding by the Intergalactic Federation of Force and Intelligence. 

“Oh come on!”

Nice to meet you Idia Shroud, please do not resist your arrest. We’d like not to use force. 

The blue light from his monitors reflected the rectangular shape of a red lazor slicing through his door. Turning from his spot he jumped when the door slammed to the ground and his space was lit up with various flashlights and the sounds of soldiers routinely fanning about the room.

“Don’t move! Hands in the air!”

“Fine fine just don’t touch those figurines those are worth more than your life.”

The masked soldier that grabbed him was harsh, latching on a frigid metallic cuffs engulfing his hands. The force meant to keep him down, nearly put his hair out keeping his head uncomfortably to the side. Perfectly in view of the head officer he’d seen in press reports.

“Glad to see we can finally make your acquaintance, Shroud. We’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“Nice to meet you too Captain Flamme. Surprised to see the likes of you reinstated so soon.”

The captain with gray hair glared at him removing a handkerchief from the inside of his coat to hold over his mouth. Which barely hid the sneer he was directing at the arrested Idia.

“Muzzle him as well. I’d hate to subject the council to this worm’s snark.”

“Yes Captain!”

Idia groaned behind the metal clasp being roughly forced on his mouth. He’s certain if it ever came off again he’d have marks. 

But knowing the I.F.F.I he doubt they’d even allow that courtesy with what they had planned for them.

_______________________________________________

“I suggest to the council an  execution for punishment. Or the archaic symbol of severing the offenders hands.”

Chatter among the crowd seemed to be in agreement, nods filtering through the crowd. The heads of the council looked convinced as well, hands raised and about to cast their votes with a press of a button. They hesitated when the crowd began to gasp and whisper. 

All their attention was no longer on the cuffed and muzzled hacker or the Captain who’s gaze barely softened at the individual requesting a platform to speak. A council member resembling the Earth-bird: Crow raised his hand to silence the speculating gathering. Letting the platform they stood on glow with recognition, humming as it floated past the prisoner and closer to the Captain. Standing closer to the council and bridging the gap between them and the prisoner they finally spoke. 

“Mechanic (Y/n) (L/n) of the WonderRide Star code: 42395 reporting.”

The praised star salute and the name of the ship they hailed from had the crowd erupting in another round of gasps. This time containing the excited squeals and chattering of avid fans of the ship. The council member called order once again, struggling a bit more this time. 

Idia was no stranger to the tales and rumors surrounding the ‘WonderRide.’ Online forums stated they had a vile and violent streak, up until recently with the beast-savvy human mechanic. Their exploits often involved in galaxy saving adventures that inspired many a game he indulged in. That didn’t mean he was a fan by any means and was even more prepared for whatever creative punishment the star fleet were to come with.

“Speak mechanic.”

“Aye. I implore the council not to execute or cripple the prisoner in anyway,” they paused already expecting the uproar that the crowd would have. Even Captain Flamme seemed to be taken aback tucking his hand into his coat, no doubt to squeeze the handkerchief he seemed so fond of. 

“Explain yourself mechanic.”

“Gladly.” The mechanic turned for the council, letting the platform split breaking into smaller pieces to accommodate the widesteps forward they were making. “Never before have we had anyone break down the barriers of our system so efficiently. I feel as though chopping his head off now would be a waste.”

The council members allowed the crowd to stir with the same increduality they were feeling. 

“Are you suggesting we employ this criminal?”

The mechanic let a cute smile spread across their face.

“I am.”

More shouts from the crowd. The Captain Flamme took control this time.

“Why would we allow this fiend deeper access to us if he’s already shown to be a threat?”

“The only way a human’s immune system adapts to be better is by being introduced to viruses enough to make antibodies.”

“The I.F.F.I isn’t an immune system. Why take the risk of being infected in the first place?”

The mechanic grew stern, holding the Captain’s gaze while gesturing to the evidence in a hover cage. 

“How many people have you seen demonstrate such a wide knowledge of all kinds of technology?” 

They turned to council addressing them specifically,”Wouldn’t you regret not taking advantage of a mind as great as his?”

Murmurs engulfed the crowds once again and the council members conversed during that time, showing a clear divide among them. After a moment a verdict was reached and the button was pressed with their decree.

“Mechanic and Captain, you both will be in charge of the prisoner’s rehabilitation during the recovery mission. Should he step out of line Rollo Flamme we grant you permission to do as you please.”

“Thank you.”

“Mechanic (L/n)?”

“Yes?”

“This prisoner’s life is spared on your recommendation alone, thus it will be at your expense if he does end up causing damage to I.F.F.I. Do you accept this responsibility?”

“Yes!”

Well look at that, turns out Idia didn’t need to hack the security fields before his execution. He figures he’ll still plant a bug for some later sabotage though. 

_______________________________________________

“From now on you will be under our jurisdiction. Thus you are expected to listen to whatever we order.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry too much, you’ll just be providing support with maintaining wiring and if I do need any help doing anything that’d be faster together.---”

“I doubt we’ll  need you for something like that anyway, (Y/n) is perfectly efficient on their own.”

Hearing the Captain and the mechanic speak to him directly just accentuated the differences he perceived at his trial. The Captain was stiff, borderline rude always quirking his lip in disgust and reaching inside his coat pocket. Whereas the mechanic was incredibly too smiley for working with a man with such a stick up the thorax. It’d be easier to get past the second one.

“So happy to work with you Idia! I was a big fan of that double helix power system you had your gaming system work with. It’s just so much more efficient!”

He figured it’d ultimately worked out that the mechanic was a fan. It’d make developing his latest bug much easier. He kept his answers short as the mechanic show him around the station, finally giving him privacy in his bunk that didn’t last long on courtesy of the Captain. 

“(Y/n) might be eager to give you a chance but I do not. One step out of line and I’ll chop that flaming head of yours myself.”

“Gee you almost sound desperate enough to frame me yourself.”

The insinuation only made the Captain hum, pulling the handkerchief out fully to fervently glare at him from behind it. 

“I will not show any mercy if you hurt them.”

He must be talking about the mechanic. Clearly a case of unrequited feelings for the trigger-happy Captain. Now that he thought about it the handkerchief didn’t come out around them. He’d have to be careful with that. 

“Got it, captain.”

“Tch, fix your uniform you look like a reckless bum.”

The Captain turned to leave, perfectly timed with the door sliding open revealing that stupidly smiling mechanic with a case full of tools. 

“Hey Rollo, heading to the brig?”

The handkerchief was tucked away again and the tired-looking Captain was smiling as though he didn’t just threaten him. 

“I am. Just giving some final warnings to our…guest.”

“Crewmember,” the mechanic corrected, giving a pat on the back to the Captain,”I’ll see you on the deck, shortly.” 

With that the door hissed closed making the mechanic shake their head at the closed door. 

“Sorry about him, he’s just a little uptight with new comers. Trust me he’s definitely going to get nicer as he get’s to know you.”

Idia stifled a snarky ‘doubt it’ with a nod, coming closer to look at the tools he’s been given.

“So for your final instruction we’ll just go over these tools and then I’ll let you get to work. I really hope we can get along Idia!”

Yeah he’s sure he will.

____________________________________________

Just as he had expected, life on this ship was torturous. Beside the Captain that looked for any opportunity to slight him, the crew was filled with violent and bossy extroverts that wasted no time pushing him around. It was perfect fuel for the late nights he would spend crafting the perfect virus for the WonderRide’s system and ultimately I.F.F.I. He was slaving these nights to give it a much more powerful kick this time, considering the only access he was given was such minor programming. The only thing that seemed to get in his way, bringing an uncomfortable heat under his too high collar was—

“Hey Idia, what are you doing up so late?”

That stupid mechanic.

He made up some vague excuse about understanding the innerworkings of the ship. At one point he did need to take some time to understand how it worked but that was in the span of hours since he got here. But it seemed to convince them. 

“W-what are you doing up so late?”

The question came out of nervousness; he didn’t care but the less they spoke about himself the better. They sighed, pulling a hover chair over to his own, twirling about like he would while something was loading.

“I have to reinforce our system’s software, it recently has been a bit more fragile with that pirate group upping the ante.”

“Oh…hows it going?”

“It’s alright, it’s just a matter of being careful. One slip up at this point in the game would mean some of the members on the ship in critical care might lose their specified nursebots. But no pressure.”

“Oh…”

He felt his face and hair heat up in guilt embarrassment. He startled when he felt a warm hand rub soothingly at his back.

“Hey don’t feel too bad, you didn’t know. Besides I’m here to fix it so they’ll be okay.”

“I-if you like I could reverse some of the damage I’ve done. Specifically the more heavy hitting viruses.”

“Really? Thanks Idy that’d help me a lot!”

He thought he couldn’t get any warmer but he was wrong. 

“Idy?”

“Oh it’s my new nickname for you! Do you like it? I can pick something else if you like!”

“No! I-it’s okay! I like it.”

Maybe this little bug could wait for another night, afterall it’s only fair he aid his superior. No other reason. 

______________________________________________________

Red alerts in space games couldn’t compare the distress of the real thing. The unnatural shaking of the ship, the blaring lights, the yelling, the screaming. It had the hacker shaking more than he expected. 

“Move it hacker! (Y/n) needs help handling those pirates. I’ll kill you if you let them down!”

Idia felt wrong blowing off his concern as the Captain shoved him into the mechanic’s cockpit. It sounded as frantic as the flashing lights above. When he entered the room full of monitors and buttons, he expected the beaming mechanic to be seriously locking in like the rest of the crew. Straight-faced and typing frantically as they demanded they get started.

“Hiya Idy, glad you could join the party!”

They were chewing on a straw and casually inviting him to take on different lines of quickly evolving codes all meant to shut down all functions in the WonderRide. It was a constant barrage of violent changing code to sift through and negate with each others code. 

“This is bad (Y/n). We won’t be able to make it!”

“We will. It’ll be close but we can do this.”

“W-what if I throw in my ace in the hole?” 

He vaguely flashed a look at their face illuminated by red light, seeing their eyebrow quirk in confusion. 

“I’ve got another bug, if we can send it to their system it might give us the break we need to get on top of it.”

“Idy that’s crazy,” they paused looking around. Idia was prepared for this, for the betrayal that’d spread across their face as they connected the dots. He let his hands work on their own watching their expression as they turned back to him, holding something in their hand.

“I was thinking the same thing!”

Idia once again felt that the room needed more air circulation, with how hot he was under his collar. Both of them coordinating the release of their viruses to send to the attacking software. Naturally the assault worked perfectly, allowing more than an enough time for the both of them to defend against the slowing barrage of malicious code. Sharing a high-five as the red alarm stopped blaring and coms with the Captain rang through, “Hey we’re regulating our flight patterns and getting out of their range. Splendid work.”

The mechanic cheered while Idia silently celebrated. He’d usually mourn the loss of such a cultivated virus but for whatever reason the Mechanic’s praise seemed to fill the space. 

Idia felt like he could get used to this.

____________________________________________________________

“If you want, I’ll sign your release forms from the WonderRide.”

The words coming from the Captain was startling. A month ago he’d jump at the chance to accept but his sight drifted to look at the empty chair of the mechanic. It was a longer day, the night cycle fully in swing and a good chunk of the crew had retired. 

For a change Idia was on the quarter deck, shadowing the mechanic as the Captain continued to monitor the state of the ship. He seemed more focused than usual despite the peaceful cruise. 

“I realize you may not be dedicated to risking your life when it comes to stopping fellow criminals that threaten to take the I.F.F.I down.” Rollo continued not waiting for Idia’s answer, “I can have you sent to another department, one on the ground and more covert.”

“Y-you would do that?”

The Captain sent a scathing look to him, activating minor shields still continuing to monitor the autopilot. 

“It was an option given after your trial. The members of the WonderRide take an oath both under the council and among each other. Where we’ve promised to protect one another with our lives on the pursuit of peace.”

Idia smugly shook his head,”It still surprises me that the rumored creator of the fireseed, suddenly cares for justice and peace.”

The hacker dryly laughed as the Captain refused to look at him. 

“My closed incident aside. I’ve commited to giving my life protecting members on this ship under the influence of one person.”

That caught Idia’s attention.

“(Y/n)?”

Rollo hummed,”I’ve ultimately dedicated all my energy to eradicate the threats that endanger their life…along with the other members of the WonderRide. But I don’t expect someone like you to want to give your life for that.”

Idia opened his mouth to speak, stopping at a gloved hand stopping him.

“Don’t give me whatever drivel you’ve come up with to maintain your innocence. I can tell you enjoy their attention but I advise you leave before you get too attached.”

Grayish, green-blue eyes stared into Idia’s golden eyes. 

Goading him. 

Testing him.

“Otherwise you’ll surely end up dying, protecting them.”

Idia wanted to say something but a blaring bleeping on his screen stopped him. Sitting up properly to blow the graphic up on the large screen.

“There’s a ship directed towards us. It’s moving way too fast to be a cruiser….I think?”

Rollo took control turning off autopilot with a push of a button.

“You’re right. I suspected they’d come for us like this.” 

He flicked on a button that flashed an orange warning along the halls and walls—instructing everyone to strap in and secure themselves. Idia hurriedly was going to do the same until Rollo yelled.

“Not you. I’m going to engage in some evasive maneveurs but I need you to secure (Y/n).”

“What? But can’t they see the warning.”

“They should but I know (Y/n). They’ll have their nose stuck in whatever their doing, far too distracted to actually secure themself.”

For whatever reason that comment was painful.

“But I don’t know wh–”

Rollo clicked his tongue, as he tapped the floating keyboard. Letting it shift and fold to resemble a pilot’s handles and buttons. Putting his hand on the handle and lightly moving it, Idia could feel the ship sway in sync.

“You’ll have to decide if you want to quit later but for now you need to secure them. Now!”

After managing to get a decent foothold the hacker ran off, mind racing as he tried to recall what they ran off to do. Vaguely remembering that they mentioned wires he took off to the wire room only to find it empty. 

“Where else could they have gone when they said–”

Immediately he took off further down the hall closer to the kitchen. Recalling how they occasionally brought the topic of snacks back up and then checking the digital storage copies. He ran occasionally bumping into the walls as the jerking of the ship got more intense.

He yelled when he arrived at the closed door to engineering room. Banging his fists on the door in frustration before finally looking at the keypad. Realizing this room took a specific code, Idia pulled out a master keycard. One he’d replicated and kept for himself.

Finally hearing the hissing of the door it opened to the dark engineering room filled with electric storage bins that displayed a secured locked signal. Everything seemed in place except for the mechanic on the floor motionless. 

“(Y/n)!”

Sliding to the ground he worked to sit them up, leaning the mechanic on his chest while he brought his face close feeling the light push of air against his cheek. He immediately backed away reeling with relief and bashfullness. He adjusted them to lean on him between his legs, trapping them against on of the organizational beams in the room. Holding tight to the bar and to (Y/n) themself he thought about what Rollo had said. 

He had the option to return to the life he knew. 

Stars, if he wanted to he could even recraft the bug that nearly brought the entire federation down. Return to the virtual space he ruled over, constantly aiming for the top spot in the galaxies. 

Or he could stay here…with you. His smiling mechanic, that shared in his love for technology. That spoke to him like he didn’t dismantle years of your hard work in a week. That was still cracking jokes while their ship was under siege. Staring down at your sleeping face he clutched the mechanic even tighter, letting his head rest against your own. 

Was it crazy that he sympathized with Rollo now? Outright threatening any newcomers on the ship. Hoping to squash the pirate regime not because they’re a threat to the federation but because they’ve caused you pain. 

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Unlike Rollo–who was better suited for a leading role–Idia was immediately placed in your department. Demanded special attention by the council because everyone was so cautious about him. Being his solemotivator and friend was more mandatory then he could have hoped. It’s a given what his answer would be.

“The real crime would be to give you up.”

[literaryuppsala]

I’m not sure if your requests are open! If not just ignore me !! Can you do a Hvitserk x reader where she’s a Targaryen that has been exploring other lands on dragonback and comes across Kattegat which has never seen a dragon? I just love when the OC is the center of attention 💕💕

Alright this took me a while to make and I had so much fun while doing It, as an asoiaf fan, to write for a Targaryen character was always something I wanted to do, but just never had the opportunity so thank you for your ask, i really loved it.

I'm gonna need your willing suspension of disbelief in two things here: asoiaf and vikings maps and languages spoken, with that being said, there's no warnings, no smut, just a kiss, a few of dragon rides and Ivar being the bad bitch he's always been.

The end is cut short because I totally gonna need more than just one chapter to develop this relationship, let me know if you want something like this.

Enjoy ♥

Life was a willow (and It bent right to your wind)

You were the center of attention since you were born, being the only daughter to the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, you inherited your mother’s title: the realm’s delight. You were Rhaenyra’s youngest child, not an heir, just a daughter and you loved that. Your brothers had to deal with lords and lands and battles, while you could do things as you will, and to be honest, what you loved the most was flying around on your dragon. 

You bonded with her very early and started flying at the age of seven, the same age your mother started flying Syrax. You named your dragon Seafyre, it was a she dragon, your favorite thing in the world, your best friend and your protector. She had a beautiful silver color with blue scales, her flames were blueish with a hint of silver and despite not being an adult dragon yet, she was growing very fast, you wondered If she would grow to be as big as Balerion was. 

Rhaenyra loved you dearly, at first she wanted to protect you from the matters of the Seven Kingdoms, but as you grew up, she saw so much of herself in you, she wanted you to do great things, wanted the people to know you not just as a beautiful young woman, but a strong princess. Seeing the love you had for your dragon and despite Daemon’s resistance, she decided to introduce you to the truth. 

Rhaenyra’s claim wasn’t as strong as Aegon’s simply because she wasn’t a man. Despite winning the Dance of the Dragons and killing her brother, not all of the lords accepted her power. They plotted against her and she knew she needed allies to call for when the time would come. You were smart and gentle, and the Queen decided to make you a messenger: you would fly to further lands and offer alliances with the Queen.

“You’re late.” Your mother scolded you as you entered the council room. 

“Lost track of time.” You answered a little embarrassed, taking off your gloves as you walked towards her. 

“Come, we need to talk.” She gently touched your shoulder as she guided you towards the table. 

Gathered around the table there was only the hand of the queen, your father Daemon and the Master of Whisperers, you knew what that meant. 

Every time the Master of Whisperers heard of new lands, he would come to Rhaenyra to tell her about the possibility of new allies, he was the one to tell her you were the perfect messenger for Dorne. After Prince Qoren’s death, his daughter Alliandra ascended to the throne. During the Dance, Rhaenyra asked for Dorne’s support but was denied, Prince Qoren decided he wouldn’t step into that fight. However, after killing Aegon and ascending, the Queen tried one more time, with you. Later, you and Alliandra ended up becoming friends and Rhaenyra finally had Dorne’s support.

This happened a lot of times. Rhaenyra would send you first, on your dragon, like a messenger of peace, you would study the place and the lord, would understand his needs and try to become a friend, then you’d come back home with information and most likely an invitation for a meeting with your mother and your father, this helped Rhaenyra to secure her time on the throne, but she knew she should use as much help as she could get. 

“We heard from a land of men across the Narrow Sea.” The Master of Whisperers started. 

“In Essos?” You asked with a frown.

“Beyond the Free Cities, beyond the Dothraki Sea. Where none of us had ever been.” He continued and you nodded. 

Rhaenyra held your hand before telling you: “We want you to go there.”

“That’s further than anywhere I’ve ever been…” You looked at her with widened eyes. “And I thought we’d had enough allies by now.” You crossed your arms in front of your chest. 

“It will never be enough.” Your mother answered. “We need as much support as we can get, you know that.”

“I know, I know…” Your shoulders brushed and you looked down, she cradled your face between her hands. 

“What is It, sweet girl?” She asked gently, making you look at her. 

“It’s just… Will this ever end? I mean… You… Sending me far away from home to find people willing to help you, offering your help, preparing for a fight that never comes.”

“This fight is lurking between the curtains of your mother’s house.” Daemon intervened. “It will come… Sooner or later.” He walked to you, taking Rhaenyra’s place and holding your shoulders, he gently touched your chin making you look up at him. “I don’t like this as much as you do, but at this point you’ve done it too many times…” 

“Seafyre will protect you.” Rhaenyra stated.

“We trust you.” Daemon caught your attention. “It’ll be just like the others.” 

Everything was settled and the next day you were ready to go. Seafyre was waiting for you at the pit as you said your goodbyes to your parents. 

“We don’t know their costumes, be sure to protect yourself and your dragon no matter what.” Rhaenyra started. “Your well being is more important than any agreement, so take care.” She kissed your forehead, a tiny smile on her face. 

“Yes, your grace.” 

“Be strong.” Daemon warned you, a gentle hand on your shoulder. 

You smiled at him before walking towards your dragon, you caressed her neck and mounted her, looking back over your shoulder before flying. 

You were used to traveling long distances on the back of your dragon, that was never a problem for you, but the thought of going to a foreign land so far from Kings Landing was still leaving you uneasy. Would they welcome you? Would they be aggressive? You had no idea. And after crossing the Narrow Sea, the thought became stronger, so did your fear. 

You crossed the Free Cities and the Dothraki Sea in one day, but what you didn’t know was that, after crossing those lands you would meet with another sea, a darker one. You caressed your dragon one more time imagining it would be a longer journey than you expected, she would be more tired as soon as you arrived, that would stop you from coming back right after.  

“Keep going, girl.” You whispered in hopes she would hear you. 

By morning you finally reached the sight of land and blinked incredulously: there really was a faraway land after the end of the world. You landed at the beach, Seafyre was so exhausted she laid down immediately. 

“This was great work, my girl. You did great, I’ll find you something to eat.” You murmured caressing her sides. 

You clearly caught the attention of the people there, the little houses around the beach had a few people gathering outside just to stare at you and your dragon. Women and children looked dumbfounded at both of you.

“Look, Lagertha!” A tiny voice sounded some place into the houses, you searched for the source, and it didn’t take long for you to find it, a little boy rushed towards you with a little girl running right behind him. 

“HALI! ASA!” This time a woman screamed, she ran towards the children. 

You quickly grabbed the two before they reached Seafyre and crouched before them with a smile. 

“Calm down, she’s tired.” You warned. 

“Is this… Is this…” The little boy stuttered.

“A dragon. Her name is Seafyre.” You helped him.

“Seafyre…” The little girl repeated, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the dragon.

“Is she yours?” He asked and you nodded. “You came from the sky with her, flying on her back!” 

“Not from the sky, from-”

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed the children’s shoulders and pulled them away from you, the woman was defensive and you understood, so you stood up and smiled at her, trying your best to look harmless. 

“What are you?” She asked with a growl. 

“A woman, just like you.” You offered your hand for her, she looked at you with a frown and didn’t take it. You withdrew your hand and smiled embarrassed. “I come from another kingdom, one that is far away from here. I come in peace.” You tried again.

“What kingdom? Are you from England?”

“England? Is it another kingdom?” It was your turn to look at her and ask with a confused frown.

“What kingdom are you from?” She insisted.

“Westeros, I’m from Westeros.”

“Never heard of It”

“Never heard of yours either, yet here I am.” 

She was dumbfounded, suspicious to say the least. Looking at you and at your dragon with a deep frown on her face, It was clear to you that these people never once saw a dragon in their lives, you were shocked but no so much, you were separated from each other by two large oceans, a dragon is just one of the probable differences between you. 

“I believe your name is Lagertha, right?” You tried but she didn’t respond. “I know you’re scared but I come from a long journey, and I need to feed my dragon. I see you have a few animals around, I wonder If you could give me one.” 

“What if I don’t?”

“I can’t control her when she’s hungry.” 

Lagertha looked at the gigantic animal and gulped. 

“Come.” She talked to the children who whined and struggled a little to follow her, but did it anyway.

You waited patiently until she came back with two big pigs, showing them to you. You nodded before taking the leash from her hands and taking the pigs towards your dragon. That would give her enough strength for hunting for herself afterwards. You put the two pigs in front of her, she sniffed the air and opened her eyes. She quickly ate the two pigs with a loud growl, startling Lagertha who walked back two or three steps, away from you both. 

“She’s sweet most of the time.” You said loud, caressing her sides as she calmly laid back down. “But not when she’s hungry.” You joked before looking back at Lagertha. 

“I think we should go to see the king.” She mumbled under her breath, trying to look away from your dragon and focus on your face.

“Don’t you think he would like to see her first?” You tried.

“Come here?”

“Yes. This way he can see the nature of my offer with his own eyes.” 

She didn’t answer, just left without saying a word. You stayed there for a few hours feeling a little stupid but before giving up, you saw a group of people coming to the beach, one of them in a chariot while the others followed. They talked among themselves and looked at you with widened eyes. You prepared for their approach, standing beside your sleeping dragon trying to look as peaceful as possible. 

“So, is this the beast?” Said the man coming down from the chariot. 

“Her name is Seafyre.” You corrected him, noticing he needed the help of a pair of crutches to walk. 

“You wanted to see the king. Here I am.” He answered with a smirk. “I’m Ivar.” 

“It’s an honor, Lord Ivar.” You bowed. “As I said to Lady Lagertha, I come in peace, I come with an offer.” 

“What kind of offer?” He asked suspiciously. 

“An alliance.” You answered. “I come as Princess of Westeros to offer you an alliance from my kingdom to yours. My mother, the Queen, is willing to fight for you with all her powers when you ask for, as long as you fight for us when we do the same.” 

“Do you have more of these?” He asked, a sparkle in his eyes as he looked at your dragon and you nodded. “Can you bring them to the fight?” 

“I can.” You smiled and he did the same. 

“You can enjoy our hospitality for as long as you need, then you can teach me more about your kingdom and tell me more about this offer and your dragons.” 

***

You were all gathered in a place they called “the great hall”. It was very cold, and reminded you of Winterfell. You sat around a fireplace at the center and everyone was paying close attention to you. Later you learned they were all related, the king and his brothers: Ubbe, Hvitserk and Sigurd, their wives sat by their sides and all of them looked at you with widened eyes and suspicious looks. You were very different from them with your violet eyes and platinum hair, and your Targaryen attire in bold red drew attention against their black tunics. 

“Where’s this West- Westeros?” Ivar talked first. 

“Across the sea…” You started to answer but were quickly interrupted. 

“We traveled across the sea, never heard of a kingdom called Westeros.” He insisted. 

“You haven’t traveled enough.” You smiled and shrugged. “It took me almost two days on my dragon, and dragons travel fast.” 

“Why is it that you’re looking for an alliance so far from your home?” Ivar’s brother, Ubbe, asked you. 

“Why would you ask for an alliance?” You asked like it was obvious. “Cause it’s good for both parts.” 

“You gotta tell me what’s the good thing for you in It.” Ivar continued. 

You sighed. “My mother is the Queen, but she had to fight for her throne, she earned It… However not every lord of Westeros is comfortable with her power.” 

“You need support.” Ivar mumbled. 

“Don’t you need it?” You asked, a frown on your face. “Don’t you have your own wars to fight?”

“I can very much use the support princess, I mean we’re talking about dragons here…” He smiled. “But I don’t need It, I’ve been fighting my wars with my bare hands way before you came here.”

“So, you’re saying my offer doesn’t interest you?” You asked with a frown.

“That’s not what I’m saying…” He corrected you. “See, as I said, you are welcome to enjoy our hospitality here as long as you need. And we can keep talking about your offer in a way that can be good for both of us.”

Someone filled your cup one more time and you smiled kindly at her, Ivar poked at one of his brothers, Hvitserk, and whispered something in his ear, he looked at you before both of them left the table, excusing themselves, they crossed the curtains and vanished on the back of the great hall as you followed them with your eyes until you lost their sight. You looked around feeling very conscious of your own loneliness in that place, there really was a feast going on, they were quick to prepare the food, but all of them looked at you with fear in their eyes, whispering to each other while staring at you, being the center of attention never bothered you like that before, you drank from your cup and sighed, feeling frustrated already. 

“Are you sure?” Hvitserk asked Ivar, his voice low under his breath while his brother put himself a cup of ale. 

“I am sure. I can sense she needs us more than we need her…” He sipped from his cup before huffing out a frustrated laugh. “At least, in a way she needs us more.” 

“You think she’ll accept It?” Hvitserk insisted. 

“Well, why not?” Ivar shrugged. 

“She’s already offering us her dragons, I mean, she might feel like she doesn’t need to give us anything else.”

“So, we’ll convince her.”

The first rays of sun crossed the cracks of the windows and woke you up, painfully reminding you you were not at your own chambers back in King’s Landing. You sat at the bed and stretched a little, seeing a few clean clothes laid down beside your bed alongside a bow with fresh water. After freshening yourself and changing your clothes, you left the room they prepared for you, walked towards the noise you heard coming from the great hall, but as soon as you crossed the curtains, they stopped talking. 

“Princess!” The same little girl from the other day ran towards you, offering her hand for you to hold, and you smiled accepting her offer. “Come sit by my side.” 

“Of course.” You sat by her side and were quickly followed by the same little boy. “What are your names?”

“I’m Asa.” She answered with a smile. “This is my brother Hali.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you both.” 

“Do you have other dragons??” The boy asked excitedly.

“I gotta tell you, every person in my family has a dragon.” You answered proudly. “My mother’s dragon is called Syrax and my father’s, Caraxes. All my brothers and sisters have dragons of their own.” 

“How many dragons do you have?” Ivar questioned. 

“A lot. Like I said, every person from my family has one.” 

“Where did you find them?” Little Asa asked. 

“Well, that’s a long story.” 

“We’d love to hear It.” Hvitserk was the one to speak this time, you looked at him and nodded. 

You spent the whole morning telling the stories about your family, how they managed to escape from Old Valyria with a few dragons, how the family remained on Dragon Stone for centuries before Aegon decided to finally fly to King's Landing. They paid attention to everything you said, especially the kids who seemed in awe with all the stories about battles and dragons. You learned that Hali and Asa were Torvi’s children and that she was Ubbe’s wife. Ivar was married to another woman called Freydis, and Sigurd and Hvitserk were still unmarried. 

“And he was as big as the sky?” Hali asked with big eyes.

“Balerion could strike a shadow over a whole city when he flew.” You answered with a smile. 

“Did you see him?” Hali’s eyes sparkled.

“He passed before I was born, but we still have a dragon from his time, she’s almost as big as he was, her name is Vhagar.” 

“Does she belong to anyone?” Torvi asked you as curious as her children.

“My sister, Baela, is her rider.” 

“Isn’t she too old?” Ubbe questioned.

“She’s very old, that’s why she’s so big, we suspect her time is already coming to an end like It came to Balerion, we’re just waiting.” 

By the end of the day you were all gathered at the beach, watching as Seafyre flew around. You felt when a tiny hand grabbed yours and looked down, little Asa stared at you with hopeful eyes. 

“Do you want to fly with me?” You asked crouching in front of her. 

“REALLY?” She asked excitedly. 

“Really! Go and ask your mother.” 

The little girl ran towards her parents, Ubbe caught her in his arms and they both walked towards you with suspicious looks. 

“Isn’t It dangerous?” Torvi asked you. 

“No, you can trust me.”

They looked at each other before putting the little girl back on the ground, they nodded, letting her come to you, you grabbed her hand and walked towards the sea shore, you called Seafyre’s name and she immediately came to you, landing right by your side. You rubbed her sides before helping Asa on her top, mounting behind her very quickly. 

“You can hold here.” You pointed to the handle of the saddle, whispering in her ear. “Or you can hold my arms…” 

Asa was very brave, laughing and screaming through the whole time you were flying, she held your arms firmly, but for a moment she dropped it and raised them up her head, making you hold her against your chest with a little more strength. When you landed back on the beach she was already begging you to fly again, but her brother, Hali, seemed to have his own plans. You gave both children a few rides on your dragon, carefully handing them back to their parents afterwards and promising to do the same the next morning. 

After a few hours you saw yourself alone on the beach, watching as Seafyre made a show of eating fishes from the ocean. You felt a presence beside you, looking around to find Hvitserk standing a few feets away from you, you smiled to yourself imagining he feared to be close to you because of your dragon. 

“You can come closer, you know.” You told him and he looked at you, his cheeks reddened a bit and he looked down before approaching. 

“Hali and Asa are way more brave than I am.” He smiled to himself before looking at you, as if he was taking a moment, his smile slowly died on his face and he looked forward before starting to speak again. “Princess, I have to talk to you.”

“Sure.” You answered quickly. 

“My brother has an offer he wants to make to your mother.” 

“This can be arranged, you can prepare your ships to follow me back to King's Landing to have a meeting with her.” You reassured him and he nodded. Both of you stayed in silence for a moment and you felt him uneasy. “But that’s not the only thing you want to ask me, is it?” 

Hvitserk looked down at his own feet, his arms firmly crossed behind his back. “No… It isn’t.”

“Lord Hvitserk I can assure you that my family always respects our alliances, you have no reason to fear, we’ll keep our word.” 

“But you understand we need more than your word, right? We’re not very much of a threat to you, I mean we don’t have dragons, and we need to protect ourselves.” 

This time you looked away, but immediately felt his gaze on you. It made you warm all over for some reason. 

“Is that the nature of your offer, my lord?”

“Yes.” 

A gust of wind crossed your body and you hugged yourself, knowing exactly when Hvitserk stopped looking at you by the way your skin raised in goosebumps because of the cold breeze. 

“It’s a marriage offer.” Hvitserk continued. 

“My mother is already married.” You joked. 

“Are you?”

“I’m not looking for a husband, Lord Hvitserk.” 

“You’re looking for an alliance.”

“In the name of my family, yes. But I am not selling myself in order to get It.” You looked at him with a frown. “And I thought your brother was already married.”

“He is.”

“Than who…”

“Me.”

Both of you looked at each other at the same time. Hvitserk was a handsome man, beautiful green eyes staring intently at you, studying your face like he wanted to know what you were thinking, he caught your eye before, especially that morning when he seemed so invested in your stories, but at that moment you didn’t know if he was truly interested in you or It was just because of his brother’s marriage offer. Seafyre landed by your side startling him, who walked back a step or two, looking dumbfounded at her.

“Do you ever fear her?” Hvitserk asked you while still looking at your dragon. 

“Never. She would never hurt me.” You answered under your breath. 

“You said you can’t control her when she’s hungry.” He insisted. 

“She’s very protective of me, she might resent me for a bit, but never hurt me.” 

You looked at her, rubbing her skin while Hvitserk looked at you with a sparkle in his eyes, he was mesmerized.

“She’s a wonderful animal.” He breathed out.

“She is…” You responded, taking a step away when you noticed she was about to fly again. “You know…” You sighed, looking forward while she flew away. “My mother married another man before she married my father. It was someone chosen for her, someone they said would be good for her. She wasn’t fully happy with him, this I know of, because she always loved my father. Eventually her first husband died and she could finally marry him…” You looked at him. “She promised me she would never force me into marriage, she didn’t want a life of sadness for me, she won’t accept your brother’s offer.”

“Would you?” He insisted.

”I don’t see marriage as a political deal.” You told him. “I want to marry out of love, not out of duty.”

“Are you already saying no?” He asked under his breath. 

“Yes.”

That night you struggled to sleep, tossing and turning on the bed, you couldn’t keep your mind off of that man and how you felt warmer under his gaze. You sighed, stared at the ceiling and mumbled to yourself: “I need some air”. You changed your clothes and left your bedroom, walking over to the beach to clear your head. As soon as you got there you noticed Hvitserk sitting on the sand, surprisingly close from Seafyre, a cup in hand while he seemed to be talking to himself. 

“Can’t sleep?” You asked as you approached. 

“Too many thoughts in my head.” He answered after drinking from his cup. “You?”

“Mine too.” You answered, looking at him. 

“Yeah… A lot of things to think about, right?”

“Yeah…” You sat by his side, staying in silence for a moment, feeling the warm breeze of the ocean on your face. You looked at him as he drank another sip of his cup, Seafyre slept peacefully a few feets away from you both and you smiled to yourself before speaking again. “I see you’re not scared of her anymore.” You nudged his arm and he looked at the dragon. 

“I guess I’m too drunk to think of self preservation.” He answered and you smiled. Another moment of silence surrounded you both before he spoke again. “Would you take me for a ride?”

“You mean now?” You asked him with a frown and he nodded. “Yeah… Sure.” 

You approached Seafyre and caressed her sides, waking her up whispering something in valyrian, Hvitserk stood up behind you, nervously waiting. You mounted her and offered your hand for him, he walked hesitantly towards you, holding your hand before mounting the dragon right behind you, quickly wrapping his arms around your waist, sending goosebumps all over your body, you trembled. 

“Hold tight.” You warned him before flying and he heard you, squeezing you tight between his arms. 

 “I am…” He mumbled into your ear. 

Despite the cold wind cutting roughly through your body, you felt warm. Hvitserk’s hands held firmly on your stomach, you had your back against his chest while he rested his chin on your shoulders. To have him so close brought a different feeling to you, a sort of dizziness that would blur your sight, raise the beating of your heart and make your hands start sweating. You turned your head and looked at him, he had his eyes closed, face slightly red from the wind.

“Open your eyes.” You mumbled under your breath.

You watched as he obeyed you, opening his eyes a little hesitantly, blinking incredulously as he looked forward. You smiled to yourself while making your dragon go up faster and Hvitserk held you tighter. Your skin prickled, goosebumps spread all over your body as you felt his own pressed closely against yours. 

“This… This is-” He whispered in your ear and you trembled again.

He then looked at you, your faces so close you could feel his hot breath against your cheeks, you gulped, quickly looking forward. The ride was cut short, you feared for yours and Hvitserk’s safety considering how much he affected you and as you landed, he easily dismounted your dragon, offering his hand to help you do the same, as your feet touched the sand, your legs betrayed you, shaking from whatever feeling that man was causing you and you needed help to stand, his hands wrapped around your waist one more time and he used his own body to keep you still. Your hands went straight to his shoulders and you looked up at him. 

Hvitserk was even more beautiful from that close, his lips were a thin line as he stared intently at you, your stomach turned again and before you even thought about moving away, he kissed you. His lips softly touched yours for a second and you immediately closed your eyes, like reflex, he then kissed you properly, lips crashing against yours hungrily, tongue massaging yours into your mouth, when you ran out of breath and you separated, a thin line of saliva kept you connected for a moment before parting. His hands came to cup up your cheeks, your noses touching while you both looked into each other's eyes, gazing, lips swollen, still wet from your kiss. Seafyre growled right beside you, startling you both and making you move away from each other. 

“Someone is jealous I guess.” Hvitserk said, rubbing the back of his neck a little embarrassed. 

“I guess we should go back… And try to sleep.” You mumbled, still dizzy. “It’s late.” 

Hvitserk nodded and offered his hand for you to hold and you both walked back to your bedrooms. He walked you towards yours and kissed your cheek goodbye before going to his. As you laid down on your bed again, something was different. You smiled to yourself as you closed your eyes and touched your own lips, his face coming immediately to your mind as you thought about that kiss. That wasn’t your first kiss, of course, you had your little flings as you were growing up, but nothing ever left you so uneasy, Hvitserk made you feel different. 

The next morning you were back at the beach, wondering If you could just fly back to your home, trying to avoid Hvitserk’s thoughts but failing as the kiss found a way to crawl back to your mind. As a figment of your imagination, he showed up at the beach, walking towards you with a little smile on his face. 

“You were very silent this morning.” He told you as he approached. 

“Hali and Asa weren’t there to make me talk too much.” You joked, avoiding his gaze. 

“What are you thinking?”

“Coming back home, I guess It’s time.” 

He stayed silent for a moment and, again, you felt when his gaze abandoned your body, the ocean breeze engulfing you uncomfortably. 

“Seafyre is well rested.” You spoke again. 

“What about our alliance?”

“I told you, I’m not willing to sacrifice my entire life in an unhappy marriage just to make an alliance.”

“Would that be so bad?” His hand carefully touched your forearm and you finally looked at him. 

“Are you really interested in me, Lord Hvitserk?” You asked him back, staring intently at him. “You want me, or my dragons?”

He caressed your cheeks with the back of his hand and you unconsciously leaned into his touch, closing your eyes. 

“I already know you’re the most incredible woman I have ever met, I just want to get to know you more…” 

“What are you asking me?”

“To give me one chance, I want to be your lover, want to conquer your love.” 

[felassan]

BioWare have announced that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has hit its Alpha Milestone, a huge step forward in the game's development [source].

A blog post by BioWare General Manager Gary McKay reads:

Game Update

A New Milestone for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf

Moving closer and closer to completion. Hello,

In my last blog, back in February, I talked about the next Dragon Age™game entering the production phase. Well, we’ve come a very long way since then, and the team is incredibly happy to announce a huge step forward in the development of the game you now know as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf™: We have just completed our Alpha milestone!

Up to this point, we’ve been working hard on the various parts of the game, but it’s not until the Alpha milestone that a game all comes together. Now, for the first time, we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end. We can see, hear, feel, and play everything as a cohesive experience.

NOW WHAT?

Of course, the game is not finished by any means, but Alpha is one of the most important game development milestones for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we can now turn our sights toward bringing the visual fidelity to its final form and iterating on gameplay features. The big question now is, “Where do we focus our efforts?” To answer that, we solicit feedback from a number of sources, including our Community Council members who each have unique perspectives and experiences, our quality verification team, and extensive internal playtesting. Gathering feedback from multiple sources gives us the greatest insight on where we need to spend more time improving the experience.

Additionally, we can now evaluate the game's pacing, how relationships evolve over time, and the player’s progression, as well as narrative cohesion—essentially how the story comes together. We can take the story we’ve written and see if we’re expressing it well through the characters, dialogue, cinematics, and ultimately, the player’s journey. Now that we have the ability to do a complete playthrough, we can iterate and polish on the things that matter most to our fans.

Hitting Alpha was the culmination of so much effort from the entire team and we used this milestone as an opportunity to come together and celebrate. We held a hybrid-style event with people onsite while others joined remotely and the team showcased their work to everyone at BioWare. We even took some time to do something fun and non-work related—a virtual escape room where we had to work together to help someone on camera find their way out. It was a really great time, and no matter where our devs are, it's important to share these types of moments together.

START TO FINISH

Now that we’re finally able to experience the entire game, for me, my favorite part is the characters. Whether followers, allies, or villains, they’re woven into the game in ways that take a concept that’s always been a part of the Dragon Age DNA—stories about people—and push it further than ever before. The characters help contextualize the world and the stakes, and I can’t wait until we’re able to start really discussing them in depth.

It’s also exciting to finally be able to bring our fans to parts of the world that we’ve previously hinted at, but never been able to fully explore—like the city of Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire. We’ve talked about Minrathous in previous games, and now you’ll finally be able to visit! It’s a city built on and fuelled by magic, and the ways in which that has come through in its visual identity, and what that looks like in comparison to previous cities we’ve visited in Dragon Age, are pretty spectacular.

As I mentioned earlier, the Alpha milestone is an extremely important one for us, but there’s more work to be done. We also want to continue being transparent with you, our community, and keep you up to date on what we’re crafting. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying our development updates on Dreadwolf this year as we’ll be looking to share more in the future.

IN CLOSING

Of course, Dreadwolf isn’t the only thing happening here at BioWare™! We have a team hard at work envisioning what the future holds for a new single-player Mass Effect™ game. And we look forward to celebrating our community on N7 Day next month. The SWTOR team also continues to work on their next update, so keep an eye on SWTOR.com and their social media accounts for any and all details on the coming game update.

It’s an incredible time at BioWare! We have so many cool things to show you in the future. Until then, thanks for being part of our community. We couldn’t do this without you.

Stay well,

Gary McKay

General Manager [source]

[erisweekofficial]

Tonight we're highlighting @chairofchaos!

🔥 Choas is a masterful Azris writer that has our hearts in her hands. If you're looking for something delightfully angsty or heartfelt (or both), look no further than her writing.

Although all of her work is amazing, we're currently crying over Letters of Love, which details Eris and Azriel falling in love and their relationship over time. Definitely get some tissues for this one. 😭😭And if you can't take our word for it take one of her fans:

The Letters of Love series has me spellbound in a way I can not describe. The love, the angst, the writing! I will forever cherish it. Chaos is truly a wonderful writer even if she is chaotic and I will devour this series until the end of time.

Be sure to check out their masterlist, including this Azris drabble!

Read on to learn some of Chaos's favorite Eris headcanons and which national/regional park Eris would get lost and die (or not die) in.

yes. we asked this.

Give us a name for one of Eris’ Brothers

James (so that he can use the “Um. James…” TikTok sound. A modern Eris would secretly have a TikTok. Super secret, but he would have one). Also, a relatively modern name simply because I’m tired of trying to get my word processor to recognize the validity of “Eris” and “Feyre” and even “Elain.” (No, do not add an “e”. I said, DO NOT ADD AN “E”!)

Give us a name for one of Eris’ hounds

Butter. Eris named him as a child because the hound liked to steal things off the kitchen counter, and the first thing he ever stole was a stick of butter. Eris got in a little trouble for it, so the official story is that his fur was lighter than is typical for a smokehound, and smooth like butter. The truth is that he fell in love with the little thief, and wanted to commemorate that first occurrence of thievery. It was a subtle act of rebellion on Eris’ part, and the chef was not pleased when he heard.

Give us some of your favorite Eris headcanons!

Eris is the family secret keeper. His mother tells him things. Lucien tells him things. His other brothers don’t mean to tell him things, but they drop hints and he’s smart enough to put things together. He goes unnoticed by adults as a young person, and is able to gather more information than anyone thought was possible. In doing so, he accidentally positions himself as knowledgeable on many family and court matters he probably shouldn’t even have known about in the first place. People also have a habit of just sharing things with him at random times, so he knows a considerable amount about each of the family guards, the Autumn Council, and their families. He’s a favorite with the court gossips because he will listen. He will rarely contribute, but he will always listen. As a result, everyone in court believes he is on their side. How this will play out when he is High Lord, Eris has no idea. For now, he’s happy hearing their tales of woe. Lord Cherry’s son eloped with the royal groundskeeper who taught Eris how to garden? Eris is absolutely shocked! Of course, he was the one who gave them a carriage to go to Spring, but Lord Cherry doesn’t need to know that.

Who scares Eris the most?

Eris is most scared of himself. I saw a post just the other day where a person told their therapist they were worried they would destroy everything, and their therapist told them they didn’t have that kind of power. They found it helpful because knowing you don’t have the power to change huge things in rage helped them. The difference here is that Eris has that kind of power by his proximity to societal power and his literal powers. He can destroy everything that matters to him if he is careless enough, and that terrifies him. He fears he would be powerful enough to change the world, and wishes he did not have that amount of power, because he has seen first hand how power corrupts. Outside of himself, he is most scared of Lucien. Lucien has more power than he could even imagine, and Eris isn’t sure his brother knows. At the same time, he fears the day Lucien discovers Eris knew, and that Lucien will never forgive him for keeping the knowledge to himself.

What kind of father does Eris imagine he would be, and does that differ from his actual father?

Eris imagines himself to be a brutal, unyielding, possibly even abusive father, as Beron was. He has never known a loving father, and while he believes it is theoretically possible, he looks in the mirror and sees Beron staring back at him. In every way possible, Beron has shaped Eris to be unforgiving, unyielding, brutal, and cruel. Eris worries that he will become Beron if he has children. It takes someone telling him that his worries and fear of becoming his father are what can keep him from becoming Beron. He needs a lot of support to feel confident enough that it is possible in order to become a father at all. Once he has that support, I think he does everything he can to be a better father than the one he had.

What national/regional park would Eris get lost and die (or not die) in?

Eris is dying in Petrified Forest National Park as we speak. He’s dying of heat related injuries and sun exposure. That male was not made for the desert. Fire powers cannot save you from the Arizona sun.

[moonlight-tmd]

Hey, I heard your a fan of Blitzbee. Are you by any chance also a fan of Angst? The kind that might have Bee switching sides if the Autobots aren't careful ;3

Actually i wrote something like that a while back! Took a bit to find it but here.

Basically the reason Bee switched sides in this one is because his friends treated him badly- they never noticed him hurting or ignored when he wanted to say or suggest something. They even scolded him when he did something bad or a mistake happened. He never got any praise for doing good on missions. They made him feel unwanted and alone even when they said they were his friends and acted like it most of the time.

Then he met Blitzwing and they fell in love. Bee told him over time how the others were treating him, Blitzwing told him how the Autobots Council were a reason for the war- they were selfish and bad and didn't care about the citizen.

Bee kept meeting with Blitzwing until Megatron got revived. After that he was always looking out at the skies in search to find the Warlord to know more. One time he found him and confronted him, to Meg's surprise the little bot seemed adamant to the idea of switching sides. They set up few other private meetings like this and soon enough Bee was free to join up.

In the meantime he started questioning his teammates morale and reasons to act- from what he knew Optimus was very obedient to the autobot cause, Ratchet was more on a neutral territory with this cuz medics couldn't really side with anyone in war, Bulkhead and Prowl didn't really care or knew about the whole situation other than the Autobot propaganda that the 'Cons are bad. Sari didn't count for she was just a kid but very much fooled by the lies of the Council told by Optimus. While they all were friends to him they were blind to the obvious and hurt him, he realized that he wasn't as close with them as he believed he was. That made him pick up arguments with them more often. After one certain fight that left a bitter aftertaste he decided that enough was enough.

He packed up and left the same night. He didn't bother leaving any note for the others, they needed to deal with the consequences of their actions. He camped out at his hideout for a while before sending the signal to Megatron to come pick him up to get to the other base.

All this time Bee was planning he never told Blitzwing any of it, he felt like if he did then Blitz would be against it or something- as much as he loved him he didn't want anyone but himself influencing his decision. Which is why when Megatron called a team meeting to introduce the newest asset in their team Blitz just stood there shocked. Only after Bee was left to settle into his new quarters Blitz approached him, Bee was feeling guilty about not telling him but now he could spend all the time he wanted with his beloved, Blitz came to terms that he'd be working with Bee rather quickly- in fact he was also happy he can openly interact with him without the threat of being sentenced a traitor.

Still, it was difficult to hide it around other 'cons. It didn't take long for Megatron to catch Bee and Blitz being all lovey dover with each other when he was looking for the scout to make more plans- "What you do in your private life is none of my concerns- as long as you stay loyal to the cause." Megs told him after he tried to bring up and explain the awkward situation from a moment ago. So them dating each other is not a problem. While Blitz is send to investigate or fight, Bee is kept in base where he helps make plans to gather resources and prepare the final strike at the Autobots thanks to his knowledge of the area from the time on their side. (and let's be honest, Megatron, unlike Optimus, realizes that Bee is not made for combat and is best left to help out inside.

In the meantime, Team Prime has assumed Bee was pulling another tantrum when they noticed he disappeared the next day. They kept telling themselves Bee will come back sooner or later... but the days passed and there was no sign of him. There was no signal on the radar nor the humans knew of his whereabouts. Before they knew it was 2 months of his disappearance, they did start to get worried and did hope he would come back, but he never did. In fact, the Decepticons were more confusing than ever, they must've figured out they were missing a piece and made the best of it... which ended in their downfall at last.

Team Prime went to fight a fleet of Decepticons, in the meantime Megatron and others stole the Allspark from the saferoom and prepared an ambush in the Autobots' own base. Autobots were captured and it didn't take long for Elite Guard to also be captured.

Bee requested that they leave his name out of the plans, he deemed it best to stay anonymous and just disappear for the Autobots' knowledge.

After that Bee kept helping out with strategies, he was surprisingly helpful when it came to 'distraction and advantage' kind of plans. While Megatron and other fleets of 'cons went to fight on Cybertron, Bee kept quiet and helping out behind the cuirtains. He did get to learn Longarm was a Decepticon and he didn't hold it agains him, Bee learned to not feel guilty for everything and Wasp was an awful bot and deserved it. Longarm/Shockwave was the only one he truly could call a friend now.

When everything was done, Bee got to take his life back on track- he got an upgrade to his frame which allowed bigger altmodes like a proper car instead of a compact- he chose a Lamborghini. His colors inverted to be mainly black with yellow details, one thing he learned from Prowl about stealth. Blitz was enamored with him, he was a tad bigger in height but still tiny and adorable- well, now the cuteness kinda got replaced with sexyness but still. Love it.

When Megatron got a stable rule over Cybertron he made Bee part of his court to help him unfuck what the previous Council has fucked. Finally everyone started to respect him and treat him good. It was tought trying to be all responsible and adult but with Blitz around it all was easier. Shockwave also helped him out with understanding the words and things being said.

Shortly after the War ended, Bee made an effort to ask Blitz to be his Conjunx- the final piece to make everything perfect. They had a beautiful private ceremony, the only ones invited were the ones Bee got acquainted well with over the time he was working on winning the war. They got an apartment in the best part of the city with the best view.

Then Bee got to direct and monitor the building of the new orphanage and needed to leave for a while, hence why they made sure to call each other at the end of every cycle to talk. Then to Bee's surprise, his old team got assinged the contract to build the space bridge to allow the facility to be accesible galaxy-wide.

After Team Prime has been captured, Bee persuaded Megatron to let them be repair bots. They might have hurt him but he didn't want them to die. So instead they got to do what they were supposed to do from the start- build and fix space bridges. Sari was with them of course, after being upgraded she didn't want to leave her friends all alone. She told her decision to her father when they met at the con base before the cons let him out and said her goodbye.

It wasn't the best reunion, Bee made sure all the conversation he had with them was about business.

As i said in the linked post above all this, they got to learn the story of how this all happened. Hearing all the praise and kind words about Bee and his actions and how much better the situation was after Megs took over made them finally realize that they were in the wrong. All that fighting was for the worse than for the better- they did hear rumors about how incompetent Ultra Magnus was with his rule that he ordered some low ranking clean-up bots or something to guard the Allspark. No names were dropped tho, an effect of Bee sweeping any info that might incriminate them under the rug.

They knew they hurt him and tried their best to get back in Bee's favor. At the end of this project their relation with Bee got a little better. Some time after that they got another contract to help out with another project under Bee's watch, then another. With each one they seemed to get on the good side again until Bee unexpectedly send them invites to a gala for the high ranking and important bots. From Bee's behalf they got their spa treatment to look good. It's then that Bee and them finally get to have a talk about everything. Team Prime acknowledged their mistakes and apologised and Bee accepted, it's been long enough for the scars to finally heal and let it be in the past. Bee regularly calls them to check in when they're out doing the job.

There, a dose of angst with a happy ending for everything. I really like the idea of Bee doing this for the bigger picture despite it hurting his friends.

I know, that's a really big text wall. Oh well, you asked for it. X3

[tremendouskoalachild]

Transcript (from about 0:27 on) under the cut

I've had a lot of Star Wars fans, and gamers in general, ask some pretty great questions about Bode and his motivations and why he does some of the things he does. So I figured I'd just share a little bit of some of the behind the scenes work that I do for a character like Bode. And let me say right off the bat: I'm a huge Star Wars fan but I don't pretend to be, like, a Star Wars academic – so if you want to come at me with how my headcanon is factually inaccurate, you're welcome to do so, it's not going to bother me, but that's not why I do it. I create these backstories because it gives me an emotional hook, so that Bode's emotional journey is honest, for me.

And I should also say, anything I say now isn't on any of the writers or anyone else on the Survivor team, this is all just my broken dumb brain. So, let's talk today about Ghost Star.

So, the song Ghost Star was introduced by one of the writers, Danny – mad genius Danny – pretty late in the sequence of things, and then brought to beautiful life by Tajinae, who plays Kata and is ridiculously talented. I'm very jealous. So, Danny had asked me in a session, would you feel comfortable singing a song as Bode? I don't sing, which may have become quite apparent if you play the game, but any chance for me to show and share more of who Bode is, stuff that you don't get to see in all the missions, I'm grateful for. So I was like, hell yeah. And I got this song titled Ghost Star, so the first thing I did was look up "ghost star", specifically looking for anything revolving around astronomy.

I don't know if this was Danny's thought from the get-go, I have never talked to him about it, but in my research I found that there is a theory being postulated that when you're looking up at the night sky and you see the sky just covered in stars, that there's actually a lot of astral bodies you're not seeing. Among them being ghost stars, which are stars with dark matter cores. Dark matter has gravity but never undergoes nuclear fission the way a normal star does, and therefore emits no light. So there are stars out there with tremendous gravity that are essentially invisible to the naked eye.

And I thought that was really beautiful and poetic, in a way, and then I started thinking about Bode and a question that arises a lot, which is: why does Bode not get found out by Cal, or Cere, or Cordova, these incredibly powerful Jedi?

That's a really good question, and it made me wonder if perhaps there is a rare contingent of individuals who have the ability to tap into the Force but don't emit a Force resonance like most people do – which is how a Jedi is able to tell that someone else is able to manipulate the Force. I mean, Emperor Palpatine is a perfect example of an incredibly powerful Force user who is literally standing right in front of Master Yoda and all the Masters on the Jedi Council, and they never know. So, maybe this is a rare trait that they share.

And that got me thinking, that would probably be something that you'd pick up on very early at the Jedi Academy as a youngling. And one of the things that Bode shares with Cal is that before Order 66 he worked in intelligence.

It would be a very powerful asset to be able to take an operative and insert them into situations where they can watch over Force users without that target knowing that he can manipulate the Force. Where would that be useful? Intelligence gathering, obviously, but also the Jedi equivalent of internal affairs. Jedi are incredibly powerful. And power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And if anyone's seen The Clone Wars, you know that there are very powerful “Jedi” that are not good. Pong Krell being a great example. I want to punch him, repeatedly.

So perhaps operatives like Bode were sent to gather intel and make sure that the Jedi out there were doing what they're supposed to be doing. One example. And, perhaps, his operative name was Ghost Star.

Order 66 happens, all hell breaks loose, everything that Bode has known burns to ash. He's on the run and somewhere on his journey he meets a wonderful woman named Tayala.

When you have to run and hide and constantly change locations for fear of being found, that's not something you can do with a significant other and not let them know what you're doing and why. So I'm sure Bode shares his past with Tayala. And then a while later, Kata is born.

Anytime Bode gets an inkling that Imperial intelligence has been sniffing around, or forbid an inquisitor makes their presence known anywhere nearby, I think Bode leaves his family behind, travels to distant parts of the Galaxy and very subtly makes himself known, so that he attracts the attention of intelligence or the inquisitors and draws that focus away from his family.

And Kata's so young and doesn't understand why her father has to leave for weeks or months at a time, and so Tayala sings her a lullaby called Ghost Star, which brings Kata comfort while she waits for her father to come home. And it's also for Tayala, perhaps a silent prayer that her husband comes back safely.

And they survive like this, constantly moving, constantly on the run. And then one day Bode is out with Kata. They're coming home and as they're getting closer to the house, he hears Tayala singing Ghost Star, which is a song she never sings if he's home. And he knows that something's gone terribly, terribly wrong.

And he flees with Kata, and the inquisitor that was waiting for him at home in their anger strikes down Tayala, knowing that, somehow, she gave them away.

So, a lot of things happen. Bode makes some very difficult, very terrible choices in the pursuit of keeping Kata safe, and now sings Ghost Star as a way to make sure that Kata's memories of her mother stay as fresh as they can; and just because it brings him comfort, but it also is a poignant reminder of a terrible, terrible day and the fact that he left his wife behind and that his wife paid the price for Bode being who he is.

And I think in his time as a dog for the Empire Bode has done some terrible, terrible things. I think he's often sent to hunt down Jedi that are that are in hiding, especially if it seems like they're trying to rally up resistance, because he can come in and his target will never see him coming. I think he's an assassin, and I think every time he does it a little piece of Bode chips off.

And I think Bode hates himself for it, and I think a lot of times, especially if it's a mission where he's gotten to know his target to any degree, that makes it that much harder to do what he knows he has to do. And in those moments he uses Ghost Star as his anchor. He sings it to himself when he's alone, as a way to remind himself of why he's doing the terrible things he's doing, that there is a greater purpose, which is making sure that his daughter stays safe and that Tayala’s sacrifice is never in vain.

And then he meets Cal, and I think finds the brother he never had. And in the crew of the Mantis the family he's lost, a family that would allow Kata to live a normal life. And he really struggles with what to do, and tries desperately to make it work. And when it becomes clear that Cal is going to share the information on Tanalorr and turn it into essentially an access point, Bode is devastated, because the Empire has already found Cal, Cal just doesn't know it yet. And if they found him now they'll definitely find them again, if this turns into essentially a way station. And Bode makes an impossible choice.

And he tries to use Ghost Star the way it's always worked in the past, to kind of remind him of what's important, and I think it fails him, and I think it breaks him.

[journey-to-the-attic]

3rd anni req 23: [HOST] mephisto / unexpected meeting

ao3 link

note: requested by @whensam! yknow while i was writing this i started thinking more about the actual mechanism of the symbiote and... it'd be kinda fun if it did actually gain its own consciousness as ik grew up? well forget about that for now, here we go!

∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎

It starts with a message from Diavolo on the bulletin board in the entrance hall.

We have a very special guest visiting the R.A.D. for the first time today! Everyone, please be as welcoming as you can!

There’s a slightly more extended notice from the school council below it - clearly the prince wasn’t the one put in charge of the logistics:

Schedules have been adjusted to keep the school less crowded. Please do not raise your voices in the corridors. School rules are in effect as normal. We also ask that Asmodeus’s fans refrain from approaching him for today. No photographs are to be taken.

Students are already beginning to gather around the board when Mephisto passes by it, speculating among themselves about who this 'very special guest' might be. To them, there are only two real possibilities, and both are exciting - either it's a celebrity, or some noble friend of the prince.

Mephisto knows better, which is why he doesn’t bother listening in on their discussion. And so he gets on with the day, barely registering the changes in school routine around him, slowly mulling the whole matter over as the hours tick by.

The school has a new 'that incident' once a week - twice if Professor Baal is perfecting any new brews, and thrice if the Newspaper Club is getting bored - so it's understandable that the rest of the student body has forgotten. No one actually knows what happened at the time, either, so the whole matter's long since left their minds.

The incident in question involves loud crashing from the student council room; some demons who had been passing by at the time recount seeing strange black tendrils clawing at the gaps between the door. There had been a lot of yelling from the council officers within, of course, but Barbatos had come swooping in as soon as things seemed to get violent, and stood by the door shooing any nosy pupils away.

No one involved deigned to comment on what had happened afterwards, and soon enough demons stopped asking.The student council's attendance became rather oddly scattered - even up to now, there hasn't been a day where all seven are in at the same time - and Lord Diavolo had a strange, strained look on his face that persisted for several weeks afterwards.

Something that no one else seems to have noticed is that there is only one human exchange student. Two angels, Solomon, and… who? None of the brothers bring them up, much less Diavolo himself. As far as the rest of the R.A.D. population is concerned, there is no fourth exchange student.

The Newspaper Club knows this isn’t true - that this last student is only staying at the House of Lamentation, and that the brothers’ sparse attendance is because they’ve been staying behind on care duty. They also know they’re correct because Barbatos has issued them a strict warning to not make any information public.

Mephisto, personally, thinks this is a good call, but that doesn’t mean he stops listening. The brothers often share hurried updates with each other in the school corridors, and that’s how he’s been getting updates.

For example, three days after that incident in the council room, the exchange student ate for the first time. The day after that, the exchange student mustered up the courage to venture out of their room. Another two weeks later, Diavolo was finally able to greet them.

They’re odd milestones. They make a lot more sense now that, upon walking into an empty classroom, he finds himself face-to-face with them - and finds out that the student is, in fact, a small child.

“Oh,” He says, a tad uncomfortably, “Hello.”

The exchange student stares up at him with wide, frightened eyes and doesn’t move.

You’re certainly small enough to be a human, he muses. But why do you have a horn? And what are you doing here? Where are your guardians?

“I think you might be lost,” He announces. “I’d better—”

He moves a little too quickly, a little too far towards her - she lets out a sharp wail, and some great dark thing seems to rip straight out her skin and lunge at his face. He leaps backwards, just fast enough to feel the thing brush the very tip of his nose, and suddenly it retracts, and the child is staring at him as if nothing happened at all.

“Okay,” He mutters, taking another step back for good measure. “Got it. My bad.”

That would explain what those demons saw that day. Mephisto takes a deep breath and analyses the situation.

The best course of action might be to simply leave and find one of the brothers. He isn’t going to get anywhere if she tries to kill him every time he gets too close. But it doesn’t feel right to just leave her standing here, either…

He crouches down slowly, so that they’re on eye level with each other. “Who looks after you?”

She blinks at him, then says, deceptively clearly, “Mammon.”

He resists the urge to chuckle. The response is so automatic and firm that it can only have been taught. “Well, sweetheart, do you know where he is?”

“No.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting.”

“For Mammon?”

“No.”

“Who, then?”

She’s quiet for a moment. Then she says, stumbling, “S-sol…o-lo-mon.”

“Solomon,” He repeats, already digging around in his pocket for his phone. “Alright, just hold on a minute.”

He hovers over Solomon’s Devilgram profile for a moment, then hits call. The phone rings for a good few minutes - he imagines the sorcerer picking up his D.D.D. and looking incredulously at the name - before finally connecting.

“What do you want?”

“Do you think you might have forgotten something?” He asks.

A long, suspicious silence. “...what are you talking abo— oh, blast!”

There’s some fumbling on the other end, then some frantic, muffled conversation. After a moment, Solomon groans loudly and says, “I’m— alright, I’m kind of tied up here. Could… could you just watch her for me?”

“Hmm. You don’t want me to call someone?”

“I’m in trouble if anyone finds out I left her on her own,” Solomon sighs. “It was only supposed to be for a moment. Look, it hasn’t been that long, and I’ll be done soon, so just look after her for a bit… please.”

“Sure, sure.” He runs a hand through his hair, then exhales. “And I don’t suppose you know why she shoots dark matter out of her skin when—”

“—long story, and, quite frankly, none of your business.”

“Ouch.”

Solomon is quiet for a while. There’s some more movement on the other end, and then he says shortly, “I really have to go. I’ll owe you a favour, alright? Thanks.”

The call disconnects before Mephisto can ask why Solomon trusts him to do this. In hindsight, maybe it’s better if he doesn’t know the answer to that.

He realises that he also forgot to ask for his new charge’s name. The young exchange student is still standing there, eyeing him warily.

“...alright,” He says cheerfully, and sits down across from her. “That was your friend Solomon on the phone. Looks like I’ll be looking after you for the moment. I’ll just stay here, okay?”

She hums quietly. After a moment, she copies him and sits down as well.

“Is this your first day at school?” He asks. “Are you having fun?”

She nods, then begins to fiddle anxiously with the ribbon around her neck. The little mimic-uniform she’s wearing definitely looks like Asmodeus’s handiwork. He’s fairly sure he saw Satan getting those shoes out in town last week. Must be custom - the make certainly doesn’t look cheap, either.

Just as he thinks that, the kid pulls a little too hard on her ribbon and accidentally unravels the bow. She looks down at it in dismay, then up at him imploringly.

“Do you need me to fix that?” He asks, amused. When she nods again, he slowly holds out his hands. “Come here.”

He lets her get up and make her way over in her own time. She pauses a few paces away, then abruptly skitters forward, practically putting her face right in his.

“Oh, hello.” Is it just him, or does the little horn poking out of her hair look smaller now? “Alright, here you go.”

He decides to tie the ribbon into a double knot this time. It’s a little less pretty than the fancy bow, but it should be more secure this way.

As he works, he asks, “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

She hesitates, then leans in a little closer and whispers something in his ear. Mephisto nods slowly. “Good name. Hello, IK. I’m Mephisto.”

“Hello… Me-phis-to.”

“That’s right. Good job.” He finishes the new bow. “So Mammon looks after you?”

“Mm.”

“And who do I call when you’re lost?”

“Lucifer.”

Another reply so quick that it must have been learnt. He wonders if there’s one for each brother as long as he asks the right question. “Is that what I should do right now?”

IK shakes her head. “Not lost. Waiting.”

“Hah! Clever girl.” Lucky for Solomon. If she’d said yes, Mephisto probably would have just listened. “Well, let’s be patient, then.”

IK looks around the empty classroom, then frowns. To be fair, there really isn’t anything fun in here for a small child to do. She isn’t exactly old enough for recreational brewing.

Mephisto thinks about it for about one minute, then makes his decision. “Tell you what, sweetheart. You could come back to our clubroom and wait there. You can do some colouring.”

“Colouring?” IK repeats, and looks rather pleased. Then she deflates. “...Solo-mon said wait here.”

“You heard him on the phone, didn’t you? I’m sure he won’t mind.”

IK thinks about it for a while. Then she nods solemnly.

“Alright!” He gets (slowly) to his feet and indicates for her to follow him out into the hall. “We’re just upstairs. Think you can make it up on your own?”

“Bepphie carries me,” She says solemnly, reaching up and grabbing the hem of his jacket. “Stairs are too tall. Legs too small.”

“Wise words,” He agrees. “Shall I carry you up, then, sweetheart?”

“...okay.”

To say Alecto looks surprised when he shows up at the door with a child in his arms is an understatement. She opens her mouth to ask with her usual bemused conviction, then suddenly seems to become hyper-aware of the situation, and instead silently ushers Mephisto inside.

He carefully sits IK down at a desk, letting her get used to the others at her own pace, and pretends not to be too smug when he’s the only one who can approach the table without her tensing up. Unfortunately, it takes Wiz about ten minutes to win her approval, and within half an hour, Mephisto’s already fairly sure that he’s only third-favourite now.

Astaroth has kept himself very determinedly in the corner ever since they came in. If Mephisto didn’t know better, he’d say his good friend was scared.

In any case, it takes some spirited encouragement from Alecto to get Astaroth to finally roll himself closer. He holds himself a little like a robot the whole time, but he lets IK patter curiously around his wheelchair without a word. He only speaks to softly warn her about getting her fingers stuck when she attempts to poke her hands through the spokes.

They have paper due for print next week, but finishing their reports is kind of the last thing on their mind right now. When IK gets tired of regular colouring, Wiz starts pulling puzzle after puzzle out of her designated folder; it’s short work for the rest of them, accustomed as they are to her usual tricks, but working as a five around the table is a new novelty. Even if a lot of the process is just trying to explain complicated words to a child who also doesn’t know any of the words they’re trying to explain them with.

And it is entirely Mephisto’s fault for not noticing his D.D.D. buzzing frantically in his pocket, but he still thinks it’s a bit of an overreaction when several student council officers in a row come crashing into the clubroom. He’d feel bad for Solomon, being at those brothers’ mercy - but, as he finds himself confronted by a rather dishevelled and extremely angry Lucifer, he can only feel bad for himself.

Still... worth it.

[mantisgodiveblog]

Hello, fellow time loop enjoyers. Back at it again at the House of Change. We have recruited a new fool to the "guys who will finish the game before us" council. Egg, if you're reading this, hi! If you're not Egg and you're reading this: hello, this is a liveblog, you probably know the drill by now.

(Part 25 is here)

We're curious about this, as well. We think that we can gather a good amount of information even at this point, just from context clues and things stated - currently, we know that it's

something crafted to represent the wearer by their bonded partner

a pair, where one half goes to the partner and one half is, presumably, kept by the crafter

romantic?

From Mirabelle and Isabeau's little bout of fanfiction writing, we assume that there's a decent amount of weight on the romantic thing - similar to a wedding ring, possibly, considering the usage of "bonded partner" and similar. Is crafting bonding earrings for a partner a significant part of the ceremony, or is it merely lead-up, we wonder? It would certainly require a certain amount of care and such, especially if it's the partner crafting something made to represent you.

The way that the earrings dialogue is phrased would imply it's monogamous, or that it would require some amount of effort to modify for any sort of nonmonogamy - would a trio do something like wearing one each of just the earrings their partners made to represent them? What weight does this have, culturally speaking?

…we do wish to add, if mismatched earrings are a statement of marriage-equivalent, here, then we'd probably be flagged as a married man perhaps too often for comfort. What sort of requirements do these have to follows, we wonder? For Mirabelle and Isabeau to be capable of spotting them on sight, there must be some sort of distinctive feature, and by the way that the mismatched but complementary designs were notable, we don't think it would just be "being mismatched", but there's still a chance it's That. We like pairing earrings in interesting ways. We wouldn't want people to assume we have an actual romantic relationship because we chose to have asymmetrical earrings today.

Anyways, more importantly than any sort of "romance", we got another time freeze!!! This makes it four five attempted time freezes on Mirabelle and two attempted time freezes on Literally Every Party member! Worth the wait, though - the time freeze portraits just have a certain something to them that none of the other portraits really come close to. It's that... imminent death factor. Something about being, quite literally, frozen in the face of it. Surprise, realization - and the way that the eyes seem to faintly glow is very fun. We're a fan!

(not included due to our inability to screenshot sound effects: loud THUMP between "...please!" and "CRAB YEAH")

Ah, delightful, something to improve our fishing skills! AND a melee weapon to boot! We wonder if this one's "heavy enough to kill a cat", as they say. Or would Colonel Sassacre's Daunting Text of Magical Frivolity and Practical Japery be too undignified to equip to Odile?

Incredible interactions all around. We will note the changed dialogue for getting that book - our inventory is divided between party members, it seems! We do wonder how deep those pockets are, and how she can carry that without being concerned for the abrupt new weight. Will having this book on future loops raise suspicion? We can't imagine that having something that heavy just appear in your pocket when you know all too well it wasn't there before would pass without comment - she starts loops in the store, doesn't she? We doubt that something like that could just turn up without comment, and the more stuff we pick up especially...

...if we acquire enough items over the course of the game, then we can very easily picture our party growing suspicious over time. Swords don't grow on trees, after all, and even if the "correction" tries to make it so they retroactively always had these, unless it fabricates a new origin, we can easily see there being Glitches with that. Think too hard about where you found the sword you're carrying- hell, think too hard about where you found anything you're carrying, and...

Well, you probably get the picture. Now, let us just check out that book...

And another of these! Boost to damage, at the cost of making an already-slow Odile slower... ah, we'll take it! We're already leaning on turn relays to get her actions, this really won't mean that much to us. Probably means she'll mostly be useful in +speed loops.

[hoshibatake]

Sunflower Live - Prologue

AV room

Subaru: Wakuwaku, wakuwaku…♪

Hokuto: Akehoshi, stop bustling about. There’s fragile equipment in here. If you break anything by kicking it, we’ll be in trouble.

Subaru: But I’m just so excited! Watching something on a screen this giant makes me feel like we’re in a movie theatre!

Subaru: Oh! How about we go to the movie theatre with Trickstar and Anzu soon? Recently they even have places that do practical effects*!

(*TN: Like 4DX, where the seats move and air is blown in your face.)

Mao: The movies, huh〜? I’ve been so busy with student council work lately, that I haven’t had time to go. That might be great.

Makoto: I’ll go hunt for coupons online! We might be able to find some great deals for tickets〜♪

Hokuto: You guys… You all sure are carefree, given the fact that we’re supposed to be holding an evaluation meeting right now.

Subaru: Sorry, sorry.

Subaru: We’re here to watch the recording and reflect on the “Summer Live”, where Eve utterly defeated us, after all.

Subaru: We did evaluate right after the concert too, but we had to keep it short because it was late at night. Let’s really dig into it today!

Hokuto: Right. Thanks for joining our evaluation meeting, Anzu. I’m sure you’ll be able to give us some pointers, especially because you didn’t produce us this time.

Hokuto: Although, it’s not like I’m exactly happy about having to put our blunders on display like this…

Hokuto: “Chin up”? Yes, you’re right. We can’t afford to stop moving forward. Thanks, Anzu.

Subaru: Hey〜! It’s not fair if you’re the only one who gets to chat with Anzu! She produces all of us, you know? C’mon, Anzu, chat with me♪

Mao: Hey now, Subaru. Don’t pull her arm. You’re scaring her. Don’t get all up in girls’ faces like that.

Makoto: I’m a little envious, though. I could never do anything as brazen as that.

Subaru: Why not? You should chat with Anzu too, Ukki. Come on, join us, join us〜

Hokuto: That’s enough. I’m staring the video playback. It’d be humiliating if we use up all our time in the AV room by just chatting.

Hokuto: No more talking. Focus your attention on the video.

<Ten minutes later>

Makoto: …Eve really is something.

Makoto: I thought this during the concert as well, but now I’m watching the footage back, I can really tell how polished their performance is.

Hokuto: Indeed. The Summer Live was a joint concert between Trickstar and Eve, but most of the audience was enraptured by Eve.

Hokuto: We rehearsed our performance according to Eve’s instructions. Despite that, we didn’t really stand out at all. Though, it’s not like we were being completely ignored, either.

Makoto: I guess to the fans who were gathered there, we looked more like Eve’s backup dancers, or something?

Hokuto: Right. You mentioned that Eve had gathered a large audience by advertising a lot…

Hokuto: …but coordinating the concert with the release timing of a game that Eden featured in was a dirty trick.

Makoto: Yeah. It made us realize how important it is to have a proper sales strategy.

Makoto: But thanks to that, a lot more people than we had expected came to watch us at the Summer Live.

Makoto: The audience consisted mostly of Eve fans, but some of those fans have actually become Trickstar fans as well.

Makoto: We may have been completely defeated by Eve, but I don’t think it was all bad.

Subaru: I agree, I agree〜! Dancing and singing together with Eve was lots of fun! I wonder if we can do it again, sometime?

Hokuto: I doubt it. It seems that the student council president wants us to go up against Adam instead. There’s a good chance that Adam will be our next opponent.

Mao: You say “opponent”, but… It might be another joint live, like we did with Eve, so I don’t think we should get too carried away.

Hokuto: Plus, they said the members of Adam aren’t as friendly as those of Eve.

Hokuto: Although, I wouldn’t exactly call Eve “friendly” either, so we should probably keep our guard up.

Hokuto: Anyway, we’re not making plans to fight Adam right now. We’re reflecting on our encounter with Eve. Leaving any minutiae aside for the time being…

Hokuto: I think our biggest weak point is the fact that we don’t have nearly as much experience doing live performances as Eve does.

Hokuto: I think we should get up on the stage as much as possible and gain some valuable experience.

Mao: That’s easier said than done. It’s the summer break, after all. It’s not like they’re organizing a lot of concerts right now.

Makoto: If we’re not hung up on it being a DreFes, there might be some events we can apply for on the school socials. I’ll go check whether there are any promising jobs available.

Hokuto: Thanks… Summer has already started, though. Even if there would be lots of summer events going on, I feel the application deadlines for those would be long past by now.

Makoto: Hmm… Oh! What about this one? One of their participants bailed, so they’re looking for an emergency replacement!

Hokuto: “Sunflower live”…? It’ll be held at a beach nearby.

Hokuto: That’s pretty sudden, though… I wonder what kind of reason they had to bail at the last minute. But at least it’s a stroke of luck for us.

Hokuto: Yuuki, could you fill out the application for us?

Makoto: Of cou--

Mao: H-hey! Wait a minute!

Hokuto: What’s wrong, Isara? Is there some kind of problem?

Mao: You could say that… Agh〜! It’s just-- I really don’t know how to put this delicately, but Trickstar is flat-broke right now.

Hokuto: Right… We haven’t been able to participate in many of the internal DreFes’. In other words, we haven’t been able to save up Yumenosaki currency.

Makoto: Oh, right. And to make things worse, we’ve been using up a lot of our money in order to perform at events outside of the academy and at other schools, so we’ve been digging into our savings.

Subaru: Hmm? What’s up, Anzu? You’re saying not to worry, because you can make our costumes for us?

Hokuto: We appreciate the thought, but fabric and other materials still cost money.

Hokuto: I’m afraid we’ll have to pass on the Sunflower Live. We should focus on earning some money right now.

Makoto: I agree. Without Yumenosaki currency, we can’t make costumes. Or build a stage, for that matter.

Mao: Yup. It’s too bad we’ll have to miss out, but let’s focus on earning money, so we won’t miss the next chance we get.

Subaru: Wait…!

Subaru: Why are you all just deciding this without me? The next chance? If we keep putting it off, the summer will be over before we know it!

Subaru: I want us to perform live again before the summer ends!

Subaru: Wouldn’t it bother you too if the only memories we’ll have of this summer are those of that painful Summer Live? It would bother me!

Subaru: Summer concerts are supposed to be fun and sparkly! Leaving things on a sour note like this would be a waste!

Subaru: …No, wait. We did also gain a lot from the Summer Live, so it’s not like all those memories are bad, but…

Subaru: …if we leave it at this, I feel like I’ll just be thinking about Eve every summer from now on…

Subaru: That’s why I don’t want to leave it like this! I want to make some fun summer memories with all of you!

Mao: …Yeah. I know all too well how you feel. I’m frustrated too. I want to make some fun memories during a live concert with you guys, too.

Mao: But we have to face reality. We can’t hold a live concert if we don’t have any money…

Mao: Even if we would all start doing odd jobs around the school right now, we wouldn’t be able to save up enough before the event starts.

Makoto: Hmm〜 Isara-kun, I have a question. Would it be possible for the student council to lend us some money?

Mao: There is a precedent for that, so I don’t think it’s impossible, per se. I’ve got student council work to do after this. Do you want me to ask about it while I’m at it?

Makoto: Would you do that? The page about the Sunflower Live also mentioned that they’re still looking for people who want to set up booths, too…

Makoto: …so if we sell a bunch of merchandise on the day of the concert, I think we’ll have a good chance of being able to pay off the loan.

Mao: Understood. I’ll go ask the president about all of that, then.

Mao: Alright, see you guys later! Better keep your fingers and toes crossed it’s all gonna work out〜♪

Next chapter

[rukia-writes]

Hercules x (fem) reader

Plot: pussy on purr-rrr.

Warnings: 18+, no minors 🔞, sexual themes, fangirl.

A/N: I finally cooked! 🔥 sometimes the cat just purr-rrr. Plus it’s cat day. 🐱

Everyone knew it but those two.

Brunhilde watched her sister essientally fan girl over the envoy of justice that was currently talking with Ares, it was no secret to Brunhilde that her sister liked Hercules.

A innocent fan girl.

The two valkyrie had caught the gods talking to one another in front of the council meeting at the door, while (Name) liked Hercules she was always bashful when it came to talking him despite being a fan. Yes, Brunhilde even knew of the Hercules doll she had tucked away on her bed.

“Brunhilde! Hey!”

Waving at Brunhilde, Hercules greeted Brunhilde making (Name) that was beside her become bashful. Especially when Hercules walked over to them and greeted (Name) with a bright smile making her place a hand on her chest to calm her beating heart and her eyes were averted from looking at the righteous god.

“Hello, Hercules. How did things go in the meeting?”

“Pretty well for the most part-“

The two talked as (Name) finally overcame her shyness and got a good look Hercules. From his muscles to his beautiful blue eyes (Name) took it all in as she felt her face become hot as well another part of her body. Hercules was none the wiser but (Name) had a look of his tattoos and found them fascinating.

Even imagining herself tracing her finger along them.

“But if it’s okay with (Name) too, I don’t mind us going for a drink or to have a little chat.”

Due to her fantasizing and fangirling (Name) was caught off guard when Hercules mentioned her name.

“I’m sorry what?”

“Did you want to come and have a social gathering with us sister?”

“We’ll have fun, (Name).”

Hercules added in to Brunhilde’s statement as (Name) became flustered and her mind was everywhich way.

“Sorry, I can’t I join! I, um have to take care of a cat! Yeah! And it’s purring! I can hear her purring! I better go tend to her!”

(Name) quickly left the two standing there in awe, Brunhilde apologized for her sister’s behavior. Although, Hercules was more concerned for (Name)’s hearing as he didn’t hear a cat and even asked Brunhilde if she heard a cat.

Brunhilde vouched for her sister saying, “(Name) has great hearing.”

A few days later, Hercules bumped into (Name) and greeted her as usual with his bright smile. The two talked for a bit until Hercules asked the valkyrie if she wanted to join him for lunch. Once again, (Name) became flustered and made the excuse of her hearing a cat and that she needed to take care of it. Why, she did hear a cat but in truth it was her lust that was doing the purring, there was no actual cat. Leaving Hercules confused and thinking to himself that maybe (Name) just didn’t like him.

It was like that for years.

Everytime, (Name) felt bad for denying Hercules and everytime she told herself she would accept his offer next time, after all there could come a day where Hercules wouldn’t ask her. While in her room, she practiced on the Hercules doll saying “Of course, I’ll go out with you!” At least she tried to the best of her abilities as she would sometimes stutter over her words, imagining the Greek heroes smile instead of the dolls.

A knock came to her door making the valkyrie quickly hide the doll behind her pillow and asking the person what they wanted, when she heard Hercules voice and him saying he had milk for the cat. Opening the door, Hercules had his usual bright smile on his lips and huge jar of milk.

“I brought the cat some milk.”

Eyes widen in surprise and her brain searching for an answer (Name) stumbled over her words and eventually told Hercules that the cat wasn’t here and was out and about, even though there was no cat. Which of course, Hercules didn’t seem to mind as he handed (Name) the clear jar of milk.

“Well, I came all this way to see her. The cat is a her, right? I thought I heard you mention it was a her.”

“Um, yes. She’s a very nice kitten. Did you want to get lunch together? Maybe she’ll show up when we come back.”

“That sounds great! Let’s go!”

Hercules waited for (Name) to gather her things and eventually the two had went for a walk and out to dinner and didn’t reply back until later that night. Opening the door, Hercules made a “Tsk, Tsk.” Sound as he thought the cat was currently in (Name)’s room. The “Come here girl.” Made the valkyrie dizzy and heart a flame as well as another part of her body. Thinking to herself she would gladly be Hercules’ cat any day.

“Oh! She’s not here, I think you better get going. Sorry you missed her.”

“Ashame, I wanted to see her. Ya know, my astrology sign is a Leo.”

“You actually believe that stuff?”

Holding down her laughter (Name) tried not to laugh at her crush talking about astrology signs, apparently it was on the rage and Hercules wanted to know more about it. Finding out his star sign was that of Leo. Since it was on the rage in Valhalla the two talked about astrology for awhile until Hercules noticed it was getting rather late and didn’t want to be out so late.

“Well, good night. Get plenty of rest.”

Hercules waved good bye to the bashful valkyrie and (Name) told the tall and muscular hero goodnight, As she closed the door behind her and smiling from able to finally being able to have a proper outing with Hercules.

“Oh! OH!”

(Name) was certain she heard Hercules voice and opening the door a gasp left her as she saw Hercules standing in her doorway with one arm against the door with his left hand rested on his hip with a smug smile on his face.

“So, about that cat. I think I hear it too.”

❣️Rukia-Writes❣️

[sea-owl]

Part two to the Iris Council. Find the original part one here, and the edited one here.

AO3: Link

Just as Penelope and Sophie said King Anthony had not gone to Kate's room that first night, or any night after since she's came to the Garden Palace. He actually left right after their dinner with Penelope and Sophie that first night to go back to Aubrey Hall. There was a kiss though.

As the king was leaving Kate was shown one of her duties that others will expect of her as part of the high-ranking concubines. It was simple, seeing the king off, and of course mid and lower ranked concubines could also join them, but of course the high ranked ones were the ones expected to actually see him off.

"It's technically practice since we have the highest chances of becoming queen," Penelope explained. "Gotta make sure we're prepared if we send him off to war!"

"And he dies under mysterious circumstances," Sophie joined in. "Leaving us all alone!"

Anthony rolled his eyes at their dramatics. Kate joined in on their laughter.

Finally, they reach the steps that lead towards the entrance where the concubines were not allowed to travel beyond without special permission. One by one the king kissed his concubines as was expected. They were quick kisses, nothing more than a peck of the lips really. Penelope and Sophie were quick to hide the lower half of their faces with their fans after. Kate could see both of them either pursing their lips or holding back a shiver.

Then it was Kate's turn. Just like with the other two, it was nothing more than a quick peck. Kate wasn't sure the shiver that went up her back wasn't for the same reason the other two had though. Kate wasn't sure she was having that same weird feeling the other two had as well. Why were her lips tingling? Is her face heating up? Kate quickly, and a little clumsily, hid her face just as the other two did.

After that it was down to business. Under Penelope and Sophie's advice Kate began to set up her new home in the Lily Pavilion. Currently the three of them were in the Snapdragon Pavilion where Penelope made her home.

Kate was finding out there was a lot of secret compartments in the Snapdragon Pavilion, some she thinks she will never remember how Penelope opened them. Upon Kate's request Penelope was gathering documents that contained information about the staff, guards, and most importantly the concubines of the Garden Palace.

"First things first we'll need to find you a head lady in waiting," Sophie said. "Someone you can trust to keep your secrets."

Kate's mind flashed to Felicity and Posy, the head ladies in waiting to Penelope and Sophie. The head ladies in waiting who were a little too young in Kate's mind to be in such a position.

Penelope plopped down a bunch of documents in her hands. "Your sister might be an option," Penelope suggested. "It's what Sophie and I did."

Kate snapped her head up. Now that she thought about it she could see a resemblance between the two red heads, not so much between the two blondes though.

Sophie glanced up at Kate from one of her financial reports. An understanding was on her face. "Posy and I are stepsisters."

"Oh." Kate nodded. "But I could hire Edwina?"

"If you trust her enough," Sophie replied. "While our head ladies in waiting don't know everything, they do know enough to know there is something else going on, but they also trust us enough that we can continue the ruse."

"So it's best if I pick wisely," Kate said as she skimmed over some of the documents on the other concubines. They must've been Penelope's personal notes, each one was written in her hand.

There were several different flower markings on the documents. A common one she noticed, especially among the lower ranked concubines was a rose. But there was a mixture of roses, hyacinths, daffodils, and poppies. The least common ones were an iris, and a lily. Kate could guess what the iris flower was supposed to represent, but the lily was an interesting one. She could only find it on two other concubines' information besides her own.

"What do these represent?" Kate asked as she pointed at the flowers.

Penelope looked at the documents. "Oh that's how I keep each girl organized. As you know not all of us are here as concubines, but we can't let other know that. Roses are for the actual concubines like those two." Penelope pointed out the window where two brunettes sat.

Kate dug through the papers to find their information. Sienna and Maria Rosso, cousins who came here at around the same time. According to their paperwork they both are singers. Kate noticed that Maria had a daffodil next to her rose, while Sienna had a poppy.

"Daffodils are to mark girls who have expressed desire to leave when the time comes, while those marked with a poppy have no such desire or they haven't expressed it," Penelope explained. "Hyacinths are for girls who are here out of protection more than anything else, they're the ones Anthony wouldn't touch. The iris marked girls are a little more obvious."

It was simple but effective, and should anyone accidentally come across these it would give nothing away.

"Huh, this is all so elaborate, " Kate said as she looked back at the documents. "How did this even start?"

Penelope sat down. "Well, at the time I was about two months away from turning fifteen."

-

"No Eloise."

"But Anthony Lady Hazelwood has brilliant ideas that could-"

"Eloise, I said no."

Penelope stayed silent as she watched the two siblings argue. She really wished Eloise would stop dragging her to these impromptu meetings with the king. This is the third time Eloise has tried to convince him to have a private meeting with Lady Hazelwood and much like the other two times it was not successful.

The open-door policy the king has for his siblings may not be lasting that much longer Penelope thought to herself.

Eloise huffed. "Why won't you even consider it?"

The king sat down his pen. "Eloise may I remind you that Lady Hazelwood is married to Lord Hazelwood? The same lord who is infamous among the court for his schemes of influence?"

"That is her husband," Eloise argued.

"Who she would have loyalty to." There was a finality to the king's voice. "My answer remains the same."

Eloise let out another huff and stormed out of the room. Penelope felt herself slightly pout. She cannot come and go as freely as Eloise does with her position as princess. Penelope was only a baron's daughter, proper etiquette demanded she stay put until she was excused by one of the royals. She picked at her skirt.

"Um, your majesty?"

The king looked back over to the seated area where Penelope still found herself. He looked tired. Penelope has known Anthony since he was prince and she was in leading strings due to their mothers' friendship. She remembers when the messengers informing every lord that they were required to travel to the ancestral home of the royal family, Aubrey Hall, for the coronation of the new king. She remembers thinking it was a mad house as each lord fought to be the leading influence over the new king who had yet to go to university and looked too young to be wearing the crown on his head.

Penelope could see Anthony about to wave her off, but he paused. "Penelope be honest with me, as a family friend, do you think this Lady Hazelwood to be genuine? Or is she like the others and trying to use one of my siblings?"

Penelope bit her lip, her brown eyes drifting towards her lap. Thinking back, if she was to be honest, Penelope shook her head. "In court Lady Hazelwood is always by her husband's side, or she is close enough to have him in her eyesight while he mouths the words she says."

Anthony nodded. "Thank you, Penelope, you may go."

Penelope bowed and took her leave.

Over the next few days, Penelope found herself following her mother around the court as usual, but something had shifted.

She couldn't quite pin point what it was. The rumors were the same as usual. No new schemes among the lords, no newcomers, and no one has announced an engagement recently either. Maybe something happened at one of the parties? While Penelope was old enough to start attending the day court, and technically she was old enough to marry with her mother's permission as soon as she was fifteen, she was still too young to attend the night parties. That had to be it honestly.

Satisfied with the thought Penelope settled herself in a corner as she watched yet another lord try to butter up their king. Marquess Stratton, according to the rumors he's been trying to weasel his way into the royal family's inner court even back with King Edmund had been alive. Unfortunately for him King Edmund held strong in his belief of those he was raised with were the only ones allowed into his inner court. This limited it to his siblings and the Rokesby family who has been close with the royal family for at least four generations now. King Anthony has refused to build an inner court at all, which was quite odd. Most believed he would follow in his father's footsteps and have an inner court made up of his siblings.

"Marquess Stratton is making a fool of himself," Portia, Penelope's mother, said with a shake of her head.

Other lords and ladies murmured in agreement.

"The king is just like his father. Just you wait his inner court will be nothing but his siblings."

"The Duke of Hastings might also be a member, they are best friends after all."

"He's just waiting for more of them to debut. Watch as soon as Princess Eloise is old enough to attend the night parties the inner court will be formed."

Penelope tuned out the whispers, it is nothing that has not been said before. Instead she refocused on the marquess. His back stood straight, but his arms were overly animated as he spoke. There was a shine on his palms like they were wet. Penelope could also see a slight limp in his walk despite how hard he tries to stay in one place. How odd, according to all the reports the battles at the border have all been successful, and there have been no rumors about injuries to the officers.

Penelope glanced up at the king, and flinched when she met his eyes. She was not expecting that, nor was she expecting for the king to have her stay back while the rest of the court dispersed. Not that her mother noticed she wasn't following.

Penelope bowed to the king who still sat on his throne. "Your majesty."

"Penelope be honest with me, as a family friend, what do you think of Marquess Stratton?" Anthony asked.

Penelope hummed as she thought back on the older gentleman. He certainly wasn't as calm as he pretended to be. Which was odd, Marquess Stratton should be ridding the highs of won battles right now. But instead he's hiding a limp.

"I think his reports of the battles are not as truthful as they should be," Penelope said.

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"According to the rumors he's been successful in battle, but he walk with a limp he did not have before this current battle. Oh! He is also skittish when talking to anyone too!"

Anthony nodded. "Thank you Penelope. You may go."

Penelope bowed and made her leave. That was strange.

Two weeks later Penelope receives an invitation to tea in the royal family wing. It wasn't unusual for her to receive such an invitation. After all Eloise was her best friend, and hopefully Penelope can be her lady in waiting when they are older. What was unsual though was that only the king was waiting for her in the tea room. She didn't see her friends, the princess Eloise and Francesca, nor the prince Colin, none of the royal siblings are here. Not even their mother the Dowager Queen was present, who would never miss a tea time.

Penelope started to shrink in on herself. She was alone with the king. "Your majesty." She bowed, stiff.

"Penelope, I invited you here as a family friend, no need to be so formal," Anthony reassured her.

Penelope's shoulder loosened. She took her seat, busying her hands by making a cup of tea. "Pardon me Anthony, but where is the rest of your family?"

"I have sent them and my extended family on a trip for a few months this morning. I didn't want to risk them interrupting."

Penelope paused in her tea prepping. Interrupting?

Anthony sat down a folder. It was full of reports that have been edited, some even completely different.

"You were right, Marquess Stratton hasn't been truthful in his reports, as had other lords." Anthony scowled at the folder. Turning his eyes back on her they softened in a way she has seen when he looks at his younger siblings. "I can not trust them with the responsibilities I need to entrust to others."

Penelope furrowed her brow. "If you can not trust the lords Anthony, then why not air your concerns with your family?"

"They are too easily reached. Benedict, Colin, and Daphne are all attending the balls now. Eloise will soon start attending the day court, with Francesca following next year. You've seen it Penelope, some of these lords are like snakes who will say or do anything to get in their good graces."

Penelope sighed. She knew that was true. All too often she will see a lord or lady try to flatter Eloise to either gain her favor or find a way to get to Anthony through her. And with Eloise so vocal about her passions how often did she give others the exact words they needed to stroke her ego?

Anthony continued, "You observational skills have proven to be good use Penelope. You have not lied to me, and you genuinely love my family as if they were your own. I want to see you flourish those skills, starting at the balls."

"But your majesty-" She was cut off with a look.

"Anthony Penelope. We are speaking as family friends, not king and subject," Anthony reminded her.

Penelope took a breath. "But Anthony I am not yet of age to go. The only way for me to attend if I was married."

"Or a concubine."

Penelope whipped her head around towards Anthony. "A concubine? Me?" Penelope felt her face flushed. There were so many reasons she couldn't be a concubine, one that she'll never say aloud was her love for the third prince.

"That would be your public title, and how you would be perceived in the kingdom" Anthony said. "What I really want from you though is to be part of my inner court, my spy mistress."

Penelope's mind clicked. "Being a concubine would also keep untrustworthy lords away as well since I would be living at the Garden Palace when I wasn't with you. But um . . ." Penelope felt her face flush again. There was one major aspect that comes with the whole concubine territory that would be hard to ignore.

Anthony chuckled. "Penelope I swear on my father's grave that I will never force you or anyone."

Oh he was serious about this. Swearing on the previous king's grave was the strongest oath any member of the royal family would ever make. They would rather die than go back on their word sworn on the late king.

Penelope found herself nodding, ideas flying through her head. "We'll have to find a way to cover my face. If they can't confirm my identity they'll never know 100% if they are truly talking to the concubine. Also if we bring back the royal harem then we can bring others into the inner court, though perhaps we should call it something else?"

"Any suggestions?" Antony asked.

Penelope looked around the room until her eyes landed on a painting of an Iris flower. Benedict must have been working on it. Penelope turned back to Anthony. "The Iris Council?"

"It has a nice ring to it," Anthony said. "Alright Penelope first things first, we need to learn who we can truly trust to bring in. Learn the lords secrets and see if we can potentially bring anyone else in."

After that Penelope kept meeting Anthony for tea until two days after her fifteen birthday Penelope put on her mask for the first time and was presented to the kingdom as King Anthony's first concubine.

-

"It didn't take too long after that for word to spread through to the kingdom and eventually reach the ears of the Dowager Queen," Penelope said. "She stormed home with the rest of the royal family, demanding an explanation from Anthony. None of them would even look at me and I was standing next to him."

Kate's eyes widened. "Truly? None of them?"

Penelope shook her head. "Not a single one. It hurt at the time, but honestly it made things easier in the long run. I got to focus on building my life's work."

"Them refusing to learn our names or even hearing them also helps," Sophie added. "Confuses the lords in our favor."

"Their parent's love story was sacred to them," Penelope said. "Anthony taking a concubine and restarting the harem probably felt like one of the biggest betrayals to them."

Kate could see it. Mary was always talking about how precious love was, and lucky she was to experince it with her husband. The harem is just to extend the bloodline, it must feel so cold and impersonal in their eyes, even if no children have been born from it yet. But still that treatment isn't fair to the concubines. "Do you think that will ever change?"

Penelope picks up one of the files. "Maybe if Anthony takes a queen. But we're not quite there yet."

The light reflected through the paper, Kate could see the outline of a lily.

[star-girl69]

I Loved You Like the Sun

a/n: this is interesting for sure. it was so hard to rationalize her husband’s behavior so i just want everyone to know that this man is CRAZY and has no conscience so that is why he does all that he does just bc he’s a horrible person anyways also this sucks but and i hope you all enjoy!!

warnings: swearing, overprotectiveness, possessiveness, violence, death, incest, tell me if i missed anything!!

Chapter Ten- Freedom

—-

It’s three days after the attack when you leave Rhaenyra’s and Daemon’s apartments.

You say good morning to the children, and they all smile back, innocent and unaware.

You look in the mirror by the door. Pick an eyelash from your cheek. Wish to be free like them.

Daemon grabs you by the arm. Asks where you’re going. When you tell him, with a hiss, he says nothing but gestures for you to go, palm on Dark Sister as he follows you through the winding steps of the castle.

The halls are empty, and the sun has barely risen. You feel like ash, like one gust of wind will blow you over.

When you come to your old chambers, where your husband should reside, it is empty. You gather a few of your favorite dresses, jewelry and books, place it into a trunk that Daemon calls a servant to take.

He follows you back to their apartments, because you have no where else to go.

You settle back into their rooms, the blood on the floor of yours still stained.

You organize and reorganize your trunk, and Daemon watches. Rhaenyra comes, tired after an early morning of council meetings. She walks forward as if to greet you with a kiss, then hesitates and sits on the bed.

They watch you, the room silent. You can hear the children playing in the next room. You wish you could be innocent and unaware like them. Playing house and tag and other stupid games.

Joffrey comes, only two, toddling into the room on his small little legs with a nanny behind him. He walks over to you, curious about your trunk of belongings. And your ire is with his parents, not him, so you pull him into your lap. He seems content to just sit there, watching as you fold and refold your dresses, unpack and repack them, trying to make one thing in your life perfect.

A servant knocks, bringing a dress. She addresses you, but Rhaenyra tells her to leave it on the bed. Joffrey is asleep, sitting up in your lap, and the nanny is called back into the room to collect him.

Rhaenyra murmurs that they’ll let you change, and that they’re sorry, again. You don’t answer. You stand, turn towards the bed.

A black dress rests on the red sheets.

—-

The funeral of your husband is a sordid affair, no one really liking him, only a younger brother of his coming forward to shed any real tears. You feign sadness to avoid giving a speech, hiding behind a handkerchief and a black veil. You have only met his brother a few times before, and he is a nice enough man. Not smart enough to realize what his brother was doing you, but you like to think he would have helped you if he had known.

Besides, he was a general, biding his time in a keep with his men, waiting for House Tully to call upon their bannermen. He never spent much time at House Chamber’s ancestral seat.

You are not surprised when he walks over to you now.

“My Lady, my condolences. My brother was a good man, you a good woman. My heart aches for you.”

Rhaenyra and Daemon stand not to far, champagne flutes in their hands, whispering under the cover of Rhaenyra’s black paper fan. Close enough to hear you and him, but you are too tired to care.

“Thank you, Ser Bryan. My lord husband would be most happy to know you thought so fondly of him.” He smiles, awkwardly.

“Y/N, I, is it okay if I call you that?” You nod, confused at his nervous posture and wavering voice. “My advisors, who I have been leaning on in this transition, have suggested something to me. A proposal.”

“Yes. You’re unmarried, right?”

He nods. “They have suggested- a pairing that I would be happy with.” You smile, genuinely. He deserves it. “They propose I marry, well, you.”

You faintly hear the sound of scuffling, Rhaenyra most likely having to hold Daemon back.

“I…” He runs a hand through his hair, takes a step back. “Y/N… I would be perfectly happy with this arrangement. But I won’t marry you, or even speak of this again, if you say so. It is your choice. Think about it.” He presses a brotherly kiss to your cheek, and you are frozen in place.

—-

The Morning After the Attack, 2 Days Ago

“You cannot kill him!”

Daemon rounds on you with a fierce look in his eyes, some possessive need prompting him to avenge you.

“You do not command me, little girl.” His voice holds no venom, only facts. You are young, a year younger than Rhaenyra, and you have always tried to keep a lighthearted outlook on life. But the cards you were dealt caused that outlook to become severe. But your morals did not falter.

“Don’t patronize me.”

Rhaenyra places a hand on your shoulder a kiss to your cheek, standing up from where she sat on the chaise.

“We are all in fragile states-”

“I am in no such thing-” Daemon starts, but Rhaenyra continues with a scathing glare.

“And we all need to think- think- before we do anything. I talked to the guards, to my father and Harrold Westerling. They have agreed to keep this from the public for now. We do not know who made an attempt on your life, Y/N. Not in the eyes of the law.”

“Of course we know!”

You take a heavy seat on the chaise, soothing yourself in Rhaenyra’s leftover warmth.

“We know who tried to kill her. We know. Let me punish him for it, for God’s sakes!”

“Daemon. You are not helping.”

You look up at them, fingers making red moons in your palms.

“Are you so bloodthirsty that you can’t just let him die naturally?” You truly did not understand it. Your husband was to die soon. Everyone knew it. You had heard gossip from the servants- he grew sicker and sicker by the day. His heart was failing, and you could not understand why Daemon and Rhaenyra couldn’t just let him die.

“Why are you defending him?” Daemon asked, incredulous. Rhaenyra gasped and hit him on the arm, muttering an apology to you.

“I’m not.” You hissed, and you tried your best to stand strong, but tears pooled in your eyes.

His face softened. His eyes lost that murderous glint, his jaw unclenched. “I’m sorry, Y/N, my love-”

“Is it so wrong to not want blood on my hands?”

“No, it’s not. But there would be no blood on your hands. Nor Rhaenyra’s. Only mine.” He sighed, stepped forward and his knees cracked as he fell to the floor before you. He grabbed your hands, detangling them and resting them on your knees. “Let me make him pay for all that he’s done to you.”

Rhaenyra sat next to you, winding an arm around your head and pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Daemon is no better than a dragon. He’s a bloodthirsty beast of a man. Your husband will die anyway. Let Daemon feel he avenged you.” She turned your head towards her, giving you a smile that made your heart stop even like this.

Daemon pressed a hand to your chest, the bandaged part in the center of your chest that covered the wound from the assassin.

“Think about it,” he urged, and you nodded.

“Okay. I’ll think about it.” Daemon smiled, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to your lips. You could not help the smile on your own face.

And you could not help it falling.

The door opened, and Rhaenyra stood to speak in buses tones with the servant.

Daemon took Rhaenyra’s places, kissing your hand and the marks on your palm, muttering sweet apologies and words in Valyrian you did not understand.

“Listen to me.” You looked up when Rhaenyra approached, placing a hand on yours and Daemon’s faces. “Don’t let your temper get to you.” Her eyes fixed on Daemon, then turned back to you. “Don’t forget that we will protect you.”

“Rhaenyra-” Daemon started, but was interrupted by a servant clearing his throat.

“Lord Kyle of House Chambers, Your Graces.”

Oh, and when he walked in, hobbling with the help of a servant and a cane, it was a hard sight to see. His skin was pale and his face was hallowed, and his expression was one that looked as if he had seen The Stranger himself.

Daemon growled.

And to be quite honest, you felt laughter rise in your chest even in this horrible moment. It was ridiculous truly, and he was a wild beast just as Rhaenyra said.

But when your husbands eye settled on you, any semblance of joy appeared from your body.

His eyes trailed the three of you with a scrutinizing, judging gaze.

“Still whoring yourself out, huh?” When Daemon stood, Rhaenyra had to physically place herself in front of him to even try and stop him. Anger rolled off him, but he would not hurt his wife. Your husband coughed loudly into a handkerchief “Just a jest, My Prince.”

“I will kill him, I will take his head, I will rip him to shreds-”

Rhaenyra finally managed to push him back onto the couch, and he wrapped a tight arm around your shoulders.

“He’s a fucking cunt,” Daemon whispered, just for you. “He’s a fucking liar, too.”

“Calm, My Prince?” Your husband was a dying man, and had nothing to lose. He took a heavy seat on the opposing arm chairs, body sagging at the relief of his own weight.

“What do you want, Lord Chambers?” Rhaenyra, ever the perfect princess, seemed the most adept at handing this. You folding your hands in front of you, keeping your eyes to the floor.

Perhaps if you did not look, did not talk, he would simply forget about you.

He let out a dry laugh that turned into a cough.

“I could ask for a lot. I could ask for my wife back, but, well, she’s a whore. Why would I want that? I could ask for compensation for all you have done to my wife. But I’m already a dead man.Tell me, I truly want to know- was she a good fuck? I could try and…” He trailed off.

His speech had been punctuated with laughs and coughs all the way throughout, and Daemon and Rhaenyra had only grown more tense with each word of his. You wanted to get angry, but you had been so used to this for years it was so easy to just sink into the cushions and try and pretend it was different.

“I’ll have your tongue for that.” Rhaenyra whispers, and you hear your husband stand.

“Really?” He hums, making for the door.

“Yes! Yes I will, you selfish, vain, disgusting excuse for a man!” You look up as she stands.

“Rhaenyra-” But she evades your grip, screaming more profanities and insults at your husband.

You watch as your husband wobbles, putting more support on his cane. He groans in pain, but Rhaenyra is too wrapped up in her rage to notice.

Gods, you think, she is killing him with her words.

He stumbles, catching her attention, and she trails off. She mutters something under her breath, but you don’t quite catch it.

“Fucking whore. Both of you women are fucking whores. Don’t you know women are supposed to be seen and not heard? Cunts,” he hisses, and somehow, instinctively, you know those words will be his last.

Daemon is unable to contain his rage, and he stands up.

His muscles ripple under his tight cotton shirt, and he looks like a God as he looms over Kyle Chambers.

He does nothing but clench his jaw and slap him across the face.

When your husband falls, it is a heavy thing.

You think you scream, and you think Rhaenyra gasps. Daemon falters and you run forward, because if Daemon and Rhaenyra have just thrown their lives away for you you’re not sure if you can forgive them.

He is on his side when you reach him, falling to your knees. His cane thrown to the ground next to him.

When you lean over his head, your ear near his mouth, you hear nothing.

And in a way, you are finally free. Your husband no longer ties you down. No longer can torture you. You had dreamed about this for years, imagined the sweet scent of freedom so much it was ingrained into your brain.

You just wish somebody had told you that freedom is quite a lonely thing.

—-

Present Day

Your good-brother leaves you with a sheepish smile, and you are still in shock.

You are boiling over with emotions; anger, sadness, disappointment, confusion. You do not know what to do.

Daemon and Rhaenyra come over quick, Daemon grabbing your biceps in a tight grip.

“You won’t marry him,” he hisses. “You’ll come back to Dragonstone with us.”

“How can I do that, Daemon? How can I do that when you murdered someone right in front of me.”

“It was an accident, Y/N. It was a slap, you saw.”

“No! No, if you hadn’t been so bloodthirsty, so wrapped up in your rage- Rhaenyra, you would have noticed how you screaming at him weakened him.” She stands beside you and Daemon, and looks away ashamedly.

“Y/N- I’m so sorry-”

“And Daemon, you shouldn’t have fucking slapped him. You were selfish. What if they hadn’t believed us? What if they hadn’t believed his heart had stopped, and the red on his cheek was from hitting the floor? You endangered everything you claim to love.” Your tears fall, and it is the first they have fallen since his death.

Rhaenyra takes a breath and places a hand on your face. “Come back to Dragonstone with us. The children love you, the fresh air will be good, we will talk we will make it better, Y/N, please-”

“Why would I do that? You clearly do not care about me.”

Her eyes darken and she hisses, hand gripping your chin.

“You will come with us because you are ours, and we were always meant to burn together. You will come with us because I am not content to spend the rest of my time on this hellscape without you. You are the only thing that makes life worth living, Y/N, do you not realize? You will come because we care about you. Because we love you.”

Her grip softens toward the end, and for a second, it is a sweet moment in the arms of your lovers. And as much as they talk about you being the reason life is worth living, it is the same for you. They are your saviors. Rhaenyra kept you alive all those years in the Riverlands, Daemon saved you from the assassin. And the only reason they hurt and killed your husband was for you.

This moment is like before. And you do not want it to become the last.

“I do not forgive you.”

Daemon trails your jawline with your nose and you would be lying if you said your knees did not tremble. You are suddenly thankful you are in a hidden corner of the garden.

“That will come,” he whispers, biting through the thin lace veil to softly graze your skin.

“You’ll come with us?” Rhaenyra asks, and her eyes are so full of hope.

“Yes.”

What does freedom feel like, you wonder? You thought freedom was the death of your husband. But freedom might be something else. Something entirely different.

What is freedom?

Is it the feel of no chains on your wrists, or the opportunity to make your own choices? Is it the absence of fear?

Is it truly as lonely as you felt all those days ago?

What is freedom?

—-

taglist:

@wondergal2001 @akiraquote @a-lil-bit-nuts @anginoguera @thatkinkylesgirl1 @stitchattacks @honeypillowsblog @kaloafd @blackhoodlea @softtina @wallace02sblog @tetgod @hotd-fanfic

[tallsc]

Last minute thoughts on candidates, in a general order of how much I want to vote for each. I'm not gonna go into negativity or drama, I'm not gonna be hating on any candidate, just giving my sense of each of them.

Note: I primarily watch Phil, Jaiden, Bad, and Slime, and a bit of Fit and Baghera, so that perspective is where my thoughts are coming from. ALSO this is all about the characters, not the creators.

Starting with an honorable mention of Baghera, would've been my first choice but I respect her choice to drop out, fan hostility sucks. Baghera's platform was a council of islanders to make combined decisions and not put focus on just one person, which I like, cause I don't want a single person to have that much connection to the Federation.

Second, Gegg: Gegg's platform is to overthrow the system and band together to take down the Federation, letting the people choose for themselves. Yes, my vote is unironically going for Gegg now, I want a focused effort on the Federation, I never really trusted this election bit, I like the idea of each islander making their own choices, and honestly I'm just very interested in seeing where Charlie's going with all this Gegg stuff.

Forever: While I would rather have a council or some sort of separation of power, if we're having a singular president, Forever seems to be the best here. From what I gather from him and Cell (btw I'm sorta glad it's Forever running not Cellbit, Cellbit's fine but who knows what the Federation did to him) it seems like they have a pretty thought-out plan and I do believe, despite them being opposed to the full council, that they'll take other people's ideas into account.

Etoiles: Not as strong of a president as Forever, but I don't think he'd be a bad one, and security is always good, especially considering the danger ever-present toward the eggs. I just think that's a very narrow focus, and outside of protection there's not much information on any other plans.

Bad: Honestly, Bad's old platform was just under Baghera on my list. I like the idea of a council, and I want the eggs to have a say, but I'm really nervous about putting that much pressure and attention on them and that's lowered my vote substantially. There have been attacks on candidates, so if the eggs take power, won't there just be more attacks on the eggs? Plus they are just kids, I don't think Tallulah would like that much pressure and I think Richarlyson and probably others would just be chaotic.

Felps: Imma be honest I have no clue what Felps's plan is but he seems chill so he's next on my list

Mike: I also have very little understanding on Mike's platform but I heard something about him wanting to be a communist dictator I think so that puts him a little below Felps

Foolish: I mean I don't think he even really wants to win, he's just here for the advertisement, memes, and drama, please someone assassinate this man not because I don't like him but because he wants to be dramatically murdered. I love that he's running but I do not think he should ever be elected XD

ElQuackity: Also just here for the drama but in a more lore way, do not let the Federation plant win pls, also someone un-popsicle Quackity

Also props to Fit and Jaiden for helping run the debates, they were chaotic so good on them for trying to keep things on track, and to the audience please respect all creators or I will block you and so will the rest of Tumblr ^-^

[butterflywannabefree]

Monkie Kid OC Info and Story (Because he has been marinating in my head and this drawing doesn't do him justice but it works until I do something better-)

Name: Zi You Xiong/Kaskae

Title: The Bear Demon Guard or The Sun Bear Guardian

Occupation: Informer and assistance to the Jade Emperor (Formerly) Infomation Guardian and Explorer (Currently)

Age: No one knows. He's just ancient- But probably older than however old Nezha, Erlang and Princess Iron Fan are.

Species: Sun Bear Demon

Zi You means 'Liberty' in Chinese while Xiong means 'Bear' and Kaskae is 'Chief'

Info:

Zi You is an expertly skilled guardian and former right hand assistant to the Jade Emperor. For millions of years, he became a sort of agent for the Emperor in many events across the timeline. But before that, he definitely wasn't what he is now. Zi You was once a mortal chief in the mortal realm, leading his army to victory but was lead by upper forces that controlled what he was able to do. When things got a bit much and shady deals were made, he found out and before he could say anything, they left him to die in the forest with nothing. Zi You spent his time in the forest, wandering aimlessly for anything that could help him...and he found that in the form of a bear. A Sun Bear, to be exact. He found this Sun Bear trapped by a net that had been purposefully set up to catch it but he saved it before anything happened. Earning the bear's respect, he named it Bǎohù ('Protect') and the two became close, helping each other as they lived in the forest as companions. But soon, the army Zi You formerly worked for caught wind he was alive and wanted to finish the job, finding him and in the midst of killing him, Bǎohù jumped in to save him but was shot down. Angered, Zi You went and killed the one responsible before collapsing and dying from his own injuries.

Waking up in the Celestial Realm, Zi You was, of course, taken aback from this. He was never really one to believe in the afterlife or anything. But he figured finding a way to live would be the best. He still kept his army prowess up and used it to survive, gaining his abilities and his spear along the way. He was soon infamous in the Celestial Realm for his fighting status and gained council with the Jade Emperor who decided that they should work together.

Zi You accepted because what else could he do ? Say no ? Of course not. From there, he stood by the Jade Emperor. Not as a general but more of a bodyguard. And also someone who the Jade Emperor told many things to. He was trusted to the Jade Emperor and you could say they became best friends after that.

But then, things...happened.

Zi You witnessed many things he wished he didn't during his time with the Jade Emperor and...it got to the point where he didn't want it anymore. And through the assault of the Celestial Realm, he decided he was done...He told the Jade Emperor he wanted out of his duties and was done being the the Celestial Realm, wanting to find more things in reality than just...pain. The Jade Emperor agreed after some convincing, warning his friend that 'Not everything is good in reality'.

So that's basically where he is now. Zi You is a vagabond of sorts, travelling the world at his own pace and discovering different things to see. And with each journey he takes, he adds various gem stones he finds to his staff-spear (Which is why there is one gem there. That was his staff in the beginning of his journeys) and through it, he met MK and the gang and became a slight guiding force for them.

Personality:

Zi You is a leader. That's all he has basically been for his life and afterlife. And he has gathered the respect from many of the most powerful demons around him. And he definitely isn't afraid to do what he believes is necessary.

On the surface, Zi You looks like a very serious bear, seeming like he would bite you if you dared speak to him...and he would. If you said something wrong. But he has a heart of genuine gold. Zi You would be that type of dad who probably gets hurt but undermines his own injuries and injures himself more just to make sure you are okay. And he is supportive for all the good things in life like trusting self instincts and courage. He plays a sort of granddad figure to MK (He has enough father figures) and the gang in helping them out and providing advice. He has seen a lot and isn't afraid to share what he knows.

But don't test him. He will get angry if you push him the wrong way. Looking at you Wukong. Zi You likes order and knows when things get serious. So he'll tell everyone to stop joking around if it means getting things done. He can handle some of the gang's usual shenanigans but if it gets out of hand, he'll say something. And it won't be pretty. Also, he can put up a fight with DBK and Azure. They don't scare him. At all, actually.

Also, being an informer, he's managed to gain info from anyone and anything during his travels so any question you ask him, he will know about. Even things about Wukong he knows. He's Tang but he's lived more-

Abilities:

He has enhanced strength, agility and his claws are sharp enough to give a major mega swipe to the face if he feels so inclined. He is a spirit after all. He also has the ability to enlarge himself more to make himself bigger. He could get to the size of DBK if he wants to. He also has very good hearing than a normal bear so he can be thousands of miles away and he'll hear you. It doesn't get so loud though so he's good.

================================================

I'm gonna stop there since that's basically it. He has more to his abilities but I don't wanna spoil anything. I've had him in my head enough to know when a ref is enough without spoiling everything. But I hope I can do more things with him. Thank you for seeing and please like if you enjoy it !