#where the shadows dance

[ladylokilaufeyson5]

Where The Shadows Dance (iv)

Bodyguard!Azriel x AutumnDaughter!Reader

CHAPTER IV: The Tavern

SUMMARY: Taking care of the Princess of the Autumn Court is more challenging than Azriel anticipated

WARNINGS: more misogyny! (would it really be the autumn court without it), mentions of murder ig, alcohol and vomiting, swearing

NOTE: once more thank you to my moots @icey--stars and @fieldofdaisiies for reading over my work <33 (check out their stuff rn istg)

WORDS: 2K

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit.

That was the only word that was flying around Azriel’s head as he knocked on the princess’s bathroom door and received no response. She had been in there for an hour now, doing Cauldron knew what, but her silence made Azriel uneasy.

Shit. He was in such deep shit.

And not just because Y/n may have drowned in her bathtub — or worse, been assassinated — but because of the way he felt about her.

Azriel was no stranger to attraction, and he knew he was attracted to the Daughter of the Autumn Court. It wasn’t just her undeniable beauty that drew him in — it was the way she held herself, the way she was so unafraid to provoke him, the fiery determination in her soul.

But he couldn’t feel that for her. Y/n was the only daughter of the Autumn Court, and if Beron discovered the feelings Azriel harboured for her… well Beron would probably send all four of his legitimate sons after him.

So he had distanced himself after the inner circle had left. He could tell it had hurt and surprised her, and of course he felt horrible, but it was the only thing he could do. The longer he spent with the Autumn Daughter, the more the attraction grew, so he decided that if he did not speak or engage with her, then maybe that would halt the growth.

But sometimes, he couldn’t help but ask her questions, to answer hers, or to just talk to her. It must have been confusing for Y/n, with how much Azriel seemed to switch between being interested, and then ‘broody’, as she tended to put it.

“Lady Vanserra?” Azriel called, knocking on the wooden door. “Are you alright?”

He thought of how he had followed the princess into the bathroom earlier, and physically cringed. By the Cauldron, that had been embarrassing. He hadn’t even been thinking — he was too occupied with what she had said earlier, the way she had looked at him as she tried to seduce him. It probably would have worked if Azriel didn’t have centuries of training.

There was no answer, and Azriel’ worry grew. What if she had been assassinated? His shadows roamed the room beyond and… nothing.

Azriel opened the door, and what he saw made his blood boil. A pair of scissors lay on the ground beside what he assumed was parts of the princess’s gown, which had been transformed into a makeshift rope. It hung out of the window, and upon further inspection, she was not waiting at the bottom. Worst of all, though, was the guards stationed beneath her window were nowhere to be seen.

Where had they gone? Had they pursued the princess, or had she dealt with them otherwise? Azriel was beginning to see why the Daughter of the Autumn Court was constantly described as difficult.

Azriel took a deep breath. He needed to find her, and quickly. If Beron or anyone else discovered that she was missing…

The walls, his shadows whispered. She climbed over the castle walls.

Well, fuck. Azriel rushed to the window, intending on jumping out of it and dragging her back home, kicking and screaming, when a sly voice said, “Lost her already?”

Azriel whirled and found Eris leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. Fuck fuck fuck. What was he supposed to say? Oh yeah, I lost your sister and she’s climbed over the castle gates, my bad I’ll just go grab her.

Eris chuckled and shook his head, a single strand of his hair swinging in front of his face. “You need not to worry, shadowsinger. My sister is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”

“I’m here to protect her,” Azriel ground out, although he was surprised at how calm Eris was.

Eris raised an eyebrow, the gesture mirroring the way his sister did it. “Are you sure about that?”

Azriel paused and glared at the heir. That was what he was here for, wasn’t it? To be the Autumn Daughter’s bodyguard, to protect her from harm. That was why he was here, in this damned court, rather than at home.

“What are you talking about?” Azriel demanded.

Eris sighed and walked over to the other side of Y/n’s bathroom. He felt around for a moment, and Azriel wondered if the heir had lost his mind before part of the wallpaper popped out, as if there had been a secret door. Azriel’s shadows fluttered towards it, and inside, squirrelled away, were…

“Tunics and pants?” Azriel stated, unimpressed.

Eris rolled his eyes and waved his hand, causing the glamour to disappear. There were still a few pairs of folded pants and tunics, but they were accompanied with jewelled daggers and small bags of gold.

Why would Y/n need to hide bags of gold? Her father was a High Lord, and she appeared to have every material thing her heart desired.

“Why are you showing me this?” Azriel questioned.

“When my sister musters up the courage to finally leave this place, I want you to protect her,” Eris stated plainly, folding his hands behind his back. Before Azriel could even speak, the heir continued, “But I also want you to know that it will not be an arduous task. I have been quietly training her in defensive combat for decades… but still, she is young, and untried. She will need someone to protect her from my father’s wrath, to give him pause if he considers going after her.”

Azriel watched the heir carefully. His shadows detected no lies, but… why? Did Eris truly care this much for his sister? Azriel had to admit, Y/n seemed to be able to worm her way into anyone’s heart, but…

“Why me?” Azriel inquired. “Why not yourself?”

“Trust me, shadowsinger, should my father show any inkling of wanting my sister dead, I will kill him myself,” Eris said sharply, his eyes flashing. “She just needs to be safe during that time.”

Azriel found himself considering it. He could take Y/n to the Night Court, he could show her Velaris, he could—

“Wait. When we uphold our part of the bargain… you want us to watch over your sister as well?” Azriel asked.

A nod was all he got in response. Azriel opened his mouth, ready to say something, anything, when Eris commented, “You should probably go find my sister now. The Cauldron knows where she’s ended up.”

And, fuck, Azriel should be searching for her right now, but he was still dissecting what the fuck was going on here. What Eris was asking of him, and the Night Court. It would be considered an act of war if they harboured her — at least until Eris killed his father.

Azriel gave Eris one final glare before shadow-winnowing to the castle walls. From there, he followed Y/n’s scent, his shadows tracking her when her glamour was too strong for his immortal senses. Darkness had fallen by the time he had reached the main street, and his shadows led him to a tavern. It appeared to be similar to Velaris’s Pleasure Hall, and Azriel steeled himself as he entered.

Loud music assaulted his ears, the floor thrumming with the intensity of it. People danced everywhere, their bodies a large, twining mass. Azriel searched for the Autumn Princess, and his shadows found her before he did. She was in the middle of the dance floor, and had he not been so pissed at her in that moment, he may have stopped to marvel at her beauty. Her hair was loose, the top of her tunic unbuttoned, and she looked so free.

Did the people around her know that they danced and drank with their princess? As Azriel looked closer, he realised that her face looked slightly different — her eyes were larger, and her lips were lower. In fact, her skin was a few shades darker, and her hair was even a different tone. She had glamoured herself, even though no one knew what she really looked like.

Before he knew what he was doing, Azriel stalked through the sea of bodies, all the way to the princess. Her eyes lit up when she noticed him, a massive smile covering her face.

“Azriel!” she beamed, her voice slightly slurred. “You made it!”

Azriel narrowed his eyes at the princess. “What are you doing here?”

The princess snorted and downed the rest of her drink before he could stop her. “What does it look like, silly? I’m dancing!”

She threw her hands above her head, hips swaying to the beat of the music. People danced around her, as drunk as she was, almost as if they were some sort of hive-mind, and their only thought was to let loose.

“We’re going home,” Azriel ordered.

That seemed to sober the princess up slightly, causing her to frown and shake her head. “No. I don’t want to. I’m having fun.”

“Lady Va— Y/n, we need to leave,” Azriel urged.

Because, in this crowded tavern, anyone could be an enemy. Indeed, Azriel had already spotted several males eyeing her, although in their defence, there did not seem to be anything in their gazes beyond lust. Still, it infuriated the shadowsinger.

“Azriel,” Y/n groaned, as if he was being unreasonable.

“Please,” Azriel tried. “I’ll get into so much trouble if your father finds that we’re missing.”

It was the correct tactic, guilt tripping her, because it worked. She sighed deeply and hung her head, defeated. He felt slightly bad, but if Beron did discover that they were currently breaking at least seven of his rules… well, Azriel didn’t want to find out how he’d respond to that.

Y/n walked out with him, albeit a little drunkenly, stumbling and waving goodbye to people. When they started on the road to the castle, Azriel asked, “How often do you do this?”

Y/n shrugged and kicked a rock. “Every few weeks?”

“Every few weeks?” Azriel repeated, eyebrows raised. “How do you not get caught?”

“It’s easier when I don’t have a broody shadowsinger following me into my bathroom,” Y/n snickered.

Azriel frowned and refused to let his face flush. He looked around at the road, and he realised just how far they were from the castle. In his frantic search for Y/n, he hadn’t even noticed it was a relatively lengthy journey…

Y/n suddenly halted, hand clamped over her mouth, before she turned to the side of the road and emptied her guts into a bush. Azriel acted on instinct, gently grabbing her hair in one hand, and rubbing the other in soothing circles on her back. He remembered when he was her age, when he used to binge drink with Rhys and Cass… none of them would have even made it out of the tavern without puking, so she was doing better than all of them combined.

“I hope that wasn’t from the thought of me following you to your bathroom,” Azriel said, trying to lighten the mood.

Y/n laughed, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. “No. Just at the thought of going back to the castle.”

She must have still been drunk to admit that so easily. Of course, she wasn’t entirely secretive about her distaste of her home, but still.

“You think you’re okay to walk?” Azriel asked.

The princess nodded, and Azriel thanked the Mother, because he really didn’t want her to throw up on him if he had to carry her. Azriel took his glove off and pressed the back of his hand to the princess’s forehead. She was warm, but not too warm, so she’d probably purged the sickness from her by now. Indeed, after doing that, Rhys, Cass, and Az would continue drinking, but that was not the case in this scenario.

As he pulled his hand back, she grabbed onto it suddenly. He was so shocked that he didn’t move when she pulled his hand closer and inspected it. Her fingertips were soft as they ran over the burn scars, and Azriel wished he’d never taken his glove off.

“Pretty,” she murmured. “Like art.” Azriel tried to pull his hand away, but Y/n held firm. “Really. There is a story behind every piece of art. And this art looks painful, but it’s beautiful.”

“Spoken like a true drunk,” Azriel muttered, finally yanking his hand away.

Y/n smiled sadly, and they walked back to the castle in silence.

TAGLIST: @honeybee54321 @marigold-morelli @lucky7rosie @itsswritten @paankhaleyaar @bubybubsters @5onedirection5 @lilah-asteria @sheblogs @thelov3lybookworm @blushingfawnsposts @thisiskaylin @morganisheree @sleepylunarwolf @bakananya @bookishbroadwaybish @namelesssaviour @glitterypirateduck @sfhsgrad-blog @ash-mc @feyres-fireheart @ib525 @azrielswhore @copenhagenspirit @eternallyelvish @teenagellamaangel @thisiskaylin @littleladdty @dnfhascorruptedme @taylorgriffin @fightmedraco

[anxiously-sidequesting]

This blog is my house so I can say basically whatever I want but I know I have some esteemed guests and friends who come over a lot and some lurkers who peer into the windows so all my wildest ass wizard shit stays in the locked basement where it belongs because it's common courtesy 💖

[fanficfish]

i'm watching a persona 4 playthrough and

yosuke and teddie being literal brothers

Teddie: "I'm sorry" (for disappearing with no notice) "don't worry i won't go back to the TV world without letting you guys know first" Yosuke: you better not idiot-who-freeloads-in-my-closet (totally because it's too hard to explian it to the parents where you disappear to)

Teddie has just such peak little brother energy in teh gameshow it's lowkey hilarious, like he just...debunks a point off Yosuke just because he can and Yosuke still ends up agreeing to do the rest of the games... (also can we appreciate he put this together under Yosuke's nose? Like they live together, they work together, Teddie had to find time somewhere to get himself a costume and the whole setup and all the trivia facts even if he could just whip up half the stuff from being part Shadow)

Bonus: this sent me for a ride for a minute

i legit thought that last image was a Makoto cameo and then i realized "wait nevermimd"

[the-cat-at-the-theatre-door]

A piece of the Winter Garden Stage, pre 2000s restoration, signed by several performers including Ken Page, Marlene Danielle, Lenny Daniel, and Joel Briel.

[shadowxamyweek]

So wait, Amy, what's this performance of the Nutcracker again? You said you donated to get the link?

Amy: Huh? Oh! [Amy blinks, coming out of their comfy stupor as they sit up straighter.] Amy: There's a local kids ballet group that practice down the street from me. It's little-little kids all the way up to teenagers. The person who started it is actually an acquaintance of mine, and she's pretty awesome, and they really work to sort of break a lot of the taboos and gross culture around ballet. That's why I make a point to donate every year! A nice little bonus is that anyone who does donate gets free tickets and a link to watch the recorded performance. I couldn't go to the actual show this year, unfortunately, so this is the first time I'm seeing how they did! [Shadow's brow slowly knots itself.] Shadow: What do you mean 'gross culture?' It's just dance? [Amy sighs.] Amy: It's not just *dance*, it's *ballet.* One of the worst disciplines of dance to get into. The expectations, the way they want you to literally break your body. My toes still get numb sometimes, and I know it's because of how I was trained. And don't even get me started on the diet culture, eugh... [Amy points at the screen.] Amy: These kids don't have that. Tristana, that's the artistic director, she makes a point to put health above everything else. See those kids? Look at their feet. There's all different shapes and styles there, not just the 'perfect point' feet. Plus, look at all the body types! Most ballet companies would only bring on petite 'dancer bodies.' Heck, even this performance of the Nutcracker- oh wait, I didn't tell you- okay so these kids work to make their own version of the Nutcracker every year. It's a big deal. Most companies just pay the royalties to do the Balanchine one because 'ooo, it's Balanchine, ooo,' but honestly, that guy can go- [There's another coo from Rosie, and Amy pauses. She drops her arm and wraps it around Shadow to scratch Rosie between the ears.] Amy: Well... he can go do several different things that I won't say in front of Rosie, because I don't want her getting a potty mouth. Shadow: I see...

[purplemninja]

I made this for the Little  Nightmares 6 year anniversary (or Six's 6th birthday) video and finally decided to upload Six doing the smug dance GIF in case other people may want to use it (but I want to be credited if it's used). The background of the video is a still image, and the sparklers are another GIF I found online here: https://gifer.com/en/Z9pp

I used someone else's WIP of Spinel doing this dance as a reference for the frames, which you can find here: https://www.deviantart.com/kyuubicore/art/Smug-dance-WIP-815118871

[rohirric-hunter]

YoU tHoUgHt ThEy WeRe JuSt StOrIeS

[came-out-of-the-coffin-desisted]

decided to make carla a companion in the kitty grave fic and honestly i just think carla is so fucking cool. i’m a known boone hater bc he killed her but like. what if the bullet just grazed her and she played dead. what if she escaped and became the companion instead of boone and had her baby with her new found family. what if carla got to be a person instead of a faceless phantom fridgedwife (also yeah the vegas background is from the first panel of all roads, i ran out of energy at the last minute)

close ups under the cut

[howl-at--the-sun]

oooh vidow 13? sounds like it could be fun!

oooh yes yes yes it is very fun

13 -> dance

@goosekee

"And left and right and meet and-" Vio cut himself off with a grunt of pain as Shadow's toes collided with the top of his foot.

"Shit!" The shade exclaimed, glancing down at Vio's injured foot. "Sorry Vi, that was an accident," "I know, I know," Vio said, shaking his head. "And it was an accident the other ten times you did it as well,"

Noticing the hurt look on Shadow's face, Vio quickly moved to correct himself.

"I don't blame you, if my memory serves me right, Link stepped on Zelda's toes many a time when he was learning. But my foot does need a break from your repeated incursions into its non-painful state,"

"Well then," Shadow said, a smirk drawing itself across his face. "Allow me to take a burden off your poor, injured toes,"

Vio yelped in surprise as Shadow moved inhumanly fast to scoop his boyfriend up into his arms in a bridal carry. Muscle memory told Vio to wrap his arms around Shadow's neck and the two of them took a minute to just look at each other, a blush settling over both their cheeks.

"Now, let's see if there's any cakes in the kitchen to steal!" Shadow exclaimed, and Vio's rumbling stomach didn't have the willpower to protest.

-<3 -

"Vio, why is there water falling from the sky?"

Closing the pages of his weekly breathtakingly bad romance novel, Vio glanced up at his boyfriend and the view he was pointing at.

"Oh it's raining," Vio said noncommittally. "That's just when- holy shit it's raining,"

Shadow's head jerked to the side as he heard the rare swear word slip through his boyfriend's lips. Perhaps what was even more uncharacteristic was the ear to ear grin splitting Vio's face.

"Shadow holy shit! It's raining!"

After seeing his startled boyfriend blink at him for seven seconds very much gay with a dumbfounded expression, Vio composed himself and attempted to explain.

"It's rain. That's when water in the ground is absorbed into the sky and then falls from the sky when there is enough of it up there. There hasn't been a lot of rain recently so I'm very glad it has started raining again,"

Shadow's look of confusion lessened slightly. "Okay, huh,"

Vio glanced out the window at the night that had settled over the lost woods and the rain falling down outside it. It was clearly raining, but it didn't look like it was an excessively hard downpour.

That was when a idiotic, or genius, depending on your point of view, occurred to him.

"Shadow, come with me!" Vio exclaimed, grabbing his boyfriend by the hand and dragging him towards the door. Shadow's noise of surprise was completely ignored by Vio, who threw open the door to their cottage and dragged Shadow out into the rain.

"Hey!" Shadow protested. "It's wet out here!"

Vio gave Shadow his best 'no shit' look and re-positioned them so that they were facing each other with their right hand's clasped and Vio's left hand on Shadow's back.

"And left and right and-"

Effortlessly, Vio led Shadow into the dance and Shadow clumsily followed, trying his best to copy Vio's patterns. There, in the cool evening, with rain pouring down around them and making Vio's eyelashes twinkle with diamonds, Shadow forgot his worries and fears and focused only on the sound of his boyfriend's voice.

"-And meet and left and-"

The pair continued to spin through the woods. At some point, Vio's instructions ceased to be necessary and it was only the heartbeat of the two lovers that guided them through their dance. As their rhythm slowed, Vio and Shadow found themselves face to face, and before either of them could think, their lips were meeting in a tender kiss, as soft as the grass that the two of them stood on.

"That was perfect," Vio exhaled, an adoring smile gracing his face as he beamed down at his boyfriend. Shadow met his smile with a smile of his own, and while Vio was still off his guard, scooped him into a bridal carry.

Vio's expression was an adorable combination of surprised and flustered, and his smile only got wider as Shadow carried him into the house for a night of cuddles and hot chocolate.

[ladylokilaufeyson5]

Where The Shadows Dance

Bodyguard!Azriel x AutumnDaughter!Reader

SUMMARY: When Beron invites the Night Court to his Autumn home in an attempt to strengthen bonds between the two courts, Azriel and his companions are suspicious of potential ulterior motives. They are, ultimately, correct to think this, as Beron does have a reason for his invitation.

Y/n Vanserra, the Autumn Court's untamed princess, needs a bodyguard, and who better than one of the Night Court warriors who helped command the armies against Hybern?

Y/n's untamed spirit clashes with Azriel's reserved nature, leading to unwilling adventures and forbidden explorations of the Autumn Court's hidden corners. And Azriel slowly stops finding himself able to say no - not when she flirts with him to get her way, or teases him for being a 'broody old male.'

And though he knows he shouldn't, he finds himself falling for her. It will jeopardise everything, and yet he can't help it...

But it's okay, because she's falling for him too.

GENERAL WARNINGS: swearing, violence, descriptions of injuries and blood, smut (18+ mdni), um... yeah

Chapter i - The Proposition

Chapter ii - The Bodyguard

Chapter iii - The Princess

Chapter iv - The Tavern

Chapter v - coming soon

Chapter vi - coming soon

[fuckingguide]

the wwdits s4 teaser trailer but it’s (mostly) nandor dancing to the macarena

(tw for flashing lights, though not any worse than the actual trailer)

[rosepetals1]

god, i am absolutely soft for these two 😭💘

@choicesbookclub

[lord-of-the-ducks]

I wonder how that one Redditor who said “Guillermo seems straight to me” is doing

[astrxealis]

bg3 is too fun. too fun.

[headlesssamurai]

‘‘ A language unspoken burning between them in strident moans and silent heat. She wanted to take him until the frosts melted, and the leaves returned to the trees. She wanted to consume him entirely – drink him into her very soul like some elysian draught of smoldering light. ’’

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

JFKLDJSAKDFLJ YOu know what idea I just had? P3 is getting remade. And that reason is probably one of these reasons: 1) it’s easier to go from P5->P3 because of the similar format, 2) P3 is that dev teams baby, 3) it was one of the top requested games to be remade

But what if..... WHAT IF....there’s another hidden reason? It’s going to be related to (in theme or directly) to P6 (either paralleling it or juxtaposing it)? And...I dunno I came up with this theory in like 2017 fkjsakfjla I thought it’d be funny if it came true lakfjsdlkfjsl And if it does.....maybe I should go into hiding. 👀