#(and another separated point that i find interesting about his story is just how seemingly 'un-heroic' j.ason's death is)

[darabeatha]

@ardenssolis​​ replied ; Amg you know -- the last image with Jason looks like wings

   / U KNOW WHAT- I absolutely did not notice that- and now that u mention it, i can’t unsee it ! so i’ll proceed to now overthink about it and give some sort of semblance for a meaning behind it (which holds no spoilers bc i myself have not read through this l.b yet) BUT BASICALLY IM THINKING;; wings and 2 possible symbolisms I could tie with Jason and why the spilled blood could have taken the shape of wings;

1. Golden-woolled winged ram;  the initial gist over why Jason embarks on this big adventure starts bc Jason’s uncle (Pelias) killed Jason’s dad (Aeson) and usurped the throne (that originally belonged to Jason’s dad and therefore makes Jason the heir of it) but Pelias will only surrender his kingship to Jason if he retrieves this special fleece from a golden-woolled winged ram called chrysomallos, who’s wool ends up in Medea’s father’ (Aeetes) hands. Many depictions show it as simply a golden-woolled ram (like the statue of Medea down below) but he has wings!

2. Athena;  some sources differ on this but it happens to be that whoever ends up planning/constructing the Argo (Jason’s ship) receives the help and/or is made with the help of Athena; Athena in the third book of the Odyssey takes the form of a sea-eagle and is said that on early times presented herself as either an owl or as a bird goddess in general, so once again, the topic of wings pops in (also a curious thing i read; some aspects of the cult of Athena seem to have been influenced by other goddesses such as Ishtar and Anat, whom both carry the symbolism of wings). Without Athena’s help, there would be no Argo, so she is of vital importance indeed !

something else that popped inside my mind (3?). Something about Jason’s hair looking like the color of gold and the color of the winged ram's wool’s being gold;  something about how the fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship; how despite him being the rightful heir to the throne, it would be bringing this fleece to Pelias what would would serve to actually prove that he is worthy of being a king,,, something along those lines,, i’m sure that with some further cooking, there would be something taken from this -nods-

[sporesgalaxy]

The way Dungeon Meshi does gender makes me insane. It’s stated over and over that Falin and Laios really are more similar than anyone is looking for- Laios directly states as much at one point, Marcille mentions it when Falin wakes up the first time and starts bemoaning not eating any monsters, the magic mirror story even has fem!Toshiro crushing on Laios- but Laios is so protective of his little sister. Laios leaves home to start making a life he can one day share with her. And she leaves magic school because he has failed, and failed so hard that she’s worried that she might never see him again if she lets him leave without her. He wants to protect her from the way the world treats him, but he does not or does not want to understand the terrible truth- the world will never treat her as harshly as it does him, because she is a pretty ‘quirky’ girl and he is a big autistic man. Falin is happy, doing well in her own sphere, making a single friend (because she is still autistic, and has struggles of her own, even if they’re a different kind), but Laios still feels a need to protect her because his experience of this world has been nothing but cold shoulders and distrust all the way down. This story makes me want to sprint into the river. Laios and Falin are the best characters of all time.

Ouhhhhh I dont have time to reread dungeon meshi to give you good sources but based on my doodoo memory and vibes therein: I have to disagree that Falin was necessarily doing "well," and I especially disagree that the tragedy here is that Laios was doing something unnecessary by trying to make a place in the world for him and Falin.

Falin gets along seemingly ok in the world but it's because she's agreeable to a fault .

What's so interesting to me about the Touden siblings is the different ways they've learned to deal with being The Odd Man Out. Laios set out to try and forcefully carve out a PLACE for him and Falin in the world, where they could both openly and unabashedly be themselves.....Falin stayed behind, and learned how to hide the things that made her stick out too much, and how to appease people on the verge of rejecting her and Laios.

That can be functional, but it isn't good. It isn't happiness. It hurts in a million tiny ways every single day, to hide yourself out of fear of rejection like that.

At school, Falin must have spent a lot of time alone before she befriended Marcille, since Falin was familiar enough with the surrounding wilderness that she knew where that small Dungeon opening was. She sought out what happiness she could by following her unusual passions in more private ways, where no one would judge her for it. Falin didn't expect anyone NOT to judge her for her "weirdness" before she met Marcille, so Falin didn't even try to connect with anyone before Marcille at a level more personal than "classmate." That's not doing well. That's not living.

This kind of self-isolation is a coping mechanism for neurodivergence that functions for a while, but it eats away at you. Falin considered marrying Toshiro despite not loving him, essentially because it seemed like the normal thing to do and she didn't think she'd get another chance to be married at all. What if she had gone through with that, or something similar by the same reasoning? Laios lived in a state of being rejected over and over, which obviously hurts like hell. In contrast, Falin was willing to live a life she never wanted just to avoid total rejection. That can be incredibly painful too, in its own way.

Falin and Laios were BOTH tragically fighting doomed battles to find a place for themselves in the world during the time they were separated. Working together, supporting each other, they're able to do a lot more. Cries.

[totem-but-shark]

The differences and similarities between c and Q foolish is always so interesting to look at

They both have an ambition, though that came later on for cfoolish, and a tendency to make connections. Obviously that desire to build and create massive structures is shared as well

There are big differences though. A massive part of cfoolish was his pacifism and his struggle to find balance, which contrasts with with a chaos thrill seeking qfoolish

Cfoolish also isolated himself more. He deliberately built his home further away and harder to get to while foolish built his home right at spawn.

They’re both fairly well aware of cycles of violence and revenge, and act accordingly.

I also like how foolish almost always builds his homes by water, which is a deliberate choice by ccfoolish, as a throughline

it's SOOOOO interesting!!! there's so many similarities and parallels between the two whilst still feeling like fresh takes on the same base, uniquely shaped by their individual smps lore and experiences but the biggest question that prompts for me is "what exactly MADE them different?". If we consider that in a way they're different spins on essentially the same core character of Foolish the immortal shark totem was there some specific event or circumstance or fundamental difference in their hypothetically separate existences that caused them to split off as they seemingly have.

Where it's easy to spot the similarities when they're carved from the same stone, their differences run just as deep. These are characters with starkly different worldviews if you look close enough.

It's something i've thought about a lot and the conclusion I keep coming back to over and over is that thier defining difference is their relationship with or proximity to godhood.

They're two very very different immortals, Cfoolish was a god/demigod, he spent his life believing in his status as something more amongst mortals and this wasn't truly challenged until he found himself bleeding red red red slaughtered at the red banquet. So much of his character was defined by his past divinity, the grace he fought tooth and nail to regain. Remnants of a darker crueler past, bloodstained hands atoned for with 100 lifetimes of pacifism. Beautiful hollow empty temples. I feel there is a clumsiness to cfoolish, having to learn to be a person after a forever of naive arrogance that could only belong to one who thinks themself a god and afraid like a child when the illusion breaks.

Whilst our knowledge of qfoolishs history is more limited, from the little we've been given he feels far more human. Which might be ironic for an immortal shark dude but there are no stories of bloodlust, worship or great powers beyond comprehension. Only the far more tame, almost domestic tidbits about bumping into bad and shenanigans together over the centuries. In my mind he might've been an immortal traveler walking the earth and doing as he pleased, not as a god but a couple thousand years old regular guy living his normal life just for a very very very long time. Qbad and Qfoolish carry a sense of wisdom to them unique to their qsmp iterations, more traveled and emotionally older than previous versions, like they've seen it all before. I see it in the way they speak and talk with one another and generally interact with the world around them and whilst it's likely a matter of both ccbad and ccfoolish expanding their stage presence and refining their RP but it really does add another layer of depth to these characters.

All together there simply isn't this same connection to divinity, the qsmp world is generally quite detached from religious structure. Maybe qfoolish might've been as powerful as cfoolish or had the capacity to be but never sharpened that aspect of himself pulling him further and further away from cfoolishs acts of wrath that became such an integral key turning point for his character. Qfoolish instead growing comfortable in casual eternity. Could qfoolish never have become a totem of death? How would that have effected his character compared to Cfoolish? Maybe not, it's extremely hard to judge how powerful qfoolish might be with a wiped memory and the possibility of federation power limiters/magic suppressors. Before getting on that train he could've been as powerful as cfoolish in his prime however with the information we have we'll simply never know. I think it's unlikely though, if just by his demeanour. Regardless of qfoolishs theoretical power the qfoolish we know is no god, there is no worship, never hailed as something higher. He's simply himself.

There's this odd dissonance between them especially in their relationship with death. Cfoolish viewed death as something he was excluded from, had power over and only saw in the lifeless eyes of others. Until he didn't. Qfoolish knows death is natural and equally inevitable. He fears it too of course though in the way one might fear the tide, he builds sand castles on the shore knowing they'll get washed away by the morning but can't help but bask in the sun anyway. Qfoolish walks among the people and knows you don't have to die yourself for death to hurt.

[magpieinstitute]

Part 39 was absolutely fantastic, a great set-up for a series finale. Arthur is woefully under prepared to go into the Order of the Fallen Star, he's got many things on his mind and it's going to crash and burn and I can't wait to see how exactly that will happen.

Oh Noel... What a fascinating character, what a callback to the early days of the story! Finding out that he's Roland's old partner, and that he's been in the prison pits was a shock and a half! I absolutely love all the implications, the shape of the larger narrative that's emerging, it's so good!

I think it was extremely reckless of Arthur to spill the beans on John so suddenly, but I'm so glad it worked out and John got to have an actual conversation, a human connection with someone other than Arthur. He needed that so badly. To hear Arthur verbally thank John for his input in a conversation was especially great! And then John forgot...

This makes me perfectly sure that something deeper is wrong with John. It's not just pettiness, it's not resistance against Arthur's agency overpowering his own that he misses things or doesn't remember, there is something deeply off. He would not voluntarily forget a special experience like a conversation. Ever. It is deeply concerning and it makes me wonder if it's because he's a fragment and not a full Entity? That the further he drifts from the King, the more tenuous and shaky his grasp on his identity becomes until he can develop an actual self-image and form a new identity, free from the King. He cannot do that while he's so bound to Arthur. Arthur and John are individuals, but they're also one and the same. The one's mistake becomes the other's, they cannot be seen as separate beings. And for John especially, I think this is detrimental.

I think they need more discussions like they had in this episode where they ask each other what they're thinking about, what's on their mind. I think John needs to develop his sense of self so he can stand on his own without the King. And Arthur needs to respect that individuality more. Because John is right, he is a prisoner in there, as much as he's essential to Arthur.

Another thing I wanted to point out is Arthur's story. Meeting Percival again was a nice callback to a seemingly throwaway side point in an earlier episode, but the jury is still out on how important this second meeting will turn out to be. I feel like it's too coincidental, but we'll see where it goes. But the way Arthur told that story, it definitely means a lot to him. It's very introspective, and I think it reflects Arthur's fear that his end goals are going to be meaningless. Whenever John brings up separating them, Arthur glosses over it or dismisses it. I think he's gotten used to a passenger in his mind, and we already know he doesn't cope well with the absence of John. The woman is an interesting figure in that story. Is he hoping that something else will fill the void once he reaches his destination? I can't quite put my finger on the whole meaning yet, but I can't wait to return here in a year or so and cry about the inevitable gut punch it's going to be.

I'm also extremely amused by John asking if he's ever been in a fight (cold, calculating demeanour of someone not to fuck with my ass lol), promptly followed by one of the most violent beatings in a while. John's shock was delicious, but I think Arthur overdid it slightly lol. That aside, it was pretty funny overall.

In general, this was a great, well-paced episode and I am really looking forward to the next one. It's gonna be a doozy, I can feel it.

[okiecookie20]

EXO "Lucky One" theory!

The mv is heavily lore-based as we know. Okay I'll try my best to point out clues I found were significant.

𝐓hey are being taken by the nurses in red visors (unmistakeably agents of RF) on stretchers to a unit. The boys are bound and show resistance. Some of them have very prominent dark blue eyes presumably after being drugged:

(their visuals shine even in poor quality of the video — tf sm doing bare minimum for our boys)

Suho said that the members lose their powers in Lucky One. The make-up and overall look exos have in the mv signifies how they're being experimented on with the color drained from their cheeks. also EXO being glass skin ambassadors in this vid

They have been kidnapped and have lost their powers. (I read this somewhere that Exo came on TV in the June ep of Music Video Bank and explained the main story of Lucky One; Baekhyun emphasized on while the other members use their powers, Kai dances when he is cornered 😭😭).

•We see Lay's dream - since his eye is in focus — how the members use their powers but I think Kai is unable to first see where he wants to teleport since that's how this stuff works.

•Kyungsoo sees Lay being carried out of the room and he uses his power - Force to shatter the glass panes. This might be an action which made them realise the danger they were in and make their escape. He is unmoved and appears with a blank expression most of the time (so do the others).

In the end he seemingly makes it out but we see how he has reached the centre of the maze very similar to Overdose mv. The agents are tracking the boys and only Kyunsoo's location doesn't glow??! We have 12 lines that might mean he tricked the RF.

It is important to mention that I think Overdose is probably the sequel to Lucky One. I also find it interesting how kyungsoo is the only one who is alone obviously they're 9 but why is it always HIM? I have thought about making a separate post on how Kyungsoo interacts in the mvs and his role in the story.

•Another clue we get at the end is that the hues change and appear similar to the aesthetic of 'Kokobop'. The same colors appear when Baekhyun is drugged.

This is one clue that Ko ko bop happens after Lucky One! The second clue I found is the drug the nurses inject in Baekhyun (and probably everyone else). In Kokobop also the members appear dazed and sleep in weird places, they are drugged and imagining stuff like giant burgers.

•Ohkay so our H2O buddies Suho and Xiumin are seen trapped in white chambers.

But we have to remember it's all in BnW. And they are the ones who combined their powers to make 🧊 and glasses (Xiumin) of water (Suho) for themselves, maybe to overcome the effects of the drugs

Oh! I just found out how they were the ones banging on the walls of the Overdose maze in the mv!! They are also known as counterparts in the lore. So this similarity and interaction is definitely not a coincidence. It's interesting how their role is significant in the overall concept they have and maybe I'll talk about them separately in a different post!

Now I want to mention some ~clues~ which I don't have much interpretations for, at least yet:

We see how Baekhyun encourages(?) Chanyeol to use his powers — as they enter a room — while he himself is not shown to use his in the mv.

Lastly I wanna mention, because I can't think anymore my brain is clouded with so much info & finding clues; is that Chanyeol's Red hair (he looks fire oml) is not just an aesthetic but matches the concept. In a way it explains his role in Power and Obsession (I'll try to explain some other things in another post!) Also, shoutout to @faakeid on Mind Dissociation theory!

Other theories: Obsession Theory | KAI Rover

Thank You so much for reading!❤️😭 I would really appreciate it if you share your POV🌺 *I'm new to Tumblr, joined this month🙂

[acourtofthought]

I find it funny that “I’m getting her back” is mate behavior but “I’m getting my mate back”, which happens first, is not. Especially considering Lucien is, in fact, Elain’s mate.

Lucien would have gone into Hybern’s camp 100% to save Elain. But he wasn’t there because he listened to Elain, took her visions seriously and went to find Vassa and bring an army. And apparently get close with daddy Archeron.

While Az and Elain can make a cute couple, that’s a novella story, not a 700-800 page book. There’s just no tension or angst between them that can’t be resolved with one simple conversation. People go from “Az and Elain defying destiny” to “Az is Elain’s true mate” when they remember Az wants a mate of his own.

Many people have helpfully pointed out that mates aren’t given when someone turns fae (because then how the hell do born fae get their mates?). Rhys was having visions of Feyre before he even met her. Cassian suspected Nesta was his mate when they first met and she was still human. Lucien reacts to Elain and tries to protect her *before* she was thrown into the Cauldron.

Lucien was the one who was trying to get to Elain in ACOMAF, both before and after being put in the Cauldron. Lucien was the one who was beside himself over being separated from Elain in ACOMAF. Lucien was the one who was desperate to see her in ACOWAR (while we are given zero indication that Az had any interest in visiting Elain at the HOW). Lucien and not Az has shown Elain mate behavior. Also, the only reason E/riels get to claim any interactions between Elain and Az in ACOWAR (including the "I'm getting her back) and parts of ACOFAS is because Lucien or someone else was unable to do something first. Lucien was blocked at every turn when he tried to be there for Elain. Had Feyre and Nesta not directed their interactions and when they were allowed to occur, the start of Elucien would have looked much different. Had the sisters not demanded Lucien leave Elain in the library, LUCIEN would have been able to ask her directly if she'd like to go outside. Had Elain had time to actually answer Feyre rather than having Az jump in and speak for her, FEYRE would have been the ones to take her to see how the garden was coming in. Had Feyre known more about the Fae world, SHE would have known Elain was a seer rather than looking to Az (as spymaster and the ability to know things others don't) for answers. Had Cassian not been injured, HE would have been the one to go after Elain after she was stolen by the Cauldron. Had Elain been more comfortable with weapons, CASSIAN's dagger would have been the one she accepted (but as it stands, she only took Az's after Feyre reassured her that she wouldn't have it use it). And had Az had any interest in Elain at all during the start of ACOFAS, he wouldn't have needed to ask Rhys whether he was supposed to get her a gift. Az never showed Elain mate like behavior, he simply copied the actions of everyone around him and then, once he saw Elain shied away from her mate (for reasons unknown) and he started to realize Mor was never going to return his affections, he decided that the cauldron must have screwed up because then he could have had a bond with a sister just like his brothers had and that math makes such perfect sense to Az because he and his brothers need to stick together with everything (including sister wives). E/riel is built on Az having to observe the way others responded to Elain and that is not instinctual mate like behavior. He basically jumped on to the bandwagon after he started to realize Mor wasn't going to be his and rather than taking some time to process and heal from that information, he immediately focused on the next available, attractive, seemingly in need of a hero female in his orbit. E/riel could have made a cute couple if written by another author who is not known to be a fated mates author. They could be cute if the author in question hadn't already established that she finds males who try to prevent the female from doing more as problematic (i.e. Tamlin / Feyre). They could be cute if SJM hadn't confirmed that Az's thoughts of a future with Elain have never actually gone beyond his sexual fantasies however he has put a lot of thought in how he'd go about winning the snowball fight. They could have been cute had she not introduced a different female who Az has expressed admiration for (when he's never expressed it for Elain), who makes Az's shadows dance (when they disappear around Elain), and who makes him feel settled and whose happiness brings a smile to his face. If SJM wanted E/riel to be a cute couple, there were a lot of things she could have written differently to convey that.

[t0ast-ghost]

Started watching severance last night with my mom and HOLY WOW every single shot of that is fucking beautiful, THE CINEMATOGRAPHERS, SET DESIGNERS, AND COSTUME DESIGNERS ARE INSANE LIKE WOW BRO

I point at every camera angle and just freak out. I state this with no insincerity: every single shot of this show is amazing.

The seemingly 80s/90s aesthetic but mixed with so many modern things is jarring in such an amazing way

Minor Spoilers for Severance under the line but nothing past the first episode and not much plot description (mostly just adoring the cinematography)

THESE ESTABLISHING SHOTS!!!

SCREAMING

THE USE OF ORANGES AND BLUES IN NOT ONLY MARKS HOUSE BUT ALSO HIS SISTERS (couldn't find a picture of marks house inside but I recommend watching it)

ALSO the fact that mark's work life and home life is not only mentally separated but physically since his house in on the other side of the river from his work.

the dinner party scene is so interesting because of how weird it is, but also it's use of rule of thirds, but whenever it head on focuses on characters it uses the offset symmetry with the lights and the characters head might be tilted or they might be skewed

The way they act in the office almost sometimes seeming comedic or at least carefree violently contracting with the sadness of their home life (also the interesting almost unreal tint to the office)

She scares me but she's got some coolass shots and also HIM he's cool

It's not fair how captivated I was watching this

Okay I'm done for now but I don't expect this show to get worse so there might be another dump at some point in the future. Also I didn't even rant about the story which is also amazing, but that's for another time...

I'd highly recommend this show just after watching the first episode.

[maleficore]

Saw someone else do it and I think I've done this before too, but the list has grown since then a bit so here's my current lineup of read dead wips that I'm working on!! :D Minus the stuff that's already posted on AO3 cuz I see no point in doing a synopsis for things that have left my google drive and you can go and read ahah.

Turned out loooooong so lookie under the cut if you're interested in knowing what I'm up to.

Morston Soulmate AU (title tba, multichapter, around 20-30k when finished) - An AU where you can feel all the injuries your soulmate gets, both minor and major ones. There's no soul marks, seeing your soulmate get hurt and connecting the dots is the only way to find out. Has a lot of time skips and focuses more on feelings than events, but starts out pre-canon when John almost gets lynched and works its way towards the end of the canon story. Chapters alternate between Arthur's and John's POV. Canon compliant :)

RDR2 "Modern AU" (title tba, multichapter, long as shit) - I only call it a modern AU for the sake of simplicity... I'm not sure if it counts as one. Set in 1999 and focuses on the case of Arthur Matthews -- a 36 year old adoptive son of the infamous criminal defence lawyer Hosea Matthews, who went missing without a trace for six months and then reappeared miles from his hometown, seemingly unharmed, but also... not quite right. Delusional, confused, suffering from some sort of memory impairment. The story is about Arthur struggling to adapt to being back home in a reality that is apparently foreign to him. Outsider's/John's POV, but not really shippy. It can be read as pre-slash, though.

My Self-Indulgent Jesse/Arthur fic (another title tba lol, it's too early to tell but I'm thinking multichapter? A collection of scenes from 1878 to 1899) - This one is for me and me only, though I will eventually post it 😂 Written in second person, like a reader-insert and can be read as one if someone wants to, but I am including Jesse's backstory and feelings that are way too specific to be immersive for anyone but myself... I'm working real hard to write it in a way that portrays growing up queer in that time somewhat realistically, so it's not always pretty, but I do try to keep it not that depressing. Features: Jesse's early-life backstory, the story of the scar, his first Gay Experience, how his brothers died, the ups and downs of his relationship with Arthur, why they eventually broke up for what felt like last time, how he got arrested (altered RDO storyline bit) and how he got back up with the gang. I'm planning to do a rough rewrite/fix-it of the canon story with him in it too, but that's... an "one day" thing ajsddjfk

Morston Omegaverse (title tba, one shot, around 10-15k probably? I can't keep things short, sorry) - Young-ish and freshly presented Alpha John, "Closeted" Omega Arthur. Ngl this one is smutty as hell... but! I think my take on omegaverse is rather fun (very transgendered) and it's porn WITH not without plot so something for everyone there lol. John's POV again + lotsa feelings, misunderstandings and some angst :) Just the way I like it.

Vandermatthews Daemon AU (had a title but ao3 yeeted my draft and I forgot what it was, oops)- I say Vandermatthews, but it's more of a "curious couple, unruly son" genfic than real slashfic 😅 This is supposed to be the beginning a series of oneshots from different characters' POV. This one is maybe a 1/3 done (needs a serious rewrite tho) and written from Hosea's POV. It's about him and Dutch finding and taking in young Arthur -- a very traumatised child who has undergone intercision and therefore lost his daemon. More of a collection of vignettes from that moment to when they take in John than a real coherent fic tho. The next one is going to be John's POV coming of age thing and we'll see where my brain will go from there. I want to do a separate big ass post about this one later because I have Opinions on the gang members' daemons that I need either challenged or validated...

1907!John/Isaac fic (title tba... a two parter, one set in the epilogue and the second is a RDR1 fix-it) - NOW HEAR ME OUT!!!!!! PUT DOWN THE GODDAMN PITCHFORKS FOR A SECOND PLS This is a plot bunny that Refused To Fucking Die. Isaac is obviously an adult in this (22), they have never met before, and the story begins in the months where Abigail and Jack were gone and John worked alone on Pronghorn ranch. It's not so much a romance (despite the slash) but more two people dealing with different types of grief in Very Unhealthy ways, okay. It's supposed to be a bit iffy because of that and the... 12 years of difference between them in this universe. I'm not trying to make this shit uwu or anything. It's also a bit of a daddy issues vent piece for me and I've been working it for MONTHS because I want to write this one right. This is the the fic I redacted in my last WIP showcase, but now decided that... fuck it. Here you go.

(Doubt anyone has made it this far, but if you did ily.. please lemme know what you think? My ask box is open for questions too... I love talking about the stuff I'm working on even if it's not posted yet ❤)

[gogopierogi]

Light of Destiny

The Lost Ark brain-rot continues to hit hard and fast, so here’s some speculation about the adventurer and the nature of their powers. This post contains spoilers for Nineveh’s rapport quest and the Elgacia storyline. I kind of hate writing so much spoiler heavy stuff, but writing meta and speculative content for this game requires spoiling yourself. It’s stinks, but what can you do?

In game’s prologue, the adventurer discovers a scroll in Trua containing a prophecy referring the light of destiny:

Spoilers below the cut.

I originally assumed this was just one of many titles bestowed upon the adventurer. However, the adventurer is almost never referred to this way anywhere else (from what I can remember, anyway). They’re usually called the Chosen One or the Ark Inheritor. For a long time the only character to mention the light of destiny again is Nineveh (again, from what I can remember), and it’s NOT in reference to the adventurer.

During one of her rapport quests, she expresses hope the light of destiny is still on their side:

Her rapport questline ends with her and adventurer vowing to find this brightest of lights:

It sounds like the light of destiny is a great power, possibly independent of the Arks, and doesn’t refer to the adventurer. 

Expect during the Elgacia storyline, Procyon, the creator god of the Lazenith, appears in the form of a giant to bird to save our bacon. While soaring through the air he says “The light of destiny reached the end of the world. The time of promise has come.”

He looks right at the adventurer so it’s clear who Procyon is referring to:

It’s also interesting to note the prophecy in Trua is read in Allegro’s voice. When Procyon appears, we also hear Allegro’s voice. This is a plot point in the Elagcia after-story, with Nineveh and adventurer unsuccessfully trying to find Allegro in hopes of an explanation. What’s the connection?

I’m seeing three possibilities:

1) Nineveh doesn’t actually know what the light of destiny is. She’s heard of it, possibly through Allegro, but doesn’t realize it referred to Ark Inheritor, mistakenly thinking it to be some separate great power.

2)The light of destiny is/was an entity separate from the adventurer. Maybe the adventurer is its vessel?

3) I’m reading way, WAY too much into a few lines of dialogue from a T2 rapport questline. *sob* I considered it might be a translation issue, but she says the same thing in the Korean version of the quest. 

There’s a slim chance the second option could explain a very important and seemingly unique ability of the adventurer. After collecting the 7th Ark, the adventurer speaks to Beatrice in Trixion. She tells us “The great universe Omnium, where we live, functions according to the will left by Regulus.  This has never been broken. What you faced in Elgacia and Kayangel also led you to the future that broke away from the set destiny and pioneered a new trajectory.”

To future emphasize this point, Beatrice calls us “The one who pioneers their own destiny beyond the boundaries of set destiny.”

Beatrice isn’t the first character to refer to the adventurer this way. Zaika calls the adventurer as the one who creates their own destiny in his will. 

This power is so strong it defies the very order of the universe set by Regulus himself. How does the adventurer have such power? Is simply by virtue of being the Art Inheritor? Did Luterra have such a power?  Not to mention the strange contradiction of our character being THE DESTINED ONE while simultaneously being the one who pioneers their own destiny.  I also wonder if this is why Kharmine is interested in the adventurer, but that’s for another post. 

Still, evidence for theory #2 is scant. From what can tell, Nineveh is the only character who speaks of the light of destiny as some great power in the universe. And even if that’s true, we don’t know thing one about it. Both Kharmine and Brelshaza mention a vessel, though it’s not clear who or what they’re referring to. In the Elagcia afterstory, after informing Kazeros that Vairgrys chose to side with the mortals, she asks “The vessel...should we do nothing?” But this doesn’t prove anything and a lot of KR players speculate this refers to Armen. So maybe I really am making too big a deal out of this.  

[legendofzoodles]

So, I know that the point of that whole story with the Chain and Demise is to provide angst, explore the Chain’s reactions to the Curse, and show how it might affect their relationship with Sky…

But what IF Sky didn’t stop Demise from creating the Curse BECAUSE his eardrums burst and literally could not hear Demise talking? Just an interesting little thought bubble I had.

I think that those that blamed Sky to some degree would have a much harder time blaming him since, y’know, eardrums burst.

Wait that’s genius! Did a bit of google searching and yeah, burst eardrums can be caused by loud sounds and changes in pressure. Channelling lighting and having thunderbolts crash down just metres from where you're standing could absolutely lead to that.

How would that change things? Well, Sky would objectively be more sympathetic and almost as much of a victim as them. Although now the other members (especially Twilight and Wind who brutally murdered Ganondorf), would be more confused than angry at his inaction. Although members of the chain like Hyrule and Twilight would be the first to actively speak out to defend Sky.

With this context Sky and Wild would still fight since their issues* go far beyond this, but they won't physically attack each other- well Wild still might, but Sky wouldn't have to retaliate like he did in Recovered Regrets because the others would step in.

Sky's silence during the comic panel where Legend spells out everyone's origin is not excused though. Sure he wouldn't have known about the curse, but hearing that he's the only one who doesn't know who Ganon is should have caused him to do some investigating. Even if he avoided it to protect himself that wouldn't be enough to calm Legend's anger and it shows to the others a lack of care and a sort of detachment- which is another thing that annoyed Wild.

In a sense the focus would be more on finding out more about the curse, since this would be the first Sky's hearing of it in full. You could go on a full existential deep dive into the nature of their roles, the extent of their responsibilities and their worth as individuals separated from their identity as the hero. This is something I only hinted at using Wild, Time and Legend because I hadn’t thought much about it yet wanted to focus on Wild's personal reaction specifically.

Overall this would be a much more productive outcome (also Four wouldn’t split) which would bring the chain closer to learning the truth and closer together as a band of brothers. Man I love found families!

Thank you sm for the ask dear reader! I hope this answer was ok :))

Recovered Regrets

Recovered Regrets story notes

*Those issues I mentioned were just little things that the comic hinted at but are never explored and don’t come up again.

Such as when Wild broke the Master Sword from overuse and Sky went ballistic, yet Time didn’t scold Wild for his use of the blade and actively said that he must be allowed to use it because it’s his birthright. The thing is, Sky has every reason to not allow Wild to use the Master sword, in BoTW this behavior made sense because Wild was in a survival situation- but in LU he has no reason to use the Master sword essentially like a tool. Yet no one but Sky and maybe Legend sees this lack of respect as a problem, and even worse Time enables it. It’s an interesting conflict set up but never goes anywhere so I thought I’d bring it up a little in the story. I explained it more in my story notes

The fact that sword treated Sky so well would be a point of tension between him Time and Wild

That would then contribute to Wild’s inferiority issues and jealousy of Sky, who seemingly had everything work out for him. Since Sky can’t stop Wild from using the Master sword he’d resort to lectures, but Wild would just take this as him showing off his superiority

Btw, Time and Legend are Hylia/goddess skeptics in the story, not haters. They’re just fed up being pushed around by divine entities and want to get to the bottom of things. 

[beezleberry-breakie]

Disclaimer: I do not own Frederick the great, Jacki, or the VN: Heart Hunted. Theeeey belong to @heart-hunted-vn ; who has been unfortunately cursed to see my 1 am unproof read cringe story and 8th grade fan art.

They’ve been at the amusement park for ten fucking hours. Fred’s battery had wobbled down to absolute zero and he was THIS close in carrying his companion like a potato sack towards the exit. Yet the last time he off handley mentioned this desired act, Daisy threatened with calling Jacki to join in their day out. The two together were an endless source of energy, seemingly recharging the other up. He swore you had to be twins separated at birth with some of the bullshit he had to put up with during communications on missions. You both always seemed to find how if one had an awful awful awful idea the other picked up on it without even speaking. Was down right freaky. Yet he had to assume this was something of the norm working in the field.

“Hey! Hey Freddy!”. Oh shit. He drifted off, disassociated himself. Daisy on the other hand, dragged them both to stand under a small food cart’s umbrella. Her face literally an inch from his, breasts pushed up against his sternum as her dark forest eyes gleamed with concern, her hands had fortunately wandered a way to his jean’s back pockets. Was it to keep them warm, he didn’t know, his brain was just fried right now.

Frederick, you ok?”, she tilted her head, a pout resting on her lips. This was a date, or she thought it was a date, better have been a date. Couldn’t be too sure as Fred always seemed to have some sort of work related excuse when she would ask, or his sarcasm reached such depths that she had to quickly text Jacki to ask about Freddy lingo and if she royally screwed up somehow.

Fred gave a sigh before slowly rolling his neck, one hand placed at the base. His body was rigidly relaxed (was that even possible?) as he felt the push of Daisy’s chest with each breath she took. He cleared his throat, refusing to make eye contact with her. Daisy gave a defeated huff. Hands extracting themselves from his back pockets as she stepped back. Ok. So. She misinterpreted.

Fuck.

She thought they were having fun. They drove together early in the morning to the park, Fred being nice enough to take her to breakfast at a small mom and pop shop on the way to their destination. Daisy spoke to Fred excitingly over bacon and eggs, asking him questions about his life, hometown, and family, while she would interject her own experiences of growing up. He seemed well interested about her, their chatter not once lingering in an awkward moment. When they arrived at the theme park, they rode every roller coaster, he had even won her a polished snake, Fred even cracked a joke that made her snort with laughter. She died a little on the inside when that happened. Hell! He ate some fries off her plate when they decided lunch at the parks burger spot, though she almost tackled him when he held her wrist to try some of her ice cream. Thought she would have to call 911 with how red her face burned. Maybe. He was just being friendly? I mean overtly friendly at best. Was he playing her? No, Fred was always a brutally straight forward guy, this was very unlikely.

Daisy shook her head another huff of air leaving her lips. There was no point in wondering, even if she prayed for best case scenario. This was teaming up to be another incident of pushing into romance too quickly. Something that her mentor, Jacki, warned her about. Repeatedly teaching her that something like that could end up being dangerous for everybody. He’d be very disappointed in her right now. Closing her eyes, Daisy had decided to bite the bullet and end this obvious awkwardness that developed between them.

“Look Fred, I’m sorry if I came on too stro-“.

“Daisy. Stop. I really like you”.

Well. Brain fart. Any words she conjugated together for embracing a bitter end to the day just died in her throat. He liked her?

“Daisy I really want to lie down”, Fred ran his fingers through his hair, energy now completely zapped, “Go to a hotel at least. We’ve been here since 10 this morning. For Gods sake woman it’s 2 am and we’re going on ‘Shiekra’ for a fifth time!”

Daisy puffed her cheeks in embarrassment, “I really like this ride though”. Fred groaned, one of his hands reaching out to grasp hers. “It’ll be here next time we come back”, freakin boundless energy this one.

“Next time?”, she asked softly, questioningly while she intertwined their fingers together as they began their trek back to the car. She wasn’t sure if she should get her hopes up at the thought, but she crossed her fingers none the less. Fred tugged her closer to his side, eyebrows furrowed in concentration so to not end up on the other side of the park again. Of course he was going to bring her back. At some point he thought this work crush was only one sided, nice to know it wasn’t.

“Yea next time”, a yawn escaped, the cheerful screams and talks of the people around him fading out slowly. “I took a couple of days off, so either here or anywhere really”. Daisy smiled, her eyes catching Fred’s in a brief moment before she walked in front, tugging his frame towards the park exit.

“Well lucky for you. I know this great pizza place in town”

“Not this again woman. You’re not converting me to pizza”

“Well burgers ain’t everything Frederick and you have yet to prove me otherwise”, she stuck her tongue out in defiance, Fred rolled his eyes in response.

“Your tastebuds are just shit”

“Well I like you. Does that mean you’re shit?”

“Daisy. No”.

My medication is making me woozy ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ. Truly hoping I didn’t bug her anything/anyone >.>

[waywardstation]

I had a horrible little Ghetsis Wins AU idea... >:3

Basically, what if Team Plasma found and captured Ingo and Akari before they found Emmet? With his memories gone, Ingo would be very easy to manipulate, and that's what Ghetsis does best. Imagine Emmet's horrified reaction. Has this been true all along? Why would Ingo help Team Plasma?

Of course, Ingo figures it out eventually, but he also works out that he and Akari will be... Gotten rid of, if anyone finds out. Maybe during a rebel raid or something, they let themselves be captured and dragged back to be interrogated.

To everyone's confusion(and suspicion), Ingo and Akari are more than willing to answer any questions they're given. Even on the way there, they stop resisting once they're out of the other Grunts' sight. Curious... Eventually, Emmet is called in to talk to them. He's always been better at telling when people are lying than most others in the tunnels. Ingo and Akari do their best to fill him in on what happened, but maybe neither of them has the full picture, and they both know their story is fantastical at best...

"I am Emmet. You are a verrrrry bad liar... Except that you are not lying. You are Ingo. And I'm so, so happy you're back."

Bonus points if they had someone from Hisui tag along with them and get stuck with Team Plasma... I'm thinking Melli or Rei because I like Rei and Melli could be sorta funny and/or lead to some development(please I just wanna see him become a better person HE'S SO MEAN BUT I THINK THERE'S POTENTIAL IN THERE SOMEWHERE)

OH THAT REUNION OP I LOVE THESE THOUGHTS!!

Purely hypothetical adding onto the situation, but I wonder what it would be like if they don’t know what they’re doing at first; Ingo doesn’t remember the events leading up to his disappearance (at first), and perhaps Akari (going with the Akari is Dawn headcanon) was aware something was happening in Unova at the time, but all the way in Sinnoh, they didn’t have exact details as it had just happened when she gets thrown into Hisui as well.

So they’re wondering what happened; the streets are covered in ice and snow, it’s freezing, and visibility is incredibly limited. Ingo is dressed for the weather, but Akari is not.

Ingo takes Akari into a nearby destroyed clothing store, now a structure with the side blown out of it. It doesn’t provide much shelter from the cold, but it’s something. Why are so many clothes lying around in the store still? Ingo shifts through the rubble and finds a coat for her, but before long, Plasma grunts happen upon them.

Civilians are not allowed to take from the rubble of the stores.

————

After the Grunts encounter them, they recognize it’s Ingo. He’s back! And ingo begins to remember things; this is team plasma, and he has a feeling he was heavily involved with something about them right before he was pulled into Hisui.

To capture them, I’m sure the grunts would have to separate Ingo and Akari from their Hisuian teams pretty swiftly. But it would be interesting to get Ingo and Akari into Ghetsis’ base; in a moment of realization in seeing and talking with this guy again, Ingo can remember more of what’s going on, and escape the base with Akari (use their survival skills they developed in the Hisuian Wilderness!).

Being there though, perhaps Ingo and Akari can get their stolen Hisuian teams back as they run out. (Perhaps in another moment of remembrance, would Ingo also grab his old team back? Can you imagine how happy his Pokémon would be?? Or would it be better for him to save them at a later date?)

After that, perhaps Ingo yanks Akari towards Gear Station to hide, which he promptly remembers. Stepping on the premises of the seemingly abandoned station, the two alert an alarm system set up (an overwhelming amount of joltik and galvantula??) except, some of the remember Ingo!! This isn’t a grunt attack! They drag them both underground, where finally, Emmet and the rest of the underground civilization (or what’s left of it) can’t believe who they’re seeing in front of them.

And haha can you imagine Melli with team plasma?? I’m unsure if we should yank someone from Hisui into Unova, as it would be very hard to get them back where they belong, but Melli is just such a fun character in general, that would be hilarious haha

Thank you for your thoughts OP!!

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Merthur soulmate AU where they can always find each other:

Leon fulfils his self-appointed “older brother” role by helping them get away with it, and Morgana decides the son of her new guardian wasn’t so bad after all, if he came with such a great friend.

Part 2   Part 3 Part 4

This was requested a little while ago, also Homophobia doesn’t exist in this world and maybe that’s unrealistic but I literally don’t care, let me have this.

Everyone has a soulmate. It’s a fact of life.

No one really knows quite how it works, only that it’s something magical, and has been around since before recorded history.

Everyone can find their soulmate. They feel a tug in their heart, that always pulls them in the right direction, no matter what. No matter what obstacles or distance separates them, they may always be united, they may always find their way home.

Soulmate bonds were the one piece of magic that King Uther left untouched when he started his purge, for he was bonded to Arthur’s mother, and despite his cruelty, he could never find it in himself to deprive others of such a feeling. 

(Besides, they were so ancient and global, there’s nothing he could’ve done to destroy them; easier to save his pride and leave them be.)

Very rarely, only a few times in a century, a pairing will appear whose bond is so strong, the compass in their hearts works in a slightly different manner.

King Uther’s son, Prince Arthur, and heir to the throne of Camelot, was one half of such a special pairing.

~

The first time the Prince disappeared, he was five, and meant to be taking a nap.

This meant that his nannies hadn’t even noticed he was gone before he reappeared in his bed, and no one in the castle knew of his little adventure.

To say Hunith was surprised by the appearance of a very young, very blond child in her kitchen was an understatement. 

The last thing she was expecting to see when she turned around from laying her three year old down for a nap, was a noble-looking boy, who definitely hadn’t been there moments before.

After she recovers from her shock, she glances over at the front door (still locked) before looking back at the child with concern. She took a step towards him, and crouched down before quietly speaking:

“Hi there sweetie, how did you get in here?”

Child!Arthur ignores her, instead taking a wobbly step towards Toddler!Merlin, and without looking away from him, asks:

“Who’s that?”

Hunith is taken aback at that, and looks more closely at the child. He was clearly in sleep clothes, but they were made from expensive fabrics, and he looked chubby and happy and healthy, not like most young children around these parts.

She steps in front of Arthur again to try and catch his eye:

“Why don’t you tell me your name, and we’ll try to find your mum?”

Arthur looks at her only briefly as he pouts, before side-stepping again and regaining his line of sight to the dark haired toddler (still sleeping):

“Don’t have a mum. And dad’s busy. I wanted to find my person.”

Hunith tilts her head at that, but before she can ask what he means, Arthur finally looks at her properly, and begins speaking again:

“Are you my person? Or is it him? Nanny Marge says everyone has a person, and we can always find them.” he says it with confidence, and a self satisfied nod.

Hunith blinks, she knows all about soulmates, everyone does, but that still didn’t explain how the child had just appeared:

“Well, my name’s Hunith, and that’s my son, Merlin. Where are you from?”

Arthur yawns and stumbles towards Merlin, wrapped in blankets and laid in the corner. Hunith goes to grab him (Merlin was a fussy toddler, and it took forever to get him to sleep and she really didn’t want him to be woken up again.) but relaxes as Arthur sits cross-legged about a foot away from him, not ripping his gaze away for a moment.

He looks back up at Hunith sleepily, obviously starting to feel the effects of not napping:

“Mer-lin. I like that name. Like the birdy. I’m Prince Arthur of Camelot, son of King Uther.” He says the last part like it’s been rehearsed (it has) and Hunith stifles a gasp as she finally realises what’s happened.

Her old love, before he left, had told her of the rare pairings that appeared occasionally. The soulmates whose bond is so strong, they simply have to wish to be in the others presence, and they will appear there.

Truth be told, Hunith thought it was just a story. Soulmates are fairytale enough, but being able to appear at their side whenever you so wished? That was the stuff of love-stories and legend. Yet here stood a child, who claimed to be a Prince from another kingdom, who should be safely locked away in a castle several days journey from here. And all he seemed interested in, was Merlin.

Hunith wasn’t really sure what to do with this revelation. Not that she wasn’t glad her son had a soulmate, but her son’s soulmate was heir to a throne that would order a pyre for Merlin, even as a child. Merlin was floating spoons and lighting candles and knocking over cups before he could even crawl. Camelot was no place for him, at least not right now.

What if he accidentally did magic in front of the Prince? Would Arthur be scared, would he hate his own soulmate? Or would he not yet understand and tell someone accidentally? Would the King order his own son’s soulmate killed, if he found out?

Hunith shook the questions from her mind for now. Merlin was asleep, and she needed to figure out how to persuade Arthur that he needed to go back home:

“Arthur, that’s a lovely name. I know you want to find your person Arthur, but I think it might be best if you go home, before someone starts worrying, don’t you?”

Little Arthur yawns again, but pouts:

“I don’t want to go back. It’s so boring there, no one except Leon lets me play anything, and Leon’s busy.”

Hunith holds in a sigh, she can imagine life is difficult for an heir to the throne, especially with a father like Uther. She crouches down to his level again:

“I know sweetie, but you don’t want anyone worrying, do you?”

Arthur waits a moment before shaking his head forlornly. Hunith hopes she’s persuaded him, the only way he would go back is if he wanted to, she couldn’t force him. And she really didn’t want to have to journey back to Camelot on foot, and have to explain to the King why she had his son:

“No. I like Nanny Marge, and dad is always mean to her when she loses me.” Hunith frowns at that, but before she can say anything, Arthur stands on wobbly legs, and looks at her with determination:

“Ok. Bye-bye-”

He looks to Merlin again, and whispers his next few words, like he didn’t want to wake him:

“Bye Merlin. I promise I’ll come back-”

He looks back to Hunith again:

“Please can I come back? Leon says I should ask permission before going to someone’s home, so can I please please come back?”

Hunith worries her lip with her teeth at that, they were soulmates, she couldn’t exactly say no. But she also didn’t want to encourage the little prince to just disappear whenever he was bored:

“I... of course, Arthur, you’re more than welcome. But not too often, and not for too long, OK?” she tilts her head in question, and smiles when Arthur gives a decisive nod. 

She holds in a smile as the Little Prince (what she had affectionately been referring to him as in her head) scrunched his face in concentration, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he disappears with a pop and a few sparks, and she lets out a breath of relief, hoping that he had returned safely.

She stands still for a moment and blinks, seemingly trying to process all that had happened. She hums thoughtfully, before looking lovingly towards her son, and muttering to herself:

“I have a feeling that your future just got a lot more complicated, my love.”

~

For the next year, Arthur would pop in and out of Hunith’s house once a month or so. He only ever came when he was meant to be having a nap (the only time he was really unsupervised during the day).

Luckily, it would appear, that he and Merlin shared nap times; Merlin can’t accidentally expose his magic to the Little Prince if he was asleep every time he appeared.

Over the visits, Hunith learnt as much about Arthur as she could. He knew Gaius, which she was definitely relieved at (and sent a letter to him explaining everything the day she found out they knew each other). Someone in the castle knowing where Arthur had disappeared off to, if anyone ever noticed, would help.

She also found out who Leon was, the son of a noble, an aspiring knight-to-be, around twelve years old to Arthur’s six (both he and Merlin had birthdays at some point between visits), and that he seemed to be the only person around who allowed Arthur to have a little fun every once in a while.

After a little coaxing, she found that Arthur didn’t really know anything about his mother, only what Leon could remember, because Uther refused to speak of her (she thought that was a little heartbreaking, but hid it well).

Arthur kept his word, and never stayed for longer than ten minutes, but Hunith worried; she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold Arthur off for very long. He had visited around thirteen times, and Merlin had been asleep for every one of them. 

Arthur would want to wake him up eventually, to actually talk to his soulmate, and who knows what Merlin would do.

~

Eventually, a few months before Merlin’s fifth birthday, Hunith sat him down and told him what had been happening. That he and his soulmate were very special, and that Arthur had been visiting whilst he was asleep.

To say that Merlin was excited was a vast understatement, and Hunith had to quell her panic when he asked if he could visit Arthur where he was:

“No Merlin, I’m sorry, you have to stay here, remember?-”

She frowns sorrowfully at Merlin’s pout and teary eyes, before schooling her face into a smile and continuing:

“But I promise, next time he visits, I’ll wake you up and you can play together, does that sound fun?-”

She chuckles at his excited nod:

“But only if you don’t use your gift sweetheart, Arthur might not be as good at keeping secrets as you or I am, so we’ll have to wait until he’s older, do you understand?” she whispers that, hoping that it would be easier to convince him if he thought of it as a fun game, instead of a life threatening secret.

Merlin thinks for a minute before nodding:

“Yes mama. No magic until he’s older.”

Hunith pats him on the head, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for Merlin to repeatedly ask her how long until Arthur visited.

~

So that’s how it goes for several years, Arthur visiting Ealdor when no one was paying attention, he and Merlin playing quietly, with no magic, for a while, before Arthur popped back home.

Hunith was grateful for the current simplicity, but she knew it couldn’t last. Merlin had been asking more and more if he could visit Arthur, and it was only a matter of time before he snuck off without telling her.

That, and the magic problem.

Arthur had spoken of his lessons, how according to everyone at home, magic was evil. Merlin always looked so sad at that, and Hunith was grateful for the fact that Arthur didn’t sound so sure. But she also knew that it was only a matter of time before Arthur was convinced by his father’s determined hatred, and she didn’t want to see the heartbreak on Merlin’s face.

The first time The Little Prince spoke of an execution, he was eight, and Merlin had just had his seventh birthday. Merlin cried as Arthur described it, and Hunith had to stop the anger at Arthur growing in her: it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t exactly sound happy about it at all.

If anything, he seemed almost as upset as Merlin and when Arthur had noticed Merlin’s tears, he stopped talking immediately and bit his lip, looking to Hunith worriedly.

Hunith clenched her jaw before wrapping an arm around each of the children, and speaking to Arthur quietly as Merlin still sniffled:

“Do you think you can keep a secret, Arthur? A really big one, from everyone? Even Leon and your dad?”

He nodded vigorously, and Hunith gives him a weak smile before looking to Merlin, who stared back at her with watery eyes:

“Go on then Merlin, I think he’s old enough to know, don’t you?”

Merlin nodded this time, a little more hesitantly than Arthur, but he looks to his soulmate anyway.

Arthur stared back with wide, worried eyes, and gasped as Merlin all but whispered:

“I was born with magic. I am magic.”

Arthur looks scared for a split second, before he shuffles close to Merlin and taking his pudgy hand in his own. He thinks for a second, before looking at Hunith quickly, and then Merlin. He gives a firm nod as he says:

“I don’t care, and I promise not to tell anyone. If you have magic then it can’t be evil, and when I’m King, I’ll make sure everyone else knows that as well.”

Hunith lets out a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders as Arthur’s short arms pull the three of them into a tight hug.

~

The first time Merlin disappears, is almost a year later. Arthur was nine, and Merlin was only a few days away from being eight.

During Arthur’s last visit, he had told them of a new addition to the castle, a sad, dark haired girl called Morgana, a year older than him.

He explained that something had happened to her parents, and his father had taken her in.

Merlin seemed concerned at that, and Hunith had a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before her son decided he wanted to help her (the boy was dangerously empathetic, he teared up at even the thought of other people suffering).

When she found the scrawled note on the table (Arthur had begun sneaking books with him, and he and Hunith would sit with Merlin, teaching him to read and write as best they could) with backwards letters and misspelt words, she almost panicked.

But she sat herself down and took a deep breath, knowing that Arthur had managed to keep the secret so far, and that Merlin could just reappear if he found himself in danger.

That didn’t stop her from scolding a sheepish Merlin when he returned half an hour later.

~

Arthur and Merlin had organised it on their previous visit. Arthur would make sure that he was locked safely in his room at a specific time, and Merlin could come to him for a change. Then Arthur could go get Morgana (and maybe Leon) so he could meet them. 

Morgana had only been there for a month or so, and she had yet to warm up to Arthur. She was quiet, but had a sharp tongue when she chose to speak, not that that had put Arthur off quite yet. 

He was still determined that they would be friends, and Merlin was great! So what better way to get Morgana to like him, than to introduce her to Merlin?

Merlin was overjoyed when he appeared in Arthur’s room, the bedchamber being larger that the footprint of his entire house back in Ealdor. The bed itself was what he found most impressive, it was so huge and soft! And there were so many blankets and pillows! Merlin quietly thought to himself that he should come here more often.

Arthur was nervous. Excited, but nervous. They’d known each other for years now, but this was the first time that Merlin was actually seeing his home. What if he didn’t like it? What if he didn’t want to be soulmates anymore, because he preferred his own home?

(”Although-” The Little Prince started to think, “if Merlin decided he wanted to stay in Ealdor, I think I would just stay with him. ‘Gana can do all my boring King stuff here, and I can go be a farmer with Merlin.”)

Those nerves disappeared the moment he saw the grin on Merlin’s face. Arthur showed Merlin where to hide, just in case, whilst he went to fetch Morgana. He had already told her he had a surprise, so it shouldn’t take too long to persuade her to follow him.

Arthur found her in a flower garden hidden round the back of the castle, she gave in and allowed him to drag her by the hand to his chambers with only minimal grumbling. She did however glare as Arthur pressed a hand over her mouth when she went to question why they were hiding from everyone who passed them in the corridors.

Eventually they were stood outside Arthur’s chambers, but before they enter, Arthur turns to Morgana and whispers conspiratorially:

“This is a secret so you have to promise not to tell anyone, kay? Not even Leon or my dad.”

Before Morgana could reply, she gasps, looking over Arthur’s shoulder with wide eyes.

Arthur turns and bites his lip as he sees Leon (now 15, and well into his initial Knight training) leaning against the wall casually, arms folded on his chest, and an eyebrow raised:

“What is it that no one is meant to be telling me, My Lord?”

Morgana stands in silence, hands folded in front of her, trying to appear as casual as possible as Arthur stutters:

“Oh... err... nothing Leon. I just wanted.... I wanted to show ‘Gana what I learnt on the piano this morning!” He hears Morgana huff behind him, she hated when Arthur called her that, and had said as much to him, but he didn’t seem to care.

Leon raises his eyebrow even further as he begins walking towards the two children:

“Is that so? Well why is that such a big secret? Don’t you want to show me too?”

As Leon stops in front of Arthur, towering over the boy, he puts his serious “I’m-potentially-about-to-tell-you-off-if-you-don’t-start-telling-the-truth” face:

“I... uhh... wanted it to be a secret! Until I get better! Then I can show you and dad!”

Morgana struggles not to mutter complaints at his terrible lying as Leon sighs:

“Arthur, what have we said about lying? It makes communication hard, and makes it difficult for people to trust you, and will only lead to problems later on. Would you like to try again?”

Arthur looks to the floor as he shuffles again, and Morgana feels just a little sorry for him. Not that she would say that.

Leon sighs once more and crouches to his level, forcing Arthur to meet his eyes. He gives the young prince a small smile as he speaks:

“If you don’t want to tell me Arthur, that’s fine. “It’s a secret for me and Morgana” is a perfectly acceptable answer. But lying isn’t. If you promise me that you aren’t doing anything naughty, then I’ll trust you, but I would feel better if another adult did know about it.”

Arthur looks up at him at that, surprised. His father would never accept Arthur keeping secrets from him. He replies quietly:

“It’s a secret for me and Morgana... and an adult does know about it... sort of. And it isn’t bad, I promise! Buuuuut-”

Arthur fiddles with his hands as he looks to his door briefly, before looking back at Leon:

“-if you promise to keep it a secret too, then you can see!-”

Arthur pulls his face into a scowl before continuing:

“-but ONLY if you promise!”

Leon hums exaggeratedly, and rubs his chin:

“Well... I promise to keep it a secret IF it isn’t naughty, or hurting anyone. How does that sound?”

Arthur’s face breaks into a grin and he nods, before opening his door and stepping inside. He quickly waves the others in and shuts and locks the door behind them, taking their hands in his own:

“You can come out now Merls, I’ve bought them!”

Leon and Morgana were astonished when a skinny, semi-grubby, obviously peasant-boy, came crawling out from under Arthur’s bed, and had to hold in gasps.

Merlin stands awkwardly as Arthur grins at him, and waves nervously to the new-comers:

“Hi... I’m Merlin. Me and Arthur are-”

Before he can finish, Arthur excitedly interrupts him:

“He’s my soulmate!”

The room is silent for a while, Merlin getting more nervous by the second, Arthur practically bouncing off the walls with excitement (and being oblivious to the awkwardness), Morgana being marginally surprised but taking it in her stride, and Leon... well... Leon was absolutely freaking out. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at him.

After only about a minute (but it feels like forever for Merlin), Leon stutters some words out:

“Arthur where did you.... why... where did you find this kid??”

Arthur looks to him in confusion as he stops jumping up and down:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate.-”

He puffs up his chest and puts his hand on his hips, looking extremely proud of himself as he continues:

“-I found him all on my own. I’ve been visiting him forever, but I wanted him to come here for once, so he could meet ‘Gana.”

Morgana breaks out her stupor at that, and looks at Arthur incredulously before looking back at Merlin:

“Hi, Merlin.” with a small smile, which Merlin returns.

Leon takes in a deep breath, wondering how the hell he was supposed to deal with this. The Prince had... kidnapped a commoner? Without anyone in the castle noticing?? What??? Nothing in his lessons trained him for this.

He shakes off his confusion and finally looks away from Merlin, and to Arthur:

“Wait... what do you mean you’ve been visiting him? When have you been going? And where?”

Arthur swayed on the spot, trying to look innocent:

“At the beginning I went when I was supposed to be napping. Then I would go when I was meant to be doing self-study. I only go once or month or so, and not for very long. Merlin’s mum is always worried about someone missing me.”

Leon takes another deep breath:

“Arthur... how did you sneak out without anyone noticing? And how did you get Merlin in?”

As much as Leon wanted to solve the problem of “there is a random commoner child in the prince’s room” thing, he was also greatly disturbed by the fact that two children, who hadn’t even hit double digits yet, had been sneaking in and out of what was meant to be a heavily fortified, guarded, castle, for years.

Arthur seems to have a realisation at Leon’s questions:

“OH! Like this!”

With that, he runs out the room, and Leon goes to follow him, but the prince manages to shut the door just before he got there.

Morgana is looking on all of this with mild confusion and shock, not really understanding what was going on, but happy to wait quietly and see what would happen.

Just as Leon goes to open the door, he hears a pop, followed by a voice from behind him:

“See!” Leon freezes and he hears Morgana gasp.

The teen turns around slowly, to see a grinning Arthur stood next to a cheerful looking Merlin:

“Uhh... Arthur, how did you do that?-”

Leon begins panicking, the only thing running through his head is “sorcery!” and whilst he would like to believe that Uther would never harm his own son, with the way he was going with the purge... there was no guarantee.

He rushes forward and grips Arthur’s shoulders:

“I need you to tell me how you did that, right now Arthur, it’s important.”

Arthur frowns as he replies:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate. I just have to want to be with him, and I can be. Merlin’s mum says it’s super rare, and that makes us special.” Morgana once again gasps at that before smiling, and speaking for the first time since she said hello to Merlin:

“I heard about that! Two of the nobles in my old home could do it. It IS rare, but sometimes soulmates can blink and be next to each other, if they wanted that!”

Arthur and Merlin nod enthusiastically at that, and Leon sags with relief, now that his mind and heart weren’t racing so much, he did remember briefly reading something about that during his studies. And if all of this was just soulmate magic... then they should be safe.

Though by the looks of the boy... probably still best not tell Uther about it. He doubts the King would be pleased about his son being bonded with a peasant.

“Ok... ok.-”

Leon turns his attention to Merlin:

“-You said your name was Merlin? Does someone know that you’re here?”

Merlin nods as he replies:

“I left a note for my mum. But I can’t be too long though, or she’ll worry.”

Leon looks surprised at that:

“You can read and write?”

“I taught him!” comes proudly from Arthur. 

Leon nods again and re-locks the door behind him, before gesturing at everyone to sit on the soft rug together.

After establishing that Merlin had only arrived just before Arthur went to fetch Morgana, Leon says that they can sit and talk for another 15 minutes or so before Merlin had to go home.

Arthur pouted at that, but a look from Leon stopped him before he actually complained. Morgana and Leon spent the time asking questions about Merlin: where he was from, and how old he was, and about his family.

Merlin was shy at first, but Arthur had been talking about Leon forever, and Morgana seemed nice, even if she did look a bit sad sometimes.

After their time was up, everyone gave Merlin a quick hug, and Arthur promised he’d try to pop over at some point next week (Leon definitely had to stop the momentary panic at that).

Merlin disappeared with a pop, and Arthur made Morgana and Leon promise not to tell once more. Once they promised, they each wondered off Morgana to an afternoon lesson, Leon to s training session, both deep in thought.

Arthur smiled to himself. He didn’t like keeping things from Leon, because he was the only one around who was any fun, and Morgana had definitely seemed happier. So his plan succeeded!

~

It continued like that for some time. Arthur was the one who went to Merlin’s most often, but occasionally Merlin would go to him.

Morgana slowly started cheering up, recovering from her grief, and the three of them (almost always overseen by an always-worrying Leon) loved spending time together, and playing in the safety of Arthur’s chambers.

Thankfully, Uther never questioned it, happy that his son and his new ward seemed to be getting along finally.

The first time Merlin woke crying from a nightmare that was filled with smoke and fire, he was twelve.

He appeared in Arthur’s room within seconds, wanting nothing but the comfort of having his soulmate next to him, and Arthur woke to the quiet sniffling of a distraught Merlin perched on the end of his bed. 

Before he’s even fully awake, he has him wrapped in a hug, and is stroking his hair in an effort to calm him.

There may not be guards stationed outside his rooms during the day, but there were at night, and would be until he turned 18 (still four and a half years away), so they needed to be quiet.

They fall asleep curled up next to each other, clutching hands, and Merlin sleeps through the rest of the night without a problem. (They both wake with a start as a servant knocks on the door the next morning, and after the quickest hug they’ve ever shared, Merlin pops away, back to his own bed.)

That begins to happen more and more often, and after a couple weeks, Merlin is sleeping in Arthur’s bed most nights. 

He isn’t quite sure if he sleeps so much better because the bed is worth more than his entire village (it’s so comfy!), or if his magic is more relaxed with Arthur by his side, but either way, the nightmares stop almost entirely.

Hunith realises fairly quickly what’s going on, and does worry briefly if going to the place his nightmares took place in was the best, but Merlin seemed happier, and less tired, and once he promised to always be back before the servants came into Arthur’s room, she was a little more ok with it.

(She also made Merlin and Arthur swear to tell Leon, just in case. She hasn’t met Leon of course, but the boys talk about him and Morgana constantly, and she was grateful that the boys had someone other than Gaius (who hadn’t actually met Merlin yet) to look out for them. At this rate, Leon wouldn’t be surprised if all of this caused him to have a heart attack before he was even officially knighted. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.)

Once Arthur finally persuades Merlin to tell him what his nightmares are about, he’s horrified. It’ll be then that Arthur will begin to be more vocal about his objection to the executions, and ask questions about magic. Uther always punishes him of course, but Arthur just learns to hold his tongue instead.

Merlin cries, Morgana smiles widely, and Leon is speechless, when Arthur tells them that:

“When I’m King, magic will be everywhere! Of course people will have to be careful with it, but in the same way us knights have to be careful with swords. Isn’t that right, Leon?”

Leon goes pale at that, and takes a few moments to respond:

“Right... well. Just.... make sure you do your research Arthur, and that you know all the facts, and do NOT, no matter what, ever tell your father about this. Do you understand?”

Arthur nods glumly. He’s tried to change his father’s mind in the past, and it got him nothing but bruised knuckles and an hour long yelled lecture and extra training hours with the knights.

Leon looks to a sniffling Merlin next, and asks him what’s wrong. Arthur holds in a worried gasp, and Morgana raises an eyebrow (even at 14, she was incredibly observant and smart, she knew what was up).

Merlin grabs Arthur’s hand, but looks up at Leon through thick eyelashes, and mumbles so quietly, Leon barely hears it:

“Promise you won’t get mad? Or hate me?”

Leon has a bad feeling that he knows where this is going, but he puts a gentle hand on Merlin’s shoulder and gives him a soft smile:

“I could never hate you Merlin, promise.”

At that, Merlin bites his lip, and glances at Arthur quickly, before looking to the fire in the hearth. Leon furrows his brow in confusion, and Morgana hides an excited smile as Merlin mumbles under his breath:

“Give me a dragon.”

Leon gasps and takes a step back as the flames flutter, as if blown by a strong wind, before morphing into a miniature dragon.

The royal sorta-siblings look on in wonder as Merlin screws his face in concentration, eyes glowing golden, and Leon stares, speechless.

After a few minutes of the dragon flying around the large fireplace, it fades back into the flames again. Morgana whispers under her breath:

“That was amazing!” and Arthur smiles proudly as Merlin takes in deep breaths. He’d never held it that long before, and it had worn him out slightly.

He looks back to Leon (who is still staring dumbly at the fire) and furrows his brows in worry:

“You did promise... you’re not scared of me are you?” He looks close to tears again, and the tremble in his voice grabs Leon’s attention once again.

The older teen gathers the three of them in a tight hug, before whispering (worried someone would hear, even though they never have before):

“Of course I’m not scared of you, Birdy (an affectionate nickname, started by Morgana, and picked up by everyone else, much to Merlin’s chagrin), you just have to promise to be careful. I promise to try my best, but if someone else finds out I probably won’t be able to protect you, Ok?”

At that he pulls back, but grips Merlin’s shoulders tightly, worry written all over his face. When Merlin only nods infinitesimally, Leon shakes him ever so slightly, and gives him a desperate look:

“OK??” Merlin nods more vigorously, and mutters out an “I understand, Leon.”

Leon lets go and sighs, looking to the floor and fiddling with his hands hidden behind his back (one of the many rules he learnt growing up as a noble: fidgeting is a sign on weakness).

He takes in a fortifying breath and moves his hands to his sides before looking out the window, noticing that it’s almost dusk and looking back to the three children with a smile:

“You best get home Merlin, it’s getting late and I don’t want your mum to worry. Same time next week, ok? Next time we see each other, I’ll be a knight.” He says it with a grin, and smiles light up on the other’s faces as well. They were young, but they knew how much this meant to Leon, especially Arthur, who was about a year into his training.

Merlin gives everyone a quick hug, lingering a little longer on Arthur (like always) before stepping back, and disappearing with a pop.

~

The secret is revealed when Merlin is 15 (Arthur being 16, Morgana being 17, and Leon being 22).

The four of them had agreed a next meeting time, like normal, though they were having to be far more careful. With Arthur being older, he was being saddled with more and more responsibilities. His training hours and lessons were longer, he was expected to travel away from the city more, and he shadowed The King whilst he undertook his duties for the rest of the day.

Uther had mentioned Arthur’s soulmate in passing a few times (that always incited a hidden smirk from Morgana, and a nervous gulp from Leon, if he was around).

But Arthur always managed to derail the conversation and avoid the topic by saying something along the lines of “Finding my soulmate is important to me father, but not as important as learning to be the best King I can be for the kingdom. I feel the pull everyday, but until I am steadfast in my abilities and duties, it will remain unimportant to me.”

Uther always looked partially sad at that, he had loved Arthur’s mother, his soulmate, very much. But mostly he is proud at Arthur’s confidence and determination and loyalty.

If only he realised that Arthur was lying through his teeth, and had decided when he was incredibly young that he would happily hand all of it over to Morgana, in order to lead a simpler life with Merlin.

Anyway.

The next meeting time had been agreed. But bandits had been sighted causing trouble a few hours outside of the city, and Arthur was called to attend an emergency council meeting.

The page didn’t leave his side for a second, leading him straight to the council-room, meaning that Arthur couldn’t pop away for even two seconds to warn Merlin not to come.

He just had to hope that the meeting was over quick, and he could escape somewhere solitary before the young Warlock came around.

He was so close.

He paid close attention during the meeting, making excellent suggestions and being generally helpful, in an effort to speed things along. This backfired in a way he didn’t quite expect.

The meeting ended, knights sent to deal with the problem in the manner decided, and councilman heading back to whatever it is they did when not in meetings (at this point Arthur still doesn’t know, and is too afraid to ask). 

The Prince had almost made it out of the door before Uther called him back in. He halts in the doorway, and Morgana, ahead of him in the hallway, looks back, giving him a fearful look and mouthing “Give him an excuse! Hurry!”

Arthur turns back to the room (now devoid of everyone but The King and himself):

“I apologise father, but I was in the middle of-”

Uther gives him a stern look, and crooks a finger towards himself:

“Come. Here.”

Arthur schools his face, appearing blank, as he re-enters the room and shuts the door behind him. He stands to attention in front of his father, and figures this is just another part of the meeting he would have to hurry along. 

He glances at the shadows on the wall quickly, he should have another few minutes, as long as Merlin didn’t get too excited and appear earlier than he’s meant to.

“I wanted to congratulate you today Arthur. You did very well-”

He places a hand on his son’s shoulder and smiles hesitantly:

“-I... I’m proud of you. You’re learning well, picking things up quickly. You understand the workings of court and council near fluently now, and Sirs Kay and Leon tell me that your combat training is going astoundingly.”

Arthur’s resolve crumbles a little at that, and he almost forgets his desperation to leave the room:

“I... thank you, father. I’m trying my best to do you and the kingdom proud.”

Uther nods firmly at that and removes his hand, stepping back, the tender moment over as quickly as it had begun:

“Good. You are dismissed for the day, go back to your studies.”

Arthur struggles to hold in a relieved sigh as he bows briefly before turning around and almost rushing towards the door. He is too late however, and just as he reaches for the doorknob, he hears the tell tale pop sound from behind him. He freezes as he hears:

“Arthur, where the hell-” quickly interrupted by his father roaring:

“WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! GUARDS!”

Arthur rushes to turn around and grabs Merlin’s hand, pulling him to the side as guards burst through the door he was just stood in front of.

All of them raise swords at the terrified boy that Uther was pointing at, and Arthur quickly positions his body between them and Merlin:

“NO! Don’t hurt him! Please!”

Morgana rushes in just moments after the guards, and spots the boys immediately, stepping around the knights and standing next to Arthur defiantly. Uther looks affronted before yelling, red-faced:

“What is the meaning of this? Explain yourselves this instant, and get away from that beast!”

Morgana tightens her jaw as she takes Merlin’s other hand protectively in her own. She can feel him shaking, but knows he is too scared to just disappear again. She’s secretly grateful for that. If Merlin disappeared now there would be a manhunt and demands of explanations. The King might believe them if they can show him the truth (the same way the boys had shown her and Leon all those years ago).

“Please father, just listen. Merlin is my soulmate, it isn’t sorcery, we simply have a bond stronger than others-”

At Uther’s still-angry snarl, Arthur straightens his back, and takes in a breath, standing still and strong:

“You will NOT harm him. I would lay down my life before you lay a hand on him.” The guards falter a little at that, but still keep their swords raised.

Arthur hears Merlin take in a shaky breath at that, and squeezes his hand slightly. Morgana nods her agreement and Arthur gives her a brief, grateful smile as she says confidently:

“The same goes for me, if you wish to harm Merlin, or separate him from Arthur, you will have to order your guards to strike me down first.”

Uther lets out a growl at that:

“Soulmate or not, he used sorcery to appear out of thin air. That is treachery!”

Arthur huffs before shouting back:

“NO! Just ask Gaius, or Geoffrey. Occasionally, there are soulmates whose bond is stronger than normal, just ask Gaius-”

Arthur gives Uther his own growl as he continues:

“-And like I said. I would challenge you yourself, before I allowed anyone to hurt him.”

Uther slumps slightly and narrows his eyes at his son before telling one of the younger guards to fetch Gaius and Geoffrey immediately. He does however tell the other guards to keep their swords trained on the boy, and Merlin almost takes a frightened step back, only stopped by Arthur and Morgana, who hold him steady.

Arthur and Uther remain in a hard staring contest for the few minutes it takes the guard to return, Gaius and Geoffrey in tow.

Gaius glances at Merlin in surprise, but covers it quickly as he returns his gaze to The King as he growls:

“Tell me all you know of soulmate bonds.”

Geoffrey speaks first, confusion in his tone:

“My Lord?” 

Uther levels a glare at him as he yells:

“NOW!”

Geoffrey is taken aback, but replies immediately:

“Well My Lord, everyone on this earth has a soulmate, someone whose soul is bound to your own. The bonds provide a compass of sorts, meaning that one can always tell what direction their soulmate is, and, with practice, roughly how far away they are. No one is certain of how these bonds come about, though centuries of research show that they aren’t harmful in anyway, and other than incredibly rare, extreme, cases, the two whose souls are bonded are a perfect match for each other; bound to fall in love-”

Gaius jumps in here:

“And in even rarer cases, My Lord, a pair may appear whose bond is so strong, they have further... abilities. This pair of souls will be able to appear to each other at will, only needing to wish to be in the other’s presence. They are also able to disappear again, but may only transport themselves to the position they were before. Academics are even more perplexed as to how these bonds are forged, though the only known pairs with such a bond have all gone on to achieve great things.”

Gaius resists the urge to look towards the three teenagers, and keeps his placating gaze on The King, who does seem to be calming slightly. Uther looks to Geoffrey for confirmation, and the librarian nods, adding:

“It is incredibly rare sire, but possible, and proven.”

Uther is considerably less angry now, but the guards don’t relax, and neither do Arthur or Morgana as The King speaks again:

“How would one prove such a bond, and differentiate it from sorcery?”

Gaius jumps to answer this question, trying to keep control of the situation:

“Well one could simply ask for a demonstration-”

He gestures to the teenagers still huddled to the side:

“-I’m assuming that these...?-”

At Uther’s stiff nod, he continues:

“-might I ask Prince Arthur to leave the room, the door shut behind him, and demonstrate his ability?” Uther looks angry for a moment, and Morgana tightens her hold on Merlin as he takes in a scared gasp. After a few moments of deliberation, The King looks to his son and gives a slight, but firm, nod.

Arthur gives Merlin a quick smile, and reluctantly lets go of his hand before saying:

“I’m only leaving him if the guards sheath their swords, and step back-”

Uther goes to interrupt him, but Arthur continues harshly:

-And THAT, is final.”

Uther gives a nod once more, and the guards cautiously put their swords away. Arthur nods at Morgana, and she takes his place directly in front of Merlin as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Morgana can feel Merlin shaking behind her, but she grits her teeth, and squeezes his hand. She meant what she said, she would force the guards to cut her down before she allowed them to hurt her friend.

A second later, she hears the tell tale pop, and smirks slightly at the astounded look on Uther’s face, not having to look to know that Arthur was now stood behind her.

Uther still looks slightly disbelieving, but before he can say anything (or God forbid accuse his son of sorcery) Gaius speaks up:

“I have both ancient and modern literature on the subject My Lord, if you would like to read about it.”

Uther lets out a sigh, and purses his lips before looking to the physician:

“Very well. Have them ready for me tonight. Everybody out! I wish to talk to my son and this... boy.”

Gaius throws one last glance to the three teenagers, before shuffling out the room, closely followed by Geoffrey and the guards. Morgana stays in place.

Uther looks exasperated before saying:

“That includes you, Morgana. Out-”

Morgana interrupts him angrily:

“No. I will not leave. Merlin may be Arthur’s soulmate, but he’s my friend as well. I won’t allow you to hurt him, or speak down to him.”

Uther looks enraged once again, but Arthur speaks before he can start yelling again:

“I shan’t talk about it unless Morgana is allowed to remain, father. She has been nothing but loyal and protective of Merlin, and as his soulmate, I appreciate that greatly. She stays.” 

Arthur thought about demanding that Sir Leon be summoned as well, but he didn’t want to get the man into trouble, he had already done so much for them. And besides, Arthur is fairly certain that if he continues to order his Father around like this, he’ll lose his temper once more. There’s only so many demands someone can make of the King before context becomes unimportant, and it becomes a matter of pride.

Uther grits his teeth once more before nodding, and muttering out a quiet “Fine.”.

The King straightens himself, and regains his regal composure before speaking once again:

“Merlin, was it? Bring yourself forward, boy.”

Morgana goes to argue, and Arthur looks insulted, both about to retort against the tone and choice of words, but before they can say anything, Merlin pushes between them, to face Uther head on.

He gives a small bow, but maintains eye contact, and speaks once he raises again:

“Yes sire, my name is Merlin.”

Uther scowls as he looks him up and down, and Merlin can feel Arthur and Morgana fuming either side of him.

“You look like nothing but a farmer. I will not have my son and only heir, bonded to a peasant.”

Merlin goes to retort at that, indignant at having his worth as a person lowered by his class status, but before even Arthur can speak up, Morgana steps forwards angrily:

“I told you, I will not allow you to speak down to him. Merlin is a wonderful person. Kind, and compassionate, and wise beyond his years; he’s twice the man most of your so called nobles are, you will treat him with the respect he deserves, or the three of us will leave right now.”

Merlin is taken aback at that. I suppose because it’s only ever been the three of them, and Leon, he’s never really seen Morgana angry. Sure, he’s listened to her rant about the unjustness of Uther’s laws, but never anything like this. The display of somewhat aggressive protectiveness from her definitely makes him tear up a little.

Uther’s face turns red at her demand, and he looks about ready to kick off again, but Arthur steps forward, in line with Morgana (once again, leaving Merlin protected behind them):

“As she said father. Merlin is my soulmate, whether you like it or not. I will not leave him, we will not be separated, and that will never change. If you can not speak to him respectfully, then you won’t speak to either of us at all.”

Merlin takes Arthur’s shoulder and pushes himself forward again before saying quietly:

“Arthur, no, he’s your father. I don’t mind, it’s fine, maybe I should go?”

Arthur doesn’t look at him, but takes his hand wordlessly, gripping it tight as he glares at Uther (who looks slightly taken aback at the offer).

Morgana once again takes Merlin’s other hand and says:

“No. We’re resolving this now, and The King is just going to have to come to terms with the fact that someone’s status does not define their worth.” She looks pointedly at Uther at that, and the older man sighs, rubbing his eyes slightly, before gesturing to the council table:

“Fine. Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, take a seat, and we shall discuss how we plan to move forward.”

~

END OF PART 1

Part 2 is up! Part 3 is up!

Let me know what y’all think :)

[cosmicjoke]

Hi Cosmic! I love that analytical brain of yours, so I wanted to ask if you think there's a reason Isayama separated Levi from his squad in the epilog. I know that the kids are now ambassadors, and Levi is probably retired. But maybe there's another reason behind it? I just stumbled upon a post with the panels of the kids thanking Eren and saying that now they understand why he did what he did. Those panels always bugged me. I felt like they were being too soft on him. I get that Eren is their friend and he tried to justify his actions by his desire to save them. But shouldn't there be a line after crossing which one cannot be forgiven, friend or not? Levi's always let people make their own choices and never condemned them for what they chose. He always tried to find a reason behind their actions, like with Zeke. But maybe Eren had passed the point of no return in Levi's eyes(in mine too), so he couldn't bring himself to forgive him or accept his reasoning. I think, throughout the entire story, these two have been the opposites of each other. Eren was willing to sacrifice humanity for the sake of the few people he loved, while Levi sacrificed his loved ones for the sake of humanity. So maybe this caused some kind of misunderstanding between Levi and his squad, and they drifted apart.

Hi there, and thank you!

You know, that's a really interesting theory, one I never considered. I always just thought that Levi wanted to move on with his life, and put the pain and grief of his past behind him. He gave his whole life over to fighting for the cause of humanity. As you said, he sacrificed everything and everyone he ever cared about to that cause, and by the end of it all, I think he must have just been truly exhausted and hoping simply for a quiet, peaceful life. As much as a person who had suffered as much as he did could find, anyway.

But the idea of an ideological split between him and the remaining members of the 104th, over Eren's actions, is a really interesting idea. I know for certain that Levi would never approve of, or condone Eren's actions, no matter the reasons behind them. And so, if he thought the remaining SC members somehow WERE condoning those actions, I could see that potentially causing a rift between them. Though, honestly, I don't think the other members of the 104th really were condoning Eren's actions, but simply expressing their understanding. It's hard to just turn away completely from someone you once genuinely cared for and loved, no matter how atrocious their actions may have been.

The interesting thing about Levi, or one of the interesting things, I should say, is how non-judgmental he is. As you rightly pointed out, he rarely ever condemns anyone for their actions or tries to convince anyone that their beliefs are wrong and his are right. So I have a hard time imagining Levi allowing a difference in belief come between him and his comrades. After all, Levi often, for example, clashed with Erwin over the right course of action, and sometimes found himself taken aback by Erwin's seemingly callous treatment of the lives of his soldiers. But he still trusted in him and chose to follow him and work with him. So I think Levi would be willing and able to understand how hard it is, to just flatly disown someone whom you once considered your best friend, or someone you once loved.

Honestly, I think it was truly just a case of Levi being done with fighting. Whether that was a physical fight, using his body to advance a cause, or a diplomatic fight, working as an ambassador for world peace. I think, by the end, Levi had finally just had enough, and was ready to rest. No one earned that rest more than him, after all. He gave everything he had to making the world a better place. I think he felt he'd at last fulfilled his duty in that regard, and there was nothing left for him to really contribute. I think he felt safe in leaving that duty to Armin and the others, at that point. Leaving the future in their hands, so to speak. He fought so that they, and the rest of humanity, could have that future, and so that they could have the freedom to live their lives, and I think Levi was content to let them do just that, and to allow himself to do that in turn.

[zeldas-cigarrette]

⊱┊𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. ↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃

— pairing; ⚢donna sheridan x fem!reader

— word count; 3.3k

— summary; Sophie organised an afternoon of speed dating for her mother. You happened to be a customer at the certain restaurant it took place, and it seemed as if Donna was more interested in you than in all the guys that came for her. (lots of fluff because I can’t bring myself to write smut atm. ) xx

— fluff 🍰₊˚.༄ ೃ -

—❥ author’s note; My obsession with Meryl Streep keeps me sane during all those exams I have atm… Again, I’m so sorry for not posting my requests but I tried finishing them all but when I read them again they were so insanely bad, I can’t upload them… I will rewrite them probably next weekend (if I have enough time). But thanks for sticking around although I’m not as active (which will change in a few weeks, when I’ve finished my finals).

..⃗.🕊•̩̩͙⁺⤾·˚ ༘ ◡̈ ꒰ 🥥 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ ✧˖*°࿐

🏷 tag list; @paulawand , @pearplate

The sun was already burning down when Donna found out about her daughter's plans for the afternoon. Apparently, Sophie decided to host a speed dating for her mother in some restaurant on the island. She wasn’t interested in the first place but for the sake of her daughter, Donna decided to give it a try - maybe she’ll find the love of her life? It wasn’t until both mother and daughter arrived at the chosen restaurant when the older woman started worrying about what’s to come behind those doors. The few birds that gathered on the windowsill started chirping as if they were trying to warn her, „don’t go in!” but it seemed too late for that. „I don’t know if this is the right thing Soph,” Donna lurked through the window, seeing a couple of older guys waiting eagerly for someone to entertain them. „It’s gonna be fun Mum, just let it happen,” and with the huge smile spread over the young girl's face, she pushed the door open. Quickly the smell of food surrounded both women.

Only a couple of women were interested in dating as well, everyone was already sat on separate tables only waiting for the main host to start the thing. On the first look, none of these men caught her eye, none of them looked attractive. However, who was she to judge? Said and done, Donna took a seat opposite of a man with full fair hair and glasses. The two minutes started in which they were supposed to get to know each other.

You were sat in the corner of the restaurant, observing the show you were offered from afar. The people, including the owner, were making a fuss about the speed dating someone had arranged. You had moved to the island just a couple of months ago and though such things as speed dating were a pretty common thing in England, it seemed to be hardly a thing around here. Chewing on a shrimp, you wanted to hold back the laughter when you saw the angelic-looking woman’s face when one of the guys seemingly told her an interesting fact about him. She didn’t look very happy with the selection of men. Luckily you had an amazing view of the ocean and you could watch the sun gleaming on the water.

For every passing minute, Donna regretted the decision she made. The first guy was as dull as his name, Tom had 15 cats. He told her a story of when a few of his cats got sick and vomited in his flat. It was a full-on ramble for two minutes not letting his opponent get to word for once. Donna wasn’t sure if she had control of her face, but if she wasn’t at least the guy knew how horrible he was. The next one - didn’t even introduce himself - was shy. So shy that he only stared down on his fingers. Therefore when Donna made the first move and told him a little about her life, he could only nod and blankly stare a hole into the hotel owner.

Sunken in a daydream, you scribbled something in your notebook hoping the words would turn into poems. When you first came to the island you had hoped to overcome the ongoing writer's block, but until now not even the alluring landscape could change that. It ever so often occurred that your eyes landed on the woman with the golden locks not sure if it’s because of how dissatisfied she looked or if it’s her that captured you. Often you came to this restaurant to get the words flowing or to talk to the owners. They have been welcoming from the first moment, so you decided to go there again and again until it became the only restaurant you’d go to.

Meanwhile, Donna was meeting the fourth guy that wanted to meet her. It seemed to be a better start than the rest of the guys, he wasn’t perfect but neither was he as self-centered as the ones before. Their conversation was good until he dropped the 'women belong in the kitchen’ bomb. It ruined everything for her. „Alright people, we’re gonna take a short break so everyone can let the impressions sink in,” Sophie quickly interrupted when she saw how uncomfortable her mother felt. Each of the participants got up and walked out on the terrace or ordered drinks from the bar. Donna scoffed and buried her head in her hands. „This is awful,” it was only a whisper but audible to her daughter. „I’m sorry, I really thought that you’re gonna have fun,” the girl replied. Without another word the woman got up and wanted to walk a few steps to stretch the tense muscles in her leg when she spotted you sitting in the corner of the room.

She took small steps to reach your table, she was curious about what you were doing there all alone scribbling in your notebook. At first, you didn’t notice her coming towards you, but when you did she seemed as if a halo would enlighten her. The notebook was closed in an instant when you realized that you were the aim she was about to reach. „Hi” you greeted her with a wide smile. „Hello, I noticed you sitting all alone,” it was obvious that Donna searched for an opportunity to escape the dating hell her daughter had organised. You saw in how deep of misery the woman was. „Would you like to sit with me for a while?” you requested and pointed at the chair opposite of you. The noise in the overfilled restaurant was deafening so the blonde woman didn’t bother using words and just pulled out a chair. „You don’t know in how many ways you just saved me,” she smirked and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. You blushed but tried to hide it while leaning your face in both of your hands.

„I saw you’ve been busy over there, isn’t speed dating fun?” you teased not knowing if it was alright to overstep this line. „They’re all abhorrently boring and irritating,” the woman huffed and throws a disapproving look at the crowd of men. You couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, you’ve never had the problem with weird men. „I’m Y/n by the way,” you reached out your hand which she gladly shook. „Nice to meet you, my name’s Donna.” Even her name sounded angelic. The woman’s company brought you joy and even ideas for new poems came to your mind. „You could stay here until it’s over, I don’t mind,” you suggested avoiding eye contact, fearing rejection. „I’d love to,” it sounded like heaven to you. Therefore she stayed and every time you looked at her, you hated to avert your gaze the next second. Although Donna seemed to enjoy herself, the men on the other side of the room looked as if they were disappointed that she left. „One of their cats vomited in their flat,” she told you rolling her eyes. „Aww, I love cats but without the vomiting,” you giggled and tried to find out who it was by just scanning them. „It’s the blond one,” she pointed at a tall, skinny guy. „Oh yes, he absolutely looks like a cat guy,” you remarked dryly not averting your gaze from the giraffe-like man.

Sophie saw her mother sitting with you, smiling and giggling sometimes. She didn’t dare to make her comeback and go through another round.

„Would you like something to eat while you’re waiting for this to be over?” you asked shyly. „Actually, yes! I’ve been starving since we’ve come here and the conversations I’ve had didn’t make it go away,” Donna explained and bit down her lip. You waved for Elias, a waiter, for her to order. You’ve been exploring the island with him a couple of times and learned that he would rather like to work on the mainland as a teacher than work at his parent's restaurant. The food was served in less than ten minutes and she hummed while eating. „This has to be the best one I’ve eaten yet,” Donna declared while putting the cutlery on her plate.

Donna admired you for your kindness of letting her stay with you, she was lost in the eyes of yours and how your y/h/c hair was blown from the wind from time to time. The opened window offered her a marvellous view on the deep blue ocean. She felt safe in your company and the stories you’d told her about your future plans captured her. „Then why have you decided to come to Kalokairi when you plan on becoming a writer?” the older woman curiously asked. „Well, I had a very severe writers block and wanted to be surrounded by nature and I’ve a lot about this place in tourist guides so I decided to come here to get my writing flowing,” you explained. „Oh I’m sorry, I hope you’ve overcome it by now.” „I think I just did,” you cheekily replied. Unknowingly that your time was up by now, Sophie strutted over to the both of you.

„Mum, I’m sorry to interrupt but we’re done,” the young girl smiled while looking at you. „I’d really like to do this again,” Donna circled with her finger on the table, „I’ll just give you my address and you can come over some time.” Donna scribbled something on a napkin and handed it to you. You tried to hide the huge smile that was about to form on your lips. „Thanks, I’d also love to repeat this,” your whisper was barely audible. Donna just winked before leaving with her daughter, she was gone and left you with butterflies in your stomach. That day you’re writers block seemed to be gone and you were finally able to bring some words on paper.

»As I sat and looked at her and the rolling hills she sat upon I thought, what amazing luck I have that the world had created such beautiful things and given me the eyes to see them.« *

At first, you’ve been too afraid to drop that little poem off at her house, but when you gathered enough courage you just went for it. It was only when you arrived that you realised she was managing a hotel. You quickly dropped it off with your phone number written on it, not brave enough to give it to her in person. The following hours consisted of you having almost a nervous breakdown not wanting to receive rejection again. You had enough of that for a lifetime. Was she even interested in that way or was she just being nice? It took her until the next morning to get back to you, but when she did, it brought your heart to quiver.

She invited you over for a walk along the coastline by sunset. Whenever Donna laughed, it felt as if the world was changing for the better, and she smiled like a goddess. When the sun was almost gone and barely visible, it made the whole island shimmer in a shade of magenta. The older woman seemed as if she took a liking to you, that’s when you realised the arm sneaked around you. It was that day when you never wanted to leave Kalokairi or the high you’ve been on since you first saw her.

—♡︎

Over the weeks you two had somehow developed an unspoken romantic relationship, none of you were brave enough to talk about the strong feelings in between. When Donna wasn’t busy working in the Hotel, you did almost everything together, sat by the beach while you used her as your muse for writing or you two cuddled on the couch.

You had sent your work to a publisher in New York when you had gathered a few more poems and one night you received an email. They actually wanted you in New York, the head of the company wanted to meet you first and if everything goes well he wanted to offer you a contract and an apartment in which you could get your words flowing. Although that sounded like a dream to you, so surreal and perfect to be true, your true new home was the island and the mere thought about leaving was too much. That’s why you didn’t tell Donna. You weren’t sure if this was the right time or if she’d even care.

„Why did they have to leave her out, just because she couldn’t pay for the country club?” the thing you loved about her, was that she always commented on the movies you watched. „It seems unfair to me,” you added and snuggled closer. You were partly on your laptop to check your mails for a confirmation on an order you placed. She was holding you close while her head was resting on yours. It was the smell of the ocean that comforted you and made your eyelids heavy. You had never stayed overnight at her house because you didn’t know if that was alright for her, so you fought against tiredness. Few strands of her hair slightly covered your eyes which only caused you to give in to your exhaustion more.

The steady sound of the movie and her beating heart made you even more tired until you couldn’t keep your eyes open any longer. A comforting wave of sleep hit you and soon you were comforted in a dream. It wasn’t until the woman you’d fallen asleep on moved abruptly, that you woke up. „Ouch,” you murmured and your head jolted in an upward direction. „I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you,” Donna sounded weird but you brushed it off due to the late hour. „Don’t worry, is everything alright?” you then asked while straightening your back. Only a light hum was a response to your question, she then focused on the movie again. Minutes passed and your eyelids started to feel like cement. „Okay, you know what? It’s not okay. I know going through your things wasn’t right, but your laptop was open and I’ve seen the email from the publisher and internally I’m going mad and-“

„Stop,” it was a short but loud enough interruption of her rambling. Donna's eyes grew wide. „I don’t mind if you’re going through my things, but before you assume something you could’ve asked me, because I wasn’t planning on going,” you didn’t want to snap in that way. Only a regretful „Oh..” broke the uncomfortable silence. You felt bad for speaking to her in that tone. „I’m sorry but I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, I just found you.” A small but proud smile formed on your lips, maybe the feelings were mutual. „I’m not going anywhere,” you quietly replied. Both of you started staring at the screen of the tv again, wordlessly. „Y/n?”

You hummed in response. „I think I love you.” „You think?” you laughed, „because I might love you too.” Her hands quickly found your face and pulled you in her direction, „Is that alright?” A slight nod confirmed and Donna’s lips found yours. They moved against yours in sync and that’s when you first noticed how soft they were, she tasted like peach and lavender. „Your hair’s so soft,” she mumbled when she stopped for air, after that Donna quickly found your lips again. „And your cute when you’re all worried,” you added when you gasped for air.

That night you stayed with Donna and fell asleep cuddling her. She wore a blue pyjama with puppies all over it, you were gushing over how adorable she looked.

—♡︎

„Come on we’re going to be late for the ferry if you don’t hurry up,” Donna rushed past you to turn off the kitchen lights. „Yeah yeah don’t rush me or I’m never gonna finish,” you replied and closed your suitcase. You were going home for your father's birthday and they wanted to meet the woman that you couldn’t stop talking about. „Ready?” „Yes.” Donna stretched out her hand for you and pulled you after her. „I hope they’ll like me,” she pondered while loading the suitcases in the trunk. „They will absolutely love you, trust me,” you said and helped her closing up.

The ferry was crowded as usual and you two barely had enough space so Donna demanded you to sit on her lap. „I hope we’re gonna catch our flight,” the woman mumbled and nervously checked her wristwatch. „Don’t sweat it, we’re gonna make it on time it’s still early,” you cackled, knowing that she was nervous. The ferry sailed over the water just as gracefully as a bull in a china shop. When the ferry reached the mainland, Donna and you quickly rushed to a cab and drove to the nearest airport. The sky was flawlessly blue, not a cloud could be seen.

Not a lot of people decided to fly to England on that day, you could count 17 people at the checkpoint. In the meantime Donna was a nervous wreck, the woman constantly fidgeted with the keychains. „Ew your hands are sweaty,” you joked when you took hers in yours, „don’t be afraid, I’m with you the whole time.” Donna forced a smile on her face then followed you on the airplane. It wasn’t a long flight, maybe four or five hours. The start was a rough patch, Donna’s anxiety of flying was at its highest and she was seemingly about to throw up. Luckily you could talk her down and she soon fell asleep.

Arriving in London Southend, which was close to your parent's house, your girlfriend's nerves seemed to be calmed and you almost thought she’d taken something. „Let’s get out of here, my brother’s gonna pick us up,” you declared as both of you got your luggage. „He’s very much into cars and all that stuff, so if he’s annoying you just tell him to shut up, I do this every time.” „Oh I hope it’s not getting too complicated so that I can keep up,” she stifled a laugh and cheerily followed you along to the exit. As usual, your brother couldn’t shut up about the new cars he is about to tune, but luckily the ride was only about 40 minutes.

Your father was fascinated by Donna, the two of them got along quite well and even your mother seemed to approve of your choice this time. There have been a few women she wasn’t fond of, almost hated them and in retrospect, she was right about them. As it got darker outside, your father's guests said their goodbyes and left one by one until only the five of you were left at the table. „We’re gonna go to bed, it’s getting late and I’ve got work tomorrow,” your father declared and clapped his hands on both of his legs before getting up. „Yeah me too,” your brother said.

„Wanna sit in front of the fireplace for a while?” you asked as all of them were gone. „Absolutely.” „Thanks for coming, I was afraid you wouldn’t like my family because of how crazy they are sometimes,” you whispered when you draped a blanket over the both of you. „They’re all lovely people, I’m happy they don’t seem to hate me,” Donna joked. „They don’t, they love you but maybe not as much as I do,” you sweet-talked. Her finger booped your nose before she planted a quick kiss on your forehead. „Can I hold your hand?” she quietly asked. You nodded, feeling her soft palms against yours was enough to make you feel safe. While you sat there watching the fire die out, the grip around Donna got tighter, fearing she’d be gone as soon as the sun rises. But she wasn’t, she was still there in the morning and the morning after and so on. You were happy with her, happier than you would’ve imagined.

* used a poem from atticus

[spunky-89]

All Power (Kol Mikaelson x Female Reader)

A/N: Woo a new fic! Cause updating or finishing old WIPs is apparently not as cool. Also, this fic is a bit of a crossover from Teen Wolf, not anything like major, just some references and such.

Word Count: 1.8 k

Warnings: None that I can think of

The air was tense in the courtyard as Kol stood protectively in front of his lover, facing off against his pain-in-the-ass hybrid brother. Elijah stood between the two trying to keep them from tearing each other apart. Freya was off to the side holding herself, feeling guilty for starting this disagreement.

“You come anywhere near her Nik and I swear it will be the last thing you do.” Kol threatened.

“I don’t like liars, especially not in the house where my daughter sleeps,” Klaus growled.

“You really think I wouldn’t make sure that my girlfriend had no ill intent towards my niece? Do you think that low of me brother?”

“Enough, both of you,” Elijah spoke, turning slightly to look at his youngest brother and his lover. “Now, would you care to share what this ruckus is all about?”

“I don’t know, ask Nik.” Kol spat, rage in his eyes.

“You stand there and make me the bad guy when it is your pet human that is lying and has been her whole time with us.” Klaus proclaimed.

“And how do you know this Niklaus?” Elijah inquired.

“Because I sensed it,” Freya spoke up, moving closer to the brewing storm.

“Sensed what Freya?” Kol snapped, becoming more and more fed up with the current situation.

“Something… off,” She tried, struggling to find the words.

“You need to do better than that sister, or else this is a waste of time because you have no grounds to accuse my girlfriend of anything.”

“Enough.” The woman came out from her position behind Kol and came to stand next to him. “Please just stop, all of you.” She requested.

“Darling?” Kol gave her a questioning look and she gave a heavy sigh.

“She isn’t wrong, I’m not human,” She started, avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground. “Well, not entirely human I should say.” She then looked to Klaus, “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t sense it. I mean typically wolves have a sense for this sort of thing.” She remarked.

“Get to the point, my patients is waning fast,” Klaus warned. As he did so, Kol took a threatening step forward, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

“Okay, calm down. The short version is I’m a werewolf.” The woman stated plainly.

“You can’t be, you’ve never turned on a full moon,” Kol stated, looking to his girlfriend in confusion.

“That’s because I’m a different breed and I’ve learned to control it.” She then gave a bashful smile at him and said, “I also happen to have an amazing anchor that keeps me grounded.”

“That’s it,” Klaus growled and sped at the supposed werewolf and pinned her to the wall, his eyes glowing golden. “Who are you?”

She saw Kol move to intervene but she shot him a look to let her handle this. She smirked as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, opening them to reveal her eyes were glowing a vibrant purple, wolfish features taking over her face slightly. And before Klaus could make a comment or move, she dug her claws deep into his side and rake them upwards, causing him to release her in shock. She used that moment to roundhouse kick him away from her.

“Who am I? Well, I’m someone you really don’t want to piss off.” She huffed, fixing her clothes.

Kol was looking at her wide-eyed, never having seen her like that before. He watched in fascination as her face shifted back to the one he loved so much, though the claws on her hands didn’t disappear.

While Kol was focused on her, she was focused on Klaus. She knew she just poked the sleeping bear, or well in this case wolf. She acted casual, but she was ready for a full-fledged brawl. She heard him let out a chuckle, and her heart went icy cold. She knew that kind of chuckle. It was the kind that told her she’d just pissed him off and he was amused by her attempt to hurt him.

“That was a neat trick, love,” He said as he stood back up to his regular height. “But you’ll have to do a lot better than that if you want to hurt me.” He growled as his eyes flared and he started to rush towards the woman. Before he could even get close Kol threw him to the other side of the courtyard.

“I told you Nik, not a hair.” He seethed, standing protectively in front of his girlfriend, who was now minorly terrified and clutched onto the back of his jacket.

“Maybe I should just go,” She murmured to Kol.

“Nonsense, you are still welcome here,” Elijah promised.

Klaus had gotten up and was getting ready to argue when Elijah cut him off.

“Why don’t we give the lady the benefit of the doubt. As it stands, if she had wanted to harm any of us she’s had ample opportunities to do so and has not. We shall hear her out before we jump to any more conclusions.” He stated, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Everyone was slow to move, but eventually, all were gathered in the seating area.

“What do you want to know?” The woman asked, practically perched in Kol’s lap.

“First off, how is there another breed of werewolf?” Elijah asked.

“Well, there’s actually a few. I’m from the French line of werewolves, whereas your brother is of the North American breed. As far as I know, the only other breed is English wolves. But there are many different shifters out there from many cultures. Kitsune, for example, come from Japan.” She explained as best as she could.

“How is it we’ve never heard of any other wolves or shifters before?” Freya asked.

“That I am unsure of, but I’ve met loads of different shifters and other creatures. Where I come from, it’s practically a beacon for supernaturals.”

“And you can control your shifts?” Kol piped up.

“Well for the most part. The way French wolves and shifters work is that you can shift at any time, not just on the full moon. But the full moon makes us more susceptible to turning. But for older wolves, it becomes easier to control your shifts. Whereas baby wolves tend to be much more at risk of turning uncontrollably.”

She then spent the next hour or so explaining the differences between the different wolf breeds and other supernatural creatures, although she never really explained what she was. It was actually Kol that brought up the question.

“Me? Well, I’m kinda a special case. I’m a werewolf, but well, an extremely rare one. It’s why I didn’t tell you who or what I was.” She explained, clearly nervous to reveal who she was. But with one squeeze of the hand from Kol, she sighed and started speaking, “I am the twin sister of Scott McCall, the True Alpha. I am his opposite in most cases which makes us an elite team that is nearly unbeatable. So I am what is called a Compliment Alpha. Part alpha, part beta, all power. It’s why my eyes are purple. It combines the red of an alpha’s eyes and the blue of a beta’s.” She explained, once again flashing her eyes.

“Does that satisfy you Nik? Or does she have to go through her life story before you trust her?” Kol asked, seemingly done with his girlfriend being interrogated.

“I swear to you I am no threat to your family. I didn’t even know of your existence until Kol revealed who and what he was. Vampires are kinda new territory for me. This is not some evil plot to harm you or any Mikaelson. You all have become my new pack, and you don’t hurt your own pack.” She swore.

“I shall allow you to stay, but be warned little wolf, I see even the slightest hint of your inevitable betrayal and I will end you and your brother.” Klaus threatened, but instead of being scared she just gave him a smile.

“I would expect nothing less.” She teased as she stood from the couch. “But just so you know, my old pack and I are hard to kill. Trust me, many have tried, yet here I am.”

Kol stood as well and took her hand as they left for her apartment on the other end of town. He pulled her close by her shoulder and kissed her head as they walked out of the compound.

-----------

When they finally made it back to her apartment, he could see her noticeably relax.

“I have to say, darling, I’ve never seen you kick ass before but I would love to see it again,” Kol murmured as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid kisses on her neck. She giggled and tried to push him away.

“Stooop,” She whined as she tried to wiggle out of his grip.

Kol, unfortunately, refused to let her go and held her tighter as he relished in her laughter. Moments like this were his favorite because there was just joy in the air. All troubles forgotten and burdens lifted to make room for the contentment he felt when he was with her.

The two settled down on the couch and just sat cuddled up in silence for a while. Kol was the first to break it after about half an hour.

“Would you have ever told me?” He asked, looking down at his lover who suddenly seemed very interested in the couch.

She sighed and sat up. She hated this. She knew he would eventually ask this. And she dreaded it because she didn’t have a good answer. But she knew she had to give him something.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” She started, “My identity and my secret is the reason why I ran here in the first place. The danger became too great for my brother and me to stay together. We had to separate, at least for a little while. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” She paused as she recalled the day she had to say goodbye to her mother and brother. The physical pain she felt when she got on the plane without him. “I was scared.” she admitted, “I trust you, and I wanted to tell you so many times, but…”

“But what darling? Cm’on darling, I just want to know.”

“If my identity was found out, I would have had to leave again. Which would mean leaving you. And I couldn’t- I can’t lose you too. It would break me. Shatter me to a point that I would become volatile and dangerous to those who came across me. Because my heart’s been broken a few too many times for me to be able to come back from that.” She said quietly, not realizing that tears had begun to stream down her face.

Kol pulled her back into his arms and just held her.

“I swear to you my love, no one will keep me from you. Not even my brother.” He vowed.