#ESWF

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 12

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~5.5k Warnings: I'm gonna forego warnings on this chapter for the sake of spoilers, just this once. It's not anything worse than any of the previous chapters, so you should be good if you made it here, but if anyone has any concerns, just shoot me a message. Notes: Buckle up, we made it to the end. More notes after the chapter.

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Ellaria wakes in a dark room with alarm bells going off in her head.

It takes a moment to get her bearings, but she’s out of the bed before she’s fully stable and striding to the cradle tucked into the corner. She’d never been one to let her child be cared for by a stranger and kept in a nursery, and it wasn’t going to be any different with Dorea.

When she peeks over the side, careful to be quiet, the little newborn is sleeping peacefully. Ellaria lets out a breath, certain it was just paranoia over her child that woke her, but then she realizes the alarm bells haven’t quieted. Something is wrong, she doesn’t know how she knows it, but she does. And then she feels it, a weak tug in her gut, pulling her down the hall.

Oberyn is still in the main hall, still laughing and talking to guests when Ellaria bursts in. He’s never seen her like this before, so frantic, not even about their children. Immediately he’s at her side, stopping mid-conversation with some Northern lord to go to her. Her eyes are wide, hands shaking as he takes them in his. “What is it, what is wrong, my soul?”

“She isn’t in her room, she’s gone!”

You have a headache. Like, the worst headache you’ve ever had. Well, not the worst. You got a migraine once when you were twelve, and spent the whole day in bed because it hurt to move your eyes. This isn’t that bad, but it’s still bad.

Your brain boots up slowly. First the pain in your head registers, and then just how bright wherever you are is despite your eyes being closed. Soft fabric rubs against your cheek, and you realize you’re laying on your side against sheets that feel coarser than the ones on your bed despite their softness. 

Finally, you manage to open your eyes. The room around you swims into focus, and you blink a few times trying to clear the blurring from your vision. 

You’re not in the palace anymore.

Whatever room you’re in is small and windowless. The bed you’re lying on is shoved into the corner, and there’s a dresser and a small vanity with a stool agains the opposite wall. The furniture is all well made, and obviously expensive, despite the dreary appearing of the room around them. The walls are bare wood, and you think it might be some sort of shed or storage room that was hastily outfitted.

The door at the far end of the room opens, and your stomach drops. Rylan is standing in the doorway, and in the few seconds before he steps in and closes the door you can see bright green plants behind him.

There’s a wide grin on his face, and the open friendliness he looks at you with stuns you for a moment. You’re so used to seeing him angry or smug or pretending at civility that the genuine expression almost breaks your brain.

“You’re awake! I was beginning to think you’d sleep the day away, my dear.”

You stare at him for a moment as he steps into the room and pushes the door closed with his foot, a tray balanced in his hands. As he walks towards you, you push yourself into a sitting position, scooting up against the headboard as far as you can. “Where am I?”

Rylan sets the tray on the vanity, and turns towards you with a cup in his hands. “My lands. Not in the main house, for right now, it would be too dangerous to have you there. Once it is obvious to my cousin that you belong with me, as my wife, you can move in there properly and have a room that befits a lady of the house.”

He holds the cup out to you with a smile, and your eyes flicker between it and his face. When you don’t take it, his smile falters, and it looks more like genuine upset than a mask slipping like it did the previous times you spoke to him. Instead of insisting he just shrugs, turning to place the cup back on the tray. “I know this may be a bit of a shock, my dear, but it is just temporary. I had to get you away from my cousin, he was clouding your mind. You could not think clearly, could not see that I only have your best interests at heart. He has that kind of effect on women, I am afraid.” Rylan shakes his head, frowning down at the tray of dishes for a moment. 

After a moment of silence he turns back to you, smiling once again. “I cannot stay, my dear, I have important matters I must attend to. You will be safe here, I promise, and I will visit again soon.” He gestures to the wall above you, and you see a shelf above the bed with several books stacked on it. “Feel free to read while I am gone, I will see about getting you some other entertainment as well. Do you know how to embroider? Or draw? Well, no matter, you can learn all of that once we are married.”

Your mind is whirling, too much information to process at the moment making it hard to think. This isn’t the same confident, smarmy lord you’d dealt with at the palace. No, it seemed like he’d genuinely managed to delude himself into thinking you would go along with marriage if he only got you away from Oberyn.

Before you could react properly he turned, striding to the door. You scrambled off the bed, tripping towards him, still uncoordinated from whatever he used to knock you out.

“Rylan, wait! Wait, please, I don’t want to be here!”

The door shut firmly behind him, and you fell against it, desperately fumbling with the knob. It wouldn’t turn, and you leaned against the wood with a sinking feeling in your stomach.

You were locked in here, at the mercy of that man.

The palace was in chaos. 

The moment Ellaria had told Oberyn you were gone, he began tearing the palace apart. Every guest was ordered down to the main hall, and every room was searched. He lead the search himself, tearing apart rooms without concern for the consequences. Doran was summoned, but by the time he found his brother, Oberyn was already deep on the warpath.

The elder prince found his brother in a guest room, one that hadn’t been occupied by anyone that night, ripping the mattress off the frame. There were a handful of guards standing against one wall, expressions of concern fixed on the younger prince. Doran sighed as he watched his brother, gesturing for the guards to leave.

“Oberyn. This will not solve anything.” His brother turned to him, fury etched onto his face, and flung his arms wide.

“She is gone, Doran. Someone took her, from my palace, during my party. What do you expect me to do, sit quietly until they return her? She is our soulmate.” Some of the fury leaked out of his expression, morphing into desperation as Doran stepped towards his little brother.

“I expect you to think clearly. You are a prince, Oberyn, and currently you are not acting like one.”

Oberyn clenched his jaw, looking away from his brother. When he spoke, his voice was rough, like the words themselves pained him. “I cannot just sit here, Doran. I do not mean I do not want to, I mean I cannot. Every fiber of my being is driving me to look for her. For my soulmate.”

Doran softened at that. He sighed, reaching out to grip his brothers shoulders. “We will find her, brother mine. But you need to calm yourself. Flying off in a rage like this will not help her.” Oberyn nodded tightly, still refusing to look at his brother.

It’s late, when Oberyn makes it to bed that night. The entire palace had been scavenged top to bottom, a large quantity of it by Oberyn himself, but there’s still no sign.

Ellaria is in his room when Doran finally convinces him to get some sleep. She’s awake, sitting on the edge of his bed, and when she lifts her head Oberyn feels his heart break a little at the sight of her. Her eyes are red, and she can barely hold her head up from the exhaustion he feels dragging at his own bones as well. He knew Ellaria had been searching for most of the day, but they rarely crossed paths in his single-minded pursuit of their lost soulmate.

“Any news?” Her voice shakes, and he wishes he could give her something good.

Instead he shakes his head, swallowing hard. “No. No one has seen her.”

He steps forward, kneeling in front of her, grasping her hands in his as her head lowers again.

“We will find her, my soul. I swear. We will find her, and whoever took her will pay.”

You’re not sure how long it’s been since Rylan left, but a maid came in a few hours later and took the tray of untouched food away. You don’t want to take the chance that he’s put anything in the food, despite the pit growing in your stomach from hunger. For a moment, you consider overpowering the maid when she turns away with the tray, but she looks nervous and scared and won’t hardly look at you. You refuse to hurt someone innocent, not even to get yourself out of this situation.

When Rylan comes back, it’s dark outside behind him. He’s carrying a tray again, which he sets on the bed this time before sitting next to it. You try not to, but as he sits you shrink away, your body rebelling at just the thought of being near him.

“You need to eat, my dear. I know you are upset right now, I do understand, but starving yourself will fix nothing.” He looks at you with pleading eyes, and it’s almost enough to make you feel bad, until you remember what he did to you.

The two of you just stare at each other for a moment before something falters in his gaze, and he lets out a sigh. “I know things are difficult right now, and you think I am being unfair. But trust me, my dear. You will be much happier here, with me, than you ever would have been being a third wheel to the prince and his whore.”

You do managed to keep your expression neutral at his words, despite the anger building inside you at the way he talks about Oberyn and Ellaria. There’s an instinctual rage deep in your heart, listening to this man talk like he knows what’s best for you, like what’s best for you isn’t being with your soulmates. It’s hard to ignore, but you keep your expression neutral, worried that if you upset him you’ll lose the weird kindness he’s been treating you with.

You do not, however, manage to keep yourself from jerking away when he puts a hand on your arm. He looks surprised, and then hurt, his hand still hovering where your arm had been moments before. For a moment, as emotions flicker across his face, you’re worried you managed to upset him after all, and you’ll get the angry, selfish lord that you knew him as before.

Instead, he smiles, the expression wavering slightly, and stands. “You need time. My cousin’s influence over you has to fade on its own. I will wait, my dear, until you understand the favor I am doing you.”

Doran bursts into his brother's room very early the next morning. Early enough that it’s still mostly dark out, and Oberyn and Ellaria sit up in bed with a start, a knife in Oberyn’s hand instantly. 

“I apologize for the early hour, brother, but there is news you need to hear.”

Moments later he is in Doran’s office, staring down a scared woman that looks like she’s trying to blend into the fabric of the chair in front of his brother's desk. Ellaria stands at his side, hand gripped tightly in his own, as the woman speaks.

“I-I work at Lord Rylan’s manor. He was out very late, the night of the prince’s celebration, and when he came back he had a woman with him. I did not know who she was, and she was unconscious, but I did not say anything. I could not risk my job, I-” She pauses, shrinking away from Oberyn’s thunderous expression. Ellaria nudges him, glaring up at him, before turning to give the woman an encouraging look.

“I did not see where he took her, but yesterday afternoon, the housekeeper told me to go fetch a tray from one of the outbuildings. The woman was in there, and she looked scared. I still did not know who she was, or what I could do to help her, but then last night we got word of your missing woman, and I realized it must be her. I do not…trust his intentions with her, my prince, he has been talking all day yesterday to anyone who will listen about how we will have a new lady soon, he just needs to convince her. I was not able to get away until very late last night, not without someone noticing, and I came here immediately.” The words all come out in a rush, and when she finishes speaking Doran sighs.

“It was brave of you to come, my dear. I will have someone show you to a room you can stay in, here in the palace, until this situation is dealt with.”

The silence in the room hangs heavy until the woman is gone, and Doran finally looks at his brother. Oberyn’s gaze is on Ellaria, and for a moment Doran feels like an intruder with the way they seem to communicate without words.

Finally, Oberyn’s shoulders drop, and Ellaria lets out a breath, apparently the winner in whatever silent argument they were having. Oberyn looks at his brother, voice shaking. “We cannot leave her there, brother.”

“No, we cannot. I already suspected Rylan had a hand in your soulmate’s disappearance, but without proof I could not act. This is the proof we needed.” He stands, his expression grim. “You will have to wait, just a bit, until I have the men to go with you, but I will not stand in your way Oberyn.”

You're not sure how much time passes. There's no window in this little building, and you're almost positive food isn't being brought on any real schedule. After Rylan leaves, you sleep for a while, and when you wake there's another tray sitting on the vanity. It concerns you a little, that someone must have been in here while you were asleep without you noticing. It's enough to make you sit up in the corner of the bed, back pressed resolutely against the wall, determined not to sleep anymore.

You also still don't trust the food. Rylan seems nice, for now, but you still wouldn't put it past him to drug the food somehow. You don't know this world well enough yet to know what kinds of drugs are possible here, and what they might do to your mind or body if consumed. It's safer, for now, not to eat or drink any of the food or water brought to you.

After a while, you think a few hours, the door opens and Rylan enters again. This time, when he sees the still-untouched tray of food, you see a flicker of the rage in his eyes that you'd been expecting since you first woke in this tiny room. It's gone a moment later, however, and that pleading sadness is back on his face by the time he looks at you.

"I do not understand how my cousin sank his claws into you so deep in such a short time, my dear. Is the thought of being with me truly so repulsive that you would rather starve?" You hate the tone he's using, like you're a child that needs to be reasoned with, and before you can stop yourself you're replying.

"You kidnapped me. You stole me out of my bed in the middle of the night and locked me in here, and you expect me to be happy?"

Rylan flinches. It'd be satisfying if you weren't mentally berating yourself for provoking him. There's no telling when his mood might finally shift, and you don't want to find out what the Lord Rylan you knew before will do with no one around to stop him.

As you brace yourself, Rylan looks at you for a moment, lips pursed. Finally he sighs, deflating slightly, and his voice has an edge to it now that wasn't there before. "You still do not understand. I am doing what is best for you, my dear. My cousin gets everything he wants, women, money, power, but he cannot have you. My methods were rough, I will admit, but you will see." He crosses to the vanity, looking thoughtfully down at the uneaten food. "You know, my dear, if you do not choose to eat soon I will have to force the matter. I do not want to upset you further, but if you give me no choice..." 

A spike of fear shoots through you at this glimpse of the old Rylan, and without thinking you press yourself back against the wall behind you. Your eyes dart to the door, mind frantically working. You don't think you've seen him lock it the few times he's come in. If he comes at you, you might be able to get to the door. You don't know where you are, or what might be waiting for you outside, but anything is better than being at his mercy. You're sure of that.

Before you need to worry about any of that, however, the door opens. Rylan turns away from the food, annoyance flashing on his face in the few seconds you can see it and filling his voice. "What."

There's a scared looking young man peeking through a crack in the door. He's only opened it enough to wedge his head and shoulders through, and the look on his face suggests he'd rather be baiting rabid dogs than delivering whatever news he has. "M-my lord, the prince is here."

Rylan goes perfectly still as your heart immediately soars. You had hoped Oberyn would come, but you couldn't be sure he would even be able to find you. It hits you, faintly, that just a few days ago you might not have been so certain the prince would come for you, but after the discussion with him and Ellaria the night of the party, there wasn't a doubt in your mind that they would both move mountains to find you.

For a second, you almost feel sorry for Rylan when you look at him. He's spent his life being overshadowed by his royal cousin, that part you have no doubt is true despite his delusions around everything else, and now Oberyn is here to take you away. Again, in his head most likely. You'd feel sorry for anyone, really, standing between Oberyn and what he wants. That sliver of pity, however, promptly shrivels up when seconds later you see Rylan straighten and sneer at the young man. "The prince. My cousin finally deigns to visit me, then. He's smarter than I gave him credit for, if he worked out I was the one to take her this quickly."

He turns to you, and you feel proper fear this time at the expression on his face. "Worry not, my dear. I will not allow him to take you from me."

Rylan was gone for less than a minute before you moved.

You needed to get out. You were over the moon that Oberyn was here, but there was no guarantee he'd be able to find you, and you couldn't just wait and hope. All you had to do was get out of this room and find Oberyn. It was a much more manageable list than before, especially since you still had no idea what was waiting outside that door. 

It was easier than you thought to get the door unlocked. Well, unlocked wasn't really the right word.

The benefit to your kidnapper trying to make you as comfortable as possible and deluding himself into believing he could make you want to stay was that he hadn't put any thought into how useful the things in your room could be in an escape. For instance; heavy books make great tools to knock handles off of doors.

It took a few tries, and with every loud thump your anxiety ratcheted up a notch, but with one last swing, the handle finally clattered to the floor. You dropped the book, sliding a finger into the hole left in the door to slowly pull it open. When there was no immediate sign you'd been spotted you peeked out from around the edge of the door, finally taking in the sights outside your prison.

You knew Dorne was a diverse country, but most of what you had seen at this point pretty closely resembled a desert. You'd never ventured far from the seaside castle, however, so it came as a bit of a shock when you realized the area surrounding your prison was a riot of green. It looked like you were in the middle of a rainforest with the amount of dense vegetation surrounding the clearing you were in. There was a rather large building that you only just now realized one side of your room was connected to, and after your senses adjusted you realized you could hear the sounds of animals coming from it. Rylan must have outfitted some kind of storage shed attached to a barn to hold you.

That right there spoke volumes to how he regarded you.

You took a cautious step out of the building, looking around. There didn't seem to be anyone in the area, and for a moment a paranoid part of your brain wondered if this was a test to see how you would react to an opportunity to escape. You physically shook your head to dislodge that thought, determined not to let fear guide your actions. You needed out of here, and sitting in your pretty prison too scared to move wasn't going to get you anywhere.

Slowly, placing your feet carefully, you crept forward until you reached the edge of the barn. You weren't letting fear guide you, but that didn't mean you shouldn't be cautious. When you peeked around the edge of the building, a wall of the same dense vegetation you'd seen all around you met you just a few feet away. There was a path leading through the foliage, and you could just barely see the same kind of stone that was used for the palace at Sunspear peeking through the bright green vegetation. A quick scan showed that there wasn't anyone in the area, so you crept forward along the path, praying to any gods that might be listening no one caught you.

As you came towards the end of the path the building came into view. The clearing it sat in was large, and the building itself was absolutely massive. Not as massive as the palace, but still, obviously what would be considered a home fit for a lord. It was built in the same design as the palace you'd spent so much time in at Sunspear, with the same sun-bleached tan walls and open window designs. Just the sight of it made your heart squeeze in homesickness, and you realized in that moment how deeply you'd come to regard the palace as your home. You'd only been in this world for a matter of weeks, and yet you already felt like you belonged here more than you ever had anywhere else.

You followed the edge of the house towards what you hoped was the front, slowing your steps as you got closer and realized you could hear voices. You instantly recognized Oberyn’s voice, hearing the tension in his otherwise cool tone as he responded to something Rylan said. You crept forward, peeking around the corner of the house.

Oberyn was standing at the front of the house, several men dressed in his house’s colors standing behind him. Rylan stood in front of him, his own men behind him, arms crossed as he obviously tried to make himself look more visually intimidating in front of Oberyn’s casual confidence. You could see the tension in Oberyn’s shoulders, however, and you knew how tight of a grip he must be keeping on his temper as he faced down his cousin. Ellaria stood several feet behind Oberyn’s group, two men standing on either side of her, a mixture of anger and anxiety written on her face.

You’d meant to stay back far enough that hopefully no one would see you, unsure what situation you were walking into, but Ellaria’s eyes met yours almost instantly, like she was drawn to you. You saw her mouth open, to far away to hear anything, but she must have gasped with the way Oberyn instantly turned to look at her. He turned back, following her gaze, and his own eyes went wide when he spotted you.

You took a step forward, forgetting for a moment the situation and where you were, and were instantly ripped back into reality at the sound of swords being drawn. Instantly, there were five different swords pointed at Oberyn, close enough that his own guards would be able to do little to protect their prince. Rylan’s men had stepped forward as Oberyn had spotted you, the lord spotting you at the same time as his cousin thanks to Ellaria’s reaction.

Rylan closed the few feet over to you, one hand closing roughly around your arm to drag you out from around the side of the building. “I should have known you would come running at the chance to see your prince again.” He spat out the word like it disgusted him, coming to a stop a few feet behind the men that currently had swords pointed at one of your soulmates.

You’d never seen Oberyn scared, before, not even when Ellaria was in labor. You’d seen him ruffled, perhaps worried, but never scared. You felt fear spread through your own body like an icy river at the pure terror in his eyes now, though, as he watched his cousin drag you forward. Your eyes darted back to Ellaria, fighting back panic at the fear on her face as well.

Oberyn held up one hand, slowly, eyes darting quickly to one of the swords pressed close to him before focusing back on his cousin. “Rylan, please, think this through. Doran already knows you took her, he sent me. What do you think is going to happen here?”

Rylan sneered at his cousin. “You think you’ve won again. You think I will cave, let the girl go running back to you and your whore because, what? Because of fear of you? Of your brother? If you have not noticed, cousin, you are the one with swords to your throat, and your dear brother is all the way in Sunspear. I could slaughter you and your whore and be halfway across the continent by the time Doran manages to mobilize his men to come after me.”

You took an involuntary step towards Oberyn and Ellaria at the threat against them, only to be jerked back by Rylan’s grip on your arm. He looked down at you then, rage twisting his face into a grimacing sneer.

Rylan quickly yanked a knife out of the sheath at his side with his free hand, bringing it up to drag under your chin, forcing your head up towards him to avoid being cut. “Then again, that would leave me with a woman forever pining for someone else. I could break her, I suppose, loving me would be a bonus, not a necessity. But it would get tiring. And it would be oh so satisfying to kill her in front of you.”

He looked back up, knife still pressed to your throat, a malicious grin spreading across his face. “Suddenly, cousin, I am the one holding all of the cards for once.”

You met Oberyn’s eyes again, reading the terror written there, and you could practically see his mind racing as he tried to find a way out of this situation for all of you. “Rylan, cousin, don’t do this. Would you really rather live in exile, or die, than see her with us?”

Rylan scoffed, and you winced as his hand jerked slightly and dug the knife further into your skin.

"I would rather see us all die, cousin, than see you win again."

All of the fear flowing through your body like icy spears suddenly went hot, like a switch being flipped, morphing into rage and indignation.

How dare he?

How dare he try and steal you as though you were a toy to be taken from his cousin? How dare he tell his men to point swords at your soulmate? How dare he use your life to threaten them? How dare he?

You turned to him carefully, forcing yourself to look away from where Oberyn stood with swords to his neck and Ellaria stood in helpless terror behind him, ignoring the way the movement made the knife slide against your skin.

"Look at me."

The force in your voice, more power than you'd commanded before, compelled him to look down at you, a sneer still plastered on his face. The moment he met your gaze, however, his face went slack.

“I see you, Lord Rylan. I see your blackened, rotted soul. You want to be a big, scary man, but you aren’t. You’re a scared, lonely little boy, lashing out because he could never make any friends or get a girl to give him a spare glance. You thought it was because your cousin distracted them with his title and his riches, but that wasn’t it, was it?” You sneered right back at him, channeling all of your hate and anger into your voice. “It was you, Rylan. They all saw you, who you really were, and wanted nothing to do with you. You would have been alone with or without your cousin there. You always were, and still are, worthless and repulsive. I never would have wanted you regardless of if I had met my soulmates, because I always saw what you are. A jealous, possessive, mean little man that thinks he can take what he wants and blames others for his problems.”

The slack look on Rylan’s face slowly morphed as you spoke, horror spreading across his face as he stood there, frozen. He shook his head, stammering, “What…what are you doing?”

You reached up, wrapping one hand around the wrist of the hand holding the knife to your neck, easily pulling it away from you. “But I have a present for you, Lord Rylan. A gift. You wanted my magic so badly, so here. Have a taste.” You watched as his eyes clouded over, and held tightly as he tried to jerk his arm out of your grasp. For a moment he stood there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, and then he screamed.

You let go, letting him stumble backwards until he tripped over his own feet, landing hard on the ground. He writhed where he fell, simultaneously reaching out to ward off something only he could see away and also clawing at his own face, his screams filling the air around you. You watched, a feeling of satisfaction and pride spreading through you. 

A hand on your arm broke your concentration and you turned, finding Oberyn and Ellaria standing at your side. You glanced over their shoulders, seeing Oberyn’s men holding swords to Rylan’s men, his side apparently distracted enough by their lord falling into a fit to be overtaken by Oberyn’s men. 

You realized then that you were clutching your necklace tightly in the hand that hadn’t been holding Rylan’s wrist, and when you managed to uncurl your fingers from the death grip you’d had on the pendant, the sight that met you somehow didn’t surprise you at all.

The brilliant blue had leeched out, leaving what looked like a hollow, plain glass pendant hanging around your neck.

You looked back up, eyes suddenly filling with tears as the adrenaline from the last few minutes bled out of your body. Instantly you were engulfed in your soulmate’s arms, pressed between them, and you finally relaxed. 

“We have you, my sunflower, you are safe.” Ellaria’s muffled voice washed over you, soothing the lingering terror you felt. Oberyn pressed a kiss to the top of your head, whispering a promise against your hair. “No one will take you from us ever again, my soul. Never.”

We made it guys. Almost two years and 12 chapters later and we made it, finally. I am genuinely so sorry for how long it took for me to finish this fix, it ended up being beefier and so much more work than I was expecting, but I got there in the end. There's going to be an epilogue eventually, but I don't know when that will happen.

For now, thank you guys for sticking with me, welcome to the people just showing up, and I hope you enjoyed the ride ❤

(And now that we're done, if any of you want to send me questions, feel free!)

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[eswrestling]

here are the current statues on each character in the AU! 

quick notes:

while rinne and niki are a tag team, they also do a lot of solo matches.

ibara is nagisa’s manager (think of roman reigns and paul heyman).

- Mod S

[caelwynn]

Farmer 2.0 ESWF

I've had a couple of different people asking me through different venues about how to set up the portraits in the mod Farmer 2.0 ESWF.

I'm assuming that the reader knows how to download mods and their dependencies, so I'm going to talk specifically about setting up the file structure within your mod folders. The screenshots are all from Windows 11, and my Stardew is through Steam, so keep that in mind.

If this is something you're curious about/looking for info on, just look under the cut. There are lots of screenshots.

I'm giving Stardrop a spin these days, so the folder path is somewhat different.

My Mods Folder looks like this:

Within the Stardrop Installed Mods folder, it looks like a typical Mods folder setup if you're doing manual installs:

You'll need to go into the folder I have highlighted, "Farmer 2.0 ESWF."

It should look like this:

We're going to need to go into the assets folder that is highlighted there. Inside, you should have a file structure similar to this:

(Note, if you've just installed, you won't have anything like the "Callie" or "Quinn" folders. We're getting ready to set that up.)

Now, for this setup, I'm doing the "Player 1 - No Emotions" because pixel art is not in my wheelhouse and this is a pretty straight-forward set up. This one allows you to set up different portraits for different weather types, as well as different portraits for indoors versus outdoors if you want your character to not have a coat on while inside or whatever.

The first thing you need to do is Copy and Paste the "Player 1 - No Emotions" folder within that same assets folder.

In older versions of Windows, instead of it tacking on a "- Copy" at the end, it oftentimes will add a "(1)" or "(2)" instead. You're going to rename that to the name of your Farmer--not your farm, but your character. Hence why I have a "Callie" and a "Quinn."

For this demonstration, I'm going to use Quinn since I used the No Emotions setup for them.

Inside of your Farmer Folder, you'll see this:

That portrait file? You can replace it with a base portrait. The most important thing is that you A) don't delete it and B) if you do replace it, make sure you keep the same file name of "portrait." Otherwise, the mod will bork hardcore.

You'll notice that it has eleven folders for different seasons/events/locations. For this example, we'll go into "Fall."

Inside are subfolders for different weather conditions. "Sun" is the default portrait that it uses on most days. For this example, however, we're going to go into "Rain," as I actually use different outfits/portraits for indoors and outdoors in those conditions.

The files are pretty straight forward: "portrait" is for when Farmer is outside, and "portrait_indoors" is for when Farmer is inside. (Side note: to make my portraits, I used this portrait creator. When I saved my files, I saved them as either "portrait" or "portrait_indoors" and replaced the original files in that folder. Make sure you download the 64x64 version and not the 256x256.)

But what if you don't want to use a different portrait while indoors?

Just reuse the same image!

Once you have all of your portraits for the various seasons/weather/events set, you're going to want to copy your Farmer's folder to elsewhere on your hard drive. That way, if it gets deleted during an ESWF update, you have a back up and can just copy it back into the assets folder.

This is a quick and dirty tutorial, and I'm sure I've missed something. If you have questions/need clarifications, please ask and I'll do my best to help!

[sidedished]

stardew valley mods

hi! 👋🏻 listing down all the mods for my current sdv save, will do my best to update this list as i play!

✧ stardew valley 1.6 (with sve) ✧ mac mini (m1) ✧ updated 04.10.24

always double check the requirements before downloading mods! feel free to ask me questions, i'll do my best to help! 🫶🏻

📝 prerequisites

✧ smapi ✧ content patcher ✧ json assets ✧ spacecore ✧ alternative textures ✧ expanded preconditions utility ✧ farm type manager (for sve) ✧ mail framework mod (for life cycle)

🎮 gameplay

✧ dying grandpa intro retexture ✧ event expansion ✧ life cycle ✧ romantic love letters ✧ stardew valley expanded + grandpa's farm

👩🏻‍🌾 farmer & characters/npc a lot of my JA clothes don't work since the 1.6 update, so i may temporarily move to using FS until i get JA clothing to work in game. keeping these on the list regardless!

✧ alternate dusty portraits ✧ coii's girl sets ✧ cozy scarves (fs) ✧ customizable baby and children ✧ fashion sense ✧ gh's peach body type ✧ rural outfitters (fs) ✧ seasonal improved leo ✧ the coquette collection (fs) ✧ yomi's retro colored dress (fs) ✧ baechu's seasonal outfits + slightly cuter aesthetic seasonal outfits (i'm using a combination of baechu's and poltergeister's portraits and sprites so unfortunately i can't share an accurate link for this) ✧ baechu's seasonal outfits (sve) + slightly cuter aesthetic seasonal outfits for sve (same for this one!) ✧ beom mung's shirts & pants (beom mung has since changed their id, so i can't share an accurate link for this) ✧ delloti's daily pants set ✧ delloti's daily shirt set (ver. 2) ✧ delloti's hats set ✧ delloti's look ✧ the teddy edit

🐥 animals & livestock

✧ elle's cuter dogs ✧ elle's new barn animals ✧ elle's new coop animals ✧ elle's new horses ✧ elle's town animals

🏠 house interior/furniture

✧ aimon's fancy farmhouse ✧ aimon's tidy cozy ginger island farmhouse ✧ cozy farmhouse kitchen ✧ dustbeauty's industrial furniture (at) ✧ elle's kitchen replacement ✧ futan bear (at) ✧ greenhouse set (at) ✧ guxelbit's furniture (at) ✧ mi's and magimatica country furniture ✧ nano's retro style furniture (at) ✧ redesigned shed layout ✧ rustic country walls & floors ✧ seasonal open windows (at) ✧ suitcase record player ✧ tile kitchen & dining set ✧ too many swatches (lite) ✧ warm cozy fireplaces ✧ west elm furniture by atlas (at)

🌱 farming/craftable retextures

✧ chest deco (at) ✧ dshi food retexture ✧ fancy artifacts retexture ✧ fancy artisan goods retexture ✧ fancy crops & foraging retexture ✧ fancy fish & tackles retexture ✧ fancy trash & resources retexture ✧ firefly torch ✧ forest wood craftables (at) ✧ gwen's lamps ✧ nano's garden style craftables (at) ✧ nyangcarecrow ✧ terracotta garden pots ✧ wallet items retexture ✧ warp totems to magic book tomes

🧸 aesthetic/map

✧ daisyniko's earthy recolour ✧ daisyniko's recolor fix for sve ✧ dustbeauty's country town interior ✧ elle's seasonal buildings ✧ elle's town buildings ✧ ellie's seasonal paths & flooring ✧ interiors of pelican town ✧ molamole's seasonal mailbox (at) ✧ more grass ✧ seasonal special order board retexture ✧ simple foliage ✧ wildflower grass field

🎨 ui

✧ cozy accent interface ✧ custom menu background ✧ farmer 2.0 ESWF looks ✧ farmer portraits ✧ generic mod config menu ✧ script font

🌻 quality of life

✧ cjb cheats menu ✧ cjb item spawner ✧ cjb show item sell price ✧ lookup anything ✧ noclip mode ✧ npc map locations ✧ ui info suite

[duduzera---087]

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❙靎❙ Ichigo Kurosaki icons;

✸ Like or Reblog if you save!

• Request are open. ✏️

[troublesomemusic]

#flashbackfriday Here's a crazy flashback of myself at 17yrs old posted with my 63 Impala active as fuck (excuse my editing) size 46 Friscos and all white Cortez. I was going to war with all my enemies at this time and I'm very lucky and blessed to still be here doing music, tv and movies..... #troublesomeakaliltrouble #ESWF #imfromthestreetsfirst

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 11

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~3.8k Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, Reader does drink some, more self-deprecation Notes: We have arrived, my friends. I think there's going to be one more chapter after this, possibly two depending on what happens while I'm writing it, and then an epilogue? We'll see where it goes.

Last Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

The morning of Oberyn’s name day dawns bright, sunny, and unbearably hot.

You spend the first few hours after the sun comes up sitting on your balcony, gazing down at the garden below. It’s one of the smaller gardens, although ‘small’ seems a bit of an understatement, but it is still bustling with activity today. The main celebrations won’t start until sundown, but guests have been streaming into the palace since yesterday afternoon. A few are milling around in the garden below you, drinking chilled tea swimming with fruit and nibbling on delicate pastries.

A day and a half has passed since you last saw Oberyn and Ellaria. You spent the entire day after the birth holed up in your room, swimming with guilt over leaving them like that while you simultaneously assured yourself they wouldn’t have wanted you around. They might be interested in you for now, but that doesn’t mean they want you around for moments like that.

When you’d arrived back at your room after leaving them, though, your gift for Oberyn was waiting on your bed, presumably delivered while you were away. Which left you with the dilemma of if you still planned to attend the party.

As you sat watching the guests below, you decided you would attend. You still needed to give Oberyn his present, and besides, you had promised him you would go.

Even if you weren’t sure he still wanted you there.

Hours later, just as the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, you dragged yourself away from the balcony to get ready. Something felt like it was missing as you slipped your dress on, the burnt yellow fabric whispering against your skin in the silence.

The last time you wore this dress was when you tried it on with Ellaria. When you’d felt pinned by Oberyn’s gaze and the only thing holding you up was her presence behind you.

Tears burn in the back of your throat as you study yourself in the mirror. It feels wrong, to cover yourself in his color and symbol when you’ve been hiding from them both, but you haven’t had the chance to wear it yet, and a small part of you hopes Oberyn will like you wearing it to his party. It felt wrong to wear his colors, it felt wrong to get ready without Ellaria, it felt wrong to hold yourself away from them like this, it all felt wrong. It felt like there was a gaping hole in your chest where they were supposed to be and you didn’t know how to fix it.

You rubbed at your chest like it could make the ache go away, mentally fighting with yourself over if you should still even go. The present sitting on your bed felt like a looming elephant, though, and you wanted to at least give it to him. 

Your feet feel like lead as you walk down the halls, voices filling the air around you. It feels like everyone in Dorne must be here, and you aren’t at all surprised to see that Oberyn didn’t limit the guest list to only those with money and titles.

The decorations seem to get more and more elaborate and eye-catching as you make your way through the halls, and by the time you get to the main hall your head is swimming at the amount of wealth on display. You’d passed several windows draped with cloths that you weren’t entirely certain weren’t spun of pure gold with the way they shimmered, and the people were just as elaborately decorated. 

The main hall, however, still managed to take your breath away.

You’d only seen the room once since you got here, and even empty it was an impressive space. Decorated for the party, however, it was astonishingly beautiful. The vaulted ceiling had been draped with more of that shimmery fabric combined with more fabric in a rainbow of jewel tones to resemble the top of a circus ten. Jewel encrusted lanterns hung from glittering ropes all across the room, providing enough light to see by while throwing dramatic shadows across the walls and columns. The expansive marble floor had been practically covered in rugs in a dizzying array of colors and patterns, with plush cushions and chairs scattered around between a combination of low tables for the guests to sit at and standing-height tables loaded down with seemingly endless platters of food. The center of the room, normally where you would walk between the now fabric-wrapped pillars to approach the throne at the other end, was clear of rugs. A group of musicians sat to the side of the main dais, playing what you assumed was a variety of songs from across Westeros to accommodate the guests that had traveled from other cultures. The dance floor was crowded, a sea of different cultures of dress, the typical flowy fabrics of Dorne swirling next to the stiff collars of the northern climates. 

Apparently, you had managed to underestimate the lengths they would go to for a prince’s name-day celebration. What on earth would a celebration for the ruling prince’s name-day look like?

Before you could contemplate that simply absurd question, three people at the other end of the room caught your eye. Doran was sitting on the throne, smiling off to his right where Oberyn stood. The moment your eyes landed on him he threw his head back, laughing at whatever his brother had just said. He practically glowed in the light of the lanterns, and the ache in your chest doubled at the sight. Ellaria stood by his side, resplendent in a deep red dress, a wide smile on her face as she gazed up at Oberyn. You were a little surprised to see her up and walking so soon, but with how easy the birth had gone, she must have been cleared to attend. Not that you could really see any doctor or midwife or anyone being able to tell her not to do something she wanted to do.

For once you were grateful for the overwhelming number of people crowded around you, because neither of them seemed to notice your entrance. Rather than tempting fate by standing and staring you turned away, making your way to the already sizeable pile of presents by the open arches that lead out into the main garden. You couldn’t see much through the gauzy fabric and strings of beads draped over the openings, but you knew it was beautiful if the other gardens were anything to go by.

You set your present on the pile and turned, unsure of what to do with yourself now. Before you could make a move towards one of the food-laden tables, a chill ran over your skin, and a second later a hand slid into the bend of your elbow.

“Hello, my dear. Would you do me the honor of a dance?” Rylan pulled you out into the crowd on the dance floor with a vicelike grip before you could react, and you had to fight down a surge of panic. The rational voice in your head was saying you were in the middle of a crowd, he couldn’t hurt you here, but that wasn’t doing anything to stop the instinctual panic that arose at the sight of him.

Rylan’s smile was tight, the friendly edge gone. He swept you up in an unfamiliar dance, practically dragging you around the dance floor. “Have you thought any more about my offer? I do hope you have come to your senses and realized how generous I was being, my dear.”

The confidence in his tone snapped you out of your panic, and instead rage welled up inside you. How dare he? He thought he could accost you at his cousin’s name-day party and continue to badger you about a marriage proposal you had already rejected? You stiffened in his hold, glaring up at him, some small satisfaction blooming in your chest at the way he immediately seemed to brace for your response.

Before you could tell him off, however, a hand on his shoulder stopped your movement across the floor. Oberyn stood behind his cousin, a tight smile of his own betraying the cool confidence with which he spoke. “Pardon the intrusion, cousin, but I would very much enjoy a dance of my own with our resident mystery.” 

You could see the internal fight on Rylan’s face, and a sadistic little part of you hoped he would decide it was worth the confrontation to refuse Oberyn. It would be so satisfying to watch Oberyn put his cousin in his place.

Unfortunately, sense won out, and the lord stepped aside with a stiff gesture. “Of course, cousin. It is your party, after all.”

With an unreadable glance at you Rylan stalked off, and you were left with Oberyn. As you forced yourself to make eye contact with him, it felt like the two of you were standing alone despite the crush of people moving in your periphery. There was a small bubble of space around the two of you, likely the guests not wanting to jostle the prince.

Oberyn smiled, and your chest gave another squeeze. It was a genuine smile, although the tightness at the corners of his eyes betrayed how anxious he must feel as he held his hand out to you. “May I have this dance, sunflower?”

You wanted to say no. Well, no, you wanted to throw yourself into his arms and apologize for leaving and take whatever the two of them were willing to give you for however long you got it. But something small inside you still tugged backwards, still insisted you would just get hurt and it wouldn’t be worth it. 

You swallowed all your conflicting emotions down, attempting a smile and taking his hand. “Of course, who would deny the guest of honor?” 

There was a flicker of something in Oberyn’s eyes as his hand closed around yours, possibly pain at the insinuation you only accepted because it was his party, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he pulled you into the dance as a new song started. It was the exact opposite of how Rylan had “lead” you before, and you actually felt like you could keep up with what was going on as Oberyn swept you around the dance floor.

After a moment of silence he glanced down at your dress, a different sort of smile spreading across his lips as he looked back up at you. “The color still looks stunning on you, sunflower. It suits you.” There’s a truckload of insinuation behind that statement, you can practically hear it in his words, and you mentally preen at the praise from him. 

Outwardly you give a small smile and a little shrug. “I thought it appropriate, given the occasion.”

Oberyn leans in closer, smile morphing slightly with an emotion you can’t quite place, his arms keeping you close to him. “You could not have been more right. I would have you wear no other color for the rest of time if I could.”

The reminder of what he’d asked of you, what you know he still wants from you, squeezes tightly down on your chest. Your smile falls, and something like panic flickers through Oberyn’s eyes. Before you can say anything he brings the two of you to a sudden stop, hands shifting so one holds your elbow and the other gestures towards the open arches out into the darkening garden. “Would you like to see the gardens? I have heard that Solomon outdid himself decorating them this year.”

You hesitate again, worried about being alone with him, but when you turn to glance at where he’s gesturing you find Ellaria standing next to an archway with a somewhat guarded smile on her face. Without even thinking you take a step towards her, and Oberyn takes that as a yes. He guides you over, a brilliant smile lighting up his face.

“Look at what I found, my love. A sunflower to grace us with her beauty.” Ellaria’s smile turns more genuine at the comment, and her eyes slide between the two of you. “It is a wonder Solomon lets her in the gardens, with how she must upstage his hard work.”

Your face heats at their words, and you duck your head to avoid their eyes. You know you shouldn’t let their words get to you, it’ll just make it worse when you leave them again, but you can’t help it. It’s like there’s a string in your chest tugging you towards both of them, and you’re powerless to ignore it.

Oberyn leads you out onto the patio outside the arches, and the garden really does take your breath away. The trees are strung with more of the shimmery fabric, lanterns hanging from the branches casting shafts of light across the fabric and ground. There’s more of the rugs and pillows out here on the cobblestone patio, and you wonder for a moment where they all came from. At this rate, half the budget for the party has to be rugs and pillows.

He leads the two of you out past the edge of the patio into a hedge maze, and you idly wonder what the plant making up the walls of the maze is. It can’t be a normal bush in this climate, and then you start to wonder who keeps up with what might be a very finicky plant.

You’re pulled out of your thoughts by a chuckle, and turn to see the two of them watching you with soft smiles. You frown, looking up at Oberyn with a question in your eyes, and he shrugs. “You were lost in thought, sunflower. About the plants, yes? It suits you.”

Before his words can truly sink in and fluster you he takes a step back, letting his hand slip off your arm, and you silently mourn the loss of contact. That’s when you notice he holds your present in his other hand, and he holds it up with a grin. “May I? This is really the only present I was looking forward to tonight, anyway.”

You nod, looking down at the ground to avoid looking at him. “I wasn’t sure you’d want it. Or want me here, really, after what I’ve said to you.”

Ellaria’s hand settles on your arm, and you look up to see her smiling softly at you, and edge of pain coloring the otherwise happy expression. “You could never say anything to make us wish you away, sunflower.”

Oberyn pulling the top off the tube that holds your present saves you from responding, and you watch anxiously as he tips the contents into his hand. His brow furrows when a rolled tube of paper falls out, eyes flickering up to meet yours for a split second before he unrolls the paper.

You see the moment that understanding dawns on his face, and his eyes flicker back to you filled with so much emotion it almost makes you stagger. He looks back at the paper in his hands, just staring at it for a few seconds before he tilts it so Ellaria can see. Her own eyes go wide as she shifts towards him, and fill with tears a moment later as her hand comes up to cover her mouth.

Oberyn looks back at you, and you wonder if stunning the Prince of Dorne speechless is this easy for other people.

“Sunflower…is this what I think it is?”

You shrug, taking a few steps until you stand at his side, looking at the painting for yourself. “I can’t read your mind, blessing or curse that may be, but I’m assuming it is.”

He’s holding a painting, lovingly rendered, and you have to admit it is astonishingly good for the limited time you gave the artist. It isn’t a perfect replica, there was only so much describing that you could do and he had to interpret what you said, but it’s so close you’d be fooled if it wasn’t half the size of the original.

You’d gifted him the painting that brought you here. Of him and Ellaria, with her sitting gazing up at him like he hung the moon and his hand on her shoulder like he couldn’t stand to ever be parted from her.

The thought sends a pang through your chest, and you shift away from him in preparation to step away. His hand snakes out though, fast as his nickname, and grips your wrist to keep you by his side. “We need to talk, sunflower.”

You look up at him, your heart stuck in your throat suffocating the words you want to say. Ellaria reaches out, placing her hand on your shoulder, and her eyes are wide and pleading when you look at her. “We’ve done this all wrong, my sweet. We thought we needed to give you time, we were afraid to scare you, and instead we pushed you away anyway.”

Now you’re confused. What is she talking about? Your confusion must show on your face because Oberyn takes a deep breath, calmly rolling the painting back up and oh-so-carefully placing it back in the tube like he’s afraid it will crumble if he handles it too roughly. Once he has it stowed away he leads you over to a stone bench, one of many scattered throughout the maze, and sits with you between the two of them.

“Ellaria and I have felt a pull towards you since you arrived here. Neither of us recognized it because we thought it impossible, but Amphise confirmed what we should have already known the day we took you to her.” He pauses here, looking at Ellaria for a moment, and her hand comes to rest on your back. Your gaze is stuck on Oberyn, however, and there’s a growing feeling that reminds you of dread but not quite stuck in your chest.

He looks back at you, taking one of your hands in his, and you think it might be more to ground him than to do anything for you. “Apparently, according to the seer, it is possible for soulmates who have already found each other to share a second soulmate.”

You have to think back for a moment, trying to remember if you’d had any of the strong Dornish wine before you came out here, because you must be drunk. Oberyn cannot be implying what you think he is. Maybe you fell? With how hard Rylan was dragging you around the dance floor it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to discover you’d fallen and hit your head and hallucinated Oberyn practically confessing that you were his and Ellaria’s second soulmate because that could not be happening-

You hear your name, and it snaps you out of your spiraling thoughts. Ellaria has come around to stand next to Oberyn instead of sitting behind you, and your gaze snaps up to her. She looks concerned, and it makes your chest squeeze until you realize she’s concerned about you. You’ve just been sitting there, silently staring at Oberyn. You look back at him, frowning. “Oberyn if this is a joke it’s not-”

“I would not joke about this. I am being entirely serious, sunflower.” He’s watching you, studying you, tensed like he thinks you’re going to bolt, and you don’t entirely blame him. 

You look back and forth between the two of them for a few seconds, still processing, before you manage to force out “A-are you…am I…?”

Ellaria nods, breaking out in a tentative smile now that you seem to actually be processing what Oberyn said. “Amphise confirmed it. She was the one to confirm that Oberyn and I are soulmates. She believes that your tie to us is what finally pulled you into our world where you belong.”

Oberyn chimes in, “We believed, coming from your world, that you would feel pressured if we told you immediately. The plan was to convince you to be with us without the pressure of a soul bond, that way it was your choice.” He glances up at Ellaria with a rueful twist to his lips. “That did not go to plan. Entirely my fault, in this case, I will take the blame. I have never known how to be subtle or wait for what I want.”

What he wants. You are what he wants, what they both want. The thought is suddenly so crystal clear in your head that you feel tears welling in your eyes. Oberyn looks panicked at the sight, and it only makes you laugh, tears streaming down your cheeks. It feels like a weight has been lifted off your chest, knowing now that they had been pursuing you out of genuine want and not just to fill a space in their bed.

Ellaria is laughing, too, and Oberyn’s panicked gaze fixes on her next. “What? What is wrong, did I say something wrong again?”

You grin, a wide, cheek splitting grin, and shake your head. “No, you haven’t said anything wrong, Oberyn. You’ve finally said everything right.”

The panic bleeds off his face at your words, a smile of his own replacing it, and pure happiness shines through on his face. You giggle again, drunk off happiness and a feeling of finally belonging, and Ellaria’s hand cups your cheek to tilt your face up towards her. “Your laughter is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, my soul.”

The three of you end up separated at the end of the night. Ellaria heads to bed first, still tired from the birth despite how well she is handling it. Oberyn convinces you to stay, and you spend hours at his side dancing and feasting and positively glowing with all the attention from him. He makes it clear you belong to him and Ellaria now, one arm wrapped possessively around your waist for most of the night, and he only allows you to leave his side once the hours creep towards the morning and you beg off for sleep. You aren’t comfortable sharing a bed with them, yet, so you head off to your own while Oberyn stays behind to play the dutiful host.

You stumble into bed, not even bothering to pull off your dress, drunk on happiness from the evening you had.

You aren’t sure how long you’re asleep, but it can’t be that long, because when your eyes blink open your room is still dark. Your necklace feels like ice strung around your neck despite the warmth of your room, and you can’t place what woke you up for a few seconds, exhaustion and Dornish wine clouding your thoughts. Before you can figure it out you hear a voice that crawls across your skin like a spider from behind you. 

“I told you to be careful how you speak to powerful men, my dear.”

Your world goes black.

I would like for all of you to remember that if you kill me, I cannot finish the fic <3

Taglist:

@sarahjkl82-blog @ecuadorlady @fan-of-encouragement @obscurexsorrows @badwolf-on-baker-st @felicisimor @local-mr-frog @knivesareout @writeforfandoms @gorgeousgrogu @leto-duke @xoxabs88xox @kirsteng42 @hauntedmama @urofficial-cyberslut @marvelousmermaid @tanzthompson @lowlights @dobbyjen @casa-boiardi @ace-spades-1

Join my taglist here!

[eswrestling]

Welcome to The Ensemble Square Wrestling Federation! (ESWF)

This is a blog dedicated to an Ensemble Stars wrestling AU! This post serves as a master list for anything regarding information related to ESWF.  The ESWF blog is run by yours truly, Mod S! I had the idea for this when I saw someone on tik tok combine 2 fandoms that they were in and I was inspired!

More info below the cut!

DISCLAIMER!

This is an AU based off of Professional Wrestling! More specifically, the Lucha Wrestling style, as it is the most popular form of pro wrestling where I live and the style I am most knowledgeable about.

As much as I would have loved to put all of the characters in this AU, I have decided to only put the graduates/18+ characters in ESWF due to the ES story’s age fluctuation. Also, you have to be 18+ to be in pro wrestling where I live.

All characters in ESWF have an in-ring persona! Meaning that certain actions, storylines, and feuds have the potential to be out of character! Much like actual wrestlers, their personas are not a reflection of their real personalities.

ABOUT THE MOD

Hi! I’m Mod S (he/him). I have been into wrestling for about 13 years and Ensemble Stars for about a year and a half now! I am an UNDEADP , Crazy:B P, Double FaceP/MaMP, and AdamP. I am an artist too! Drawings for the AU will be posted here for the most part.

TAGGING

All posts regarding the AU will be tagged with #ESWF, miscellaneous posts will be tagged with #The Locker Room, and posts or asks from you guys will be tagged as #ESWF Universe !

Please Enjoy!

[caelwynn]

Caelwynn's Mod List for Stardew 1.6 - Fashion/Farmer Portraits

Farmer 2.0 ESWF Looks — allows you to set up portraits and Fashion Sense Outfits for different seasons/weather/events. I have a brief explanation for setting up the portraits here.

Farmer Portraits for 1.6 — mod that allows your farmer to have a portrait that appears during dialogue.

Fashion Sense — allow you to use custom clothing/hair/accessories.

Fashion Sense Outfits — allows you to save specific outfits.

Portrait Frame Variations — adds some pretties to the frames during dialogue.

Fashion Sense Packs:

Ani's Colour Collection

Ani's Recoloured Pants

Cottagecore Set

Cozy Mittens

Cozy Scarves

Gloves and Sleeves Pack

Kisekaes Skirts

Lumisteria's Fashion Sense Clothes

Lumisteria's Hairstyles

Mermaid Pendant for Farmer

Missy's Shirts

More Accessories and Stuff

Natural Hairstyles

Seasonal Hats

Simple Farmer Dresses

Traveller's Attire

Vanilla Accessories

Vanilla Pants and Skirts

Winter Solstice Hats

WS78 Summer Fun Pack

WS78 Happy Wedding Pack

Asta Slumber Party

Hoods & Hoodies Pack

Rural Outfitters

FS - Player Height Variety

FS - SH's Coats and Jackets Pack

Small Boots

Colorful Braids

The Masterpost for all of the mods is located here.

[cyantomatos]

Yes!! Oh I’m gonna go replace the ones I’ve been using right now I’m so excited

Ooh Ooh Ooh I'm so happy your requests are open again! I wanted to request some dividers for a fic series I'm writing because all of your dividers are amazing! Do you think you could do some Dorne/House Martell themed dividers from Game of Thrones? I'm writing an Oberyn series and would love to use some dividers specifically themed for it. I was thinking maybe with the Martell sun, but the design of that seems to be all over the place, so whatever you think looks good honestly.

Hope you like these @cyantomatos

Please like and reblog if you use or save.

Dividers List

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - CH 9

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~2.3k Warnings: Recovery from last chapters fuckery, some minor self-deprecating thoughts Notes: Rylan and his *gestures vaguely* will prevail, even if he’s not in the chapter. He’s like a tenacious mold. This chapter is a little shorter, but I wanted to keep the party in the next chapter, and I’m expecting that one to be a beast. We’re also officially two chapters behind the original outline, so there’s that

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Ellaria holds you long past when you finally manage to get your breathing under control, some of the panic gripping you after your confrontation with the lord slipping away at her touch. Her forehead stays pressed to yours, one hand gripping your upper arm tightly and the other braced against the wall next to you to keep herself balanced.

When you open your eyes, blinking rapidly to clear the moisture clinging to your lashes, she’s watching you. Concern shines through her eyes so strongly that for a moment it’s not panic making it hard for you to breathe. It would have been so easy for whatever magic ripped you from your world to deposit you somewhere worse, somewhere you wouldn’t have had someone so willing to fight and care for you, but it put you here.

Like you belong here.

The thought reminds you of something else, and you stiffen in Ellaria’s hold once again. “Ellaria, you can’t tell Oberyn what happened.” It’s Ellaria’s turn to stiffen, indignation flitting across her face as she straightens, and it’s an effort not to panic once again at the loss of her touch. “What?”

“Ellaria, I haven’t even been around that long and I can already tell Oberyn will not take kindly to his cousin all but outright threatening someone under his protection. Oberyn doesn’t exactly seem like the type to talk things out nicely, either. Am I wrong?” You watch Ellaria’s lips thin into a displeased grimace before she lets out a breath, looking away to the shelf behind you.

“You are more right than you know, my dear.” Her words prick in your mind, and you want to ask what she means, but you’re still focusing too hard on keeping your breath from speeding into all-out hyperventilation to worry to much.

“I don’t want him causing more problems just because his cousin has an over-inflated ego. Please, Ellaria.”

You don’t like asking her to lie, especially not to someone so closely tied to her as her soulmate, but her eyes soften as she studies you before nodding. “Alright.”

Relief floods through you that you won’t have to worry about being the cause of the fight you know would happen if Oberyn found out. You know you don’t mean much more to Oberyn than as a curiosity at worst and a friend at best, but you’re also smart enough to know he views you as his in some way. Rylan challenging that, and challenging it with a threat no less, won’t go well.

Ellaria is studying you, her face unreadable. Before you can ask what she’s thinking, worried she’s already regretting agreeing to lie for you, she reaches up to brush your hair behind your ear. “You know what he said, he only said it to hurt you. Neither Oberyn nor I would ever just brush you to the side like that, we both care about you.” You nod, swallowing down the twinge of guilt her words bring. You did know that, logically anyway, but there was a small part of you in the back of your head that worried what would happen when you were no longer so intriguing to them. You’d caught Oberyn’s attention initially because of the mystery surrounding you, what happens when that mystery loses its shine?

Your thoughts must be louder than you intended them to be, because Ellaria’s lips press together in displeasure again as she studies you. “You do not believe me.”

It isn’t a question, and the sadness in her tone breaks your heart.

You look down, unable to meet her eyes and struggling to keep your voice from shaking. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Ellaria, I just…” You sigh, deflating slightly. “I believe that Oberyn and Doran would never just kick me out to fend for myself. Neither of them are cruel enough for that, and you’d never forgive Oberyn for it. But I know the reason I caught your eye, both of you, is because I was a mystery. And I’m afraid what will happen when that mystery isn’t so interesting anymore.” You glance up at her, hoping she’ll catch the words you’re too afraid to say. That you’re afraid of losing more than just their friendship.

The emotions shining in her eyes just squeeze your heart even tighter. “Sunshine…” The nickname is new, and as much as it spreads warmth through your chest, it doesn’t help the ache.

“I’m not stupid, Ellaria, or desperate enough to throw myself at a prince and his love that are already bonded beyond what I can offer.” It’s the uncomfortable truth that’s been lurking in the corner with every inch you grow closer to them. They might one day offer you a true place at their side, but you’d never be an equal part of the life they’d built together and the rest of the life they were destined to live together.

Ellaria shakes her head, forcefully and immediately. “You are not stupid or desperate, my sunshine, we can agree on that much. Rylan is jealous, has always been jealous of Oberyn, and he is using the bond that Oberyn and I have in an attempt to hurt you, and Oberyn by extension. You mean more to us than that bastard could ever comprehend. You must understand that.”

You want to, you really do, but the specter of doubt hangs persistently in the back of your mind. It’s no use telling Ellaria that, though, and instead you force a smile and nod, hoping she’ll believe you. “Of course.”

Gardening had never really taken your attention in your old world. You’d had a few houseplants, and even tried growing a tomato plant once, but it wasn’t ever something you devoted much time to, before.

Here, though, you felt more comfortable among the plants of the palace than you ever felt anywhere else. 

You found yourself in one of the gardens that wasn’t facing as much attention in preparation for the upcoming party later that night, mostly studying the plants more than anything. There were so many types here that you’d never seen before, and every one of them was beautiful. They calmed you like nothing else could, even just being around them, and after the day you’d had you needed some calming.

“I am beginning to suspect you enjoy the company of the plants more than you do mine, my dear.” You tense at the voice from behind you for a moment, irrationally worried Rylan will seek you out again to press for a different answer, but a heartbeat later you recognize the voice as the cousin that you do like.

You turn to see Oberyn striding towards you, a broad grin on his face. Something about his expression seems a little tighter than normal as he closes the distance between you, and worry for him settles heavy on your chest. You force a smile of your own, however, and stand from where you were crouching in front of a planter full of vibrant pink blooms.

“Well, the plants to tend to be a little easier to deal with.” The forced lightness in your voice must fool Oberyn, because his smile grows and loses a little of the tenseness from before.

He places a hand over his chest, rocking back slightly like you’d struck at him. “You wound me, flower. And here I was beginning to think you might have grown fond of me.” The feeling in your chest tightens at just how close his words hit, and you have to look away to keep the smile on your face.

“I’m surprised you have any time for me, anyway. I thought you’d be busy with preparing for your name-day. It’s all anyone can seem to talk about right now.” It’s a deflection, but one that’s a little truer than you’d like. You haven’t seen him much in the last few days, his time eaten up with preparations.

Oberyn shrugs, stopping a few steps closer than you’d expected him to. “To be entirely honest, the lengths they go to every year get a little tiring. I enjoy a good party, but it seems as if they are constantly trying to one-up the year before, and the people they invite are boring.” He reaches out, taking one of your hands and rotating it to study your palm like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. “Are you planning to come?”

You can’t fight the slight shiver as he traces a finger across your palm, and he glances up at you from beneath his lashes. For a moment you can’t catch your breath, but a second later you suck in some air and break away from his gaze. “You don’t exactly make it sound like an enjoyable use of my time, but I suppose I could come if you want me there so badly.” You smile as you say it, softening the words to make the joke obvious.

Oberyn grins, lifting his head completely but not letting go of your hand. “Good. You and Ellaria are the only two that I care to have there.” 

The statement settles heavy between your ribs, and you can’t quite decide if it’s a happy feeling. You want it to be.

“I rank the same as Ellaria?” The words are out before you can overthink them, and you have to fight a cringe. Of course you don’t rank the same as his soulmate, you’re just better than the ass-kissers that will fill the halls over the next week. You roll your eyes and huff a pitiful laugh before he can respond, leaning away from him slightly. “Nevermind, that was a stupid-”

“Not stupid.” Oberyn tugs on your hand, keeping you from leaning too far away from him, and you can’t help but meet his eyes again. They’re wide this time, and the smile has all but fallen from his face. 

You force a smile, and you know it can’t be entirely convincing from the way it feels on your face. “Yes, stupid, Oberyn. I’m aware that I’m not as important as your soulmate, I just wasn’t thinking.”

Oberyn shakes his head, leaning slightly closer, reaching his free hand up to cup your cheek. “That is where you would be wrong, little flower. You are every bit as important to me as she is, and the same is true to her.” He’s looking at you with the most serious face you’ve seen on him yet, and it unsettles you a little to see him like that.

His words take a few seconds to sink in, and you instinctively lean into his touch as the wheels turn in your head. Maybe he was telling the truth? You wanted him to be, so badly, but how could he be? They were soulmates, literally destined for each other, and you were just an out of place nobody that happened to be entertaining. But would Oberyn lie to you?

Before you can accept his words, as badly as you want to, Rylan’s words come back to you, clinging like a bad stench despite your best efforts.

“Oberyn already has his soulmate, my dear, as does Ellaria. You are nothing but an intriguing diversion to the two of them.”

Oberyn is still watching you, eyes wide, and it feels a little like you’re being torn in two.

You lean back, away from his touch, and it hurts to see the flash of confusion on his face. You swallow, hard, and look down so you don’t have to look him in the eye. “I can see how you got your reputation, you’re definitely good with words.”

Even though you’re not looking at him, you see Oberyn jerk back slightly, and you have to close your eyes to ground yourself. You don’t want Rylan to be right, especially not about this, but you know he is. There’s no way either of them could ever want you for anything more than a fling, and you refuse to do that to yourself. Not even for them.

“What?” You can’t even summon up amusement at the fact that you’ve managed to stun Oberyn. 

You take a deep breath, ignoring the way your entire being screams at you as you tug your hand away from his. Lifting your head, you blink your eyes open, mentally swearing at the tears you have to blink away to look at him.

“I’m not stupid, Oberyn. I know I’m interesting to you now, and I might even flatter myself to think I could last longer than everyone else. But you and Ellaria have each other, and you don’t need me. Rylan was right, you’ll lose interest, and I can’t do that to myself, especially when I have nowhere else to go in this world.” Oberyn’s brows draw together in confusion as he watches you, and you have to take a step back to curb the urge to say you didn’t mean any of what you just said and just let yourself take whatever they were willing to give for however long they were willing.

Instead you force yourself to take a step back, wrapping your arms around yourself like you can keep yourself from falling apart. The step feels like a mile, especially with hurt rapidly mixing with the confusion on Oberyn’s face. You force a small smile, not even trying to hide the pain in this one, and shake your head.

“I’m not going to be just another conquest for the two of you, no matter how much I might want to.”

The words hang heavy between you, and you hate the way he’s looking at you. You know him well enough by now to know he probably genuinely does want you right now, but you also know it won’t last. You can almost feel Rylan’s smug vindication at the fact that you have to admit he was right.

Before Oberyn can manage to pull his thoughts together you take another step back, turning away from him.

It hurts to walk away from him, more than anything you’ve done before, and now you don’t try to stop the tears from streaming down your face as you leave him standing alone in the light of the setting sun.

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[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 10

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand (home stretch babiessssssss!!) Word Count: ~2k Warnings: More self-deprecation, a probably inaccurately described medical procedure Notes: Okay I know I said the party was going to be this chapter, but I realized I never actually fit this into the original outline and needed to get it done soon, and this felt like a good place to do it. I'm predicting 3-4 more chapters? Unless some weird shit happens that's what I'm thinking, and I PROMISE I will push to have it done by the end of the year. Also we're playing fast and loose with the GoT timeline here.

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“Do all seers have additional powers?” You’re avoiding the gardens and the library now, knowing Ellaria and Oberyn know you well enough to look for you there. It means there isn’t really anywhere in the palace you feel comfortable, so you find yourself visiting Amphise on a day you aren’t scheduled to have lessons.

You know she notices, but she doesn’t comment.

The old woman shakes her head, never looking up from where she is pulling weeds out of one of her numerous flower beds. “No, not all. I would say about half end up manifesting additional powers, but there are so few of us to begin with it is hard to tell.”

You let the silence sit for a few seconds, and then ask the question that has been itching at you. “Do you?”

Amphise smiles in a way that you’ve come to realize means she’s been expecting whatever you said, and nods. “I do. I have an affinity with plants.”

That actually makes a lot of sense. You glance around the back garden, looking at all of the plants in a new light now. “What kind of affinity?”

“You are getting better at asking the correct questions, child.” Amphise straightens, stretching and popping her back before slowly pulling herself to her feet. You resist the urge to offer a hand up after the first time she’d slapped your hand away when you tried. “I will admit, it is hard to explain. I can sense what I suppose you would call their feelings. Not in the way you and I have feelings, but I can understand if they need water or nutrients or more or less sunlight, and give encouragement to plants that are struggling.” She looks around her garden with a satisfied smile, bracing her hands on her hips. “It may not sound particularly useful, but it suits me. Most additional gifts enhance the normal abilities a seer already has.”

The woman turns, settling her knowing gaze on you. You try not to shrink under that look, reminded of when you’d get caught doing something you knew you shouldn’t as a kid.

“Now. Why are you avoiding the palace, child?” You let out a sigh, turning to look out over the cliff.

“I wondered when you would ask me.” Your eyes drift away from the crystal blue ocean and down to your lap where your fingers are twisting together the fabric of your skirt. It’s pink, so pale it almost looks white in some lights, and fades down to a rosy color at the bottom. It reminds you of a sunset.

“Oberyn… I don’t even really know how to explain what happened. I suppose I turned Oberyn down, and I’m afraid to face them both now.” You look up, not sure what you’re expecting to see on the woman’s face, but amusement was certainly near the bottom of the list. You frown, feeling a little like a petulant child at the expression on her face. “What?”

Amphise shakes her head, letting out a fond sigh and reaching out to pat your shoulder. “I am old, child, and I have seen many things in my lifetime. I have known that boy since he was a babe, and I knew he could not be patient. Some things you do not need a seer’s abilities to know.” 

Your frown deepens at her words, and you look away as she turns towards a potted tree. “You will take the path that you will, but you are exactly where you need to be. Avoiding them will not get you where you need to go, child.” 

Ellaria finds you, anyway.

You couldn’t resist stepping out into one of the larger gardens when you got back that evening, just wanting to see the decorations. With the party only a day away, most of the decoration is done, and it is a wonder to see. The garden is draped in gold, fine carpets littered with overstuffed pillows tucked between the bright blooms, tables dotted around just waiting to be filled with food and drink. You can just imagine the way it will look lit up and filled with people, and your chest tightens at the thought.

You see Ellaria coming from across the garden, and your chest tightens further at the way she picks her way carefully between the pillows and tables, one hand on her belly. She’s more waddling than walking now, and fondness wars with apprehension in your chest as she approaches.

She looks just as worried as you feel, but before she can say anything she’s wincing and curling in on her belly. You reach forward, putting a hand on her shoulder in concern, and she silently waves a hand to ward off your questions. “I am fine, sunflower, only false contractions. It happens towards the end of a pregnancy, nothing to worry about.” She takes a few deep breaths, and a few seconds later straightens up to look at you, concern back in her eyes.

“Oberyn told me what happened.” You immediately have to fight the urge to pull back, both emotionally and physically. It isn’t Ellaria’s fault, it isn’t Oberyn’s either, really, and you hate the idea of hurting either of them.

You must not avoid flinching, however, from the look on her face.

With a puff of air you look away, dropping your hand from her shoulder. “I don’t…judge either of you, for your lifestyle. At all. I just…I can’t put myself in that position knowing the two of you will always be more important to each other than I ever will to you. And that’s not fair, I know it isn’t, but I can’t help it.” You look back at her, eyes wide, begging her to understand this isn’t a rejection, just you trying to protect yourself.

Ellaria looks so sad it nearly breaks you. “Sunflower…Oberyn would never hurt you, neither of us would.”

You feel tears begin to gather in your eyes as you look down at the ground, unable to handle the pain in her eyes. “You wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, Ellaria. You can’t promise it wouldn’t happen by accident, but I can keep myself out of situations where it’s almost guaranteed. Joining you and Oberyn…I can’t compete with soulmates.”

Ellaria lets out a gasp, and you don’t want to look up again. It’s killing you, saying this to her, but it has to be said. You just hope you don’t lose them in the process of trying to protect yourself.

Caught up in your thoughts, you don’t notice Ellaria is silent until she lets out a pained sound. You finally look up, brows furrowed in confusion, to see her bent over slightly clutching her belly. For a moment you think it must be another false contraction, but when she doesn’t straighten after a few seconds longer, your worry morphs into something resembling genuine fear.

You reach out, placing a hand on her upper arm. “Ellaria?”

She lets out a long groan, reaching up to grip your forearm painfully tight. She quickly sucks in air through her teeth, her free hand sliding over her belly slowly.

“Ellaria, are you okay? Is the baby okay? What’s wrong?” Your voice is shaking, and you really do make an effort to steady it so you don’t freak her out, but this is new territory for you. You know very well how many women died during pregnancy and childbirth before modern medicine, and you have access to none of that here.

“I am…fine.” The words are strained as she somehow manages to grip your arm tighter.

A beat later, and then you voice what both of you must be thinking.

“This one’s not false, is it.”

Ellaria is silent for a moment, and then shakes her head. “No, I do not think it is.”

You turn towards one of the open archways, shouting for anyone that’s close enough to hear. Seconds later a woman dressed in plain clothes you often see the servants in comes running, her eyes widening almost comically when she sees Ellaria clinging to you to stay upright. Ellaria lifts her head, attempting a smile at the poor girl, voice shaky and strained. “I think it would be best to fetch the maester, quickly, this little sand snake is eager to meet her father.”

What somehow feels like both an eternity and mere seconds later, you’re sitting beside Ellaria’s bed as the room bustles with activity. She’s gripping your hand tightly, and you clench your teeth to keep from uttering even a peep at the crushing pain in your hand. It isn’t even a fraction of what she must be feeling right now, and you refuse to complain about pain within earshot of a woman in labor. 

Right as the thought passes through your head she lets out a long moan of pain, her head thrown back against the pillow. Your heart clenches as you watch her ride out the pain, icy fear spreading through your veins despite knowing this isn’t the first time she’s gone through this.

As the contraction wanes you lift a glass of water to her mouth, and she drinks it down greedily before glancing up at you with a tired grin. “I can sense your worry, sunflower, but I will be fine. This is not my first birth, nor will it likely be my last.”

Before you can answer the door flies open, and relief washes over you at the sight of Oberyn. It feels weird to be relieved to see him after the last time you spoke, but you had begun to worry that he wouldn’t make it to the birth with how fast Ellaria was progressing.

He rushes forward, the calm expression on his face echoing the words Ellaria had just used to reassure you. “I came as fast as I could, my soul. How are you?”

Ellaria opens her mouth to respond, only for another contraction to interrupt, and instead another wail of pain fills the room.

The next few moments happen rather quickly. 

You and Oberyn are pushed around and out of the way, and it’s almost comical watching the midwife boss the prince around. There’s a lot of commotion, and you don’t process most of it, focusing on comforting the woman pushing a child out of her body.

Less than half an hour after Ellaria went into labor in the garden, Oberyn is pulled to the foot of the bed to help catch his newborn daughter. You finally draw a full breath when you hear the tiny, angry cry pierce the room, letting go of the worry you had been carrying for the past half hour despite reassurances.

Oberyn slides onto the bed beside Ellaria, beaming down at the squalling baby in his arms. “She is beautiful. You did so well, as always, my soul.” Ellaria reaches out her free hand, the other still locked in yours, and brushes a finger across the newborn’s messy cheek before sliding her hand into Oberyn’s, a look of adoration on her face. “She is.”

You reach up, gripping your necklace out of habit for comfort as you watch the happy family, barely registering the stone already being warm to the touch over the pang ripping through your chest at the sight. You’d been so worried for Ellaria that you’d forgotten the conversation you had with Oberyn, and watching them together is just driving everything you said home. They belong together, and despite Ellaria stubbornly still gripping your hand tightly, you feel the space between you and them more keenly than ever before. You’re an outsider, an intruder, and you don’t belong here.

Ellaria finally drops your hand to take her daughter against her chest, and as she guides the fussy baby to nurse you scoot as quietly as you can away from the bed. You don’t see Oberyn look up, catching the door as it slips closed behind you, and you don’t see the look of pain the two share over their daughter's head.

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[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - CH 8

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~2.8k Warnings: Rylan is no longer just a creep, he is upgraded to Bad Person TM, misogyny disguised as being helpful, talk of how bastards are treated in GoT world Notes: Little bit of a note for this chapter, I mention Ellaria's kids and the children Oberyn had before her in this one. I did all the research I could short of reading the books before I wrote this whole fic, including my own timeline of events, but there isn't a whole lot of info about Oberyn's children. I'm sure pretty much everything I say about them other than their ages in this is inaccurate, but I'm not planning on them really playing into the plot much, so I'm willing to deal with it. I'm sorry if it upsets anyone though! Also, this is the last chapter I have written in advance, so while I promise there won't be as big of a gap this time as when it took me a year to update, I'm not sure when further chapters will be up. Fingers crossed it's soon, we're about 70% done with the story! (I think)

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As it turns out, there is actually quite a lot of work that goes in to preparing a name-day celebration for a prince.

Even with the celebration just over a week away, there were more servants bustling about the palace than there normally was. There were extra rooms to prepare for the guests, food that could be made in advance to lighten the load the day of, and some decoration was already taking place as well. The grand hall at the center of the palace that opened onto the spectacular main gardens was already being draped in gold and burnt-orange fabrics since it was rarely used other than for celebrations like this, and the decorations would not get in the way so early before the celebration.

Soloman was busy as well, expertly directing a team of gardeners supplemented with temporary help for the next week in ensuring that the plants in the palace gardens were up to a royal standard. You weren’t sure it was necessary, Solomon spent so much time making sure the gardens were already perfect year round that surely there wasn’t much more that could be done, but he wouldn’t hear it. The prince deserved perfect, so he would get better than perfect.

It meant you had little to occupy your time for a while, however, since your amateur gardening skills would only be in the way.

After the second day that Solomon kindly, if a bit exasperatedly, re-directed you away from the gardens when you offered to help, you weren’t quite sure what to do. One of the passing maids, seeing you standing and staring wistfully out at the busy gardens as she passed by, quietly suggested you check out the palace library. It wasn’t going to be used during the celebrations, she said, so you couldn’t possibly get in the way in there.

That was how you found yourself later that day curled up in a surprisingly deep pile of cushions in the corner of the library in front of a large open window, a stack of books by your side that sounded interesting. You’d expected a palace library to be mostly academically focused, but were pleasantly surprised to find a rather large collection of fiction books.

Ellaria joined you the next day, claiming she was tired of the nervous energy filling the palace in anticipation of Oberyn’s name-day.

The two of you were curled on the numerous cushions, basking in the sun streaming in through the window. Reaching the end of a particularly tense chapter in your book you sighed and set it aside, wincing as you stretched your arms above your head.

“It is not good for you to sit in one position for so long, my dear. Especially hunched over like that.” You turned to see Ellaria smiling softly up at you from where she was lounging at your side, one hand resting on her ever-growing bump, her hair unbound and glowing against the cushions.

You felt heat creeping into your cheeks under her gaze and glanced away, carefully marking your page. “I suppose you’re an expert in being uncomfortable, at this point. How you handle that belly pulling on your back I’ll never understand.”

Ellaria laughed, tipping her head back into the sun and closing her eyes. “You become accustomed to it after a while. It helps that this is not my first, I knew what to expect.”

You studied her as she spoke, grateful for a little time just to stare at her. You knew people said that pregnant women glowed, but it had always seemed to be an exaggeration to you until Ellaria. Although that could just be her, you wouldn’t be surprised to find she was always radiant, pregnant or not.

“Where are your other children? I don’t think I’ve seen them around the palace. Oberyn also has other children too, right?” Ellaria nodded, absently rubbing over her bump. You doubted she even noticed herself doing it anymore.

“At the Water Gardens, most of the time. Oberyn likes to keep them away from Sunspear and the danger and political intrigue. Dorne is certainly safer for bastard children than some other places, but there are still those that think Oberyn should not claim his children so openly. It is easier if they are not in Sunspear. Safer.” Ellaria’s voice was tinged with sadness as she spoke, and you reached out to slide your hand into hers where it rested on an elaborately embroidered cushion.

Her eyes opened, squinting slightly in the bright light, and she smiled up at you. “I miss them, sometimes, but I agree they are safer where they are. Elia is only five, and Obella three. They do not need to be caught up in all of this. Even Oberyn’s other children are still young, although Nymeria will be fifteen soon. I suspect she will not be content staying away for much longer. Obara is the eldest, nineteen I believe, and she is just like her father. Unable to stay in one place for long, although Oberyn has somewhat grown out of that. She travels, but comes back to visit her siblings and father often.”

Ellaria looked towards the ceiling resting her head back against the cushion again. “Sometimes I wonder how the universe chooses soulmates. I would never claim not to be good enough for Oberyn, nor would he, but it would have been much simpler had my soulmate not been a prince.”

You leaned forward, smiling softly and dropping your voice almost to a whisper. “It could have also been much worse. Imagine your soulmate was Northern. I don’t think you’d survive anywhere that got anything close to cold.”

Ellaria’s laugh echoed around your bubble in the shelves, her eyes swimming with joy when they slid back to your face. “You are right about that, my dear. I am not built for northern men and their stone castles.”

A polite cough interrupted your laughter, and you turned towards the sound with an apology already on your lips, assuming it was one of the librarians come to scold you for being too loud. Instead, the words died just about as quickly as your joy when you saw Rylan standing at the gap between shelves, grinning at the two of you.

“Apologies, ladies. I was told that you had been spending your time in the library to get away from the commotion, but I was not aware you had company.” You were instantly even more grateful than before that Ellaria had decided to join you. The idea of Rylan being able to catch you on your own, isolated as you were so far back in the shelves, set off alarm bells in your mind.

“Well, I am just as useless with the preparations as she is, and to be honest I would not want to participate even if I could. So I decided what better way to spend my day than hidden in the library with one of my favorite people?” Ellaria’s smile was sharp, although you were sure you only knew the difference because of so long spent around her. To Rylan it likely only looked polite, although his own smile turned somewhat forced as he looked first to Ellaria and then to where your hands were still clasped against the cushions.

“A wonderful idea.” You could swear the words hurt Rylan with the way he ground them out. He looked back to you then, taking a step further into your little sitting area, and you had to suppress the urge to ask him not to enter your space.

“What can we do for you, Lord Rylan?” His plastered-on smile faltered again at the emphasis you placed on his title.

“Actually, I was hoping to speak to you privately, my dear.” Before you could insist whatever he had to say could be said in front of Ellaria, her hand was already slipping from yours. You turned to her, indignant at her being so quick to abandon you, but something in her eyes when they locked on yours told you she wouldn’t be going far, anyway.

You looked back to Rylan with a smile as Ellaria rose off the cushions, taking a moment to steady herself with a hand on her belly. “Of course, my lord.”

Rylan stepped aside enough to allow Ellaria to pass, waiting a moment after she was gone before taking a few more steps towards you. You suddenly realized you did not want to be sitting practically on the ground with him so close and pushed yourself to your feet, a flash of irritation burning through you at Rylan’s offered hand after he had only stood and watched Ellaria struggle on her own.

You avoided his hand, pulling yourself to your feet and clasping your hands in front of you. “What did you want to speak to me about?”

Rylan studied you for a moment, and something about his gaze made you suddenly feel like a cow on an auction block with the way he seemed to be counting everything valuable about you. His eyes never left your face, but you still had to resist the urge to raise your hands to cover yourself.

A moment later he took a breath, charming smile back on his face. “Well, my dear, I have a proposition for you.”

You couldn’t think of a worse thing to hear out of his mouth.

“As it seems you may be stuck in our world for the foreseeable future, possibly permanently, considering I have not heard of any progress being made on figuring out how you even got here in the first place, you are in a precarious position. You are a young, unmarried woman, with no male relatives to advocate for you, living on the charity of the princes because of my cousin's fascination with you. However…” He trailed off, his smile taking on a rueful tilt. “My cousin’s affections can be somewhat...fickle.”

You straightened at that, more annoyance than usual tickling at the back of your brain. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating, my lord. Oberyn is my friend, Ellaria as well. Neither of them would turn me out like that, and Doran is not cruel enough for that either.”

Rylan tilted his head, spreading his hands placatingly. “I am not saying they would, my dear, but you must admit that you are currently dependent on their generosity. I would simply see you safe in your own right, not dependent on two princess to remain generous.” Crossing your arms you took a half step back, a pit of dread beginning to form in your stomach at where this conversation was heading. “And what would you propose as a solution?”

At your question, Rylan’s smile grew. “I would like to propose marriage, my dear. To me.”

You were wrong. There was something worse.

It took a moment for his words to fully register for you, and you couldn’t help letting out a short, incredulous laugh once they did. “What?” Rylan’s smile didn’t falter this time, and he took an eager step towards you. “I have been looking for a wife for some time. I am afraid that next to my cousins I am not as appealing of a prospect for most women, despite having considerable wealth and a title of my own. You are beautiful, my dear, and strong. Marriage to me would keep you safe, provide you with a comfortable life that you would not be in danger of losing on a whim.” His words filled your mind, setting off so many alarm bells you could hardly concentrate. You took a step back, trying to maintain space between the two of you, but Rylan only stepped closer until your back was against a shelf and he was only inches away.

He took your hand, holding tightly when you failed to fight the urge to snatch your hand away. Rylan’s eyes were wide now, and in the back of your mind it registered that he looked slightly unhinged as he continued.

“Oberyn already has his soulmate, my dear, as does Ellaria. You are nothing but an intriguing diversion to the two of them. I would cherish you, as my wife, shower you with jewels and fine clothes. You would never have to lift a hand again if you did not wish it. Oberyn has the title, yes, but I could give you so much more than he can, my love, and our children-”

You yanked your hand out of his, the idea of having children with the man standing in front of you enough to break you from your panic. Placing a hand firmly on Rylan’s chest you shoved, forcing him back a few steps to give you room to breathe.

“Enough! Why on earth would you think I would marry you, Rylan?” Mixed emotions spread across his face as he stared at you, no doubt the confusion at your reaction warring with surprise at you finally dropping his title in your annoyance and anger.

“What?” he seemed genuinely confused, and it only angered you further.

“Why. Would. I. Marry. You.” You enunciated slowly.

Rylan only continued to stare at you for a moment. “I...I just explained what you would gain…” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Yes, a title I don’t want, money and gowns and jewels I don’t want, a marriage to you I don’t want, and children with you that I would never in a million years want.” You were the one to step forward this time, the anger seething beneath your skin giving you confidence you otherwise wouldn’t have. “I don’t need a man to protect me, my lord, and I would certainly not put you on the list of potential suitors even if I did need one. I am happy with my place, with Oberyn and Ellaria.”

Rylan seemed genuinely shocked by your reaction, and a small part of you almost felt bad for how thoroughly he must have deluded himself into thinking you would react positively. That small part was quickly stomped out, however, when he drew himself up to his full height, anger spreading across his face.

The lord took a step closer to you, and this time you refused to step back and let him have that ground.

“I would be careful how you speak to me, my dear. I am not a man to be disrespected so brazenly.” You glared right back up at him, keeping your spine straight through sheer force of will powered by indignation despite how you wanted to run from this confrontation.

“And I am not a woman to be so easily intimidated, my lord. I am not from here, you cannot treat me the same as you can women from here.” You leaned back just slightly, letting your eyes scan condescendingly over him. “Not that it really seems to be working even on women from your world, either. How long have you been looking for a wife, exactly? Struggling to find one outside of your cousins shadow?”

It was almost like you slapped him, the way he flinched at your words. You’d known the lord was jealous of his cousin, it was obvious really, but it seemed to hit home a little harder than you’d expected.

Rylan stared at you for a moment, and the charged silence was almost enough to make you lose your nerve. When he finally stepped back you had to resist the urge to let out a breath. He took a few more steps back, glaring at you the whole time, before raising a finger towards you.

“Some advice, my dear, for surviving in this world. Do not make powerful men angry.” Before you could respond he turned, stalking out the gap between the shelves that served as an entrance to your little area.

The moment he was out of sight you nearly deflated, shoulders slumping as one of your hands groped for a shelf to hold yourself up. Your other hand reached for your necklace, the swirled blue gem sitting warmly against your chest. You’d taken to fidgeting with it in moments where you needed calm, and it always seemed to soothe you the moment you touched it.

You heard soft footsteps a moment later and looked up in alarm, expecting to see Rylan there ready to force your hand. Instead, you saw Ellaria standing in the gap between shelves, eyes wide in alarm. You realized she must have stayed near enough to hear the whole conversation, concerned to leave you totally alone with him.

She took a step towards you, and you suddenly found you couldn’t hold yourself up anymore, the adrenaline from the last few moments finally seeping out of you. You slid down to your knees against the shelf and Ellaria rushed forward, kneeling in front of you as steadily as she could.

“Are you all right? Did he touch you?” Her words came out in a rush and you shook your head, reaching out shakily for her hand.

“No, no, he didn’t touch me. I just…” You couldn’t find the words, but Ellaria seemed to understand, leaning her forehead against yours as you both closed your eyes. Ellaria’s voice also shook as she gripped your hand tightly.

“It will be alright, my dear. Everything will be okay. No one could take you from us. No one.”

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[cyantomatos]

I’m literally writing a whole ass story with a canonical reason for why he won’t die because his death upsets me so bad 😅

I only watched the first season of GOT but I know a good portion of what happens and I accidentally saw Oberyn’s death.

I say this as someone who isn’t a diehard, and has no emotional investment in the characters, his death was horrific, and I was genuinely upset for days after.

I eventually learned the character’s backstory and motivation, and it just crushed me. It just added to why I will never finish GOT, because that was awful, and to find out what happens to Ellaria? No thanks. I’d rather live in fanfic.

Oh that shit never happened. He lived to a rip old age, siring more bastards and living his best life!

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 6

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand  Word Count: ~2.5k Warnings: Rylan is a creep, talk of death (in the past) Notes: Uh...surprise? Listen I am just as upset as you guys that it’s taken me this long to update 😅. I really am sorry, I’ve wanted to work on this story, but every time I sat down to write it I just couldn’t. The next chapter is already written, I’ll put that out in a couple weeks, and I’m hopeful that I’m going to be able to keep up with writing now. Crossing my fingers, but I’m not promising anything because I really don’t want to disappoint you guys if I disappear again.

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The first time Oberyn remembers his elder brother acting as a ruling Prince of Dorne was in his 16th year.

With the rumors swirling of his blade being poisoned in the duel with Lord Edgar Yronwood, his brother had called Oberyn to his office. Doran had only been the ruling prince for a few years by then, and had not as of yet had any reason to call an official meeting with his younger brother.

The two had never been particularly close, Doran being almost 13 by the time Oberyn was born, but they were still family. Doran believed his brother’s protests that the blade was not poisoned - Oberyn would not start to experiment with poisons for another few years yet - but the prince still knew he needed to appease House Yronwood.

And so Oberyn was banished to a temporary exile.

The next visit to his brother’s office was years later, after his exile is finally over and Robert’s Rebellion is quelled. News of the rebellion had reached across the Narrow Sea, and Oberyn had been incensed at the fact that he was unable to fight, relegated to a far off country with only weeks-old news to get him by.

The news of Ellia’s death hit him hard. He was unable to enter that office again for years. The sight of his brother behind the desk their mother had sat behind and her father before that and generations of Martel’s back that suddenly seemed far too large for Doran only brought back memories Oberyn wasn’t ready to face yet.

He blamed his brother for a while - for his inability to keep their sister safe, for banishing Oberyn where Oberyn couldn’t keep their sister safe. Then he blamed himself - if he had fought harder, if he’d snuck back into Dorne like he originally intended, if he had just been better.

Suffice to say, Oberyn hated being called to his brothers office. Nothing good ever came from an official summons from the elder Prince of Dorne in Oberyn’s experience, and he had a feeling today was not about to prove him wrong.

“It seems our cousin has finally settled on a wife.” Doran’s statement was met with a snort from Oberyn as the younger brother came to stand in front of the desk.

“I pity the poor woman that ends up shackled to Rylan. To whom should I send my condolences?” Doran only met him with a level stare, the silence from his brother all Oberyn needed to draw his own conclusions and for a pit of dread to begin forming in his stomach.

What was it about this office and bad news?

“Tell me I am assuming wrong, brother.” A note of pleading that very rarely showed itself entered Oberyn’s voice, and he felt the sinking feeling in his stomach only grow as Doran grimaced.

“I wish I could. He was here while the three of you were visiting Amphise. I must admit, even if I were able to grant his request, I do not think I would be inclined. I have no desire to see the girl tied to Rylan, regardless of his relation to our family.” Oberyn let himself relax slightly at that, although he couldn’t quite shake the urge to hunt his cousin down for even looking in your direction.

He flexed his hand at his side, letting a long breath out his nose before he responded.

“You refused then, I assume?”

Doran inclined his head in confirmation, still looking rather grim. “She is not a citizen of Dorne, regardless of where she might be from. I do not have the power to force her hand, and I am glad of it.” The prince let out a sigh, watching his brother closely. “That does not mean he will not go to her directly, however. With her having no male relatives here he has the option of attempting to persuade her himself, and if she were to agree I would have equally little say in the matter.”

Oberyn’s jaw clenched hard enough for his teeth to grind together, swiftly looking away from Doran out the open window. He knew if he only took a few steps he might see you in the garden below, although you were equally as likely to be working in one of the other gardens today. The urge to go find you immediately, to ensure his cousin had not yet attempted to convince you and make sure you were safe, threatened to overwhelm him for a moment.

It took him a moment to realize what was happening.

When he had first met Ellaria, there was an undeniable attraction. He should have recognized the signs with you, the way he was drawn to both of you with no say in the matter, but he had been under the assumption one could only have a single soulmate. As soon as the bond with Ellaria was confirmed, and more importantly as soon as he recognized it, that pull had snapped into something more tangible. For a while after, any perceived threat to either of them stirred something primal in the other.

It was happening again with you, possessive instincts he prided himself on being able to ignore were rising to the surface in an attempt to protect you, and he could do little to stop it.

Doran’s voice broke through his turbulent thoughts. “Oberyn. What did Amphise say?”

He turned back to his brother, jaw clenching further at the knowing frown on his brother’s face.

“She is a seer, as we assumed. Her powers were likely suppressed by being in her world and so far from ours. Amphise is willing to train her to ensure she does not grow out of control.” Oberyn paused, eyes lowering to stare at Doran’s desk. “And she is mine and Ellaria’s second soulmate.”

A heavy silence filled the room, and when Oberyn looked up he didn’t find as much surprise on his brother’s face as he expected. Doran only leaned back in his chair, hands folded in his lap, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I am…not overly surprised. You have been just as drawn to her since she arrived as you were to Ellaria, although I assumed it was because of the mystery she presented.”

A beat of silence later, “I assume she does not know?” Oberyn let out a strained laugh at that, crossing his arms and glancing away. “No. We decided we would wait to tell her. Ellaria is worried she would either not understand, or feel pressured to be with us because of the bond. Her world…it is less understanding.”

Doran only nodded, a thoughtful look on his face as he studied his brother. “You will have to tread lightly on this, Oberyn.”

Oberyn nodded, a resigned look on his face.

“I know.”

“You aren’t concentrating, girl.” The sharp words cause you to let out a frustrated sigh, slumping in your seat.

I am, Amphise, but you can’t expect me to figure this out in a week. You said seer’s are trained from childhood, how am I supposed to catch up?” There’s a whine in your voice that you don’t like, but the last several very long days training – or attempting to train – with Amphise have left you tired and irritable.

If you were honest with yourself, it was more than the less-than-satisfactory attempts to gain some kind of control over your new-found powers that was frustrating you. You’d been somewhat avoiding Oberyn and Ellaria since your revelation in the garden, and it was starting to wear on you. Combine that with the frustrating training and Oberyn’s cousin Rylan suddenly appearing around you constantly, you were frazzled to say the least.

A sharp tap to the back of your hand with Amphise’s paper fan brought you back from your internal debate about which slimy creature Oberyn’s cousin reminded you of the most. She was staring at you sternly, disappointment written clearly on her face.

“You are afraid of your powers. That fear is holding you back. I did not tell you the stories about what other seer’s have done with their power to frighten you, child. I told you so that you would know the consequences if you did not control your powers.” The reminder of the stories Amphise had told you last week felt like a pit in your stomach. You were scared of your powers, but you were also well aware that better control over them would help prevent those stories from becoming your reality.

“I know that, Amphise. I can’t help my fear, though. I’m afraid I won’t ever gain control and I’ll end up like those girls.” Your teacher’s face softens just slightly at your words, and she lets out a sigh, leaning forward.

“It is possible I am going about teaching you wrong. I have taught many seers, but all of them were born here and discovered as children. It is much easier to teach children to do something scary, adults have learned fear already.” She sits back, a look of contemplation coming across her face.

Several silent moments pass before she stands, gesturing towards the house. Your classes thus far have taken place in the same outside sitting area you had met her in last week, fragrant breezes blowing through the garden as you learned.

Or attempted to learn.

“We will end early today, child. You need rest, and I need to think.”

Your excitement at being let go early quickly turns sour as you step out of the carriage back at the palace. Rylan is coming out the front entrance, and the way his eyes light up like he’s looking at a prize horse when he sees you sends a disgusted chill down your spin. He changes course from the carriage he had been heading towards to walk towards you, and you take a moment to arrange your face in a less please-get-away-from-me expression.

“Lord Rylan, what a pleasant surprise.” You hope how not pleasant you think this is doesn’t come through in your voice. The last thing you need is a spoiled lord that is obviously jealous of his cousins kicking up a fuss for you being rude.

He chuckles, stopping about one step too close for your comfort. Not that anywhere near you was far enough away as far as you were concerned.

“I do hope one day you will be comfortable dropping my title like you do with my cousin.” You give what you hope comes across as more of a grin and less of a grimace, shrugging one shoulder noncommittally.

“We’ll see, I suppose.”

Rylan’s grin falters for a moment, and he glances over towards his awaiting carriage. “I was just heading out to see a play being put on, something about a tragic love story. Would you like to accompany me?”

You squash your immediate ‘I would rather eat live worms’ response and give a polite smile, shaking your head. “I’m a little tired today, I’m afraid. I was planning to go take a bath and then a nap. I apologize, Lord Rylan.”

Despite the rejection his expression doesn’t falter this time as he shrugs. “Next time then, my dear.”

You wait what you hope is an appropriate time as he walks away to shudder and head inside. Spending time with a deadly viper sounds more appealing to you than spending time with Rylan, alone or not.

Later that evening as the sun is setting you’re out in the main garden, checking on some of the flowers. Solomon had mentioned the day before he was worried about the Jester’s Tassels in the current heat. It had been warmer than normal the last few days, apparently, and he was worried they would wilt.

A shadow falls over the flowers you’re currently checking on, and you look up to see Ellaria smiling down at you. “I think at this rate we may have to hire you as a gardener, love. You seem to live out here lately.”

You smile despite the anxiety at seeing Ellaria, looking back down at the flowers. “I loved gardening back home, too, I just wasn’t very good at it. The plants here seem to like me better.” Yet another thing to add to the list of reasons it seems like you belong here more than anywhere else.

Another reason sits down on the garden wall next to you, gazing down at the vibrant purple and gold blooms. There’s a beat of silence, and despite your recent avoidance of the two of them just being next to Ellaria feels more like home than you remember your world ever feeling like.

“Oberyn’s name day is next week. There will be a large party, and I am afraid I might be under selling it a little just calling it large.” She pauses, folding her hands together in her lap. “Will you attend?”

You glance up, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Ellaria smiles slightly, shrugging a shoulder. “It has felt a little like you are avoiding us lately, dove. Although I suppose that could just be Oberyn’s ego speaking.”

You duck your head to look at the flowers again, guilt filling you as you shake your head. “I’ve just been busy with Amphise is all. I’ll be there.” You look up again, trying to ignore how the lie just makes you feel more guilty. “Do you give presents for name days?”

“Usually, yes, although not always. Especially for princes. Oberyn has everything he could want, and he usually dislikes getting the type of useless and lavish presents people get for a prince.” She grins, leaning down towards you. “For his twenty-first name day one of his mothers cousins gave him a set of sheets spun entirely of pure gold thread. I have never heard him complain for so long about the frivolity of the rich before.”

You grin at the story, imagining a younger Oberyn ranting about rich people for hours to a despairing Ellaria.

Ellaria straightens up, placing a hand on your leg. “You, however, will not be expected to get him a gift. I can help you find something small he would like, if you wish, but Oberyn will not expect anything from you, dove.”

You look back down at the flowers, frowning. It makes sense that Oberyn wouldn’t expect anything from you, since it’s not like you had much to give him anyway, but you still felt like you should get him something. It felt rude to show up to what was essentially a birthday part with no gift, even if it was a massive birthday party for a prince who already had everything he could possibly want.

Soft fingers brushed against your temple, pushing your hair back out of your face. Ellaria’s hand slides down, cupping your jaw to lift your head. She’s smiling softly at you, and the combination of her touch and the open affection on her face dazes you for a moment. “I can practically hear you thinking. I promise, just your presence will make Oberyn happy.”

Later that night, lying in bed, you’re still thinking about the conversation. Partly to replay what Ellaria’s touch felt like in your mind, and partially because you still can’t shake the feeling that you need to find something to get Oberyn.

When you finally manage to calm your mind enough to begin to drift off, you’re pulled out of your almost-sleep with a sudden idea.

You know exactly what to get Oberyn.

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[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 7

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~3k Warnings: Rylan is a creep(pt 2 electric boogaloo)  Notes: Someday I will remember the foreshadowing I write into my own fics. And important plot details. Maybe.

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As it turns out, trying to commission a gift for someone when you have no money of your own and don’t know anything about the country – or really world – you’re living in is difficult, to say the least.

You woke the next morning full of confidence and pride in figuring out such a perfect gift. You knew less about Oberyn than you would like, but enough to know he would love this gift. Ellaria, too, since it was at least also partially a gift for her.

Your confidence deflated, somewhat, when halfway through breakfast you realized you had no idea how to get this gift.

First, you went to Doran. You needed money, and there was no way you were going to ask Oberyn for money to buy his own gift. The elder prince looked a little shocked when you entered his office, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

“I’m really sorry to bother you about this, I would just ask Oberyn really, but it felt wrong. Would I be able to borrow some money, maybe, to get a present made for his name day?” You twisted your hands together in your lap as you spoke, somewhat nervous.

Doran seemed to relax slightly as you spoke, and chuckled when you finished. “Of course, my dear. I can see why you would not want to ask my brother to pay for his own gift.” He leaned over, rummaging around for a moment in one of his desk drawers before re-emerging with a jingling bag that he deposited on the desk in front of you. “If I may, what have you decided to get him? I doubt you would be one to pile on another jewel-encrusted dagger or solid gold peacock statue.”

You grinned, shaking your head. “No, it’s not something fancy like that. I actually think he’ll like it, at least I hope he will anyway.” You briefly outlined the plan for Oberyn’s gift, your confidence growing as a grin spread across Doran’s face at your description.

Finally he nodded approvingly. “I think he will adore that gift.”

“How are your lessons with Amphise going?” Oberyn set his wine glass down as he spoke, a slight smile playing on his face at your pained expression. “That well?”

You shrugged, setting down your silverware with a sigh. “I’m not sure if it’s because I’m learning so late, or if I’m really just a bad student. I can’t seem to focus, and I think she’s getting frustrated with me.”

Ellaria shook her head. “I doubt you are a bad student, my dear. I suspect it has more to do with your unique circumstances than anything. You cannot expect to catch up with years of training in just a few weeks.” She reached across the table, settling her hand over yours with a small smile. “You are too much like Oberyn, criticizing yourself when you are not immediately perfect at something.”

“Well, it becomes hard to accept anything less than perfection when I am so often perfect.” Oberyn grinned at you as Ellaria rolled her eyes fondly.

Your eyes darted between them as they spoke, a warm feeling settling over you. Their conversations had begun to feel less and less like you were an outsider looking in and more like you belonged. Like this was where you were meant to be.

Oberyn turned towards you again. “What do you have planned for tomorrow? You do not have lessons, correct?”

You sat up straighter, forcibly pulling yourself out of your thoughts. “Oh, um, I think Maricel was going to come have me try on some more dresses. Ellaria seems to think I need enough dresses to outfit a whole army.” Oberyn chuckled, shooting a grin at his lover.

“While I do not doubt that, I think outfitting the Dornish army in silk dresses may not be the best idea.”

You shrugged, matching his grin with one of your own. “Well, might not be the most practical, but you can’t deny it would confused any enemy they face. Might be an advantage.”

Oberyn erupted with laughter, tipping his head back towards the sky as your own grin grew. The sound filled the private garden, and you couldn’t help but feel a little pride blooming in your chest at getting that reaction out of the prince. Even Ellaria chuckled, shaking her head at the two of you.

“Gods help me, I cannot handle the both of you.”

The next day, after what felt like an eternity of Maricel poking and prodding and holding various fabrics next to your face, you ventured out into the city. Equipped with a small purse of coins and a recommendation for who to visit, both courtesy of Doran, you headed out with the intention of ordering Oberyn’s name day gift.

Finding the small house proved easy enough, with a little direction from kind strangers. You described what you wanted to the short, older man than answered the door when you knocked, and when you mentioned it was a gift for the prince, he assured you it would be done with plenty of time to spare before the name day celebration and waved you off when you apologized for the short notice.

Finding your way back to the palace proved slightly more difficult.

You’d always felt you had a pretty good sense of direction, but you weren’t sure if it was the unfamiliar city or entirely different world you’d found yourself in, but after a while of wandering you realized you were hopelessly lost. You’d hoped you would be able to find your way back without asking for help again, but it was rapidly becoming clear that was not going to be easy.

Just as you were about to give up and ask someone, a tall shadow fell over you. “Ah, if it isn’t our own local mystery. Oberyn should keep better track of his treasures, you seem lost my dear.”

Fighting the wave of unease that spread over you at the familiar voice, you plastered a pleasant smile on your face and turned to face the prince’s cousin. “Lord Rylan. What a pleasant surprise.”

Rylan shot you a charming smile, inclining his head towards you. “I could say the same. Where are you headed? A beautiful woman such as yourself should not be wandering alone.”

Biting your tongue you lifted a hand helplessly. “Well, I was heading back from ordering a present for Oberyn’s name day, but I seem to have gotten lost trying to find my way back.”

For a split second it seemed like a shadow passed over Rylan’s face at the mention of a present for his cousin, but just as quickly it was gone, and the ever present charming smile was back in place. “You are in luck, my dear. I was just headed back to the palace myself, I could escort you. Sunspear can be quite confusing to those who are not used to finding their way.”

The lord held out his arm, and while you wanted nothing more than to assure him you could find your way back on your own, you reminded yourself it wouldn’t be a good idea to be rude to the prince’s cousin. No matter how much Oberyn seemed to dislike his own cousin.

And besides, you probably couldn’t find your way back on your own.

So you slipped your arm into his, mentally coaching yourself. You’d dealt with worse men before, and Rylan had yet to give you any reason to dislike him other than his vibes just feeling off. A short walk back to the palace wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Rylan beams down at you as you slip your arm into his, starting off down the street. “You really are not that far off from the palace, it will take us maybe a quarter of an hour to get there. It is unfortunate for you that the streets of Sunspear are so confusing. Those of us that have lived here most of our lives have no trouble navigating it, but it is often disorienting to outsiders.”

You give a polite little laugh, your eyes wandering to the colorful buildings as you walk past. “I was about to ask for directions when I found you, actually. I had to ask on my way there, and I was hoping I’d be able to remember the way back. Apparently not.”

“Ah, well, pride can get the best of us sometimes.” Rylan gives you another charming smile and guides you around a corner. There are a few market booths on this road, although it seems most of them are currently closed to avoid the mid-day heat beating down on the city streets. You glance at the open booths as you walk, glad Rylan doesn’t seem too interested in conversation at the moment.

One of the booths is painted a cheery orange color, although the vibrant paint is chipping off in spots. The roof is made of different fabrics stitched and tied together, with small gaps letting in thin shafts of light that dance over the counter. The young woman behind the counter is working a long, thin band of metal in her hands, wrapping it around a fiery red gem. Her dark hair is pulled back in a messy braid, curls escaping around the colorful scarf covering the top of her head. Her eyes flit up every few seconds to scan the scattered people out braving the heat. Scattered across the counter in front of her are a handful of pieces of jewelry, mostly necklaces, sparkling in the sun.

Rylan notices your preoccupation with the booth and slows his steps, glancing down at you. “Would you like to stop?” You hesitate, torn between your curiosity and your desire to get away from him as soon as possible. Your curiosity wins out though and you nod, turning towards the booth.

The woman’s eyes light up when she sees you moving towards her booth, and she immediately sits up straight and sets aside the necklace she is working on. She spreads her hands in a welcoming gesture, grinning widely at the two of you. “Welcome! I am surprised to see anyone out at this time of day.”

Rylan said something to the woman that you didn’t pay too close of attention too, instead scanning the colorful jewelry in front of you. Your eyes snag on a necklace with a small blue and white swirled gem wrapped in an almost black metal. It almost seems like an optical illusion as you stare at it, the colors catching in the sun and seeming to shift in the dancing light filtering through the cloth roof of the booth.

“I see something has caught your eye.” You glance up to see the woman watching you a bit closer than before, a slight smile curving her lips. Something about the way she watches you itches in the back of your brain, like you’ve felt it before, but you can’t quite place it.

“It’s beautiful, did you make all of these yourself?” The woman nods, pride seeping into her face.

“I made all of these. My mother taught me to make jewelry when I was little, just as her mother taught her, and her mother before that.” She holds up the piece she had been working on when you walked up. “The materials may change, but the women in my family have been making jewelry for generations.”

You can practically feel the boredom radiating off of Rylan, but when you glance up at him his face is arranged in a mask of polite intrigue. Your eyes slide back down to the blue necklace longingly, idly wondering if you have enough left over from what Doran had given you to buy it.

The woman’s hand comes into your view as she lifted the necklace, and when you look up she’s smiling at you. “Do you like it? I have had it for a while I am afraid, no one seems to gravitate towards this one. I think it may be the size of the stone, most opt for larger and flashier gems.”

She smiles slightly down at the necklace, and you’re struck by the way it reminds you of a mother looking proudly at her child. After a moment she looks back up, that shrewd expression back as she holds out the necklace. “I think it suits you. Perhaps it was meant to find you, and that is why no one else bought it.”

Instinctively you reach towards the small pouch tied at your waist, opening your mouth to ask how much she wanted. Before you can speak, however, the woman shakes her head.

“Take it. Sometimes things are meant to find people. Besides, you would be doing me a favor anyway, it has been taking up space in my booth for months now.” She motions you forward before you can protest, fastening the soft leather cord around your neck.

You stare down at the gem now resting against your chest, once again struck by the way the light plays in the colors. When you look back up the woman has a satisfied look on her face, and her eyes shift from the necklace up to meet yours.

“Are you sure? I don’t think I have enough to pay what it’s worth, but I feel bad just taking it.” She shakes her head, taking a step back.

“It is a gift. I hope it brings you happiness.”

“Well, it is rude to refuse a gift.” You almost jump as Rylan speaks, having totally forgotten he was even standing next to you. The woman doesn’t seem any more pleased either, her piercing eyes shifting to look at the lord. It’s subtle, the way a slight tinge of displeasure seeps into her eyes as she looks at him, and when she looks back at you it’s gone.

“He has a point, my dear.”

Thankfully, the walk back to the palace doesn’t take much longer. You spend most of it tuning out Rylan as he describes the play you’d turned down attending with him the day before, instead studying the necklace now looped around your neck. No matter the lighting the colors seem to shift and change, although every time your eyes move they stop, and you’re left wondering if you were just imagining it.

Rylan comes to a stop at the front gates, turning to you with a charming smile. “This is where I must leave you I am afraid, I have matters to attend to at my own house.” He holds out his hand, and you reluctantly place yours in his, suppressing a shiver of displeasure as he bows slightly and presses a kiss to the back of your hand.

“Until next time, my dear.” With another grin he turns and walks off, and you’re left wondering just how long would be long enough before you can stand to be alone with him again.

You come to the conclusion after a moment that there isn’t a period of time long enough.

Walking back inside you breathe a sigh of relief at the cool air that hits you as soon as you’re out of the sun. Sunspear truly was a beautiful place, and you got the feeling the rest of Dorne would be just as beautiful if you ever saw it, but the oppressive heat was genuinely draining sometimes. You could only count your blessings that it wasn’t overly humid.

You headed down the hall, navigating with a little more confidence gained over the last couple weeks. There were still times where you took a wrong turn and had to ask someone for directions, but overall you usually found where you were going.

The guards stationed outside Doran’s office nodded to you as you stopped outside the large doors, opening them without question for you. Most of the palace staff recognized you on sight by this point, and Oberyn had made it clear you were to be treated with respect as his guest.

It wasn’t really like you could do much to harm either of the princes, anyway. You’d likely just hurt yourself in the process.

Doran was seated behind his desk, head bent over a piece of parchment as he wrote. He looked up at the sound of the doors opening, smiling warmly at you. “Ah, back already I see. Did you find what you needed?”

You nodded, walking forward with a smile. “I did, thank you. And it didn’t cost as much as you thought, I wanted to return the leftover money.” You held the much lighter than this morning pouch out as you came to a stop in front of the desk.

The elder prince only smiled and shook his head, holding up his hand as he settled back into the chair. “No, my dear, you may keep it. You may not have any expenses with my brother providing for you, but I imagine it would be nice to have money of your own if you should need or want it.”

You let your hand drop to your side with a sigh and a slight smile. “What is it today with people giving me things?” You hook the pouch back to the belt around your waist. “Thank you again by the way, he said it should be ready by Oberyn’s name day.”

Doran’s smile widened at that. “I hope my brother appreciates it, it is a thoughtful gift.”

You returned his smile, ignoring the butterflies that took up residence in your stomach as you thought about giving Oberyn his gift. “I hope so too.”

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