#I. don't quite know what the king design is in the fic so

[darknights-beloved]

King of Hearts!Diluc R. headcanons and ideas

wc ⸺ 1.4k

cw; just a heartbroken diluc. </3. not exactly a diluc x reader as in direct insert but rather doing a personality, appearance just to properly decide on his overall character. not exactly ooc though obviously its a different au so, you get it. also lots of bittersweetness ‎૮ ꒰ྀི╥ ᴗ ╥꒱ྀིა ultimately he is the sweetest hopeless romantic ever ♡

also if this was an xreader fic then it would be soulmates trope w/ a tinge of forbidden love. so there.

At first glance.

Diluc is a king with a broken heart.

He rules over a kingdom that grows more delicate and fragile as his heart weakens the more years he spends in his immortal life, lonely with exhaustive volumes of blood dirtying his hands.

The kingdom suffers a famine due to the power loss. He lies to himself, tries to trick himself into thinking he has it all under control.

He doesn't.

Perhaps in this case, he- the king - is the damsel in distress, waiting for the one he holds dear to hold his heart in her hands and kiss it until it heals.

Comes to life, eagerly. Thump thump thump...

He waits.

Personality , Traits, etc

Diluc's eyes are canonically [ ? ] sharp, I think. It's like a hooded gaze. Alert, ready...present. always making sure that no danger is in sight. As for koh Diluc? I'd like to believe his eyes are more weary, droopier. His eyebrows, however, are always etched in a furrow. But his eyes? His eyes are just sad. Canon Diluc's dominant emotion is anger (phlegmatic-choleric) and koh Diluc is more sad (melancholic-phlegmatic). It's really the long years of his immortality, fighting alone despite his army, men and all. (But he is also secretly very kind. Any tough demeanor remains a demeanor)

You know what? Now that we're talking about the temperaments. Why not just get all into it.

I believe koh diluc's pdb is

Intj (T) 6w5 ,, tri type 615 [?] ,, melancholic phlegmatic ,, Ni > Fi > Te > Se ,, sp/sx ,, neuroticism (?) please give ideas.

Koh Diluc is so, so much more exhausted. He falls asleep on his throne with his arms crossed sometimes and furrowed brows relax into a softer expression. His Guards don't dare make a sound or try to wake him up. They know how he works himself to the bone.

He's actually a little more quieter, the only time he'd usually speak is when he needs to give out another order to his men, soldiers or servants. Other than that, he's quite quiet and keeps to himself a lot /isolating

King of hearts Diluc loves desserts. He adores them. Tarts, cookies, coffee and cake - oh, he loves cake (especially red velvet/chocolate…a little self-indulgent there haha) – caramel, little toffees, pastries, chocolate.... Gods, you name it. It’s not much of a secret since at every feast and dinner table there’s always an overly generous number of deserts and sweet treats.

Despite his cold almost burnt out demeanour hes actually very soft. He love gardening a lot and tends to his flowers. He loves reading romance novels, he loves woodwork and crafting. And blade/weapon crafting too! Usually, he keeps himself occupied to distract his mind from a lot of things. Also he's immortal. so....yeah

Aesthetics / Appearance

His color palette is wine red, velvety crimson and all reds royal. Gold as well, but it's more of a light-silvery gold. He doesn't appreciate things too bright. He really likes dark colors. But he'd also appreciate the simplicity of saturated colors. (He’s a goth/victorian king.)

Having fought for more than half of his immortal life, he had earned many scars. Printed on his skin, either a proud mark of his achievements, a proof of the brunt of his responsibilities or the shame that comes with being a king that his citizens fear.

He has claw gauntlets. They're silver and the claws are long, intricately and finely designed. Despite his battles against any corruption or evil that may seep into wonderland, the gauntlets almost remain unscathed. It was a show of both beauty and strength it held.

Also what if diluc had an army outfit. like im not sure what is called but omg

Diluc doesn't like his crown. It's heavy, flashy and it irks him more than he likes to admit. It was a crown crafted for royalty, gifted by the hands of fate. It was a sign of his responsibilities, the burdens he had to carry as a king with a broken heart. It's a striking gold crown. Adorned with the rarest gems of his world, but prominently rubies and garnets.

His cape is long, it's either a dark, commanding or an intense black. Hanging over his shoulders attractively, it trails behind him as he walks with such poised posture, and he never stutters in steps. Luxurious, soft fur drapes around his neck, coating the hood of his cape perfectly.

Diluc loves rings. He loves them, he loves them, he loves them. He has many of them, all beautifully designed for his liking. The intimacy of the beautiful piece of jewelry makes his heart thump. He's a romantic.

Secret Desires, Hidden Pain

He yearns to be a kinder, softer king to his citizens. But the fear of his vulnerability slipping, his heart crumbling, he wears a mask of stoicism. He already had a fragile, broken heart. If any enemies caught sight of his weakness, wonderland would be done for. Needless to say, the mask felt heavy and unnatural.

Because he's lonely there are times where he sits in the grand chair in the huge library, right across another, slightly shorter chair (fit for a queen). It remains empty and has remained empty for as long as he remembers. He sits in a deafening silence, letting his thoughts and the overwhelming gnawing of his emotions consume him. Before him lay a chess board, on the table. White faces against him while black faces the opposite side. A few pieces were scattered beside the wooden, intricate board. He moves a piece, slowly and deliberately as if time had melted away into a misty fog his  present couldn't make sense of. His feels as though his immortal life is killing him. He moves another piece- his rook- playing the two player game by himself. One day, he's sure all the turmoil would mount and he'd throw the board, send it flying across the room so that it hits the wall. Slowly, he moves yet another piece. The king's shoulders slump.

Koh Diluc feels like he misses someone. Feels like there is an ever lingering feeling his heart. Feels like some memories of him in his mind is blurred and surreal, something he can't make sense out of scientifically. He feels it. He feels a distant love. It's almost a dream, an illusion. But part of him vaguely knew it was a little secret of his soul shared with him - well, maybe. Or his mind playing cruel tricks on him, mocking him for his loneliness.

Another rather...personal Diluc headcanon! His heart (if healed and well, and hypothetically the famine is gone) can heal injuries of his (fated) beloved with a simple touch. Just a hug, just a kiss, just a brush of his fingers against her delicate skin...

Because Diluc and his dearest lover's heart beats as one.

Architecture of the His Majesty’s Castle + Other sights

His palace is a show of extravagance. How big it is. At first glance it may seem as though it would take two whole weeks to explore it fully. From the chandeliers that hung proudly on the ceiling to the velvet carpet on the floor. Every room, despite big or small, was created with purpose. The most beautiful paintings were pedestalized on the walls. They were adorned with golden frames, or silver ones or perhaps even a void-like noir.

Diluc harbours a library, abundant with books. Books with lacy covers and intricate designs. Each page would surely cost a fortune. The information it contained was almost prestigious, for the library held knowledge that can't be found easily outside its confines. Tall, grand shelves and and shacks filled to the brim with books. Despite the grandeur of it all, it had a comforting feel to it. Oh to be snugged up in a plump couch by the window of the castle, leisurely reading a book during the dark hours of the night...

He has a bountiful, grand and extensively handsome rose garden. The whole piece of land was designed elaborately, with the finest of care. He takes long walks in them whenever he gets the chance to, to simply take a breath and clear his thoughts even for a moment. And appreciate the beauty of the scenic area. Despite his strength and ferocity, he tends to all of them with nothing but gentleness. To say he loves roses is an understatement.

Identity, Status, Trivia, other...

It is no secret that this man is ridiculously, obnoxiously and impossibly rich. Diluc is typically rich, yes. But king of hearts Diluc? He's on a whole other level. He owns everything. Everything.

The king is a warrior. He has fought many battles in the past, taken part in wars against other worlds which threaten to rip apart the fabric of reality of Wonderland and claim it for themselves. Wonderland is whimsical, strange- truly a place fit for the curious who are either brave to delve into the world or too foolish.

This is a more personal-ish headcanon, but I'd like to think that his citizens are similar to the ones in Simulanka. While the world may [ ? ] have been not created by Alice or other mages, I just like to switch it up. A little.

I'm thinking...hamsters, bunnies, frogs, cats, dogs, horses and? May be other animals I have to research more.

okay but also wonderland diluc owns a black steed <3 he pampers it a lot lol and its the toughest horse in the land. both kinda have the same personality

Mermaids, colorful fish, knights (they have no body, their soul holds their armour together somehow), those nut-cracker like figures in simulanka? Maybe. This needs a little more work but hopefully you get the idea.

Want my wonderland to be more comforting.

also he genuinely has nerd-like interests in black (barred) owls and hooded owls. He admires them, and has many paintings of the creature in his castle.

all rights reserved @dilucidal @darknights-beloved

a/n: im open to ideas ok like 🥹♥️plis

[floating-far-from-earth]

"[...] And that's when you see it, just out of the corner of your eye. The person in the seat next to you is staring at you."

Hi everyone! Read the fic "spira mirabilis theatre" by @scissorstypes and omg I love it so much. King & Siffrin meet early au... I loved the nervousness of siffrin in the initial meeting hehe. go read it if you haven't yet and are interested in the concept I recommend!!!

[4channerguy]

Fluff Nagumo (sakamoto days) x GN reader!! It could be about anything Idc as long as it’s fluff!! Include nsfw in the end if you would like too I don’t mind 🫶

✧ nagumo as your boyfriend

◜ ⟣𓂃 hey anonn :3 sorry for the hold up i've been suffering writer's block for like months and shit & i decided it’s the best for me to do like a little headcanon thing cuz like tbh i don’t think i could write a full fic tho 🫡 also the nsfw part is lacking at best because i genuinely still do not KNOW how to WRITE for NAGUMO!!! WHY OH WHY!!!! anyway i hope it caters to you. xoxo (。・∀・)ノ

warnings ✎ : nsfw content, gender neutral reader (genitalia is not mentioned only your chest and your butt KEK) obsessive behavior mayhaps? ➜ ┊ pairings: nagumo x reader

♯┆SFW .ᐟ ★

he's such a wonderful bf *sigh*

he's also quite a teaser ngl, i think he blows on your neck a lot and when you flinch and glare at him he always has a shit-eating grin.

quite overprotective of you, even if you're literally extremely muscular and can literally bodyslam someone, he cannot BEAR the sight of you getting a small scratch on your face. or you getting into a fight

he's also a drama king

"oh hey nagumo...uhh what're you doing...?"

"applying rubbing alcohol on your face duh, who did this to you?? >:("

"what're you talking about...oh."

"oh?"

"heh...um that was me. i did that. i was...ripping a candy bag open. with my teeth. and the sharp part...cut my face." *insert mlp squee sound*

"..."

he's still going to thoroughly disinfect it and check on it everyday until it's gone. what a king!

he's very handsy, so you will find his hand SOMEWHERE on your part of your body.

you get so used to it you don't even notice.

if you ever sleep together, he always has both of his arms wrapped around you and whenever you wake up in the morning, you feel a puddle of drool in your hair. like always.

when he's sitting down next to you he always has the habit of grabbing your nearest hand and massaging your phalanges. or just intertwining and detangling your fingers with his.

also has the habit of just staring at you for no reason

it's like when you accidentally hold eye contact or stare at a person while your zoning out

except for his case he does it intentionally.

quite possessive of you, in some cases it can be unhealthy. also a bit jealous. (i might go on with this in a ramble if i could)

always offers his frumpy looking jackets and hawaiian shirts for you to wear

and you do because...who tf wouldnt lol

and when you do wear them he melts a little

trace his tattoos with your fingers!!! he finds that gesture slightly intimate

also you two have a game where every year for his birthday you pick out the dumbest tattoo design and make him get it

last year it was a badly drawn dick with two circles and a long oval lol

♯┆NSFW .ᐟ ★

i think he's personally an ass/thigh man

he's always finding a way to sneakily grope them in public settings

speaking of that he probably likes public risky sex (what a freak literally)

the thought of you and him getting off in the back of some janitor's closet or something like that with the door unlocked will get him hard ngl

he also probably has a size kink

AND this might be an unpopular opinion BUT i personally think that he would want to explore pegging

but you didn't hear that from me........................

he would think about asking you about it time to time but he won't personally act on it because it's not something he wants to experience it yet

(sorry)

dick size is kind of around 5 or 6 inches when hard probably and it's not very girthy i will not lie 🙅but it hits all the right spots i guess so yass?

he likes bondage, but wants to see you tied up most of the time :3

⋆｡𖦹 °✩ 04.12.24, do not repost or translate my content :^)

[nevaroonie]

Tell me about that one oc u grew to love. Doesn't gotta be redacted related I just wanna here about ur ocs ^^ I'll go first

Henley Bennet! They are important to my William fic Quite Interesting! However at the time I did not like them. Like most designs I had did not stick and I just hated them overall.

It wasn't until I finished the plot line that I realized how cool of a concept Henley is. The betrayaling factor, the rook taking the king. While Henleys story won't be getting voiced ( maybe i don't yet 🤔 )

The ideas I have for them are amazing! No to the backstory and shitssss-

Henley Bennet was once Henley Williston a member of the Keaton pack. They were a very happy wolf shifter! Till they covered a job for their partner and it didn't go well.

Henley couldn't remember what happened they just remember bleeding out. And a vampire taking pity on them. However they much rather wished they died.

Henley learned to adjust to their new life rather quickly. Thier maker was a prince of the Bennet estate. And for 7 years thier old friends and family believed they were dead and they were fine with that.

It took to to get used to it but they knew they couldn't go back.

However! They partner Beloved did not like the idea of their partner dying or missing on a job they took for them. The guilt ate at them constantly. So they sought out to find them.

It took 3 years but they found them. And henleys reaction to seeing them was not pleasant. They were upset how had this part of thier life come back? They moving on, seeing beloveds face did not help that.

------

Quiet Interesting Lore

Henley takes note of the close workings of the bennets and close-knit. They didn't know what they were doing but they didn't like it. It was dangerous and killing people. And They’d already killed enough.

So Henley tries to get the department involved but ends up getting threatened and invoked not to step foot into the department. So Henley found away around it.

Henley is also involved in Hun and Dria's storyline! They tell them that Novae is still alive and then they go.

Henley is the Earl of the bennets not high enough to be a prince but not low enough to be forgotten. And this I what inspired thier icon the rook.

And that's all I can say without Spoilers!

I do got cassetts for Henley both old and new

Now it's ur turn 🫵

Tell me about that oc!

[sleepless-winter-nights]

So basically this is just an idea I thought of , I don't know if I would follow through this and write about it. I already have one which I have yet to finish, which I will hopefully finish it by next month.

So here's the little preview

Brandon

Everything hurts and my head feels so heavy. And no matter how much I try I can't seem to move either. 

Even though my eyes feel heavy, I try to open them, but I fail miserably. 

I try to move but as it turns out, I am incapable of doing that also, it feels like I am paralyzed. My senses are so hazy that it's almost impossible for me to assess the room or wherever I am. 

I try once again to move my arms and legs, but I soon realize that they are tied that too with chains. 

Shit, just how fucked up this is. 

The last thing I remember is leaving Emma's cafe after having a small talk with her. I can't remember anything after that. 

Fuck, fuck.

Does anyone know I am missing? 

Does Niko or Lan Or anyone in my family know that I am kidnapped. 

What am I supposed to do? How should I escape from this situation? 

Third pov

In his heavily drugged up state,and head filled with all sorts of emotions, Bran failed to realize that some people or more like two people were entering the room. 

He also failed to realize that the room was heavily monitored with all sorts of hidden cameras. So escaping was not even an option.

That room was specifically designed, it would give the prisoner a false illusion that he or she could escape but in reality it was a cage. Each and every part of it was covered with some sensors or cameras. So any slight movement can be caught. 

And through these, they found out that their prisoner was awake and made their way to him. 

Excited, they approached him. They finally got what they wanted, Brandon king in flesh and all to themselves. 

“You are awake? Finally, I was waiting for you for so long, "said the boy gleefully. 

Even though Brandon was heavily drugged he wouldn't mistake that voice. He was shocked to the core. Never in a million years did he think that he could do something like this. 

“ Come on, let him rest properly. He is tired. Now that we have him, there is no need to worry. We have all the time.” 

Before  Brandon was angry and shocked but now he was filled with dread when he heard her voice. She too? 

How could she do this? How could two of his closest people from the charity kidnap him? 

He trusted them so much. How could they? 

Is the whole charity group involved? No , that can't be. 

Why would they do this? 

As his thoughts were all messed up Brandon failed to notice the syringe in his captors hand and by the time he noticed it was quite late as they injected him with something and he again faded into oblivion. 

Just so you know this is just a random and not well thought out so this might be a bit cringe. Let me know if I should continue this or not.

Also I suck at writing mystery thriller things as I always get lost in between and can't connect the dots.

You guys can also share some ideas with me, I would be happy to get some ideas

Also, how do you guys want me to end LOVING YOU IS A LOSING GAME FIC. I do have some idea but I would really like your opinion in this.

Please let me know your thoughts and ideas. I would be happy to receive them

[kamaluhkhan]

maybe it's my fault

pairing: shuri x fem!reader

summary: lately, you've been feeling a ton of pressure, you're way too busy, and you're barely sleeping. life is taking its toll on you, but you drop everything to be with shuri when she needs you most.

warnings: angst! mention of illness and death (t'challa's, mostly). reader has a bit of a saviour complex. lots of plot w/ a little smut ;)

author's note: hi hi it's been too long since i've written a fic, but i just rewatched black panther so i decided to finish one of my drafts. this could be read as a part 3 to my other shuri fics, but it's wayyy more angsty than i usually write. also happy endings.....we don't know her! you've been warned.

you were in the kitchen, chopping up fruit for a smoothie, while sam and bucky were watching the news in the living room. you could only hear muffled sounds from the tv thanks to the lecture you were rewatching through your earphones, hyperfocused on absorbing as much information about genetic coding — the topic of your last exam before spring break — so it was easy to miss sam calling your name until he was practically shouting. you finally removed one earbud.

"yeah?"

“when's the last time you heard from your girlfriend?" 

"i don't know," you answered, still mostly focused on your professor droning on about complex protein structures while you kept cutting up strawberries — and tried to keep your eyes open. you probably hadn't slept in 36 hours. "we've both been busy. why?"

there was no immediate answer, which you didn’t think much of until you looked up and saw what they were watching. in shock, you accidently let the knife slip, and it nicked your thumb instead of the fruit.

"fuck."

blood dripped from your hand, but your eyes stayed glued to the screen.

KING T’CHALLA, RULER OF WAKANDA, DEAD FROM UNKNOWN ILLNESS. COUNTRY IN PERIOD OF MOURNING. 

you could tell from the way bucky and sam were silent that they were also overwhelmed with the news. t’challa was an avenger, a teammate — but he was also a friend. he was compassionate and wise and always made you feel welcomed, even when some of the elders disapproved of shuri dating an outsider. this hurt you, deeply, especially after losing so much of the team in the battle with thanos. but none of that mattered — all you could think about now was shuri….

you instantly pulled out your phone, and tried to call her. 

it’s shuri. i’m probably designing better technology, so i’ll call you back with that. 

you then tried the kimoyo beads on your wrist, but still no answer. 

“i have to go.”

sam nodded. “just let me look after your hand first —”

“i’ll deal with it on the quinjet.” you ran to your room down the hall, and grabbed your overnight bag (thank Gods you hadn’t unpacked yet, even though you’d decided to stay over at Avengers tower this week). “i just finished fixing up the old one, so i’ll take that and you guys can still use the new one for your mission tomorrow. if i leave now, i’ll get to wakanda by morning.” or maybe midnight. or afternoon? there was also a time difference that you couldn’t quite remember. “i’ll call peter on the way, let him know what happened. can you tell the others?” whoever is left, you thought to yourself.

again, sam nodded. bucky mumbled a simple take care as you start to leave for the quinjet.

sam called your name, so you turned around before a few tears could escape. he brought you into a hug. you couldn’t help but stiffen, a reflex because of so many i’m sorry for your loss hugs you’d gotten used to. when sam pulled away, he put his hand on her shoulder, eyes sincere but sad. “it’s gonna be alright, kid.”

you really wanted to believe him.

shuri’s lab was all too familiar to you. there was something perpetually alive about the space: always people talking, inventions being brought to life, loud music blasting. 

but, right now, it was silent. only shuri was there, designing something on the holograms and taking notes. 

you hear her A.I. griot announce that someone had arrived, but shuri doesn't seem to care.

“i told you i did not want to be disturbed,” shuri grumbled.

“he made an exception,” you replied, trying to keep your tone playful.

shuri didn’t say anything and kept working. “did my mother call you?” she finally asked. “i told her not to.”

you moved closer to shuri’s workspace until you were right next to her, leaning backwards against the desk but keeping your eyes on shuri and trying to pull her attention away from whatever she was working on — a suit, you guessed.

“she didn't call me. i came as soon as i heard,” you answered, crossing you arms. “but i did talk to her and she seemed…worried.”

“there’s no need to be,” shuri said. “i’m fine. we had the funeral — it happened, it’s over.”

you uncrossed your arms, sighing deeply. “you know, your brother once told me that in wakandan culture, death isn’t the end. it’s a stepping off point. then, he told me that he believed, even if they’re gone from the physical world, the people we love never leave us. their lives aren’t over if we honor them, keep loving them.”

t'challa's thoughtfulness helped you after losing tony and steve, and it was something you wished you had heard earlier in life. something that gave you hope, made you feel a bit lighter when it felt like the weight of the world was crushing you.

but, hearing this prompted shuri to freeze momentarily, though she couldn’t bring herself to look you in the eye.

"i am not my brother.” she went back to working after that.

for a moment, you simply watched your girlfriend work. shuri’s hair was different — braids gone and shorter than the last time you had seen her. her jawline was also sharper and her eyes a bit more sunken, like she hadn’t slept or eaten in days.

when it became clear that shuri wasn’t going to stop, you turned around and focused your attention to the holograms she was juggling. it wasn’t a panther suit, but what looked like a deconstructed dora milaje armor that shuri was redesigning.

“you want this to fly?” you noted the thrusters placed on the feet of the suit.

shuri glanced at you briefly before enlarging the section in question. “yes.”

you hummed, reaching over to zoom out to a full view of the suit. “if you add small repulsors, the wearer will have more control over how and where they fly.”

 “i was going to add something like that to the back.”

“i’d suggest the shoulders,” you said, tilting your head. “small, triangle shaped — kind of like angel wings. also, if you add reinforced plating to the shoulders and arms, you can redistribute the extra vibranium through the repulsor energy so the wearer can materialize a blade or a laser.”

“brilliant,” shuri mumbled under her breath.

you nudged shuri with your shoulder. “you would have figured it out eventually.”

“i know.” shuri leaned into you, a sign that she was softening. “that’s why it’s brilliant. i wish it'd thought of it sooner." she whispered the last part. there was a faraway sadness to her tone that made your heart ache.

you turned to face shuri, and gently put your hand on her cheek so she met your gaze.

"i think it's a sign that your beautiful brain needs some rest, baby." you knew what shuri was like, and based on your conversation with queen ramonda, shuri had locked herself in the lab for days.

shuri sighed, moving to kiss your palm before realizing the state it was in — freshly wrapped in a thin layer of gauze that you had bled through.

“what happened to your hand?” she questioned urgently.

“oh. nothing serious. just a slip of the knife.”

wordlessly, shuri brought you over to the medical bay and gestured for you to sit down on the table. you did, and shuri settled between your legs, using vibranium to heal your cut.

"shuri," you called after a few moments of silence, leaning your head down slightly to try and catch her eye. "you know i'm here for you, right?"

"i know." she finished cleaning the wound and wrapped your hand in a fresh vibranium-woven bandage. you wanted so badly to do the same — to wrap up shuri's grief, to protect her from pain, to help her heal.

"i mean that you don't have to, i don't know, act like everything is fine. we can talk about what happened — we can talk about t'challa."

"i know," she repeated, eyes finally meeting yours as she rested her hand on your knee. "i just....i can't. it's either i shut myself in the lab for hours or i think about my brother and want to burn the world down. and i can't...." shuri choked back a sob and her grip on your knee tightened.

you brought your hand up to her cheek, gently tracing the dark circles under her eyes with your thumb.

"well, what if we try another option?"

you spent the next few days in wakanda with shuri, ignoring your responsibilities in new york. most of the time was spent lazing around the royal palace, but with you shuri at least got enough sleep and food, even if you barely left her room at first. eventually, the two of you actually ate in the formal dining room. you could have sworn queen ramonda teared up when her daughter showed up again to share a meal since t'challa's passing. queen ramonda gave you a warm smile before the feast was served.

as you were walking back to shuri's room, stomachs full from a delicious dinner, your phone vibrated. you checked to see who it was: peter, texting to remind you of a lab assignment you had slipped your mind.

"oh shit," you groaned.

"what is it?"

"an assignment for my genetics class that i completely forgot about," you explained, rushing to open your laptop, which you'd left on shuri's nightstand after the two of you binged a few episodes of star trek (the original series). "one of our lab partners fucked up the results, so pete and i had to sort things out, but we've both been so busy...."

your phone vibrated once more, this time displaying an incoming call from jimmy neutron, your affectionate contact name for peter parker.

"i should take this."

shuri nodded. "let me help, yeah?"

considering how brilliant shuri was, you offered her your laptop without question. you paced back and forth, talking with peter over whether or not failing this assignment would mean you both failed the class, until shuri's voice cut through your conversation.

"why do you have a file with my brother's dna?"

you know exactly the file she was talking about, and it made you stop in your tracks to face shuri. you thought you were being too careful when you didn't attach his name to the file — but, apparently, you weren't careful enough.

shuri was sitting upright on the bed now, practically glaring at you as she waited for your answer. you tried to ignore your increasing heart-rate.

"pete, i have to go." you could hear him start to protest on the other end of the line, but you quickly ended the call. "well, we keep blood samples from every team member in case something happens."

hopefully your answer satisfied shuri.

it didn't.

"this isn't with your avengers files, though," shuri pointed out. you tried to grab the laptop back from her, but she moved it out of your reach. "and even if it was, you would have noticed something wrong."

"shuri," you warned, finding it harder to not let your voice waver.

"did you know my brother was sick?" her tone was harsher than before.

"shuri —"

"the samples show abnormal cell growth at an earlier stage than when i was working on a cure for him," shuri noted, turning the laptop screen towards you. like you, she must have spent hours looking at t'challa's dna to the point of memorizing its sequence. "so either you didn't notice that something was wrong, and we both know you're too smart enough to miss something that obvious, or — "

"shuri." this time, when you said her name, it was less of a warning and more of a plea. you did not want to go down this road. frankly, you were hoping you never had to.

"you knew my brother was sick and didn't tell me," she finished. shuri handed you the laptop and you closed it slowly, watching as she walked to the other side of the room before facing you again. "tell me that isn't true."

all you could do was bite back tears and hope the floor swallowed you whole. when it didn't, you took a deep breath and stood up.

"i can explain." you approached her, but she took a step away from you and scoffed.

"what's there to explain?"

"just....please." you walked back to the bed and took a seat. "let me explain."

t'challa intercepted you at your favourite coffee shop about four weeks ago.

it was march in new york, so hints of spring were starting to peak through the winter snow. you had back to back classes, but you always had time for a coffee in between.

the cold air hit you as you exited the shop, a drink warming your hand. you noticed him standing there: no dora milaje, no fancy suit, just t'challa. he wore sunglasses and a sleek black trench coat with a purple scarf, his silver necklace peaking out from the collar.

"t'challa?" you called, almost doing a double take. the two of you were friends, sure, and probably future in-laws, but the image of him waiting for you outside a student-run cafe felt too out of the ordinary. "is everything okay?"

he smiled softly, taking off his sunglasses. "of course," he said. then, t'challa did something that surprised you even more: he greeted you with a hug. as he pulled away, he added: "just in town and thought we could catch up. shuri said this was your favourite place for cinnamon lattes."

you shrugged. "my girl knows me well. could we catch up later, though? i have a class in...." you glanced at your phone. "right now, actually." you looked back up at t'challa, and something about how his smile faded away made you feel like this was more important. "you know what, i can get notes later. come on."

t'challa followed you to a bench nearby, scanning the area as you made the short walk. the two of you sat in silence for a few moments before you broke it.

"so, is everything okay?" you asked again, taking a sip of your drink.

"actually, no." he paused, voice low. you waited for him to continue, your heart beating fast as you tried not to expect the worst. "i'm sick, y/n."

"you're sick," you repeated slowly, letting the words sink in. "i'm....i'm sorry." you reached over and squeezed t'challa's hand. he gave you a sad smile in return. that was the thing about t'challa: he was always trying to put on a brave face.

"i need you to help me find a cure."

"of course," you answered instantly. you loved t'challa like he was family; you would do anything for him. but, something felt a bit strange about his request. "why not go to wakanda, though? i mean, i'd be happy to help, but the technology there is way more advanced than anything i could do in new york. shuri's lab has all the resources we would need."

t'challa shifted in his seat, breaking eye contact.

then, it hit you. the impromptu meeting, the uneasiness of t'challa's demeanor, the whispers as he explained the situation.

"she doesn't know, does she?"

t'challa shook his head. "she doesn't even know i'm in new york."

suddenly, you throat tightened and it felt difficult to swallow your coffee.

"am i the only one that knows?"

"you and nakia," he said. "i'd like for it to stay that way."

"but — but it's shuri. you're her brother and — and she can help us find a cure."

"so can you," t'challa countered. compared to your nervous stuttering, he kept his voice clear, measured. "you're studying biochemistry and cellular biology, correct? top of your class? my sister says you are almost as brilliant as her."

"almost," you laughed, allowing yourself a moment of reprieve before returning to your conversation. "t'challa, why not just tell her?"

t'challa reflected before responding, his eyes following a couple holding hand as they walked past you.

"my sister is happy," he finally said, turning to you. "i wish for her to stay like that for as long as possible. i believe this is the only way."

it broke your heart to know that, even as he was suffering, t'challa would do anything to protect shuri. you both knew what shuri was like: she would drop everything, go back to wakanda, spend many sleepless nights trying to solve this problem, to save her brother.

"are you sure?" you practically whispered the question.

"yes. i trust you can take care of this. in fact, i know you can. please, y/n."

his urgent tone, the sincerity in his eyes; t'challa was desperate, you could tell. this wasn't a decision he made lightly, to keep such information from everyone, including shuri. if you were the one he came to for help, help you would.

so, you promised keep his secret, to handle it yourself and carry on as normal. t'challa would return to his normal duties as king for as long as he could hide his illness. but, you set a term as well: if you couldn't find a cure within two weeks, when shuri went back to visit wakanda at the end of the month, t'challa would tell her and let her work to find a cure.

"one more thing," t'challa said after you had discussed your agreement. you were about to part ways, but you turned around when you heard him speak again. "shuri can never know that i came to you first. she's proud, my sister. if she finds out, she'd never forgive either of us."

you nodded firmly, but as t'challa turned to walk away, you called his name once more. you ran towards him and hugged him, tight. it startled him at first, just as you were when he greeted you, but he hugged back.

if you knew that was the last time you'd see him, you'd have held on longer.

over the next week or so, you worked relentlessly. you would've worked at the lab in avengers tower, but you knew you had more privacy at oscorp. occasionally, you went to class or had avengers business to take care of, but otherwise this was your life: rearranging dna sequences, examining blood samples, and mixing chemicals to try and find a cure for t'challa.

you came home one night, after hours in the lab. your only break was a brief stint stopping doc ock from robbing a bank. she'd managed to throw you around pretty hard — sleep deprivation made you an easier target, apparently — leaving you with a nasty bruise on your side. peter arrived to the scene just in time, and suggested the two of you celebrate with sandwiches as delmar's (where spider-man got a discount), but you made up an excuse so that you could return to the lab.

the apartment was dark when you entered, with only the kitchen light on, so you figured you were the only one home. you dragged yourself over to the sink to get a cup of water. you drank it in three gulps, and were reaching for another when you felt someone grab your side.

"fuck!" the cup fell from your grasp as you winced in pain. you turned around, too tired to even wonder if there was an intruder in your home, but met shuri's gaze instead. she was wearing boxer shorts and an oversized i ♡ wakanda shirt she'd gotten for you as a joke.

"shit. sorry." she knelt down to pick up the broken glass. you tried to follow, but winced again at the sharp pain in your side that prevented you from bending over. "don't worry. i've got it," she reassured, standing back up. "you've been busy lately. and pete told me about the fight with doc ock. you should rest."

you ignored her last comment. "i thought you were coming home late tonight."

shuri raised an eyebrow. "i'd say it's well past late." she gestured towards the clock on the stove. it read 2:27 am.

"right." between hours in the lab, with no cure in sight, and being thrown around by a scientist with metal tentacles, you were exhausted. it was the kind of exhaustion that settled into your bones, made everything feel heavier. not to mention the weight of the very big, life changing secret you were keeping from shuri....yeah, you weren't particularly in the mood to chat with your girlfriend in a dimly lit kitchen with broken glass at your feet.

before shuri could ask more about your day, you excused yourself to take a shower. you closed the bathroom door behind you, stripped yourself of your clothes, and hopped in the shower. you stood there for a few seconds, letting the warm water wash over you, until you were startled by the shower curtain opening.

"sithandwa, are you okay?"

"other than the minor heart attack you just gave me, yeah," you huffed.

shuri tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "are you sure?"

"i'm fine," you snapped. noticing how shuri's eyes widened slightly at your outburst, you tried again, your voice softer. "i'm fine."

you lifted your arm to close the shower curtain, but let out a strangled moan when the sharp pain in your side returned. shuri furrowed her brow at your reaction, until her eyes landed on the dark bruise forming under your left ribs. instantly, shuri joined you in the shower, fully clothed.

"you're not fine," shuri decided, placing her hand gently on your skin. "why didn't you go back to the med bay to have this taken care of?"

peter asked you the same thing when you parted ways earlier, but it was easier then to shrug off the severity of your injury. besides, you had to finish up some work at the lab. but here you were in front of shuri, completely exposed, no where to run.

"i...didn't have time. you can scold me later, okay? right now, i just want to relax."

you exhaled as shuri's fingers grazed your skin. with how preoccupied you had been — along with the guilt at hiding t'challa's illness from her — you and shuri hadn't been intimate in what felt like forever. it felt good to be close to her, for her to touch you again.

by then, shuri's clothes were soaked through, the white fabric of her shirt clinging to her skin, transparent enough to reveal her dark nipples underneath. you couldn't help but stare.

"like what you see?" shuri smirked. her fingers started trailing south, reaching your hips.

this made you roll your eyes, and you just had to smile at how cheeky your girlfriend was being.

"you know i do, pretty girl."

"hm. you said you wanted to relax?"

you nodded, and not even a second later shuri had her body pressed against yours. it sent a shiver through you, despite the warm water from the shower. she brought a tattoed hand up to your face, craddling your jaw.

"then relax," shuri whispered. she started placing kisses up your neck, and when she reached just below your ear, she added: "let me take care of you."

shuri gently pushed you against the wall, the ceramic tiles cool on your back. to your annoyance, she took her sweet time leaving kisses down your body.

"shuri," you whined when you felt her teeth graze one nipple while she pinched the other between her fingers.

"what is it, my love?" shuri pulled away from your chest. you knew she loved teasing you - something you mostly loved to hate. sex with shuri sometimes took hours: it was slow, deliberate, accompanied by an orchestra of laughter and moans and pleading (lots of pleading).

this time, though, she didn't even give you time to beg. shuri simply got on her knees in front of you. she briefly ran her tongue through your folds before tilting her head back to meet your gaze. "is this what you wanted?" shuri smirked when you moaned as she slid a finger into your cunt.

the shower went cold by the time you two were done.

you started drying off, carefully as to not further your injury. shuri left to put on fresh, dry clothes, leaving the ones she had soaked through in a wet heap on the floor. you were just slipping on your underwear when shuri returned, catching your eye in the mirror.

"what?" you chuckled at how coy she was being, hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"i have a surprise for you," shuri sang. she moved from the doorway to standing behind you, the two of you looking at the mirror. "close your eyes." you complied and felt a coolness surround your neck. shuri placed a kiss on your jaw, which made you smile. "open them."

you were met with the sight of yourself, top half completely bare except for a deep purple pendant around your neck.

"do you like it?" shuri gently wrapped her arms around your waist, eyes never leaving your body in the mirror, and you allowed yourself to melt into her. "it reminded me of the sky on our first date, and how beautiful you looked." she reached a hand up to trace the silver chain. "i was thinking i'd remake this with vibranium, maybe make it so the necklace holds your suit like t'challa's. you'll have to wait until i get back to wakanda to make the upgrade, of course."

at the mention of her brother and her home country, you stiffened.

"shuri." you exhaled and you turned to face her. "are you sure that you don't want to go back to wakanda sooner?"

shuri tilted her head. "why would i do that?"

"i don't know. more time with your family...."

"i've spent my whole life with them," shuri countered. "i'm moving to new york so that we can start our life together."

"i didn't ask you to do that — "

"don't push me away, okay?" she interrupted, wrapping her arms around your waist once more as though they would keep you in place forever. "you've been doing that lately, and i know you're busy, we both are. but, life is crazy and scary and unpredictable, and all i know for sure is that i love you. and i need you."

you wished you could return her words, as you have many times before, but the sentiment now felt empty.

it felt wrong for you to let shuri love you passionately, when you were being so careless with her heart.

you tried to shake away that feeling, telling yourself that keeping t'challa's secret was the best situation to keep him healthy and shuri happy - to protect both of them from any pain or suffering.

you told yourself that enough times, you almost believed it was true.

shuri looked at you now, and for the first time, you felt the heat of her anger targeted towards you.

"how long? how long did you know my brother was dying and let me believe everything was okay? how long did you lie to me?"

you took a ragged breath. "two weeks."

"two weeks?" shuri shouted. "i couldn't save him because i didn't have enough time to find a cure. you took that from me."

"i spent that time trying to find a cure, but....but i wanted to protect you, at least for a little while."

"no one asked you to protect me!"

internally, you kept replaying what t'challa had said: he wanted shuri to be happy, yes, but she could never know that he came to you himself and told you he was sick weeks before he told her. you wanted to honor the promise you made him, even as you now felt shuri slipping through your fingers.

you were never a quitter, though. it was your best — and possibly most self-destructive — trait. you tried to approach shuri, to grab her hand, but the second you made contact, she jolted away.

"my brother is dead because of you."

her words felt like a knife. you felt dizzy — there was no way to stop the bleeding, so you sat back down on the bed to ground yourself.

"i....i tried to save him," you defended. "after i first found out, i tried to find a cure myself."

shuri scoffed, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes at you. "you just had to be the hero, didn't you? running around, wanting to save everyone. like you're the only one who can."

"i really tried," you choked. by now, you were holding back tears, feeling your head start to ache. you started massaging you temple to relieve some pressure, but it didn't work.

"and what kind of sick game are you playing, coming here pretending to be supportive? you're just feeling guilty."

guilty was definitely something you felt, but it wasn't why you came here.

you got back up and tried to approach shuri one more time, walking over to her slowly.

"i came here because i love you, shuri." your voice was softer than it had been before. "i loved t'challa, too -"

"don't you dare say his name," she growled, once again moving away from you briskly. "and i don't care if you love me, because i can never look at you the same way. we're done."

hands by your side, staring at shuri from the opposite side of the room, you almost couldn't process what she had said. she repeated her last sentence, this time a bit louder, and you shook your head as though to wake yourself up.

"shuri, please, don't do this. we're both in pain — "

"you have no idea the pain i'm in," shuri interrupted, and you noticed how she choked back a sob. "you can stop trying to be a hero for me. i don't want you. i don't need you." she paused. "not anymore."

to prove her point, shuri finally approached you. she tugged your necklace — the one she had so lovingly given you — hard enough for the clasp to break.

both of you were startled by the severity of her actions, how final it all felt. shuri looked, almost regretfully, at the purple pendant in her hand, but never met your gaze. she then turned away from you, the room settling into an uncomfortable silence as she waited for you to leave.

and you did, a few moments later.

[that-disabled-princess]

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, friends! I am currently listening to my head bops while editing Lavender hearts at 7am, so it is... quite the contrast 🤣

Here's a bit from Lavender hearts that I edited this morning. This will likely be my last post about my COTTA, since I post on Wednesday next week!!

He lets me lean my full weight on him, supporting and holding me while I try to slow my mind.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he says. I lift my head to find him already looking at me. “We’re going to make a list. A plan for how to deal with the coming months, yeah? Penny likes her ‘What we know, what we don’t’ lists, or we could make a regular list. Okay?”

I take a deep breath and exhale shakily.

“Okay.”

I've also signed up as an artist for @carryon-reverse-bang! This is a very early (read: the first) design of the head pattern:

Poor Simon looks absolutely squished xD There's a reason us pattern designers do so much frogging and so many trials haha. I don't have any more recent photos, though, so that's what I've got.

And I'm planning to write for @ruthariweek! (Jumping into so many back-to-back fandom fests/events after a few-month fandom break may not have been the smartest plan. I am both overwhelmed and tired, but I don't regret anything.) The fic is pretty much complete, so here are some sentences I love.

...[Runaan] fidgets with the weapon on his prosthetic, opening and closing the knife.

Ethari throws himself into untangling his hair like he’s another one of his delicate creations, fingers dancing along his scalp and teasing through his long hair.

...the new king of Katolis (within whom he found a shared love of jelly tarts after apologizing)...

“My lovely, grumpy moonberry.”

Ethari catches him with ease (those artist’s arms), guiding him back down to the grass.

Do I take every possible opportunity to project my artist woes/strengths onto Ethari? Yes, yes I do. (Also yes, I will always write more disability rep :D)

Tagging @youarenevertooold @j-nipper-95 @bazzybelle @hoothalcyon @hushed-chorus @cutestkilla @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @aristocratic-otter @stitchyqueer @palimpsessed @ivelovedhimthroughworse @theearlgreymage @ic3-que3n @valeffelees @yeonjunenby @letraspal @angelsfalling16 @moodandmist @forabeatofadrum @alexalexinii @iamamythologicalcreature and anyone else I'm missing 💖💖

[hildred-rex]

Hello, I love Hildred Castaigne! He’s such a fucked up unreliable narrator and he also reminds me so much of myself in middle school and I love him for it. What do you like about him?

First off, apologies for taking absolutely ages to answer this! Life happened and I promptly forgot tumblr existed for almost a month. Yay.

Anyhow, I think my love of Hildred is a combination of the factors you mentioned and the absolute state I got into shortly after I found The King in Yellow -- aaand here comes an essay. The last version of this got deleted, and apparently I've taken it upon myself to make its replacement even lengthier.

Hildred is a fascinating character to read and to write, and his opinions on things are (or would be) so different from mine that it's fun to try to puzzle them out. I keep a bevy of fictional characters that I can simulate reasonably well as a way to make myself consider how people get to opinions that differ from mine, and naturally he's among them.

Beyond that, I'm an absolute sucker for hints at a greater world, but only narrow viewpoints from which to try to figure out what's going on in that world.

The weird bits of The King in Yellow as a whole are superb at tantalizing you with smug allusions and tiny scraps of information about what, exactly, it is that the book is named for.

Is it a play? Is it an entity? What happened to the author? ...was the author Boris? (I don't think the author was Boris, but I won't lie that I've considered writing a fic where he was.)

I got hooked on Lovecraft for the same reason, and it's actually what put me on to Arthur Machen (favorite author) and The King in Yellow (favorite book).

Even with all that, I think my King in Yellow interest would have been a passing thing that returned occasionally, if it hadn't been the last thing I got into before my first set of high school final exams kicked my ass.

The tl;dr of freshman year is that I picked the wrong math class and it spent the semester wrecking my self-confidence (and my sleep schedule) before I finally managed to transfer to a better one. (Then I spent second semester picking myself back up.)

Hildred, notably, is self-confident to the point of it backfiring catastrophically on him. He absolutely should not have gloated to Louis, tactically speaking; in this essay I will-

Anyway. Stress is weird, so during finals season and its leadup I had quite a lot of unmarshalled energy that refused to work on what I actually needed it to do and that instead directed itself at my idle pokings at Hildred and his world.

Probably better than worrying about how my abysmal math grade was going to ruin my life.

It didn't, and I came out of the crucible with rather extensive additional worldbuilding. Since I essentially speedran getting invested in the project, I came away wanting to do more of it and... it just kind of stuck?

I mean, here we are several years later and my first impulse is still to name my tumblr blog for him. I've got a rough idea of his extended family back three generations. I have a design for that spring suit Hawberk had that was mentioned exactly once. I am the embodiment of

when it comes to this lol

_____

I couldn't find a good place to fit this in above, but Hildred was also the first time I encountered a story with an obviously intentional unreliable narrator after I'd encountered the term. Not sure how I missed it that long, lol. I spent probably half a decade looking askance at various authors and going "...do you know what you're writing there???"

I also couldn't integrate it anywhere, but I absolutely adore "The Mask." I have Thoughts on Chambers's ability to write romance more generally, the short version being that he writes Lovers™ and not characters and they're thus so wooden they're hard to read, but that he must have been in a position like the beginning of "The Mask" because holy god that is exactly how it feels.

[grassbreads]

Hi!! For the wip title tag game, can I know more about the XP and ZY mortality oneshot, Retrospective and Epilogue Dirkjake :>

Hi hi!! Thanks for the ask 😁 (context). I hope you're ready for three wildly disparate fics.

XP and ZX mortality oneshot

This is my current Tai Sui gen fic WIP! It's set during the extras, just a few years before Zhi Xiu passes away. It's about Zhi Xiu getting snowed in during an uncommonly severe winter on Flying Jade Peak and considering what he wants to do with the last bit of his life while Xi Ping feels Extremely Fine and Good and Normal about the guy he's lived with for a century finally getting truly old. It's a mix of lighthearted shenanigans, Extras-standard somber contemplations of mortality, and Zhi Xiu forcing Shiyong to confront his emotions for once in his goddamn life.

I've only actually written about 600 words of this one, and it's still untitled, but I have a plan for what the rest will be and I'm fairly excited about it :).

Retrospective

I think I've mentioned on this blog before that I have a long MXTX crossover WIP that I expect to never finish or publish and work on once in a while solely for my own self-indulgent joy. This is that. It's about all three MXTX leading couples (plus Moshang) being pulled into a crossover by the System and having to watch back their own life stories together. I love a good MXTX crossover, and I love fics where the protags that never tell anyone anything get their trauma secrets spilled involuntarily, so this is just me doing both of those at once.

It's written from SQQ's pov of course. For maximum chaos. It's also the origin of these jokes.

Epilogue (pre-meat) Dirkjake

This is another currently untitled oneshot WIP, this time based around the Homestuck Epilogues. It's about Dirk and Jake's final doomed hookup that we know took place sometime before the start of the epilogues proper. I'm unsure how much sex scene I'm actually going to include, as it's mostly about Dirk's mindset and how weird it is to navigate romantic and sexual feelings when you're halfway into becoming an amalgamation of every version of yourself across all realities (and most of those versions absolutely fucking suck). It's also about the absolutely unhinged morning after argument.

I don't know how familiar you are with Homestuck Ririn, but here's a small modicum of context for the insane relationship I'm talking about.

Since it's a crapshoot as to if/when any of this will get published, I'll go ahead and throw the whole short WIP of the Tai Sui fic under the cut, as well as smaller excerpts from the other two. Hope this has been interesting :)

Retrospective

Before Shen Qingqiu could react out loud, the man in red spoke up for the first time, his voice tinged with a teasing lilt.  “We have a king in our presence? What place in the North might you be from that I’ve never heard of you?” This San Lang really couldn’t have been more draped in red flags if he tried. “San Lang” obviously wasn’t his real name, and he’d stood impassive and uncaring through the whole process of introductions only to speak in such a way at the very end. A bad attitude to rival Mobei-Jun’s! Furthermore, even though he’d been introduced without formal name or title, he was obviously someone of some import. His boots and collar were draped in fine decorative silver, the sleek vambraces on his arms were hammered with intricate designs, and his whole bearing dripped the obnoxious confidence of someone used to being in charge. Plus, in terms of red flags, he was even wearing literal bright red! And to top it off, though his aura didn’t quite seem like that of a demon, there was obviously something off about him in some ineffable way. His energy was dark. Too dark! Wasn’t it a bit cliché to give the obviously evil guy a fucking eyepatch?

And another excerpt just for funzies:

Shen Qingqiu’s nose curled involuntarily. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System? Seriously? Was that what the newly maidenly Luo Binghe’s story had been retitled to?? He hadn’t thought it could get worse than the trope-tastic Proud Immortal Demon Way, but that title was seriously pushing the boundaries of what could be considered literature.  Plus, why the hell did it put so much of the emphasis on him?? Wasn’t he the scum villain? And wasn’t the one the system had self-saved? Give the protagonist his due, would you? At least Airplane’s original title had known who to shine the spotlight on.  The sound of a clearing throat caught his attention then, and he turned around to see Shang Qinghua transparently trying to catch his eye as he spoke up.  “Is that voice seriously trying to imply that we’re all characters from novels?” That idiot. 

The Untitled Dirkjake Oneshot

The last time you hook up with Jake, you’re already more amalgamate than person.  Sex is a strange thing when you’re no longer limited to awareness of just yourself. It’s a strange thing when you can’t stop feeling the convictions of the parts of you that are thirteen years old forever and a computer, or the part of you that’s part computer and fused with two trolls and a cherub and squatting in the body of a cueball-headed puppet. Did Doc Scratch have a dick? You feel a flicker of Scratch-flavored derision every time you consider doing so much as jerking off, so you’re leaning towards no, but you’re not ready to cross that question off the list just yet.  Vague self-disgust and derision doesn’t actually stop you from jacking off, of course, but you’re definitely doing it less frequently. Who has time to crank one out when you’re busy realizing that the entire reality you inhabit is nothing more than a grand narrative made to entertain some unfathomable outside audience? Even focusing on the voyeurism angle can’t quite keep your stallions running in the middle of that dark night of the soul.  Point being, when Jake pins you to the mat and gets a hand around your throat on live TV one night, you’re more than a little pent up, not to mention more than a little out of sorts. You’re still in the thick of your ascension, undecided whether RUMBLE IN DA PUMPKIN PATCH will help or hurt Jake’s influence on Jane’s presidential campaign and even more undecided as to whether her campaign even fucking matters in the slightest. You’re distracted, not really giving it your all, so he gets you down in a way you rarely let him, even when you’re playing heel. 

The Untitled Tai Sui Oneshot

One hundred and two years after the advent of the spiritual energy prohibition, an uncommonly harsh winter struck Flying Jade Peak.  The Xuanyin Mountains’ spiritual energy had melted away by then, dissipating back into the veins of the earth and leaving the once eternally snow-bound peak no colder than any other peak throughout Great Wan. Its ground was lush with grass in the summer, and auspicious animals gathered around many planted beds of peonies and wine ingredients whenever the sun was high. A certain shifu had taken to forcing his disciple out to plant as punishment whenever he felt too sore to beat him, which ensured the gardens were tended frequently and well.  That winter, however, returned the verdant peak to its condition of endless blinding white and bitter cold. Even the mundane atmosphere, unburdened by any heavenly commandments’ meddling, could inflict a deep freeze to suit a sword cultivator sometimes.  Stymied for the first time by his aging body’s inability to endure such frigid cold, the peak master of Flying Jade Peak found himself with rather more free time than he knew what to do with as he was snowed in. His elder disciple, the consummate master of finding ways to waste time with nonsense, took up filling his shifu’s schedule as his new mission in life, and he saw to this charge more attentively than he’d ever seen to any of his lessons.  “Shifu! I brought you more rebirth berries from Southern He!” “Shifu, did you know Northern Li has started publishing a gossip column staffed entirely by sword cultivators?” “But Shifu, don’t you want to see the new moving picture they made about Yu Chang? I can recreate the theater in the Law Breaker, so we wouldn’t even need to go outside.” The honorable General Zhi’s hand twitched where it held the Sword that Mended the Heavens. “As I said, I’m behind on practice. A replica of the sword platform would be fine.”  “Bah, don’t you want to do something we can do together?”  Zhi Xiu smiled at his good-for-nothing student.  “My disciple would be welcome to join me in practicing the sword.” Xi Ping grimaced, but for once he didn’t flee immediately at the threat of hard work. Instead, he whined, “What good is practicing the sword? It’s not like I ever used a real sword to copy your sword moves, and I’m not about to start now, so it’s no good practicing with spiritual energy prohibited.” “The fact you still dare to say these things is a sign that I have spoiled you irreparably. The sword platform, please.”  “And if I am unfilial and refuse?”  Zhi Xiu reached over and flicked him in the forehead.  “Scoundrel. How can you treat your elderly shifu this way?” “Isn’t it because you’re elderly that I think you should do something better with your time than practice swordsmanship in the Law Breaker all day?” “And you think a moving picture about an acquaintance of yours is a better use of my time?” “It doesn’t have to be the movie! I just think we can find something better to do than slashing at nothing in a rotten bracelet for eight hours straight.”  Zhi Xiu reached out instinctively to hit his disciple with Zhaoting’s hilt until he made way, but something caught and stopped him before he could finish the motion. Xi Ping’s eyes, for all his flippant discourtesy, did seem to have something sincere and pleading tucked away in them, and suddenly the old sword master couldn’t bear to disappoint the request for a day spent with him. “Four hours,” he said. “You practice with me—serious practice—for four hours, and we can do something else together afterwards.”

[notasapleasure]

Stupidly long playlist to go with the stupidly long fic. In short, it follows a kind of meandering path from Icelandic youth to swaggering mercenary behaviour on the continent, to service in the Varangian guard in Constantinople. It is very much in an order I chose, and should be listened to in order. I designed it to have them coming closer together and parting ways at various points, and it follows a very rough outline I have for three 'books'' worth of adventures.

Bit more info about each track under the cut, but basically it's Weird FolkTM, Icelandic rock, a smattering of prog, and some entirely self-indulgent pop picks.

Sumer is icumen in - you may know from Wicker Man soundtrack? Everyone's go to creepy folk song because it's one of the oldest. Included because of cuckoo theme. Kólbítur - Icelandic term for 'coal-biter', a character type in medieval stories and folk tales. Usually a lazy boy who rolls around in the hearth ashes as a child getting in the way of the women. After some trauma he is usually revealed to be a great hero, who just needed a bit of goading on. Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu well known Icelandic ballad, full of longing and intertwined personhood: 'mine was yours and yours was mine'. Nitlayokoya - kind of a spoiler for the fic, but Cassian isn't actually a 'skraeling' (Norse name for the American peoples encountered around Newfoundland), he's from...way further south. This song has the same title as poem by Nezahualcoyotl, meaning 'I am Sad', though this wasn't composed until the fifteenth century. Get Out of My House is based on The Shining, so there's the link to Native American land, and there's shapeshifting in the song too. Seems a good angry bb Cassian song. Filthy Game a stranger and a good man gets drawn into the locals' 'filthy game'. The Devil & the Huntsman mainly for the Sam Lee, but also a rollicking banger from the King Arthur soundtrack. Vibes. The Dark general foreshadowing and vibes. Don't Say No - there's a lot of Patrick Wolf on there, this is early Patrick Wolf urging us to run with our instincts :)) and teeth. Shapeshifter there's also a lot of Richard Dawson in various iterations on here because he does Weird Folk like no one else. Shapeshifter so impressive he's even handing out potatos pre-Colombian exchange. Pagan Poetry best fucked up Björk song everrrr. 'He makes me want to hurt myself'. To Try for the Sun just boys being lads, sharing coats and hanging out on the streets, nothing to see here. Teardrop this is how you do a cover. Theseus 'A black sail billows, the sun hits your blade / And you are hungry, you are hungry for you'. Jolly Bold Robber I love the way Nic Jones sings this. A 'jolly bold robber' attacks a young sailor who's just come ashore with his earnings and they fight - moral is don't fight a desperate sailor who wants to spend his shore leave well. But the way Nic Jones sings 'like lambkins they've stripped' sure is something. And the apology in the sailor's voice for killing his attacker. Feels very Cassian. Two Brothers - any folksong 'and they were brothers' me: 'what if they were ""brothers""?' Here with wrestling matches, bruised egos, pocket-knife stabbings and regret. The Best Excuse in the World I remember seeing this live and David Rotheray explained it as being about a gay man realising he has 'the best excuse in the world' for not loving his wife, but the way Jim Causley sings it erases any of the triteness of that, it's gorgeous. Go Your Way classic 'I love you so much I'm letting you go' folk song. Nonantzin another Nezahualcoyotl poem, this one asking mother to cry for her child when he dies. Crown Shyness is just one of my Brassian songs. Growing up together but not quite being brave enough to reach out to each other. Raincatchers ditto, also shut up I love it.

We used to be the raincatchers And we couldn't see what we were running from You made me feel like Nothing really matters Here in my dreams, we're raincatchers Come back to me like it was before You made me feel like Nothing really matters, nothing really matters If we let this run Caught on a river Everything that we left unspoken Will never be said Revenge of the Bear instrumental, for the title mainly. Who could it refer to, you ask? Animalia whaaaat it's from the soundtrack to my favourite film, also fucked up love and animal imagery. Daring Highwayman getting into the Norwegian/continental mercenary/troublemaking part of their careers now, Cassian definitely makes robery seem cool. Hare Spell he also makes shapeshifting seem cool. Because it is. Stendur æva is about nine minutes long but it's essential I'm afraid. Played on a glockenspiel made from Icelandic rock, I usually LOATHE your man from Sigur Rós and his squeaky voice, but he sort of sounds like a seagull in this, and it features the then head of the Icelandic folk singing club, who has a lovely voice. It's all bullshit medievalism about 'Odin magic' but it sounds fucking amazing. VIBES I SAY. Trøllabundin this is tumblr, you all know about Eivør Pálsdóttir here, right? Ogre more Richard Dawson! But this time the community is not so happy with the outsider figure on its edges. Twa Corbies is a pan-European folk song with pretty old roots. Pov: you are a corvid observing the body of a dead knight. Villon Song high medieval roots for this poem about all the cool things you can do to break the law. Bwganod Richard Dawson AND FRIENDS this time. The title is Welsh for 'scarecrow', which doesn't really have any bearing on things, but the following lines are just relevant, ok Always jokey-woking ‘Til the shit hits the fan Spray my face in fertiliser Grow a mos-toosh Hairy pits Super fit Built like a brick shit Wearing leopard-print Fishnet underpants

I’m on the run, Barely began Gathering sun, but I’ll take my time I’m overrun The damage is done Everyone’s gonna sink into the slime Hellismanna kvæði for the 1990s girl rock!! Also it's an outlaw song. Strákarnir á Borginni means 'the boys on the town' and is a camp tango about the hypocrisy of 1980s homophobic farmers in Iceland. I've posted it here before, it's iconique. Fin Cop a more tragic outlaw song. Nobody loves a troll. Escape oh just for the Vibes, because Plunkett & Macleane has the energy I want my outlaw saga to have. The Night Safari much more recent Patrick Wolf about love not being enough to stop self-destructive tendencies. Also shapeshifters. Excuse me While I shift shape The ocelot Slips the bowline knot But soon falls to prey As a boy I worshipеd the thunder Now it's just a sky under I wait for to fall No why only whеn Still Too Soon to Know yes yes blorbo got on the playlist. Pleasingly few pronouns in this. After all they've been through, surely Brasso would know? Á Sprengisandi is a jolly Icelandic folk song about riding across the highland interior on the main path. There's unclean spirits! Outlaws! Elves! All those fun guys. Ten Thousand Miles just another nice travelling song :)) Oh come ye back My own true love And stay a while with me If I had a friend On this Earth You've been a friend to me Dodona more recent Patrick Wolf going through it. Night Ride Across the Caucasus I'm not sure yet precisely what route they'll be taking by this stage but you've gotta have some Loreena on a medievalish playlist. Anyone But Me what pining would be complete without some jealous misunderstandings? This is such a sinister and sexy song of obsession and it's a fave. Ivy to go with the general move towards the cradle of ancient civilisationTM this is more Richard Dawson (and DIFFERENT friends, these ones Finnish metalheads) this time telling Dionysus's story. Hey Matt if you can take me at my best you can take me at my Darren Hayes-est, gay angstiest: Hey Matt The water carried all my secrets Sifting through the muck I saw my dirty little grievances And the memories I killed All the shameful feelings spilled Lay bare on the asphalt Broken parts I thought I'd drowned real good Oops! I Did it Again it's a Cassian song, ok? Nikitoa last of the songs with a title matching a poem by Nezahualcoyotl, this one about the transience of all things :)) Móðir mín í kví kví what if we made this lullaby into a girl screamo track? Vibes, I say again. Feet of Clay more on the topic of not being able to make a move despite wanting to. Whispering Light the version with Willy Mason. Distance, mark of distance Your burden is your brilliance There's a vessel A hiddеn vessel in the stonе Difference, not indifference Your passion marks you different And you wrestle And how you'll wrestle to come to know The Gates of Istanbul more Loreena! Constantinople, but, well, I don't need to quote They Might Be Giants. Shim El Yasmine It might not be Istanbul but let's get some Arabic language angst about leaving your boyfriend behind in anyway. Last Polar Bear it's about the long overdue proliferation of contemporary queer folk singers actually. Also bears. From the north. Make you think of anyone? The Moon Shone on my Bed Last Night sneaking some more Sam Lee in for the 'muckle ballad' about being with your lad no matter what. Stál og hnífur this is what happens when you leave the pronouns out, Bubbi! Steel and knife is my symbol, the symbol of travelling workers. Yours was mine and mine was yours while I lived among men. Fire Light soothing. Good vibes. Hopefuly. Probably a happy ending, through I'm a long way from knowing how I'll achieve it yet. What is the medieval equivalent of a Death Star? Over Again haha is it all a flat circle? Or once free to be together to they just go out robbing and causing trouble again? :)

[fantomette22]

heyyyy! Tell us about your version of the cainhurst king. maybe even how things go between him and annalise! I hope you don't mind me asking

Anon are you kidding? I am super happy you asked, thank you!

It's true I tried to avoid talking about him to not spoil my fic project but I slip every time so screw it, let's go (Plus it's not like Annalise is going to become Queen and him King in the fic I am currently writing so better talk about them now because it's uncertain if I will manage to ever write about it 🙄)

Also, omg are you asking this because of my shitpost drawing? Oops XD this is really the dumbest thing…

Ok so I inspired myself a lot from the version my good friend created X and X. I really like it so I create a similar yet quite different version. (I mean they just look the same and have a few characteristics in common but that's it really)

So yeah, I think this guy right here is the king during Annalise's reign.

I named him Charles. It was supposed to be a place holder name at first, when I was doing some story planning but I stick with it XD Typical old French name many kings had that's why I called him like this. + for the older design I used the dear cut content (because yes, we probably should have fight him instead of Logarius at first.

So for this ask I drew some designs! : (As a Byrgenwerth student and as king, younger and older)

In my story I also have Annalise's father, the precedent king consort appearing. I draw him as well for the occasion.

(ok he might look a bit older and tired compared to the chap5 of my fic so let's say it's a flash forwards of a few years later, a few months before he died of cancer. I'm sorry that sound really bad 😭 poor Richard…)

Ok so Charles, he's from a smaller noble family (the one from where the executioners gloves came from) they doesn't live at Cainhurst since a few years but he passed a few years from his childhood here. As such he's a childhood friend of Maria, Annalise and all the lil squad of Cainhurst OCs. Maria & him are closer in age (he's 1 year older than her and 2 years younger than Annalise) so they passed a lot of time together and were both really turbulent and unhinged children XD like you can see here. All the things TO NOT do, you can be sure they tried it out 🤣

Then well he went to live a bit far with his family and only went to Cainhurst to important event/ meetings/holidays etc…

Years later he become a student at Byrgenwerth and check notes began a cursus in history or smt? Antic history of the pthumerians civilization and afterwards or something like this. Maria joined Byrgenwerth one year later too! Some other events happened and it allow him to reconnect with Cainhurst a lot.

Ok so when I say he's a lil bastard it's affectionally and for real too <3 he's really similar yet different from Laurence for exemple idk how to explain. You know the popular type of guy who don't listen well in class and party a lot but still pass all his classes… (besides tell him to shut it in class Laurence can say much he was the same XD ok maybe Charles is more of a clown class and had more friends but still).

But even if he can stand the mean noble girls (&boys) contrary to Maria, he still passed times with her when he could and even hang out with the Byrgenwerth squad as well.

Also my friend think he might got a scare on the forehead (see painting) and I agree with this that's why he got one. How he got it you ask? Oh well… cough cough the infamous prom night! Not telling too much for now. Can't wait to write about it

So, in parallel concerning Cainhurst: It wasn't doing great and was loosing lots of influence sand after some tragic events happened "the knight cough & beast story cough cough" he speaks with the king, Annalise, lots of people besides Maria and began slowly to have a new objective in mind. + when Maria takes distance from Cainhurst so he actually grow closer to them at her place (well they were kinda missing a few royal guards so like they took what they could)

He could do a few things in battle but clearly didn't have the lvl of a royal guard or a strong warrior so he needed to learn and that wasn't always easy.

Flash forwards a few years later after he graduated but still hanged out at Byrgenwerth. Guess what the bastard did? ^^

Yeah, he's the scholar who stole the forbidden blood.

So yeah, THIS GUY! Damn. Well, it's actually kind of complicated because Byrgenwerth should have make a report to Cainhurst/ give it to them but they didn't so… Still Maria wanted to kick his ass XD (seriously he used her to know where it was and he leaved with everyone from Cainhurst except her. I mean he couldn't tell her but she almost got in big troubles) 

"No Maria you can't go to his face and insult him in front of everyone…"

"Why not?" "… ok so he might actually become our next king consort and I hate it." "WHAT?!" (she still scolds him XD)

Yeah, when they asked him what he wanted for his service besides being a full-time resident at Cainhurst bro said, "Your hand my Queen" "bud that's not gonna work-" "Ok sure" O_O

Turn out, he planned the whole thing (stealing the blood) with Annalise 🤣

Yeah they did grow closer this past few years and everyone is on Annalise back to get a consort so…. (Also of course he's a simp. Who isn't at Cainhurst lol. He's not jealous btw because he know he will always be simp n°1 XD). So yeah somehow that's a big ship I have and I NEED CONTENT 😭 (Fantomette do it yourself! there is literally only 2-3 people to want that! You don't understand I just wanna read fics made by someone else on them! I can't write that!!)

But well, many nobles aren't that impressed so they ask him to do other stuff before. Like going into the chalice dungeons and recover some stuff. Funniest shit ever when he argues with Vledemyr all the time, or even Logarius and Gehrman just want to take all their heads and bonk them together XD yeah funny times.

 Also most of all the statues at Cainhurst are because of him and he managed to bring back the crown of Illusions in the end! He almost died too but shhh (Annalise still scold him for it. The crown was lost in there since quite sometimes so Cainhurst only had one and it lost its power. + maybe a ring 🤔).

In the meantime, well Annalise absorb the forbidden blood and kinda become "immortal" (I headcanon that it prolongs the life a lot, you don't age normally etc and you heal if you get hurt. Explain how she can cut her arms and have no marks after a few minutes. The bigger the injuries the longer it takes to regenerate. Like if she were to "die" her body wouldn't get cold but stayed warms and she would wake up after a few hours/days or more etc what we used in the game really make it go faster).

Then he finally marries Annalise and become King!  And the Vilebloods are formed wow and they try to make Cainhurst great again etc. 

But yeah, it's not over. There is one small problem that happen a few years after… (besides the beast scourge of Yharnam and the church + Byrgenwerth being less or more ok with their practices). Annalise have a lot of difficulty to have a child (not that it's super urgent but it's still a problem).

You can be sure they both tried their best but it doesn't work. Either it's hard for her to get pregnant and when she does she have miscarriage after miscarriage. Most of the time it happened in the first couple of months but one time it happened almost at term or around 6-7 months perhaps? That was so bad that if Annalise wasn't "undead/immortal" she would have died. That was really a bad time for everyone. Even poor Maria was left a bit traumatized by the experience… (yes she came to help of course and that was before the hamlet I think) And Charles really was at the lowest in his life (not the only one too) he blamed himself because he thought that those problems could have been link with the forbidden blood (yes but not really).

So, in the end they managed to find something about an old ritual the pthumerians used, to get "powerful and special children" the child of blood. And with the discovery of the blood dregs, they become to participate even more intensely to the hunt…. and because of this and other events they ended up becoming the enemy of the church…

When the executioners went to kill the Vilebloods, Charles fight till his last breath to protect his Queen, Annalise, his future not born yet child of blood and his subjects. He killed lots of the executioners but they were too many and Logarius was there and stronger than before…

----

Ok that's it for the over whole story. Now, he's kind of egoist with lot of pride and "I am better than everyone" type of guy but he still have moment where he showed real concerned for people he cared about + he grow wiser with age. Still, he wouldn't have problem to kill/ execute someone who's accuse of crimes against Cainhurst. He would do that without a second thought. Unlike someone else cough cough. 

And yeah when Maria was a teenager and wasn't feeling well at all she passed a summer with him and his family and he did helped her feel better, likewise with some bad stuff that happened at Cainhurst during her Byrgenwerth years. He was there to support Annalise during harsh times and when she became Queen too. And was the emotional pillar and protector to her after he became her husband and king. Even if they encourage each other to grow worst and go on a really dark path… 

He tried to not show a too much "soft side" to anyone (except a few persons person like his dear Queen). He did crack emotionally a couple of time and even if he really tried to hide it, Annalise generally end up knowing and recomfort him. They are each other biggest support after all.

But hey he did become good friends with Vledemyr! (Anna & Maria cousin, royal guard etc) when at first it was really complicated XD And his relationship with lil Voron (bloody crow when he was a baby/child) is really cute too <3

Ok last thing I headcanon that Logarius sword his originally the Charles wield.

So I think it's good for now. Hope that answers the question 😅

[rotten-hearts-sharp-teeth]

do you have a favorite oc or one you relate to the most? :)

Thank you for the ask anon! You probably were not expecting this, but I actually have a MASSIVE catalogue of OCs. Tumblr allows 10 images so that's what I narrowed it down to. All images are labeled for the creator, but the characters belong to me.

OK! First up is my most well known OC. I made Sabine for my Alone Wolf Hellsing AU. If you've read the first story, then you know that she (spoiler) didn't make it to the end. I grew to love the character so much and the demand was so high that I started an alt end AU for my AU. If that isn't love then I don't know what is. Her son, Barrett hasn't been born yet in the story (new chapter is coming I promise) but I have big plans for him.

*art for an ask created by @crooked-incisors*

Next up is my cyberpunk cyborg Kade Pax. I just love their personality and design so much. Their story is tragic but has a happy end. I think. I really relate to Kade because of I also suffer body dysmorphic disorder

*ref by crooked for our closed universe*

Marianne Dubois is my plus sized, French Canadian final girl. I plan to write her story 'Road Kill' once I finish my Alone Wolf sequels.

*The art is mine. Slasher BF Steven Locke belongs to crooked*

Next up is another pair for the Slasher fandom. Flora and Veronica Galindo are WOC slasher twins. Flora is evil and manipulates Vero in the worst ways. I have a story for them that I would also like to write one day.

*art by crooked for our closed AU where they both get a happy ending*

*design of Veronica's Slasher look, Santa Muerte. Old art created by me*

One last OC from the closed universe I share with crooked (even though all of them are my favorite) My little yandere bimbo Bambi Dearie. She has... quite an interesting story.

*art by crooked*

OK! Now on to my Harem OC. Vral, Scourge of Delano is a savage hare barbarian. He's interested in fighting and fucking and not much else honestly.

*ref by crooked*

Bring in the clowns!

Mad Mage Meddle started a Kings of the Wild OC. It's a great book and everyone who likes fantasy should give it a read. I've considered using him for DnD, but since he's a chaotic evil user of body transformation magic that makes it a little difficult. Honestly I could go on about him so if anyone is curious shoot me an ask!

*commission*

Delilah the deadite clown is a very special OC for me. She was the first one I ever created way back in July of 2018. Happy Birthday!

*commission*

Last, I have Paisley. She was never going to be an OC. I actually just picked a name for a reader x fic that involved clowns, but crooked asked for details and thus Paisley was designed. She is very near and dear to my heart because of what she brought into my life ❤️

*commission*

And that's it! Honestly, I had a hard time narrowing down the list. I put a lot of care and pieces of myself into each and every OC I design. In a way they are all my faves 😅

[skelezomperman]

Ficlet #6: Ivy and her mother-in-law

I am going to figuratively bash my head against my desk one of these days since I keep writing about Ivy or people related to her and not Jugdral. Anyways here's a fic...Note that I kind of don't know if I like the name Ruby too much for Diamant and Alcryst's mother, but it's probably the most popular fan name for her.

--

In one of the coffee-rooms of Elusian castle, on a spring afternoon, was the first private meeting between the Queen Dowager of Brodia and the Queen of Elusia.

The Queen Dowager of Brodia was about average height for a woman. Though in her fifties, her hair retained its cobalt blue shade, undoubtedly the result of dyeing. Her face had quite a few wrinkles on it, enough to where one can get the sense that the past few years had truly worn her down. She was wearing a floor length dress of dark red color, the kind that she would wear casually use at home which was loose and flowing.

The Queen of Elusia, a bit taller than average, had longer purple hair. She still was youthful but had a stern look on her face like her counterpart. She had just come from a wyvern ride and thus was wearing her outfit for that: a dark purple gown which allowed her legs more freedom, paired with her fascinator (decorated with roses), an ermine cape with the Elusian coat of arms, her leggings decorated with floral designs, and her boots with a spike on each one.

One could sense that a silence had settled in after the younger queen had poured tea for the both of them. The only sound that punctuated it was the sipping of tea while they exchanged judgmental glances. The Queen Dowager of Brodia was rumored to have quite antiquated views on Elusians. On the other hand, the Queen of Elusia spearheaded the invasion which led to the late King of Brodia’s death. It would be remiss to omit that Elusia’s queen had also given birth to two of the Queen Dowager’s four grandchildren...at the cost of her eldest son renouncing the Brodian throne.

Finally, the Queen Dowager puts down her teacup on its saucer. “So what makes you like fascinators?” Ruby asked.

Ivy reached for the fascinator around her head. “They’re beautiful headwear,” she said.

“A lot of headwear is stylish,” Ruby replied.

“Fascinators are common for Elusian ladies,” Ivy continued. “I was gifted my first when I was fourteen years old. This style is special to me because I started wearing it in the Academy.”

“I’ve heard quite a bit about this…Academy of yours,” Ruby responded. 

“It was truly amazing…”

She closed her eyes and found herself imagining that she was relaxing over tea not with her soon-to-be-mother-in-law but with her closest friend from the Academy. An Elusian noblewoman of her age, an aspiring mage who loved chatting with her about history books or helping her study for the next exam. Someone who she confided in more than anyone else that she ever met. She imagined that she was not in a stuffy room in the castle, but in the open-air courtyard of the Academy, a cool breeze passing through.

Unfortunately, that friend had died in the war as had most of her classmates.

“The Academy molds young men and women into future leaders. I treasure my time there - it was second only to my faith in the Divine Dragon in making me who I am.”

She cut herself short before reminiscing on the first day that she wore her fascinator at the Academy.

Ruby spoke up after sipping her tea: “You Elusians dress in such a funny way. So much unnecessary pomp. And that leg! It would be quite scandalous if I dressed like that.”

Ivy instinctively put her hand on her thigh for a moment before responding back: “Have you never left Brodia, Your Majesty?”

She tutted and continued: “Other nations have different traditions, of course. I, for my part, think that Brodians dress in a very *boring* manner.”

Silenced by her counterpart’s jab, Ruby finished off her tea. When she stood up to walk to the teapot and pour more, Ivy tried to get her to sit down. But her elder shook her head. “I may be older, but I’m not infirm,” she cautioned.

“Diamant doesn’t like when I try to get things for him either,” Ivy commented.

“He got that from his father.”

Ivy still cringed at the mention of the late King Morion, for as much as she tried to hide it. She never knew him very well, but it was well known that he was all too eager to pounce on perceived weaknesses in Elusia with little regard for the lives of civilians. As much as she hated to think this about her fiancé’s father, she was glad that she would never have to face him.

“I must concede one thing. You have done a great job with Holly,” Ruby said.

Caught off guard by the compliment, Ivy took some time to clarify: “It’s mostly been Diamant over the past few months. I’ve been too busy with Carnation.”

“Ah, he’s six months old, right? You must only just now be getting back to normal.” As Ivy nodded, Ruby continued: “Alcryst was very difficult to have. It lasted almost an entire day with him. It was well worth it in the end.”

(Ivy silently thanked the Divine One that she hadn’t broached the topic of giving birth to Diamant.)

“Carnation looks very cute too. He looks like he takes after his father,” Ruby continued.

“Diamant cried when he held him for the first time,” Ivy softly commented.

“Diamant has always been like that, ever since he was young. He’s never wanted to show weakness, not even after the…”

The accident happened when Diamant was eight years old, not long after Alcryst was born. His scream had caught Ruby's attention, interrupting a moment of rest. But when she and Morion got to him, Diamant was holding back tears of pain even as his entire arm was scalded by the flames.

She cleared her throat. “I pray that if your children study magic, they do it in a safe manner.”

A faint smile finally came upon Ivy’s face for the first time in the conversation. “Do not worry. Holly is only allowed to practice magic when I am with her, and only the most basic spells. I don’t know if she’ll be able to do advanced magic though…”

“It’s alright,” Ruby reassured. “With a supportive father and a loving mother, she’ll turn out fine.” She finished her second cup (before Ivy even finished her first) and then continued: “I can’t say I’m happy with the way you took Diamant from me, but you seem to be quite alright. I worried for a long time that he would never find someone like his brother did, but now he has you.”

Ivy nervously laughed. 

“That is the truth. I’m not happy with much of what you’ve done, but I appreciate how much Diamant and your kids love you.”

As Ivy dreaded, the Queen Dowager focused onto her role as the mother of her household. Not that she had ruled an entire nation on her own, nor that she had single-handedly changed the trajectory of Elusia to one of friendship and not isolation. With a twinge of bitterness in her voice, she said: “I’m glad that I’ve performed well enough for them.” She had the good sense to leave out a backhanded compliment that Diamant had improved on his housekeeping skills, not because he wouldn’t laugh but because she wouldn’t want Ruby to think her feelings for him are anything less than genuine.

Then Ivy finished off her tea, stood up, and gestured for Ruby to give her empty teacup. “If you please, I must wash myself before it’s my turn to watch Carnation again,” she said.

“Oh, my. Why so soon?” Ruby asked.

With a slight smirk, Ivy replied: “You did say my dress is scandalous, did you not? I may as well change into wear that shows less of my leg.”

Flushed red with embarrassment, Ruby only mumbled a thank you to Ivy when the latter took away their empty teacups. She wished that Morion were there, since he at least was better at trading barbs than she was.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation,” Ivy said. 

She was stopped as she left the room when Ruby called out: “Won’t you at least give a handshake?”

Ivy wasn’t comfortable enough to give a hug, but she at least extended her hand out to her future mother-in-law to share a handshake.

“It was nice to meet you, Your Majesty,” Ivy said.

“A pleasure. A pleasure to meet you and Holly and Carnation,” Ruby responded. “Thank you.”

Granted, Ruby and Ivy weren’t yet comfortable with each other, but they were happy to find that they weren’t totally unreasonable people either, not as bad as they feared of each other.

[cosmicretribution]

10 and 17 for the ao3 wrapped ? :D - rem

ask game: x

10. What work was the quickest to write?

OH GOD okay. I don't completely remember when I started as sure as any knife i think the idea just occurred to me and I went for it with very little pre-prep-- in my folder, my outline is dated at 4/28/2022, and the fic was published on 5/2, which should mean I worked on it for five days.

I also distinctly remember that there's a room where the light won't find you took me a week of nonstop 2am writing sessions until the specific insanity that watching scar's last life series inflicted upon me was completely exorcised from my brain,

timeloop (or end of endings, as i believe i am going to call it when it eventually gets posted), on the other hand, has its first entry in my notes dated at 5/14/2022, and its most recent at the first of december, and it's still not quite ready yet. definitely the piece that's taken me the longest by far in comparison!

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

I KNOW I SAID SCAR WAS THE CHARACTER THAT'S GIVEN ME THE MOST TROUBLE IN THE LAST ASK BUT. SCAR.... there's just something about him that compels me SO MUCH!!!

theoretically I won't be having as much of his perspective per se in timeloop, bc that fic is meant to be mostly grian pov by design, which is a shame because I really like writing scar's pov... however, I WILL hopefully be writing some stuff coming up here for lew's Lamplight au from scar's perspective 👁️

another character I really enjoyed writing was martyn-- I've done the most with him in long live your lonely king, the branch of timeloop I posted a bit about here, and I had a lot of fun with him!

Thanks so much for the ask!!!! :)

[starmahgalaxies]

Get to Know You

Thanks for @sinvulkt for tagging me. I'm not really sure about what facts to give about myself so I'll just use what you did, with a couple others that are relevant for my answers. And this makes me look like a massive weeb (or am I?!), but that's mainly because my most recent/current fandoms and my very first fandoms were animanga. (yes, yes I am)

Last song: King of Anything - Sara Bareilles

Currently watching: I'm not currently watching anything, but next up on my list I have finishing up Digimon Adventure (2020) and going back to Magi The Adventures of Sinbad.

The main thing I want to do soon is go back to my incredible backlog of video games. There are so many just sitting in my library.

Playing Next: I've wanted to get to Chrono Trigger on my PC since Akira Toriyama died. His designs in video games are iconic. But I also have a lot of indie games that I want to go through too. I should make a wheel to decide, but I haven't yet.

Three ships: I have several ships, but none rank high enough really to be above everything else. If I name any amount I'll name all of them and be here all day. Like many 90s queer kids, Haruka and Michiru (Sailor Moon) was my first lesbian couple. At least in my circles growing up.

Favorite Relationship Dynamic: Familial! They can be whatever! Oh, you mean romantic ship dynamics? Meh. Romantic ships are fun -- I'm Aegoro -- but I have no real preference there. I like family relationships more and even a good enemy ships. Not even enemies to lovers (not always) just enemies. Give me a bonfire mess of a dynamic and I'll watch it.

Favorite color: I like shades of red and magenta.

Currently consuming: Nothing. Eating by my computer, over my tablet/keyboard will leave a mess and get all over both things when I rather they not. I need that stuff to work! The last thing I had though was a big fat chocolate muffin for breakfast.

(Since I am writing this in two sittings, the thing that I had last now was an Italian soda from a local café chain and chocolate eggs that were on clearance at the supermarket.)

First ship: I'm sure I had non-gay ships first. I didn't clue into people of same gender liking each other for a while. Or anyone liking anyone for a while. For the life of me I can not remember them. So the same answer as above. HaruMichi.

Birthplace: I was born through a C-section! So not quite through my mother's womb. (yay Macbeth reference. And anyone reading this name in a theater, I'm sorry XD)

Jokes aside, I am, for better and worse, an American.

Current location: I haven't moved far from where I was born.

Relationship status: Hahahahaha. That's cute. No. 🧡💛🤍🩵💙

Last movie: This makes me sad. I can't remember. Life (being broke), moving (having physical copies packed away), and stuff in general has made it so I can't remember the last time I saw a movie movie.

Other recreational watches typically rank higher on to-do list anyway, so don't feel too bad for me XD.

Currently working on: Uh, I have about five drafts (essays and shitposts) on my Magi fandom blog (@pan-magi), one fic I'm working on, and at least five art pieces. I've lost count.

I have the opposite problem with tagging people. I never really feel comfortable tagging anybody. So anyone can do what they want. Heh.

[space-blue]

Maliketh smol-ear appreciation fic when??

(I saw the bare model LET ME SCRATCH BEHIND HIS LITTLE EARS P L E A S E-)

FUCK I KNOW!!!

He's got these itty-bitty round ears hidden behind his helmet and mane and I just—

I tried to include some ear rubbing in the fic, but not enough tbh. It ended up being more plot heavy than true self indulgence. Not nearly enough lol

I have to say... If you'll let me segway into this... (you have no choice hehehe) The more time passes, the more I think about it, the more I tend to believe that "beast", which is Maliketh's designation, is probably quite different from "wolf".

In early fandom days I've been told multiple time that "Maliketh is a wolf like Blaidd", but there is no evidence of this in the text. We don't even know if the Red Wolf of Radagon was a pet, or a shadow, so there's no way to claim "shadowbound beasts are wolves" it's simply not accurate.

Maliketh bears no great resemblance to Blaidd, a large humanoid with a wolf's head, and even fewer with the Red Wolf.

His moves are quite feline, his armour has a great white mane, and his arms are long and spindly. He also has a bearded chin. Do you know who he looks like?

Yep, Serosh, the "Beast Regent". Serosh is clearly supposed to be a lion, but the mane? The arms? The bearded chin?

Let me smack more parallels :

So although they clearly aren't the exact same type of beast, if only because of the wideness of their head, Mal having a far more canine, narrow snoot, there's clearly nothing stopping him from being closely related, far more than Blaidd at any rate. Frontal views are where things get really different.

BUT. Maliketh is "Marika's half brother" So like... What if Marika's mom banged Serosh??? YOU KNOW, like a woman of taste would?? In all seriousness, there's more similarity in their armours... Made a little collage for you :

We also know this :

Beastclaw Greathammer Greathammer with a striking end modelled to resemble five beastly claws. The black nails protruding from golden fur are said to represent Serosh, Lord of Beasts, who went on to become King Godfrey's Regent.

And yet Maliketh is called "Maliketh the Black Blade, the black beast of Destined Death."

And of course Gurranq has this lore to him :

Long ago, Gurranq was a beast of such terrifying ferocity that his former name meant "Death of the Demigods."

And Serosh isn't just some tool either! We know this :

The beast depicted is Serosh, aged counselor who guides the golden lineage.

So Serosh is clearly respected for his wisdom, not just as a prop to reign in Godfrey. It's possible he's been around since before the Golden Order, already respected when it was established. He's lord of beasts, and it's possible beasts come in many flavours.

Whatever the FUCK this stringy as hell flavour is supposed to be lmao

Possibility that Serosh and Maliketh are related? That Marika's mom was a furry? Given Maliketh's conformation, he's humanoid from his wrists down to his hips. Head, legs, and hands are all far more beast like and all reminiscent of (what we see) of Serosh, far more than Blaidd, who is basically a big dude with a wolf head.

So I have this absolutely baseless headcanon that Marika came in with her step-bro, Maliketh, a mix of Numen and Beast, and the two fingers made him the first "shadow". Whether they put him under influence or not remains to be seen... But they must have liked the concept/whatever they were gaining from this new shadow, and went ahead and created Blaidd. He was after all "gifted" to Ranni, to become "like a brother". Feels a lot like a copy pasta of the first Shadow, doesn't it?

And maybe whatever means they had of making him could not equal Maliketh. Maybe they didn't want beast blood in him, so they went ahead and spliced wolf and man together, and embedded the "shadow failsafe" Iji tells us about into his very being, unbeknownst to him or Ranni :

The Two Fingers gave Blaidd to Lady Ranni, as a faithful follower. Her very shadow, incapable of treachery. But if Lady Ranni, as an Empyrean, resists being an instrument of the Two Fingers, the shadow will go mad, transforming from a follower into a horrid curse. But such is his destiny. In such matters, Blaidd's own thoughts hold no weight. It pains me so, but he must be neutralised. For Lady Ranni's sake.

This seems to be because the Two Fingers are entirely behind Blaidd's creation, as far as we know. I wonder what freedom Maliketh has, in comparison.

WOW anyway, that's not what you came here for anon, and I'm sorry. But YES. 100% I think Maliketh has thick fluffy round ears, thick like a wolf's or a lion, and no matter his DNA make-up, I bet he purrs like a damn locomotive when you scratch him behind them. Given his size, they're probably as large as your whole hand. That's what's cool with the stringy giant pubber, just more to love all around.